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Many newspapers, including New York Times and Washington Post require subscriptions, but without one we can see a few articles each month.  We can also check with our local libraries to find out how to get online access through them.

1.      This week in Congress. Ten (10) bills are up for consideration in the House this week per the Majority Leader's Schedule.

2.      The Senate tax “reform” vote did not go as hoped in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) was the only Republican Senator to vote against it and after voting no on the repeal of the ACA, Senators McCain, Murkowski, and Collins voted for the tax bill. The GOP is crowing about their “victory”: http://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/362955-sunday-shows-preview-republicans-take-victory-lap-on-taxes Although things are not going well, this is not over because the Congressional bill needs to be reconciled with the Senate bill because there are differences: http://money.cnn.com/2017/12/02/pf/taxes/senate-tax-bill-passed/index.html  So, we need to continue to make noise with all our MoCs to let them know we are paying attention and that we know this bill helps the richest of the rich and will cause hardships for so many working Americans.  While we are at it, let’s thank Sen. Corker:  https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/emailme

3.      Now what??  The Senate passed its tax bill, so what happens next.  According to the rules, there are two possibilities: 1) the House could take up the Senate’s bill and pass it outright, or 2) the House and Senate come together and hash together a hybrid of the two bills in what’s called a conference committee. Since the margin in the Senate was so slim  and many House Republicans cast their votes on a promise of more negotiation once the Senate bill was done, odds are that a conference committee will be convened. As Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains, a conference committee is the formal process by which the House and Senate can bring together different versions of the same bill.  Each chamber designates some of its members to be their negotiators — the conferees. Sometimes these are members who have expertise in a particular issue area, and sometimes they’re members handpicked to do leadership’s bidding.  The minority party gets to appoint conferees in proportion to how many seats they control in each chamber. According to the Congressional Research Service, the committee “may not change a provision on which both houses agree, nor may they add anything that is not in one version or the other.” The final product is a “conference report,” which must be passed by the majority of the conference committee and then by the full House and Senate.  There is a little time for us to act.  The Chicago Sun Times has usefully laid out the issues of greatest disagreement:  https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/republican-tax-plan-heres-what-happens-next-trump-house-senate-president-corporate-tax-rate-income/  We need to think strategically and CALL those Republican MoCs, whether they are our representatives or not, most likely to budge because of any of these issues.  The Democrats are doing their job;  it’s the Republicans we need to convince of public outrage at this bill.

4.      When we contact our MoCs let’s them know that we, too, how big a role lobbyists played in this tax bill:  http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/business-a-lobbying/362796-analysis-more-than-6000-lobbyists-have-worked-on  Let’s remind them that they work for us and not for lobbyists.  We have our eyes on them at their next election.  We will be working for and voting for people who represent us, the people!

5.      Here is a good explanation of net neutrality:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AcnOaRmMg4  Evidence of Russian interference has also been discovered in the comment-taking on this change:
 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-29/fake-views-444-938-russian-emails-among-suspect-comments-to-fcc There are already two no votes among the FCC commissioners.  Only one of these other commissioners need to vote no:  A) Ajit Pai: 202-518-7399 / Ajit.Pai@fcc.gov / @AjitPaiFCC, B) -Michael O'Rielly: 301-657-9092 / mike.o'rielly@fcc.gov / @mikeofcc, C) -Brendan Carr: 202-719-7305 / Brendan.Carr@fcc.gov / @BrendanCarrFCC   The vote is on December 14th.  Let’s keep calling and writing!

6.      Last Friday, the news broke that Mike Flynn had been indicted for lying to the FBI regarding contacts with Russia and then he pled guilty. This suggests that he is cooperating fully with Special Counsel Mueller. Since then, Trump has been on a tweetstorm that smacks of admitting to obstruction of justice and more information has come out about the intentions of the Trump transition team: http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/362857-five-takeaways-from-flynns-guilty-plea and https://apnews.com/de5d6aa60b1048188d31cdb3c33ba5e5 and http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/362951-trump-transition-official-in-email-russia-has-just-thrown-the-usa There are not a lot of obvious actions from the citizen side as this progresses forward but when we contact our MoC about tax reform, let’s let them know that we expect them to maintain the integrity of the Special Counsel process. Also, if we are holiday card-senders, let’s include Robert Mueller and his team on our card list to express our gratitude for the difficult work they are doing in difficult times: https://www.justice.gov/contact-us

7.      Time is running out for DACA recipients, and we must urge Congress to do the right thing and pass a clean DREAM Act. Right now, Republicans need help from the Democrats to get a spending bill passed, which means that Democrats will have some leverage to get critical legislation passed http://wapo.st/2AAQnCQ Let's call our MoC and urge them to pledge to pass the year-end spending bill *only* if it includes a clean DREAM Act. Our Revolution has a call tool we can use, which includes talking points:

8.      The United States has a serious problem with food waste. This waste reverberates through landfills, wasted revenue, methane emissions, and loss of nutrition:
http://on.nrdc.org/1NVyyzW While we are currently global leaders in food waste (http://theatln.tc/2r5WVQA ), Congress does have legislation in both the House and Senate which would work to put a stop to this. Let's give our MoC a call and ask that they cosponsor and support the Food Recovery Act (H.R. 3444/S.1680). We can also use Sierra Rise's action page to send a message or tweet to our MoC http://bit.ly/2j9NNZR

9.      The House Judiciary Committee passed the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act (H.R. 38) and it is expected that the bill will be brought to the floor to vote on shortly:  http://bit.ly/2kj2c9C The legislation would force states to accept the weaker concealed carry standards of other states, and there are serious concerns that domestic abusers would be empowered and be able to further endanger their victims https://bloom.bg/2AejBGy The Concealed Carry act has a serious chance of passing the House; as it stands, there are well over 200 cosponsors of the bill, including a few Democrats. The fifth anniversary of Sandy Hook is on December 14th.  Is this how we want to commemorate those lives? Let's contact our reps and tell them that we strongly oppose H.R. 38, and we expect them to vote against this dangerous legislation. We can also use this tool from Everytown For Gun Safety to send a letter to our rep: http://act.everytown.org/sign/send-letter-your-representative-reject-hr-38/ 

10.  Rumors suggest that Trump is considering replacing Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State with Mike Pompeo, and appointing Rep. Tom Cotton (R, AR) as a replacement for Pompeo as Director of the CIA. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/us/politics/state-department-tillerson-pompeo-trump.htmlAmnesty International has expressed concern about this proposal, citing Pompeo and Cotton’s record of expressing support for “torture and indefinite detention.” https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/pompeo-and-cotton-must-disavow-torture-and-other-rights-abuses-as-nominees-for-state-and-c-i-a/ Let’s contact Trump to express our concern with the promotion of proponents of torture and indefinite detention: 

11.  The Senate will convene on Monday at 3pm and proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the nomination of Kirstjen Nielsen, of Virginia, to be Secretary of Homeland Security. Nielsen's nomination has not been particularly controversial since Trump announced it last month. She is expected to win confirmation easily, though she did provide some answers Wednesday that took some senators aback. For example, on climate change, Nielsen declined to say she believes humans caused it. With respect to the border wall, Nielson has said that she does not support building a wall along the entire length of the U.S. southern border. We can read more about Nielsen at USA Today.  Then, lets contact our senators and let them know what we think.

Election 2017/2018

1.      There are eight days until the Alabama Special Election to fill Jeff Sessions’ Senate seat and the Doug Jones campaign is full-steam ahead to try to defeat Roy Moore:https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/02/alabama-black-voters-doug-jones-276119 It is not too late to help the Jones’ campaign by volunteering or donating:
https://dougjonesforsenate.com and, if you can move swiftly, it is not too late to write postcards for Jones via Postcards to Voters: 

2.      In looking at the Senate race in Alabama, we could be headed for a stunning and much-needed victory. Polls show that Doug Jones, the former U.S. attorney who brought KKK terrorists to justice, has a slight lead on sexual predator, homophobe and defier of court orders Roy Moore (http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/02/politics/poll-doug-jones-roy-moore/index.html). As in so many close races, this could well come down to who gets their voters to the polls. People Demanding Action is organizing volunteers to phone bank to Alabama’s African-American community to encourage them to vote. We can sign up to join them at this link: http://ppldemand.nationbuilder.com/phonebanks.

3.      "Democrat Doug Jones and Republican Roy Moore face off in the Dec. 12 election to fill the Senate seat previously held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions."
 https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/alabama/articles/2017-11-26/monday-voter-registration-deadline-in-alabama-us-senate-race We really need to get out the vote in this crucial election. The good news is, we can help whether we're in AL or not! Let's sign up with Indivisible Alabama groups to lend a hand: 

State Actions

1.      ALL:  The House Judiciary Committee has passed H.R. 38, the so-called “concealed carry reciprocity” act that will undermine effective gun control policy across the country. State officials are speaking up against this effort to weaken state laws, including Democratic attorneys general from 17 states who have warned that the bill “will lead to the death of police officers and civilians, the proliferation of gun traffickers, and acts of terrorism and other mass violence” (http://www.wbur.org/news/2017/10/23/ags-warning-concealed-carry-law). We want to see our governors, with their high public profile, stepping up, too – especially those of us whose governors are Republicans. Let’s reach out to them and ask them to call on congressional leadership to stop this bill from going any further and leave strong state gun control laws alone.

2.      MA: Let’s help newly naturalized US citizens to become registered voters. The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition holds voter registration drives right where new citizens are sworn in so that they are registered without delay. The next voter registration drive is Thursday, December 21, 2017, 1:30PM-2:30PMbetween Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, 4 South Market St., Boston, MA. Let’s sign up here: 

3.      NY: “Easy Elections NY is a statewide coalition of grassroots groups & established organizations, religious and community groups, activists and citizens, unions and good-government groups fighting together to modernize New York’s elections. Our goal is to pass simple solutions to improve elections and make registering and voting accessible for all New Yorkers.” Let’s check out their website and sign up so we can expand access to voting in New York State. https://www.easyelectionsny.org/

Other Actions

1.      While Trump's Muslim ban goes through the courts, a lesser-known provision, in which every traveler must be deemed “a positively contributing member of society” and “make contributions to the national interest," is starting to take shape. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) has created the Extreme Vetting Initiative which would monitor activity and automatically flag people to be deported or denied a visa based on broad criteria and algorithms. These kinds of algorithms have been found to have racial biases in the past http://bit.ly/2idz9Ad http://bit.ly/2iTc4B9 However, in order for the Initiative to be implemented, ICE needs to award the contract to a company willing and capable; likely IBM, Deloitte, LexisNexis, or Booz Allen Hamilton, as they have expressed interest and attended ICE's informational session on the Extreme Vetting Initiative in July: 
http://reut.rs/2ib7qzV Let's check out the Brennan Center's resource page for the Extreme Vetting Initiative to gain a better understanding of what we're up against http://bit.ly/2j5mLlE Then, let's contact IBM and tell them to reject ICE's contract, as it runs contrary to IBM's previously vocal support of immigrants. We can contact CEO Ginni Rometty via the IBM webpage:    https://www.ibm.com/scripts/contact/contact/zz/en/ginni/ Or we can tweet @IBM (specifically, we can call out their tweet on IBM's commitment to global inclusion:  https://twitter.com/IBM/status/937247057764585472 ). We can also sign the letter from Color of Change and other action organizations: http://bit.ly/2ibDcNg

2.      From Michigan State Rep. Jon Hoadley: After the #GOPTaxScam was rammed through the Senate, it was yet another reminder that we need to continue to gear up for action every day--both resisting the Trump agenda and advocating for the victories we want to achieve.  Looking to make a difference? I'll post a new action item related to federal, state, or local issues every day starting Monday for 12 days. Say you're "going" to the event to get updates.  Let’s check it out here:  https://www.facebook.com/events/153373078725548/

3.      U.S. postage prices will be going up in January.  http://blog.stamps.com/2017/10/26/usps-announces-2018-postage-rate-increase/  We will be fine if we have Forever stamps, but we might want to stock up before the January 21 increase. 

4.      For those of us who are teachers, let’s check out UNESCO’s teacher guide on Prevention of Violent Extremism through education:   http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002446/244676e.pdf and see how we can incorporate this advice in our classrooms.

5.      During this month of December with all the holiday festivities let’s work extra hard on being kind.  Action for Happiness has provided us with a Kindness Calendar:  http://www.actionforhappiness.org/  Let’s try to do these each day this month.

6.      Not all of us enjoy marching and calling, but still want to be an active part of the #resistance.  Here’s a neat insight into important work that introverts can do:  https://hoardedordinaries.wordpress.com/2017/11/25/activism-for-introverts/

7.      It's all about turnout! A Stanford study shows voters turnout when they get message like this: A) Make a Plan: When will you go? How will you get there? What will you be doing beforehand? B) Turnouts will be high! (motivates infrequent voters)  C) Be a Voter, rather than Go, Vote!  (A Voter is who you are, Voting can be a task competing with lots of other ones).  More about the study here:  https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/research-backed-ways-get-out-vote  Let’s all help with keeping voting in all elections part of our messages.

Petitions

1.      There is increasing evidence that Red Fawn Fallis, who was arrested during the tragedy at Standing Rock and who is still jailed without a court date, was set up.  Let’s join in this petition to have charges against her dropped:  https://www.change.org/p/david-d-hagler-drop-the-charges-against-standing-rock-political-prisoner-red-fawn-fallis

2.      Credo Action has a petition to Congress for them to create an independent bipartisan commission to investigate sexual harassment and assault by federal officials, including Donald Trump. Let’s sign: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Sexual_Misconduct_Commission

Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to attend/organize

1.      As Mueller continues to investigate and seek indictments, talk is that Trump is getting nervous about what he will find.  Some think that Trump wants to find a way to negate Mueller’s work and dismiss him.  We must encourage all our MoCs to support Mueller.  March for Truth, partnered with MoveOn.org, Public Citizen, Indivisible and many others, have a plan to prepare emergency "Nobody is Above the Law" rallies that will happen directly following the firing should it occur.  Let’s check here to see if there is a rally planned near us, or how to plan one and get it listed: https://act.moveon.org/event/mueller-firing-rapid-response/search/  

2.      Reversing his earlier stand, McConnell has just said he would seat accused pedophile and serial harasser Roy Moore if he is elected to the Senate. http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/363009-mcconnell-on-if-moore-should-be-senate-the-people-of-alabama-will-decide  All the more reason for us to stop this in its tracks.  We can tweet against Roy Moore tonight, Monday starting at 8pm EST, using this link to find tweets, already written and ready to go:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19lAYc4bagDGMIBqRgMgRoVZPFl4PAU8dj3Q0QHJr_TY/htmlview  We can also spread the word about the storm by sharing this tweet:

3.      This Thursday, December 7th, there will be nationwide protests at Verizon stores to fight back against Verizon and the FCC's attack on net neutrality. Verizon has already taken to fighting states on their potential backlash against upcoming net neutrality rules:
http://wapo.st/2ASrUZV Let's use Battle for the Net's map to see where our nearest protest is, then join in (or create one) to show our opposition to any repeals on net neutrality: 

4.      Activists across the country have been pushing Congress to do its job and pass a clean DREAM Act before the end of the year and protect 800,000 of our friends and neighbors (https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2017/11/07/protesters-gather-outside-flakes-office-demand-clean-dream-act/842429001/). The #OurDream campaign is looking to ramp up the pressure with sit-ins at congressional offices across the country today and tomorrow. Those of us interested in direct action can find events near them at this link: https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/our-dream-event

Reading/Watching

1.      Experts in authoritarianism advise us to keep a list of things subtly changing around us, so we’ll remember.  Amy Siskind is keeping that list for us. Amy writes, "This week marked further erosion to our failing democracy. Attacks on, and deconstruction of our free press is happening at an alarming rate, as conservative billionaires buy up media outlets, some of which are then precipitously shuttered. Republicans in the Senate passed a tax bill whose primary beneficiary will be people like Trump and regime members, without any debate, scoring, hearings, or even a chance for senators to read a bill which impacts one-sixth of the US economy. This week Trump continued his bigoted attacks on marginalized communities, dividing us at home and embarrassing our country on the world stage. There was disturbing reporting on Trump’s mental health, including his continued belief in conspiracy theories. With events and his actions this week, Trump’s net approval gap (-29) matched an all-time low. This week was the second bombshell in the Mueller probe, as Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and agreed to cooperate. Flynn’s testimony in court documents ties in Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Flynn’s ongoing cooperation will likely ensnare many higher-ups, including Trump." "  Let's review Amy Siskind's list week 55.

2.      Need to take a deep breath? Rebecca Solnit has written an essay for The Guardian about the victories of the resistance: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/02/biggest-victories-trump-resistance

3.      It’s worth our using one of NYT free articles on this account, from moderates, of how the “Republicans broke Congress”:  

4.      And, as usual, our weekly dose of “Small Victories” - http://mailchi.mp/peaceisloud/small-victories-hope-does-not-die


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