Contact Federal Government Officials
Find senator’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/RLiotu
Find representative’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/5i7SXC
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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.
Senate
Democrats have passed a budget continuing resolution (CR) through February
8th on the strength of a promise from Republican leaders to address the
fate of young, undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers and a pledge from
Mitch McConnell that he would permit a “free and open debate” on immigration
next month if the issue had not been resolved by then. The House also passed
the budget CR and Trump has signed it. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/1/22/16910600/congress-ends-2018-government-shutdown While CHIP will now be funded for six
more years, the Dreamers have once again been failed by this government.
We need to urge Republicans MoCs, yet again, to pass a “clean” Dream Act and
support a rational immigration policy. And we need to make it clear to
Democratic MoCs that we, if not they, are skeptical of Republican promises. Our
support depends on their willingness to fight Trump’s draconian immigration
policies. We know that 87% of Americans
want protections for Dreamers: https://americasvoice.org/press_releases/polling-87-americans-support-dreamers/
2.
From one
of our own: The courageous young
Dreamers are telling us what they need us to do now: SHOW UP FOR THEM.
Indivisible Guide (the national org) hosted an emergency livestream with
immigration activists this afternoon because of today's vote. Here's the
link: https://www.facebook.com/indivisibleguide/videos/367356943728181 But if you don't have time to watch, I did
and I've compiled the action steps. They are asking us to do any or all of the
below actions: A) call and register our strong disapproval (this is the
3rd time*!* the Dems have fallen for the GOP's "just a few more
weeks" promise and given up their leverage. First in September, then
December, then again today, B) Tweet at them as well, C) Visit their offices,
and D) Donate what we can to United
We Dream to
support the Dreamers who have been demonstrating, protesting, lobbying etc. in
D.C. and will continue to do so. Let's
use the energy we are using to argue and armchair quarterback here, or vent
about how you "won't support this Dem or that Dem in November" and
let's put that energy to positive use and ACT for the Dreamers!!!
3.
In just
over 1 week, the Trump administration will have to decide whether to renew TPS
(Temporary Protected Status) for nearly 7,000 Syrians in the US. TPS allows
individuals already living in the United States to receive temporary protection
from extraordinary situations caused by conflict or natural disasters: http://www.arabamerica.com/6900-syrians-us-face-risk-deportation-trump-ends-protection/ Trump has shown his willingness to cancel TPS
protection for El Salvadoran refugees, and being sent back to Syria means
getting dumped into a literal warzone, so let's tell our MoCs to take a firm
stand with Trump on the importance of renewing TPS for Syrians
4.
The
Palestinians have not shown the US sufficient “appreciation or respect,”
according to the tweeting Trump, so he has cut the US contribution to the UN
Relief & Welfare Agency (UNRWA) by $65 million, this although UNRWA
Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl says that reducing the U.S. contribution
“threatens one of the most successful and innovative human development endeavors
in the Middle East.” In the 2017 fiscal year, the US contribution to
UNRWA was $355 million. The decision to cut aid will, no doubt, further
undermine Arab faith in the US as an impartial arbitrator of peace in the
region. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-usa/u-s-withholds-65-million-in-palestinian-aid-after-trump-threat-idUSKBN1F52GA
We might remind our president that aid and relief to people who are suffering
is not a reward for their “appreciation.”
5.
In 2012,
the US Supreme Court upheld an Arizona law requiring police to verify the
citizenship status of people they stop or arrest. The Court cited a study
claiming that undocumented immigrants in Maricopa County comprised 8.9% of the
population, but committed 21.8% of felonies. That, it turns out, was a massive
exaggeration:
https://www.facebook.com/propublica/videos/10156154059969445/ .
This is not the first time that the Supreme Court has botched the truth.
https://www.propublica.org/article/supreme-court-errors-are-not-hard-to-find
The Federal Judicial Center https://www.fjc.gov/ is
the research and education agency for the US Courts. Let’s tell the Center to
educate our federal judges in the uses and abuses of data in judicial
decision-making. https://www.fjc.gov/about/contact-us
6.
A year
ago, Trump promised that he would “donate the profits from any foreign
governments staying in his namesake hotels to the U.S. Treasury. Today,
after a year in which groups associated with Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Kuwait
have booked rooms, hosted events and spent thousands of dollars at the president’s
hotel in Washington, no such payments to the Treasury have been made.”
https://www.apnews.com/23fa1409935948748fe78de3831fd861/Trump-business-ethics-pledges-left-plenty-room-for-profiting Let’s
contact our MoC to ask them what they’re doing to ensure that Trump sticks to
his promises and avoids any conflicts of interest.
7.
“Interior
Secretary Ryan Zinke approved
a land-transfer deal Monday to allow Alaska to build a road through a
federal wildlife refuge in the southwestern part of the state.”
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/370106-zinke-advances-road-through-alaska-wildlife-refuge Let’s
contact Zinke (Twitter: @SecretaryZinke, Mail: Interior Secretary Ryan
Zinke, Department of the Interior,1849
C Street, N.W., Washington
DC 20240) to protest this move to compromise the
Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, which “protects some of the world’s most
unique, fragile and essential wildlife habitat.”
Election 2018 -
General
1.
Indivisible
is working with TurboVote to help people across the U.S. register to vote. If
we live in states that allow for online registration, TurboVote will also allow
us to complete our voter registration. We can also check our registration
status and request an absentee ballot. We can read more about this online
tool https://indivisible435.org/voterregistration Let's
make sure we've registered to vote, then let's help others register as well:
2.
Postcards
to Voters' Campaign 50 is for a US Congress race in
Pennsylvania! Democrat Conor Lamb is running for the Southwestern PA
congressional district 18 (PA18). The president has already traveled to
this conservative district to appear with Republican candidate Rick Saccone.
The Republicans are pouring money into this race. (Source: Politico.) We can support the Democrats and Conor
Lamb by writing five (5) postcards to Democratic voters in PA18. This is the
first national race for Postcards to Voters since the postcard campaign for
Doug Jones in Alabama where more than 10,000 volunteers wrote 347,000
postcards. Doug Jones won by only 20,000 votes. According to Postcards to
Voters leader Tony McMullin (aka "Tony the Democrat"), we will need
to write at least that many to cover all the Democrats in PA18. We can get started
by emailing: JOIN@TonytheDemocrat.org or check the Postcards to Voters website for texting instructions. If
we are throwing a large postcard party and need a longer list of voter
addresses we can Email: Postcards@TonyTheDemocrat.org Let's make sure we tell our friends and
family, especially those in PA, about this national postcard campaign.
3.
VoteRiders
helps people get voter IDs, and offers them support to exercise their right to
vote. Let’s visit their website and see how we can help. https://www.voteriders.org/
Election 2018 –
By State
1.
FL: Republicans hold 76 seats in the Florida
House to just 40 Democrats, in spite of the fact that there are more registered
Democrats in the state than Republicans. Margaret Good is
hoping to start changing that in the February 13th special election
to fill the vacant seat in Florida State House District 72, and she’s coming
under vicious attack for it http://www.srqmagazine.com/srq-daily/2017-12-28/7546_RPOF-Injects-Sanctuary-Cities-into-Special-Election Let’s help her turn out voters! We can
volunteer to make phone calls and write postcards with the Sister District
Project at this link, or
sign up to text for Margaret through OpenProgress here.
2.
MI: ACLU
Michigan is launching a new campaign which will focus efforts on pushing an
amendment to ensure that constituents would be able to register closer to
election day and vote by absentee ballot for any reason, among other voting
rights. To learn more about this campaign, let's register for the Promote the
Vote Launch webinar http://bit.ly/2rqlU6o
3.
PA:
Special Election on January 23! Democrat Austin Davis is running for State
Representatives in the 35th District. If we live in the district, or know
people who do, we can be voters and help elect him. We can learn more about
Austin here.
Other Actions
1.
Here's a
first-year anniversary reminder that Trump never divested from his business
interests the way a President should. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in
Washington (CREW) has done the research for a whole year, and here it is: an
exhaustive list of Trump's conflicts of interest. Check out their
interactive "timeline of instances in which the government and special
interests interacted with President Trump’s private business interests since he
took office. The events can be filtered" using the buttons and
pull-downs. https://www.citizensforethics.org/trump-timeline/ We
can follow CREW and their worthwhile efforts on Facebook and Twitter. If we can
help, donate here:
2.
The American Federation of Teachers
(AFT) is offering us a chance to grade Betsy DeVos in an online report
card. Let’s help! https://www.aft.org/devos-report-card
3.
From Women’s March: The
2018 midterms are fast approaching, and Amplifier and the Women’s March invite
you to submit your artwork for POWER TO THE POLLS, a national
voter-registration drive and traveling art exhibition targeting swing states.
Help inspire a new wave of people power as we push for candidates and policies
that reflect our shared values. More
info here: https://amplifier.org/campaigns/power-to-the-polls/
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1. Save
the date: June 4, 2018 is National Girlfriends Networking (NGN)
Day, a nationwide celebration of the power of building connections. We can
find more information and read about last year's NGN Day at The New Agenda. The
New Agenda is a 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to improving the lives of
women and girls by bringing about systemic change in the media, at the
workplace, at school and at home.
States
1. CA: #action URGENT Please Share -- Huge budget
cuts crippled outreach that lets people know when, how and where to sign
up for the ACA, so Indivisible ACA Signup Project is spreading the word through
social media. California has only 2 DAYS to get 32 more supporters.
We can them reach their goal to set off a Thunderclap, a social media
flash mob message blast. First, we can click, add our social media support on
Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. THEN cut, paste and share: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/65571-california-enrollment-alertq Find
out more about how Thunderclap helps grassroots organizing here: https://www.socialworkhelper.com/2013/10/02/thunderclap-can-help-grassroots-organizing/amp/
Reading/Watching
1.
As we
observe the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, “A Catholic Nun on What It Really Means
to Be Pro-Life” - http://billmoyers.com/story/what-pro-life-means/
2.
Lest we
forget that Trump was openly racist long before his "shithole"
comment, the New York Times offers a detailed look at Trump's past, dating back
to the 1970s:
3.
Here is
a great interview with the woman genealogist, Jennifer Mendelsohn, who has been
tracing the chain migration for politicians and spokespersons who want to end
it. HINT: that’s how their own ancestors arrived here! A very good short read.
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