Contact Federal Government Officials
Find senator’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/RLiotu
Find representative’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/5i7SXC
********************************
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.
Trump now has the DOJ investigating Hillary
Clinton again for both alleged issues with her emails and the Clinton
Foundation, as well as pursuing a crack down on legal marijuana. We need to see these as distractions and not
spend too much energy on these issues.
They are, most likely, designed to keep us from looking at the real
issues: Russia, CHIP, DACA, judicial
appointments, climate change, healthcare, etc.
Let’s not lose track and remind ourselves to see the distractions for
what they are.
2.
It difficult to see how Barry Myers, Trump’s
pick can effectively lead the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA,) when his family is so entrenched
in his business, AccuWeather. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/can-trumps-pick-to-lead-the-weather-service-really-be-independent-of-his-family-business/
Myers has already been approved by the Senate Judiciary committee and his
nomination will now move to the full Senate. Let’s tell our senators that we
need someone in that position who will have no outside interest in the dealings
of the agency.
3.
The
FCC has now released the final text of its order gutting net neutrality,
starting the clock for it to be entered into the Federal Register. Once that
happens, we’ll have 60 legislative days to get Congress to reverse it using the
Congressional Review Act (https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/01/fcc-releases-final-net-neutrality-repeal-order-three-weeks-after-vote).
We have a limited amount of time to make our voices heard, and we need to be
sure to use it. Let’s call our members of Congress using this link and
make sure they know we expect them to stand up for net neutrality and the free
and open Internet.
4.
Trump is back to singing his “Mexico is going to
pay for it” tune regarding a border wall but is expected to request $18 billion
from Congress for this purpose: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/367754-trump-reiterates-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall-after-18b-request-to Let’s keep up a steady drumbeat with
our MoC – we need a clean DREAM Act to protect DACA recipients and no border
wall funding.
5.
As the fire and the fury continue at the White
House about the release of the Michael Wolff book Fire and Fury, Trump
took vigorously to Twitter this weekend to declare that he is a “very stable
genius”:
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/367727-trump-my-winning-presidency-on-first-try-shows-geniusand-a-very Let’s continue to stay in touch
with our MoC and the Cabinet to express our concerns that he is far from either
of his claims. Cabinet contact information:
6.
As many are pushing for a congressional
resolution to overturn the FCC ruling on net neutrality, Representative Marsha
Blackburn (R-TN) has introduced the deceptively-titled Open Internet
Preservation Act (H.R. 4682) http://bit.ly/2D0lBBr This bill would prohibit net
neutrality laws from being enacted, thereby relying on internet providers to
self-regulate. Let's make sure our representatives know that we do not support
the Open Internet Preservation Act.
7.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)
announced Thursday evening on Twitter that she would join Sen. Bill
Nelson's (D-FL) letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke opposing any expansion
of offshore drilling in Florida after the administration said it would sharply
expand offshore drilling. http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/367546-lawmakers-sending-letter-to-zinke-to-oppose-offshore-drilling Let’s contact our MoC urging them to
not only raise their voice in protest of offshore drilling, but to go a step
further and pursue legislation to prevent it.
8.
The dissolution of the Pence/Kobach Commission
on Voter Integrity is good news, but it does not end Trump’s offensive.
Kobach says he will now work with Homeland Security to study “election
integrity.” But the DHS has no statutory authority to investigate voter
fraud; moreover, Kobach wants to use data from the DHS Systematic Alien
Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) to raise allegations of non-citizens
voting. Using this data could inaccurately flag thousands of people as illegal
voters: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/01/why-trumps-voter-fraud-commission-disbanded.html None of which seems to bother either
Kobach or Trump. Let’s tell Kobach (785)
296-4564 or Kansas
Secretary of State, Memorial Hall, 1st Floor, 120 SW 10th Avenue, Topeka, KS
66612-1594) and DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen (202-282-8495 or Secretary of Homeland Security,
Washington DC 20128) that a less transparent, more flawed inquiry will not make
the “problem of voter fraud” any more real and will damage our right to vote.
9.
Yesterday, WikiLeaks made a full-text .pdf
version of Wolff’s Fire and Fury publicly available. http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/367832-wikileaks-shares-full-text-of-wolffs-trump-book
Let’s be safe and not download anything from their Russian-based
servers.
1. In
seventeen congressional districts, Republicans are still running without a
Democratic challenger in the 2018 elections. They’re listed here: https://mic.com/articles/187060/here-are-the-17-congressional-districts-without-a-democratic-candidate-for-2018#.iFJpXRT91 . Let’s reach out to our networks and
make sure that we get out there and volunteer ourselves or find someone to
recruit for these positions by the
filing deadlines:
2. If we are
citizens living outside of the U.S., let’s make SURE our voter registration is
current and active, and that we request our absentee ballots for all elections
this year, which, of course, includes the hugely important November 2018
mid-terms. Some states don't require annual ballot requests, but failure to do
this every year makes our vote subject to challenge, and in Red states that are
prone to voter
suppression, it is best not to take chances. It's easy: just
complete the online form to get a properly formatted request that can be
printed and mailed: https://www.votefromabroad.org/vote/home.htm
Election 2018 –
By State
Other Actions
1.
For
those of us who may not yet use cell phones, here is a free way we can call
Congress for free on our land lines with no long distance plan: http://www.ianww.com/blog/2016/06/15/call-your-congressperson-with-one-phone-number-1-844-usa-4522/
2.
Fight
for our Dream is
looking for people who would be “able to help organize or if you are down to
take high-risk action in DC or at home! The Our Dream coalition is looking to
fill volunteer support roles in DC through Jan 19th. We have roles to fill in
media, action planning, helping with logistics and getting food, every role is
needed! We need your help to organize in this last stretch!” Here is where we can sign up: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdi0F9Irouc7KN2lEvRmK5mKfNgtk5Q0J6rJlNr7eh8g2fajw/viewform
3.
For
those of us on Twitter, The Loyal Opposition is asking
that we “Bookmark our moment (updated daily) and follow along as we count down
the days to the Midterm Elections on November 6th. You will also find a wide
array of non-partisan voter information & resources to help make certain we
have massive turnout.” Here’s the
link: https://twitter.com/i/moments/949715223879045122
4.
The book
“Together We Rise: The Women’s March –
behind the scenes at the protest heard around the world” will be released on
January 16. It is available for
pre-order now. https://www.facebook.com/womensmarchonwash/videos/1783167265029878/ If we can, let’s buy the book and support the
important work of this group.
5.
This
powerful video from Let
America Vote, clearly reveals why voter ID laws are voter
suppression laws: https://www.facebook.com/letamericavote/videos/527160520975594 Let’s watch, learn, and share widely.
6.
For the
2018 midterm elections, the ACLU is committing to spend $25 million nationwide
on progressive ballot initiatives and issues. Its $5 million support of a
Florida ballot initiative to restore the voting rights of up to 1.5 million
felons could alone be game changer in the 2020 presidential election. https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/06/aclu-2018-midterms-327115 Let’s
join the ACLU or renew our membership today. https://www.aclu.org/
7.
Newspaper
subscriptions surged in the aftermath of the 2016 election. Serious journalism
has been crucial to the resistance. Through subscriptions or donations, let’s
continue to support to the extent that we can the sources of journalism that
have mattered to us and to our country this year. These may include the New
York Times
https://www.nytimes.com , the Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ,
ProPublica https://www.propublica.org/ ,
and your local or regional newspaper.
8.
This
weekend Postcards to Voters finished up Campaign 42 for Mike Revis, Democrat
for MO State House 97, and launched Campaign
43 for Austin Davis, Democrat for PA State House 35.
Meanwhile, voters in Iowa have created some buzz from
the cards they received for Campaign 39 for Rita DeJong, Democrat for IA State
House 6. Even if we are not postcard writers ourselves, let's
continue to tell frustrated friends and family ("What can I do?")
about Postcards to Voters as
a way they can take a positive action by writing 5 get-out-the-vote postcards
to other Democratic voters across the nation. When we vote we win.
9.
For
those of us who are interested in starting our own postcarding events, this is
from one of our own who does this monthly and is sharing: “Attached you'll find
the January versions of the topics/addresses list that I'll be sharing with my
postcarding group tomorrow. Please feel free to make use of this in any
way that works for you. Please note that
on some entries the addresses are for CA Senators/Representative. Depending on
where you are, you may want to sub in information on your own
Senators/Representative.” Here’s the link: http://www.whatifknits.com/2018/01/the-january-list/
10. While Wolff’s book, Fire and Fury, may give us a crazy glimpse into his insight
into the White House, we must remember that it is an example of access
journalism and not accountability journalism.
https://www.cjr.org/analysis/michael-wolff-book-journalism-trump.php Let’s make sure to put our faith into those sources
that work to get at the truth and not just the sensational.
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1. There
are more and more locations for the 2018 Women’s March “Power to the Polls”
gatherings being held January 20/21.
Check here to find one near you, or create one near you: http://www.powertothepolls.com/anniversary.html
2. The
ACLU has been on the front lines of the fight against Trump since the very
beginning, and they are aiming to play a major role in defeating his agenda at
the ballot box in 2018 (https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/06/aclu-2018-midterms-327115). They’re recruiting activists to help in
their campaign efforts at a series of meetings throughout the next few weeks.
Let’s check out to see if there’s one scheduled near us at this link: https://map.peoplepower.org/.
States
1. ALL: Blue states are going to challenge the new
federal tax legislation in court and are coming up with ways to limit its ill
effects. http://thehill.com/policy/finance/367453-california-state-senate-leader-offering-bill-to-blunt-effects-of-trump-tax-law Let’s contact our state officials to
see what they’re doing along these lines.
2. FL: 1.5 million voters in Florida have
permanently lost their voting rights after a conviction, so almost
thousands of Florida registered voters have signed a petition to put an
initiative on the ballot to restore their ability to vote. 103,804 more
signatures are needed by February 1st. If we are registered voters in Florida, we
can print out and sign this petition, mailing it to the address on the bottom
of the form. The deadline is soon, so we need to act now! https://florida.ourstates.org/pdf/petition.pdf
3. OR: Medicaid in Oregon is in danger, facing huge
cuts and a potential $5 billion loss in federal funding. Families,
including 400,000 children, seniors and people with disabilities face the
prospect of losing healthcare benefits or coverage altogether. We can save Oregon Medicaid by voting Yes on
Measure 101, a fee on hospitals and insurance companies, by
the January 23 Special Election Deadline. If we have already voted, we
can share information with family and friends in person and on social media. We can learn more about the Measure here: http://yesforhealthcare.org/ We
can read a doctors’ arguments for passing it here. http://stjr.nl/2Fb9pyz
Reading/Watching
1.
Jennifer Rubin, conservative writer at the
Washington Post, penned this op-ed over the weekend about Trump’s “very stable
genius” claims:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2018/01/06/the-stable-genius-isnt-even-functioning-as-president/?utm_term=.ecbe4026d7c8 This
is one of her most important points: “We have a vice president elected
specifically to take over if the president is incapable of serving; the 25th
Amendment does not say ‘but in a pinch, let the secretaries of
defense and treasury run the show.’ What we have is a type of coup in which the
great leader is disabled. He is propped up, sent out to read lines written by
others and kept safely away from disastrous situations. This is not how our
system works, however.”
2.
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, "Mueller’s probe continues
to broaden and deepen, this week for the first time drawing in
Ivanka." Let's review Amy
Siskind's list week 60.
3.
And, as usual, our weekly dose of “Small
Victories”: http://mailchi.mp/peaceisloud/small-victories-here-we-come?e=86890239c4
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