********************************
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.
The
Congressional Budget Office has reported that S. 2155, The Economic Growth and Recovery Act,
(dubbed by opposition as “The Bank Lobbyist Act”) would increase the risk of a
bank bailout and add $671 million to federal deficits over the next 10 years. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/budget-office-senate-bank-regulatory-relief-bill-would-raise-risk-of-a-bailout/article/2650768. This bill is heading for a vote. This is one more talking point we should make when
we call our Senators, which we should do IMMEDIATELY, since the bill will be
voted on this week. More background on the bill, which guts key provisions of
the Dodd-Frank Act, can be found here.
2.
Washington
has become the first state to set up its own net neutrality rules (https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/washington-becomes-1st-state-to-approve-net-neutrality-rules/ and https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/washington-1st-state-approve-net-neutrality-rules-53545642). "The Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) voted in December to gut U.S. rules that meant to prevent
broadband companies such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon from exercising more
control over what people watch and see on the internet. The regulations also
prohibited providers from favoring some sites and apps over others." Let's
call our lawmakers and insist they restore net neutrality protections for all.
3.
"The
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced last week that it will now consider
all permits for importing elephant trophies from African nations on a
“case-by-case basis," breaking from President Trump's earlier
promises to maintain an Obama-era ban on the practice." Why don't we let
them know that we're against this, as well as the preposterous new
"International Wildlife Conservation Council," which is supposedly
to "advise the Secretary of the Interior on the benefits that
international recreational hunting has on foreign wildlife and habitat
conservation." http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/376839-trump-admin-to-consider-elephant-trophy-imports-on-case-by-case Let's call FWS at 1-800-344-WILD
or send them a comment here: https://www.fws.gov/duspit/contactus.htm
4.
Even the
most hard-line opponents of immigration should agree that ICE’s practice of
separating young children from their parents during detention is inhumane and
must be stopped. A seven-year-old girl has been held for months in a detention
center in Chicago, while her mother is being held in San Diego. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/huppke/ct-met-aclu-lawsuit-immigration-family-chicago-huppke-20180227-story.html. We should express our outrage to the
Department of Homeland Security 202-282-8495; Email: DHSExecSec@hq.dhs.gov; Tweet @DHS.gov, or FB: https://www.facebook.com/homelandsecurity/, We should also call the White House and our
MoCs and demand that this practice stop immediately.
5.
Donald
Trump last week rolled out a slate of nominees for the U.S. Sentencing
Commission, a bipartisan independent agency that is tasked with analyzing
sentencing data and helping to reduce sentencing disparities. ( https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-sentencing/trump-announces-slate-of-nominees-for-u-s-sentencing-commission-idUSKCN1GD5ZQ) One of them, William G. Otis, has a history of racist remarks on crime and
has publicly called for the Sentencing Commission to be abolished. Another, Henry “Hang ‘Em High” Hudson, is
known for his harsh sentences as a judge and his decision to prosecute a
mentally impaired man for rape and murder and then refusing to apologize after
the man was exonerated ( https://www.wsj.com/articles/sessions-promotes-tough-on-crime-judge-for-sentencing-panel-1502385002). Their histories disqualify them for
serving on this commission. Let’s check out this Mother Jones article to learn more, and tell our senators to
reject these nominations.
6.
Today
marks the 53rd anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” when police brutally
attacked civil rights activists including future Rep. John Lewis as they
attempted to march from Selma to Montgomery to advocate for voting rights
( http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2018/03/bloody_sunday_53_years_later_c.html). It’s usually an occasion where politicians
praise the heroism of these protesters and laud their accomplishments. But the
voting rights protections they secured are being undermined, often by some of
the politicians Tweeting about them. Let’s stand up for their legacy by
contacting our members of Congress and telling them we want action on restoring the Voting Rights Act, and we want it now. And let’s donate
to Spread
the Vote,
which works to undermine the modern poll tax by helping everyone who needs them
obtain voter ID.
7.
GOP
leaders in Congress are attempting to attach riders into upcoming budget
appropriations bills that would weaken the Johnson Amendment, which currently
prevents any church with tax-exempt status from endorsing political candidates.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/provisions-attached-to-budget-bills-could-reshape-campaign-finance-laws/2018/03/01/7e06274c-1b3f-11e8-b2d9-08e748f892c0_story.html?utm_term=.d3d5872a5dca. Let’s make sure our MoCs know that we
oppose this attempt to weaken the separation of church and state and ask them
to vote against any appropriations bill that contains this politically
contentious addition. More information about the Johnson Amendment can be found
from Project FairPlay here.
8.
A woman
who fled Congo for fear of her life arrived in the US with her young daughter
and asked for asylum. She was approved,
but then the authorities separated mother and daughter and they are now in two
different time zones. The ACLU has filed
a lawsuit. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/aclu-accuses-u-s-government-of-unlawfully-separating-mother-child-seeking-asylum/ Let’s
sign this petition to the Dept. of Homeland Security and use some of the actions
suggested within: https://www.change.org/p/department-of-homeland-security-reunite-asylum-seeking-congolese-mother-and-7yo-daughter Let’s
also ask our MoCs for some humanitarian intervention in this case.
Election 2018 –
General
1.
“Verified
Voting provides resources that allow you to find what voting equipment is used
in each State, how the equipment works and laws and regulations in place across
the country to promote transparent and verifiable elections.” With the Russian meddling, the need for some
kind of paper trail to votes is now essential.
Let’s see how our state stacks up:
https://www.verifiedvoting.org/verifier/
Election 2018 –
By State
1.
GA: These
are our final days to find Dem challengers and there are far too many seats
left unchallenged. We need to find candidates for these red state
seats so that we can flip GA blue in November! We have until Friday noon --
please share & recruit. Qualifying taking place now until noon on
3/9. Watch for the updates showing who has newly jumped in &/or qualified
(dates in green)! We can check this online version for clickable candidate
websites: https://tinyurl.com/ybgnkk5o Anyone interested in running please contact
Megan at peachresist@gmail.com. And please add info, ideas & questions
in comments.
Other Actions
1.
Dick's
has stopped selling assault-style rifles, and they, along with Walmart and
Kroger, will no longer sell firearms to anyone under the age of 21. Bass Pro
Shops (which also owns Cabela's) remains the only national big-box store which
still sells assault rifles, and has not taken any steps to combat gun
violence http://reut.rs/2FYJsTHLet's keep up the momentum for change, and
ask Bass Pro Shops to cease all sales of assault rifles. We can send them an
e-mail or tweet at Sierra Rise's action page http://bit.ly/2oTbUhD Or, we can contact them via
phone: 417-873-5000 or mail: 2500 East Kearney
Springfield, MO 65898
2.
Folks in
Anchorage, Alaska will vote on a transphobic “bathroom bill” called Proposition
1 on April 3rd. This initiative would strip away rights and protections
from transgender people in public spaces, doing away with the city’s
non-discrimination law (http://www.ktuu.com/content/news/gender-related-bathroom-use-471716734.html). We can help fairness and equality win. The
National Equality Action Team is recruiting people nationwide to phonebank
voters to oppose this bigoted ballot proposition. We can sign up to make
calls here. We can also follow their partners, Fair
Anchorage, on Twitter here.
3.
U.S. Immigration
and Customs and Enforcement (ICE) has been largely operating, carrying out
raids and deportations, without oversight or transparency: https://theintercept.com/2018/03/04/somali-deportation-flight-ice-detention-center/ and http://nbc4i.com/2018/02/27/attorney-immigration-agents-are-targeting-central-ohio-traffic-courts/ ProPublica is trying to fight this by gathering
information on ICE or Border Patrol actions in sensitive locations. If we have
witnessed or been affected by these actions, we can share our story with
ProPublica, so that they can help spread awareness about ICE's activity: https://www.propublica.org/getinvolved/ice-border-patrol-in-your-community-tell-us
4.
From gun
legislation, to de-regulating banks, to immigration/DACA and the war in Yemen,
there is a lot happening in Congress right now. Indivisible has a hub where we
can find a rundown of what's going on in March, and what we can do about it.
Let's check it out and be sure we've taken action on each of the four main
issues this month:
5.
There’s
a new way we can take part in Postcards to Voters. Abby
the Address Bot is on Facebook and can assign voter addresses to you via
Messenger! Here’s what to do: A) Visit: www.Facebook.com/AbbyTheAddressBot, B) LIKE the page, C) Click the blue “Send
Message” button near the top right, D) Type and send HELLO, and E) Follow Abby’s
instructions. Join in this effort to encourage others to vote!
6.
The
finance industry also plays a part in how guns are made available: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/19/business/banks-gun-sales.html Let's
call Visa and MasterCard (I've done it; both numbers work!) and ask them to
please, please, please, stop allowing the purchase of assault weapons with their
cards.
Here's who to call: A) Seth Eisen, Mastercard Vice President
of Communications: 914-249-3153 and B) Nathaniel Sillin, Visa Senior
Director of Public Affairs: 415-805-4892 (you can also email him at Nsillan@visa.com ) h/t Chop
Wood/Carry Water
7.
As the
NRA, Fox News and Russian Bots deliberately sow discord and division between
us, polarization has increased dramatically and our civil society itself is
under attack.
it is time to take action, to ask if, as
a counter measure, empathy can be spread. If we want to change hearts and minds
and are interested in finding out more about how empathy can be acquired or
increased, we can start by checking out this Stanford review of current
empathy studies. The authors found
several ways to increase empathy including widening boundaries between “us
“and “them” For example we may come from different places, but we are all kids,
parents, Mets fans, farmers, immigrants etc. Another way is to focus on shared
goals such as, “we all want a better future, or “we want an end to school
shootings.” They also found that to
preserve a sense of group identity and belonging, people will adopt beliefs
they think their group holds, so if group norms can be shifted toward empathy,
group members will follow. We can read
the study here and then strategize ways to push back against the hate and
hysteria that has been deliberately injected into our public discourse. The
answers may not be quick or easy, but they are worth finding. http://ssnl.stanford.edu/download/file/fid/654 We
can read about the increased polarization of public life here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/06/24/youre-about-as-likely-to-marry-outside-your-race-as-outside-your-political-party/?utm_term=.a127d0b03807 And
in this editorial here: http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/california-forum/article203648794.html
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1.
March
14th, is the 17-minute #ENOUGH National School Walkout all over the country
coordinated by Women’s March Empower youth group. Let’s check here
to see if there is an event near us: https://www.womensmarch.com/enough
2.
“On March 24, the kids and families of March for Our
Lives will take to the streets of Washington DC to
demand that their lives and safety become a priority and that we end this
epidemic of mass school shootings. The collective voices of the March for
Our Lives movement will be heard. Join us in DC or march in your own community.” Let’s
find out more: https://marchforourlives.com/
3.
The Network for Public
Education is now part of a larger coalition of
organizations called Protect Our Schools that
includes teachers, superintendents and advocacy groups who are planning a
National Day of Action Against Gun Violence in Schools on April 20,
the 19th anniversary of the Columbine massacre. We
can also find more information here: https://networkforpubliceducation.org/2018/03/next-steps-april-20th-day-action/
4.
April
20th, 19th anniversary of the Columbine shooting, a national student-led
WALK-OUT will commence. Start: 10a.m. Ends: End of your school day. http://nationalschoolwalkout.us/ We can
learn more here: https://twitter.com/rosemaryCNN/status/968413051203420161
States
Reading/Watching
1.
Today marks 53 years since the tragic Bloody
Sunday in Selma, Alabama when some 600 civil rights marchers headed east out of
Selma on U.S. Route 80. They got only as far as the Edmund Pettus Bridge six
blocks away, where state and local lawmen attacked them with billy clubs and
tear gas and drove them back into Selma. In so many ways, we are "Still on
the Bridge": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5zz6wTAPAA If we want peace, we have to work for justice.
2.
There's a case moving through the courts right
now, and "the outcome has significant national implications for voting rights." When
the now infamous Kris Kobach was State Attorney General of Kansas, he had
"35,000 voters in Kansas ...blocked by the state for failing to provide
documentary proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, passport, or
naturalization papers, when they registered." Although he's currently
being sued by the ACLU for this, he still "views his Kansas law as a model
for the rest of the country and wants every state to adopt proof-of-citizenship
laws. If he loses in the lower courts, Kobach is almost certain to
appeal to the Supreme Court. And if he wins, millions of eligible voters across
the country could be disenfranchised if other states adopt similar laws with
the knowledge that they’ll hold up in court." Let's keep a close eye on
this case because of its implications for nationwide voter suppression. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/03/millions-of-americans-right-to-vote-is-at-stake-in-this-case/
3.
In yesterday’s edition of “Fresh Air”, Terry Gross
interviewed Jane Mayer who wrote the significant profile of Christopher Steele,
creator of the Trump dossier, appearing in the current issue of New
Yorker Magazine. Let’s
listen: https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/2018/03/06/591182835/fresh-air-for-march-6-2018-the-bizarre-twists-and-turns-of-the-trump-russia-doss
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