3/9/18
Contact Federal Government Officials
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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.
Fully
aware that the banking bill in the Senate, S.
2155:
The Economic Growth and Recovery Act (a rollback on Dodd-Frank bank
regulations), will roll back protections
that are designed to forgo another recession like that in 2008, Sen. Elizabeth
Warren (D-MA) has released 17 amendments to the bill: https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-releases-17-amendments-filed-to-senate-bank-deregulation-bill
and http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2018/03/us_sen_elizabeth_warren_decrie.html Let’s tell our Senators to heed Warren’s
advice and be proactive on these measures.
2.
“The US
housing department, helmed by the former neurosurgeon Ben Carson, has
proposed a new mission statement in which the pledge to build “inclusive”
communities “free from discrimination” is removed.” :https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/mar/07/ben-carson-housing-department-mission-statement-discrimination-inclusion Imagine having moving away from
fighting discrimination as a priority. Let’s let Secretary Carson know what
with think of his priorities: https://www.hud.gov/contact
3.
It seems
at times as though Trump has taken up obstruction of justice as a new hobby.
News broke Wednesday that he has quizzed staff about their Mueller
interviews:
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/377303-trump-asked-senior-aides-to-describe-interviews-with-mueller-report Let’s ask our MoC how far we need to
ride this down towards rock bottom.
4.
The
omnibus spending bill may be voted on in the House as early as next week:
http://bit.ly/2HjYp1V While the bill needs bipartisan support
in order to pass, there are a number of problematic riders attached to it, many
attacking healthcare for women and LGBTQ individuals. Let's read through some
of the changes, cited by People for the American Way, then contact our
representative in the House to ask that they not only reject these riders, but
to then push back with protections of DACA recipients http://bit.ly/2FoSso8
5.
Along
with riders which weaken campaign finance laws, and erode women's rights, the
2018 spending bill also has a number of riders which would de-regulate
environmental protections http://bit.ly/2GUdfMz Sierra Club has an action page where we
can edit and send a personalized letter to our MoC, then we can send a tweet,
asking for a #CleanBudget http://bit.ly/2FrRvrd Let's use these tools to ensure that
our MoC does not support any spending bill that guts environmental protections.
6.
While
Attorney General Jeff Sessions, threatens California’s sanctuary policies, https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/07/jeff-sessions-california-immigration-444387 crops
are rotting due to the shortage of available immigrant workers and the fear
engendered through current immigration policies. http://goo.gl/bm6KK1. Let’s remind AG Sessions that immigrants
are crucial to the California food economy, which produces the lion’s share of
food for the nation. 202-353-1555; https://www.justice.gov/contact-us. Let’s also ask our MoCs to pass legislation
that protects immigrants who are working on the farms that feed us.
7.
From MomsRising: The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) has changed its mission statement, eliminating language that
referred to the many contributions immigrants have made to the country and
inserting language that emphasizes the protection of Americans. Let’s tell
USCIS Secretary Francis Cissna not to erase the positive contributions of
immigrants to our society or perpetuate the notion that we need protection from
them. We can adapt the Moms Rising template letter and email them here, or call them at (800) 375-5283, or tweet @USCIS.
8.
Trump
has proposed opening 90% of U.S. waters to offshore drilling in what would be a
massive windfall for Big Oil and a massive disaster for our environment (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-drilling-offshore/trump-administration-aims-to-open-nearly-all-u-s-offshore-to-oil-drilling-idUSKBN1ET1OW). Folks living along our nation’s shores
have emphatically rejected this plan. We need to continue letting the
administration know it. Today is the FINAL DAY the Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management will collecting public comments on this proposal. Let’s let them
hear from us before they’re done at this link. (H/t Sierra Club)
9.
Members
of the House across the political spectrum came together to support legislation that will better protect congressional
employees from sexual harassment, and ensure that the guilty members of
Congress are held financially responsible for settlements instead of the
taxpayer. Senate Republicans don’t see the same urgency, and Senator Kirsten
Gillibrand (D-NY) is urging leadership for a quick stand-alone vote or the
bill’s inclusion in the next government spending bill (https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/23/kirsten-gillibrand-congress-harassment-misconduct-422728). Let’s amplify her voice. Contact your
senators and ask them to join Senator Gillibrand in support of quick passage of
H.R.
4822.
10. A bi-partisan bill, The Political Appointee
Burrowing Prevention Act, HR1132, was approved by a voice vote in the
House on Tuesday. The legislation now moves to the Senate. The
legislation includes a two-year “cooling off” period for political appointees
before they can take a career position. Let's read more at Roll Call. Let's contact our Senators to let
them know that we support true swamp-draining bill HR1132.
11.
“Golden
State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, an outspoken gun control advocate, is set to
join U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna for a town hall with high school students discussing
gun violence, according to a news release from Khanna's office. The town hall,
dubbed a "conversation on gun violence," is scheduled for 3:45
p.m. Monday on the campus of Newark Memorial High School. Khanna
represents California's 17th congressional district, which consists mostly of
Silicon Valley cities and includes Newark. In the immediate wake of the deadly
mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida,
last month, Kerr publicly expressed his disdain for the National Rifle
Association and the politicians who have fallen in step with it.”
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Warriors-Coach-Steve-Kerr-to-Join-US-Rep-Ro-Khanna-in-Gun-Violence-Discussion-at-Bay-Area-High-School-476201333.html Let’s
each ask all our congress persons to go to high schools everywhere and have
this conversation. I’m sure there are other persons with influence in each
district who could join our Congress persons to listen to the voices of the
youth and make sure they register to vote, and the NRA hears them.
Election 2018 –
General
1.
“A
Washington State University graduate student has created what’s believed to be
the first of its kind election map that details voting down to the
neighborhood.” http://pullmanradio.com/wsu-grad-student-creates-first-of-its-kind-detailed-precinct-level-voting-map/ Let’s
check out his story and his map to help us moving forward with elections.
Election 2018 –
By State
1.
PA:
Election 2018 - A Special Election on Tuesday, March 13 will determine
who represents Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district. Democrat Conor
Lamb is running against Republican candidate Rick Saccone. Already, the GOP is
bracing for an embarrassing defeat next week in a district Donald Trump won by
20 points. Let's read more at Politico. This race is far from over. It's up to each
of us in the district to turn out to vote. If we are PA18 residents,
let's make a plan to vote on Tuesday, March 13. Let's give the Republicans a
reason to worry.
Other Actions
1.
ProPublica has created a database of all of Trump's
staffers, cabinet members, and appointees. We can learn about each person's
background, identify those with ethics waivers, and "Deregulatory task
force members" https://projects.propublica.org/trump-town/ Let's be sure to keep this tool in our
back pocket as we familiarize ourselves with the players in the Trump
administration.
2.
A fund
dedicated to the memory of Philando Castile, a black man who was murdered by a
Minnesota police officer, has paid of the entire lunch debt of the 56 schools
in the St. Paul school system. https://www.gomn.com/life/philando-castile-fund-pays-off-entire-st-paul-schools-lunch-debt. This is especially fitting, as Castile was
known as someone who’d give his spare change to children needing lunch money.
We can contribute to the fund, which is now expanding its outreach to other
school districts here and share our act on social media to spread
the effort.
3.
Rep. Don
Young (R-AK) recently suggested that gun control was partially to blame for the
Holocaust in defending his opposition to common sense gun laws (http://amp.thenewstribune.com/news/nation-world/national/article202573824.html). This add just another reason the people of
Alaska would be better served by a new member of Congress. Let’s check out his
challengers, teacher and education advocate Alyse Galvin and accountant and small
business owner Dimitri Shein,
and follow them both on Twitter. And we can donate to
whoever becomes the Democratic nominee at
this link.
(H/t David Nir)
4.
As time
passes since the last school massacre, the NRA is hoping we will forget about
gun safety, but we cannot let that happen. One way to keep the pressure on
is to see if our financial institutions support the NRA. If they do, we
can contact them and ask them to stop their support. If they choose to ignore
us, we can look for a credit union near us and move our accounts. We can see a list of NRA-supporting financial
institutions here and read more about it here:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-07/nra-s-banker-wells-fargo-climbs-to-top-of-gunmaker-debt-market If we
decide to change to a credit union near us, we can use this tool to find one: http://mapping.ncua.gov/
5.
“Sinclair
Broadcasting Corp. is requiring news anchors at its local TV stations to take
part in a new promotional campaign that slams national media outlets for
sharing “fake stories,” according to a new report.” http://thehill.com/homenews/media/377296-sinclair-requiring-anchors-to-read-new-promo-slamming-one-sided-news-stories Let’s
tell Sinclair that all reporters/anchors should be able to call out “fake news”
regardless of the source and only when they have verified it is so. Contact:
http://sbgi.net/contact/ Let’s
also let our local Sinclair stations know how we feel: http://sbgi.net/tv-stations/
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1.
The American Civil Liberties Union has an activist
branch we can all be involved in whether we're lawyers or not! "People
Power is the ACLU's platform for grassroots action. By mobilizing in defense of
our civil liberties, volunteers will build and strengthen local communities
that affirm our American values of respect, equality, and solidarity."
https://peoplepower.org Because
there's been so much interest lately in organizing locally, they've put
together a number of online webinars this month. We can sign up here for free
webinars on organizing basics, how to host events, using social media
effectively, and more: https://go.peoplepower.org/survey/upcoming-aclu-webinars
2.
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
3.
“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/
States
1.
ALL: Most North Carolina educators think it’s a
bad idea to let teachers carry guns in the classroom, and they say arming
teachers would make schools less safe and harm the learning environment,
according to a newly released poll. 78 percent of North Carolina educators say
it’s a bad idea, according to an Elon University/News &
Observer/Charlotte Observer poll. “Look, I don’t want to die, and I
don’t want to kill anyone,” said Leigh Sanders, a sixth-grade English teacher
at Swift Creek Middle School in Johnston County. “I want to teach, and if
anyone wants to arm teachers, please for the love of country, let it be with
school supplies, nurses, counselors and, above all trust. http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article204079809.html Let’s
all keep our eyes on our state legislatures, so they don’t pass any bills to
arm teachers. We don’t want to arm teachers and the majority of teachers don’t
want to be armed.
2.
ALL: “A
state's laws governing the sale, ownership and use of guns — or its lack of
such laws — are a powerful influence on rates of suicide and of
firearms-related homicide there, new research shows.” http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-gun-laws-homicides-20180305-story.html Let’s
call our state MoCs and use this information when we ask for commonsense gun
reform to save lives.
3.
CA: Yesterday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions
came to Sacramento to announce a lawsuit against the state of California over
the state’s recently enacted laws Senate Bill 54 (the California Values Act),
Assembly Bill 450 (the Immigrant Worker Protection Act), and Assembly Bill
103. Make no mistake: with this lawsuit, the Trump administration is
really saying that its racist immigration agenda, aimed at eliminating legal
and unauthorized immigrants from our country, depends on California's
cooperation. Fortunately. the ACLU is
well organized and prepared to fight, but they will need our help to
win. To help them fight back, we can join the ACLU’s Rapid Response and
get notified of actions we can take to protect our fellow Californians’ rights.
Almost a year ago, with leadership from a broad coalition of organizations
including the ACLU, state legislators and the Governor passed meaningful laws
that increased protection for immigrants. Let’s keep those laws in place! To join ACLU Rapid Response, we can sign up
here: https://goo.gl/YkXVv8
4.
MA:
March for Our Lives-Boston, https://event.marchforourlives.com/event/march-our-lives-events/8734/signup/?zip=&referring_akid=, is looking for high school and
college students to be voter registration volunteers at the March 24th anti-gun
violence demonstration on Boston Common. Let’s recruit volunteers using this
form:
Reading/Watching
1.
“A
federal law banning sex bias in the workplace prohibits discrimination against
transgender workers, a U.S. appeals court said on Wednesday, ruling in favor of
a funeral director who was fired after telling her boss she planned to
transition to female from male.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-michigan-lgbt-lawsuit/u-s-appeals-court-says-civil-rights-law-covers-transgender-workers-idUSKCN1GJ2NO
2.
Another example of young people leading the
way: https://www.facebook.com/Brutlive/videos/1875672706064573/
3.
“Why
Women’s March leaders are being accused of anti-Semitism” - https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/3/7/17082030/womens-march-louis-farrakhan-tamika-mallory-anti-semitism-controversy
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