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4/05/18


Contact Federal Government Officials

Find senator’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/RLiotu

Find representative’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/5i7SXC

Fax legislators for free:  Reps:  https://faxzero.com/fax_congress.php


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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.       Trump is sending the National Guard to assist Border Patrol agents along the Mexico-U.S. border https://n.pr/2q5e7rP https://wapo.st/2GymRB5 It looks as though this may be punishment for not funding a border wall in the latest omnibus spending bill, and a tactic to pressure Congress into closing loopholes and ending the “catch and release” program in which immigrants are not detained as they await their immigration hearing. Let’s be sure to contact our MoC and tell them that we do not want them passing any immigration legislation, unless it is a clean Dream Act, or other similar bill that offers protections for DACA recipients.

2.      The White House is working behind the scenes with Republicans in Congress to try to rescind spending on many of the programs that were recently passed in last month’s bipartisan budget bill. (https://politi.co/2GwjrPc) According to the rules of the 1974 Budget Act, these cuts can be passed by a simple Senate majority. The White House is also considering a proposal that would allow a line-item veto. We must make sure our MoCs know that we reject cuts in education, the arts, health care, and any other programs that help elderly and low-income residents and we expect them to speak loud and clear against this backhanded attack on an already passed bipartisan agreement.

3.      Two Republican Congresspeople, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), have joined the call for EPA Chief Scott Pruitt’s resignation for accepting a condo at significantly reduced rent from an energy lobbyist. However, the White House is urging Pruitt to stay strong and fight back. (http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/381528-president-tells-embattled-epa-chief-to-stay-strong) Let’s tell our Republican MoCs to join their colleagues and take an ethical stand, or risk damaging their own reputations. If we have Democratic MoCs who have not yet spoken out in support of Pruitt’s resignation, let’s ask them to do so.

4.      Faced with a huge backlog in immigration cases, Jeff Sessions’ DoJ has set quotas for immigration judges—700 cases cleared per year—on which their performance evaluations will depend.  Sessions is also expected to eliminate or cut back on administrative closure, which allows judges to put cases on hold while immigrants seek visas or other kinds of relief, and he wants to limit asylum: https://www.npr.org/2018/04/03/599158232/justice-department-rolls-out-quotas-for-immigration-judges  Only 1/3 of immigrants have lawyers—to which they have no legal right—now, and Sessions wants to undermine judicial independence and erode due process rights for immigrants. Let’s tell him this is no way to treat the 700,000 immigrants awaiting "justice": 950 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20530 or 202-514-2000. We can also contact our MoC and ask them to support legislation which would protect immigrants, asylum-seekers, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) recipients.

5.      In order to prevent a citizenship question from being included on any future U.S. Census, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), along with 13 other Democratic senators, introduced S. 2580: Every Person Counts Act. The bill would prohibit questions on citizenship and immigration status for every decennial census. Let’s contact our senators and ask them to cosponsor and support this important legislation if they have not already done so. We can check out more information and use the call script at 5calls.

6.      Key committees that advise the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) on protections for workers have gone dormant under Trump. Recommendations that would prevent worker deaths, protect workers from toxins and pathogens, and more, are dead-ended. (https://www.propublica.org/article/trumps-labor-department-eviscerates-workplace-safety-panels) Let’s contact the chairs and ranking members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (202-224-5375), and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, https://edworkforce.house.gov/contact/ and ask them what they plan to do about this.

7.      A bipartisan group of senators have introduced legislation (S. 2553: Know the Lowest Price Act) which would ban “gag clauses,” which prohibit pharmacists from informing customers if they can save money by paying out-of-pocket for medication, rather than by paying through insurance https://bit.ly/2G3LPqC Let’s contact our senators and ask them to cosponsor and support this common sense, bipartisan legislation.

8.     Together with 42 other Democratic senators, Sen. Tammy Duckworth has written a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, vowing to block any effort to pass H.R. 620: ADA Education and Reform Act, an attack on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) https://bit.ly/2E6owra The coalition has enough members to essentially kill the bill in the Senate https://bit.ly/2Ej2Yba Let’s check to see if our senators signed the letter, and if they did, thank them. We can all send a huge “Thank you!” to Senator Duckworth for taking decisive action to protect the ADA and support individuals with disabilities. Mailing Address: 524 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-2854 E-mail: https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/connect/email-tammy


Election 2018 – General

1.       Labor activist Lizette Escobedo is running for city council in Whittier, California, where she would be the first Latina ever elected to that board – and she’s #PostcardsToVoters’ next candidate! (https://www.whittierdailynews.com/2018/03/06/unions-are-throwing-money-into-whittier-city-council-elections/) Let’s get to writing – we can either text JOIN to (484) 275-2229 or email Join@TonyTheDemocrat.org.

2.      Amy McGrath, who is running for Congress in Kentucky, has pulled her campaign ads from WDKY-TV, a Sinclair-owned station, and is calling on other Democratic candidates to boycott Sinclair stations as well. (https://cjky.it/2EkjLdD https://bit.ly/2JfOwnU) Let’s thank McGrath by visiting her campaign website and seeing how we can help get her elected. https://www.amymcgrathforcongress.com/#

3.      The only way politics in our country are going to change is if we elect people who more clearly reflect who we are. New American Leaders "is the only national, nonpartisan organization focused on bringing New Americans into the political process." (https://www.newamericanleaders.org/who-we-are/our-mission/
1st or 2nd generation immigrant? Want to run for office? NAL wants to help. Let's sign up here to receive information on the trainings and events they run all over the country: http://newamericanleaders.nationbuilder.com/run-for-office



Election 2018 – By State

1.       FL: There’s another special election coming this Tuesday for a Florida state senate seat. State rep. Lori Berman, who has a long record of fighting for equal pay and equal rights for women and clean energy, will be the Democratic nominee (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-reg-senate-district-31-primary-special-election-20180129-story.html). We can help make calls to turn out voters for her here.

2.      ID:  Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in Idaho, State Sen. Bob Nonini, said that women who have abortions should face criminal punishment, potentially including the death penalty, if the state decides to criminalize the procedure. Let's read more at The Hill. Let's take a look at the candidates running for Lt. Governor at Ballotpedia and choose a candidate to support who is not an extremist like Nonini. 


Other Actions

1.       The Trump administration is continuing to try to wall us off from the rest of the world, proposing  that anyone seeking a visa to visit the United States be required to allow the State Department to review their last five years’ worth of social media posts (https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/03/trump-admin-wants-to-track-14-million-us-visitors-social-media-history/). This invasive step is likely to drive away students, tourists and business from our country. We have until May 29th to submit comments in opposition to this change. Let’s make sure we do so here.

2.      Seventeen states are suing the Commerce Department and Census Bureau in order to remove the citizenship question from the 2020 Census https://n.pr/2ImtmDl Let’s see if our state is one of them, and if so, send a huge “Thank you!” to our Attorney General. If our state was not named in the lawsuit, let’s contact our Attorney General and start a dialogue about the importance of removing the citizenship question. For a refresher on the potential consequences of a citizenship question, we can check out these articles from Vox and Time.

3.      Sinclair has become a propaganda tool. As such, Sinclair can be used to get out the vote for Trump's reelection, in support of ultra-right candidates during the midterms. Equally concerning is that they are using their network to create bias in favor of Sinclair-owned stations. In order to maintain free and independent media, a concerned citizen has created a Google Drive folder with step-by-step instructions on how we can take a multi-pronged approach to fight back against Sinclair. This includes asking advertisers to withdraw all ads from Sinclair-owned stations, personally boycotting the stations, and contacting our MoC and the FCC about the pending Sinclair-Tribune merger. Let’s check out the actions, and get to work! https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1LMJtnIWyQ9F-PyNW0iUdOlCXE0qDLIFv 

4.      As outrage about Sinclair’s takeover of local news stations to spread right wing propaganda and misinformation spreads, Sinclair advertisers need to hear from us and know we will not buy their products if they buy ad time from Sinclair. Proctor and Gamble are already gathering comments from customers and re-evaluating their advertising with Sinclair. We can email them, using or adapting this sample letter: Email: pginvestor.im@pg.com Sample Letter: Because Sinclair Broadcasting  attempts to subvert freedom assured us through the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution, I am boycotting all Proctor & Gamble products and instructing my financial managers to relinquish holdings I have in PG, and encouraging friends, associates and social media contacts to do likewise until PG publicly states it is immediately canceling all advertisements with Sinclair. We need our major corporations to stand loudly in defense of Freedom of Speech since our departments of justice, governance, and regulations are failing to do so. You can be one of our heroes now.


Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to attend/organize

1.       The anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s death has passed, but we still have plenty to do to continue his work. Activists led by Reverend William Barber II are coming together to rekindle the Poor People’s campaign that was interrupted by the assassin’s bullet ( https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2018-04-03/rekindling-of-kings-poor-peoples-campaign-takes-shape). They will kick it off May 14 with 40 days of peaceful protests. Let’s learn more by checking out their website here, and considering signing up to take part.

2.      Trump's military parade is scheduled for Veterans Day, November 11, 2018. (https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/09/592528659/trumps-military-parade-is-set-for-veterans-day) Many groups around the country are working on alternate rallies the same day.  One such idea is to hold peace rallies and engage local Veterans for Peace chapters to be part of the planning.  Let's find a chapter near us and get this started:  https://www.veteransforpeace.org/files/8915/2183/7236/18.03.22.ChapterContacts.pdf    


States

1.       ALL: In Rhode Island, the Kent County Resisters are not happy with the Sinclair ownership of their local NBC affliliate and have declared, "We believe local news should be real news."  To that end, they have created a webpage:  https://www.turnoff10.com/ and a Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/KentCountyHuddle  Let's pull together our own local resources, check out what this RI group is doing, and follow suit.  

2.      VA: The majority of Virginians want a Medicaid expansion, but state legislators cannot seem to come to an agreement on whether it should be included in the next budget proposal https://bit.ly/2DqhCN3 On April 11th, there will be a special session to pass the state budget. We can use the days leading up to this to contact our legislators, lobby in Richmond, write a letter to the editor of our local newspaper, or canvas in swing districts. Indivisible has created a guide to help us make sure that this budget gets us the Medicaid expansion that we need https://www.indivisible.org/resource/expanding-medicaid-virginia/

3.      CA: The FCC’s repeal of Net Neutrality is scheduled to take effect this month, but we in California have a chance to protect free and open internet access for all of our state, if we can pass Senate Bill 822. This bill is one of the strongest protections against our Internet Service Providers (ISP) ruthless tactics of blocking access, throttling, or slowing down speed, and giving preferential treatment to certain sites. It restores all Net Neutrality from the Obama Administration and adds protection against favoring sites by not countering data used on them. If passed, this will be the strongest protection yet and could set precedents for other states and inspire Congress to act as well. We can read the full text of the bill here, then call our State Senators and urge them to cosponsor and strongly support this bill. We can also read about how passage of this bill could positively affect Net Neutrality for the rest of the country. https://slate.com/technology/2018/03/could-california-effectively-restore-net-neutrality.html

4.      LA and MN: Louisiana and Minnesota have introduced anti-protest bills amid fights over Bayou Bridge and Enbridge pipelines.  1) LA: House bill HB727 is aimed at criminalizing the activities of groups protesting the extraction, burning, and transport of oil and gas.  2) MN: House bill HF3693 makes it a felony for anyone who “recruits, trains, aids, advises, hires, counsels, or conspires with” an individual who causes significant damage to critical infrastructure such as pipelines.  Let's read about these bill at The Intercept.  Let's contact our state house representatives to let them know we oppose these anti-protest bills. 1) LA: Louisiana State Representatives.  2) MN: Minnesota State Representatives.  

5.      IA: Legislators calling for a “Convention of States,” not a “Constitutional Convention” are actually asking for the same thing: a Koch and ALEC plan to eliminate agencies like the EPA, Department of Education, gut Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security under the guise of a “balanced budget” https://bit.ly/2GVo5pe They are dangerously close to the 34 states needed to call this convention. Let’s stop Iowa from bringing the number any closer. We can call our state senators and demand that they Vote NO on Joint Resolution 8 calling for an Article V Convention of States. We can read more about the bill here: https://legiscan.com/IA/bill/SJR8/2017  We read about this deceptive strategy here and get tips for talking to our Representatives about the bill:


Reading/Watching

1.       Jill McCabe, wife of Andrew McCabe and candidate for Virginia State Senate in 2015, found herself in the Trump swirl up to the point of her husband’s recent firing. She has penned a strong op-ed in the Washington Post to explain her side of the story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/jill-mccabe-the-president-attacked-my-reputation-its-time-to-set-the-record-straight/2018/04/02/e6bbcf66-366b-11e8-8fd2-49fe3c675a89_story.html?utm_term=.314ab4a645c0

2.      Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright doesn’t call Trump a fascist, but… Let’s listen to her pull-no-punches interview with Fresh Air’s Terry Gross: https://www.npr.org/2018/04/03/599120190/madeleine-albright-warns-dont-let-fascism-go-unnoticed-until-its-too-late

3.      In the documentary, American Creed, we can "Join former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, historian David Kennedy and a diverse group of Americans to explore whether a unifying set of beliefs, an American creed, can prove more powerful than the issues that divide us."  Let's watch it here:  http://www.pbs.org/video/american-creed-ikwuqf/ 

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