blank space


4/11/18


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


********************************
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.       Wendy Vitter, Trump’s nominee for a federal district court judgeship in Louisiana, will get a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today. Vitter has a long record of opposing women’s rights to abortion and access to contraception, and has spread falsehoods about basic medical care – and she attempted to hide some of those views by failing to disclose them to the Senate:   (http://www.nola.com/national_politics/2018/04/wendy_vitter_judge_confirmatio.html). Let’s join activist groups like Planned Parenthood and People for the American Way and urge our senators to oppose Vitter’s confirmation. We can find talking points here.

2.      With Trump saber-rattling against Syria and moving closer each day to a meeting with Kim Jong-Un and a deadline on preserving the Iran nuclear deal, his war cabinet is taking shape. John Bolton started as National Security Adviser on Monday, and Mike Pompeo will get a confirmation hearing for his Secretary of State nomination on Thursday (https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/06/politics/pompeo-nomination-hearing/index.html). Let’s tell our senators we need a top diplomat who is committed to diplomacy at the State Department in this crucial moment, and we want them to vote no on Pompeo. We can find talking points and scripts from Indivisible here

3.      Facebook (and other social media platforms) currently do business in a regulatory environment that resembles the Wild West, with minimal rules that often don't match a quickly changing technological reality. As tools for connecting, informing and organizing citizens, social media platforms have become indispensable, so if we can't #deleteFaceBook, our only choice is to find ways to effectively regulate them: (https://theconversation.com/dont-quit-facebook-but-dont-trust-it-either-93776). Let's start by pushing Congress to support and fund the Fair Trade Commission, particularly in its efforts to enforce a 2011 decree ordering Facebook to protect its users' privacy.   https://www.npr.org/2018/03/21/595791380/sen-richard-blumenthal-weighs-in-on-how-congress-could-regulate-facebook

4.      Acting Director and General Counsel for the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, David Apol, has written a letter to an official at the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) ethics office regarding EPA Secretary Scott Pruitt's conduct (https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/09/politics/ethics-office-scott-pruitt-epa/index.htmlhttps://wapo.st/2v4RNDy). Apol underscores the importance of not just carrying out the current investigation into Pruitt's actions, but also in taking "appropriate action" and "ensur[ing] that processes are in place to prevent similar occurrences in the future." We can echo these same concerns to the General Counsel, as well as to the Inspector General of the EPA, asking that Scott Pruitt be held accountable for his actions. Kevin Minoli, Principal Deputy General Counsel Environmental Protection Agency Office of General Counsel 2310A 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20460 Phone: 202 564-8064 or U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General  1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. (2410T), Washington, DC 20460 Phone: 202.566.2391 E-mail:

5.      EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt might be hoping that the flurry of news right now will deter us from calling attention to his lying and corruption which seem deeper and more troubling by the day:   
https://apnews.com/0a7f4390485a41588e6515f355262257and https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/04/pruitt-epa-raises/557561/ Let’s continue to let our MoC and Pruitt himself know that we expect him to resign: https://www.epa.gov/home/forms/contact-epaor on Twitter at @EPAScottPruitt

6.      The arrival of hawkish national security advisor John Bolton in the White House makes Trump’s nomination of anti-immigrant Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State even more frightening: 
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/11/pompeo-trump-tillerson/547217/  Between the two of them—much less with the potential confirmation of pro-torture Gina Haspel as CIA director—we face the possibility that a coterie of war-mongering, anti-Muslim officials will surround and confirm the worst impulses of this president.  We need to tell the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations that these people have no place in our government: Chairman Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN). (202) 224-3344;  Ranking Member Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), (202) 224-4744;  Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), (202) 224-4521l;  Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), (202) 224-5941.

7.      “From Day 1,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) claims, “the Republican agenda has always been to balloon the deficit in order to dole out massive tax breaks to the largest corporations and wealthiest Americans, and then use the deficit as an excuse to cut Social Security and Medicare.” It seems he is right, according to new projections from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released Monday:  https://www.cbo.gov/publication/53651 or http://thehill.com/policy/finance/382307-economic-growth-will-hit-33-percent-in-2018-then-slump-cbo. We need to make it clear to the House Budget Committee chair Steve Womack (R-AR) (202-225-4301 or FAX 202-225-5713 or 2412 Rayburn House Office Bldg, DC 20515) and chair of the Senate Budget Committee Mike Enzi (R-WY) (202-224-3424 or FAX 202-228-0359 or 379 Senate Russell Office Bldg,  DC 20510) that we will not tolerate their using Trump’s threatened “Phase 2” of tax cuts as an excuse to cut the domestic programs we need.

8.     The Congressional Budget Office, a non-partisan entity, has reported that the tax cuts will add $1.6 trillion to the deficit, over and above what has been projected for economic growth. https://mic.com/articles/188822/gop-tax-bill-helped-balloon-the-deficit-by-dollar16-trillion-cbo-finds#.y7CExXd2h.  As the House postures this week by bringing the Balanced Budget Amendment for a vote and GOP leaders contemplate trying to pass retroactive cuts to programs that benefit the 99% rather than the 1%, let’s make sure to spread this information widely and make sure our MoCs know that we reject policies that further cut social spending to pay for this giveaway to the rich.

9.      Since Mick Mulvaney took over the Consumer Financial Protection Board last November, there hasn’t been a single enforcement action against banks, finance/credit card companies, or debt collectors.  https://www.apnews.com/c80a20db4a5942e7af9632b0cbf75700/Enforcement-actions-at-watchdog-agency-halt-under-Trump. Mr. Mulvaney is scheduled to testify about the CFPB in Congress today and tomorrow. Let’s ask our MoCs to grill him on why the CFPB has stopped working for consumers. We should also contact the CFPB directly (855-411-2372) and insist that they do their job.

Election 2018 – General

1.       ALL:  If we are looking for centralized election information, the Facebook Group FLIP Nation  now has  a STATE-SPECIFIC events section that provides us with this, all in one place, and  can trigger Facebook to notify us when an election is coming up in our state.  When we visit this page, we can find: upcoming election dates, links to voter registration, links to check voter registration status, deadlines to register for primary & general elections, find our polling place link, Candidate info list, link to more local election info, and a call to action to SHARE. To see the full list of shareable events, we can go to the EVENTS section of the public FLIP Nation page: https://www.facebook.com/FLIPNationUSA/

Election 2018 – By State

1.       ALL:  California teens are prepared to rock the vote when they turn 18.  A whopping 100,000 16- and 17-year-olds have preregistered to vote in the Golden State since a law enacted in 2016 gave young people the opportunity to sign up to vote before they are eligible, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said last week.  https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/09/politics/california-teens-preregister-to-vote/index.html   Ask your Secretary of State to consider introducing a Voter preregistration Plan for teenagers like CA. Let’s make it easy for our young Citizens to register to vote.

2.      GA: Spread the Vote Georgia fights voter suppression by helping people get voter IDs. We can help by becoming volunteers. Let’s attend a training event: April 16(Powder Springs), April 23 (Albany Chapter), and April 28 (Gwinnett Chapter). Sign up:  

Other Actions

1.       As the investigations into his circle get closer and closer to him, Trump is once again suggesting that he might fire special counsel Robert Mueller (http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/382378-trump-many-people-have-said-i-should-fire-mueller). We need to make sure we’re ready for what comes next. 1) Let’s ask for Congress to protect this investigation. We can call our reps and tell them we want immediate action on proposed bipartisan bills to protect the special counsel, like the Graham-Booker Special Counsel Independence Protection Act or the Tillis-Coons Special Counsel Integrity Act, and a commitment to vote to override any vetoes of these bills by Trump if they’re passed. And let’s let them know if they won’t protect the rule of law we will vote in people who will. 2) Let’s join the activists across the country who are preparing to take to the streets if Trump fires Mueller. We can text the word “Mueller” to the number 94502 to get alerts from Public Citizen just in case, and we can find and pledge to attend “Nobody Above The Law” rallies that will take place across the country in immediate response to a firing.

2.      Teachers in Arizona are calling for an end to a decade of education funding cuts, and they’ve launched the #RedForEd movement to push Governor Doug Ducey and Republicans in the legislature to act. Today, they’re holding walk-ins across the state ( https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/another-teacher-walk-in-planned-for-wednesday). We can help them out by joining ProgressNow Arizona in texting voters and urging them to contact Governor Ducey and demand more funding for public schools. We can sign up to take part in this effort at this link.

3.      On May 14th, Mother's Day, we'll be celebrating the second annual National Mamas Bail Out Day, in which we can raise money for those who cannot afford their bail, and would otherwise be spending their holiday in jail. Let's learn more about National Bail Out and their work to end money bail and mass incarceration:
 https://nomoremoneybail.org/. Then, for those of us with the means, let's consider a donation to help these mamas be with their families: 
https://brooklynbailfund.org/donate/national-bail-out/ https://appolition.us/ We can also sign up for the National Bail Out Collective webinar series here.

4.      Fight for the Future seeks to ensure freedom of expression on the Internet for everyone, not just corporate interests. https://www.fightforthefuture.org/aboutus/ They say: "Every day we learn more about how our data is being harvested and used against us. A group of technologists and human rights experts have developed this Security Pledge, a set of principles that — if enough companies adopted them — would ensure the Internet is used to expand democracy, not undermine it. Add your name to tell the companies you use to take the pledge." Sign their petition here: https://www.securitypledge.com 

5.      To Future Women is an interactive artwork that marks the anniversary of the Women’s March through the platform of art. Created by artist Georgia Saxelby, the project invites participants throughout America and beyond to write a letter to women in 20 years. Part art and part history, these letters will be archived for 20 years by The Phillips Collection and re-exhibited on January 21, 2037, historicizing one of the largest protests in American history while creating a time capsule for the next generation of women. The project will launch at The Phillips Collection and will travel to different cultural institutions and public spaces in Washington, DC, over the following six months. For more information, visit:  www.tofuturewomen.com

Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to attend/organize

States

1.       MA: HB 3610, the Extreme Risk and Protection Bill is a “Red Flag Law” that would enable family members and law enforcement to remove guns and suspend gun licenses for people determined by the court to pose a risk to themselves and others. The bill is currently stuck in the Joint Committee on Homeland Safety and Public Security. We need to contact our legislators, especially if they are on the committee, and get this moved to the floor and passed.

2.      MI: Representatives Pamela Horberger (R-Chesterfield Township) and Beth Griffin (R-Mattawan) have introduced two bills (H.B. 5686 and H.B. 5687) in the House which would require state identification cards and driver's licenses to state when a person's legal residency expires (https://on.lsj.com/2Hn9L6F). Not only are these bills unnecessary, as licenses are only valid for as long as someone's immigration status as it is, but it would be expected that this kind of visual marking would lead to profiling and discrimination. Let's contact our state representatives and point out that marked licenses to differentiate a person's status is hauntingly reminiscent of the yellow badges and armbands worn by Jews during the Holocaust and that we do not support these bills: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/

Reading/Watching

1.       "Facebook’s feed is less a window into the world than a personal secretary that faithfully learns who you are and shows you what you want to see." A journalist pretended to be a Trump supporter on Facebook to see what the algorithms of the platform would offer her. She also looks into who's behind the fake news that took over her feed. This essay is an eye-opening reminder of how we are manipulated by social media without even knowing it. https://rantt.com/a-look-at-who-is-behind-the-right-wing-fake-news-that-spreads-on-facebook-c88bf0a81bb5 

2.      Russia knows it is at war with the US and much of the Free World, and Russia knows that it is winning. Using no bullets, only “weaponized Information”, they have disrupted our political landscape, interfered with our elections and helped to polarize the country. Meanwhile, our elected officials who benefit from this interference, do nothing to stop it, leaving it up to us to act. In the third part of the Resistance Information War Handbook, Joohn Choe shows us the damage  and how it was done:  https://medium.com/@joohnchoe/the-resistance-information-warfare-handbook-part-iii-9a7d2af1f73e

3.      “‘I Kept Thinking of Antioch’: Long Before #MeToo, a Times Video Journalist Remembered a Form She Signed in 2004” - https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/08/insider/antioch-sexual-consent-form-metoo-video.html






No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.