5/10/18
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. Correction:
“The Trump Administration is planning a radical change in policy that
would jeopardize the immigration status of substantial numbers of legal immigrants
who work at low-wage jobs and whose families receive any of a sweeping array of
benefits or tax credits — even though, under federal law, these immigrants are
fully eligible to receive them.” https://yubanet.com/usa/trump-rule-would-threaten-low-wage-legal-immigrants-if-their-families-receive-any-benefits-or-tax-credits When this proposed rule is published, there
will be a public comment period. So, in
addition to contacting our MoCs, let’s make sure to take advantage of this
comment period as well. The National Immigration Law Center
(NILC) will let us know when the comment period opens if we sign up here: http://action.nilc.org/page/s/nilc-publiccharge-nr
2. From one
of our own: The White House is proposing
to rescind $7 billion from CHIP, the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/trump-calls-on-congress-to-pull-back-15-billion-in-spending-including-on-childrens-health-insurance-program/2018/05/07/9427de18-5216-11e8-a551-5b648abe29ef_story.html Congress
recently approved funding for CHIP guaranteeing healthcare for the next ten
years for the 9 million children in this country who depend on it. They
deliberated on this funding for months with children’s lives hanging in the
balance. Now CHIP is under attack again. The White House proposal would
cancel $5 billion authorized to bolster reimbursements to states for children’s
health care costs, and another $2 billion from a contingency fund for states
with funding shortfalls because of higher-than-expected enrollment. The White
House claims that these cuts would have no effect on children’s
healthcare. However, a statement by the
American Academy of Pediatrics states that these cuts would violate the
bipartisan agreement just reached by Congress. It would cut funding states rely
on when natural disasters hit and during times of economic recession when there
are spikes in CHIP enrollment. Once the
president recommends a rescission, Congress has 45 days to approve the request.
It needs only a majority vote in each chamber to pass. Call your members of
Congress today and demand that there be no cuts to CHIP funding. They must not
use our children’s health to pay for the huge deficit created by their tax
cut.
3. “Centrist
House Republicans are defying Speaker Paul Ryan and planning to force a floor
vote shielding Dreamers from deportation, a last-ditch attempt at securing a
deal on immigration.” https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/09/daca-congress-vote-republicans-577301 Let’s
tell our representatives that we want them to support this discharge petition,
as unusual as it is. The DREAMers are
counting on us.
4. Now that
Trump has withdrawn from the Iran deal, we can read this Definitive Guide from
the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and international
Affairs. This guide explains the deal on
detail and discusses the arguments for and against it. We can become better informed by looking into
it here: https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/27029094/IranDealDefinitiveGuide.pdf
We can
then use Celeste Pewter’s scripts to call our Representatives to protest against
this dangerous decision: https://mobile.twitter.com/Celeste_pewter/status/994065509569019904
5.
It was
hard to imagine the circumstance in which the Russia story and the Stormy
Daniels story were going to cross but it looks like they did on
Tuesday night. It was revealed that the Mueller team interviewed a Russian
oligarch about payments to Michael Cohen: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/386810-mueller-team-interviewed-putin-tied-oligarch-about-payments-to-cohen Let’s
stay in touch with our MoC about the importance of protecting Mueller and
Rosenstein as the heat gets turned up on Trump.
6. “Prying
infant children from their parents’ arms as they seek asylum is a flagrant
violation of their human rights. Doing so in order to push asylum seekers back
into dangerous situations where they may face persecution is also a violation
of US obligations under refugee law.” https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/05/usa-routine-separation-of-asylum-seeking-families-violates-international-law/
Here’s what we can do: https://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent-actions/urgent-action-border-officials-forcibly-separate-families-usa-ua-256-17/
7. At her
hearing yesterday when asked how she would respond to a presidential order
requiring waterboarding, CIA Director Nominee Gina Haspel said that she didn’t
believe the president would ever ask for such a thing. She also said she
doesn’t believe torture works. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/haspel-says-she-would-oppose-any-order-she-felt-immoral.
While Haspel might be trying to disavow her past, we need to remember it, and
to remind our Senators that the President, who is known for demanding loyalty,
believes that torture is effective https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/25/politics/donald-trump-waterboarding-torture/index.html. We
can’t trust someone who has played such a key role in past torture efforts to
suddenly change her course or resist the president, if need be. Let’s make sure
to tell our Senators not to be fooled and to vote NO on Haspel’s confirmation.
8. In yet
another attack on First Amendment rights, the president disparaged recent
negative media portrayals of him as fake and made a call to take away
reporters’ credentials, provoking the ire of journalists across the country,
including conservative supporters like Matt Drudge. http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/09/media/president-trump-press-credentials/index.html
Most
likely this is a reaction to the recent revelation that Russian oligarchs
contributed millions to the shell company Michael Cohen used to pay Stormy
Daniels. Let’s remind the president of the promise he made to Time in 2015, when
he claimed that he would never take away reporters’ credentials if elected. http://time.com/5270968/donald-trump-reporters-credentials-media/.
Let’s also remind him and our MoCs that the First Amendment prohibits the
federal government from taking any action “abridging freedom of speech or
freedom of the press” and ask our Representative to support the Journalist
Protection Act (HR 4935)
which would prevent journalists from threats of violence or intimidation.
9. Senate
Democrats are using the Congressional Review Act to vote on reinstating net
neutrality, which was repealed several months ago by the FCC. While the vote
will be close in the Senate, it will be even harder to pass the House. Our
Senators and Representatives need to be reminded that 83 percent of voters
support net neutrality rules. http://thehill.com/policy/technology/364528-poll-83-percent-of-voters-support-keeping-fccs-net-neutrality-rules,
and that voting against this resolution is going against the wishes of their
constituents. We can find more information on the Net Neutrality “Red Alert”
campaign from freepress.net
10. In a case of job training vs child safety,
the Trump administration wants to roll back “decades-old youth labor
protections by allowing teenagers to work longer hours under some of the
nation’s most hazardous workplace conditions…”
https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/daily-labor-report/trump-administration-wants-to-train-teens-in-hazardous-jobs “When
I started doing this kind of work 20 years ago, we were losing 70 kids a year
at work, and now we are losing usually 20 or less,” Reid Maki, coordinator of
the Child Labor Coalition, told Bloomberg Law. “We’ve made substantial
progress, and I think that the tightened hazardous occupations rules have
played a role in the lowered death tolls for teenage workers. So I would not be
in favor of relaxing any of these standards; I think it would be a tragic
mistake and would lead to the death of teenage workers.” Let’s tell our MoCs that we do not want any
roll back that could result in the death of children.
11. “California
Sen. Kamala Harris has canceled plans to deliver UC Berkeley’s
commencement address this weekend in support of UC workers who are on strike
over wages and health benefits.” http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-essential-education-updates-southern-us-sen-kamala-harris-to-skip-uc-1525733243-htmlstory.html Let’s
thank her for this standing up action: https://www.harris.senate.gov/contact
Election 2018 –
General
An election guide from Postcards for America: In this Google doc (in process),
each State shows ALL Democratic Candidates running for Congress, Governor, Lt
Gov, Attorney General, Secretary of State (if applicable) with links to their
websites and Twitter. Each has a link to a Twitter Thread, a Shareable Facebook
Post and a Document. For most States, there are also Info & Links for Voter
Registrations, Absentee Ballots, Early Voting & Voter ID, Age Requirements
and being a Poll Worker. Let’s check this out and use and share
it: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NCYjsm3xKb79z19Gx7PWt5Zs9lkLiTqglHBHYs9mlX8/edit
1. If our
state has a May primary, Roll
Call has
compiled and explained the voter ID laws in each one. Upcoming
primaries May 15 in ID, NE, OR. Upcoming primaries May
22 in AR, GE, KY, and TX. Voters in IN, NC, OH, and WV voted on May
8 and can also review their voter ID information. Let's read about the voter ID
laws here.
2. "Much
ado has been made in recent weeks about blue waves (for
Democrats) and pink waves (for women), but there’s another surge
worth noting this election cycle: a rainbow wave of LGBQ candidates running for
office," writes Laura
Mandanas.
Let's read her article in Autostraddle. Let's continue to support LGBTQ
candidates.
Election 2018 –
By State
1. AR:
Although the state supreme court agreed to hear the Voter ID case again, they
also ruled the state can enforce the 2017 law until they make a decision,
including during this election. Now, citizens are required to have a photo ID
to vote. We can read more at Governing.
Let's make sure we go to the polls with the proper identification. Let's make
sure our AR family and friends are also aware of the ID requirements.
2. CA:
The San Jose Mercury News editorial makes it clear how much is at
stake in the upcoming election to recall Judge Aaron Persky who overrode
sentencing guidelines to give convicted rapist Brock Turner, an extremely
lenient sentence of only six months. Turner,
a former Stanford Swimmer, was caught in the act, but Persky was more
concerned about the impact prison would have on Turner's life then holding a
rapist accountable. This sends a terrible message to both survivors and
perpetrators about how lightly sexual assault is taken by our courts. As
the Mercury News reminds us, “Santa Clara County voters need to stand up and
make a statement on behalf of women and men about the seriousness of sexual
assault.” (https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/05/08/editorial-persky-recall-demands-voters-make-a-sexual-assault-statement/) Then we can learn more about the Recall
Persky movement here and sign up to get training and take action in a variety
of ways, including text banking, phone banking, canvassing and more: https://recallperskyvolunteers.blogspot.com/ We can also read the powerful statement from the survivor of the assault
here: https://bzfd.it/2K7s7IV and
read more on the story from Ballotpedia, including Judges who might replace
Persky: https://ballotpedia.org/Aaron_Persky_recall,_Santa_Clara_County,_California_(2018)
3. ID:
Primary is May 15. Early voting is now through May 11. To vote by
mail, apply now, mail in by May 15. https://idahovotes.gov/
4. NE: Primary is May 15. Early voting is now through May 14. To vote
by mail, apply May 9, mail in by May 15. https://www.votercheck.necvr.ne.gov/VoterView/
5. OR:
Primary is May 15. No early voting. Deadline to apply for mail-in voting
was March 8; mail-in deadline is May 15. http://sos.oregon.gov/voting/Pages/current-election.aspx
6. PA: Primary is May 15. No early voting. Apply for mail-in voting by May
8; mail-in by May 11. www.votespa.com/en-us
7. SC: Need to register for the June 23
primary by May 11 in person or by May 13th online here: https://info.scvotes.sc.gov/eng/ovr/start.aspx. More information about the primary here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/13flNKUnj1tBJIK7Xfm1vmaB8WpBaKnMf/view
Other Actions
1. America’s
history of white supremacist violence against black people is unknown to far
too many of us, and so is the history of activists fighting back.
(http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-ida-b-wells-monument-project-20180420-story.html).
Activist and educator Mariame Kaba and Michelle Duster, a college professor and
crusading journalist Ida B. Wells’ great-granddaughter, are together to try to
change that. They’re aiming to raise $10,000 by the end of the day today
for a memorial to Wells, an American hero and one of the leaders of the
anti-lynching movement. We can join them by giving at idabwellsmonument.org. If
we do, we can also email jjinjustice1@gmail.com to
let her know how much we donated, and spread the word by tweeting about the
#IdaPledge.
2. Internet
routers. Many of us have them in our homes, and we rarely give them a
second thought, but those friendly little connection boxes with their
flickering lights, are potential foot soldiers in a hacker's cyberwar. Our
routers, if left unsecured, could be used to attack our own government, or our
electrical grid, or even our next election. Fortunately, here is a quick and
easy guide for securing a router: https://theconversation.com/russians-hack-home-internet-connections-heres-how-to-protect-yourself-95907
3. High
school senior and gun control activist Gabrielle Anzalone was suspended for
running the walkout at her school in Lindenhurst, New York. Now she’s running
for school board. Election Day is May 15 (https://patch.com/new-york/lindenhurst/voters-guide-lindenhurst-2018-19-school-budget-board-election).
Let’s show support for this young activist! We can like her campaign Facebook
page here and follow her on
Twitter here, and we can donate to a
GoFundMe supporting her campaign here: https://www.gofundme.com/friends-of-anzalone.
4. This
summer, Teaching
Tolerance is offering Diverse Democracy Grants,
for educators who "involve students in non-partisan voter registration and
turnout efforts." Grants range from $500 to $5,000 for the classroom or
school, and up to $10,000 at the district level. We can read more about the
grant and find guides on grant writing here. Then, if we are K-12
educators at public, private, alternative, or therapeutic schools, or at
juvenile justice facilities, we can read through the guidelines and apply for a
Diverse Democracy Grant here.
5. Hawaii's
Kilauea volcano has been erupting since last week, with numerous fissures
occurring in residential areas, leading to evacuations of more than 1,700
people. https://n.pr/2K9voHF For those of us who are able, let's
consider donating and helping those who have been affected by the
eruptions: https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/08/us/iyw-hawaii-volcano-eruptions-how-to-help/index.html
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1. On May 14, the Poor People’s
Campaign will launch its first nation-wide event of the
season with nonviolent moral direct actions in over 30 state capitals. Through highly publicized, non-violent moral
fusion direct action over a 6-week period in at least 30 states and the
District of Columbia, the Campaign will force a serious national examination of
the enmeshed evils of systemic racism, systemic poverty, ecological devastation
and the war economy during a key election year.
Let’s find an event near us: https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/index.php/events/
States
1. ALL (except CT): The Connecticut House and Senate
have passed SB-13,
which includes multiple measures that would improve the treatment of
incarcerated women and transgender people, and the governor is expected to sign
the bill into law (https://ctmirror.org/2018/05/03/bills-domestic-violence-incarcerated-women-get-final-approval/).
For those of us who reside outside of Connecticut, let's contact our state
legislators and cite SB-13, as we ask them to introduce similar legislation to
protect the dignity of and respect for incarcerated people in our state: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/
2. CO: Democratic state lawmakers introduced a bill last week, HB18-1438,
that aims to increase access to all reproductive care and protect Coloradans
from the Republican administration’s rollbacks. The
Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice Act (HB18-1438)
would require all public and private health insurance plans regulated by the
state of Colorado to cover the entire gamut of reproductive care, from cancer
screenings and prenatal care to contraceptives and abortion, at no cost to the
patient. And the bill guarantees that coverage for everyone, regardless of
gender identity, income, or immigration status. We can read more at the Colorado Times Recorder.
If we are Colorado citizens, let's contact our state
legistlators in support of HB18-1438.
3. UT: On
Tuesday, hundreds of bills passed by the 2018 Utah Legislature became law,
impacting the lives of Utahns in many ways. Let's take a look at some of the
key changes taking place in this article in the Deseret News.
Let's make sure we understand the laws that will affect us and our
families.
Reading/Watching
1. “Is America Starting Another Middle-East
War?” - http://www.chicagonow.com/politics-now/2018/05/is-america-starting-another-middle-east-war/
2. “Women
trounce men on first major primary night of the year” - https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/09/women-candidates-2018-midterms-577374
3. “Yes,
Privilege is really a thing. No, it doesn’t mean hard work isn’t a factor
in success” - https://medium.com/together-we-will-usa/yes-privilege-is-really-a-thing-no-it-doesnt-mean-hard-work-isn-t-a-factor-in-success-1ce7a65c16d9
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