5/30/18
Contact Federal Government Officials
********************************
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. Our
legislators are at home right now. Let’s
try to find them at their offices or at a townhall or at a meeting or in a
coffee shop. Let’s ask them what they are
doing to keep immigrants families together, whether they will commit to refusing
any money from the NRA and gun manufacturers, and to oppose the House Farm bill
changes to SNAP, and any other issues important to us.
2. While we
were quickly able to determine the number of fatalities in hurricanes that hit
the continental US last year, it apparently was not quite as big a concern to
do the same for Puerto Rico where we are now learning that the death toll may
have been as high as 5000 people. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/05/29/615120123/study-puts-puerto-rico-death-toll-at-5-000-from-hurricane-maria-in-2017 In
this respect, as well as many others, the disaster assistance that Puerto Rico,
an US territory, received was not at all on par to what was received by
continental US states. It is time to
tell our MoCs that our territories need the same protection as our states.
3. The
Interior Department is planning on easing regulations on sport hunting in
Alaska national reserves. The new rule would allow bear cubs to be killed along
with their mothers, caribou to be killed while swimming, and wolves and their
pups to be killed in their dens (https://to.pbs.org/2LnNtU0, https://wapo.st/2J165r6).
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke argues that this is merely a move to align federal
regulations with Alaska state law, while others say that the rollback would
allow for cruel and inhumane hunting practices. The proposed rule has a 60-day
open comment period which began last week. Let's make sure we leave a comment
opposing the rule here.
4. The US
is shutting its borders to Latin American refugees fleeing violence—while also
contributing to that violence by allowing American-sourced guns to reach south-of-the-border
criminal cartels. https://www.thetrace.org/rounds/mexico-homicides-american-guns-forum/ Let’s
tell our MoCs that we’re not happy with this state of affairs and we want them
to stop the flow of American guns to Mexico and other Latin American countries.
5. Most of
the known white supremacists are out of the White House, but Steve Miller is
still there as a speech writer and immigration enforcer. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/05/stephen-miller-trump-adviser/561317/ Let’s tell the White House that it is time for
him to go as well. He does not represent
the kind of America we are.
6. While
the Senate and House have both passed bills (H.R. 4924/S. 2952) to
address sexual harassment in congress, the Senate version has some problematic
provisions (https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/24/senate-harassment-bill-reaction-607731).
Civil rights organizations including the ACLU, National Women's Law Center, and
others, have sent a letter to the Senate addressing these concerns. Let's read through the letter,
then, as the bill goes back to the House for reconciliation, let's contact
our MoC and tell them that we support the House version of the bill and want
the final bill to be as close to it as possible.
7. Britt
Grant, who is on Trump’s Supreme Court shortlist in spite of having only served
as a judge since last year, has been nominated for a spot on the 11th Circuit
Court of Appeals (https://abovethelaw.com/2018/05/more-judicial-nominations-from-president-trump-and-more-judicial-emergencies/).
Grant has a record of defending unconstitutional restrictions on the right to
choose and undermining the Voting Rights Act, along with fighting collective
bargaining for public sector workers. Let’s make sure our senators know this is
the sort of ultraconservative record we don’t need in our federal courts.
8. “Judges
appointed by Republican presidents gave longer sentences to black defendants
and shorter ones to women than judges appointed by Democrats, according to a
new study that analyzed data on more than half a million defendants.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/28/us/politics/black-defendants-women-prison-terms-study.html; https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/cyang/files/cohen_yang_march2018.pdf?m=1525793200 Let’s
tell the Federal Judicial Center about this study and urge the Center to
provide continuing education courses for judges to put an end to sentencing
bias. Contact: Jeremy D. Fogel, Director, Federal Judicial Center, Thurgood
Marshall Federal Judiciary Building, One Columbus Circle NE, Washington, DC
20002; 202-502-4160
9. There is
complexity to the #WhereAreTheChildren aspect of the anti-immigration efforts
of the Trump administration, but we have clarity that tearing children away
from their parents as families seek asylum here is not the answer. If we are
postcarders or letter writers, here are officials we can share our perspective
with about #EndFamilySeparation: https://drive.google.com/open?id=144T4WfVhxm-ghKBJOOJjDnW3cD95nlOF
10. Aside from the NRA political action committee
(PAC), NRA Political Victory Fund, studies show that the majority of US
citizens favor gun reform measures including “ universal background
checks, stronger measures requiring accountability by gun dealers unable to
account for missing guns, a test that demonstrates safe and lawful gun handling
for those legally allowed to carry a concealed gun, improved reporting of people
disqualified from owning a gun due to mental health criteria, gun prohibitions
for people with temporary domestic violence restraining orders, and laws that
create a civil process for families to petition the court for temporary removal
of a firearm from those deemed to be at serious risk for harming themselves or
others.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-guns-opinions/most-u-s-gun-owners-support-stronger-gun-laws-idUSKCN1IT1Q6
Simultaneously, “Physician members of the American Medical Association
are pushing the nation’s largest doctor group to back an “unprecedented” number
of measures designed to curb gun violence and coax Congress into action.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2018/05/27/ama-pushes-unprecedented-gun-control-agenda-as-congress-dithers/#1a4640a669ef Let’s
tell our MoCs that it is time for them to work on this important life-saving
issue.
Election 2018 –
General
An election guide from Postcards for America: In this Google doc (updated
regularly), 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:
Election 2018 –
By State
1. Voting
dates and deadlines this week:
|
May 30
|
Arizona
|
Filing Deadline
|
|
|
May 30
|
Utah
|
Last day to change party affiliation
|
Primary
|
|
May 31
|
Vermont
|
Filing Deadline
|
|
|
June 1
|
New York (Federal)
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
June 01
|
Alaska
|
Filing Deadline
|
|
|
June 01
|
Kansas
|
Filing Deadline
|
|
|
June 01
|
Wisconsin
|
Filing Deadline
|
|
|
June 01
|
Wyoming
|
Filing Deadline
|
|
|
June 2
|
New Mexico
|
Early voting ends
|
Primary
|
2. CA: With Election Day less than a
week away, there is a real danger that NO Democrats will advance to the runoffs
in three key primary races in CA-39,
CA-48,
and CA-49. With our Jungle Primary system, only the top two vote getters will
advance to the general election, so we MUST boost the Democratic turnout. Fortunately
Flip the 14 and the Courage Campaign, two organizations with active field and
digital campaigns in California are partnering to help push a Democrat
into the top two. We can help by signing up to volunteer with their texting
program today. We can sign up to make
phone calls with Courage Campaign here: http://act.couragecampaign.org/signup/California_Counts_phonebank_F14/ We
can sign up to text, phone or email with Flip the 14 here: https://www.flipthe14.com/text We
can sign up to email people we know in these districts, using Voter Circle here:
https://votercircle.com/c/california-counts/join Let’s
Flip these districts Blue!
Other Actions
1. Many are
wondering how we can help refugee children.
Together
Rising is having a love flash mob to raise funds to
have at least 60 of these children have legal representation instead of having
to face a judge alone to determine their fate.
We can find out more about the situation and how to donate: https://momastery.com/blog/2018/05/29/emergency-love-flash-mob-for-the-children/
2. Some of
us, too, wonder how we can help these unaccompanied refugee children by
bringing them into our homes for safe keeping.
Checking with our local foster care agency to ask if they participate in
a such a refugee program would be a good step.
We can also check here for frequently asked questions about the
program: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/orr/unaccompanied-children-frequently-asked-questions and here, too: http://www.sharedjustice.org/most-recent/2017/4/25/providing-a-home-foster-care-for-unaccompanied-refugee-children
3. With so
much political turmoil going on in our country, it's easy to lose track
of important local issues like the quality of our schools. The
National Education Association wants to remind us that a better world can start
with better schools, so let's use their simple School Opportunities Checklist
to help the NEA direct its efforts to shape schools that will best educate our
future decision-makers. http://pages.email.nea.org/your-school-checklist
4. Last
month, the Department of Education released data on racial disparities in every
school and school district in America. This report clearly indicated that
discipline disparities are growing for students of color (https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/04/24/discipline-disparities-grow-for-students-of-color.html),
Since the Trump-DeVos Education Department wants to do less rather than more
about correcting these disparities, it’s up to us. The activist Samuel
Sinyangwe has created a step-by-step guide to determine how big any given
school’s disparities are. Let’s check it out here,
look up how our local schools are doing, and if we’re not satisfied contact our
school boards, school districts, and parent-teacher organizations to ask what
they’re doing to create change.
5. act.tv has
created this nice little video, “How to Defeat Authoritarianism.” Let’s watch
it and then share on social media: http://act.tv/v/17303/
6. Following
a racist tweet by Roseanne Barr, ABC has cancelled her show. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/roseanne-barr-attacks-valerie-jarrett-with-racist-tweet-2018-05-29 Let’s thank ABC for their quick and
appropriate response to racism. Contacts: http://abc.go.com/feedback or 77 W 66th St, New York, NY 10023 or (800) 230-0229 or @ABCNetwork or https://www.facebook.com/ABCNetwork/
7. Student
leaders from Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Sandy Hook, Columbine, and neighborhoods
impacted by gun violence across the country have joined together to form Team ENOUGH, backed by The Brady Center Against Gun
Violence .This new youth-led group will focus on student engagement on the
issue of gun violence prevention and ways to continue momentum for change,
including voter education, community empowerment, and advocacy. Team ENOUGH
will convene individual leaders and other youth-focused organizations on a
national platform. If we are a student,
or know one, ready to get involved, we can find out more and join in
here: https://www.teamenough.org/
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1. The ACLU People
Power campaign is organizing #FamiliesBelongTogether rallies this Friday, June
1. The rallies will take place at immigration enforcement offices around
the country to protest the Trump administration’s inhumane practice of
separating children from their parents as they seek refuge at our borders.
Let’s sign up to attend a rally: https://map.peoplepower.org/ Further reading:
2. June
1st has
been designated the National Day of Action for Children. There will be
protests around the country concerning the new Homeland Security policy which
separates undocumented children as young as one year old from their
parents--even legitimate asylum seekers--at the border, and puts them,
according to John Kelly “in foster care or whatever”: http://www.businessinsider.com/john-kelly-family-separation-policy-illegal-border-crossing-2018-5 For more
information, we can check here: https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/families-belong-together
3. This weekend, June 1-3, “People around the
country are coming together with a simple message: there's more we can do to
end gun violence.” Let’s check here to find a Wear Orange Weekend” sponsored by
Everytown for Gun
Safety and Moms Demand Action
for Gun Safety event near us:
http://act.everytown.org/event/wear-orange-2018/search/
4. Rallies, on June 14, in support of the
missing immigrant children are being coordinated all over the country. “The March for Stolen Children is a peaceful
event. Everyone participating in this event will be required to abide by all
applicable laws and lawful orders of authorities." We can use this link to
create a rally near us: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeFqhCwGsoZOua_tompfPhoPmi0Qx9je3iAskumf3ZhflhvWg/viewform
States
1. MI:
Three voter ID bills (HB 6046, HB 6047, HB 6048) have
been introduced to the House which would likely increase voter suppression (http://aclumich.org/article/we-cant-afford-voter-suppression-michigan).
Let's be sure to call our state reps and ask them to oppose these bills. We can
also use ACLU of Michigan's website to edit and send a letter to our state
representative: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/mi-discriminatory-voter-ID-bills
Reading/Watching
1. We should be interested in Katherine Stewart's
account of Project Blitz, “the latest attempt by religious extremists to use
the coercive powers of government to secure a privileged position in society
for their version of Christianity":
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/26/opinion/project-blitz-christian-nationalists.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/26/opinion/project-blitz-christian-nationalists.html
2. To defeat the NRA, reform our democracy with
these practical steps, argues Adam Eichen, in this article: https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/how-ultimately-defeat-nra-ncna877316 Eichen
is the co-author with Frances Moore Lappe of the book Daring Democracy: Igniting Power,
Meaning, and Connection for the America We Want (Beacon Press 2017).
3. In case we aren’t yet entirely clear about
what’s at stake in the corporate giveaway Trump calls a “tax reform,” we should
take a look at the data the NY Times has published. “This year, publicly traded
corporations in the United States had to begin revealing their pay ratios —
comparisons between the pay of their chief executive and the median
compensation of other employees at the company. The results were predictably
striking”: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/05/25/business/ceo-pay-2017.html
Here’s the Times’ analysis of this data: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/25/business/highest-paid-ceos-2017.html
Here’s the Times’ analysis of this data: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/25/business/highest-paid-ceos-2017.html
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