6/13/18 (#488)
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.
Corrected Link: From one of our own: To protect
rights of #LGBTQ youth & deliver needed services,
the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) asks if children left home
because of “family conflict related to child's sexual orientation, gender
identity, or gender expression”—45’s HHS wants to take this Q away. .. At the
time of drafting this thread, there are only 45 public comments filed. In a
previous #60SecondCTA public comment thread I posted, together #TheResistance filed 554 comments. Let’s see if we can
break that record to protect the rights of #LGBTQ foster children & parents…Follow
this link: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=ACF-2018-0003 Click
“comment now” Tell 45's HHS how you feel about them taking away questions that
protect the rights of #LGBTQ foster children &
parents. Comment deadline is today, June 13.
1.
Trump’s
bull-in-a-china-shop diplomacy continued in Singapore with his historic meeting
with Kim Jong Un. He held no regard for details or history: https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2018/jun/12/trump-and-kim-document-analysis-singapore-agreement-denuclearisation Let’s stay in touch with our MoC to say
that we value the art and science of diplomacy and need more in these delicate
times.
2. “With
tensions between the U.S. and Canada on the rise, the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) has announced a "strengthened" Northern Border
Strategy that
it claims will help "combat terrorism" and "help facilitate
travel and trade" at its border with Canada.” http://www.newsweek.com/dhs-announces-strengthened-northern-border-strategy-amid-growing-tensions-973115 Let’s
remind DHS and our legislators that Canada is our
long-time friend and this is a dangerous precedent to set and a waste of our
tax dollars.
3. Donald
Trump has rolled out another set of judicial nominations, including assistant
attorney general Chad Readler to the 6th Circuit. Readler has argued in favor
of the Muslim ban, punishing sanctuary cities and family separation (http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sanctuary-9th-circuit-20180410-story.html). Let’s make this pick a test for the U.S.
Senate. We can call our senators and tell them if they oppose any of these
policies, we expect them to vote against Readler, and we’ll consider a yes vote
on his nomination an endorsement of them.
4. Trump
and his allies have made it clear that many basic norms of American politics
can’t be left up to tradition and common sense anymore. That’s why Rep. Eric
Swalwell has introduced the Duty to Report Act, which would explicitly require
candidates and campaigns to notify the FBI if anyone representing a foreign
power offers dirt on that candidates’ opponents (https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/06/reporting-foreign-meddling-in-elections-shouldnt-be-optional/561767). Let’s contact our reps, tell them they
need to support and quickly pass this commonsense legislation and dare Trump to
veto it.
5. Sen.
Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) welcomed the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for
Moral Revival to
the Capitol yesterday for a powerfully important conversation on poverty in
America. Let’s watch, listen, and learn
as poor and marginalized Americans come together across the country to demand a
government that works for the people.
https://www.facebook.com/senatorelizabethwarren/videos/988702641292229/ Now,
let’s ask our MoCs what they are doing about poverty and let’s find ways to
work on this ourselves. Let’s not “waste
their pain” or ours.
6. ICE and
border patrol seem to work on different rules and guidelines than other law
enforcement, like this situation in Ohio:
http://www.sanduskyregister.com/story/201806080017 The
Senate and the House both have oversight of Homeland Security. Contact the
individual members of the committees and ask what they are doing about ICE and
border patrol misconduct. Then, ask what
we can do. Contacts: Senate Committee on
Homeland Security:
https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/about and Border and Maritime Security
Subcommittee of the House Committee on Homeland Security: https://homeland.house.gov/subcommittee/border_and_maritime_security_subcommittee/
7. As the
president continues to contemplate pardons of various people indicted in the
Russia investigation, and even entertain the notion of pardoning himself, a
move that implies he is above the law, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Sen.
Catherine Cortez Maestro (D-NV) have introduced the Abuse of Pardon Prevention
Act (HR 5551/S2770), which would reign in the president’s
pardoning powers. http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/385145-dem-senators-introduce-bill-to-increase-transparency-of-presidential-pardons Let’s
check to see if our Reps. and Senators have sponsored this legislation and ask them
to sign on.
8. The
Trump administration's attack on immigrants is escalating, as parents are
separated from their children, those with Temporary Protected Status or
Deferred Enforced Departure are having their status revoked, and asylum terms
are being narrowed. Now, the administration will be reviewing those who have
been naturalized and checking to see if they have discrepancies in their
identification information, in which case their U.S. citizenship will be
revoked (https://bit.ly/2HHefnr). While this may have seemed like an
understandable pursuit in other administrations, the Trump administration has
showed us what their cruel zero tolerance policy looks like. Let's call our MoC
and ask them exactly what steps they are taking to protect immigrants in our
country, and what they are doing to uphold humane treatment of those facing
deportation hearings. We can also ask that they cosponsor and support the Keep
Families Together Act (S. 3036).
9. To
better understand why so many Central Americans have sought out the United
States as a place of refuge, it's important to understand the situation and
circumstances from which they are fleeing. Last summer, the Guardian published
an extremely informative article, detailing the situation (and the U.S.'s role
in it) with numerous links for further reading:
https://bit.ly/2s5QluM Let's check it out, then call on our
MoC to support legislation like the SECURE Act (S. 2144), which protects current TPS holders, and
the American Promise Act (H.R. 4253), which offers protections for those with
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED, and the
bipartisan ASPIRE-TPS Act of 2017 (H.R. 4384), which would allow residents with TPS who
can prove “extreme hardship” to apply for a green card.
10. Thanks to a FOIA request by the National
Student Legal Defense Network, we have just learned that Education Secretary
Betsy DeVos disregarded a scathing 244-page review by her own career staff this
spring when she reinstated the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and
Schools (ACICS), the “watchdog” body that accredited scandal-ridden
for-profit universities whose bankruptcies left tens of thousands of students
with worthless degrees and mountains of debt. DeVos falsely claimed that she
was obligated to reinstate ACICS by a federal court order:
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/09/devos-for-profit-college-accreditor-report-611935 Let’s tell DeVos that ACICS’ failure
to meet 57 of the 93 criteria required of accreditors by federal law
disqualifies them from any role in education: 800-872-5327 or 400 Maryland
Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20202 or Betsy.DeVos@ed.gov
11. Trump’s
war on poor people continues unabated. The House voted to cut the
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) last week; now it’s up to the
Senate. Let’s contact our senators now, before the mandatory 45 day limit
for a Senate vote on the “rescissions” bill is over: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-2/2018/06/house_cut_childrens_health_insurance_funding_advocates_watch.html Ben Carson has backed away from huge
rent increases on poor households, but not from the “structural reforms” he
wants to make at HUD:
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/08/ben-carson-triple-rents-for-poorest-households-634986 We must keep up the pressure on
our senators, if we hope to protect the most economically vulnerable of us.
12. “Days after the Trump administration agreed
to restore Chinese telecom firm ZTE's access to its U.S. parts suppliers, a
bipartisan group of senators moved to block the deal.” This was done as an amendment to the National
Defense Authorization Act. https://www.npr.org/2018/06/12/619072445/senators-reverse-trumps-deal-to-keep-chinas-zte-alive
Let’s make sure our MoCs know that we want them to vote FOR this
amendment.
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:
1. File
under Parenting: How to Raise a Voter. Let’s read this lively, practical,
succinct piece by the Girl Scouts on how to teach your girl to become a voter.
No reason why the advice can’t apply to boys, too! https://www.girlscouts.org/en/raising-girls/leadership/life-skills/how-to-vote-with-kids.html
2. Whether
or not Maine adopts ranked-choice voting--sometimes called “preferential
voting” or “instant runoff voting” and used in races with at least three
candidates--this system is under consideration in at least 19 states, and we
should understand it. “The whole idea is to elect a candidate whom a majority
of voters can live with. As of now, most places in the United States go by
plurality, choosing the candidate who is, in election lingo, “first past the
post,” even if that person does not have majority support”:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/11/us/maine-ranked-choice-voting.html and https://www.necn.com/news/politics/Maine-Ranked-Choice-Voting-Explained-485239441.html
4. From one
of our own: Please encourage your
members to write their Mayors and City Commissioners and urge them to
immediately pass legislation that encourages voter registration by renters,
something that is already being done in Madison, Wisconsin and East Lansing,
Michigan. Young people are often renters, and this is an excellent way to reach
them in my opinion. As you know, there
are massive voter suppression efforts underway that we must counteract with
smart local laws to encourage voter registration and civic engagement at every
opportunity. https://mic.com/articles/187178/how-cities-are-bypassing-states-to-explore-registering-hundreds-of-thousands-to-vote#.GHEYfovlw
Election 2018 –
By State
1. Upcoming
voting dates and deadlines:
June 14
|
Maryland
|
Early Voting Begins
|
Primary
|
June 15
|
New Hampshire
|
Filing Deadline
|
|
June 04
|
Washington D.C.
|
Early voting ends
|
primary
|
June 15
|
South Carolina
|
In Person absentee voting begins
|
runoffs
|
June 18
|
Arkansas
|
Early voting ends
|
runoffs
|
June 18
|
Colorado
|
Early voting begins
|
Primary
|
June 19
|
Utah
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary (in person/online)
|
June 19
|
Washington D.C.
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary (at polls)
|
June 19
|
Washington D.C.
|
Election date
|
Primary
|
June 19
|
Arkansas
|
Election date
|
Runoffs
|
June 21
|
Maryland
|
Early Voting ends
|
Primary
|
June 21
|
Oklahoma
|
Early Voting begins
|
Primary
|
June 22
|
Utah
|
Early Voting ends
|
Primary
|
June 23
|
Oklahoma
|
Early Voting ends
|
Primary
|
(source: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WJiqNAZNlWPSCAvuRpQ5e5dFiC5IY3O3epicrCuHINs/edit#gid=514224366 We can also see this info by state
here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IMWqHIktIBS7jPxS4mVV1--YKYVa-2yYWjV8QHsi1F4/edit#gid=1798528701)
Other Actions
1. In conjunction with tomorrow’s Families Belong
Together Rallies across the country, the organizers have also organized this “Lunchtime
for Change -- Virtual Event, Anywhere” that is full of actions we can
take. Let’s check it out and
participate: https://actionnetwork.org/events/lunchtime-for-change-families-belong-together
2. Several high-level members of congress including
Senators John McCain (R-AZ) Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) have spoken out against the
president’s recent behavior at the G-7 summit and his personal attacks on
Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/391524-mccain-takes-jab-at-trump-over-trade-tells-allies-americans-stand-with-you. Let’s join their
efforts by sending a personal note of apology for the President's behavior to
Mr. Trudeau. We can contact him on-line, or at Office of
the Prime Minister, 80 Wellington St., Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A2, or via the Canadian
Embassy, 501 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20001.
3. Watching what some thought was a North Korean propaganda
film reveling in the glories of their country, reporters learned it was done by
the White House. http://www.journalnow.com/news/nation_world/watch-reporters-thought-this-video-was-north-korea-propaganda-it/article_ee9278c2-8740-5c2e-98bd-0ff004100dc4.html Let’s use this opportunity to learn more
about North Korea and some people who made the move to leave: https://www.npr.org/tags/492700911/north-korean-defectors and http://www.twoamericansinchina.com/2017/06/3-defectors-memoirs-north-korea.html
4. From Act4Progress: While legislation to help separated families
crawls through Congress, here is a direct action: Help pay the bonds to get
parents released.
5. The religious right has been very quiet about the
separation of families at the southern border. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/03/us-immigration-ice-migrant-children-refugees If we don’t already know, let's ask what our
own place of worship is doing, then let's ask others in our area as well.
Perhaps we can organize some support.
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1. “Families Belong Together opposes the
cruel, inhumane and unjustified separation of children from their parents along
the U.S. border with Mexico and at other ports of entry into the U.S. We
protest the conditions in which these children are kept. We protest the
irreversible trauma that has already been perpetrated on these children and
their parents for the crime of seeking a better life.” Rallies will be held nationwide on Thursday,
June 14. Let’s find one near us and
attend: https://familiesbelong.org/
2. On Saturday, June 23 the Poor People's
Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival will head to the
US Capitol in Washington, D.C. for a call to action Rally to Fight Poverty Not
the Poor, capping off our #40DaysOfAction and launching the next phase of our
movement for the long-haul. We can phone
bank to help get the word out: https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/phonebank If we need a ride
or can offer a ride, check here: https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org
States
1. MOST: This Monday the FCC's net neutrality rules
were taken off the books, despite overwhelming public support for an internet
that treats all customers and content providers equally. There are court cases
already pending on this issue, and more are sure to come, but right now the
best way to keep pushing for a return to net neutrality is to push our state
representatives to pass state-specific versions of net neutrality rules. The
FCC has tried to prohibit such rules, but Washington and Oregon have made them
anyway, and California is about to do so too. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/06/first-state-net-neutrality-law-took-effect-today-countering-fcc-repeal/ If
many states enact such rules, it might shift the political ground enough to
sway the legal cases. Let’s touch base
with our state MoCs to let them know this is important to us.
2. MA: The red flag bill (H 4539), which would allow the courts to take guns
away from people deemed dangerous to themselves and others, has now passed both
the House and the Senate. https://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2018/06/massachusetts_senate_passes_re_3.html. Let’s contact our state
legislators and
ask them to work out the differences in the legislation quickly and forward
this bill to the governor’s desk. Let’s also lean on Governor Baker,
(617-725-4005 or via email), who has expressed tepid support, but has not yet committed to signing the bill.
3. MI: “References to gay rights, Roe v. Wade, climate change and “core
democratic values” have been stripped from Michigan’s new proposed social
studies standards, and the historic role of the NAACP downplayed, through the
influence of Republican state Sen. Patrick Colbeck and a cadre of conservatives
who helped rewrite the standards for public school students in kindergarten
through 12th grade.” https://www.bridgemi.com/talent-education/history-gets-conservative-twist-michigan-social-studies-standards Check
the link for times and places to provide public input. We can also provide comments here: https://fs28.formsite.com/pf98Hd/form7/index.html
4. NC: North Carolina Republicans have introduced a bill that would put voter
ID on the ballot this November. Their previous voter ID law was struck down in
court for discriminating against African Americans with "almost surgical
precision." They are asking people in NC to call their state reps. If we
are not in NC, we can still share this graphic on social media to shed some
light on these votes suppressors' scheme. Call NC reps: https://www.letamericavote.org/NCVoterSuppression Share
the post on social media if we don't live in NC:
5. VA: LET’S GET INVOLVED VIRGINIA! RISE District is a key partner in the National
Messaging and Policy Task force. They are presently finalizing a Grassroots
Policy Agenda to share with VA legislators during an event on June
23rd and will distribute to others as well. THEY NEED MORE SUPPORT! If we
are interested in any of the topic areas listed , we can email Rosanna Boss at
info@grassrootsideas.org
TOPICS: Potential gaps/additional
ideas needed on the following: Healthcare, Manufacturing, Immigration, The
Environment, Women’s Rights/Issues, Gun Violence, School Safety, LGBTQ Issues, Rural
Issues, and Defending our Democracy
Reading/Watching
1. “Voting while black: the racial injustice that
harms our democracy” - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/07/black-voter-suppression-rights-america-trump
2. “The
truth about my refugee students” - http://thehill.com/opinion/education/391408-the-truth-about-my-refugee-students
3. “The Terrible Arguments Against the
Constitutionality of the Mueller Investigation” by George Conway (husband of
Kellyanne Conway) - https://lawfareblog.com/terrible-arguments-against-constitutionality-mueller-investigation
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