6/18/18
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.
This
week in Congress: Twenty-one (21) bills and resolutions are on the
House Majority
Leader's Schedule for
this week starting on Tuesday. Additionally, we can look at this
week's House committee schedule here. Let's know what's coming. The Senate begins their Monday session
by resuming consideration of H.R.5515, the National Defense Authorization Act
(NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019. (Source: Senate Calendar) Last week, Senate leaders agreed to
include language in the NDAA that would reverse the Trump administration's
decision to save Chinese telecommunications company ZTE after it was caught
violating the terms of a 2017 penalty agreement by making illegal sales to Iran
and North Korea. We can read more about that at Politico.
2.
Trump
aide Stephen Miller (or, as Jon Lovett from Crooked Media/Pod Save America
calls him, “C+ Santa Monica fascist Stephen Miller”) made clear that separating
families at the border was a “simple decision”: https://forward.com/fast-forward/403348/stephen-miller-was-driving-force-behind-trump-family-separation-policy/ Are we clear on what our own Senators
are doing about this ‘simple decision’ by this white-supremacist in the White
House? We can check the list of co-sponsors here to Senator Feinstein’s Keep Families
Together bill (S.3036) and then reach out to our Senators to
demand their involvement or say thanks for co-sponsoring. Hint: ZERO
Republicans have cosponsored, and Joe Manchin (D-WV) is the only Dem who has
yet to co-sign. Let’s also contact the
members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and tell them to approve this and
move it to a floor vote for the sake of these children who should not be used
as pawns. Contact: https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/about/members
3.
Nearly
2000 children have been separated from their parents at the border. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-children/government-says-nearly-2000-child-separations-at-mexico-border-in-under-two-months-idUSKBN1JB2SF We can
file a complaint against the policy of family separation with The Office for
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties within the Dept. of Homeland Security. Contact: https://www.dhs.gov/office-civil-rights-and-civil-liberties
4.
Trump
said that Hillary Clinton should have been imprisoned for her emails. We now know that was a cruel ruse. However, despite Kim Jong Un’s criminal
activity and human rights abuses, Trump is cozying up to him instead of calling
him out. http://www.chicagonow.com/politics-now/2018/06/the-good-the-bad-and-the-con-of-the-kim-summit/ Let’s
be very wary of Trump’s self-proclaimed achievements and make sure our MoCs
know that we want them involved in what is happening on the international
front.
5.
Even if
our reps have already signed on to the legislation to end family separation,
there’s still more they can do. Visits to the sites where detained children are
being held apart from their parents by leaders like Senator Merkley have
focused attention on this ongoing horror, and kept it there (https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/sen-jeff-merkley-talks-his-visit-to-immigration-detention-centers-1249651267671). Let’s ask our members of Congress to
follow his lead, go to these sites, talk with the children, and amplify their
voices.
6.
The
Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) of the US Department of
Homeland Security investigates complaints filed by the public. Let’s flood the
office with complaints about ICE—family separation, human rights abuses in
detention, failure to provide counsel for vulnerable children and their
families, sneaky apprehension tactics, etc. Here’s how to file
complaints: https://www.dhs.gov/compliance-branch h/t https://www.facebook.com/events/255225215223830/
7.
The Benghazi
investigations went on for years without any finding of wrong doing., yet Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) thinks that the Mueller investigation
has gone on too long, despite its already many arrests, indictments, guilty pleas,
and jailings. http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/392454-mcconnell-mueller-ought-to-wrap-it-up Let’s remind McConnell that Mueller will be
done when he is finished and that our country will be better for it.
8.
White
House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders had an intense press
briefing on Thursday: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/14/sarah-huckabee-sanders-reporters-white-house-press-briefings-tension-648338 Let’s let her know that we are
done with her lies and ready for her to go: The White House, 1600
Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20500 or on Twitter @PressSec
9.
This
past weekend, seven members of Congress delegation made a surprise visit to an
ICE detention center and refused to leave until they were let in. http://thehill.com/homenews/house/392680-dem-lawmakers-make-surprise-visit-to-ice-detention-center. Let’s ask our MoCs to keep organizing
visits to these facilities and to make sure that the American public gains full
details on how detainees are being treated.
10. There are currently 12 investigations into
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's actions, and it appears that Republican
lawmakers are growing more critical of his conduct (https://politi.co/2JErVoP). While Trump has shown his unwillingness to
fire him, and Pruitt has not shown any indication that he will resign, Congress
could still take action through impeachment and removal from
office.
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/06/13/if-pruitt-wont-resign-and-trump-wont-fire-him-what-penalty-could-he-face/). There would need to be significant support
for such drastic action, so let's be sure to contact our MoC in the House and
Senate.
11. The public comment period is open for EPA’s
proposal to restrict its use of scientific studies in developing rules and
other policies. Although the Trump Administration advocates the proposal
as supporting “transparency,” the proposal would make it impractical for EPA to
consider key peer-reviewed scientific studies of the health effects of
pollution. Some of the most influential and useful studies are conducted
by university or other non-government scientists, and the underlying raw data
is not publicly available due to privacy concerns about patients’ medical
information. https://blog.ucsusa.org/andrew-rosenberg/now-is-the-time-to-halt-the-epas-restrictions-on-science For
information on the proposal, how to comment — including suggested talking
points — and links for more information, see Restricting
the Use of Science Under the Guise of Providing Transparency.
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.
We don't
have to wait for November to flip a seat in Congress! We still have a week to
help Postcards To Voters get out the vote in Texas' CD 27. We
have a whole Congressional District's-worth of Democratic voters to
remind about this unusually-scheduled June election; it's on Saturday,
June 30! It's a long list of voter addresses that volunteers have been working
on for a week already. If we can, let's write 5 postcards for Campaign 92: Eric Holguin for US Congress. If we are new
volunteers, we can sign up here. Let's help unite the Democratic vote for
Eric.
2.
He was
once on the other side of the issue, but Bob Orr, a Republican and former
justice of the North Carolina state Supreme Court, has changed his mind. He is
now speaking out against the new Republican push for an amendment to the NC
state constitution that would require photo voter IDs: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/article213082809.html Let’s send him a note of thanks for
recognizing the link between vote ID laws, voter suppression, and the brutal
history of denying Black Americans the franchise: greenponds.enterprises@gmail.com
3.
Webmasters!
Vote.org has free civic engagement tools we can add to our websites—including a
Register to Vote tool, an Absentee Ballot tool, a Verify Voter Registration
Status Tool, and an Election Reminders Tool. https://www.vote.org/technology/ Let’s help increase voter turnout by
adding these tools to the websites of our progressive candidates and resistance
groups.
4.
With its
new initiative #TeenTheVote , the organization Spread the Vote will help high
school grads in TN, GA, and TX get the voter IDs they need to vote in
November’s mid-term elections. Let’s see how we can help this important
campaign:
5.
The
Supreme Court’s recent decision in Husted v. APRI will make it easier for
Republicans to suppress the vote by purging “inactive” voters (https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-supreme-courts-husted-decision-will-make-it-more-difficult-for-democrats-to-vote). The OpenProgress text troop is fighting
back, texting people in critical swing states who have moved or been marked
inactive to encourage them to fix their registrations. Let’s sign up to
help here.
Election 2018 –
By State
1.
Upcoming
voting dates and deadlines:
|
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. Sleeping Giants (who leads the charge against companies who
advertise on Breitbart) and GrabYourWallet (aka Shannon Coulter who leads the boycotting of
Trump-related products) have both been behind the scenes and uncovering which
companies are financially benefiting from the child separation policy. We
now know the names of two contractors that are coordinating these child
shelters: A) MVM Inc. (Twitter: @MVMINC Phone: (571)223-4500), and B) General Dynamics
(Twitter: @GDMS “Ethics helpline”: 800-433-8442). Let’s
contact them by phone, Twitter, or by using the email addresses listed here to
tell them what we think: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1tPp7M2_GwQ7IeB9mHhYAHtHSZMEbhkKS
2.
Thankfully awareness has been building over the
weekend about the family separation issues for asylum seekers at our southern
border. We can find ways to help here in this guide from Slate: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/06/how-you-can-fight-family-separation-at-the-border.html
3.
Let’s thank the Southern Baptist Convention http://www.sbc.net/ for passing
a resolution calling for “the priority of family unity” and humane immigration
reform.
www.sbcannualmeeting.net/sbc18/resolution?ID=2288 (open
Resolution 5). Contact form: http://www.sbc.net/ContactUs.asp
4.
Part of the reason Trump has been so effective is
due to the way he frames language and garners press attention to spread his
skewed version of the truth. Let’s make sure to read and widely share this article from the
Guardian that explains how the press and the American
public continues to be manipulated by deliberately deceptive framing and
language choices. And let’s write letters to the editors of our local
newspapers warning them of these dangers and entreating them to (1) Learn more
about how propaganda works (2) Stop the president from controlling the news
cycle and (3) Stop directly quoting his lies as headliners, even if they’re
reported as lies.
5.
Open Progress is seeking
volunteers, especially Spanish speakers to text with them in the next few weeks
as we try to register and or re-activate as many Latino voters in Arizona as
possible. You really don’t need to speak Spanish, but it’s a super bonus if you
do. More info here: https://www.openprogress.com/text-troop
6.
Attention attorneys, interpreters and law students!
There is a direct way to fight Trump's continuing attack against immigrants. It
is a fact that "Immigrants with legal counsel are more than 10
times as likely to succeed in their cases as detained immigrants
without a lawyer. Yet, the great majority of immigrant detainees, especially in
the Southeast, are not represented." Volunteering with SIFI (Southeast
Immigrant Freedom Initiative), led by the Southern Poverty Law Center, is
a fantastic way to give these folks the support and representation they need.
More info here: https://www.splcenter.org/our-issues/immigrant-justice/southeast-immigrant-freedom-initiative/english/volunteer-sifi
7.
Award-winning, left-leaning editorial cartoonist
Rob Rogers was fired from his job at The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette after the
hiring of right-leaning editorial page editor Keith Burris. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/15/business/media/pittsburgh-cartoonist-fired.html After
noticing that Rogers’ cartoons were not being published, the Association of
American Editorial Cartoonists issued a statement that included this: “We would
take this opportunity to remind all editorial page editors that their
responsibility is to the readers…and to the open and ongoing search for truth
in contending opinions.” Let’s read the whole statement, http://news.editorialcartoonists.com/aaec/2018/06/a-statement-from-the-aaec-board-on-rob-rogers-and-the-post-gazette.html , and let’s
protest the firing of Rob Rogers: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette John Robinson Block,
Publisher, and Keith Burris, Editorial Page Editor, 358 North Shore Drive,
Pittsburgh, PA 15212; 412-263-1100. . If
we are Pittsburgh area Rogan's listers, let's consider cancelling our newspaper
subscription to the Post-Gazette if we have one.
8.
Let’s thank the members of the Evangelical
Immigration Table for sending this letter: http://evangelicalimmigrationtable.com/cms/assets/uploads/2018/06/EIT-Family-Separation-Letter-6.1.2018.pdf to Trump in
protest of the administration’s cruel border family separation policy.
Contact: info@evangelicalimmigrationtable.com
9.
Let’s thank the Anti-Defamation League for
organizing 26 Jewish groups:
https://forward.com/fast-forward/403200/26-jewish-groups-condemn-unconscionable-policy-separating-children-from/ to
send a joint letter:
https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/documents/jewish-orgs-letter-sessions-nielsen-family-separations-2018-06-12.pdf to AG
Sessions and Sec. Nielsen protesting the Trump administration’s cruel practice
of separating children from their parents at the border. Contact: https://www.adl.org/contact
10.
As we work to persuade hearts and minds away from
misperceptions, fake news, and propaganda, a study suggests that charts and
graphics can be very effective tools. Let’s read about it here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/06/15/study-charts-change-hearts-and-minds-better-than-words-do/?utm_term=.128eeac2ba1e and
here, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17457289.2018.1465061 , and let’s
add graphics to our tool boxes.
11.
The DNC wants to know what issues are important to
us. Let’s tell them: https://my.democrats.org/page/s/issues-survey-acq-m
12.
If we are a mental or medical health professional,
we are asked to sign on here with Physicians for Human Rights (PHR… in an
urgent letter addressed to the Department of Homeland Security and Department
of Justice, expressing grave concerns about the administration’s stated
practice of separating migrant and asylum-seeking families at the U.S. border: https://secure.phr.org/secure/family-separation-sign-letter
13.
The two highest vote-getting Dems in South
Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District are heading for a runoff
for the U.S. House seat. Let’s join our sisters in South Carolina
who are denouncing the bullying of Sean Carrigan, one of the
candidates. “representatives of the Carrigan campaign have engaged
in unprecedented sexist political bullying, including bogus legal threats,
bogus ethics complaints, “slut shaming,” attempts to physically intimidate his female
opponent, her daughter and her supporters, cyber bullying on social media and
via anonymous email, the release of personal documents illegally received by
the campaign, and the use of sexist imagery to demean his female
opponent.” Sign here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/women-denounce-political-bullying
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1.
Think California has the “Gold Standard” Net
Neutrality Law all set? Think again. ATT funded lobbyists and think tanks have
been pressuring a key committee to weaken consumer protections. Now there are
just a few days left before Wednesday’s vote that could gut or
kill this important bill. Fortunately, we can reach these lawmakers by joining
Action Together Networks’ Twitterstorm this Monday, June 18 at
8pm EST. This is not just a state wide issue since California’s results will
influence other states. Passing a strong law here could have wide, national
benefits. We can find out more about the
event here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1862906040437031/?ti=icl
When we click on this link, we can send out prewritten tweets with just a few clicks.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1862906040437031/?ti=icl
When we click on this link, we can send out prewritten tweets with just a few clicks.
2.
“On Saturday, June 23 the #PoorPeoplesCampaign will be
headed to the US Capitol for a mass rally in Washington, D.C. as part of our
Global Day of Solidarity, rounding out the #40DaysofAction and
launching our next period of movement building for the long haul. The rally will
begin at 10am. Join us as we show our elected leaders we will no
longer allow attention violence to keep poor and disenfranchised people down!”
Learn more here: http://bit.ly/MassRallyDC”
3.
The National Domestic Workers Alliance is sponsoring
a gathering on June 30, in Washington, DC and across the country to demand that
we keep families together! Pledge to
take action on June 30: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/take-action-june-30
States
Reading/Watching
1.
Experts in authoritarianism advise us to keep a
list of things subtly changing around us, so we’ll remember. Amy Siskind
is keeping that list for us. Amy writes, "[Attorney
General] Sessions invoked the Bible to justify the regime’s practice of
separating migrant children from their parents and exacerbated the crisis by
ordering immigration judges to stop granting asylum to most victims of domestic
abuse and gang violence. Amid widespread condemnation, Trump repeated false
claims blaming Democrats for the border crisis — continuing
his pattern of constructing an alternative version of reality to feed his base." Let's
review Amy Siskind's list week 83.
2.
“When
the Government Takes Your Children: On
June 12th, veteran photographer John Moore captured soon-to-be-separated migrant
families at the U.S.-Mexico border” - https://foto.gettyimages.com/news/politics/when-the-government-takes-your-children
3.
“Increasingly
a Necessity: A 15-Point Guide to Surviving Authoritarianism” (written last
December) - https://billmoyers.com/story/increasingly-necessity-15-point-guide-surviving-authoritarianism/
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