6/6/18
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. Link
correction: “The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a victory on narrow
grounds to a Colorado baker who refused based on his Christian beliefs to make
a wedding cake for a gay couple, stopping short of setting a major precedent
allowing people to claim religious exemptions from anti-discrimination laws.
“ https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-baker/us-supreme-court-backs-christian-baker-who-rebuffed-gay-couple-idUSKCN1J01WU Our
laws for equal treatment and protections against discrimination are severely
lacking in the U.S., and we need legislation to catch up with where we are
culturally. Let's contact our MoC and ask them to cosponsor and support the
Equality Act (S. 1006/H.R. 2282), which would amend the Civil Rights Act of
1964 "to include sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity among
the prohibited categories of discrimination or segregation in places of public
accommodation." The bills already have 197 cosponsors in the House, and 47
in the Senate; it's time to move them forward out of committee. We can also sign this ALCU petition: https://action.aclu.org/petition/congress-pass-equality-act-now
2. Link
correction: Net neutrality rules will
officially expire June 11th, and we’re running out of time to save them (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-internet/us-net-neutrality-rules-will-expire-on-june-11-fcc-idUSKBN1IB1UN). But we still have a chance. Supporters in
the House are trying to force a vote by getting a majority of members to sign
on to a discharge petition. Let’s see
where our reps stand: https://checkyourreps.org/ then,
let’s use this script from 5Calls to tell our reps we want
them to be part of this effort: https://5calls.org/issue/fcc-net-neutrality-cra
3. “The
United Nations human rights office called on the Trump administration Tuesday
to “immediately halt” its accelerating policy of separating children from their
parents after they cross the U.S. border with Mexico, insisting there is
“nothing normal about detaining children.””
https://www.apnews.com/133271c91ef746bc83a43ba8e31aad1d/UN-calls-on-US-to-halt-separations-of-migrant-families We’ve
been telling our MoCs this for days now.
Let’s use this support from the United Nations to make our pleas to them
even stronger.
4. It is
hard to stay on top of the details of the Mueller investigation as new
headlines emerge each day. On Tuesday, Trump declared that he can pardon
himself:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/04/trump-pardon-russia-mueller-investigation-tweet and Special Counsel Mueller has
filed in court that Paul Manafort has tried to tamper with witnesses: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/390683-mueller-manafort-tried-to-tamper-with-potential-witness Let’s be unrelenting with our MoC
that no one is above the law and that the investigation must be allowed to
continue without interference.
5. The federal
school safety commission which was established following the Parkland school
shooting and has had two official meetings, has decided that their
deliberations will not include looking at the role of guns. Chair of the commission, Betsy DoVos told a Senate
subcommittee Tuesday that it did not fit into the commission’s duties. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/06/devos-school-safety-guns/562133/ Let’s
tell DeVos that guns were the impetus for the creation of the commission and that
we want gun recommendations to be part of the report. Oh, and we want them to meet more frequently. School starts up again soon. Contact:
https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/u-s-department-of-education We can also send an email to the commission here: safety@ed.gov
(Other commission members include:
Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Secretary of Health and Human
Services Alex Azar and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen).
6. In
addition to separating families from children at the border, the administration
is exacerbating the use of mass trials of immigrants, as shown in this horrifying photo that was recently leaked to the press. This
practice threatens each person’s right of due process, as public defenders only
have minutes to meet with each of their clients, and questions from the court
need to be answered in unison, resulting in “a mass production of guilty
pleas.” https://www.chron.com/news/politics/texas/article/texas-border-mass-trial-immigration-illegal-photo-12952189.php Let’s make sure our MoCs know that we object
to this breach of human rights and ask them to call for an immediate end to
this policy.
7. EPA
Chief Scott Pruitt remains under investigation for a host of potential actions that suggest
conflicts of interest as well as excessive spending. The most recent revelation is a $1560 bill
for 12 fountain pens. http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/390271-epa-spent-1560-on-customized-fountain-pens-for-pruitt-emails. Let’s remind our MoCs to keep calling
for Pruitt’s resignation. And let’s demand that the U.S. Office of Government
Ethics thoroughly investigate these abuses. (202-482-9300; contactOGE@oge.gov; 1201
New York Ave., NW, Suite 500; Washington, DC 20005)
8. The
Department of Justice is considering a new rule banning bump stocks. While this
would not be as effective as Congress passing a law, it is a step in the right
direction and one we have a real chance of winning. Unfortunately, the anti-gun
sense activists have been much more aggressive in submitting public comments (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-guns-bumpstocks/pro-gun-voices-dominate-in-debate-over-trumps-bump-stock-ban-idUSKBN1I5111). Let’s make sure our voices are heard. We
can submit our comments in favor of the ban at this link.
9. The
Senate is currently considering two different proposals to replace the
long-standing post-9/11 Authorization for Use of Military Force, which has
allowed three presidents to continually expand the War on Terror. Senator Jeff
Merkley has proposed a new AUMF that would require Congress to actively approve
any further expansion of the war and would expire after three years so that it
won’t stretch on indefinitely without a debate (https://www.lawfareblog.com/primer-sen-merkleys-proposal-replace-aumf). Let’s contact our senators and tell them
we support the Merkley proposal, and we want them to support it too.
10. Some immigration experts have called Ronald
Mortensen’s nomination to be an Assistant Secretary of State for Population,
Refugees, and Migration “a provocation by the administration. . . .To put
somebody in charge whose track record consists of writing about how much he
despises immigrants is just unfathomable”; Mortensen is a fellow at the
anti-immigration think tank Center for Immigration Studies: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/05/trumps-pick-to-lead-refugee-efforts-is-a-critic-of-immigration/561515/ We must urge our senators to oppose
this nomination.
11. Last Friday,
the White House announced that Michael Pack as Trump's pick to head the
Broadcasting Board of Governors. Why this is a big deal: Pack is a close ally
of Steve Bannon, and "is a sharp critic of what he calls the 'politically correct agenda' at
universities around the country, where he says liberal media professors
indoctrinate students with courses on environmental filmmaking and gay
culture." http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/06/04/trump-taps-bannon-ally-for-top-broadcasting-job-michael-pack-broadcasting-board-of-governors-voice-of-america-radio-free-europe-asia/ Is
this who we want in charge of "the broadcasting arm of the U.S.
government, a $685 million agency that oversees prominent U.S.-funded outlets
including Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty"? The position requires Senate confirmation, so
let's let our Senators know that this is not the kind of person who should
be given that kind of power.
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. Primary
Results from yesterday:
AL: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/05/us/elections/results-alabama-primary-elections.html
MT: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/05/us/elections/results-montana-primary-elections.html
Other Actions
1. After
reports that cash-strapped North Korea may have trouble bearing the cost of its
leader’s stay in Singapore, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear
Weapons (ICAN) offered its prize money from the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize to fund
North Korea’s presence at the June 12th meeting between Kim Jong Un
and Donald Trump: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-ican/anti-nuke-nobel-winner-ican-offers-to-pay-for-trump-kim-summit-idUSKCN1J00D2
Whether or not North Korea takes ICAN up on its offer, we should thank them for
this evidence of their seriousness about nuclear disarmament: http://www.icanw.org/contact/
2. Apparently,
the NFL’s sycophantic effort to placate Trump by forcing protesting players to
stay in the locker room during the national anthem neither appeased Trump nor
did it sit well with the Philadelphia Eagles, most of whose players and coaches
declined the customary invitation to the White House to celebrate their Super
Bowl victory. A petulant Trump cancelled the celebration and reignited his
“anthem war”:
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/390755-trump-reignites-anthem-war-with-nfls-eagles
It would be good if we flooded the Eagles with our thanks for their willingness
to stand up for our first amendment rights: 215-463-2500 or:
3. We
have heard about the cruel way that children are literally being grabbed from
their parents’ arms and taken away in a new policy initiated by the President
and Jeff Sessions. We must take action to stop this inhumane treatment of
people, many of whom are seeking asylum from dangerous situations that they
have escaped. Just recently when Senator Jeff Merkley tried to visit one
of the Detention Centers where the children are being held, he (and the
Press) are barred from entering. This should NOT be happening in our country!
Fortunately, Postcards for America has 10 ACTIONS we can take. We can find
them here, do them and then share with our friends on social media: https://pc2a.info/HelpDetentionChildren
4. It
is not too late for us to take part in the Poor People’s Campaign at our state
capitols. Each of the seven weeks has a
theme. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/poor-peoples-campaign-asks-america-to-face-the-injustices-keeping-millions-in-poverty Let’s see where we can help: https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/events/
5. For
the crochet enthusiasts among us, here is a free pattern for an RBG collar: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/dissent-2
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms
to attend/organize
1. Educator Brett Pransky is the Democratic Nominee
for District 77 of the Ohio House of Representatives. Last time, his
opponent ran unopposed, so let’s help Brett bring the Blue Wave to the Ohio
Statehouse! His issues include good jobs, better healthcare, an end to the
opioid crisis and restoring ethical leadership. We can help spread the word
about Brett’s campaign by joining this Action Together Network twitter-storm tonight,
June 6 from 8-9pm: https://www.facebook.com/events/208002549819361/ We can send out
prewritten tweets from this sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/1/d/1kNgzukzIWo6x76FmpIWyIwuzNhh0RKadgob5cs0X4go/htmlview For more information, we can read Brett’s
moving story about how he decided to run here http://patriotnotpartisan.com/elections/bringing-blue-wave-ohio/ We can find out more about his campaign
issues here https://brettpransky.com/ find him on
Facebook @Brett4Ohio, and on
Twitter @BrettPransky.
2. On June 12, the second anniversary of the
Pulse nightclub shooting, high school students are organizing a die-in at noon
in front of the Capitol in Washington DC and another in Orlando. http://www.newnownext.com/pulse-nightclub-national-die-in/06/2018/ We can follow the efforts on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NationalDieIn and
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/National-Die-In-Day-1798187990238689/ If we can help,
here is the link to their fundraising site:
https://www.gofundme.com/nationaldiein
3. Given updated information, the March for Stolen
Children rallies on June 14 have been rebranded Families Belong
Together. Cities across the
country will host marches, rallies, and vigils to protest the current
administration’s callous treatment of immigrants and asylum seekers. We can
find more information and sign up here: https://familiesbelong.org/ and here: https://www.facebook.com/familiesbelong/ If we want to attend or organize a rally, we can
check here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/families-belong-together
4. The Rally to Fight Poverty, Not the Poor, sponsored
by the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is set for
Saturday, June 23 in Washington, DC on the National Mall. We can find more information here: https://www.facebook.com/events/979874005524347/
States
1. MOST: From the Americans of Conscience Checklist: The federal government has appropriated
$380 million for states to improve election security. However 24 states have not even applied for these grants, which can improve paper tracking, auditing,
and safeguards against cyber-attacks. Let’s contact our state
election office and
ask them to make sure to apply for these funds. If they have already applied,
we should ask how the funds will be used to better election security before the
November midterms.
2. MA: Staffers at Governor Charlie Baker’s office have noted the volume of
outrage against the governor’s decision to send the state’s National Guard to
the Mexican border. http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/06/massachusetts_national_guard_s.html. Let’s keep the pressure on Governor Baker
to change his decision. We can contact him at 617-725-4005 or via email using this
form.
Reading/Watching
1. “Inside
the Pro-Trump Effort to Keep Black Voters From the Polls” - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-05-29/inside-the-pro-trump-effort-to-keep-black-voters-from-the-polls
2. If we’re interested in where the big money is
coming from in the 2018 elections, here’s a place to find out: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/politics/superpac-donors-2018/
3. “Whitman
County GOP already looking to oust alt-right white nationalist James Allsup
from precinct position” - https://www.inlander.com/Bloglander/archives/2018/06/05/whitman-county-gop-already-looking-to-oust-alt-right-white-nationalist-james-allsup-from-precinct-position
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