7/13/18
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.
“The
House Appropriations Committee late Wednesday evening approved, 30-22, a $177.1
billion fiscal 2019 bill to fund the departments of Labor, Education, and
Health and Human Services.” While the
committee adopted numerous bipartisan amendments related to family separations,
The House Republicans on the committee have approved a discriminatory,
anti-LGBTQ amendment which would have a sweeping, harmful impact in child
welfare services by enabling discrimination against LGBTQ people, same-sex
couples, interfaith couples, single parents, married couples in which one
prospective parent has previously been divorced, or other qualified parents to
whom an agency has an objection. https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/appropriations-labor-hhs-education Let's read more at Human Rights Campaign. Let's contact our representatives to
demand that this language be withdrawn from the final bill.
2.
From one
of our own: I called every Dem on this
committee and a coupla Republicans too. Now it's your turn. Here's what I said,
in case it helps you with your own schpiel: I’m calling to ask that the
Senator does everything in his/her power to block the confirmation of Brett
Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court for three reasons. 1. The president
who nominated him is under federal investigation for possibly treasonous acts,
yielding 17 indictments and 5 guilty pleas. 2. According to Mitch
McConnell, we should let the American People Decide about filling this vacancy
by way of the upcoming midterm elections. 3. The fact that Mr Kavanaugh has
said that a sitting president is above the law and should not be indicted
should disqualify him all by itself. It goes against the separation of powers
and removes accountability from the highest office in the land. I am not a resident of _________, but I am a
citizen of this nation, and any nomination to the Supreme Court affects all of
us. I ask that the senator block ANY Trump nominee for the first two reasons,
and Kavanaugh in particular for the third.
3.
The
House and Senate are meeting in conference committee to resolve differences
between the two versions of the Farm Bill. https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-agriculture/2018/07/09/its-farm-bill-conference-time-273438. The House version cut food stamps from
millions, affecting one in every four children in the country. The Senate
version does not have these cuts. Let’s make sure to contact our MoCs and state
that we want no cuts to food stamps in the final bill.
4.
Last
month, Republican Rep. Dan Donovan (N.Y.) introduced HR6054, The “Unmasking Antifa Act of
2018,” which carries a potential 15-year prison sentence for those caught
engaging in behaviors typically associated with the “antifa” movement
of anti-fascist activists. Under the act, anyone “wearing a mask” or in
disguise who “injures, oppresses, threatens, or intimidates any person … in the
free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege” would be subject to
a fine or up to 15 years in prison. Alt-right leaders are eager to pursue this
bill to tamp down dissent from the left. Let's read more at The Hill. Let's contact our own representatives to
let them know that we see this bill as an unnecessary chipping-away at our
first amendment civil rights.
5.
On July
31, a new unknown company called Financial Administration Management, will be
taking over the USDA contract, and they do not have the software to convert
SNAP benefits into EBT currency that can be used at farmer’s markets. https://modernfarmer.com/2018/07/tens-of-thousands-of-people-are-about-to-lose-the-ability-to-buy-fresh-food-at-farmers-markets/. This not only affects people’s ability to
access fresh, healthy food, which has been shown to lower national health care
costs, it also impacts the economic well-being of farmers, who depend on this
population as part of their customer based. Let’s contact our MoCs immediately
and ask them to intervene to make sure SNAP benefits can still be used for
healthy, local food.
6.
The Salt
Lake Tribune published a stirring editorial about the abuses taking place in
our immigration system against children and their families:
https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/editorial/2018/07/10/tribune-editorial-our/ We can share this editorial
with our MoC when communicating about this issue.
7.
"A
bill that would weaken the nation’s primary fishery management law, the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, is likely to be
debated on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives this
month." Even though H.R. 200 is called Strengthening Fishing
Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act, it actually
would roll back "decades of accelerating progress toward ending
overfishing and rebuilding depleted ocean fish populations." http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2018/07/09/congress-dont-be-fooled-hr-200-would-roll-back-magnusonstevens-act Let's contact our representatives and
tell them to oppose this backwards act.
8.
Signs in
Omaha, Nebraska are asking neighbors to report suspected illegal aliens, in
fact, insisting that it’s their civic duty. http://www.ketv.com/article/signs-urging-omaha-residents-to-report-illegal-aliens-spotted-in-dundee/22095820. Let’s protest to our MoCs right now that
this is a blatant attempt at racial profiling and community division, and reeks
far too closely to the Nazis’ using neighbors to capture and murder Jews. https://www.ushmm.org/learn/introduction-to-the-holocaust/ethical-leaders/background/some-were-neighbors. Nebraska residents should also contact
their state and municipal legislators.
9.
From one
of our own: “In December '17, Congress voted to give 1.4 trillion in tax cuts
to corporations (including big pharma) & the wealthiest Americans. In '18 the
WH creates a humanitarian crisis. The answer to solve the crisis is for Health
& Human Services to create another humanitarian crisis.” The unplanned for cost of the current border crisis
may be siphoning money from HHS HIV/AIDS planned funds. https://www.bustle.com/p/the-cost-of-detaining-migrant-children-could-come-out-of-hivaids-programs-budget-9723221 Let’s
tell our MoCs that the border crisis should not be taking funds from other
valuable programs. Let’s tell them to rescind
the tax cut and use those dollars.
Better yet, rescind the new border policy and ICE/border patrol militarized
tactics.
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 may
think we are registered to vote, but it is always good to check and make
sure: https://www.headcount.org/verify-voter-registration/
2.
Indivisible is “launching a national virtual phonebank
to contact voters in Arizona, Mississippi, Nevada, Tennessee, and Texas to
mobilize voters and help flip these crucial Senate seats in November.” For more info and to sign up for online training
and a shift, click here: https://www.indivisible.org/savescotus-phonebank-signup/
3.
We need
to turn outrage against Trump's cruel, hateful policies into votes at the
ballot box. We've got our next chance to flip a House seat in a special election for the
Ohio 12th Congressional District on August 7th, where young county
official Danny O'Connor is the Democratic nominee against Republican Troy
Balderson, a longtime member of the extremely conservative state senate (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/ohio-special-election-emerges-democrats-next-best-chance-stun-gop-n883916). Let's do what we can to help! Postcards to
Voters is writing postcards to get out the vote for Danny O'Connor, and we can
sign up to help here. We can also make calls with the campaign to
help them identify their voters - the virtual phone bank is linked here, and instructions and scripts can be
found here.
Election 2018 –
By State
1.
Upcoming
voting dates and deadlines:
|
July 13
|
Tennessee
|
Early Voting begins
|
Primary
|
|
July 15
|
Wisconsin
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary (postmark)
|
|
July 17
|
Kansas
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
July 17
|
Alabama
|
Election date
|
Runoffs
|
|
July 17
|
North Carolina (FED ONLY)
|
Election date
|
Runoffs
|
|
July 20
|
Louisiana
|
Filing Deadline
|
|
|
July 22
|
Alaska
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
July 23
|
Georgia
|
Early voting ends
|
runoffs
|
|
July 24
|
Minnesota
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
July 24
|
Georgia
|
Election date
|
Runoffs
|
|
July 28
|
Tennessee
|
Early Voting ends
|
Primary
|
|
July 30
|
Arizona
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
July 30
|
Florida
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
July 30
|
Arkansas
|
Early Voting begins
|
State Senate Dist 8
|
|
July 30
|
Hawaii
|
Early Voting begins
|
Primary
|
|
July 31
|
Kansas
|
Early Voting begins
|
Primary
|
(source: by date:
https://goo.gl/gjFv2u by
state: https://goo.gl/7gTzvE)
2. AZ,
FL, IN, MO, ND, NV, TN, and WV: Cook Political is calling these states a
toss-up in the November mid-term election.
https://www.cookpolitical.com/ratings/senate-race-ratings If we
live in these states, let’s check with these Dem campaigns and see what we can
do to help: AZ: Kysten Sinema, FL: Bill Nelson, IN: Joe Donnelly, MO: Claire McCaskill, ND: Heidi Heitkamp, NV: Jacky Rosen, TN: Phil Bredesen, WV: Joe Manchin.
Other Actions
1. One
tactic for defeating the deportation machine is pushing back against the
private prison companies who are profiting from it. JPMorgan Chase continues to
invest in private detention corporations CoreCivic and GeoGroup (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-16/dimon-says-he-ll-look-into-concerns-on-private-prison-financings).
Let's contact them and tell them to cut financial ties. We can find an email we
can send and contact info from Jen Hoffman here.
2. From
Lawyer Moms of America:
“We would like to collect stories to share on social media. We would love to hear you and your family's
story about coming to the United States. Whether it was last week or two
centuries ago, we all have a story about how we got here and why we came.” Let’s tell our stories: https://www.facebook.com/lawyermomsofamerica/
3. Postcards
To Voters' new "Flying Banner" postcards
are back in stock at Amazon! The design features a banner and block that
can be used for candidate and date information as well as a blank, uncoated
side that's perfect for any letter or design we create. A set of 100
postcards is $15 with free shipping included. We can purchase them here. Purchases
of these postcards will help with this all-volunteer organization's operating
costs. Please note that there is a pretender on Amazon claiming to sell an
identical product at a higher price ($33). This seller has NO connection to Postcards
To Voters. Unfortunately, negative feedback for this seller has impacted
the feedback on the authentic product.
4. Millennials
are large part of the electorate, “27% of the voting-eligible population in
2016,” according to Pew Research, who, also inform us that it “is only a
matter of time before Millennials are the largest generation in the
electorate.” Even with low turnout rates, they will play a significant role in
shaping our country’s future. While we may assume this generation will be
more liberal in their attitudes, the Right is working hard to change that,
using Millennial-popular YouTube to reach them the way that Fox News reaches
Greatest Generation and Boomers. We may not be aware of it, but right now on
You Tube, a well-financed network of videos solicits alt right
viewers, Jordan Peterson preaches retro masculinity, and the more
neutral seeming Prager University (Prager U), with over a billion views,
indoctrinates a new generation of right wingers. It is time to fight back,
to win the hearts and minds of the future, but how do we start? The first
step is to understand this generation better, how they think, what their values
are, and how best to reach them. This in-depth article from the League of Women
Voters article on engaging Millennials is an excellent start: https://my.lwv.org/sites/default/files/engaging_millennials_tutorial.pdf We can see more of Pew’s analysis of
Millennial Voting here: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/03/millennials-approach-baby-boomers-as-largest-generation-in-u-s-electorate/ We can read more about the danger posed
by Prager U here:
5. America
magazine wants to know how we think the legality of abortion
should be decided. Let’s take their survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/abortionlaws
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1.
The Parkland/March for Our Lives students are still
on tour” to get young people educated, registered, and motivated to vote.” This week they are in TX, NM, CO, and
UT. Let’s meet up with them. Here are their July dates and locations: https://marchforourlives.com/tour/
2.
Trump is continuing to fight to discredit the
Mueller investigation - and it may be working (http://time.com/5304206/donald-trump-discredit-mueller-investigation/). In response, all across the country
on July 18th allies will Confront Corruption and Demand
Democracy with a candlelight vigil at sundown. These vigils are being
spearheaded by the Trump Is Not Above the Law network of more than 375,000
people who are RSVPed to attend more than 900 events nationwide should Trump
fire Mueller or Rosenstein, or pardon key members of his campaign or
administration. We can learn more, find vigils near us or launch our own here.
3.
July
22
at 3pm EDT, Issue Voters of Northern Nevada will be presenting a webinar on “Voter
Mobilization: Strategies and Best
Practices”. Here is the event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/191292124873267/ We can register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vEbS2tQKQKyrs-yoroJ2qA
4.
The immigrant-led
activist group Cosecha is calling for us to take the next step, with a
national day of action to end cooperation with ICE on July 31st,
demanding cities, counties, companies and all institutions stop working with
them. Let's get involved. We can check out the #WeWillNotBeComplicit Action
Guide at this link.
States
Reading/Watching
1.
It is growing increasingly important and evident
that it is not enough to be against the Trump administration’s actions, we need
to advance better policy and be FOR what we believe in. - https://demwritepress.com/2018/07/11/creating-a-strong-cohesive-democratic-platform/
2.
“ICE
Officers to Asylum Seekers: ‘Don’t You Know That We Hate You People?’ - https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/ice-officers-to-asylum-seekers-dont-you-know-that-we-hate-you-people-697727/
3.
“In a
Cave Or on the Border, They Are All Our Children” - https://sojo.net/articles/cave-or-border-they-are-all-our-children
4.
Here’s a
timely reminder that “Democracy Isn't Perfect, But It Will Still Prevail”
- http://time.com/5336615/democracy-will-prevail/
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