Contact Federal Government Officials
Fax legislators for free:
or use
Resistbot: https://resist.bot/
White House contact: https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/white-house
********************************
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: A special prosecutor has been appointed to
investigate whether aides to Rep. Scott Taylor (R-VA) forged signatures in
order to get an independent on the ballot in order to draw votes away from the
Democrat in a 3-way race.
https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/special-prosecutor-scott-taylor-forgery Let’s
spread this story widely and call on Rep. Taylor to resign if these allegations
prove to be true.
2.
In a
closed-door fundraising session last week, Devin Nunes (R-CA) and Chair of the
House Intelligence Committee, claimed that keeping a GOP majority was the only
way to protect Trump from the outcome of the Mueller investigation since
collusion can be a crime. https://www.newsweek.com/nunes-admits-collusion-can-be-crime-secret-recordings-1064999.
Let’s ask our GOP MoCs if they are standing blindly with Rep. Nunes or if they
are going to do their jobs and abide by the rule of the law. We should demand
that they pass legislation to protect the Mueller investigation now. We should
also contact Speaker Ryan and ask that Nunes be removed from his chairmanship
position due to ethical issues.
3.
By the
time Congress returns from recess, they will have just eleven days to
reauthorize the Violence Against Women's Act (VAWA) before it expires (https://bit.ly/2vvieA9).
This important legislation has been around since the early nineties with
bipartisan support and offers protections for victims of domestic violence and
provides grants for law enforcement training and victims services. This year's
proposal would also address the needs of Native American women both within and
outside of reservations (https://bit.ly/2npgmob).
Let's contact our representatives and make sure that they pass the Violence
Against Women Reauthorization Act (H.R. 6545)
ASAP.
4.
Wednesday was
a doozie. Rep. Chris Collins was arrested by the FBI for securities and wire
fraud: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/401014-gop-rep-charged-with-insider-trading-pledges-to-fight-charges-run-for And
then Rep. Devin Nunes was heard on a released recording at a GOP fundraiser
laying out the plan for confirming Kavanaugh and then impeaching
Rosenstein: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/401021-nunes-suggested-at-private-fundraiser-that-republican-majority-is-needed-to Let’s
let Speaker Paul Ryan know that we await his call for Collins’ and Nunes’
resignations: https://www.speaker.gov and
on Twitter @SpeakerRyan If we are able, we
can also consider contributions to Collins’ and Nunes’ challengers in their
respective House races in November:
5.
In the
Senate, it is customary and expected to conduct a thorough review of a Supreme
Court nominee's professional record when considering her/him for confirmation.
Before nominating Brett Kavanaugh, the Trump administration was warned that his
collection of judicial/political documents was large, so Republicans cannot now
claim that Democrat's requests to review all those documents are somehow
"obstructionist." And yet, Dems on the Judiciary Committee are
being forced to file Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to get what
they need to properly vet Kavanaugh (https://www.vox.com/2018/8/8/17664522/brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-democrats).
This is unprecedented, and shameful Republican obstruction in its own right, so
let's inform Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley (202-224-3744, 515-288-1145) that
we're taking note of his dangerous and undemocratic stonewalling.
6.
The
latest concern about Supreme Court Justice Nominee Brett Kavanaugh is his position
on voting rights. Among other controversial findings, Kavanaugh invoked the
myth of voter fraud to uphold a South Carolina Voter ID law. http://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/400961-on-voting-rights-we-have-much-more-to-lose-with-brett-kavanaugh.
Let’s make sure to express this grave concern to our Senators as another reason
to vote no on this nomination and ask them what they are going to protect the
Voting Rights Act and assure equal access to voting.
7.
From Indivisible East Bay Judiciary: Remember David Porter, Trump's judicial
nominee who would have been happy to live 100 years ago? Sen McConnell wants to
bring this nomination to a final vote when the Senate returns from recess next
week. He's looking for enough votes from Senators to do this. David Porter has criticized Supreme Court
cases that supported FDR’s New Deal (yes, in 1933), and he belongs to a
conservative think tank that says the minimum wage is unconstitutional. As an
attorney, he has worked against the Affordable Care Act, women’s rights,
marriage equality, environmental protection, and workers’ rights. Porter should
never be a judge. Your Senators need to hear from you in the coming week. Attached is our toolkit against Porter's
nomination. Feel free to use our materials as you like and share with other
progressive groups. The same materials, including the graphic, are also posted
on our website and
may be copied from there.
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.
Phonebanking
for candidates is a great, and proven, way to help make the blue wave
happen: https://whystatesmatter.sisterdistrict.com/phonebank-its-worth-it-411ca40dfc6b. And what's more, it's easy to get going on
it! Sign up with Swing Left here to volunteer for your district, or any other
you'd like to pitch in for! We just signed up ourselves and can't wait to get
started: https://swingleft.org/phonebank
2.
We have
another opportunity to help a True Blue Democrat take a seat away
from someone who ran as a Democrat and was elected as a Democrat only to decide
to vote with the Republicans. Postcards To Voters has launched Campaign 98: Julie Goldberg for NY State
Senate. The primary election will be on Thursday,
Sept. 13. Let's request 5 addresses today. If we are new, we can sign up
with Postcards To Voters.
3.
After
the latest revelations on Rachel Maddow, and the derailing of the House
Intelligence Committee Investigations, it is time for Devin Nunes to go. Even
though he won his CA22 seat by 34 points, his lead is clearly shrinking and now
is the time to make it disappear by writing postcards or phone banking for
Nunes’ opponent, Andrew Janz. We can do it all from home by sending an email
here:
intern@andrewjanzforcongress.com and telling them we want to
post card for Janz. We can also sign up to postcard and phone bank
directly from the campaign site here https://act.myngp.com/Forms/-1738015697446368768 We
can find out more about Andrew Janz from his campaign site here: https://www.andrewjanzforcongress.com/ and follow him on Facebook too: https://www.facebook.com/andrewjanzforcongress/
Election
2018 – By State
1.
Upcoming
voting dates and deadlines:
|
August 9
|
Connecticut
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
August 9
|
Hawaii
|
Early Voting ends
|
Primary
|
|
August 10
|
Wisconsin
|
In person absentee voting ends
|
Primary
|
|
August 10
|
Wisconsin
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
August 11
|
Delaware
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
August 11
|
Hawaii
|
Election date
|
Primary
|
|
August 12
|
Rhode Island
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
August 13
|
Alabama
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Municipals
|
|
August 13
|
Arkansas
|
Early Voting ends
|
State Senate Dist 8
|
|
August 13
|
Minnesota
|
Early Voting ends
|
Primary
|
|
August 13
|
Vermont
|
Early Voting ends
|
Primary
|
|
August 14
|
Vermont
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
August 14
|
Wisconsin
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
August 14
|
Connecticut
|
Election date
|
Primary
|
|
August 14
|
Minnesota
|
Election date
|
Primary
|
|
August 14
|
Vermont
|
Election date
|
Primary
|
|
August 14
|
Wisconsin
|
Election date
|
Primary
|
|
August 14
|
Arkansas
|
Election date
|
State Senate Dist 8
|
|
August 15
|
Massachusetts
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
August 17
|
New York (state)
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
August 18
|
Florida
|
Early Voting Begins
|
Primary
|
(source: by date:
https://goo.gl/gjFv2u by state:
https://goo.gl/7gTzvE)
2.
Upcoming Primaries:
3.
GA: If we are looking for ways to
ensure fair, safe elections and protect our votes, we can check out The Peanut
Gallery, created by Common Cause Georgia to help monitor the actions of local
boards of elections across the state. They are engaging local volunteers
and asking us to adopt our own county board of elections, or in some cases a
neighboring county, where we would take notes on the business of the meeting.
These notes are then uploaded to an online blog called “The Peanut Gallery”
where they can be seen by the public and monitored for trends related to polling
closures, changes in voting practices, and other related voting issues. Common
Cause Georgia, along with our partners, uses this information in the case legal
action is required. We can find out more
and then sign up if we like here: https://www.commoncause.org/georgia/our-work/voting-elections/the-peanut-gallery/
Other
Actions
1.
Laura Ingraham was loud and proud about her white
nationalism on Fox News on Wednesday night: http://thehill.com/homenews/media/401044-laura-ingraham-america-as-we-know-it-doesnt-exist-anymore-due-to-demographic Let’s let her know how repulsed
we are: on Twitter @IngrahamAngle or in writing: Fox
News, 1211 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10036 Let’s also contact her advertisers and ask
them why they are supporting such racism.
Scroll down to “Top Laura
Ingraham Advertisers” here: https://www.foxnewsadvertisers.com/
2.
From RAICES: We desperately need your help. Since Trump
decided to separate families we've been inundated w/ hundreds of new cases. We
need attorneys, legal professionals, case workers, volunteers & other
experts to join our network. You don't need to be based in Texas. Use this form to sign up for more
information: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSecEHw4eujVJwQ9t9ocuULskBjBzqRMF77ZO2Iy-Zy88eqmQQ/viewform
3. The
average American generates about 4.5 pounds of trash every day. Not all
the items we discard end up in landfills; we recycle or compost more than
one-third of our trash. But we could be doing so much more. Let's read
this article
from the NRDC with ideas about ways we
can think more conscientiously about our everyday habits and develop new
routines. Bringing a reusable container
from home for restaurant leftovers is one easy habit to start.
4. United
We Dream continues to assist Dreamers who are trying
to keep up with the changing legalities of their situations. One of the things they do is to raise funds
to help pay for the DACA renewal costs. Their
words: “Together with partners on the ground, we helped nearly 1,700 DACA
recipients who needed help to cover their DACA renewal fees. But our work isn't
over. More DACA recipients need your help.”
If we are able, we can help here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/renewalfund
5. In
their own response to the devastation in Syria, “Last summer, Taylor, together
with Nabila Ali, Priti Bansal, and Wendy Widom, undertook an ambitious campaign
to raise money to send “baby boxes” to displaced mothers and their young
children in Syria.” https://www.humanitytoday.com/us-moms-step-up-to-help-after-seeing-kids-suffer-in-syria_6923.html We
can still help this emergency fund by donating here: https://campaign.hchearts.org/parceloflove
6. “Uber
is allowing its drivers to refuse passengers attending the upcoming "Unite
the Right" white supremacist rally in Washington, D.C., on Sunday.” http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/401156-uber-drivers-permitted-to-refuse-passengers-at-approaching Let’s
thank Uber for being considerate of their drivers’ safety and comfort. Contact:
Uber HQ, 1455 Market St #400, San Francisco, CA 94103 or (866)
576-1039 or @Uber
7. “Republicans
enter the final month of the primary season, they’re looking ahead to a
general-election strategy of embracing anxiety as a tool to motivate voters.” https://apnews.com/7249c46323574be381a856178c9fffff Let’s
make sure to let our family, friends, and fellow voters know that Dems are offering
something much better: hope, integrity, progress,
and justice.
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1.
Russian hackers are attacking our voting system
while Congress turns a blind eye. We need to hold them accountable and demand
that our votes are protected and safe. We
can help spread the word by joining this Action Together Network twitter-storm,
this Sunday, Aug. 12, from 8-9pm Eastern Time. To join in, we can click
here for more information and access to prewritten tweets we can send out with
just a few clicks: https://www.facebook.com/events/2134427433446557/
2.
When the Unite the Right holds their white
supremacist rally in Washington, D.C. this weekend, there will be counter
protests: A) Rise Up Fight Back
Counter-Protest (https://www.facebook.com/events/252309685372109/) hosted by
Black Lives Matter DC, on Aug. 12 from 2-4PM at 905 16th St NW, DC, B) Still Here, Still Strong Rally (https://shutitdowndc.org/index.html) hosted by
Shut It Down DC, on Aug. 12 from 12-3PM at Freedom Plaza, 1455
Pennsylvania Av NW, DC, and C) United to
Love: Standing Together in Love and Resisting Hate (https://www.unitedtolove.org) hosted by United to Love , on Aug. 12, 11 am- 3PM on the National Mall-4th Street
NW, DC. Here is some good advice from
our friends at RISE District: BE ADVISED: White supremacists at the Unite the
Right Rally will be looking to provoke violence in hopes of getting
counter-protesters arrested. DO NOT ENGAGE WHITE SUPREMACISTS. They want to
project themselves as victims because it helps their recruitment and
strengthens their cause. Don't give them any fuel by getting close enough for
them to instigate a confrontation!
***IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION: The following link has important information
to ensure you are safe and to help you in the event you encounter abuses, or
anything goes wrong. This comprehensive list includes instructions for every
outcome, from escaping tear gas to protecting your online privacy: https://right-to-protest.org/protect-your-protest/
3.
On Thursday, August 16, join hundreds of
volunteers for a host call to learn how you can plan a successful Organizing
for '18 House Party on Saturday, August 25 at 8PM EDT, and start mobilizing
folks to volunteer for crucial campaigns this fall, and make their voices heard
at the polls this November. We can sign
up for the webinar here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4c4n3bQmROGtDI1PKRMpPw
4.
Evidence is piling up that Brett Kavanaugh cannot
be trusted to protect the right to choose or check executive power (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/29/us/brett-kavanaugh-signing-statements.html). So activists across the country are coming
together for a 50-state day of action against his nomination on August 26th.
Let’s find an event near us or start our own here.
5.
Experts say we are already starting to see the
impacts of climate change playing out in real time with extreme weather
patterns: (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/27/extreme-global-weather-climate-change-michael-mann). We cannot wait for action. On September
8th, people all over the world are coming together in a coordinated call
for local action for the climate, jobs and justice. We can find a Rise for Climate event near us here, or we can sign up to organize our own.
States
1.
MOST: HHS Secretary
Alex Azar is asking states to cooperate with the administration’s plan to allow
sales of “short-term” health plans that do not meet Obamacare requirements. http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/401122-trump-administration-urges-states-to-cooperate-on-expansion-of-non. Let’s contact our governor and state legislators to make sure that our state is following the lead
of Maryland and Vermont by restricting these plans as much as possible.
2.
MOST: “California is
firing back at the Trump administration with a plan to safeguard the state’s
greenhouse gas emissions rules from a proposed federal rollback. A state Air Resources Board proposal released
Tuesday would force automakers to meet California’s existing standards on car
and truck pollution, even if weaker ones are adopted by the Trump
administration.” The implications for the rest of the country are considerable
and positive. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-carb-trump-emissions-20180807-story.html Let’s check
out this action alert from one of our own with specific actions depending on
which state we are in: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1gCABODDSTM_rLbXdFM8uweW01CU7hZ4t
Reading/Watching
1.
How Fear Affects Political Ideology - https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=vB9HMjSRBIA
2.
From Sierra
Club: Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service revoked a 2014 ban
on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides in national wildlife refuges. Recent
research has linked this particular class of pesticides to harmful effects on
bees and other pollinators. Conservationists have already notified the
Republican administration that they will sue. (source: Reuters.)
3.
The Koch Brothers Commissioned a Survey of
Americans and Found Most Like a $15 Minimum Wage, Free College, and Universal
Healthcare - https://theintercept.com/2018/08/09/koch-brothers-health-care-free-college/
4.
A year after Charlottesville, are we standing
up for what’s right? - https://medium.com/@aditijuneja/a-year-after-charlottesville-are-we-standing-up-for-whats-right-a971c4c22dbb
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