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.
“In an
effort to fortify the fossil fuel industry, the Trump administration announced
a new energy policy today that would lighten regulation on coal-fired
power plants.” This rollback of the
Clean Power Plan which was designed to address climate change causes. Deep in
the technical analysis of the new policy however is a statement that reads, “Implementing
the proposed rule is expected to increase emissions of carbon dioxide and the
level of emissions of certain pollutants in the atmosphere that adversely
affect human health.” It is estimated
that this change will knowingly increase the number of early deaths each year
by 470 to 1,400 people by 2030. https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/21/17764254/trump-epa-air-regulations-coal-affordable-clean-energy Not only should we take part in expressing
our concerns when the public comment 60-day period begins, but we should
remember that utilities are controlled by the states. Let’s contact out state regulatory
commissions to keep our states changing to renewables, no matter what Trump
does: https://www.naruc.org/about-naruc/regulatory-commissions/
2.
Yesterday,
Paul Manafort was found guilty on eight counts with a mistrial called on the
other ten counts. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/all/manafort-convicted-8-counts-n901231 Manafort is also facing another set of
criminal charges in a DC federal court. If Trump pardons Manafort, we will follow the
same plan as if he were to interfere with Mueller or Rosenstein’s work, so let’s
all make sure we are signed up and know where to rally should this happen: https://act.moveon.org/event/mueller-firing-rapid-response-events/search/
3.
Also,
yesterday, Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen pled guilty to campaign finance
violations and other counts of fraud. https://www.apnews.com/74aaf72511d64fceb1d64529207bde64.
And, he has stated that he and Trump together arranged hush money payments to
Stormy Daniels and playboy model Karen McDougal. Trump has been implicated in a
felony. While a sitting president can’t be indicted for law-breaking, he can be
impeached. Let’s tell our MoCs that it’s time to take swift and immediate
action. The Kavanaugh nomination must be put on hold until this matter is
thoroughly investigated; the integrity of the 2016 election needs to be
re-examined in light of this information. We cannot allow the president to
continue exercising power when it is getting clearer and clearer that he did
not come by it honestly. The future of our democracy depends on this!
4.
Now that
we know that children can hack a state’s election system and change the
outcome, we know it is time to set some standards and protections for the
hallmark of our country. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/08/21/i-just-hacked-a-state-election-17-not-a-good-hacker-219374 “Two bills in Congress – the Secure
Elections Act [S. 2261] and
the PAVE
Act [H.R.
3406] –
would implement a number of best-practice policies around cybersecurity and
vote tabulation that are endorsed by most experts. “It may be too late to
make these improvements for midterms, but let’s contact our MoCs to ask that
they co-sponsor and support these essential pieces of legislation.
5.
It is
important to call the members
of the Senate Rules Committee this
morning because today the Senate Rules Committee will consider amendments to
the Secure Elections Act (S.2261). . This bipartisan bill would replace
electronic voting systems with scanners that could read paper ballots, and
improve auditing practices https://demwritepress.com/2018/08/21/call-the-senate-about-the-secure-elections-act-by-8-22-to-protect-our-votes/ Let’s also contact Senate Majority Leader,
Mitch McConnell (202-224-2541) and ask him to make sure this gets to the floor
for a vote ASAP.
6.
According
to a recent poll from CNN, Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh has
the lowest public approval rating since Robert Bork. http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/402179-cnn-poll-kavanaugh-has-lowest-public-support-of-supreme-court-nominee-since.
Let’s remind our Senators that only 37% of the American public want to see
Kavanaugh confirmed, and they should not be afraid of voting against this
confirmation just because they might be running for re-election. In fact, given
all that happened yesterday with key players in the Trump campaign, no more
confirmations should happen until Mueller’s work is done.
7.
Immigrants
pay their taxes, and actually contribute more to our healthcare system
than they take out, so why is the Trump administration planning to restrict or
prohibit them from using government benefits that they help pay for? (https://www.npr.org/2018/08/20/640262463/trump-administration-moves-to-penalize-immigrants-for-using-government-benefits) This
is an attack on legal immigrants and their (often U.S.-born) children, so let's
make sure our MoCs know that we expect them to legislate equal protection for
all Americans, including the new ones. Let's also tell that to the instigator
of this latest injustice: (https://www.facebook.com/DonaldTrump, https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump).
8.
Since
2015, the United States has been supporting the war in Yemen through weaponry
and intelligence. The war has fueled a cholera outbreak, and a humanitarian
crisis in which young girls are being sold into childhood marriage:
http://nyti.ms/2fX1olt http://bit.ly/2xowRYX The
U.S. has been involved with a botched raid,
an airstrike on a Doctor's Without Borders
facility,
and most recently, the bombing of a school bus which
killed 40 children. The Trump administration has made it clear that it will
continue to support this war, but that does not mean that Congress is
powerless. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) has introduced an amendment to the 2019
spending bill which would end U.S. funding of attacks on civilians (https://bit.ly/2OXdFG7, https://bit.ly/2N2fNfb).
Let's call our senators and tell them that we want them to support Senator
Murphy's amendment.
9.
The Farm
Bill is now in conference committee with both members of the House and Senate
to combine their two bills into one. The
Senate version does not cut SNAP (food stamp benefits). Let’s use this Hands Off SNAP tool to make our wishes known to the House
committee members that we want SNAP to be left alone and not cut in the final
version: https://www.handsoffsnap.org/
10. Over 175 State Department and Pentagon
officials from both the Bush and Obama administrations have added their names
to a petition decrying the president’s revocation of former CIA Director John
Brennan’s security clearance and stating that they believe “the country will be
weakened if there is a political litmus test applied” before former officials
are allowed to voice their views. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-clearances/new-outcry-over-trumps-revocation-of-brennan-security-clearance-idUSKCN1L515D.
Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) has introduced an amendment to the Defense
Appropriations bill that would limit the president’s ability to revoke these
clearances. https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2018/8/warner-introduces-legislation-to-prohibit-president-trump-from-revoking-security-clearances-for-political-reasons.
Let's keep voicing our extreme concern to our Senators on this continued
attempt by the president to subvert our democracy by punishing his critics and
ask our Senator to vote in favor of Warner's 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.
California
Republican Representative Duncan Hunter, an early avid Trump supporter, has
just been indicted for using $250000 in campaign funds for personal use,
including dental work and vacations to Italy and Hawaii. http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/rep-duncan-hunter-indicted-for-misuse-of-campaign-funds Since
it is too late for his name to be removed from the ballot, Hunter’s formerly
“lean Republican” seat is even more competitive now. To help Flip our Congress
Blue, we can help out his opponent, former Obama administration official, Ammar
Campa-Najjar who is endorsed by both Barack Obama and Our Revolution. We
can sign up to volunteer here: https://www.campacampaign.com/volunteer We can find out more about his
campaign here: https://www.campacampaign.com/
2.
Attention
overseas voters! Don't despair. Even though we're so far away, we can still
help in real ways to get out the vote for the midterm elections. For example,
phone banking! Join the Democrats Abroad phonebanking team. It's easy as
pie -- call for free from your computer to fellow DA members all over the
world! Setup instructions are simple and take only about 15 minutes. Make as
many or as few calls as you want, whenever you want. Let's do this thing! Sign
up here: https://www.democratsabroad.org/phonebanking
3.
In an
effort to increase voter turnout for the midterms, former first lady Michelle
Obama will be touring the country, registering voters and promoting a week of
action with the non-profit organization, When We All Vote (https://usat.ly/2nX2vW4). The week of action will be September 22-29, and will consist of
voter registration drives throughout the U.S. We can learn more about how to
get involved and sign up to volunteer here.
4.
School’s
starting soon, and with it, an opportunity to register young voters. If we’re
students, let’s use this resource to register our classmates; if we’re not,
let’s share this resource with the young people in our lives: https://capgownvote.org/
5.
“Poll
watchers, sometimes known as election observers, are the people who watch over
the activities at polling locations on election days. Their job is to report
any voting/registration irregularities to the proper authorities and ensure
that all votes are counted correctly.” https://politicalcharge.org/2018/08/20/why-democrats-need-more-poll-watchers-at-the-2018-midterms/ This
is an important piece of our election process.
Let’s check with our local precinct and see how we can help in this
way.
Election
2018 – By State
1.
Upcoming
voting dates and deadlines:
|
August 23
|
Oklahoma
|
Early Voting begins
|
Runoffs
|
|
August 25
|
Oklahoma
|
Early voting ends
|
Runoffs
|
|
August 25
|
Guam
|
Election date
|
Primary
|
|
August 25
|
Florida
|
Early Voting ends
|
Primary
|
|
August 28
|
Arizona
|
Election date
|
Primary
|
|
August 28
|
Florida
|
Election date
|
Primary
|
|
August 28
|
Oklahoma
|
Election date
|
Runoffs
|
|
August 28
|
Arizona
|
Early voting ends
|
Primary
|
|
September 1
|
New Hampshire
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary by mail: in person-same day
|
|
September 3
|
Alaska
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
REAA
|
|
September 4
|
Massachusetts
|
Election date
|
Primary
|
|
September 6
|
Delaware
|
Election date
|
Primary
|
|
September 11
|
New Hampshire
|
Election date
|
Primary
|
|
September 12
|
Rhode Island
|
Election date
|
Primary
|
(source: by date:
https://goo.gl/gjFv2u by state:
https://goo.gl/7gTzvE)
2.
Upcoming Primaries:
A) Tuesday, 8/28
Other
Actions
1. From
the Obama Foundation: we
are looking for 20 rising stars from around the world who are working alongside
their communities to solve important public problems in creative and powerful
ways. The two-year, non-residential program offers hands-on training,
leadership development, and a powerful network to equip Fellows to scale the
impact of their work. We're searching for candidates who are civic
innovators, discipline-diverse, at a tipping point in their work, not yet
connected to the networks they need to advance their work and motivated by the
powerful desire to help others. You can learn more about what we look for when
selecting Fellows here. If you share these qualities, please apply to
join the next class of Obama Fellows by September 18, 2018. Or, if you
know someone who should apply, please let them know that the call for
applications is now open. Click here:
https://www.obama.org/fellowship
Marches/events/webinars/TwitterStorms to
attend/organize
1.
Trump himself may have been fingered by his former
lawyer, but that does not mean we can let up on opposing Trump's latest nominee
to the Supreme Court. "Join us on August 26th as we hold a national
day of action in all 50 states to fight Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett
Kavanaugh and demand that our representatives in Washington act NOW to protect
our most fundamental rights and freedoms. Roe v. Wade, voting rights, workers'
rights, LGBTQ rights, immigrant rights, and much more are all in grave danger
if this Supreme Court nominee is confirmed. With so much at stake, we cannot
back down." Let's find and participate in the nearest Unite for Justice
event to protest Kavanaugh's nomination, here: https://uniteforjustice2018.com
2.
On September 8, the Peoples Climate
Movement will lead a
national mobilization for climate, jobs, and justice. We can find a Rise for Climate event near us here, or we can sign up to organize our own.
(Note: Rise for Climate,
Jobs, and Justice action in New York City will be held on THURSDAY,
SEPTEMBER 6 at 5:30 p.m. at Battery Park.)
3.
On September 22 there will be a
protest at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago in Florida in commemoration of the first
anniversary of Hurricane Maria:
http://thehill.com/latino/401578-trumps-mar-a-lago-to-be-greeted-with-massive-protest-on-hurricane-maria-anniversary Let’s put this on our calendars
if we will be nearby.
States
1.
ALL: The state of education in the United States
is anything but good and certainly not of even quality throughout the
country. “Examine the grades and scores
that states and the nation earned on Quality Counts 2018 with
this interactive map, grade-summary table, and top-to-bottom ranking.” http://www.edweek.com/ew/collections/quality-counts-2018-state-grades/report-card-map-rankings.html It’s time
to start making some noise with our state departments of education and try to
get some positive changes made: https://www2.ed.gov/about/contacts/state/index.html
2.
CA: We CAN stop Kavanaugh, but only if we act
now. Senator Feinstein needs 67,000 calls ASAP. Her office has said they wanted
1 million, but ,so far, they’ve had only 33,000. There’s still time
to make our voices heard. The SF Chronicle quotes prominent local professor and
Constitutional Law expert Rory Little as saying that “a ‘galvanized grassroots
movement’ might change the equation.” And even the head of the
libertarian/right-wing Federalist Society told the ultra-right wing corporate overlord Koch
network that we have a chance to scuttle this nomination. BUT: WE need to pick
up that phone AND then get all our friends to pick up their phones. Contact:
https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact
Reading/Watching
1.
How to Use Your White Privilege the Right Way - https://www.theroot.com/how-to-use-your-white-privilege-the-right-way-1827923949
2.
The Mueller investigation is showing how
badly we’ve failed to prosecute white-collar crime - https://www.vox.com/2018/8/21/17757636/cohen-manafort-white-collar-crime
3.
Researchers
identify the most sexist places in America - https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/us_and_world/researchers-identify-the-most-sexist-places-in-america/article_ca6b535d-aec3-5eed-9c20-6cbd478224c8.html
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