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. This week in Congress: The House is on
recess from Washington DC with District Work Weeks thru Tuesday, Sept. 4.
(Source: House 2018 Calendar.)
Let's try to see our representatives in person wherever they may be going. The Senate is away from Washington this week,
returning next week. The Wednesday, August 15 session (Source: Senate Executive Calendar)
will begin by resuming consideration of the nomination of A.
Marvin Quattlebaum, Jr., of South Carolina, to be United States Circuit Judge
for the Fourth Circuit and the nomination of Julius Ness Richardson, of South
Carolina, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit. Let's prepare
for next week by reading the Alliance for Justice reports on Quattlebaum and
2.
Since a
month after his inauguration, Trump planned to separate children from their
parents at the border. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-immigrant-protection-erosion-trump-20180617-story.html Now that he has done so and the results are
inhumanely disastrous, let’s ask our MoCs for a special investigator to
determine how this can be remedied, responsible people held accountable, and
policies set so this can never happen again.
3.
Carl
Bernstein, one of the two journalists who uncovered Watergate, said on Friday
that this situation with Trump is worse than Watergate because the GOP is doing
nothing this time. "The heroes of
Watergate were Republicans who demanded that the president be held accountable,
who demanded that he be transparent, who demanded to know what did the
president know and when did he know it, and who conducted bipartisan
investigation that led, in fact, to understanding and finding out what Nixon
had done," he continued. "Whereas the Republicans on Capitol Hill
thus far, have done almost everything they can to impede and undermine
legitimate investigation." http://thehill.com/homenews/media/400295-carl-bernstein-situation-with-trump-is-worse-than-watergate It is time to ask our Republican MoCs to be
the heroes we need now.
4.
Trump
has until the end of September to determine the number of refugees that the
U.S. will accept for the next fiscal year (https://nyti.ms/2vpNQpT, https://bit.ly/2OLRUcP).
With Stephen Miller in the White House, along with new, more hardlined cabinet
secretaries Mike Pompeo and Kirstjen Nielsen, we can assume that it will be a
fight to maintain the same number that we had this year, which was already a
drastic reduction from previous years. Still, let's be sure that we do not make
it easy for them to reduce the immigration cap even further this year. We can
contact them and tell them, as well as our MoC, that we want to see immigration
numbers maintained or increased for Fiscal Year 2019. State Department Office
of the Secretary phone number: 202-647-4000 Address: United States
Department of State 2201 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20520 Department of
Homeland Security comment line: 202-282-8495 Mailing address: The
Honorable Kirstjen M. Nielsen Secretary of Homeland Security Washington, D.C.
20528 email: DHSSecretary@hq.dhs.gov
5.
Indivisible has
created a tracker to show where each senator stands on Brett Kavanaugh's
nomination to Supreme Court. The tracker also includes contact information so
that we can easily contact our senator if they stand on the fence or lean
towards supporting the nomination. Let's check out the tracker,
then make sure we are flooding our senators' offices with phone calls to let
them know how important it is that they vote "no" on Kavanaugh. We
can find more information and sample questions to ask our senators here.
6.
The
Senate is planning to pass 90% of the budget appropriations by stripping out
“poison pill policy riders.” http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/399796-senate-gop-battles-for-leverage-with-house-on-spending
This
may set up issues in the House, where right wing conservatives depend on these
tactics to put forth their agenda. Let’s tell our MoCs in the House that we
want to see a clean budget process and we support the Senate’s strategy of not
tying appropriations up with policy issues.
7.
Trump
had a disturbing weekend on Twitter – blatant racism against LeBron James and
Don Lemon and then seeming to throw his own son under the bus about the Russia
“adoption” meeting while also trashing the press:
http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/la-na-pol-trump-lebron-james-20180804-story.html and http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/400433-trump-attacks-reporters-as-enemy-of-the-people-says-they-cause-wars Although
it is hard for us to stay steady in the swirl, we cannot lose sight of how not
normal and how deeply unacceptable it is for the president to be acting this
way – on all levels. No matter how many times we have cried uncle with our MoC
about this madness, let’s reach out again to tell them that this cannot
continue.
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.
From one
of our own: With less than 100 days to
the midterm elections, we are once again asking friends and colleagues in
America to take a moment to reach out to any American citizens they know who
are studying or working abroad and to (gently) encourage them to register to
vote (and request and absentee ballot) in the midterms. Only *4 percent* of
Americans living abroad voted in the last midterms! There are as many Americans
abroad as people in the 13th most populous state -- historical examples show
that we can make the difference in close elections. To register and request a
ballot, go to: votefromabroad.org Questions: vote@votefromabroad.org Some states' registration
deadlines are fast approaching, so we would be grateful for any help in sharing
this message. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/04/26/why-swiss-nudging-u-s-citizens-vote-midterm-elections/553353002/
2.
The Southern
Poverty Law Center is hosting
a remote phone banking opportunity today from noon to 8:30pm in support of
Florida’s Amendment 4 which would restore voting rights to felons. We can learn more here and sign up here: https://secure.everyaction.com/F_OnyZa1eEGFd1p8abCczw2
3.
The March
for Our Lives
students have come up with shirts that includes a QR code one can use with a
phone that goes to a voter registration page.
Let’s buy them to support the students and wear them to help folks
register to vote: https://represent.com/store/marchforourlives
4.
All
that’s left to contain Trump and his collaborators and enablers is the vote in
the upcoming midterm elections, Nov 6, 2018, argues an opinion
journalist.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/08/06/all-thats-left-is-the-vote If we’re comfortable with technology and would like to help get Democrats
elected by reaching out to voters via texting, let’s check out Build the
Wave https://www.buildthewave.org/ and consider joining their Text the
Vote team. https://www.textthevote.com/ Right now, Build the Wave is texting to
get out the vote for Danny O’Connor, a Democrat running for Congress in the
Ohio Special Election on August 7. He’s polling within a percentage point
of his Republican opponent. Texting could make all the difference!
5.
VoteRiders, a group that helps voters get the IDs they
need to exercise their most fundamental citizenship right, has a batch of
catchy, informative videos, like “We Will Not Throw Away Our Votes” (Florida or
Arizona). Let’s watch and share some on their YouTube channel and share. https://www.youtube.com/user/VoteRiders/videos
6.
Let’s
flip the Senate! Grandmothers for a Brighter Future has launched its postcard-to-voters campaign
to elect three Democratic women to the US Senate: Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), https://kyrstensinema.com/ ; Claire McCaskill (MO),
https://clairemccaskill.com/ ; and Jacky Rosen (NV),
https://www.rosenfornevada.com/ . Let’s sign up here to participate
(ask for addresses preferably in multiples of 100): http://www.grandmothersforabrighterfuture.com/
7.
Midterms
are coming! Want to get ready but not sure how to start? We can answer a few
quick questions on Crush The Midterms and get our own customized plan!
8.
Facebook
Abby is back! If we are Postcards
To Voters'
volunteers who request addresses via text, we can help the organization save
money by requesting addresses from "Facebook Abby" instead of via
Text Abby. Each text costs money while the Facebook version uses Facebook
Messenger at no cost to Postcards To Voters. If we can, let's make the
switch. We can get started with Facebook Abby here and
even follow Facebook Abby on Facebook. Right now Campaign 96: Florida Vote By Mail, focusing on Pasco County, is still
open. Studies have shown that registering someone to vote-by-mail
increases the likelihood that they will vote. Let's request 5 cards for
this campaign from Facebook Abby.
Election 2018 –
By State
1.
Upcoming
voting dates and deadlines:
|
August 6
|
Wyoming
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary (postmark)
|
|
August 6
|
Alaska
|
Early Voting Begins
|
Primary
|
|
August 6
|
Kansas
|
Early Voting ends
|
Primary
|
|
August 6
|
Ohio
|
In person absentee voting ends
|
Special-12th congressional district
|
|
August 7
|
Kansas
|
Election date
|
Primary
|
|
August 7
|
Michigan
|
Election date
|
Primary
|
|
August 7
|
Missouri
|
Election date
|
Primary
|
|
August 7
|
Ohio
|
Election date
|
Special-12th congressional district
|
|
August 7
|
Washington
|
Election date
|
Primary
|
|
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.
MOST: The Coalition for Good Governance has
set the example for the entire nation by filing a motion in federal court to
mandate that Georgia use hand marked paper ballots (not its paperless
touchscreen voting machines) in NOVEMBER.
9.
OH: ahead of the August 7th 12th Congressional
District special election, voters are receiving text messages that falsely
claim that their polling place has been changed.
https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/voter-receives-bogus-text-message-of-polling-place-change Let’s
alert our friends and neighbors about this *real* voter fraud scam, and
if we receive such a message, let’s report it to the Election Protection
Hotline, 866-OUR-VOTE (or 866-687-8683), http://866ourvote.org/,
and to the Ohio Secretary of State, https://www.sos.state.oh.us/elections/#gref
Other Actions
1. “The
National Rifle Association warns that it is in grave financial jeopardy,
according to a recent court filing obtained by Rolling Stone, and
that it could soon “be unable to exist… or pursue its advocacy mission.”” https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/nra-financial-trouble-706371/ Whether
or not this is factual or a hype, let’s send the NRA our thoughts and prayers
(kindly, please): https://contact.nra.org/contact-us.aspx
2. Washington
DC Metro is considering chartering private trains to bring protesters to a
Unite the Right rally next weekend on the first year anniversary of
Charlottesville. The transit union workers, 80% of whose membership are people
of color, have publicly stated that they will not provide service for any
group that condones hate speech. http://fortune.com/2018/08/04/unite-the-right-rally-unions/. Adding irony to the situation, the Metro
recently banned any issue-oriented advertising on their trains. Let’s contact
the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (202-637-1328); Twitter: @wmata
and tell them we agree with the ATU--no private cars or special treatment for
people promoting hate speech. Let’s also contact the ATU Local 689, (301)
568-6899; Facebook or Twitter: @ATULocal689 and thank them for
their brave stand.
3. If
we want a handy list to use, here a compilation of early August postcarding
options to use with our group or ourselves:
http://www.whatifknits.com/
4. Since
the US government is either unable or unwilling to provide for basic needs of
immigrant detainees - sufficient water, food, hygiene products, blankets and
warm clothes, humanitarian relief organization, PROJECT LIFELINE, is declaring
the crisis and taking first action to help where our government has fallen
short. They are planning two caravans, one leaving from Houston and
another from San Antonio and need to collect enough supplies to fill an
18-wheeler (semi) truck and 20-30 cars / trucks. We can contribute to their
Amazon wishlist link http://a.co/2fVOs7i. then share with our friends on social
media.
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1.
Organizing for Action, a grassroots organization built from the original
structure of Barak Obama's campaign organization, is dedicated to mobilizing
citizens for positive political change in our country, is hosting online
training on the first Monday of each month. The next one is tonight, August
6th, at 8pm EDT, so let's RSVP, tune in, and get active! https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_z1H4hjhcTYSG9Mcf-RcSwg
2.
On August 8 at 8pm EDT, Showing
up for Racial Justice (SURJ) is hosting
a webinar on "The Alt-Right and Immigration". We can register here.
3.
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.
States
1.
MOST: The NRA is claiming that it is in deep
financial trouble, “possibly unable to exist” due to a New York State
blacklisting campaign, which is making it hard for the agency to get insurance.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/nra-financial-trouble-706371/. Let’s contact our governor’s offices and find out how we can do something similar in
our state to make sure that that the NRA can’t negotiate with insurance
companies who can waive liability for acts of clear wrongdoing. Let’s also thank Governor Cuomo for weakening
the NRA:
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, "As the first trial for Paul
Manafort got underway, Trump called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to end
the Mueller probe. ...Kleptocracy, incompetence, and corruption continued to
plague the regime, but in the daily chaos, got little attention or
coverage." Let's review Amy
Siskind's list week 90.
2.
“Judge's
ruling invalidates FEC regulation allowing anonymous donations to 'dark money'
groups” - https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/04/campaigns-dark-money-groups-donors-anonymous-ruling-762440
3.
“For an in-depth look at how the Trump
administration's "zero tolerance" policy has played out.
"Separated: Children at the Border" online”: https://to.pbs.org/2Kd0ONh
4.
Our summer bi-weekly dose of Small Victories: https://mailchi.mp/peaceisloud/small-victories-in-pursuit-of-freedom?e=86890239c4
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