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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/2vpNQpThttps://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


Find elected state officials: https://openstates.org/


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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