9/19/18
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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.
Our
pressure helped to postpone the Thursday Kavanaugh vote and now there will be
additional hearings on Monday. While
there was talk that Dr. Christine Blasey Ford would also be part of the
hearings, given the harassment she has received, including death threats and
needing to move out of her house and hiring security (https://www.businessinsider.com/brett-kavanaugh-accuser-receives-death-threats-moves-out-of-house-hires-private-security-2018-9) she wants the FBI to investigate
Kavanaugh first. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/18/us/politics/christine-blasey-ford
kavanaugh-senate-hearing.html Let’s let our senators know that we agree with
Dr. Ford.
2.
Even
if there were not enough reasons before, the news about the accusation against
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is evolving by the hour and may be
different when this list is published:
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/407119-the-memo-kavanaugh-firestorm-consumes-political-world but let’s take action as needed
by contacting our own Senators to let them know that serving on the SCOTUS is
not a right and that we can do better than Kavanaugh. Let’s also call the White
House comment line (staffed by volunteers) to ask Trump to withdraw the
Kavanaugh nomination: 202-456-1111
3. In a strange juxtaposition, the Kavanaugh
allegations are playing out at the same time that the Violence Against Women
Act ( HR 6545)
is up for reauthorization. https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-violence-against-women-expire-20180913-story.html Let’s tell our MoCs that we want the VAWA
reauthorized and we don’t want Kavanagh.
It is past time that #MeToo overrules #boyswillbeboys. The midterms are coming and we will vote for
candidates who respect and value all of us.
As Small Deeds Done
tells us, it’s not a blue wave coming, it’s a pink one!
4.
“Senator
Mazie Hirono thinks Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is not telling the
truth about the sexual assault he allegedly committed as a teenager. She thinks
he wasn’t telling the truth to the Judiciary Committee when he claimed not to
remember any sexual misconduct by a judge he clerked for who was forced to
resign last year after allegations from more than a dozen women.” https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/09/18/brett-kavanaugh-sexual-assault-allegations-senate-hearings-mazie-hirono-interview-220064 Now with the accusations against Kavanaugh by
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, we all need to let our senators know that we, too,
have significant doubts that he would serve us well as a Supreme Court justice.
5.
Trump’s
decision to declassify several documents related to the Russia investigation
amounts to a serious abuse of power, according to former AG Eric Holder. John
McLaughlin, who was the Acting CIA Director under George W. Bush, agrees that
this "probably qualifies as the President’s most serious assault on the
Justice system yet." https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/407214-eric-holder-trump-releasing-docs-on-russia-probe-is-dangerous-abuse. Let’s ask our MoCs how they can continue
to let the president put his own self-interests above the national security of
the country and ask them when they are going to recognize and speak out
publicly about the numerous ways justice has been obstructed.
6. The
Trump administration has decided on the number of refugees that the U.S. will
allow into the country for the upcoming fiscal year: a dismal 30,000 people,
down from 45,000 this year, and 115,000 in 2016 under the Obama administration. (https://n.pr/2pho4RW, https://wapo.st/2QFE1Oj).
Following Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's announcement, Kevin Appleby,
senior director of international migration policy at the Center
for Migration Studies stated that “Congress should exercise
its oversight responsibility and push back hard on this low number through
every tool at its disposal.” We agree. Let's contact our MoC and tell them that
we know the U.S. is capable of supporting far more refugees in our country, and
we want them to do everything in their power to do so. We can also hold
Secretary Pompeo accountable by telling him exactly how we feel about the Trump
administration's abandonment of those who need help: State Department Office of
the Secretary Phone number: 202-647-4000 Address: United States Department of
State 2201 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20520 Twitter: @SecPompeo
7. The Money Follows the
Person (MFP) program has enabled people with
disabilities to transition out of institutions, in order to live in less
restrictive environments, become more independent, and integrate into their
communities: http://bit.ly/2E2h0ml http://kaiserf.am/2s7cL31 However, in 2016 the program was never
renewed, and now states are set to lose federal funding for the program. Months
ago, Republican and Democratic members of Congress introduced : EMPOWER
Care Act (S. 2227/H.R. 5306)
which will reauthorize the Money Follows the Person Demonstration Program. Last
week, the House passed the bill out of
committee, and it will now proceed to a full House
vote. Let's be sure to contact our representative and tell them we want them to
support H.R. 5306.
8. In
addition to cutting SNAP benefits, another issue with the House version of the
farm bill is that it restricts local communities from banning dangerous
pesticides in their own localities. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/over-60-local-officials-call-on-congress-to-protect-local-authority-to-restrict-toxic-pesticides-in-the-farm-bill-300711843.html.
Let’s make sure to tell our MoCs to reject Section 9101 of the House Farm Bill.
Communities should have the right to protect their residents from substances
that have been scientifically proven to be harmful to public health.
9.
The ACLU is warning that Congress is pushing to
add the Preventing Emerging Threats Act of 2018 (H.R. 6401/S. 2836) to the
Federal Aviation Agency Reauthorization Act. The amendment, according to the
ACLU, would permit the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice
Department to spy on drones without a warrant—including drones being used by
media organizations for their reporting. https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/privacy-and-surveillance/congress-poised-give-trump-administration-powerful Let’s
tell our MoCs to oppose this bill—we don’t want any president, to have the power
to warrantlessly spy on journalists and activists.
Election
2018 – General
1.
Over 1.4 million Floridians with past
convictions are permanently barred from voting, even after completing their
full sentence. Florida is 1 of only 4 states in the country with this broken
system. Amendment 4 fixes it by restoring the eligibility to vote to 1.4 million
Floridians who have served their time and paid their debts. Second
Chances
is looking for groups anywhere to help them get the word out by hosting call
parties on Saturday, September 22nd from 1pm - 4pm ET to talk to Florida voters
and urge them to vote YES on Amendment 4.
Hosting a Call Party is easy and fun! All we need is a space with WiFi
and a few friends to get started. Second Chances will help us recruit
attendees, and provide materials, training and support. We can 1) find a call party near us and RSVP today!,
2) host
a calling party, or
3) make
calls from home.
2. Those
of us who have been using Resistbot to contact our elected officials know how
easy, convenient, and effective it is. Now our favorite bot has even more
functionality! One of the latest features: checking our voter registration
status! DM “check” to @resistbot on Twitter, or text “CHECK” to 50409 on your
cell, and Resistbot will walk us through it. Easy as pie.
3. Ted
Cruz’s senatorial campaign has sent hundreds of thousands of mailers seeking
donations that are meant to look like official county summons. The brown
envelopes read “SUMMONS ENCLOSED-OPEN IMMEDIATELY” in large black letters, and
have a return address of “official county summons.” Let's read more at Newsweek then
make sure that our Texas family and friends are aware of this deceptive
tactic.
4.
Postcards
to Voters Campaign
108: Aftab Pureval for
Congress, is still open. This Cincinnati-area district was recently
updated from “Lean Republican” to “Toss-up.” We have an opportunity to flip
this seat! Let's write 5 postcards to Ohio voters. We can sign up as new
volunteers here.
5.
College
kids can get and file absentee ballots so they can vote in their home
elections, but apparently it is difficult for them to know where to buy
stamps. https://wtop.com/local/2018/09/why-college-students-dont-vote-absentee-they-dont-know-where-to-buy-a-postage-stamp/ Let’s
find some creative ways to get stamps to our away-from home student voters.
Election 2018 – By State
1.
Upcoming voting dates and deadlines: by date:
https://goo.gl/gjFv2u by
state: https://goo.gl/7gTzvE
2.
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 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:
3.
FL: Governor
Rick Scott claims to have hidden his finances in a blind trust, but reporting
now shows that 41% of his investments are mirrored in his wife's investment
portfolio, which he can see. This unlikely coincidence just happens to make it
very easy for Scott to engage in self-dealing as governor. Also, both of their
portfolios are managed by a very cozy network of friends and former employees.(https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2018/09/13/scotts-blind-trust-mirrors-hundreds-of-investments-also-held-by-wife-607026).
Now that Scott wants to be a US Senator, his mass of potential conflicts of
interest are a concern for all of us, so let's give him a call (850-488-7146)
and tell him to clean up his act.
Other Actions
1. Dr.
Christine Blasey Ford has come forward with an accusation of sexual assault by
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/18/we-cannot-have-a-rapist-on-the-us-supreme-court Let’s
send bright colorful postcards (that do not require opening and are clearly not
hate mail) to her with words of gratitude for her courage: Dr. Christine Blasey
Ford, Palo Alto University, 1791 Arastradero Rd, Palo Alto, CA, 94304
2.
""It’s
impossible to miss the parallels between the Kavanaugh confirmation hearing of
2018 and the 1991 confirmation hearing for Justice Clarence Thomas," Hill
wrote. "In 1991, the Senate Judiciary Committee had an opportunity to
demonstrate its appreciation for both the seriousness of sexual harassment
claims and the need for public confidence in the character of a nominee to the
Supreme Court. "It failed on both
counts.""
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/09/18/anita-hill-new-york-times-op-ed/1344542002/ We were not as woke in 1991 as we are
now and Anita Hill did this alone without the support of so many as there is
now for Dr. Christine Ford. Let's send postcards of thanks to Anita Hill for
her courage and our apologies for not knowing how to help her at the
time. Address: Dr. Anita Hill, Heller-Brown Building, 374, Brandeis
University, Waltham, MA 02453
3.
The New York Times has put together a useful
resource list of ways to help people impacted by Hurricane Florence: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/15/reader-center/how-to-help-hurricane-florence-victims.html
4.
Political spending by "dark money"
organizations aims to influence voters and elections while keeping the
influencers identities secret. If that seems like a perversion of
democracy, then let's study ProPublica/Issue One's hard-won (and
hard-hitting) work to expose those secret donors and identify concrete measures
to shine some light into those dark corners. https://www.propublica.org/nerds/shedding-some-light-on-dark-money-political-donors
5.
From Project Lifeline: Did
you show up to a #familiesbelongtogether rally this summer? What are you doing
now about the deplorable conditions of detention those children and 130,000
more a year suffer? Get informed and stay involved with Project
Lifeline.
NBC just covered the effort! https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/immigration-border-crisis/not-our-watch-lawyers-fight-keep-trump-dismantling-migrant-child-n910391 Please share our Sept 28/29 events with all
your Texas friends.
https://projectlifeline.us/how-to-help/ And
for those of you not in Texas with compassionate children, do the #declarewecare challenge on the website!
6.
From
one of our own: Y'all know that North
Carolina and its people are deep in my heart. For some folks on the east coast-
as well as others further inland as flood waters rise and flow- this is the
second time in two years that they've found themselves underwater. While the
needs are many, cash donations allow organizations to help meet immediate
needs. Please consider a donation to one of the following: A) American Red
Cross redcross.org, B) Samaritan's Purse samaritanspurse.org,
C) Presbyterian Church Disaster Relief pcusa.org, D) United Methodist Church- NC Conference
nccumc.org, E) Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina lumbeetribe.com, and F) SBP- Disaster Recovery and
Resiliency sbpusa.org
7.
It's really hard to keep up with the news these
days. Especially when there is so much fake news around. Here's how we can
tackle this problem, quickly! "PolitiFact, the largest political
fact-checking newsroom in the country, is starting a newsletter that will
deliver our best fact-checks to your email, Monday through Friday.
Stay in the loop and separate the fact from fiction with PolitiFact
Daily!" https://politifact.us13.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=7fcd21cd74d3867be10c01899&id=b0ba8cd5e9
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1. From Twitter Warriors:
Please join our twitter storm (Wed. Sept 19, 8 PM EST) to tweet about
#HurricanceFlorence, the huge impact #AnimalAgriculture has on climate change.
We need to #ActOnClimate to save our planet and humanity. To do this we are
advocating to introduce more plant-based diet. Click on link to join the event
on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2pdLzvb"
2.
From the Sierra Club: Late in 2017,
Trump and Interior Secretary Zinke opened the Arctic Refuge to oil leasing. Now,
they're rushing to drill in the Refuge before a new administration can reverse
their deeply unpopular decision -- and the next few months are
crucial. Join us on Wednesday September
19, 5 p.m. PT/ 8 p.m. ET for a national webinar on how to protect the Arctic
Refuge from drilling. Register here.
3. The
Women’s March is planning protests on September
20 and September 24 in Washington DC to declare public support for
Kavanaugh’s accuser, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, and call awareness to the numerous
reasons Kavanaugh would be an abhorrent choice for women’s rights. We can find
out more at www.cancelkavanaugh.com
and also donate to the effort if we can’t personally
attend.
4. She the People, a
network to advance the political power of women of color for progressive goals,
is kicking off a 3-year initiative with a summit on Thursday, September 20 in San Francisco.
Registration is open to the public. Let’s go! https://www.shethepeople.org/#summit-section
5. From Saturday,
September 22 to Saturday, September 29, When We All Vote will
celebrate a week of action. Communities across the country will host voter
registration events throughout the week in cities big and small with the help
of volunteers like us. On September 23, Michelle Obama will be
hosting the Las Vegas event and on September 28, she will host the Miami
event. We can sign up to volunteer or RSVP for one of the events at When We All Vote. Let's look for an event near us.
6. 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.
7. The 2018 March for Black Women will
occur in Washington, D.C. on September
29 and New York City on September
30, with sister marches all over the country. Let’s fine
more information here: https://www.blackwomensblueprint.org/march-for-black-women and
here: https://www.facebook.com/events/187741818714062/
Let’s learn how to start a sister march/townhall here: https://www.blackwomensblueprint.org/town-halls-sister-marches
States
1.
AZ: Joseph Kezele, the president of the Arizona Origin Science
Association and a staunch believer in the idea that enough scientific evidence
exists to back up the biblical story of creation, served last month on the
committee tasked with revising the state's science curriculum standards on
evolution. Let's read more at Phoenix New Times. If we are or know parents of
children in the Arizona public school system, we need to be aware of what our
children are being taught and we need to plan how we will monitor and correct
anti-science information given to our children.
2.
MI: In June, we learned that the Michigan
Department of Education would be implementing
changes to social studies standards, as recommended
by a highly partisan focus group. The changes would remove references to the
NAACP, KKK, Roe v. Wade, the fight for LGBTQ rights and the rights of other
minority groups, climate change, and would include teaching “how the expansion
of rights for some groups can be viewed as an infringement of rights and
freedoms of others.” Due to public outcry, the public comment period has now
been extended to September 30th (https://www.bridgemi.com/talent-education/public-outcry-delays-michigan-social-studies-standards). Let's take
the time to read through the
proposed changes, then leave a comment on those changes here.
3.
TX: The Federal Elections Commission said Ted
Cruz’s fundraising letter is not illegal since in small type at the bottom of
the return address it mentions Cruz, 2 lines below “Travis County Official
Summons,” but the letter, sent to 10s of thousands of Texas voters and marked
“SUMMONS ENCLOSED-OPEN IMMEDIATELY,” is, at the very least, misleading and
manipulative: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/407098-fec-cruz-campaign-didnt-violate-rules-with-fundraising-letter-labeled The
campaign claims to have received no complaints; perhaps we who want to renounce
Cruz’s slimy tactics--should change that: 713-353-4330 or Ted Cruz for Senate,
PO Box 25376, Houston, TX 77265.
Reading/Watching
1.
Anita
Hill: How to Get the Kavanaugh Hearings Right - https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/18/opinion/anita-hill-brett-kavanaugh-clarence-thomas.html
2.
Although this was published before Dr. Christine
Ford became public, it explains the psychology and risk behind anyone coming
forward in our highly misogynistic system:
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/brett-kavanaugh-assault-accusation-confirmation-hearing.html
3.
American
Democracy Is In Crisis by Hillary Clinton - https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/09/american-democracy-is-in-crisis/570394/
4.
Three Virginia sheriffs are being sued for
refusing to take inmates out of Hurricane Florence’s path. The suit accuses
them of irresponsibly ignoring mandatory evacuation orders. Between the
three law enforcement officials, nearly 2,500 inmates were left in the storm’s
path. Let's read this article at LegalReader.
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