9/24/18
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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. This
week in Congress: This week, the House returns to Washington DC. Starting
on Tuesday, Sept. 25 they'll be considering fifty-nine (59) bills and
resolutions with thirty-eight (38) bills scheduled for Tuesday. Let's take
a look at the House Majority Leader's Weekly Schedule so we know what's coming. On
Monday after 5:30, the Senate begins their week with the
consideration of two nominees, Jackie Wolcott and Peter A. Feldman, to four
positions (Source: Senate Executive
Calendar) On Thursday,
the Senate Judiciary
Committee plans to
hear testimony from Brett Kavanaugh's sexual-abuse accuser, Dr. Christine
Blasey Ford. (Source: LATimes)
2. Now
that a second accuser has come forward, this time concerning a college
incident, Brett Kavanaugh’s respect for women is deeply questionable. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/senate-democrats-investigate-a-new-allegation-of-sexual-misconduct-from-the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaughs-college-years-deborah-ramirez We
need to keep asking senators if this is really the kind of person we want
sitting in the highest judgement of our country. Let’s use Invisible’s tracker to see where
senators stand and start calling: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IhksP1EBXbIxirXRILNBOjTH89drJp8im3d2ELnvlSg/edit#gid=1913565360
3. GOP
Judiciary Committee member, Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC), claims that while he
is willing to “listen to the lady,” he “doesn’t want to ruin Judge Kavanaugh’s
life” over Dr. Christina Blasey Ford’s accusation, strongly implying that he’s
already made up his mind on the issue. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/09/23/brett-kavanaugh-allegation-sen-lindsey-graham-has-doubts-ford/1403189002/. Let’s remind Senator Graham (202)
224-5972 that Kavanaugh’s life will not be “ruined,” if he’s not chosen for the
position, and the trauma will be considerably less than what Dr. Ford suffered
when she was assaulted. Let’s also tell Senator Graham we’re disgusted with his
sexism, lack of empathy, and blatant bias, not to mention his utter disregard
for women’s rights.
4. On
Friday, GOP Judiciary Committee Chair, Chuck Grassley, sent a tweet apologizing
to Supreme Court Nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, for giving Dr. Christina Blasey
Ford, the woman who accused him of sexual assault, an extension. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/09/22/sen-chuck-grassley-tweet-direct-text-message-brett-kavanaugh/1394102002/. Let’s tell Senator Grassley (202) 224-3744
that his obvious bias in the process is reprehensible and this is exactly why
Dr. Ford and the American people deserve a full fact-finding investigation into
the issue before Kavanaugh’s confirmation is voted on.
5. From
one of our own: Please call/email your congressional representative to
act quickly on passing the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (H.R. 6545), which will otherwise expire at the end of
September. Congress first passed the landmark domestic violence law
in 1993 and most recently reauthorized it in 2013. The latest iteration
goes beyond extending the same protections and includes provisions to help
victims of domestic violence and stalking stay in stable housing situations.
It also includes an expansion of gun control laws aimed at prohibiting persons
convicted of dating violence and stalking and those under protective orders
from possessing firearms, and expands protections for Native American women.
6. Almost
13,000 immigrant children are currently in detention. They are protected by the
Flores Agreement, which limits the length of their detention and requires
standards of care including food, shelter, healthcare and access to legal aid.
The Trump Administration wants to terminate the Flores Agreement and
detain children indefinitely [source: NBC]. DHS is accepting public
comments through Nov. 6, 2018 - but the best time to take action
is now. Visit our website to find more information, an email template, and
everything you need to tell DHS: #DEFENDFLORES!
https://familiesbelong.org/flores/
7. In
a letter sent to Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Department of Health and Human
Services Secretary Alex Azar has noted a plan to reallocate funding in order to
increase immigrant child detention (https://bit.ly/2OLKSEL, https://yhoo.it/2Nqj2Bd). Some of the funding will come from cuts
to the National Cancer Institute, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program, and programs
within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC). Let's contact Secretary Azar and tell him that not only
is it reprehensible to increase child detention, but to draw funding from these
other programs is unacceptable: Secretary of Health and Human Services
Alex Azar Office of the Secretary Health & Human Services 200 Independence
Ave, SW, DC 20201 Phone: 202-690-7000 E-mail: Secretary@HHS.gov
8. From
Protecting Immigrant Families: Saturday evening, the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a press release and the text of the highly
anticipated public charge rule.
This rule would prevent immigrant families on the road to U.S. citizenship from
being able to secure permanent lawful immigration status if they utilize any of
a vast array of health care supports, nutrition assistance, or other services. Following the announcement, NILC, CLASP issued statements. If your organization has not already done
so, please sign on to our
statement in opposition to
the public charge rule by 5 PM ET/ 2 PM PT on Monday. For
links to many of the news articles from the past 24 hours, please visit the news
page on our website. Once
the Trump administration has posted its order to the federal website, we’ll
follow up and let you know how you can directly submit your own comment
opposing Trump’s proposed family separation and starvation regulation. In
the meantime, please spread the word about this cruel proposed regulation by
sharing this email or posting to social media.
9. Last
week, McDonald’s workers in 10 cities went on strike, demanding that McDonald’s
take responsibility for sexual abuse in their workplaces:
https://www.nbcnews.com/video/mcdonald-s-workers-go-on-strike-over-sexual-harassment-1324029507766 Trump’s National Labor Relations
Board is trying to avoid holding McDonald’s responsible for the abuse of
workers in its franchises (even though it controls everything else) under the
“joint employer” rule by changing the standard for defining a “joint
employer”: https://www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/this-new-labor-ruling-could-be-a-huge-win-for-mcdonalds-other-franchise-chains.html There is now a 60-day period for
public comment on this rule change; we can easily comment here:
10. One
of the tools that Congress has is the introduction of a private bill for
immigration relief, in which permanent status is granted to a foreign national.
Representative Dan Kildee (D-MI-5) has done so in order to stop the deportation
of Francis Anwana, who has cognitive disabilities and is deaf, and has lived in
the U.S. for 35 years (https://www.freep.com/story/news/2018/09/12/dan-kildee-deportation-deaf-immigrant-francis-anwana-detroit/1279177002/, https://on.freep.com/2NWFUIb). Let's call our representatives in the House and ask them to
support the private legislation For the Relief of Francis Anwana (H.R. 6829) and to move this bill forward ASAP. We can
also send a personalized letter to the ICE field office in Flint, telling them
that we care about Francis, that he is a valued member of our community (be
sure to note if you are from Michigan, where Francis currently resides), and
that he needs to stay in the U.S.: ICE c/o Rep. Kildee Re: Francis Anwana (A
099002276) 111 East Court St. #3B Flint, MI 48502
11. From
one of our own: Regulations comments for
the week ending September 28, includes methane, clean power and air plans, NLRB
rollback, DHS-HHS-ICE detention policy, wildlife, trucks: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q_Bt7Pr0LYu9aNWsEdtIa4VBTG3j8IS-/view
Election
2018 – General
1. From
Political
Charge: Have you ever forgotten something when you
move? It’s easy to do. What’s even easier is forgetting to update your voter
registration when you do move. https://politicalcharge.org/2018/09/23/moved-recently-voter-registration-doesnt-travel-with-you/
Election 2018 – By State
1.
Upcoming voting dates and deadlines: by date:
https://goo.gl/gjFv2u by
state: https://goo.gl/7gTzvE
2.
If we are not sure where to start looking for
information about candidates, issues, etc., we can check out the League of
Women Voters’ website: https://www.vote411.org/
Other Actions
1.
Today, September 24, at 1 pm, EST, there will be
a national walk out in support of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who is risking her
and her family’s safety by coming forward to testify publicly about her
interaction with Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh. All we need to
do to participate is to wear black and walk out of our home, office, classroom,
etc. and post a picture on our social media with the hashtag,
#BelieveSurvivors. Those of us in Washington DC can meet in the Senate Hart
Atrium at 12:30 for a WalkOut/Speak Out in front of the Supreme Court at 1 pm.
We can find more details here and also share them
widely. “If you can’t walk out, you can show your support by posting a
video or a picture to this event. Help spread the word: we believe Dr. Blasey
Ford. We believe survivors. And we won’t stand for Senate Republicans’
despicable attempts to strong-arm a sexual assault survivor.” We can use and share this toolkit: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bTBIEoq5etHmyHoaI0tF330Gkzi8p2c5xhWEmTChD9o/mobilebasic
2.
Since
2015, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been funding Navigator programs through
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), expanding outreach,
education, and enrollment assistance to better support those who are eligible
for coverage through the ACA. However, the Trump administration has been decreasing
funds since he took office; the $63 million awarded to these programs in 2016
has been cut to a mere $10 million (https://bit.ly/2DqtV1s),
ostensibly because Navigators do not provide much assistance, and enrollees do
not need help anyway. We know that this is not true, as the Kaiser Family
Foundation points out that these programs offer essential services: https://www.kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/data-note-further-reductions-in-navigator-funding-for-federal-marketplace-states/ Let's
use this as motivation to get involved with the ACA
Signup Project, where we can participate in a Twitter Thunderclap
to spread awareness for ACA open enrollment.
3. Three
15-year-olds in Idaho have penned an open letter in support of Dr. Christine
Blasey Ford: https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/407637-teen-girls-pen-open-letter-supporting-kavanaugh-accuser-we There is a link within the
article to their Change.org petition which we can sign in support of their
message.
4.
Russia's campaign of "active measures"
to divide Americans against each other was notable for its consistent
opposition to gun control and support for the NRA (https://www.npr.org/2018/09/21/648803459/russias-2016-twitter-campaign-was-strongly-pro-gun-with-echoes-of-the-nra). In light of its overall strategy to play
both extremes against the middle, the campaign's reluctance to advocate for
sensible restrictions on gun ownership is both unique and revealing. The NRA
quite possibly aided in this concrtrd effort to undermine our democracy, but
even if not, this discovery shows that Russia thinks America loses when guns
proliferate. So, let's be sure to know about and support sensible gun policy in
our towns, states and country: https://www.csgv.org/
5.
"A group of students at Harvard Law School
is calling on the university to stop allowing President Trump's Supreme Court
nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, to hold a teaching job unless there is an
investigation into the sexual assault allegations brought against
him." https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/407659-harvard-law-students-call-on-school-to-reconsider-allowing Let's join our voices with the
students and contact President Lawrence S. Bacow at Office of the
President, Harvard University, Massachusetts Hall, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA or
Tel: (617) 495-1502 or Fax: (617) 495-8550 or president@harvard.edu
6.
If we
are looking for some good items and info to use with our postcarding group,
let’s check here: http://www.whatifknits.com/ It is written for CA, but we know how to find
our own lawmakers.
7.
Here's our chance to help in the fight against
disinformation! "As November’s midterm elections approach, The New York
Times is looking for examples of online ads, posts and texts that contain political
disinformation or false claims and are being deliberately spread on internet
platforms to try to influence local, statewide, and federal
elections. Times journalists are hoping to use your tips to advance our
reporting." Here is the website where we can submit our tips. Instructions
included: If You See
Disinformation Ahead of the Midterms, We Want to Hear From You
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1. 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.
2. Today,
September 24, at 1 pm, EST, there will be a national walk out in support of Dr.
Christine Blasey Ford, who is risking her and her family’s safety by coming
forward to testify publicly about her interaction with Supreme Court Justice
nominee Brett Kavanaugh. All we need to do to participate is to wear black and
walk out of our home, office, classroom, etc. and post a picture on our social
media with the hashtag, #BelieveSurvivors. Those of us in Washington DC can
meet in the Senate Hart Atrium at 12:30 for a WalkOut/Speak Out in front of the
Supreme Court at 1 pm. We can find more details here and also share them widely. ”If you can’t walk out, you can
show your support by posting a video or a picture to this event. Help spread
the word: we believe Dr. Blasey Ford. We believe survivors. And we won’t stand
for Senate Republicans’ despicable attempts to strong-arm a sexual assault
survivor.”
3. Dr.
Blasey Ford is scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about
her attempted rape on Thursday. The Women’s March is coordinating a
national day of action on Thursday,
September 27. Survivors will gather at their Senators’ offices across the
country and share their own testimonies of assault. They will
#HearOurVoice. We can find or sign up to
host an event here: https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/webelievechristine
4. 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.
ALL: Groups backed by radical right-wing billionaires (e.g., Mercers,
Kochs, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)) are pushing for Article V
Constitutional Conventions, but referring to it as a “Convention of States”.
Under Article V of the Constitution. It takes 34 states to call a
constitutional convention. The main efforts underway are (1) a convention for a
Balanced Budget Amendment (passed in 28 states), (2) a “Convention of States”
to limit the powers of the federal government, which is endorsed by people like
Sean Hannity, Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, and Rand Paul (passed in 11 states,
passed in one chamber of 10 states, active legislation pending in 18 states)
and (3) a left-wing effort to overturn Citizens United (passed in 5 states;
targeting 13 states) . Legal experts and watchdogs warn that there are no
checks and balances on such conventions (there is nothing to prevent a
convention on a balanced budget amendment, for example, from blowing up into a
complete re-writing of the Constitution), that big-money special interests
would likely dominate the process, and that the entire exercise would put our
constitutional rights up for grabs. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2018/09/04/the-biggest-threat-to-democracy-that-nobody-is-talking-about/?utm_term=.b2d41b44a246 and https://www.cbpp.org/research/states-likely-could-not-control-constitutional-convention-on-balanced-budget-amendment-or Let’s
tell our state lawmakers to oppose these efforts: https://openstates.org/ ,
and let’s be sure to elect Democrats to our state legislatures and governors’
offices to stop these campaigns in their tracks.
2.
CA: "It’s
hard to overstate how destructive Proposition 6 would be for California. It
would eliminate $5 billion a year from the state budget, wiping out funds that
could be used to fill potholes on local streets, smooth highways and stabilize
bridges. It would cancel funding for highway and rail projects designed to move
cargo more cleanly and efficiently, hurting the state’s vital freight industry.
It would slash money for light rail lines and commuter rail service, meaning
fewer trains for people trying to get to work."
3.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-endorsement-proposition-6-20180922-story.html Let’s get
the word out to our CA friends that Prop 6 should be defeated.
Reading/Watching
1.
The Brett Kavanaugh case shows we still
blame women for the sins of men - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/21/brett-kavanaugh-blame-women-anita-hill-cosby-weinstein
2.
why I
believe her - http://www.katrinakenison.com/2018/09/21/why-i-believe-her/
3.
Trump’s
Ethics Promises Have Not Been Kept - https://www.citizensforethics.org/trumps-ethics-promises-have-not-been-kept/
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