10/15/18
Contact Federal Government Officials
Find elected officials: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
Fax legislators for free:
Or
use Resistbot: https://resist.bot/
Or
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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 and the House is out of town until after the
midterm elections, returning to Washington DC on November 13. https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/enate-reaches-agreement-nominations-will-start-campaign-recess-early
2. Today
is the last day to file our public comments against Trump’s assault on free
speech at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/08/15/2018-17386/special-regulations-areas-of-the-national-park-system-national-capital-region-special-events-and. The
National Park Service has a proposal to charge protesters for demonstrating in
the nation’s capital. The changes would allow them to charge application
fees, the cost of barricades set up at police discretion, trash removal and
sanitation, and charges for purported harm to grass, turf, benches, poles, and
walkways. They would also limit protests at the Martin Luther King
Memorial, close the White House sidewalk, and add uncertainty to the permitting
process that would make it difficult or even impossible to plan for buses,
sound, stages, and other key elements. More info at: http://www.justiceonline.org/take_action_now_stop_trump_new_laws_to_crush_protests_in_washington_dc#/5/. Civil rights groups are claiming
that the new regulations would be unconstitutional. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/we-wont-go-proposal-to-limit-white-house-protests-draws-howls-from-civil-rights-groups/ar-BBOiN22?ocid=spartanntp. Here’s a link to help us write
an effective comment: https://rightsanddissent.org/news/how-to-write-strong-comments-to-the-national-park-services-defending-our-right-to-protest/
3. The
bipartisan Justice for Victims of Lynching Act (S. 3178) was unanimously passed out of the Senate
Judiciary Committee last week (https://bit.ly/2OiKeSO). The legislation would specify lynching,
or attempting to lynch, as a crime under hate crime statutes. Let's contact our
MoC and make sure that they support this bill, then let's contact Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and ask him to bring this to the Senate floor:
Mailing address: 317 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone:
(202) 224-2541 Fax: (202) 224-2499
4. Fortunately,
it passed, but the United States was one of 13 countries who voted against the
United Nation resolution that “condemned the “imposition of the death penalty
as a sanction for specific forms of conduct, such as apostasy,
blasphemy, adultery and consensual same-sex relations”.” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-gay-sex-death-penalty-un-same-sex-relations-human-rights-council-saudi-arabia-iraq-nikki-haley-a7980981.html
Let’s let our U.N.
Ambassador Nikki Haley that this vote does not represent us or what our country
stands for: https://usun.state.gov/contact
Let’s tell the White House the same thing.
5. From
July 2017 to July 2018, the Army has discharged over 500 immigrant service
members who had been recruited under the Military Accessions Vital to the
National Interest (MAVNI) program (https://apnews.com/1ecc474ca5ac4833aa736f76bb572c7f). The program was put on hold in 2016, but
until then was used to recruit those whose language or medical skills would be
an asset, in exchange for U.S. citizenship. Let's contact Department of Defense
Secretary Jim Mattis, who has recently stated that he supports MAVNI, and ask
that he re-implement the program and reinstate the enlistees who have been
discharged this year. Mailing address: James N. Mattis Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon Washington, DC 20301-1000
6. From
one of our own: Comments and actions
week ending October 19, 2018. Includes methane, Clean power and air plans, NLRB
rollback, DHS-HHS-ICE detention policy, trucks:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GwuEt4JPEgeHmonJDgdAonQa2nY3o9C0NsIk0iuSbRQ/edit
7. With
white supremacist Stephen Miller in the White House and managing our
immigration program, it is so surprise they are trying to find a work-around
for another round of family separation at the border. https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/12/trump-administration-family-separations-return-846971
Let’s make sure that the White House that we do not want this to
happen. Then, let’s ask our MoCs what
they are doing about it.
Election 2018 – General
1.
As it gets closer to the election, we will begin
to see more and more troubling entities that try to get us off track and behave
as wolves in sheep’s clothing. One such
group started over the weekend and sounds good but is not. The National Progressive Coalition is a
right-wing effort to lure us in and do damage.
Do not go to their site or share their posts on any social media
platform. On Twitter their handles will
begin @npc usually followed by numbers.
In one meme they are encouraging men stay home from voting in the
midterms so that women’s votes will be worth more.
2.
Last week, Postcards To Voters assigned
over 35,000 addresses a day for 5 days in a row! Let's continue our dedication
as we move closer to the Midterms. Postcards To Voters'
Campaign 120: Heather Buch in Oregon gives us an opportunity to help a
local-level candidate. Buch (pronounced "Buck") is running for Lane
County Commission which has been Republican-controlled for nearly 20
years. Big Timber industries have ravaged the land because the Commission
allows them. Let's help flip Lane County by writing 5 cards for Heather. If we
haven't written postcards before, now is the time! Each card reaches a voter
who can make a difference. Let's email: JOIN@TonyTheDemocrat.org
to get started.
3.
Hoping to host a Postcards
To Voters party before the
mid-terms but unsure where to start? Here are some steps shared by a Rogan’s
Lister who has run five with her political huddle group: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1L9yX6DtiO-ScVa_63J4cqvdnsf_BubgW
4.
Republican candidate for Governor of Georgia,
Brian Kemp, is also Georgia’s Secretary of State and the architect of an “exact
match” policy that is disproportionately discriminating against African
American voters. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/georgia-voter-suppression-brian-kemp-736817/. Kemp is ignoring calls to resign his
Secretary of State position, despite the obvious conflict of interest this
presents. A number of civil rights groups have sued Kemp for voter suppression,
and the calls for Kemp’s resignation are mounting. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/georgia-sued-placing-thousands-voter-registrations-hold-election-n919526. Let’s consider donating to one of the civil
rights groups involved in the suit,
or directly supporting Stacy Abrams’ campaign. Residents of Georgia are also encouraged
to sign this petition calling for Kemp’s resignation.
5.
We all know how important it is to turn the
Senate Blue this November and now we have a chance to help three Democratic
Candidates in need of a boost: Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, where a Supreme
Court ruling against Native American Voting Rights makes her fight even harder,
Bill Nelson of Florida, running against Billionaire Rick Scott who has
millions of his own to spend on his campaign, and Tina Smith of Minnesota,
recently appointed to finish Al Franken’s term and in need of visibility. We
can help all of them when we join Action Together Network’s Twitter Warriors
for a Twitter storm this Tuesday, October 16 at 8pm Eastern Time. When we click
on this link, we will find prewritten tweets that we can send out with just a few
clicks. Working together, we can turn the tide! https://tinyurl.com/y8d4kmz6
6.
From Indivisible BK: Canvassing in such an
effective way to increase. Voter Turnout, but we may not know much about it. To
find out more, we can hear from NY-14 candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez about
#whywecanvass and why we should too! Then we can follow her instructions,
take out our phones, and pick 2-3 days that we can give to our democracy. With
just over 20 days until the midterms, it’s time to find a candidate near us ,
go to their nearest office, and get out there!
If we don’t know who to volunteer for, we can check out: A) https://indivisible435.org/endorsements/, B) https://www.emilyslist.org/candidates/gallery/house, C) http://climatehawksvote.com/endorsements/, or D) https://giffords.org/endorsements/?office= THIS
is our chance to take back our democracy. Think about how we want to feel the
night of November 6th. Then let’s do part. We can check out the video here: https://www.facebook.com/1860340797544993/posts/2249288965316839/
7.
With all the talk of voter suppression, it is good
to make sure we know and share what to do if one is turned away from the
polls: https://lifehacker.com/what-to-do-if-you-get-turned-away-at-the-polls-1829664675
Election 2018 – By State
1.
ALL: Upcoming voting dates and deadlines: by date:
https://goo.gl/gjFv2u by
state: https://goo.gl/7gTzvE
2.
ALL: 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/
3.
GA: Brian Kemp, the state’s
secretary of state who is running for governor, is said to be blocking 53,000
voter registrations. http://www.wtoc.com/2018/10/11/voter-registration-applications-hold-georgia-election-nears-report-says/ If we live in Georgia, or know someone who
does, it is important to verify your voter registration and if we are told we
are not on the voter list when we go to vote, we are to demand a provisional
ballot making sure to comply with the follow-up instructions.
Other Actions
1. Last
week the Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision that the North Dakota
voting law will stand even though it “requires voters to provide an ID with a
street address, which aren’t always assigned on reservations. Many tribal
members have post office boxes as their residential address.” A Native American
voting rights group, Four Directions, is stepping in to help make sure that
voters are still able to vote. https://bismarcktribune.com/news/native-voting-rights-group-aims-to-remove-hurdles-in-north/article_d1d42d63-0356-5e9d-b2d4-97f4593aac4d.html As
this court decision may disenfranchise voters, if we can, let’s help Four
Directions in the important work they do:
http://www.fourdirectionsvote.com/donation/
2. If we
are looking for a source of ideas for our postcarding we can always check out
the weekly lists here: http://www.whatifknits.com/author/admin/
3. If
we’d like to go to the 3rd annual Women’s March in Washington, D.C.
in January, but have transportation issues, we can sign up here for bus rides
with the same company that has provided them the last three years: https://rally.co/womens-march-on-washington
4.
The
artist Mary Engelbreit is offering a free GOVT graphic that we can get
here: https://www.maryengelbreit.com/pages/v-o-t-e-free-download
5.
“Right
now, more than 98 million adolescent girls around the world are not in school.
We all have a responsibility to change that. On International Day of the Girl,
the Obama Foundation launched the Global
Girls Alliance—a program which seeks to empower
adolescent girls around the world through education, allowing them to achieve
their full potential and to transform their families, communities, and
countries. Join the alliance—because the future of our world is only as bright
as our girls.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-nIJDHWBkI&feature=youtu.be Let’s get to know this organization and see
how we can help.
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1. Beginning
Monday, October 15, and running for
four consecutive weeks, Jen Hofmann, creator of the weekly Americans
of Conscience Checklist is
offering a tele-class called The Art of Perseverance to help keep us
going. We can find more details, and how
to sign up, here: https://jenniferhofmann.com/the-art-of-perseverance/
2. In
a national effort coordinated by author Glennon Doyle, every Friday “through
Consumer Black Friday (Nov 23), WE ARE GOING TO TURN OUR RAGE INTO
CHANGE. We are going to: Represent, Act, Gather & Exit.” https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156714102374710&id=178909129709 When
we sign up, we will get each week’s call-to-action. “Please share this post,
tag your people, and consider signing on to support this Rage-to-Change
Movement: http://bit.ly/blackfridays2018
3.
January
19, 2019 is the date of the third Women’s March with the main event to be
held in Washington, D.C. with sister marches all over the country. Let’s find more information here: https://www.womensmarch.com/2019
States
1. KS:
indivisible Kansas City is looking for volunteers both in person and
online, especially if we have research, graphics, event planning or organizational
skills, If we want to help out in other ways, we are very welcome to
contact them too. We can find out more about these positions and about the
work Indivisible Kansas City is doing when we click on this link: http://www.indivisiblekc.com/volunteer.html
Reading/Watching
1.
I’m Dying.
Here is what I refuse to accept with serenity by Ady Barkan -
2.
“Before he was a banker, Burton, 38, was a
practitioner of the dark art of opposition research, or “oppo”—digging up and
surreptitiously deploying damaging information about politicians. As it did for
so many people, Donald Trump’s election turned Burton’s life upside down. He
quit his job, joined a Resistance group, and devoted himself to returning his
country to the path he’d believed it was on when he worked for Barack Obama’s
campaign a decade ago.
Burton has amassed an army of 16,000
amateur sleuths who, with professional guidance, have spent months ferreting out
damaging material on scores of vulnerable Republicans in Congress and state
legislatures. Now he’s ready to unleash it just in time for the midterms. As he
told me, “We’re going to do with real information and real Americans what the
Russians tried to do with fake information and fake Americans.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/a-former-obama-operative-built-a-new-anti-republican-attack-machine
3.
This week’s dose of Small Victories: https://mailchi.mp/peaceisloud/small-victories-another-usa-is-coming
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