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10/15/18 

Contact Federal Government Officials


Find elected officials: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

Fax legislators for free: 

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Or use StampsLicked to have messages hand-delivered to our own legislators:  https://stampslicked.org/

 
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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:  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


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


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 Victorieshttps://mailchi.mp/peaceisloud/small-victories-another-usa-is-coming








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