10/17/18
Contact Federal Government Officials
Find elected officials: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
Fax legislators for free:
Or
use Resistbot: https://resist.bot/
Or
use StampsLicked to have messages hand-delivered to our own legislators: https://stampslicked.org/
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. “Treasury
Department said the U.S. budget deficit grew to $779 billion in
Donald Trump’s first full fiscal year as president, the result of the GOP’s tax
cuts, bipartisan spending increases and rising interest payments on the
national debt.“ Despite this news, the GOP is eying cuts in Social Security, Medicare,
and Medicaid and describes them as the real reason we are in so much debt. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-16/mcconnell-blames-entitlements-not-gop-for-rising-deficits Let’s tell our MoCs that we are not
interested in cuts to any of these programs, but we’d sure like to see
corporations and the wealthy taxed the way they should be.
2. After
viewing the damage caused by Hurricane Michael, Vice President Mike Pence said
that the causes of climate change have yet to be determined. https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/411679-pence-in-georgia-after-looking-at-hurricane-michael-damage-causes-of.
Let’s tell the vice president (via Facebook or Twitter
@VP) and our MoCs to read the UN report
on the catastrophic effects that are likely as soon as 2030 if we don’t address
climate change issues immediately, and urge both him and our legislators to release FEMA money
that was recently diverted to ICE to help people in the panhandle recover
from the damage.
3. Despite
the UN report on the devastating effects the Saudi war on Yemen is having on
civilians, especially children--https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Issue%2025_3.2.pdf –and,
it seems, despite the Saudi government’s apparent involvement in the
disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Trump is committed to continuing
the unethical sales of high-tech arms to Saudi Arabia: “I don’t like
stopping massive amounts of money that’s being poured into our country – they
are spending $110bn on military equipment and on things that create jobs for
this country.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/11/jamal-khashoggi-saudi-arabia-under-pressure-from-trump-administration
The famine of “Biblical” dimensions some predict will soon occur in Yemen
clearly doesn’t matter compared to American trade. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-middle-east-45857729/yemen-could-be-worst-famine-in-100-years The U.S. is not an innocent bystander in this: https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/09/27/america-is-not-an-innocent-bystander-in-yemen The greed of arms traders must not be allowed
to outweigh Yemeni lives. Even were
Trump’s wildly inflated numbers true, we must not accept this calculus; let’s
impress on our MoCs that we expect them to stop US arms sales to Saudi Arabia and
to begin humanitarian work to help save the people of Yemen.
4. Link
Correction: From one of our own: Public comments and
actions for week ending October 19, 2018. Includes methane, Clean power and air
plans, NLRB rollback, DHS-HHS-ICE detention policy, trucks:
5. Once
again Trump has chosen someone with experience in dismantling a program to lead
a government program. This time it is Former
Maine DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew as the deputy administrator and
director of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP. During
her tenure at Maine Department of Health and Human Services, “Maine’s national
health ranking fell during her time, from 10th to 22nd. The number of uninsured
children in Maine rose. Maine’s infant mortality rate spiked.” http://www.mainepublic.org/post/former-maine-dhhs-commissioner-mary-mayhew-appointed-federal-medicaid-director#stream/0 Let’s
tell our MoCs that we see what Trump is doing and that we are watching them to
make sure they safe-keep these important programs.
Election 2018 – General
1. Dem
voter turnout at midterm elections has always been dismal. This year, when the House is truly within
reach, it could cost us big. https://politicalcharge.org/2018/10/16/we-just-got-a-voter-turnout-warning/ Let’s watch and share this as reminder of who
we are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85TQPzWVWHQ&feature=share
With less than three weeks to go, let’s keep working to help get out the vote.
2.
Let's look out for voter suppression at work on
Election Day! "Several states have instituted stricter voter ID laws since
the 2016 presidential election; more, still, are purging voter rolls in the
lead up to the election, and the recent Supreme Court decision to uphold Ohio’s
aggressive purging lawmeans you can expect many more people to be
removed. So, even if you’re registered to vote (and you should really double check) you might
find yourself turned away at the polls come November 6." For "What to
Do If You Get Turned Away At The Polls," click here: https://lifehacker.com/what-to-do-if-you-get-turned-away-at-the-polls-1829664675
3.
One of our best current allies in the Senate,
Heidi Heitkamp, is struggling to get re-elected this November and has been
dealt a blow by the Supreme Court, which refused to hear a case challenging
North Dakota's restrictive voter requirement for ID's that show a voter's street
address (https://www.npr.org/2018/10/13/657125819/many-native-ids-wont-be-accepted-at-north-dakota-polling-places).
This restriction disproportionately disenfranchises Native Americans, who often
have only PO boxes for mail. Let's give Secretary of State Al Yaeger some
encouragement to do the right thing and stop blocking voting rights he is
charged with upholding: https://sos.nd.gov/office-secretary-state/contact-us
4.
Postcards To Voter's Campaign 121: Katie Hill for
Congress takes us back to California and its 25th congressional district (Simi
Valley area). A true progressive, Hill is challenging ultra-conservative
Republican incumbent Steve Knight. Immigration is the top issue in this
district where nearly 40% of voters are Hispanic. Let's write 5 cards for Katie
today. If we are new volunteers, we can get started here.
5. From
one of our own: Here is a list of incumbent
US senators who voted in favor of confirming Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme
Court: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Tc4KNFzimpCgaRJstAD1hGSDnAoZg8rcrXjr8x4En10/edit#gid=0 Let’s plan their retirement party!
6. Vote Forward
is a letter-writing effort to voters that targets flippable House districts. Let’s check it out and see how we can
help: http://votefwd.org/
7.
Helping to power the Blue Wave has never been so
important, yet getting involved can be daunting, especially for first-time
activists. Don't worry, though, because we've got Crush the Midterms working
for us (https://www.crushthemidterms.org/)!
Using Crush is like having your own personal assistant, a friendly expert to
help you build a customized plan for your activism in less than 5 minutes.
November 6th is coming soon, so let's go!
8.
If, on Monday night, you caught the Rachel
Maddow segment about Native American vote suppression efforts in North
Dakota: https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/gop-aims-to-suppress-nd-native-american-vote-to-hinder-heitkamp-1345087555800?v=raila& and
if we are interested in donating to a boots-on-the-ground organization working
to combat that, here is one:
9.
https://www.crowdpac.com/campaigns/388864/take-back-the-senate-in-2018-by-getting-native-americans-to-the-polls The
site crashed after the segment but is available now.
10. From
one of our own: On Oct 24, join Puerto Ricans, the Latinx community,
and Spanish speakers across the country and make calls to make history. We need
your help reaching out to our PR neighbors in FL to urge them to support
@SecondChancesFlorida and VOTE #YESon4 to end
150 years of a broken system and restore the vote to 1.4M Floridians! Everyone deserves a second chance. In Puerto
Rico, we don't disenfranchise individuals because they made a mistake - people
can even vote while incarcerated. But Florida is 1 of only 4 states where
if you're convicted of a felony you're barred for life from voting. Which means
1 in 10 people in Florida — and 1 in 5 black people — are disenfranchised by
this unjust system. Amendment 4 will restore
the eligibility vote to 1.4 million people in Florida who have served their
time and paid their debt. Sign up to call Florida voters to urge them to VOTE
#YESon4: Spanish (preferred): tinyurl.com/y82o8tb9 or English: tinyurl.com/yc8nrfrb
11.
With three weeks left to Election Day,
Congressional Candidate Katie Porter needs our help. Katie’s a fighter, for
Medicare, Gun Control and Fair Immigration Policies, running against Mimi
Rogers who votes with Trump 99% of the time. We can pitch in by writing
postcards to Democratic voters in her Orange County District 45, reminding them
to vote for her on Election Day, Nov. 6th. When we send an email
to Johanna Wald at Flip the 14 we will get info on Katie, talking
points, sample scripts and addresses. Time for the Blue Wave to hit Orange
County! We can email here to get started. wald94117@yahoo.com.
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.
CO: In
2016, Coloradoans voted against abolishing slavery in prisons. This year, the
issue is back on the ballot. Amendment A would remove language from the
state Constitution that allows slavery and involuntary servitude to
be used as punishment for the conviction of a crime. Let's read more at Colorado Public Radio.
Let’s vote "yes" on "A" to end all forms of slavery.
4.
MA:
Today is the last day to register to vote in the midterm elections. Let's
spread this to our networks and tell people to register on-line here.
Other Actions
1.
Who
says Democrats don’t have policies? Here are great graphics on Democratic
positions to read and share. https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1052014272677597186.html Let’s
spread the word! If we are on twitter, we can also retweet this thread
here
2.
Inmates
at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Perryville say the prison is denying
basic hygiene supplies like toilet paper to the women housed there. https://www.npr.org/2018/10/12/656578210/arizona-prison-denying-basic-hygiene-needs-to-women-say-inmates Let's
contact the Arizona
Department of Corrections and
the Perryville
facility to
demand that they correct this deplorable situation. They need to know that we
are out here paying attention.
3. For
those who may think that some women are acting unreasonable about politics
about now, this would be a good time to watch "Iron Jawed Angels"
about what it took for women to get the vote in this country. That privilege
was not given or obtained easily. It was fought for, and many thought those
women at the time were acting unreasonable, too. Thank God they were. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOrD0tH_WaM
Let's watch and share this movie for better understanding.
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
Reading/Watching
1.
A Fatal Abandonment of American
Leadership –
2.
Written by one of our own: Too
Many Latina Women are Caught in the Deadly Intersections of Gun Violence and
Domestic Violence - http://msmagazine.com/blog/2018/10/12/many-latina-women-caught-deadly-intersections-gun-violence-domestic-violence/
3.
Keb' Mo' - Put
a Woman in Charge featuring Rosanne Cash - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FciQeRGYFlw
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