11/16/18
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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. The
senate confirmation hearing for Trump’s nominee for director of ICE, Ronald
Vitiello, is quietly going on mostly unnoticed.
Vitiello helped oversee the separation of more than 2500 migrant
children from their patents at our southern border. During his hearing Thursday
he confirmed that the administration is now considering another family
separation policy. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/immigration/trumps-nominee-to-lead-ice-ronald-vitiello-faces-senate-confirmation-hearing/2018/11/14/2edcb38e-e830-11e8-a939-9469f1166f9d_story.html?utm_term=.4838438313db
Michelle Brané, the director of migrant rights and justice at the Women’s
Refugee Commission, tweeted, “This is the guy who managed CBP, the agents that
separated kids from their parents, the agents who told parents they were taking
their child to give them a bath, the agents who did not keep track of who they
were separating.” She added, “Not qualified to run anything.” Let’s contact our
senators today and urge them to vote against Vitiello’s confirmation.
2. On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell (R-KY blocked a bipartisan effort from Senators Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and
Chris Coons (D-DE) to vote on legislation that would protect the Mueller
investigation. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-14/mcconnell-blocks-senate-bill-protecting-mueller-investigation.
McConnell is still claiming that this legislation is unnecessary, despite Trump’s
recent move to install an acting Attorney General who has gone on record to
oppose the investigation. https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/08/politics/kfile-matthew-whitaker-mueller-comments/index.html.
Senator Flake is now saying that he will not vote to confirm any judiciary
appointees until a vote is taken; however, he has been known to backtrack on
his word. Let’s thank Senator Flake (202-224-4521) for bringing this bill
forward and urge him to stick by his word and refuse to confirm any judiciary
appointees until Mueller is protected. Stand
Up America is also asking us to call 888-724-8850 to
tell our senators to demand that this legislation be brought to the Senate
floor for debate and a vote on its merits.
3. The Violence Against Women Act (H.R. 6545),
or VAWA, was temporarily authorized through December 7th, and it's time to put
pressure on our MoC to fully reauthorize this legislation (https://psmag.com/news/whats-next-for-the-violence-against-women-act).
VAWA has been providing support to survivors of sexual assault and domestic
violence since 1994 and has had bipartisan support throughout the years. Let's
call our representatives in the House and tell them that we want to see this
show of bipartisanship by passing this crucial bill.
4. Senator Jeff Flake has stated that he will block
any further judicial confirmations until legislation protecting the Mueller
investigation is put up for a vote, following Senate Majority Leader
McConnell's refusal to allow the
bill to proceed to the floor of the Senate (https://n.pr/2K3rWj4, https://bit.ly/2TaO27H).
Let's contact the other members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and ask them
to join Flake in delaying these confirmations until the legislation is voted
on:
https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/ We
can also contact Flake, who has a history of empty threats, to keep his word on
this. Mailing address: Senate Russell Office Building 413 Washington, D.C.
20510 Phone: 202-224-4521 Fax: 202-228-0515
5. In what looks suspiciously like an attempt to
get some—any—legislation passed before the House turnover in January,
especially a sop to African American voters, our “law and order” guy, Trump,
announced Wednesday that he would back a bipartisan prison reform bill, if
Mitch McConnell can assure its passage in the Senate. While it has many
virtues—it lowers mandatory minimum sentences, gives judges more discretion,
and extends a reduction in the sentencing disparity between crack and powder
cocaine passed in 2010—this bill is NOT retroactive, drastically limiting its
effect: https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/eager-lame-duck-win-trump-backs-prison-reform-bill or https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/14/us/politics/prison-sentencing-trump.html
We need to insist that our senators scrutinize carefully this bill--and all of
Trump’s attempts to pretend bipartisanship during this lame duck session of
Congress.
6. On Tuesday, Trump nominated conservative lawyer
Neomi Rao to replace Brett Kavanaugh on the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia Circuit. (Source: Fortune) The
Alliance for Justice (AFJ) see Rao as a "slash-and-burn"
deregulator. We can read the AFJ statement here.
Let's contact our own Senators to let them know we have concerns about Neomi
Rao.
7. On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee
confirmed the nomination of Paul Matey, Trump's nominee for a seat on the Third
Circuit Court of Appeals. Matey’s hearing was held over the strong objections
of his home-state senators, Cory Booker and Bob Menendez. The Alliance For
Justice opposes Matey's confirmation (Source: AFJ). The Leadership Conference also opposes
Matey. (Source: CivilRights.org)
Let's contact our Senators to let them know we oppose the full Senate
confirmation of Matey.
8. Politico reports that
Trump is considering Thomas Homan, former acting director of U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement, to succeed Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen
Nielsen. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s
largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, is asking us to call on
our senators to speak out against the possible nomination of Homan. Let's make
some noise to keep this nomination from happening. (Source: CAIR)
9. The drift-prone weed killer dicamba is
destroying millions of acres of farm crops, and yet the EPA has approved its
use for another two years. Documents show that the EPA granted this approval
amid pressure from dicamba manufacturers, despite warnings from scientists and
research.
https://www.revealnews.org/article/scientists-warned-this-weed-killer-would-destroy-crops-epa-approved-it-anyway/ Let’s
tell our MoCs that it’s about time the EPA met its legal obligations to protect
the environment, and that reversing this approval is as good a place as any to
start.
10. The
Trump administration has proposed three rule changes that target access to
birth control and abortion. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-birth-control-abortion-753010/ Let’s be on the lookout for the public
comment period so that we can make our thoughts known on this issue.
Election/Voting
1. From one of our own: Georgia voters
who had to cast provisional ballots on Election Day can find out if their votes
were counted by calling a new toll-free hotline! TOLL-FREE HOTLINE: 1-844-537-5375. The hotline, required by a federal judge’s
order, allows voters to call the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office with
questions about their provisional ballots. Voters will be told whether their
ballots were counted, and if not, the reason why.
2. We’ve all seen the damage vote suppressing
Secretaries of State can inflict, especially in states like Georgia. Now
we have a change to fix some of that and make sure that, going forward, Georgia
has a chance for fair elections, when we help John Barrow, who has a runoff
election for the Georgia Secretary of State position. Barrow has just added
text-banking through Hustle, so we can help get him elected in under three
weeks--and start to reverse the damage Brian Kemp did. We can sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe4o9rQq7QcBvaQ_k0c1h_bssygJiu4MB7FBZ27fb-nNy1fYQ/viewform
Other Actions
1. Link
correction: After the stress and strain of the elections, it’s time for some
rest, renewal and recharging. A)
To start off, we can check out the Facebook group Revolutionary
Self Care to find ways to “build sustainable wellbeing practices including
physical self-care, [including] building routines, integrating more creativity
and play into our days, mindfulness, meaningful connections, gratitude, setting
boundaries and much more.” Each day will feature a focus/ challenge and then
give us some resources to meet it: https://www.facebook.com/RevolutionarySelfCare/ B) We can also explore two seasons of the
Self Care Sundays Podcast, founded in 2017 by Aditi Juneja, who states,”
we firmly believe self-care is a political act, especially for people of
color. We do not believe self-care is a selfish act or a luxury. In fact, we
believe it is a necessary part of a healthy, daily routine to navigate
competing obligations.” Aditi talks about ways to establish self-care, also
interviewing a variety of speakers from underrepresented groups for more ideas
and insights: https://www.selfcaresundayspodcast.com/, and
C) The SwellCenter, also on Facebook, is a virtual wellness
center for change agents with helpful resources and a community of care. We can
check it out for ideas and actions. The Center is also looking to grow, so if
we are healers, wellness practitioners, life coaches or other such
professionals, we are invited to a zoom meeting to collaborate and
cross-pollinate. We can send Emily Gonzalez Escalante our email address to
connect. She can be reached at emily@swellcollective.org
2. California
is still burning. It’s the 7th year of drought. Climate change is
real. If we want to help our fellow Americans in CA, here are two
reliable options that the NYT’s has mentioned:
A) American Red Cross: This
nonprofit has opened shelters across the state to help evacuees. They also have
an online tool that
people can use to register themselves as safe so loved ones can find them, and
B) California Community
Foundation’s Wildfire Relief Fund: For 15 years, the foundation has offered
aid to those affected by wildfires. Grants have gone to rebuilding homes,
providing financial and mental health assistance and helping those affected to
get medical treatment.” https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/11/reader-center/california-fires-how-to-help.html There are also links in this article to find
out if a Charity is reliable or not. Let’s do our research before we
donate.
3. The
ACLU's Smart Justice 50-State Blueprints are the first-ever analysis of their
kind and will serve as tools for activists, advocates, and policymakers to push
for transformational change to the criminal justice system. The reports
are all viewable on an interactive website that allows users to visualize the
reductions in jail and prison population that would result from the policy
decisions that states pursue. Let's review the interactive feature here and search information on our own
states. Let's continue to advocate for changes to our criminal justice system.
4. A
new play, "Is This A Room", that stages the verbatim transcript of
the FBI interrogation of whistleblower Reality Winner at her home on June 3,
2017, is planning a January 2019 premiere at The Kitchen in New York City.
Artistic director of the 10-year-old Half Straddle theater company, Tina
Satter, is requesting contributions on Kickstarter to keep this project going.
We can read more and/or contribute here.
5. The
Trump administration has been especially hard on Latinx Americans, and the
effects show in their views of the country and their place in it (https://www.npr.org/2018/11/13/666332675/latinos-increasingly-concerned-about-their-place-in-u-s-society-survey-finds).
At the same time, Latinx are awakening as a political force and, as the US'
largest ethnic minority, a powerful one. Yet, largely because of gerrymandering
and other voter suppression measures, their political clout doesn't match their
numbers. (https://theconversation.com/latinos-can-be-an-electoral-force-in-2020-106444).
Another election is coming in just 2 years, so whatever we're doing to support
the work of organizations like the National Democratic Redistricting Committee
(https://democraticredistricting.com/),
the ACLU (https://www.aclu.org/),
or even more focused groups like the League of United Latin American
Citizens (https://lulac.org/),
let's consider redoubling our efforts to empower voters.
6. A
caravan of faith leaders and activists has traveled 1700 miles from Ann Arbor,
Michigan to the detention centers in Tornillo Texas. http://www.michiganradio.org/post/caravan-travel-1700-miles-witness-border-problems
If we can’t join them in Texas, we can help by donating to Annunciation House,
which is providing food, clothing and other basic needs for refugees on the
border.
7. Now
that Democrats are going to control the House, Indivisible has published its
new strategies for pushing a progressive agenda—not only by petitioning
Congress, but also by pursuing a state strategy. Worth reading whether we’re
Indivisible members or not: https://indivisible.org/
8. Heads
up high school seniors graduating in 2019! Want to make that yearbook quote
speak truth to power? "In 2019, graduating students nationwide will use
their senior yearbook quote to demand stricter gun policies." States
United to Prevent Gun Violence will share all the quotes posted online
with Congress: https://www.donateyourquote.com
9. The
party that controls a state at the time of the national census is the party
that draws the congressional maps. With the 2020 census nearly upon us, the
group Sister District has launched its new “Last Chance Strategy” to gain
Democratic power in state legislatures and governors’ offices. The point is to
have fair electoral maps so that voters choose their representatives, and not
the other way around. Let’s read about Sister District’s Last Chance Strategy
and sign up with Sister District so we can help. https://whystatesmatter.sisterdistrict.com/sister-districts-2019-2020-strategy-c48ecb0f9f7b
State Actions
1. From
Postcards for America: The National Popular Vote bill would
guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes
in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It has been enacted into law in
12 states with 172 electoral votes (CA, CT, DC, HI, IL, MA, MD, NJ, NY, RI, VT,
WA). The bill will take effect when
enacted by states with 98 more electoral votes. Let’s see how we can
help: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Htz5D-5shJZtdvqDOWe1auGX4lGnhb2I_jD1khuMGJU/edit
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to attend/organize
1. If
we are interested in Electoral Politics. Movement Technology. Grassroots
Organizing. Digital Strategy. Capacity Building, we can check out Roots
Camp, where all of these facets of our movement meet. Held from
November 27-December 2 in Baltimore
MD, it’s a chance to be a part of an "unconference" where
participants design all sessions and leaders from all parts of the
movement – organizers, campaigners, data directors, have a dynamic
exchange of ideas. This year, they’re looking at how to practice a more
inclusive politics and thinking about ways that we can transform our democracy
so that our people win and collectively thrive. They’re interested in
expanding understandings of what justice looks like for all our people, and
equipping our leaders with the skillsets, tools, and frameworks to take this on
and thrive. We can learn from one another, dream up new ideas, make
lasting connections, and strengthen our networks. The conference aims to be
inclusive, and there are several ways to defray the cost of attending. If
we would like to find out more, including information about travel stipends, or
volunteering in exchange for admission costs, we can check it out
here: https://www.wellstone.org/events/rootscamp-2018
2. 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
Reading/Watching
1. FBI’s new
hate crime report captures an America changed by hate - https://religionnews.com/2018/11/13/fbis-new-hate-crime-report-captures-an-america-changed-by-hate/
2. Trump,
stung by midterms and nervous about Mueller, retreats from traditional
presidential duties - http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-absent-20181113-story.html
3. Trump’s
tax cut was supposed to change corporate behaviour. Here’s what happened - https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2018/11/13/trumps-tax-cut-was-supposed-to-change-corporate-behavior-heres-what-happened.html
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