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
1. After
Senate leaders received an update yesterday from CIA director Gina Haspel
regarding the role of the Saudi Crown Prince in the murder of journalist Jamal
Khashoggi, Senator Lindsey Graham said that the smoking gun is “a smoking saw”
and Senator Bob Corker said that a jury would convict in the prince in thirty
minutes: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-khashoggi-cia/top-senators-briefed-by-cia-blame-saudi-prince-for-khashoggi-death-idUSKBN1O32BR Let’s
let our Senators know that we expect them to stand up to the White House and
Secretaries Mattis and Pompeo who have been equivocating in the worst ways.
2. Even
though there enough votes to pass a bi-partisan criminal reform legislation, McConnell
(R-KY) is in no hurry to bring it to a vote.
https://www.apnews.com/bd7558cc2c674a169ea4fedf66071fed Let’s tell our senators to pressure McConnell
to bring this important legislation forward.
3. Earlier
this week, Trump condemned his former attorney Michael Cohen for cooperating
with special prosecutor Robert Mueller, stating that he deserves a long prison
sentence, while at the same time he praised Roger Stone for refusing to
testify. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-03/trump-says-cohen-deserves-prison-time-for-unrelated-crimes
, a move that has led to concerns about
witness tampering, which is a clear obstruction of justice. https://www.vox.com/2018/12/3/18124097/trump-roger-stone-robert-mueller-manafort-plea-deal.
If there was ever a time to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller, it’s now.
Let’s keep leaning on our MoCs to pass S 1741/HR 3771,
the Special Counsel Integrity Act.
4. All
of the leaders of the G-20 Summit except for Trump promised to work together to
fight for climate change. https://www.axios.com/g20-leaders-pledge-fight-climate-change-except-trump-39bd120b-ae64-422e-b563-d8424a88a19e.html
As
the recent UN report has
given dire warnings that this issue cannot wait, and our administration’s own
report, released on the day after Thanksgiving in order not to draw too much
attention to it is also predicting significant damage to both the economy and
the environment due to global warming:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/25/climate/trump-climate-report.html,
we need to press our MoCs that the time to act is now. For starters, let’s ask
them to commit to the Green New Deal
and especially remind Democrats that we worked to elect them to make change,
not continue the status quo, especially around an issue as crucial as the
environment.
5. “West
Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin famously used a rifle to shoot a
climate-change bill in a 2010 campaign
ad, vowing to take “dead
aim” at the landmark cap-and-trade legislation.” As Manchin is a supporter of coal production
and fuel, he seems an odd choice to be the top Democrat on the Senate Energy
and Natural Resources Committee. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-04/green-nightmare-coal-loving-manchin-may-get-energy-panel-perch Let’s tell our senators to encourage Sen.
Schumer to appointment someone more fitting for the position.
6. The
Sunrise Movement's push for a Green New Deal is so much more than just
an environmental initiative. Yes, they are pushing for the creation of a
congressional committee devoted to addressing climate change, but not
just with environmental regulations. By tackling issues like campaign finance
reform, job creation policies/incentives, energy rules, and income inequality,
with a focus on how those seemingly disparate factors affect climate change,
the Green New Deal is evolving into the kind of comprehensive force that can
define us as Progressives, and which we can then use to show the world who we
are, and the kind of world we're trying to create. It all starts with getting
that Select Committee for a Green New Deal started, so let's call our reps and
tell them to join the 18 others who have already signed on to a better
future! https://www.sunrisemovement.org/call-my-rep
7. Secretary
of Education Betsy DeVos's changes to Title IX, which would remove protections
for sexual assault survivors, and create larger barriers for reporting
harassment and assault, are now open for public comment (https://politi.co/2FUfp3e).
Let's use the information at Hands
Off Title IX to learn how to
write an effective comment, then let's visit the Federal Register to
leave our own comment on the proposed changes.
8. From
one of our own: Energy Innovation and
Carbon Dividend Act, (H.R.
7173) was introduced last
week. Go here to find out more—
https://community.citizensclimatelobby.org/energy-innovation-act/.
We’ve been working for ten years to
get this bill introduced!!!!! It will be re-introduced in the new congress. If
you go to the link there is a list of things that folks can do to move it
forward.
Election/Voting
1. Run for Something is a non-profit, founded less
than two years ago, dedicated to helping "young diverse progressives ...
run for down-ballot races in order to build a bench for the future — the folks we support now
could be possible members of the House, Senate, and maybe even President one
day."
https://runforsomething.net/candidate/candidate-support-system/ And
they've been remarkably successful. Let's take a moment to thank some of these
candidates for running. "Our folks changed their lives to run for office —
and win or lose, they improved their local communities for the better." We
can look up candidates and send them a thank-you note, here: https://runforsomething.net/thank-a-run-for-something-candidate/
2. We can help get out the Democratic vote in
Virginia for Postcards to Voters' Campaign
141: Christian Worth for
Delegate. The Virginia House of Delegates is currently at 51 Republicans
to 49 Democrats. If this seat can be flipped, it will be 50-50 and force a
power sharing arrangement between the two parties. Although this district is
solidly Republican, turnout will be the deciding factor in this Tuesday, Dec.
18 election. Let's write 5 cards to Virginia voters today and let our Virginia
family and friends know about this voting and postcarding opportunity.
Other
Actions
1. Last month, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) announced that undocumented survivors of violence and
trafficking who apply for legal status in the United States will now be placed
in deportation proceedings if their petitions are denied (https://bit.ly/2zEnGCz).
This means that survivors of domestic violence and trafficking will be risking
deportation by simply applying for citizenship or other protected status in the
United States. Let's join the National Immigrant Justice Center in
asking the USCIS to rescind this policy: Phone: (800) 375-5283 Twitter:
@USCIS
2. Facebook is problematic, but many of us still
want to use it for our activism. While we can’t stop Facebook from keeping
track of our every click, we can better control what it is that Facebook puts
before our eyeballs by adding an extension to called Social Fixer. Among many
other things, Social Fixer can hide “sponsored” stories—that is, ads—in our
newsfeeds. We can read more about it and download here: https://socialfixer.com/index.html
3. Both in Wisconsin and in Michigan, lame-duck
Republican legislatures are racing to wrest power from incoming Democratic
governors and other newly-elected officials by narrowly limiting their ability
to undo the legislative actions of previous GOP administrations: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/12/4/18123784/gop-legislature-wisconsin-michigan-power-grab-lame-duck
Those in Wisconsin and Michigan will bear the brunt of this battle, but we can
back them up by letting the current governors know that we are not fooled by
these tactics and expect them to veto attempts to tie the hands of those whom
the people chose in this last election: govgeneral@wisconsin.gov or
Office of Gov. Scott Walker, 115 East Capitol, Madison, WI 53702 or (608)
266-1212; governorsoffice@michigan.gov or
Gov. Rick Snyder, PO Box 30013, Lansing, MI 48909 or 517-373-3400.
4. If people are looking for ways to help the
desperate asylum-seekers at the Mexican border, here’s a very useful site from
the Unitarian Universalist College of Social Justice for those who have serious
time and/or resources to offer; it describes the needs of Annunciation House in
El Paso and FM4 Paso Libre in Guadalajara and includes applications: https://uucsj.org/volunteer/us-asylum/
5. Color of Change reminds us that U.S. Customs and
Border Patrol agents are still boarding Greyhound buses without warrants, then
questioning passengers about their immigration and citizenship status. If a
person is unable to provide documentation on the spot, they are removed from
the bus and detained. By allowing CBP to conduct warrantless searches on
their buses, Greyhound is aiding in Trump’s deportation machine that’s tearing
apart families and wrecking communities. According to the ACLU,
this is a clear violation of these families’ 4th amendment rights,
and Greyhound has the ability to stop this. So far, they have refused to do
so. Greyhound needs to implement policies to prohibit Border Patrol agents
from boarding their buses without a warrant or unless they're at a border
crossing. We can join Color of Change in calling for Greyhound to stop
cooperating with this inhumane system when we click on this link: https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/Greyhound_BorderPatrol
6. The story of election fraud in North Carolina
gets more grotesque with each day:
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/419561-woman-admits-to-picking-up-absentee-ballots-in-north-carolina Whether
we live in North Carolina or not, let’s let the governor know that the eyes of
the nation are on NC: https://governor.nc.gov and
that we expect democracy to prevail.
7. Many of us have relied on the 2016 Indivisible
Guide to help us use our constituent power to defend our values, our
neighbors, and our democracy. Now, with the Democratic pickup of the House,
Indivisible has released a new guide: Indivisible on Offense.
Let's review the new guide and bookmark it for future reference.
8. This holiday season, Just Detention
International, a health and human rights organization that seeks to end sexual
abuse in all forms of detention, invites us to join them in reminding
prisoner rape survivors that they are not alone or forgotten. We can submit our
messages online here and
they will make sure our message reaches a survivor behind bars in time for the
holidays. Let's take a couple minutes to send some encouraging words to people
who need them. There's no limit to the number of messages we can write, and
they'll make sure that each one gets delivered to a different survivor.
State
Actions
1. MI and
WI: In Michigan and Wisconsin, Republicans are responding to their
loss of top statewide offices in last month’s elections by rapidly trying to
undercut the Democrats about to take office. Let's read more at The Atlantic.
If we are residents of either of these states, let's contact our state
legislators ( Michigan state legislature; Wisconsin state
legislature) to let them know
that we object to these power grabs.
2. MI: From one of our own: Call your Michigan senator and Governor Rick
Snyder ((517) 201-2258) now. Tell them to oppose Senate Bills 1238 through
1242, because they threaten Michiganders’ voting rights.
3. NH: Today, on Dec 5, the New Hampshire
Legislature will be electing NH’s Secretary of State. Bill Gardner has held the
position since 1976, but his re-election is in trouble now because he
participated in Trump’s sham Presidential Advisory Commission on Election
Integrity chaired by infamous voter-suppressor Kris Kobach. With Democrats now
in control of both houses of the NH Legislature, it is possible to replace
Gardner with Colin Van Ostern as Secretary of State. Ostern “is running on a
platform of modernizing the Secretary of State’s office while eliminating
efforts to suppress votes.”
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/11/new-hampshires-gardner-may-lose-office-for-enabling-trump.html If
we are in NH, let’s contact our state legislators and tell them to elect Ostern
for Secretary of State. https://openstates.org/
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms
to attend/organize
1. From the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI):
"Last month the Department of Homeland Security released a rule change
proposal that could dramatically change the face of US immigration. If implemented,
it would have devastating effects on the lives of Black immigrants and their
children. Join our discussion as guest, Patrice Lawrence with the UndocuBlack
Network addresses how “public charge” will specifically impact black immigrants
while Jackie Vimo with National Immigration Law Center will describe how the
law transforms immigration law." The webinar will take place today,
Wednesday, December 5, at 7:00pm ET.
Let's register here.
2. If we are a first time Democratic woman
candidate running in 2019 or 2020 this free short training, 5 Steps to Launch Your Campaign, THIS
Thursday, December 6 at 1pm ET is
for us! We can join Atima Omara, a
veteran campaign staffer, a former state house candidate, and the President
& Founder of Omara Strategy Group, for a FREE Training & Live Q&A. Sign up/RSVP here: https://bit.ly/2UeDzIX And
if we know someone who could benefit from the training, we can share this link
with them!
3. From Your
Weekly Pep Talk & Action List: The folks at Resistance Labs are already looking
toward 2019… and they’re looking for people to join them in three different
webinars next week to help them brainstorm! The first relates to uncontested
races; the second relates to community and community engagement; and the third
asks what “big ideas” we haven’t tried yet but should. This is a great opportunity to join free
events that are sure to be interesting – and might be a place for you to kick
around some ideas and learn about some that others are trying. Go to these
links to sign up: A) December 11 - Contest every race:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_lBfz1k-XTaeH0dDnVg6jiw Community. B)
December 12 - workshop:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_o5ACI9yPSOq_tJzLMNNfSA,
and C) December 13 - Big ideas: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_E3jULnqUTN-lHJqt96hczg
4. Whether we align ourselves with the Women’s March or
March
On, we have an
opportunity to make history and march once again on January 19, 2019. Check with
your favorite organization or local folks to help or to find out what is
happening.
Reading/Watching
1. Conservatives
In Kentucky, Liberals In Massachusetts Try To Bridge Political Divide - http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2018/11/28/conservatives-kentucky-liberals-massachusetts-politics
2. We broke
down what climate change will do, region by region - https://grist.org/article/we-broke-down-what-climate-change-will-do-region-by-region/
3. Trump's
countless scams are finally catching up to him (by Rebecca
Solnit) - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/04/donald-trump-russia-robert-mueller-legal-trouble
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