Contact
Federal Government 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. Yesterday,
the Disability Integration Act (yet unnumbered) was reintroduced in the
Senate. “The Disability Integration Act
(DIA) is the next step in building a fulfilling and sustainable world for
persons with disabilities” https://www.csindy.com/TheWire/archives/2019/01/11/independence-center-to-host-watch-party-for-disability-integration-act
and http://www.disabilityintegrationact.org/ Let’s ask our senators to cosponsor and
support this important bill that will help so many.
2. The
nomination hearing for William Barr as US Attorney General began
yesterday. While he said he will not
interfere with the Mueller investigation “without good cause”, one has to
wonder who gets to define that “good cause”.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2019/jan/15/trump-live-latest-news-updates-us-politics-today-william-barr-shutdown Let’s ask for a more direction answer to that
question, then let’s also use the advice from Chop
Wood/Carry Water and ask the Senator[s]
to oppose William Barr for Attorney General unless he pledges to release
the full text of Mueller's final report to the public. Or recuses himself from
overseeing the Mueller investigation completely. He's just way too compromised
on this issue and it worries me, considering the stakes.
3. Trump
claims he wants to build a wall to keep Americans safe. Meanwhile the shutdown
continues to threaten our safety with each passing day. TSA shortages
are threatening our airline security. And many federal workers don’t have the
funds to pay for needed medication. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/federal-worker-forced-ration-insulin-because-government-shutdown-n958066?fbclid=.
Even Trump ally Senator Lindsay Graham proposed opening the government, but
Trump and Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell have refused to budge. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-shutdown-temporary/trump-rejects-senators-proposal-for-temporary-government-reopening-idUSKCN1P81LU.
McConnell COULD bring this up for a vote, and override a veto, but refuses to
do so. https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/425469-mcconnell-senate-wont-override-trump-veto-on-shutdown-fight We need to let McConnell and our senators
know that this obstructionism, at the expense of unpaid federal workers and people’s
real safety and health for some bogus “national emergency”, is not acceptable to
voters and to open up the government now.
McConnell, 317 Russell Senate
Off. Bldg., Washington DC 20510 or 202-224-2541 or FAX 202-224-2499.
4. From
Herd
on the Hill: CALL TO ACTION: We want your letters! Write to us about how the shutdown is hurting
you • your family • your friends • your community • your town • your colleagues
• your pocketbook • your company • your country. We will hand-deliver to your Representatives
and Senators in the days ahead. Here’s
how: https://stampslicked.org/
5. Newly-elected
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT)
on Monday called for conservative Rep. Steve
King (R-IA) to resign
from the House because of his remarks questioning whether white
supremacy is "offensive." “I think he ought to step aside and I think
Congress ought to make it very clear he has no place there,” Romney told CNN’s
Manu Raju on Monday. He said King “ought to resign and move on and let someone
else who represents American values take his seat,” adding “he should find a
different line of work." https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/425308-romney-calls-on-steve-king-to-resign-after-white-supremacist-comment
Now
all we need is for the GOP to call out Trump for all his racist statements
about all “fine people” marching in Charlotte, all the Mexican rapists, and
insulting a gold star muslin family. Let’s ask GOP members of Congress to
denounce Trump’s rhetoric and racist language.
6. Immigration
Rights activist Eduardo Samaniego, who has been in detention for over 80 days,
has another hearing tomorrow, January 17th. In response, actions have been
planned today at ICE offices to demand his immediate release from detention.
Let’s make sure to contact ICE officials where he’s being held in Georgia, and
Secretary of DHS Kirstjen Nielsen and demand that they free Eduardo now. More
information and scripts can be found in this free Eduardo toolkit
put out by the Pioneer Valley Workers Center.
7. Last
weekend a congressional delegation traveled to Puerto Rico to see for themselves
what is really happening, or not happening, there following the devastation
from the 2017 hurricane, Maria. What they saw was worse than they anticipated. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/congressional-delegation-visits-puerto-rico-today-2019-01-12/ Let’s remind all of our MoCs that we want them
to address the needs of Puerto Rico now and do something so that kind of
neglect will not happen again.
8. In
the critical opening round of a battle that will probably end in the Supreme
Court, a federal judge has ruled against the Commerce department’s attempt to
put a citizenship question on the 2020 census. Turns out, according to
the NY Times, that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross spent months campaigning to
get the DoJ to ask for the inclusion of the question, and “In sworn testimony,
the department’s senior civil-rights official conceded that census data was not
necessary to enforce the Voting Rights Act,” although that was the excuse used
for the inclusion of the citizenship question. The American Civil
Liberties Union called the judge’s ruling a “forceful rebuke of the Trump
administration’s attempt to weaponize the census for an attack on immigrant
communities”: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/425379-federal-judge-rules-against-census-citizenship-question
We, too, can rebuke this attempt to undermine the census by Trump and his
allies by contacting the White House and Ross: : @SecretaryRoss or (202)
482-2000 or Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC
20230.
9. Last
Friday, several Republican senators introduced legislation, S104,
to permanently end government shutdowns by creating an automatic continuing
resolution for any appropriations bill, allowing the federal government to
remain open even when budget agreements break down. Ohio Senator Rob Portman
(R) has sponsored this bill in every Congress since 2010. We can read more
at CBSNews.
This bill has been referred to the House Appropriations Committee.
Let's contact our Senators in support of S104 to keep it moving forward.
10. On
Meet the Press on Sunday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said that he does not think that
most people outside of Washington are concerned about the Mueller investigation. https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meet-press-january-13-2019-n958141 Let’s let Cruz know where we live and that we
are concerned.
Election/Voting
Other
Actions
1. MedGlobal has
partnered with Immigrant Justice Now in
Tijuana and they are requesting chewable multi-vitamins for all the
malnourished children that are waiting for their asylum request numbers to be
called by CBP. They will then have to enter the frigid ICEBox for 5-7 days as
their claims are processed. Immigrant Justice Now is also using some of
your donations to make this cruel process less harmful. We are helping to
build their immune systems & going to give them thermal underwear sets
& thermal socks to wear as they enter our immigration system. Please donate
to help us bring dignity & humanity to this malicious immigration process,
even $5 will make a difference: https://www.immigrantjusticenow.org/donate/
2. If we don’t already subscribe, it is time to
check out Political Charge’s daily blog for people who care about what's
happening in our government and have a bias for action. Check it out here and sign up: https://politicalcharge.org/
3. Gillette has been getting some pushback for its recent ad that speaks out against toxic
masculinity, including calls to
boycott its parent company, Proctor and Gamble, for being too “politically
correct.” https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/gillette-best-men-can-be-ad-draws-activist-praise-right-wing-ire-1.1198471.
Let’s thank Gillette for taking this stand and let them know we have their
back. We can reach them on Facebook, Twitter,
or on their website contact page. Let’s also tell them that we’d like them to
stop advertising on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson show.
4. From Postcards from Kate: Today
we're thanking NYTimes reporter Trip Gabriel for the interview that finally got
Rep. Steve King (R-IA) stripped of his committee assignments by the same party
which overlooked his incendiary comments for years. Link to article here. Contact:
Trip Gabriel, Reporter, New York Times, 620 Eighth Avenue,
New York, NY 10018.
New York, NY 10018.
5. Attention university faculty and administrators:
here's a specific action item for us. As we all know, Trump could care less
about the arts, and would like to eliminate the National Endowment for the
Humanities. Only too clear, also, is the administration's lack of interest in a
liberal arts education. So, it's time to reach out to the new Congress -- our
best hopes lie with them. Here's an excellent guide for how universities can
advance their case with our elected officials. Some of this advice, offered by
the Modern Languages Association (the largest association of literary scholars
in the world), applies to any professional or educational group/institution
who'd like to get Congress' ear, so it's worth a read. https://action.mla.org/policy-building-relationships-with-the-new-congress/
6. Jesse Duquette, whose political cartoon
"The Daily Don" is published only on Facebook and Instagram, now has
a compilation of the best of his work available for pre-order through our
favorite booksellers (Amazon, Barnes and Noble,
or through our local book source). Called "The Daily Don: All the
News that Fits Into Tiny, Tiny Hands," this book will be available in
April, 2019. We can read more about Duquette's daily project at The Globe and Mail.
We can follow "The
Daily Don" on Facebook and find it on
Instagram. Duquette's satire is a good companion to Amy Siskind's list.
7. The Environmental Working Group (EWG)
is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting human
health and the environment. They have compiled resources to help us make more
informed decisions. Do we know what's in our tap water? What about our
shampoo? What’s lurking in the cleaners underneath our sink? What pesticides
are on our food? Let's check out EWG's
Consumer Guides for more
information on our particular areas of concern and bookmark the site for future
reference.
8. If we're KonMari-ing your home, or just doing a
post-holidays purge, here are some great places to DONATE STUFF! A) Give Back Box - Fill up any leftover boxes
you have and amazon will ship for free to get your items to those in need
- www.givebackbox.com,
B) Vietnam Vets - They’ll take almost anything and will pick up from you!
- www.pickupplease.org,
and C) Habitat for Humanity - They'll take larger furniture, tools and building
supplies - www.habitat.org/restores/donate-goods
State
Actions
1. ALL: A number of states are proposing various
bills that would allow various kinds of discrimination in the name of
“religious freedom.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/14/christian-nationalists-bills-religious-freedom-project-blitz?
Let’s make sure to research whether our state is considering any legislation
that allows discrimination against religious minorities or the LGBTQ community
and speak out/organize against it.
2. VA: Yesterday, the Virginia Senate voted to
approve the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment).
https://www.roanoke.com/news/politics/general_assembly/virginia-senate-passes-era-resolution-by---vote-now/article_efc17fd3-3ca2-5cd9-8b9c-1fdecb1002f8.html Now, it is on to the House. Let’s all call our reps and let them know
that we support this historic vote in the affirmative!
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms
to attend/organize
1. The #TrumpShutdown, the longest in U.S. history,
continues unabated. Trump could end this by dropping his foolish wall funding
demands, McConnell could end this by passing the same clean spending bill
passed by both houses in December, then letting the Senate override a veto.
Both have dug in their heels, but we’ve seen public pressure shift
stubborn stances before and we can ratchet this pressure up. Let’s help
turn on the heat by joining the #TrumpShutdown Twitter storm TODAY,
Wednesday, January 16 at 8pm
Eastern Time. Action Together Network’s Twitter Warriors have put this together
and made it easy for us to join in. When we click on this link, we will
find prewritten tweets that we can send out with just a few clicks. Every tweet
counts, so let’s get busy!
2. The Indigenous Peoples March will be held on
Friday, January 18, in Washington,
D.C. We can find more information
here: https://indigenouspeoplesmovement.com/
Reading/Watching
1. A Literal
Wall Expert Explains Why Trump's Wall Won't Even Work - https://www.ecowatch.com/trumps-wall-wont-work-2625987846.html
2. Arrests
For Illegal Border Crossings Hit 46-Year Low - https://www.npr.org/2017/12/05/568546381/arrests-for-illegal-border-crossings-hit-46-year-low
3. The Teens Will Save Us - https://medium.com/@dinachka82/the-teens-will-save-us-af5448b4ddfd
4. What if
the Obstruction Was the Collusion? On the New York Times’s Latest Bombshell
- https://www.lawfareblog.com/what-if-obstruction-was-collusion-new-york-timess-latest-bombshell
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