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3/20/19 

Contact Federal Government Officials


1.       CONGRESSIONAL RECESS:  It's March recess from the 16th to the 24th, and that means our members of Congress should be back in their districts, hearing from us. Indivisible has put together a March recess guide with A) top legislative asks we can get our MoCs on the record about (like telling them to cosponsor the FAMILY Act) and B) actions we can take, like attending a town hall or doing a district office visit. As with the other excellent guides put together by Indivisible, there's more well-documented information on each issue just a click away: 
https://indivisible.org/resource/march-recess-2019-toolkit

2.     GUN CONTROL/HATE CRIMES: After the tragic shooting in Christchurch, Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Arden, immediately called for stronger gun control laws. https://www.npr.org/2019/03/18/704360922/new-zealand-pm-promises-tighter-gun-laws. She also publicly comforted the families of the victims and told Trump that the best way he could support New Zealand was to offer sympathy and love to the Muslim community. Furthermore, Arden refuses to name the attacker in order not to give him and his white supremacist platform any more notoriety than necessary. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/19/opinion/jacinda-ardern-new-zealand.html. Let’s tell the White House and our MoCs that this is what real leadership looks like, and that the best way for our Senators to start showing true concern is to pass H.R.8, which takes at least one small step in expanding universal background checks for gun purchasers, and has already passed the House.

3.     WHITE NATIONALISM:  The House Judiciary Committee is planning to hold a hearing on white nationalism.  https://thehill.com/homenews/house/434555-house-judiciary-committee-plans-hearing-on-white-nationalism  Let’s thank the members of the committee and share with them our concerns.  Perhaps we can ask, too, about their plans for Rep. Steve King (R-IA)  https://www.rollcall.com/news/congress/rep-steve-king-posts-meme-to-facebook-about-8-trillion-bullets-in-hypothetical-civil-war  Contact:  https://judiciary.house.gov/about/members

4.      CLIMATE CHANGE: Last Friday, more than 1.4 million young people around the world participated in the Youth Climate Strike 
(https://bit.ly/2u9evac, https://nyti.ms/2uai0x2). Let's read through their list of demands, and pick at least one issue that speaks to us. Then, let's be sure to contact our U.S. and state MoC to ask them exactly what they are doing to meet that particular goal. If they do not have specific answers, we can mention the large-scale solutions endorsed by the Youth Climate Strike (listed on the bottom of the Platform page).   

5.      CHILD DETENTION: “The federal government is relying on secret shelters to hold unaccompanied minors, in possible violation of the long-standing rules for the care of immigrant children, a Reveal investigation has found.”  https://www.revealnews.org/article/us-government-uses-several-clandestine-shelters-to-detain-immigrant-children/  These children are our responsibility.  Let’s ask the members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations to look into this matter.  Members:  https://energycommerce.house.gov/subcommittees/oversight-and-investigations-116th-congress   

6.    ALTERNATIVE ENERGY/BORDER WALL: What if instead of a border wall, the U.S. and Mexico collaborated to build a series of alternative energy facilities along the border? These would be naturally guarded, decrease dependence on fossil fuels, and create jobs. A group of scientists and engineers have proposed this plan to Congress. https://bigthink.com/politics-current-affairs/energy-water-corridor-the-wall. Let’s tell our MoCs to take it seriously. This is a win-win that could get both Democrats and Republicans on board, and a much better investment of U.S. tax dollars.   

7.      JUDICIARY/SUPREME COURT:  With the recent surge of appointments of extreme conservatives to the judiciary including the Supreme Court, and Republicans eliminating the 60-vote threshold for appointing a justices, changing the number of justices on the Supreme Court and the ways they are appointed has morphed from a fringe idea to a conversation among Democrats currently in the race for president. One proposal is to expand the number of Supreme Court Justices to 15, 5 appointed by Democrats, 5 appointed by Republicans, and the final 5 chosen by the justices on the court. https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/434630-court-packing-becomes-new-litmus-test-on-left. Let’s ask our MoCs what actions they would support to depoliticize the judiciary.  

8.     AIR SAFETY:  When the fox is charged with watching the henhouse, we can expect trouble.  “In one of the most detailed descriptions yet of the relationship between Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration during the 737 Max’s certification process, the Seattle Times reported Sunday that the U.S. regulator delegated much of the safety assessment to Boeing and that the analysis the planemaker in turn delivered to the authorities had crucial flaws.” http://time.com/5553275/boeing-faa-737-max-flawed/  Let’s remind our MoCs that regulations serve as protections, but only when they are carried out in a responsible manner.

9.    MUSLIM BAN: The Brennan Center reminds us of the Trump-Republican Muslim Ban, of the pain it is causing, and how antithetical it is to the values of religious freedom and diversity. https://www.brennancenter.org/blog/the-fight-against-trumps-muslim-ban-isnt-over A bill re-introduced in the House and Senate would reverse Trump’s executive order blocking travel from Muslim countries. Let’s see if our MoCs have co-sponsored H.R. 810 and S. 246, https://chu.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-chu-sen-murphy-reintroduce-bicameral-bill-block-muslim-ban . If they have, let’s thank them. If they haven’t, let’s tell them to do so.

10.                                                                                                                                           ENVIRONMENT: It’s time, once again, to state loudly our opposition to the appointment of gas and coal lobbyist David Bernhardt as Secretary of the Interior Department, which controls huge swathes of land (not to mention off-shore drilling) in the US;  Bernhardt’s nomination is slated to come before the Senate next week: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/04/david-bernhardt-interior-secretary-1145523  Like the DOJ, Interior is currently being run with very few Senate-confirmed leaders, thanks to a number of quasi-legal work-arounds: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/01/30/interior-department-is-running-mainly-without-senate-confirmed-leaders-it-just-opted-keep-it-that-way/   Let’s make sure our senators know that we do not want another fossil fuel lobbyist, like Andrew Wheeler at the EPA, overseeing our natural environment and resources.  Maybe even Atlantic coast Republicans, like Susan Collins, can be persuaded to oppose Bernhardt if we send them this:  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/mar/14/offshore-drilling-trump-official-reveals-plan-and-distractions-delight 

11.  MESOTHELIOMA - In a verdict likely to be appealed, Johnson and Johnson has been hit with a $29 million settlement in its case vs. Teresa Leavitt on March 14th. Johnson and Johnson will most certainly appeal the decision, citing procedural errors. An explosive report released in December 2018 revealed Johnson and Johnson had known about possible asbestos contamination of certain beauty products for decades. For more information on asbestos and mesothelioma, see https://mesothelioma.net/, then let’s tell our MoCs that there are, indeed, areas in which more regulation can save lives. 

Election/Voting

1.       UPCOMING ELECTIONS SOURCE:  Here's our regular reminder that Ballotpedia tracks all elections, including special elections at the local level. We can even search by date! Heads up: there are two happening tomorrow, so let's get out and vote.  IA: State Senate District 30 and MN: State House of Representatives District 11B.  More info here: https://ballotpedia.org/State_legislative_special_elections,_2019#March_19

2.     SPECIAL ELECTION LAST CHANCE—WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT: Lisa Neubauer, Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, is running against Brian Hagedorn, former chief legal counsel to Wisconsin’s infamous Republican Governor Scott Walker, in a special election to be held April 2, 2019. A win for Neubauer would start shifting the state Supreme Court in a more progressive direction. The group Vote Forward, https://votefwd.org/ , enables us to write letters to Democratic-leaning Wisconsin voters to get-out-the-vote for Neubauer. Vote Forward started with 30,000+ addresses, and they’re down to ~2,000. Let’s complete the task—let’s sign up at Vote Forward and write a minimum of 5 letters to be mailed on March 26.

3.     SPECIAL ELECTION—PENNSYLVANIA STATE SENATE: Tuesday, April 2, there’s a special election in PA’s State Senate District 37. Democratic candidate Pam Iovino is a Navy veteran and former Assistant Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. She wants to increase funding for public education, expand access to affordable health care, and increase gun safety. As her campaign enters its final push, let’s help her win by signing up with Sister District, https://www.sisterdistrict.com/2019/pam-iovino-pennsylvania

Other Actions

1.       LEADERSHIP:  New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been leading a master class in compassionate and clear leadership following Friday’s tragic massacre of 50 Muslims in Christchurch.    https://www.apnews.com/3db4594b78d147c984398c33e70078fe  and  https://www.reuters.tv/v/POOP/2019/03/19/verbatim-nz-s-ardern-will-not-speak-his-name   Let’s take a moment to share our gratitude and condolences with Prime Minister Ardern: https://dpmc.govt.nz/contact-us

2.     IMPEACHMENT:  Impeachment is a scary idea, but one that we must consider when a leader has betrayed the public trust beyond hope of ever regaining it. Our country has many issues to tackle, from economic inequality to environmental dangers to race/gender discrimination. None of these can be addressed effectively under Trump, however, because a self-serving opportunist whose powerbase demands injustice will always subvert any policy or action for his own gain (and the People's loss). Sadly, we must make impeachment a top priority, but at least there is By the People, an organization dedicated to building the people power needed to achieve Trump's impeachment and nonviolent removal from office. Let's consider joining their efforts here: https://www.bytheppl.us/

3.     HATE SPEECH:  In the current political climate, it seems it is fine to accuse Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) of anti-Semitism for implying that Israeli money is involved in US policy toward Israel and to vociferously demand that she be reprimanded, while no one objects when the pro-Trump America First Superpac distributes an email titled  “George Soros is trying to buy your election,” claiming that leftwing billionaires (wonder who they are) “succeeded at buying the people’s House” in 2018:  https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/16/trumps-2020-campaign-just-like-2016-but-now-with-more-political-data  We need to protest at all anti-Semitism with the equal vigor and make it clear that Fox’s Jeanine Pirro’s anti-Muslin slurs are, Trump’s  tweets in her defense aside.  (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-urges-bring-back-jeanine-pirro-after-host-pulled-air-n984161 ), just as dangerous and offensive.  Let’s tell the RNC that trafficking in hate will not win in 2020:  Ronna McDaniel @GOPChairwoman or 202-863-8500.

4.    BORDER WALL: When government and big business mix, the results often impinge on our rights. Let’s make sure we are paying attention. “The government is calling for funding various invasive surveillance technologies that would intrude on the liberties of travelers, immigrants, and people who live near the border. This ‘tech border wall’ could draw some of the biggest tech companies into government contracts.” Let’s sign this petition to tell all tech companies that we don’t want them to collaborate with the government on this plan: https://www.notechforice.com/

State Actions

1.      FL: VOTING RIGHTS: A House Committee approved a bill on party lines that would require felons, who were recently granted voting rights in a referendum, to pay all court costs associated with their cases before being allowed to vote. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/434746-florida-house-committee-approves-bill-requiring-felons-to-pay-all-court.  It would expand the definition of “completion of sentence” to include monetary obligations not specifically ordered by a judge; and it would allow non-judicial private and government entities to create additional monetary barriers to voting: https://www.wlrn.org/post/new-bill-wants-exclude-convicted-sex-workers-and-cyberstalkers-restoration-voting-rightsLet’s tell our state legislators that this is a thinly disguised unconstitutional poll tax and urge them to vote against this bill when it comes to the floor.  

2.     MA: FAIR SHARE AMENDMENT. “The Fair Share Amendment is a proposal to amend the Massachusetts Constitution, creating an additional tax of four percentage points on the portion of a person’s annual income above $1 million. The new revenue, approximately $2 billion a year, would be spent on quality public education, affordable public colleges and universities, and the repair and maintenance of roads, bridges, and public transportation. To ensure that the amendment continues to apply only to the highest income taxpayers, who have the ability to pay more, the $1 million threshold would be adjusted each year to reflect cost-of-living increases.” https://www.raiseupma.org/fair-share-amendment-2022/ A majority of state legislators support the amendment, but they can’t vote on it unless it is favorably voted out of committee by the deadline of April 24, 2019. Let’s write a letter (in this case, more effective than calling) to move this along: Senator Adam G. Hinds, Chair and Representative Mark J. Cusack, Chair; Joint Committee on Revenue; Massachusetts State House; 24 Beacon Street; Boston, MA 02133. Reference: Fair Share Amendment, S.16 (Senator Jason M. Lewis, sponsor; H.86 (Representative James J. O’Day, sponsor). Or use this Google doc:  https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Pyu6Unlr70bKTaJmvneQ0tLrFDx4TkDQ

3.      MA: IMMIGRATION: A bill that would make it easier for churches to provide sanctuary is making its way through the legislature.
https://www.nepr.net/post/bill-would-make-it-easier-massachusetts-churches-provide-sanctuary? The bill would allow churches to receive a waiver from building code requirements for residences, as long as the residence was considered temporary. Let’s ask our state legislators to co-sponsor and support HD3655.

4.      MI: JUVENILE PROSECUTION: A bipartisan package of bills (HB 4133-4146 and SB 84, 90-102) have been introduced in the House and Senate, which would prevent 17-year-olds from automatically being tried as adults for non-violent crimes (https://bit.ly/2T431Up). Currently, Michigan is one of only four states that prosecute 17-year-olds as adults. We can read more about the Raise the Age campaign, along with the package of bills that have been introduced, here. Then, let's contact the Speaker, Majority, and Minority Leaders of the House and Senate and ask them to support these bills: Lee Chatfield (R) Speaker of the House: (517) 373-2629, Christine Greig (D) Minority Leader: (517) 373-1793, Mike Shirkey (R) Senate Majority Leader: (517) 373-5932, Jim Ananich (D) Senate Minority Leader: (517) 373-0142

Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to attend/organize

1.       PRISON DIVESTMENT WEBINAR:  Webinar today Wednesday, March 20, 11 am Pacific time (that’s 2 pm eastern!) on companies divesting from private prisons — and how you can get involved in furthering this movement.  We can register here:  https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2sYEhXmqSLirhbeccdoNmQ

2.     FREE SOCIAL MEDIA TRAINING WEBINAR: If we would like to sharpen our social media skills, we can register for UltraViolet’s “How to Win at Social Media” happening today, March 20 at 3pm ET. We can learn ways to make an impact in our community with Facebook, contact elected officials on twitter, and take photos and videos that really stand out. We can check out the workshop and sign up here. 
http://myaccount.maestroconference.com/conference/register  If we can’t attend today, we can click here for a recording we can review on our own.   https://act.weareultraviolet.org/survey/send-me-recording-how-win-social-media-webinar-training

3.      DIGITAL ORGANIZING TRAINING WORKSHOP:  If we are working for a campaign or planning to, we can check out this 4-day immersive Digital Organizing Training which includes hands-on, in-depth training specifically for electoral campaigning. The workshop is run by digital organizers and trainers Beth Thorpe and Beth Becker and will be held in Louisville from May 28-31. There we can learn about building a digital campaign strategy, mapping engagement paths for our supporters, best practices for building websites, writing email blasts, managing social media and other digital organizing tasks and much more. There will also be follow up up opportunities for mentorship, additional training, and support for the 2020 election cycle here in Kentucky. Women, people of color, LGBTQ, rural folks, are highly encouraged to apply. There will be a few seats made available for allied advocacy organizations. We can find out more and register here:  https://actionnetwork.org/forms/kentucky-digital-organizing-bootcamp-for-electoral-campaigns-may-28-31-2018/

Reading/Watching

1.       If we have not yet seen the footage of the students in New Zealand who performed a haka, a ceremonial Maori ritual, to honor their two fellow students who died in the shooting, it is worth the time: 
2.      https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2019/mar/18/students-perform-haka-to-pay-tribute-to-classmates-killed-in-christchurch-video

3.      How the Right Words Can Defuse Republican Attacks - https://politicalcharge.org/2019/03/18/how-the-right-words-can-defuse-republican-attacks/

4.      Columbine Survivors Talk About the Wounds That Won't Heal - https://www.westword.com/news/columbine-survivors-a-case-study-in-trauma-from-mass-shootings-twenty-years-later-11270722

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