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.
IMMIGRANT CHILDREN: From Immigrant Justice Now - It’s easy to feel helpless against the continuous
onslaught of attacks on our immigrant population and asylum seekers. Thousands
of children remain in detention facilities for prolonged periods with no
oversight and inadequate care. Asylum seekers as young as 3 years old are representing
themselves alone in courts with no legal representation. Dreamers and TPS
holders don’t know what the future holds.
It is imperative that we act on behalf of these immigrants and asylum
seekers NOW. There is currently legislation listed and referenced below that
addresses these issues. Please read about the legislation below and call your
members of Congress to demand that they vote for immigrant rights and vote for
our American values. Our country must once again become a beacon of light and
hope to the world and a country that values its immigrants as one of our
greatest strengths: A) S.397: The Shut Down Child Prison Camps Act - A bill to
prohibit the Department of Health and Human Services from operating unlicensed
temporary emergency shelters for unaccompanied alien children. Read more:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senator-jeff-merkley-congresswoman-judy-chu-call-for-end-to-homestead-unlicensed-unaccompanied-migrant-children-facilities/, B) S. 662: Fair Day in Court for Kids Act - Introduced this
week by Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and 20 other senators, the bill would
ensure that no unaccompanied child is forced to represent herself in
immigration court, requiring that they are provided with legal counsel at the
government's expense and no cost to the child. Roughly 50% of unaccompanied
children have no one to represent them in immigration court even though
children seeking asylum in the U.S. are five times more likely to succeed when
represented by counsel, and C) H.R. 6: The American Dream and Promise Act of 2019 -
The bill provides Dreamers and those with TPS a pathway to permanent residence and eventual citizenship. Read more: https://immigrationforum.org/article/american-dream-and-promise-act-bill-summary/ Thank you for standing up for immigrant justice.
The bill provides Dreamers and those with TPS a pathway to permanent residence and eventual citizenship. Read more: https://immigrationforum.org/article/american-dream-and-promise-act-bill-summary/ Thank you for standing up for immigrant justice.
2.
WHITE SUPREMACY: “New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
returned to Christchurch for the second time since a gunman killed 50 people in
an attack on two mosques last Friday. Her first stop was at Cashmere High
School, which lost two current students and one former student in last week's
shooting, NPR's Rob Schmitz reported. In an interview with the BBC, Ardern said that while the attacker was
Australian, "that is not to say that we do not have an ideology in New
Zealand that would be an affront to the majority of New Zealanders." She
issued a global call to weed out right-wing nationalism. "If we want to
make sure globally that we are a safe and tolerant and inclusive world we
cannot think about this in terms of boundaries." https://www.npr.org/2019/03/20/705062672/in-wake-of-mass-shooting-new-zealands-ardern-calls-for-global-fight-against-raci
Let’s choose leaders that are inclusive of
all cultures, races and colors. Please continue to demand sensible gun laws and
a ban on military weapons from Our MOCs.
3.
TRANSGENDER BAN: “House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.)
announced Thursday a vote would take place on the House floor next on a
resolution against President Trump’s transgender military ban. Hoyer, the
No. 2 in the Democratic caucus, said in a statement the vote for take place on
Thursday, March 28, which is days before the ban is set to take effect on April
12.” https://www.washingtonblade.com/2019/03/21/hoyer-announces-house-vote-on-march-28-against-trump-trans-military-ban/
Let’s let our representative know that we
want this passed. Let’s tell our
Senators we want them to do the same.
4.
CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT: Next Tuesday, March 26th, the House is expected to
hold a veto override vote on Trump's national emergency declaration (https://bit.ly/2Jr92Gg). The House will need a 2/3 majority vote in
order for the override to pass; something which an overwhelming majority of Americans are in
favor of. Let's
contact our representatives in the House and tell them that we expect them to
vote in favor of the override. We can find more information, including a call
script at 5Calls:
5.
GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION: Six days after the massacre in Christchurch, New
Zealand officials there have already passed significant gun violence prevention
legislation:
https://www.apnews.com/9999bf8e19bb454eb1e7b29cfaf448a3 and https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/21/new-zealand-shooting-swift-gun-law-changes-contrast-us-inaction This is in sharp contrast to inaction on the
national level here over the nearly twenty years since the Columbine shootings.
Let’s let our GOP MoC know that their excuses are flimsier than ever, and
that New Zealand is leading the way for what actual leadership looks like. We
the people deserve better.
6.
DANGEROUS JUDICIARY CONFIRMATION CHANGES: Republicans in the Senate are poised to “go nuclear”
on the process for confirming Trump’s picks to the Judiciary, which would
dramatically cut down on the time allotted for debate of each nominee. https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/434839-senate-gop-poised-to-go-nuclear-on-trump-picks. Republicans have signaled that they would like to
do this with 60 votes (bipartisan support) but they are willing to “go nuclear”
and vote in the rule changes with a simple majority. The GOP has already
tampered with the Judiciary confirmation process by eliminating the blue-slip
protocol, whereby a home state Senator could object to a judge. Let’s tell
our Senators that we do not support these rule changes, and that we want to see
the blue-slip process reinstated.
7.
IMMIGRATION: A recent report by the ACLU claims that ICE has detained thousands of people
across the country who are U.S. citizens. This makes the need for legislation
on the statewide and municipal levels that limit police and local cooperation
with ICE even more compelling. Let’s ask our MoCs to conduct a thorough
investigation into ICE’s operations, and let’s also ask our state and municipal
legislators to introduce or co-sponsor legislation that keeps our communities
safe and limits police cooperation with ICE.
8.
HOUSE INVESTIGATION INTO TRUMP FINANCES: As the
House's financial services and intelligence committees ramp up investigations
into Trump's suspect finances, one especially large and murky cloud swirls
around his relationship with Deutsche Bank. The eye-popping numbers are
slowly emerging (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/18/business/trump-deutsche-bank.html), but what remains unexplained is why top bank
executives allowed over $2 billion to flow to a man whose long record of
defaults had made him untouchable to Wall Street. Speculation abounds
about who might have incentivized Deutsche Bank to take such a risk, but the
sheer size of the debt greatly narrows the list of possible actors to
mostly sovereign entities (e.g. Russia). Let's tell the chairs of those
2 House committees (Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) to keep
pushing for the truth. Those of us lucky enough to have our own reps on those
committees should give them a call, too.
Contacts: (https://financialservices.house.gov/about/committee-membership.htm and https://intelligence.house.gov/about/hpsci-majority-members.htm and https://intelligence.house.gov/about/hpsci-minority-members.htm).
Elections
Other Actions
1.
VOTING: Anyone who believes there is little difference
between Democrats and Republicans should check out this study which shows how legislators voted on key issues. Let’s
share this graphic widely on social media. Let’s also pressure our GOP
legislators to start voting with our values.
2.
MEDICARE FOR ALL:
National Nurses United is leading the charge for Medicare for All,
holding more than 150 barnstorms with over 3,000 attendees counted, which
has led to hundreds of new canvassing events. Now they
need our help to grow their campaign, educate the public and pressure our
representatives. Two of the most important things we can do to help
this movement are to become members of their data entry or texting
teams. We can join their data team, texting team, or both by clicking this
link: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/volunteer-from-home We can read
more about their campaign here: https://www.nationalnursesunited.org/medicare-for-all
3.
RACIAL DISPARITY: “The National Association of Black Journalists
(NABJ) recently placed CNN on a special media monitoring list due to the
complete lack of Black leadership within CNN. CNN president Jeff Zucker
has no Black direct reports, no Black executive producers, and no Black senior
vice presidents in the news department.” Let’s join Color of Change and the
NABJ in “calling for CNN to perform a civil rights audit to identify
deficiencies in the company’s hiring practices.” Click here:
https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/cnn-civil-rights-audit
4.
VOTING MACHINE DEFECTS: From one of
our own: Call to Action for All
Voters: Pls help get 5K signatures on the PETITION linked below asking the US
House Oversight Committee to investigate a Georgia bill that would allow voting
systems that can change machine-marked “paper ballots” AFTER they’re cast! The defect is described in this new piece by
WhoWhatWhy: https://whowhatwhy.org/2019/03/19/permission-to-cheat-audits-cant-detect-fake-votes-on-new-hybrid-voting-machines/
We already have more than 3K. Thank you. #HandMarkedPaperBallots Link to
Petition:
5.
TRANSGENDER BAN: Should Trump’s
transgender ban proceed on April 12, “currently serving transgender troops and
anyone who has signed an enlistment contract by April 12 may continue with
plans for hormone treatments and gender transition if they have been diagnosed
with gender dysphoria.” https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2019/03/13/new-pentagon-transgender-policy-sets-limits-for-treatment-new-recruits-after-april-12/ The trick is
that the diagnosis needs to be given prior to April 12. SPART*A , a group of transgender people who currently serve
or have served in the military, is compiling a list of trans-affirming
providers who are currently licensed and willing to provide pro bono
consultation to military mental health providers. This list will be shared with
transgender service members (to bring with them to appointments) and through
professional channels for military mental health providers (division 19,
military medical community listservs, etc.). If you are open to providing this
service, please provide the following information to SPART*A’s Director of
Research and Wellness Outreach Jacob.eleazer@spartapride.org: A) Name, B) Degree, C) State(s) of licensure, D) License
Number, E) Preferred contact information, F) Brief statement about
experience/competency diagnosing gender dysphoria, and G) Brief statement about
any experience working with service members/vets (if applicable-not required). Please feel free to share with relevant
colleagues and professional organizations.
6.
TECH HELP: Herb Jones, a retired Colonel and disabled veteran, is running
for office in 3rd Senate District of Virginia against Tommy Norment,
a long-term incumbent and Republican Senate Majority Leader. Jones sought out DemLabs for some tech help for his campaign. Let’s take a look at it, then see if we
know of a campaign that could benefit from DemLabs’ help: https://thedemlabs.org/2019/03/20/david-vs-goliath-rookie-virginia-candidate-uses-free-apps-in-challenge-to-powerful-incumbent/
7.
RACISM: The FBI is
grouping unconnected black people under the label "Black Identity
Extremists" for surveillance and investigation – despite the fact that no
such group exists. They have refused to provide critical information requested
by the ACLU to learn why this classification exists and which people and
black-led organizations have been targeted. As of March 21, the ACLU and
the Center for Media Justice brought suit against the FBI: https://www.aclu.org/cases/center-media-justice-et-al-v-federal-bureau-investigation-et-al They are asking us to sign a petition in
support of this suit: https://centerformediajustice.org/2019/03/21/we-just-sued-the-fbi-for-hiding-its-surveillance-of-black-activists-and-organizations/
8.
CLIMATE CHANGE DISASTERS: We have seen increasingly severe weather
attributable to climate change for the past five years, but the flooding
following an enormous cyclone in southern Africa has been called the worst
natural disaster to date in the southern hemisphere:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/flooding-continues-to-devastate-southern-africa-after-cyclone-idai Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, none of
them wealthy countries, are in desperate need of assistance; the death toll has
now reached 500, and a dearth of helicopters has made rescuing the drowning
extremely difficult: http://www.startribune.com/floods-destruction-from-cyclone-continue-in-mozambique/507452762/ Trump, busy attacking John McCain and
defending the electoral college, has said not one word; no doubt he thinks
these “shithole countries” not worth so much as a tweet. While we
cannot supply the helicopters or the aid our government could, we can and
should help: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/how-to-help-cyclone-victims-in-mozambique-malawi-and-zimbabwe
State Actions
1.
MOST: CANDIDATE TAX RETURNS: A citizen watchdog group is calling on all 2020
presidential candidates to release 10 years of tax returns in the interest of
transparency. https://thehill.com/policy/finance/435120-watchdog-group-calls-on-2020-candidates-to-release-10-years-of-tax-returns, and Trump is notably absent from those who have so
far complied. In fact, Trump did release any of his tax returns in 2016,
despite serious ethics concerns related to conflict of interest. The state of
Washington Senate just passed a law requiring all 2020 candidates to release
their tax returns in order to be on the ballot, and several other states are in
the process of considering similar legislation. Let’s find out if our state
has legislation in process, and then ask our state legislators to either
introduce or co-sponsor a similar measure. (In Washington, the bill still needs
to pass the House, so we should contact our reps.)
2.
AL: EDUCATION: The Alabama Senate has just passed legislation to
withdraw from Common Core and lower academic standards in Alabama schools. In
addition, this hastily-worded, unresearched, poorly-written bill prohibits
students in high school from taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses and earning
career technical (CTE) credentials. It also blocks schools from offering the
ACT college entrance exam and ACT WorkKeys exam and prohibits Alabama teachers
from achieving National Board Certification. This bill, opposed by business and
education leaders, now heads back to the House for final confirmation. With
only a few weeks left to stop it, we need to act now. We can call our State
Representatives immediately and urge them to vote NO on SB 119! If we
need it, we can look here for our Representative’s contact information: http://ow.ly/PdhG30o7CAn We can
read the bill and track it here:
3.
SD: FIRST AMENDMENT: Earlier this month, and within 72 hours,
Governor Kristi Noem's anti-protest bills passed both the House and Senate,
after suspending procedural rules (https://bit.ly/2UMjSrC). In advance of the construction of the Keystone XL
pipeline, the bills (SB 189 and 190) would categorize protests as "riot
boosting," and would specifically "promote pipeline
construction." As a result, the Crow Creek and Oglala Sioux Tribes have
requested that their flags no longer be flown at the state Capitol, until the
administration fulfills its promise to build a relationship with the Sioux
tribes, and to respect the land's natural resources (https://bit.ly/2TzOHDj). Let's be sure to contact our state
lawmakers to hold them accountable for their votes. We can also contact
Governor Noem, who is expected to sign the bills, and tell her that we oppose
this blatant attack on First Amendment rights and Native American values:
Mailing Address: Office of the Governor 500 East Capitol Avenue Pierre, S.D.
57501 Phone Number: (605) 773-3212 Fax Number: (605) 773-4711
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
Reading/Watching
1.
Families Belong Together: This Is What Asylum
Seekers Face at the U.S. Border - https://nowthisnews.com/videos/politics/families-belong-together-this-is-what-asylum-seekers-face
2.
Trump mocks wind power: 'When the wind doesn't blow,
just turn off the television' - https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/434989-trump-mocks-wind-power-when-the-wind-doesnt-blow-just-turn-off-the
3.
How Does the National Popular Vote
Compact Work? - https://politicalcharge.org/2019/03/20/how-does-the-national-popular-vote-compact-work/
4.
A Russian 'troll slayer' went undercover at a troll
factory and found that hundreds of Russians were working as paid trolls in
rotating shifts - https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-troll-slayer-went-undercover-at-a-troll-factory-2019-3
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