8/13/19
NATIONAL
ISSUES
(Including Emails & Twitter)
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
|
HELP IMMIGRANT FAMILIES IN MISSISSIPPI: "On
Wednesday, August 7, nearly 680 people in Mississippi were detained by ICE in
what was the largest single-state workplace enforcement action in U.S.
history...Children suddenly separated from their parents were left confused and
frightened, and many have no one to care for them while their parents are
held...These devastated kids and families need your help." Most of us
have seen the footage/photos of kids traumatized by these raids. If we can
contribute, here's a direct way to help Mississippi organizations that are
on the front lines: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms-raids We can also donate to the Mississippi
Immigrant Rights Alliance:
https://yourmira.wpcomstaging.com/ We can read about their work, and learn
about other organizations that are helping here. Let’s donate to one of these organizations, if
we can:
BOYCOTT COMPANY THAT ALLOWED ICE RAIDS: It should be
noted that one of the companies ICE raids targeted was Koch Foods, a place that
was known for serious labor abuses. Last year, Koch Foods, lost a
discrimination lawsuit last year and was required to pay $3.75 million. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-koch-foods/allegations-of-labor-abuses-dogged-mississippi-plant-years-before-immigration-raids-idUSKCN1UZ1OV.
It should also be noted that despite rounding up undocumented workers in the
interests of “law and order,” not a single executive who also “violated the
law” by hiring these workers was arrested or detained. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/adolfoflores/ice-raids-employers-arrest-charges-immigrants-business.
Let’s ask Koch Foods (http://kochfoodsinc.com/contact-us) to provide
legal support for their workers and financial support for their displaced
children, and tell the company that we will boycott their products
until they step up to the plate and do the right thing.
WHITE SUPREMACISTS BEHIND ALL RACE-BASED ATTACKS: Recent data, that the Trump administration refused to give to Congress has shown that white supremacists were responsible for every single race-based incident of domestic terrorism in 2018. https://news.yahoo.com/heres-the-data-the-trump-administration-wouldnt-give-congress-on-white-supremacist-terrorism-235254627.html. Let’s make sure our MoCs know about this and ask them what they will do to mitigate this threat.
IMPEACHMENT: House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler
has stated explicitly that an official impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump
has begun (https://bit.ly/2ZVVZ3x).
Nadler estimates that the House could be ready for a vote on impeachment by the
end of the year. In what feels like a freefall of norms, decency, and
fitness for the office of President, Trump took to Twitter over the weekend to
retweet a conspiracy theory that implicated the Clintons in the death of
Jeffrey Epstein:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-retweets-epstein-conspiracy-theory-claiming-clinton-connection-n1041146 Let's
call our representatives in the House to let them know that we believe Trump is
unfit for office and we support impeachment and want them to be unified behind
the inquiry. We can also use the tools available at Indivisible to make it
clear that we support impeachment: https://impeach.indivisible.org/
ADS SUPPORTING WHITE SUPREMACY: From Sleeping Giants:
"This week, Tucker Carlson Tonight called white supremacy "a
hoax" and "a conspiracy theory used to divide the country."
Tucker has previously referred to Iraqis as "semi-literate primitive
monkeys", argued that women shouldn't earn more money than men and claimed
that immigrants are making our country "dirtier." Tucker wouldn't
last a day on the job at USAA [United Services Automobile Association], where
his comments would get him fired instantly. But for some reason, USAA remains
one of his last major sponsors. Why? Contact: Laura Powers,
Executive Director, Media & Social, laura.powers@usaa.com"
We can use the e-mail template from Sleeping Giants here.
#GrabYourWallet IS ADDING COMPANIES: Since before the 2016 election, #GrabYourWallet
was telling us about companies that had financial relationships with the
Trumps. Since then over 70 companies
have been dropped from the #GrabYourWallet list due to people like us reaching
out to them. “Given, however, recent
news of the Trump administration’s continued
use of family separation despite a U.S. court order to stop—an action
resulting in 900 additional children being separated from their parents—we’ve
decided to turn our attention more fully to the donations, fundraising events,
and endorsements of high profile Trump supporters.” https://medium.com/@shannoncoulter/why-grabyourwallet-is-adding-new-companies-to-the-boycott-list-for-the-first-time-in-a-long-time-78930225b282 Let’s check out this list and start making
some contacts: https://grabyourwallet.org/
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AT RISK: We must urge our senators
to reject Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Labor, Eugene Scalia, who has
spent his career as a corporate attorney representing major corporations, from
Walmart to Wall Street banks, fighting against the Department of Labor, and
opposing workers’ rights and wage increases: https://www.rollcall.com/news/policy/scalia-skilled-at-upending-rules-may-soon-write-them-at-labor
THE END OF ARMS CONTROL??: Trump has already terminated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force treaty (INF)-- https://www.armscontrol.org/issue-briefs/2019-08/post-inf-treaty-crisis-background-next-steps ; now John Bolton, Trump’s national security advisor, has his eye on the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which places the only remaining legally binding, verifiable limits on the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals: https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2019-07/focus/boltons-attempt-sabotage-new-start Let’s tell our MoCs that we want Congress to guarantee that New START is not terminated or allowed to lapse when it expires in February 2021.
ANTI-IMMIGRANT “PUBLIC CHARGE” RULE: A top priority of Trump’s immigration architect Stephen Miller, the “public charge” rule, which penalizes legal immigrants who rely on public programs like food stamps or government-subsidized housing, will be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, August 14th:
THE END OF ARMS CONTROL??: Trump has already terminated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force treaty (INF)-- https://www.armscontrol.org/issue-briefs/2019-08/post-inf-treaty-crisis-background-next-steps ; now John Bolton, Trump’s national security advisor, has his eye on the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which places the only remaining legally binding, verifiable limits on the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals: https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2019-07/focus/boltons-attempt-sabotage-new-start Let’s tell our MoCs that we want Congress to guarantee that New START is not terminated or allowed to lapse when it expires in February 2021.
ANTI-IMMIGRANT “PUBLIC CHARGE” RULE: A top priority of Trump’s immigration architect Stephen Miller, the “public charge” rule, which penalizes legal immigrants who rely on public programs like food stamps or government-subsidized housing, will be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, August 14th:
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/457077-trump-administration-releases-final-public-charge-rule;
the text is here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2019-17142.pdf Despite the over 250,00 comments, most against
this change, the rule will go play in October.
This is for LEGAL immigrants. https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/457077-trump-administration-releases-final-public-charge-rule Let’s tell our MoCs that we want them to
turn this over with appropriate legislation.
ENDANGERED SPECIES PROTECTIONS ROLLED BACK: “Going forward,
the Endangered Species Act will no longer offer the same protections for
threatened species — those at risk of becoming extinct in the foreseeable
future — as those that are already endangered. “These changes crash a bulldozer through the
Endangered Species Act’s lifesaving protections for America’s most vulnerable
wildlife,” Noah Greenwald, the Center for Biological Diversity’s endangered
species director, said in a statement.” https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/457086-trump-administration-rolls-back-endangered-species-protections In Trump’s never-ending quest to roll back
regulations (protections) for the good of industry, not citizens or the
environment. Let’s ask our MoCs to
provide legislation that will restore the Endangered Species Act, first
passed in 1973.
POSTCARDING: From one of our own – Here are
this week’s issues/addresses write-ups for postcarding: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1I5j-t_TiSX6PnU0ym_I-jsxrWRMpMxPqyIdWwGVMTkw/edit?usp=sharing Look them over and choose the ones that
speak to you.
MOVEMENT FOR BLACK LIVES will grant a year-long Electoral Justice Fellowship to ten Black organizers from ten organizations “to serve as political operatives for building Black political power in 2020 and beyond.” Let’s spread the word, and if we qualify, let’s apply. Deadline is Aug 16, 2019: https://ejp.m4bl.org/league/
SUPERMAJORITY POLL: Supermajority is asking everyone who
identifies as a woman to take part in their poll: https://supermajority.com/womens-poll/ If we fit the eligibility requirements, let’s
help them out.
EL PASO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS: From one of our own: Hello. We are teachers in El Paso. We would
like to know if anyone is interested in sending us postcards to help our
students know there is plenty of good in our world. As teachers, we may only be
able to say so much. We think concrete messages of support would help us calm
some fears. Any thoughts? You can send
them here: 1) E. Flores, Hillside
Elementary, 4500 Clifton Ave., El Paso, TX 79903, and 2) Teresa Garrett, Tom
Lea Elementary, 4851 Marcus Uribe Dr., El Paso, TX. 79934. Let’s send fun postcards!
ONLINE BOOK AUCTION:
Border Network for Human Rights is
holding an online book auction. “The
books in this auction were donated directly by the authors in their support for
the struggle for immigrant justice and human rights. If you are the winning
bidder, the book will be SIGNED PERSONALLY TO YOU BY THE AUTHOR. All proceeds from this auction will go to the
Border Network for Human Rights, a grassroots nonprofit 501(c3) organization in
El Paso that provides legal services and public advocacy for immigrant
communities.” Let’s bid here: https://www.32auctions.com/BNHRauction
ELECTION/VOTING
ASK ARIZONA VOTERS TO BECOME PERMANENT EARLY VOTERS
Flip the West is looking for folks to telephone Arizona voters to ask them to join the Permanent Early Voting List (PEVL.) This is an easy ask! All PEVL voters receive an early ballot by mail approximately 27 days prior to any election in which they are eligible to vote. Getting a ballot early allows time to review the ballot, study the issues, research the candidates and vote conveniently by mailing the ballot or dropping it off at an early voting center. Access to early voting can boost turnout among low propensity voters, and it helps shorten the long lines to vote that disproportionately plague communities of color on Election Day. We can click here to start asking Arizonans to join the Permanent Early Voting List. Instructions are embedded in the link. All we need is a computer with internet access and a cell phones and we are ready to get our country back! https://www.mobilize.us/grassrootsdemocratslahq/event/106683/
Flip the West is looking for folks to telephone Arizona voters to ask them to join the Permanent Early Voting List (PEVL.) This is an easy ask! All PEVL voters receive an early ballot by mail approximately 27 days prior to any election in which they are eligible to vote. Getting a ballot early allows time to review the ballot, study the issues, research the candidates and vote conveniently by mailing the ballot or dropping it off at an early voting center. Access to early voting can boost turnout among low propensity voters, and it helps shorten the long lines to vote that disproportionately plague communities of color on Election Day. We can click here to start asking Arizonans to join the Permanent Early Voting List. Instructions are embedded in the link. All we need is a computer with internet access and a cell phones and we are ready to get our country back! https://www.mobilize.us/grassrootsdemocratslahq/event/106683/
STATE/LOCAL
ALL:
FERGUSON/POLICING: It has been five years since a police officer in
Ferguson, Missouri murdered Michael Brown, Jr., and protests erupted around the
country (https://bit.ly/2Tp2XeK).
While there has been incremental change towards community policing in those
five years, there is still much to be done to break down systemic racism and
police brutality in our country. We can help by reading both the Department of Justice's Ferguson Report, and the Ferguson Commission's Forward Through Ferguson Report. Then, let's use this
information and regularly meet with our local police departments to encourage
them to improve their relationships with the community, and to work towards
more equitable practices in their policing.
CA:
FIND NEW STRATEGIES AND PARTNERSHIPS AT EDUCATORS AGAINST ICE WORKSHOP: Educators in Northern CA, aware of
how ICE threatens our undocumented students and their families, can
learn better ways to protect them at the Educators Against ICE Conference
on Saturday, September 14, 2019. We can network with community organizers, foster
collaboration, learn anti-enforcement and advocacy strategies. We can also
invite our colleagues so that 2-3 educators from one campus or region can work
together. A series of interactive workshops and lunch will be provided. We
can click this link to find out more about The Educators Against ICE Fall
Conference and then, if we wish, apply by the deadline, August 19th,
2019 at 5pm
MA: BOSTON: FOR PROFESSIONALS WORKING WITH THE
IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE COMMUNITY—The City of Boston is offering a free,
three-day Stress, Vicarious/Secondary Trauma & Resilience Training
Instituted for attorneys, educators, organizers, mental health professionals,
and other providers who work with the immigrant and refugee community. Dates
are Aug 28, Sept 5, and Sept 11, at the Family Justice Center, 989 Commonwealth
Avenue, Boston. Let’s click here for more information, including how to
register:
MI:
DEPORTATION: For years, the ACLU, Christian leaders, and immigrant
rights groups have been pleading with the Trump administration to block
deportations of Iraqi Chaldeans, a minority Christian community who face
persecution in Iraq (https://n.pr/2yS411h, https://bit.ly/2ItT4Jh). A
Chaldean man who had lived in the U.S. since he was an infant was recently
deported to Iraq, and died within months of his arrival (https://n.pr/2OHzUEr). This
afternoon, Oliver Ashawna, an Iraqi Chaldean immigrant, will begin his own
hearing at the Detroit Immigration Court. For those of us in the
Detroit area, let's show up and put pressure on the Trump administration and
immigration officials to stop the deportation of Iraqi refugees: https://www.facebook.com/events/1279351205578791/
RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS
NATIONAL NETWORK ASSEMBLY: The first National
Network Assembly, made up of hundreds of local grassroots leaders and organizers
from around the country is happening in Des Moines, IA, August 22 to 25. https://mailchi.mp/thedemlabs/nationalnetworkassembly
There will be workshops, sessions, and meetings in
which participants will strategize, plan, and learn skills to take home to
their groups. The 2019 National Network
Assembly will strengthen the
connective tissue between grassroots groups by bridging multiple networks and
organizations that
represent over 1,000 leaders across all 50 states. We can find more information, register to
attend, and donate to the scholarship fund here: https://www.nationalnetworkassembly.org/
We can use this document to invite others to attend: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oKWdGLESqQYFVIa3JXQrtsXO9zrZv7ihCdGfnmSZ0-M/edit
GLOBAL CLIMATE STRIKE—Young people around the world
are taking to the streets September 20-27, 2019, to end the regime of
fossil fuels. Young or old, we can get involved here: https://globalclimatestrike.net/
and here: https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/us-climate-strikes/
If we organize our own climate strike event, we can include voter registration
with the help of the Environmental Voter Project: https://www.environmentalvoter.org/
NATIONAL PROTEST – WE THE PEOPLE MARCH: As we have been inspired these past
couple months by the examples set by the citizens of Hong Kong, Russia, and the
Czech Republic regarding the power of protest, we have a chance to come
together to say “Enough” about the degradation of our nation and the office of
the President. Amy Siskind and a group of volunteers have set up a march on
Washington D.C. and other cities across the country for September 21.
“We the People are marching to be seen and heard. We are marching to remind our
elected officials that they work for us. We are marching because the current
regime is a threat to our democracy and values. We are marching to demand
action. Silence and inaction are complicity.” Let’s get signed-up here
and talk with others about joining us: https://wethepeoplemarch.org
READING/WATCHING
Charles Blow: Trump
Has Dragged Us Into the Gutter - https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/07/opinion/mass-shootings-trump.html.
The Media Erased Latinos From the Story - https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/08/we-must-recognize-hispanics-were-targeted/595783/
Statement Of Manhattan U.S. Attorney On The Death Of
Defendant Jeffrey Epstein - https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/statement-manhattan-us-attorney-death-defendant-jeffrey-epstein
The Border Patrol Hits a Breaking Point -
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We can stay up to date on Congress by checking out their
schedules. a) The House publishes a weekly schedule at The Weekly Leader (published and dated Friday)
as well as daily schedules at The Daily Leader. b) The Senate updates
their schedule daily at the Senate Floor Schedule
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