blank space


8/13/19

NATIONAL ISSUES




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/



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: 
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/ 

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/2yS411hhttps://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.


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 -


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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



No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.