10/10/19
NATIONAL
ISSUES
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(Including Emails & Twitter)
Fax
legislators for free:
Or use Resistbot: https://resist.bot/
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White
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READ FULL
WHISTLEBLOWER MEMO, THEN CALL TO IMPEACH:
CBS has obtained the
full text of the whistleblower memo and it is even more alarming
than what was first
revealed. Senior level officials were “shaken” by its deeply disturbing
content. We can read the full text of the whistleblower memo here,
then
call our representatives
to demand they support impeachment.
IMPEACHMENT: The GOP is seeking to slow the momentum of the
impeachment inquiry: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/464941-gop-adopts-slow-down-strategy-to-stifle-inquiry
Let’s not let momentum slow – we can call our MoC to say that we are stunned
by the president’s trashing of the rule of law and that we expect them to
defend the Constitution. Let’s also connect with friends and family
(particularly in purple and red states) to ask them to do the same.
IMPEACHMENT/SENATE
TRIAL: As the House proceeds with the impeachment inquiry, there is much work
to be done to ensure that the Senate also hold Trump accountable if/when the
House votes to impeach the president. Indivisible has created a call tool to
help us contact voters in key states and connect them with their senators.
Let's call our own senators to tell them that we support impeachment, and
want them to support a free and fair trial, then let's sign up at Indivisible
to make calls to other voters: https://act.indivisible.org/signup/impeachment-senate-calls/
IPEACHMENT SUBPOENA: Now that
the Trump administration has blocked Gordon Sondland, the ambassador to the
European Union and an important figure in the Ukraine scandal, from testifying
before Congress ( https://www.npr.org/2019/10/08/768200323/trump-administration-blocks-ambassadors-testimony-a-key-witness-in-ukraine-scand)
, the three House committees have formally subpoenaed Sondland to testify at a
deposition on Oct. 16 and to produce documents by Oct. 14. https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/08/trumps-eu-ambassador-ordered-to-not-give-deposition-in-impeachment-probe-000278 Let’s tell our House reps that, if Sondland
does not comply, we want them to use the full extent of the contempt of
Congress charge. Congressional oversight
should not be thwarted.
TURKISH ATTACK ON KURDS
IN SYRIA: On Monday, after
a Sunday late night phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
Trump ordered that the US troops be withdrawn from northern Syria, leaving our
Kurdish allies to deal alone with a Turkish invasion; faced with Republican
backlash from the likes of Mitch McConnell, Lindsay Graham, and others, who
claimed he had single-handedly abandoned American foreign policy, Trump
backtracked and insisted with characteristic imperiousness that “if Turkey does
anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I
will totally destroy the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!).”: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/chaos-syria-washington-after-trump-call-erdogan-unleashed-turkish-military-n1063516
On Wednesday morning, Turkey invaded northern Syria:
On Wednesday morning, Turkey invaded northern Syria:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/turkey-syria-invasion-war-erdogan-trump-kurds-isis-assad-middle-east-latest-a9149076.html
and https://apnews.com/dbe7d941eeaf44eba1e571e4ec0c6ea6
Who knows what the “stable genius” might do next? Let’s let our MoCs
know that we are shamed by this betrayal of our allies and enraged by a
president who is reckless in his foreign policy. Now’s the time to tell them that it is up
to them to see that our allies are treated as such—and to (re)consider Trump’s
fitness for office.
PROTECT LGBTQ RIGHTS:
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court
heard arguments on whether or not the Civil Rights Act covered job
discrimination against LGBTQ workers. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-decide-whether-employers-can-legally-fire-workers-because-n1062631?.
While we can’t necessarily influence the Supreme Court’s decision on the
case, we can demand that our MoCs introduce and pass clear legislation that
would unequivocally prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation
or gender identity.
LGBTQ ASYLUM SEEKERS
SUFFERING UNDER “REMAIN IN MEXICO PROGRAM” While the “Remain in Mexico” program has been billed as a disaster for
everyone waiting in the border town of Matamoros, LGBTQ migrants have been
especially at risk, due to reports of threats and intimidation. When the
program was conceived, “vulnerable migrants” were supposed to be exempted, but
a group of LGBTQ and disabled asylum seekers, who were led across the bridge by
Democratic presidential candidate and former mayor of San Antonio, Julian
Castro, were turned back on Monday. https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-10-07/julian-castro-helps-lgbtq-migrants-trump-remain-in-mexico-plan-cross-border.
Let’s raise this issue with our MoCs and ask them to put pressure on DHS to
allow vulnerable asylum-seeking migrants, who have done nothing to break our
laws, to cross into the country and undergo due process in having their cases
heard.
THANK DICK’S FOR DESTROYING ASSAULT WEAPONS: After Dick’s decided not to sell assault weapons, they destroyed their inventory, which has sparked backlash from the NRA. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/08/dicks-sporting-goods-ceo-says-overhauled-gun-policies-cost-company-quarter-billion-dollars and https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/10/08/dicks-sporting-goods-nra-tweet-assault-rifles-destroyed-ed-stack/3905106002/. Let’s show our support by publicly thanking Dick’s on Facebook and Twitter (@DICKS). We can also check out their website, make a purchase or send a note of thanks to customer service: https://m.dickssportinggoods.com
ENCOURAGE WORKERS TO QUIT ICE: Never Again Action Atlanta has launched a job resource site to encourage workers who have moral and ethical issues with ICE’s current policies to quit. Let’s check out https://quitice.wordpress.com/ and spread the word.
WEALTH INEQUALITY: Owning real estate has long been a key to
generational financial stability. It has also been
systematically denied to marginalized people throughout our history, which
perpetuates generational poverty (https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2018/02/21/447051/systematic-inequality/). In
addition to electing and pushing legislators who will champion fair
property laws, we need to support organizations dedicated to improving
marginalized people's access to this central piece of the American Dream,
such as the Center for Heirs Property Preservation (https://www.heirsproperty.org/).
TELL PEARLAND SCHOOL
DISTRICT TO COMBAT RACIST BEHAVIOR TOWARDS STUDENTS: Pearland
Independent School District in Texas has had multiple employees engage in
unquestionably racist behavior towards students, but the School Board has
refused to take any action against this. After they failed to second a motion
to DISCUSS the matter further for the second time since the start of the
2019-2020 school year, parents and concerned community members are asking for
our help. https://www.fox26houston.com/amp/home/pearland-parents-complain-of-pattern-of-discrimination-in-the-district
and https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1179744092546314242.html We can
call Pearland ISD - 281-485-3203 - and demand the Pearland Independent School
District respond to racist behavior towards students by agreeing to these steps: Honor the ask of the Brazoria County NAACP
and Texas NAACP to denounce racism and implement policy in the student
handbook addressing the same. Demand swift corrective action in diversity and
inclusion training - 1. public review of diversity and inclusion training
content from prior to 2019-2020 school start; 2. public discourse with PISD on
diversity and inclusion; 3. public accountability on deficiencies in diversity
and inclusion. We can also sign this
petition: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/physicians-condemn-pearland-independent-school-district-for-toxic-climate-of-intolerance
ELECTION/VOTING
UPCOMING 2019 ELECTIONS: In
order to keep track of upcoming elections, we can use this from Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Elections_calendar
LOUISIANA ELECTION DAY: SATURDAY, OCT. 12. The governor's
race tops the ballot this year which also includes some [state] constitutional
amendments. If we are Louisiana voters, we can read more and find
important dates and other information at this WWLTV.com Voter Guide.
LOUISIANA ELECTION WATCH: SATURDAY, OCT. 12. Postcards to Voters' volunteers will
be watching Louisiana's election results on Saturday. Volunteer writers
contributed to: a) Campaign
170: Ed Price for State Senate; b) Campaign
172: Lori Callais for State Rep; c) Campaign
174: Robin Parrott for State Rep; d) Campaign
175: Muriel Laws for Livingston Parish Council. Thanks to everyone who
supported these campaigns.
LET'S FLIP VIRGINIA BLUE! We can help by writing postcards to get out the
Virginia vote with Postcards
For Virginia (Postcards4VA.com.) In-state postcards are scheduled to
be sent on Oct. 22; out-of-state on Oct. 15. We still have plenty of time to
requests addresses and can choose from many qualified candidates. Let's
request 5 addresses today.
FIND AN OFFICE TO RUN FOR AND GET HELP WITH OUR CAMPAIGN:
If
we are thinking about running for office next year or in the future, Run for Something Action Fund wants to
talk to us. If we care about our community and are willing to work hard,
they’re here to help us find the information you need on running. Filling out this form will show us a list
of state legislative and local offices where we can run based on our current
address. Then the Run for Something Action Fund team can tell us what to
do next to get on the ballot, connect us to resources, mentors, and community.
If we need it, they’ll walk us thru every step of the process: https://www.wherecanirun.org/
STATE/LOCAL
MI:
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S DAY: State
Senator Jeff Irwin (D) has introduced Senate Bill 568, which would replace
Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day in Michigan in keeping with what is
happening in other states. (https://bit.ly/2p3TiPS).
Let's learn more about why it is so important to not only remove Columbus
Day, but to establish Indigenous Peoples' Day in its place throughout the
country (https://bit.ly/2Nw97Fh, https://www.self.com/story/indigenous-peoples-day).
Then, let's call our state MoC and tell them that we want them to support
SB568.
RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS
FRIDAY CLIMATE STRIKES: As
per Greta Thunberg’s tweet: “Last Friday over 4 million people striked for the
climate. This Friday we do it again! 170 countries and 6383 events so far in #weekforfuture
Find or register your strike at Fridays for Future: http://fridaysforfuture.org or local
websites.”
MARCH TO IMPEACH TRUMP: “By the
People issued a call for marches nationwide in support of impeachment on October
13th. Announced during a #ImpeachNow rally on
Capitol Hill alongside several Members of Congress, the call to action encourages
Americans to “take to the streets” and turn up the public pressure on Congress
to swiftly impeach Trump.” Let’s check
this out to learn more, find or organize and event, and find a toolkit to use,
too: https://www.bytheppl.us/impeachnow
END OF YEAR FUNDRAISING PLANNING WEBINAR COURSE: In this four-session October webinar we can learn the essential strategy, tactics, and tips for a successful End of Year Fundraising Digital Strategy in this 4-session live course. More info and application here: https://community.thedigitalplan.com/end-of-year-fundraising-digital-strategy/
IMMIGRATION CONFERENCE: From Justice
for Our Neighbors: Families separated at the border, threats of
increased deportations and ICE raids, enormous historic backlogs in
naturalization applications and all-time-lows in refugee admissions: All of
these issues and so many others will be at the forefront of topics
@nationalimmigrantintegrationconference this October 20-22, 2019 in
Detroit, Michigan. Let's learn more and register here: https://niicnewamericandreams.org/
DIGITAL ORGANIZING BOOTCAMP: Have you been trying to figure how best to
use digital organizing strategies and tactics to accentuate the organizing work
you do? Do you have a little experience working in digital organizing but want
to fine tune your strategies? Then, check
out this Digital Organizing Bootcamp to be held in Nashville, TN from Jan.
26 through Feb. 1, 2020. Applications
close at midnight November 30, 2019: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeD8tt90Os-YDuUK28q-NPCX1SJ_HEIPl6JbFkqBa4vpAlzDA/viewform
READING/WATCHING
Trump declares
war on the Rule of Law. This won’t end well - By Rebecca Solnit
“In addition to
the three branches of government, there is an unofficial fourth – civil society
– which must exert itself. The will of the people is both what is at stake when
a government becomes unaccountable and the force that can protect our embattled
public interest. Passivity and disengagement got us here; political engagement
will get us out.”
How History
Informs The Trump Impeachment Inquiry - https://www.wbur.org/news/2019/10/02/impeachment-history
Senate Report:
Russians Used Social Media Mostly To Target Race In 2016 - https://www.npr.org/2019/10/08/768319934/senate-report-russians-used-used-social-media-mostly-to-target-race-in-2016
Revealed: the 20
firms behind a third of all carbon emissions - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/09/revealed-20-firms-third-carbon-emissions
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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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