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12/10/19

NATIONAL ISSUES



All Addresses for All US Senators
(including District Offices, Website Emails, Twitter & FB)

Fax legislators for free:
Reps:  https://faxzero.com/fax_congress.php
Senate:  https://faxzero.com/fax_senate.php

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

IMPEACHMENT:  From Postcards for America-California:  !!!HOLIDAY PROJECT TO SAVE AMERICA!!!The Impeachment of DJT is moving along quickly (HOORAY) and while the House is certain to vote to Impeach, the Senate is not...unless we pressure them! Therefore, I have created the following tools for anyone who wants to help:
· 4 printable postcard designs
· A list of all the Republican Senators (plus a Dem and an Ind who generally vote with them)
· 2 Message suggestions (See below)
· A way to share all the materials with others
You can write to as many of the 55 Trumpy Senators as you want to (the more the better) as often as you want to! All it takes is some of your time, some card stock, your printer, and stamps.  Here’s the link:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cBQ37TbUrNVkRWdgLeDA2W_5zUysWf1B

STOP MIGRANT DEATHS ON OUR WATCH: A recent video has revealed that the death of 16-year-old Carlos Vazquez, who continued to be held in detention rather than receiving medical treatment, was discovered by another inmate, not by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), as previously claimed. https://knx1070.radio.com/articles/ap-news/video-footage-published-shows-teen-died-in-us-custody. The story was originally broken by ProPublica. However, the Texas Civil Rights Project is asking people to share the story rather than the video, as it is retraumatizing the family. The ask we should make is to our MoCs. When are they going to use the power of the purse to stop these practices by defunding ICE and CBP?

ALLOW MEXICAN ASYLUM SEEKERS TO CROSS THE BORDER: Mexican asylum seekers fleeing violence are especially vulnerable under the U.S. policy that has resulted in thousands of migrants waiting at the border in Mexico, a country they are trying to flee for safety reasons. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/07/world/americas/mexico-border-migration-asylum.html.   Let’s ask our MoCs to put pressure on Customs Border Patrol to alter this policy and allow those who are vulnerable to cross the border in a more timely fashion. 

FIRE STEPHEN MILLER: Stephen Miller is behind some of the worst, most inhumane immigration policies of the Trump Administration, including the Muslim Ban and Family Separations. Recently, more damning evidence revealed that he has been heavily involved in promoting white nationalism. Fortunately, Senator Kamala Harris has just launched an effort to remove him from office. 27 senators have signed on to her letter so far and we can join the fight too!  https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/473663-senate-democrats-demand-trump-fire-stephen-miller.   We can start by reading the Senate letter here: 
https://www.harris.senate.gov/news/press-releases/harris-leads-colleagues-in-demand-for-stephen-millers-removal-from-the-white-house
If our Senators have signed it, we can call (202) 224-3121 to thank them and encourage them to do all they can to oust Stephen Miller. If our Senators havn’t signed on yet, we can call and demand they do. We can also call our Congress members (202) 224-3121 to start a similar effort in the House.  White nationalism should be reprehensible to both parties. 

DIRTY TRICKS GAME:  DemLabs is about to launch a board game to shine the light on Voting rights and suppression - in a fun way. The aim of the game is to get elected - by either positive campaigning - or playing dirty tricks to drag down your opponent.  All the profits go to groups working on voting rights (like Common Cause, VPC, VoteRiders, Black Voters Matter, Center For Common Ground, Make The Road, Four Directions and others).  There is also a free PDF version of the game that people can print out on paper and play that way.  The aim is not profits - but to get more visibility on free and fair elections.  Let’s check it out here:  Bit.ly/dirtytrickskickstarter

MORE SNAP CUTS IN THE WORKS:  The Trump administration has announced a plan that would cut food stamp benefits for approximately 750,000 people; the plan will make it harder for states to get waivers from a SNAP requirement that beneficiaries either work or be enrolled in vocational training and will be published in the Federal Register on Thursday, Dec. 5th, and is slated to go into effect in April. This is only one of three proposals that the Trump administration is backing: one seeks to adapt “the types of government benefits that automatically qualify families for SNAP” and another changes the “approach to calculating standard utility allowances.” It is estimated that the 3 programs together would limit food stamps for 2.1 million households:
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/472924-trump-administration-to-introduce-plan-cutting-food-stamps-for-750000  As far as this administration is concerned, poor people can either starve or freeze. Let’s tell Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue what we think--@SecretarySonny or (202) 720-2791 or U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, DC 20250--and let’s tell our MoCs that we expect them to fight for SNAP recipients.

VOTING RIGHTS ADVANCEMENT ACT OF 2019: “The Democratic-controlled House approved a bill Friday that would restore key sections of the Voting Rights Act . . . The bill would amend the 1965 law to impose new obligations on states and local jurisdictions, essentially reversing a 2013 Supreme Court decision that tossed out a “pre-clearance” provision that determined which jurisdictions needed federal oversight of elections.”  https://apnews.com/acbaaecb9abe056650dd8faf5b6acf0b  The bill now moves on to the Senate.  Let’s tell our senators that we want them to vote for H.R. 4 and continue to make voting rights a priority.

3D PRINTED GUNS—A federal judge ruled that “the Trump administration broke a federal law when it reached a settlement allowing a small gun-technology company to post online the digital blueprints for making weapons with a 3D printer”. 
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-12/trump-administration-loses-battle-over-3d-printed-guns-online . The 3D Printed Gun Safety Act of 2019 would prohibit the distribution of 3D printer plans for firearms. Let’s tell our US Representative to co-sponsor H. R. 3265: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/3265/text and our US Senators to co-sponsor S. 1831: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1831/text

GUIDE TO SPOTTING FAKE NEWS—The Los Angeles Valley College Library as a terrific guide to spotting disinformation and other fake news. Let’s improve our skills by reading through it here and sharing it: https://lib.lavc.edu/fake-news

POLITICAL GIFT GUIDE: Looking for gifts that will make a difference this holiday season? Here are a few options:  
Some of these sites allow us to buy things for ourselves, our family, and our loved ones. Some provide things to people we may have never met. In that case, consider donating in honor of someone. #GiftBetter!

JESUS. MARY AND JOSEPH IN CAGES: A Methodist church in California has unveiled a nativity scene depicting Jesus, Mary and Joseph as refugees in cages. CBS Los Angeles reports the display at the Claremont United Methodist Church is stoking debate related to the Trump administration's separation policies at the U.S. southern border. The display shows classic nativity figurines of Joseph and Mary in cages on either side of a cage containing the manger of Jesus. The Rev. Karen Clark Ristine, who says she was "stirred to tears" by the depiction, says the church uses its annual nativity scene to tackle a societal issue, such as the homeless population of Southern California. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nativity-scene-claremont-united-methodist-church-shows-holy-family-as-caged-refugees/. While we are preparing our holiday celebrations warm in our homes celebrating with family, we can take a moment to use a HOLIDAY card to send trump and our MOC’s a message demanding that immigrants deserve better care and should be reunited with their families. 

POSTCARDING WRITE-UPS:  From one of our own:  The "generic National" version of my issues/addresses write-ups for the week can be found here: 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ylythcJuQni2Z4jlbHFnT1ah9G6H1PNTZMf7vWLV5SQ/edit?usp=sharing  This version includes all necessary mailing addresses and phone numbers for appropriate committee chairs, cabinet secretaries and the like, as well as links to the House and Senate directories with each item about which you may want to contact your particular Congressmembers.  Please feel free to share this list with others. As always, use the items that speak to you\u--we don't have to agree on everything to work together for our democracy.

ELECTION/VOTING

DECEMBER 2019 ELECTIONS:   There are several elections scheduled in December. If one of these is in your district, make sure you vote! For everyone else, please share this with your network to spread the word in order to increase awareness and turnout!  https://politicalcharge.org/2019/12/09/elections-in-december-2019/

DECEMBER DEMOCRATIC DEBATE AND ELECTION SECURITY: “"The December debates are being hosted by PBS & Politico. They are soliciting questions for the candidates. Our intent is to come up with one election security question we can share widely and get as many people to submit as possible. The deadline is Dec. 13th. But the sooner we do this, and the more people that participate, the more likely the question will be chosen.”  Let’s use the information in this link to help move this topic to the debate stage:  https://drive.google.com/open?id=1i-oTpiIwt9tyA6g5dkHEa0UiZLJGCvzg

STOP ELECTION THEFT IN MISSISSIPPI:  Hester Jackson McCray won her statehouse seat in Mississippi in November by fourteen votes. Although her election has been certified, Mc Cray, the only African American to represent a majority white district in the state, finds her seat in danger. Her defeated opponent is asking Republicans in the state House to overturn the election, even though it’s already certified by the State! https://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2019/dec/09/white-gop-rep-who-lost-black-dem-wants-election-ov/  Future Now, who helps win down ballot races in strategically chosen states, aided her campaign and is now helping her fight this unjust attack. We can help by signing this petition to demand that this state-certified election is upheld and that Representative-Elect Jackson McCray is seated in Jackson, Mississippi:  http://chng.it/jvjSMhzZWD Then, let’s share it with our friends and on social media. 

PROTECT THE VOTE IN GEORGIA: The following organizations are working to protect the vote in Georgia: the Coalition for Good Governance, which is suing to have Georgia’s paperless, insecure voting machines declared unconstitutional: https://coalitionforgoodgovernance.org/donate/ ; New Georgia Project https://newgeorgiaproject.org/about/ , which is registering voters; and Fair Fight https://fairfight.com/about-fair-fight/ , which is mobilizing against voter suppression efforts in GA and across the country. Let’s visit the websites of these voting rights groups and consider donating to one or more of them.

VOTER REGISTRATION IDEA:  From one of our own:  Every Democratic candidate from top to bottom (candidates for President, for Senate, for Congress, for state legislators, for city council, etc.) should open their speeches and/or debates with reminders (to voters listening) to REGISTER TO VOTE and reminders to make sure voter registrations are safe and valid in their communities.  This idea popped into my head at a Swing Left event featuring the film “Suppressed: The Fight To Vote”.  It would be powerful to hear every candidate for President on the debate stage make the pitch for voter registration and protection before their opening remarks.  Let’s ask our favorite candidates to do this!

KEEP ON WRITING! Postcards To Voters' volunteers are currently working to get out the vote in Pennsylvania for one of the first elections of 2020. Let's check out Campaign 183: Michael Schroeder for State Senate. This special election will be held on Tuesday, January 14. Let's request 5 addresses today to help create some buzz for this election:  https://postcardstovoters.org/2019/11/22/schroeder/

ELECTION RESULTS: Postcards To Voters' (P2V) volunteers wrote Campaign 184: Evangeline "Van" Beechler for Caldwell City Council in Idaho. On Dec. 3, Beechler received 39% of the vote and lost the runoff election to John McGee, a conservative with a history of sexual harassment. (Source: Idaho Statesman) Our thanks to the 322 volunteer writers made quick work of the 3,316 election reminders in P2V's first Idaho election.

TUESDAY NIGHT ELECTION WATCH - SOUTH CAROLINA: Postcards To Voter's volunteers wrote to get out the vote for the Aiken County School Board special election on Dec. 10.  Campaign 182 is for Dr. Kristin Beard. Our thanks to everyone who volunteered.

2020 ELECTIONS: If we are looking for 2020 Election information or if we have some to share, we can check out Equal Vote Local’s BlueWave Database 2020. We can click here to find information about candidates, voting and more arranged by state. This editable document also allows us to add our groups and any candidates running for office:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ir8YGs1F0Lfayl6T7XR7tklnYrEk4VcEzTkPumLVWAI  We can also find out more about Equal here at their website:  https://www.equalvotelocal.com/

STATE/LOCAL

RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS

FLU SHOTS FOR DETAINED MIGRANTS: The group Doctors for Camp Closure (D4CC) has been trying to get flu vaccinations for people in CBP detention. 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1263702860469475/permalink/1355046984668395/ They are being ignored, so that are planning an action. If we are in the Southern California area from Dec 9 through Dec 11, let’s sign up to protest: 
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeNm81nXjIu4BLGLSJ2VDw9d0ec1t0c6XF88xGn6SLf0zKytg/viewform

PARTICIPATE IN DIRECT ACTIONS FOR IMMIGRATION JUSTICE ON DECEMBER 10:  Never Again Action is calling for two direct actions, to shut down the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, RI, and to shut down UMB Bank in Kansas City, which has a financial stake in the Wyatt facility. We can read here about the awful happenings at Wyatt, and also view the similarities between a picture of bottles collected from migrants and bottles collected from victims of the Holocaust. Let’s consider participating, telling our friends who live in these areas, or make a donation here.

IMPEACHMENT PROTEST: The impeachment hearings are moving forward full-steam with a transition to the Judiciary Committee:  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-impeachment/u-s-democrats-set-the-stage-for-trump-impeachment-with-key-hearing-idUSKBN1Y613R  There are now 345 protests planned for the night before the impeachment vote (date to be determined).  Let’s make sure we are signed up for one (or organizing one if none of them are near us): 
https://www.impeach.org/event/impeach-and-remove-attend/search/

READING/WATCHING

A Powerful Statement of Resistance from a College Student on Trial in Moscow - https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/a-powerful-statement-of-resistance-from-a-college-student-on-trial-in-moscow

Internal Justice watchdog finds that Russia probe was justified, not biased against Trump - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/internal-justice-watchdog-finds-russia-probe-was-justified-not-biased-n1098161

Too much of a Greta thing? Activist urges focus on others - https://apnews.com/baa29614a79cbcd2edb83b9e3f7de90f

Despite Rulings, Trump Plans to Expand Family Detention - https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/09/us/migrant-family-detention-border.html

Link correction:  How Auschwitz Christmas Ornaments Ended Up for Sale on Amazon -   https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-auschwitz-christmas-ornaments/
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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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