12/12/19
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
|
IMPEACHMENT
MARKUP: The next step in the impeachment process is the
markup to discuss and vote the two articles of impeachment out of the
Judiciary Committee and onto a full House vote probably next week. The markup session began last night and will
continue today with a vote expected yet today.
https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/787000939/house-panel-to-begin-markup-of-trump-impeachment-articles
“Members of the House have been given a simple test of their fidelity to the
Constitution. Are they enablers of presidential abuse of power and corruption,
or will they do what their oaths of office require of them and hold a corrupt
president in check?” Let’s ask our MoCs,
particularly our GOP MoCs, this question and share this conservative source
with them to remind them what honorable party members think and do when they
put country over party: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-case-for-impeachment-is-overwhelming/
IMPEACHMENT
PROTEST: “The night before the
House of Representatives takes a somber vote to impeach Trump [likely next week
sometime], we'll head to every congressional office and public square to
declare that Nobody Is Above the Law as representatives finalize their
positions and senators look on.” There
are now over 400 protests planned for the night before the impeachment vote,
which could be this week. 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/
DEMAND
REPEAL OF THE EXECUTIVE ORDER ON ANTI-SEMITISM THAT DEFINES JEWS AS A
NATIONALITY: Trump is planning
to sign an executive order that redefines Jews as a nationality rather than a
religion, in order to give them protected status against “discrimination” on
college campuses, which is slated to include programs that criticize Israel or
promote the boycott movement. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-sign-executive-order-targeting-college-anti-semitism-israel-boycotts-n1099601.
Regardless of our position on Israel, we should be extremely concerned about
this designation, which implies that Jews are not full Americans, and that
their loyalty is to a foreign country. The Nazis did a similar thing in 1935 when they redefined Jews as a separate nationality and
took away their German citizenship. Many progressive Jewish organizations
including T’ruah, the rabbinic call for Human Rights, and J Street are speaking strongly against this measure. In
fact, As T’ruah points out, in supposedly combatting anti-Semitism, Trump is
perpetuating an anti-Semitic trope that Jews are not loyal to the state in
which they live, a position that has led to horrific incidents of violence and
discrimination against Jews throughout history. Let’s call the White House
and our MoCs to protest this executive order. As part of our argument,
let’s make sure to mention that Trump is no champion of anti-Semitism and no
friend to Jews. He came under severe criticism from Jewish leaders just a few
days ago for his anti-Semitic statement that Jews should vote for him to
protect their wealth. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/12/08/jewish-groups-condemn-trump-remarks/4375229002/.
If we are Jews, let’s make sure to say that we are Americans and we reject
any designated status that could call this into question now or in the future.
Let’s also contact the Anti Defamation League and express this
concern and ask them to withdraw their support for the Executive Order.
NATIONAL
DEFENSE AUTHORICATION ACT (NDAA): After months of negotiations, Republicans and Democrats in the House
and Senate have agreed to the language for the NDAA 2020 (H.R. 2500). The House version initially included language
to withdraw U.S. support for the war in Yemen which has caused the
spread of widespread famine and disease, implement toxic PFAS standards,
reverse the military ban on transgender individuals, and also included a broad
family leave policy for government employees (https://bit.ly/348ufd1). None of those provisions are in the
final language of the bill. Instead, the bill will officially write a new
branch of the military, the Space Force, into U.S. Code, increases spending by
$22 billion over the previous fiscal year, and the family leave policy has been
limited to 12 weeks of parental leave. Let's contact our MoC and tell
them that we agree with Representative Ro Khanna and Senator Bernie Sanders
that " this bill does nothing to rein in out-of-control military spending,
prevent unconstitutional war against Iran, limit the poisoning of Americans’
drinking water, or end the obscenity of innocent children in Yemen being killed
by U.S. bombs...Congress must say no," (https://bit.ly/2RFzxKE)
BILL FOR LOWER
PRESCRIPTION PRICES: “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Wednesday that later
in the day the House would debate and then vote Thursday on a bill that she
said would reduce prescription drug costs, the latest example of Democrats drawing attention to their legislative
efforts while they pursue impeachment.”
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/amid-impeachment-house-democrats-push-measure-lower-cost/story?id=67653547 Let’s tell our representative to pass H.R. 3.
While the bill is very specific the message we want to give is simple: it’s more
important to make sure drugs that millions depend on such as insulin are
affordable than to make pharma rich and hope they spend it on developing new
drugs—which are likely to be expensive and benefit fewer people.
CALL OUT
ATTORNEY GENERAL BARR FOR CONTINUING TO SPIN LIES: First Barr attempted to spin the Mueller report
in a way that made Trump appear completely innocent, https://www.npr.org/2019/04/30/718883130/mueller-complained-that-barr-summary-of-trump-russia-probe-lacked-context.
Now he’s denying the conclusions of the report from the non-partisan Inspector
General, which found no evidence of political bias on the part of the FBI’s
investigation into the Trump campaign. https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/10/barr-fbi-russia-probe-bad-faith-080754.
Let’s express our outrage to the Justice Department (202-353-1555) or via this form, and ask our MoCs to consider
impeaching Barr for continuing to spread falsehoods.
IMMIGRATION/HEALTH: Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
officials are continuing to refuse flu vaccines for immigrants held in
detention (https://bit.ly/2PysOzC).
This follows nearly a year of refusing to comply with written recommendations by the CDC to vaccinate refugees in
detention centers. Let's join the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Doctors for Camp Closure in demanding flu vaccines for immigrants. We can contact the
Secretaries at the Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human
Services: Kevin McAleenan Acting Secretary U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, 3801 Nebraska Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20528. Alex Azar
Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence
Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201
HOUSTON
POLICE CHIEF SPEAKS OUT TO GOP ON GUNS. “Houston's police chief sharply criticized the two Republican U.S.
senators from his state and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell over gun
control legislation during an emotional
news conference as he prepared to escort the body of a police officer
killed in the line of duty to a funeral home. Police Chief Art
Acevedo called on the Senate on Monday to renew the Violence Against Women Act,
which expired in February. In April, the House passed a version of the
bill that includes a provision expanding the definition of domestic abusers who
would be prohibited from owning guns. “We all know in law enforcement that one
of the biggest reasons that the Senate, and Mitch McConnell, and John Cornyn,
and Ted Cruz, and others" have not reached a compromise on the bill is
that the National Rifle Association "doesn't like the fact that we want to
take firearms out of the hands of boyfriends that abuse
their girlfriends," Acevedo said. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/12/10/houston-police-chief-art-acevedo-slams-mc-connell-cruz-cornyn-nra/4385183002/ “The
Houston Police Officers' Union has hit out at Chief Art Acevedo's words against
GOP lawmakers for failing to pass the Violence Against Women Act.” Act.” https://www.newsweek.com/houston-police-chief-art-acevedo-christopher-brewster-1476400 Let’s send
our condolences for the loss of life of police officer, Christopher Brewster
and also thank and support Chief Art Acevedo for speaking out about the GOP’s
lack of support for the Violence Against Women Act. You can send your
cards here: Chief Art Acevedo, Houston Police headquarters, 1200 Travis,
Houston, TX 77002 or Tweet him here@ArtAcevedo. Then, let’s contact
our MoCs to address this ever-growing problem.
JOIN COMMON
CAUSE ACTION TEAM: Common Cause
is fighting to make our democracy more open, honest, and accountable -- and
they need our help. In the past year, Common Cause activists have helped
to establish new public financing programs... spread automatic voter
registration to several new states... hold the Trump administration
accountable... and achieve dozens of other victories. If we are ready to reach
out to other people to hold power accountable in our community, state
legislatures, the halls of Congress or even the White House, we can help these
ways. Organize: lead action teams, get trained, train community members, win
reforms in your state and community. Volunteer: Help with in office needs at a
Common Cause state office. Rapid Response: Phonebank, Text Common Cause
members, Plan Mobilizations (e.g. petition deliveries, rallies). We can sign
up here to join Common Cause’s Action Team -- a dedicated group fighting
for our democracy online and offline with support and training from our
staff. https://actionnetwork.org/forms/join-the-action-team We can also learn more about Common
Cause’s mission and achievements at their website here: https://www.commoncause.org/
POLITICAL
GIFT GUIDE II: Looking for
gifts that will make a difference this holiday season? Here are a few more
options:
- “Supermajority is a new home for women's
activism, training and mobilizing a multiracial, intergenerational
community who will fight for gender equity together. Learn more and become
a founding member at supermajority.com”
We can shop for merch here: https://store.supermajority.com/
- Crooked Media
is the network that brings us podcasts including Pod Save America and
numerous publications including the daily “What a Day”. We can shop their wares here: https://store.crooked.com/
- USPS Operation Santa lets us read letters from Santa’s mailroom and answer the ones he can’t. We can learn more here and make a holiday wish come true: https://www.uspsoperationsanta.com/
NO DEBT
RELIEF FOR DEFRAUDED STUDENTS: Ed Secretary Betsy DeVos is, once again, trying to avoid student debt
forgiveness—this time not for students who were promised relief after
completing 10 years of public service but for the 200,000 students defrauded by
for-profit “colleges,” like Corinthian and ITT; having failed once in
court, she is now again launching a program that would override the
recommendation of her department’s Borrower Defense Unit and provide, at best,
partial debt relief for students who were lied to about job prospects and the
transferability of credits: https://www.wnyc.org/story/betsy-devos-overruled-education-dept-findings-on-defrauded-student-borrowers
Let’s tell her what we, the taxpayers she claims to be defending, think of
this new ploy to avoid responsibility for the DOE’s accreditation of fake
“colleges”: (202) 401-3000: Fax (202) 260-7867 or 400 Maryland Avenue, SW,
Washington, DC 20202.
ELECTION/VOTING
SATURDAY
ELECTION WATCH: TEXAS.
Postcards To Voter's volunteers will be watching the results of Houston's
runoff election on Sat. Dec. 14. Campaign 185 is to re-elect Mayor Sylvester Turner and
to elect Janaeya Carmouche to City Council. If we are Houston voters,
let's make a plan to vote on Saturday.
PONY
UP, BILLIONAIRES: David
Axelrod tweets that presidential billionaire candidate Michael Bloomberg has
donated $10 million to defend the seats of Democrats who vote for impeachment.
He then asks whether presidential billionaire candidate Tom Steyer, who has
been running on an impeachment platform, will match Bloomberg’s donation. https://twitter.com/davidaxelrod/status/1204787117085384706?s=12&fbclid=IwAR1-trEJD0KtjoLdtmDFp81GuskrYuYKyDKFz9MQj1YUPN7lVvWrfALyAHw It
doesn’t hurt to ask. Let’s do so: https://www.tomsteyer.com/contact/ or
@TomSteyer
ELECTION
RESULTS - SOUTH CAROLINA:
Postcards To Voter's volunteers
wrote to get out the vote for the Aiken County School Board special election on
Dec. 10 WITH Campaign 182. Unfortunately, Dr. Kristin Beard
was not elected to the open seat for District 8. We can read about the
new representatives at The Aiken Standard.
FLORIDA
VOTE BY MAIL-NEW CAMPAIGN: Postcards To Voters has
just launched their 17th campaign to encourage Florida Democrats to sign up to
vote by mail. The focus this time is Duval County with its county seat in
Jacksonville. Let's request 5 addresses today to help increase Duval
County voter turnout in 2020.
SUPPORT
COMMUNITY-BASED VOTING EFFORTS: The Movement Voter
Project (MVP) funnels money to community groups that organize youth and
people of color “to turn out unlikely voters AND organize communities to grow
their power and create transformation” This model was an essential part of the
victory of Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) over Roy Moore, and in the recent
legislative sweep in Virginia. Now MVP is focusing on 5 battleground states
that are key for the 2020 presidential election. We can find out more
and donate here, either to the 5-state battleground fund or directly
to one of the many effective community groups that are working to get out the
vote as part of that fund. We can also sign up to hold a house
party to spread the word to our friends.
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
CO: Help Pass the National Popular Vote Law: Our legislature and
Governor joined 15 states and D.C. in passing National Popular Vote
legislation, guaranteeing the presidency to the candidate with
the most popular votes in all 50 states. That way, every vote counts. Now extreme special interests have been trying to reverse those actions
and have now forced the law onto the 2020 ballot. It’s time to fight back
and make sure Coloradans vote YES on the National Popular Vote. We can
sign up here to learn more about ways to get Coloradans to vote YES on National
Popular Vote in Colorado: https://petitions.yesonnationalpopularvote.com/beta/petition/npv-signup
We can also find more, including an informational video
about the YES on National Popular Vote in Colorado here: https://www.yesonnationalpopularvote.com/
MA: PERIOD-POVERTY IN THE US: Dignity Matters is a
Massachusetts-based non-profit that “collects, purchases, and supplies feminine
hygiene products, bras, and underwear to women and girls who are homeless or
disadvantaged, in order to help them stay healthy, regain self-confidence, and
live with basic dignity.” Let’s learn more about Dignity Matters and
see how we can help: https://www.dignity-matters.org/
RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS
IMPEACHMENT PROTEST: “The night
before the House of Representatives takes a somber vote to impeach Trump, we'll
head to every congressional office and public square to declare that Nobody Is
Above the Law as representatives finalize their positions and senators look on.” There are now over 400 protests planned for
the night before the impeachment vote, which could be this week. Let’s make
sure we are signed up for one (or organizing one if none of them are near us):
READING/WATCHING
Greta
Thunberg Is The 'Time' Person Of The Year For 2019 - https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/787026271/greta-thunberg-is-time-magazine-s-person-of-the-year-for-2019
The
public servants Trump smeared as 'traitors' and 'human scum' are Time
magazine's 2019 'Guardians of the Year' - https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-impeachment-witnesses-time-2019-guardians-of-the-year-2019-12
The
Ripple Effects of Taking SNAP Benefits From One Person:
Stephen
Miller has betrayed his Jewish roots, relative says - https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/guest-commentary/os-op-stephen-miller-family-tree-20191210-ocajlsa3ofbd3pao6e4gc7ydg4-story.html
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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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