12/3/19
NATIONAL
ISSUES
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(Including Emails & Twitter)
Fax
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White
House contact: https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/white-house
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(link
correction) LGBTQ RIGHTS: Right
now, there is a movement taking place across the U.S. to ban conversion therapy
for minors at the state level (https://bit.ly/2qzNcb9).
The American Medical Association (AMA) has also announced that they are
supporting a U.S. ban on this widely discredited practice at both the state and
federal level (https://reut.rs/2KSF1O5). Let's
contact our MoC and ask them to work with both the AMA and LGBTQ+ advocacy
groups to draft legislation that will ban conversion therapy at every level. We
can use talking points drafted by the American Medical Association here.
IMPEACHMENT
HEARINGS: After whining about
due process, Trump and his lawyers sent word that they will not participate
in Wednesday’s hearing:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry/white-house-will-not-participate-wednesday-s-impeachment-hearing-n1093821 Let’s
let our MoC know that we expect them to show greater respect for the process
than the president does and that the evidence makes clear that impeachment is
needed.
IMMIGRANT
ENTRAPMENT: In a perverse
coming together of the unchecked privatization of higher education and the
determination of the Department of Homeland Security to entrap immigrants, DHS
created a bogus college in Michigan; when foreign students applied there to get
US visas—a usual process for international students—they were arrested and
deported, some of them held in detention centers:
https://www.npr.org/2019/11/29/783681028/an-elaborate-ice-sting-set-up-a-fake-college-to-lure-student-visa-fraud Having
lured unsuspecting foreign students, DHS now claims they fraudulently applied
for student visas and should, somehow, have known the college was bogus—despite
its resemblance to the for-profit universities Education Secretary Betsy DeVos
refuses to close or even sanction:
https://www.brookings.edu/research/betsy-devos-for-profit-colleges-education-america/
Let’s tell DHS what we think of their actions:
202-282-8495 or https://www.dhs.gov/contact-us -- and point out to DeVos that if bogus
for-profit colleges were not ignored by her department, DHS might find this
kind of entrapment more difficult: 800-872-5327
or U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C.
20202.
VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN ACT (VAWA): After
refusing to negotiate the House-passed VAWA reauthorization (H.R. 1585), arguing against a provision which would
preclude individuals who have been convicted of misdemeanor stalking and/or
domestic abuse crimes from purchasing guns (https://bit.ly/2Ka90k2, https://bit.ly/2O4khU4) a
group of Senate republicans have introduced their own reauthorization, S. 2920 (https://bit.ly/2L9ZmhV). The bill not only removes the
firearm restrictions, but also the provisions for preventing discrimination of
LGBTQ people in shelters, and would strip protections of Native American women
(https://bit.ly/2LeyjSy). Let's
contact our senators and tell them that we want them to pass the House version
of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act ASAP. If our Senator is
among those who introduced the limited S. 2920, let's be
sure to contact them and hold them accountable for attacking the rights of
domestic abuse survivors.
TRUMP INTERFERES IN NAVY GALLAGHER CASE AGAIN: “A Navy official
confirmed that Trump does have the authority to order the revocation of the
awards, and that Spencer, accordingly, planned to rescind them. The news
site Task & Purpose was first to report that the Navy's Regional
Legal Service Office in San Diego had presented Navy Achievement Medals to four
military attorneys involved in the Gallagher case.”
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/07/31/trump-orders-navy-rescind-medals-given-seal-eddie-gallaghers-prosecutors.html “An attorney for Navy SEAL chief Edward
"Eddie" Gallagher also represents the Trump Organization, CNN has
learned, just days after reports surfaced indicating the President is
considering pardoning Gallagher of charges that could constitute war crimes.”
https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/24/politics/navy-seal-chief-eddie-gallagher-defense-team-trump/index.html Justice
does not get served in this administration, if you have friends in the right
places you get favors. It’s a QUID PRO QUO administration and the pattern is
apparent in the Demands made to Ukraine. Call your MOCs and ask them
to support the impeachment process. Call, write or tweet trump and
ask him to let the military courts follow their own procedures and stop
interfering for friends.
STOP NEW
FOOD STAMPS RULES: New food stamp regulations proposed by the Trump
Administration could cause millions of food insecure families to lose food
stamps. What a wonderful way to kickoff the holiday season. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-administration-proposal-could-cause-millions-lose-food-stamps-n1092866
While the comment period for
these regulations closed yesterday, we can still contact Secretary of
Agriculture: 1-202-720-2791 or feedback@usda.gov to express our concern. Let’s also ask
our MoCs to put pressure on the administration to make sure that these
regulations are not enacted.
DHS LACKED
TECHNOLOGY TO ACCOUNT FOR FAMILY SEPARATIONS: And for yet another, even more horrifying reason
to demand the defunding of ICE, a recent report by the inspector general revealed that DHS knew it
did not have tracking systems in place when it separated migrant families,
which made reunification extremely difficult, and at times impossible. https://www.npr.org/2019/11/27/783513721/new-report-says-u-s-lacked-technology-to-account-for-separated-families.
The report also notes that the administration aimed to separate five times as
many families as they actually did, that the program cost nearly $1 million
taxpayer dollars in overtime work, and that the practice persisted, even after
an executive order was assigned to end the practice in June 2018. Let’s make
sure that our MoCs know that we do not want to see any of our taxpayer dollars
going to an agency whose policies have gone far beyond protecting our borders
to cruel and abusive treatment of children and families.
FREE ONLINE
SKILLS TRAINING FOR VOLUNTEERS AND STAFF FROM DEMLABS: If we, or our groups, are looking for ways to
give our staff and volunteers the skills they need to be more effective
activist and organizers, we can check out this these five free online learning
platforms DemLabs has organized for us.
They have drawn together Best Practices training from Organizing for American,
Midwest Academy and other highly experienced groups and put them in clear
accessible formats for us to use. We can click here for free, high
quality, ready to use volunteer and staff online trainings on canvassing, phone
banking, digital work, strategic planning and framing issues: https://demcastusa.com/2019/11/30/five-free-online-platforms-to-train-volunteers-activists-and-campaign-staff/
PROTECT
DEMOCRACY IS LOOKING FOR STAFF: Protect Democracy, a cross-partisan team dedicated to preventing
American democracy from declining into a more authoritarian form of government,
is looking for new staff members. If we are interested in joining a group
that has used the courts, media, legislatures to effectively shut down the
Pence-Kobach Voter Suppression-oriented “Voter Integrity Commission,”
challenged Trump’s fake “Border Emergency” funding raid and is gearing up
for new challenges, we can check out the organization’s information and position
descriptions here. They are especially interested in people based in PA,
TX, AZ, MI, WI, GA, NC and FL. If we’re in one of those states, we can
include the state name in the subject line when applying: https://protectdemocracy.org/x/jobs/
POSTCARDING
ISSUES: From one of our own: You can find this week's postcarding
write-ups here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v6S51cLbS-byILKK5hyrbuVBOf049w6O_Sjzf2yzSYM/edit?usp=sharing
ELECTION/VOTING
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/
STATES WITH OUTSIZE ROLES IN 2020 ELECTIONS. RollCall has compiled
information for us by region. a) EAST: Maine and Pennsylvania. b) MIDWEST: Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin. c) SOUTH: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina. d) WEST: Texas. Let's read about our own region and/or
state as we prepare for 2020.
POSTCARDERS WANTED. Postcards To Voters'
experienced a Thanksgiving holiday slowdown. Tony the Democrat sent out a call
to action: We need more volunteers to work on Campaign 185 for the Houston Texas runoff election on
Saturday, Dec. 14. Let's request 5 addresses today.
FREE VOTER ID INFO CARDS—The organization Vote
Riders has wallet-sized cards with voter ID requirements for each of the 50
states and DC. The cards are available in English and Spanish. They will print
and ship cards for free to registered 501(c)(3) charitable organizations. Let’s
click here to learn more and order cards: https://www.voteriders.org/get-involved/order-voter-id-info-cards/
FL: DEFEAT MATT GAETZ IN 2020: “Florida Democrats
have identified 27,876 unregistered Democrats in Rep. Matt Gaetz's
Congressional District. For just $1 you can send a return postage pre-paid
voter registration form to one of them.” Let’s get these voters
registered by chipping in here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/fdp-votethemout
RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS
CLIMATE STRIKE: The climate
crisis is accelerating and slowing it down will require our sustained
attention and effort, and that climate strike we marched in back in September
was just the beginning. On December 6th, as world leaders gather at
the UN’s annual climate conference, young people across America will join a
national #ClimateStrike to take the momentum from September to our elected
officials’ doorsteps. Climate change is the biggest issue humanity has ever
faced, so let's all pledge to help our kids tackle it, here: https://www.sunrisemovement.org/climate-strike We can also join in Jane Fonda’s Fire Drill Fridays: https://firedrillfridays.com/
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
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):
READING/WATCHING
Want a
Woman to be POTUS? Then You Must Get This Guide - https://politicalcharge.org/2019/11/29/want-a-woman-to-be-potus-then-you-must-get-this-guide
Lisa
Page Speaks: ‘There’s No Fathomable Way I Have Committed Any Crime at All’ -
Climate
tipping points — too risky to bet against - https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03595-0
House
Democrats have passed nearly 400 bills. Trump and Republicans are ignoring
them. - House Democrats
have passed nearly 400 bills. Trump and Republicans are ignoring them.
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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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