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1/30/20

NATIONAL ISSUES


Contact all Federal Members of Congress
(includes contact info and links to social media)

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/



IMPEACHMENT TRIAL: The written question phase of the impeachment trial started yesterday and the poor behavior of Trump’s attorneys and the Senate Republicans is in full effect: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-impeachment/as-white-house-objects-to-bolton-book-senators-pose-queries-in-trump-impeachment-trial-idUSKBN1ZS19Q  The questioning continues today.  https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/01/29/donald-trump-impeachment-trial-senators-get-chance-ask-questions/4562939002/ It is more imperative than ever to keep up the pressure on our Senators. Particularly those in the GOP. A vote may be taken by Friday to determine whether witnesses and evidence will be allowed or not.  This will be the deciding factor whether this is a trial or a sham. Let’s contact our Senators to say that the abuse of our democracy must stop and that witnesses must be called. Let’s also scan the list of US Senators to jog our memories about where we might have friends and family with GOP Senators and ask them to be in touch (providing Capitol Switchboard number [1-202-224-3121] and a simple sentence about calling to demand witnesses - to help move them into action): 

CORY GARDNER: On Wednesday, GOP Colorado Senator Cory Gardner shared that he does not think that witnesses need to be called in the impeachment trial: 
https://www.denverpost.com/2020/01/29/cory-gardner-impeachment-2020-election/  If we live in Colorado, let’s be in touch with him to express that his view is mistaken. Let’s also brainstorm whether we know people in Colorado we can ask to do the same:  https://www.gardner.senate.gov/contact-cory/email-cory

“REMAIN IN MEXICO” ANNIVERSARY:  It has been one full year since the “Migrant Protection Protocols” (MPP) policy went into effect, trapping tens of thousands of asylum-seekers in Mexico in unsafe, unsanitary, inhumane conditions: 
https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/09/25/us-move-puts-more-asylum-seekers-risk#   Congress must support legislation to defund this appalling policy; we should join with the medical workers who are now demanding that MoCs take action to end MMP.  A petition from Physicians for Human Rights is here: https://secure.phr.org/secure/defund-and-abolish-us-migrant-protection-protocols.  A phone call to our MoCs is better. We can’t let impeachment supersede all else when the lives and health of thousands of immigrants are at risk.

SELF-CARE: This has been a particularly difficult stretch for those committed to the continuation of a healthy democracy. Let’s be sure to take actual breaks from the news, stay active when we can, connect with loved ones, and seek professional support as needed.

PINTEREST SUPPORTS TRUTH FOR CENSUS 2020: “Pinterest, the feel-good social media site known for wedding planning and scrapbooking, announced on Wednesday that it is partnering with the U.S. Census Bureau to remove any misinformation about the 2020 census from its platform.  Pinterest is the latest social media network to announce it is banning all posts that could keep people in the U.S. from participating in the 2020 census, a vital demographic survey that determines everything from congressional representation to government funding.” https://thehill.com/policy/technology/480467-pinterest-bans-misinformation-about-2020-census  Let’s join PINTEREST if you’re not on it already. Lots more than wedding planning and scrapbooking on that site. Encourage your friends and family to be looking for their census forms in Mid-March, get them fill out, and send back forms ASAP:  https://census.nc.gov/census-frequently-asked-questions

AMAZON EMPLOYEE POLICY: After previous global protests against climate change by Amazon employees, the company immediately changed its communications policy, prohibiting employees from speaking publicly about Amazon's impact on climate change without authorization (https://bit.ly/2vrDv0dhttps://www.wired.com/story/amazon-employees-protest-communications-policy/). Organized by Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, a group of more than 350 Amazon employees have joined together "to intentionally break the communications policy so prolifically that it is unenforceable," via a post on Medium where they speak out against, and even for, Amazon's environmental impact, as well as its collaboration with ICE. Let's read through the post, check out Amazon Employees for Climate Justice's thread on why this is so important, then let's contact Amazon and tell them that instead of silencing their employees, they should take the time to listen and engage in productive conversation with them. Amazon has a considerable global impact; they ought to take responsibility for that. Mailing address: 410 Terry Ave. North, Seattle, WA 98109-5210. Twitter: @Amazon

JOB OPPORTUNITIES AT LATINO ORGANIZATION JOLT: Texas Latino Led-Organization Jolt is looking for a Communications Director, Development  Director and Grant Writer. Jolt builds Latino leadership and collaborations to create change and have a strong voice on key issues for Latinos in the state. People of color, immigrants, and LGBTQ+ individuals are encouraged to apply to open positions. We can learn more about Jolt here: https://jolttx.org/en/  We can find out more about these positions and apply here:  https://jolttx.org/en/careers/

BAKERY SENDING CAKES TO SENATE ASKING FOR BOLTON TO TESTFY.   “The cakes are the brainchild of Colin Bishopp, the executive director for clean-energy advocacy group PACE, who started a GoFundMe campaign this week to send the sheet cakes to senators. Bishopp managed to raise just over $6,700 and tapped the activist bakers at Butter & Scotch to decorate the cakes, which will be delivered throughout the day. Each cake is being decorated with a different message, including “Don’t Dessert Democracy,” “You’re in the Room Where It Happens,” “This Trial Is Half-Baked Without Witnesses,” and “This Is History in the Baking,” each followed by the statement, “Let Bolton Testify.” According to an Instagram post from Butter & Scotch, Senator Ted Cruz turned his cake away (sad!), but that doesn’t mean every GOP senator (or their staffers) will be able to resist the saccharine pleasures of a gigantic sheet cake. After all, it’s hard to do democracy on an empty stomach. https://www.grubstreet.com/2020/01/bakery-impeachment-cakes-republican-senators.html  The GO FUND ME is closed. They raise just over $7000 for the cakes. What a clever way to get the message to the Senate. If you live in Brooklyn, check out the activist bakers, Butter & Scotch bakery. https://shop.butterandscotch.com/ If baking is our thing, we can also order Rage Baking:  the Transformative Power of Flour, Fury, and Women’s Voices and a percentage of proceeds go to Emily’s List: https://www.ragebakers.com/

ELECTION/VOTING

PRIMARIES/CAUCUS CALENDAR:  From Ballotpedia: 

Iowa (statewide)
Primary election
February 3, 2020
New Hampshire (statewide)
Primary election
February 11, 2020
Wisconsin (statewide)
Primary election
February 18, 2020
Nevada (statewide)
Primary election
February 22, 2020
South Carolina (statewide)
Primary election
February 29, 2020

GOTV STARTS NOW: Letters from citizens urging their fellow citizens to vote have been shown to increase voter turnout, in some cases by as much as 3.9%. Vote Forward has a program in which we can start writing and stockpiling letters to voters in key states now and mail them on October 27, 2020, a week before the November 3, 2020, Presidential Election. Let’s sign up at https://votefwd.org/ If we download and personalize just five letters a week, we’ll be putting almost 200 GOTV letters in the mail just before the election!

STATE/LOCAL

ALL:  PROTECTING ELECTIONS: Disinformation threatens the integrity of our elections, and yet most counties haven't taken one simple, inexpensive step that would instantly provide greater protection: moving their public websites to .gov domains: https://www.npr.org/2020/01/29/800131854/1-simple-step-could-help-election-security-governments-arent-doing-it  Let's all call our county election boards and/or supervisors to demand that they move their informational websites to .gov domains.

CA PRIMARY - MAR.3: California will begin mailing vote by mail ballots on Feb. 3. We can return them thru March 2. We can find more details about California elections at the CA Secretary of State's website. If we are CA voters, let's make a plan to turn our ballots as soon as we receive them. Southern California voters in LA and Orange counties will be seeing voting changes this year. We can read more LAist.

MI PRIMARY-MAR.10: Early voting is underway in Michigan. We can read more at Oakland Press and find details about voting in MI at the Michigan Voter Information Center.

MI: LGBTQ BALLOT PROPOSAL: A coalition of organizers are launching a petition drive to get a measure on the 2020 ballot to prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ individuals by including sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in the definition of "sex" under the Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act of 1976 (https://bit.ly/2Qy81O4). The petition language has just been approved by the Board of State Canvassers, and we have until May 27, 2020 to gather at least 340,047 signatures to get the measure on the ballot. Let's read more from Fair and Equal Michigan, then sign up to collect signatures: https://secure.everyaction.com/IouJeXXEgUG0YjBUTbsoNQ2

MN PRIMARY - MAR. 3: Voting for the presidential primary in MN opened Jan. 17 and runs through March 2. We can vote by mail or in person. Please note: vote by mail ballots in MN require a witness, either a registered voter or a notary. Let's share this information with our Democratic friends and family in Minnesota. 

VT PRIMARY - MAR. 3: Vermont began its early voting period on Jan. 18. We can read more at Burlington Free Press and find details about voting in VT at the Secretary of State's website.

WI: TELL RON JOHNSON TO VOTE FOR BOLTON’S TESTIMONY: Senator Ron Johnson has called for John Bolton to bypass the Impeachment Trial and speak directly to the media instead; an action Bolton has already refused to do.  https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/480298-gop-senator-john-bolton-should-go-public-with-what-he-knows  We cannot let our Senator evade his duty like this, making an empty gesture, while effectively allowing a coverup. We can call Ron Johnson at (202) 224-5323 and insist he votes to allow Bolton, and other witnesses with direct knowledge of the events, to testify under oath. We can also reach him at these local offices: Milwaukee: (414) 276-7282 Oshkosh: (920) 230-7250 Madison: (608) 240-9629.

RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS

ALL RISE: Lawyers Demand Impartial Justice: Lawyers for Good Government are asking lawyers and law students to show up in Washington D.C. on January 31st to demand impartiality among the U.S. Senate. The event will start at the U.S. Capitol building, then participants will march to the U.S. Supreme Court. Let's check out the event details and sign up here: https://www.lawyersforgoodgovernment.org/allrise

LAUNCH PARTIES FOR THE GREEN NEW DEAL—The Sunrise Movement, a youth-led anti-climate change organization, https://www.sunrisemovement.org/ , is giving us a way to recruit millions of young people and their allies to gather momentum for the passage of the Green New Deal. Let’s consider organizing a 2020 launch party on January 29—we can sign up here:  https://actionnetwork.org/forms/our-plan-to-win-the-gnd-2020-launch-parties

NATIONAL PILGRIMAGE TO CLOSE THE CAMPS—Tsuru for Solidarity, a non-violent, direct action project of Japanese American social justice advocates, is leading the planning of a gathering of Japanese Americans from across the country in Washington, DC, June 5-7, 2020. The purpose of the gathering is to express solidarity with immigrant and refugee communities under attack in the US. Attendees will bring 125,000 paper cranes (tsuru) to represent the Japanese Americans who were imprisoned in concentration camps by the US government during World War II. We can support the pilgrimage by holding “Tsuru Fold-ins” to bring to D.C. or to mail them to Tsuru for Solidarity by May 1, 2020. To organize a fold-in, receive updates, register to attend and learn of other ways to participate, let’s visit: https://tsuruforsolidarity.org/2019/11/13/125000-paper-cranes-to-dc-in-june-2020-for-tsuru-for-solidaritys-national-pilgrimage-to-close-the-camps/

READING/WATCHING

The Troubling History of How America's 'Public Charge' Immigration Rule Blocked Jews Fleeing Nazi Germany - https://time.com/5712367/wwii-german-immigration-public-charge/


Pompeo Called Me a ‘Liar.’ That’s Not What Bothers Me - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/28/opinion/mike-pompeo-kelly-interview.html or

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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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