2/18/20
NATIONAL
ISSUES
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Contact all Federal
Members of Congress
(includes contact info and
links to social media)
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legislators for free:
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White
House contact: https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/white-house
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ATTORNEY
GENERAL WILLIAM BARR: Over the
weekend, 1100 former Department of Justice employees joined forces to call on
Attorney General Barr to resign following his intervention in the Roger Stone
sentencing: https://www.npr.org/2020/02/16/806525297/1-100-former-doj-employees-call-on-barr-to-resign-after-intervening-in-stone-cas
(The list now surpasses 2000: https://www.newsandguts.com/link/abc-news-more-than-2000-former-doj-officials-call-on-attorney-general-william-barr-to-resign/
) and then eight US Senators wrote a
letter with same call for resignation: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/democratic-senators-call-on-william-barr-to-resign/ Let’s
join in calling for Barr’s resignation: Let’s contact our one
Congressional Rep and two Senators to say that we agree with the 1100
former-DOJ employees. Capitol Switchboard is 1-202-224-3121 or we can
look up their local office numbers. Let’s also call the Department of Justice
Comment line to leave a brief message demanding Barr's
resignation 1-202-514-2000 (press 4 - voicemail box). After the beep
we can say, "I am calling for Attorney General Barr's resignation due to
his corruption."
ROGER STONE
CASE: Not content with
lauding AG William Barr and smearing the four federal prosecutors who had the
temerity to recommend a substantial sentence for his pal Roger Stone, Trump has
now gone after both Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who has the thankless task of
sentencing Stone on Thursday, and the jury that convicted him: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/trump-takes-on-judge-amy-berman-jackson-ahead-of-roger-stones-sentencing/2020/02/12/753e2a6e-4db6-11ea-bf44-f5043eb3918a_story.html and
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-stone/after-slamming-prosecutors-and-judge-trump-turns-ire-on-jurors-in-stone-case-idUSKBN20727X
If we haven’t already, let’s demand that the House and Senate Judiciary
Committees investigate what sure looks like the DOJ’s politically motivated
meddling in the Stone case and the president’s effort to intimidate judge and
jury.
IMMIGRATION/GREYHOUND
RACIAL PROFILING: Greyhound
is continuing to allow Border Patrol agents to board its buses, profile the
passengers, and demand proof of citizenship (https://nbcnews.to/2PgSnG7, https://hrld.us/3bMb9yH). As
the ACLU points out, Greyhound would be within its rights to
refuse to allow Border Patrol agents to board the buses without a warrant or
probable cause, yet they refuse to do so, becoming complicit in the treatment
of riders who are profiled, detained, and/or deported. Most recently, the AP
reported that Greyhound has internally acknowledged that it is not
legally required to allow Border Patrol agents on their buses, contradicting
its public statements on the matter. Let's contact Greyhound, and
specifically their CEO and Senior Legal Officer, and tell them to change their
policies and stop allowing ICE and Border Patrol to board their buses and
harass their passengers: Phone: (214-849-8966) Mailing address: Greyhound
Lines, Inc P.O. Box 660691, MS 470, Dallas, TX 75266-0691 Twitter:
@GreyhoundBus, Dave Leach, President and Chief Executive Officer Greyhound
Lines, Inc. 350 N. St. Paul Street Dallas, TX 75201, Tricia Martinez Senior
Legal Officer Greyhound Lines, Inc. 350 N. St. Paul Street, Dallas, TX 75201
e-mail:
PROTECT
SANCTUARY CITIES: The
Trump administration is sending the SWAT teams of the Border Patrol, who have
undergone training similar to that of Special Forces, including sniper
certification, to Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta,
Houston, Boston, New Orleans, and Newark, N.J., where they will be from now
through May; the obvious, even avowed, purpose of this deployment is to
punish local governments, militarize our streets, and further intimidate those
“dangerous” immigrants who benefit from living in sanctuary cities: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration/u-s-border-patrol-to-send-tactical-unit-officers-to-sanctuary-cities-idUSKBN2082N6 and https://www.newsweek.com/dhs-faces-backlash-plan-send-swt-teams-out-knock-doors-across-sanctuary-cities-1487643
According to the NY
Times, the goal of the mission is to increase arrests in sanctuary cities
by at least 35 percent. Whether we live in these cities or not, we
must let their mayors know that we stand with them in opposing ICE “detainers”
and do not want local law enforcement to turn undocumented immigrants over to
Trump’s deportation machine.
GOP-FUNDED
CENSUS LOOK-ALIKE SURVEY: All across the country people are opening
envelopes which seem to be census documents, but are not. https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2020/02/dont-confuse-this-political-notice-with-the-real-2020-us-census-coming-in-march-the-gop-is-just-fishing-for-info-and-money.html
Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) is concerned. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwAy22sHrbQ She is asking that if anyone has received one
to complete this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeECTOEXDTbim_-kWk_F1zVOlcKd-MLXIewMIM7VXMJXzWpPA/viewform?pli=1 Let’s help Rep. Porter get to the bottom
of this.
REALITY WINNER
UPDATE: “Supporters of Reality
Winner, a National Security Agency whistleblower who leaked classified
information about Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election,
petitioned Donald Trump on Monday for her early release from prison.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/17/reality-winner-nsa-whistleblower-russian-hacking-report-petition-clemency Reality was a whistleblower who was not
protected. Let’s send her postcards
of support: REALITY WINNER 22056-021, FMC CARSWELL FEDERAL MEDICAL
CENTER, PO BOX 27137, FORT WORTH, TX 76127
SPEAK OUT
AGAINST THE SAFE THIRD COUNTRY AGREEMENT WITH GUATEMALA: As if the Remain in Mexico (MPP) Program isn’t
bad enough, several asylum seekers have been arriving at the U.S. only to have
their cases quickly transferred without even being assessed under the
administration’s recent “safe” third country agreement with Guatemala. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/the-us-is-putting-asylum-seekers-on-planes-to-guatemala--often-without-telling-them-where-theyre-going/2020/01/13/0f89a93a-3576-11ea-a1ff-c48c1d59a4a1_story.html.
Asylum-seekers are being put on planes to Guatemala without even being told
where they are going and they are not being given enough information about the
asylum process to make an informed decision about whether to apply.
Furthermore, Guatemala does not have the resources to support its own citizens and
has the same network of gangs that forced these people to flee from their home
countries in the first place. Let’s tell our MoCs to do everything
possible to stop this program.
“YOU’RE
FIRED” POSTCARDS TO TRUMP: Someone
on Twitter suggested that we all send postcards to Trump this week with only
the words “You’re Fired” on them so let’s join in with this quick and
satisfying action: President Trump, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW,
Washington, DC 20500. Then, let’s make
sure to vote in November and make it happen.
READY-TO-GO
POSTCARDING PARTY: From one of our own: We can find this week's postcarding
write-ups here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jk-ZEDSWziJ8cF6O8XXmZvieAoQaX4bvKQVZqOmfsuM/edit?usp=sharing
PERSISTENCE
ENCOURAGED: On Sunday, former Ethics official Walter
Shaub wrote an incredibly inspiring thread on Twitter about staying in action
and the persistence of small actions: https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1229158648485761024 Let’s use these thoughts to keep us
going.
ELECTION/VOTING
PRIMARIES/CAUCUS CALENDAR: https://ballotpedia.org/Elections_calendar
UNDERSTANDING THE PRIMARY SEASON: Now that primary season is here and so much
looks chaotic and confusing, let’s take a look at what actually happens during
this time: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/11/how-primary-elections-work.html Let’s keep this in mind as we work for the
candidate of our choice.
GET OUT THE VOTE: "Vote Forward and Swing
Left are working together to increase civic participation by sending
letters to voters. Swing Left can see the email addresses and info
about the letter-writing activities of volunteers who sign up through this
page. They use this information to measure their impact. They may also follow
up with you by email." Let's sign up to encourage our fellow
voters to get to their polling stations this fall! Sign up to write
letters here: https://votefwd.org/swingleft
CAMPUS VOTE PROJECT: The Campus Vote Project works with colleges and
universities to give college students the information they need to register and
vote.
https://www.campusvoteproject.org/about Young
people are voting at much lower rates than other demographic groups (though
trending upward) https://circle.tufts.edu/our-research/broadening-youth-voting . Let’s
help change that. Let’s urge the college students in our lives to get involved
with the Campus Vote Project: https://www.campusvoteproject.org/sign-up
NEVADA CAUCUS - FEB. 22: The Nevada
caucus is coming up! We can find our precinct caucus locations and early
voting (Feb. 15-18) information here. This year’s caucus will start at noon on
Saturday, February 22. If we are Nevada voters, let's make a plan to
participate.
HELP OUT WITH THE NEVADA CAUCUS: The Nevada Democratic
Party is looking for volunteers to help out before and during their caucus,
this Saturday Feb 22. We can sign up here to receive information about
training and the timeline for helping out before and during this Saturday’s
Nevada Caucus: https://action.nvdems.com/page/s/help-nv-dems-in-2020?fbclid=IwAR2cvwTwRSJQUibSARf5NmiJZCNWKfmNXe6bHoceDePwjrFZpjQSjEGPk9I
SOUTH CAROLINA PRIMARY- FEB. 29: South Carolina will be
the fourth and final state to hold a Democratic primary election in February.
If we are SC voters, we can find all the information we need at South Carolina Election
Commission. Let's make a plan to vote on Saturday, Feb. 29.
WHEN FLORIDA DEMS VOTE BY MAIL, DEMS WIN! Volunteers with Postcards to Voters continue
to exceed expectations, requesting 16,000 addresses per day over the weekend!
The effort to encourage all registered Florida Democrats not already enrolled
to sign up for Vote By Mail continues. Volunteers quickly finished the list for
Collier County (Naples area; see on GoogleMaps) and moved on to Manatee County (Bradenton area;
see on GoogleMaps.) Let's help this get-out-the-vote
effort by requested 5 addresses for a open campaign.
CONTACT VOTERS IN HIGH VOTER SUPPRESSION STATES: Voter suppression and
voter list purging have robbed millions of citizens of their votes over the
past few decades. With crucial elections in play for 2020, fighting back is
more urgent than ever. That’s why the Center for Common Ground started Reclaim Our
Vote, a non-partisan phone bank, post carding and textbanking campaign,
focusing on contacting voters of color in voter-suppression states to help
them register and vote. Their partners include NAACP, Rapid Resist,
Black Voters Matter, Virginia Poor People’s Campaign, DemLabs, Mi Familia Vota,
Progressive Coders Network, and VoteRiders. Every vote matters. Let’s
makes sure every voter gets made! We can sign up here to phone bank,
postcard or text voters of color in high voter suppression States to help
them register and vote: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/reclaim-our-vote-signup
STATE/LOCAL
STATES: (All except IL): PASS ANTI-MPP RESOLUTION: Last November, Illinois
became the first state to pass a resolution calling for Congress to end MPP
(the Remain in Mexico Program). Let’s share this resolution with our state legislators and
ask them to introduce a similar resolution in our state. For more
information on the MPP, its connection to other immigration policies, and why
it’s harmful, let’s educate ourselves with this fact sheet from the American Immigration Council.
FL, NC, WI, MS, AL, MI, GA, PA - WOKE VOTE MASTER
CLASS 2020: If we live in FL, NC, WI, MS, AL, MI, GA, PA, and we have at
least 2 years of experience within a community organizing group dedicated to
empowering marginalized communities, we may be eligible to apply for Woke
Vote’s https://wokevote.us/ Master
Class 2020. Deadline: February 20. This 4-week class
will “dive into an advanced study of key organizing strategies towards
increasing voter turnout in marginalized communities of color, training on
proper use of tools and software used to manage effective mobilization efforts,
understanding program data results and story-telling.” Let’s learn more
and apply here:
CO: PEOPLE NOT
CAGES:
"Most people caged in Colorado jails are legally innocent, but they are
incarcerated because they can't afford to pay money bond. In fact, 95% of jail
population growth is due to a rise in unconvicted people. That's why this year,
we are focusing on reducing our pretrial population and bringing our neighbors
home. We also remain committed to holding ICE accountable, ending the death
penalty, and protecting reproductive rights for all. Learn how to talk
to your elected representatives about these issues and help us advance civil
liberties in Colorado." Let's join ACLU Colorado for a
workshop/action event in Denver on Wednesday, March 11, from 8 a.m. to 2
p.m. More info and how to RSVP, here: People not Cages --- ACLU of Colorado Lobby Day 2020 |
PeoplePower.org
MI: WATER SHUTOFFS: For years, Detroit residents have suffered
from water shutoffs, leaving them without access to clean, safe drinking water
(https://bit.ly/2Hy3V3a).
While Mayor Duggan and water authorities argue that shutoffs are a necessary
means to force people to pay their bills, activists and the ACLU of Michigan
argue that this is an overly simplistic view of the situation, and that in
accordance with the U.N., water is a human right that should be safe,
accessible, and affordable (https://bit.ly/2Hwvnyq).
Detroit City Council is currently preparing a request to Governor Whitmer, which will
ask her to declare a public health crisis for Detroit in order to stop the
water shutoffs. Let's join the ACLU of Michigan and the Detroit City
Council in asking Governor Whitmer to put an end to water shutoffs, and to make
safe, clean water affordable for all Michiganders. Mail: Governor Gretchen
Whitmer, P.O. Box 30013, Lansing, Michigan 48909, Phone: 517-335-7858
RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS
READING/WATCHING
‘We
Knew They Had Cooked the Books’: The Trump administration’s attempt to kill one
of America’s strongest climate policies has been a complete debacle - https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/02/an-inside-account-of-trumps-fuel-economy-debacle/606346/
Black
History Month is a chance for white parents to learn how to talk about racism - https://mashable.com/article/how-to-talk-to-kids-about-race/
World’s
Largest Producer of Toxic Pesticide Chlorpyrifos Ends Its Production - https://www.ecowatch.com/chlorpyrifos-pesticide-2645064560.html
Eight Counter-messages for
Combating Trump Fatigue and Keeping Hopeful and Active: Saturday's GNR- https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/2/15/1919170/-Eight-Counter-messages-for-Combating-Trump-Fatigue-and-Keeping-Hopeful-and-Active-Saturday-s-GNR
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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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