3/10/20
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/
White
House contact: https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/white-house
|
KEEP ON
RESISTING USING HOME-BASED ACTIVISM WITH #DEMCAST: The Coronavirus may be keeping more of us at
home, but we do not have to give up our activism. #DemCast https://demcastusa.com/ has
the digital infrastructure to support thousands of home based volunteers and
campaigns. With their infrastructure, we can hold virtual calls and
Twitter town halls with constituents in our states/districts. If we like to
write or do research, we can cover issues and candidates that matter, or uncover/amplify
true, voter-dissuading information about vulnerable Republicans. We
can find several ways to volunteer with #Demcast and then signup here: https://demcastusa.com/get-involved/
If we are on Twitter and are interested in doing research for them, we can DM
Nick Knudsen @DemWrite.
JOIN AND/OR
PUBLICIZE WITNESS AT THE BORDER: “Witness
at the Border calls for us to see with our own eyes the persecution inflicted
by our country’s immigration policies.” Witnesses then share information with
their local communities, presenting an irrefutable and eye-opening view of
what’s going on. And most importantly, a steady presence of witnesses lets the
administration know that we are watching when they are fast-tracking people
shackled for deportation in the middle of the night. Let’s check out their
website and watch this very short video about the important work of
this organization and share it widely.
PROTECT OUR ELECTIONS: Voters in Texas and California faced long lines on Super Tuesday, and with Moscow Mitch McConnell blocking measures at voting accessibility and increased election security, this may be simply a preview of what will come in November. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/04/california-and-texas-voters-faced-hours-long-lines-on-super-tuesday We know that the Senate passing H.R. 1 is the best action for the country. https://www.insidesources.com/point-beyond-impeachment-restoring-our-democracy/ Let’s call our MoCs and ask them directly what they are planning to do to assure election security and equal access to the right to vote. In lieu of the Senate passing H.R. 1, we can mention paper ballots and back up paper registration books to make sure lines keep moving if machines aren’t working, early voting and vote by mail programs, and restoration of the protections of the Voting Rights Act that assure equal access for voters of color.
CHANGE ADOPTION
CITIZENSHP LAWS: “Rebecca
Trimble has spent all but three days of her life in Oregon, Washington or
Alaska. Now, the wife and mother of two is facing deportation. . . Trimble is
in disbelief over her uncertain future. It can most certainly be traced back to
when she was born. Trimble was born in 1989 in Mexico. Her birth mother was
only 12 years old at the time. A couple from Oregon adopted Trimble and moved
her to the Salem area just days after her birth.” https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/rebecca-trimble-deportation-mexico-alaska-oregon-washington-immigration/283-c86cfd8a-c6b4-47f9-b7a3-760a7c6b8f9c There are thousands of adoptees like Trimble
whose adoptive parents never applied for citizenship for them when they were
children. “To solve this injustice for
American families and adopted children, earlier this year we joined together
and introduced the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2019 [S.1554].
Our bipartisan legislation provides long-awaited citizenship to these
international adoptees by extending the policy of the Child Citizenship Act to
those who had already turned 18 years old when the law was enacted.” https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/471784-congress-left-international-adoptees-behind-its-time-we-fix-it Let’s tell our MoCs to pass this bill so
that these people’s lives can be saved.
FEDERAL
DEATH PENALTY: Despite
allegations of police misconduct in the case, someone else confessing
to the crime, and only ten of
the twelve jurors in favor of conviction, last week Nathaniel Woods
was executed for the murder of three police officers (https://bit.ly/2Ix3uH1). Last
summer, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, with twelve other representatives, including
independent Justin Amash, introduced legislation (H.R. 4052) that would prohibit the death penalty at the
federal level and require re-sentencing of those on death row (https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/07/26/pressley-pushes-back-against-the-death-penalty/).
The bill has sat in the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland
Security since then with no movement. Let's make some calls to get this
bill through the House. We can contact Committee Chair Karen Bass ((202)
225-7084), Speaker Nancy Pelosi ((202) 225-4965), and our own
Congressperson and ask them to support H.R. 4052 and to move it to the floor
for a vote.
CALL FOR
JIM JORDAN’S OUSTER: “Multiple
former Ohio State University wrestlers went on record to say that Rep. Jim
Jordan (R-Ohio), a former assistant coach from 1987 to 1995, must have
known about sexual abuse committed by dead
serial sex offender Dr. Richard Strauss.” https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/multiple-former-wrestlers-say-jim-jordan-must-have-known-about-sexual-abuse-at-osu/ Given the other MoCs who have been forced out
of Congress, Jordan belongs with them. Let’s
call his offices (DC and local) to ask for his resignation: https://jordan.house.gov/contact/
(numbers at bottom of page)
EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION/MENTAL HEALTH: As
the primary field narrows, there are plenty of opportunities to debate with
independents, liberals, moderates, progressives, and any number of other people
across the ideological spectrum. Some of these discussions can be productive
and worth our time, but a lot of them won’t be. It can be hard to discern which
is which. Let's take the time to read through this article, and the
embedded links as well. Not only will it help us preserve our mental health by
avoiding bad-faith arguments, but we can also use the information to make sure
that we aren’t accidentally making those same arguments to other people: https://medium.com/s/story/a-field-guide-to-bad-faith-arguments-7-terrible-arguments-in-your-mentions-ee4f194afbc9
FACEBOOK,
TWITTER, AND GOOGLE REMOVE FAKE CORONAVIRUS POSTS:
FB, Twitter, and Google remove fake coronavirus posts: As the coronavirus has spread across the world, so too has misinformation about it, despite an aggressive effort by social media companies to prevent its dissemination. Facebook, Google and Twitter said they were removing misinformation about the coronavirus as fast as they could find it, and were working with the World Health Organization and other government organizations to ensure that people got accurate information.
FB, Twitter, and Google remove fake coronavirus posts: As the coronavirus has spread across the world, so too has misinformation about it, despite an aggressive effort by social media companies to prevent its dissemination. Facebook, Google and Twitter said they were removing misinformation about the coronavirus as fast as they could find it, and were working with the World Health Organization and other government organizations to ensure that people got accurate information.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/08/technology/coronavirus-misinformation-social-media.html
and https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/14/facebook-google-amazon-met-with-who-to-talk-coronavirus-misinformation.html If we see a misleading post, let’s report
it to these groups. We need accurate information to stay well.
COVID-19
FOOD BANK DONATIONS: Not
everyone has the resources to stock up on food and other needs in case of a
COVID-19 quarantine or shut-down. Let’s help by donating to our local
food bank; look up: https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank
ENCOURAGE A
WOMAN FOR VICE-PRESIDENT: Unfortunately, all the women presidential
candidates are out of the race. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/persistence-heartbreak-loss-viable-female-candidates-2020-race/story?id=69419365 Pantsuit Nation is sending
a letter to the remaining Democratic candidates “asking them to help shape
history this year and affirm their commitment to gender equity by running with
a woman Vice President and appointing women to at least 50% of their Cabinet
and White House staff hires.” Let’s
add our names to the letter: https://www.pantsuitnation.org/dearpresidentialcandidates.html
POSTCARDING
OPPORTUNITY: From one of our own: Here are this week's
postcarding write-ups. Please use/share/distribute as you see fit: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hqbmgapq1jspB-8bYYmPaow2eITPazQ-Q8Mwascik0c/edit
ELECTION/VOTING
PRIMARIES/CAUCUS CALENDAR: https://ballotpedia.org/Elections_calendar
"BIG TUESDAY" ELECTIONS: Today, March 10,
we will see elections in another six (6) states. "Big Tuesday"
offers 352 delegates, about a quarter of the delegates that were at stake on
Super Tuesday. We can read more about the states involved at NPR.
WRITE TO VOTERS: We can help get out the vote with Postcards to Voters.
Here are two open campaigns: a) Florida Vote By Mail: Miami-Dade County.
We can help reach more than 500,000 Miami-Dade registered Democrats to
encourage them to sign up for Vote By Mail. b) Campaign
197: Jill Karofsky for Wisconsin Supreme Court. We are
writing to more than 400,000 registered Wisconsin Democrats to make sure they
know about experienced judge Jill Karofsky for the April 7 election. Let's
request 5 addresses for one of these campaigns today.
NC SENATE ELECTION: The North Carolina Senate election
candidates are now set. Democrat Cal Cunningham will face off against incumbent
Republican Tom Tillis in a Nov. 3. runoff election. We can read more at RollCall. This is a flippable seat. We can find out how to
donate to and volunteer for Cunningham at his campaign website CalForNC.com. If
we are North Carolinians, let's get behind Cunningham now. For those of us in
states without senate races this year, let's consider "adopting" this
one.
STATE/LOCAL
ALL: COVID-19, THE
PRIMARIES, AND THE NOVEMBER ELECTION: With the uncertainties of COVID-19
looming during historically important election year, “[v]oting experts are
calling for election officials to make pandemic contingency plans now, rather
than waiting to see the progress of the virus.” https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-02-28/2020-presidential-race-coronavirus-election In
the same article, Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute pointed
out, “What if Trump decided is what he was going to do is put a quarantine on
two or three states that were likely to go the other way, but not on the red
states?” Let’s contact our state legislators https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/ and
our state’s Secretary of State https://www.nass.org/ and tell them that we want them
to develop workable Election Day plans now.
ALL: PROTECT
SANCTUARY CITIES: In yet another example of Trump’s post-impeachment
emboldenment, Trump is now deploying more ICE agents to sanctuary cities and
with a recent Federal Appeals Court ruling going in his favor, he is now
withholding funds from these cities, even while the ruling is appealed. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/05/us/ICE-BORTAC-sanctuary-cities.html?
and https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/486078-trump-government-will-start-withholding-funds-from-sanctuary-cities.
This is clearly an attempt to crack down on anyone who opposes his agenda and
threatens the lives of millions of hard-working, tax-paying undocumented
residents with no criminal record, despite the government’s constant rhetoric
of branding all immigrants as criminals. If we live in a state or
municipality that has declared itself a sanctuary city, let’s make sure to call
our governor,
mayor, and/or state
and local legislators and tell them not to keep doing that right thing and not
let themselves be bullied by this lack of funds. We can find contact
information on our own city’s website, or at https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials.
MI: FIREARM REGULATION: From MI Resistance:
Recently, House Republicans passed bill HB 5479,
to [prohibit] local municipalities and law enforcement from using public funds
for voluntary gun buyback programs. This bill essentially makes it harder for
communities to keep their residents safe from gun violence. The bill has yet to
reach the State Senate. Let's be pro-active and let these key GOP
senators know that this bill is harmful to our communities and provides no
benefit to anyone. Sen. Ruth Johnson (517) 373-1636, Michael McDonald (R)
at (517) 373-7315, Ken Horn(R): (517) 373-1760, Dale Zorn(R): (517) 373-3543
PA: ATTEND VOTE BY MAIL TRAINING WEBINARS: Join PA Dems' Voter
Protection Director, Kay Yu for online training on PA's new voting laws and how
to utilize them. Webinars are currently scheduled for 3/18 and 3/24 from
6:30-7:30pm. This training will prepare us to identify, engage, and turn out
potential mail-in votes in our communities. It provides a practical roadmap for
Democratic organizers of all stripes to help increase Democratic turnout with
mail-in ballots. We can learn more about the Vote by Mail Webinars and
signup here:
TN: LIBRARY CENSORSHIP: Under consideration in the TN state legislature
is HB 2721/SB 2896, The Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act. It will
create review boards with the power to ban “age-inappropriate sexual material”
to minors. Libraries that defy the board could lose funding, and staff could be
fined or jailed. http://www.ilovelibraries.org/article/proposed-tennessee-bill-threatens-librarians-fines-or-jail-time This
is censorship. Let’s tell our state legislators to oppose this bill by
contacting them directly https://openstates.org/ or
by signing this
letter from the American Library Association.
RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS/GROUP ACTIONS
#TheIdesOfTrump: On March 15, together let's make
history by sending 1 million postcards to Donald Trump telling him he is fired. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBq9GTAtsyU&feature=youtu.be
Light
UP America: Mark your
calendar for March 15 at dusk, and follow Vigil for Democracy to stay
updated: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vigilfordemocracy
and Instagram.com/VigilForDemocracy and Twitter.com/vigil4democracy.
This is not another march or rally. It’s a thoughtfully designed non-violent direct-action
campaign, put together by seasoned activists. While you wait, read George
Lakey’s book How We Win, or browse his org’s website: wagingnonviolence.org
READING/WATCHING
The
Language of Antiracism, Excerpted
from Stay Woke: A People’s Guide to Making All Black Lives Matter - https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/world-we-want/2020/02/19/antiracism-language/
What
to do if you hate the Democratic nominee - https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/amandalitman/what-to-do-if-youre-democrat-who-hates-the-nominee
Official:
White House didn't want to tell seniors not to fly - https://apnews.com/921ad7f1f08d7634bf681ba785faf269
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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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