4/16/20
NATIONAL
ISSUES
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DEMAND
REINSTATEMENT OF WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) FUNDING: Trump’s cut to the World Health Organization
(WHO) in the middle of a virus pandemic, allegedly because it did not press
China to be more forthcoming about the initial virus spread, is dangerous and
ill-sighted. https://apnews.com/bd5ff4a409447359fcb89d3a2cc0b83f.
It has been met with outcry by a number of world leaders, and House
Congressional leaders are claiming that once again, as in the Ukraine fiasco,
Trump has broken the law by allocating money to reflect his own personal
priorities, and going against the power of Congress to control appropriations. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/15/house-democrats-trump-who-funding-188124.
Let’s ask our MoCs to censure Trump for this action and intervene quickly to
make sure that WHO gets the money they need to help control the pandemic. Any
issues regarding WHO’s performance in China can be reviewed and assessed after
the crisis has passed. The health of our country and the world depends on
this.
SUPPORT
SENATE BILL TO RELEASE ICE DETAINEES AND ASK GOVERNORS TO USE EMERGENCY POWERS
TO LET THEM OUT OF CUSTODY: Senator Cory Booker, (D-NJ) has introduced S. 3579, The Emergency Community Supervision Act, to
release ICE detainees who do not pose a public safety or flight risk. A huge
number of detainees are people who are simply waiting for disposition of their
asylum claims or orders of deportation, and while some have been released, many
are still unnecessarily behind bars. https://gothamist.com/news/ice-quietly-releases-hundreds-local-immigrants-covid-19.
They are not criminals and they should not be in a place where their health is
threatened due to lack of sanitation and social distancing. ICE detainees in
New Jersey have found conditions so bad that they have gone on hunger and work
strikes to protest the situation. https://gothamist.com/news/their-own-words-ice-detainees-locked-ny-nj-live-fear-coronavirus-spread-behind-bars.
Let’s ask our Senator to co-sponsor this important bill. (Right now only
Senator Kamala Harris has signed on as a sponsor.) Let’s also remind our governors
that this is a public health emergency and ask them to use their emergency
powers to release ICE detainees during this health crisis.
SAVE THE POSTAL SERVICE: The US Postal Service is one of many organizations that has suffered from the coronavirus pandemic, and while Trump seems to have no problem bailing out for-profit airlines, he has threatened to veto any legislation that includes USPS funding. https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/14/834336341/hoping-to-save-the-postal-service-people-rush-to-buy-stamps. Perhaps he’s worried about the increasing number of people calling to institute widespread vote-by-mail for 2020, which can’t happen if the US Postal Service is bankrupt. Let’s log on to USPS.com and buy some stamps, and encourage our friends to do likewise. And then let’s tell our MoCs to appropriate funding to save the US Postal Service and to support S 3529, the Natural Disaster Emergency Ballot Act of 2020, which would ensure that residents of all states have the option of early and mail-in voting.
HEALTHCARE
REWORKING: It is becoming clearer to so many that
healthcare is a right, not a privilege and having it tied to employment is
troublesome at best. This pandemic is also
showing us that for-profit healthcare is not serving people well, only
corporate wins. “Many states across the
US have stopped elective medical procedures as part of emergency shutdowns to
curb the spread of the coronavirus. As a result, hospitals and medical clinics
are implementing layoffs, furloughs and cuts to salaries and work schedules in
response to declines in revenue.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/14/healthcare-job-cuts-coronavirus-worker-layoffs#maincontent Let’s tell our MoCs that it is long past
time to revamp our healthcare system so that it works for all of us.
NATIONAL INSTITUTES
OF HEALTH SEEKING VOLUNTEERS: “The National Institutes of Health have
started recruiting for a new study that aims to determine how many adults in the
U.S. who have not had a confirmed infection with SARS-CoV-2 carry antibodies to
the virus, indicating that they were previously infected.” https://www.modernhealthcare.com/safety-quality/nih-recruiting-10k-adults-coronavirus-infection-study They are seeking healthy adults over the age
of 18 from across the US who have no confirmed history of COVID-19 and have no
current symptoms. We can learn more
and sign up here: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04334954?term=serosurvey&cond=covid-19&draw=2&rank=1
REMOTE
VOTING: The Supreme Court is back up and running
again, conducting oral arguments by phone.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/13/coronavirus-supreme-court-183223
With two out of three branches
finding a way to resume relatively normal operations during this pandemic, the
pressure is rising on the House and Senate to do so as well. https://federalnewsnetwork.com/government-news/2020/04/point-of-order-congress-weighs-how-to-govern-from-afar/
Let's do our part by calling our MoCs and telling them to support rule
changes to allow remote voting in Congress.
CONFIRMATION
OF JUDGES: Senate Republicans have temporarily paused
their efforts to confirm extreme conservative judges in the face of
coronavirus, but Mitch McConnell has vowed it will still be a top priority even
amidst the pandemic. There's already talk of speeding through consideration of
nominees in May to "catch up".
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/13/senate-trump-judges-coronavirus-175188 Let's make sure our senators know we want
them to insist on strict scrutiny of any nominee for a lifetime appointment, no
matter what else is happening, and do everything in their power to stop the
hijacking of our courts.
TRUMP
DECLARES HIS AUTHORITY TO BE TOTAL: In a quite unhinged press conference/COVID-19 update on Monday,
President Trump declared that his authority as POTUS is "total":
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/13/politics/trump-coronavirus-defense-fauci/index.html
Let's contact our MoC to state with clarity that the president's authority
is far from total and that we need them to take action against his rising and
unsteady dictatorial stance.
CALL OUR
REPS TO IMPLEMENT US OF CARE POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS: As our world has changed so drastically, we must
look for best next steps for us to move forward safely, responsibly, with the
welfare of all in mind. The United
States of Care’s latest policy recommendations start with what Americans
want to make it through this crisis successfully: information to stay healthy,
a well-resourced health care system, dependable support and protection for
those most at-risk. A path to safety starts with accurate information,
resources and recommendations, comprehensive testing and the ability to contain
new outbreaks. We need transparent reporting of the virus, who it impacts, and
the status of therapies, immunizations, and vaccines. Resources for the health
care system include expanded payment to front line health care workers, full
PPE for them, funding mental health, social services, primary care, community
health centers, accessible telemedicine and resources for non-COVID care.
Health and financial support for all Americans includes: Incentives for
Medicaid expansion, ACA enrollment access with higher subsidies, grace periods
and COVID-19
costs covered. Care for the most at risk includes: community grants, addressing
the needs of people w disabilities, those in the nursing homes, the Justice
system, and ensuring a safety net for the homeless. We can learn
more about the latest United States of Care policy recommendations, then ask
our Representatives to advocate and implement the ones we support in the next
stimulus bill and beyond: https://t.co/iJNk6n3G2L?amp=1
ENGAGING
MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ACTIVISM: If we are looking for ways our middle and high school students can
develop their activist abilities while quarantined and beyond, we can check out
The EmpowerAndHelp Global Awareness
Challenge 2020 weekly Zoom sessions. They’re discussing Global Challenge and
Online Volunteering Opportunities for middle and high school students. Sessions
are held on Tuesdays from 4:00PM – 5:00PM EST. We register here for the
discussion to learn more about online student volunteering opportunities for
middle and high school students, and the EmpowerAndHelp Global Awareness
Challenge where they can research and design solutions to global problems:
https://empowerandhelp.com/events/global-challenge-zoom-discussion/
DEMAND
CAPTIVE CHILDREN BE RELEASED TO THEIR FAMILIES: As COVID-19
spreads through the children in camps all over the country (for example, https://www.wbez.org/stories/at-least-19-children-at-a-chicago-shelter-for-immigrant-detainees-have-tested-positive-for-covid-19/f847c9ee-3338-4c94-8132-54f680ae0638), doctors and lawyers and attorneys have been arguing for their
immediate release. Last year, over 80% of them had identified family in the US,
yet the Trump Administration has resisted letting them go. The time to act is
now. We can write Letters to the Editor, Op Ed pieces and call our
Representatives to demand these children be immediately released to their
families.
PUSH
COLLEGES TO GET THEIR STUDENTS REGISTERED TO VOTE: Together for 2020, a collaboration of
Massachusetts progressive groups, has a campaign called Ask Your College.
Whether we are students, parents, alumni/ae, or faculty or staff members, when
we sign up, we will receive an action kit to help us push our colleges to get
their students registered to vote. Let’s get started: https://togetherfor2020.org/action-recipe/ask-your-college-to-ask-every-student/
MAKE A MASK
FOR SPREAD THE VOTE: In an email
blast this week, Spread the Vote https://www.spreadthevote.org/ spread
the good news that Virginia has repealed its voter ID law, and also asked for
help obtaining non-medical masks for its volunteers and partners. If
we’re making masks and want to provide some to Spread the Vote, let’s
email jennifer@spreadthevote.org .
ELECTION/VOTING
HOW TO VOTE
BY MAIL IN EVERY SINGLE STATE: Voting my mail is becoming more of a
necessity. Let’s check our own states
and see what we have to do: https://politicalcharge.org/2020/04/10/how-to-vote-by-mail-in-every-single-state/
WISCONSIN:
JUDGE JILL WINS! Liberal
Wisconsin state Supreme Court challenger Jill Karofsky defeated conservative
Justice Daniel Kelly in the biggest battle of Wisconsin's April 7 elections. We
can read more at Politico. Postcards to Voters' volunteers wrote to
Wisconsin voters to help get out the vote for Judge Jill with Campaign
197. We can check out all of Wisconsin's election results at WISN. Thank you to everyone who helped Judge Jill
win this 10-year state supreme court seat and to Wisconsin voters who made
voting a priority.
VIRGINIA
ROCKS THE VOTE! Gov. Ralph Northam (D)
signs a series of legislation so Virginia will no longer require voters to
show a photo ID prior to casting a ballot and the state will join a handful of
states across the nation in making Election Day a state holiday. We can read
more about this legislation at The Hill. We can send "thank you's" to:
Governor Ralph Northam, PO Box 1475, Richmond VA 23218.
SUPPORT
THE POST OFFICE: The United
States Postal Service (USPS) is having solvency issues and the current
administration is unwilling to pass legislation to help save it. We can read
more at ABCNews. Over the past week, people have been
expressing an outpouring of support for the USPS by purchasing extra stamps.
(source: Simplemost). Rogan's List has noted that the USPS.com site has been
running slowly and the site says to allow for an extra few days of
delivery because of the increased demand. Let's purchase a sheet
of 20 stamps for $11 today to show our support for the
USPS. #SaveUSPS.
STATE/LOCAL
MI: EQUAL RIGHTS FOR LGBTQ CITIZENS: From one
of our own: Now that petitions in
Michigan can be done electronically, I urge my fellow Michiganders to sign this
to support amending Michigan’s Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination
against LGBTQ citizens. We do not have equal protections at this time. Help
pass Michigan's first #LGBTQ equal rights law and sign our citizens' petition
online! The process is easy, secure and takes about 3 minutes: https://www.fairandequalmichigan.com/sign
RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS/GROUP ACTIONS/TWEETSTORMS
WHEN WE
ALL VOTE COUCH RALLY: When We All Vote had such success with their first
Voter Registration Couch Party that they're doing another one! This one
is Mon, Apr 20, 7:15pm–8:00pm EDT. This
time they will focus on teaching us to reach out to our own personal
networks through “friend-to-friend” texting about registering to vote and
voting by mail. RSVP
now for When We All Vote’s Couch Party (h/t Chop
Wood Carry Water)
VIRTUAL
TOWN HALLS: Join the amazing new group Declaration for American Democracy and their coalition
of 150 member organizations for a series of virtual town halls to find out
how you can help protect our vote and defend our democracy in
November. The first one is Monday night. Special guests will
include--ahem--Senator Amy Klobuchar, Senator Ron Wyden, and Senator
Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). WOW! Sign up
for this or one of their many future Town Halls here. (h/t Chop
Wood Carry Water)
READING/WATCHING
Our
Pandemic Summer - https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/04/pandemic-summer-coronavirus-reopening-back-normal/609940/
'The
impossible has already happened': what coronavirus can teach us about hope - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/07/what-coronavirus-can-teach-us-about-hope-rebecca-solnit
Why Am
I So Tired? - https://parasolwellness.com/why-am-i-so-tired/
President
Barack Obama endorses Joe Biden For President - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-s3ANu4eMs
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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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