4/23/20
NATIONAL
ISSUES
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SPEAK OUT
AGAINST CONFISCATION OF SMALL BUSINESS AID BY LARGE COMPANIES: Large public companies, some with market values
of over $100 million took millions of dollars in loans from the Paycheck
Protection Program, causing the program to run out of money and leaving many
small businesses with nothing. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/21/large-public-companies-are-taking-small-businesses-payroll-loans.html?.
While it looks as if more money will be allocated in the latest coronavirus
relief package, this is not where we should be spending our tax dollars. Part
of the problem is that banks, who made $10 billion in loan processing fees,
prioritized the bigger companies since bigger loans brought in more fees. https://www.npr.org/2020/04/22/840678984/small-business-rescue-earned-banks-10-billion-in-fees.
Let’s ask our MoCs what safeguards they will put in the new relief package to
make sure this does not happen again, and let’s demand that these public
companies give back the loans to companies that really need them. We can find a
list of these companies here.
DEMAND A RELIEF PACKAGE THAT PROTECTS WORKERS, SAVES THE USPS, AND GUARANTEES ELECTION SECURITY: According to Indivisible, the current coronavirus relief package contains no money for the unemployed, no requirements for large companies to maintain payroll, no health care for the uninsured, and no hazard pay for essential workers. https://peopleoverprofits.indivisible.org/. It also has provisions to secure our elections before November, no aid for the postal service, and no state aid. Trump has taken positions against these items to make it harder to guarantee voting by mail as an option for November’s 2020 election https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-rejects-bailout-that-included-aid-to-usps-report-says-2020-4 and to pressure states to open up earlier. https://twitter.com/JoshDorner/status/1252015131439116289/photo/1. In fact, Attorney General Bill Barr recently said the Department of Justice would consider suing states who decide not to re-open. https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/21/840262570/barr-open-to-legal-action-if-governors-restrictions-go-too-far. Let’s tell our MoCs that we want to see much better legislation in the next package and let’s tell our governors that we want them to make decisions based on the advice of health experts, not economics.
SENATE
INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE AGREES: “The
Intelligence Community was correct in its assessment of Russian meddling in the
lead-up to the 2016 elections, a bipartisan report released by the Senate
Intelligence Committee on Tuesday concluded.” https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/493889-bipartisan-senate-report-reaffirms-intelligence-community-findings-that This was well-known before. Hopefully, this
bipartisan report will help more people to accept it. The bigger question is
what is being done by our members of Congress to make sure it does not happen
again this year. Let's all contact our senators and representatives, state
and federal, to ask what they are doing to assure safe, secure elections.
BANKS
PROFIT WHILE SMALL BUSINESSES FAIL:
Depending on the loan amount, banks took in 1% to 5% in fees from the amount
set aside for small business loans in the CARES Act—for a total of $10 billion
of taxpayer dollars; this despite the fact that these banks took no risks and
the loans had fewer requirements than is usual: https://www.npr.org/2020/04/22/840678984/small-business-rescue-earned-banks-10-billion-in-fees
Not surprisingly, some are suing, claiming that banks processed clients with
larger loans first because they stood to generate more money in fees, and by
the time they went to process loans from smaller clients, the program had run
out of money. Now that a new relief act has passed Congress, we must
insist that there be adequate oversight to prevent this criminal skimming by
the banks; let’s alert our MoCs and the Small Business Administration at
1-(800) 827-5722.
TOP SCIENTIST
REMOVED: Dr. Richard Bright, director of the
Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and a deputy assistant
secretary with the Department of Health and Human Services, was “removed from
his post because of his "insistence" that the government spend funds
on "safe and scientifically vetted solutions" to address the
coronavirus crisis, and not on "drugs, vaccines and other technologies
that lack scientific merit."” https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/22/842013672/federal-doctor-says-he-was-removed-for-resisting-unproven-coronavirus-treatments We know the Trump administration’s disdain
for science, however this country needs these qualified medical and scientific
experts to help us through this pandemic.
Let’s join Dr. Bright in his request for an investigation by the HHS Inspector General. Let’s also join in with Dr. Bright’s
attorneys who have asked the Office of Special Counsel that there be a stay of
his termination and that he be allowed to stay in his position pending the
investigations: (202) 804-7000/(800)
872-9855 or 1730 M Street, N.W., Suite 218, Washington, D.C., 20036-4505
PRESSURE
ICE TO FOLLOW JUDGE’S ORDER TO EVALUATE AND RELEASE ALL DETAINEES AT HIGH RISK
FOR COVID COMPLICATIONS: A
federal judge has ordered ICE to “identify and track” detainees and release
those who are most likely to suffer severe illness or death-threatening
complications from COVID. https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/21/839470122/federal-judge-orders-ice-to-consider-releasing-detainees-at-high-risk-for-covid.
While ICE has admitted to releasing some detainees, we know from experience
that they often ignore what the courts tell them to do. Let’s make sure that
our MoCs are aware and ask them what we can do to make sure that ICE complies fully
with this order.
COVID-19
RELIEF/VOTE BY MAIL: While the
Senate has approved the third coronavirus relief package, it still does not
include sufficient funding to ensure that all Americans can safely vote by mail
in the November election (https://bit.ly/3cFE9Yw).
The Brennan Center for Justice has published a breakdown of how much they estimate safe,
secure elections will cost during the pandemic, totaling approximately $4
billion (updated from their previously estimated $2 billion). Let's read
through the report, then contact our MoC and tell them that we only want them
to vote for the fourth relief package if it includes funding for both
nationwide vote-by-mail and funding for the USPS. We can find details about
legislation as well as a call script at 5calls: https://5calls.org/issue/usps-postal-service-covid-funding
DEPT. OF
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES MESS: Alex
Azar, the Secretary of DHHS, is a former drug industry executive. His credentials
for his current position were sketchy at best https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/365342-the-nomination-of-alex-azar-says-a-lot-about-our-broken-health-care-system
Azar’s mis-handling of the COVID-10 situation along with the dubious person he
recently named to lead the pandemic task force, once again has us questioning him. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-hhschief-speci/special-report-hhs-chief-azar-had-aide-former-dog-breeder-steer-pandemic-task-force-idUSKCN2243CE With this pandemic, we need top-notch experts
in the field taking charge, not a former dog breeder. Let’s tell Azar that it is time to up his
game and give us the expert leadership that is so needed at this time: https://www.hhs.gov/about/leadership/secretary/alex-m-azar/index.html
DO NOT CUT
PAY FOR FARM WORKERS: It is bad enough that farm workers were not
included in any COVID-related bill (https://fortune.com/2020/04/03/farmworkers-coronavirus-essential-workers-covid-19-agriculture/),
but it is even worse in that the White House is trying to “reduce wage rates
for foreign guest workers on American farms, in order to help U.S. farmers
struggling during the coronavirus, according to U.S. officials and sources
familiar with the plans.” https://www.npr.org/2020/04/10/832076074/white-house-seeks-to-lower-farmworker-pay-to-help-agriculture-industry UFW, MoveOn Kamala
Harris and tens of thousands of others are telling Trump's Department
of Labor not to cut farm worker wages during #COVID19. Let’s take
action here: https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/tell-the-department-of-labor-not-to-cut-farm-worker-wages-during-covid-19
E-RATE AND
COVID-19: More and more schools
are closing their buildings for the year, committing to months of distance
learning. This is a big problem for the more than nine million students across
the country who don't have reliable access to the Internet at home - who are
disproportionately students of color. https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2020-04-01/schools-rush-to-get-students-internet-access-during-coronavirus-pandemic
Advocates are trying to fix this problem by getting the FCC to remove
restrictions on their E-Rate program, which helps schools and libraries
connect to the Internet, and using it to help provide students with hotspots
and devices, with the assistance of Congress adding funding. Let's contact the FCC and our members of
Congress in support of this effort.
PEOPLE
DONATING STIMULUS CHECKS: “Brooke
Young has a mortgage, car payments, and credit-card bills, but she’s also lucky
enough to have a job at a time when record numbers of Americans are out of
work. So, when the $1,200 stimulus check hit her bank account, she donated some
of the money. Toi Cudworth, a credit union employee in Texas, decided to
give away most of her stimulus payment after she saw local news reports about
an estimated 10,000 people lined up in cars outside a San Antonio food
bank giveaway.” https://www.marketwatch.com/story/meet-the-people-who-are-giving-away-their-1200-stimulus-checks-its-not-really-my-money-its-our-money-2020-04-17
If we don’t
need our stimulus check, we can donate at least part of it to food banks,
food for seniors and more. Don’t forget our housekeeper, gardener, dog groomer
or hair stylist. These people take care of us, so we need to take
care of them.
STANDING
TOGETHER APART: Despite the recent anti-quarantine protests, the
majority of Americans support the stay-at-home policies. https://www.politifact.com/article/2020/apr/22/large-majorities-americans-support-keeping-stay-ho/
The dangers of opening too soon are grave, indeed. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/04/21/839456638/what-happens-if-u-s-reopens-too-fast-federal-documents-show-coronavirus-projecti
There is a new Facebook group called Standing Together Apart designed
to show solidarity and support for our frontline workers. The first post in the
group reads: “Many of us are inspired by the hospital workers who stood
defiantly before protestors and across the country, arms folded, mask in place,
standing strong. This is the stance of a counter protestor! We are much too
wise to gather in large groups, although we would love to. Imagine a place
where there were thousands of photographs of people in solidarity, arms folded,
and masks in place just like the brave nurses staring down evil. It would be a
way to show resolve whenever and wherever these photos can be displayed. (Jim
MacKenzie) Let’s join the group and add a picture of us standing in
solidarity for them! Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1491403604366906/
ELECTION/VOTING
HOW TO VOTE
BY MAIL IN EVERY SINGLE STATE: Voting by 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/
REQUEST
ABSENTEE BALLOTS: From
one of our own: If you support an all mail-in November election, better
to apply now for an absentee ballot in your home state than to wait for the
Federal government to help you. 2/3 of the states in the US do not require
voters to give a reason for wanting a mail-in ballot. To find out what your
state requires, just type the name of your state and the words “absentee
ballot” into your favorite browser, and you’ll be directed to a number of sites
that will help you apply for an absentee ballot. You can also find out what you
need to do in your state by going to vote.org. Please note that your friends and neighbors may
not have easy access to a computer or printer, so if you do, please help where
you can! Remember Wisconsin! Let’s not allow those who are willing to make us
expose ourselves and those we love to a deadly virus to prevail. Mail that vote
in! Let's check here: https://www.vote.org/
TEXTBANK
FOR CHRISTY SMITH: Christy
Smith’s CA-25 House Special Election campaign is in danger, recently downgraded
from “Lean Dem” to “Tossup”. With so much else going on, her Special Election
on May 12 is slipping through the cracks and her campaign is running low on
volunteers and money. Fortunately, we can help turn it all around from home by
Text Banking with the Grassroots Democrats. We can click here to text
bank for Christy Smith. We can get training if we need it, or, if we have
texted for Christy before, we can get started right away: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdS7879ESQIaX2Py7g_8GdDYn9zqRuBlYUzpcyDTRUJfldsAw/viewform
PHONEBANKING
FOR CHRISTY SMITH: Trump has thrown his full weight behind Mike
Garcia in the special election for the California 25th House Seat, endorsing
him by Tweet (https://www.dailynews.com/2020/04/21/trump-tweets-endorsement-of-gop-candidate-for-santa-clarita-congressional-seat/).
This makes it more challenging for Democratic candidate Christy Smith - but it
also gives us an opportunity to show Trump exactly how much his tweets are
worth. Let's help Christy win - we can sign up to make calls for her
from home here.
TEXT
OUT THE VOTE: Because of the
pandemic, we’re not going to be knocking on doors to get out the vote for
Democrats this year. This means that efforts like Text Out The Vote (TOTV) are
more important than ever. TOTV provides training and technical support. We text
through an app, so no one can see our phone numbers. Let’s sign up here
and start engaging voters through texting in this critical election year.
ENCOURAGE
FLORIDA TO VOTE BY MAIL: Postcards to Voters has
launched their next Florida vote by mail campaign. This time we will be
reaching voters in Gadsden County (Tallahassee area). Let's request 5
addresses today to contribute to this effort.
STATE/LOCAL
AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, PA, SC, TN - COVID-19 RESOURCES: Black Voters Matter has assembled pandemic
resource lists for their partner states. Let’s spread the word: https://www.blackvotersmatterfund.org/covid-19-resources
CA: MAKE A SHORT VIDEO TO HELP ADEQUATELY FUND OUR
SCHOOLS: The Schools and Communities
First (SCF) ballot measure would raise billions for CA schools by reforming
Prop 13 so that large corporations pay their fair share of property
taxes. Evolve CA, https://www.evolve-ca.org/ , dedicated
to passing the SCF, is looking for short (30 sec) videos from parents
just saying why we support Schools and Communities First, and what more school
money would mean for our families. These are super simple and easy to do with
our cell phone cameras. The goal is to make the campaign more real for people
who would benefit from the money that SCF will generate. These 30 seconds long
videos will have three main points: our name/where we’re from, how many kids we
have, and say specifically why we support SCF. We can film
ourselves (with or without our kids) and email the videos to Ben
at ben@evolve-ca.org (or if
we can't email the file contact him and he'll have us upload it). For more info about Schools
and Communities First, we can also check out the link below. https://www.evolve-ca.org/ballot-measure](https://www.evolve-ca.org/ballot-measure
MA: 2020 Census Virtual Phonebank: The Massachusetts
Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition is seeking volunteers to call members
of vulnerable and underrepresented communities in MA and urge them to complete
the Census. Let’s sign up to help: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2020-census-ma-virtual-phonebank-tickets-101132116884
MI: RELEASE ICE DETAINEES: The Interfaith Council for Peace &
Justice (ICPJ) has created an action item, amplifying the voices of
immigration advocates and medical professionals in asking for the release of
immigrant detainees from jails and detention centers. We can find a sample
letter, along with contact information for Congressional and State
representatives, as well as the governor and county commissioners. Let's check it out and get to work to keep our immigrant community
safe during this pandemic.
RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS/GROUP ACTIONS/TWEETSTORMS
GLAAD
LIVESTREAM: "Today,
GLAAD announced that it will host “Together in Pride: You are Not Alone,” a
livestream event on Sunday, April 26 at 8pm ET/5pm PT on GLAAD’s YouTube channel and Facebook Live. The
event will highlight the LGBTQ response to COVID-19 and amplify messages of
acceptance and affirmation to the LGBTQ community and people living with HIV
during this unprecedented time. The livestream will raise funds for LGBTQ
community centers that are members of CenterLink." Let's sign up to attend the livestream, and help support
LGBTQ community centers across the U.S.
ACLU
SMART JUSTICE CAMPAIGN WEBINAR: The ACLU Smart Justice campaign has decided
to host a digital day of action titled “Uniting for Pretrial Reform” in May. It
will be online, and it will be throughout the day on May 27th. Some of
the sessions include a Q&A with ACLU staff, a tele-townhall with multiple
legislators (on the topic of pretrial reform), a storytelling panel in the
afternoon, and throughout the day there will be multiples ways to engage our
elected officials. Here’s a registration
link to sign up! https://zoom.us/webinar/register/1415859446055/WN_Wb92iZkTRGmkTJlHepNcIg We want to make sure that people feel their
voices can be heard even during this new normal phase we currently we find
ourselves in and that we advocate for the most vulnerable of us.
READING/WATCHING/LISTENING
We Are
Living in a Failed State - https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/06/underlying-conditions/610261
My
Coronavirus - https://thetraumagal.com/2020/04/17/my-coronavirus/
Conservative
activist family behind 'grassroots' anti-quarantine Facebook events - https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/conservative-activist-family-behind-grassroots-anti-quarantine-facebook-events-n1188021
Roadmap
to Pandemic Resilience - https://ethics.harvard.edu/Covid-Roadmap
WATCH:
this emotive Irish video shows how important it is to #stayhome - https://www.image.ie/life/watch-this-emotive-irish-video-shows-how-important-it-is-to-stayhome-190143
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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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