10/20/20
Do
not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is
not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a
lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble,
necessary trouble. – John Lewis
NATIONAL ISSUES
DO NOT FILL SUPREME COURT OPENING NOW: Most
Americans want the Senate to hold off on filling the Supreme Court seat. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/most-americans-want-to-wait-until-after-the-election-to-fill-the-supreme-court-vacancy/
Let’s call the Judiciary Committee and
tell them we want them to wait:
202-224-5225. Then, let’s also
contact the GOP senators on this list who might be willing to vote no: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gXI2Z_nOswK0wrXDCj-uVpRe6QUfHuz9/view?usp=sharing
UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN ARE BEING DEPORTED: Journalist
Jeff Abbott tweeted
last Friday, “Today, the United States deported 58 Guatemalans to Guatemala
City from Mesa, Arizona on an ICEair chartered Swiftair (iAero) flight. 56 of
the 58 Guatemalans are unaccompanied minors.”
This may be part of a wide program.
“Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have started to implement
a policy that allows officers to arrest and rapidly deport undocumented
immigrants who have been in the US for less than two years, according to
internal emails and documents obtained by BuzzFeed News.” https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/hamedaleaziz/ice-fast-track-deportations Let’s
let our MoCs know that this is not how we treat children and that we want our
asylum program to be respectful and responsible to those seeking a better life.
REGULATION FRENZY: “Facing
the prospect that President Trump could lose his re-election bid, his
cabinet is scrambling to enact regulatory changes affecting millions of
Americans in a blitz so rushed it may leave some changes vulnerable to court
challenges.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/us/politics/regulatory-rush-federal-agencies-trump.html The article lists many of them with links to
each regulation, from changing independent contractors to biometric data to
bomb trains, where we can comment. Let’s
check it out, share it, and comment as we can.
SUBMIT A
PUBLIC COMMENT TO PROTEST NEW CHANGES IN ASYLUM-SEEKER RULES: The Department of Justice is once again trying to
strip due process rights from our asylum seekers by shortening deadlines for
submitting paperwork and disallowing fee waivers. These procedural changes will
make it even harder for asylum seekers to find a lawyer and have a fair hearing
in court. https://immigrationimpact.com/2020/09/24/asylum-15-day-filing-deadline/#.X425bdBKiyI
Comments on this proposal are due
this Friday, October 23. Let’s submit a comment here.
DARK MONEY
AND THE SUPREME COURT: Senator
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) used his time during the Barret Supreme Court
nomination hearings to school her, and us, about the disturbing influence of
dark corporate money interests on judicial appointments and court rulings. We
can watch here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjcXVKg43qY and
here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5-Snk_thAs.
Whitehouse has published a law review article that delves deeper into this
subject and makes recommendations for legislative reform, https://harvardjol.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2020/05/Sen.-Whitehouse_Dark-Money.pdf. Let’s
share the link to his law review article with our US Senators, and let’s tell
them that we want them to prioritize eliminating the influence of dark money on
US courts, including the Supreme Court.
TRUMP
CRITICIZES FAUCI: “People
are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots,” Trump said of Dr. Anthony
Fauci, declaring the government’s top infectious disease expert “a disaster.” https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/19/fauci-trump-wearing-mask-weakness-430114
He suggested it would create a controversy to fire him. Fauci, in an interview
with CBS’s “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fauci-no-surprised-trump-covid-19-media-appearances-60-minutes/),
had said he was not surprised by Trump coming down with the virus after he held
large events with no face coverings. Fauci also objected to the president’s
campaign using his words in a campaign ad. Unfortunately, Dr. Fauci now needs
federal protection due to threats on his life. Let’s support Dr. Fauci, who continues to
give us science-based help to protect us from Covid 19 despite trump’s misinformation
about the virus. We can send a thank you to him here via Email: oarinfo@nih.gov. or phone: Phone: 1-301-496-0357, or snail
mail: Mail: Office of AIDS
Research, Dr. Fauci, Office of the Director, National Institutes of
Health, 5601 Fishers Lane, Room 2F40,Rockville, Maryland
20852
PERDUE
MOCKS KAMALA’S NAME AT RALLY: “Republican
Sen. David Perdue mocked Sen. Kamala Harris on Friday, derisively
mispronouncing the Democratic vice presidential candidate's name during a
campaign rally in Georgia. “Kamala? Kamala? Kamala-mala-mala? I don’t know.
Whatever,” Perdue (R-Ga.) said at a rally in Macon, just before President
Donald Trump was set to take the stage.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/16/david-perdue-mocks-kamala-harris-name-429996 Let’s tell him he needs to apologize to
Kamala in the Senate. Senators need to respect each other. He doesn’t seem to
know how to do that, let’s remind him. Tweet him @Perduesenate
POSTCARDING OPPORTUNITIES: From one
of our own: Please use/share/distribute as you see fit. This week's material
should help motivate all of us to fight for a Blue Senate—as well as a Blue
House and a Blue White House. Click here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HU6DH8V6BzSywtT7dlTwPblRomt7B0DTL7b_WbsaYdU/edit?usp=sharing
ELECTION/VOTING
ELECTION - GET OUT THE VOTE (GOTV)
THE LAST WEEKENDS: There are only two more
weeks before Election Day, with three weekends to do all we can to get out the
vote. With this in mind, Swing
Left has launched The Last Weekends campaign, where we can call voters
in swing states in order to flip the Senate, turn state legislatures blue, and
elect Joe Biden. For its first weekend, Swing Left is asking for 10,000
volunteers to make 500,000 phone calls, or for each volunteer to make 50
calls. Let's check out these resources on how to phone bank, then sign up for
The Last Weekends: https://swingleft.org/p/the-last-weekends
HELP VOTERS CURE REJECTED BALLOTS: With so many people
voting absentee for the first time, and regulations varying for state to state,
it’s not surprising that ballots are being rejected. These ballots can be
fixed, the votes can still count and Swing
Left has a way for us to help by calling voters whose ballots have been
rejected cure the defect and make sure their vote counts. Shifts are
available from now through Nov 5, Spanish and Haitian Creole volunteers
needed for Florida calls, as well. We
can click here to learn more and sign up: https://swingleft.org/event/register/mobilize:318422?s=u
ELECTION – SUPPORT CANDIDATES
FLIP SOUTH CAROLINA! We can help by writing
to voters with Postcards to Voters' Campaign
225: Jaime Harrison for Senate. Jaime is running against incumbent
Lindsey Graham. (The Guardian: The upset of 2020?) Let's request some addresses
today to encourage SC voters to vote for Jaime.
SPEAKERS OF NON ENGLISH LANGUAGES NEEDED FOR VOTER
HOTLINE: Biden/Harris
campaign's National Voter Assistance Hotline needs speakers of Apache, Arabic,
Cantonese, Creole, French, Hindi, Hmong, Korean, Mandarin, Navajo, Punjabi,
Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, or Vietnamese. If we speak any of these
languages and can help out, we can sign up here: https://go.joebiden.com/page/s/Voter-Protection-National-Hotline
TEXTING FOR DEMS: There is still time to learn how to text in
support of Biden and down ticket as well.
We can sign up here for the DNC 2020
Victory Text Team: https://www.mobilize.us/2020victory/event/293967/
GET OUT THE VOTE IN MAINE: Senator Susan
Collins' PAC made contributions to two Maine candidates running for the state
legislature who support the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon (https://bit.ly/2HjwnZK, https://bit.ly/3o5FGxC).
While her campaign has claimed that they were unaware of the candidates'
ties to QAnon, social media accounts and interviews with the candidates show
that they have been openly supporting this dangerous conspiracy theory. This
kind of irresponsibility can have far-reaching consequences and is yet another
reminder that it is time to vote Senator Collins out, and vote candidate Sara Gideon in. Let's
set aside some time over the next two weeks to phone bank with NextGen Maine and Vote Save America to
encourage Mainers to GOTV. We can find the time slots and sign up here: https://www.mobilize.us/crooked/event/293707/
POSTCARDS TO VOTERS: As of press time, Postcards To Voters (postcardstovoters.org)
is still fortunate enough to be writing for Jaime Harrison for Senate in South
Carolina. If we are a PTV volunteer, let's pull out all the stops in
the days ahead to get as many written for Harrison as possible - are there
friends, family, neighbors that we can get engaged in some socially distanced
postcard-writing - or can we prepare sets for them with very clear directions
(a sample helps) and stamped postcards included?
TEXT WITH UNION WORKERS
FOR BIDEN/HARRIS: Join union workers from across
the country on Fridays at 4 PM ET as we come together to talk to text voters
about electing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris! Will need an internet connection
and a laptop or tablet. Let’s sign up here: https://www.mobilize.us/nea/event/348500/
POSTCARDING FOR
CANDIDATES: From one of our
own: "Postcarding isn’t over yet! There are some
campaigns that are still going strong and could use your help - like Jaime
Harrison’s race against Lindsay Graham for Senate in SC, and Phil Arballo’s
race against Devin Nunes for Congress, and Mike Espy’s race for Senate in
Mississippi. Additionally there are efforts afoot to get GOTV postcards to
Navajo and Hopi voters in Arizona, and to infrequent Democratic voters in the
swing states of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, and many more. Let’s check for more info at: www.tinyurl.com/dem-GOTV-postcards".
ELECTION - REGISTERING VOTERS
ELECTION - OTHER
FREE FOOD AND WATER FOR VOTERS IN LONG LINES: Chefs for the Polls
will serve nourishing meals on early voting days and Election Day at polling
places around the country. Let’s show our love to voters waiting in
long lines by supporting Chefs for the Polls: https://chefsforthepolls.org/
PRO CHOICE VOTER GUIDE HAS INFO & TOOLS: With Roe in danger, it
is time to make sure we elect as many pro-choice supporters as we can to help
protect a woman’s right to choose. Fortunately VoteProChoice has a guide to help
us with information in every race at the state and federal levels, as well as
information in all judicial races. County and local information will be
added soon as well. We can also find sample email copy, social media
graphics for download, and draft social media posts to use as we see fit. We can click here to find Vote Pro Choice
voter guides for our elections: https://www.voteprochoice.us/voter-guide
and toolkit:
https://www.voteprochoice.us/partner-toolkit
PROTECT THE RESULTS OF THE ELECTION: Even though Biden has a
comfortable lead in the polls, we need to continue to be vigilant about getting
out the vote and making sure to mobilize across the country if Trump attempts
to fight the results of a Biden win. Let’s check out Protect the Results
and sign up to attend or host a November 4 event in our area.
REPUBLICANS LEAD IN
REGISTERING SWING STATE VOTERS: As voter the two parties, especially in swing
states: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/voter-registration-republicans-swing-states-narrow-gap/
and https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2020/10/15/florida-republicans-cut-democrats-registration-edge-to-historic-low-1325644
Florida Republicans, for example, lag Democrats by just 134,242 registered
voters, down from 327,483 when Trump won Florida by fewer than 113,000 votes in
2016. Everything, in other words, now depends on turnout. Let’s
give Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse (R) the “Republican blood bath” he’s predicted:
particularly those of us in swing states.
Let’s postcard; write; call;
offer transportation to the polls; where it’s legal, gather and deposit ballots
for those who can’t go to the polls. Anything and everything!
PUMPKIN CARVING TEMPLATES: “Looking for another fun way to decorate your
home this Halloween and show your support for Trick or Vote? Try carving a
patriotic pumpkin!” Let’s check these out: https://trickorvoteusa.wordpress.com/2018/10/26/pumpkin-carving-templates/
STATE/LOCAL
ISSUES
AL, MS, PA, WI, WV, and WY: CALL FOR THE PROCESSING OF
BALLOTS BEFORE ELECTION DAY—According to RepresentUs, the
following states plan neither to process (that is, ready the ballot for
counting) nor to count ballots before election day: WY,WI, AL, MS, WV, PA. This
will cause extraordinary delays in getting an official ballot count from these
states. If we are in these states, let’s contact our Secretary of State:
https://www.nass.org/membership and
our State Legislators: https://openstates.org/ and
tell them that we are concerned with this state of affairs, that we want
processing to start immediately, and we want assurances that our votes will be
counted.
MA: GUARANTEE REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS BY SUPPORTING THE ROE
ACT: With
the likely confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, the right
for a woman to choose issues related to her health and her body hang by the
thinnest of threads. S. 1209, The Roe Act
will guarantee a full range of reproductive rights for women in Massachusetts,
but the bill has been stuck in Committee. Let’s sign this petition urging state leaders to pass the
Roe Act and contact our state legislators to urge their support.
MI: CHILD MARRIAGE: Child marriage is still legal in nearly
every state in the U.S. (https://bit.ly/3o5OFik).
In December of last year, Representatives Sarah Anthony, Graham Filler, and
Kara Hope introduced a package of bills (HB 4003, 4004, 4005)
that would remove exemptions for marriage in the state of Michigan before the
age of 18 (https://bit.ly/3jcvtLV).
Since then, the bills have made no movement, even though one of the sponsors,
Graham Filler, is the chair of the Judiciary Committee where the bills are
currently sitting. Let's contact Chairman Filler and tell him that we
want the Judiciary Committee to take up these bills immediately: Mailing
Address: N-1197 House Office Building, P.O. Box 30014, Lansing, MI 48909.
Phone: (517) 373-1778, Email: GrahamFiller@house.mi.gov.
Then, let's contact our own state MoC and tell them that we support these bills
and want them passed as soon as possible.
MI: MORE VOTER SUPPRESSION: A Michigan
appeals court ruled last Friday that ballots received after 8 p.m. on election
day cannot be counted, overturning a lower court that had ruled that ballots
postmarked by Nov. 2 and received within 14 days of the election could be
counted; maybe this new ruling will be appealed, but meantime, Jocelyn Benson,
the Michigan secretary of state, is urging voters to mail their ballots by
MONDAY, OCTOBER 26 to ensure they will be counted: https://www.npr.org/2020/10/17/924930037/court-says-michigan-cannot-count-ballots-received-after-election-day We
have Trump’s court appointments and DeJoy’s post office to thank for last
minute rulings like this one. Let’s
make certain that Benson’s office uses the print press, the radio, TV, the
phone, and social media to place urgent messages containing accurate
information about voting that will reach ALL those eligible to cast a ballot:
Secretary of State Benson, 888-767-6424 or 430 Allegan St, Austin Bld., 4th
floor, Lansing, MI 48918
RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS/GROUP
ACTIONS/TWEETSTORMS
UNBIAS YOUR BRAIN: "Are accusations of bias clogging your
news feed? Are your friends quick to point out that something is unfair – but
not as ready to explain why? Tune up your “fairness meter” to assess how
objective or biased content really is. Reevaluate your media, win the battle
for your brain!" Attend this
October 21 webinar hosted by Freedom
Forum, a non-profit that works to "raise awareness of First
Amendment freedoms
through education, advocacy and action." We can register here: https://www.freedomforum.org/event/the-bias-meter-the-battle-for-your-brain/
READING/WATCHING/LISTENING
Letter to my
Republican Dad on the 2020 Election - https://medium.com/@pjsimmons/letter-to-my-republican-dad-on-the-2020-election-19617719e573
Emergency Rooms And Health Clinics Become
Voter Registration Hubs - https://www.npr.org/2020/10/18/923754421/emergency-rooms-and-health-clinics-become-voter-registration-hubs
Why Do Nonwhite
Georgia Voters Have to Wait in Line for Hours? Their Numbers Have Soared, and
Their Polling Places Have Dwindled. - https://www.propublica.org/article/why-do-nonwhite-georgia-voters-have-to-wait-in-line-for-hours-their-numbers-have-soared-and-their-polling-places-have-dwindled
Good Guys Win - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrBLqhXlGY0&feature=youtu.be
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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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