10/26/18
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White House contact:
https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/white-house
********************************
Many newspapers, including New York Times and Washington
Post require subscriptions, but without one we can see a few articles
each month. We can also check with our
local libraries to find out how to get online access through them.
1.
Rhetoric that encourages and condones negativity
and violence has been a mainstay of Trump. It is difficult to absorb the
enormity of what took place in our nation on Wednesday and Thursdays as bombs
were discovered en route to several prominent Democrats (including the Clintons
and the Obamas) and media outlets. While we might engage in the magical
thinking that Trump could rise to this occasion, he cannot. He went forward
with a rally on Wednesday night where participants chanted “lock her up” about
Hillary Clinton and then sent a disturbing tweet on Thursday morning blaming
the press for these woes:
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/413050-trump-rally-chants-lock-her-up-after-in-wake-of-bomb-threats-to and https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/413073-trump-a-big-part-of-anger-in-politics-comes-from-purposely-false-and and
https://www.apnews.com/c4421c77c49e4664bad4e21dfe457843
We know this situation is not going to
improve and is likely to worsen. Let’s take the 11 days in the lead-up to the
midterms to “leave it all on the field” on every front we have access to in
terms of getting out the vote. Let’s also let our MoC know that they are
abetting the descent into authoritarianism.
2. From
“wasn’t me” to “fist-fight gone awry” to “premeditated”, Saudi Arabia keeps
changing their story about the murder of US resident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-khashoggi-turkey/in-change-of-tack-saudi-arabia-says-khashoggis-murder-premeditated-idUSKCN1MZ128 Let’s
let our MoC know that in spite of daily Trump chaos, we are not losing sight of
this story and we expect a sufficient reaction from the United States to this
blatant attack on the press.
3. During
this Senate home work session, the Senate Judiciary Committee has been quietly
meeting, but not with all the members and without any Democrats. "Senator Feinstein never agreed to
hearings during an extended recess, which has never happened before and which
clearly interferes with the state work period. The Judiciary Committee is the
only committee holding hearings during recess," https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/412976-controversial-trump-judicial-nominee-advances-after-two-senators-attend
Let’s tell our MoCs that this is not
acceptable and that we want full committee representation at these confirmation
hearings.
4. In
a move that manages to be shocking but not surprising, Trump wants to send 800
troops to the border of Mexico to await the group of asylum seekers who are
currently 1100 miles away from that border and are traveling on foot:
https://www.apnews.com/e7ffd2d5764244cdb1d1474bd895a863 Let’s
let Secretary of Defense James Mattis know that this use of our troops is
abusive of their time and of our asylum process: https://www.defense.gov/Contact/Mailing-Addresses/
5. Today
is the last day to make public comment on the EPA's proposed rule change to roll
back regulations regarding fuel economy, once again lessening our
protections. https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2018/09/25/trump-fuel-economy-proposal-dearborn-hearing-t/1422632002/
Let's use this link to share our comments to help stop this change: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0283-0756
6. Vice
President Mike Pence has gone on record to support the president's claim that
there are people of Middle East descent on the caravan that is supposedly
making its way from Central America to the border. http://www.masspoliticsprofs.org/2018/10/24/the-experts-and-question-one/?fbclid=IwAR0K0crYZl6Z_n9a4uqDMuhXr3pVvKqK-m8vyr2ivbNhtTlRWd0rrgRhlcA.
Let's call out the president and vice president for their geographical
ignorance and tell them to look at a map. They should stop his deliberate
divisiveness and fear-mongering fueled by false statements. Let's also make
sure to ask our MoCs to make sure that anyone arriving at our border to seek
asylum is treated humanely in accordance with U.S. law.
7. The
new director of the EPA, Andrew Wheeler, has been working on 28 deregulatory
actions aimed at promoting fossil fuels, and they are in the process of
developing 49 more. http://www.post-gazette.com/business/powersource/2018/10/24/Andrew-Wheeler-oil-and-gas-industry-EPA-Marcellus-Shale-Coalition/stories/201810240110. Let's raise our concerns with our MoCs and
ask them to draft legislation to protect the regulations that are currently in
place.
8. We
have only until Election Day, November 6, to comment on the proposed rule
“Apprehension, Processing, Care, and Custody of Alien Minors and Unaccompanied
Alien Children,” which would give the government a blank check for jailing kids
in family detention. https://www.npr.org/2018/09/09/646018019/update-on-separated-children-and-the-flores-agreement
Let’s not let anxiety over the election
keep us from submitting our comments on this critical rule change here:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/09/07/2018-19052/apprehension-processing-care-and-custody-of-alien-minors-and-unaccompanied-alien-children
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/09/07/2018-19052/apprehension-processing-care-and-custody-of-alien-minors-and-unaccompanied-alien-children
9. When
we hear that Trump has lied we accept it as status quo. It is happening
more and more, and the consequences are getting worse.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/fact-checkers-identify-increasing-rates-of-false-claims-by-the-president
It appears that this is how Trump works, but it is not how our government is
supposed to work. Our MoCs, particularly our GOP MoCs, are responsible
for this being allowed to continue. Let's contact all our MoCs and ask
why they allow this to continue and what they are going to do about it.
Election 2018 – General
1.
The Georgia NAACP filed complaints Tuesday with
state election officials alleging that some voting machines mistakenly
showed votes cast for Democrat Stacey Abrams registering for her opponent
Republican Brian Kemp. Let's read more at USAToday.
We need to be aware of and alert to this type of voter
disenfranchisement.
2.
Resistance Labs
has plans to send over a million GOTV texts in the next 2 weeks. They use
Hustle, which is the easiest texting platform, and can be done from your phone.
They need a LOT OF TEXTERS! Please sign up! (You
can also fill out a form to
host a texting party and they'll send you everything you need to get started.
These guys are ORGANIZED!!) (from Chop Wood Carry Water)
3.
From one of our own: The Kansas
Democratic Party is combating this suppression by raising funds and
recruiting volunteers to ensure all eligible Dodge City voters are able to
vote and have their vote counted. To support this effort, please go to: http://KansasDems.org/DodgeGOTV
4.
Have a little extra time, or a few dollars to
put toward (re)enfranchising eligible voters? Spread the Vote is spearheading
direct action on the ground in Virginia, Tennessee, Florida, Texas, and the
current big bad daddy of voter suppression, Georgia (https://www.spreadthevote.org/volunteer/).
Pick a state, then help its besieged voters get their voices heard in
these crucial last days before Nov. 6th!
5.
We are into the final stretch to write postcards
to voters. The last day to mail in time for the Midterms is next Tuesday, Oct.
30. We have another opportunity to get out the vote in Georgia with Postcards
to Voters' Campaign 128: Abrams and Parr. Stacey Abrams is running for
governor in one of the nation's hottest races. Cynthia Parr is running for a
critical school board position in Cobb County (Marrieta area). Let's check out
this campaign and the others currently open at Postcards to Voters and write 5 postcards for one
campaign or more.
6.
Now available: Postcards to Voters' "Voting is my
Super Power" buttons on Amazon. A set of 4 buttons is $7.75.
Sales will help support Postcards to Voters' operating costs. Great gift for
all our activist friends. Supplies are limited! Let's order a set today.
7.
The 2018 ProChoice
Voter Guide is now available. We can use our address to discover which of
our candidates share our progressive,
prochoice values. It features endorsements
from over 150 organizations and partners.
We can also use and share this social media toolkit: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vSDuZl7KDlD3LvpXnK2_7b1-5P026X05p-ln5ehPsJ4/edit
8.
If we need a ride to the polls or voter ID
office, know someone who does, or can give people rides, we can sign up at
Carpool vote to be matched with riders or drivers. https://carpoolvote.com/ We can also help by signing up to join the
campaign, supported entirely by a network of volunteers who believe
passionately that democracy is for everybody.
There are a variety of roles for people with any amount of time to give.
This could involve joining the volunteer pool who take on small tasks that help
the project take big leaps forward. If we’re a web developer, we could
contribute to the website on GitHub. There are several strategic roles for
those who want to remain actively involved until Election Day. We can
complete this quick
questionnaire if we’d like to get involved.
Election 2018 – By State
1.
ALL: Upcoming voting dates and deadlines: by date:
https://goo.gl/gjFv2u by
state: https://goo.gl/7gTzvE
2. ALL:
If we are not sure where to start looking for information about
candidates, issues, etc., we can check this out: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NCYjsm3xKb79z19Gx7PWt5Zs9lkLiTqglHBHYs9mlX8/edit
3.
KS: With races so close, it’s all about turnout
and every vote counts. Fortunately, our friends at Indivisible Kansas
City have a method that boosted participation by over 25% in the
primary, the online tool for the Voter to Voter project. We
can use this website to connect with the everyday voters we know.
As an ambassador for our team, we’ll have a dashboard where we can
identify friends, family, or peers, and guide them through the process of
becoming engaged voters. The tool will let us keep track of their progress, and
will provide tips, timely messaging, and optional tasks to help us get them to
vote. Here's how we get involved:
A) We can find Indivisible KC in the list on the website, click,
and join their efforts, B) If you've heard about Voter to Voter but want to
learn more, visit our Be A Voter
website and sign up to get an overview
training of the effort and this tool, C) If you have questions, contact Lindsay
at
lindsay@mainstreamcoalition.org or
call (913) 220-1400. If we don’t want to wait, see these simple
instructions and click here to sign up for MainStream’s Team! If we have any questions, we can learn more about Voter to Voter at our
website.
Other Actions
1. If
we don't already follow her, Michele of Small Deeds Done's Weekly Pep Talk and
Action List has some encouraging words for us. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OuMMNWN4WE&feature=youtu.be
We
can find her weekly newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/9cb6054d50e3/your-weekly-pep-talk-action-list?e=4a9124dbd5
2. Right
now, it's definitely all about the midterms, but we should remember that the
fight to take back our democracy will not end there whether there's a blue wave
(or not). So, let's invest our time and money (if we can) into this worthwhile
and hopefully successful project: "Future Now Fund is building the
power to improve Americans’ lives – by winning state legislative majorities and
working with them to achieve goals for the common good. We win state
legislative majorities by focusing on strategic races and chambers,
crowdfunding with Giving Circles, and providing substantial-on-the-ground
support. Future Now [its partner organization] is developing the most
robust state legislative support system ever built, to help state legislators
achieve meaningful results." Let's find out more and sign up to help
here: https://www.futurenow.org/about
3. While
Republicans are basing their midterm election hopes on the booming economy,
let's remind our friends and family who are undecided that wages are
flat, https://thehill.com/policy/finance/401341-wages-drop-despite-economic-boom.
and the stock market recently lost all its gains from 2018. Some economists are
attributing this to the president's aggressive tariff wars.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/trumps-trade-dares-have-vaporized-the-dows-gains-for-2018/2018/06/29/5d54a3f8-7967-11e8-80be-6d32e182a3bc_story.html?utm_term=.0f037933353a
This is an important point to raise with voters as we get to the final
days before the midterms.
4. The
internet, especially Twitter, is filled with completely unsubstantiated claims
that the pipe bombs sent to former and current Democratic leaders are really
“false flag” tactics undertaken by left-wing anti-fascists:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2018/10/24/instant-inevitable-cries-false-flag-after-bomb-threats-targeting-clintons-obamas-cnn/
Before this dangerous narrative gains any more credibility, let’s take to
Twitter, Face Book, and any other internet vehicles we use to point out that no
one—perhaps especially the alt-right—knows anything yet about either the
viability or the source of these bombs.
5. Enrollment
for ACA has been shortened from 90 days to 45 days. You can register at this
link beginning November 1 through December 15. Mark your calendars. https://www.healthcare.gov
6. A
new 72-page report conducted by the White House Council of Economic Advisers
published on Tuesday warned Americans of a socialist “comeback in American
political discourse” and took aim at discrediting Medicare for All. The
White House report compares Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren to
communist leaders. Let's read more about this government-sponsored
propaganda at Newsweek.
We need to be aware that these types of reports are being published and our
taxes are paying for them.
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to attend/organize
1.
January
19, 2019 is the date of the third Women’s March with the main event to be
held in Washington, D.C. with sister marches all over the country. Let’s find more information here: https://www.womensmarch.com/2019
States
Reading/Watching
1.
White men
can be terrorists, too - http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-picciolini-white-supremacists-20181007-story.html
2.
Trump
tries to spur Republicans to vote with false claims and dystopian warnings of
Democratic 'mob' rule - http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-false-claims-election-20181023-story.html
3.
Guns Have
Divided America. Here’s What Happens When 245 People Try to Meet in the Middle
- http://time.com/5433987/guns-common-ground/
