4/22/19
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1. THIS WEEK IN CONGRESS: The House has district work periods (Source: House Calendar) and the Senate has state work periods until next Monday, April 29. (Source: Legislative Calendar) Let's check our MoC's websites to find out if they will be at a location/event where we can see them in person.
2. MUELLER REPORT & ELECTION SECURITY: From the League of Women Voters of the United States: “The Special Counsel’s report makes one thing crystal clear: a foreign government interfered in the 2016 presidential election….[the report] signals the need for immediate action to safeguard the integrity of our elections.” https://www.lwv.org/newsroom/press-releases/mueller-report-reveals-urgent-need-election-security The For the People Act would ensure transparency in political ads and fund cybersecurity to protect our elections, according to the League. The Act has passed the House; now it needs to pass the Senate. Not a single Republican senator has co-sponsored the bill. Let’s ask our Republican senators what they are waiting for, and let’s tell them to co-sponsor S.949.
3. MIDEAST PEACE: We are told the long-touted Kushner “peace plan” is soon to be revealed but meantime, on orders from the Trump administration, the US Agency for International Development is about to lay off most of its Palestinian aid workers—all but 14 of the current 100, most of them Palestinian or Arab citizens of Israel. Last year, Trump cut half a billion dollars in Palestinian aid, including money for cancer patients and food to address the Gaza Strip’s humanitarian crisis; early this year, the U.S. abandoned half-completed infrastructure projects in the West Bank: https://www.npr.org/2019/04/17/714269010/u-s-aid-agency-is-preparing-to-lay-off-most-local-staff-for-palestinian-projects Whatever Kushner’s “plan,” Trump seems to be doing all he can to ensure its failure, while his friend Netanyahu’s vow to annex the occupied West Bank makes any two-state solution unworkable: https://www.npr.org/2019/04/07/710799152/ahead-of-israeli-election-netanyahu-pledges-to-annex-west-bank-settlements Let’s let the White House and the head of the West Bank/Gaza mission know what we think of these efforts to make life in the occupied territories even worse than it now is: Monica Stein-Olson, Mission Director, USAID, 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv, Israel, 63903 or wbgpro@usaid.gov
4. REPUBLICAN SMOKE AND MIRRORS ON HEALTH CARE: “President Trump and Republicans in Congress say they are committed to protecting people with pre-existing medical conditions. But patients with cancer, diabetes and H.I.V., for example, would have significantly less protection under Republican proposals than under the Affordable Care Act. The proposals may provide some political cover for Republicans on an issue likely to figure prominently in the 2020 elections. But a close inspection of the Republican bills shows that their protections are undercut by a combination of imprecise language, explicit exceptions and “rules of construction” that explain how the legislation is to be interpreted.” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/20/us/politics/pre-existing-conditions-trump-administration.html Let’s continue to support ACA and let our MoCs know that improvement, not replacement is the best option.
5. GOP BACKBONE REVEALED: Republicans for the Rule of Law (a project of Defending Democracy Together) “is a group of life-long Republicans dedicated to defending the institutions of our republic and upholding the rule of law. We are fighting to make sure that the laws apply equally to everyone, from the average citizen to the president of the United States. We believe in fidelity to the Constitution, transparency, and the independence of prosecutors from politics.” This group is running an ad on Fox News asking the GOP to hold Trump accountable: https://www.newsweek.com/republican-group-will-run-ad-fox-news-urging-gop-hold-trump-accountable-no-1400970 Let’s ask our GOP MoCs to join in this group, then let’s thank the sponsoring group: info@ruleoflawrepublicans.com
6. PUBLIC COMMENTS NEEDED: From one of our own: Comments and actions week ending April 28, 2019 includes Oil and gas drilling off continental shelf, exposing miners to diesel exhaust, RoundUp comment period, definition of college credit hour, Nuclear power, ACA, Election integrity, Coal-fired plants, Energy efficiency standards, CFPB payday loans: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EuSINnPfOgLgjiNIrdHxcywPWkVTlTIY/view The Coastal Zone item is the scariest right now. And Trump issued an executive order allegedly about infrastructure but really further promotes oil and gas: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-promoting-energy-infrastructure-economic-growth/
7. 9/11 VICTIM COMPENSATION FUND ACT: It is hard to believe that there is any question of extending the legislation that serves to assist those in need who were involved in the 9/11 atrocities. H.R.1327 and S. 546 will do just that. https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-911-victim-compensation-fund-peter-king-carolyn-maloney-liz-cheney-20190415-nc34h4vfffcbpk7uf4x22avpqu-story.html Let’s let all our MoCs know that we have not forgotten the price these citizens have paid and that we want to support them for however long it is needed.
8. CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU (CFPB): After the 2008 financial crisis, the CFPB was created to protect citizens from and teach them about unscrupulous practices by financial services. As with similar appointments, Trump named Mike Mulvaney to the leadership position with the intended purpose to dismantle the unit. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/16/magazine/consumer-financial-protection-bureau-trump.html The new head, Kathleen Kraninger, doesn’t think people need protection, but rather that they should help themselves. https://www.latimes.com/business/lazarus/la-fi-lazarus-cfpb-kraninger-takes-consumers-to-school-20190419-story.html Let’s tell our MoCs that we want this office preserved to do the job it was established to do.
Election/Voting
1. TUESDAY ELECTION WATCH - POSTCARDS TO VOTERS CAMPAIGN: a) Campaign 152: Juanita Charles for TN State Senate. b) Campaign 154: Garrett McDaniel for Congress, SC. Let's vote if these campaigns are in our districts. Let's write 5 postcards for open Campaign 155: Marc Friedenberg for Congress, PA, to keep the momentum going.
2. MAY 2019 ELECTIONS: “There are a number of elections scheduled in May. If one of these is in your district, make sure you vote! For everyone else, please share this with your network to spread the word in order to increase awareness and turnout!” Let’s see where we are needed: https://politicalcharge.org/2019/04/17/elections-in-may-2019/
Other Actions
1. POSTCARDING WRITE-UPS: From one of our own that we can use with our own postcarding group or ourselves: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RbJ4Y6GBX-KcV1yLm8iZQSL_LKuEBs3rIxX7lcESR_4/edit?fbclid=IwAR1bUHrgnR1mIrDFWtRSIkNYc0qP_t6DtJyzqdSfz2eqNiablKjlC25dEjY Let’s start writing!
2. KREMLIN THREAT: “Sarah Kendzior and Andrea Chalupa are experts on authoritarian states who, years before the 2016 election, persistently warned America about the Kremlin’s threat to democracy in the US and around the world.” Their podcast, Gaslit Nationhttps://www.gaslitnationpod.com/ , takes a “ deep dive on the news, skipping outrage to deliver analysis, history, context, and sharp insight on global affairs.” Let’s poke around their website and see what they have to offer and listen and learn: https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/
3. AMY SISKIND'S WEEKLY LIST: Experts in authoritarianism advise us to keep a list of things subtly changing around us, so we’ll remember. Amy Siskind is keeping that list for us. Amy writes, "This week Attorney General William Barr publicly released a redacted version of the Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report, almost a month after he delivered it to Barr." Let's review Week 127.
4. VOTING MERCH: We know that Postcards to Voters does awesome work, but we can also support them by purchasing these cool “Be A Voter” shirts: https://postcardstovoters.org/Shop/ Let’s check them out and order some!
State Actions
1. ALL: SANCTUARY CITIES: Recently, Trump threatened to send border immigrants to sanctuary cities, as if it would be a punishment for being welcoming. As it turns out, that action could, quite possibly, be a positive move in helping these people seeking asylum stay in the U.S. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/trump-sanctuary-city-idea-could-help-migrants-stay-in-us Let’s check with our locale to see if we are a sanctuary city. If we are, let’s ask how we can help bring and welcome some of these immigrants to our area. If we are not, let’s find out how we can become one and take in some people trying to better their lives.
2. CA: PROTEST TODAY TO ASK PELOSI TO START IMPEACHMENT: Now that the Mueller Report is out, it up to House Democrats to act, but need to hear from us how urgently we want them to. We can give them a message by joining SOS America in San Francisco this coming Monday, April 22nd at 5:00 PM, for a peaceful protest in favor of Impeachment. The protest will take place outside of Speaker Pelosi’s office at 90 7th Street, Suite 2-800, San Francisco, CA 94103. Google map directions here: https://goo.gl/maps/ZA6phwj9iF8WZxZQ9. We will go up to Speaker Pelosi’s SF office at approx. 5:15 PM today to present her rep. with a letter urging her to initiate impeachment proceedings against Trump, then return to the sidewalk for more protesting. We can bring signs & banners and plan to arrive early to allow for weekday traffic and parking in nearby lots or garages.If we are interested or need more information, we can contact the organizer, Scott at sellner2@sbcglobal.net or on Twitter at @imscotte1. We can also share this with as many fellow resisters as possible. The bigger the turnout, the better. Thanks! We can also learn more about SOS America here: Website: https://www.sosamerica2019.com/ and Twitter: #SOSAmerica2019 (@SoSAmerica2019), and Facebook: #SOSAmerica2019
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to attend/organize
1. EARTH DAY TWITTERSTORM: It’s Earth Day, and the environment needs our support more than ever, so let’s join Action Together Network on Monday April 22 for a twitterstorm to celebrate Earth Day from 8-9 PM ET. When we click on this link, we will find pre-written Earth Day tweets to send out with just a few clicks: https://tinyurl.com/yx9pgq6v
Reading/Watching
1. The Best Hot Take On The Mueller Report Is From 1796 - https://theintercept.com/2019/04/20/mueller-report-george-washington-farewell-address/
2. The Mueller Report Headlines Across the Spectrum: Illustrating How Junk News Keeps Us In Parallel Universes - https://www.adfontesmedia.com/the-mueller-report-headlines-across-the-spectrum-illustrating-how-junk-news-keeps-us-in-parallel-universes/
3. Carole Cadwalladr, a journalist from the UK nominated for this year's Pulitzer Prize, talks about Facebook's Role in Brexit and the Threat to Democracy - https://www.ted.com/talks/carole_cadwalladr_facebook_s_role_in_brexit_and_the_threat_to_democracy
