7/23/20
NATIONAL
ISSUES
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SUPPORT
PREVENTING AUTHORITARIAN POLICING ACT: After a week in which heavily armed, unmarked federal forces in
unmarked vehicles have been grabbing protesters off the street in Portland,
Senators, Jeff Merkley, Ron Wyden have introduced legislation to stop the Trump
administration from using federal forces as a shadowy paramilitary against
Americans. https://www.kdrv.com/content/news/Merkley-and-Wyden-draft-legislation-to-halt-federal-paramilitary-occupations-in-Portland-571840371.html
The “Preventing Authoritarian Policing Tactics on America’s Streets Act,”
an amendment to the current defense bill would 1) Require individual and
agency identification on uniforms of officers and prevent unmarked vehicles
from being used in arrests.
2) Limit federal agents’ crowd control activities to federal property and its immediate vicinity, unless their presence is specifically requested by both the mayor and governor.
3) Require disclosure on an agency website within 24 hours of deployments specifying the number of personnel and purposes of deployment. 4): Make it illegal to conduct any arrests in violation of these rules. We can read the amendment in full here: https://www.merkley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/NDAA%20Crowd%20Control%2020.7.20.pdf A vote could happen SOON, so we can call our Senators and Representatives and ask them to vote YES, on the “Preventing Authoritarian Policing Tactics on America’s Streets Act” today. We can also sign here: http://act.boldprogressives.org/survey/petition-trump-paramilitary/? to show our support and then share this information on social media.
2) Limit federal agents’ crowd control activities to federal property and its immediate vicinity, unless their presence is specifically requested by both the mayor and governor.
3) Require disclosure on an agency website within 24 hours of deployments specifying the number of personnel and purposes of deployment. 4): Make it illegal to conduct any arrests in violation of these rules. We can read the amendment in full here: https://www.merkley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/NDAA%20Crowd%20Control%2020.7.20.pdf A vote could happen SOON, so we can call our Senators and Representatives and ask them to vote YES, on the “Preventing Authoritarian Policing Tactics on America’s Streets Act” today. We can also sign here: http://act.boldprogressives.org/survey/petition-trump-paramilitary/? to show our support and then share this information on social media.
IS IT
FASCISM YET? It is crucial
that we not let up the pressure to keep armed, unidentified, camouflage-garbed
paramilitary forces off the streets of US cities; Trump now has his eye on
Chicago, NYC, Philadelphia, Baltimore: https://www.wnyc.org/story/customs-and-border-protection-officers-criticized-for-being-in-portland
We have seen these tactics in Nazi Germany, in Argentina, in Chile and
elsewhere. We can sign this petition: https://publiccitizen.salsalabs.org/oppose-trump-secret-paramilitary-forces-portland/index.html or
we can contact the Acting Commissioner of Customs & Border Patrol, whose
forces are now in Portland: Mark Morgan at 202-344-1040 or 877-CBP-5511
or 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington DC 20229
TRUMP TRIES
TO ALTER CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATION: Angry at the Supreme Court decision barring a citizenship
question from census forms, Trump, who may never have read the Constitution, on
Tuesday issued an memo intended to alter the allocation of congressional
representation, claiming that the president has final say over transmitting the
final census report to Congress and that the Constitution does not explicitly
define which persons must be included in determining apportionment; the memo
demands that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross indicate in his legally-required
report on the Census how many undocumented immigrants Trump can leave out of
the apportionment equation, using records kept by Homeland Security, State, and
Social Security among others: https://www.wnyc.org/story/with-no-final-say-trump-wants-to-change-who-counts-for-dividing-up-congress-seats or https://thehill.com/latino/508314-trump-aims-to-bar-undocumented-immigrants-from-counting-toward-house-representation or https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2020-07-21/trump-memo-seeks-to-bar-immigrants-here-illegally-from-census-count Let’s
tell these agencies to refuse to cooperate: DHS 212-361-8000; State
202-647-6575; Social Security 800-772-1213
WITHOLD ALL
FUNDING FROM DHS UNTIL TRUMP STOPS SENDING UNINVITED TROOPS INTO CITIES: After harassing and inappropriately arresting
protesters and provoking violence in Portland, Trump is now planning to send
DHS troops into Chicago, and has threatened to send them into other
“Democrat-run” cities, as well. https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/trump-send-federal-agents-chicago-cities-71897784.
Many Congressional leaders including House Leader Nancy Pelosi have responded
that these stormtroopers must be stopped. Mayors across the country have been writing to Congress
that they must find a way to end this practice immediately. Since Congress
still holds the power of the purse, let’s ask our MoCs to completely to hold
up all appropriations until this has stopped, and to defund DHS, which has
clearly gone rogue and is no longer fulfilling its mission of protecting the
American people.
TELL THE SENATE TO PASS THE HEROES ACT AND PROTECT THE VOTE: Two months ago, the House passed the HR 6800, The HEROES Act, which would provide among other types of COVID-19 relief, $3.6 million to expand vote-by-mail and allow districts to make accommodations for safer in-person voting. Like most progressive bills, this has languished in Mitch McConnell’s graveyard. It’s time to call out the Senate for not recognizing the racial implications of denying every citizen in America the right to safely vote. COVID rates have been higher in Black and Brown communities, and people in these districts have had to brave long lines and substandard polling locations. The Republican-sponsored Senate alternative to the HEROES Act focuses on reducing business liability for worker exposure to COVID and tax incentives to get people to return to work. It does nothing about election security. Let’s tell our Senators that we consider the HEROES Act a crucial piece of legislation and that any alternative COVID relief bill proposed must include the same number and types of safeguards to protect the vote.
NURSES
STILL AT RISK: Nurses all over
the US are still dying for lack of the personal protective equipment that would
save them from Covid-19. https://abcnews.go.com/Health/doctors-nurses-warn-protective-gear-shortage-coronavirus-surges/story?id=71778380
Let’s join National Nurses United (NNU) to demand that our senators support an
OSHA emergency temporary standard to protect workers during the pandemic and
the creation of a comprehensive and transparent medical supply chain system —
including full use of the Defense Production Act--to rapidly scale up domestic
production of PPE. Both of these measures are included in the HEROES Act and
must be included in the next stimulus package. NNU has made it easy to
call our senators: https://act.medicare4all.org/signup/call-your-senators-heroes-act
NATIONAL LAWYERS
GUILD ANNOUNCES FEDERAL DEFENSE HOTLINE: “The National Lawyers Guild
(NLG) National Office is launching a hotline for activists and lawyers to
report incidents of federal repression, such as FBI “door-knocks” at activists’
homes, grand jury investigations and subpoenas, and any other federal law
enforcement efforts to undermine civil rights, including federal grab squads
and the use of unidentified federal agents to police protests. The line is live
at: 212-679-2811.” Let’s learn
more here and share what we learn: https://www.nlg.org/nlg-announces-federal-defense-hotline/
GET TO WORK
FOR THE USPS: Let's not take
this institution for granted. It's in trouble. And as Celeste Pewter says, the
way we can really help the Postal Service is "1. Call your Senators and
demand a vote on the Heroes Act (H.R. 6800), and 2.
Keep up the calls; it can't be a one and done. We have to keep up maximum
pressure. Make calls daily." She includes more details on the bill and how
it helps the USPS in this Twitter thread, viewable here. https://twitter.com/Celeste_pewter/status/1285009467336056832?s=20
GRATITUDE
TO THE US CONFERENCE OF MAYORS: "The
United States Conference of Mayors is the official non-partisan organization of
cities with populations of 30,000 or more,” https://www.usmayors.org/the-conference/about/ Its
leadership is made up of both Democrats and Republicans. Together, the
Conference issued a statement opposing the deployment of federal law
enforcement to cities. It reads, in part, “Policing is a local and state
function. For the federal government to come uninvited, not coordinate
with local or state officials, and arrest their residents without probable
cause, is an unprecedented and dangerous threat to our democracy and to the
future of our great country. We call on the President and his
Administration to cease and desist this activity.” https://www.usmayors.org/2020/07/21/statement-u-s-conference-of-mayors-voices-opposition-to-deployment-of-federal-law-enforcement-to-cities/ Let’s
express our gratitude and support to the US Conference of Mayors, 1620 I St NW,
Washington, DC 20006, 202-293-7330
ELECTION/VOTING
2020
ELECTION CALENDAR: This
resource is searchable by date and state - https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/2020-state-primary-election-dates.aspx
STATE/LOCAL
CA: CALL 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗦: 𝗗𝗢𝗡'𝗧 𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗡𝗨𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗞: AARP
California has 3,184 COVID-19-related deaths in California nursing
homes and long-term care facilities, with more to come. Rather than hold these
facilities accountable, a new Bill, AB 1035, could shield them from
accountability, granting immunity from COVID related liability to businesses
with 25 or fewer employees, including residential care facilities for the
elderly. Nursing homes must be held accountable for the health and safety of
our most vulnerable Californians, so AARP California State Director Nancy
McPherson has sent a letter to Senators Hannah-Beth Jackson & Andreas
Borgeas, Chair and Vice-Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee asking them to
OPPOSE AB 1035. We can read the full letter HERE: http://spr.ly/6182GVhlo then call our
State Senators all tell them to vote keep our vulnerable nursing home seniors
safe by voting NO on AB 1035
RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS/GROUP ACTIONS/TWEETSTORMS
LEARN
EFFECTIVE, SAFE NON-VIOLENT DIRECTION ACTION TACTICS ONLINE TODAY: As Trump widens his authoritarian attacks on
peaceful protesters to include more cities, it’s a good time to learn how to be
effective and stay safe as we stand up for justice on the streets. Extinction
Rebellion NYC https://www.facebook.com/xrnyc/ is
offering an online training TODAY in Non Violent Direct Action strategies and
tactics to help prepare us to safely take to the streets and show solidarity
through action. We can sign up here
for Non-Violent Direct-Action Training, held TODAY at 6:30 Eastern Time:
10,000
CALLS TO CONGRESS TO SAVE THE POST OFFICE: To continue functioning, and to get our mail-in ballots counted, our
imperiled US Postal Service needs billions in federal funding, https://www.npr.org/2020/05/30/865258362/as-more-americans-prepare-to-vote-by-mail-postal-service-faces-big-challenges ; https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/14/834336341/hoping-to-save-the-postal-service-people-rush-to-buy-stamps .
US Mail Not for Sale, the worker-led campaign to save the USPS sponsored by the
American Postal Workers Union and the National Association of Letter
Carriers, https://usmailnotforsale.org/about/ ,
is holding a Call-in Day of Action today July 23. They need our
help to make 10,000 calls to pressure Congress to pass $25 billion in COVID-19
relief for the USPS. Let’s sign up and save the Post Office: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/usmnfs-sign-up-for-the-senate-call-in?source=website
SURPRISE
RETIREMENT PARTY: Field
Team 6 wants us to join in to Tweet, post, 'Gram, TikTok & text up a
social storm to roll out their first virtual voter registration drive on
Saturday, July 25 from 5-6 pm PT. Let's get the VOTERIZER.org link out to every
eligible unregistered American......and have some online fun sending Donnie
into retirement! Let’s get a little more information and sign up: https://www.mobilize.us/ft6/event/287772/?refcode=newsletter07162020
LEARN
DIGITAL ORGANIZING BASICS: The
Campaign Workshop is offering
a series of free workshops this summer, starting with Let's Get Digital w/
Sophie Thurber on July 30. In this workshop, we will learn digital
fundamentals and find creative ways to engage with our targeted groups, using
different platforms, creating a strong online presence and integrating digital
communications into our strategies. We can learn more and sign up for the
Campaign Workshop’s Digital Organizing webinar here:
TRAINING
TO WIN 2020: “Got Covid
Blues? Ready to pivot to virus free, online electoral action? Training to Win
2020 has got you covered. We're here to help you navigate pandemic-induced
challenges in traditional grassroots and field organizing, to boost the total
number of voters reached and volunteers recruited in 2020.” We can learn more and sign up for this August 1st (10:00am to 1:00pm PDT) free
virtual training here: https://www.mobilize.us/training2win2020/event/287118/
FREE
ACTIVISIM 101 WEBINAR: Activism 101 is a free, one-hour (ish)
webinar for folks who have very little to no experience with activism and/or
political action. It’s a survey course with one goal: to give those who are
furious and sickened by the state of our, bite-sized actions they can take to
help vote Trump out, flip the Senate, win a bunch of down-ballot races, and
basically make good things happen in November and beyond. Workshop will be led
by Jessica Craven who is a mom, veteran activist, elected member of the Los
Angeles County Democratic Party Central Committee, legislative chair of her
Moms Demand Action chapter, and the author of daily actions email “Chop Wood,
Carry Water.” Let’s grab a few
friends and inquire about times: cwcwdailyactions@gmail.com
READING/WATCHING/LISTENING
The
states at the center of the 2020 voting crisis - https://www.axios.com/states-to-watch-2020-voting-6211b139-656d-432c-adc4-61d067121558.html
Why is
there a coin shortage in the U.S.? - https://fortune.com/2020/07/18/why-is-there-a-coin-shortage-in-us-nationwide-how-did-it-happen-when-will-it-end-what-to-know-kroger-walmart-cvs/
New
York Times investigation of how ICE helped to spread COVID-19 - https://www.cbsnews.com/video/coronavirus-new-york-times-investigation-ice-helped-spread-covid-19/
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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
