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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.
By a vote of 216 to 212, the House narrowly passed the
budget resolution that gives a fast-track to Republican tax “reform”: http://www.npr.org/2017/10/26/560215916/congress-paves-way-for-tax-legislation-by-passing-budget-resolution
The narrowness of that vote suggests that some of our Republican MoCs may be
susceptible to arguments that this tax “reform” serves the wealthy and not the
majority of us. The battle moves to the Trump Tax Plan, which they plan to have
in place by December 23, introducing it in the House Nov. 1, sending
it to Ways and Means Committee Nov 6 and to the Senate by Nov.
13. We need to apply pressure on
our representatives in Congress to consider who this “reform” will profit. We
can read MoveOn's Ben Wikler's expert analysis: https://twitter.com/benwikler/status/923573702092099584 and Chad Bolt of Indivisible's take: https://twitter.com/chadderr/status/923616697189314560
We can 1) use MoveOn's Toolkit: .https://notonepenny.org/,
2) contact members of the House Ways and
Means Committee: https://waysandmeans.house.gov/subcommittee/full-committee We stopped the ACA Repeal, and, if we fight
hard, we can stop this too.
2.
While it is refreshing to hear some Republican senators
begin to speak out against Trump, it is still important to make sure that their
actions, and votes, follow their words. Vox has a great article, which details
how these senators should band together in order to gain leverage and get good
legislation passed http://bit.ly/2yKqEDX For
instance, rather than freely voting to pass the banking bill, Senators Corker,
Flake, and McCain could have used their votes as leverage to get crucial
bipartisan legislation passed. Let's call these senators and remind them that
they can and should use their influence and positions to work across the aisle;
something that has rarely been done in this administration. Senator McCain: (202) 224-2235 Senator
Flake: 202-224-4521 Senator
Corker: 202-224-3344
3.
Yesterday, Trump declared the opioid problem a national
emergency and said that the border wall would help curtail the access to the
drugs. http://time.com/4999244/opioid-crisis-donald-trump-criminals-drug-companies-mexico-china/ Politifact checked the accuracy of that and
found that Trump’s own Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid
Crisis did not recommend a wall. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2017/oct/26/will-border-wall-stop-drugs-coming-united-states/ Let’s make sure our MoCs know here’s another
reason we don’t need the wall.
4.
Representatives Ro Khanna and Walter Jones' bipartisan
legislation to withdraw the United States Armed Forces from Yemen is slowly
proceeding in in the House, but it still needs to be passed by the Committee on
Foreign Affairs. Let's familiarize ourselves with the bill: http://nyti.ms/2yWyeu2
, then contact the chairman and ranking member and ask them to support H.Con.Res.
81: Directing the President pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers
Resolution to remove United States Armed Forces from unauthorized hostilities
in the Republic of Yemen. Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce: (202) 225-4111 Ranking
Member Eliot Engel: (202)
225-2464
5.
“A 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy has been
detained by federal immigration authorities in Texas after she passed through a
Border Patrol checkpoint on her way to a hospital to undergo emergency gall
bladder surgery. The agents allowed her to continue to Driscoll Children’s
Hospital, the family said, but followed the ambulance the rest of the way
there, then waited outside her room until she was released from the hospital.
Representative Henry Cuellar, a Democrat who represents the Laredo area in
Congress, called on Wednesday for the girl to be released back to her
family.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/25/us/girl-cerebral-palsy-detained-immigration.html
ICE teams should be working to get drug groups and criminals, not wasting
their time and our money chasing after a sick little girl. We can join Rep
Cuellar and demand the release of this child. Let’s call our reps no
matter where you live and ask them to pressure ICE to release this little
girl. We do not agree with separating children from loving families.
6.
The Department of Interior has announced a proposal to
drastically increase entry fees into seventeen national parks http://n.pr/2zQu0FQ While
it currently costs $25-$30 per vehicle year-round, the new fees would increase
to $75 per vehicle, during a five-month peak season making our national parks
less accessible to many of us. Meanwhile, the Trump administration's proposed
budget for 2018 would cut $296.6 million from the National Park Service
(NPS) https://on.doi.gov/2z8W224 We
have until November 23 to submit public comments protesting this
rate hike. National parks should be accessible (and affordable) for everyone!
Let’s submit comments to
https://parkplanning.nps.gov/proposedpeakseasonfeerates or1849
C Street, NW, Mail Stop: 2346 Washington, DC 20240.
7.
Since the Supreme Court chose to designate corporations
as people and equate money with speech, we badly need new legislation to undo
those regrettable decisions. Back in 2013, Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) proposed a
constitutional amendment as S.J. Resolution 19 (https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-joint-resolution/19),
and at a mere 3 sentences, it is a model of clarity and brevity. Let's
read/text/email it to our MoCs today to remind them that this is what we want,
so that maybe we won't have to spend so much time fighting ridiculous attempts
to enact tax cuts for the 1%.
8.
When asked about the dispute between Trump and Senators
Corker and Flake, Texas Senator Ted Cruz said, “We've got a job to do, damn it,
and so all of this nonsense, I got nothing to say on it. Everyone shut up and
do your job, is my view.”
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/357116-cruz-on-gop-trump-feud-shut-up-and-do-your-job
Jay Caruso penned a good op-ed on this topic for the Dallas Morning
News:
https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/10/25/sen-cruz-colleagues-shut-donald-trump Let’s
be in touch with Cruz to remind him that Corker and Flake are doing their
jobs: https://www.cruz.senate.gov/?p=email_senator
9.
“Vice President Pence on Wednesday said that
President Trump has instructed the State Department to stop funding certain
"ineffective" United Nations relief efforts and to instead provide
humanitarian assistance directly through USAID and "faith-based
groups."”
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/357224-pence-says-us-to-stop-funding-ineffective-un-relief-efforts This
sounds like yet another disturbing step towards blurring the line between
church and state. Let’s ask our MoC to work towards legislation that will block
this sort of measure, and contact the State Department (https://register.state.gov/contactus/contactusform)
asking it not to implement Trump’s instructions.
10. The
Trump-Pruitt EPA has bowed to chemical industry pressure and reversed the ban
on chlorpyrifos, a pesticide toxic enough to cause brain damage in infants in
utero https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/2017/10/09/farmworkers-want-common-pesticide-banned-in-calif-after-trump-epa-refuses/
Democrats in Congress are trying to step
up where Polluting Pruitt is letting us down, proposing legislative bans through S. 1624 and H.R. 3380. Activists on the ground in California are also
looking to their state government to stop use of this poison. Let’s make sure
our elected officials know where we stand. Let’s contact our reps and let them
know we want them to co-sponsor proposed legislation to bar chlorpyrifos, and
let’s reach out to our state legislators and ask them to step up where the
federal government is set to let us down on this issue. (H/T Jessica Craven)
11. With
a president who has demonstrated open contempt for our constitutional values in
the White House, surveillance reform is more important than ever. It’s time to
put an end to warrantless spying on Americans and let the notorious “Section
702” expire. Yet Congress is preparing to extend this power until the end of
2025 http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-surveillance-congress/senate-diverges-over-renewal-of-internet-spying-law-idUSKBN1CT18J Let’s
contact our reps and tell them we need to renew our commitment to privacy and
civil liberties, and they should oppose any efforts to keep Section 702 in
place.
12. With
so many environmental regulations being slated for deletion, some former EPA
staffers are helping us know how to address these: How to Public Comment on Federal
Environmental Regulations and thereby Save the Planet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kqFdVb0avt1GpGOX8daC-5SMlDOmiKKoeJ3KI5ZVEXE/edit
State Actions
1.
ALL: Santa Cruz indivisible is sharing
information on Interstate Crosscheck Voting Software. This software program is
being used in 27 states. Many states have dropped Crosscheck in favor of ERIC
which was in part funded by the Pew Foundation. http://santacruzindivisible.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Interstate-Crosscheck-Voting-Software_Final3.pdf
“In Kobach’s hands in Kansas, Crosscheck has evolved into a tool for shoring up
claims of voter fraud instead of its original intention of keeping voter rolls
accurate. And critics say that mission inappropriately targets voters who made
innocent mistakes and shouldn’t be criminally charged.” http://hppr.org/post/kansans-caught-crosscheck-system-singled-out-kobachs-voter-fraud-campaign.
“In theory, the program is supposed to detect possible cases of people voting
in multiple locations. But academics and states that use the program have found
that its results are overrun with false positives, creating a high risk of
disenfranchising legal voters.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/07/20/this-anti-voter-fraud-program-gets-it-wrong-over-99-of-the-time-the-gop-wants-to-take-it-nationwide/?utm_term=.2c62775d8f03.
If your state is on this list, you can ask your state registrar
of Voters to change to ERIC.
2.
NY - Manhattan: Per the NY Post, A former candidate for Brooklyn district
attorney wants to take on Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. — as a write-in
candidate – in next month’s election, for failing to press sex crimes
charges against disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein in 2015. “Cy
Vance, Eric Gonzalez, Harvey Weinstein, Donald Trump, seems it’s about power
and money and the drive to hold on to both,” former Brooklyn prosecutor Marc
Fliedner told The Post. “Even when it’s at the expense of what is so obviously
right under the law.” If we are in the Manhattan DA's district, let's
write-in Marc Fliedner on
our ballots.
3.
VA: On Wednesday, Postcards for Virginia volunteers
sent 136,000 postcards to Virginia voters. If we are Democratic voters in
Virginia, let's watch our mail for a get-out-the-vote reminder postcard from a
grassroots volunteer. We Rogan's listers can go the extra mile by taking
a selfie with the postcard with the hashtag #FlipVABlue and posting it on our
social media accounts. If we want to write postcards, the Postcards4VA
campaign is over but we can still write for other qualified progressive
candidates (including some in Virginia) at Postcards
to Voters. Email: JOIN@TonyTheDemocrat.org
4.
CA: Huge budget
cuts crippled outreach that lets people know when, how and where to sign
up for the ACA, so Indivisible ACA Signup Project is spreading the word through
social media. They have only 19 days to get 20 more supporters.
Help them reach their goal by November 15 to set off
a Thunderclap, a social media flash mob message blast. Please click, add
your social media support on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. THEN cut,
paste and share https//www.thunderclap.it/projects/63537-aca-signup-reminder Find out more about how Thunderclap helps
grassroots organizing here: https://www.socialworkhelper.com/2013/10/02/thunderclap-can-help-grassroots-organizing/amp/
5.
GA: “Days after
activists filed a lawsuit over the security of Georgia's election systems, the
university housing the servers at the center of the case wiped them of all
data.” http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/357323-georgia-election-server-wiped-days-after-lawsuit A Voice
for All Georgia is now seeking the recall of Secretary of State, Brian
Kemp. We can help by becoming a petition
circulator: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfNeUzeyFRdoAnnmBJuPi-N6X9H21qYDfKkjT_VjICGnONLwQ/viewform
Other Actions
1.
Let's read this article on the use of inmates for free
labor from Talk Poverty "Last week, a Louisiana sheriff gave
a press conference railing against a new prisoner
release program because it cost him free labor from “some good [inmates] that
we use every day to wash cars, to change oil in the cars, to cook in the
kitchen.” Two days later, news broke that up to 40 percent of the
firefighters battling California’s outbreak of forest fires are prison
inmates working for $2 an hour. Practices like these are
disturbingly common: Military gear, ground
meat, Starbucks holiday products, and McDonald’s uniforms have all been made (or are still
made) with low-wage prison labor. Inmates are exempt from the Fair Labor
Standards Act, which requires that workers are paid at least the federal
minimum wage. That makes it completely legal for states to exploit inmates for
free or cheap labor. More than half of the 1.5
million people in state and federal prisons work while incarcerated,
and the vast majority only make a
few cents per hour." Let's be aware of how inmates are being
used as slave labor. We can check out this list at Caged Bird magazine of 50 companies currently
supporting this form of slavery. We can write to these companies to let
them know we do not approve and think inmates should make at least minimum
wage.
2.
"The WNBA and NBA Board of Governors have unanimously
approved the relocation of the San Antonio Stars to Las Vegas, WNBA President
Lisa Borders announced last week. MGM Resorts International will own and
operate the team, which will begin play in Las Vegas in the 2018 season. The
team’s home arena will be the Mandalay Bay Events Center. In addition, MGM
Resorts International has named Bill Laimbeer as the team’s President of
Basketball Operations and Head Coach. A two-time WNBA Coach of the Year
and three-time WNBA champion, Laimbeer played 14 NBA seasons and won
back-to-back titles with the Detroit Pistons in 1989 and 1990. Season
ticket holder deposits will be accepted beginning in early
November." If we are in or near Las Vegas and want to follow a
scandal-free sport, let's consider getting tickets and supporting the Stars. We
can follow @LasVegasWNBA and visit wnba.com/lasvegas for additional information.
3.
"The NAACP is warning travelers — in particular,
African-Americans — that their safety could be compromised if they fly American
Airlines, citing a series of "troublesome conduct" by
employees." per this article from NBC News...In a memo Wednesday to American
Airlines employees, CEO Doug Parker said he was "disappointed" and
said the air carrier shares the same mission as the NAACP. "We do not
and we will not tolerate discrimination of any kind," Parker said.
"We have reached out to the NAACP and are eager to meet with them to
listen to their issues and concerns." We are glad to hear that American
Airlines is reaching out to the NAACP. Let's write anyway to let them
know we stand against discrimination in all forms and want to know what they
are doing to combat this systemic problem in their organization. Let's tell
them that we will not be flying their airline until the NAACP rescinds their
warning. American Airlines, Attn: Doug Parker, Chairman and CEO, PO Box
619616, DFW Airport TX 75261-9616 or we can call 817-963-1234.
4.
We have been watching the federal government’s
inadequate response to the Puerto Rican disaster, but we must now pay attention
to the voracious for-profit companies that are about to make a fortune from
somewhat dubious contracts to “fix,” for example, the power grid: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/26/16533512/puerto-rico-power-contracts
As Elizabeth Yeampierre & Naomi Klein point out, the “Disaster capitalists”
are “circling Puerto Rico, but this time they may not get their prey. . . .
Puerto Ricans — both on the island and the mainland — are fighting back in real
time. Under the banner of a “just recovery” for Puerto Rico, thousands
have come together to design a bold and holistic plan for the island to be
rebuilt as a beacon for a safe, resilient, and thriving society in the era of
accelerating climate chaos, spiraling economic inequality, and rising white nationalism.”
https://theintercept.com/2017/10/20/puerto-rico-hurricane-debt-relief/ Groups like the Organización Boricuá de Agricultura Ecológica de Puerto Rico (https://www.facebook.com/organizacionboricua/) and Resilient Power Puerto Rico (http://resilientpowerpr.org/resilientpr/) are working to save PR from the “disaster capitalists” who want only to profit from the misery of Puerto Ricans. We should lend them our support.
https://theintercept.com/2017/10/20/puerto-rico-hurricane-debt-relief/ Groups like the Organización Boricuá de Agricultura Ecológica de Puerto Rico (https://www.facebook.com/organizacionboricua/) and Resilient Power Puerto Rico (http://resilientpowerpr.org/resilientpr/) are working to save PR from the “disaster capitalists” who want only to profit from the misery of Puerto Ricans. We should lend them our support.
5.
From Indivisible
Ventura: “Let’s talk about
this 11 year-old girl who’s been worried about the Flint
water situation since she’s been 9. Along with playing piano, swimming,
fencing and taking dance lessons, she has invented the cheapest, most effective test for lead in
water and won “America’s Top Young Scientist”. God, what was I doing when I was 11?”
Let’s send her congratulations through her school: STEM School and Academy, 8773 S Ridgeline
Blvd, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129
Petitions
1.
Let’s join in this petition to change the definition of
racism in dictionaries to reflect that it is a system of power, not just
bigotry: https://www.change.org/p/merriam-webster-change-the-definition-of-racism-in-dictionaries-to-reflect-that-it-is-a-system-of-power
2.
Let’s tell Michigan State University to divest from
Renaissance Technologies whose CEO funds Breitbart: https://www.change.org/p/michigan-state-university-msu-divest-from-renaissance-technologies-whose-ceo-funds-breitbart
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms
to attend/organize
Reading/Watching
1.
Former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum has
written an interesting op-ed for The Atlantic about the effect of Senator
Flake’s retirement: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/10/one-more-straw-upon-the-camels-back/543957/
2.
“How I Can Offer Reparations in Direct Proportion to My
White Privilege” - http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/just-transition/how-i-can-offer-reparations-in-direct-proportion-to-my-white-privilege-20171025
3.
SPLC President Richard Cohen testified before the U.S.
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions about the
responsibility of universities to uphold the Fourteenth Amendment as well as
the First Amendment - https://www.splcenter.org/news/2017/10/26/splc-senate-colleges-must-uphold-free-speech-can-denounce-racist-speakers
4.
What is going on with this whole Steele dossier thing?
Who's to blame for what? What is really going on with HRC and uranium? It can
be hard to keep straight. This piece by David Corn, who was the first to report
on the Steele memos in October 16, explains: "Republicans are asserting
the Steele memos should be dismissed because they are a dastardly Democratic
oppo concoction and saying this somehow undermines the whole
Trump-Russia scandal. Yet at the same time, they are demanding an investigation
of the fake Clinton-uranium scandal that was based on a debunked story
subsidized and promoted by a big-money conservative donor and Trump
backer." We can read the whole article here: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/10/how-republicans-are-jumping-on-the-new-steele-scoop-to-distract-from-the-trump-russia-scandal/
