blank space


1/25/19 

Contact Federal Government Officials



1.    Despite the two votes by the Senate yesterday, there is still no funding for a wall and there is still a government shutdown.  https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/24/senate-votes-on-government-shutdown-and-trump-border-wall-bill.html  Let’s continue to pressure our senators to pressure Majority Leader McConnell (R-KY) into bringing to a vote the original House bill (or any of the nine others they have passed) to re-open the government.  It has the votes to pass.  McConnell is the key to ending the shutdown.

2.   “Donald Trump’s decision to change definitions of domestic violence and sexual assault has rolled back women’s rights by half a century, campaigners have warned.  The Trump administration quietly changed the definition of both domestic violence and sexual assault back in April but the move has only just surfaced.  The change could have significant repercussions for millions of victims of gender-based violence.”  https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-domestic-abuse-sexual-assault-definition-womens-rights-justice-department-a8744546.html   Trump’s new definition will no longer include psychological abuse and other emotional harm, just physical harm.  Once again, women are targeted.  Let’s let our MoCs know that the more complete definition needs to be restored and codified. 

3.   Even though the Department of Agriculture has been able to provide Food Stamps through February, 2500 grocery retailers are unable to accept them, because they can’t renew their recently expired licenses during the shutdown.  https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-many-stores-cant-accept-food-stamps-during-the-shutdown? Let’s remind our MoCs of this when we demand that they re-open the government and also ask what they can do to address this situation. We can also consider donating to local food programs to help recipients in our area who may not be able to get groceries.

4.   Associations representing air traffic controllers, pilots, and flight attendants wrote a joint letter with an alarming message about air safety amidst the shutdown: https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/aviation/426709-air-travel-union-leaders-release-dire-safety-warning-as   Let’s include this issue when contacting our MoC regarding the shutdown.

5.   Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, decided not to testify before Congress next month because of threats to him and his family by Trump and his current lawyer, Rudy Guiliani.   https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/michael-cohen-says-trump-s-threats-against-his-family-will-n961816  The fact that Cohen has now been subpoenaed does not negate his fear for his family’s safety.  https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/24/michael-cohen-subpoena-testimony-1124009   Let’s ask our MoCs how long they are going to let Trump get away with obstruction of justice.

6.   From one of our own:  Please call your Representatives and Senators today and encourage their support of S. 21 and H.R. 367: Pay Our Coast Guard Act.   It’s simply unconscionable our Coast Guard people are the only military not being paid during the shutdown. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/coast-guard-deploys-around-the-world-as-shutdown-creates-financial-insecurity-at-home  Who better defends our own borders than these honorable people?

7.   We've been asking our MoC to investigate the separation of immigrant families at the border, along with their subsequent treatment in shelters, and members of the House have listened. Unfortunately, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar is refusing to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/22/health-secretary-testify-seperated-children-1119744 Let's contact Secretary Azar and tell him that he should take responsibility and accept Chairman Pallone's request to testify: Phone: 877-696-6775/202-690-7000 Mailing address: Department of Health and Human Services 200 Independence Ave, SW, DC 20201 E-mail: Secretary@HHS.gov 

8.   Teachers on strike in Los Angeles have apparently been successful in their demands for smaller class sizes and more resources https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/22/us/los-angeles-teachers-strike-day-6/index.html, but the fight for our public schools is ongoing. It may have been lost in the news, but this week is so-called School Choice Week, "a well-funded campaign supported by Betsy DeVos's American Federation for Children, the Koch Brothers, the Walton Foundation, ALEC and others in order to promote vouchers, charters, virtual schools and schemes like ESAs and tax credits. The intent is to fund private schools with public tax dollars." Let's let our members of Congress know that we want to support our public schools instead. Here's a handy online form to do so: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-the-best-choice-is-a-strong-public-school-system

9.   From one of our own:  We are days away from the end of the commenting period for the changes to Title IX. (1/28). Please take a moment to comment here. The website isn't being updated due to the government shutdown, but you can still comment!  Comment here:  https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/11/29/2018-25314/nondiscrimination-on-the-basis-of-sex-in-education-programs-or-activities-receiving-federal

10. Yesterday, unions representing air traffic controllers, flight attendants, and pilots raised an alarm about air safety now that the shutdown is well into its fifth week and many airport workers are unpaid (meanwhile Southwest, JetBlue, and other airlines grumbled about lost profits):  https://wgme.com/news/nation-world/unions-express-air-safety-concerns-over-government-shutdown or https://www.wnyc.org/story/us-aviation-industry-sounds-alarm-over-concerns-as-shutdown-continues  We should be worried too.  Following the failed votes on Thursday, we must (again!) urge our senators to agree to reopen the government, if only for our safety as travelers and consumers of food, air, water, medication--and only then negotiate about border security.

11. Earlier this month, a coalition of House Democrats introduced a suite bills to protect America’s coastal communities from offshore drilling. We can read more about them in this press release from the House Natural Resources Committee. They have since been assigned numbers so we can track them. They are: a) HR341 COAST Anti-Drilling Act; b) HR291 Coastal Economies Protection Act; c) HR 279 California Clean Coast Act; d) HR287 New England Coast Protection Act; e) HR286 Florida Coastal Protection Act; f) HR310 West Coast Ocean Protection Act; g) HR337 Defend Our Coast Act. Let's support these environmentally-friendly acts. Govtrack.us provides tracking tools for us to use if we are signed into their site; they notify us via email of any activity on the bills we are tracking.

12. All three members of Montana’s Congressional delegation have signed on to sponsor the Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act, S60, which would ban mining on 30,000 acres of Custer Gallatin National Forest. The act had been included as a part of a public lands package that faltered at the 11th hour of Congress’ last session in December after two senators — Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky — halted the package. We can read more at The Livingston Enterprise. Let's call on our Senators to support this bill and sign on as co-sponsors.

Election/Voting

1.    Polls are now open in the primary election in the race for a Tennessee Senate seat left open when Mark Norris became a federal judge. Four Republicans are competing in the primary; Eric Coleman is running as the only Democrat. The Special Election will be held on March 12. We can write to Democratic voters in this 32nd TN state senate district with Postcards to Voters' Campaign 143: Eric Coleman for State Senate.  Or, we can text JOIN to (484) 275-2229 or email us at Join@TonyTheDemocrat.org  Early voting for this election starts Feb. 11.  Let's request 5 addresses today for this postcarding campaign. 

Other Actions

1.    Let’s make sure that tenants on public assistance programs who have been affected by the government shutdown know their rights. We can share this graphic from the National Housing Law Project (NHLP) widely on our social media networks. We can also check out the NHLP website for more information.

2.   Every week this list exhorts its readers to "call our MoCs." Certainly this gets monotonous, and some of us are probably wondering if it really does any good. Well, according to at least one former Congressional staffer, it definitely does, so let's keep it up! https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1087027543969071104.html

3.   In its most recent publication, the Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance talks about menstrual equity in the classroom and in school policy: "In 'Equity, Period.' we look at how the stigma surrounding menstruation is harming students and what educators can do about it." The article discusses the history of menstrual equity, why it's so essential, and how we can advocate for equity in our schools. Let's read through Equity, Period, then check out organizations such as Period. and Period Equity to learn how we can take action to help promote menstrual equity in our communities.

4.   Even as his approval ratings plummet, Trump is looking into extending the Shutdown through April and we cannot let him do it. If we are Union members or know people who are, we can use this interactive tool to find union actions against the shutdown all over the country:  https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/shutdown-events

State Actions

1.    ALL:  Let's stay prepared for our state legislative activity by knowing when they are scheduled for regular and special sessions. We can check out StateScape which gives us a handy US Map graphic to get us started. A click on our home state will show us the start and end dates of the sessions. We can explore more information on the site. We can also sign up StateScape's newsletter "The Week Ahead" to help us stay current.

2.   CA:  Many Californians suffered terrible damage, loss of homes, lives and livelihood in the recent fires that have swept our state. PG&E faces a possible investigation for their role in threes tragedies and now, Erin Brockovich informs us, they are trying to shirk responsibility by declaring bankruptcy.  https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Does-PG-E-need-to-file-for-bankruptcy-Erin-13553334.php   We cannot let lives that have been damaged be further destroyed by this. We can speak out against PG&E’s cynical ploy here:  https://tellyourreps.com/stop-the-pge-bankruptcy/

3.   MA: The group Progressive Massachusetts has announced its 2019-2020 legislative priorities—16 bills that will advance shared prosperity, racial and social justice, good government, and a healthy environment. Let’s look at the list, https://www.progressivemass.com/191legislativeagenda, and let’s tell our state legislators that we want them to co-sponsor these bills:  https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator

4.   MI:  From Justice for our Neighbors West Michigan - Our Grand Rapids office is looking for volunteer attorneys! Immigration experience is not a prerequisite. Volunteers will be trained and supervised by a JFON-MI attorney. If you are interested in learning more, please let us know.  Must be an attorney or a law student.  Will be doing immigration application prep, legal research. draft memos and briefs.  2-8 hours a week.  Contact:  Raquel@ jfonmi.org

Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to attend/organize

1.    Ongoing Tweetstorm:  Nancy Pelosi is running an emergency Tweetstorm using the hashtag #TrumpShutdown. Please search, choose Latest on the top navigation and retweet all. We can also click on this link for prewritten tweets to send out:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1blVY_XVRIqRxs0YdRj3IN4y-r6kUlK3i0-k8lOXHQaM/edit

2.   As the government shutdown approaches day 35, it’s past time for us to weigh in.  On Tuesday, January 29 (original date of State of the Union address), if the shutdown is still on, Indivisible, MoveOn, United We Dream, and others are organizing a massive day of in-person action across the country to #ShutdownTheWall.  We can find a nearby event or plan one here: 
https://act.moveon.org/event/peoples-state-union-speak-outs/search/ 

Reading/Watching


1.    Shutdown Highlights That Many Americans Don't Have Enough Saved For A Rainy Day - https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/01/24/shutdown-rainy-day-savings

2.   Is There A Crisis At The Border? This Longtime Arizona Sheriff Says 'No, There Isn't' - https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/01/24/trump-border-wall-arizona-sheriff

3.    The Trump-Era Overcorrection -  https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/01/covington-overcorrection/580987/

4.   Voices From the Field:  FBI Agent Accounts of the Real Consequences of the Government Shutdown - https://www.fbiaa.org/sites/default/files/downloadable/FBIAA%20Voices%20from%20the%20Field.pdf




Posted by at No comments:

1/23/19 

Contact Federal Government Officials


1.   For weeks, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has continued to block any attempt to hold votes on the government shutdown, waiting instead to vote only on Trump's newest "deal" (https://cbsn.ws/2U6HjLt). The House has already passed legislation to re-open the government, and Democratic leaders in both the House and Senate have stated that Trump's offer is a non-starter. To increase pressure on senators, Indivisible is hosting a National Call Day today, the 33rd day, to end this government shutdown with no border wall funding. Let's check out the call scripts at Indivisible, then contact our senators. asking them to end this shutdown with the House-passed legislation ASAP.

2.   The Senate announced that it will vote Thursday afternoon on two bills that would re-open the government. The first bill is Trump’s proposal to appropriate $5.7 billion for a border wall in exchange for three years of protection for residents with DACA and TPS status. If this bill fails, the Senate will vote on a Continuing Resolution to open the government for three weeks. https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/426469-senate-to-vote-on-dueling-government-funding-bills. Considering that the courts have already blocked the administration from ending DACA, and just today, the Supreme Court stated they would not take the case until at least next fall, and considering that even from a conservative standpoint, a border wall is expensive and ineffective, we need to tell our Senators to vote this proposal down, and then to vote FOR the Continuing Resolution and support the 800,000 government workers whose paychecks have been compromised.  Or better yet, vote on the House’s bill that has been waiting on McConnell to bring it to a vote.

3.   The cruelty of the impact of the Trump administration goes on day by day as the Supreme Court upheld Trump’s ban of transgendered people serving in the military by a 5-4 vote with Gorsuch and Kavanaugh in the majority:  
https://www.apnews.com/45b6f92f726e48988de948cdba2ee026  This is taking place as cases in the lower court work their way through the system. Let’s remind our MoC that military leadership is not seeking this civil rights violation as policy and that we should not be turning away qualified people eager to serve our nation. 

4.   Trump tried to make it look like he got concessions before the decision was made to lift sanctions on three Russian companies, but the current deal looks like an even better opportunity for Russian oligarch, Oleg Deripaska.  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/21/us/politics/oleg-deripaska-russian-sanctions.html  Let’s express our concerns to our MoCs, particularly the Republican Senators who voted to lift the sanctions.

5.   Four humanitarian aid workers affiliated with No More Deaths/No Mas Muertes were found guilty at a bench trial on Friday of misdemeanor charges for leaving water and food for migrants in a restricted area of Arizona’s Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, where the remains of 137 of 2800 dead border-crossers discovered since 2000 have been found.  This is the first time in a decade that a humanitarian aid volunteer along the border has been found guilty; “If giving water to someone dying of thirst is illegal, what humanity is left in the law of this country?” asked a No More Deaths statement: https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2019/01/20/4-no-more-deaths-volunteers-found-guilty/   Since Trump’s ascendancy, the permit to enter the refuge requires initialing a “new clause saying that . . . you are agreeing to not put food, water, blankets, socks, medical care out on the refuge.”  Let’s remind the White House and the Border Patrol--877-227-551--that leaving anyone to die in the desert is immoral and lend our support to No More Deaths--https://www.uusc.org/initiatives/no-more-deaths/   

6.   In their endless effort to undermine the Affordable Care Act, a new Trump administration proposal would change the annual limits on consumers’ out-of-pocket costs for insurance plans sold under the ACA; insurers would not have to count the full amount of a consumer’s co-payment for a brand-name drug toward the annual limit on cost-sharing but rather only the smaller amount that would be charged for a generic version of the drug or for using coupons drug companies issue:  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/21/us/politics/trump-obamacare-drug-costs.html or https://khn.org/morning-breakout/consumers-could-be-on-hook-for-more-health-costs-under-trump-proposal-to-incentivize-generic-drugs/  This proposal will be posted in the Federal Register this week, we are told, though because of the government shutdown the site is currently “unsupported”:  https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/current  Let’s watch carefully for a public comment period--and if there isn’t one, call on our MoC to object.

7.   With Housing & Urban Development (HUD) closed by the government shutdown and weakened by an exodus of staff under Ben Carson, landlords have begun illegally pressuring low-income, disabled, and elderly tenants to come up with the rent ordinarily paid by federal government subsidies:  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/21/us/politics/government-shutdown-housing-services.html or https://affordablehousingonline.com/blog/millions-low-income-renters-at-risk-if-shutdown-into-march/  Let’s call on Trump to end his dangerous game of chicken over the Wall and Congress to act to protect HUD tenants from predatory landlords.

8.  “Thousands of disabled people employed with the government through a federal contracting set-aside program have been sent home without pay because of the partial government shutdown, nonprofit managers who employed them say, raising new concerns about how the shutdown is impacting those least prepared to weather it. John Kelly, vice president of government relations and public policy at SourceAmerica, an organization that works with more than 400 such nonprofits, said he is aware of 143 nonprofits across 43 states that have been affected.”  https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/01/22/thousands-disabled-federal-contract-workers-sent-home-due-shutdown-managers-say/?utm_term=.5370c8405927  Another group of people who are the least prepared for this shutdown are suffering.  Today is national call-in day to end the shutdown. Please be sure to make a call to your senator, Governor and the White House. . .let’s open government now. 

9.   For generations US presidents have gone to great lengths to avoid conflicts of interest by selling their businesses or putting them into trusts during their term of office.  Until Trump, and he has profited nicely since being elected.  https://www.citizensforethics.org/presidential-profiteering-trumps-conflicts-got-worse/  Let’s tell our MoCs that it is time to pass legislation to eliminate these kinds of breeches of respectability.

Election/Voting

Other Actions

1.    The confrontation in D.C. between a group of high school students and a Native American activist has been all over the news and social media. There are a few hours of footage but watching a clip of any length will tell us that the boys were openly disrespectful of Nathan Phillips, the elder who tried to step in between them and a group of other youths with whom they were exchanging taunts.
https://www.npr.org/2019/01/20/686988268/video-of-kentucky-students-mocking-native-american-man-draws-outcry In honor of Phillips' calm under fire, and his long history of supporting Native youth, let's help out some of the organizations that provide assistance to young indigenous people, if we can: A) Phillips' own organization, the Native Youth Alliance:  m.facebook.com/NativeYouthAlliance/, B) The Native Youth Leadership Alliance: https://nativeyouthleadership.org, C) or The American Indian College Fund: https://collegefund.org/howtohelp/

2.   If we are teachers or know a teacher who could benefit from this, Teaching Tolerance has developed a plan designed with the intent of “helping students to see this moment from an Indigenous perspective—helping them recognize the impact of the confrontation on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—is a necessary step toward untangling its complexity. It’s just one reason educators need to teach about settler-colonialism.”  We can get it here:  https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/what-is-settlercolonialism

3.   Recently some people, often people of color, have been trying to explain the difference between racial bias, which any person can have, and racism, which refers to a whole social/political/economic system of discrimination. This isn't mere semantic hairsplitting, because it accurately identifies how people's racial biases have had such unequal effects on various races. Yet journalism's reluctance to use the term since the civil right movement seems to be rooted in mistaking "racism" for a blight on the soul, instead of a personal failing abetted/amplified by a societal one.  https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2019/01/16/685980809/why-journalists-are-debating-using-racist-to-describe-rep-steve-kings-quotes  Let's tell the editors of our favorite news sources to get their definitions straight and start calling racism by its true name.

4.   In celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. and Black History Month, let's take on a few items from this convenient list of concrete actions that white people can take to help advance racial justice: https://medium.com/@cshutack/what-white-people-can-do-for-racial-justice-f2d18b0e0234. Pro-tip: people who aren't white can do them, too! Extra pro-tip: a lot of them make life better for all of us, not just black people.

5.   It has now been 35 days since the White House has given a press briefing, and today Trump tweeted that he intends to continue to limit face-to-face interaction between the White House and members of the press. https://thehill.com/homenews/media/426461-whca-condemns-trumps-retreat-from-transparency-after-he-says-he-told-sanders. The administration’s constant attempts to place limits on the free press is a tactic used by many fascist governments that only want their brand of “truth” publicized. https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-fascist-learning-about-how-fascism-works-can-help-prevent-ncna905886. Let’s be extremely mindful of the many ways Trump derides and delegitimizes the media and make sure to stay informed by reading sources from vetted publications. We can check out this chart to learn which sources have the least and most media bias. We should also continue to review Amy Siskind’s weekly list, which reveals other ways that this administration has attempted to erode our democracy.  

State Actions

1.   KY:  Concern about the behavior of Covington students reminds us that there is another serious problem with these private schools: the quiet of transfer of much needed public-school funds to private institutions like Covington. The “Ed Choice Tax Credit” bills, ready to go in both Kentucky houses, have been described as “thinly disguised private school vouchers” and these tax credits for private schools are very likely to make it through the legislature if there is not a huge outcry. It’s time to pushback on private Kentucky schools getting public school dollars. We need to call, write, and reach out to our state legislators. There will be all sorts of folks rallying for these credits, so let’s make our voices heard! We can read an analysis of these problematic bills here:  https://kypolicy.org/school-voucher-tax-break-proposals-threaten-funding-public-education/  We can find the Senate Bill text here:  http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/18RS/SB36.htm and the House Bill text is here:  http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/18RS/HB134.htm.  We can use this tool to find our legislators here:  http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Find%20Your%20Legislator/Find%20Your%20Legislator.html


2.   MI: On February 23rd, Clean Water Action and Sierra Club will be hosting a Love Our Water Lobby Day from 8:00am-1:00pm in Lansing. The event will be the first volunteer lobby day of the newest legislative session, where we will meet with our state legislators to discuss our environmental priorities. Volunteers will receive lobbying training and materials. We can register for the event here and check out the Facebook event page here.

Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to attend/organize

1.   It is long past time for the shutdown to end and if we are in DC today, January 23, from 12-1, we can do something about it. We can join Federal/ DC Employees, their unions, families and friends to occupy the Hart Atrium, fill the building with people and demand that Senate Republicans call a vote to end the Shutdown. Location: Hart Senate Office Building, 2ND St NE, Washington, District of Columbia 20002 (*REMINDER* Before entering Hart Senate Office Building, all visitors are screened by a magnetometer and all items that are permitted inside the building are screened by an x-ray device. The following items are strictly prohibited: Signs (No larger than 8x11), Aerosol containers, Non-aerosol spray (prescriptions for medical needs are permitted), Any pointed object (i.e., knitting needles, letter openers, etc. Note: pens and pencils are permitted.), Any bag larger than 18" wide x 14" high x 8.5" deep, Electric stun guns, martial arts weapons or devices, Guns, replica guns, ammunition, and fireworks, Knives of any size, Mace and pepper spray, Razors and box cutters.  We can find out more about the event here:  https://www.facebook.com/events/310768219561217/?ti=icl

2.   Ongoing Tweetstorm:  Nancy Pelosi is running an emergency Tweetstorm using the hashtag #TrumpShutdown. Please search, choose Latest on the top navigation and retweet all. We can also click on this link for prewritten tweets to send out:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1blVY_XVRIqRxs0YdRj3IN4y-r6kUlK3i0-k8lOXHQaM/edit

Reading/Watching

1.    What Are We Supposed to Learn from the Covington Catholic High School Boys? - https://teacherinastrangeland.blog/2019/01/21/what-are-we-supposed-to-learn-from-the-covington-catholic-high-school-boys/

2.   The Voting Rights Act: A Short Guide - https://politicalcharge.org/2019/01/21/the-voting-rights-act-a-short-guide/

3.   How Voting-Machine Lobbyists Undermine the Democratic Process - https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/how-voting-machine-lobbyists-undermine-the-democratic-process






Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)