In addition to being a night owl activist, I'm also a graduate student, and this is the final week of the spring quarter for me. I have two big final projects due at the end of the week, so I need to take some time off to work on them. I may pop in intermittently if something important comes up. Otherwise, if you need some daily calls to action, I highly recommend my colleagues in the Action Alliance. They include daily emails, weekly emails, blogs, apps, Facebook groups, and more for all of your resistance needs. You can find them here: http://www.actionalliance.co
I felt like I had to post today because we have some important work to do, but this will probably be my only blog post this week. Next week, I'll be on spring break, so I'll be back to blogging every week night.
URGENT - Online Privacy
Last week, the Senate voted to dismantle the FCC's broadband-privacy protections, which prevent Internet service providers from sharing your private information without your consent. The House is scheduled to vote on this resolution, S.J. Res. 24, tomorrow. Use one of the following links to call your representative and tell them to vote against it:
- From Indivisible:
- Find your representative here: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
- Use the scripts here: https://www.indivisibleguide.com/resources-2/internet-privacy
- From the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): https://act.eff.org/action/don-t-let-congress-undermine-our-online-privacy
- From the Free Press Action Fund: http://act.freepress.net/call/internet_privacy_cra_house
- From ACLU Action: https://www.aclu.org/feature/keep-online-privacy-intact
URGENT - Gorsuch
The Senate is still holding hearings for Gorsuch this week. There has been talk of Senate Democrats filibustering his nomination, but not all of them have committed to it. Here's how you can help block Gorsuch's confirmation:
- Call your senators. Use one of the following links to call your senators and tell them to oppose Gorsuch:
- From Indivisible:
- Find your senators here: https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/
- Use the scripts here: https://www.indivisibleguide.com/resources-2/2017/2/7/combat-donald-trumps-arch-conservative-scotus-pick
- From Wall-of-Us: https://www.wall-of-us.org/weekly-acts-of-resistance/2017/3/26/action-1-take-a-victory-lap-then-ask-your-senators-to-oppose-gorsuch
- Email your senators. Use the following link to email your senators and urge them to postpone Gorsuch's hearings until the investigation into 45's Russian ties is completed:
https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/letters/tell-your-senators-postpone-neil-gorsuchs-confirmation - Sign a petition. Sign the following petition to urge the Senate to reject Gorsuch:
http://go.kamalaharris.org/page/s/reject-gorsuch
45's Ties to Russia
Last week, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes canceled a planned public hearing with top former national security officials about Russian influence in the 2016 election. This was just a day after it was uncovered that he went straight to the White House with information regarding 45's wiretapping accusations without first consulting the rest of the Committee. Here's how you can help ensure that an independent, nonpartisan investigation is completed.
- Call the House Intelligence Committee. Use the following link to call members of the House Intelligence Committee and demand the public hearing that Nunes canceled:
http://us14.campaign-archive2.com/?u=542e52557cb249fb2535906ea&id=1a3cc62359&e=afc55cc194 - Call your representative. Use the following link to call your representative and demand a full investigation by an independent, nonpartisan commission: https://www.wall-of-us.org/weekly-acts-of-resistance/2017/3/26/action-3-ask-your-representatives-to-shine-a-light-on-trumps-shady-dealings-with-russia
45's Tax Returns
Tomorrow at 4pm, the House Ways and Means Committee will vote on H. Res. 186, a Resolution of Inquiry directing the Secretary of the Treasury to provide the House of Representatives with 45's complete tax returns. Here's how you can help it get passed:
- Call your MoC. Use the following links to call your MoC and tell them to cosponsor this resolution:
- Find your MoC here: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members
- Use the scripts here: https://www.indivisibleguide.com/resources-2/2017/3/12/house-resolution-186-demand-president-trumps-tax-returns
- Fax or call members of the Committee. Use the following link to either fax or call members of the House Ways and Means Committee and tell them to demand 45's tax returns:
https://trumpresistance.today/2017/03/25/5-minute-action-for-saturday-325-non-negotiable-require-trump-to-release-his-taxes-or-no-tax-reform/
Healthcare
Now that the Affordable Care Act is safe (for now) and "Don't Care" has been taken off the table, it's time to start demanding single payer healthcare for all. Rep. John Conyers has proposed a a bill called HR 676, which would provide affordable healthcare coverage to every American. Sen. Bernie Sanders is set to propose a similar bill to the Senate. Sign the following petitions to support these bills:
- From Justice Democrats: http://go.justicedemocrats.com/page/s/take-a-stand
- From Democracy for America: http://act.democracyforamerica.com/sign/medicare-for-all/
Education
Congress is pushing the private school "choice" agenda by extending the SOAR Reauthorization Act. Reauthorization would fund and expand, with your federal tax dollars, the District of Columbia’s private school voucher program. This program operates with little transparency or accountability, Congress refuses to add protections against discrimination, and every dollar the federal government spends on private school vouchers is less money available to invest in strengthening our public schools. 45's new budget proposal would slash Department of Education funding and call for adding billions to private schools. Here's how you can help protect public schools and stop voucher programs:
- Call your representative. Use the following link to call your representative and tell them to oppose the SOAR Reauthorization Act: https://npeaction.org/2017/03/24/tell-congress-stop-funding-vouchers/
- Email your members of Congress. Use the following links to email your members of Congress (MoC) and tell them to oppose voucher programs and protect public school funding:
- From the Network for Public Education: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-to-vote-no-on-federally-funded-dc-vouchers
- From the National Education Association: http://edadvocacy.nea.org/app/write-a-letter?5&engagementId=199273
Immigration
- Border Wall: 45 is trying to stick our nation’s taxpayers with the $21.6 billion bill for his ridiculous border wall, even though more than 60% of Americans oppose its construction and it would be devastating to the environment. Sign this petition to oppose the wall:
https://secure3.convio.net/lcv/site/Advocacy;jsessionid=00000000.app326b?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3792 - Legal Counsel Act: Reports from immigrants arrested and detained at airports when 45's first Muslim ban took effect reveal that federal agents denied many people food, water, and access to legal counsel for days. Sen. Kamala Harris and Rep. Pramila Jayapal have introduced the Access to Legal Counsel Act, which would give immigrants detained by federal agents the right to access legal counsel and prohibit immigration officials from denying them food and water. Sign this petition to support the Legal Counsel Act:
https://act.credoaction.com/sign/legal_counsel
Special Elections
Special elections are held before general elections to replace members of Congress who have left their positions for whatever reason. These elections are very important because they are opportunities for us to either flip these seats to blue, or keep them blue, giving us more of an edge against the Republicans in Congress. Here are some upcoming special elections and how you can help.
James Thompson, Kansas
The special election for Kansas's 4th Congressional District is April 11th. Here's how you can help the Democratic candidate, James Thompson, win:
- Phone bank from home. Thompson has a cool online phone banking tool that you can use to make calls from anywhere and help get out the vote. Get started here:
http://www.votejamesthompson.com/phonebank - Volunteer. If you live in or near Kansas's 4th District, you can volunteer to help by calling voters, hosting a house party, driving or providing housing for volunteers, stuffing envelopes, knocking on doors, or writing letters to the editor. Sign up here:
http://www.votejamesthompson.com/volunteer - Donate. Donate to Thompson's campaign here:
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/james-thompson-for-congress
Jon Ossoff, Georgia
The special election for Georgia's 6th Congressional District is April 18th. Here's how you can help the Democratic candidate, Jon Ossoff, win:
- Join a virtual phone bank. From Wednesday, March 29th, to Friday, March 31st, Pennsylvania Democrats are holding a virtual phone banking event to help get out the vote for Ossoff. You can make calls from wherever you are in the country. Sign up here:
http://act.padems.com/page/s/call-to-action-let-s-help-georgia-win-cd-6 - Volunteer. If you live in or near Georgia's 6th District, you can volunteer to help by knocking on doors, making phone calls, or hosting a house party. Sign up here:
https://electjon.com/volunteer/ - Donate. Make a donation to Ossoff's campaign here:
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/ossoff-homepage
Rob Quist, Montana
The special election for Montana's only Congressional District is April 25th. Here's how you can help the Democratic candidate, Rob Quist, win:
- Volunteer. If you live in Montana, you can volunteer to help by knocking on doors, making phone calls, or hosting a house party. Sign up here: https://quist.bsd.net/page/s/homepage-volunteer
- Donate. Donate to Quist's campaign here: https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/quist-homepage
Miscellaneous
- LGBTQ+ Rights: Last week, 45 appointed anti-LGBTQ+ activist Roger Severino to lead the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Civil Rights, an office whose work he has actively opposed. Use the following link to call and email HHS Secretary Tom Price and tell him that you oppose Severino's appointment:
https://trumpresistance.today/2017/03/27/5-minute-action-for-monday-327-dont-let-anti-lgbtq-appointee-run-office-of-civil-rights/ - Equal Pay Day: Tuesday, April 4th, is Equal Pay Day, a national day of action to combat the gender pay gap. Observing Equal Pay Day with events, press, and calls-to-action can be an effective way to raise awareness about the gender pay gap in your community. Use the following a link to send a letter to the editor of your local paper demanding action on the gender pay gap: http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/50796/letter/?letter_KEY=1619
- Gun Violence: NRA allies in my home state of Pennsylvania are trying to pass a bill that would let special interest groups like the NRA sue our towns and cities just for enacting or enforcing existing gun safety laws—all at the taxpayers' expense. Use the following link to send an email to PA lawmakers and tell them them to oppose this bill:
http://act.everytown.org/sign/PA-punitive-preemption/ - 45's Budget: Since 1990, American international aid helped reduce deaths of children worldwide by half. Now Congress is considering 45's budget proposal, which makes devastating cuts to the foreign assistance budget. Sign this petition opposing 45's cuts to foreign aid: http://action.savethechildrenactionnetwork.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=21491
- Women's Open: The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and the United States Golf Association (USGA) are holding the country’s top women’s golf tournament at 45's golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. Sign this petition to tell them to dump 45 and move the Women's Open: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/LPGA_Trump
- Scientific Integrity Act: Sen. Bill Nelson introduced the Scientific Integrity Act in February; Rep. Paul Tonko introduced a House version this month. The legislation would require agencies to create policies that provide researchers with whistleblower protections, the ability to review public communications on their research, and the right to communicate freely with the public and Congress. Sign this petition to support the Scientific Integrity Act:
https://www.addup.org/campaigns/defend-federal-research-from-political-suppression/petition/defend-federal-research-from-political-suppression
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