Issues and “hot topics” for week of August 28, 2017
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GOOD NEWS:
- Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka are now out of the White House.
- Sen. Schumer calls for disbanding “election integrity” commission and instead expanding voting rights.
- DreamHost fought the Department of Justice’s aggressive privacy request.
- TX voter ID law struck down again.
- The removal of confederate monuments around the country continues.
- alt-right organizers themselves canceled 67 rallies in 36 states after huge outpouring of rallies and protests against white supremacy/nazis.
- more and more charities are canceling events at Mar-a-Lago after Trump’s comments about Charlottesville.
- The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under Law shut down the international white supremacist website, Stormfront. The Daily Storm was shut down by their webhost last week and have been unable to find another host.
- Trump administration dealing with huge number of resignations in the wake of his controversial comments about the violence last week in Charlottesville:
- a cascade of CEOs quit the American Manufacturing Council forcing Trump to disband the council
- the entire Strategic and Policy Forum disbanded
- members of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council announced their departure.
- the entire Presidential Arts Council announced they were quitting.
- More than half of the members of the 15-person Digital Economy Board of Advisors, including the co-chairs, have resigned.
- Trump was forced to cancel plans for an Infrastructure Council after multiple CEOs resigned from his other councils.
- Trump’s science envoy publicly resigned.
- the first pastor has resigned from Trump’s evangelical advisory board.
FEDERAL ISSUES
Immigration
5calls
Trump now appears poised to rescind the DACA program that grants protected status to undocumented immigrant children brought into the US by parents or other adults. Call US Senators
Script: I’m calling to express my support for S. 1615, the DREAM Act, and the thousands of Dreamers who contribute to our society. I urge (Schumer/Gillibrand) to support this bipartisan effort to protect the DACA program and the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on it for access to jobs, education, and security.
Budget
5 calls
Block Funding for a Southern Border Wall. Call US Senators
Script: I’m calling to object to any 2018 federal spending bill that funds the construction of a US-Mexico border wall. Congress should not concede to Trump’s authoritarian threats to shut down the government when working to develop a budget. The wall will not improve our border security and will cost taxpayers billions of dollars better spent elsewhere.
LGBTQ Rights
5 calls
Trump’s Ban on Transgender Troops. Call Katko
Script: I’m calling to ask John Katko to denounce the Trump Administration’s ban on transgender Americans serving in the military. These dedicated Americans should have the right to serve their country even if they need special medical care. It is unacceptable for Trump, the Pentagon, and Defense Secretary Mattis to strip them of these rights.
Or
Script: Hi, I oppose the president’s new and unwanted order that bans transgendered people from serving in the military. Can you tell me what Representative Katko is doing to oppose this action and defend the rights and equality of fellow citizens?
Science
5calls
Oppose the Nomination of NonScientist and Climate Change Denier Sam Clovis to serve as the USDA Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics. Call US Senators
Script: I’m calling to express my opposition to Sam Clovis’s nomination to be USDA Under Secretary. It is unacceptable for the USDA’s top scientist to be a climate change denier with no formal scientific training, and for the Trump administration to continue endorsing racism and bigotry by appointing a birther. I strongly urge Senator (Schumer/Gillibrand) to reject Clovis’s nomination.
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Writing Letters to the Editors
At our Issues Meeting last week, we decided our action item will be to write letters to the editors. We are encouraging our members to write a letter and the Issues team is happy to review the letter beforehand if you would like. We would like the focus to be Immigration which is the topic of our next forum, after the Constitution.
https://www.indivisibleguide.com/resource/write-letters-editor-really-get-attention/
The Indivisible folks have a new page with tips on writing effective letters to the editor. This includes How to submit your letter, the basics of a good letter, what should go into a letter.
(From CNY Solidarity) State Constitutional Convention
Educate yourselves on proposal for a state constitutional convention
Our State Legislation Action Team (SLAT) has reached consensus on a position opposing the NYS Constitutional Convention that will be on the ballot this November. SLAT would like CNY Solidarity Coalition to vote on this position during one of our upcoming meetings. In preparation for this discussion, we urge CNY Solidarity members to review the following links to an informational website and a video, respectively. The video is a recording of a session held during one of our training sessions. Next week we will provide some links to websites explaining reasons to oppose the Constitutional Convention.
http://www.newyorkconcon.info/
https://www.youtube.com/ playlist?list= PL3YbQ7cZQl4ikesg1zh88wdbvWIE0 NTbW
If you don’t have a fax machine, you can use “faxzero.com” to send 3 free faxes/day
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONTACT INFORMATION
Representative/Congressman
John Katko
Webpage: katko.house.gov/
Email: /katko.house.gov/contact/email
Address: Washington, DC Office, 1620 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-3701 (DC Office)
Fax: (202) 225-4042
Senators:
Chuck Schumer
Webpage: http://www.schumer.senate.gov/
Email: http://www.schumer.senate.gov/contact/email-chuck
Address: 322 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-6542
Fax: (202) 228-3027
Kirsten Gillibrand
Webpage: http://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/
Email: http://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/contact/
Address: 478 Russell, Washington, DC 20510
Tel. (202) 224-4451
Fax (202) 228-0282
Meetings
Hosted by Citizens Response Network of Wayne County
Constitutional crisis: Are we there yet?
Monday, Sept. 18, 6:30-8pm
Palmyra Community Library
(https://www.facebook.com/events/137099720224442//)
Speakers: Professor Tom Keck, Syracuse University Political Science
Professor David Driesen, Syracuse University Law
Citizens' Response Network of Wayne County, NY 