My Fellow Resisters,

Here are new updates and recommended actions from PAGE (Progressive Action Global Exchange) followed by inspiring reading/watching/listening suggestions from our own Kathy Sherretts (STOP, LOOK, LISTEN).
 
Check it out and leave comments!

In solidarity,
Sage

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PAGE Actions

It has been another heartbreaking week full of disasters. Mexico has experienced several earthquakes in the last 2 weeks (one just happened Friday). The strongest in Mexico City has claimed nearly 300 lives. Hurricane Maria has devastated Puerto Rico. The entire island is without electricity and communication coming out of the island has been spotty, but all indications are that the rebuilding process will be long and costly. We cannot count on the Trump Administration to help people in need in Mexico and Puerto Rico.

In these tragic times, Trump administration and the GOP senate have not relented their attacks against poor and sick people. The latest Obamacare repeal effort, Graham-Cassidy, may be voted on by the Senate this week. We’ve stopped repeal efforts before; let’s do it again!

Priority Actions

• Show solidarity with disaster victims. As a general rule, we recommend to give money, not items of clothing or other goods. People on the ground know what they need best and money will let them buy it.
  • Donate to Mexican relief efforts after the 7.1 earthquake. We recommend to give to Topos Mexico.
  • Hurricane Maria has devastated much of the Caribbean, with Puerto Rico being hit the hardest. Most of the island is without electricity and will be for months to come. We recommend to give to Unidos por Puerto Rico.
• Healthcare for all, not tax-breaks for the rich. The GOP is back with one more try to repeal Obamacare AGAIN. It is estimated that 32 million people would lose health care under the Graham Cassidy bill. Please call your Senators and let them know you oppose the bill. If you are represented by one of the following Senators, your voice can be particularly impactful McCain (Arizona), Murkowski (Alaska), Collins (Maine), Portman (Ohio) Capito (West Virginia) and Paul (Kentucky).
  • Dial in some constituents! Our friends at Indivisible have developed a neat tool just for activists abroad! Use this tool to call constituents around the USA, who live in states with Senators who could swing on this issue. The tool is super sleek and will connect you directly to constituents - no dialing! Also, if you reach someone who wants to tell their Senator to oppose the bill - you can connect them directly to their office!.
  • Share your health care experience with people back home! Many PAGE members live in countries with universal health care that is much more generous than the US system. We know that a better health care system is possible. Check out this video of people sharing their experience living in other countries. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper; you can adapt this example if you like.

*** Thank you for your progressive action!***​

STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! by Kathy Sherretts

I hope everyone with connections in Houston, Florida, Puerto Rico, or Mexico City have heard that family and friends are safe. (Here's a reminder that when we want to support communities in a natural disaster, charitynavigator.org can help us help.)
Kathy Sherretts

Article:
Washington Post: Mormons are among the few who want less federally protected land. Their history explains why. By Christine Colbert
Mormon lawmakers are the most prominent in fighting to take back federal lands.

Podcast:
TEDTalks  Radio: A Black Man Goes Undercover in the Alt-Right 
Theo E. j. Wilson tells of becoming Lucius25, white supremacist lurker, and the unexpected compassion and surprising perspective he found from engaging with people he disagrees with. 

Article:
Slate Magazine: Healthcare.gov is offline on Sundays
A special bonus reminder of how mean and petty this administration can be:

My Fellow Resisters,

Here are new updates and recommended actions from PAGE (Progressive Action Global Exchange) followed by inspiring reading/watching/listening suggestions from our own Kathy Sherretts (STOP, LOOK, LISTEN) 
 
Check it out and leave comments!

In solidarity,
Sage


PAGE Actions

This week the news media has been in a tizzy discussing Trump’s alleged “pivot” and his newfound “independence,” as evidenced by his sharing Chinese food and a deal with “Chuck & Nancy.” Yeah, sure. PAGEpals can’t be fooled – Trump is just as vicious as ever. We’ll keep watch, and won’t let up one inch until the Dreamers & their families  are safe, until no one fears violence from those sworn to protect us, and until and everyone has access to affordable healthcare – among other goals!
Below, we share some opportunities to keep supporting immigrants, continue our fight against climate change, and more. As always, our weekly actions are curated for US-Americans abroad and global citizens. If this is your first time receiving a PAGE email, please check out our websiteand resources for starting a PAGE group.

Priority Actions

• Join the “Equator Banks Act!” campaign! This targets the upcoming annual meeting of the Equator Principles Association, a group of banks committed (on paper) to a set of standards for financing big projects, like DAPL, Texas LNG terminal, and many more worldwide. The “Equator Banks Act!” campaign aims to revise the Equator Principles to include stronger commitments from Equator Banks to no longer finance "Climate disaster projects" and to respect Indigenous Peoples' rights and territories.
  • Learn more by reading the press release or open letter of 65 organizations to the EPA, or follow them on Twitter at @EP_ActCampaign.
  • Sign the petition on their website -- and use their handy tool to find out whether your bank has signed on. You can find out exactly what mining, oil, gas and other projects your bank is financing. Don’t like what you see? Find your Bank’s handle on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram (or the bank CEO’s handle!) and let them know you want your bank to stop financing the destruction of our planet and Indigenous People’s rights! Tell them they’ll lose your business if they don’t!

• Take Action with Mijente: As immigration policy in the US gets increasingly violent, exclusionary, and xenophobic, one of the most important things to do is support the grassroots organizers working with communities most impacted. Mijente is a national grassroots organizing hub for Latinx and Chincanx communities. Among other work, they make useful resources like this guide for immigrants who need to know their rights and defend themselves. Spend some times browsing Mijente’s campaigns and petitions, and show your support by signing or donating.

• Stop Trumpcare … again. Have you heard about the Cassidy-Graham bill, or as Indivisible is calling it, “Trumpcare by another name”?  It’s perhaps the most radical Obamacare repeal bill of them all - and the GOP will push to get it past by an administrative deadline at the end of September.
  • Stop Trumpcare by another name. You read right, they’re trying to take away the Affordable Care Act AGAIN. We know what you are thinking: how many times do we need to defeat Trump Care? They’re banking on us getting tired or bored, so let’s not let up. Use this script from Indivisible to call your Senatorand let them know you are still paying attention, though you may be far away.
  • What’s going on with single payer? Read an interview with Bernie Sandersmaking the case for Medicare for all.

Bonus Action

• March for Peace on September 21st! To commemorate UN Peace Day, Women’s March Global is organizing walks for peace to be held in Taiwan, Sydney, London, Barcelona, Paris, and other cities. These protests grew out of the wake of the violence in Charlottesville and also respond to recent terrorist attacks in a number of cities.
  • Use these protests to show solidarity with those who are fighting for peace around the world today, and consider the complicity of our leaders and the threats of war & militarism in our societies. Reach out to local anti-war groups and talk with your group about how you can promote peace today!
  • Check out Women March Global’s Twitter @WM_Global for updates or to learn more!

*** Thank you for your progressive action!***
​

​STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! by Kathy Sherretts

My Washington Post news app flips through story headlines like a rolodex, which these days makes for a disconcerting display.
​
Next up: 'It’ is a baroque symphony of meta-horror and a waking nightmare" Imagine my relief when I realized this was a movie review and not a political commentary.

Article:
Washington Post: Trump administration cuts funding for teen pregnancy prevention programs. by Jessica Lander and Carolyn Smith-Lin
The authors explore the unsettling reason that may have been behind the funding cuts — as well as its serious consequences, with pregnancy being a leading factor in why girls drop out of school.

Podcast:
Slate Magazine/Trumpcast, Facebook's Russia Problem with Issie Lapowsky (34 min)
WIRED's Issie Lapowsky discusses Russian-linked accounts that bought political ads on Facebook during the 2016 election.

Article:
Huffington Post: McCain, Whitehouse Make Bipartisan Appeal To SCOTUS Against Wisconsin Gerrymandering, by Sam Levine
"Americans do not like gerrymandering... their sense of powerlessness and discouragement has increased, deepening the crisis of confidence in our democracy.”

My Fellow Resisters,

Here are new updates and recommended actions from PAGE (Progressive Action Global Exchange) followed by inspiring reading/watching/listening suggestions from our own Kathy Sherretts (STOP, LOOK, LISTEN).
 
And leave comments!

In solidarity,
Sage

PAGE Update

Our hearts are heavy this week as we read the news about Texas, and about Trump’s plan to end DACA, the program which allows immigrants who arrived in the US as children to legally live in the US. If you’re a Texan far away from home, or someone who will be personally impacted by a DACA repeal, we're sending you our love this week.
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Below, we share some opportunities to support those most impacted by the storm, and to demand that Congress take action to defund xenophobic policies and support immigrant youth. 

Priority Actions

Support Texas The events in Texas this week were devastating. Families lost their homes and loved ones, entire communities are underwater, and now the region will face huge challenges with mold, pollution, and disease. When environmental disasters strike, poor communities and communities of color are disproportionately affected, as they must navigate crises with fewer resources, while experiencing discrimination from government agencies and/or worrying about deportation. As this article from The Root states, in coming weeks, the waters will recede and “reveal the dangerously gaping holes of disparity between white haves and black have-nots.”

• Donate generously and directly to folks in Houston, especially those who will be most impacted and least served. Share your donation on social media to amplify impact.
• This tool from Dr. Roni Dean-Burron, a Houstonian racial justice advocate, allows you to give directly to black women impacted in the storm. 
• This fundraiser is an opportunity to donate directly to undocumented families.
• Colorlines lists local organizations which support people of color, queer people, people living with disabilities, and others who will be disproportionately impacted by this tragedy.
• If you’re US-American, call your Congressional reps and tell them to fund FEMA - and NOT a xenophobic and offensive border wall. 5Calls has a script here.
• Act locally: Floods rocked Houston and Texas this past week, and also India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Niger. Floods have already killed more than 1000 this summer in South Asia, and drought-prone regions are suffering more than ever. As climate change intensifies, we will see more of these tragedies around the world. If you’re living outside the US, this is a powerful time to reach out to local environmental justice groups and see what you and your PAGE group can do to support them.

Defend DACA. Trump is very close to ending DACA, the program which allows immigrants who came to the US as children to lawfully work and live in the country. Ending DACA would have devastating impacts for nearly a million people and rip families apart. This decision would also generate profits for private prison companies, and embolden Trump’s white nationalist base. Read more about DACA in this guide from Indivisible.

• Join Detention Watch Network, United We Dream, and other organizations for a National Day of Action on Wednesday, September 6. On this day, call your representatives and let them know that you don’t want them to fund border walls and deportation forces, and ask them to pass the DREAM act to protect immigrant youth. Call scripts will be updated here depending on events early this week.
• Sample Script: “I’m your constituent from [CITY/TOWN], and I urge you to cut funding for detention, deportation, and border militarization. I don’t want Congress to write Trump a check to deport and detain my community members, and militarize my community. Vote NO on Trump’s deportation funding. I also urge you to stand with all DREAMers in the United States and support a clean passage of S.1615/H.R.3440, the Dream Act of 2017.”
• Sample tweet: “.@[SENATOR/REP] Don’t write Trump a check to deport & detain our community members #DefundHate #NoBanNoWallNoRaids”
• Support United We Dream, a grassroots org on the front lines of fighting for DACA and immigrant rights. Sign up for their mailing list, follow them on Twitter, and donate.

#NotTooFarAwayToCall If you haven’t done so yet, it’s time to take your picture! Help get US-Americans Abroad engaged from afar. Action Together Zurich and Americans Resisting Overseas are organizing a social media campaign called #NotTooFarAwayToCall that will launch this week, on Wednesday Sept. 6. The campaign will feature photos of US-Americans abroad calling their Members of Congress from locations around the world.

• To join in, snap a photo of yourself calling your Member of Congress, and share photos between September 6th and September 14th under the hashtag #NotTooFarAwayToCall. Include a one sentence description of the call, e.g. "Calling Senator Chris Murphy from the Great Wall of China to thank him for supporting increasing the number of overseas refugees resettled in the U.S."
• If you like, email your photo to action.together.zurich@gmail.com so they can publicize it. Specify whether you wish your name to be used or not to be used.