FIGHT FOR VOTER PROTECTION IN MIDTERM ELECTIONS

My Fellow Resisters,

Here are news updates and recommended actions from PAGE (Progressive Action, Global Exchange) followed by inspiring reading/watching/listening suggestions from our own Kathy Sherretts.

Onward!
Sage
​

PAGE UPDATE
In the past couple of weeks, there has been some great news: the House of Representatives rejected an Islamophobic bill, House women protested restrictive dress codes with #SleevelessFriday, 14 cities have posted deleted EPA climate data, Trump intervened to let Afghan robotics team into the US to compete in international robotics competition after public backlash at visa denials of 6 girls on the team, Oregon will now give low-level drug offenders treatment instead of jail time and Chicago eradicates wealth-based detention, health insurance companies come out against the Senate healthcare bill. Finally,on the 10-year anniversary of the HPV vaccine the cervical cancer rate has been halved.
​

Week of Solidarity launched on July 20th for anti-Trump demonstrators from Inauguration Day (above): "Activists rally in solidarity with more than 200 protesters charged with felonies over Inauguration Day demonstration."
​

PAGE PRIORITY ACTIONS

• Defeat Trumpcare. While TrumpCare has stalled, the fight isn’t yet over. Here’s an update from the folks from Indivisible about what’s going on, and a script you can use to call your Senator.  
  • If you haven’t done so yet, write a letter to you a letter to the editor of your local paper advocating for universal healthcare coverage. Adapt this letter from PAGE, and check out this example, published last week!
  • Thank three Republican senators for putting their foot down on outright repeal of ACA. Thank you for listening and your compassion for the needs of Americans.
    • Sen. Shelley Moore Capito 172 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
    • Sen. Susan Collins 413 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
    • Sen. Lisa Murkowski 522 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510

• Prepare for midterm elections by advocating for a fair, free, and open election for voters.
  • 10% of Americans can’t vote because they can’t satisfy requirements, and these often stem from law that explicitly target those of certain races and demographics. (Bonus: read about one woman grappling with her own racism)
  • Advocate for the bipartisan Voting Rights Amendment Act - see here whether your state is attempting to restrict voting access.
  • Call: Your one House Rep (lookup or leave message). Script: Hi. I’m calling to ask Rep. [name] to support the bipartisan bill called the Voting Rights Amendment Act. It matters to me because the bill prevents racial discrimination and improves transparency. I would like [name] to support voting rights and co-sponsor this bipartisan bill. Thanks.
• Oppose the Wall. Site preparations for the border wall have begun. Recently, Trump’s new communications director said he was “on missile lock” to build the border wall.
  • Call: Or write all three MoCs (look them up here or leave a message with Stance, a neat app!). Script: Hi. I’m calling from [ZIP] and understand that funding for a $2.1 billion border wall is in the 2018 budget. I want to be clear that I will never, ever support this. I want my tax dollar to support things like schools, bridges, medical care, public housing, and food stamps, not a border wall. Especially since a wall won’t solve the drug trade problem, violates sacred Native lands, and puts 93 endangered species at risk. Does [name] support a taxpayer-funded border wall?

EXTRA ACTIONS
​

• Tune into an Interview On Facebook Live Women's March - Milan will be interviewing LGBT Muslim activist Wajahat Abbas Kazmi on the Women's March Global Facebook page! It will be streamed live on Tuesday at 19.00 CET. Wajahat is a young gay Muslim activist and filmmaker in Bergamo. He started the Allah Loves Equality awareness-raising campaign, which is now becoming a documentary about LGBT Muslims.

Thank you for your progressive action!
​

Want to know more? See  Tillerson to Shutter State Dept War Crimes Office below.
​

STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! by Kathy Sherretts

I've generally tried to focus on non-Trump-related points, since all the noise coming out of the White House is a distraction from issues that we need to communicate with our lawmakers about. (I also have other things I'd rather think about—I'm visiting family, my high school class reunion is this week, my baseball team is moving up in the standings.) But I'm starting to think that there ARE no non-Trump-related points. As Dahlia Lithwick writes in Slate this week, "... the real answer to the myriad legal and constitutional questions Trump raises with each exhale is, of course, that the legalities don’t matter because he doesn’t care... This is asymmetrical warfare insofar as the people who continue to think in terms of the rule of law mistakenly believe that there might be legal solutions....This is a problem that requires our focused long-term attention to money in politics, partisan gerrymandering, and voter suppression" 

Graphic:
The Washington Post: A guide to the five major investigations of the Trump campaign’s possible ties to Russia by Kevin Uhrmacher and Kim Soffen 
The criminal investigation led by the special counsel is charged with determining if anything illegal occurred. Meanwhile, each of the four major congressional fact-finding investigations is working to expose transgressions it finds unethical. Despite their differing goals, all the investigations are moving simultaneously and using much of the same information. 

Podcast:
Radiotopia: Ear Hustle, Episode 1: Cellies. (24 min) 
[For background, check out the 5-minute intro, This is Ear Hustle:
Finding a roommate can be tough. Finding someone to share a cell with is a whole 'nother story. At San Quentin Prison, the typical cell measures approximately 4’ x 9’ and contains a bunk bed, toilet, sink, two men, and their six cubic feet of belongings. In our first episode of Ear Hustle, hear stories of negotiating this space and the relationships that come with living in such close quarters.

Article:
Foreign Policy: Tillerson to Shutter State Dept War Crimes Office by Colum Kynch
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson wants to reorganize the State Department to focus on what he sees as key priorities: pursuing opportunities for American businesses and strengthening U.S. military prowess. Those changes are coming at the expense of programs that promote human rights and fight world poverty, which have been targeted for steep budget cuts.