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plan of action - may 1, 2017

4/30/2017

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Health Care


Trump is Tweeting away again about providing health care for all that’s going to be cheaper for everyone. The only things that are cheap are #45’s words. His claim that revised legislation will guarantee coverage for those with pre-existing conditions is a lot of hot air. You’ll get coverage if you happen to have thousands of dollars burning a hole in your pocket. The AARP reckons that if people with pre-existing conditions are forced to get coverage through state high-risk pools, the price tag for one person could be as high as $25,700 annually. Insurance only makes sense when high-risk and low-risk individuals are in the same pool. And of course, insurance doesn’t make sense anyway, and we should go to an expansion of Medicare.

Action:

Keep the pressure on!!!!!!


  • Call your Member of Congress again at both numbers and loudly protest the lack of protection for people with pre-existing conditions under the proposed ACA repeal-and-replace. State high-risk pools are NOT a substitute for laws preventing insurance companies from discriminating.
  • If your MoC is Republican, ask them to work with Democrats and NOT the Freedom Caucus to find a viable solution to the health care crisis.
  • Contact the White House asking the President to work with Democrats, NOT the Freedom Caucus.
  • Here’s a list of Freedom Caucus members. If your MoC is one of them, maybe move into their office and breathe down their neck 24/7? Just a thought.

Contact info for White House and Congresss on Speak Out page of our site.

​
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sunday, april 30, 2017

4/30/2017

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​Today is Sunday! It's also International Jazz Day 2017! A good day to enjoy this performance from the 1970 Newport Jazz Festival:


www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wX-YWOr8RQ
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april 29, 2017

4/28/2017

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100 DAYS

It’s been a long 100 days, but unlike #45, we’ve accomplished a thing or two!

If you’ve been a member of this group from the beginning and have completed all the actions, you will have made over 80 calls, written about 40 postcards, sent about 30 emails and 15 faxes, not to mention Tweeting and other social media activity. We’ve taken action on over 40 issues - the most acted-on being health care (16 times) and Russia (8 times). And if you’ve only had time to take action once - well, thank you for taking action!

The last 100 days have shown us that we have the power and unity to stand together and defend what we know to be right. Let’s look at some of the wrongs we have averted:

  • Trump has reneged on funding The Wall in the budget.
  • Bannon was removed from the NSC.
  • The Muslim Ban was stopped by a judge. Twice.
  • Rosa Ortega, Daniela Vargas, and Daniel Ramirez were freed on bond.
  • Michael Flynn is in disgrace and is being investigated.
  • Nunes stepped down from his leadership of the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Russia.
  • The ACA repeal-and-replace has been blocked twice.
  • Exxon was not allowed to resume business in Russia.
  • Andrew Puzder’s nomination to be Labor Secretary was withdrawn.

The Ten-Minute Activist members have spoken out on all these issues. There remains much work to be done, and we live in perilous times, but history is on our side. As G.K. Chesterton said, “The unconscious democracy of America is a very fine thing. It is a true and deep and instinctive assumption of the equality of citizens.” And that is why we resist. Thank you all.

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plan of action - april 28, 2017

4/27/2017

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No, No, No
Just NO



Actions:


1.  The time has come to call your Member of Congress and be very angry. Doesn’t matter if it’s an
     innocent staffer -
scare them.
Call both their Washington DC office and their constituency
     office. The new health”care” proposals put forward by “moderate” Republicans (Tom       
     MacArthur, R NJ) to placate the ideologically fanatic Freedom Caucus would do this
:


         MacArthur’s amendment would allow states to opt out of two of the law’s central provisions: requiring
         coverage for “
essential health benefits
” such as maternity and preventive care and barring insurers
         from charging people with certain preexisting medical conditions more than others in their general
         insurance pool.

        (From Thursday’s Washington Post​)

2.  If you feel it’s appropriate, please share on social media and ask your friends to also call their
     Member of Congress. People will lose their lives if the GOP has its way over this.


3.  Send a free Fax to Rep. MacArthur, telling him his ideas are real bad. 
     
http://faxzero.com/fax_congress/M001193 

House contact info here: www.house.gov

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Plan of action - april 27, 2017

4/26/2017

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Taxation

Trump, as you know, has come up with some proposals to simplify and reduce taxes. These ideas are not all bad - for example, doubling the standard deduction. However, the plan would help the rich far more than lower- and moderate-income families. The Tax Policy center estimates that the top wealthiest 1% of households would enjoy a 14% increase in after-tax income, while the increase in income for  low- and moderate-income households would be less than 2%.

The plan, moreover, does not pay for itself; it is estimated that the ticket price of this tax overhaul would be trillions of dollars, with only a vague promise of future revenue from all the pie-in-the-sky economic growth which the cuts are supposed to stimulate. This plan for growth is classic supply side economics, which falls somewhere in between highly dubious and debunked.  Nuriel Roubini of the NYU Stern School of Business has said:

[T]he verdict from history and empirical evidence is quite clear. Supply side economics is "voodoo economics". Reductions in tax rates (starting from initial moderate tax rate levels) do not siginificantly increase labor supply and savings, do not increase economic growth, do not raise total tax revenue and do not reduce budget deficits. Their likely effect on the level and growth rate on output is close to zero while they lead to significantly larger budget deficits.
​


Action:

Call your Member of Congress to say that you reject Trump’s tax proposals as being founded in  “voodoo economics.”

If you like, you could also send a postcard to that effect.


House contact information: www.house.gov

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plan of action - april 26, 2017

4/25/2017

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​Good News

Here’s a spot of good news: a judge has stopped Trump from implementing a policy of refusing Federal grants to “sanctuary” communities - jurisdictions which have limited their cooperation with immigration officials and deportation forces. More information in this Houston Chronicle article.


Threat to Overtime Compensation

The Working Families Flexibility Act (HR 1180/ S 801) would give employers leeway to refuse to pay overtime to employees. The bill is touted as a way of giving workers more flexibility but in fact would increase unpredictability in scheduling and would give the employER, not the employEE, the right to determine when compensatory time would be awarded lieu of payment. You can read more about it in this Huffpost article. Instead of this bill we need paid family leave, guaranteed sick days, overtime pay for overtime work, and predictable and regular work schedules.


Action:

  • Call the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to oppose S. 801 (202) 224-5375.
  • Call your Senators and ask them to vote against S. 801.
  • Call the House Committee on Education and the Workforce to oppose HR 1180 - (202) 225-4527.
  • Call your Member of Congress and ask them to vote against HR 1180.


House and Senate Contact info on Speak Out page of this website.

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plan of action - april 25, 2017

4/24/2017

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Healthcare


Trump & his minions are in the process of trying to resurrect the dead and decomposing AHCA - a zombie apocalypse if ever there was one. Our action today is to call our Members of Congress and Senators again. This time, if you wish, you may use the script below (borrowed from sorry-I-can't-remember-where).

“Can I count on Congressperson/Senator Y to oppose any version of the AHCA?” (THIS IS YOUR ASK)

  • Write down answer. Thank them if they say yes. Stand your ground politely but firmly if they hand you a talking point, say “no,” or try to hide behind the idea that they can’t express an opinion for the Congressperson.
  • If they throw the “but the bill keeps the Essential Health Benefits” crap at you, tell them it lets states waive it, so it’s worthless.
  • If they throw “but the new bill keeps protections against preexisting conditions” crap at you tell them that the deal would let insurers charge sick people outrageous amounts for insurance.
  • If they say “high risk pools will fix everything” tell them that the AHCA’s paltry $10 billion a year is a joke and will cover about 10 cancer patients in every congressional district.
  • If they say “negotiations are ongoing” tell them that under no circumstances should the Rep vote for a bill that takes away any protections of the Affordable Care Act.
  • If they throw the “but this bill will make insurance premiums go down” crap at you, tell them that the bill does that by cutting sick people out of the risk pool and letting insurance policies not cover anything.


House and Senate contact info on Speak Out page of this site.

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plan of action - april 24, 2017

4/23/2017

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Budget


Congress must pass a budget by April 28th to keep the government functioning. Trump has all sorts of big (bad) plans, but he can’t carry out any of these plans without Congressional approval.


Action:

The New York Times recently published an article about the greater efficacy of calling, rather than emailing, your Member of Congress. Call your MoC  to say:

  • Don’t fund the Wall
  • No more funding for deportation or detention
  • Maintain funding for the existing ACA
  • And anything else you feel strongly about in the budget. Info here.


Extra Action: Jon Ossof

Jon Ossoff, the Democrat running in Georgia’s recent special election, narrowly failed to obtain the votes necessary to win outright, although he was the leading contender. He now faces a Republican opponent in the June 20 run-off election. This is a golden opportunity to turn the tide against Trump and the Republican-dominated legislature. If you feel so called, Ossoff’s campaign could sure use your help (no matter where you live) as a phone bank volunteer:

http://go.electjon.com/page/s/web-volunteer


House Contact Info: www.house.gov

​
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sunday - april 23, 2017

4/22/2017

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Sunday - a day to rest and appreciate the late, lamented, and imperishably fabulous Rik Mayall: 
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0Ho9T2TcPY​
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plan of action - april 22, 2017

4/21/2017

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Saturday


First, the bad news: Gorsuch has shown his true colors by okaying the Arkansas executions.  Ironic that the first important decision of the SCOTUS justice appointed by a President who was the darling of the pro-life vote was a flat-out anti-life decision. Sad day.

Now the good news: Exxon Mobil will NOT be granted a waiver to do business in Russia. Hooray!


Today’s Action:

Many of you will be going to the March for Science events on Saturday, and that’s plenty for one day!

The rest of us can do our part by going to Facebook where we can “comment” on and “like” the comments and photos posted by our friends who are participating in marches. The great and all-wise data collection monster that is the Internet will register these likes and perchance recognize the way the wind bloweth.

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