Exxon Wants to Dodge Sanctions Exxon Mobil wants a waiver to allow them to bypass sanctions with Russia and resume doing business with the Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft. Guess who used to be the Exxon CEO … none other than our own Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, who has lobbied in the past for sanctions to be relaxed on behalf of his company. All very fishy, and all very inappropriate, given that we have not yet uncovered the truth about the Trump/Russia nexus. Action: 1. Steny Hoyer (D-MD-5) has introduced a bill - HR 1059, Russia Sanctions Review Act of 2017 - which would prevent the President from unilaterally lifting any sanctions against Russia. Check out the membership of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, where the bill has been introduced, and if your MoC is on the committee, ask them to support the bill and to oppose any relaxing of sanctions to allow Exxon to do business with Russia. If your MoC is one of the bill’s co-sponsors, contact them to thank them. 2. Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) has introduced a similar bill - SR 341, Russia Sanctions Review Act of 2017. Check out the membership of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, and if either of your senators are on the committee, ask them to support the bill and also to oppose waiving sanctions for Exxon. If either of your senators are co-sponsors of the bill, please contact them to thank them. 3. If neither your senators nor your MoC are involved as committee members or co-sponsors, contact them to ask them to prevent Exxon Mobil being allowed to bypass sanctions with Russia. House and Senate contact info on Speak Out page of our website.
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DACA Deportation Border Patrol officials have detained and deported Juan Manuel Montes, a young man who is a DACA recipient and whose status should have ensured him resident status. The Feds now admit that they were in error about his DACA status but are denying that they deported him, saying that he left the U.S. voluntarily, a claim which he denies. Whatever the details of the case, ICE and DHS are becoming more aggressive, and members of the Latino community, even those whose status should give them security, are legitimately fearful. This fear has lead to a drop in crime reporting, as victims and witnesses are afraid of attracting police attention. Action: Write to Secretary Kelly of Homeland Security, asking him to bring Juan Manuel Montes home to the United States: The Honorable John F. Kelly Secretary of Homeland Security Washington, D.C. 20528 Or give DHS a call: 202-282-8495. If you wish, you can add your name to the United We Dream petition to Secretary Kelly. Marijuana Laws The United States has a policy of violent retribution against those who possess or sell drugs including marijuana. Many states have recognized that this is a losing approach to marijuana use in America and have moved towards legalization or decriminalization; others are considering similar legislation. The Federal government is a threat to the states’ autonomy in this matter, and there is legislation in Washington to protect states’ right to determine their own marijuana policies. Action: Check out the website of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and look at the list of pending legislation. You can take action on one or more of the items at the top of the list, which are are flagged as priority. Or you can scroll down to see whether your own state has any legislation in the pipeline - if so, click on it, and follow the suggested action. For example, there is a bill in the New York State Senate which would legalize and regulate the cultivation, possession, and sale of marijuana. You can fill out and submit your representative’s contact form directly on NORML’s website (they will look up your state Senator and House representative based on your address), or you can send an email from your own email address. North Korea & Election Assistance Commission Today’s action is to call your Member of Congress: 1. Ask what they are doing to help keep the peace with North Korea. 2. Ask them to vote NO on HR 634, which would eliminate the Election Assistance Commission. The EAC’s mission is, as stated on their website: The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) supports state and local election officials in their efforts to ensure accessible, accurate. and secure elections. EAC develops guidance to meet the Help America Vote Act requirements, adopts voluntary voting system guidelines, and serves as a national clearinghouse of information on election administration. EAC also accredits testing laboratories and certifies voting systems, as well as audits the use of Help America Vote Act unds. At a time when the Russians are known to have interfered with the 2016 Presidential election, we need the Election Assistance Commission more than ever. House Contact Information here: www.house.gov Death Penalty The state of Arkansas has seven death row prisoners scheduled to be executed before the state's supply of lethal drugs expires at the end of this month. The state attempted to rush these executions through before the drugs’ expiration date, but U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker has stayed the executions temporarily. You can read more about it here. Action: Arkansas is expected to appeal the decision by Judge Baker. Please email or call Arkansas’s Governor Asa Hutchinson and ask him to commute all seven prisoners’ sentences to life. If you wish (as Gov. Hutchinson claims to be a Christian), you may comment that Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have all condemned the use of the death penalty as unjustifiable in the modern state. More info here. If your own tradition condemns the death penalty, by all means mention that. Governor Asa Hutchinson Online comment form: http://governor.arkansas.gov/contact-info Phone number: (501) 682-2345 Tweet at him: @AsaHutchinson On this (Easter) Sunday of rest, enjoy a song by the late lovely Jean Redpath. www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UrzYCG0_-M Health Care Trump has a scheme to revive his health “care” plan by blackmailing the Democrats with the threat of withholding ACA subsidies. Once again, he is showing that he just doesn’t care the people who voted for him in the expectation that he would uphold his campaign promises. Action: Write a postcard to Trump at the White House and demand that Trump enlist the help of House Democrats and moderate Republicans to produce a truly universal health care system by means of expanding Medicare. The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Bombs Action: Call your Member of Congress to state whatever concerns you have about the recent M.O.A.B. strike on ISIS in Afghanistan. Whether or not this particular action was strategically “necessary,” it is clear that the current Administration is becoming increasingly hawkish. Peaceful solutions to global strife are not going to happen unless there is a concerted effort to think outside the militaristic box. House contact info: www.house.gov The Wall - Deportations The Washington Post published an article yesterday detailing the many and various ways Trump hopes to squander tax payers’ money and make life miserable for hardworking, law-abiding American residents. Apart from building The Wall, he wants to hire thousands of new Customs & Border Patrol agents, as well as Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents. This would all be a waste of money and effort, but - worse - it would turn this country into a police state. Action: Trump can’t do any of these things without Congress agreeing to fund them. Call AND write to your Member of Congress demanding that they refuse to allocate a penny more of additional funding for ICE or CPB or The Wall. House Contact Info: www.house.gov I.C.E. Again The behavior of ICE is everything that we don’t want happening in this country. So we’re going to stick with Roberto Beristain again today. Action: 1. Write to Roberto’s business address to say that you support him and his family and that you condemn ICE’s actions. Send money if you want. Eddie’s Steak Shed 12685 Adams Rd Granger, IN 46530 2. The mayor of South Bend has spoken up to protest Roberto’s deportation. Please email or write to the mayor to thank him. Pete Buttigieg, Mayor Office of the Mayor 227 West Jefferson Blvd. Suite 1400 N South Bend, Indiana 46601 mayorpete@southbendin.gov 3. Contact Rep. Jackie Walorski (R IN-2) and ask her to do everything she can to help Mr. Beristain and his family. http://walorski.house.gov/contact/email/ |
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