Health Care Again because it ain’t looking good The Trumpcare bill is supposed to be released on Thursday, and then they want to vote on it the following week. It’s a mess. Action: Trumpcare Toolkit has identified Republican swing voters in the Senate, and today the best thing to do is to just send you over to their site. That site will direct you to call, Tweet, fax, write a letter to a local paper, or identify Facebook friends who live in each senator’s state. Pick your own senator if listed; otherwise, pick any one! Do as much as you have time for. Here’s the Trumpcare Toolkit site: http://www.trumpcaretoolkit.org/ This country WILL eventually end up with a single payer system, but if the GOP have their way, millions of people will suffer unnecessarily before that day arrives. It may seem like we’re beating our heads against a brick wall right now, but inaction is passive collusion. Don’t give up!
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Health Care (gotta keep at it) Indivisible recommends contacting your senators’ legislative aides who deal with health care issues. Let’s follow Indivisible’s recommendations for action. Action: 1. Look up your senators’ staffers here: http://www.indivisibleguide.com/resource/senate-health-care-staffers 2. Call the number listed for each of your state’s senators, and ask to speak to the named staffer. If your senator is Republican:
If your senator is a Democrat, ask how he/she plans to stop the Republicans from deliberating behind closed doors and using Reconciliation to force the bill through. 3. Follow up your call with an email (relevant staffers’ email addresses also on the Indivisible site), restating the same points. N.B. Be polite to staffers. Not all of them have drunk the Kool Aid, and they’re just trying to get experience in politics or improve their resume. Texas - SB4 The State of Texas has enacted a piece of legislation - SB4 - which will greatly increase the scope of immigration enforcement. The bill requires officials other than immigration officers to question and report the immigration status of individuals such as crime victims, trial witnesses, college students, and others. The law would criminalize any jurisdiction, such as a city or police department - which attempts to limit its officials from checking or questioning a person’s immigration status. All the police chiefs of Texas have spoken out against this law, as it would severely limit their ability to allocate resources as they think fit, and it has already had a chilling effect on crime reporting in Latino and other immigrant communities. Thus, far from making Texas safer, it actually makes it more dangerous. This kind of anti-immigrant scare-mongering legislation is the fruit of the hostile climate created by Trump, and we want to stop it from spreading. Action: 1. Write to the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, telling him that you abhor SB4 and hope that he will not sign it into law. Say that this is exactly the kind of legislation you do NOT want to see in your own state. Greg Abbott contact info: http://gov.texas.gov/contact 2. Houston City Council is considering a lawsuit against the state of Texas to prevent SB4 becoming law. Contact the Mayor of Houston, telling him that as a fellow American citizen, you would be grateful to him if he would try to stem the tide of hateful legislation and help protect the entire country from this kind of law. Mayor Sylvester Turner, City of Houston, P.O. Box 1562, Houston, TX 77251 (713) 837-0311; sylvester.turner@houstontx.gov Sunday - the day off. In honor of Icelandic Independence Day yesterday, enjoy this beautiful Icelandic singing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4dT8FJ2GE0
Health Care Again A group of governors from both parties are very critical of the Republican health care bill and are calling for a bipartisan effort to address the issue. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D), Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D), Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R), Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D), Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) have all signed a letter, addressed to Senate leaders on both sides of the aisle, which enumerates the many flaws in the Republican bill and which calls for safeguards for our most vulnerable populations, such as the mentally ill, those with chronic conditions, and those struggling with drug addiction. Action: If your governor was one of the above, please write to thank him. If not, write or email your governor, asking them to get on board. Write or email your senators, saying that you applaud the letter written by Wolf, Kasich et al and insisting that they comply with the suggestions therein. Contact your state governor: http://www.usa.gov/state-governor Find your senator: www.senate.gov AHCA The New York Times published an article which shows that the AHCA is the most unpopular piece of legislation for decades, with even the most diehard Republican states maxing out at 35% approval for the bill. If your monthly quota of free NY Times articles is used up, here are a map and a chart which show the approximate approval rate for each state. Action: Look at your state and see what percentage approves of the AHCA. If your senators are Republican, write them a postcard stating that if they approve the AHCA or any legislation which resembles it, they will be going against the wishes of the majority of their constituents; give them the relevant numbers. If your senator(s) is/are Democrat, write to Mitch McConnell who heads up the Senate working group on health care, demanding that his group respect the preferences of the majority of Americans and remind him that even Republicans do not support AHCA. Senator Mitch McConnell 317 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Senate contact info: www.senate.gov Trump’s Birthday Messages and NBC Sandy Hook Denier Interview First Action: Trump’s birthday is coming up, and MoveOn.org is hoping to send him an avalanche of progressive birthday wishes to commemorate the day. Add your name to the petition, and send #45 a message (or multiple messages) about what YOU wish HE would do. Petition here. Second Action: Infamous Sandy Hook denier Alex Jones is scheduled to be interviewed by NBC’s Megyn Kelly on June 18. The Newtown Action Alliance has written to Andrew Lack, head of NBC News, asking him to cancel the interview. Jones’s hateful views should not be afforded this kind of respect and respectability, and it is irresponsible of NBC to give him a platform to speak. Let’s join with the Newtown Action Alliance and contact NBC News to ask them to cancel the interview: (212) 664-4444. Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act of 2017 S. 65 has been introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren in order to help prevent financial conflicts of interest like we’re seeing in the Trump presidency from occurring in the future. The bill would “require the president and vice president to both reveal and divest themselves from any potential financial conflicts of interest”. Further, it would necessitate that the president release his/her tax returns. Action: 1. Contact your senator and let them know that you are still waiting to see Donald Trump’s tax returns and ask them to support S. 65 2. While we’re on the subject of tax returns, call Donald Trump and tell him to release his so that America might be able to more clearly understand what his conflicts of interests and/or dealings with Russia exactly are Find contact info Bureau of Land Management Mustangs Trump’s budget proposes to save $10 million dollars by reducing or removing protections for free-roaming mustangs; it allows for them to be caught and shipped off to Mexico or Canada to be cruelly slaughtered for food. Each one of Trump’s trips to Mar-a-Lago costs taxpayers $3.6 million. If Trump would forego a mere three trips per year, that would more than cover the annual cost of protecting the West’s mustangs. Action: 1. Write to the White House asking Trump to protect these sensitive and sentient beings, who are icons of the West. Ask him to personally make a $10 million sacrifice in order to protect them. White House contact information: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/write-or-call 2. Write to the Bureau of Land Management, asking the acting director to personally approach Trump to ask him to make a $10 million sacrifice to protect the mustangs: Michael D. Nedd Acting Director, Bureau of Land Management 1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5665 Washington DC 20240 Repeal of Dodd Frank On June 8, the House passed H.R. 10 - the Financial Choice Act of 2017. Members of Congress voted along party lines to repeal the Dodd-Frank financial regulations which were put into place after the crash of 2008 to prevent another financial crisis. The bill guts consumer protections and allows banks to make the same kind of rash and greedy investments which lead to the crisis in the first place. Action:
House contact info: www.house.gov Senate contact info: www.senate.gov |
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