Stop Graham-Cassidy! Action: 1. Trumpcare Toolkit is making it easy for us. From their site, you can call the swing senators, and also Tweet at at them. Go for it: https://www.trumpcaretoolkit.org/ 2. If you’re able to spend more time, call your own senators as well -- call their DC offices and as many of their local offices as you can. Save all their numbers to your phone, so that you can make calls throughout the day whenever you have a minute. If one of the swing senators belongs to you, then don’t worry about the others -- just call every single one of your own senator’s offices. www.senate.gov
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Health Care Graham-Cassidy Bill Once again the GOP is attempting to repeal and replace Obamacare - this time with a system of state block grants. The plan would allow states to opt out of Obamacare protections such as caps on premiums paid by those with pre-existing conditions. Sixteen medical and patient groups have come out against this bill, including the AMA, the National Council for Behavioral Health, the Association for Community Affiliated Plans, the American Cancer Society Action Network Group, the AARP, the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the Arthritis Foundation, the National Health Council, and the March of Dimes. Action: 1. Contact Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who voted against the repeal-and-replace bill, and ask her to continue her opposition to the GOP’s attempts to pull the health care rug out from under millions of American. The governor of her state, Bill Walker, has spoken out against the bill, saying that it would result in drastic Medicaid cuts. 2. GOP Senator Daniel Sullivan, also of Alaska, has not taken a position on the bill. Contact him and ask him to oppose it. Bail The system of bail in this country favors defendants with means over those without. Individuals who are able to post bail, even if they are high-risk, are likely to be set free pending trial. On the other hand, low-risk defendants who are unable to pay for bail are often held in jail for lengthy periods, at great cost to the taxpayer, as well as at great human cost. The Pretrial Safety and Integrity Act is a bipartisan bill which aims to right some of the wrongs associated with our discriminatory and expensive bail system. The bill’s co-sponsors are Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Rand Paul (R-KY). Action: Call the Senate Judiciary Committee at (202) 224-5225 to say that you support S.1593 the Pretrial Safety and Integrity Act of 2017. If you leave a voicemail, please leave your full name and address so that your call is counted. If either of the bill’s co-sponsors is your own senator, contact them to thank them for proposing this legislation. Taxation The state of Kansas, under Republican Governor Sam Brownback, underwent a five-year experiment in trickle-down economics and tax cuts. The experiment failed, and Kansas legislators, including a large number of Republicans, have become frustrated with the negative effect of tax cuts both on the state’s economy and on the state government’s ability to function. Kansas state legislators have now overridden their governor and are reversing his tax cuts. Trump and his allies have made tax cuts a rallying cry, but the outcome in Kansas should give them pause. Action: If you have a Republican representative or senator, contact them and make the point that the Kansas tax-cut experiment has failed and that far from leading to greater prosperity, it has had a negative effect on the state’s economic health. In Kansas, moderates on both sides of the aisle are working together to find a bipartisan solution. Our senators and members of congress should do the same. If all your reps are Democrats, send the same message to the White House. Contact info: www.senate.gov www.house.gov www.whitehouse.gov/contact R.I.P. Cassini The NASA spacecraft Cassini burned up on Friday as it fell into the atmosphere of Saturn, after orbiting the planet for 13 years. During its mission, Cassini sent many images of Saturn and its moons back to earth. Here are some of the best: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/14/science/cassini-saturn-images.html?_r=0 Optional Good Deed A Houston lady, Lisa Beckman, well known to the administrators of this site, is very active on the ground post-Harvey, bringing supplies and aid to people in hard-hit, low-income neighborhoods. Many buildings have only one storey and were flooded to a depth of several feet, ruining all the occupants’ possessions and leaving them returning to live in dangerously mold-infested dwellings. You have perhaps heard that sending supplies rather than financial donations to Houston is not the best use of your resources. However, in this case - where people are living without the basic necessities of life, and where helpers on the ground know exactly what is needed - gifts of supplies are extremely welcome. Lisa has a wish list at Amazon and would be so grateful for any donations. I was at her house Saturday morning and witnessed the mailman arrive, bringing packages containing diapers, baking soda, bleach, cat litter, laundry detergent, and more. She put everything right into her minivan and headed directly to the neighborhood. Anything you send will similarly go straight to where it’s needed. Keep checking the list, as she’s planning to update it in the next couple of days. As you check out, when it comes to "Select Shipping Address," you should see "Randall Beckman" listed as one of your options - select that address. Lisa’s Wish List for Houston Medicare for All Co-Sponsors Action: On Thursday we didn’t have the names of all the co-sponsors of Bernie’s Medicare for All bill. Here are the names of the rest of the Senators now. Thank as many as you have time for. Links to contact forms on names. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) Jeff Merkley (D-OR) Martin Heinrich (D-MN) Brian Schatz (D-HI) Mazie Hirono (D-HI) Tom Udall (D-NM) Patrick Leahy (D-VT) Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) Ed Markey (D-MA) If you prefer to fax, you can send up to five free faxes daily from FaxZero. If you haven’t yet thanked Bernie, do it now! North Korea Action: 1. Call the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and ask that they seek a diplomatic solution to the problem of North Korea: (202) 224-4651. 2. Send positive and healing vibes to North Korea and the North Koreans in whatever way you’re accustomed so to do. Donald and the Dreamers After his meeting with Democrats on Wednesday, it seems Trump has hashed out some sort of agreement on how to protect Dreamers, confounding his base and throwing House Republicans into confusion. He is completely erratic - one minute he’s talking about massive border security and a big old WALL, then the next morning, he seems to be on board with a plan which ditches the wall and is agreeable to the Democrats as regards border security. No matter - every time he takes a step in the right direction, let’s pat him on the back. If a moral compass is not part of his equipment, maybe he can be trained with Pavlovian techniques. He’s got lots of people “liking” his crazy Tweets, so …. Action: 1. Let’s like and retweet these sensible ones: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/908276308265795585 https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/908278070611779585 2. Optional: click on one of these Tweets, click on the drop-down arrow next to the “Follow” button in the top right, click on “copy link to Tweet,” paste link into Facebook, and set the post to “Public” so all the world can see. 3. If you don’t do Twitter, send another message to the White House, saying how pleased you are with the negotiations with the Democrats to protect Dreamers. Sanders' Medicare for All Bernie Sanders unveiled his “Medicare for All” bill on Wednesday. He recognizes that it will be an uphill battle to implement this, or similar, legislation. However, the time has arrived to vigorously push for a truly equitable health care system for this country - one which ensures that quality health care is readily accessible for all, regardless of ability to pay. Here is a short video of a Canadian doctor at Sanders' press conference, extolling the virtues of their single-payer system, which delivers better results for half the cost: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=hEd75iVdTDY. Sixteen senators have co-sponsored Bernie Sanders’ bill, including Kamala Harris (CA), Elizabeth Warren (MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Cory Booker (NJ), Al Franken (MN), Richard Blumenthal (CT), and Jeanne Shaheen (NH). Action: 1. Contact one or more of the co-sponsoring senators (links on names above), thanking them for supporting Bernie’s bill. 2. Contact your own senators again to remind them (if they haven't already signed on) that you want them to co-sponsor Bernie’s bill. Chocolate Pie with Chuck & Nancy Trump has been having more cozy times with his new BFFs Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, discussing how they’re going to help the Dreamers. Action: Contact the White House to congratulate the President for working with the Democrats on this important issue. DACA The Republicans who've been trying to save the DACA situation have completely wimped out. Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO-6) had started a petition with the aim of forcing the House to take up legislation to protect Dreamers, but pulled it when Paul Ryan twisted his arm. Ryan insists that any pro-Dreamer legislation should include enhanced border security measures. The Senate Judiciary Committee was scheduled to hold a hearing on DACA this week, but it has been postponed with no future date set. The Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Paul Goodlatte (R-VA-6), is also holding the Dreamers hostage to the issue of “criminal alien gangs” and “border security.” Action: 1. Contact Rep. Mike Coffman to ask him to proceed with the petition, which he wrote with Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL-4). Call upon him to act upon his own initiative and refuse to be bullied by Ryan. Coffman accepts emails only from constituents, so call (phone numbers on this page) or fax. 2. Contact Rep. Paul Goodlatte to ask him to immediately schedule a hearing for the House Judiciary Committee to discuss the DACA issue. Again, call (phone numbers here) or fax. 3. Contact Senator Chuck Grassley (IA), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and ask him to immediately reschedule the hearing to discuss how to institute protections for Dreamers. Health Care Graham-Cassidy Senators Graham and Cassidy have come up with yet another cockamamie scheme to repeal and replace Obamacare. Action: 1. Contact your own senators to say you’ve had enough of all this repeal-and-replace malarkey, that the Graham-Cassidy plan is a dud, and that you want Medicare for All. 2. Contact the culprits to say the same thing: Cassidy: https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/contact https://faxzero.com/fax_senate/C001075 Graham: https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=contact-form https://faxzero.com/fax_senate/G000359 3. Contact the White House to say that the President’s natural allies are the Democrats and that he should get on board with them to introduce Medicare for All. |
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