Health Care Time to get serious about health care again. Bernie Sanders is introducing a “Medicare for All” bill into the Senate on Wednesday; Elizabeth Warren has thrown her support behind Sanders and has agreed to co-sponsor the bill. Details of Sanders’ plan are on his site. The likelihood of any Republicans getting behind this plan are slim to none, but as it seems that it ultimately is the only solution to the U.S.A.’s health care woes, we should start pushing for the adoption of - if not Sanders’ plan - then at least something like it. Action: 1. Contact your Senators by email, phone, postcard, and/or fax to let them know how you feel about Sanders’ plan. Ask them to become co-sponsors. 2. Contact the White House to tell them you’re super-excited about Sanders’ plan. 3. Retweet some of Sanders’ tweets about health care: https://twitter.com/SenSanders
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Sunday, September 11 - There are certain to be many people in Florida today who are fearful, traumatized, and distressed. Let's just take some time to pray for them, or to send Reiki or other kinds of positive and consoling energy. Dream Act of 2017 S.116 & H.R.3440 Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has introduced a bill into the Senate which would reinstate the protections for Dreamers that Trump removed by rescinding DACA. The bill is co-sponsored by six Democrats and three Republicans and has been referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. A similar bill has been introduced into the House by Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA-40) and is co-sponsored by 135 Democrats and two Republicans. This bill has been referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security. Action: 1. Contact your Senators and ask them to co-sponsor the Dream Act of 2017, S.116. If your Senator sits on the Committee on the Judiciary, make a point of asking them to vote the bill forward so that action can be taken by the whole Senate. If your Senator is a co-sponsor, thank them. 2. Contact your Member of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor the Dream Act of 2017, H.R.3440. Again, if your MoC is on the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, be sure to ask them to hurry the bill along. If your MoC is a co-sponsor (likely if they’re a Dem), thank them. 3. Send Senator Graham a free fax, thanking him for introducing the bill. Trump & the Dems So, who knows what Mr. Crazy is up to now, making this unexpected alliance with the Democrats in the recent debt-ceiling extension, but his new “my friends Chuck and Nancy” persona should be encouraged. Action: Contact the White House to say complimentary and flattering things about his excellent judgment in siding with the Democrats. Protection for Lawful Medical Marijuana Programs Federal law still classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, on the same level as heroin, and a step worse than cocaine, which is merely Schedule 2. Schedule 2 drugs are allowed to be prescribed for medical conditions, but the DEA has refused to reclassify marijuana as Schedule 2. The federal prohibition of marijuana is in direct conflict with the laws of states which have decriminalized or legalized its use. The rights of marijuana users, producers, and sellers in these states are potentially threatened by federal enforcement, and it is especially important that those who rely on medical marijuana to deal with a variety of health problems are not prevented from or punished for using the drug. The Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment is a provision to prevent the Department of Justice from interfering with state laws permitting the use of medical marijuana. The amendment was added to a spending bill and is in force through September 30 of this year. The amendment will then need to be reauthorized. Action: Contact your Member of Congress and ask that the Rohrabacher- Blumenauer amendment language be included in any future spending bill in order to protect the state-mandated rights of medical marijuana users. OR Use the NORML site page, which will give you a form letter to email to your Member of Congress after you fill in your name and address. DACA Trump has rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects young illegal immigrants who were brought here as children from deportation. No one new will be admitted to the program, and the 800,000 currently in the program will start to lose their legal status in March 2018 if Congress does not enact a substitute. Business leaders have signed a letter to Trump asking for protection for Dreamers and stating their belief that these young people play a vital part in the success of our country. Republicans may not be averse to supporting bipartisan legislation to protect these young people, and Trump himself has called upon Congress to Do Something. So there’s hope. Action: 1. Call your Member of Congress and ask them to support a bipartisan Dream Act to protect all the existing DACA recipients as well as all young people who, having been brought here as children, have made this country their home. 2. Sign up to receive United We Dream SMS updates. They’ll tell you about calls to make, and - if you enjoy going to rallies and protests - they’ll alert you about these sorts of activities in your area. (You can also donate to them if you choose.) Harvey Relief Hurricane Harvey has caused damage which will cost between $48 and $75 billion dollars to repair. Despite the Texan legislators’ bad attitude about paying for Sandy’s damage to the northeast, let’s ask our members of Congress to vote for a robust relief package for Texas. Action: Call your member of Congress and ask them to vote for a generous relief package for Texas. Labor Day Mattress Mack In recognition of today’s holiday, here’s a quick and easy action, and a cheerful one at that! Houston’s Jim McIngvale, aka “Mattress Mack,” opened up his two large Gallery Furniture showrooms to Houstonians fleeing their flooded homes. Full of beds, mattresses, couches and recliners, the showrooms made a comfortable haven for exhausted evacuees. Mattress Mack is quoted as saying, “To hell with profits,” which would be a nice motto for more American businesses to adopt! Action: Sign the petition at Change.org to have August 26 declared Mattress Mack Day in Houston in honor of the man who didn’t hesitate to to come to the aid of his fellow Houstonians in their time of need. Of course many, many people came forward to assist in countless ways, large and small, but Mattress Mack has caught our imagination and inspired us - to honor him is in some way to honor all those who sacrificed time, effort, and resources out of a sincere and selfless desire to help their neighbors. Petition: https://www.change.org/p/houston-mattress-mack-day-aug-26 :
Sunday, and the end of a traumatic week for many Texans. Here are the Eichers, one Houston family who were rescued and came home to start the process of cleaning up and rebuilding: http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2017/09/03/eicher-family-harvey-sidner-pkg-nr.cnn :
Police Abuse of Authority In a shocking display of police over-reach, a Utah nurse was assaulted by a detective and arrested for refusing to comply with an illegal demand by a police detective. Alex Wubbels refused to draw blood from an unconscious patient because she knew the detective, Jeff Payne of the Salt Lake City police, did not have the proper authorization. Payne became violent, handcuffed her, and detained her in a police vehicle. He has since been placed on leave pending an independent investigation by the D.A. Action: 1. Write to Alex Wubbels congratulating her for her knowledge of and respect for the law and thanking her for standing up for what she knows is right: University of Utah Hospital, 50 Medical Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah 84132. and/or email Suzanne Winchester at the hospital's Office of Public Affairs, complimenting Alex Wubbels for her staunch behavior: suzanne.winchester@hsc.utah.edu 2. Contact Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown, stating your feelings about his officer’s behavior and thanking him for publicly censuring Payne’s actions. Ask him to fire Payne and reeducate his entire force. Email: askthechief@slcgov.com. 3. Contact the Mayor of Salt Lake City, Jackie Biskupski - thank her for publicly apologizing for Payne’s actions and ask her to ensure that the police force is reeducated. Email: mayor@slcgov.com. And I wish we could be certain that they would have been as apologetic if the victim of the assault had been Black. |
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