Easy Plan of action for Saturday, October 21, 2017... You can read this, which is perhaps not the most charitable thing ever written, but could nevertheless be exactly what we need to hear right now: http://scottmcmurrey.x10host.com/TheScottBlog/2017/10/20/progress-past-asshole-america/
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Keep Trump’s Finger Off the Button Trump should not have the power to authorize a first-strike nuclear attack without the prior consent of Congress and an official declaration of war. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA-33) has introduced legislation to this effect. Action: 1. Contact your Member of Congress and ask them to support H.R. 669, Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2017. If they are already a co-sponsor, thank them; if they are not, ask them to sign on as a co-sponsor. 2. Of the bill’s 61 co-sponsors only one is Republican - Walter Jones of North Carolina. Rep. Jones was also the first House Republican to support an independent investigation into Russia’s involvement with the election and connections with Trump’s campaign, and the first Republican to call upon Devin Nunes to step down. He deserves a vote of confidence and thanks for supporting Lieu’s bill, as well as for his willingness to speak out of step with his own party. Let’s send him a fax: http://faxzero.com/fax_congress/J000255 No Tax Cuts! The fact is that the citizens of the U.S.A. do not pay particularly high taxes in relation to the rest of the developed world. In fact, they pay rather modest levels. The last thing we need is for the wealthiest Americans to have an income tax reduction paid for by taking health care and other services way from their less affluent neighbors. Mnuchin has backtracked on his earlier promise that the wealthiest will receive no tax cuts, and the whole enterprise looks like ideological flag waving. Action: 1. Contact your Member of Congress to say: No Tax Cuts except to raise the minimum amount at which you have to start paying income tax. 2. Contact your Senators to say: No Tax Cuts except ditto. 3. Contact Steve Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury, to say the same thing. Health Care Trump has issued an executive order ending subsidies to insurance companies to make coverage more affordable for low-income people. Our good friend, GOP Senator Susan Collins of Maine, has once again spoken up on the side of the Good Guys, criticizing Trump for his actions and emphasizing the importance of the subsidies in making health care affordable. Action: 1. Contact Senator Collins to thank her for her outspoken defense of affordable health care. She is also to be congratulated for her decision to not seek the governorship of Maine in order to stay in the Senate where she can do good for the whole country. 2. Contact your own senators and ask them to speak up like Collins. 3. Contact the White House to criticize Trump’s executive order rescinding subsidies to insurance companies. Chicago - Sanctuary City The battle over sanctuary cities continues to be waged in cities and courts throughout the country. The Trump administration has tried to punish sanctuary cities by threatening to withhold grants and funding for public safety in retaliation for the cities’ refusal to use their police resources to extend the arm of ICE. A Chicago judge last week refused to back down from a ruling which barred Jeff Sessions from requiring the city to comply with the new Department of Justice rules. Action: 1. Contact the Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, to thank him for standing against the overreach of ICE. 2. Contact Jeff Sessions to express your displeasure at the overreach of ICE and the refusal of the DoJ to respect cities’ decisions about what is best for the safety and welfare of their own residents. While you’re at it, if you like, you could also thank Sessions for doing something right: he recently provided an experienced lawyer to help prosecute a hate crime in Iowa. Clean Power Plan Continuing its head-in-the-sand attitude to global warming, the Trump administration has moved to repeal the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, which seeks to reduce greenhouse gases and move the country towards renewable energy sources. Action: 1. Contact your Member of Congress to ask that they make strenuous efforts to support and uphold the Clean Power Plan. 2. Contact Scott Pruitt, the EPA Administrator, to assert your support for the continuation of the Clean Power Plan. 3. Contact the White House to ask the President to acknowledge the reality of global warming and the necessity of the Clean Power Plan. Automatic Gunfire Prevention The Las Vegas shooter was able to fire off many more rounds of ammunition due to a device known as a bump stock, which modifies semi-automatic weapons by increasing their fire rate and turning them into automatic weapons. There is bipartisan support for prohibiting the sale of bump stocks, and even John Cornyn, one of the most rabid gun promoters on the hill, is considering supporting a ban. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL-26) has introduced H.R. 3999 to ban bump stocks, and a similar bill – S.1916, the Automatic Gunfire Prevention Act - has been introduced into the Senate by Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). Action: 1.If your Member of Congress is one of the co-sponsors of H.R. 3999, send them a postcard to thank them. If they are not a co-sponsor, send a postcard asking them to become one. 2. If your Senator is one of the co-sponsors of S.1916, send them a postcard to thank them. If they are not a co-sponsor, send a postcard asking them to become one. House contact information: www.house.gov Senate contact information: www.senate.gov Trump & the First Amendment Trump made some intemperate and dictatorial remarks, threatening to take away the licenses of networks which don’t kowtow to his world view. GOP Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska reacted by accusing Trump of violating his oath to uphold the Constitution. Action: 1. Thank Senator Sasse for defending the First Amendment. 2. Retweet Senator Sasse’s comments. 3. Retweet the ACLU’s comments about Trump’s behavior. 4. Contact the White House to complain about Trump’s threats. Don’t Let Trump Fire Mueller A bi-partisan bill has been introduced by Representatives Walter Jones (R-NC-3) and John Conyers (D-MI-13) which would prevent the President from firing the special counsel without Congressional approval. Action: 1. Contact your Member of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor and support H.R. 3771, the Special Counsel Integrity Act. 2. The bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee. If your Member of Congress is a member of that committee, ask them to support the bill and speed its progress forward to a vote by the House. House contact info: www.house.gov |
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