Friday, March 30, 2018

Friday 3/30 Call to Action

Friday
1. Planned Parenthood Solidarity Day
Today, thousands of anti-Planned Parenthood protesters will be congregating at the Planned Parenthood in St. Paul in an attempt to shame and intimidate patients. In a brilliant act of peaceful opposition, the great people who support PP are holding a big party! If you are free, head down there today to show your support for an organization that provides high quality, affordable health-care and birth control to countless women (Including me, when I was a student. Thanks PP!). It should be a fund day of music, singing, and inspirational stories.
For safety, they do ask that you RSVP. Check it out here: http://www.ppaction.org/site/Calendar?id=132505&view=Detail
Check out PP’s Facebook invitation. https://www.facebook.com/events/140620499891572/
2. MNeverAgain Town Hall Project
Minnesota’s student leaders have sent out a call to action for Minnesota’s elected officials. They have created their own town hall during Congress’ spring break. Let’s support them by writing legislators and encouraging them to attend. The town hall will be on April 7th. If you have kids in your life who want to make a change, encourage them to attend the event. Let’s commit to attending as well to show our support. This is really exciting!
Learn more here and take advantage of a letter template to make your job easy. https://www.mneveragain.com/
RSVP to the event on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/events/2043335455913880/
Be sure to “Like” them on Facebook as well. https://www.facebook.com/NeverAgainMN/
You can also follow them on Twitter. @MneverAgain_
3. Become an Election Judge
Are you looking for a way to contribute to your community? Why not become an election judge? You will help elections run safely, and smoothly while learning how the government ticks. It’s a paid gig, so it’s a great way to help democracy work while making some $$. Read more about it here. http://www.sos.state.mn.us/…/get-…/become-an-election-judge/
4. The United States Congress is on spring break this week so it’s a perfect time to focus on what’s happening at Minnesota’s Capitol.
For a complete list of bills, check out Watch Your Reps MN and join the mailing list. https://us15.campaign-archive.com/home/…
Sites to Check:
CD2Action https://cd2action.com/, @CD2action
League of Women Voters MN https://lwvmn.org/
Dates to Remember
Tax Day Rally at the Capitol,
On Sunday, April 15th join fellow Minnesotans in protesting tax laws that benefit the richest Americans at the expense of the poor and working classes. Let’s get together and tell our government that we want them make laws the benefit the majority, not just their pocketbooks and election campaigns.
Look here for more information: https://www.taxrallymn2018.org/
RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/200520967348623/
Klobuchar-202-224-3244
Smith (202) 224-5641
House of Representative switchboard: (202) 224-3121
MN Legislators: https://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/legislators
Resistbot: https://resistbot.io/
Governor Dayton- https://mn.gov/governor/contact-us/
Purchase Eric Paslay’s latest music: http://umgn.us/ericpaslaypurchase Stream the latest from Eric…
YOUTUBE.COM

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Thursday 3/29 Call to Action


Thursday 3/29

Are any of you disappointed you didn’t win $250,000 last night at HQ? Me too.

1. Northern MN oil pipeline
The Canadian oil company, Enbridge, wants to build a pipeline from Canada to Superior, WI. The line that is already in place was built in 1968, and the more modern pipeline would carry more oil; meaning it could leak more oil. While the environmental impacts have been considered for this line, the same cannot be said about how this will affect American Indian lands. “Many at the committee hearing told lawmakers that allowing construction of the pipeline could produce protests like occurred a couple of years ago at Standing Rock Indian Reservation in south central North Dakota.” Governor Dayton has said he opposes this bill. Let him know how you feel about this, along with your local representatives. 

2. GOP bill toughening protest penalties
Time to call your local representatives and the Governor’s office. “The House Public Safety committee advanced the Republican-backed bill Wednesday over objections from Democrats and civil rights groups. Republicans argue the bill would help prevent damages to public infrastructure and hold groups who encourage people to break the law accountable. But critics say the bill could chill protests.”

3. The United States Congress is on spring break this week so it’s a perfect time to focus on what’s happening at Minnesota’s Capitol.
For a complete list of bills, check out Watch Your Reps MN. (https://mailchi.mp/3622d6b7748e/watchyourrepsmn-action-alert-thursday-update)

4. MneverAgain
Check out this student led organization dedicated to making sensible gun legislation. Wow! These kids are great.
Be sure to “Like” them on Facebook as well. https://www.facebook.com/NeverAgainMN/
Sites to Check:
CD2Action https://cd2action.com/, @CD2action
MN02 Congress Watch http://mn02congresswatch.org/
League of Women Voters MN https://lwvmn.org/
Dates to Remember
Tax Day Rally at the Capitol,
On Sunday, April 15th join fellow Minnesotans in protesting tax laws that benefit the richest Americans at the expense of the poor and working classes. Let’s get together and tell our government that we want them make laws the benefit the majority, not just their pocketbooks and election campaigns.
Look here for more information: https://www.taxrallymn2018.org/
Klobuchar-202-224-3244
Smith (202) 224-5641
House of Representative switchboard: (202) 224-3121


Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Wednesday 3/28 Call to Action

Wednesday
1. The United States Congress is on spring break this week so it’s a perfect time to focus on what’s happening at Minnesota’s Capitol.
For a complete list of bills, check out Watch Your Reps MN. https://mailchi.mp/…/watchyourrepsmn-action-alert-week-of-m…
Today, MN House will be debating a bill that will add work requirements for medial assistance recipients. HF 3722 (http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/bills/billnum.asp…) Most people receiving medical assistance that are able to work already do, so this bill is a waste of time and money. The staff and resources required to keep track of this is an unnecessary cost to taxpayers.
Check out this list of Health and Human Services Committee Members. If your representative is on the list, be sure to give him/her a call. Otherwise, you can contact the committee chair, Matt Dean.http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/comm/committeemembers.asp…
2. On Monday, the Commerce Department announced that it was including a question about citizenship on the 2020 census. Citizenship questions have purposely been left out of the census since the 1950’s because it keeps many people, especially from poor or immigrant populations from participating in the survey. Vanita Gupta, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, explained that the goal of the census is to capture every person in the United States, and a citizenship question will sabotage the census and provide inaccurate data. If you consider that the census determines voting districts and tax dollar distribution, it becomes evident of what a sneaky ploy this is by Republican leadership.
States, including New York and California, have sued the Trump administration arguing that the citizenship question violates the US Constitution. https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/california-sues-trump-ad…/…
Today, lets contact Minnesota’s Attorney General Lori Swanson. When I last called AG Swanson’s office, I was told she prefers emails and letters over phone calls.
Office of Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson
445 Minnesota Street
Suite 1400
St. Paul, MN 55101-2131
(651) 296-3353
Attorney.General@ag.state.mn.us.
3. MneverAgain
Check out this student led organization dedicated to making sensible gun legislation. Wow! These kids are great.
https://www.mneveragain.com/
Be sure to “Like” them on Facebook as well. https://www.facebook.com/NeverAgainMN/
Sites to Check:
CD2Action https://cd2action.com/, @CD2action
League of Women Voters MN https://lwvmn.org/
Dates to Remember
Tax Day Rally at the Capitol,
On Sunday, April 15th join fellow Minnesotans in protesting tax laws that benefit the richest Americans at the expense of the poor and working classes. Let’s get together and tell our government that we want them make laws the benefit the majority, not just their pocketbooks and election campaigns.
Look here for more information: https://www.taxrallymn2018.org/
RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/200520967348623/
Klobuchar-202-224-3244
Smith (202) 224-5641
House of Representative switchboard: (202) 224-3121
MN Legislators: https://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/legislators
Resistbot: https://resistbot.io/
Governor Dayton- https://mn.gov/governor/contact-us/
Whitney Houston's official music video for 'Greatest Love Of All'. Click to listen to Whitney Houston on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/WhitneyHSpotify?IQid=Whi...
YOUTUBE.COM

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Tueday 3/27 Call to Action

Tuesday
1. Common Sense Gun Legislation
Were you at the Capitol on Saturday for the March for Our Lives? Did you see the hundreds of thousands of people around the globe demanding sensible gun legislation? It was an inspiring day. Our job as voting constituents is to use that momentum to elicit positive change. The youth of our country deserve our help. Let’s make sure we follow through.https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/a7365514-2f59-11e8-b0b0-f7…
The public safety committee of the Minnesota House tabled Representative David Pinto’s sensible gun bills preventing a discussion and vote on the House floor. https://www.twincities.com/…/mn-gun-control-hearing-little…/
State Senator Matt Little has two gun safety bills and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Warren Limmer also refuses to bring these bills to the Senate floor for discussion.
SF 3278 (https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php…) Requiring gun owners to report lost or stolen fire arms.
SF 3279 (https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php…) Expant criminal background checks for gun purchases.
Watch Senator Little’s announcement here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcCnI7OwrjA
On Monday, DFL lawmaker held a press conference announcing their plan to combat gun violence. It is a three tiered approach including, improving school safety, allowing gun violence research, and implementing gun safety laws. The committee deadline for new legislation has passed so it is up to the Republican controlled Senate to decide whether they will allow it to go forward.
Watch the announcement here: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/…/democratic-senators-gun-c…/…
Today, let’s call the majority and minority leaders and demand that Minnesota’s Congress holds hearings on gun violence NOW. Here is a list of leaders: https://www.senate.mn/members/index.php?ls=#leader
As teens Ben Jaeger and Adrian Ali-Caccamo said, leaders are supposed to come together to discuss issues that important to their constituents. Instead, they are choosing to turn a blind eye. That’s unacceptable.
Read Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk’s opinion piece here: https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/…/4422084-minority-leader…
Want to see all the gun related legislation that has been introduced in Minnesota’s Congress? Check out this handy website. You can check on other subjects as well. https://openstates.org/mn/bills/…
2. Our neighbors in Wisconsin are getting ready to vote for a new state supreme court justice. Judge Rebecca Dallet supports sensible gun control regulations, while her opponent has close ties to the NRA. If you have some extra time this week, sign up to phone back or text bank Wisconsin voters in support of Judge Dallet. https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSe3XMLwq_C6lq_RrW…/viewform
Do you have excellent penmanship? You can also send postcards by signing up here: https://postcardstovoters.org/2018/03/18/dallet/
Learn more about Judge Dallet here: https://www.dalletforjustice.com/
3. Memories from March for Our Lives
Check out CD2Action’s page with highlights and interviews from Saturday’s march.
https://cd2action.com/march-for-our-lives-msp/
Sites to Check:
CD2Action https://cd2action.com/, @CD2action
League of Women Voters MN https://lwvmn.org/
Dates to Remember
Tax Day Rally at the Capitol,
On Sunday, April 15th join fellow Minnesotans in protesting tax laws that benefit the richest Americans at the expense of the poor and working classes. Let’s get together and tell our government that we want them make laws the benefit the majority, not just their pocketbooks and election campaigns.
Look here for more information: https://www.taxrallymn2018.org/
RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/200520967348623/
Klobuchar-202-224-3244
Smith (202) 224-5641
House of Representative switchboard: (202) 224-3121
MN Legislators: https://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/legislators
Resistbot: https://resistbot.io/
Governor Dayton- https://mn.gov/governor/contact-us/
"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" was the first short film of…
YOUTUBE.COM

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Monday 3/25 Call to Action

I went to my district caucus and missed the March for our Lives, but many of you attended one of the marches, for sure.

 1. If you haven't already, call senators to oppose Mike Pompeo, Trump's pick to replace Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State.  Pompeo has an abysmal record on torture and opposing Muslims.

https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/555680/

 2. We can also call about John Bolton, although the senate does not confirm him.  Senator Tim Kaine has raised some questions about whether he is able to obtain a security clearance.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/22/politics/trump-replace-national-security-adviser-mcmaster-bolton/index.html

Mr. Bolton is very interested in pre-emptive strikes on North Korea.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-legal-case-for-striking-north-korea-first-1519862374

3. Tax Day Rally at the Capitol,
On Sunday, April 15th join fellow Minnesotans in protesting tax laws that benefit the richest Americans at the expense of the poor and working classes. Let’s get together and tell our government that we want them make laws the benefit the majority, not just their pocketbooks and election campaigns.
Look here for more information: https://www.taxrallymn2018.org/
RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/200520967348623/
Sites to Check:
CD2Action https://cd2action.com/, @CD2action
MN02 Congress Watch http://mn02congresswatch.org/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/572562169758984/
League of Women Voters MN https://lwvmn.org/
Dates to Remember
March 24th March for Our Lives http://rallybus.net/march-for-our-lives/
Find an event in your area https://event.marchforourlives.com/…/march-our-live…/search/
April 20th #NationalSchoolWalkout
Find an event in your area http://act.indivisible.org/event/national-school-walkout/
Klobuchar-202-224-3244
Smith (202) 224-5641
House of Representative switchboard: (202) 224-3121
MN Legislators: https://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/legislators
Resistbot: https://resistbot.io/
Governor Dayton- https://mn.gov/governor/contact-us/

Friday, March 23, 2018

Friday 3/23 Call to Action

Friday
1. Omnibus Spending Bill
The $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill passed the Senate early this morning with hours to spare before another government shutdown. This bill contains huge increases in defense and military spending. If the GOP’s goal was to be fiscally responsible, it is not evident in this spending bill. One thing that is missing in this bill is any solution for Dreamers. When will our members of Congress finally stand up and find a solution for them? I cannot imagine how stressful it must be to be perpetually kicked aside. Call your senators and representative today and ask them why Dreamers were left out of the bill.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/2074fe7e-2dd6-11e8-8688-e0…
2. Oppose Mike Pompeo
Yesterday, Trump announced that John Bolton, a much maligned former ambassador and Fox News talking head would replace Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster as national security adviser. Bolton is know for his extreme ideas and volcanic personality. It is a dangerous choice in light of the upcoming meeting with North Korea. Unfortunately, Trump can appoint Bolton without Senate confirmation.
Let’s focus on an appointment we can influence. CIA Director Mike Pompeo has been nominated to replace Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. In light of the Bolton appointment, it is imperative to get a knowledgeable, level headed replacement. Pompeo does not fit this bill. Pompeo has supported torture in the past, approves of gutting the Iran nuclear deal, has downplayed Russia’s interference in our elections, and seems to prefer war over diplomacy.
Last year, Senator Amy Klobuchar voted to confirm Mike Pompeo as CIA Director. We must make sure she knows she can’t vote for him again.
Use this script to call Senators Klobuchar and Smith:
“My name is [–] and I’m a constituent and voter from [city], Minnesota[zip code]. I am calling to urge Senator Klobuchar/Smith to oppose Mike Pompeo for Secretary of State. Pompeo is unsuited for this position because he would reinforce, rather than temper Trump’s hawkish, autocratic tendencies and has endorsed reprehensible policies.
3. March for Our Lives
The March for Our Lives takes place tomorrow! There will be a huge march in Washington DC. https://marchforourlives.com/, but there will also be grand marches here in Minnesota. If you have the time, consider going to support our children in their fight to be safe at school. The kids will be marching from Harriet Island. Adults can support them by meeting at the Capitol Building.
Check out the website: https://marchforourlivesmsp.weebly.com/
Consider becoming a marshal so the kids can safely focus on spreading their message. They are still looking for volunteers.http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0944adae2eaaf85-minnesota1
Participating in the March For Our Lives? There's an app for that! Info about the march itself, the March For Our Lives movement to end school shootings, and more. Download it here: https://marchforourlives.com/app/
For those of us unable to march on March 24, for whatever reason, we can still be part of the day by joining in on the #VirtualMarchForOurLives on Twitter.
4. Tax Day Rally at the Capitol,
On Sunday, April 15th join fellow Minnesotans in protesting tax laws that benefit the richest Americans at the expense of the poor and working classes. Let’s get together and tell our government that we want them make laws the benefit the majority, not just their pocketbooks and election campaigns.
Look here for more information: https://www.taxrallymn2018.org/
RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/200520967348623/
Sites to Check:
CD2Action https://cd2action.com/, @CD2action
League of Women Voters MN https://lwvmn.org/
Klobuchar-202-224-3244
Smith (202) 224-5641
House of Representative switchboard: (202) 224-3121
MN Legislators: https://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/legislators
Resistbot: https://resistbot.io/
Governor Dayton- https://mn.gov/governor/contact-us/

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Thursday 3/22 Call to Action


Thursday 3/22

1. Special Counsel
Congressman Cohen has filed a discharge petition to force a floor vote to protect Robert Mueller. Let’s continue to pressure our representatives that we want legislation passed that would protect Mueller in the event that Trump should fire him.
Call your members of Congress today and tell them to support the
Special Counsel Independence Protection Act
and The Special Counsel Integrity Act

2. Polymet Land Exchange
It looks like Rep. Nolan is trying to attach his bill that would transfer National Superior Forest land to Polymet as a “rider” in the spending bill. Let’s call our Senators and tell them reject and oppose this in the federal budget. 

3. Local HF978
Passing a bill like HF978 would increase support staff funding. Minnesota is the fourth worst state for student-to-counselor ratio in the country. This is not good for the well-being of students or educators. We should do better. 

4. Tax Day Rally at the Capitol,
On Sunday, April 15th join fellow Minnesotans in protesting tax laws that benefit the richest Americans at the expense of the poor and working classes. Let’s get together and tell our government that we want them make laws the benefit the majority, not just their pocketbooks and election campaigns.
Look here for more information: https://www.taxrallymn2018.org/
5. March for Our Lives
March 24th will be March for Our Lives. There will be a huge march in Washington DC. https://marchforourlives.com/, but there will also be grand marches here in Minnesota. If you have the time, consider going to support our children in their fight to be safe at school.
Consider becoming a marshal so the kids can safely focus on spreading their message. http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0944adae2eaaf85-minnesota1
Buy some merchandise or donate money to help cover expenses. If you go, take pictures and share them on social media.
Dates to Remember
March 24th March for Our Lives http://rallybus.net/march-for-our-lives/
Klobuchar-202-224-3244
Smith (202) 224-5641
House of Representative switchboard: (202) 224-3121