Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Wednesday 8/1 Call to Action

Wednesday
1.False Friends
The Russians are at it again. (Or did they never stop?)
Yesterday, news broke that Facebook had uncovered “sophisticated” efforts, possibly linked to Russia, to manipulate U.S. politics and by extension the upcoming midterm elections. 32 apparently fake accounts on Facebook and Instagram were removed because they involved “coordinated” and “inauthentic” political behavior. Nearly 300,00 people were following at least one of the newly banned accounts and thousands had RSVP’d to an event they promoted. The fake pages had names like, "Aztlan Warriors," ''Black Elevation," ''Mindful Being," and "Resisters"and were focused “exclusively at engaging and influencing the LEFT end of the American political spectrum”, according to Atlantic Council researchers.
An intelligence panel is scheduled to hold a hearing in early September with Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and an executive from Google to learn more. Keep an eye out for that.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/…/ct-facebook-election-interf…
Senator Klobuchar is working hard to pass the Honest Ads Act. https://www.warner.senate.gov/…/index.cfm/the-honest-ads-act Give her a call and thank her for her leadership.
2. Hackers Easily Hacked Our Voting Machines
Hackers from around the globe met in Los Vegas last week at a Defcon convention. The participants were given to opportunity to crack election-style voting machines. I am sorry to say that someone was able to successfully access a voting machine in only and hour and a half remotely via its Wi-Fi system. This news confirms that any state not using paper ballots is at risk in November. Thankfully, Minnesota is on board the paper ballot train. Congress should be working on preparing all states to have paper ballots, at least as a back up. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, Congress is dragging its heels.
https://www.cbsnews.com/…/hackers-break-into-voting-machin…/
3. Our Electrical Grid Is Vulnerable Too
Intelligence officials have reported that Russian hackers are working hard to implant malicious software into the U. S. power grid. This puts us at risk for a catastrophic power failure that could disrupt our lives as we know it. The potential for a nationwide power failure on election day is clear.
Keep in mind that Republicans in the House voted against giving states funds to beef up their election security. The Trump administration has done nothing to address Russia’s interference from 2016 and in May, Trump eliminated the position of cybersecurity officer on the National Security Council. Despite their anemic words condemning the Russian attacks, the actions of Trump and Republicans in Congress are rolling out the red carpet for Russia to meddle in out midterm elections. http://thehill.com/…/399348-concerns-rise-about-russian-att…
Going forward, it is important that we are vigilant in sourcing our news to ensure it’s factual. Continue to contact your members of Congress and let them know that election safety is paramount. Most importantly, get out the vote. If Russia prevents us from casting our vote in November, out response will have to be overwhelming. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that but we must be prepared.
4. The Final Stretch
This is it. We are in the final stretch before the midterm elections. It cannot be overstated how important it is that Democrats get elected in November. Every person needs to commit to helping increase voter turnout. Multiple studies have shown that personal contact with voters is the key to encouraging them to participate. Taking time to connect with someone fact to face (or almost as good-on the phone) can be enough to cause many people who never voted in the past to see themselves anew, as the sorts of people who regularly go to the polls on Election Day. In turn, voting even once can become habit forming, reinforcing self-identification as “a voter” long after the initial conversation with a canvasser. What is more, voter contacts have strong spillover effects within households, boosting participation by others as much as 60 percent. Largely regardless of the message, personal contact with reluctant voters — even once, but especially repeatedly — can shape the electorate dramatically. https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/how-to-mobilize-reluctan…/…
What’s the takeaway? Now is the time to volunteer with a campaign to canvass. Push yourself out of your comfort zone these next three months. Share your enthusiasm for the DFL with others in Minnesota communities. You can rest easy at night knowing that you are doing your best to take back this country.
Check out these calendars for upcoming events near you.
https://cd2action.com/calendar/
https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed…
Study after study shows that the most effective way to get people to vote is by having conversations with them in the four days before Election Day (Saturday, November 3rd–Tuesday, November 6th). Volunteer here to be part of the last big push. https://thelastweekend.org/?source=MN02
#StandOnEveryCorner
Join your neighbors to stand up against Trump and his terrible administration. #StandOnEveryCorner encourages all of us to get out in our communities and speak out about what’s happening in the U.S. right now. It’s simple and easy. Grab a sign and find a participating corner near you. Better yet, create your own corner and encourage others to join you. Learn more from this article here: http://www.southwestjournal.com/…/honk-if-you-stand-with-s…/
Or here: http://www.startribune.com/new-hyperlocal-political-forc…/…/
This tweet lists some of the participating spots. There are many in the Twin Cities. https://twitter.com/BenyonMelissa/status/1023331029719773184
4. Primaries are August 14th
Don’t forget to vote in the primaries by August 14th. Check out this website for more information on who’s running in Minnesota. https://politicalcharge.org/…/minnesota-8-14-primary-at-a-…/
* New Podcast Alert *
The Weekly List.
The Weekly List is a podcast hosted by Amy Siskind, author of The List. It will supplement the popular Weekly List on our website, www.theweeklylist.org. The podcast will give greater context to the "not normal" news items from the previous week, and will highlight a few stories that you may have missed.
https://anchor.fm/the-weekly-list
Gaslit Nation
Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior go over hot topics. https://itunes.apple.com/…/2016-gaslit-year-p…/id1400926647…
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/
YOUTUBE.COM
A famous song from Cabaret movie (1972) with Liza Minelli, Joel Gray and Michael York. The rise of Nazi-party (NSDAP) in early 1930s in Germany is shown…

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