Monday 12/17 Call to Action

Monday 12/17

1. ACA

On Friday night a Texas judge threw out the Affordable Care Act and health care protections for millions of Americans. During the midterms, Republicans ran their campaigns saying they would make sure insurance companies covered pre-existing conditions, but we knew they were lying. This ruling plays right into the Republican agenda of limiting access to healthcare. Earlier this year, the Trump Administration said it wouldn’t defend the law that has protected Americans with pre-existing conditions expanded coverage to millions more. Now is the time to thank our Senators, House Democrats, and Attorney General (aren’t you glad we have a democratic AG?) for saying they will work to appeal this ruling and protect our health care. It’s important to note that Friday night’s ruling on the ACA should not impact health insurance coverage for 2019. You can enroll until January 13 in Minnesota. 

“The part of "repeal and replace" Republicans never liked was the "replace" part. The Republican health care position is to let insurance companies charge as much as they like and cover as little as they like.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/12/16/trump-ensures-2020-another-health-care-debacle-republicans-column/2330158002/

 A Potent Remedy for Evictions: Obamacare.

https://www.citylab.com/equity/2018/12/obamacare-health-insurance-housing-rent-payments/577099/?utm_term=2018-12-10T15%3A08%3A03&utm_campaign=citylab&utm_content=edit-promo&utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social?utm_source=twb

2. Border wall and possible Government Shutdown

Stephen Miller and his painted on hair has touted that the Trump administration is “absolutely” willing to shutdown the government over the border wall.

“Trump said last week he would be "proud" to have a shutdown to get Congress to approve a $5 billion down payment to fulfill his campaign promise to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. But the president doesn't have the votes from the Republican-controlled Congress to support funding for the wall at that level.”

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/12/16/white-house-digs-in-on-border-wall-demand-risking-shutdown

“Congress faces a deadline of midnight Friday to pass legislation funding seven agencies ― including Homeland Security ― or else the third partial government shutdown of 2018 will occur. It’s not yet clear how Congress will try to stave off a shutdown, or whether President Donald Trump will get the $5 billion in funding for border security he says is needed for his signature.” (Thank you D.R.)

https://www.countable.us/articles/17501-week-congress-criminal-justice-reform-trying-avoid-gov-t-shutdown-border-security-funds?fbclid=IwAR2GmQUq--4QVetaqLWvFa52pkeeTYIqxoItKswsO2wDDdjuRngf09QiuIk

3. Almost 15,000 Migrant Children Being Held at Shelters

I’m devastated to hear about seven year old Jakelin Caal Maquin’s death while in the custody of Border Patrol Agents. I’m disgusted to read that this country has almost 15,000 children being held in almost capacity shelters. We have got to figure out how right these wrongs. 

https://www.npr.org/2018/12/13/676300525/almost-15-000-migrant-children-now-held-at-nearly-full-shelters?fbclid=IwAR014e55t2bnBr2E1Q8FixXoNljxGzqVe9SbQgaD_oezgMMoOasnDkm2N3o

Read what Senator Smith had to say about visiting two detention centers. 

https://www.facebook.com/USSenTinaSmith/posts/796022910744138?__tn__=K-R

“Months after the government erected a tent city in the desert, most of what happens inside the encampment remains hidden, even from curious neighbors in the nearby town of 1,600 residents. The only images of the minors in the camp, standing outside in an orderly line or playing soccer, have been released by the Department of Health and Human Services.”

https://www.revealnews.org/article/no-one-on-the-inside-can-talk-about-whats-happening-at-the-tent-city-for-migrant-kids/

4. Zinke is gone (some good news!).

The guy who is currently facing 17 ethics investigations is leaving the administration. 

https://www.citizensforethics.org/a-guide-to-the-14-federal-investigations-into-ryan-zinke/

There is a lot happening this week. Check out upcoming events: 

Hey MN03! You have a town hall event with your new Congressman, Dean Phillips, today! Get there early!

Monday, December 17th, 6:30

Oak Grove Elementary School

1301 W. 104th St

Bloomington

Protect Mueller Petition Delivery on Tuesday, December 18th

https://www.facebook.com/pg/IndivisibleMN/events/?ref=page_internal

Now is a great time to catch up on some podcasts. Here are some good ones. Happy listening!

NPR political podcast https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510310/npr-politics-podcast

FiveThirtyEight https://fivethirtyeight.com/tag/politics-podcast/

Gaslit Nation https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/gaslit-nation

Anything by Crooked Media https://crooked.com/network/

Al Franken interviewing Andy Slavitt https://soundcloud.com/…/health-care-discussion-with-andy-s…

Rachel Maddow’s podcast, Bagman https://www.msnbc.com/bagman

Chris Hayes’ podcast, Why is This Happening? https://art19.com/sh…/why-is-this-happening-with-chris-hayes

Political Gabfest https://slate.com/news-and-politics/political-gabfest

The Weeds https://www.vox.com/the-weeds

More Perfect (a podcast about the Supreme Court) https://www.wnycstudios.org/…/radiolabmoreperfect/season-one

Whistlestop (a podcast about the history of presidents) http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/whistlestop.html

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/

Monday 12/10 Call to Action

Monday 12/10

There is a lot happening with with the Mueller investigation and Individual 1, as well as departures from the White House. Try and stay focused in all the chaos.

Yemen

Our Senators need to know that we will not support the United States involvement in the conflict in Yemen. Senator Chris Murphy along with Senators Bernie Sanders and Mike Lee are trying to “force the Senate to vote on a resolution that says this President and this administration cannot continue to engage in the conflict in Yemen without a declaration of war from Congress. Our legislation, which cleared a major procedural hurdle Wednesday and is working its way through the Senate under the 1974 War Powers Act, would require the administration to pull its support from the Saudi coalition until it gets that declaration of war.”

“It's time for us to end our disastrous engagement in Yemen, and it's time for Congress to reclaim its role as the body with the sole authority to declare war. We can start by deciding to end our involvement in the war in Yemen.”

https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/06/opinions/us-involvement-yemen-war-murphy-opinion/index.html?no-st=1544393213

Mass Shootings

Sensible gun laws are something we demand after the new year. Everytown For Gun Safety has come out with a report on mass shootings from years 2009-2017. It’s a bit of a long read but worth the time. 

“Policymakers across the country should address the gaps that make it too easy for dangerous individuals to arm themselves. This includes requiring background checks on all firearm sales, temporarily removing firearms through Red Flag Laws, keeping guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, and restricting the purchase, possession and manufacture of high-capacity magazines.”

https://everytownresearch.org/reports/mass-shootings-analysis/

EPA to roll back clean water protections

Here we go again. There is more action underway by this administration to roll back rules that protect communities and save lives. This administration is working to eliminate the 2015 Clean Water Rule which protects waterways and shields people from droughts, floods, and hurricanes. This measure also worked toward cleaning up large bodies of water, like the Chesapeake Bay. This is not ok. 

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/420380-epa-to-roll-back-protections-in-rewrite-of-obama-era-water-rule

William Barr’s nomination for attorney general

“Barr's nomination also has been met with concern by civil rights and criminal justice reform advocates, who point to his hard-line views dating back to the early 1990s.

"William Barr's record suggests he will follow Jeff Sessions' legacy of hostility to civil rights and civil liberties," said Faiz Shakir, the American Civil Liberties Union national political director. "Barr must commit to defending the rule of law and civil rights, not serving as a political arm of Trump's anti-constitutional agenda."

https://www.npr.org/2018/12/07/674243195/trump-says-hell-nominate-william-barr-to-return-as-attorney-general?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=politics&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=203007

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/

Monday 12/3 Call to Action

Monday 12/3

Now is a break “glass scenario” emergency for getting people enrolled in the ACA. Deadline for MN is January 13, but many states have a deadline of 12/15. Spread the word. 

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/28/obamacare-insurance-numbers-drop-995227

It doesn’t seem like much was accomplished between Xi and Trump, even though both said their meeting was highly successful. Trump is threatening to blow up NAFTA to blackmail Congress into signing his new trade agreement. 

“The U.S. and China emphasized different results from Sunday’s high-stakes meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, with the split highlighting how much of a gap needs to be overcome over the next three months.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-02/u-s-china-trade-truce-side-by-side-comparison-of-statements

“Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while returning to Washington from Argentina, Trump says: “I will be formally terminating NAFTA shortly.”

Seeking to gain leverage with skeptical lawmakers to approve the revised trade pact, Trump says Congress “will have a choice” as it considers the agreement he signed with the leaders of Mexico and Canada on Friday during the Group of 20 summit.”

http://www.startribune.com/world-waits-to-see-if-trump-xi-dinner-brings-trade-peace/501695862/

“Thousands of acres of wetlands in northeastern Minnesota are in danger, and only the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can save them. These two agencies must rule on federally required permits related to water quality and wetlands. What’s at risk? Up to 7,694 acres of wetlands located in a region that supports the highest quality, diverse wetlands in Minnesota. 960 acres will be directly destroyed by PolyMet (in itself a huge loss), an additional 6,700 could be harmed indirectly by mining activities.”

https://www.minnpost.com/community-voices/2018/11/requiem-for-our-wetlands-whats-at-risk-in-ne-minnesota/

I look forward to the day when our country’s leader is fighting for this planet again. 

“Trump’s reason for rejecting the overwhelming evidence for climate change has been to cite his “natural instinct” for science. In a Washington Post interview this week, he said, “One of the problems that a lot of people like myself, we have very high levels of intelligence but we’re not necessarily such believers.”

https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/12/trump-g20-climate-paris-accord-denial/

Indivisible Guide has some tips on how to respond to Trump’s atrocities at the border.

https://indivisible.org/resource/how-we-can-respond-trump%E2%80%99s-latest-atrocities-our-border

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/