Thurs 7/26 – We have until July 31st to make a lot of noise about the “gag rule”.

Heads up, people! We are LOSING the numbers game on comments!!!

Title X is the only federal domestic program focused solely on providing people with family planning services – to women with and without insurance. Most patients are uninsured or ineligible for Medicaid. You can read more about it here.

The Trump administration has proposed a “gag rule,” that not only would prohibit providers from even discussing abortion as a health care option for women, but would impose onerous and expensive requirements – like having a physical and financial separation between Title X programs and abortion services. (By way of reminder, abortion services are never paid for with federal or government dollars.)

A new fictional website that describes what we face in the future, brilliantly branded as the Department of Reproductive Control – lays out the Trump administration’s vision of the future that awaits us, our daughters and granddaughters. As they say “Everything on this site is true, except the name of the site itself”.

Read it and SHARE, SHARE, SHARE! Then, sit down and write out some comments because…

…although at this moment, there are over 104,190 comments recorded…

MOST of them are form-letters IN FAVOR OF THE GAG RULE!!!

Our opposition is well-organized and well-funded. However, there are far more of us who believe in our rights to full healthcare, so write!

And remember that this is not just a women’s battle.

Make all the people you know, INCLUDING MEN, who also benefit by women having full access to reproductive care, write too. It’s really easy to do. It takes 5 minutes.

Continue reading “Thurs 7/26 – We have until July 31st to make a lot of noise about the “gag rule”.” →

Sunday August 12th – WHY are Central Americans coming here?

The current migrant crisis is not some random coincidence. The people camping outside our border gates and filling detention centers are here for very real and compelling reasons. They represent the very physical reality of all the world history classes we paid scant attention to in school.

It is important to educate ourselves, now, about how the US economic and political interventions has caused the instability forcing many people in Central America and Mexico to flee for their lives.

And like those airline PSA’s to put on your own mask first, once we understand, we can pass that understanding on to others.

Warm up with this post. Then go to this screening and discussion and learn more. Continue reading “Sunday August 12th – WHY are Central Americans coming here?” →

Thurs 7/26: Stop the dark money invasion!

(Quote by Fred Wertheimer, watchdog group Democracy 21)

On July 16th, the Trump administration handed our elections over to right-wing extremists and foreign countries.

“This is the swampiest, darkest, dirtiest decision.We need more transparency in our campaigns, not less.” – Senator Jon Tester (D-Montana)

on the SAME DAY the DOJ charges a Russian agent for secretly influencing US politics through the NRA–whose 501c4 spent $35M in dark money on the 2016 elections–Treasury declares that 501c4s need not report much of anything to the IRS. https://t.co/NlhnlXBR0j

— Brendan Fischer (@brendan_fischer) July 17, 2018

What they did: Continue reading “Thurs 7/26: Stop the dark money invasion!” →

Tues 7/24: Healthcare actions – do today!

On Wednesday, the House will be voting on two (2) healthcare bills.

#1 – NO on H.R.6199 – We’re not subsidizing spin classes for the rich, thank you.

H.R.6199 – “Modernizing health savings accounts”, allows those 20 million people with “Health Savings Accounts” (HSAs), allowable when one has a high-deductible health plan (HDHP), to use these savings accounts to cover prescription and over-the-counter medication, menstrual care products, gym membership and other expenses that contribute to an individual’s health.

What’s wrong with this? It’s the same thing as rich people getting the lowest interest rates for bank accounts and credit cards…it’s another discount program for the well-off. HSAs are tax shelters that do nothing for poor people. In fact, most Americans do not have enough savings to account for an emergency, medical or otherwise. The wealthiest Americans disproportionately benefit from these insurance arrangements. Indeed, families making in excess of $100,000 make up 70 percent of HSA contributions.

CNN Money called HSAs “the best tax-free investment account you’ll be able to find.”

Conservatives love HSAs because of their “skin in the game” fantasy. This is what that actually looks like for a disturbingly large number of Americans.

Continue reading →

This Saturday, 7/28, will be very busy…

Action #1- Keep up the pressure. Join us at the rally!

Four days before the deadline, only 354 children ages 5-17 have been united with their parents.

As the Trump Administration drags its heels on reuniting thousands of separated children with their parents, it’s time we once again take action and demand a solution to this crisis and dignity for all immigrants. On Saturday, July 28, between 6-8 pm, we’re stepping up to say “Families Belong Together: We Demand Justice!”

RSVP and share, share, share on Facebook.

Meet at the corner of Victoria and Telephone in front of the Ventura County Government Center. Bring your amazing signs! Bring great chants to teach us! Bring your American flags: because Americans love kids and families and protecting them from harm is a quintessential American value, because America was built by immigrants and continues to depend on immigrants and because fighting terror and injustice is the most patriotic thing we can do.

Continue reading “This Saturday, 7/28, will be very busy…” →

Did Mike Pompeo Think He Could Visit Ventura County and Not Get Protested?

On Sunday afternoon, Mike Pompeo delivered a speech at the Reagan Library and many of us from Indivisible Ventura joined in with our sister group and protest organizer, Indivisible Simi Valley, to “welcome” him to Simi Valley!

Driving in, we saw banners strewn across overpasses!

Outside of the Reagan Library, protest songs blared as we “greeted” Mr. Pompeo and his guests with signs and dancing as they arrived to hear his speech on Iran.

A beautiful day to be with friends, neighbors, and those who love our country – and a huge shoutout to those who supported us with honks and cheers in passing cars (even those leaving the Library after Continue reading “Did Mike Pompeo Think He Could Visit Ventura County and Not Get Protested?” →

Mon 7/23: Subpoena the interpreter!

Apparently, the White House is a big fan of “transparency” when it comes to memos they hope are critical of our intelligence agencies, but not so much when our own president colludes with the leader of a country that interfered with our free elections.

Already, Putin is making demands on the U.S. based on this secret meeting.
Statements have come from Moscow that the two leaders reached agreements involving military issues during their private chat and that they’re ready to begin implementing them. However, U.S. law prohibits military-to-military cooperation between the United States and Russia. Congress passed the measure in the wake of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and it has been renewed every year since. Trump, not a details-guy, may have forgotten that…

“The Pentagon now is left holding the bag on how they fulfill the either promises or vague responses on [military-to-military] cooperation, and whether those issues are in the national security interest of the United States,” said Mark Simakovsky, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.” Continue reading “Mon 7/23: Subpoena the interpreter!” →

Fri 7/20: 2nd action – Even scary animals need our protection. Also due today!

Snakes are just the start…

Check out the Advocates for Snake Preservation and help them submit as many comments as possible by JULY 20. Use their convenient form here.

Background
Two snake species, the narrow-headed gartersnake and northern Mexican gartersnakes, live in wetland areas alongside rivers, where they hunt for tadpoles and minnows. They’ve have suffered catastrophic population declines in recent decades as over 90 percent of their riverside habitats have disappeared due to overgrazing, water diversions, wildfires and drought.

Now, the Gila River, an area proposed for long-term protection under the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, is under threat of diversion for agricultural use, threatening the habitat of these snakes, five other threatened or endangered species, one of the largest concentrations of breeding birds in North America and the most intact native fish community in the Colorado River Basin. Continue reading “Fri 7/20: 2nd action – Even scary animals need our protection. Also due today!” →

Fri – 7/20: Environmental action: 2 quick ones that are due TODAY.

#1 – Last day to comment to the EPA on water contamination from PFA’s.

Today – Friday, July 20, is the last day the EPA will accept public comment on how it should address widespread water contamination from PFAS. At least, we think it is. The regulations.gov site has an error, where the pdf of the action (EPA-HQ-OW-2018-0270-0001) contains the deadline date of July 20th, but the website’s comment action deadline is Sept. 28th. Sigh. However, this is important enough to do both, in case the earlier date rules.

You can start right on it here, or you can read the background material provided below.

Background

What are you talking about?: If you woke up this morning unsure of what PFA’s are, you are not alone. PFAS — (Poly- and PerFluoroAlkyl substances) are the toxic chemicals used, among other things, to make fire retardants, oil and water repellents, furniture, waterproof clothes, take out containers and non-stick cookware. The manufacture and use of these products has allowed them to enter our water supply.

Where is it?: In 2016, a study of 36,000 drinking water samples from 4,864 public water sources showed that 16 MILLION people across 33 states, three American territories and an Native American community were polluted with PFA’s. 13 states made up 75% of the findings, including CALIFORNIA with the highest frequency of detection, followed by New Jersey, North Carolina, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Georgia, Minnesota, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Illinois.

Continue reading “Fri – 7/20: Environmental action: 2 quick ones that are due TODAY.” →

Wed. 7/18: “The only power adequate to stop the Trump administration is civil society…”

…which is the great majority of us when we remember our power and come together.”

(Read the rest of Rebecca Solnit’s great article on protest here.)

Ventura County residents came out yesterday, with ferocious signs and a lot of spirit, to say that we expect better of our president and the legislators that protect him.

And we were not alone.

People joined in nearly 200 Confront Corruption – Demand Democracy vigils and rallies nationwide yesterday in 39 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico with thousands if not tens of thousands participating. (Tweets, videos and articles relating to other events the happened yesterday are attached below the photos of our own rally.)

We are not done.

Join us in our canvassing and voter registration efforts here. We are constantly updating the list.
You can reuse your signs on Sunday as we join with other Indivisible groups to give Mike Pompeo a big Ventura County Resistance greeting.
Indivisible Ventura has joined “The LAST WEEKEND”, along with Indivisible National, MoveOn, OFA, CPDAction, Nation Domestic Workers Alliance, Stand Up America, Democrats.com, United We Dream and others to commit a massive canvassing effort for the last four days before Election Day. (Saturday, Nov. 3rd-Tues, Nov. 6th). Clear your calendars! We’ll provide more details soon, as well as videos to help new canvassers.