email!

Action – Write an email/letter opposing any UC-system university affiliation with any religious, anti-choice, anti-LGBTQ hospital.

The University of California regents are deciding if they should solve a bed-space issue at UC San Francisco Medical Center, one of the nation’s leading teaching hospitals, by “affiliating” with Dignity Health, a Catholic hospital chain that uses religious directives to openly discriminate against women and LGBTQ patients. If this goes through, it could be the beginning of other UC-Catholic hospital “affiliations,” spreading intolerance into our public hospitals with our own tax dollars as fuel. All the rights and values Californians are rightly proud of mean nothing if, in our most vulnerable moment as a patient, they are not respected.

The regents are meeting May 14-16. Our Governor, Lt. Governor and Assembly Speaker are voting members. This issue is NOT on the agenda but they will be voting on it soon. Call them, and write them an email or letter to tell them that this discussion of whether or not to allow this trojan horse into our health system should be an easy “NO”. Make it as personal as you can.

Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want [__] to know that it would be unforgivable to tie UCSF Medical Center or any taxpayer-supported hospital with Dignity Health, or any other system that discriminates and harms women, the poor, minorities and our LGBTQ community.

More script if you want it: If religious hospitals refused to treat non-white people, we would shut them down. Why do we tolerate the verifiable harm these hospitals cause women and LGBTQ people?

Continue reading “Wed 5/15: CA is not immune from forced-birther madness & LGBTQ discrimination. It’s just taking the “side door” into our UC medical campuses. Urgent call/email!” →

Tues 5/14: Protect our wolves – Part 3. More time = more comments! Also, call your state senator on CA anti-trapping bill AB 273!

Part #1 – Deadline for Wolf comments has been EXTENDED!!! – Jul 15th!

Message from Jim Hines of the Sierra Club: “Greetings Activists: We did it…..after our official appeal and my recent face-to-face meeting with the new Interior Secretary, just minutes ago, the Secretary’s office announced that the public comment period for the proposed delisting (removal of federal endangered species act protections) for gray wolves in the U.S. has been extended from May 14, 2019 to July 15, 2019! This administration has not only provided very short public comment periods but …refused to provide any public hearing venues for people to attend, learn about the issue and comment. (Note: the Sierra Club and our partners on the gray wolf issue set up 7 public hearings on the gray wolf issue across the nation in May and they were well attended and we had a court reporter take down the comments and we sent them onto the Dept. of the Interior). All of the above is the result of citizen action (YOU) at work, public pressure put on the administration to get public comments and public hearings on the many issues which matter to all Americans.” – For the wild, Jim.

Write a comment: Let’s not squander this hard-won gift of time. In Part 1 on Friday, 4/26, we asked you to write a comment using this link to prevent the Trump Administration from removing Endangered Species Act protections from wolves and declaring open season of an animal that is still functionally extinct in much of its former range. Please join in and share! There are currently only 78,373 comments.

Part #3 – Stop the trapping our wild critters for “fun” and commercial profit. “YES” on AB 273!

Continue reading “Tues 5/14: Protect our wolves – Part 3. More time = more comments! Also, call your state senator on CA anti-trapping bill AB 273!” →

Tues – 5/14: Is this is what a “constitutional crisis” looks like? Yes. Ask your legislator why they’re waiting on supporting H.Res.257!

Cartoon and nice summary of where we are now from CNN here.

(the Hill) “The president is almost self-impeaching because he is, every day, demonstrating more obstruction of justice and disrespect for Congress’s legitimate role to subpoena. This is very methodical, it’s very Constitution based, it’s very law based, it’s very factually based. It’s not about pressure, it’s about patriotism..Sometimes people act as though it’s impeach or nothing. No, it’s not that. It’s a path that is producing results and gathering information, and some of that information is that this administration wants to have a constitutional crisis because they do not respect the oath of office that they take to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” – Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)

OK, let’s start down the path to “getting the facts in a Constitutional way.” Rep. Tlaib’s resolution H.Res. 257 instructs the Judiciary Committee to begin investigating whether or not Trump should be impeached. This is a good first step that everyone should be able to unify over. Almost every every legislator in the House voted to see the unredacted Mueller report. WHY ARE THERE ONLY 7 COSPONSORS TO THIS RESOLUTION? Check this “Rep-check” to see if your legislator is standing up.

Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Rep. [___] to cosponsor H.Res 257 to begin an investigation into whether or not Trump should be impeached. Can I ask why the Congress (man/woman) is delaying in cosponsoring this bill?

Continue reading “Tues – 5/14: Is this is what a “constitutional crisis” looks like? Yes. Ask your legislator why they’re waiting on supporting H.Res.257!” →

Mon – 5/13: Urgent action on AB 1505, 1506, 1507 and SB 756 – (1) call does it all!

Action – Ventura County residents! – Join our Indivisible CA coalition in calling for these great controls on charter schools!

“On top of complex real estate deals, charter school operators often “save” money by cutting teacher pay, hiring inexperienced school staff and avoiding children with disabilities. These “savings” are added to executive salaries rather than invested in serving all children and providing solid middle class jobs for teachers and staff. We need great schools for all children—not just for some. Schools owned by us, not private companies. Let’s make sure every dollar we spend on education is spent on education, not skimmed off by real estate investors or to pay high-priced management fees.” (Capital and Main)

Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I’m urging Assemblymember [___] to support AB 1505, AB 1506, AB 1507, and SB 756. This package of bills is essential to holding charter schools accountable to local communities and ensuring that charter proliferation won’t destabilize another school district.

Contact:
State Assemblymember Monique Limón: (CA-37): SAC (916) 310-2037 email
Not your people?: findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov.

Continue reading “Mon – 5/13: Urgent action on AB 1505, 1506, 1507 and SB 756 – (1) call does it all!” →

Fri-5/10: Stand Indivisible with the Mashpee Wampanoag. Support their reservation reaffirmation legislation.

(Update on our action from 11/26/18. Thought this would be an easy one…)

Action – Call your legislators to support H.R. 312 /H.R. 375 – the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act.

Short course: “This tribe held the first Thanksgiving,” – Rep. William Keating (D-MA)

“I am asking people of good will and all those concerned with justice for the indigenous people of this land — the first Americans — to stand with us in calling on Congress to protect our reservation and ensure we are don’t become the first Tribe since the dark days of the Termination Era to lose its land.” – Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell.

H.R. 312, would reaffirm the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe reservation as trust land in Massachusetts and would the tribe to build a new casino on their land. Failed former casino owner and improbable president Trump publicly slammed it with a tweet due to its support from Sen. Warren. Simple majority vote will come up on Wednesday.
H.R. 375, would reaffirm the authority of the Interior secretary to take land into trust for Indian Tribes, land on which the tribes could then operate casinos. Continue reading “Fri-5/10: Stand Indivisible with the Mashpee Wampanoag. Support their reservation reaffirmation legislation.” →

Sunday, May 12th: Mother’s Day – “Every Child Returned.”

MOTHER’S DAY RALLY TO END FAMILY SEPARATION AND CHILD DETENTION

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Every Child Returned

Time: Sunday, May 12, 2019 • 2:00 – 4:00PM

Where: Ventura County Government Center – 800 South Victoria Ave, Ventura, CA 93003 at the corner of Telephone Rd. and Victoria Ave.

Hosts: Indivisible Ojai Valley & Indivisible Ventura

RSVP here or here!

This non-partisan and family friendly event will raise the voice of mothers and others across the nation against family separation and the detention of immigrant children.

Children have been and are still being separated from their parents. Thousands of children are being held in detention centers around the country—- more than 2,000 teens are imprisoned in Homestead, Florida alone. This is an ongoing humanitarian crisis and these families must be treated with dignity and compassion. We need to address this crisis immediately, and the best way to do that is by taking action.

On Mother’s Day, show immigrant mothers and families that you have their backs by joining a local Mother’s Day Rally to End Family Separation and Detention.

Continue reading “Sunday, May 12th: Mother’s Day – “Every Child Returned.”” →

Thur – 5/9: URGENT!!! – “YES” on AB-1669 – Firearms: Gun shows and events. Voting soon!

Action – Vote “YES” to close a loophole on ammo sales & raise fees on firearms sales for gun-related programs.

AB 1669 updates existing law by applying the same gun show regulations that already apply to firearms dealers to ammunition vendors, increasing the Dealer Record of Sale fee (DROS) for firearm purchases from $14 to $32.19, and authorizing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to adjust the DROS fee as needed to ensure adequate funding for firearms-related notifications and services paid for by that account.

These ever-increasing services and programs are provided by our state hospitals, mental health facilities, local law enforcement, and other agencies, and include assessments of those who may be prohibited from possessing weapons, the processing of protective orders, as well as the regulatory cost of processing firearms transactions.

Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Assemblymember [___] to vote “YES on AB 1669: Gun Shows and events.

Call today and tomorrow. We’ll keep this updated for when the actual vote occurs.

Contact: State Assemblymember Monique Limón: (CA-37): SAC (916) 319-2037.
You can email here, but this is happening fast. Try calling first! It will take literally take 10 seconds.
Not your people?: findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov.

Background and Major Provisions

1) This bill updates existing law by aligning the requirements of ammunition vendors at guns shows with those of firearms dealers. According to the bill’s sponsor, Xavier Becerra, Attorney General of California: “Proposition 63, the Safety for All Act, passed in 2016 and among several provisions related to firearms and ammunition, required sales of ammunition to be conducted by or processed through a licensed dealer. Unfortunately, not all vendors were covered by the resulting law. “Independent ammunition vendors” – those that only sell ammunition, are federally-licensed, and are based outside of California – can sell ammunition at gun shows without being required to obtain the same state licenses that are required of California-based vendors. AB 1669 closes this loophole by requiring any entity selling ammunition in the state to be licensed by the state.” Continue reading “Thur – 5/9: URGENT!!! – “YES” on AB-1669 – Firearms: Gun shows and events. Voting soon!” →

Thur – 5/9: Support H.R. 1327/ S.546 – the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.

If your legislator isn’t paying attention, ask them to support H.R. 1327/ S.546– “Never Forget the Heroes: Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act.” It didn’t pass last year and now the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) is running out of money before its 2020 expiration date, cutting payments between 50-70% at the same time cancer rates among first responders are going up.

Rep-check here. (Carbajal and Brownley are already cosponsors!)
Sen-check here. (Harris is on, no Feinstein. Call her.)

Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Rep./Sen.[___] to cosponsor H.R. 1327 (Rep.)/ S.546 (Sen.)– “Never Forget the Heroes: Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act”

Contact Information

Continue reading “Thur – 5/9: Support H.R. 1327/ S.546 – the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.” →

Thurs 5/9: This is our kids’ brains on chlorpyrifos. UPDATE: Newsom bans it in CA!

The colored parts of the image above, prepared by Columbia University scientists, indicate where a child’s brain is physically altered after exposure to this pesticide.

UPDATE: CALIFORNIA IS DONE, DONE, DONE with this neurotoxin!

Governor Newsom and the California Environmental Protection Agency announced yesterday (Wednesday, 5/8) that the Department of Pesticide Regulation is moving to ban the use of chlorpyrifos in California by initiating cancellation of the pesticide, according to a news release issued today.

The cancellation process could take up to two years. During the cancellation process, DPR’s recommendations to county agricultural commissioners for tighter permit restrictions on the use of chlorpyrifos will remain in place. These include a ban on aerial spraying, quarter-mile buffer zones and limiting use to crop-pest combinations that lack alternatives. DPR will support aggressive enforcement of these restrictions.

Newsom will propose $5.7 million in new funding in the May Revision budget proposal to support the transition to safer, more sustainable alternatives, and plans to convene a working group to identify, evaluate and recommend alternative pest management solutions. “California’s action to cancel the registration of chlorpyrifos is needed to prevent the significant harm this pesticide causes children, farm workers and vulnerable communities,” said CalEPA Secretary Jared Blumenfeld. “This action also represents a historic opportunity for California to develop a new framework for alternative pest management practices.”

Minimal script – Call or email: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want to thank Governor Newsom for banning chlorpyrifos (klaw-pir’-uh-fos), the terrible neurotoxin that’s been harming California residents and their children.

Contact: Governor Gavin Newsom: email, (916) 445-2841

Action #1 – Stand Indivisible with other states! Support H.R. 230/S.921 – Ban Toxic Pesticides Act of 2019

Continue reading “Thurs 5/9: This is our kids’ brains on chlorpyrifos. UPDATE: Newsom bans it in CA!” →

Wed – 5/8: Call today, the House votes tomorrow. HR 986 – Protecting Americans with pre-existing Conditions Act

Yeah, guys, we get it. You can’t have babies, so why should your insurance plan include pregnancy coverage? Well, women are never going to need a prostate exam. Or Viagra. Adults don’t need childhood vaccinations and kids don’t need mammograms or colonoscopies. However, we need to stick together, like one big patient union, to make sure insurance covers everyone.

Remember the bad old days? When our profit-centric insurance industry wouldn’t cover people with existing (and common) conditions or a job they thought was dangerous? When they refused to cover long lists of common medications? When they capped yearly or lifetime coverage? When they “rescissioned” people off plans for a missed notation in their file? The insurance industry can hardly wait to get back to business as usual. Until we can get rid of them entirely, let’s make them wait.

Democrats in the House and Senate have introduced the Protecting Americans with Pre-existing Conditions Act (H.R.986/S.466) to prohibit the use of ACA subsidies to pay for junk plans that don’t include the 10 essential benefits of the ACA. These plans put patients at huge financial risk. Urge your representatives to support this legislation and protect the ACA—and consumers—from the Trump administrations ongoing attempts at ACA sabotage.

Minimal script for Reps/ Senators: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Rep./Sen. [___] to support (Rep.) H.R.986/(Sen.) S.466 – Protecting Americans with Pre-existing Conditions Act

More script if you want it: Permitting the use of ACA subsidies to purchase short-term insurance plans puts consumers at risk for medical bankruptcy and weakens protections for the thousands of people with preexisting health conditions.