Mon – 3/25: A medieval wall has medieval enemies. Explain how catapults and cannons work to your GOP legislators. Veto-override vote tomorrow (Tues).

“They’re launching drugs not five feet from the wall, or 10 feet from the wall, where a transparent wall would help. They’re launching it 100 feet over the wall, 150 feet over the wall. No amount of transparency is going to help you in that context.” – Brandon Behlendorf , SUNY-Albany homeland security expert

UPDATE (3/16/19): Both the House and Senate overwhelmingly passed H.J. Res 46 , and Trump vetoed it. The House is scheduled to hold a veto override vote on Tuesday, March 26, which will require a 2/3rds majority to pass.

Action – We are watching you. We not interested in wasting money on this boondoggle.

Mitch has already starting musing on cutting Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security at the same time the GOP wants to waste billions of dollars on a project that can be defeated with some pieces of timber and a heavy rock. Or a cannon. Or a shovel. For those who remember we’re in the 21st century, the first drug-smuggling drone was found in 2015.

Minimal Script. I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Rep./Sen. [___] to support an override of Trump’s veto of H.J. Resolution 46, the resolution to terminate Trump’s national emergency declaration. militarizing the border.

More script if you want it: I want the Congress[man/woman]/ Senator to know that in budget upcoming negotiations, we want four essential things: NO WALL FUNDING, NO taking border funding from any domestic or social safety net programs, NO cuts or blocks to legal immigration, refugee or asylum programs, and NO wasting our troop’s time, morale and readiness for real emergencies by marooning them at the border.

Continue reading “Mon – 3/25: A medieval wall has medieval enemies. Explain how catapults and cannons work to your GOP legislators. Veto-override vote tomorrow (Tues).” →

Fri 3/31: Yes on H.R. 7 – the Paycheck Fairness Act. 12th time’s the charm!

Action  – “YES” on H.R. 7/S.270 – The “Paycheck Fairness Act”

“Yes, Virginia, there is still a wage gap. When you grow up, no matter how good you are, no matter what successes your parents hope for, you will still be paid less than a male. How dreary your retirement will be! What seems like a small difference between your paycheck and that of the guy playing computer games at the next desk over, really adds up to a huge loss for you over a lifetime of working! Skeptical minds have stopped progress for a long time, letting misogyny and injustice abound. Only political activism can push aside that curtain of discrimination between you and the financial stability of equal pay. Otherwise, a thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, pay discrimination will continue to blight the futures of girls like you.”

Embed from Getty Images
Women demand what they want! Female garment workers in Cincinnati sell newspapers to support their fellow workers in the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, who are striking in New York, circa 1910.

Continue reading “Fri 3/31: Yes on H.R. 7 – the Paycheck Fairness Act. 12th time’s the charm!” →

TODAY – Third Thursdays – Our first (on March 21st) is a letter-writing party on Background Checks and more!

Get ready! THIS IS TODAY! 

We miss our postcard crew! Let’s meet at Santino’s for pizza, camaraderie, and social justice – every Third Thursday.

Up first, on March 21, we’ll focus on a letter-writing campaign imploring our Senators to do the right thing and to vote YES on the universal background checks bill S. 42.

Where: Santino’s Pizza. It’s at 4231 Telegraph Rd., Ventura, 93003
When: March 21st, 11:30am – 1:30pm.
RSVP: None. Just come – you provide your own stationary and envelope (bring an extra for a new friend!), we provide the pizza!
Questions? Email indivisibleventura@gmail.org

Continue reading “TODAY – Third Thursdays – Our first (on March 21st) is a letter-writing party on Background Checks and more!” →

Wed – 3/20: Those receipts you stuff into your pocket are toxic waste. Who knew? One call, one petition.

Jimmy Kimmel displays an employee’s receipt from CVS for two items. Watch video here.

Action #1 – Ask your state legislator to vote “YES” on AB-161 “Skip the Slip!”

We’ve survived the prohibition of single-use bags, and having to ask for a straw… except maybe Devin Nunes. (Be sure to follow his continuing adventures on @devincow) We are now aware of our plastic waste crisis, more urgent now that China is refusing our “recyclable” plastic. But there’s still a long way to go in reducing our solid waste.

AB-161 addresses those pesky thermal paper “proof-of-purchase” receipts, which many of us just consider a nuisance. Why bother? Well, their production consumes lots of resources, while generating tons of CO2 waste. Plus, 93% of paper receipts are coated with Bisphenol-A (BPA) or Bisphenol-S (BPS) chemicals, which is absorbed the skin. So, toxic AND unrecyclable because of it. Connecticut already banned receipt paper containing BPA in 2011 and the European Union will start in 2020. Come on, CA, we can do better!

Mimimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Assemblymember [____] to vote YES on AB-161.

Continue reading “Wed – 3/20: Those receipts you stuff into your pocket are toxic waste. Who knew? One call, one petition.” →

Tues 3/19: Share this message with your legislators!

5 MORE fun actions on climate change, along with some interesting videos!

Update 3/20: “Federal judge demands Trump administration reveal how its drilling plans will fuel climate change.” (Wapo)(the week)

Action #1 – Tell your senators to support S.J. Res. 9.

S.J. Res. 9 – “A joint resolution calling on the United States and Congress to take immediate action to address the challenge of climate change“.  It asks Congress to certify that:

  1. Climate change is real.
  2. Human activity during the last century is the dominant cause of the climate crises.
  3. The United States and Congress should take immediate action to address the challenge of climate change.

Sen-check here. Feinstein and Harris have already signed.

Minimal script: I’m calling (email OK) from [zip code] to thank Sens. [___] for supporting S.J. Res. 9 – “A joint resolution calling on the United States and Congress to take immediate action to address the challenge of climate change.”

Continue reading “Tues 3/19: Share this message with your legislators!” →

Mon 3/18: Keep strong Carbon Dioxide Emission Limits on Coal Plants – Comment in 10 minutes or less. Deadline tonight, 11:59 pm EST

Action – Protect Carbon Dioxide Emission Limits on Power Plants — Deadline TONIGHT, 3/18, by 11:59 pm EST.

We are currently starring in a terror movie, the plot worthy of any James Bond film. The villians, billionaires and multi-national corporations, in pursuit of boundless profit, are killing off our environmental protections, not only returning us to the days when our rivers caught on fire, our water gave us cancer and our air killed our kids, but to huge new disasters we’ve never seen before – hurricanes too big for our categories, tornados made of fire, 100-year or 500-year floods that happen every year.

If we’ve waiting for a superhero to save us… well, one 16-year-old girl from Sweden sent tens of thousands of school kids into the streets to protest government inaction.

Now it’s our turn.

Submit a comment to the oil-industry-controlled EPA opposing their proposed rule change that would eliminate our current strong carbon pollution standards that apply to new, modified and reconstructed fossil fuel-fired power plants. The administration’s proposal would relax the standard to a level that can easily be met with standard technology, continuing coal’s reign as our dirtiest energy polluter. Yes, it’s true what our opponents say. The carbon-capture rules DO make it really hard and expensive to build new coal plants.

Good.

Comment here. Continue reading “Mon 3/18: Keep strong Carbon Dioxide Emission Limits on Coal Plants – Comment in 10 minutes or less. Deadline tonight, 11:59 pm EST” →

Fri 3/15: Today the kids are marching! 5 fast actions against fossil fuels, corruption, & fear of the Green New Deal.

Nice compilation of world-wide strike actions here.

Action #1 – Quick action to #StopFundingFossils.

The EIB is Europe’s largest public bank. Right now, it’s deciding whether or not to invest BILLIONS more toward fossil fuel projects. They must be looking at Germany’s plan to quit their coal habit in two decades, as well as other countries with aggressive sustainability plans and wonder…why invest in the past? Let’s raise our voices and tell the EIB to #StopFundingFossils. Sign here.

Action #2 – Who’s taken the “No Fossil Fuel Money” pledge?

(BTW, Beto broke his promise…)

“Taking the pledge means that a politician and their campaign will adopt a policy to not knowingly accept any contributions over $200 from the PACs, executives, or front groups of fossil fuel companies — companies whose primary business is the extraction, processing, distribution, or sale of oil, gas, or coal.“ See the list of signers here.

  • Federal Level: Senator Dianne Feinstein has signed. Sen. Kamala Harris, & Reps. Brownley and Carbajal have not.
  • State Level* (see note below): Governor Newsom has signed, Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson and Monique Limón have not.

Continue reading “Fri 3/15: Today the kids are marching! 5 fast actions against fossil fuels, corruption, & fear of the Green New Deal.” →

Saturday: Come help us crowd canvass for Medicare4All at the Ventura St. Patrick’s Day Parade!

We will be crowd canvassing on March 16th. Come join us, even if you’ve NEVER done anything like this before!

Where: St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Main Street, Downtown Ventura
When: March 16th, 9:00am. Meet at Marie Shannon Confections – 27 S. Chestnut (near Main)
RSVP: None. Just come – coffee, delicious sweet & savory baked goods, and training is all included!
Questions? Email indivisibleventura@gmail.org

The Medicare for All Movement has begun!

Continue reading “Saturday: Come help us crowd canvass for Medicare4All at the Ventura St. Patrick’s Day Parade!” →

Fri – 3/15: They’re rigging the Census – Comment against the “Citizenship” question. Deadline tonight, 11:59pm EST.

Update 2/15/19: A federal court ruled in the ACLU’s favor and struck down the citizenship question, which hasn’t appeared on a full census for 70 years – but now, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the Trump administration’s appeal. Help power the fight against this corrupt Ministry of Fear.

Action: Make a public comment against the “citizenship question” on the 2020 census

  • For the government site, comment here, (which only has 38 signers!) or
  • For the ACLU site, comment here (which has 23,488 signers as of 7:30 pm, 3/14).
  • DEADLINE: FRIDAY 3/15, 11:59 pm EST.

Sample comments and background material below. It’s very important that if you’re using an “example” comment to get started, try to alter it to reflect your own voice. Multiple identical copies will be counted all together as one.
(This video gives a good overview of the census. – It’s getting rowdy in Congress over this. Check out the AOC and MSNBC videos near the bottom!)

Continue reading “Fri – 3/15: They’re rigging the Census – Comment against the “Citizenship” question. Deadline tonight, 11:59pm EST.” →