Tues 9/25: Today is National Voter Registration Day! Help us out, please!

Ask everyone you meet today if they are registered voters.

Most will smile and say “yes”.

Then ask, “Did you move since the last time you voted?”  
Even a move one door to the left requires re-registration. Many people don’t know this.

“Did you {change your name, your party, or decide to get your ballot delivered at home?} Then they need to re-register.

It’s easy to check their status. Put this in your contacts under “Voting”.

https://voterstatus.sos.ca.gov

It’s easy to register someone. Put this in your contacts under “Voting”.

https://registertovote.ca.gov

“My vote doesn’t count, I’m protesting by staying home, etc…”

  • If voting wasn’t valuable, why are billions of dollars and countless efforts expended on removing the franchise from people?
  • Younger voters between 18-35 are the largest potential voting block in America. If they all voted, they could change this country. They could stop high college fees, the destruction of their future environment, and healthcare system, and the mistreatment of their community members.
  • Why Vote? 8 California Youth share their reasons.
  • Why Vote?

 

Tues – 9/25: Ask our fairgrounds to stop putting on gun shows.

Demand that the Ventura County Fairgrounds adopt a policy banning gun shows at the state-owned property. Executive Board Meeting at 9 a.m. Item on the agenda. PLEASE come early if possible and wear orange.
Attending: Anti-gun activist Bob Weiss, father of 2014 Isla Vista victim; Brady Campaign; Progressive Democrats of America Ventura, Our Revolution Gold Coast; Veterans for Peace.
Pro-gun groups including the NRA will be there with a counter protest. Please bring signs. Media will be there.

The meeting is happening in the Derby Club at fairgrounds HQ, 10 Harbor Blvd. in Ventura.

Mon 9/24: Time is up today! The Endangered Species Act is endangered, in three acts.

Jim Hines of the Sierra Club has written us about three proposed regulatory changes that affect the Endangered Species Act.

“These [three actions] and other soon-to-be-coming regulations rollbacks are nothing more than part of a full scale effort by the Trump Administration to eliminate the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), an act which has worked just fine for 50 years saving thousands of plants, animals, birds and marine mammals from extinction…
…[U.S. Senator John Barrosso (R-WY) and Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt, among others] are dedicated to a complete rollback of any regulation which protects wildlife in our nation and they are doing this all for the fossil fuels industry.”

This is a great video from 2012 that describes what the Endangered Species Act has been so far.

Action #1 – They keep moving the battlefield, thinking they’ll lose us…

  • The GOP hid environmental devastation in funding bills in what  could only be described as environmental war crimes. Our post on the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is here.
  • They are hiding extinction in deceptively-named legislation (here) and (here)
  • They also like to kill threatened species abroad (here)

But until today’s deadline of September 24th, we are now concentrating on three proposed rule changes that would severely undermine the Endangered Species Act (earlier post here).

Alter this to sound like you and post here, here and here:
Written Script: I strongly oppose any weakening of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as currently proposed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service. The ESA was adopted in 1973, with overwhelming bipartisan support, and it has been very successful in preserving animal and plant species in the US since then. It is also overwhelmingly supported by the American people who want to see our environment protected and a natural heritage left for our children and grandchildren. The proposed changes would completely undercut the effectiveness of the ESA by overwhelming underfunded federal agencies tasked with making conservation decisions. The proposed changes would benefit a small group of commercial interests (oil and gas extraction, mining, ranching) to the detriment of our nation’s natural heritage and the survival of the species with which we share this land. This would destroy the effectiveness of the ESA’s intended goal of preserving species.
Comments must all be posted by TODAY, Sept. 24th!

Continue reading “Mon 9/24: Time is up today! The Endangered Species Act is endangered, in three acts.” →

Mon – 9/24: Hey, legislators! Your misogyny is showing and this is a brand new century…

Action #1 – Wear black today. Then, at 1 p.m. EST Monday, do this…

Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez have bravely come forward and shared their stories about sexual misconduct and assault at the hands of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Even though Dr. Blasey Ford has repeatedly stated her desire to testify and bravely share her story, Senate Republicans are doing everything they can to shame, bully, and force her to testify under their unacceptable, inappropriate conditions.

At 1 p.m. EST Monday, join us for a national walk-out to show our support for Dr. Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez. All you need to do is wear black and walk out – of your home, your office, your classroom, wherever you are – and post a picture to your social media with the hashtag #BelieveSurvivors.

If you can’t walk out, you can show your support by posting a video or a picture to this event. Help spread the word: we believe Dr. Blasey Ford. We believe Deborah Ramirez. We believe survivors. And we won’t stand for Senate Republicans’ despicable attempts to strong-arm a sexual assault survivor.

If you’re in Washington, D.C., join dozens of organizations in the Senate Hart Atrium at 12:30 pm EST. At 1pm EST, we’ll walk out of the atrium to the Supreme Court for a National Speakout.

Additional information here. Two printable signs at the bottom. 

Action #2 – Tell your senators their support for survivors is not optional.

Continue reading “Mon – 9/24: Hey, legislators! Your misogyny is showing and this is a brand new century…” →

Saturday 9/22: County-wide news and notices in brief: Events happening today!

The NRA is busy in our county today. The Brady Campaign has sent out this notice…

image1.jpeg

This is an FYI notice for next Saturday for a NRA-sponsored GOP fundraiser for Ronda Baldwin-Kennedy, who’s running against Jacqui Irwin (D) in the November election for State Assembly District 44.

Continue reading “Saturday 9/22: County-wide news and notices in brief: Events happening today!” →

Fri 9/21: Governor Brown, militarization of police forces has been proven unsafe for civilians. Sign this damn bill already!

Action – Ask Jerry Brown to sign AB 3131

One last hurdle stands before AB 3131 becomes the first Indivisible-sponsored law in the country: Governor Jerry Brown’s signature.

AB 3131 is a commonsense measure that allows the community to have a seat at the table before military weapons (e.g. tanks, grenade launchers, etc) are brought into our neighborhoods by requiring law enforcement to hold an open public hearing prior to acquisition of any such equipment.

Minimal Script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Governor Brown to sign AB-3131 to make all of us safer.

Contact the Governor: 1-833-522-8923

Background: Does this matter?

Continue reading “Fri 9/21: Governor Brown, militarization of police forces has been proven unsafe for civilians. Sign this damn bill already!” →

Thurs – 9/20: Meeting today at 1:00 pm! – Tell our CA Attorney General to prevent a huge Catholic hospital merger that will further endanger health care to women.

Photo: A hanger featuring a picture of Indian woman Savita Halappanavar, 31, who died of blood poisoning in a Catholic hospital in Ireland in 2012 after being refused a termination of her pregnancy, even after diagnosis of miscarriage. Ireland just overturned their anti-abortion law.

Action #1 – Go to the meeting today at 1:00 pm at Oxnard College and just say “NO” to our attorney general.

Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) want to merge into one huge Catholic church-controlled conglomerate whose religious strictures threaten women’s lives and access to reproductive health care, along with gender-affirming care, and services for low-income communities. In Ventura County, this “Ministry Alignment Agreement” would effect St. John’s Regional Medical Center and St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital, removing what little leeway they have left in providing services within religious strictures. The two Catholic hospital systems have to get approval from our state attorney general before they can proceed with the merger. Let’s say “NO”.

Ventura County’s public meeting is today, Thursday, September 20, 2018, beginning at 1:00 p.m., at Oxnard College, Performing Arts Building Conference Center, 4000 S. Rose Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93033. Spanish notice here. RSVP here.

Continue reading “Thurs – 9/20: Meeting today at 1:00 pm! – Tell our CA Attorney General to prevent a huge Catholic hospital merger that will further endanger health care to women.” →

9/19 – Wed: Drive this home.

quotes from Michelle at Small Deeds Done

Action #1 – Listen to Anita Hill

In 1991, Professor Anita Hill testified at Clarence Thomas’s nomination hearings regarding his pervasive sexual harassment. The questioning she was subjected to by that committee was designed to ridicule and humiliate her. We need to do better this time. Professor Hill has suggested some changes to the process that would make it better and less partisan. You can read her entire op-ed here.

Minimal Script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want the Judicial committee and Senator [___] to take Dr. Ford’s allegations seriously by selecting a neutral investigative body with with experience in sexual misconduct cases that will investigate and present its findings to the committee. Continue reading “9/19 – Wed: Drive this home.” →

Tues 9/18 – Judges shouldn’t lie under oath. Period.

Longer version and written transcript here.

Action – “Speak no evil” – Don’t reward liars with SCOTUS seats. 

Brett Kavanaugh has stated that he never assaulted Christine Blasey Ford. That he’ll repeat that claim under oath on Monday is expected, but of no importance, as he no longer has a reputation as an honest man to defend. With more information coming to light, testimony from his current hearing, as well as from his 2004 and 2006 hearings, have been re-cast as bald lies, alongside many statements that have been perjury-adjacent or “evasive”. He has been outed on the national stage as what he really is – a highly partisan political operative, and not the even-handed dispenser of impartial justice Americans deserve. His perjury under oath should immediately disqualify him from SCOTUS contention, as well as the federal bench he currently serves on.

Minimal Script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Senator [___] to do four things to prevent Brett Kavanaugh from ascending to the Supreme Court.

  • A) Require an FBI investigation as requested by Christine Blasey Ford prior to a full hearing of Brett Kavanaugh’s alleged actions against her. There is no longer a viable deadline.
  • B) Bring forward the two federal employees who had information regarding Kavanaugh’s witnessing of Judge Kozinski’s sexual harassment, contrary to his sworn testimony.
  • C) Subpoena all emails and messages between Kavanaugh and Kozinski, including links to his website, to determine Kavanaugh’s actual knowledge of sexual harassment issues as opposed to his statement under oath.
  • D) Start impeachment proceeding against Judge Kavanaugh for his continued perjury regarding stolen documents from his 2004, 2006 and current confirmation hearings.

Continue reading “Tues 9/18 – Judges shouldn’t lie under oath. Period.” →

Mon 9/17: Last minute action! – Stop the census citizenship question. Comment Deadline Today, 9/17, at 11:59 EST!

Action – Remove the discriminatory citizenship question from 2020 U.S. Census! – Deadline, Today, Monday 9/17, 11:59 pm EST

“The Supreme Court in 2016 ruled unanimously that “representatives serve all residents, not just those eligible or registered to vote,” and the Constitution makes clear that the census has a clear purpose: to count all U.S. residents, regardless of background, as the basis for the apportionment of political power. The Census Bureau spent most of this decade responding to this mandate, leading painstaking research, technology development and question testing. With their belated interference, Trump and Sessions are upending this meticulous preparation.

The harm from this decision, if it’s not reversed, will be expensive and long- ­lasting.” (wapo)

Continue reading “Mon 9/17: Last minute action! – Stop the census citizenship question. Comment Deadline Today, 9/17, at 11:59 EST!” →