Fri. 10/30: Note to self… Trump is NOT in charge of this election.

Quote: For those of us only remember part of the first line of Roosevelt’s inauguration speech of 1933 (our hand is up!), it’s worth reading the whole thing, which sounds like it could have been written yesterday.

#1 – Let’s take a breath here…

Our email and media feeds are flooded with potential election stealing and violence at the polls. Not only may these visions be overblown, but they may, in fact, be turning fear into a weapon against us, intimidating us from voting this criminal administration out of office.

Today, we were given permission from writer/observer R. Hubbell, to reprint his Oct. 28th article, to remind us the safeguards even a tyrant like Trump can’t touch. (You can subscribe to his great newsletter here.)

“It is a sad reality that our president is not elected directly by the citizens of the United States. For good or ill, the Framers of the Constitution created a body that we now refer to as the “Electoral College.” The Electoral College elects the president and vice president, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and enabling legislation. The Constitution and statutes provide that states may count votes from November 4^th through December 8, 2020, with the latter date serving as the deadline for states to certify the selection of their Electors to the National Archivist. Six days later (December 14), the Electors meet in their respective states to cast their ballots in accordance with their state’s election results. For a general description of the timeline, see Congressional Research Service, “The Electoral College: A 2020 Presidential Election Timeline.” The election of the president becomes official on January 6, 2021 when Congress counts the votes cast by the Electors in their respective state meetings.

Continue reading →

Wed 4/22: “A Peoples’ Bailout” – Part 2.

Action – Call your legislator and demand that funding to put people first be added to this COVID-19 stimulus bill.

The Senate passed a new $484 billion coronavirus relief package yesterday. The bill includes another $310 billion bail out of small- and medium-sized businesses for the PPP program (see corruption issues below in “Deeper Dive”), $60 billion for emergency SMB grants and loans, $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion to fund a new coronavirus testing program. However, it’s still missing some important values:

No money to save the US Postal System
No money for protections to frontline workers.
No money for secure elections.
No money for immigrants.
No money for additional economic support to an out-of-work population
There was no money for health care for newly unemployed workers.
No rules to make sure companies maintain payroll.
No money for states and cities.

Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Rep. [___] to vote “NO” on any bill that neglects to include funding for the US Postal System, secure elections, protections for frontline workers, continuing aid to out-of-work people, access to health care, and rules to make sure companies maintain payroll.

More script if you want it: I specifically want Rep. [___] to include the ABC Act, the Health Care Emergency Guarentee Act, the Vote/Safe Act, Elizabeth Warren’s Election Protection Plan, the Paycheck Guarantee Act, S. 3565 – Small Business and Consumer Debt Collection Emergency Relief Act and provide our postal system the cash grants and loans it needs. Continue reading “Wed 4/22: “A Peoples’ Bailout” – Part 2.” →

Fri. 4/17: Shock therapy – Money follows values. The GOP just gave billions to millionaires. They gave pocket change to safe elections.

Sometimes, when dealing with huge amounts of money, it helps to graph it out…

Action #1: Call your legislators today and make sure they hear you!

“The Wisconsin Supreme Court voted absentee, their citizens were denied that right. Sally Field, a friend & social justice warrior, recites Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dissent on the Supreme Court of the United States ruling. Help us demand universal #VoteByMail for every person in the US.” – Brave New Films