SB-29 – #Health4All!

Help create a wave at the CA legislature to push the best bills through!

ALL of our legislators will be voting on these bills soon. To pack the biggest punch, ALL of the CA Indivisible coalition are working together to drive calls to our legislators to push these bills through their house. We’re focusing on a different bill every day.

Monday – AB 4/ SB 29 – #Health4All

As we push for health care for everybody, we’re leaving no one behind!
Read more about AB-4/SB-29 here and here.

Indivisible Ventura, along with 60 other Indivisible groups across the state of CA support AB-4/SB-29 – “to expand Medi-Cal to undocumented immigrants of all ages”. This commonsense bill that will cut our uninsured rate in half. Read our group letter here.

Minimal Script: I’m calling from [zip code] to ask [Assemblymember Limón /Senator Jackson] to support [(Assembly) AB-4/(Senate) SB-29] to expand Medi-Cal access to undocumented immigrants. California is stronger when everyone has access to healthcare. Continue reading “Mon – 5/20: CA Indivisible week begins! We’re starting with AB-4/SB-29 – #Health4All!” →

Mon 5/20: Skin in the Game for Everyone! – Part 2 of 2 – How to help – Actions!

#Stop the Bans – Rally tomorrow – Tuesday May 21st! 12pm-1pm.

Sponsor: Planned Parenthood Central Coast Action Fund.
Location: Ventura County Government Center, corner of Victoria and Telephone Rd.
Facebook event here.

no bans

Make some signs! Bring flags! Download your own “flipoffian tube” symbol here or here to use wherever, compliments of the artist, Jim Cooke

Action #1 – Watch these movies – Share with family and friends.

Continue reading “Mon 5/20: Skin in the Game for Everyone! – Part 2 of 2 – How to help – Actions!” →

Sun 5/19: Men who barely understand women’s bodies want to ban abortion. A reflection on the cruelest game… – Part 1 of 2

This post is not an action but a “thought experiment” on the banning of abortion. (easy-to-read PDF here). It includes, in pink, a primer for forced-birther legislators on the serious risks women face. We also have parts for the men who cause unwanted pregnancies and walk away (in blue), and the states who currently restrict abortion while providing little or no pre-natal care (in yellow). And in the lower right-hand corner, we provide a role for the legislators themselves.
skin in the game - careful

Continue reading “Sun 5/19: Men who barely understand women’s bodies want to ban abortion. A reflection on the cruelest game… – Part 1 of 2” →

Fri 5/17: Thank our legislators for supporting H.R.5 – the Equality Act. They do George proud!

Action #1 – Thank our legislators for supporting HR. 5 – the Equality Act!

We are so lucky! Please take a moment to thank all of our elected officials (Brownly, Carbajal, Feinstein and Harris) for being cosponsors of the Equality Act [H.R. 5/S. 788], a bill that would clarify existing civil rights legislation to specifically ban discrimination against our LGBTQ citizens in employment, housing, public accommodations, jury service, education, federal programs, adoption programs and credit. It would also provide additional protection for women and POC from common forms of discrimination. This measure has unprecedented support from nearly 70 percent of Americans, more than 280 members of Congress, 165 major businesses and 288 statewide and national organizations. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has made passing the Equality Act a top priority for the new Congress, and it’s in the House today.

Minimal email script: I want to thank you for standing up for our LGBTQ friends, family and neighbors and supporting [Rep. = H.R. 5/Sen. = S. 788] the Equality Act.

Contact Information

Rep. Julia Brownley: email
or Rep. Salud Carbajal: email.
Senator Feinstein: email,
and Senator Harris: email,
Who’s my representative/senator?: https://whoismyrepresentative.com

Action #2 – Petition for all people of faith to endorse equality for all.

Sign the Faith in Public Life “We are all Equal” Petition here. Continue reading “Fri 5/17: Thank our legislators for supporting H.R.5 – the Equality Act. They do George proud!” →

Third Thursdays – Pizza, Camaraderie, & Postcards on May 16th! That’s TODAY!

Let’s meet at Santino’s for pizza, camaraderie, and social justice – every Third Thursday.

Where: Santino’s Pizza. It’s at 4231 Telegraph Rd., Ventura, 93003
When: May 16th, 11:30am – 1:30pm.
RSVP: None. Just come – we provide the pizza and postcards and stamps! If you prefer, you may bring your own stationary.
Questions? Email indivisibleventura@gmail.org

On May 16, we’ll focus on:

“Get Well” cards to former president Jimmy Carter.

“Thank you” cards to Rep. Barbara Lee. Last week, the Trump-Pence administration finalized a refusal of care rule that would allow virtually any health care entity, provider or worker to use their personal beliefs to dictate patient care. Congresswoman Lee successfully offered an amendment to attack this dangerous and discriminatory rule, now the FY20 LHHS bill that will prohibit funding for the implementation of the rule.

Senator Feinstein, Please Support S.546 – the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund
“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. Brownley, Carbajal, and Harris are all on board; Feinstein is the odd man out! More info here.

Continue reading “Third Thursdays – Pizza, Camaraderie, & Postcards on May 16th! That’s TODAY!” →

Wed 5/15: Urgent! Now is the time to prepare our electrical grid for climate change. Go and comment at the CA Public Utilities Commission meetings tomorrow, Thurs, May 16th.

(This is a guest action from Jan Dietrick, Coordinating Team Member, 350 VC Climate Hub) FB event page

Action – Public Comment to the California Public Utilities Commission Thurs, May 16, at 9:30 am Oxnard City Council Chamber & at 7 pm at OPAC.

Atmospheric CO2 Just Exceeded 415 ppm For The First Time in Human History!

Ventura County residents have two rare opportunities to speak for 2-3 minutes in front of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) about the type of energy we want to use in our homes and how we want to increase the safety and resiliency of our power grid. The damage from the Thomas fire and the ever-increasing menace of climate change make it clear that new solutions are necessary. These appointed officials are not influenced by letters or phone calls, but speaking to them can be very impactful. They can be moved when we show up and demonstrate our interest in how they regulate our utilities.

The CPUC doesn’t normally come to Oxnard, but because we are a wildfire-prone area, they are holding a Public Participatory Hearing at 7-8 pm on Thursday, May 16 (tomorrow!) on how SoCal Edison will prevent future wildfires. While they are here, they are holding their regular 9:30 business meeting in the morning at the Oxnard City Council Chamber. Public comments are welcome at both meetings! Get there early to sign in to make comments and read this for more info.

CPUC Morning business meeting: May 16, 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM, Oxnard City Council Chambers, 305 W. Third St., Oxnard, CA 93030; also available via listen-only phone line at 1-800-857-1917, passcode 92105.
CPUC Evening presentation: May 16, 7 p.m.: Oxnard Performing Arts Center, Ventura Room, 800 Hobson Way, Oxnard, CA 93030

Here are some talking points… Choose what makes sense to you.

Continue reading “Wed 5/15: Urgent! Now is the time to prepare our electrical grid for climate change. Go and comment at the CA Public Utilities Commission meetings tomorrow, Thurs, May 16th.” →

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!

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!” →