Mon 12/9: The IRS wants to bow out of investigating corruption in tax-exempt groups. Tell them we want them on the job. Deadline tonight, 11:59 pm EST.

Action – Comment on the IRS’ dereliction of duty – Due tonight (12/9) by 11:59 EST.

This is from 2016 before Trump was elected, but still very relevant regarding dark money.

The IRS is proposing regulations allowing tax-exempt groups to keep donor identities secret. Political groups using tax-exempt entities for fundraising will be able to do so without disclosing the identities of their donors, effectively using so-called “dark money” to finance their causes and preferred candidates. Although the proposed rules would apply equally to groups such as Planned Parenthood, Indivisible, National Rifle Association, labor unions and trade associations, “dark money” is disproportionately used by far-right proponents.

Comment here.
Read their proposal here.

Deeper Dive

Propublica has published an article called “How the IRS Gave Up Fighting Political Dark Money Groups” as the IRS proposes new regulations allowing tax-exempt groups, including people, companies and unions to dispense more than $1 billion in dark money while keeping their identities secret. Such spending is legal because Section 501(c)(4) of the U.S. tax code allows organizations to make independent expenditures on politics while concealing their donors’ names — as long as politics isn’t the organization’s “primary activity.” The IRS is was supposed to check that organizations comply. Continue reading “Mon 12/9: The IRS wants to bow out of investigating corruption in tax-exempt groups. Tell them we want them on the job. Deadline tonight, 11:59 pm EST.” →

Mon – 12/9: Have you ever waited tables? Worked as a bartender? Write to protect these tipped workers from a salary grab. Update! – Deadline extended to Wednesday (12/11) at 11:59 pm EST.

The deadline is updated to 12/11 due to a technical issues with a government regulation website yesterday.

Action – Write a comment to protest another blow to tipped servers. New deadline – Wed. (12/11) by 11:59 pm EST.

Servers already have enough to deal with…

Now the Trump administration has put out a new proposal that allows restaurant owners to pocket more of their workers’ tips indirectly. Our administration has squarely landed on the side of the National Restaurant Association (the “other NRA”) against tipped workers and has neglected their duty to enumerate the economic damage caused by this proposed change.

Write a comment here (if this link is down, go here.)
Read the proposal here (if this link is down, go here.)
Other comments, which are almost all from restaurant owners/managers here. (this link may be down for some reason…)

First- good news: The new rule does prevent employers, managers, and supervisors from directly taking tips received by employees. But that’s kind of the bare minimum.

The bad news: The proposed rule eliminates the “80/20 rule”, replacing a 20% limit on servers doing non-tipped “side work” with slippery wording like “reasonable” amount of time. (See definition of “80/20 rule” under “Deeper Dive” below)

More bad news: The proposed rule allows employers who pay the full minimum wage and don’t take “tip credit” to implement a mandatory “nontraditional” tip pool to include employees who do not customarily and regularly receive tips, such as cooks and dishwashers. “Wait! This seems like a good idea”…keep reading. (See definition of “tip credit“ under “Deeper Dive” below)

Continue reading “Mon – 12/9: Have you ever waited tables? Worked as a bartender? Write to protect these tipped workers from a salary grab. Update! – Deadline extended to Wednesday (12/11) at 11:59 pm EST.” →

Sunday 9/15: It’s going to be a busy week! Write a comment, write some postcards, come out for “Climate Strike” & “We the People” – 4 actions for Citizenry v.21.0!

Monday 9/16: Deadline to write a comment opposing this anti-American rule. Protect your family, friends and fellow citizens from taxpayer-funded zealotry.

America has a long history of slip-sliding towards religious intolerance, but common sense, and our Constitution, has kept us away from that abyss, allowing us to become the most powerful country in the world. Now, the Trump Administration, pandering to their far-right supporters, wants to allow a vastly expandable group of government contractors to discriminate for “religious” reasons against our fellow taxpaying citizens, including our LGBTQ community, women and religious minorities, on what are essentially private matters that are NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS.

Monday, 11:59 pm EST, is the deadline to write your comment(s) to protect your family, friends and fellow Americans from the disease of taxpayer-funded religious discrimination in our work places. Read our posting on this issue here for more information and inspiration.

Comment here!

The proposed regulation is here.
Other people’s comments are here. Read for inspiration. Don’t copy. Identical comments and signatures on petitions will only count as (1) total comment.

Thursday 9/19 – It’s “THIRD THURSDAY!” again!

Continue reading “Sunday 9/15: It’s going to be a busy week! Write a comment, write some postcards, come out for “Climate Strike” & “We the People” – 4 actions for Citizenry v.21.0!” →

Tues. 4/3 – Part 2 – Comment now on the BLM’s proposed “land use” plans, due 4/11 and 4/13.

The Valley of the Gods was included in Bears Ears but not in Shash Jáa. | Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management

You’re saying, “Hey, didn’t we just comment on this? Why are we having to comment AGAIN?” Let’s take a quick moment to review.

Native Americans spent years campaigning to protect Bears Ears, a distinctive site where Navajo believe their people rose from the earth. A coalition first tried congressional initiatives, which were blocked or ignored. They then appealed directly to Obama and then- Interior Secretary Sally Jewel, using the “Antiquities Act“. On December 28, 2016, President Obama designated 1.4 million acres containing ancient cliff dwellings and an estimated 100,000 archaeological sites as “Bears Ears National Monument”.

Grand Staircase/Escalante, designated as a national monument in 1996, is a 1.9 million acres area rich in unique rock formation scientific, ecological, and paleontological resources.

Unfortunately, all these treasures are sitting on top of the country’s largest coal deposits. And uranium. And oil.

Continue reading →

Tuesday 1/16 – 3 Quick Actions on a tight timeline…

Tuesday – Jan. 16th

CLEAN POWER – Write a comment TODAY by 11:59 PM ET !

clean power

Photo: Myrabella / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36916781

Save the Clean Power Plan – Deadline Jan. 16

The EPA intends to end the Clean Power Plan. First though, they will have to successfully repeal it, thereby deregulating power plants and slashing environmental protections. Post a comment protesting the EPA’s proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan before January Jan 16 2018, at 11:59 PM ET . Link to comment form.

Sample Written Script (try to mix it up a little): I strongly oppose the revoking of the Clean Power Plan by the EPA. The Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of recent climate change regulation, is intended to slash carbon emissions from power plants. It should not be repealed or replaced only strengthened. Climate change is not “fake news” it is the scientifically verified future of the planet. Ending the Clean Power Plan is a crime against that future. The role of the EPA is not to boost the economy of the fossil fuel industry; it is to protect the environment. Do your job.