Check in January 16

[tassosss]

(Sorry it's a day late. The three-day weekend threw me off.)

It's been a busy week of confirmation hearings. More are coming up this week.

Things to read/watch
Racism and Sexism Strongest Predictors of Trump Support, not Economics
Six Democratic Senators Hold Rally for Save ACA
Immigrants Rights Rallies Happenning
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) statement on boycotting the Inaugeration More congresspeople are also boycotting now.
States Might Protect Contraception Access A reminder that State politics is very important to pay attention to.
Argument for Medium Term Strategy Argues that Pence is the lesser of two evils, though not by much.

Obama's Farewell Address

For discussion
Homeland Security Designated as "Critical Infrastructure"
Flocking behavior and how to use it for political defense

Confirmation hearings info
Upcoming
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations: Governor Nikki R. Haley
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency: Scott Pruitt
Secretary of the Department of Commerce: Wilbur Ross
Secretary of the Interior: Ryan Zinke
Secretary of Education: Betsy DeVos
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Tom Price

Last week - you can still call your Senators about these people
Secretary of Defense - James Mattis
Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development: Dr Ben Carson
Secretary of the Department of Transportation: Elaine Chao
Director of CIA - Mike Pompeo
Secretary of State: Rex Tillerson

Action
Downloadable posters for the Women's March on Jan 21
Local Women's March Events on Jan 21
How to turn a phone script into a letter
Throw a weekly anger/calling party This is something we can organize here if someone wants to be point person.
Fandom Charity Auction: Fight Back

Healthcare repeal
Weekly reminder to call about saving the ACA
Another Way to Call to Oppose PPACA Repeal - Focuses on damage to Medicare and Medicaid argument

Reproductive Rights
Tuesday Jan 17 Conference call with NARAL to learn more about threats to reproductive rights


Housekeeping: A quick note, please lookout for article paywalls and include a second link on the topic that's fully accessible. We want to make sure everyone can go to a source for more info.


How is everyone doing? I haven't made new badges yet, but I'll get to them this week. They'll be Star Wars themed.

Poll #17890

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 11

View Respondents

This week I

View Answers

called my one senator
5 (45.5%)

called my other senator
3 (27.3%)

called my represenative
5 (45.5%)

wrote a letter
2 (18.2%)

made plans for the Women's March
5 (45.5%)

took care of myself
9 (81.8%)

other action
5 (45.5%)

Comments

There are more of us than we know!

[sathari]

You guys, you guys! Stuff and things! :D :D :D :D

So, yep, called my Senators, emailed my Rep's staffer, have written several letters that I really need to go print out (I will talk more about said letters if anyone is curious)....

And then.

So it just happened that one of the (many, many) groups on whose mailing list I now am sent me an email about an MLK event in my community. And I went.

And boy howdy I am glad that I did. Because. It turns out that my little blue county in a red state is not only a little blue county, but that, among other things, my community has a thriving and active queer community!

And then I heard through my admittedly etiolated excuse for a grapevine about another get-together, this one of concerned women. And I went. And, again, I am glad that I did. I am being vague as to details for everyone's privacy's sake, but--- one of my major takeaways was that all of us had felt alone in our views and our fears. And we had all been living next to each other and we hadn't known we all existed. And we are making plans for Stuff To Do--- there are a few of us planning to attend a local Women's March (and another bunch going up to the one in DC), and we're making plans to meet regularly, etc., and I was able to get information on yet more meetings/groups locally that I hadn't even known existed OMG.

But mostly, I want to say again: we all thought we were alone. And we weren't. And I don't know what the situations are like in your communities but maybe now is the time to find out what meatspace support systems and political groups are actually there in your communities, if you haven't already.

Also, and maybe this needs to be its own separate thinkpiece... but something else I took away from it was: the other side JUMPED THE GUN. They made a MASSIVE tactical error--- or, possibly, more to the point, Trump and his ego forced the Republican party's hand too soon.

Because there are still people around who remember Nixon. And Vietnam. And the Civil Rights movement. (I LOVE YOU, REP. JOHN LEWIS!!!!!!) They've seen this before. They know how to "rebel well". They remember. (As one former Vietnam protestor I talked to said with a laugh, "You haven't lived until you've been tear-gassed at a protest.") If the Republicans had let us have Hillary, we might have gotten too complacent and/or disillusioned by 2020 to do anything about them--- and too many of those old Vietnam and civil-rights protestors with the memory of how to Get Stuff Done might have died or at least aged too much to be able to help the next generation, and we'd have been left flat and flailing. But we're not. They're here and we are and we're getting up and getting involved.

We're not going to make America "great again" (for healthy straight white cisguys at the expense of everyone else). We're going to make America greater than ever--- and stronger together.

Re: There are more of us than we know!

[tassosss]

I think I'm a little in love with this comment. That's so great! That's one thing I haven't done is investigate the local community in my area, but your experience is really inspiring. :D

Re: There are more of us than we know!

[sathari]

Aw, thanks!!!! I'm so glad! And, I'll be honest, one of the things that got me up and moving was on the one hand how inspiring I find this community... and on the other, and I hate to say it, but... thinking just how fragile our electronic social networks may become in the coming years, on so many levels, and wanting to be sure that I had found some other ways to keep resisting, no matter what. And lo! And behold! Little Blue County! With people like me in it and we're finding each other. (Nixon's famous "silent majority"? In this generation, it's on the other side. Even in the election? On the other side. Electorally, we are in fact much better off--- Nixon actually had a massive majority. Trump's coming in to an environment that's primed for resisting him.)

Re: There are more of us than we know!

[snickfic]

Seconding tassosss - this is a really great comment to read. :')

Re: There are more of us than we know!

[sathari]

Oh, wow, thanks!!!!! That means a lot to me! Seriously, if I can help anyone else find their inner citizen that's the best thing I can do!

And, seriously--- I've been thinking a lot about, not only how the other side jumped the gun, but also about how the framers of the Constitution left US citizens so many tools to FIX IT when our democracy starts to get broken and we just have to PICK THEM UP NOW and USE THEM.

I mean. On the one hand. The US as a nation is a Thing because the people who made it declared war for "certain inalienable rights", and the founding documents of the nation basically have "let's give people a means other than killing each other to express their needs for expansion of who gets which rights" built in. And on the other hand, the one time that completely broke down--- that would be the Civil War--- is also the result of the framers deliberately and consciously making decisions about sacrificing the rights of African-American slaves. And this is still screwing this up. Possibly at least in part precisely because they were so good at framing the structure of government, for better or for worse.

But it also means that WE HAVE TOOLS. We have tools to resist foreign influence and tyranny and the erosion of our rights that are part of the fabric of our nation. They're imperfect. But they're there. And we have to pick them up now. And not put them down until we've expanded our rights and their protections that much further this time.

[sathari]

Also, this deserves its own thread: HAPPY MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY TO EVERYONE IN AMERICA!

[snickfic]

I called my rep and one senator about the ACA (the other senator's mailbox was full, and I was just going to thank her for her efforts anyway, so I didn't bother to call back).

BUT ALSO I went to the state capitol today to lobby with an issue advocacy group, and I ended up talking to the legislative aides of my state senator and one of my state reps, all by myself. (Which was fairly D:, but, I did it!) And now I know my way around the capitol a little and know what it's like to go to my reps' offices, so I can be more confident and better prepared next time.

[sathari]

....YOU ARE A ROCKSTAR. I'm sorry I didn't see this comment until now, but YOU ARE. HARDCORE SUPERSTAR. ROCK ON WITH YOUR EPIC SELF.