Weekly Check In February 5

[tanaqui]

Every day I wake up, check the news -- and come across at least one thing that has me asking myself, "How can this be the world we're living in now?!" While it can be exhausting at times (and it's important for us to take care of ourselves and still have joy in our lives), I think it's a good thing that none of this has become "normalized" yet, and that we still have a sense of outrage at what's happening to keep us fighting back.

So what has been happening?

Muslim Ban

A temporary restraining order suspending the Executive Order has been issued. The Department of Homeland Security and State Department have officially confirmed they'll obey the TRO, honoring visas and resuming refugee programmes. The White House appealed the TRO on Saturday and lost.

To the surprise of nobody, Trump threw a tantrum on Twitter, attacking the judge and failing civics 101.

So let's all take a moment to celebrate the (judicial branch of the) U.S. government working as it should!

I'm sure there will be plenty of new actions relating to the ban to be taken during the next week, but here are some we've already posted that are still relevant -- especially as there are still ongoing legal cases for some of the people affected by the ban, and we can't be sure all the front-line staff at airports will respect the TRO:

Resources for those harrassed/detained (check the comments)
Checking how your representatives responded to the Muslim Ban
Donate to organisations working with those affected by the ban (Last week's check-in post -- scroll down for the list)

Get involved

URGENT -- Confirmation Hearings -- Call your senators about Betsy DeVos
The nomination of Betsy DeVos will be considered again by the full senate tomorrow (Monday). Some Republican senators have said they will vote against her confirmation, or are considering doing so. Please call your senators, whether they're Democrats or Republicans. We need make sure all the Democrats DO vote against DeVos, so that if some Republican senators vote against her, she won't be approved because of Democrat votes.

Other Confirmation Hearings
So far, the only business meeting in committee to vote on a nominee scheduled for next week is that of David Shulkin, to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs. You can check out how your Senators voted on the nominations that have been confirmed -- and whether they deserve praise or a rocket -- through the links in this post. You can keep up-to-date with what's going on with the other hearings through our confirmation hearings tag.

Other Actions
Let the Army know what you think about the Dakota Access Pipeline (Deadline: 20 Feb)
Upcomimg Flippable Elections
From the latest Re:Act
Get Bannon off the National Security Council (From one of snickfic's link roundups)

Get educated
Curriculum with links for 15-week political science course
Congressional Tracker
Background on Lyft vs Uber

Last but not least, don't forget to check out snickfic's terrific link roundup posts. Remember that you can use the comments of those posts to add more links, especially if they're for information and background reading rather that a call to action.

Poll #17964 The Week

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 25

View Respondents

This week, I...

View Answers

called my one senator
11 (44.0%)

called my other senator
10 (40.0%)

called my representative
10 (40.0%)

got on a resistance call
2 (8.0%)

signed up for daily or weekly action alerts
6 (24.0%)

called my state senator
2 (8.0%)

called my state representative
3 (12.0%)

called my governor
5 (20.0%)

went to a protest
5 (20.0%)

got involved with a local group
3 (12.0%)

donated money
13 (52.0%)

took care of myself
15 (60.0%)

committed to action in the coming week
10 (40.0%)

did something else
10 (40.0%)

Comments

[alexseanchai]

I sent postcards to both my US senators and my US and state representatives. :)

[tanaqui]

That's great - well done!

[serpentine]

I tried to visit one of my senator's office. It was either too early to be officially open or they were hiding. Considering it was Toomey's office, I wouldn't be surprised if it was the second.

[tanaqui]

It's a shame the office wasn't open. I hope you have better luck next time if you're up to trying again. (And hahahs, yes, it sounds like quite a few senators and their staff want to hide.)

[independence1776]

You know how I said I wasn't really capable of calling? Well, I managed to push aside my severe anxiety and called both my senators about the ban (neither of whom I could reach) and called my rep to thank him for his actions opposing it.

[rydra_wong]

Go you! \o/ \o/ \o/

I have bad issues with phoning, so I think any of us who manage deserve applause, and I hope you now have some time to recover and decompress.

[independence1776]

Thank you!

Phones are terrible and I frequently wish I could ignore them completely. Sadly, I cannot but I can dream. But I have had time to recover and I'm even going, "I did it once; I can do it again."

[rydra_wong]

But I have had time to recover and I'm even going, "I did it once; I can do it again."

W00t!

[sathari]

Oh, that's AWESOME!!!!!

Phones. Phones are terrible things. And I say this as someone who's been making almost daily calls to my Congressbeings since the election. (I'll say that I find the "cheerleading" phonecalls to be easier--- where I can thank a rep rather than trying to coax them around.) (Also! A real thing that has happened for me is that after about my third or fourth phonecall, I think, one of my rep's staffers gave me a direct email to contact said staffer, and I know the emails have been getting forwarded.)

Also, I LOVE your user name.

[independence1776]

Thank you!

Phones are indeed horrible. But I did save the "thank you" call for last because it was easier.

I doubt that if I call enough that getting a direct email will happen. My senators are Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul. (I'm honestly a little frustrated at the "call McConnell" people because it makes it harder for people like me in his state to get through. I literally couldn't reach him: it went straight to a full voicemail box and I'd called a local office in hopes it would be less busy.)

Thanks! I've had it since 2004. You can blame Felicity the American Girl doll and then living by Colonial Williamsburg for a couple of years as a kid for it. :P More seriously, I've forgotten more about the time period than most people ever learn.

[sathari]

You're welcome!

Yeah, I don't have direct emails for either of my Senators' staffers (though I'm on a "wait, didn't I talk to you yesterday?" "Yeah, that was me, and I'm back!" sort of first-name basis with a couple of their staffers by now, lol) but I'm in a blue district in a red state which I suspect was what motivated my House rep's local staffer to give me an email address.

And, NGL, as a fellow liberal in a red state... I seriously envy you Rand Paul, who at least has been known to jump the aisle on actual votes (as opposed to talking big and then voting party line--- I am looking at you, Marco Rubio!). I suspect you might actually get somewhere on some issues at least (civil liberties!) with Paul. McConnell... yeah, not so much. Though if it makes you feel any better about not being able to get through, I've had a heck of a time on and off getting through to my Senators and neither of them are anything like that prominent on the national level, so I think they're all hitting critical mass, which is saying something.

You're more than welcome! And, oh, yay, American Girls dolls! And, heh, I grew up on the Jean Fritz American-history kids' books before that, too. Though I'm nowhere near what I suspect your knowledge base is.

[independence1776]

Yeah, there are times I look at Rand Paul and go, "Good for you!" And then there are other times where I bury my head in my hands. I signed up for his weekly newsletter a couple of weeks ago and it's been pretty much the latter, unfortunately.

That actually does make me feel better! Critical mass is a good thing (and my cynical side is going, "And they're going to start ignoring us because we're just noise.").

I love my AG dolls; I got them out of storage a couple of years ago to make sure they were holding up okay… and I still haven't put them away because I realized I like having them out. I probably read a few of her books, but they didn't stick in my mind. Heh. I suspect we probably have the same knowledge base at this point; I really have forgotten too much.

[sathari]

Yeah, Rand Paul was doing really well there (Pompeo! The ACA!) for a while and then... yeah.

Critical mass is definitely a good thing--- I mean, Betsy DeVos apparently donated to Lisa Murkowski's campaign, but Murkowski still jumped the aisle, and that was apparently due to constituents!

[tanaqui]

Well done on making those calls - that's awesome!

[redbird]

I am feeling very productive, or at least hard-working, because of the number of different boxes I got to check. These check-ins seem to be better for that than my private tracking, which doesn't explicitly credit "took care of myself."

My "something else" was emails, which I figure may be less effective than phone calls, but may also be more effective than not acting, and by Friday afternoon I didn't feel up to picking up the phone again.

[rydra_wong]

but may also be more effective than not acting

*nods fervently*

We do what we can do. And it's far better to pace ourselves and find the level of action we can manage at any given point than to burn out and implode (I need to keep reminding myself of this).

[tanaqui]

Congratulations on being able to tick so many boxes - sounds like you've been very busy! And yay for getting some self-care in there, too!

Tassoss has built up a great selection of options for the check-ins but I'll try to remember to add "sent an email/letter/postcard" to the next one.

And I understand postcards (which are faster as they don't have to go through as much screening) and letters can be more effective than emails. So that might be something to consider if you don't feel like picking up the phone but want to do something.

[kuwdora]

thank you

[tanaqui]

You're welcome!

[sathari]

Highlights of my week:

- Discovering that my local Democratic community AND the state Dems are basically like being on Dreamwidth, especially as far as me feeling like I BELONG among a VERY diverse group of people! Not only that but they are just some of the generally HAPPIEST and most positive people I've ever met. (I can't decide whether to giggle or snark at things calling the women's marches or the left generally as being full of hate and anger, because while I'm definitely hearing fear and anger in my state and local communities, I'm also hearing a lot of love and support and outreach and togetherness.)

- I'm also seeing a real push for coalition and consensus building, including across party and other political lines, among said Dems and I'm REALLY happy about that. I am pretty well convinced that the second-worst thing we can do is to become even more polarized and divided (the worst thing we can do is to give up entirely). (NGL, I'd like nothing better than an "Alliance to Restore the Republic"--- /Star Wars reference--- that includes everyone from the Koch brothers (and the corporate heads of e.g., hotel chains that are set to be screwed by the administration's conflicts of interest because they're the competition, if they haven't been already) through ordinary Americans who are worried about things like their health care, rights, and safety, and everyone in between. So many of us across the board are potentially SCREWED and we need to hang together.)

I continue to be SO GRATEFUL for this community in helping to organize my activism and awareness--- you guys are amazing, and I'm honestly not sure I would have taken the steps out into meatspace community (and found my people offline!) without you guys as a starting point!

[tanaqui]

I'm really glad the community has helped you get organised and been part of you venturing into meatspace. I've loved reading your comments about that - they've been incredibly inspiring.

[sathari]

Awww, thanks!!! I am so glad to give inspiration--- finding my way into my local activist/political community has been a gift, in that whole "the best way to not feel helpless is to get up and do something" (---Barack Obama) way, so if I can give a similar gift to anyone else, that means a lot to me!

[conuly]

No phone calls for me - I've got laryngitis :(

But I sent a few emails.

[tanaqui]

I hope the laryngitis clears up soon! Well done on sending emails when calling was impossible.

[sporky_rat]

Turns out I know the family of the gentleman answering the phones for Mr Cochran in Jackson. (Well. The one I spoke to.)

Well now. :D

[tanaqui]

Hahaha - small world! Well done on making that call.

[falcon_horus]

I'm not an American resident, so all I can do is do a lot retweeting on Twitter.

And looking for my next donations...

And of course, provide ample moral support for all my American friends.

[tanaqui]

Spreading the news, donating and supporting friends are all excellent things be doing!

[conuly]

Well, you *can* call and send emails and whatever, but they're not likely to care.

If it's something that might affect you, though, I suppose you can write to your government and ask them to Take a Stand?

[monanotlisa]

I wanted to say "donated money", but I'm not sure giving money to the Washington Post is quite the same as donating (though I have purchased subscriptions to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung and the New York Times for the same reason, plus I became a Guardian Supporter). Journalism!