postcardactivism

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#StopKavanaugh @SenThomTillis & @SenatorBurr

Here’s yet another email I've sent to Senators Burr & Tillis. I got some of the text, esp. the part about Dr. Blasey, from 5Calls. 

I also sent one to Senator Doug Jones, because I wrote postcards for him last fall.

Indivisible has the Judiciary Staff Contact for each senator at their SCOTUS Senators Tracker. 

I sent a version of this email to them as well, for Senators Jones, Murkowski, & Collins, plus to Senators Burr & Tillis. [full confession, I did nothing when McConnell refused to give Merrick Garland a hearing, so I'm compensating.]

I'm writing to urge Senators Burr and Tillis to delay any vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh until the FBI investigates the serious and credible attempted rape allegations against Kavanaugh. His accuser's allegations have been deemed highly credible, and law enforcement must assess her claims before Kavanaugh can be seated on our nation's highest court. Senator McConnell held any review of Judge Garland's nomination because he wanted the views of the people to be considered. I believe the views of the people are clear: "36 percent of respondents did not support the Senate confirming Trump's second high court pick ... while 31 percent of Americans said they supported Kavanaugh's appointment to the Supreme Court."*   Please do as Senator McConnell requested and yield to the views of the people. Thank you for your time and attention.Stephanie Willen Brown111 Trawick Place • Durham, NC 27712 * Poll: Opposition to Kavanaugh rises | TheHill, Sept. 19 [the survey "partially took place before news broke of a sexual assault allegation against Kavanaugh"

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#StopKavanaugh

Email sent to Senators Burr & Tillis:

I fully support Senator Warner's statement on Mr. Kavanaugh & urge that you vote for your country instead of your party on the nominee. I feel Mr. Kavanaugh will be bad for women and other members of underrepresented & underfunded groups.

“This is the most consequential Supreme Court vacancy in a generation, yet it has been the least transparent confirmation process in recent history. Thanks to unprecedented efforts by the Trump Administration to conceal large portions of Judge Kavanaugh’s record and the nominee’s unwillingness to answer basic questions before the Judiciary Committee, much of Judge Kavanaugh's record and judicial philosophy remain a mystery to the American people. But what we have seen provides reason enough to vote against this nominee.

“His past rulings, writings, and evasive answers before the Judiciary Committee lead to the inescapable conclusion that, as a Supreme Court justice, Judge Kavanaugh would seek to undermine and eventually overturn Roe v. Wade, and would fail to protect people with pre-existing conditions from discrimination by insurance companies.

“I am also deeply troubled by Judge Kavanaugh’s views on executive power. We currently have a president whose conduct is at the center of a federal criminal investigation, but in his testimony before the Judiciary Committee, Judge Kavanaugh refused to say whether he thinks it is constitutional for presidents to be investigated, and whether he continues to believe that the president has the power to fire a prosecutor criminally investigating him. In this country, no one, not even the president, is above the law. Should the president’s legal team decide, as they have threatened, to contest that principle in court, it is imperative that the Supreme Court ensure that the president is held accountable.

“For all these reasons, I must vote no on Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination.” https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2018/9/sen-warner-on-judge-kavanaugh

thank you for considering this comment. -stephanie brown

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Write with @StampNC Blue for @Earls4Justice (Anita Earls for N.C. Supreme Court)

Want to write #PostcardsToVoters? Join StampNC Blue & write postcards FOR Anita Earls for N.C. Supreme Court! StampNC Blue will send you the stamped, addressed postcards & you write a message (with their guidance).

Help StampNC Blue!!

Details at https://donorbox.org/sncb4anitaearls

(check out the effect of writing postcards with Stamp NC Blue!)

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Call Democratic Senators to #ReleaseTheRecords

Democratic senators aren't pushing hard enough to hold  Kavanaugh's correspondence from his years as an associate White House counsel.

Crooked Media’s What A Day newsletter says "Republicans had already intentionally excluded all of Kavanaugh’s records from his tenure as President George W. Bush’s White House staff secretary—one of the most sensitive jobs in every administration—from their document request. Democrats suspect Republicans are trying to suppress documentation of Kavanaugh’s role advancing Bush’s torture policy, among other things." (8/2/18)

Call or write your Democratic senators. This is the script: "Please call on your colleagues on the Judiciary Committee to commit to a transparent and thorough review of Brett Kavanaugh's extensive body of work before referring his nomination to the full Senate. This was done for Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kagan and should also be done for Mr. Kavanaugh."

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#ReleaseTheRecords of Kavanaugh

Here’s what I just sent Senator Tillis & Senator Burr (text below, so you can call or write them too): 

Senator Tillis, who is on the Judiciary Committee:  Please commit to a transparent and thorough review of Brett Kavanaugh's extensive body of work before referring his nomination to the full Senate. This was done for Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kagan and should also be done for Mr. Kavanaugh.

Modified for Senator Burr, who is not on the Judiciary:  Please call on Senator Tillis and your colleagues on the Judiciary Committee to commit to a transparent and thorough review of Brett Kavanaugh's extensive body of work before referring his nomination to the full Senate. This was done for Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kagan and should also be done for Mr. Kavanaugh.

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Stop #SCOTUS Kavanaugh (be a Kava-naught

Check out call scripts from Indivisible.

It’s especially important to call Senators Schumer, Donnelly, Manchin, Collins, Heitkamp, and Murkowski. Special scripts are listed for them.

I don't typically do the back & forth they suggest (too shy!), but I make the points they recommend. 

I copy & paste the scripts for the regular Republicans & email them to Senators Tillis & Burr.

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Staying Sane with #PostcardsToVoters

Postcards To Voters https://postcardstovoters.org/ There’s some evidence that writing postcards to voters to encourage them to vote is productive; at least as effective as canvassing door-to-door. (DemWritePress blog post about effectiveness of writing postcards to voters: Old is New Again, as Activists Use Handwritten Postcards For Voter Outreach - July 3, 2018.)

It’s also been demonstrated to be good for the mental health of the postcard-writers. As an #n of one, I agree with that analysis. When I get angry, I ask Abby the Address Bot for 5-10 addresses & write me some postcards to voters.

Check out Postcards To Voters or the #PostcardsToVoters hashtag on Twitter. It’s incredibly positive and supportive, and GetOutTheVote-y. 

Postcards To Voters tells you what to write, and you write as many or as few postcards as you want. I typically write about 10 a week, or more if I'm really angry with what's going on in DC.

Here’s a sample postcard I just wrote for Danny O’Connor, running for Central Ohio’s 12th Congressional District. The top three lines are required text, and the rest I improvised based on their suggestions. 

(PTV picks progressive campaigns & sends postcard-writers the voters’ addresses but no names. I send my postcards to to “Valued Voter”; other suggestions are VIP Voter; Best Voter Ever; Much-Needed Voter; Terrific Voter; Concerned Citizen; and Defender of Democracy). 

We only write to registered democrats in a given district.

I create my own postcards from my photographs, emphasizing the positive “Be a Voter” message. 

You can use any postcards you want, and the writing doesn't have to be elaborate - just legible.

Abby the Address Bot tells me I’ve written just over 200 postcards; I started writing for Doug Jones’ campaign back in November and have been hooked ever since. See the Postcards to Voters FAQ for more info.

So, if you’re angry, get active. Write postcards or canvas or make phone calls. And VOTE!

[postcardactivism]

Call about the Supreme Court

subject line: moderate nominee for Supreme Court, or wait until after midterms

text: I'm writing to politely but firmly request that the Senator oppose any ideological extremist nominated by Trump to the Supreme Court. We need a fair-minded nominee with broad support to carry on Kennedy's non-ideological position and prevent the Supreme Court from becoming another hyperpartisan branch of government.Furthermore, the fact that Senator McConnell will permit this judicial nominee to go through when he refused to let Merrick Garland even have a hearing is hypocritical at best.I'm relying on you to keep this country a democracy.  Burr: https://www.burr.senate.gov/contact/email (202) 224-3154 or  Winston-Salem office at (800) 685-8916 (DC line is often busy; try again) Tillis: https://www.tillis.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email-me (202) 224-6342

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Call to Stop Immigration Crisis

Email: 

Dear Senator Tillis / Burr, I'm horrified by what is going on in Texas. Irreparable harm is being done to thousands of children most of whose families were seeking asylum in the United States. Much as my father's family did at the turn of the 20th century. I urge you to do something to a) stop the separations and b) reunite children with their families. Please consider adopting these proposals from Ali Noorani in the Washington Post (https://wapo.st/2ywUPSP): -    Revive the family case-management program that the Obama administration instituted—a program Mr. Trump terminated, despite its overwhelming success assuring migrant compliance with law-enforcement proceedings. -    Eliminate jail and jail-like detention in favor of home detention, or bail-style release, and monitoring. -    Discourage migration not with deterrence, but with aid measures targeted to alleviate violence and poverty in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. I don't like what this country is turning into under our president. I hope you can help us stay humane. Can you imagine if this were happening to your children? -stephanie brown

Phone message (from 5calls): “ I’m calling to ask that Senator Richard Burr publicly demand that the Department of Health and Human Services immediately formulate a plan to reunite the thousands of migrant children separated from their families by the Trump administration. It is appalling that no plans have been made to do so and further delay will cause more irreparable harm to these innocent babies and children.”

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Email to #NCGA Speaker Moore: Tim.Moore@ncleg.net & Senator Berger: Phil.Berger@ncleg.net

I am strongly opposed to putting Voter ID on the ballot in November. There is no problem of Voter Fraud. The Republican Party investigated that in NC after the 2016 elections & found no evidence. In fact, the requirement to show a photo ID for voting and other associated laws has been struck down by a Federal court. (https://www.ncsbe.gov/Voters/Voter-ID) This proposal is designed to scare certain potential voters into not voting, and to encourage other potential voters to vote. The intent of the legislation is neither democratic nor well-meaning. In the name of democracy, I strongly encourage y'all to drop your proposed amendment.

More details @ WRAL:  Amendment would put voter ID in NC constitution https://www.wral.com/amendment-would-put-voter.../17611888/

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Support clean CHIP renewal

@SenThomTillis and @SenatorBurr please support a CLEAN renewal of CHIP funding. For the children.

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Denounce Racist Comments

@SenatorBurr & @SenThomTillis please denounce the president’s racist comments on immigration. 

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Save #NetNeutrality with Congressional Review Act

5calls says: “The battle for a free and fair Internet is not over. Congress can reverse the FCC decision by using the Congressional Review Act, which allows congress to reverse regulatory actions within 60 legislative days. Congress used this method early in 2017 to reverse several outgoing Obama administration regulations.”

So I said:

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Save #NetNeutrality. Again. #StopTheFCC

Please stop the FCC’s plan to end net neutrality. 

Postcards below, and also emailing them suggested text from https://www.battleforthenet.com. And/or “Break the Internet” on Dec. 12. https://www.battleforthenet.com/breaktheinternet/

Text of my email message to Senators Burr & Tillis:

I urge you to stop the FCC's plan to end net neutrality *before* the FCC's December 14th vote.

I don't want ISPs to have the power to block websites, slow them down, give some sites an advantage over others, split the Internet into "fast lanes" for companies that pay and "slow lanes" for the rest, or force me to buy special "tiers" to access the sites and services I choose. 

You’ve been a supporter of libraries in the past; the American Library Association also supports net neutrality:

The American Library Association supports net neutrality legislation that preserves the competitive online markets for content and services. Bandwidth and access should be offered on equal terms to all willing to pay. Otherwise, broadband providers will be free to leverage their quasi-monopolies into lucrative but market-distorting agreements. The vitality of voices on the Internet is critical to the intellectual freedom that libraries around the world are trying to protect and promote. Laws that preserve net neutrality are the best way to preserve a vibrant diversity of viewpoints into the foreseeable future

I urge you to stop the FCC's plan to end net neutrality *before* the FCC's December 14th vote.

I don't want ISPs to have the power to block websites, slow them down, give some sites an advantage over others, split the Internet into "fast lanes" for companies that pay and "slow lanes" for the rest, or force me to buy special "tiers" to access the sites and services I choose. 

You’ve been a supporter of libraries in the past; the American Library Association also supports net neutrality:The American Library Association supports net neutrality legislation that preserves the competitive online markets for content and services. Bandwidth and access should be offered on equal terms to all willing to pay. Otherwise, broadband providers will be free to leverage their quasi-monopolies into lucrative but market-distorting agreements. The vitality of voices on the Internet is critical to the intellectual freedom that libraries around the world are trying to protect and promote. Laws that preserve net neutrality are the best way to preserve a vibrant diversity of viewpoints into the foreseeable future.

thank you.

[postcardactivism]

Senate Tax Plan Would Repeal of Individual Health Mandate

So says the Wall Street Journal (Senate GOP Tax Plan to Include Repeal of Health Law Individual Mandate - 11/14/17).

here’s some contact info for you:

Richard Burr: DC: (202) 224-3154 Winston-Salem: (800) 685-8916 email via Senate.gov website

Thom Tillis: DC: (202) 224-6342 Charlotte: (704) 509-9087 email via Senate.gov website (he *always* responds to messages I write here)

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Help #DougJonesAL!

Let’s help Doug Jones get elected to the U.S. Senate in Alabama! Special Election to fill Jeff Sessions’ seat is Tuesday, Dec. 12.

PostcardsToVoters is postcarding for Mr. Jones. I'm sending 5 postcards to registered Democrats in AL to ask them to vote for Mr. Jones. Read more about their campaign to Get Out the Vote & write some Alabama democrats. Not convinced? Check them out on Twitter.

The text is supplied by the PostcardsToVoters folks, as are the addresses. You don’t get names -- and the recipients don’t get your name. Easy peasy -- and hopefully effective.

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Tax Cuts: Effects on PhD & other grad students

PhD students, and those who teach them, learn how the GOP's House tax bill will affect grad student funding. And resist! Vox (and other news outlets) are reporting on the effect of the tax bill on MA & PhD students: "The GOP tax bill could be a disaster for PhD students.” (Jen Kirby, Nov. 7, 2017)

“In its current form,” Kirby writes, the tax bill “... eliminates or consolidates tax credits used by both graduate and undergraduate students — but those pursuing master’s degrees and PhDs will get hit the hardest by the proposed changes.” (she refers to this Nov. 2 WaPo article: “Republican tax plan seeks to shake up higher-education tax credits, deductions and benefits"

^^ Here’s a sample script you can use to call or email Senators Burr & TIllis.

And here’s some contact info for you:

Richard Burr: DC: (202) 224-3154 Winston-Salem: (800) 685-8916 email via Senate.gov website

Thom Tillis: DC: (202) 224-6342 Charlotte: (704) 509-9087 email via Senate.gov website (he *always* responds to messages I write here)