Author Topic: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance - VICTORY!  (Read 290835 times)

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #250 on: January 28, 2017, 06:51:32 PM »
FRIENDLY REMINDER

We're now on page 6 of a political thread that had the potential to turn real ugly, real fast. Because politics. You have all done a great job of keeping things civil and focusing on the original intent of the thread.

Please keep this going with the following guidelines:

  • Be polite. Even if someone else posts something rude or off-topic, simply remind them of the intent of this thread. If it violates forum rules, report to the mods.
  • Be constructive and actionable. If you post news, include information on how to contact the relevant official/organization (ideally with a script). For news of a protest, include info on how to find protests in your area.

For New Yorkers, you can find info through The New York Immigration Coalition that organized (helped organize?) the JFK protest. Twitter: https://twitter.com/thenyic

Also Make the Road NYC: https://twitter.com/MaketheRoadNY

There will be a march at Battery Park at 2PM Sunday.

I hate phoning.  I have decided I want to know that I was a person who phoned.  Following.

:)

Today one of my close friends posted an anti Planned Parenthood video disputing the 3% abortion statistic they claim.

I went right to their website, made a donation....in his honor.

Will they mail him something? I sure hope so :)

:)
« Last Edit: January 28, 2017, 08:46:20 PM by MonkeyJenga »

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #251 on: January 28, 2017, 07:10:49 PM »
To contribute to the legal fight against the Muslim ban, as well as all future fights, please donate to the ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/aclu-and-other-groups-challenge-trump-immigration-ban-after-refugees-detained

Quote
The ACLU, along with several groups, filed a lawsuit this morning on behalf of two Iraqi men who were en route to the United States on immigrant visas when President Trump issued an executive order banning many Muslims from entering the country.

One of the men, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, was traveling on an Iraqi special Immigrant Visa and had worked as an electrical engineer and contractor for the U.S. government from 2003–2010. Brandon Friedman, a former Obama administration official who commanded a platoon during the invasion of Iraq, said Mr. Darweesh had worked for him as an interpreter. He said on Twitter yesterday that Mr. Darweesh “spent years keeping U.S. soldiers alive in combat in Iraq.”

The other, Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, had been granted a Follow to Join Visa. His wife and 7-year-old son are lawful permanent residents residing in Houston, Texas, and were eagerly awaiting his arrival. Mr. Alshawi’s son has not seen his father for three years.

If you have Twitter, go here and tweet a screenshot of your donation receipt to these people who are matching ACLU donations: https://twitter.com/Kate_Beckman/status/825517835250180097

And retweet this guy: https://twitter.com/pacdude/status/825537340072402944

"For the next 6 hours, for every retweet this tweet gets, I will donate 50¢ to the @ACLU."

I donated $250 of birthday money. The ACLU is a vital part of protecting our civil liberties under every president, not just Trump.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2017, 09:06:31 PM by MonkeyJenga »

SisterX

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #252 on: January 28, 2017, 09:59:58 PM »
There's also a big airport protest going on at SeaTac airport. I'm bummed that I didn't even hear about it until I saw several of my friends posting videos on FB.

CanuckExpat

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #253 on: January 29, 2017, 12:29:30 AM »
I'm generally as apathetic as they come, but the events and stories out of today have made me feel sick to the stomach, but also hopeful (yay lawyers).

Looking for actionable items. I think this is the right place to figure out what that is?

Found and read through the Indivisible guide.

We have a lease on a place in Charleston for at least six weeks, so I guess these are my local representatives as much as I have any:
Rep. Marshall Sanford
Sen. Lindsey Graham
Sen. Tim Scott

Found the local FB and some upcoming events. Now what? I have no day job, have a bike and need an excuse to the see the city, so I am happy to go by local offices and pester people. I don't know about what yet, but I want to have specific asks and have them heard.

Other thoughts, we have a pot of money allocated specifically to charitable donations. ACLU is moving up the list probably. This falls into analysis paralysis a lot.

llorona

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #254 on: January 29, 2017, 01:01:01 AM »
Here's a list of all protests happening regarding the Muslim ban: https://thinkprogress.org/muslim-ban-protests-344f6e66022e#.1ydklegys

We were at the SFO protest earlier today. Demonstrators were vowing to stay until all detainees are released. As of 11:55 p.m. PST, the protest is going strong.

If you are interested in attending a protest tomorrow (Sunday, January 29), you should check Facebook or Twitter for updates and details.

If you live in the Bay Area and want to be informed of other rapid responses protests, you can sign up here to receive text messages: www.bayresistance.org

You can also search for the Meetup group called #TheResistance San Francisco.
« Last Edit: January 29, 2017, 02:24:53 AM by llorona »

Pooperman

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #255 on: January 29, 2017, 05:40:02 AM »
We have a lease on a place in Charleston for at least six weeks, so I guess these are my local representatives as much as I have any:
Rep. Marshall Sanford
Sen. Lindsey Graham
Sen. Tim Scott

Did you find a local Indivisible group to join? We're running Tuesday protests. Maybe one of your temporary senators has an office in Charleston. If so, I'd guess there will be at least one protest there this coming Tuesday.

Cranberries

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #256 on: January 29, 2017, 08:34:53 AM »
I was at the SFO protest last night. When we left at 11 pm they had released three detainees there, but were still holding several others, including an elderly couple and a family. I am most worried about any young men, but I do not have a reliable information about how many people are being detained. I will be going back today.

begood

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #257 on: January 29, 2017, 08:44:38 AM »
From the Women's March on Washington Facebook page (the entry is being updated as more information comes in, so probably best to go there for the most current info):

We have heard about so many #NoMuslimBan actions happening on Sunday, 1/29! Here are the ones we know about as of right now (all local times):

Albany, 10am: https://t.co/RgpR2NHffb
Eugene: https://t.co/FzeSfpaHwM
Miami, 12pm: https://t.co/nfdA9ks0O2
LAX, 12pm: https://t.co/qbHFwvHfta
Orlando, 12pm: https://t.co/UkJl4ftwhp
DC, 1pm: https://t.co/WagE3pcPWe
St. Louis International Airport, 1pm: https://t.co/tvEWrH6AYt
Boston, Copley Square, 1pm: https://t.co/THAd08PKfL
Columbus, 1pm: https://t.co/AlVNTlvMrR
Minneapolis, 1pm: https://t.co/qjyyiKV3vO
Raleigh-Durham, 1pm: https://t.co/T2yNCKN2uq
Bradley Airport (CT), 1:30pm: https://t.co/JTCuK4mzbz
NYC, 2pm: https://t.co/G7N7qKeV3x
Flagstaff, 2pm: https://t.co/Cevf0Lvmco
Birmingham, 2pm: https://t.co/uWFwzpuYWo
Rochester, 2pm: https://t.co/NNJLjiIbYU
Philly, 2pm: https://t.co/DNFAFOzpf9
Little Rock, 2:30pm: https://t.co/KuPfbqIhRw
Nashville, 3pm: https://t.co/BQ5vwbBirB
Detroit, 4pm: https://t.co/zkMsgqusiD
Phoenix, 4pm: https://t.co/sJBRtKPkyg
Seattle Weslake Park, 5pm: https://t.co/3BZyjidBPZ
Baltimore, 5pm: https://t.co/0QFIYmy3zp
Houston, 5pm: https://t.co/dcD7pUkh0I

Cranberries

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #258 on: January 29, 2017, 09:17:50 AM »
From the Women's March on Washington Facebook page (the entry is being updated as more information comes in, so probably best to go there for the most current info):

We have heard about so many #NoMuslimBan actions happening on Sunday, 1/29! Here are the ones we know about as of right now (all local times):

Albany, 10am: https://t.co/RgpR2NHffb
Eugene: https://t.co/FzeSfpaHwM
Miami, 12pm: https://t.co/nfdA9ks0O2
LAX, 12pm: https://t.co/qbHFwvHfta
Orlando, 12pm: https://t.co/UkJl4ftwhp
DC, 1pm: https://t.co/WagE3pcPWe
St. Louis International Airport, 1pm: https://t.co/tvEWrH6AYt
Boston, Copley Square, 1pm: https://t.co/THAd08PKfL
Columbus, 1pm: https://t.co/AlVNTlvMrR
Minneapolis, 1pm: https://t.co/qjyyiKV3vO
Raleigh-Durham, 1pm: https://t.co/T2yNCKN2uq
Bradley Airport (CT), 1:30pm: https://t.co/JTCuK4mzbz
NYC, 2pm: https://t.co/G7N7qKeV3x
Flagstaff, 2pm: https://t.co/Cevf0Lvmco
Birmingham, 2pm: https://t.co/uWFwzpuYWo
Rochester, 2pm: https://t.co/NNJLjiIbYU
Philly, 2pm: https://t.co/DNFAFOzpf9
Little Rock, 2:30pm: https://t.co/KuPfbqIhRw
Nashville, 3pm: https://t.co/BQ5vwbBirB
Detroit, 4pm: https://t.co/zkMsgqusiD
Phoenix, 4pm: https://t.co/sJBRtKPkyg
Seattle Weslake Park, 5pm: https://t.co/3BZyjidBPZ
Baltimore, 5pm: https://t.co/0QFIYmy3zp
Houston, 5pm: https://t.co/dcD7pUkh0I

SFO, 12 noon, international terminal. It looks like there's no designated website.

Cranberries

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #259 on: January 29, 2017, 10:07:44 AM »
Monkeyjenga: I found it. Here's the link for the SFO protest. https://www.facebook.com/events/1357671360969469/

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #260 on: January 29, 2017, 12:53:17 PM »
Monkeyjenga: I found it. Here's the link for the SFO protest. https://www.facebook.com/events/1357671360969469/

Added, thanks.

Captain Awkward just posted a related piece, including action steps for the anxious:
https://captainawkward.com/2017/01/29/938-supporting-immigrant-coworkers-in-the-usa/

Will add later, thanks Joon.

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #261 on: January 29, 2017, 06:21:25 PM »
SMALL DAILY ACTS (I promise, this one you really can do this one from home): JAN 29, 2017

1) If you have not read the Indivisible Guide, go read it: https://www.indivisibleguide.com/

2) Look up your congressional district: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

3) Go on Facebook and join your state's Indivisible group. Look for "Indivisible [State]." Once there, you can ask if a group exists for your specific district. If it does, join it.

4) Invite your friends to join the group. You can also post on their walls asking if they're heard of it. I've been using "Hey [FRIEND NAME]! Have you heard of Indivisible? It's looking like the primary umbrella for the Trump resistance. You can read the guide and find local groups here: https://www.indivisibleguide.com/"

5) ADVANCED: If you've done most of the above, but no FB group exists for your district... Start one. Don't worry, it's easy to set up the group. Just set it up and don't worry about next steps yet.

You do not need to read the guide before joining the FB group!

boy_bye

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #262 on: January 29, 2017, 07:34:59 PM »
I can take it down if you want, until you're ready to launch. Will take 1 minute, no problem. Just let me know.

AmandaS1989

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #263 on: January 29, 2017, 07:35:30 PM »
I decided to add a $25 monthly donation to ACLU along with my $25 monthly donation to PP. We need these two organizations now more than ever.

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #264 on: January 29, 2017, 07:46:40 PM »
I decided to add a $25 monthly donation to ACLU along with my $25 monthly donation to PP. We need these two organizations now more than ever.

:))
« Last Edit: February 15, 2017, 06:49:24 PM by MonkeyJenga »

boy_bye

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #265 on: January 29, 2017, 08:34:22 PM »
I can take it down if you want, until you're ready to launch. Will take 1 minute, no problem. Just let me know.

Yes please. I'll let you know when it's ready for wider consumption. I wanted to get the listing of Muslim ban protests up quickly, but now I need to work on the other pages. Should be soon.

Done! Holler when you're ready for my massive traffic (haha j/k it's tiny but powerful).


iris lily

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #266 on: January 29, 2017, 09:29:55 PM »
Today DH and I joined a street protest against a debate among mayoral candidates. Republican,
Green,, and Libertarian party candidates were not allowed to attend, even though the sponsoring organizations were not all Democratic party organizations;  they are chartered as non-partisan.

We stood outside for an hour in brisk weather, holding signs and talking. It was fun!

Tomorrow I will be contacting my Missouri Secretary of State to suggest several of these sponsoring agencies be investigated for electioneering for the Democratic Party.

iris lily

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #267 on: January 29, 2017, 09:43:14 PM »
Yesterday I signed a neighborhood petition against the design of a mosque going in nearby. This new constructin doesnt meet standards for the historic district where it will be built. When our friend returns from out of town, I will lobby him to overturn his colleagues' decision to approve it. That board ruled without having a quorum. Um, nope.

Metta

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #268 on: January 29, 2017, 11:16:58 PM »
Yesterday I signed a neighborhood petition against the design of a mosque going in nearby. This new constructin doesnt meet standards for the historic district where it will be built. When our friend returns from out of town, I will lobby him to overturn his colleagues' decision to approve it. That board ruled without having a quorum. Um, nope.

This is not one of those situations where religious buildings are allowed to do whatever they want? I confess that I am often quite confused by these issues since it often seems that religious buildings can get away with things no other building could. If the mosque were redesigned to be historically correct (which I assume means that it has to be clapboard and painted white or some such) you would support it's being built in your neighborhood?

For myself and my neighborhood, I am afraid that I often do not agree with my neighbors but since none of it is enough to drive me crazy, I just step out of those disagreements. Latest is my neighbors attempts to find a way to make another neighbor repaint her house. (She painted it pink, which I find refreshing and my neighbors think is an abomination.) My across the street neighbor wants to force us to carry guns. In my gentlest tone I told him that I would not think of restricting his right to carry a gun. Similarly he simply could not expect to force other people to carry weapons if they didn't want to. Seriously! Do people even think before talking? Apparently he feels that he will be called upon to grab up his gun and defend my house when the barbarians come and that it is quite inconvenient for me to remain unarmed.

--------------
My actions this weekend
---------------

I attempted to call my senators but was unable to get through (much to my relief at not having to talk to anyone). But I tweeted my concerns to them and since it was on the same topic that I'd already emailed them on (open-heartedness toward refugees and immigrants) I feel comfortable that my voice was heard. Also Senator Lamar Alexander delivered a strong chastisement to the administration today, saying:

"This vetting proposal itself needed more vetting. More scrutiny of those traveling from war-torn countries to the United States is wise. But this broad and confusing order seems to ban legal, permanent residents with ‘green cards,’ and might turn away Iraqis, for example, who were translators and helped save lives of American troops and who could be killed if they stay in Iraq. And while not explicitly a religious test, it comes close to one which is inconsistent with our American character.”

So I am pleased with my senators tonight. I do think that most people in politics are there to do good, even if we sometimes disagree on what is good. I would like to see less partisanship and more attempts to reach agreement where agreement is possible.

Metric Mouse

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #269 on: January 29, 2017, 11:21:12 PM »
"This vetting proposal itself needed more vetting. More scrutiny of those traveling from war-torn countries to the United States is wise. But this broad and confusing order seems to ban legal, permanent residents with ‘green cards,’ and might turn away Iraqis, for example, who were translators and helped save lives of American troops and who could be killed if they stay in Iraq. And while not explicitly a religious test, it comes close to one which is inconsistent with our American character.”

Wow... this is almost perfectly how I feel about this issue.

Metta

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #270 on: January 29, 2017, 11:55:29 PM »
"This vetting proposal itself needed more vetting. More scrutiny of those traveling from war-torn countries to the United States is wise. But this broad and confusing order seems to ban legal, permanent residents with ‘green cards,’ and might turn away Iraqis, for example, who were translators and helped save lives of American troops and who could be killed if they stay in Iraq. And while not explicitly a religious test, it comes close to one which is inconsistent with our American character.”

Wow... this is almost perfectly how I feel about this issue.

Well, he is a senator and they don't hand those positions out in Cracker Jack boxes. Lamar Alexander's office has been the most professional I've dealt with and I'm impressed with his interactions with me. Can't really say that about Senator Corker. I think his office staff could learn a lot about basic courtesy from Lamar Alexander's staff.

deadlymonkey

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #271 on: January 30, 2017, 06:07:13 AM »
we are having a postcard party this week.  Several hundred postcards will be filled out and sent to applicable Senators, Paul Ryan, and Bannon.

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #272 on: January 30, 2017, 06:12:58 AM »
--------------
My actions this weekend
---------------

I attempted to call my senators but was unable to get through (much to my relief at not having to talk to anyone). But I tweeted my concerns to them and since it was on the same topic that I'd already emailed them on (open-heartedness toward refugees and immigrants) I feel comfortable that my voice was heard.

Great! You can also post comments on their FB page and email them. All those actions, every day.

Which phone numbers did you try calling? Senators have more than one office. One in DC, one in their home state, and sometimes multiple in their home state. You can try every number.

What was your specific ask in regards to the open-heartedness? To speak out against the ban? To vote for or against a specific bill? Specific, actionable requests are important.

we are having a postcard party this week.  Several hundred postcards will be filled out and sent to applicable Senators, Paul Ryan, and Bannon.

Great! If I could make one suggestion: focus only on your elected officials. Bannon isn't going to care about postcards.

What is your specific ask going to be? Voting against Cabinet confirmations? Voting to keep the Affordable Care Act?

Is there any way you can fill out postcards for people who want to help but can't make the postcard party? You could gather addresses and send off the postcards for them.

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #273 on: January 30, 2017, 06:17:47 AM »
SMALL DAILY ACTS: JAN 30, 2017

Do yesterday's, if you haven't already. Then TELL ME YOU'VE DONE IT.

Indivisible is getting a lot of press, and is organizing itself to be the primary umbrella for the resistance. I was at a planning session last night to start coordinating New York's groups, and they have a lot of momentum behind them.

I need people to say they're taking action on this so I know my posts aren't for naught.

SMALL DAILY ACTS (I promise, this one you really can do this one from home): JAN 29, 2017

1) If you have not read the Indivisible Guide, go read it: https://www.indivisibleguide.com/

2) Look up your congressional district: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

3) Go on Facebook and join your state's Indivisible group. Look for "Indivisible [State]." Once there, you can ask if a group exists for your specific district. If it does, join it.

4) Invite your friends to join the group. You can also post on their walls asking if they're heard of it. I've been using "Hey [FRIEND NAME]! Have you heard of Indivisible? It's looking like the primary umbrella for the Trump resistance. You can read the guide and find local groups here: https://www.indivisibleguide.com/"

5) ADVANCED: If you've done most of the above, but no FB group exists for your district... Start one. Don't worry, it's easy to set up the group. Just set it up and don't worry about next steps yet.

You do not need to read the guide before joining the FB group!

Poundwise

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #274 on: January 30, 2017, 06:32:48 AM »
I'm not and never will be on FB but I did contact the local Indivisible group. I also answered emails from some nice people I met at the march, and since they asked if I knew of a group they could join I sent them the links to Indivisible, 5 calls, Wall of Us, and some of the other excellent resources I've found here. So your actions are having an effect! 

Quote from: Metric Mouse on January 29, 2017, 11:21:12 PM
Quote
    Quote from: Metta on January 29, 2017, 11:16:58 PM

        "This vetting proposal itself needed more vetting. More scrutiny of those traveling from war-torn countries to the United States is wise. But this broad and confusing order seems to ban legal, permanent residents with ‘green cards,’ and might turn away Iraqis, for example, who were translators and helped save lives of American troops and who could be killed if they stay in Iraq. And while not explicitly a religious test, it comes close to one which is inconsistent with our American character.”

    Wow... this is almost perfectly how I feel about this issue.

Dear Mr. Metric Mouse, I would even go farther and say, "while not explicitly a religious test, it is inconsistent with our American character."  :P

Husband is drafting letters to our Republican mayor, council members, and county executive, for whom he has voted in the past. The gist is that while we appreciate many of the good things they have done, if they continue to support the disastrous policies of the national GOP in following Trump, we are done with them.  They would be best off running as independents.


« Last Edit: January 30, 2017, 07:16:01 AM by Poundwise »

Stachetastic

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #275 on: January 30, 2017, 06:36:44 AM »
I joined my state's Indivisible FB group. I also emailed my legislators last week imploring them to vote against Betsy DeVos and Jeff Sessions. I also co-signed a letter from one of our Senators to the president, asking him to get his head out of his ass. Fortunately for all of us, the senator worded this much nicer than I would have.

Love this thread, MJ!

iris lily

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #276 on: January 30, 2017, 06:55:00 AM »
Yesterday I signed a neighborhood petition against the design of a mosque going in nearby. This new constructin doesnt meet standards for the historic district where it will be built. When our friend returns from out of town, I will lobby him to overturn his colleagues' decision to approve it. That board ruled without having a quorum. Um, nope.

This is not one of those situations where religious buildings are allowed to do whatever they want? I confess that I am often quite confused by these issues since it often seems that religious buildings can get away with things no other building could. If the mosque were redesigned to be historically correct (which I assume means that it has to be clapboard and painted white or some such) you would support it's being built in your neighborhood?....

I can assure you that everyone here is falling all over  themselves to show how tolerant they are, and this conflict  has nothing to do with the fact that the congregation is  Muslim. We are an electric blue city, after all. And the congregation already resides in ths same neighborhood, they just want to build a new building which does not conform to city ordnance. Concessions have already been made for siting the building to face Mecca. Their other requests are not religion based.

Your neighbor issues are not rooted in established law so I do not know why you are conflating yours and mine.

Pooperman

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #277 on: January 30, 2017, 07:00:04 AM »
The local indivisible groups I run are at 230 people and 80 people now. Keep joining!

deadlymonkey

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #278 on: January 30, 2017, 08:03:19 AM »

Great! If I could make one suggestion: focus only on your elected officials. Bannon isn't going to care about postcards.

What is your specific ask going to be? Voting against Cabinet confirmations? Voting to keep the Affordable Care Act?

Is there any way you can fill out postcards for people who want to help but can't make the postcard party? You could gather addresses and send off the postcards for them.

We live on a military base so will have about 10 different states represented (each person sending stuff to their reps).  The Bannon thing was only to be part of the deluge of postcards sent to the whitehouse in his name with the first amendment written on it.

boy_bye

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #279 on: January 30, 2017, 08:08:52 AM »
This week I am going to exhort my Senators to withhold consent for the proceedings of the Senate. This will at least slow down the carnage.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/01/27/democrats-in-congress-can-block-trumps-agenda-if-they-want-to-heres-how

jeninco

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #280 on: January 30, 2017, 08:47:21 AM »
First off, good news! The ACLU netted $24M this weekend, more than 6 times their yearly average.

They’re going to need it…

Want to do something this morning? Call the nice people at Your Senators office! (google your senator's name, you'll get a link to the US senate with ALL the numbers)

Here’s what I said:

Here’s my name XXX and I am a [mystate] voter. (nb- please include that bit, one of my senators has been quoted in the past week as saying that his office has received lots of calls from out-of-state-voters, which is BS). I’ve got three separate items here, are you the right person to talk with?

1. Thanks to the senator for speaking out against the horrible executive order over the weekend. (I looked to find what he said)
Religious persecution is NOT a MyState value, this order is a clear violation of the Establishment Clause of the Constitution (FYI, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…) , and we expect Senator MySenator to join a bipartisan effort to reverse this order as quickly as possible.

2. The Senator needs to do whatever he possibly can to get Steve Bannon OFF the National Security Council and get the Director of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff back on. The NSC should be an informed group making recommendations based on actual facts and information, not whatever neo-Nazi conspiracy theory Steve Bannon believes today.


3. Another MyState value is preserving the environment: Rick Perry, Scott Pruit, and Ryan Zinke all have enormous ethical conflicts of interest that should exclude them from serving in the posts for which they’ve been proposed. Please vote against these jokers! Pruit, in particular, has multiple lawsuits active against the EPA: whatever we think about the agency, we all want our children to have clean water to drink, clean air to breathe, and wild spaces to explore. Please vote against these nominees!

4. I didn’t even get to Betsy DeVos, because I’ve already left a message about her. Blech!

Metta

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #281 on: January 30, 2017, 09:07:11 AM »
Yesterday I signed a neighborhood petition against the design of a mosque going in nearby. This new constructin doesnt meet standards for the historic district where it will be built. When our friend returns from out of town, I will lobby him to overturn his colleagues' decision to approve it. That board ruled without having a quorum. Um, nope.

This is not one of those situations where religious buildings are allowed to do whatever they want? I confess that I am often quite confused by these issues since it often seems that religious buildings can get away with things no other building could. If the mosque were redesigned to be historically correct (which I assume means that it has to be clapboard and painted white or some such) you would support it's being built in your neighborhood?....

I can assure you that everyone here is falling all over  themselves to show how tolerant they are, and this conflict  has nothing to do with the fact that the congregation is  Muslim. We are an electric blue city, after all. And the congregation already resides in ths same neighborhood, they just want to build a new building which does not conform to city ordnance. Concessions have already been made for siting the building to face Mecca. Their other requests are not religion based.

I have no idea where you live, so I couldn't know that. For myself, I live in an extremely red area of a red state, recently annexed to a blue city. I regularly hear fairly bigoted things about people on the basis of religion and race, so I am never sure of the ground I am walking on with an individual. I also hear things from my neighbors and from my former co-workers and some of my friends that seem, at best, ignorant and ill-informed. In addition, I live on the outskirts of one of the most violent cities in the U.S. So I am very, very careful.

I was not asking the question as some sort of aggressive tactic. I was asking to understand. Had I asked a similar question of my across the street neighbor he would have told me that all mosques are training grounds for murderers (and that I should get a gun). But despite his bigotry he is a basically good person. This is the problem. People can be bigoted out of ignorance and fear and still be decent people. They can generously donate to refugee resettlement and still oppose the building of mosques on the grounds that they are somehow dangerous. They can tutor children, rescue injured animals, and do all manner of good things, while still holding some fairly noxious views.

That is the challenge with these things. People are complicated. Issues are complicated. Solutions are frequently overly simple.

Luck12

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #282 on: January 30, 2017, 09:08:05 AM »
I joined the Indivisible group for my state and called a senator along with some other items mentioned here.  Also donated to 2 organizations.  Thank you OP for doing this! 

Metta

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #283 on: January 30, 2017, 09:10:24 AM »
I'm not and never will be on FB but I did contact the local Indivisible group. I also answered emails from some nice people I met at the march, and since they asked if I knew of a group they could join I sent them the links to Indivisible, 5 calls, Wall of Us, and some of the other excellent resources I've found here. So your actions are having an effect! 

Quote from: Metric Mouse on January 29, 2017, 11:21:12 PM
Quote
    Quote from: Metta on January 29, 2017, 11:16:58 PM

        "This vetting proposal itself needed more vetting. More scrutiny of those traveling from war-torn countries to the United States is wise. But this broad and confusing order seems to ban legal, permanent residents with ‘green cards,’ and might turn away Iraqis, for example, who were translators and helped save lives of American troops and who could be killed if they stay in Iraq. And while not explicitly a religious test, it comes close to one which is inconsistent with our American character.”

    Wow... this is almost perfectly how I feel about this issue.

Dear Mr. Metric Mouse, I would even go farther and say, "while not explicitly a religious test, it is inconsistent with our American character."  :P

Husband is drafting letters to our Republican mayor, council members, and county executive, for whom he has voted in the past. The gist is that while we appreciate many of the good things they have done, if they continue to support the disastrous policies of the national GOP in following Trump, we are done with them.  They would be best off running as independents.

Once again, this was a quote from one of my senators, Lamar Alexander. I think he spoke eloquently and forcefully and I am very grateful that he is did so.

Metta

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #284 on: January 30, 2017, 09:23:34 AM »

What was your specific ask in regards to the open-heartedness? To speak out against the ban? To vote for or against a specific bill? Specific, actionable requests are important.


I wrote to my senators prior to the implementation of this ban and my ask at the end of my letter was:

"Then use your moral authority to persuade President Trump to allow in refugees from wherever they originate. Please ensure that there are background checks to ensure our safety in this country but do not close our doors to those in dire need."

I reiterated my request once the ban went into effect asking him to ensure that we remain open to refugees and to speak up against the ban singling out one religion.

Many years ago I used to be a lot more politically active. I even spent a year working for the ACLU as a writer. At that point I developed the template I use for writing to congresspeople, which is something like this:

  * Who I am (your constituent, someone who voted for you, etc)
  *Personal story outlining why this impacts me or is a concern of mine (kept to one paragraph)
  *What I am asking the elected official to do

If I can't answer all three of those questions, I don't write. In most situations, I don't write to my congresspeople. And honestly, if I'm not willing to put my money where my mouth is, I don't write, so most of the time my letters are sent out simultaneously with a donation to the group that is working for the cause I want to see.

deadlymonkey

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #285 on: January 30, 2017, 09:26:56 AM »
Being military, I am personally quite constrained in my political activities.  It is refreshing to see my wife, who generally had a disdain for politics and was not interested in it all, completely awaken over the last few months and become quite active.

Unique User

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #286 on: January 30, 2017, 09:42:31 AM »
I called and emailed my NC state senator and Lt. Governor asking them to rescind their support for Betsy Devos and to let Senator Lamar Alexander know they do not support her confirmation.    Both are Republicans that had signed a letter of support for Betsy Devos.  Amusingly, I got a reply back immediately from a legislative assistant for my NC State Senator, John Alexander, stating that they were not aware of the letter he signed and could I forward it.

http://rslc.gop/blog/2017/01/17/letter-from-state-level-elected-leaders-in-all-50-states-supporting-betsy-devos-for-secretary-of-education/

I couldn't get through to GOP Senator Thom Tillis's office, but emailed him a thank you for his half-hearted condemnation of the travel ban and urged him to join with other Republicans in fully condemning it.   I also emailed and left a message for my GOP Congressman George Holding urging him to join with other Republicans in fully condemning the travel ban.   I listed the other Republicans for both of them.
« Last Edit: January 30, 2017, 01:53:11 PM by Unique User »

Zoot

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #287 on: January 30, 2017, 10:15:26 AM »
Following.

I love you guys.  :)

iris lily

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #288 on: January 30, 2017, 10:44:12 AM »



Quote
...

That is the challenge with these things. People are complicated. Issues are complicated. Solutions are frequently overly simple.
cool, so true. I think this mosque plan received approval on some features BECAUSE
 they were the right religion, in true reverse-discrimination style.  But the fact that the 8 member  board passed the plan with only 3 in attendance is my fuel. Watching that government agencies follow their own rules is part of being politically active.

Anyway, I live in an urban core of one of the most violent cities in America.  Politics are rife here, and heatng up in a mayoral race where the incumbant will not t be running.

And now to stop talking about this, once again we are off topic...
« Last Edit: January 30, 2017, 10:48:19 AM by iris lily »

jim555

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #289 on: January 30, 2017, 01:06:13 PM »
Petition to Prevent Donald Trump from making a State Visit to the United Kingdom

1,480,000 signatures and climbing fast....

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/171928/

Donald Trump should be allowed to enter the UK in his capacity as head of the US Government, but he should not be invited to make an official State Visit because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen.
Donald Trump's well documented misogyny and vulgarity disqualifies him from being received by Her Majesty the Queen or the Prince of Wales. Therefore during the term of his presidency Donald Trump should not be invited to the United Kingdom for an official State Visit.

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #290 on: January 30, 2017, 01:12:14 PM »
Thanks for the feedback and Indivisible support all!

I had a depressing convo with a friend who's scared of going on her long-planned trip back home to a Muslim-majority country, to see her family including a terminally ill grandmother.

Instead of being paralyzed, I took this motivation to call my elected officials. I was prepared to call all 9 offices for Schumer and Gillibrand each and not get through on any. Lo and behold, I talked to staffers after only a couple tries! They were thankful and said to keep calling.

Gillibrand has gotten a lot of support for voting no. Schumer's staffer told me he was voting no on a list of nominees and that nobody is aware of it. Interesting that people know Gillibrand is on our side, but the ostensible minority leader is so wishy-washy that even people calling his office don't know his votes. (He has gotten more vocal recently.)

They also said letters do get counted and passed on to the DC office.

I of course got through to my Rep. That's never been a problem.

I told them all I was with Indivisible. Gotta get that name visibility!

My asks:

Senators: block cabinet appointments, block upcoming Supreme Court nominee.

Rep: thank you for opposing Muslim ban.

plainjane

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #291 on: January 30, 2017, 01:18:44 PM »
Today I made phonecalls to my Senators.  One to support actions already being taken, one to indicate that one shouldn't still be "undecided" on Sessions.

Sailor Sam

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #292 on: January 30, 2017, 01:23:32 PM »
livingthedream55 posted this thread: 20 Ways to Fight Fascism, which was originally written by a Yale University professor.

Number 1 is: Do Not Obey in Advance. Much of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then start to do it without being asked. You've already done this, haven't you? Stop. Anticipatory obedience teaches authorities what is possible and accelerates unfreedom.

It described me. I've been following this thread, and taking many of the actions. But I was afraid to post, because I didn't want participation traced back to me. That ends now. Probably there won't be any consequences, but if there are, I will accept them.

boy_bye

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #293 on: January 30, 2017, 01:31:48 PM »
Our piece of shit Senator went on TV last weekend and said he was getting thousands of calls a day, mostly from out of state paid protesters, so when I called today I made sure to say that I wasn't paid, I live in Colorado, and I'm looking to the Senator to reject DeVos and Sessions. I also asked about a Town Hall meeting, because our guy sure doesn't seem to want to have any!

Our nice Senator, I called him and asked for him to withhold consent for the proceedings of the Senate. The president is acting in a radical manner, and we need a bolder response from our Democratic Senators. I asked him to be courageous and try to slow the carnage.

Dollar Slice

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #294 on: January 30, 2017, 01:32:19 PM »
Number 1 is: Do Not Obey in Advance. Much of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then start to do it without being asked. You've already done this, haven't you? Stop. Anticipatory obedience teaches authorities what is possible and accelerates unfreedom.

I've been wondering how much of people's reluctance to say or type our president's name is because of sheer loathing, and how much is because of this kind of anticipation/fear, the inevitability of someone tracking you down for What You Said About Dear Leader.

Metric Mouse

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #295 on: January 30, 2017, 01:32:57 PM »
Thanks for the feedback and Indivisible support all!

I had a depressing convo with a friend who's scared of going on her long-planned trip back home to a Muslim-majority country, to see her family including a terminally ill grandmother.

Instead of being paralyzed, I took this motivation to call my elected officials. I was prepared to call all 9 offices for Schumer and Gillibrand each and not get through on any. Lo and behold, I talked to staffers after only a couple tries! They were thankful and said to keep calling.

Gillibrand has gotten a lot of support for voting no. Schumer's staffer told me he was voting no on a list of nominees and that nobody is aware of it. Interesting that people know Gillibrand is on our side, but the ostensible minority leader is so wishy-washy that even people calling his office don't know his votes. (He has gotten more vocal recently.)

They also said letters do get counted and passed on to the DC office.

I of course got through to my Rep. That's never been a problem.

I told them all I was with Indivisible. Gotta get that name visibility!

My asks:

Senators: block cabinet appointments, block upcoming Supreme Court nominee.

Rep: thank you for opposing Muslim ban.
Is it proper to block Supreme Court nominees that haven't been announced? I completely understand cabinet appointments that are terrible, but is it a good policy to preemptively oppose SCOTUS nominees based solely upon the party nominating them?

Cranberries

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #296 on: January 30, 2017, 01:35:51 PM »
livingthedream55 posted this thread: 20 Ways to Fight Fascism, which was originally written by a Yale University professor.

Number 1 is: Do Not Obey in Advance. Much of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then start to do it without being asked. You've already done this, haven't you? Stop. Anticipatory obedience teaches authorities what is possible and accelerates unfreedom.

It described me. I've been following this thread, and taking many of the actions. But I was afraid to post, because I didn't want participation traced back to me. That ends now. Probably there won't be any consequences, but if there are, I will accept them.

This describes me as well. I think I have mostly broken through this this weekend. It was partially this thread that helped pressure me that way, and partially my husband posting something to Facebook about what we were doing this weekend that was a tiny bit over my anticipating-fascism-o-meter. Regardless, I've crossed my line. I spent two days at the SFO airport today chanting "let the lawyers in" and dancing to a brass band and then I posted publicly on Facebook about it. It's the Facebook post part that is the most alarming to me, but I think FB may be a necessary motivational/networking tool in the modern age.

SisterX

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #297 on: January 30, 2017, 01:46:08 PM »
livingthedream55 posted this thread: 20 Ways to Fight Fascism, which was originally written by a Yale University professor.

Number 1 is: Do Not Obey in Advance. Much of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then start to do it without being asked. You've already done this, haven't you? Stop. Anticipatory obedience teaches authorities what is possible and accelerates unfreedom.

It described me. I've been following this thread, and taking many of the actions. But I was afraid to post, because I didn't want participation traced back to me. That ends now. Probably there won't be any consequences, but if there are, I will accept them.

GOOD FOR YOU!!

boy_bye

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #298 on: January 30, 2017, 01:52:53 PM »
Is it proper to block Supreme Court nominees that haven't been announced? I completely understand cabinet appointments that are terrible, but is it a good policy to preemptively oppose SCOTUS nominees based solely upon the party nominating them?

I think it is. This is a stolen seat that should have rightfully been filled by Merrick Garland as nominated by President Obama. The fact that the Republicans blocked a totally acceptable, qualified, moderate candidate means that the Dems have every right to block the Trump nominee.

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Small Daily Acts of Political Resistance
« Reply #299 on: January 30, 2017, 01:55:37 PM »
Thanks for the feedback and Indivisible support all!

I had a depressing convo with a friend who's scared of going on her long-planned trip back home to a Muslim-majority country, to see her family including a terminally ill grandmother.

Instead of being paralyzed, I took this motivation to call my elected officials. I was prepared to call all 9 offices for Schumer and Gillibrand each and not get through on any. Lo and behold, I talked to staffers after only a couple tries! They were thankful and said to keep calling.

Gillibrand has gotten a lot of support for voting no. Schumer's staffer told me he was voting no on a list of nominees and that nobody is aware of it. Interesting that people know Gillibrand is on our side, but the ostensible minority leader is so wishy-washy that even people calling his office don't know his votes. (He has gotten more vocal recently.)

They also said letters do get counted and passed on to the DC office.

I of course got through to my Rep. That's never been a problem.

I told them all I was with Indivisible. Gotta get that name visibility!

My asks:

Senators: block cabinet appointments, block upcoming Supreme Court nominee.

Rep: thank you for opposing Muslim ban.
Is it proper to block Supreme Court nominees that haven't been announced? I completely understand cabinet appointments that are terrible, but is it a good policy to preemptively oppose SCOTUS nominees based solely upon the party nominating them?

Off topic. You are not supposed to question the thread's Dear Leader.;)

But, yes. I understand your viewpoint. We know it's going to be one of two people, though. Trump has also made clear what he is looking for in a judge. And after Republicans stonewalled Merrick Garland for that long, Democrats need to be committed to obstructionism.

If you want to discuss further, we can move to another thread. :)

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!