INCO Weekly Newsletter 1/8

ACTION PRIORITIES  www.indivisible.org This week's Americans of Conscience Action Checklist is here.         Contact elected officials here. •  The next opportunity for Democrats in Congress to use their leverage is January 19. There can be no more excuses in 2018. Tell Democrats to be DREAM Heroes and use their leverage to fight for immigrant youth. Other key issues tied up with government funding are the Children’s Health Insurance Plan, domestic surveillance power, and climate disaster aid. •  Trump and Iran. Trump has another deadline in January when he could break the Iran nuclear deal and take us closer to war with Iran. Call your Members of Congress to tell them to protect the deal and keep us out of war, and catch up on the state of play for the fate of the Iran deal. •  Infrastructure profiteering. What we know, based on earlier proposals, is that Trump's infrastructure plan is intended to line the pockets of private companies and foreign investors at the expense of local governments and their own priorities. Read more about a Trump infrastructure plan released earlier this year here, and how Trump’s own budget is bad for infrastructure here. •  THANK YOU to Senators Merkley, Wyden, Cantwell, and Murray for voting NO when 51 GOP Senators voted to give millionaires, billionaires, and corporations a massive tax cut, to kick 13 million Americans off of their healthcare, and explode the deficit. The tax scam is one of the most unpopular bills ever passed in Congress, and it’s not hard to see why. Contact your senators to say thanks! Dear Indivisibles, Have you thought about volunteering to canvass and knock on doors for Measure 101?  I find it very rewarding to meet people face to face and encourage them to vote. We only have a few weeks left to get out the vote to protect healthcare for kids, working families, seniors and people with disabilities. Contact us at incoregon@gmail.com to volunteer or to get a yard sign.  You can make a difference! — from Bebe Michel PS. Ballots are due by January 23 by 8 pm. Postmarks don't count. Run for Something  Want to make your community even better? Join the nationwide trend and run for office! Running for office can be rewarding - especially having fun, meeting people, getting your message out, and hearing what's on people's minds. Talk with local campaign and candidate veterans at a special event for people thinking about running for office or helping with election campaigns.  Free and hosted by INCO's Vote the Future Team. RUN FOR SOMETHING Saturday, January 20 • 4:30 -6 Lovell Showroom, 426 14th Street, Astoria These local offices are up for election in 2018. If you don't run, who will? Clatsop County Commissioners District 1 (Astoria/Warrenton/Hammond), District 3 (Astoria); District 5 (south county, part of Seaside, Cannon Beach) City of Astoria: Mayor, City Councilors for Wards 1 and 3 City of Cannon Beach: Mayor, 2 Councilors at large City of Gearhart: City Councilors, Positions 1 and 3 City of Seaside: Mayor, City Councilors Wards 1,2, At large Wards 3 and 4 City of Warrenton: Position 4 and Position 5; possibly Mayor State Senator District 16, State Representative District 32 Progressive women around the country are running for office. Matching Your Gift by Wednesday Make your $10 become $20; your $50 become $100. Between now and this Wednesday, January 10, an anonymous donor will match all donations to INCO up to a total of $1,000!  Your donation goes directly to the cause of defending democracy. Help INCO act vigorously in 2018 to oppose authoritarianism, bigotry, and corruption. We’re an all-volunteer group, so your gift helps pay for everything that keeps INCO effective and inspiring. This matching offer ends this Wednesday, January 10, so please give now.  Donate at our website here.  Or mail your check payable to INCO to: INCO 766 Lexington Avenue Astoria OR 97103 THANK YOU! Progressive values. Facts. Community. Solidarity. Inspiration. Action.  And, of course, postcards, music, and treats. Saturday, January 20   Lovell Showroom, 426 14th Street, Astoria Free • Open to all defenders of democracy Come for one session or stay for the day. Box lunches available for purchase by 9:30 a.m. Check out our speakers and the day's schedule here. 8:30 am  Doors Open 9 am- 4:30  Workshops, Q&A, discussion Guest speakers:  Jen Hoffman - Answering the Call; author, Americans of Conscience blog and checklist; her  checklist for the week of January 7 is here.  Linai Vaz -Re-Framing the Debate: It’s All About the Brain; former Olympic trainer, OR-1 Indivisible leader Lindsay Hessel - Democracy Happens Every Day; election strategist, OR-3 Indivisible leader • Energize & strategize for 2018  • Community networking and engagement • Resources, opportunities, imagination to sustain activism Box lunches available for purchase by 9:30 am. 4:30 -6  Run for Something  Want to make your community even better? Join the nationwide trend and run for office! Q&A with campaign and candidate veterans for potential candidates and campaign helpers: election info, positions available, local campaign and support strategies Free and hosted by INCO's Vote the Future Team 8 - 10 pm  Rock the Resistance Dance Dance or just hang out and enjoy the sounds of vintage vinyl with DJ Joey Altruda. Beer, wine, and light fare available for purchase Free • Donations welcome On the anniversary of the Women’s March, come relax and shake it off at this community dance...we deserve some JOY!  TAKE A SURVEY - YOU COULD WIN INCO SWAG!  Take our five-minute survey by Jan. 10 and you'll be entered to win. You'll also help with our planning for 2018!  INCO's Faces of Democracy    INCO's Rally for Science brought out Indivisibles and their spot-on signs, on April 22, 2017. HAPPENINGS Check for details and new posts on our events page.   THIS WEEK Every Wednesday - INCO Happy Hour, 4-6 pm, This week's Happy Hour is at the WET DOG, bar area,  foot of 11th on the Riverwalk, Astoria; food and non-alcoholic drinks available; no host, no agenda, no meeting Almost every Friday - INCO Southwest Washington postcard party; email gwenbrake@gmail.com for date, time and place. Tuesday, January 9 - Astoria INCO Community Group meeting, 6 pm, WineKraft, foot of 11th on the Riverwalk.  INCO Book Club, No Meeting in January.  Thursday, January 11 - Seaside/Gearhart Community Group meeting, 6:30 - 8 pm, Seaside; contact kathleenannmacdonald@yahoo.com for directions. Saturday, January 13 - Warrenton Community Group meeting, 11 am, Dooger's Restaurant, Hwy 101, Warrenton Sunday, January 14 - "Selma" film screening and candlelight walk for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 2 pm, Liberty Theater, 12th & Commercial, Astoria; film tickets $10; hosted by Astoria International Film Festival, INCO, Lower Columbia Diversity Coalition, and other community partners UPCOMING Wednesday, January 17 - Vote the Future Team Meeting, 6:30 pm, Seaside Library Saturday, January 20 - Turn the Tide 2018 • INCO Regional Summit, 8:30 - 4:30, Lovell Showroom, 426 14th Street, Astoria; free and open to all defenders of democracy Saturday, January 20 - "Run for Something," 4:30 - 5:30, Lovell Showroom, 426 14th Street, Astoria. Want to make your community better? Join the nationwide trend and run for office! Q & A with election campaign veterans for potential candidates; includes information on seats up for election in 2018, filing deadlines, and effective local campaigning. An informal session with no-host beer and nachos, hosted by INCO’s Vote the Future team Saturday, January 20 - "Rock the Resistance" dance, 8 - 10 pm, Lovell Showroom, 426 14th Street, Astoria; DJ Joey Altruda plays oldies; free, donations welcome.   Tuesday, February 6 - Oppose Bigotry Team meeting, 6 pm, Astoria; contact catladyjoan@gmail.com for directions. Wednesday, February 7 - INCO Book Club,  6:30 pm, Astoria. For directions, contact cebeady@outlook.com. This month's book is American Nations: A History Of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures Of North America, by Colin Woodard, Penguin Books, 2012.  Excerpts of wisdom and warnings from  ON TYRANNY: TWENTY LESSONS FROM THE TWENTIETH CENTURY by Timothy Snyder, Tim Duggan Books, 2017 Lesson 13.  Practice corporeal politics. The choice to be in public depends on the ability to maintain a private sphere of life. Lesson 14.  Establish a private life. Totalitarianism removes the difference between private and public .... Lesson 15.  Contribute to good causes.  Be active in organizations, political or not, that express your own view of life.   Support Voter Information Pamphlet  INCO’s Vote the Future team is on the county commissioners' agenda to present the case for having a voter information pamphlet in Clatsop County even in off-year elections. Please attend to support this great project to strengthen our local democracy! VTF at the Clatsop County Commissioners regular meeting Wednesday, January 10 at 6 pm Judge Guy Boyington Building, Astoria - - SE corner of 9th and Commercial, enter on 9th; parking on the street and in the below-grade parking lot, enter from 9th. Contact incoregon@gmail.com for more info.

“Totalitarianism will not be satisfied to assert, in the face of contrary facts, that unemployment does not exist; it will abolish unemployment benefits as part of its propaganda.” --Hannah Arendt, writing of policy-as-disinformation We're Ready! Trump and Mueller INCO has planned a “Rally for the Rule of Law,” to be held in the event Trump fires Mueller or takes a similar action that threatens the rule of law as it relates to the investigation. We'll post info on our INCO Facebook page and email an Action Alert. You can also sign up (RSVP) for a notification here.   IN SOLIDARITY from Slate, an Indivisible leader in northern Alabama: We were all in it together to resist and we were focused on being strategic with our actions.  People had to park down the road and walk to the hotel. We filled not only the conference room and hallway, but the entire lobby as well. 500 Alabamians attended the event, much more than our wildest expectations. I found my Indivisible group thanks to an event on Facebook. We held our first meeting at a Hampton Inn and rented a small conference room. We were expecting maybe 50 people to show up, tops.  COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS  Get involved with your INCO Community Group today in Manzanita-Cannon Beach, Seaside, Warrenton, Astoria, Washington Peninsula. INCO's Events Team, Oppose Bigotry Team, Vote the Future Team, and Book Club are INCO-wide. All INCO Indivisibles are invited to participate. For more information, contact incoregon@gmail.com.   Questions, suggestions, & photos to INCO at incoregon@gmail.com Share this newsletter and our website with other resisters. They can join INCO here and ask to join our closed Facebook group. INCO is supported entirely by your donations. Donate here. Deb Vanasse and Laurie Caplan, INCO Co-chairs INCO Weekly Newsletter   January 8, 2018