Monday, February 19, 2018

INCO Weekly Newsletter 2/19

"My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again
be seen as the last best hope of earth."
-- Abraham Lincoln
SENATOR JEFF MERKLEY TOWN HALL
Tuesday, February 20 at 12:30 pm

Bob Chisholm Community Center, 1225 Avenue A, Seaside
We'll bring Agree/Disagree signs  •  You bring your questions and concerns
US Representative Jaime Herrera Buetler Telephone Town Hall
Wednesday, February 21 at 5:30 pm
Constituents in Washington's 3rd Congressional District can call her Vancouver office at 360-695-6292 to be placed on a call list. Constituents also may call 877-229-8493 and use the passcode 116365 to join the meeting at any point during the event.
 ACTION PRIORITIES
 www.indivisible.org     This week's Americans of Conscience Action Checklist is here.        
Contact elected officials here.

•  Attend the Merkley Town Hall if you live in Oregon.
•  Call in to the Herrera Buetler un-town hall if you live in WA.

•  Support the National Popular Vote (NPV) in Oregon - Urgent!

Please call Senator Betsy Johnson now and ask her to vote yes on a clean NPV bill that does not refer NPV to a ballot initiative. Senator Johnson may be a crucial vote on this issue, which is supported by INCO's Vote the Future Team.

Brief background: NPV has passed the House in Oregon in four different sessions, but has been blocked from a Senate vote up to now. We've learned that a clean bill, either an amended version SB 1512 or a new bill which the Senate and then the House will vote on directly, may soon be presented. We have to work fast to get Senators to vote yes.

Call or write Senator Betsy Johnson and ask her to vote yes on a clean NPV bill that does not refer NPV to a ballot initiative. Contact
 her at 503-543-4200‬ or at 503-986-1716.  Sen.BetsyJohnson@oregonlegislature.gov.  NPV = one person, one vote, all votes equal.

More information about NPV is here. For questions specific to NPV in Oregon contact Eric Halperin at ehod1@yahoo.com.  

•  Watch this space for INCO's plans to engage with efforts to put an end to gun massacres, once and for all.
Nationally, Women's March organizers are spearheading a 17-minute school walkout
/
www.actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/enough-national-school-walkout>on
March 14 and student survivors of the Parkland massacre are organizing the March for Our Lives /
www.marchforourlives.com/> on March 24. 
If you'd like to help organize or coordinate INCO's action, email incoregon@gmail.com
HAPPENINGS
Check for details and new posts on our events page.
 
THIS WEEK
Tuesday, February 20 - Senator Jeff Merkley Town Hall12:30 pm, Bob Chisholm Community Center, 1225 Avenue A, Seaside

Wednesday, February 21 - US Representative Jaime Herrera Buetler Telephone Town Hall5:30 pm; calling instructions at the top of this newsletter

Wednesday, February 21 - INCO Vote the Future Team, 6:30 pm, Seaside Library Board Room, Seaside.

Every Wednesday, INCO Happy Hour, 4-6 pm, Buoy Beer, probably in the Tap Room, foot of 8th 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.


UPCOMING
Saturday, March 3 - Warrenton Community Group meeting, 11 am, Dooger's Restaurant, Warrenton. The CG is putting together a hard copy contact list for our members, strictly on an opt-in basis, containing name, email address, mailing address and phone number. This list is intended for emergency use, special meeting notification, etc.  If interested in having your info included and receiving a hard copy of this list, please email Meridee Faber at mjfaber8@msn.com no later than Feb. 26.

Tuesday, March 6 - Oppose Bigotry Team meeting, 6 pm, at Joan's, Astoria. Contact catladyjoan@gmail.com for directions.

Thursday, March 8 - Upper North Coast INCO (Manzanita/Cannon Beach),  6:30 pm, contact incoregon@gmail.com for address & directions.


Tuesday, March 13 - Astoria Community Group meeting, 6 pm, WineKraft, 80 10th Street, on the Riverwalk, Astoria

Tuesday, March 13 - Seaside/Gearhart Community Group meeting, 6:30 - 8 pm, in Gearhart.  E-mail littlebylittle4change@gmail.com for address/directions.

Wednesday, March 14 - INCO Book Club, 6:30 pm, at Carolyn's, Astoria. Contact cebeady@outlook.com for directions. This month's book is The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life, by Any Partanen.

Friday, March 16 - Upper North Coast Oregon INCO (Manzanita-Cannon Beach) meeting, 6:30 pm, location to be announced.
Indivisibles rallied for an end to violence against women and children, at our V-Day Rally, February 14, in Astoria.
USE YOUR VOICE
Inform and inspire others with a letter to the editor (LTE) to the Daily Astorian. Letters are among the most popular features in the paper. Even a paragraph or two makes an impact. Rules and directions for submitting your letter are here. Tips for letter writing are here. 

Suggested topics for this week:  
• The local or personal impact of gun violence, gun sales, the NRA, etc. 
Moms Demand Action has this resource showing how Oregon could do betterHere's another national campaign for electing people who will work for gun safety. 
• The local or personal impact of proposed off-shore drilling off the Oregon and Washington coasts.

•   Framing political language can make your LTEs even more effective. It was the hot topic at the INCO summit. Bebe Michel, a Gearhart Indivisible, recommends this link to a fascinating video about framing featuring George Lakoff, 
INCO NEEDS YOUR QUESTIONS
What do you want to know about the candidates for office?
Send your questions to incoregon@gmail.com by Tuesday, February 20.
 
You can help INCO provide helpful information to you and other voters for May's primary election. Please submit questions with yes/no answers for the 3 Clatsop County Commissioner positions and for one state senator and one state representative. INCO will prepare and distribute a "scorecard" with candidates' responses to the questions INCO asks them about policy and values. INCO will contact every candidate for those positions.
INCO in Hipfish
Melissa Ousley, a Warrenton Indivisible , writes about "Creating Lasting Change Through Grassroots Activism" in the February issue of hipfish, available free throughout our region. Hipfish also runs a calendar of INCO events and meetings. Check it out! Thank you, Dinah Urell and hipfish, for your ongoing support!
VOTING: Registration deadline is April 24
The last day to register or to update your voter registration is April 24 so you can vote in the May 15 primary election. Registration forms are online, at the County Elections office at 820 Exchange, 2nd floor; and at libraries and other venues around the county. Clatsop County & Oregon voting information is here. 
 
The deadline to file for office is March 6. Contact the County Elections Office for more information.
INSIGHTS
 "The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it."
-- Chinese proverb
Clean Energy Jobs Bill Update 
About 400 people from all over Oregon, including several from the North Coast, came to Salem on February 12 to support legislation to cap greenhouse gas emissions and invest in clean energy jobs. Read the report from Eric Halperin, an Indivisible from Gearhart, to find out what's next and what you can do to convince State Senator Betsy Johnson to support this legislation!  
HOPE and SELF-CARE
•  Enjoy this week's good news reviewed by Jen Hoffman, our keynote speaker at the INCO summit 

•  Lolly Champion, of Cannon Beach, received this advice:
1. Don't use his name;
2. Remember this is a regime and he's not acting alone;
3. Do not argue with those who support him - it doesn't work;
4. Focus on his policies, not his orange-ness and mental state;
5. Keep your message positive; they want the country to be angry and fearful because this is the soil from which their darkest policies will grow;
6. No more helpless/hopeless talk;
7. Support artists and the arts;
8. Be careful not to spread fake news. Fact check it;
9. Take care of yourselves;
10. Resist! Keep demonstrations peaceful. In the words of John Lennon, "When it gets down to having to use violence, then you are playing the system’s game. The establishment will irritate you - pull your beard, flick your face - to make you fight! Because once they’ve got you violent, then they know how to handle you. The only thing they don’t know how to handle is non-violence and humor."
We're Ready! 
INCO has planned a “Rally for the Rule of Law,” to be held in the event Trump fires Rosenstein or 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.  

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   February 19, 2018