INCO Weekly Newsletter 3/12

The Resistance Needs You Be part of the resistance happening all over the country and right here at home. Check out an INCO Community Group or an Action Team - they'll welcome you and your ideas, talent, experience, and passion for democracy! INCO Community Groups: Manzanita-Cannon Beach, Seaside-Gearhart, Warrenton, Astoria-East County, and the Washington Peninsula INCO Action Teams: Events, Oppose Bigotry, Vote the Future, and Book Club   Check 'Happenings' in this newsletter for meetings and events.  ACTION PRIORITIES  www.indivisible.org    www.indivisiblenorthcoastoregon.org  Join INCO's closed Facebook group for more actions, information, and discussion.       Sign up for the weekly Americans of Conscience Action Checklist. Contact elected officials here. Tell your Members of Congress: •  Stop the #BankLobbyistAct. This week the Senate voted on a motion to proceed with this bill, an attempt at more Wall Street de-regulation. Many experts say we're due for another financial shake-up that could be accelerated and made worse by this bill. Use our resource and call script to call your senators and tell them to vote no on S. 2155 •  Support S.J. Res. 54: #SandersLeeYemen. Trump is doubling down on an unauthorized war in Yemen. A bipartisan group of senators led by Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Chris Murphy (D-CT), is using a rare procedure to force the Senate to finally take a vote. This bill, S.J. Res. 54, would declare the war unauthorized, and end it (unless Congress chooses to authorize it). Review our resource for more information about the situation in Yemen and use our call script to call both your senators. It only needs a simple majority in the Senate -- we can win this. •  Support Dreamers and Immigration Reform. The US needs a DACA fix that is consistent with our values and that doesn’t require Dreamers to sacrifice their parents in the process. The US also needs immigrants, who add essential ideas, work ethic, and vitality to our our country. More from Indivisible.org here. •  Stop the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act (a bill that makes mass shootings easier). Backed by the NRA, this bill would require states to recognize the gun laws of other states, essentially forcing them to accept lower standards than their own. That means that gun owners from states with minimal restrictions like Florida’s could legally carry their weapons anywhere, even to a state that would normally prohibit them from carrying a gun. The House passed this bill. The Senate is expected to bring it up this year. Read this resource on the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act.  Reminder: INCO is not endorsing or fielding candidates in the May 15th primary election. 17 Minutes of Silence Several Astoria High School students are organizing the 17-minute walkout from school this Wednesday morning, in tribute to the victims of the Parkland, Florida school shooting last month: 17 dead, others wounded, the country traumatized. The students are working with school administrators as they plan this respectful, meaningful event. Their walkout is in solidarity with similar events planned by students around the country at the same time. Cheryl Conway and Bebe Michel, INCO Indivisibles, compiled and created  these suggestions for others who want to support the walkouts.   RALLY FOR OUR LIVES SATURDAY, MARCH 24 Noon - 1:30 pm • 8th and Commercial, outside the Astoria Post Office Bring signs and chants! Rally in solidarity with the half-million people expected to march in Washington, DC on March 24 - a march planned and organized by high school students!   INCO is partnering with local students and their families for this rally to support their work to stop gun violence. Along with thousands  across the country, we demand that student lives and safety become a priority.  If you'd like to help with INCO's activities about this issue, email incoregon@gmail.com. FACES OF DEMOCRACY Young activists inspire us, including these local students and a mom who rallied with INCO last year. "POSTCARDS TO VOTERS" FROM YOU AND INCO Friday, March 16 at  3 pm Seaside Library Community Room  Bring your smart phone, tablet or laptop, or no devices  • We’ll help you get signed up  Postcards, postage, suggested scripts, and addresses will be provided.   You can help progressive candidates in other states win special elections happening now. INCO's working with a national project, Postcards to Voters, to write "please vote" postcards to voters. The Warrenton Community Group wrote two dozen postcards at Saturday's meeting. Sponsored by INCO Vote The Future and hosted by Bebe Michel. HAPPENINGS Check for details and new posts on our events page.   THIS WEEK 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 - Postcards to Voters, 3 pm, Seaside Library Community Room; more information elsewhere in this newsletter Saturday, March 17 - Warrenton Community Group meeting, 11 a.m., Dooger's Restaurant, Hwy 101 in Warrenton 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.  Most Fridays - INCO Southwest Washington postcard party; email gwenbrake@gmail.comfor date, time and place. UPCOMING Wednesday, March 21- Vote the Future Team meeting, 6:30 pm, Seaside Library Board Room Saturday, March 24 -Rally For Our Lives, noon - 1:30 pm, 8th and Commercial outside the Astoria post office. Bring signs. Local students, their families, and INCO are partnering for this community event. Tuesday, April 3 - AAUW Candidates Forum - 7 pm, Astoria High School, 1001 West Marine Drive. Q&A with candidates for  Oregon State Senator, Oregon State Representative, and 3 Clatsop County Commissioner positions. INCO will have a voter registration table there. US Representative Suzanne Bonamici Town Hall Thursday, March 29 at 6 pm Astoria High School, 1001 West Marine Drive We'll bring Agree/Disagree signs - You bring your questions. AAUW Candidates Forum Tuesday, April 3 at 7 pm Astoria High School, 1001 West Marine Drive  AAUW invites all the candidates for these positions:   Oregon State Legislature: Senate District 16 and House District 32 Clatsop County Commissioners, Districts 1, 3, and 5  Bring your questions.  Co-sponsored by The Daily Astorian INCO will have a voter registration table.  INSIGHTS “I’m an optimist who worries a lot.” — Madeleine Albright

USE YOUR VOICE You can 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.  Check out this video about maximizing the impact of your words. Suggested topics for this week:   Net neutrality, guns, Russian interference in US elections, immigration 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 an INCO Community Group in Manzanita-Cannon Beach, Seaside-Gearhart, Warrenton, Astoria-East County, or the Washington Peninsula. All INCO Indivisibles are invited to get active with INCO's Events Team, Oppose Bigotry Team, Vote the Future Team, and Book Club. Contact incoregon@gmail.com for more information.   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 donations. Please donate here. Deb Vanasse and Laurie Caplan, INCO Co-chairs INCO Weekly Newsletter   March 12, 2018