INCO WEEKLY NEWSLETTER 3/19

Students from Seaside High School, Astoria High School, Astoria Middle School, and Ilwaco High School were among thousands across the US who walked out of school for 17 minutes on March 14, paying tribute to those who were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and protesting gun violence. These photos from Chicago and New York City are from the New York Times. 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 our local Rally For Our Lives to support their work to stop gun violence, in solidarity with similar events around the US. Cheer on these courageous students with suggestions compiled and created by Cheryl Conway and Bebe Michel, INCO Indivisibles. This is a new and corrected link to their list. To get active with INCO about this issue, email incoregon@gmail.com. Guidelines for the Rally This is a rally, not a march. 1. Follow the instructions from our Safety Monitors, who will be wearing neon vests. 2. Stay on the sidewalk, not in the street. 3. Do not block pedestrians. 4. Stay back from corners so you don't block the view of traffic from vehicles. 5. If there are too many people at 8th and Commercial, it's OK to stand up the hill on 8th and east on Commercial. 6. Do not block the entrances to any businesses. 7. Act respectfully to all passersby, even those who disagree with our rally. 8. Do not engage with hecklers.  ACTION PRIORITIES  www.indivisible.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: • Reject Trump nominees Pompeo and Haspel. Urge your senators to actively oppose the nominations of Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State and Gina Haspel as  head of the CIA.  Both nominees reinforce, rather than temper Trump’s hawkish, autocratic tendencies and endorse reprehensible policies. Pompeo wants increased domestic surveillance, is fervently anti-Muslim, and downplays Russia’s attacks on our democracy, even when contradicted by CIA’s evidence. Haspel approved water-boarding and other torture at a CIA prison she ran in Thailand and then ordered destruction of video evidence of these illegal actions. • Stop the weakening of bank regulations and consumer financial protections. Experts say we're due for another financial shake-up that could be accelerated and made worse by bills being promoted in Congress. • Tell their colleagues to grow a spine and stand up to the NRA. It's past time to enact reasonable gun control legislation, including rejecting the proposed Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. Reminder: INCO is not endorsing or fielding candidates in the May 15th primary election. FACES OF DEMOCRACY Thanks to everyone who came to the Postcards To Voters postcarding event at the Seaside Library on March 16th. We wrote 66 postcards on behalf of Dr. Hiral Tipirneni, who is running for Congress in Arizona’s special election 4/24. Now we are even more energized in the wake of Conor Lamb’s win in PA.  We were proud to have helped contribute to the GOTV effort with PTV.       -- Bebe Michel, Seaside-Gearhart Community Group We had 15 people at our meeting on March 17 and wrote 60 Postcards to Voters. At our meeting two weeks ago, we wrote 30 Postcards to Voters for the Conor Lamb campaign.  Maybe 30 of those 627 winning votes were from people who got our postcards! -- Carrie, Warrenton Community Group HAPPENINGS Check for details and new posts on our events page. All Indivisibles are welcome at all these events and meetings.   THIS WEEK 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. 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 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. Saturday, April 7 - Warrenton Community Group meeting, 11 am, Dooger's in Warrenton, Highway 101. No purchase required. Tuesday, April 10 - JOINT Astoria Community Group and Oppose Bigotry Team Meeting, 6 pm, WineKraft, 80 10th Street, on the Riverwalk, Astoria. No purchase required. Tuesday, April 10 - Seaside-Gearhart Community Group Meeting, 6:30-8 pm. Please email Kathleenannmacdonald@yahoo.com for the address. Wednesday, April 11 - INCO Book Club, 6:30 pm, at private home in Astoria. Contact cebeady@outlook.com for location and to RSVP.  Our choice for April is The Common Good by Robert B. Reich, recently published by Knopf.  The advertisement states "On why we must restrore the idea of the common good to the center of our economics and politics."  The book has a recommended reading list and discussion guide to foster further conversation.  It has received excellent reviews. Saturday, April 14 - Rally for Science, 11:30 - 1 pm, 8th and Commercial, outside the Astoria Post Office Friday, April 20 - Astoria Call to Life: An Earth Day Ingathering, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.,Liberty Theater, 1203 Commercial St., Astoria OR 97103; a family- friendly event hosted by the college; INCO will have a table at this event. Saturday, April 21 - 2018 Cannon Beach’s Earth Day Street Fair, 11am-2pm, in the US Bank parking lot. The Cannon Beach/Manzanite Community Group will distribute “Save our Beaches” information. Sunday, April 22 - "Save Our Beaches" Earth Day, 2 pm, at the Broadway Turnaround, Seaside. We'll distribute "Save Our Beaches" info cards. Everyone is welcome. Bring your favorite Earth Day, climate change, and 'save our beaches' signs. 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. Town Hall with State Representative Debby Boone and State Senator Betsy Johnson Saturday, March 31 10 am - Garibaldi City Hall, 107 6th Street 2 pm - Seaside City Hall, 989 Broadway 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 “… the day-to-day job of upholding the Constitution really lies elsewhere. It rests, realistically, on the shoulders of every citizen . . . ." -- Chief Justice Earl Warren, 1963

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:   Protecting the Mueller investigation, supporting US diplomacy, supporting students demanding responsible gun laws, protesting Trump's increasingly erratic and authoritarian actions 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 19, 2018