Monday, August 27, 2018

INCO Weekly Newsletter 8/27

"I remain eternally optimistic regarding everyone else's pessimistic outlook on the current situation."

- - Steve Bronstein, INCO activist
LET'S FLIP CONGRESS!
Not sure what you can do to defend our democracy? Mailing postcards to voters leads to higher voter turnout. Every postcard and every stamp can help elect Jamie MacLeod-Skinner in Oregon's 2nd Congressional District and other progressives around the country. 

WRITE:  
•  Attend a postcard party with like-minded Indivisibles. Scripts, stamps, postcards, and colorful pens are provided. This week's postcard parties are on Friday, August 31 at 4 - 5:30 in Gearhart and Manzanita. Directions from incoregon@gmail.com.

•  Sign up here to do Postcards to Voters on your own, at your convenience. They'll tell you everything you need to know. Or contact Bebe at littlebylittle4change@gmail.com for more help.


DONATE:
A roll of 100 postcard stamps costs $35.00. Please contribute any amount here or through PayPal so INCO can buy more postcard stamps to reach more voters. You can also donate at INCO events  and by mailing your check to INCO, PO Box 536, Warrenton, OR 97146.
 
Countdown: Only 71 days until the midterm election on November 6!
INCO supports these candidates and hope you will, too! Carolyn Long is running for WA-3 (Washington's 3rd Congressional District), which includes the WA peninsula, to replace Trumpster Jaime Herrera-Buetler.  Jamie McLeod-Skinner is running to defeat Trumpster Greg Walden in OR-2, which is one of the largest districts geographically in the US.
ACTION PRIORITIES, part 1
SIGN UP HERE to #StormThe Midterms and Stop The Menace.
You'll feel good being an active defender of democracy!
 
There's lots you can do to help flip two nearby seats and elect Democrat Jamie MacLeod-Skinner in OR-2 (Oregon's 2nd Congressional District) and elect Democrat Carolyn Long in WA-3.  Sign up here and choose what suits you best for INCO's endorsed candidates as well as progressive candidates in nearby swing districts. You can make a difference from home or working with others!

•  Help register voters in Pacific County, WA. Sign up here for 2 hours of hosting voters from 10-4 every Saturday through the end of September. It's at Saturday Market at the Port of Ilwaco, in front of the big white building in the center of the port, with a Please Vote banner on top.  
 
 •  Door-to-door outreach:  We’re sending out teams of canvassers on Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons in Clatsop County and across the river to elect specific candidates and to defeat some ugly Oregon ballot measures the GOP would love to see passed
 
•   Tweet: Set up a private group that includes @indivisiblencor, @huddleupvan, @electlong (WA-3), and @JamieforOregon (OR-2). Tweet and retweet the messaging. Add your own comments.
 
•   Text or Phone: Host a text or phone banking party. Email incoregon@gmail.com, subject line Host a Party.
 
Sign up here to be part of INCO's Storm the Midterms team.
Order 'I am the Storm' t-shirts here. 
INSIDE INCO
Easier Link:  Save your typing energy and find INCO at our new, shorter URL:  www.incoregon.org.

BIG Numbers:  Indivisibles at the Gearhart postcard parties wrote 712 cards in 3 weeks to voters in OR-2, Oregon's 2nd Congressional District!  Kudos to Bebe, Kathi, Kathleen, Laurie, and Meridee for taking more postcards to work on at home.

Warrenton Miles:  Hooray for Warrenton Community Group for cleaning up 2-1/2 miles of Harbor Drive, after their meeting on August 18. They've adopted this major street and welcome new cleaner-uppers. Contact incoregon@gmail.com for details.

INCO's Book Club: There's still time for you to get a copy of THE AGE OF AMERICAN UNREASON IN A CULTURE OF LIES by Susan Jacoby, Vintage Books, New Updated Edition, 2018, so you can discuss it with everyone at the next meeting of INCO's Book Club at 6:30 on September 19 in Astoria. Contact cebeady@outlook.com for directions.
INCO leaders love Storming the Midterms for progressive victories on November 6! Eric has the flag, then Bebe, Kathleen, Beeb, Carmen, Deb, Monica, with Ken and Mary Beth by Boxer. Not shown: Laurie the photographer, Cheryl, Gwen, Kay, Meridee, Steve, and Tracy.
UPDATE: Defeating Measure 105 
"We had about 12 people come for Friday's canvassing. we gave away about  42 posters for storefronts in downtown Astoria and got 17 pledges. It was very energizing. Most people had never canvassed before. Everyone agreed they had fun and want to do it again."
-- Monica Pearson, INCO leader and activist

We'll keep you posted about ways you can help defeat this hate-based measureThanks to Monica for helping train the canvassers. This door-to-door outreach was hosted by La Voz de la Comunidad and INCO, with help from Oregonians United against Profiling.
HAPPENINGS
Check for details and new posts on our events page.
All Indivisibles are welcome at all these events and meetings.
 
THIS WEEK
Friday, August 31 - Postcards to Voters Writing Party - Gearhart, 4 - 5:30 pm.  Contact Bebe at littlebylittle4change@gmail.com for address. Most Fridays, same time, same place. We appreciate donations ($1-5) to help defray costs for postage. If you'd like, join us afterwards for food and drinks at the Sand Trap.

FridayAugust 3Postcards to Voters Writing Party - Manzanita, 4-5:30. Contact Cheryl at coastalmomma@yahoo.com for directions. 

UPCOMING
Friday, September 7 - Postcards to Voters Writing Party - Gearhart, 4 - 5:30 pm.  Contact Bebe at littlebylittle4change@gmail.com for address. Most Fridays, same time, same place. We appreciate donations ($1-5) to help defray costs for postage. If you'd like, join us afterwards for food and drinks at the Sand Trap.

Friday, September 7 Postcards to Voters Writing Party - Manzanita, 4-5:30. Contact Cheryl at coastalmomma@yahoo.com for directions. 

Saturday, September 8 - Astoria INCO Community Group meeting, 8 a.m., Street Fourteen Cafe, 1410 Commercial; no purchase necessary. On the agenda: Astoria's school bond issue and another group LTE. What do you want to write about?

Saturday, September 8 - Warrenton INCO Community Group Meeting, 11 am, Dooger’s Seafood and Grill, Highway 101, Warrenton. No purchase necessary. We'll write postcards after the meeting to support Carmen's friend who's running for office in Iowa.

Tuesday, September 11 - Seaside/Gearhart INCO Community Group Meeting6:30-8:00pm. Email kathleenannmacdonald@yahoo.com for location

Friday, September 14 - Postcards to Voters Writing Party - Gearhart, 4 - 5:30 pm.  Contact Bebe at littlebylittle4change@gmail.com for address. Most Fridays, same time, same place. We appreciate donations ($1-5) to help defray costs for postage. If you'd like, join us afterwards for food and drinks at the Sand Trap.

Friday, September 14 Postcards to Voters Writing Party - Manzanita, 4-5:30. Contact Cheryl at coastalmomma@yahoo.com for directions. 

Friday, September 14 - Under 40s Group Meeting, Postcard Party + "Wine & Whine" Happy Hour. Happy Hour: 5:00 - 6:00 pm, Group Meeting & Postcard Party: 6:00 - 7:30 pm. Contact  beebashcroft@gmail.com for directions to Seaside location.

Saturday, September 15 - Town Hall with US  Representative Suzanne Bonamici, 1 - 2 pm, Seaside Heights Elementary School, 2000 Spruce Drive, Seaside. We'll have Agree/Disagree signs for you. 

Wednesday, September 19  INCO Vote the Future Team, 6:30 pm, Seaside Library Board Room. All Indivisibles interested in voting and elections are welcome.

Wednesday, September 19 - INCO Book Club, 6:30 pm, in Astoria. We're back after our summer break! The book we’ll discuss is THE AGE OF AMERICAN UNREASON IN A CULTURE OF LIES by Susan Jacoby, Vintage Books, New Updated Edition, 2018. Contact cebeady@outlook.com for directions.

Wednesday, September 19 - Seaside AAUW C
andidates Forum, 7 - 8:30 pm, Seaside City Hall. Confirmed as coming are candidates for Seaside mayor, Seaside City Council, Gearhart City Council, and Tiffiny Mitchell for Oregon Legislature, HD 32.    

Tuesday, September 25 - INCO Voter Registration Drive,  10 am - 2pm, Clatsop Community College, Towler Hall, 3rd floor. Register or update registrations with new name, address, or handwriting.
ACTION PRIORITIES, part 2 
Focus on the issues you care about most 

Tell Your Members of Congress to:
• Uphold the rule of law and protect our democracy. • Condemn the administration's authoritarian speech, actions, and policies. • Pressure your GOP colleagues to assert Congress' role as a co-equal branch of government, not as a servant of the President. • Protect Mueller, Rosenstein, and the Russia investigation that has already led to indictments and convictions of Trumpsters and Russians. • Restore trust in the judiciary, media, and in all the other civic institutions being purposely undermined by Trump and his administration • Defeat the administration's white supremacist actions and promotion of bigotry against people of color, naturalized citizens, foreign students, and non-Christians. 

• Stop the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh as the new Supreme Court Justice. Here's the latest guide from Indivisible. Delay the hearings and confirmation until after the winners of the November election take office.  Mr. Kavanaugh is a well-known Washington insider, anti-environmentalist, and right-wing extremist, even in his judicial decisions. 

•  Develop and enforce a humane, practical bipartisan immigration policy.

• Protect all Americans. • Stand with people who need help getting medical care and enough food to eat. • Stop the administration's attacks on America's allies and embrace of America's totalitarian enemies. • Demand effective government actions to deal with climate change. • Provide meaningful help for Puerto Rico's recovery from Hurricane Maria. • Oppose  nominees to be federal judges who fail to support equal rights for all people. 
 
www.indivisible.org    Contact elected officials here.
Check out the new Americans of Conscience website where you can sign up for the weekly Action Checklist, compiled by Jen Hoffman and a team of volunteer researchers. This week's checklist is here. Jen was a standout speaker at INCO's January summit. 
Where's Our Banner?
The INCO banner -  it says "Indivisible North Coast Oregon" - is still missing after falling off our truck at the Astoria Regatta Grand Land Parade on August 11. It is vinyl, 6 feet long, with sleeves at the top and bottom holding poles. If you have any information about its whereabouts, please contact incoregon@gmail.com.
INSIGHTS
 "Life isn't the drive through at a fast food joint. The whole point of going to temple or church isn't worshiping, but the coming together, the formation of community. That's what we have lost. Community. That's what we should campaign for.”

—  Bruce Rozenblit, Reader’s comment, NY Times    
We're Ready! 
Here's INCO's plan if Trump crosses one of three red lines that threatens the rule of law as it relates to the investigation: fire Mueller, fire Rosenstein, or pardon key figures. 
  • If actions are triggered BEFORE 2 p.m. local time —> events will begin @ 5 p.m. local time.
  • If actions are triggered AFTER 2 p.m. local time —> events will begin @ noon local time the following day.
We'll take to the streets to Rally for the Rule of Law at 8th and Commercial in Astoria. Indivisibles across the nation will be gathering according to this schedule.  

We'll post info about a Rally for the Rule of Law on our INCO Facebook page and email an Action Alert. You can also sign up (RSVP) for a notification here.  
COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
INCO has Community Groups in Manzanita-Cannon Beach, Seaside-Gearhart, Warrenton, Astoria-East County, and 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 Laurie at incoregon@gmail.com for more information.
 
Questions, suggestions, & photos to INCO at incoregon@gmail.com.
Elections, voting, issues, and more at INCO's Vote the Future website:  incovotethefuture.org.

INCO's new website is Activism for Really Do Care INCO Under 40s
 Join INCO's closed Facebook group for more actions, information, and discussion.
Share this newsletter and our website with other resisters. Check spam if you can't find it.
INCO is supported entirely by donations. Please donate here.

Deb Vanasse and Laurie Caplan, INCO Co-chairs
INCO Weekly Newsletter   August 27, 2018