INCO Weekly Newsletter 2/18

The National Emergency is Trump "We have a national emergency, all right. Its name is Donald Trump, and it is a force of mindless, pointless disruption." -- Eugene Robinson, Washington Post "Why are we reacting to yet another untruth? .... We validate his behavior by treating it as serious." -- Stacey Abrams, on Late Night with Seth Meyers "... injunctions may stop him from actually building the wall, but they're not going to say to the President "you're abusing your power." It's up to us, and to Congress, to do that." --Deb Vanasse, INCO co-leader Trump declaring a national emergency to get his wall built wall defies truth and  the rule of law and marches us into one-party rule and authoritarianism.  We are quite concerned about this major breach of the rule of law and urge everyone to contact their members of Congress to ask that they act to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law. Organizations are urging protests and rallies today (Monday), but INCO doesn't have enough leaders available to host an event that meets our internal standards for safety and effectiveness. Instead, we urge you to take action as follows! Here's how you can defend democracy: •  CALL your Members of Congress. Urge them to use their Constitutional powers to uphold the rule of law against Trump and his administration. For more call scripts to stop tyranny and defend the Constitution, check with Indivisible starting at 6 am tomorrow, February 19. • WRITE a Letter to the Editor.  The Daily Astorian - editor@dailyastorian.com or through their website - publishes up to 250 words. No name-calling. Include your contact information. • DONATE to organizations actively working in the courts and mobilizing public opposition to prevent this crisis from getting worse: the ACLU, Indivisible national, Public Citizen, MoveOn, and other similar organizations. H.R. 1 -  STRENGTHEN DEMOCRACY H.R. 1 proposes democracy reforms that terrify Mitch McConnell, the GOP, and right-wind and corporate elites. We like H.R. 1 because it proposes Replacing our broken campaign finance system with one that relies on small donors;   Ending dark money in elections;  Eliminating partisan gerrymandering;   Establishing automatic voter registration; Restoring voting rights to felons who have served their time; and   Making Election Day a national holiday.  Call your US Representative to urge support for H.R. 1. TUESDAY CALL OF THE WEEK It's always important to call your Members of Congress, and our Tuesday calls are especially important. Throughout Oregon, Indivisibles are calling our MoCs on Tuesdays, amplifying our voices around a single issue.   For scripts and other details, visit Indivisible Oregon on Tuesday. Tell the Legislature to Limit School Testing in Oregon Indivisible Oregon is urging passage of HB 2318, Too Young to Test, a bill limiting standardized testing of young children. Please contact members of the Oregon House Education Committee, where the bill is currently sitting. Here are the members. HB 2318 (“Too Young to Test”) would:       Prohibit the state of Oregon and local school districts from administering standardized test to students from pre-kindergarten through grade two. Teachers will still be allowed to select and administer assessments in individual classrooms in accordance with their professional judgment.  Standardized assessments will be allowed for purely diagnostic purposes as required by state or federal law.   Why Support HB 2318: *  The repeated standardized testing, sorting and tracking of young children is developmentally inappropriate. Such testing fails to acknowledge that young children learn at different rates, in different ways and at different times. More reasons to support this bill can be found here. RUBEN IS HOME AND NEEDS OUR HELP Ruben Perez and his wife Maria offered heartfelt thanks at church today to everyone who's helped them through the nightmare of ICE detention. Thanks to your generosity of time and money, Ruben is now back home in Astoria, but he still has more court appearance related to his asylum claim. His legal expenses continue, so please donate through the GoFundMe page started for Ruben by Monica Pearson, INCO leader.  Thank you!    Plan for Clatsop County's Future Care about the future of growth in Clatsop County? Want to help find solutions for creating and maintaining affordable housing, traffic, and keeping our downtowns thriving? Apply for a seat on a Clatsop County Comprehensive Plan and Community Plan Update Committee by March 1. The Citizen Committee Application forms are available from the County Manager’s office at 800 Exchange St., Suite 410, Astoria, OR, or athttps://www.co.clatsop.or.us/county/page/county-application-forms. Contact Clatsop County Community Development Department with questions at 503-338-3666. The deadline to apply is 4:00 p.m., Friday, March 1, 2019. File to Fill Vital Special District Positions in May 21 Election  Learn how government works. See if public service is in your future. Build a progressive bench. Voters will elect board members throughout Clatsop County on May 21 for Special Districts that oversee schools, water, fire departments, the Port of Astoria, and more. These Special Districts are essential parts of our communities. Board members set budgets, decide programs and priorities, and make other major decisions.  Positions up for election here.  May 21 Special District Election You can be a candidate for a Special District board in Clatsop County.                                                         February 9 - first day to file                                                        March 21 -   last day to file Details about positions and filing here: Clatsop County Elections Office, 820 Exchange, 2nd floor, Astoria. If you don't run, who will? MONEY IN POLITICS •  The Oregonian is startinga series on Money in Politics called Polluted by Money, How Corporate Cash Corrupted One of the Greenest States in America.  Oregon ranks at the top in all kinds of unsavory ways - Just click through the slides and then sign up for future info.  • The February Hipfish features an article titled 'Measures of Corruption,' by INCO activist David Delk, also about money in political system.   HAPPENINGS Details on our events page. Everyone is welcome to all these events. THIS WEEK Wednesday, February 20 - INCO Book Club, 6:30 pm, Astoria; discussing HOW TO THINK: A GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED, by Alan Jacobs, Profile Books LTD, 2018.   Email cebeady@outlook.com for address. Wednesday, February 20 - Vote the Future (VTF) monthly meeting,  6:30 pm, Seaside Library Board Room.   UPCOMING Saturday, March 2 - "Gerrymandering and What We Can Do To Stop It", 2 pm, Astoria Public Library Flag Room, 450 10th Street. A presentation by the Oregon League of Women Voters, co-sponsored by INCO. Wednesday, March 6 - Advocacy Team monthly meeting, 6:30 - 8 pm, Seaside Library Board Room. Thursday, March  7 - INCO Table at Ales & Ideas, 7 pm, Lovell Showroom, 426 14th Street, Astoria. Doors open at 6 pm. Food and drink available for purchase. INCO t-shirts and In Our America yard signs available for purchase. David Delk of INCO is a featured speaker. Saturday, March 9 - Warrenton Community Group monthly meeting, 11:30, Dooger's Seafood & Grill, Highway 101, Warrenton. Saturday, March 9 - Astoria Community Group monthly meeting,  2 pm, Street 14 Cafe, 1410 Commercial Street, Astoria. Tuesday, March 12 - Seaside-Gearhart Community Group Monthly Meeting, 6:30 -  8 pm. Contact kathleenannmacdonald@yahoo.com for location. SPECIAL EVENTS ECOLOGY SPEAKER SERIES: Forestry, Profits, and Oregon's Natural Heritage   Thursday February 21 at 7PM   Doors open at 6:30 COLUMBIA HALL, room 219, Clatsop Community College, Astoria CHUCK WILLER, Director of the Coast Range Association, The Climate Crisis, Putting People Before Profits; and MARY SCURLOCK, Coordinator of the Oregon Stream Protection Coalition, Private Forests, Public Waters: Why Oregon's Stream Protections are Failing Co-sponsored by Clatsop Community College, Forest Visions Project, and CREATE "Gerrymandering and What We Can Do to Stop It" a presentation by the Oregon League of Women Voters Saturday, March 2 at 2 pm Astoria Public Library Flag Room 450 10th Street INCO is a co-sponsor. "Campaigns 101" - The basics of running an election campaign Saturday, March 9 from 10:30 - noon Astoria Public Library Flag Room Running for office can be enjoyable challenging. Find out how to do it from local campaign experts. Presented by the Clatsop County Democrats Open to the public INSIGHTS "Attacks on democracy breed attacks on democracy.” - David Leonhardt ACTION PRIORITIES   How will your Members of Congress know what you want if you don't tell them? •  Members of Congress (MoC) care about getting re-elected, so contact ONLY elected officials who represent you so you don't dilute the power of actual constituents. •  It's more effective to contact your MoC about one issue at a time.  •  Be sure to tell your MoC when you agree with their positions and votes.   Contact YOUR elected officials here.   For current action items, visit www.incoregon.org and www.indivisible.org. Find other suggested actions in the Americans of Conscience Checklist.

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS Come to a meeting and get active with INCO's Advocacy Team, Vote the Future Team,  Book Club and Community Groups. Contact Laurie at incoregon@gmail.com for more information.   Questions, suggestions, & photos to INCO at incoregon@gmail.com.  INCO has 3 websites: our main one; Vote the Future; and Really Do Care INCO Under 40s. Really Do Care also has a Facebook group.  Join INCO's closed Facebook group. Share this newsletter with other resisters. You can sign up for emails from national Indivisible at www.indivisible.org. INCO is supported entirely by donations. Please donate online or mail a check to INCO c/o PO Box 536, Warrenton, OR 97146. Deb Vanasse and Laurie Caplan, INCO Co-chairs INCO Weekly Newsletter   February 18, 2019