INCO Weekly Newsletter 4/8

INCO's Rally to Release the Report Our event on April 4 was one of more than 300 pin a nationwide Day of Action to demand the immediate release of the Mueller report to Congress and the public. We loved the enthusiastic supportive horn-blowing and waves of people driving by. CALL BETSY AND TIFFINY TODAY!  Tell them to support important progressive bills coming to a vote! Ask State Senator Betsy Johnson to vote for these bills endorsed by INCO; she has been silent on many progressive issues. Thank State Representative Tiffiny Mitchell for her ongoing support of progressive legislation. Betsy's at 503-986-1716 and Sen.BetsyJohnson@oregonlegislature.gov.  Tiffiny's  at ‭(503) 986-1432‬ and Rep.TiffinyMitchell@oregonlegislature.gov. •  NPV: The Oregon Senate votes on National Popular Vote (NPV) early this week. Please call Betsy ASAP to urge her to vote YES for  SB 870. The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. •  CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM: Oregon's latest attempt to limit corporate and individual campaign contributions is SJR 18, with Measure 5 amending. It's likely to be voted on soon.  • THE STUDENT SUCCESS ACT:  HB 2019 proposes improved funding for education. Please ask Betsy to support the measure, which was largely developed by a joint Senate and House committee. More details below.  • CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: HB 2020 will help fulfill Oregon's economic development and climate change goals. This is another issue Betsy has not committed to, and she needs to hear from us. • GUN SALES AND STORAGE: SB (Senate Bill) 275 and HB (House Bill) 2505 would require that that guns be safely secured. HB 2251 was introduced by Governor Kate Brown to require common-sense limits on gun ownership. After consulting with Mom's Demand Action and reviewing these bills, INCO'S Advocacy Team has endorsed these bills. Contact info is here.  INDIVISIBLE TUESDAY CALL OF THE WEEK Tell your Members of Congress to protect children wherever they are.  At the border on in the class room.  We ask our Members of Congress to help kids at the border and pass the REUNITE Act, and we ask them to help children in the classroom by investigating Betsy DeVos. (FYI, Congresswoman Bonamici's committee will be interviewing DeVos on April 10.)    Senator Merkley's DC office: 202-224-3753. Senator Wyden's DC office: 202-224-5244.  Congresswoman Bonamici's DC office: 202-225-0855 Join other Oregon Indivisibles and call your MoCs on Tuesday. Contact info is here.   After you call,  • 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. Indivisible national will MATCH your donation to INCO when you donate in April, only through this link. This means Indivisible will double your contribution, up to a total of $500. Your donation will go toward INCO's efforts to: Promote informed voting Promote efforts that increase voter participation Support voting rights and fair districting Support campaign finance reform Advocate for government transparency and accountability Defend First Amendment Rights Only donations given through this ActBlue site will be doubled by Indivisible.  Thank you for contributing to INCO and for working to save our democracy. PUBLIC HEARING FOR OREGON'S STUDENT SUCCESS ACT  Our Oregon is advocating for increased education funding in Oregon for  early childhood learning  Dropout prevention  universal meals  culturally specific student success initiatives restoring classes like art, music, PE and vocational training  adding back instructional classroom time  This would be a first step toward resurrecting the push for a modest increase in corporate taxes as a means of generating much-needed revenue for education and other common-good priorities. Oregon voters want new revenue to be tied to a specific need, and Oregon's education funding is what Our Oregon is recommending take center stage in that effort. The legislature's Joint Committee on Student Success report explains HB 2019. State Senator Betsy Johnson is crucial for this to succeed. The hearing on Thursday, April 11 at 5 pm would be a great reason to go to Salem. If you can attend the hearing to show support and/or testify, please complete this RSVP form. BONAMICI TOWN HALL Tuesday, April 16  •  6 pm Columbia Hall 219, Clatsop Community College 1651 Lexington, Astoria  Accessible parking behind the building; enter just west of 15th on Lexington Join Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici to talk about what matters to you. All are welcome! Staff will be available to meet individually with anyone experiencing problems with federal agencies. "BIG MONEY AGENDA: DEMOCRACY ON THE BRINK" This film shows the links between US health care and money in politics, along with other obstacles to common-sense solutions for healthcare and our democracy. Saturday, April 20 2 pm Astoria Public Library Flag Room, 450 10th Street Documentary film screening, with Q & A and panel discussion Free, with donations welcome. Co-sponsored by INCO. PLASTIC BAG BANS MOVING FORWARD STATEWIDE: Oregon’s plastic bag ban BILL is headed to the House floor for a vote. HB 2509, which backers call the Sustainable Shopping Initiative, would ban single-use plastic checkout bags and impose a 5-cent fee on single-use paper bags. Please contact Representative Tiffiny Mitchell to ask her to support this bill. LOCAL: Seaside residents or Seaside business owners: Please sign this petition to support a ban on single-use plastic bags in Seaside. Please contact your city councilor to urge a YES vote on the measure, which will be coming before Astoria City Council soon.  Thank businesses where you shop for offering alternatives to plastic bags. Reusable bags are available at many retailers, and they make great gifts. Write an an online comment each week to large stores where you shop to ask them to discontinue using plastic bags at checkout, to charge for paper bags, and to motivate customers to bring their own bags. Contact  Safeway, Fred Meyer, and other chains where you shop.     Thanks to everyone who showed up to stand up for democracy at Thursday's rally. We demand accountability and transparency at the highest levels of government. HAPPENINGS Details on our events page. Everyone is welcome to all these events. THIS WEEK Tuesday, April 9 - Seaside-Gearhart Community Group, 6:30-8:00 at Kathleen's in Seaside. Contact incoregon@gmail.com for directions. UPCOMING Tuesday, April 16 - Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici Town Hall, 6 pm, Clatsop Community College, Columbia Hall 219, 1651 Lexington Avenue, Astoria Wednesday, April 17- Vote the Future (VTF) monthly meeting,  6:30 pm, Seaside Library Board Room Saturday, April 20 - Warrenton Community Group meeting, 11:30, Dooger's Seafood and Grill, Highway 101, Warrenton Saturday, April 20 - Cannon Beach-Manzanita Community Group table at Cannon Beach Earth Day. 11 am - 1 pm, US Bank parking lot Wednesday, April 24 - US Representative Bonamici Town Hall, 6 pm, Clatskanie Cultural Center, Birkenfeld Theater, 75 South Nehalem Street, Clatskanie Tuesday, April 30 - Last day for new voters to register to vote in the May 21 Special Districts election. Clatsop County Elections, 820 Exchange, 2nd floor, Astoria. Tuesday, April 30 - Seaside School Board Candidates Forum, 7 pm, Seaside Middle School Library; hosted by Seaside AAUW Wednesday, May 1 - Advocacy Team monthly meeting, 6:30 - 8 pm, Seaside Library Board Room Thursday, May 2 - 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.  Saturday, May 4 - Astoria Community Group monthly meeting, 10:30 a.m. - noon, WineKraft, on the Riverwalk at the foot of 10th.  INSIGHTS The Western world has enjoyed relative peace and prosperity since the end of WW2, and most people alive today have never known anything else. That's the most dangerous time for any state of peace, any civil right, any democratic type of government -- when nobody remembers the alternatives. Because those alternatives are always out there, never far from the edge of the campfire, waiting and watching.    —Reader’s comment, New York Times 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 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   April 8, 2019