INCO Weekly Newsletter 8/19

GUN SENSE ADVOCACY EVENT  Hilary Uhlig, Oregon Chapter Leader for Moms Demand Action Thursday, August 29 at 6:30 pm Seaside Library Community Room Hosted by INCO INCO supports the common-sense solutions proposed by Moms Demand Action (MDA) to address a dangerous culture of gun violence. Moms Demand Action mobilizes popular support for policies that respect Second Amendment rights and protect people. It also runs programs to promote gun safety.  In recent years, gun sense advocacy has prompted Oregon’s lawmakers to pass gun safety laws to ensure background checks for all gun sales in the state as well as laws that prevent domestic abusers and stalkers from possessing firearms. Oregon now also has a red flag law, the Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO), which allows guns to be removed temporarily from those who are at substantial risk of harming themselves or others.   MDA was founded in 2012 after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which killed 20 children and 6 educators. It is a non-partisan grassroots movement with more than six million supporters.The group has organized volunteers from across the country to advocate for closing deadly loopholes in the background check system to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.  THE CENSUS COUNTS Want to make sure everyone gets counted next year? The 2020 US census will determine which states gain or lose seats in the US House of Representatives. The ACLU suggests local folks could be effective in • educating the public about its impact • supporting local get-out-the-count efforts • helping non-English speakers to complete the form Would you like INCO to to work on the 2020 census? If enough people tell us they want to help form an INCO Advocacy Team census group , we can move forward with this. If you are interested in starting and working on a Census Advocacy Team, please contact incoregon@gmail.com by August 29. INDIVISIBLE'S PLAN TO BEAT TRUMP AND SAVE DEMOCRACY With millions of Americans working together, we can take back the White House and Congress so we can restore American ideals and enact policies the public wants.  "Republicans’ strategy is a relentless assault on our values, our sanity. They’re hoping that we let cynicism take over. That we begin to opt-out. That we stop resisting. That we compromise on one crisis to address another. This has been their strategy long before Trump became president."- National Indivisible Team   Here's how we save our country! PROMOTE DEMOCRACY WITH POSTCARDS TO VOTERS  Weekly postcard parties start Friday, September 6 2 - 4 pm Mary Blake Playhouse, 1215 Avenue A, across from the Bob Chisholm Community Center, Seaside Please park in the BCCC parking lot. Everyone is welcome, no matter where you live. Purple, green, blue, red, orange - - INCO will write  postcards to voters with our colored pens for candidates and issues at our weekly postcard parties starting September 6. INCO and Postcards to Voters provide supplies, addresses, and text. You provide energy and enthusiasm! Candidates for Congress and state legislatures in other states are already campaigning. Florida's Vote By Mail campaign is reaching thousands of voters. Join the fun as Bebe Michel and Laura Allen, our postcarding organizers, invite you to help us write thousands of cards over the next 15 months!   START OTHER POSTCARDING PARTIES Astoria? East County? Cannon Beach? Warrenton? Gather a few friends or neighbors or relatives; find a good spot - a home, a business, a meeting room, etc. Contact incoregon@gmail.com if you'd like Bebe and Laura to help you get started. POSTCARD ON YOUR OWN A  postcard party doesn't work for you? You can postcard on your own.  Text (484) 275-2229, e-mail join@TonyTheDemocrat.org, or go to PostcardsToVoters.org and fill out the web form under the Volunteer tab to become a verified postcarder.   You’re making a difference with every postcard you write.  Thanks for all you do! SEPTEMBER: INCO AND THE CLIMATE CRISIS SAVE THE DATE: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 "PARIS TO PITTSBURGH"  A free public screening of the 2018 documentary film about climate change Directed by National Geographic filmmaker Sidney Beaumont Columbian Theater, Astoria Doors open at 2:30. Film at 3 pm Hosted by INCO FACTS ARE FACTS We recommend these sites if you're trying to stay cognitively sane these days: •  PolitiFact is a non-partisan site that fact-checks statements made by elected officials and others. •  Anderson Cooper interviews Stephen Colbert, who talks about right-wing attempts to deny what you see, hear, and know. •  Words matter: "Underage women" are girls; "non-consensual sex" is rape. Read more here. •  Voters' words and values differ by political perspective, says linguist George Lakaff. INDIVISIBLE OREGON'S TUESDAY CALL OF THE WEEK Tell Your Members of Congress:  Tuesday's call will focus on the new reasons for impeachment. While we may be feeling some fatigue about calling on this issue, rest assured that Congress is tracking this carefully. Our calls are being logged and forwarded to the Democratic leadership. At least two more  Members of Congress have come out for impeachment. Trump continues to give the country new reasons to impeach him. The latest is his suggestion to restrict travel for elected Members of Congress. Authoritarianism is metastasizing, including the uptick in refusals to renew visas for naturalized citizens. So once again with feeling, call your MoCs and tell them that an impeachment inquiry must be called -- formally -- to save our democracy.   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. HAPPENINGS Details on our events page. Everyone is welcome to all these events. THIS WEEK Wednesday, August 21 - Vote the Future (VTF) monthly meeting,  6:30 pm, Seaside Library Board Room UPCOMING Thursday, August 29 - Gun Sense Advocacy with Moms Demand Action, 6:30 - 8 pm, Seaside Library Community Room. INCO's Advocacy Team hosts Hilary Uhlig from Hillsboro, who's a statewide leader with Moms Demand Action.  Wednesday, September 4 - Climate Crisis Town Hall: Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate; on CNN. TBD - Advocacy Team monthly meeting, 6:30 - 8 pm, Seaside Library Board Room.  Thursday, September 5 - Forestry/Climate Advocacy Group, 7 - 8:30 pm, Astoria. Contact incoregon for directions.  Friday, September 6 - Postcards to Voters Postcard Party, 2- 4 pm, Mary Blake Playhouse, 1215 Avenue A, across from the Bob Chisholm Community Center, Seaside. More information above. This is a weekly event. Saturday, September 7 - Astoria Community Group monthly meeting, 10:30 a.m. - noon, WineKraft, on the Riverwalk at the foot of 10th. It’s OK to bring your own food and drink. State Representative Tiffiny Mitchell talks about her first term in the state legislature. Monday, September 9 - Indivisible National Day of Action: Defund Hate. Details soon.  Tuesday, September 10 - Seaside-Gearhart Community Group monthly meeting, 6:30 - 8 pm, contact Kathleenannmacdonald@yahoo.com for location. Saturday, September 14 - Warrenton Community Group monthly meeting, 11:30 - 1 pm, El Compadre Restaurant, 119 South Main Avenue, no purchase necessary. Contact Meridee about road pick-up details. Wednesday, September 18 - Vote the Future (VTF) monthly meeting,  6:30 pm, Seaside Library Board Room Sunday, September 22 - "From Paris to Pittsburgh," Doors open at 2:30; film starts at 3; Columbian Theater, 1114 Marine Drive, Astoria. Free public screening. Tuesday, September 24 - National Voting Registration Day. INCO activists will be at area high schools, the Astoria Senior Center, and Clatsop Community College to register voters and to assist if voters need to change address or party affiliation. Update your voter registration on your own - new address, party affiliation - at Oregon's official site, My Vote. WEEKLY Starting September 6, Fridays - Postcards to Voters Postcard Party, 2 - 4 pm, Mary Blake Playhouse, 1215 Avenue A, across from the Bob Chisholm Community Center, Seaside. INCO and Postcards to Voters provide supplies, addresses, and text. Please park in the BCCC parking lot.  INSIGHTS "It's not enough to be compassionate. You must act." -- His Holiness, Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama DO SOMETHING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE How will your Members of Congress (MoC) and state legislators know what you want if you don't tell them? Contact info here. Contact ONLY elected officials who represent you so you don't dilute the power of actual constituents. Tell your MoC when you agree with their positions and votes.   Write a Letter to the Editor about an issue. Don't repeat fear-based messaging. Propose solutions and positive actions readers can take. Editor@dailyastorian.com.   OTHER ACTIONS THAT MATTER •  Be a postcarder! See info above about Postcards to Voters. •  Get active with organizations that strengthen our communities. •  Donate to causes that defend our democracy. •  For current action items, visit www.incoregon.org and www.indivisible.org. •  Update your change of address or party affiliation at Oregon's official site, My Vote. COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS Get active with INCO's Advocacy Team, Vote the Future Team, and Community Groups.  INCO has 3 websites: our main one; Vote the Future; and Really Do Care INCO Under 40s.   Join INCO's closed Facebook group. Really Do Care also has a Facebook group.  Sign up for emails from national Indivisible at www.indivisible.org. Questions, suggestions, & photos to INCO at incoregon@gmail.com.  Deb Vanasse and Laurie Caplan, INCO Co-chairs INCO Weekly Newsletter   August 19, 2019