1-25-21 Newsletter

 

KEEPING OUR REPUBLIC "And together we shall write an American story of hope, not fear. Of unity, not division. Of light, not darkness. A story of decency and dignity, love and healing, greatness and goodness. May this be the story that guides us." -- President Joe Biden, Inauguration Speech, January 20, 2021 And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it. Somehow, we do it. Somehow, we’ve weathered and witnessed A nation that isn’t broken, but simply unfinished. ---Amanda Gorman, excerpt from "The Hill We Climb", 2021 Inauguration poem  INCO LEADERSHIP TEAM We're starting off the Biden presidency with enthusiasm and renewed determination to defend our democracy. Attend an INCO Community Group meeting, listed in HAPPENINGS,  to get in on the excitement. We'd love for you to get active with INCO!   Bebe Michel, Beeb Ashcroft, Carmen Hammersmith, Cheryl Conway, Eric Halperin, Kathleen Macdonald, Ken Potter, Laurie Caplan, Mary Beth Cottle, Ricky Bennett, and Tracy Abel. It's up to each of us to make sure elected offices are filled by good people who share our values, not by extremists or other anti-democratic candidates. INCO encourages you to sign up for this important training. TEAMWORK! What issues matter to you? What problems do you want INCO to tackle? Join with Indivisibles from across Oregon in teams set up by COIN (Consolidated Oregon Indivisible Network). We'd love to have at least 1-2 INCO members on each of the six teams. Share the coastal perspective with your team, and keep INCO informed about issues and ideas from your team.  The teams are: Recruiting/Supporting Candidates Team Rural/Urban Divide Team State Legislative Team Federal Team Anti-Racist Education and Action Team Social Media Team Here's the Form to Sign up for COIN's Statewide Teams  - the form describes each team.   ACCOUNTABILITY IN SALEM INCO signed on to COIN's letter calling on the leaders of the Oregon Legislature to hold Rep. Mike Nearman accountable for his actions aiding far-right extremists in their attack on the Oregon Capitol Building on December 21, 2020 by expelling him from office per the Oregon Constitution. The letter closes: "This is a time of reckoning for our nation, and for our great state. Elected leaders: we are relying on you to protect our democracy through these difficult times." KEEP UP WITH THE LEGISLATURE Sign up for a variety of emails with legislative news and your state representative's newsletters at this link. On the next page, to find your representative and senator, click on the boxes in the upper left-hand corners (with the '-' symbol) to expand the selection. Check the boxes you're interested in and subscribe to email updates!  Contact info is also on INCO's website. The Oregon ACLU hosts two free Zoom events to preview the legislative session and learn more about Oregon's budget. On Thursday, January 28, at 5:30 p.m., we're hosting an hour-long legislative session preview where you can learn about some of the most important bills we need Oregonians like you to push for. RSVP Now. On Thursday, February 4, at 2 p.m., we're hosting a two-hour training season on Oregon's budget, diving into the nitty-gritty of how our state spends our money and what we can do to make sure it reflects our values. RSVP Now. ASL interpretation and live captioning will be available. Both webinars are free to attend. Tony the Democrat  Tony the Democrat, founder and leader of Postcards to Voters, visited INCO's Write to Voters Zoom meeting on Friday. Tony, in the white hat in the bottom row, shared  success stories about our postcards. PTV volunteers will be writing for candidates in upcoming special elections and state and local elections for all kinds of positions. Each campaign with PTV brings in more voters and candidates and makes future Democratic and progressive success more possible. Sign up to write voters at PostcardstoVoters.org. When you contact your Members of Congress, please thank them and their staff members for their service. Many of them are still dealing with the after-affects of the attempted coup, including threats to their safety and lives. INCO encourages you to read Indivisible's  newest guide, Indivisible: A Practical Guide for Fixing Our Democracy.  It was prepared for this moment of tremendous peril and possibility. We have written a guide specifically for the year-long window of opportunity created by the Democratic trifecta. THE ATTEMPTED COUP Sunday's print and online edition of the New York Times includes a letter to the editor from INCO activist Laurie Caplan. Kudos to Laurie!   •  if you have information about people at attempted coup on January 6, please call the FBI Tip Line at  800-225-5324.   •  Historian Heather Cox Richardson writes how loyalty to country - and not to Trump - motivated public servants to safeguard our democracy. "...the new administration’s quick restoration of a qualified, nonpartisan bureaucracy is an attempt to stabilize our democracy." TUESDAY'S CALL TO YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS This week we will be following Biden's themes of the day, mindful that "enacting our agenda is not divisive (D. Pfeiffer, 1/22/2021)." Democracies are stronger when income disparities and systemic racism are lessened. On Tuesday, President Biden will focus on equity, as is apparent in his proposed pandemic response, the John Lewis Voting Rights and George Floyd Justice in Policing Acts from the 116th  Congress, many of his Executive Orders and directives, and his call to eliminate private prisons. Biden and the Democrats intend to help us by addressing inequities in all policies, and we will work together to support them in these endeavors and amplify their message. From Indivisible Oregon. Please call! Contact info is here. HAPPENINGS VIRTUAL Tuesday, February 9 - INCO South County Community Group Zoom meeting, 6:30 pm - 8 pm. Please RSVP to Kathleenannmacdonald@yahoo.com thru Monday, February 8 for your Zoom link. Saturday, February 20 - INCO North County Community Group Zoom meeting, 11 a.m - noon. Contact incoregon@gmail.com to get the Zoom link. EVERY FRIDAY: The INCO Write to Voters group invites you to a Zoom-in open house for informal chat and writing to voters in special elections and for ballot issues every Friday from 3-4 pm. Pets and children welcome. Contact incoregon@gmail.com to get the Zoom invitation from Bebe.  INSIGHTS  "No one is coming to save us. This is a do-it-yourself job for patriots. We all have a role in defending the institutions of our Republic."   -- Walter Shaub, former director of the US Office of Government Ethics www.incoregon.org Comments, news, and photos to INCO at incoregon@gmail.com.  Follow us on Facebook: Indivisible North Coast Oregon Resources and other information at www.incoregon.org and www.indivisible.org. Encourage others to sign up for the INCO newsletter at our website or here. INCO Weekly Newsletter   January 25, 2021

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