8-30-2021 Newsletter

 

SENATOR RON WYDEN VIRTUAL TOWN HALL Tuesday, August 31 at 1 pm Pacific time If you live in rural Oregon and would like to ask a question at this 1 pm PT town hall, you can register and submit questions here. Questions will be moderated by People's Town Hall. Senator Wyden's on-line town hall will be streamed on People's Town Hall's Facebook page here. Last February Senators Wyden and Merkley introduced legislation to protect 4700 miles of Oregon Rivers.

INCO applauds COIN's #WeCare campaign to support health care workers during the pandemic. Please amplify these 2 posts and if you take gifts/supplies to your local health care workers, post photos! Truly #OregonBetterTogether https://www.facebook.com/OregonDemocracyProject/posts/843897526295690 and https://www.facebook.com/OregonDemocracyProject/posts/843890146296428

WATCH & TESTIFY AT VIRTUAL REDISTRICTING HEARINGS  RED, BLUE, OR ??? In response to growing hospitalization rates across the state due to the Delta variant of COVID-19, the upcoming public hearings, shown below,  of the House and Senate Redistricting Committees will be virtual. Oregonians can participate by signing up for video or phone testimony, uploading written testimony, or by submitting a map for consideration by September 7. Clatsop County is in Oregon's Congressional District 1, represented in the US House of Representatives by Suzanne Bonamici. HEARINGS SCHEDULE Wednesday, September 8:  8:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. (residents of Congressional District 1) Thursday, September 9:  5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. (residents of Congressional District 1) Monday, September 13:   1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. (statewide: open to residents of any district) Monday, September 13:   5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. (statewide: open to residents of any district) For more information about redistricting or how to participate, read this article in the Astorian, or visit www.oregonlegislature.gov/redistricting.

WILL WE WRITE 1.5 MILLION LETTERS TO VOTERS? Swing Left has teamed up with Vote Forward to write 1.5 million letters to Virginia voters ahead of the state’s elections this fall. Whether you’re already writing letters with us or not, World Letter Writing Day—Wednesday, September 1—is a perfect day to write and encourage Democratic-leaning Virginians to vote-by-mail this fall.

WHAT'S AT STAKE: OUR RIGHTS TO VOTE AND PROTEST  House Passes Landmark Voting Rights Legislation "Vote-rigging in Republican-dominated states leads logically to a Republican extremist winning the White House in 2024." -- Heather Cox Richardson, Letters from an American, August 28, 2021 Last week, Congress moved one step closer to restoring an essential provision of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). On Tuesday evening, nearly 60 Years After the March on Washington, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the historic John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, H.R. 4, with all Democratic members voting in favor and all Republicans opposed. At the same time, states are criminalizing the freedom to protest. Three dozen states have enacted anti-protest legislation, widely considered a direct response to the protests of 2020 that brought nearly 26 million people to the streets. Learn more about the oppressive laws and how communities are fighting back in “Protecting Our Voting Rights and Ability To Organize."  Please contact Senators Merkley and Wyden, even if you've called before. Thank them for their support of S.1, the For the People Act, and urge them to continue to push for its passage. They need to know what their constituents, including you, want.

WE MISS YOU! How are you doing in these tragic and confusing times?  We miss seeing you at rallies, town halls, Community Group meetings, and other events. We look forward to seeing you in person as soon as it's safe to gather again.   In the meantime, INCO would love to hear from you. What causes and resources would you like others to know about? Have you discovered actions or projects that support democracy locally or elsewhere? We'd love to know what you're doing!  Please email your comments to incoregon@gmail.com.    Take good care of yourself, stay safe, and keep on standing up for democracy.

INCO encourages everyone to welcome immigrants, especially now those fleeing war, disaster, and other dangers in their home countries. INCO hosted the Rally for DACA on September 16, 2017, in Astoria.

HAPPENINGS  Friday, September 10 - INCO Write to Voters Virtual Group, 3 - 4 pm. Via Zoom. If you are new to this group, contact incoregon@gmail.com to get the Zoom link. More details about writing to voters are below. Tuesday, September 14 - INCO South County Community Group Zoom meeting, 6:30 pm - 8 pm. Please RSVP to Kathleenannmacdonald@yahoo.com thru Monday, June 7 for your Zoom link. Write To Voters - Special elections and issue campaigns need you year-round. INCO encourages you to sign up to write to voters at www.postcardstovoters.org or for general Get Out the Vote campaigns, sign up at Vote Forward. For supplies or information, contact incoregon@gmail.com.

INSIGHTS  "In a time of destruction, create something."   -- Maxine Hong Kingston, memoirist and novelist

Comments, news, and photos to INCO at incoregon@gmail.com.  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  August 30, 2021

8-23-2021 Newsletter

 

TOMORROW, Tuesday, August 24. Register here. WEDNESDAY, August 25. Register for this Zoom webinar here. Learn what’s at stake, what we should expect and what we need to advocate for in redistricting this year. See below regarding the legislative hearings that start next month. WE MISS YOU! How are you doing in these tragic and confusing times?  We miss seeing you at rallies, town halls, Community Group meetings, and other events. We look forward to seeing you in person as soon as it's safe to gather again.   In the meantime, INCO would love to hear from you. What causes and resources would you like others to know about? Have you discovered actions or projects that support democracy locally or elsewhere? We'd love to know what you're doing!  Please email your comments to incoregon@gmail.com.    Take good care of yourself, stay safe, and keep on standing up for democracy.  OREGON REDISTRICTING HEARINGS START SOON The official site has links to census data, instructions for submitting your proposed maps, and a link for signing up for redistricting updates. We'll let you know when the legislature posts links for watching the hearings and submitting your comments. CONSERVATIVES CHALLENGE OREGON VOTING LAWS OPB reports that conservative activists want to overturn Oregon's newest election laws. These laws allow sallows to be mailed on Election Day and keep more voters on state rolls. Learn more here. S.1 - FOR THE PEOPLE ACT UPDATE "Chuck Schumer has promised another vote on For the People in September. That could be another Motion to Proceed vote (which probably means we still don't have the votes to change the filibuster) or it could be a rules reform vote that would help us bypass the filibuster and open the path to actual progress. Everything we do from today until then is to make sure it’s the latter." -- Indivisible national, 8-16-21 "A bill to expand Americans' access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and implement other anti-corruption measures for the purpose of fortifying our democracy, and for other purposes." -- govtrack Please contact Senators Merkley and Wyden, even if you've called before. Thank them for their support of S.1 and urge them to continue to push for its passage. They need to know what their constituents, including you, want. “… the best way to navigate the challenging times ahead is to personally engage in the noble causes of defending democracy and preserving our planet while keeping our gaze fixed on the distant horizon. We must be proactive and patient in equal measure. Get involved, or serve as a mentor for someone else. Better yet, do both.”  -- Robert Hubbell, Today's Edition, 8-12-21 RIVER DEMOCRACY ACT VIRTUAL TOWN HALL SENATOR RON WYDEN Tuesday, August 31 at 1 pm Pacific time If you live in rural Oregon and would like to ask a question at this 1 pm PT town hall, you can register and submit questions here. Questions will be moderated by People's Town Hall. Senator Wyden's on-line town hall will be streamed on People's Town Hall's Facebook page here. Last February Senators Wyden and Merkley introduced legislation to protect 4700 miles of Oregon Rivers.  HAPPENINGS  SUMMER HIATUS - INCO South County Community Group and INCO North County Community Group are not meeting during the summer. They'll resume meetings in September.    Write To Voters - Special elections and issue campaigns need you year-round. INCO encourages you to sign up to write to voters at www.postcardstovoters.org or for general Get Out the Vote campaigns, sign up at Vote Forward. For supplies or information, contact incoregon@gmail.com. INSIGHTS "Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.”   - - Franklin Roosevelt Comments, news, and photos to INCO at incoregon@gmail.com.  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  August 23, 2021

8-16-2021 Newsletter

 

Learn what’s at stake, what we should expect - and what we need to advocate for - in redistricting this year. Register for this Zoom webinar here.

REDISTRICTING STARTS SOON IN OREGON   " ... redistricting is about more than partisan politics. It is about how people in our diverse communities are best represented." -- State Representative David Gomberg, HD 10 (Tillamook and points south and east) More information and these graphics are from his excellent newsletter of August 9, 2021.

S.1 - FOR THE PEOPLE ACT UPDATE "A bill to expand Americans' access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and implement other anti-corruption measures for the purpose of fortifying our democracy, and for other purposes." -- govtrack Our thanks to Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley for sponsoring this bill, which was introduced last March. It has 48 Cosponsors (46 Democrats, 2 Independents). The committees assigned to this bill sent it to the House or Senate as a whole for consideration on August 11, 2021. Follow the bill's progress, get more details, and read the bill's entire text here. Please contact Senators Merkley and Wyden, even if you've called before. Thank them for their support of S.1 and urge them to continue to push for its passage. Your calls matter! The Senate needs to pass S.1, the For the People Act, soon to allow time for its provisions to go into effect before the 2022 midterms. Pro-democracy groups around the country, including Indivisible, are keeping up the pressure.

CORRECT LINK FOR CAMPAIGN FINANCE INITIATIVE Oregon Honest Elections and Oregon Progressive Party are gathering names of people interested in working on a statewide November, 2022 ballot initiative for campaign finance reform since the Oregon legislature did nothing on this issue. The initiative will be filed with the Secretary of State's office soon. You can make campaign finance reform happen.  Here's the correct link for signing up to help.

GOP GAINS IF NEWSOM LOSES "The potential recall of Newsom has national ramifications. Although the California legislature is solidly Democratic, a temporary Republican Governor would appoint a replacement U.S. Senator if a vacancy occurred in California’s Senate delegation. Diane Feinstein is the oldest Senator (88) in the Senate. Questions have been raised about her competency and health. See The New Yorker, “Dianne Feinstein’s Missteps Raise a Painful Age Question Among Senate Democrats.” If Democrats lose their majority in the Senate because of the Newsom recall, that would complicate (read: doom) Biden’s effort to appoint a Supreme Court justice if an opening occurs." -- Robert Hubbell, Today's Edition, 8-13-21 Encourage California's Democratic voters to vote NO to recall. Write to California voters through Postcards to Voters.

DEMAND A SEAT Thinking about running for office? Demand a Seat is Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund's program to train Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers and gun violence survivors to run for office on the issue of gun safety.  Demand a Seat will recruit, provide opportunities for mentorship, and train volunteers interested in running for office or running campaigns. More information here.

HAPPENINGS  SUMMER HIATUS - INCO South County Community Group and INCO North County Community Group are not meeting during the summer. They'll resume meetings in September.    Write To Voters - Special elections and issue campaigns need you year-round. INCO encourages you to sign up to write to voters at www.postcardstovoters.org or for general Get Out the Vote campaigns, sign up at Vote Forward. For supplies or information, contact incoregon@gmail.com.

INSIGHTS "Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom.                  It’s adolescence." -- M. Karl, Reader's Comment, New York Times, August 13, 2021

Comments, news, and photos to INCO at incoregon@gmail.com.  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  August 16, 2021