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