Monday, September 27, 2021

9-27-2021 Newsletter

 

INCO SAYS, "#WE CARE"
INCO thanked medical staff at Providence Seaside and Columbia Memorial Hospitals with gift packages of thank you notes, gift cards, art, snacks, and other treats. Thanks to everyone who contributed money, goods, and time to assemble and distribute our gifts. INCO and other Indivisible groups started the #WeCare program through COIN (Consolidated Oregon Indivisible Network.

RECOVERY, INFRASTRUCTURE, SOCIAL GOOD

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told her caucus Saturday that they must vote this week to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government, as well as the two major infrastructure bills on which they have been working for months: the Build Back Better Act and the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Congressional Republicans oppose these bills, and several conservative Democrats, including Oregon's Kurt Schrader, intend to weaken the bills. 

Please urge your Members of Congress to pass these crucial bills the country needs and that most Americans want.  

THE GOP PLAN TO DEMOLISH DEMOCRACY
 "... we now have written proof of an attempt to destroy our democracy and replace it with an autocracy."
-- Heather Cox Richardson, Letter from an American, September 24, 2021

INCO urges you to read this step-by-step outline by historian Heather Cox Richardson of what key Republicans are doing in their quest for absolute power, with or without Trump. Good intentions and good legislation won't matter if the Republican Party succeeds in its stated intention to overturn our democracy.

 
Pro-democracy groups, including INCO, need you, now more than ever. 
Climate remains a priority issue for progressives. These teens were among 200 people at INCO's Global Climate Strike Rally in Astoria, September 27, 2019. More photos above and below. 
YOU AND REDISTRICTING
Today is the deadline for the Oregon legislature to approve new maps for Oregon's seats in the US House of Representatives and for our state house and senate legislative districts. If they don't agree on a map, then Secretary of State Shemia Fagan will make the final choice.

For more information about redistricting or how to participate, read this article in the Astorian or this one in the Oregon Capital Insider. For information on the process and to see the proposed maps, viisit www.oregonlegislature.gov/redistricting.

LOOKING AHEAD TO SUCCESS 
"We can’t exhaust ourselves over each day’s news. Nor should we collapse all the battles we must face in the future into a single moment of worry today. We will have time to deal with future battles as they arise, and many of the events of today will be irrelevant next week. We should spend more time and energy investing in the long-term goals for 2022 and 2024. Not only will that investment bring success nearer, but it will also provide a productive and healthy outlet for our anxiety over the bottomless depravity of the GOP."
-- Robert Hubbell, 
Today's Edition, September 23, 2021
CELEBRATE OUR RIGHT TO READ
Don't let extremists of any kind stop you from reading, especially about ideas and information censors don't like or don't want you to know about. Democracy depends on a well-informed citizenry, so let's keep reading. This year's annual event is September 26 - October 2. See which books are most challenged and banned at bannedbooksweek.org.
HAPPENINGS 
EVERY FRIDAY - 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. Join us for informal conversation, venting, and solving the world's problems. Pets welcome.

Tuesday,
 October 12 - INCO South County Community Group Zoom meeting, 6:30 pm - 8 pm. Please RSVP to Kathleenannmacdonald@yahoo.com thru Monday, October 11 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. For general Get Out the Vote campaigns, sign up at Vote Forward. For supplies or information, contact incoregon@gmail.com.
INSIGHTS
“Don’t live your life as though it’s your last day,
but treat others as though it’s their last day.”
— Anonymous reader’s comment, New York Times, 8-24-21
New York Times graphic.
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 September 27, 2021

Monday, September 20, 2021

9-20-2021 Newsletter

 

20 ACRES OF HEARTBREAK
“In America: Remember,” which opened Friday, ia an art installation of hundreds of thousands of flags planted along the National Mall in DC in memory of the more than 670,000 people in the United States who have died from the coronavirus. The New York Times article with more photos is here.

Visitors are invited to personalize flags for someone they have lost. Those who cannot visit in person can dedicate a flag on this website until September 30th, and it will appear in physical form on the National Mall. The exhibition is open for public participation through October 3rd, 2021. 

RECONCILIATION AND RECOVERY

You can help make sure that the House reconciliation bill includes progressive priorities and passes by the September 27 deadline. Please thank Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici for supporting a progressive recovery package and urge her to pass an inclusive recovery package.  

Per Indivisible, here’s what an inclusive recovery could look like: 

  • A pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants;
  • Lowering drug prices, expanding Medicare to cover vision, dental, and hearing, and lowering the eligibility age to 60 years old;
  • Investments in climate, including a Clean Energy Standard (with no fossil fuels!) and a Civilian Climate Corps;
  • Investments in housing, especially deeply affordable housing and housing for unhoused populations; 
  • Historic investments in the care economy including universal child care, paid leave, and home and community-based care; and
  • Address extreme wealth inequality by taxing the ultra-rich and big corporations so they finally pay their fair share.
REPUBLICAN RADICALISM VS. OUR RIGHTS
"The growing radicalism of the Republican Party is putting pressure on Democrats to pass a voting rights act to counteract the vote-suppressing measures that Republican-dominated states are enacting. Today, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he hopes to bring a voting rights bill backed by West Virginia Democratic senator Joe Manchin to the floor for a vote as early as next week."
-- Heather Cox Richardson, Letters from an American, 9-14-21

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 need the Senate pass this robust voting rights legislation to protect our rights, regardless of which state we live in. 

Please join INCO in supporting humane and respectful policies and treatment for immigrants and Dreamers. Photos are from INCO's Rally for DACA, September 16, 2017.
THANK YOU, HIPFISH
Remember to pick up your free copy of Hipfish Monthly to read INCO's column every month. Hipfish editor and publisher Dinah Urell has generously provided this space and other coverage to promote local pro-democracy activism and information. Hipfish is available at stores, galleries, and other venues throughout the region. You can also read issues online
REDISTRICTING AND YOU
Redistricting will decide who is included in Oregon's new sixth seat in the US House of Representatives. It could also change our state house and senate legislative districts. The Democratic Party and the Republican Party have submitted their own maps for Congress and the legislature. September 27 is the deadline for the Oregon legislature to approve maps.

For more information about redistricting or how to participate, read this article in the Astorian or this one in the Oregon Capital Insider. For information on the process and to see the proposed maps, viisit www.oregonlegislature.gov/redistricting.

HAPPENINGS 
EVERY FRIDAY - 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,
 October 12 - 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
"I have one theory in life. I never want to say the words, 'I should have.'.... Never go through life saying you should have."
-- Vincent Ardolino, Captain, Amberjack V; in 
"Boatlift," a film about the boat rescues from Manhattan on 9/11
New York Times graphic.
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 September 20, 2021

Monday, September 13, 2021

9-13-2021 Newsletter

 

We bore witness to extraordinary courage, heroism, and selflessness from first responders and others from all walks of life. 
We grieve, reflect, and remember so we will create a better future.

WATCH & TESTIFY AT REDISTRICTING HEARINGS THIS WEEK 
RED, BLUE, OR ???

Redistricting will determine who will be included in Oregon's new 6th seat in the US House of Representatives. It could also change our state house and senate legislative districts. Consider these intriguing points in this article in Oregon Capital Insider.

All the redistricting public hearings, shown below, of the House and Senate Redistricting Committees will be virtual. 

VIRTUAL HEARINGS SCHEDULE
TODAY, Monday, September 13:   1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. (statewide: open to residents of any district)

TODAY, 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

TOWN HALL TUESDAY
I always appreciate hearing from the people I’m honored to represent. Please join me for my next telephone town hall meeting on Tuesday, September 14 at 6 p.m.

This week I am focused on helping to craft the Build Back Better Act, which will invest in families, secure good-paying jobs for American workers, and set a strong foundation for America’s children. I will be speaking about this and more during my meeting on Tuesday, and there will be time for questions.


SIGN UP FOR A CALL 

You can also find updates about my work around NW Oregon and in Washington, D.C. on FacebookTwitterInstagram, and YouTube

I look forward to hearing from you. 
Sincerely,

Image
A SAD LOSS
We mourn the death of INCO activist Debby Livingston, who died in a car accident on Friday. She has been with us since our inception and was a  passionate defender of democracy. You might have seen her at INCO events or greeting people at Town Halls. She wrote hundreds and hundreds of postcards and letters to voters and was preparing to tackle gerrymandering. We will miss her.
VOICE YOUR VALUES 
"More than 50 percent of Congress members report that form emails into their offices have some or a lot of influence over their position on an issue. But 92 percent report that individualized email letters have some or a lot of influence!"
-- Union of Concerned Scientists

Take a moment to tell your Members of Congress what you value and what you want them to do. How will they know what you want if you don't tell them?

Senator Ron Wyden
Email:  
https://www.wyden.senate.gov/contact/
Phone: (202) 224-5244

Senator Jeff Merkley
Email: 
https://www.merkley.senate.gov/contact
Phone: (202) 224-3753

Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici 

https://bonamici.house.gov/contact-me
Phone: (202) 225-0855
GO BIG ON CLIMATE
On Earth Day, President Biden announced a big goal: cut America’s carbon pollution 50% by 2030. INCO's climate activists urge you to ask the President and Senators Wyden and Merkley to include a price on carbon in the budget reconciliation. Use this easy way to contact them and find out more about carbon pricing and climate change at Citizens' Climate Lobby.
THANK OUR LOCAL HEALTHCARE WORKERS
INCO and other Oregon Indivisible groups are supporting our healthcare workers by buying and distributing care packages of snacks, flowers, art, and other gifts to our #HealthCareHeroes and encouraging groups all over the country to do the same. Visit coinoregon.org/wecare to find out more. You can contribute here

Another way to support healthcare workers and the health of yourself and others is to be vaxxed, masked, and physically distanced. We can do this!

WHAT'S AT STAKE: OUR RIGHTS TO VOTE AND PROTEST 

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 need the Senate pass this robust voting rights legislation to protect our rights, regardless of which state we live in. 

HAPPENINGS 
EVERY FRIDAY - 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
"It is not futile to do what we do. We wake up with energy and we do something. And we make, of course, failures and we make mistakes, but we sometimes get glimpses of what we might do next."
— John Cage, American composer, music theorist, artist, and philosopher
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 September 13, 2021