10-18-2021 Newsletter

 

Join COIN for our latest COINversation,Pandemic Politics, a deep dive on the full spectrum of local politics around the pandemic. Our panelists represent urban and rural areas and areas that are deep red and deep blue. What’s it like to be an elected official and deal with the politics of the pandemic? With panelists: Marcus LeGrand - Bend-La Pine School Board Director Dr. Trevor Phillips - Salem City Councilor Dr. Maxine Dexter - OR State Representative (HD-33) Kathy Schwartz RN - Wasco County Commissioner Dr David Gilmour - former Jackson County Commissioner Register now to submit your question(s): http://tinyurl.com/COIN101921 CLIMATE LISTENING SESSION IS WEDNESDAY This series of regional forums is to hear from and understand different perspectives from different counties and the environmental priorities you are all dealing with! And make sure that those voices are being included in the legislative session planning and state policy and rule-making in general.  The forums are hosted by the Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Oregon. Please register here for your Zoom link. WHO WILL GET TO VOTE? "And so, here we are. Republicans are trying to regain control of the government by making sure their opponents can’t vote, while Democrats are trying to level a badly tilted playing field. If the Democrats do not succeed in passing a voting rights law, we can expect America to become a one-party state that, at best, will look much like the American South did between 1876 and 1964. "Our nation will no longer be a democracy .... "In the Senate, Joe Manchin (D-WV) expressed misgivings about the voting measures and vowed to hammer out a voting rights bill that could attract the votes of ten Republicans and thus break a filibuster. He and a number of Democratic colleagues announced the Freedom to Vote Act in mid-September 2021. If there are ten Republicans to support the measure, we have not yet seen them. "The Senate will vote on the Freedom to Vote Act on Wednesday." -- Heather Cox Richardson, Letters from an American, October 15, 2021 WHO WILL REPRESENT YOU? Rugby? White-water rafting? Horse racing? Oregon politics sometimes feels like a sport, but without any time outs. Clatsop County's  State Senator, Betsy Johnson, is running for governor as an Independent. Our State Representative, Suzanne Weber, has already announced she's running for State Senate as a Republican.  It's time to look around to see who you'd like representing you in Oregon's legislature. Who could represent your values and goals for the north coast and Oregon?  It's time for progressives to go for the winning touchdown. INCO can link you to campaigning expertise and resources; contact incoregon@gmail.com. NEARLY HALFWAY TO GOAL With your help, INCO can raise $500 in this fundraising drive, which Indivisible will match for a total of $1000. Make your activism dollars go farther by donating now to INCO.   To have your donation doubled, be sure to donate through this site. Only donations given through this ActBlue site will be doubled by Indivisible.  Thank you for contributing to INCO. INDIVISIBLE: "GIVE NO GROUND" "Indivisible, one of the country's largest and most influential progressive groups, announced on Friday a new program dedicated to protecting a select slate of endangered Democratic congressional incumbents -- seven House members and Georgia's Sen. Raphael Warnock -- ahead of next year's midterm elections." -- CNN.com, 10/15/21 "With this new initiative, we’re saying that we not only are going to fight for the progressive policies for which Americans voted -- we are also letting Republicans know that we will not tolerate less than what the American people both demand and deserve. We will, in short, give no ground. Join the fight, and click here to sign the Give No Ground Pledge today!" -- Indivisible email, 10/16/21 CONNECTING WITH OUR COMMUNITIES INCO spreads our pro-democracy message in many ways at events and other activities. Steve Bronstein and Brian List welcomed visitors to the INCO table at Ales and Ideas at Fort George in October 2018. INCO's buttons have encouraged common sense, compassion, and voting since Bebe Michel started making hundreds and hundreds of them to share throughout INCO-land and beyond.  HAPPENINGS  Tuesday, November 9 - INCO South County Community Group Zoom meeting, 6:30 pm - 8 pm. Please RSVP to Kathleenannmacdonald@yahoo.com thru Monday, November 8 for your Zoom link. 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. Write To Voters - The numbers show that your letters to voters increased vote turnout significantly. 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 "I don't know what happiness is but it's definitely NOT just going with the flow. Going with the flow, for Christ sake? Don't ever go with the flow. Stop the flow, go against the flow, start the flow, but don't under any circumstance just go with the flow." -- Ricky Gervais, Huffington Post, 7-12-11 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   October 18, 2021