Monday, May 9, 2022

5-9-2022 Newsletter

 

LET THE MARCH BEGIN
Rally and March for Reproductive Rights
Saturday, May 14 at 2 pm

Starts outside the Astoria Post Office, 8th and Commercial, with a march to the Columbia River Maritime Museum.

Information here. This event is not hosted by INCO.
YOUR VOTE MATTERS
Ballots have been mailed. If you haven't received your ballot, contact Clatsop County Elections at 503-325-8605 or go to the office at 820 Exchange, #200, Astoria. Non-affiliated voters do not get to vote in Democratic, Republican, or other political party primaries, only in non-partisan races, including county commissioners and head of Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industries. Ballots are due by May 17.
BE A VOTER!
WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?
CANDIDATES FOR GOVERNOR
OPB interviewed candidates for governor, asking each of them the same questions. Read the interviews with the two leading Democratic candidates, Tobias Read and Tina Kotek. The other interviews can be found in this list:  https://www.opb.org/politics/.  There's more gubernatorial candidate info these videos, in "In Their Own Words."

CANDIDATES FORUMS
Check out candidates in this virtual forum recently hosted by Clatsop County Democrats, or in this video of the AAUW candidates forum.
 
PAM WEV FOR COUNTY COMMISSIONER
INCO endorsed Pam Wev for re-election as Clatsop County Commissioner, District 3. Get more info at www.wevforcommissioner.com and on Facebook at Re-elect Pamela Wev. To display a yard sign to re-elect Pam, sign up here. Donate or volunteer at her website.
BE A VOTER!
THANK YOU!
Thanks to generous supporters of INCO, we reached our fundraising goal of $500. It will be matched by Indivisible national to give INCO a total of $1000. This will further INCO’s work for civic activism and informed voting. We’re delighted to have this support, especially at a time when so many good causes need us.
-- INCO leadership team
THE SUPREME COURT
The consequences of the Supreme Court's apparent intention to overturn Roe v. Wade will impact nearly all our lives. Historian Heather Cox Richardson and attorney Robert Hubbell describe how this Court's apparent decision could lead to the overturning of many other rights now guaranteed by law. 

"This is just the beginning because in overruling Roe and Casey, the reactionary majority removes an underpinning of other personal liberties recognized over the last century....

"There is no logical stopping point for the reactionary majority’s adoption of a conservative Christian agenda or the further cultural radicalization of Republican candidates. We must be the stopping point....

"We must recognize that our personal liberties are on every ballot in every election in every state, county, and city."

-- Robert Hubbell. Today's Edition, on Substack, May 3, 2022
BE A VOTER!

"IT'S TIME TO RAGE"

"This life we have made together isn’t political. It is deeply personal. And yet our lives and our bodies remain subject to political debate. In one way or another, they always have.

"How are we free, under these circumstances? How can any of us be free?"
-- Roxanne Gay, New York Times, May 3, 2022

BE A VOTER!

DEFENDING LIBERTY
"The greatest threat to freedom is apathy. Liberty must be defended at all times. It is not guaranteed. It is a constant battle. The loss of Roe is the direct result of far too many people not voting, not participating in the political process, or not even following the news. They don't want to be bothered. They all just got bothered.... Only a massive turnout can correct this unfairness. 
-- Bruce Rozenblitt, New York Times, May 6, 2022


".... (voter) turnout was abysmal in Ohio on Tuesday, which saw the third lowest primary voter turnout in Ohio since 1986. Only 20% of registered voters could rouse themselves to vote in a year of great challenge to our nation.... J.D. Vance won a GOP primary with votes representing only 3.7% of registered voters in Ohio. ...

"In 2020, the election was decided by the largest group of eligible voters in America—the “did not vote” contingent. Biden received 
81.2 million votes; Trump received 74.2 million votes; and 84 million eligible voters did not vote in 2020. So, while it is true that 2020 was a record turnout, there is enormous room for growth."
-- Robert Hubbell, Today's Edition,
 "The Law of Small Numbers," May 5, 2022

 
BE A VOTER!
UPDATE: PEOPLE NOT POLITICIANS INITIATIVE 
People Not Politicians announced on May 2 that they will soon file another initiative for the November 2024 ballot to reform Oregon’s dysfunctional and partisan redistricting process and replace it with an independent citizens’ commission for fair representation.

Currently, Oregon legislators gerrymander voting districts to re-elect incumbents in safe districts, thereby reducing political competition. This results in incumbents who are unaccountable to voters, which in turn lowers voter turnout. The 
Princeton Gerrymandering Project gave Oregon’s congressional map an F grade for its lack of competitive races.
ACT TO SAVE DEMOCRACY
Write To Voters - 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 letter campaigns, sign up at Vote Forward. For prepped postcards, stamps, or information, contact incoregon@gmail.com.

Write a Letter to the Editor (LTE) - 
LTEs in the Astorian can inform voters and promote voting. You don't have to be an expert, just someone who cares about an issue. Write a few sentences or more, up to 250 words. Send to editor@dailyastorian.com, along with your name, address, and phone.
Your  ballot is due May 17.  Be a voter! Encourage others to vote, too!
HAPPENINGS 
Tuesday, May 10 - INCO South County Community Group Zoom meeting, 6:30 pm - 8 pm. Please RSVP to Kathleenannmacdonald@yahoo.com thru Monday, May 9 for your Zoom link.

Saturday, May 21 - INCO Astoria-North County Community Group Zoom meeting, 11 am - noon. If you are new to this group, contact incoregon@gmail.com by May 20 to get the Zoom link.

INCO Warrenton Community Group Zoom meeting. TBA. Contact incoregon@gmail.com for more information.

Every Friday - INCO Write to Voters (WTV), via Zoom, 3-4 pm. Informal chat while we write letters and postcards to voters. If you are new to this event, contact incoregon@gmail.com to get the Zoom link. 
INSIGHTS
"I am not an optimist, because I am not sure that everything ends well. Nor am I a pessimist, because I am not sure everything ends badly. Instead I am a realist who carries hope, and hope is the belief that freedom and justice have meaning - and that liberty is worth the trouble."
--Vaclav Havel, Dissident, President of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic
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.
Look for the INCO column in 
Hipfish Monthly. We're on Facebook, too.
INCO Weekly Newsletter May 9, 2022