7-25-2022 Newsletter

 

BELIEVE IN THE POSSIBLE " ... things I would have never thought possible in politics and culture have happened in my lifetime because people refused to give into cynicism or accept that everything is actually terrible. "I have found that the best way to spur action is to begin from a place of optimism — a belief that the thing you want really is possible." -- Jane Coaston, "Let’s not let doomers seal our fate," New York Times, July 23, 2022

LOST AND FOUND Are you lost in the chaos of creeping authoritarianism, misogyny, and Steve Bannon? If so, then find these initiatives that pro-democracy activists like you have developed. Scroll down in Robert Hubbell's newsletter to find more terrific ideas for action.. You'll find yourself energized and doing something important for our country.

CATCHING UP What are the threats to reproductive rights? What's going on with foreign policy? What are Biden's accomplishments? Historian Heather Cox Richardson provides a helpful summary in her Saturday newsletter.

WHAT MATTERS MOST ". . . none of the issues that would normally matter between right and left matter as much as the future of democracy. A conservative who cares about the future of the constitutional order must face the reality that the Republican Party has become a menace to the Constitution and our system of government." -- Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, July 20, 2022

WHAT DO EXTREMISTS WANT? Staying hopeful and informed can feel impossible. So check out Al Franken's podcasts - he's deeply informed and deeply funny, and he has thought-provoking conversations with his guests.  Here's the link to an especially important recent podcast. Malcolm Nance also talks about his concerns in a Washington Post interview on YouTube.

WHO'S WORRIED NOW? If you enjoy reading Heather Cox Richardson's newsletters or the quotes from it in the INCO newsletter, check out her YouTube channel. Her July 19 chat covers the Secret Service, the insurrection, the rule of law, and what "conservatism" means in America.  She also tells how to spot who's worried about the January 6 investigation.

WRITE TO SAVE DEMOCRACY The key to Democratic victories in 2020 elections is increasing voter turnout. Please sign up to get out the vote for pro-democracy candidates. For prepped or blank postcards, stamps, or information, contact incoregon@gmail.com. WRITE TO VOTERS • Postcards To Voters:  Handwritten postcards sent to Democrats to get out the vote. PTV provides scripts. Sign up at the website or at join@TonyTheDemocrat.org.  • Vote Forward:  Personalized letters sent to under-represented and/or minority communities to get out the vote. You print the letters and add a few sentences.  • Postcards To Swing States:  Progressive Turnout Project provides the postcards, scripts and addresses to rally Democrats to vote. WRITE AN LTE Write a Letter to the Editor (LTE) - Write a few sentences or more, up to 250 words. Send to editor@dailyastorian.com, along with your name, address, and phone. WRITE TO YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS How will your Members of Congress know what you want if you don't tell them? Send a postcard, write an email through their websites. Even better - call and speak to a Congressional staffer, or leave a message. Here's contact information for Senators Wyden and Merkley, Congresswoman Bonamici, and for other elected officials..

HAPPENINGS  INCO-Warrenton is doing a road clean-up on July 30 and August 13th. All are invited. Contact Carmen at 503-440-2312 for details. INCO South County Community Group meeting. Next meeting date TBA.   INCO Astoria/North County Community Group meeting. Next meeting date TBA. INCO Write to Voters (WTV) - on hiatus until September 9.

INSIGHTS “He hadn’t the least idea of what she was up to, but he was sure her motive was not commendable. When he could not understand a thing he straightway condemned it. Simplicity itself!” — Lucy M. Montgomery, THE BLUE CASTLE

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 July 25, 2022

7-18-2022 Newsletter

 

COINversation: Response for Roe (We Won’t Go Back)  Tuesday, July 19 at 7 pm, via Zoom  Register at bit.ly/COIN71922  Submit your questions in the Zoom Chat. What we need to know about the Dobbs decision How we can protect abortion rights.  The panel of speakers will include Christel Allen, Executive Director ProChoice Oregon; Evelyn Estrada, political liaison, ProChoice Oregon; Megan Kovacs, Northwest Abortion Access Fund;  Cassie Purdy, Political Director for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon and Planned Parenthood PAC of Oregon. Info about this event is on Facebook.

"CHOOSE HOPE" "The news is the news; it isn’t you, and it isn’t your destiny. You get to decide how you react to the news, whether you read it or not. Choose hope; choose perseverance; choose to lead others by example. If we all do that, we will surely win. It is only a matter of time." -- Robert Hubbell, "UNHINGED," July 13, 2022

WHY YOUR VOICE AND VOTE MATTER

A shockingly high number of Americans don't acknowledge the threats to America posed by Trump and the GOP. That's why Indivisible's pro-democracy work - YOUR work - is more important than ever. More details about the July 5-7 New York Times survey are here.

DO SOMETHING GREAT FOR DEMOCRACY Robert Hubbell suggests pro-democracy actions to shape the news. Good people around the country invite you to work with them for democracy. If we don't act, who will?

NEXT JANUARY 6 HEARING IS THURSDAY The bipartisan Congressional committee investigating the attempted coup and January 6 investigation announced Friday that it would hold the hearing on Thursday, July 21 at 5 pm Pacific Time. It will be televised live and streamed on YouTube and other venues.

HOW TO REPORT A HATE CRIME Anyone can report a bias incident or a hate crime at www.StandAgainstHate.Oregon.Gov or by calling Oregon DOJ’s Bias Response Hotline at 1-844-924-BIAS (2427) Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm, with an after-hours voicemail system.

HELPERS, BUILDERS, AND DREAMERS "We can look up — at the cosmos and at our own futures — to find the inspiration to keep going. In the end, it is better to bet on the helpers more than the obstructionists, the builders more than the destroyers, and the dreamers more than the cynics." -- Dan Rather, journalist, "Steady," July 17, 2022

"ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES" "To think that people demonstrating in the street determines legislation and the appointment of judges in this country is absurd. This is on the American people who are too lazy to vote in every election and, as has been said many times before, it is also on the progressive purists who were so stubborn in their dislike for Hillary Clinton that they decided she was worse than either staying home or voting for a human wrecking ball. "Elections have consequences and the people we elect make legislation and appoint judges who rule on cases that have real affects on the lives of real people. Republicans get this, that is why many Republicans who absolutely hate trump voted for him and gave full throated endorsements of his candidacy. They have already said that they would vote for him again. They had their eye on the prize- judges and justices-despite their dislike for their odious candidate. I am so sick of hearing progressives complain that they did vote and Roe v. Wade was still overturned, as if one election makes a difference. "The overturn of Roe v. Wade was the result decades of planning and strategy. Why is it that only Republicans understand this simple concept? There is not much that Biden can do without 60 votes in the Senate. This is not Biden's fault. This is the result of decades of planning. "When are Americans who lean Democrat going to learn that protecting and keeping a democracy is hard work?" -- Norah Astorgah, New York Times, Reader's Comment, July 16, 2022

WRITE TO SAVE DEMOCRACY The key to Democratic victories in 2020 elections is increasing voter turnout. Please sign up to get out the vote for pro-democracy candidates. For prepped or blank postcards, stamps, or information, contact incoregon@gmail.com. WRITE TO VOTERS • Postcards To Voters:  Handwritten postcards sent to Democrats to get out the vote. PTV provides scripts. Sign up at the website or at join@TonyTheDemocrat.org.  • Vote Forward:  Personalized letters sent to under-represented and/or minority communities to get out the vote. You print the letters and add a few sentences.  • Postcards To Swing States:  Progressive Turnout Project provides the postcards, scripts and addresses to rally Democrats to vote. WRITE AN LTE Write a Letter to the Editor (LTE) - Write a few sentences or more, up to 250 words. Send to editor@dailyastorian.com, along with your name, address, and phone. WRITE TO YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS How will your Members of Congress know what you want if you don't tell them? Send a postcard, write an email through their websites. Even better - call and speak to a Congressional staffer, or leave a message. Here's contact information for Senators Wyden and Merkley, Congresswoman Bonamici, and for other elected officials..

HAPPENINGS  INCO-Warrenton is doing a road clean-up on July 30 and August 13th. All are invited. Contact Carmen at 503-440-2312 for details. INCO South County Community Group meeting. Next meeting date TBA.   INCO Astoria/North County Community Group meeting - - No meeting in July.   INCO Write to Voters (WTV) - on hiatus until September 9.

INSIGHTS “Humans are by turns a hot mess and a warm heart, a grabby two year old and a wise elder, selfish and generous, evil and saintly. We suffer from civilization-wide attention deficit disorder, unable to pick something and stick with it until it actually works. And, definitely, irreversibly unable to play nice with others in any sustained way.” — Merianne Myers, hipfish monthly, July 2022

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 July 18, 2022

7-11-2022 Newsletter

 

INCO ENDORSEMENTS INCO is pleased to endorse these outstanding candidates for public office. If you want people in office who share your values and a good number of your policy preferences, then please help them win! Volunteer for their campaigns, donate  (yard signs, mailers, travel, and even Facebook ads cost money), help get out the vote. We encourage you to do something to support the candidates you like.

Tina Kotek - Governor

Logan Laity - House District 32                Melissa Busch - State Senate District 16

JANUARY 6 HEARINGS THIS WEEK Tuesday, July12 7 a.m. Pacific Time Representative Jamie Raskin leads the hearing, which will reportedly focus on the radical extremist groups at the insurrection and their connections to Trump and his administration. Thursday, July 14 Late afternoon or early evening Pacific Time The focus will be on Trump's activities during the actual insurrection.

SCRATCH THAT ITCH! Indivisible knows you're itching to do something to save our democracy. Check out these ideas for action on Indivisible's new website, Give No Ground. There's so much you can do!

KEEP THOSE PRO-DEMOCRACY NEURONS FIRING •  The Ezra Klein Show podcast, July 5, 2022: Rethinking the US Constitution  •  How can we fix the Supreme Court? A NY Times column by Ezra Klein and thoughtful readers' comments offer fascinating ideas. If you can't access this article, contact incoregon@gmail.com for an emailed copy.

NEW RATES FOR STAMPS If you're writing postcards to voters through any of the national postcarding projects, be aware that as of July 10, postcard stamps are 44¢ each, and postage for a 1-ounce letter will increase 2¢ to 60¢. Any stamps you have that say FOREVER or POSTCARD on them are good forever, regardless of any price increase.

WRITE TO SAVE DEMOCRACY The key to Democratic victories in 2020 elections is increasing voter turnout. Please sign up to get out the vote for pro-democracy candidates. For prepped or blank postcards, stamps, or information, contact incoregon@gmail.com. WRITE TO VOTERS • Postcards To Voters:  Handwritten postcards sent to Democrats to get out the vote. PTV provides scripts. Sign up at the website or at join@TonyTheDemocrat.org.  • Vote Forward:  Personalized letters sent to under-represented and/or minority communities to get out the vote. You print the letters and add a few sentences.  • Postcards To Swing States:  Progressive Turnout Project provides the postcards, scripts and addresses to rally Democrats to vote. WRITE AN LTE Write a Letter to the Editor (LTE) - Write a few sentences or more, up to 250 words. Send to editor@dailyastorian.com, along with your name, address, and phone. WRITE TO YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS How will your Members of Congress know what you want if you don't tell them? Send a postcard, write an email through their websites. Even better - call and speak to a Congressional staffer, or leave a message. Here's contact information for Senators Wyden and Merkley, Congresswoman Bonamici, and for other elected officials..

HAPPENINGS  INCO South County Community Group meeting. The July 14 meeting is cancelled due to the January 6 committee hearing. Next meeting date TBA.   INCO Astoria/North County Community Group meeting - - No meeting in July.   INCO Write to Voters (WTV) - on hiatus until September 9.

INSIGHTS “Fear is the original sin. Almost all the evil in the world has its origin in the fact that someone is afraid of something.”   — Lucy Maud Montgomery, THE BLUE CASTLE

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 July 11, 2022