INDIVISIBLE North Coast Oregon: March 2023

Monday, March 27, 2023

3-27-23 Newsletter

LOBBYING FOR SMART CLIMATE BILLS

Kudos to INCO members Cheryl Conway and Eric Halperin and about 150 other climate-conscious Oregonians who met with their state legislators via Zoom last week. The Oregon League of Conservation Voters (OLCV) and the Oregon Climate Network (OCN) held their virtual Lobby Days with legislators to advocate for the OCLV/OCN priority bills. These included support for:

Resilient, Efficient Buildings (SB 868, 869, 870, 871)
Toxic Free Environment (SB 546, 426, and HB 3043)
Zero Waste (SB 542, 543, 545)
Natural Climate Solutions (SB 530)
Factory Farm Moratorium (SB 85)
Opposition to HB 3382 which allows ports to dredge without complying with state land use laws.

Cheryl and Eric met first with Senator Suzanne Weber’s Chief of Staff Katie Pritchard (Senator Weber was unexpectedly called away). They were joined by two other constituents, one from Columbia County and one from Washington County.

They then met with Representative Cyrus Javadi. Cheryl and Eric found that Javadi was receptive to discussion on controversial bills, and he even reported having that morning voted in support of HB 3043, Toxic Free Kids. They were hopeful that there may be openings for future bipartisan cooperation on climate and environmental issues with the Republican Representative.

They also thought the Zoom format was very effective, much easier than traveling to Salem, and encourage other INCO members to look for opportunities to join in the future.

41 VOTERS: "LIVES WILL BE SAVED"

Three Nebraska legislators are filibustering Republican proposals to ban gender-affirming healthcare. In fact, they are committing to filibustering ALL legislation until the anti-trans bill is withdrawn.

Jessica Craven explains how they can do this: "Democrats in the Nebraska Senate are in the minority. By a lot. They are able to filibuster this bill because it takes 33 votes to overcome a filibuster. Republicans have 32. They are short the ONE VOTE they need.

"And that one Democratic seat blocking them? It was won just last year by 41 votes. Votes that the States Project helped get with their strategic work and fundraising. Do you see now why their work matters? And why every vote matters? And why every seat in every statehouse matters?

"Lives will be saved, trans kids’ hope maintained, dastardly legislation stopped—all because of ONE seat, and the 41 extra people who turned out to vote for it.

"The flap of a butterfly’s wings, essentially, changing the course of history.

"NEVER think for a second that what you do doesn’t matter.
ALL of it matters. Every single bit of it."

-- Jessica Craven, Chop Wood, Carry Water newsletter, March 24, 2023

• "This bill is a top priority for Oregon’s environmental justice leaders because it ties housing production statewide to local equity indicators and will increase affordable housing and location choice."
-- Oregon Just Transition Alliance

• Visit COIN's Legislation 2023 web page for updates on bills COIN has endorsed or opposed, or bills we are still watching. Legislators won't know what you want unless you tell them. Please take a moment to comment on at least one of the bills on COIN's Legislation web page.

• All INCO members are invited to the COIN meeting on Tuesday, April 4, at 7:00 pm, via Zoom. Register for COIN meetings here (just once for all 2023 meetings).

THE CASES AGAINST TRUMP: A GUIDE

In its March 23 newsletter, an Atlantic magazine article clarifies the timelines, the issues at stake, and the threat the legal cases pose to the former president. This is one of the most concise and clear descriptions available. If you can't access it, contact incoregon@gmail.com so we can forward the newsletter to you.

STOPPING MAGA

"Only about 20% of Americans are die-hard MAGA supporters, but they give a bad name to American democracy writ large. Why isn’t every concerned American speaking out vigorously, continuously, and loudly? If we all did so, MAGA extremism would be less of a threat than it is."
-- Robert Hubbell, Today's Edition, March 24, 2023

Check out Indivisible's plan to defeat the Unrepresentative 18, including US Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer, (OR-05), a MAGA backer.

TIME TO REFLECT

"I’ll close with what’s likely to be an unpopular take. I don’t find any joy in the prospect of indicting a former President, and certainly none in the fact that there are multiple criminal investigations into his conduct under way. It’s an enormously sad moment for our country. That doesn’t mean that justice shouldn’t be done—it must be. But for me, at least, it’s more a somber moment of reflection than one for busting out the champagne.

"I hope we won’t become a country of people chanting, “Lock him up.” It would be as distasteful and anti-democratic when aimed at Trump as it was when he aimed it at Hillary Clinton and others. Let’s let our justice system work: slow, imperfect, but still essential to the rule of law. If the system works, we continue to be a country governed by laws, not the whims of men. Let’s not permit Trump to change who we are."
-- Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse, on Substack, March 21, 2023

RURAL CAUCUS & STRATEGY SESSION
Saturday, May 20 in person

Gather with like-minded rural Oregonians at this year's Rural Caucus & Strategy Sessionhosted by the Rural Organizing Project. It is Saturday, May 20th in the Linn/Benton county area. INCO can help with registration, lodging, and travel costs. Please contact Laurie at incoregon@gmail.com soon if you're interested.

HAPPENINGS

Thursday, April 13 - INCO Community Meeting, via Zoom. Social time at 6 pm; meeting is 6:30-7:30 pm. All INCO members are invited to attend. We meet the 2nd Thursday of each month.
Link to join Zoom meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87835618044
Meeting ID: 878 3561 8044
One tap mobile
+12532050468,,87835618044# US
+12532158782,,87835618044# US (Tacoma)

INSIGHTS
“The one thing never in question was the necessity of hope – not some airy wish for better times, but a belief that calls for action, demands she make her own way there. Hope: not for its own sake, but for all that it reveals.”

--Brian Payton, THE WIND IS NOT A RIVER

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 March 27, 2023

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Monday, March 20, 2023

3-20-23 Newsletter

STOPPING MAGA
Check out Indivisible's plan to defeat the Unrepresentative 18, including Lori Chavez-DeRemer, (OR-05), a MAGA backer.

Right-wing extremists are coordinating a nationwide campaign to pull books from library shelves, even if the complainants haven't read them. Find out more in this conversation with author Jodi Picoult and Anderson Cooper, on YouTube. Fight back with others here.

"I had always imagined paradise as a kind of library."
-- Jorge Luis Borges, author

Visit our Legislation 2023 web page for updates on bills COIN has endorsed or opposed, or bills we are still watching. Legislators won't know what you want unless you tell them. Please take a moment to comment on at least one of the bills on COIN's Legislation web page.

COIN MEETING MARCH 21
All INCO folks are invited to the COIN meeting on Tuesday March 21, at 7:00 pm, via Zoom. Register for COIN meetings here (just once for all 2023 meetings).

ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE OREGON LOBBY DAYS
March 21-22 via Zoom

OLCV and OCN (Oregon League of Conservation Voters and Oregon Conservation Network) are having lobby days on Zoom. Separate meetings with Senator Weber and Representative Javadi will be set up, and you can join like-minded constituents to meet on Zoom and let your representatives know about your environmental and climate concerns. Training will be March 21, and meetings for our district will be March 22. Details and registration here.

RURAL CAUCUS & STRATEGY SESSION
Saturday, May 20 in person

HAPPENINGS

INSIGHTS

The future is not something we enter. The future is something we create."
- Leonard I. Sweet

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

3-13-23 Newsletter

INDIVISIBLE ON RACHEL MADDOW

Rachel Maddow interviewed the co-founder of Indivisible, Ezra Levin, last week. Robert Hubbell says, "I guarantee that watching the interview will make you more hopeful and confident about Democratic prospects heading into 2024."

Levin highlights the updated Practical Guide to Defeating MAGA, a terrific resource for anyone interested in taking effective, local action to effect change in Congress.

"Indivisible is one of the most effect grassroots organization to emerge in the wake of Trump’s 2016 victory. It grew organically from local protests to a well-run, national powerhouse organization that is still focused on local action directed at members of Congress."
-- Robert Hubbell, Today's Edition, March 7, 2023

Check out Indivisible's plan to defeat the Unrepresentative 18, including Lori Chavez-DeRemer, (OR-05), a MAGA backer.

NEWS TO CELEBRATE THIS WEEK

Celebrate with Jessica Craven this week's long list of good news in her March 12 newsletter, Chop Wood, Carry Water.

SHE MADE A GOOD FUSS

Judy Heumann, a valiant champion for disability rights who improved the world, died last week. Find out more about this outstanding woman in the NY Times obituary, plus a lovely tribute by Rachel Maddow. We recommend the film "Crip Camp," which documents the struggles and victories for disability rights.

BILLS IN THE LEGISLATURE
These bills were recently endorsed by COIN:

SB 82 DFR Wildfire Bill: Wildfire Insurance Risk Mitigation - Endorse
SB 509-1 Community Wildfire Risk Reduction Programs - Endorse
HB 2001-11 to replace SB 799 Eviction Reform and Reduction - Endorse

COIN will be deciding on HB 2572 Civil Disorder and HB2772 Domestic Terrorism on March 13. Visit our Legislation 2023 web page for updates on bills COIN has endorsed or opposed, or bills we are still watching. Legislators won't know what you want unless you tell them. Please take a moment to comment on at least one of the bills on COIN's Legislation web page.

COIN MEETING MARCH 21
All INCO folks are invited to the COIN meeting on Tuesday March 21, at 7:00 pm, via Zoom. Register for COIN meetings here (just once for all 2023 meetings).

TESTIFY FOR RESILIENT COMMUNITIES
You can testify at the hearing for four bills endorsed by COIN that came from the 2022 Joint Task Force on Building Resiliency. The hearing Thursday, March 16 at 1 p.m. before the Senate Energy and Environment Committee, and testimony in support of these bills is due no later than Saturday, Mar. 18 at 1:00 p.m. Use this guide in learning about the bills, and preparing and submitting testimony.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE OREGON LOBBY DAYS
March 21-22 via Zoom

RURAL CAUCUS & STRATEGY SESSION
Saturday, May 20 in person

SNOWFLAKES CAN MAKE AN AVALANCHE
" They like to call us snowflakes, for example. But each snowflake is a beautiful individual creation, gentle and, yes, fragile. But put many of us together in a strong gale, and we become a mighty blizzard. Together, we are an avalanche.

"I would say to each person, your responsibility is to be the kind of person you see yourself being. A moral person. A thoughtful person. A person who acts with kindness and compassion, not anger and violence. In being that person, you become an example for others to follow. In holding to your own values and principles, and speaking up for others who are in need of your support, you become fascism’s greatest enemy: the engaged, enlightened citizen.

"Each of us has our own lives to live, our own priorities, our own burdens and responsibilities. Those have to come first, especially when others depend on us. So I would say, do what your heart tells you to do. Be the person your heart tells you to be. You’ll be amazed at what happens.”
— George Takei, Star Trek actor and democracy activist, Civil Discourse, March 4, 2023

FILING DEADLINE IS THURSDAY

Sign up by this Thursday, March 16 to run to be a board member of a Special District in Clatsop County. Special Districts need good people to serve. Positions on the ballot include schools, health districts, rural fire protection, and others. Countywide special districts are the Port of Astoria, Sunset Empire Transportation, and Clatsop Community College.

The Special District elections are May 16. Information about local positions and filing is on the Clatsop County website. The County Clerk's office at 503-325-8605 has details.

VOTE BY MAIL

Last week Oregon Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Earl Blumenauer introduced the Vote at Home Act, a bill that would ensure that all Americans have the ability to vote by mail. Wyden and Blumenauer previously introduced similar legislation in 2021. Unfortunately, it’s likely Congressional Republicans will defeat this bill.

HAPPENINGS

INSIGHTS
"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses."
~ Henry Ford