7-31-23 Newsletter

 

INCO'S ROUSING RALLY  There’s nothing like being with like-minded, enthusiastic, pro-democracy Clatsopians for inspiration! Especially at our rally last Thursday demanding responsible, accountable representation in state government from State Senator Suzanne "No Show" Weber. People in passing vehicles on 101 honked in support and gave us thumbs up. We also had fascinating and frustrating conversations with fact-challenged Weber fans. Thanks to INCO activist Cheryl Conway for initiating and organizing our first rally since December, 2019 and Covid. STAMPS AND SUCCESS "About 66,300 people cast ballots during the first week of early voting in Ohio, which is more than ten times the amount who cast ballots at this point in the August 2022 primary." -- Jessica Craven, Chop Wood, Carry Water newsletter, July 30, 2023 KUDOS to all INCO friends who are writing to Ohio voters! You are making a difference!  You can help save democracy by encouraging voters to vote in key elections! It's easy to sign up for Postcards to Voters and Vote Forward's Letters to Voters. Use inexpensive heavyweight 4x6 index cards, or buy your own colorful cards.  STAMPS AND SUPPLIES Don't let the cost of postage stamps stop you from reaching out to support good candidates and causes! If you are writing to voters, INCO can help pay for envelopes, postcards, and postage. Thanks to generous donors and Indivisible, INCO treasurer Eric Halperin can have stamps delivered directly to you. Contact Laurie at incoregon@gmail.com for details. DEMOCRATS ABROAD "It is so reassuring to see groups forming to do phone banking and letter writing and getting out the message of the benefits of voting for Democrats. Hopefully this will spread across the entire US. We live in France and are a part of Democrats Abroad. Our little group, like that in the Valley, meets the first Friday of every month to discuss US and French politics. We are part of an ongoing movement in Democrats Abroad to get out the vote and make sure those living abroad register and vote. So far it has been a tremendous success as we obtained over 12,000 votes in the crucial Georgia election for 2 US Senators. Actual personal participation is so important and thank you for providing a blog suggesting we all get out and work this coming 2024." -- Richard Stenton, comment in Robert Hubbell's newsletter, July, 24, 2023 RETURNING TO "FUNCTIONAL POLITICS" "The Democrats passed a massive bill to remake America in the face of climate change, and they are eager to see it succeed. If that means doling out money to their political opponents, so be it. We are, after all, one nation. And we need as many people to be on board as possible. . . . "It’s all part of Biden’s big bet, which in turn is a big bet of we, the people: Can we, as a nation, return to a more functional politics? Can we act as a unified people and not camps of narrow competing self-interests? Can opportunities not be framed as a zero-sum game? And can we, by acting together, save our country and our planet?"  -- Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner, STEADY, July 26, 2023 ANSWERS? "So many Americans are so angry and distrustful that they’ll look for answers in the strangest of places. They’ll bow down to and elevate the unlikeliest of prophets. Trump and Kennedy are the self-proclaimed martyrs of the moment. There will be more where they came from.” — Frank Bruni, New York Times, July 20, 2023  INSIGHTS    "The promises we mean to keep and the plans we intend to execute can be postponed only so much. Time is of the essence. Which is perhaps why we’re graced with the wisdom to see that.” —Frank Bruni, New York Times columnist Indivisible defends democracy by opposing authoritarianism, bigotry, and corruption. 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 31, 2023 Website Email Twitter Copyright © 2023 INDIVISIBLE North Coast Oregon, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website or signed up at a community group meeting. Our mailing address is: *|766 Lexington Avenue, Astoria, OR 97103:HTML|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

7-24-23 Newsletter

 

INCO hosts the Global Climate Strike Rally at the big orange chair in Seaside, September 20, 2019   NO MORE 'NO-SHOW WEBER' RALLY Thursday, July 27  •  4-6 pm Big orange chair on Hwy 101 and Broadway, Seaside BYOS - Bring your own sign if you can We must hold State Senator Suzanne Weber accountable for walking  out of the Oregon State Senate for 6 weeks. She and other GOP state senators brought the legislature to a standstill. Now they want to defy Oregon voters so they can do it again! She betrayed her oath of office and her constituents. Former teacher Weber flunks democracy. This rally is hosted by INCO and Clatsop Democrats. AL FRANKEN, SERIOUSLY Check out Al Franken's weekly podcasts for illuminating discussions about lots of topics, especially politics. His July 16 podcast featured Marc Elias and Ari Berman talking about threats to our democracy from SCOTUS, state election laws, and the GOP. Their solutions include us!   "If the issue you care most about is climate, we are not going to solve the problems of climate without a functioning democracy. If the issue that you are primarily motivated about is abortion, we are not going to protect women's health without a functioning democracy. We're not going to tackle the problems of childhood poverty and education... inequality and income... unless we solve the problem of authoritarianism that is threatening our democracy and undermining free and fair elections." -- Marc Elias, elections attorney, founder of Democracy Docket "Democracy's on the line all the time." -- Al Franken, former SNL comedian and US Senator Register here for this Zoom webinar hosted by Community Advocates and Jews United for Democracy and Justice.  These weekly conversations feature a variety of guests and hosts and are also available on YouTube under the title, "America at a Crossroads."   Graphic from Indivisible INSIGHTS    "The first essential component of social justice is adequate food." -- Norman Borlaug, winner, Nobel Peace Prize Indivisible defends democracy by opposing authoritarianism, bigotry, and corruption. 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 24, 2023 Website Email Twitter Copyright © 2023 INDIVISIBLE North Coast Oregon, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website or signed up at a community group meeting. Our mailing address is: *|766 Lexington Avenue, Astoria, OR 97103:HTML|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

7-17-23 Newsletter

 

The big orange chair at INCO's Global Climate Strike Rally, September 20, 2019   NO MORE 'NO-SHOW WEBER' RALLY Thursday, July 27  •  4-6 pm Big orange chair on Hwy 101 and Broadway, Seaside BYOS - Bring your own sign if you can State Senator Suzanne Weber holds office hours Thursday in Seaside. At the same time, we'll be holding her accountable for walking out of the Oregon State Senate for 6 weeks! She betrayed her oath of office and her constituents.    This rally is hosted by INCO and Clatsop Democrats. CIVIL DISCOURSE Want to keep up with Trump's legal woes? Joyce Vance's newsletter tackles his very bad week in the July 14 issue:  • Trump's stolen government documents stashed at Mar-a-Lago • The Special Counsel’s January 6 Investigation •  Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 Georgia presidential vote "Here’s what Trump’s argument about that process comes down to: he objects to any prosecutor, anywhere, being able to investigate him and, if it’s determined he violated the law, charge him. In other words, Trump’s argument is that he’s above the law." -- Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse, July 14, 2023 YOUR ACTIVISM MATTERS Want to make sure good people win elections? Want to help all voters vote? Be inspired by this comment from a Substack reader. Your actions could make the difference!  "I was also surprised at the lack of awareness about the importance of upcoming elections until I began to understand some of the "why". Our Louisville (KY) Democrats Volunteers were knocking doors last summer to register voters in a large apartment complex in an area of town that probably rarely sees a candidate and houses folks on the lower end of the economic scale. "What I came to realize was that most of these people are the "working poor" with two and three jobs who are scrambling day to day just to make it. I doubt if many get a newspaper and most probably don't have time to scroll through online news. However, I will say, most were very polite, listened to the information we provided on early voting and some of the big issues (KY was voting on an amendment to our state constitution that would have outlawed abortion...we defeated it !) and we registered a fair number of new voters! "On the last door I knocked that day I was able to check the website and register a voter who had previously been unable to vote due to a prior felony conviction! To see his face, to see some dignity restored, and to see a sense that he felt like he mattered/his vote mattered...gave me a deeper insight in to the complicating factors of why we see such abysmal turn out rates during elections. "I will add, that when election time came, we received multiple calls from folks at that complex who were taking us up on our volunteer "Ride to the Polls" effort. It takes work to make a difference in these outcomes and we can all join in the effort." INSIGHTS    "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled." -- Richard Feynman, American theoretical physicist Indivisible defends democracy by opposing authoritarianism, bigotry, and corruption. 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 17, 2023 Website Email Twitter Copyright © 2023 INDIVISIBLE North Coast Oregon, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website or signed up at a community group meeting. Our mailing address is: *|766 Lexington Avenue, Astoria, OR 97103:HTML|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.