8-7-23 Newsletter

 

CHEERS! It's easy to be overwhelmed with national and international news, so here's the remedy: Come to INCO's Community Meeting this Thursday to be with fellow progressives, liberals, and other good people. We can enjoy ourselves and cheer each other on while helping INCO make things better.   INCO COMMUNITY MEETING Thursday, August 10, via Zoom 6 pm social, 6:30 - 7:30 meeting Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87835618044  Meeting ID: 878 3561 8044 One tap mobile +12532050468,,87835618044# US +12532158782,,87835618044# US (Tacoma) United States v. Trump You'll find excellent overviews and commentary about this indictment at •  Democracy Docket, August 1, 2023 •  Dan Rather, Steady newsletter, August 1, 2023 •  The Atlantic, articles by Quinta Jurecic and Tom Nichols •  Robert Hubbell, Today's Edition newsletter, August 3, 2023 •  Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse newsletter, offers a guide for reading the indictment for yourself, August 2, 2023 *  Even if you watched Special Counsel Jack Smith announce the indictment, it's worth listening to again.  *  Democratic political strategist Dan Pfeiffer presents ways to debunk attacks on the indictment. *  The New York Times provides an annotated indictment that provides context and explanation. SUNLIGHT FOR TRUMP'S TRIAL Federal criminal trials are not allowed to be televised. As the rule stands, this means the American public would not see Trump's trial for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and for his role in fueling the insurrection on January 6. Many people are urging the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to make an exception for this exceptional case. You can help make this happen. Please contact the DOJ to urge it to make the trial televised and available live/streaming in real time. •  This could be the ultimate civics lesson as Americans and the world see the rule of law in action in Trump's criminal trial. Respected jurists and historians agree that Americans need to see this case in real time because of its importance for American democracy. •  Trials in the US are usually public, per the US Constitution's 6th Amendment. It is authoritarian countries that forbid the public from attending or watching trials. Think Russia, North Korea, China. •  All of us need the opportunity to see and hear the actual proceedings, not just a few video clips and comments selected by news outlets and social media algorithms. In these fraught times, a live-streamed and televised trial could strengthen Americans' belief in fair trials and justice for all. •  A televised trial could help neutralize and even defeat the lies spread by Trump, Fox, right-wing extremists, and Trump's funders, enablers, and co-conspirators. •  Good governance is done in public and is a marker of a strong civil society. Please contact the DOJ to ask for Trump's trial for the attempted coup to be televised and streamed live: - The US Department of Justice Comment Line: 202-353-1555  - Write to the US Department of Justice here. The US Senate has no authority over the DOJ, but it might be helpful to bring up this issue with our Members of Congress. It's likely they'll know who to tell if thousands of Oregonians want to watch the trial live. - Senator Ron Wyden:  503-326-7525 - Senator Jeff Merkley:  503-326-3396  - Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici: 503-469-6010   “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” -- Justice Louis Brandeis,1913 Astoria Women's March, 2017 Trump is the 1097th defendant indicted for the attempted coup on January 6.  OUR FRAGILE FREEDOM "This concept of the United States of America, still relatively new in human history, is impossible to maintain without the continual peaceful transfer of power at the top. That is what this new indictment is about.  "In his first inaugural address as governor of California in 1967, Ronald Reagan spoke eloquently of this truth:  “We are participating in the orderly transfer of administrative authority by direction of the people. And this is the simple magic of the commonplace routine, which makes it a near miracle to many of the world’s inhabitants. This continuing fact that the people, by democratic process, can delegate power, and yet retain the custody of it. Perhaps you and I have lived too long with this miracle to properly be appreciative. Freedom is a fragile thing and it's never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation.” "This is what is at stake for the generations alive today. It is an epic battle that will now take place in federal court as well as at the ballot box." -- Dan Rather, Steady, August 3, 2023 PARTY PLAN "For 247 years, generation after generation of Americans have kept our democracy alive. We can’t let Republicans end it on our watch. If we keep it alive, just three more years we will hit 250. I’m looking forward to that party. Let’s do this." -- Bill Penzey JOBS INSIGHTS    "All of us failed to match our dreams of perfection. So I rate us on the basis of our splendid failure to do the impossible." --William Faulkner, American author 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    August 7, 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.