Weekly Action Plan for February 20, 2017

Welcome to Escondido Indivisible’s weekly action plan for February 20, 2017! Escondido Indivisible is a grassroots group of neighbors, friends, and residents dedicated to affecting changes in our local community. Send us links and comments at EscondidoIndivisible50@gmail.com and @EscInd50 on Twitter.  If you were forwarded this letter, you can subscribe here, and check the archive here.

We have a lot of actions for the upcoming week so it’s okay if you can’t do everything on the plan. Pick 1 action every day or 3-5 actions for the week and commit yourself to doing them. Whatever your commitment, as President Obama said in his farewell speech: Believe in your ability to bring change. Show up, dive in, stay at it.

Events | Indivisible | San Diego County Progressive Events

• February 21, 2017, 10:00 AM: Rep. Hunter Constituents Rally for #ResistTrumpTuesdays:  

  • Join Indivisible NC @ 1611 N. Magnolia Ave., Ste 310, El Cajon, CA 92020

  • Join Indivisible Fallbrook @ 41000 Main St., Temecula, CA 92590

• February 21, 2017, 6:00 PM: Emergency Town Hall on Health Care for 49th District (with “Empty Chair” Rep. Issa) @ Jim Porter Recreation Center, 1200 Vale Terrace Dr, Vista, CA 92084.

• February 22, 2017, 7:00 PM: Escondido Indivisible Members Teleconference. Call-in information was sent earlier, but if you still need it, contact us.

• February 23, 2017, 4:30 PM: Where's Hunter Rally @ 1611 N. Magnolia Ave., Ste 310, El Cajon, CA 92020

Future Events

• February 28, 2017: Esc Democratic Club’ Mixer for New & Interested Members, Time/Place TBD.

• March 8, 2017: A Day Without Women.

• March 9, 2017, 6:00 PM: State Senator Joel Anderson's Escondido Community Coffee @ Veterans of Foreign Wars, John R. Simpson Post 1513, 230 E. Park Ave, Escondido, CA 92025 (Let us know if you’re attending!)

• March 10, 2017: Rise with Standing Rock and Native Nations March

• April 15, 2017, 10:00 AM: Trump’s Tax Day @ 1200 Third Ave, San Diego, California 92101

• Earth Day, April 22, 2017 March of Scientists on Washington

• April 29, 2017: People's Climate March

Action Plan

Indivisible Action Calendar | the 50th | Daily Action | 5 Calls | The 65 | Damsels In Defiance | It’s Time To Fight | re:act | Rogan's List: Today's "To-do" List | Weekly action checklist for Democrats, Independents, and Republicans of conscience

Monday

• Contact Rep, Hunter to ask about his schedule for congress recess and to request a public in-person town hall. Follow-up with questions about specific details of public events that he’s attending for recess.

• Read-up on When Lies Overruled Rights, an op-ed by Karen Korematsu, daughter of Fred Korematsu.

• Contact Senator Anderson to support SB-54 (California Values Act) which limits local resources to federal immigrant enforcement unless there is a judicial warrant. The bill passed the Public Safety Committee (of which Senator Anderson is a member and had voted no) and was referred to the Appropriations Committee.  Senator Anderson has been using SB-54 to appear in local TV and radio news programs.  Talking points: Escondido has one of the harshest anti-immigration policies in the country, and it has negatively impacted the health and growth of our city.  Use personal stories of how the presence of ICE has impacted you or your community, or of Guadalupe García de Rayos, Rosa Maria Ortega, Daniel Ramirez Medina.

• Contact Assemblymember Marie Waldron & Mayor Abed to ask them how they plan to address fears from our communities about recent ICE raids in California.  Use the same talking points as from Senator Anderson.  Note that Assemblymember Marie Waldron had supported many of the harshest anti-immigrant policies while she was our councilmember so we want to hold her accountable as we do Mayor Abed.

• Contact the White House to express concerns about recent executive orders on immigrants.  See talking points from below from Senator Anderson and recent reports that the DHS was planning to use the National Guard for immigrants enforcement and other tough enforcement policies. (See also White House Comment Line Reopens).

Tuesday

• Attend Constituents Rally for #ResistTrumpTuesdays at Duncan Hunter's Office at 10:00 AM:  

  • Join Indivisible NC @ 1611 N. Magnolia Ave., Ste 310, El Cajon, CA 92020

  • Join Indivisible Fallbrook @ 41000 Main St., Temecula, CA 92590

• Attend Emergency Town Hall on Health Care for 49th District (with “Empty Chair” Representative Issa) at 6:00 PM @ Jim Porter Recreation Center, 1200 Vale Terrace Dr, Vista, CA 92084.

• Contact Rep. Hunter to express disappointments about his yes vote on a House Resolution 43 which allow states to deny public funds to family planning clinics, including Planned Parenthood.  The resolution passed the House and now moved to the Senate for review. Talking points: If your or someone you know uses family planning services, talk how family planning services helped your life and how you think the services should be available for low-income families, because they do not have a lot of options.

• Contact Senator Feinstein to thank her for sponsoring S.274 which rescinds the Muslim ban and for co-sponsoring S.415 which rescinds the immigration deportation & sanctuary city executive order.  Ask her to co-sponsor S.349 (Access to Counsel Act) which grants the right to counsel to those who are held at port of entry or detention center. S.274 was added to the Senate Legislative Calendar; and S.349 & S.415 were referred to the Judiciary Committee (of which Senator Feinstein is a ranking member).  Re-affirm your desire for #NoWallsNoBansNoRaids.

• Contact Senator Harris to thank her for sponsoring S.349 (Access to Counsel Act) and for co-sponsoring S.274 & S.415. Re-affirm your desire for #NoWallsNoBansNoRaids.

Wednesday

• Attend Escondido Indivisible Members Teleconference at 7:00 PM.  Call-in information was sent earlier, but if you still need it, contact us.

• Read-up on Tracking Donald Trump's Ethics-Related Promises and Conflicts Of Interest and recent conflicts of interest: That Meeting at Mar-a-Lago and China Grants Trump Org. New Trademark Protections.

• Contact Senator Anderson to vote yes on SB-149 which requires presidential candidates to release their last 5 tax returns to be listed on CA election ballot. The bill has been referred to the Judiciary Committee of which Senator Anderson is a member.  Talking points: During the campaign, President Trump promises to release his tax returns and he has yet to fulfill his promise. We, the public, deserve transparency and honesty from our president and future president candidates.

• Contact Rep. Hunter to express disappointment that the House Ways & Means refused to request President Trump’s tax returns for examination per a 1924 law.  Talking points: The President is a public figure holding the highest office of our government.  We, the public, deserve to know if he has business ties to Russia or other foreign countries that might impact his decision making given that President Trump has not divested from Trump  Organization. 1 million Americans so far have asked for the President to release his tax returns.

• Call House Ethics Committee at 202-225-7103 to ask when the Office of Congressional Ethics report of Representative Duncan Hunter will be released. Talking points: Ethics Committee had extended the release of the OCE report until sometimes after the 115th Congress convenes.  115th Congress convened January 3, 2017 and it has been more than 45 days since then. [Address: 1015 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC  20515 | Fax: 202-225-7392]

• Contact the White House to express concerns about the President’s expensive weekly vacations which are costing taxpayers $10 millions (and ask if the President is planning to reimburse taxpayers the money since the President is very, very rich?).

Thursday

• Attend Where's Hunter Rally at 4:30 PM @ 1611 N. Magnolia Ave., Ste 310, El Cajon, CA 92020.

• Contact Rep. Hunter to ask if you would be able to afford health care in 2018.  Talking points: 370,000 in San Diego County Could Lose Insurance, and there are 29,500 enrollees in Covered CA in the 50th District.  Recent outline of the ACA replacement indicates that the replacement would most likely redistribute most of the federal funds from low-income people to richer people. So keep pressing the questions: Will I (or someone you know) be losing my health care coverage?  Will I be able to afford my health care coverage? See Indivisible’s ACA Action Plan and Annotated GOP ACA Talking Points.

• Read up on White House Proposes New Rules to Steady Insurance Markets Under Health Law, Judge says Aetna dropped out of some Obamacare markets to help win its merger fight and Proposed Rule for Market Stabilization.

• Read up on Timeline: Trump campaign, his White House and Russia.

• Follow-up with members of congress to re-affirm your desire for an investigation into Michael Flynn's Communications with Russia and Russia’s involvement with our election and the White House.  As a postscript, ask them to demand Attorney General Sessions recuse himself from the investigation.

• Follow-up with members of congress about removing Steve Bannon from the National Security Council. Talking points: Reportedly, retired Vice Admiral Robert Harward pulled out of consideration for national security adviser because of Steve Bannon’s position in the NSC and no guarantee from the White House that Harward will be able to select his own staff. As Harward shown, political considerations have no place in the NSC.

Friday

• Contact Senator Feinstein and Harris about opposing Neil Gorsuch for Supreme Court Justice.  The nomination is currently being reviewed by the Judiciary Committee of which Senator Feinstein is a Ranking Member.

• Contact members of congress to oppose efforts to change and undermine the Endangered Species Act (ESA) which has been crucial to recovering many important species like the Bald Eagle. The ESA works for species and should be upheld and protected! You can sign a petition here https://www.change.org/p/protect-the-endangered-species-act.

• Contact the White House to stop constructions of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Talking points: A 2nd spill of the Seaway Pipeline in Blue Ridge, Texas, occurred on January 30, 2017, and the co-owner of the Seaway Pipeline is also co-owner of the Dakota Access Pipeline.  This 2nd spill highlights the risk of oil pipelines, and the Army Corp of Engineers should complete their Environmental Impact Statement, including a completed risk management assessment and plan for the occurrence of oil spills and their impact on local tribal drinking water sources.

Saturday

• Write a letter to the editors (San Diego Union Tribune) about your and your community’s efforts to get Representative Hunter to host a public in-person town hall for this congress recess period.  Talking points: Representative Hunter’s last known town hall was at the Escondido City Council Chambers, and it was limited to 150 attendees.  With the convening of a new congress and an executive branch, Rep. Hunter will be voting on issues that will deeply concern us as his constituents.  ~800 people have already signed a petition requesting Rep Hunter to host a town hall, and many others have also reached out to him since January for a town hall.  Rep. Hunter needs to hold in-person town halls that will accommodate ~800 ppl. See Writing Letters to the Editor & Closed “Town Hall” in a Red San Diego District.

• Write letters to members of congress and follow-up on either the ACA and/or #NoWallsNoBansNoRaids. Ground the letters with your personal stories re: ACA or #NoWallsNoBansNoRaids, and how the repeal of the ACA & the continuation of tough anti-immigrant policies will affect you and your communities. Then end your letters with 1 specific ask for the MoCs.  The letters can be brief and simple with just your experience, despite the following guides: Sample Letter, How to Contact and Properly Communicate with Your Government Representatives & Writing Letters to Elected Officials.

Sunday

• Read-up on The voting rights manifesto: a state-by-state plan to defend democracy.

• Email Sirius XM’s Customer Service to call for the cancellation of Brietbart Daily News using this script from #grabyourwallet:

“Hi. I’m a longtime customer / fan of your company. Unfortunately I'll no longer be able to do business with you because you do business with Brietbart. If you were to no longer do so I would enthusiastically return as a customer. Please communicate my feedback to management.”

• Email Customer Service of one of Sirius XM’s marketing partners to ask them to stop advertising on Sirius XM because of their financing of Brietbart Daily News.

• Email Amazon’s Customer Service about them not blocking Brietbart from their media buy plan (programmatic advertising).​​ If you use Amazon regularly, outline ways that you will be reducing your usage of Amazon in the upcoming year if Amazon continues to allow their ads on Brietbart.