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Site Update: ACLU Resources & the People Power Resistance Training

Information in this post will be permanently stored on the Helpful Tools and Apps page.

ACLU’s mobile app: iPhone and Android (check respective app stores – it’s free!).

Head over to the ACLU’s  Know Your Rights page to get information. This page has helpful material to inform citizens of their rights in various situations including when protesting and demonstrating, if they’re questioned about immigrant status, if stopped by the police, want to record the police, etc.

The ACLU has created an action network for citizens to resist the current administration and GOP-lead congress called People Power. The training below focuses on explaining your rights when demonstrating and protesting and what you can do to protect yourself and your fellow Americans if questioned by the police or are the subject of an ICE raid. ACLU is asking for people to help develop Freedom Cities. ACLU’s “Freedom Cities” plan brings local grassroots activists together and provides a blueprint for local-level campaigns to defend our communities and block the worst abuses of the Trump administration. Go to PeoplePower.org for more information.

This training is a motivational companion to the ACLU Know Your Rights information posted on on ACLU Nationwide’s site.

ACLU’s People Power Resistance Training (recorded on 3/11/2017).
Materials from the training:

ACLU’s 9 “model” state and local law enforcement policies and rules
Freedom Cities’ Action Guide

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Call to Action: HR 111. Call, Tweet, Fax before 9 am (ET) on Tuesday 2/28/17 & Request a Special Prosecutor Be Appointed

Background: Congress needs to appoint a special prosecutor or commission to investigate POTUS. AG Sessions was a top adviser to POTUS during the 2016 presidential campaign.

This is an update to a previous post on HR 111 from 2.24.17HR 111  is scheduled to be debated in the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday 2/28 at 10 am (ET). H.R. 111 is an inquiry resolution introduced on 2/9/17 by Representative Nadler (D-NY) with 61 co-sponsors directing the Attorney General to transmit certain documents to the House of Representatives relating to the financial practices of the President. The Committee Chairman Goodlatte (R-VA) submitted an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to HR 111. Read marked up/amended version here. Note these edits would replace all text from original after the word “Resolved.”

Contact Information:  Use the House of Representative’s Republican Judiciary Committee Members contact information. DC offices are 202 area code, additional district/home offices are listed but not identified by city.

Strategy: Focus on Republican members for two reasons: 1) this call for an investigation needs to come from the Republicans for it to be successful and/or not cause backlash from Republican base and 2) sixty-one Democratic members of the House were co-sponsors on H.R. 111; while we should reach out to them as well, priority on contacting Republican members first. Full list of committee members can be found here.  Their twitter username is below their name. To locate their phone/fax numbers, click on their official website link. Their twitter username is below their name.

Any citizen can contact congressional committee members – even if they are not your elected official. It’s only when a resolution or a bill heads to the floor for a full vote should you only contact your congressional member.

Action Options:

  1. Call DC office, if no answer, call one of the District office.  If you have time, call at least one of their district/local offices. If you call, suggested script for all Republicans is below (except Issa – see #2 for Issa)

“Hello, I’m calling to ask what member X’s position is on HR 111? I understand it was amended by Chairman Goodlatte and the resolution will be taken up by the Committee on Tuesday morning. [listen to their answer, if they don’t know or you get voicemail then continue with a request]

I am calling to request Representative X make a motion to support Representative Issa’s media statement and request a special prosecutor be appointed and for the resolution to be so amended. The American people deserve to know the truth. Two weeks isn’t sufficient time for the newly confirmed Attorney General Sessions to investigate the matter & and given his appointment by the President, unsure of his ability to be impartial [you can chose to include or leave that last bit out of your script].”

2.When you call Issa offices or tweet at him: “Thank you, Rep. Issa for speaking up this weekend and I’m calling to lend my support. Please to put forth a motion to appoint a special prosecutor or commission to investigate Trump.”

3.Fax them: If you have ability & if the Representative has a fax number listed.

4.LIGHT UP THEIR TWITTER feeds by tweeting at them. If folks don’t have time to call – how about lighting up the Republicans Twitter feeds? I’m learning they’re paying closer attention to Twitter feeds these days than Facebook social media pages.

Suggested Tweet: Support Rep Issa, call for special prosecutor to investigate POTUS. The American people deserve the truth. #HR111


This is an update to a previous post on HR 111 from 2.24.17

Site Update: U.S. Civics – Training – Overview Presentation

infoispwerFriends recently asked me to give a U.S. civics’ overview/refresher presentation. I am not an expert on federal legislative affairs (I’m a scientist!) but given my history geek background, I was happy to help. Turns out the group really liked it, so thought I’d provide it for others to watch – Dinner at the Grange’s U.S. Civics’ Overview PowerPoint presentation. The link takes you to DropBox where the presentation may be downloaded. It is a brief, basic refresher of the U.S. Constitution, checks and balances between our three branches of government, and focuses on how bills become law – with tips on how folks can get involved to lobby for (or against) a bill. There are only a few slides but two of them have multiple transitions on them. As such, watch in slideshow to see the information fully-displayed.

If you share this presentation – and I encourage you to – please cite appropriately and link back to Dinner at the Grange.

Call to Action (2.5.17): Updated Info to Get Bannon off the NSC

New information: Where do your congressional members stand on Bannon’s appointment to the National Security Council? Check this site’s table (organized by houses, House of Representatives and Senate). Links to contact your congressional members in the table.  Call their District/mobile offices first, then their DC office.

Call to Action # 1: Keep placing calls to the Homeland Security & Government Affairs Committee’s main number (202-224-4751). If the mailbox is full, try again in a few hours.  They empty the mailbox every day at noon EST (9:00 am PST) and every night.  You can call repeatedly; no limit.

You can also email the Committee – use this the form from the Committee to contact them.

The folks over at the Daily Kos put together a list with contact information to the Committee Members. See below for the 15 members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and how to contact them directly.  Just one call makes a difference and it takes just a few minutes.

Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) – Chairman

  • Direct: 414-276-7282
  • DC: 202-224-5323
  • Email

Claire McCaskil (D-Mo.) – Ranking Member

  • Direct: 816-421-1639
  • DC: 202-224-6154
  • Email

John McCain (R-Az.)

  • Direct: 602-952-2410
  • DC: 202-224-2235
  • Email

Rob Portman (R-Oh.)

  • Direct: 513-684-3265
  • DC: 202-224-3353
  • Email

Thomas R. Carper (D-De.)

  • Direct: 302-573-6291
  • DC: 202-224-2441
  • Email

Jon Tester (D-Mt.)

  • Direct: 406-252-0550
  • DC: 202-224-2644
  • Email

Rand Paul (R-Ky.)

  • Direct: 270-782-8303
  • DC: 202-224-4343
  • Email

James Lankford (R-Ok.)

  • Direct: 405-231-4941
  • DC: 202-224-5754
  • Email

Heidi Heitkamp (D-Nd.)

  • Direct: 701-258-4648
  • DC: 202-224-2043
  • Email

Gary C. Peters (D-Mi.)

  • Direct: 313-226-6020
  • DC: 202-224-6221
  • Email

Michael B. Enzi (R-Wy.)

  • Direct: 307-739-9507
  • DC: 202-224-3424
  • Email

John Hoeven (R-Nd.)

  • Direct: 701-250-4618
  • DC: 202-224-2551
  • Email

Margaret Hassan (D-Nh.)

  • Direct: 603-622-2204
  • DC: 202-224-3324
  • Email

Kamala Harris (D-Ca.)

  • Direct: 916-448 – 2787
  • DC: 202-224-3553
  • Email

Steve Daines (R-Mt.)

  • Direct: 406-245-6822
  • DC:  202-224-2651
  • Email

 

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