Act of Resistance 5-30-2018

I’ve decided to change the headings to my blog posts to Act Of Resistance instead of Letters to My Representatives. Though most of the time these posts will in fact be letters to my reps, they aren’t the only acts of resistance I participate in, so I decided a heading change was in order.

This week’s post will encompass the last three weeks, as I didn’t post the last two.

On May 16th I wrote Postcards to Voters. This time it was for Jesse Salinas, running for Yolo County Clerk-Recorder/Assessor in California. Please consider visiting their site and getting involved. It’s an easy way to help increase voter participation. Here’s my tweet thread on how it works.

Last week I sadly didn’t do anything specific besides sharing information on Twitter and Facebook. It’s not enough, but some weeks that’s all you have to give and we need to allow ourselves a break now and then.

But we also need to understand that even small acts of resistance are needed right now. People tweeting about Roseanne Barr’s comments about Valerie Jarret forced Disney and ABC to cancel her show. Maybe they would have done it anyway, but I doubt it. If everyone had just ignored the racist and disgusting comments Barr made, ABC would have ignored them too. It’s not like they didn’t know who Barr was from the beginning. They hired her to do a reboot of the show even knowing pictures like this were out there:

This week I wrote to my representatives and the letters will be below. As always, the scripts came from I Called My Reps and you can find more info and scripts on their website. If you are so inclined, I know they are just a couple of people keeping that site up and it’s a lot of work, so visit their Ko-Fi and show them a little monetary support so they can keep this up!

Dear Senator Stabenow,

I ask that you vote against the Ronald Mortensen nomination to the State Department. Mortensen has been nominated to a position he knows very little about – he has little to no knowledge of refugees. Additionally, his demonstrated record of being anti-illegal immigrant, could very well influence how he chooses to tackle refugee related-subjects.

I ask that you condemn Secretary Nielsen’s comments about separating families at the border, during her 05/16 testimony in front of Senate Homeland Security. I also demand that you vehemently oppose the Trump Administration’s decision to expand on the existing policy to separate families at the border. I am also concerned and would like an open investigation into ICE’s practices of abusing young kids and teens in their care. This has been going on for several years, and Congress needs to stop overlooking their practices.

I ask that you condemn the Trump Administration’s decision to pull out of the Iran Nuclear deal based on false pretenses.  According to the IAEA and the Trump Administration’s own intelligence officials, there is no evidence of a nuclear program in Iran since 2009. They are in compliance with the terms of the 2015 deal, and Trump has been unable to clarify what he means by saying Iran is in violation of the “spirit” of the deal. This decision was a dangerous, carelessly thought-out decision by the Trump Administration made on false pretenses. It will absolutely create further chaos in the Middle East, and I expect you to condemn the decision AND any further military action that may occur in the area.

I ask that you demand Scott Pruitt’s resignation. The scandals that keep coming out of the EPA are absolutely unacceptable. Not only is he repeatedly committing ethics violations, he clearly doesn’t spend enough time doing his job, verses defending his job. Of course he’s not very effective at doing his job either.

I demand that you take action on the gun control legislation stalled in the Senate, including Feinstein’s Act 21 changing the purchase age for assault weapons, and Senator Murphy’s S. 2009 /background check expansion act. The continued epidemic of mass shootings is a clear indication that action needs to be taken now! I also ask that you publicly declare that you will not support Concealed Carry Reciprocity as it is rumored that the Senate plans to take up this legislation this summer.

I object strongly to Trump’s aims to target abortion education.

Please support the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act to protect Robert Mueller, as introduced by Senators Tillis, Boons, Booker, and Graham. I fear Trump will attempt to end the investigation. The investigation has support from not only Democrats, but also prominent members of the GOP and we need to ensure that Mueller is allowed to do his work.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Austin

 

Dear Representative Moolenaar,

I ask that you condemn Secretary Nielsen’s comments about separating families at the border, during her 05/16 testimony in front of Senate Homeland Security. I also demand that you vehemently oppose the Trump Administration’s decision to expand on the existing policy to separate families at the border. I am also concerned and would like an open investigation into ICE’s practices of abusing young kids and teens in their care. This has been going on for several years, and Congress needs to stop overlooking their practices.

I ask that you condemn the Trump Administration’s decision to pull out of the Iran Nuclear deal based on false pretenses.  According to the IAEA and the Trump Administration’s own intelligence officials, there is no evidence of a nuclear program in Iran since 2009. They are in compliance with the terms of the 2015 deal, and Trump has been unable to clarify what he means by saying Iran is in violation of the “spirit” of the deal. This decision was a dangerous, carelessly thought-out decision by the Trump Administration made on false pretenses. It will absolutely create further chaos in the Middle East, and I expect you to condemn the decision AND any further military action that may occur in the area.

I ask that you demand Scott Pruitt’s resignation. The scandals that keep coming out of the EPA are absolutely unacceptable. Not only is he repeatedly committing ethics violations, he clearly doesn’t spend enough time doing his job, verses defending his job. Of course he’s not very effective at doing his job either.

I demand that you take action on the gun control legislation stalled in the Senate, including Feinstein’s Act 21 changing the purchase age for assault weapons, and Senator Murphy’s S. 2009 /background check expansion act. The continued epidemic of mass shootings is a clear indication that action needs to be taken now! I also ask that you publicly declare that you will not support Concealed Carry Reciprocity as it is rumored that the Senate plans to take up this legislation this summer.

I object strongly to Trump’s aims to target abortion education.

Please support the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act to protect Robert Mueller, as introduced by Senators Tillis, Boons, Booker, and Graham. I fear Trump will attempt to end the investigation. The investigation has support from not only Democrats, but also prominent members of the GOP and we need to ensure that Mueller is allowed to do his work.

I want you to support Senator Markey’s Net Neutrality petition, and to also encourage House leadership to take up and support the petition. 60-80% of Americans do not support the roll back of Net Neutrality regulations, and I am one of those constituents. I expect you to take a stand for the rights of their constituents.

Please support the DACA discharge petition. An overwhelming number of Americans support a permanent solution for DACA recipients, with 9 in 10 Americans polled in January 2018 in favor of legal protections for said recipients. Now is the time to act and I support the discharge petition. I expect you to do the same.

I hope you and the House are working on the much needed Farm Bill, but be assured if it contains anything regarding work requirements for SNAP or increased production on forest lands I will not support it.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Austin