Happy Tuesday, Dear Activists,
It’s been a hard week already and it’s only Tuesday. We all have a lot to process about the Afghanistan collapse and also the devastating earthquake in Haiti. It is clear there will be a significant need to evacuate and resettle as many Afghans fleeing the Taliban as possible.
Indivisible isn't a foreign policy organization, but they offer some ideas. Experts from organizations focused on resettlement and Middle East issues are our best guides on specific calls to action: Win Without War offers strong progressive foreign policy messaging and analysis about the next steps for Afghanistan. The Women's Refugee Commission is doing important work to support evacuating targeted Afghans, and IRAP, HIAS and LIRS (among many other worthy orgs) support people once they're evacuated. And you can always look for the helpers – the people and organizations in our community who support refugees from any and all conflicts.
As for the For the People Act, it’s still alive but there’s work to do. Last week we described, in condensed form, Indivisible’s take on where we are. You can read Ezra’s full memo in his Medium post.
Here are your Calls To Action:
1. If you know someone who lives in Delaware, ask them to call Senators Coons and Carper at 1-877-684-7760 and tell the senator they’ve heard that he is wavering and it's time to pick a side – Democracy or the filibuster. Remind them we are paying attention.
2. If you know someone who lives in West Virginia or Arizona, ask them to call Senator Manchin or Sinema and tell them they insist the senator stop defending the Jim Crow Filibuster and pass S. 1. Don’t them off the hook with a wishy-washy answer. They can click here to call Manchin or here to call Sinema.
3. For us in Pennsylvania, we need to call Senator Casey, and ask him to turn up the heat on Coons, Carper, Manchin, and Sinema. Tell him you’re proud that he’s taking a stand against the filibuster and for our democracy, and ask him to pressure his colleagues to do the same. Phila office 215-405-9660; D.C. 202-224-6324; email link
4. And for Toomey -- Call him anyway and tell him to vote "Yes" on the For the People Act. Phila office 215-241-1090; D.C. 202-224-4254; email link
5. And ask your friends to call Casey with the message above.
Infrastructure Bills – The Wrangling
Congressional leaders are trying to move as much of the Biden agenda as possible through this process (reminder: this does not work for a lot of very crucial legislation, which is why we need to keep the heat on Senator Casey to reform the filibuster to pass S.1).
Here's what we need to know: the Budget Resolution is basically the blueprint for the reconciliation process. Getting your priorities in doesn’t mean that they’re all going to make it into the final bill and become law – but it’s a very important start.
Right now nine Democrats in the House say they will refuse to vote on the budget resolution (Part II of Infrastructure) because they say the watered-down, inadequate bipartisan infrastructure package (Part I) should be prioritized. Fortunately, our PA Representatives are not among the nine. So we need to call our Representatives and tell them to pass the Budget Resolution and an inclusive reconciliation bill before voting on the bipartisan infrastructure package, so Part II doesn’t get watered down.
Rep. Evans – D.C. office 202-225-4001; Phila office 215-276-0340; email link
Rep. Boyle – D.C. office 202-225-6111; Phila office 215-335-3355; email link
August 28 March On Washington for Voting Rights
On the 58th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, democracy advocates across the country are joining the historic March On for Voting Rights.
On Saturday, August 28, the March On for Voting Rights will take place in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Miami, Phoenix, Houston, and across the country as we protect voting rights and demand that Congress act by passing federal voting rights legislation.
So far there is no march planned for Philadelphia, but we are told there will be one in Delaware and we’ll keep you posted.
These are the details we know at the moment – Gathering time is 8:00 am at McPherson Square in D.C. Marching starts at 9:45 am from McPherson Square.
You can ride on the organized bus (not organized by Indivisible Philadelphia) –
Bus is leaving Progress Plaza – 1501 North Broad Street
Departure time 6:00 am
Return time 6:00 pm
Cost of the bus ride – $45.00 per person
For additional information contact: (215) 769-1513
Click this link for other transportation options and a map of the march.
VOTER REGISTRATION!
Many of you have asked, and now we have them – Voter Registration drives! You can take your pick. Registering voters is critically important to turning out the vote, so let’s get it done! For the farmers markets below we are doing in partnership with the Food Trust, which operates farmers markets around the city. The exception is the Germantown Farmers Market, which is now operated by Philly Forest. Sign up for a two-hour shift.
Thursday, August 26, 4:00 to 6:00 pm
Philly AIDS Thrift –
Saturday, September 4, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm
Saturday, September 11, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Saturday, September 18, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Saturday, September 25, Noon to 4:00 pm
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
You make a big difference in sending messages to our elected officials by writing letters to the editors. Our elected officials scour letters to the editor to see what’s out there in a public forum that shows what’s on their constituents' minds. So getting a letter published makes a difference. We can help with getting you started! We can provide you shell draft letters that you then revise and make it your own and send in. We even give you the outlets where you can apply for publication. It’s easy – just email us at this link and we can go from there. Email megberlin271@gmail.com to get all the info you’ll need.
35 DOORS PROJECT
Join this project to be a Neighborhood Leader interacting with voters at 35 addresses in your neighborhood. It involves going to doors a few times per year and using the information we’ll provide about upcoming elections. You’ll be ready to be the local election expert after our training session and the information and handouts we’ll provide. We’ll also provide the addresses in coordination with the Neighborhood Leader’s input, plus door hangers, election information – everything you’ll need!
If you want more info or to sign up email us at this link!
POSTCARDS!
We are writing postcards to persuade infrequent voters to get out and vote next year to secure Democratic victories for the open U.S. Senate seat and the open PA Governor’s seat. Sound like a good idea?
Plus, this week – Cards & Cocktails!
When: TOMORROW, August 18, 6:00-8:00 pm
Where: On Zoom
Here’s how it works –
We recommend you order enough cards to write over the next two months.
The packet you receive will include the postcards and the list of addresses. We’ll email you all the instructions and the script. Please order your postcards in multiples of 50.
We ask that you donate $7.00 per set of 50 postcards to cover our costs. We understand that in these times some of you may not be able to incur this cost in addition to buying the postcard stamps, BUT we want you to participate anyway. So please don’t let the donation stop you from ordering the postcard packets.
On the other hand, if you can, please consider chipping in a little extra to cover the cost for those who cannot.
Here’s how to sign up –
1. Email us at this link to tell us how many postcards you want.
2. Purchase your 36-cent postcard stamps online at this link or at your local post office.
3. Donate $7.00 per set of 50 postcards at this link.
Here’s how to receive your postcards –
* If you are in the Philadelphia area, we will deliver the postcard packets to you or you can pick them up. If you haven’t written postcards with us before, please give us your address.
* If you are outside the Philadelphia area, we can ship the packet to you. Please add $5.00 to your donation for shipping costs.
Filibuster Fridays
And don't forget -- if you're on Twitter you can push to end the filibuster. Join our #FilibusterFriday team. Every Friday our Indivisible Philadelphia Twitter account (@IndivisiblePHL), along with a whole lot of other Indivisible groups, tweets out our #FilibusterFriday tweets to end the filibuster. You can follow us on Twitter and simply retweet our #FilibusterFriday tweets and spread the word to your networks. Follow us – @IndivisiblePHL. They’ll be tweeted out this Friday and every Friday for the foreseeable future. Awesome!
Hang in there and please stay safe. It's a tough week but we're in this together.