PEG 12th Congressional District
Newsletter #126, Thursday, September 5, 2019
161 weeks down, 61 weeks to go until Election Day!
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Wednesday, September 11. WAVE: winning using Relationship Organizing
Are you bothered by the blaming and bickering going on in the country? Are you interested in changing the current political dialogue?
If you want to feel like you're changing the political landscape by doing more than just voting, volunteer for a political campaign. Working for any kind of campaign is a way for anybody to directly help create governmental change. Volunteers have integral roles in the outcome of the election by registering and mobilizing new voters. A
June 2012 Gallup survey
found that just 12 percent of Americans had volunteered for a political campaign, donated to a campaign or attended a political rally. By contrast,
nearly 60 percent of all Americans
eligible to vote turned out in 2012. Imagine what that 60 percent number could be if we all vowed to get more politically involved?
There are many you can become involved in the upcoming election!! Your work and vote can make a difference.
One way is with WAVE (We All Vote Everytime). Last month, Chuck Newman introduced the public to WAVE, “a proven technology” for getting your friends and family to vote—
with an absentee ballot
. This technology provides a chance for you to reinforce the importance and ease of voting to your friends and families and removes the difficulties and inequities of getting to the voting booth on election day.
Because of the enthusiastic response to the recent meeting where attendees were introduced to WAVE’s mission and the various easy and fun ways they can help
win the 2019 and 2020 elections, there will be another presentation on Wednesday, September 11, for those who couldn’t make or didn’t know about it. This session will focus on voter outreach via email.
Learn more
from the event page on Facebook. Touchstone Cohousing Common House,
560 Little Lake Dr, Ann Arbor
. 7:30–9 pm.
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Hayley Alderman, deputy director of Party Affairs for the Michigan Democratic Party, will describe Michigan’s delegate selection process for the 2020 Democratic National Convention. All are welcome. Washtenaw County Learning Resource Center,
4135 Washtenaw Ave, Ann Arbor.
9:30 am–noon
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Sunday, September 8. WCDP Garden Party
A fun-filled and family-oriented afternoon at the home of Pam Byrnes and Kent Brown. Food from Chelsea's 52 BBQ. There will be miniature donkeys, and a performance featuring songs from
2020: The Musical —
fun and catchy songs about the issues we all care about, including global warming, reproductive rights, corruption in politics, and gun control. More information, including tickets, are
available here
.
17381 N M52, Chelsea
.
1–4 pm
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Tuesday, September 10.
Beyond Homestead: Never Again
Join Ann Arbor Jewish community members Rebecca Epstein, Sarah Lewis, Sonya Lewis, Bob Milstein, Molly Resnik, and Elena Weissman as we describe their recent experiences as witnesses at the massive for-profit immigrant youth detention facility located in Homestead, Florida. local advocacy groups including the Washtenaw Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights (WICIR) and Bend the Arc will also participate. Contact Sonya Lewis with your questions:
sonya.a.lewis@gmail.com
. Temple Beth Emeth,
2309 Packard St, Ann Arbor.
7 pm
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Thursday, September 12. Debate Watch Party
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Thursday, September 12. A2D2 September Meeting—2020 is sooner than you think!
Let's meet to discuss what can be done now (examples: learn to use the WAVE APP, write letters to the editor, adopt a district) to help in 2020. Donna Lasinski will present her plan for flipping Michigan.
4410 Canterbury Ct, Ann Arbor.
7 pm
Saturday, September 14. League of Women Voters basics for members and prospective members
Want to know about League plans to be actively involved in the 2020 Census? Curious about how the League advocates for good government? Ever wonder how the local, state and national leagues work together? Ann Arbor Westgate Library, Room B,
2503 Jackson Ave, Ann Arbor.
11 am–noon
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Saturday, September 14. League of Women Voters basics for members and prospective members
Want to know about League plans to be actively involved in the 2020 Census? Curious about how the League advocates for good government? Ever wonder how the local, state and national leagues work together? Ann Arbor Westgate Library, Room B,
2503 Jackson Ave, Ann Arbor.
11 am–noon
Saturday, September 14. Register students at Henry Ford Community College
It's time to build voting rights power on Henry Ford Community College's campus and NextGen Michigan needs your to make it happen! Help register students to vote and get connected to their movement for building political power on campus, in the city, and across the state! You don't have to be experienced to help out. There are LOTS of roles to play and they will train you for all of them. Sign up for 1 hour (or more) today. You can get
more information and sign up here
.
Henry Ford Community College,
5101 Evergreen Rd, Dearborn.
Wednesday, September 18. Western Washtenaw Dems General Membership Mtg
Saturday, September 21. State Senator Jeff Irwin’s Coffee Hours
Sunday, September 22. Speaking and Listening from the Heart: Introduction to Nonviolent Communication
- Day-long workshop in Ann Arbor.
- Discover life-changing skills that can improve the quality of your personal and professional relationships.
- Find your authentic voice when you want to take a stand for what you believe in.
- Increase harmony, shared understanding, and creative problem-solving
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Summer Learning – take a class on climate change!
100% online, learn on your own schedule. The level is Beginner. Approximately 18 hours to complete. Suggested: 7 weeks of study, 2–4 hours per week. Learn more and/or enroll
here
.
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Things to listen to, read, and watch
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Michigan Places 28
th
in the 50-state index of “Best States to Work”
Oxfam America
is part of a global organization working to end the injustice of poverty. In 2018, Oxfam built an index of labor and employment policies in all 50 states, and has updated it for 2019. The result was a report with the “Best States to Work Index.” The index is based on three major policy areas: Wage policies, worker protection policies, and right to organize policies. Click here to read the
final report
.
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Taking LGBTQ discrimination to a new level
With an
amicus brief
filed on August 23, 2019,
The Trump Administration
is taking discrimination against gay, lesbian and bisexual employees to the Supreme Court, arguing there that employers should be able to discriminate against them. While the Court had upheld the law against discrimination based on gender, it has yet to rule on discrimination-based sexual orientation. The Trump Administration is arguing that discrimination on the basis of sex orientation would be fair as both gay men and gay women would be treated equally. This most recent action of the Trump Administration is in the context of their previous steps to undermine Obama era protections for the LGBTQ community from both federal and departmental policies.
The Justice Department’s
arguments pertain to the employment protections offered by Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
. Read full article
here
. -
Time
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Election interference prevention will stop as FEC likely to shut down
The Federal Election Commission will be effectively unable to function for quite a while after it loses a quorum of its commissioners. This will leave the enforcement of federal campaign finance laws unattended ahead of the 2020 election.
Read more here.
-
NPR.org
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Medical Deferred Action Program abruptly ended for future applicants
On August 7, the Trump administration eliminated the “medical deferred action program,” a
program
which allows non-citizens to remain in the US to continue receiving life-saving treatment. According to
CBS News
, after more than
100 members of Congress
as well as immigrant advocates, denounced the abrupt and publicly unannounced move, the administration walked back that decision such that “caseworkers will reconsider some applications as long as they were pending on August 7.” The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) indicated in the future, the relief will be available only to US Service members and their families. USCIS also said it will defer decisions about granting non-military deferred action to ICE.
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The 2020 electoral map could be the smallest in years. Here’s why.
Just
four states
are likely to determine the outcome in 2020. Each flipped to the Republicans in 2016, but President Trump won each by only a percentage point or less.
The four states are Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Florida.
Many analysts point to Wisconsin as the single state upon which the election could turn.
Of the northern states, Trump won Michigan by the fewest number of votes, just 11,000. Between 2012 and 2016, the Democratic vote badly eroded, with Clinton falling about 300,000 votes short of Obama’s total, including about 75,000 fewer in Wayne County, which is home to Detroit. –
The Washington Post
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Thanks to Newsletter contributors:
Richard Gaeth, Bernie Banet, Lisa Kamil,
Leslie McGraw, Ellen Halter, Jen Hoffman, James Morgenstern, Susie Ayer,
and Chuck Newman
for their help preparing this newsletter. Write us at
info@equalityingov.org
if you would like help create our weekly newsletter. It’s fun and no ongoing commitment is required.
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