December 12, 2024
Holding firm on Hegseth, pro-immigrant days of action, rejecting gaslighting on public health, and more!
Contact all members of Congress:
By phone: (202) 224-3121
By email: Congress.gov
By US mail: Representatives / Senators
By fax: Representatives / Senators
By Resistbot: Resist.bot
Contact White House or other federal agencies:
CONTINUE TO PUT PRESSURE ON SENATE TO SINK HEGESETH NOMINATION
Fox News host Pete Hegseth’s once faltering nomination for Secretary of Defense is re-gaining traction, with even skeptics like Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) seemingly falling in line. But his history of alleged sexual harassment and rape, on-the-job drunkenness and financial mismanagement, disrespect for women and LGBTQ people in uniform, extremist ties and views and lack of experience still pose serious questions about his fitness to lead. Public pressure stopped Trump from appointing Matt Gaetz as attorney general, and we can do it again. Let’s again call our senators and tell them not to support Pete Hegseth’s nomination because our armed forces deserve better and so do we.
WEEK OF ACTION FOR IMMIGRANTS
Family separation architect and Project 2025 contributor Tom Homan is publicly laying the groundwork for what Trump’s military- and Big Tech-aided mass deportations will look like, and we’re learning that these plans will extend to raiding churches, schools and hospitals. But he’s not the only one hard at work. Immigrant advocates including the Detention Watch Network, the American Friends Service Committee, Immigrant Justice Network, Haitian Bridge Alliance and the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights are getting ready for the fights ahead, starting with organizing a week of national days of action to stand up for immigrant communities running now through December 18th. We can join in by attending one of the in-person events at symbolic locations like courthouses, ICE field offices or detention centers already planned nationwide; organizing our own; participating in a virtual event; or spreading the word on social media.
DON’T LET MATT GAETZ OFF THE HOOK
Last week, the House voted 204-198 to block the release of the Ethics Committee report on former Attorney General designee and congressman Matt Gaetz's alleged sex trafficking and statutory rape, defeating efforts to force it to be made public by Reps. Sean Casten (D-IL) and Steve Cohen (D-TN). Every Democrat there voted for the people to see the report and every Republican there except Californian Tom McClintock voted to cover for Gaetz. This cannot be the end of the road, as Gaetz may emerge as a future Trump nominee or as a candidate for governor in Florida. Let's reach out to our members of Congress and thank or condemn them for their vote to let America see who Matt Gaetz really is. And let us again urge them to take advantage of the protections of the Speech and Debate Clause and read the report into the congressional record, or leak it in its entirety to a reporter.
OPPOSE PROTECTIONS FOR PFAS POLLUTERS
Sludge fertilizer sold to farmers by a company called Synagro, owned by Goldman Sachs, can contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, commonly called forever chemicals) that can cause cancer, birth defects, and other serious ills. In this gift article, the New York Times reports on an aggressive lobbying effort by Synagro and others to pressure Congress to shield them from lawsuits. Let’s tell our members of Congress to stand up for farmers and consumers and the environment and oppose the Agriculture PFAS Liability Protection Act and all other legislation that would let sellers and manufacturers of these dangerous chemicals off the hook. Let’s also tell them to join in Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) in her ongoing bipartisan efforts to ban PFAS. (We can further take a moment to submit our comments to the EPA in favor of a tougher regulation on forever chemicals formed during the fluorination of plastic containers using this template from Earthjustice.org.
REJECT GASLIGHTING ABOUT PUBLIC HEALTH
Whether or not Trump’s current picks to lead public health like RFK Jr., Jay Bhattacharya, Dr. Oz and Marty Makary pan out, it’s likely that gaslighting about vaccines and the response to Covid will be a hallmark of the Trump administration. Let’s read this article by
which helps to explain why we need to be nuanced, evidence-based, and reasoned as we seek to save lives through public health, and let’s consider subscribing to the YLE blog (it’s free and written in simple, plain English) so we can be better informed and protect ourselves from the gaslighting and hysteria-mongering we’re going to be subjected to.
STATE-SPECIFIC ACTIONS
VT – TELL BERNIE RFK PICK IS UNACCEPTABLE
There are a lot of rumors flying around about which Trump appointees might win votes across the aisle, most of which aren’t worth our attention. But Senator Bernie Sanders unfortunately muddied the waters in an interview last week in which he suggested he had common ground with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. about the food industry and indicated he has not yet made up his mind on Kennedy’s nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services. Bernie did criticize Kennedy’s bizarre and dangerous anti-fluoride and anti-vaccine views, and it’s important he gets the message from his constituents that that’s our focus. Let’s contact Bernie and remind him that RFK Jr’s antivax advocacy has already killed kids, more than 75 Nobel laureates have flatly said he will put public health in jeopardy, and we want him to lead the charge to stop his confirmation.
Write your senator. Here is a complete letter on this topic and the links. Senators have to know they will be opposing their home state and will be voted out if they ignore their constituents. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/write-your-senator?r=3m1bs
Lots of ways to fight! Thanks