December 18, 2024

Resisting book bans, supporting Starbucks workers, getting reliable news in our communities, 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:

• usa.gov/federal-agencies

• TAMMY BALDWIN’S FIGHT TO PROTECT TRANS KIDS’ HEALTH CARE

  A final Senate vote on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) could come as soon as today, sending the bill to the President’s desk – still including a provision that would prohibit Tricare, the U.S. military’s health care program, from covering some gender-affirming care for trans kids. This would force those in uniform to choose between their children and their careers, and would be the first time such a restriction on health care for trans people will have been successfully written into federal law. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI and the sole LGTQ senator in the next Congress) has introduced an amendment to strip this ban from the bill, along with 20 fellow Democrats as co-sponsors (list). Let’s reach out to our senators and ask them to back the Baldwin Amendment. We can use language from Advocates for Trans Equality here.

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• IF YOU OPPOSE POLIO, OPPOSE RFK JR
  Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are now trying to downplay the Health and Human Services Secretary nominee's opposition to the polio vaccine. They are lying. Kennedy has a long and dangerous history of attacking vaccines in general and the polio vaccine in particular, suggesting that it cost more lives than it saved and did not lead to a reduction of polio cases, both of which are flagrantly untrue. Further, a lawyer who is advising Kennedy about how to staff the department petitioned the FDA to revoke federal approval of the polio vaccine in 2022, leading former GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell to call out RFK and his team for their dangerous efforts to undermine public confidence in proven vaccines. Kennedy's anti-vaccine record, along with his belief in conspiracy theories and attacks on the FDA, the NIH and the CDC, have led 77 Nobel laureates to make an unprecedented joint ask to the Senate to reject him, arguing he would “put the public’s health in jeopardy and undermine America’s global leadership in the health sciences.” Let’s tell our Senators to take McConnell’s, the Nobel winners and our concerns seriously, perhaps by recounting a story of someone we know whose life was affected by a disease that has been mitigated through vaccinations, and urge them not to confirm Kennedy to be Secretary of HHS.

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• LEARN TO FIGHT LOCAL BOOK BANS WITH RED, WINE AND BLUE
  If we’ve had enough of extremists causing chaos at school board meetings and are ready to fight back against book bans and harmful policies affecting our schools and students, Red, Wine and Blue has a virtual training just for us. On December 19, 2024 from 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM Eastern, we can join them to learn how to build strong local support in our communities and the best strategies for making a difference. We are part of the majority—let’s raise our voices and make them heard. We can sign up here for “Red, Wine and Blue’s “How to Fight Book Bans & Stand Up for Public Education” tomorrow night.

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• POTENTIAL STRIKE AT STARBUCKS?

  Starbucks Workers United, which now represents 10,000 Starbucks partners at 525 stores nationwide, has authorized a potential strike. Yesterday saw the final round of bargaining of the year between the corporation and the union, and SBWU says they have yet to bring a comprehensive economic package to the table and hundreds of legal disputes over unfair labor practices remain unsettled. Organizers have scheduled an emergency call for TOMORROW, December 19th at 8:30 PM Eastern to update members, activists, and supporters on these developments and what we might do to show solidarity. Let’s sign up for the call here, and make sure we’re getting updates from the union by taking the No Contract, No Coffee pledge here.

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• SUPPORT LOCAL NEWS

  Since 2005, more than 3,300 newspapers have closed, and the number of news deserts keep growing. As the Associated Press reported last year, “studies have shown that the decline in local news has increased political polarization, led to more political corruption and let outlets that spread misinformation fill the void.” Local news is crucial for democracy, and even moreso at a moment when national news outlets are failing us. We can do our part to strengthen our ailing democracy by supporting our local news outlets. Let’s use this directory to find local news sources near us, and let’s subscribe and donate if we can.

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STATE-SPECIFIC ACTIONS

• IA – RESISTING TRUMP’S SUITS TO SILENCE JOURNALISTS

  Trump is continuing his efforts to silence journalists who do not portray him in the best possible light at all times by filing suit against the Des Moines Register and retired pollster Ann Selzer for running a poll in early November that showed him trailing Harris in Iowa. This meritless lawsuit would have more obstacles against it in other states – Iowa is one of 16 that do not have a law in place protecting against strategic lawsuits against public participation, also called SLAPP suits. Anti-SLAPP laws discourage the filing of these suits by allowing defendants to secure quick dismissals, permitting defendants who win anti-SLAPP motions to recover attorney’s fees and costs, and other mechanisms. Let’s reach out to our state legislators and Governor Reynolds and tell them that clearly, Iowa needs an anti-SLAPP law to safeguard the freedom of the press. We can also share with our networks this op-ed in the Iowa Capital Dispatch making the case for why we need this protection - and not just because of Trump.

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