Quote of the Week:“Reading sparks the kind of change that is difficult to reverse. Reading changes how we understand the world and our place within it. Once read, you can see it. Once seen, you can’t unsee it.” —Emily Chamlee-Wright, President and CEO of the Institute for Humane Studies. WA State Actions:Don’t Turn Westport Light State Park into a Golf Course Background: The Westport Light State Park is investigating whether to allow a privately run Scottish links-style golf course to be developed. If you go to the state parks website for ‘Planning’ and select Westport Light, the status and current comments and studies are available. The golf course will use 500,000 gallons of water a day. It will use 18 pounds of fertilizer per 1,000 square feet. If the course encompasses 110 acres, that means that over 86,000 pounds of fertilizer will be applied annually. The park has the second largest interdunal wetlands in the state. It has an exceptionally high water table, meaning fertilizers can more easily enter the groundwater and wetlands. The aesthetics of the cherished dune trail will be forever altered. It is planned now as a trail meandering through golf links with the obvious potential for golf ball projectiles. Beware course “Green” certifications flooding the marketing strategies for golf courses. “Best Management Practices” seem nothing more than standard chemistry installation instructions. Action: Protect the park and comment today at the state parks website. Suggested Script (please personalize!): As a Washington taxpayer, I want to signal my strong objection to the Westport Light Golf Links proposal being brokered on Washington State Parks lands. This proposed deal represents a giant step backwards for land, habitat, and water conservation. The proposed golf course will use 500,000 gallons of water a day. It will use 18 pounds of fertilizer per 1,000 square feet. If the course encompasses 110 acres, that means that over 86,000 pounds of fertilizer will be applied annually. Westport Light State Park has the second largest interdunal wetlands in the state. It has an exceptionally high water table, meaning fertilizers can easily enter the groundwater and wetlands. The proposed “Best Management Practices” seem nothing more than standard chemistry installation instructions. This park is the only location without vehicular travel on the beach. Humans need beaches without vehicles and development. It has over 500,000 visitors each year. Washington State Parks can and must do better for the people of Washington state. This is a short-sighted, ill-conceived plan. I urge you to halt the Westport Light Golf Links proposal now. Sincerely, [your name, city] Help Protect our Public Schools from Moms for Liberty Florida Governor Ron DeSantis with Moms for Liberty leaders Tiffany Justice, Tina Descovich, and Marie Rogerson Photo credit: Octavio Jones/Getty Images The dark-money funded Florida-based group Moms For Liberty is setting up chapters in King, Pierce, Snohomish, Kitsap and other Washington counties. Moms For Liberty was founded in January 2021 claiming it will “organize, educate and empower parents to defend their parental rights.” This advocacy has included calls for book bans, classroom censorship and bans on teaching about slavery, race, racism and LGBTQ people and history. Moms for Liberty is working swiftly and quietly to take over school boards across the country, including here in Washington. If you want to help push back against this threat to public education and civil rights in your own back yard, join WA Stop M4L. You’ll stay up to date about what’s happening and have opportunities to help volunteers who are working to better understand and respond to the School Board director landscape across the state. Action: Join WA Stop Mom's for Liberty Federal Actions:Thank Patty Murray for Birth Control Coverage Background With growing abortion restrictions, Democrats push for over-the-counter birth control Patty Murray re-introduced legislation on Thursday that would require insurance companies to cover over-the-counter birth control pills as soon as they become available without a prescription, as recently recommended unanimously by a Food and Drug Administration panel. More than 100 countries already allow oral contraceptives to be dispensed this way. Action: Contact Senator Murray
Script: Thank you for re-introducing legislation that would require insurance companies to cover over-the-counter birth control pills. This will be a big help for the cost of reproductive healthcare. [NAME] from [CITY] Support the Medicare for All Act On May 17, 2023, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Rep. Debbie Dingell, and Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced the Medicare for All Act (H.R. 3421) in the U.S. House. The bill aims to establish a Medicare-for-all national health insurance program that would expand the existing Medicare program to everyone in the United States and allow them to obtain primary, vision, dental, reproductive, and mental healthcare; prescription drugs; substance abuse treatment; and more. Action: Contact our Members of Congress to support Medicare for All. Option A: Take this action with one click in Take Action Network (TAN) Support Medicare for All Act (H.R.3421) and (S.1655) Option B: Contact WA MOCs
Script: Please co-sponsor the Medicare for All Act H.R. 3421/S.1655. The U.S. medical care for profit system is a failure. We need to join other countries in providing a national healthcare system. [NAME] from [CITY] Save Mature and Old-Growth Forests Background Let Trees Grow, Protect the Climate In response to the President’s Executive Order, to conserve mature and old growth forests as a climate solution, both USDA and DOI have taken strides towards permanent protections of federal mature and old-growth forests, and now it’s up to us to ensure the trees most critical in the fight against climate change receive the lasting protections. Please take this action to send your comment. Public comment deadline is June 20th, 2023. Action: Click on the Climate Forest Coalition Action, then click on the ‘Add My Name’ button. In the square provided to add your own comments you might add "Federal forest protection also helps us meet our climate goals of the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan here at the local level". Have You Scheduled These Events?June 3: Drinks and Democracy This Saturday (June 3), Chef Lisa invites OIympia Indivisible members to her cozy back patio in SE Olympia for a Drinks and Democracy Happy Hour! From 5:30 to 6:30pm, come enjoy a signature house drink on a democratic theme. Non-alcoholic beverages will be on hand as well. Come raise a glass of cheer, catch up with your fellow Indivisiblers, unwind, and build our fellowship! Please note that you must be vaccinated and boosted for COVID in order to attend. Chef Lisa intends for these events to spread good cheer, not germs! For details and address, RSVP at drinksanddemocracy.rsvp@gmail.com Action: Mark your calendar, save the date and RSVP address, and RSVP/show up any Saturday you’d like to come! Action Cafe 2023, |
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