Weekly Call To Action - December 3, 2023

​Quote of the Week:

“Moms for Liberty, which campaigns aggressively against education on issues of gender, race, and sexuality in schools, postures itself as deeply moralistic and presents its leadership as embodiments of traditional, Christian family values. The notion that one of its founders is involved in a menage a trois — and that her husband may have assaulted their mutual partner — stands antithetical to the public face the organization attempts to present.” –Nikki McCann Ramirez, Rolling Stone, Nov. 30, 2023

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Legislative Actions:

Stop Police Civil Rights Abuses in Washington State

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Alex Smith

Source: From our friends at ACLU Washington 

Too many police departments, sheriffs' offices, and jails show troubling patterns of misconduct, from routinely using excessive force; making unreasonable stops, searches, or arrests; or discriminating based on race, immigration status, religion, disability, or sex.
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Right now, there are very few ways to investigate or change these ingrained problems. HB 1445, the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Investigations and Reform bill, addresses widespread and systemic misconduct by clarifying and expanding the Attorney General's ability to investigate and bring a lawsuit if needed. It is designed to prevent future harm by requiring changes to policies and practices.
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Action: Sign the ACLU petition in support of HB 1445 and tell lawmakers that we need to fix systemic issues and empower the AG to bring police departments into compliance with the Washington constitution and state law.

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Local Actions:

Learn About the Inflation Reduction Act

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons, nattanan

From our friends at Thurston Climate Action Team

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 contains the largest effort of any nation to date to address climate issues that threaten the lives and livelihood of our offspring. Yet, national polls show that most Americans don’t know what is in this IRA. Incentives for electric vehicles (EV), solar and wind power production, and home energy efficiency upgrades are just a few examples of the many cost-saving opportunities for greatly reducing our carbon footprints in the IRA, opportunities for individuals as well as the commercial sector.

This ten-year IRA plan is ambitious, but by itself will fall short of achieving the national goal of net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. Some of that gap is being picked up by state and county plans, such as the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan (TCMP). Additional actions and extensions will be necessary, and challenges to full IRA implementation must be overcome to keep our average global temperatures from rising more than 2.0 C. Our grandkids depend upon our success.

Come learn about the exciting cost savings and tax credits in the IRA and review the reasons for (and status of) the global and national GHG emission goals.

Presenter: Wayne Olsen is a retired Navy Captain, with most of his 30 years as an operational meteorologist and oceanographer. He holds a B.S. from the U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis) and an M.S. from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (UCSD). After Navy retirement, he taught these subjects, including climate change, for a number of years at Pierce College. He is an active volunteer with the Climate Reality Project Thurston Chapter, the Thurston Climate Action Team (TCAT), and the Panorama Green Team, giving presentations on climate, carbon emissions, electric vehicles, and the environment. 

Action: Join TCAT via Zoom, December 7, 2023, 7:00 p.m.

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Thurston Climate Action Team is Hiring for a Fundraising Plan

Thurston Climate Action Team (TCAT), a non-profit organization leading work in reducing climate disruption in Thurston County, is seeking contracted assistance to develop a fundraising plan. The deadline for applications is December 10, 2023. Here is a link to the Request for Proposal for this project.

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​Federal Actions: 

Oppose Warrantless 
Government Surveillance of Americans

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons. Image by EFF

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is an extremely controversial warrantless surveillance authority set to expire at the end of the year, but it will continue to operate as it does currently until April.

Reporting indicates certain Congressional leaders are pushing not only to briefly extend this spying power to provide more time for Congress to debate how it should be reformed, but are further considering reauthorizing legislation, likely for a longer period, from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). Not only was this legislation not included in either NDAA passed by the House or Senate, it has yet to even be introduced or its legislative text published.

Public outlines of the HPSCI legislation reveal, however, that it would in fact serve to expand surveillance of people in the United States in several alarming ways, from targeting immigrants to reviving provisions of the PATRIOT Act that expired years ago. It would also fail to address alarming threats to civil rights, like the government’s purchase of massive amounts of data about American communities without court orders, while depriving members of Congress the opportunity to meaningfully address these threats.

Action: Urge our US Senators and Congressional Representatives to oppose reauthorization of the Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Script: I’m a constituent contacting you from [ZIP] to join a coalition of 92 social justice organizations in opposing civil rights violations by flaws in Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Section 702 is due to expire on December 31. Please oppose its reauthorization as part of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act or any other “must-pass” spending bill. Thank you.

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Ask Our Senators to Reject Anti-immigrant Proposals

Photo credit: Flickr, Jeanne Menjoulet

In exchange for supporting the funding for Ukraine aid that President Biden is asking Congress to approve, the GOP is demanding that Senate Democrats make anti-immigrant changes to take away the right to seek asylum, make it harder to seek protection, and otherwise reduce legal immigration in numerous ways that could even undermine the goal of securing the border.

Action: Tell our Senators that the right to seek asylum is non-negotiable.

Script: I am a constituent from [your city, zipcode]. I know that a bipartisan group of Senators are negotiating a deal to pass funding for Ukraine in exchange for extreme, permanent changes to U.S. immigration and asylum law. I agree that we need immigration reform, but I urge the Senator to reject any proposal that would take away the right to seek asylum or make it harder to seek protection. It is unacceptable to agree to anti-immigrant proposals that counter our values as a country and our legal commitments to refugees and asylum seekers. Please protect the right to seek asylum. Thank you.

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Have You Scheduled This Event?

Action Cafe 2023, Every Monday at Noon

OI members meet, make new friends, and take actions together. Every Cafe comes with a side order of live music and a heapin’ helpin’ of good cheer!

Cafe patrons receive an email on Sunday with a sneak-peek at what we'll do at the cafe the next day. On Monday morning, Chef Lisa will send you a pdf "Menu" which has links to the actions we'll take together at the Cafe. 
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Action: Register HERE. We will send you a Zoom link and tomorrow morning, Chef Lisa will send your "menu." 

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You Might Also Like to Attend:

Dr. Thelma Jackson Book Signing Event

Learn About the History of Black Life in Olympia.
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Attend the event, meet the author Dr. Thelma Jackson, and become more aware of Olympia's past. Come to United Churches of Olympia on Saturday, December 9th, 2:00-4:00pm. Tell your friends and neighbors.

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Food for Thought:

Civility in Politics

Photo Credit: David Shankbone , CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

“People are hard to hate up close. Move in.” - Michelle Obama

Lt. Governor Denny Heck’s office has released Common Ground for the Common Good – a report laying bare the troubled state of Washington’s body politic.

This report served as the basis of the conversation at the Project for Civic Health Summit on October 19 – a group effort by Heck’s office, the University of Washington's Evans School, the William D. Ruckelshaus Center, and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation. Over 200 elected officials, community, and business leaders had come together to discuss the problems addressed in the report and work on policy ideas to strengthen Washington’s civic health.

Action: Read the Project for Civic Health Summit Proceedings to discover the work being done to define the problem and identify possible solutions to the growing crisis of division and incivility.