Quote of the Week:“The U.S. economy — and American workers — have been remarkably resilient. The Federal Reserve’s campaign against inflation has cooled price increases. Hiring remains robust. And growth recently accelerated. Americans are finally becoming more upbeat about the U.S. economy as gas and grocery prices stabilize and growth continues with no recession in sight. There are still people struggling, as food insecurity data and fast-growing credit card debt demonstrate. But jobs remain plentiful and unemployment has sat below 4 percent for the longest stretch in U.S. history since the Vietnam War era. Wages are now strongly outpacing inflation, especially for lower-wage workers, which is boosting spending and people’s confidence in the economy’s future.” The Washington Post, Editorial Board, Feb. 1, 2024. Legislative Actions: If you're new to Take Action Network (TAN):
Support SB5241, Keep Our Care Act, and ask your Senator to vote YES when it comes up for a floor vote. DEADLINE: Feb 13 • 5:00pm Keep Our Care Act creates public oversight ensuring hospital mergers preserve access to vital services for rural and low-income communities, people of color, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and terminally-ill patients. It will protect against price hikes for existing services. Support Protecting consumers from out-of-network health care services charges (Senate: In Committee (Ways & Means)) DEADLINE: Feb 5 • 11:00pm Prohibits balance billing for out-of-network ground ambulance services and addresses coverage of transports to treatment for emergency medical conditions Comment on HB 2250 (The Washington VOICES Act) DEADLINE: Feb 5 • 11:00pm We’re on our way to the Washington VOICES Act becoming law! Can we count on you to help us make some noise? Local Actions: Olympia Indivisible Membership Supports the Renewal of School Levy Funding Please note that February 5th is the last day to register online to vote. You may register to vote in person up to 8:00pm on February 13. On Monday, January 29, Olympia Indivisible sent an email to all of our members asking them to respond to the following question:
The results are these: of the 111 Olympia Indivisible members who responded by the deadline, 110 voted in favor of endorsement; in other words 99.0991% of responding Olympia Indivisible members voted YES. This is without a doubt a ringing endorsement for stating support. Now it’s up to us to turn out the vote! Actions:
Bonus Action: Write an LTE to The Olympian in favor of renewing funding for our schools. The more of us who write, the more likely the newspaper will be to publish our letters. Here is a sample letter that Olympia Indivisible Action Cafe chef Lisa sent in on Friday. Sample LTE Most Thurston County families believe it's important to support quality public education, for the sake of our children and as an investment in the future of our communities. A YES vote to renew and continue the school levies on the February 13th special election ballot is a vote for both our kids and our County. These levies are not a new tax, but simply replace expiring four-year levies that Thurston County voters approved in 2020. The state’s reworking of school financing a few years ago left critical funding gaps, so these levies provide a vital part of districts’ operating budgets that fund a wide range of staff and educational programs: from science, technology, engineering and math, to security and custodial services, social and mental health support, athletics and after-school activities. A YES vote on school levies supports our public schools, teachers, staff and children. Let’s keep Thurston County strong and thriving by voting YES on school levies. Note: February 5th is the last day to register online to vote. You may register to vote in person up to 8:00pm on February 13. WA State Actions:Help Protect Capitol State Forest! Photo Credit: Flickr Photographer: Brian Henderson Sources: From our friends at: Washington State Association of Counties, Conservation Northwest, Washington Conservation Action, Center for Responsible Forestry, Sierra Club Washington, Tye Menser, Thurston County Commissioner, District 3 A consortium of state county associations, forestry organizations, and environmental groups have created a proposal for a 2024 NCS proviso that would result in the Department of Natural Resources (DNR)’s purchase of 11,390 acres of the “Deep River Woods” tract in Wahkiakum County to be managed for sustainable timber harvest, increased carbon sequestration and carbon storage, wildlife habitat, and climate resilience. Approximately 8,790 acres of the total is suitable for commercial timber harvest and will serve as replacement lands for encumbered trust lands and for conservation of 655 acres of structurally complex, carbon-dense forest lands, including 425 acres in Capitol State Forest, Thurston County. Action: Signal your support of the 2024 NCS proviso by emailing Rep. Steve Tharinger, who chairs the House Capital Budget Committee, which approves money for other long-term investments, such as land acquisitions and transfers. Federal Actions:Support the Youth Voting Rights Act Every election cycle since 2018 has seen the youth vote deliver victories for Democrats across the country. But after seeing how influential young voters are, right-wing legislators have passed strict voter suppression laws to attack the youth vote and try to keep young people from flexing their power. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Nikema Williams reintroduced the Youth Voting Rights Act last year to enforce the Twenty-Sixth Amendment and expand youth access to voting. The bill would allow young people in every state to pre-register to vote before they turn 18, require an on-campus polling place at every institute of higher education, expand voter registration services at colleges and universities, guarantee that people can use their student IDs to meet states’ voter ID requirements in federal elections and prohibit restrictive residency requirements for voting in federal elections. Our Washington young people already enjoy these rights–let’s expand them nationwide. We need to get our Senators signed on as co-sponsors and ask our Congressional Representatives to do the same. Action: Copy the following script, or use your own words, and use this contact form to send a message to your members of congress asking them to sign on as co-sponsors for the Youth Voting Rights Act. You will paste the script into the appropriate place in the contact form. Script: As a constituent, I ask you to please sign-on as a co-sponsor to the Youth Voting Rights Act. As a Washingtonian, I am so proud of the work that our State Legislature has done to remove barriers from young people participating in the electoral process. However, I know that in many states, anti-democratic legislators have passed strict voter suppression laws to attack the youth vote and try to keep young people from having their voices heard. Please help build a healthier democracy across our nation by co-sponsoring the Youth Voting Rights Act. Have You Scheduled These Events?You’ve Read About Her in The Persuaders, See Her in Person National Indivisible Training Series 2024: Persuasion to Power: Know your Audience w/Loretta Ross on February 21st at 5 pm PST Everyone we speak to, whether neighbor, friend, community member or family, carries a slightly different set of values and expectations. In organizing conversations, it’s up to us to listen well and make strategic, thoughtful assessments of how to move our goals forward by taking into account the other person’s responses. Join Indivisible and veteran activist Loretta Ross (featured in The Persuaders!) for a conversation on how to assess and adjust our communication approaches based on the person we’re talking to and how closely they already align with our goals. Action: Sign up here ___________________________________________________ Action Cafe 2024, 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. Action: Register HERE. We will send you a Zoom link and tomorrow morning, Chef Lisa will send your "menu." ___________________________________________________ Save the Date: The Nature of Climate - February 22 at 1:00pm Inhale! Exhale! You Just Helped Create Our Atmosphere. Now Help Us Make a Video About It. OI member Pat Wald and artist Heather Taylor Zimmerman have developed a video on the nature of climate. They would like our help in reviewing the video and making suggestions for its improvement. Join us for a “Cookies and Conversation” at a member’s house to share your opinions. The video will be sent for you to review soon. You Might Also Like to Attend:“Let’s Talk” YWCA Sponsored Community |
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