FRIDAY LIST #3

Here is the third Friday List.  It is remarkable how it has grown.  Thank you all, those who posted a report and the many more who are doing good work but not telling the rest of us about it.  If we keep this up, we can win!

Aside from Blogging, I have been occupied with coming to Paris.  I called from Paris and got through to regional offices of both of my senators.  I laid a heavy rap on the poor schmos who answered the phones about how I was personally offended by Trump’s failure to mention the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, emphasizing that I had twenty relatives who died in Auschwitz, and said I expected the senator to speak on the floor of the Senate about that crime.  I figure if I am going to call every week for years, I need to be creative in what I complain about.  All that matters is keeping up the volume of calls.

C Rossi said...

This week:

1.Wrote (email) to Senator Toomey (PA) complaining about his support of DeVos for Secretary of Education and the odious Sen Sessions for Attorney General.
2. Wrote to Senator Casey thanking him for his opposition to De Vos and Session.
3. Wrote to Congressman Meehan (R-PA 7) complaining about his support of repeal of ACA and support of presidential nominees.
4. Wrote to Senator Casey about his opposition to Obama admin allowing UN opposition to Israel's continued expansion of settlements in West Bank and to Israel's bombing of Gaza.
5. Protested in Philadelphia offices of Senator Toomey about nomination of Supreme Court nominee Gorsuch.
6. Contributed to Philadelphia Women's March on behalf of Philadelphia Area Veterans for Peace.
7. Posted in Philadelphia Veterans for Peace Facebook page the great speech by Shakespeare (?) about the case for strangers (immigrants) from the play Sir Thomas More delivered by the great English actor Ian McKellan (we had more than 200 people access the speech on the Website (https://bookhaven.stanford.edu/2015/09/mountainish-inhumanity-thomas-more-shakespeare-and-the-refugee-crisis/). A beautiful speech about "mountainish inhumanity) beautifully given by Ian Mckellen

Tom Cathcart said...

Update: Just received a copy of a VERY strongly worded letter from Red Hook ministers to our congressional delegation, protesting the administration's treatment of refugees. WAY BEYOND my wildest expectations when I introduced the subject at the Red Hook Council of Churches.

Anonymous said...

I live in Alabama and, to my great surprise, there is lots to do locally. This week I

(1) learned about and joined a grassroots progressive lobbying organization, called Alabama Arise Citizens' Policy Project, that nudges the Alabama legislature to the left (or, rather, away from the extreme right),

(2) joined my county chapter of the Green Party of Alabama, and

(3) attended my local 'huddle,' organized under the auspices of the Women's March (https://www.womensmarch.com/100/action2/).

howie b said...

Did little but my work as a public servant at the library in Brooklyn and emailed Senator Warren with my chart of the corporate structure of America under Trump: ie Trump is Chairman, Bannon CEO, the cabinet incompetent COOs, the Congress shareholders, the government the experts who know how to do their jobs better than their so called bosses, and the American people the consumers who know they are being cheated but can't fire the Donald for four more years.
Plan on joining the ACLU as have several readers of this blog

David Palmeter said...

Done nothing active. I live in DC, so I have no senators or a representative to call. Even if we in the District did not live with “taxation without representation,” there probably would be little to gain by contacting them. DC is solidly Democratic. Hillary won here with 90% of the vote to Trump’s 4%.

My wife and daughter were planning on doing the Women’s March, and I decided to join them. But our ages intervened. My wife is trying one thing after another to avoid knee replacement surgery, and she decided she just couldn’t do it. So I was planning on going with our daughter when the two of them pointed out to me that my back wouldn’t hold up, even to hanging around on the edges. I wouldn’t be able to stay on my feet that long.

So we watched the March on TV while reading periodic text messages and pictures from our daughter.

I’ve updated my credit card info for monthly contributions to OurRevolution and the DNC. And I, for the most part, preach to the choir of family and friends on Facebook and email groups. One apparent minor triumph: The spouse of a nephew (niece in-law?) was a Trump supporter, so much so that I blocked her Facebook posts. I got sick of seeing the stuff. But apparently she continues to read my postings. When I posted an article about the Women’s March reaching Antarctica, she “liked” on Facebook. Maybe she’s beginning to rue her choice.

Tom Cathcart said...

Friday report. [I assume the reason more of us are not reporting is that our efforts seem so meager. Mine too, but let's weigh in if for no other reason than to encourage each other, as Bob says.] So:
1) Spoke up at the annual meeting of our little, small-town, conservative Lutheran church in favor of studying the refugee issue. The vote was 14-13 in favor, so I'm not expecting great things to come of it, but . . . .
2) As a result of another related action, a total stranger reached out to me on-line and asked me to have coffee with him and his wife. They were delightful, both in their late 80's, with a daughter, whom I also met who's a UU minister who had spent some time at Standing Rock and gave me a list of like-minded groups in the Poughkeepsie area. 3) At the urging of this Fred, called our town supervisor and told his voicemail how I feel about protecting the undocumented people living in our little town. 4) Gave some money to DSCC and Planned Parenthood. Okay, not exactly 1848 in Paris, but I'm heartened by I. M. Flaud's report that the sheer number of people involved is making them nervous.

DML said...

1. Went to my county's initial Our Revolution meeting. Signed up for a few committees related to passing state-level progressive laws.
2. Going to a letter writing party tonight.

Also - no reason to be sheepish about what you're doing, or to deride any of it as meager. We all have lives, this is a long slog, and we need to pace ourselves. A little bit every week is pretty good.

Christopher M. said...

Thanks for this post Professor, it is encouraging!

This past week, I did these things:

1. Emailed LL Bean, Amazon, LL Bean, and DSW to say I would not buy their products until they rescind there Trump endorsements and drop Ivanka Trump products. (I got this idea from https://grabyourwallet.org/Boycott%20These%20Companies.html)

2. Called and left a message for the Senate Committee on Homeland Security asking them to do everything in their power to remove Steve Bannon from the National Security Council. (I got this idea from https://twitter.com/AugstMcLaughlin/status/827228377845100544)

That's it so far. The Women's March organizers are encouraging people to meet with friends and neighbors this week and talk about further actions. I may go to one near me. https://www.womensmarch.com/100/action2 is the site.

Kate said...

Thanks for the great suggestions. I haven't posted my actions on the previous Fridays, so I'll stretch a point and include some older items. Here goes:
This week:
1) Mailed my Senators to thank them for their votes against DeVos.

Previously:
1) Gathered and turned in signatures to help get a recall election for our city councilor (who has been indicted for corruption). Keeping fingers crossed on this -- we've turned in enough signatures to meet the requirement plus a good cushion, but we still have to satisfy the Board of Canvasser's review of all the signatures, survive all the other delaying measures (he has already sued the organizers personally and filed every court appeal he could), and win an election (if we get that far).
2) Signed an online petition opposing the Muslim ban. Not sure if these make any difference, but it's encouraging to see the large numbers of signatures.
3) Had lunch with a new colleague who happens to be Muslim. Would have done this anyway, so maybe it doesn't count, but it seems more than usually important now.

Great to see all the different ideas here. I'm aiming to have "mailed LL Bean and Amazon" on my list next week!

Critton Childers said...

I mentioned a couple of days ago that I emailed my NC senators imploring them to vote against DeVos and return her donations. I guess I don't carry a lot of weight with these senators.

David said...

1. Called Senator Cantwell's office twice to urge her to filibuster Gorsuch's nomination.

2. Called Senator Murray's office to thank her for fighting against the DeVos nomination and thank her for committing to filibuster Gorsuch's nomination.

3. Called the Washington State Attorney General's office to thank AG Bob Ferguson and Solicitor General Noah Purcell for their work in ligating the Muslim ban.

4. I am a union rep in my building, and while I know this doesn't really count, I'm going to mention it because it makes me feel better about the week's activities. I continue to represent educators in two active grievances.

Graham said...

1. Initiated monthly contributions to Our Revolution and CAIR

2. Emailed several progressive organizations to volunteer

3. Signed a bunch of petitions

I. M. Flaud said...

Sent some more money to one of my state senators. Signed various petitions. One defensive move: I subscribed to the Jolly Roger Telephone company service, which routes telemarketers to bots that waste their time. What has this to do with the Trump administration? Trump will likely make good on his promise to trash consumer protections--a development that really chaps my ass, incidentally.) I expect a sharp rise in scam callers. I am so disgusted by this betrayal of the consumer, that I am starting to consider hoarding money in my mattress. I closed my account with a commercial bank in 2008 and joined a credit union days before Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy. Never regretted it. I wonder whether there is more I can do to encourage others to do likewise.