MPEN e-Newsletter No. 2018-0104

From: Munsup @MPEN Seoh
Subject: FW: Small Enough to Jail; NYT Today’s Headlines; My Insane Year Inside Trump’s White House; I just signed these – will you? and more


  • FW: Fusion GPS, Christopher Steele and the “dossier” got you a little confused?
  • FW: Gerrymandering, turbo-charged.   Petition
  • FW: Small Enough to Jail – an injustice against Asian Americans
  • FW: NYT Today’s Headlines
  • FW: Trump just ended protections for 200,000 Salvadorans
  • FW: Help immigrant families who fled violence and disaster!
  • FW: We aren’t done fighting
  • FW: Yesterday, I was told to leave the United States.
  • FW: The Increasing Unfitness of Donald Trump
  • FW: Ghost of the Deepwater Returns; Companies … are now laying off …; Why Michael Wolff’s Book Is Good News
  • FW: Michael Wolff: My Insane Year Inside Trump’s White House
  • FW: AFSC among human rights orgs barred from Israel
  • FW: [JVP] commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Nakba
  • FW: Reply from Senator Sherrod Brown about our nation’s tax code
  • FW: I just signed these – will you?

From: Eric Kramer
Subject: Fusion GPS, Christopher Steele and the “dossier” got you a little confused?

Here’s a little help from an actor/friend, back in Chicago.   Thank you, Kevin Theis.   –  E

———————————————————
So…Fusion GPS, Christopher Steele and the “dossier” got you a little confused? Here’s a brief summary:

Back when Donald Trump first announced his candidacy for President, a conservative website, The Washington Free Beacon (financed largely by Paul Singer, a top Republican donor who had opposed Mr. Trump), hired a company called Fusion GPS to look into Trump and his business dealings and provide “opposition research.”

Remember that. That little nugget is of paramount importance. This whole thing began with a CONSERVATIVE investigating Trump.

Then, after Trump became the Republican nominee, Singer and the Beacon backed away from the investigation…and the Democrats took over instead. The law firm Perkins Coie, on behalf of the Democratic National Committee, hired Fusion GPS to continue the work they had begun for the Beacon.

Then, in June of last year, the DNC was hacked and the whole investigation took on more urgency. Emails stolen from the DNC began to appear online and it became apparent that the Russian government was behind the hack.

At that time, the head of Fusion GPS, Glenn Simpson, reached out to a former British spy named Christopher Steele, whose specialty was Russian intel. Steele began coordinating with contacts he had within Russia to investigate Russia’s involvement in the DNC hack, and…things started to get bizarre.

Steele started to learn of odd contacts between Trump and Russia. Multiple contacts between Trump campaign officials and contacts in the Russian government. And one very memorable (and as yet unsubstantiated) story about Russian prostitutes defiling a bed in a hotel room where the Obamas had stayed.

In time it began to look as if the Russian government had enough dirt on Trump to actually blackmail him. They appeared to have the ability to make demands of one of the candidates for President of the United States (and, should he win, the leader of the free world).

So what did Steele and Fusion do with this information? Did they simply share it with the DNC and leak it to the press?

Nope. They went to the FBI. They compiled the memos that Steele had been producing (which later came to be known as “the dossier”) and informed the Federal Bureau of Investigation that one of the Presidential candidates could potentially be blackmailed by Vladimir Putin.

What’s more, the information that Steele had compiled in the dossier appeared to match some information that the FBI had already dug up in their own investigation of Russian meddling in the election.

Remember that, too: The dossier did NOT begin the FBI investigation. It simply confirmed what the FBI had already learned.

And, eventually, the dossier leaked out. The press caught wind of it. And Buzzfeed went whole-hog and published the entire dossier itself in January, revealing all of Steele’s investigations to the wider world.

Final note: Nothing – NOTHING – in the dossier has been proven false. The only things that are in the dossier that have been fully investigated and about which we know the truth…have shown Steele’s work to be accurate.

So DO NOT let anyone tell you that Hillary Clinton invented the dossier (which is full of lies) and illegally leaked it to smear Trump and that Fusion GPS or Steele or anyone else is criminally liable or any of that nonsense.

None of that is true. What’s true:

Is that Trump is knee-deep in one of the biggest scandals in American political history.

Please: Send all doubters and haters my way, if you would. Thanks.

 


From: Andrew J. Tierman
Subject: FW: Gerrymandering, turbo-charged. Petition

Trump Administration is trying to skew the 2020 census by asking about citizenship.  See attached from Common Cause.   – Andrew
—————————————————
Andrew,

We need your help to stop the Trump Administration from rigging the 2020 Census.

Jeff Sessions’ Department of Justice wants to add an unnecessary and politically motivated question on citizenship status to the upcoming Census.

The Census is required to count every person who lives here, whether or not they’re a citizen. But the Trump Administration’s anti-immigrant rhetoric carries a real risk that people might refuse to participate in the Census for fear of targeting or retaliation — skewing the final count.

The 2020 Census will shape our nation’s democracy, public policy and economy for a decade. We simply can’t afford to get it wrong — or let this partisan stunt distort its outcome.

We must speak out now and urge Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to REFUSE this request — sign our petition today!   TAKE ACTION

The Trump administration has already dramatically underfunded the upcoming Census, and is trying to put a professor who provided “expert testimony” to defend North Carolina’s racial gerrymandering in charge of it. Now, they’re stepping up their efforts with a formal request to add a question on citizenship status in 2020.

The Census is supposed to count everyone who lives in the United States regardless of citizenship status. This unnecessary question could discourage people from completing the survey and skew the final count, leaving communities who have been historically underrepresented with even less access to resources and representation — like racial gerrymandering already does, but turbo-charged.

We already know that people of color, particularly Black and Latino communities in both urban and rural areas, are at an especially high risk of being undercounted by the Census. Adding a question on citizenship will only further discourage people from participating — which means less representation and resources for those communities.

That’s why we must speak out NOW to prevent this deliberate attempt to rig the Census to undercount communities of color. We need an accurate and fair Census that counts everyone who lives here — not this partisan political attempt to twist the results.

Please sign our petition to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross today, and tell him to reject any Census question on citizenship or immigration status.

TAKE ACTION

 


From: S. B. Woo; President and a volunteer for the past 18 years, 80-20 Educational Foundation, Inc,
Subject: Small Enough to Jail – an injustice against Asian-Americans

Small Enough to JailAn Outrageous Injustice Against An Asian-American Bank
(If you own a business, view the documentary & worry!)

Abacus Bank, a small bank operated by the Sung family in NYC, was the only U.S. bank to be charged after the Great Recession of 2008.
The bank ultimately prevailed, but it took all they had to fight against the unfair accusations.

The story was recorded in a documentary by Steve James, Abacus: Small Enough to JailIt was Broadcast on PBS Frontline in 2017. The prosecutor spent 5 years and reportedly $10 million on prosecuting the bank for larceny. In the end, the bank and all its employees were found not guilty on all 80 charges. Deservedly, the documentary is now shortlisted for an Oscar.

Click here to watch it. I was enraged by the injustice but inspired by how one of the daughters, who was a lawyer, quit her job to help her father in his hour of need. It was such a touching illustration of our Asian-American family values. I was also elated to learn that, at the end, the good guys won.

This documentary deserves an Oscar to show that justice still prevails in the U.S., at least in this case. The Oscar will greatly publicize worldwide the immense injustice caused by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr.

The Misdeeds of Cyrus R. Vance, Jr.

  1. No sense of justice: He accommodates the strong and takes campaign money from their attorneys:

    Excerpts from  Cyrus Vance Jr. – Wikipedia “Vance also drew controversy for deciding not to press criminal charges against public figures accused of crimes, including Harvey Weinstein, Ivanka Trump, and Donald Trump Jr., after which he received campaign contributions from their attorneys.”
  2. Adding insult to injury to a weak minority:
    Another excerpt  from Cyrus Vance Jr. – Wikipedia:  “In an effort at grandstanding, Vance’s office orchestrated a show by parading ex-employees of the bank in a chain, handcuffed to each other, in front of reporters. Nevertheless, Cyrus Vance stated in an interview that the decision to exhibit the non-violent ex-employees was due to “security issues.” Click here to watch the documentary. How humiliating! Vance was humiliating powerless citizens to advance his political career.  How cruel!

Please forward to your friends in NYC so that his constituents will know about his misdeeds. He was a good D.A. back in 2010, when first elected. However, power corrupts, he seemingly has become callous and careless. Will the people of Manhattan County still want him, if and when “Small Enough to Jail” wins an Oscar?  This could exemplify the immense power for good of arts.

DONATE
http://www.80-20educationalfoundation.org/index.php

 


From:  New York Times
Subject: NYT Today’s Headlines:
(1) Trump Sidesteps Question on Mueller Interview
(2) Trump Appears to Endorse Path to Citizenship for Millions of Immigrants
(3) Kushner’s Financial Ties to Israel Deepen Even With Mideast Diplomatic Role
(4) Trump, Defending His Mental Fitness, Says He’s a ‘Very Stable Genius’

Trump Sidesteps Question on Mueller Interview
By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS and NICHOLAS FANDOS

The response was a marked change from June, when President Trump said he would be “100 percent” willing to give a sworn statement to the special counsel.

Trump Appears to Endorse Path to Citizenship for Millions of Immigrants
By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS and SHERYL GAY STOLBERG

President Trump said he would be willing to “take the heat” politically for a sweeping immigration deal, which could alienate some of his supporters.

Kushner’s Financial Ties to Israel Deepen Even With Mideast Diplomatic Role
By JESSE DRUCKER

An Israeli insurance company’s previously undisclosed $30 million investment in Jared Kushner’s family company could fuel the perception of conflicts of interest.

Trump, Defending His Mental Fitness, Says He’s a ‘Very Stable Genius’
By PETER BAKER and MAGGIE HABERMAN

Mr. Trump, seeming to respond to revelations in a new book, issued an extraordinary defense of his fitness for office.

 


From: Kathryn Johnson; Policy Impact Coordinator, AFSC
Subject: Trump just ended protections for 200,000 Salvadorans

Tell Congress: Save TPS Holders!

Yesterday, the Trump administration announced that it is terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for El Salvador—another cruel attack on immigrants in the U.S. that will tear apart our families and hurt our communities. The decision rips legal status from almost 200,000 people.

Congress must act now to protect TPS holders from deportation. TPS holders from El Salvador have been in the U.S. since the TPS was granted to the country after two devastating earthquakes in 2001.

AFSC and our allies are calling on Congress to enact a permanent solution that provides lawful permanent residency and a roadmap to citizenship for the more than 300,000 TPS recipients and millions of other immigrants in the U.S.

Join us by calling Congress today to demand a solution.

Tens of thousands of Salvadoran TPS holders live in and around my city of Washington, D.C. And I know the devastating impact that this decision will have on us here, as well as cities and towns across the U.S. For years I’ve watched my neighbors worry every 18 months about whether their status will be extended and whether they’ll be forced to return to a country that they haven’t seen in over 16 years.

TPS is designed to protect people from being returned to harm. But I’ve heard from our staff in El Salvador how ill-prepared the country is to reabsorb hundreds of thousands of people and how not extending TPS places countless people at risk of deportation back to life-threatening situations. In addition to acute shortages of food, water, and housing, gang violence has reached unprecedented levels—El Salvador still suffers from the highest murder rate in the world.

The decision also separates families—including approximately 192,000 U.S. citizen children who have a Salvadoran TPS-holder parent, devastates our economy, and will hurt regional security.

Congress failed to act last year when the Trump Administration terminated TPS for Sudan, Nicaragua, and Haiti, potentially tearing 60,000 people from our communities. Help us call on them now to provide a permanent solution for all TPS holders.

Call your representative today to tell them to stand up for human rights and save TPS.

 


From: Munsup @SISCOM Seoh
Subject: Help immigrant families who fled violence and disaster!

I signed a petition to The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate which says:

“The Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program allowed me to stay in the United States to seek safety from violence from in El Salvador where I was born. As a working mother of four children who were born in the United States, I am calling on Congress to find a permanent bipartisan solution to protecting the 320,000 immigrants with TPS. Please sign my petition to ensure families like mine are not ripped apart and sent back to nations devastated by disasters and genocide.”

Will you sign this petition? Click here: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/save-tps-dont-let-congress?source=s.em.mt&r_by=4513377

 


From: Nancy Treviño, Reform Immigration FOR America
Subject: We aren’t done fighting

Members of Congress are back in Washington and so are we. In December, Democratic and Republican lawmakers alike failed to do their job and protect undocumented youth before leaving for holiday recess. Now Congress has until January 19 to ensure that the DREAM Act is included in a new bill to fund the government.

Over the next 9 days, immigrant youth and allies are meeting with members of Congress to tell them that the DREAM Act must be included in ANY spending package and they need you to add your voice.

Join us TODAY for a National Call-In Day to tell Members of Congress that Americans want an immediate, permanent solution to ensure young immigrants live their lives without constant fear of arrest, detention, and deportation.

There is only one thing you need to do: Call 1-888-778-6856, and when you’re connected to your representative’s office, say:

Hi, I’m [your name] from [your city], and I want my representative to pass a DREAM Act that keeps immigrant youth together with their families and does not include money for more interior enforcement, detention beds, the border wall, or cuts to legal immigration channels.

With each passing day, 122 immigrant youth lose their DACA status and become vulnerable to deportation. We must continue our fight to keep immigrant youth together with their families and in their communities!

Call your representative at 1-888-778-6856, and tell them to pass the DREAM Act now.

Stand with the thousands of people who have been fighting to demand a solution for young immigrants. Together, we will let Congress know that we are not backing down until our community is safe and can live the lives they have created away from the shadows.

P.S. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to catch the latest on the DREAM Act fight, and text JUSTICE to 69866 to keep updated by text message with opportunities to take action.

 


From: Gabriela P.
Subject: Yesterday, I was told to leave the United States.

Yesterday, I was told to leave the United States. The Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program has allowed me to stay in the United States to seek safety from violence in El Salvador where I was born, but the Trump administration announced it will not renew protections for nearly 200,000 Salvadorans, including me.1

As a working mother of four children who were born in the United States, I may be forced to rip my family apart and return to a nation devastated by a horrific and violent civil war. And I’m not alone.

That’s why next week I’ll be delivering this petition to Congress along with MomsRising and other organizations, calling on senators and representatives to find a permanent bipartisan solution in order to protect the hundreds of thousands of immigrants with Temporary Protected Status. Will you help me reach as many people as possible by signing and sharing this petition immediately? Click here to sign.

I am calling on Congress to find a permanent bipartisan solution to protecting immigrants with TPS. Please sign my petition to ensure families like mine are not ripped apart and sent back to nations devastated by disasters and war.

Sign Gabriela’s petition

Taking away TPS or letting it expire has thrown families such as mine into chaos, as mothers and fathers lose their legal status to stay in the country. We could be forced to decide whether to divide our families or to take our children to dangerous and unfamiliar situations.

Congress needs to act before hard-working families have their lives torn apart. Click here to sign and share my petition before I personally deliver it next week.

TPS recipients are mothers, neighbors, caregivers, business owners, and community members. We are parents to children who have lived in the United States their whole lives and know no other home.

Removing TPS recipients from the country is inhumane, and it also makes no economic sense. It could cost the U.S. economy $164 billion over 10 years!2

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Sources:

  1. “Trump administration ends protections for more than 200,000 Salvadorans,” CNN, January 9, 2018
    https://act.moveon.org/go/29881?t=18&akid=196761%2E1195276%2ExHcbwE
  2. “RELEASE: U.S. Would Lose $164B in GDP Over 10 Years If TPS Holders from El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti Were Removed from Labor Force, Finds New CAP Analysis,” Center for American Progress, October 20, 2017
    https://act.moveon.org/go/29882?t=20&akid=196761%2E1195276%2ExHcbwE


You’re receiving this petition because we thought it might interest you. It was created on MoveOn.org, where anyone can start their own online petitions.
You can start your own petition here.

Want to support our work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day by day and year by year, to resist Trump’s agenda, contain the damage, defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation’s pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must never give up on. And to do it we need your ongoing support, now more than ever. Will you stand with us? Donate monthly or make a one-time gift Contributions to MoveOn.org Civic Action are not tax deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.

 


From: Eric Kramer
Subject: The Increasing Unfitness of Donald Trump | The New Yorker

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/01/15/the-increasing-unfitness-of-donald-trump

 


From: Thomas Scott
Subject: Ghost of the Deepwater Horizon Returns; Companies … are now laying off their workers; Why Michael Wolff’s Book Is Good News

 


From: Judy Burnette
Subject: [Keystone Kops in the White House] “Michael Wolff: My Insane Year Inside Trump’s White House” | Hollywood Reporter

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/michael-wolff-my-insane-year-inside-trumps-white-house-1071504

 


From: Joyce Ajlouny; General Secretary, AFSC
Subject: AFSC among human rights orgs barred from Israel

Yesterday the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) was included on a list of 20 organizations whose staff may be denied entry to Israel because of their support for the Palestinian-led boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement.

Motivated by Quaker belief in the worth and dignity of all people, AFSC has supported and joined in nonviolent resistance for over 100 years. We answered the call for divestment from apartheid in South Africa, and we have done the same with the call for BDS from Palestinians who have faced decades of human rights violations.

Throughout our history, we have stood with communities facing oppression and violence around the world. In 1947 we were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in part for our support for Jewish refugees fleeing the Holocaust. We will continue our legacy of speaking truth to power and standing for peace and justice without exception in Israel, occupied Palestine, and around the world.

All people, including Palestinians, have a right to live in safety and peace and have their human rights respected. For 51 years, Israel has denied Palestinians in the occupied territories their fundamental human rights, in defiance of international law. While Israeli Jews enjoy full civil and political rights, prosperity, and relative security, Palestinians under Israeli control enjoy few or none of those rights or privileges.

The Palestinian BDS call aims at changing this situation, asking the international community to use proven nonviolent social change tactics until equality, freedom from occupation, and recognition of refugees’ right to return are realized. AFSC’s Principles for a Just and Lasting Peace in Palestine and Israel affirm each of these rights. Thus, we have joined others around the world in responding to the Palestinian-led BDS call.  As Palestinians seek to realize their rights and end Israeli oppression, what are the alternatives left to them if we deny them such options?

Quakers pioneered the use of boycotts when they helped lead the “Free Produce Movement,” a boycott of goods produced using slave labor during the 1800s. AFSC has a long history of supporting economic activism, which we view as an appeal to conscience, aimed at raising awareness among those complicit in harmful practices, and as an effective tactic for removing structural support for oppression.

The 17th century Quaker abolitionist John Woolman spoke to the spiritual foundation of this work when he said, “May we look upon our treasures, and the furniture of our houses, and the garments in which we array ourselves, and try whether the seeds of war have nourishment in these our possessions.”

The ban on entry to Israel for activists who support the Palestinian-led BDS movement is part of a larger effort by the Israeli government to silence and constrain human rights and anti-occupation activists. In recent months, more Palestinian activists have faced arrest, death threats, and imprisonment without charge or trial in response to nonviolent activism for human rights.  In addition, organizations inside Israel have been denied funding and access to event venues and have faced threats of trial and imprisonment.

At a time when the Israeli government is moving to expand settlements, redefine Jerusalem, and annex portions of the West Bank, support for nonviolent activism that seeks freedom, equality, and justice is critical.

Therefore, as long as these and other human rights violations persist, we will continue to support Palestinian-led boycott, divestment, and sanctions efforts as effective nonviolent tools for realizing political and social change.  We hope one day to see Israelis and Palestinians live together in peace. This will only happen when the human rights of all are recognized and respected.

 


From: Rebecca Vilkomerson; Executive Director, Jewish Voice for Peace
Subject: [JVP-NewsAndUpdates] commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Nakba

lots of current events this week, so no better time to think and learn about one of the most fundamental things that underly them all:

This spring JVP will join with Palestinians and others in commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Nakba (Arabic for “the catastrophe”)—the forced displacement of approximately 750,000 Palestinians that began with Israel’s establishment in 1948. As part of our commitment to grappling with that history and its contemporary reverberations, we are proud to make available our seven-part curriculum, Facing the Nakba. We encourage you to use it, including as you plan your Nakba commemorations.

A guide for group workshops as well as a rich archive of resources accessible to individuals, Facing the Nakba is a flexible, multimedia curriculum that can help fill in the information that is  often elided in accounts of Israel’s creation, strengthening our understanding of history (especially how the injustices Palestinians face began long before the 1967 occupation) and galvanizing our organizing today.

The Facing the Nakba website offers an in-depth guide for those who wish to facilitate group study as well as recommended tracks—for groups in synagogues or on college campuses, among organizers or high school students. We want the curriculum to work for you. The FTN library contains scores of materials — historical analyses, personal testimonies, NGO and governmental documents, maps, photos, and other materials.

Facing the Nakba, developed by a team of JVP members, draws from the pioneering work of the Israeli organization Zochrot (“Remembering” in Hebrew), which published a study guide in 2008 called “How do you say Nakba in Hebrew?” to promote acknowledgment and accountability within Israel for the ongoing injustices of the Nakba. Facingthe Nakba also maintains close partnerships with Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights and with the Participatory Action Research Center (PARCEO) to further develop our materials and broaden our reach.

The journal Radical Teacher featured Facing the Nakba in its recent issue on public pedagogies. We hope you will be part of the public that uses and expands this essential tool of our activism.

Please feel free to contact Marilyn Kleinberg Neimark (mkneimark@gmail.com)  and Donna Nevel (denevel@gmail.com) if you would like to discuss the curriculum, or reach out to JVP staff for additional support.

 


From: Senator Sherrod Brown
Subject: Reply to Munsup from Senator Sherrod Brown about our nation’s tax code

Thank you for getting in touch with me about our nation’s tax code.

I support reforming our tax code to provide greater certainty and simplicity for workers, families, and small businesses. I also believe tax policy should ensure that Ohioans who work hard and play by the rules can get ahead and achieve economic security. Unfortunately, the recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act failed to meet this standard.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – passed on party-line vote with no bipartisan input – was not drafted with middle-class workers or families in mind. The proposal that became law will raise taxes on 9 million middle class families in 2019. By 2027, that number will rise to 38 million. That is unacceptable, and it is the opposite of a “middle class tax cut.”

In addition, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is filled with tax breaks and giveaways to corporations that outsource American jobs, hedge funds, the oil industry, and other special interests. These are highly-profitable industries that don’t need massive tax cuts, yet many of my colleagues are focused on helping them rather than providing relief to middle-class Ohioans.

If we want to cut taxes for workers, we should actually cut taxes for workers. Throughout this process, I have offered two pieces of legislation that would give direct tax cuts to middle-class workers and families and provide tax benefits for companies that keep jobs in the United States and invest in their workforce. These proposals have been ignored, and instead, Congressional leaders have doubled-down on the debunked theory that tax cuts for corporations and the rich will “trickle-down” to workers.

I am skeptical that this legislation will produce much, if any, economic growth. And I am extremely concerned that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will balloon our deficit and lead to further calls for cutting vital social insurance programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. I oppose cuts to these programs.

I assure you that I will continue fighting for workers, families, and small businesses across our state and I will advocate for real, commonsense middle class tax relief. Thank you again for writing me.

 


From: Munsup @SISCOM Seoh
Subject: I just signed these – will you?

  1. I just signed a petition telling all Democrats to commit to repeal and replace the Trump Tax Scam, and I think you should, too.
    https://act.credoaction.com/sign/repeal_replace_trumptaxscam?sp_ref=375858424.4.185166.e.594658.2&referring_akid=26719.1004336.gKy2q2&source=mailto_sp
  2. Support Automatic Voter Registration Act: With Republicans attacking voting rights at the state and federal level, we need to do everything we can to fight back, including making it easier to vote. The Automatic Voter Registration Act would require states to automatically register eligible voters when they interact with certain state and federal agencies and help put up to 50 million new voters on the path to the polls. Here’s the link to sign CREDO’s petition urging Congress to pass it:
    https://act.credoaction.com/sign/AVR?sp_ref=376158105.4.185145.e.594592.2&referring_akid=26758.1004336.Rk2TR5&source=mailto_sp
  3. Tell Democrats: Commit to repeal and replace the Trump Tax Scam:
    I just signed a petition telling all Democrats to commit to repeal and replace the Trump Tax Scam, and I think you should, too.
    https://act.credoaction.com/sign/repeal_replace_trumptaxscam?referring_akid=a300125791.1004336.QS5P-S&source=conf_email&aktmid=tm57770185.2Z3Lke&akid=a300125791.1004336.QS5P-S&t=2

End of MPEN e-Newsletter

MPEN e-Newsletter No. 2018-0103

From: Munsup @MPEN Seoh
Subject: MPEN News No. 2018-0103: FW: Two NYT articles; Trump threatens NUCLEAR WAR; Defund Democrats who voted to deport Dreamers and more


  • FW: NYT Today’s Headline: Obstruction Inquiry Shows Trump’s Struggle to Keep Grip on Russia Investigation
  • FW: Trump threatens NUCLEAR WAR
  • FW: Sign this: Homeland Security to actively take on voter suppression
  • FW: Facing a significant number of years in prison
  • FW: Help us stop Trump from starting a war
  • FW: Tell the DSCC and DCCC: Defund Democrats who voted to deport Dreamers

From: New York Times
Subject: NYT Today’s Headline: Obstruction Inquiry Shows Trump’s Struggle to Keep Grip on Russia Investigation

Obstruction Inquiry Shows Trump’s Struggle to Keep Grip on Russia Investigation
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT

The special counsel’s investigation has uncovered several episodes involving the president that raise questions about whether he obstructed justice.


From: 🔻 ALERT – Progressive Caucus
Subject: Trump threatens NUCLEAR WAR

TELL CONGRESS: REVOKE Trump’s Nuclear Authority

Donald Trump is threatening NUCLEAR WAR on his Twitter account.

So Progressive Caucus members want to REVOKE Trump’s access to nuclear weapons!

We need 30,000 signatures by midnight to support their bill.ign your name to demand Congress REVOKE Trump’s nuclear authority:

SIGN YOUR NAME →

We’re terrified.

Donald Trump just threatened nuclear war against North Korea.

This type of erratic behavior puts MILLIONS of lives across the globe at risk.

That’s why Progressive Caucus members introduced a bill to strip Trump of his nuclear authority.

We need to pass this bill if we’re going to keep our planet safe. But we need 30,000 signatures by midnight, to keep up our momentum.

If you want to REMOVE Donald Trump’s access to nuclear weapons, we need you to sign right away

SIGN YOUR NAME →

When nuclear weapons were put under the authority of the President, it was assumed that the office holder would be thoughtful and deliberate.

But Trump has proven beyond a doubt that he is neither. His rhetoric and behavior puts our country — and the entire world — in grave danger.

We have a responsibility to take action against the danger that he poses to our planet.

So Munsup, we need you to stand with us. Sign your name to demand Congress REVOKE Trump’s nuclear authority:

https://go.weareprogressives.org/Nuclear-Authority

PAID FOR BY CONGRESSIONAL PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE’S COMMITTEE

 


From: Paul Hogarth; Daily Kos
Subject: Sign this: Homeland Security to actively take on voter suppression

Sign the pledge: Fight the Trump Department of Homeland Security’s newly renewed war on voting.

Sign the petition

Did you hear the great news? Donald Trump has dissolved the Voter Suppression commission that made outrageous demands on basic voter privacy.

In his executive order, Trump admitted that our activism was the reason he caved.

He complained many states had “refused to provide” the commission with information they had requested. Much of the activism by Daily Kos and allied groups had focused on pressuring states not to cooperate.

We may have won the battle, but the War on Voting goes on.

Trump has already asked the Department of Homeland Security to take over where the commission had left off. We must be vigilant, and fight all voter suppression efforts.

Click here to AUTOMATICALLY sign the pledge: Fight the Department of Homeland Security’s War on Voting.

AUTOMATICALLY Sign the petition

By signing this petition you will receive periodic updates on offers and activism opportunities from Daily Kos. You may unsubscribe at any time. Here’s our privacy policy.


From: Ariel Gold and the entire CODEPINK Team
Subject: Facing a significant number of years in prison

The first time I met Ahed Tamimi was when she was 13 years old. I sat in her living room in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh drinking tea with her parents while she and my daughter, then 12, compared dance moves. Now at the tender age of 16, Ahed is sitting in an Israeli detention cell facing a significant number of years in prison. Her crime was that she slapped an armed Israeli soldier with her bare hand.

No teenager should have to live under military occupation or be sentenced to years in prison for a slap. Join me in telling Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu he must release Ahed immediately!

On Monday, after her most recent court appearance, I spoke with her father. “They are trying to make an example of her,” he said. “They are trying to break her.” The charges against Ahed include such things as assaulting a soldier, throwing stones and incitement. But, her real “crime,” is her refusal to capitulate to military occupation.

Ahed was only 10 years old when her father was sent to prison for organizing peaceful protests. She was 11 when Israeli soldiers killed her cousin, and 13 when they killed her uncle and shot her mother in the leg.

Read and share my latest article on how Israel is Victim-Blaming Ahed. Then sign the petition to Netanyahu, demanding Israel release Ahed immediately.

Here are some points for you to use while talking to your friends and family about Ahed’s case:

  • Ahed has lived her entire life under Israeli military occupation. On a regular basis, she and her family endure checkpoints, night raids, settler land theft and violent attacks from Israeli soldiers.
  • Ahed and her family want nothing more than freedom and equality for all people.
  • Ahed is a child and a civilian. She is facing a military court system with a conviction rate of over 99%.
  • Ahed’s slap of an Israeli soldier with her bare hand pales in comparison to the state and military violence Israel commits on a regular basis with complete impunity.


Ahed’s next court date is Tuesday, January 10.
This will be the next opportunity for her to be released on bail pending trial. Israel’s goal is to use Ahed’s imprisonment to break the will and resistance of the Palestinian people. But the worldwide call for freedom cannot be silenced. Please share the image at the top of this email on Facebook and Twitter and join me in demanding Netanyahu free Ahed.

P.S. New Zealand pop star Lorde cancelled her show in Tel Aviv in support of the BDS movement and the Palestinian people. Send a message to Lorde to thank her for her courage, commitment, and strength!


From: Erica, Ben, Amy, and the Win Without War team
Subject: Help us stop Trump from starting a war

Donald Trump is at it again. On Tuesday night Trump took to Twitter to threaten North Korea and, by consequence, most likely the rest of the world, with nuclear annihilation:

This rhetoric is extremely dangerous. This is not how the person controlling our nuclear arsenal should speak — we don’t know how the North Koreans or our allies will perceive Trump’s reckless tweet, and it undermines the diplomatic efforts being made by our own State Department.

We should all be extremely worried and concerned about what the President will do next. It is time to act.

Urge your Members of Congress to take steps to prevent Trump from launching a nuclear war.

Right now, two members of Congress, Rep. Ted Lieu and Sen. Ed Markey, have introduced legislation to prevent the U.S. president from launching a nuclear war without a declaration of war by Congress. While the President would still be able to defend from an attack against America, he or she could no longer launch the deadliest weapons ever invented just because they wanted to.

We can not overstate the destruction of a nuclear war, and we are closer to that horror today than we have ever been since the Cuban Missile Crisis. We owe it to ourselves and to future generations to take action now to step back from the brink of nuclear war.

No one person – and definitely not someone as erratic and reckless as Donald Trump – should ever be able to single-handedly start such a deadly war. Please sign today.

Thank you for working for peace,

Donate

 


From: Nicole Regalado; Campaign Manager, CREDO Action from Working Assets
Subject: Tell the DSCC and DCCC: Defund Democrats who voted to deport Dreamers

Tell DSCC and DCCC: No support for Democrats who voted to deport Dreamers

The petition to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee reads:
“Refuse to help elect any congressional Democrat who voted for the year-end spending bill without a clean DREAM Act.”

Add your name:

 

In December, 31 congressional Democrats voted to deport nearly 1 million immigrant young people.1

When Donald Trump ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in September, Democrats promised to use their leverage during the end-of-year budget fight to ensure that permanent protection for DACA recipients was part of the spending bill. Instead, they protected their political futures and turned their backs on Dreamers, their families and their communities.

The 31 Democrats who helped pass Republicans’ year-end spending bill without a clean DREAM Act voted to deport Dreamers and advance Trump’s white supremacist agenda. They turned their backs on their party’s base and their party’s values. Democratic party leaders must take a stand, draw a bright line and refuse to support the congressional campaigns of anyone in this Deportation Caucus.

Tell the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC): Do not support any congressional Democrat who voted to deport Dreamers. Click here to sign the petition.

Democrats claim to be the party of the resistance to Trump’s racist, anti-immigrant regime, yet fail time and time again to put their words into action. In the months leading up to the budget fight, Democratic leaders tried to stave off pressure from immigrant rights groups and progressive allies by saying that their lack of urgency to pass a clean DREAM Act was in fact a long-term strategy to get it done at the end of the year.2 Their promises and posturing came to nothing.

Though House Democrats could not have stopped Republicans from approving the spending bill, they could have drawn a bright line between themselves and Republicans’ racism and xenophobia by voting against it. On Dec. 22, 14 House Democrats sided with Republicans and turned their backs on immigrants by advancing the bill. Once it was in the Senate, the year-end spending bill needed 60 votes to move forward, which means that Democrats had the power to demand protection for Dreamers in exchange for their votes. But 17 Senate Democrats refused to use their leverage to stand up for immigrants and helped Republicans approve a spending package that did not include any protections for Dreamers. This is not just a failure by each of those Democrats, but also a massive failure of leadership.

Cowardly Democratic leaders in both houses failed to act. They gave lip service to Dreamers but refused to rally their entire caucus around the leadership of Rep. Gutierrez and Sens. Warren, Sanders, and Harris who promised to force Republicans to shut down the government if they refused to include a clean DREAM Act in the end-of-year spending package. They ignored a massive outpouring of activism – including hunger strikes – from undocumented young people and their allies. They were so afraid of the personal political consequences of forcing Republicans to shut down the government that they refused to stand up for and protect Dreamers.

Instead of leading the resistance to Trump, Democrats keep kicking the can on relief for Dreamers, playing politics with people’s lives and allowing Republicans to use Dreamers as bargaining chips to criminalize and deport other immigrants and get funding for Trump’s wall. Democrats who refused to push for a clean DREAM Act sent a cruel and racist message to the immigrants in their districts: You are expendable. That’s why we’re teaming up with our friends at United We Dream and Presente to demand that the DSCC and DCCC take bold action now.

Tell the DSCC and the DCCC: Do not support any congressional Democrat who voted to deport Dreamers. Click here to sign the petition.

More than 14,000 Dreamers have already lost their work permits and protection from deportation.3 Every day that Congress waits to pass the DREAM Act, 122 more lose their legal status. Immigrant young people and their communities are living in fear, but recent reports indicate that Democrats are still not acting with urgency.

Once again, Democratic leaders are saying they will do everything they can to protect Dreamers, but their recent statements stop short of a hard commitment to attach the DREAM Act to the must-pass spending bill that Congress needs to approve by Jan. 19.4 That’s why we must do everything we can to make clear to Democratic party leaders that another failure on this issue is not an option.

Many of the Democrats who caved on the DREAM Act in December will be running for the same office or, in some cases, higher offices in 2018.5 If Democratic party leaders use party resources to support their campaigns, they will be supporting cowards who are enabling Trump’s racist, xenophobic agenda. Add your name now to make sure they know the progressive base of the Party demands better.


Tell the DSCC and the DCCC: Do not support any congressional Democrat who voted to deport Dreamers. Click the link below to sign the petition.

https://act.credoaction.com/sign/dscc_dccc_dream?t=8&akid=26572%2E1004336%2EoTsezq

Add your name:

References:

  1. CREDO, “Democrats who just voted to deport Dreamers graphic,” posted Dec. 21, 2017.
  2. Rachel Blade and Heather Caygle, “Congress speeds toward shutdown over Dreamers,” POLITICO, Nov. 21, 2017.
  3. Tom Jawetz and Nicole Prchal Svajlenka, “Thousands of DACA Recipients Are Already Losing Their Protection From Deportation,” Center for American Progress, Nov. 9, 2017.
  4. Lisa Mascaro, “Trump aides and congressional leaders set to restart talks on budget and immigration,” Los Angeles Times, Jan. 2, 2017.
  5. Ed O’Keefe, “Democrats unlikely to force DACA vote this week, probably averting shutdown,” The Washington Post, Dec. 19, 2017.

End of MPEN e-Newsletter

MPEN e-Newsletter No. 2018-0102

From: Munsup @MPEN Seoh
Subject: MPEN News No. 2018-0102: FW: Happy New Year from the AAUP!; Ice cream is awesome. This is disgusting and more

FYI. Best, Munsup

P.S. Please reply to me with ‘unsubscribe’ added to the subject line if you no longer want to receive my e-Newsletters. The convenient link to unsubscribe is no longer available due to security reasons to protect my email servers.


  • FW: Happy New Year from the AAUP!
  • FW: A heartfelt thanks from Consumer Reports
  • FW: I Know You Know How This Is Done
  • FW: Ice cream is awesome. This is disgusting.
  • FW: When it’s okay to quit your new job

From: American Association of University
Subject: Happy New Year from the AAUP!

We wanted to take a moment to thank you for being a member of the AAUP and wish you a happy new year!

Thanks to your support and activism, our fight for academic freedom, shared governance, and a voice for faculty will continue to be strong this coming year.

 


From: Marta Tellado; President and CEO, Consumer Reports
Subject: A heartfelt thanks

 

Every day, I am grateful for the voices, the feedback, and the generosity of supporters like you who make our work at CR possible. As we say goodbye to 2017 and look forward to a bright year ahead, I want to thank you for all that you do to contribute to our mission and ensure that the products we use, the services we depend on, and the markets we enter are designed to put people’s interests first.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at CRFeedback1@consumer.org if there is anything we can do to be a better partner to you in the year ahead. And on behalf of the CR team, best wishes for a healthy, happy new year.


From: Kathleen To
Subject: I Know You Know How This Is Done

WOW!  This is the ultimate talent!
Tony and Jordan: Identical Twins Dazzle With Magic – America’s Got Talent 2017 – YouTube


From: Ben & Jerry
Subject: Ice cream is awesome. This is disgusting.

This is Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, but you probably know us better as Ben and Jerry, the ice cream guys.

Back when we were running Ben & Jerry’s, we’d spend our winters brewing up new flavors for the spring and summer ice cream rush, but these days we’re preparing for something that, in these dark times, is even more mouthwatering—the biggest demonstration ever against Citizens United, one of the worst Supreme Court decisions in American history that opened the floodgates to money in politics.

As we reflect on the past year of the Trump administration, including the recent passage of the GOP’s terrible tax scam, one thing is very clear: Now more than ever, it’s Big Money vs. the rest of us.

Which is why we’ve partnered with MoveOn to offer you a way to speak out against Big Money a thousand times over: by (totally legally) helping you stamp your dollar bills with the message “Stamp Money Out of Politics.” And we want to make January 21—the anniversary of Citizens United—the biggest day of stamping ever. Will you join in?

Click here to chip in $15 or more to MoveOn and get your very own “Stamp Money Out of Politics” self-inking rubber stamp. One lucky stamper will even win free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream for a full year!

Each marked bill is on average viewed 875 times, and this is a protest that will live on because the stamped bills stay in circulation for two and a half years. Already, nearly 3,300 people have pledged to stamp over 1.4 million bills in the week leading up to January 21. We’re aiming to have 2 million bills stamped, which is why we need your help.

As we face another year with Trump in the White House, it is now more important than ever before that we stand up for (and stamp!) our beliefs, visibly and often.

Because the reality is that getting Big Money out of politics is the first step to achieving so much of our progressive agenda.

Because it’s Big Money that wrote that outrageous tax bill. It’s Big Money that’s behind opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. Big Money tried to kick tens of millions of Americans off of health care. Big Money just rolled back Net Neutrality.

Big Money needs to get out of politics. Can you help us make this message reverberate more powerfully than ever before? Chip in $15 or more to MoveOn now to receive your stamp and join the movement! You must order by January 10 to have your stamp delivered on time for our big day of stamping on January 21.

Don’t forget, stamped bills get seen hundreds of times, and who knows who might see them—maybe a member of Congress or even a certain someone in the White House! Can you imagine how that would play out?

Click here now to chip in $15 or more to MoveOn, get your stamp, and be entered in the contest to win a year’s supply of delicious ice cream!

Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to go grab some ice cream—and then we’ve got some stamping to do.

P.S. Here’s a picture of what a dollar bill looks like after it’s stamped! Cool, right?

Click here to get your stamp, help stamp money out of politics, and be entered to win a year’s supply of free ice cream!


Want to support MoveOn’s work without getting a stamp?
 The MoveOn community will work every moment, day by day and year by year, to resist Trump’s agenda, contain the damage, defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation’s pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must never give up on. And to do it we need your ongoing support, now more than ever. Will you stand with MoveOn?  Donate monthly or make a one-time gift

No purchase, payment, or contribution necessary to enter to win. Void where prohibited. Entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. on January 18, 2018. You may enter by making a donation here. Alternatively, you can enter without making a donation. One winner will receive the following prize package: coupons for 52 pints of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream (approximate retail value: $234). Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Promotion open to all U.S. citizens, or lawful permanent U.S. residents who are legal residents of the 50 United States and District of Columbia and 18 or older (or of majority under applicable law). Promotion subject to Official Rules and additional restrictions on eligibility. Sponsor: MoveOn.org Political Action, 1442 Walnut Street #358, Berkeley, CA 94709.

Contributions to MoveOn.org Political Action are not tax deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/?t=20&akid=196514%2E1195276%2EWZC5JK. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.


From: LinkedIn
Subject: When it’s okay to quit your new job

When it’s okay to quit your new job

104 people are talking about this


End of MPEN e-Newsletter

MPEN e-Newsletter No. 2018-0101

Happy New Year!

READ THE FIRST LINE CAREFULLY. .

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

Happy moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God.
Painful moments, trust God.
Every moment, thank God.

This is a Thomas Kinkade painting. It’s rumored to carry a miracle!

They say if you pass this on, you will receive a miracle.
I am passing this on because I thought it was really pretty, and who couldn’t use a miracle?


The Lords best for you and your Families.
From our Home, to your Home.
From our Hearts to your Hearts.