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Arizona Legislative Alert -

50 Week Action Plan Weeks1-23

Shining a bright light for socially-just public policy in Arizona All opinions are those of the author, Anne L. Schneider, PhD

March 31, 2017

If you want to be added to or taken from this e-mail list, contact

legislativeadvocacy@vuu.org

The 50 Week Action Plan will provide one or two ideas each week for progressive

social action showing continued support for public policy and policy proposals that

contribute to a more socially-just society. We stand opposed to public policy and

policy proposals that are disrespectful to any group or person, anti-democratic,

unfair especially to the least advantaged among us, and harmful to the web of life on

our planet.

Scroll down to find the most recent week!

Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation – Senior Minister, Rev. Andy Burnette; Visiting Minister, Rev. Earl Holt (September through mid-November); Music

Minister, Rev. Kellie Walker; Director of Life-Span Religious Education, Marci Beaudoin. Administrator, Sue Ringler.

Located: 6400 W. Del Rio Drive, Chandler, AZ 480 899 4249 www.vuu.org For previous copies of the Arizona

Legislative Alert, go to https://www.vuu.org/legislative-advocacy. VUU holds services each Sunday at 10:30. You are

welcome here!

Unitarian Universalist Justice Arizona Network -- Executive Director Rev. Lisa

McDaniel-Hutchings; Justice Coordinator…. Alison Wood Policy Coordinator, Anne L. Schneider. Board

Members, UUJAZ: Sharon Travis, Liz Swan (Chair),Rev. Matthew Crary, Bobbi Bollinger. www.uujaz.org.

Action item #1 of week 23. Urge Governor Ducey to veto:

On Governor’s desk. HB1367 – “Live birth” Anti-Abortion bill. Passed Senate and House but

Governor has not yet signed nor vetoed. This bill requires medical personnel to make

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every effort to see if a fetus is alive and to use every means available to continue its life,

if it shows any signs of life. Thus, newborns with no chance of survival but who might

live a few hours cannot be held by their mothers, as is the custom now, but must be

tubed, chests crushed with CPR, and other invasive techniques. Opponents say this

situation is sad enough, and requires doctor and mother compassion, not legislation!

Officially, Arizona law already requires doctors to take actions in such situations. But

SB1367 spells out what are considered signs of life, including breathing, a heartbeat,

umbilical cord pulsation or “definite movement of voluntary muscles.”

Call the Governor’s office 602 542 4331 Tell him this bill is

not necessary and only seeks to prolong the life of a fetus that has no chance of

survival, using highly intrusive measures and exacerbating the heartbreak of the

parents.

Action Item #2. Contact Senate Rules Committee about HB2244: “Strict

Compliance” on Initiatives. (The AZLEG web site still lists this as a “gun bill,” but a

“strike everything” was used to insert a bill requiring “strict compliance” for the

wording and signature collection on citizen initiatives.) This enables whole sheets of

signatures to be declared invalid for irrelevant technical issues, such as margins being

off by even as little as 1/8 of an inch; or signatures not having the middle initial or the

“drive” or “avenue” on a street address. Currently, signature collectors have to meet

“substantial compliance” which already includes so many technical rules that signature

collectors estimate they have to collect half again as many signatures as needed to make

up for those that will be thrown out, even though the person signing the petition meets

all qualifications. HB2244 passed the Appropriations committee and is on the Rules

committee agenda for Monday, April 3. You can use “request to speak” on this bill

and also contact members of the Senate Rules committee urging them to reject the

bill. Here are the e-mails: ocajerobedford@azleg.gov, ggriffin@azleg.gov , khobbs@azleg.gov ,

dlesko@azleg.gov , mquezada@azleg.gov , syarbrough@azleg.gov , kyee@azleg.gov and here are the name, phones.

Olivia Cajero Bedford 602 926 5835

Gail Griffin 602 926 5895

Katie Hobbs 602 926 5325

Debbie Lesko 602 926 5413

Martin Quezada 602 926 5911

Steve Yarbrough 602 926 5863

Kimberly Yee 602 926 3024

GOVERNOR’s Phone: 602 542 4331

Yarbrough’s Phone: 602 926 5863 syarbrough@azleg.gov

Mesnard’s Phone: 602 926 4481 smesnard@azleg.gov

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Action item #3 of week 23: POSTPONE the hearings on Supreme Court nominee Neil

Gorsuch. A President under the kind of cloud that exists at this time concerning the

possible collusion with Russians who helped elect him and may expect something in

return should not be allowed to make a life-time appointment! Also, let’s keep the

pressure on for Congress to investigate the Trump / Russian connections If the

Russians had parachuted a crew into the U.S. who had then broken into Democratic

National Committee and the Hillary campaign committee offices, then walked off with

copies of all their files and their computer files, this would be analogous to Watergate

before the connection to Nixon had been established. Russia “broke in.” The questions

now are two-fold: Did the Trump administration know about it, cooperate with it, or

promise a quid pro quo if the Russians carried it out? The second question is this: is

there collusion still going on? (Collusion – defined: “secret cooperation for an illegal or

dishonest purpose.”). Please, contact Senators McCain and Flake (yes, again); and urge

them to support the Senate Intelligence committee’s investigation and ALSO to support

an independent investigation. Also, urge them to postpone the hearings of Supreme

Court Nominee Neil Gorsuch. Call 202 224 3121. This number enables you to link to

the local or national offices of all three of your U.S. representatives.

Action item #1 of week 22: There is new evidence almost every

day of extensive collusion between Trump administration

officials and Russian operatives during the campaign and

apparently continuing even afterward. (Collusion – defined: “secret

cooperation for an illegal or dishonest purpose.”). The House

Intelligence committee chair appears to be stalling and possibly

even assisting those who are targets of the investigation. A

reasonable course of action here is two-fold: (a) contact YOUR

U.S. representative and Senators Flake and McCain, urging them

to support an independent investigation of the Russian

connections with Trump administration personnel and (b) urge

Flake and McCain to postpone the hearings of Supreme Court

Nominee Neil Gorsuch. If there has been serious collusion

involving President DJT that is detrimental to the interests of the

United States, then he should not be allowed to make a life-time

appointment to the Supreme Court. He may well be cleared, but

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he should not make an appointment until an investigation has

been undertaken.

If the investigation shows that there was collusion, lies, cover-up,

continuing cooperation from Trump administration officials to

act in Russia’s interests, or that the Russians have financial ties to

Trump or other entanglements that threaten Trump’s ability to

work in the best interests of the U.S., then he should not be

allowed to make a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court.

Urge Flake and McCain to postpone, since neither one is likely to

vote “no,” but they might be persuaded to postpone. Call 202 224

3121. This number enables you to link to the local or national

offices of all three of your U.S. representatives.

USE Request to Speak. Action item #2 of week 22. STOP the

newest version of Payday Loans in Arizona! Using a “strike

everything” sleight of hand, HB2496 has been hijacked to allow

short-term loans with an annual percentage rate of more than

164%. How can this be, since Arizona law limits interest rates on

loans? They do it by charging fees, interest, and then rolling the

loans from one year to the next starting over on the charges.

People do need options on loans, but this is not a good one.

Instead, work with non-profit organizations, credit unions,

community banks, and faith-based groups to make affordable

loans available for everyone. This bill will be heard by the Senate

Rules committee this week. Contact YOUR senator and urge a

“NO” vote on this bill or use Request to Speak. See contact

information below.

Action item #3 of week 22. Urge your Legislators to vote “NO”

on any and all of the bills that add Arizona to the states calling

for an “Article V” convention to propose amendments that would

balance the federal budget and place other extreme limitations on

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the Federal government. Most economists say that balancing the

federal budget would lead to economic disaster and most

constitutional scholars fear a “runaway” convention that would

completely rewrite the U.S. Constitution! Urge your Legislators

to vote no on HB2226, HCR2013, HCR2022 or any other bills

calling for an Article V convention. (Read more below).

I am slowly (perhaps too slowly) coming to the conclusion that President DJT is a

threat to democracy. Not just a threat to the kind of public policy that I believe in.

Not just a threat to social justice, equality, fairness, and a compassionate society. But

a threat to the very institutions of our democracy. Why? Let me count the way.

Lying cannot become the standard for a President of the United States! We cannot

accept: disrespect for an independent Judiciary or disrespect for a free press that

attempts to find and report the facts. We cannot accept continuous spreading of false

propaganda; lack of respect for separation of powers; and disregard of the role of

Congress or excessive attempts to govern by executive action—just as a dictator

would. We cannot accept relying on loyalists and relatives rather than expertise in

appointments to the cabinet and advisors.

Action item #1 of the 21-week plan: Contact all three of your Congressmen/women

and let them know this has gone far enough. They must hold DJT accountable for his

words and actions, including an independent investigation of the possible

manipulation of the election by Russia and the possible continuing manipulation of

politics and policy within the Trump administration, including DJT himself. What are

the odds that it will be shown in due time that there is an on-going quid pro quo with

Vladimir Putin and the Russian government? Small, but not zero. (Read Rep. Kyrsten

Sinema’s op ed “President Trump Puts Our Democracy in Jeopardy” March 17, My

Turn, Arizona Republic.

Action item #2 of the 21 week plan: Article V Convention proposals. Arizona is

perilously close to becoming another of the states to petition Congress for a

constitutional convention to amend the U.S. constitution as a way to require a balanced

budget, term limits, and other severe restrictions on the federal government. One

resolution has already passed (HCR2010) and others are ready for a final vote.

Probably the most dangerous from a constitutional democracy point of view is HB2226.

Yet, all of these need to be blocked in the Senate. Ready for final vote HCR2013 – Article V

Convention for federal balanced budget. (Mesnard, LD 17). Ready for final vote HB2226 –

Article V Convention for federal balanced budget. (Mesnard, LD17). This is a bill that

provides for a federal balanced budget, but it has Arizona joining a state compact to

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plan for the application to Congress that would be held in July 2017. Ready for final vote

HCR2022- Article V Convention, Arizona selection of delegates. BEST Action: Contact

your Senator and urge him/her to vote no on all of the “Article V” proposals (see more

discussion below). Also, go on to Arizona Voices, http://www.arizonavoices.org/ and

vote “no” on HCR2013, HB2226, and HCR2022. This might make a difference to some

of the wavering votes.

Who are your state legislators? http://www.azredistricting.org/districtlocator

Contact state legislators: http://www.azleg.gov/ then click on senate or house /

members

U.S. Congress: Phone number to connect you to U.S. Representative Senators 1-202-

224-3121

Action Suggestions for Week 20 (Pick one or ALL of these. Make some kind of

social action every day just as routine as brushing your teeth).

• HB2372 – Restore TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) and

SNAP (food stamps) to two-year eligibility. Please call the governor’s

office and politely demand that he support a clean restoration of both to 24

months. This is a good bill, gone bad by the insertion of harsh penalties for even

minor rules violations. You can call the Governor's Office at 602-542-4331 or fill

out the email form. http://azgovernor.gov/engage/form/contact-governor-ducey

Arizona cut TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) eligibility last

year to only one year (lifetime), hardly enough time to finish education or career

preparation. This bill would restore to two years, so what are the objectionable

requirements? Estimates are that 30% of current TANF recipients would be

denied the second 12 months of benefits because they did not meet one or

another program rule sometime during the first 12 month. Also, current law has

graduated reduction of benefits for persons who broke a rule, whereas the new

law kicks them off entirely with two violations and cuts benefits in half for one

rule violation. Supporters of a more compassionate approach want to insure that

persons would get the second 12 months if they were in full compliance at the

end of the first, but that was voted down. There is still the possibility of

amendment, but it is the GOVERNOR who is saying “NO” to removing the

harsh new rules. Contact the Governor!

• HCR2013, HB2226, HCR2022, and HB2449 - Article V Conventions. Some of

the proposals for calling a constitutional convention, to require a balanced

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federal budget or in other ways to restrict the authority of the federal

government, have been stalled and are dead, but several are still moving.

Opponents (including most liberals and some conservatives) oppose on the

grounds that a balanced federal budget would be disastrous for the economy,

and/or because they fear a “runaway” convention that, once convened, would

do whatever it wanted including a complete rewrite of the U.S. Constitution as

there would be no higher authority over a constitutional convention itself.

Courts, Congress, States would no longer have any control over it, according to

most of the constitutional scholars. Read more below about each of these bills.

At this time, all are scheduled for the Rules committee or appropriations

committee and once passed could be called up for a full vote at any time. These

have already passed the House. Article V is a complicated issue, but opponents

fear a “runaway” convention that no one would be able to control once it is

convened and it could completely gut the U.S. constitution. Read more about

the risks of an Article V convention at http://www.vuu.org/legislative-

advocacy (scroll down to find the Issue Papers. The link has been fixed, so

you can now get to this paper. BEST ACTION? Contact YOUR Senator and

let them know you are NOT in favor of Arizona joining a state compact to call

a constitutional convention, nor for Arizona to petition the Federal

government to call one. How to find your district?

http://www.azredistricting.org/districtlocator How to contact Arizona

Senators: Senate roster There’s information below (scroll down) on how to

use request to speak, if you are signed up for it.

• Affordable Care Act (Again)! The U.S. House of Representatives is debating the

Republican revisions to the ACA and will be voting within the next couple of

weeks. This is a good time to contact your U.S. Representative. Most who have

read the “replacement” bill closely say it is bad news for many low and middle

income people as well as older people, but especially good news for the very rich

and for corporations. The ACA needs to be amended and fixed, but this

replacement bill is too harsh, according to supporters of universal national

health care. Call 202 224 3121 and they will connect you to the local or D.C.

office of your representatives. Urge Democrats to hang in there in opposition;

urge Republicans to work for something better than this bill.

SB1198, HB2408 and SB1239 - Disability Rights and Disabled Parking. SB1198

should have been dead as it did not get out of the Senate by the deadline, but

somehow they waived the rules and it passed 22-8. This bill, according to supporters

of disability rights, makes it more difficult for disabled persons to file and obtain

recourse for violations of the Arizona disability act, including giving violators 60 to

90 days to “fix” the problem, even though they have had years to come into

compliance with requirements of the federal and state disability laws. HB2408

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prohibits some persons with valid disability parking stickers from parking in places

that say “wheelchair only.” Disability rights advocates oppose it saying that more

places are needed, not more restirctions on who and how the current spaces can be

used by legitimately disabled persons. This has already passed the House 33-24 but

was HELD by the Senate Transportation committee. SB1239 makes it a parking

violation to be on access lane in disability parking places. It passed the Senate and

passed the House Transportation committee 7-1. Disability community says both of

these miss the point. MORE parking for disabled people is needed – NOT more

restrictions on which disabled people can or cannot use the few parking spaces that are

available. Sometimes disabled persons have to park over the lines to get doors open.

BEST ACTION: For SB1198, the Arizona Disability Coalition says it will be heard

3/15 in the House Judiciary committee and they are sponsoring rally 3/15 (11 a.m.)

and then plan to attend the hearing. The official legislative site does not yet have

this bill on the agenda for 3/15, so double check before going down to the rally. If

the bill actually is on the committee agenda 3/15, you can use “request to speak.” In

any case, contact YOUR House and Senate representatives and explain that people

with disabilities have enough problems getting around and dealing with the ableist

society to not have challenges dismissed as businesses finally get around to obeying

the law, or to subdivide existing parking spaces making things even more

complicated! Here is the Arizona coalition for disabled people link:

http://azdisabilitycoalition.org/rally-for-disability-rights-march-15-2017/

Week 19

The good news this week is that Senate Bill 1142 was killed by the Speaker of the

House, saying that the outcry against it was so great, he deemed the bill should be

killed. This bill would have made “riot” a part of the organized crime statute and

would have enabled law enforcement to and prosecutors to charge organizers of

rallies with felonies if the rally ended up disturbing the peace or destroying

property—even if those who organized the rally had nothing to do with the “riot.”

The act would even have let charges be made when no overt act had occurred, but the

authorities thought the rally might turn violent.

The bad news is that we still have a huge amount of work to do – Jeff Sessions

should resign as Attorney General because he lied about contact with the Russians

during the campaign; Republicans in the U.S. House won’t reveal their

“replacement” plan for the ACA; and Arizona is on track to pass some very

questionable legislation concerning the U.S. Constitution and the ability of citizens

to bring a proposal to a vote through the initiative process.

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What’s Inside: Action Ideas Priority Bills Bills Watch List Request to speak calendar

Congress Contacts

Who are your state legislators? http://www.azredistricting.org/districtlocator

How to contact them: Senate roster House roster

Here’s an EASY way to contact all 3 of your Congressmen/women: call 202-224-

3121 and tell them your zip code. They will connect you with McCain, Flake, and your U.S.

Representative

Action Suggestions for Week 19 (Pick one. Just do it!)

1. Where is the Republican “replacement” plan for the Affordable Care Act?

News reports say that it is written, but Republicans in the U.S. House won’t

show it even to their own colleagues. Contact all three of your Congressional

representatives and tell them it is imperative that the “replacement” be made

public in every detail so that it can be compared, side by side, with the

Affordable Care Act and they must do so before they vote to repeal. Do not

hide this plan. Also, do NOT fold the ACA repeal/replacement into some

complicated budget reconciliation bill where it can be passed without

thorough vetting by Congress and by the public. The easiest way to contact

your representatives is to call the Congressional switchboard 202-225-3121 and

they will connect you to the local or D.C. phone of your Senator or

Representative! See other contact information here. And while you are leaving

a message (if you get through at all), register your thoughts about whether Jeff

Sessions should step down as Attorney General!

2. Time to double down to stop the moves to repeal the Voting Protection Act of

1998 in Arizona and also to stop Arizona’s efforts to call an “Article V”

convention that would rewrite the United States Constitution! Read an issue

paper about it here http://www.vuu.org/legislative-advocacy (scroll down to

below the “purposes” to get to the “Issue Papers.”

ACTION NOW Stop the Repeal of the Voter Protection Act and other barriers to

citizen initiatives. All of these bills are now assigned to the Senate Judiciary

committee but are not yet on its agenda, so “request to speak” won’t work yet.

Instead, we need a massive call/e-mail to the chair of the Senate Judiciary committee

(Judy Burges). (See more description here).

• HCR2002 (Repeal Voter Protection Act) Passed 35-25

• HCR2007 (Repeal Voter Protection Act, just for citizen initiatives) passed 35-25

• HB2404 (Broad restrictions/rules on citizen petitions) Passed 35-24

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• HCR2029 (10% / 15% of signatures in EACH Legislative District) needed to get

on ballot. Would almost certainly kill all citizen initiatives. Passed the House

33-23 vote.

• HB2320 (ballot measure prop 105 warning) Passed 35-25.

Contact Judy Burges, LD22 jburges@azleg.gov 602 926 5861. Urge her to NOT

schedule these bills for a hearing. (See more description here).

Article V Convention

• ACTION NOW. HCR2013 – (Article V Convention - Federal Balanced Budget)

Passed House. Assigned to Sen. Gov. This would add another state to those

calling for a constitutional convention that could rewrite the entire U.S.

Constitution (even though it is supposed to be limited to a balanced budget.

The bill is ON THE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE AGENDA 3/8@2 P.M. If

you are signed up for “request to speak” this is a good place to use it. Notice

this is a resolution, not a bill, use this # HCR2013. Read a brief primer on RTS

below. • HB2226 – (Article V Convention - Balanced Budget) passed House 35-25.

Assigned to Sen. Gov. committee, 3/1 but not heard and not on the agenda for

3/8, but instead is scheduled for the appropriations committee, 3/7.

Contact all members of the Senate Governance committee and urge them to NOT

support HCR2013 and also to oppose HB2226. (Read more about the Article V bills

below). Here are members of Sen. Governance committee (all phone #s are 602 926

and then the four digits shown after the name): Sonny Borrelli (5051), Lupe

Contreras (5284) , David Farnsworth (3020), Gail Griffin (5895), John Kavanagh

(5170), Juan Mendez (4124) , and Robert Meza (34250. sborrelli@azleg.gov

lcontreras@azleg.gov; dfarnsworth@azleg.gov ggriffin@azleg.gov jkavanagh@azleg.gov jmendez@azleg.gov rmeza@azleg.gov. You can use “request to speak” for HB2226 on the appropriations committee agenda.

The Arizona Legislature spent the week passing some very bad bills! And as usual,

some truly terrible news out of the White House! Read on to see the “hair on fire”

bill passed by the AZ Senate that could basically shut down rallies and protests in

Arizona, and others that ought to be killed as well as some that will contribute to a

more socially-just society. If a bill you are interested in isn’t listed, use this link to

check on its status: http://www.azleg.gov then click on bills, tracking, and enter its

number. The deadline has passed for bills to be voted on in their house of origin. So

now all House bills that have passed the House go to the Senate, and all Senate bills

go to the House. They keep their same number. All other bills should be dead

unless re-introduced as “strike everything” amendments. Stay tuned!

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Week 18. Action to take! 50 Week Action Plan

1. There are reports this afternoon (Friday) that Sean Spicer, press secretary,

banned many journalists from his daily press briefing including the N.Y.

Times, Washington Post, and others. Some boycotted in support of those who

were banned. Attacks on the free press need to be challenged. Call the White

House comment line 202 456 1111 and register your concern over Sean Spicer

hand-picking the journalists allowed to attend. Or call the switchboard and

ask for him directly: 202 456 1414.

2. SB1142 – “Attack on Free Speech and Assembly” bill in AZ Legislature. This

is a Hair on Fire Bill! We need EVERYONE on this list to contact the Speaker

of the House (J.D. Mesnard, LD 17 Sun Lakes) and urge him NOT to assign

SB1142 to a committee. SB1142 passed the Senate 17-13 but has not yet been

assigned to a committee in the House. The Speaker of the House (Mesnard)

could kill it simply by not assigning it to a committee. jmesnard@azleg.gov

602 926 4481 or send postcard to J.D. Mesnard, Speaker of the House, 1700 W.

Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85007.

This bill makes participating in or helping organize a protest that turns into a riot an

offense that could lead to criminal racketeering charges including significant jail time

and seizure of assets. In fact, the bill says that an overt act isn’t even needed to prove

that there was a conspiracy to riot. That is, even if no violence occurs, those who plan

or participate in a peaceful protest could be charged with racketeering if law

enforcement thinks that a riot might occur. Furthermore, if a rally results in a “riot”

(definition expanded by the law to include disturbing the peace or destruction of

property) the planners can be charged with racketeering under the organized crime

statute even if they had nothing to do with the act of violence. Opponents pointed out

that the violence could be unrelated to the protest entirely, or even intentionally caused

by someone on the other side of the issue in an effort to discredit the peaceful rally. It

doesn’t matter. Those who plan, sponsor, or participate in the rally could be charged as

if they were part of organized crime. This bill makes a mockery of free speech and the

right to peaceful assembly. The Senate fact sheet describes it his way: “Adds rioting

to the list of offenses that can be pursued under racketeering statutes. Expands the

definition of riot and specifies that to prove conspiracy to commit a riot, an overt act is

not required.”

You can read the full bill here: https://apps.azleg.gov/BillStatus/GetDocumentPdf/446080 .

Contact J. D. Mesnard: jmesnard@azleg.gov 602 926 4481 (Room223, House).

Urge him to kill the bill by not assigning it to a committee.

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What’s Inside: Priority Bills Bills Watch List Request to speak calendar Congress

Contacts Who are your state legislators? http://www.azredistricting.org/districtlocator

How to contact them: Senate roster House roster

The Arizona Legislature will spend next week voting on bills in the House and

Senate, and those that pass will move to the other chamber, starting the process all

over again. There are many bills that need to be stopped! On the national scene, big

concerns about the next executive order from President DJT that reportedly will

permit discrimination in the name of religion.

50 Week Action Plan for Week 17

Here are two ways to make a difference in Arizona this week. Read the bill

summaries below, pick one or two that are especially important to you and then:

• Contact your House / Senate members and urge them to vote (yes / no) on a

bill.

• Contact the Speaker of the House (J.D. Mesnard, LD 17 Sun Lakes) and urge

him NOT to bring a House bill up for a vote that you are opposed to; and urge

the President of the Senate (Steve Yarbrough, also LD 17, Sun Lakes) and urge

him NOT to bring a Senate bill up for a vote that you’d like to kill. Their

contact information:

Mesnard: jmesnard@azleg.gov 602 926 4481 (Room223, House)

Yarbrough: syarbrough@azleg.gov 602 926 3004 (Room205, Senate)

The roster for House and Senate members can be found at this link: http://azleg.gov

then click on Senate/members or House/members. The BEST thing to do is show up

at the Capitol and spend the week! (Just joking). There is no way to tell which bills

will be brought up or when.

National Action in support of “Religion that does not discriminate” - President DJT

says he will sign a new executive order next week that will protect religious freedom.

A draft of the executive order, according to the ACLU, is reportedly going to

“permit, fund, authorize, and promote religiously-motivated discrimination against

same-sex couples, transgender people, and people seeking reproductive health care.”

Opponents are urging messages to the White House . This also would be good to

bring up to McCain and Flake also as they may be in the state for President’s day

break. Perhaps pay a visit to their offices! McCain Phoenix Office 2201 East Camelback

Road, suite 115, 602 952 2410; Flake, 2200 East Camelback Road Suite 120 P: 602-840-1891

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F: 602-840-4092. Or, write a postcard to President DJT: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Wash. D.C.

20500

Am I (are you) simply part of a mass public that attempts to influence legislation

toward a more socially-just society? Or am I (are you) now part of a nation-wide

resistance that is essential if we are to protect the integrity and sustainability of

democratic institutions including separation of powers, rights of a free press,

assembly, and trust that leaders are not lying to us or promoting false conspiracy

theories? This is a continuum, but I am increasingly moving toward the latter. Are

you?

What’s Inside: 50 Week Action AZ Bills Action Request to speak calendar Congress

Contacts Bills Watch List

Action Ideas for Week 16:

Protest Deportations – Help Puente Arizona in its advocacy work by visiting its web

page, donating https://www.facebook.com/puenteaz/ and then CALL the new U.S.

Director of Homeland Security, John Kelly, at the comment line (which should be

working as they say they are working on it and it will be up within the hour) 202 282

8495. Let’s swamp the phone lines! If this is not working or already full, call 1-800-

898 7180 or send a fax to 202 612 1976 or mail one of your POSTCARDS to Secretary

John Kelly, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington D.C., 20528. Why?

Because DJT’s deportation plan resulted in an incident here in Phoenix that was

deplorable, mean-spirited, “terror in the night” type of action totally inappropriate

for this country. We must not put up with it! Get on Puente’s mailing list for

updates.

Be a Friend to a Syrian Neighbor – A Week from Sunday, 10 to 12, February 19

Dayspring Methodist Church (1365 E. Elliot, Tempe) is sponsoring a Syrian bake day.

This is the first one in Phoenix. Fifteen or more Syrian bakers will sell their treats, with

all the proceeds going to the bakers, most of whom are Syrian refugees.

Stop empowerment expansion - The Arizona Legislature is undertaking an all-out

effort to expand vouchers to all students, with complete disregard for the

accountability issues and for the consequences vouchers have on free public

education. Contact House Education committee (before Monday at 2) about HB2349.

A Senate version has already passed. These scholarship are part of a nation-wide

effort to privatize public education, which just got more serious with the

confirmation of Betsy DeVos as U.S. Secretary of Education. Empowerment

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scholarships enable a student to take the taxpayer money that would go to their

neighborhood public school (district or charter) and use it to attend a private school,

religious school, or to be home schooled! There is inadequate accountability on how

the money is used. Although there currently is a cap on the number who can

participate, that cap expires in a few years and pressure will build to eliminate the

cap. This program is draining public school funds. Contact every member of the

House Education Committee (by email or phone), and copy both of your own

representatives. Here’s the committee. Use “request to speak” if you have signed up

for this program: http://www.azleg.gov/ click on legislative information, then

request to speak. Put in the bill # ( HB2349). Register your “vote” and comment. Paul Boyer. R LD20. pboyer@azleg.gov 602 926 4173.

Douglas Coleman. R. LD16 vice chairman. dcoleman@azleg.gov. 602. 926 3160.

Lela Alston. D. LD24. lalston@azleg.gov. 602 926 5829

Reginald Bolding. D. LD27. rbolding@azleg.gov. 602 926 3132

Macario Saldate. D. LD3. msaldate@azleg.gov. 601 926 4171

R Bowers R. LD25. rbowers@azleg.gov. 602 926 3128

J Norgaard. R LD. jnorgaard@azleg.gov. 601 926 3140

D Shooter R. LD13. dshooter@azleg.gov 602. 926 4838

David Stringer. R. LD1. dstringer@azleg.gov. 602 926 4838

M Udall. R. LD25. mudall@azleg.gov. 602. 926 4856

B Nutt R LD14. bnutt@azleg.gov. 602 926 48

Action Ideas for Week 15: (Yes, there are WAY too many. Pick something and just

do it!)

• The refugee / Muslim ban - Send a heart-felt thank you to Senators McCain

and Flake, and Representatives Gallego, Grijalva, O’Halleran, and Sinema for

standing up and speaking out against both the refugee ban and the “Muslim”

ban. Both are unjust, probably unconstitutional, and certainly poorly

designed. Martha McSally issued a cautious statement criticizing some

aspects of the ban. Gosar, Biggs, and Franks have statements supporting it.

Schweikert has not made a statement yet. Call, e-mail, or send a personal card

(postcards are fine because someone has to actually see it). If you don’t have

their phones or emails on your phone yet, just call this number to get their

local or national office. 202-224-3121 . More contact information below.

And when you get through to the Senators, re-iterate that Bannon should NOT be

in the White House at all, and certainly not on the National Security Council or

on its “Principal’s committee.” [Week 1 of the 50-Week Action plan we sent

postcards saying “Ban Bannon.”]

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Also, the vote for Betsy DeVos will be held Monday. Her qualifications are very

thin.

• Keep Bannon off the National Security Council! Call the Sen. Homeland

Security Committee 202 224 4751 if you are concerned about him being named

to the “principal’s committee” of the NSC and perhaps even to a permanent

seat on the council itself. Bannon is an ideological political counselor to Pres.

Trump. The NSC deals in facts, not political ideology.

• Residents of Phoenix – Let the Mayor (Greg Stanton) know that many of us

applaud his statement resisting efforts by the Federal government to begin

massive deportations. The City also is considering a citizen-petition to formally

declare as a “sanctuary city” and if you support this, let them know!! Start with

this link to make your position known.

https://www.phoenix.gov/citycouncil/staff

• READ “Indivisible: A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda” –

outstanding analysis of how the Tea Party changed U.S. Politics and how

progressives could do the same! At this site you also can create or register an

“indivisible” group and become part of a nation-wide network of resistance

organizations! Good advice on best ways to influence Congressmen/women.

Arizona Legislation Action List for Feb. 6 – 8. (See more complete list of bills, by

subject, below. These are the ones being heard this week. Committee agendas for

Thur. not posted yet). Who are your state legislators? http://www.azredistricting.org/districtlocator

How to contact them: Senate roster House roster

• HB2348 – Automatic Voter Registration. Join with others to urge Rep. Doug

Coleman (chair of the House Governance committee) to give this bill a hearing!

Contact him 602 926 3160 or put in your e-mail browser (may not work as a

link) dcoleman@azleg.gov

• Article V Conventions – Two almost identically worded bills have already

passed and two more will be heard this week (see discussion under

“democracy” below. These all attempt extreme limits on the Federal

government and most observers left and right think a constitutional convention

of this type would become a “runaway” convention and threaten our democratic

institutions. Contact your Representatives and urge them to oppose any of these

bills: HCR2006 (being heard in FPRPP Tuesday); SCR1024 (Tues., Sen.

Appropriations committee); HCR2010 and HCR2013 have already passed

committee. You can use request to speak on HCR2006 and SCR2014 since these

are on a committee agenda.

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• Threatening Clean elections – HCR 2004 (see discussion below) is back on the

agenda for Wednesday in the House appropriations committee. This would

refer an issue to the voters to take the money away from the Clean Elections

program and give it to education. USE RTS if you are signed up.

• Help for SNAP recipients – HB2372 would enable recipients of this food stamp

program to remain on for an additional 12 month. Will be heard Wednesday,

2/8 in House Health Committee. Use RTS. Contact your Legislators and let them

know how you feel.

• SB1159 Celebratory shooting. This bill by Borelli removes civil liability from a

person who fires a weapon in an area that is not labelled “gun free” even if the

shot injures someone. The bill enables shooting in the air if there is no intent to

harm. Will be heard in Sen. Gov. committee 2/8 (Wednesday.

• Transfer of Guns - Sen. Griffin (R, LD14) has a bill that would prohibit local

government from requiring anyone to search a national data base in order to

transfer personal property (SB1122). Will be heard in Sen. Gov. committee

Wednesday, 2/8.

Desegregation Funding – SB1174. This change in the law would require schools that

currently have desegration funding to put it on the ballot instead of the funding being

New initiatives are springing up all over!! Feel free to share this newsletter. People

can sign up at legislativeadvocacy@vuu.org . There are so many egregious things

going on, it is hard to know where to start.

What’s Inside: 50 Week Action AZ Bills Action calendar Congress Contacts Bills

Watch List

A 50 Week Action Plan – Week 14.

• Start Local and Resist Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Executive Orders: There’s a

nation-wide initiative (sponsored by Mijente and endorsed by the UU

“Standing on the Side of Love Campaign”) whereby you can sign a petition to

the mayor of your city to stand up to Pres. Trump and resist his attempts to

conduct immigration raids and his executive order that would punish sanctuary

cities. You can sign up here if a petition has already been started (one is on-going

in Phoenix), or if one has not been started yet, YOU can start one using that same

link! Put in your zip code. If there is a petition already, you can read about it

and sign it. If not, please help this nation-wide

effort. https://action.mijente.net/efforts/tell-your-mayor-to-defy-trump-expand-

sanctuary/near/new . In Phoenix, we are joining with others to urge Major

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Stanton to put his promise into action by overriding Operation Order 4.48, a

Phoenix PD order that mandates and cements ICE/Police collaboration.

• 10 Actions in the first 100 days! Let’s join with others do postcards again, or

letters to President Trump and mail them! We are not sure they are reading e-

mails or paying any attention to their phones. Let’s swamp the mail slot at the

White House. You can get a post card at this link with the Washington march

insignia https://www.womensmarch.com/100/ or make your own. You can also

scroll down and sign up to get the next new action from them, in 10 days.

During Week 1 of our “50 Week Action Plan” we suggested that we make our

own postcards or buy them and have them say ARIZONA on the front! If you

want, you can make one of your own (postcards are 3.5x5 up to 4.25 x 6). Print a

picture or image on matte paper, cut to appropriate size, turn it over and draw a

line down the middle to make it look like a post card. Mail to:

Pres. Donald Trump

1600 Pennsylvania Ave NEW

Washington D.C. 20500

What to say? Pour out your heart, “Make America Kind Again,” “I don’t want to go

back to the 1950s,” “Let’s move forward to a kinder, gentler nation! ” “just stop it!”

Arizona Legislation Action List for Jan. 30- Feb. 4.

Who are your state legislators? http://www.azredistricting.org/districtlocator

• Prohibiting Municipal IDs – HB2086 This passed the House Federalism,

Property Rights, and Public Policy Committee Tuesday and could be called up

any time. Contact YOUR Representatives and urge them to stop this bill. It

would prohibit local governments from issuing ID cards, on the grounds that

these can be confused with official IDs. People who are not official residents in

Arizona NEED these ID cards for all kinds of things – library card, cashing a

check, using a credit card, etc.

• Constitutional Conventions! Whoa. Who would want that? If you are

registered for Request to Speak, this would be a good time to use it!!! Three

resolutions and one bill propose to include Arizona among the states calling for

an “Article V” convention. These will be heard Tuesday at 2 in the Federalism

Private Property and Public Policy Committee. The resolutions (that would

refer the matter to the public for a vote in Nov. 2018) are HCR2006, HCR2010

and HCR2013. All three call for an Article V convention that would

dramatically limit the federal government but the details differ. The most

extensive is HCR2006 ( Rep. Thorpe (R, LD6, Flagstaff.) This one has a long list of

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purposes for the convention including balancing the federal budget, capping

federal spending at 17.5% of GDP, capping federal taxes at 15% of income;

instituting term limits; repealing the 17th amendment and having U.S. Senators

elected by state legislators. It also requires photo ID for voting and prohibits

anyone but the voter from delivering a ballot unless a certified letter says the

third party did not influence the vote. HCR2010 (Townsend, (R, LD16) limits the

convention “…to proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States that

impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the

federal government and limit the terms of office for federal officials and for members of

Congress but to not less than 12 years.” The third resolution is HCR2013 (Mesnard,

(R, LD17) and it calls ONLY for a balanced budget. Mesnard also introduced HB

2226 that would simply make the request to Congress without it going for a

public vote in Arizona. All would have Arizona join a compact of states calling

for an “Article V” convention, which Congress is obligated to call (according to

Article V of the Constitution) if ¾ of the states request it. Sen. Kavanagh also has

introduced a resolution SCR1002 that is similar to HCR2010. Most progressives

and some conservatives are strongly opposed to Article V conventions. You

can find an issue paper explaining the problems of an “Article V” convention at

http://www.vuu.org/legislative-advocacy (scroll down past “purposes” to issue

papers). NPR recently broadcast one of the “Intelligence2 debates on this topic,

and the opponents scored a big win.

• Good News. The bill to repeal clean elections was pulled and not heard by

committee. – HCR2004 . This is a cynical proposal to send to the voters in Nov.

2018 an initiative that would eliminate the Clean Elections Program and transfer

the money to education! This was on the agenda for Wednesday, but was pulled

at the last minute for lack of support and rumor has it that there was

overwhelming opposition through the Request to Speak system. It could come

back up, though, so we’ll continue watching. The Citizen’s Clean Elections

commission helps get money out of politics and provides critical assistance to

holding candidates to the campaign laws.

• Good news! Bill to support passed!! SB1108 expands eligibility for the

children’s cash assistance program to those living with an unrelated adult who

are in DCS care, or in custody of tribal courts. This is a small change, but it

helps! It passed the Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee. Rules is

next, but not yet scheduled.

Request to Speak – If you are signed up for “request to speak” you can make your

voice heard on any bill that is on the agenda!! If you are signed up, here’s the link

https://apps.azleg.gov/Account/SignOn?ReturnUrl=%2fRequestToSpeak. If you are

not, then make a trip to 1700 W. Washington St. in Phoenix and sign up or in Tucson,

go to 400 W. Congress street, suite 201 where you can sign up. It is worth the effort!

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Last week, HB2293 that would have prohibited prisoners from being able to have

gender reassignment surgery was pulled from the committee and not heard because

of the large number of RTS sign-ins that opposed it.

The 50 Week Action plan

Week 1. Nov. 17.]

What Can We Do? Week 1. Guard against “normalizing,” the behavior,

language, and beliefs of the newly elected President. Hold true to your values, set the

bar high, and let’s not regress to some romanticized time period of the past that was

not better, but in fact was more discriminatory, more repressive, more exclusive, and

more difficult to get ahead.

Wear the safety pin (and wear along with it other symbols of your beliefs such as a

Black Lives Matter Ribbon, a Standing on the Side of Love pin, or a favorite symbol of

your own.

The safety pin symbolizes that we are standing with all those who have

been disparaged, marginalized, disrespected, injured, arrested, killed

because of their color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or beliefs. Some

wear it because they are able to offer a “safe place,” and would be able to

physically protect someone who is being trashed by a mob. Others wear it

to show that we “have your back” and will do what we can, with what

we’ve got, from where we are. We will to speak up when others speak

unkindly and we will in so far as we are able protect everyone’s rights,

freedom, and safety. If we can, we will do more.

Choose an organization that works for the safety, rights, liberty, and opportunity, for

all people especially those who were disrespected in the Presidential campaign:

women, people of color, Muslim, immigrants, disabled, GLBT and those who are being

disrespected now for their support of DT especially working class white men. Stand

for the respect and dignity of all people by joining, donating to, volunteering for an

organization of your choice. Here are some possibilities. The link is to the Arizona

chapter, but you can also join national chapters of most of these groups. (If the links

don’t work in your browser, just google the name).

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Original List of Organizations:

• American Civil Liberties Union – The ACLU may be the best choice for

opposing illegal and unethical policies and actions by the new administration

that will begin January 20, 2017. There are extraordinary signals already that the

DT administration may have more conflicts of interest and be more corrupt, as

well as unjust, than any we have seen before. The ACLU is a real hawk on basic

values – freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and the press.

• Planned Parenthood – Planned Parenthood is under attack in Arizona and

throughout the United States as they courageously continue to provide health

care for women seeking family planning, cancer screening, and legal abortions.

They need our help.

• Sierra Club – perhaps less noticed but surely high on the agenda are the attacks

that DT made on environmental efforts to confront climate change and protect

our planet. We are all part of the interconnected web of existance. Support for

the Sierra Club and volunteer work is needed.

• League of Women Voters – The League is one of the best ever in its commitment

to rational, logical, inclusive spproach to issues and its support for democracy.

There are chapters all over the metropolitan areas of Arizona, and also a state-

wide chapter. “Democracy is not a spectator sport.” Women and men both are

welcome to join.

• Black Lives Matter – this organization has re-energized the civil rights

movement for persons of African-American decent and holds us all accountable

for making the United States a place for all.

• Puente Arizona – Puente AZ is the most active advocacy group in Arizona when

it comes to state-wide legislation. Quoting from their web page: “The Puente

Human Rights Movement is a grassroots migrant justice organization based in

Phoenix, Arizona. We develop, educate, and empower migrant communities to

protect and defend our families and ourselves.”

• NARAL Pro-Choice Arizona – Women’s reproductive rights are absolutely at

risk, as the new administration may be able to appoint judges to overturn Roe v.

Wade. NARAL’s mission: “The mission of NARAL Pro-Choice Arizona is to

develop and sustain a constituency that uses the political process to guarantee

every woman the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of

reproductive choices, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing

healthy children, and choosing legal abortion.”

• Southern Poverty Law Center – SPLC tracks hate groups, hate crime, white

nationalists, NAZI groups, as well as incidents by alt-right and other extremist

violent organizations. This is probably the best national site for offering

opposition to the KKK and all the other racist, homophobic, hate groups.

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• Equality Arizona – This is a proactive advocacy group in Arizona working to

protect the rights and lives of LGBTQ persons. “We network, stay focused, and

organize around key issues facing the LGBTQ community.”

• Council on American – Islamic Relations - CAIR is an advocacy group working

against the anti-Islam movements in the United States.

The Arizona List. The Arizona List is a grassrotts political group whose mission it “to

elect progressive,pro-choice Democratic women.” The group was founded in 2004 and

works to support candidates who are pro-choice and also holds training for women

interested in running for office.

American Association University Women – The AAUW is a long-standing organization

for women who have attended college. It advocates for women and girls, with special

emphasis on education pay equity, human trafficking, earned sick/safe leave and

prison reform.

Anti-Defamation League – The Arizona Anti-Defamation League is one of many

branches odf this national organization that provide “…an ongoing and dynamic

counter to bigotry, discrimination and hate in all forms, against any and all groups.”

Secular Coalition of Arizona – SCA is a chapter in the national Secular Coalition that

advocates for a continuation of secular governance. Special attention is given to

opposing legislation that permits discrimination in the name of religion and that allows

public funds for religious schools. These issues become ever more important as the

religious right gains ascendency in national and state elected politics.

Children’s Action Alliance – The AZ Children’s Action Alliance maintains a very active

tracking and monitoring of AZ Legislation involving children and families including

education, health, immigration, welfare, minimum wages and so on. CAA puts out an

outstanding analysis of the AZ budget each year, and a report on how legislators voted.

Arizona School Board Association – ASBA is a progressive education lobbying and

advocacy group that tracks legislation in real time and provides weekly updates on

bills impacting K-12 education.

Arizona Advocacy Network – AZAN is a state-wide advocacy group focused on good

government, including voting rights, opposing voting suppression bills in the AZ

Legislature, and monitoring elections. They have an active presence in tracking AZ

legislative activity.

Valley Interfaith Project – VIP is a progressive interfaith group that is active in

monitoring state legislation in Arizona and in holding “civic forums” on a variety of

public policy issues such as prison reform, immigration, education.

22

Arizona Faith Network - AFN is an interfaith organization with active involvement in

progressive public policy issues and environmental concerns.

Protecting Arizona’s Family Coalition – PAFCO is a state-wide advocacy group whose

policy priorities including health, poverty, welfare, disability rights, children, and

sexual abuse as well as others. PAFCO holds training/oriention for legislative action

and maintains an active notification and presence at the Legislature.

AZ National Organization for Women – the AZ chapter of the National Organization

for Women advocates for women’s rights. Unlike most of the 501 organizations, NOW

is a 501 c 4 and endorses candidates for office and engages in more direct lobbying.

Arizona Disability Advocacy Coalition- The AZDAC “coordinates advocacy efforts that

promote public policy, and enhances the choice, dignity, rights and responsibilities of people with

disabilities and their families. AzDAC meets monthly at the AZ Ability360 Center. American

Civil Liberties Union

UUJAZ – Unitarian Universalist Justice Arizona – UUJAZ is the Arizona justice

advocacy network, and is part of the national Unitarian Universalist group of state

advocacy groups. UUs work for progressive social justice principles.

There are many other worthy organizations locally and nationally. Choose one (or

more) and volunteer, become a member, make a donation or help in every way you

can.

Week 2. A 50 Week Plan. This is not the time to feel so overwhelmed that we simply

retreat and do nothing or flail about Don-Quixote-style feeling alone and helpless.

This issue of the AZ Legislative Alert outlines a 50-week-plan that we can pursue to

do our part in protecting all people and our democratic institutions from anti-

democratic actions by the newly elected Trump administration.

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Each week, the AZ Legislative Alert will have at least one new action opportunity—

and not more than two or three at the most – so that all of us actually can do this. If

we do, then surely it will make a difference.

Week 2, November 22 – Call Senators and Representative

CALL (phone numbers below) both senators and your representative. Spill your

heart out to them about how the election of Trump makes you feel, along with some

of your own special concerns. For example,

“Hello….” I am one of your constituents and want to let you know that the

election of Donald Trump leaves me feeling ….[angry, depressed, scared,

worried, concerned…]. I am especially worried about ... [deportation, the

Affordable Care Act, climate change, immigration, “registering” Muslims,

cutting taxes, women’s reproductive rights, his investments and foreign

entanglements...]. The things he has said about… [ women, disabled people,

Muslims, Mexicans…] have legitimated hate language in my community. [Add

a specific example of your own; tell your own story]. Please… [stand up to

Trump’s repressive words and deeds, reject his anti-democratic policies; do not

let his administration destroy our democracy…] [Add your own note].

Call both Senators. Calling probably is best but e-mails will be read and tallied as

will letters.

• Sen. John McCain - 202 224 2235. The mailbox may be full, so you can e mail at

Senator_McCain@McCain.Senate.Gov Address (The Honorable John McCain) 241

Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510. With the e-mail, you will have to fill out a form, but take the time to do it. It is worth it. Remember, Sen. McCain was very skeptical of Trump.

• Sen. Jeff Flake - 202 224 4521 . e-mail Senator.Flake@Flake.senate.gov

Address 413 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510. Sen. Flake

refused to endorse Trump.

The AZ Legislative Alert THANKS those individuals, groups, and organizations that spread

the word about participating in A 50-Week-Plan including The Issue Wonk! Groups or

organizations that would like to be named here, contact legislativealert@vuu.org to express

your interest and get more information.

24

Call your Representative. Some of you should call two representatives—current and

the newly elected one. Here’s their information. (Look up your Congressional district

here.)

1 Kirkpatrick, Ann

D 202-225-3361 http://kirkpatrick.house.gov/ 201 Cannon House Office Building

Washington D.C. 20515

1 Tom O'Holleran D (928) 275-1603

http://www.tomohalleran.com/contact

PO Box 20375 Sedona AZ 86341

2 McSally, Martha

R 202-225-2542 https://mcsally.house.gov/ 1029 Longworth HOB Sedona, AZ 86341

3 Grijalva, Raul

D 202-225-2435 https://grijalva.house.gov/ 1511 Longworth HOB Washington D.C. 20515

4 Gosar, Paul A.

R 202-225-2315 http://gosar.house.gov/ 504 Cannon HOB Washington D.C. 20515

5 Salmon, Matt

R 202-225-2635 http://salmon.house.gov

2349 Rayburn HOB Washington D.C. 20515

Andy Biggs R

info@biggsforcongress.com 1234 South Power Road, Suite 251, Mesa, Arizona 85206

6 Schweikert, David

R 202-225-2190 http://schweikert.house.gov

409 Cannon HOB Washington D.C. 20515

7 Gallego, Ruben

D 202-225-4065 http://gallego.house.og

1218 ongworth LHOB Washington D.C. 20515

8 Franks, Trent

R 202-225-4576 http://franks.house.gov

2435 Rayburn HOB Washington D.C. 20515

9 Sinema, Kyrsten

D 202-225-9888 http://sinema.house.gov

1530 Longworth HOB Washington D.C. 20515

Week 3. On this Thanksgiving weekend, let’s CALL PAUL RYAN TO SUPPORT

THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT AND LETS PARTICIPATE IN THE “BAN

BANNON” POSTCARD AVALANCHE.

Also… give thanks for one another and for all the progressives who are taking

action to achieve a more socially-just society. Let us pledge to respect the inherent

worth and dignity of every person, protect democratic values and institutions, and

25

sustain the interconnected web of life, of which we are a part, by protecting the

planet. Each week, the AZ Legislative Alert will have at least one new action

opportunity as part of the “50 Week Plan” —and not more than two or three at the

most – so that all of us actually can do this. If we do, then surely it will make a

difference. You can find the full list of ideas for the 50 Week Action Plan as well as

previous copies of the AZ Legislative Alert at http://www.vuu.org/legislative-

advocacy

Week 3, November 24 – 50-Week Plan Action Items

• BAN BANNON POSTCARD AVALANCHE! Join the Postcard

avalanche protesting appointment of Stephen Bannon to be Trump’s senior

advisor! Why? Because Bannon is a white nationalist, associated with Breitbart – alt-

right white supremacy, conspiracy theories, anti-feminist, anti-immigrant, anti-black/brown/Asian, anti-everything except white people! Read more here https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/is-steve-bannon-really-as-bad-as-all-that/2016/11/15/3c74af12-ab81-11e6-8b45-f8e493f06fcd_story.html?utm_term=.cfb473cda3a4

• send a postcard directly to Trump! Here are the basic instructions to participate: ** IMPORTANT - Don't mail your card until NOV. 26th ** 1. Get a postcard about your state - any picture that represents your state. 2. In the message section, write this simple message: NOT BANNON! 3. Sign your name if you wish 4. Address it as follows: Donald Trump, c/o The Trump Organization, 725 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022 5. Affix a stamp - you can use a 35 cent postcard stamp, or a normal letter stamp.

6. Take a picture of your postcard that you can share on social media on Nov. 26-28th 7. Drop it in the mail between Saturday, Nov 26th and Monday, Nov. 28th to create an avalanche of postcards. 8. On Nov. 26-28th, Tweet and share the heck out of your photo using the hashtags #postcardavalanche #stopbannon

Call Paul Ryan.. (202) 225-3031 or (202) 225-0600. Read more about it here.

You can also leave him an e mail message http://www.speaker.gov/contact.

• Affordable Care Act. Paul Ryan, speaker of the U.S. House of

Representatives, is taking a telephone survey hoping to get millions of calls

opposing the Affordable Care Act and supporting his bill to repeal it, HR

3762, which also calls for a one-year freeze on federal funding for Planned

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Parenthood. Repealing this would take insurance away from an estimated

600,000 or more Arizonans.. Gov. Ducey and former Gov. Jan Brewer – both

Republicans – have urged Trump not to repeal ACA as this would be a

disaster for Arizona. Call (wait for awhile, it make take a couple of minutes to

ring and if the mailbox is full, try again).

Reading The Issue Wonk? A weekly progressive wrap-up from around the United

States and the world. Well worth the time! Sign up here. (It’s free).

Week 4. Give a gift as a donation, and ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTE IS Dec. 19

1. Give a donation as a gift --- Remember that relative or friend you would like

to honor during this holiday season? Someone who shares your values and

your concerns about the impact of the recent election on social justice and

democracy? Consider giving a donation in their name to an advocacy group or

charity that shares your (and your friend/relative) values. You can find

possibilities and ideas below (scroll down if the link doesn’t work).

2. What to do about the Electoral College? -- Begin (or continue) your own

education about the Electoral College system of electing the President, and

decide what (if anything) you want to say to the Arizona electors who will be

meeting at the State Capitol December 19th. Unofficial addresses and ways to

contact the Arizona electors are found below. (Scroll down if the link doesn’t

work.) If you live in another state, you can find the names of your electors at

this site on Wikepedia. BE RESPECTFUL if you decide to contact the electors.

These are honorary positions, held by respectable citizens, who did not agree

to the task with the idea that it would be a controversial event!

Electors actually meet on December 19 at the State Capitol. At least two rallies are

planned for Arizona (at the Capitol, 1700 W. Washington) posted on social media: 3

p.m. rally and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. rally

What To Do? Quick overview of three primary options: 1. Say nothing. Let the electors do their jobs now in 2016 and work to reform

the Electoral College later.

2. Urge the Republican electors to abstain or vote for anyone except Donald

Trump. He has to have 270 electoral votes to win. He currently has 306 so if

only a handful of Republican electors do not vote for him, the election will go

into the U.S. House of Representatives where each state’s delegation has ONE

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VOTE. This would enable to Republicans to decide who they actually want to

be president, and it does not have to be Donald Trump.

3. Urge the Republican electors to vote for the candidate who won the national

popular vote (Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by about 2.5 million). She

currently has 232 electoral votes, so if 39 Republican electors vote for the

national popular vote winner, she would become the President.

Scroll down to see an extended discussion of these options. This is a complicated

issue, and good arguments can be found for many different positions.

What to Do About the Electoral College, Part I An Extended Discussion of 3 Options for the December 19 Electoral College Vote

By Anne L. Schneider, Ph.D.

1. Say nothing at all

Many of you may prefer to say nothing at all and let the electors do their job, as they

fully expected to by virtue of state law or pledges made at the time of their

appointment. Arizona has no law binding electors to vote for the candidate who won

the popular vote in the state, but electors are expected by pledge and tradition to vote

for the winner. Thus, for an elector to violate that pledge is asking them to break their

word. On the other hand, the founders established the Electoral College system

intentionally to prevent a popular but unqualified candidate from conning the public

through lies, deception, exaggeration, name-calling, bullying, and false promises. Some

contend this is what Donald Trump has done – conned the public.

In spite of the efforts by mainstream media to fact check his statements or apply

common-sense logic to his proposals, enough people voted for him anyway. Others

argue that in spite of these issues, the electors should be allowed to cast their votes as

expected, and Trump become president, because of the damage it would do to the

integrity of the U.S. democracy if the rules were changed after the election has been

held.

Another point is that whoever actually won would be a “tainted” president from the

outset. And still another argument against doing anything is that the alternatives

would probably produce a result just as bad from a social justice perspective, such as

Mike Pence becoming President, as he has advanced far-right religious views entirely

unacceptable to progressives.

Thus, some argue, the best choice for progressives is to let the electoral college take

its course for 2016 but work on reforms in the future.

2. Urge Republican electors to abstain or vote for someone else.

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Although abstaining or voting for someone else would require electors to break

from tradition, it is not clear in Arizona that the electors actually were asked to sign a

pledge supporting the winner of the state election and some are on record as not being

Trump supporters. Persuasive arguments can be made that founders expected electors

to use their discretion when casting their vote – after all, that is a primary reason it is in

the Constitution.

Why should an elector cast a vote for a person who is unqualified to be President?

Unqualified in that he has no public service experience, has demonstrated a surprising

and frightening lack of knowledge of domestic and foreign affairs as well as obvious

gaps in his understanding of what the powers and responsibilities of the President

actually are.

Why should electors be expected to vote for a person who, because of his business

dealings and foreign entanglements may be committing an impeachable offense

(violation of the emolument clause of the constitution) on the very day he is

inaugurated? Is there anything moral or patriotic about voting for a person who

proposes violation of the constitution such as taking away someone’s citizenship if

they burn the flag! Citizenship is conferred by the constitution and is not a permissible

penalty for any criminal action.

Why should an elector be expected to vote for someone who in his campaign

demonstrated autocratic, dictator-like behavior? Perhaps the elector should believe

Trump when he said he would put his opponent in jail, would levy a 35% tax on

companies trying to import goods back into the United States, would have “different

generals” if they refused to obey his order to violate U.S. and international law

banning waterboarding.

Perhaps electors should believe what Trump said and vote in such a way as to deny

him the Presidency. If no candidate gets 270 votes, the election goes to the U.S. House

of Representatives where each state’s delegation has one vote, assuring that the

Republican party would still control the Presidency but possibly with a different

person. These “unfaithful” voters are sometimes called “Hamilton” voters, because

Alexander Hamilton believed that the electoral college was a necessary protection for

democracy.

“The process of the Electoral College affords a moral certainty, that the office of the President will

never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite

qualifications.” -Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Paper #68

Supporters of the idea of abstaining or voting one’s conscience are not urging electors

to be unfaithful, immoral, or anti-democratic, but are urging them to carry out the

original intent of the constitution. If one thinks that Donald Trump’s rise to the

Presidency is similar to Hitler’s rise to power in Weimer Germany, then denying him

the electoral vote is the right thing to do.

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3. Urge Republican electors to vote for the candidate who won the national

popular vote.

At first glance this may seem like a cynical strategy of Hillary Clinton’s campaign

to “steal” the election that she did not win. On the other hand, one of the most popular

reforms of the Electoral College system is for state legislatures to pass legislation

requiring their electors to cast their votes for whoever won the national popular vote,

with the condition that this requirement does not go into effect until enough states

have joined the “compact” so that 270 votes would be guaranteed to the winner of the

national popular vote. Ten states and the District of Columbia have already passed

this legislation. All are Democratic states, and therefore no electoral votes would be

changed for 2016.

In 2016, the Arizona House passed HB2456 (40-16) to join this state compact

requiring Arizona electors to cast their votes for the national popular vote winner.

SB1218 would have done the same thing, and it had 20 sponsor, with only 16 votes

needed to win. However, Senate leadership did not call it up for a vote.

Thus, a supporter of this position could argue that now is the time to put this reform

in place and therefore the current electors are justified in casting their vote for the

winner of the national popular vote. The national popular vote idea is supported by

two principles most people will agree are central to democracy: one is that a person

who wins more of the votes in an election defeats those who garnered fewer votes; and

another is that everyone’s vote should count. The Electoral College achieves neither of

these.

The United States is the only advanced democracy in the world in which the winner

of the national popular vote does not necessarily win the presidency. This also

happened in 2000 when Al Gore had more popular votes than George Bush, and three

times in the 1800s.

Also, the U.S. Presidency is the only election in the United States for public officials

in which the person who wins the most votes can actually be defeated by someone

who gained fewer votes. (Someone who wins a primary may later be defeated in a run-

off but in the final analysis, the person with the most votes wins).

In the current Electoral College system, the “winner take all” provision means that

the votes cast by people in the state who voted for the losing candidate do not count at

all. Even if the two states that allocate their electoral votes by congressional district,

those voting for the losing candidate in that district are among those whose votes do

not count at all. Some elections use proportional voting so that each candidate receives

votes proportionate to their share of the election, but that is not the case in the Electoral

College.

These last two options bring up the question of what the penalty is for an

“unfaithful” elector, and in the 29 states that bind their electors by law, the penalty is

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a misdemeanor and small fine. If such a penalty was imposed, it could be challenged

and might be found unconstitutional since the constitution gives electors the right to

vote for the candidate they prefer and does not bind the in any way.

Week 5. Congress reportedly is planning to “fast track” Pres-elect

Trump’s appointment for Secretary of Defense by slipping a necessary

“waiver” for him into the temporary / emergency funding bill that will

be voted on Thursday by the U.S. House and possibly the same day by

the Senate. WHOA! Bad Precedent.

If this concerns you (and it should), please CALL your U.S.

Representative and Senators Flake and McCain today or EARLY

tomorrow. (Or E-mail). This is a sneaky effort by some in Congress to

avoid a full discussion of General Mattis and sets a terrible precedent for

how the Congress will hold its own to protect constitutional principles

in the coming Trump administration. Granting a waiver to allow a

recent military General to be Secretary of Defense needs a thorough

discussion, not a sneaky insert into a must-pass budget bill.

This link takes you to contact information.

WhoIsMyRepresentative.com

What to say: (Thanks to Mary Rothschild for this action idea and background

information).

Background. Pres. Elect Trump has said he will nominate Gen. James Mattis for

Secretary of Defense. There is a legal requirement that the Secretary of Defense must be

a civilian (not a military person) and former military personnel must have been out of

uniform for 7 or more years. A bedrock principle of American democracy is that

civilians are in charge of the military! Gen. Mattis may (or may not) be a good

appointment, but the issue at this time is that he does not meet the 7 year separation

requirement. It is possible for Congress to grant a waiver on this requirement, but the

issue right now is that a decision about the waiver should NOT BE SNEAKED INTO A

MUST-PASS BUDGET BILL AND APPROVED WITHOUT ADEQUATE DISCUSSION

OR PUBLIC INPUT! Congress will have plenty of time to discuss whether they should

grant a waiver or not. Sneaky and deceptive actions by Congress must not go

unnoticed by a vigilant citizenry!

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Here is the letter that Professor Mary Rothschild shared on her Facebook page today.

She urges us to use as much or as little as we want, but let’s DO SOMETHING! Dear Senator McCain,

Please do not vote for the shortcut waiver attached to the funding bill for General James Mattis. I know it must seem like a great end run around the constitutional and congressional stipulations about civilian control of the military, but it is fundamentally wrong to set such a precedent.

As I am sure you know, the only time the US has waived the 7 year separation requirement was for George Marshall, who was a wholly different choice in an entirely different time and that still had to be done with a separate congressional action. James Mattis may be a good choice for Department of Defense, but he should be fully vetted and the waiver to consider him should be a separate bill, fully debated, and not rammed through, because the country needs funding to avoid shut down.

The concept of civilian control of the military was one of the (many) brilliant innovations that our Founding Fathers wrote into the Constitution. It was astonishing at the time and has served us incredibly well over the ensuing years. Please do not set us down the slippery slope of upending one of the most basic ideas behind American democracy.

Sincerely yours,

Mary Rothschild, Ph.D.

IF YOU MISS THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD ON THIS ISSUE, CALL

ANYWAY AND “FUSS” ABOUT CONGRESS NOT DOING ITS JOB! YOU CAN

CALL THE LOCAL OFFICE OF YOUR U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM THIS LINK http://usecalltoaction.com/

Week 6. Here are two things we can each do this week that will be helpful during

chaotic emergence of the Trump Administration.

• Oppose NSEERS – Did you know the U.S. actually had (and still has) a

registry program that mainly impacts Muslims? Let’s call or e-mail the Obama

administration to finish elimination of NSEERS— National Security Entry Exit

System. This was a largely-hidden registry program put in place after 9/11 that

required all males from a list of 25 countries to register with the U.S.

Government. The countries were Arab / Muslim majority countries plus North

Korea. This program is no longer active, but is still on the record. Persons had to

go for an interview, were asked questions such as “are you a terrorist.” If

President Obama eliminates it before he leaves office, it will be harder for the

Trump administration to start it up again, and a reboot may well be

unconstitutional because President Elect Trump is on record as saying it would

be one way to register Muslims without appearing to target people because of

their religion. A registry of just Muslims would violate the first amendment. A

Trump immigration adviser, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, told

Reuters in November that the transition team would recommend bringing back

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NSEERS. A week later, he was photographed with Trump holding documents of

his immigration plan. Among the legible text of the plan was that NSEERS is

"updated and reintroduced" and that “all aliens from high-risk areas are

tracked.” Read about NSEERS here.

Action plan: call President Obama to leave a comment 202-456-1111

E mail President Obama https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact Ask him to finish eliminating the Muslim registry program, NSEERS.

Here’s my script: Hello, my name is _______ from _______. I understand that

we have a program called NSEERS – national security entry/exist system -- and

that even though it is no longer active, it is still on the books and President

Trump could re-activate it! My request is to let President Obama know that I

support a complete elimination of that program, so that it will be far more

difficult for Donald Trump to reboot it. And, Merry Christmas President

Obama, I am proud you have been our President.

• De-escalation training - People all over the United States are wearing safety

pins, symbolizing our commitment to speak up / stand up if we encounter

hateful words or acts against marginalized people or against anyone! Yet,

many of us may not know how to de-escalate a hate-filled conflict situation.

De-escalation training will help us improve our skills. Learn more about how

to do this by attending the de-escalation training Dec. 20 at VUU (7 p.m. see

more below). If you can’t make the training, try one of the on-line videos to

help de-escalation skills:

What to Do If You Are Witnessing Islamophobic Harassment: A

Bystander's Guide to Helping the Person Who's Being Targeted by Marine-

Shirine Veren http://www.alternet.org/…/alternet-comics-marie-shirine-yen…

A How-To Guide from the Ruckus

Society http://ruckus.org/downloads/RuckusActionStrategyGuide.pdf

Standing on the Side of love de-escalation video

https://www.facebook.com/SideofLove/videos/10154119630468014/

Week 7 - 50 Week Action Plan: Affordable Care Act

Senator Jeff Flake has been reported as saying that he “isn’t hearing much from his constituents

about why he should vote against the repeal of the Affordable Care Act” (“Obamacare”). Well, time

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to let him know that some (many, maybe most) of us in Arizona DO support affordable health care

for all as a fundamental human right! Reports are that Congress may take up repeal of the

Affordable Health Care Plan as one of its very first actions! But they may repeal it, effective three or

more years from now rather than put anything in its place that would protect the 20 million or so

who now have insurance.

The ACA relies on private sector insurance and a three-year delay while Congress tries to figure out

how to avoid eliminating health insurance for 20 million people will probably kill the program, as

private insurers would drop out of the plan entirely. Most counties in Arizona this year only had

one company offering health care on the exchanges and in some counties the premiums almost

doubled. The ACA needs to be amended and problems fixed so that all citizens of this country have

high quality, affordable health care. But it does NOT need to be repealed, effective years later, as

that would simply kill the program perhaps forever.

What’s Inside? deescalation (report from the Electoral College vote) calendar

Contact Senator Jeff Flake and Senator John McCain, and let them know how you feel. Since it is the

Christmas break, contact the Arizona offices!

JEFF FLAKE Washington, D.C. Office Senate Russell Office Building 413 Washington, D.C. 20510 P: 202-224-

4521 F: 202-228-0515 Phoenix Office 2200 East Camelback Road Suite 120 Phoenix, AZ 85016 P: 602-840-1891 F: 602-840-4092

Tucson Office 6840 North Oracle Road Suite 150 Tucson, AZ 85704 P: 520-575-8633 F: 520-797-3232

JOHN MCCAIN Washington D.C. Office Phone: 202-224-2235 Fax: 202-228-2862 Address: 218

Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510

Phoenix office 2201 East Camelback Road Suite 115 Phoenix, AZ 85016 Main: (602) 952-2410 Fax: (855) 952-8702 Prescott Office 122 North Cortez Street Suite 108 Prescott, AZ 86301 Main: (928) 445-0833 Fax: (928)

445-8594

Tucson Office 407 West Congress Street Suite 103 Tucson, AZ 85701 Main: (520) 670-6334 Fax: (520)

670-6637

Find your three Members of Congress their official websites, and their office contact info at www.callmycongress.com.

Read more about ACA from Protecting Arizona’s Family. And from “We Are UltraViolet” One

organization even has tools to help you write a letter to the editor. Try it here.

Children’s Action Alliance is making opposition to the repeal a priority. Read more.

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What happened to NSEERS (National Security Entry / Exit System) that many of you called about

last week? The Washington Post is reporting today (Thursday) that Obama has dumped it! The

administration will publish its decision in the Federal Register on Friday.

What happened to NSEERS (National Security Entry / Exit System) that many of you

called about last week? The Washington Post is reporting today (Thursday) that

Obama has dumped it! The administration will publish its decision in the Federal

Register on Friday.

Week 8 – 50 Week Action Plan.. Action Suggestions

Next week will be very busy with Congress getting ready for hearings on Trump’s

nominees for cabinet and other positions as well as the run-up to the Arizona

Legislature opening on January 9. So: Enjoy the New Year’s Weekend and…

• Add to your New Year’s Resolution one that reflects your commitment to

bending the arc of history toward justice – it will need our help.

• Make your own action plan for the year!

• The issue of General James Mattis become U.S. Secretary of Defense in spite

of the fact that he has not been retired long enough from the military may

come up again in Congress. Arizona Congressman Ruben Gallego has

written an excellent op-ed for the Washington Post on why he, as an ex-

Marine, will oppose General Mattis for this position. Read it in full below.

Happy New Year Everyone!

I’m a Marine veteran. A recently retired Marine shouldn’t be defense secretary.

By Ruben Gallego, Congressman, Arizona

As a combat veteran of the Marine Corps and a longtime admirer of Gen. James N. Mattis, I was sad to annouce this month that I could not in good conscience support granting him a waiver to

serve as our 26th secretary of defense.

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I explained that my decision was motivated not by political considerations but by concern for the enduring American principle of civilian control of the military. I lauded Mattis’s eminent

qualifications and leadership skills while affirming that this central tenent of our democracy

should matter more than any single individual.

What happened next was revealing.

Despite my considered words, I got an earful from Marines across the country, including men I

served alongside in Iraq. They called and wrote letters. They tweeted and texted. In some

colorful language that I can’t repeat in this space, they questioned my loyalty to the Marine

Corps and to our country.

Paradoxically, their passionate defense of Mattis and their anger toward me confirmed my

reservations about his appointment. For me, the reaction immediately verified the wisdom of

Congress in establishing a cooling-off period for former military leaders. The anger that my

stance elicited among many of my fellow Marines demonstrated, albeit on a small scale, the

danger to our democracy of a defense secretary coming to power with the ardent loyalty of the

men and women he recently commanded.

The members of Congress who, in 1947, enshrined in law this period of separation had fresh

memories of World War II. Like our Founding Fathers, they recognized that political leaders

should derive their authority from the will of the people — not the personal fealty of members of

the armed forces. As a result, they were wary of a decorated general slipping off his uniform and

immediately stepping into an ostensibly civilian role. In addition, they were justifiably

apprehensive about installing a secretary of defense who could be perceived as partial to one

service over the others.

More than a half-century later, these concerns are still highly relevant. We should ask ourselves

whether the reputation of our military as a highly professional, nonpartisan institution would be

tainted if its most respected leaders were allowed to seamlessly segue into political positions.

That’s why, instead of simply rubber-stamping President-elect Donald Trump’s choice, it is

critical that we engage in a meaningful debate before discarding this well-established precedent.

The last time a recently retired military man, the great George Marshall, was permitted to lead

the Pentagon, the United States was facing the prospect of ignominious defeat in the Korean

War. Even then, congressional leaders specified that his waiver was a one-time exception to the

rule. While our country must confront an array of threats today, none of our national security

challenges remotely compares to a massive war in the Far East. This history should inform

Congress’s decision about Mattis. When it comes to something as basic as civilian control of the

military, I strongly believe waivers should be granted for extraordinary circumstances — not

extraordinary people.

Many of my fellow Democrats disagree. Recognizing Mattis’s exceptional judgment and ability,

they believe he could serve as a counterweight to Trump — a partial antidote to our new

commander in chief’s profound lack of expertise, experience and discipline on matters of

national security. I certainly sympathize with this view. However, I am equally concerned about

the kinds of decisions that will emanate from the White House if, as appears likely, the national

security adviser, the homeland security secretary and the defense secretary are all former

generals. The American people should demand a diversity of views and experiences — both

military and civilian — in the Situation Room.

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When debate on Mattis’s waiver resumes in January, a long-standing precedent will be at stake. Future generations of American leaders — perhaps facing circumstances far more perilous than

our own — will look at how we dealt with this test of our commitment to civilian control of the

military. Congress would be wise to uphold this time-honored principle by denying Mattis a

waiver to serve as secretary of defense.

Read more about ACA from Protecting Arizona’s Family. And from “We Are

UltraViolet” One organization even has tools to help you write a letter to the editor.

Try it here.

Children’s Action Alliance is making opposition to the repeal a priority. Read more.

Week 9 – 50 Week Action Plan

Congress convenes today, and we have the opportunity to join with thousands of

others TODAY and TOMORROW across the United States for national call-ins to:

• Oppose repeal of the Affordable Care Act (which Congress will take up today

and tomorrow) in partnership with Arizona’s Children’s Action Alliance and

others by contacting Senators McCain and Flake as well as your Congress

person;

• Protest Trump’s conflicts of interest and refusal to release his tax returns (in

partnership with many allied organizations including the Arizona League of

Women Voters and a forthcoming bill by Sen. Elizabeth Warren);

• Support Sen. John McCain’s investigative hearings Thursday into the Russian

cyberattack on our election; and

• Oppose the Senate confirmation of Sen. Jeff Sessions as Attorney General (in

support of an NAACP sit-in taking place in Session’s home office until he

withdraws from consideration.

The easy way to “speak up.” Click on this link to get all the contact information for Senators McCain

and Flake as well as Arizona members of the U.S. House.

WhoIsMyRepresentative.com Call or e-mail. Don’t be shy! Pick up that phone! Address one, two,

three, or all four issues!

GET READY – The Arizona Legislature convenes Monday, January 9,

and many progressive groups will be holding rallies on the Capitol Mall

9 a.m. to 11 a.m. including “The People Speak,” coordinated by Puente,

Arizona and others to speak up for progressive values.

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• And, thanks to so many of you who are calling or emailing on very short

notice whenever an opportunity arises. It worked on getting the Republicans

to reverse themselves and NOT dismantle the Independent Ethics Committee.

Let’s keep up the pressure.

Affordable Care Act National “Call Day” Wednesday and Thursday

• The U. S. Senate is holding hearings to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Let’s

deluge the AZ Senators with one unified message: DO NOT REPEAL UNTIL

THE HOUSE AND SENATE HAVE BOTH PASSED A REPLACEMENT!

Postponing the effective date is not a viable option. E-mail or call McCain and

Flake:

Sen. John McCain - 202 224 2235. E-mail Senator_McCain@McCain.Senate.Gov

Sen. Jeff Flake - 202 224 4521 . e-mail Senator.Flake@Flake.senate.gov

[Note: When you dial 202-224-3121 you are directed to an operator at the

Capitol switchboard. This switchboard can direct you to both senators as well as

representatives.

Here’s some suggested language from the AZ Children’s Action Alliance. I’m calling to ask Senator McCain/Flake to vote NO on any repeal of the ACA without an immediate replacement. Experts tell us that hundreds of thousands of Arizonans could lose health care, and our economy could lose billions of dollars. Please insist that any replacement for the ACA will ensure Arizona’s children, seniors, and people with disabilities are not worse off. We’re counting on our Arizona Senators to stand up against the usual Washington tactics. McCain’s Hearings on Russian Cyberattack – Sen. McCain is scheduled to begin hearings into the Russian cyberattacks on Thursday. Let him know we support his efforts to stop this historically inappropriate interference into U.S. elections. The “break-in” to the Democratic National Committee and Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton’s chief of staff is the 21st century manifestation of the Watergate break-in. And it is just as serious!!

Oppose confirmation of Jess Session as Attorney General Join with the president of the NAACP and the head of the group's Mobile branch as well as numerous other national progressive groups in protesting Sen. Jeff Sessions’ appointment as Attorney General. Members of the NAACP are occupying his local office until he withdraws from consideration as President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general or the group gets arrested. Here’s more information on why Sen.

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Sessions should not be confirmed as the Attorney General. http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/01/alabama_naacp_rebukes_jeff_ses.html And, from the N.Y. Times http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/19/us/politics/jeff-sessions-donald-trump-attorney-general.html?_r=0

Trump’s Conflicts of Interest - Today and tomorrow, there is a Hill Call-In Day

(sponsored by the League of Women Voters and many other national organizations)

urging Congress to address President-elect Trump's unprecedented and

unconstitutional conflicts of interest. The calls will support a forthcoming bill from

Senator Elizabeth Warren that will require the President to divest ownership of

businesses and disclose all business dealings in order to avoid severe unconstitutional

conflicts of interest.

Script:

• President-elect Trump has conflicts of interest that are unprecedented for an

American president. He could violate the Constitution and the law on his first

day in office because of prohibited payments to him from his foreign and

domestic businesses. Every other President and cabinet official before him has

acted to avoid these types of conflicts of interest.

• Mr. Trump has not fully disclosed how he will resolve these dangerous conflicts.

Americans have been given little more than vague pledges about transferring

operations and nothing about transferring ownership. Bi-partisan ethics

officials from Republican and Democratic administrations agree this is

completely inadequate and does not resolve his dangerous conflicts.

• Congress must act to protect the interests of the American people and the

integrity of the presidency. President-elect Trump must resolve his conflicts of

interest and Congress must require that he disclose his finances and divest

his business conflicts.

House call: Ask your Representative to call for a congressional investigation to review

Mr. Trump’s business dealings in order to identify and protect against conflicts of

interest.

Senate calls: Ask your Senators to call for an investigation to review Mr. Trump’s

financial arrangements. Urge Senators to support Senator Warren’s new bill

that will require the President-elect to divest ownership and disclose all

business dealings in order to avoid serious and unconstitutional conflicts of interest.

Get phone and e-mail here WhoIsMyRepresentative.com

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The People’s State of the State Monday – January 9. AZ State Capitol. Opening day of AZ Legislature. Many

organizations will be holding rallies from 9 a.m. until noon. Bring a sign. March

around the mall. Support justice through public policy!

Action Ideas for Week 10

• January 9 Opening day at the AZ Legislature. Puente Arizona and many other advocacy groups will be holding rallies beginning at 9 a.m. on the Capitol mall. Also, the Governor’s opening “State of the State” address is on this day. Gather on the mall at 1700 W. Washington Street.

• Holdover from Week 3. Sen. Paul Ryan’s survey is still active! Call today and

record your support for the Affordable Care Act! Call Paul Ryan.. (202) 225-

3031 or (202) 225-0600. Read more about it here. You can also leave him an e

mail message http://www.speaker.gov/contact.

• READ “Indivisible: A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda” –

outstanding analysis of how the Tea Party changed U.S. Politics and how

progressives could do the same! Thanks to James, Helen, Heather, Laurel,

Jean, and Linda for making me aware of this!

CONTACT INFORMATION: U.S. CONGRESS. These phone and e-mails should

work! If the Washington phone messages are full, call the local office. The e-mail

links go to the forms they want filled out, but the direct e-mails are being turned

down.

Phone – Washington D.C. Sen. John McCain - 202 224 2235 Sen. Jeff Flake - 202

224 4521

Phone- Arizona Office - Senator Flake - AZ Office: (602)-840-1891 Senator

McCain - AZ Office: (602) 952-2410

E-Mail: McCain https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-form

E-Mail: Flake https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-jeff

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[Alternative: When you dial 202-224-3121 you are directed to an operator at the

Capitol switchboard. This switchboard can direct you to both senators as well as

representatives.

Find contact information… U.S. Representatives:

WhoIsMyRepresentative.com

The Arizona legislature convened on Monday and Governor Doug Ducey’s State of the

State address surprised most everyone with its strong commitment to public education

and other public services desperately needed by Arizonans. The question, though:

Will the Governor and legislature (and the public) have the will to find funds to fulfill

these goals?

Find your state legislative district here: http://azredistricting.org/districtlocator/

At the national level, drama reigns supreme as the President-Elect continues to keep

people off balance with his tweets, disregard of ethics principles, and bashing of the

press. Congress is virtually overwhelmed with the rushed schedule. Two big issues

stand out – the repeal of the Affordable Care act and Trump’s cabinet nominees,

especially Jeff Session for Attorney General, Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State, Scott

Pruitt for Environmental Protection Agency, Ben Carson for Secretary of Health and

Human Services and Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education. The Atlantic has a

“cabinet tracker” that provides updated information.

Priority Action Suggestions for Week 11:

• Call or e-mail Gov. Ducey with your thoughts on his commitment to public

education, and urge him to support the plan with actual funding, including (if

you agree) new taxes or closing tax loopholes. Ducey’s e-mail phone: 602 542

4331 (also try azgov@azgov.com).

• Hold them accountable!. Contact the LOCAL office of Senators Flake and

McCain, and your U.S. Congressperson. Tell them your concerns, and find out

when they will be holding the next public “town hall” or even a fund raiser that

is open to the public. Get the date. Make plans to attend! The easiest way to get

their phone number – local and national – is to call 202 225 3121. A real person

will answer and give you the number. (Scroll down for more contact information

or try this link). Whoismyrepresentative.com

• Call the Office of Government Ethics 202-482-9207 and urge them to hold fast on

their commitment that no one will be appointed to the Cabinet or a top-level

executive position until they have cleared the ethics review. (You can make this

41

point, too, to the Arizona Congressional delegation). Here’s the text of Walter

Shaub’s comments that Trump’s plan, so far, is inadequate.

Week 12. Inaugural Weekend. This is not the weekend most of us had hoped for. But

we go on! Women and men are converging on Washington D.C. and gathering in

cities throughout the nation to renew a commitment to democratic governing

institutions and to signal to the incoming administration that we the people of these

United States will defend justice, equity, and compassion in our nation. There are

marches all over Arizona including Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, Prescott, Sedona, Ajo,

Yuma, Green Valley, Gold Canyon, Bisbee and Jerome! Google women’s march and

the city, or get details here or here.

Action suggestions:

• Attend a rally in support of democracy (in Washington D.C., in Phoenix, Tucson,

or wherever you are (see below).

• Attend a peace vigil in Phoenix, Tucson, or wherever you are (see below).

• If rallies and peace vigils are not for you, then hold your own re-commitment to

democratic governance by lighting a candle Friday evening or taking a walk

Saturday morning and express your gratitude for democracy.

• Sign up for Sen. Flake and Sen. McCain newsletters, as well as your own

Congressperson. The phone answering machines are too often full and

sometimes even the e-mails get turned down! “Town halls” or other

opportunities to meet are not on the schedules. Perhaps getting their newsletters

will help. Sign up on their web sites Web Sites: Flake – www.flake.senate.gov McCain –

www.mccain.senate.gov