Welcome, all! MVCAN has been active as usual.
Attend our all-network monthly meeting Sunday, Feb. 12, 4-6 p.m., at 142 Throckmorton Theatre, Mill Valley. We will have MVCAN 5-Minute University speakers, actions, opportunities to meet with team leaders, and other ways to meet your neighbors, get involved in resistance, and impact social and political change. Check-in begins at 3:45. CONSIDER COMING ON THE EARLY SIDE–WE ARE EXPECTING A FULL HOUSE.
PUT THESE EVENTS ON YOUR CALENDAR (details below at bottom of email)
• LIGHT UP THE NIGHT GATHERING AND CANDLELIGHT WALK FOR LOVE AND UNITY, TUES FEB 14, 5-7 pm, Seager/Gray Gallery, 108 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley - info below
• PROTEST IN MILL VALLEY AGAINST SPO PARTNERS AND WELLS FARGO FOR INVOLVEMENT IN DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE WEDS FEB 15, 12-2 pm, 591 Redwood Highway, MV - info below
• CALL AND COFFEE FRI FEB 17, 8-9:30 am - info below. No Call and Coffee on 2/10.
• MULTIPLE COMMITTEE MEETINGS- see below
• DR. STEVEN SCHROEDER ON THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT, SUN FEB 26, 3:30-5 pm, 450 Sycamore Ave., Mill Valley. - info below, see Health Care team report
• NEXT MVCAN ALL-NETWORK MONTHLY MEETING, SUN MAR 5, 4-6 pm, exact time and location TBA
NEW TO MVCAN?
Join us at our monthly network meeting Sun., Feb. 12, 4-6 pm, 142 Throckmorton Theatre, Mill Valley.
Visit www.mvcan.org and read the latest MVCAN newsletters and also read about the various action groups.
Join us on Facebook.
Put these numbers in your phone and get ready to call your congressional representatives. You can call any office; all calls are tallied equally.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein DC (202) 224-3841, SF (415) 393-0707, LA (310) 914-7300, SD (619) 231-9712, Fresno (559) 485-7430
Sen. Kamala Harris DC (202) 224-3553, Sac/Fresno (916) 448-2787, SF (415) 355-9041, LA (213) 894-5000, SD (619) 239-3884
Rep. Jared Huffman DC (202) 225-5161, San Rafael (415) 258-9657, Petaluma (707) 981-8967
Read the Indivisible Guide to learn about practical Resistance skills and tactics from former Congressional staffers who learned first-hand about the tactics that were successfully employed by the Tea Party and others on the Right.
Read The Art of the Protest and From Protests, Past Lessons in What Works to learn why protests matter and how to best leverage them.
READY FOR ACTION!
From the latest Indivisible Guide recommendations:
Reach out to 3 people you know (family or friends) in purple or red states to contact their members of Congress.
Why This is Important
In order to maximize our influence on Trump-supporting lawmakers, it is well-known that direct contact from their own constituents is by far the most likely to impact their voting behavior. The people who are most likely to get constituents in far-away districts to contact their representatives are the family and friends they love and trust, so we are asking you to have a discussion with your family and friends. These discussions will provide critical help to the anti-Trump movement in areas of the country where this assistance will do the most good. By urging constituents to frequently and persistently call their representatives, we can truly increase our impact. This method is already having a chilling effect by raising obstacles to the Republicans’ agenda as evidenced by the rapidly increasing opposition to the repeal of the ACA and degradation of Medicare and Medicaid.
What to Do
Reach out to your contacts to ask how they feel about what's happening in Washington. Convey the importance of their actions. Ask them to call their senators (either Republican or Democrat). If they have already called their senators, remind them to call again about issues they care about. Note that Democrats from swing states need lots of reinforcement for standing up to Trump and encouragement to continue! Republican senators need to know that Democrats in their state will be standing up to oppose them loudly and repeatedly and will work to un-elect them in the next election.
This week we are asking callers to focus on the following issues:
Oppose Trump Cabinet Nominees: - Scott Pruitt, EPA - prevent the dismantling of our environmental protections for land, water, and air.
- Steven Mnuchin, Treasury - prevent Wall Street from preying on the working and middle class.
- Tom Price, Health and Human Services – prevent the destruction of the Affordable Care Act.
Suggested Script:
I urge Senator _______ to oppose (Nominee) for (Cabinet Position) on the basis of _(issue)___ and because his extreme agenda does not reflects the will of his/her constituents.
Oppose Trump Supreme Court Nominee:
– Neil Gorsuch, Supreme Court – prevent the destruction of women’s reproductive rights, workers’ rights, and environmental protections.
Suggested Script:
I urge Senator______ to reject Neil Gorsuch as a Supreme Court nominee using any and ALL available means, including the filibuster. Judge Gorsuch is an extreme, right-wing candidate who will threaten women’s health, rule in favor of corporations and against consumers, and rule against American workers’ rights. We strongly urge you to oppose his nomination.
Look up your Senator’s phone number
Join us Sun., Feb. 12, for more calling tips.
Thank you! Every call makes a difference.
WHAT MVCAN DID THIS WEEK
1. JUST IN! Met with Senator Feinstein's State Director
The MVCAN leadership team will share important information about effective political action from Senator Feinstein's State Director, at the Feb. 12 network meeting.
2. Phone Banking MVCAN members participated in phone banks to win back state houses and governor’s races. Contact Susan Bolle (swbolle@gmail.com) or join the Electoral Team to get involved.
3. Call & Coffee 9 members of MVCAN made calls and wrote postcards (when they couldn’t get through on phones) to Senators about the Supreme Court nomination and the Senate Confirmation Hearings. Join the next Call and Coffee Fri., Feb. 17. Info below.
4. No Ban No Wall Protest 15 MVCAN members participated in the Feb. 4 resistance against Trump’s racist and exclusionary Executive Orders, in San Francisco.
5. Outreach and Communication with various local resistance and community groups.
6. Multiple Team Meetings We do most of our work in teams, so please do not be shy: contact team leaders of the team(s) you are interested in, or just show up at a meeting of your choice.
ACTION TEAM REPORTS
Civil Rights/Immigration works with multiple local and national organizations and communities to work toward civil and racial justice. Saturday’s “NO BAN, NO WALL” protest in San Francisco was well attended, heartfelt and peaceful. Speakers presented their personal stories about immigrating to the U.S.
Next team meeting Sun. Mar. 12, 4-6 pm at the Waste Management Treatment Agency, 450 Sycamore Ave., Mill Valley. There will be two presentations: One from a member of the Muslim community and the other from a representative of the Canal Alliance. Contact Diane Goldman(dgold94941@aol.com) for more info.
Communication provides graphic and promotional support for MVCAN, and helps our large meetings be organized, rewarding experiences. Join the team prepared to roll up your sleeves and take roles for MVCAN's important Feb. 12 network meeting.
Next team meeting Sat., Feb. 11, 9:30-10:30 am, Good Earth, Mill Valley. Contact Danny Altman (dan@ahundredmonkeys.com) for more info.
Dump Trump’s 35 team members are working on ways to resist and remove Trump, to defeat him: especially by focusing on corruption and Russian ties. This committee has groups working on impeachment strategy, Russian treachery, emoluments, and supporting investigations that will bring about his removal. Dump Trump meets every week, rain or shine. Passions run high, but we focus on practical actions for all team members.
Next team meeting Sat Feb 11, 10-11am. Good Earth, Mill Valley. Contact Bernard Catalinotto (bernardcatalinotto@gmail.com) for more info.
Education has been focused on calling the offices of all CA state Democratic legislators to ask each her/his position on school vouchers. After compiling that data, they will discuss follow-up action.
Next team meeting TBA. Contact Kelly Horner (keho@sonic.net) for more info.
The Electoral group's focus is electing Democrats to statehouses and governor's seats all across the country leading up to the Senate and House races in 2018. Join in now and help this group win back the state legislatures we lost to Republicans. This week the team is calling for a special election in Minnesota. Contact Susan Bolle (swbolle@gmail.com) to join phone banks. The group will also be participating in the Kimberly Ellis for California Democratic Party Chair Kickoff Event Mon., Feb. 27, 6-8pm, Oakland (location TBA.) Ellis is the former executive director of Emerge California, an organization focused on identifying, training, and encouraging Democratic women to run for office. Go to www.voteforkimberly.com and sign up for email updates. These are the first important steps to helping elect a progressive to the very important position of CA Dem Party chair.
Next team meeting at Feb. 12 General Meeting. Contact Eileen Fisher (eyefish9@arksf.com) for more info.
Environment/Climate Change is engaged in change at the local level, with a plan to leverage the team's experience and success county- and state-wide, and perhaps beyond. The group will lobby state and U.S. legislators on climate issues as well as educate on and engage with numerous local initiatives and groups. This group is supporting the Feb. 15 Rally. Info below.
Next team meeting Tues. Feb. 28, 7pm at the Waste Management Treatment Agency, 450 Sycamore Ave., Mill Valley. The meeting will feature guest speakers as well as follow-up actions from the group. Contact Edi Dor (edidor@outlook.com) for more info.
Health Care is focusing on actions being taken to repeal the ACA, and addressing what comes next with regard to health care coverage.
Next team meeting Sun. Feb. 26, 3:30-5 pm at the Waste Management Treatment Agency, 450 Sycamore Ave., Mill Valley. Dr. Steven Schroeder will be speaking on the Affordable Care Act as well Single Payer options. He is the Distinguished Professor of Health and Health Care at the University of California, San Francisco. After his talk the group will discuss next steps. The meeting is open to the community of MVCAN and friends. As space is limited to about 35 people, please RSVP for the event at this Doodle link: http://doodle.com/poll/8v3z6dazcidz5a8m Contact Elyse Foster (fosterel22@gmail.com) for more info.
Women's Issues just met and reviewed their recent activities: joining the ACLU, identifying marches to attend, speaking with friends and family in swing states, showing support for retailers who are not carrying Trump products. They discussed how to have productive conversations with less-than-like-minded people and discussed following CREDO as well as Planned Parenthood. The group is getting closer to identifying a PP clinic for which to fundraise, as well as a PP liaison to come to a meeting. They distributed addresses from the PP website and wrote postcards. They supported each other in ways to focus and not become discouraged, via reading the Indivisible Guide statement and exchanging ways to work.
Next team meeting March 14th, 7:30pm, Mill Valley Library Creekside Room. Contact Leigh Ann Townsend (townsendleighann@gmail.com) for more info.
EVENT DETAILS
NEXT MVCAN MONTHLY MEETING Sun., Feb. 12, 4-6 pm. 142 Throckmorton Theatre, Mill Valley. We will have MVCAN 5-Minute University speakers, actions, opportunities to meet with team leaders, and other ways to meet your neighbors, get involved in resistance, and impact social and political change. Check-in begins at 3:45. CONSIDER COMING ON THE EARLY SIDE–WE ARE EXPECTING A FULL HOUSE.
LIGHT UP THE NIGHT GATHERING AND CANDLELIGHT WALK FOR LOVE AND UNITY, TUES FEB 14, 5-7 pm, Seager/Gray Gallery, 108 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley. This family-friendly experience, provided in collaboration with Greenwood School, is planned as a celebration of love, connection and solidarity for diverse communities throughout Marin. A brief ceremony will be followed by a candlelight procession around downtown Mill Valley. This event is free.
PROTEST IN MILL VALLEY AGAINST SPO PARTNERS AND WELLS FARGO FOR INVOLVEMENT IN DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE WEDS FEB 15, 12-2 pm, 591 Redwood Highway, MV. Tell SPO Partners and Wells Fargo to stop funding fossil fuel infrastructure and development projects. This rally is sponsored by 350.org. More info here.
CALL & COFFEE FRI FEB 17, 8-9:30 am Come and make calls together on time-critical issues. No experience necessary, we will train you. Bring a laptop and cell phone. Please RSVP by Weds., Feb 15, if you can make it. Host: June Cooperman, email juneellenc@aol.com for exact address. RSVP 415-389-1306.
DR. STEVEN SCHROEDER ON THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT, SUN FEB 26, 3:30-5 pm, 450 Sycamore Ave., Mill Valley. - for info, see Health Care team report
Closing Thought: If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader. – John Quincy Adams
Thank you for all you do!
– June, Bernard, Suz, Danny, Eileen and everyone at MVCAN
See MVCAN’s website
