Weekly WAG

IN THIS ISSUE

What MVCAN Did This Week

Upcoming Events

Weekly Action Items

Action Team News


WHAT MVCAN DID THIS WEEK

MVCAN'S MONTHLY MEETING began with a rousing rendition of The Marseillaise in honor of the extreme right losing big time in France. Almost everyone in the hall stood up to say they had attended events in April—from Tax Day to the Science March to phone banking to the Kimberly Ellis fundraiser. Biggest laugh: A phone banker reported a conversation with a Montana man: “I’d sooner vote for a whore in a whore house than vote for a Republican. And my wife would too.”

Photo: Fabrice Florin

There was a report from MVCAN's Jane Hall, fresh from the front lines in Georgia, where she was knocking on doors (almost all very friendly) for Jon Ossoff. Fabrice Florin gave a great presentation on the construction of the MVCAN Memorial Day Parade float. If you would like to get your hands dirty and help out with construction, contact Laura Boles at volunteer@mvcan.org. (More info on float building below.)

We are now a California non-profit corporation. Which means we will have a checking account that can receive your generous donations! We have big plans which means we are looking for people with deep pockets who believe in what we’re doing.

Chris Lydon gave a report on the April 29th offsite for 30 Team leaders, co-leaders and our new Support Team. We are working hard to attract great people and put them to work!

Photo by Fabrice Florin of Eileen Fisher leading a brainstorm at the offsite

(Reporting: Danny Altman)

MVCAN MEMBERS ATTENDED CONGRESSMAN JARED HUFFMAN'S "HOLDING THE PRESIDENT ACCOUNTABLE" TOWN HALL,  which featured a panel of 3 women lawyers and 600 activists filling Angelico Hall at Dominican College on a Tuesday afternoon, the same day that James Comey was fired. Huffman is pushing hard for an independent investigation of Trump’s Russia ties. He says it’s up to all of us to keep up the drumbeat and that the Trump administration seems to think that by firing a new political missile on a new front every day, it can confuse us, fatigue us, beat us. Huffman advises: Keep the pressure on Feinstein. She is very respected in the Senate. It was announced that Santa Rosa just passed an ordinance to become an Indivisible City. Why not Mill Valley? Huffman announced that he would be happy to do a healthcare town hall in a CA congressional district if he’s invited by a local Democratic party.

(Reporting: Martha Ture. More on MVCAN's Facebook page.)

THE MVCAN CIVIL RIGHTS TEAM ATTENDED THE MARIN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING to advocate in support of SB 54, the "California Values Act", and the Board approved a letter in support.

PHONE BANKING: 25 MVCAN volunteers showed up with only 24 hours notice to call for Rob Quist in a special Montana congressional election–and try a new text app to text Ohio Senator Rob Portman's constituents to have them contact him to make sure he knew how important the ACA is for them.

Photo: Susan Bolle

Illustration: Susan Stanger

MVCAN MEMBERS ATTENDED AN EMERGENCY "SOUND THE ALARM" RALLY AT DIANNE FEINSTEIN'S OFFICE on a few hours notice, on the heels of the Comey firing, to demand that Congress establish an independent commission to investigate Trump.

Photo: Larry Litvak

Photo by David Donnenfield of his daughter Zoe

MVCAN MEMBERS HAVE BEEN CONSTRUCTING THE MEMORIAL DAY PARADE FLOAT, under the direction of Fabrice Florin, who reports: "The float is coming along beautifully. We have a terrific team, and I’m particularly grateful to David Glad, Jean Marie Murphy and Edward Janne for their amazing contributions — as well as to Laura Boles for being such a wonderful project manager." Join the float-making team! Construction is nearly over, and what remains is largely paint and decoration. See the project page. Sign up on Doodle, then email Laura Boles for more info and directions. Join the MVCAN contingent in the Memorial Day Parade! (info below)


Photos by Fabrice Florin of Fabrice, Edward Janne, David Glad, Suz Lipman, and Jean Marie Murphy. (See more photos by Fabrice.)

You'll also want to see these photos from Elliot Karlan Photography of the Marin People's Climate March.


UPCOMING EVENTS

SAT 5/13 INDIVISIBLE MARIN COMMUNITY FORUM FEATURING DAVID TALBOT  Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Marin, San Rafael. "How Citizen Activists Can Defeat the Trump Agenda."  Info and Register here.

MON 5/15 HOUSE PARTY TO BENEFIT SF BAY CHAPTER AND MARIN GROUP OF THE SIERRA CLUB Featuring Congressman Jared Huffman Home of Eileen and Andrew Fisher, Mill Valley. Help keep the Bay Area on the leading edge of climate and environmental progress. Read about sponsorship levels here.

MON 5/15 IMMIGRANT DAY RALLY, Sacramento.  Join the Canal Alliance and other Marin leaders to demand full protection for immigrants, champion the rights of the community, and celebrate immigrants as part of the fabric of California. There is bus transportation from/to San Rafael. Info and register here.

WED 5/17 FILM SCREENING: CITIZEN CLARK, presented by MVCAN's Jackie and Dave Fromer, Mill Valley.

FRI 5/19 DEDICATION OF PLAQUE COMMEMORATING SENIORS FOR PEACE, longtime local activist community, Redwoods Retirement Community, 40 Camino Alto, Mill Valley. 3:30-5 pm.

FRI-SUN 5/19-21 CA DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, Sacramento. More info here. The Kimberly Ellis campaign for state party chair is seeking volunteers. This is a great opportunity to learn more about state politics. Contact David Donnenfield for info.

WED 5/24 SING FOR A BETTER WORLD Join MVCAN's Reed Fromer, Novato. Learn, share and practice songs for rallies, marches, and other events in support of peace, environmental issues, immigrants right and social justice. Flyer below.

MON 5/29 MILL VALLEY MEMORIAL DAY PARADE 10:30 am-noon, Mill Valley. MVCAN looks forward to an exciting parade presence in our local Memorial Day Parade! See Preview photos, above. Contact Laura Boles to get involved.

SUN 6/4 MVCAN MONTHLY MEETING Learn Resistance skills, organize in teams, meet your neighbors, have some fun while effecting positive change. 4-5:30 pm, Location TBA.

Learn about events, activities, meetings, and other ways to get involved on the mvcan.org event page. Bookmark this page so you can always find MVCAN's events.



WEEKLY ACTION ITEMS


ACTION 1: Contact your Senators and urge them to take whatever action is necessary to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Trump Administration's connections with Russia.

Why It’s So Important

Trump’s firing of FBI director Comey has crossed a dangerous line. It has put the checks and balances that allow our democracy to function at risk. This obvious attempt to blatantly derail the FBI investigation of the Trump administration’s connections to Russia threatens a fundamental principle of our democracy, i.e., that elected officials, even presidents, are subject to the rule of law.

Our democracy is in danger of being subverted. Let us heed the necessity of action before it is too late. To let this infringement of democratic principles continue to stand is to concede to anti-democratic forces that seek to undermine our constitutional government.

What to Do – Action Item 1
Let’s show our support for Senator Feinstein and encourage her to continue to stand strong.

Suggested Script for Senator Feinstein:
I want to thank Senator Feinstein for her strong and effective response to Trump's firing of FBI Director Comey, which was clearly an attempt to undermine the FBI’s investigation into the Trump administration. I strongly support Senator Feinstein’s role in initiating a Senate slowdown Wednesday, by limiting Senate committee meetings to two hours after the Senate convenes. Through her actions in slowing down the Senate, Senator Feinstein has been crucial in showing that Democrats will NOT tolerate Trump’s shocking disregard of democratic norms. I urge Senator Feinstein to continue to use every tool at her disposal to counter Trump’s attempts to subvert democracy.

Suggested Script for Senator Harris:
I urge Senator Harris to insist upon the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate illegal activity between the Trump administration and Russia. She should use every tool at her disposal to counter Trump’s attempts to subvert democracy by firing FBI Director Comey. We need to show Republicans that there will be no “business as usual” in the Senate until a special prosecutor is appointed.
  • 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, Sacramento (916) 448-2787, SF (415) 355-9041, LA (213) 894-5000, SD (619) 239-3884, Fresno (559) 497-5109



ACTION 2: Sign a CREDO action petition urging Democratic Senators to support the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the ties between the Trump administration and Russia.

Only a fully independent investigation will restore faith in the rule of law and our democratic institutions. Democratic Senators should refuse to proceed with all regular Senate business until the Department of Justice appoints a special prosecutor to investigate the connections between the Trump administration and Russia.

What to Do – Action Item 2
Go to the CREDO site to sign the petition for a special prosecutor:

See individual Action Team links, below, to get involved in more actions, or visit the MVCAN Action Team page.

Thank you for taking these important actions today!


ACTION TEAM REPORTS

Much of MVCAN's work is done in one of 9 action teams. See various team accomplishments and initiatives in Upcoming Events, above. Click the team name to read their latest news and find their next meeting.

Civil Rights/Immigration collaborates with multiple local and national organizations and communities to work toward civil and racial justice through a variety of speakers, events and initiatives. Read more.

Communications provides promotional support for MVCAN and organizes network meetings. Read more.

Dump Trump's 25 active team members work on ways to remove Trump from power, with special focus on Russia collusion. This topic is hot! Read more.

Eco Warriors are engaged in change at the local, state and national levels, to impact the CA carbon tax, climate change, and community outreach and action. Read more.

Education is focusing on vouchers and Education Secretary DeVos' plan to privatize, Early Education funding, and the relationship between property taxes and school funding. Read more.

Electoral works to elect candidates for the 2017 state house and governor races, and other targeted races from now through the mid-term elections, following the recommendations of the flippable.org team, who are analyzing and selecting winnable races. The Electoral team uses phone banks and travel to targeted districts to talk with voters through phone calls and door-to-door canvassing, voter registration, and campaign volunteering. Read more and learn about phone banks this week.

Health Care is focusing on actions being taken to repeal the ACA, and on protecting health care coverage. They participate in advocacy and phone banking in conjunction with OFA Marin. Read more.

Tech supports MVCAN through technology. Read more.


Women's Rights supports and fundraises for Planned Parenthood and its clinics, opposes anti-abortion bills, and engages in other advocacy around women’s rights. Read more.


NEW TO MVCAN?

Visit MVCAN.org to learn about the organization, teams and strategies; read past MVCAN newsletters, and gain helpful Resistance tools.

Got a skill, talent and/or time? We need you! Contact Laura Boles and let her know how you might be able to help our growing Resistance group.



Thank you for all you do!

– June, Bernard, Suz, Danny, Eileen and everyone at MVCAN




See MVCAN’s website

THE LAST WORD:

"The seriousness of this moment can not be overstated. We – the earth, the institutions of this republic, the future – are being assaulted by an administration that has as its goal a country governed by rule of man, not rule of law. It disdains the co-equal institutions of our constitution, the judiciary and congressional branches. It attempts to blow its way past separation of powers. It has appointed cabinet members whose purposes are to destroy the mandates of the agencies of government. Its agenda is the reinstatement of an autocratic regime in the model of Mussolini, Franco, Kaiser Wilhelm – it is what I call the Marketocracy, replacement of representative government based on the consent of the governed with oligarchic government based on the will of the wealthy, with no consent of the governed. Apparently, neither the judiciary nor the congress can or will stop them. It’s up to us."
—Martha Ture