MPEN e-Newsletter No. 2020-08-15

FW: NAACP RECOGNIZES SENATOR KAMALA HARRIS’S APPOINTMENT TO MAJOR PARTY TICKET AS ‘DEFINING MOMENT IN U.S. HISTORY.’
FW: Trump Voters Could Vote In Person and Give Him Early Lead
FW: Please Help Adoptees-for-Justice Pass the Adoptee Citizenship Act TODAY!
FW: How to save the Postal Service
FW: Moral Monday: Save the Postal Service, Protect Our Vote
FW: You're not imagining things ... The mail really is getting slower
FW: Bill Barr’s trigger finger is on the Patriot Act
FW: Trump tells Americans they'll have to 'learn to speak Chinese' if he loses to Biden in 2020
FW: We are SO screwed....

From: Jerome Reide; Field Ops/Regional Field Director (3), NAACP
Subject: NAACP RECOGNIZES SENATOR KAMALA HARRIS’S APPOINTMENT TO MAJOR PARTY TICKET AS ‘DEFINING MOMENT IN U.S. HISTORY.’

NAACP RECOGNIZES SENATOR KAMALA HARRIS’S APPOINTMENT
TO MAJOR PARTY TICKET AS ‘DEFINING MOMENT IN U.S. HISTORY.’
AUGUST 11, 2020

Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, released the following statement on the selection of Senator Kamala Harris as a candidate on the presidential ticket of a major political party:

Throughout the history of this nation, Black women have been at the forefront of moving us toward a more representative and unified society. From the voting booth to grassroots movements, Black women have fought for and uplifted this country with their vote and voice. But their representation in the highest levels of government has never matched their unwavering participation in our democracy. Today’s announcement of a Black woman, Sen. Kamala Harris, as the first vice-presidential candidate of a major political party, breaks down one of these barriers in historic proportions. That it comes at a time in which Black Americans face dueling threats from a global health crisis and ingrained racism is all the more powerful.

This moment is long overdue. For far too long, we have undervalued Black women’s political power and their role in shaping our culture, communities, and country. The selection of Sen. Harris as a vice-presidential candidate on a major party ticket is the culmination of the tireless work of Shirley Chisolm, Charlene Mitchell, Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer, Barbara Jordan, Ida B. Wells, and Myrlie Evers in their fight for representation and equality. Their sacrifices, told and untold, made it possible for Sen. Harris to make political history today. Regardless of party affiliation, every American should be proud that this milestone was finally reached.

While we do not support a political party, we recognize the overwhelming significance of this moment and what it means for this nation. We must not allow coverage of Sen. Harris’ historic candidacy to decline into ugly racist and sexist stereotypes and attacks. We call upon the media, members of both political parties, and the people of this nation to honor this historic moment and treat Sen. Harris’s candidacy with the respect and esteem it deserves throughout this election season.

As the presidential campaign progresses, the NAACP remains steadfast in our pursuit of full participation in democracy for Black people. With our ongoing commitment to dismantling institutional injustice, uplifting Black culture, and maximizing our economic and political power, we know that this pivotal moment sets the stage for our continued work to realize equal justice.

From: Andrew Tierman

Subject: Trump Voters Could Vote In Person and Give Him Early Lead

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/08/trump-voters-could-vote-in-person-and-give-him-early-lead.html?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Intelligencer%20-%20August%2014%2C%202020&utm_term=Subscription%20List%20-%20Daily%20Intelligencer%20%281%20Year%29

How Trump Is Trying to Ensure an Early Election Night Lead

For months now, I and other observers have suggested that the president’s demonization of voting by mail wasn’t just aimed at securing restrictions in the practice by the states. He also wants his own supporters to vote in person. Why? Well, because if they comply, he is likely to take an early lead in Election Night returns that will only slowly erode as disproportionately Democratic mail ballots drift in after being authenticated and then tabulated. Since he has taken the position that mail balloting (except in Florida!) is fraudulent, and that elections decided after Election Day are “rigged” and stolen, then he will be in a position to claim victory and then contest any reversal of fortune.
(Continue reading this article on this page!)

From: Kristopher Larsen; Executive Director, Adoptees for Justice (A4J)
Subject: Please Help A4J Pass the Adoptee Citizenship Act TODAY!

We need your help to pass the Adoptee Citizenship Act THIS YEAR!

To date, Adoptees for Justice knows of at least 50 adoptee deportation cases spanning across 28 countries. These adoptees have not only been ripped away from their family and friends, but have also been forced to live in countries where they do not know the language and culture. According to the South Korean Government, there are an estimated 20,000 Korean American adoptees alone whose U.S citizenship has not been confirmed.

The global COVID pandemic has severely impacted adoptees without citizenship and many are unable to access stimulus checks, unemployment insurance, COVID-19 testing and treatment, and other key provisions. Read Emily's story below.

Bill Review: The Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2019 closes the loophole in the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA) which aimed to provide equal treatment under U.S. law for adopted and biological children by granting automatic citizenship to international adoptees, but left out any individual over the age of 18.

If passed, the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2019 will provide automatic citizenship to these individuals already adopted by U.S. citizens, yet left out of the CCA.

Update: The Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2019 now has 61 cosponsors! Right now our bill is sitting in a committee in the U.S. House of Representatives and we need help to bring it to a vote!

How You Can Help: We need YOUR help to get this bill on the House floor! Click the button below to choose from a variety of ways to make your voice heard and help us win citizenship for all adoptees! Congress needs to hear from all of us!

Help Pass the Adoptee Citizenship Act TODAY!

Emily's Story

Emily was adopted from South Korea when she was three months old. She is one of thousands of children adopted by U.S. military families and raised as Americans. Emily’s father, a World War II veteran, and her mother, a stay-at-home mom living with polio, were even featured on an episode of This is Your Life, a popular television show that featured the lives of real-life Americans in the late-1940s.
Growing up, Emily and her adoptive parents always believed she was a U.S. citizen. She paid her taxes, worked in the aerospace industry, got married, and had a son.

When she was 48 years old, Emily was diagnosed with a severe spine disease that makes it impossible for her to work. However, she is ineligible for disability or unemployment benefits because she is not a citizen.

“My father always told me he would never leave a soldier behind so I will fight to bring every adoptee home because I know it would make him proud...Everyday I pray for justice for all of us. I thank God every day he gives me the strength to never give up.” -Emily

read more about Emily

To learn more about adoptees without citizenship and the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2019, check out the FAQ section on our website.

To provide financial assistance to adoptees without citizenship, donate to our A4J COVID-19 Relief Fund!

If you are an adoptee without citizenship who is in financial need, we encourage you to apply to receive assistance: Apply Here

If you are an adoptee without citizenship in need of legal help or some other form of assistance, please visit this page.

We look forward to working with all of you on the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2019!

Note: **100% of donations given to the A4J COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund will go to adoptees without citizenship

From: Aaron Scherb, Director of Legislative Affairs and the team at Common Cause
Subject: How to save the Postal Service

Donald Trump just admitted his attacks on the United States Postal Service are nothing short of intentional -- and key to his war on mail-in voting.

He told Fox News yesterday that he was against funding the USPS because “They need that money in order to make the Post Office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots.” [1]

Trump’s saying the quiet part out loud -- that doesn’t surprise us, but it should alarm every American who cares about a free and fair 2020 election.

I’m equally alarmed by the actions of Trump’s handpicked postmaster general Louis DeJoy -- a Trump mega-donor with no previous USPS experience. He’s imposed multiple new restrictions that could interfere with mail-in voting -- over the objections of voting experts and career USPS employees. [2]

Munsup, I’m especially thankful for the USPS during this pandemic -- and I’m sure you are, too. Americans are using it every day to stay in touch with loved ones, to receive life-saving medications, and to keep up with the news.

I’m planning to cast my general election ballot by mail too -- as are millions of my fellow voters. And just last month, I used the USPS to do my civic duty and send in my 2020 Census form as well.

But President Trump says he’ll veto any stimulus bill if it funds the USPS. He’s escalating his attacks on mail-in voting -- first by spreading disinformation from his presidential bully pulpit, and now by trying to make it much harder for anyone to vote by mail this November.

But Munsup, I find it hard to believe that Trump would actually follow through on his threat. If we can get a stimulus bill that funds the USPS on his desk -- with his re-election prospects depending on Americans getting relief -- he’ll have no choice but to sign it.

That means for the sake of our democracy, we need to call Trump’s bluff -- and put every single member of Congress on notice that we are watching. Common Cause has called for an investigation into DeJoy’s anti-voting actions -- and we’re ready to go to the wire to make sure Congress steps up to defend our United States Postal Service.

So, I’m asking Common Cause members like you -- if you can spare a contribution right now -- to step up to help win this fight. Can you make a contribution of $3 or more to help us save the USPS and mobilize millions of Americans in defense of this necessary public service?

Yes, I’ll Chip In $3

It’s a simple question: will members of Congress side with Trump’s efforts to block a free and fair 2020 election? Or will they fund an overwhelmingly popular public service that millions of Americans -- Republican, Democrat, and Independent -- rely on every single day?

I’m confident this is a fight we can win -- but only if we can rely on your help. Right now, Congress’s negotiations are deadlocked -- but any deal they make will likely be the last before November’s elections.

We urgently need to mobilize to ensure all of our priorities -- election funding, protecting the Census, oversight of bailout money, and a strong and resilient USPS -- are included in that deal.

Munsup, the ONLY way to do that is to make sure all Senators on this year’s ballot know that their political careers are on the line. As I write, we are mobilizing our members in these key states -- and across the country -- to put enormous pressure on Senate Republicans to protect our democracy.

But we’ll have to push even further if we want to win -- and we’re counting on your support to step up our work. Can you fund our urgent Save The USPS campaign today?

This isn’t the first time politicians have tried to gut public services like the USPS -- so they can be exploited for private profit. But it’s particularly shameful during a pandemic -- when millions of Americans (and our democracy) rely on a strong and functional Postal Service.

We won’t let it happen. Common Cause members like you have already been a crucial voice in Congress’s negotiations -- and I’m confident that we will be able to do what it takes to protect our right to vote safely and securely by mail.
-------------------
[1] https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/13/politics/trump-usps-funding-comments-2020-election/index.html
[2] https://www.npr.org/2020/08/11/901219097/how-are-postmaster-general-dejoys-changes-affecting-workers

From: Rev. Dr. William Barber and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis; Co-Chairs, Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
Subject: (PPC) Moral Monday: Save the Postal Service, Protect Our Vote

The need to protect the U.S. Postal Service has never been more urgent. With millions of people planning to vote by mail, we need to ensure that our ballots arrive and are counted.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has done nothing to step up to defend the Postal Service, and by extension, our ability to vote in the most important election of our lifetimes.

Instead, he has wasted weeks of precious time in a callous refusal to pass a full and compassionate relief package during the greatest public health crisis of a generation, and just this week he sent the Senate on vacation. And in doing so he leaves millions to face evictions, hunger and sickness without the support of the federal government

Join us for the Moral Monday Digital Direct Action on McConnell this coming Monday, August 17 at 3:30pm ET / 12:30pm PT, where we will demand McConnell bring the Senate back to DC to pass a full relief package that includes protection for the U.S. Postal Service.

Over the past two weeks, more than 500,000 of you have taken part in the Moral Monday actions, with thousands calling in and shutting down McConnell’s offices in DC and across Kentucky. The activists of the Kentucky Poor People’s Campaign are leading the charge to challenge McConnell and all the hurt his policies have caused in Kentucky and across the nation.

RSVP here to join the action on Monday to Save the Postal Service.

Like every week, directly impacted Kentuckians and others from across the nation who have been hurt by McConnell’s inaction will speak about the senator’s disregard for the poor and the USPS. The USPS is a lifeline for many communities, especially rural ones, and the orchestrated slow-down on mail is already causing increased late fees on bills that people can’t afford, delayed deliveries on medication, expedited evictions because payment doesn’t come in time, and is a dangerous form of voter suppression. When the most impacted don't have a voice, policy violence leaves them to die.

We’ll be joined by Elizabeth Powell, Secretary-General of the American Postal Service Workers Union (APWU) which represents more than 200,000 USPS employees, actor and activist Jane Fonda, and others to demand a full relief package including adequate funding for the U.S. Postal Service.

Forward together, not one step back!

From: TV Ads to Save USPS (via MoveOn; Jenn, Elsie, Sky, Isbah, and the rest of the team)
Subject: You're not imagining things ... The mail really is getting slower

You're not imagining things: The mail really is getting slower—but it's not because of the coronavirus pandemic; it's because of Republican interference.

Donald Trump has been raging against the post office for months, and now that the pandemic has made it clear that voting by mail will be essential to ensuring access to the ballot in the fall, Trump has ratcheted up his attacks in an effort to both destroy the post office and steal the election in one fell swoop.

Last month, Trump's handpicked postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, a Republican mega donor who gave Trump's campaign $1.5 million, instituted what he claimed were changes to "improve operational efficiency"—like cancelling overtime and instructing mail carriers to leave mail at distribution centers overnight—but what watchdog groups are calling deliberate efforts to slow down the mail and bankrupt the post office in advance of November's elections.¹

Slowing down the mail is not just an inconvenience. For many it could mean a delay in lifesaving medications, unemployment checks, and more—and the people hit the hardest are those in rural communities and older Americans who tend to rely more heavily on the Postal Service.

In April, when Trump first threatened to withhold coronavirus relief funding if the bill included funding for the post office, MoveOn's Creative Lab—thanks to help from members like you, Munsup—created a powerful TV ad aimed at seniors to get the message out about Trump's attacks on the post office. We ran that ad in the critical battleground state of Maine, and it was a HUGE success! But with Trump's attacks now intensifying, we want to expand this ad to air on television in other swing states with high concentrations of voters over age 65: Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Florida.

Can you chip in now to help us get our ad on the air in more states? Donate

This new wave of attacks on the post office is most concerning because of the absolutely devastating impacts on voting in November.

As primaries continued during the pandemic, it became crystal clear that voting by mail would be the best way to ensure access to a ballot for most voters while keeping communities safe from the virus. But this massive spike in mail-in voting has already stressed the infrastructure in states across the country—and any added delays due to Republican attacks on the post office could cause the whole system to collapse.

In 34 states, your vote is invalidated if it is not received by Election Day, and in others, votes can be thrown out for easy-to-make errors that will be exacerbated by a cash-strapped post office.²

That could mean millions of votes—especially Democratic votes—going uncounted or challenged by right-wing operatives in one of the most consequential elections in American history.

Among the key constituencies that Trump needs to carry if he wants to win re-election are voters over age 65—the same voters who are at the highest risk for serious complications from the coronavirus and who are most reliant on the Postal Service.

That's why our ad is specifically targeting seniors in the swing states most important to Trump and vulnerable Republicans in the Senate.

Will you help get our message to even more of these voters in Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Florida? Chip in now. Donate

Neither voting by mail nor protecting the post office should be partisan issues. But Donald Trump and his cronies are willing to do anything, no matter how sinister, to maintain their grip on power.

We can't—and we won't—let them get away with it.

Join us.

Because you've saved your payment information with MoveOn, your donation will go straight through. Donate

Sources:

"Mail Delays Fuel Concern Trump Is Undercutting Postal System Ahead of Voting," The New York Times, July 31, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/141668?t=5&akid=270642%2E1195276%2EpPwdi9
Ibid.

Want to support our work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day by day and year by year, to resist Trump's agenda, contain the damage, defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation's pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must never give up on. And to do it we need your support, now more than ever. Will you stand with us? Donate

PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/.
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

From: Amy, Stephen, Kate, and the Win Without War team
Subject: Barr’s trigger finger is on the Patriot Act

Let’s be clear: By labeling journalists, activists, and Black Lives Matter protesters as “terrorists” and “extremists”, the Trump administration is DOUBLING DOWN on massive internet surveillance on people rising up to demand accountability and dismantle white supremacy across the country.

The Patriot Act – the two decades old law that created mass surveillance after 9/11 – is what allows Attorney General Bill Barr, the FBI, the NSA, and a whole slew of other intelligence agencies to do it.

But we CAN stop their spying. Right now, Congress is debating whether or not to renew this terrible, civil liberties trampling law.

Sign now to tell Congress: Reject the Patriot Act reauthorization and stop spying on the public!

Spying on our phone records, text messages, and internet history without a warrant or justification was ALWAYS part of the design of the Patriot Act, Munsup.

Now, as the nation confronts the role of state violence and over-policing in Black and brown communities, Win Without War, and groups including Fight for the Future, Mijente, Demand Progress, and MPower Change are mobilizing to finally shut down mass surveillance under the Patriot Act.

This is a critical opportunity to call out the post-9/11 surveillance state for its disastrous intrusions on our civil rights and put pressure on the U.S. government to stop using high-tech tools and secretive FISA courts to spy on us.

Attorney General Barr knows this, Senator Mitch McConnell knows this. They’re just hoping you aren’t paying attention and they can reauthorize mass surveillance as if it’s business as usual. Let’s remind them — they aren’t the only ones watching.

Tell Congress: Stop mass surveillance and reject the Patriot Act reauthorization!

56,000 people have signed the petition so far and we’re getting louder every day. Can we count on you to make sure Congress hears us and stops the U.S. government from spying?

From: Joel Wong
Subject: Trump tells Americans they'll have to 'learn to speak Chinese' if he loses to Biden in 2020

https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-says-americans-will-learn-to-speak-chinese-loses-biden-2020-8
Trump tells Americans they'll have to 'learn to speak Chinese'
if he loses to Biden in 2020

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Americans would have to "learn to speak Chinese" if he loses the 2020 election to former Vice President Joe Biden.

Trump was implying that Biden would be soft on China, though in reality the former vice president's campaign has taken a fairly hawkish stance toward Beijing.
(Continue reading this article from this page!)

From: Eric Kramer
Subject: We are SO screwed....

This ignorance will never end (you can't fix stupid), and I strongly believe that this pandemic is likely to remain with us, FAR into the foreseeable future.

"Why?", you may ask. Because many of the same folks who're refusing to wear masks will also be likely to refuse to get vaccinated, once an effective vaccine has been developed.

Because of these 'Individualists', we, as a nation, are destined to be thoroughly F****d, for many years to come, and are now a laughing stock, to the rest of the world.

What the hell ever happened to "We the People, in order to form a more perfect UNION", and 'e pluribus unum'??? I think I've now grown more disappointed and disgusted by my fellow citizens than at any point in my entire life....

https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/8/7/21357400/anti-mask-protest-rallies-donald-trump-covid-19

They really don’t want to wear masks. We asked them why. - Vox

At the outset of the pandemic, Amy, a 48-year-old mother of two from Ohio, was afraid. When the government began recommending people wear masks, she not only complied but also made masks for ...