Thoughts on Impeachment Eve

Posted by Etta Worthington from a speech at an Impeachment Eve Rally in Western Springs, IL

Like many of you, I woke up on November 9, 2016 and I was sick. I didn’t want to get out of bed. I wanted to stick my head in the sand or hibernate for 4 years.

 Like many of you I got my pussy hat and hiked on downtown and joined the women’s march in early 2017 and became part of a national, even international demonstration against Trump.

And like many of you, I got emails about how we were going to resist Trump, even before he took office. And I said yes, I wanted to resist Trump and so I invited 30 strangers into my living room to talk about this. And three and a half  years later we are still meeting.

Like many of you I have made phone calls to legislators, I have visited legislators’ offices, I have gone to town halls. I have gone to who knows how many demonstrations.

In short, resisting Trump has taken over my life.

Did he turn out to be as bad as I had feared? No. He’s been worse. Much worse.

These are dark days for our republic. These are scary days. Just like the solstice which is coming this week. These are the darkest days. The longest dark days.

Ah, but there is a break.  I want to say that tonight represents that turning point or tipping point. Tonight, with the demonstrations happening all over the country. And with the vote that will happen tomorrow.

But maybe I shouldn’t say that tonight is the turning point because I think in truth we are only here because of what happened in November of 2018.  If the Democrats had not gotten control of the house, we would not be here celebrating and demanding Impeachment. If the Democrats had not taken control of the House we would not have a strong voice to proclaim to our legislators, to our fellow countrymen and women, and to the world, that in this United States of America, no one is above the law. Not even the President.

And so, tonight I am celebrating. I am celebrating all the people across this nation that spent hours in 2018 canvassing for candidates, phone banking for candidates, text banking for candidates, donating money to campaigns. I am celebrating that and all those people, including you, who have made this night and the vote tomorrow, possible.

But these are still long dark days. I’m not seeing much sun.  But I want to say there will be a little more sun tomorrow because tomorrow our Representatives are going to stand up to be counted and will vote to indict the President of Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress.

But the Senate, you say. The Senate won’t remove him from office. So what good is this?  Won’t it make him stronger?

I can’t predict the future, but I can and do have hope. This action that will take place tomorrow is a major wound.  We should be renewed, energized.  Look what we the people have done.

And there’s so much more to do.  Even tonight, call your Representative and underscore that yes, you support their voting yes on impeachment. Or use ResistBot and send a message that way. Let’s make sure Lipinski, And Davis, and Garcia—any of the districts that are represented here tonight—let’s make sure their voice mail boxes, emails, and faxes are overwhelmed with messages favoring impeachment.

And then let’s think about next steps. What do we need to do about the Senate trial? Our Senators in Illinois will be impartial jurors. Will look at the evidence and make decisions on whether Trump should be removed from office or not.

What can we do? Well, we can call Democratic voters in 13 key Red states and ask them to call their Senators and demand a fair and transparent trial.  Indivisible National has made it easy. There’s a phone banking system you can access through your phone and computer. You can sign up for shifts to phone bank.

We can plan to do more demonstrating. Maybe some of us need to go to Washington in January when the trial is on. Maybe we should call for a national strike.

Whether or not Trump is removed from office, we can and must commit ourselves to doing 3 things:

• make sure the Democrats especially progressive Democrats keep power in the House of Representatives

• make sure that the Democrats take control of the Senate, and that includes ditching Moscow Mitch. And hey, let’s throw in Lindsay Graham there as well/

• and then we must do everything we can to make sure Trump, if he is not removed from office, or Pence, if he is, will NOT be returning to Washington. We must make sure we have a Democrat for president.

There’s so much each of us can do between now and next November.

We can make sure people are registered to vote.

We can canvass for candidates. An example we’ve heard from tonight. Marie Newman needs our help to make it to Washington this time.

We can canvass in other states as well. My group has plans to both register people in Wisconsin and canvass for Democrats in Wisconsin.

We can phone bank. We can text bank.

And write postcards.  Even if you are unable to do some of the other things, you can write postcards to voters.  My group currently meets twice a month to do that and will be ramping to have three postcarding events a month.

From the policy people from Indivisible, I’ve heard the strategy is this: we aren’t going to try and change the minds of Trump voters. Instead we need to focus on three groups of Democrat-leaning people, specifically people of color, young people, and college-educated white woman. We need to focus on getting these folks out to vote.

So tonight, we celebrate what is, not the first, but the second big step to reclaiming our democracy.  And tonight you have the chance to commit yourself to working from now to next November to make sure we have a new face in the White House, and new faces in the Senate.  Will you do that?

I can’t hear very well so I am going to ask again, will you commit to work hard to make sure we have a positive result in November?

I don’t want to wake up the morning after the election and be unhappy with the results and think, I could have done more. How about you?

Did You Hear What Daniel Said?

posted by Etta Worthington

Maybe you didn't make it to the last Western Front Indivisible meeting. 

Maybe you haven't had a chance to hear Daniel Epstein talk.  What? You don't know who he is? Well, he's a young, progressive lawyer running for Illinois Supreme Court Justice. He's running from Cook County (so you can only vote for him if you live in the county). 

I know that I was not the only one who was fascinated learning about the Illinois Supreme Court and ways that it functions that aren't in the best interest of criminal justice. I think everyone at the meeting was. (Amazing what we don't know about how things work.)

We went away knowing that Daniel Epstein wants to change things. And that he's happy to talk about the changes that are needed.

WFI members Dave Kozar and Buzz Hunter sat down with Epstein and talked with him. 

Listen to this podcast, and if you want more information about Epstein, visit his website.

If you are interested in hearing more from him, I plan to have a meet and greet for him in January. Also Karin Evans is planning one. Email us at westernfrontindivisible@gmail.com if you would like an invitation to those events.

Small things? No.  Our democracy must work well at every level.  This is important.

Impeachment Plus Two

posted by Etta Worthington

When is the Impeachment vote going to happen?  It's a question we'd all like to know the answer to. I was on a phone call last night from Indivisible National, and here is what their top policy people are projecting. The impeachment vote with most likely come the week of December 16th.


But what day?  Well, there's something else happening that week that may inform when the impeachment comes up for a vote.  Remember back in September when we were talking about the DeFund Hate campaign? Well, at that time, the Congress didn't successfully vote on a bill to fund the government for the next year, but instead did a continuing resolution that went to November 21. And in November there was another continuing resolution passed for 30 days, which means that government funding ends on December 20th.

So, this last week before Christmas is going to be a big week. Somehow, in these five days, two important things need to pass through the House of Representatives.  One is the vote to impeach President Trump. The other is to keep the government running.

We could have another government shutdown, right before Christmas. Even if a funding bill is passed, whether to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year, or another continuing resolution of funding for perhaps 60 days--either way, Trump could decide not to sign the bill. (We all know he is spiteful and unpredictable.)

And in this last week before Christmas, the House needs to vote on and pass Articles of Impeachment. It is highly unlikely that both things will be voted on in the same day. So, possibly the funding bill will come down to the wire and  be voted on the day of December 20th. In that case, the impeachment vote might likely be on Wednesday or Thursday of that week.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR US?
There are things to do for both of these impending pieces of legislation. First, the government funding bill. We need to put continued pressure on our Representatives to not give Trump the money he wants for his wall, to not increase funding for ICE and CBP (Border Patrol), and to not allow for Trump to take money from other agencies to fund his border activities.
So, that means a call to your Rep.

AND, you can get ready for Impeachment Eve rallies.  We will undoubtedly have at least 48 hours notice of when the vote on impeachment will take place. Indivisible and other progressive allies are calling for a nationwide action the night before the vote.  Please consider making time to go our to an Impeachment Eve Rally.  There will of course be one in downtown Chicago at Federal Plaza. This makes sense if you work downtown.

But there are a number of events in suburban communities and we are joining with Indivisible Western Springs. They plan a rally on the sidewalk at Hillgrove & Lawn (north side of Metra tracks). People are encouraged to bring signs and flags and noisemakers. Please plan to attend. You can find out locations for other events here.


ONE MORE THING
There's another bill that Speaker Pelosi must certainly wants to get passed before the Christmas recess. That is H.R. 3, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019. Click here to learn more about key provisions of the bill that should be improved before it reaches the floor of the House of Representatives. Call your member of Congress and tell them: improve H.R. 3 by including people without insurance coverage, negotiating more drugs, and protecting patients from high launch prices and price spikes! 

I know the holiday season is a busy one, but these three things on the table are critical. Please talk to your Representatives about all three.  If you need to know what number to call, click here. 

So Really, What Are You Thankful For?

posted by Etta Worthington

Before you take a couple of days of work. Before you sit down to a table of turkey and sides (OK, for me, it’s tofurkey that I make from scratch.) Before you loosen your belt and hunker down on the sofa to watch a football game (and of course fall asleep). 

Before that, let’s start a list of things to be thankful for.

• The Constitution. Yep, that big document you had to read through in eighth grade and pass a test on.  The Constitution. 

 

• The Impeachment hearings. Which are brought to you by   . . . The Constitution. And a lot of Congresspersons and their staffs, who are working Very Long Hours to get the truth out in front of the American people.

• The Media. Not the part of the media that is a propaganda arm of the White House.  No, I'm talking about the journalists and commentators who work for networks and channels, and magazines, and newspapers, and websites--ones that work to get to the bottom of the story, not just mouth what comes from the White House.

• Leah and Ezra. Yep, those guys, plus the others who got together in 2016 after the election, who wrote the Indivisible Guide.  

The thousands of people who formed Indivisible groups as a result of that guide (and the other resistance groups as well that formed and are active).

• The network of Indivisible groups and leaders and the way that we are able to stay connected and work together to amplify our voices.

• The many opportunities to speak up for what's right: the demonstrations, the phone calling, the visits to legislators, the emails and tweets to these folks.

• The chance to connect with other voters by something as basic as a handwritten postcard--and know that this may encourage someone in a red district to actually get out and vote.

 

• Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi, and other vocal leaders in Congress

 

• The Congresspeople throughout the country, whether new or long-term, who are standing up against a tyrant.

The many people who take time every month, every week, sometimes every day, to work to make our voices heard.

The people who I've come to know in the last three years, these three years of darkness. Because you folks give me hope and joy. And you are my friends now, people I never would have met if not for the 2016 election.

For the people in my community who may not be in a particular group but who are working hard to create transparent and open government on the most basic of levels. 

Now it's your turn. What are you thankful for?  Add to this list either be responding in the comments section of  this blog. Or at a Facebook post or a Twitter post.

I'll leave you with this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson.

 

 

 

I Don't Want to Wake Up . . .

posted  by Etta Worthington

I don't want to wake up one year from now and discover that we have the same corrupt, traitorous president.
I don't want to wake up one year from now and not want to get out of bed. 


I don't want to wake up one year from now and realize that we have the same gang of Republican thugs and yes-men dominating the Senate.
I don't want to wake up one year from now and dread the next four years.

I don't want to wake up one year from now and find out that the Democrats have lost control of the House.
I don't want to wake up one year from now and feel totally hopeless.

I don't want to, but I am not sure those things won't happen.

I don't want to wake up one year from now and regret that I didn't put more time into influencing how and if people vote in the election.

I don't want to wake up one year from now and grieve that I didn't do everything I could to elect officials who would fight to restore our democracy.

The life and health of our country depends on my commitment of time. On yours.

WHEN IS THIS GOING TO HAPPEN?

Impeachment. It’s on everyone’s mind, right?  New polling shows growing support for 
impeachment, higher than it was for President Nixon or President Clinton, according to 
MSNBC.

What can we do?  Stay informed (while not getting sucked into watching TV too much). 
Indivisible National has just launched The Impeachment Daily, which you can find on
 Twitter, on Facebook , or on YouTube directly. They are promising daily updates. So 
far there is an update from last Thursday and last Friday.  Why not go directly to You Tube 
and subscribe.

What’s going to happen? All we know now for sure is that while most of the Congress 
went home for recess, the House Intelligence Committee did not and they are investigating. 
Most recently there’s a report of a second whistleblower in the Ukraine affair who wants 
to testify.

How long will this impeachment process take? I mean, it seems quite simple.

But it’s a process. That takes time.  The House of Representatives is the body that must 
write the Articles of Impeachment. Adam Schiff’s House Intelligence Committee is taking 
the lead on investigation, but other committees also are investigating and will weigh in on 
what is included in these articles.  The votes are there so impeachment is a certainty.

Next the Senate will run an impeachment trial and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court 
(John Roberts) will be the judge and will preside over it.  The Republicans can set the rules 
for the trial and decide what witnesses to allow, so when the time comes, we are going to 
have to fight for transparency.  Since we don’t have Republican Senators, we can’t call them, 
but there will be phone banks set up to call constituents on other states and ask them to call
 their Senators.  That will be coming.

When will this all happen?  The thinking right now is that the vote on the articles of 
impeachment will come sometime in November, perhaps around Thanksgiving time, or 
even a little earlier.

What you can do right now is call your Representative and thank him or her for supporting 
an impeachment inquiry and urge them (if they haven’t already) to commit to voting for the 
articles of impeachment. In August and September we have seen several Congresspersons 
around us come out in favor of the inquiry, including Sean Casten, Lauren Underwood, 
and even Dan Lipinski.

Most of all, we need level heads. Dan Rather wrote on Facebook the following:

News From Washington

Posted by Etta Worthington

Last night I was on a call with national Indivisible leaders and got an update on the latest in Washington.

Defund Hate Campaign
It's not over. Remember a couple of weeks ago when we hate a week of action?  

This was, as you may recall, about the Appropriations Bill that Congress had to pass to keep the government running after the end of September.  Our concern specifically was the funding for ICE and Border Patrol (CBP).  What we were asking was a return to 2016 levels of funding for ICE and CBP, and elimination of a slush fund and curtailment of robbing from other agencies to fund ICE and CBP.

What you may not know is that an appropriations bill was passed in the form of a continuing resolution. That's a resolution to keep funding the government short term. In this case, for 60 days, until November 21.

The good news about this resolution was that Democrats were strong  and got an agreement to cut funding to ICE and CBP. However, they were not able to get agreement on slush fund and robbing other agencies' budgets.

So, we got part of a win and we have two months to work on getting more of a win on this.

Did you make a phone call on September 9th, which was the national call-in day? Well, a lot of people did and it had an impact. According to some congressional staffers who were talked with, the call volume on that day was amazing. They were stunned at how many calls they were getting.  Good work, folks. Keep it up. And that week of action that many Indivisible groups participated  in was the biggest week of action for Indivisible so far.

Impeachment

 I know. You thought I would start off with this.  We need to be contacting our members of Congress (MoCs) and ask this:
• cancel the Congressional recess coming up for September 30-October 15
• push to move quickly on the impeachment process
• demand public hearing
Then, once this has moved through the House and he is impeached, we need to call Senators and demand that there be a fair and open trial and that they not let Mitch McConnell coverup facts or restrict the content of the trial.

By the way, if you haven't had a time to read the whistleblowers letter, you can get a copy:
Read and share the 9-page whistleblower report.
Or listen to it as an audiobook from Penguin Random House.


Two Year Plan for Democracy
We're thinking ahead here. There are a number of issues the Indivisible team is working on and will be things that we hope to see enacted in 2021, when we have a Blue Washington.
• Gerrymandering is a big issue we'll be pushing on. More on the Indivisible position here.
• Eliminating dark money from politics. This is a fight that right now has to be fought on the state level. You can read more about this process by going here.
• And then there's election security. Indivisible position and proposals can be found here. 
• Eliminating the filibuster.
• Statehood for the District of Columbia. This may be something that is brought to a vote early next year. More about that here.
• Court Reform. Expanding and modernizing the Supreme Court, to set the course for a less hyperpartisan process for selecting and appointing judges

Well, there's lots of work to do, but right now, let's focus on Impeachment and Appropriations for ICE and CBP.

Check with our Facebook page for more information as well as the weekly action list.


 

What Can YOU Do About Climate Change?

posted by Sheila Ondrachek

The threat of climate change can seem overwhelming. What steps can we take? And will it really make a difference? There are a lot of things we can do, and yes, if enough of us get on board, it CAN really make a difference. We’ve all been in denial too long about our way of life and how it impacts the environment. We won’t save the planet if we don’t start to make changes. All it takes is starting with a few small steps at a time.

Waste is a main driver of climate change, and plastic is a one of the biggest culprits. Less than 50 years ago, plastics and plastic-coated paper products were a rarity. Now, just about everything is wrapped, packaged, and served using single-use plastic. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Yes, it might be hard to change old habits, however, it will be worth it.

Here’s just a few shifts I’ve made, and that you can do too. I promise, it won’t be as painful as you might think.

I drink a lot of Diet Coke, and I usually get it from 7-Eleven. I’ve reused the same plastic cup going on three years. If you do the same, or drink coffee, bring your own cup and have it refilled. Keep one with you in the car, so you always have it handy. I drink it almost every day, and so I’ve saved close to 1000 plastic cups and lids from going into landfills. That’s a lot of cups!

Are you a user of Ziploc bags for leftovers, lunches, and snacks? I used to be, but I’ve realized how much I’ve thrown away over the years, and that’s more plastic going into landfills and possibly our oceans.  There are several alternatives, including paper sandwich and quart-size bags that are compostable called Lunchskins, and you can buy them online or at Whole Foods. Stashers, made of food-grade silicone, are also a great alternative to zip-close plastic bags, and an even more sustainable option. Not only can you use them for food storage, you can freeze in them, boil in them, microwave in them, put them in the oven and clean them in the dishwasher. They are an investment, but if you sign their plastic-free pledge, you’ll get 20% off your order. Also, keep an eye out on Good Morning America or the View for deals on them from time to time, up to 50% off.

If you don’t already have reusable grocery bags, I love this set by My Eco. It has four bags that are labeled for produce, chilled, cold, and frozen, glass bottles and jars, as well as groceries and dry goods, which is also the zippered pouch to store the others in. I’ve had them for a few years, and they have held up well. Also, think about investing in reusable mesh produce bags. I never have to use a plastic bag from the produce or bulk sections anymore. There are many places to purchase these, but I got mine at Flip and Tumble. Of course you can also get them from Amazon, and these from Ecoware have good reviews.

Let’s take a trip into your bathroom. There’s plastic everywhere. From hand soap, shampoo and conditioner, shower gel, and even your toilet paper — it all comes in plastic. How can you ditch the plastic in your bathroom?  A few things I’ve found that have been fairly easy switches are hand and body soap instead of bottled gel soap. It might take some trying different types to find one you like, but think of all the plastic bottles you won’t be tossing away. Lush has some great soaps to choose from, and one of their initiatives as a company is to fight climate change and reduce waste.  How about shampoo and conditioner? Ever heard of shampoo bars? There are conditioner bars, too. They are a complete zero-waste alternative to the plastic-bottled packaged hair products you’ll find at the store. Lush and a company called Ethique make both shampoo and conditioner bars, however, Ethique has them based more on hair type where as Lush is more about scent.  I’ve tried the Ethique’s conditioner bar and I really like it. Once I’m finished with my plastic bottle of shampoo, I’ll be ordered a bar of that, too.

If you don’t think you can go the bar route for your hair, there’s another option. Plaine is a company that sells shampoo in the more traditional way, except they’re in aluminum bottles that you can be sent back for recycling. They send you a refill, then you send your old bottles back.

Another thing I’ve tried is toilet paper from Who Gives a Crap?, a sustainable alternative to what’s sold at mass retailers. You buy it in bulk, and they have two types, one made from recycled material, and one made from bamboo. I’ve only tried the bamboo version, which is more expensive, but I like it. It also comes without any plastic packaging; unlike the type you buy from the store. 

Just think, if only the members of Western Front Indivisible made these swaps, think how much plastic we’d prevent from going into landfills and our oceans. And if the whole state of Illinois started doing it. And then the entire country. And then the world. It only has to start with a few — we are that few. And we can help change the world.

Saving Democracy One Podcast at a Time

By Sheila Ondracheck

If you're not already, you should be listening to Pod Save America. It's hosted by four former aides to President Barack Obama--Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Tommy Vietor, and Dan Pheiffer.

The podcasts run three days a week, including Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Monday's pod features Favreau, Lovett and Vietor. Wednesday's pod is a question and answer session from viewers. And the Thursday pod features Favreau and Pheiffer.

They engage in discussion about democratic politics and the batshit craziness that is the Trumo administration,  breaking down the day's news and the complete insanity of it all, with ideas and concrete ways to fight it.

But it's not just all Trump all the time. They talks about the real issues we're facing and what needs to be done about them. And sometimes they just chat about fun things, like their Games of Thrones obsession, if you're into that  kind of thing.

They've interviewed almost every 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, as well as well as journalists, AOC, and many Democratic senators and representatives. This past week they interviewed Stacey Abrams about her new voter protection initiative, and on August 14, they did a deep dive poll in Wisconsin to take the temperature of voters there to find the areas where we need to hit hard so we can win.

They even have a website called Vote Save America where you can pledge to vote in the next election, find out if you're registered to vote, and if for some reason you're not,  you can register right there on the site. You can also donate to a fund that will help whoever gets the Democratic nomination for president. And you can find out about the most important state races. 

You can find Pod Save America at the following locations:
ApplePodcasts
Spotify
Stitcher
YouTube

If you haven't yet, please listen in and let me know what you think of the podcast.