Copy
View this email in your browser
Editor's Note
Let us heed the words of Congressman Elijah Cummings, who passed away this week: "Our children are the living messages we send to a future we will never see. The question is how will we send them into that future. Will we rob them of their destiny? Will we rob them of their dreams? No."
October 19, 2019

IN TOUCH WITH INDIVISIBLE

Meet Ezra and Leah in Cambridge
On November 15 at 7:00 PM the creators of the Indivisible movement will be in Cambridge to talk about their new book and to hold a book signing.

The new book, entitled We Are Indivisible: A Blueprint for Democracy After Trump, “isn’t a book of platitudes about hope; it’s a steely-eyed guide to people power—how to find it, how to build it, and how to use it to usher in the post-Trump era."

All proceeds from this event will go to Indivisible's Save Democracy Fund.

Learn more details about this event here.

Submitted by Denise Falbo, Indivisible Canton

MORNING COFFEE ACTIONS

Devolving Situation in Syria
Not surprisingly, the situation in Northern Syria has been worsening as Turkey has taken more violent action there against Kurdish people and as more ISIS prisoners have escaped. “Syrian troops entering Kurdish-held Rojava represents a massive victory for not only Syrian President Bashar Assad but Putin and the Iranians, who had long demanded that the Americans withdraw from the corridor that links northern Iraq with eastern Syria.”  Countless of our Kurdish allies will be killed.  

Let’s let our member of Congress know that it is time to remove Trump before he does more harm.

H/T Rogan's List
Submitted by Kristan Smith-Park, Indivisible Acton
Help Virginia Go Blue
The Virginia elections are fast approaching, and the time for action is now! We lost control of the statehouse in Virginia in 2017 after we tied an election and the winner's name was drawn from a hat. (Yup, the Republican won). We need to flip only a couple of seats there to win control of that Statehouse now, which will then get us meaningful gun legislation and Virginia ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment. This is huge. Please make a donation of any size to Sister District's candidate fund here, try your hand at phone banking from home by signing up for the Grassroots Dem's 20 Dial Challenge here, or sign up to print and send 5 letters into Virginia for Vote Forward here.

H/T Chop Wood Carry Water
Submitted by Kristan Smith-Park, Indivisible Acton
Reduce Food Waste and Feed Hungry Kids
Want to help our climate at the local level?  If food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases. And there are some estimates that one third of food produced ends up being wasted. To start reducing waste in your own kitchen, check out some ideas at Love Food Hate Waste, an organization in the UK that focuses on food waste. They have all the info you need about how best to store your food, how to freeze things the right way, and how to organize yourself to throw away less food.  

You can also help by reaching out to your local schools and see if they have share tables. Share tables are tables of food and drinks that the kids haven’t opened or eaten but that can be shared with other kids to eat right then or save for later. The USDA supports them, and many schools have implemented them. It’s as easy as asking your school administrators if they have a share table, and if not, why not! Check out this helpful one-pager for more information.

And this resource will help you see the legislative framework for creating a share table and pilot programs to reduce food waste.

We can make sure all kids have enough to eat while reducing food waste.

H/T Small Deeds Done
Submitted by Kristan Smith-Park, Indivisible Acton
Support the Equality Act
The Equality Act, passed by the House in May, would be the first law to ensure protections for LGBTQ people against discrimination in employment, housing and access to public spaces and services. The cases currently before the Court make it all the more essential that we push our elected leaders to pass this crucial legislation. Use the ACLU’s email template to send a message to your senators telling them to vote yes on the Equality Act or share your own story with the Human Rights Campaign.

H/T The Nation's Take Action List
Submitted by Kristan Smith-Park, Indivisible Acton
Demand Impeachment in the Senate
We've got to demand that Senators publicly support a fair and open impeachment trial. Use this form to sign up for a shift with Indivisible making calls to voters in key areas to connect them directly to their senators to make this important point. They'll give you everything you need to get started, and you'll be calling Democrats. Give it a try!

H/T Chop Wood Carry Water
Submitted by Kristan Smith-Park, Indivisible Acton

FEATURES

Swing Left Greater Boston Has Fun at the Honk Parade
On October 13 Swing Left Greater Boston had lots of fun marching in the Honk Parade in Somerville, part of an annual festival of activist street bands. Would you like to march with your activist group in your local parade? It’s a great way to spread the word that activism is fun!

Submitted by Susan Labandibar, Swing Left Greater Boston
Swing Left Pioneer Valley Sponsors Letter Writing at Elections 2020 Mini-Summit
On October 16 in Florence (Northampton), a more than sixty people came to an Elections 2020 mini-summit organized by the Northampton Democratic City Committee. Swing Left Pioneer Valley sponsored Get Out the Vote letter-writing and postcards to TX, VA, and OH at the event. Presentations by Swing Left, Indivisible, and Maine Democrats focused on the myth of Susan Collins’ moderate image and the game plan for defeating her in 2020.
    
Submitted by Susan Labandibar, Swing Left Greater Boston

MA EVENTS CALENDAR

Join Indivisible in Andover to Plan 2020 Actions
The 2020 elections are just months away. No need to panic. Let’s make a plan!

This month’s agenda is designed to help you come up with a personal strategy for the the 2020 elections –- how to choose the candidates you want to support and how to choose the actions you want to take to support them.

Our guest speaker, Michelle Olsen, is founder of elect535.org, a website you can use to build a portfolio of the candidates you want to support for federal House and Senate seats, based on up-to-date profiles of the candidates and their districts.

How to turn that strategy into action? We’ve got some ideas! The second half of the meeting will be a quick briefing on ways you can step up to join us including:
  • Writing postcards
  • Texting
  • Fundraising
  • Lobbying
  • Canvassing
  • Phone banking
  • Voter registration: partnering with outreach groups in key swing districts both in MA and out of state
No need to wait until 2020 to help flip it blue. These actions are underway and we already are having a positive impact!

Doors open at 6:30 PM for signing in and socializing, and the meeting will begin promptly at 6:45 PM. Your beverage, snack, or dessert contributions are always appreciated!

Please join us. All are welcome!

RSVP here.

Day      Tuesday, October 22
Time    6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Place   Parish Hall, Christ Church, 25 Central Street, Andover
    
Submitted by David Kronman, Indivisible Andover
Help Train Organizers for 2020
As many of us who have volunteered for campaigns have seen, field organizers typically come from affluent backgrounds. They do not look like or relate to the lives of residents of low income, inner-city neighborhoods. Organizing Corps 2020 is recruiting and training 1,000 local organizers from diverse backgrounds to work on the 2020 presidential campaign in key battleground states.

Meet Meg Ansara, founder of Organizing Corps, at one of these three fundraising events.

Wellesley
Day    Wednesday, October 23
Time   7:00 PM
RSVP here.

Lexington
Hosted by Minuteman Indivisible and Indivisible Acton. Refreshments will feature foods from each of the seven key states. We will also vote on preferred state(s).
Day    Thursday, October 24
Time   7:00 PM
RSVP here, or donate here.

Cambridge
Day    
Monday, October 28
Time   5:30 PM
RSVP here.

Submitted by Susan Labandibar, Swing Left Greater Boston
Fundraiser to Oppose Susan Collins in Great Barrington
Join hosts Bobbie Houston and Eric Shamie for cocktails at the Green Houses, former site of Dolby Florists, in Great Barrington, Mass.

Maine… Yes! Collins… No!

Susan Labandibar, Regional Organizing Coordinator for Swing Left, will discuss the formidable forces aligned against Susan Collins in this election cycle and introduce you to grassroots activists who are taking action now to help the Democratic candidate win in 2020. With Holly Morse of Left Field and Ben Hillman of the Rural Freedom Network.

RSVP here.        

Day      Friday, October 25
Time    4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Place   The Green Houses, 25 Humphrey Street, Great Barrington    

Your Name Susan Labandibar, Swing Left Greater Boston
Dance for Dignity Fundraiser in Somerville
Join classic rock dance band Stanley and the Undercovers and creative dance of Jean Appolon Expressions for an evening of great music, dancing, and community to support immigrants.

Help support funding for those seeking refuge in our country. All proceeds go to the United Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants, supporting immigrants facing detention, deportation, and related legal issues. The United Legal Defense Fund gives grants to legal defense organizations offering pro-bono assistance to local immigrants. Deportation proceedings are civil matters; lawyers are not provided by the court. Those with legal representation have a five times higher chance of achieving a favorable outcome.

The United Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants was launched March 2019 by the Mayors of Cambridge and Somerville, in partnership with the Cambridge Community Foundation. For more information go to: https://www.gofundme.com/f/united-legal-defense-fund

Consider being a sponsor! This is a nonprofit event with all proceeds going towards the cause. Sponsorship levels:
  • Powerful: $5,000 - 10 tickets, logo/name on all promotional materials
  • Courageous: $2,500 - 5 tickets, logo/name on all promotional materials
  • Caring: $1,000 - 3 tickets, logo/name on all promotional materials
  • Committed: $500 - 2 tickets, acknowledgment at event
  • Determined: $250 - 2 tickets, acknowledgment at event
  • Supportive: $100 - 2 tickets
Make a donation, become a sponsor, or purchase a $20 ticket online.

Or send your check payable to the Cambridge Community Foundation, Bishop Allen Drive, Cambridge MA 02139. Be sure to note United Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants in the memo line.

For more information contact: Day     Friday, October 25
Time   7:00 PM - 10:30 PM
Place  Somerville Armory, 191 Highland Ave, Somerville

Submitted by Stanley Pollack, Cambridge Community Foundation
Online Training for Person-to-Person Fundraising
Raising money for progressive candidates is the most effective thing you can do to flip the Senate (and hang onto the House) in 2020. Learn how to make a personal “pitch” to a friend or colleague. Learn from the pros at 31st Street Swing Left!

About the Trainers and Training
This training will be conducted by Lynn Fletcher, Mary Pence and Lisa Herrick, who head up the fundraising component of 31st Street Swing Left, a chapter based in the DC/MD/VA area.

31st Street Swing Left raised over $1,024,000 for Congressional and Senate races in 2018. As of October 1, they have raised more than $242,000 for the 2019 Virginia legislative races.

The training will take you from where you are (“I hate to ask for money”) to where you need to go (“Using a data-driven approach, I developed my own thought-out dialogue for making a personal ask” – an actual comment from a training participant.)

RSVP here for the call-in details and to preview the 31st Street Swing Left fundraising toolkit.

Learn more about 31st Street Swing Left at www.31ststreet.org.

Day    Tuesday, October 29
Time   7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Submitted by Lisa Plato, Swing Left Greater Boston
"Suppressed: The Fight to Vote" Film in Chatham
Lower Cape Indivisible is screening the powerful documentary, "Suppressed: The Fight to Vote," at the Chatham Orpheum Theater, with all proceeds to benefit Fair Fight, a national campaign led by Stacey Abrams to build voter protections in 20 states.

"Suppressed: The Fight to Vote" weaves together personal stories from voters across the state of Georgia to paint an undeniable picture of voter suppression in the 2018 midterm election where Stacey Abrams fought to become the first Black female governor in the U.S. Polling place closures, voter purges, missing absentee ballots, extreme wait times, and a host of voter ID issues disproportionately prevented many students and people of color from casting their ballots. The film shows that the basic constitutional right to vote continues to be under siege in America, and that this will continue into 2020 unless we act.

Pre-film conversation and refreshments are available (for sale) in lobby. This screening features a post-film discussion with a special guest speaker and audience question and answer.

RSVP here, and donate to Fair Fight here.    

Day     Saturday, November 9
Time   9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Place  Chatham Orpheum Theater, 637 Main Street, Chatham

Submitted by Fran Schofield, Lower Cape Indivisible: United in Hope
Climate Change Discussion in Andover
Are you worried about climate change, but don’t know how you can help to address it?

On November 19, Greater Andover Indivisible (GAI) and WECAN (Working to Educate for Climate Action Now) will co-sponsor a meeting to discuss some of the strategies for tackling climate change at the national and local levels.

Guest speakers Claire Teylouni and Nolan O’Brien from Senator Ed Markey’s office will give us a presentation on the Green New Deal, the congressional resolution that lays out an ambitious plan for tackling climate change on a national level.

Next, Carol Oldham, Executive Director of the MA Climate Action Network (MCAN), will introduce us to a state program known as Community Choice Aggregation (CCA), and explain why CCA is one of the best ways for an entire community to cut its carbon emissions overnight.

Following these presentations, Andover’s Deputy Town Manager, Michael Lindstrom, will discuss a plan in the works to bring CCA to Andover.

Finally, GAI and WECAN will provide some ways to support state and local efforts to address climate change and make us more sustainable.

Doors open at 6:30 PM for signing in and socializing, and the meeting will begin promptly at 6:45 PM. Your beverage, snack, or dessert contributions are always appreciated!

Please join us. All are welcome!

RSVP here.        

Day    Tuesday, November 19
Time   6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Place  Parish Hall, Christ Church, 25 Central Street, Andover

Submitted by David Kronman, Indivisible Andover

NEWS FROM the BERKSHIRES to BOSTON

Links to Local News From Around MA

RECOMMENDED READING

Get this free audio version of the whistleblower complaint.

This Land: How Cowboys, Capitalism, and Corruption are Ruining the American West
By Christopher Ketcham

A hard-hitting look at the battle now raging over the fate of the public lands in the American West and a plea for the protection of these last wild places

The Mueller Report
Looking for some light summer reading or listening? Here are ways to read the Mueller Report so that you know exactly what is at stake. Here are a couple of ways to get a quick overview:
  • Read or listen to Mueller's Executive Summaries: the 10-page summary of Volume I, which deals with Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election and its interactions with the Trump Campaign, and the 6-page summary of Volume II which focuses on the obstruction of justice portion of the Investigation.
  • Watch Mueller's televised statement (<10 minutes) or read it here.
H/T Indivisible Acton Area newsletter

Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right
by Jane Mayer
One of the New York Times best books of the year.

Who are the immensely wealthy right-wing ideologues shaping the fate of America today? From the bestselling author of The Dark Side, an electrifying work of investigative journalism that uncovers the agenda of this powerful group.

In her new preface, Jane Mayer discusses the results of the most recent election and Donald Trump's victory, and how, despite much discussion to the contrary, this was a huge victory for the billionaires who have been pouring money in the American political system.

Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America
by Nancy MacLean
“[A] vibrant intellectual history of the radical right . . . [MacLean] has dug deep into her material—not just Buchanan’s voluminous, unsorted papers, but other archives, too—and she has made powerful and disturbing use of it all. . . . The behind-the-scenes days and works of Buchanan show how much deliberation and persistence—in the face of formidable opposition—underlie the anti-governing politics ascendant today. What we think of as dysfunction is the result of years of strategic effort.” —The Atlantic

The People Are Going to Rise Like the Waters Upon Your Shore: A Story of American Rage
by Jared Yates Sexton
A first-hand account of the events that shaped the 2016 presidential election and the cultural forces that powered Donald Trump into the White House.

“Sexton grapples with the Trump campaign from the perspective of the crowds reveling in the candidate’s presence and message. It is a useful vantage point given the increasingly blatant bigotry in the months since the election.” —The Washington Post

Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life
by Eric Klinenberg
Eric Klinenberg is a professor of sociology and director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University. In this book, he focuses on how social infrastructure can help fight inequality, polarization, and the decline of civic life. "In Palaces for the People, Eric Klinenberg offers a new perspective on what people and places have to do with each other, by looking at the social side of our physical spaces." —New York Times

Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History
by Kurt Andersen
“The single most important explanation, and the fullest explanation, of how Donald Trump became president of the United States . . . nothing less than the most important book that I have read this year.”—Lawrence O’Donnell

How Democracies Die
by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt​
Both authors are Professors of Government at Harvard University. Based on years of research into the breakdown of democracies in Europe and Latin America, the authors present a deep understanding of how and why democracies die; an alarming analysis of how democracy is being subverted today in the US and beyond; and a guide for maintaining and repairing a threatened democracy, for governments, political parties and individuals.

Fascism: A Warning
by Madeleine Albright
A personal and urgent examination of fascism in the twentieth century and how its legacy shapes today’s world, written by one of America’s most admired public servants, the first woman to serve as U.S. secretary of state. #1 New York Times Bestseller.

GET INVOLVED
Running for Office? Let Us Know!
While Indivisible-MA may not do any candidate endorsements this year, we can let other Indivisibles across the state know about your race. Use this form to tell us about your candidacy. Thank you for stepping up!
Submit Items to the Mass Action Newsletter
Submit any events you would like to place in our online calendar and this newsletter using this event promotion form.

Tell us about your group's activities and successes using this submission form You may include links to pages with more details.
Keep in Touch - Join Us on Slack
MA Indivisibles have a place to chat and share events and ideas on Slack. If you're not familiar with Slack, don't worry, it's easy to use. Ask your group leader to send you an invitation.
Give a Little to Keep Indivisible Growing
Both the national organization and local groups are building tools and infrastructure so that we can coordinate to have a stronger voice here in Massachusetts as well as nationally as we carry this work forward to the 2020 elections. This all takes a bit of cash. Please donate to the national organization or to your local group to help us continue this work.
Our Mission
The Indivisible mission is to fuel a progressive grassroots network of local groups to resist the Trump Agenda.

Indivisible Massachusetts is a consortium of leaders from more than 250 local Massachusetts Indivisible groups, working together to bring our groups together for events and to leverage our numbers to make our efforts more effective.

You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list






This email was sent to <<Email Address>>
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
Indivisible MA · 225 Lowell St · Carlisle, MA 01741-1333 · USA

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp