PT Indivisible Huddle Monthly Meeting
March 5, 2019
5:00 to 6:30
no meeting on March 12
Let's take a look at the new Indivisible Guides! Our work on the midterms changed the political landscape, giving us new opportunities. Indivisible has posted two new guides: Indivisible on Offense and Indivisible States. Bruce Cowan will give an overview of the guides and how we can use them to direct our energy over the coming year. Bruce is a retired teacher who works with our Elections Committee.
For upcoming events, see the Indivisible Huddle Calendar: Click here
Please send newsletter information to:
deborahksteele@gmail.com AND olivesandredwine@gmail.com
POSTCARD PARTY RESUMES!!
Join us on March 2
Pippa's Real Teas - 3 to 4:30
postcards, sample text, addresses, stamps, and good company provided
Environmental Group
Team Report
Our Team is focused on four main areas: Orca and chinook recovery; Fossil Fuels – “Keep It In The
Ground” (KIITG) – no new fossil fuel expansion in our Salish Sea and Washington State; clean water in
our Salish Sea and tributaries and reduction and cleanup of plastics in our state. Current Information
National: Some good news from Congress! NRDC reports that new action in Congress to save public
lands and we must act to support these efforts! Environmental advocates in Congress reintroduced
the landmark ANTIQUITIES Act of 2019 – to stop efforts from Trump administration to shrink or
dismantle our national monuments and auction them off to mining, drilling, and logging companies.
Please send our lawmakers an urgent request to support the new “Green” agenda.
State: We are asking the public to please, again, contact Gov. Inslee’s office, Dept. of Ecology and our
lawmakers in Olympia to act on breaching or dam removals on the Snake River in our state in order to
help the struggling chinook salmon. Their numbers are alarming low and cannot sustain the species or
feed the Southern Resident Orcas! President Trump is blocking critical orca and salmon recovery
efforts. The EPA halted the process two days after the Washington Department of Ecology announced
that it would exercise Washington’s right to protect the Columbia and Snake Rivers to support the
salmon decline. Action: Urge Governor Inslee to object to the Clean Water Act Section 401
certification for nine Columbia and Snake River dams.
Regional: A huge and alarming blow for regional, including British Columbia, environmentalists. The
National Energy Board (Canada) recommended the approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline and
tankers project! This is outrageous and has vast negative implications for our entire Cascadian region.
The report found that the project would have “adverse effects on southern resident orcas” and that
greenhouse gas emissions from tankers would be significant but the NEB went ahead and passed the
recommendations which will be taken seriously in approving a staggering increase in Fossil Fuel
expansion and transportation through our waterways! Please join again in the effort to fight these recommendations in the courts and through public opinion.
Local: Residents of Tacoma and the Puyallup tribe continue to speak out about the proposed project
to widen and deepen the Blair Waterway. This act could have very negative impacts on the health of
the Salish Sea and the regional residents. In the process of digging, there will be toxins released from
the Occidental Superfund site which could further the health and decline of the salmon and orca in
the waters.
Plastics: Washington and Oregon legislatures are considering state-wide bans on plastic bags at
grocery stores. A move that would push the health of our region – water, ocean, birds, fish…people.
Our Environmental Team will next meet at Unity Church Hearth Room, 5:00 – 6:30 Tuesday FEBRUARY 26
Contact: Cherri Mann, cherrimann@aol.com for more information.
Create a Communty Right Ordinance to Protect our Human Health, Land, Waters, Environment, and Community
Jefferson County Coalition to Stop Aerial Spraying presents:
Monday, March 11 7-9 PM at the Chimacum Grange
9572 Rhody Dr. Chimacum with featured speaker Kai Hushchke of Communty Enrionmental Legal Defense Fund
Message from: Washington State Indivisible Coalition
Our Ask: Please ask your Indivisible Chapter members to contact their State Representatives with the important messages:
HB 1110 - Low Carbon Fuel - Message:
Do Pass. Please approve this bill, which supports the deployment of clean transportation fuel technologies through a carefully designed program that reduces the carbon intensity of fuel used in the state.
HB 1112 – Hydrofluorocarbon phase out – Message:
Please pass out of committee. I support this bill, which phases out the sale and use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are primarily used as refrigerants, by 2024. HFCs are extremely potent greenhouse gases with existing alternatives for their use.
HB 1113 – Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Message:
Do Pass. Please approve this bill, which updates state emissions limits to be consistent with recommendations from the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group, as well as United States commitments to the Paris Climate Accords.
HB 1579 – Chinook abundance – Message:
Please pass out of committee. I support this bill, which provides Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife the same tools that other agencies have to enforce critical environmental laws and effectively deter habitat destruction, helping to secure the food web for our Southern Resident orcas
Thank you!
Roots of Injustice, Seeds of Change
Toward Right Relationship with Native Peoples
Workshop Facilitated by Paula Palmer
Tuesday, March 5, 2019 7-9 pm
Port Townsend Friends Meeting
1841 Sheridan
Suggested Donation: $10
This workshop traces the historic and ongoing impacts of the Doctrine of Discovery, the 15th-century justification for European subjugation of non-Christian peoples. The goal is to raise our level of knowledge and concern about
these impacts, recognize them in ourselves and our institutions, and explore how
we can begin to take actions toward “right relationship.”
Jefferson County Immigrant Rights Advocates (JCIRA)
In the immigration system, people seeking asylum or who are otherwise detained may have the opportunity to be considered for “parole” or to be released after establishing that they have a credible fear if they were to return to their country. The chances of someone being released are more likely if there is an American citizen who is willing to vouch for them.
“It takes a village.” and community support to become a sponsor and to help a compañero/compañera to successfully navigate a complicated system.
Contact Libby Palmer at JCIRA for more information on how to become a sponsor for an asylum seeker.
Raging Warriors are reinvigorated by the flipping of the House, and ready to take our issues to the people we elected to represent us. We've even written a Mission Statement so it's clear that we're involved with many issues that affect the healthcare of our national, state, and local communities, including immigrants.
We also have an opportunity to work with the nationwide HEALTHCARE-NOW! They are allied with National Nurses United. The plan is to kick-off this lobbying movement with BARNSTORM events across the country. We would like to participate with our own Barnstorm event, but need more activist members to help us organize it. This is a major effort and we would be an important part of a big voice on our healthcare issues.
We will explain more at our next meeting -- March 7th from 4 to 5:30 at the Jefferson County Library in Port Hadlock. If you want to make a difference in healthcare public policy, this is your chance. We look forward to seeing new faces at our next meeting.
Let's Barnstorm together!!!! Call Linda at 360-385-0319 for more information.
Linda Martin
Raging Warriors for
Universal Healthcare
*PT Indivisibles*
Foreign Policy Team
Welcome new team leader Gina McMather!
1.) We are concerned about protecting the Mueller investigation and that his report be made public and there is legislation we can support with communications to the relevant committee chairs as well as our own legislators:
S. 236 “A bill to require a Special Counsel report and for other purposes” introduced by Richard Blumenthal and co-sponsored by Chuck Grassley Jan. 28 and assigned to the Judiciary Committee.
S. 71 sponsored by Lindsey Graham w. 5 co-sponsors and HR 197 sponsored by Jerrold Nadler w. 123 co-sponsors incl. Kilmer. “Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act”. Referred to their respective judiciary committees. These are re-introductions of bills that died in last year's congress.
2.) Following the Mattis resignation, we need for a qualified Secretary of Defense to be approved. We will write to Senate Armed Services Committee.
3.) INF Treaty: the significance and troubling ramifications of U.S. departure from this treaty and the likelihood of a new arms race. If we are worried about China, we can put intermediate range missiles back on ships. We concluded that we will ask our legislators and the Armed Services committees not to fund intermediate range nuclear weapons. See the NY Times Feb.1 opinion piece byDr. Rachel Bronson, the president and chief executive of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
4,5,6. Venezuela, Southern Border, Saudis & Khashoggi killing. No action.
7.) Future Trump/Kim meeting. We will ask our legislators to consider legislation that would introduced that would require a qualified official to serve as witness and note-taker at presidential meetings with foreign officials.
Additional items:
The House Ways and Means subcommittee on oversight has a hearing scheduled this week on proposals to require presidential and vice-presidential candidates to publicly release their tax returns. We will communicate to Kilmer this week to support this.
As part of Huddle leadership's efforts to have each group prioritize three avenues of team efforts, we articulated the following four goals:
1. Protect the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in our election and demand a report to Congress and the public.
2. Demand the government support our allies, strengthen current alliances and establish checks on presidential prerogatives in this regard.
3. Demand responsible interaction with foreign entities and their officials.
4. We must have competent and trustworthy senior officials and adequate staffing at the U.S. State Dept.
The next Foreign Affairs meeting is Tuesday, March 5 , 41 Vista Boulevard Port Townsend
Greetings from the PT Indivisible Elections Group ...
PT Indivisible team —
How can we thank this amazing team enough!! You can be proud to have had a hand in flipping 40 seats!
Be sure and attend the next PT Indivisible Meeting and hear our team member Bruce Cowan talk about where Indivisible is going. It's exciting!
Indivisible is powerful! One last midterm election will require a special election, and a local Indivisible group in the 9th District of North Carolina has a lot to do with that. Democrat Dan McCready came within inches of winning, and it turned out that his opponent benefited from serious shenanigans with absentee ballots. The Election Board is calling for a new election. Harris, his opponent, is unlikely to run. McCready has a good start in fundraising, and his opponent has not emerged. This could be another pickup for Democrats. Dan McCready's campaign is at https://www.danmccready.com
Our next Elections Team meeting will be on March 5th Bishop Hotel 5:30-7:00 PM
info@ptindivisibleelectionsgroup.com
Trump is publically calling for Mueller ouster. Here are the preplanned responses if he does so:
Protest will take place at the triangle across from Food Co-op
1. If Mueller is fired before 2 PM local time, protest begins at 5 PM local time.
2. If Mueller is fired after 2 PM local time, protest begins at noon local time the very next day.
