So Congress blew it once again. Shocking, isn’t it? While Trump was picking on people in Puerto Rico fighting for their lives, our slime mold of a Congress allowed insurance for 9 million children (including my own) to expire.

Time’s up: As CHIP expires unrenewed, Congress blows a chance to save healthcare for 9 million children

What happened? The simple answer is that congressional Republicans’ last harebrained attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act got in the way. A funding bill for CHIP seemed to be well on its way to enactment until a week or so ago. That’s when the effort to pass the egregious Cassidy-Graham repeal bill sucked all the air out of the legislative room.

In other words, they were so busy trying to throw adults under the bus that they forgot (or didn’t care) the bus was headed toward the playground and would take out our kids. Congratulations to our Republican-run government. You’ve proved that rock bottom evidently has a basement.

I suggest calling all three members of Congress, Richard Burr, Thom Tillis and Mark Walker to voice your displeasure at their craven disregard for our children. Aren’t they the ones who are always screaming “think about the children” when anything they deem inappropriate happens?

SCRIPT:  I’m calling from ______ in NC about Congress allowing our CHIP program to expire. The antics of Republican senators with regards to adults’ healthcare lately has been egregious. To let this malfeasance spread to the plan covering 9 million American children is unacceptable. I am calling on you and your colleagues to put forward a bill to continue the CHIP program in perpetuity. This should not have happened, especially to children, who cannot stand up for themselves. You should be ashamed this call is even necessary.

Trump’s Twitter War with Puerto Rico

As if this administration weren’t ridiculous enough, Donald Trump and his fragile ego were grievously injured in the gluteus maximus area, when the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulín Cruz criticized the Trump administration’s weak response to Hurricane Maria.

As usual Trump will seize any opportunity to turn any news story, no matter how serious, into a story about himself. He is the flakiest of snowflakes. I wonder if he’d like some cheese with that whine.

Trump attacks San Juan mayor over hurricane response (autostart video)

Mike Pence towed the party line for his boss:

“Well, it is frustrating, I expect, to millions of Americans to hear rhetoric coming out from some in Puerto Rico, particularly the mayor of San Juan, instead of focusing on results,” Pence said.

Call the White House Comment Line at 202-456-1111 and let Trump know how blindingly unprofessional and unAmerican his comments and attitude are.

Truth to Power

And I love this man right here: Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, who led relief efforts in New Orleans after Katrina.

At 3:06, Lt General Honoré’s wish for Trump. 😁

Have Some Relief Links for Puerto Rico

UNICEF Hurricane Relief

Red Cross Disaster Relief

Save the Children Relief Efforts

Direct Relief

World Vision

Hispanic Federation

Volunteer as a Trucker in Puerto Rico

UPCOMING EVENTS

Executive Committee Meeting/Final 2017 Gala Committee Meeting – Tuesday October 3, 2017 6:00PM.  The Gala Committee for 2017 will meet at 6:00 PM Tuesday evening to do a final assessment of this year’s gala. We will discuss things that worked well and things that did not. Hopefully we can lay a solid foundation for next year’s event. The Executive Committee will meet immediately after at 7:00PM.

Asheboro Fall Festival – October 7 & 8, 2017 – Randolph County Democratic Party will have a booth at the Fall Festival. Our booth will be located on Fayetteville Street, near its intersection with Sunset Ave., in front of Wells Fargo. Our booth will have voter registration, bumper stickers and buttons for sale, pocket Constitutions and other interesting activities. The Democratic Women of Randolph County will also have a booth for their annual bake sale, which is always a hit. The DWRC booth will be located near the east end of Sunset Ave, north side of the street, near the Coffee Xchange.

NASCAR Day in Randleman – October 14, 2017 – Don’t know the exact location for our booth, but we will be there with bumper stickers, buttons, pocket Constitutions and voter registration forms. Come see us!

A Day on Main Street in Ramseur – October 21, 2017 – Like past Day on Main Street festivals, our booth will probably be in Liberty Street. We will be there with bumper stickers, buttons, pocket Constitutions and voter registration forms. We will also be drawing the winner of our Coral Sands Resort Vacation in Hilton Head at this festival at 4:00 PM.

It’s that time of year again! The Randolph County Democratic Party is hosting our 9th Annual Defending Democracy Blue Jean Gala on Saturday September 23 at the Exchange in Asheboro. Like last year, we have several gift baskets available for blind auction. We are also excited to announce that local potters Dwight Holland and Benjamin Burns have donated some of their lovely work for us to offer for auction.  You may place bids at the Gala or you may bid online by following the link below.

Check back often. We will be adding more individual auctions throughout the week leading up to the Gala.

⭐Blue Jean Gala Blind Auction Items⭐

10 fascinating facts about the Labor Day holiday

FEDERAL:

Immigration

ICE Plans to Start Destroying Records of Immigrant Abuse, Including Sexual Assault and Deaths in Custody

ICE has asked for permission to begin routinely destroying 11 kinds of records, including those related to sexual assaults, solitary confinement and even deaths of people in its custody. Other records subject to destruction include alternatives to detention programs; regular detention monitoring reports, logs about the people detained in ICE facilities and communications from the public reporting detention abuses. ICE proposed various timelines for the destruction of these records ranging from 20 years for sexual assault and death records to three years for reports about solitary confinement.

Why Immigration Is Good: 7 Common Arguments Against Reform, Debunked

White House: Trump’s DACA decision coming Tuesday

A full repeal would leave the nearly-800,000 DACA recipients without protection from deportation, and activists fear the information from their applications could be used by federal authorities to target them.

And ending new applications and renewals — DACA provided a two-year permit — would mean 1,400 DACA recipients would lose their status every day, according to a study by progressive advocacy groups Center for American Progress and FWD.us.

Call your Members of Congress:

Senators Richard Burr & Thom Tillis

Representative Mark Walker

SCRIPT: I am calling from the Sen/Rep’s district in North Carolina. I would like to voice my support for keeping DACA. These folks, DREAMers, came to the US as children and had no say-so in how they got here. To deport them back to their country of origin, when most have no memory of that place, is a cruel way to begin immigration reform. I am asking the Sen/Rep to sign on as a sponsor/co-sponsor to the American Hope Act, HR 3591, which will protect Dreamers from deportation and help them gain legal status. We are a nation of immigrants, built by immigrants. Please don’t throw these folks under the bus just to score political points. Thank you.

Healthcare

Trump administration plans on making 90 percent cut to Obamacare ad budget

“Trump Admin is deliberately sabotaging our healthcare system. When number of insured drops & costs rise, American ppl will know who to blame,” wrote Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, on Twitter.

STATE

Berger’s advice to Dems – become Republicans

Where, Berger wondered, are the North Carolina Democrats of old who were pro guns, pro-life and pro business?

“If you’re going to be competitive in legislative elections across the state, you’re going to have to bring back the North Carolina Democrat as a distinct political type, separate from the national Democrat,” he said.

In other words, Democrats could succeed if they became Republicans. Berger isn’t content to lock Democrats out. He wants to convert them.

NCDP Chair Wayne Goodwin:

Goodwin said he welcomes advice, even from the Senate Republican leader. But he also had some advice for him: If he really thinks the public overwhelmingly supports the Republican agenda, he shouldn’t fear holding elections based on maps drawn by an independent redistricting commission.

Call you legislators:

Pat Hurley, Allen McNeill

Jerry Tillman, Rick Gunn

SCRIPT:  I am calling to voice my support for non-partisan redistricting. The NCGA has dragged its feet too long on this matter. You shouldn’t need to gerrymander districts if your ideas have merit. Partisan and racial gerrymandering needs to end now. Thank you for your time.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Lunch & Learn Voter Registration Workshop with Melissa Johnson, Director RCBoE – September 12, 2017 at Asheboro Library in the downstairs meeting room at 12PM.

The Democratic Women of North Carolina invite you to the 57th Annual State Convention, September 22-24, 2017, in Winston-Salem at the Hawthorne Inn & Conference Center.

9th Annual Defending Democracy Blue Jean Gala – Saturday September 23, 2017, 6:00PM – The Exchange – 204 S Fayetteville St, Asheboro, NC  Special guest speakers will be Rep. Graig Meyer, NC House District 50 and NCDP Second Vice Chair Matt Hughes.

“You didn’t shut her up, you just magnified her.”

Thank you to everyone who came out to the Peace Vigil on Friday. I cannot (and don’t want to) imagine the heartbreak of losing a child. And to lose that child to something so stupid as racial hatred manifested in a terrorist attack on people engaging in their First Amendment right to protest is just unconscionable. Heather’s mother has been the epitome of grace during this time of mourning. If you can, take a moment to watch her comments about her daughter. And keep the Kleenex handy.

Several local Facebook pages tried their best to whip up conflict by putting out “less than accurate” information about what was happening. We were also invaded by some agents provocateur who tried to stir up conflict with the people who came to protest our peaceful gathering. We must not allow those who benefit from the status quo to derail us from moving our society forward toward equality. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” I firmly believe that. We will win and we will make this world a better, more peaceful and equitable place for our children and grandchildren.

Now, on to the call to action.

Redistricting

The new maps are out for the NC House.

New map reveals part of NC Republicans’ redistricting plan

The maps were released Saturday without the data and files the mapmakers used to shape the new districts. Because of that, the attorneys representing the challengers of the 2011 districts have not been able to analyze the effect of the new lines.

Bob Hall, executive director of Democracy NC, a voting rights organization, said it’s difficult to tell much from the maps without the supporting data, other than which lawmakers have been placed in the same districts.

Redistricting in order to correct the Republican-run NCGA’s unconstitutional, racially biased gerrymandering is the most important thing happening in North Carolina right now. The gerrymander in our General Assembly (and in our congressional districts as well) are the most important hurdle we have to making North Carolina’s vote fair and equitable.

I believe that people want to know their vote counts. Gerrymandering rigs the vote and dilutes the power of each individual vote. The redrawing of districts MUST be handled by a nonpartisan commission. See RCDP’s resolution that was adopted at our 2017 convention.

The information below is from a Facebook posting I read on Sunday. It sums up what this next week has to be about: ensuring that we have fair redistricting maps.

As you may know, SCOTUS ruled that the NC voting districts are unconstitutionally gerrymandered, and has tasked the NCGA with drawing new maps. What you may not know is that this Tuesday will be the ONLY time NCGA reps will allow their constituents to make their voices heard. If that seems short notice and inconvenient, I’m sure it’s by design. Pay attention to these times and places, and if you are able to go and speak up for fair, non-gerrymandered voting districts, please do.

There are 6,777,881 registered voters in NC and only six sites around the state where those voters may make public comments on redistricting. That’s 1,129,647 people per venue. Not a very good ratio, in opinion.

Call your legislators in Raleigh:

Representatives: Allen McNeill, Pat Hurley

Senators: Jerry Tillman, Rick Gunn

SCRIPT: I am calling from Sen/Rep__________’s district. I am calling to express my support for fair and equitable districts, which are true representations of North Carolina’s voters. For too long NC has been subject to gerrymandering and it is time for this to stop. I also support the addition of more venues for public comment on Tuesday. The ratio of voters to venues limits the number of people who will be able to voice their opinions. Surely you wouldn’t want to limit voters’ voices.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

RC Democratic Women’s Monthly Breakfast Meeting – August 26, 2017 9:30am at the Archdale Public Library 10433 S Main St, Archdale, NC 27263  Bring a breakfast item to share if you like.

Lunch & Learn Voter Registration Workshop with Melissa Johnson, Director RCBoE – September 12, 2017 at Asheboro Library in the downstairs meeting room at 12PM.

The Democratic Women of North Carolina invite you to the 57th Annual State Convention, September 22-24, 2017, in Winston-Salem at the Hawthorne Inn & Conference Center.

9th Annual Defending Democracy Blue Jean Gala – Saturday September 23, 2017, 6:00PM – The Exchange – 204 S Fayetteville St, Asheboro, NC  Special guest speakers will be Rep. Graig Meyer, NC House District 50 and NCDP Second Vice Chair Matt Hughes.