INTERNET PRIVACY:
The Senate passed a highly intrusive internet privacy law that will allow internet service providers (ISPs) like Comcast, Verizon, and Spectrum (formerly Time Warner Cable) to sell your internet browsing history without obtaining your permission. Worse, the bill would explicitly prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from overturning these rules in the future. the vote is supposedly scheduled for Tuesday, so this is pretty urgent.
Script:
Hello, I am a constituent from _____________ and I am calling to urge Rep. ______________ to oppose legislation that would allow Internet Service Providers to sell customers’ internet browsing data without their permission. This is a clear violation of privacy and consumer freedom. Worse, as the legislation is written, it would prevent the FCC from revisiting these rules later. Thank you for recording my call.

THE RUSSIA THING, AS USUAL:
The Trump Russia scandal has finally reached his family: son-in-law Jared Kushner is now set to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee, as news breaks that he had a second, previously undisclosed meeting with the head of Russian state banking. Many are calling for the resignation of Devin Nunes, the leader of the parallel committee in the House, as he has completely compromised his ability to investigate independently. Others are calling for key hearings featuring intelligence leaders to be held in the open, instead of in secret as GOP leadership would prefer. As this scandal unravels, Trump’s accommodators and accomplices within his administration and in Congress will begin to be implicated. We continue to call for the investigation to be taken out of the hands of these partisan shills and given to an independent counsel or special select committee. Only then can we have any chance of getting to the bottom of the Russian attack on the very fabric of our democracy, and if and to what extent Trump and his team colluded with our enemies.

SCRIPT:
I am a constituent from zip code ________ calling to demand the immediate formation of an independent, select committee or special counsel to investigate the Trump team for possible collusion with Russia. Congress is incapable of conducting an independent probe.

STATE:
HR 102, S 85
A bill calling for North Carolina to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment

After having won passage in Nevada, the ERA is back. This effort pulls together brand new pantsuiters, Indivisibles, and old-time feminist activists, as well as anyone with common sense enough to see that women must be given legal status equal to that of men. Will the ultra-conservative NC GOP legislature give an open hearing? The arguments against this bill in the 1970s have were sexist then and are just plain stale now. The deadline for ratification of the ERA expired decades ago, but this is one symbolic fight worth having, and could actually jumpstart new legislative measures aimed at women’s equality. Right now this bill is stuck in the infamous legislative graveyard, the Rules Committees of both chambers.

SCRIPT:
I am a constituent calling from zip code _______ to urge Rep./Senator ___________ to get HB 102, a bill ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment, onto the floor for consideration and debate. It is high time our state acknowledged that men and women have equal rights under the law. Thank you for recording my call.

Recommended reading

Thought-provoking reading that’s worth your time.

• The historic German parliament fire and how a similar event could threaten our democracy.
• The wide range of Republican ideologies that stopped the ACA repeal. And call tallies.
• The full story behind missing DC teens.
• On healthcare: Being American is life-threatening (opinion piece).
• How the Democratic opposition is gaining ground.

Thanks to RISE Together NC and Jen Hoffman for today’s calls to action.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Program Committee/Fundraising Committee Meeting – Join us as we work on programs for the coming year, including preparation for the County Convention, campaign activities, learning sessions, fundraising activities and much more. If you’re not a member, but would like to become one, please join us. Email randolphdem@gmail.com for more details.

Randolph County Democratic Convention – April 8, 2017 at Randolph County Courthouse. If you are a delegate or an officer in your precinct, please join us to elect new officers, vote on resolutions, and help set the course for our party for the next elections season.

Lunch with Lawmakers – April 21, 2017 Archdale Trinity Chamber of Commerce is having a forum to make Reps. Pat Hurley and Allen McNeill  and Senator Jerry Tillman available to answer questions from constituents. See the link for the official flyer from the Chamber.