FEDERAL:

We all know that Donald Trump will not be satisfied until he blows up everything positive thing President Obama did for our country. Before he left office, President Obama used his power of executive order to designate certain federal lands as national monuments in order to protect them from exploitation by big business that was obviously on the horizon after the election of Trump. Currently, Trump is contemplating his own executive order to reassess whether these sites and others going back to 1996 (Bill Clinton’s presidency) were declared monuments “outside the law’s intent”.

Since Trump has failed at getting any of his legislation passed through Congress in order to unravel the work of his predecessors, he must rule through decree. As we’ve seen, those executive orders he has already signed are never ones that have a positive outcome for people or nature. They always fall on the side of big businesses and their attempts to exploit workers and the environment.  Trump plans to have many of these monument sites resized or taken off the national monument list and opened up to drilling, logging and fracking to keep his corporate cronies happy.

Call the White House comment line at 202-456-1111 and give him and earful. Then give our Federal legislative delegation a call and urge them to act like actual conservatives and for once conserve something. Ask them to put pressure on the President to do the same.

Script for Message Line: My name is _______ from _________. I am calling to urge the President not to remove the national monument designation from places like Bears Ears or the Grand Staircase in Utah and hundreds of others across the country. It is important to protect these areas for our children’s future as well as the future of our country and the planet. Thank you.

Script for Legislators: My name is _______ from _________. I am calling to urge the Sen/Rep to put pressure on the President to refrain from removing the national monument designation from places like Bears Ears or the Grand Staircase in Utah and hundreds of others across the country. It is important to protect these areas for our children’s future as well as the future of our country and the planet. Thank you.

Some pertinent articles:

Trump to sign executive order reviewing every national monument since 1996

Trump to order review of Bears Ears, Grand Staircase

Trump order could undo designation of national monuments: report

 

STATE:

These three bills are coming up today so let’s inundate the GA with calls.

HB 249, Economic Terrorism/anti-protest bill, Tues 12 Noon committee meeting

This bill seeks to suppress protests by intimidation and by reframing protesting as unAmerican, violent, and outside the law. Most of this bill is redundant but the new category of “economic terrorism” has been added to the list as a felony. “It’s so broadly written that it could apply to events such as the Moral Monday protests… Sarah Gillooly, policy director of the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the legislation infringes on constitutional rights of assembly and free speech.”

Call and let them know that you support First Amendment rights and that this bill is not only redundant, given already established laws, but it is unconstitutional. It inhibits free speech and leaves the determination of what constitutes free speech to those who have a vested interest in quashing those opinions.

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HB 335, Vacancies Superior Court/power grab bill, Tues 12 Noon committee meeting

Another day, another bill introduced to change governor’s judicial appointment powers

“HB 335 would change his power to require that he appoint from a list of three recommendations comprised by an executive committee of the political party with which the vacating member was affiliated when elected.

For example, if a Republican judge retires or resigns, a Republican executive committee would recommend three people to replace that judge. Cooper would be required to pick one of them.”

Call and let your legislators know that North Carolinians are tired of these ridiculous power grabs. We see you  and we know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.

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SB 145, Govt Immigration Compliance/anti-immigrant bill, Tues 1 pm committee meeting

Tempers flare over immigration crackdown bill

“Senate Bill 145 would withhold state funding from cities or counties that adopt a so-called “sanctuary” policy or ordinance regarding undocumented immigrants in any respect. It would open up an anonymous complaint process for any citizen with a “good faith” belief that a local government is not following immigration laws. The Attorney General’s Office would then be required to follow up and investigate within 45 days.”

Call and let your legislators know that immigrants are important to the survival of this state and this nation. This anonymous complaint process opens the door for complete gridlock in the Attorney General’s office because of unfounded or spiteful reports. It is a waste of taxpayer money and as so-called conservatives, the current majority party should be against it.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Randolph County Democratic Women’s Monthly Meeting – Saturday, April 29th at Democratic HQ, 803 W. Salisbury St. Asheboro, NC.  This is the Regular Meeting for the Democratic Women in Randolph County. We ask that you bring a breakfast item to share and a friend to share it with! We welcome all who care to participate and will be accepting membership fees for new and continued support. This is a slight deviation from our previous schedule, this meeting will be held on the 5th Saturday.

People’s Climate March –  Join us Saturday April 29th in Washington, DC to let Trump know that we won’t let him pollute the air and wreck the climate on our watch!  There is no denying it: Donald Trump’s election is a threat to the future of our planet, the safety of our communities, and the health of our families. If the policies he proposed on the campaign trail are implemented, they will destroy our climate, decimate our jobs and livelihoods, and undermine the civil rights and liberties won in many hard-fought battles. It’s up to us to stop that from happening before it starts.

Indivisible:NC 6th Congressional District will hold Our first general meeting since the original organizational meeting held back in January.  Let’s see how we’re doing: where we are and where we hope to go. There will be time for feedback and for socializing, because all work and no play makes for dull activism! We’d love to have you all there. Please reply to and please join! BYOB and a snack to share. When: Sunday April 30, at 3:00 p.m. Where: North 87 South, 8874 NC Hwy 87, Graham, NC 27253 See On Map