All actions taken, including calling senators and representatives and tweeting at them about the Judiciary Act(s), submitting a letter for Communities not Prisons in Alabama, and registering to attend the three information sessions mentioned. Tweeted everything (@wmball)
Regarding Women's Health Protection Act, I noted that my Senator Blumenthal is the only Sponsor of the bill, and it has no co-sponsors. I thanked Senator Blumenthal and I expressed my disappointment to Senator Murphy that he is not yet a co-sponsor.
This morning I attended the VOTE RIDERS information session hosted by BigTentUSA. I like VR's mission to enable and assist folks in restrictive Voter ID states to get the necessary Voter ID to allow them to vote. I find this extraordinarily empowering and a sound expression of the value of social justice and equity. Current letter writing campaigns focus on AZ and FL, due to primaries there in early July. Focus will shift to GA, TX, WI in July in preparation for August primaries. Even if voter IDs are not obtained prior to these primaries, those assisted will be able to vote in November.
It appears to be possible to sign up for a set of 20 letters as a starting point. I personally find this a more achievable first step into mail campaigning than many of the Postcard campaigns (some of which expect a minimum commitment of 200 cards).
Bill you are the BEST! Thank you for posting all of this! I agree, RWB and VR are two groups doing incredible work--I'm so glad you were able to make it to bth events and share your takeaways!
Posting an update on the Monday night call on Emergency Troublemaking Toolkit hosted by Red Wine & Blue. RW&B is a (large) gathering of Suburban Housewives, which is not exactly my tribe, but I do respect their verve and strength. This session had more than 1000 auditors, and the chat window was outrageously active. The core of the session was a presentation by Dina Montengrano (may not have the correct spelling) "On speaking out to friends and family." This is one of the highest leverage contexts for speaking out, because your friends and family are in many cases the folks that you can most positively influence. And if you're like me, from Georgia, we do not all of us share the same political views.
THE KEYS to this talk boiled down to three or four pieces of guidance:
1. Lead with your values - especially your shared values with your friend or family member. Some common shared values of relevance noted were Freedom, Empathy and Compassion, Justice and Equity, Faith (really!), and Care and Access to Care. THINK about what your values are and how to use those to connect with others.
2. Lean into Empathy and Compassion. (a) Model compassion and empathy in your conversation with your friend or family member. (b) Allow for complexity and cognitive dissonance.
3. Define the Villains [my gloss: those in power who embrace contrary values]. Unscrupulous politicians who want to control people's bodies and lives for political gain. In general, people in positions of power or privilege who act based on desire for power, self-interest, and political gain.
I have already spoken to several friends and colleagues along these lines. Tuesday morning I was on a small group zoom call for Lay Preaching Preparation.
My CWCW adventure day 5
All actions taken, including calling senators and representatives and tweeting at them about the Judiciary Act(s), submitting a letter for Communities not Prisons in Alabama, and registering to attend the three information sessions mentioned. Tweeted everything (@wmball)
Regarding Women's Health Protection Act, I noted that my Senator Blumenthal is the only Sponsor of the bill, and it has no co-sponsors. I thanked Senator Blumenthal and I expressed my disappointment to Senator Murphy that he is not yet a co-sponsor.
This morning I attended the VOTE RIDERS information session hosted by BigTentUSA. I like VR's mission to enable and assist folks in restrictive Voter ID states to get the necessary Voter ID to allow them to vote. I find this extraordinarily empowering and a sound expression of the value of social justice and equity. Current letter writing campaigns focus on AZ and FL, due to primaries there in early July. Focus will shift to GA, TX, WI in July in preparation for August primaries. Even if voter IDs are not obtained prior to these primaries, those assisted will be able to vote in November.
It appears to be possible to sign up for a set of 20 letters as a starting point. I personally find this a more achievable first step into mail campaigning than many of the Postcard campaigns (some of which expect a minimum commitment of 200 cards).
https://bigtentusa.org/take-action-now/#letter-writing
Bill you are the BEST! Thank you for posting all of this! I agree, RWB and VR are two groups doing incredible work--I'm so glad you were able to make it to bth events and share your takeaways!
You are amazing, Bill! I love that you post these check-ins! Thank you!
Posting an update on the Monday night call on Emergency Troublemaking Toolkit hosted by Red Wine & Blue. RW&B is a (large) gathering of Suburban Housewives, which is not exactly my tribe, but I do respect their verve and strength. This session had more than 1000 auditors, and the chat window was outrageously active. The core of the session was a presentation by Dina Montengrano (may not have the correct spelling) "On speaking out to friends and family." This is one of the highest leverage contexts for speaking out, because your friends and family are in many cases the folks that you can most positively influence. And if you're like me, from Georgia, we do not all of us share the same political views.
THE KEYS to this talk boiled down to three or four pieces of guidance:
1. Lead with your values - especially your shared values with your friend or family member. Some common shared values of relevance noted were Freedom, Empathy and Compassion, Justice and Equity, Faith (really!), and Care and Access to Care. THINK about what your values are and how to use those to connect with others.
2. Lean into Empathy and Compassion. (a) Model compassion and empathy in your conversation with your friend or family member. (b) Allow for complexity and cognitive dissonance.
3. Define the Villains [my gloss: those in power who embrace contrary values]. Unscrupulous politicians who want to control people's bodies and lives for political gain. In general, people in positions of power or privilege who act based on desire for power, self-interest, and political gain.
I have already spoken to several friends and colleagues along these lines. Tuesday morning I was on a small group zoom call for Lay Preaching Preparation.
Postal rates going up effective July 10, 2022 (Sunday) so buy BEFORE then.
1st class letters: up from 58 cents to 60 cents.
Postcards: up from 40 cents to 44 cents.
Stamps .com
Excellent suggestion!
You are incredible! We’re with you.
If I want to pick just one state that needs the most help, from us mostly financial, do you have a recommendation?
Thank you sooo much for your work and for you,
Virginia
Great question. I guess if I had to pick one I'd say either PA or AZ. Which is, of course, two. LOL.