Category: Uncategorized

 CBO Judgment on Senate Healthcare Bill

No on Republican Senate Health Bill

The following two letters have been added to the letter library –

Commit AZ to Paris Climate Standards

Support Common Sense Gun Laws

Here is a collection of letters covering a variety of topics which you can use as starting points for your own letters.

ACTION CHECKLIST FOR AMERICANS OF CONSCIENCE from Jen Hofmann

THIS WEEK’S #1 PRIORITY: Support the ACA and oppose the new ACHA.

Find out where your MoCs (members of Congress) stand on the new ACHA here. Find out how to contact them here.

Script: Hi! I’m from _ZIP_ and calling about two issues related to health care. First, I oppose repealing the ACA. For me, losing the ACA would mean (share a personal story: can’t afford premiums waiting for tax credit, want abortion coverage, want maternity leave without being married, lifetime caps would cause personal bankruptcy, etc.). Americans deserve the same plan Congress receives. Secondly, HR 1215 intends to strip patient rights and protect corporations from lawsuits for medical neglect, abuse, and malpractice. Patients rights need to come first. Please ask _MoC_ to oppose the ACHA bill and vote against HR 1215.

We’d like to hear back from you. After taking action, please go to our DP Facebook page and comment under the Oppose the new ACHA post to let us know how it went.

And be sure to check out Jen Hofmann’s Checklist for Americans of Conscience for more important actions.

THE IYER REPORT: AZ LEGISLATURE WEEKLY UPDATE

THIS WEEK’s #1 PRIORITY: Protect Public Education!

Voucher bills SB1431 and HB2394 may come up for a vote this week. All it takes is two floor votes for this to be all over, so continue to contact legislators with your opposition, especially Senator Bob Worsley (and especially if you live in LD25) He’s at bworsley@azleg.gov or 602-926-5760. Talking points: Thank him(!) for his continued support of public schools. Ask him to fund public schools, keep taxpayer money away from private/religious schools, etc. A big selling point for him is music/arts education, so make a connection between the slashing of our public arts ed $ and the siphoning of our funds towards private institutions. (See Iyer’s Urgent Alert #1 for others to contact on this, too.)

We’d like to hear back from you. After taking action, please go to our DP Facebook page and comment on the Protect Public Education post to let us know what kind of response you got.

AND be sure to check out The Iyer Report, for more important action needed this week.

* If you have not yet setup an account with AZ Request to Speak, email Mickey for help.

Everyone’s working so hard, it’s important to remind ourselves of the good news and keep our spirits up. Hurrah for people who are keeping track of happy news for us all! Check out the PeaceIsLoud blog for some things to celebrate this week!

AZ SB1243 FAILED in the Senate on Tuesday! It would have required public establishments to allow anyone with a gun permit to carry firearms inside unless the facility had security guards and metal detectors. Republican senators who joined Democrats to defeat the bill: Brophy-McGee (R-28), Pratt (R-8) and Worsley (R-25). Contact them with your thanks!

AZ SB1142, designed to suppress protests, was killed by a wave of calls and emails to House Speaker Mesnard. (source)

The Iyer Report: AZ Legislature Weekly Update Read it! Print it! Make notes! Do it NOW! I know, there’are so many things to do. But even with just 10 minutes each day, you can make a really important difference! Here’s a preview from the Iyer Report. Keep this link handy since you can go back to it during the week for updates!

Our #1 Priority today: Last Thursday night, the AZ House passed a package of bills that would make sweeping changes to the Arizona Constitution’s citizen initiative process, NOT to the benefit of voters. CONTACT the Senate Judiciary Committee chair, Judy Urges (R-22) at jburges@azleg.gov or 602-926-5861 and urge her NOT to assign the bills HCR2002, 2007, 2320, 2404 and 2029 for a hearing.

Other URGENT Alerts include action on AZ bills regarding #2 Health & Reproductive rights, #3 Defending our Constitution from a Koch brothers push for an Article V convention where our US constitution could be re-written, and #4 Supporting Common-sense Gun Laws. See the Iyer Report for what to do!

* If you have not yet setup an account with AZ Request to Speak, email Mickey for help.

One More Thing! We’ve been forwarded an email from the Arizona Heritage Alliance alerting us to HB2369 which would eliminate the State Parks Board which provides a citizens’ oversight of our parks. It’s passed the AZ House, but hasn’t yet been put on the Senate Government Committee agenda. HB2369 is opposed by the Alliance as well as Sierra Club and other groups. They’re asking that we sign on to their open letter that will be sent to the Governor and Senate soon. Sign on here and scroll to the bottom to add your name.

If you live in Phoenix City Council district 3, we encourage you to vote for Deb Stark who is in a run-off election against extreme right-wing Chris DeRose on March 14!  You can even canvas this one last Saturday for her.  Supporters will be meeting up in the Safeway parking lot at 7th Street and Thunderbird at 9 am to distribute door hangars with a group of 2-4 others.   Deb has dedicated her life to public service, worked closely with Mayor Greg Stanton on many issues, and is by far the best candidate.  And if you have a mail-in ballot, please mark it and send it in!

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Check out tonight’s Rogan’s List: Today’s To-do List for what’s on our national radar right now. There’s always so much. Here are a few priorities I’ve selected from Susan Rogan, retired university librarian and information, fact-checking geek and partner in Action Alliance, a collaboration of call-to-action websites.

DREAMers were not supposed to be deported. Call Homeland Security and demand that DREAMer Daniela Vargas be released. Find background information and call script at 5Calls.

Demand an independent investigation into whether Jeff Sessions perjured himself. If you haven’t called yet your DC representatives yet, here are phone numbers and a call script from the ACLU.

This March 8, International Women’s Day, organizers are holding an International Women’s Strike, calling it “A Day Without a Woman” Find out more about it here and go to the Women’s March website for more about how to participate.

Don’t get distracted by disinformation from the White House. Go to Rogan’s List for important actions this week!

Subscribe to the Desert Progressives mailing list to receive email alerts about upcoming actions, group meetings, and events.