Every day in this administration seems worse than the last. It's just like the campaign, you just know he's going to say something horrifying that will top the last thing he said, and a lot of people will come out and denounce him.
Things have changed. This is real life now. Every day he does something worse than the last and IT MATTERS.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of politics. But I don't want to spend all my time railing against Trump. But I feel like I have no choice. I feel like we all have no choice. He's threatening our way of life, the future of our country, the safety of the world. I can't sit silent. I have to speak out.
Yesterday something happened that was one of the most shameful things a US President has done in modern history. Trump signed an executive order banning immigrants from 7 Muslim Countries. Not all of them, not the ones he does business with. Mostly the poor ones, the war-torn ones that people are desperate to escape.
As heartless as that ban on refugees and immigrants is on people from countries where they are desperate for asylum from people we hold as mutual enemies.People escaping war and famine and corrupt regimes.
Somehow something even worse has occurred because of this ban. People who are Permanent Residents of the US from these countries, who hold Visas and have families here are also banned. Their families are banned from visiting them. I read about an Iraqi man living in Seattle who can't see his family in Vancouver now.
This is the sort of thing that happened in East & West Germany. Trump has put up a new Iron Curtain. It's time we stopped acting like the word "Fascist" is an overreaction when it comes to Trump and tell the truth. He is a fascist authoritarian and he needs to be stopped.
Today two members of the Nevada Congressional Delegation spoke out against this. Ruben Kihuen, and Dina Titus. I commend them for them. I commend Representatives like Jarrold Nadler of New York, Liz Warren of Massacheusetts, and John Lewis of George who went to their district/state's airports to fight for the rights of people who were being detained and denied entry into this country.
This letter is for my Representatives who remained silent. They need to know that a refusal to speak out on this un-American action is cowardly. I am referring to Congressman Mark Amodei, Governor Brian Sandoval, and Senator Dean Heller. I have dissapoiningly not heard much from Catherine Cortez-Masto other than a post on Holocaust Rememberance Day where she referred to the tragedy of our denial of the entrance of Jewish Refugees during WWII with the hashtag #refugeeswelcome. Good enough.
I'm going to e-mail them. They'll get paper letters going out Monday. this is how I'm doing it now.
Here we go.
Dear Congressman Amodei,
The President is degrading the very idea of America and as your constituent I demand you speak out against what he is doing.
We are a country of immigrants. The Statue of Liberty says "Give me your Hungry, your Tired, your Poor" it makes no distinction for specific countries.
Sure we want to keep terrorists out. Our country has a pretty thorough vetting system. If you feel it needs to be toughened, by all means, do that.
That is not what the President has done He has picked 7 war-torn poor countries where people are literally dying to escape tyranny and oppression by our mutual enemies. They are victims, they are humans, they need our help.
Beyond that they aren't all the countries where terrorists come from. Why these countries? Why not Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Afghanistan? Not that I want them added to the list, but I do notice that a lot of these countries are places where Mr. Trump has business interests. They are also contries where a lot of terrorists have originated from.
It's not just refugees and new immigrants though. We're talking about permanent residents, Visa holders, US Citizens with familes in these countries who'd like to visit them. These people are stuck in limbo, they are being held like prisoners in our airports. People without a country. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment. How would you feel if you were them?
This will not keep our country safer. This is a recruiting tool for ISIS and Al-Qaeda. We are rejecting people from Iraq who helped us out in that war and putting their lives at risk. We're fostering resentment and sending people right into the arms of ISIS.
This is not American, This is not Christian, This is not Humane, This is Not Right, This is Not Moral and this is not Constitutional.
Stand up for what's right, Love Thy Neighbor. This is going to lead to a global war if we don't stop this hateful persecution of people from certain countries.
Congressman, you need to denounce Donald Trump's Executive Order on Immigrants and Refugees, otherwise I don't know how I can respect you as a public servant.
Thank you for listening.
Sincerely,
Mike Jones
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Friday, January 27, 2017
I can't believe I have to write the letter I'm about to write. I never thought we'd live in a country that would build a wall to keep other people out.
Ronald Reagan's most famous saying was probably "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!" He also let in a whole lot of refugees from Nicaragua. I have a lot of problems with Ronald Reagan and how his regressive policies set the stage for a lot of what's happening today in the Republican Party. But I don't think he had a bad heart. I think he would have been too empathetic to belong in today's Republican Party. I'll say that about Richard Nixon for that matter, Hell I'll say it about George W. Bush. That's where we are today.
I keep reading that the best way to be heard by your Congressman is to call them. Well... I'm not so great on the phone. When there are pressing matters and issues of urgency where there's a coordinated effort to blitz congress with phone calls I think it works. Right now people are inundating their Senators (and remember on confirmations we only want to deal with Senators) asking them not to confirm Betsy Devos for Department of Education. Call the Capital Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask them to put you through to your Senator's office for that.
Devos is awful, what she's threatening to do to the Nation's schools is unconscionable. I highly encourage you to do this. I will probably do this as well. I will for sure make a call when it comes time for the confirmation of Andrew Puzder for Secretary of Labor. He doesn't get the attention the others do but what he is threatening to do to the Nation's Workforce threatens all of us. Every working person (and yeah, even the business owners, believe it or not working people buy your goods and keep you in business) should be terrifed of this guy.
That's a diversion from my main topic today. Today I am fired up about.... The Wall. I'm pretty upset about the executive orders banning refugees as well and just how hateful they are to the rest of the world in general but if we stop The Wall, we embarrass Trump (which is barely even in the top 10 reasons not to build it).
I'm going to be e-mailing (and mail mailing) my Congressman Mark Amodei who even though he is a party line hack who ran the Trump campaign in this state, has also said some interesting things lately about not thinking there are the votes in the House to fund the wall.
Maybe he's persuadable, although he didn't exactly say the votes weren't there including his. And of course my friend Senator Dean Heller (who wrote me back a very nice non-committal form letter regarding my protest of Jeff Sessions's confirmation) will be getting a letter too. What's fun about Dean is he's up for re-election in 2018, and our state went Blue. It doesn't normally during off years but it could this time as bad as Trump is.
So here goes nothing
The Honorable Mark Amodei
332 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman Amodei,
I am writing to ask you to please oppose any and all efforts by the Trump Administration to construct a wall on the Mexican Border.
I realize this was a campaign promise of his but if you check public opinion polling I think you'll find that the majority of Americans, even the majority of your constituents oppose building this wall.
What's more important than that is what's right. It is not right to construct a symbolic expensive physical barrier to keep others out. This is a slap in the face to one of our closest neighbors and allies and shows we do not respect them or their people.
When I think of walls I think of the Berlin Wall. I think of a man who once lead your party in more rational times, a man who let in thousands of refugees from Central America. Ronald Reagan's finest hour was when he told Mr. Gorbachev to "Tear Down This Wall!" Do we hate Mexico so much that we are willing to treat them like a Cold War Adversary? Especially when so many of our best citizens have immigrated from there?
Fiscally as a Conservative you can't justify this. This is not a good use of Taxpayer money and you should not buy a word of Trump's claim that Mexico will pay for it. They will not pay for it. The closest idea they've come up with so far is a 20% Tariff on Mexican goods. Guess what? We'll be paying for that at the cash register. Not to mention, Mexico will simply retaliate on our goods hurting American companies as well as American people at the cash register. This spells disaster for our economy.
Finally, are you aware of how heartless your Party looks to the American people right now? You are willing to spend $10 Billion on a wall (and admit it, we're going to pay for it), while you debate cutting health care to millions of people just because those people got the help under a law passed under President Obama. A law that repealing would actually increase the deficit (Which is why Rand Paul voted against repeal).
Finally, what will this wall actually accomplish? You don't think Illegal Immigrants (and by the way, their numbers are declining this is NOT a crisis) won't find another way to get into the country? Most of them simply fly in and overstay their visa. There are some people who get smuggled in by coyotes or swim the river. A lot of them get caught, a lot of them get indebted to human traffickers. You better believe those traffickers aren't intimidated in the least by this wall.
This ridiculous expensive wall will cut through private property, Native American lands, businesses, not to mention bodies of water (are we putting the wall in the middle of the Rio Grande or just on one side of it, and who loses out on the water rights there, them or us?)
Congressman. Donald Trump surrounds himself with Yes Men. Please don't be a Yes Man. You don't answer to him or to Paul Ryan. You answer to us. We are watching your votes and expect you to do the right thing.
Thank you for listening to your constituents concerns.
Sincerely,
Mike Jones
Ronald Reagan's most famous saying was probably "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!" He also let in a whole lot of refugees from Nicaragua. I have a lot of problems with Ronald Reagan and how his regressive policies set the stage for a lot of what's happening today in the Republican Party. But I don't think he had a bad heart. I think he would have been too empathetic to belong in today's Republican Party. I'll say that about Richard Nixon for that matter, Hell I'll say it about George W. Bush. That's where we are today.
I keep reading that the best way to be heard by your Congressman is to call them. Well... I'm not so great on the phone. When there are pressing matters and issues of urgency where there's a coordinated effort to blitz congress with phone calls I think it works. Right now people are inundating their Senators (and remember on confirmations we only want to deal with Senators) asking them not to confirm Betsy Devos for Department of Education. Call the Capital Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask them to put you through to your Senator's office for that.
Devos is awful, what she's threatening to do to the Nation's schools is unconscionable. I highly encourage you to do this. I will probably do this as well. I will for sure make a call when it comes time for the confirmation of Andrew Puzder for Secretary of Labor. He doesn't get the attention the others do but what he is threatening to do to the Nation's Workforce threatens all of us. Every working person (and yeah, even the business owners, believe it or not working people buy your goods and keep you in business) should be terrifed of this guy.
That's a diversion from my main topic today. Today I am fired up about.... The Wall. I'm pretty upset about the executive orders banning refugees as well and just how hateful they are to the rest of the world in general but if we stop The Wall, we embarrass Trump (which is barely even in the top 10 reasons not to build it).
I'm going to be e-mailing (and mail mailing) my Congressman Mark Amodei who even though he is a party line hack who ran the Trump campaign in this state, has also said some interesting things lately about not thinking there are the votes in the House to fund the wall.
Maybe he's persuadable, although he didn't exactly say the votes weren't there including his. And of course my friend Senator Dean Heller (who wrote me back a very nice non-committal form letter regarding my protest of Jeff Sessions's confirmation) will be getting a letter too. What's fun about Dean is he's up for re-election in 2018, and our state went Blue. It doesn't normally during off years but it could this time as bad as Trump is.
So here goes nothing
The Honorable Mark Amodei
332 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman Amodei,
I am writing to ask you to please oppose any and all efforts by the Trump Administration to construct a wall on the Mexican Border.
I realize this was a campaign promise of his but if you check public opinion polling I think you'll find that the majority of Americans, even the majority of your constituents oppose building this wall.
What's more important than that is what's right. It is not right to construct a symbolic expensive physical barrier to keep others out. This is a slap in the face to one of our closest neighbors and allies and shows we do not respect them or their people.
When I think of walls I think of the Berlin Wall. I think of a man who once lead your party in more rational times, a man who let in thousands of refugees from Central America. Ronald Reagan's finest hour was when he told Mr. Gorbachev to "Tear Down This Wall!" Do we hate Mexico so much that we are willing to treat them like a Cold War Adversary? Especially when so many of our best citizens have immigrated from there?
Fiscally as a Conservative you can't justify this. This is not a good use of Taxpayer money and you should not buy a word of Trump's claim that Mexico will pay for it. They will not pay for it. The closest idea they've come up with so far is a 20% Tariff on Mexican goods. Guess what? We'll be paying for that at the cash register. Not to mention, Mexico will simply retaliate on our goods hurting American companies as well as American people at the cash register. This spells disaster for our economy.
Finally, are you aware of how heartless your Party looks to the American people right now? You are willing to spend $10 Billion on a wall (and admit it, we're going to pay for it), while you debate cutting health care to millions of people just because those people got the help under a law passed under President Obama. A law that repealing would actually increase the deficit (Which is why Rand Paul voted against repeal).
Finally, what will this wall actually accomplish? You don't think Illegal Immigrants (and by the way, their numbers are declining this is NOT a crisis) won't find another way to get into the country? Most of them simply fly in and overstay their visa. There are some people who get smuggled in by coyotes or swim the river. A lot of them get caught, a lot of them get indebted to human traffickers. You better believe those traffickers aren't intimidated in the least by this wall.
This ridiculous expensive wall will cut through private property, Native American lands, businesses, not to mention bodies of water (are we putting the wall in the middle of the Rio Grande or just on one side of it, and who loses out on the water rights there, them or us?)
Congressman. Donald Trump surrounds himself with Yes Men. Please don't be a Yes Man. You don't answer to him or to Paul Ryan. You answer to us. We are watching your votes and expect you to do the right thing.
Thank you for listening to your constituents concerns.
Sincerely,
Mike Jones
Monday, January 23, 2017
My target for today regarding the deplorable cabinet of Mr. Deplorable himself is none other than Steve Mnuchin for Treasury Secretary.
The financial crash of 2007-08 was cause by greedy vultures Just like the former number 2 man at Goldman Sachs himself, Steve Mnuchin. A man who foreclosed on a. 93 year old lady's house Over he being short .27 on a payment.
Of course we all know "Draining the Swamp" is as much of a joke as anytime Trump claims he respects people of all colors and religions but this guy takes mud baths in the swamp to keep that nice slimy glow about him.
The good news is my Senator Dean Heller who oughta be good and scared about his reelection prospects in a blue state is on the Senate Finance Committee in charge of reviewing this nomination. He will be getting both an email on his website as well as a paper letter. Also getting a paper letter is the Senate Committee on Finance editorial and documentation section. An address I found at the bottom of this page. Which is pretty handy
https://www.finance.senate.gov/hearings/hearing-to-consider-the-anticipated-nomination-of-steven-terner-mnuchin-to-be-secretary-of-the-treasury
By the way, also on this committee is Orrin Hatch of Utah (the Chairman!) John Cornyn of Texas, Mike Crapo or Idaho and Maria Cantwell of Washington
Here's my letter to Dean Heller
Dear Senator Heller,
I am writing you to encourage you to please vote against the nomination of Steven Mnuchin as Treasury Secretsry.
The 2007-08 economic crash was a scary time in Nevada. The last person we need in charge of Treasury is someone who's greed and coldness contributed to this.
This man is known as the "Foreclosure King" for a reason and considering our state suffered from mass foreclosures more than just about anyone, a vote to confirm him is a slap in the face to your fellow Nevadans who fell on hard times during this crisis.
A man who would foreclose on an elderly women over being 27 cents short on her mortgage payment is not someone who cares about the struggles of the average American.
Donald Trump campaigned to "Drain the swamp" he used Goldman Sachs as his punching bag against Ted Cruz and Hillary Clinton. Where does he get any sort of justification to name the number two man at Goldman Sachs as the person in charge of the economy,
If you can't see that this is setting us up for another Global Financial Collapse, unfortunately I feel that you will realize it eventually. When it is too late.
Please Senator, do the right thing now and vote to stop this nomination in its tracks.
Thank you for your service
Sincerely,
-Mike Jones
The financial crash of 2007-08 was cause by greedy vultures Just like the former number 2 man at Goldman Sachs himself, Steve Mnuchin. A man who foreclosed on a. 93 year old lady's house Over he being short .27 on a payment.
Of course we all know "Draining the Swamp" is as much of a joke as anytime Trump claims he respects people of all colors and religions but this guy takes mud baths in the swamp to keep that nice slimy glow about him.
The good news is my Senator Dean Heller who oughta be good and scared about his reelection prospects in a blue state is on the Senate Finance Committee in charge of reviewing this nomination. He will be getting both an email on his website as well as a paper letter. Also getting a paper letter is the Senate Committee on Finance editorial and documentation section. An address I found at the bottom of this page. Which is pretty handy
https://www.finance.senate.gov/hearings/hearing-to-consider-the-anticipated-nomination-of-steven-terner-mnuchin-to-be-secretary-of-the-treasury
By the way, also on this committee is Orrin Hatch of Utah (the Chairman!) John Cornyn of Texas, Mike Crapo or Idaho and Maria Cantwell of Washington
Here's my letter to Dean Heller
Dear Senator Heller,
I am writing you to encourage you to please vote against the nomination of Steven Mnuchin as Treasury Secretsry.
The 2007-08 economic crash was a scary time in Nevada. The last person we need in charge of Treasury is someone who's greed and coldness contributed to this.
This man is known as the "Foreclosure King" for a reason and considering our state suffered from mass foreclosures more than just about anyone, a vote to confirm him is a slap in the face to your fellow Nevadans who fell on hard times during this crisis.
A man who would foreclose on an elderly women over being 27 cents short on her mortgage payment is not someone who cares about the struggles of the average American.
Donald Trump campaigned to "Drain the swamp" he used Goldman Sachs as his punching bag against Ted Cruz and Hillary Clinton. Where does he get any sort of justification to name the number two man at Goldman Sachs as the person in charge of the economy,
If you can't see that this is setting us up for another Global Financial Collapse, unfortunately I feel that you will realize it eventually. When it is too late.
Please Senator, do the right thing now and vote to stop this nomination in its tracks.
Thank you for your service
Sincerely,
-Mike Jones
I will admit I charged hard out of the gate with this site and sent a series of letters and have been pretty much AWOL for two weeks.
It's hard not to get demoralized by what's going on and I will admit that yes I have been demoralized.
But we can't wallow in that forever, at Some point you need to get back up and start fighting.
I have two points of contention today regarding hr cabinet members. Honestly I really want to write a letter to Jason Chaffetz reading him the riot act for being a huge hypocrite and Bullying the Independent Ethics Office for pointing out that Trump has not properly divested from his businesses, while still hinting he might go after Hillary for her boring emails.
This guy is the worst. I don't care how far right the guy challenging him in the primary next year is (it's Utah County, we're not getting a Democrat out of the deal), I'd be willing to kick down a few bucks just to get Chaffetz out of there. He is the lowest of the low. Wonder how looking his daughter in the eye is going now that he's a henchman enabler for Trump?
At any rate, my sister recommended I share this petition here for you all to sign against Betsy Devos as Secretary of Education. Personalize it if you can. It doesn't automatically go to your Senators (or in my case just Dean Heller since Catherine Cortez Masto already said she'd vote against him.
Check this out and sign this. We don't need some billionaire right winger who doesn't understand the value of public schools in charge of education in the country, I have a separate letter in the next entry regarding Steve Mnuchin
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-your-senator-to-vote-no-for-betsy-devos?source=direct_link&
It's hard not to get demoralized by what's going on and I will admit that yes I have been demoralized.
But we can't wallow in that forever, at Some point you need to get back up and start fighting.
I have two points of contention today regarding hr cabinet members. Honestly I really want to write a letter to Jason Chaffetz reading him the riot act for being a huge hypocrite and Bullying the Independent Ethics Office for pointing out that Trump has not properly divested from his businesses, while still hinting he might go after Hillary for her boring emails.
This guy is the worst. I don't care how far right the guy challenging him in the primary next year is (it's Utah County, we're not getting a Democrat out of the deal), I'd be willing to kick down a few bucks just to get Chaffetz out of there. He is the lowest of the low. Wonder how looking his daughter in the eye is going now that he's a henchman enabler for Trump?
At any rate, my sister recommended I share this petition here for you all to sign against Betsy Devos as Secretary of Education. Personalize it if you can. It doesn't automatically go to your Senators (or in my case just Dean Heller since Catherine Cortez Masto already said she'd vote against him.
Check this out and sign this. We don't need some billionaire right winger who doesn't understand the value of public schools in charge of education in the country, I have a separate letter in the next entry regarding Steve Mnuchin
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-your-senator-to-vote-no-for-betsy-devos?source=direct_link&
Sunday, January 8, 2017
This is why this is what Michael Moore describes as an "All hands on deck" situation.
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/1/6/headlines/six_confirmation_hearings_trump_news_conference_scheduled_on_one_day
There are six confirmation hearings (and a shiny distracting object disguised as a Trump News Conference) in one day and it's coming up fast, before these cabinet picks can even be vetted for ethics concerns. Of course Day One of the new Congress already demonstrated what they think of "ethics concerns". (scroll to the bottom for my letter, I'm going long today)
This Wednesday Six Cabinet Nominees of varying deplorability are up for nomination. Not to understate the disgusting nature of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's wife Elaine Chao being rewarded with a cabinet spot after her husband sat on damaging information regarding Russian hacking before the election. I'm cynical enough to believe he would have done so regardless of any quid pro quo simply because he is the worst kind of partisan hack (see his goal of making Barack Obama a one term President, his refusal to confirm his Supreme Court nominee and the pure Huevos it took to criticize Chuck Schumer for returning the favor to Trump)
Sadly Elaine Chao may be the most normal nominee on the table here and not someone I want to spend a lot of time on.
While I admit I am not well read on Pompeo or Kelly but don't like what I have heard. That leaves three absolutely horrid cabinet choices to choose from for today's letter.
As repulsive as the idea of a billionaire privatization advocate being in charge of the Department of Education is, this is also not my area of expertise (as dumb as it sounds to say "Education is not what I'm smart at"). I'm more worried about which cabinet member poses the most imminent danger to personal freedom and the future of the Republic.
Rex Tillerson and Jeff Sessions are the classic Trump vs. Cruz question of "Would you prefer to be shot or poisoned?". I think in this scenario due to both his resemblance to a snake and to being less likely than Trump to actually push the button, Ted Cruz was the poison (not to diminish a death by poisoning, but there's usually more time to find the antidote).
Maybe you have these two flipped in your opinion, but to me the gun to the head of American Democracy and Justice for All is Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, a name that would be more at home as Chapter President of the Sons of Confederate Veterans or the Council of Conservative Citizens (aka the Diet Klan).
The unreported story of the election is not "Voter Fraud" which implies an attack on the integrity of the Vote by average every day citizens (or as they like to claim, non-citizens, as if Illegal Immigrants really have time in their day in between their 3 jobs picking vegetables to get in line 5 times to vote). The real threat to Democracy is Voter Suppression. It starts with Voter ID and culminates in total repeal of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a great Civil Rights achievement signed by LBJ meant to protect the rights of African American voters in states just like Senator Sessions' state of Alabama. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_Rights_Act_of_1965). Not to mention the Interstate Cross-Check program championed by Trump ally Kris Kobach, Kansas Secretary of State, which invalidated millions of people's voter registration incorrectly.
In 1986 Jeff Sessions was nominated as a District Judge by Ronald Reagan. This nomination was torpedoed by the Senate Judiciary Commitee with even two Republicans voting with the Democrats against his nomination. Reason being? In 1986, Jeff Sessions was viewed as too racist to act as Judge in a Country that still actively supported Apartheid in South Africa. Pretty telling how far we've progressed as a country that 31 years later his nomination is viewed as highly likely and that he was the first Senator to come out in support of our now President-Elect.
Why was he viewed in this regard aside from statements like calling a Black Man "Boy" and off-color jokes about liking Klan members until he heard they smoke pot? A big part of it was his wrongful prosecution of a group of Black Civil Rights Activists in Alabama in 1985 for, yeah you guessed it Voter Fraud. https://www.thenation.com/article/jeff-sessions-trumps-pick-for-attorney-general-is-a-fierce-opponent-of-civil-rights/
This is the centerpiece of my opposition. Like any Hard Right pick I expect him to strongly support Private Prisons, to regress on the War on Drugs (it will be ironic to see how someone from the proud tradition of "States Rights" reacts to the Liberal states' legalization of Marijuana) and to overcorrect on President Obama's symapathetic view towards Black Lives Matter towards unquestioned deferral to Law Enforcement even when there is clear evidence they've acted in the wrong when it comes to using lethal force.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is charged with reviewing Senator Sessions' nomination as Attorney General. The Chairman is Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa who's immature refusal to vet Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court doesn't leave me hopeful here. Regardless he is on my list of people to e-mail and e-mail is how we're going to have to go here since this is happening on Wednesday. Ranking Member is Dianne Feinstein of California who I hope will show some backbone with the rest of the Democrats on the committee.
I'm not super hopeful about the rest of the committee and I'm aware that Senators and Congressmen are most likely to only listen to their constituents. However, I still feel as though sheer numbers help so I will do my part.
There are a couple of Republicans on the committee who I am e-mailing (and if your Senator is on the committee please don't let your opinion of them sway whether or not you contact them. You may detest Ted Cruz or Mike Lee but if they are your Senator they need to hear from you). I am contacting Orrin Hatch (and considering what I just said, Mike Lee, that's right Utah you have two members here) as a former constituent of his who still has multiple family members who still are. I am also e-mailing Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina since they have shown they are willing to stand up to Trump on principle.
Most importantly of course I am contacting Senator Dean Heller my friendly local Republican Senator and once Catherine Cortez Masto gets her official e-mail up and running I will send her a friendly note of encouragement as a Democrat to vote against this nomination. (Don't take the Democrats for granted that they will always vote on the right side of things. In may case Senator Cortez Masto is an unknown quantity as a Freshman Senator. In your case there are any number of reasons your Democratic rep may give to go along with a nominee).
I am personalizing my letters to Senators Hatch and Lee and Heller so for the sake of making a template I will post my letter to Senator Grassley (change Chairman of the Judiciary to Member of the Judiciary or to refer to yourself as your Senator's constituent).
Finally my letter to Senator Grassley. Once again if you have letters on other matters you'd like to share, please leave them in the comments. For help finding your Senator go here https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/
For info on the Senate Judiciary Committee including contact info go here: https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/about/members
Subject: Jeff Sessions Nomination
Dear Senator Grassley,
I'm writing you today to ask you as a citizen to please reject the nomination by President-Elect Trump of Senator Jeff Sessions (R) Alabama to be our new Attorney General.
My concerns about Senator Sessions are many but ultimately boil down to his record on Civil Rights, Voting Rights and the negative message his nomination sends on justice and inequality in our country.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a landmark achievement of the Civil Rights Era that corrected many years of discrimination against our Black fellow Citizens in the Old South who faced huge obstacles when trying to exercise their most fundamental right to vote for the people who represent them from the most local level up to the President.
Senator Sessions has shown disdain for this important act by calling it "Intrusive" and opposing efforts to update this law (http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2014/06/25/sessions-opposes-update-voting-rights-act/11364929/). In fact Senator Sessions himself has engaged in Voter Suppression by wrongfully prosecuting Civil Rights activists in his home state for Voter Fraud.
Reasons for opposing the Voters Rights Act today seem to be tied to the idea that we have moved past racism in our society. However, what other causes could their be when shortly after this act was weakened by the Supreme Court, Senator Sessions' home state of Alabama who had recently passed a voter ID law, closed 31 branches of their DMV in primarily rural impoverished majority Black areas of the state? Or when the State of North Carolina has specifically gone out of their way to suppress Black voting through studying the demographic and doing things such as ending Sunday early voting because of the "Souls to the Polls" efforts by Black Churches.
In 1986 the Senate Judiciary Committee rejected Jeff Sessions for a District Judge appointment because his record on Civil Rights was considered too far out of the mainstream. In 1986 our country's views on things like Apartheid in South Africa were still not settled but we still recognized that Jeff Sessions views on race were unacceptable. 31 years later what sort of a message does it send that we are willing to accept him as the number one Legal mind in the land?
At a time when racial tensions in this country are as high as they've been since the 1992 L.A. riots I urge you to please reject the nomination of Jeff Sessions and encourage our new President-Elect to nominate someone who will truly have justice and the rights of all Americans regardless of color, religion, income or ethnic origin at heart
Thank you for your service in the Senate and for considering the views of all Americans as you are faced with the task of considering the nomination of who should be the face of Justice in our country.
Sincerely,
Mike Jones
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/1/6/headlines/six_confirmation_hearings_trump_news_conference_scheduled_on_one_day
There are six confirmation hearings (and a shiny distracting object disguised as a Trump News Conference) in one day and it's coming up fast, before these cabinet picks can even be vetted for ethics concerns. Of course Day One of the new Congress already demonstrated what they think of "ethics concerns". (scroll to the bottom for my letter, I'm going long today)
This Wednesday Six Cabinet Nominees of varying deplorability are up for nomination. Not to understate the disgusting nature of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's wife Elaine Chao being rewarded with a cabinet spot after her husband sat on damaging information regarding Russian hacking before the election. I'm cynical enough to believe he would have done so regardless of any quid pro quo simply because he is the worst kind of partisan hack (see his goal of making Barack Obama a one term President, his refusal to confirm his Supreme Court nominee and the pure Huevos it took to criticize Chuck Schumer for returning the favor to Trump)
Sadly Elaine Chao may be the most normal nominee on the table here and not someone I want to spend a lot of time on.
While I admit I am not well read on Pompeo or Kelly but don't like what I have heard. That leaves three absolutely horrid cabinet choices to choose from for today's letter.
As repulsive as the idea of a billionaire privatization advocate being in charge of the Department of Education is, this is also not my area of expertise (as dumb as it sounds to say "Education is not what I'm smart at"). I'm more worried about which cabinet member poses the most imminent danger to personal freedom and the future of the Republic.
Rex Tillerson and Jeff Sessions are the classic Trump vs. Cruz question of "Would you prefer to be shot or poisoned?". I think in this scenario due to both his resemblance to a snake and to being less likely than Trump to actually push the button, Ted Cruz was the poison (not to diminish a death by poisoning, but there's usually more time to find the antidote).
Maybe you have these two flipped in your opinion, but to me the gun to the head of American Democracy and Justice for All is Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, a name that would be more at home as Chapter President of the Sons of Confederate Veterans or the Council of Conservative Citizens (aka the Diet Klan).
The unreported story of the election is not "Voter Fraud" which implies an attack on the integrity of the Vote by average every day citizens (or as they like to claim, non-citizens, as if Illegal Immigrants really have time in their day in between their 3 jobs picking vegetables to get in line 5 times to vote). The real threat to Democracy is Voter Suppression. It starts with Voter ID and culminates in total repeal of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a great Civil Rights achievement signed by LBJ meant to protect the rights of African American voters in states just like Senator Sessions' state of Alabama. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_Rights_Act_of_1965). Not to mention the Interstate Cross-Check program championed by Trump ally Kris Kobach, Kansas Secretary of State, which invalidated millions of people's voter registration incorrectly.
In 1986 Jeff Sessions was nominated as a District Judge by Ronald Reagan. This nomination was torpedoed by the Senate Judiciary Commitee with even two Republicans voting with the Democrats against his nomination. Reason being? In 1986, Jeff Sessions was viewed as too racist to act as Judge in a Country that still actively supported Apartheid in South Africa. Pretty telling how far we've progressed as a country that 31 years later his nomination is viewed as highly likely and that he was the first Senator to come out in support of our now President-Elect.
Why was he viewed in this regard aside from statements like calling a Black Man "Boy" and off-color jokes about liking Klan members until he heard they smoke pot? A big part of it was his wrongful prosecution of a group of Black Civil Rights Activists in Alabama in 1985 for, yeah you guessed it Voter Fraud. https://www.thenation.com/article/jeff-sessions-trumps-pick-for-attorney-general-is-a-fierce-opponent-of-civil-rights/
This is the centerpiece of my opposition. Like any Hard Right pick I expect him to strongly support Private Prisons, to regress on the War on Drugs (it will be ironic to see how someone from the proud tradition of "States Rights" reacts to the Liberal states' legalization of Marijuana) and to overcorrect on President Obama's symapathetic view towards Black Lives Matter towards unquestioned deferral to Law Enforcement even when there is clear evidence they've acted in the wrong when it comes to using lethal force.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is charged with reviewing Senator Sessions' nomination as Attorney General. The Chairman is Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa who's immature refusal to vet Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court doesn't leave me hopeful here. Regardless he is on my list of people to e-mail and e-mail is how we're going to have to go here since this is happening on Wednesday. Ranking Member is Dianne Feinstein of California who I hope will show some backbone with the rest of the Democrats on the committee.
I'm not super hopeful about the rest of the committee and I'm aware that Senators and Congressmen are most likely to only listen to their constituents. However, I still feel as though sheer numbers help so I will do my part.
There are a couple of Republicans on the committee who I am e-mailing (and if your Senator is on the committee please don't let your opinion of them sway whether or not you contact them. You may detest Ted Cruz or Mike Lee but if they are your Senator they need to hear from you). I am contacting Orrin Hatch (and considering what I just said, Mike Lee, that's right Utah you have two members here) as a former constituent of his who still has multiple family members who still are. I am also e-mailing Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina since they have shown they are willing to stand up to Trump on principle.
Most importantly of course I am contacting Senator Dean Heller my friendly local Republican Senator and once Catherine Cortez Masto gets her official e-mail up and running I will send her a friendly note of encouragement as a Democrat to vote against this nomination. (Don't take the Democrats for granted that they will always vote on the right side of things. In may case Senator Cortez Masto is an unknown quantity as a Freshman Senator. In your case there are any number of reasons your Democratic rep may give to go along with a nominee).
I am personalizing my letters to Senators Hatch and Lee and Heller so for the sake of making a template I will post my letter to Senator Grassley (change Chairman of the Judiciary to Member of the Judiciary or to refer to yourself as your Senator's constituent).
Finally my letter to Senator Grassley. Once again if you have letters on other matters you'd like to share, please leave them in the comments. For help finding your Senator go here https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/
For info on the Senate Judiciary Committee including contact info go here: https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/about/members
Subject: Jeff Sessions Nomination
Dear Senator Grassley,
I'm writing you today to ask you as a citizen to please reject the nomination by President-Elect Trump of Senator Jeff Sessions (R) Alabama to be our new Attorney General.
My concerns about Senator Sessions are many but ultimately boil down to his record on Civil Rights, Voting Rights and the negative message his nomination sends on justice and inequality in our country.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a landmark achievement of the Civil Rights Era that corrected many years of discrimination against our Black fellow Citizens in the Old South who faced huge obstacles when trying to exercise their most fundamental right to vote for the people who represent them from the most local level up to the President.
Senator Sessions has shown disdain for this important act by calling it "Intrusive" and opposing efforts to update this law (http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2014/06/25/sessions-opposes-update-voting-rights-act/11364929/). In fact Senator Sessions himself has engaged in Voter Suppression by wrongfully prosecuting Civil Rights activists in his home state for Voter Fraud.
Reasons for opposing the Voters Rights Act today seem to be tied to the idea that we have moved past racism in our society. However, what other causes could their be when shortly after this act was weakened by the Supreme Court, Senator Sessions' home state of Alabama who had recently passed a voter ID law, closed 31 branches of their DMV in primarily rural impoverished majority Black areas of the state? Or when the State of North Carolina has specifically gone out of their way to suppress Black voting through studying the demographic and doing things such as ending Sunday early voting because of the "Souls to the Polls" efforts by Black Churches.
In 1986 the Senate Judiciary Committee rejected Jeff Sessions for a District Judge appointment because his record on Civil Rights was considered too far out of the mainstream. In 1986 our country's views on things like Apartheid in South Africa were still not settled but we still recognized that Jeff Sessions views on race were unacceptable. 31 years later what sort of a message does it send that we are willing to accept him as the number one Legal mind in the land?
At a time when racial tensions in this country are as high as they've been since the 1992 L.A. riots I urge you to please reject the nomination of Jeff Sessions and encourage our new President-Elect to nominate someone who will truly have justice and the rights of all Americans regardless of color, religion, income or ethnic origin at heart
Thank you for your service in the Senate and for considering the views of all Americans as you are faced with the task of considering the nomination of who should be the face of Justice in our country.
Sincerely,
Mike Jones
Thursday, January 5, 2017
I've just sealed and stamped several letters regarding the Secretary of Labor nomination and the Affordable Care Act repeal.
These are issues that will face the Senate and House in the coming weeks so I am not worried about the time it takes for these letters to arrive. I know Congress has a screening system on their mail that slows things down, but call me old fashioned I still think a paper letter sent in a hand addressed envelope shows more effort and may get the attention of some of these reps. You may disagree and e-mail is effective too.
Things are coming at us fast and furious, things that demand an instant pouring of outrage. Remember, the first day of Congress they tried to shut down the Independent Ethics Office. The Nationwide Outrage shut this down. This is our blueprint, we need to let them know we are watching them, and we won't stand for their abuse.
Here is today's latest:
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/312797-house-gop-revive-rule-that-lets-lawmakers-slash-gov-employees
The Republican Party has revived a rule allowing them to cut the wage of Federal Employees down to $1. This is known as the "Holman Rule" and it was passed in 1876, which is apparently the year they would like to take us back to.
Here's what you need to do. ASAP.
Go here to find your Congressman and your Senators
https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
Go to their web page and look for the "Contact me" button.
Some reps will just show you their e-mail address, others will have a drop down box on a list of concerns you may have (I picked Labor)
And here's what I have to say to my Congressman. Use this if you please. I will also send this to Dean Heller. Catherine Cortez Masto doesn't appear to have an e-mail address set up yet as she has only been in the Senate a few days. On Dean Heller's letter where I referenced Amodei being the chair of Trump's campaign, I will note my respect for Senator Heller for not supporting Donald Trump. You can edit that part however you see fit.
There's a box for "Would you like a response" Damn Straight I would.
Subject: Holman Rule
Dear Congressman Amodei,
This morning I learned that the Republican Party in Congress is reviving the "Holman Rule" which was passed in 1876 allowing the ability to cut Federal Employees salary to $1 if necessary.
I would like to ask you a few questions since you are a member of the Republican Party. In what scenario would you find this necessary? Why would you ever want to cut someone's salary to the point where it isn't a salary?
Donald Trump ran as the "Greatest Jobs President God ever created" You were his Campaign Chair in Nevada. Are jobs with the federal government not actually jobs? Are these not people with families who spend the money from their federal jobs in the private sector and keep the economy healthy?
I will never understand the contempt the Republican Party seems to hold for hard working people who's employer just happens to be the Federal Government. May I remind you that you are also employed by the Federal Government?
I mean no disrespect Congressman Amodei. I hope this is not something you are on board with. As your constituent I ask you to please not support this rule change. I know you are a Conservative and want smaller Government, but this is just petty. I hope for better from you sir.
Thank you for attention, I appreciate you listening to your constituents
Sincerely,
Mike Jones
These are issues that will face the Senate and House in the coming weeks so I am not worried about the time it takes for these letters to arrive. I know Congress has a screening system on their mail that slows things down, but call me old fashioned I still think a paper letter sent in a hand addressed envelope shows more effort and may get the attention of some of these reps. You may disagree and e-mail is effective too.
Things are coming at us fast and furious, things that demand an instant pouring of outrage. Remember, the first day of Congress they tried to shut down the Independent Ethics Office. The Nationwide Outrage shut this down. This is our blueprint, we need to let them know we are watching them, and we won't stand for their abuse.
Here is today's latest:
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/312797-house-gop-revive-rule-that-lets-lawmakers-slash-gov-employees
The Republican Party has revived a rule allowing them to cut the wage of Federal Employees down to $1. This is known as the "Holman Rule" and it was passed in 1876, which is apparently the year they would like to take us back to.
Here's what you need to do. ASAP.
Go here to find your Congressman and your Senators
https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
Go to their web page and look for the "Contact me" button.
Some reps will just show you their e-mail address, others will have a drop down box on a list of concerns you may have (I picked Labor)
And here's what I have to say to my Congressman. Use this if you please. I will also send this to Dean Heller. Catherine Cortez Masto doesn't appear to have an e-mail address set up yet as she has only been in the Senate a few days. On Dean Heller's letter where I referenced Amodei being the chair of Trump's campaign, I will note my respect for Senator Heller for not supporting Donald Trump. You can edit that part however you see fit.
There's a box for "Would you like a response" Damn Straight I would.
Subject: Holman Rule
Dear Congressman Amodei,
This morning I learned that the Republican Party in Congress is reviving the "Holman Rule" which was passed in 1876 allowing the ability to cut Federal Employees salary to $1 if necessary.
I would like to ask you a few questions since you are a member of the Republican Party. In what scenario would you find this necessary? Why would you ever want to cut someone's salary to the point where it isn't a salary?
Donald Trump ran as the "Greatest Jobs President God ever created" You were his Campaign Chair in Nevada. Are jobs with the federal government not actually jobs? Are these not people with families who spend the money from their federal jobs in the private sector and keep the economy healthy?
I will never understand the contempt the Republican Party seems to hold for hard working people who's employer just happens to be the Federal Government. May I remind you that you are also employed by the Federal Government?
I mean no disrespect Congressman Amodei. I hope this is not something you are on board with. As your constituent I ask you to please not support this rule change. I know you are a Conservative and want smaller Government, but this is just petty. I hope for better from you sir.
Thank you for attention, I appreciate you listening to your constituents
Sincerely,
Mike Jones
One size doesn't fit all when it comes to addressing lawmakers.
I changed my template a little bet when addressing my Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto because I believe she and I have the same views on Obamacare. (notice I try to avoid calling it Obamacare as much as possible in my letters, in my view the Republican reflex to oppose this idea has more to do with the word "Obama" than anything rational)
Thank you for your service and for listening to your constituents concerns.
Sincerely,
Mike Jones
I changed my template a little bet when addressing my Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto because I believe she and I have the same views on Obamacare. (notice I try to avoid calling it Obamacare as much as possible in my letters, in my view the Republican reflex to oppose this idea has more to do with the word "Obama" than anything rational)
The Honorable Senator Catherine Cortez-Masto
B40A Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Cortez-Masto,
I am a constituent living in Carson City and I am writing to you today in regards to my concerns about the Affordable Care Act.
With the election of President-Elect Donald Trump, Vice President-Elect Mike Pence has stated that the first order of business of your party is to repeal the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare).
On behalf of the many people in our community and beyond who's lives have been saved or improved by access to Affordable Health Care, I plead with you not to go along with this plan to repeal this bill.
As a fellow Democrat I trust that you believe in Health Care for all and support Barack Obama’s greatest accomplishment as President which is to bring us the closest we’ve ever been to Health Care for all citizens.
B40A Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Cortez-Masto,
I am a constituent living in Carson City and I am writing to you today in regards to my concerns about the Affordable Care Act.
With the election of President-Elect Donald Trump, Vice President-Elect Mike Pence has stated that the first order of business of your party is to repeal the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare).
On behalf of the many people in our community and beyond who's lives have been saved or improved by access to Affordable Health Care, I plead with you not to go along with this plan to repeal this bill.
As a fellow Democrat I trust that you believe in Health Care for all and support Barack Obama’s greatest accomplishment as President which is to bring us the closest we’ve ever been to Health Care for all citizens.
In a perfect world we would be able to achieve a single
payer system similar to what works well in countries like Canada and the United
Kingdom. In reality the Affordable Care Act is a grand compromise that actually
uses ideas that were previously proposed by Republican lawmakers in order to
protect private enterprise.
I proudly cast my ballot for you in November’s election and
I am hopeful that you will be a strong voice against Donald Trump and the
Republican Party’s destructive agenda against the less fortunate and the
working and middle class.
Please stand strong against all efforts to repeal the
Affordable Care Act.
Thank you for your service and for listening to your constituents concerns.
Sincerely,
Mike Jones
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
When it comes to Donald Trump's Cabinet picks, we need to stop them in committee. It may be difficult to get the committee members to listen if you're not their constituents but there are cases where it's worth it to try.
In addition to targeting my two Senators, Dean Heller and Catherine Cortez-Masto, on the Cabinet members I'm most troubled by I will be addressing my letters to the Republican Chair and the Democratic Ranking Members.`
The Cabinet member I have the most contempt for, the one I feel the strongest about stopping is one who seems to sneak under the radar when the news media reports on the "Cabinet of Deplorables".
If we can't stop any other nomination, I hope we can stop the nomination of Andrew Puzder as Secretary of Labor. His nomination is the ultimate slap in the face to the Working People Trump pandered to to win the election.
The Committee overseeing this nomination is Chaired by Lamar Alexander of Tennesse with Patty Murray of Washington as Ranking Member. I will be writing to both of them.
However, this Committee is unique in that there are several members who are also worth contacting. On the Democratic side there are several members who have staked their careers on being champions of the working class, some of who have Presidential aspirations, who we need to stand up to this nominee.
Number one is none other than the man himself Senator Bernie Sanders, who I will be addressing as a former delegate. Other Senators I consider myself fans of who I will be writing are Al Franken of Minnesota, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and of course Elizabeth Warren.
There are also a handful of Republicans on this committee who occasionally give the appearance of being Moderate or Independent and they are worth contacting as well. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky..
For this entry I am writing two sets of letters. One addressed to Senator Alexander the Republican, and one addressed to Senator Murray the Democrat. I will tweak these letters as appropriate for the other Senators and will of course contact my Senators Dean Heller and Catherine Cortez Masto.
For a list of Committee Members of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee click here
http://www.help.senate.gov/about/members
This is a crucial committee. They have a hearing scheduled for Education pick Betsy Devos on January 11, and one for Health and Human Services Nominee Tom Price on the 18th. I will work on a letter for Mr. Price soon, my opinions on the Secretary of Education need some studying.
On that note if you have your own letters to contribute, please don't hesitate to leave them in the comments. I will happily repost them. The whole goal of this blog is to be a blueprint for contacting members of Congress. Encouraging our fellow citizens to take these letters and contact their Representatives, our voices are amplified the more of us who use them.
The Honorable Senator Lamar Alexander
455 Dirksen Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Alexander,
I'm writing to you today out of great concern for the nomination of Andrew Puzder as Secretary of Labor in President-Elect Donald Trump's new cabinet.
Our country is a country of workers. Donald Trump campaigned as a friend of the Working Class, promising to bring back their jobs from overseas, promising to end the competition for jobs with Illegal Immigrants.
Unfortunately, Mr. Puzder, who has no real issue with Illegal Immigration as he prefers his workers to make as low of wage as possible, represents a threat to workers in ways that were not discussed in the campaign..
Mr. Puzder is on record as saying workers are "Overprotected". He's on the record as being scornful of the idea of mandatory breaks. Something that will infuriate anyone who's ever stood for over 8 hours in a hot kitchen day after day.
His stands against the Minimum Wage and Overtime laws may be mainstream Republican views. I find that unfortunate but I will concede that. To this point I have not heard traditional Republican viewpoints being in favor of eliminating the workforce in favor of automation. Perhaps I have missed something and this is where the Party is now.
Mark my words though, when the Working Class wakes up and realizes that President Trump's walls and deportations haven't brought their jobs back, They will realize what the biggest threat to their jobs is and that is automation.
Mr. Puzder talks glowingly about robots and disdainfully about human employees. He states that machines never take vacation, never show up late, and never have discrimination cases. It seems he disdains his human employees for their need to be.. Human.
I know it's tempting to view this from the point of view of a Businessman and think of the cost savings to businesses who implement Mr. Puzder's ideas. What you need to realize is the effect this will have on workers. Namely, we will have significantly less of them. The less people who are employed, the more we will have in need of Government assistance, and the less people who will be out spending money needed to keep businesses in business.
Dwight Eisenhower's cabinet was referred to as Nine Businessmen and a Plumber. He was Pro-Business, he appointed a cabinet full of successful Businessmen much the way Donald Trump has. The difference? The Plumber was the Secretary of Labor. Even Eisenhower knew that the Secretary of Labor's job was to protect the Working Man.
Please don't appoint a Fox to run the hen house.
Thank you for your service and your attention to the concerns of the citizens of this country, I hope you will take this letter into consideration.
Sincerely,
Mike Jones
The Honorable Senator Patty Murray
154 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Murray,
I'm writing you out of great concern regarding the nomination of Andrew Puzder as Secretary of Labor.
I have great respect for you and the other Democratic Senators on the HELP Committee who are charged with making sure Donald Trump's nominees receive a thorough hearing and voicing your opposition where appropriate.
I'm proud to be a Democrat because the Democratic Party is the Party of Working People. If the Democrats on the HELP committee give Mr. Puzder a pass I will consider it nothing short of heartbreaking.
Mr. Puzder's anti-worker views on the minimum wage, overtime rules and multiple other worker protections (which he is on the record as saying there are too many of) make him uniquely unqualified to lead the Department of Labor.
The Department of Labor has historically been in charge of protecting workers from abusive employers. Mr. Puzder is the very definition of an abusive employer. He is on the record as being scornful of the idea of his workers getting mandatory breaks, he openly pines for the ability to replace his workers with automation.
Donald Trump campaigned as a friend of the working man who wanted to bring back jobs from overseas, or jobs that were taken by illegal immigrants. We know that was a scam. We need to expose how contemptuous he truly is of the Working Class. The biggest threat to jobs in this country isn't Illegal Immigration, it's not even Free Trade. The biggest threat to jobs in this country is automation. Andrew Puzder wants to accelerate it and while he's doing it he has no interest in protecting the rights of the Workers who remain.
Dwight Eisenhower had a cabinet of "9 Businessmen and a Plumber". The Plumber was the Secretary of Labor. Like Eisenhower, Donald Trump has nominated several successful businessmen to his cabinet. Unfortunately unlike Eisenhower Trump doesn't feel like the Working Man deserves one of their own in charge of their protection. He wants the man who wants to eliminate them to run the department.
Please, Don't let the Fox run the Henhouse.
Thank you for your service and your attention to this matter. The citizens of our country appreciate your willingness to hear our voices and I hope you will keep us in mind when Mr. Puzder's name comes up for confirmation
Sincerely,
Mike Jones
In addition to targeting my two Senators, Dean Heller and Catherine Cortez-Masto, on the Cabinet members I'm most troubled by I will be addressing my letters to the Republican Chair and the Democratic Ranking Members.`
The Cabinet member I have the most contempt for, the one I feel the strongest about stopping is one who seems to sneak under the radar when the news media reports on the "Cabinet of Deplorables".
If we can't stop any other nomination, I hope we can stop the nomination of Andrew Puzder as Secretary of Labor. His nomination is the ultimate slap in the face to the Working People Trump pandered to to win the election.
The Committee overseeing this nomination is Chaired by Lamar Alexander of Tennesse with Patty Murray of Washington as Ranking Member. I will be writing to both of them.
However, this Committee is unique in that there are several members who are also worth contacting. On the Democratic side there are several members who have staked their careers on being champions of the working class, some of who have Presidential aspirations, who we need to stand up to this nominee.
Number one is none other than the man himself Senator Bernie Sanders, who I will be addressing as a former delegate. Other Senators I consider myself fans of who I will be writing are Al Franken of Minnesota, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and of course Elizabeth Warren.
There are also a handful of Republicans on this committee who occasionally give the appearance of being Moderate or Independent and they are worth contacting as well. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky..
For this entry I am writing two sets of letters. One addressed to Senator Alexander the Republican, and one addressed to Senator Murray the Democrat. I will tweak these letters as appropriate for the other Senators and will of course contact my Senators Dean Heller and Catherine Cortez Masto.
For a list of Committee Members of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee click here
http://www.help.senate.gov/about/members
This is a crucial committee. They have a hearing scheduled for Education pick Betsy Devos on January 11, and one for Health and Human Services Nominee Tom Price on the 18th. I will work on a letter for Mr. Price soon, my opinions on the Secretary of Education need some studying.
On that note if you have your own letters to contribute, please don't hesitate to leave them in the comments. I will happily repost them. The whole goal of this blog is to be a blueprint for contacting members of Congress. Encouraging our fellow citizens to take these letters and contact their Representatives, our voices are amplified the more of us who use them.
The Honorable Senator Lamar Alexander
455 Dirksen Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Alexander,
I'm writing to you today out of great concern for the nomination of Andrew Puzder as Secretary of Labor in President-Elect Donald Trump's new cabinet.
Our country is a country of workers. Donald Trump campaigned as a friend of the Working Class, promising to bring back their jobs from overseas, promising to end the competition for jobs with Illegal Immigrants.
Unfortunately, Mr. Puzder, who has no real issue with Illegal Immigration as he prefers his workers to make as low of wage as possible, represents a threat to workers in ways that were not discussed in the campaign..
Mr. Puzder is on record as saying workers are "Overprotected". He's on the record as being scornful of the idea of mandatory breaks. Something that will infuriate anyone who's ever stood for over 8 hours in a hot kitchen day after day.
His stands against the Minimum Wage and Overtime laws may be mainstream Republican views. I find that unfortunate but I will concede that. To this point I have not heard traditional Republican viewpoints being in favor of eliminating the workforce in favor of automation. Perhaps I have missed something and this is where the Party is now.
Mark my words though, when the Working Class wakes up and realizes that President Trump's walls and deportations haven't brought their jobs back, They will realize what the biggest threat to their jobs is and that is automation.
Mr. Puzder talks glowingly about robots and disdainfully about human employees. He states that machines never take vacation, never show up late, and never have discrimination cases. It seems he disdains his human employees for their need to be.. Human.
I know it's tempting to view this from the point of view of a Businessman and think of the cost savings to businesses who implement Mr. Puzder's ideas. What you need to realize is the effect this will have on workers. Namely, we will have significantly less of them. The less people who are employed, the more we will have in need of Government assistance, and the less people who will be out spending money needed to keep businesses in business.
Dwight Eisenhower's cabinet was referred to as Nine Businessmen and a Plumber. He was Pro-Business, he appointed a cabinet full of successful Businessmen much the way Donald Trump has. The difference? The Plumber was the Secretary of Labor. Even Eisenhower knew that the Secretary of Labor's job was to protect the Working Man.
Please don't appoint a Fox to run the hen house.
Thank you for your service and your attention to the concerns of the citizens of this country, I hope you will take this letter into consideration.
Sincerely,
Mike Jones
The Honorable Senator Patty Murray
154 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Murray,
I'm writing you out of great concern regarding the nomination of Andrew Puzder as Secretary of Labor.
I have great respect for you and the other Democratic Senators on the HELP Committee who are charged with making sure Donald Trump's nominees receive a thorough hearing and voicing your opposition where appropriate.
I'm proud to be a Democrat because the Democratic Party is the Party of Working People. If the Democrats on the HELP committee give Mr. Puzder a pass I will consider it nothing short of heartbreaking.
Mr. Puzder's anti-worker views on the minimum wage, overtime rules and multiple other worker protections (which he is on the record as saying there are too many of) make him uniquely unqualified to lead the Department of Labor.
The Department of Labor has historically been in charge of protecting workers from abusive employers. Mr. Puzder is the very definition of an abusive employer. He is on the record as being scornful of the idea of his workers getting mandatory breaks, he openly pines for the ability to replace his workers with automation.
Donald Trump campaigned as a friend of the working man who wanted to bring back jobs from overseas, or jobs that were taken by illegal immigrants. We know that was a scam. We need to expose how contemptuous he truly is of the Working Class. The biggest threat to jobs in this country isn't Illegal Immigration, it's not even Free Trade. The biggest threat to jobs in this country is automation. Andrew Puzder wants to accelerate it and while he's doing it he has no interest in protecting the rights of the Workers who remain.
Dwight Eisenhower had a cabinet of "9 Businessmen and a Plumber". The Plumber was the Secretary of Labor. Like Eisenhower, Donald Trump has nominated several successful businessmen to his cabinet. Unfortunately unlike Eisenhower Trump doesn't feel like the Working Man deserves one of their own in charge of their protection. He wants the man who wants to eliminate them to run the department.
Please, Don't let the Fox run the Henhouse.
Thank you for your service and your attention to this matter. The citizens of our country appreciate your willingness to hear our voices and I hope you will keep us in mind when Mr. Puzder's name comes up for confirmation
Sincerely,
Mike Jones
This letter goes out to Congressman Mark Amodei and Senators Dean Heller and Catherine Cortez-Masto who are my elected officials. Wording is slightly changed depending on who I'm addressing, I am just posting my first letter to Congressman Amodei. My letter to Senator Heller will likely be exactly the same as he is also a Republican. My letter to Catherine Cortez Masto will be more of a plea to stand up to the Republican Agenda as she is a Democrat.
For good measure, I will also be sending a slightly modified version to Senator Mike Enzi of Wyoming who is the leading proponent in the Senate of repealing Obamacare. As well as Congressman Tom Price who is being nominated as the new Secretary of Health and Human Services. I may be talking to brick walls, but they should know that people oppose their ideas and why.
For better advice on writing to Congress, see this page: http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/letterscongress.htm
For obvious reasons I will not be posting my own address on this letter: I like to send these via US Mail because I feel like they are harder to ignore. Even if they make take longer to get there. You may prefer to use e-mail, or both, whatever you feel is most effective.
The Honorable Mark Amodei
322 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative Amodei,
I am a constituent living in your district and I am writing to you today in regards to my concerns about the Affordable Care Act.
With the election of President-Elect Donald Trump, Vice President-Elect Mike Pence has stated that the first order of business of your party is to repeal the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare).
On behalf of the many people in our community and beyond who's lives have been saved or improved by access to Affordable Health Care, I plead with you not to go along with this plan to repeal this bill.
There are problems with the ACA that is for sure, I understand that in many places premiums are rising, although premiums tend to rise yearly naturally, and the rate at which they've risen has actually leveled out since the ACA was implemented.
If you see problems with the ACA, I encourage you to support legislation that will cut costs for consumers. But please do not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Millions of people have benefited from access to affordable health care, I could give you examples even in my own family where being able to obtain health care during a transitional period when someone became ill possibly saved a life.
I only ask you one thing Congressman Amodei. If we have a program that provides health care saving the lives of millions of people, while still maintaining the private insurance industry and providing payments to hospitals where previously the only option of the uninsured was to go to the E.R. and ignore their hospital bill. Why would you support ending a program like that?
I know you have concerns about the economic impact on Small Business Owners and others. That's ok, I encourage you to find solutions to lessen that impact. But please, take a moment and think about your constituents who may not even realize that they wouldn't have health insurance without the Affordable Care Act. When they realize why they can't go to the Doctor anymore, they are going to be angry.
I hope you will listen.
Thank you for your service and for listening to your constituents concerns.
Sincerely,
Mike Jones
For good measure, I will also be sending a slightly modified version to Senator Mike Enzi of Wyoming who is the leading proponent in the Senate of repealing Obamacare. As well as Congressman Tom Price who is being nominated as the new Secretary of Health and Human Services. I may be talking to brick walls, but they should know that people oppose their ideas and why.
For better advice on writing to Congress, see this page: http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/letterscongress.htm
For obvious reasons I will not be posting my own address on this letter: I like to send these via US Mail because I feel like they are harder to ignore. Even if they make take longer to get there. You may prefer to use e-mail, or both, whatever you feel is most effective.
The Honorable Mark Amodei
322 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative Amodei,
I am a constituent living in your district and I am writing to you today in regards to my concerns about the Affordable Care Act.
With the election of President-Elect Donald Trump, Vice President-Elect Mike Pence has stated that the first order of business of your party is to repeal the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare).
On behalf of the many people in our community and beyond who's lives have been saved or improved by access to Affordable Health Care, I plead with you not to go along with this plan to repeal this bill.
There are problems with the ACA that is for sure, I understand that in many places premiums are rising, although premiums tend to rise yearly naturally, and the rate at which they've risen has actually leveled out since the ACA was implemented.
If you see problems with the ACA, I encourage you to support legislation that will cut costs for consumers. But please do not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Millions of people have benefited from access to affordable health care, I could give you examples even in my own family where being able to obtain health care during a transitional period when someone became ill possibly saved a life.
I only ask you one thing Congressman Amodei. If we have a program that provides health care saving the lives of millions of people, while still maintaining the private insurance industry and providing payments to hospitals where previously the only option of the uninsured was to go to the E.R. and ignore their hospital bill. Why would you support ending a program like that?
I know you have concerns about the economic impact on Small Business Owners and others. That's ok, I encourage you to find solutions to lessen that impact. But please, take a moment and think about your constituents who may not even realize that they wouldn't have health insurance without the Affordable Care Act. When they realize why they can't go to the Doctor anymore, they are going to be angry.
I hope you will listen.
Thank you for your service and for listening to your constituents concerns.
Sincerely,
Mike Jones
To Whom It May Concern:
I am a citizen living in Northern Nevada's 2nd District which is represented by Republican Mark Amodei. His seat is safe, our district is blood red. Why should he listen to me?
The answer is if everyone living in a safe district feels that way about their congressman they will never hear from their constituents about the real world consequences of their actions.https://www.indivisibleguide.com/
The election of Donald Trump has left me depressed, dejected, and afraid for the future of our republic and the overall future of mankind. He says a lot of terrible things yes, but what worries me is his temper and his snap judgements. This is a man who has no concept of real world diplomacy, a man who could lead us to the brink of nuclear annihilation with his twitter account.
Beyond that, his cabinet is atrocious. He continues to announce appointment after appointment of people who lead Departments that absolutely loathe the concepts of the Departments they are appointed to lead,
His Secretary of Labor is disdainful of the most basic worker rights. His Secretary of Treasury is a villain from the housing market crash of 2008. His Secretary of Energy, wants to eliminate the Department of Energy, once he remembers which Department it is. His head of the EPA is suing the EPA, and believes climate change is a hoax. His Secretary of State knows diplomacy from exploiting the resources of 3rd world countries and helping to prop up their dictatorships. He received the friend of the Stare award from the country that is accused of hacking our election. A country that does not have our best interests at heart and is manipulating our new President so they can prey on the former Soviet Republics they want to reclaim.
I've been paralyzed, I don't know where to begin to do my part in the resistance to this tragedy. But I know that fascism succeeds when Good People do nothing. So this blog is my attempt to do my very minor part in doing something.
If I have no other skill, I am a writer. Therefore I am going to begin a letter writing campaign to my Congressional Representatives: Congressman Mark Amodei, and Senators Dean Heller (R) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D)
I will post the letters here because I encourage anyone who reads this to do the same.
Letter writing is tedious work, I offer up my letters as a template. This is public domain, I encourage everyone to take my letters, edit them and make them your own and send them to your Congressperson and your Two Senators.
Please use this link to find your Representatives
https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
Don't just take it from me. If you really want to be heard, read this guide from former Congressional staffers on how to be heard. https://www.indivisibleguide.com/
The inauguration is sneaking up on us, and Congress is already in session. They are already drawing up an agenda that will decimate the poor, the working class, anyone who makes under 7 digits a year.
A simple letter from a constituent may not make a difference, that's why we need numbers.
We learned yesterday that Congress will respond to the outrage of the people. That's why the Independent Ethics Office remains.
Their first order of business is to repeal Obamacare. So that will be my first letter. Followed by my opposition in order(tentatively) to the following cabinet members (to start).
NO:
Andrew Puzder - Labor
Tom Price -HHS
Steve Mnuchin-Treasury
Jeff Sessions- Attorney General
Scott Pruitt- EPA
Rick Perry- Energy
Betsy Devos- Education
Mick Mulvaney- Budget
I may also contact the Committee Chair and Ranking Members regarding the cabinet members just for good measure, although I know feedback from out of state doesn't carry as much weight as it does from a constituent.
This is my tiny contribution to the Resistance. I know I'm just some guy writing letters but I hope there are others like me out there who may become further inspired. When my Grandkids (hypothetical as they may be) ask me what I did when the country elected a man supported by White Supremacists, I don't want to answer "Nothing".
I hope you feel the same
I am a citizen living in Northern Nevada's 2nd District which is represented by Republican Mark Amodei. His seat is safe, our district is blood red. Why should he listen to me?
The answer is if everyone living in a safe district feels that way about their congressman they will never hear from their constituents about the real world consequences of their actions.https://www.indivisibleguide.com/
The election of Donald Trump has left me depressed, dejected, and afraid for the future of our republic and the overall future of mankind. He says a lot of terrible things yes, but what worries me is his temper and his snap judgements. This is a man who has no concept of real world diplomacy, a man who could lead us to the brink of nuclear annihilation with his twitter account.
Beyond that, his cabinet is atrocious. He continues to announce appointment after appointment of people who lead Departments that absolutely loathe the concepts of the Departments they are appointed to lead,
His Secretary of Labor is disdainful of the most basic worker rights. His Secretary of Treasury is a villain from the housing market crash of 2008. His Secretary of Energy, wants to eliminate the Department of Energy, once he remembers which Department it is. His head of the EPA is suing the EPA, and believes climate change is a hoax. His Secretary of State knows diplomacy from exploiting the resources of 3rd world countries and helping to prop up their dictatorships. He received the friend of the Stare award from the country that is accused of hacking our election. A country that does not have our best interests at heart and is manipulating our new President so they can prey on the former Soviet Republics they want to reclaim.
I've been paralyzed, I don't know where to begin to do my part in the resistance to this tragedy. But I know that fascism succeeds when Good People do nothing. So this blog is my attempt to do my very minor part in doing something.
If I have no other skill, I am a writer. Therefore I am going to begin a letter writing campaign to my Congressional Representatives: Congressman Mark Amodei, and Senators Dean Heller (R) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D)
I will post the letters here because I encourage anyone who reads this to do the same.
Letter writing is tedious work, I offer up my letters as a template. This is public domain, I encourage everyone to take my letters, edit them and make them your own and send them to your Congressperson and your Two Senators.
Please use this link to find your Representatives
https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
Don't just take it from me. If you really want to be heard, read this guide from former Congressional staffers on how to be heard. https://www.indivisibleguide.com/
The inauguration is sneaking up on us, and Congress is already in session. They are already drawing up an agenda that will decimate the poor, the working class, anyone who makes under 7 digits a year.
A simple letter from a constituent may not make a difference, that's why we need numbers.
We learned yesterday that Congress will respond to the outrage of the people. That's why the Independent Ethics Office remains.
Their first order of business is to repeal Obamacare. So that will be my first letter. Followed by my opposition in order(tentatively) to the following cabinet members (to start).
NO:
Andrew Puzder - Labor
Tom Price -HHS
Steve Mnuchin-Treasury
Jeff Sessions- Attorney General
Scott Pruitt- EPA
Rick Perry- Energy
Betsy Devos- Education
Mick Mulvaney- Budget
I may also contact the Committee Chair and Ranking Members regarding the cabinet members just for good measure, although I know feedback from out of state doesn't carry as much weight as it does from a constituent.
This is my tiny contribution to the Resistance. I know I'm just some guy writing letters but I hope there are others like me out there who may become further inspired. When my Grandkids (hypothetical as they may be) ask me what I did when the country elected a man supported by White Supremacists, I don't want to answer "Nothing".
I hope you feel the same
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