Prescott Indivisible Newsletter
June 15, 2020
View this email in your browser or Link to the Prescott Indivisible website!
Indivisible came into existence after Trump was elected in 2016. Its sole purpose was — and still is — to work and organize to defeat Trump and his cronies. We’re doing that by supporting his presidential opponent, Joe Biden, and by electing politicians to the national and state senates and houses and on the local level. With the general election less than five months away, now is the time to kick it into high gear. It’s time for each one of us to step up and do what we can, individually and as a team, to help attain our goals.
As I have written previously, we are organizing a “Call to Action” network of PI members. That means YOU and over 1,000 of your closest friends. When issues or events arise — which they will in the next five months— then we’re going to be ready to respond with LOTS of progressive voices from our PI members. We have already put out several “Calls to Action” and I have been pleasantly surprised with the number of emails and calls that you have made. What we are doing now is building the organization that’s necessary to increase the number of people who respond.
So get ready. Someone from our team, headed by Louise Clara and Diane McQueen, will be sending you an email to ask you to respond with your phone number. Please do it! Someone will then call you to verify your information including whether you text, post on Twitter and/or Facebook, like to write emails, make telephone calls, write letters to the editors — anything else? If each of us has one or two preferred ways of voicing our opinions, then we can exert some real influence where it counts the most in this election.
Bottom line: if you get an email from us, hit reply and let us know what your best phone number is.
Thank you for being a part of our PI team!
Mavis Brauer, Chair
Prescott Indivisible
We are excited to announce Delina DiSanto and Stu Starkey, the two Democratic candidates running for the nomination for the congressional seat here in CD4 will be speaking at this meeting! Click the picture to read more about them on their individual websites:
For the question and answer session after they speak: What would you like to know? What would you like to ask them? What issues are nearest and dearest to your heart? Please email your questions to info@prescottindivisible.org for compilation.
For three months at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, PI’s Persist & Resist Newsletter (authored by PI member, Maria Lynam) became the PI/PR Community Resources and Neighborhood Needs Newsletter. The newsletter provided a weekly connection to our local communities. We were invited to join the advisory team of the Yavapai County Emergency Services!
The VVP, sponsored by Prescott Indivisible, was launched in late January of this year. We are a group of politically active people who are interested in what voters think. We are working for positive change in our leaders, our community, and ourselves. Find out more at https://votervaluesproject.com
The goal of our 2020 Strategic Plan is to encourage Independent voters in Yavapai County to enroll in the Permanent Early Voting List (PEVL), as well as to identify issues that are important to them.
Recently, our hard-working VVP Volunteers mailed 1,000 postcards to Independents, requesting those two important Calls to Action. Follow up phone calls to those recipients are underway, as well as a second mailing of an additional 1,000 postcards.
This is a long-term project. Additional Volunteers are needed for future postcard mailings and follow up phone calls. The success of the VVP relies on the hard work of our Volunteers. We would appreciate your help!
Please contact Louise Clara at lclara5250@msn.com to volunteer.
Link to RSVP: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/klick#thanks
Link for Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/95768150768
George Floyd was murdered for being black. But this is not an isolated incident.
Black folks are faced with police violence and systematic racism on a daily basis.
We must commit to meaningful reforms such as:
- Banning the use of chokeholds
- Preventing problem officers from changing jurisdictions to avoid accountability
- Setting restrictions on the transfer of military-grade equipment to state and local law enforcement
- Requiring de-escalation, sensitivity & implicit bias training
We all must resist these injustices and support the organizers who are demanding necessary change!
Peaceful protestors aren’t bad guys, they are citizens.
The military should not be used against the American people. Militarized police make communities less safe by growing the divide between officers and citizens they are sworn to protect.
These protestors inspire me every day and I want to do everything in my power to support them.
If you are able, please consider supporting one of these organizations fighting against racism and police brutality:
against racism and police brutality:
– Philanthropy Initiative’s Social Justice Fund >>
– George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center Restoration Fund >>
– Arizona Center for African American Resources >>
– NAACP >>
– Black Mother’s Forum >>
All lives can’t matter until black lives matter.
Ruben Gallego
The past few days have seen hundreds of thousands of people across the country take to the streets to demand an end to police brutality and racial injustice. George Floyd. Dion Johnson. Breonna Taylor. The list of Black men and women who have been murdered by law enforcement is far too long. Not one more life should be lost at the hands of the police.
People are angry, disappointed, and hurt — and they have a constitutional right to make their grief heard. In Phoenix, we’ve seen the police department escalate situations by using excessive force and brute violence to silence peaceful protesters. Their tactics include firing projectiles, smoke canisters and tear gas into large crowds – the latter of which poses serious health concerns and is particularly egregious during a global pandemic. Baseless arrests have also endangered the lives of many by placing people in jail where social distancing is not an option.
For decades, the ACLU has advocated for broader civilian oversight policies with investigative powers, more training, and better procedures to reduce harm, but the problem remains. The core problem is modern policing itself.
We need to fundamentally change the role of police in our society. That’s why we joined the Movement for Black Lives and other local grassroots groups, including Poder In Action and Puente, to change that role into something smaller and less funded with taxpayer dollars. It is time to divest from law enforcement and reinvest those taxpayer dollars into public health, economic development, and education programs in Black and Brown communities that have been unjustly targeted and overcriminalized for years. Doing so will foster improved safety and health outcomes.
We join the calls demanding justice and an end to the systemic racism that is present in our law enforcement institutions. Black people do not have to live in fear of the police.
Join the ACLU of Arizona and demand that our state invest in community-based initiatives that will do more to keep the public safe.
For many, the past few weeks have been difficult. We encourage you to continue to listen, learn, and uncover the ways one can be a better ally in this work. We remain steadfast in defending the right to assemble and stand in solidarity with communities directly impacted by systemic racism and police violence every day.
Thanks for standing with us,
Alessandra Soler Navidad
Executive Director, ACLU of Arizona
Breaking news: the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that firing someone for being LGBTQ is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act! In other words, we won!
This is a momentous decision and, quite frankly, we didn’t expect to send a celebratory email about this case, especially given the extremely conservative make-up of the Supreme Court at the moment. Seriously — we didn’t have this version of the email prepared because we assumed that we would lose.
So with all of the terrible things happening in the world, let’s take a moment to celebrate some good. This landmark victory was made possible by LGBTQ people — particularly Black trans women — who led the way and demanded that their voices, their bodies, their personhood mattered and should be protected under the law. Grassroots activists have fought for years to affirm that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is sex discrimination. And today, they won.
But, let’s not forget — it’s 2020 and we STILL have to spell it out: Black Trans Lives Matter.
We’re here because the Trump administration has worked for the last four years to deny the basic human rights of vulnerable communities, attacking Black and brown communities and people who identify as LGBTQ. (In fact, Trump administration lawyers were the ones arguing in this very case that LGBTQ people shouldn’t be protected by federal anti-discrimination laws.)
We’re here because the Supreme Court is a broken, partisan extension of the Republican party hell-bent on limiting who can be protected by the law of the land.
We’re here because the newest justice, Brett Kavanaugh, wrote the dissenting opinion essentially denying that people who are gay or transgender should have equal protection under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He’s reaffirmed what we’ve always known — he’s a conservative, right-wing hack, and if we don’t win back the White House and Senate this November, Kavanaugh might gain a few more conservative colleagues who actually agree with his backward point of view. And remember, we have a few folks to thank for his confirmation and lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court:
- Susan Collins.
- Mitch McConnell.
- Lindsey Graham.
- Martha McSally.
- Cory Gardner.
- David Perdue.
- Joni Ernst.
- Thom Tillis.
- John Cornyn.
Luckily, these senators are all up for re-election in November and we’ve got a plan to kick them out of office.We launched the Payback Project a few months ago and since then, thousands of Indivisibles have signed up to help take back the Senate in November. Defeating all of Trump’s cronies in the Senate won’t be easy and that’s why we’ll need a massive awareness campaign and a growing grassroots movement to ensure their Democratic opponents have the funding and voters to win.
Until we take back the Senate, Trump and the GOP will continue attacking vulnerable communities, and the Supreme Court will continue to offer dubious, terrible decisions. If we want to fix the Supreme Court and save our democracy, we have to start with taking back the Senate in November. That’s why we need you to join this fight now.
Last week we emailed you about how we’re ramping up the Payback Project to hold Trump’s GOP Senate allies accountable for their silence and inaction on the most recent examples of police brutality. Their impact on the makeup of the Supreme Court is yet another reason we need to take back the Senate this year. But to make that possible, we’re running ads, producing resources, holding virtual events, sending mail, and more — and all of that work costs money. If you can, click here to support the Payback Project, take back the Senate, fix the courts, and fund all our work this year.
In the coming days, we’re going to hear more Supreme Court opinions on key cases — and they probably won’t be as favorable as this one. As we continue to fight the Trump and GOP agenda, remember that we’ve got an entire movement behind us, and a plan to hold our elected official accountable. With your help, we’ll be getting payback for all of the communities who’ve been hurt by Trump and the GOP’s terrible policies — and it starts with taking back the Senate and fixing the Supreme Court. We’ve got this.
In solidarity,
Indivisible Team
Quote of the Day (6/15/2020)
In the face of skyrocketing numbers of COVID-19 cases, positive testing rates reaching all-time highs and hospitalizations hitting record numbers, Gov. Doug Ducey and the state’s top public health official had few answers for what the state would do to blunt the rise in cases other than to repeatedly declare that there were enough hospital beds to treat those who fall ill.
Ducey and Dr. Cara Christ, who leads the Arizona Department of Health Services, focused extensively on the statewide hospital capacity during a Thursday press conference, but had little to say about how the state would address the sharp rise in confirmed cases. At one point, Christ acknowledged there was little else the state would do besides an educational campaign aimed at improving hygiene, physical distancing and encouraging the use of masks. “We know that it’s in the community, and that we can’t stop the spread. We can’t stop living, as well,” she said.
Ducey at another point tried to put a positive spin on the increasingly worsening public health figures by saying things could be worse. “The fact that that worst-case scenario is not here today is positive news,” he said. The governor added that the focus of his administration was on the number of hospital beds available because “that’s what’s most important when there’s a rise in cases.” “I want every Arizonan to be able to have the medical care and comfort and resources necessary, and today we are able to provide that,” he said.
Ducey also lashed out at the media for reporting “misinformation” that the state is in jeopardy of running out of intensive care unit beds for COVID-19 patients. “There was a lot of national news today and my phone was ringing off the hook on what was going on in the state of Arizona,” he said. “I knew what the numbers were and what the facts were. We re-confirmed them with the hospitals. And now we’ve communicated them to all of you and your media outlets, as well as the national news, so everyone today knows that Arizona has hospital capacity.”
The news coverage that earned Ducey’s ire began last week, when Dr. Marjorie Bessel, the chief clinical officer at Banner Health, which is Arizona’s largest hospital network, said the system’s intensive care units were at full capacity, and warned that other hospitals would reach that point soon. Bessel’s comments, along with rising numbers of new COVID-19 cases, triggered a wave of stories in national media outlets like ABC News, NBC News, USA Today, the Guardian and the Today Show, among others.
Data from the Arizona Department Health Services shows that 78% of the state’s intensive care unit beds are filled. Total hospital bed capacity statewide was at 84% on Wednesday and 83% the day before, marking only the second time the state has exceeded the 80% mark. And 38% of the state’s ventilators are in use. But Ducey said the numbers don’t reflect the whole picture because the state has surge and emergency hospital beds that aren’t counted toward the state’s total available capacity. Those beds haven’t been used yet.
To bolster his case, Ducey pointed to a statement from Arizona’s largest hospital networks that was released just an hour before the press conference began. The Health System Alliance of Arizona, which represents Abrazo, Banner Health, Carondelet Health Services, Dignity Health, Honor Health and Northern Arizona Healthcare – roughly 80% of the state’s hospitals – said the hospital networks “have available bed capacity and surge plans are in place to continue to serve the people of Arizona. We are well prepared to manage an increase in patient volume.”
Ducey said his administration did not ask for the hospitals to release the statement, which the governor’s office heavily promoted prior to and during the press conference. Daniel Scarpinato, the governor’s chief of staff, said the one of the hospital networks reached out to the Ducey administration, which led to the release of the statement. Christ said Bessel’s comments didn’t correspond with the data that Banner has provided to ADHS.
A spokeswoman for Banner told the Arizona Mirror that Thursday’s statement it signed onto “is consistent with the information that we have shared with the community.” Under an executive order Ducey issued in late April, hospitals were allowed to resume elective surgeries, but only if no more than 80 percent of their beds were filled. Statewide capacity hit 83 percent on Tuesday and 84 percent on Wednesday, opening the door for a potential halt to elective procedures, though it’s unclear which hospitals or hospital systems were above that threshold.
Numbers suggest outbreak is worsening
Read the rest of the article here: AZMirror Ducey focused on hospital space, not stopping sharp COVID-19 increases
The Governor’s June 11, press conference is HERE.
Contact Your Members of Congress
KYRSTEN SINEMA
825 B&C Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4521
contact@sinema.senate.gov
MARTHA MCSALLY
B40D Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
202-224-2235
contact@mcsally.senate.gov
PAUL GOSAR
2057 Rayburn HOB, Washington, DC 20515 202-225-2315
6499 S. Kings Ranch Rd. #4, Gold Canyon, AZ 85118 480-882-2697
220 N. 4th St., Kingman, AZ (by appt. only)
122 N. Cortez St., Suite 104, Prescott, AZ 86301 928-445-1683
http://paulgosar.house.gov/contact/
Arizona
Governor, Doug Ducey
State Capitol, 1700 West Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ 85007 602.542.4331
http://azgovernor.gov/governor/form/contact-governor-ducey
Legislature http://www.azleg.gov/
Senator Karen Fann kfann@azleg.gov 602-926-5874
Rep. Noel Campbell ncampbell@azleg.gov 602-926-3124
Rep. Steve Pierce spierce@azleg.gov 602-926-5584
Prescott
Mayor Greg Mengarelli
201 S. Cortez St. Prescott 928.777.1248
