Hello Ventura Indivisians,
OK, we at Indivisible Ventura made two mistakes with our event last Monday…
* First – It was a Monday event. Seriously, what were we thinking? (Lesson learned.)
* Second – It was the Monday right after the time change. Some platforms showed our attendees one start time and others a completely different one. (OK, we actually didn’t expect that.)
So we’re trying again this Saturday (the 13th) at 11:00 am, because this is important and we need your help.
11am-noon at the VC Government Center, corner of Victoria and Telephone (800 South Victoria)
Facebook link (share, share, share): https://www.facebook.com/events/211407024468423/
We need to show Senator Feinstein, whose office staff will only confirm that she “supports the bill,” that her progressive, Democratic and independent voters expect her to do more. We expect her to publicly commit to dumping the filibuster for guarantee equal voting access for all.
We have lightweight double-sided sign boards that spell out two messages:
* FreedomToVoteAct
* Feinstein-BeBraver
We need at least 18 people to hold and flip the lightweight sign boards and to hold up American Flags as well. Other signs and more flags are welcome as well.
Please bring everyone you can to help us make these images more powerful. Kids and teens are welcome as well. We want a strong visual message from her constituents in Ventura County, which we will send directly to Senator Feinstein’s office.
We are running out of time and she needs to know we’re watching.
Extremist politicians have spent the year putting up barriers to voting in one state after another and are now drawing districts to benefit themselves, carving up communities and attempting to drown out the voices of millions of American voters for the next decade.
All this week, (except apparently for Monday – see above), Americans have been gathering together across the country for “Freedom to Vote: Time to Act” events to demand Congress acts.
The House has already passed sweeping legislation to protect our freedom to vote and realize the promise of democracy for all.
Now it’s up to our Senators to step up to push this historic bill through.
By participating in this event, you agree
(i) not to engage in any act of violence or violation of any applicable law,
(ii) to obey the orders of authorized event marshals and law enforcement authorities, and
(iii) that event organizers and sponsors will not be responsible for any injury or damage to your person or property resulting from or occurring in the course of your participating in the event, and you agree to release and forever hold harmless event organizers and sponsors, and their respective officers, directors, employees, and agents from liability for any such injury or damage.
After your calls to action – more events and resources!
IMPORTANT NOTE: NOVEMBER POSTCARD PARTY IS CANCELLED – SEE YOU IN DECEMBER!
Your Calls to Action:
Tell our senators to vote “YES” on the Freedom to Vote Act and to kill the filibuster to get it through! (more info)
Action #1: Call our Senators
Mini-script for Senator Feinstein (not a cosponsor): I’m calling from [zip code] to ask Sen. [___] to support S.2747 – the “Freedom to Vote Act,” a nationwide minimum standard to protect the rights of voters and to strengthen our democracy while we still have one. We’ve read that she may now be willing to support bypassing the filibuster rule to enact this bill. Please convey to the senator that her active and enthusiastic cooperation with such an effort is the basic minimum or we will be asking for her resignation.
Mini-script for Senator Padilla (cosponsor):I’m calling from [zip code] to thank Sen. [___] for supporting S.2747 – the “Freedom to Vote Act,” the nationwide standard to protect the rights of voters and to strengthen our democracy. I also want to thank him for understanding the importance of this bill and being willing to flush the filibuster to make it happen.
Senator Feinstein: email
and Senator Padilla: email
Share with family and friends, find their Rep: https://whoismyrepresentative.com
Action #2: Call the White House
Mini-script: President Biden said we’re facing “the most significant test of our democracy since the Civil War.” He’s right and we need him to use every lever of power and influence at his disposal to persuade the Senate to pass the Freedom To Vote Act, including speaking out against the filibuster.
White House: 202-456-1111 The White House comment line is open Tuesday to Thursday, from 11 am – 3 pm ET. When you reach a staff member, tell them your name and that you are a constituent. Then, demand that President Biden do everything in his power to help overcome the filibuster and pass the Freedom to Vote Act.
Action #3: Email Joe.
Sample script: Joe, you’ve said that we’re facing “the most significant test of our democracy since the Civil War.” You’re right.
Manchin cut down John Lewis’s “For the People Act” into a package he thought was small enough that 10 Republicans would vote for it. He was wrong. Trump, along with acolytes like Rep. Cawthorne, who encouraged voters to “lightly threaten” their legislators, have hardened the GOP into an intractable force protecting voter suppression, white supremacy, and Trump’s Big Lie. It is now literally personally and professionally dangerous for them to cross the aisle on a bill like this.
Here’s another hard truth, Joe. We volunteers cannot out-organize nationwide voter suppression. We cannot alter time for voters no longer allowed to vote early during their off-work hours or together on Sunday “Souls to the Polls.” We cannot help them access drop-off boxes that are no longer there. We cannot make DMV’s open near voters without public transit who need IDs. We cannot remove burdensome witness requirements and unfair ballot receipt deadlines. We cannot protect voters from intimidation by partisan poll watchers. We cannot force states to equalize polling place access so that minority voters won’t have take off work and wait in hours-long lines, while voters in White-majority districts walk right into theirs. We cannot undo destructive gerrymandering.
We need you to push Senate Democrats to pass the Freedom To Vote Act with a carve-out of the filibuster. Make it as narrow as you please, but ask them how long any of them will remain in office if their own voters are turned away or intimidated at their polling places or if state legislatures takes over elections. Georgetown University historian Thomas Zimmer explains, “Unless the system is fundamentally democratized, we’ll soon reach the point where it will become impossible to stop America’s slide into authoritarianism through elections.” We are not Hungary yet. Stop this now.
Contact: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Events (if you are going and interested in carpooling, email us and we’ll do our best to hook you up):
EVENTS ARE HAPPENING CRAZY FAST!!! – Our most up-to-date “calendar” has temporarily been moved to HERE.
Ongoing – Ventura County Covid-19 Testing and Vaccine Updates – California Vaccine Sites and Availability
Nov 13 – VENTURA: RALLY – Freedom to Vote: Time to Act Senator Feinstein! Let’s pass this bill!
Nov 13 – THOUSAND OAKS: Calleguas Municipal Water District – Rain Barrel Sale
Nov 13 – Online: Freedom to Vote Act Phonebank with Common Cause (more dates available)
Nov 14 – Online: Adopt a Traitor Phone Bank: Let’s Flip CA-26 (more dates available)
Nov 16 – Online: Language Justice: Creating Equitable Multilingual Spaces in Ventura County
Nov 16 – Online: Join the Stop Disinformation Team for Social Media Monitoring (more dates available)
Nov 18 – CANCELLED THIS MONTH Third Thursday Postcard and Pizza Party (you can stay and write if you are vaxxed, masked, and comfortable – or you may pick up a packet, stamps, and a slice or two to write from home)Can’t make it? Help fund this event
Nov 18 – VENTURA: Native Planting
Nov 18 – OXNARD: Oxnard Bike HUB Grand Opening
Nov 19 – Online: Freedom to Vote Act Phonebank with Common Cause (more dates available)
Nov 19 – Online: Post Cards to High Potential Native Voters (more dates available)
Nov 20 – SIMI VALLEY: Transgender Day of Remembrance
Nov 21 – Online: Adopt a Traitor Phone Bank: Let’s Flip CA-26 (more dates available)
Nov 24 – Online: Indivisible – Truth Brigade
Nov 27 – Online: Common Cause Monthly Webinar – Our Democracy and Combating Climate Change
Nov 27 – Online: Freedom to Vote Act Phonebank with Common Cause (more dates available)
Nov 28 –Free IMMIGRATION LEGAL AID Fair – Volunteers Needed! Every last Sunday of the month we assist residents, alongside immigration lawyers, in filling out paperwork for citizenship, DACA, and green card renewals. Can’t make it? Help fund this event
Nov 29 – Online: Freedom to Vote Act Phonebank with Common Cause (more dates available)
Nov 30 – Online: Join the Stop Disinformation Team for Social Media Monitoring (more dates availaoin
You can now DONATE to the cause!
Indivisible Ventura is completely volunteer run and your donation will support the direct costs of organizing in Ventura — things like meeting room rental, posters, art supplies, stamps, transportation, and more! Now that we’ve defeated Trump and taken back the Senate, we have to act urgently to save our democracy and enact other desperately needed reforms. Getting it done depends on all of us. Let’s stand together, indivisible. Indivisible Ventura is one of 6,000 grassroots Indivisible groups across the country.Contribute today to Indivisible Ventura. Together, we will win.
Resources:Indivisible Ventura: Tips for Calling Congress For People who hate to Call Anybody, Let Alone Congress, or If You’re New to This Calling Thing…
Resource: Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers …and other people who care about facts
Indivisible Ventura: How to make your calls faster
Indivisible Ventura: Why do I need to call? My representatives are all Democrats
Indivisible Ventura: Are You a Policy Wonk? Here’s How to Track a BillFloor Procedure In The U.S. House Of Representatives
What Good Does it do to Write Letters to the Editor?: With contact information, podcast tutorial, and guidelines
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Indivisible VenturaPO Box 6367Ventura, Ca 93006
