Disinformation, expelling Menendez, free tax filing, and more!
MAR 19
Contact all members of Congress:
- By phone: (202) 224-3121
- By email: democracy.io
- By US mail: Representatives / Senators
- By fax: Representatives / Senators
- By Resistbot: Resist.bot
Contact White House or other federal agencies:
- DISINFORMATION LEADS TO DIVISIVENESSHistorian Heather Cox Richardson recently posted “The more I think about it, the more it seems the main story of the past decade has been Russian disinformation to undermine U.S. democracy.” Authoritarian expert Teri Kanefield goes further into the 2016 Russian disinformation effort whose goal was not only to sway the election to Trump, but to sow division and discord in American politics to undermine the American government. Initially, the division was between right and left. We are now seeing the same tactics used within subgroups so that there is more significant in-fighting within the left and the right. The use of AI will only compound this problem. It behooves us to be alert and wary of how and when this happens and to call it out. Let’s check out some of these guides designed to help us spot these insidious attempts to tear down our democracy: 1) How to spot fake news: Identifying propaganda, satire, and false information, 2) Find Elections and Politics Information: Ways to avoid the spread of false info on social media, and 3) 10 ways to spot disinformation on social media.
- FILE TAXES DIRECTLY, FOR FREEA new IRS pilot program lets eligible taxpayers file their taxes electronically, directly, and for free. The program is the result of a report the IRS was required to file under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which found that 72% of American taxpayers supported free direct filing, and that taxpayers spend an average of $270 preparing their taxes each year. Direct File is being tried out in AZ, CA, FL, MA, NH, NV, NY, SD, TN, TX, WA, and WY. Let’s visit this webpage of the US Treasury Department to learn more.
- VOTING RIGHTS IN GA WITH REP. LUCY MCBATHRep. Lucy McBath (D07-GA) was elected to Congress in 2018, not long after her son Jordan’s life was ended by gun violence and she had become a spokesperson for gun safety. Rep. McBath is joining the Center for Common Ground for a virtual discussion, Building a Representative Democracy, to be held Thursday, March 21, 8PM ET, 5PM PT. The event will include an analysis of the primaries in AL, NC, VA, and GA, and guidance on how we can help mobilize Black voters this election year. Let’s sign up and attend.
- EXPELLING MENENDEZ
Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has been indicted once again, adding 12 more charges including obstruction of justice to those he already faced of accepting bribes from a foreign national and acting as an agent of both the Egyptian and Qatari governments. This comes just days after one of his co-defendants, a businessman accused of bribing Menendez and his wife, pleaded guilty. While Democrats both in the Senate and in New Jersey have called on him to resign, he has refused to do so, even as we close in on his May 5th trial date. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) has repeatedly said he’d support expelling Menendez, allowing him to be replaced by an interim selected by Governor Phil Murphy (D-NJ) until the end of his term in January and drawing a line on this sort of blatant corruption. Let’s reach out to our senators and ask for their support for expelling Menendez, and for Fetterman’s resolution barring senators indicted for crimes affecting national security from receiving classified information
- NOT INTERESTED IN POLITICS?We all know people who say they are not interested in politics. These people may vote, [but] are not strongly attached to either political party. They don’t closely follow news about politics or government, though some feel guilty when they don’t. By and large, they look at the nation’s politics as a topic better avoided than embraced. But some of these folks don’t vote. 80 million eligible voters did not vote in the 2020 presidential election. If we want to get nonvoters engaged, we need to find a way to help them feel connected to politics — to see themselves represented in the field of candidates, represented by officeholders and represented in public policy outcomes. Jess Craven of Chop Wood Carry Water created a short video to help show those not into politics just why they might want to be this election. Let’s share this video with friends and family who may be persuaded to vote this year.
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