OUR REVOLUTION WEEKLY UPDATE: OUR REVOLUTION OHIO. OUR REVOLUTION WISCONSIN, OUR REVOLUTION TEXAS, SF DA CHESA BOUDIN, GEORGE GASCON & OTHERS START REFORM FOCUSED PROSECUTOR'S GROUP, A PROGRESSIVE PROSECUTOR FACES OFF WITH PORTLAND'S AGGRESSIVE POLICE, NO ON AMENDMENT 3 DIRTY MISSOURI, PROP 208 THE ARIZONA TEACHERS AND SCHOOLS INITIATIVE, PROP 207 THE SMART AND SAFE ARIZONA ACT, POSTAL BANKING ACT OF 2020, WORKSHOP WEDNESDAYS, OUR REVOLUTION ILLINOIS, OUR REVOLUTION MAIN, OUR REVOLUTION MINNESOTA, PHONEBANK TO WIN! 20SEP20

 

#RestinPower ★ ★ ★ Welcome to The Revolution Report — the weekly e-newsletter of our national grassroots organizing network! ★ ★ ★ SPECIAL THE GET OUT THE VOTE CALL! Join us on Monday, September 21st at 8:30 PM ET for our Weekly Organize to Win Call to hear from laid-off Ohio GM worker Chuckie Denison on an action outside Pence’s “Workers for Trump” event and Rebecca Garelli from the “Red for Ed” movement about our plan to win the political revolution in 2020, and other special guests! RSVP HERE ★ ★ ★ As America starts to vote, Our Revolution’s Monday Call will focus on our 4-POINT PLAN to fight for a progressive future. We are organizing our members to #1) Dump Trump by winning back working class voters in the Midwest; #2) Elect a progressive Congress by growing The Squad as well as flipping and fixing the Senate, #3) Build a down ballot bench of progressive champions and policies; and most critically, #4) Organize a powerful grassroots movement inside the halls of power and outside on the streets to win transformative change after the election! READ MORE BELOW! ★ ★ ★ #1 - We must go all out to defeat Donald Trump by winning back working-class voters in the Midwest. ★ ★ ★ This week, Our Revolution Ohio members called out Mike Pence for lying about the President’s record on stopping factory closings at a “Workers for Trump Rally” in the once industrial of Zanesville. “Trump came to our community and told us not to sell our homes because jobs were coming back. When GM Lordstown closed, families were separated and now I’m forced to put my house up for sale,” former GM Lordstown worker and Our Revolution leader Chuckie Denison, told the crowd. The General Motors plant in Lordstown was shuttered last year despite President Trump’s promise to stop it. Over 5000 workers received pink slips and the closure devastated the community. “Trump refused to pick up a pen and stop these plant closings,” he said. “It is time we rise up and break down the wall they’ve built between them and our government.” READ MORE ★ ★ ★ Trump’s bold pro-worker rhetoric in Ohio exposed Hillary Clinton’s weak spot during the 2016 race. She failed to make the case that she would use the power of the presidency to fight to bring back jobs and reopen factories. As a result, Trump flipped 9 counties in Ohio that voted for Obama-Biden in both 2008 and 2012. These “pivot counties” - in Ohio and other Midwestern states - put Trump in power. In 2020, Trump is using the same sales pitch again. That’s why Our Revolution is organizing laid-off workers to go to Trump’s Rallies to undercut his lies in local and national media outlets. With polls showing Trump beating Biden on “jobs and the economy” - our strategic organizing on the ground is critical. Donate to our Midwestern “Pivot County” Campaign and help us fund travel for Chuckie & other laid-off workers to expose Trump’s LIES at Trump Rallies. ★ ★ ★ Our Revolution Bemidji (MN) co-organized a Defend Our Democracy Rally in Bemidji on Friday, ahead of Trump’s appearance there. The rally served as a counter-demonstration as well as a reminder that Indigenous people still live there, that treaties must be honored, and that the exploitation and poisoning of the lands and waters will not be tolerated. READ MORE ★ ★ ★ OVER 75,000 VOTER CONTACT MADE! In addition to the grassroots organizing in Midwestern battleground states, Our Revolution members are holding daily National “Dump Trump” Phonebanks. Between now and Election Day, we’re enlisting an army of volunteers to make calls into key swing states to get out the vote. JOIN OUR GOTV PHONE BANK! ★ ★ ★ There are 23 pivot counties across the state of Wisconsin – Democratic strongholds that voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012, and then flipped to Trump in 2016. Our Wisconsin Revolution’s Organizing Call kicked off a statewide effort to organize voters in those counties as part of our Midwest Pivot County campaign to defeat Trump. The call featured discussions with five down-ballot candidates from those pivot counties who are endorsed. It’s going to take dozens and hundreds in communities and every nook and cranny of places like Wisconsin,” said Mike McCabe, executive director of Our Wisconsin Revolution. “We’re zeroing in on pivot counties.” ★ ★ ★ #2 - We must elect more progressives to the US House and flip & fix the Senate to advance policies like Medicare for All and a Green New Deal. ★ ★ ★ Idaho senatorial candidate Paulette Jordan, who’s running to be Idaho's first female senator and the first Native American woman to serve in the U.S. Senate, was endorsed by Our Revolution on Monday’s Leaders Call. Speaking to our members, Paulette said, “We need grassroots organizers like you — outside, demanding accountability as you are, and inside, representing the people's voice.” A Jordan victory in November could help flip the Senate and give us the votes to change rules like the filibuster that block action on much-needed reforms. ★ ★ ★ FEATURED CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE! Marie Newman took on the Chicago political machine and defeated one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress. Now she is on track to become the newest member of the Squad! “I believe in the objectives of the Green New Deal. I believe in Medicare for all. I believe in universal child care, and making sure that we protect workers’ rights and that we protect and empower unions,” she said in a recent New York Times interview. ★ ★ ★ #3 - We must build a bench of down-ballot progressive elected officials and policies to fight for change from the bottom up. ★ ★ ★ We’re organizing to win an end to the GOP supermajority in the Missouri state house by endorsing Ashley Aune, candidate for state representative in District 14 in the Kansas City Northland, which recently flipped to blue. On our Missouri Organizing Call, Ashley spoke about why she’s running. “Our state government doesn’t represent the views of all Missourians. Too many voices and solutions are being ignored for a partisan agenda, and I can’t sit back and wait for someone else to fight for what so many of us believe in.” ★ ★ ★ We are doubling down on our efforts to build a strong bench in Arizona with our national endorsement of Gabriella Cázares-Kelly for Pima County Recorder! Gabriella joins Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes in her commitment to making the voting process easier, faster, and more accessible. With a victory in November, Gabriella would become the first Native American to hold an elected countywide seat in Arizona! This down ballot office is critical to the protection of voting rights — and as county recorder, Gabriella would oversee improvements like ballot drop boxes and expanding early-voting locations. “Voters should not have to face barriers to exercise their right to participate in our democracy. It does no good to have rights if you can’t access them.” ★ ★ ★ Our Revolution Texas held its State Organizing Meeting and featured down-ballot candidates like Vance Keyes, who is running for Sheriff in Tarrant County (Fort Worth). “We need to fight in some of the most conservative parts of our state to fix some of the wrongs we are facing in society today,” he said. ★ ★ ★ A Justice Bench: Progressive Prosecutors Chesa Boudin of San Francisco and Mike Schmidt of Portland — two progressive DAs who were endorsed by Our Revolution and elected with a mandate to reform our criminal justice system — are in the news this week for their bold leadership in challenging the entrenched power and influence of anti-reform police. ★ ★ ★ San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin has co-founded the Prosecutors Alliance of California, a first-of-its-kind group committed to criminal justice reform. In June, the group asked the California State Bar to ban police unions from funding D.A. campaigns due to conflict of interest. READ MORE Portland D.A. Mike Schmidt took a courageous stand in declining to prosecute protesters on minor charges. “These are our neighbors who are concerned about what they see as wrong with the criminal justice system. It seemed like some of the arrests had the potential to chill speech.” READ MORE ★ ★ ★ Help us build a bench of progressive candidates and policies up and down the ballot! ★ ★ ★ #4 - We must build a movement in the streets and inside the halls of power to win progressive change. ★ ★ ★ Our Revolution endorsed Missouri’s “No on Amendment 3” campaign during our State Organizing Call. Amendment 3 is a voter suppression and redistricting scheme that would create supersafe red districts and permit the most extreme gerrymandering in the country to be enshrined in the state constitution. Also known as “Dirty Missouri,” Amendment 3 would effectively repeal the “Clean Missouri” anti-corruption amendment that was overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2018. READ MORE ★ ★ ★ If we want strong, thriving communities, we need to invest in our public schools. That’s why Our Revolution is proud to endorse Arizona Prop 208: The Teacher Salaries and Schools Initiative. This measure would place a very modest 3.5% education tax only on individuals making over $250,000. Rebecca Garelli of Arizona Educators United discussed Prop 208 on our Arizona Organizing Call. “It’s no secret that Arizona is at the bottom of the barrel in every education statistic funding and has a massive teacher shortage exacerbated by the pandemic. This modest surcharge on only the top 1% would amount to just $35 a year.” LEARN MORE ★ ★ ★ The pandemic has local governments demanding austerity measures at a time when more — not less — funding for public supports is needed. A better way to solve budget shortfalls is to increase revenue, and legalizing cannabis is a popular and proven strategy. Over 60% of Arizona voters support it, and Our Revolution joins them by endorsing Proposition 207, The Smart and Safe Arizona Act. Prop 207 is a cannabis legalization measure that would generate revenue for education, public safety, public health, and critical infrastructure while creating jobs and allowing for expungement of low-level cannabis-related convictions. ★ ★ ★ OUR REVOLUTION SUPPORTS POSTAL BANKING! This week, Bernie joined with Senate colleagues to introduce the Postal Banking Act of 2020 to take on Wall Street banker barons and provide affordable banking services to all Americans. The bill would allow post offices nationwide to provide a number of key banking services, including small donor checking and savings accounts. Our Revolution is proud to support this important bill! READ MORE HERE ★ ★ ★ Our Revolution HQ is doubling down, organizing across the country to make change at the local, state and national levels. ★ ★ ★ WORKSHOP WEDNESDAYS! Join us Wednesday, September 23rd at 12:30pm ET and 9:00 pm ET for a special training on “Taking Action When Trump Comes to Town.” We’ll provide you with a template which sets out the various steps to take to organize a winning event. This includes how to request t-shirts and posters, live streaming tips and techniques, and ways to publicize your event in order to maximize turnout and exposure. RSVP HERE ★ ★ ★ THIS WEEK’S FEATURED ORGANIZING MEETINGS! Join Our Illinois Revolution, U.S. Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL), Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, and other candidates as we get ready to “Get Out the Vote”! RSVP HERE! ★ ★ ★ Our Revolution Maine is coming together to support a slate of down-ballot candidates including State Sen. Troy Jackson, President of the Maine Senate! RSVP HERE! ★ ★ ★ Early voting has started and Our Revolution Minnesota’s meeting features Nikki Villavicencio, a disability advocate who has not let the fact that she uses a wheelchair prevent her from running for Maplewood City Council, and other candidates who are bringing the political revolution to the Gopher State! RSVP HERE! ★ ★ ★ PHONEBANK TO WIN! Between now and November 3rd, We are calling every day across the country to defeat Trump, flip the Senate, and support our nationally-endorsed candidates up and down the ballot. JOIN US! RSVP HERE ★ ★ ★

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Support Our Revolution →

GODSPEED RBG RUTH BADER GINSBURG

 

AT&T, Coca-Cola, Disney, Nike, Procter & Gamble, and Uber: Stop funding anti-choice politicians and invest in reproductive justice instead! 15SEP20

 

THESE COMPANIES AND THE POLITICIANS THEY FUND ARE NOT PRO-LIFE, THEY ARE PRO-FETUS. They work tirelessly to keep corporate tax rates low, to maintain corporate tax breaks, and to keep social safety net programs as well as the American Social Contract grossly underfunded. It is nothing more than corporate greed teamed with the right wing evangelical gospel of greed (the alt-Jesus church) inflicting the hypocrisy of christian sharia on our nation. This is more class warfare against all families in America. Please sign this petition from UltraViolet calling on these six "pro-family" companies to stop funding the anti-choice politicians now, and boycott their products until they do.

Corporate America is one of the largest supporters of anti-choice, anti-women politicians -- even those who claim they are pro-woman. Some of the worst offenders champion anti-choice candidates at the local, state, and federal level, empowering an extremist agenda that is not only anti-abortion and anti-women but antithetical to equality and justice. 

As consumers, we have the power to hold corporations accountable and demand they actually stand for the values they sell in PR statements and advertisements.¹ This is why UltraViolet is collecting the receipts and launching a major campaign calling out six of the biggest companies in America to stop supporting the dangerous anti-women, anti-justice political agenda. 

But we need your help to show that consumers care about reproductive rights and will not stand for corporations funding extremist politicians like Senator Ted Cruz. Recently, Sen. Cruz attempted to pressure the Food and Drug Administration to continue its restrictions on medication abortion. Cruz stated, “Pregnancy is not a life-threatening illness,”² despite the rising maternal mortality rate in the country, especially for women of color.³ Can you sign our petition?

AT&T, Coca-Cola, Disney, Nike, Procter & Gamble, and Uber: Stop funding anti-choice politicians and invest in reproductive justice instead!

Sign the petition

Here are the receipts: Company giving to anti-choice candidates or their associated PACs/committees⁴

• AT&T: $1,956,953 
• Coca-Cola: $1,028,838 
• Disney: $203,350
• Nike: $99,000 
• Procter & Gamble: $144,000 
• Uber: $148,000 

The total? Over $3.6 million. The actual total and cost for women around the country? Incalculable. The reality of the impact of these political donations goes beyond the raw numbers. Hundreds of bans and restrictions. Several lawsuits. Clinics closed. Lives disrupted. Futures denied. These corporate titans are complicit in the denial of our rights through their political giving and make these extremist views acceptable and even “normal.”  But these views are not normal or acceptable. They are at odds with the majority of Americans who support legal abortion, and the millions of people who need accessible reproductive healthcare.⁵ 

Many of these companies have bragged about their social justice cred to consumers in the face of Black Lives Matter and the racial pandemic.⁶ But what about the Black, Brown, Indigenous, queer, rural, and young people who bear the brunt of the impact of anti-choice policy? ⁷ Oftentimes, anti-choice views are a sign of a larger framework that is also opposed to racial justice efforts and to science-backed responses to the pandemic. Many of the candidates these contributions support are not just anti-women, they are anti-justice and have harmed our nation’s journey toward progress. Let’s call on these companies and demand they stand by the values they espouse where they can have real impact: their political giving.

All of these corporations claim to support women in their workplaces and, sometimes, in their products or where they will do business. But you can’t say you are for women in the workplace or racial justice but stay silent on reproductive rights. Women live intersectional lives and it is time corporations center intersectional policies.

As consumers, we have the power to change this narrative. Corporations know that increasingly consumers care about the social impact of corporate power and demand more from corporations than one-time donations or PR statements. Corporations have changed their policies in response to consumer pressure. Just last year, UV members organized to force Netflix to denounce the  6-week abortion ban in Georgia.⁸ This year, we made tech platforms change their moderation policies.⁹ There is a fierce urgency now. With our rights and lives on the line this election, we need to push on all fronts to ensure reproductive justice now and in the future.

Can you join our #ReproReceipts campaign? Sign the petition and tell these companies enough is enough. Stop the anti-choice political giving!

Thanks for speaking out!

--Shaunna, Kathy, Sonja, Melody, Lindsay, Maria, Kimberly, Elisa, KaeLyn, Iris, KD, and Katie, the UltraViolet team

 Sources:

1. How Corporate Social Responsibility Influences Buying Decisions, Clutch Report, January 7, 2019

2. 'Pregnancy is not a life-threatening illness': Ted Cruz takes heat in call to ban abortion pill, USA Today, September 3, 2020

3. Huge Racial Disparities Found in Deaths Linked to Pregnancy, The New York Times, May 7, 2019

4. #ReproReceipts, UltraViolet, accessed September 14, 2020

5. 6/7: The Abortion Debate in the United States, NPR/Marist, accessed September 9, 2020

6. Corporate Voices Get Behind ‘Black Lives Matter’ Cause, The New York Times, May 31, 2020

7. Recent abortion bans will impact poor people and people of color most, VOX, May 18, 2019

8. Netflix May ‘Rethink’ Georgia if Abortion Law Takes Effect, The New York Times, May 28, 2019

9. Social media platforms face a reckoning over hate speech, AP Wire, June 29, 2020

MOTHER JONES DAILY: After Weeks of Silence, Trump Will Visit Fire-Ravaged California, Trump promotes extrajudicial murders because "that's the way it has to be", Prosecutor quits over alleged pressure to produce hurried report for Trump, "I should not be a pawn in a game": 9 workers explain why they quit in protest, Native defenders are trying to protect the Arctic Refuge—and their way of life, At Least 19 Are Dead As Tens of Thousands Face Evacuation Amid Raging West Coast Fires, A Graphic Designer Is Relabeling Canned Food With Calls for Justice

 

Gwich’in elder Sarah James.

 

Nicolas Villaume / Conversations With Earth

Guess what. There's life on Venus!

Okay, not so fast. Scientists discovered large quantities of phosphine, a chemical that could be produced by anaerobic life, in the atmosphere of one of Earth's closest neighboring planets. Cool stuff! Makes you forget about the raging wildfires and our fascistic president for a minute, doesn't it?

—Abigail Weinberg

 

After Weeks of Silence, Trump Will Visit Fire-Ravaged California

He's all but certain to continue his recent efforts to greenwash his climate record.

BY INAE OH

 

Trump promotes extrajudicial murders because "that's the way it has to be"

BY INAE OH

Prosecutor quits over alleged pressure to produce hurried report for Trump

BY KEVIN DRUM

"I should not be a pawn in a game": 9 workers explain why they quit in protest

AS TOLD TO MOTHER JONES STAFF

Native defenders are trying to protect the Arctic Refuge—and their way of life

BY KATHERINE BAGLEY

 

At Least 19 Are Dead As Tens of Thousands Face Evacuation Amid Raging West Coast Fires

Oregon officials are “preparing for a mass fatality incident.”

ALI BRELAND

 

Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack.

Donate

SOME GOOD NEWS, FOR ONCE

A Graphic Designer Is Relabeling Canned Food With Calls for Justice

If you live in Texas or know someone who does, look twice—or have them look twice—before reaching for that jar of peanut butter or can of soup, cranberries, or ground coffee. And definitely that tin of Spam, container of salt, and jar of mayo. A San Antonio artist has been sneaking around to supermarkets and relabeling food in an act of creative consumer disobedience. Jars and containers are popping up on shelves with parody labels bearing call-to-action political messages, and the labels are virtually indistinguishable from the originals. You’d be forgiven for mistaking them until you get home, when your astute, label-reading housemate makes the fool of you.

“One of my San Antonio friends has been using his graphic design skillz to re-label grocery store cans with facts about local/national police issues,” tweeted the artist’s friend, who hasn’t named the artist, but the friend, with permission, has made the labels available as PDFs: “Want to bring this revolution to your grocery aisle? He’s made the label files public.”

See the photos here and here. Enjoy your Ocean Spray Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce, or, if you’re looking, Priorities San Antonio Just Added $8.1 Million to the Police Budget Cranberry Sauce.

—Daniel King

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LET PEOPLE VOTE: Your voting plan in 4 easy steps FROM THE ACLU 14SEP20

Today 15 September, 2020, we have 49 days till the 2020 presidential and national elections on TUESDAY, 3  NOVEMBER 2020. If you are not sure if you are registered to vote, if you have to register to vote, if you do not know what voting requirements are in your state the ACLU offers the following information.  So many people have sacrificed so much including those who gave their own lives on the battlefield as well as on the streets of America so we have the ability, the right and the responsibility to choose those who govern us, please do not let their sacrifice be in vain. In the words of the late, great John Lewis, "We must go out and vote like we have never, ever, voted before"!

We have just 50 days until Election Day, and it's imperative that every eligible voter safely casts their ballot amidst the ongoing pandemic. As the ACLU continues to fight for voting rights nationwide, we also want to help you make your own voting plan now.

Here are four easy ways to start putting your voting plan in place for this pivotal election:

1. Register

• First thing's first: Check your registration status if you haven't done so already. If you discover you need to register to vote or update your registration, go to vote.gov to start the process. (Please note: Both links take you to third-party websites, nass.org and vote.gov, respectively.)

2. Find VA's Voting Information

• Visit the ACLU's voting tool today at aclu.org/voter and select your state to get the latest election information and resources for your area.

3. Learn About Vote by Mail

• Voting by mail will be the safest way for many to cast their ballot this year in a pandemic. We recommend that all voters request a vote-by-mail ballot ASAP to help ensure that one is sent to their current address – no later than two weeks before the request deadline. Watch more on the importance of vote by mail in our video at the top of our voting toolkit here.

4. Know Your Voting Rights

• Before you fill out your ballot, knowing your voting rights is crucial. Learn more here about how to exercise your voting rights, resist voter intimidation efforts, and access disability-related accommodations and language assistance at the polls.

Craig, we are in the courts and in Congress doing everything in our power right now to ensure no one has to choose between their health and the right to vote during a global pandemic. And it's in your power to help in this fight by making a voting plan at aclu.org/voter today. Then, come November 3rd, we'll all have done our part to ensure we can vote like our rights depend on it. Because they do.

Thanks for taking action,

The ACLU Team

P.S. Already made your voting plan? Help your friends and family be just as prepared by forwarding this email or texting five contacts in your phone this link: aclu.org/voter