Dearest Indivisibles,

The last day to register to vote in the August 7th primary is this Wednesday, July 11th!

You can get out the word by visiting our website to download and print our flyers with all the best places to register in person in each area of Jackson County! Hang them up in coffee shops, grocery stores, anywhere there's a public bulletin board! (Note: Don't hang them on telephone poles. That's against the law.)

What a lot of work we have to do in the next few months! Let's roll up our sleeves and get started.

In the News  

Keep up with the most impactful stories and be ready to take action on developing stories.

National News

• The senate intel committee released a report concluding that Russia meddled in the election. Eight GOP lawmakers could not be reached for comment as they were in Moscow for July Fourth in preparation of Trump's one on one visit with Putin. Find a summary of the ongoing scandal here.

• EPA chief Scott Pruitt resigned on Thursday, July fifth, amid widespread criticism of his incredible corruption. There were numerous active investigations at the time of his resignation, and sometimes not even a full day would go by between multiple unrelated scandals coming out. As one recent example, he kept secret calendars to hide meetings with lobbyists.

• A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to stop the blanket arrest of asylum seekers, who are legal immigrants following both the letter and spirit of the law. The administration's efforts to follow a different court order to reunite families they've already separated has been lacking. We'll be at Blunt's office again at 11am on Wednesday to let him know it is still unacceptable to imprison children and families who are just seeking safety.

• The Senate passed its version of the farm bill. This version keeps SNAP funds mostly intact (both Senators McCaskill and Blunt voted right on this one!) but the bill is heading to reconcilliation with the House bill where the cuts are draconian. We'll be rallying at Senator McCaskill's office on Wednesday at 12:30 with Jobs With Justice to ask her to do everything she can to protect food assistance for needy families.

Local Elections

How do you learn about the positions of the candidates in your local elections? It can be as easy as sending an email! IKC organizer Wendy sent emails asking for information about each of the candidates in her Missouri Senate District 21 primary race (West Central MO, including Ray, Johnson, Lafayette, and other counties). All of them replied within 24 hours! Read about her experience, and the full text of the candidates' responses, on our blog! And let us know if you try it in your district and want to share!

Calls to Action  

Take action on your own schedule! Use your phone and computer to make your voice heard.

You can call Senator Blunt too! Read about Indivisible's two step strategy to win the Supreme Court fight.

Oppose the Title X Gag Rule: The Trump administration has released a policy called the “gag rule,” which will strip critical Title X funds away from health care providers who offer information about the full range of reproductive health care options, including abortion. Title X is the only federal program exclusively dedicated to providing low-income and young patients with access to essential family planning and preventive health services. Under this “gag rule,” more than 40% of Title X patients are at risk of losing access this critical care. Read a blog post from a local physician on our website and submit a comment opposing the gag rule here.

Upcoming Events

Take action with others! Build energy and connection among like-purposed people. Check our social media frequently for more up-to-date event information.

This Week

Action Night: Get Out the Vote! IKC is teaming up with Indivisible St Louis to get out the vote in 2018! We are sending handwritten postcard reminders to newly registered young people to get them out and voting this August 7th and November 6th! These postcards are short an sweet so we hope to get through a lot of them quickly. Join us at Bier Station in Waldo tonight, where we can chat and enjoy some burgers and beverages as we encourage new voters!

Newbie Phone Banking: Never phone banked before and feeling nervous? Let's jump in and try it for the first time, together! Newbie and seasoned phone bankers are welcome to join IKC and our friends at Jobs With Justice on Tuesday July 10 at 5:30 as we spread the word that "Right to Work" is Wrong for Missouri Workers, and we all need to vote No Way on Prop A!

Back to back office visits!

Speak out for migrant families at Blunt's: We will be back at Senator Blunt's office on Wednesday at 11am. Bring yourself — and your kids if you’ve got ‘em — to visit Senator Blunt’s office to ask him to reunite immigrant children with their parents and to speak up against indefinite detentions for families. Bring letters and have your kids draw pictures to leave behind with his staff.

Rally for SNAP at McCaskill's: Congress soon will be voting on the Farm Bill, which funds food assistance for millions of families. Elected officials must decide between the Senate's version, which preserves SNAP, and the House version, which dramatically cuts SNAP and puts up barriers to enrollment. Join Missouri Jobs for Justice and others outside of Sen. McCaskill's office, 4141 Pennsylvania Ave, on July 11 at 12:30pm, to tell Sen. McCaskill's staff the senator must not back down if pressured to cut SNAP.

Demand Gun Sense with Moms Demand Action. Come to the KC group's monthly meeting from 6:00pm - 7:00pm on Wednesday, July 11, at the Waldo Branch of the KC Public Library, 201 E 75th Street. Let us know if you can join us. And congratulate IKC founding member Kara on her new role as KC Moms group leader!

Hands Up!: Got a question for candidates running for the District 8 Missouri Senate seat (Lee's Summit area)? Here's your chance to ask incumbent Mike Cierpiot (R) and challengers Hillary Shields (D) and Leonard Jonas Hughes IV (R) their views in a forum open to the public on July 12, from 6:30pm - 8:00pm at John Knox Village in Lee's Summit. The event is sponsored by the League of Women Voters KC. Lee's Summit is a short drive from urban KC and the SD 8 election will be a close, important one in determining the balance of the MO senate in the 2019 session. It all adds up to SD 8 being a great place to put in your campaign volunteer hours this election season.

Next Week

End White Silence: Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) KC invites you to the July Mass Meeting: Taking Anti-Racist Leadership on Monday, July 16 from 7:00pm - 8:30pm at St. Mark Hope and Peace Lutheran, 3800 Troost Avenue. Childcare is available. If this is your first SURJ meeting, please plan on attending the 101 class at 6:30pm. SURJ KC is a great place to find a way to get and stay involved in the struggle for racial justice.

Learn about another exciting race in the Lee's Summit area: League of Women Voters KC offers up another opportunity for Q and A with candidates, this time with those vying to replace incumbent Gary Cross for the District 35 House seat: Tom Lovell (R), Keri Ingle (D), and Sean Smith (R). The public forum is also in Lee's Summit at John Knox Village, on Thursday, July 19, from 6:30pm - 8:00pm.

History has its eyes on you.

Shoulder to shoulder,

Indivisible KC