KS_Email_July23
Dear Kansas Indivisibles,
As summer heat builds and humidity soars, our updates and calls to action are concise this week.
Nothing highlights the pressing nature of our activism more than the unambiguous immorality of Trump administration policies regarding the continued separation of immigrant families and asylum seekers and government's failure to reunite children with their parents, as required by the court, by July 26th.
In the News
Keep up with the most impactful stories and be ready to take action on developing stories.
New Medicaid work requirements are risking the health of those who might simply be too poor and overworked to get through the red tape of proving that they're already working. Kansas is waiting for the Federal government to approve its proposal for work requirements even as Kentucky's new law was blocked. Meanwhile, new research indicates that work requirements for those receiving healthcare benefits might actually cause fewer people to work.
Housing secretary Ben Carson released a plan to raise rents on the poorest Americans by over 26% on average as an encouragement to work. Most of these citizens are either seriously disabled or over the retirement age. But the US Congress has proposed an ever higher increase that would cause millions of Americans to become homeless.
President Trump had a 90-minute, closed-door meeting with Vladimir Putin (and their 2 translators) on Monday, and then delivered high-praise of Putin and Russia as “good competitors,” against counsel of his entire intelligence staff. Also on Monday, Maria Butina was arrested. She cultivated deep relationships with NRA leadership to try to lobby American politicians for more Russia-friendly positions. In 2015 she was filmed asking Donald Trump to drop sanctions against Russia at the Nevada Freedom Festival.
Trump, after rattling U.S. allies at the July NATO summit, raised concerns last week about defending "tiny" and "aggressive" Montenegro could -- theoretically -- result in World War III. The president asked why the United States should come to the defense of small NATO members like Montenegro if they're attacked. What he must not realize is that the only time NATO's mutual defense pact was ever invoked was in defense of the United States after September 11, 2001! Montenegro sent its own soldiers Afghanistan, as part of support of the US post-9/11, even before they officially joined NATO.Election 2018
Be ready to elect or reelect officeholders who are working for your values on your issues!
Voter Registration periods in both Missouri and Kansas are officially closed. KS voters who are registered, but have not declared party affiliation, may vote in the primaries but will have to declare a party in order to receive the corresponding ballot. Your participation in democracy starts with that simple action and your right to freedom is borne on the wings of your responsibility to vote! That is the price we must pay for our freedom, even though too many think freedom is simply an entitlement. See you at the polls!!
Call for Volunteers
Indivisible KC needs you, too! If you've appreciated the updates, the calls to action, and the engagement, then now is your time. If you're ready to take issue-focused action to restitch our communal fabric, then now is our time -- together.
Visit our volunteer page for our most needed positions, or if you have other ideas of how to get involved, let us know at volunteers@indivisiblekc.com.
Calls to Action
Take action on your own schedule! Use your phone and computer to make your voice heard.
Want the latest calls to action, sent directly to your phone? Sign up for Indivisible's SMS tools here! You'll get text messages with the latest policy breaking news, ways to take action, and to get involved with Indivisibles your community.
Join Indivisible KC, the Women's March on Washington in Kansas City, and Heartland Alliance for Progress, Human Rights Campaign KC, Planned Parenthood Great Plains along with the grassroots Not My President Protest, Kansas City!, organized by Ariana Eakle, to show that WE CARE about the unacceptable rhetoric employed by President Trump which has left American citizens marginalized and demoralized. We won’t stand for the tearing apart of our communities by an incompetent President and his complicit administration.Tuesday, July 24 beginning at 4 p.m. at Barney Allis Plaza (12th and Central)
Bring your own brightly colored balloons, your flags and patriotic gear, and your most creative signs to protest Trump and to honor those who champion human rights, dignity, and justice for all Americans, including our veterans who have sacrificed so much for our country. Consider carpooling or taking public transportation to this event. There is also parking in nearby paid parking garages.
Our sister Indivisible group, Indivisible East Bay, has a stellar Judiciary Team that keeps tabs on the president’s and congressional GOP’s assaults on our independent judiciary. IKC wanted to highlight work already underway to remake all the courts -- not just the Supreme Court -- for two generations or more. IndivisibleEB lawyers examine all federal nominees as well as new attempts to pack the courts in favor of right-wing judges -- whose legal philosophy is far outside the mainstream. IndivisibleEB also offers excellent, shareable data on current GOP efforts to degrade long-standing norms that have ensured a co-equal Judiciary with the Executive / Legislative branches of government. Your phone calls can't ring in your senators' offices soon enough!
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.
Tuesday, July 24th 4-6pm Stand for America - Rally Against Trump
Come DownTown to the WE CARE rally against Trump
Tuesday, July 24th 6:30-8:30pm Unity Temple on the Plaza, Main Chapel
Take positive action to balance out the pull of Trump's visit to the metro!! Go listen to a panel discussion on the border crisis and current immigration policy. Hear how the opening on the Supreme Court as well as the new travel ban affect the topic.
Experts in immigration, advocacy, psychology, and politics will be discussing the immigration process and challenges immigrants face. They will look at how current policies affect our relationships with Muslim majority countries, as well as the psychological effects of detention on individuals and how we can talk to our children about what’s happening.
We've said it before, and we'll say it again: It is up to us to figure out how to stay present to what's happening in the world and here in KC but without giving in to despair and hopelessness. Taking concrete action helps keep your spirits buoyed, so we hope to see out there with our grassroots allies and us this week.
Lastly, no matter how serious what’s happening in the world is, remember it is never the full story of our time; it’s not the last word on what we’re capable of nor is it the whole Story of Us!
Thank you.
Indivisible KC
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