Letters, I send letters, I send stacks and stacks of letters....
Every day, I’m taking one Daily Action to #ResistTrump! My premise is that Trump and his voters are outnumbered and that, if every one of us were a little louder, a little more unified, and a little more engaged, we could make a difference. We don’t have to assume a constant mood of outrage or quit our jobs and move to North Dakota (though there’s certainly a place for that!). If we each devoted even a half hour every day to do our civic duty and be heard AWAY from Social Media, there’s no telling what we could do.
So it’s a disciplined practice, not a random shout into the void. Every day, I say an Affirmation, put on some good music for Sustenance, and take a direct, discrete, real world action. I brook no naysayers or internecine warfare. Trolls and flamewars keep the real work from getting done, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
What else can I do as a Daily Action to #ResistTrump? Please comment with your ideas.
Today's Sustenance
Today, I'm listening to The Story is Everything by the band of the same name, a husband and wife folk duo by two seasoned and smart musicians who also happen to be dear friends of mine. We had a challenging year as friends, due to politics, and challenged each other more than once. But that's a good thing, when it's done well. Their songs are catchy, narrative-driven, and intelligent. You'll enjoy the album!
Weekly Summary
Here was my week.
On Saturday I signed up to protest Trump on Saturday, Dec. 10. Promoted it on Facebook
Then I Joined the Stonewall Democratic Club in my area.
Finally, I went to house.gov and found out who my Congressman was. Just had to enter my address. The site says I’m in the 48th district and my representative, whose job it is to represent me, is Dana Rohrabacher. He’s a Republican, which is good. It means I can exert influence on his side of the aisle as a voter in his district and potential donor by contacting him. A lot. I composed this letter, printed it, and mailed it to both of Rohrabacher’s offices.
On Sunday I joined the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): "The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Read more about the history and mission of the ACLU."
I also printed out and prominently posted this list of places and products to boycott. It's clear from his actions so far that Trump still cares a lot about his business, perhaps more than his presidency. If enough of us participate, boycotts have the capability to hit him where he lives.
The one on this list that hits me closest to home is Amazon.com, which carries Trump products (in fact, where has Silicon Valley been, since the election?). Getting Amazon to stop carrying his products would be a real coup, but it does no good to simply stop patronizing a retailer without explaining why. So sent an email to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos (jeff@amazon.com).
On Monday I signed this petition at Change.org asking the Electors to switch their votes from Donald Trump. This is highly unlikely to have any impact, but it's a roll of the dice that can't hurt anything. Trump's loss of the popular vote, his ineptitude in these first few days of transition, and his unpopularity among traditional Republicans might be enough to sway some folks. It's worth a shot.
I also signed this petition asking for an audit of the election in states where paper ballots are used. We know that, NC, PA, WI, and FL all showed Hillary ahead, all dealt with Russian hackers, all had her winning the exit polls, and all had her lose by narrow margins. This should at least be investigated.
I mislike petitions, however, and signing them doesn't feel like enough. So I also tracked down this list of Electors and this list of Elector addresses in Wisconsin. My thought is that a lot of individual letters may have more impact than one petition with a lot of signatures.
Wisconsin is a good choice because of the close margin there, the possible fraudulent activity there, and the reputation for moderation in that state. I wrote the following letter and will mail it today to each address that can be discerned from the form (which I think is all of them).
On Tuesday I signed up for the New York Times and the Washington Post. (I had already signed up for Slate Plus)
I also called the Department of Justice at 202-353-1555 to demand that they audit the 2016 vote, especially in PA, MI, and WI.
And, at the request of my friend and commenter Jan, I called and took Paul Ryan's survey regarding the future of the ACA (aka Obamacare). Instructions: Dial (202) 225-0600. Stay on if you get dead air. It takes around 90 seconds to connect to survey. Once it picks up, follow the prompts. If your call isn't answered at first or it goes directly to the recording of "mailbox is full," wait 15 seconds and then try again. You will have to listen to a short message about the Speaker's views on Obamacare before you vote.
On Wednesday I gave to the Senate campaign of Foster Campbell. He's a Democrat who's in the run-off in my home state of deep Red Louisiana. A win in that state would give us one more precious vote in the one body that's capable of countering the worst of Trump's excesses. I made mine a small weekly gift until the Dec 10 runoff because a weekly gift helps them to budget more effectively.
On Thursday, I took the day off to connect and rebuild some burned bridges with family and friends.