The Gov Hub: November 20, 2023

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Gov Hub
November 20, 2023

Welcome to The Gov Hub Newsletter by Girl and the Gov®. This weekly pop of politics is designed to share action items, resources, and quick links to civic engagement tools and topics to inboxes far and wide. Typos are included free of charge. 

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THE ACTION ITEMS

Jump right in

ACTION 1: 

The Ask: Tell Congress to ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks while in office.

The Action: Send a digital note via Stand Up America, here.

The Background: Members of Congress are privy to a lot of information across a seemingly endless amount of sectors. That information gives them an advantage when it comes to trading stocks and making other monetary investments. That advantage is really its own version of insider trading. We’ll call it insider trading adjacent. Regardless, the access to such information with the ability to trade stocks while learning it incentivizes lawmakers to stay in office for their own financial gain, not for the benefit of their constituents. Allowing members of Congress to trade stocks while in office has got to go, and this bill is a place to start.

ACTION 2: 

The Ask: Tell Congress it’s time to modernize the US education system. 

The Action: Send your [federal] reps a digital note here via NextGen.

The Background: The U.S. education system is behind the times…like majorly. It’s time for an upgrade that solves and relieves the student debt crisis, provides free tuition options at public two and four year colleges and uni’s, and expands the educational opportunities available to students across the country. 

ACTION 3: 

The Ask: Tell Congress to pass the Environmental Justice for All Act.

The Action: Hit send on this note from the Sierra Club here.

The Background: A step in the right direction, the Environmental Justice for All Act aims to correct the many heinous results of environmental racism through a number of actions. The legislation, if passed, according to Senator Booker’s release, would, “Amend and strengthen Title VI of the Act to prohibit discrimination based on disparate impact and overturn the Supreme Court decision in Alexander v. Sandoval to permit private citizens, residents, and organizations to seek legal remedy when faced with discrimination.” It would also put forth these solutions.

STOP, DROP, AND TAKE ACTION → Tell Congress to protect access to healthcare in rural communities and prevent hospital closures, by signing this petition from the Coalition to Protect America’s Healthcare.

Looking for more action items? Check our library of past Gov Hub’s.

THE POD

The latest and greatest

Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance - a day to reflect on those lost via the act of transphobic violence and action. It’s also a day to break down barriers and to forge ahead with protections for the transgender community. One of those protections is the federal Transgender Bill of Rights, a resolution discussed in the latest episode of the pod at length with Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. The reasons needed for the bill of rights, how it would be implemented, and why it’s so important to pass it are all included in the convo, which can be listened to via Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watched on YouTube.

Post- listen, take action, and tell your rep to pass a federal Transgender Bill of Rights, by sending them a note, here.

And then, take action on two other bills mentioned in the conversation:

  • Tell your reps to pass the Equality Act by sending them a note here.

  • Tell your reps to pass the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act by sending them a note here.

FULL SEND…TO A FRIEND

Just about guaranteed to make it to the group chat

  • One of the cutest political romances of all time is the love between the Carters. This run-through is a full heart melt of feels.

  • Speaking of drinks, we’ll be pouring one for those with conservative family members like this, and like this. Godspeed. 

  • Politicians are going full’ link in bio for my merch’ and it’s giving Jake Paul.

  • This wiener woof visited the Lincoln Memorial and took a pawsitively adorable pic.

CYBER MONDAY CAME EARLY

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Offer valid through December 31, 2023

BOOKMARK IT

Don’t lose the link you love; bookmark it

DOG WHISTLE DICTIONARY: The digital Dog Whistle Dictionary provides the 411 on some of the many, many dog whistles and anti-semitic conspiracy theories that have circulated for centuries. The dictionary is super digestible and is part brainchild of Ben Sheehan, whose knack for creating explainers is also visible front and center in his book, OMG WTF Does the Constitution Actually Say? Bookmark the dictionary here, and follow the coordinating Instagram account, here.

RESTORE YOUR VOTE: The Restore Your Vote toolset from the Campaign Legal Center enables users to see if they’re able to vote with a felony conviction. The tool lets users anonymously input information about their conviction to receive relevant details on their eligibility to vote, which may differ based on state and various felony disenfranchisement laws – which, again, differ per state. The resource is free, easy to use, and book-mark-able here.

STATE CASE DATABASE: From the minds at the Brennan Center for Justice, is the State Case Database. The digital filing cabinet is home to big state supreme court decisions and pending cases, providing an accessible way to stay on top of where key cases are at. Search by issue area, by state, and more qualifiers to get up to speed on the cases that are top of mind. Take it for a search bar, and bookmark it here.

BACK ON OUR BILLSH*T

Bills, bills, bills

FEDERAL: For an unfun fact, the U.S. government charges US citizens fleeing natural disasters and conflicts abroad for their flight and/or transportation out of the impacted areas. The cost is usually market rate, which, let’s be real, is astronomical no matter where you’re flying in or to these days. A presidential administration is able to waive the fees, however that doesn’t always happen. Cue, the Bring Americans Home Act, which would ban the State Department from charging US citizens to evacuate crisis zones. Where will the bill land? Track it here.

CANDIDATE WATCH ‘24

The following have said put me in coach for….

  • VIRGINIA: VA State Del. David Reid has announced that he’s running for Congress in Virginia. Learn more about his campaign here.

Inclusion does not indicate an endorsement

WAIT, WAIT UPDATE ME

ICYMI, political ongoings in no particular order

PRESIDENTIAL & VP DEBATE DATES SET: Mark the calendar, order the popcorn and most likely a bottle of wine for the three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate that will take the stage in 2024. On the presidential end of things, the run of the show looks like:

  • September 16, 2024 | Texas State University

  • October 1, 2024 | Virginia State University

  • October 9, 2024 | University of Salt Lake City

And on the VP side of things, the grand debate will be held on September 25, 2023 at Lafayette College.

NEW STATE POLICE UNIT IN MASS. AIMS TO COMBAT HATE CRIMES: The state of Massachusetts has formed new state police united dedicated to reducing hate crimes and supporting those that are victims of such crimes. The unit has been named the Hate Crimes Awareness and Response Team [HART], and is tasked with creating protocols that better prepare police agencies to investigate hate crimes, and to prevent them in the first place. HART is also charged with creating streamlined systems of coordination between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies with regards to response, as well as data collection that can help to identify patterns. The unit comes by way of Governor Healey’s admin, as part of a statewide initiative to combat rising rates of hate crimes; the initiative also includes $460K in available grants for hate crime reduction programs.

CO JUDGE ADDS TO PILE OF RULINGS ALLOWING TRUMP TO STAY ON THE BALLOT: If there were ever a moment to use the phrase “An A for effort” it feels as though it would the moment when a Colorado judge followed in the path of those in other states, ruling that Trump could say on the ballot. Despite a valiant effort to invoke the 14th amendment, which is like ‘thou shall not run for office if you’re an insurrectionist’ the strategy hit a huge roadblock. The judge, while acknowledging that Trump did in fact participate in an insurrection, hung her hat of ‘no can do’ on Section 3 of the amendment. The result of this lawsuit only further pushes the argument into possible SCOTUS territory. So, there’s that. 

APPEALS COURT STRIKES DOWN WAY TO ENFORCE THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT: This will give you the case of the Monday blues, and we’re sorry about that, but the a federal appeals court struck down a core pathways used for enforcing the tenets of the Voting Rights Act. The ruling comes to the table via an Arkansas redistricting lawsuit that looks at who is allowed to bring cases to the court alleging violations of the Act. In many cases of the past, individuals, groups, and orgs have brought their cases of the law's violation to the courts. First in February, this modus operandi was struck down by U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky, in Feb, alleging that based on Section 2 of the law, that only specific parties can bring cases to the table – and when we say ‘parties’, we mean a party of one, the U.S. attorney general. That in this case' specifics, would throw out the Arkansas redistricting case because it didn’t fit within the Rudofsky interpretation of Section 2. Today’s ruling doubles down on that interpretation, with the decision upheld by a 2-1 vote via three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. What happens next is up for debate – it could be up for review across the entire 8th circuit court or it could make its way to SCOTUS - those reliable fellas!

KEY STORIES TO HAVE ON YOUR RADAR

Additional stories to tune into from around the USA

  • AP: Moms for Liberty report $2 million revenue with bulk of contributions form two donors

  • NPR: Sometimes overlooked by campaigns, Native voters could decide major elections in 2024

  • People: Diddy and Cassie Settle Lawsuit Accusing Music Mogul of Rape and Abuse

  • The 19th: Texas school officials put trans student at center of real-life drama over ‘Oklahoma’

ATLAS

Stories from around the globe - section background avail, here

  • USA Today: Advice from dogs. A chainsaw to the system. Javier Milei, far-right libertarian, is Argentina’s new leader

  • The Economist: The world is ignoring war, genocide and famine in Sudan

  • ABC News: Iceland town evacuated over volcano told it will be months before they can go home

  • AP: Women make up more than half of ministers in the new Cabinet of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez

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