The Gov Hub: October 9, 2023

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Gov Hub
October 09, 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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ISRAEL

Normally we start the newsletter with action items, but this is the lead this week. Action items and the rest of the regular programming can be found below this section.

On Saturday, Hamas, a globally recognized terrorist organization, launched a surprise attack in Israel, massacring civilians attending a music festival, killing and kidnapping civilians in villages across the south of Israel, and committing unspeakable atrocities. The current death toll includes over 260 young people that were attending the festival. TW – The stories of rape, murder, and abduction are horrifying. Thus far, at least nine Americans have been confirmed dead and an undetermined number of Americans remain missing and unaccounted for. The attack’s total death roll, which reaches over 700, makes the attack the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. The resulting actions have been the unequivocal support for Israel from the Biden administration which has sent military ships and aircraft closer in range, with more support promised in the coming days.

Questions over what led Israel to be caught so incredibly off guard, as well as where the American intelligence on this was, are at the forefront of many minds, along with how this multi-tiered attack was executed. Discussion has centered around a number of pieces – one, the ongoing talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia over normalizing relations between the two countries, which would be at the ire of both country’s mutual enemy - the Iranian regime. Second to that is the Iranian regime’s funding of Hamas, followed by their hawkish desires to open the door to a larger regional war. The destabilization that would cause is argued to benefit the Iranian regime and even its ally, Russia.

As for the ‘now,’ the Israeli Government has formally declared war against Hamas. Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes and has ordered a ‘complete siege’ of the area, which is home to two million Palestinians that are blockaded in the 140 square mile zone. Civilians have no place to go.

Important Contextual Notes:

  • Hamas is a terrorist organization – see an excerpt from their charter here, point five pertaining specifically to the death of Jews.

  • The Palestinian people are not terrorists – do not get it twisted. Palestinians are caught in the cross-fire of this and have long been. They are in grave danger. As the father of Noa Argamani, a student who has been kidnapped by Hamas said to CBS News, “The shocked father said he wanted the Israeli government to rescue his daughter, but "only by peaceful measures." "We need to act with sensitivity," he said. "They [Palestinians] also have mothers who are crying, the same as it is for us."

  • The Iranian Regime is not the same as the Iranian people.

  • The $6 billion in frozen assets the US promised Iran in a hostage exchange deal a few weeks ago, has not been unfrozen. The State Department has stated that Iran has not accessed any of this trackable money as of now. That does not mean that the Iranian regime did not fund this attack, it just means they did not use that specific $6 billion to do so.

As reports and updates continue to increase, so has a vast display of a lack of empathy, humanity, and validation of antisemitic rhetoric and action. Our message is best captured with these notes:

Please note that unsubscribing is always an option. Hate is not welcome here.

THE ACTION ITEMS

Jump right in

ACTION 1: Ohio

The Ask: Tell Ohio State legislators in the House Higher Education Committee to reject the School Bathroom Ban Bill [HB 183].

The Action: Grab their phone number here and give them a call – and send them a note directly to their inbox via the emails listed here via Honesty for Ohio Education.

The Background: There’s no rest for the wicked, nor the bad bills, including one that’s been given a hearing in the Ohio State Leg’s House Higher Education Committee. The Bill – HB 183 – is a school bathroom ban that, if passed, would ban transgender and nonbinary individuals from K-12 and at college facilities from using restrooms aligning with their gender identity. To further clarify, the bill would require bathroom usage and accessibility based on the gender markers on one’s original birth certificate. It’s extreme, it’s dangerous, and the bill needs to be given the boot.

ACTION 2:

The Ask: Tell your [federal] reps to pass the Freedom to Vote Act.

The Action: Hit send on this pre-written digital note from the Brennan Center.

The Background: With voter suppression bills flying ‘round and ‘round, protecting and expanding voter access is critical. The Freedom to Vote Act would look to do both at the federal level. The bill is inclusive of early voting requirements, a national standard allowing no-excuse vote by mail, protections, and other ballot access expansion measures. The bill also includes measures for bringing voter registration into the 21st century, stopping anti-voter initiatives in their tracks, putting to bed election denial tactics, bringing fair maps from day dream to reality, and saying see ya to big money in politics. It’s a behemoth and the fact sheet with all of the positively radiant details can be found here.

ACTION 3:

The Ask: Write & send letters to Virginia voters encouraging them to turn out to vote in this fall’s critical election.

The Action: Sign up for a Vote Fwd account to get materials and get writing and sending.

The Background: Virginia’s fall state legislature races are critically important for protecting abortion rights in the state, and so much more. Turning out is going to be huge to holding Democratic power in the state legislature and countering Governor Youngkin’s conservative agenda. Sending notes to voters in competitive districts is a great and effective way to remind voters what’s on the line, and how much their vote matters.

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

FULL SEND…TO A FRIEND

Just about guaranteed to make it to the group chat

Today is Indigenous People’s Day!!

  • A must-visit exhibit – the Climate Museum’s interactive exhibit, THE END OF FOSSIL FUEL – is offish open for visitors in NYC. The new pop-up provides info and tools to empower visitors to see the connections between climate change and inequality, as well as to become strong advocates for climate justice with built-in, interactive opportunities, including a sticker wall where visitors commit to specific climate actions together and a station where visitors can write either postcards to elected representatives. Check it out by registering for FREE tickets here and heading over to 105 Wooster Street in Soho.

  • Someone needs to give this human a National Geographic show or a documentary special on restoring and protecting Redwood forests because these storytelling skills meets history meets climate meets conservation meets environmental science and a ton of other intersections shared, are immaculate.

  • And for an alliance that defines the term plot twist perfectly, Rep. Matt Gaetz and Rep. Ro Khanna are on the same page about Rep. Khanna’s proposal to ban members of Congress from trading stock, ban being able to become a lobbyist after their time in Congress, and ban both PAC and lobbyist donations. These proposals are a part of a reform plan that Rep. Khanna chatted about in full on the GATG Pod – tune in here.

  • NYC Votes is droppin’ its official Voter Guide this month filled with candidate profiles, candidate positions on issue areas, voting FAQs, and more ahead of this fall’s city elections. If you’re an NYC voter, keep an eye out for it in your snail mail box and take a look at how the sausage is made, here.

  • Speaking of NY, NY State AG Letitia James is sharing Trump math [falsely inflated] versus real math when it comes to the value of his properties with this, and this, and this property, which does hold a very expansive Duane Reade at its base, and also this.

BACK ON OUR BILLSH*T

Bills, bills, bills

FEDERAL: Bipartisan and introduced by Democrat Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Republican Congressman Nancy Mace, the Rape Kit Backlog Progress Act made its way to committee. The reps provide background on the bill in this interview, which, if passed, would requires authorities to conduct a comprehensive inventory of rapes kits in their possession. Those that fail to comply would risk the loss of federal funding. According to reporting from Politico, the bill looks to take aim at the 100K+ untested rape kits around the country.

CALIFORNIA: First and foremost this bill was OG named the Skittles Ban because it was OG going to ban an ingredient in Skittles that gives the ‘taste the rainbow’ classic its hue. However, the tides changed, and just passed legislation which is known as the California Food Safety Act prohibits the sale of four food additives that are thought to be harmful to human health, but excludes the infamous Skittles ingredient. These four additives are currently banned in the EU [someone somewhere reading this is thinking about how “they don’t get sick eating gluten in Europe”]. With the law signed and ready to roll, manufacturers have until January 2027 to reformulate their products to be in line with the law – calling all mad food scientists this is your moment to shine.

GOOD NEWS BEARS

Positive political reads and achievements [yes, those do exist]

ALABAMA GETS FAIR CONGRESSIONAL MAPS: The fact that there needed to be a long and winding journey to get fair congressional maps for Alabama voters is something that will certainly raise your blood pressure – and that can be done by reading the roadmap here. But we are excited to see that the journey ended positively, with a federal court picking the state’s new ‘24 congressional map, which was drawn by a court-appointed special master. The result of that map is two districts where Black voters will have the opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. Those two districts are the 2nd and 7th Congressional Districts. This map-date makes a seat flip from R to D possible in ‘24 – something we’ll be keeping an eye on, and the same goes for a redistricting fight in Louisiana.

MASSACHUSETTS GOV. HEALEY SIGNS TAX CUTS; CHILD & FAMILY TAX CREDIT: Democratic governor Healey of Massachusetts signed the first tax cut package in 20 years – one that is set to make a huge impact for both individuals and families across the state. The package includes a ‘Child and Family Tax Credit” which is described in function here via reporting from wbur: “Massachusetts currently lets parents and guardians claim a tax credit of up to $240 for each child they have under the age of 13 — as well as dependents over the age of 65 and disabled dependents of any age. The new bill increases the credit to $310 per dependent for the 2023 tax year (i.e. the taxes you’ll file this coming spring) and then up to $440 for tax year 2024 and beyond.”

The package is also comprised of a laundry list of positives and includes :

  • Senior Circuit Breaker Tax Credit – doubles credit, indexed to inflation, which equates to an increase from $1,200 to $2,400

  • Estate Tax – increases threshold from $1 million to $2 million with a credit that mitigates cliff effect

  • Rental Deduction – increases cap from $3,000 to $4,000

KEY STORIES TO HAVE ON YOUR RADAR

  • MISSOURI INDEPENDENT: States that send a mail ballot to every voter really do increase turnout, scholars find

  • MONTANA FREE PRESS: Shots fired into front of Planned Parenthood in Helena

  • PROPUBLICA: How a big Pharma Company Stalled a Potentially Life Saving Vaccine in Pursuit of Bigger Profits

NEW ON THE POD

The latest and greatest

What is the foster care system? And who is it set up to help? Does it work? And, what about the system needs to change? Colorado State Rep. Lindsey Daughtery, who prior to her elected role worked as a guardian ad litem, walks listeners through all of these questions and more. The convo serves as a virtual tour through what the system looks like, who it leaves behind, and what improvements need to be made to protect the kids it's intended to protect – at age 18 and beyond. Hit play on the convo here on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify Podcasts, and wherever you like to get your pods.

POD PLAYLIST

Episodes to add to queue

POLITICAL PLAYLIST HAPPY HOUR: One of our faves had Illinois Congresswoman Delia Ramirez on the show to discuss immigration. It’s a must-listen.

A BIT FRUITY WITH MATT BERNSTEIN: A new discovery that we’ve downloaded for our HGW this week, this new pod looks at culture, politics, and more. We’ll be starting with this episode.

BRAVE LITTLE STATE: This Vermont-focused show looks at the many issues facing the state, the conversations being had, and the solutions being proposed. This episode on the motel housing program is an interesting bit of analysis.

CANDIDATE WATCH ‘24

The following Dems have said put me in coach for…

  • WISCONSIN: State Rep. Katrina Shankland has entered the race for Congress in Wisconsin’s District 13. Learn more about her campaign here.

  • ALABAMA: Austin Vigue is running for Congress in Alabama’s 2nd District. Learn more about his campaign here.

  • PENNSYLVANIA: Janelle Stelson has put her hat in the ring for Congress in PA’s 10th District. Learn more about her campaign here.

…and a shout out to the one candidate everyone could get behind if they ran for prez.

ALL THINGS GIRL AND THE GOV®

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Other *things* of note on the comms front:

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