We may be on to something with our GOTV strategy as it is getting lots of attention. We’ve revised it to focus more on voting in person with early voting, as all but 9 states allow this. We also report on Trump’s dismantling the postal service.
Friends, it is becoming abundantly clear that we are in the fight of our lives to win the election in November. Trump is a desperate man doing desperate things and we are still just in August. Today, we continue our exhortation for all of you to take advantage of a well-designed strategy that if you and your friends utilize, can have a profound impact….and it is actually easy to do. Below, we describe important changes to the GOTV strategy.
We then shift focus to Earth Care and their incredible Mutual Aid Network. Earth Care is one of our most important allies. One of the first meetings I had when we first got to New Mexico was with the Earth Care director Bianca Sopoci-Belknap. At the time, Earth Care was struggling financially and Bianca was just becoming Director. At the meeting she described a pivot in program to focus more on youth leadership development. Well, they’ve been pivoting ever since and we have their advocacy work, YUCCA, the Mutual Aid Network, and their award winning youth and family leadership development program, as a result. It good to shift focus from all that plagues us and also report on heroes who are doing something about it. And now, they could use your financial support. Read on. And please, take advantage of our GOTV strategy. We can do this. We must do this.
Retake Conversation at 8:30 AM Saturday (TODAY) on KSFR, 101.1. FM or Streaming at KSFR.org. Today, a solo show with a message of hope. And boy can we all use it. The recording will be available on the Retake Conversations page under the Actions & Events menu on our home page later today.
News In Brief:
- From Truthout: “Trump Rolls Back Methane Rule as Bankrupt Permian Drillers Ignore Venting Flares”. This is the industry NM is supposed to partner with in setting guidelines on the regulation of fracked toxic waste, or “produced water” as the industry would have you call it. Not exactly a conscientious steward of our health.
- From Letters from an American: “Heather Cox Richardson, August 13″ We offer a quote from this piece below. It makes it clear why Retake revised its Get Out The Vote strategy to encourage you to vote in person and early. It also describes how a postal service slowdown has an impact upon other critical mail deliveries such as relief assistance and live-saving pharmaceuticals, something Trump is more than willing to allow to increase his chances of winning in Nov.
- From Resilience: “This is How we End Deforestation to Avert Pandemic, Climate and Societal Collapse”. We’ve seen precious little about the climate crisis due to the nation being transfixed by COVID and the election, but folks, the planet keeps warming. This is an excellent report.
This morning, in an interview with Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo, Trump came out and said it: he wants to starve the United States Postal Service to destroy mail-in voting. Claiming that mail-in voting favors Democrats, he said: “Now they need that money in order to make the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots… Now, if we don’t make a deal, that means they don’t get the money. That means they can’t have universal mail-in voting, they just can’t have it….
The USPS does not simply handle ballots, it also handles many aspects of our lives: packages, medicines, and so on—things vital to our economy and way of life. ‘When the president goes after the Postal Service, he’s going after an all-American, highly approved-by-the-public institution,’ House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said….
Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA) noted that DeJoy’s new regulations are slowing the mail dramatically. He tweeted: ‘Here is the truth and I need you to spread it: the voters need to take control. Voters need to [vote by October 22] if using USPS.’”
From Letters from an American: “Aug 13: Heather Cox Richardson”
And from Heather Cox Richardson, Aug. 12, a report on how Trump is forcing indigenous students back to school next month, despite a raging pandemic in those communities.
“Despite the devastating effects of the coronavirus on Native American populations, the federal government intends to reopen the 53 Bureau of Indian Education schools over which it has direct control on September 16. While students can choose to attend online, teachers must teach in person. With Native Americans suffering the highest hospitalization rate of any ethnic group in the U.S., one educator said that the Bureau of Indian Education is “playing God.”
From Letters from an American: “August 12. Heather Cox Richardson”
Get Out the Vote Campaign Update
We had a huge response to the GOTV strategy, with well over 200 people using the GOTV page to write to their friends and family members asking them to verify their registration and to vote by mail as early as possible. But several of our supporters noted that voting by mail, no matter how early, ensures your ballot will not be counted on election night.
With Trump encouraging his supporters to vote in person on election day, this could lead to a misleading tally on election night with Trump leading, only to have that lead disappear as mail-in votes are counted. This would only reinforce his narrative of a rigged election. Far better to vote early and in person, ensuring your vote is counted on election night. Another supporter sent us a link that now is included in our strategy. It includes a map and a table outlining mail in and early voting regulations for each state. Click here.
Only nine states do not have early voting options, but two of them are key swing states. An article from ABC News suggests that in Pennsylvania and Michigan, where early voting is not available, voting by mail simply may not work due to the ways each states vote-by-mail laws are written. Unless these rules are revised, voters in Pennsylvania and Michigan may simply have to vote in person on election day.
“In Pennsylvania, the deadline to request an absentee ballot is one week before election day, and Michigan allows requests up until four days before. But in order for it to be counted in either state, under current laws, the ballot must be back in the mail and returned by 8:00 p.m. on election day. One week for two deliveries is not enough time, Marshall explained. He said it could realistically take more than a week for a piece of mail to be sent to the voter and then “returned by mail in time to be counted.”
From ABC News: “Mail-in voting rules in key swing states may leave some ballots uncounted, USPS warns“
If you missed the post on Thursday announcing the strategy, click here to get to Retake’s GOTV strategy. We have updated the GOTV page to reflect encouragement not to use mail if you can vote early. Our GOTV strategy uses a “chain letter” framework, asking each person to send a note to as many people as possible, encouraging them to verify their registration and then vote early and in person and then for those people to send the same note to as many people as possible. We encourage you to participate and include as many friends from swing states in your email. Let’s Do This!
Earth Care Wins Coveted Pinon Award and YUCCA Launches New Leadership Development Training. Asks Community for Used Laptops for Parents Being Trained
Earth Care has managed a remarkable pivot in strategy to respond to the pandemic and the related health,financial, educational and employment impacts across our communities, creating the SF Mutual Aid Network to respond to immediate, emergency needs. Thanks to a large crew of volunteers and their youth and adult leaders, and the financial support received from the community and foundations, they have redistributed close to $200,000 to network members struggling financially. Their volunteers have also made daily deliveries of food and medicine, made daily phone calls to check in on elderly and isolated network members, and shared resource information and referrals. Their efforts were recently recognized by the Santa Fe Community Foundation which has selected us for the coveted Piñon Award in Courageous Innovation.
Earth Care is now entering a new phase of work, which involves training and capacity building of youth and family leaders who can sustain and enhance community health and wellness at the neighborhood level. I am told there will be lots of good news to report very soon, thanks to Santa Fe city councilors and other allies in the network.
For now, Earth Care is reaching out with a very specific request. They have 14 parent leaders being trained in a nationally recognized, 2 generation leadership program which focuses on enhancing early childhood education, increasing parent engagement in the civic life of Santa Fe, and expanding their options for employment and continuing education. Abriendo Puertas-Opening Doors, was recognized by the Obama White House as one of the best bilingual/bicultural, 2 gen programs directed at Latino families. These 14 parent leaders, mostly young moms, will be ready to share what they have learned with their peers starting next month.
Because of COVID, Earth Care must conduct the training remotely requiring each participant to have both laptops and internet, and not all participants can afford these costs.
Please consider making a financial contribution to this extraordinary agency. They have been offering leadership training to youth and parents for years, developed the Youth United for Climate Crisis Action, and now are coordinating an amazing mutual aid program. Good stuff. Click here to donate to Earth Care’s Mutual Aid program.
In solidarity and hope,
Paul & Roxanne
Categories: Climate Change, Agriculture, Land Use & Wildlife
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