MISSION STATEMENT: To build and sustain an inclusive proactive community that will protect our environment, our freedoms and our basic human and civil rights. We are committed to an indivisible St. Johns County with liberty and justice for all.

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Indivisible St Johns Resistance Newsletter Week of November 25, 2018

YOUR WEEKLY RESISTANCE NEWSLETTER
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 25, 2018


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READ THE INDIVISIBLE GUIDE 2.0 HERE AND GET READY TO RUMBLE:

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Net Neutrality Defenders Announce 'Epic Final Protest' to Demand Congress Repeal FCC Rollback Before Fast-Approaching Deadline

"Our best chance to save #NetNeutrality is by filing the CRA before December 10th."

NEW: The web is coming together Thursday, Nov 29th for a final push to save the Internet. Join the protest and help pressure Congress to sign the CRA before their deadline to overturn the FCC’s repeal: https://www.deadlinefornetneutrality.com/#day-of-action

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Stop the Trump Administration from Spying on Protesters
The Trump administration is accelerating efforts to monitor social media to preempt anti-government protests within the United States.1
According to Motherboard, the U.S. military is funding research into how social-media activity can predict mass protest, and the focus of this study is the social-media posts of people in the United States who oppose President Trump.
This type of government surveillance is dangerous and unacceptable. Protest and dissent are vital parts of democracy that must be protected, not undermined by surveillance — and the oppression that might follow.
Hugh Handeyside, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s National Security Project, has said that “this kind of technology-enabled surveillance of social media will likely suppress dissent and lead to biased targeting of racial and religious minorities.”
In a time when we are witnessing a dangerous rise in fascism from the far right, and marginalized peoples are facing increasing repression, we cannot allow the government to employ technology that would surveil, track and possibly preempt protests before they even begin.
Congress has a responsibility to rein in this type of domestic surveillance. Tell your members to conduct oversight of the military's use of social-media spying and halt any attempt to obstruct anti-Trump protests in the United States.
Regardless of the outcome of next week's election, Congress must step in and protect the public from this dangerous attempt to infringe on our constitutional rights to free speech and dissent.
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POSTCARD PARTY 

2 PM 11/29/18 AT GROWERS ALLIANCE

We Are,  We Are…  PERSISTENT!!!
Indivisible St. Johns
Telephone / Post Card Advocacy  

Good   is   breaking   out   all   across   North   America!
FL voters restore voting rights to 1.5 million disenfranchised voters.  Gary Ferris lead this in St. Johns Co. Thank you!!

Hundreds of Muslims form “rings of peace around Canadian synagogues.
Cristaudos Bakery in Carbondale, IL sells “Hate has no home here” cookies; proceeds to IL Immigration Rights Program.        

Martin BaronExecutive Editor, Washington Post, 1301 K Street NW, Washington DC 20071The Washington Post may be legitimizing anti-immigration hate groups.
Federation for American Immigration Reform, Center for Immigration Studies & Numbers USA are not legitimate sources.
Reporters should speak clearly about groups’ agendas when quoting them.

To: Sen. Nelson, Rubio ; Rep. Rutherford 
 U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510     U.S. House, Washington, D.C.  20515      Capitol operator: 202-224-3121 
The First Step Act (criminal justice reform) inadequately addresses sentencing laws.
If the flood gates putting people in prison remain wide open, little will change.  
Please vote NO on the First Step Act if it lacks serious sentencing reform.

To: Paul Romanowski FL Regional Director, D.H. Horton, Inc.,                                                                                                      
12602 Telecom Dr. Tampa, FL 33637  PH: 813-740-9720   (This is his correct address.)
Ending development plans would help D.R. Horton’s public image.
The last thing D.R. Horton needs is widespread negative publicity.  

To: Sen. Nelson, Rubio ; Rep. Rutherford

 U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510     U.S. House, Washington, D.C.  20515      Capitol operator: 202-224-3121 
The U.S. must get out of Yemen.
18,500 Saudi air raids have targeted civilians, causing famine and cholera. 
Without US support, the Saudis can’t continue at the same level.
Ask your senators to co-sponsor
Ask your Representatives to support 
(These resolutions call for the U.S. to withdraw support
 from the Saudi war on Yemen.)
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FUTURE MoC VISITS
Our persistent NEFL Indivisible groups will 
be revising strategy for 2019.

Stay tuned for updates!
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Plan to attend this powerful event:



Sunday, November 18, 2018

Indivisible St Johns Resistance Newsletter Week of November 18, 2018


YOUR WEEKLY RESISTANCE NEWSLETTER
NOVEMBER 18, 2018


WITH OUR NEW "GOVERNOR" AND LEGISLATURE,
OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS NEED OUR HELP 
MORE THAN EVER.
KEEP THEM IN YOUR LOCAL ADVOCACY!
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NO POSTCARD PARTY THIS THURSDAY
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
WE WILL RESUME 11/29/18 AT GROWERS ALLIANCE
In the meantime, these topics can be worked 
on from home:

We Are,  We Are…  PERSISTENT!!!
Indivisible St. Johns
Telephone / Post Card Advocacy  
Topics and Talking Points    November 18, 2018
Good   is   breaking   out   all   across   North   America!
FL voters restore voting rights to 1.5 million disenfranchised voters.  Gary Ferris lead this in St. Johns Co. Thank you!!

Hundreds of Muslims form “rings of peace around Canadian synagogues.
Cristaudos Bakery in Carbondale, IL sells “Hate has no home here” cookies; proceeds to IL Immigration Rights Program.        

Martin Baron, Executive Editor, Washington Post, 1301 K Street NW, Washington DC 20071
The Washington Post may be legitimizing anti-immigration hate groups.
Federation for American Immigration Reform, Center for Immigration Studies & Numbers USA are not legitimate sources.
Reporters should speak clearly about groups’ agendas when quoting them.

To: Sen. Nelson, Rubio ; Rep. Rutherford 
 U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510     U.S. House, Washington, D.C.  20515      Capitol operator: 202-224-3121 
The First Step Act (criminal justice reform) inadequately addresses sentencing laws.
If the flood gates putting people in prison remain wide open, little will change.  
Please vote NO on the First Step Act if it lacks serious sentencing reform.

To: Paul Romanowski FL Regional Director, D.H. Horton, Inc.,                                                                                                      
12602 Telecom Dr. Tampa, FL 33637  PH: 813-740-9720   (This is his correct address.)
Ending development plans would help D.R. Horton’s public image.
The last thing D.R. Horton needs is widespread negative publicity.  

To: Sen. Nelson, Rubio ; Rep. Rutherford

 U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510     U.S. House, Washington, D.C.  20515      Capitol operator: 202-224-3121 
The U.S. must get out of Yemen.
18,500 Saudi air raids have targeted civilians, causing famine and cholera. 
Without US support, the Saudis can’t continue at the same level.
Ask your senators to co-sponsor
Ask your Representatives to support 
(These resolutions call for the U.S. to withdraw support
 from the Saudi war on Yemen.)
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FUTURE MoC VISITS
Our persistent Indivisible groups will 
be revising strategy for 2019.
Stay tuned for updates!
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WISHING YOU AND YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS A PEACEFUL AND
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER.




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Friday, November 16, 2018

Our amazing friends from Indivisible East Bay (San Francisco) help us OPPOSE FARR JUDICIAL APPOINTMENT. Please call your Senators today. All you need to know:




Talking Points for Opposing Thomas Farr

Thomas Farr has been nominated for a lifetime judgeship in federal district court in North Carolina. He has spent his decades-long career working to disenfranchise voters of color and to undermine workers’ rights in his state.

        Farr represented the North Carolina legislature in its unconstitutional and illegal voter suppression efforts. He argued in favor of a voter ID law that was struck down by the federal appeals court. The appeals court said that the law “targeted African Americans with almost surgical precision.” He also argued in favor of North Carolina’s redistricting plan, which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to be unconstitutional as a racial gerrymander.

        Farr has also made his career on limiting workers’ rights. He has supported closing off  his state's courts to workers who file lawsuits against employment discrimination based on race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, or disability.

        Given his record against the civil rights of African-Americans, it is most disturbing that Farr has been nominated to be a lifetime judge in a court district whose population is at least 25% African-American.

Farr’s long history of supporting voter suppression and limiting workers’ rights make him unqualified to serve as a federal judge.  We are asking Senator [name] to vote against Farr's nomination for this lifetime federal judgeship.



More info:







Thursday, November 15, 2018

More Information about Indivisible 2.0, including map of groups

Please check it out and share with anyone interested in the movement.

https://indivisible.org/campaign/indivisible-whats-next?akid=36822.1056555.6Cz-uN&rd=1&t=6

For video of the call on Tuesday 11/13, click here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUjBw1BLQ9U&feature=youtu.be

Thank yous from two great candidates

Jaime Perkins, State Legislature:

Post Election Sentiments...

On November 6, 2018 St. Johns County saw a 103% increase in voter turnout from past mid-term elections. This mid-term election was historic for many reasons but the one that resonated with me the most was that I was on your ballot! I was vying for an opportunity to serve you in public office.

While we were not successful at capturing the Florida House seat, I do not feel defeated. In fact, I feel victorious. Myself and my amazing team of volunteers had the audacity to launch a grassroots, progressive campaign in one of the most conservative districts in the state, with a first time candidate running as an NPA, against a 14 year political veteran. Not only that, but we had the nerve to capture 31,364 votes!

I'm in awe at the amount of people who supported me and this campaign. Those thirty-one thousand votes are a clear indication that this county is ready for change and I am committed to helping influence just that.

We may not have won the seat, but we are winners because we had an opportunity to watch democracy work. We gave the people a choice.

"Thank You" often seems like such a mediocre phrase to offer to individuals who have done so much. But, from the bottom of my heart thank you; for volunteering, for canvassing, for phone banking, for being a surrogate, for donating, for voting, for believing! I could not have done any of this without your support.

Respectfully,
Jaime
Jeanne Moeller, Mosquito Control:

To all the Volunteers,

Thank you so much for your grassroots enthusiasm and dedication this past election cycle! Without your help I could not have won this election! With new residents since the last election - close to 50K of them! I could have never knocked on all those doors by myself or even with a small campaign team. You developed a strategic plan that has never had the impact that this election has had that helped all the races from top to bottom!
You all need to take a bow! I am so grateful to have been a part of your efforts to get the vote out!

I know this election was not just about me, but your hard work in getting out the vote,  and handing out my materials generated many phones calls to me from strangers wanting to know why we elected mosquito control commissioners. The other question I received was this is nonpartisan but are you a DEMOCRAT? Your hard work and dedication to this election cycle truly helped those of us at the bottom of the ballot. I’m sure other candidates also had phone calls or emails where they could interact with voters one on one. This was so important and so helpful because there were no debates for any of the nonpartisan races. I truly believe that your work in the field created this personal response to candidates. Getting the vote out was your major focus but the unknown benefit was some of us had interaction with voters who may have never attended a debate for the lesser known races.

Thank you all.

Jeanne

Indivisible 2.0! Now we go on Offense. Are you ready?

Indivisible has already held a national call with over 1500 groups on it to get the strategy for 2019 and beyond. This isn't just for "leaders". We're all leaders in what we love and do best. Here are the links to get the guide and sign up for updates. It's resist and persist! 

Guide Here: https://indivisible.org/resource/indivisible-offense-introduction

Sign up Here:
https://act.indivisible.org/signup/all-hands-on-deck/?t=6&akid=36576%2E670280%2EU5Bsmy

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Your Indivisible St Johns Weekly Resistance Newsletter Week of 11/11/18


WEEKLY RESISTANCE NEWSLETTER 
NOVEMBER 11, 2018


 UPDATE ON RECOUNT PROCESS

Machine Count of Ballots to Begin Monday;
Manual Count to Conclude by November 18.


PUBLIC NOTICE OF RECOUNT
BY THE ST JOHNS COUNTY CANVASSING BOARD


CONDITIONAL
Vicky Oakes, Supervisor of Elections
St. Johns County, FL

NOTICE is hereby given that if the Secretary of State orders a machine recount in any statewide race, the St. Johns County Canvassing Board will meet at 9 AM on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday November 12-14, 2018, as needed to conduct the recount at the Supervisor of Elections Office, 4455 Avenue A, Suite 101 St. Augustine, FL.
A Logic and Accuracy Test of the equipment used in the recount will occur on Monday, November 12, 2018 at 9 AM.

The recount, if ordered, will be open to the public. Persons are advised that if they decide to appeal decisions made at this recount they will need a record of the proceedings and for such purpose they need to ensure a verbatim record of the proceeding is made, which includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based.

Persons with disabilities requiring reasonable accommodations to participate should call the Supervisor of Elections Office at 904.823-2238 at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.

This notice is provided pursuant to F.S. 102.141 and FS 286.0105, has been posted pursuant to F.A.C. Rule 1S.-2.031



Note from the Chair, Nell Toensmann


The Election isn't over yet!

Machine Recount to begin Monday in St. Johns County
Everyone is probably aware of what has been taking place during this election and the closing vote gap between some of our Democratic candidates - Bill Nelson, Andrew Gillum and Nikki Fried.  With votes still being counted in Broward and Palm Beach Counties, the gap has been closing between the Democratic and Republican candidates - to our advantage .  

Nikki Fried is now ahead in the Commissioner of Agriculture race.  Bill Nelson is now within the range of a manual count of ballots (under .25%) and Andrew Gillum is within the range of a machine count (under .5%).

As you can see in the above block, Vicky Oakes has already announced that they will begin the machine count of ballots on Monday morning at 9:00 AM.  The Florida Democratic Party and the candidates are asking volunteers - especially lawyers - to observe this process.  The party has also put in a public records request for specific information concerning the voting results in every county.  Our request was hand delivered Friday afternoon.

Limited Observers for the recount
You may have received a request from one of the campaigns to sign up as a volunteer in one of a number of ways and in different time blocks over the next week or so.  The main volunteering will be to observe the machine count for these three races - US Senate, FL Governor and FL Commissioner of Agriculture.  If any of you have observed a vote count at the Supervisor of Elections office, you will know that there is very little space available in the room for observers.  And that it is a very lengthy process.  The count for the County Commission primary race two years ago took seven hours to count 30,000 ballots.  This recount will be for over 131,000 ballots in St. Johns County.

During a phone call with Vicky Oakes, Supervisor of Elections, this morning, she has requested that there be only one representative for each of the three campaigns and one from each of the political parties attending the recount.  There may be the possibility of having a few other people attend in the room, but very few.  There will be a minimum of 12 chairs and possibly as many as 20, but no more than that.  Observation can additionally take place through the glass windows outside of the office, but this space will also be very limited and the number of people will be restricted.

Vicky has also requested that I be the main contact person for the observers from both the campaigns and the party.  I know that a number of people want to be involved in this process, but in St. Johns County, we are very limited in the number of people who can participate.  If one of you has been contacted by one of the campaigns to participate, can you please let me know?  And if you would like to represent the Democratic Party for a day or limited hours during a specific day, please let me know.

I can be contacted via email at stjohnsdemocraticparty@gmail.com or on my cell phone at 904-484-4960.  Please do not try to contact me by phone Sunday morning before 12 noon. 

This is a very important time for Democrats in Florida.  May all the votes be counted and provide us with a more favorable outcome!

Nell Toensmann
Chair, St. Johns Democratic Party

PS  Please be advised; If and when the manual account will begin, only the staff of the St. Johns County Supervisor of Elections office and poll workers will be allowed to participate and handle the ballots.  And the results will have to be completed by Sunday, November 18.


Florida Federal and Governor Election Results, 
updated through unofficial certification



ARMISTICE DAY MESSAGE

From our friend Phil Restino from 2014. A reminder of what November 11 was and should be:

When the 'voice of God' was heard: My Word

By Philip C. Restino, Jr.
Central Florida Veterans For Peace
The Orlando Sentinel
November 11, 2014

World War I, the "war to end all wars," ended when the armistice between the Allied Nations and Germany was signed on Nov. 11, 1918. On May 13, 1938, the U.S. Congress made Nov. 11 a legal holiday: "a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day.'"

However, on June 1, 1954, Congress changed the name Armistice Day to Veterans Day, as new U.S. military interventions began to increase around the world.

American novelist and World War II veteran Kurt Vonnegut wrote about his war experiences and his time as an American prisoner of war surviving the horrific fire-bombing of the German city of Dresden in his famous novel "Slaughterhouse-Five." Years later, Vonnegut reflected on the U.S. government's changing the official recognition of Nov. 11th from Armistice Day to Veterans Day in the following way:

"When I was a boy, all the people of all the nations which had fought in the First World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of Armistice Day, which was the eleventh day of the eleventh month. It was during that minute in nineteen hundred and eighteen, that millions upon millions of human beings stopped butchering one another.

"I have talked to old men who were on battlefields during that minute. They have told me in one way or another that the sudden silence was the Voice of God. So we still have among us some men who can remember when God spoke clearly to mankind. Armistice Day has become Veterans' Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans' Day is not. So I will throw Veterans' Day over my shoulder. Armistice Day I will keep. I don't want to throw away any sacred things."

This substitution politicized the day by changing the focus from peace to war in its celebrating and honoring military veterans and the wars they served in. Sadly, it's too often political rhetoric and patriotic symbols being used to thank our veterans rather than genuine compensation and care for their sacrifices and service.

Let us reconsider the original intent of the Nov. 11 remembrance, where a solemn silence and ringing of church bells in nations around the world recognized the pledge for peace agreed to on that morning in November 1918, when the "voice of God" was heard.

Philip C. Restino Jr. is co-chair of the Central Florida chapter of Veterans For Peace

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NO INDIVISIBLE ST JOHNS SOCIAL FOR THIS MONTH!  HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
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MEMBERS OF CONGRESS OFFICE VISITS

DATES TO BE DETERMINED  Meet in the lobby at 9:45 AM
300 N Hogan Street Suite 8-111 JAX.
There is a Skyway station at Hemming Park. If you drive downtown use two hour metered parking.  Cell phones and cameras are not permitted in the Courthouse. A picture ID is required. Ashley (904.354.4300) will schedule additional meetings by appointment for those who are not available on Tuesday mornings.  Evening appointments are possible in offsite locations for small Indivisible groups. Please RSVP to dj.jj@icloud.comdj.jj@cloud.com
as space is limited to 8-9 people
Ila Rae Merten's group will be going  October 11 and October 25 usually at 10:15 AM. Email her at riversideresistance@gmail.com 

 RUTHERFORD
DATES TO BE DETERMINED
We have a standing meeting on the first Thursday of every month with Rutherford's aide.  Email riversideresistance@gmail.comriversideresistance@gmail.com


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