THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE! UU goes to Tallahassee

 Mary Kellough, Marsha Williams, Claudia Atkins, and Nana Royer--just returned from two days at Unitarian Universalist Justice Florida Legislative Days in Tallahassee. They convened at the UU Tallahassee Church for dinner and listened to the dynamic keynote speaker Desmond Meade. Desmond Meade heads up the Voting Restoration Amendment campaign, to put this amendment on the ballot in 2018. They met at the Capitol Rotunda for a group photo and then disbursed to visit legislators. They visited the office of Sen. Travis Hutson and Rep. Cyndi Stevenson and Rep. Paul Renner, leaving handouts and lobbying to get those bills on committee agendas which are supported by the UUJC. They also sat in on a couple committees and got hackles raised listening to a couple of the bills which are now in committee, e.g. the bill which mandates that the Florida state motto "In God We Trust" must be displayed in each school room (in addition to the state flag which already as the motto enblazened on it!). St. Augustine had a most noteworthy attendance. 

From one of the attendees:

"We attended 2 subcommittee meetings while waiting for appointments. You probably heard about the 'Motto' bill...If we'd known what was being debated in the committees, we could have signed a card stating the bill we wanted to address to the committee & as part of john p q public, said our bit. Claudia got really riled up about an education bill. And Marsha was questioning the reason behind a bill regulating birthing centers. 

 I learned a lot. Big Ex.: even if the entire committee/subcommittee feels 1 way & the chair feels another way, it's the chair who decides. The chair is appointed by the president of the legislative body. As Huttson's aid explained to us, there's politics within the politics. Another ex.: he said it was a bad sign if a bill was in a 3rd or 4th subcommittee. It'd probably die. The # of committees a bill goes thru is decided by the Committee's chair. That indicates to me that he can 'kill' a bill by sending it to too many sub committees. I could be wrong on this, but that was my take. Another ex., explained by Rep. Renner's aid when commenting on the quantity of groups like us descending on the capitol, the legislative calendar is decided by whether it's an election year or not. Since this one is, the calendar started in January".

Wherever you stand on DACA, you need to make yourself heard!

On Monday, Indivisible took a strong stand against the Democrats who voted to end the shutdown and accept McConnell's weakly worded pledge to bring up immigration prior to the next shutdown deadline. We all have different points of view on Schumer's strategy. Some are not inclined to believe McConnell despite his public statement. Remember Merrick Garland. He never got a vote. McConnell plays dirty.

That being said, below is Indivisible's statement. BOTH OUR SENATORS IN FLORIDA voted to end the shutdown. Whichever side of the issue you're on, it's important to make your voice heard to Rubio and Nelson in order to keep the issue front and center for the next couple weeks. Take the time. Encourage, nudge, express disappointment, question, whatever you need to do to understand why they voted this way. One thing we CANNOT do is be silent. Please take the time:

FROM INDIVISIBLE:

In September, Trump and the GOP launched an attack on some of the most vulnerable Americans: Dreamers, kids who rely on the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and victims of natural disasters.

Democrats voted four times since then in favor of short-term spending bills despite Republicans’ unwillingness to address these issues. Last Friday, Democrats held strong by withholding their support for another short-term funding bill until Republicans came to fix the messes they created.

After two days of government shutdown, Senate Leader Mitch McConnell and Trump offered an ultimatum to Senate Democrats: vote against the Dreamers or we keep the government shut down. Indivisible joined 17 other national progressive and immigrant rights organizations to tell Senate Democrats: we’ve got your backs, so hold the line!

But yesterday, Senator Schumer led the Senate Democrats to surrender. The House is expected to vote, and pass, their version of the bill. For his caucus’ vote, Schumer got absolutely zero protections for Dreamers. Instead, McConnell made a pinky-swear promise to Democrats that if they just voted for what he wanted, then he’d try to take up the Dream Act in the next few weeks -- while more Dreamers wait for deportation.

Yesterday’s vote is a huge disappointment, but this fight isn’t over. We’re not sure whether McConnell or Trump will hold up their end of the bargain (we’re not holding our breath). We need to raise our voices at Congressional offices this week to push for real action sooner rather than later.

The first step is to find out how your Senators voted. Visit DreamerPledge.org to find out if your members of Congress (MoCs) are Dream Heroes or Dream Killers.

BOTH OUR SENATORS VOTED AGAINST THE DREAMERS. Give them a call, Resistbot or email to tell them how you feel. We need to THANK the Democrats who kept their word. We need to let the Republicans and Democrats who voted for more deportations to know that we will hold them accountable. 

More Pictures from the fabulous March for our Future on January 20, 2018

Thank you Brie!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/p3QKLZP94Td8STJp2

Rubio's Jax office dissing Indivisibles' MoC visits. Can he be any more cowardly? Now hiding behind seniors.

For months, members of various Indivisible groups, primarily from the Jacksonville area, have visited Rubio's office on a weekly basis. They've been consistent and informed, arriving with well thought out issues for the Senator's aide to consider. It has been a respectful and peaceful exchange.

Now the office has eliminated every other week, citing the reason that DC has instructed them to "engage in more community outreach". Wondering where? Well, the last one we're aware of occurred at an Orange Park Senior center. While it's admirable that our seniors are FINALLY being recognized as constituents (and hopefully spoke up about their Medicaid concerns), there's no reason the office visits are being cancelled. One aide does the outreach, as in the example above, and the other aide stays back to address constituent concerns. This is not brain surgery.

Just a suggestion: since a coordinated group speaking for many can't have a few minutes of Rubio's aide's time, maybe we should just phone it in individually (until the voicemail inevitably gets full). Surely that'll make his office more efficient. Just trying to help.

Rubio Jacksonville office: 904.354.4300

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT! March for Our Future draws almost 100 on Saturday January 20

Indivisible St Johns was proud to march with the high school students who organized and led this march on a beautiful Saturday morning in downtown St Augustine. Kudos to those young people who recognized they need to fight for their future. Kudos to all the groups who came out to support them. Let's do it again and again and again, as long as it takes.

You're LOSING Trump! We're still INDIVISIBLE!

Indivisible St Johns joins hundreds of marchers in St Augustine to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Great day, great turnout!

Indivisible St Johns hosts first Reversing Runaway Inequality Workshop!

On Saturday, January 13th, Indivisible St Johns held its first of what we hope will be more workshops on Reversing Runaway Inequality, based on the book of the same name by Les Leopold. We were engaged in not just learning how we got here but we worked on solutions to change things we see happening in our county, our country and our world. You can get a glimpse of our day here:
Indivisible St Johns Reversing Runaway Inequality Workshop

If you're interested in learning more, Les' book can be purchased here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016E6FS46/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

"Runaway inequality is now America's most critical economic fact of life. In 1970, the ratio of pay between the top 100 CEOs and the average worker was 45 to 1. Today it is a shocking 829 to one! During that time a new economic philosophy set in which cut taxes, deregulated finance and trimmed social spending. Those policies set in motion a process that greatly expanded the power of financial interests to accelerate inequality. But how exactly does that happen?"

Proceeds from book sales go towards providing more training and support materials. 

READ IT AND WEEP GOV SCOTT: St Augustine Record editorial sees your game

In one of the best ongoing editorials in the St Augustine Record concerning state politics, the smoke and mirror capers of Governor Scott are laid out for all to see. Don't take anything for granted in 2018. The public CAN be bamboozled again.

Supermajority smoke and mirrors tax cap

CALL AND KEEP CALLING: FAKE CLINICS HARMING FLORIDA WOMEN!!! COMMITTEE VOTE IS WEDNESDAY JAN 10

The Crisis Pregnancy Center bill has been put on the Senate Appropriations on Health and Human Service Committee for next Wednesday, January 10^th  from 4:00pm-5:30pm. This is the second committee stop for the CPC bill in the Senate.

1       If you are in Tallahassee, we would love to work with you to testify or waive in opposition of the legislation. Please let me know as soon as possible if you will be available to speak or waive and we will be able to provide you any talking points and prep you may need.

2       We would like to flood call into these targeted members’ offices. Below are the numbers for their Tallahassee offices.

a.       Chair: Senator Anitere Flores (R)- (850) 487-5039

b.       Vice Chair: Senator Kelli Stargel (R)- (850) 487-5022

c.       Senator Dennis Baxley (R) - (850) 487-5012

d.       Senator Kathleen Passidomo (R) - (850) 487-5028

Here are some facts for the CPC bill in case you need any further talking points but the bottom line for these calls would be to say, “Please vote no on SB 444, which would legitimize these entities that are pretending to be medical providers but do not provide medically accurate information, delaying and risking the health care of women across the state.”

Fact Sheet: Crisis Pregnancy Centers - Fake Clinics Harming Florida Women

“Pregnant women absolutely need objective, accurate information and superior services in order to make the best decision. Crisis pregnancy centers offer the exact opposite of that. They lie, they scare, they humiliate. These are in no way medical institutions and everyone deserves to know this before they walk into a CPC.” – NARAL Pro-Choice America

What are Crisis Pregnancy Centers?
Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) are anti-abortion, often religiously affiliated organizations masquerading as women’s health clinics while failing to provide comprehensive, evidence-based medical care. CPCs use deceptive and manipulative practices to ultimately shame women out of getting reproductive care – particularly birth control and abortion. These fake clinics use deceptive advertising practices such as intentionally placing advertisements under the “abortion services” heading of phone and Internet directories and choosing names that are similar to abortion clinics to confuse women about what types of services they provide. People who are pregnant and seeking health care deserve timely access and a full range of care options, not medically inaccurate information pushed upon them by fake clinics.

Florida lawmakers in recent years have repeatedly attacked women’s health care, in particular targeting access to safe and legal abortion. One of these avenues of attack by legislative leaders has been the funding of CPCs with taxpayer dollars, despite their pervasive use of medically inaccurate information, their practice of intentionally misleading and shaming women, and a complete lack of state oversight to protect Floridians from these harmful tactics.

How many CPCs are there in Florida?

There are at least 120 CPCs operating in Florida. Many of these CPCs locate themselves in close proximity to legitimate reproductive health care facilities. Many patients have mistakenly visited a CPC because it was on the same street—or even next door—to the actual abortion provider where they had an appointment.

What’s the latest on Florida CPCs?

On August 21^st, 2017, Rep. Jackie Toledo (R-Tampa) introduced HB 41, which legitimizes and permanently funds with taxpayer dollars CPCs that oppose abortion and judge, shame, and mislead women. This legislation intentionally restricts women’s access to the full range of health care services by funneling public funds to providers that exclusively “promote and support childbirth,” while cutting out qualified medical providers who offer the full range of family planning services including birth control and safe, legal abortion care.

The qualified family planning providers who would be denied funding by this harmful bill simply because they provide evidence-based care—such as birth control, unbiased reproductive health counseling, or referrals to safe and legal abortion services—might be the only providers for miles around, leaving women in many areas of our state with reduced access to the quality medical care they need. HB 41 is a revival of a similar bill, SB 1130, which passed the Florida House but did not pass the Florida Senate in 2017.

What policy position on CPCs does Floridians for Reproductive Freedom support?

First, Florida taxpayer dollars should not be allocated for use by ideologically driven organizations that mislead women and jeopardize their health. Second, all women deserve timely and affordable access to the full range of reproductive health care services, including birth control and abortion. Deceptive advertising by CPCs that aims to trick women and divert them from these services should not be permitted. Third, when a woman has decided to seek birth control, an abortion, or discuss her reproductive health options, she deserves access to a qualified medical provider she can trust to provide her with a full range of options and services without an agenda, judgment or deception. 

OWN the Hutson/Renner bogus feel good photo op on Saturday 1/6/18 in Hastings 9 AM til noon

As reported in the St Augustine Record on 1/2,  this Saturday, January 6, at the W.E. Harris Community Center 400 Harris Street in Hastings, Senator Travis Hutson and Representative Paul Renner will be hosting a free food distribution in partnership with Farm Share, a non profit working to alleviate hunger. Are you kidding us? This is the agricultural oasis of St Johns County. This event runs from 9AM til noon.

We have a lot of questions for our elected state representatives while they try to grab this feel good photo op as they begin the 2018 election campaigning:

How about a state minimum wage so your constituents don't have to line up for free food? (that they probably harvested in the first place).

How about a real grocery store nearby once the residents make enough to actually go there?

How about cracking down on mistreatment of migrant workers?

How about decent, safe and affordable housing for the residents of Hastings, Flagler Estates and Armstrong?

How about fixing the infrastructure in Hastings, including dredging Deep Creek?

How about resources for the public schools in the SW part of the county instead of diverting our tax dollars to for profit charter and religious "schools"? And don't even think of shutting down the teachers' union.

How about pushing for expanded Medicaid?

We're sure you can think of many more questions to put on your signs when you show up outside the Harris Center to greet our representatives. Be there at 9 AM. Bring your sign. See you in the street!