Thank you to those who joined our General Meeting this past Sunday. We really enjoyed meeting so many new faces and we are very excited to grow and become a stronger community.
Space was limited and the meeting attendance was filled, but if you missed this one, don’t worry! We’ll have more in-person and virtual meetings coming up, so watch this space.
We stopped H.R. 9495 once; now we need to do it again
What a dramatic week it has been for H.R. 9495. This is a dangerous bill that gives the executive branch the authority to effectively dismantle any nonprofit organization it deems to have provided "material support" to terrorist groups. There’s no due process and no means of appeal. The potential for abuse of this law to suppress dissent from nonprofits like Indivisible National, the ACLU, Reproductive Freedom for All, and many more is staggering.
Last week, thanks to your calls, it seemed that the bill was defeated on the Congress floor. But unfortunately, Republicans have immediately reintroduced it.
Our representatives, Pelosi and Mullin, voted NO on the bill. We need you to thank them and urge them to vote NO again.
We were disappointed to find out that our incoming Senator and CA-30’s current Representative, Adam Schiff, voted YES on the bill. If you know anyone in CA-30 (Burbank, Glendale, Linda Vista, Hollywood), let them know! They should contact Rep. Schiff, state their disappointment, and urge him to vote NO this time around.
Tell your Representative: Vote NO on H.R. 9495.
Tell your Senators to fill every judicial vacancy NOW
We need to continue pushing our senators to confirm as many pro-democracy judges as possible before the end of the year.
While the Senate has confirmed over 200 of President Biden’s highly qualified judicial nominees, there are 30 nominations still pending, and that number might grow. We need the Democrats to work through the procedural steps to get this done.
Remember that these judges serve lifetime appointments—we need them to be filled by candidates who will uphold the Constitution. And we need them filled by the time Trump takes office.
Tell your senators to make the most of their time and to fill every judicial vacancy now.
Talking to your friends and family about Trumpism
If you’re gathering with family or friends over the holidays we hope everyone has gotten this year’s vaccine, and we encourage you to have the hard conversations about the right-wing movement to dismantle our democracy and drag us into an authoritarian one-party state.
In that spirit, we bring you, as we do every year, our guide to talking to your friends and family about Trump(ism). We first published this guide in 2018 and it continues to be a helpful resource, especially in this season.
Other organizations are also training people this week to face difficult conversations during the holidays. On Wednesday, Jewish Voice for Peace hosts Talking Gaza at the Holidays: An Anti-Zionist Guide to Initiating Difficult Conversations, and on Thursday, Rising Organizers offers Managing Tough Conversations. We hope these will help you and others as we face a holiday season marked with conflict and grief.
Get your free COVID-19 tests and vaccines while you still can
It’s unlikely that free COVID-19 tests will last past the end of the Biden Administration, so if you haven’t ordered yet this round, the time to get on that is now.
Also, if you haven’t gotten this year’s COVID-19 vaccine yet, now’s the time, especially with Thanksgiving coming up fast. If you’re uninsured, you can still get it for free through California’s Bridge Access Program—but only through the end of the year. Insured Californians should be able to get the vaccine covered by their insurance.
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Talking Gaza at the Holidays: An Anti-Zionist Guide to Initiating Difficult Conversations by Jewish Voices for Peace, TODAY, Wednesday, November 20, 5 PM, Online: It’s not always easy talking to the people in our lives about Palestine. Join JVP at a workshop to be welcomed into a safe space where attendees will practice unpacking tropes, building trust, and navigating potentially challenging topics together. RSVP here.
Managing Tough Conversations Training by Rising Organizers, Thursday, November 21, 4 PM, Online: Changing people's hearts and minds isn't easy, but it's a core aspect of how to do organizing work and how to build a more just and fair democracy. That's why every year before Thanksgiving, Rising Organizers run a training to help prepare you for whatever tough conversations about organizing, democracy, or social justice you've got coming your way. RSVP here.
UPTE-CWA strike at UCSF hospitals, TODAY and tomorrow, November 20–21, 7 AM–3 PM: Healthcare workers at UCSF are striking over unfair labor practices. Read more about the two-day strike here. Members of the public are invited to join the picket lines; RSVP for a shift here (select “Community Supporter” if not a member of the union). Note that it will rain both days, so dress accordingly.
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If you’ve seen our newsletter posts on social media, you might have noticed that we include a photo or graphic with each issue.
Today’s graphic is a graphic that says “Talk to your reps, talk to your family”.
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Keep Fighting,
The Indivisible SF Team
If you'd like to support our all-volunteer team:
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