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** alliance4action Newsletter
December, 2020

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Dear Members and Friends of alliance4action,

It is the last month of 2020. What a year it has been!!!

Nothing about this year has been traditional. Our families as well as our government are in a transition period. We know that many of our family traditions will be different this year because of the escalation of Covid-19. Hopefully you will find alternative ways to share time with the people you love. We all need to rest during this transition time. You have put your heart and soul into restoring democracy. We still are not all the way there, but we’re on the way!

I am so excited to welcome 2021. We may not have a smooth transition to the administration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, but it WILL HAPPEN. We also have every reason to believe that we will have a vaccine for Covid-19. Now the hard work begins but with honest compassionate leadership. We will be ready. Our action teams and the leadership team are already planning our actions for 2021.

Please take care of your health and your soul. You can prepare for 2021 by renewing your membership dues. You can do that online at [link removed] ([link removed]) . Stay tuned to our website and Facebook information as we move toward Jan. 21, 2021.

Happy New Year!

Polly Daly
Chairperson, Leadership Team
No General Meeting in December. See you in January!
alliance4action Treasurer’s Report

Balance as of 11/12/20 $2,284.37
2021 alliance4action dues are due. They are still just $20. Please pay on-line at [link removed]
Maggie Sievers, Treasurer
Act Now!
Help Congress pass the Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Act:
H.R. 8772

How
By telling U.S. House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi and your Congressional representatives why you support the bill and why they should, as well. Contact Congresswoman Pelosi here. ([link removed]) Use this easy tool for contacting your representatives. ([link removed])

Why
Families of missing persons deserve to learn the fate of their loved ones.
The bill would increase federal funding for processing unidentified human remains and resolving missing person cases. Funding is critical along the U.S. Mexico border, where migrant deaths have reached an all-time high. Between January and the end of September 2020, the remains of 181 migrants were found, more than in all of 2019 and the highest annual number since 2013, according to Humane Borders.

Without adequate federal funding, local jurisdictions can’t always afford to conduct forensic investigations, leaving families to worry and wonder.

This legislation could save lives.
Dollars for 911 cellular relay rescue beacons in desert and other borderland wilderness areas are also part of H.R. 8772. Recovery personnel report finding persons who perished from heat and exhaustion with mobile phones in hand. They had likely tried to call for help but couldn’t, due to lack of a signal. Relay beacons will increase signals, possibly saving many lives.

Unlike many bills that never make it through Congress, this one stands a good chance. Your support can push it over the finish line! Please act now.
Companion bill S.2174 already passed the Senate, by unanimous consent. If the proposed legislation is to become law during this Congressional term, the House must act by December 10, 2020. Send your message today!

a4a ACTION GROUPS

Climate Action Group

There is much to be grateful for in the climate realm with announcements by incoming President Biden that 1) The US will rejoin the Paris Climate Accord; 2) The new administration will take a “whole government approach” to climate with a requirement for every federal agency and department to address climate change; 3) He has appointed a cabinet level envoy for climate, John Kerry, who will sit on the National Security Council. It’s a relief just to type the words that the national fight on climate change has turned in the right direction.

We are grateful too for all who attended our first Zoom Climate Conversation on 11/19. It was wonderful to welcome several new participants. We come from a wide and interesting range of backgrounds and experience and share the desire to do our part locally. Together we enthusiastically began to map out the areas we will work on in coming months.

For December, the Zoom Climate Conversation will be:

The Resource Curse at Home -
December 17 @2pm
Impacts from proposed mining projects in our bioregion during a time of climate change.
Two stories - Patagonia and the Santa Ritas.

Carolyn Shafer, Mission Coordinator, will speak to us on behalf of the Patagonia Area Resource Alliance, a citizen watchdog group committed to protecting our mountains, watershed and wildlife.

We will also be inviting a representative of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas to update us on exploratory drilling on the western slope of the Santa Ritas and status of the Rosemont mining project.

Our conversation will focus on understanding the “resource curse” in our own backyard especially as it collides with long term drought expected in the southwest as a result of global warming. Implications of the 1872 Federal Mining Law will be addressed. We will then discuss and prioritize effective response options.

If you would like to join us for the December 17, 2pm Climate Conversation Zoom meeting please send an email to: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) requesting a Zoom invitation.

You can also request to be on the email list for future meetings and announcements.
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Education

During the counting of ballots, a problem was discovered related to the vote tally of local education initiatives. Therefore, it took us a little longer to get the results, but they were the results we were hoping for.

The Override Extension was approved for Continental School.

Kelley J. Allen, the write in candidate that a4a had suggested, received 820 write-in votes. Quite an achievement! Richard Ulrey, Andrew McGibbon, and Shelley Kais will also be seated on the Continental School Board.

Finally, Betsy DeVos will be replaced in the Biden/Harris administration. There is so much work to be done!!!!!

Please contact Polly Daly at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) if you would like to join us.

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Health Care

The Health Care Action Group met on November 18th with eight present. We shared deep disappointment in Governor Ducey for lack of leadership with the virus, and Supervisor Steve Christy for his deplorable vote on County election certification.

We decided the pandemic is not the elephant in the room--it’s the whole room. However, priorities that relate to the pandemic include drug pricing reform, separating employment and health insurance, nursing home reforms, improvements and repair to the Affordable Care Act, and surprise billing. We will continue to use our current situation to pave the way toward universal health care and to promote federal, state and local pandemic mitigation strategies.

We found the a4a Electoral College presentation by Maureen Brooks to be timely and informative. We talked about ways to help influence the Senate Special Election run-offs in Georgia.

Our next meeting is Wednesday, December 16th, at 1:00 pm via Zoom. Please contact Laurie Jurs at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) for more information. We would love to have new members.

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Immigration

Read "The Biden Plan for Securing Our Values as a Nation of Immigrants" here ([link removed]) .

Climate Change Drives Northern Migration--read how a small Ixil Mayan community in the Cuchumatanes Mountains of Guatemala has been affected by Storms Eta and Iota here ([link removed]) .

"10 Immediate Priorities for the Protection of Immigrant Children" Read this advocacy letter from Refugees International here ([link removed]) .

CALL TO ACTION - 'Tis the season for Welcoming Others at the Border.

Friends and family often ask us how they can help people at the border. So our CALL TO ACTION this month is to help deportees at Sasabe, Sonora, Mexico where there are no formal shelters and dozens of people are deported each day. Here are two ways you can help:

1) Donate $ to buy food/water - Salvavision.org ([link removed]) , include "Sasabe project" in the comments. Salvavision will take checks at 2393 W. Palo Dulce Dr., Tucson, AZ 85745

2) These clothing items are needed (if you are in Green Valley, AZ): belts, winter gloves, men's athletic shoes (sizes 6-12), men's dark pants, hooded sweatshirts. Call Jane (703) 795-6611 to coordinate pick-up or drop off.

Please share this CALL TO ACTION with others you know who are looking for ways to give back during the holidays.

The Immigration Action Group meets by Zoom every 2nd and 4th Friday (9am AZ time) and we'd love to have you join our conversation. If you're interested in being included, please contact Gail Frank ([email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) ).
Dark Money and the Supreme Court

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse gave a startling presentation during the Barrett hearing about dark money that is influencing SCOTUS.

He talks about dark money influencing judge selection through these organizations:
1. Federalist Society - selection of judicial nominees
2. Judicial Crisis Network - PR and Ad campaigns for judicial nominees
3. Legal Groups (Donor's Trust and Bradley Foundation, etc etc) funding legal actions and amicus briefs that lead to SCOTUS decisions.

Also, he says 80 decisions already made by SCOTUS (in 5 to 4 decisions) focused on these areas:
1. unlimited dark money in politics
2. "knocking down" the civil jury
3. weakening regulatory agencies
4. Politics and Voting

Here's the link to the article and the video:
[link removed]

For up-to-date information, check our website, [link removed] and Facebook page, [link removed] ([link removed]) .

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