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Arizona Legislative Alert -

50 Week Action Plan Weeks1-8

Shining a bright light for socially-just public policy in Arizona All opinions are those of the author, Anne L. Schneider, PhD

December 30, 2016

If you want to be added to or taken from this e-mail list, contact

legislativeadvocacy@vuu.org

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5PIX_N71xS6a0FzWUc0SFZLeDA

The 50 Week Action Plan will provide one or two ideas each week for progressive

social action showing continued support for public policy and policy proposals that

contribute to a more socially-just society. We stand opposed to public policy and

policy proposals that are disrespectful to any group or person, anti-democratic,

unfair especially to the least advantaged among us, and harmful to the web of life on

our planet.

The most recent week is just below. Thereafter, this document begins with week 1

and shows each successive week.

Week 8 – 50 Week Action Plan.. Action Suggestions

Next week will be very busy with Congress getting ready for hearings on Trump’s

nominees for cabinet and other positions as well as the run-up to the Arizona

Legislature opening on January 9. So: Enjoy the New Year’s Weekend and…

Add to your New Year’s Resolution one that reflects your commitment to

bending the arc of history toward justice – it will need our help.

Make your own action plan for the year!

The issue of General James Mattis become U.S. Secretary of Defense in spite

of the fact that he has not been retired long enough from the military may

come up again in Congress. Arizona Congressman Ruben Gallego has

written an excellent op-ed for the Washington Post on why he, as an ex-

Marine, will oppose General Mattis for this position. Read it in full below.

Happy New Year Everyone!

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I’m a Marine veteran. A recently retired Marine shouldn’t be defense secretary.

By Ruben Gallego, Congressman, Arizona

As a combat veteran of the Marine Corps and a longtime admirer of Gen. James N. Mattis, I was

sad to annouce this month that I could not in good conscience support granting him a waiver to

serve as our 26th secretary of defense.

I explained that my decision was motivated not by political considerations but by concern for the

enduring American principle of civilian control of the military. I lauded Mattis’s eminent

qualifications and leadership skills while affirming that this central tenent of our democracy

should matter more than any single individual.

What happened next was revealing.

Despite my considered words, I got an earful from Marines across the country, including men I

served alongside in Iraq. They called and wrote letters. They tweeted and texted. In some

colorful language that I can’t repeat in this space, they questioned my loyalty to the Marine

Corps and to our country.

Paradoxically, their passionate defense of Mattis and their anger toward me confirmed my

reservations about his appointment. For me, the reaction immediately verified the wisdom of

Congress in establishing a cooling-off period for former military leaders. The anger that my

stance elicited among many of my fellow Marines demonstrated, albeit on a small scale, the

danger to our democracy of a defense secretary coming to power with the ardent loyalty of the

men and women he recently commanded.

The members of Congress who, in 1947, enshrined in law this period of separation had fresh

memories of World War II. Like our Founding Fathers, they recognized that political leaders

should derive their authority from the will of the people — not the personal fealty of members of

the armed forces. As a result, they were wary of a decorated general slipping off his uniform and

immediately stepping into an ostensibly civilian role. In addition, they were justifiably

apprehensive about installing a secretary of defense who could be perceived as partial to one

service over the others.

More than a half-century later, these concerns are still highly relevant. We should ask ourselves

whether the reputation of our military as a highly professional, nonpartisan institution would be

tainted if its most respected leaders were allowed to seamlessly segue into political positions.

That’s why, instead of simply rubber-stamping President-elect Donald Trump’s choice, it is

critical that we engage in a meaningful debate before discarding this well-established precedent.

The last time a recently retired military man, the great George Marshall, was permitted to lead

the Pentagon, the United States was facing the prospect of ignominious defeat in the Korean

War. Even then, congressional leaders specified that his waiver was a one-time exception to the

rule. While our country must confront an array of threats today, none of our national security

challenges remotely compares to a massive war in the Far East. This history should inform

Congress’s decision about Mattis. When it comes to something as basic as civilian control of the

military, I strongly believe waivers should be granted for extraordinary circumstances — not

extraordinary people.

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Many of my fellow Democrats disagree. Recognizing Mattis’s exceptional judgment and ability,

they believe he could serve as a counterweight to Trump — a partial antidote to our new

commander in chief’s profound lack of expertise, experience and discipline on matters of

national security. I certainly sympathize with this view. However, I am equally concerned about

the kinds of decisions that will emanate from the White House if, as appears likely, the national

security adviser, the homeland security secretary and the defense secretary are all former

generals. The American people should demand a diversity of views and experiences — both

military and civilian — in the Situation Room.

When debate on Mattis’s waiver resumes in January, a long-standing precedent will be at stake.

Future generations of American leaders — perhaps facing circumstances far more perilous than

our own — will look at how we dealt with this test of our commitment to civilian control of the

military. Congress would be wise to uphold this time-honored principle by denying Mattis a

waiver to serve as secretary of defense.

What happened to NSEERS (National Security Entry / Exit System) that many of you

called about last week? The Washington Post is reporting today (Thursday) that

Obama has dumped it! The administration will publish its decision in the Federal

Register on Friday.

Week 1. Nov. 17.]

What Can We Do? Week 1. Guard against “normalizing,” the behavior,

language, and beliefs of the newly elected President. Hold true to your values, set the

bar high, and let’s not regress to some romanticized time period of the past that was

not better, but in fact was more discriminatory, more repressive, more exclusive, and

more difficult to get ahead.

Wear the safety pin (and wear along with it other symbols of your beliefs such as a

Black Lives Matter Ribbon, a Standing on the Side of Love pin, or a favorite symbol of

your own.

The safety pin symbolizes that we are standing with all those who have

been disparaged, marginalized, disrespected, injured, arrested, killed

because of their color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or beliefs. Some

wear it because they are able to offer a “safe place,” and would be able to

physically protect someone who is being trashed by a mob. Others wear it

to show that we “have your back” and will do what we can, with what

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we’ve got, from where we are. We will to speak up when others speak

unkindly and we will in so far as we are able protect everyone’s rights,

freedom, and safety. If we can, we will do more.

Choose an organization that works for the safety, rights, liberty, and opportunity, for

all people especially those who were disrespected in the Presidential campaign:

women, people of color, Muslim, immigrants, disabled, GLBT and those who are being

disrespected now for their support of DT especially working class white men. Stand

for the respect and dignity of all people by joining, donating to, volunteering for an

organization of your choice. Here are some possibilities. The link is to the Arizona

chapter, but you can also join national chapters of most of these groups. (If the links

don’t work in your browser, just google the name).

Original List of Organizations:

American Civil Liberties Union – The ACLU may be the best choice for

opposing illegal and unethical policies and actions by the new administration

that will begin January 20, 2017. There are extraordinary signals already that the

DT administration may have more conflicts of interest and be more corrupt, as

well as unjust, than any we have seen before. The ACLU is a real hawk on basic

values – freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and the press.

Planned Parenthood – Planned Parenthood is under attack in Arizona and

throughout the United States as they courageously continue to provide health

care for women seeking family planning, cancer screening, and legal abortions.

They need our help.

Sierra Club – perhaps less noticed but surely high on the agenda are the attacks

that DT made on environmental efforts to confront climate change and protect

our planet. We are all part of the interconnected web of existance. Support for

the Sierra Club and volunteer work is needed.

League of Women Voters – The League is one of the best ever in its commitment

to rational, logical, inclusive spproach to issues and its support for democracy.

There are chapters all over the metropolitan areas of Arizona, and also a state-

wide chapter. “Democracy is not a spectator sport.” Women and men both are

welcome to join.

Black Lives Matter – this organization has re-energized the civil rights

movement for persons of African-American decent and holds us all accountable

for making the United States a place for all.

Puente Arizona – Puente AZ is the most active advocacy group in Arizona when

it comes to state-wide legislation. Quoting from their web page: “The Puente

Human Rights Movement is a grassroots migrant justice organization based in

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Phoenix, Arizona. We develop, educate, and empower migrant communities to

protect and defend our families and ourselves.”

NARAL Pro-Choice Arizona – Women’s reproductive rights are absolutely at

risk, as the new administration may be able to appoint judges to overturn Roe v.

Wade. NARAL’s mission: “The mission of NARAL Pro-Choice Arizona is to

develop and sustain a constituency that uses the political process to guarantee

every woman the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of

reproductive choices, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing

healthy children, and choosing legal abortion.”

Southern Poverty Law Center – SPLC tracks hate groups, hate crime, white

nationalists, NAZI groups, as well as incidents by alt-right and other extremist

violent organizations. This is probably the best national site for offering

opposition to the KKK and all the other racist, homophobic, hate groups.

Equality Arizona – This is a proactive advocacy group in Arizona working to

protect the rights and lives of LGBTQ persons. “We network, stay focused, and

organize around key issues facing the LGBTQ community.”

Council on American – Islamic Relations - CAIR is an advocacy group working

against the anti-Islam movements in the United States.

The Arizona List. The Arizona List is a grassrotts political group whose mission it “to

elect progressive,pro-choice Democratic women.” The group was founded in 2004 and

works to support candidates who are pro-choice and also holds training for women

interested in running for office.

American Association University Women – The AAUW is a long-standing organization

for women who have attended college. It advocates for women and girls, with special

emphasis on education pay equity, human trafficking, earned sick/safe leave and

prison reform.

Anti-Defamation League – The Arizona Anti-Defamation League is one of many

branches odf this national organization that provide “…an ongoing and dynamic

counter to bigotry, discrimination and hate in all forms, against any and all groups.”

Secular Coalition of Arizona – SCA is a chapter in the national Secular Coalition that

advocates for a continuation of secular governance. Special attention is given to

opposing legislation that permits discrimination in the name of religion and that allows

public funds for religious schools. These issues become ever more important as the

religious right gains ascendency in national and state elected politics.

Children’s Action Alliance – The AZ Children’s Action Alliance maintains a very active

tracking and monitoring of AZ Legislation involving children and families including

education, health, immigration, welfare, minimum wages and so on. CAA puts out an

outstanding analysis of the AZ budget each year, and a report on how legislators voted.

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Arizona School Board Association – ASBA is a progressive education lobbying and

advocacy group that tracks legislation in real time and provides weekly updates on

bills impacting K-12 education.

Arizona Advocacy Network – AZAN is a state-wide advocacy group focused on good

government, including voting rights, opposing voting suppression bills in the AZ

Legislature, and monitoring elections. They have an active presence in tracking AZ

legislative activity.

Valley Interfaith Project – VIP is a progressive interfaith group that is active in

monitoring state legislation in Arizona and in holding “civic forums” on a variety of

public policy issues such as prison reform, immigration, education.

Arizona Faith Network - AFN is an interfaith organization with active involvement in

progressive public policy issues and environmental concerns.

Protecting Arizona’s Family Coalition – PAFCO is a state-wide advocacy group whose

policy priorities including health, poverty, welfare, disability rights, children, and

sexual abuse as well as others. PAFCO holds training/oriention for legislative action

and maintains an active notification and presence at the Legislature.

AZ National Organization for Women – the AZ chapter of the National Organization

for Women advocates for women’s rights. Unlike most of the 501 organizations, NOW

is a 501 c 4 and endorses candidates for office and engages in more direct lobbying.

Arizona Disability Advocacy Coalition- The AZDAC “coordinates advocacy efforts that

promote public policy, and enhances the choice, dignity, rights and responsibilities of people with

disabilities and their families. AzDAC meets monthly at the AZ Ability360 Center. American

Civil Liberties Union

UUJAZ – Unitarian Universalist Justice Arizona – UUJAZ is the Arizona justice

advocacy network, and is part of the national Unitarian Universalist group of state

advocacy groups. UUs work for progressive social justice principles.

There are many other worthy organizations locally and nationally. Choose one (or

more) and volunteer, become a member, make a donation or help in every way you

can.

Week 2. A 50 Week Plan. This is not the time to feel so overwhelmed that we simply

retreat and do nothing or flail about Don-Quixote-style feeling alone and helpless.

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This issue of the AZ Legislative Alert outlines a 50-week-plan that we can pursue to

do our part in protecting all people and our democratic institutions from anti-

democratic actions by the newly elected Trump administration.

Each week, the AZ Legislative Alert will have at least one new action opportunity—

and not more than two or three at the most – so that all of us actually can do this. If

we do, then surely it will make a difference.

Week 2, November 22 – Call Senators and Representative

CALL (phone numbers below) both senators and your representative. Spill your

heart out to them about how the election of Trump makes you feel, along with some

of your own special concerns. For example,

“Hello….” I am one of your constituents and want to let you know that the

election of Donald Trump leaves me feeling ….[angry, depressed, scared,

worried, concerned…]. I am especially worried about ... [deportation, the

Affordable Care Act, climate change, immigration, “registering” Muslims,

cutting taxes, women’s reproductive rights, his investments and foreign

entanglements...]. The things he has said about… [ women, disabled people,

Muslims, Mexicans…] have legitimated hate language in my community. [Add

a specific example of your own; tell your own story]. Please… [stand up to

Trump’s repressive words and deeds, reject his anti-democratic policies; do not

let his administration destroy our democracy…] [Add your own note].

Call both Senators. Calling probably is best but e-mails will be read and tallied as

will letters.

Sen. John McCain - 202 224 2235. The mailbox may be full, so you can e mail at

Senator_McCain@McCain.Senate.Gov Address (The Honorable John McCain) 241

Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510. With the e-mail, you will have to fill out a form, but take the time to do it. It is worth it. Remember, Sen. McCain was very skeptical of Trump.

The AZ Legislative Alert THANKS those individuals, groups, and organizations that spread

the word about participating in A 50-Week-Plan including The Issue Wonk! Groups or

organizations that would like to be named here, contact legislativealert@vuu.org to express

your interest and get more information.

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Sen. Jeff Flake - 202 224 4521 . e-mail Senator.Flake@Flake.senate.gov

Address 413 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510. Sen. Flake

refused to endorse Trump.

Call your Representative. Some of you should call two representatives—current and

the newly elected one. Here’s their information. (Look up your Congressional district

here.)

1 Kirkpatrick, Ann

D 202-225-3361 http://kirkpatrick.house.gov/ 201 Cannon House Office Building

Washington D.C. 20515

1 Tom O'Holleran D (928) 275-1603

http://www.tomohalleran.com/contact

PO Box 20375 Sedona AZ 86341

2 McSally, Martha

R 202-225-2542 https://mcsally.house.gov/ 1029 Longworth HOB Sedona, AZ 86341

3 Grijalva, Raul

D 202-225-2435 https://grijalva.house.gov/ 1511 Longworth HOB Washington D.C. 20515

4 Gosar, Paul A.

R 202-225-2315 http://gosar.house.gov/ 504 Cannon HOB Washington D.C. 20515

5 Salmon, Matt

R 202-225-2635 http://salmon.house.gov

2349 Rayburn HOB Washington D.C. 20515

Andy Biggs R

info@biggsforcongress.com 1234 South Power Road, Suite 251, Mesa, Arizona 85206

6 Schweikert, David

R 202-225-2190 http://schweikert.house.gov

409 Cannon HOB Washington D.C. 20515

7 Gallego, Ruben

D 202-225-4065 http://gallego.house.og

1218 ongworth LHOB Washington D.C. 20515

8 Franks, Trent

R 202-225-4576 http://franks.house.gov

2435 Rayburn HOB Washington D.C. 20515

9 Sinema, Kyrsten

D 202-225-9888 http://sinema.house.gov

1530 Longworth HOB Washington D.C. 20515

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Week 3. On this Thanksgiving weekend, let’s CALL PAUL RYAN TO SUPPORT

THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT AND LETS PARTICIPATE IN THE “BAN

BANNON” POSTCARD AVALANCHE.

Also… give thanks for one another and for all the progressives who are taking

action to achieve a more socially-just society. Let us pledge to respect the inherent

worth and dignity of every person, protect democratic values and institutions, and

sustain the interconnected web of life, of which we are a part, by protecting the

planet. Each week, the AZ Legislative Alert will have at least one new action

opportunity as part of the “50 Week Plan” —and not more than two or three at the

most – so that all of us actually can do this. If we do, then surely it will make a

difference. You can find the full list of ideas for the 50 Week Action Plan as well as

previous copies of the AZ Legislative Alert at http://www.vuu.org/legislative-

advocacy

Week 3, November 24 – 50-Week Plan Action Items

BAN BANNON POSTCARD AVALANCHE! Join the Postcard

avalanche protesting appointment of Stephen Bannon to be Trump’s senior

advisor! Why? Because Bannon is a white nationalist, associated with Breitbart – alt-

right white supremacy, conspiracy theories, anti-feminist, anti-immigrant, anti-black/brown/Asian, anti-everything except white people! Read more here https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/is-steve-bannon-really-as-bad-as-all-that/2016/11/15/3c74af12-ab81-11e6-8b45-f8e493f06fcd_story.html?utm_term=.cfb473cda3a4

send a postcard directly to Trump! Here are the basic instructions to participate: ** IMPORTANT - Don't mail your card until NOV. 26th ** 1. Get a postcard about your state - any picture that represents your state. 2. In the message section, write this simple message: NOT BANNON! 3. Sign your name if you wish 4. Address it as follows: Donald Trump, c/o The Trump Organization, 725 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022 5. Affix a stamp - you can use a 35 cent postcard stamp, or a normal letter stamp.

6. Take a picture of your postcard that you can share on social media on Nov. 26-28th 7. Drop it in the mail between Saturday, Nov 26th and Monday, Nov. 28th to create an avalanche of postcards. 8. On Nov. 26-28th, Tweet and share the heck out of your photo using the hashtags #postcardavalanche #stopbannon

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Call Paul Ryan.. (202) 225-3031 or (202) 225-0600. Read more about it here.

You can also leave him an e mail message http://www.speaker.gov/contact.

Affordable Care Act. Paul Ryan, speaker of the U.S. House of

Representatives, is taking a telephone survey hoping to get millions of calls

opposing the Affordable Care Act and supporting his bill to repeal it, HR

3762, which also calls for a one-year freeze on federal funding for Planned

Parenthood. Repealing this would take insurance away from an estimated

600,000 or more Arizonans.. Gov. Ducey and former Gov. Jan Brewer – both

Republicans – have urged Trump not to repeal ACA as this would be a

disaster for Arizona. Call (wait for awhile, it make take a couple of minutes to

ring and if the mailbox is full, try again).

Reading The Issue Wonk? A weekly progressive wrap-up from around the United

States and the world. Well worth the time! Sign up here. (It’s free).

Week 4. Give a gift as a donation, and ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTE IS Dec. 19

1. Give a donation as a gift --- Remember that relative or friend you would like

to honor during this holiday season? Someone who shares your values and

your concerns about the impact of the recent election on social justice and

democracy? Consider giving a donation in their name to an advocacy group or

charity that shares your (and your friend/relative) values. You can find

possibilities and ideas below (scroll down if the link doesn’t work).

2. What to do about the Electoral College? -- Begin (or continue) your own

education about the Electoral College system of electing the President, and

decide what (if anything) you want to say to the Arizona electors who will be

meeting at the State Capitol December 19th. Unofficial addresses and ways to

contact the Arizona electors are found below. (Scroll down if the link doesn’t

work.) If you live in another state, you can find the names of your electors at

this site on Wikepedia. BE RESPECTFUL if you decide to contact the electors.

These are honorary positions, held by respectable citizens, who did not agree

to the task with the idea that it would be a controversial event!

Electors actually meet on December 19 at the State Capitol. At least two rallies are

planned for Arizona (at the Capitol, 1700 W. Washington) posted on social media: 3

p.m. rally and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. rally

What To Do? Quick overview of three primary options:

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1. Say nothing. Let the electors do their jobs now in 2016 and work to reform

the Electoral College later.

2. Urge the Republican electors to abstain or vote for anyone except Donald

Trump. He has to have 270 electoral votes to win. He currently has 306 so if

only a handful of Republican electors do not vote for him, the election will go

into the U.S. House of Representatives where each state’s delegation has ONE

VOTE. This would enable to Republicans to decide who they actually want to

be president, and it does not have to be Donald Trump.

3. Urge the Republican electors to vote for the candidate who won the national

popular vote (Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by about 2.5 million). She

currently has 232 electoral votes, so if 39 Republican electors vote for the

national popular vote winner, she would become the President.

Scroll down to see an extended discussion of these options. This is a complicated

issue, and good arguments can be found for many different positions.

What to Do About the Electoral College, Part I An Extended Discussion of 3 Options for the December 19 Electoral College Vote

By Anne L. Schneider, Ph.D.

1. Say nothing at all

Many of you may prefer to say nothing at all and let the electors do their job, as they

fully expected to by virtue of state law or pledges made at the time of their

appointment. Arizona has no law binding electors to vote for the candidate who won

the popular vote in the state, but electors are expected by pledge and tradition to vote

for the winner. Thus, for an elector to violate that pledge is asking them to break their

word. On the other hand, the founders established the Electoral College system

intentionally to prevent a popular but unqualified candidate from conning the public

through lies, deception, exaggeration, name-calling, bullying, and false promises. Some

contend this is what Donald Trump has done – conned the public.

In spite of the efforts by mainstream media to fact check his statements or apply

common-sense logic to his proposals, enough people voted for him anyway. Others

argue that in spite of these issues, the electors should be allowed to cast their votes as

expected, and Trump become president, because of the damage it would do to the

integrity of the U.S. democracy if the rules were changed after the election has been

held.

Another point is that whoever actually won would be a “tainted” president from the

outset. And still another argument against doing anything is that the alternatives

would probably produce a result just as bad from a social justice perspective, such as

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Mike Pence becoming President, as he has advanced far-right religious views entirely

unacceptable to progressives.

Thus, some argue, the best choice for progressives is to let the electoral college take

its course for 2016 but work on reforms in the future.

2. Urge Republican electors to abstain or vote for someone else.

Although abstaining or voting for someone else would require electors to break

from tradition, it is not clear in Arizona that the electors actually were asked to sign a

pledge supporting the winner of the state election and some are on record as not being

Trump supporters. Persuasive arguments can be made that founders expected electors

to use their discretion when casting their vote – after all, that is a primary reason it is in

the Constitution.

Why should an elector cast a vote for a person who is unqualified to be President?

Unqualified in that he has no public service experience, has demonstrated a surprising

and frightening lack of knowledge of domestic and foreign affairs as well as obvious

gaps in his understanding of what the powers and responsibilities of the President

actually are.

Why should electors be expected to vote for a person who, because of his business

dealings and foreign entanglements may be committing an impeachable offense

(violation of the emolument clause of the constitution) on the very day he is

inaugurated? Is there anything moral or patriotic about voting for a person who

proposes violation of the constitution such as taking away someone’s citizenship if

they burn the flag! Citizenship is conferred by the constitution and is not a permissible

penalty for any criminal action.

Why should an elector be expected to vote for someone who in his campaign

demonstrated autocratic, dictator-like behavior? Perhaps the elector should believe

Trump when he said he would put his opponent in jail, would levy a 35% tax on

companies trying to import goods back into the United States, would have “different

generals” if they refused to obey his order to violate U.S. and international law

banning waterboarding.

Perhaps electors should believe what Trump said and vote in such a way as to deny

him the Presidency. If no candidate gets 270 votes, the election goes to the U.S. House

of Representatives where each state’s delegation has one vote, assuring that the

Republican party would still control the Presidency but possibly with a different

person. These “unfaithful” voters are sometimes called “Hamilton” voters, because

Alexander Hamilton believed that the electoral college was a necessary protection for

democracy.

“The process of the Electoral College affords a moral certainty, that the office of the President will

never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite

qualifications.” -Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Paper #68

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Supporters of the idea of abstaining or voting one’s conscience are not urging electors

to be unfaithful, immoral, or anti-democratic, but are urging them to carry out the

original intent of the constitution. If one thinks that Donald Trump’s rise to the

Presidency is similar to Hitler’s rise to power in Weimer Germany, then denying him

the electoral vote is the right thing to do.

3. Urge Republican electors to vote for the candidate who won the national

popular vote.

At first glance this may seem like a cynical strategy of Hillary Clinton’s campaign

to “steal” the election that she did not win. On the other hand, one of the most popular

reforms of the Electoral College system is for state legislatures to pass legislation

requiring their electors to cast their votes for whoever won the national popular vote,

with the condition that this requirement does not go into effect until enough states

have joined the “compact” so that 270 votes would be guaranteed to the winner of the

national popular vote. Ten states and the District of Columbia have already passed

this legislation. All are Democratic states, and therefore no electoral votes would be

changed for 2016.

In 2016, the Arizona House passed HB2456 (40-16) to join this state compact

requiring Arizona electors to cast their votes for the national popular vote winner.

SB1218 would have done the same thing, and it had 20 sponsor, with only 16 votes

needed to win. However, Senate leadership did not call it up for a vote.

Thus, a supporter of this position could argue that now is the time to put this reform

in place and therefore the current electors are justified in casting their vote for the

winner of the national popular vote. The national popular vote idea is supported by

two principles most people will agree are central to democracy: one is that a person

who wins more of the votes in an election defeats those who garnered fewer votes; and

another is that everyone’s vote should count. The Electoral College achieves neither of

these.

The United States is the only advanced democracy in the world in which the winner

of the national popular vote does not necessarily win the presidency. This also

happened in 2000 when Al Gore had more popular votes than George Bush, and three

times in the 1800s.

Also, the U.S. Presidency is the only election in the United States for public officials

in which the person who wins the most votes can actually be defeated by someone

who gained fewer votes. (Someone who wins a primary may later be defeated in a run-

off but in the final analysis, the person with the most votes wins).

In the current Electoral College system, the “winner take all” provision means that

the votes cast by people in the state who voted for the losing candidate do not count at

all. Even if the two states that allocate their electoral votes by congressional district,

those voting for the losing candidate in that district are among those whose votes do

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not count at all. Some elections use proportional voting so that each candidate receives

votes proportionate to their share of the election, but that is not the case in the Electoral

College.

These last two options bring up the question of what the penalty is for an

“unfaithful” elector, and in the 29 states that bind their electors by law, the penalty is

a misdemeanor and small fine. If such a penalty was imposed, it could be challenged

and might be found unconstitutional since the constitution gives electors the right to

vote for the candidate they prefer and does not bind the in any way.

Week 5. Congress reportedly is planning to “fast track” Pres-elect

Trump’s appointment for Secretary of Defense by slipping a necessary

“waiver” for him into the temporary / emergency funding bill that will

be voted on Thursday by the U.S. House and possibly the same day by

the Senate. WHOA! Bad Precedent.

If this concerns you (and it should), please CALL your U.S.

Representative and Senators Flake and McCain today or EARLY

tomorrow. (Or E-mail). This is a sneaky effort by some in Congress to

avoid a full discussion of General Mattis and sets a terrible precedent for

how the Congress will hold its own to protect constitutional principles

in the coming Trump administration. Granting a waiver to allow a

recent military General to be Secretary of Defense needs a thorough

discussion, not a sneaky insert into a must-pass budget bill.

This link takes you to contact information.

WhoIsMyRepresentative.com

What to say: (Thanks to Mary Rothschild for this action idea and background

information).

Background. Pres. Elect Trump has said he will nominate Gen. James Mattis for

Secretary of Defense. There is a legal requirement that the Secretary of Defense must be

a civilian (not a military person) and former military personnel must have been out of

uniform for 7 or more years. A bedrock principle of American democracy is that

civilians are in charge of the military! Gen. Mattis may (or may not) be a good

appointment, but the issue at this time is that he does not meet the 7 year separation

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requirement. It is possible for Congress to grant a waiver on this requirement, but the

issue right now is that a decision about the waiver should NOT BE SNEAKED INTO A

MUST-PASS BUDGET BILL AND APPROVED WITHOUT ADEQUATE DISCUSSION

OR PUBLIC INPUT! Congress will have plenty of time to discuss whether they should

grant a waiver or not. Sneaky and deceptive actions by Congress must not go

unnoticed by a vigilant citizenry!

Here is the letter that Professor Mary Rothschild shared on her Facebook page today.

She urges us to use as much or as little as we want, but let’s DO SOMETHING! Dear Senator McCain,

Please do not vote for the shortcut waiver attached to the funding bill for General James Mattis. I know it must seem like a great end run around the constitutional and congressional stipulations about civilian control of the military, but it is fundamentally wrong to set such a precedent.

As I am sure you know, the only time the US has waived the 7 year separation requirement was for George Marshall, who was a wholly different choice in an entirely different time and that still had to be done with a separate congressional action. James Mattis may be a good choice for Department of Defense, but he should be fully vetted and the waiver to consider him should be a separate bill, fully debated, and not rammed through, because the country needs funding to avoid shut down.

The concept of civilian control of the military was one of the (many) brilliant innovations that our Founding Fathers wrote into the Constitution. It was astonishing at the time and has served us incredibly well over the ensuing years. Please do not set us down the slippery slope of upending one of the most basic ideas behind American democracy.

Sincerely yours,

Mary Rothschild, Ph.D.

IF YOU MISS THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD ON THIS ISSUE, CALL

ANYWAY AND “FUSS” ABOUT CONGRESS NOT DOING ITS JOB! YOU CAN

CALL THE LOCAL OFFICE OF YOUR U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM THIS LINK http://usecalltoaction.com/

Week 6. Here are two things we can each do this week that will be helpful during

chaotic emergence of the Trump Administration.

Oppose NSEERS – Did you know the U.S. actually had (and still has) a

registry program that mainly impacts Muslims? Let’s call or e-mail the Obama

administration to finish elimination of NSEERS— National Security Entry Exit

System. This was a largely-hidden registry program put in place after 9/11 that

required all males from a list of 25 countries to register with the U.S.

Government. The countries were Arab / Muslim majority countries plus North

Korea. This program is no longer active, but is still on the record. Persons had to

go for an interview, were asked questions such as “are you a terrorist.” If

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President Obama eliminates it before he leaves office, it will be harder for the

Trump administration to start it up again, and a reboot may well be

unconstitutional because President Elect Trump is on record as saying it would

be one way to register Muslims without appearing to target people because of

their religion. A registry of just Muslims would violate the first amendment. A

Trump immigration adviser, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, told

Reuters in November that the transition team would recommend bringing back

NSEERS. A week later, he was photographed with Trump holding documents of

his immigration plan. Among the legible text of the plan was that NSEERS is

"updated and reintroduced" and that “all aliens from high-risk areas are

tracked.” Read about NSEERS here.

Action plan: call President Obama to leave a comment 202-456-1111

E mail President Obama https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact Ask him to finish eliminating the Muslim registry program, NSEERS.

Here’s my script: Hello, my name is _______ from _______. I understand that

we have a program called NSEERS – national security entry/exist system -- and

that even though it is no longer active, it is still on the books and President

Trump could re-activate it! My request is to let President Obama know that I

support a complete elimination of that program, so that it will be far more

difficult for Donald Trump to reboot it. And, Merry Christmas President

Obama, I am proud you have been our President.

De-escalation training - People all over the United States are wearing safety

pins, symbolizing our commitment to speak up / stand up if we encounter

hateful words or acts against marginalized people or against anyone! Yet,

many of us may not know how to de-escalate a hate-filled conflict situation.

De-escalation training will help us improve our skills. Learn more about how

to do this by attending the de-escalation training Dec. 20 at VUU (7 p.m. see

more below). If you can’t make the training, try one of the on-line videos to

help de-escalation skills:

What to Do If You Are Witnessing Islamophobic Harassment: A

Bystander's Guide to Helping the Person Who's Being Targeted by Marine-

Shirine Veren http://www.alternet.org/…/alternet-comics-marie-shirine-yen…

A How-To Guide from the Ruckus

Society http://ruckus.org/downloads/RuckusActionStrategyGuide.pdf

Standing on the Side of love de-escalation video

https://www.facebook.com/SideofLove/videos/10154119630468014/

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Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation – Senior Minister, Rev. Andy Burnette; Visiting Minister, Rev. Earl Holt (September through mid-November); Music

Minister, Rev. Kellie Walker; Director of Life-Span Religious Education, Marci Beaudoin. Administrator, Sue Ringler.

Located: 6400 W. Del Rio Drive, Chandler, AZ 480 899 4249 www.vuu.org For previous copies of the Arizona

Legislative Alert, go to https://www.vuu.org/legislative-advocacy. VUU holds services each Sunday at 10:30. You are

welcome here!

Unitarian Universalist Justice Arizona Network -- Executive Director Rev. Lisa

McDaniel-Hutchings; Justice Coordinator…. Alison Wood Policy Coordinator, Anne L. Schneider. Board

Members, UUJAZ: Sharon Travis, Liz Swan (Chair),Rev. Matthew Crary, Bobbi Bollinger. www.uujaz.org.

Read more about ACA from Protecting Arizona’s Family. And from “We Are

UltraViolet” One organization even has tools to help you write a letter to the editor.

Try it here.

Children’s Action Alliance is making opposition to the repeal a priority. Read more.