Call to Action courtesy of Desert Progressives

Urgent: Trumpcare is back....
....and Republicans are as close as they've ever been to passing it. This is all hands on deck!  Find out more about this bad healthcare bill here. Then register your disapproval today by calling Senator McCain (602-952-2410), Senator Flake (602-840-1891) and Governor Ducey (602-542-4331) and urge them to work in a bipartisan fashion to create a healthcare plan that is affordable for all.  Your phone calls are the most effective way to influence your senators (and governor) to protect health care. And time is of the essence! Sponsors are trying to get this done by the September 30 deadline. Here's more information about this bad bill - and a script you can follow if you wish.

Support a Dreamer - Donate Today!
You can be a hero to a young person facing deportation since the president rescinded the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program. Up to 6,000 young people in Arizona must renew their temporary immigration status by October 5, or risk deportation from the only home most of these talented youth have ever known.

The good news is that with the help of attorneys and others who are donating their services, organizations like Promise Arizona are helping these young people to file the required documents at no charge.

However, many of them don't have the resources to pay the $495 application fee charged by the federal government to renew their DACA status.

Please help one or more young person by donating to pay all or even part of this fee. All gifts to Promise Arizona go toward paying these application fees. Please join us in donating what you can today.

Turn Arizona BLUE in 2018
The last election shows that we're within reach of electing people to the Arizona legislature who will represent our values (including funding public education). And in turning Arizona blue, we can impact the direction of our country, too.

It will take all of us working together to make it happen, though. And so Desert Progressives is partnering with an inspiring group of young people from C.A.S.E. (Central Arizonan's for a Sustainable Economy) to help register new voters and get new, diverse voters who share our values to the polls, too. (They registered 40,000 new voters before Nov 2016, which was instrumental in unseating Sheriff Joe!)

We need to start NOW to help register 200,000 new voters before November 2018. So, we'll be canvassing in partners every Saturday from 10 am - 2 pm through November 11.

Please meet us at 10 am THIS Saturday, Sept 23, at 11240 N. 19th Ave (on the southwest corner of 19th Ave & Cholla). After a brief training, we'll go out to survey and register infrequent voters. Bring your walking shoes, water and a fully charged cell phone! Contact Judy or Mickey to RSVP or find out more!

#NoProp305 - Save Our Schools!
Voting #NoProp305 in November 2018 is so much bigger than politics. It's about doing right by Arizona's children, Arizona's families, and Arizona's future. We've come this far, Team SOS AZ. We'll never give up. Check out this inspiring video and visit SOSArizona.org to keep up the momentum into November 2018.

Register Voters! It's National Voter Registration Day 
Help register people to vote next week on Tuesday, September 26. Join us at this event and you'll learn how to register voters - and have the opportunity to do so!
HELP us help you! Survey of your location & priorities
Please help us to help you.  Mickey and I would like to get a better sense of where you all come from in the Valley and maybe even give you some options for connecting with like-minded folks who live near you.  Please reply to this survey prior to our next meeting on September 26.

Save the Date -  And Invite a Friend to the....
Desert Progressives Indivisible Meeting
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
7 - 8:30 pm
Shadow Rock Congregational Church
12861 N. 8th Avenue, Phoenix
(south from Thunderbird on 8th Ave, one block east of the light at Coral Gables.
On the Agenda
Superintendent of Public Schools Primary Candidates David Schapira and Kathy Hoffman
Athena Salman, a Democratic member of the Arizona House of Representatives elected to represent District 26 in 2016, about how you can help elect people who represent your values.
And more!

Arizona Action
Register Now for the We the People Summit 
Don't miss this powerful event on Saturday, November 4 from 8:30 am - 6 pm! Building on the momentum of January's Women's March, the first summit this past summer helped progressive groups from throughout Arizona to collaborate.  Join us in November when we have the chance to connect and build on what we've already started together! We need you there!

We the People are individuals, grassroots organizations, and established nonprofits who seek to empower, educate, and connect the citizens of Arizona. The We the People Summit will give you the tools and techniques to empower you to make a difference in your community and make sure your voice is heard in local and state government. Early bird tickets are available now! $35 general, $20 students. Find out more and register here today!

Arizona Action
YES for Paradise Valley students
The Paradise Valley School District's Override Election is on the ballot this November (2017!) We strongly urge everyone to support these Arizona students and families by voting YES!

AND we urge you to volunteer and support the campaign. Join Yes for PV Students campaign's Kick-off event on Tuesday, Sept 26 from 4-7 pm when you can get yard signs, car magnets and learn about other ways you can support the campaign. Or if you can't make it (since you'll be coming to the Desert Progressives Indivisible Meeting that night!), you can get more information about the override here. And learn more about how you can support the PV Override at the next DPI meeting!
Deadlines to register for Nov 2017 elections
You can find out about the November 2017 elections and the final day for voter registration here.
Legislative Activism Training 101 & 102 with Dianne Post
This of you who were at our July Desert Progressives Indivisible meeting will remember the amazing Dianne Post who led us through a process of not only selecting a goal but also gathering actions and resources to make it happen.

Join her and others on Tuesday, October 3 from 6-9 pm for this Legislative 101 training AND do a Legislative 202 training in preparation for the upcoming 2018 AZ legislative session!

For 2018, the chapter's legislative activism will focus on the passage of the ERA, repeal of the tampon tax and the introduction of child marriage laws in AZ. Learn more about it here. This free training will take place at the AFL-CIO office at 3117 N. 16th Street. Register here.

National Action
Advocate to Keep DACA Youth Here in the US
Call: Your 3 MoCs today: Senator McCain (602) 952-2410, Senator Flake (602) 840-1891, and look up your Congressman's number here.

Script: Hi. I am from [ZIP], calling to ask [name] to support a clean Dream Act that gives permanent legal status to DACA recipients without attaching funding for a border wall. Is [name] committed to supporting S. 1615 (Senate) / H.R. 3440 (House)? Will s/he co-sponsor it?

Find more meaningful actions you can take this week in Jen Hofmann's Action Checklist for People of Conscience.

Oppose the partisan Voter Commission's attempts to restrict voting rights
Call: Your state's head of elections (use the list below the map to find your state's elections office website).
Script: Hi. I am from [ZIP], calling to ask that [name] refuse to cooperate with the president’s Voter Commission. I am one of a growing number of Americans who oppose this commission because we don't trust its agenda or its leader.

Find more meaningful actions you can take in this week's Jen Hofmann's Action Checklist for People of Conscience

Advocate for Two Bills Protecting Special Counsel Robert Mueller
Call: Your 2 senators: Senator McCain (602) 952-2410 and Senator Flake (602) 840-1891,

Script: Hi. I am calling because I approve of the special counsel investigation into Russia ties, and would like [name] to support two pieces of legislation that protect Robert Mueller from presidential dismissal. S. 1735 (sponsored by Sen. Graham) and S. 1741 (by Sen. Tillis). Will [name] use his/her influence to spark action on these stalled bills?

Find more meaningful actions you can take in this week's Jen Hofmann's Action Checklist for People of Conscience

Join Rev Barber and the Poor People's Campaign
"White supremacy is about maintaining power through the politics of division and oppression - and it impacts everyone, black, brown or white." Rev. William J. Barber, II.

We share the belief that silence is not an option and so urge all of us to better educate ourselves and build our own awareness of how racism still permeates our culture. One way to do that is to listen to the inspiring Rev. Barber, Repairers of the Breach President and Senior Lecturer here where he delivers a powerful sermon at the historic Riverside Church in New York City. We also encourage you to learn about the Poor People's Campaign and consider supporting it.

Event
Lecture Series: Social & Environmental Costs of the Border Wall
Sunday, September 24, 2-4 pm
BAC #3 Bricklaying JA&TC, 2601 E Monroe St, Phoenix
Gain insight into why the border is a perennial problem in American politics at this free event sponsored by Indivisible Arizona and Indivisible Phoenix. The speaker will be Scott Warren who is a geographer with a PhD from Arizona State University. Scott’s research explores the ways that land and life in southern Arizona are impacted by the hardening of the US-Mexico border.

Specifically, he wrote his dissertation about how the shift from the resource extraction industry to the border security industry has impacted the community of Ajo, Arizona. He now makes his home in Ajo, where he helps to coordinate the humanitarian responses of a handful of non-profit and NGO groups that conduct search and rescue and other humanitarian work in the Ajo corridor.

Express Your Condolences
Express condolences to the Mexican president. As your neighbors, we grieve with you for the precious lives lost in the tragic earthquake. We are sorry our president didn’t show appropriate sympathy. Please know that we in the US are praying for your people, the souls of those lost, and for recovery in your beautiful country.

Address: Presidente Enrique Peña Nieto, Los Pinos, Mexico City, Mexico

Good News!
This week's good news comes courtesy of our friend Jen Hoffman.
Good trend: Dems have picked up 6 formerly-GOP seats in state and national elections.

The Senate approved a bipartisan resolution condemning white supremacist groups.

California votes to approve sanctuary state with the blessing of law enforcement.

Despite Blacks representing over 25% of Alabama’s population, its judges are disproportionately white. A NAACP lawsuit moves forward to change this.

Royal Caribbean provides transport and brings humanitarian aid to Irma-affected islands.

France will ban oil production and reduce nuclear energy by 25%.

“Robert E. Lee has left the park”

Martin Shkreli—he who once jacked up prices for AIDS and cancer drugs—is in jail without bail.

When ESPN’s Jemele Hill spoke of the president’s racism, her colleagues acted in solidarity and now she’s back on the air.