Bait of the union: Jan. 25th-Feb. 2nd

Hello Teen Resisters! This week was marked by President Trump's first State of the Union address and Representative Joe Kennedy III's response. Trump's speech mostly reflected what his supporters wanted to hear, serving as a surefire way to ensure support in this coming year. So many soundbites have been circulating. We've picked a few to check on and provide some explanation of, as well as an update and some ways to act. Let's hop in.

What went down

QUOTE: "To everyone still recovering in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, California, and everywhere else – we are with you, we love you, and we will pull through together." 
Topic: Aid for Puerto Rico
All aid to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria was momentarily ended on Wednesday, January 31st, due to the subsidization of a immediate humanitarian emergency.  While FEMA claims that internal analytics show 1% of victims of Hurricane Maria to still demand aid, a third of the residents are still in need of electricity and running water. While FEMA has provided up to $500 million to public assistance for victims of the hurricane, Alejandro De La Campa argues that the rest can be covered, from this point forward, by the Puerto Rican government and nonprofits. While this policy was rolled back today, Puerto Rico is still in desparate need of government aid.
What you can do: Sign this petition put forth by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Power 4 Puerto Rico (LESS THAN 1 MINUTE): click here.

QUOTE: "Americans are dreamers too. The first pillar of our framework generously offers a path to citizenship for 1.8 million illegal immigrants who were brought here by their parents at a young age Under our plan, those who meet education and work requirements, and show good moral character, will be able to become full citizens of the United States."
Topic: DACA 
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA); Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act): No matter how you've heard of this program, you've surely seen it popping up in your social media feeds in these recent weeks. It is an imperative program that protects undocumented immigrants who were brought here as children (under 16). Known as DREAMers, these people (some of whom are now in their 20s and have children) are able to get jobs and financial aid for college as well as live without fear of being deported. They have grown up here and have known no other home. All of the benefits DACA provides will be no more if, come March, DACA is repealed. While Trump's immigration proposal somewhat ensures these rights (despite corrupt requirements), there are many other flaws with the proposal put forth by the GOP last month, primarily extreme laws pertaining to deportation and family sponsorship. However, a clean Dream Act is in the works. A bipartisan bill, it will work to make sure that DACA recipients have an easy path to citizenship, and in the meantime, won't live in fear of deportation. We need to be pushing this bill right now-- time is running out. Call your reps- whether they be Democrat or Republican-- and tell them to back DACA with all their might.
What you can do: Sign this petition by clicking here (LESS THAN 1 MINUTE). Have more time? Call your reps (NY RESIDENTS: Please call or email Senator Chuck Schumer, who has been somewhat spineless about the act over these past few weeks):
Number: 202-224-3121
Script: Hi, my name is ______ and I'm a constituent. I'm calling to ask that Senator/Representative _______ back a clean DREAM Act with all their might and refuse to cave to President Trump's extremist anti-immigrant proposals. Young immigrants have a place here, and the focus should be on reforming our immigration process to include easier paths to citizenship rather than attacking people who benefit American society and economy. Please take my thoughts into consideration as you go forth into this new year of lawmaking. Thank you.

DREAMers at a protest. Photo courtesy of HuffPost

QUOTE: "As we have seen tonight, the most difficult challenges bring out the best in America."
Topic: 2018 Midterms!
We couldn't have said it better ourselves. This year's elections are a chance to fight back against this administration big time. Here are a few reasons:

• Local policies matter: particularly when it comes to education and criminal justice reform, local laws truly have an impact on communities. Regardless of the administration in the White House, it's important to have good reps at local levels too.
• We could flip Congress blue: There are a lot of seats up for election come November. If we can continue trends like what we saw in Alabama and Virginia, we are unstoppable.
• This is a big opportunity to end partisan gerrymandering. What's gerrymandering? Gerrymandering is when a party purposefully draws district lines in order to ensure that their party wins elections in that area. They do this by packing large numbers of one party into one district to give them only a small portion of representation, or splitting up members of a party into lots of different districts so that they can't win in any. It's corrupt, and it destroys democracy as it is supposed to function. District lines are drawn by representatives in most states and is done so every ten years, after the census. The next time reps redistrict is in 2020, so the people elected now are in control then. We need good people who support democracy in those seats!

So what can I do? You probably know by now that you've come to the right place. As midterm election season begins to heat up, be sure to be checking back here for featured candidates and ways to help. For now, check out amazing organizations to find out how to get involved:
1. Forward Majority is working towards electing democrats to local and state offices through experienced tactics.
2. EMILY's List works to get pro-choice Democratic women elected to Congress. We are  big proponents of diversity in government here at TR- so sign us up!
3. Swing Left is an AMAZING organization that gets you connected to swing districts to campaign in near you, rather than having to go to a swing state (PA, VA, NC, etc.) These districts could be in your state! 

ANOTHER THING TO NOTE: The fight for Net Neutrality isn't over! Check our previous list to take action.
Vine Compilation of the Week: that's right, we're mixing it up: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOTOqVXE4Xg