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1/13/2020 0 Comments

Welcome to 2020: Dec. 20 2019-Jan. 14 2020

Hey Teen Resisters!
We hope all of you enjoyed your well-deserved holiday breaks!! Now, we are more excited than ever to dive into the new decade--and into the year that will bring the next presidential election cycle. Before you start, here are a couple things to be aware of:

Earthquakes in Puerto Rico: In recent weeks, a series of devastating earthquakes have shaken Puerto Rico, causing widespread power outages, water shortages, and dislocations and exacerbating the still-lingering damage of Hurricane Maria. Our hearts go out to those affected. Click here for a list of organizations to donate to.

Impeachment: Nancy Pelosi today sent the articles of impeachment to the Senate, and the trial will commence in earnest on Tuesday; a host of new evidence has also just emerged regarding Trump's involvement in Ukraine, further pressuring Republicans to include witnesses in the Senate trial.

Happy activisting!!
Peace & power,
TR

what went down

Australia Bushfires
In November, after dozens of bushfires erupted in New South Wales, Australia, the national government declared a state of emergency. Since then, the bushfires have spread across the continent, burning an area about the size of South Korea, and forcing many people to evacuate from their homes. At least 27 people are dead and roughly 2000 homes have been destroyed thus far. And even those who retain their homes are unsafe — Vox reports that breathing the air in Sydney is as bad as smoking 37 cigarettes. And due to Australian wind climate, the bushfires are only supposed to get worse throughout the rest of January and early February. The bushfires have been most devastating to Australian wildlife, with over 1 billion animals dead thus far. Scientists say that the wildfire crisis — directly associated with climate change, which has been causing extreme wildfires of greater frequency and size in recent decades — will cause long-term damage for ecosystems across Australia, generating a continent-wide heat wave, and endangering many animal and plant species. Online, videos of koalas with skin burns being rescued from the fires have emerged across social media platforms, and shocking photos of a continent immersed in smoke have moved many to action. Here’s what you can do to help those affected by the bushfires across Australia:

Donate to organizations who are on the ground in Australia helping families who have lost their homes and supplies:
- The Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund is sending volunteers to communities affected by the fire and providing support to displaced families
- GIVIT is an Australian organization that matches donated goods with items requested by fire victims, such as car batteries or gas pumps

Also donate to organizations providing medical care and ecological rehabilitation to animals who have been injured or lost their habitats:
- The Australian Koala Foundation as an organization long invested in care and preservation of koalas. Donate money to preserve koalas and their habitats in Australia at their website.
- Donate to the World Wildlife Fund, which is a global animal preservation organization currently working to specifically rebuild koala habitats and provide medical care for injured species
If you are unable to give money, try organizing any of the following initiatives in your schools to raise money or supplies as a community:
- Clothing/supply drives — organizations such as the Red Cross are accepting household goods that you can collect in a box at school
- Host a relief concert/evening — students can perform songs, dances, spoken word, and anything else they want to share for cheap tickets that will raise donations to send to any of the organizations listed above
- Host a bake sale! — although you may not raise thousands of dollars, a couple hundred dollars count and can mean a big difference to a single family or animal that is suffering

US-Iran Conflict

The escalation of the recent US-Iran conflict began when pro-Iranian protestors sieged the U.S. Embassy in Iraq in response to airstrikes, chanting “Death to America” and attempting to scale the walls until American security forces fired tear gas to drive them back.
On Friday, January 3rd, an American drone fired at a car carrying Qasem Soleimani, a powerful Iranian general. Although the Trump administration claimed they did so to “stop a war,” the action seemed to have the opposite sentiment; experts claimed that, of all the avenues the president could have chosen to take, assassinating Soleimani was one of the most extreme, as well as risky.
On Wednesday, January 8th, Iran fired over a dozen missiles at military bases in Iraq where American troops were based. Oil prices soared on news of attacks.

2020 Featured Issue: Criminal Justice
With the 2020 presidential elections getting closer and closer, a spotlight has increasingly been put on the top Democratic candidates, including more pressure for specificity in their opinions and policy plans. While criminal justice reform has always been a hot topic, Representative Ayanna Pressley’s criminal justice reform plan,“The People’s Justice Guarantee,” has brought even more attention to the issue. The legislation outlines a plan to comprehensively hire more prosecutors that stand against our fundamentally racist, sexist, xenophobic, classist, and homophobic law system, as well as to provide tax incentives for states to decrease prison populations, repeal three strike laws, and more. You can read even more about it in-depth here. With so much discussion and controversy around this issue right now, it’s worth asking the question: What do the front-runners for president have to say about this?

On Thursday, January 9th, Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced legislation that would block Trump from funding military action in Iran without the approval of Congress.
- As of tonight, a key Democrat affirmed that the Senate (in addition to the Democratic House of Reps.) have enough votes to pass the bill—four Republican senators have indicated that they will break party ranks.
- However, it is unlikely that the Senate will muster enough votes to override a presidential veto.
Tensions have since deescalated, and Trump walked back his threat to strike Iranian cultural targets. However, economic, diplomatic, political, and military consequences will be long-lasting (read more about them here).

Actions!

Here’s a concise history of US-Iran relations since 1953. It’s super helpful in giving context to everything that’s going on now!
Attend a local direct action. Some places to find a direct action near you:
- Social media
- CODEPINK
- ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism)
- Saturday January 25th is the global day of protests against war on Iran
Call your representatives!
- This link will take you to a form where they will automatically connect you with your representatives
- Here’s a helpful script (also from indivisible)

My name is __________. I am a constituent, and my zip code is _______. I'm calling because I'm concerned that the administration is trying to start a war in Iran without Congressional authorization, and that it's doing so not for national security reasons but merely to bolster Trump's re-election campaign.

I urge [Representative/Senator name] to:

Vocally support limiting Trump’s war powers
Everything possible to assert Congress's role as a co-equal branch of government,
Speak out against pressure to "fall in line behind the commander in chief,"
And block this attempt to draw attention away from impeachment proceedings.
Support a bill blocking Trump from funding for military engagement in Iran (Sen. Sanders’s)

Thank you.

Warren: Elizabeth Warren is a strong advocate for reform immediate and drastic. She has an extensive plan that would aim to change how children are taught to behave from as early as kindergarten, which laws are in place (such as marijuana laws and 3 strike policies that are inherently racist and classist), how the law is enforced, how people are reformed to reduce incarceration, and more. A full, detailed explanation can be found here on her website.
Buttigieg: Mayor Pete Buttigieg also has similar views on criminal justice reform along with a detailed plan he vouches to put into action if he is elected into office. Some of the major themes he plans to change are prison overpopulation, the treatment of minorities, drug possession/nonviolent drug offense laws, legalizing marijuana, eliminating mandatory minimums, and more. Likewise, his entire plan can be read here on his website.
Sanders: Sanders, who has been a civil right’s activists for most of his life, has long been a staunch advocate for criminal justice reform. Detailed under “Justice and Safety for All” on his website is a map of his position on criminal justice reform, including how he plans to fight for it. Sanders promises to solve our prison-industrial-complex, including mass incarceration. He strives to push the $80 billion usually delegated to prisons into investments for jobs and education for generations to come. Additionally, Sanders has a call to action for the elimination of private, for profit prisons and detention centers; the war on drugs, and cash bail. Key points under this include: ending for-profit institutions in our criminal justice system, reform and establish a “Prisoners Bill of Rights”, ensuring law enforcement accountability, and much more here.
Biden: Biden highlights equity, justice, and equality in his plan for “strengthening America’s commitment to justice.” Biden asserts the fact that the US has a mass incarceration issue, and that too many are people of color. He urges the call to build safe and healthy communities, and the re-evaluation of how our system works - including the how, why, and who? Furthermore, Biden promises to “strengthen America’s commitment to justice,” and reform our criminal justice system. Ultimately, Biden calls for the following: reduction of crime, and those incarcerated; the evaluation of racial disparities in our justice system, rehabilitation and redemption, and the expulsion of profits off the justice system. Details on his website here.
Steyer: Tom Steyer has considerably less emphasis on criminal justice reform than the other top democratic candidates. He plans on ending cash bail, reducing the prison population, closing private prisons, increasing rehabilitation, and more. He has a brief blurb about the topic on his website along with a 1-hour video of him discussing the issue.
Yang: Andrew Yang’s main focus of criminal justice reform is reducing mass incarceration. His plan to do this includes reforming mandatory minimums, ending private prisons, pushing for more drug rehabilitation instead of jail time, reducing recidivism, and decreasing the harshness of certain felony laws. Check out what he has to say here on his website!
Gabbard: Tulsi Gabbard, a native representative of Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district, is also a vocal advocate for criminal justice reform. On her website, under “Advocating for Criminal Justice”, she claims our system is broken and unstable. Additionally, Tulsi has been forthright in her fight to decriminalize marijuana in the House, in conjunction of her efforts to fight for reform, including her introduction of the bipartisan Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act. The bill would take marijuana off the federal controlled substances list. This, in turn, would further efforts to eliminate certain obstacles into developing a safe, legal, and beneficial hemp industry - creating jobs and lessening the burden of certain drug offenses. More on her site, including details on her advocacy of sentencing reform, fighting mass incarceration, and decriminalizing victims of human trafficking can be found on her site here.
Klobuchar: Klobuchar, Minnesota’s senior senator, includes a brief outline for her stance on criminal justice reform, of which she advocates for. Primarily, she calls for the passing of the Second Step Act. This is in reference to the First Step Act, where it was established that federal sentencing and prison reforms only applied to those in federal prisons, and did little (if nothing) to help to help the estimated 90% of the incarcerated population in both state and local institutions. Amy plans to create federal incentives in order to motivate states to “restore some discretion” in regards to mandatory sentencing for minor offenders. Moreover, she also strives to reform the cash bail system, expand funding for public defenders, eliminate obstacles for those reintegrating into our society, and fight for expanded drug courts. Klobuchar promises to create a clemency advisory board, as well as a white house position outside of the Department of Justice, that would advise the president in regards involving criminal justice, from the perspective of reform. For more on other issues, you can find her website here.

Given the dynamic range of democratic candidates, it’s hopeful to see that all of them are concerned about the criminal justice system and are looking for reform and action in the immediate future. However, if there’s any candidate that you specifically support, you can read more on their website regarding the law system specifically and help spread their plans through campaigns!

How you can help/advocate

Spread the word on social media/public campaigns
Research candidates! All candidates have campaign websites; just a few of many are attached above
isidewith.com is a database that provides data, info on issues, and even a quiz tailored to find a candidate who matches your beliefs, concerns, etc.
Volunteer, share, and donate to organizations fighting for criminal justice reform! here are a few:
Protest! staying up to date on and participating in protests locally and globally is key.
Vote! voting in elections both local and otherwise helps project your voice and getting your message across to our leaders

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12/17/2019 0 Comments

Trump and the Giant (im)Peach: Dec. 1-Dec. 20, 2019

Hi Teen Resisters! It's been a minute. We hope you guys are hanging in amidst the last stretches of this semester and starting to gear up for a wonderful holiday season!
The news has been overwhelming, with the biggest piece of news being that President Trump was impeached on two counts by the House of Representatives. We're gonna jump into that and more.

What Went Down:

Impeachment in the House: Before we jump into this, we're going to link you to our previous impeachment updates in chronological order, just to cover all the background:

The Impeachment Explainer breaks down the process of impeachment, its definition, etc. It also covers how this all started with Trump.
Quid Pro What Now? from Nov. 12th explains Quid Pro Quo, the whistleblower, and all the pre-testimony stuff.
Pumpkins and Primaries from Dec. 1st covers some of the results of the testimonies.

So back to now: The House of Representatives has officially impeached President Trump on two articles of impeachment! The House Judiciary Committee voted last week to send the articles to a floor vote and the vote occurred this Wednesday, December 18th. It happened along party lines, with only a few Democrats voting against it and no Republicans voting for it.
The first article is abuse of power. Trump asked the government of Ukraine to publicly announce investigations into Vice President Joe Biden, a political rival of Trump’s. Trump threatened to withhold a White House meeting and $391 million of military aid from Ukraine if these investigations were not announced. The article claims that these interactions with Ukraine were detrimental to national security and formal U.S.-Ukraine policy. Since Trump put his own interests above those of the United States, he abused his power for personal and political gain.
The second article is obstruction of Congress. This means that Trump hindered the ability of Congress to exercise their Constitutional power of impeachment. Trump told executive agencies and officials to defy the subpoenas issued to them by House committees. Those that refused to comply with their subpoenas include the Department of State, the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Defense, as well as nine executive bureaucrats including the White House Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney. According to the article, Trump’s interference in the impeachment process was a violation of his Constitutional responsibilities to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, faithfully execute the office of President, and take care that the laws be faithfully executed.
The Senate will hold a trial in early 2020 to determine whether Trump should be removed from office. Two thirds of the present Senate members would have to vote to convict for him to be removed. Since the Senate is controlled by Republicans, Trump’s political allies, it is more likely that Trump will be acquitted.
The articles of impeachment are available to read here.

What You Can Do:

If you support Trump’s removal from office, call your senator and urge them to vote to convict. However, it's of note that the vote will likely happen along party lines again. While that outcome would be disappointing, it's still highly valuable to be investigating Trump in this way and laying out all of his wrongdoings, especially before an election.
Remember that, even if Trump is removed from office, it is still just as important to vote in the 2020 presidential election.

Image via Mother Jones

British Election: On December 12th, 2019 the British public re-elected conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson in one of the most pivotal elections in United Kingdom’s modern history. Amidst three years of Brexit negotiations and key economic policy shifts, the Conservative party secured 365 out of 650 seats in the House of Parliament, whereas the Labour party-who only secured 203. The roughly 75 seat majority amassed by Conservatives is the most significant electoral gap since the election of Margaret Thatcher in 1987. So what happened?
Overwhelming public consensus seems to cite two main reasons as to the Labour party’s significant collapse in the election, namely: the Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn’s unpopularity amongst the public (most polls report his net popularity to have gone down 40% post election), and the uphill battle Labour faced to convince both Remainers and Leavers in the Brexit struggle to shift to a more leftist ideology while Johnson was only tasked with swaying the latter. The reality is a combination of both. Corbyn’s unpopularity through his “wishy-washy” stance on Brexit that both endorsed a second referendum but refused to advocate for a side coupled with his neglecting to address concerns of antisemitism within the Labour were unsuccessful in winning over the usually left-leaning middle class band. However many of the economic policies he spearheaded did, surprisingly, resonate with most voters. Pollster YouGov found that two-thirds of respondents were in favor of raising the tax rate to 50% for citizens with an income above 123,000 pounds, and many of his other proposals also gained traction with voters.
So why did the Labour still fail to win over the blue-collar core it has relied on for so much of its modern history? History indicates that attracting voters to support leftist parties with progressive policies requires a persuasive leader in a favorable political climate. In the case of Brexit and the increasing global stigma surrounding immigration, the geopolitical current was very much stilted to lean conservatively which can partially be attributed to the matter of class. While traditionally educated urban-based professionals have leaned more right in British elections, modern history indicates that those with higher education in the wake of Brexit have shifted left while working classes have sympathized with more conservative ideology. These trends extend far beyond the British election and can be witnessed in the broader world stage.
So what does Johnson’s re-election mean? While a fixture of Johnson’s campaign has been the prospect of “getting Brexit done” by the end of 2020, this is highly unlikely. Not only are there feasible economic concerns regarding his commitment to refuse to extend the Brexit transition period after 2020 but also the matter that multiple trade negotiations with Brussels still need to be organized. The fact, also, the Corbyn has announced his resignation as Labour Party head does not bode well for the systemic strength of the leftist movement in the UK. Anti-immigration legislation is expected as Johnson has championed Islamaphobic and racist views and will most likely continue to proliferate similar legislation in office. However much of the UK’s future is still incalculable as the ramifications of Brexit, both cultural and economical, are unquantifiable in the wake of Johnson’s re-election.

What You Can Do:

There's not much to be done about this, especially from the US. That said, Trump and Johnson have unsurprisingly been in alliance with one another in the past, so it's just all the more reason to get Trump out of office in 2020 and have a president who will stand up to Johnson and his cronies.

Antisemitic Shooting in Jersey City: On Tuesday, December 10, 2019 six people in Jersey City, NJ were shot and killed by an assailant. The assailant first opened fire at Bay View Cemetery, where police officer Detective Joseph Seals was shot and killed. The shooting, according to officials, began when Detective Seals approached one of the gunmen at Bay View and asked about a separate homicide investigation, and was shot dead. From this point the gunmen escaped in their truck and then went to a nearby kosher market, where they then opened fire on both police officers and local residents. A firefight ensued and could be heard throughout the area for most of the next hour, and local schools were put on lockdown. At the kosher market, three bystanders were shot and killed: Mindy Ferencz, who was tending to the store when the assailants entered, Moshe Deutsch, and Miguel Rodriguez. One of the assailants, David N. Anderson, first approached the store and opened fire almost immediately, and was followed by Francine Graham. Both suspects were carrying rifles. A fourth person was shot inside the market but survived and is not being publicly identified. At first, officials thought that the choice to open fire at the kosher market was random, but after investigation, it became clear that the choice to go to a popular Jewish space was not accidental. Four guns were found inside the assailants' U-Haul, two of which were bought in Ohio. A live pipe bomb was also found inside the truck, along with a "brief and rambling" manifesto that tipped off authorities to the antisemitic motivation of the shooting. The shooters were found to have ties to the Black Hebrew Israelites fringe movement, which has been characterized by brash antisemitism but, until now, had not posed a violent threat.
What You Can Do:

Ask your Senator to cosponsor Chris Murphy's Background Check Expansion Act. You can check to see if your Senator is already cosponsoring it here (spoiler alert: a lot aren't!). If your Senator is already cosponsoring, ask them to prioritize it.
Script: Hi, my name is _____, I'm from _____, and I'm calling to ask you to cosponsor/prioritize/support S. 42, the Background Check Expansion Act. The recent shooting in New Jersey was only one example of the epidemic of gun violence in our nation. We need to ensure that guns are not getting into the hands of people who could use them for destruction. I urge you to use your conscience in making this decision. Thank you.
Number: 202-224-3121 and get connected to your Senator.
Stand up against antisemitism. You can look in our Index by the Issue page for all of our work that has covered the topic and all the resources we have about fighting it. It's an ancient hatred that is all too capable of destruction and violence.

Four of the victims of the shooting in Jersey City

2020 Featured Issue: Immigration: President Trump's attacks on immigrants’ livelihoods have been thorough and cruel. As the 2020 Democratic Primaries approach, we need to ask important questions about how each of the candidates plans to protect immigrants and their families. Which candidates are just promising to go back to the pre-Trump status quo? Which candidates want to take this opportunity to radically reshape our historically unjust and inhumane immigration system into one that recognizes the value and the rights of immigrants? And if so, how far will they go and how do they plan to get there?
All of the leading candidates support the rollback of Trump policies on immigration, such as his Muslim ban, his repeal of DACA, his limits on the number of refugees and asylum seekers will consider accepting, and his policy to make asylum seekers “wait in Mexico” as their cases are adjudicated. All of them also support a pathway to citizenship for each of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US.
However, certain issues divide the candidates:

Bernie Sanders is the only candidate to support a full moratorium on deportations.
Many of the candidates (Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigiege, and Julian Castro) want to decriminalize the act of crossing the border without papers, which has been used to justify cruel and excessive immigration enforcement, but Joe Biden does not. Biden also does not call for abolishing or significantly restructuring ICE and CBP, in contrast to his opponents on the left.

Another point of contention is whether aid and protection for immigrants should go alongside -- or be conditioned on -- increased border security or immigration enforcement.

Amy Klobuchar thinks so, but most of the candidates on her left -- Warren and Sanders, for instance -- disagree.

What you can do:

To learn more: Each of the candidates have comprehensive descriptions of their positions on immigration on their websites; check those out. Also look at Indivisible’s Candidate Scorecard for quick evaluation of each of the candidates on immigration and the rest of the issues!
Phonebank for your preferred candidate, if you’ve landed on one! All of the candidates have phone banking tools easily accessible through a Google Search.
To support immigrant rights in general, check out our “Index by Issue” for ongoing actions you can take. Also visit United We Dream’s website -- they’re a great organization to dedicate your time and money to if you can.

We hope you have an absolutely wonderful holiday break! And a happy new year! Lots of love,
Us

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12/1/2019 0 Comments

Pumpkins and Primaries: Nov. 12th-Dec. 1 2019

Hey Teen Resisters!
We hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and got the chance to rest, eat, and spend ample time with friends and family--there is so much around us to be grateful for. As always, it's been quite a two weeks. This list covers the latest in the impeachment inquiry, a DACA update, recent school shootings, and 2020 Democratic presidential candidates' positions on climate change (the last being part of a new initiative we're starting to inform TR readers on where the candidates stand on important issues!!). Happy reading and activisting :))
peace & power,
TR

what went down

Impeachment Inquiry Update
Impeachment hearings in the House Intelligence Committee took place over the past three weeks. Notable witnesses have included American ambassador to the UK George Sondland, acting American ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor, and foreign affairs expert Fiona Hill, among a host of others.

Here’s what witnesses have said so far:

The U.S. threatened to withhold military aid to Ukraine unless Ukrainian President Zelensky publicly announced an investigation into the Bidens and Burisma, the Ukrainian company that Hunter Biden worked for.
There was a phone call on July 26 (one day after the Trump-Zelensky call) between President Trump and Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union. A staffer called David Holmes overheard the call in a restaurant in Kyiv. Trump asked Sondland about “the investigations,” and Sondland said that “the Ukrainians were ready to move forward.”

Trump refused to meet directly with Ukrainian officials until an investigation was announced.
Many top Trump officials knew about the quid pro quo,* including Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary Mike Pompeo, and Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney.

The next impeachment hearing is scheduled for December 4 in the House Judiciary Committee, titled “Constitutional Grounds for Presidential Impeachment,” which will mainly consist of a variety of legal experts speaking on past impeachments and whether Trump’s conduct is impeachable. Trump has tweeted that he would “love” for some of his officials, such as Pompeo and Mulvaney, to testify.

*What is a quid pro quo? It’s when a favor or advantage is granted or expected in return for something. Here’s something interesting to think about—a lot of Americans don’t know the definition of quid pro quo (which makes sense, given that it’s a fairly antiquated Latin phrase), and it doesn’t have an inherently negative connotation without context. Experts have urged major liberal media outlets to use clearer language when discussing Trump’s crimes, like “bribery” or “extortion,” to communicate more directly the fact that Trump has committed a serious crime and to help people understand what that crime is.

What can you do?

Because Democrats hold a majority in the House of Representatives, Trump will likely be impeached. However, it is much less certain that he will be convicted—actually removed from office—by the Senate. If you want the Senate to remove him, call your local senator and urge them to convict Trump for his extortion.

DACA Update
In September of 2017, the Trump Administration moved to end the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals program (DACA). The program protects hundreds of thousands of immigrants who arrived in the US as children from deportation, and allows them to get work permits, drivers licenses, and access to higher education.

There has been an extended battle in the courts over the administration’s decision to end DACA. As of now, no new DACA applications are being accepted, but courts have issued injunctions allowing current and past DACA recipients to renew their protected status.

The Trump Administration has appealed these courts’ decisions and brought the case to the Supreme Court. Oral arguments began on November 12th on the question of whether the Trump Administration acted lawfully in rescinding DACA.

A ruling on the case is expected anytime from January to June, 2020. The Supreme Court could rule in a number of ways, each of which would hold different consequences for DREAMers (DACA recipients). If you want to learn more about the legal arguments and possible outcomes, the National Immigrant Law Society has a good explainer.

What can you do?

If you have the means, donate to United We Dream, an immigrant-youth-led advocacy network. They need funds to…
- Spread accurate information to affected communities after DACA ruling so DREAMers and their families know how to respond and what happens next.
- Bolster their Deportation Defense program. In the event that SCOTUS votes in favor of the Trump Administration, UWD’s work fighting against ICE and deportation will become more critical than ever.
Attend protests! On November 12th, UWD led a nationwide walkout to send a message to SCOTUS and show support and solidarity for DREAMers as oral arguments began. UWD and other immigrant advocacy organizations are sure to organize protests to show support for immigrants and to respond to a negative SCOTUS ruling if it comes. Sign up for United We Dream’s emails to stay up to date.
Call your senators, especially if they are Republicans, to encourage them to push for a vote on the Dream and Promise Act (read more about it here) The bill, which was passed in the House in June, issues broad protections for recipients of DACA and TPS and could mitigate the effects of a bad SCOTUS ruling.
- Your script: “Hello, my name is ______ and I’m a constituent of Senator ______’s. I’m calling to ask Senator ________ to advocate for a vote on H.R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act. With the futures of 700,000 DREAMers hinging on the Supreme Court’s upcoming DACA decision, I believe that it is more important than ever that legislative protections for these young people are passed. DACA recipients have lived in the US for their whole lives. America is their home, and they deserve to live and work here free of the threat of deportation. Thank you.”

School Shootings
On November 16 at 7:30 a.m., a 16-year-old opened fire at Saugus High School, Santa Clarita California, killing two and injuring three others (all the victims were in the range of 14-15 years old). The shooter then turned the gun on himself. Recent investigation by authorities has uncovered that the gun used is a “ghost gun,” meaning that it does not contain a serial number, is unregistered, and is built from parts outside of the store—essentially, it’s untraceable. The numbers of ghost guns found, especially in this area, have proliferated though the past six years.

On November 24, two boys, aged 11 and 14, were shot dead at Searles Elementary School, California while sitting in a van. So far, no arrests have been made and no action except talk.

Police have recently foiled some potentially devastating shootings as well. On November 22, the Los Angeles Police Department arrested a 13-year-old who had seized a high capacity magazine rifle and threatened to shoot his middle school with it. The police later found a map and list of teacher and student names.

Out of all of the issues that our country is facing, gun violence is one of the problems that affects our generation the most directly and the most dangerously. In the past 46 weeks, there have been 45 school shootings. As the number of shootings gets higher and higher, it’s becomes alarmingly easy to forget that behind every single one of those shootings are faces with stories to tell. It’s all of our jobs to make sure the stories of school shooting victims are heard and remembered. We will never be able to tell their stories or understand their agony, but we will do our very best to pay respect to unspeakable tragedies ad continue to pressure action.

On December 2nd, the Supreme Court is going to hear its first major Second Amendment case in nearly a decade. A decision on the hearing is expected to come in July of 2020. In the meantime, we can do our share as well:

What can you do?

Use this script to advocate for the rolling back of silencer safety laws and to oppose the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act: https://everytown.org/call-your-rep-script/
Another three key issues are red flag laws, background checks, and an assault weapons ban. Call your reps to push each.
1. Red flag laws allow courts to issue orders confiscating guns of individuals if they are deemed a risk.
  - 14 states have already implemented them locally
  - Republicans Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham are (unexpectedly) proponents and held a hearing in March, but further action has been taken since then.
2. Assault weapons ban: would ban assault weapons!
  - One that existed from 1994-2004, but it expired; has been validated on the state level by the Supreme Court
  - Introduced in Senate by Sen. Feinstein (D-CA), currently in Senate Judiciary Committee awaiting further action.
3. Background checks: Democrats passed bill in the House in February that would mandate them for online and private sales and extend the waiting period from 3 to 10 days, but hasn’t been voted on in Senate, and Trump vows to veto it.
  - Sponsor: Mike Thompson (D-CA)
Support March for Our Lives and follow their action plan, which includes calling/attending a town hall to address gun violence, creating a community working group to address gun violence, fundraising for violence prevention programs in your area, and pushing voter registration efforts.

NEW: 2020 Featured Issue—Climate Change
It's vital to us that TR readers have as much information as they need to make a decision about which 2020 presidential candidate they want to support. To that end, we've decided to do a featured issue every list from now until the primaries -- we've explained the basics of where each candidate stands on climate change and what they are planning to do to fix it below. We hope that it will be non-overwhelming and helpful in your process of figuring out who you're backing!!

Much of the debate surrounding climate change has focused on the Green New Deal, a radical plan introduced by young liberal firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Booker and Democratic Senator Ed Markley that outlines a 10-year mobilization plan to move the country toward a 100% carbon-free power system and a decarbonized economy.
- Harris, Sanders, Warren, and Klobuchar are all cosponsors of the Green New Deal; Biden, Buttigeg, and Booker support it as well, making it a point of agreement among frontrunners.
  - As seen in the chart to the right (from a study conducted by Yale), there is large bipartisan support for the GND. As of right now, Sanders has the most extensive plan to combat climate change and has been endorsed by Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, the original sponsor of the GND.

One key issue is reducing carbon emissions. Biden, Harris, Buttigeg, and Yang have supported introducing a carbon tax to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Determining the role of nuclear technology in a fast-changing world is another key topic. Harris and Biden have supported the idea of developing nuclear technologies to fight climate change, while others, including Sanders, support the idea of closing down existing nuclear power reactors because of the environmentally harmful radioactive waste they produce.
And, finally, oil and gas drilling has proved to be a hot-button topic--the U.S. is the world’s largest producer of these types of fuels. Sanders, Warren and Harris have taken the most radical stance--to ban fracking everywhere--where other more moderate candidates, including Biden, Klobuchar, and Buttigeg, have proposed ending new oil and gas leases on federal land, as well as offshore drilling, instead.
The candidates largely agree on rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, which Trump withdrew from.

What can you do?

Green New Deal: Support it here: https://indivisible.org/resource/tell-your-member-congress-support-green-new-deal
Phonebank!! If you have reached a decision on which candidate you're going to support, phonebook for them based on the issue you love their stance on. (just google the candidate's name and "phonebook," and you should find a platform.)

Fiona Hill being a superstar!

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11/12/2019 0 Comments

Quid Pro What Now?: Oct. 24-Nov. 12 2019

Hi Teen Resisters! Welcome back. We're back with a list breaking down some of the major stories making the rounds in the media and social media this week. We want to help clarify things for you and let you know how you can have an impact.
FIRST, A NOTE:
As we're publishing this, it's just been reported that the Supreme Court is considering supporting Trump in his decision to end DACA benefits for Dreamers. For now, you can read this article, this article, and our DACA briefing to understand the issue, and we'll be back soon with action.

Without further ado, let's jump in!

What Went Down:

News from the 2019 Election: Tuesday, November 6th was election day for several states.
In Virginia, Democrats won a trifecta (control of the governor and both chambers of the state legislature) for the first time in 20 years! Now Democrats can pass a wide array of progressive legislation, from gun control to raising the minimum wage to education reform, and can make sure racially gerrymandered district lines are redrawn to ensure fair elections in Virginia for decades to come. The flip of VA has also led to new discussions about potentially ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment.
In Kentucky, Democrat Andy Beshear seems to have won a narrow victory over Republican incumbent Matt Bevin in a state that gave Trump 62% of the vote in 2016.
In New York City, voters passed five ballot measures, one of which established ranked-choice voting as the system that will be used in future primary elections. New York is the largest city in the US to adopt the system, which many see as more democratic and has been shown to help more candidates of color gain office.
In Mississippi, Republican Lt. Governor Tate Reeves won against centrist Democrat Jim Hood. This is definitely a disappointment, but the lesson to take away from this is not that historically deep-red states like Mississippi are unwinnable. (Case in point - Kentucky!)

Progressive victories in these off-year elections are really important and really encouraging. Not only does it mean that Democrats can pass progressive legislation -- it’s also a huge indicator of the way the political winds are blowing prior to the 2020 nationwide elections.
Trump is scared, and he has reason to be. He spent much of the weeks before Tuesday’s elections holding rallies and writing tweets in support of Republican candidates. He knew that victories for Democrats like Andy Beshear would send a very bad message about his reelection prospects -- and that’s exactly what happened.
Democratic candidates in many districts received a greater share of the vote than their district’s partisan lean. In English, that means that more people are voting for Democrats than they would in a neutral political environment -- that people are more excited about Democrats now than they are normally. And people are excited about voting in general! Turnout was through the roof in the 2019 elections, and the same is expected for 2020.

What You Can Do:
This is all really good news, but we cannot rest on our laurels. Let’s get excited, too -- to work hard. Trump and his Republican cronies, from Washington to our local governments, absolutely can’t gain or retain control in 2020. We need to elect more progressive candidates who can help our country confront the immense challenges we face -- from the climate crisis to deeply embedded racism, sexism, and inequality -- and help us create the world we envision.
The 2019 elections have come and gone, which means we’re even closer to 2020. It’s not too early to start planning how you’ll help bring a brilliant, progressive and diverse crop of candidates into Washington next November.

Voter Registration. While there is still almost a year until ballots are cast in the 2020 elections, the time to register to vote is now. Start close to home; remind your friends, family and members of your community to make sure they’re registered. Then, check out Michelle Obama’s fantastic organization When We All Vote for plans and resources to get even more people registered.
Learn about candidates and make a plan for how you’ll support them.

Some things you can do right now:

Sign up to write letters to voters through Vote Forward. You can write them now and send them closer to the election.
Learn about candidates in districts near you so you can be ready to support them in a few months.

Stay tuned for plenty of election-related resources, guidance, and big plans from Teens Resist, put together just for teenagers like you. Get excited!!

Democrat Andy Beshear after his win for Governor of Kentucky.

Maps showing the difference in election results in VA between 2015 & 2019, via the New York Times.

Free Rodney Reed: In 1998, Rodney Reed was convicted for the rape and murder of Stacey Stites. His sentence was death. Reed first got involved when the police conducted an autopsy on Stites and found Reed’s DNA. There was no other evidence that tied Reed to the crime. Reed confessed to having an affair with Stites, and witnesses corroborated this as a reason for why his DNA was found. Medical and forensic evidence against Reed has been debunked.
However, perhaps the most disturbing piece of information from his case is a more convincing culprit: Stites’ former fiance, Jimmy Fennell. A former policeman, he has power within the police community. What’s worse is that he has a troubling history of violence against women: in 2018, Fennell was released from jail for kidnapping and raping a woman while on duty. During his jail time, a man who was in the same facility as Fennell, Arthur Snow Jr., reported that Fennell had told him that he murdered Stacey Stites.
Reed’s story has gained traction online recently because his execution date of November 20 is quickly approaching. The action resulting from this attention has been directed at contacting Governor Greg Abbott of Texas, where Reed is set to be executed. Governor Abbott has the ability to pardon Reed and either stop his execution or delay it by a month to allow for more litigation. During his time in office, Abbott has stopped 1 execution while allowing 47 others to be completed.
Reed’s case is about life and death, but it will also set a precedent around wrongful conviction, the death penalty, and mass incarceration.
What You Can Do:

Go to this website to do the following:
1. Sign a petition (which is almost at its goal!) asking to free Reed.
2. Call and contact Governor Abbott. (We strongly recommend this, and if it’s your first time making a call, you can always head to our basics page for some guidance)
3. Learn more about the case via media coverage and Reed’s lawyers.
Bare minimum: you can join the #FreeRodneyReed movement on social media!
Share this story and action! This is an issue that has a clear deadline and very high stakes.

Rodney Reed, via CNN

Impeachment Update & Quid Pro Quo: First, a quick recap:
On August 12th, an unknown member of Trump administration -- the “whistleblower” -- filed a report on President Trump’s corrupt dealings with Ukraine. As Trump’s opponents for the 2020 presidency were getting their campaigns underway, the president had started to get antsy, the report read. And in the same way that he’d requested dirt on Hillary Clinton from Russia, Trump contacted Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky to ask that the Ukranian government investigate Joe Biden (and his son) and turn over the uncovered dirt for political gain, twisting the country’s (metaphorical) arm by threatening to withhold the US’ planned $200 million of aid.

Despite Trump’s repeated claims that the request was not quid pro quo (which would mean Trump was leveraging the US’ aid to Ukraine in order to get the dirt he wanted), certain high-ranking White House officials have said otherwise. Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union, testified on October 17th (despite attempts by the Trump administration to prevent this) that there was in fact quid pro quo: that Trump had been attempting to bribe Ukraine into investigating Biden. And while this may not seem particularly damning, under Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution bribery is an impeachable criminal offense.

On October 31st, for only the third time in the history of the United States, the House of Representatives officially voted to start impeachment inquiry proceedings. Notably, the rules and regulations outlined in this specific inquiry are more protective of the president than were regulations by Republicans in the impeachment of Bill Clinton (although this hasn’t prevented accusations -- or all-caps tweets -- of “Witch Hunt!”). This suggests that House Democrats are confident in their case against Trump; why else give him so much protective leeway?

There were three important developments last week. First, on November 3rd, the whistleblower who first blew the lid off the Trump-Ukraine scandal confirmed through a lawyer that he would be willing to answer written questions directly from Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee. Second, on November 4th, the Department of Justice released a memo to the Trump administration confirming officials’ complete immunity from subpoenas by the House. As a result, the number refusing to testify more than tripled -- some 14 people didn’t show up. Third, on November 6th, ex- New York Governor Rudy Giuliani stepped back from President Trump’s defense team, though he remains the president’s personal lawyer. Instead, as a central character in impeachment hearings, Giuliani’s hired some lawyers for himself.

Next week marks the beginning of public testimonies in the inquiry: US special envoy to Ukraine Bill Taylor and deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs George Kent will testify Wednesday; we will hear from former US ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovich on Friday.

All this damning evidence, though, may be for naught. President Trump may very well be impeached in the House, yet it would mean nothing if he were acquitted in the Senate, and this scenario is a very real possibility. The results of this inquiry are unclear, so keep a watchful eye. Updates will follow.

What You Can Do:

Impeachment proceedings are pretty much up to our elected officials. What you can do is stay informed about what's going on and not get numb to the torrent of news about impeachment all the time.
You can also refer to our section on the elections above, because getting the right people in office is a big part of this!

Anti-Immigrant Hate Crime in Wisconsin: Just under two weeks ago, Mahud Villalaz was racially profiled and attacked by 61-year-old Clifton Blackwell in a taqueria parking lot in Wisconsin. Villalaz, 42, later revealed that he had gone to the taqueria after work for food when he was approached by Blackwell. Villalaz immigrated to the US from his native country of Peru significantly before the episode, and became a US citizen nearly a decade ago, in 2013. Despite this, Blackwell confronted him with complaints that Villalaz was parking too close to a bus stop. Blackwell then said: “Why did you invade my country?” and “Why don’t you respect my laws?” Villalaz eventually moved his car, after which Blackwell followed Villalez up to the restaurant’s entrance and the verbal assault turned physical, with Blackwell to Villalaz as an “illegal” and throwing battery acid in his face. Villalaz, unfortunately, sustained second and third-degree burns on his face and neck, along with severe irritation in his right eye.
Authorities later found a multitude of chemical products in Blackwell’s possession, following a search of his home. Blackwell now faces charges of first-degree reckless injury, hate crime, and the use of a deadly weapon. Wisconsin state law also allows an additional fine of up to $5k and a maximum of five more years for victim-based crimes, where the perpetrator intentionally selects the victim based on race, religion, etc. Apprehended just last Wednesday, Blackwell’s next hearing is due for this Friday, the 15th of November. If convicted, he could face up to 35 years in prison.
Villalaz recently spoke up about the attacks. Speaking Spanish at a recent press event, he says: "It has been wonderful to see that there are many people who worry about others, not only Latinos but white people... everybody," and "Let's unite and live in peace with our neighbors." It is unsure whether or not he has decided to sue Blackwell at this time.
While deeply disheartening, these incidents and instances are not nearly uncommon, and far from isolated. Hate crimes are an epidemic and should be addressed as such.
Blackwell’s comments and his use of the word “invade” connect to the growing movement of white nationalism, which seeks to create a white ethnostate that subjugates people of color, gay people, and other marginalized groups. Traditional white nationalism teaches that the groups mentioned above are infiltrating the United States and that this infiltration is orchestrated by Jews seeking to destroy the white race. While the core ideology is extreme, its extreme and less extreme echoes can be seen in the violence in Charlottesville, El Paso, Pittsburgh, and even in Christchurch, NZ, where the man who killed 51 in a mosque referenced American white nationalist ideology.

What You Can Do:

This site and this site refer you to a number of resources aiding in immigrant aid and relief, as well as education, safety, and more. You can also apply advocacy in your community through:
- creating safe, engaging, and welcoming environments
- be up to date and vocal about issues concerning your (and other) communities
- donate, petition, and protest to and for causes
- support art, movements, and works that directly benefit communities
Support organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center and Western States Center that do work to fight hate crimes and the scourge of white nationalism. You can support them monetarily if possible, and also become familiar with their resources and follow with their action opportunities.

Mahud Villalaz after the attack took place. Photo via the New York Times.

We hope these were helpful!
Sending lots of love and light,
Us

Puppy Video!

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10/21/2019 0 Comments

Besides Impeachment: Oct. 6th-23rd 2019

Hey Teen Resisters!
With all the impeachment stuff that's going on, it's really easy to feel overwhelmed (we know that we do). And that makes sense—we're at a moment in history right now that it unprecedented and exceptional; it will likely be instrumental in shaping the political landscape of America for decades to come. Regardless of how important it is to stay up to date on all the impeachment stuff, though, it's also important to not let all the other key happenings get lost. Here are some items that might have flown under your radar over the past couple of weeks--read, digest, and act at your own pace! Sending large amounts of love & good vibes, and happy activisting :))
xx,
TR

Note: In addition to content from our staff writers (listed here), this list includes writing from Ruby Goodman.

Before you dive in, we want to update you on a few quick things we want to update you on:
1) The October 11th CNN LGBTQ Town Hall for 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, which came in the wake of the October 8th arguments for one of the most important LGBTQ+ rights Supreme Court cases in modern history (concerning workplace discrimination). Read about the town hall here and the case here.
2) The governor's race in Kentucky--if you're looking for a quick, simple, and impactful action to take, this topic is for you. The November 8th Kentucky gubernatorial election features a matchup which is--likely surprisingly to many of you, since Kentucky tends to be a red state--currently even, according to polls. Current AG Andy Beshear is running to unseat incumbent Gov. Bevin--read more about the race here, and phonebank here: www.mobilize.us/kydems/event/108304/

what went down

Trump’s Military Pullout from Syria

In early October 2019, President Trump decided to pull US troops out of Northern Syria. Immediately after his announcement, political leaders from both the left and right harshly condemned his actions at the same time as his supporters and advisors scrambled to justify and soften this abrupt and oversimplified end to a long military presence in the region.

The situation in Northern Syria is centered around the Kurds, an ethnic group of around 40 million scattered around the Middle East. Since the breakup of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century, the Kurds have been without a nation-state.

As they’ve struggled for citizenship in the Middle East, they have faced violence and oppression from all directions. In the past, the Kurds have created resistance parties to challenge Turkey in an effort to establish their own state while also trying to avoid conflict with the powerful Syrian regime. Because of this threat, the Turks have viewed the Kurds as a terror group and treated them as such, creating a major rift between the two groups.

So, where does the U.S. come in?

In the early 2010s, the radical Islamic terror group ISIS threatened the safety of the Kurds as it sought to take over territory in which the Kurds had been living. While Turkey looked the other way, U.S. and Kurdish forces teamed up to try to take down ISIS. The Kurdish troops led much of the decade’s fighting against ISIS, and were responsible for a lot of its success. They also established a cooperative relationship with the United States, regardless of the fact that the U.S. was (and is) an official ally of Turkey through NATO, causing the U.S. to be essentially caught between two hostile groups. Because of the middle ground position they were in, the U.S. decided to insert troops in the hot zones of Syria as a buffer between the Turks and the Kurds, consequently playing a major part in cooling the simmering conflict between these two groups. In addition to preventing conflict between Turkey and the Kurds, U.S. troops also stopped Bashar Al-Assad, the president of Syria, from seizing control over Northern Syria and the Kurds. Beyond that, U.S. forces in Syria helped subdue ISIS in the area, and secured Isis prisoners in Kurdish possession.

When Trump abruptly, and with no consultation, withdrew U.S. troops from Syria, consequences were swift and fierce. Russian troops under Vladimir Putin immediately occupied the space that the U.S. left behind in an effort to gain power in the area. Then, with the support of Russia, Assad effortlessly claimed control over Northern Syria, forcing his once-strong Kurdish enemies to support him as a last-ditch effort to save themselves from Turkey. To make matters worse, the Kurds have been too busy fighting off the attacking Turks and reckoning with their complete loss of power over Northern Syria to regulate their prisons, and hundreds of ISIS prisoners have escaped.

All in all, the last couple weeks have been filled with explosive violence in Northern Syria; the Kurds are in more danger of being destroyed than ever, and Russia, Assad, and ISIS all have gained global power. Vice President Mike Pence and President Erdoğan of Turkey agreed to a five-day ceasefire in Syria, followed by Trump lifting sanctions on Turkey, claiming that the ceasefire would be permanent. However, given the global chaos of the past couple of weeks, it would be very surprising if it held. Whatever happens, this abrupt U.S. foreign policy move will have repercussions in Syria for years to come.

The Murder of Atatiana Jefferson

Around 2 a.m. on October 12th, 2019, Atatiana Jefferson, a 28-year-old African American woman living in Texas, was shot and killed in her own home by a Fort Worth police officer. According to the Fort Worth Police Department, a non-emergency call was made for a wellness check after a neighbor reported that her lights were on and her front door was open. Based on the body-cam footage, the police officer dispatched, Aaron Dean, entered Jefferson’s backyard, unannounced, and shot her through her bedroom window. Jefferson was playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew at the time of this occurrence, and she stood up due to concerns over noises in her backyard caused by the officer. Dean did not notify Jefferson about his presence or give her time to respond after yelling “Put your hands up. Show me your hands!” before shooting and killing her. Emergency medical care was provided immediately after the shooting, but Jefferson died on scene with her nephew in the room.

Since the incident, Dean has resigned and refused to cooperate with the police investigation. Prosectors in Tarrant County, Texas, have charged the former Fort Worth police officer for murder, and trial updates will later be released as the investigation progresses. The tragic death of Jefferson juxtaposes the same murder of Botham Jean, a black man who was also killed in his living room by a police officer who allegedly thought he was an intruder when she walked into the wrong apartment. Many notable figures have spoken out about these cases and over the issue of police brutality and anti-black violence, but police departments across the country have yet to change. Funeral arrangements for Atatiana Jefferson are still being organized, but in the meantime, here are things you can do to help:

What can you do?

Call your representatives—at the local, state, and national levels—and demand that they put ending police brutality and reforming American police systems at the top of their list of priorities. (Check out our basics page for some guidelines, including a super comprehensive script template.)
Donate to the GoFundMe set up for Atatiana Jefferson and her family: https://www.gofundme.com/f/1s5tcouu9c?utm_medium=social
Join/donate to NAACP, a national network of organizations that seeks to end police brutality: https://www.naacp.org/about-us

State Assembly Spotlight: Pads and Tampons in Delaware
In exciting and recent state news, a bill is being drafted in the Delaware Senate that would require all public and charter schools in the state to stock their bathrooms with free menstrual pads and tampons for their students. The bill would go into effect by the 2020-2021 school year at the latest, and would apply to schools serving grades six through twelve.

The bill was announced on October 17 by House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst and Senator Elizabeth Lockman. Their intent is to reduce the stress of having to buy period products, specifically for low-income families in the state. As Representative Longhurst said, “Period products are not a luxury. They are essential items for our daily lives. It’s a fact of life… But the cost can be a barrier. Women of all ages struggle at some point in their lives to afford period products. The problem is magnified for low-income families, which puts stress on children as they mature.” The journal Obstetrics and Gynecology found that about 21 percent of low-income women cannot afford period products every month.

Delaware has previously passed laws mandating that both the Department of Corrections and the Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families offer free pads and tampons. Several other states, including California, Illinois, New York, and New Hampshire, have also passed laws requiring schools to provide period products. Rep. Longhurst and Sen. Lockman hope to have the bill drafted and proposed by the end of 2019.

What You Can Do:

Stay updated on your state’s general assembly. The links to the websites of the state assemblies can be found at https://www.congress.gov/state-legislature-websites.
If your state hasn’t passed a law requiring period products in schools, or if such a bill is currently being debated in the legislature, call your legislators to encourage them to act.
Call your school or district and encourage them to provide free menstrual products to students, if they haven’t done so already.
If this is an issue you really care about, donate to or work with organizations that provide menstrual products to those in need, such as Aunt Flow, Free The Tampons, and Girls Helping Girls Period.

puppy vid :))

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10/6/2019 0 Comments

Teens Resist is 2!

On October 4th, 2017, Teens Resist launched! Two years later, we're grateful for every moment since.
Our mission has been and will always be to make activism and politics accessible to youth, who deserve to and do have a huge voice. In the past two years, we’ve watched and participated as youth involvement in politics and social justice has only grown and grown- and we’re really really here for it. Nothing makes us happier than finding out that our content has been helpful to someone! It makes all of it worth it. We hope that you’ve had that experience- please let us know what your experience with TR has been!
We’ve stayed true to our core by publishing online content, but we’ve also expanded into real-life workshops which have been so fulfilling. What started as one person in her room has grown to include two co-directors, two social media staff, and 20 writers, all of whom hail from across the country.
We’ve put out 54 long form lists/features, garnered views, and built this amazing social media community.
We’re proud of the work we do and we are proud of YOU for the amazing ways that you use it. We feel the love and hope you do too. Overall, these past two years have just gone above and beyond our wildest dreams, and we know it’ll only get more amazing. We have some big plans for 2020.
Thank you so much for your support, no matter how long you’ve known about TR! We love and appreciate you.

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10/6/2019 0 Comments

The Impeachment Explainer

Hi there Teen Resisters! It's been a while, hasn't it? But we're back and better than ever with this feature on impeachment. There's a lot going on in the news right now but obviously, the announcement by Nancy Pelosi that there is officially an impeachment inquiry into President Trump has dominated the news cycle and been a source of excitement and confusion. So what is going on exactly? We've got you covered to help you understand it all.

What is impeachment?

Impeachment’s official definition is to charge a public official with a crime or misdemeanor. Our country more commonly knows it as the indicting of charges against a president. Recently, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has declared her inquiry into the impeachment of Donald Trump. However, it’s important to understand what that really means. Impeachment doesn’t remove the president from office, but rather states the charges that will be used in an attempt to further convict said president. This power traditionally lies within the House to start the process and investigate. The Senate is responsible for trying the official, according to Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Once impeachment is passed, meaning there are charges able to be pressed, a two-thirds vote allows the president to be convicted of these charges. If a two-thirds vote is not reached, the charges are dropped. If the official is convicted, he is only removed from the office. Any other consequence is inapplicable.
However, presidential impeachment followed with conviction has never happened and is very unlikely to. In fact, only two presidents have been impeached: Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. Both were never convicted by the Senate. Another famous case was Richard Nixon, but he resigned before he could be impeached. The Constitution states that “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” are what’s allowed to be the basis for impeachment. This list of criteria is one of the main reasons why impeachment is so difficult since there is no specification for what high crimes and misdemeanors refer to. Alexander Hamilton gave his opinion in Federalist 65, stating that even if an act isn’t necessarily prosecutable, as long as it’s disloyal to the country, there is a ground for impeachment. In this sense, impeachment is implied to be more of a remedy for the constituents rather than a punishment for the official.

Graphic via Statista

What led to this inquiry?

On July 25th, President Trump made a seemingly routine call to President Volodymyr Zelensky of the Ukraine. A whistleblower from U.S. Intelligence filed a complaint that in this phone call, President Trump allegedly asked President Zelensky to look into some of Joe Biden’s son’s affairs. This was ostensibly done with the intention of removing Biden as a political competitor in the upcoming 2020 election. As stated in the actual whistle-blower complaint released on September 26th, (the transcript of the phone call was later also released following the complaint), the content of the call showed the “President of the United States is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election.” Specifically, Trump urged Zelensky to further investigation into corruption in Joe Biden’s son’s business in Ukraine and into the cybersecurity group that first reported the Russian hacking of the 2016 election. This phone call occurred during a time when the US was withholding an aid package from Ukraine, meaning that Trump had immense power over the Ukrainian president. The whistleblower, whose name the Trump administration initially withheld from Congress, alleged that the administration had covered up the content of Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian president and that Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s lawyer, had actively taken steps to encourage Ukrainian interference in the election.
In one example, the transcript of the call itself was placed on a separate server used for sensitive national security information. The whistle-blower comments: “One White House official described this act as an abuse of this electronic system because the call did not contain anything remotely sensitive from a national security perspective.”
On September 24th, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi filed a formal impeachment inquiry. “This week the President has admitted to asking the President of Ukraine to take actions which would benefit him politically,” she said in her address. “The actions of the Trump presidency revealed the dishonorable fact of the President’s betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security, and betrayal of the integrity of our elections. Therefore, today, I am announcing the House of Representatives moving forward with a official impeachment inquiry.” Pelosi concluded the address with a powerful line: “No one is above the law."
For more specifics on context, check out this Politico article.

What Happens Now?

So with all this in the works, what’s really to come of this movement for impeachment? President Trump will very likely be impeached in the House of Representatives, seeing as it is controlled in large part by Democrats. By this point, even moderate Democrats in conservative districts -- NY 11’s Max Rose, for instance -- have come out in favor of impeachment.
However, seeing as the Republican party controls 53 seats in the Senate (not to mention to tie-breaking Vice-Presidential position) it's unlikely he'll be convicted in the Senate, especially considering the ⅔ supermajority impeachment requires. This is in large part because of the political pressure the GOP and its donors place on their Senators; should one step out of line and caucus with the Democrats, they can rest assured that their campaign funds will all but dry up and they’ll be branded a “traitor to Trump.”
In fact, that fact may be all that’s holding the line -- according to Jeff Flake (R-AZ), 35 of his fellow Republican Senators would be voting to impeach Trump if their votes were private. This suggests that anti-Trump sentiments run deep throughout Washington; it’s the votes of his base (some 31% of voting Americans, polls estimate) they want, and it’s those votes the candidates lose when branded traitors. This being said, there have been multiple Republicans, including Flake, who have spoken out about this being a turning point.
Despite Trump’s imminent impeachment in the House, it’s doubtful that a sizable portion of Trump’s base will change their affiliation. Having already seen racism, xenophobia, ableism, and sexism from him (not to mention a previous example of what he’ll be impeached for: election interference by colluding with a foreign power), it’s hard to imagine that many will be so outraged as to pick a different hill to die on.
Regardless of what happens, the impeachment process will hang all of Trump's laundry out to dry, so to speak. And it's important that Pelosi and others are setting a precedent that, in Pelosi's words, "no one is above the law." It's about time that Trump is formally held accountable, and we're excited to see where this goes.
For more on this, see this very helpful flowchart from Buzzfeed News about the outcomes of this inquiry.

We hope that this was a little clarifying in this storm of news. There's lots more to come, and we can't wait to keep updating you. See you soon!
Peace & Power,
Teens Resist

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9/17/2019 0 Comments

Strikes and Storms: August 28th-Sept. 18th 2019

Hey Teen Resisters!
Welcome back; we hope you all had lovely and restful summers. With the (school!) year back in full swing, we're ready to get back on our regular biweekly schedule!! Can't wait to share this fight with you all :)

Before we begin....TR 2020 Announcements!!
   If for some reason you need a reminder besides the endless media circus, the 2020 elections are upon us! It’s currently primary season, filled with lots of debates and confusion, especially because of the sheer number of Democratic candidates there are.
   We’ll leave it up to you to decide which one is right for you, so we won’t be endorsing anyone until primaries are over, but we really encourage you to start paying attention to the candidates and potentially getting involved early on. This could range from just watching the debates to donating to or canvassing for a candidate.
   Outside the presidential sphere, we have a real shot of taking back Congress from the GOP in 2020, and local elections are more important than ever (for more info on this, look back to our Midterm Election coverage from 2018).
   During this election season, we’ll be making a big push for you all to get involved with your favorite candidates and issues. One of the biggest mistakes made in 2016 was taking a Democratic win for granted, and we won’t make the same mistake again. Once there is a nominee, we’ll be announcing a 2020 Involvement initiative! This will include lots of 2020 coverage, calling parties & workshops, maybe a canvassing trip, and much more. We’re so excited to fight alongside you. Stay tuned!

(& learn about the candidates’ policies on issues you care about! Now!! In no particular order, a place to do that for each of the candidates polling above 5 percent:
https://elizabethwarren.com/plans
https://joebiden.com/joes-vision/
https://berniesanders.com/issues/
https://kamalaharris.org/issues/
https://peteforamerica.com/issues/)

And, without further ado...happy reading! Happy activisting!
xx,
TR

what went (Is Going) down

Climate Action Update: Global 9/20 Strike
Since Trump’s presidency began, America has regressed significantly in federal climate change policy. The Trump administration has used the concept of prioritizing the success of businesses to justify their dangerous and extensive attack on policies that protect the environment: in the words of his Presidential Executive Order on Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth, “[t]he heads of agencies shall review all existing regulations… that potentially burden the development or use of domestically produced energy resources, with particular attention to oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy resources.” It’s important to understand this front he’s putting up so that we can effectively call out his BS—environmental regulations often actually help the economy, in addition to more than making up for themselves in improving health and saving lives (especially for disproportionately affected minority communities).

Trump has attacked at least 80 existing environmental regulations over the course of his presidency, and he’s succeeding in overturning many, including in the areas of air pollution and emissions, drilling and extraction, infrastructure and planning, animals, toxic substances and safety, and water pollution.

However, that doesn’t mean that hope is entirely lost, especially at more local levels. In fact, just this past June, New York’s State Senate passed a bill, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, that plans to generate 70 percent of New York’s electricity from renewable resources and reduce 85 percent of the state’s greenhouses by 2050. And UN Secretary General António Guterres led a meeting on September 23 in New York to introduce the concept of trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent over the next decade, and even to net zero emissions by 2050. This includes the government on the federal and state level, international organizations, local authority, and us, the citizens. Thus, the question is: how do we help create impact? Spreading information—via social media, for example—in order to help our peers become aware is valuable, as is implementing environmentally friendly routines into our daily lives, like reducing plastic use. But is there something we can do beyond that? The answer is yes.

On Friday, millions of Americans are planning to peacefully protest against the use of fossil fuels and other environmentally damaging resources. These protesters are demanding environmental reform, including a ban on fossil fuels, increased statutes and limitations on polluters and fossil fuel companies, and a smooth transition plan to green energy that will prioritize the well-being of our Earth while avoiding major economic regression. This movement isn’t just national—in fact, there are currently over 2,500 strikes planned globally, in addition to the 500 domestically (the largest coordinated climate event yet!!!). And it won’t stop there. Starting next Monday, on September 23rd, constituents all over are planning a week of actions. For example, Washington, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon, Wisconsin, Vermont, California, and more are all coming together to create local legislation and action. The time to act and speak is now. Join the strikes!

What you can do:

Get involved in the 2020 presidential elections! Look at the candidates that value climate change and are emphasizing policy change in their campaigns.
Walk with the strikers on 9/20 (this Friday)!! This spreads not only all over the country, but all over the world! Talk with your school and see if they’re offering excused absences or can treat it as an extenuating circumstance. For NYC people, here’s the information:
- March—Foley Square (led by Greta Thunberg!), 12pm; Rally—Battery Park, 3pm
- For everyone else, find an event near you here.
Join your local community to take action following the strike. Starting on Monday, people all over America will be coming together to act on decreasing climate change, from selling metal straws to sending legislation to their local governor’s office. Learn more and if you can get involved here!

Hurricane Dorian
Last week, Hurricane Dorian blew through the Bahamas for over 48 hours, decimating people’s property and leaving over 70,000 people homeless. At its peak, Dorian was listed as a Category 5 hurricane, sustaining winds of 185 mph, some of the highest winds of an Atlantic hurricane ever recorded at landfall. In the aftermath, residents of the islands of the Bahamas — especially smaller, peripheral ones — have reported everything from picnic tables to furniture to pieces of houses washing ashore. At least 50 deaths have been officially recorded in the Bahamas, with thousands more missing across the Bahamas (in addition to Puerto Rico, Florida, and South Carolina); news sources on site suggest the actual death toll may be in the thousands.

Although the storm is now at sea, tens of thousands of people are still in catastrophe, left without homes, power, resources, or family. Here are some urgent measures that you can take to offer support to those affected today:

Right now, money is what is most needed. Donate what you can to the organizations below, which are providing emergency support to those impacted. If you can’t donate personal funds, set up a bake-sale or a fundraiser in your community to raise what you can.
- Direct Relief is an organization that responds to climate emergencies with urgent medical aid. Take next steps at directrelief.org
- World Central Kitchen is an organization working to provide food and shelter to displaced families. Check them out at wck.org
- GlobalGiving has established a general Hurricane Dorian Relief Fund with the goal of providing recovery in the form of emergency supplies (food, water, medicine) and longer-term rebuilding of decimated infrastructure. As of September 16th, they were almost ¾ of the way to their $2,000,000 goal. Help them get the rest of the way at this link: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/hurricane-dorian-relief-fund/
Organize a drive for emergency supplies in your school/community. You can collect non-perishable food supplies, over-the-counter medication, batteries, blankets

Supreme Court Upholds Restrictive Asylum Policy
On September 11th, the Supreme Court gave President Trump the green light to proceed with a new policy barring asylum for migrants who pass through another country on their way to the U.S. Although the decision was technically just an interim one, it’s not likely that the Supreme Court will hear arguments on it this term, meaning that it may well be effective through next year. A major immigration policy victory for the Trump administration, the decision builds off of one earlier this year that allowed the administration carry out plans to use emergency funding to create a $2.5 billion wall along the border with Mexico to help further an overpoweringly America-first agenda, one fueled by manifestations of nationalism and xenophobia both in the White House and throughout the country.

As with the border wall case, Justices Sotomayor and Ginsburg wrote a strong dissent to the court’s decision, and, in the words of American Civil Liberties Union attorney Omar Jadwat, ““The human toll of today’s asylum ban stay will be horrific.” The order will fundamentally change the way that migrants are processed, and it will alter the number and nature of those who come. For example, migrants from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador cannot seek asylum in the U.S. if they didn't first ask for it in Mexico. For many migrants, denied asylum is effectively, if not directly, a death sentence; violence, persecution—especially against women—and poverty characterize conditions in Central America especially.

What can you do?

Since this was a court's ruling, rather than a legislative decision, there is not much that we can do to directly impact it. However, there are a multitude of other ways we can fight back against Trump's inhumane immigration policy. For a full range, check out the Immigration section of our Index by Issue.
Right now, we want to highlight a little-known but (we believe) vital piece of legislation: the Global Fragility Act, a bipartisan conflict prevention bill that passed the House and is currently under review in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Essentially, it would require the U.S. government to launch a Global Fragility Initiative that would select five to six pilot countries or regions to employ a 10-year strategy aimed at preventing conflict in fragile states. The idea would encourage America to "move away from making decisions in a vacuum, treat implementing partners as equal partners by establishing a forum for government-civil society collaboration, and recognize that humanitarian actors can play an instrumental role" (read more here) in terms of its approach to conflicts in other countries, many of which are causing the border crisis that is occurring right now. It advocates for accountability, and lays the groundwork necessary for a legitimately sustainable solution to that crisis--one based on prevention rather than solutions to an already-exacerbated.
- Call your Senators at 202-224-3121 and the Chairperson of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (Sen. James Risch, R-ID) at 202-224-2752.

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8/28/2019 0 Comments

The Heat's Still On: August 2019

Hello Teen Resisters! It's been a while, huh? This serves as our official August list before we resume our regular biweekly schedule for the year. We have an exciting year ahead, full of election news and lots of wonderful work. But before we jump into that... we hope everyone has had a great summer amid this hectic news cycle. We're sending lots of good vibes for the new school year!
So let's get you briefed on some of this news.

What Went Down:

Fires in the Amazon:
The Amazon Rainforest is on fire. The months of July and August mark the dry season in the Amazon and the 2019 dry season has been the driest since 2013, with an 83% increase since 2018 according to INPE, Brazil’s space research center. The agency has detected a record number of fires so far this year (almost 75,000), due in part to the extremity of this dry season. Reuters reports that the fires have been contributing to growing concern about the Brazilian President, ultraconservative Jair Bolsonaro’s environmental policy. Bolsonaro took office in January with the promise of developing Brazil for mining and farming, which requires the burning of forest land to clear it. Cnet reports that President Bolsonaro believes these fires were started by non-governmental organizations in response to reductions in their funding; others believe Bolsonaro gave the orders to start the fires. The Atlantic confirms that they were definitely human-induced and could not have been purely natural. Brazilian warplanes have begun dumping water over the forest in attempts to control the fires.
This tragedy was receiving minimal media attention until there was a public outcry on social media. #ActForTheAmazon was trending on Twitter, with information (and misinformation) spreading around many platforms.
The Amazon Rainforest has often been referred to as the Earth's Lungs because of the high amounts of oxygen it releases. Beyond that, it contains some of the world's most diverse ecosystems and is home to a variety of indigenous peoples whose lives are threatened by the fires.
Here's a great article explaining the links between Bolsonaro's government and the fires.
What You Can Do:

Donate! Here are some organizations who are doing super important work to protect the Amazon along with some information from their respective websites:
- Protect an Acre: “Protect An Acre (PAA) grants support grassroots leadership and local organizations in forest regions to protect threatened forest lands and to protect the human rights of communities that have co-existed with and depended on these regions for generations.”
- The World Wide Fund for Nature: “With the money raised, our Amazon teams along with local organisations will carry out urgent work on the ground including: Supporting key local and indigenous communities’ needs for medical support, fire fighter training and security; Working with local governments where possible on procedures for fighting fires and deforestation; Campaigning for stronger action from the government.”
- Amazon Conservation Association: “Protecting the Amazon means safeguarding millions of species of animals, plants, and insects who call it home. It means allowing indigenous communities and locals whose livelihoods depend on the forest to thrive. It means stabilizing our planet's climate and protecting 20% of the oxygen production of our world. It means a lot.”
Reduce your intake: beef production and paper production are both linked to deforestation. By reducing the amount of beef you eat and paper you use (and by encouraging those around you to do the same), you can contribute to ending deforestation.
Use Ecosia.org: It’s a search engine which plants a tree for every 45 searches you place through their engine!
Sign this petition started by Greenpeace telling President Bolsonaro and his government to protect the Amazon.
Continue to fight against fascism and climate change in big ways through governmental change. Head to our Index by Issue page to look at more of our coverage on Bolsanaro and climate change.
Listen to the indigenous Amazonian activists who are speaking out about the fires-- they are the people whose lives are most affected by this destruction and also the people who know best how to take care of the rainforest.

Indigenous activists protest President Jair Bolsonaro amidst the Amazon fires

Trump's Trade War with China: As the 45th Group of Seven (G7) Summit is taking place right now, economic pressure is increasing for President Trump. The reason for this? While he’s boasted about America’s economic boost during his presidency, economists all around the world are disagreeing. Instead, some economists are even predicting an economic recession heading its way to us in 2020. The root cause of this is Trump’s ongoing trade war with China. G7 leaders are especially concerned about this because, despite considerable warnings, Trump is still continuing the trade war headstrong, with China retaliating with equal force.
In fact, this past Friday, Beijing announced that they are going to impose new tariffs on $75 billion worth on American goods. Trump responded, saying he plans to raise tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods from 25 to 30% as well as a tariff raise of 10 to 15% on an additional $300 billion of Chinese goods. Another tariff on automobiles is simultaneously being set to start this year on December 15th, which will be 25%. In short, trade is becoming too tense for comfort.
The greater problem is that this tensity has tangible impacts on our economy. The more tariffs grow, the more investors lose faith in the economy. What’s frightening is that this has been a precedent for every recession in the past 50 years. The significance of the US-China trade relationship isn’t anything to be taken lightly, either. In 2018, $700 billion worth of goods were traded between the two, not to mention that America is currently China’s largest foreign creditor. This massive relationship shows its importance both quickly and vastly. Just with last week’s raised tariffs on China’s side, the Dow Industrial Average has shown to plunge 2.4% so far. With the way things are looking, it’s unfortunate to say that it’s safe to assume we can be expecting more of these economic plunges in the near future.
What You Can Do:

With the 2020 presidential elections just around the corner, you can most definitely help the situation by looking into the candidates running against Trump and see what their ideas are to improve the economy. Follow along with our upcoming 2020 campaigning resources.
Talk to the adults around you. Not only can you learn more about the US-China trade war with discussions, you can also help to let them know what President Trump is actually doing, despite his campaign approach of boasting about the economy booming. Whether it’s your parents or even new voters that are upperclassmen, you can notify them that when they vote, they should keep in mind what each candidate is willing to do about the trade war and the economy in general.
Scott Kennedy, director of the project on Chinese business and political economy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies champions that one of the largest problems about the trade war is that Democrats and Republicans are disagreeing and not seeing the devastating effects and potential impacts. The best we can do is to talk about this on social media, political clubs, etc. to help get everyone educated on this!
Leave a note on the White House Comment Line telling Trump that this trade war needs to end.
Number: 202-456-1111
Head to our Basics page for script help.

Planned Parenthood's Withdrawal from Title X:
On August 19th, 2019, Planned Parenthood was forced to withdraw from the Title X program due to Trump and Pence’s restrictive rules regarding abortion stances for the organization. This rule prohibits Title X recipients from providing or referring patients for abortion except in the instances of rape, incest, or medical emergency. The new regulation is also a severe shift from the previous 2000 Title X Rule, where Title X providers were allowed to refer abortion centers to people who asked for them. Due to the violent clash with this new rule and Planned Parenthood’s ethics and ideologies, an attorney for Planned Parenthood thus made the statement that Planned Parenthood clinics “now have no option but to withdraw from the Title X program.” (Want to understand the history of Planned Parenthood and reproductive justice? Check out our Repro Rights, Comprehensively feature.) Less than a week later, the effects of this decision were imminently seen. In Cleveland, OH, a Planned Parenthood mobile clinic had to reduce its staff to part-time employees and now, may possibly shut down. In Minneapolis, MN, clients accustomed to free checkups are now being billed $200 per visit. Planned Parenthood has served members of the low-income community for decades and helps 1.6 million Title X participants receive affordable health care - cancer screenings, birth control, STD testing and treatment, abortion, and more; thus this rule placed by Trump’s administration is detrimental.

What You Can Do:

Text PROTECT X to 22422 to find out how to take action at your location.
Sign the growing Bans Off My Body petition here: https://www.istandwithpp.org/bans-off-my-body

Donate to Planned Parenthood here.
Use this helpful Planned Parenthood calling kit to call your Senators about the Title X situation. This page offers a script, number, and info.

August Shootings: In a span of fewer than 24 hours on August 3rd and 4th, two mass shootings—the first in El Paso, Texas and the second in Dayton, Ohio—left a combined total of more than 30 individuals dead and more than 50 wounded. The El Paso shooter, now in custody, killed 22 people in a Walmart near the Cielo Visto Mall. The massacre has since been characterized as a hate crime: directly before the shooting, the shooter posted a political document to the online message board 8chan detailing his hatred of Latinx immigrants and so-called “race-mixing,” in addition to other white supremacist messages. As figures such as Beto O’Rourke and Cory Booker have pointed out, some of the language of the manifesto—warnings of a “Hispanic invasion” and against Democratic “open borders”—is directly reflective of Trump’s tirelessly racist rhetoric. The Dayton shooter killed 9 before being shot fatally by police.
This horrific pair of events followed another 2 shootings on August 2nd in Maryland and Virginia, claiming a total of 5 lives, and the Dayton shooting marked 251 mass shootings in 216 days. Amnesty International recently joined a growing list of countries in issuing warnings for travel to the U.S. because of an increased risk of gun violence. The facts and figures and stories are endless, and we are devastated to have to address these massacres because they were senseless and preventable. We send all of our love and strength to those impacted by the shootings most harshly—the families and communities of victims—and we pledge to stand with them in every way we can.

What You Can Do:

Call/email the Walmart CEO, Doug McMillom, urging him to alter the way that Walmart sells firearms—either by banning the sale of them completely or by working with retailers and leveraging ultimatums to force them to make weapons safer. (Read more about it here.)
- doug.mcmillon@wal-mart.com, 479-273-4000
Research gun control initiatives in your state governments—especially if you live in a state with a Democratically-controlled legislature, where gun control bills have a greater likelihood of being passed—and call your representatives to demand that they become their first priority.
Check out our Index by Issues Gun Violence section.
Make connections between Trump’s/other politicians’ racist rhetoric and the prevalence of hate crimes, and then continue to call them out—through social media, letters to the editor of a newspaper, etc.—in every way you can

The nine victims of the shooting in Dayton, OH

18 of the 22 people murdered in El Paso.

Hong Kong Protests: Hong Kong Update
The current protest movement in Hong Kong has been happening for months, since a proposed bill in the Hong Kong legislature that would have allowed it to extradite criminals to mainland China. Hongkongers opposed to the bill argued that it would China too much power, including the power to arrest and detain Hongkongese critics of the Chinese government. Though this is not the first Hong Kong protest movement (protests have occurred periodically since the region became semi-autonomous, but still technically Chinese, in 1997), it may be critical in determining Hong Kong’s and China’s future.
Facing overwhelming opposition, the legislature agreed to suspend the bill, but many protesters wanted the bill gone completely. Anti-government and anti-establishment sentiments have grown dramatically: a recent survey of a thousand Hongkongese protesters found that 80% of them supported radical and/or violent action against the government if it continued to not comply with their demands.
While many demonstrations remain peaceful, violence has become increasingly frequent. The Hong Kong police, who have been criticized internationally for their usage of excessive force, have fired tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets and “warning shots” at protesters, and have even disguised themselves as protesters in order to make arrests. There have also been reports of police arresting children, as many of the leaders of Hong Kong’s new movement are young people. Public outrage at police action has inspired yet more protests, and there is little sign of them ending soon.

What You Can Do:

Stay informed on the situation in Hong Kong.
If you live in Hong Kong and support the protests, you have a right under the Constitution to peaceably assemble. Use that right, and be mindful of your safety.
Support the Hong Kong Free Press, which has been documenting the protests and abuses of power by police.

We know that's a lot of news to digest. Have a great last couple days of summer and an amazing start to school!

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7/26/2019 0 Comments

Heat of the Summer: July 2019

Hey Teen Resisters!!
Long time no see! We've taken a bit of a summer break (and hope all of you have as well), so a LOT (more than usual) has happened since the last time we published a list. We obviously cannot cover everything, but we've tried to highlight we think are some of the most important happenings from the past month/ things to be aware of going forward. Feel free to skip around if the whole list is too much to handle, and take a deep breath before diving in.
xx,
TR

what went down

2020 Race Update
As 2020 draws nearer, so too does the presidential election it holds. And the chaotic tumult of the past four years hasn’t failed in attracting a large pool of individuals eager to step in—there are 24 candidates on the Democratic front, though only four have garnered over 10 percent in the national polling averages: Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Kamala Harris. These four have advocated primarily for economic reform through some combination of policies concerning protection of low-wage workers and a disappearing middle class, the promotion of manufacturing, tax cuts for the middle class, Medicare for All, and free college tuition. Controversial social issues have also stolen much of the conversation.

Warren, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, and Sanders, an Independent senator from Vermont, are typically portrayed in the media as the fiery progressives. Harris stands out because of her background as a criminal prosecutor, while Biden seems thus far to be running on a platform entirely based on a return to normalcy. And although those four are currently the top candidates poll-wise, there are a plethora of others who have their own passionate followings.

It’s still very early in the race, and we don’t want to pass judgement on any candidates yet. Our advice? Take time to learn more about each individual candidate before you decide who you’re going to pull for. Try to figure out what their actual policies are, and don’t trust everything that the media pushes (to take just one example, contrary to popular narratives, Sanders and Warren are actually quite different). Later on in the race, we’ll most likely do a feature that’s more concentrated on individual candidates/on tensions between them, so look out for that. For now, read and learn on your own!! A great place to do that is the second round of the upcoming Democratic primary debates, which will take place on July 30th and 31st. It’s okay to be excited about this election. Finding a candidate you love and pouring your heart and soul into getting them elected is a pretty amazing feeling, and the stakes are higher than ever this year—no matter what, 2020 is an opportunity for decisive and transformative change.

One last note: don’t forget—all of the House and about a third of the Senate is up for reelection in 2020 too! If you can vote in 2020, be sure to find out who’s running in your district. Local elections often have the biggest impact on our lives; don’t let the national coverage of the presidential distract you from what’s happening on your home turf.

What you can do:

At this point in the campaign process, most work is PR rather than canvassing, so there isn’t a ton of volunteer work available. However, you can call these candidates and tell them you’re not voting for them unless they promote a specific issue (do this even if you’re not old enough to vote).
Learn about the candidates!! Separate your own opinion from those of the people and forces around you.
Fight for these candidates to recognize climate change as a top priority. Although all four of the leading candidates acknowledge it as an issue, none are giving it the attention it deserves. Don’t forget: if we don’t reduce carbon emissions to zero in the next decade, scientists predict that humans will go extinct by 2050. Call every candidate you can and tell them that the mitigation of climate change must be at the top of their list of priorities.

Puerto Rico Protests Succeed in Ousting Governor
Recent protests in Puerto Rico turned into celebration after the resistance of hundreds of thousands of people from all over the island—blocking roads, surrounding the governor’s mansion, singing, dancing, scuba diving, performing acrobatics, kayaking, riding on horses, banging pots and pans, doing yoga, praying, and so much more, all with the hashtag #RickyRenuncia—succeeded in forcing former governor Ricardo A. Rosselló to resign.

The immediate cause for the protests was a 900-page report by the Center for Investigative Journalism publishing private messages between Rosselló and his closest advisers. In these messages, he used derogatory language towards women, particularly female politicians, LGBTQI+ individuals, overweight people, and Puerto Ricans—his own people—in general.

The messages also hinted at potential corruption; the Puerto Rico Bar Association reported that seven possible crimes had been revealed in the chat, including a threat against the mayor of San Juan and instances of diverting funds, improper disclosure of private information, and intention to fire employees based on political beliefs.

Rosselló’s administration has been colored with corruption—he has been known to buy votes with handouts such as tax breaks and vacation days, and two weeks ago, six former members of his administration were charged with federal corruption charges. Beyond these instances and what came to light in the report, Puerto Ricans used this opportunity to protest years of financial mistreatment and the government’s insufficient response to Hurricane Maria, which took place nine months after Rosselló first took office. At the time, there was no time for protests, because people were struggling to survive. But now, with many still without electricity almost a year after the disaster happened, the people of Puerto Rico were ready to channel their anger and energy into resistance.

This isn’t much of what can you do-situation, since the protests succeeded, except for this: use what happened in Puerto Rico as inspiration, a shining example of what popular resistance is capable of doing.

Also, donate http://www.mariafund.org/ or https://www.gofundme.com/togetherpuertorico.
Check out the “Natural Disasters” section of our Index by Issue to find more ways to support and fight for Puerto Rico in its continuing recovery from Hurricane Maria.

Hawaii Telescope Protests
Plans to begin construction of a telescope at the peak of Mauna Kea, a sacred summit in indigenous Hawaiian tradition (and also the tallest peak in Hawaii), have encountered a roadblock in the form of protests at the base of the mountain this past week. So far, hundreds have joined in peaceful protest blocking the one road leading to the summit, and at least 33 kupuna (elders) have been arrested.

Plans for the Thirty Meter Telescope, which would join 13 other telescopes on the peak of Mauna Kea and produce images twelve times the resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope, have been in the works for a long time.

The site is ideal for astronomy due to its high altitude, low light pollution, and dry climate, and those in favor of the telescope claim that its creation will create new jobs and positively impact the local economy. But the area is also a highly sacred space in native Hawaiian tradition, and legal challenges and peaceful protests against the telescope have been ongoing for the past four years. The fight is still very much ongoing: protests continue, and figures from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Elizabeth Warren to Hawaii’s own delegates, Rep. Ed Case and Senator Mazie Hirono, have defended and expressed solidarity for the native movement.

What can you do?

Further reading on the protests with an emphasis on history--click here
Call your representative to express your support for maintaining the sacred land:
- Hi, my name is _____, I'm from _____, and I'm calling to ask you to support the indigenous people of Hawaii in preventing the Thirty Meter Telescope from being built on sacred land. I believe that this is important because past telescope projects on Mauna Kea have desecrated the mountain, and it is vital that we continue to fight colonialism, even in its modern forms, and support America’s native communities. I urge you to use your conscience in taking a firm stance on this topic. Thank you.
Support the rights of indigenous people everywhere, in any way you can.

Eric Garner Ruling
5 years ago, Eric Garner died at the hands of Staten Island police, sending shockwaves of sadness and anger through NYC and America and helping to catalyze the Black Lives Matter movement. Attorney General William Barr recently announced that there will be no federal charges for the N.Y.P.D. officer primarily involved in his death, Daniel Pantaleo, ending a yearslong internal debate in the Justice Department. The infuriating decision was immediately condemned by the Garner family and their supporters, and the pressure has shifted: one of the only people who has the power to do anything now is Mayor de Blasio, who could fire Officer Pantaleo (he doesn't have direct power to do so, but he has immense sway over the Police Department, which does). Countless high-profile figures in New York City's government have called for de Blasio to take action, who has declined to pass judgement, saying that he respects Officer Pantaleo's right to due process.

What can you do?

Support the Black Lives Matter movement in any and every way you can (the link to take action is here).
Call Mayor de Blasio at 212-NEW-YORK or reach him through his contact page here and demand that he take action to fire Officer Pantaleo.

Trump’s Explicit and Sickening Racism, Once Again: The “Go Back” Tweets
On July 14th, 2019, President Donald Trump tweeted a series of messages targeting U.S. Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley, telling them to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” Later on, he released a statement clarifying that “if they’re not happy here, they can leave [America],” but he failed to address the fact that all four Congresswomen are U.S. citizens (only one, Omar, is an immigrant) or the real issue here: the racism rooted in the message.

Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Tlaib, and Pressley, known as “the squad,” are known to openly oppose Trump and his agenda—the tweets were initially written as a response to these four Congresswomen’s votes against a House border funding bill (they believed it didn’t do enough in protecting against inhumane conditions there, which is a separate). But this attack wasn’t ideological in the slightest.

It was some horrible combination of xenophobia, white nationalism, ignorance, and racism, not unexpected coming from him but difficult to see nonetheless. The kickback was swift and fierce: all four congresswomen attacked, Nancy Pelosi, and countless others across the country denounced the message perpetuated in the tweets. A recent Fox News poll found that Americans overwhelmingly believe the tweets were racist.

For decades, a common attack against people who don’t look traditionally “American” (i.e. white) has been to “go back” to wherever they came from. The insult has been spit at immigrants, POC, and other minority groups, and it’s become valuable weapon in xenophobic propaganda. “Go back to your country” is essentially another way of saying “you’re not welcome here,” and while words alone don’t seem like a violent issue, they do enable violent and dangerous behavior—hate crimes. During a recent Trump reelection rally, supporters chanted “send her back” as a reference towards Ilhan Omar and Trump’s contempt towards her. Vice President Mike Pence released a statement on CBS about a week later, briefly stating that “the president wasn’t pleased about [the rally chant]. Neither was I.” However, both have not condemned the actions of their audience, instead stating that the group were just “incredible patriots.” According to a Washington Post analysis, reported hate crimes rose by 226 percent in counties where Trump held a campaign rally.

So when xenophobic behavior exhibited by the president allows others to follow his example, what can we do?

Hold the people around you accountable! Tell them that their harmless jokes are not harmless, and if possible, attempt to understand and alter xenophobic perspectives. Don’t be afraid to challenge friends, family, coworkers, teachers, and even public officials if they are seemingly perpetuating racial stereotypes/blatantly disrespecting others. Silence normalizes hatred, and in a world that is increasingly opinionated, staying out of issues actually breeds more. If you see/hear something, say something!
Educate yourself and feel free to respectfully share that knowledge. Before you participate in discussions surrounding racism and immigration, read about the xenophobia behind the words “go back to your country” and how harmful it can be in this NPR article.

Migrant Raids
President Donald Trump recently ordered ICE to conduct a mass roundup of undocumented immigrants throughout 10 major cities in the U.S. starting on Sunday, July 14th, sparking fear amongst families seeking asylum in the US. These cities include: Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco. Since the deportation raids were announced, panic has grown as undocumented individuals rushed to find sanctuary and safety for themselves and their families.

More than 2000 deportation orders were sent out prior to the raids. However, only 35 arrests have been made out of the 2000+ targeted since they have begun. Speculation has arisen about the ICE crackdown being solely a political stunt by Trump to cause fear and further divide the nation, possibly even one that could strengthen his base in the 2020 election and scare the opposition. Regardless, though, with everything that’s going on, it’s important to be prepared and acknowledge the situation. Learn more about your rights as an immigrant here in terms of encounters with ICE or law enforcement in your everyday life.

What can you do?

Know Your Rights!!! Check out the Immigrant Defense Project (IDP) and educate yourself or anyone you know in need on their rights on US soil.
Call the Immigrant Defense Project (IDP) for any legal assistance: (212) - 725 - 6422
Sign this petition to put ICE back on its leash: https://action.aclu.org/petition/put-ice-back-leash
Remember that it all starts with you! Share your thoughts, opinions, and other stories on social media to bring notice to the growing issue!

Citizenship Question on the Upcoming 2020 Census
Should a question about citizenship be included on the national 2020 census? The Supreme Court basically said no (more on that later), and, at this point, the Trump administration has effectively no chance of winning the legal battles necessary to get it onto the survey. But it’s important to understand the root of where this proposed addition came from in the first place.

First, some background: after a battle in lower courts, the case finally reached the Supreme Court, which ruled that the administration could not include the question on the census (with some stipulations).

The federal government is required to provide an honest reason for including new questions or making alterations to the survey, and Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that the reason the Trump administration gave for including the citizenship question “appears to have been contrived.” In giving this ruling, the Supreme Court was essentially acknowledging what is recognized by many as the real reason the Trump administration wanted to include the question on the census: to manipulate both the voting demographics of the country as a whole and the mindsets of immigrants and people of color living in this country.

There’s evidence that the inclusion of the question on the census would have discouraged noncitizens from filling out the census. Since the census is used to draw districts for House representation and to distribute billions of dollars in federal funding, the question could both give Republicans an electoral advantage and take funding away from communities that need it. Regardless of whether or not the question is included, damage has already been done. Simply the attempt to put the question on the survey has sowed distrust of the government and doubt of the confidentiality of survey results in the minds of noncitizens, which will inevitably alter the census results in Republicans’ favor. This is another part of the narrative of trying to push minorities and immigrants out of this country from within and make them feel like their voices shouldn’t be heard, and we need to continue to denounce it.

State Assembly Spotlight: Newly Legalized Mental Health Days in Oregon Schools
Oregon recently passed a bill that allows students to take excused absences explicitly for mental health reasons. The bill, which was signed by Governor Kate Brown (D), allots five such absences for every three months of school. Prior to the new law, schools only had to give students excused absences for physical illness.

Support for the bill was led by four Oregon student activists: Sam Adamson, Lori Riddle, Hailey Hardcastle, and Derek Evans. Their inspiration lay in the youth-led gun control movement that emerged from 2018 Parkland shooting—in Hailey Hardcastle’s words, “Just like those movements, this bill is something completely coming from the youth.”

Opponents of the bill pointed to Oregon’s absenteeism rates, which are among the highest in the country: one in six Oregon students missed 10 percent or more of school days in the 2015-2016 school year. Critics argued that the bill would just give students more reasons to skip school. The bill’s supporters countered that the purpose of the bill wasn’t to encourage absenteeism, but rather to help students be more honest about why they did not want to go to school.

Mental health is an especially prevalent issue in Oregon, whose suicide rate is 40 percent higher than the national average. A survey of eighth-graders in the state found that 17 percent had seriously considered suicide in the past year. Proponents of the bill argued that the new law could encourage such students to be more open and seek help for mental illness.

What You Can Do:

If you want to see a bill like Oregon’s passed in your state, then lobby your state legislature for one!
You can also try talking to your individual school (or school district) to ask them to allow absences specifically for mental health reasons.

And, in lieu of a puppy video this week, we've included something that we hope will give all of you a well-deserved laugh.

Something Super Funny

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