POLITICAL ACTION WITH THE WITCHING HOUR 5/10

POLITICAL ACTION WITH THE WITCHING HOUR 5/10

The Witching Hour is HausWitch’s attempt to help our community stay accountable for their activism. We call representatives, senators and other government officials from around the Salem, MA area about things we care about and donate to local causes.

The next Hour is May 25th at 7pm at the shop. Can’t make it to The Witching Hour? Too far away? Thinking about starting your own accountability group? Two words: Do it! Email cheryl@hauswitch.com if you need guidance.

Jeff Cohen, Head of Salem’s No Place for Hate, will be speaking on the 7/9 Witching Hour on local action and causes he’s involved in that need support. Mark your calendar!

MBTA Summer Weekend Closure UPDATE

All that we can see is that they are adding ferries. Anyone have any other updates?

Espacio was funded!

40k y’all! Great job!

Safe Communities Act Update

This has been sent to committee and has the potential to be bounced around in de-prioritized committees if we don’t keep pressure on our state-level government. I’ll be sending around a list of reasons the Safe Communities Act would benefit our state so everyone can email Joan Lovely, Paul Tucker, Charlie Baker and a list of others in the state government in the Witching Hour Update. We also have a script for calling Charlie and our state-level senators below. Call early, call often!

Petition for Safe Communities

Learn about the MA statewide Safe Communities Act here.

Text RESIST to 50409 and follow prompts to send messages to your reps. “I demand an independent prosecutor to investigate Trump/Russia ties now. Impeach Donald Trump.”

1. Click attending for the next Witching Hour here (because you are).
2. Take a moment to BREATHE
3. Call our rep, Seth Moulton: (Check out https://5calls.org/ for more scripts)

+1 202-225-8020 (Office of Seth Moulton, our Rep in the House)

+1 978-531-1669 (Secondary local number if mailbox is full)

Hi, my name is [NAME] and I'm a constituent from [CITY, # STREET, ZIP].

I'm calling for a couple reasons. First, I'm outraged at the firing of James Comey and I’m calling to urge [REP/SEN NAME] to push for the appointment of an independent special prosecutor to investigate Russia’s involvement with the Trump team. Comey’s firing shows the lengths Trump will go to kill the investigation into the truth. Thank you for your time and attention. And I’d like to express my disapproval that the FCC is trying to kill net neutrality. Preserving an open internet is crucial for fair and equal access to the resources and information available on it. I’m urging the United States to remain a signatory to the Paris Climate Agreement. For the sake of our economy, health, and national security, the United States must continue to lead the global fight against climate change. Finally, I express my strong opposition to Trump's new executive order that allows tax-exempt churches to endorse politicians. Allowing churches to endorse politicians violates the Johnson Amendment, and no order by the President can legally change or reverse that federal law. Thank you for your time and attention. [IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied].

4. Call your senators

+1 202-224-2742 (Office of Edward J. Markey, one of our Senators)

+1 202-224-4543 (Office of Elizabeth Warren, one of our Senators)

Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from [CITY, # STREET, ZIP].

I'm calling for a couple reasons. First, I'm outraged at the firing of James Comey and I’m calling to urge [REP/SEN NAME] to push for the appointment of an independent special prosecutor to investigate Russia’s involvement with the Trump team. Comey’s firing shows the lengths Trump will go to kill the investigation into the truth. I’m also calling to express my disapproval that the FCC is trying to kill net neutrality. Preserving an open internet is crucial for fair and equal access to the resources and information available on it. I'd like to urge the United States to remain a signatory to the Paris Climate Agreement. For the sake of our economy, health, and national security, the United States must continue to lead the global fight against climate change. Lastly, I'm calling to express my strong opposition to Trump's new executive order that allows tax-exempt churches to endorse politicians. Allowing churches to endorse politicians violates the Johnson Amendment, and no order by the President can legally change or reverse that federal law. Thank you for your time and attention. [IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied]

5. Call your state-level senator, representative, and Governor Charlie Baker.

+1 617-725-4005 (Office of Governor Charlie Baker)

+1 617-722-1410 (Joan Lovely, Senator)

+1 617-722-2396 (Paul Tucker, Representative)

Hi, my name is [NAME] and I'm a constituent from [CITY, # STREET, ZIP].

I'm calling to support the Safe Communities Act.

It is important to realize there is no real correlation between any rise in crime and immigrant populations residing in an area. It's actually more important for everyone to feel safe reporting any sort of crime in their neighborhood rather than worry about deportation if they contact their local authorities. A Muslim registry would strike fear into the hearts of our neighbors who have done nothing to warrant such treatment. The Safe Communities Act doesn’t stop immigration police from doing their jobs and does not stop state or local police from cooperating with them. What it does do is ensure Massachusetts dollars do not get spent on federal initiatives to deport our friends and neighbors. Thank you for your time and attention.

[IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied]

6. Call the Department of Justice to demand a special prosecutor in the wake of Comey’s firing.

+1 202-514-2101

Hi, my name is [NAME] and I'm a concerned citizen from [CITY]. I’m calling to ask Mr. Rosenstein to appoint an independent special prosecutor to investigate Russia's involvement with the Trump campaign and the 2016 election. His stated reasons for the firing of Comey make him look like a partisan instrument of the Trump administration and he has lost his credibility to investigate Russia. Thank you for your time and attention.

7. Choose two events and go to them before the next Witching Hour. Find a buddy, or a few and carpool.

Find all links to Facebook Events in our Google Doc: http://bit.ly/WitchingHourDoc

Before the Moon on 05/25/17:

5/10/17
30th Annual Beyond Shelter Benefit
5/11/17
Know Immigrants' Rights
5/11/17
Community Organizing Meeting
5/13/17
Annual Salsa Fundraiser for St Jude's Pediatric Cancer Research
5/13/17
Clothing Swap!
5/13/17
DJ 20 Benefit: WIMP/Heartbreaker/RictusGrin/Hussy/Goolagoon
5/13/17
Community Walk to Distribute Know Your Rights Materials
5/13/17
NAGLY's 25th Anniversary Concert featuring Jennifer Holliday
5/16/17
Cuba, An African Odyssey: Film / Food / Fundraiser
5/17/17
The City Talks: Respond/Response
5/18/17
Jamin' for Justice
5/19/17
Citizenship Clinics with MIRA Coalition
5/20/17
Massachusetts Youth Pride
5/20/17
Rally For Public Education
5/22/17
Conversations on Race
5/31/17
Feminist Art Wednesday (May)

7:30pm

  1. Discussing the Safe Communities Act
    • The MA Supreme Court intends to rule on Commonwealth v. Lunn next month, and any vote on the bill will wait until then. In the meantime it's important to keep pressure on our state-level officials so this doesn't get lost in subcommittees forever.
  1. Puerto Rico - Elections and politics with Kate Devorak - There will be a referendum for Puerto Rico to become a state, but these have not gone through in the past. Next meeting we will discuss how we might be able to help and raise awareness about the current struggles Puerto Rico is facing.
  2. Announcements from the group

Friendly Reminder:

Our Moon Meditation starts at 8pm. If you come to The Witching Hour to get political and then want to stay for the meditation please remember to buy your ticket ahead of time next time at stag.hauswitch.com/events. You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay in the shop…without a ticket ;).

Questions? Email hello@hauswitch.com.

OUR GIFT TO YOU

WEEK OF WITCHCRAFT

The days of the week carry just as much energy and symbolism as the months of the year or the phases of the moon, and that can be helpful for witches who like to time their spells with the vibe of the moment!Inside you'll find practices, associations and allies for each day of the week to help you infuse every day with magic.