Democracy Happy Hour – Febuary 7, 2024

Democracy Happy Hour, Feb 7, 2024 - Meeting Recordings:

• Speaker View Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/jrcw8WMk2fLGsPb4-ENYQucysZtDa31lpm99WFm4IslVSUWNkB_KeMQpZ89GzTY6vwpkC6KuekgVJLaK.pqQVVI9qOfN7CIVT

• Gallery View Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/q4B-UvpJMatYOQnXoz1tXUoG4WZECwCakVLn67r9RZgsVRXaI6tCph7uLlPlu12HHqW_tK8zKbzOBn2C.sXjAzyXk88Y8ujho

• Chat file (will download directly to your computer): https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/sdownload/nHqN9-v3LkmLSa9emJnYkKtmNy4GVWUCvUzHyVHFrXyAKDb_KOLlmyXokpbFS2H90D-ZKfAKzofTzdIh.7gkExY_X8c_HBRj2

FDF Links:

• Fix Democracy First - https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/
• Fix Democracy First - Donate @ https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/donate

Democracy Happy Hour Upcoming Topics/Schedule:

• Feb 14 - CANCELED - No Democracy Happy Hour this week. Cindy will be attending the National Assoc. of Nonpartisan Reformers Summit in Denver.
• Feb 21 - Reclaiming Our Democracy: Every Citizen's Guide to Transformational Advocacy with Sam Daley-Harris
• Feb 28 - Section Two of the 14th Amendment: A Never Enforced Provision of the Constitution  with Jared Pettinato & Todd Drezner
• Mar 6 - Discovering Truth: How to Navigate between Fact & Fiction in an Overwhelming Social Media World with Tim Love
• Mar 13 - Empowering Youth in Our Democracy Through Project-Based Civics with Generation Citizen

ACTIONS & EVENTS:

• WA Legislative ACTION NEEDED: Contact your legislators to express your support of HB 1932 that would allow Washington state jurisdictions to switch to even-year elections.

• HB 1932 - https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1932&Initiative=false&Year=2023
• Express your support on the COMMENT PAGE: https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill/1932
• Email link: https://fusewashington.actionkit.com/letter/WAVJAction_2024EYE

• WA Poor People's Campaign March To Stay Alive In Olympia – March 2^nd @ 12 pm PT - https://actionnetwork.org/events/wa-poor-peoples-campaign-day-of-action-in-olympia

• PPC video: https://vimeo.com/906790864/fab17ecfe1?share=copy

• LWVWA ACT via Zoom – Mondays @ 10 am through Mar 11, 2024 - https://lwvwa.org/event-5491947
  

The People & Katie Fahey Links:

• Katie Fahey - https://www.representwomen.org/katie_fahey
• The People - https://www.thepeople.org/
• The People Newsletter sign-up - https://thepeople.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/thepeople/survey.jsp?surveyId=2
• Voters Not Politicians - https://votersnotpoliticians.com/
• Slay the Dragon - https://www.slaythedragonfilm.com/
• Katie's TED Talk - https://www.ted.com/speakers/katie_fahey

Democracy in the News Links

Federal Appeals Court Rejects Trump’s Claim of Absolute Immunity - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/06/us/politics/trump-immunity-appeals-court.html

What’s Next in the Federal Election Case Against Trump? - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/06/us/politics/whats-next-federal-election-case-trump.html

Trump’s D.C. trial removed from March calendar, clearing way for N.Y. case - https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/02/01/trump-trial-calendar-jan-6-delay/

Chutkan contemplates Trump trial extending deep into 2024, as case remains in limbo - https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/05/chutkan-trump-trial-date-2024-00139665

Did Trump commit insurrection on Jan. 6? The Supreme Court could decide. - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/02/02/trump-supreme-court-insurrection-14th-amendment/

Can Trump be on the ballot? It’s the Supreme Court’s biggest election test since Bush v. Gore - https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-insurrection-2024-election-45728c8a2f1e863ed94e14891aea5d47

What the 14th Amendment says about whether Trump can be on the ballot - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2024/14th-amendment-trump-ballot/

Dozens of House Republicans Declare Trump’s Jan. 6 Actions Were Not Insurrection - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/06/us/politics/house-republicans-trump-jan-6.html

Prosecutors hit back at Trump’s accusations of political bias in classified documents case - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/federal-prosecutors-hit-back-trump-classified-documents-case-rcna137066

A Guide to the Criminal Cases Against Donald Trump - https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/a-guide-to-the-criminal-cases-against-donald-trump

Deepfakes, dollars and ‘deep state’ fears: Inside the minds of election officials heading into 2024 - https://cyberscoop.com/deepfakes-dollars-deep-state-fears-election-officials-concerns-2024/

Bipartisan report seeks ways to counter extreme polarization that has created distrust in elections - https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-voting-ballots-polarization-trust-4d5f89082e25809a76f4f550801acbb0

Carter Center and Rice’s Baker Institute Say U.S. Election System Must be a National Priority - https://www.cartercenter.org/news/pr/2024/u.s.-elections-020624.html

Could Taylor Swift be the biggest election influencer of them all? - https://thefulcrum.us/pop-culture/taylor-swift-politics

Republican lawsuits challenge mail ballot deadlines. Could they upend voting across the country? - https://apnews.com/article/mail-voting-ballot-deadlines-republicans-trump-fa62a5c8678c0b6ec8dc3f63030d6339

Democrats, Republicans Resort to State Courts as Strategic Tool in 2024 Gerrymandering Battle - https://www.thestockdork.com/democrats-republicans-resort-to-state-courts-as-strategic-tool-in-2024-gerrymandering-battle/

Alabama’s redistricting case set for 2025 trial - https://alabamareflector.com/2024/02/01/alabamas-redistricting-case-set-for-2025-trial/

Republicans pass voting center ban in the AZ House - https://news.azpm.org/s/98099-republicans-pass-voting-center-ban-in-the-az-house/

Unaffiliated voters can help pick GOP’s nominees, federal judge rules - https://www.courthousenews.com/unaffiliated-voters-can-help-pick-gops-nominees-federal-judge-rules/

Voters sue over creation of Louisiana’s second majority-Black congressional district - https://lailluminator.com/2024/02/01/voters-sue-over-creation-of-louisianas-second-majority-black-congressional-district/

Michigan Independent Redistricting Commission Releases House Map Proposals - https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/michigan-independent-redistricting-commission-releases-house-map-proposals/

Judge dismisses GOP challenge of N.Y.'s vote-by-mail law - https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/judge-dismisses-gop-challenge-n-y-s-vote-by-mail-18649704.php

New redistricting lawsuit asks NC courts to say fair elections are a constitutional right, and that gerrymandering violates it - https://ncnewsline.com/briefs/nc-redistricting-lawsuit-seeks-to-have-courts-say-fair-elections-are-a-constitutional-right-and-gerrymandering-violates-it/

Ohio Attorney General given until Monday to explain rejection of voting rights amendment to court - https://apnews.com/article/voting-rights-ohio-lawsuit-dave-yost-2d6bd4a49ddd0f3b34c0b43c2dafaf05

Oregon Supreme Court rules that Republican senators who walked out last year can’t seek reelection - https://www.opb.org/article/2024/02/01/oregon-supreme-court-rules-republican-lawmakers-walked-out-cant-seek-reelection/

Project Veritas admits there was no evidence of election fraud at Pennsylvania post office in 2020 - https://apnews.com/article/election-pennsylvania-postmaster-ballots-2020-project-veritas-327d470d18ec40792ffe4ead61feeb92

Wisconsin Supreme Court consultants say Republican-drawn legislative maps are gerrymanders, don’t deserve consideration - https://www.wpr.org/news/wisconsin-supreme-court-consultants-say-republican-drawn-legislative-maps-are-gerrymanders-dont-deserve-consideration

Supreme Court enters election season with politically potent cases - https://rollcall.com/2024/02/05/supreme-court-enters-election-season-with-politically-potent-cases/

Biden holds early cash edge, Trump’s legal bills mount and other takeaways from new campaign finance reports - https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/01/politics/fourth-quarter-campaign-finance-report-takeaways/index.html

Trump Leads Biden in Number of Small Donors - https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/02/06/us/politics/trump-biden-donors-election.html

Trump's political action committees spent nearly $50 million on legal bills in 2023, filings show - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-political-action-committees-2023-legal-bills/

Pro-Biden super PAC set to spend up to $40M amplifying Trump's legal woes - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/biden-super-pac-40-million-ad-campaign-trump-legal-rcna135326

VoteVets Plans $45 Million Push to Lift Biden and Democrats - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/05/us/politics/votevets-biden-democrats-ads.html

Republican National Committee wants Nikki Haley to drop out to boost funds - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/07/rnc-nikki-haley-drop-out-funds

TV’s Big Dark (Money) Secret - https://www.levernews.com/tvs-big-dark-money-secret/

New Bill Would Prevent Billionaires From Donating to Dark Money Groups Tax-Free - https://www.commondreams.org/news/billionaires-dark-money

OpenSecrets launches first of its kind tool to track spending on state and federal lobbying - https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2024/01/press-release-opensecrets-launches-first-of-its-kind-tool-to-track-spending-on-state-and-federal-lobbying

Open Secrets Lobbying Data Summary - https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/summary

National Voter Corps - https://nationalvotercorps.org/

GOOD NEWS Websites:

Politics & Government Good News - https://www.goodgoodgood.co/impact/democracy

Good News Network - https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/

Sunny Skyz - https://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news

ABC Good News - https://abcnews.go.com/alerts/good-news

Daily Good - https://www.dailygood.org/

The Happy News - https://thehappynewspaper.com/