Democracy Happy Hour – November 1, 2023

Democracy Happy Hour, Nov 1, 2023 - Meeting Recordings:

• Speaker View Recording:  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/6o5fzhwX0dihCXUc1GmrlVnDnZd6dZhpuU24asI0BVTE-1bVU2ONro1SDLfadvCgHS8_J2sYnYrrr0Tw.BW9DJkFBp686QGTI

• Gallery View Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/sU3JJn2MZ--AfbNS8Ag-xgVs8Ys3WNuVOeL1aWWIH3zIm_wZCFTYCd9nzylgiHObPr5JcGIDxoYH8x4G.7ZEpHFxT9AE5r8_v

• Chat file (will download directly to your computer):  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/sdownload/VG_uZiCzvSadpX0BVlZLmFivx3krVpBo_G5X7n7-ysw_-TYZ3CIA6K9tMsRaCNtXeIta-JSxqUC1G--M.SEuNQ8yltY3TEIWR

FDF Links:

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

Democracy Happy Hour Upcoming Topics/Schedule:

• Nov 8 - How to Get Involved with Local Actions, Daniel Weise, Take Action Network
• Nov 15 - Avoiding Election Misinformation with DeMario Phipps-Smith, News Literacy Project, Senior Manager of Community Learning
• Nov 22 - CANCELED - No Democracy Happy Hour this week - Happy Thanksgiving!
• Nov 29 - The Path to Full Voting Rights Restoration with Anthony Blankenship, Civil Survival

ACTIONS & EVENTS:

2023 MEANINGFUL MOVIES AWARDS CEREMONY & 20^th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION - Sunday, November 5, 2023 @ 5:00 PM - https://meaningfulmovies.org/events/2023-meaningful-movies-awards-ceremony/

LWVWA Lobby Team Gears up for Action Workshop (Dec 2, 2023) and Lobby Week (Jan 22-26, 2024) - https://lwvwa.org/page-18629/13271047

Sign the petition to President Biden: Act now to protect democracy - https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-to-president-biden-act-now-to-protect-democracy-2?source=20231018SWBidenDemocracyEO_FDF&referrer=group-fixdemocracyfirst

CivXNow Educator Advocacy Program Sign Up – Looking for current & retired educators - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeOWc_xCfCfCMumfhnIVeDAcgdLahSTFV5fg-4btfUgd9O91A/viewform

Citizen Connect - https://citizenconnect.us/

Redrawing Washington's 15th Legislative District Links:

• YAKIMA CASE: SUSAN SOTO PALMER, et al., Plaintiffs, v. STEVEN HOBBS, et al., Defendants, And JOSE TREVINO, et al., Intervenor-Defendant - https://www.democracydocket.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/218-2023-08-10-opinion.pdf

• Redistricting Justice for Washington - https://www.redistrictingjusticewa.org/

• WA must redraw Yakima Valley legislative map judge says is discriminatory - https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/wa-must-redraw-yakima-valley-legislative-map-judge-says-is-discriminatory/

• Federal Judge Rules Washington State’s Legislative Map Violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act - https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/federal-judge-rules-washington-states-legislative-map-violates-section-2-of-the-voting-rights-act/

• Voting Rights in the Yakima Valley — Redrawing the 15th Legislative District - https://www.kuow.org/stories/voting-rights-in-the-yakima-valley-redrawing-the-15th-legislative-district

• Order to redraw discriminatory WA district map is the right call - https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/order-to-redraw-discriminatory-wa-district-map-is-the-right-call/

• Washington isn't rushing to redraw districts, despite court order - https://www.axios.com/local/seattle/2023/08/25/washington-state-redistricting-order-voting-rights-act

• WA lawmakers won’t call a special session on Yakima Valley district map - https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/wa-lawmakers-wont-call-a-special-session-on-yakima-valley-district-map/

• Federal court likely to redraw Central WA Latino-majority district - https://crosscut.com/politics/2023/09/federal-court-likely-redraw-central-wa-latino-majority-district

• WA Dems want court to redraw 15th Legislative District boundary - https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_515c3b44-5402-11ee-bf00-ef3089cf3dc1.html

Democracy in the News Links

Judge reimposes restrictions on Trump’s speech in Jan. 6 case - https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/10/29/trump-gag-order-resumes-jan-6-judge

US judge asks Trump if he wants his federal election trial televised - https://news.yahoo.com/us-judge-asks-trump-wants-202442696.html

What Guilty Pleas in Georgia Mean for the Federal Case Against Trump - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/25/us/politics/trump-georgia-election-guilty-pleas.html

Trump’s Children Are Set to Take the Stand at His Fraud Trial This Week - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/30/nyregion/trump-children-fraud-trial-testimony.html

How Trump critics hope to use the 14th Amendment to kick him off ballots - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/30/trump-running-president-14th-amendment-2024

Lawyers argue whether the Constitution’s ‘insurrection’ clause blocks Trump from the 2024 ballot - https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/court-arguments-begin-in-effort-to-bar-trump-from-presidential-ballot-under-insurrection-clause

Expert says Trump could have defended Capitol on Jan. 6 as disqualification case enters new phase - https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-ballot-14th-amendment-colorado-6a8528813e29c9f45a0bb4972369e97e

What we learned from our Florida voting rights investigation - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/28/florida-voting-rights-investigation-ron-desantis

Georgia’s Voting Maps Are Struck Down - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/26/us/politics/georgia-voting-maps.html

Georgia’s congressional map violates Voting Rights Act, court finds - https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/26/georgias-congressional-map-violates-voting-rights-act-court-finds-00123779

Judge rules Georgia’s political maps must be redrawn before 2024 elections - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/26/georgia-election-maps-redrawn

Georgia voter intimidation trial begins after 250K registrations challenged - https://www.union-bulletin.com/news/national/georgia-voter-intimidation-trial-begins-after-250-000-registrations-challenged/article_d5b8e7f3-7583-5193-b6d4-66bf2583850d.html

5th Circuit Upholds Consent Decree for Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Elections - https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/5th-circuit-upholds-consent-decree-for-louisiana-supreme-court-justice-elections/

N.C. Republicans pass redistricting map expected to flip 3 House seats - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/25/north-carolina-redistricting-map-passed-republicans/

Democrats vow to challenge North Carolina's new voting district maps, claim racial gerrymandering - https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/north-carolina-politics/north-carolina-redistricting-congressional-maps-political-gerrymandering-democrats-vow-lawsuits/275-bc014e82-872e-4644-9e97-cf7702285189

Anatomy of a North Carolina Gerrymander - https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/anatomy-north-carolina-gerrymander

Virginia Admitted to Wrongfully Removing 3,400 Voters. Can It Recover Ahead of Pivotal Elections? - https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/10/virginia-elections-wrongful-removal-voter-rolls/

Supreme Court Weighs When Officials May Block Citizens on Social Media - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/31/us/supreme-court-first-amendment-social-media.html

US judge, scholars urge Supreme Court term limits in bipartisan push - https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-judge-scholars-urge-supreme-court-term-limits-bipartisan-push-2023-10-25/

‘Get the right cases to the supreme court’: inside Charles Koch’s network - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/26/charles-koch-us-government-rightwing-supreme-court

Clarence Thomas’s RV loan was forgiven, Senate committee report says - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/25/clarence-thomas-rv-loan-forgive/

Democrats plan to subpoena wealthy benefactors of Supreme Court justices - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/30/harlan-crow-leonard-leo-subpoena-supreme-court/

Trump-skeptical GOP rainmakers are taking another look at Trump - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trump-skeptical-gop-rainmakers-are-taking-another-look-trump-rcna122082

Joe Manchin grows $11 million war chest as he mulls 2024 election plans - https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2023/10/joe-manchin-grows-11-million-war-chest-as-he-mulls-2024-election-plans

Spending passes $17M in Pennsylvania high court campaign as billionaires, unions and lawyers dig in - https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-supreme-court-election-campaign-3676cdc368faf25dc0cfc567608b42fb

Outside interests spend more than $1M on Seattle City Council races - https://crosscut.com/politics/2023/10/outside-interests-spend-more-1m-seattle-city-council-races

Realtors, unions, Nirvana’s bassist: $1.3M in PAC spending in Seattle - https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/realtors-unions-nirvanas-bassist-whos-behind-1-3m-in-pac-spending-in-seattle-council-races

It takes lots of money to win elections. Here's what you need to know - https://www.npr.org/2023/11/01/1205728664/campaign-finance-donations-election-fec-fundraising-ad-spending

Defense contractors spent $70 million lobbying ahead of annual defense budget bill - https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2023/10/defense-contractors-spent-70-million-lobbying-ahead-of-annual-defense-budget-bill-ndaa

Sen. Josh Hawley introduces ban on political spending by publicly-traded corporations - https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article281261213.html

Mitch McConnell warns GOP senators they’ll face ‘incoming’ if they back Hawley bill to limit corporate giving in campaigns - https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/31/politics/mitch-mcconnell-josh-hawley-citizens-united/index.html

11% of the world’s billionaires have held or sought political office - https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2023/10/11-of-the-worlds-billionaires-have-held-or-sought-political-office/?fj=1

President Biden Issues Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence - https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/10/30/fact-sheet-president-biden-issues-executive-order-on-safe-secure-and-trustworthy-artificial-intelligence/

The politics of Biden’s vast new AI order - https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/30/bidens-executive-order-artificial-intelligence-00124395

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/
• It's not all bad news: Wonderful and wild stories about tackling climate change - https://www.npr.org/2023/10/03/1202290614/good-news-climate-change-solutions