Climate Rally in Utica 4 pm

August 27, 2021 Alan Cole

Climate at a Breaking Point

Are you still reeling from local floods, rising temperatures this summer, and the UN's 2021 Climate Report? Don't be paralyzed by hopelessness. Join with IMV friends and TAKE ACTION.

The Climate Crisis Working Group is having a Climate Jobs & Justice Rally on Friday, August 27th from 4-5 pm at the intersection of the Parkway and Genesee Street (MVCC side) to bring attention to the urgency of Climate Change on a national, state and local level. This is very timely with the IPCC report calling for deep reductions in CO2 levels and greenhouse gas emissions. So please bring signs such as Electric Vehicles, Renewables, Solar Panels, Heat Pumps, New Electric Grid and join together with friends.

The next meeting for the Climate Crisis Working Group is September 27th at 6:30 pm via zoom. We will be talking about how we will be educating others on how to reduce emissions but also how we are going to move our national and state officials on Climate Change policy and laws, especially the CCIA in NY State with our new governor.

StopLine3 Action: As Buffy Curtis has told us about her involvement as an ally with hundreds of indigenous and environmental activists in the fight to Stop Line3, a toxic, dangerous, and destructive pipeline for tar sands oil that President Biden is allowing to be built to bring crude oil from Canada through waterways and indigenous lands in the US. She urges us all to contact the White House immediately. ACTION ITEM: Email President Biden today with a simple message: "Stop Line 3!" or call him at 202-456-1111. More contact information at https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/.

The For the People Act: Don't Stop Believin' & Calling

The House passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Act this week, and it's on to the Senate, where so much is at stake for our democracy. This fight has gotten long, but it's still not over. NY State Indivisibles sent this letter to President Biden yesterday, urging him to put the weight of his office behind passing S1. IMV was a signer on the letter, which is one piece of a multi-pronged strategy to continue to press our leaders in New York on saving democracy at the federal level. We can't fight this battle in every state--it's just too many gerrymandered fronts.

Keep calling your Sen. Gillibrand and Sen. Schumer and demand they pass S. 1 without delay. Driving phone calls every single day is crucial to sustained pressure. Use Indivisible's form to automatically be connected, and then fill it out again to reach your other senator’s office to make sure they know that we need to get S. 1 done, no excuses.

Indivisible Leadership Summit

Indivisible National has announced its 2021 Indivisible Leadership Summit! This will be a virtual Zoom event over the evenings of September 22 and 23 from 7-9 pm ET / 4-6 pm PT.

The summit will be an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of our Indivisible movement and prepare for the legislative and electoral work ahead. Based on membership feedback, the format of this event will primarily be exchanges between groups on challenges, strategies, and successes and providing input on Indivisible’s plans moving forward. You must register for each individual session.

Wednesday, September 22 at 7 pm ET / 4 pm PT
Thursday, September 23 at 7 pm ET / 4 pm PT

Building Indivisible Statewide Structures

In 2021, Indivisibles across the country are working together to build strong statewide structures that can help our local networks collaborate and support each other as we go into the next electoral cycle of 2022. Join in a kickoff call where you’ll hear from group leaders who have built powerful state structures already and learn about the resources you can use to support building a network in your own state.

Thursday, September 9 at 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT

It's Not Too Late to Take the IMV Action Survey

IMV is taking a new approach with local campaigns this fall. We have a lot of wonderful candidates who need our help and support, and at the same time, we have not been able to work on campaigns together in person since before Covid times. So....we have decided to create a regular schedule --perhaps two days per week, when IMVers will meet up and volunteer together for a campaign.

We'll begin this schedule after Labor Day.  The Steering Committee will be in contact with campaigns so they can request specific dates, provide walking lists and palm cards, and so on needed for canvassing or lit drops.   The candidates make their own strategy--we are offering People Power.   We'll use a similar method for doing postcards and any phone-banking for campaigns. As Jennifer Geiger noted, this is a great way for us to see each other and connect in person again. There are roles for everyone--including those who prefer driving to walking, and those who like to carry the materials or make the notes in Minivan rather than talking at the door.

We know that not being able to knock doors was one of the main reasons that Anthony lost in 2020.  Many of our best progressive local candidates are likely to lose their elections if they don't connect to enough voters at their doors; there is no other really good way to find out who is likely to vote for them so they know who to turn out during the election, and face-face conversations (even masked) are the best way to personally persuade voters.  Please, please volunteer to canvass as one of your actions. Remember, we will do it together!

If you haven't done so already, please fill out this survey.  Our goal is to pick two weekly times (perhaps a weekday and a weekend) that will allow everyone to participate and make sure we elect some progressive candidates this year. Thank you for filling out the survey!

Remember to join IMV for CAFE Friday this morning and for the Climate rally this afternoon. Democracy is not a spectator sport.