10/02/23 Missouri Mondays - Ashcroft’s legal delays to prevent YOUR vote on abortion rights, UAW
UAW strike expands; Govt shutdown avoided with help from House Dems; Be VoteReady for EVERY election!
Welcome to another Missouri Mondays!
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Missouri in the News
In the latest round of legal action to delay approval of abortion rights initiative petitions, Republican Secy. of State and MO gubernatorial candidate Jay Ashcroft was rebuked by Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem who rewrote Ashcroft's deceptive ballot summary language for all six proposed petitions.
“Beetem decided that Ashcroft wrote a biased ballot summary for six proposed initiatives that would enshrine rights to receive reproductive health care, including abortion, in the state constitution. State law directs the secretary of state to prepare a ballot summary that is “neither intentionally argumentative nor likely to create prejudice either for or against the proposed measure.” In his ruling, Beetem wrote that Ashcroft violated both standards.”
“His proposed language — which, again, is required by law to be free of biased wording — would tell voters that the referendum allows for “dangerous, unregulated and unrestricted abortions” from “conception to live birth.”
“The obvious goal is and always has been to tie up the question in court long enough to potentially cause activists to miss deadlines for gathering signatures to get abortion rights on the Missouri ballot next year. Ashcroft apparently cares nothing about the fact that he is transparently misusing his official powers for his own political gain.
He clearly thinks voters in next year’s gubernatorial race won’t hold him accountable for this crass and cynical abuse of authority. They should.
At issue is Missouri’s new abortion ban, enacted minutes after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. It bans abortion from the moment of conception in all cases, even rape and incest, with the sole exception of medical emergencies. Doctors who violate the ban can face up to 15 years in prison.
No state in America has a more draconian abortion law. And Ashcroft and his fellow right-wing Republicans have apparently come to understand that even in conservative Missouri, it may not survive a statewide referendum.
After all, of the seven states that have considered abortion-related issues on a statewide ballot since Roe fell, every single one — even the red states of Kansas and Kentucky — has come down strongly on the side of protecting reasonable abortion rights.
So Ashcroft, determined not to let Missouri voters have a clear up-or-down vote on the issue if he can help it, has been using his state-funded office to sabotage the current effort to get an abortion-rights referendum on the ballot.
His vowed appeal of Beetem’s ruling will almost certainly end up at the same place, but it will further stall the referendum effort. Missouri taxpayers are funding this gross abuse of state powers and resources to thwart a fair vote on the issue.
Voters shouldn’t forget that the next time Ashcroft’s name is on the ballot.”
Read more about Ashcroft’s legal battle to keep you from voting on abortion and reproductive rights:
https://missouriindependent.com/2023/09/28/appeals-court-sets-hearing-date-on-missouri-abortion-rights-initiative-ballot-title/ MIssouri Independent Sept 28
https://www.columbiamissourian.com/opinion/guest_commentaries/ashcroft-is-determined-to-thwart-a-fair-abortion-vote/article_c2d1f9ae-5f0f-11ee-801a-bb9557465a2c.html Columbia Missourian / St. Louis Post-Dispatch Op-Ed Sept 29
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National News
“Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a trailblazer in U.S. politics and the longest-serving woman in the Senate, dies at 90 – Feinstein, elected in 1992, was a vocal gun control advocate who often sought common ground with Republicans, sometimes frustrating her more liberal colleagues.”
“Senator Feinstein never backed away from a fight for what was just and right. At the same time, she was always willing to work with anyone, even those she disagreed with, if it meant bettering the lives of Californians or the betterment of our nation," her chief of staff, James Sauls, said in a statement. Feinstein's office did not share a cause of death, but she had been experiencing rapidly declining health in recent months.
“There are few women who can be called senator, chairman, mayor, wife, mom and grandmother. Senator Feinstein was a force of nature who made an incredible impact on our country and her home state."
“In San Francisco, she showed enormous poise and courage in the wake of tragedy, and became a powerful voice for American values. Serving in the Senate together for more than 15 years, I had a front row seat to what Dianne was able to accomplish,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. “Dianne made her mark on everything from national security to the environment to protecting civil liberties. She’s made history in so many ways, and our country will benefit from her legacy for generations.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/dianne-feinstein-rcna18010 NBC News Sept 29
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“Congress averts shutdown and McCarthy faces speakership fight”
Congress passed a stopgap funding bill Saturday to avert a government shutdown ahead of a midnight deadline. President Joe Biden signed it late Saturday night, keeping the government open through November 17.
The Senate approved the measure after the House abruptly reversed course earlier in the day and passed a bipartisan bill.
The deal could cost House Speaker Kevin McCarthy his job. GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz told CNN Sunday that he'll seek to remove the speaker from leadership this week, marking an escalation in Republican infighting over the funding bill.
The stopgap bill includes natural disaster aid but not additional funding for Ukraine. Speaking from the White House Sunday, Biden vowed the US "will not walk away" from Ukraine, and called on Republicans to support new aid.
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“The government remains open – for now. Here’s what happens next”
After days of stalemate, Congress passed a stopgap funding bill Saturday to keep the government open through mid-November, narrowly avoiding a shutdown which could have had devastating effects.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy secured broad Democratic support for the short-term bill while hardline members of his own party remained defiant. In the Senate, members of both parties also came together to move the bill to the desk of President Joe Biden, who signed the measure late Saturday.
The government will now continue operating until November 17. Lawmakers must pass another spending bill before then to avoid a shutdown.
Here’s what you should know.
These are the operations continuing for now
Nearly 2.2 million federal workers and 1.3 million active-duty troops will be spared an immediate impact on their finances after the possibility of a shutdown had threatened to leave them without pay.
The bill’s passage also at least temporarily avoids massive disruptions to air travel, as a shutdown could have led to significant delays. During the 2019 shutdown, hundreds of Transportation Security Administration officers – who had to work without pay – called out sick.
The bill also includes a special measure to keep the Federal Aviation Administration operational. A shutdown, paired with the looming expiration of a key aviation law, would have resulted in millions of dollars in losses daily and left the agency scrambling to rebuild the air traffic control system.
The White House was able to get natural disaster funding into the stopgap bill, allowing relief efforts to continue in the wake of a recent brutal stretch of natural disasters.
Border policies will continue to be enforced as hardline Republicans were unable to get a border security amendment into the final bill.
Stopgap bill did not include additional Ukraine aid
The stopgap measure passed by Congress did not include additional funding for Ukraine after McCarthy put forward a bill without additional aid to the war-torn country – a key concession many House Republicans demanded but left Democrats disappointed.
So far, Congress has approved about $113 billion in aid to Ukraine, according to calculations by the US State Department Office of Inspector General and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. In August, the White House asked Congress to approve another $24 billion in aid, and last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a trip to the Capitol to ask for more relief.
Some Republicans argue the Biden administration should divert funding to border security and other domestic priorities instead of giving more financial assistance to Ukraine.
What happens next?
The House and Senate are adjourned until Monday, and lawmakers are likely to resume negotiations once they’re back at the Capitol. They must now pass another spending bill before they head home for Thanksgiving.”
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MISSOURI MONDAYS NEWS SUPPLEMENT!
With so much important news each week we don’t want you to miss a thing! Check out our MISSOURI MONDAYS NEWS SUPPLEMENT here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13cokjWlCh2EkY5K6bM357rjVPizZDzxlMqjAuoBQfoI/edit?usp=sharing
UPCOMING EVENTS - WHAT YOU CAN DO TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
TAKE ACTION WITH THE MISSOURI VOTER PROTECTION COALITION (MOVPC)
TO PROTECT THE RIGHT TO VOTE
Join the MOVPC weekly online meeting MONDAYS at 10 AM
Text “MOVPC” to 66866 or register HERE: bit.ly/protectmovoters
Our work to protect the vote requires our continued attention! So we hope you'll join our next MOVPC call where we will discuss the necessary steps in our fight to protect the right to vote in Missouri. MOVPC is a nonpartisan statewide network promoting access to the ballot and working to remove barriers to voting in Missouri!
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BE #VOTEREADY FOR EVERY ELECTION!
According to U.S. Census data from 2020, as many as 1 in 4 eligible Americans are not registered to vote. Every year, millions of Americans find themselves unable to vote because they miss a registration deadline, don’t update their registration, or aren’t sure how to register.
November 7, 2023 Special Election
Election Day: November 7, 2023
Polls Open: 6:00 a.m.
Polls Close: 7:00 p.m.
LAST DAY TO REGISTER for Nov 7 2023 Election: October 11, 2023
IN PERSON ABSENTEE VOTING BEGINS: September 26, 2023
Military & Overseas Portal opens: September 19, 2023
Applications mailed to permanently disabled: September 22, 2023
No Excuse In Person Absentee (Early) Voting Opens: October 24, 2023
Sample Ballot for the Nov 7 Special Election (Kansas City, Jackson County) here:
Sample Ballot for the Nov 7 Special Election (Jackson County outside Kansas City): https://www.kceb.org/useruploads/Sample_Ballot_11-23_Final.pdf
More voter information resources
Jackson County MO voters in Kansas City: https://www.kceb.org
Jackson County MO voters outside Kansas City: https://jcebmo.org/
State of Missouri voter information: https://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/goVoteMissouri
League of Women Voters of Kansas City, Jackson-Clay-Platte Counties: https://www.lwvkc.org/
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HOW WE STOP THE SHOOTINGS
Event presented by ProgressWomen.com and Left Bank Books
Thursday October 5, 2023 at 7:00pm
Doors open at 6:30pm
The Ethical Society of Saint Louis
9001 Clayton Road
St. Louis 63117
Purchase tickets here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/stoptheshootings
PLEASE let us know the names of your guests attending with you.
Featuring Fred Guttenberg, Activist, Author and Father of Jaime, Parkland HS Mass Shooting Victim and Kansas City Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker & Rev. Dr. Cassandra Gould, Faith in Action D.C.
Fred's new co-authored book - "American Carnage, Shattering the Myths that Fuel Gun Violence" will be available for sale at the event.
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National Hispanic American Heritage Month
September 15 to October 15 is National Hispanic American Heritage Month
The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of Hispanic Americans who have positively influenced and enriched our nation and society.
For more information go to:
Kansas City Public Library
U.S. Department of State https://www.state.gov/hispanic-heritage-month-2023/#:~:text=During%20National%20Hispanic%20Heritage%20Month,to%20our%20culture%20and%20society
FIND EVENTS AND MORE WAYS TO GET INVOLVED HERE: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19AZUdtRH5WXefOC4Q5D9u-HyuzhBEL8rYX9Ospn3n18/edit?usp=sharing
THANK YOU! for staying informed and taking action to make a difference!
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