[Libs-Or] Civics! Updates and workshops next week!

Thu Feb 28 11:31:20 PST 2019

Hi everyone, this time I’m including my full Update, which I email to folks about once or twice/month. It includes workshop announcements but also lots of goodies – non-partisan high-quality information I post on the Civics Facebook page. Let me know if you’d like to be on the email list.

Please note: Librarians, library staff, Friends of Libraries - anyone who may attend the joint Oregon Library Association / Washington Library Association Conference in April... 

I will be giving a three-hour pre-conference session on Wednesday on Advocacy. it's a workshop for yourself as well as for helping your patrons! We'll cover a lot of material, including learning about the legislative and campaign finance tools for both Oregon and Washington. There will be a hands-on component. 

Coming up this week!
Citizen Activism 101 — Making Change Happen
Improve life for yourself and your neighbors? Learn about strategies for change, and more: Brief historical perspective; Examples of successful advocacy—local-national; Choosing your battles; Who makes the rules?; Getting heard: tools for change; “Tracking” state and federal legislation. State legislature has begun! 

SUN. MAR. 3 2:00-3:30 ST JOHNS PUBLIC LIBRARY 7510 N CHARLESTON AVE. PDX

THURS. MAR. 7 6:00-7:30 HILLSBORO PUBLIC LIBRARY 2850 NE BROOKWOOD PKWY, HILLSBORO

Facebook posts:

Great group at Hillsboro PL in February for Misinformation, Fake News and Political Propaganda. About 35 folks, including a City Councilor and the former head of Metro. Love having the pols come! 
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This appears to me a pretty unbiased assessment of how we should consider the contents of a report created by Mueller, the Special Prosecutor. Hopefully, the report will be released in full to the public.

https://www.lawfareblog.com/four-principles-reading-mueller-report?fbclid=IwAR3EZ1rTAxPDNFhv8hy6IYltSnLXVadiDhHwzivpDb_fOCMNkV-mTOGQ038 

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Here is an example of the "incorporation" [application] of the Bill of Rights to the states. The Bill of Rights originally only applied to federal laws. In the second half of the 19th Century they began to be applied to the states, but that process still continues. Come learn more at my Constitution workshop in Hillsboro on April 4.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/unanimous-supreme-court-decision-limits-states-ability-to-seize-personal-property?fbclid=IwAR3Tf0qtOWgOLzKyknsl57ctMfjTrLwYG3Ek3MVW26KzEiX40HCIFq6kv2U 

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Here is a good article discussing the “incorporation” of the Bill of Rights to the states. Rights in the Modern Era: Applying the Bill of Rights to the States Wermiel. 1992

https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://l.facebook.com/ <https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://l.facebook.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1554&context=wmborj&fbclid=IwAR3NVBv5_Q8RsJrOGbZ_g8D62fNioITEcC4jQ3xgfQOhcH6PFxidqN3TkiM> &httpsredir=1&article=1554&context=wmborj&fbclid=IwAR3NVBv5_Q8RsJrOGbZ_g8D62fNioITEcC4jQ3xgfQOhcH6PFxidqN3TkiM 

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To help in preparation for my pre-conference session at Oregon Library Association / Washington Library Association in April I spent last Thursday at the Washington State Legislature. I participated in three workshops about the legislature and how to use legislative tools. A long day but was fascinating.

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Here is the bill number relating to referring a measure to the citizens of Oregon that would set up an independent redistricting commission. SJR11 Right now, it's sitting in Rules. 

https://olis.leg.state.or.us/…/2019…/Measures/Overview/SJR11

The League of Women Voters has been interested in this - advocating for this. And, holding forums this year. Here is their page about it. http://lwvor.org/redistricting-in-oregon/ 

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Partisan redistricting [gerrymandering] is a big issue right now and the Supreme Court is taking up two cases next month - one of Democratic partisan redistricting and one of Republican partisan redistricting. Here are two articles I put into one document that gives lots of background.

http://www.civicthinker.net/2ArticlesSC-RedistrictingCases.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3C6-GLKYCkfGpSnEt-YzNESHeGL-hERHRytm7BCwYa14-oyVU-dY-rT9A

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An excellent example of where the press [our Oregonian press, unfortunately] got it very wrong.

There is an article about the effort by the Commerce Secretary to include a citizenship question in Census 2020 [which hasn't been the case for 70 years]. It apparently is only in print or in the e-edition if you have a subscription. But, I'll attach it here. I'll post a link to the Globe article below this.

The Boston Globe published the same article - in full! THIS is what the Oregonian edited out. I sent a letter to the editor at the O. for this major editorial mistake.

“As New York, the lead challenger, said in its brief to the court: ‘The enumeration affects the apportionment of representatives to Congress among the states, the allocation of electors to the electoral college, the division of congressional districts within each state, the apportionment of state and local legislative seats, and the distribution of hundreds of billions of dollars of federal funding.’”

FULL article: https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2019/02/15/justices-decide-census-can-ask-about-citizenship/cMG5208ELojNTcW8XUqsWJ/story.html?s_campaign=8315 <https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2019/02/15/justices-decide-census-can-ask-about-citizenship/cMG5208ELojNTcW8XUqsWJ/story.html?s_campaign=8315&fbclid=IwAR1UeuZyOQX9k_JvfPc9w9GYuLlJNjZpbifhE9KhfHN1ck5VfI6K7PKnscI> &fbclid=IwAR1UeuZyOQX9k_JvfPc9w9GYuLlJNjZpbifhE9KhfHN1ck5VfI6K7PKnscI 

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In the category of life-is-stranger-than-fiction: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, founding fathers and lifelong debaters on a vision for this country, died on the same day, July 4, exactly 50 years from the publication of the Declaration of Independence!

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I have dubbed Oregon’s new state Senator, Shemia Fagan, our “legislator educator”. 😊 

She has been publishing short videos on how the legislature works. I love them! Here is an example. If you’re on Facebook, “like” her page and you’ll get updates.

“Floor session starts at 11:00, I think. You can watch online.

https://www.facebook.com/SenShemiaFagan/videos/395218171242535/?__tn__=kC-R&eid=ARBNAe9y4miKG3eXv4ks4no9DxWqKSWYb5Ku03t08XAu_ddl8NxSkR2qBVoBUq5Tsux-YZh9VmtCHDGM&hc_ref=ARTcGx9D1OcJpA5Zv7pNYi9EgZNCaG4lulYtaJisJvIy6x0_VaZ0zd92FQq-8uK2SFI&__xts__[0]=68.ARAEQDZ2B_umxx_iD8jdwaFwcGSuRFjDRrnx72_4d4VNsSo0PVNwFy53rxqgBNkQqoewTVC10yvh4Al1l4gWakrPPzVs1iCuYJuhEznKfHRKZ7VuVLccgCjF8QPrLV9wAsY25jYYBYDbdsBs0yAjCMwR65SAmcrqjH_ZrMGotrhEe5r1dMPbZJeGaYwk4eLbI7z9uEgHKZF_RvmEEhMldxO40gARm8iEymGYAvqfW37plgRPpNZdej0Jo_-q8JXUk3joYcqhc5bitsbQtbZm9SaXr4WJL-1D9UhYkJ672oMJdFqod-fp1jKnjz6b6bxT64rfBPFGdk2QUhpvP4XOa6yLg7GafGghsINrTMIC1wbZO_k8BY1xMPYp-wT-_XAzs_Q “

Donna

Donna L Cohen, MLIS, MEd

Portland, Oregon

503-737-1425

dcohen at hevanet.com <mailto:dcohen at hevanet.com> 

Civics for Adults – and Others – Workshops: To Enhance Civic Knowledge and Inspire Politcal Engagement

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Civics-for-Adults-1490728887922036/

“My philosophy is very simple. When you see something that is not fair, not right, not just – stand up, say something, speak up!” Rep. John Lewis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6lzPpqc2WY 

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