Welcome to Organizer’s Corner — a (free) newsletter from your friends at Get Pod Local! Because we can help you stay inform — but then what?
Enter in your weekly call to actions (CTA!) from our Resident Precinct Chair, Joey Cade!
This newsletter is free, but if you’d like, please buy us some coffee! xoxo
When last we met…
I rallied us to call Democratic leadership - Rep Jeffries & Sen Schumer - to demand they get strong and fight for The People or to step aside. Thus far, they are holding the line. We must now push them to remain firm.
As Jara Butler, Chief Impact Officer at Supermajority, reminded us while speaking at an event last week: This shutdown is about healthcare — plain and simple. Trump and the bootlicking Republicans are playing political games with people’s lives, in order to make the wealthy wealthier.
What’s At Stake
Social Security & Medicare are protected for now, but millions will soon feel the pain of the shutdown. Medicaid will be hit hard mid October, leaving vulnerable people — including children, seniors, and low-income families — without access to care.
Every day this continues, real people suffer while extremists use healthcare as a bargaining chip.
Here’s how we encourage leaders to hold the line, in order to save healthcare access for millions:
1. Call Senator Chuck Schumer (202-224-6542)
Start by thanking him. Yes, we’re frustrated with him, but we need him to hear gratitude and encouragement right now so he stays firm in his stance.
Tell him to hold the line and not cave. Democrats must stand strong for healthcare and for the American people. Period.
2. Call Senators Cornyn (202-224-2934) and Cruz (202-224-5922)1
Tell them: This shutdown is about healthcare. The so-called “big, beautiful bill” is the reason we’re in this crisis. If they can find the money to fund ICE, then they can — and should — fund healthcare for American families.
Here are sample scripts for these calls. (source note: Thank you to The FEDDs for writing the call scripts!)
We have to keep reminding ourselves, regardless of the authoritarian takeover underway: Elected Officials work for us. They work for We, The People, not themselves or lobbyists. We remind them of that by making calls to their office - and by voting.
As Michelle Obama reminds us, only when we all vote will be get the representative government we want.
That’s how we fire those who are not behaving like they work for us. If we vote together in every election, we’ll be able to rebuild America together.
So make your plan to vote today.
TEXAS ELECTION DATES2
First day / BEST day to vote: Monday, October 20th
Early Voting / EASY voting: Monday, October 20 to Friday, October 31
Weekend voting / Vote with friends: Sat, October 25 and Sun, October 26
Last chance to Early Vote: Friday, October 31 - Halloween!
ELECTION DAY / LAST CHANCE to VOTE: Tuesday, November 4th
Shareable, multi-language, nonpartisan election info from League of Women Voters
In Dallas, TX, get info from our local election site DallasCountyVotes.org
Put your voting plan in your calendar
We are much more likely to vote if we put it in our calendars - and invite friends to join you. I meet up with friends for a meal or beverage and we vote together. We need more joy & friendship in our lives today anyway. Joy is resistance!
Once you’ve made your plan to vote…
Read up on the 17 Texas Constitutional Amendments we’re voting on in Texas.3 Constitutional Amendments are meant to benefit the majority of our citizens, because they forever change the Texas Constitution.
(Do it while we still can cause….)
The 17 (Texas) Constitutional Amendments
Proposition 1: Texas state technical college funding
Creates a fund dedicated to investment in Texas State Technical College educational facilities and infrastructure for training much needed technical skills.
Proposition 2: Ban capital gains taxes
Bans any future attempt to create a tax on capital gains. This would benefit the wealthy with significant investments while eliminating a potential source of tax revenue for future legislatures.
Proposition 3: Mandatory bail denial for certain crimes
Requires the denial of bail for individuals accused of certain crimes (including throwing a water bottle at a protest), removing judicial discretion and undermining the presumption of innocence and due process.
Proposition 4: Water infrastructure fund
Funding for water infrastructure. (temporary amendment)
Proposition 5: No tax on animal feed
Eliminates tax on animal feed held for retail sale.
Proposition 6: Permanently ban taxes on stock trades
Permanently bans taxes on securities trades to provide a tax break to hedge funds and wealthy investors, shifting the state’s tax burden further onto working-class Texans.
Proposition 7: Homestead exemption for veterans’ spouses
Support veterans’ families by providing tax relief to surviving spouses of veterans who died from service-related conditions or disease.
Proposition 8: Estate and gift tax ban
A permanent ban on estate and gift taxes in Texas protects wealthy families by shielding generational wealth from ever being taxed.
Proposition 9: Exempt some business equipment from tax
Allows the legislature to exempt $125,000 of the market value of tangible personal property used for the production of income from taxation.
Proposition 10: Property tax relief for fire victims
Temporary tax relief for rebuilding after a home fire.
Proposition 11: Property tax reduction for elderly homeowners
Increases the school property tax exemption for senior citizen and disabled Texans from $10,000 to $60,000. (temporary amendment)
Proposition 12: Judicial power play, politicize judicial oversight
Gives the governor more power over appointments to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, risking politicizing judicial discipline.
Proposition 13: School tax relief for homeowners
Increases the homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000. (temporary amendment)
Proposition 14: Dementia research
Creates a publicly funded research institute for dementia, Alzheimer’s, and related diseases, with $3 billion in dedicated funding.
Proposition 15: “Parental rights” for Me, not for Thee
Cloaked as “Parental Rights,” this amendment seeks to enable further control of classrooms, libraries, and healthcare choices for children to enforce Christian Nationalism on all Texans.
Proposition 16: Citizenship for voting
An unnecessary amendment being pushed for political gain without altering current laws, which already only allow citizens to vote. Contributes to increased anti-immigrant sentiment.
Proposition 17: Tax breaks for the border wall
More public money paid to large landowners to support Abbott’s border security theatrics.
There are many guides out there. We studied these - and many more.
As A Precinct Chair
I am only voting YES on Propositions 1, 7, and 10 - and I support those voting NO on all of them as a protest vote.
These Amendments were brought by the racist, Christian Nationalist Texas GOP. It is reasonable to assume they have nefarious aims with all of them. Voting yes will forever enshrine these amendments into the TX Constitution.
While I want to support more of them, I question their intent and process.
For instance, based on family history I may well die from dementia myself, but why create a new institute when they are cutting funds to world-renowned programs already based in Texas? And a fund of this sort doesn’t make sense for the state Constitution. It should have been a bill. The fact that they’d bring it as a Constitutional Amendment, now - when they had a chance to pass it in any of this year’s three legislative sessions - leads me to assume nefarious intent. (Prop 14)
We need to fund water infrastructure. Big time. But why would a temporary fund be put into the state Constitution? Why didn’t they fund it at one of the legislative sessions they said were for Flood Relief? Organizers say this will allow them to push through new reservoir builds that communities have blocked due to environmental concerns. If that’s the case, then the goal is to remove the say of The People, so I’m a NO. (Prop 4)
I want small farmers to get all the help they can, but animal feed is already NOT taxed. This is a ruse for large agribusinesses since the amendment only cuts tax that these large corporations pay on retail feed they are storing. (Prop 5)
Prop 9 is being suggested as a boon to small businesses, but corporations and large agribusinesses will exploit it. That means less money for schools and communities, while wealthy business owners get another tax break, again shifting the state’s tax burden further onto working-class Texans.
Tax relief for seniors (Prop 11) and homeowners (Prop 13) sound great but they don’t make sense in the state’s Constitution. And why are they temporary? Plus Prop 13 wouldn’t help renters facing a real housing crisis. There are more renters than homeowners in Dallas County, TX.
I’m only voting YES on 1, 7 & 10 because even if a Republican business is making money on the deal, the potential positive outcome for The People is great enough that I can support the proposition. Unfortunately, I assume they’re likely grifts, just like the rest of them.
I hope everyone can take a few minutes to consider the 17 Amendments we’re voting on. It’s a lot but it’s necessary.
Because so few people are likely to vote in this election, they are all likely to pass. But if we ALL vote, we can block the worst of them. The worst are Props 2, 3, 6, 8, 12, and 15. Please encourage everyone you know to vote NO on these.
Thanks for planning your vote, y’all! Peace and high fives ✌️🙌,
- Joey
And Now, A Moment of Zen
Organizer’s Corner is a Newsletter brought to you by our very own, Joey Cade Lots of folks have ideas of what can help / what you should do — and while no one has all the answers, we (specifically Joey) do have some. Okay, a lot. Joey is not just a co-host of Get Pod Local …she’s also the Precinct Chair for Dallas’ Precinct 1052.
Other GPL Goodies
GPL Presents: New Newsletter with Jalon Nichols
Every week, Jalon catches you up on what is going on out here, who is doing it, how does that impact your everyday life, and what everyone is saying about. We are based in Texas, so we have a lot of Texas news, but we cover the whole wide world. There is a LOT of stuff going on everyday, and no one can keep up with it all, but we attempt to….for you. (Clap for us).
GPL Presents: Organizers Corner w/ Joey Cade
Every Sunday night, Joey Cade, our Resident Precinct Chair, lays out our Call To Actions for the week. Because knowing what’s going on is one thing. But doing something about it is another. Let’s do both!
GPL Presents: Water Cooler with Jalon and Joey
GPL Presents: Daily Briefs with Jalon Nichols
These are Texas specific, but you should call your Senator too. HERE is where you can look up your Senator’s number.
Go HERE to see if you have an election this year. We all have elections NEXT year, but as we’ve learn, local effects us way more…so always plan to vote during all local elections. Yes. Even School Board.
We are Texas based, so a lot of our call to actions will be focused on Texas…