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Ken Riter

NGP June 2019 Newsletter


Hello Nebraska Grassroots Progressives! You are receiving this newsletter because you attended a meeting, signed a petition or participated in some other event for Nebraska Grassroots Progressives and we appreciate your support. Here are some of the updates we have from June 2019.

Organizing:
We have an event on Facebook to call your Members of Congress to tell them to cosponsor the Prevention of Unconstitutional War with Iran Act of 2019, in the House its HR 2354, in the Senate its S1039.  Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. To find out who your Members of Congress are visit this website: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members   Below is the script you can use when you make the calls.

SCRIPT: Hello, I’m a constituent from [city, state] and I’m very concerned about the possibility of a new war with Iran given recent escalations.

Before Iran shot down a US drone and before the US sent more troops to the region, Trump foolishly violated the nuclear deal, destroying a diplomatic pathway to cut off Iran’s path to a nuclear bomb and provide a framework to build upon with more talks. Now John Bolton and the war cabinet are escalating tensions. It feels a lot like Iraq War 2.0.

Will [your MoC] co-sponsor [H.R. 2354/S.1039] and issue a public statement making clear that Congress has not authorized the use of any military force against Iran? Will they commit to voting for amendments to must-pass bill such as the National Defense Authorization Act that would prevent a new war with Iran? I will be closely watching for [MoC]’s actions on this and following up. /EndScript

Events: There are a few events listed below for the Democratic Debates this week along with their primary host. The last event is the FB event Page for Kara Eastman’s official launch for 2020.

William Treyson https://www.facebook.com/events/448296782674748

Omaha DSA: https://www.facebook.com/events/684486408656701

Lancaster Dems: https://www.facebook.com/events/436914510197497

Kara Eastman’s Official Campaign Launch
https://www.facebook.com/events/426939878146199

We have several petitions still active that we’d like people to support. Here are two petitions we consider very important and timely.

DNC Refuses Climate Debate, Tell Them To Reverse Their Decision!

Omaha Needs a City Owned & Operated Homeless Shelter

Please visit our website for the latest updates! https://nebraskagrassrootsprogressives.com

Thank you!

Ken Riter

Omaha Needs a City Owned and Operated Homeless Shelter.


Omaha has no city run homeless shelter. Omaha does have a few privately run homeless shelters in the city but they are constantly overcrowded. Many homeless people can be seen sleeping in parked cars outside the homeless shelter because they are so full. There are about 2000 people homeless every night according to the Open Mission. Many homeless shelters are NOT inclusive to all homeless people, nor do they provide enough services for all the homeless people’s needs to get them out of homelessness and poverty. Many homeless people sleep outside along the Keystone Trail, Heartland of America Park and various other places where they can sleep undisturbed and unnoticed without being picked up police.

Local nonprofits play a big part in Omaha’s homelessness pipeline and absorb millions of dollars without the City seeing an actual end to homelessness, hunger or poverty, nor is the performance of these nonprofits checked for efficiency.  This should be a requirement when its taxpayer money and taxpayer lives on the line. The Omaha City Hall has no problem removing people from busy intersections, but has a very difficult time giving people a decent place to stay.

Omaha can make up for these oversights by building a multi-purpose facility for an inclusive, city-owned and operated homeless shelter with space for a health center, education and job training center, soup kitchen, housing office and even a city employment office built into it. The City of Omaha must operate an inclusive homeless shelter that also protects against discrimination based on race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion.

INFO
https://www.opendoormission.org/about-us/fast-facts/

Please support the idea of a City-Owned and Operated Homeless Shelter and helping to work toward getting it done!

Please Sign the Petition.

Ken Riter

DNC Refuses Climate Debate


OMAHA, NE –
The Democratic National Committee announced on June 5th, 2019 that they would not hold a climate debate, much to the disappointment of the Democratic 2020 POTUS Candidates and their supporters. Denying Democrats a debate on climate is unacceptable, irresponsible and suppresses an opportunity to discuss as issue that affects the entire planet. The number one issue among Democrats is climate change, and once again the DNC turns a deaf ear to the wishes of it voters. They do this even as studies show that we must achieve Zero Carbon emissions by 2030 to have any chance of reversing the effects of climate change.

Help us tell the DNC to REVERSE this dangerous & irresponsible decision. We need our public officials talking about climate change if we are ever going to pass a Green New Deal. Sign the petition at the link at the bottom of the article and we’ll send the following short letter below to the DNC’s misleaders.

“I am extremely disappointed the DNC has decided to refuse our Democratic candidates a chance to debate climate change. We deserve to hear from Democratic presidential candidates about how they will take action to address our global climate crisis. The future of our planet depends on it. I call on the DNC to REVERSE your decision on the climate debate!”

Sign the Petition!

 

Ken Riter

Omaha Needs a City Owned and Operated Homeless Shelter


Omaha has no city run homeless shelter. Omaha does have a few privately run homeless shelters in the city but they are constantly overcrowded. Many homeless people can be seen sleeping in parked cars outside the homeless shelter because they are so full. There are about 2000 people homeless every night according to the Open Mission. Many homeless shelters are NOT inclusive to all homeless people, nor do they provide enough services for all the homeless people’s needs to get them out of homelessness and poverty. Many homeless people sleep outside along the Keystone Trail, Heartland of America Park and various other places where they can sleep undisturbed and unnoticed without being picked up police.

Local nonprofits play a big part in Omaha’s homelessness pipeline and absorb millions of dollars without the City seeing an actual end to homelessness, hunger or poverty, nor is the performance of these nonprofits checked for efficiency.  This should be a requirement when its taxpayer money and taxpayer lives on the line. The Omaha City Hall has no problem removing people from busy intersections, but has a very difficult time giving people a decent place to stay.

Omaha can make up for these oversights by building a multi-purpose facility for an inclusive, city-owned and operated homeless shelter with space for a health center, education and job training center, soup kitchen, housing office and even a city employment office built into it. The City of Omaha must operate an inclusive homeless shelter that also protects against discrimination based on race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion.

INFO
https://www.opendoormission.org/about-us/fast-facts/

Please support the idea of a City-Owned and Operated Homeless Shelter and helping to work toward getting it done!

Please Sign the Petition.
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/omaha-needs-a-city-owned-and-operated-homeless-shelter

 

Ken Riter

Sign The Omaha Plastic Bag Ban Petition!


NGPInfoCard

Plastic bags have recently become an issue in Omaha, but then it died down. Time to resurrect a great cause! We must urge our elected officials at Omaha City Hall to ban plastic bags. If you already believe in a plastic bag ban, please sign the petition. If you’d like to know more, please continue reading.

There are more than enough reasons to ban plastic bags, listed here are a few of them. The plastic bags are used an average of 12 minutes, but are made from non renewable resources that directly contribute to global climate change. Here are 10 of the most important reasons to ban plastic bags in Omaha.

1. Plastic bags pollute our environment. They are an environmental nuisance, and we need to end their use in Omaha. Besides polluting our backyard trees, fences and ditches, they clog up the city’s sewage drains, float around in waterways and eventually make their way into the oceans.

2. Plastic bags are made from fossil fuel based resources. They contribute to the problems of climate change because these materials are non-renewable fossil fuel-based resources. Through their extraction and production, they create greenhouse gases, which contribute to global climate change.

3. Plastic bags never break down. They linger in the environment, get eaten by animals or end up the ocean where they build up.

4. Plastic bags threaten wildlife and sea life. Plastic bags are mistaken for food by land animals, birds and marine life. Once the plastic is consumed by these creatures, it congests their digestive systems and leads to infections or even suffocation.

5. Plastic bags are harmful to human health. Plastic fragments in the ocean from plastic bags absorb certain pollutants that are known to be hormone disrupting chemicals. Marine animals that consume these materials, they eventually make it into humans through consumption.

6. Plastic bags have unseen financial pitfalls. Plastic bags are anything but free. The cost of plastic bag cleanup is about 17 cents per bag, and on average, taxpayers end up paying about $88 per year just on plastic bag waste.

7. Plastic bags are difficult to recycle. Plastic bags get caught in recycling machinery and most facilities do not have the capacity to recycle plastic bags. The actual rate for recycling plastic bags is just 5%.

8. Plastic bags have external costs. These costs include the true environmental costs of resource extraction & depletion, quality of life loss, economic loss from littering, & wildlife loss. These costs are typically not included in most economic analyses, but negative impacts are very real.

9. Better alternatives exist with positive economic impacts. Reusable shopping bags are very durable and can be reused many times over the course of their useful life. The manufacturing of reusable bags is also another opportunity to create sustainable products and the jobs that go with them.

10. Other governments already ban plastic bags! Ours should too! More than 40 countries and municipalities around the world have instituted plastic bag bans. The United Nations Environmental Programme Secretariat has recommended a ban on all plastic bags globally.

The article below is a primary source for the information mentioned in this petition.

https://greentumble.com/10-reasons-why-plastic-bags-should-be-banned/

Please Sign the Petition!  –>>  Ban Plastic Bags Omaha!