Rough script:

“Hi, my name is ______ and I’m a concerned customer from (city, zip). I’m calling to express my disapproval that the FCC is trying to kill net neutrality and the strong Title II oversight of ISPs. Preserving an open internet is crucial for fair and equal access to the resources and information available on it. Thank you.”

2. Call our gals Dianne and Kamala:

Rough script:

“Hi, my name is ______ and I’m a concerned constituent from (city, zip). I’m calling to ask that Congress begin working to find a bipartisan legislative replacement for the FCC’s Title II oversight of ISPs. If the FCC votes to reverse these Title II requirements, a legislative fix will be essential to ensure access to a free and open internet. Thank you.”

• Senator Harris: (202) 224-3553 or (415) 355-9041
• Senator Feinstein: (202) 224-3841 or (415) 393-0707

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Take time to focus on the blessings and positives in your life. And thanks for commenting or liking this post when you take action – it fuels your #C2A team! (Kind of like pie) 😉

C2A The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is doing everything it can to clear the way for Sinclair Broadcasting Group’s TV takeover—setting up a $3.9 billion merger that would allow the pro-Trump propaganda machine to reach 72% of U.S. households. Last week, they repealed the Main Studio Rule, a longstanding regulation that required local TV and radio broadcasters to have local studios. Thanks to the FCC, your local stations can now be run out of a mega-corporation’s distant headquarters.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION If you’re wondering why the FCC and Chairman Pai are giving preferential treatment to Sinclair, it’s simple—the sweetheart deal is the outcome of a backroom negotiation with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner during the election. The agreement was a classic quid pro quo: deliver positive coverage of Trump, and in exchange, the administration will deliver 72% of American households’ televisions.

Beyond broadcasting only positive news about the Trump administration, Sinclair is the same company that:

• Defends blatant anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic content under the guise of free speech.
• Forces every station it owns to air must-run segments including the “Terrorism Alert Desk,” which aims to label any action by Muslims as terrorism.
• Was fined by the FCC for violating U.S. law—an incident former FCC Comissioner Michael Copps cited as an example of how Sinclair has tried to “run over lines” and rules historically.

The FCC, chaired by Trump appointee Ajit Pai, has been peeling back decades-old policies that protect competition and a free press in order to deliver on Kushner’s promise to Sinclair and flood the airwaves with pro-Trump propaganda.

On November 16, the Commission is voting on the repeal of yet another decades-old regulation, in order to facilitate Sinclair’s merger with Tribune Media Co.

• Right-wing Sinclair Broadcast Group snubs FCC, gets away with it (Salon)
• ‘Classic Propaganda’: Sinclair Broadcasting Pushes Aside Fox News to Become ‘Trump TV’ (Common Dreams)
• Ready for Trump TV? Inside Sinclair Broadcasting’s Plot to Take Over Your Local News (Mother Jones)
• Sinclair Requires TV Stations to Air Segments That Tilt to the Right (New York Times)
• CAIR: Sinclair Broadcast Group Backs FL Host Who Attacks Jews, Muslims, Mormons (CAIR)

C2A On November 2, 2017, House Republicans released their tax plan — and it is absolutely terrible for the average American and families. While so many across the country are struggling to make ends meet, this plan gives massive tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION This tax plan would give massive tax cuts to big corporations and the wealthy. Republicans in Congress are proposing to take tax benefits away from low-income children, make it harder for workers to pay for child and dependent care expenses, raise taxes on women and families with serious, costly medical conditions, and slash vital programs and services that families rely on for a basic standard of living. Our tax policies should lift up women and their families, not further stack the deck in favor of the wealthy and corporations. Under this dangerous plan, families lose out twice: they benefit little (if at all) from the tax cuts, and down the line, programs that support families will be on the chopping block to pay for tax cuts for the rich.

• Winners and losers in the GOP tax plan (Washington Post)
• READ: The Republican tax plan (CNN)
• Six Charts That Help Explain the Republican Tax Plan (New York Times)

“I am calling to log a comment against a Safeway policy that sometimes puts restrictive deeds on its former properties and prevents other grocery stores from moving in, sometimes for 10 years or more. This has impacted community health. I would like Safeway to end this policy immediately.”

These companies establish policies that do not allow the properties to be used as grocery stories for another chain. This policy has left many urban downtown areas without any grocery stores, instead forcing poorer residents to buy more packaged and ready-made foods for higher prices. These restrictions could be in effect for up to 15 years in some cases.

Stephanie shared how this is impacting her personally, “I included Raley’s because of a relevant situation in my own San Jose neighborhood. We had a Nob Hill at Santa Teresa and Bernal for almost 20 years before it closed. They had built a newer fancier on Santa Teresa and Snell, about 3 miles away- It’s about an hour walk from the old store. The community of Santa Teresa and Los Paseos has been fighting about this closure for almost a year now using mostly Nextdoor to organize. The shopping center, because it is now desolate at night, is becoming unsafe for the surrounding neighborhoods. The community has held meetings with our councilmember, Sergio Jimenez, the property management company, ROIC, and Raley’s. Raley’s owns the property for another 2 years and the best offer we have received is they may put in an Express-type ready-made food store. Your members in South San Jose’s Santa Teresa and Los Paseos neighborhoods can verify.”

Read more about this effort