Week of March 14, 2021

1) Thank our Members of Congress: The American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law last week and money is already starting to reach the public. You can read about how this bill compares to the Trump 2017 tax cut, which had roughly the same price tag, here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/03/09/difference-between-trump-tax-cuts-biden-relief-bill-one-chart/. As you will see, most of these benefits will help the middle- and lower-classes, including helping significantly reduce childhood poverty; most of the Trump tax cut benefitted the top 1%. Contact our three Members of Congress this week to thank them for supporting the Rescue Plan Act.

2) March IGSV Group Meeting: Our March group meeting will be Saturday, March 27, from 3-4:30 pm, via Zoom. We are thrilled to welcome IGSV member Dr. Jamie Pietruska, Rutgers professor and Clinton Township resident, as our speaker. She will speak on

Unprecedented?: Our Present Moment in Historical Perspective 

As we are living through the deadliest global pandemic in a century, a climate crisis of planetary scope, and the continued erosion of American democracy, it can seem as though we are in a period of unprecedented crisis and uncertainty.  Yet history tells us that the United States has been through periods of great crisis and uncertainty before—some of which have led to transformational political and social change.  In this lecture/discussion, we will consider how the beginning of the Biden administration, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the fight for environmental and climate justice fit into longer historical trajectories and how thinking about the past can help us better understand—and change—our present.

Jamie Pietruska is associate professor of history at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, where she specializes in 19th- and 20th-century U.S. culture, science, and technology.  For more on her scholarly work and recent op-eds, please visit https://jamiepietruska.org/

Please RSVP to get the Zoom link to indivisiblegsv@gmail.com.

3) Protect Democracy: The next big issue for the Biden administration and Congress to tackle is protecting democracy through bills like HR1 (For the People Act) and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Contact Congressman Malinowski to thank him for supporting both bills. Contact Senators Booker and Menendez to ask that they support the two bills in the Senate. You can read more here: https://forthepeople.indivisible.org

4) Video: Indivisible is doing a video project asking Indivizzies to record their views on their pro-democracy issues. This week, consider recording a video about why you support DC statehood. See the instructions here: https://indivisible.soapboxx.us/prompt-single/dcstatehoodnow

Quote of the week: “After a long, hard year, that will make this Independence Day truly special – where we not only mark our independence as a nation but we begin to mark our independence from this virus.” – President Biden, 3/12/21