CRAG news, March 3

Hello CRAGgy Friends,
Welcome new people!

1. Upcoming local Township/city meetings (Calendar link)
2. Action Items
3. Support Ukraine
4. News and resources
5. Events and meetings

“It is not shameful to do little.  It is shameful to do nothing.” Alexie Navalny (1978-2024), Russian opposition leader, anti-corruption activist, and political prisoner. (h/t CW)

1. Upcoming local Township/city meetingsWe are trying to get someone to speak up at every possible local meeting. Stand up, say your piece How are government actions affecting you? How do they hurt your community? You don't have to say a lot; some people just say a sentence or two "I'm worried about Medicaid cuts"; "I don't want Elon Musk having access to my private data."
As examples, my statements to all bodies are posted on Substack. (I can post yours, too, if you want to share.)

• March 3, 6 pm, Stanton Township, schedule
• March 5, 6 pm, Hancock. Special Planning & DDA Commissions Joint Meeting; note location : Small Craft (formerly known as the Cooper Island Beach Club).
• March 10th, 7 pm, Hancock Township. Township Hall. 54660 M-203 (Beth Flynn will attend)
• March 10th, 5 pm, Baraga County (Sarah will attend, with some Baraga Dems)
• March 10th, 5 pm, Adams Twp Board in the township office building at 17104 First St., Baltic (check location, might be next door).
• March 11th, noon. Schoolcraft Twp. 226 Front St., Lake Linden.
• March 11th, 3 pm. Houghton Country Commissioners.

I've made a CALENDAR of events!When and where does your local city or township board meet? Let me know. Thanks to those who have shared.
2. Action Items

• Action item: Keep calling your Congressperson. Jack Bergman: (202) 225-4735 (or use 5-calls), and Senators Peters and Slotkin.

The app or web site 5-Calls is highly recommended to simplify your daily calls. It includes concise summaries of key issues.
3. Support Ukraine 🇺🇦Tuesday, 6 pm. at the bridge. Rally for Ukraine. Stand for American Values and Ukraine's freedom 🇺🇦
People are sending notes of support to the Ukrainian embassy after the dreadful scene last week.
4. News and resources

• Michigan News. Illegal firings of federal workers in Michigan are threatening lamprey control, NOAA Great Lakes programs, and the Forest Service.
• Budget News. Congress has passed a preliminary outline budget. Committees now have to hash out the details.If it's not resolved, the government may shut down on March 15th.

"What can republicans cut instead of Medicaid? Not much."
Congress has committed to cutting $880B from spending managed by the Energy and Commerce Committee. In terms of spending, they control mostly Medicare and Medicaid. This will help pay for a $4.5T tax give-away, mostly to the rich. From the NYT:
Here's Bergman's response to my complaint about this:
"The budget framework that was passed this week did not include anything about cutting those services. It instead provided a framework for various House Committees to root out fraud and identify bloated and inefficient spending that can and will be eliminated without negatively impacting the services so many Americans rely on. This is a scare tactic used by the Democrats to frighten constituents for political points. They are all about degrading our ability to govern because they want control back in the House in 2026. "
In fact, there is some fraud in Medicaid; here's a report on it. We can tell how serious the goal of eliminating fraud is because the Inspector General of HHS, who is responsible for finding it, has been illegally fired.
5. Events and meetings

• Join local Keweenaw Indivisible here.
• Houghton County Dems meet every first Wednesday, 7 pm at the Super 8.
• March 6. A team in Escanaba is organizing a "mock town hall" (also known as an "empty seat town hall"). Rep. Bergman has been invited; the event will occur whether he shows or not.

Thanks for all your support
Stay Well
Sarah
How and why to act locallyMy statements to local bodiesJoin CRAGCitizens Rally for Accountable Government