Indivisible Bainbridge Island Newsletter

What's In This Newsletter

• We Are On Indictment Watch ... 
• Spotlight on ... Waco
• Postcarding !!! Flip congressional seats in California
• Changes to Military Insurance May Affect All Healthcare Consumers in Kitsap County 
• In Congress - An office of gun violence prevention
• In the States - A new way to make plastic that's oil free
• Holding Trump Accountable - Closer
• Daily Actions - Every week, we suggest up to five daily actions.

This newsletter is published weekly by Indivisible Bainbridge Island.

- Kathy and Holly

 

We are planning to gather at 5 pm at the intersection of Winslow Way and Highway 305 on the day Trump is indicted. Sign up for this "Not Above the Law" event here.

Check the home page for indivisiblebainbridgeisland.org for the latest information.

So, be ready! Bring signs showing your support for justice!

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Spotlight On ... Waco

The Orange One spoke in Waco, Texas, yesterday. Why Waco? Perhaps because this year is the 30th anniversary of the siege at the Branch Davidian compound In Waco.

The Branch Davidians were a religious group (many say "cult") of less than 150 people led by David Koresh (originally Vernon Wayne Howell), who believed he was a messiah and that any children born of the messiah would be sacred. Koresh engaged in multiple “marriages” with women in the Branch Davidian community, some of whom were underage, fathering at least 13 children. Furthermore, Koresh taught that the apocalypse was coming soon.

The ATF began an investigation of David Koresh and the Branch Davidians in May 1992. By 1993, the ATF concluded the Davidians were involved in the illegal manufacture and possession of machineguns and the illegal manufacture and possession of destructive devices, including bombs and grenades. There were also suggestions of child molestation happening within the compound's walls.

On February 28, 1993, ATF agents arrived at the Branch Davidian compound with a search warrant. They were intent on retrieving:

The ATF says the  Branch Davidians ambushed the agents, killing four and wounding 20 in a 2.5 hour gunfight on the 28th. Branch Davidian defenders say the ATF started the gunfight, killing five Davidians.

The FBI took the lead as a 51-day standoff ensued, negotiating for the release of 19 children (none of them fathered by Koresh). Later, in The New Yorker, Malcom Gladwell summarized the stand-off this way: "the FBI assembled what has been called probably the largest military force ever gathered against a civilian suspect in American history: ten Bradley tanks, two Abrams tanks, four combat-engineering vehicles, six hundred and sixty-eight agents in addition to six U.S. Customs officers, fifteen U.S. Army personnel, thirteen members of the Texas National Guard, thirty-one Texas Rangers, a hundred and thirty-one officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety, seventeen from the McLennan County sheriff’s office, and eighteen Waco police, for a total of eight hundred and ninety-nine people."

During the stand-off, the FBI blasted loud sounds and music at the compound 24/7 (rabbits being killed, warped-up music, Nancy Sinatra singing 'These Boots Are Made For Walking,' Tibetan monks chanting, Christmas carols, telephones ringing, reveille). The stand-off ended on April 19th with the compound going up in flames. The ATF says audio recordings that day show that the Davidians set the fires in three sections of the compound, while some survivors and critics say the fires were started by the feds shooting tear gas into the compound. By the end, 82 people were dead, including children.

Waco inspired Timothy McVeigh to blow up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City two years later on April 19, 1995, killing 168 people including 19 children.

So, Waco is a perfect place for the Orange One to put in his followers' minds that the search of his compound (Mar-a-Lago) by the FBI last August was like the search of David Koresh's compound 30 years ago. After all, the followers of both groups claim their leader is a messiah.

Note: People have been known to reserve free tickets at the Orange One's rallies and then not show up.

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Ready to gear up for 2024? We've got postcards to lay the foundation for flipping congressional seats across the country - especially those 18 seats where Biden won. To get started, we have a choice of three California campaigns:

The script for these postcards focuses on the fact that these three California Republicans voted against the Inflation Reduction Act and its $35 cap on insulin for people on Medicare.

We haven't picked a candidate, so let us know which campaign to start with.

Email Kathy to get addresses and the script.

Kathy's ankle is healing nicely. We're planning to return to writing postcards upstairs at the Town & Country on Wednesday, April 12 at 2 pm. Hope to see you there!

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Changes to TriCare May Affect All Healthcare Consumers in Kitsap County

On Friday, Niran Al-Agba, a Silverdale pediatrician, published an article in the Kitsap Sun in which she describes what's happening with TRICARE, the military health system that provides care to almost 10 million active-duty service members, retired personnel, and their families.

As a pediatrician providing service to children covered by TRICARE, Dr. Al-Agba says TRICARE reimburses her at a rate that's a little bit better than Medicaid but less than commercial insurance. And they are pretty slow with their reimbursements, owing her $50,000 for services she provided more than three months ago.

But the worst is yet to come. She writes that  "[t]he company overseeing TRICARE, Health Net Federal Services (HNFS), plans to slash payments to community practitioners by 15-25% as part of a six-phase payment reduction plan being rolled out over the next year. HNFS is currently in phase 3, so many clinics have not yet been notified. This sudden payment reduction will impact around 2,000 healthcare providers in Washington State, across all specialties (including primary care physicians)."

Al-Agba suspects these cutbacks will further stress the quality of healthcare throughout our state, but especially in Kitsap County: "We are a community without a fully functioning military hospital. We are a community with a civilian hospital over capacity. And we are a community with a dwindling number of healthcare options for us all."

Read the full article at the Kitsap Sun or it's behind a pay wall, read it here.

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President Biden and His Administration

• Pres. Biden issues his first veto. Details
• VP Kamala Harris is touring Africa, saying 'Africa is world's 'future.'' Details
• Pres. Biden declares emergency as crews dig through storm wreckage. Details
• Pres. Biden touts close ties to Canada, heralds modest successes during visit. Details
• Pres. Biden's nominee to head the FAA, Phil Washington, withdrew his name after Republican criticism. Details

• The Biden administration is punting on a way to make cancer drugs cheaper. Details
• US mulls more support for banks while giving First Republic time. Details
• DOD
  • U.S. bombed pro-Iran militants in retaliation for dead American contractor. Details

In Congress

• A bill unveiled by Maxwell Frost and Chris Murphy would create a federal office dedicated to gun violence prevention. Details

In the Senate

• The Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw testified again on Wednesday before to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee (chaired by Sen. Cantwell). Details
• Republicans think they've recruited popular West Virginia governor, Jim Justice (R) to run against Joe Manchin in 2024. Details
• Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN) and Ed Markey (D-MA) are following up on RealPage, a rent-setting app that may be driving up rents. Details 

In the House

• House Republicans passed their Parents Bill of Rights bill. Details
  • Rep. Jamie Raskin schooled right-wing book-banners. Details
• Lauren Boebert thinks humans are an endangered species. Details
• Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) sympathizes with insurrectionists with visit to D.C. jail. Details
• Second Amendment hearing goes off the rails as protesters interrupt GOP chair. Details
• Parkland parents forcibly removed, arrested at U.S. House hearing attacking the ATF. Details
• Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) claimed to be the only member of Congress affected by gun violence. Details

In the States

Nationwide

• "We Are All Fetuses Now," by Dahlia Lithwick. "The tactic deployed to “protect” the unborn has now been deployed to deprive actual living, breathing, ambulating humans of agency, too." Details
• Researchers turned superglue into a recyclable, cheap, oil-free plastic alternative. Details

In Florida

• A college professor canceled a civil rights lesson  because one student objected. Details
• Florida principal out after viewing of Michelangelo's 'David' upsets parents. Details
• How Florida uses a little-known law to punish abortion clinics. Details

In Idaho

• Idaho Republicans call free tampons in schools too ‘woke’ — and block them. Details
• Idaho governor signs firing squad execution bill into law. Details

In Kentucky

• Kentucky governor vetoes sweeping GOP anti-trans measure. Details

In Michigan

• Michigan strikes right-to-work law detested by unions. Details

In Nebraska

• A Nebraska lawmaker ground legislating to a halt to stop an anti-trans bill. Details

In New York

• New York nears deal to ban gas stoves in new homes. Details

In Texas

• Interviews with armed Ulvade police officers show their fear of the gunman's AR-15 caused them to wait for an hour for a Border Patrol SWAT team to arrive. Details

In Utah

• A GOP lawmaker is ‘very sad’ that a Utah parent used his law to request ‘sex-ridden’ Bible be removed from school. Details

In Wyoming

• Judge temporarily halts Wyoming abortion ban days after it took effect. Details

Holding Trump Accountable

• Documents
  • The D.C. appeals court quickly shot down the attempt to block Trump lawyer, Corcoran, from testifying. Details
  • Trump didn't immediately appeal the appellate court's ruling on Corcoran. This may be why.
  • On Friday, March 24, Trump attorney Evan Corcoran testified before the federal grand jury in the documents probe. Details
    • Given that Corcoran testified for three hours, former federal prosecutor Cynthia Alksne said on MSNBC it is not likely that Corcoran pleaded the Fifth.
    • Corcoran was also ordered to turn over documents, notes and audio recordings of his conversations with the Orange One. Details
• Jan. 6
  • Mike Pence’s aides recognize Pence may have to testify before grand jury. Details
  • Emmet Flood, an attorney for Pence, appeared at a closed hearing Thursday before U.S. District Court Chief Judge James E. Boasberg to challenge Smith's subpoena of the former vice president. Details

• New York DA investigating Trump calls GOP requests 'unprecedented' and 'unlawful.' Details
• Meet the Manhattan DA who would bring criminal charges against Trump. Details
• Manhattan DA, House GOP chairs ramp up battle over Trump investigation. Details
• Emails show how Trump lawyers drove Michael Cohen to turn on Trump when he was president. Details

• A grand jury capable of indicting anyone identified by the special grand jury will not be seated until May, so don't expect any indictments from Georgia in April.

• Court orders anonymous jury in civil suit over alleged rape by Trump. Details

• Trump has raised $1.5 million off his looming indictment by the Manhattan DA, down considerably from his previous hauls. Details