Healthcare Heist - National Week of Action

• Join the National Week of Action through November 5. 
• Review the map to find an event 
• Digital Action Day, November 3, Healthcare Heist Week of Action Toolkit 
• To share your healthcare story, fill out this form.

The stakes: 22 million will see their healthcare premiums double this fall, and 4.2 million will lose healthcare because they can no longer afford it, all to fund billionaire tax cuts. 

Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands
Author Talk at Cedar Lane UU Congregation 
Hosted in collaboration with UUSJ’s Immigration Action Team

Sunday, November 9
12:30 p.m. ET • 11:30 a.m. CT • 10:30 a.m. MT • 9:30 a.m. PT
RSVP online
In-person: 9601 Cedar Lane, Bethesda, MD

Compellingly weaving together oral storytelling, history, and memoir, Sarah Towle illustrates how the US has led the retreat from post-World War II commitments to protecting human rights. Yet, within the web of normalized cruelty, Sarah reveals that we can welcome with dignity those who are most in need of safety and compassion. In unmasking the real root causes of the so-called “crisis” in human migration, she urges us to act before we travel much farther down our destructive current course.

The Gathering: What’s Next After No Kings
UU the Vote Team | Side With Love | Unitarian Universalist Association

Monday, November 10
8:00 p.m. ET • 7:00 p.m. CT • 6:00 p.m. MT • 5:00 p.m. PT
RSVP Online

At the November 10th Gathering, UU the Vote staff will engage in conversation about where we are at this moment, what it means for us, and what we are called to do to advance a pro-democracy agenda.  Side With Love's monthly event to strengthen your spirit, make sense of the threats to democracy, and take meaningful action alongside others! RSVP to join live or watch the recording later.

David A. Super
Professor, Georgetown University

SNAP Funding Maneuvers: Have They Been Legal?
Expert Policy briefing with David A. Super, Georgetown University Law Center

Thursday, November 13
8:00 p.m. ET • 7:00 p.m. CT • 6:00 p.m. MT • 5:00 p.m. PT
RSVP online

David A. Super, a professor at Georgetown University, will provide a clear-eyed and experienced assessment of the lawless actions taken by the Trump administration regarding SNAP benefits. He will offer UUSJ chapter and verse on the maneuvers the administration has been deploying, and suggest what we all need to be aware of as this policy circumstance continues to unfold. Even if the government shutdown ends, policy experts expect to see lots of SNAP funding maneuvers for the foreseeable future.

Super is among the foremost experts on SNAP in the U.S., and he is a Unitarian Universalist.

Michael Ansara: Lessons for Today's Movement Organizers

Tuesday, November 18
7:00 p.m. ET • 6:00 p.m. CT • 5:00 p.m. MT • 4:00 p.m. PT
RSVP Online 

To meet this moment, we all need to be movement organizers, at least a little bit; whether we're organizing for rallies, service ministry, or advocacy meetings. Long-time organizer Michael Ansara will offer thoughts and reflections on what any organizer or community leader—clergy or lay, secular or faithful—should know as we all strive to be present in the work at hand, of this moment. Michael began as an organizer with the Students for a Democratic Society, worked on various campaigns and issues, and served as Executive Director of Mass Fair Share. His comments will draw from his new book The Hard Work of Hope, A Memoir.

Brett Heinz
American Friends Service Committee (the Quakers)

US Airstrikes in the Caribbean and Implications for Domestic Militarization in U.S. Cities
Policy Talk with Brett Heinz, AFSC

Thursday, November 20 
8:00 p.m. ET • 7:00 p.m. CT • 6:00 p.m. MT • 5:00 p.m. PT
RSVP Online 

Brett Heinz, Global Policy Coordinator for Economic and Climate Justice,  American Friends Service Committee (the Quakers), will speak to us about U.S. airstrikes in the Caribbean, the broader history of efforts to merge the War on Drugs with the War on Terror, and implications we need to be aware of for the Trump administration’s domestic militarization and threats to use the Insurrection Act to target U.S. cities militarily.

Congress Must Stand up for Families that Participate in SNAP

The administration can — and must — take steps to protect SNAP benefits. Running out of money would be catastrophic for SNAP. Nearly 1 in 8 people, including 16 million children and 8 million people with disabilities, would go without the food assistance they need.

• Click here to send a message to Congress urging them to tell the Trump administration to fund SNAP during the shutdown, with CHN
• Tell Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins: Release SNAP reserves for November, CHN
• Urge Congress to Fund November SNAP Benefits and Avoid Deepening Hunger Crisis, with MAZON
• You can also support WIC (the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) with NWICA

Congress must fight for our Healthcare

• Tell Congress: Reject a government funding bill that doesn't address our health crisis or hold the Trump administration accountable, with CHN
• Tell Congress to extend the ACA Premium Tax Credits now, with CHN

Congress must defend our Environment

• Stop Deregulatory Permitting Efforts – Protect Our Communities and Bedrock Environmental Laws, with CJA
• Take action to save our public lands from oil and gas drilling, with FOE
• Tell Trump's FERC: NO MVP Southgate, CHV
• Tell Congress to reject efforts to clear-cut our forests, with EarthJustice

Mutual Aid Resources

Recently, the TX UU Justice Ministry (the UU State Action Network) hosted acclaimed author and activist Dean Spade for a conversation on Mutual Aid. They developed a comprehensive Congregational Toolkit to accompany the event — please review and uss

Aiming for Alllyship
Workshop by DRUUMM

Four Tuesday evenings: Nov. 4; Nov. 18; Dec. 2; Dec. 16
Register at druumm.org/events. Sliding scale: $0- $240.

Aiming for Allyship, DRUUMM’s four-part online multiracial antiracism workshop series this fall. This powerful training is open to both BIPOC and White Unitarian Universalists who are seeking to deepen their practice of solidarity, courage, and care.

Montgomery Bus Boycott Bell Tolling

Monday, December 1
7:00 p.m. ET, 6:00 p.m. CT, 5:00 p.m. MT, 4:00 p.m. PT
Sign up at SYLDI.ORG/FAITHACTION

The Southern Youth Leadership Development Institute is commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott with a notable initiative: a bell tolling ceremony in December. Sign up for more details or to access social media assets, including videos of bells tolling that congregations can share.

While many, if not most, congregations do not have "bells" anymore. Any ecumenical or interfaith program, such as a candlelighting ceremony, prayer vigil, or teach-in, is welcome.

The Shutdown is More Than Just the Doldrums

To make sense of it all, start with this webinar recording: The Shutdown: Update on What’s Happening and How to Protect Basic Needs, by CHN, of which UUSJ is a proud member. 

View the Hearing on Strengthening the Care Economy and Protecting the ACA, by House Democrats.

Review the FACT SHEET: President Trump and Russ Vought’s Corrupt Abuses of Power Make Shutdown More Painful, House Appropriations Democrats, or the DeLauro, Craig Statement on White House Unlawfully Stealing Food Benefits from Americans.

Also see letters to USDA Secretary Rollins from: Senate Democrats, House Democrats, and Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins on continuation of SNAP benefits.

Then, In New Letter, Mayors Urge USDA to Avoid Nov. 1 Disruption to SNAP Benefits, U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Shutdown Clippings (see the full list):

• Real People, Real Pain: The Deadly Cost of Washington’s Cuts, CHN
• First Focus on Children’s statement on SNAP 
• Shutdown Report: State Tracker
• See How the Government Shutdown Impacts Head Start By State, NHSA
• Millions at Risk as Shutdown Freezes Funds for a Critical Heating Program, Time
• Administration’s Latest Power Play: Starving Americans to Secure Democrats’ Submission, Ms. Magazine
• Political Will and Administrative Priorities, FRAC
• Democrats plan to sue over food aid as GOP splits on legislative patch, Politico
• MAGA Uses Hunger as a Political Weapon, The Contrarian
• Federal Government Shutdown and 2025 Federal Government Shutdown FAQs, SNA 
• Getting Ready for Open Enrollment, Families USA
• Congress’ Failure To Extend Enhanced Premium Tax Credits Will Greatly Increase Health Insurance Costs for Small-Business People, CAP
• ACA Insurers Are Raising Premiums by an Estimated 26%, but Most Enrollees Could See Sharper Increases in What They Pay KFF
• OBBA Impacts By State, PBN
• Early Childhood Poverty: Impact on Babies’ Health and Development, Zero to Three
• Financial Insecurity in the Nonprofit Workforce, Independent Sector
• “Differential Privacy” in the U.S. Census: Protecting Individual Data Confidentiality; Preserving Accuracy, LCCHR
• Civil Rights Groups Will Not Be Silenced, LCCHR

Interfaith Nonviolent Civil Resistance 101

On October 22, the Center on Faith and Justice, Sojourners, Interfaith Alliance, the Horizons Project, and UUSJ organized an excellent training session for Interfaith Nonviolent Civil Resistance 101 training, designed as a foundational session for faith leaders seeking to confront authoritarianism and defend democracy through the power of nonviolence.

Here are some actions you can take starting now!

• Share the slides or webinar recording to inspire and equip others to take action
• Start your own cohort by organizing a group of people to review the content and begin to brainstorm what you might do in your local context
• Use these resources and share with fellow faith leaders 
• Send this form to other leaders who might be interested in joining future trainings

Articles That Have Caught Attention:

• Progressive nonprofits condemn Trump’s targeting of George Soros and his foundations, AP, and Statement on Politically Motivated Attacks on Open Society, OPF
• Kimmel thanks Cruz, conservatives for defense: ‘It takes courage’, The Hill
• Blue states get green light on suit over Trump’s election changes, Courthouse News
• Schumer doesn’t sound like he’s about to fold, Punchbowl
• Group of Louisiana voters urges Supreme Court to strike down major provision of the Voting Rights Act, SCOTUS Blog
• Mississippi AG asks U.S. Supreme Court to limit central part of Voting Rights Act, Mississippi Today
• Trump aide Homan accepted $50,000 in bribery sting operation, sources say, Reuters
• Trump’s Calamitous Crypto Corruption, Robert Reich Substack
• Grand Juries in D.C. Reject Wave of Charges Under Trump’s Crackdown, NYT
• Ta-Nehisi Coates on Bridging Gaps vs. Drawing Lines, NYT, The Ezra Klein Show

New Hardships for Immigrants

Month by month, the Trump administration continues to add new hardships for immigrants trying to stay in the U.S. This fall, the administration is seeking to end Temporary Protected Status(TPS)  for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from South Sudan, Venezuela, Syria, Burma (Myanmar), Ethiopia, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua

Drivers’ Licences At Issue

Recently, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued an interim final rule (IFR) that limits the authority for State Driver's Licensing Agencies to issue and renew non-domiciled commercial learner's permits (CLPs) and commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) to individuals domiciled in a foreign jurisdiction. Specifically, it means that asylum seekers and DACA recipients with work permits will no longer be eligible for such permits and licenses. 

Advocates predict that many would lose their jobs as a result. Congress could end the uncertainty by passing the American Dream and Promise Act of 2025. Take action here!

Asylum-Seekers Also Under the Hammer

In a thematically similar move, the administration is considering a regulation that would prevent most asylum seekers from obtaining work permits, potentially upending a long-standing immigration policy.  Since the 1990s, U.S. law has permitted officials to grant work permits to asylum applicants whose cases have been pending for at least 180 days. 

The new regulation would suspend the issuance of new work permits to asylum-seekers until USCIS decides all asylum claims within an average of 180 days. That is unlikely to happen for years. A halt to work permits for asylum-seekers would prevent them from supporting themselves and their families, thus forcing them to work illegally in the underground economy.

Refugees Without Refugee

Reuters is reporting that the Trump administration is planning a 7,500-person refugee ceiling for FY 2026, of which 75% would be reserved for Afrikaners from South Africa. This policy approach seems willfully blind to the racial injustice experienced by residents of the global south. Moreover, the figure is unfair to refugees already in the pipeline, mid-process, seeking entry, and relocating to the U.S. 

Act now, we still have a critical opportunity to remind Congress to side with refugees and urge the administration to admit 70,000-125,000 refugees, which is a more typical number.

In the specific case of Afghan refugees, the Afghan Adjustment Act (H.R. 4895) and the Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Act (S.2679) would fulfill America’s promise to Afghan allies who served as our partners during the war in Afghanistan. If passed, an adjustment would provide some relief for this refugee community. Take action here.

The First Potentially Irreversible Climate Tipping Point

In an alarming new report, 160 scientists working globally suggest that the planet has entered a ‘new reality’ as it reaches its first climate tipping point, according to a landmark report, CNN.

If only we could truly make environmentalists' values voters. See this: “This is what I love and this is what’s at risk”: how climate grief reveals values that inspire climate action, Ecology & Society

As AI Continues to Sizzle

As the AI bubble prompts more localities to invest in, or expand, infrastructure to provide water for cooling and data centers for computational processing, the NAACP and Climate Justice Advocates (CJA) have released Guiding Principles to Protect Frontline Communities from Dirty Data Centers.

For a case study example, see The Border Chronicle, As AI Data Centers Target the Water-Scarce Borderlands, New Mexico Invests in Desalination, and for another angle, Rewiring America’s New Report: Household Upgrades Could Offset All New Projected Data Center Energy Demand.

Lest you think Congress is not paying attention, see the Press Releases: Rep. Mullin Leads Group of Lawmakers Investigating Impact of Data Centers on Energy Costs and Representatives Moore, Costa Introduce Legislation to Study Impact of Artificial Intelligence in Rural America.

But note the politics, Why Democrats aren’t talking about climate change much anymore. Make way for the "cheap energy" agenda, Grist.

Environment and Climate Coverage

• Pope Leo XIV takes aim at climate skeptics as he embraces predecessor’s environmental legacy, AgriNews
• Government shutdown cuts off flood insurance program during storm season, LA Times 
• ‘Reduce, reuse, recycle’ is corporate gaslighting – the real change must come from the fossil fuel industry, The Conversation
• How EVs can fix the grid and lower your electric bill, Grist
• Is the climate crisis too grim to work on the stage? Sparkling wine and villains might help, Guardian
• Trump admin targets blue-state grants meant to ease US electricity woes, Canary 
• Inside the scramble to save lives as heat menaces two Southwestern counties, NBC
• An architecture of hope: Why funding grassroots climate justice movements defends democracy, Alliance Magazine
• New England’s final coal plant shuts down years ahead of schedule, Grist
• Climate investment is only growth opportunity of 21st century, says leading economist, Guardian
• Reasons to be Cheerful