Good news for people who want to do good: Day 326

Doug Jones delivers his closing argument to voters in Alabama

Tomorrow, the people of Alabama will head to the polls to elect their next senator, and the choice simply could not be clearer.

Democrat Doug Jones has spent his life fighting for what’s right, and in a moving video, he shows that he is still dedicated to the causes of justice and progress.

“The next senator from Alabama can impact the arc of our state in an amazing way,” Jones said. And he made it clear that a man like that has no business representing the people in any way.

“This is about Alabama’s honor, and doing what it is right,” Jones declared. “Our potential is boundless. This is our moment, our challenge, but our opportunity.”

And he called on the people to look ahead to their future “knowing we answered the call to move Alabama forward, and knowing that together, we were on the right side of history.”

Doug delivers his closing argument to the voters of Alabama with a powerful speech called “Season of Opportunity” pic.twitter.com/uFuQisE6bw

— Doug Jones (@GDouglasJones) December 8, 2017

ACTION ALERT: Time to get out the vote, Alabama!

This election is critical, and after the massive wins in Virginia and elsewhere recently, it’s clear that with dedication and will, victory is possible — yes, even in deep red Alabama.

So it’s time to get to work, and get out the vote! You can join the phone banking efforts, contact online friends directly, and get in touch with Indivisible Alabama to find all the other ways you can help.

And if you live in Alabama and need help getting to your polling place, folks are ready and able to step up:

Sen. Booker makes it plain: Trump should resign over the numerous accusations of sexual misconduct against him

New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker is not one to mince words, and he had a few choice ones for Donald Trump recently.

During a campaign event in Alabama for Doug Jones — whose opponent, Roy Moore, has been accused by multiple women of sexual harassment and child molestation — Booker wanted to know why Trump is still in office.

In recent days, we’ve seen resignations from Democratic Sen. Al Franken and Democratic Rep. John Conyers after each man had been accused of sexual misconduct.

The far greater allegations against Trump, however, have not awakened the same kind of willingness to do the honorable thing and step down from his powerful position.

And Booker is not having it.

“I just watched Sen. Al Franken do the honorable thing and resign from his office,” Booker noted. “My question is, why isn’t Donald Trump doing the same thing — who has more serious allegations against him, with more women who have come forward.”

“Why hasn’t Donald Trump come forward and said, ’You know what, in this climate, at this point in this country, I’m going to resign from my position just like Al Franken?'”

Why, indeed.

Obama encourages us to fight for “the narrative that America at its best has stood for”

President Barack Obama delivered both a grave warning and a message of hopeful confidence during a recent interview at the Economic Club of Chicago.

When it comes to “the institutions and norms and values that we know,” Obama noted that it’s “not so much that they’re fragile, but they are reversible.”

“You have to tend to this garden of democracy, otherwise things can fall apart fairly quickly. And we’ve seen societies where that happens,” he said, going on to reference “Vienna in the late 1920s or ’30s” where things looked safe and strong just before “the entire world was plunged into chaos.”

“So you’ve got to pay attention — and vote,” he declared. And, as he always does, he followed that dark reminiscence with a hopeful message about our ability to fend off a repeat of that terrible past.

The narrative that America at its best has stood for, the narrative of pluralism and tolerance and democracy and rule of law, human rights and freedom of the press and freedom of religion, that narrative, I think, is actually the more powerful narrative. The majority of people around the world aspire to that narrative, which is the reason people still want to come here.

“But we have to fight for it,” he reminded us.

We couldn’t agree more.

Daughter of immigrants and champion for girls and women becomes nation’s first Sikh woman mayor

“Follow your passion” — that sentiment is given renewed force when it comes from someone like Preet Didbal.

Didbal is the daughter of immigrants from India, a single mom, and a rape survivor who has dedicated herself to fighting for the rights and lives of women and girls — and she just became the first Sikh woman mayor in the United States.

Yuba City, California, is the place Didbal has known and served her entire life, and as its new mayor, she is ready to continue that public service, especially for girls and young women who, like her, may have been driven to doubt themselves or their capabilities.

“As a girl growing up and then as a young women, I always felt like a second-class citizen,” Didbal told Huffington Post. “It was always ’you’re a girl, you can’t do that.'”

Nevertheless, she persisted — and she hopes her example will encourage other girls to do so, as well.

In 2015, Didbal was honored by her local government as a “Woman of the Year” for her “personal devotion [that] rests in a desire to give back to the community that has given her so much.”

And as a survivor of sexual assault, Didbal sees the current sea change of the #MeToo movement as proof of the power of speaking out.

“We live in fear and we live in shame for many years,” Didbal said of survivors. But “you have to know that there’s strength within you, and you have to reach out.”

In Didbal, survivors will have a supporter, a defender, and a powerful symbol of hope in their darkest moments.

ACTION ALERT: 5 days left to #GetCovered!

If you’ve been putting off signing up for health insurance, the time for procrastination is running out.

A few states have extended deadlines, but open enrollment for most Americans lasts through this Friday, December 15 — so you’ve got just five days left to make sure you have the health insurance you need and deserve.

Visit healthcare.gov to explore pricing and plans available to you.

You don’t want to end up like this, after all …

[media-credit name=”Peter Morley” link=”https://twitter.com/morethanmySLE/status/939820486019739650″ align=”alignnone” width=”500″][/media-credit]

SaveSave