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Call to Action: Ask Your Senators to Provide Funding to Keep Our Elections Safe and Accessible
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many facets of normal life and will likely have a disruptive effect on the upcoming November election. Voting, the very foundation of our democracy, requires a safe and secure environment in order to protect the vote, the voter, and the workers who administer the elections. These protections cost money. The pandemic has left states and municipalities fiscally compromised, and yet the onus of election security will still fall on states and local jurisdictions. We must call on Congress, specifically the Senate, to approve the $3.6 billion in funding necessary for states to protect the vote. To do: Contact your senators to let them know you…
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Whoâs WHO â and Why You Should Care
As we near 3.5 million cases of the coronavirus and surpass 135,000 deaths, President Donald J. Trump has formally withdrawn the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO). The withdrawal comes on the heels of the president freezing funding to the WHO in April 2020. The U.S. contributes upwards of $400 million annually to the WHO and is the groupâs largest contributor (though even before the freeze the U.S. was close to $200 million in arrears to the organization). The claims Trump has made to justify the withdrawal â including that the WHO failed to share information in a timely and transparent manner, gave faulty information, and is too…
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Your Step-by-Step Guide to Hosting a Virtual Neighborhood Information Meeting (NIM)
After hosting a member-wide virtual NIM (Neighborhood Information Meeting) earlier this month (and an entire conference the month before), we’ve learned a thing or two about hosting virtual gatherings. In this guide, we’ll share our tips for hosting your own online NIM with family and friends, including selecting a topic, sending out the invites, and using our ready-made resources. 1. Select a topic. Every month this year, MWEG is releasing a new discussion topic that is relevant to our members and country at large. You can find these topics in the MWEG Portal (create a free account here!) under two different resources: Year of Ethical Government and Protecting Democracy, with a new Protect the Vote NIM coming next…
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Release Detainees Now
COVID-19 has changed the way we live, work, and learn in the United States, in the all-important effort to slow the spread of this virus. Difficult as these changes have been, most of us are fortunate to be able to socially distance and practice proper hygiene. Inside Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers, however, conditions remain dangerously unsanitary. As COVID-19 continues to present new and pressing needs, consider the ethical obligations in these common scenarios: A young man with asthma fled gang violence in Honduras. He is in ICE custody after presenting himself at the border to declare his desire to obtain asylum. An elderly woman is detained in…
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The Presidential Primary Pizza Party
By Amy Menlove Parker, MWEG Member February 27, 2020 A liberal, a centrist, and a conservative walk into a park. Thatâs how our parties started. While our kids played, we discussed how woefully uninformed we were about Utahâs 2018 midterms, and within an hour, with MWEGâs Voter Prep Parties in mind, we dreamed up a political preparation party we could invite our neighbors to. It was so much fun that two weeks ago, after discussing the Democratic candidates at another playdate, I messaged my friend and said, âMaybe we should have another political preparation party?â She replied, âRemove the maybe and the question mark.â In a series of just a…
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Announcing the 2020 Spring Conference for Mormon Women for Ethical Government
Youâve probably heard the phrase âwell-behaved women seldom make history.â But did you know Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, who penned the phrase, didnât mean to suggest that only extreme actions and behaviors matter? Theyâre just the ones that typically get acknowledged in written history. She believes, as does MWEG, that ordinary people have an impact, if they are willing to take action! The theme for our third annual Mormon Women for Ethical Government conference is âWell-behaved women CAN make history,â and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich will be the keynote speaker. Join us at our conference to hear from her, along with featured speaker Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye, Better Days 2020âs Neylan McBaine, MWEG…
