Saturday, April 18, 2015

As expected, Congress is trying to fast track the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Now is the time to organize and defeat it.



This post was initially removed by moderators. I made my case in the modmail and the mod team ended up deciding to approve my post. They asked that I add in text from an EFF link that I used to make my case, and said that I could also delete it and resubmit it with the edits due to the post's downtime:All signatory countries will be required to conform their domestic laws and policies to the provisions of the Agreement. In the US, this is likely to further entrench controversial aspects of US copyright law (such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act [DMCA]) and restrict the ability of Congress to engage in domestic law reform to meet the evolving IP needs of American citizens and the innovative technology sector. The recently leaked US-proposed IP chapter also includes provisions that appear to go beyond current US law.https://www.eff.org/issues/tppThe Trans-Pacific Partnership is a multinational trade agreement that has been negotiated in secret since early 2010. Representatives of many multinational firms have access to the full text of the TPP; however, politicians have not yet been given access to the full text. Earlier this week, three senators introduce a bill to "fast track" the TPP. One problem with fast track is that legislators would only be given 88 seconds apiece to debate the TPP. Another is that they'd have a maximum of 90 days total to pass the bill because of the mechanisms used to expedite the legislative process. Because the bill is over 1000 pages long and because it is not yet fully public (what we do know about it comes from leaks, not announcements or press releases), what fast track would do is prevent the public from seeing the full text, analyzing it, and banding together to defeat it. Fast track would also prevent opponents such as Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders from filibustering the bill as it's being rammed down our throats.These are the issues with fast tracking the TPP. Here is some more background information on the TPP in general:Professor and former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich's YouTube video about the TPP[PDF] Bernie Sanders lists 10 problems with the TPPhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investor-state_dispute_settlementElizabeth Warren's Washington Post opinion piece on ISDSBernie Sanders' speech on the Senate floor - Not Another NAFTAWhat you can do as an individualI've linked to this old thread before, but it's worth doing so again because it is my understanding that this is the best action we can take, as individuals, to affect the decisions of politicians:How to get your senators' and representatives' attention on any issue without being a wealthy donor | Protip from a former Senate internIf you don't feel as though you have the time or writing skills to compose a letter to the editor with which to call out your senators and representatives, then please, at the very least, call their offices to express your opposition to the TPP.You can find the phone numbers for your senators' offices here and those for your representatives here.Also, work to inform others in your immediate peer group by talking about the TPP and ISDS when conversation turns to politics.What we can do as a groupLet's start talking about direct actions that can be taken in real life to coordinate our opposition to the TPP. Obviously, most people with full time jobs can't realistically drop everything and protest 7 days a week. But why don't we pick a day--perhaps Saturday--and have weekly rallies around the country?Feel free to amend these ideas or come up with your own, but here are some ideas that I've come up with so far:Coordinating online activism through /r/politics, /r/technology, /r/evolutionreddit, and a sub I recently created: /r/FlushTheTPP.Coordinating marches in DC every Saturday from the Capitol to the White House.Holding rallies every Saturday in major cities and capitols around the country.Organizing encampments full of labor union workers and other TPP opponents outside of senators' and representatives' private residences and state offices. Film everything and refuse to leave until the TPP has been defeated.While this self-post has consisted of an outline of my own ideas about what we can do, this is also a great place for people to suggest their own ideas and to work towards a comprehensive gameplan. Please feel welcome to propose your own ideas in the comment section. via

As expected, Congress is trying to fast track the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Now is the time to organize and defeat it.


This post was initially removed by moderators. I made my case in the modmail and the mod team ended up deciding to approve my post. They asked that I add in text from an EFF link that I used to make my case, and said that I could also delete it and resubmit it with the edits due to the post's downtime:



All signatory countries will be required to conform their domestic laws and policies to the provisions of the Agreement. In the US, this is likely to further entrench controversial aspects of US copyright law (such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act [DMCA]) and restrict the ability of Congress to engage in domestic law reform to meet the evolving IP needs of American citizens and the innovative technology sector. The recently leaked US-proposed IP chapter also includes provisions that appear to go beyond current US law.



https://www.eff.org/issues/tpp



The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a multinational trade agreement that has been negotiated in secret since early 2010. Representatives of many multinational firms have access to the full text of the TPP; however, politicians have not yet been given access to the full text. Earlier this week, three senators introduce a bill to "fast track" the TPP. One problem with fast track is that legislators would only be given 88 seconds apiece to debate the TPP. Another is that they'd have a maximum of 90 days total to pass the bill because of the mechanisms used to expedite the legislative process. Because the bill is over 1000 pages long and because it is not yet fully public (what we do know about it comes from leaks, not announcements or press releases), what fast track would do is prevent the public from seeing the full text, analyzing it, and banding together to defeat it. Fast track would also prevent opponents such as Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders from filibustering the bill as it's being rammed down our throats.


These are the issues with fast tracking the TPP. Here is some more background information on the TPP in general:




What you can do as an individual


I've linked to this old thread before, but it's worth doing so again because it is my understanding that this is the best action we can take, as individuals, to affect the decisions of politicians:



If you don't feel as though you have the time or writing skills to compose a letter to the editor with which to call out your senators and representatives, then please, at the very least, call their offices to express your opposition to the TPP.


You can find the phone numbers for your senators' offices here and those for your representatives here.


Also, work to inform others in your immediate peer group by talking about the TPP and ISDS when conversation turns to politics.


What we can do as a group


Let's start talking about direct actions that can be taken in real life to coordinate our opposition to the TPP. Obviously, most people with full time jobs can't realistically drop everything and protest 7 days a week. But why don't we pick a day--perhaps Saturday--and have weekly rallies around the country?


Feel free to amend these ideas or come up with your own, but here are some ideas that I've come up with so far:




  • Coordinating online activism through /r/politics, /r/technology, /r/evolutionreddit, and a sub I recently created: /r/FlushTheTPP.




  • Coordinating marches in DC every Saturday from the Capitol to the White House.




  • Holding rallies every Saturday in major cities and capitols around the country.




  • Organizing encampments full of labor union workers and other TPP opponents outside of senators' and representatives' private residences and state offices. Film everything and refuse to leave until the TPP has been defeated.





While this self-post has consisted of an outline of my own ideas about what we can do, this is also a great place for people to suggest their own ideas and to work towards a comprehensive gameplan. Please feel welcome to propose your own ideas in the comment section.







Submitted April 18, 2015 at 09:03PM by CarrollQuigley

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