The Rogan’s List staff is taking a bit more time off
to spend time with friends and family
and hopes you
can do the same. Can’t spell RESISTANCE without R-E-S-T!
We will be back next Wednesday
morning!
Should you feel generous and are able,
you can donate to Rogan’s List at
RISE Stronger: https://www.risestronger.org/donate
Wishing you all a Happy Blue Year!
Contact Federal Government Officials
Find senator’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/RLiotu
Find representative’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/5i7SXC
********************************
Many
newspapers, including New York Times and Washington
Post require subscriptions, but without one we can see a few articles
each month. We can also check with our
local libraries to find out how to get online access through them.
1.
After a year in which Trump won victory after
victory in his effort to permanently alter the federal judiciary, December
brought signs that progressives have reason to hope. Three nominees, including
the particularly objectionable Brett Talley, saw their confirmations fall apart
(https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/12/25/inside-trumps-quest-to-alter-the-judiciary/).
Let’s try to build on this momentum. Let’s contact our senators and tell them that
these unqualified and unacceptable picks are the rule, not the exception in the
Trump era, and we will be watching carefully this year for them to closely vet
judicial nominees and block extremists from lifetime appointments.
2.
Brave young immigrants have been putting
themselves on the line to keep the pressure on Congress to pass the Dream Act,
risking arrest with sit-ins on Capitol Hill (https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2017/12/24/whats-next-dreamers-arrested-d-c-pushing-dream-act/979111001/).
We need to have their backs. Let’s contact our members of Congress and ask them
to make a New Year’s resolution to keep our promises to our immigrant friends
and neighbors, end the uncertainty and pass a clean Dream Act ASAP.
1.
Let’s
all agree on one big New Year’s resolution this year – to work hard together to
turn as many seats everywhere as we can to blue! 2018 will be our year to become proactive as
well as reactive.
Other Actions
1.
As we consider our year-ending giving, let’s not
forget this wonderful site that helps “teachers all over the U.S. need your
help to bring their classroom dreams to life. Choose a project that
inspires you and give any amount.”
We can find projects by topic, by school, by teacher, by geographic
location. Let’s give: https://www.donorschoose.org/
2.
Over this New Year time, let’s remember to thank
those wonderful people who keep trying to do what is right and run our
government the way it is supposed to be run. The FBI is under much scrutiny
from the right at this time. http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/366309-republican-praises-fbis-amazing-work-amid-gop-scrutiny-of-agency Let’s choose one or more of their offices to
send messages of support and encouragement:
A) FBI Headquarters, 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.
20535-0001 or (202) 324-3000, or B) FBI field offices: https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices,
3.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has
been working overtime during this administration so far. https://www.aclu.org/blog/president-trump-well-see-you-supreme-court Let’s thank them and, if we are able, donate
to help them do their work: https://www.aclu.org/contact-us
4.
“Addressing the Iowa House Judiciary Committee
during a 2011 public hearing on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay
marriage in Iowa, Wahls, then a 19-year-old University of Iowa engineering
student, argued that his family [that had two moms] wasn’t much different than
most Iowa families.” The young man, Zach
Walls, is now a Democratic candidate for Iowa Senate District 37. http://www.newnownext.com/zach-wahls-iowa-senate/12/2017/
Let’s thank him for his honest bravery
then, and now: zacharia.wahls@gmail.com If we can help support his candidacy, we can
do it here: https://www.crowdpac.com/campaigns/378575/remember-the-video-of-the-young-man-from-iowa-with-two-moms-he-s-running
5.
Many attorneys around the country are part of
the Water Protector Legal Collective, the on-the-ground legal support for the
Dakota Access Pipeline resistance at Standing Rock ND. They have worked tirelessly for over a
year. Let’s thank them and see how we
can help: https://waterprotectorlegal.org/contact-us/
6.
Exacerbated by the hottest summer on record, the
“Thomas fire, which has torn through Ventura and Santa Barbara counties in
recent weeks, has become California's largest in recorded history.”
Fortunately, “the United Way of Ventura County has partnered with the American
Red Cross of Ventura County and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of
Emergency Services to create a fund to help fire victims.” http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/366280-thomas-fire-becomes-largest-wildfire-in-californias-history and http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-california-fires-20171208-story.html Let’s
chip in (online: www.vcunitedway.org,
phone: (805) 485-6288, text: UWVC to 4144, mail: United Way, 702 County Square
Dr., Suite 100, Ventura, CA 93003 [Write “Thomas Fire Fund” in the memo field
of your check]). While we’re at it, let’s send some love to the Ventura County
Fire Department on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/venturacountyfire/
7.
Apparently, the Russians are not done interfering
with us. It seems they are once again
using social media to promote distrust in Mueller’s investigation. http://www.newsweek.com/russia-wants-americans-doubt-mueller-experts-warn-759195 Let’s stay vigilant and use quality
information sources. If we are unsure of
a particular story, let’s make sure that it shows up in at least three of our
trusted sources before we share it.
8. Sheryl Crow wrote a song especially for Sandy Hook Promise called "The Dreaming Kind" to
honor the memory of those killed five years ago at Sandy Hook Elementary. Crow has now offer to match all gifts to Sandy
Hook Promise up to $25,000. For every $1 we give to download "The Dreaming
Kind," Sandy Hook Promise can now train two more students or adults on how
to prevent gun violence thanks to Sheryl's match: https://sherylcrow.bandcamp.com/
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1. Tonight,
Wednesday, December 27 from 8-9pm EST, if we are on Twitter (if not this is a
good time to sign up!) we can join in a Twitterstorm to recognize the many
women who are stepping up to run for office in unprecedented numbers and we can
help support them by joining Action Together Network’s #FiveforHer. We can learn about new candidates, support
their campaigns and help to spread their message. True
grassroots people power! More info,
including link to a Tweetsheet here: https://www.facebook.com/events/715758938622772/
We can also tweet directly from the sheet here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pBgvelgqyixl3o5F_YAVawz4HcBVAgZRtxjm3Hevg8A/htmlview
2. “Trump's
opponents plan demonstrations if Mueller is fired”. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-trump-mueller-demonstrations-20171224-story.html
If we have not yet signed up, let do so now:
https://www.trumpisnotabovethelaw.org/event/mueller-firing-rapid-response/search/
States
Reading/Watching
1.
“The Big Picture: How We Got into This Mess, And
How Get Out of It” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSlHVZpNxMM
2.
Experts in authoritarianism advise us to keep a
list of things subtly changing around us, so we’ll remember. Amy Siskind
is keeping that list for us. Amy writes, "This week Trump and the
Republicans passed their first piece of major legislation, violating many
democratic norms in the process: a wildly unpopular tax plan, which will
massively redistribute wealth akin to an oligarchy. Polling shows the
Republican Party could face a tsunami in 2018 as voters, especially women and
voters under 35, are fleeing the party under Trump. This week the Trump
regime escalated their attacks on Mueller, the FBI, and the DOJ, seeking to
discredit the probe and these institutions. The country braced for the very
real possibility that Trump could fire Mueller, or replace Jeff Sessions or Rod
Rosenstein as a way to do so indirectly. Many voices voiced concern about
broken norms and our eroding democracy." Let's review Amy
Siskind's list week 58. The Weekly List is currently accepting
donations of $25 or less to help with costs. We can donate here.
4.
When asked what he’d say to people who might be
tired of protesting, tired of calling, Ady Barkan, the activist with ALS, replied: https://twitter.com/PodSaveAmerica/status/943247203153227776
This two-minute clip was taken from a Pod Save America broadcast.
5.
“A
Seasonal Pause”, by Michele at Small Deeds:
http://mailchi.mp/9daaa843b24c/your-weekly-pep-talk?e=4a9124dbd5
We can do this. We will all join forces. 2018 has our names
written all over it!
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