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2/9/18

We're pleased to announce that Rogan's List is now officially on Twitter!
We will be featuring actions from each day's List and other vetted items at twitter.com/roganslist. Please follow, retweet and share!


Contact Federal Government Officials

Find senator’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/RLiotu

Find representative’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/5i7SXC

Fax legislators for free:  Reps:  https://faxzero.com/fax_congress.php

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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.       Earlier this morning both the Senate and the House passed the long-term spending bill that increases military and domestic spending, raises the debt ceiling, and provides disaster relief funding. Despite their promises, it does not include any DACA extension or provision for the Dreamers, although hundreds of young people are losing DACA protection each day. https://www.npr.org/2018/02/09/584431561/government-funding-lapses-while-congress-looks-to-vote-on-budget-deal Instead Schumer and the Democrats choose to put their faith in Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell’s promise to allow full debate on immigration next week.  House Speaker Paul Ryan has made no such pledge, thus minority leader Nancy Pelosi’s 8-hour speech on the House floor Wednesday. Paul Ryan knows that a DACA bill, with wall-less border security, would pass the house, but that it would not please Trump. That is what keeps him from bringing it to a vote.  We should join Pelosi in demanding that Ryan allow--and schedule--a full floor debate on immigration in the House: (202) 225-3031 or @SpeakerRyan or Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives, 1233 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515-0001.  Let’s call our own representatives on this, too. 

2.      Lest we get distracted by everything else going on, we need to remember that Trump has a long and complicated relationship with Russia.  Let’s use this interactive resource from Moyers and Co. to keep track of the players:  http://billmoyers.com/story/trump-russia-timeline/ Then, let’s use this information in our calls to our MoCs.

3.      The same White House Chief of Staff General John Kelly who said this in the fall, “You know when I was a kid growing up, a lot of things were sacred in our country. Women were sacred, looked upon with great honor.” seems to have actively turned a blind eye when the FBI shared information about accusations of domestic violence against White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-rob-porter-resigns-abuse-allegations/ However, he claims to be shocked: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/07/john-kelly-porter-allegations-abuse-398168   Porter has resigned but Kelly remains. Let’s let General Kelly know that we have had enough: https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/white-house

4.      EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has said, “There are assumptions made that because the climate is warming that necessarily is a bad thing.”
 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/07/epa-head-scott-pruitt-says-global-warming-may-help-humans-flourish He wants to stage red team/blue team debates among climate scientists and climate change deniers. Let’s let Pruitt know that science is not partisan and that in this case, the science is clear: 

5.      Nearly everyone is agreed that the military-style parade that Trump is requesting is unnecessary, impractical, and expensive.  Let’s let the Dept. of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff know our displeasure in the use of funds for this.  https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/sen-durbin-trump-s-military-parade-would-be-fantastic-waste-n845476  We’d much rather that funds go to myriad ways the military and our veterans could be helped.  Addresses:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N4-l_GGjExzMVg4XOr_voZmyR_rEvK_H/view

6.      Since our own Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is sounding the alarm about Russian meddling in midterm elections: 
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/02/07/tillerson-russians-already-meddling-u-s-midterm-elections/314560002/ now would be a good time to ask him why he is serving a president who cares not one bit:
https://register.state.gov/contactus/ and The Honorable Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, U.S. Department of State, 2201 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20520

7.      The House has passed H.R. 4924 and H.Res. 724; bipartisan bills which would take steps to protect victims of harassment in Congress and work to change the workplace environment for Congress and its staffers http://wapo.st/2FW7RYK Because of the widespread support for these bills, the House was able to expedite the legislative process by taking a voice vote. Let's be sure to contact our senators and ask them to pass these bills as well.

8.     “One of our main demands is that any country who signs a trade agreement with EU should implement the Paris Agreement on the ground,” said Lemoyne. “No Paris Agreement, no trade agreement. The US knows what to expect.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/davekeating/2018/02/08/eu-tells-trump-no-paris-climate-deal-no-free-trade/#504ca27437c7  Let’s tell the White House and our MoCs that we need to be part of the world’s trade, climate, and diplomacy culture.  White House:  https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/white-house

9.      Yet another biased, undesirable nominee has cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee is headed for a vote very soon.  Howard Nielson has a shaky history with both LGBT issues: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/feb/8/republicans-clear-judicial-nominee-howard-nielson-/ and with torture issues: http://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/372377-congress-stand-together-against-torture-vote-down-judicial-pick  Let’s tell our Senators that we do not want Nielson to be confirmed. 

10.  Gun related injuries are now the third-leading cause of death in children in America according to a study in the journal Pediatrics (http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2017/06/15/peds.2016-3486). Let's continue to put the pressure on our legislators to pass common sense gun laws. We can join a local chapter of (or make a donation to) organizations such as Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America https://momsdemandaction.org/, The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (https://www.bradycampaign.org/), The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (https://www.csgv.org), and/or Everytown for Gun Safety (https://everytown.org/), and call our legislators, both state and federal, to express our support for such laws (we can use a script from 5 Calls:

11.   The storms are over, and the damage Hurricanes Irma and Maria did to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands is no longer in the news much. But our fellow citizens still need our help (https://www.npr.org/2017/12/20/572195748/puerto-ricos-slow-recovery). The Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Equitable Rebuild Act (H.R. 4782) aims to ensure these folks get the assistance they need. Let’s make sure it’s at the top of the agenda. Those of us whose reps are on one of the nine House committees studying this bill can ask them to prioritize the legislation. (Find what committees your rep serves on here.) For the rest of us, let’s ask our reps to co-sponsor the bill (H/T My Civic Workout)

12.  Kyle Duncan, a lawyer who has built his career around pursuing extreme positions that target members of the LGBTQ community, has been nominated by Donald Trump for a lifetime appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He has worked aggressively to eradicate LGBTQ rights, immigrant rights, reproductive rights, voting rights, and more. Let's read about Duncan at Lambda Legal.  Let's contact our Senators to let them know we oppose extremist nominee Kyle Duncan.  

13.  From Postcards for America: The Justice Served Act ( H.R. 4854 / S. 2345) is bipartisan legislation which provides funding to state & local law enforcement to reduce their crime lab backlogs allowing justice for cold cases.  Let’s see how we can help promote these bills:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/15za20a5EyonxBhJVlVtxDJF6xRU-HlfYO_nRsfBtNbM/edit#heading=h.gjdgxs

Election 2018 - General

Election 2018 – By State

Other Actions

1.       The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has issued a new report, which examines how students are graduating high school without the most basic knowledge of slavery, much less its effects on the current race relations in the United States http://n.pr/2nIuSaf To help combat these inadequacies, the SPLC has created "Teaching Hard History: A Framework for Teaching American Slavery," which includes texts, teaching tools, a podcast, and a webinar. For the educators among us, let’s check out these helpful resources:  http://bit.ly/2FUocgs Then, let's be sure to sign up for the Feb. 13th webinar:  http://bit.ly/2sikz21

2.       The Leadership Conference has put together a grassroots toolkit for public education or advocacy campaigns. It includes what we need to do to establish our goals, create a strategy, make a step-by-step plan, and mobilize the people, partners, and resources to make it all achievable. We can check out and/or download the toolkit here.

3.      An easy and fun action for Friday: As the battle continues over the use of ranked choice voting in Maine, FairVote is continuing to advocate to bring this reform to more and more races across America (https://www.pressherald.com/2018/01/27/advocates-seeking-to-nullify-delay-of-ranked-choice-voting/). This month, they’re demonstrating how ranked choice voting works by having people vote on their choices for Best Picture. Let’s participate and spread the word about this poll! Vote here.

4.      From Postcards from Kate: Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) said 45 should fund health care for Veterans rather than host his proposed military parade. "A military parade in DC would shut down the nation’s capital and waste taxpayer dollars just to feed Trump's ego,” Norton tweeted. “The way to show our service members and veterans that we appreciate their service is to use the parade money to fund their health care and other services they need.” Read more here. We couldn't agree more. Let's send her a postcard of thanks!  Address:  Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, 90 K Street, NE, Suite 100. Washington, DC 20001 or phone: (202) 408-9041

5.      From one of our own:   In preparing for Valentine’s Day, why not add a little creative resistance to your holiday plans? Watch this week’s episode of Actions to Withstand to see how one smart resister, Sara Becker, took it upon herself to protest with love on an already lovely holiday by crafting Nasty Galentines.  If you’re in New York, get your tickets for the Second Annual Nasty Galentine’s Day Party at the New Women Space  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nasty-galentines-tickets-42585943704 All proceeds are going to She's the First If you’re not in New York, check out:
 www.nastygalentines.com for some inspiration on some #NastyGalentines you can make at home with friends.

6.      “Psychologists at Harvard, the University of Virginia and the University of Washington created "Project Implicit" to develop Hidden Bias Tests—called Implicit Association Tests, or IATs, in the academic world—to measure unconscious bias.”  Let’s check our biases:  https://www.tolerance.org/professional-development/test-yourself-for-hidden-bias

7.      ActLocal is a national network of local leaders focused on building local power and promoting allyship and coordination across the progressive movement through in-person gatherings.  https://medium.com/actlocal/building-local-power-together-70ee63bbadf4  Interested in learning more? Email contact@actlocal.network

8.     Bermuda has repealed marriage equality. Gov. John Rankin of Bermuda has signed a bill into law that replaces same-sex marriage with domestic partnerships. (Source: NBCNews) The Bermuda Tourism Authority had written a letter to lawmakers urging them not to go down this path. Let's write to them: it's going to be worse than they thought. Bermuda Tourism Authority, Kevin Dallas, CEO, 22 Church St, Hamilton HM11, Bermuda (international postage required). We can also contact the Ministry of Economic Development and Tourism (contact information here) and Gov. John Rankin. Let's plan not to go to Bermuda for our vacations while they discriminate. We can contact individual hotels to tell them we won't be coming.

Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to attend/organize

1.       Want to hear how technology can help your campaign or grassroots organization achieve its political goals?  From voter outreach to volunteer recruitment to information sharing, cutting edge technologies save time and effort and offer new pathways to engaging with your community?  Join us for this free event on February 22 from 1-2pm EST.  To receive the link to access the webinar, sign up at https://www.victoryguide.us/webinar-technology-for-political-movements 

States

1.       CO: The resistance in Colorado has partnered up with America Votes to organize a series of training seminars, led by experts, you can participate in from home! “The goal of this training series is to equip ‘the Resistance’ with key tools and skills to be able to get involved in 2018 elections and make an impact.” Sign up for one or more here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSePCQF86NOhUkUw9zSE9kaPvxjDQ_iYKvJ9iWMh0f4uopdjQA/viewform

2.      MA: District Attorneys are elected officials who have tremendous power when it comes to mass incarceration and proportionality and fairness in criminal justice. Yet many run for office without opposition. https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/02/07/matters-who/HotvXfpJefbOOH1A2ws5mJ/story.html To raise voter awareness, the Massachusetts ACLU has launched a public education campaign called “What a Difference a DA Makes.” Let’s sign up here: https://dadifference.org/

3.      NC: GOP legislators in North Carolina haven’t been happy with the rulings of the state’s courts—so they’re trying to change the rules by, among other things, gerrymandering judicial elections. Fair Courts NC is a coalition of progressive groups, including the NAACP, working to defend the state’s independent judiciary. If we’re in North Carolina, let’s learn more and sign up to help here: https://faircourtsnc.com/

Reading/Watching

1.       Why Conversations Across Ideological Lines Fail” - https://onbeing.org/blog/omid-safi-why-conversations-across-ideological-lines-fail/

2.      The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) counted over 100 people killed or injured by alleged perpetrators influenced by the so-called "alt-right," a movement that continues to access the mainstream and reach young recruits. Their article "The Alt-Right is Killing People" goes into detail about the history of the alt-right and subsequent killings. We can read this to increase our own understanding of the alt-right and actions they have taken so far.

3.      Senate Intelligence Committee Writing Report on Election Vulnerabilities Ahead of Midterms” - https://www.wsj.com/articles/senate-intelligence-committee-writing-report-on-election-vulnerabilities-ahead-of-midterms-1518121522





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