4/03/18
Contact Federal Government Officials
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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. This week in Congress: Members of both
the House and the Senate will be out of Washington DC until Tuesday, April 10
for state/district work periods. Let's try to follow up with our MoC's at their
local offices if we can. (Sources: House 2018 Calendar, Senate 2018 Calendar )
2. On Easter morning, President Trump
stated via Twitter that the DACA deal is off: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration/trump-says-daca-deal-for-young-immigrants-is-off-idUSKCN1H81C1 Let’s let Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
and House Speaker Paul Ryan know that this continued cruelty to the 800,000
DACA recipients is unacceptable and that we expect a legislative solution now: https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/ and https://www.speaker.gov Let’s also let our MoC know the same.
3. In another attempt to subvert the workings
of our democracy, the president is once again calling for Senate rules to be
changed to “the nuclear option” so that tougher immigration laws can be passed http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/381161-trump-demands-nuclear-option-to-allow-border-patrol-to-do-its-job A few weeks ago, the president called for a
change of Senate rules in the process used to confirm judicial nominees. http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/378882-trump-presses-gop-to-change-senate-rules. Let’s remind our MoCs and the White House that
this is still a democracy and we reject all attempts to change rules that shut
off avenues for bipartisanship, discussion and debate.
4. Scott Pruitt has announced that the EPA
will be rolling back vehicle emissions standards https://bit.ly/2EeHzQb While
this has some automakers relieved at the 5. prospect of deregulation, a top
executive at Honda has stated that the EPA’s plan goes even further than the “sensible”
position Honda had outlined https://bit.ly/2GNtcHR We can
contact EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and tell him that we want clean car
standards and we want him to reverse his decision: Phone: (202) 564-4700 Mailing Address: Environmental
Protection Agency Office of the Administrator 1101A 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue,
N.W.
Washington, DC 20460
6. Michael Pompeo, nominee for Secretary
of State, a position that requires the highest levels of diplomacy, has been on
record stating that all Muslims are potentially complicit in terrorism and
“will continue to press against us until we make sure that we pray and stand
and fight and make sure that we know that Jesus Christ is our savior is truly
the only solution for our world.” https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/mike-pompeo-said-all-muslims-are-potentially-complicit-terrorism-he-ncna856531. We need to speak out and hold him accountable
for these racist views that are an insult to the diversity of our country and
the world, and urge our Senators to reject his nomination.
7. Gina Haspel, nominee for Director of
the CIA, has a troubling history of being involved in CIA torture programs,
including waterboarding. Senators Diane Feinstein (D.-CA) and John McCain
(R-AZ) have asked the CIA to declassify these records. http://thehill.com/opinion/international/381043-guatemala-shows-why-the-cia-must-be-held-accountable-for-torture. Let’s tell our Senators to join with Feinstein
and McCain and insist on learning the truth about Haspel and the CIA’s
involvement in torture. Based on what we already know, we can also express our
opposition to Haspel via this 5Calls script
8. "The House passed a bill to
reform the byzantine process for reporting sexual harassment on the Hill on
February 6. The Senate still hasn’t taken up the measure, and women in the
Senate have had enough." All 22
women senators, regardless of party, have written a letter to Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying that they want it
brought to the floor for a vote.
https://www.npr.org/2018/03/28/597624784/all-22-women-senators-call-for-senate-to-address-sexual-harassment Let's
make sure our senators know that we want this, too.
9. “Winding their way through Congress
are two bills that supporters say would create jobs, reduce permitting delays
and clear the way for naval activities and coastal restoration. But
environmentalists call them a thinly veiled oil industry wish list that would
upend established protections and fast-track the permitting process for oil
exploration off the Atlantic, much of Alaska and even California." http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-marine-mammal-oil-drilling-20180402-story.html#nws=mcnewsletter Let's pull out our "SAVE THE WHALES"
signs and ask our MoC to oppose H.R. 3133 Sea Act and H.R. 4239 SECURE American Energy Act
10. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s
condo crisis continued to blossom over the holiday weekend: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-pruitt/environment-chief-pruitt-under-more-pressure-after-condo-reports-lawmakers-idUSKCN1H81GA Let’s let Administrator Pruitt know that we need
a leader for the EPA who is not corrupt and that it is time for him to resign: https://www.epa.gov/home/forms/contact-epa or on Twitter at @EPAScottPruitt
11. In May, an “independent” advisory
committee—chaired by the former owner of for-profit Keiser University—will rule
on an application to reinstate the disgraced Accrediting Council for
Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS), stripped of its powers in December
2016 amid the collapse of two for-profit university chains, where tens of
thousands of students were encouraged to take on hundreds of millions in debt
based on false promises. 20 state
Attorneys General, citing, among other problems, the Education Dept’s failure
to make the ACICS application public and thus blocking public comment, have
written to Betsy DeVos vehemently opposing reinstatement: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/ag_multistate_letter_to_usdoed_opposing_acics_recognition.pdf We can oppose
it too: Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, Washington,
D.C. 20202 or 202-401-3000
12. The Associated Press did a nice job
fact-checking Trump’s latest claims on many fronts: https://apnews.com/f32d5a4867ea4696af466f639b74bcde Let’s let our MoC know that we are tired of
being lied to and find him unfit to serve.
Election 2018 – General
Election 2018 – By State
1. Many states: Eleven states have April voter registration deadlines for
the 2018 primaries, according to the group HeadCount, https://www.headcount.org/ . They are: IN (4/9), OH (4/9), PA
(4/16), WV (4/17), NC (4/20), ID (4/20), AR (4/23), KY (4/23), OR (4/24), GA
(4/24), and NE (4/30). If we are in these states, let’s: (1) check our voter
registration status, https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/ , (2) register to vote: https://www.vote.org/register-to-vote/, (3) fill out this form if we need help
getting a voter ID: https://www.spreadthevote.org/vote/ , (4) spread the word!
2. WI: Wisconsin votes TODAY on the first
major test of the gun control movement’s electoral power since Parkland. Folks
there are picking a new state supreme court justice: either Judge Rebecca
Dallet, who
supports common sense gun control regulations, or her opponent Michael
Screnock, who has the active support and endorsement of the NRA (https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2018/03/09/wisconsin-high-court-candidates-rebecca-dallet-and-michael-screnock-divided-over-guns-nra/404119002/). Let’s send a message to politicians nationwide:
if you toe the NRA’s line, we will make you pay for it on Election Day. We can
help Judge Dallet from anywhere in the country by signing up to phone bank or
text bank voters at this link. And if we’re in Wisconsin, let’s be sure to get
out and vote! We can find our polling place here.
3. TX & VA: Let’s stop voter
suppression by volunteering to help people get voter IDs. We can sign up for
these April training sessions with the group Spread the Vote: (1) April 5,
Montgomery County, VA https://www.facebook.com/events/550327448686705/ (2) April
10, San Antonio, TX https://www.facebook.com/events/951340151707675/ (3) April
14, Austin, TX https://www.facebook.com/events/182145645904588/
Other Actions
1. Sinclair Broadcasting Group, the
largest owner of television stations in the country, has been repeatedly
criticized for forcing local news to run questionable and ultra-conservative
content, and in recent weeks they’ve made anchors read scripts echoing Donald
Trump’s attacks on the free press (http://money.cnn.com/2018/04/01/media/sinclair-anchor-promos/index.html). If we can’t trust these stations, we need to
turn them off. Let’s review this list of local affiliates owned by Sinclair, and stop
watching those in our areas – and let’s be sure to let the stations and the
companies that advertise during their news programs know we’re boycotting and
why. We can use this tool to
find the nearest station to us, get their contact numbers and a brief script to
use in calling them. (If you contact them by Twitter, cc us @roganslist!)
2. Oklahoma teachers are following West
Virginia’s example and walking out to demand fair wages and a reversal of cuts
to education funding (https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/02/598739415/oklahoma-teachers-set-for-statewide-walkout-amid-continued-pay-dispute). Let’s show our support to folks who are
fighting for our kids. We can donate to their fund to help support students who
depend on school meals and are now at risk of hunger and to help pay for
protest supplies like posters and yard signs here We can
also take group pictures in union shirts with co-workers or strike supporters
and send them to the Oklahoma Teachers United Facebook page here (Tips courtesy of Arizona
Teachers United )
3. Following the March for Our Lives, the
young Parkland activists have joined with the Town Hall Project to encourage
constituents to host town halls with their MoC this Saturday, April 7th
https://bit.ly/2pZntEE We can
learn how to set up a Town Hall for Our Lives (THFOL), submit a THFOL event, or
sign up to attend an event at the Town Hall Project website https://townhallproject.com/
4. Tens of thousands of children were
fathered by American servicemen and contractors during the Vietnam War.
However, "neither America nor Vietnam wanted the kids known as Amerasians
and commonly dismissed by the Vietnamese as “children of the dust”—as
insignificant as a speck to be brushed aside. “The care and welfare of these
unfortunate children...has never been and is not now considered an area of
government responsibility,” the U.S. Defense Department said in a 1970
statement." https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/children-of-the-vietnam-war-131207347/
Amerasians Without Borders is working on getting the last of their
compatriots to the States. Let's join in
their petition to help bring this situation to the attention of the right
people: https://www.change.org/p/u-s-house-of-representatives-petition-for-400-amerasians-still-left-behind-in-vietnam
5. It's been said that all it takes for
evil to prevail is for people to do nothing and that white silence equals
violence. White people are beginning to realize their position of privilege and
the need to be allies with their non-white brothers and sisters. https://medium.com/@rddebs/silence-4f6f76fba76f Here is
one concrete activity that all white people can do and share: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1E3thaDy-mM5e73a242HR_g6jFLU623I3
6. There’s been an ongoing discussion
about whether continuing on Facebook securely is feasible or even possible. We
can read these two articles as we consider ways to further protect our data.
1.) Facebook announces it is cutting off access to third party data brokers. https://www.politico.com/amp/story/2018/03/28/facebook-data-brokers-491177 2.) Firefox offers a way to protect our data and
still use Facebook. https://blog.mozilla.org/firefox/facebook-container-extension/
7. OpenSecrets.org tracks how money in
politics influences elections and public policy. Their “take action” tool can
help us to contact our MoCs regarding legislation that promotes transparency in
campaign spending and lobbying. Includes call scripts! Let’s check it out: https://www.opensecrets.org/action-center/take-action
8. Calvin's
List provides about two emails per month with all the
info we need to contact our MoC's about legislation affecting public lands, the
environment, wildlife, science & technology, and companion animal welfare.
Let's sign up to subscribe here
9. Never miss an election! Let’s sign up
for election reminders with Rock the Vote: https://www.rockthevote.org/resources/election-reminders/
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to attend/organize
"In 2017, more than one million
people around the world gathered together in the largest event for science
advocacy in history. In 2018, we unite
again to hold our elected and appointed officials responsible for enacting
equitable evidence-based policies that serve all communities and science for
the common good." On April 14,
there will once again be a March for Science.
Let's check here for more info and to see if there is a march near us or
how to start one: https://www.marchforscience.com/
States
1. All states: Our children deserve to
learn civics and financial literacy in school. Let’s use these Massachusetts
bills as models— S. 2355, An Act
to promote and enhance civic engagement and S. 2343, An act relative to financial literacy in
schools, and let’s tell our state legislators that we want similar bills passed
in our states: https://openstates.org/
2. OK & KY: Oklahoma teachers, the
second worst paid in the nation, walked off their jobs Monday, demanding more
school funding and a greater than the offered 1% pay raise; Kentucky teachers joined them, after the
state legislature passed what they have characterized as a “bait and switch”
change to their pensions:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/oklahoma-kentucky-public-schools-close-thousands-teachers-strike-n861946 Jobs With
Justice has launched a petition drive in support of the OK
teachers--https://actionnetwork.org/forms/i-stand-with-oklahoma-teachers—but we
can also make our support felt more directly: OK Governor Mary Fallin, Oklahoma
State Capitol, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Room 212, Oklahoma City, OK 73105 or
(405) 521-2342 or Fax: (405) 521-3353; KY Governor Matt Bevin, 700 Capital
Avenue, Suite 100, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601 or
(502) 564-2611 or Fax: (502) 564-2517.
3. FL:
Environmental groups are pushing Gov. Rick Scott to veto H.B. 1149, a bill that could allow treated wastewater to
be pumped into Florida’s fragile, underground aquifer. Scott has already received more than 3,000
petition signatures from people opposing the reused water bill. The governor
has until April 10 to act. Let's read
more at the Ocala StarBanner. Let's contact Gov. Scott ourselves to ask him
to veto water-poisoning bill HB1149.
Reading/Watching
1.
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, "As Hope Hicks departed
and Trump had yet to name her replacement, news stories indicated Trump is
considering becoming his own press secretary, as well as possibly his own chief
of staff.” Let's review Amy Siskind's list week 72.
2. Amy Siskind has compiled her Weekly List into a book documenting
Trump's first 52 weeks starting with Election Day 2016. Let's read about "The List" at USA
Today. "The List" is now available for us to purchase or order
from our favorite book sellers.
3.
Naomi Klein’s must-read article on the battle for Puerto Rico’s future: https://theintercept.com/2018/03/20/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-recovery/
4. As usual, our weekly dose of Small Victories: https://mailchi.mp/peaceisloud/small-victories-we-could-be-free
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