Contact
Federal Government Officials
********************************
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: The House will be considering fifty-seven (57) bills
and resolutions per the Senate Majority Leader's Weekly Schedule. Twenty (20) of the bills are scheduled for
votes on Monday after 6:30pm. Let's review the schedule so
we know what's coming. Let's not get distracted by tweets and outrageous
incidents. The Senate begins its Monday, July 23 session
(Source: Senate
Executive Calendar) by resuming consideration of the nomination of Robert
L. Wilkie, of North Carolina, to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs. We can read
a transcript of an NPR interview about Wilkie. After that, the Senate will begin
consideration of the fiscal 2019 appropriations package: Interior-Environment,
Financial Services (HR 6147). The House passed this two-bill spending
package last week. We can read more about HR6147 from the House
Committee on Appropriations press release which includes links to the bill's text
and amendments.
2.
It’s
always been about Russia and more is coming out as time goes by. Russia has and continues to influence our
democratic process, our election systems, and our information sources. https://www.npr.org/2018/04/25/586099619/the-russia-investigations-what-you-need-to-know-about-russian-active-measures
Sanctions are gaining bi-partisan support in the Senate: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/20/senate-russia-sanctions-bill-rubio-van-hollen-734904 Let’s
tell our senators that we’d like them to support this as well as any other
bills that keep our elections safe and that protect the DOJ investigation.
3.
Last
month, over concerns for national security, we saw a small win for
bipartisanship when Congress voted to impose penalties against ZTE; a Chinese
telecom company that had previously violated sanctions: (https://cnnmon.ie/2Oaol4j, https://nyti.ms/2myRLg3). Now, however, republican members of
Congress have backtracked, and the National Defense Authorization Act will no
longer include tough sanctions against ZTE (https://bloom.bg/2mzfhJO). Let's contact our MoC, particularly those
of us with republican lawmakers, and let them know that Trump's self-imposed
trade war with China is coming at the cost of administering real penalties on
companies who have clearly violated U.S. sanctions.
4.
“The
Trump administration is stepping up efforts to curb legal immigration, taking a
series of actions in recent weeks that could lead to deportation for people
already granted citizenship. Experts say that policy change, coupled with what
came next, could vastly expand the number of individuals being referred for
removal. The administrative changes highlight how Trump officials, including
Attorney General Jeff Sessions and White House adviser Stephen Miller, aren’t
just seeking to curtail illegal immigration — they’re also taking steps against
naturalized citizens in an effort to reduce the number of foreign-born
residents in the U.S.” http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/398116-trump-ramps-up-scrutiny-of-legal-immigrants. Let’s pressure our MoCs to push back on
these new Trump/Sessions/Miller policies. We have always been a melting pot,
let’s keep it that way.
5.
The
Justice Department has settled with Defense Distributed, allowing the
organization to continue distributing free blueprints for making 3D printed
guns. Let's read more about the settlement, along with the process and limitations
of the 3D printing process here. Then, let's read more about the broader issue of "ghost
guns" and why Sen. Schumer (D-NY) is against them and will be filing
legislation against them: https://wcbs880.radio.com/articles/sen-schumer-advocates-against-creation-untraceable-ghost-guns. Then let’s contact our federal and state
level MoC to ask that they work together to address the issue of untraceable
firearms.
6.
NBC news
reported last week that FEMA has stalled on 79% of appeals for assistance from
Puerto Rican residents needing to rebuild their homes that were damaged by last
year’s hurricanes. https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/puerto-rico-crisis/fema-has-either-denied-or-not-approved-most-appeals-housing-n891716. Let’s contact FEMA ((202-646-2500; https://fema.ideascale.com/a/index; Federal Emergency Management Agency, 500 C Street S.W., Washington, D.C. 20472, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FEMA/; Twitter: @FEMA) and tell them we are
expecting them to do better for the Puerto Rican citizens of our country. Let’s
also make sure that our MoCs are aware of the problem.
7.
Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is threatening to push the vote on SCOTUS
nominee Brett Kavanaugh until closer to the November elections, as punishment
for Democrats asking for the release of documents from when Kavanaugh served in
the Bush administration (https://bit.ly/2muFCJ9). Let's tell our MoC that McConnell's fear
over full transparency should be an even greater motivator to demand to see
Brett Kavanaugh's paper trail.
8.
Norm
Eisen, of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW),
tweeted on Saturday, “Dear Congressmen Nunes, Jordan & Meadows: the Carter
Page FISA materials show you lied about the validity of the warrant, the role
of the Steele dossier, and the DOJ/FBI. That violated House (Ethics) Rule XXIII
by failing to “reflect creditably on the House.” Guys,this ain’t over” http://thehill.com/homenews/house/398224-schiff-surveillance-warrant-docs-show-that-nunes-memo-misrepresented-and It’s
time to ask the members of the House Intelligence Committee to officially get
on the same page as the Senate Intelligence Committee. GOP members:
https://intelligence.house.gov/about/hpsci-majority-members.htm and Democrat members: https://intelligence.house.gov/about/hpsci-minority-members.htm We
have a country to save.
9.
Unfortunately,
after expressing his concerns about Trump and Putin, Director of National
Intelligence Dan Coats, walked back his comments and said that he meant no
disrespect to Trump: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/intelligence-chief-dan-coats-says-he-meant-no-disrespect-to-trump/ Let’s remind Director Coats that
respect must be earned and protocol exists for a reason: https://www.dni.gov/index.php/more
10.
“The
Trump administration has quietly taken steps that may inhibit independent
oversight of its most high-risk nuclear facilities, including some buildings at
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a Department of Energy document shows.” https://www.propublica.org/article/nuclear-safety-board-information-access-trump-administration Let’s
remind our MoCs that oversight is not bad and that they should act to continue
this.
11.
In the
ongoing conflict between nationalism and democracy in Israel--Trump’s favorite
ally and the #2 recipient of US "security" aid--nationalism seems to
have won, with the passage last week of a “basic law” declaring Israel “the
nation-state of the Jewish people” with a “unified” Jerusalem its capital and
Hebrew its official language. Opposed by centrists, leftists, and peace
activists as well as by Arab legislators, US Reform rabbis, J Street, Adalah,
the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and more, this law instates not just
racism but “elements of apartheid” into Israeli law: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/world/middleeast/israel-law-jews-arabic.html or https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-passes-controversial-nation-state-bill-1.6291048 30 Members of Congress have now signed
on to the first ever bill to defend Palestinian human rights, H.R. 4391. This bill has been in committee since
November. Let’s check to see if our
representative is a co-sponsor: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/4391/cosponsors If
so, let’s give thanks, if not, let’s ask why.
12.
So far,
700 former or current Yale Law School students have signed an open letter
opposing the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court: ttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScUrOBy5sPzw1VGusbYr2VqVqPiNmO5adNdo8mIcsryvgOfrw/viewform We would do well to consider their
arguments and to use them in trying to persuade our senators to block this
nomination.
13.
Every
single Republican member of the House of Representatives voted against
additional funding for election security. https://www.apnews.com/6580a9fdf5364b46be462d73ed0c5422. Let’s ask our Republican MoCs what they are
covering up and why they are refusing to protect Americans’ right to vote when
more and more evidence is emerging that the Russians are still threatening our
elections. Let’s also ask our Senators to make sure additional funding for
election security is included in their budget.
14.
The
recent arrest of alleged Russian spy, Marina Butina, and the revelation of
plans to use the NRA to push for a more pro-Russian foreign policy should be
deeply disturbing to all Americans--progressives and conservatives, alike.
While some may point to this
important New York Times article as speculation and over-reach into
conspiracy theories, the fact that just days after Butina’s arrest, regulations
were changed so that the NRA would no longer have to disclose names of donors
to the IRS, should not be taken as mere coincidence. Let’s ask our Senators to
support Ron Wyden (D.-OR) in calling for hearings to investigate the depth of
NRA-Russia-Congressional connections.
15.
One week
before a court-appointed deadline there are still thousands of children who
have not yet been reunited with their families. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/20/ice-immigration-family-reunification-separated-children-court Let’s
make sure to let our MoCs, as well as DHS (202-282-8000; https://homelandsecurity.ideascale.com/; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/homelandsecurity/; Twitter: @DHS.gov) and HHS (1-202-205-5445;
https://www.facebook.com/HHS/; Twitter: @HHS.gov) know that we are
expecting the U.S. to reunite every single family separated by the
administrations’ cruel and inhumane policies that have sent children to
detention centers hundreds of miles away from their parents.
Election 2018 – General
An election guide from Postcards for America: In this Google doc (updated
regularly), each State shows ALL Democratic Candidates running for Congress,
Governor, Lt Gov, Attorney General, Secretary of State (if applicable) with
links to their websites and Twitter. Each has a link to a Twitter Thread, a
Shareable Facebook Post and a Document. For most States, there are also Info
& Links for Voter Registrations, Absentee Ballots, Early Voting & Voter
ID, Age Requirements and being a Poll Worker. Let’s check
this out and use and share it:
1.
Here is
an easy way that we can help increase voter turnout: https://politicalcharge.org/2018/07/20/increasing-election-turnout-one-ridiculously-practical-strategy/ If we are working, let’s encourage our HR to
consider this. If we are not working,
let’s share this idea with those who are or companies we know.
2.
“Nine
states with a history of racial discrimination are more aggressively removing
registered voters from their rolls than other states, according to a report released
Friday.” https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/voter-roll-purges-surged-after-changes-voting-rights-act-new-n893056 No matter where we live, let’s double-check
our own voter registration and help our friends and family do the same.
3.
Postcards To Voters has
launched Campaign
96: Vote-by-Mail enrollment in Florida. Studies
have shown that registering someone to vote-by-mail increases the likelihood
that they will vote. We are going to promote Vote By Mail enrollment in
some targeted County Commission Districts in Florida that have imminent
contested elections between Democrats and Republicans. Each address
assigned to us will be for Democrats who are not already registered to vote by
mail. If we are verified volunteers already, we can request
addresses here. or
via our usual preferred method. If we're new to this effort to
get-out-the-vote, we can sign up to volunteer here.
4.
On Postcards To Voters volunteers
quickly gobbled-up all of the address for Campaign
95: Lora Nastase for Sahuarita AZ Town Council.
Leader Tony McMullen (aka "Tony the Democrat") loaded what he
expected to be enough addresses for a day and a half. The addresses did not
last the day! Thanks to all the enthusiastic volunteers. Let's join the fun if
we haven't already. We can sign up to volunteer here.
5.
“The
Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck Program was supposed to help states
scrub ineligible voters, but many states have for years found the
program’s data to be inaccurate and burdensome to verify. Rather than
immediately canceling the free program, these states continued to send
sensitive voter information – in one case, for nearly a full decade –
through a system with serious cybersecurity vulnerabilities.” https://www.revealnews.org/blog/crosscheck-is-ineffective-and-insecure-but-states-arent-withdrawing/ Let’s
follow this advice from Postcards
for America: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1x7zH8YYnjsFs4DAh3ERMT9h4sgQ2JRh7
6.
Julian
Castro, the former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and former Mayor
of San Antonio, TX, recently tweeted, “Don’t waste a minute of your time being
daunted that [Trump] has a base of diehard supporters. So did Richard Nixon
just before he resigned and Roy Moore just before he lost. Instead, work hard
to reach, register and mobilize the majority of Americans who want change
now.”
https://twitter.com/JulianCastro/status/1020756618655551488 Let’s
take his advice and do one or more of the following: A) Get our own voting house in order and sign
up for election reminders: www.vote.org, B)
Change Congress by changing statehouses—donate to the Flippable Fund: https://flippable.org/act-now/, C)
Empower minority voters in Southern and Midwestern states and encourage
minority youth activists by donating to Woke Vote, https://wokevote.us/home/, D)
Sign up to support Democratic candidates: https://www.democrats.org/,
and E) Help disenfranchised people get voter IDs by supporting Spread the
Vote: https://www.spreadthevote.org/
Election 2018 – By State
1.
Upcoming
voting dates and deadlines:
|
July
23
|
Georgia
|
Early
voting ends
|
runoffs
|
|
July
24
|
Minnesota
|
Voter
Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
July
24
|
Georgia
|
Election
date
|
Runoffs
|
|
July
28
|
Tennessee
|
Early
Voting ends
|
Primary
|
|
July
30
|
Arizona
|
Voter
Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
July
30
|
Florida
|
Voter
Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
July
30
|
Arkansas
|
Early
Voting begins
|
State
Senate Dist 8
|
|
July
30
|
Hawaii
|
Early
Voting begins
|
Primary
|
|
July
31
|
Kansas
|
Early
Voting begins
|
Primary
|
(source:
by date:
https://goo.gl/gjFv2u by state:
https://goo.gl/7gTzvE)
Other Actions
1.
A new wave of simple, easy protests is taking
over the country. ““My husband and I were vacationing in Barcelona, and people
there were just saying they couldn’t believe people in the United States
weren’t out in the streets marching every day, and so on the plane ride back I
just made the decision: I feel so empowered by the marches and these other
events when I go to them, but they’re once a month or once every two months. I
needed to do something every day.”” When
he got home to Minnesota, Bryce Tache began what is now called #StandOnEveryCorner. http://www.southwestjournal.com/voices/my-minneapolis/2018/07/honk-if-you-stand-with-standoneverycorner/ Let’s
read about this and start our own #StandOnEveryCorner wherever we live and post
pictures on social media along with the hashtag.
2.
“In
their efforts to create informed, educated citizens, some states have invested
in teacher training and increased curriculum standards for civics at the
elementary through high school levels. Among the most common proposals have
been more attention to media literacy and closer study of the Constitution,
Bill of Rights and state founding documents.”
https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/07/21/624267576/what-your-state-is-doing-to-beef-up-civics-education Let’s
use this interactive link to see what our state requires, then contact our
local and state educational agencies and encourage them to make civics
education stronger.
3.
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell abruptly withdrew Ryan Bounds, one of Trump's appellate court
nominees, when it became apparent he did not have enough support to pass. Let's
read more at CBSNews.
At Rogan's List we've included actions in the past letting our senators know
that we are opposed to Bounds. Here's the Leadership Conference's letter of opposition
to Bounds if we want to
remember why. Let's take a moment to celebrate this small "win."
4.
Throughout May and June two of the nation’s
leading newspapers, The New York Times and The Washington Post, quoted
Republicans at more than twice the rate of Democrats in their political news
coverage. In an analysis of the papers’ news and political coverage during May
and June, Media Matters found that the Times quoted 1,466 Republicans and 611
Democrats, a ratio of approximately 2.4 Republicans for every Democrat. The
Post quoted 1,403 Republicans and 615 Democrats, for a ratio of approximately
2.3 Republicans for every Democrat. https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2018/07/20/ny-times-wash-post-quote-more-twice-many-republicans-democrats-political-coverage/220738. We
need to call in a complaint or write to the editors of these papers and ask why
the GOP gets more press than the Dems. Contacts: A) NYT: customer service 800-698-4637.
Or write and submit a letter to the editor. https://help.nytimes.com/hc/en-us/articles/115014925288-How-to-submit-a-letter-to-the-editor,
and B) Washington Post: Letter to editors Inbox@readexpress.com or
ask the Post’s ombudsman why the Dems are being ignored. Call 202-334-7582
or e-mail her at ombudsman@washpost.com.
5.
If we or our postcard group is looking for a
good source of writing prompts, let’s check out the latest from What If
Knits: http://www.whatifknits.com/
6.
ACA funding for navigators and assisters just
got cut even more than last year. https://www.kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/data-note-further-reductions-in-navigator-funding-for-federal-marketplace-states/ But ACA Signups* has stepped up to fill the
void. Here’s how we can help: they now have a super easy way to help
spread the word about ACA Open Enrollment this fall! We can click on the FB
link below to go to a public, shareable post where we can join their email list
then share their post to encourage others to do the same! *The ACA Signup Project is a nonpartisan
group of volunteers promoting outreach and assistance for the upcoming Open
Enrollment Period for the Affordable Care Act. Working together with Indivisible
and other stakeholders, they work heroically to fill even a small part of the
void left in light of the current Administration's decision to shorten the
enrollment window and reduce (and in many instances, terminate) advertising
campaigns and enrollment support efforts.
Let’s learn more here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2468746626684978/permalink/2468766243349683/
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms
to attend/organize
1. “As the Trump
Administration drags its heels on reuniting thousands of separated children
with their parents, it's time we once again take action and demand a solution
to this crisis and dignity for all immigrants. On July 28, we're
stepping up to say Families Belong Together: We Demand Justice!” Let’s find an event to attend or create our
own: https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/families-belong-together-we-demand-justice
2. The immigrant-led
activist group Cosecha is calling
for us to take the next step, with a national day of action to end cooperation
with ICE on July 31st, demanding cities, counties, companies and
all institutions stop working with them. Let's get involved. We can learn more
here: http://www.lahuelga.com/abolishice#copy-of-call-to-action and we can check
out the #WeWillNotBeComplicit Action Guide at this link.
States
1. MA: Let’s tell Governor Charlie Baker to sign the
Automatic Voter Registration bill into law and make Massachusetts the 14th state
to pass this pro-voter, pro-democracy policy: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-governor-baker-to-sign-avr-into-law
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, "Trump stood on
stage in Helsinki, after a two-hour, private meeting with Putin, and sided with
our former foreign adversary over the U.S. intelligence community. The
free-world looked on in horror, and there was bipartisan outrage back at home — even
concern raised that Trump may be compromised — and
yet, as the week came to a close, Trump suffered no real consequences. ” Let’s
review Amy Siskind's list
week 88.
2.
“How
Political Advertisers Target You” - http://projects.propublica.org/facebook-ads/
3. As
usual, our bi-weekly dose of Small Victories: https://mailchi.mp/peaceisloud/small-victories-that-feeling-of-powerlessness?e=86890239c4
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