7/3/18
There will be no Rogan’s List tomorrow, July 4, as the staff celebrates all that is good with our beautiful country. We hope you do the same.
********************************
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.
Link
correction: Even though they were
aware of the problems, our government continued to contract with agencies and
facilities for detained refugee children. In effect, our tax dollars have been
used to support abuse and neglect of children.
https://www.revealnews.org/article/migrant-children-sent-to-shelters-with-histories-of-abuse-allegations/ Let’s contact our MoCs about this
terrible use of our tax dollars and then let's also contact the federal
agencies that oversee these programs that we want changes made to insure the
well-being of these children who have nothing, but us to care for
them. Office of Refugee Resettlement: https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/office-of-refugee-resettlement and
Dept. of Health and Human Services: https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/u-s-department-of-health-and-human-services
2.
As the
news of Justice Kennedy’s retirement from the SCOTUS continues to settle in,
pressure is mounting on possible swing Senators like Susan Collins (Maine) and
Lisa Murkowski (Alaska): http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/394906-left-mounts-heavy-pressure-campaign-on-swing-senators-over-supreme-court
Let’s stay in touch with our own MoC and connect with friends and family
in Maine and Alaska about getting active at this critical time.
3.
Relatives
sponsoring migrant children in detention are expected to pay the children’s
transportation costs, which can amount to several hundred, or even thousands of
dollars. http://www.newsweek.com/sponsors-detained-migrant-children-forced-pay-costly-transportation-fees-1003721.
Let’s tell our MoCs, the White House, and the Office of Refugee Resettlement
(202.401.9246) that this is unfair. They were not responsible for the
zero-tolerance policy that caused the separation and they should not have to
pay the price. Then let’s help out by donating to the RAICES family reunification and bond fund.
4.
The Los
Angeles Times reports that seventeen states are likely to outlaw abortion if
Roe vs. Wade is overturned. http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-abortion-20180628-story.html.
This may not be a big problem for those with the means to travel, but for poor
women without resources, the impact will be devastating. The president other
conservative Republicans, like Lindsey Graham, and even evangelicals are trying to downplay the issue,
stating the Roe v. Wade is an established legal precedent and not worthy of
discussion in the vetting process, but we should not be fooled into complicity.
Once the justice replacing Kennedy is confirmed there will likely be a
challenge to constitutionally guaranteed legal abortion. The president’s
evangelical advisor certainly thinks so. http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/394970-trump-evangelical-advisor-says-theres-high-level-of-confidence.
Let’s tell our Senators not to be fooled by the Roe v. Wade downplay and pledge
to do everything they can to assure that anyone appointed to the Supreme Court
gives their assurance to support Roe v. Wade.
5.
The
public comment period on the EPA proposed rule that would discount any
scientific study where subjects’ confidentiality is protected has been
extended. And 100 members of the House of Representatives, both Democrats and
Republicans, have signed a letter to EPA Chief Scott Pruitt outlining why this
is such a dangerous policy. http://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/394786-lawmakers-rally-to-keep-pruitt-from-transparently-restricting.
Let’s check here to see if our Rep. has signed the letter and
thank them, or ask them to sign if they haven’t. Let’s also make sure to
comment on the regulation here.
Those of us in the DC area can also attend a public hearing on the issue on
July 17 by registering at this link.
6.
The
Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) is no longer providing information
about children separated from their detained parents. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/read-hhs-just-stopped-telling-us-how-many-kids-have-been-separated Given the fact that the Trump administration
is under a court order to return children by a deadline less than 30 days away
might be a factor. We deserve to know
the facts. Let’s contact HHS and tell them
that we insist on transparency: https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/u-s-department-of-health-and-human-services Then, let’s see if our MoCs can get that data.
7.
Over the
weekend, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) warned her Senate colleagues that a vote
for a Trump Supreme Court justice who ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade could be
career-ending (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democratic-senator-warns-colleagues-career-ending-supreme-court-vote-n888086
). Let's call our senators and let them know we're with Senator Cantwell
- if they vote to put an anti-choice nominee on the bench, we're going to vote
them out.
8.
It is
becoming clearer that the Trump’s Commission on School Safety, created after
the Parkland school shooting, is not what we thought it was going to be if it
is not going to address guns and its members are not going to listen to our
needs. http://www.newsweek.com/betsy-devos-school-safety-commission-sham-if-it-refuses-talk-about-guns-997545 Let’s ask our MoCs to convene a congressional
hearing on school safety and talk about all the issues involved, including
guns.
9.
With all
the attention on the courts, this is a good time to focus our action on
lower-court nominees, too - after all, that's the last stop for many more legal
cases than the Supreme Court. Trump has nominated Andrew Brasher to a federal
judgeship in Alabama (http://altoday.com/archives/22628-donald-trump-nominates-ala-solicitor-general-andrew-brasher-to-district-judge).
Brasher has close associations with far-right groups, and has fought against
rights for women, people of color, and the LGBT community. We can read more
about him from the Alliance for Justice here,
and then call our senators and tell them to oppose his nomination.
10.
The
Interior Department is planning on easing regulations on sport hunting in
Alaska national reserves. The new rule would allow bear cubs to be killed along
with their mothers, caribou to be killed while swimming, and wolves and their
pups to be killed in their dens (https://to.pbs.org/2LnNtU0, https://wapo.st/2J165r6).
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke argues that this is merely a move to align
federal regulations with Alaska state law, while others say that the rollback
would allow for cruel and inhumane hunting practices. The proposed rule has a
60-day open comment period which ends on July 23rd. Let's make sure we
leave a comment opposing the rule here.
11.
"A
2014 study by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice [http://www.cjcj.org/news/8113]
reported that, per capita, Native Americans are more likely to be killed by
police than any other demographic in the U.S." (https://www.teenvogue.com/story/gun-violence-has-a-major-impact-on-native-communities-in-the-united-states). Allen
Salway's article in Teen Vogue, explores the history of gun violence
in Native American communities, as well as the way that Native issues are often
left out of the conversation, with little to no media attention. As we contact
our MoC on gun legislation and police violence, let's remember to cite the
damage that is being done to these Native American communities.
12.
Not only
is there no process in place for reuniting immigrant families, but there is now
a requirement that all adults in the household where a migrant child will
reside submit fingerprints to ICE; this requirement has (is meant to?)
intimidated many undocumented immigrants, the majority of sponsors. Moreover,
the policy manual of the Office of Refugee Resettlement makes sponsors pay
transportation costs for both the child and any escort, as well as airline fees
charged for transporting unaccompanied minors. Given the unheard of distances
these children have been taken, the amounts of money involved are
enormous: https://www.reddit.com/r/news/comments/8viuiw/sponsors_of_migrant_children_face_steep_transport/ or
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/01/us/migrant-children-families.html
We can tell ICE and Homeland Security these onerous requirements, preventing
the return of stolen children, must be changed: ICE, (New) Acting Director
Ronald Vitiello, 1-888-351-4024 or 500 12th St., SW, Washington DC 20536 (https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/30/new-ice-director-ronald-vitiello-689504 );
Secretary of DHS Kirstjen Nielsen, 202-282-8495
13.
Amid all
the photos of immigrant boys—in tents and at re-purposed Walmarts—many at the
Families Belong Together march in NYC last Saturday carried signs asking “Where
are the Girls?” https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article213486434.html And where are they? Let’s demand that
ICE tell us: (New) Acting Director Ronald Vitiello 1-888-351-4024 or 500 12th
St., SW, Washington DC 20536
14.
From Indivisible East Bay: Call your Senators to vote
against David Porter for
a lifetime judgeship to the federal appeals court, one step below the U.S.
Supreme Court. Porter is an extreme right winger who would have been happy
to live 100 years ago. As an attorney he has worked against the Affordable Care
Act, women’s rights, same sex marriage, environmental protection, and workers’
rights. He has criticized Supreme Court cases that supported FDR’s New Deal
(yes, in 1933), and belongs to a conservative think tank that says the minimum
wage is unconstitutional. Porter should never be a judge.
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.
It Starts Today,
which has a creative way to fund congressional races, has decided that they are
“not waiting to start funding the Democrat that will go up against Trump in
2020. Super simple concept - if 1% of the people who voted against DT in 2016
contributed $5/month, we'd be able to hand the 2020 nominee over $100million.
The GOP's power lies in their pocketbook, and we can beat them at that game
too, as long as we all work together.”
Let’s check it out and donate as we can:
https://contribute.itstarts.today/dumptrump
2.
Latino
voter advocacy group Voto Latino has created the voter registration app
called
VoterPal, which
allows us to register to vote for the upcoming election from our Android,
iPhone, iPod, or iPad! We can also register your family, friends, and
other community members from your phone. The app takes a photo of our driver’s
license and automatically fills out our voter registration form. It also
makes sure that people who registered print the necessary form and mail it to
the local or state election offices and emails a confirmation once the
application is submitted. VoterPal gives each of us the opportunity to become a
campaign leader and mobilize the community to vote, since more than one
person can use the app to register on a single phone, so once we have the app,
we can help others register by just by using our phones. We can find more about the app and how to
download it here: http://votolatino.org/initiative/voterpal/
Election 2018 – By State
1.
Upcoming
voting dates and deadlines:
|
July 3
|
Tennessee
|
Voter Registration
Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
July 6
|
Wyoming
|
In person absentee
voting begins
|
Primary
|
|
July 9
|
Michigan
|
Voter Registration
Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
July 9
|
Ohio
|
Voter Registration
Deadline
|
Special
congressional-cd 12
|
|
July 9
|
Washington
|
Voter Registration
Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
July 10
|
Delaware
|
Filing Deadline
|
|
|
July 10
|
Ohio
|
In person absentee
voting begins
|
Special-Aug 7
congressional dist 12
|
(source: by date: https://goo.gl/gjFv2u by state: https://goo.gl/7gTzvE)
2.
MANY: Primary and Special Elections in
July and August: https://politicalcharge.org/2018/07/02/primary-special-elections-july-august-2018/
3.
AR: Introducing FLIP ARKANSAS, a
Facebook group dedicated to winning elections! It's part of a 50-state project
that came out of the success of FLIP ALABAMA in helping to get Doug Jones
elected by squeezing every possible vote out of the state. We can join here,
get some new ideas and meet new folks. Together we can turn our beautiful state
Blue, so let’s start getting our country back, state by state! We can check the
group out, then, if we like it, join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FlipArkansas/
4.
CA: If we want to write postcards to get out the vote in November for
California districts, let's check out this
information resource to find out about on-going postcarding campaigns.
They are also happy to list postcard opportunities in other states. If
we know of any new campaigns doing postcarding to voters, we can
email postcardparties@gmail.com.
5.
GA: Introducing FLIP GEORGIA, a
Facebook group dedicated to winning elections! It's part of a 50-state project
that came out of the success of FLIP ALABAMA in helping to get Doug Jones
elected by squeezing every possible vote out of the state. We can join here,
get some new ideas and meet new folks. Together we can turn our beautiful state
Blue, so let’s start getting our country back, state by state! We can check the
group out, then, if we like it, join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FlipGeorgia/
6.
KY: Introducing FLIP KENTUCKY, a Facebook group
dedicated to winning elections! It's part of a 50-state project that came out
of the success of FLIP ALABAMA in helping to get Doug Jones elected by
squeezing every possible vote out of the state. We can join here, get some new
ideas and meet new folks. Together we can turn our beautiful state Blue, so
let’s start getting our country back, state by state! We can check the group
out, then, if we like it, join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FlipKentucky/
Other Actions
1.
Let’s all take a pause on the 4thof
July – beyond the hot dogs and fireworks – to reflect on what we are fighting
for and then let’s thank a fellow activist for her/his commitment to our
nation.
2.
FROM POSTCARDS FOR KATE: “Families Belong
Together rallies were held across the country this past weekend as people of
conscience came together to protest the policy of family separation at the
border. At one in Alabama, a counter-protestor brandished a gun, attempting, it
would seem, to intimidate these good people. Episcopalian priest Kerry
Holder-Joffrion held her own and delivered the prayer she had come to offer
even as violence threatened nearby. We need more people with such resolve.
Let’s send her a note for her good words and for her example via the
campaign headquarters of her husband's congressional campaign. Read more here.” Rev. Kerry
Holder-Joffrion, c/o Peter Joffrion for Congress, P.O. BOX 2102, Huntsville, AL
35804
3.
Showing Up for Racial Justice
(SURJ) is seeking many kinds of assistance, including sponsorship for
immigrants released from detention.
Let’s take a look and see how we can help: http://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/end-family-separation.html
4.
The National Resource Defense Center (NRDC) has
prepared a guide of actions we can take to thwart the Republican
Administration's policies that attack our air, water, and wild spaces.
The NRDC will also continuously update the page with steps we can take because
the biggest obstacle to the unhealthy, polluting agenda is us. Let's check out
the guide here and
act on issues that concern us. The NRDC shows the current status of each
issue.
5.
On July 1, Seattle became the first major U.S.
city to ban plastic straws and utensils. Restaurants and businesses like food
trucks and grocery stores may provide compostable plastic or paper straws on
request, and flexible plastic straws will still be available for customers with
a medical necessity. Let's read more at The Hill. Other major cities, including
San Francisco and New York, are considering similar bans. Wherever we are,
let's encourage our state and local governments to follow Seattle's lead. Until
they do, let's make a point of tell our restaurant servers "no straws
please" before they place straws on our tables.
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms
to attend/organize
1. The Parkland/March
for Our Lives students are still on tour” to get young people educated, registered,
and motivated to vote.” Let’s meet up
with them. Here are their July dates and
locations: https://marchforourlives.com/tour/
2. On Saturday, protesters took to the streets
nationwide to protest Trump's
cruel immigration policies (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-immigration-family-separation-protests-today-nationwide-2018-06-30-live-updates/).
Now, 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 check out the
#WeWillNotBeComplicit Action Guide at this link.
States
1. Great Lakes states (MI, IL, WI, IN, PA, NY): With this summer in full swing, now is a great
time to adopt a beach, and get our friends together for a beach cleanup
event. Alliance for the Great Lakes explains the
Adopt-a-Beach program and suggests ways we can go further to help protect our
Great Lakes here.
Let's check it out and either attend or create an event on a strip of beach
nearby: http://greatlakesadopt.org/
Reading/Watching
1.
“This is chess. Sometimes you have to lose a
queen to put the King in check. But losing the whole game isn’t an option. Checkmate
must be ours.” Here is a sobering look
at the SCOTUS situation: https://demwritepress.com/2018/07/01/trump-already-won-on-scotus-but-democrats-can-win-the-war/
2.
“Does
America face a refugee or an immigration problem?” - http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2018/jun/29/does-america-face-refugee-or-immigration-problem/
3.
" With
our system of checks and balances, full-blown authoritarianism is unlikely to
happen here, but it would be foolish to ignore the risks that Trump and his
administration pose to established norms and institutions, which help preserve
both order and liberty." from "It Can Happen Here" - http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/06/28/hitlers-rise-it-can-happen-here/
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