Rogan's List

4/21/17 To-do List   

Contact Government Officials

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STATE & FEDERAL legislative rep phone numbers.

1. From RISE Stronger:  The White House is saying the text of a new healthcare bill is likely to circulate Friday "or by the weekend," in hopes that Congressional leaders will schedule a vote by midweek before Trump reaches his 100-day mark. The bill is bad.  http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/329580-ryan-gop-putting-finishing-touches-on-healthcare-bill Like its counterpart, it will 1) Raise premiums by 20%, 2) Result in 24 million more uninsured, 3) Give 600 billion in tax breaks to the wealthy and large insurance and drug companies, 4) Create an age tax, 5) Effectively eliminate Medicaid expansion and ration future Medicaid care, and 6) Threaten essential health benefits like maternity care, and critical mental health services.  In addition, and despite the GOP’s rhetoric, the new proposal will allows waivers from the ACA’s protections for pre-existing conditions, essentially eliminating its guarantee of affordable coverage.  **KEEP CALLING YOUR REPS!**

2. Congress is working on its funding bill, which would need to be passed in order to keep government open beyond April 28th. With the deadline approaching, it is likely that the GOP will use this time limit to pressure Democrats into approving things they otherwise wouldn't, like the border wall or a GOP healthcare bill, to avoid a government shutdown. http://wapo.st/2oiQFVp Let's call our MoCs and tell them to stand strong against these intimidation tactics. 

3. Legislation has been introduced in the Senate, which would expand support services and make healthcare access more equitable for female military vets. http://nhpr.org/post/deborah-sampson-act-aims-provide-equitable-care-woman-veterans-va-hospitals#stream/0 Let's call our Senators and ask them to cosponsor and support S.681: The Deborah Sampson Act

4. Whatever could have been the circumstances that would cause the Trump administration to announce to the world that an armada was headed toward North Korea when it was clearly not true?   South Korea believed him. The world believed him. Who would not be truthful about this?  This dangerous behavior could have serious consequences worldwide. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/04/where_is_the_uss_vinson_the_military_chain_of_command_under_trump_is_dangerously.html Let’s let our MoCs know that this is another reason they need to pass legislation to keep them involved in military actions.

5. The U.S. is part of the G20, an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies, and will meet in Germany in July. Trump’s policies are not working towards the goals set forth by GC here in our own country or worldwide:  1) Quality education for all children and young people, 2) Universal access to health, 3) Equality for women in workplace, 4) Sanitation for all, 5) Ending all forms of malnutrition by 2030, and 6) Critical support for refugees.  Let’s listen to this message Angela Merkel sent a message to Global Citizens ("GC") as one of the G20 leaders:  https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/angela-merkel-g20-global-citizen/  Then, let’s ask our government leaders to join and adopt these goals here and worldwide:  https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/action/set/no-one-left-behind/

6. Even as states are beginning to legalize marijuana, Jeff Sessions has said that he intends to enforce federal law against its use. http://www.businessinsider.com/sessions-says-he-will-enforce-federal-weed-laws-2017-3 To combat this discrepancy, bipartisan legislation has been introduced to the House: Respect State Marijuana Laws Act, or H.R.975. Let's call our Representatives and ask that they cosponsor and support this bill: https://5calls.org/issue/rec52tXXZJIrfeNou 

7. From The Loyal Opposition:  Call your three members of Congress and ask them to support the bipartisan Russia Sanctions Review Act of 2017  [H.R.1059/S.341].  We are concerned that the administration may attempt to strike a deal to do business with Russia despite numerous investigations into Russian meddling in our election and we want Congress to stay on top of the issue by passing this bipartisan legislation.  For more info:   https://www.theloyalopposition.net/daily-ctas/daily-call-action-april-20th-2017/ 

8. Congressman Phil Roe (R-TN) has proposed draft legislation to put the burden of the cost of health insurance premiums on military members by deducting money from their paychecks. “Congress must stop nickeling and diming America’s service members and veterans.”  http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/gi-bill-benefits-new-fees-future-enlistees-house-lawmakers  Let's call and write to congressman Roe to let him know that we support veterans and oppose his legislation. Phone: 202-225-6356 or write: 336 Cannon HOB, Washington DC 20515.  Let’s also contact our own and tell them the same. 

Other Actions

1. What we are hearing about the referendum in Turkey is not just bad for Turks; it's bad for us, too. President Tayyip Erdogan just won a referendum that significantly increases the powers of his office. What's worse, President Trump formally congratulated him, despite there being widespread protest in the streets and numerous reports of election fraud. Erdogan has been successful at quashing opposition so far, likely because of the many years he has spent discouraging freedom of speech in Turkey. We don't want this to happen to us. We can read up on the referendum in this short and informative article:  http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38883556. To keep up on this situation, let’s follow the NYT's Turkey correspondent @PatrickKingsley on Twitter.

2. From The Night Owl Activist:  Democratic candidate Rob Quist is a community leader, business owner, and popular singer/songwriter who was recently endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders. Democracy for America has developed an online phone bank tool that you can use to make calls from anywhere in the country and help get the word out about Quist. They're holding two virtual phone bank events this weekend. Training and materials will be provided. Sign up to make calls here: https://www2.democracyforamerica.com/events/dfadialer/quist 

3. Debbie Dooley, one of the founders of the Tea Party movement and a Donald Trump supporter, has some advice for talking to conservatives about climate change: https://www.facebook.com/Vox/videos/682787028575569/ Let’s try her ideas! 

4. Here’s another fun way to get and send postcards via a phone app.  Postagram has been around for several years, but using them for political reasons is fairly new.  For 99-cents each we can create our own postcard using our own photo, personalize the message, and send it to anyone in the country.  Let’s check it out:  https://sincerely.com/postagram

5. From Neil deGrasse Tyson:  “Dear Facebook Universe, I offer this four-minute video on "Science in America" containing what may be the most important words I have ever spoken.  As always, but especially these days, keep looking up.”  https://www.facebook.com/neildegrassetyson/videos/10155195888806613/  This is why this weekend’s Science March is so important.  Check out where you can participate, there are over 500 to chose from:  https://www.marchforscience.com/

6. Beyond the Moment will be having a conference call to share their action plan for May Day: http://bit.ly/2oZro5o For those of us who weren't able to listen in on Tuesday's conference call, when they discussed the goals for May Day, it is available here: http://bit.ly/2oOBbuw

7. In the Georgia run-off election in June, Jon Ossoff is running against the woman who destroyed the reputation of the Susan Komen Fund for her own political reasons. http://fortune.com/2017/04/19/karen-handel-planned-parenthood-georgia/  Let’s spread the word and if we can, here's how to help Ossoff:  http://go.electjon.com/page/s/join-our-campaign-a

8. American Promise is leading the charge for the 28th Amendment so we the people govern the United States -- not big money, not unions, and not corporations. Legislation is already in Congress:  http://news.wgcu.org/post/florida-congressman-sponsors-new-amendment-clean-politics  Sign up for American Promise’s National Strategy Call on April 26th to learn more about next steps to build support across both sides of the aisle and win the 28th Amendment.  http://myaccount.maestroconference.com/conference/register/FE7RF58WF6T4MVNH

9. ProPublica, an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest, is collecting personal stories of hate and bias.  They may share this info with their partner newsrooms across the country and with some civil rights organizations that are working with them on this project.  They will not share personal information without our permission.  They know that some of us have gone through traumatic situations and they appreciate our coming forward to help tell this story.  Here’s the link we can use to tell our stories: https://projects.propublica.org/graphics/hatecrimes-form

10. Journalism that produces stories like this http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-election-exclusive-idUSKBN17L2N3 and this https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/19/us/politics/carter-page-russia-trump.html and this http://newbrunswicktoday.com/article/breaking-new-brunswick-water-utility-repeatedly-submitted-false-information-state-dep (highlighted by Samantha Bee on Full Frontal) deserves our support. In fact, it can’t exist without our support. Many of us have been meaning to but haven’t yet subscribed to our favorite national, regional, or local newspaper. Let’s do so today.

11. From Sleeping Giants:  We're hearing whispers that Amazon is considering dropping Breitbart! Help convince them: Call Amazon customer support at  (888) 280-4331. You don’t have to say much. Just say something like: "I am a customer of Amazon and I want to to urge the company to drop Breitbart over its hateful content. Does Amazon have plans to drop Breitbart soon?

Petitions to Sign

1. Trump has nominated Tennessee State Senator Mark Green to be the Secretary of the Army. Green has a history of discrimination against women, Muslims, immigrants/refugees, and the LGTBQ+ community. Let's sign this petition to let our Senators know that there's no place for hate in the army: http://action.winwithoutwar.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/

2. Let's join United We Dream in asking Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly to bring back the first deported DREAMer Juan Manuel Montes: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-secretary-kelly-bring-daca-recipient-juan-back-from-mexico?source=ct

Learning

1. Glennon Doyle Melton’s Important Message for White Women:  http://www.oprah.com/own-supersoulsessions/Glennon-Doyle-Melton-Takes-On-the-Troubling-Issue-of-White-Feminism

2. Written before the election, “Understanding Trump” by George Lakoff, a retired professor of cognitive science and linguistics, provides interesting insight:  https://georgelakoff.com/2016/07/23/understanding-trump-2/

3. “What the Democratic Party Should Learn from Jon Ossoff” https://www.damemagazine.com/2017/04/19/what-democratic-party-should-learn-jon-ossoff

Rogan’s List is a participant in and strategic partner of the Action Alliance,

a federation of more than 70 #resistance sites located throughout the nation,

each with its own methods and approach.  Other member sites are listed here: https://www.actionalliance.co/  --scroll down and click through and you'll find many more opportunities to make a difference.

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Rogan’s List is also part of RISE Stronger’s United States of Resistance

https://risestronger.org/resist