Rogan's List

4/5/17 To-do List   

Contact Government Officials

Find your legislators here: https://www.theloyalopposition.net/rep-finder/

OR

Search all members of Congress here:  https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/current

OR

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

and Senate: https://faxzero.com/fax_senate.php

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If your senators and reps aren't saved in your phone yet, text your US postal address to (520) 200-2223 and get a text back with your

STATE & FEDERAL legislative rep phone numbers.

1. Here is an update list of senators’ Twitter handles:  http://www.socialseer.com/resources/us-senator-twitter-accounts/

2. “Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) believes lawmakers should "go the f--k home" if they are not helping the American people.”  http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/327188-gillibrand-if-were-not-helping-people-we-should-go-the-f-home Even if we don’t appreciate the language, we sure do like her approach and her willingness to stand up to Trump time again.  Let’s thank her! 

3. Let's contact our MoC and ask that they cosponsor and support the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would help close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act of 1963. http://www.courier-tribune.com/news/20170403/fight-over-gender-wage-gap-rages-on  The National Partnership for Women and Families has a fact sheet which explains the bill in more detail :   http://www.nationalpartnership.org/research-library/workplace-fairness/fair-pay/the-paycheck-fairness-act.pdf

4. Let's tell North Carolina to "raise the age": adolescents should not be tried as adults, as it is ineffective is more likely to lead to recidivism. http://www.thecharlottepost.com/news/2017/03/29/local-state/nc-closer-to-changing-age-for-criminal-prosecutions/ MomsRising has a form letter we can customize:  http://bit.ly/2n7ZiFx  If you are a North Carolina resident, you can also call your rep and ask them to vote "yes" on HB 280

5. Now we learn that Betsy DeVos’ brother, Erik Prince, of Blackwater notoriety is also part of the Russian controversy  https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/blackwater-founder-held-secret-seychelles-meeting-to-establish-trump-putin-back-channel/2017/04/03/95908a08-1648-11e7-ada0-1489b735b3a3_story.html?utm_term=.19f668900ef9   Just another reason for us to let our legislators know that this mess needs be dealt with by an independent investigation. 

6. Since we reached the 41-filibuster threshold for the Democrats, the key is calling Republicans to make them nervous about the nuclear option (but really, getting people in THOSE STATEs to call). https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/04/senate-gorsuch-nuclear-filibuster/521748/ Here’s a list of Republican Senators (& a few others) who are uneasy about changing the filibuster rules from Indivisible. Let’s contact them AND get our friends & families, acquaintances on FB, etc. from those states to call them!!  https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0k1qCMVpKZpNWpuSnZEV0xkeU0
    
7. The peek at the new and improved ACA repeal/replace plan has even more people concerned about it.  States would be allowed to request waivers from two of the ACA’s regulations.  “The first regulation, known as essential health benefits, requires insurance plans to cover services like mental health and prescription drugs. The second, known as community ratings, prevents insurers from charging higher premiums to people with preexisting conditions.” http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/327305-centrists-push-back-on-new-obamacare-plan The ”essential health benefits” are actually ten services that must be offered to qualify as an ACA plan.  http://obamacarefacts.com/essential-health-benefits/  This may make the Freedom Caucus happier, but not us!  Let’s let our legislators know that these changes are not good for the American people and will not benefit our country. 

8. There are so many negative health and environmental consequences of Trump’s executive orders. “These efforts all share a common theme: Favoring the oil and gas polluter lobby at the expense of citizens and our environment. This, surely, is not what America is about.”  https://www.edf.org/blog/2017/03/31/what-you-should-know-about-little-noticed-trump-order-methane-pollution  Time for us to let our legislators know that we the people want these protections to stay in place and that improving the quality of life for citizens and the environment is more important than increasing corporate profits.

9. If we want to see what happens to a state when a businessman who believes that government should be run like a business governs it, look at Michigan.  Governor Snyder (R) took office in 2011.  http://www.bridgemi.com/economy/after-three-years-michigans-working-poor-are-still-stuck Let’s remind our federal legislators that governments and schools cannot be run like businesses.  We need to make sure that everyone gets treated equitably. 

Other Actions

1. Women's March has launched their sixth action item in their 10 Actions/100 Days campaign: Hear Our Vote. Let's make sure we're registered to vote, and then work on reaching more people through registration drives. Resources can be found here: https://www.womensmarch.com/vote

2. Beyond the Moment is hosting various teach-ins across the country throughout April, focusing on intersectionality and political education. This will be in preparation for a national day of action on May 1st. Find a nearby event:  https://www.beyondthemoment.org/april-4/

3. From GovTrack: Since browsing history metadata is no big deal to Congress, we began publishing the browsing history of anyone visiting us from Congress’s and the White House’s office buildings.  https://www.govtrack.us/sousveillance

4. “Trump has donated his first quarter salary of just over $78,000 to the National Park Service. The move comes after Trump proposed slashing the Department of the Interior’s budget by 12%, which includes the National Park Service.”  The Sierra Club’s response was right on:  http://content.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2017/04/sierra-club-pans-trump-s-park-donation-publicity-stunt  Let’s all let thank the Club for standing up for the environment and for what is right:  http://www.sierraclub.org/contact-us

5. Swing districts are places where the winner of the last House of Representatives election was determined by a thin margin. Swing Left helps you find and commit to supporting progressives in your closest Swing District so that you can help ensure we take back the House in 2018.  https://swingleft.org/

6. Noteify, an Etsy shop, sells resistance-themed postcards and part of the proceeds go to a good cause!  25% of the proceeds this month go to NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). There is also a 50% off code for this group, it is PFAHALFOFF.  Here’s the link:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/503984280/postcards-for-the-resistance-political

7. Following up on yesterday’s notice that Mercedes-Benz was pulling ads from Bill O’Reilly’s show on Fox, eight other companies have done the same:  http://thehill.com/homenews/news/327334-18-companies-pull-ads-from-oreillys-show  Let’s chose a few of the companies to thank via Twitter:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1q_ZNcml-rN7I6XRakgXZdRQAxygVeB5P45zQYsZEQ_A/edit#gid=0

8. Yet another creative resistance move!  Play ball!  http://www.teenvogue.com/story/trump-protestors-impeach-banner-washington-nationals-baseball-game

Petitions to Sign

 

1. The NCAA board of governors just announced that North Carolina’s so-called HB2 'repeal' bill is sufficient to justify bringing championship games back to the state. Let’s join in ACLU’s call to remind the NCAA that the new law still does not provide protection for ALL citizens:  https://action.aclu.org/secure/NCAAHB2

2. Let’s join MomsRising in signing a petition calling for equal pay for equal work:  http://action.momsrising.org/sign/2017_EqualPayDay/

Learning

1. Here’s part three of four in the editorial series about Trump in the Los Angeles Times:  http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-ed-trumps-authoritarian-vision/ 

2. “The left and right agree: Fox News destroyed EPA chief Scott Pruitt over climate change” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/04/03/the-left-and-right-agree-fox-news-destroyed-epa-chief-scott-pruitt-over-climate-change/?tid=sm_fb&utm_term=.6c72172dd164

3. Being respectful of one’s religion is one thing, holding women back is quite another:  http://time.com/4723444/glennon-doyle-melton-pence-wife-jesus/

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