Rogan's List

5/10/17 To-do List   

Today is the six-month anniversary of Rogan’s List.  I want to thank you all for your support and encouragement, but especially for your persistence, resistance, and insistence.  I am proud to be working along side of you all.

                Susan Rogan

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

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

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

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Find senators Twitter and Facebook Accounts here:

http://www.socialseer.com/resources/us-senator-twitter-accounts/

Find representatives on Twitter here:

https://twitter.com/cspan/lists/u-s-representatives/members?lang=en

Contact the White House

https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

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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. On the heels of learning that FBI Director Comey’s testimony at a Senate hearing last week was inaccurate https://www.propublica.org/article/comeys-testimony-on-huma-abedin-forwarding-emails-was-inaccurate, he was fired today by Trump who wants “a new beginning” for the FBI.  http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/09/trump-fires-fbi-director-james-comey-238175  This is a shocking development, and we deserve answers as to what has happened and why. We should all call our members of Congress and insist that they demand that Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appear before Congress as soon as possible to testify under oath and give a full accounting of why they recommended Comey be removed and why they did so at this point.  Phone the Dept. of Justice at 202-514-2000.

2. After the Comey firing, Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) tweeted last evening that he and his staff were reviewing legislation to establish an independent commission on Russia.  http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/09/amash-comey-firing-fbi-238183 Let’s thank him for his sense of duty to country over party   Find him on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/justinamash/ and/or Twitter:  @justinamash.  Then, let’s tell our own MoCs to get on board as well. 

3. Sally Yates more than held her own when testifying this week about Flynn: http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sally-yates-acting-attorney-general-fired-trump-testifies-flynn-saga-n756446 Please stay in touch with your MoCs about the need to have an independent investigation to understand fully the nature of the Russian attack on our democratic election and whether there was collusion with anyone on the Trump campaign.

4. Congressman Rod Blum (R-IA) had a difficult news interview followed by a difficult Town Hall. He admitted, after voting for AHCA, that “I always said the process was bad. It was rushed.”  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/05/08/iowa-congressman-walks-out-of-a-tv-interview-and-into-an-angry-town-hall-meeting/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_blum1210am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.19848cbed96d  Let’s ask Blum why he put his constituents at risk when he knew the process for the bill was so flawed: 1108 Longworth HOB, Washington, DC 20515

5. True to his word, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) attended a town hall in his neighboring republican district when asked by those constituents. "The Republican representative in the neighboring district, Rep. John Faso (R-N.Y.), backed his party’s regressive plan, took his office’s phones off the hook, and decided not to host a local event to explain to his constituents why he’d voted for legislation that would do so much deliberate harm." http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/dems-host-town-hall-meetings-health-care-gop-districts Let's ask our Democratic reps to follow his lead when asked by Republican districts to come and talk at a town hall. http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

6. Until Sean Spicer was asked about why the Muslim ban plan was still on the Trump campaign website it remained there, but has now been erased.  http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-39852694/trump-muslim-ban-plan-erased-from-website  Please send Spicer a postcard to let him know that erasing it from the website does not cause us to forget the intention of the travel ban: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20500

7. An Alaska State Representative, David Eastman, said that village women in Alaska get pregnant so that they can get a trip to the big city to have an abortion:  https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2017/05/06/wasilla-lawmaker-at-center-of-controversy-over-abortion-remarks-issues-statement-criticizing-media/  Please take a moment to let Rep. Eastman what you think of his views: State Capitol Room 114, Juneau, AK 99801

8. Congress has preserved or increased funding for the Humanities for 2017, due in part to our loud and insistent support. However, Trump's real push to defund the NEH, NEA, and others is in his budget proposal for 2018. Congress is starting its appropriations process for 2018 now, so let's get informed and speak out! Fortunately, the National Humanities Alliance has put together a well-organized and useful collection of information and tools for doing just that. Let's bring our knowledge of the issues up to speed with their focused information briefs, construct our arguments using case-making & advocacy guides, then make ourselves heard through their MoC contact tools or use their talking points when talking with staffers.  http://www.nhalliance.org/take_action

9. These 14 republican house representatives voted for the AHCA and belong to districts that Hillary Clinton won.https://www.axios.com/the-most-vulnerable-republicans-who-voted-yes-on-ahca-2393129396.html We need to tell them that we do not appreciate their vote for Trumpcare. Here are their Washington phone numbers and district office addresses. Let's keep the heat on the vulnerable republicans. 1) AZ: Martha McSally (202-225-2542), 4400 E Broadway Blvd Ste 510, Tucson AZ 85711-3554. 2) CA: Jeff Denham (202-225-4540), 4701 Sisk Rd Ste 202, Modesto CA 95356-9320. 3) CA: Darrell Issa (202-225-3906), 1800 Thibodo Rd #310, Vista CA 92081-7515. 4) CA: Dana Rohrabacher (202-225-2415), 101 Main St Ste 380, Huntington Beach CA 92648-8149. 5) Ed Royce (202-225-4111), 210 W Birch St Ste 201, Brea CA 92821-4504. 6) Steve Knight (202-225-1956), 1445 E Los Angeles Ave #206, Simi Valley CA 93065-2827. 7) CA: Mimi Walters (202-225-5611),3333 Michelson Dr Ste 230, Irvine CA 92612-8803. 8) CA: David Valadao (202-225-4695), 101 N Irwin St Ste 110B, Hanford CA 93230-4579. 9) FL: Carlos Curbelo (202-225-2778), 1100 Simonton St #213, Key West FL 33040-3110. 10) IL: Peter Roskam (202-225-4561), 2700 International Dr Ste 304, West Chicago IL 60185-1658. 11) KS: Kevin Yoder (202-225-2865), 7325 W 70th St, Overland Park KS 66204-2908. 12) MN: Erik Paulsen (202-225-2871), 250 Prairie Center Dr Ste 230, Eden Prairie MN 55344-7904. 13) TX: John Culberson (202-225-2571), 10000 Memorial Dr Ste 620, Houston TX 77024-3411. 14) TX: Pete Sessions (202-225-2231), 12377 Merit Dr Ste 750, Dallas TX 75251-2345.

10. Chicago has uploaded on the city webpages the deleted EPA data from the federal government on climate change. “Here in Chicago, we know climate change is real, and we will continue to take action to fight it,” reads a statement city officials added to what is essentially a direct facsimile of what was once on the EPA’s site.  http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/06/chicago-mayor-rahm-emanuel-posts-epa-deleted-climate-change-page-238067 Let's call and mail Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and thank him for saving and posting this critical data: City Hall 121 N. LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60602 / By Phone: Dial 311 (within Chicago) (If calling from outside of Chicago, call: 312-744-5000)

11. The Trump administration has already put more of our young men and women in harm’s way and launched more and more air strikes in countries across the Middle East and North Africa, and now they’re considering a major expansion of our military efforts in Afghanistan. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-poised-to-expand-military-effort-against-taliban-in-afghanistan/2017/05/08/356c4930-33fa-11e7-b412-62beef8121f7_story.html?utm_term=.bbe7779d6f78) We need to call our reps and tell them to do their job, have a real debate on Trump’s military strategies and take away his blank check to make war. We can use the “Limits on Trump’s War Powers”  script at www.weekly-resistance.online

12. Senators Sanders and Jayapal's College for All Act of 2017 (S. 806/ H.R. 1880 ) has stalled in both the House and Senate. https://www.smsuspur.net/commentary/2017/04/20/bernie-sanders-proposes-bill-for-free-college-tuition/ Let's contact our MoC and let them know that we want affordable higher education, and support S. 806 ( https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/806 ) and H.R. 1880 ( https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1880 ).

13. With Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the helm, we must keep a watchful eye on the Department of Justice. With the new administration, there has been a shift away from police reform, as well as an attack on our civil rights, and last month Sessions sent out a memo saying that agreements made between the DOJ's civil rights division and police departments will be put under review. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-doj-sessions-20170430-story.html Let’s call the DOJ to voice our concerns about this dangerous trend. 5Calls has a phone number, call script, and talking points: https://5calls.org/issue/recddHMkAaDW1tzdV

14. On Monday, ACLU lawyer Omar Jadwat was "in court in Richmond, VA, arguing against the government’s appeal of the Maryland district court’s decision in International Refugee Assistance Project v. Trump. This [was] the first argument in a federal court of appeals about Muslim Ban 2.0." https://www.aclu.org/blog/spea k-freely/his-name-omar-jadwat- and-hes-aclu-lawyer-arguing- against-muslim-ban-heres-what- he "There is no word on when the Fourth Circuit will rule, but the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court will hear another challenge to Trump’s Muslim ban on May 15 in Seattle." https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/muslim-ban-muslim-ban-aclu-argued-court Let's watch these hearings very closely, because the courts are currently the only real defense against Trump's discriminatory immigration order. Let's remind our MoCs, too, that true religious freedom makes us safer and stronger. As Jadwat says, "The idea [that] we would take away th[e] powerful and important example of religious tolerance [that the U.S. has provided in the past] and replace it with an unjustifiable form of discrimination is something that honestly worries me." 

15. True to his word, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) attended a town hall in his neighboring republican district when asked by those constituents.  Their own rep, John Faso (R-NY), voted for the healthcare plan and has not been responsive to his constituents on this issue.  http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/2017/05/09/maloney/313768001/ Let's ask our Democratic reps to follow his lead when asked by Republican districts to come and talk at a town hall.  http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

16. “People in two Georgia immigrant detention centers are getting inadequate care in “desperately understaffed” medical units, according to a report released last week by Project South, an Atlanta-based advocacy group.”  http://news.wabe.org/post/report-substandard-care-ga-immigrant-detention-centers These private detention centers are not operating in a humane manner and are not complying with the Dept. of Homeland Security’s standards.  Let’s let our legislators know that these horror stories cannot continue.

Other Actions

1. The situation is growing graver each day.” The legitimacy of our democracy is more important than the interests of any party, or any President. So, we will rise together to call for a fair and impartial investigation, for the pursuit of truth, and for the restoration of faith in our electoral system and the Office of the Presidency.  Across the country, peaceful demonstrations will be arranged on Saturday, June 3rd.”  For more information on the #MarchForTruth, click here:     https://www.marchfortruth.info/   Maybe we should try to organize one of these marches in our cities:  https://www.marchfortruth.info/organize/

2. Apparently, there is a troubling new effort by Trump backers to push their agenda on college campuses by hijacking student government elections.   (http://www.chronicle.com/article/Inside-a-Stealth-Plan-for/240008 Fortunately, this article also outlines some of the ways that college activists can fight back. Those of us in college or involved in higher education can start putting pressure on the relevant institutions to take action by increasing transparency and creating barriers and disincentives to outside groups buying student government races.

3. Writing a Letter to the Editor is a great way to amplify our voices regarding the AHCA and its potential impact. MomsRising has created a tool to make this easier; there are sample letters and talking points we can utilize, and MomsRising will pass our letter on to the editor of our local paper: http://bit.ly/2pry4FV

Petitions to Sign

1. Let’s join Sen. Durbin in seeking an independent investigation of the Trump administration’s Russian ties:  http://action.dickdurbin.com/page/s/russia-yates

2. Affordable college is good for the future growth of our country.  Let’s sign CREDO Action's petition supporting S. 806 which will do just that:  https://act.credoaction.com/sign/sanders_free_college

3. Progressive members of Congress have proposed a “People’s Budget” -- a spending plan that puts our environment and social safety net ahead of corporations and Big Oil. Let’s sign our agreement with that plan:  https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/peoples-budget-citizen-cosponsor-friends-of-the-earth

Learning

1. Transcript of an interview with the last surviving prosecutor of Nuremberg Trials and key things he wants us to know: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-the-last-nuremberg-prosecutor-alive-wants-the-world-to-know/

2. Let’s stand with Gabby Giffords and Americans for Responsible Solutions to resist the gun lobby;  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_PdRgzh7GM&feature=youtu.be

3. Last evening, it was learned that grand jury subpoenas have been issued in the FBI investigation:  http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/09/politics/grand-jury-fbi-russia/

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