Rogan's List

5/5/17 To-do List   

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1. With the GOP claiming a victory for a campaign promise, the House approved the healthcare bill 217 to 213.  Fortunately, the GOP is not sure it has the votes to pass is in the Senate where it is headed next. http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/331842-in-senate-pessimism-over-obamacare-repeal Let’s all start making sure that our senators know where we stand.

2. A petition with nearly a half million signatures was presented to Congress on Wednesday this week to block Trump from sending a first strike of a nuclear weapon. Congress is as worried about him as we are. Markey (D-Mass) who co-sponsored a nuclear restrictive bill called the act “absolutely critical during the Trump administration,” pointing to his rhetoric toward North Korea and Russia.  http://thehill.com/policy/defense/331798-lawmakers-back-push-to-curtail-trumps-nuclear-strike-ability This is a bill we can all get behind. Let's ask our reps to support this restriction on nuclear powers.

3. A recent photo reveals Steve Bannon’s ‘To Do List’ from hell with actions we have already seen:  https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/03/steve-bannon-to-do-checklist-rabbi-photo  Let’s write to Bannon to let him know what we think of his vision for our nation: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20500

4. Senator Al Franken continues to ask the hard questions and stand up for our democracy. Most recently, he posed questions to DOJ Attorney Eric Treene about the effect of having Bannon in the White House: http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/05/03/al-franken-doj-lawyer-bannon-question-sot.cnn and  https://www.courthousenews.com/senate-corners-doj-surge-religious-hate-crimes/ Please take a moment to thank Franken for his perseverance: https://www.franken.senate.gov/?p=email_al And then write to Mr. Treene about his important role at this time of increasing hate crimes: https://www.justice.gov/crt/special-counsel-religious-discrimination

5. After reviewing North Carolina's HB 2 (known more commonly as a bathroom bill) and even though the NCAA and NBA have decided to have tournament games in NC again anyway, New York governor Andrew Cuomo will continue his state's ban of NC travel. http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/03/29/472268519/n-y-governor-bans-most-state-travel-to-north-carolina-over-lgbt-law Let's thank Governor Cuomo for his continued support of the LGBTQ+ community and for standing up against discrimination: Governor Andrew Cuomo, NYS State Capitol Building, Albany, NY 12224

6. The FCC public comment period regarding net neutrality has started. TechCrunch has a very helpful article on how to submit comments to the FCC website: https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/27/how-to-comment-on-the-fccs-proposal-to-revoke-net-neutrality/ and  http://nyti.ms/2qJ9nWM  or ( if you'd like to steer clear of subscription-based news sources): https://usat.ly/2oNed4x Let’s comment.

7. The police officer who shot and killed Jordan Edwards has been fired, but that is simply not enough  https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/05/the-shooting-of-jordan-edwards/525141/  Color of Change has a petition we can sign, asking Balch Springs Chief of Police Jonathan Haber and District Attorney Faith Johnson to bring charges against officer Roy Oliver: http://bit.ly/2qIVQyn  We can also call them: Dallas County District Attorney's Office: 214-653-3600 and Balch Springs Chief of Police Office: 972-557-6013

8. Trump has hired accused sexual assaulter Steven Munoz as Assistance Chief of Visits. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-administration-hires-official-five-students-accused-sexual-assault  Let's use the White House email to let Trump know that we do not approve. https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

9. Trump's nominee for a key family planning role in the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) is Teresa Manning.  Ms Manning has been outspoken about her anti-contraception views in addition to her anti-choice stance.http://www.newsweek.com/trump-contraception-abortion-family-planning-funding-592942 We need to let our three MoC's know that we do not approve of Teresa Manning in the role of Deputy Assistant for Population Affairs.

10. It is becoming increasingly clear that the GOP is not interested in pursuing the Trump/Russia connection and the Russian influence on our election.  Let’s continue to call the Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s office (202-514-2101) and ask when the Special Prosecutor will be appointed.

 

Other Actions

1. Ultimately, the way out of the health care debacle, the religious liberty order, ICE raids, and all the other deplorable things is through elections. Let’s sign up with Flippable.org:  https://www.flippable.org/,  Swing Left: https://swingleft.org/ , and Sister District Project:  https://www.sisterdistrict.com/ , so we can keep up with ways we can help.

2. World Beyond War.org and United for Peace and Justice have begun a campaign to encourage us to join New Haven CT, Charlottesville VA, Montgomery County MD, among others, and mobilize to pass local resolutions to stop Trump’s $54 billion increase in military spending.  World Beyond War offers a detailed template for bringing such resolutions to our city councils: http://worldbeyondwar.org/ithaca/

3. A group of designers have come up with a creative way to protest Trump; through a balloon art piece titled "Flying Pigs on Parade,"  in Chicago:  http://chicagoist.com/2017/05/03/architects_to_block_out_trump_tower.php  If the project receives full funding and the necessary approval from the city, balloon pigs will be floated in front of the Trump Tower Chicago sign. The designers are asking for help to reach their financial goal. We can learn more, and those of us who are interested can donate, by visiting their site: https://www.flyingpigsonparade.org/ 

4. While other stores have agreed to stop selling neonicotinoids,  bee-killing pesticides which are also dangerous to humans, Ace Hardware has not.  https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/05/03/walmart-and-true-value-phase-out-bee-killing-pesticides-while-ace-hardware-lags  Let’s call Ace Hardware and ask them to join all of the other major Hardwear chains who have agreed to stop.  Call 1 (888) 827-4223 (then press 9).

5. After a controversial remark on his show earlier this week, Stephen Colbert has been getting a lot of flack and even calls from those on the right that he should step down.  His response was not an apology.  https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/05/stephen-colberts-apology/525375/ Let’s contact CBS in support of Colbert saying that we know that he is a satirist and that we know that speech is protected. Call:  212-975-3247 or click here:  http://www.cbs.com/feedback/

6. Pre-existing conditions will become a big issue as the healthcare bill moves to the Senate. Let’s try to make sure we understand what these are so that we can make our stories more meaningful when we contact our legislators.  Here are fifty to start with:  http://time.com/money/4763609/pre-existing-conditions-ahca/

7. If we’ve not tried it yet, ResistBot is a great way to contact our legislators.  https://www.recode.net/2017/4/27/15440440/voters-text-pages-fax-political-views-protest-resistbot-trump-health-care Check it out here:  https://resistbot.io/

8. Time for us to be very aware of which representatives voted FOR the healthcare bill and who voted against.  https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/05/04/us/politics/house-vote-republican-health-care-bill.html Let’s call and thank our reps who voted no and for standing up for their constituents.  Then, let’s make sure to remember those who voted for it and make sure they are not re-elected. ActBlue has set up a fund we can give to that will be divided between whoever the Democrats nominate in districts where Republicans voted yes on Trumpcare. From a messaging-to-the-Senate standpoint, giving directly to candidates is better, but this is certainly useful as far as actually beating people goes: https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/noahca

Petitions to Sign

1. Linda Sarsour, one of the organizers of the Women’s March has been asked to give the commencement address this spring for the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School of Public Health.  State Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) and NYC Council member, Rory Lancman, are saying that Sarsour’s activism and beliefs make her unfit to serve as speaker at the taxpayer-funded university's commencement. Let’s let them know we think she is a great choice for a speaker:  https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/i-stand-with-linda-sarsour

2. Credo has a petition against the confirmation of Mark Green as Army Secretary due to Green’s anti-LGTBQ+ and anti-Muslim beliefs: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Green_Army_Secretary?t=2&akid=22925.719228.zXLV_E

Learning

1. George Will, a conservative’s conservative has grave concerns about Trump:  http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/331882-george-will-trump-disabled-by-inability-to-think-speak-clearly

2. Despite the leaked information, Trump’s “religious liberty” executive order today was not what was expected; in fact it is so nothing that the ACLU is not going after it.  “Today’s executive order signing was an elaborate photo-op with no discernible policy outcome. After careful review of the order’s text we have determined that the order does not meaningfully alter the ability of religious institutions or individuals to intervene in the political process,” http://time.com/4768295/aclu-donald-trump-religious-liberty-executive-order/

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