Rogan's List

6/23/17

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STATE & FEDERAL legislative rep phone numbers.

1. With the text of the health care bill having been released and the cuts to Medicaid going even deeper than the House version, we have our work cut out for us.   http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2017/jun/22/senate-health-care-bill-whats-it  What we want now is to delay this vote until after the July 4th recess. This will force representatives to have to meet with their constituents and hear, in person, how these cuts will affect them. McConnell wants it done before then; we don’t.  SO: If your senator is a Democrat, call and say: “you guys did a great job holding the Senate floor to protest Trumpcare this week. Now that the Senate Trumpcare bill is released, Democrats need to block ALL routine Senate business, ensure the public is able to debate this bill, and force Republicans to confront their constituents during the Fourth of July recess."  If your senator is a Republican, especially in one of the critical ten swing states, but regardless, call them and say: “this healthcare bill is cruel and vicious. I do NOT want you to support it. These cuts to Medicaid are unacceptable, not to mention the defunding of Planned Parenthood and the tax cuts for rich people. Stop trying to ram this through and take the time to make it a GOOD bill. Millions of lives depend on it."

2. Indivisible is imploring us to submit amendments to the disastrous healthcare bill released finally by the Senate Republicans. Our amendments will go to Chuck Schumer and Senate staffers for use in the “vote-a-rama,” during which ANY Senator can submit as many amendments as he or she wants. Every amendment takes time to be introduced and voted on, so the thousands Indivisible hopes to collect will greatly slow down the process. Indivisible reminds us that “McConnell and Senate Republicans can still blow up Senate rules and cut off the amendment process. But to do that they’ll have to go on the record literally silencing the victims of TrumpCare in their own states, which they really don’t want to visibly do.”  Let’s give Democrats as much ammunition as possible to fight TrumpCare!  Check it out here:  https://www.ouramendments.org/ 

3. In April, the Government Accountability Office issued a report stating that: “Of the 85 violent extremist incidents that resulted in death since September 12, 2001, far-right wing violent extremist groups were responsible for 62 (73 percent) while radical Islamist violent extremists were responsible for 23 (27 percent).”  https://theintercept.com/2017/05/31/the-numbers-dont-lie-white-far-right-terrorists-pose-a-clear-danger-to-us-all/  We can read the full report here:  http://www.gao.gov/assets/690/683984.pdf  Let’s contact our MoCs to let them know that we think this is a danger that needs to be addressed.  Then let’s tell the White House the same thing:  https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
   
   
4. Remember last week that the Senate voted, 98-2, to impose new sanctions on Russia for meddling in the 2016 presidential election, and to block Trump from lifting those sanctions in the future? Well, the matter is now in the House, and the Trump White House is lobbying GOP members to weaken the bill.  
5. http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/21/russia-sanctions-senate-house-239830  Let’s tell our MoCs that Trump may not care about Russian interference in our elections, but we most certainly do, and we expect the passage of a bill as strong as the Senate’s.

6. As we work our way through details about the Senate health care proposal, it is of note that Senate Republicans met with insurers first: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/338874-insurance-lobbyists-meet-gop-staff-on-obamacare-repeal  It is time for us all to make some purposeful noise with our Senators – on both sides of the aisles – that this bill will affect “we the people”. Please, let’s call our Senators.

7. On Wednesday night Trump held a campaign-style rally in Iowa and went off script many times in his hour-long talk to usual effect: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-traveling-iowa-campaign-style-rally/story?id=48180489   Let’s let him know that the campaign is over and the time to lead has more than arrived: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

8. The Philando Castile case and the shooting of Charleena Lyles are horrific reminders that police reform is needed in the United States. One of the ways this can be started is through consent decrees between police departments and the Department of Justice. Back in April, however, Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered a review of the Justice Department's police reform activities and consent decrees. Let's give Sessions a call and tell him that we support consent decrees and expect him to stop delaying the ones which should already be in place. 5calls has more information, a call script, and phone number: https://5calls.org/issue/recE23p05mKPjWrzC We can also read more about the consent decrees and reform efforts which are taking place in select cities within the U.S.: http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/04/politics/jeff-sessions-consent-decree-roundup/index.html

9. Last week, Senator Leahy introduced the Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2017. This is something that members of all parties should be able to get behind. Let's call our Senators and ask that they cosponsor and support S. 1353 https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1353/text

10. 5calls.org is working on tracking where each Senator stands on the AHCA. Currently, there are 69 Senators whose positions are unknown. Let's give our Senators a call, then add their current position to the tally: https://5calls.org/

11. Trump and the GOP are continuing to make tearing up everything Obama accomplished a top priority with the "Midnight Rules Relief Act," which would allow Republicans in Congress to roll back critical protections the Obama administration finished in the last 60 days of his term. (https://govtrackinsider.com/midnight-rules-relief-act-would-allow-congress-to-nullify-multiple-obama-regulations-at-once-67b8973745b7) Let's join our Action Alliance partner and friend Jen Hoffman in calling our Senators and telling them to oppose this bill. You can find a script here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-lGP06GDMBGXuqCeeiKPn1_PmKTQkiGoc0wDxami4gk/edit

State-level actions

1. From one of our own:  Were you part of the amazing texting crew for Ossoff or Parnell? Do you want to be in on similar text out the vote campaigns in the future? Come one, come all – it's time to get on the list for future campaigns! Especially brand new people who might not already be on one of the email lists!  Note: The way it works is that we use a program like Relay or Hustle, on your phone or on your computer, that masks your phone number and automatically connects you with voters you can text. I have texted for four campaigns now (Ossoff, Parnell, Thompson, Quist), and I get much better conversations with voters than through phone banking.  Sign up here:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIcMYKBRPxYJrip-kUfonwN0j8jTm4WH5cDiqO8x4oNupnlw/viewform

2. While Trump attacks our Constitution from the White House, extremist conservatives and corporate interests led by Jim DeMint, the Koch brothers and ALEC are trying to change it for good. They're trying to get 34 states to pass resolutions to launch a new constitutional convention, and they're quietly making progress. (https://psmag.com/social-justice/how-conservatives-could-rewrite-the-constitution) But we've successfully rolled back their progress in New Mexico, Maryland and Nevada, and we can put a stop to their assault on our fundamental values. Let's check out the status of these calls in our states, and then call our legislators and tell them to oppose new efforts to call for a convention or work to rescind standing convention calls.

3. The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, chaired by John Thune (R- SD), has rejected Trump's proposal to privatize the nation's air traffic controllers.  http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/338620-senate-to-reject-trumps-air-traffic-control-plan-in-aviation-bill  Let's write in support of the committee's decision: Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, 512 Dirksen SOB, Washington DC 20510.

Other Actions

1. For those of us who are techie and want to use our skills to help the #resistance, RISE Stronger needs us:  In addition to constant innovation and improvement of our technical tools such as the People's Calendar and United States of Resistance, RISE Stronger has recently revamped our website with many new features that require upgrading our technical infrastructure. We are in constant need of experienced programmers and web developers to help us improve our website and online tools. Specifically, we need people with Ruby on Rails, Javascript, UX & development experience. See more here: https://risestronger.org/volunteer/10

2. The Southern Poverty Law Center has been "fighting hate and bigotry and ... seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society" since 1971. If we want to understand what we're up against, we'll want to take a look at their "Hatewatch" blog, which regularly "monitors and exposes the activities of the American radical right." https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch. We should also report any hate incident we witness or experience to them, here, because they will help fight it: https://www.splcenter.org/reporthate.

3. From one of our own: Let's write to "Dear Abby" - not to ask for advice, but to give some!  [Wednesday was] National ASK Day - encouraging parents to simply ask if there are unsecured guns in places where their kids spend time. [Wednesday], the "Dear Abby" column gave this horribly tone-deaf advice, telling a parent to mind her own business to avoid being "off-putting."   http://www.uexpress.com/dearabby/2017/6/21/1/mom-searches-for-right-approach-to?utm_source=dearabby-twitter&utm_medium=socialmarketing&utm_campaign=social  Please ask "Dear Abby" to retract this deadly advice and use the platform to give life-saving advice to parents. Always ask if there are guns in the homes where children spend time, and how the guns are stored. There are too many grieving parents in this country who wish they could go back and do that. Address:  Dear Abby, P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069

4. We can become more informed about climate change by watching the videos at National Geographic's Years of Living Dangerously site  http://yearsoflivingdangerously.com/  The teachers among us can also check out the resources at the related classroom site http://climateclassroom.org/

5. From Postcards from Kate:  ProPublica's Marshall Allen has been covering healthcare for 10 years. He investigates and reports, and we need more like him. In a piece published yesterday, he uncovers, and carefully explains, how one drugmaker combined two generic drugs to make millions in profits. It's a mind-bogglingly cynical scheme, and must have taken many hours to unravel. Let's thank him for doing this work by sharing this article (in the hopes that a legislator or two happens to notice), and by sending him an encouraging note.  Let’s write him here:  Marshall Allen, ProPublica, 155 Avenue of the Americas. 13th Floor. New York, N.Y. 10013

6. “We can live in a world where the police don't kill people by limiting police interventions, improving community interactions, and ensuring accountability.”  Let’s join Campaign Zero and see how we can help make this happen:  https://www.joincampaignzero.org

Petitions

1. Despite all the evidence, Minnesota police officer Jeronimo Yanez was "found not guilty of second-degree manslaughterFriday" in the shooting death of Philando Castile during a traffic stop. Castile's girlfriend and her 4-yr-old daughter were also in the car. While the city of St. Anthony is removing Yanez from the police force, they are not punishing him in any other way and will in fact offer him "a voluntary separation agreement to help him transition to another career." http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/16/us/philando-castile-trial-verdict/index.html. Yanez benefiting from this situation isn't fair, and further undermines the community's trust of the local police force. The following petition urges the mayor of St. Anthony to "fire Yanez without severance pay" instead. Sign and then share the petition here: https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/no-severance-jeronimo-yanez

2. “The U.S. Senate votes next week on the just-announced, incredibly damaging "Better Care Reconciliation Act." This bill would plunge tens of millions of moms, children, and families into crisis, end Medicaid as we know it, and devastate our economy.” Let’s join MomsRising in telling Republicans to stop attacking our families:  http://action.momsrising.org/sign/stop_attacking_families/

Marches/events to attend/organize

1. Gay Pride Parades are being held in many major cities—NYC, San Francisco, Chicago—this weekend, and many marchers, like those in DC earlier this month, are putting resistance to Trump’s agenda front and center:  http://www.npr.org/2017/06/11/532490914/d-c-equality-march-makes-pride-political  Whether we are marching—or only watching—we should bring our signs and make it clear that LGBT folks are no better served by this administration than women, immigrants, non-white people, or those who need affordable healthcare. Here’s a nationwide schedule: http://www.gaypridecalendar.com

Learning

1. “Authoritarianism is making a comeback. Here's the time-tested way to defeat it”:  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/20/authoritarianism-trump-resistance-defeat

2. Australia is realizing that it has underestimated the effects of climate change on its security.  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/21/australia-warned-it-has-radically-underestimated-climate-change-security-threat

3. Seattle increased its minimum wage. The restaurant jobs remained stable.  http://www.seattletimes.com/business/retail/latest-study-seattles-wage-law-lifted-restaurant-pay-without-shrinking-jobs/  Let's remember this positive example as we hear objections to a national minimum wage increase. 

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

         a loosely-federated group of organizations that, in the wake of the

2016 election, are sharing daily or weekly calls to action.

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