Rogan's List

6/6/17

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1. The Financial Choice Act (H.R. 10) was narrowly passed out of committee and is scheduled to be reviewed by the House Rules Committee on Wednesday, June 7.. Basically this bill, if passed, would be much weaker than the Dodd-Frank Financial Regulatory Control Bill, which was passed in 2010. Elizabeth Warren is extremely critical of the Financial Choice Act, calling it an "insult to working families." Among other things, this bill would dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Mike Rothman, president of the North American Securities Administrators Association and Minnesota commissioner of commerce, stated in written testimony to the committee that “It is clearly evident that the changes contemplated by the bill would significantly undermine and compromise the ability of regulators to effectively enforce financial laws and regulations.” It seems that this bill is on its way to being voted on by the full House. Let's call our MoC and tell them that Dodd-Frank is working just fine and we don't want to see it weakened. We want them to vote "No" on the Financial Choice Act.

2. If you need yet another reason to oppose this bill, you can “wade all the way to Page 403 of the 589-page Financial Choice Act to find a one-sentence provision that obliterates current efforts to bring fairness and responsibility to payday lenders and similar merchants of never-ending debt. http://www.latimes.com/business/lazarus/la-fi-lazarus-choice-act-payday-loans-20170530-story.html Consumers deserve protections.  Let’ call our reps using this reason, too.

3. The House is expected to vote soon on the Davis Oliver Act HR 2431 which would put many of Trumps immigration policies into law including penalties for sanctuary cities. It would also authorize the hiring of 12,500 more ICE agents thereby greatly increasing the number of arrests and deportations. http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/immigration/335933-davis-oliver-act-would-make-trumps-immigration-agenda-law-of  Let’s call our representative and tell him or her we oppose the Davis Oliver Act. 

4. House GOP members want to know what we think about Medicaid.  The questions are loaded.  Let’s let them know where we stand.  https://housegop.typeform.com/to/ryUR7z 

5. The House GOP is also is taking a survey to get input on what should be cut from the budget. Even though it seems like they are more concerned with what to call the bill, it would be good to let them know you don’t want education, Medicaid, social security, etc cut.  May I suggest you choose Defense and Homeland Security, which includes immigration as the 2 sectors you want to be cut.  Let’s help:  https://housegop.typeform.com/to/tddJOj

6. Trump is preparing to roll back the mandate for birth control coverage through an Interim Final Rule http://bit.ly/2raUcsr Right now, it is under review with the Office of Management and Budget. Le'ts give them a call to voice our objection to this awful rule. 5Calls has the phone number and script available for us: https://5calls.org/issue/reckIQJIa1InOluqr

7. The Indivisible Guide has a comprehensive explainer, which looks at Trump's involvement with Russia, the importance of an independent commission, and questions we can be asking our Members of Congress to make sure that they are taking action against collusion. Let's check out this great resource, and give our MoC a call https://www.indivisibleguide.com/resource/truth-or-trump/

8. Privatization of Air traffic Control ("ATC"): The major domestic carriers all support the privatization plan, with the notable exception of Delta Air Lines. Delta released a study in 2016 indicating such a move could increase traveler costs by 20 to 29 percent.“Proponents have claimed that privatization would lead to cost savings for consumers,” the study stated. “But no evidence has yet been produced to show that privatization would reduce costs. In fact, nations that have privatized ATC have seen operational costs increase at a much higher rate than has been seen in the U.S. under the FAA.” http://abcnews.go.com/US/privatizing-air-traffic-control-trumps-proposal-expected/story?id=47841115 Trump insists that it will be cheaper.  We know from the past that he doesn't rely on good data.  He can't privatize without consent of Congress. Let's ask Congress to propose a private study to determine if this benefits our travel or hinders it before we act on such an extreme change. Let's get the facts. 

9. Saudi Arabia has been repeatedly criticized for air strikes in Yemen that have caused extensive civilian casualties and shows no sign of changing its policies. Yet Donald Trump is moving forward with a $110 billion arms sale to the Saudis. A bipartisan group of senators is proposing legislation to block this sale, and a vote on it is expected this week (http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/23/rand-paul-saudi-arabia-arms-sales-238730). Let's join Human Rights Watch and call our Senators to tell them to support Senate Joint Resolution 42, blocking the sale of weapons that could be used by Saudi Arabia to commit more abuses: https://www.hrw.org/StopArmingSaudi

10. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson advocated that the US stay in the Paris climate accord – as did ExxonMobil, the company he led – and huge cuts are proposed to the State Department which will greatly impinge on diplomatic efforts: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40138740 This is a good opportunity to ask him why he is serving under Trump: Secretary Rex Tillerson, U.S. Department of State, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20520

11. Two Republican Governors have joined the Climate Alliance following the news of our withdrawal from the Paris agreement: Charlie Baker in Massachusetts and Phil Scott in Vermont:http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/06/02/climate/qELM7JPNpKnORMMqkzi2XJ/story.html Let’s say thanks to them: Governor Phil Scott, 109 State Street, Pavilion, Montpelier, VT 05609 and Governor Charlie Baker, Massachusetts State House, Office of the Governor, Room 280, Boston, MA 02133

12. Alabama is restoring voting rights to former felons. http://www.wsfa.com/story/35512463/new-law-clears-up-voting-confusion-for-alabamians-with-a-felony We can thank: Governor Kay Ivey (R)  http://governor.alabama.gov/contact. Here's a resource to see what felons' voiting rights are in each of our states. Scroll down to see the chart:  http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/felon-voting-rights.aspx  We can contact our governors if we don't agree with our states' current position.

13. The House Climate Solutions Caucus is a bipartisan group that exchanges ideas on climate change.  https://cleantechnica.com/2017/05/07/climate-solutions-caucus-brings-republicans-democrats-together-climate-change/.  We can use this tool from the Citizens Climate Lobby to down to send a message to our own representative. (scroll down for form)  https://citizensclimatelobby.org/climate-solutions-caucus/  If they are members already, we can thank them.  If not, let's ask them to join the Climate Solutions Caucus.
    
    
14. Arizona officials are pushing Trump to allow uranium mining in the Grand Canyon https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/05/public-lands-uranium-mining-arizona-grand-canyon  Let's tell our MoC's and the White House that we oppose this.  If we are in Arizona, let's also contact our state legislators.

15. This month marks the 50th year of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  Trump has made his pro-Netanyahu stance clear and has demonstrated his disinterest in human rights in Israel/Palestine or anywhere else.  Let’s encourage our congresspeople to attend a Capital Hill 50th Anniversary briefing on Thursday, June 8 sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee and Defense for Children International-Palestine: http://nwttac.dci-palestine.org/tell_congress_to_attend_50th_anniversary_briefing

16. The Congress is back in session, and Monday’s indivisible update includes three items of great importance.  The first calls on us to urge our senators to oppose S.951 The Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017, which creates an enormously burdensome regulatory process that puts us all at risk: https://www.indivisibleguide.com/resource/raa-worst-bill-youve-never-heard/
    The second provides a detailed explanation of the soon-to-be-announced infrastructure “scam and what we can do about it:https://www.indivisibleguide.com/resource/trumps-billionaire-infrastructure-scam/

17. And finally, an informative guide for those of us taking local action on climate change:
    https://www.indivisibleguide.com/resource/trump-against-the-planet/  Let’s make those calls!

18. Let’s make sure that the United States Climate Alliance keeps growing, and let’s hold its members accountable. Formed after Trump announced the withdrawal of the US from the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Alliance is a bipartisan group of states and cities that are committing to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/which-states-have-joined-the-climate-alliance-that-commits-to-paris-agreement/ As of June 5, member states and territories included California, New York, Washington, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, Oregon, Hawaii, Virginia, Minnesota, Delaware, and Puerto Rico. Considering joining are Colorado, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. Let’s (1) keep pressuring our governors and state legislators to join the US Climate Alliance, and (2) write to our major regional newspapers and tell them that we want ongoing coverage of whether Alliance members are taking action to live up to their commitments.

Other Actions

1. If you live in Colorado, especially in the Colorado foothills, please contact Nancy at nefesq15@gmail.com to join the email list of the Colorado Foothills Action Alliance (CFAA).  CFAA produces a terrific weekly Action Item email that includes local actions, as well as things to do to counter the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress.  It’s written by two retired attorneys and a geophysicist, so the research is thorough.  Be sure to ask to be included on that weekly email!
   
   
2. As we get closer to midterm elections, it's important that we find ways to support candidates who truly represent us. https://swingleft.org/ and https://www.flippable.org/ have proven to be quite helpful, and it looks like we have another tool at our disposal: https://knockeverydoor.org/ The #KnockEveryDoor campaign focuses specifically on canvassing to defend or flip districts, and to spread awareness of progressive issues and how they can impact our local communities. For those of us who are interested and able, let's sign up to knock on some doors!

3. We're in the closing stretch before the June 20th special elections for Congress in Georgia and South Carolina - and not only is Jon Ossoff looking strong, Archie Parnell is closer than anyone expected. (http://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article153397869.html) Let's help get them over the line. Tony the Democrat is continuing with hand-written postcard outreach to voter in these districts. We can join in by texting START to Abby the Address Bot at (803) 630-0295 or e-mailing Postcards@TonyTheDemocrat.org.

4. Our Tweeting president cannot seem to leave the Mayor of London alone:https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/05/donald-trump-attack-courts-travel-ban-london Let’s let London Mayor Sadiq Khan know that Trump’s vile words do not represent what we all think:City Hall, The Queen's Walk, London SE1 2AA, United Kingdom (this would be $1.15 in postage for postcard or 1 ounce letter)  While we are at it, let’s tell Trump that at a time like this, we want our president to send messages of love and support only, not of criticism, and certainly not of criticism that has no basis in reality. https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

5. From one of our own to show us how we, too, can set up a fun, but effective postcard huddle:  I run a postcard huddle now in its 19th week, we have written and mailed 7,429 postcards so far. We meet at my house every Tuesday, at 11 AM and 7 PM (accommodating both the retired folks and the worker bees) for 90 minutes. The day before the huddle I mail out my "Action List" which has a list of suggested action items, a short background of the issues, several sample texts for each issue, and a list of legislators with their addresses to write to for each issue. My "huddlers" show up with USPS stamped postcards, or homemade postcards/4x6 index cards and 34-cent postcard stamps. The huddlers write on any issue that appeals to them, and I mail all the postcards at the end of the day. I post pictures of each huddle on my personal facebook page, it's quite a recruitment tool. I hope to get 10,000 postcards written and mailed before the congressional August recess.

Petitions to Sign

1. According to a draft of Trump’s new birth control coverage exemption, any employer, school or insurance company would be allowed to opt out of covering contraception based not only on religious objection but on any moral objection as well.  Even massive for-profit companies with no religious affiliation would be able to deny birth control coverage to their female employees.  Let’s sign this petition to support birth control access for all women:  http://petitions.moveon.org/keystoneprogress/sign/i-support-birth-control.

2. Let’s join Center for American Progress, Sierra Club, National Resources Defense Council, League of Conservation Voters, Environment America, Oxfam, Climate Nexus, Environmental Defense Fund, Climate Reality Project, Organizing For Action, Union of Concerned Scientists, Interfaith Power and Light, World Wildlife Fund, Resistance Manual, Chicago Women Take Action, National Health Law Program, Moms Clean Air Task Force, Defend our Future, and tell the 194 countries still in the Paris Agreement that we, the people, are still in.  https://iamstillin.org/

Learning

1. Back in February, Fortune published photographs of how the US looked before the EPA.  http://fortune.com/2017/02/28/how-the-united-states-looked-before-the-epa/  With the withdrawal from the Paris agreement and Scott Pruitt's attacks on our environment, let's take a few minutes to remember visually what we are fighting for.

2. “Why We Call”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6q_bBBlvNk&app=desktop

3. Just who is in the Trump voter base?  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/06/05/its-time-to-bust-the-myth-most-trump-voters-were-not-working-class/?utm_term=.37ee46b64625 

4. The story gets darker:  https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/05/russia-us-election-hack-voting-system-nsa-report 

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