Rogan's List

6/9/17

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STATE & FEDERAL legislative rep phone numbers.

1. Rather than hosting open discussions and gathering expert testimony, Senator Mitch McConnell seems to be trying to push the AHCA ahead through closed-door meetings with fellow GOP members.   http://nbcnews.to/2qWJses Let's contact Senator McConnell and tell him that we want public hearings before the AHCA is brought to a vote. We can give him a call (202) 224-2541 as well as our senators.  We can also sign the National Partnership for Women and Families' form letter http://bit.ly/1nnhhgh and sign a petition from Social Security Works: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/mitch-mcconnell-cant-hide-his-disastrous-health-care-bill-from-the-american-people

2. Donald Trump promised during the campaign to push Congress to eliminate the Johnson Amendment, which prevents tax-exempt organizations like churches from endorsing political candidates, and he's working to weaken it as President. http://www.newsweek.com/johnson-amendment-trump-religious-liberty-594630 Let's make sure our members of Congress know we don't want our houses of worship torn about by partisan politics by signing this petition to them from Americans United: http://projectfairplay.org/petition.

3. On the floor of the Senate, California Senator Kamala Harris was interrupted by Senators McCain and Burr and asked to be more courteous: http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article154961384.html Please let’s thank Senator Harris for continuing to stand up for finding the truth: 112 Hart SOB, Washington, DC 20510

4. The Obama administration worked to ban the chloropyrifos pesticides used on foods we eat.  The Trump administration has withdrawn the ban. Chlorpyrifis have been linked to children's learning disabilities and health issues.  http://earthjustice.org/features/what-you-need-to-know-about-chlorpyrifos   A group of Democratic state attorneys general are now challenging this in court. http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/336521-dem-states-challenge-epa-over-pesticide Let’s ask our own state attorney general to support this effort and thank them if they already are. 

5. Trump has nominated Jeffrey Bossert Clark for top environmental attorney.  Clark was the attorney for BP when they litigated the oil spills.  http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-nominates-lawyer-who-defended-bp-after-2010-oil-spill-to-top-doj-environmental-post-2017-6  Let's tell our senators that we do not approve of an industry-advocate representing our environment. 

6. We can find all categories of environmental and wildlife actions (petitions) at the Center for Biological Diversity. http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/action/alerts/ Let’s browse the actions, sign a couple of petitions and adopt one of the causes as our own.  We can be alert for any news or articles about our adopted cause. Let's tell our MoC's about our cause. 

7. The US must not help Saudi Arabia kill and starve Yemenites.  Code Pink and Congressman Ted Lieu ask us to contact our senators and representatives in support of S.J. Res. 42 and H. J. Res. 102, blocking Trump’s big arms sale to Saudi Arabia: http://www.codepink.org/110billion

8. As we suspected, the House GOP voted to pass the CHOICE Act, which is an effort to repeal the Dodd-Frank regulations that were signed into law in 2008 following the financial crisis. Many R reps voted yes on the claim that the CHOICE Act would ease regulatory burdens on small community banks, which seems to hold some water, but there are plenty of other things in the 600-page bill that are no good for consumers and would benefit big banks. According to this helpful NPR article, the bill does not have a good chance in the Senate, but given what is happening with the health care bill there, we're not so sanguine about that. We should know, though, that "the Senate has been working on a separate bill that is more focused on loosening regulations on community banks."http://www.npr.org/2017/06/08/532036374/house-passes-bill-aimed-at-reversing-dodd-frank-financial-regulations That's something most of us can get behind, but let's call our Senators and ask them exactly what is going to happen now that the CHOICE Act is going to the Senate. Let's let them know we're watching.

Other Actions

1. Hawaii has become the first state to pass legislation to honor the “commitments and goals” of the Paris climate agreement: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/hawaii-trump-paris-agreement-climate-change-laws-first-us-state-a7778226.html  Let’s take a moment to thank Hawaii Governor David Ige for this leadership: Hawaii State Capitol, 415 S Beretania St, Honolulu, HI 96813

2. Trump is working to get rid of mandated birth control coverage. http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/335797-white-house-preps-broad-exemptions-from-birth-control-mandate We can contact large corporations directly, asking that they continue to offer coverage regardless of federal law. UltraViolet has helpful talking points, plus the phone numbers for Disney, Merck, and Target: https://act.weareultraviolet.org/call/companies_birth_control

3. If we are specifically interested in environmental issues and actions, we may want to subscribe to Calvin's Eco List, a weekly that just started up:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ge-X7EHVHFyD-ZfqmHoy5PkmSCrwrxzVJuwAZv3Lr6Y/edit  We can sign up here:  http://calvinslist.us16.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9d1f134cd29ab6c3eba09fca7&id=c70973513c

4. 2017 Juneteenth, the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States, is coming up on Monday, June 19th. http://www.juneteenth.com/ This event, hosted by the Movement For Black Lives, will focus on reclaiming space that has been denied to Black communities. There will be a call today, June 8th at 8pm ET, to learn more about how we can join in, or help amplify the voices of those participating: http://bit.ly/2r1Ufsb

5. Tesla’s Elon Musk and Disney’s Bob Iger resigned from Trump’s business advisory council in protest of Trump’s withdrawal of the US from the Paris climate accord. https://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2017/06/05/donald-and-the-c-suite-the-ceos-still-serving-on-trumps-advisory-councils/#24dfeb6d476f Let’s tell the remaining members that it’s time to follow suit. Use this handy contact list from our friends at Wall of Us: https://www.wall-of-us.org/ba

6. Eating beans instead of beef is one way we can impact climate change by making different food choices. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/earth/want-to-help-fight-climate-change-try-eating-some-beans/ Each decision makes a difference.  Here's the research sited in the article if we want to know more: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316879904_Substituting_beans_for_beef_as_a_contribution_toward_US_climate_change_targets

7. We're less than two weeks away from Election Day in Georgia, and Jon Ossoff has a one-point lead on Karen Handel... with just three percent left undecided. (http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign-polls/336055-poll-dem-ossoff-leads-by-1-in-georgia-house-race) It's all going to come down to who comes out to vote, so let's keep reaching out to Georgia voters! We can sign up to make calls with the Ossoff campaign at this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdZJxuQvh3CC3LQGltNZrH1P6Znv_775tSK5tpk8ZWdGFloag/viewform?c=0&w=1

8. The GOP is looking to have a vote on the AHCA before the July 4th recess  http://politi.co/2rUJGWS One of the ways we can fight back is by writing a letter to the editor of our local newspaper. Organizing For Action has set up a toolkit to help us out, with pointers, templates, and links to our local papers: https://www.ofa.us/get-involved/lte/

9. Peoples Climate Movement has planned rallies at city halls and state houses around the country for Saturday, June 10th.  The idea is to demonstrate that we, the people, have not abandoned the Paris Agreement even if Trump has. To find a rally near you, check https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/june-10-day-for-climate-action
   
   
10. From one of our own:  4-up colorful postcards to print.  Different designs, but they each say, “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change.  I am changing the things I no longer accept.”  https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0k1qCMVpKZpd09mSVlyYXdCT3c

Learning

1. A primer on the Russian investigation:  http://www.npr.org/2017/06/08/531940912/there-are-many-russia-investigations-what-are-they-all-doing

2. The Wall Street Journal has put out a strongly worded editorial about Trump’s tweeting practices and the ways in which he undermines his own efforts: https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/the-buck-stops-everywhere-else-1496705412
   
   
3. “Let's Make America, America Again” https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/where-i-stand/make-america-america-again-0#.WTX2ee83HbQ.facebook

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