8/16/17
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1)
Yesterday,
Trump double-downed on his initial comment that there is blame on both
sides. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/us/politics/trump-press-conference-charlottesville.html The right-winged publication National Review
said, “Donald Trump loves people who love
him, and the vile and vicious alt-right has loved him from the beginning.
Today, he loved them right back” http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/450506/donald-trump-just-gave-press-conference-alt-rights-dreams
To show the impact of Trump’s words, David Duke, former KKK grand wizard
thanked him for “condemning the leftist terrorists” in Charlottesville. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/former-kkk-leader-david-duke-thanks-donald-trump-leftist-terrorists-charlottesville-violence-latest-a7895451.html We need to be extra vigilant about what is
coming. We need to call the White House, all our legislators (local, state, and
federal) that we do not want this going forward and we want all white
supremacists (Steve Bannon, Sabastian Gorka, and Stephen Miller) removed from
the White House. White supremacy does
not run our country and it will not make America great again.
2)
"The Department of Justice has
requested information on visitors to a website used to organize protests
against President Trump.” http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/346544-dreamhost-claims-doj-requesting-info-on-visitors-to-anti-trump-website.
As Walter Shaub, the former head of the Office of Government Ethics tweeted in
response, "In what legitimate democracy does the ruling party use the
judiciary to obtain the names and reading material of its political
opponents?" A
court hearing on this will be this Friday, August 18th.
Let's contact the Department of Justice and let them know how we feel about
this abuse of power: 202-353-1555 U.S. Department of Justice,
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001
3)
The
Resistance’s successful defeat of #Wealthcare represents an opportunity to
finally reset the debate and have Republicans come together with Democrats to
shore up Obamacare instead of sabotaging it. (http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/28/playbook-health-care-what-happens-next-241074) We made sure our
representatives knew we wanted them to fight against repeal bills that would
hurt us. Now let’s let them know we want them to cooperate to improve our
health care system. We can find scripts to call for real solutions here: https://5calls.org/issue/recUS2R00gEvm4LBm.
4)
When
we entered the nuclear age, Congress gave the President the sole authority to
order the launch of nuclear weapons. The idea was to protect the world from
war-happy, Strangelove-like generals. But there’s no check-and-balance on the
President. It’s alarming that an impulsive man like Trump has this unchecked
power, but the truth is that any president is fallible. https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/12/01/no-one-can-stop-president-trump-from-using-nuclear-weapons-thats-by-design/?utm_term=.87c0f44b0897 (If you’re not a
subscriber and have used up your free articles, try your public library’s
online service for access.) Let’s contact our Members of Congress and ask them
to work on legislation that to reform this law. By constitutional custom,
tradition, and law, there is nothing more American than checks-and-balances on
those in power.
5)
While
Trump said he is against racism, so many of his policies, up to now, say the
opposite:. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/8/14/16144598/trump-white-terrorism
Let’s chose one or two of the policies in this article and contact the White
House and our MoCs to say let your actions match your words.
6)
Trump
has threatened to pull the insurance subsidy several times. "Insurance
premiums for Obamacare plans would rise 20 percent next year and people in
small pockets of the country wouldn't have any insurance options if President
Donald Trump scraps a key insurance subsidy, according to a new analysis from the CBO. The
nonpartisan CBO also found eliminating the payments would increase the deficit
by $194 billion over a decade because of higher spending on premium
subsidies." http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/15/cutting-obamacare-payments-would-boost-insurance-premiums-241655?cmpid=sf
Let's call our
representatives to ask them to tell trump to continue the subsidy to save
health insurance options for Americans. Let's tell trump the same thing.
7)
“The Trump administration
appears poised to roll back ObamaCare’s anti-discrimination protections for
transgender patients, a move that has activist groups girding for a
fight.” http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/346246-trump-expected-to-roll-back-lgbt-protections-in-obamacare Let’s let the White House and our
legislators know that we want equal protection for all our brothers and
sisters.
State Actions
1)
MI: Voters Not
Politicians is a grassroot effort to get gerrymandering solutions on the
November ballot. Learn more here and
sign up for updates and how you can help the upcoming petition initiative: http://www.votersnotpoliticians.com/
2) MA: Donald Trump has violated norms by
refusing to make his tax returns public, and folks in Massachusetts aren’t
standing for it. Citizens from across the state are coming together to get an
initiative on next year’s ballot that would require candidates for the
presidency to make their tax returns public if they want to appear on the
ballot here (http://www.telegram.com/news/20170802/trump-spurs-man-to-file-tax-disclosure-question-on-mass-ballot). Let’s sign up to get involved in this
effort here: https://www.sign2.org/initiatives/sign2gettrumpstaxes.
Other Actions
1) No
doubt, as school starts again, there will be thoughts on how to address
Charlottesville in the classtoom.
Fortunately, some tools have been prepared. http://www.npr.org/2017/08/14/543390148/resources-for-educators-to-use-the-wake-of-charlottesville?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20170814
and http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_now/2017/08/resources_for_teachers_charlottesville_students.html?cmp=soc-tw-edit-tm Let’s make sure our teacher friends know
about these. For similar resources,
search Twitter with the hashtag #CharlottesvilleCurriculum.
2) While hosts like GoDaddy and Google may have
dropped hosting the white supremacist website Daily Stormer, the server it uses
still maintains its relationship.
Cloudflare, a network service, not a hosting provider, that says they do
not control the content of their customers.
Nonetheless, they allow this, and at least 40 other hate sites to
exist. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/03/07/cloudflare-optimizing-content-delivery-least-48-hate-sites-across-europe It is time for us to target Cloudflare and
ask them to stop perpetuating and siding with hate. Addresses on bottom of page here: https://www.cloudflare.com/about-overview/
3) POLL:
Should Civil War symbols such as statues and building names be removed or
preserved? http://wkrn.com/2017/08/13/poll-should-civil-war-symbols-such-as-statues-and-building-names-be-removed-or-preserved/
4) As we know, the Dept of Justice has requested
the identifying information from a website hosting service, Dreamhost, of 1.3
million visitors to an anti-Trump website.
Dreamhost is refusing to cooperate:
https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/15/dreamhost-is-fighting-doj-request-for-1-3m-ip-addresses-of-visitors-to-anti-trump-protest-site/ Let’s contact Dreamhost and express out concern over the request and
support for their denial. Contact Information: DreamHost, PMB #257, 417
Associated Road, Brea, CA 92821
5)
The language that the media uses to create the narrative
surrounding the events of Charlottesville has been watered down; using terms
such as "white nationalism," "alt-right" or "right
wing," rather than "white supremacy." The distinction is
important, as some may see "alt-right" merely as an alternative
political movement, instead of extremist, hateful ideology. As writer Lindy
West pointed out, "Words have power. Weak, noncommittal language allows
readers and listeners to hide from reality, weasel out of accountability,
interpret facts in whatever way flatters them most. Stark truths demand either
action or an admission of complicity." http://bit.ly/2gz166P Let's
be sure that we're calling out our local news sources on the language that they
use.
6)
Several CEOs have now resigned from Trump’s American
Manufacturing Council as they try to distance themselves and their companies
from his rhetoric. Trump is not
happy. http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/15/trump-manufacturing-council-ceo-quit-241654 No self-respecting American company should
be associated with this un-American administration. Let’s use the contact info
provided in this Google doc to thank those who have left the council and
encourage the other CEOs to resign as well: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13l_3PdNQR3VbJr1vX-5wLnK9ikCDVMOrdIV2PPeEG70/mobilebasic
7) From one of our own: I know people are planning
counter-protests for this weekend's planned "March on Google" rallies
being organized in Boston, NYC, Seattle and other places by right-wingers.
These marches are not expected to attract the same crowd as "Unite the
Right," but you never know... This German town did something brilliant, I
think. Good video about it: https://youtu.be/KvjIYl_Nlao In Maine, a group called Maine Family
Planning does the same kind of thing during Lent when anti-choicers picket
their clinic in Portland for weeks. For every anti-choicer who shows up,
people pledge a certain dollar amount, with the funds going to pay for
reproductive health care at MFP and Planned Parenthood. They announce the
amount raised each day on a tally board and through a loud speaker. The
anti-choicers HATE IT. Just a thought for how counter-protests could be
positive, yet irritating to those holding the march/rally. A win-win, with no
violence and a huge capture of the news cycle.
[Mainers
for Accountable Leadership just set up something similar:
https://www.gofundme.com/uniteforlovecounteringthehate]
8) Here’s another GOP survey – this time on
immigration. https://gop.com/commonsense-immigration-survey/ Let’s join in!
9) MomsRising
shows us how to create effective letters to the editor and TV media sources
telling them to expose white supremacy using clear language and not terms like
alt-right, white nationalism, etc. http://action.momsrising.org/sign/expose_white_supremacy/
Let’s start writing those letters.
Petitions
1) From
Center for American Progress:
-End corporate funding of hate groups: call
on credit card companies to stop processing fees for white
nationalist/supremacist sites. Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express
are each profiting from more than 100 white national nation list sites. https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/stop-corporate-funders-hate-groups/
2)
Friends of the Earth want us
to sign their petition to get white supremacists out of the White House: http://action.foe.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/index.sjs?action_KEY=22241
Marches/events to attend/organize
1)
It is an annual tradition in Michigan on Labor Day to
walk the 5-mile Mackinaw Bridge that spans the two peninsulas. This year Oil and Water Don’t Mix is asking
people to join them at the Labor Day Bridge Walk - to walk together in
solidarity for shutting down Line 5, or help pass out stickers to raise
awareness of the risky Line 5 pipeline. Learn more about the event
here: https://www.facebook.com/events/110255519682837/
2)
The March for Racial Justice is
being planned for September 30, in Washington, D.C. More information here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1601595086527066/
Reading/Watching
1)
““Don’t Be A Sucker” is a 17-minute cautionary
tale about complacency in the face of hatred and xenophobia. Produced by
the U.S. War Department in 1943 and rereleased in an updated form in 1947, it
found new relevance with a 21st century audience horrified by the
neo-Nazis and white nationalists gathering in central Virginia.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/08/14/after-charlottesville-violence-world-war-ii-anti-fascist-propaganda-video-finds-new-relevance/?tid=ss_fb&utm_term=.431df64ffb5a
2)
“Where Was God in Charlottesville?” https://dailytheology.org/2017/08/14/where-was-god-in-charlottesville/
3) “The GOP as we once knew it is
gone, and it appears it is gone for good.”
http://www.chicagonow.com/politics-now/2017/08/conservatism-is-fast-becoming-a-synonym-for-racism-bigotry-xenophobia-and-selfishness/
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.
******
Rogan’s List is also part of RISE Stronger’s United States of
Resistance
Link in Petitions, #2 does not seem to be the right one.
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