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Many
newspapers, including New York Times and Washington
Post require subscriptions, but without one we can see a few articles
each month. We can also check with our
local libraries to find out how to get online access through them.
1.
Under the Obama administration, we made a promise to
undocumented immigrants brought here as children: share your personal
information with the DACA program and as long as you abide by the laws you will
be safe. Trump is putting us at risk of breaking that promise (http://time.com/4822368/donald-trump-immigration-dreamers-daca/).
A bipartisan coalition of senators is working to fix it with the DREAM Act of
2017, and MomsRising is organizing folks to write letters to the editor to
their local media outlets to help us get the attention of members of Congress
and build pressure to move this legislation forward. We can find more
information about how we can take part in this effort at this link: http://action.momsrising.org/lte/LTE_DREAMER
2.
The Sinclair Broadcast Group, often called Trump TV,
is planning to buy the Tribune Media Company, which would dramatically increase
the reach of its news coverage. The FCC is making it possible for them to do so
by easing a law that prevents a single broadcaster from reaching more than 40%
of the country’s population (http://fortune.com/2017/07/25/sinclair-broadcasting-tribune-local-tv/).
This would be wrong for any company, but it’s especially frightening for one
with a history of political bias and bigotry against Muslims. Let’s join Mpower
Change in sending a message to the FCC to block the purchase and stop corporate
consolidation of local news outlets: http://act.mpowerchange.org/sign/sinclair_broadcast_group
3.
The Indivisible Guide has created a resource on getting
our MoC to respond to Hurricane Harvey through policy action http://bit.ly/2grnUXg The
four steps to focus on include 1.) passing disaster relief, 2.) fully funding
FEMA, 3.) reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program, and 4.) taking
action on climate change. Let's give our MoC a call and make sure that they are
taking these necessary actions.
4.
Trump called Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa and
promised support on a key ethanol issue: https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/30/trump-tower-russia-meeting-chuck-grassley It
is of note that Senator Grassley is the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee
which is investigating Donald Trump, Jr. Let’s let Grassley know that we expect
him to uphold his oath regardless of the ethanol industry :https://www.grassley.senate.gov/contact
5.
The Trump Administration and its auto industry allies
are determined to weaken clean cars standards, putting America’s largest-ever
greenhouse gas reduction in jeopardy and extracting billions of dollars in
profits for the oil industry. http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press-release/epa-reopening-standards#.Wagu0ch97IU
Here is another view from some EPA alums:
https://www.groupcarpool.com/t/d8hoeyWe
can attend the EPA Public Hearing on Clean Cars Standards on Tuesday, Sept. 6
at 9:00 a.m. at the Renaissance Washington DC Downtown Hotel, 999 Ninth Street
NW, Washington, DC, USA, 20001 (phone number 202– 898–9000) We can RSVP to
attend the hearing to the Sierra Club here: https://sierra.secure.force.com/events/details?formcampaignid=7010Z000001uuEyQAI
We can also comment on this proposed change here: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-HQ-OAR-2015-0827-6325
6.
While he provided few details as he introduced his tax
plan in Missouri on Wednesday, Trump was short on facts: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/08/31/fact-checking-president-trumps-speech-on-his-tax-plan/?utm_term=.3bd695d383f4 The bottom line is that while much talk is
given to tax relief for workers, most of the benefits will actually go to
corporations. It looks like trickle-down
economics all over again: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/31/trump-tax-reform-corporate-rates-242194
It looks like the partisan game plan will
be similar to the health care one, so let’s make sure we let our legislators
know that not only do corporations not need tax breaks, the laws need to be
such that that they are actually paying the taxes they owe. Our infrastructure needs it.
7.
Hints of firing. Signals that Trump might pardon anyone
under subpoena. A congressional bill to stop the probe. These are among the
threats facing Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether the
Trump campaign coordinated with the Russian government during the 2016
presidential campaign. Politico has reported that Mueller’s team is working
with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in its investigation into
former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. This “could potentially provide
Mueller with additional leverage to get Manafort to cooperate in the larger
investigation into Trump’s campaign, as Trump does not have pardon power over
state crimes.” http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/30/manafort-mueller-probe-attorney-general-242191 Might
there be other violations of state law that our states’ attorneys general
should be investigating? Mueller may be within Trump/Congressional reach, but
our state attorneys general are not. Let’s contact the Democratic Attorneys
General Association and ask them to explore what they can do to investigate the
Trump campaign’s connections to the Russian government during the 2016
campaign, especially in the event that the president or Congress decides to
pull the plug on the Mueller investigation: about@democraticAGs.org or
PO Box 15776, Washington, DC 20003
8.
Once again, the Trump administration has selected a fox
to guard the henhouse. “The Education
Department has tapped a former dean of the for-profit DeVry University to
oversee a unit that responds to allegations of fraud.” Both Trump University
and DeVry University have been involved in fraud lawsuits. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/08/julian-schmoke-for-profit-colleges/538578/ Let’s tell Trump and DeVos, as well as our
MoCs that we do not approve of this choice.
Trump: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
and Devos: https://www2.ed.gov/about/contacts/gen/index.html
9.
“Florida Rep. Ron DeSantis wants to put a time limit on
special counsel Robert Mueller's wide-ranging investigation into the Trump's
campaign ties to Russia.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/08/29/ron-desantis-wants-to-shorten-probe-into-trump-russia-ties/612029001/
Let’s all try to call at least one member of the House Rules Committee and tell
them not to let anyone sabotage Mueller’s investigation. We can find names and numbers here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0k1qCMVpKZpNVYzWU4xRzRXeGM
10. Stop
the kleptocracy! Each visit by Trump and his family to a Trump business costs
the Secret Service an estimated $3 million, much of which is paid to the Trump
business itself. Golf carts alone have cost taxpayers an estimated
$60,000. https://schiff.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-schiff-introduces-amendment-to-prohibit-expenditure-of-secret-service-funds-to-businesses-owned-by-first-family Rep
Adam Schiff (D-CA) is filing an amendment to an appropriations act. The
amendment reads, “None of the funds made available by this Act to the United
States Secret Service may be used to purchase, rent, or otherwise acquire goods
or services, including hotel rooms, office space, or golf carts, from entities
that are owned or operated by the President or the immediate family of the
President.” http://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/SCHIFF_023_xml824171653225322.pdf Let’s
ask our MoC’s to support Schiff’s amendment.
11. Journalist
Kristin Miller at Moyers
& company tells us about the regulation rollbacks on sleep and
safety that have already been implemented in the trucking industry in this
article "Keep on Truckin." Let's be aware of this
additional hazard to our health and safety. Let’s ask our legislators to
look at this situation and make the trucking industry safer. These kinds of rollbacks put too many people,
truckers and non-truckers, at risk.
State Actions
1.
MI: Concerns over the Enbridge"s Line 5 pipeline,
which runs through the Great Lakes, are growing as it has been revealed that
areas of the pipeline are no longer protected by enamel and are therefore in
danger of corroding http://bit.ly/2xABuvr It's
time to decommission the pipeline. Let's join the Oil & Water Don't Mix
campaign for calling for the shutdown of Line 5 by participating in the
traditional Labor Day Annual Mackinac Bridge Walk on September 4th We
can learn more about the day of action and RSVP here: http://bit.ly/2wl3Qvf We can also attend the 3rd National Rally and
Pipe Out Paddle Protest tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 2: http://pipeout2017.weebly.com/
2.
FL: Chris King, one of Florida's democratic candidates
running for governor in 2018 has said "no" to money from Big Sugar.
As stated in this article from the Orlando Political Observer:
"It is a big deal for Chris King to pledge not to accept campaign money
from the sugar industry – the sugar industry is one of the biggest special
interests in Florida..." Let's consider making a small contribution toKing's campaign to
show our support for this model and encourage the other democratic
gubernatorial candidates to make a similar pledge. Maybe we're not ready
to donate to someone we don't know: let's follow Chris King on
Facebook to see what he does and what he has to say.
Other Actions
1.
Some good news coming out of Texas; a federal judge has
temporarily halted the discriminatory SB4 http://n.pr/2xzGP6iWhile the bill focuses on sanctuary
cities, it also would have encouraged racial profiling, allowing law
enforcement to detain anyone they suspected of being an undocumented immigrant.
We can send our thanks to the ACLU and the ACLU of Texas, who filed the motion
to block SB4 before it was set to take effect on September 1st http://bit.ly/2eHix2q ACLU
of Texas: 713.942.8146 or
State Headquarters P.O. Box 8306 Houston, TX 77288-8306 ACLU: 888.653.6498 or 125 Broad
Street, 18th Floor, New York NY 10004
2.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is cooperating
with Special Counsel Mueller’s team as it relates to investigating Paul
Manafort: http://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN1BB04C This
is important because Trump cannot grant pardons related to state crimes so some
think this action is meant to send a signal to Manafort and Flynn that there is
no “get out of jail free card” and that they should be ready to play ball.
Let’s thank AG Schneiderman and his team for cooperating with Mueller:https://ag.ny.gov/contact-attorney-general
3.
Even though his church is huge and could have been so
helpful in the early stages of Harvey, Joel Osteen chose not to open his church
to the needy, although it has tax-exempt status for that purpose. His reasoning was that the city of Houston
did not ask him to do so. After significant public pressure, he did open the
church to those in need. In the same city, Jim McIngvale did not wait for
anyone to ask and opened his furniture store as refuge to those who needed it. http://www.ibtimes.com/mattress-mack-vs-joel-osteen-houston-area-store-becomes-shelter-hurricane-harvey-2584379 Let’s thank Mr. McIngvale “Mattress Mack” for
his clear sense of what it means to help those in need: Gallery Furniture, 6006 North Fwy, Houston,
TX 77076
4.
From one of our own:
The marchers going from Charlottesville to DC had a tough day
yesterday - they are deep in Trump country at the moment, and folks with
weapons showed up at their end point, so they stopped a little early. But they
are back on the road today [yesterday]. If you can help spread the word or even
better, join them, please do! There's a new carpooling site for getting folks
there - https://www.groupcarpool.com/t/d8hoey
5.
Columnist Ben Carter says, "Trump voters, the time
to apologize for your vote is now" in his column in the Louisville Courier-Journal. He continues his column
with "Apologizing is painful, but I have created a website, trumpsorries.com, to
guide you through the process of apologizing for your vote last November. By
answering a few questions, you can follow the three-step process of regret,
responsibility and remedy to apologize for voting for Donald Trump."
If we have family and friends who have reached a point where they are
sorry enough to say so publicly, let's point them totrumpsorries.com which
begins with a friendly: "You know you made a mistake when you voted for
Donald Trump. You were wrong and you're sorry. Welcome."
6.
Good news on two postcard campaigns for those of us
writing with Postcards to Voters: 1) "Karen Keys-Gamarra's
voters turned out at a nearly 2-to-1 margin carrying her to a hard-earned,
well-deserved victory in Fairfax County, Virginia." 2) "Kevin
Patterson saw a much stronger turnout in his bid for Phoenix City Council than
campaign observers expected. Your cards were noticed, written about in the
local press, and all of the feedback has been positive." If we are Rogan's
listers who haven't tried writing postcards yet, let's sign up to do 5
postcards as a response to something in the news that makes us angry. Let's
encourage our friends and family to join us in our "craftivism" by
emailing: Join@TonyTheDemocrat.org If we all send 5 postcards, we can
reach a lot of individual voters with a personal note.
7.
November 9, the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin
wall, has been designated a Global Day of Action for a World Without Walls by a
wide variety of groups in Mexico, Palestine and elsewhere. Let’s sign the
call to action and oppose not only Trump’s wall but the 70 walls worldwide that
cut through people’s land and lives: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScCO7KpKDqjlBP2Jxj-SIZM0YGzd6pRzmirf6_C_igScn-mHg/viewform
Petitions
1.
“Discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual
orientation, or gender identity has no place in America. It’s time to
close the gaps in the law. Tell your Members of Congress to support the
Equality” https://act.nwlc.org/onlineactions/rxrK2dDRHkmpRnBfOGMzDw2
2.
The Working Families Party is circulating an emergency
petition calling on Congress to “Pass a clean bill to fund relief and
rebuilding in Texas and the Gulf Coast -- with no border wall.”: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/tell-congress-pass-a-clean-hurricane-harvey-relief-bill
Let’s join them.
Marches/events/teleconferences
to attend/organize
1.
September 12:
“Hands Off My Ballot! Protest the Pence-Kobach Commission Meeting” -
Join the NH Campaign for Voting Rights in standing in protest against the Trump
Administration's "Election Integrity Commission" (Pence-Kobach). The
Commission will hold its second meeting here in New Hampshire at St. Aslem
College. More information here: https://www.facebook.com/events/128539274439735
Reading/Watching
1.
“Joy Reid – How Democrats Can Start Winning Elections
Again-Extended Interview” (Daily Show): http://www.cc.com/video-clips/y9h03n/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-joy-reid---how-democrats-can-start-winning-elections-again---extended-interview?fb_ref=share_web
2.
“How the Left Can Stop Arguing and Beat Trump” - http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/how-the-left-can-stop-arguing-and-beat-trump-w499218
3.
“Why I taught my kids to call our homeless neighbors
‘Peace Men’” - https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2017/08/22/why-i-taught-my-kids-call-our-homeless-neighbors-peace-men
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
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