Rogan's List

9/15/17                                                            http://roganslist.blogspot.com/

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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.      Depending upon who one listens to, there either is or is not an upcoming deal to keep DREAMers safe and legal and to bolster border security, but not a wall (at least now).  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-trump-democrats-immigration-deal-20170913-story.html Let’s let our MoCs know that we are very much in support of finding a way to make the DREAMers legal and would be fine with more border security, but no wall.

2.      The Rohingya people are being massacred by the military in Burma, and the Trump administration is showing little sign of leadership against these horrors (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/us-pressure-amid-talk-ethnic-cleansing-myanmar-49719027). But some members of Congress, including Senator John McCain and Richard Durbin, are trying to take action. Let’s call our MoCs and tell them to support the McCain-Durbin resolution condemning the violence and calling on Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi to live up to her human rights ideals and address this humanitarian tragedy, and to slash our spending on military-to-military cooperation with Burma. We cannot be rewarding a military force that is actively engaged in ethnic cleansing.

3.      ​Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC)’s bill making it easier to buy gun silencers has been stalled since the attack on members in Congress in June. Instead, he’s gotten it added to the SHARE Act which passed the House Natural Resources Committee this week (http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/12/gun-silencer-bill-republican-lawmakers-242595). There’s a reason why police organizations and gun control groups alike opposed this effort: it endangers public safety to boost gun industry profits. Let’s call our MoCs and tell them to oppose moving the SHARE Act forward until this provision is stripped out.

4.      One day Trump says that Harvey and Irma are the biggest storms of their kind, then the next day he backtracks. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/09/14/trump-weighs-in-on-climate-change-hey-there-have-been-big-hurricanes-before/?utm_term=.cc2dc9d2988f NASA has proven what is warming the earth.   

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-whats-warming-the-world/  Let's tell our MoCs to read this and get some protection bills going.

5.      The House Judiciary Committee has passed the ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017 (H.R. 620), which would create unnecessary challenges in the litigation process for those with disabilities who wish to file a complaint against a business not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act http://bit.ly/2xktAbS  It also removes incentives for those businesses to comply with the ADA. Now, the legislation is heading to the House floor for a vote http://nosmag.org/anti-ada-legislation-advances-in-house/ Let's contact our representatives and make sure that they oppose this harmful piece of legislation.

6.      The Cassidy-Graham bill to replace the ACA will not do what most Americans want:  to fix the ACA.  Not even the conservatives are happy with it, but for other reasons:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2017/09/12/even-conservatives-skeptical-about-cassidy-graham-trumpcare-bill/#7199ac567515  Let’s let our senators know that just like their other tries to repeal/replace the ACA, we don’t want this one either.

7.      Representatives John Katko and Elijah Cummings have introduced bipartisan legislation which would require Harriet Tubman to be included on the $20 bill http://bit.ly/2wYCSKQ Let's contact our reps and ask that they cosponsor and support the Harriet Tubman Tribute Act of 2017 (H.R. 3714 -- https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/3714  ) and put her on the bill as planned.

8.      According to Pew Research, the majority of Americans believe that the federal government should be responsible for providing healthcare coverage for all, with most of those people favoring single-payer healthcare specifically  http://pewrsr.ch/2s4BMXy On Wednesday, September 13th, Senator Bernie Sanders introduced S.1804: A bill to establish a Medicare-for-all health insurance program, with 16 other cosponsors. We can check to see if our senators have cosponsored this legislation, and if they have, thank them https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1804/cosponsors If they haven't, let's give them a call and ask that they cosponsor and support S. 1804. 5calls has a script available https://5calls.org/issue/recM9UN8lFNXQB6T8

9.      As the Presidential Commission on Election Integrity steamrolls forward with clearly ill-intent: http://www.npr.org/2017/09/12/550518986/tension-and-protests-mark-trump-voting-commission-meeting more people are speaking up about how it needs to be disbanded: https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/09/13/the-voting-commission-is-a-fraud-itself-shut-it-down/ Let’s keep up the drumbeat with our Secretaries of State: https://www.rockthevote.com/get-informed/elections/contact-sos/ and our MoC about this atrocious waste of time and money.

10.  Having the White House Press Secretary refer to ESPN’s Jemele Hill’s comments about Trump being a white supremacist as a “fireable offense” should give us all chills:http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/350509-white-house-espn-anchor-that-called-trump-racist-should-be-fired?amp  The White House is suggesting that someone who spoke out (with the truth) against the president should lose her job because of it. It is clear that Sarah Huckabee Sanders has taken a horrible shine to filling Sean Spicer’s shoes. Let’s share our concerns with her: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC, 20500

11.  Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado spoke out about climate change after Hurricane Irma saying, “If this isn’t climate change, I don’t know what is.”  http://amp.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article172080587.html Let’s thanks Regalado for speaking up within his own Republican party about this vital issue:http://www.miamigov.com/mayor/contactUs.html and let’s quote him when we contact EPA Adminstrator Scott Pruitt (https://www.epa.gov/home/forms/contact-epa) and President Trump (https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact) about their head-in-the-sand denial approach to climate change.

12.  We are learning again how little respect Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has for taxpayers as he sought a $25,000 an hour government jet for his honeymoon:  http://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/treasury-secretary-mnuchin-requested-government-jet-european-honeymoon/story?id=49777076 Let’s remind him that he works for us, not the other way around: https://www.treasury.gov/connect/Pages/contact-us.aspx

13.  Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) has introduced the Marijuana Effective Drug Study (MEDS) Act to expand medical marijuana research as reported in this Fortune article.  Let's ask our own Senators to join Senator Hatch by co-sponsoring this bill. We can thank Senator Hatch for his leadership on this issue and let him know that we think he's doing the right thing at: Senator Orrin Hatch, 51 S University Ave Ste 320, Provo UT 84601-4491.

14.  As part of Trump’s frantic effort to pack the federal courts with right-wing ideologues, Mitch McConnell and friends (like Koch) suddenly want the “blue slip” process—which asks each senator from a judicial nominees’ state to ratify (or not) his or her nomination and potentially thwarts nominations—to become purely advisory:”  

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2017/09/will_republicans_trash_another_senate_tradition_to_help_trump.html  Refusing to sign off on blue slips is, of course, one of the ways Republicans blocked Obama’s judicial appointments. Nonetheless, they now seem willing to change this process in their effort to fill the unprecedented number of vacancies they themselves created.   Senators Al Franken (D-MN) and both Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) have already refused to return blue slips on current nominees to the 8th and 9th Circuit  courts.  We might thank them, but more importantly we must tell our senators and McConnell that getting rid of blue slips radically and unacceptably depletes the minority voice in the Senate: McConnell 202-224-2499 or 317 Russell Senate Office Bldg, DC 20510

15.  In a 61 to 36 vote in the Senate, senators—including many Democrats—refused on Wednesday to repeal the 2001 authorization for the use of military force (AUMF), which gives the president the unrestricted authority to wage unlimited war on “terrorists” without the congressional consent demanded by the Constitution: http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/350462-senate-votes-down-pauls-bid-to-revoke-war-authorizations  The House Appropriations Committee voted almost unanimously to repeal the AUMF in June. Do we really want this irresponsible, ignorant president to have unconstrained military power?  Let’s demand that our senators repeal AUMF before Trump does any more damage.

16.  “The House on a 211-198 vote Thursday passed a mammoth fiscal 2018 spending bill that reflects Republican priorities but stands no chance of making it through the Senate in its current form.”  The cuts to environmental, womens' health, and Title X programs, the blocking of the implementation of the Clean Water, Clean Air, and Endangered Species Acts, the new funding for coal while cutting funding for climate change research, the rollbacks of Dodd-Frank protections are just part of what this bill includes.  http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/14/house-spending-bill-2017-242716 Let’s our senators and tell them NOT vote for this.

State Actions

1.      FL: Head said the reason more Democratic candidates don’t run is simple — lack of money. "We don’t have any money to offer a candidate,” he said. “We don’t have a machine.” The district in west Orange County has long been held by Republicans, but in 2016 a majority of voters within it supported Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump — part of the overall trend that finds Orange with a 335,000 to 215,000 Democratic registration edge over Republicans. Even so, Democrats ended up with only Chandler running for Eisnaugle’s former seat after Nuren Haider, vice chair of the county party, withdrew at the qualifying deadline. Chandler, as a lawsuit filed in Tallahassee revealed, was a voter in MIssouri until just last year. Candidates must be two-year residents in their districts in order to run. A lawsuit seeking to disqualify him — and potentially, any replacement the party chooses — is pending."  http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/political-pulse/os-central-florida-democrats-20170908-story.html   Let's tell the DNC to support candidates in Florida, this is an important swing state and we could win some seats here. We need more Florida democrats to run for office! 

Other Actions

1.      As we continue to fight stereotypes of women, one graphic designer shows one way this could be done by doing a mockup of a popular magazine for young girls:  http://womenyoushouldknow.net/appalled-graphic-designer-shows-girls-life-magazine-what-their-cover-should-look-like/  Let’s contact Girls Life and let them know we’d like them to be on the side of shattering stereotypes for the sake of our youngsters:  http://www.girlslife.com/masthead

2.      From one of our own:  In late August, an eight-year-old biracial boy was left hanging by a rope by a group of white teen boys in New Hampshire.  It is now being investigated as a possible hate crime.  Mark Chase, the local police chief, said of the older boys, “These people need to be protected…..Mistakes they make as a young child should not have to follow them for the rest of their life.”  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/13/us/biracial-boy-lynched-new-hampshire.html   Funny how hate crimes, attempted murder, and sexual assaults become "mistakes" that everyone should forget about when they're committed by young white men.  Let’ contact Chief Chase and let him know how we feel about this:  Claremont Police Department, 58 Opera House Square, Claremont, NH 03743 or (603) 542-9538

3.      Another successful outcome for those of us participating in Postcards to Voters!  Democrat Charlie St. Clair won his election in New Hampshire on Tuesday, flipping the seat blue, as reported in the Laconia Daily Sun. Let's continue to tell our friends and family that we can make a difference five (5) postcards at a time by participating in Postcards to Voters.  Write with us! Email: JOIN@TonyTheDemocrat.org

4.      This chainsaw-wielding nun is just helping with Irma clean-up in Miami.  http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/09/13/550629622/nun-with-a-chainsaw-becomes-symbol-of-post-irma-cleanup-she-rocks Let’s thank Sister Margaret Ann, Principal, Archbishop Coleman Carroll High School, 10300 SW 167th Avenue, Miami, FL 33196

Petitions

1.      Civil asset forfeiture is the constitutionally questionable police practice of confiscating and selling the property of criminal suspects, even if the suspects are never charged or convicted. Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) called it “‘an unconstitutional practice that is used to violate the due process rights of innocent people.’” https://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform/reforming-police-practices/house-tells-sessions-justice-department-it-will  A civil asset forfeiture program known as “equitable sharing” allowed federal law enforcement to “adopt” forfeiture cases from state and local police and share in the sale proceeds. Attorney General Eric Holder ended equitable sharing in 2015. In July 2017, Sessions revived the practice. This week, in a bipartisan rebuke to Sessions, the House of Representatives voted to reinstate Holder’s policy and defund Justice Department equitable sharing programs. Let’s tell our Senators that we expect them to follow the House’s lead on this issue. We can do this by contacting them directly, and by signing this ACLU petition:  https://action.aclu.org/secure/end-policing-for-profit

Marches/events/teleconferences to attend/organize

1.      September 16 is International Coastal Cleanup day as well as September clean up day for the Alliance for the Great Lakes.  The Holland Sentinel reports on their local efforts.  We can find other clean-ups near us at: greatlakesadopt.org 

2.      Agree that there should be #NoMuslimBanEver? Here's where the Trump's obviously racist travel ban stands: "On October 10  , the Supreme Court of the United States will be hearing two cases about the Muslim and refugee bans, Trump v. Int'l Refugee Assistance Project and Trump v. Hawaii. The Supreme Court will decide whether the executive order from the Trump Administration that temporarily bans travel from six Muslim-majority countries (Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen) and suspends the refugee admissions process violates the Establishment Clause and Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution." Let's join the grassroots effort to mobilize for awareness in the weeks leading up to the hearing. Find an event to participate in, or host one, here: https://www.nomuslimbanever.com/home#about

 Reading/Watching

1.      Here is an interesting (and searchable) presentation of Amy Siskind’s list of what changes weekly -- https://public.tableau.com/profile/aaron2159#!/vizhome/AmySiskindWeeklyListOfChanges_0/AmySiskindDashboard

2.      “The White House is considering dropping the refugee limit for the next year below 50,000, a quota that hasn't been seen since at least 1980.” -- http://theweek.com/speedreads/724321/trump-administration-considers-dropping-refugee-cap-lowest-number-recent-history

3.      “What Parents Think About Public Education” -- https://www.aft.org/what-parents-think-about-public-education

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