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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.
Congress reconvenes today. Five (5) bills
are coming up for a vote this week in the House of Representatives. Let's check out the
schedule and review the bills.
2.
Brought to this country as children by their undocumented
parents, at least 800,000 DREAMers took advantage of an Obama-era opportunity
to remain in the US and work and attend school.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/04/trump-to-end-dreamers-program-with-six-month-delay-reports
They are thriving: http://educationvotes.nea.org/2017/08/03/dreamers-thriving-must-defend-daca-now/
http://educationvotes.nea.org/2017/08/03/dreamers-thriving-must-defend-daca-now/ Senate bill S-1615, sponsored by Lindsey
Graham (R-SC) and others, would grant permanent residency to qualified DACA
recipients https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1615.
Permanent residency is a prerequisite to eventual citizenship, so this bill
would finally give Dreamers a chance at final settlement of their longstanding
insecure status. Let’s tell our senators to pass the Dream Act of 2017 with a
veto-proof majority. We can reach all three of our MoCs with a single email: https://democracy.io/#!/ If we prefer phone numbers and addresses, we
can use this: http://hq-salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5950/getLocal.jsp We can also contact members of the Senate
Judiciary Committee to ask them to move the bill out of committee: https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/about/members
3.
Now that the news outlets are reporting Trump’s
decision to end DACA in six months, Make the Road New York, a justice
organization devoted to building the power of Latino and working-class
communities (http://www.maketheroadny.org),
is asking all of us to call the White House simultaneously today (Tues)
at 9 a.m. EST to tell Trump to leave DACA alone. A blizzard of calls
may get 45’s attention. If 9 isn't possible, we should call whenever we can.
They will patch us through here: http://p2a.co/6y38exJ
4.
And while we have the White House on the line, let’s
loudly protest the hawkish language coming from Trump and Mattis about North
(and South) Korea. Asked whether the US would attack North Korea, Trump
replied “we’ll see”; Mattis threatened a “massive military response” to any
“threat” to the US or its territories; Trump accused South Korea of
“appeasement”; we--and the Koreans!--should call ourselves lucky, I guess, that
Mattis claims "we are not looking for the annihilation of North
Korea”: http://thehill.com/policy/defense/349081-mattis-on-north-korea-we-are-not-looking-for-the-annihilation-of-north-korea
We need to make it clear that we find this kind of language appalling.
5.
The Senate will be continuing its review of Trump's
nominees. On Thursday, Sept. 7, The Energy and Natural Resources
committee will be holding hearings to examine the nominations of Joseph
Balash (R-AK) to be an Assistant Secretary of the Interior, and Richard Glick
(D-VA) and Kevin J. McIntyre (R-VA) both to be a Member of the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC) per The Hill. Let's keep our eyes out in the media this week
for any reasons that we should oppose any of the republican nominees and let
our senators know if we do.
6.
The Senate will be holding a single confirmation
hearing for several lifetime judicial nominees on Wednesday. From
our friend Jen Hofmann from the Action Checklist for Americans of Conscience:
"Action: Oppose efforts to ram through lifetime judgeships to biased
nominees. Call: 202-224-3121
and ask to speak to Sens Grassley, then Feinstein this week. Script: I am
calling [name] in his/her role on the Senate Judiciary Committee [SJC] to
oppose conducting a single hearing for Barrett, Larsen, and
Drieband for lifetime appointments. I am advocating for a thorough review of
each nominee. Can you assure me [name] will uphold their responsibility to
properly vet these candidates? Bonus: Call as many
other SJC members as you can."
7.
“Several factors have conspired to make Hurricane
Harvey so destructive in Texas, and warming temperatures are likely part of the
problem.” And now, Irma is becoming a threat, too. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/08/hurricane-harvey-climate-change-global-warming-weather/
Let’s let our MoCs know that it is time to start being serious about our
approach to climate change again.
8.
On September 25th, the period for public comment
on the Department of Labor's overtime pay rule will close. The Trump
administration is working on undoing an overtime pay rule which was initially
set to go into effect December 2016 http://reut.rs/2tZfWFX Under the new rule, the maximum
salary one could receive in order to qualify for legally mandated overtime pay
would have increased to $47,000, double the current threshold. The current
salary limit for mandated overtime pay is simply not sufficient; it does not
account for different costs of living across the country, and has not been
adjusted for inflation since the threshold was set, in 2004. We can share our
thoughts on the current minimum salary threshold at the Federal Register: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=WHD-2017-0002-0001
9.
There is no place in the USDA for a racist, homophobic
climate-denier http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/348931-dems-prep-for-major-fight-over-trump-usda-science-pick Let’s let our Senators know that we expect a
no vote on Sam Clovis' nomination.
10. Treasury
Secretary Steven Mnuchin mentioned during an interview with CNBC that he would
not commit to putting Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, as was previously planned: http://bit.ly/2emlULi It
is well past time for African-American women to get fair representation, including
on our currency. We can read more about the previous Treasury Secretary's
decision to place Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill http://read.bi/2vxD2ZC Let's
make sure that we let the Treasury Department and Steven Mnuchin know how we
feel about withholding representation of black women and how this move
contributes to the white supremacist theme in the White House. Via mail:
Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20220
Phone: (202) 622-2000 or
Twitter: @stevenmnuchin1
11. Rep.
Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has
joined the ranks of Republicans actively trying to stop Robert Mueller
from getting to the bottom of Trump’s various scandals. He’s proposed an
amendment that would cut off funding for the investigation after six months,
and stop Mueller from looking into wrongdoing before June 2015 (http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/28/mueller-investigation-republicans-russia-242108).
Let’s make sure he and any other politicians who refuse to put our country
first know we won’t let them get away with it. Professor and former National
Security Council official and ambassador to the U.N. Nancy Soderberg is
challenging DeSantis for re-election. Let’s check her out at www.soderbergforcongress.com and
on Twitter and
consider donating to her campaign. If we do, let’s be sure to make sure we
tweet at Rep.
DeSantis to let him know.
State Actions
1.
NC: North Carolina’s state court judges are elected—and
gerrymandering is threatening the state’s independent judiciary.
“Republicans aim to apply the principles of partisan gerrymandering to
trial court elections in an attempt to seat more Republican judges even in
Democratic counties such as Guilford, Wake, and Mecklenburg.” http://www.greensboro.com/townnews/politics/movement-emerges-for-independent-courts/article_852ed926-8d85-11e7-8157-e7b2d443b1c9.html Big
money special interests are threatening NC’s independent judiciary as well. The
group PoliticaNC is working on this issue. If we’re in NC, let’s sign up and
see how we can help. http://politicanc.org/
2.
All States: “In most places in the country, local and
state law enforcement are squarely under local and state control. If you don’t
want your police department to use militarized tactics and weapons, take it up
with your local government.” https://privacysos.org/blog/trumps-executive-order-police-militarization-sends-chilling-message/ We
can find our state and local representatives using this tool from the League of
Women Voters: http://hq-salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5950/getLocal.jsp
Other Actions
1.
Let's make sure that we're doing everything we can to
support DACA and the DREAMers. We can use this tool from MomsRising to send a
Letter to the Editor: http://action.momsrising.org/lte/LTE_DREAMER Let’s also
check out United We Dream's toolbox, which includes webinars, research, and
personal stories to help us advocate and support DREAMers https://unitedwedream.org/toolbox/ Then, for even more information and actions
as well as rallies and events near us, let’s check this out: http://defenddaca.com/
2.
Trump has defunded the ACA advertising budget by
90%. The sign-up period begins on Nov.
1, 2017. This is one of the ways, the
administration is trying to make it fail.
https://www.vox.com/2017/8/31/16236280/trump-obamacare-outreach-ads
While we know there are issues with the ACA, we know it is better than what we
had before. We can help get the word out
in many ways starting with this Thunderclap campaign which will make a1 time
post on their social media account on 9/9 announcing the open enrollment period
with a link to the government website: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/61147-aca-signup-reminder
3.
Today, 500 Women Scientists, RISE Stronger, Union of
Concerned Scientists, and Engaging Scientists and Engineers in Policy are
launching the #fundUSAscience social media campaign, in order to bring
awareness to the need for scientific research and development funding in the
fiscal year 2018 budget. Let's make sure we offer our support for science
funding by participating in this social media campaign; we can use the
suggested tweets at the 500 Women Scientists website https://500womenscientists.org/fundusascience
4.
While we fight the fires in the present, we must also
keep our eyes on the future. That means, elections. Let’s watch and share this
video from Postcards for Virginia https://www.postcards4va.com/ and then sign up
to help. Here’s the video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ0xJEioIyg&feature=youtu.be
5.
Hurricane Harvey has brought up so many needs,
practical as well as political. Let’s
use this guide by Indivisible to help us know the ways we can help: https://www.indivisibleguide.com/resource/responding-hurricane-harvey/
6.
MomsRising has created a guide on how to help combat
white supremacy. Let's check it out, then be vocal and show up in our support
for racial justice http://bit.ly/2eE0QE1
7.
Donald Trump has made it clear that he’s going to stand
against accountability for abuses by law enforcement, pardoning Sheriff Joe
Arpaio (https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/08/trump-pardon-arpaio/537729/)
and hiring Sheriff David Clarke (http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/348791-sheriff-david-clarke-expected-to-join-trump-administration).
This makes it all the more important that we take on the work of making sure
the right people are in charge of our public safety – after all, both Arpaio
and Clarke were elected officials. Let’s look up who our local district
attorneys and sheriffs are, get familiar with their records, and find out who
is running against them if they’re elected and don’t represent our values.
8.
Those of us on Twitter can be part of Action Together
Network’s Twitter Storm tonight from 8-10pm focusing on #Defend DACA. For more details and instructions, let’s go
here: https://www.facebook.com/events/137987830152505/
9.
There is a growing call for and interest in women
running for office. http://www.npr.org/2017/02/23/515438978/trumps-election-drives-more-women-to-consider-running-for-office If we are one of those women who have been
thinking about running or know someone who is, let’s make sure to take a look
at these organizations that can help us:
1) She Should Run: www.sheshouldrun.org/,
2) Emily’s List: http://www.emilyslist.org/ , and 3)
Emerge America:
http://www.emergeamerica.org/
10. Let’s
thank nurse Alex Wubbels for standing up for her patient’s rights even when
physically intimidated by law enforcement.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/09/01/547840028/-somebody-help-me-utah-nurse-cried-as-police-detective-roughly-arrested-her
We can write to her here: University of
Utah Hospital, 50 N Medical Dr, Salt Lake City, UT 84112
Petitions
1.
By signing this, “I am adding my support to the amicus
brief, submitted by Represent.Us, urging the [Supreme] court to stop partisan
gerrymandering by deciding for the voters in the Gill v.
Whitford case. Partisan gerrymandering is destroying the integrity of our
elections and allowing politicians to abuse the power of elected office for
political gain.” https://act.represent.us/sign/scotus-gerrymandering/
2.
From Rep. Joe Kennedy: “There’s a solution to the GOP’s
voter suppression laws. Vote-by-mail will increase turnout, make it easier for
working people to vote, and put an end to long lines on Election Day. And
unlike an electronic voting machine, a paper ballot can't be hacked.” Let’s sign his petition: https://www.signherenow.org/petition/vote-by-mail/kennedy/f/
Marches/events/teleconferences
to attend/organize
1.
The March to Confront White Supremacy: from
Charlottesville to DC continues. Their Facebook page is here:
https://www.facebook.com/cville2DC/posts/338624913215235?hc_location=ufi and
their website is here: http://www.cville2dc.us/ We can join them in DC for a week starting on
Wednesday, Sept. 6. More info and
sign-ups here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/take-over-washington-dc
Reading/Watching
1.
Amy Siskind documents our slow slide towards
authoritarian in her weekly list tracking the non-normal things that happen
each week. "Despite being a summer week heading into Labor Day
weekend, Week 42 is the longest list so far, with the most items relating to
Trump-Russia. News reports indicate the Mueller probe in moving ahead on many
fronts, and uncovering damaging evidence about the Trump regime." Let's
check out Amy Siskind's list week 42.
2.
Rev. Barber on history of white supremacy: https://www.facebook.com/moveon/videos/10154738290815493/
3.
Here’s an inside look at some of our DREAMers presented
by Justice for our Neighbors: https://www.facebook.com/NationalJusticeForOurNeighbors/videos/692738304252380/
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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