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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.
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) has still
not been reauthorized, and states will soon run out of funding. CHIP is
essential for families who make too much to qualify for their state's Medicaid
program, but who still need help affording healthcare. The Kaiser Family Foundation
has a very helpful rundown on how CHIP functions, as well as what happens
if/when states run out of money to fund CHIP http://kaiserf.am/2itLgwk The
House and Senate have introduced bills to address this, but there are issues
reaching bipartisan support over where the funding will come from. Let's
contact all three of our MoC, and ask that they work together to pass clean
bills ASAP. 5calls has a helpful call script, as well as background information
and talking points https://5calls.org/issue/renew-funding-chip-healthcare
2.
In case we weren’t afraid enough of what Trump might
do, the Air Force is reported to be readying its nuclear bombers for 24-hour
alert status for the first time since the end of the Cold War: http://thehill.com/policy/defense/356657-us-prepping-nuclear-bombers-for-24-hour-ready-alert-status
Pres. Jimmy Carter’s offer to go to North Korea as Trump’s emissary and hold
talks there has been disdained by the president who has made it clear that he
thinks diplomacy is “wasting his time.” And it was not reassuring to hear
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson promise on Sunday that he would keep
up diplomacy until “the first bomb drops”: http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/23/politics/north-korea-trump-war/index.html
We must urgently appeal to all those who represent us to limit Trump’s
warmongering and his authority to endanger us all—American, Korean, or
Japanese--by whatever means available to them.
3.
Republicans looking for ways to offset the huge
business tax cuts, are considering slashing allowable 401k contributions by 75%
and as much as 90% for workers over 50. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/us/politics/republicans-tax-401-k.html
However, Trump says he will not support that. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/trump-urges-house-gop-move-quickly-budget-tax-50653381 With Medicare and Medicaid already severely
tapped by the budget bill, the remainder of the middle class' safety net will
be looted to benefit big business and the 1 percent. Let’s contact the members
of the Senate Finance committee, who will be writing the tax bill, and let them
know we do not support this: https://www.finance.senate.gov/about/membership Let’s also call our representatives and
demand that they promise not to cut these exemptions and to keep Medicare and
Medicaid safe.
4.
In December, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in
Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, a case that will
determine whether business owners are able to discriminate against people
simply because of who they are and who they love. More than 50 “friend of the
court” briefs have been filed in support of the right to discriminate,
including one from Trump’s Department of Justice http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/dozens_of_amicus_brief_support_christian_bakery_owner_who_refused_wedding_c
The ACLU is organizing members of Congress to join an amicus brief of their own
to stand up for equality, and they need our support to get as many reps as
possible on board. Let’s join them in asking our members of Congress to sign on
at this link: https://ssl.capwiz.com/aclu-action/issues/alert/?alertid=78934626.
5.
This summer, lawmakers introduced bipartisan bills in
the House and Senate, which would ensure that people who qualify for long-term
support services get the help that they need through community-based services
and programs, without having to resort to institutionalization as their only
option http://bit.ly/2qASznR Let's
contact our MoC, and ask them to cosponsor and support the Disability
Integration Act of 2017 (S. 910/H.R. 2472)
6.
When the administration decided to end the DACA program
in early September, the move set a timetable for Congress to act if they wanted
to enact legislation before the DACA recipients begin losing their
status March 5, 2018 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/daca-expired-trump-set-deadline-about-21-000-young-immigrants-n812441 What this means is that Congress needs to
come up with a permanent legislative solution for DACA recipients by that date
at the latest. Many of us are calling for a so-called "Clean Dream
Act," or a bill "that creates a pathway to citizenship without
additional immigration provisions that harm our communities." Sounds
straightforward, but "we know anti-immigrant extremists are hoping to use
[Dreamers] as bargaining chips for draconian measures on the Trump
administration’s white supremacy wish list." For a short
explainer/video on the issue we can peruse before calling our MoCs to advocate
for a *Clean* Dream Act, let's take a look here: https://www.nilc.org/issues/immigration-reform-and-executive-actions/dreamact/support-clean-dream-act/
7.
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said, “I think
the Trump administration is slow when it comes to Russia. They have a blind
spot on Russia I still can't figure out.” http://time.com/4992612/lindsey-graham-trump-russia-sanctions/ Let’s
be in touch with Senator Graham to let him know that we think this a more than
a blind spot and that it REALLY needs to be figured out: https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-senator-graham or
on Twitter @LindseyGrahamSC
8.
The Department of Education has rescinded 72 guidance
documents from the Office of Special Education Programs and the Rehabilitation
Services Administration, in an effort to comply with Trump's mission to
deregulate http://trib.in/2yI70IYAlthough
the regulations remain in place, the guidance documents were crucial in helping
administrators, parents, and professionals understand numerous aspects of such
laws as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). We can read
through the list here http://bit.ly/2yILjbP Some
of these have been updated, but given everything else going on, quality special
education is getting less support when it deserves more: http://nancyebailey.com/2017/10/21/destroying-special-ed-sliding-backwards-in-time/ Let's contact Education Secretary Betsy DeVos
and tell her how we feel about her continued attacks on our, and our
children's, rights. We can contact her office by phone: 202-401-3000 or by mail:
Betsy DeVos Secretary of Education U.S. Department of Education 400
Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20202
9.
"Last week, a pipe owned by offshore oil
and gas operator LLOG Exploration Company, LLC spilled up to 393,000 gallons of
oil into the Gulf of Mexico, reminding many
observers of the Deepwater Horizon explosion seven years ago that
spewed approximately 210 million gallons of crude into familiar
territory. Now, a report from Bloomberg suggests that the LLOG spill could be the
largest in the U.S. since the 2010 BP blowout, according to data from the U.S.
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE)." Let's read the
full story at Ecowatch. Oil spills are hard enough to clean up in the
lower 48 states and their waters. What if the spill happened in the arctic?
Last week Senate voted to raise revenue by drilling in the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge. The battle is not over. The House of Representatives will
next have to pass its version of a plan to raise revenues from the drilling. A
final budget package would then be worked out by leaders from the two
chambers. We need to make sure that our MoC's hear from us: No drilling
in the arctic! We can use this form from Audubon as one method to send a message
to all of our MoC's.
State Actions
1.
MI: The annual Mackinac
Bridge Walk, an annual event held every Labor Day since 1958, in
which people may walk the length of the Mackinac Bridge may be undergoing some
changes. http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2017/10/mackinac_bridge_considers_chan.html Those who wish to comment on the options
being considered or offer additional suggestions, are invited to do so
through the "Contact Us" page of the authority website.
2.
MI: Huge budget
cuts crippled outreach that lets people know when, how and where to sign
up for the ACA, so Indivisible ACA Signup Project is spreading the word through
social media. They have only 4days to get 44 more supporters. Trump
changes will badly hurt enrollment: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/23/trumps-obamacare-ad-cuts-will-slash-enrollment-by-more-than-one-million.html Help them reach their goal by October
28 to set off a Thunderclap, a social media flash mob message blast.
Please click, add your social media support on Twitter, Facebook and
Tumblr. THEN cut, paste and share https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/63284-aca-signup-reminder Find out more about how Thunderclap helps
grassroots organizing here: https://www.socialworkhelper.com/2013/10/02/thunderclap-can-help-grassroots-organizing/amp/
3.
D.C.: Huge
budget cuts crippled outreach that lets people know when, how and where to
sign up for the ACA, so Indivisible ACA Signup Project is spreading the word
through social media. They have only 7 days to get 20 more
supporters. Trump changes will badly hurt enrollment: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/23/trumps-obamacare-ad-cuts-will-slash-enrollment-by-more-than-one-million.html Help them reach their goal by November
1 to set off a Thunderclap, a social media flash mob message blast.
Please click, add your social media support on Twitter, Facebook and
Tumblr. THEN cut, paste and share https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/63284-aca-signup-reminder
Find out more about how Thunderclap helps
grassroots organizing here:
Other Actions
1.
Virginia's statewide election is coming up in just a
couple weeks. Let's help make sure that everyone shows up to vote
on November 7th. We can sign up to phone or text bank Virginians through
Indivisible: https://www.indivisible.org/gotv-virginia/
2.
Let's check out this
article from CNN on the ten (10) Senate seats most likely to switch in
2018. If we are in these states, let's put the primaries on our 2018
calendars now (dates included in CNN article). Let's start getting to know the
incumbents, the challengers and the issues. Following candidates on
Facebook is a great way to see how they present themselves, what they are
saying, and, what they are actually doing. We can also work locally with
organizations like Flippable and Swing Left. We Rogan's
listers understand that the 2018 election campaigns are already underway and
that we each must participate in ways we can. If we live in red states
with closed primaries, let's consider registering as Republican so our voices
can be heard in the primaries.
3.
On Sunday, The New York Times published a
column about women who had sons who had been accused of committing sexual
assaults on college campuses. The mothers in question supported the Secretary
of Education’s recent rollback of guidelines meant to protect the victims of
sexual assault. The mothers said that their sons “may not have been falsely
accused…but they had been wrongly accused. They made a distinction. One
mother, Judith, said her son had been expelled after having sex with a student
who said she had been too intoxicated to give consent. ‘In my generation, what
these girls are going through was never considered assault,’ Judith said.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/22/us/campus-sex-assault-mothers.html This
kind of victim-blaming is clearly still a widespread problem. Many of us
probably think that our children are too young to talk about topics like this,
but by the time they reach college-age, it may be too late https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/sexual-assault-high-school-consent-rape-college Parents,
let’s take the onus upon ourselves to make sure that we’re talking to our
children about consent, and that we’re starting when they’re still young so
that there’s no confusion as they age (making sure, for instance, that they
understand that consent requires sobriety). Here are some tips: https://www.modernmom.com/no-means-no-and-other-lessons-to-teach-our-boys-about-preventing-rape-108025.html and https://www.huffingtonpost.com/good-men-project/this-is-how-you-teach-kids-about-consent_b_10360296.html
4.
“Former Trump administration strategist and GOP agitator Stephen K. Bannon on Friday told California
Republicans, whose state party has fallen in membership and political
influence, that their salvation lies in putting aside their differences and
getting to work — just as they’d done to help move President Trump to his surprise
victory in November. We have a problem with understanding how to win. Nothing
else matters,” Bannon told hundreds of Republican delegates gathered in Anaheim
for the state party’s fall convention. “If you want to take your state back …
you have to roll your sleeves up.” https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destinations/north-america/united-states/happiest-cities-united-states-2017/ Bannon
has his eyes on CA with the largest number of votes in the electoral college.
It’s an uphill battle but we should be watching this guy as he travels
around the states. Make sure all your democratic friends are registered to
vote. You can work with SISTER DISTRICT or FLIPPABLE to help get out the
vote. https://www.sisterdistrict.com https://www.flippable.org
5.
Since last November, a week hasn't gone by without the
federal government eroding women's rights & freedoms, and women responded
by taking charge of the resistance against those trying to strip rights &
freedoms from all of us. There's an initiative to provide women everywhere with
a safe space to share/commune/foment called Red Tent Meetups, and it is looking
for participants and hosts in our towns! To learn more about this effort and
its parent organization, The New Agenda, whose president is Amy Siskind, let’s have
a look here: https://thenewagenda.net/2017/01/24/the-new-agenda-launches-red-tent-meet-ups-on-womens-issues-and-activism/
6.
The oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico on October 11
“may be the largest in the U.S. since the 2010 blowout at BP Plc’s Macondo well
that sank the Deepwater Horizon rig and killed 11 people.” The spill occurred
40 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-16/gulf-of-mexico-oil-spill-may-be-largest-since-2010-bp-disaster We
need to ensure that a proper investigation is performed into the cause, that
steps are taken to ensure that this sort of thing doesn’t happen in the future,
and that clean-up efforts are effective and initiated quickly. Let’s ask LLOG
Exploration Co., the company responsible for the spill, what they’re doing to
address the issue: LLOG Exploration Co., 1001 Ochsner Blvd # 100, Covington, LA
70433 or Phone: (985)
801-4300. And let’s let the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement,
the government agency investigating the spill, know that we’re paying
attention: BSEE, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region & Atlantic Activities,
1201 Elmwood Park Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70123-2394 or Public
Information: 1-800-200-4853.
7.
The education division of the Newseum, an
interactive museum that promotes free expression and the First Amendment, has a
downloadable “E.S.C.A.P.E. Junk News” poster to help us each “be a better,
more informed media consumer.” https://newseumed.org/escape-poster/
8.
So many people have been working so very hard and in so
many ways to do the right thing and to maintain standards of integrity and
ethics. Let’s gather some postcards and
stamps, and some friends, and use this resource from Postcards for
America to say thank you to some of those folks. We all need encouragement. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wh77Xo-HqFhrGiknedmIDY2KFZeSFPbViT3f5JE9OtY/edit
Petitions
1.
“Late last week, Congressman Ted Lieu, a veteran
himself, called for hearings into the ambush of U.S. service members in Niger
several weeks ago.” Let’s sign VoteVet’s
petition and call on Congress to begin those hearings to find out just what
happened:
2.
So many of our citizens in Puerto Rico and the U.S.
Virgin Islands are still without power or safe water. https://www.vox.com/2017/10/23/16501164/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-power-water-sewage-trump The Senate bill to this end passed last
evening: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-disaster-relief-package-senate-20171023-story.html Let’s join the League of Conservation Voters to
now tell the House to get moving on getting aid to where it is needed: http://p2a.co/dtCyScs
Marches/events/teleconferences/Twitterstorms
to attend/organize
1.
Thursday, 10/26, 6 pm EST Share My Lesson Webinar: Rights of Immigrant Students Post-DACA: What Educators Need to
Know
2.
NYC—On the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, Friends
of the Earth, among others, are urging us, New Yorker or not, to march to keep
up the pressure on Sen. Charles Schumer to defend environmental protections
against Trump. What: Sandy 5th anniversary march. When: Saturday,
Oct. 28 at 10:45am. Where: Meet at Cadman Plaza Park (Brooklyn, NY 11201)
at the southwest corner of the park. The organizers are asking us to rsvp
at https://us.e-activist.com/page/3682/petition/1
3.
There are countless reasons to stop the
Trump-Republican tax scam, and here’s another to add to the pile: some members
of Congress have stated they want to use this legislation to undermine
separation of church and state by rescinding the Johnson Amendment http://thehill.com/policy/finance/354656-dem-lawmakers-call-for-tax-reform-to-keep-limits-on-church-political-activity
Americans United for the Separation of
Church and State is holding a Day of Action on Monday, October 30th to
make sure this issue doesn’t fall under the radar. We can get talking points
and updates for this day of action at this link, and those of us on social media can join in a
Thunderclap to call attention to this issue here: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/63765-johnsonamendment.
4.
“Progressive advocacy group Bros4America is
announcing “A
Candlelight Vigil for the 66 Million,” a nationwide candlelight vigil
being held on November 8, 2017, to coincide with the one-year anniversary of
the 2016 American presidential election.” We can find more information here: http://bros4america.com/nationwide-candlelight-vigil-mourn-2016-election/
Reading/Watching
1.
Strong essay about the distinctions between Sen. John
McCain’s and Gen. John Kelly’s recent speeches:https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/10/two-wounded-warriors/543612/
2.
“This orchestra's blind audition proves bias sneaks in
when you least expect it” - http://www.upworthy.com/this-orchestras-blind-audition-proves-bias-sneaks-in-when-you-least-expect-it?c=ufb3
3.
Google’s parent Alphabet Inc. now has its stratospheric
balloons delivering the internet to remote areas of Puerto Rico where cellphone
towers were knocked out by Hurricane Maria. http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/10/20/google-parent-turns-on-internet-balloons-in-puerto-rico/
While trump gives himself a 10 on his response to the American Citizens in
Puerto Rico, tech companies are trying to make a connection for those who need
help.
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