Rogan's List

11/15/17

Thanks to Jennifer Fisher at Postcards for America for creating the docs we will use as the new contact links for senators and representatives.  The links include addresses and phone numbers (national and local), websites, committees, and Twitter handles. There is a state/committee index on the left of both files and as a Google doc, it is searchable.  We hope you find this helpful! 

Contact Federal Government Officials

Find senator’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/RLiotu

Find representative’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/5i7SXC

Fax legislators for free:  Reps:  https://faxzero.com/fax_congress.php

and Senate: https://faxzero.com/fax_senate.php

 We can also contact our MoCs via ResistBot. Learn more here:  https://resistbot.io/

********************************

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.      Talk is still that the tax plan is getting nowhere near the attention that the healthcare bill did.  We need to get on this and make calls every day.  The House bill is scheduled for a vote on Thursday.  Our representatives need to hear us that we do not want this bill or any bill that benefits the rich and large corporations.  The Senate bill, which is scheduled to be voted on the week after Thanksgiving, has just added language that will repeal the individual mandate which will result in 13 million more people being uninsured and insurance companies fleeing markets. http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/360327-thune-senate-tax-bill-will-include-repeal-of-obamacare-mandate  Senators Mc Cain, Murkowski and Collins have NOT come out against this, as they did against the healthcare bill.  Let’s contact them as well as our own senators to rally against the Senate tax bill, too.  Again, the wealthy and corporations will benefit, no one else.

2.      Among the many objectionable features of the Republican tax “reform” is the way it extends the GOP’s ongoing virulent assault on higher education to the financial realm.  Not only does this bill end the student loan deduction—loans which now constitute the single greatest form of household debt—but it also makes major reductions in the tax credits for tuition that help students and their families offset college costs, moves to treat employer-provided tuition payments—often used by badly-paid university staff—as taxable income, taxes graduate student tuition waivers as income, and proposes taxing endowment income at prestigious private universities.  http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/04/opinions/tax-plan-student-loans-dancy-opinion/index.html  and  https://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-education/2017/11/03/higher-education-groups-blast-house-gop-tax-bill-223168  It is impossible not to see Republican anti-intellectualism and the myth propagated by Republicans that the university is a liberal, or often a radical, bastion, where students are taught a dangerous multiculturalism and where conservatives are silenced, as irrelevant to the punitive treatment of all those associated with higher education in this tax plan.  For the sake of our children if not ourselves, we need to urge our representatives in Congress to roundly reject this tax “reform.”

The Republican tax bill allows "unborn children" to be beneficiaries of tax-advantaged college savings accounts known as 529s.  This is the first ever mention of "unborn children" in the US tax code and is clearly an effort to lay a new legal groundwork for those who oppose a woman's right to choose.  “This is a back-door attempt to establish personhood from the moment of conception,” said Rep. Diana DeGette (D-C), “What’s next, giving a Social Security number to a zygote?”  Needless to say the anti-abortion forces are gleeful: "The proposed tax plan is . . . the first step in expanding the child tax credit to include unborn children as well," said Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life: https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/02/gop-tax-bill-abortion-rights-college-savings-244486  Whatever we think of the merits of the tax bill, we must demand that our MoCs get this language, dangerous to women's legal right to an abortion, out of this bill.

3.      From one of our own:  Republicans are lying when they tell us that the corporate tax rate of 35% makes US corporations unable to compete with other countries with lower corporate tax rates. When the many generous tax breaks are accounted for, the average effective tax rate for US corporations is a very competitive 18.1%.  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/12/opinion/corporate-tax-cuts-gop.html  A corporate tax cut is not necessary unless all the loopholes are eliminated. Don’t let the Republicans pull a fast one on us. Call them out now.

4.      The Atlantic broke the story about Donald Trump Jr. having had contacts with Wikileaks during the campaign: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/11/the-secret-correspondence-between-donald-trump-jr-and-wikileaks/545738/ We can start to imagine what information Special Counsel Robert Mueller might have at this time. Let’s stay in touch with our MoC about the need to protect Mueller’s work.

5.      From one of our own:  Do large corporations really need a tax break?  Many very profitable corporations pay no tax or a negative tax according to a study by the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. They found that of the 258 companies on the Fortune 500 that were profitable during all years 2008-2015, one hundred paid zero or less in federal income taxes in at least one year from 2008 to 2015. https://itep.org/the-35-percent-corporate-tax-myth/  Let’s contact our MoCs to say that the tax breaks for large corporations in the tax bill are unnecessary.

6.      Brett Talley was already not qualified to serve as a federal judge but now we know that he left the information off his disclosures that he is married to a White House attorney! http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/360117-trump-nominee-for-federal-judge-did-not-disclose-he-is-married-to-a Let’s let our Senators know that Talley does not deserve a lifetime appointment to the bench.

7.      The case against Roy Moore’s Senate candidacy in Alabama grew on Monday as another alleged victim came forward to tell her story of Mr. Moore’s attempted sexual assault when she was 15. More GOP Senators are withdrawing their support and Senator Cory Gardner has called on Moore to be expelled from the Senate if he wins in Alabama. http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/360151-senate-gop-campaign-chairman-calls-on-moore-to-be-expelled-if-he-wins It is unclear what would actually happen if Moore were to win but it is even more important that we do what we can to help elect Doug Jones: https://dougjonesforsenate.com/ And, if we have GOP senators, let’s be in touch with them to express our disgust.

8.      The House is set to vote on a tax bill that would take money out of the pockets of middle class Americans and give it to Trump’s billionaire buddies as soon as Thursday, and right now it looks like Republicans have at least enough votes to get it over this first hurdle (http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/13/politics/tax-reform-state-of-play/index.html). Let’s call our House members and tell them we expect them to vote no on the “Reverse Robin Hood” tax plan, and we will hold them accountable next November if they do not, and let our Senators know we want them to publicly oppose this scam. We can also join Americans for Financial Reform in sending e-mails to our reps at this link: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/stop-the-wall-street-tax-scam.  

9.      There was another mass shooting yesterday.  http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-norcal-elementary-school-shooting-20171114-story.html  Yet, following the deadly mass shootings in Las Vegas and Sutherland Springs, Congress has yet to pass any meaningful gun regulations. As the GOP struggles with where to focus their efforts (https://bloom.bg/2hx4a5c), let's encourage our MoC to support legislation that has already been introduced to ban bump stocks: Automatic Gunfire Prevention Act (S. 1916/H.R. 3999.) We can use the call script and talking points available at 5calls: https://5calls.org/issue/ban-gun-bump-stocks

10.  Gerrymandering and polarization are largely responsible for dysfunction in government, and one source of these ills is our winner-takes-all voting system. One possible solution, introduced in the House as H.R. 3057 (Fair Representation Act), is ranked-ballot voting held in larger, more diverse districts (https://youtu.be/_5SLQXNpzsk). A voting system like this would, in many ways, be an improvement over the current situation (e.g. noncompetitive districts, fringy candidates selected by extremist party bases, overall lack of representation for many/most voters/views), so let’s read up on the pros & cons (http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/states-and-election-reform-the-canvass-march-2017.aspx), then ask our US Reps to co-sponsor and get behind the Fair Representation Act.

11.  More great reporting from Teen Vogue. Let's read this article from Susmita Baral: How the Trump Administration Has Impacted the Environment Since the 2016 Election. This article clearly lays out some of the most impactful changes. The environment is non-partisan. Are our conservative friends and family okay with these changes? Let's make sure they know about them. Maybe they will join us in pushing back against Scott Pruitt.  They may be more receptive to a conversation that's about someone other than POTUS. Most Americans want clean air and safe water.

Election 2017/2018

1.      From Roll Call: One Year Out: The 10 Most Vulnerable Senators in 2018.  Let's look for the Democratic Senators in our states that we need to protect and the Republican Senators that we can begin to look for ways to oppose. One thing we can do as Rogan's listers is become informed sources of information on local elections for our family and friends and rally like-minded people to get involved and vote. Voter turnout is key in 2018.

State Actions

1.      KS - Election 2018. From the Southern Poverty Law Center:  A prominent white nationalist, Marcus Epstein, was at Kris Kobach for Governor [Kansas] fund-raiser bringing back questions about Kobach's ties to white nationalism. Let's read the article here.  The five (5) Democratic gubernatorial candidates have been vocal about lowering the sale's tax on food.  We can read more at the Topeka Capital-Journal.  If we are Kansas voters, let's make a plan to vote in the primary on Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018.  Let's start following the candidates now. Here's more information at Ballotpedia. 

2.      MI: “Three public feedback sessions have been scheduled in December so the public can suggest the next steps the State should take regarding Line 5, based on information in the final version of the independent Alternatives Analysis. The report is scheduled to be released publicly on Nov. 20, and comments will be accepted online or by mail until Dec. 22.”  Details here:   http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/content/news/State-announces-3-public-feedback-sessions-on-Line-5-Alternatives-Analysis-report-456193243.html

Other Actions

1.      With the holidays approaching, many of us will find ourselves with family members whose political and ideological beliefs are far different from our own. For those of us who wish to address these differences, or have meaningful conversations with those who do not agree with our principles, Organizing For Action is teaming up with Swing Left to host a five-part series on “Effective Conversations”. The series will discuss "how to be a better listener, communicate why something is important to you, and make the case for your argument. We'll focus on talking to others about the health of our democracy and our future, and how we can use these effective conversations to get people involved in the issues that matter to them." Let's sign up for the series and learn to productively communicate with others:  http://bit.ly/2hy5FQK

2.      Charles Gaba of ACA signups has some important news for us. Even though the enrollment period is much shorter this year, there are some surprisingly good options for many of us. We should not passively auto-renew because there are several way to get affordable health care including using tax credits, even if we didn't qualify last year and finding deeply discounted Gold and Bronze plans. We can find a better deal for ourselves and then share this information with family, friends and our social networks. Gaba explains it all here:  http://acasignups.net/17/11/03/and-were-heres-most-important-things-remember-2018-open-enrollment

3.      Indivisible435 is a new initiative from the Indivisible Team. What does it do? "Every year, campaigns make the choice to write off whole swaths of the country as unwinnable. We’re here to say that’s no longer acceptable. We’re building electoral power for the thousands of Indivisible groups in every one of the 435 congressional districts." They offer three sets of tools to help local groups build their power: 1) background/introductory info on campaigns and elections, 2) tools on how to register voters in our local communities, and 3) guidance on the endorsement process and what to know about primary/general elections. If we are members of a local resistance group (whether labelled Indivisible or not) these resources are of immediate help to us! https://indivisible435.org  

4.      Here is another Trump poll.  The GOP wants to “listen to America”.  Let’s give them an earful: 

https://gop.com/listening-to-america-surveys/

5.      Once again Shepard Smith set the record straight for Fox viewers yesterday when he took the time to lay “out the controversy surrounding the Obama-era deal, which involved the sale of a uranium company that did some mining in the United States to a Russian company.”  In doing so, Smith showed why Trump’s repeated calls for the Justice Dept. to investigate.  Also, yesterday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions once again said there is no legal basis to appoint a special counsel.  http://thehill.com/homenews/media/360371-fox-news-shepard-smith-hits-trump-for-inaccurate-claims-on-uranium-one-deal  Let’s thank Smith for educating his viewers with the truth:  @ShepNewsTeam or on his Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/ShepardSmith/ or c/o  Fox News, 1211 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10036

6.      Tired of watching establishment politicians toe the line? Well, maybe it's time we backed some new candidates. To do exactly that, we can support this non-profit: "Run for Something will recruit and support talented, passionate young people who will advocate for progressive values now and for the next 30 years, with the ultimate goal of building a progressive bench. We’ll do whatever it takes to get more under-35-year-olds on the ballot." This hip organization has a fantastic slate of candidates who are already running, and is good with social media, too. So with-it, in fact, that we can volunteer for them online. Democrats abroad, take note! Sign up here to volunteer:  https://www.runforsomething.net/volunteer

Petitions

1.      Let’s join the World Wildlife Fund in telling EPA head, Scott Pruitt to keep and enforce the Clean Power Plan:  https://support.worldwildlife.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=961

2.      Credo Action want us to tell the Senate that “Kathleen Hartnett White is a dangerous right-wing climate change denier who holds extreme, anti-science views. Block and resist her nomination to lead the Council on Environmental Quality."  We can so do here:  https://act.credoaction.com/sign/reject_hartnett_white

Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to attend/organize

1.      We can join Sen. Bernie Sanders tonight at 8 PM ET on the Ready to Resist call to stop the Trump tax scam. RSVP:  http://bit.ly/2zBBJKo

2.      We can find or host a MoveOn Event to fight the terrible tax plan:  https://act.moveon.org/event/tax-scam/search/

Reading/Watching

1.      Right now, Trump and the Republicans are trying to increase the deficit by $1.5 trillion dollars to cut taxes for the rich. Republicans in the House and Senate are working overtime to push a huge tax bill through Congress by the end of the year, at Trump's direction. They've approved a budget resolution that will allow them to increase the deficit by $1.5 trillion over 10 years in order to reduce taxes. The House is hoping to pass their bill this Thursday (November 16).  Here's what you need to know:  https://risestronger.org/newsroom/republican-tax-giveaway

2.      For Veteran's Day, the NBA's Stephen Curry penned this article "The Noise" to discuss how we all need to use our platforms and voices to do better by our veterans.

3.      Yesterday, Guardian US launched “Break the Cycle, a new series to change the way the media covers American gun violence – and to challenge the orthodoxy that gun reform is a hopeless pursuit. We are asking our readers to support the series by making a contribution. We want to take issue with the vested interests who distort the terms of the debate for their own benefit. We want to spotlight progress that has been made, and offer possible solutions. We recognise the challenges in changing the terms of the debate – but that is precisely the role of an organization like the Guardian. Here is the first installment:  https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/nov/14/its-time-to-end-americas-gun-violence-epidemic-help-us-change-the-conversation