Contact Federal Government Officials
Find senator’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/RLiotu
Find representative’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/5i7SXC
********************************
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.
Last
evening the House approved a short-term spending bill. It moves to the Senate at noon today. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/gop-leaders-race-keep-party-together-avoid-government-shutdown-n838851
However, the Senate appears to have to the votes to block it saying that
it is time to get real and address the needs of the country: https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/senate-democrats-republicans-votes-block-spending-bill Let’s remind our MoCs that we want the
following addressed and funded in any spending bill: A) CHIP, B) DACA, C) Federally Qualified
Health Centers, and D) Puerto Rico
2.
The
Republican administration announced an overhaul of the HHS civil rights office
that would establish a new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division, focusing
on allowing physicians and health care workers to opt out of procedures when
they have religious or moral objections: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/16/conscience-abortion-transgender-patients-health-care-289542 This
is essentially a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people and others using
religion as a shield. H.R.2282/S.
1006.,
which amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sex, sexual orientation,
and gender identity among the prohibited categories of discrimination or
segregation in places of public accommodation, has many co-sponsors and is
stuck in committees. Let’s contact those
House subcommittee members where this bill sits and tell them to get this bill
moving: https://judiciary.house.gov/subcommittee/subcommittee-on-the-constitution-and-civil-justice/ Let’s
do the same with the Senate Judiciary Committee members: https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/about/members All
citizens deserve these protections.
3.
Let’s also
tell these others what we think of this sanctioned discrimination: A) White House, B) Don Wright, Acting
Secretary of Health & Human Services HHS, 200 Independence Ave., SW,
Washington DC 202011-877-696-6775/, and C) Roger Severino, Director, Office
for Civil Rights. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200
Independence Avenue, SW
Room 509F, HHH Building, Washington, D.C. 20201/Toll-free: (800) 368-1019 or TDD toll-free: (800) 537-7697. We can also contact the regional HHS Civil Rights offices here: https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/about-us/contact-us/index.html
Room 509F, HHH Building, Washington, D.C. 20201/Toll-free: (800) 368-1019 or TDD toll-free: (800) 537-7697. We can also contact the regional HHS Civil Rights offices here: https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/about-us/contact-us/index.html
4.
From the
Nasty
Women Action Network: The stop-gap measure to stave off a
government shutdown STILL doesn't include DACA http://bit.ly/2ESGr5C 1)
Call YOUR Senators and tell them to #SHUTITDOWN until there is a resolution for
the Dreamers. 2) Call Senator Lindsey Graham and thank him for not voting for a
stopgap without protection for Dreamers. Tell him to stay strong and to work to
bring other Republicans over to the side of reason. Phone: (202) 224-5972
5.
In an
attempt to rush through less-than-ideal nominees for federal judge positions
around the country before a possible government shutdown, Sen. Grassley is
getting some heat: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/369425-grassley-under-fire-for-planning-vote-on-17-judicial-nominees The
fact that so many of these nominees are anti-civil rights is also
alarming: https://www.lambdalegal.org/blog/dc_20180117_gop-leaders-jam-through-nominees Let’s contact the members of the Senate
Judiciary Committee (https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/about/members), as well as our own senators to tell them
we do not want any more judicial confirmations until resolution of Mueller
investigation.
6.
Here is
an example of the above: The Senate
Judiciary Committee yesterday advanced Thomas Farr’s nomination for a federal
judgeship on a party-line vote. This vote came over the objections of the
Congressional Black Caucus, who highlighted his record of defending voter
suppression in court and carrying it out on the campaign trail (http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article195344959.html). Let’s tell our senators that we want them
to oppose Farr’s confirmation when he comes before the full Senate. (And after
we make the call, let’s join progressives on Twitter in letting everyone know
we want #FarrOut!)
7.
Buried
in the GOP's proposed budget are further cuts to the already underfunded Social
Security Administration. They aren't cutting Social Security benefits (if only
because they can't!), but they are planning to cut the budget that pays for the
agency that manages an distributes those benefits, and handles questions and
claims from citizens trying to navigate the SS system. https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/more-cuts-to-social-security-administration-funding-would-further-degrade Wait
times and backlogs are already problems at the SSA due to chronic underfunding
, and the new budget would make things worse, so let's tell our MoCs that this
is unacceptable.
8.
The
GOP/Trump administration has ended Temporary Protection Status (TPS)s for
Salvadoran, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Sudanese migrants.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-administration-to-end-provisional-residency-for-200000-salvadorans/2018/01/08/badfde90-f481-11e7-beb6-c8d48830c54d_story.html?utm_term=.9f00e1277e0f Many believe that their deportation
will cause a humanitarian crisis. https://www.miracoalition.org/news/754-congress-must-act-to-right-the-wrongs-of-tps-termination. Let’s contact our MoCs and tell them that
we want them to pass laws making it possible for TPS holders to apply for
permanent residency.
9.
In her
testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Secretary of Homeland Security
Kirstjen Neilsen stated that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will be looking at
their options, in order to press criminal charges against state and local
officials of sanctuary states or cities http://nyti.ms/2BdrGrE http://bit.ly/2FRpABy While the ACLU asserts that these
criminal charges would not have any basis in federal law (http://bit.ly/2Dudf7V), let's still contact Secretary Nielsen, as
well as Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and let them know how we feel about
being bullied into compliance. We can call the DHS comment line (202-282-8495) or mail the Secretary directly: The
Honorable Kirstjen M. Nielsen Secretary of Homeland Security Washington,
D.C. 20528. We can also contact the Department of Justice by
phone: 202-353-1555 U.S. or mail: Department of
Justice 950
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001
10. “The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is warning of an increase in violence
by white supremacists who the group says have become
"emboldened" by the rise of the alt-right.” http://thehill.com/homenews/news/369552-study-murders-by-white-supremacists-doubled-in-2017 Let’s contact our MoC to ask them what
they’re doing to thwart the rise of violent white supremacy.
11.
“The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is urging Congress not to pass
the continuing resolution without funding for the Special Diabetes Program.
“ http://www.13newsnow.com/news/health/diabetes-advocates-urge-failure-of-budget-deal-that-excludes-research-funding/509193181 Let’s join the JDRF: https://www2.jdrf.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=500
12. “A report released by the Union of
Concerned Scientists (UCS) on Thursday provides a stark
portrayal of how the federal government's relationship with scientists has
deteriorated since President Donald Trump took office.”http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/369520-study-white-house-abandoning-science-advice-at-unprecedented-levels Let’s contact our MoC to ask what
they’re doing to promote science and the use of science-based evidence in
governance.
13. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) put a hold on all of
the GOP's trade nominees until U.S. Trade Representative Robert
Lighthizer is more responsive to his concerns. Scott said he had
agreed to support Lighthizer because the former Washington trade lawyer
had promised to be “open, transparent and available.” Let's read more
at The Hill. Let's let Tim
Scott know
that he has our support on this: we support openness, transparency and
availability by our government officials.
14. Trump and Ryan Zinke started off the year
with a late holiday gift to Big Oil, announcing they want to open huge swaths
of our public waters to offshore drilling. This comes over the objections of
Republican and Democratic governors alike (http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/04/politics/offshore-drilling-plan/index.html). The Department of Interior is now
accepting comments on this destructive plan. Let’s find a public hearing about this drilling plan so we can attend: here
Election 2018 -
General
1.
Although we can take a moment to revel in the use of
words like “omen” and “tsunami” when discussing projections of the “blue wave”
in the 2018 election, this is a wise caution: “No doubt some of these lawmakers are seeing these statehouse and
special election results and scurrying like animals reacting before an
earthquake. The potential for a wave election is very real,” said Doug Heye, a
former RNC official and GOP strategist. “The difference is we’re talking about
it in January and have 11 months to deal with it, whereas in the past it didn’t
become apparent until much later.” http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/369474-gop-sees-omens-of-a-dem-wave-in-wisconsin Now is the time for us to survey the
landscape in our own communities to see what is ahead on the 2018 ballot:
nationally, at the state level, and locally – and then figure out how to get
involved whether by running for office or stuffing envelopes. The hoped-for
blue wave cannot be taken for granted in any quarter.
2.
Our
first chance to flip a seat in 2018 is just weeks away, with the March
13th special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th District. Conor Lamb, a Marine veteran and former federal
prosecutor, is the Democratic nominee against Republican state legislator Rick
Saccone, who proudly boasts that he was “Trump before Trump was Trump” (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-pennsylvania/pennsylvania-race-to-test-democrats-hopes-for-anti-trump-wave-idUSKBN1F61GC). Local resistance groups are recruiting
volunteers to help Conor Lamb. We can do our part by joining in the virtual
phone bank from home at: https://www.openvpb.com/vpb_bycode/E90342E-1837.
Election 2018 –
By State
1.
WI: “Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) warned Republicans to
"wake up" after Democrats flipped a state Senate seat in a
GOP-leaning district. "Senate
District 10 special election win by a Democrat is a wake up call for
Republicans in Wisconsin," Walker tweeted.” http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/369281-scott-walker-warns-gop-to-wake-up-after-dems-flip-deep-red-wisconsin Let’s be sure our democrat
friends in Wisconsin are registered to VOTE. Please call your friends, family
and post in any Political Pages you are in for Wisconsin to remind them to
register or check that their registration is still good.
2.
TX - Texas
primaries will be the first ones in the nation on March 6, 2018. The last
day to register to vote is February 5. Let's find out more about
voting in Texas at votetexas.gov. We can check out which candidates are
running for what office at Ballotpedia. Let's make a plan to vote in the
Texas primary on Tuesday, March 6.
3.
IL - Illinois
will the second state to have primary elections in 2018. The primaries
will be on March 20, 2018. The last day to register to vote is February
20. Let's check out more Illinois voting information at the Illinois State Board of
Elections.
Let's look for the candidates and seats for which they are running at Ballotpedia. Let's make a plan to vote in the Illinois
primary on Tuesday, March 20.
Other Actions
1.
Trump’s State
of the Union is scheduled for the evening of January 30. As we know, he is concerned with
ratings. Let’s not watch.
2.
The
Quaker’s American Friends Service Committee offers “5 Things Your Congregation
Can Do to Support Immigrant Justice.” https://www.afsc.org/5-things-your-congregation-can-do-support-immigrant-justice Let’s take a look and see about
organizing something in our houses of worship.
3.
Trump’s
HHS is now authorizing discrimination against LGBTQ persons: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/01/18/578811426/trump-will-protect-health-workers-who-reject-patients-on-religious-grounds
Getting medical care is already difficult for our brothers and
sisters: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/11/21/564817975/health-care-system-fails-many-transgender-americans Fortunately, the ACLU has stated, "Should the administration
choose to move forward to implement a discriminatory policy, we will see them
in court." Let’s consider a donation
to the ACLU towards this cause: https://action.aclu.org/secure/donate-to-aclu
4.
From Postcards from Kate: Lindy
West writes essays on feminism, social justice, body image and pop culture. In
her most recent essay, West takes on the conversation surrounding Aziz Ansari,
and deconstructs the myth the rules of sex have changed. //The notion of affirmative consent did not
fall from space in October 2017 to confound well-meaning but bumbling men; it
was built, loudly and painstakingly and in public, at great personal cost to
its proponents, over decades. If you’re fretting about the perceived
overreach of #MeToo, maybe start by examining the ways you’ve
upheld the stigmatization of feminism. Nuanced conversations about consent and
gendered socialization have been happening every single day that Aziz Ansari
has spent as a living, sentient human on this earth. The reason they feel
foreign to so many men is that so many men never felt like they needed to listen.
Rape is a women’s issue, right? Men don’t major in women’s studies. It may feel like the rules shifted overnight,
and what your dad called the thrill of the chase is now what some people are
calling assault. Unfortunately, no one — even plenty of men who call themselves
feminists — wanted to listen to feminist women themselves. We tried to warn
you. We wish you’d listened, too.// Read more here.
Write here: Lindy West, New York
Times Building, 242 W 41st St., New York, NY 10036
5.
NPR's Leila
Fadel is reporting on The Women’s March. If we marched last year and are
marching again, she wants to hear from us as she's curious to learn what
we think has changed over the past year, and what we’re marching for this
year. Our responses will inform her reporting and may be published online,
or the audio may be used in one of her radio pieces. We can click this link to
answer her questions here: https://www.npr.org/2018/01/17/578585250/are-you-participating-in-this-years-women-s-march
6.
“Wisconsin
Gov. Scott Walker (R) warned Republicans to "wake up" after Democrats
flipped a state Senate seat in a GOP-leaning district. "Senate District 10 special election win
by a Democrat is a wake up call for Republicans in Wisconsin," Walker
tweeted.” http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/369281-scott-walker-warns-gop-to-wake-up-after-dems-flip-deep-red-wisconsin Let’s be sure our democrat
friends in Wisconsin are registered to VOTE. Let’s call our friends, family and
post in any Political Pages we are in for Wisconsin to remind them to register
or check that their registration is still good.
7.
A gay
couple was excited to see the wedding programs they ordered from Vistaprint for
their big day. But when the package arrived, the couple was horrified to
instead find religious pamphlets with messages about temptation and sin. Let's
read more at the Boston Globe. Some of us Rogan's listers use Vistaprint
for the postcards we send to our reps and to voters. Vistaprint responded
with this news release. Let's contact Vistaprint to find out what they are doing to make
sure this never happens again. We can also consider purchasing our printed
products locally or from another source if we are financially able to make such
a change.
8.
The
Arena, a
social welfare organization that train leaders and builds
communities has started a job board, for activists. On it, we can find
jobs from organizations like Indivisible, DNC, ActBlue, NGP VAN — and many new
campaigns. We can filter by job type, location, and sign up for alerts: https://jobs.thearena.run/
9.
When one
of us has a medical marijuana card and is pulled over for speeding and is cited
for impaired driving, minus any evidence in support of that, we should not have
to amass outlandish legal fees to prove ourselves innocent. Let’s join in this man’s defense fund to help
the cause: https://www.gofundme.com/dons-legal-defense-fund
10. If we
are not able to attend a Women’s March, there are ways we can still participate: https://www.bustle.com/p/7-ways-to-support-the-womens-march-2018-if-youre-not-able-to-go-in-person-7954954
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1. We
can still partake in a Women’s March this weekend. Let’s find out where and make plans to
go: http://www.powertothepolls.com/anniversary.html
2. This
Sunday evening, there will be a Ready to Resist - One Year Anniversary phone
call live from the Women's March event in Las Vegas. Let's RSVP for the phone
call, and help participate in the launch of the "Power to the Polls"
campaign http://bit.ly/2mTU9yu
States
Reading/Watching
1.
“Democratic
gains in state legislatures fuel Republican 2018 anxieties” -
2.
“These
6 women went to the Women's March. Here's what happened after they went home” -
3.
With all
that is coming out about Russian interference in the 2016 election, a young
woman remains behind bars for trying to tell us sooner. The Washington insiders are getting
deals. Where is hers? https://shadowproof.com/2018/01/04/the-espionage-act-and-nsa-whistleblower-reality-winners-uphill-struggle-to-defend-herself/
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