2/9/18
We're pleased to
announce that Rogan's List is now officially on Twitter!
We will be featuring
actions from each day's List and other vetted items at twitter.com/roganslist. Please follow,
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Contact Federal Government Officials
********************************
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.
Earlier
this morning both the Senate and the House passed the long-term spending bill
that increases military and domestic spending, raises the debt ceiling, and
provides disaster relief funding. Despite their promises, it does not include
any DACA extension or provision for the Dreamers, although hundreds of young
people are losing DACA protection each day. https://www.npr.org/2018/02/09/584431561/government-funding-lapses-while-congress-looks-to-vote-on-budget-deal Instead Schumer and the Democrats choose to
put their faith in Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell’s promise
to allow full debate on immigration next week. House Speaker Paul Ryan
has made no such pledge, thus minority leader Nancy Pelosi’s 8-hour speech on
the House floor Wednesday. Paul Ryan knows that a DACA bill, with
wall-less border security, would pass the house, but that it would not please
Trump. That is what keeps him from bringing it to a vote. We should join Pelosi in demanding that Ryan
allow--and schedule--a full floor debate on immigration in the House: (202) 225-3031 or @SpeakerRyan or Speaker, U.S. House
of Representatives, 1233 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC
20515-0001. Let’s call our own
representatives on this, too.
2.
Lest we get
distracted by everything else going on, we need to remember that Trump has a
long and complicated relationship with Russia.
Let’s use this interactive resource from Moyers and Co. to keep track of the players: http://billmoyers.com/story/trump-russia-timeline/ Then, let’s use this information in our
calls to our MoCs.
3.
The same
White House Chief of Staff General John Kelly who said this in
the fall, “You know when I was a kid growing up, a lot of things were sacred in
our country. Women were sacred, looked upon with great honor.” seems to have
actively turned a blind eye when the FBI shared information about accusations
of domestic violence against White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-rob-porter-resigns-abuse-allegations/ However, he claims to be shocked: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/07/john-kelly-porter-allegations-abuse-398168 Porter
has resigned but Kelly remains. Let’s let General Kelly know that we have had
enough: https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/white-house
4.
EPA
Administrator Scott Pruitt has said, “There are assumptions made that because
the climate is warming that necessarily is a bad thing.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/07/epa-head-scott-pruitt-says-global-warming-may-help-humans-flourish He wants to stage red team/blue team
debates among climate scientists and climate change deniers. Let’s let Pruitt
know that science is not partisan and that in this case, the science is
clear:
5.
Nearly
everyone is agreed that the military-style parade that Trump is requesting is
unnecessary, impractical, and expensive.
Let’s let the Dept. of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff know our
displeasure in the use of funds for this.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/sen-durbin-trump-s-military-parade-would-be-fantastic-waste-n845476 We’d
much rather that funds go to myriad ways the military and our veterans could be
helped. Addresses: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N4-l_GGjExzMVg4XOr_voZmyR_rEvK_H/view
6.
Since
our own Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is sounding the alarm about Russian
meddling in midterm elections:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/02/07/tillerson-russians-already-meddling-u-s-midterm-elections/314560002/ now would be a good time to ask him why
he is serving a president who cares not one bit:
https://register.state.gov/contactus/ and The Honorable Secretary of
State Rex W. Tillerson, U.S. Department of State, 2201 C Street, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20520
7.
The House
has passed H.R.
4924 and
H.Res.
724;
bipartisan bills which would take steps to protect victims of harassment in
Congress and work to change the workplace environment for Congress and its
staffers http://wapo.st/2FW7RYK Because of the widespread support for
these bills, the House was able to expedite the legislative process by taking a
voice vote. Let's be sure to contact our senators and ask them to pass these
bills as well.
8.
“One of
our main demands is that any country who signs a trade agreement with EU should
implement the Paris Agreement on the ground,” said Lemoyne. “No Paris
Agreement, no trade agreement. The US knows what to expect.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/davekeating/2018/02/08/eu-tells-trump-no-paris-climate-deal-no-free-trade/#504ca27437c7 Let’s
tell the White House and our MoCs that we need to be part of the world’s trade,
climate, and diplomacy culture. White
House: https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/white-house
9.
Yet
another biased, undesirable nominee has cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee
is headed for a vote very soon. Howard
Nielson has a shaky history with both LGBT issues: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/feb/8/republicans-clear-judicial-nominee-howard-nielson-/ and with torture issues: http://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/372377-congress-stand-together-against-torture-vote-down-judicial-pick Let’s
tell our Senators that we do not want Nielson to be confirmed.
10. Gun related injuries are now the
third-leading cause of death in children in America according to a study in the
journal Pediatrics (http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2017/06/15/peds.2016-3486). Let's continue to put the pressure on our
legislators to pass common sense gun laws. We can join a local chapter of (or
make a donation to) organizations such as Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in
America https://momsdemandaction.org/, The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
(https://www.bradycampaign.org/), The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (https://www.csgv.org), and/or Everytown for Gun Safety (https://everytown.org/), and call our legislators, both state and
federal, to express our support for such laws (we can use a script from 5 Calls:
11.
The
storms are over, and the damage Hurricanes Irma and Maria did to Puerto Rico
and the Virgin Islands is no longer in the news much. But our fellow citizens
still need our help (https://www.npr.org/2017/12/20/572195748/puerto-ricos-slow-recovery). The Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands
Equitable Rebuild Act (H.R. 4782) aims to ensure these folks get the
assistance they need. Let’s make sure it’s at the top of the agenda. Those of
us whose reps are on one of the nine House committees studying this bill can ask them to
prioritize the legislation. (Find what committees your rep serves on here.) For the rest of us, let’s ask our reps to
co-sponsor the bill (H/T My Civic Workout)
12. Kyle Duncan, a lawyer who has built his
career around pursuing extreme positions that target members of the LGBTQ
community, has been nominated by Donald Trump for a lifetime appointment to the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He has worked aggressively to
eradicate LGBTQ rights, immigrant rights, reproductive rights, voting rights,
and more. Let's read about Duncan at Lambda Legal. Let's contact our Senators to let them
know we oppose extremist nominee Kyle Duncan.
13. From Postcards
for America: The
Justice Served Act ( H.R.
4854 / S. 2345) is bipartisan legislation which provides
funding to state & local law enforcement to reduce their crime lab backlogs
allowing justice for cold cases. Let’s
see how we can help promote these bills:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/15za20a5EyonxBhJVlVtxDJF6xRU-HlfYO_nRsfBtNbM/edit#heading=h.gjdgxs
Election 2018 -
General
Election 2018 –
By State
Other Actions
1.
The
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has issued a new report, which examines how
students are graduating high school without the most basic knowledge of
slavery, much less its effects on the current race relations in the United
States http://n.pr/2nIuSaf To help combat these inadequacies, the
SPLC has created "Teaching Hard History: A Framework for Teaching American
Slavery," which includes texts, teaching tools, a podcast, and a webinar.
For the educators among us, let’s check out these helpful resources: http://bit.ly/2FUocgs Then, let's be sure to sign up for the Feb.
13th webinar: http://bit.ly/2sikz21
2.
The Leadership Conference has put together a grassroots toolkit
for public education or advocacy campaigns. It includes what we need to do
to establish our goals, create a strategy, make a step-by-step plan, and
mobilize the people, partners, and resources to make it all achievable. We can
check out and/or download the toolkit here.
3.
An easy
and fun action for Friday: As the battle continues over the use of ranked
choice voting in Maine, FairVote is continuing to advocate to bring this reform
to more and more races across America (https://www.pressherald.com/2018/01/27/advocates-seeking-to-nullify-delay-of-ranked-choice-voting/). This month, they’re demonstrating how
ranked choice voting works by having people vote on their choices for Best
Picture. Let’s participate and spread the word about this poll! Vote here.
4.
From Postcards from Kate: Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton
(D-D.C.) said 45 should fund health care for Veterans rather than host his
proposed military parade. "A military parade in DC would shut down the
nation’s capital and waste taxpayer dollars just to feed Trump's ego,” Norton
tweeted. “The way to show our service members and veterans that we appreciate
their service is to use the parade money to fund their health care and other
services they need.” Read more here. We couldn't agree more. Let's send her a
postcard of thanks! Address: Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, 90 K
Street, NE, Suite 100. Washington, DC 20001 or phone: (202) 408-9041
5.
From one
of our own: In preparing for
Valentine’s Day, why not add a little creative resistance to your holiday
plans? Watch this week’s episode of Actions to
Withstand to
see how one smart resister, Sara
Becker,
took it upon herself to protest with love on an already lovely holiday by
crafting Nasty Galentines. If you’re in
New York, get your tickets for the Second Annual Nasty Galentine’s Day Party at
the New
Women Space https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nasty-galentines-tickets-42585943704
All
proceeds are going to She's
the First If
you’re not in New York, check out:
www.nastygalentines.com for some inspiration on some #NastyGalentines you can make at home with friends.
6.
“Psychologists
at Harvard, the University of Virginia and the University of Washington created
"Project Implicit" to develop Hidden Bias Tests—called Implicit
Association Tests, or IATs, in the academic world—to measure unconscious bias.” Let’s check our biases: https://www.tolerance.org/professional-development/test-yourself-for-hidden-bias
7.
ActLocal is a national network of local leaders
focused on building local power and promoting allyship and coordination across
the progressive movement through in-person gatherings. https://medium.com/actlocal/building-local-power-together-70ee63bbadf4 Interested in learning more? Email contact@actlocal.network
8.
Bermuda
has repealed marriage equality. Gov. John Rankin of Bermuda has
signed a bill into law that replaces same-sex marriage with domestic
partnerships. (Source: NBCNews) The Bermuda Tourism Authority had
written a letter to lawmakers urging them not to go down this path.
Let's write to them: it's going to be worse than they thought. Bermuda Tourism
Authority, Kevin Dallas, CEO, 22
Church St, Hamilton HM11,
Bermuda (international postage required). We can also contact the Ministry of
Economic Development and Tourism (contact information here) and Gov.
John Rankin.
Let's plan not to go to Bermuda for our vacations while they discriminate. We
can contact individual hotels to tell them we won't be coming.
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1.
Want to hear how technology can help your campaign
or grassroots organization achieve its political goals? From voter outreach to volunteer recruitment
to information sharing, cutting edge technologies save time and effort and
offer new pathways to engaging with your community? Join us for this free event on February 22
from 1-2pm EST. To receive the link to
access the webinar, sign up at https://www.victoryguide.us/webinar-technology-for-political-movements
States
1. CO:
The resistance in Colorado has partnered up with America Votes to organize a
series of training seminars, led by experts, you can participate in from home!
“The goal of this training series is to equip ‘the Resistance’ with key tools
and skills to be able to get involved in 2018 elections and make an impact.”
Sign up for one or more here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSePCQF86NOhUkUw9zSE9kaPvxjDQ_iYKvJ9iWMh0f4uopdjQA/viewform
2. MA:
District Attorneys are elected officials who have tremendous power when it
comes to mass incarceration and proportionality and fairness in criminal
justice. Yet many run for office without opposition. https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/02/07/matters-who/HotvXfpJefbOOH1A2ws5mJ/story.html To
raise voter awareness, the Massachusetts ACLU has launched a public education
campaign called “What a Difference a DA Makes.” Let’s sign up here: https://dadifference.org/
3. NC:
GOP legislators in North Carolina haven’t been happy with the rulings of the
state’s courts—so they’re trying to change the rules by, among other things,
gerrymandering judicial elections. Fair Courts NC is a coalition of progressive
groups, including the NAACP, working to defend the state’s independent judiciary.
If we’re in North Carolina, let’s learn more and sign up to help here: https://faircourtsnc.com/
Reading/Watching
1.
“Why
Conversations Across Ideological Lines Fail” - https://onbeing.org/blog/omid-safi-why-conversations-across-ideological-lines-fail/
2.
The Southern
Poverty Law Center (SPLC) counted over 100 people killed or injured by
alleged perpetrators influenced by the so-called "alt-right," a
movement that continues to access the mainstream and reach young recruits.
Their article "The Alt-Right is Killing People" goes into detail
about the history of the alt-right and subsequent killings. We can read this to
increase our own understanding of the alt-right and actions they have taken so
far.
3.
“Senate
Intelligence Committee Writing Report on Election Vulnerabilities Ahead of
Midterms” - https://www.wsj.com/articles/senate-intelligence-committee-writing-report-on-election-vulnerabilities-ahead-of-midterms-1518121522
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