3/20/18
Contact Federal Government Officials
Find senator’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/RLiotu
Find representative’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/5i7SXC
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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
is looking to pass the omnibus spending bill this week http://bit.ly/2FLNySj While we need to make sure that our MoC
do allow for the many problematic riders which have been proposed (http://bit.ly/2DoXXNB), there is also a concern about the $21.5
billion in funding for a border wall, along with 500 more Border Agents, and
1,000 more ICE agents https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yHE2OwGVapQLFQyyQzAG0DTa_MomP_uH_cx3oN944l0/edit We can use the call scripts available
at Indivisible to as we call our MoC and tell them that we do not want to see
any appropriations going towards an increase in BP/ICE personnel, and that we
want to see a clean Dream act in the 2018 spending bill http://bit.ly/2DBlCdK We can also call out MoC using the
click-to-tweets here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1k-XXz_upOlmq0cUgFyBd-ULUXDzS6mUUm1nhKwjKTtE/edit
2.
Democratic
Congressman Adam Schiff has called on all his colleagues to protect Special
Counsel Robert Mueller before we are in a constitutional
crisis: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/congress-speak-support-russia-probe-dont-wait-crisis/story?id=53824337 Let’s share this exhortation with our
own MoC and then let’s say the same to Senate Majority Leader McConnell and
Speaker Ryan:
3.
In
response to the latest round of the President’s disturbing tweets this weekend
and the call from his lawyer to end the Mueller investigation, a number of
Republicans have gone on record to claim that they want the Mueller
investigation protected, too. https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/18/politics/congress-robert-mueller-donald-trump-cnntv/index.html. Let’s reach out to them, as well as our own
MoCs, and tell them to pass the Special Counsel Independence Protection Act (S. 1735/H.R. 3654) and The Special Counsel Integrity
Act (S. 1741/H.R. 3771) NOW! There is no reason to wait for, or
risk, a constitutional crisis.
4.
Disparate
voices are converging to urge passage of S.J
Res. 54,
which a letter from 37 experts, former officials and advocates says “defends
the constitutional linchpin of Congress’s sole authority to declare war and
promises to help end what aid groups consider the worst humanitarian crisis in
the world”:
http://thehill.com/policy/defense/377457-experts-urge-senators-to-support-sanders-lee-bill-on-ending-us-involvement-in and http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/congress-should-ignore-trump-and-vote-for-s-j-res-54/ We could see a vote on S.J Res. 54 any
day now. It is the latest of many efforts to get the Congress to act on
Yemen but it has a chance: https://www.yemenpeaceproject.org/blog-x/2018/3/5/sjres54-latest-in-a-chain-of-congressional-action-on-yemen A useful tool for calling your senator
is here:
5.
Today
marks six months since Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico. Our fellow citizens
still need our help – parts of the island *still* do not have power (https://www.voanews.com/a/new-blackout-puerto-rico-amid-funding-worries/4277247.html). But Washington has moved on. Congress has
not moved forward the Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Equitable Rebuild Act (H.R. 4782) to ensure these folks get the assistance
they need, and the Treasury Department cut disaster relief loans to Puerto Rico
by more than half. Let’s contact our MoCs and tell them to prioritize this
legislation, and second Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello’s call for
Congress to loosen restrictions on Puerto Rico’s ability to obtain relief
funds.
6.
In the
wake of Secretary of State Tillerson’s firing, we are sending Ivanka Trump to
do our diplomatic bidding in South Korea: http://www.newsweek.com/ivanka-trump-tillerson-south-korea-849409 Let’s take a moment to ask Ms. Trump to
please step away from something she is wholly unqualified to do (never mind her
business conflicts of interest).
7.
We all
heard of the case recently where an asylum-seeker from the Democratic Republic
of Congo was separated from her young daughter for four months. This cruel
incident, the ACLU points out, is not an isolated case, but rather a ruthless
and effective tactic “to warn immigrants not to come here, or else they might
lose their children.” Let’s not let the Trump administration get away with
this. “We have the power change this cruel policy - if enough of us raise our
voices. Sign this petition to tell Homeland Security to end the vicious and
inhumane practice of separating children from their families.” Sign here:
https://action.aclu.org/petition/separating-families
8.
The
deadline for writing the omnibus budget spending bill is this Friday, March 23,
and debate is still swirling around several “poison pills” that could be
included. http://thehill.com/homenews/house/378862-congress-races-to-finish-12-trillion-funding-bill
Most disturbing is the GOP insistence to
invoke Hyde Amendment rules for any funds allocated to stabilizing Obamacare,
which would mean restricting any insurance company that covers abortions from
federal funds, even if these funds weren’t directly used for abortions. The GOP
also wants to include a “conscience protection clause,” which would protect
health care workers who have religious objections to abortion. Funds for the
border wall are also still “in play,” and the Democrats have abandoned their
push for a DACA fix as part of the legislation. http://thehill.com/homenews/house/378862-congress-races-to-finish-12-trillion-funding-bill
Let’s make sure our voices are heard in
pushing for what’s important to us as this legislation becomes finalized.
9.
The
Saudi Prince begins a U.S. visit today and the administration is pushing back
against bipartisan S.J. Res. 54, which would stop U.S. aid to the Saudis for
their war in Yemen, labeled by the UN as one of the worst recent humanitarian
crises. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/18/us/politics/trump-saudi-yemen.html
Let’s make sure our MoCs know that we support
SJ Res 54, and that we do not want the U.S. to be giving Saudi Arabia a “blank
check” for further atrocities. A vote on the resolution is expected this week.
10. Trump wants a enormous expansion of offshore
oil and gas drilling (http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/01/trump-proposes-vast-expansion-offshore-drilling) and he wants Interior Secretary Ryan
Zinke to relax the safety regulations governing this drilling. But in
surprise crane inspections last week, Interior Department records released to
the NY Times show that the rate of lift-related offshore accidents last year
increased by more than 4%, reaching the second-highest annual level in the past
decade. In February, Zinke issued a stop-work order for a National Academy of
Sciences study looking at ways to reduce offshore accidents: https://www.facebook.com/nytimes/posts/10151521322229999 We should tell Zinke what we think of
both proposals before he issues new rules, and urge him to let the NAS
scientists do their work: 1849 C St, NW, DC 20240 or 202-208-3100.
11.
Trump
has nominated Howard Nielson Jr. for a lifetime appointment as a federal judge
from Utah. In addition to a longstanding history of bigotry and advocacy for
the use of torture, Nielson has argued that common sense gun control laws like
bans on handgun purchases by people under 21 or local ordinances barring
semiautomatic rifles are unconstitutional (http://www.newsweek.com/president-trumps-new-judicial-nominee-believes-gay-judges-shouldnt-hear-lgbt-771447). Our senators need to know that this is not
someone we want on the federal bench. We can find talking points and scripts
from Indivisible here.
Election 2018 –
General
|
1. The first major test of the gun control
movement’s electoral power since #Parkland is almost here. On April 3rd Wisconsin
will elect a new state supreme court justice. Judge Rebecca Dalletsupports common sense gun control
regulations like an assault weapons ban and has criticized overly broad
readings of the Second Amendment and the influence of special interests. Her
opponent, Scott Walker-appointee Michael Screnock, has the active support and
endorsement of the NRA (https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2018/03/09/wisconsin-high-court-candidates-rebecca-dallet-and-michael-screnock-divided-over-guns-nra/404119002/). Let’s send a message to politicians
nationwide that if they toe the NRA’s line they’ll pay for it at the ballot
box. We can help Judge Dallet from anywhere in the country by following her on Twitter, donating, by joining Postcards to Voters, or by signing
up to phone bank or text bank voters at this link.
|
2.
Part of
turning the House blue in November involves running a competitive campaign. In
order for candidates to do so, they need to have the funds. Swing Left has
launched Midterm Madness to help encourage us to raise money for Democratic
candidates in specific districts across the U.S. We can contribute to whichever
region we want to see flip blue in November, and compete against other regions
to see who can raise the most funds: https://swingleft.org/midterm-madness
Election 2018 –
By State
1.
GA: A bill advancing in the Georgia Legislature
would reduce voting hours in the city of Atlanta and limit early voting on
Sundays. The legislation would force Atlanta’s polls to close
at 7 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. and allow voting in advance of
Election Day on only one Saturday or Sunday. Last week, the GA House
Governmental Affairs Committee approved [GA] Senate
Bill 363 (SB363). The
committee’s five Democrats opposed the bill. We can read more at Politically Georgia. If we are Georgians, let's call our state house representatives to let them know that we oppose
voter-suppressing bill SB363.
2.
IL: Today is primary day in Illinois, and we’ll
have the chance to select nominees for Congress, governor and other statewide
and local offices. Let’s make sure we get out and vote. We can find our polling
place at this link: https://ova.elections.il.gov/PollingPlaceLookup.aspx
3.
MO, MT, WV, IN, ND: New polls show Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Jon Tester (D-MT), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) would all lose reelection to GOP
challengers if voters were heading to the polls now. Let's read more
at The Hill. If we are in these states, let's consider
ways that we can help these important Democratic campaigns. Links are to the
senators' campaign sites. Let's work together to keep these seats blue.
4. ALL: Whatever
your political affiliation... anyone who has been following the special
election races knows the feeling of losing by a handful of votes. For example,
the vote in PA-18 this last week was conducted almost exclusively via
electronic touchscreens, and as Nate Silver reports, this leaves no recourse
for those demanding a recount. (https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/pennsylvania-18-district-lamb-results/) It's important now more than ever for ALL
of us to lobby for voter-verified paper ballots and rigorous post-election
audits, so that we can continue to have faith in the results of our electoral
process. This week Rogan's List will be providing several interconnected steps
we can take to hold our local election officials accountable. Step 2 (Step 1 was in the 3/18 Rogan’s
List): Find the names of your local and state election agencies: A)
The US Election Assistance Commission has links to the official election
agencies of each US state and territory. (https://www.eac.gov/voters/register-and-vote-in-your-state/) From the website of your state or
territory’s election agency you can usually find contact info for your local
election agency (which may be part of your county or town government), B) Google your jurisdiction/location + “election
authority” or “board of election” for contact info, and C) Call your local or
state elected official’s office; staffers there should be able to help you
identify the local and state election agencies.
#VerifytheVote
Other Actions
1.
Since
the mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, we've
seen kids from that school (and many others) shoulder the burden of leadership
in their quest for sensible gun control, at times looking more mature and
focused than our actual leaders. This didn't happen by accident; their
schools had taught these kids how to think critically, and how to respond to
injustice in a democratic nation of laws. They are doing us proud, but
meanwhile subjects like civics and social studies are being cut. https://theconversation.com/teaching-students-how-to-dissent-is-part-of-democracy-93046 Let's
each call our local school district and ask what steps they are
taking to support the education of our kids, who are not only our future
scientists and entrepreneurs, but also our young citizens and future
leaders.
2.
“Last
Week Tonight" host John Oliver on Sunday night
announced the release of a children’s book that spoofs the one second lady
Karen Pence and her daughter wrote about their family rabbit, Marlon Bundo.
Oliver announced at the end of his show that he had published a book that
mirrors the one about the Pence family’s pet rabbit, except in Oliver’s
version, the rabbit is gay. However, Oliver was critical of the fact that the
tour to promote the children’s book includes a stop at Focus on the Family, a
religious organization that the host said promotes gay conversion therapy.” All
proceeds of Oliver’s book will be donated to the Trevor Project and AIDS
United. http://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/379105-john-oliver-publishes-spoof-of-book-about-pence-family-rabbit. You can purchase the book, “Last
Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents a Day in the Life of Marlon
Bundo” here:
3.
We’ve
all seen how Facebook let Cambridge Analytics harvest data from 50 million
unwitting users. Many people who didn’t use apps, still had their data stolen
because their friends did. If we want to prevent this from happening to us in
the future, we can learn to turn off App access to our Facebook data here.
Share as much as you like.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/975107064912629765.html We
can read more about how this theft as orchestrated, and the very real dangers
that remain, here: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/17/cambridge-analytica-facebook-influence-us-election
4.
Last
week, get-out-the-vote organization Postcards to Voters assigned 16,395 addresses to
volunteers in one day. Over 17,000 people have now signed up to
participate. Two campaigns are currently open: 1) AZ-Campaign
60:
Dr. Hiral Tipirneni for US Congress. 2) WI - Campaign
63:
Judge Rebecca Dallet for WI Supreme Court. Returning writers may text WIN
to (484) ASK-ABBY which is (484) 275-2229 and get addresses right away, 24/7 with
an emailed courtesy copy for added convenience. If we are new
to this effective grassroots effort, we can still
email: Join@TonyTheDemocrat.org OR text JOIN to (484) ASK-ABBY.
Let's write 5 postcards to voters.
5.
Antisemitism
is on the rise: https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/2/27/17057802/anti-semitism-incidents-increase-adl, and yet antisemitism is often poorly understood
or downplayed by progressives. Let’s educate ourselves by reading this report
from the group Jews
for Racial & Economic Justice: http://jfrej.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/JFREJ-Understanding-Antisemitism-November-2017-v1-3.pdf
6.
"As
students across the country prepare for the March for Our Lives and other
coordinated actions to demand action to end gun violence, please take a moment
and record a video to tell them how thankful and proud of them you are."
We can participate in this positive initiative from the National Education
Association and help spread their #ThankYouStudents message here: http://neatoday.org/thankyoustudents
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
States
1.
ALL: Around 20,000 people commit
suicide using guns each year. Washington is about to become the first state to
enact a “firearm choice” law. Under the law, people can put their names on a
do-not-sell list, voluntarily disqualifying themselves from purchasing a gun
from licensed dealers. www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-ayres-vars-washington-firearm-choice-20180312-story.html Let’s tell our governors and
state legislators that we want to see a firearm choice law enacted in our
state. Find legislators: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator
and find governors:
2.
ALL (except CA and WA): Automatic
voter registration. Election Day registration. Pre-registration for 16- &
17-year-olds. A state-based Voting Rights Act. These four reforms are now the
law in California and Washington.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/03/all-of-a-sudden-voting-rights-are-expanding-across-the-country/ Let’s contact our state legislators (https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator
)
and governors (https://www.usa.gov/state-governor) and tell them we want them to bring these
expanded voting rights to our state, too.
3.
CA: The California Legislative Black Caucus prioritizes legislation that
promotes social, economic, and educational justice. Let’s review the CLBC’s
legislative package: http://blackcaucus.legislature.ca.gov/content/legislative-package , and let’s tell our state legislators
to support it: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/
4.
MA: Behind closed doors on Beacon Hill, there’s been significant debate
about toughening up Massachusetts gun control regulations with a new red flag
law. The legislation is likely to pass if it gets a floor vote – now we need to
make sure it gets one (https://news.wgbh.org/2018/03/09/politics-government/there-gun-control-debate-beacon-hill-its-taking-place-email). Let’s check if our legislators are
supporting extreme
risk protection order bills like H. 3081 or H.
3610, contact
them and
let them know we want them to lobby leadership for a vote. Everytown for Gun Safety will connect you directly to your state
rep if you text SAFETY to 64433.
Reading/Watching
1.
“We are definitely in a period of sustained
constitutional infection. The question is whether we can collectively bring
that infection under control before we face an acute crisis.” This is from an
excellent piece in The Atlantic titled “Is American on the Verge of a
Constitutional Crisis?”: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/03/is-america-on-the-verge-of-a-constitutional-crisis/555860/
2.
“Conservatives Mobilize Grass-Roots Activists To
Promote Trump Judges” - https://www.npr.org/2018/03/16/593487330/conservatives-mobilize-grass-roots-activists-to-promote-trump-judges
3.
“The
White Allies’ Guide to Collecting Aunt Linda: 10 rules for speaking up on the
Internet” - https://medium.com/@realtalkwocandallies/the-white-allies-guide-to-collecting-aunt-linda-41c6a92ae864
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