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.
This week in Congress: Sixteen (16) bills are
scheduled for the floor on the House Majority Leader's Schedule. Let's be aware of what's coming up this
week.
2.
Insider chatter in
Washington continues to suggest that Trump may fire Rosenstein, Sessions or
Mueller any day now (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/deputy-ag-rod-rosenstein-tells-confidantes-he-prepared-be-fired-n865596). We need to be
prepared for what happens next. 1) Right now, let’s call our MoCs and ask them what they are
doing to help ensure rapid passage of S.2644/H.R. 3654 to protect the special
counsel from being fired, and tell them to publicly commit to supporting it AND
overriding a Trump veto. 2) Let’s text the word "Mueller" to Public
Citizen to get a text update as soon as news breaks. 3) If we’re already among
the 300,000 Americans committed to take part in an immediate rapid response
event if Trump crosses a red line, let’s help spread the word and get more
folks to sign up – and if we’re not, let’s
find the event nearest us. 4) Let’s check out Indivisible
Guide’s legislative plan of action for the day after a firing and get ready
to call our reps about it.
3.
Following Mike Pompeo's confirmation
hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rand Paul has indicated
that he may vote "no" on Pompeo's nomination to be Secretary of
State (https://cnn.it/2HiSaPD). If
the Committee Democrats all oppose Pompeo as well, this would mean that he
would not receive the majority vote. Still, Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell could choose to bring his confirmation to a full Senate vote anyway.
Let's contact Rand Paul and tell him that we want him to oppose Pompeo's
confirmation; we do not need someone who is both Islamophobic and homophobic serving
as our nation's top diploma (167 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC,
20510; Phone: 202-224-4343; E-mail: https://www.paul.senate.gov/connect/email-rand). Let's
also be sure to contact our own senators and ask them to oppose Pompeo as
Secretary of State. We can use the call script
available at 5calls.org.
4.
The administration
may be claiming that our recent strikes are in retaliation for the horrific
chemical weapons attack the Syrian government launched against its own people,
but if the president really cared about civilians in Syria, he would relax the
rules against admitting refugees. Only 11 Syrian refugees have been allowed
into the country in 2018 (https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/04/12/602022877/the-u-s-has-welcomed-only-11-syrian-refugees-this-year). Let’s tell our MoCs we are disgusted by this hypocrisy and
we want to open our doors to people in need.
5.
The 1973 War Powers
Act is meant to "insure that the collective judgment of both the Congress
and the President will apply to the introduction of United States Armed Forces
into hostilities" and requires the President to consult with Congress
before introducing U.S. armed forces into hostilities or situations where
hostilities are imminent, and to continue such consultations as long as U.S.
armed forces remain in such situations (50 USC Sec. 1542, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/04/the-unconstitutional-strike-on-syria/558044/). However horrifying the chemical attacks in Syria are,
Trump has, as a number of members of Congress have pointed out, acted illegally
in ordering attacks on Syria. We must insist that our members of Congress
defend the Constitution and hold Trump accountable to its provisions.
6.
Congress has required Facebook CEO
Mark Zuckerberg to testify, but not Cambridge Analytica’s financier Robert
Mercer and his daughter, board member Rebekah Mercer (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/27/the-reclusive-hedge-fund-tycoon-behind-the-trump-presidency). Let’s tell our MoCs that
we want Robert and Rebekah Mercer to testify in Congress about Cambridge
Analytica’s abuse of private citizen data to sway the 2016 election.
7.
From Postcards for America: Sinclair is the
same media group that Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner cut a deal with during
the 2016 elections to air "good" coverage for Trump. It requires
“must-run” right-wing segments on things like “fake news” from other stations
and “terror alerts” when there is none. Now, Trump, FCC
Chairman Ajit Pai, and the FCC are easing a law that prevents a single
broadcaster from reaching more than 40% of the country's population—reinstating
a loophole that the Obama administration had gotten rid of—so that Sinclair
could broadcast to well over 70% of the country (https://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/06/trump-fcc-sinclair-broadcast-expansion-241337). Let's
check here for more info and actions: https://pc2a.info/SinclairTelevisionLocalNewsStations.
8.
Andrew Wheeler, a coal
lobbyist who has spent much of his career trying to undermine the EPA, is now
going to be its deputy administrator – and would take over Scott Pruitt’s
responsibilities if he’s ever fired over his multiple scandals (https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/12/politics/andrew-wheeler-environmental-protection-agency-scott-pruitt-congress/index.html). Let’s check
out how our senators voted
on his confirmation, and call to either thank them or express our disappointment in
their votes.
9.
Last week, Mick
Mulvaney, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB),
appeared before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee and
the House Finance Committee (https://lat.ms/2qy916N). There, he
acknowledged that although there are numerous open probes into financial
institutions, the CFPB has taken no enforcement actions since he became acting
director, and he continues to recommend that the bureau be reduced. Meanwhile,
judges from the D.C. Court of Appeals indicated that they see issues with
Mulvaney holding the position of Acting Director of CFPB while he remains the
head of the White House Office of Management and Budget (https://lat.ms/2JL4KFO). Let's
contact Mulvaney and tell him that we agree, and that we want him to resign
from his position at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: The Office of
Management and Budget 725 17th
Street, NW Washington, DC 20503; Fax: 202-395-3888; Twitter: @MickMulvaneyOMB.
10.
Several members of
the U.S. Cabinet, including Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of Education
Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and
CIA Director/Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo, are sponsoring the first
Bible Study group held at the White House in 100 years. The group is led by a
pastor who is anti-gay, anti-woman, and anti-Catholic. (http://www.newsweek.com/white-house-bible-group-led-pastor-anti-gay-anti-women-anti-catholic-881860). While legal experts claim that this is not a violation of
the separation of church and state as long as this is done on their own time (https://mic.com/articles/183167/trumps-cabinet-is-reportedly-holding-white-house-bible-studies-is-that-unconstitutional#.G6Zru3UNT) we should express our concerns to these Cabinet members and
to our MoCs about an organized doctrine of extremist positions that violate
people’s individual rights.
11.
On Monday, the Senate will resume consideration of the House
message to accompany S.140, A bill to amend the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water
Rights Quantification Act of 2010 to clarify the use of amounts in the WMAT
Settlement Fund (Source: Senate Floor Schedule.) The Tuscon Sentinel discusses the amended bill that passed in the House in
January. Let's be aware of the issues surrounding this bill and its amendments.
Election 2018 – General
1. Postcards To Voters
opened last weekend with 30,000 addresses and three (3) new campaigns! That's
30,000 voters who will be receiving handwritten election-reminder postcards.
Let's check out these campaigns: 1) NY: Campaign 75, Deb Slinkosky for State Assembly. 2)
TX: Campaign 76, Norma Hutchins for Prosper Town Council. 3)
AR: Campaign 77, Teresa Gallegos for Arkansas State Senate. Addresses
are going quickly as new and existing members request 5 addresses each.
Remember: we can volunteer to write for any campaign from any state.
2. CORRECTION: On Friday we included an action about Paul Ryan’s
retirement asking folks to show support for a Democratic candidate in the
Wisconsin First Congressional District, Randy Bryce. Bryce is actually one of two Democrats running for that
seat and is in a primary with Cathy Myers. It is Rogan’s List policy to only include actions for
particular candidates when they have secured the nomination or are the only
Democratic running for that seat. If you would like to donate to whoever gets
the nomination in this district, you can contribute to ActBlue’s fund for the
Dem pick here.
Election 2018 – By State
1.
NY: While there are no
special elections this week, April 24th will be a big day for state legislative special
elections (https://ballotpedia.org/State_legislative_special_elections,_2018#April_24)
in New York. Let’s vote for the following Democrats. We can find our
district numbers here: www.elections.ny.gov/district-map/district-map.html#/?radius=1
NY State Senate District 32: Luis Sepulveda https://www.facebook.com/sepulvedafor32nd/
NY State Senate District 37: Shelley Mayer https://www.shelley4senate.com/
NY State Assembly District 17: Matt Malin https://www.matthewmalin.com/
NY State Assembly District 39: Ari Espinal (unopposed) http://ariespinal.nationbuilder.com/
NY State Assembly District 74: Harvey Epstein https://harveyfornewyork.com/home.asp
NY State Assembly District 80: Nathalia Fernandez https://www.fernandez2018.com/
NY State Assembly District 102: Aidan O’Connor, Jr. https://aidanforassembly.com/
NY State Assembly District 107: Cynthia Doran https://www.facebook.com/Doran4Assembly/
Other Actions
1.
On Friday, students across the country will
engage in a national walkout against gun violence to mark the 19th anniversary
of the Columbine shooting (https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/new-jersey/2018/04/13/nj-students-teachers-join-april-20-day-action-against-gun-violence/510619002/). The Network for Public Education is looking
to help amplify their calls for change by delivering hundreds of thousands of
letters asking for action to the local offices of members of Congress the same
day. They need volunteers to collect letters from family, neighbors and
colleagues, and commit to delivering them in person to the local offices. If
we’re able, let’s sign up to take part in this effort.
2.
Following a push led
by NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio last month (https://www.citylab.com/equity/2018/03/net-neutrality-executive-orders-fcc-mayors-bill-de-blasio/555344/), nearly 100 mayors have now signed an open Internet
pledge, stating they will only do business with internet providers that follow
net neutrality principles. Let’s thank our mayors if they have taken this step, and contact those who haven’t and ask them to sign on. (From mayorsfornetneutrality.org)
3.
A special request from a Rogan’s
List contributor: “On Wednesday, my Republican
governor in Vermont, Phil Scott, signed three excellent sensible gun control
bills into law. I brought my children to the bill-signing as a celebratory
civics lesson. We left before his pen touched the paper with my children in
tears because the dissenters’ vitriol was so terrifying and unrelenting.
Governor Scott persisted while people dressed in hunter orange and camouflage
screeched “traitor” and “liar” at him. More information can be found here: https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2018/04/13/finally-vermont-toughens-its-gun-control-laws/4tr2jXMPPC7Nf2g5By9czN/story.html. Can we please take a moment to
drop a note of thanks to Governor Scott so that the wave of gratitude exceeds
what he experienced at the signing? We can reach him at http://governor.vermont.gov/contact.”
4.
Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin had
this to say about the teacher protest in his state: “I guarantee
you somewhere in Kentucky today, a child was sexually assaulted that was left
at home because there was nobody there to watch them. I guarantee you somewhere
today, a child was physically harmed or ingested poison because they were left
alone because a single parent didn’t have any money to take care of them” (https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/ky-legislature/2018/04/13/matt-bevin-kentucky-governor-children-sexually-assaulted-teacher-protests/516569002/). Let’s
share our thoughts with Governor Bevin about his approach to resolving this
labor issue: https://governor.ky.gov.
5.
Everyone's favorite "bot," Resistbot, is now embeddable
on any website: "So if you manage
an Indivisible, Swing Left, TWW, county party web site, or anything where your
users want to write to their members of Congress or use any of my other brand
new features like
NRA, Trump,
Sinclair and others, now you
can!" We can follow the easy step-by-step instructions here: https://medium.com/@resistbot/im-an-embeddable-bot-now-b506c3b0724d.
6.
All the current
crises in the Middle East have led to massive numbers of people being displaced
from their homes and an increased need for humanitarian aid (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/01/29/where-displaced-syrians-have-resettled/). The International Rescue Committee has a fund to help refugees in Syria and Yemen, and the United Nations
World Relief Agency helps refugees
in Gaza. Let’s check out these organizations and donate money to help meet
people’s basic needs for hunger and medical care.
7.
Many of us like Glennon Doyle (Melton) and the work she
does. The non-profit she partners with, Together
Rising, "identifies
what is breaking the hearts of our givers as they look around their world and
their community, and then we connect our givers’ generosity with the people and
organizations who are effectively addressing that critical need."
Currently, they are doing an emergency love flash mob in support of the
devastated children and families in Syria. Let's learn more here and see
how we can help: https://mailchi.mp/momastery/emergency-love-flash-mob?e=875ec4be2c. Let's
sign up for their newsletters while we are at it.
8.
Now that we see the danger posed by
Fake News attacks, how do we organize effectively to fight against it? In this
latest section of “The Information War Handbook”, Joohn Choe draws from his
experience building successful Fake News Fighting resistance communities to
outline “strategies for research, guided content creation and content
distribution that will allow activist groups to counter fake news.” We can
learn more here: https://medium.com/@joohnchoe/the-resistance-information-warfare-handbook-part-vi-86a9476b0672.
9.
If
we are looking for a political campaign job, The Campaign Workshop has made a
list of their favorite political job boards
and job banks to help jumpstart your job search. We also use these guides from
them to help us in our searches. If we are not looking for a job like this, we
can share this information with our networks and with people who may be
interested. We can check out Tackling Your First
Political Job Hunt or Finding
Political Jobs in DC.
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to attend/organize
States
1. ALL:
Automatic voter registration (AVR)
has been approved in eleven states and the District of Columbia, and now New
Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) is expected sign a bill making New Jersey the
twelfth state with AVR (https://bit.ly/2IY10iS). Let's
head over to the Brennan Center to check our states' progress in passing
similar legislation, and if we are not among those who already have AVR, let's
contact our state legislators and ask them to introduce legislation ASAP: https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/automatic-voter-registration.
Reading/Watching
1. As usual, our weekly dose of Small Victories: https://mailchi.mp/peaceisloud/small-victories-democracy-is-a-daily-exercise?e=86890239c4.
2. Experts
in authoritarianism advise us to keep a list of things subtly changing around
us, so we’ll remember. Amy Siskind is keeping that list for us. Amy
writes, "This week, Trump became angry and stormy after the office
and hotel room of his longtime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen were raided by
the FBI. " Let's
review Amy
Siskind's list week 74.
3. “Inside the Memorial to Victims of
Lynching,” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/inside-the-memorial-to-victims-of-lynching-60-minutes-oprah-winfrey/.
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