There
will be no Rogan’s List on Monday, Labor Day.
Contact Federal Government Officials
Fax legislators for free:
or use
Resistbot: https://resist.bot/
White House contact: https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/white-house
********************************
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.
Next
week, Speaker Ryan has said that “Goodlatte can move forward with a contempt
hearing in the House Judiciary Committee he chairs if he determines Rosenstein
has not fully complied with the unprecedented GOP House subpoena seeking
confidential information about the on-going Russia investigation. It is nearly
certain Goodlatte will determine Rosenstein has not complied and that his
committee will rubber stamp his determination, sending the matter to the full
House for a vote.” This will be the
beginning of shutting down the Mueller investigation and cannot be permitted to
happen. Loyal Opposition explains this and
tells that all Democratic representatives will vote against it, but that 22 GOP
members are needed to stop it. https://www.theloyalopposition.net/daily-ctas/urgent-cta-protect-mueller-reps-must-vote-no-on-rosenstein-contempt/ If we have a GOP rep, let’s call and tell
them to vote against this travesty of justice.
Let’s all call the GOP members of the House Judiciary Committee: https://judiciary.house.gov/subcommittee/full-committee/ Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich has five
things we can do as well: https://www.facebook.com/RBReich/videos/2116403255038926/
2.
On September
4th, when the Senate begins hearings for Brett Cavanaugh's confirmation to the
Supreme Court, it will be considering whether to install the potentially
decisive vote on questions about Trump's legal immunity (e.g. whether a
president can be indicted) at a time when Trump is already a named co-conspirator
in a criminal case. To those of us who think a president should be answerable
for criminal acts, Kavanaugh's record on this issue is unacceptable (https://www.npr.org/2018/08/23/641359601/where-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-stands-on-executive-power),
so let's put our resistance into action. In addition to making our
opposition known to our senators, check Indivisible's text hotline to keep
people informed of practical ways to
oppose Cavanaugh's confirmation (text SCOTUS to 97779 to join).
3.
Keeping
in mind that sweeping tax cuts, which primarily benefitted the very wealthy and
corporations, it seems that the country now has a money problem. So much so that “Trump announced Thursday he
was canceling across-the-board pay raises for civilian workers across the
federal government, citing the “nation’s fiscal situation.”” https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/30/trump-cancels-pay-raises-federal-workers-804574 Let’s let our MoCs know that this is not okay
with us and that cutting taxes should only happen when we are doing everything
we should be doing as a country.
4.
Senate
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer yesterday made a deal with Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell. "The New York Democrat and Kentucky Republican reached an
agreement on Tuesday to swiftly confirm seven federal district court
judges nominated by Trump and put eight others on deck for confirmation next
week." https://www.vox.com/2018/8/29/17797230/harry-reid-adam-jentleson-trump-judges-schumer Given
the administration's obvious efforts to pack the courts and the dangers of that
(https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/commentisfree/2017/dec/12/donald-trump-right-wing-takeover-court-system),
why would Senate Democrats do this? Even if the judges were going to be
confirmed anyway, we'd rather see Dems make this as difficult for Republicans
and their questionable objectives as possible. Let's let our Democratic
Senators know that we don't want them to cave to any further Republican
"deals." We can use Celeste Pewter's script, here: https://twitter.com/Celeste_pewter/status/1034876396168867840
5.
“CEO pay
continues to be very, very high and has grown far faster in recent decades than
typical worker pay. Higher CEO pay does not reflect correspondingly higher
output or better performance. Exorbitant CEO pay therefore means that the
fruits of economic growth are not going to ordinary workers. …CEOs are getting
more because of their power to set pay, not because they are more productive or
have special talents or more education. If CEOs earned less or were taxed more,
there would be no adverse impact on output or employment.” https://www.epi.org/publication/ceo-compensation-surged-in-2017/ Let’s
tell our MoCs to enact laws recommended by the Economic Policy Institute to
address this problem: “reinstate higher marginal income tax rates at the very
top; set corporate tax rates higher for firms that have higher ratios of
CEO-to-worker compensation; set a cap on compensation and tax anything over the
cap; allow greater use of ‘say on pay,’ which allows firm’s shareholders to
vote on top executives’ compensation.”
6.
Prisoners
across the U.S. are continuing their strike until September 9th, calling
for "humane living conditions, access to rehabilitation, sentencing
reform, and the end of modern day slavery," (https://twitter.com/JailLawSpeak/status/988771668670799872).
Among their ten demands is the repeal of the Prison Litigation Reform Act
(PLRA), a law which was passed in 1996, and effectively shut incarcerated
people who wish to file grievances out of the court system (https://bit.ly/2C34imv, https://bit.ly/2MCq4SV).
Let's read this piece in
the New Yorker about how the PLRA has played out. Then, let's contact our MoC
at the state and federal level, and tell them that we want to see prisoners'
civil rights enforced, and that there needs to be more accountability in the
prison system, and they can do both of these things by repealing the Prison
Litigation and Reform Act.
Election
2018 – General
An election guide
from Postcards
for America: In
this Google doc (updated regularly), each State shows ALL Democratic Candidates
running for Congress, Governor, Lt Gov, Attorney General, Secretary of State
(if applicable) with links to their websites and Twitter. Each has a link to a
Twitter Thread, a Shareable Facebook Post and a Document. For most States,
there are also Info & Links for Voter Registrations, Absentee Ballots,
Early Voting & Voter ID, Age Requirements and being a Poll Worker. Let’s
check this out and use and share it:
1. The “big blue wave” taking back the House of
Representatives is likely but hardly a foregone conclusion, as these graphs
from Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight suggest:
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2018-midterm-election-forecast/house/#maps Our takeaway? Each and every one of us
is needed to get out that big, blue vote. To help us do that, the Democratic
Party is adopting a one-stop shop for volunteers interested in working for
Democratic campaigns and progressive caucuses. The tool, called
MobilizeAmerica, aims to provide a single "marketplace" for
volunteers, where a wide range of left-leaning campaigns and causes can connect
with activists looking to get involved. We can read more at NBCNews and check out high-impact opportunities
near us at MobilizeAmerica. (also on Facebook) We can get the tools to help magnify our
own group's actions here. Let's be part of the Blue Wave.
2.
Postcards To Voters has launched Campaign 103: Blake Morris
for NY State Senate. Morris is among the progressive candidates running
against incumbents in the NY State Senate who have run as Democrats, but
then worked on and voted for and supported Republican-led initiatives to the
exclusion of reform measures that passed the Democratic State House. We can
read about Blake and his campaign at WNYC. If we are Postcards To Voters volunteers,
let's write 5 cards today to voters in this Brooklyn district. We can request
addresses using our usual methods. (Remember: Facebook ABBY is more
cost-effective for P2V than Text ABBY .) New volunteers can sign up here.
3. Spread the Vote has partnered
with Resistbot to help people be
ready and able to cast their votes in November.
Let’s check this out and share it:
https://resistbot.news/get-ready-to-vote-4e88ba8124aa
4. Want to see how voting
equipment stacks up in each state and who has a paper ballot and who does not,
check out Verified Voting’s “Verifier”:
https://www.verifiedvoting.org/verifier/ If our state does not have a paper ballot, let’s
call and ask our election officials what they will do should a back up be
needed: https://www.usa.gov/election-office
5.
Turnout
is the key to winning our 2018 Midterms and Pod Save America offers us a simple
way to help get out the vote locally. When we visit their Vote Save America
site and enter our zip code, we will see a list of events near us. We can then
choose from a variety of canvassing, phone banking activities in our area, with
the highest priority ones clearly marked. Once we have found our events, we can
share this link with our friends. The more we try, the better our chances are! https://votesaveamerica.com/dosomething/
Election
2018 – By State
1.
Upcoming
voting dates and deadlines:
September 1
|
New Hampshire
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary by mail: in person-same day
|
September 3
|
Alaska
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
REAA
|
September 4
|
Massachusetts
|
Election date
|
Primary
|
September 6
|
Delaware
|
Election date
|
Primary
|
September 11
|
New Hampshire
|
Election date
|
Primary
|
September 12
|
Rhode Island
|
Election date
|
Primary
|
September 13
|
New York
|
Election date (State primary)
|
State Primary
|
September 17
|
Alaska
|
Early Voting begins
|
REAA
|
September 17
|
Illinois
|
Early Voting begins
|
General
|
September 21
|
Minnesota
|
In person absentee voting begins
|
General
|
September 21
|
South Dakota
|
In person absentee voting begins
|
General
|
September 21
|
Wyoming
|
In person absentee voting begins
|
General
|
September 22
|
Vermont
|
Early Voting begins
|
General
|
(source: by date:
https://goo.gl/gjFv2u / by state:
https://goo.gl/7gTzvE)
2.
Upcoming Primaries:
A) Tuesday, 9/4
B) Thursday, 9/6
C)
Tuesday, 9/11
D) Wednesday, 9/12
3.
NY: From Indivisible Nation BK (INBK), a reminder
that: NEW YORK STATE PRIMARY IS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13TH! Primary turnout in New York is historically
dismal partly because of soft voter suppression tactics like the split primary.
This year, it is especially confusing for voters because the state
legislature voted to change the election to Thursday, September 13th because
both September 11th and Rosh Hashanah falls on that Tuesday.
There are so many key races this year-- Governor, Attorney General, and state
Senate candidates taking on the IDC. Because much of New York is “blue,” voting
in the primary is our opportunity to choose elected officials who will fight
for what WE believe in, so we need to spread the word and make sure
progressives turn out to vote! To find
out more about INBK’s endorsed candidates, we can click HERE: https://indivisiblenationbk.org and
then check out all the candidates challenging the IDC HERE: https://makenytrueblue.org For help finding out if we’re registered and
where to vote, we can sign up at https://turbovote.org/. For more information, we can watch and
share INBK’s VIDEO about NY’s dirty little secret: the DOUBLE
PRIMARY!
Other
Actions
1.
There
was a huge ICE raid on Tuesday in Paris, TX, 100 miles north of
Dallas today (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/more-150-arrested-massive-ice-raid-texas-n904581).
160 people were detained. Texas Organizing Project and Workers Defense Project
are on the scene and are working alongside a coalition of folks from Dallas,
NILC, Cosecha, and others! TWO BIG ASKS:
A) Share the following link to
fundraise for the bond and basic needs of the affected families: https://www.gofundme.com/families-of-the-north-texas-raid,
and B) Organizers and volunteers on the ground, if anyone is available to come
please fill out the following link:https://actionnetwork.org/forms/support-160-immigrant-families-affected-by-the-ice-raid-in-paris-texas/
2.
Who can
resist “The Resistance Cookbook: Nasty Women and Bad Hombres in the Kitchen”?
Featuring 100 recipes contributed by members of Action Together Massachusetts,
we can enjoy recipes like Comey Testimony Minestrone, Conspiracy Cake with
Indictment Icing, and Impeach Mint Mojitos. Proceeds go to support the Florida
Immigrant Coalition, The New Florida Majority, Black Lives Matter, and Black
Leaders Organizing for Communities. Let’s purchase our cookbook today: https://actiontogetherma.com/the-resistance-cookbook/ Just in time for holiday gift-giving! We can also host a Resistance Cookbook Party
by using this toolkit: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HBVrU3VFJ8KZZYkZUBpTCNiL_Wmc-DMR/view
3.
"Almost
8 in 10 Americans would rather fix public education than experiment with other
options — the highest percentage in two decades. That’s roughly the same window
of time that educational "choice" has been heavily promoted by those
who see K-12 education as a market opportunity. Taken together, these poll
results could be evidence that Americans are realizing that local investment in
public school infrastructure and human capital is a better bet than
silver-bullet solutions." http://pdkpoll.org/perspectives/enrich-upgrade-and-invest-in-the-schools-we-have Let’s read this opinion blog based on the
results of this year’s PDK Poll. Then,
let’s see how we can help fix public education in our own areas.
4.
“The California
Democratic Party chairman is calling for a boycott of In-N-Out Burger
after it was revealed this week that the fast food chain donated $25,000
to the California Republican Party. “Et tu In-N-Out?" Eric Bauman tweeted. "Tens of thousands of dollars donated to
the California Republican Party... it’s time to #BoycottInNOut — let Trump
and his cronies support these creeps... perhaps animal style!" http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/404323-california-dems-call-for-boycott-of-in-n-out-after-donation-to Well,
this is a bummer. In-N-Out is one of the healthier fast food burgers but let’s
pass on this burger treat and the “animal fries”. We can choose to
spend our dollars elsewhere.
5.
Thousands
of teachers are on strike, with many more threatening to join them, in
Washington State after lawmakers passed $1 billion in funding to address a
state Supreme Court case determining that Washington was failing to fully fund
basic education. As a result, all 295 school districts in Washington
state are renegotiating their teacher contracts: https://www.npr.org/2018/08/30/643246137/thousands-of-southwest-washington-teachers-strike To
stay updated, we can check the website of the Washington Education Association-- https://www.washingtonea.org/ourvoice/ --and
we can contact them to offer our help at 253-941-6700 or 32032 Weyerhaeuser Way S, Federal Way, WA 98001.
Marches/events/webinars/TwitterStorms to
attend/organize
1.
Tomorrow, on September 1, from 1-2:30ET, Red2Blue
texting is offering a webinar to teach you how to text bank for candidates. We
can sign up here! Once we feel
comfortable texting, we can sign up for a volunteer shift with Red2Blue here.
2.
On September 8, the Peoples Climate
Movement will lead a
national mobilization for climate, jobs, and justice. We can find a Rise for Climate event near us here, or we can sign up to organize our own. (Note: Rise for Climate, Jobs, and Justice
action in New York City will be held on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 at 5:30
p.m. at Battery Park.)
3.
National Drive Electric Week, September 8-16, 2018, is a nationwide
celebration to heighten awareness of today's widespread availability of plug-in
vehicles and highlight the benefits of all-electric and plug-in hybrid-electric
cars, trucks, motorcycles, and more. Each of the 296 events is led by local
plug-in drivers and advocates. We can find events near us here. If we are not already driving or familiar with
electric vehicles, let's attend an event to learn more about this clean option.
4.
On September 22 there will be a
protest at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago in Florida in commemoration of the first
anniversary of Hurricane Maria:
http://thehill.com/latino/401578-trumps-mar-a-lago-to-be-greeted-with-massive-protest-on-hurricane-maria-anniversary Let’s put this on our calendars
if we will be nearby.
5.
The 2018 March
for Black Women will occur in
Washington, D.C. on September 29 and New York City on September 30,
with sister marches all over the country.
Let’s fine more information here:
https://www.blackwomensblueprint.org/march-for-black-women and here: https://www.facebook.com/events/187741818714062/ Let’s learn how to start a sister march/townhall
here: https://www.blackwomensblueprint.org/town-halls-sister-marches
States
Reading/Watching
1.
Democratic
Unity – The Only Way to Create a Blue Wave - https://demwritepress.com/2018/08/30/democratic-unity-the-only-way-to-create-a-blue-wave/
2.
If ‘facts and science still matter,’ as Jerry
Brown claims, then you need to see this scary visualization on rising
temperatures - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/if-facts-and-science-still-matter-as-jerry-brown-claims-then-you-need-to-see-this-scary-visualization-on-rising-temperatures-2018-08-29
3.
This Is How Russian Propaganda Actually Works
In The 21st Century - https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/holgerroonemaa/russia-propaganda-baltics-baltnews
4.
John McCain funeral: Watch Joe Biden's entire
eulogy - https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/politics/2018/08/30/john-mccain-funeral-watch-joe-bidens-entire-eulogy/37663677/
