Rogan's List

8/13/18 

Contact Federal Government Officials

Find elected officials: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

Fax legislators for free: 

Reps:  https://faxzero.com/fax_congress.php

Senate: https://faxzero.com/fax_senate.php

or use Resistbot:  https://resist.bot/

White House contact:  https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/white-house

 

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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.       This week in Congress:  The House is on recess from Washington DC with District Work Weeks thru Tuesday, Sept. 4. (Source: House 2018 Calendar.) Let's try to see our representatives in person if we can.   The Senate is cutting their August recess short and they return to Washington this week. The Wednesday, August 15 session (Source: Senate Executive Calendar) will begin by resuming consideration of the nomination of A. Marvin Quattlebaum, Jr., of South Carolina, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit and the nomination of Julius Ness Richardson, of South Carolina, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit. Let's prepare by reading the Alliance for Justice reports on Quattlebaum and Richardson. 

2.      Election security has become a national topic, although Congress and the White House do not seem to be in any rush to address this need.  An 11-year-old at this year’s annual hacking convention, DEFCON 26 was able to hack into a replica of the Florida state election website and change voting results found there in under 10 minutes.  https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/an-11-year-old-changed-election-results-on-a-replica-florida-state-website-in-under-10-minutes  In case they’ve not yet heard this, let’s share it with our MoCs and tell them this is why this issue is important and needs to be addressed before the midterm elections.  Here is a rundown on some relevant bills:  https://www.suitupmaine.org/prevent-russian-cyberattacks/

3.      Confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh for Supreme Court Justice are set to begin on Sept. 5 even though all the necessary records to review will still not be available.  https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/10/kavanaugh-confirmation-hearings-set-for-sept-4-773344  On Saturday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) tweeted, “99% of Elana Kagan's White House records were made public before her nomination hearing. 0.08% of Brett Kavanaugh's records are public now. It's unprecedented to go to these lengths to hide a Supreme Court nominee's records from the American people.”  Let’s contact our senators and Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) (here)  to let them know we think this is wrong and is fast-tracking an essential part of our democracy.

4.      From one of our own: “The reality is, for every parent who is not located, there will be a permanently orphaned child, and that is 100 percent the responsibility of the administration,” U.S. District Judge Dana M. Sabraw told the federal government at an Aug. 3 hearingabout reunifying separated families. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/local/tracking-migrant-family-separation/ Let’s not let these children get lost in the news cycle . Call your MOC’s and A) Demand that they cut through the red tape and do more to locate these parents they deported and reunite these families. B) Demand that a medical oversight council be established for the children both still separated and reunified and held in family detention C) Demand that once again families seeking safety from domestic abuse , violence and death threats once again be considered grounds for asylum, and D) DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR WHAT THIS ADMINISTRATION DID!! Someone needs to take responsibility for the wrong that was done here. Sessions, Nielsen , Azar-someone needs to publicly admit how morally reprehensible this policy was and they must resign or be fired for what the American Academy of Pediatrics has called Government Sanctioned Child Abuse .

5.      The anti-gun-control forces are putting pressure on Congress to allow the blueprints to printable guns to be made widely available - and they're already out there (https://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2018/08/07/despite-judge-s-ban-3d-gun-blueprints-already-available). Let's make sure we're making our voices heard and contact our MoCs to tell them we want a full ban on printable guns.

6.      We're facing a national housing crisis due to rising rents. Millions of Americans are paying as much as 70 percent of their income for rent and the construction of affordable housing has stalled (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/27/us/politics/hud-affordable-housing-crisis.html). Let's ask our reps to co-sponsor the bipartisan Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (H.R. 1661/S. 548), which stimulates housing construction and availability. (h/t Jen Hoffman)

7.      Seven senators and seven House members, all Democrats, have pledged not to take corporate PAC money (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/06/17/more-democrats-limiting-even-rejecting-special-interest-donations/702907002/). If these are our MoCs, let's thank them. We can find the list from the Americans of Conscience Checklist here. If our MoCs aren't on the list, let's contact their political offices and ask them to take the pledge.

8.     This item, which got buried in the news feed, comes courtesy of Celeste Pewter (Twitter: @celeste_pewter): "The Trump administration moved on Wednesday to shrink a government agency tasked with identifying looming financial risks, notifying around 40 staff members they would be laid off." https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-ofr-cuts/trump-administration-cuts-dozens-of-staff-at-financial-markets-watchdog-source-idUSKBN1KT23O As Celeste puts it, shrinking the Office of Financial Research "is the fiscal equivalent of removing tornado siren warnings. Between this + rollback of parts of Dodd-Frank + gutting of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, this is paving the way for another financial crisis." 

9.      https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/22/business/congress-passes-dodd-frank-rollback-for-smaller-banks.html  Let's call our members of Congress to let them know that we don't need another financial crisis.

10.  The Brennan Center for Justice has published an interesting piece about how concerned the GOP might be about the Kavanaugh nomination to the Supreme Court:   https://www.brennancenter.org/blog/do-republicans-know-something-about-brett-kavanaugh-we-dont  Let’s use this information as a primer for continuing to contact our Senators about this nomination and ask them to await the release of Kavanaugh’s records before proceeding.

11.   While no explanation was given, a Colorado couple has learned that their citizenship application for their 4-year-old daughter, who was born in Peru, has been denied.  https://kdvr.com/2018/08/09/colorado-parents-fighting-to-stop-legally-adopted-four-year-old-daughter-from-being-deported/  Perhaps this is another example of Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy, and it, too, is deplorable.  Let’s ask our MoCs to check into this to save children who are adopted from abroad. 

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:  

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NCYjsm3xKb79z19Gx7PWt5Zs9lkLiTqglHBHYs9mlX8/edit

1.       From one of our own:  You may have heard about states where eligible voters were mysteriously "pruned" from voting rolls or moved to ineligible status? The NVRA/Motor Voter Act prohibits states from engaging in voter roll maintenance closer than 90 days to an election. We are now within that 90-day timeframe. That means you should go & check your registration NOW. Go to vote.org to check your voting status. It will cost 30 seconds to safeguard your right to vote. Spread the word.

2.      On Saturday, Postcards To Voters launched Campaign 99: Maryin Vargas for Miami-Dade County (FL) Commission. Vargas is challenging veteran officeholder Rebeca Sosa, a Republican who has held the seat since 2001 and who has raised more than $300,000 in donations this election cycle. Vargas will be a heavy underdog in the Aug. 28 election. That is no deterrent for those of us who are dedicated postcard-writers! We can read more about this race at the Miami Herald.  Let's request 5 addresses today.  

3.      Gubernatorial nominee Jack Kemp has a scary record in successfully suppressing votes in his home state of Georgia. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/11/opinion/sunday/brian-kemp-enemy-of-democracy.html. He is also refusing to resign his Secretary of State position, leaving him in the ethically sensitive position of overseeing an election he’s running in. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2018/08/08/georgia-groups-call-on-gop-gubernatorial-nominee-brian-kemp-to-step-down-as-the-states-elections-chief/?sw_bypass=true&utm_term=.a8eafc8e2026. Let’s make sure to do everything we can to get out the vote for his challenger, Stacy Abrams, who, if elected, would be the first African American woman governor. We can find out more about her positions, as well as how to volunteer or donate to her campaign here. We can also add our voice to the call for Kemp’s resignation, and donate Money to the Georgia chapter of the NAACP, who has been a loud voice in revealing this ethical conflict and also working to generate voter turnout.

4.      Citing an issue of addressing on his petitions, Matt Morgan, Democratic candidate for Congress from MI’s first district, he was denied being on the Michigan primary ballot last week.  So, he staged a write-in campaign and garnered seven times more the votes need to be placed on the November ballot.  https://theintercept.com/2018/08/09/matt-morgan-jack-bergman-michigan-1st-congressional-district/  If we are able, we can contribute to his campaign here to help turn this seat blue:  https://mattmorganformichigan.com/donate/

5.      From one of our own:  The ACLU will send you a free bumper sticker, "Vote like your rights depend on it". Sign up to be an ACLU Voter, get your free sticker, and vote like your rights depend on it.  Click here:  https://action.aclu.org/petition/get-your-free-aclu-voter-sticker 

6.      If we are concerned about the safety and security of elections we can watch this
Fair & Secure Elections Webinar with almost 100 participants across the nation discussing the critical need for citizens to form groups in their states and localities to press election officials to reduce the risk of our elections being manipulated.  We can see the webinar here:
https://bit.ly/fair-secure-webinar-July-2018  The webinar slides and other resources can be found at: https://bit.ly/fairandsecure To join the movement, we can connect with people from our state by filling out this form: https://goo.gl/forms/sFVNBZwp78isDzq42  After we’ve provided our contact information and state in the form, we can watch for a plan from the Fair & Secure Elections working group which prioritizes and customizes state actions. Let’s make our elections fair and safe together.

Election 2018 – By State

1.       Upcoming voting dates and deadlines:

August 13	Arkansas	Early Voting ends	State Senate Dist 8
August 13	Minnesota	Early Voting ends	Primary
August 13	Vermont	Early Voting ends	Primary
August 14	Vermont	Voter Registration Deadline	Primary
August 14	Wisconsin	Voter Registration Deadline	Primary
August 14	Connecticut	Election date	Primary
August 14	Minnesota	Election date	Primary
August 14	Vermont	Election date	Primary
August 14	Wisconsin	Election date	Primary
August 14	Arkansas	Election date	State Senate Dist 8
August 15	Massachusetts	Voter Registration Deadline	Primary
August 17	New York (state)	Voter Registration Deadline	Primary
August 18	Florida	Early Voting Begins	Primary
August 20	Wyoming	In person absentee voting ends	Primary
August 21	Wyoming	Voter Registration Deadline	Primary (same day registration)
August 21	Alaska	Election date	Primary
August 21	Wyoming	Election date	Primary
August 23	Oklahoma	Early Voting begins	Runoffs
August 25	Oklahoma	Early voting ends	Runoffs
August 25	Guam	Election date	Primary
August 25	Florida	Early Voting ends	Primary

(source:  by date:  https://goo.gl/gjFv2u   by state:  https://goo.gl/7gTzvE)

2.      Upcoming Primaries:

A)    Tuesday, 8/14

CT:  Connecticut 8/14 Primary: At a Glance

MN:  Minnesota 8/14 Primary: At a Glance

VT:  Vermont 8/14 Primary: At a Glance

WI:  Wisconsin 8/14 Primary: At a Glance  

If we are looking for a pro-choice voter guide for Tuesday, it’s here.

B)    Tuesday, 8/28

AL:  Alaska 8/21 Primary: At a Glance

WY:  Wyoming 8/21 Primary: At a Glance

3.      KS:  ACLU Kansas needs our help to call voters who cast provisional ballots because of photo ID issues and remind them to submit the required paperwork to make sure their vote counts.  We can join them on Tuesday, August 14, for a few hours between 2-7 pm to get through the list and make sure every vote in KS counts. Their address is 6701 W. 64th St. Ste 210; Overland Park, KS 66202. It is Building 5 in the Cloverleaf Office Park: RSVP HERE.  Every call counts, and every vote counts. Let's protect our Kansas elections! 

Other Actions

1.       In the spirit of non-violent protest, Patricia Okoumou, climbed the Statue of Liberty on July 4 to bring awareness to Trump's racist immigration policies. She was arrested.  

 https://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/editorials/article214762350.html  We can send letters of support for no jail time for Patricia by Aug. 20.  A letter template can be found here.   Address:   Hon. Gabriel W. Gorenstein, Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge, Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse, 500 Pearl St., New York, NY 10007-1312.  We can also email letters to:   rst314@nyu.edu  If we are able, we can also donate to her GoFundMe page:  https://www.gofundme.com/support-for-patricia-okoumou

2.      "Action Together Network (ATN) connects leaders of activist groups and creators of resources for activists with one another and provides them with support services. ATN members troubleshoot together, share best practices, amplify each other’s efforts, and collaborate on projects. At its core, ATN is part of the connective tissue designed to bring together people in productive and mutually-supportive ways. ATN has grown into a network of hundreds of leaders across the the US and abroad. Groups in ATN range in size and focus: from town, district and county groups to state/regional groups and large national/international organizations." We can add or update our group’s information here:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeCZvY0_-t9dNObyISux1Sp9HwmkG0VyPaxoA3vsrNnz26OlQ/viewform

3.      After federal judge Emmet Sullivan threated to hold Jeff Sessions in contempt of court for deporting two asylum seekers who were already on a plane to El Salvador, he ordered the plane to return to the U.S.  https://www.voanews.com/a/judge-threatens-sessions-over-two-deportations/4522019.html  Let’s thank him for standing up for our shared American values:  Hon. Emmet G. Sullivan, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, 333 Constitution Avenue N.W., Washington D.C. 20001

4.      Sleeping Giants, a Twitter account (@slpng_giants), started up after the 2016 election with the intent of encouraging companies, most of whom have no idea they are advertising there,  to stop advertising on Breitbart and Sleeping Giants showed us how to help.  They updated their list of advertisers who have stopped and the total is 3,984 (listed here).   We can continue to help by following these easy instructions, A)  Go to Breitbart.com and take a screenshot of an ad next to some of their content, B) Tweet the screenshot to the company with a polite, non-offensive note to notify them of the placement, and C) Tag @slpng_giants) so they can keep track of the progress. 

5.      In early September, Hyatt Regency in Crystal City, VA will host the annual conference for the largest anti-Muslim hate group in the country, ACT for America. Hyatt is refusing to cancel the event, saying it won't unlawfully discriminate against groups who wish to hold lawful meetings - but Muslim Advocates says there is no law requiring them to host a hate group, and chains like Hilton have in fact refused to host hate groups. (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hyatt-hosting-anti-muslim-hate-group-act-for-america_us_5b6c5e8de4b0ae32af960c3e). Let's join Muslim Advocates in calling on Hyatt to step up by signing their petition or contact Hyatt Customer Service at 1-800-323-7249.

6.      The Boston Globe is leading a charge of over 100 newspaper to publish editorials on the same day (Thursday, August 16^th) decrying Trump’s anti-press vitriol:  

https://money.cnn.com/2018/08/11/media/boston-globe-free-press-editorial/index.html  Let’s contact our own local papers – no matter how big or how small – to encourage their participation.

7.      It is estimated that trans women are 4.3 times more likely to be victims of murder compared to cis women in the U.S. (https://r29.co/2JNTCL3). At the same time, "Across the nation, ProPublica found, some 65 different law enforcement agencies have investigated murders of transgender people since Jan. 1, 2015. And in 74 of 85 cases, victims were identified by names or genders they had abandoned in their daily lives...Advocates say that not using the name and pronoun a person was known by can slow down an investigation during its most critical hours " (https://www.propublica.org/article/deadnamed-transgender-black-women-murders-jacksonville-police-investigation). ProPublica also found that police departments that do not have an official policy which would account for transgender individuals often incorrectly identify the gender of murder victims. Let's contact our local police departments and ask them what their policy is in identifying and describing trans individuals, and if there isn't one, or if it relies solely on the gender assigned at birth, let's push back on these policies and ensure that we are supporting and protecting the trans community.

8.     Shannon Coulter of Grab Your Wallet is leading a blocking of Fortune 500 Twitter Advertisers, until Twitter drops Alex Jones and his InfoWars site. Jones is the Conspiracy Theorist who, among other things, has tormented Sandy Hooks Families by claiming the massacre never happened and accusing them of fraud and being cross actors. Twitters biggest advertisers come from the Fortune 500 list, so this blocking can have a significant impact. While this is an important action on its own, if enough of these kinds of actions are successful, it could signal a return to civility, which we so badly need.  We can read more about this and how to proceed here:  https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1028632688586936320.html  We can also read here how Jones’ followers have harassed Sandy Hooks families into hiding. At this point, some families do not even feel safe enough to visit their murdered children’s graves.  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/31/us/politics/alex-jones-defamation-suit-sandy-hook.html

9.      The Ms. Foundation for Women has announced that they will be strengthening their focus on women of color, in order to promote and achieve gender equity (https://apnews.com/6fcb6f6189cd47a08823e0adcffef435). The organization will also "form its first ever political fund to support grassroots legislative action and local policy reforms" (https://forwomen.org/strategic-plan-18/). Let's help the Ms. Foundation achieve their goal; we can donate here.

10.  Over 35,000 people have signed a petition asking the president to appoint LeBron James as secretary of education instead of current Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/thousands-sign-petition-calling-for-lebron-james-to-replace-betsy-devos-as-education-secretary/. While this is unlikely to happen, it’s still important to take a public stand to support LeBron, whom Trump recently lambasted in  a racially divisive tweet and show that we support his efforts to invest in education for at risk kids, rather than DeVos’s continuous attempts to destroy the public school system and decrease protections for minorities. We can sign the petition here.

11.   From one of our own:  Pls share!!! ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A WAY TO HELP THE BORDER FAMILIES? And work with an extraordinary group of people? Immigrant Families Together are looking for volunteers in different cities. The core crew have been working tirelessly to provide basic necessities. They're SAVING LIVES. I've never seen something so magical as they miracles they are performing. Even if you don't have a ton of hours, they could use your skills!!! SIGN UP HERE on their volunteer sheet which you can also access via their website:   https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe-utbhPBOSYALgTiSocrZf4Hz9_uCaVDb3zIkPTpdHRiSfIA/viewform  Read more about their work here: https://immigrantfamiliestogether.com/

Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to attend/organize

1.       On Thursday, August 16, join hundreds of volunteers for a host call to learn how you can plan a successful Organizing for '18 House Party on Saturday, August 25 at 8PM EDT, and start mobilizing folks to volunteer for crucial campaigns this fall, and make their voices heard at the polls this November.  We can sign up for the webinar here:  https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4c4n3bQmROGtDI1PKRMpPw

2.      Evidence is piling up that Brett Kavanaugh cannot be trusted to protect the right to choose or check executive power (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/29/us/brett-kavanaugh-signing-statements.html). So activists across the country are coming together for a 50-state day of action against his nomination on August 26^th. Let’s find an event near us or start our own here.

3.      Experts say we are already starting to see the impacts of climate change playing out in real time with extreme weather patterns:  (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/27/extreme-global-weather-climate-change-michael-mann). We cannot wait for action. On September 8th, people all over the world are coming together in a coordinated call for local action for the climate, jobs and justice. We can find a Rise for Climate event near us here, or we can sign up to organize our own.

States

Find elected state officials: https://openstates.org/

1.       MI: Right now, there is a contract which allows Calhoun County jail to be used by the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) to house immigrants in exchange for financial compensation. (https://bcene.ws/2JZKYGe, https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2018/05/sheriff_runs_6m_jail_boarding.html). In two years, the average number of detained immigrants at the Calhoun County jail has more than doubled, bringing in a revenue this year of $6 million. Meanwhile, parents are separated from their children, and visitation is now done via video, rather than in-person (http://www.michiganradio.org/post/migrant-mothers-held-without-bond-calhoun-county-jail). The financial incentive for the county to jail immigrants who are awaiting trials, rather than using electronic monitoring and/or supervised release, seems to be too great for the County Commissioners and Sheriff to pass up. Let's contact them and tell them that we want Calhoun County jail to end its contract with ICE. Let's visit this page for information on County Commissioners contact information, as well as the date and location for the next Board of Commissioners meeting. We can find contact information for the Sheriff's office here.

2.      MOST:  Massachusetts is the 13th state to pass a Motor Voter Law, following Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia.  https://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/08/automatic_voter_registration_i.html. Let’s ask our legislators to introduce motor voter legislation in our state.

Reading/Watching

1.       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 was a week of widespread and outrageous corruption in the Trump orbit — from Congressman Chris Collins and insider trading, to Secretary Wilbur Ross and grifting, to Secretary of State Kris Kobach miscounting votes, to the “Mar-a-Lago Crowd” controlling the Department of Veterans Affairs, and more."  Let's review Amy Siskind's list week 91.

2.      Charlottesville One Year Later - https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/10/opinions/charlottesville-one-year-later-in-their-own-voices-opinion/index.html

3.      “Trump has intentionally cleaved America into two warring camps: pro-Trump or anti-Trump. So, what can we do –- all of us –- to begin talking across the great divide? Here are 10 suggestions. Help spread them.”  https://www.facebook.com/RBReich/videos/2083841821628403/

4.      You’ve been arrested by a dishonest cop. Can you win in a system set up to protect officers? - http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-me-brady-list-secrecy/