9/3/19
NATIONAL
ISSUES
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(Including Emails & Twitter)
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legislators for free:
Or use Resistbot: https://resist.bot/
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White
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GUN REFORM: Our nation has suffered
another mass shooting – this time in Odessa and Midland, Texas. Another white
man with an AR-15 has committed mass murder and the NRA maintains its death
grip on the GOP: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/sep/01/odessa-texas-shooting-latest-news Let’s
contact our MoC to say that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s inaction
is unacceptable. He is sitting on bills
that could save lives. We can also sign this petition to our Senators and McConnell demanding
action on background checks and Red Flag Laws now: https://act.everytown.org/sign/smarter-gun-laws/
DEMAND ACTION ON GUN VIOLENCE: With 53 people
massacred in August alone, we must channel our grief, shock and outrage to
demand that something be done about gun violence in this country. Texas alone, has been the site of two
horrific mass shootings this month but the Texas Legislature, which recently
passed laws loosening restrictions on guns, allowing them in churches and
schools, will not reconvene until 2021, unless the Governor calls a special
session. We can click here to sign a petition demanding that Texas
Governor Greg Abbott call a special legislative session of gun safety: https://www.change.org/p/demand-governor-abbott-call-a-special-session-on-gun-safety-in-texas
BOY SCOUT PROGRAM GROOMING YOUTH TO BE BORDER PATROL AGENTS: Color of Change is
calling for an end to a program run jointly by Customs and Border Patrol, and
the Boy Scouts of America which recruits and trains youth in border law
enforcement. https://www.kut.org/post/border-patrol-youth-program-trains-children-young-14-become-agents.
Let’s tell the Boy Scouts of America (972-580-2000, PO Box 152079, Irving,
TX 75015-2079, or on social media, especially if we have friends and
family members who have been scouts, that they need to stop enabling and aiding
an organization that separates families and imprisons people in inhumane
conditions. We can also sign the color of change petition calling for an end to
the program here.
BOYCOTT BUSINESSES SUPPORTING TRUMP: CEO Stephen Ross’s fundraiser for Trump last
month caused a fair degree of backlash against Related Companies, which owns
Equinox, Soul Cycle, Blink Fitness, and PURE Yoga. Yahoo Finance has compiled a
list of 30 other businesses that support Trump. Let’s review this list, publicize it, and ask our
friends and family to consider bringing their business elsewhere. We can
remind them that this is no longer about mere differences of political opinion.
The administration’s constant abuse of power represents a clear and present
danger to our democracy.
STOP IMMIGRANT DNA TESTING While the administration claims there’s no money
for toothbrushes and migrant prisons, they now want to start extensive DNA
testing of undocumented immigrants. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/hamedaleaziz/customs-border-ice-rule-draft-dna-testing-undocumented-immig?.
It is not clear what they will do with this data, and many senior law
enforcement experts have already called this a waste of taxpayer money, while
immigrant and civil rights advocates have called it a gross invasion of
privacy. Let’s tell our MoCs that this is one more reason we need to defund
ICE and put strict parameters on any Homeland Security funding.
NATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS: The 1835 Treaty
of New Echota resulted in the forced removal of the Cherokee Nation from its
tribal land to territories in Oklahoma, an event known as the Trail of Tears.
Nearly 4,000 died as a result of that forced march. As part of the 1835 treaty,
the US government promised the Cherokee Nation that it could seat a delegate in
the US House of Representatives. The Cherokee Nation has now announced its
intention to appoint a delegate.
https://www.npr.org/2019/09/01/756564712/cherokee-nation-takes-up-1835-promise-to-send-delegate-to-congress Let’s
tell our Members of Congress that we expect them to work collaboratively with the
Cherokee Nation to keep its promise.
STOP ROGUE POWER ABUSE BY ACTING IMMIGRATION DIRECTOR: Just when we thought that the administration’s immigrant policies couldn’t get any crueler and meaner, there have been a flurry of attacks on both undocumented and documented people, including ending deferrals for people who are here for medical reasons, denying prospective citizenship to green card holders if they’ve taken any public benefits, including veterans who have served our country, and denying automatic citizenship to children of military families who were born overseas.These policies were all spear-headed by Acting Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Ken Cuccinelli, who has not been confirmed by the Senate, and is, in fact, considered unconfirmable. https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/459474-unconfirmed-by-senate-cuccinelli-sees-power-influence-grow-on. Trump has relied on appointing his own “Acting” administrators in other agencies, as well, more than any other past president, and continuing to allow Acting Directors so much leadership is just one more way that executive power is being consolidated and abused without Congressional Oversight. Let’s tell our MoCs to demand that Trump nominate a permanent director immediately and also ask them to enact legislation that limits how long someone can serve in an acting capacity.
HELP SAVE THE AMAZON: This opinion piece points out what a huge role US
investment fund Blackstone plays in the destruction of the Amazon. Let's
watch this video and then find out whether our university, charity, or pension
fund is giving money to Blackstone -- it's usually public information. If
we find they do, we can post it to Twitter, and tag journalist @ryangrim.
Do these groups feel comfortable investing our money in the destruction of the
Amazon? We sure don't. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyR-l6aJTfc
IMMIGRATION—REUNITE SEPARATED FAMILY MEMBERS: Project Reunify, of
the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, works to locate forcibly
separated immigrant children and reunite them with their parents and relatives.
They’re looking for licensed attorneys, social workers, mental health
specialists, pediatricians, health care specialists, and interpreters to help
conduct legal, medical, and mental health interviews to volunteer to help in
their efforts. Let’s learn more, and if we’re qualified, let’s volunteer: https://www.reunify.org
KASHMIR: The UK, Hong Kong, and
Russia are not the only places seeking good governance. Last month, “. . . Kashmir’s constitutionally
enshrined autonomy was being unilaterally withdrawn, and the state was being
downgraded and split into two “union territories”.” Now in confusion and unrest, the Kashmir
people are suffering. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/kashmir-crisis-latest-india-article-370-autonomy-torture-claims-planning-a9086611.html Let’s check out Stand With Kashmir and see
how we can help: https://www.standwithkashmir.org/ We
can also follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StandWithKashmir/
TRUMP’S UNFITNESS: Our president has not gotten steadier and more mentally
fit as summer winds down. He has been celebrating Labor Day with a particularly
inane, useless, and unseemly series of tweets as Hurricane Dorian bears
down: Trump lashes out at the media, Democrats in Labor Day tweets Let’s
let Trump know that we await his resignation: The White House, 1600
Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC 20050 or comment line 202-456-1111 (volunteer
operators) or on Twitter @realdonaldtrump ; Let’s also let our MoC know that he
needs to be impeached for numerous reasons.
OBSERVE THE CLIMATE STRIKE—PLANT 10 FREE TREES: As the Global Climate
Strike approaches, https://globalclimatestrike.net/ , let’s remember that
trees can offset carbon accumulation in the atmosphere. We can get 10 free
trees for planting in our yards and neighborhoods when we join the National
Arbor Foundation. Membership is only $10! Let’s join today:
NEW GROUP: “DemCast is a growing team of grassroots activists, writers, artists
& thinkers. We’re building this initiative so that anyone can find a way to
meaningfully plug in.” Let’s learn
more about this new group and see how we can help: https://demwritepress.com/demcast/
POSTCARDING: From one of our own – Here are this week’s
issues/addresses write-ups for postcarding: https://docs.google.com/document/d/194lmcDtgw-AROYr-Tl74cxpz7CEmGORA_pgz5MNH_JI/edit Look
them over and choose the ones that speak to you.
ELECTION/VOTING
NC: VOTE EARLY
BEFORE DORIAN STRIKES: With NC03 and
NC09 elections under way, we are also preparing for Hurricane Dorian.
To make sure that Dorian doesn’t prevent us from voting, we are encouraged to
vote during early voting period, which ends this Friday. The 9th District
election, redoing a narrow Republican victory in a traditionally Red district,
is being closely watched as a referendum on Republican governance. Special
elections traditionally have low turnouts, which could give the Republicans an
advantage here, so a bigger turnout boosts Democrat Dan McCready’s chances. We can read more about the NC03 Election
here:
https://ballotpedia.org/North_Carolina%27s_3rd_Congressional_District_special_election,_2019 And the NC09 election here: https://ballotpedia.org/North_Carolina%27s_9th_Congressional_District_special_election,_2019 We can find early voting sites here and cast our
votes before Dorian strikes: https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/One-Stop_Early_Voting/2019/One-Stop_Sites_September2019.pdf
CALL TO MOBILIZE
VOTERS IN NORTH CAROLINA SPECIAL ELECTION:
North Carolina is a
week away from a historic Special Election, a chance to hand Trump a stinging
defeat in a Red District he won by 11 points. This race is now a virtual tie
with a strong chance for Democrat Dan McCready to pick up the seat he narrowly
lost last time. Early voting is underway and, especially with the threat of
Hurricane Dorian landing, the time to cast votes is NOW. Regardless of
where we live, we can help flip this district Blue when we click here to make
calls for Dan McCready’s Special Election in North Carolina: https://www.mobilize.us/grassrootsdemocratslahq/event/116969/?
ELECTION
SECURITY: The Federal
Election Commission (FEC) is charged with protecting our elections from fraud,
corruption, and foreign interference. Now, with the all-important 2020 election
ramping up, one of the FEC's Republican commissioners is resigning, which
leaves the FEC without a quorum, and thus unable to fulfill its mission. https://publicintegrity.org/federal-politics/federal-election-commission-fec-to-effectively-shut-down
and https://www.npr.org/2019/08/30/755523088/as-fec-nears-shutdown-priorities-such-as-stopping-election-interference-on-hold
A replacement has been nominated, but the Senate has not started confirmation
proceedings, so let's call our senators and demand
immediate action on this nominee who, as a Trump nominee, will probably
need extra vetting!
VOLUNTEER FOR A
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN: Only 12%
of citizens help on political campaigns.
Let’s work on making that number higher this time around. There are so many ways we can help. Check some out here: https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/a26013092/how-to-volunteer-2020/
STATE/LOCAL
RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS
GLOBAL CLIMATE
STRIKE: “On September 20,
three days before the UN Climate Summit in NYC, young people and adults will
strike all across the US and world to demand transformative action be taken to
address the climate crisis. Millions of us will take the streets to demand a
right to a future, and we’re inviting you to #strikewithus
Find a strike near
you to attend on September 20 on the map . . . If you don’t see an event in your area,
organize one! We’ll provide everything you need to get started in planning
something in your community, so no experience is necessary.” Let’s check out more here: https://strikewithus.org/ (scroll down page to see map of
locations) If we are outside the U.S.,
let’s check out this site for opportunities:
https://globalclimatestrike.net/
WE THE PEOPLE MARCH: Needless to say,
a lot has transpired during the two weeks of Rogan’s List hiatus. Let’s be
inspired by our siblings in the UK, Hong Kong, and Russia who have taken to the
streets in support of democracy. The We The People March (organized by Amy
Siskind of The List) is
Saturday, September 21stin Washington DC. The March is looking for
volunteers to house people coming from other states to DC, as well as leaders
to put together marches in cities across the country. Check out the website to
find local marches or buses headed to DC. If you can, make a donation to help
the marchers: https://wethepeoplemarch.org
READING/WATCHING
Welcome to the
US, Greta. With your help we can save the planet and ourselves - https://www.theguardian.com/global/commentisfree/2019/aug/29/us-greta-thunberg-climate
US spies say
Trump's G7 performance suggests he's either a 'Russian asset' or a 'useful
idiot' for Putin - https://www.businessinsider.com/spies-react-trump-g7-summit-russian-asset-2019-8
Instagram post
misconstrues food companies’ support for Donald Trump - https://www.politifact.com/facebook-fact-checks/statements/2019/aug/26/instagram-posts/instagram-post-misconstrues-food-companies-support/
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We can stay up to date
on Congress by checking out their schedules. a) The House publishes a
weekly schedule at The Weekly Leader (published and dated Friday)
as well as daily schedules at The Daily Leader. b) The Senate updates
their schedule daily at the Senate Floor Schedule
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