11/26/19
Rogan’s List will not publish
on Thursday so that we all, contributors and readers alike, can spend time with
friends and families.
If necessary, we will
do a special edition at some point,
but otherwise, see you next week!
Happy Thanksgiving! We are all thankful for YOU!
NATIONAL
ISSUES
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(Including Emails & Twitter)
Fax
legislators for free:
Or use Resistbot: https://resist.bot/
Or use StampsLicked to
have messages hand-delivered to our own legislators: https://stampslicked.org/
White
House contact: https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/white-house
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THANKFULNESS:
From DemCast:
On American Thanksgiving (Thurs 11/28),
@DemCastUSA will
be posting comments from our readers about what they are thankful for on our
website. Tell us what YOU are thankful
for at bit.ly/DemCastThankful (see form
for details). Submissions due by Wed
11/27 at 5PM Eastern
MORE THANKFULNESS: From one
of our own: A friend who works with Adam Schiff’s staff is creating
a lovely thank you action & calling for video snippets of activists saying
thank you - deadline Wednesday! Click here for the details and
instructions: https://drive.google.com/open?id=15qHsYh2Wiphn7uVuB6Lh-uYzROpymv-J
TRUMP’S
ETHICS (OR LACK THEREOF): Even
if you have any reason to believe the Republican response to the impeachment
inquiry, there are countless other ethical violations in this administration
that should not be ignored. In recent weeks news stories have revealed that
Caliburn, the infamous company that ran the migrant detention center in
Homestead and is now slated to open a detention center in El Paso, is paying
Trump’s golf club to hold a holiday party https://www.cbsnews.com/news/caliburn-international-holiday-party-trump-national-golf-club
And in another recent report, he
secret service spending $250,000 to stay at Trump properties in just the first
five months of 2017 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/471597-secret-service-spent-over-250000-at-trump-hotels Then, there are still the issues raised
by the Mueller Report: https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/22/impeachment-robert-mueller-072698 Let’s raise these issues with our MoCs and
suggest that these clear violations of the emoluments cause be investigated and
potentially added to the articles of impeachment.
JOIN
TWITTERSTORM TODAY TO GET ACA ENROLLMENT INFO OUT:
DemCast,
UniteBlue and Action Together Network are sponsoring a Twitterstorm TODAY at
8pm Eastern Time to raise awareness about the current ACA Enrollment
period, (Nov 1-Dec15). The Trump administration, in their efforts to destroy
the ACA, have cut enrollment period times and slashed outreach budgets, so it
is up to us to get the word out. We can click here to send out ready-made
tweets to inform people of their rights and choices during the current ACA
Enrollment period. If we are on Facebook or Instagram, we can find messages to
share too. Let’s help as many people as possible find the health care coverage
the need by Dec 15!
IMPEACHMENT
THANKSGIVING: Well if we are
going to talk politics at the table as inevitably happens, let's have some good
talking points at the ready about how we should all support impeachment.
Courtesy of Political Charge:
PROTECT LT.
COL. ALEXANDER VINDMAN: Fox News
has falsely accused Vindman of committing espionage. The accusation has gone
viral. Vindman was deposed by and testified before the House Intelligence
Committee because of his knowledge of the Trump’s quid pro quo call with the
Ukrainian president. He and his family are now in fear for their lives and may
have to move to a military base for protection. Vindman’s lawyers have demanded
that Fox News retract its false coverage of Vindman, correct the record, and
publish the truth. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6555531-VIndman-Boies-LETTER.html Let’s
do the same: Lily Fu Claffee, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Fox
News, The News Corporation Building, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY
10036; email:
LGBTQ
RIGHTS: Right now, there is a
movement taking place across the U.S. to ban conversion therapy for minors at
the state level (https://bit.ly/2qzNcb9).
The American Medical Association (AMA) has also announced that they are
supporting a U.S. ban on this widely discredited practice at both the state and
federal level (https://reut.rs/2KSF1O5). Let's
contact our MoC and ask them to work with both the AMA and LGBTQ+ advocacy
groups to draft legislation that will ban conversion therapy at every level. We
can use talking points drafted by the American Medical Association here.
REPRODUCTIVE
RIGHTS: A bill introduced in
Ohio would charge any doctor attempting an abortion with aggravated murder and
even require physicians to attempt to re-implant an ectopic pregnancy, which is
medically impossible and would risk the life of the mother. https://www.insider.com/ohio-abortion-ban-proposal-can-you-reimplant-ectopic-pregnancies-2019-11.
If we live in Ohio, let’s contact our state legislators and express our
extreme dismay. If we don’t live in Ohio, let’s spread the word about this
dangerous bill introduced by those who ostensibly call themselves “pro-life,”
but seem to have no regard for the life of the pregnant women affected by this
condition.
FUND WITNESSING AND VOLUNTEER EFFORTS AT THE BROWNSVILLE/MATAMOROS BORDER: Josh Rubin, who was a leader in organizing witnessing efforts at the child detention centers in Tornillo, Texas and Homestead, Florida, two facilities that were shut down in part due to public outcry, has now turned his attention to the horrific conditions on the border resulting from the “Migrant Protection Protocol” (aka “Remain in Mexico”) program. He is now calling for a consistent witness presence at the border starting on January 12th. The main role of a witness is to show DHS that we see what they are doing and also to go home and report back on what they saw. We can contribute to this effort at this link. Those of us thinking about becoming witnesses, or simply wanting more information, and updates on the situation can check out the Facebook page: Witness Tornillo: Target MPP.
SHOP BLACK
WEEK: This week is Shop Black
Week, where every consumer is asked to support a black-owned business by making
at least one purchase between November 22nd and 29th in order to
"permanently and systematically change the economic condition of the Black
community forever," (https://prn.to/35qcUNY). Let's
learn more about this important campaign, and make sure that we support
black business this week: https://www.shopblackweek.org/
HOLIDAY
GIVING OPPORTUNITY: Mari Copeny,
Little Miss Flint, has adopted a school with about 340 students in the Flint
School District for Christmas this year. To help make this happen, she is
asking for help by either donating gifts, or contributing to her GoFundMe. For
those of us with the means, let's considering helping to make Copeny's Winter
Wonderland
RULES
FOR ONLINE POLITICAL ADS: In the interests of fairness and transparency, the FCC has long
regulated political ads on TV, but no such controls exist online. Given the
immense and expanding power to identify and target audiences through social
media, more control is badly needed.
https://theconversation.com/on-tv-political-ads-are-regulated-but-online-anything-goes-126553 Let's tell our senators to back the
Honest Ads Act (S. 1356),
which would bring online political ads under the same regulations applied to TV
ads, and then tell our reps to draft and sponsor an equivalent bill in the
House.
HEALTHY
DEMOCRACY = HEALTHY PEOPLE: A
study by the Union of Concerned Scientists has found that life expectancy is
lower in voter-suppression states, https://www.ucsusa.org/about/news/study-finds-residents-reduced-voter-access-and-gerrymandered-states-have-worse-health Automatic
voter registration, early voting, pre-registration for 16- and 17-year olds,
restoration of voting rights, ending extreme partisan gerrymandering, and sufficient
voting machines and other voting resources are among the many voting reforms
that can end voter suppression.
https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/ensure-every-american-can-vote/voting-reform ; https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/gerrymandering-fair-representation Let’s
share the UCS report with our state and federal legislators, and let’s tell
them that we want to end barriers to voting and expand the franchise.
COLLEGE
INTERNSHIP WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL VOTER PROJECT: The Environmental Voter Project is working to
build a pro-environment electorate. They are seeking undergraduates to serve as
Spring 2020 Interns. Internship description and how to apply here: https://www.environmentalvoter.org/jobs/intern Let’s
spread the word!
TENNESSEE
WITHHOLDS AID TO THE POOR: While
over a quarter of children under six in Tennessee live in poverty and 12.9% of
them in extreme poverty, the state has failed to spend $732 million in federal
funds allocated for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), withholding
aid to poor children and reducing services for working families: https://www.tnjustice.org/tanf/ or https://www.wnyc.org/story/1d54fd202b34b8def553160b
Let’s let Republican governor Bill Lee know what we think of his
administration’s refusal to aid Tennesseans in need, especially if we are
constituents: billl@fnal.gov or
(615) 741-2001 or State Capitol, First Floor, 600 Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.
Blvd., Nashville, TN 37243
POSTCARDING: From
one of our own: Here are this week's postcarding write-ups:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IscV2UjDbyGrNegoVg6MHsfVq0ZZdWDZ1k9gI3joqF4/edit?usp=sharing Let’s get writing!
ELECTION/VOTING
2020 ELECTIONS: If we are looking for 2020 Election information
or if we have some to share, we can check out Equal Vote Local’s BlueWave
Database 2020. We can click here to find information about candidates,
voting and more arranged by state. This editable document also allows us to add
our groups and any candidates running for office: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ir8YGs1F0Lfayl6T7XR7tklnYrEk4VcEzTkPumLVWAI We can also
find out more about Equal here at their website: https://www.equalvotelocal.com/
THANKSGIVING VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE: As we gather together
this Thanksgiving, let’s check in with any returning college students and
others at our table and ask if they are registered to vote. Let’s share
with them that they can register to vote and sign up for voter reminders
at https://turbovote.org/ .
We can model the importance of voting by using the link to check our own
registration status as well!
REGISTER DEMOCRATS, SAVE THE WORLD: That’s the tag line
of Field Team 6 https://www.fieldteam6.org/ ,
an organization that trains and deploys volunteers to register Democrats in
swing states and swing districts. Endorsed by Rep Adam Schiff, https://www.fieldteam6.org/press-recognition, we
can sign up for voter registration drives and trainings here: https://www.mobilize.us/ft6/ We
can also help by donating or offering up our skills and talents:
REGISTER VOTERS IN PHOENIX TO FLIP MARICOPA AND WIN BIG
IN 2020: Maricopa County, AZ has
been determined to be one of the five crucial counties to help swing the 2020
Presidential election BLUE. AZ Blue 2020 and Field Team 6 are ready to make it
happen, holding a massive Voter Registration Drive from January 13 to 17. The
goal is registering 1,000 New Democratic voters and we can help! When we sign
up, we will get training, materials, and everything we need to successfully
register voters.
We can click here learn more about registering 1,000 Democrats in Phoenix this January and then, if we want, sign up. Volunteers from other states are welcome to join. https://www.mobilize.us/ft6/event/140789/?fbclid=IwAR1bKZ1YQxF4jzVB-TJT50CYr7UV92PByiV8DJEt5bwx73XBRV0LmGG20O0 We can also sign up here for an Arizona-Specific Training Call here:
We can click here learn more about registering 1,000 Democrats in Phoenix this January and then, if we want, sign up. Volunteers from other states are welcome to join. https://www.mobilize.us/ft6/event/140789/?fbclid=IwAR1bKZ1YQxF4jzVB-TJT50CYr7UV92PByiV8DJEt5bwx73XBRV0LmGG20O0 We can also sign up here for an Arizona-Specific Training Call here:
https://www.mobilize.us/ft6/event/89253/ We can check out this voter
registration training video made with Swing Left:
THANK YOU FOR BEING A VOTER is one of many
optional talking points we can include on our Postcards To Voters' (P2V)
get-out-the-vote postcards. Current open campaigns are 1) FL: Palm
Beach County Vote By Mail. We're writing to all registered Democrats in the
county who are not yet signed up to vote by mail. 2) PA: Campaign
183: Michael Schroeder for
State Senate. The Special Election is Tuesday, Jan. 14.
Let's help start the buzz! 3) TX, Houston: Campaign 185: Mayor Sylvester Turner and Janaeya Carmouche. Re-elect the
Mayor and elect Carmouche to City Council. The Runoff Election is SATURDAY,
Dec. 14. 4) ID: Campaign
184: Evangeline "Van" Beechler for Caldwell City Council. The
list for this Tuesday, Dec. 3 election has already been
completed. (First P2V campaign in Idaho!). We are grateful for all our P2V
volunteers. Whether we write with P2V or not, this Thanksgiving let's
offer
Postcards
To Voters as a potential solution to anyone who says they don't know
what they can do in the current political environment.
CO: REPEALING COLUMBUS DAY: from Indivisible Front
Range Resistance:
https://twitter.com/indivisiblefrr/status/1198743366193704960?s=12
"This week, spend time thinking
about the fact that Thanksgiving, while deeply embedded in American culture, is
a sorrowful and traumatic season for many indigenous and native people. For
many years, indigenous-led efforts to repeal the CO state holiday of Columbus
Day have failed. In 2019, the repeal efforts went farther than they ever had
before - the bill passed the House but was killed in a DEMOCRATIC-led senate
committee. As a result, several Indivisible groups wrote an open letter to
democratic leadership, declaring their commitment to being there in 2020 (the
new state legislative session) to urge lawmakers to pass the repeal. So,
now is the time to start talking with senators again. Let’s 1) Read
the letter groups around CO sent by US Mail to every state dem senator: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19aEtHgFk6PuOIltn09HGg9LC4idCKbsksoYIUzpQVko/edit?fbclid=IwAR02IZRRKDl8wDGUX6X1fi2vF8R-0uejaHV2THDWFpnI9YqJVNF-X8NsaHw,
then 2) Find our state senator’s letter template in the link above, and
copy/paste the language into a document of our own. Send a hard-copy letter or
email to our state senator (hand-written signature would be great!).
RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS
CLIMATE STRIKES CONTINUE: From Future Coalition: On Nov 29 & Dec 6, we strike again! Youth
across the U.S. will lead a #ClimateStrike on
Nov 29 & Dec 6 to demand legislative action to combat the climate
crisis. Strike with us! Let’s find or host an event: https://strikewithus.org/
MORE CLIMATE STRIKE: The climate
crisis is accelerating and slowing it down will require our sustained
attention and effort, and that climate strike we marched in back in September
was just the beginning. On December 6th, as world leaders gather at
the UN’s annual climate conference, young people across America will join a
national #ClimateStrike to take the momentum from September to our elected
officials’ doorsteps. Climate change is the biggest issue humanity has ever
faced, so let's all pledge to help our kids tackle it, here: https://www.sunrisemovement.org/climate-strike
FLU SHOTS FOR DETAINED MIGRANTS: The group
Doctors for Camp Closure (D4CC) has been trying to get flu vaccinations for
people in CBP detention. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1263702860469475/permalink/1355046984668395/ They
are being ignored, so that are planning an action. If we are in the Southern
California area from Dec 9 through Dec 11, let’s sign up to protest: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeNm81nXjIu4BLGLSJ2VDw9d0ec1t0c6XF88xGn6SLf0zKytg/viewform
ATTEND A NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW RALLY: MoveOn is
sponsoring “No One is Above the Law Rallies on the night before the House votes
on Articles of Impeachment. We can sign up here to organize or attend an event in our
area.
READING/WATCHING
That
Uplifting Tweet You Just Shared? A Russian Troll Sent It: Here’s what Russia’s 2020 disinformation
operations look like, according to two experts on social media and propaganda - https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russia-troll-2020-election-interference-twitter-916482/
U.S.
income inequality at highest level in 50 years, economic gap growing in
heartland - https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/u-s-income-inequality-highest-level-50-years-economic-gap-n1058956
Under
Trump, LGBTQ Progress Is Being Reversed in Plain Sight - https://projects.propublica.org/graphics/lgbtq-rights-rollback
Impeachment’s
rock stars: Powerful women -
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2019/1121/Impeachment-s-rock-stars-Powerful-women
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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
