Rogan's List

8/27/20

NATIONAL ISSUES

Contact all Federal Members of Congress (includes contact info and links to social media) https://www.contactingcongress.org/ Fax legislators for free: Reps:  https://faxzero.com/fax_congress.php Senate:  https://faxzero.com/fax_senate.php Or use Resistbot:  https://resist.bot/ Purchase stamps, postcards, and other mailing supplies:  https://store.usps.com/store/ White House contact:  https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/white-house

TELL SENATE TO REJECT CHAD WOLF AS DHS SECRETARY: After it’s been determined that Chad Wolf has been serving illegally as the Acting Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, Trump has now nominated him for Senate Confirmation. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/25/chad-wolf-secretary-of-homeland-security-401600. Wolf has been a leader in the policies that separated families at the border, and was also involved in sending DHS troops in riot gear to American cities during the Black Lives Matter protests, which served to escalate, rather than curtail violence. Let’s tell our Senators Wolf should not be confirmed and that DHS’s rogue policies need to be fully investigated and curbed.

2020 CENSUS AT RISK:  The census—which is mandated by the Constitution to count all RESIDENTS of the US every 10 years—will determine both our representation and our access to federal funds for the next decade; Trump has tried—and failed—to include a citizenship question, but he has succeeded in demanding that the count end a month earlier than planned: https://www.npr.org/2020/08/12/901833534/the-2020-census-could-be-the-least-accurate-ever-and-its-ending-a-month-early and https://www.vox.com/2020/8/6/21354283/trump-census-2020-end-early-covid-19.  It is essential that we fill out the census form ourselves and get to work helping the Census Bureau to achieve a full count by the end of September: if we have not filled out the Census, we must take 5 minutes to visit my2020census.gov or call (844) 330-2020 to ensure a complete and accurate count and commit ourselves to getting at least three friends or neighbors to do likewise. Only a little over 62% of households have been counted so far!

POST OFFICE WOES CONTINUE:  “U.S. Sen. Gary Peters on Tuesday toured a U.S. Postal Service facility in Kentwood to investigate what he says is a national slowdown in mail delivery caused by recent operational changes — which have since been put on hold — by U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. . . [Peters] said he did not get many answers during his tour of a postal service facility on Patterson Avenue SE. Senior management acknowledged there has been a slowdown of delivery since July, but they “were not able to give me concrete reasons as to why that is happening,” the senator said. “Which is very concerning,” Peters said. “We would hope that senior management at the postal service would have a sense.”” https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2020/08/sen-peters-gets-few-answers-on-mail-delays-during-grand-rapids-post-office-visit.html In the meantime, prescriptions are not getting to people on time: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/postal-service-delays-prescription-drugs-put-thousands-american-lives-risk-n1237756 and food is rotting in transit and animals are dying.  https://www.businessinsider.com/usps-california-overwhelme-food-rots-and-animals-dies-in-cuts-chaos-2020-8  Let’s contact our MoCs and ask them to get to the bottom of this mail slow-down and to exert some pressure on those who make these decisions.

FALSE ANTIBODY PLASMA TREATMENT:  Although he has admitted exaggerating after scathing criticism from scientists, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn claimed with great fanfare that a treatment the agency had just given emergency authorization would save 35 lives out of every 100 people with the coronavirus who got the treatment.  The problem is less Hahn’s false statement—mortality, in fact, improved by 3 or 5 percentage points--or the FDA emergency authorization; it is, as Dr. Eric Topol of the Scripps Translational Research Institute says, that “"when politics mixes with science, as is evidenced here, that could be the precursor to an even worse situation with the vaccine in imminent weeks":
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/08/25/905792261/fdas-hahn-apologizes-for-overselling-plasmas-benefits-as-a-covid-19-treatment Let’s make sure Hahn knows his FDA is feeding the mistrust that will, inevitably, greet a vaccine: @SteveFDA or -888-463-6332.

POMPEO BREAKS HIS OWN RULES:  No other sitting secretary of state has delivered a speech like this before their party's political convention. By doing so, Pompeo broke a decades-old taboo and his own policies for the department. The speech sparked widespread criticism, including from former top Republican officials and even some Israeli officials, now wary of how Trump has politicized U.S.-Israel policy. The House committee tasked with overseeing the State Department announced it was investigating the speech hours before it aired.”

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/pompeo-breaks-rule-praising-trump-unprecedented-convention-speech/story?id=72605047 Let’s remind Pompeo that he is not above the rules. Tweet him and let him know that he is supposed to be the example not the rule breaker. @mikepompeo.  Let your MOCs know that you support this investigation. 

WRITE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR DEMANDING SAFE ELECTIONS: The November elections may be the last important elections of our lives. With Democracy at a turning point, it has never been more vital to vote, but with a pandemic raging unchecked, it also has never been more dangerous to head to the polls. We shouldn’t have to choose between voting and staying safe, Warren Democrats.  https://elizabethwarren.com/ has a way for us to tell our State Officials and Congress Members to act. We can make our voices heard by writing a letter to the editor demanding emergency elections funding and safe voting measures in every state. Warren Democrats will submit our letters to our local papers and give us an example to draw from. We can click here to write and send Letters to the Editor demanding safe election procedures for all of us: https://elizabethwarren.com/democracy

ELECTION/VOTING

POLL WORKERS NEEDED: Most poll workers, in the past, were older retired people with a day to spare; these are now the people at the highest risk for contracting covid-19 and sensibly reluctant to spend election day in close quarters with strangers.  We desperately need to aid in the effort to recruit poll workers from among the younger (under 50) and healthier.  In at least some states, college or even high school students can work at the polls. Here in NY, poll workers are paid $250 for the day and another hundred for training; whatever our state pays, it is at least something for those who are unemployed.  PLEASE alert any younger people in your vicinity!  And here is an online tool from Power the Polls to help us recruit poll workers everywhere:  https://www.powerthepolls.org/

FREE ID ASSISTANCE FOR ABSENTEE/VOTING BY MAIL: If we live in one of the following states, we may need to submit a copy of ID to vote by mail or absentee ballot: AL, AR, KS, KY, LA, MO, NC, ND, OH, OK, PA, SD, TX, WI. If we need help getting a photocopy of our ID to vote or to register to vote, Vote Riders can help—entirely for free. Let’s use this service if we need it and spread the word: https://www.voteriders.org/photocopy-my-id/

ADOPT A SENATE RACE: Let's support Democratic Senate candidates in our own states and if our own Senators are not on the ballot this year, let's adopt one from another state. Twelve (12) seats held by Democrats and twenty-three (23) seats held by Republicans are on the ballot this year. (Source: Ballotpedia.) Today let's take a look at a) the most vulnerable seat Democrats are defending and b) the tossups. (Links on a Democratic candidate's name will take us to their campaign website.) a) Alabama: Doug Jones (D) is defending his seat from challenger Tommy Tuberville (R); b) Six (6) races are currently rated as toss-up's (source: Ballotpedia): 1) Colorado: John Hickenlooper (D) is challenging incumbent Cory Gardner (R); 2) Georgia: Jon Ossoff (D) is challenging incumbent David Perdue (R); 3) Iowa: Theresa Greenfield (D) is challenging incumbent Joni Ernst; 4) Maine: Sara Gideon (D) is challenging incumbent Susan Collins; 5) Montana: Steve Bullock (D) is challenging incumbent Steve Daines (R); 6) North Carolina: Cal Cunningham (D) is challenging incumbent Thom Tillis.  Some campaigns include postcarding, texting and phone-banking opportunities even if we are in a different state. Let's adopt a senate race from these or one of the many others and find ways to contribute and volunteer. 

HELP GET OUT THE AMERICANS ABROAD VOTE: This election every vote counts and we need as many as we can to get our country back on track. Important, but often overlooked, overseas voters can play a key role delivering us a victory the November. That’s why Action Together Zurich  has launched #passthevote. We can click to watch their video, then take the challenge. We can find three American friends living abroad and ask them about their plans to register, request and return their ballots. Then we can share this link and challenge on social media: https://www.actiontogetherzurich.com/pass-the-vote  

STATE/LOCAL

ALL STATES: VOTING RIGHTS: In order to ensure free and fair elections for all, political law expert Marc Elias has created Democracy Docket. Democracy Docket has been litigating cases in the United States, protecting what it calls the four pillars of voting by mail, that each state should be implementing at a minimum. These pillars include: 1. postage must be free or prepaid by the government, 2. ballots postmarked on or before Election Day must count, 3. signature matching laws need to be reformed to protect voters, and 4. community organizations should be permitted to help collect and deliver voted, sealed ballots. Democracy Docket has already seen wins in states like Wisconsin  Pennsylvania, and North Carolina, among others. Let's check to see where our state stands in protecting the four pillars, then let's contact our state MoC and our Secretary of State and ask them to create protections for each of these pillars.

CA: INCARCERATED FIREFIGHTERS:  7000 fires have destroyed 1.4 million acres in California so far this year; the state saves about one million dollars a year by using prison laborers to fight fires at $1 an hour.  This year, coronavirus has produced a firefighter shortage because of early releases or sick prisoners: https://www.kqed.org/news/11835134/how-california-relies-on-incarcerated-firefighters  Once released, these formerly incarcerated firefighters find it nearly impossible to get jobs with county or city fire departments in California. Let’s tell Gov. Gavin Newsom that California’s exploitation of underpaid incarcerated labor is not acceptable: 1303 10th Street, Suite 1173, Sacramento, CA 95814 or (916) 445-2841

MA--ALLOW FREE TELEPHONE SERVICES FOR INMATES: Massachusetts charges inmates more than most states including immigrants detained by ICE--to make much needed phone calls. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/07/21/opinion/calling-home-hardship-prisoners-boon-bristol-county-sheriff/. Currently, legislation has been introduced that would allow the prisoners the right to make free calls. Let’s contact our State Senators and ask them to pass S2846 before the legislative session ends. Talking points, supplied by Families for Justice and Healing can be found here.

MA: PASS IMMIGRANT DRIVERS LICENSE BILL: While fourteen other states have passed legislation allowing undocumented residents to apply for a driver’s license, supposedly progressive Massachusetts, which has been working on this issue for 15 years has once again had their bill stalled by legislative leaders. https://www.telegram.com/news/20200731/we-are-essential-to-this-country-undocumented-immigrants-maintain-push-for-state-drivers-licenses?. Let’s contact Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo, Robert.DeLeo@mahouse.gov,  Senate President Karen Spilka, Karen.Spilka@masenate.gov, and Chair of the Transportation Committee William Straus William.Straus@mahouse.gov and demand that they pass The Work and Family Mobility Act (H3012/S2641) now! We can get more information and talking points from The MIRA Coalition. 

MI:  PROTECT ABSENTEE BALLOT SECURITY: “Michigan’s Secretary of State says more than 10,000 absentee ballots were rejected for Michigan’s primary election on Aug. 4.” https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/michigan/2020/08/14/why-10000-absentee-ballots-were-rejected-in-michigan-primary/   Voters Not Politicians’ VoteSafe Campaign seeks to ensure that every person in Michigan can exercise their constitutional right to vote via absentee ballot. On August 4, 1.6 million Michiganders voted by absentee ballot. Secretary of State Benson estimates that the total number of absentee voters will increase to 3 million or more for the November 3 general election.  Let’s reach out to our state MoCs asking them to support the four bills identified here:  https://secure.everyaction.com/6O0wkRyZuEOWIeHsixX-iw2

TN: GOV SUPPRESSING THE VOTE FOR PROTESTERS: A new Tennessee law, signed by the governor this week, makes it a felony for protesters to camp out overnight on state property. If convicted, they could lose their voting rights and face up to six years in prison. Although some states are moving towards restoring voting rights for felons, it remains illegal for felons to vote in Tennessee. https://time.com/5882735/tennesee-law-protest-voting-rights-felony/ Let’s tell our Governor that state land is our land and no peaceful protesters should lose their right to vote while expressing their right to free speech on land that is paid for by our taxes. Free speech is not a felony.

RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS/GROUP ACTIONS/TWEETSTORMS

BLACK NATIONAL CONVENTION: From M4BL: "On August 28, 2020, at 7:00 PM ET / 4:00 PM PT, the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) and Electoral Justice Project will host the 2020 Black National Convention (BNC) virtual broadcast. Together, we will ratify a Black political agenda days after the Democratic and Republican National Conventions and ahead of November, when Black voters will play a pivotal role in determining whether we have four more years of domination or a new set of challenges to overcome." Let's learn more, including accessibility options of the broadcast, and sign up to attend: https://blacknovember.org/

SUPPORT INDIGENOUS PEOPLE WITH RADICALIZE THE VOTE!  On Saturday, August 29  (12PM Eastern/11AM Central) Radicalize the Vote will be holding a Radical Registration Telethon, a 12-hour Indigenous-led event to promote voter registration in Indian Country. 

They’ve created a voter registration portal, and the Registration Telethon will help promote it nation-wide. While national in scope, their focus this year is on “seven states where Indigenous people have the ability to shift the vote this year. Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Utah are states that, together, encompass over one million Indigenous voters”.   Let’s learn more and help spread the word  at:  www.radicalizethevote.org. (h/t Your Weekly Pep Talk & Action List!)

LEARN HOW TO PUT YOUR GET OUT THE VOTE CAMPAIGN PLAN INTO ACTION: If we are running for office, working for a campaign, or helping to rally voters for upcoming elections, we know that getting out the vote (GOTV) is not just a matter of finding supportive voters. We also need to plan and prepare to get them to the polls. This Thursday, August 27th from 8pm-9pm EST, the National Democratic Training Committee https://traindemocrats.org/  has a free virtual live training on “How to Put Your GOTV Plan into Action” just for us. In this session we’ll learn how to prepare our teams for GOTV and how to develop our GOTV plan timeline. We can find out more and register for Thursday’s free GOTV virtual workshop here: https://traindemocrats.org/event/how-to-put-your-gotv-plan-into-action-08-27-2020/

READING/WATCHING/LISTENING

Republicans Blast Democrats As Socialists. Here's What Socialism Is - https://www.npr.org/2020/08/25/905895428/republicans-blast-democrats-as-socialists-heres-what-socialism-is

The City Planners' Case for Defunding the Police - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-06/the-city-planners-case-to-defund-the-police

Trump has now moved $23 million of campaign donor money into his private business - https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2020/08/25/trump-has-now-moved-23-million-of-campaign-donor-money-into-his-private-business

The End of a Political Era: Movement Conservatism Gets Real - https://billmoyers.com/story/maga-movement-conservatism-era/

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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