Rogan's List

12/10/19

NATIONAL ISSUES

Addresses (District) for Members of the House of Representatives

(Including Emails & Twitter)

All Addresses for All US Senators

(including District Offices, Website Emails, Twitter & FB)

Fax legislators for free:

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

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

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

IMPEACHMENT: From Postcards for America-California: !!!HOLIDAY PROJECT TO SAVE AMERICA!!!The Impeachment of DJT is moving along quickly (HOORAY) and while the House is certain to vote to Impeach, the Senate is not...unless we pressure them! Therefore, I have created the following tools for anyone who wants to help:

· 4 printable postcard designs

· A list of all the Republican Senators (plus a Dem and an Ind who generally vote with them)

· 2 Message suggestions (See below)

· A way to share all the materials with others

You can write to as many of the 55 Trumpy Senators as you want to (the more the better) as often as you want to! All it takes is some of your time, some card stock, your printer, and stamps. Here’s the link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cBQ37TbUrNVkRWdgLeDA2W_5zUysWf1B

STOP MIGRANT DEATHS ON OUR WATCH: A recent video has revealed that the death of 16-year-old Carlos Vazquez, who continued to be held in detention rather than receiving medical treatment, was discovered by another inmate, not by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), as previously claimed. https://knx1070.radio.com/articles/ap-news/video-footage-published-shows-teen-died-in-us-custody. The story was originally broken by ProPublica. However, the Texas Civil Rights Project is asking people to share the story rather than the video, as it is retraumatizing the family. The ask we should make is to our MoCs. When are they going to use the power of the purse to stop these practices by defunding ICE and CBP?

ALLOW MEXICAN ASYLUM SEEKERS TO CROSS THE BORDER: Mexican asylum seekers fleeing violence are especially vulnerable under the U.S. policy that has resulted in thousands of migrants waiting at the border in Mexico, a country they are trying to flee for safety reasons. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/07/world/americas/mexico-border-migration-asylum.html. Let’s ask our MoCs to put pressure on Customs Border Patrol to alter this policy and allow those who are vulnerable to cross the border in a more timely fashion.

FIRE STEPHEN MILLER: Stephen Miller is behind some of the worst, most inhumane immigration policies of the Trump Administration, including the Muslim Ban and Family Separations. Recently, more damning evidence revealed that he has been heavily involved in promoting white nationalism. Fortunately, Senator Kamala Harris has just launched an effort to remove him from office. 27 senators have signed on to her letter so far and we can join the fight too! https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/473663-senate-democrats-demand-trump-fire-stephen-miller. We can start by reading the Senate letter here:

https://www.harris.senate.gov/news/press-releases/harris-leads-colleagues-in-demand-for-stephen-millers-removal-from-the-white-house

If our Senators have signed it, we can call (202) 224-3121 to thank them and encourage them to do all they can to oust Stephen Miller. If our Senators havn’t signed on yet, we can call and demand they do. We can also call our Congress members (202) 224-3121 to start a similar effort in the House. White nationalism should be reprehensible to both parties.

DIRTY TRICKS GAME: DemLabs is about to launch a board game to shine the light on Voting rights and suppression - in a fun way. The aim of the game is to get elected - by either positive campaigning - or playing dirty tricks to drag down your opponent. All the profits go to groups working on voting rights (like Common Cause, VPC, VoteRiders, Black Voters Matter, Center For Common Ground, Make The Road, Four Directions and others). There is also a free PDF version of the game that people can print out on paper and play that way. The aim is not profits - but to get more visibility on free and fair elections. Let’s check it out here: Bit.ly/dirtytrickskickstarter

MORE SNAP CUTS IN THE WORKS: The Trump administration has announced a plan that would cut food stamp benefits for approximately 750,000 people; the plan will make it harder for states to get waivers from a SNAP requirement that beneficiaries either work or be enrolled in vocational training and will be published in the Federal Register on Thursday, Dec. 5th, and is slated to go into effect in April. This is only one of three proposals that the Trump administration is backing: one seeks to adapt “the types of government benefits that automatically qualify families for SNAP” and another changes the “approach to calculating standard utility allowances.” It is estimated that the 3 programs together would limit food stamps for 2.1 million households:

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/472924-trump-administration-to-introduce-plan-cutting-food-stamps-for-750000 As far as this administration is concerned, poor people can either starve or freeze. Let’s tell Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue what we think--@SecretarySonny or (202) 720-2791 or U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, DC 20250--and let’s tell our MoCs that we expect them to fight for SNAP recipients.

VOTING RIGHTS ADVANCEMENT ACT OF 2019: “The Democratic-controlled House approved a bill Friday that would restore key sections of the Voting Rights Act . . . The bill would amend the 1965 law to impose new obligations on states and local jurisdictions, essentially reversing a 2013 Supreme Court decision that tossed out a “pre-clearance” provision that determined which jurisdictions needed federal oversight of elections.” https://apnews.com/acbaaecb9abe056650dd8faf5b6acf0b The bill now moves on to the Senate. Let’s tell our senators that we want them to vote for H.R. 4 and continue to make voting rights a priority.

3D PRINTED GUNS—A federal judge ruled that “the Trump administration broke a federal law when it reached a settlement allowing a small gun-technology company to post online the digital blueprints for making weapons with a 3D printer”.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-12/trump-administration-loses-battle-over-3d-printed-guns-online . The 3D Printed Gun Safety Act of 2019 would prohibit the distribution of 3D printer plans for firearms. Let’s tell our US Representative to co-sponsor H. R. 3265: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/3265/text and our US Senators to co-sponsor S. 1831: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1831/text

GUIDE TO SPOTTING FAKE NEWS—The Los Angeles Valley College Library as a terrific guide to spotting disinformation and other fake news. Let’s improve our skills by reading through it here and sharing it: https://lib.lavc.edu/fake-news

POLITICAL GIFT GUIDE: Looking for gifts that will make a difference this holiday season? Here are a few options:

First, a reminder that all the Democratic candidates have their own shops. Buy a T-shirt or the list and support your favorite!
Help Fight for the Future keep the internet free! https://shop.fightforthefuture.org
Help Higher Heights help black women lead! https://www.higherheightsforamerica.org/store
Protect voting rights with Let America Vote! https://store.letamericavote.org
Change someone's life and Spread the Vote by helping them get an ID: https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/id-season
Librarians and libraries have always been custodians of democracy. Support them and get cool posters/bookmarks! https://www.alastore.ala.org
Buy a copy of Dirty Tricks Game from Democracy Labs: Bit.ly/dirtytrickskickstarter
Help Choose Love send refugees the things they actually need. https://us.choose.love
Support all the work Everytown and Moms Demand do for gun safety! https://store.everytown.org/collections/holiday-collection
Gift your airline miles to fly someone to their new home: https://www.miles4migrants.org
Support a classroom. Build a future with Donors Choose: https://www.donorschoose.org

Some of these sites allow us to buy things for ourselves, our family, and our loved ones. Some provide things to people we may have never met. In that case, consider donating in honor of someone. #GiftBetter!

JESUS. MARY AND JOSEPH IN CAGES: A Methodist church in California has unveiled a nativity scene depicting Jesus, Mary and Joseph as refugees in cages. CBS Los Angeles reports the display at the Claremont United Methodist Church is stoking debate related to the Trump administration's separation policies at the U.S. southern border. The display shows classic nativity figurines of Joseph and Mary in cages on either side of a cage containing the manger of Jesus. The Rev. Karen Clark Ristine, who says she was "stirred to tears" by the depiction, says the church uses its annual nativity scene to tackle a societal issue, such as the homeless population of Southern California. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nativity-scene-claremont-united-methodist-church-shows-holy-family-as-caged-refugees/. While we are preparing our holiday celebrations warm in our homes celebrating with family, we can take a moment to use a HOLIDAY card to send trump and our MOC’s a message demanding that immigrants deserve better care and should be reunited with their families.

POSTCARDING WRITE-UPS: From one of our own: The "generic National" version of my issues/addresses write-ups for the week can be found here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ylythcJuQni2Z4jlbHFnT1ah9G6H1PNTZMf7vWLV5SQ/edit?usp=sharing This version includes all necessary mailing addresses and phone numbers for appropriate committee chairs, cabinet secretaries and the like, as well as links to the House and Senate directories with each item about which you may want to contact your particular Congressmembers. Please feel free to share this list with others. As always, use the items that speak to you\u--we don't have to agree on everything to work together for our democracy.

ELECTION/VOTING

DECEMBER 2019 ELECTIONS: There are several elections scheduled in December. If one of these is in your district, make sure you vote! For everyone else, please share this with your network to spread the word in order to increase awareness and turnout! https://politicalcharge.org/2019/12/09/elections-in-december-2019/

DECEMBER DEMOCRATIC DEBATE AND ELECTION SECURITY: “"The December debates are being hosted by PBS & Politico. They are soliciting questions for the candidates. Our intent is to come up with one election security question we can share widely and get as many people to submit as possible. The deadline is Dec. 13th. But the sooner we do this, and the more people that participate, the more likely the question will be chosen.” Let’s use the information in this link to help move this topic to the debate stage: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1i-oTpiIwt9tyA6g5dkHEa0UiZLJGCvzg

STOP ELECTION THEFT IN MISSISSIPPI: Hester Jackson McCray won her statehouse seat in Mississippi in November by fourteen votes. Although her election has been certified, Mc Cray, the only African American to represent a majority white district in the state, finds her seat in danger. Her defeated opponent is asking Republicans in the state House to overturn the election, even though it’s already certified by the State! https://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2019/dec/09/white-gop-rep-who-lost-black-dem-wants-election-ov/ Future Now, who helps win down ballot races in strategically chosen states, aided her campaign and is now helping her fight this unjust attack. We can help by signing this petition to demand that this state-certified election is upheld and that Representative-Elect Jackson McCray is seated in Jackson, Mississippi: http://chng.it/jvjSMhzZWD Then, let’s share it with our friends and on social media.

PROTECT THE VOTE IN GEORGIA: The following organizations are working to protect the vote in Georgia: the Coalition for Good Governance, which is suing to have Georgia’s paperless, insecure voting machines declared unconstitutional: https://coalitionforgoodgovernance.org/donate/ ; New Georgia Project https://newgeorgiaproject.org/about/ , which is registering voters; and Fair Fight https://fairfight.com/about-fair-fight/ , which is mobilizing against voter suppression efforts in GA and across the country. Let’s visit the websites of these voting rights groups and consider donating to one or more of them.

VOTER REGISTRATION IDEA: From one of our own: Every Democratic candidate from top to bottom (candidates for President, for Senate, for Congress, for state legislators, for city council, etc.) should open their speeches and/or debates with reminders (to voters listening) to REGISTER TO VOTE and reminders to make sure voter registrations are safe and valid in their communities. This idea popped into my head at a Swing Left event featuring the film “Suppressed: The Fight To Vote”. It would be powerful to hear every candidate for President on the debate stage make the pitch for voter registration and protection before their opening remarks. Let’s ask our favorite candidates to do this!

KEEP ON WRITING! Postcards To Voters' volunteers are currently working to get out the vote in Pennsylvania for one of the first elections of 2020. Let's check out Campaign 183: Michael Schroeder for State Senate. This special election will be held on Tuesday, January 14. Let's request 5 addresses today to help create some buzz for this election: https://postcardstovoters.org/2019/11/22/schroeder/

ELECTION RESULTS: Postcards To Voters' (P2V) volunteers wrote Campaign 184: Evangeline "Van" Beechler for Caldwell City Council in Idaho. On Dec. 3, Beechler received 39% of the vote and lost the runoff election to John McGee, a conservative with a history of sexual harassment. (Source: Idaho Statesman) Our thanks to the 322 volunteer writers made quick work of the 3,316 election reminders in P2V's first Idaho election.

TUESDAY NIGHT ELECTION WATCH - SOUTH CAROLINA: Postcards To Voter's volunteers wrote to get out the vote for the Aiken County School Board special election on Dec. 10. Campaign 182 is for Dr. Kristin Beard. Our thanks to everyone who volunteered.

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/1ir8YGs1F0L fayl6T7XR7tklnYrEk4VcEzTkPumLVWAI We can also find out more about Equal here at their website: https://www.equalvotelocal.com/

STATE/LOCAL

RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS

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://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeNm81nXjIu4BLGLSJ2VDw9d0ec1t0c6XF88xGn6SLf0zKytg/viewform

PARTICIPATE IN DIRECT ACTIONS FOR IMMIGRATION JUSTICE ON DECEMBER 10: Never Again Action is calling for two direct actions, to shut down the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, RI, and to shut down UMB Bank in Kansas City, which has a financial stake in the Wyatt facility. We can read here about the awful happenings at Wyatt, and also view the similarities between a picture of bottles collected from migrants and bottles collected from victims of the Holocaust. Let’s consider participating, telling our friends who live in these areas, or make a donation here.

IMPEACHMENT PROTEST: The impeachment hearings are moving forward full-steam with a transition to the Judiciary Committee: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-impeachment/u-s-democrats-set-the-stage-for-trump-impeachment-with-key-hearing-idUSKBN1Y613R There are now 345 protests planned for the night before the impeachment vote (date to be determined). Let’s make sure we are signed up for one (or organizing one if none of them are near us):

https://www.impeach.org/event/impeach-and-remove-attend/search/

READING/WATCHING

A Powerful Statement of Resistance from a College Student on Trial in Moscow - https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/a-powerful-statement-of-resistance-from-a-college-student-on-trial-in-moscow

Internal Justice watchdog finds that Russia probe was justified, not biased against Trump - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/internal-justice-watchdog-finds-russia-probe-was-justified-not-biased-n1098161

Too much of a Greta thing? Activist urges focus on others - https://apnews.com/baa29614a79cbcd2edb83b9e3f7de90f

Despite Rulings, Trump Plans to Expand Family Detention - https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/09/us/migrant-family-detention-border.html

Link correction: How Auschwitz Christmas Ornaments Ended Up for Sale on Amazon - https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-auschwitz-christmas-ornaments/

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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

12/9/19

On Mondays, Rogan’s List features a listing of proposed rule and regulation changes that are currently accepting public comment. Commenting is the way to show government agencies how we feel about these proposed changes. Our comments also become part of a record that will be reviewed by courts if and when a reg change is contested. Courts use comments to judge whether an agency is acting arbitrarily and capriciously.

Organization

Closing Soon

Recent

Section I - ICE, DHS, DOL, NLRB

Section II - everything environmental - EPA, BLM, DOE

Section III - Civil rights, housing, education, healthcare

Other: More on regulations (tracking the trackers/general information)

(Note: After a couple of weeks items are moved from “Recent” and “Closing soon” into the Roman numeral sections. A note on regulatory processes: there are three stages - Notice, Proposed Rule, and Rule. There’s usually a time lag of a few months to a few years between them, and they must be published in the Federal Register before appearing on Regulations.gov. Comment time varies from 10 days to 2 months, sometimes with extensions.)

Upcoming live webcast of Alaska petroleum reserve lease sales, a lot under “Closing Soon”. Find this week’s list here:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1rnntgf6w8TE55SWUA9ZJI2GWJe0GHVFV

12/5/19

NATIONAL ISSUES

Addresses (District) for Members of the House of Representatives

(Including Emails & Twitter)

All Addresses for All US Senators

(including District Offices, Website Emails, Twitter & FB)

Fax legislators for free:

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

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

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

IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS: Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee’s part of the Impeachment Hearings began: https://apnews.com/fe334cf50d267b749874ddf1089ca6bd and https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry/live-blog/impeachment-hearing-live-updates-judiciary-committee-n1095001 Let’s be in touch with our MoC to say that we expect based on the preponderance of evidence that Trump will be impeached and removed from office. Let’s also take a moment to say thank you to the three distinguished professors who were invited by the Democrats to testify – they have comported themselves with great dignity and candor: 1) https://hls.harvard.edu/faculty/directory/10257/Feldman and 2) https://law.unc.edu/people/michael-j-gerhardt/ and 3) https://law.stanford.edu/directory/pamela-s-karlan/

MIGRANT CHILDREN’S MEDICATION CONFISCATED AT THE BORDER: Doctors in Long Island reported two cases of migrant children who ended up in the Intensive Care Unit because their medication was confiscated at the border. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-migrant-children/u-s-authorities-confiscate-migrant-kids-medications-at-the-southern-border-idUSKBN1Y72NV. This is not the first instance of inappropriate confiscation. In fact, this practice goes back years and a janitor who worked at a border detention facility has saved many of the objects taken from migrants and thrown away, photographed them, and put the photographs on exhibit. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2019-12-02/tom-kiefer-exhibition-el-sueno-americano?. We must tell our MoCs and DHS (202-282-8495; DHSSecretary@hq.dhs.gov; https://homelandsecurity.ideascale.com/; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/homelandsecurity/; Twitter: @DHS.gov) that this cruelty must stop. This is just one more reason that Congress must Defund ICE in the next round of budget appropriations.

MORE SNAP CUTS IN THE WORKS: The Trump administration has announced a plan that would cut food stamp benefits for approximately 750,000 people; the plan will make it harder for states to get waivers from a SNAP requirement that beneficiaries either work or be enrolled in vocational training and will be published in the Federal Register on Thursday, Dec. 5th; presumably, it will then be available for our comment. This is only one of three proposals that the Trump administration is backing: one seeks to adapt “the types of government benefits that automatically qualify families for SNAP” and other changes the “approach to calculating standard utility allowances.” It is estimated that the 3 programs together would limit food stamps for 2.1 million households: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/472924-trump-administration-to-introduce-plan-cutting-food-stamps-for-750000 As far as this administration is concerned, poor people can either starve or freeze. Let’s comment, and let’s tell our MoCs that we expect them to fight for SNAP recipients.

ENDORSE RAICES’ IMMIGRATION REFORM MIGRANT JUSTICE PLATFORM: As Trump Administration imposes increasingly cruel Immigration policies, RAICES, in conjunction with several other organizations, is working to create comprehensive, just and humane Immigration Reform. Their Migrant Justice Platform proposes concrete governmental action, at home, on the southern border and abroad, with policies to free undocumented workers from fear of persecution, protect workers’ rights, and demilitarize and restrict border agencies. We can read the RAICES-sponsored Migrant Justice Platform here, then, if we support it, endorse it and share it with our communities: https://www.migrantjusticeplatform.org/endorse

STOP FACIAL SCANNING REGULATION: The administration is set to propose a new regulation that would photograph everyone entering or leaving the U.S. including U.S. Citizens. This clear attack on fourth amendment rights reeks of “Big Brother” and violates privacy. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-privacy/u-s-homeland-security-proposes-face-scans-for-citizens-idUSKBN1Y62JO. Let’s make sure to speak out against this proposal when we talk to our MoCs and see if anything legislative can be done about it. Let’s also track this closely and make sure to make a public comment when it is published.

THE SWELL CARE PACKAGE PROJECT: The Swell Collective, whose mission is to inspire, equip, and amplify change agents, is seeking nominees and contributions to send out care packages to movement organizers, especially the unsung heroes. Let’s help fund this initiative if we can: https://swellcollective.org/shop/2020-swell-care-package-project If we have a nominee in mind, we can click here: https://airtable.com/shrDBuwjobl7Hol1W

LIBRARIES: EveryLibrary, an organization "dedicated to building voter support for libraries," has launched the Libraries 2020 campaign to help spread awareness for the good that libraries do across our country. Let's learn more about how libraries play a crucial role in our communities, then let's visit Libraries 2020 and use their click-to-tweets to help them build voter support and ensure that public libraries continue to be fully-funded.

NO JUDICIAL EXTREMISTS: From Suit Up Maine: The Senate will vote soon on a number of extremist and unqualified judicial nominees who are up for LIFETIME positions on the federal bench. Learn more about the worst of the worst and contact Senators Collins and King [and our GOP senators if we are on other states] and urge them to vote NO! https://www.suitupmaine.org/extremist-judicial-appointments/

HEALTHCARE: As states like Ohio continue to restrict women's access to full healthcare, nationwide the Hyde Amendment has long been placing restrictions on low-income women (https://bit.ly/2Yo00Og). All Above All, a coalition of organizations fighting for women's rights, is encouraging us to be bold and push our MoC to repeal the Hyde Amendment. Let's check out their toolkit and use the e-mail template to contact our MoC here.

DISABLED STUDENT BORROWERS DENIED LOAN FORGIVENESS: Apparently, the Education Department is not content with refusing 99% of the promised loan forgiveness applicants who are public servants (https://www.salon.com/2019/09/05/betsy-devos-education-department-rejects-99-of-applications-for-loan-forgiveness-program/), but it now turns out that it has similarly failed borrowers with disabilities As of this year, 365,000 disabled borrowers were potentially eligible for loan discharge but have gotten no relief, 225,000 of those had already defaulted on their loans; "People don't even know about this. They don't find out about it. Nobody tells you about it," said one eligible borrower; others cite the byzantine application process: https://www.wnyc.org/story/why-student-loan-borrowers-with-disabilities-arent-getting-the-help-they-deserve We must speak up for students with legitimate claims for debt relief, before an entire generation is decimated by this $1.5 trillion debt: Sec’y Betsy DeVos, 800-872-5327 or U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20202.

ELECTION/VOTING

LEARN TO RUN PROGRESSIVE CAMPAIGNS AT THE MOVEMENT SCHOOL: If we would like to learn to run a winning Progressive political campaign, we can apply to The Movement School for a 10-week distance learning program, structured around a campaign stimulation. Working with some of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s winning staff, we can learn to advocate for working class constituents, generate local solutions, and organize our grassroots communities. Organizers of color, those from working class backgrounds, and women are especially encouraged to apply and will make up the majority of accepted fellows. We can find out more about The Movement School’s training to run successful Progressive Campaigns here, then apply if we are interested: https://www.movementschool.us/campaignfellows

STATE/LOCAL

RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS

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 We can also join in Jane Fonda’s Fire Drill Fridays: https://firedrillfridays.com/

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

https://www.impeach.org/event/impeach-and-remove-attend/search/

READING/WATCHING

House Democrats have passed nearly 400 bills: Trump and Republicans are ignoring them - https://www.vox.com/2019/11/29/20977735/how-many-bills-passed-house-democrats-trump

How Auschwitz Christmas Ornaments Ended Up for Sale on Amazon - https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-auschwitz-christmas-ornaments/

The Frightening Rise In Low-Quality, Low-Paying Jobs: Is This Really A Strong Job Market? - https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2019/11/25/the-frightening-rise-in-low-quality-low-paying-jobs-is-this-really-a-strong-job-market/#1f266afa4fd1

Republican Time-Wasting Is Killing Native Women - https://newrepublic.com/article/155827/republican-time-wasting-killing-native-women

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12/3/19

NATIONAL ISSUES

Addresses (District) for Members of the House of Representatives

(Including Emails & Twitter)

All Addresses for All US Senators

(including District Offices, Website Emails, Twitter & FB)

Fax legislators for free:

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

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

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

(link correction) 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.

IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS: After whining about due process, Trump and his lawyers sent word that they will not participate in Wednesday’s hearing:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry/white-house-will-not-participate-wednesday-s-impeachment-hearing-n1093821 Let’s let our MoC know that we expect them to show greater respect for the process than the president does and that the evidence makes clear that impeachment is needed.

IMMIGRANT ENTRAPMENT: In a perverse coming together of the unchecked privatization of higher education and the determination of the Department of Homeland Security to entrap immigrants, DHS created a bogus college in Michigan; when foreign students applied there to get US visas—a usual process for international students—they were arrested and deported, some of them held in detention centers:

https://www.npr.org/2019/11/29/783681028/an-elaborate-ice-sting-set-up-a-fake-college-to-lure-student-visa-fraud Having lured unsuspecting foreign students, DHS now claims they fraudulently applied for student visas and should, somehow, have known the college was bogus—despite its resemblance to the for-profit universities Education Secretary Betsy DeVos refuses to close or even sanction:

https://www.brookings.edu/research/betsy-devos-for-profit-colleges-education-america/ Let’s tell DHS what we think of their actions: 202-282-8495 or https://www.dhs.gov/contact-us -- and point out to DeVos that if bogus for-profit colleges were not ignored by her department, DHS might find this kind of entrapment more difficult: 800-872-5327 or U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20202.

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT (VAWA): After refusing to negotiate the House-passed VAWA reauthorization (H.R. 1585), arguing against a provision which would preclude individuals who have been convicted of misdemeanor stalking and/or domestic abuse crimes from purchasing guns (https://bit.ly/2Ka90k2, https://bit.ly/2O4khU4) a group of Senate republicans have introduced their own reauthorization, S. 2920 (https://bit.ly/2L9ZmhV). The bill not only removes the firearm restrictions, but also the provisions for preventing discrimination of LGBTQ people in shelters, and would strip protections of Native American women (https://bit.ly/2LeyjSy). Let's contact our senators and tell them that we want them to pass the House version of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act ASAP. If our Senator is among those who introduced the limited S. 2920, let's be sure to contact them and hold them accountable for attacking the rights of domestic abuse survivors.

TRUMP INTERFERES IN NAVY GALLAGHER CASE AGAIN: “A Navy official confirmed that Trump does have the authority to order the revocation of the awards, and that Spencer, accordingly, planned to rescind them. The news site Task & Purpose was first to report that the Navy's Regional Legal Service Office in San Diego had presented Navy Achievement Medals to four military attorneys involved in the Gallagher case.”

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/07/31/trump-orders-navy-rescind-medals-given-seal-eddie-gallaghers-prosecutors.html “An attorney for Navy SEAL chief Edward "Eddie" Gallagher also represents the Trump Organization, CNN has learned, just days after reports surfaced indicating the President is considering pardoning Gallagher of charges that could constitute war crimes.”

https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/24/politics/navy-seal-chief-eddie-gallagher-defense-team-trump/index.html Justice does not get served in this administration, if you have friends in the right places you get favors. It’s a QUID PRO QUO administration and the pattern is apparent in the Demands made to Ukraine. Call your MOCs and ask them to support the impeachment process. Call, write or tweet trump and ask him to let the military courts follow their own procedures and stop interfering for friends.

STOP NEW FOOD STAMPS RULES: New food stamp regulations proposed by the Trump Administration could cause millions of food insecure families to lose food stamps. What a wonderful way to kickoff the holiday season. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-administration-proposal-could-cause-millions-lose-food-stamps-n1092866 While the comment period for these regulations closed yesterday, we can still contact Secretary of Agriculture: 1-202-720-2791 or feedback@usda.gov to express our concern. Let’s also ask our MoCs to put pressure on the administration to make sure that these regulations are not enacted.

DHS LACKED TECHNOLOGY TO ACCOUNT FOR FAMILY SEPARATIONS: And for yet another, even more horrifying reason to demand the defunding of ICE, a recent report by the inspector general revealed that DHS knew it did not have tracking systems in place when it separated migrant families, which made reunification extremely difficult, and at times impossible. https://www.npr.org/2019/11/27/783513721/new-report-says-u-s-lacked-technology-to-account-for-separated-families. The report also notes that the administration aimed to separate five times as many families as they actually did, that the program cost nearly $1 million taxpayer dollars in overtime work, and that the practice persisted, even after an executive order was assigned to end the practice in June 2018. Let’s make sure that our MoCs know that we do not want to see any of our taxpayer dollars going to an agency whose policies have gone far beyond protecting our borders to cruel and abusive treatment of children and families.

FREE ONLINE SKILLS TRAINING FOR VOLUNTEERS AND STAFF FROM DEMLABS: If we, or our groups, are looking for ways to give our staff and volunteers the skills they need to be more effective activist and organizers, we can check out this these five free online learning platforms DemLabs has organized for us. They have drawn together Best Practices training from Organizing for American, Midwest Academy and other highly experienced groups and put them in clear accessible formats for us to use. We can click here for free, high quality, ready to use volunteer and staff online trainings on canvassing, phone banking, digital work, strategic planning and framing issues: https://demcastusa.com/2019/11/30/five-free-online-platforms-to-train-volunteers-activists-and-campaign-staff/

PROTECT DEMOCRACY IS LOOKING FOR STAFF: Protect Democracy, a cross-partisan team dedicated to preventing American democracy from declining into a more authoritarian form of government, is looking for new staff members. If we are interested in joining a group that has used the courts, media, legislatures to effectively shut down the Pence-Kobach Voter Suppression-oriented “Voter Integrity Commission,” challenged Trump’s fake “Border Emergency” funding raid and is gearing up for new challenges, we can check out the organization’s information and position descriptions here. They are especially interested in people based in PA, TX, AZ, MI, WI, GA, NC and FL. If we’re in one of those states, we can include the state name in the subject line when applying: https://protectdemocracy.org/x/jobs/

POSTCARDING ISSUES: From one of our own: You can find this week's postcarding write-ups here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v6S51cLbS-byILKK5hyrbuVBOf049w6O_Sjzf2yzSYM/edit?usp=sharing

ELECTION/VOTING

STATES WITH OUTSIZE ROLES IN 2020 ELECTIONS. RollCall has compiled information for us by region. a) EAST: Maine and Pennsylvania. b) MIDWEST: Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin. c) SOUTH: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina. d) WEST: Texas. Let's read about our own region and/or state as we prepare for 2020.

POSTCARDERS WANTED. Postcards To Voters' experienced a Thanksgiving holiday slowdown. Tony the Democrat sent out a call to action: We need more volunteers to work on Campaign 185 for the Houston Texas runoff election on Saturday, Dec. 14. Let's request 5 addresses today.

FREE VOTER ID INFO CARDS—The organization Vote Riders has wallet-sized cards with voter ID requirements for each of the 50 states and DC. The cards are available in English and Spanish. They will print and ship cards for free to registered 501(c)(3) charitable organizations. Let’s click here to learn more and order cards: https://www.voteriders.org/get-involved/order-voter-id-info-cards/

STATE/LOCAL

FL: DEFEAT MATT GAETZ IN 2020: “Florida Democrats have identified 27,876 unregistered Democrats in Rep. Matt Gaetz's Congressional District. For just $1 you can send a return postage pre-paid voter registration form to one of them.” Let’s get these voters registered by chipping in here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/fdp-votethemout

RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS

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

https://www.impeach.org/event/impeach-and-remove-attend/search/

READING/WATCHING

Want a Woman to be POTUS? Then You Must Get This Guide - https://politicalcharge.org/2019/11/29/want-a-woman-to-be-potus-then-you-must-get-this-guide

Lisa Page Speaks: ‘There’s No Fathomable Way I Have Committed Any Crime at All’ -

https://www.thedailybeast.com/lisa-page-speaks-theres-no-fathomable-way-i-have-committed-any-crime-at-all

Climate tipping points — too risky to bet against - https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03595-0

House Democrats have passed nearly 400 bills. Trump and Republicans are ignoring them. - House Democrats have passed nearly 400 bills. Trump and Republicans are ignoring them.

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