December 14, 2023
Support Ukraine, call out restrictive abortion bans, end felony disenfranchisement, and more!
*** SUBMITTING YOUR ACTIONS TO ROGAN’S LIST ***
We’ve set up a “tip line” so Rogan’s List subscribers can send in their ideas or submissions for action items at roganslisttips@gmail.com. Please don’t hesitate to email and pass on your suggestions. We look forward to hearing from you!
Contact all members of Congress:
By phone: (202) 224-3121
By email: democracy.io
By US mail: Representatives / Senators
By fax: Representatives / Senators
By Resistbot: Resist.bot
Contact White House or other federal agencies:
TELL CONGRESS TODAY: SUPPORT UKRAINE
Fascism expert Timothy Snyder lays it out simply and clearly: standing by Ukraine now is a situation of unusual moral simplicity. Ukraine is defending itself against illegal Russian aggression and war crimes; America’s support of Ukraine has deterred a wider war involving NATO allies and China; Ukraine is a democracy defending itself against a ruthless dictatorship and needs our support to do so. Biden has warned that this delay is only emboldening Putin. Let’s tell our Members of Congress today: get an aid package to Ukraine before breaking for the rest of the year. It is unconscionable to do otherwise.
“POLITICALLY HOMELESS”
Like many of our moderate Republican friends, former representative Adam Kinzinger finds himself “politically homeless.” With his party hijacked by the far right, Kinzinger has gone so far as to say if the former president is again the GOP nominee that he will vote for Biden. While we may not always agree on how to solve a problem, we and our moderate GOP friends can usually agree on what problems are. We know from the past that with good communication and thoughtful compromise, we can work together to find solutions to these problems. Let’s talk with our moderate GOP friends and talk about how to find that kind of cooperation again in politics.
CALL OUT RESTRICTIVE ABORTION LAWS
On Monday, after Texas AG Ken Paxton threatened doctors and hospitals with first-degree felonies, the Texas Supreme Court ruled against resident Kate Cox, forcing her to flee the state in order to access a medically-necessary abortion. In Ohio, Brittany Watts has been charged with a felony after being forced to miscarry at her home. She had gone to the hospital twice, and was sent home both times. While the criminalization of pregnancy loss and abortion is not new, especially for Black women and those with lower income, the overturning of Roe v. Wade has only made the situation more dire. As we see these punishments being doled out in real time, even for those with complex medical conditions, it is crucial that we spread the word that "medical exceptions" to abortion are a myth. Let's write letters to the Editor to explain why restrictive abortion laws must go. Indivisible has created a page where we can easily compose our letter, and send it out to local papers. There are talking points, sample letters, and links to nearby news organizations.
RESTORING THE RIGHT TO VOTE AND ENDING FELONY DISENFRANCHISEMENT
Even after years of advocacy, 4.6 million Americans remain blocked from making their voices heard by voting because they have a felony on their record – disproportionately Black Americans. Recently we’ve seen action on both the state and national level to address this barrier. On Capitol Hill, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Sen. Peter Welch have introduced the Inclusive Democracy Act (S. 3423/H.R. 6643), which would guarantee the right to vote in federal elections for all citizens regardless of their criminal record and require those with past convictions be notified that they have and retain this right. Meanwhile in Michigan, Governor Whitmer signed a bill into law that automatically registers people to vote as they leave prison – the first state in the nation to do so. Let’s reach out to our members of Congress and urge them to co-sponsor the Inclusive Democracy Act, and contact our legislators and ask them to follow Michigan’s new model on registering the formerly incarcerated in our state.
SO MUCH TO LEARN
Ever since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, universities have been roiling, antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents have skyrocketed even though most students don’t have clue about the area or the conflict, a little Palestinian American boy was stabbed to death, three students were stabbed in Vermont, an elderly Jewish man died after an altercation with protesters, and people are sharing triggering disinformation on social media at lightning speed. We can’t help the situation if we aren’t thinking straight. Very few of us have a real handle on what is happening and why. The Middle East is complex (an understatement if there ever was one), and reducing our responses to memes and slogans just makes things worse. Here and here are lists of books to help us to understand the Israel-Palestine conflict. Let’s check them out and learn more.