September 22, 2023
Military confirmations, libraries, veterans against hate, and more!
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:
MILITARY CONFIRMATIONS HAPPENING DESPITE TUBERVILLE
With Sen. Tuberville holding up hundreds of military promotions as his personal protest against the military providing abortion assistance, Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer side stepped Tuberville on Wednesday and utilized a procedure known as cloture to confirm three military appointments, including Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Oddly enough, Republicans are posing this as a win for them. The vote was 83 to 11 revealing that there is Republican support for confirming these candidates. Let’s tell Schumer and our own senators that we support anything, including this kind of side stepping, to end Tuberville’s one-man blockade.
POSTCARD TO VOTERS FOR OHIO ELECTION TO PROTECT REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM
Founded in the spring of 2017 when Jon Ossoff ran in a special election for a Congressional seat in Georgia, Postcards To Voters has been a key player in postcarding for elections in the 6+ years since with 75000+ volunteers writing nearly 8 million postcards. Volunteers receive addresses and exact messages to write for campaigns and elections across the country and use their own postcards and stamps to write to the voters. Detailed instructions are sent from Postcards To Voters once volunteers have registered and expressed interest in a particular campaign. Many Rogan’s List-ers have had long connections with Postcards To Voters and we find it a simple and satisfying way to engage in get-out-the-vote efforts from home. Postcards To Voters is now on their 331st (!) campaign: getting out the vote to end the Ohio abortion ban. If we are already Postcard To Voters volunteers, we can use the Slack channel or can email for addresses and instructions at request@abbyaddresses.org . Please note that there are issues with the texting method currently. If we would like to become a Postcards To Voters volunteer, information about the verification process can be found here. We can also follow them on Facebook to keep up with their new campaigns.
DEFEND OUR LIBRARIES
The American Library Association (ALA) was formed in 1876 at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia “To provide leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all”; in 1939, the ALA adopted its first Library Bill of Rights. This past summer, state libraries in Montana, Missouri, and Texas cut their ties with the ALA, claiming, as one Texas Republican did, that “the ALA works against parents by fighting to keep pornographic materials in public libraries.” Nine additional states would like to follow suit and end their affiliation. We can read more about the besieged ALA, contribute, and/or become ALA advocates and help to provide “The best reading, for the largest number, at the least cost” here.
VETERANS FIGHTING HATE & EXTREMISM
Charlottesville was not the end. Neo-Nazi organizations in the US are targeting Jewish, Black, and LGBTQ communities across America, terrorizing immigrant families living in shelters, holding demonstrations at Disney World, protesting children’s programs at public libraries, and just generally staging events that sometimes turn violent. The nonprofit Task Force Butler Institute was founded by Iraq War veteran Kris Goldsmith in the wake of the January 6, 2021 violent, deadly Trump/MAGA/extremist attempt to overturn the valid outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election. Task Force Butler uses intelligence gathered by trained volunteer veterans to issue detailed reports on the activities of fascist US groups to state and federal prosecutors and state attorneys general. At least one of their reports has been used to sue members of the hate group Patriot Front. Let’s explore the website to see how we can support the work of Task Force Butler.
AFFORDABLE GIFTS THAT ALSO DO GOOD
The very first product that the online shop Dissent Pins sold in 2017 was a small enamel pin replicating Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg “dissent collar.” Dissent Pins donated 50% of the profits to progressive organizations doing good in the world. The shop’s offerings have expanded into jewelry, t-shirts, hats, and more, and touch on themes like abortion rights, Pride, Ukraine, and climate change. There’s even a blank enamel pin called Representative Katie Porter’s Whiteboard of Justice you can write on with an erasable marker (included!). Dissent Pins says it has donated more than $1 million to date. Most items sell for under $20. Let’s check it out!
STATE-SPECIFIC ACTIONS
OH – STOP THE HATE, STOP THE DRAG BAN
Ohio Republicans are the latest to turn their attention to targeting drag shows, proposing HB 245 to prohibit drag performances in public spaces outside of designated “adult cabaret” settings and in front of children. The bill has 44 co-sponsors in the House, just shy of what it would need to pass, but has come under sharp criticism – advocates have pointed out that in addition to attacking openness and inclusivity, as written it could ban kids from the Broadway production of Mrs. Doubtfire coming to Columbus in October. Let’s contact our legislators and Governor DeWine and tell them to stop targeting drag and get to work on things that will actually help our state.
This is what Tuberville wanted! Many Republicans will vote for most of the nominees - but there are a few that will NOT get their votes and they want to force Democrats to make votes that may be unpopular if they are representing Red States. This is what he has been asking for all along - not a blanket confirmation of all of them. On this point, I agree with Tuberville!