Wednesday, May  17th

(Adapted from Rogan's List)

U.S. Capital Building, Washington D.C. (Photo via Creative Commons)

Action You Can Take Today

(aka Fun with Twitter)

• Here are some clickable tweets for us to use urging various senators to live up to their oath to protect our country from foreign threats:  https://medium.com/@CAPAction/call-on-senators-to-fulfillyouroath-cef957e25fb

 
If you're so inclined, there's more tweeting you can do, courtesy of #theresistancetweetsheets:

• Ready-to-go tweets for Trump discussing classified intel with the Russians:  https://resistancetweetsheets.wordpress.com/2017/05/15/emergency-tweetsheets-for-potus-discussing-classified-intel-wrussians/
  
  

If you don't tweet yet, you should try it out - it's fast and entertaining.  You can always adapt the ideas in the tweetsheet for Facebook or other social media.

Tuesday, May 16th

(Adapted from Rogan's List)

Trump continues to make his actions more and more indefensible, and the Republican leadership keeps defending him. Our voices rejecting this inaction must be heard loud, clear, and ceaselessly.

Action You Can Take Today

Write a postcard, fax, or call Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan. Contact info is below the letters.

Long form:

Dear _____,

I am an American citizen who loves our country. I am not sure what Donald Trump’s goal is, but the result of whatever he is doing is that he is offending reason, convention, ethics, respect for his constituents—and maybe even the law. Over the past week, he fired the person investigating him, lied about his reasons for the firing, admitted he did so because of the investigator’s lack of loyalty, and then threatened the subject of his actions on social media. As if that weren't enough, it turns out he also gave highly sensitive intelligence information to the Russians while they were in the Oval Office. I cannot express to you enough how concerned I am about his judgment, mental health and suitability for his role, and, more to the point, for the safety of the country in his hands.

Why do you continue to support him? From down here in regular Americaland, you look awfully bad—either more craven and greedy than can believed or profoundly clueless. And I know you’re not clueless.

Where is your humanity? Where is your love of country? Checks and balances only work if all three branches participate. Do your job. You are putting us all in danger.

Short form:

Dear _____,

I am an American citizen who loves our country. Over the past week, Donald Trump fired the person investigating him, lied about his reasons for the firing, admitted he did so because of the investigator’s lack of loyalty,  threatened the subject of his actions on social media, and gave highly sensitive intelligence information to the Russians while meeting with them in the Oval Office. I cannot express to you enough how concerned I am for the safety of the country in his hands.

Why do you continue to support him? Checks and balances only work if Congress participates. Do your job. You are putting us all in danger.

Tweet/quick postcard form:

Checks and balances only work if Congress participates. Do your job. You are putting us all in danger.

Contact info:

Mitch McConnell
317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2541 or (502) 582-6304 or (859) 224-8286 or (859) 578-0188 or (606) 864-2026
Fax: (202) 224-2499 – or use Resistbot

Paul Ryan
H-232 The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-0600 or (608) 752-405 or (262) 654-1901 or (262) 637-0510
Fax: (202) 225-2012 or (608) 752-4711 or (262) 654-2156 or (262) 637-5689 – or use Resistbot

Monday, May 15th

(Adapted from Rogan's List)

In the midst of the Comey storm, don’t forget the EPA public comment period, which ends May 15th. In case you're not sure what we're commenting on, the EPA asked for comment on "regulations that may be appropriate for repeal, replacement, or modification" after Trump signed Executive Order 13777, "Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda". 

Over 50,000 comments have already been received, and most people are asking the EPA to leave existing regulations in place, arguing that there's no need to roll back environmental protections.

Action You Can Take Today

ClimateTruth.org makes it easy to submit a comment: https://act.climatetruth.org/sign/EPA-regulations/ or you can go directly to the EPA comment site: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-HQ-OA-2017-0190-0042.  If you're not sure how to structure your comments, visit the EPA's "Tips on Effective Comments" FAQ page.

Sunday, May 14th

It's Mother's Day. Here's a way to honor your mother by supporting the health of impoverished women worldwide: 
Make a donation to Friends of UNFPA.

The Trump-Pence Administration’s drastic and irresponsible decision to eliminate funding to UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, directly affects millions of the most vulnerable women and girls around the world. The fact is: cutting funding to UNFPA will cut women’s lives short.

This action does more than defund UNFPA – it defunds women’s lives. 

Eliminating the U.S. contribution will force UNFPA’s lifesaving work to scale back dramatically. Without the U.S. contribution, UNFPA will be prevented from providing lifesaving reproductive health care to 10.5 million women and girls and from reaching 9 million people in humanitarian crises.

UNFPA is the largest international provider of family planning and reproductive health care globally, working in more than 150 countries and territories. UNFPA not only provides essential voluntary family planning information and guidance, but also delivers emergency obstetric care, trains and deploys midwives, works to end female genital mutilation, works to repair obstetric fistulas and prevent new cases, and vigorously combats child marriage and gender-based violence.

From 2014 to 2016 U.S. support allowed UNFPA to provide lifesaving assistance to an estimated 10.5 million people in humanitarian circumstances. In 2016 alone the U.S. contribution for UNFPA’s work prevented more than 10,000 maternal deaths. Additionally, U.S. support helped UNFPA avert 320,000 unintended pregnancies and 100,000 unsafe abortions. It also enabled approximately 800,000 people to voluntarily decide how many children they will have.

We call on the Administration to reverse this decision immediately. Further, we call on Americans to stand with UNFPA. Together we will demonstrate that Americans care deeply about the health and dignity of all women and girls and will act to support them wherever they live.

As the official support committee for UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, every dollar you give is used efficiently to mobilize further funds and action for UNFPA’s lifesaving work. We’re proud of the way we manage our funds, so you can contribute with confidence. Donate here.

Organized under the laws of New York State as a not-for-profit corporation, Friends of UNFPA is exempt from tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Our Federal Identification Number is: 13-3996346.

Friday, May 12th

File this under the header "important things that are happening while we focus on Comey."

As reported in The Guardian, "In a bill enacted last week, President Donald Trump has given the (US Census) bureau less than half its requested budget increase for 2017. The bureau asked for more money because accurately understanding the US population is expensive. The 2010 census cost the US taxpayer $13bn, which works out at roughly $42 for each of the 308.7 million people that were counted."  According to Five Thirty Eight, this budget "keep(s) spending flat in a year when, based on past 10-year cycles, it should be increasing by 60 percent or more."

 On Wednesday, the director of the US Census Bureau resigned, stating he couldn't do his job without adequate funding. Again, "The numbers from the Census Bureau underpin just about everything we know about the economy, education, health and justice in America. Without them, the US government won’t be making public policy based on public need. That’s an equation that just doesn’t add up."  

Census numbers also affect redistricting. If we want to fight gerrymandering, we must have an accurate census.  

Action You Can Take Today

Tell your members of Congress that you care about the census.  Tell the Commerce Department that you care about the census:  Secretary Wilbur Ross, Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20230. 

Bonus Action:

Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross made light of the dropping of 59 Tomahawk missiles on Syria by saying it was in lieu of “after-dinner entertainment” when China's President Xi visited Trump:  http://time.com/4762582/wilbur-ross-syria-airstrike-after-dinner-entertainment-donald-trump/   

Remind Secretary Ross that bombs are not entertainment: Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20230

Wednesday, May 10th

Yesterday, Trump fired FBI chief James Comey, purportedly over his investigation of Hillary Clinton. We're not fooled - Comey was fired because he was investigating Trump and the Trump Administration.  Now, more and more members of Congress, including some Republicans, are calling for an independent investigation of Trump and his Russia ties.

According to today's New York Times, however, there is no clear path to an independent investigation of #TrumpRussia.  The post-Nixon law creating a "special prosecutor" or "independent counsel" expired in 1999.  A "special counsel" would still be under the control of the newly appointed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who showed yesterday that he and Attorney General Jeff Sessions are in no way interested in finding the truth.  A "special congressional commission" could investigate and create a report, but nothing beyond that.

As a result, it looks like it is up to state officials such as New York's Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who cannot be fired by the President or the President's men, to actually perform that independent investigation. As noted in the Daily News in March, "Schneiderman, a frequent Trump critic, has repeatedly said his office will sue the administration if necessary to protect New Yorkers' and the state's interests."

Action You Can Take Today

Tell AG Schneiderman that you support investigations by his office into Trump's ties to Russia, potential violation of the emoluments clause, and any other Trump or Trump associate activity that may violate our laws.

Call: 1-800-771-7755
Write:
Office of the Attorney General
The Capitol
Albany, NY 12224-0341

Send an email: https://ag.ny.gov/questions-comments-attorney-general-eric-t-schneiderman

Monday, May 8th

(Adapted from Rogan's List)


(Image courtesy of Gerald G and OpenClipArt under Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Public Domain License)

Trump’s Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue proclaimed (and has had confirmed) new rules that free public schools from the requirements put in place by the Obamas' “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.” Perdue wants to “make school meals great again” by allowing schools, starting next year, to discard the calorie, fat, or sodium requirements of the 2010 legislation and ignore its mandate to increase offerings of fruit, whole grains, vegetables, and nonfat milk. (Read more:  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/01/us/politics/nutrition-rules-school-lunches-michelle-obama.html  )

Action You Can Take Today

Please take a moment to share your thoughts with him:

Sonny Perdue, Secretary, US Dept of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Ave, SW, Washington, DC 20250. 

Sunday, May 7th

(Adapted from Rogan's List)

Yet another Trump disclosure omission:  “Jared Kushner didn't disclose his business ties with George Soros, Peter Thiel, and Goldman Sachs, or that he owes $1 billion in loans…” (Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/jared-kushner-ties-george-soros-goldman-sachs-peter-thiel-1-billion-loan-2017-5 )

Today, there are reports in the Guardian that Kushner's sister has been pushing Chinese investment in Kushner family properties in exchange for US green cards, most recently yesterday at an event at the Beijing Ritz-Carlton: "Members of the audience of 100 were reportedly told that if they stumped up at least half a million dollars for the project they could become US residents under a controversial cash-for-residency program that is known in China as the “golden visa”."  

Here's a slide shown during Kushner Co. event in Beijing identifying @realDonaldTrump as "key decision maker" on EB-5 investor visa program pic.twitter.com/j1M4E7eGtQ

— Javier C. Hernández (@HernandezJavier) May 6, 2017

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/07/jared-kushners-family-criticised-for-touting-cash-for-visas-scheme-in-china

Action You Can take Today:

Contact the Office of Government Ethics and ask that they investigate Kushner now:  https://www.oge.gov/Web/OGE.nsf/Resources/Contact+Us

Friday, May 5th

(Adapted from Rogan's List)

Action You Can Take Today

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) in an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN distinguished people with pre-existing conditions from those “who lead good lives”:  http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2017/05/01/lead-brooks-interview-live.cnn  

Please take a moment to let Rep. Brooks know what you think of his perspective.

Twitter: @RepMoBrooks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RepMoBrooks 
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/RepMoBrooks


And while you're at it, here's a list from Daily Kos of the "24 Most Vulnerable House Republicans Who Voted to Destroy Health Care".  Write to them, donate to their opponents, let them know that this term will be their last.

Wednesday, May 3rd

(Adapted from Rogan's List)

Jimmy Kimmel’s healthcare story on Monday about his newborn son’s heart condition is touching and revealing of so many concerns we all have about making sure our own families have heathcare when they need it.  (Watch now · Read more)

We have healthcare stories, too.  Let’s make sure we tell those stories to our legislators so they can see and retell what these changes in the ACA will do to real people.  Let them know how important this is to all of us and our families: remind them that healthcare is a human right.

Even if we don’t have a compelling healthcare story, we know that we can keep pushing to get better care for more people.  The efforts to repeal and replace the ACA seem to be coming to a head. (Learn more: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/331478-gop-struggles-to-find-obamacare-repeal-votes)

Action You Can Take Today

Reach out to your members of congress with your concerns.

Residents of Phillipstown: click links below for contact info:

Senator Chuck Schumer · Senator Kirstin Gillibrand · Representative Sean Patrick Maloney

If you live somewhere else, you can use this link: https://www.callmycongress.com/