Tuesday, May 2nd

(Adapted from Jen Hoffman's Action Checklist for Americans of Conscience)

Action You Can Take Today

Continue to advocate for a special commission to investigate 45-Russia ties.

Newly-confirmed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein can approve a special prosecutor or commission, but has previously hedged on this action. (Read more.)

It's time to speak up.

• Call the Department of Justice comment line: 202-353-1555
  
  
• Send a postcard: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, US Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20530-0001

Script: I am among the 58% of Americans who want an independent commission to investigate Trump-Russia ties. Trust in the four current investigations is compromised, and the Attorney General’s credibility is tarnished. Only an independent commission or special prosecutor will restore confidence.  Thank you.

Sunday, April 30th

(Adapted from Rogan's List)


© Donkey Hotey, used by Creative Commons license.

There seem to be at least a couple of reasons why the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is not moving as quickly on its efforts to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

First, Senator Richard Burr, (R-NC) the chairman of the panel, has refused to cooperate with the information requests of Democrats on the committee (read more).

Second, Reuters reports there are currently only 7 staffers working on the case, a number that pales with similar big-time probes of the recent past (there were 46 staffers on the Benghazi probe) (read more).

Action You Can Take Today

Call Senator Burr's offices, send a fax, send a postcard, and ask him, "Why the slowdown?
Ask him why he won't sign his colleagues' letters requesting more information, and why his committee is so understaffed?  

You can also use Twitter or Facebook:

Twitter: @SenatorBurr · Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SenatorRichardBurr

Office locations and contact information:

Washington, DC
217 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-3154
Fax (202) 228-2981

Asheville
Federal Building 1
51 Patton Avenue, Suite 204
Asheville, NC 28801
Phone: (828) 350-2437
Fax (828) 350-2439

Rocky Mount
100 Coast Line Street, Room 210
Rocky Mount, NC 27804
Phone: (252) 977-9522
Fax (252) 977-7902

Wilmington
201 North Front Street, Suite 809
Wilmington, NC 28401
Phone: (888) 848-1833
Phone: (910) 251-1058
Fax (910) 251-7975

Winston-Salem
2000 West First Street
Suite 508
Winston-Salem, NC 27104
Phone: (800) 685-8916
Phone: (336) 631-5125
Fax (336) 725-4493

Friday, April 28th

(Adapted from Rogan's List)

Grand Escalante Staircase Photo by Bureau of Land Management [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Our National Parks and Monuments belong to the people of the US, and are not commodities that Trump can distribute to his cronies.

As reported this week by Reuters, "U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to allow national monument designations to be rescinded or reduce the size of sites as the administration pushes to open up more federal land to drilling, mining and other development."

Trump and his Republican colleagues are making the predictable argument that states, not the federal government, should have the right to decide "which land is protected and which is open for development." (read more here: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-interior-monuments-idUSKBN17S1MH)

31 senators, led by Tom Udall (D-NM), have sent an open letter to Trump objecting to the Executive Order.  In an unusual move, the clothing retailer Patagonia, has harshly criticized this action and has promised to sue the Administration:

“A president does not have the authority to rescind a National Monument. An attempt to change the boundaries ignores the review process of cultural and historical characteristics and the public input,” Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario said in a statement. “We’re watching the Trump administration’s actions very closely and preparing to take every step necessary, including legal action, to defend our most treasured public landscapes from coast to coast.” (read more here: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/330788-patagonia-threatens-to-sue-trump-over-national-monuments)

Action You Can Take Today

• Join the 31 Senators and Patagonia in telling Trump "Americans care deeply about the National Monuments and their voices should be considered if you proceed with any potential changes to the monument designations." We can let 45 know by sending him an email or calling him:  https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact.

• On Twitter, you can use the hashtag associated with critique of this Executive Order: #MonumentsforAll.
  
  
• And let's thank Patagonia for taking a stand to preserve our public lands.  
  
  Send a postcard to CEO Rose Marcario, Patagonia, 259 W Santa Clara St., Ventura, CA 93001 or call the corporate offices at (805) 643-8616 or send a tweet to @patagonia or visit them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PATAGONIA/

Wednesday, April 26th

(Adapted from Rogan's List)

Trump has requested a special meeting with the entire Senate at the White House today.  All indications point to his looking for permission to go to war over North Korea. China is asking Washington for patience.  However, we know that Trump want to improve his ratings and needs to show that he is strong and decisive.  He thinks that making a show of force would help him do both.  Nothing Trump has done so far has been done in a careful, thoughtful manner.  With two leaders such as Trump and Kim who are so volatile, this is getting more dangerous.  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/world/asia/north-korea-nuclear-missile-program.html 

Action You Can Take Today

Contact our senators and tell them to oppose a war decision and to impress that diplomacy, while it may be slow, is ALWAYS the first choice. If you don't already have their info programmed into your phone, here are links for Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand.  If you don't live in NY, use this tool (courtesy of The Loyal Opposition).

Tuesday, April 25th

(Adapted from the March for Science)

Actions You Can Take Today

• Email your legislators to support science
  Academics for the Future of Science

  Take two minutes to use our user-friendly tool to ask your representatives to support US science during this critical time at save-science.org. We have a pre-filled message with professional language but encourage you to add your own personal reasons for supporting science if you wish.

• Send a “Science is Essential” postcard to your legislator
  American Geophysical Union

  You can print this postcard or make your own. Fill it out and send it to your legislators to let them know how important science is to you! Check out other wasy to be involved at www.agu.org.

• Join APA's action network
  American Psychological Association
  

  Use your voice to weigh in opposition to the skinny budget proposal which includes large cuts to science, education, and programs for the underserved at www.apa.org.

• Ask Congress to pass a 2017 budget that funds science
  Biophysical Society
  

  Lend your voice to the cause by visiting www.biophysics.org.

• Write your member of Congress about the importance of NIH funding for Endocrinology
  Endocrine Society
  

  Take a moment to write to your member of Congress about the importance of NIH funding for endocrine research and a host of other endocrine-related issues. Get involved at www.endocrine.org/advocacy. For other activities, check out www.endocrine.org/marchforscience.

Thursday, April 20th

(Adapted from Rogan's List)

Here’s another way we can help get out the vote!  Spread the Vote will help Americans get the ID they need to vote.  Take a look around their website then click here to volunteer to help: https://www.spreadthevote.org/volunteer/ 

You can also like them on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/SpreadTheVoteUS and/or follow them on Twitter:  @SpreadTheVoteUS

Wednesday, April 19th

(Adapted from Rogan's List)

Action You Can Take Today

Plenty of activists and even Amazon Employees have written a letter to Amazon owner and CEO Jeff Bezos to stop advertising on Breitbart. You can read about their action here: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/328784-hundreds-of-amazon-employees-ask-company-to-pull-advertising 

Keep the pressure on, and send him a letter or postcard now.

Write to: Jeff Bezos, CEO, Amazon, 410 Terry Ave. N, Seattle, WA 98109

You can also use Twitter or Facebook to get your message through: Twitter: @JeffBezos, @Amazon  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jeffamazon123/

Bonus Action

Write to Amazon's officers and tell them Breitbart must go. 
(Same physical address, Twitter links where available) 

	Brian T. Olsavsky,  Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer @bolsavsky		Jeffrey M. Blackburn, Senior Vice President, Business Development @jeffblackburn
	Andrew R. Jassy, CEO Amazon Web Services @ajassy		Shelley L. Reynolds, Vice President, Worldwide Controller & Principal Accounting Officer
	Jeffrey A. Wilke, CEO Worldwide Consumer		David A. Zapolsky, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary @DavidZapolsky

 

Sunday, April 16th

(Adapted from Jen Hofmann's Action Checklist for Americans of Conscience)

In these long days since the November election, there has been a constant reminder in the activist community to remember to take care of oneself.  As resistance blogger Jen Hofmann puts it, "It’s time to get serious about your own well-being."

She continues: "45 is not going away. The people he’s given authority are not going away. As the gaslighting, mind games, and polarizing media coverage continue, my concern grows for our resistance. If you’re weary, we lose a vital part of the flock. If you feel energized and resourceful, we can reclaim democracy and make it even better."

Self-care, we are reminded in this article from Slate, is nothing new:

"Self-care originally caught on as a medical concept. Doctors have long discussed it as a way for patients to treat themselves and exercise healthy habits, most often under the guidance of a health professional. Prior to the late 1960s and early 1970s, these patients were usually mentally ill and elderly people who required long-term care and otherwise had little autonomy. Later, academics began to look for ways for workers in more high-risk and emotionally daunting professions—trauma therapists, social workers, EMTs, and so on—to combat stress brought on by the job. The belief driving this work was that one cannot adequately take on the problems of others without taking care of oneself (by reading for pleasure or taking the occasional vacation, for instance)—a sentiment you still hear from activists today. And that applied not just to physical welfare but to mental and emotional health..."

Action for Today

Relax. Enjoy your family and friends. Take a walk with your dog. Read a book. Watch some television. Breathe deeply.  
Read about some recent good news:

• A Stanford microbiologist knits “resistor” hats for the March for Science.

• Oregon proposes a bill to cut its prison population and reduce excessive sentencing.

• A federal judge blocks 7 executions in Alabama.

• Facebook shuts down over 30,000 fake accounts in advance of the French elections.

• Rick Steves donated a $4M apartment complex to to the YWCA for women and children.

• Extra good news here at this website full of weekly celebrations.

And participate in these Acts of Gratitude - expressing gratitude makes us feel better!

• Thank Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Mike Lee (R-UT) for defending Americans’ constitutional right to free speech.
  Address: (CG) 354 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
  Address: (ML) 361A Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
  
  
• Thank Rep. Maxine Waters for her inspiring leadership and for speaking up for democracy.
  Address: 10124 S Broadway #1, Los Angeles, CA 90003
  
  
• Thank Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and Chris Coons (D-DE) for supporting food assistance to Sudan and opposing Trump’s foreign aid cuts.
  Address: (BC) Dirksen Senate Office Building, SD-425, Washington, DC 20510
  Address: (CC) 127A Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510

Friday, April 14th

(Adapted from Rogan's List, the National Law Review, and Senator Michael Bennet's website)

Take Action on Climate Change Today

Polluting Photo: Agustin Ruiz via Creative Commons.

On April 13th, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is seeking comments from the public on existing regulations that the Agency should consider repealing, replacing, or modifying.  82 Fed. Reg. 17793 (Apr. 13, 2017).   EPA issued the Request for Comment in response to the February 2017 Executive Order issued by President Trump, “Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda,” that seeks “to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens on the American people.”  

Public comment is always called for when regulations are changing.  The EPA is now calling for public comment on the proposed rollbacks in EPA regulations -- make your comment today at https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/regulatory-reform  

Comments should “be as specific as possible, include any supporting data or other information such as cost information, provide a Federal Register (FR) or Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) citation when referencing a specific regulation, and provide specific suggestions regarding repeal, replacement or modification.”

Comments in response to the notice must be submitted by May 15, 2017. Information regarding EPA’s other regulatory reform activities can be found on the Agency’s webpage.

Bonus Action

Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) has led more than 30 U.S. Senators in the introduction of legislation to rescind President Trump's Executive Order to reverse several landmark U.S. initiatives to combat climate change.

"By halting this Executive Order, we will keep current safeguards in place to combat climate change, protect American jobs, and preserve our path toward energy independence," Bennet said.

The bill, titled the Clean Air, Healthy Kids Act, would block federal agencies from implementing the actions outlined in the Executive Order signed Tuesday by President Trump. These actions include reevaluating the Clean Power Plan, which is currently on track to provide $54 billion in climate and health benefits each year, prevent thousands of premature deaths and asthma attacks in children, reduce electricity bills for homes and businesses, and create thousands of good-paying jobs. 

"This Administration is not operating in reality," Bennet said. "It is operating in the theater of the absurd, where policies have no relationships to problems, facts don't matter, and false promises to struggling Americans are just another political tactic to win a cable news cycle."

Read the full letter. Read the bill.

Thank Senators Schumer and Gillibrand for their support.

Thursday, April 13

Action You Can Take Today

Send postcards to likely Democratic voters in the GA 6th Congressional District for the upcoming special election. If you're not familiar with Ossoff, he's running for the seat that was vacated by Tom Price when he became Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Send a note to [email protected]  and they will send you instructions and 5 addresses.  It's a quick and easy action. You could mention that you live in a formerly red district that has now successfully elected a Democrat to Congress in 5 of the last six election cycles, so IT CAN BE DONE!

Want to learn more? Here's some light reading on Ossoff:

Who Is Jon Ossoff? 10 Things You Need to Know About the Georgia Congressional Candidate.  

Or watch this video.  



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