November 27, 2023
Enough with Elon, protect the Arctic from oil drilling, go deep on deep canvassing, 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:
- THE US MUST END ITS RELIANCE ON ELON MUSKOne of the richest human beings in history, Elon Musk has used his immense power to aggressively and increasingly propagate antisemitism, white supremacy, transphobia, and other hateful lies and conspiracies. Yet he remains a huge U.S. government contractor. Our nation is in fact uniquely and increasingly reliant on Musk-controlled corporations for our national security, space program and infrastructure, in spite of Musk’s record of intensifying bigotry, labor law violations, unsafe working conditions, racial and sexual harassment, and purposely sabotaging the military operations of a U.S. ally. While we are starting to see financial consequences for his behavior on the social network formerly known as Twitter, the reaction of the federal government has been alarmingly limited. The process of decoupling from Musk will be incredibly difficult, but it will only become moreso if we do not begin now. Let’s take this moment to reach out to our members of Congress and the White House and ask: a) what are they doing to ensure that Musk’s companies are fulfilling the responsibilities of any government contractor with regards to equal opportunity, labor law and worker treatment?; b) what are they doing to hold him accountable for his efforts to undermine U.S. foreign policy and to ensure that such events are not repeated?; and c) what are they doing to develop public capacity and decrease our reliance on resources a single billionaire controls?
- BILLIONAIRES VERSUS PRESS FREEDOM
Elon Musk’s explicit embrace of antisemitism has scared advertisers into pausing their programs on his social network. He has chosen to blame this on Media Matters for America, who reported on how the platform has been placing ads for some of the world’s most prominent corporations next to pro-Nazi content. Musk has filed suit against them and prompted allied Republican state attorneys general to investigate MMFA. The ability to muster state power against his perceived enemies on his behalf is terrifying enough, but the completely meritless lawsuit is also ominous. Deep-pocketed public figures can use strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPP suits, to hound journalists and critics into silence – not necessarily by winning, but by draining their financial resources in court or making them consider the possibility of such consequences before they publish. In recent years, and in particular since Peter Thiel’s successful use of lawsuits to destroy Gawker, lawmakers have turned their attention to protecting against this tactic. More than 30 states now have anti-SLAPP laws of varying value, and a federal proposal was introduced by Rep. Jamie Raskin last Congress as HR 8864. Let’s reach out to our members of Congress and urge them to back a federal anti-SLAPP law with real consequences to dissuade even the biggest billionaires from filing these suits, and contact our state legislators to ensure our local protections are as strong as possible. (We can also consider a donation to MMFA to support their legal fight against Musk, or to the Democratic Attorneys General Association to help hold those public officials acting as Musk’s agents to account.)
- SUBMIT A PUBLIC COMMENT TO PROTECT THE ARCTIC
The Bureau of Land Management has set forth regulations on oil drilling in the western Arctic, but the planned rules do not go far enough in protecting this area from the devastation of fossil fuel development, and do not stop the controversial Willow Project that was approved last March. Public comments on the regulation are due in 10 days. EarthJustice.org has a template for sending a comment, which can be signed and personalized, and we can also submit directly here. Let’s do our part in telling the administration to protect this sensitive area.
- STOP CHILD LABOR EXPLOITATIONThe Guardian reports that child labor violations in the US have risen by 283% since 2015, that the US Department of Labor’s wage and hour division lacks the resources for adequate enforcement, and that federal legislation to correct the situation has been largely ignored by congressional Republicans. Let’s tell our Members of Congress to fully fund the Labor Department’s enforcement offices, and to cosponsor the following legislation:
- H.R.2388, the Justice for Exploited Children Act
- S.3051, the Stop Child Labor Act
- H.R.2956, the Combating Child Labor Act
- S.637, the Child Labor Prevention Act
- S.1288/H.R.2822, the Child Labor Exploitation Accountability Act
- S.1921/H.R.2020, the Children Don’t Belong on Tobacco Farms Act
- S.3139, the Preventing Child Labor Exploitation Act
- LEARN DEEP CANVASSINGStudies show (example, example) that the political persuasion method known as deep canvassing, where a canvasser engages with a voter, listens without judgment, and shares personal stories, is unusually effective at changing voters’ minds. In this video, we can watch a deep canvasser engage with a voter. As we prepare for 2024 to elect Democrats up and down the ballot, let’s learn more at the Deep Canvass Institute website, and let’s consider signing up for the full 9-hour training (3 hours over three days starting November 28, 6PM ET).
STATE-SPECIFIC ACTIONS
- MA – CO-SPONSOR THE INDIGENOUS LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
Indigenous activists recently took a step forward at the State House, securing a public hearing on a bill to prohibit the use of Native American mascots by Massachusetts public schools. The Remove Racist Mascots (H.477/S.245) bill is one of the five priorities of the Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda, along with honoring Indigenous People’s Day (H.2989/S.1976), celebrating and teaching Native American cultures and history (H.529/S.344), protecting Native American heritage (H.3248/S.2186) and supporting the education and futures of native youth (H.536/S.318). We can read more about these bills here and use the template to write to our state legislators requesting their support, or we can contact our legislators directly here.
AND FINALLY, SOME GOOD NEWS
- LAST WEEK’S WINS
Amidst all the anguish, we had plenty to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Here’s a summary of some of last week’s biggest victories from our friend and ally Jessica Craven at Chop Wood, Carry Water, including a victory for mail-in ballots in court in Pennsylvania, $33 million in medical debt wiped out thanks to American Rescue Plan Act funds in Cleveland, and a proposal for an abortion rights amendment in Virginia.
