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Extreme Weather: Face the facts

08/27/2010 Nativegrl77

The facts are devastatingly clear.

Around the globe, we are on track to see the hottest year yet in 2010. From the flooding in Pakistan to droughts in Russia and landslides in China, the effects of this year’s extreme weather are catastrophic and undeniable.

The recent pattern of extreme weather events is consistent with what scientists have projected to result from climate change: temperature shifts, severe rainfall and snow in some parts of the world, and major droughts in others.

Check out Repower America’s fact sheet on extreme weather and share it with your friends.

Get the Facts: Extreme Weather and Climate Change

Despite the overwhelming facts, skeptics — like the now infamous Koch brothers¹, Massey coal² and Lord Monckton³ — will no doubt continue to spend big bucks to keep spreading misinformation about global warming.

But if we want to fight the skeptics, we’ll need a growing number of people to get informed. As the evidence mounts, leaders like Russian President Dmitry Medvedev are finally speaking out about climate change. President Medvedev spoke out at a United Nations Security Council meeting and said,

“What is happening now in our central regions is evidence of this global climate change, because we have never in our history faced such weather conditions in the past. This means that we need to change the way we work, change the methods that we used in the past.”⁴

In Pakistan, nearly 1,600 people have died this summer from the worst monsoon-related floods in living memory. And around the world, 2000-2009 was the warmest decade on record⁵, and 2010 is on track to be the warmest year the world has seen in 131 years.

Extreme weather events are putting lives in danger all around the world. Make sure you get the facts and spread the word.

Learn more about the link between extreme weather and climate change today.

Thanks for getting involved,

Dave Boundy
Campaign Manager
Repower America

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In the Senate, where does immigration politics end and racism start? (via Anderson Cooper 360)

08/27/2010 Nativegrl77

David Gewirtz | BIO AC360° Contributor Director, U.S. Strategic Perspective Institute What does it say about our current congressional leadership when senators from South Carolina, Kentucky, and Arizona appear to be giving serious consideration to repealing the Constitutional amendment that gave citizenship to slaves? To me, it’s just another way to say, … Read More

via Anderson Cooper 360

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This is not about Ground Zero …This is about America

08/27/2010 Nativegrl77 2 Comments

Over the last week we’ve heard a lot from DFA members around the country asking for action to protect the rights of religious freedom for all Americans and I couldn’t agree more.

I don’t get upset much. I mean, I get ticked off at Republicans and Democrats (and at really bad customer service!), but that’s why I work with you at DFA. Because when we get upset, we don’t stew in it and hope it goes away. We do something about it.

The controversy around the building of a Muslim Community Center at 51 Park in New York City should upset all of us. It definitely upsets me. Shortly after the tragedy of the 9/11 attacks, much of this country came together. But there were a number of other, smaller tragedies occurring all over the country as a result of the attacks. People who “looked like terrorists” were victims of harassment, intimidation, and outright violence.

That includes me, and every member of my immediate family in different instances. My response was to protest the coming wars. My family did something different, though. They started going to Mosque. It did more than renew their faith — it provided a sense of community and safety during a very dark time for us. But for the last nine years, at least, people have been trying to block the construction of mosques all over the country.

Now, let’s be clear, the subject of the highest profile Muslim structure, 51 Park in New York City, will have a basketball court and a culinary school. Two floors will have a prayer room. The other eleven will host movie nights, performances, group dinners, etc — it’s basically a Muslim YMCA, open to everyone. These moderate Muslims are doing everything we could ask of them. They’re trying to build a bridge in the communities they live in, trying to show the world that Muslims are cool and interesting and diverse, and proving that being a Muslim does not equal being a terrorist.

But they’re being thrown under the bus by our elected leaders, egged on by some of the ugliest elements of the right-wing. Well-intentioned leaders of the Democratic Party are getting caught up in the fray as well, some of them seeking to find common ground with an implacable opposition. It’s not helping.

This isn’t just a Manhattan problem. Right now, there is opposition to mosques in Staten Island, Brooklyn, Southern California, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Illinois, and dozens of other locations across our nation. Where would they move? If public pressure can be brought to bear to take down the most high-profile Muslim community center in liberal NYC, then these other places don’t even have a chance, Ground Zero connection or not.

Frankly, this isn’t about Ground Zero. This is about America. This is about freedom. This is about people and there seems to be no place that Muslim people can go without being harassed.

The harassment has to stop, and that starts with you and me.

I think most people agree that Muslims have the right to worship. But these efforts to harass Muslims are based in fear, prejudice, and ignorance. Removing a community center doesn’t solve these problems. But talking about religious freedom — really engaging people — can open people’s minds, and blunt the prejudice.

I pledge to do it myself.

I pledge today to stand up for religious freedom right now. We cannot wait another day to defend the rights of all Americans to worship if they want, where they want, and when they want. I will not wait for the conversation to come to me; I will start the conversation now. Please join me in making the pledge to fight for our universal American values of acceptance and respect for religious freedom.

I need you, in your community, to have those challenging conversations with people you know.

Take the pledge right now.

It’s time to be pro-active in support of the values that define what we stand for and who we are as Americans. After you take the pledge, please follow up and share the conversations you’ve had. I think we’ll all find them inspiring to share.

-Arshad

Arshad Hasan, Executive Director

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Must Read …MMA

08/27/2010 Nativegrl77 2 Comments


	August 25, 2010

How did the atmosphere of hope and forward progress around the 2008 election turn into today’s toxic stew of anger, paranoia, and distrust?

Why do so many people believe already-disproven falsehoods about President Obama’s birthplace, religion, and ideology?

Why is our news cycle increasingly driven by phony scandals, fearmongering, and political opportunists?

It’s no accident — and Media Matters Senior Fellow Will Bunch explains it in his must-read new book, The Backlash: Right-Wing Radicals, High-Def Hucksters and Paranoid Politics in the Age of Obama.

Pre-order “The Backlash” today.

Bunch, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, reveals the secrets behind the crusade against Obama, exploring how forces like radical militia groups, the Tea Party, pro-gun zealots, and Glenn Beck have combined old-fashioned populist outrage with digital-age phobias to produce a wave of resentment that many have ridden straight to the bank. It’s a well-researched, compelling book uncovering a dangerous political moment that poses legitimate risks to democracy in America. The Backlash hits stores Aug. 31 — but you can pre-order your copy today.

Pre-order “The Backlash” today.

To understand our political environment, you must understand the sources of myths and smears, and the machine that elevates them to the top of our national conversation. With The Backlash, Bunch provides an essential guide.

David Brock

Media Matters for America

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Stop deep cuts to conservation programs …

08/27/2010 Nativegrl77

Right now, critical conservation initiatives are in serious jeopardy and you can help save vulnerable programs that are protecting our nation’s natural resources.

Earlier this year, President Obama proposed major cuts to conservation funding that would let four million acres of land fall through the cracks. Now, he has called for an additional 5% cut in the budgets of non-security federal agencies.

Agencies must respond with their proposed cuts by September 13.

Don’t let conservation become a cost cutting casualty. Please urge Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack NOT to slash vulnerable programs that are protecting our nation’s precious natural resources >

While we applaud this effort to move towards a more balanced federal budget, we cannot cut programs that help farmers, ranchers, and private landowners secure a cleaner future for our air, water and land.

Farmers, ranchers and private landowners are stewards of over 70% of the land in America. Gutting initiatives — like the Environmental Quality Incentive Program and the Wetlands Reserve Program — will cut support to those partners who are investing in tackling environmental challenges on their lands.

Demand for these programs already far outweighs available funding. Tell Secretary Vilsack NOT to cut one dime >

Critical conservation initiatives are in serious jeopardy – you can help

With the continuing threat of climate change, water challenges, and the newest environmental disaster in the Gulf, now is not the time to slash vital conservation efforts. Please take action and speak out in support of transformational and effective initiatives that help farmers, ranchers and landowners protect our futures.

Sincerely,

The Change.org Team in partnership with Environmental Defense Fund