Monthly Archives: September 2010

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A message from Vice President Biden

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I’ll tell you one thing that worries me about this election: There’s a small group of billionaires and corporate special interests that are trying to buy their way back into power. They’re spending their fortunes to defeat our folks and elect some of the most right-wing Republicans this country has ever seen.

We’ve launched the By the People Fund to fight back, with the goal of reaching 3 million grassroots donations to power the most ambitious on-the-ground effort ever waged in an election like this.

Here’s the deal: We’re only 22,981 donations away from shattering that goal right now. We could reach it this month, with one big push this week.

It’s going to take 198 grassroots donations in Seattle to get there.

Will you chip in $5 to the By the People Fund today — and help us take back our elections?

I spent 36 years in the Senate, serving alongside Republicans of all stripes. But some of the Republicans running now are not from your grandfather’s Republican Party. They’re from the Republican Tea Party:

— Sharron Angle, who wants to be the next senator from Nevada, has called for phasing out Social Security and Medicare — and even wants to end maternity coverage.

— Pat Toomey is running for Senate in Pennsylvania. He wants to de-regulate Big Oil and open up the Great Lakes for drilling.

— Christine O’Donnell, who is vying for the same Senate seat I was honored to hold in Delaware, is campaigning on repealing health reform.

The fact is this: The corporate special interests trying to elect these Republicans don’t care if they’re supporting extremists.

They just want us out of the way. With your help, we’ve enacted historic reforms despite their best efforts to derail us. Now, they’re focused on one thing — creating a Congress in which they can call the shots once again.

That’s why they’re pulling out all the stops — and spending millions — to win in November.

But we will not stand by and let them take the country backward.

We’re counting on you to chip in today to fight back. Your donation will help us fund the organizing going on right now in key races across the country.

Please donate $5 and help us reach our By the People Fund goal:

https://donate.barackobama.com/3Million

Thank you,

Joe Biden

P.S. — Tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time, President Obama will be rallying with supporters in Madison, Wisconsin. It should be an exciting event — and you can watch it live at www.BarackObama.com.

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Stop Liberty,BP’s Next Big Drilling Disaster


Latest news and action alert from Greenpeace

Urge Interior Secretary Salazar to stop BP‘s next drilling disaster before it even happens!

take action today

Right now the only thing standing between BP and its next big drilling disaster is the Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar. BP built a gravel drilling island three miles off Alaska’s north coast and classified the Liberty drilling project as “onshore,” thereby dodging the recent moratorium on offshore drilling in the arctic waters off Alaska. BP calls Liberty one of its “biggest challenges to date,” and if it moves forward, the company will push the limits of drilling in Alaska’s Arctic, just as it pushed the limits of deepwater drilling in the Gulf with the Deepwater Horizon.

What BP is proposing is crazy. The company’s current plan calls for a well to be drilled that extends two miles below the seabed and then six to eight miles sideways to get at the oil they believe lies below federal waters in Alaska’s Beaufort Sea. It’s a disaster waiting to happen in a place where it’s simply impossible to respond to and clean up a large oil spill.

Allowing the company responsible for the worst oil spill in US history to attempt such a risky drilling project in the ice-infested waters of Alaska is the true definition of insanity repeating the same mistakes yet expecting different results. Take action now and ask Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to stop BP from moving forward with Liberty.

It took BP more than three months to end the gusher in the Gulf, and the region will be feeling the effects of the nearly 5 million barrels of oil that were spilled for decades to come. Alaska’s arctic marine environment is even more fragile than the Gulf of Mexico, and moreover, BP lacks adequate response assets in this remote part of the state where darkness, intense cold and storms, and solid or broken sea ice are the norm for much of the year. It’s no wonder the US Coast Guard called an oil spill in Arctic waters a “nightmare scenario.”

BP’s own analysis says there’s an eight percent chance of a large oil spill at Liberty. Would you get onto a plane if the pilot told you there was an eight percent chance of it crashing? Didn’t think so.

BP has already built Liberty Island and has received all of its permits except for one the federal government’s final sign off on BP’s “application for a permit to drill.” Secretary Salazar can deny this final permit, urge him to stop BP’s next big drilling disaster now.

Sincerely,
Melanie Duchin
Melanie Duchin
Arctic Program Director

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what’s going on in Congress …update 9/27


The Senate Convenes: 2pmET on this September 27, 2010

Morning business until 3pm with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to Calendar #578, S.3816, a bill to create American jobs and to prevent the offshoring of such jobs.

Senators should expect a live quorum at approximately 7pm on Monday.

Votes:
241: The motion to instruct the Sergeant At Arms to request the presence of absent senators; Agreed to: 48-25

Unanimous Consent:
Passed H.R.553, the Reducing Over-Classification Act, with Lieberman amendment.

Passed H.R.946, the Plain Writing Act of 2010 w/ an Akaka amendment

Passed H.R.3553, the Indian Veterans Housing Opportunity Act of 2010.

Passed H.R.2092, the Kingman and Heritage Islands Act of 2009 w/ committee-reported amendments.

Passed S.1510, US Secret Service Uniformed Division Modernization Act w/ substitute amendment

Concurred in the House Message to accompany S.2868, the Federal Supply Schedules Usage Act of 2010.

Passed H.R.3808, the Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act of 2010.

Passed H.R.2701, Intelligence Authorization w/ Feinstein-Bond substitute amendment.

Passed S.1338, a bill to require the accreditation of English language training programs and for other purposes.

Passed S.3802, Mount Stevens and Ted Stevens Icefield Designation Act w/ a Murkowski substitute amendment.

Passed S.3847, a bill to implement certain defense trade cooperation treaties and for other purposes.

Passed H.R.2923, the Combat Methamphetamine Enhancement Act.

Adopted S.Res.618, designating October 2010 as “National Work and Family Month.”

Adopted S.Res.649, supporting the goals and ideals of “National Save for Retirement Week.”

Adopted S.Res.650, designating the week of October 24-October 31, 2010, as “National Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week.”

Adopted S.Res.651, recognizing the 20th anniversary of the designation of the month of September 1991 as “National Rice Month.”


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The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 10:30amET September 28, 2010

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Messing with the wrong people


Brave New Foundation
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Bob Woodward’s new book, “Obama’s War,” comes out tomorrow, and leaked excerpts show just how hard some military leaders are fighting to stop a withdrawal from Afghanistan. Late last year, as President Obama struggled to pin the military down into an airtight exit strategy, General Petraeus said:

“[The administration] is ****ing with the wrong guy.”

It’s clear Petraeus and his subordinates want to ignore the July 2011 deadline to start withdrawing troops. A colonel briefing reporters at the Pentagon this week even told them that, “No one said that we were withdrawing in July 2011.”

Military officials need to understand that it’s not up to them when we leave Afghanistan. Ultimately, that’s up to us, the American people, and we’re sick and tired of this war that’s not making us safer and that’s not worth the cost. General Petraeus is the one messing with the wrong people–the 57 percent of Americans who oppose the war.

The publicity around Woodward’s book gives us a new opportunity to get people’s attention about how the military is undermining the Commander-in-Chief and working to extend the war. Our new video exposes their effort, but we need your help to get it in front of people.

Send our latest video to as many people as you can, and share it on your Facebook wall. With your help, we can keep the warmongers on the defensive and end this war.

Sincerely,

Derrick Crowe, Robert Greenwald
and the Brave New Foundation team

Donate here Donate today to help bring an end to this atrocious war that’s not making us any safer.