~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

What you can do to fight poverty

10/03/2010 Nativegrl77

3 ways you can fight poverty -- $3 million can: help save lives -- help educate girls -- help women start their own businesses -- Donate now

Fatima didn’t have a chance.

Instead of learning how to read and write as a child, she fetched water and herded livestock. At the age of 15, her father forced her to marry. Today, she is the mother of eight children.

Although Fatima and her family struggle to make ends meet, she didn’t see the value of sending her eldest daughter to school. “I told myself that she will get married like me and she does not need education,” Fatima said.

Fatima’s daughter faced the same grim future as herself — forced to live a life that wasn’t on her own terms. When a girl marries young, she usually drops out of school to start a family, but faces a greater chance of dying in childbirth. She’s also less likely to earn enough to support herself and her family and keep them healthy. One generation follows the next, locked in a vicious cycle of poverty.

You can help break this cycle. By making a tax-deductible gift today, you’ll help empower women and girls in the world’s poorest countries to access the education and resources they need to lift themselves and their families out of poverty for good.

Fatima is on her way. She joined a CARE-sponsored women’s group and learned to read and write. A whole new world opened before her eyes, and Fatima realized she had the power to change the course of her daughter’s future. With a basic education, her daughter could chart her own path. Fatima’s daughter is in school today — and she’s learning leadership skills with CARE that will serve her for her entire life.

When you invest in empowering poor women and girls like Fatima and her daughter, they can create a promising future for themselves, their families and their whole communities! Fatima took the first step. Now it’s your turn.

We’ve set an ambitious goal of raising $3 million online between now and December 31, and we invite you to give to CARE today to help us reach it.

Here are examples of how far a gift to CARE can go overseas:

$25 can provide a village savings and loan group with start-up materials to help put women and families on the path to financial empowerment
$49 can send a girl to school for a year
$62 can train a community health worker to provide care and hospital referrals to expectant mothers

As you can see, with the support of people like you, CARE can reach thousands of girls and women. Please give today so that CARE can continue helping women like Fatima who are creating a brighter future for themselves, their families and their communities.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH
President and CEO, CARE

~ my 2cents ...

Weekend rant &some News -#oneNATION

10/03/2010 Nativegrl77

–The Democratic Party must Unite in Solidarity … Vote Dems Nov 2nd–

Please understand that the President’s message the Democratic Party’s message is being held hostage by “The Media” clearly they are right of center !!!

Sunday buzz….It clearly is fall today …it feels like it but I am resisting the need to turn the heat on and have great thick socks on instead. The weather is mild compared to what my east coast and Caribbean folks are experiencing so the complaint is not that important. I will say how odd to have my ability to get my email subject to the damage tropical Nicole did and wow it did some that caused folks to come in for repair ….oh well. Dems need to Unite in Solidarity

The last few weeks, months and years we have heard “the media” put out information about the usual then when it comes to all things political or the issues at hand it becomes more clear to me what side of the issues these reporters, hosts, commentators are. It is just my personal take but these opinions when given are suspect because reality is most stations and their owners are quite right of center. If you a political junkie and watch enough or listen to enough so-called progressive radio it is obvious they try to provide spots so that those of us are left of center get our bits and pieces of go get’em blah blah blah but the fact is right of center has more money and that added to what Justice Roberts did has made it very difficult to get the Democratic Message out there. I found the Democratic Channel on YouTube and that helped to get the information needed that had no commercials, no person attacks by the station or their employee and instead of reading it you can hear what the politician said verbatim which is what we all should do; listen to what the politician says instead of heresy by talking heads. I cannot say how amusing offensive and troubling it is that someone gets paid to tell me I do not know what to think or feel about not only my political party but the issues and who may or may not be the right people to trust. That is offensive and it also makes me wonder are these people acting because sometimes the comments made are beyond anything anyone in their right mind should even say. I get it controversy sells but what we have going on before the November elections is rhetoric and vitriol on steroids from people on the right getting 75% of the airtime on cable and or the airwaves.

This leads to the 10-2-10 rally, which btw was such a great event. I watched it online and while I feel that any and all numbers being commented on by the “Media” they must include those of us who were on the #ONENATION website as well as face book and the unions; who also provided a plug-in, it is important that we all be counted as participants. However, while the “media” coverage was a disappointment the folks handling the rally in person on cnn and msnbc let alone mainstream television were not so surprising. If someone was lucky enough to be interviewed and do not get me wrong some did feel and say they felt the rally was in direct affront to the tea party rally. While others tried to get their message out the comments by most “reporters” was not about how diverse the audience, not how about the Republican tea party is against everything that remotely stands for #onenation and they(we) all came together at the National Mall. I saw no guns and or nasty racial or signs with words of hate of anyone in a Protected Class on them …It was a rally of Inclusion, it was a rally of people from diverse backgrounds who may not get angry, who may not be getting polled but who will be getting out the vote on November 2^nd.

In the end, it has been strange to listen to the coverage of the 10-2-10 rally. It should make folks aware of again…what side of the aisle “The Media” is on, so this is a red flag for what we will all be subject to over the next few weeks because of the November elections. The mid-terms use to be a no big deal but in this election year, the importance of who gets in Congress is the difference between continuing the progress needed if we are truly getting out of the ditch the last guy left. It will be about whether it will be your family member out of work, social security, forced to give up their rights as a woman, become reasonably suspicious and carry papers or put in a gender box and without rights completely. The choice is obvious to me because my family is #onenation and what that means is a family who practices inclusion, believes in a person’s right to choose, a right to love and marry who you want and what makes me upset is that implication by folks on the right that being brown black or mixed like my family also means we are all criminals. It is beyond offensive that anyone has to say that not all people of colour are gang members, or killers or you fill in the negative behavior but to take it further who says or believes that all white people are racist because i absolutely do not believe that either. The big difference at the 10-2-10 rally was people of varying races were standing side by side without the BS that glenn beck has been stirring up. The fact is reasonable adults can stand, work, rally and possibly agree to disagree without the nasty rhetoric and behave in a close environment. That needs to be acknowledged as an experience that was in direct conflict of the beliefs of those on the right who think engaging in legal racial profiling is necessary in order to control folks. This attitude goes against how most Americans feel but SB1070 which includes the stupid birther law; ares vehicle to control dark folks from being apart of the political process. I would like you to ask yourselves how reasonable is that?

The Sunday coverage started for me with cnn’s Holmes, who decided to bring in david webb; a tea party organizer and while he is black I fear his words of hate about his fellow man truly offended me as he rattled off the various groups represented at the rally out on the National Mall. I am going to try accept that no matter how the “media” covers the 10-2-10 rally I know why it was important that it happened and for it to get national play. The fact is we will continue to hear from folks on the right who get more airplay then those of us left of center because they are more controversial. They not only practice Exclusion they epitomize a sad reminder that race, hate and discrimination of all kinds is an issue that will be alive and well us unless we truly become #onenation and fight for equality. Our Votes for the Democratic Party in November will help continue the change that 53% voted for in 2008 the change we wanted we voted for means we have to get involved force push forward the change that includes ALL Americans not just a few it means everyone.

FYI the BS that happened even before President Obama took office is the reason things are still awful…the votes of No by the Republican Tea party has continued the slow move toward progress. It took at least 8 years of spending by the last guy, Wall Street and folks like AIG to cause an almost complete economical collapse. I do not understand why people do not get the obvious. The Republican party that caused the economical recession if in power again will strip everyone of their current programs your family friends and neighbors have used or paid into for years. They will not only get less government help but those who saw themselves as middle class or above will know they are not because the privatization of any social service program will mean no caps on cost increases given at any moment during the year you are a customer. The best example I have is if you have rent control then you are okay but if you do not “they” can increase your rent whenever their revenue is subject to being slashed, cut or folks just are not interested in living in their buildings or housing as much so the cost is then passed on to the current customers. This would be bad and that is what privatization is. It gives Corporations a right to control the costs; the services rendered the product you get. The alternative to what the Democratic Party is offering will increase the chaos, increase the numbers using the emergency rooms for medical services. The reports of how the public trusts Republicans to fix the financial situation more than Democrats is truly offensive and my question is have people lost their minds. I watched as the reports came out about how the 2Wars waged and the 2Bush tax giveaways to the rich were done WITHOUT PAYGO and this kind of behavior continues as Republicans stall block or make Democrats in the Senate scale down bills needed to get our country back on track. The blame is the Republican Tea Party and their agenda to ruin the Obama administration whether that means throwing their own constituents under the bus…When will they finally understand this.

Vote Dems if you agree to: NO Privatization … NO Cuts medicare, medicaid, soc security, Nurses, Firefighters, Police and Teachers …That is what the Republican Tea Party wants!!!

Other News …

**The state dept has issued a travel alert to US citizens in Europe

**Top taliban leader killed in attack

**Cali lawmakers reach a deal on their budget

**News Corps gave $1Mil to Chamber

**1200 NASA workers will be laid off

**Grocery workers are in mtg with worker rights issues with QFC,Fred Meyer,Safeway

**Rick Sanchez is fired after comments during a radio interview

CSPAN …

One Nation Working Together Rally
Saturday

Weekly Addresses
Saturday

Finanical Stability Oversight Council Meeting at U.S. Treasury Dept.
Friday

Justice Elena Kagan Welcomed to Supreme Court
Friday

Pres. Obama Announces Departure of W.H. Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel
Friday

White House Briefing with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs
Friday

State Department Press Briefing
Friday

Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) Speech on Afghanistan
Friday

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Fix the Senate

10/03/2010 Nativegrl77

CREDO Action | more than a network. a movement.

The filibuster is the #1 obstacle to progress

The Senate must seize the opportunity to fix the filibuster.

Clicking here will add your name to this petition to all current senators and candidates for Senate:

“I am writing today to demand that you support Senate rules reform and fix the filibuster at the beginning of the next Congress.”

Click here to add your name

Congress has left Washington and there will be no more chances to pass much-needed legislation before the election.

There will be no public option, no climate bill, no end to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” no new tier of unemployment benefits, no end of too big to fail, no response to the horrible Citizens United Supreme Court decision and no end to the crisis facing the federal judiciary caused by the dearth of judicial confirmations.

There is one reason why, despite Democratic majorities in both the House and the Senate, Congress was unable to pass many common sense reforms — the filibuster.

Tell the Senate: Fix the filibuster. Click here to automatically add your name.

The filibuster is an antiquated provision in Senate procedure that requires a 60-vote supermajority to pass legislation, confirm nominees or even perform some of the most mundane parliamentary tasks.

Filibuster abuse has gotten so bad that on Monday, a staffer for Senator Jim DeMint (a Republican senator from South Carolina and the one most closely associated with the Tea Party) sent an e-mail to the offices of all the other senators explaining that Sen. DeMint would filibuster any bills he had not personally approved of moving to the floor.

This is what the filibuster has reduced the Senate to — an arena where moments of pique, inflated feelings of self-importance, the casual and callous disregard for the crises we face as a country, and political posturing can bring the business of the legislative branch of our government to a grinding halt.

Tell the Senate: Fix the filibuster. Click here to automatically add your name.

Many progressives are frightened of filibuster reform.

Some defenders of the filibuster argue that we should keep it because the Senate should be a place for deliberation. If that’s true, then the filibuster is exactly the wrong tool for the job.

There are over 400 bills that cleared the House and were not taken up by the Senate because of the filibuster or the threat of a filibuster, including many with broad bipartisan support. The filibuster hasn’t led to deliberation in the Senate; the filibuster has led to debilitating constipation of the Senate.

Others want to keep the filibuster around so that a future progressive minority might be able to stop the excesses of a conservative majority. Even if you think that the Republicans will keep the filibuster in place when it’s no longer to their benefit, it’s hard to look back and survey the past history of the filibuster and deem it any near a net gain for progressives.

Look at what the filibuster has gotten us. The filibuster did not prevent the appointment of a conservative majority on the Supreme Court that was able to hand the presidency to Bush. And afterward, it did not stop the appointments of reactionary and partisan Justices Roberts and Alito to the Court.

The damage averted during the eight years of the Bush administration because of the filibuster is dwarfed by the amount of progress the filibuster stifled in the two years since President Obama took office.

The simple fact is that we cannot allow the Senate to continue in such a dysfunctional manner. We need it to start functioning again if our nation is to meet the myriad challenges we face.

At the beginning of the next Congress, the Senate will be able to change the filibuster rules with a simple majority vote. There are multiple proposals on how to fix the filibuster, many of which have merit. But what is clear is that the Senate must seize this opportunity to fix the filibuster.

Tell the Senate: Fix the filibuster. Click here to automatically add your name.

Thank you for working for a better world.

Matt Lockshin, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets

P.S. Some progressives oppose efforts to reform the filibuster because they anticipate times when the filibuster will be used by a progressive minority to stop the overreach of a conservative majority.

If you look at the totality of how the filibuster has been used, it has on rare occasion achieved tactical success for progressives. But on the whole it has proved a strategic disaster for those who fight for social change.

The filibuster systematically works against those who want the government to function, who want to see our legislators address problems and fix things, and who want the government to move us past old prejudices and hateful laws written in the bad blood of our forbears.

And given the craven, callous disregard of Senate Republicans for the multiple crises we face as a nation, given their utter willingness to place political ambition and partisan gain over the need to legislate, is there any doubt that they will have the slightest scruples in eliminating the filibuster when it’s to their advantage?

Rather than endure additional years of dysfunction in one of the most important institutions of our Republic, we should address the problem on our own terms.

Click here to automatically add your name to our petition tell the Senate: Fix the filibuster.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Stop this extreme anti-choice bill

10/01/2010 Nativegrl77

Tell Congress to stop restricting the reproductive rights of low-income women.

A woman shouldn’t lose her ability to decide if it’s a good time to bring a child into the world just because she is poor – but it’s been happening in the United States for decades.

Unless we speak out, the law that makes this injustice possible could become permanent.

For the past 34 years, the Hyde Amendment has made it extremely difficult for poor and low-income women on Medicaid to finance abortion services and severely limited their right to reproductive healthcare. It has been used to ban the federal government from spending money on abortion with very few exceptions.

The result? More than a million American women have been denied the ability to make their own decisions about bringing a child into the world in the context of their own circumstances and those of their families.

And now, a bill called the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” is picking up steam in Congress with over 170 co-sponsors. It goes to a new extreme, and seeks to make Hyde permanent while making it even harder for women to find abortion coverage in the private sector.

This is a direct assault on the fundamental rights of poor women and their families. Please write your Members of Congress and tell them to oppose the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.”

The Hyde Amendment imposes severe financial hardship on poor women. The struggle to raise funds forces many women to delay obtaining services and have later abortions. They might have to forgo basic necessities for their families, or may be forced to carry unwanted pregnancies to term.

Reproductive rights include a woman’s right to make fundamental decisions about her life and family, to access the reproductive health services necessary to protect her health, and to decide whether and when to have children. By restricting access to abortion, the Hyde Amendment violates these fundamental human rights for poor and low-income women in the United States.

Please urge your elected officials in Washington to stand up for the rights of poor and low-income women and reject the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.” We cannot let the Hyde Amendment’s restrictions become permanent law.

Thanks for taking action,

– The Change.org Team