Defending science at the EPA


Union of Concerned Scientists

Defending Science at the EPA

During the Bush administration, the White House worked to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from protecting us from formaldehyde pollution, smog, and global warming. In fact, White House officials secretly manipulated or suppressed EPA scientific analysis on each of these issues and many others.

And we all suffered for it.

Now, the EPA is drafting a scientific integrity policy that could keep politics out of EPA science. But the agency’s first draft still gives the White House the opportunity to censor or suppress scientific research from the agency—and the public would never be the wiser.

www.ucsusa.org

Take Action Today
Sincerely,
MichaelHalpern_jpg
Michael Halpern
National Field Organizer
UCS Scientific Integrity Program

mashup Monday &some News


just another rant …

Today is the 6th Anniversary of Katrina ….

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“The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals.”

Martin Luther King, Jr., The Purpose of Education

Sunday, 8/28/2011 a dedication for the new MLK JR memorial statue with President Obama giving a keynote speech as well as some others was to have taken place but this last week was one that the east coast will never forget. On Tuesday 23 August, the east coast experienced a 6.0 earthquake, which shook up the entire coast for a few days with Governors requesting help from the government, particularly FEMA and on Friday, Hurricane Irene, fresh from beating down on Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and Florida barreled her way up the East Coast causing massive floods and several deaths.  Though if you were listening, Rep.eric cantor was so bold to say that all monies requested must or will be offset with spending cuts, which sounded as if he himself would be the decider as to which states would get help. It was definitely offensive let alone just one of many signs of how he and his group would govern if given the chance. Fortunately, President Obama performed as a President should and all those who need government help; even those Teapublicans as well as Ron Paul’s State who still rails against FEMA and government in general.

In contrast … On June 14, 2010, I found out that Glenn Beck announced that he was holding a rally on 8/28/2010, which is the day most if not all Americans remember the MLK JR “I have a dream” speech. I had to make an effort; to plead a call to action… many folks who listened to Bill Press heard this announcement and they were offended as well. It would be nice if a peaceful counter rally on that same day to honor and recognize MLK JR’s I have a dream speech. The idea of beck holding a rally on that day is just wrong, it is offensive, and it just seems like it is a moment beck has decided to exploit. Glenn beck must be upset about the fact that a Black man gave a speech so admired all over the world and at a spot as sacred as it is does not deserve to be used by him. To invite or have speakers such as Sarah Palin or Marcus luttrell who seems to be against immigrants in general; to top this very offensive thing off Jo dee messina will be there; a performer some of us use to respect, who knew the music, is nowhere related to the political leaning of this performer. If you go to beck’s website the event, slated as a non-political, non-partisan event advocating restoring honor, which given what we all know about him is definitely a conflict of word use. I believe we all have the right to freedom of speech and rally it just seems like a sham, an exploitation and a platform for the extreme right disguised as a charity event for our service people -he says to honor our heroes, our heritage and our future… by making a tax-deductible donations. I still wonder how much really went to charity, how much did Sarah Palin, jo dee messina, marcus luttrell get out of this and how much did beck really make. This year beck took his clown show to Israel and while dozens protested his small group of like minded folks on 8/25/2011, fortunately he kept quiet on 8/28/2011.

an article from Media Matters might offer some real truth about Beck’s trip to restore courage in  Jerusalem below

Beck Wildly Inflates Attendance At His Israel Rally

August 25, 2011 3:35 pm ET by Mike Burns

Yesterday, former Fox News host Glenn Beck held his much-hyped and highly controversial “Restoring Courage” rally at the foot of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Today, he whined about the skimpy coverage of the event by the media. (Hint: If a pillar of fire had appeared or if the Zechariah prophecy had been fulfilled as Beck had predicted might happen, there might have been more coverage.)

Since no prophecies appear to have been fulfilled, Beck began inflating the numbers of attendees at his rally. According to a blog post from yesterday by Yahoo’s Joe Pompeo, Beck’s spokesman said that 4,700 people attended the rally. (1,700 attendees at the spot where Beck was speaking and an additional 3,000 at a remote location where Beck’s event was broadcast live.) But by the time Beck went on the air today, Beck was suggesting that “five to seven” thousand people showed up at the remote location. He was immediately corrected by one of his aides who said there were “5,000 seats set up, and at last count, we had about 8,000 people that showed up, standing room only.” Beck then said there were “10,000 people just in these two locations alone.”

And lo and behold, in the space of one day, event attendees grew from 4,700 by Beck’s own spokesman‘s reported count, to five to seven thousand, to 10,000.

Listen:

http://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/static/flash/pl55.swf

Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time Beck has grossly exaggerated attendance figures for his rallies. In the wake of his 8-28 “Restoring Honor” rally, Beck said he heard that the crowd had been “between 300,000 and 500,000.” But according to an outside firm hired by CBS News, the only independent and semi-official estimate of the crowd was 87,000. Beck has also made the absurd claim that the 9-12 protests that he created and hyped were the “largest march on Washington [D.C.] ever,” and said that a “really conservative” crowd estimate for that march was “500,000.” Later, his estimated number for the 9-12 crowd grew to 750,000 or a million. In fact, one unofficial D.C. fire department estimate placed the number between 60,000 and 75,000 participants.

Maybe miracles do happen at Beck’s events: The crowd size doubles (or sometimes grows by a factor of ten) without any explanation.

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Obama to Tap Krueger as Top Economist

Even Iran, Syria’s best friend, urges Assad to ease crackdown

Seeing Irene as Harbinger of a Change in Climate

Associated Press

Rick Perry wants you to delete this email


Immediately after Republicans voted to end Medicare, smart Democrats went on the attack. Working together, we elected Democrat Kathy Hochul to one of the most Republican districts in the country by exposing Republicans for voting to end Medicare and kill the American Dream.

 Republicans panicked.

 Suddenly, for the first time since 2008, Republicans were pushed into playing defense and everyone from Karl Rove to Newt Gingrich was trying to distance themselves from Paul Ryan’s plan. It’s time to put them on defense again, but who should be next?

 Help us choose the next Republican to target and contribute to keep the ad on the air:

 Click here to vote for John Boehner  http://act.democracyforamerica.com/go/1082?akid=1259.1480546.T7LLWz&t=1
Click here to vote for Paul Ryan  http://act.democracyforamerica.com/go/1083?akid=1259.1480546.T7LLWz&t=2
Click here to vote for Eric Cantor    http://act.democracyforamerica.com/go/1084?akid=1259.1480546.T7LLWz&t=3

 I can’t choose. I want to run the ad against all of the above.   http://act.democracyforamerica.com/go/1085?akid=1259.1480546.T7LLWz&t=4

 Our new TV ad focuses a strong message from real Americans sharing their personal stories — while exposing Republicans for trying to end Medicare, cut Social Security, and gut education.

 It’s powerful and it’s real. That’s why it’s been covered by everything from ABC News to the Huffington Post. And with one more week left in August, this is the perfect time to hit Republicans at home and back up our Town Hall rallies on the air.

 We’re fighting back and putting Republicans on defense.

Thank you for everything you’re doing to make it happen.

 -Charles

 Charles Chamberlain, Political Director
Democracy for America

“The unemployed need not apply” …Rashad Robinson, ColorOfChange.org


It’s hard enough to be unemployed — but there’s a growing problem with companies that refuse to hire people who don’t already have a job. With unemployment at 9%, this kind of discrimination affects a huge number of people. And it hits Black communities particularly hard, as more than 15% of African Americans are unemployed.1

Our friends at USAction launched a campaign asking job listing websites like Monster.com to ban ads that discriminate against the unemployed.2 But not only did Monster.com refuse to ban these ads — they actually threatened legal action against USAction for raising the issue.3 Other job listing websites have been completely silent. It’s outrageous.

Monster.com needs to hear our voices now. Please join us in calling on Monster.com and other job listing websites to stop publishing ads which discriminate against the unemployed. It takes just a moment:

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/monster

At a time when more than 9% of Americans are out of work, during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, no one should have to have a job in order to get a job. This type of discrimination hurts everyone who’s looking for work. But Black people are nearly twice as likely to be unemployed as White folks. And Latinos are also unemployed at a higher rate than Whites.4 Whether it’s intended or not, discrimination against the unemployed is discrimination against Black and Latino Americans.

Democrats in the House and Senate are crafting legislation that would make this kind of discrimination illegal. We’ll keep an eye on that legislation and let you know how you can help get it passed.

But right now, without any law to prevent discrimination against the unemployed, job listing websites could do more than anyone else to stop this practice. These companies are supposed to be in the business of helping people find jobs. But by continuing to publish help wanted ads that say “you must be currently employed to apply,” they’re enabling a practice which makes it even harder to recover for the people who are struggling the hardest in this economy.

Monster.com has said that they’re against discrimination against the unemployed5 — but they’re refusing to stop publishing these ads, saying that they’ll leave it up to individual companies to decide what to do.6 Monster.com wants to have it both ways — they think they can pay lip service to opposing this practice, while continuing to make money off of the companies that engage in it. It’s selfish and irresponsible.

We can help by joining the more than 60,000 people who have already called for Monster.com and other job listing sites to stop discrimination against the unemployed. If enough of us speak out, we can create negative media attention that will make easier for Monster.com to do the right thing than to continue profiting from job listings that discriminate.

Please join us in demanding that Monster.com and other job listing companies stop publishing ads that discriminate against the unemployed:

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/monster

Thanks and Peace,

— Rashad, James, Gabriel, William, Dani, Matt, Natasha and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
    August 25th, 2011

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU–your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don’t share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:

http://www.colorofchange.org/donate

References

1. Bureau of Labor Statistics News Release, 8-5-11
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/946?akid=2133.1174326.5MUP6T&t=7

2. “Stop Discrimination Against Unemployed Workers,” USAction
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/947?akid=2133.1174326.5MUP6T&t=9

3. “Monster.com Says It Won’t Ban Third-Party Ads That Discourage Job Applications From The Unemployed,” Huffington Post, 8-12-11
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/948?akid=2133.1174326.5MUP6T&t=11

4. See reference 1.

5. “Updated: Monster Speaks Out Against Employment Discrimination,” 8-8-11
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/949?akid=2133.1174326.5MUP6T&t=13

6. See reference 3.

Super Advocates Needed in Your State (Washington State) …Joan Entmacher, National Women’s Law Center


 
Super-committee [Soo-per kuh-mit-ee] noun – 12 Members of Congress, including Washington Senator Patty Murray, who are working on a plan to cut the deficit an additional $1.5 trillion, and have the authority to propose cuts to all federal programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and Food Stamps. If 7 members approve a plan, it’s put on a fast track to an up-or-down vote: no committee hearings, no filibusters, no amendments.

Tell Senator Murray to Support Responsible Deficit Reduction!

Super-advocate [Soo-per ad-vuh-kit] noun – An advocate for women and families who urges the super-committee to protect vital programs, make millionaires and corporations pay their fair share, and create jobs and spur the economy.

We need you to be a Super Advocate! Join with us in our campaign to Demand Fair Change, Not Spare Change!™ Tell your Member of Congress on the super-committee to protect vital programs, make millionaires and corporations pay their fair share, and create jobs.

These are principles that any plan for deficit reduction should follow:

*Protect vital programs: Women and their families depend on federal programs to protect their health, get quality child care, attend college, and meet their basic needs during difficult times and as they age. Any deficit reduction plan should protect vital programs like Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, child care, Head Start, and Food Stamps (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).
Make millionaires and corporations pay their fair share of taxes: Middle class and low-income families already given enough. On top of cuts in this year’s budget, the debt ceiling deal cuts federal programs by nearly $1 trillion over the next decade. But it doesn’t touch a penny of the tax breaks enjoyed by millionaire CEOs, Wall Street, and Big Oil. Any deficit reduction plan should close tax loopholes and require millionaires, billionaires, and large corporations to contribute to reducing the deficit and getting our economy back on track.
Create jobs: Unemployment remains painfully high, job growth is slow — and women have actually lost ground in the two years since the recession officially ended. To promote a stronger economy and lower deficits in the long term, any deficit reduction plan should make investments that put women and men back to work and extend federal emergency unemployment benefits.

You can be a super-advocate today — tell the congressional super-committee to protect vital programs, make millionaires pay their fair share, and create jobs.

The deficit deal that averted a disastrous default for our nation came at a painful and unfair price. We need to fight together to ensure that any proposal from the super-committee does not continue to hurt women and their families.

To learn more about what a fair deficit reduction plan means for women in your state, check out our state-by-state fact sheets.     www.nwlc.org

Thank you for all you do.

 The budget fights this year have been long and frustrating — and they’re far from over. But polls show that these principles have the support of a majority of the American people. We need your help to make sure that Members of Congress, and especially members of the super-committee, hear that message loud and clear!

Sincerely,

 Joan Entmacher
Vice President, Family Economic Security
National Women’s Law Center   

 P.S. Your generous donation allows us to continue to work for a fair deficit reduction plan for women and families. Support our work on the federal budget and other issues today.