Two years ago, the Supreme Court decided that big corporations and the super rich have a “right” to spend unlimited amounts of money in our elections. The Justices that supported this ridiculous decision just expected states to fall in line behind the ruling and abandon their campaign finance laws, but they haven’t.

States like Montana are fighting back against Citizens United — and they’re winning.

Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock took his fight to keep common sense election laws on the books all the way to the Montana Supreme Court — and he won. It’s time that other State Attorneys General do the same.

Back-up Steve Bullock in his fight against Citizens United — Sign the petition to get your Attorney General to stand up for common sense campaign finance laws.

Right-wing groups like Citizens United aren’t stopping at the federal level. They’re dismantling campaign finance laws across the country — working to allow unlimited corporate spending up and down the ballot and even to undo basic disclosure laws that require campaigns to report who’s giving these unlimited contributions.

We’ve seen what the Citizens United ruling has done to federal politics — attack ads flooded the airwaves in 2010 and are dominating the Republican presidential primaries. We can’t allow that same sort of unlimited corporate spending at the state and local levels.

The campaign to overturn Citizens United is going to be a long one, but state Attorneys General can make a real difference right now — and you can get them off the sidelines.

Tell your Attorney General to stand up for common sense campaign finance laws — Sign the petition now.

Thank you for everything you do.

– Michael

Michael Langenmayr, Political Director
Democracy for America

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The Beef With Ground Beef: Pink Slime …

03/14/2012 Nativegrl77 2 Comments

Rob Melnychuk/Getty Images

The Beef With Ground Beef: Pink Slime

By Fiona Haynes, About.com Guide

On the face of it, Lean Finely Textured Beef (LFTB), doesn’t sound too alarming or even unappetizing, does it? How about its other name, Boneless Lean Beef Trimmings? No, not particularly scary, although “trimmings” might sound a little dubious to some. But pink slime, as it will now forever be known, is at the heart of the latest food fight, both because of what it is said to be, and the fact that about 70% of ground beef has it—but without it being declared on food labels. Boneless lean beef trimmings, or pink slime, has gained national attention because it has recently come to light that the U.S.

Department of Agriculture is buying seven million pounds of it to be used in school lunches (although this is hardly the first time).

In 2011, Celebrity English chef Jamie Oliver famously demonstrated his version of the how pink slime is created on his TV show, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, triggering a collective shudder of revulsion. Adding to the negative publicity is the fact that even high-profile fast-food restaurants such as McDonald’s and Burger King no longer use it in their beef patties.

Made by Beef Products, Inc., boneless lean beef trimmings is essentially ground-beef “filler” made from mechanically separated meat that apparently contains not only small bits of otherwise inaccessible meat from the carcass, but also cartilage, connective tissue, and other undesirable animal parts—the parts that are most susceptible to bacterial contamination. These are ground up, sprayed with pathogen-destroying ammonium hydroxide (also used in processing other foods such as baked goods), and compressed into a paste. The end result is added to regular ground beef as a filler. The maximum amount allowed in ground beef is 15%.

Despite the cleansing process, which gives the beef its fresh-looking pink hue, there remain concerns that the potential for E.coli and salmonella contamination still exist, as this report from The New York Times discovered in 2009. Part of the pink-slime outrage is that ground beef containing lean beef trimmings need not be declared on meat labels, so consumers are led to believe that their ground beef contains nothing but ground chuck or sirloin. Yet others argue that beef trimmings don’t need to be listed because it’s still beef, albeit beef that’s been treated with a chemical, which is part of a production process, rather than an ingredient in itself.

The American Meat Institute maintains that these USDA-inspected trimmings are “absolutely edible,” that the process of mechanically separating beef from fat is “similar to separating cream from milk,” and that the end product is “nutritious, lean beef.” The AMI claims that the filler is “a sustainable product because it recovers lean meat that would otherwise be wasted.” Or, as critics say, that would otherwise go to the dogs. Literally.

How can you avoid pink slime?

Ground beef that is labeled Certified Organic does not contain pink slime, nor does Laura’s Lean Ground Beef and, according to ABC News, Costco, Publix, and Whole Foods do not use it. Krogersays that it carries both beef with and without LFTB.

What can you do to protest the use of LFTB in school lunches?

Sign this “Tell the USDA to Stop Using Pink Slime in Food” petition, started by blogger Bettina Siegel.

Black History

Congress: Republicans in the House – the Senate led by Democrats passes S.1813 74-22

03/14/2012 Nativegrl77

the Senate Convened at 9:30amET March 14, 2012

Following any Leader remarks, there will be one hour of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each. The Republicans will control the first half and the Majority will control the final half.
Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of S.1813, Surface Infrastructure, with the time until 11:30am equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or designees.
At 11:30am, we expect 3 roll call votes in relation to the following items:

Boxer amendment #1816 (SoS emergency exemptions),
Paul amendment #1556 (emergency exemptions), and
Passage of S.1813, as amended.
Upon disposition of the transportation bill, the Senate will proceed to a period of morning business until 2:00pm with the time equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders or their designees.
At 2:00pm the Senate will proceed to Executive Session with 30 minutes for debate equally divided prior to the cloture vote on the Groh nomination (Executive Calendar #408).
At 2:30pm there will be up to 17 cloture votes on judicial nominations, unless an agreement on nominations can be reached.

The Senate is in a period of morning business for 1 hour. Following morning business (approx. 10:36am), we will resume consideration of S.1813, Surface Transportation, with the time until 11:30am equally divided.

The only remaining first degree amendments in order to the transportation bill are the ones listed below. At 11:30am, we expect to have roll call votes on Boxer #1816, Paul #1556, and passage of 1813, Surface Transportation, as amended. I’ve noted what we expect to happen on the remaining amendments below.

– Corker #1810 (fail by voice vote)

– Carper #1670 (may make a statement, but is not expected to offer)

– Hutchison #1568 (may make a statement, but is not expected to offer)

– McCain #1669, as modified (will be withdrawn—included in the managers’ package)

– Alexander #1779 (pass by voice vote)

– Boxer #1816 (roll call vote)

– Paul #1556 (roll call vote)

– Shaheen #1678 (included in managers’ package, will not be offered)

The following amendments have been considered to S.1813, the Surface Transportation Act:

Johnson-Shelby #1515 (banking title); withdrawn
Reid amendment #1633 (Banking, Finance and Commerce titles); withdrawn
Reid amendment #1634 (date change); withdrawn
Reid motion to commit with instructions (date change); withdrawn
Reid amendment #1636 to the motion to commit (date change); withdrawn
Reid amendment #1637 to #1636 (date change); withdrawn
Blunt amendment #1520 (moral objections to health care services); Tabled: 51-48
Reid amendment #1730 (Banking, Finance and Commerce titles); withdrawn
Reid amendment #1761; Agreed to by UC
Vitter amendment #1535 (OCS) (60-vote threshold); Not Agreed To: 44-54
Baucus amendment #1825 (Rural Schools) (60-vote threshold); Agreed To: 82-16
Collins amendment #1660 (Boiler MACT) (60-vote threshold); Not Agreed To: 52-46
Coburn amendment #1738 (OMB/Duplicative Programs) (60-vote threshold); Not Agreed To: 52-46
Nelson(FL) amendment #1822 (RESTORE) (60-vote threshold); Agreed To: 76-22
Wyden amendment #1817 (Keystone Pipeline) (60-vote threshold); Not Agreed To: 33-65
Hoeven amendment #1537 (Keystone Pipeline) (60-vote threshold); Not Agreed To: 56-42
Levin amendment #1818 (offshore tax havens); Agreed to by voice vote
DeMint amendment #1756 (state discretionary authority); Not Agreed To: 30-67
Bingaman amendment #1759 (privatized highways); Agreed To: 50-47
Roberts amendment #1826 (ANWAR,Keystone, etc.) (60-vote threshold); Not Agreed To: 41-57
Stabenow amendment #1812 (energy tax extenders) (60-vote threshold); Not Agreed To: 49-49
DeMint amendment #1589 (repeal of energy tax subsidies) (60-vote threshold); Not Agreed To: 26-72
Menendez-Burr amendment #1782 (natural gas) (60-vote threshold); Not Agreed To: 51-47
Coats amendment #1517 (Apportionment formula); Not Agreed To: 28-70
Brown(OH) amendment #1819 (Buy America); Agreed to by Voice Vote
Blunt amendment #1540 (Off system bridges); Agreed to by Voice Vote
Klobuchar amendment #1617 (Ag transportation); Agreed to by Voice Vote
Portman amendment #1736 (gas tax flexibility); Not Agreed to: 30-68
Corker amendment #1785, as modified (discretionary spending cap adjustment); Fell when the Budget Act was Not Waived: 40-58
Portman amendment #1742 (rest areas); Not Agreed to: 12-86
McCain amendment #1669, as modified (Grand Canyon noise abatement); Withdrawn
Corker amendment #1810 (limitation on expenditures); Not agreed to by voice vote
Alexander amendment #1779 (over-flights of national parks); Agreed to by voice vote

11:37am The Senate began a roll call vote on Boxer amendment #1816 (SoS on expedited emergency environmental reviews)

11:37am The Senate began a roll call vote on Boxer amendment #1816 (SoS on expedited emergency environmental reviews); Agreed To: 76-20

12:10pm The Senate began a roll call vote on Paul motion to waive Budget Act with respect to Paul amendment #1556 (environmental waivers); Not Waived: 42-54

12:38pm The Senate began a roll call vote on passage of S.1813, the Surface Transportation bill; Passed: 74-22

By consent, the cloture motions on the judges were vitiated. As a result, we will not have any votes at 2:30pm today. Senator Reid intends to turn to H.R.3606, the IPO bill, next.

Cloture was vitiated on the following nominations:

Cal.#408, Gina Marie Groh, of West Virginia;

Cal.#441, David Nuffer, of Utah;

Cal.#461, Michael Walter Fitzgerald, of California;

Cal.#462, Ronnie Abrams, of New York;

Cal.#463, Rudolph Contreras, of Virginia;

Cal.#464, Miranda Du, of Nevada;

Cal.#497, Susie Morgan, of Louisiana;

Cal.#509, Gregg Jeffrey Costa, of Texas;

Cal.#510, David Campos Guaderrama, of Texas;

Cal.#528, Brian C. Wimes, of Missouri;

Cal.#568, Kristine Gerhard Baker, of Arkansas;

Cal.#569, John Z. Lee, of Illinois;

Cal.#570, George Levi Russell, III, of Maryland;

Cal.#571, John J. Tharp, Jr., of Illinois;

Cal.#610, Jeffrey J. Helmick, of Ohio;

Cal.#612, Mary Geiger Lewis, of South Carolina; and

Cal.#613, Timothy S. Hillman, of Massachusetts

The previous order to proceed to Executive Session at 2pm has been vitiated.

The Senate will be in a period of morning business until 5pm, with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each and the time equally divided.

At 1:45pm on Thursday, March 15, 2012, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider the following nominations with 15 minutes of debate equally divided and controlled between Senators Leahy and Grassley or their designees:

Cal. #408, Gina Marie Groh, of West Virginia, to be US District Judge for the Northern District of West Virginia
Cal. #461, Michael Walter Fitzgerald, of California, to be United States District Judge for the Central District of California

Upon the use or yielding back of time (approximately 2:00pm), there will be 2 roll call votes on confirmation of the nominations in the order listed above.

WRAP UP

ROLL CALL VOTES

1) Boxer amendment #1816 (SoS emergency exemptions); Agreed To: 76-20

2) Motion to Waive the Budget Act with respect to the Paul amendment #1556 (emergency exemptions); Not Agreed To: 42-54

3) Passage of S.1813, the Surface Transportation bill, as amended; Passed: 74-22

LEGISLATIVE ITEMS

Adopted S.Res.396, supporting the goals and ideals of Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week.

Began the Rule 14 process of S.2191, to amend the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to prohibit the Attorney General from administering or enforcing certain accessibility reglations relation to pools at public accommodations or provided by public entities (DeMint).

No EXECUTIVE ITEMS

——————————————————————————————————————————–

The next meeting is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on March 16, 2012.