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Rejected : Rashad Robinson, ColorOfChange.org

04/26/2013 Nativegrl77

I’m stunned.

I was planning to email you today to tell you about the next step in our campaign to convince FOX to drop the television program COPS. We were going to unveil ads to be placed in The Hollywood Reporter and AdWeek calling on advertisers to pull their support of the program.

But before I could, AdWeek and The Hollywood Reporter rejected our ads.

Trade publications like AdWeek and The Hollywood Reporter are delivered weekly to Hollywood executives and potential advertisers and we need to get this into as many other publications as we can before FOX executives meet in May to announce which shows get renewed for next season. Will you join us?

Please click here to contribute $15 today to help us keep pushing FOX and its advertisers to stop profiting from a reality so costly for the Black community.

Nothing in our ad was lewd or profane, it simply told the truth about how media have profited from the dehumanization and over-incarceration of Black people. The rejection of our ad by two notable media outlets makes it clear how powerful the corporate forces we’re up against are.

Research has shown that programs like COPS create warped perceptions of Black folks and communities of color¹ and the criminal justice system.² This relic should have never made it to air — let alone survived for 25 years.

The truth is that for 25 years COPS has glorified the failed “War on Drugs” by taking viewers on a ride-along with officers as they patrol and harass people in low income neighborhoods across the country. COPS has turned the criminalization of Black folks and other communities of color into entertainment for millions — all while lining the pockets of Fox with advertising dollars.

This rejection shows us how much harder we have to work to get FOX to drop COPS. We are committed to spreading our ads far and wide — until the only thing that gets rejected is COPS.

Please click here to contribute $15 today to help us turn up the heat on FOX and its advertisers.

Thanks and Peace,

–Rashad
April 25th, 2013

P.S. We need to turn up the heat ahead of the network upfronts next month, which is when the networks and advertisers will be making a lot of their big decisions. Please click here to contribute $3 and help us get these ads out to let them know how toxic COPS is for our community.

References

1. “Opportunity for Black Men and Boys: Public Opinion, Media Depictions, and Media Consumption” (.pdf), The Opportunity Agenda, 10-01-11
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2114?t=6&akid=2904.1174326.8og3Gr

2. “How television influences social institutions: the case of policing and criminal

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The Other Washington ~~~

04/26/2013 Nativegrl77

Information about the federal sequester

Updated March 14, 2013

There are two primary questions being asked related to the federal sequester:

Do federally funded employees who are furloughed qualify for unemployment benefits?
Are unemployment benefits affected by the sequester?

Questions about sequester-related furloughs

Q.	I’m being put on temporary leave without pay (furloughed). Am I eligible for unemployment benefits for the time I’m off?
A.	It depends on how the furlough is implemented. You would have to be unemployed for most or all of a week (Sunday through Saturday) in order to be eligible for benefits – assuming you meet other eligibility requirements. However, if you normally work full-time and your hours are reduced by one work day in a week, you will not be eligible for benefits because you still earn too much in that week to be eligible.
	NOTE: We decide eligibility on a case-by-case basis. Anyone has the right to apply for benefits and claim weekly benefits. When we have all the facts, we will determine eligibility.
Q.	Will I get paid for every week I file a claim?
A.	The first time you file your weekly claim and are eligible to receive benefits will be considered a “waiting week.” You will not be paid benefits for your waiting week. If you go off and on unemployment benefits more than once during your benefit year, you will not have to serve another waiting week during this unemployment claim.
Q.	How much money would I get in unemployment benefits?
A.	You can estimate your weekly benefit amount on our website. If you’re furloughed for only part of a week, use the earnings deduction chart to see if the reduction in your gross weekly pay makes you eligible for any benefits.
Q.	Do I have to look for work if I am waiting to go back to work with my employer?
A.	In general, you are required to look for work unless we tell you otherwise.

Some possible exceptions:

If you are temporarily unemployed because of a lack of work, but you expect to return to work with your regular employer, you may qualify for “standby.” You must have a definite or probable return-to-work date within a reasonable amount of time. If we approve you for standby, you do not have to look for work, but you must be available for all hours of work offered by your regular employer. These weeks do not have to be consecutive.
If you were hired to work full-time and you are still working each week, but your hours have been temporarily reduced, you may qualify for partial unemployment benefits (see the previous question}. To meet this requirement and to have your work-search waived, your weekly hours may be reduced by no more than 60 percent, and you must return to full-time work within four months.

Questions about the sequester and unemployment benefits

Q.	Will unemployment benefits be cut as a result of the sequester?
A.	The sequester does not affect “regular” unemployment benefits, which are paid with state funds. Regular unemployment benefits pay up to 26 weeks of benefits.
	However, Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) will be affected.
	At this time, we are working with the federal Department of Labor to understand how and when the cuts will be applied to the benefits. We will communicate directly with benefit recipients when we have the answers.
Q.	Do you plan to halt EUC benefit payments?
A.	We have no intention of stopping payments to EUC claimants.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Raped and Then Denied the Care They Need ~~~ Not on Our Watch

04/26/2013 Nativegrl77


	End the Extreme Policy



	Tell your Senators to support the Peace Corps Equity Act and end the extreme abortion coverage ban for Peace Corps volunteers in the case of rape, incest and life endangerment.

No woman should ever be denied an abortion, especially in the cases of rape, incest, or when the woman’s life is at risk. Period. And yet extreme policies currently exist that deny certain women coverage for abortion services in these difficult and, sometimes, life-threatening situations.

It’s time to end the unconscionable ban on abortion coverage for Peace Corps volunteers in the cases of rape, incest and life endangerment to the woman. Tell your Senators to support the Peace Corps Equity Act to end this extreme policy.

The Peace Corps is a federal program that sends over 8,000 American volunteers abroad each year to promote world peace and friendship. Women make up more than 60 percent of these volunteers. And though other women who receive health care coverage through the federal government have coverage of abortion in cases of rape, incest, and to protect the life of the woman, Peace Corps volunteers are prohibited from receiving the same coverage as federal employees.

The Peace Corps Equity Act will end this extreme policy by expanding access to reproductive health care in cases of rape, incest and life endangerment. Tell your Senators to support this legislation today.

Just last year, National Women’s Law Center supporters sent over 70,000 messages successfully urging lawmakers to give U.S. military women the same reproductive health coverage as their civilian counterparts. We’ve shown that, together, we can end such unconscionable and harmful policies.

Thank you for everything you do to protect women’s reproductive health.

Sincerely,

Judy Waxman
Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights
National Women’s Law Center

P.S. Your support allows us to continue to fight for women’s health, as well as work on many other critical issues. Please consider making a generous donation today.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Congress has got a real nasty habit

04/25/2013 Nativegrl77 2 Comments

Right now, way too many lawmakers in Washington flat-out refuse to face the facts when it comes to climate change.

We’re never going to make real progress on this issue unless members of Congress get serious. Instead, some of them have made a habit of publicly mocking it.

We thought it was time to call them out for denying what’s basic science.

Denying climate change keeps us from finding a solution. Watch this.

The science matters in this.

That’s the message way too many people in Washington need to hear right now.

In 2011, there were 240 members of Congress who voted to say that climate change is a hoax.

Most of them are still around today, and they’re getting away with it — some of them are actually proud of it. They think the whole debate is pretty funny.

If we want to make progress on climate change, we need everyone in Congress on board for a solution. It’s our job to show them there’s a price to pay for being a climate denier.

Take a look at this video above and join the fight:

Get ready — more on this coming soon.

Thanks,

Jon

Jon Carson
Executive Director
Organizing for Action
@JonCarsonOFA