~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

A great way to save some money

06/21/2013 Nativegrl77

This week, we got some big news about the immigration reform bill. It’s a little wonky, but it’s so great that I couldn’t wait to share it with you.

The nonpartisan experts who estimate the financial impact of legislation for Congress concluded that because undocumented immigrants will start paying more in taxes for things like education and Social Security, the immigration proposal in the Senate will make the economy fairer for middle class families while cutting the U.S. deficit by almost $1,000,000,000,000 over the next two decades.

With every passing day, it’s becoming clear that we can’t afford not to act. Now we know exactly how much is at stake, and it’s the kind of news that can help to change the policy conversation in Washington.

So we’ve put together a graphic that explains exactly how this works, and we need your help to share it. If more people get the facts, it’ll be easier to build a nationwide, bipartisan consensus to get this done.

Take a look, then share this graphic with folks you know:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/1trillion

Thank you so much!

Cecilia

Cecilia Muñoz Director, Domestic Policy Council The White House

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Remove humane officer that shot kittens in front of children from his position

06/21/2013 Nativegrl77

By Melissa G.

Lorain, Ohio

Remove humane officer that shot kittens in front of children from his position

On June 10 in Lorain County, Ohio, North Ridgeville “Humane” Officer Barry Accorti responded to a call regarding a feral mother cat and her five kittens living in a woodpile in a homeowner‘s backyard. He told the homeowner that shelters were full and that the cats would be going to kitty heaven. He then pulled out his gun and shot to death the five 8 to 10 week-old kittens.

We are told that he discharged his gun approximately 15 feet from the backyard patio. Never did Officer Accorti let the woman know that he would be killing the kittens on site or that he would be firing a gun in her backyard. The woman ran into the house to shield her children who were screaming and crying. The mother cat is still alive.

Not only are there more humane ways to put down feral kittens, the poor judgement Accorti showed by firing a weapon in a backyard surrounded by other homes put people in danger. Allegedly Accorti told the woman that he isn’t suppose to do this, but it was justifiable.

I live in Lorain County and this is not the type of behavior or poor judgement we expect from our police officers. Our citizens are outraged that this happened yet Police Chief Mike Freeman has already cleared Accorti of any wrongdoing. We find that unacceptable. Officer Accorti should not continue his position as a humane officer with the North Ridgeville Police Department.

http://fox8.com/2013/06/11/police-defend-shooting-of-feral-cats-outside-home/ http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/oh_lorain/north-ridgeville-humane-officer-shoots-five-kittens-outside-house-with-residents-nearby http://www.wkyc.com/news/article/302822/45/SPCA-wants-humane-officer-who-shot-kittens-fired https://www.facebook.com/theohiospca

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Our Kids Deserve a Better Bill

06/21/2013 Nativegrl77 2 Comments

Congress is once again trying to reauthorize the federal law governing public education – but if we don’t speak up, it may not get done right. After two years of “waivers” from the No Child Left Behind Act, 37 states have agreed to the president’s plan for education in their states. But this is not a long-term solution. Congress must act in a responsible, bipartisan way to permanently fix the problems of the No Child Left Behind Act by reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
Unfortunately, the House Education and the Workforce Committee stoked the partisan fires this week and approved a bill that is wrong in so many ways. For example, it would:

Virtually eliminate federal enforcement of narrowing the achievement gap;
Give a free pass to states and districts to define their own standards, assessment, and accountability systems;
Freeze the funding levels for K-12 education at a time when we need to invest in our children’s futures;
Ignore the urgent need for comprehensive bullying and harassment policies to protect all our children in public schools; and
Fail to provide adequate protections for civil rights of students.

To make matters worse, a few members of Congress have vowed to bring amendments to the floor which would weaken public education by diverting public funds to private or religious schools through vouchers schemes.
Now the ESEA reauthorization bill (H.R. 5) heads to the full House floor – and that’s where you come in.

TAKE ACTION: Urge your representative to vote against H.R. 5 and oppose any voucher amendments.

The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) finally gives us a chance to update the flawed and outdated No Child Left Behind Act, but H.R. 5 is not the solution. AAUW supports an ESEA reauthorization that would introduce needed flexibility while retaining a commitment to high standards, civil rights protections, and greater accountability in our nation’s public schools.
Earlier today, the AAUW Action Fund Capitol Hill Lobby Corps visited the House of Representatives, telling lawmakers that our kids deserve a better education bill: Contact your representative today and send the same message!

Black History

CONGRESS

06/21/2013 Nativegrl77

rainbow bridge in Utah~tom till

The Senate stands in adjournment until 10:30am on Friday, June 21, 2013.

Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of S.744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act and the Majority Leader will be recognized at that time.
Negotiations with respect to the Immigration bill continue. Senators will be notified if and when an agreement is reached.
The Senate has resumed consideration of S.744, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill. The time until 2:30pm is for debate only, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders, or their designees, and with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each. Senator Sessions will control up to 2 hours.We are working on a couple unresolved issues to a border security amendment. We hope we can resolve those issues quickly so that we are able to find a path forward on the bill.
After much hard work and negotiations, we have made significant progress on S.744, the Comprehensive Immigration reform bill.Senator Leahy modified amendment #1183, with the text of a perfecting substitute amendment that includes negotiated border security language. Senator Reid then offered a technical amendment in the second degree slot and filed cloture on Leahy amendment #1183, as modified. By consent, the cloture vote on the Leahy amendment #1183, as modified, will occur at 5:30pm on Monday, June 24.
Senator Reid also filled the underlying bill side of the amendment tree and entered a motion to recommit the bill with instructions and filled that portion of the amendment tree with technical amendments.

The Senate will vote on Monday evening on the motion to invoke cloture on the Leahy border security amendment. We’ll continue to work to get an agreement to help process amendments. But, barring any further agreement the Senate will vote on cloture on the committee-substitute early Wednesday and cloture on the bill on Thursday. We’ll finish the bill before the recess.
The filing deadline for second degree amendments to Leahy amendment #1183, as modified, is 4:00pm on Monday, June 24.

At a time to be determined by the Majority Leader, in consultation with the Republican Leader, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider Executive Calendar #180, the nomination of Penny Pritzker, of Illinois, to be Secretary of Commerce. There will be 30 minutes for debate equally divided in the usual form. Following the use or yielding back of time, the Senate will proceed to vote without intervening action or debate on the nomination.

At a time to be determined by the Majority Leader, in consultation with the Republican Leader, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider Executive Calendar #179, the nomination of Anthony Renard Foxx, of North Carolina, to be Secretary of Transportation. There will be 30 minutes for debate equally divided in the usual form. Following the use or yielding back of time, the Senate will proceed to vote without intervening action or debate on the nomination.
WRAP UP
No ROLL CALL VOTES
LEGISLATIVE ITEMS

S.Res.181, Recognizing the sesquicentennial of West Virginia and commemorating its history, people, and culture.

S.Res.182, congratulating the American Dental Hygienists’ Association on the 100^th anniversary of the profession of dental hygiene and commending its work to improve the oral health of the people of the United States.

No EXECUTIVE ITEMS