Daily Archives: 10/30/2013

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Breast Cancer Awareness: Early Detection Saves Lives


Age-standardised death rates from Breast cance...
Age-standardised death rates from Breast cancer by country (per 100,000 inhabitants). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Breast cancer affects 1 in 8 women. Although it’s one of the deadliest cancers in the United States, breast cancer is often treatable when detected early.


Mammograms, which are low-dose x-rays of the breast, continue to be vital in the early detection of breast cancer. To learn more, read the publication Mammograms by FDA’s Office of Women’s Health. You can read it online, download it as a PDF, and order print copies for yourself and loved ones.


Visit WomensHealth.gov for additional information about breast cancer, including symptoms, risk factors, treatment, and more. 

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

the Other Washington : Whole Foods


SeattleWAthumbpixs

Tessa Bean via CREDO Action : My campaign on CREDO’s new site that allows activists to start their own petitions.

My petition, which is to Seattle City Council members Sally J. Clark, Sally Bagshaw, Tim Burgess, Richard Conlin, Jean Godden, Bruce A. Harrell, Nick Licata, Mike O’Brien, and Tom Rasmussen, asks the following:

The Whole Foods-anchored megaproject being proposed by developers is wrong for Seattle. Handing over public land to the project would mean good jobs at unionized grocers would be replaced by low-wage/low-benefits, non-union jobs at Whole Foods. I urge you to stand with Mayor McGinn, workers, and Seattle residents, and reject developers’ request to transfer the city-owned alley required for the ill-advised Whole Foods megaproject.

Developers are now pushing Seattle City Council members to approve a massive new megaproject that would snarl traffic, disrupt the local workforce, and require the transfer of public land to create private profits. And despite the presence of multiple grocery stores in the immediate area, including six with well-paid, unionized workers, developers want non-union Whole Foods to be the anchor.

Mayor Mike McGinn has already stood up to the developers, who have demanded the city vacate and transfer ownership of an alley needed to complete the project. Mayor McGinn sent a letter recently instructing the Seattle Department of Transportation to recommend rejecting the street-vacation request, based on city guidelines that require granting such requests to serve the public interest. As Mayor McGinn stated, in this particular project “family health benefits and employee wage scales offered by the proposed anchor tenant are significantly lower than other similar businesses.”

Whole Foods has defended its record, claiming its wages are excellent and its benefits package is more than fair. Yet, it refuses to share the actual wage scale it uses to determine the pay of its “team members.” Its catastrophic health-care policies are also more expensive and provide lesser benefits to workers compared to the health insurance provided to union workers at nearby grocers.

If concerns about threats to the local workforce weren’t enough, it’s also clear that, with dozens of delivery trucks servicing the new businesses, hundreds of apartment dwellers entering and exiting the 370 new apartments proposed, and hundreds more shoppers using the proposed 650 parking spaces, there will be very high potential for dangerous accidents and expensive infrastructure costs associated with the project.

Community development goals are important to communities like Seattle. When government officials sign onto these goals, they help ensure that economic development provides real public benefits and help voters understand where their elected officials stand. If enough of us speak out and demand that the members of the Seattle City Council follow the goals of Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan and reject the street-vacation request the Whole Foods megaproject requires, we can ensure the quality and values of our community remain intact for years to come.

Click here to learn more and add your name to my petition to the Seattle City Council, to demand they stop the ill-advised Whole Foods megaproject by denying the developers’ street-vacation request.

Thank you for your support.

Tessa Bean

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Become a Charter Member


NMAAHC -- National Museum of African American History and Culture

Join NowThank you for spreading the word about the Smithsonian’s newest museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). However, not a roof beam can be raised, a nail hammered, or a window set into place without the steadfast commitment from friends like you.
That is why I hope you’ll become a Charter Member of the Museum. Every dollar you can give brings us one step closer to the day we open the doors on what will truly be a great addition to the Smithsonian’s family of museums.
The NMAAHC will present the dark days of slavery and also celebrate individual heroism and collective resiliency that was the Civil Rights Movement to the triumph of the election of the first African American president and beyond. But this history is not solely for African Americans. This history is America’s history.
Our challenge now is to raise the money we need to build this exciting addition to the American cultural landscape. Of the $500 million needed, Congress has committed to provide half of the funds required to build the Museum. This means we need your help to raise the additional $250 million in private donations to open the doors of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2015.
We broke ground in February 2012, but to continue construction, your generous support of the Museum as a Charter Member is critical. In return, you’ll be eligible for many special benefits:

  • For your gift of $25, you will receive a 10% discount at all Smithsonian gift shops and online, special E-updates about Museum events, programs and exhibitions, and your name added to the Museum’s prestigious electronic Honor Roll of Charter Members to be displayed at the Museum.
  • For your gift of $40, you will also receive a beautiful 8.5″ x 11″ Certificate of Appreciation, perfect for framing and proudly displaying your support of the Museum.
  • For your gift of $100, you will also receive the double CD Every Tone a Testimony, a fascinating aural history of African Americans in words, music and poetry.
  • For your gift of $250, you will also receive the book Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits, a beautiful collection of portraits and stories of prominent African Americans.

Please don’t delay in becoming a Charter Member. We need your help to build this great Museum. . With your help, we’ll build this important museum to honor the great legacy of the African American experience.
Sincerely,


Lonnie Bunch
Director
National Museu
~ Culture & History, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Food Safety Modernization Act


Your Opinion Counts: Food Safety Modernization Act

Comment Period Ends November 15th
            

— The Time to Comment Is Now —

           Make Your Voice Heard to the FDA

Safety Standards for Produce
Growing, Harvesting, Packing & Holding

            Dear friends and customers,

As employee-owners of Johnny’s Selected Seeds, we invite you to join us in sharing your opinion with the FDA regarding new Produce Food Safety Rules and the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

We recognize that most of you will be touched by the proposed changes, in some cases dramatically. While the day-to-day demands of farming may keep us running from sun-up to sundown, when it comes to legislation that places the very livelihoods of many farmers across our country in jeopardy, it’s time to express your well-earned opinions.

To learn more about the rules and leave your comments, visit Regulations.gov. To date, the grower’s voice is underrepresented. With your input, the FDA will get the “real dirt” as to just how the specifics of this proposed legislation — constituting the largest food safety overhaul in more than 70 years — could impact your farming operations.

We encourage you to speak up now — the FDA’s comment period closes November 15th!

By taking the time to participate in the discussion now, you can make a real difference in the long run. And again, thank you for choosing Johnny’s as your source for seeds and more — we look forward to serving you for many years to come.

Johnny’s Selected Seeds
TOLL-FREE: 800-854-2580
FAX: 1-207-238-5388
Black History

the Senate ~~ CONGRESS 10/30 ~~ the House


Wethepeople

The Senate stands in adjourned until 9:30am on Wednesday, October 30th.

Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider Executive Calendar #53, the nomination of Alan F. Estevez, of the District of Columbia, to be a Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense with the time until 10:30am equally divided and controlled in the usual form.

At 10:30am, there will be a roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Estevez nomination. If cloture is invoked on the nomination, there will be up to 8 hours of debate prior to a vote on confirmation of the nomination.

Upon disposition of the Estevez nomination, the Senate will proceed to cloture votes in relation to the following nominations in the following order.  If cloture is invoked on any of the nominations (60-vote threshold), there would be up to 8 hours for debate on each of the nominations, except for the Millett nomination, which would have up to 30 hours of post-cloture debate, prior to a vote on confirmation of the nomination.

–          Executive Calendar #307, Katherine Archuleta, of Colorado, to be Director of the Office of Personnel Management;

–          Executive Calendar #63, Jacob Lew, of New York, to be the United States Governor to the following International Banks:

–          International Monetary Fund,

–          International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

–          Inter-American Development Bank, and

–          European Bank for Reconstruction;

–          Executive Calendar #209, Melvin L. Watt, of North Carolina, to be Director of the Federal Housing Agency;

–          Executive Calendar #327, Patricia Millett, of Virginia, to be United States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit.

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At 10:30am today, the Senate will proceed to a roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #53, Alan Estevez, of the District of Columbia, to be Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense. If cloture is invoked on the Estevez nomination, and we expect it to be, there would be up to 8 hours for debate prior to a vote on confirmation of the nomination (Some time may be yielded back).

As a reminder, several other cloture motions on nominations have been filed (see list of nominations below). We will consider one nomination at a time. If cloture is invoked (60-affirmative vote threshold), then each nomination is subject to 8 hours of post-cloture debate time except for the  Millett nomination, which is subject to up to 30 hours of post-cloture debate time. Confirmation votes are subject to a majority vote threshold.

We are also working on an agreement to consider H.R.3204, a bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to human drug compounding and drug supply chain security, as early as today.

Cloture motions have been filed on the following nominations:

–          Executive Calendar #53, Alan Estevez, of the District of Columbia, to be Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (10:30am Wednesday cloture vote)

–          Executive Calendar #307, Katherine Archuleta, of Colorado, to be Director of the Office of Personnel Management;

–          Executive Calendar #242, Thomas Wheeler, of the District of Columbia, to be a Member of the Federal Communications Commission; (Confirmed by unanimous consent 10/29/13)

–          Executive Calendar #63, Jacob Lew, of New York, to be the United States Governor to the following International Banks:

–          International Monetary Fund,

–          International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

–          Inter-American Development Bank, and

–          European Bank for Reconstruction;

–          Executive Calendar #209, Melvin L. Watt, of North Carolina, to be Director of the Federal Housing Agency;

–          Executive Calendar #327, Patricia Millett, of Virginia, to be United States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit.

At 10:30am the Senate began a 15 minute roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #53, Alan Estevez, of the District of Columbia, to be Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense;

Invoked: 91-8

Cloture on the Estevez nomination was invoked 91-8. By consent, at 12:00 noon today, all post-cloture time will be yielded back, and the Senate will proceed to vote on confirmation of the nomination. We expect a voice vote on confirmation of the Estevez nomination. The next vote in order will be cloture on the Archuleta nomination and that vote will occur at noon.

Executive Calendar #53, Alan Estevez, of the District of Columbia, to be Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, was confirmed by voice vote.

­­At 12:03pm the Senate began a 15 minute roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #307, Katherine Archuleta, of Colorado, to be Director of the Office of Personnel Management;

Invoked: 81-18

Cloture on the Archuleta nomination was invoked ­­­­81-18. There will now be up to 8 hours for debate, equally divided, prior to a vote on confirmation of the nomination. Senators will be notified when the next vote is scheduled.

Senator Rubio asked unanimous consent to take up and pass Calendar #225, S.1592, a bill to provide for a delay of the individual mandate under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act until the American Health Benefit Exchanges are functioning properly. Senator Baucus objected.

We believe we are close to being in a position to yield back all remaining post-cloture time and vote on confirmation of Katherine Archuleta, of Colorado, to be Director of the Office of Personnel Management, at approximately 5:15pm. Senators should expect 1 roll call vote to begin at approximately 5:15pm.

5:18pm The Senate began a 15 minute roll call vote on confirmation of Executive Calendar #307, Katherine Archuleta, of Colorado, to be Director of the Office of Personnel Management;

Confirmed: 62-35.

Cloture on the Archuleta nomination was invoked ­­­­81-18. There will now be up to 8 hours for debate, equally divided, prior to a vote on confirmation of the nomination. Senators will be notified when the next vote is scheduled.

The Archuleta nomination (Director of OPM) was confirmed 62-35. The Lew nomination was confirmed by voice vote. The Senate is now in a period of morning business for debate only with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each. There will be no further roll call votes tonight. Senators should expect the next vote to occur following the swearing in of Senator-elect Booker, at approximately 12:00 noon tomorrow. That vote will be on the motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #209, Melvin L. Watt, of North Carolina, to be Director of the Federal Housing Agency.

WRAP UP

ROLL CALL VOTES

1)      Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #53, Alan Estevez, of the District of Columbia, to be Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense; Invoked: 91-8

2)      Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #307, Katherine Archuleta, of Colorado, to be Director of the Office of Personnel Management; Invoked: 81-18

3)      Confirmation of the Archuleta nomination; Confirmed: 62-35

LEGISLATIVE ITEMS

Passed Calendar #228, S.1561, a bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to improve provisions relating to the sanctuary system for surplus chimpanzees with a committee-reported substitute amendment.

H.R.3190, the United States Parole Commission Extension Act.

Adopted S.Res.278, designating October 2013 as “School Bus Safety Month”.

Adopted H.Con.Res.62,provides for an adjournment for the House of Representatives.

Additional EXECUTIVE ITEMS

Confirmed the following items by voice vote:

–          Executive Calendar #53, Alan Estevez, of the District of Columbia, to be Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense

–          Executive Calendar # Executive Calendar #63, Jacob Lew, of New York, to be the United States Governor to the following International Banks:

–          International Monetary Fund,

–          International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

–          Inter-American Development Bank, and

–          European Bank for Reconstruction;

Jointly referred the nomination of Rhea Sun Suh, of Colorado, to be Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife, sent to the Senate by the President on October 30, 2013, to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

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Last Floor Action:
9:42:55 P.M. – The House adjourned.

The
next meeting is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on October 30, 2013.

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