Foster Farms won’t budge. With nearly 300 sick so far, and antibiotic resistant salmonella strains linked back to particular Foster Farms processing plants, it’s time for a recall.

More than that, it’s long past time our nation’s food producers stop overusing antibiotics on food animals — a practice that makes our life-saving drugs less effective at fighting deadly bacteria.

Despite the government shutdown, we’ll get you heard on this important health issue! Send a message now, and we will get it into the right hands at USDA and FDA.

Demand an immediate recall and new rules for antibiotic use!

When antibiotic resistant strains make people sick, industry reminds us to cook the food more. Wipe everything with bleach. While these precautions certainly help, they don’t address the underlying problem.

Our nation’s meat and chicken industry relies heavily on the overuse of antibiotics to speed growth and help animals survive filthy, crowded conditions. Overuse spurs the emergence of antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’ on both the farm and in our communities.

That’s why we’re also asking that FDA finally take a strong stand for reduced antibiotic use in agriculture. The current outbreak should serve as a warning. Let’s make real progress before the antibiotics we need for human health no longer work.

Send your message now. We’ll get it to the right people, even with the shutdown.

And don’t forget — get rid of this chicken. Learn how to tell whether you have it in your house or if it’s for sale at your store.. Then forward this email to friends and family so they can check their fridge and join our movement to save our nation’s antibiotics for human health.

Sincerely,
Meg Bohne, NotInMyFood.org,
A project of Consumers Union, Policy and Action from Consumer Reports

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Help Us Fight The Lies

12/13/2013 Nativegrl77

Benghazi. IRS targeting of the Tea Party. Benghazi. Government ammo stockpiling. Taxpayer-funded abortions. Even more Benghazi. The War on Christmas.
What do this year’s most resilient right-wing myths have in common?
They’re all phony scandals — sensational narratives cooked up from twisted facts or outright lies, designed to manufacture outrage for partisan gain.
Stand up for the truth by making a contribution today.
Because of their emotional nature, phony scandals are a special challenge to discredit or contain. They play on frustrations and assumptions. They drive ratings; they go viral. Each one has been declared “the worst since Watergate.”
To fight back against this year’s lies, Media Matters had to know more about the “scandals” than the people and organizations spreading them. When the misinformers tweaked a detail or changed their story, we were there to catch them in the act. And when those same hoaxes crept into the mainstream media, we were prepared to immediately and methodically take them down, again and again.
No matter the issue, the media’s coverage of it drives key policy debates and decisions. That’s why the truth-telling work that Media Matters does matters so much.
Today, we’re kicking off our year-end fundraiser so that we can continue to fight back against phony scandals and cheap outrage.
Click here to help us reach our $50,000 fundraising goal by the end of the year.
Phony scandals use their staying power to distract us from genuine issues that are worth our attention. Don’t let the conservative echo chamber manipulate our debate with lies and smears.
Your support makes a difference. Keep us watching in 2014: http://action.mediamatters.org/donate_2013
Sincerely,
Bradley Beychok President Media Matters for America

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Shutting down the government, going after science

12/13/2013 Nativegrl77

Help empower your fellow scientists—and stop politicians from suppressing science

When politicians mock scientists and their work, we can’t stand idly by.

Help make the case for science.

Make a special tax-deductible gift today.

DONATE NOW

When reckless politicians shut down the government this fall, they didn’t just go after the health care law—they gloated about sending home thousands of safety inspectors, experts, and scientists from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Staffers on the Senate Environment Committee publicized a list of reasons the shutdown was good, in which they mocked the EPA and celebrated the fact that 15,000 EPA workers were off the job.¹

The most effective way to undermine science is to get rid of the scientists. But the ideologues and short-sighted politicians on Capitol Hill didn’t anticipate the scientists fighting back. During the shutdown, UCS heard from hundreds of federal scientists and experts about how it was affecting them—and the important and sometimes time-sensitive work they should have been undertaking. Then we pushed this information out to policy makers and the media to show, in vivid terms, the value of science to our nation.²

But science faces a new round of attacks in the coming budget battles. If you want to keep driving rapid-response information and campaigns that defend science from politicians who find the facts inconvenient, now is the time to pitch in.

Make a tax-deductible year-end gift today to reach our ambitious $400,000 goal for December.

Scientists are one of the most respected groups in the United States.³ Decision makers pay attention when they speak. That’s why it’s so important to our democracy that scientists be allowed to speak.

And you help make that possible. UCS supporters were instrumental in passing groundbreaking whistleblower protections for federal scientists. With your help, we shared the stories of more than 400 federal experts who talked about censorship at their agencies—and politicians listened.

Your gift today will help equip scientists to dive into the most pressing policy debates we face—from the Farm Bill to wind power to the impacts of climate change—and refute the misleading and deceptive rhetoric of cynical industries and front groups.

Our Science Network gives 20,000 scientists and technical experts the chance to connect with policy makers and directly impact laws and policies that affect our families and our planet. We teach scientists how to clearly communicate their research to the public. And how to respond to attacks.

But we need your help to make sure more scientists are seen, heard, and heeded.

Please make a tax-deductible gift now and help defend scientists from attacks.

When you donate today, know that you’re making a wise investment.

UCS has received Charity Navigator‘s esteemed 4-star rating for the last seven straight years—an honor shared by only 2 percent of charities, and we were named one of the most effective organizations working on climate change by Guidestar‘s Philanthropedia.

UCS supporters are people from all walks of life—parents and businesspeople, biologists and physicists, teachers and students—more than 350,000 citizens and scientists who are committed to defending science, year in and year out. Thank you for being part of this powerful community.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Rest, PhD, MPA Executive Director

1. http://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.Blogs&ContentRecord_id=bcf73a09-9371-2ef5-f1cf-9ca752c89cad 2. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=government-shutdown-was-temporary-the-damage-to-science-permanent 3. http://www.pewforum.org/2013/07/11/public-esteem-for-military-still-high/

Black History

the Senate CONGRESS 12/13 the House

12/13/2013 Nativegrl77

Session Continued

At 7:00am Friday, December 13^th, there will be two roll call votes:

– Confirmation of James nomination

Live quorum (no roll call vote expected)

– Cloture on Executive Calendar #444, Heather Anne Higginbottom, of the District of Columbia, to be Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources (up to 8 hours of equally-divided, post-cloture debate);

Remaining roll call votes for this series of cloture filings:

– Confirmation of Higginbottom nomination

Live quorum (no roll call vote expected)

– Cloture on Executive Calendar #406, Anne W. Patterson, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Career Ambassador, to be an Assistant Secretary of State (Near Eastern Affairs) (up to 8 hours of equally-divided, post-cloture debate)

– Confirmation of Patterson nomination

Live quorum (no roll call vote expected)

– Cloture on Executive Calendar #450, Jeh Charles Johnson, of New Jersey, to be Secretary of Homeland Security (30 hours of post-cloture debate)

– Confirmation of Johnson nomination

7:00am The Senate began a 15-minute roll call vote on confirmation of Executive Calendar #358, Deborah Lee James, of Virginia, to be Secretary of the Air Force

Confirmed: 79-6

7:32am The Senate began a 15-minute roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #444, Heather Anne Higginbottom, of the District of Columbia, to be Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources

Invoked: 51-34

All remaining Democratic time on the Higginbottom nomination was yielded back. Assuming all Republican time is used (which is expected), there will be 2 roll call votes at 11:55am:

– Confirmation of the Higginbottom nomination

Live quorum (no roll call vote expected)

11:07am The Senate has reached an agreement with respect to the votes on confirmation of the Patterson and Johnson nominations. There will be 2 roll call votes at noon today. The next set of votes will be on Monday, December 16^th at 5:30pm.

Friday, December 13^th at noon 2 roll call votes:

– Confirmation of the Higginbottom nomination

o Live quorum (no roll call vote expected)

Sunday, December 15^th at 1pm:

– The Senate will convene for legislative business only. The Majority Leader is expected to file cloture on the House message to accompany H.J.Res.59, the bipartisan budget agreement and the House message to accompany H.R.3304, the Defense Authorization bill.

Monday, December 16^th at 5:30pm at least 3 roll call votes:

– Confirmation of the Patterson nomination

– Motion to invoke cloture on the Johnson nomination

– Confirmation of the Johnson nomination

– Additional procedural votes are possible. Senator Reid is expected to file additional cloture motions on several nominations.

The unofficial transcript of Senator Reid’s remarks is below.

MR. REID: I ASK UNANIMOUS CONSENT THAT IF CLOTURE IS INVOKED ON

THE PATTERSON

NOMINATION THAT AT 5:00 P.M. ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 16, ALL

POSTCLOTURE TIME BE CONSIDERED EXPIRED, THE SENATE THEN PROCEED

TO VOTE ON THE CONFIRMATION OF THE PATTERSON NOMINATION. THAT

UPON DISPOSITION OF THE PATTERSON NOMINATION, THE SENATE

PROCEED TO VOTE ON THE MOTION TO INVOKE CLOTURE ON THE JOHNSON

NOMINATION. IF CLOTURE IS INVOKED ON THE JOHNSON NOMINATION,

THAT ALL TIME BE YIELDED BACK AND THE SENATE PROCEED TO VOTE ON

CONFIRMATION OF THE JOHNSON NOMINATION.

THE PRESIDING OFFICER: IS THERE OBJECTION?

WITHOUT OBJECTION.

MR. REID: MADAM PRESIDENT, I –

MR. REID: MADAM PRESIDENT, WE’RE

GOING TO HAVE TWO VOTES AT 12:00 NOON TODAY. AFTER THAT, THE

NEXT VOTE WOULD

BE AT 5:30 ON MONDAY. THERE WILL BE A SERIES OF VOTES ON

MONDAY.

MR. REID: MR. PRESIDENT, AS I INDICATED THIS MORNING, THE

REPUBLICAN LEADER AND I HAVE SPENT SOME TIME TOGETHER AND I

THINK WE’VE HAD A PRODUCTIVE DISCUSSION ON THE SCHEDULE. THE

SCHEDULE’S BEEN EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR EVERYONE. WE WORKED OUT

A SCHEDULE THAT ALLOWS FOR THE NEXT SET OF VOTES

WHICH WILL OCCUR AT 12:00 NOON TODAY, WILL BE THE LAST VOTES OF

THIS WEEK. WE AGREED THAT ON MONDAY EVENING, THE SENATE WILL

VOTE ON THE MATTERS THAT WE WOULD HAVE VOTED ON THE REST OF

TODAY AND THIS WEEKEND.

SO ON MONDAY AT 5:30 IN THE AFTERNOON, THE SENATE WILL VOTE ON

PATTERSON, JOHNSON AND THEN ONE WOULD BE ON — THE CLOTURE ON

JOHNSON AND THEN IT WOULD BE CONFIRMATION. THEY’RE — WE’RE

DOING OUR UTMOST TO FINISH OUR BUSINESS HERE A WEEK FROM TODAY

SO THAT WE CAN GO HOME FOR CHRISTMAS. SO WE’LL BE IN SESSION

SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THERE WILL BE NO VOTES ON SUNDAY. THE NEXT

ROLL CALL, I REPEAT FOR

THE THIRD TIME, WILL BE 5:30 MONDAY. ON TUESDAY, WE’LL BE BEGIN

CONSIDERATION OF THE BUDGET. ON WEDNESDAY, THE DEFENSE BILL.

AND AFTER THAT WE’LL ADDRESS FURTHER NOMINATIONS, OF WHICH THE

MOST IMPORTANT ONE IS JANET YELLEN TO BE ON THE FEDERAL

RESERVE. THE OTHERS I WILL WORK WITH SENATOR McCONNELL, WE’LL

FILE ON A NUMBER OF THEM, SEE HOW MANY WE CAN GET DONE. I

PERSONALLY THANK THE SENATORS FOR THE COOPERATION THIS WEEK.

AND NEXT WEEK AS WE WORK THROUGH THESE IMPORTANT MATTERS. AND I

KNOW, MADAM PRESIDENT, THAT THERE IS A LOT OF WORK WE HAVE TO

DO TO GET BACK TO REGULAR ORDER. WE’LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS WITH

THE DEFENSE BILL THAT WE’RE GOING TO VOTE ON AND THE BUDGET

BILL, BUT I’M SATISFIED THAT WE’VE MADE PROGRESS. SO I NOW ASK

UNANIMOUS CONSENT THAT WHEN THE SENATE COMPLETES ITS BUSINESS

TODAY, IT ADJOURN

UNTIL 1:00 P.M. ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15. THAT FOLLOWING THE

PRAYER AND THE PLEDGE, THE MORNING HOUR BE DEEMED EXPIRED, THE

JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS BE APPROVED TO DATE, THE TIME FOR THE

TWO LEADERS BE RESERVED FOR THEIR USE LATER IN THE DAY AND THE

SENATE CONVENE FOR LEGISLATIVE BUSINESS ONLY.

12:02pm the Senate began a 15 minute roll call vote on confirmation of Executive Calendar #444, Heather Anne Higginbottom, of the District of Columbia, to be Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources;

Confirmed: 74-17

12:29pm The Senate began a 15 minute roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on #406, Anne W. Patterson, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Career Ambassador, to be an Assistant Secretary of State (Near Eastern Affairs);

Invoked: 54-36

This will be the last vote of the day.

((( WRAP UP )))

Roll Call Votes Wednesday, December 11^th through Friday, December 13, 2013

1) Confirmation of Executive Calendar #346, the nomination of Cornelia T.L. Pillard, of the District of Columbia, to be United States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia; Confirmed: 51-44

2) Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #378, Chai Rachel Feldblum, of the District of Columbia, to be a Member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; Invoked: 57-39

3) Confirmation of Feldblum nomination; Confirmed: 54-41

4) Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #330, Elizabeth A. Wolford, of New York, to be US District Judge for the Western District of New York; Invoked: 55-41

5) Confirmation of Wolford nomination; Confirmed: 70-29

6) Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #347, Landya B. McCafferty, of New Hampshire, to be US District Judge for the District of New Hampshire; Invoked: 58-40-1(present)

7) Confirmation of McCafferty nomination; Confirmed: 79-19

8) Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #361, Patricia M. Wald, of the District of Columbia, to be a Member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board; Invoked: 57-41

9) Confirmation of Wald nomination; Confirmed: 57-41

10) Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #348, Brian Morris, of Montana, to be United States District Judge for the District of Montana; Invoked: 57-40

11) Confirmation of Morris nomination; Confirmed: 75-20

12) Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #349, Susan P. Watters, of Montana, to be United States District Judge for the District of Montana; Invoked: 58-39

13) Confirmation of Watters nomination; Confirmed: 77-19

14) Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #358, Deborah Lee James, of Virginia, to be Secretary of the Air Force; Invoked: 58-39

15) Confirmation the James nomination; Confirmed: 79-6

16) Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #444, Heather Anne Higginbottom, of the District of Columbia, to be Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources; Invoked: 51-34

17) Confirmation of the Higginbottom nomination; Confirmed: 74-14

18) Motion to invoke cloture on #406, Anne W. Patterson, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Career Ambassador, to be an Assistant Secretary of State (Near Eastern Affairs); Invoked: 54-36

Legislative items Wednesday, December 11^th through Friday, December 13, 2013

Passed H.R.3547, Space Launch Liability Indemnification Extension Act, with a Nelson amendment which is the text of S.1753, and an amendment to the title.

Passed H.R.3458, Fallen Firefighters Assistance Tax Clarification Act.

Discharged the Judiciary committee and adopted S.Res.263, A resolution designating the week of September 23 through September 29, 2013, as “National Estuaries Week” with a Whitehouse amendment to the preamble.

Discharged the Judiciary committee and adopted S.Res.299, congratulating the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee on the celebration of its 100^th anniversary and commending its significant contribution to empower and revitalize developing communities around the world.

Adopted S.Res.320, designating December 14^th, 2013, as “Wreaths Across America Day”.

Adopted S.Res.321, honoring the life, accomplishments, and legacy of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela and expressing condolences on his passing.

Began the Rule 14 process of S.1824, Drinking Water Supply Assistance Act. (Enzi)

Completed the Rule 14 process of S.1797, Unemployment Insurance Benefits Extension Act of 2013.

No additional Executive items Wednesday, December 11^th through Friday, December 13, 2013

============================================

Last Floor Action:12/12
9:33:30 P.M. – The House adjourned
pursuant to H. Res. 434.

The next meeting is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on
December 16, 2013.