Daily Archives: 03/06/2014

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

A New Tool For Fighting Right-Wing Lies


MediaMattersweekly_email_header_logo_altFor most of us, conservative misinformation is part of everyday life. A relative worries about Obamacare “death panels.” A coworker is certain that scientists manipulate data to support climate change. A friend posts on Facebook that more guns mean less crime.

Too often, we let lies stick around just because it’s tough to correct the record in mid-conversation. But what if it were easy?

Media Matters is excited to introduce Mythopedia, a new tool for fighting back against right-wing misinformation: http://mythopedia.mediamatters.org/

Mythopedia is the dictionary of conservative lies. It’s a simple factchecker that fits in your pocket and even responds to voice commands. We’ve seeded it with 400 common myths — and we want you to tell us what to add next.

Check out how Mythopedia works in this short video:Mythopedia Video

With the truth at your fingertips, it’s easy to call out right-wing lies wherever they appear. Try Mythopedia today: http://mythopedia.mediamatters.org/

Best,

Cynthia Padera Campaigns Manager Media Matters for America

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

How veterans are treated by their nation


VoteVets.org
 
George Washington once said that, “The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.”
I was reminded of that quote last week after the filibuster of legislation to provide veterans more access to health care and tuition assistance, while restoring the cost of living adjustment for military retirees.
Senator McConnell and his Republican caucus halted the bill because of an increasingly partisan disagreement over diplomacy vs. sanctions in Iran: no sanctions, no increased care for our veterans from their perspective.
I think this is the wrong approach. The same Congress that approved our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has a responsibility to recognize that the costs of those wars continues long after the troops return home.
Join me and over 400,000 veterans, military family members, and VoteVets.org supporters and send your Senators a message that you expect them to pass the Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act.
Whether it’s Syria, Iran, or the shocking crisis unfolding in Ukraine, Republicans have developed a horrible habit of reflexively using national security in a completely partisan attempt to score political points.
It’s terribly disappointing, and it’s one of the reasons I am happy to partner with VoteVets.org on this important issue. It seems that all too often, the voices of those who bear the disproportionate burden of keeping our country safe are forgotten once their service is complete.
That’s not right.
Join me and write a letter to your Senators telling them to pass the Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay and Restoration Act.
http://action.votevets.org/veteran-benefits
The American Legion believes this legislation should pass cleanly and the American public agrees. Let’s put partisanship aside and provide for the veterans who risk so much for the country we all love.
I’ll be in touch,
Chris Murphy Senator, Connecticut
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

80% of energy is wasted


3:28 PM (10 minutes ago)
to me

Dear Friend,

Every year, we waste more than 60% of the energy we generate in the US. In fact, the amount of energy wasted in the US in 2012 could power the UK for 7 years!

Simply put, we need to become more energy efficient. That’s why the Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill is so important. The bipartisan Shaheen-Portman bill would promote energy savings and efficiency upgrades in commercial and industrial buildings, helping to dramatically reduce the amount of energy we waste.

Tell your Senators that you support the Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill!

The bill enjoys widespread support from environmental advocates and businesses, alike. It will save energy, reduce costs for businesses and the federal government, and save taxpayer dollars.

It seems like a no-brainer. Unfortunately, the bill has been stalled in Congress for several months. We can’t afford to keep waiting. Energy efficiency is too important—both for our environment and for our economy.

Contact your Senators today! Urge them to support energy efficiency and vote for the Shaheen-Portman bill!

Thanks for your support,

-The Earth Day Network Team
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Major vehicles victory!


Cleaner air and healthier communities are on the way.

We Did It!

ShareUCS supporters like you helped push new standards for cleaner gasoline and cleaner cars over the finish line. Share the great news for cleaner air on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.

Take a deep breath of (cleaner) air! Thanks to UCS supporters like you, we can all celebrate a major victory in the fight for cleaner air and healthier communities.

The White House just finalized stronger standards to reduce sulfur from our gasoline and pollution from our tailpipes. Implementing these standards, known as Tier 3 standards, will help prevent thousands of premature deaths and asthma attacks each year by ensuring our gasoline burns cleaner and our tailpipes spew less pollution.

Stronger standards for cleaner fuel and vehicles will also put the United States back on track with global efforts to reduce the sulfur in gasoline. And they will help us all breathe easier—especially the vulnerable communities living near high-traffic roadways or refineries.

We celebrate cleaner air today—despite the oil industry and their allies trying to block progress every step of the way—with the tens of thousands of UCS supporters who sent comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), stood up against congressional attempts to derail Tier 3, and wrote letters to their local papers to share their personal stories about the dangers of dirty air.

We want to say thank you for pushing these standards across the finish line with all you do to support UCS.

Along with a coalition of public health, environmental, faith-based, state, labor, and industry groups, we’ll be keeping an eye on Congress and the courts for additional attacks on Tier 3 in the coming months. We’ll also keep you informed on ways to defend these standards and advance other solutions to clean up our transportation fleet—there’s lots of work left to cut oil use, global warming emissions, and air pollution from our cars and trucks.

But today we want to say thanks to UCS supporters like you for your dedication to building a cleaner transportation future that works for all of us.

Learn more about this victory and share the great news on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.

Sincerely, Rachel Cohen Rachel Cohen National Field Organizer Clean Vehicles Program Union of Concerned Scientists
P.S. For more on the benefits of this important program, see our Tier 3 webpage.
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

50th Time’s the Charm?


By 

House Republicans Are Still On Another Planet

CongratsGOP

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

While that quote has been misattributed to everyone from Albert Einstein to Mark Twain, it’s a pretty apt description of House Republicans and the Affordable Care Act.

Today, House Republicans voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act for the 50th time since the law was passed in 2010. The repeal bill they passed this afternoon would result in a million additional uninsured Americans just this year alone.

President Obama took a shot at these endless GOP games last week: “You know what they say: 50th time is the charm. Maybe when you hit your 50th repeal vote, you will win a prize. Maybe if you buy 50 repeal votes, you get one free.”

Meanwhile, in the real world, the Affordable Care Act continues to generate results. More than 4 million people have obtained private health coverage through the new marketplaces, millions more have gotten cover through Medicaid (more on that in a second), and three million young people have been able to stay on their parents’ insurance.

A government report released yesterday detailed how the U.S. economy is already benefiting from the law: by driving up personal income and consumer spending. Between Medicaid expanding to cover millions more low-income people, and families who bought private insurance on the exchange and took advantage of the law’s generous tax credits, the ACA contributed a $33.9 billion jump in personal income for January alone.

Think about that for a second — a $33.9 billion jump in personal income in the first month of the law’s full implementation.

The report also found a bigger than expected increase in consumer spending as well — about $45.2 billion total for the month. The Wall Street Journal looked at the report and said that about three-quarters of this surprisingly positive growth came from those benefiting from the ACA.

States are also taking important steps to protect their citizens and make sure affordable coverage is available for everyone. In Arkansas, the House of Representatives, which in recent weeks voted to kick 96,000 people off their health insurance, finally wrangled the votes to extend the state’s “private option” for Medicaid expansion for another year. In New Hampshire, the State Senate is expected to follow suit with a similar plan, using federal money to help low-income residents enroll in private insurance coverage.

Unfortunately, other Republican governors and lawmakers around the country continue to reject expanding Medicaid, denying health coverage to millions of their fellow citizens solely because of partisan politics. Thousands of these people will die as a result. Really.

BOTTOM LINE: The Affordable Care Act is working, It is providing quality, affordable health coverage to millions of Americans and a boost to our economy. Even some red state Republicans are starting to see the light and understand the benefits of the law. With today’s 50th vote to repeal the law, Congressional Republicans made clear once again that they are quite simply living on another planet.