Monthly Archives: June 2014

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

An Idea Becomes Reality


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Momentum Builds As Seattle City Council Unanimously Approves $15 Minimum Wage

Last month, we wrote about the tale of two Washingtons: just a day after 41 Republican Senators in Washington, DC prevented a federal minimum wage increase to $10.10 from even being debated, Seattle, Washington announced a plan to raise its minimum wage to $15 per hour.

On Tuesday, the city made that deal official, with the city council voting unanimously to approve a $15 minimum wage. It will be phased in over the next seven years and will be the highest in the United States.

The minimum wage has been advancing in cities and states around the country, and not the halls of Congress, for some time. But the ambition of Seattle’s increase has sparked a particular flame for other cities and states considering a bigger increase. The Seattle Times reports that “organizers who pushed a $15 minimum wage in Seattle are looking at their next targets,” including Bellevue, Spokane, or an increase in the state minimum wage.

“It’s expanding the range of the possible,” said Paul Sonn, general counsel and program director for the National Employment Law Project. “Seattle was a breakthrough.”

Think Progress, meanwhile, has published a detailed investigative report on the fight to bring a living wage to Seattle, featuring a coalition of a millionaire, a socialist, and some Taco Bell workers. While it notes that “some things about that process may be unique to Seattle,” the ingredients for a $15 minimum wage “are completely portable, and could soon come to a city near you.”

At the same time, the ambition of Seattle’s increase — a full-time minimum wage worker making $15 per hour will earn over $30,000 annually — has generated broader discussion among national thought leaders and policy analysts. The Seattle entrepreneur and venture capitalist Nick Hanauer, a prominent supporter of the $15 campaign, spells out the argument in favor of the increase in a New York Times column entitled “Well Paid Workers Strengthen Local Economies“:

If the minimum wage had tracked productivity gains since 1968, it would be $21.70 today; had it tracked the wages of us in the top 1 percent, it would be $28. Raising it to only $15 in a city as prosperous and expensive as Seattle isn’t a risky experiment. The risky experiment has been the 30 years of trickle-down policy that enriched a few of us while eviscerating the middle class.

The most insidious part of trickle down isn’t the idea that if the rich get richer, that’s good for the economy. It is that if the poor get richer, that will be bad for the economy. A $15-an-hour wage isn’t a risky and untried policy in Seattle. It is the natural evolution of common-sense economic thinking.

BOTTOM LINE: Conservatives really believe that the economy grows from the top down – that if we give more to CEOs and billionaires it will trickle down to the rest of us. But decades of trickle down policy has done nothing but give millionaires and billionaires more, leaving middle and worker class families with less and destabilizing our entire economy. Seattle’s $15 minimum wage is a bold alternative approach–one that will help the economy grow from the middle class out and build an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few. And it appears that the wave could be catching on.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Brad Schenck, Rainforest Action Network


Photo: Chelsea Matthews / RAN

June 5th is World Environment Day, and Thomas’ Langurs monkeys need your help.

This highly localized primate—sometimes called “punky monkeys”—live only in rainforests on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra, in Indonesia. Indonesia has the largest rainforest in all of Asia and it’s a global hotspot of animal and human diversity, home to hundreds of distinct cultures and over 3,000 animal species like this one. Conflict Palm Oil is destroying their only home and is one of the leading causes of climate change—but you can change that.

Join in and help save our rainforest from destruction this World Environment Day by making a $5 donation now.

With your help, we’re calling out 20 of the top snack food brands that are using palm oil tied to rainforest destruction and demanding that they change their ways.

No punky monkeys—or Sumatran tigers, or orangutans, or any other wildlife that calls the rainforest home—should lose their homes for cheap snack foods.

Can you chip in $5 to help stop Indonesia’s rainforests from being bulldozed for Conflict Palm Oil?

Brad Schenck

Sincerely,
Brad Schenck
Digital Engagement Director
@BradASchenck

 

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I’m a mother of six Marines ~~ Loraine Tackett, VoteVets.org


My name is Loraine Tackett from Billings, Montana. I’m a mother to nine children … six of whom are United States Marines.

It can be difficult at times, as you can imagine, but I am grateful that U.S. Senator, and Iraq War veteran, John Walsh is on our side. He recognizes that the cost of war doesn’t end after the troops come home, and is committed to making sure all veterans, including those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, receive the care they deserve.

Representative Steve Daines is running for Walsh’s Senate seat, but he’s consistently aligned himself with the Tea Party Caucus and voted against improving care at the VA and increasing the pensions of disabled vets.

Montanans deserve to know about their records, and I am proud to share my story in a VoteVets ad with one of my sons. Contribute $5 to help keep it on the air.

 

As veterans, military family members, and VoteVets supporters, you know that Tea Party Representatives like Steve Daines have politicized the VA crisis while consistently voting against legislation that would get to the root of the problem and improve care.

VoteVets has pledged to share that story across the country, in many states.

I’m happy to help them in Montana.

Loraine Tackett
Mother to six U.S. Marines

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Meet the Bay Area Impact Challenge winners


 

Ten days ago, voting opened for Google’s first Bay Area Impact Challenge, and now the tally is in. On the ballot? Ten amazing nonprofit proposals tomake a difference in our community.Between May 22 and June 2, nearly 200,000 votes poured in (191,504to be exact)—adjusted for population, that makes it the highest voter turnout we’ve had in a Challenge to date. Now we’re unveiling the winners. Each will receive $500,000 in funding and support from Google:

  • Hack the Hood will address digital equity by training low-income youth to build websites for local small businesses, actively supporting them to launch their own tech careers.
  • Center for Employment Opportunities will develop a tech platform to prepare formerly incarcerated people for employment in a digital world.
  • The Health Trust will create new distribution channels for people to get affordable produce, expanding options for street vendors, corner stores, and farmers’ markets for underserved areas.
  • Bring me a book will give kids access to digital books, in multiple languages, while creating a supportive online community for parents and caregivers.
Hack the Hood celebrates their win with community advisor Reverend Cecil Williams

But everyone wins in this competition: The six remaining finalists will each receive $250,000, and we also gave an additional 15 nonprofits around the Bay Area $100,000 each.

Finally, all 25 Google Impact Challenge nonprofits will receive one year of accelerator support at our first-ever impact lab, a co-working space launched in partnership with Impact Hub SF, a shared workspace for entrepreneurs committed to positive social and environmental change.

Nonprofits will have access to networking events, meeting space, and development workshops in the Impact Hub SF, as well as membership to all U.S. Hub locations. We also plan to host community events for the Bay Area nonprofit community throughout the year—so check out our website or follow us on Google+ to stay in the loop.

Now the work really begins, and we’re excited to continue to build on our ongoing efforts to give back to the community.

Posted by Jacquelline Fuller, Director of Google.org

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Meet Brad Hutto …


running against Lindsay Graham … who we all know but need some reminders …

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) introduced a bill in November of 2013, that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy in the United States unless the woman is a victim of rape or incest or her life is in danger. He also stated, “Nothing bad is going to happen,” Graham said. “Good things will happen. Babies will be born that wouldn’t have made it otherwise, and only God knows who they will grow up to be.”

 I don’t know about you but women should be treated just like men … as individuals ! Instead the GOP continues to put us all in one basket claim we are too emotional and then tell us what is good for us … #Midterm2014Matters it is time for a change … Nativegrl77

 

 

Brad Hutto is running for the United States Senate because Washington DC is broken.

Congress doesn’t listen to the voters anymore. Big money, powerful special interest groups, and extremist agendas are blocking progress. Brad will reject the culture that makes Washington DC dysfunctional and will take South Carolina values to Capitol Hill.

Brad is a problem solver who will work with both sides to get Congress working for us again. Rather than appearing on the Sunday talk shows and manufacturing stunts to make the national news, Brad believes the people back home should be the highest priority for a Senator representing South Carolina.

It’s time for our allies abroad to take more responsibility for their own security. He disagrees with our current Senator, Lindsey Graham, who believes the United States should be the policeman for the world. Instead Brad realizes that we should do more to improve our own infrastructure and create jobs here. Brad would make improving education a national priority so our country doesn’t slip further behind the rest of the world. He thinks South Carolinians deserve a US Senator who cares about their concerns and about where they live. Brad understands what it’s like to live, work and raise a family right here in South Carolina.

Jobs – Brad has a long history of fighting for jobs and small businesses. He received a perfect score of 100% from the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce for his hard work and leadership for creating jobs. As our Senator, he will roll up his sleeves on day one to help bring good paying jobs with benefits here in South Carolina. Instead of obsessing over international politics, Brad will work to ensure that South Carolina workers are properly trained and that the business environment is attractive for job creators. He will work to restore and improve the state’s crumbling infrastructure and to rebuild failing schools in the state’s rural areas.

Valuing Work – All able-bodied Americans should work, and their hard work should be rewarded. Too many people who work full time to support their family have to rely on food stamps to put food on their tables. Brad supports raising the minimum wage to $10.10, getting people off of food stamps and once again honoring hard work in this country. Brad will stand up for working families.

Education – Brad understands how important education is to improving the lives of South Carolinians. He will fight to ensure South Carolina gets its fair share of national funding and help keep state leaders focused like a laser beam on our schools. He knows that without a properly educated and trained work force, businesses looking to relocate will simply go someplace else.

Fiscal Discipline – Just like families all over America are doing, Brad believes it’s time for Congress to tighten their belts, spend less and cut waste. He believes we should better prioritize spending to reflect the real needs our country faces within its own borders. Brad will fight any attempt to balance the budget on the backs of senior citizens who have already made huge sacrifices for our country. He will oppose any attempt to harm Medicare and Social Security.

Health Care – Brad wants to fix the Affordable Care Act and allow everyone to keep or obtain a plan that best suits their families’ needs. He will not support legislation that will put the insurance companies back in charge or return us to a time when insurance could be denied for pre-existing conditions and families could go bankrupt because of lifetime caps.

Environment – As an avid outdoorsman and sportsman, Brad knows that we must do more to protect our natural resources. From the mountains to the lakes, to the coast, South Carolina is blessed with a unique beauty that generates tourism and creates jobs. Brad will fight against those who would do harm for their own short term goals.

Energy – Brad will continue to lead efforts to invest in alternative forms of energy like solar, wind and gas. We can’t continue to rely on foreign countries to supply our energy.

Women’s Health – Government should not dictate health decisions for women in this country. He believes women should be empowered to consult with their families, healthcare providers, and religious advisors to make reproductive health decisions. Women do not need Washington politicians like Lindsey Graham telling them what to do.

Liberty and Justice for All – Everyone should have an equal chance to obtain happiness and fulfill the American Dream. Brad opposes efforts to restrict basic freedoms. Liberty to share love and life is an inherent right, and this includes the right to marry the person that you choose. He believes that America is strongest when everyone is free, respected and valued.

Resources: Huffington Post … state-election site …