All posts by Nativegrl77

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Neera Tanden, ThinkProgress


ThinkProgress
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Election Day is this Tuesday. Around the country, people will be casting their ballots for important gubernatorial and local elections. But there will undoubtedly be some in Texas and Virginia who aren’t able to exercise their democratic right to vote—all because of a set of laws designed to discriminate and suppress.
Voter suppression tactics are happening all around the country, denying us the fair and free elections that make America great. It’s up to us to expose these dirty tactics, on Election Day and every day.
But we can’t do it alone. Tonight is our deadline, we only have $2,000 left to raise.
Help us reach our goal.
We’ll be reporting on what happens on the ground on Tuesday, tracking down cases of voter suppression wherever they might occur. And as we gear up for the even bigger elections of 2014, we’ll be making sure that politicians are held accountable when they seek to make our elections less free.
No one should be denied a chance to vote.
Pitch in and help us reach our goal of $15,000 so we can keep tracking voter suppression. 
Democracy doesn’t happen when one person stands up and speaks. It happens when we all work together to ensure a representative democracy.
Donate now.
Thank you,
Neera Tanden Counselor to the Center for American Progress Action Fund
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Update about ‘Allow DNA Testing for Kirstin Blaise Lobato’ on Change.org


Change.org

by Michelle Ravell

You may have heard that Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson is now up for re-election. His office was gracious enough to allow our team to present facts from Kirstin Blaise Lobato’s case in hopes that the Innocence Project would be allowed to pay for DNA testing and retesting of 13 pieces of currently untested evidence.

Unfortunately, despite the fact that all of the DNA from the crime scene that has been tested was proven to be from an unidentified man, Wolfson’s team continues to believe that Kirstin is guilty and does not believe DNA testing is necessary.

Will you reach out to DA Wolfson and his office and share your thoughts? We want to make sure it is understood that the opportunity for discussion was deeply appreciated, but justice has not been done in this case.

Please be respectful in your correspondence and send us a copy of your letter or a transcript of your call to justice4kirstin@gmail.com.

Contact DA Wolfson’s re-election campaign to express your concern about the lack of DNA testing in the Kirstin Blaise Lobato case.

702-498-7744  DASteveWolfson@gmail.com

The number for the District Attorney’s office is 702-671-2500.

Contact by email at DAInfo@ClarkCountyDA.com

Letters can be mailed to this address:  Office of the District Attorney  200 Lewis Avenue  Las Vegas, NV 89101

Contact DA Wolfson’s campaign manager:

David Thomas  Policy Communications  415 S 6th Street #200F  Las Vegas, NV 89101  davidwins@cox.net  702-671-0070

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

No woman should have to choose between her job & a healthy pregnancy
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Dear Friend,
No woman should have to choose between a job and a healthy pregnancy. Yet 35 years after passage of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), this happens all the time.
Yesterday, A Better Balance was on Capitol Hill, along with physicians, business leaders, and other women’s rights advocates with the same message: support the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. In 2013, it’s unacceptable that pregnancy discrimination continues to jeopardize families’ financial security and health at a critical time. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is common-sense legislation that would prevent employers from forcing pregnant women off the job.
Please show your support by joining our tweet chat today at 2pm ET (use the hashtag #PWFA & follow @ABetterBalance)
“When I pulled a muscle at six months pregnant, my doctor advised that I temporarily avoid heavy lifting while working for a trucking company on Long Island.  My boss took one look at the note and sent me home without pay indefinitely; the result was devastating.” –Armanda Legros
As Armanda says, “no woman should have to go through what I did. Millions of women across the state are waiting for these protections.” We will continue to fight in New York State and across the country so that all pregnant women and mothers are afforded the fair and equal treatment they deserve.
Thank you for all your support,
The ABB Team: Sherry, Dina, Phoebe, Jared, Elizabeth, Liz, Risha, & Rachel
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New Airline Rules: You May Be Able to Use Electronic Devices from Gate-to-Gate


airplane-cartoonThe Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has given airlines the ability to expand the use of personal electronic devices for passengers on board. That means you could soon be able to listen to your music or read books on an e-reader from gate-to-gate on your flight.

Individual airlines will have the ability to determine when it is safe for passengers to use their electronic devices.

Learn more about the decision.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Americans Agree: It’s Time for Equality at Work


By 

While a growing number of states are moving forward with marriage equality (Hawaii and Illinois could become the next two very soon), “there are no state laws in 29 states that explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, and in 33 states that do so based on gender identity.”

(You can check out real stories of LGBT people impacted by workplace discriminationHERE.)

Thankfully, on Monday the Senate will take up the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) to make such discrimination illegal from coast to coast. This will help protect the nation’s 8 million LGBT workers from employment discrimination, whether they live in Manhattan or Manhattan, Kansas.

The bill has the support of all 55 Senate Democrats and is co-sponsored by Republican Sens. Susan Collins (ME) and Mark Kirk (IL). Two other Republican Senators, Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Orrin Hatch (UT), voted for ENDA in committee, leaving it just one vote shy of the necessary 60 votes. Supporters are optimistic that at least one more Republican will support the bill when it comes to a vote next week.

As the infographic below demonstrates, Americans overwhelmingly support ENDA, including majorities of voters in every U.S. state, as well as majorities of Republicans, independents, and Democrats nationwide.

ENDA_final