All posts by Nativegrl77

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The NRA’s Favorite members of Congress


By ThinkProgress War Room

The NRA’s Getting What It Paid For

The NRA is a big spender when it comes to lobbying and campaigns. ThinkProgress investigated the NRA’s contributions to Members of Congress and — lo and behold — the most heavily NRA-backed congressman are leading the charge against new gun violence prevention measures. Here’s Josh Israel with the details:

1. REP. DON YOUNG (R-AK) — AT LEAST $107,425

Young said last month, “I have serious concerns with the statements made today by President Obama and take issue with the President’s call for banning aesthetically altered rifles and shotguns and certain magazines. This is a dangerous limitation on a family’s ability to defend itself in the event they’re threatened. Perhaps in cities where the police response time tends to be more rapid, it is easy to forget how important a firearm is to keeping loved ones safe. However, in rural America where law enforcement is many miles away, a semi-automatic weapon could mean the difference between life and death.”

2. REP. STEVE CHABOT (R-OH) — AT LEAST $65,950

Chabot said last month, “I have serious concerns regarding many of the president’s gun control proposals. Further, I am disturbed the White House bypassed the American peoples’ elected representatives in Congress and implemented much of their agenda by executive order.”

3. REP. PETE SESSIONS (R-TX) — AT LEAST $64,000

Sessions said last month, “Going forward, I will continue to tirelessly defend Americans’ right to bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment. In doing so, I will fight against the President’s unrelenting attempts to bypass Congress and further erode our Constitution.”

4. REP. LEE TERRY (R-NE) — AT LEAST $59,650

Terry said in a January radio interview, “We’ve seen several assaults on the constitution. This is just another one.” He said President Obama’s efforts are “unconstitutional,” adding “These aren’t going to curb the real issue. The real issue is someone with mental health issues gets a gun… these aren’t going to solve that problem… How many bullets you have in a magazine ultimately doesn’t solve any problem.”

5. REP. BOB GOODLATTE (R-VA) — AT LEAST $57,250

Goodlatte, who chairs the House Committee on the Judiciary, told CQ Roll Call in December that he does not favor tightening controls on firearms. “We’re going to take a look at what happened there and what can be done to help avoid it in the future, but gun control is not going to be something that I would support,” he said. Any gun violence prevention measures would likely require Judiciary Committee approval.

6. REP. JOE BARTON (R-TX) — AT LEAST $57,248

Barton said last month, “The Obama Administration’s plan amounts to a power grab. I will fight any legislation that further restricts qualified owners’ access to guns. I am also against the President using executive orders to circumvent the will of the people and infringe on the constitutional rights of my constituents. The right to bear arms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment, and when I took my oath of office I swore to defend the Constitution. I believe that violent crime must be reduced, but I will not support measures that infringe upon the rights of law-abiding citizens.”

7. REP. HAL ROGERS (R-KY) — AT LEAST $51,725

Rogers has apparently said little publicly since Sandy Hook, but did say in December, “As we search for understanding and gain minute-by-minute explanations of how an unfathomable tragedy of this magnitude occurred, we must be judicious in our response.”

8. REP. TOM LATHAM (R-IA) — AT LEAST $49,750

Latham said last month, “while I always support having a vigorous and thorough debate on the important issues facing our nation, I continue to believe that we must ensure any Congressional or executive action pertaining to firearm regulations should not erode the rights we are guaranteed in our Constitution.“

9. REP. KEN CALVERT (R-CA) — AT LEAST $48,400

Calvert has reportedly refused to even discuss gun violence prevention until a full investigation of the Newtown shootings is completed.

10. REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH) — AT LEAST $47,800

Boehner, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, has dismissed calls for quick House action on gun violence. “When the vice president’s recommendations come forward, we’ll certainly take them into consideration,” he said in December, “but at this point I think our hearts and souls ought to be to think about those victims in this horrible tragedy.”

After receiving more than $600,000 total over the years from the organization, expect these ten Republicans to be among the fiercest opponents of even the most commonsense measures to prevent future tragedy.

BOTTOM LINE: After receiving more than $600,000 total over the years from the organization, expect these ten Republicans to be among the fiercest opponents of even the most commonsense measures to prevent future tragedy.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Your waitress is underpaid


Below is an email from Saru Jayaraman of the Welcome Table, who created a petition on SignOn.org, the nonprofit site that allows anyone to start their own online petition. If you have concerns or feedback about this petition, click here.
Tell Congress: Restaurant workers deserve a fair minimum wage.signon
 
Sign the petition

Dear MoveOn member,

You probably know that when you order a meal in restaurant, the person who brings you the food is generally paid less than minimum wage. Tips are supposed to make up the difference.

Here’s the problem: Minimum wage for tipped employees is an appalling $2.13 an hour. And for millions of people who work in the restaurant industry, tips don’t come close to providing a living wage.

This is not a small problem. Almost one-third of food workers don’t have enough money to buy enough safe and nutritious food to meet their needs. The people who make and serve your food literally may be going hungry.

Next week, we’ll be at a press conference in Washington, D.C. with key members of Congress, launching a big push to raise the minimum wage for food workers and restaurant employees.

To win this campaign, it’s critical that we be able to walk on stage with momentum—that means tens of thousands of folks like you standing with us.

Sign the petition: Tell Congress to give food workers and restaurant employees a fair minimum wage.

We can do this, but not without grassroots support. That’s why I created a petition on SignOn.org to Congress, which says:

Raising the minimum wage for the benefit of 29 million low-wage workers would increase food costs at most by 10 cents a day for consumers.

As a consumer, I am willing to pay an extra dime a day for my food so that close to eight million food system workers and 21 million additional low-wage workers can receive a much-deserved raise to help them meet their basic needs.

I ask that you support the Miller-Harkin Fair Minimum Wage Act, which would raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.80/hour over the next 3 years and the tipped minimum wage from $2.13 to 70% of the regular minimum wage.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

–Saru Jayaraman

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Truth


We The PeopleSo you know we’re not here to blow sunshine up your nether regions. We’re not out to preach. Our only goal is to make sure everyone gets the unfiltered, unadulterated facts about tobacco. So every smoker and non-smoker can agree on one thing: they know what’s up.

~ my 2cents ..., ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

is talk cheap or Republicans


merycorp&valentineWe hear pundits, hosts and journalists ask if the talk is cheap, but it turns out republican talkers are and until you actually listen or read between the wall of words do you find out what exactly are Republicans at the local, state and federal level doing, saying or pushing… and it’s all about austerity, the privatization of ALL Social Services, controlling women’s choices and even more cheap talk. While March 1st looms, the American media asks who is to blame for the Sequester , are more gun safety laws practical, why did Republicans reject VAWA while seemingly pushing us into questioning drones when 90% of us prefer drones to boots on the ground. I am all for following the rules regulations … our constitution, but there is a fine line that the professional left is crossing when the focus should be on the clock that republicans still seem to be trying to turn back .  As March Madness gets closer and closer we see republican members of Congress say Election2013 taught them there is a need to be more practical … but all you have to do is tune into republican debates and the votes being recorded on the floor of Congress to find out just how cheap the talk truly is.

The fact is even after stating they know they need to open up their party to more diversity,  republicans continue to support rep.Paul Ryan and his pathway to prosperity, yet, it still seems to favor only the wealthy.  In 2012, Mr. Ryan seemed to have promised to save Medicare, close loop holes and of course cut spending by trillions.  The problem is, it will still be off the backs of those in need and with the hit our economy took it amazes me that the Republican Party of No thinks Americans don’t see that Mr.1%  and his crew are still in full effect though it’s 2013, but then again cheap words can mask the most blatant of realities. It only takes a republican secret filibuster blow for the Middle and Lower classes to suffer on the way toward that republican mission to cut slash and burn public service jobs while handing out thousands in tax breaks to millionaire and billionaire … friends

Black History

CONGRESS: Republican led House :::::: Democratic led Senate


UScapitoltakenfromkenschramstory

the Senate Convenes: 2:00pmET February 11, 2013

  • Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of S.47, the Violence Against Women Act.
  • The time until 5:30pm will be equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders or their designees with Senator Cornyn controlling 45 minutes of the Republican time.
  • At 5:30pm, there will be up to 7 roll call votes in relation to the following:

Last week the Senate reached an agreement to complete action on S.47, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act. At 5:30pm tonight, the Senate will proceed to vote in relation to the Coburn amendment #13 (strikes tribal provisions). Following the vote, the Senate will turn to a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Following any Leader remarks tomorrow, the Senate will resume consideration of S.47 with time until 11:00am equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders or their designees. At 11:00am, the Senate will vote in relation to the remaining amendments and on passage of the bill, as amended, if amended. The votes will occur in the order listed below. All votes after the first vote will be 10 minutes in duration.

– Leahy amendment #21 (sex trafficking)

– Portman amendment #10 (sex trafficking)

– Murkowski amendment #11 (tribal protections)

– Coburn amendment #15 (consolidate DOJ rape programs)

– Coburn amendment #16 (notice to victims)

– Passage of S.47, the Violence Against Women Act, as amended, if amended.

 In addition to considering the VAWA legislation, this week the Senate may consider the Hagel nomination, a Circuit judge, and any other items cleared for action on the Legislative or Executive Calendars of Business. The State of the Union is at 9:00pm tomorrow, Tuesday, February 12. Next week, February 18, is a State work period. When we return the week of February 25, we will try to confirm the nominations of John Brennan, to be the Director of the CIA, and Jack Lew, to be Secretary of the Treasury, and may consider any other items on the Legislative or Executive Calendar cleared for action.

5:30pm The Senate began a roll call vote on Coburn amendment #13 (Strikes Tribal Jurisdiction)

 
 5:30pm The Senate began a roll call vote on Coburn amendment #13 (Strikes Tribal Jurisdiction
 
 
 
WRAP UP

ROLL CALL VOTE

1) Coburn amendment #13 (strikes tribal provisions) to S.47, the Violence Against Women Act; Not Agreed to: 31-59

No LEGISLATIVE ITEMS

No EXECUTIVE ITEMS

—————————————————————————–

The next meeting is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on February 12, 2013.