Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Shannon Watts, Everytown for Gun Safety


The NRA and its extremist allies have a vision for the future of our country: guns for anyone, anywhere, with no questions asked.

In a word, it’s Crazytown.

And all it takes is one look at the hundreds of dangerous bills the gun lobby has introduced in state legislatures across the country to see how their vision could become a reality.

That’s why we’re launching a campaign to Stop Crazytown. It’s our line in the sand against the absurdity and danger of the NRA’s extremist agenda — like “guns everywhere” laws that encourage people to carry guns in schools and bars, or permitless carry laws that say you don’t need a background check or even training to carry a loaded weapon in public.

Click here to help Stop Crazytown by joining our rapid response campaign. We’ll expose (and fight!) the NRA’s state-by-state effort to gut our public safety laws. add your name to the Stop Crazytown campaign.

callout

When you join, you’ll be the first to know about our efforts to push back on extreme laws as they pop up in state legislatures around the country. We’ll look to you to help shine a light on the gun lobby’s tactics in your state and elsewhere — and then take action to stop them in their tracks.

And we know it works!

Rapid response actions from Everytown and Moms Demand Action supporters helped defeat an extremist gun bill in Michigan last month that would have let domestic abusers carry concealed, loaded weapons. Volunteers sounded the alarm and drove more than 1,000 calls to the governor’s office, and finally got him to veto the bill.

Actions like these save lives. All we need are supporters like you to be a voice for sanity and common sense.

Do you want to Stop Crazytown and fight back against the NRA’s terrifying vision for America? Click below to automatically join the fight:

http://act.everytown.org/sign/Stop-Crazytown/

The gun lobby has had this field to themselves for 30 years. With your help, we’re going toe-to-toe with them.

Thanks for standing with us,

Shannon Watts
Founder
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

Greg Loarie, Earthjustice


save-the-bees200Bee populations are plummeting. And scientists are pointing to toxic bee-killing pesticides known as neonicotinoids as a cause.

We’re fighting in court and partnering with other groups to demand action now to save bees, but we need your help.

Join us and 4 million Americans to tell President Obama to suspend the use of toxic bee-killing pesticides now!

These pesticides make the whole plant poisonous to insects, including the nectar and pollen, which bees eat. At miniscule doses the pesticides can kill bees outright, but even at doses that may not kill immediately, they impair bees’ ability to breed, forage, fight disease, and survive the winter.

Nearly one-third of our crops—including many vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds—depend on bees for pollination.

We cannot delay action any longer.

Take action today and help us ensure that these pesticides do not become the final straw for bees.

Thank you for your help,

Greg Loarie
Attorney

Progressive Breakfast: The Real Social Security Crisis Is Income Inequality


Richard Long

The Real Social Security Crisis Is Income Inequality

Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) has called out his Senate Republican colleagues for “creating a phony crisis” with regard to Social Security while ignoring a real one – the income inequality that has eroded the long-term solvency of the Social Security trust fund. Sanders joined a conference call with Social Security Works on Thursday to highlight the conclusions of a report on the impact of income inequality on the Social Security program … When the payroll tax cap was last set in 1983, the payroll tax applied to 90 percent of total earned income. Today, the tax only covers 83 percent of earned income – a consequence of all of the income gains of recent decades going to the top 10 percent of earners.

Obama v. Warren on Trade

Obama pushes trade agenda in local TV interviews. W. Post:“Among the television stations Obama spoke with was KGW in Portland, Ore., the home state of Sen. Ron Wyden, whom the White House views as a key Democratic ally on trade … Wyden and Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) have been negotiating a ‘fast-track’ bill that both sides hope could be introduced in March, with a goal of sending it to Obama’s desk by the end of the month … On the Senate floor, [Sen. Elizabeth] Warren joined a group of six other Democratic senators in warning against the dangers of unfair trade practices, using a placard reading ‘Not Another NAFTA’…”

Warren prioritizing trade fight. Politico:“Warren’s comments … focused on an obscure piece of the TPP agreement, the so-called Investor-State Dispute Settlement process, which allows multinational corporations to sue national governments in international forums and win cash judgments that cannot be appealed … Warren’s ability to rally progressives could make the math of getting the deals done more challenging … Some pro-trade Democrats were privately dismissive of Warren’s arguments, saying the senator was stoking unrealistic fears.”

House Moves Toward 3-Week Homeland Security Extension

House will vote to fund Homeland Security for three weeks. The Hill:“If the bill is approved by the House, the Senate is expected to quickly follow suit — though the upper chamber also plans to move forward with a bill funding Homeland Security through the end of the fiscal year … [But] House Democrats said they are whipping against the measure, which could make it difficult for Republicans to win the 218 votes necessary for passage given grumbling from some on the right that the measure would do nothing to attack President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.”

Sen. Schumer says Dems will support. The Hill:“‘…we’re not going to shut the government down,’ Schumer, who is vice chair of the Democratic conference, said on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe.’”

No Surrender In Greece

Greece did not surrender, argues NYT’s Paul Krugman:“… that the main issue of contention involves just one number: the size of the Greek primary surplus … Syriza has always been clear that it intends to keep running a modest primary surplus … The question instead was whether Greece would be forced to impose still more austerity … did the current Greek government back down and agree to aim for those economy-busting surpluses? No, it didn’t…”

Syriza wants to crack down on tax cheats to shore up finances. NYT:“… fixing Greece’s finances [means] reshaping a system in which Greek tycoons dominate much of the economy and engage in sometimes murky business practices — including, Mr. Tsipras asserts, tax evasion — that analysts say deprive state coffers of billions in revenue … Frustratingly out of reach … is considerable untaxable Greek wealth outside the country.”

GOP ’16ers Pander To Right

Jeb Bush entertains flat tax. W. Post:…Bush began an aggressive outreach to more suspicious conservatives with an appearance before [the Club for Growth] … Bush said that he was open to a flat tax and that his eventual policy plan would be ‘bigger and broader tax relief.’”

Gov. Scott Walker says busting unions prepares him to defeat ISIS. The Hill:“‘If I can take on 100,000 protestors, I can do the same across the world,’ Walker said in response to a question about international terrorism [at CPAC]”

Jeb addresses CPAC today. The Hill:“Bush will have to face his two biggest liabilities among conservatives head on Friday — his support for Common Core and immigration reform.”

Croatia: Tourism And Ecosystems Fret As Offshore Drilling Rushed


inavukic's avatarCroatia, the War, and the Future

Pristine Croatian Coast Pristine Croatian Coast (Click photo to enlarge)

Millions of tourists visit the beautiful Adriatic coast of Croatia every year and indeed are the ones to whom Croatian economy, no matter how deeply in tatters, owes much gratitude. However, the current government’s increasing acceleration and rush to get going with offshore drilling looking for oil and gas speaks of the government’s path to destroy one successful industry – tourism – in order to gamble with another: oil and gas production. The Croatian government keeps saying that there could be oil and gas deposits in its part of the Adriatic worth billions of Euro and, if so, these could turn Croatia into a major energy heavyweight country that could be crucial in reducing Europe’s reliance on Russian energy imports.

Few weeks ago the Croatian government awarded 10 licences for hydrocarbon exploration and drilling in the Adriatic to three consortia, which together paid…

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