Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

ACA 101


Affordable Care Act 101 Webinars

SBA and Small Business Majority will host a free Affordable Care Act 101 webinar so small business owners can learn the basics of the Affordable Care Act and how they can enroll in health insurance marketplaces.

Free Affordable Care Act 101 webinar covering healthcare reform and your small business hosted by SBA and Small Business Majority. Click to RSVP today

I served my country for more than 26 years. Now I won’t even get a flag for my coffin


Secretary of the Army John McHugh: Review an innocent soldier’s wrongful conviction

Kenneth Pinkela
Otisville, New York

Tell the Senate: Pass the bill to reverse the Supreme Court’s attack on Black women’s healthcare


Arisha Michelle Hatch, ColorOfChange.org
The Supreme Court gutted Obamacare’s protections for Black women’s health but now there’s something we can do:
The Supreme Court gutted Obamacare’s contraception coverage. We have a plan to fix it.

Supreme Court Building

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Last week, the Supreme Court sided with the far-right and gutted a key part of Obamacare’s protections for women’s health.

Black women are getting caught in the middle as the right-wing tries to chip away at the Affordable Care Act. Affordable access to contraception is a matter of life and death for Black women who are 3 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related issues than white women. Many of us regularly use contraception to treat endometriosis, manage uterine fibroids and alleviate PMS symptoms.1 The far-right is more concerned with tarnishing President Obama’s legacy than ensuring we have access to affordable healthcare.

But, we have a way to fight back!

The Protect Women’s Health From Corporate Interference Act was just introduced in Congress to reverse the Supreme Court’s decision gutting a woman’s right to birth control coverage. The bill states that federal laws, including the Religious Freedom Restoration Act used by Hobby Lobby’s right-wing lawyers, do not allow employers to refuse to cover health care — including birth control — guaranteed by Obamacare. It would ensure women at corporations like Hobby Lobby could make important health decisions with their doctors, not their bosses.

Tell the Senate: Pass the bill to reverse the Supreme Court’s attack on Black women’s healthcare.

Black women overall are at a higher risk for unintended pregnancy but have less access to insurance and preventative care.2 The contraception mandate in Obamacare would go a long way towards reducing cost barriers for our access to birth control and help close the gap in contraceptive use between Black women and our white and Latina peers — but we need Congress to reverse the Supreme Court’s damage. Politicians with an eye on November elections need to know that if they count on Black people to vote for them at the polls, they need to vote for the needs of Black women in Congress and pass this bill.

That’s why we’re teaming up with our friends at UltraViolet. If we shine a spotlight on this bill and bring it to a vote, we’ll know which members of Congress support Black women’s healthcare — and which side with 5 men on the Supreme Court. Will you sign?

Tell the your Senators: Reverse the Supreme Court’s attack our healthcare.

Thanks and Peace,

–Arisha, Rashad, Matt, Aimée, Johnny and the rest of the ColorOfChange team.
July 10, 2014

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don’t share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way.

References

1. “How the Hobby Lobby Decision Impacts Black Women,” EBONY, 6-30-14
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3645?t=7&akid=3473.1174326.0t4Dbp

2. “Hobby Lobby Ruling Opens the Door to ‘Method Discrimination’ for Black Women,” The Root, 7-3-14
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3646?t=9&akid=3473.1174326.0t4Dbp

Signature missing: Racism in YOUR House


Arisha Michelle Hatch, ColorOfChange.org

Rep Steve Scalise thinks if he stops talking about it, people will forget that in 2002 he went to a white supremacist conference to pander for votes.

In a press conference with House GOP leadership yesterday, Scalise simply referred reporters back to his previous statement saying, “I think that’s where the story ends.” Unfortunately, that’s not true. In it he claims to have shown up to speak about a tax plan that didn’t even have its first committee hearing until 10 days after the conference.1

Speaker Boehner is continuing to make excuses for Scalise rather than stand up to racism in his own caucus, hoping the story will just go away. With your voice, we can keep the story alive and demand that the GOP confront hatred in their ranks.

YES-I demand Republicans disavow white supremacy and strip Steve Scalise of his leadership position.

Thanks,

Arisha

1. “How I busted Steve Scalise: Inside a GOP political scandal — and its ongoing coverup” Salon, 1-6-14
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4526?t=3&akid=4029.1174326.hYbNXr

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The #3 Republican in the House has admitted to associating with white supremacists.

Boehner and Scalise

Demand Speaker John Boehner disavow white supremacy and strip Majority Whip Steve Scalise of his leadership position.

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Low Wages? Low Sales.


By

The Middle Class Squeeze Is Worrying Big Retailers, Too

Earlier this month, CAP released a report highlighting how squeezed middle-class Americans have become. That report showed that while the cost of attaining middle class security has increased by over $10,000 since 2000, wages for most Americans have remained stagnant.

The cycle of economic stagnation—low wages, leading to weak demand, leading to slow growth, leading again to low wages—is not only hurting America’s hard-working citizens, but it is also hurting businesses where those workers might spend their money and in turn boost the entire US economy. Wall Street is finally starting to get it: Standard & Poor’s has issued a report saying that inequality is holding back economic growth and Morgan Stanley has warned investors that stronger wage growth is critical to our economic growth.

A new CAP report released today provides further evidence that this squeezed middle class weakens our entire economy, hurting both businesses and the consumers who support them. The report, ”Retailer Revelations,” looked at the financial reports of the top 100 retailers in America and statements of Wall Street’s top economists about the outlook for the country’s biggest retailers. The consensus: trickledown economics is not working.

It has taken more than five years for retail spending per person to reach its prerecession level in the United States and business have begun to realize the impact that is having on their bottom line. Using new information to show the impact middle-class stagnation has had on the economy, the report demonstrates that businesses’ support for economic policies that grow the middle class would directly benefit their own business.

Here are some key findings:

  • Eighty-eight percent of the top 100 US retailers consider weak consumer spending a risk to their stock price.
  • Sixty-eight percent cite falling or stagnant incomes as a risk to their stock price — roughly double the percent that cited them in 2006.
  • Fifty-seven percent cite rising costs of essentials like housing, healthcare and energy, as risks to their stock price, further showing the middle class squeeze.
  • Wall Street economists even argue that low wages drive low demand and high unemployment.
  • Retailers could see their bottom line increase by supporting a growth-oriented agenda with policies such as a minimum wage increase.

BOTTOM LINE: America’s biggest retailers have realized that when the middle class loses, everyone loses. It’s time conservative lawmakers and pundits realized it too. An economy that works for everyone is an economy that grows from the middle out.