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Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture
Raise the Minimum Wage: It’s the Right Thing to Do for Hardworking Americans
In this week’s address, Vice President Biden discusses the importance of raising the federal minimum wage. It’s good for workers, it’s good for business, and it would help close the gender pay gap, as women make up more than half of the workers who stand to benefit from a raise. And as the Vice President highlights, Congress should boost the federal minimum wage because it’s what a majority of the American people want.Click here to watch this week’s Weekly Address. |
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FLOTUS Shows Us How She Moves in ChinaWhile visiting Xi’an, China, First Lady Michelle Obama was greeted by local kids and students performing music, double dutch jump roping, flying kites, and more. Of course, the First Lady couldn’t resist getting in on the fun and showing the kids how she moves. READ MORESix Days, Five Countries, One POTUS
President Obama spent this week across the pond, meeting with European leaders in the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Vatican City, before traveling to Saudi Arabia to meet with King Abdullah. Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes took some time earlier this week to go over the President’s schedule and the goals of the trip.
While in Vatican City, President Obama had an audience with His Holiness Pope Francis. Here’s what the President said about their meeting, “I would say that the largest bulk of the time was discussing two central concerns of his. One is the issues of the poor, the marginalized, those without opportunity, and growing inequality. … And then we spent a lot of time talking about the challenges of conflict and how elusive peace is around the world.” Join the Six Million Who’ve Already Signed Up — Get Covered Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Over six million Americans have signed up for private health insurance plans.
Are you one of the six million? If not, what are you doing? There’s only TWO days left to get covered before open enrollment ends on March 31. Head over to HealthCare.gov to get covered now! As always, to see even more of this week’s events, watch this week’s episode of West Wing Week:
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Support Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
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IAVA needs your help to support veterans. |
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It’s estimated that 22 American military veterans die by suicide every day. That’s nearly one every hour, of every day, of every week, of every month. That’s over 8,000 veterans every year. That number almost included Kris Goldsmith, pictured above. Kris is an Army vet from Long Island. He deployed to Iraq in 2005, where he went on more than 300 missions. Kris left the Army in 2007 with a “general discharge” after he attempted to take his own life. Kris’s “less-than-honorable” discharge status made him ineligible for the GI Bill and was unemployable for two years. But thanks to strong support and personal courage, Kris made it through. And not only is he surviving, he’s thriving. He is recovering from PTSD and attending Nassau Community College – where he’s president of the student veterans group. He’s a survivor. Now he wants to save others, and he needs your help. This week, Kris and more than 30 veterans of IAVA are in DC telling Congress that the time has come to take real steps to help those in crisis. IAVA is the first and largest organization dedicated to improving the lives of veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan and their families. We’re asking Congress to increase funding for mental health providers, ensure a smooth health care transition for veterans when they leave the military, and spread awareness to ensure everyone knows that it’s ok to ask for help. We need you to help fund this trip and all the work that comes after. Will you join our fight by donating $25 to help end veteran suicide? Even one veteran taking their own life is one too many. Your support can help save the lives of people who have shown exceptional bravery for our country. We can’t do it alone. Will you stand with IAVA’s member veterans as they storm Capitol Hill by donating $25? Thank you for showing veterans across the country that you’ve got their back. Sincerely, Paul Rieckhoff |
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Tell Governor Inslee: Stop food stamp cuts in Washington
Please Call Gov. Inslee 360-902-4111
Last month, President Obama signed a new “farm bill” that cuts food stamp funding by about $800 million per year. These heartless cuts – which Republicans forced through in Congress – slash $90 in food stamp benefits per month from 850,000 families nationwide.
Fortunately, a bipartisan group of governors in six states have found a way to reverse these devastating cuts by participating in a special “heat and eat” program, which leverages heating assistance payments into higher food stamp benefits.1 Governor Inslee can stop the cuts to the food stamp program in Washington, but it is going to take grassroots pressure to make that happen.
CREDO activist Heather Magrath started a campaign on CREDOMobilize.com, which allows activists to start their own petitions. The petition, which is to Governor Inslee, asks the following:
Nearly a million Americans are on the verge of losing $90 per month in food stamps benefits. I urge you to sign an executive order increasing heating assistance subsidies to prevent thousands of Washington families from losing access to food stamps.
Sign the petition: Tell Governor Inslee to stop the food stamp cuts in Washington.
$90 per month may not seem like much, but for families in Washington who are struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table, the recent cuts to the food stamp program can be devastating.
By slightly increasing state funding for heating assistance to residents slated to lose part of their food stamp benefits, governors in six states have completely stopped the Republican food stamp cut from affecting residents in their states.
With unemployment still unacceptably high and millions of families struggling to get by, we need to do everything in our power to stop the Republicans’ irresponsible attempts to slash our social safety net. Governor Inslee needs to follow the lead of these governors and prevent thousands of Washington residents from losing $90 each month in food stamp benefits.
Thanks for fighting to stop food stamp cuts in Washington.
Murshed Zaheed, Deputy Political Director CREDO Action from Working Assets
1. “Republican Governor Will Protect His State’s Residents From Food Stamp Cuts,” Think Progress, March 6, 2014
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Mikaela is dying
My wife Mikaela is dying of kidney cancer, but a new drug could save her life. Please sign my petition asking drug companies BMS, Merck, and Genentech to give Mikaela access to this medicine.
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Mikaela was my high school sweetheart, my college girlfriend, and we got married the summer after she and I graduated from rival schools: Berkeley and Stanford. For my entire adult life, she has been my home. Two years into married life, she was diagnosed with a rare type of kidney cancer. Now Mikaela could die, and I am fighting to get access to a new drug that could give us a chance at saving her life.
Mikaela received her diagnosis last fall. After six months of treatment, we are running out of options. We found out about a new kind of breakthrough drug being tested by several pharmaceutical companies that is set to revolutionize treatment for many cancers, including kidney cancer. We’ve tried to get into many clinical trials for this drug, but because Mikaela has a very rare subtype of cancer, she’s been deemed ineligible.
But then we got new hope: an oncologist at Stanford agreed to oversee Mikaela’s care if one of the drug companies that manufactures this new drug, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, or Genentech, would agree to give Mikaela access to the drug under a “compassionate use” program.
We’ve been trying everything we can think of to help Mikaela get access to this new drug. Then her doctors suggested we start a petition, because other patients have had success that way. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago, a 7-year-old boy in Virginia got access to a new cancer drug after his family started a petition.
I’m not a radical person; I’m just deeply in love with Mikaela. We’re not starting this petition looking for a battle. We’re looking for allies in the battle we’re already fighting.
Mikaela is only 25 years old. We have so much left to do in our lives. I can’t lose her knowing that there is medicine out there that could save her life if only she could access it. Medicine, mind you, that will be FDA approved and the new gold standard for kidney cancer treatment by 2015.
After you sign, join our community and help us fight. We rely upon our followers to help us give Mikaela a chance.
Thank you for helping me fight for the love of my life. Mikaela and I appreciate it more than we can say.
Keith Knapp
Folsom, California
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