Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Petition: Stop voter suppression in Florida

12/19/2013 Nativegrl77

Rick Scott’s administration has just made their next move in the attempt to suppress voting rights in Florida.

The Secretary of State issued a directive — without much (if any) input from regional election supervisors — that limits the locations at which Floridians can drop off absentee ballots to elections offices only, instead of remote drop off sites that are more convenient for voters.

Put simply: Rick Scott’s administration once again has just made it harder for folks in Florida to vote.

The next big election in Florida is coming up on January 14th — a special election primary to fill the vacant seat in Florida’s 13th congressional district. We have a great candidate in Alex Sink and it’s another prime pickup opportunity for Democrats.

Every Floridian in that district should be able to make their voice heard without worrying about these new restrictions. These limitations are unnecessary and can have a dramatic impact in suppressing the vote. For instance, in 2012, 42% of all ballots were dropped off at these remote sites closer to where voters live.

We cannot let slick Rick try to rig another election. Join me in calling on Rick Scott and Florida Republicans to retract these new voting restrictions immediately.

The right to vote in this country is non-negotiable. Any changes we make to our election structure should make it easier for people to vote, not harder.
Thank you for standing with me against these new restrictions.
Debbie

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Reminder: Is your Republican representative reacting irrationally

12/18/2013 Nativegrl77

It’s 2019 but have Republicans changed?

By ThinkProgress War Room

The GOP’s Most Extreme Reactions to Obama’s Commonsense Gun Safety Plan

It’s not just NRA lobbyists that are reacting completely irrationally to the president’s commonsense proposals to prevent gun violence. Matt Drudge likened President Obama to both Hitler and Stalin. But some Republicans are now even going so far as to suggest impeaching the president. Unfortunately, some of them are members of the House and actually have the power to introduce articles of impeachment.

Just some examples of republicans in 2013 and impeaching a potus

Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX)

Stockman plans to introduce articles of impeachment, calling Obama’s anti-gun violence efforts “an existential threat to this nation.”

Rep. Trey Radel (R-FL)

Following Stockman’s lead is Florida Congressman Trey Radel, who said impeachment “should be on the table” and falsely claimed that Obama wants an executive order to “ban guns.”

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX)

Gohmert, a Tea Party favorite who recently claimed an assault weapons ban would have to include hammers, charged that the president’s action is “illegal” and grounds for impeachment. “The American Revolution was all about fighting such a monarchy — and that is not what the Constitution anticipates. It’s not something a Constitutional president would do,” Gohmert lamented.

Former Attorney General Edwin Meese (R)

Edwin Meese, former Reagan Attorney General and current Heritage Foundation official, is also taking up the call for impeachment. In an interview with Newsmax, Meese claimed Obama may have “really tried to override the Constitution itself.” Congress, he said, would have to take action, “perhaps even to the point of impeachment.”

Larry Pratt

The head of Gun Owners for America urged Republican lawmakers to stop being “spectators while the country is being torn apart” and impeach Obama. Pratt also attacked all gun safety laws as “the most pagan of paganism” because they assume guns and other “inanimate objects as possessing their own will.”

BOTTOM LINE: A majority of Americans — and gun owners — support sensible gun violence prevention measures. Instead of overheated rhetoric, it’s time for Congress to have a real debate about how we can protect our children and our communities from senseless acts of gun violence.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You Might’ve Missed

More than 90 percent of gun owners and non-gun owners alike support universal background checks.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) isn’t really a reformer.

Feckless House Republicans refuse to vote for bills that they actually want to pass.

Republicans’ latest attempt to take the economy hostage isn’t going very well.

House Republicans hold panel discussion about minority outreach in a room named after a slave-owning plantation.

Poll finds that 64 percent of Republicans are birthers.

Ten things on energy and the environment the president can do during his second term.

The NRA tries to re-write the history of its long opposition to background checks.

Republicans brag about winning the House through gerrymandering

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Photo: A Meeting in the Oval

12/18/2013 Nativegrl77

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden meet with U.S. Trade Representative Mike Froman and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker in the Oval Office, Dec. 16, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

The First Lady Reads “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” at the Children’s National Medical Center

Yesterday, First Lady Michelle Obama visited Children’s National Medical Center with Bo and Sunny where she read “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” to a group of children.

We’re always looking for new ways to open the White House and engage with citizens online. And that’s why we’re excited to kick off “Of the People: Live from the White House,” a virtual field trip series with Discovery Education that’s designed to offer middle and high school students unique access to the White House.

In his weekly address, President Obama honors the memory of the 26 innocent children and educators who were taken from us a year ago in Newtown, Connecticut.

It was just chicken salad…

12/18/2013 Nativegrl77

Policy and Action from Consumer Reports

It won’t be easy. But we can do this.Our antibiotics must work when your family needs them. And that means taking on some of the biggest power players in the marketplace. Your tax-deductible, year-end donation will help us take the fight to them.

At 15, Sam was on the top of the world. He pitched varsity baseball as a freshman, sprouted three inches in the off-season. Pro scouts even came calling.

Then he ate a chicken caesar salad that changed his life.

Within three days Sam was headed to the emergency room doubled over in a diaper. Sickened with antibiotic-resistant bacteria common to chicken, he was bleeding and wasting away. Drug after drug was tried. Each failed. His parents were frantic. A month later when his infection was finally under control, Sam lost 30 pounds and couldn’t jog without wheezing. His pitching career was over.

This is our reality – a strapping Midwestern teen taken down by a ‘superbug’ in his chicken salad. The rapid rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria is so serious, the CDC warns that unless we act soon, it may be too late. Which is why we need your help now to get the attention of those who can fix this.

Your $10 tax-deductible donation will go directly to getting politicians and industry to face up to our antibiotic crisis!

We’re up against some of the biggest power players in the marketplace – the giant industrial meat producers. They already use 80 percent of antibiotics sold, and want to keep feeding them to food animals so they’ll grow bigger and survive cramped, filthy conditions. Last week’s FDA move to voluntarily re-label animal antibiotics is expected to have only a small impact on overall use.

This overuse is spawning drug-resistant bacteria that make their way into our food and the environment. At least 23,000 Americans die each year. So we’re unleashing consumer power to stop this unnecessary use.

We’re pressuring Congress and health officials to take emergency action to stop antibiotic overuse in food production. We’re pushing a leading national grocery chain – Trader Joe’s – to lead the marketplace and stop selling antibiotic-raised meat. We’re testing supermarket meat at Consumer Reports labs to discover how widespread a problem it is.

We must do more to solve this. Can you help crank up the pressure in 2014 with your $10 year-end gift?

Drug-resistant bacteria robbed Sam of his baseball career, but through great effort he recovered and went on to play college football. Yet no child should have to go through this. You’ve stood with us throughout this important fight, and we need your help to see it through. For kids like Sam. For kids like yours and mine.

Sincerely, Chris Meyer, Consumers Union Policy and Action from Consumer Reports

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Looking Back

12/18/2013 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

2013

It’s that time of year again. ThinkProgress has started its series of items looking back at 2013.

Here are a few you should check out.

Yesterday, Alyssa Rosenberg brought you the best and worst books of 2013, including much-discussed titles like Lean In as well as others that you may not have heard so much about.

Today, Alyssa rolled her list of 14 great movies from the past year. This list also mixes well-known films like Zero Dark Thirty with others like Wadjda , the first feature film shot in Saudi Arabia, and Twenty Feet From Stardom, a documentary about backup singers.

Finally, Adam Peck rounds up some of the most iconic photos of 2013.