Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

This is crazy, Washington!

1 Comment

Policy and Action from Consumer Reports

Here’s TJ’s number, call them maybe?

Their customers are calling, but Trader Joe’s still refuses to meet with us to discuss ending the sale of meat raised on antibiotics. The grocer says it listens to its customers, so we’re ramping up more calls. Can you call them, maybe?

Take action

 

To save our antibiotics, we can’t just wait for Congress to act. We have to go directly to grocery chains selling antibiotic-raised meat and get them to stop.

So we targeted Trader Joe’s, one of the nation’s most progressive grocers, to lead the way in the fight to save our antibiotics.

But after presenting a half-million of your signatures, sending thousands of emails, postcards and fliers – and running full-page ads in the hometown newspapers where they’re headquartered – Trader Joe’s management still refuses to sit down and talk with us about stopping the sale of this meat.

This is crazy! Now we need a little help from you to convince them.

Make a toll-free call to company headquarters today, and ask them to stop selling meat raised on drugs!

Trader Joe’s prides itself on listening to its customers. Since the company is headquartered in California, we recently put ads in the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle asking customers to call company execs and ask them to end the sale of antibiotic-raised beef, poultry and pork. The execs got a LOT of calls!

What did Trader Joe’s do? They dug in even deeper, telling callers they will keep selling meat raised on antibiotics. Pretty unbelievable for a company that claims to listen to its customers. The Pacific-Northwest is a major market for Trader Joes. Your call may be the tipping point.

We’re not giving up until they do. Help us keep the pressure on by making your own quick phone call — and let us know what the grocer tells you.

We’re tackling the overuse of antibiotics in our food animals on every front – including testing meat for drug-resistant superbugs, lobbying in Congress, and pushing industry and the marketplace to stop this risky practice. Join us in making a safer future for your family by making a call now.

Sincerely, Jean Halloran, NotInMyFood.org, a project of Consumers Union Policy and Action from Consumer Reports

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

A great way to save some money


whitehouselogo

This week, we got some big news about the immigration reform bill. It’s a little wonky, but it’s so great that I couldn’t wait to share it with you.

The nonpartisan experts who estimate the financial impact of legislation for Congress concluded that because undocumented immigrants will start paying more in taxes for things like education and Social Security, the immigration proposal in the Senate will make the economy fairer for middle class families while cutting the U.S. deficit by almost $1,000,000,000,000 over the next two decades.

With every passing day, it’s becoming clear that we can’t afford not to act. Now we know exactly how much is at stake, and it’s the kind of news that can help to change the policy conversation in Washington.

So we’ve put together a graphic that explains exactly how this works, and we need your help to share it. If more people get the facts, it’ll be easier to build a nationwide, bipartisan consensus to get this done.

Take a look, then share this graphic with folks you know:

According to the CBO, immigration reform will save us nearly 1 trillion dollars.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/1trillion

Thank you so much!

Cecilia

Cecilia Muñoz Director, Domestic Policy Council The White House

Visit WhiteHouse.gov
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Remove humane officer that shot kittens in front of children from his position


By Melissa G.
Lorain, Ohio
Remove humane officer that shot kittens in front of children from his position
On June 10 in Lorain County, Ohio, North Ridgeville “Humane” Officer Barry Accorti responded to a call regarding a feral mother cat and her five kittens living in a woodpile in a homeowner‘s backyard. He told the homeowner that shelters were full and that the cats would be going to kitty heaven. He then pulled out his gun and shot to death the five 8 to 10 week-old kittens.
We are told that he discharged his gun approximately 15 feet from the backyard patio. Never did Officer Accorti let the woman know that he would be killing the kittens on site or that he would be firing a gun in her backyard. The woman ran into the house to shield her children who were screaming and crying. The mother cat is still alive.
Not only are there more humane ways to put down feral kittens, the poor judgement Accorti showed by firing a weapon in a backyard surrounded by other homes put people in danger. Allegedly Accorti told the woman that he isn’t suppose to do this, but it was justifiable.
I live in Lorain County and this is not the type of behavior or poor judgement we expect from our police officers. Our citizens are outraged that this happened yet Police Chief Mike Freeman has already cleared Accorti of any wrongdoing. We find that unacceptable. Officer Accorti should not continue his position as a humane officer with the North Ridgeville Police Department.

http://fox8.com/2013/06/11/police-defend-shooting-of-feral-cats-outside-home/ http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/oh_lorain/north-ridgeville-humane-officer-shoots-five-kittens-outside-house-with-residents-nearby http://www.wkyc.com/news/article/302822/45/SPCA-wants-humane-officer-who-shot-kittens-fired https://www.facebook.com/theohiospca

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Our Kids Deserve a Better Bill

2 Comments

AAUW Action Network
Congress is once again trying to reauthorize the federal law governing public education – but if we don’t speak up, it may not get done right.   After two years of “waivers” from the No Child Left Behind Act, 37 states have agreed to the president’s plan for education in their states. But this is not a long-term solution. Congress must act in a responsible, bipartisan way to permanently fix the problems of the No Child Left Behind Act by reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
Unfortunately, the House Education and the Workforce Committee stoked the partisan fires this week and approved a bill that is wrong in so many ways. For example, it would:

  • Virtually eliminate federal enforcement of narrowing the achievement gap;
  • Give a free pass to states and districts to define their own standards, assessment, and accountability systems;
  • Freeze the funding levels for K-12 education at a time when we need to invest in our children’s futures;
  • Ignore the urgent need for comprehensive bullying and harassment policies to protect all our children in public schools; and
  • Fail to provide adequate protections for civil rights of students.

To make matters worse, a few members of Congress have vowed to bring amendments to the floor which would weaken public education by diverting public funds to private or religious schools through vouchers schemes.
Now the ESEA reauthorization bill (H.R. 5) heads to the full House floor – and that’s where you come in.

The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) finally gives us a chance to update the flawed and outdated No Child Left Behind Act, but H.R. 5 is not the solution. AAUW supports an ESEA reauthorization that would introduce needed flexibility while retaining a commitment to high standards, civil rights protections, and greater accountability in our nation’s public schools.
Earlier today, the AAUW Action Fund Capitol Hill Lobby Corps visited the House of Representatives, telling lawmakers that our kids deserve a better education bill: Contact your representative today and send the same message!