Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Animals deserve love and respect too

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                                    Apparently, you can learn a lot about elephants by studying the ‘junk in their trunk’. The one in the back, that is.
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                                    Last Friday morning, the bound and beaten body of Jairo Mora Sandoval, a 26-year-old sea turtle activist in Costa Rica, was found onMoín Beach on the…
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                                    Just as Monsanto announces that it has given up trying to spread genetically modified seeds and plants throughout Europe (which is a huge win for…
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                                    Seven rhinos, their heads bloodied and their horns cut off, were found dead in the last week of May in five wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in…
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                                    When oil spills, responders rush to the scene with a huge toolbox and try to contain, clean up and disperse the oil so it will break down as quickly as…
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~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Don’t Let Wall Street Offshore Its Recklessne​ss

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Dogs Dealing Securities at JP Morgan, after Ca...
Dogs Dealing Securities at JP Morgan, after Cassius Marcellus Coolidge (Photo credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com)

by James Lardner

Much of the reckless gambling that caused the financial meltdown of 2008 took place outside U.S. borders. AIG received a $160 billion taxpayer bailouts for derivatives trades made in London. Bear Stearns was brought down by the failure of hedge funds based in the Cayman Islands. And more recently, JP Morgan’s “London Whale” lost billions on derivatives trades.

This is why the Dodd-Frank Act called for regulation of all derivatives trades that have “a direct and significant connection with” U.S. commerce. And it’s why the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has followed the law by drafting rules that cover all derivatives transactions, wherever they occur, with the potential to damage our financial security.

But now Wall Street is leaning on Congress to limit enforcement to derivatives traders physically based in this country. HR 1256, the “Swaps Jurisdiction Certainty Act,” would open a major escape hatch in financial reform. This bill would make it much easier for our biggest banks, which routinely channel their transactions through foreign markets, to escape U.S. oversight.

HR 1256 is set for a vote tomorrow – Wednesday, June 12. So there’s no time to waste.

Tell your representative to Vote No on HR 1256, a bill that would inevitably lead to a new surge of Wall Street recklessness.

Click here to find the name and phone number of your House member.  Or dial the Capitol switchboard at 202-225-3121.
You can report back here. 

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Command a Change for Survivors of Sexual Assault


National Women's Law Center
Stand with Survivors of Sexual Assault
                Tell your Senators: Stand with survivors to prevent sexual assault in the military.
Take Action

Fox News host Andrea Tantaros attacked MSNBC for covering the Senate’s hearing last week on the scourge of tens of thousands of sexual assaults in the military. She said, “What baffles me though is the way they prioritize these issues… Why is MSNBC devoting so much time to this issue?”
Why? Maybe we should instead be asking why isn’t everyone trying to fix this egregious injustice?
Tell your Senators: Stand strong for survivors of sexual assault in the military.
Sexual assault and sexual harassment have been persistent problems in the military for decades. As soon as tomorrow, Congress will have the opportunity to do something about it, as members of the Senate Armed Services Committee begin making changes to the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2014. They can do the right thing by improving the military justice system in ways that will deter perpetrators and send a strong message that sexual assault will not be tolerated. This can be accomplished by moving decision-making on whether and how to prosecute serious offenses like sexual assault out of the chain of command — and by giving decisions to prosecute to trained, experienced military prosecutors, creating a specialized office to convene courts and appoint judges and juries, and prohibiting commanders from overturning guilty verdicts.
Separating military justice decision-making from the chain of command will put decision-making into the hands of those who have legal expertise and make it possible for commanders to concentrate on the areas in which they have expertise, including improving the climate in their commands to prevent sexual assault.
It’s time to fix this broken system. Take action and stand up for survivors of sexual assault in the military.
Congress has a responsibility to members of the military and survivors everywhere to ensure that perpetrators of sexual assault are held accountable for their actions and not allowed back into the ranks. We must work together to make sure that happens.
Sincerely,
Nancy Duff Campbell
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Three quick things you should know about Obamacare


Three quick things you should know about Obamacare

Hi all —

In the past few days, we’ve received three really interesting new pieces of information about the health care law, and we wanted to share these data points with you so that you get a big picture of how things are changing for the better as the law gets implemented.

First, the Affordable Care Act is helping to make sure that insurance companies and providers have to compete for your business by creating a Health Insurance Marketplace that offers people more choice and control over their insurance choices. An estimated 80 percent of the people who will enroll in the Marketplaces live in states with five or more different insurance companies to choose from — instead of just one or two. We’ve put together a memo about that, and you can read it HERE.

Second, as the health care law is helping move to a system where data helps improve consumer choices and the quality of care, the government is making more information available to consumers, from hospital charges and quality outcomes to regional health care system performance statistics. Those may sound like dry things, but businesses are springing up across the country and using this data to power new innovation. Secretary Sebelius explains this idea in more detail HERE.

Third, we got some great news about the long-term viability of Medicare. Program cost growth, both long term and short, is down — even as new benefits for preventive care and prescription drugs are now helping tens of millions of beneficiaries. Get more information about the report that shows that Medicare is growing stronger HERE.

We’re sharing this information with you because we’re sure you hear people talk about the health care law in your communities all the time, and if you have questions we’d love to answer them.

Ask your questions about the health care law, and we’ll answer some of them next week.

Thanks,

Tara

Tara McGuinness Senior Communications Advisor The White House

P.S. — Earlier today, the President delivered remarks on the health care law in San Jose. Lean more HERE.

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