Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Does Mom know Best … Yes, Judy Waxman, National Women’s Law Center


National Women's Law Center - My Health Is Not Up for Debate: Protect Reproductive Health
Our Fight
                Ask your mother, grandmother, aunt, or another loved one this Mother’s Day about the challenges she had accessing birth control. Then, share her story or yours with us!
Share Your Story

What challenges did I face accessing birth control when I was younger? My doctor told me taking the Pill could possibly kill me — apparently thinking this additional “fact” would help me make a more informed medical decision.
I’m still alive — so I guess he was wrong. And that doctor was not alone in putting up barriers for women trying to access reproductive health care.
TELL US: Have you ever asked your mom, aunt, grandmother, or another loved one in your life what challenges she had gaining access to birth control? We want to hear the stories!
It’s been nearly fifty years since the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Connecticut v Griswold striking down state bans on birth control. Since then, contraception has become so central to women’s lives that 98 percent of us use it at some point during our reproductive years. Yet, politicians still re-litigate access to affordable contraception and other women’s health care needs.
The stories of the past prepare us for the fights of the future! Help us collect stories to remind our daughters and granddaughters about the fights we have won — help them fight the challenges that still lie ahead. Ask your mom her story about the challenges of accessible birth control or share your own story with us.
As mothers, grandmothers, daughters, aunts, and those that love them, let’s work together to get the message across to our leaders once and for all — our health is NOT up for debate™.
Sincerely,

Judy Waxman Judy Waxman Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights National Women’s Law Center   

P.S. Please donate today to support the Center’s work on contraceptive coverage and other issues — your gift will be matched dollar for dollar through Mother’s Day!

“Out of Many, We are One.”


West Wing Week: 5/4/12 or “Out of Many, We are One.”   <<< click on link to view the Video
Welcome to the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that’s happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. This week, the President traveled to Afghanistan to sign a historic Strategic Partnership Agreement, visit with our troops and address the American people about responsibly ending the war. The President also traveled to Fort Stewart to sign an Executive Order to protect service members and their families from deceptive marketing practices, spoke at the annual White House Correspondents Dinner, welcomed the Prime Minister of Japan, and spoke at the Building and Construction Trades conference.

268 U.S. Representatives and 71 Senators expressed their support for the Special Diabetes Program


It is with immense joy that I share with you the good news: with your help, 268 U.S. Representatives and 71 Senators expressed their support for the Special Diabetes Program by signing onto the House and Senate Special Diabetes Program Dear Colleague letters! You can view the House letter here, and the Senate letter will be up on www.diabetes.org soon. This is a great first step as we work toward the program’s reauthorization this year.
The SDP represents an important investment from the federal government to combat, prevent and cure diabetes. It has produced advances in halting and reversing the complications of diabetes; progress in identifying environmental triggers of type 1 diabetes; and a 28% reduction in the incidence of end-stage renal disease in the Native American communities – among its many other accomplishments.
Last month, we asked those of you living in the Congressional districts and states of Representatives and Senators who had yet to sign-on to this letter of support to email your legislators encouraging them to do so. And your voices were heard!
Together, we will continue to educate Members of Congresson the importance of SDP and work toward its reauthorization. But for now, let’s all celebrate this first success in our efforts toward extending this vital program into the future.Sincerely,

L. Hunter Limbaugh L. Hunter Limbaugh signature L. Hunter Limbaugh Chair of the Board, American Diabetes Association

Find out more about the American Diabetes Association’s advocacy efforts:

Truth to Power … just the facts from Stephanie


I think the first item in this week’s tipsheet — The Life of Julia — lays out the impact this election will have on millions of American women more clearly than anything this campaign has done so far.
It’s a great tool for the Truth Team and our goal of making sure everyone gets the facts they need. So let’s get to it:
#1 The Life of Julia The Life of Julia is an interactive online tool that looks at how President Obama’s policies help one woman over her lifetime compared to Mitt Romney‘s plans. Whether it’s allowing young people to stay on their parents’ health insurance until age 26, expanding access to Pell Grants, or passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act that allows women to stand up for their right to equal pay for equal work, President Obama has fought to help women of all ages. Under a Romney administration, Julia’s story would look a lot different: Romney would reverse many of President Obama’s accomplishments to pay for tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires. Take a lookat how the policies the President has put in place would affect a woman at each stage of her life, then share it with others:

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#2 Romney: Too extreme for women Romney’s right-wing positions — like promising to “get rid of” Planned Parenthood, refusing to say whether he would have signed or vetoed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and his over-the-top praise for controversial public figures like Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett and Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell — make it clear just how out of touch he is when it comes to women’s issues. We put together a videohighlighting some of Romney’s most extreme stances. Check it out, and make sure others see it, too:

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#3 Romney: “It’s not worth moving heaven and earth” On Tuesday, our nation marked the first anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death. Romney and his allies spent the day claiming that anyone would have made the same call President Obama did. Of course, with the benefit of hindsight, it’s easy for Romney to boast that he would’ve ordered the bin Laden mission. But his own past statements on the issue simply don’t back him up. We chronicled some of these statements— take a look and let others know how Romney felt about things in 2007:

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#4 Standing up to the Koch brothers In case you missed my email earlier this week, I recorded a video responding to the Koch brothers’ latest dishonest attempt to smear the President’s energy record. We’re going to call this sort of BS when we see it. If you haven’t already, please pass the videoalong and help set the record straight:

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As we saw this week, our opponents are ready to throw anything at us in the hopes that something sticks. You’re an important part of how we’re going to fight these attacks and put the facts in the hands of voters this November. So I want to thank you for all that you do for the President, and all that you’ll continue to do this year.
Until next time,
Stephanie