Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Help Us Protect the Contraceptive Coverage Decision …Judy Waxman, National Women’s Law Center


National Women's Law Center
Help Us Protect the Contraceptive Coverage Decision

                Please donate today to help us protect the contraceptive coverage decision and fight for other issues vital to women.
WWW.NWLC.ORG

We recently told you about an important victory for women: the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a final rule providing contraceptives without co-pays AND without an expansion of the religious employer exemption.
But contraception opponents aren’t giving up, even though there is a religious exemption: they’ve launched a full-court press to try to overturn this crucial decision. They’ve filed court cases, they’re pressuring politicians and they’re taking to the airwaves and editorial pages in a coordinated effort to try to turn back the clock on contraceptive coverage. They don’t want you covered, and we can’t let them win.
Please help NWLC push back, by making a generous donation to support this fight on contraceptive coverage and our other fights to protect women and women’s health.
Over the summer, HHS deemed birth control a necessary preventive health service, thus requiring insurance plans to cover it without co-pays under the Affordable Care Act. This month’s announcement affirmed that momentous decision, and your work was vital in assuring that it happened. Since the summer, you sent over 100,000 comments in favor of the policy, and HHS listened.
The agency’s decision did allow a narrow set of religious employers to deny this critical coverage to their employees. But opponents of contraception aren’t satisfied: while they’d prefer the coverage to be dropped altogether, for now they’re trying to find alternative routes to expand the exception to include religiously “affiliated” hospitals, universities and other organizations. More than 1 million employees and the women in their families would be affected if they were to succeed.
We can’t let them win — help us work to keep this vital advance in place.
For many years, the National Women’s Law Center has advocated for equity in health insurance coverage, including working to ensure that women have access to affordable contraception and other preventive services. And, with support from friends like you, this year the hard work paid off. Please don’t let this victory be temporary — help us protect the contraceptive coverage decision and fight for other issues so vital to women.
You helped before and we won. But the struggle isn’t over, and I know you’ll do your part once again. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Judy Waxman Judy Waxman Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights National Women’s Law Center   

P.S. Please help today by making a generous donation to support NWLC’s work on contraceptive coverage and other fights vital to women and women’s health.
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Support Darcy Bruner … Jim Dean from … DFA


Washington DC is broken.

Washington state needs a representative who knows what it takes to fix the system and bring jobs back home. Darcy Burner is an engineer by training and a politician by necessity. She’ll work to get government working for all of us again — not just Wall Street.

In 2009, Darcy became the first President and Executive Director of ProgressiveCongress.org, a non-profit based in Washington, D.C. that works with the Congressional Progressive Caucus on public health, civil rights, education, environmental sustainability and economic opportunity. She is one of the progressive movement’s strongest allies.

With the overwhelming support of DFA members across the district, I am honored to announce Democacy for America’s endorsement of Darcy Burner for Congress.

Help send a true progressive to Congress by signing up to volunteer for Darcy Burner.

Help send a true progress to Congress by contributing $3 to Darcy Burner’s campaign.

Since we first endorsed Darcy Burner in 2006, she has work relentlessly to advance the progressive movement both in WA and in DC. Now, we need a progressive champion like Darcy inside Congress, someone with the tenacity and energy to bring real reforms.

We ask you to support Darcy with your vote, with your time and with your resources.

-Jim

Jim Dean, Chair
Democracy for America

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

James Kvaal – Policy Director, BarackObama.com


Here’s something that President Obama laid out in his State of the Union that I think deserves special attention:

 Recent news reports have raised questions about whether members of Congress are profiting from inside information about the very businesses they’re supposed to be regulating — information about pending legislation that could move markets and generate investor profits.

The President offered one simple fix: End insider trading by members of Congress, extending the rules that apply to anyone else whose jobs give them access to sensitive information about businesses.

If you think this simple effort at good government should be a priority during this campaign, it’s up to you to speak out. Say you support the President and spread the word:

http://barackobama.com/Ban-Insider-Trading

 Thanks,

 James

James Kvaal
National Policy Director
Obama for America

 P.S. — Here’s the full quote from the State of the Union:

“Send me a bill that bans insider trading by members of Congress; I will sign it tomorrow. Let’s limit any elected official from owning stocks in industries they impact. Let’s make sure people who bundle campaign contributions for Congress can’t lobby Congress, and vice versa — an idea that has bipartisan support, at least outside of Washington.”

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

a message from Caroline Kennedy


Four years ago today, I joined my Uncle Teddy and thousands of excited students at American University to endorse Barack Obama as the next president of the United States.

Barack Obama had stirred something in young people and the young at heart. I saw the passion in my own teenage children, and I heard it from a different generation of people who said they felt like they did when my father ran for president.

We felt strongly that we needed to elect a president who urged us to believe in ourselves, who could tie that belief to our highest ideals, and who understood that together we can do great things.

Four years later, as I think about what first inspired me to support Barack Obama, I’m proud we have a president who has fought hard for the values Teddy held dear, and stood up on issues that matter.

Will you join me by saying what first inspired you to stand with Barack Obama?

http://my.barackobama.com/Teddy

Teddy understood that the challenges of health care aren’t political — they are personal. That’s why he fought for 40 years to make health care a right and not a privilege for American families.

How proud he would have been to see his candidate sign the Affordable Care Act into law as president, giving all Americans the security of knowing that their health care will be there when they need it most.

In his speech four years ago today, Teddy reminded us all of that bright light of hope and possibility that shines even in the darkest hours. He knew that with Barack Obama as president, America would shine again. I don’t think he would be surprised to know that four years later, this president would have ended the war in Iraq, repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and guaranteed women the right to equal pay for equal work.

The 2012 election will be harder than the last. As you think about what role you can play this time, I want you to remember that when Teddy joined this campaign, it wasn’t just Barack Obama who drew him in.

It was you.

The possibility of a campaign run by ordinary people determined to change our country for the better and willing to work as hard as necessary inspired him then, and it’s what inspires me today.

Thanks for all you do.

I’ll see you out there,

Caroline

P.S. — If you’d like to take some time to watch that speech, it’s here.