Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Today, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is officially over.

Gay men and lesbians in the military no longer have to hide who they are, and the servicemembers who were discharged under this policy can re-enlist.

This is one of the administration’s signature achievements. Countless Americans fought hard to end this law over the course of nearly two decades, and President Obama is proud to have signed the repeal.

But today’s news isn’t just a policy promise kept — it’s a personal promise kept to the thousands of people who needed and deserved this change.

I want to share a video the campaign put together about some of the people affected by this law: four stories from men and women who served in the military during “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

You should watch the video and share it with everyone who cares about fairness and equality in America.

Before my current job, I was in the White House working on getting this done, and I can honestly say that repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is one of the greatest things I have ever been or ever will be a part of. I think about it every time I walk into my office, where I keep one of the pens the President used to sign the bill.

It’s a reminder that — as broken as Washington is and as long as change can take — people and organizations can do amazing things when they work together and never waver from the vision that unites them.

Watch four people say what today means to them — and let us know what it means to you:

http://my.barackobama.com/dadtvid

There’s a lot more to do in the months ahead. But today is one to savor.

Thanks,

Messina

Jim Messina
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

a message from Madeleine K. Albright …

09/20/2011 Nativegrl77

Since taking office, President Obama and Democrats in Congress have been focused on supporting the President’s vision for America as an architect of peace, a champion of justice, a defender of international law and a leading economic power.

Republican leadership, on the other hand, wants to obstruct this progress and set President Obama up for failure. As Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told a reporter last year, his highest priority is to make President Obama a one-term President. We cannot sit back and allow the Republican strategy of delay and obstructionism to succeed.

Now is the time for us to step forward.

House Democrats have set a $1 million fundraising goal by the September 30th Federal Election Commission fundraising deadline.

WWW.DCCC.ORG

Contribute $3 or more before Midnight September 30th and your support will be matched dollar-for-dollar by a group of House Democrats.

The amount of money Democrats raise will demonstrate to the world our commitment to President Obama’s leadership and provide momentum for our Party.

With your support, Democrats will continue to put Americans back to work, strengthen our economy, invest in education and restore America’s leadership around the world.

WWW.DCCC.ORG

Contribute $3 or more before Midnight September 30th and your support will be matched dollar-for-dollar by a group of House Democrats.

You can help the President achieve his goals by supporting the DCCC’s Million Dollar Match campaign right now.

Thank you,

Madeleine Albright

P.S. Support the Million Dollar Match before September 30th. Remember, for every dollar you give, your support will be matched by generous Democrats with one dollar of their own. Contribute today >>

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

AFL – CIO

09/19/2011 Nativegrl77

Congress is back, but House Republicans are saying no to creating jobs.Instead, they are rushing to pass legislation that would let the Boeing Co. off the hook for its alleged violations of labor law. They’ve combined this get-out-of-jail-free card for Boeing with vicious attacks on workers’ rights.Hurry: A vote is expected as early as Thursday.

Pop quiz: What would happen if H.R. 2587—a bill that House Republicans plan to bring up for a vote as early as this Thursday—became law?

A. It would eliminate any remedy for alleged law-breaking by the Boeing Co.—which is accused of moving aircraft production away from its Washington Statefacility in retaliation for workers exercising their legal rights—before an ongoing trial can finish.B.It would gut our labor laws, so a company can never again face meaningful punishment for moving jobs to retaliate against workers who engage in perfectly legal behavior.C.It would show that a company with the right politician friends is above the law.D. All of the above.

If you answered D, you’re correct.Please help us stop these attacks on workers—combined with a get-out-of-jail-free card for Boeing—now. Click here to take action.Back in April, the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)—the federal agency tasked with protecting workers’ rights—took a routine step: enforcing a law that’s been on the books for more than 70 years.In America, no company is above the law.And on some things, the law is clear. For example, a company cannot retaliate against workers for exercising their legal rights by moving their jobs.When Boeing moved aircraft production away from its Washington State facility after workers exercised their legal right to strike, the board did its job: it investigated. And after examining the facts, the NLRB’s general counsel charged that Boeing illegally retaliated against its workers.

Rather than let the NLRB do its job, House Republicans are trying to let Boeing off the hook before their trial even finishes. They’ve already tried to interfere with the NLRB’s investigation and even threatened the agency’s general counsel. Now, they’re trying to pass a bill that both lets Boeing off the hook for alleged violations of workers’ rights and makes sweeping changes to the National Labor Relations Act that would result in serious, harmful changes to jobs and workers’ rights throughout the country.

Urge your representative to stop the partisan attacks on workers’ rights and create jobs for America.

Congress should be finding ways to work with the president to create jobs. But partisanship, led by tea party Republicans, has so dominated our national debate that many of our elected leaders are willing to ruin our economy to grab headlines and attention.

Instead of taking up bills that create jobs, House Republicans are once again pursuing a destructive political agenda. Of the many casualties, workers’ rights have climbed to the top of the list. It’s time for this to stop.

In Solidarity,

Manny Herrmann
Online Mobilization Coordinator, AFL-CIO

P.S. Here are just two examples of what life would look like for workers under the Republicans’ plan:

If a group of workers walked out of a plant because of unsafe working conditions, the company could decide to move the work and the jobs rather than fix the problem, and the NLRB would be powerless to protect the workers or their jobs.
If a group of women or African Americans joined together to protest race or sex discrimination by their employer, the company could simply transfer the work somewhere else, and the NLRB would be powerless to protect the workers.

Tell your representative that the Republican plans to attack workers’ rights for Boeing are unacceptable—it’s time to start creating jobs for America

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Who is Bob Dold? …Michael Langenmayr, Democracy for America

09/19/2011 Nativegrl77

Bob Dold is the weakest Republican running for reelection in 2012.

He’s from Illinois‘s tenth congressional district — the most Democratic district in the country represented by a Republican.

He’s a right-winger trying to sell himself as a moderate. He says he’s pro-choice, but voted to defund Planned Parenthood. He voted for Paul Ryan‘s plan to kill Medicare. He’s voted lockstep with John Boehner and the Tea Party majority to tear down the middle class and empower big corporations.

Karl Rove, the Koch brothers — they’re going to spend millions to keep Dold in office because they need rubber stamp congressmen like Dold to ram their big corporate agenda through Congress.

But their money can’t stand up to real people power and we can win with grassroots candidate Ilya Sheyman.

Please contribute $10 right now to help Ilya win in IL-10.

Ilya’s one of us. He’s a fighter. He’s a truth-teller. He’s a longtime DFA member.

He is a grassroots progressive and he’s putting together the sort of campaign that can beat a corporate rubber stamp like Dold — one fueled by volunteers on the ground, going door-to-door and making calls to voters across the district.

Ilya isn’t afraid to take on special interests and speak truth to power — and that’s the sort of Democrat we need more of in Washington.

Contribute $10 now to elect Ilya in Illinois.

Thank you for all that you do.

-Michael

Michael Langenmayr, Deputy Political Director
Democracy for America

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Weekly Address: Passing the American Jobs Act

09/19/2011 Nativegrl77

Sep 17, 2011 by whitehouse

President Obama discusses the need for Congress to pass the American Jobs Act to put more people back to work, and more money back in the pockets of people who are working.