Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Bankrate.com


Here are stories published today

  5 financial blunders and how to fix them | 2011-03-31

It’s easy to make mistakes but hard to recognize them. Take these steps to recover. http://www.bankrate.com/finance/investing/5-bad-financial-decisions-and-how-to-recover-1.aspx?ec_id=brmint_newsalert_20110331

CD rates for March 31, 2011 | 2011-03-31

Here are the average CD rates from Bankrate‘s weekly survey of large banks and thrifts. http://www.bankrate.com/finance/cd/national-cd-rates-for-march-31-2011.aspx?ec_id=brmint_newsalert_20110331

National mortgage rates for March 31, 2011 | 2011-03-31

See rates from our survey of CDs, mortgages, home equity products, auto loans and credit cards.  http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/interest-rate-roundup-for-march-31-2011.aspx?ec_id=brmint_newsalert_20110331

Home equity loan rates for March 31, 2011 | 2011-03-31

Here are the average home equity rates from Bankrate’s weekly survey of large banks and thrifts. http://www.bankrate.com/finance/home-equity/national-home-equity-loan-rates-for-march-31-2011.aspx?ec_id=brmint_newsalert_20110331

Auto loan rates for March 31, 2011 | 2011-03-31

Here are the average auto loan rates from Bankrate’s weekly survey of large banks and thrifts. http://www.bankrate.com/finance/auto/national-auto-loan-rates-for-march-31-2011.aspx?ec_id=brmint_newsalert_20110331

The pros and cons of travel rewards cards | 2011-03-31

Some credit cards offer travel rewards points. Ponder these options before settling on one. http://www.bankrate.com/finance/smart-spending/the-pros-and-cons-of-travel-rewards-cards-1.aspx?ec_id=brmint_newsalert_20110331

Rule could make mortgages harder to get | 2011-03-31

If you think lending standards are tough now, check out what regulators want to do. http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/rule-could-make-mortgages-harder-to-get.aspx?ec_id=brmint_newsalert_20110331

  Credit card interest rates for March 31, 2011 | 2011-03-31 Here are the average credit card rates from Bankrate’s weekly survey of large banks and thrifts. http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/national-credit-card-rates-for-march-31-2011.aspx?ec_id=brmint_newsalert_20110331

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Climate change pushes Groundhog Day to January


The Union of Concerned Scientists and the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania announced today that Groundhog Day will be pushed forward eight days to January 25 in 2012 in recognition of the impact climate change has had in the region.

Spring Comes Eight Days Earlier

Groundhog Day will be pushed forward eight days in recognition of the impact climate change has had on the region.

The change is based on analysis by UCS scientists who found that, since 1997, spring has come an average of eight days earlier to western Pennsylvania.  http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=Oc_Z2zW4KEenBjrF0nMi9g..

“We hope that the change in date will bring needed attention to the consequences of climate change in Pennsylvania and the importance of investing in a clean energy economy,” said Dr. Phil DeGraeve, a climate scientist at Pennsylvania State University.

Read more about the analysis behind the Groundhog Day change and learn how various elected officials are reacting to the news.

http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=Oc_Z2zW4KEenBjrF0nMi9g..

Sincerely,

Michael Halpern

National Field Organizer

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Congress: In Session -the Republican led House -the Senate out until 4/5 -which Political Party works for”We the People”


The Senate Convenes at 2pmET April 5, 2011

Following any leader remarks, the Senate will proceed to a period of morning business until 4:30pm with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Following morning business, the Senate will the Senate proceed to Executive Session to consider Calendar #42, Jimmie V. Reyna, of Maryland, to be United States Circuit Judge with one hour for debate equally divided and controlled between Senators Leahy and Grassley.

5:30pm roll call vote on confirmation of Executive Calendar #42, Jimmie V. Reyna, of Maryland, to be United States Circuit Judge.

Additionally, Senators should expect 2 roll call votes in relation to H.R.4, 1099 repeal on Tuesday prior to the caucus meetings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CURRENT HOUSE FLOOR PROCEEDINGS

LEGISLATIVE DAY OF APRIL 1, 2011

112TH CONGRESS – FIRST SESSION

4:48 P.M. –

The House adjourned pursuant to a previous special order. The next meeting is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on April 4, 2011.

On motion to adjourn Agreed to by voice vote.

Mr. Burton (IN) moved that the House do now adjourn.

2:59 P.M. –

ONE MINUTE SPEECHES – The House proceeded with further one minute speeches.

H.R. 1255:

to prevent a shutdown of the government of the United States, and for other purposes

2:54 P.M. –

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On passage Passed by recorded vote: 221 – 202, 1 Present (Roll no. 224).

2:47 P.M. –

On motion to recommit with instructions Failed by the Yeas and Nays: 188 – 237 (Roll no. 223).

2:23 P.M. –

The previous question on the motion to recommit with instructions was ordered without objection.

2:13 P.M. –

DEBATE – The House proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Walz (MN) motion to recommit with instructions. The instructions contained in the motion seek to require the bill to be reported back to the House with an amendment that strikes all after the enacting clause and inserts a new text entitled “PROHIBITION ON PAY DURING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN”

2:12 P.M. –

Mr. Walz (MN) moved to recommit with instructions to House Administration.

2:11 P.M. –

The previous question was ordered without objection.

12:52 P.M. –

DEBATE – The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H.R. 1255.

Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 1255 with 1 hour of general debate. Motion to recommit allowed. Measure will be considered read. Bill is closed to amendments. The resolution waives all points of order against consideration of the bill.

Considered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 194.

H. Res. 194:

providing for consideration of the bill ( H.R. 1255) to prevent a shutdown of the government of the United States, and for other purposes

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to by recorded vote: 229 – 187 (Roll no. 222).

12:46 P.M. –

On ordering the previous question Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 230 – 187 (Roll no. 221).

12:39 P.M. –

Considered as unfinished business.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS – The Chair announced that the unfinished business was the question of ordering the previous question on H.Res. 194 which had been debated earlier and on which further proceedings had been postponed.

H.R. 658:

to amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize appropriations for the Federal Aviation Administration for fiscal years 2011 through 2014, to streamline programs, create efficiencies, reduce waste, and improve aviation safety and capacity, to provide stable funding for the national aviation system, and for other purposes

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On passage Passed by recorded vote: 223 – 196 (Roll no. 220).

12:33 P.M. –

On motion to recommit with instructions Failed by the Yeas and Nays: 184 – 235 (Roll no. 219).

12:17 P.M. –

The previous question on the motion to recommit with instructions was ordered without objection.

12:08 P.M. –

DEBATE – The House proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Loretta Sanchez motion to recommit with instructions. The instructions contained in the motion seek to require the bill to be reported back to the House with an amendment adding Title XIII- Security of Highest-Risk Airline Passenger Flights. A point of order was reserved, but was subsequently removed.

Ms. Sanchez, Loretta moved to recommit with instructions to Transportation.

12:07 P.M. –

The House adopted the amendment in the nature of a substitute as agreed to by the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union.

The previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.

12:06 P.M. –

The House rose from the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union to report H.R. 658.

On agreeing to the Shuster amendment Agreed to by recorded vote: 215 – 209 (Roll no. 218).

12:00 P.M. –

On agreeing to the LaTourette amendment Failed by recorded vote: 206 – 220 (Roll no. 217).

11:53 A.M. –

On agreeing to the Sessions amendment Failed by recorded vote: 183 – 238 (Roll no. 216).

11:46 A.M. –

On agreeing to the Schiff amendment Failed by recorded vote: 178 – 243 (Roll no. 215).

11:39 A.M. –

On agreeing to the Pearce amendment Failed by recorded vote: 207 – 215 (Roll no. 214).

11:12 A.M. –

The House resolved into Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for further consideration.

Considered as unfinished business.

H. Res. 194:

providing for consideration of the bill ( H.R. 1255) to prevent a shutdown of the government of the United States, and for other purposes

11:11 A.M. –

POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on H.Res. 194, the Chair put the question on ordering the previous question on H.Res. 194 and by voice vote, announced that the ayes had prevailed. Ms. Slaughter demanded the yeas and nays and the Chair postponed further proceedings on ordering the previous question on H.Res. 194 until later in the legislative day.

10:03 A.M. –

DEBATE – The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H. Res. 194.

Considered as privileged matter.

10:02 A.M. –

On motion to consider the resolution Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 219 – 172 (Roll no. 213).

9:16 A.M. –

QUESTION OF CONSIDERATION – Mr. Ellison stated that H.Res. 194 violated section 426(a) of the Congressional Budget Act by imposing an unfunded mandate. Subsequently, the Chair noted that the required threshold of identifying the specific language in question had been met, and the House proceeded with 20 minutes of debate on the question of consideration, after which, the Chair would put the question to wit: Will the House now consider the resolution?

9:15 A.M. –

Mr. Woodall moved to consider the resolution.

9:02 A.M. –

ONE MINUTE SPEECHES – The House proceeded with one minute speeches which by direction of the Chair, would be limited to 5 per side of the aisle.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – The Chair designated Mr. Heinrich to lead the Members in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

9:01 A.M. –

The Speaker announced approval of the Journal. Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Journal stands approved.

9:00 A.M. –

Today’s prayer was offered by the House Chaplain, Rev. Daniel Coughlin.

The House convened, starting a new legislative day.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

BUDGET: Continuing Mis-Appropriation


The Progress Report

The battle over the 2011 federal budget has degenerated into a game in which Republicans move the parameters of negotiations in order to slash ever deeper into programs which aid middle-class Americans and others in need, while also targeting measures that support the economic recovery. So far, a series of continuing resolutions have provided temporary stop-gap funding, thus warding off a shutdown, but that option appears spent. On Tuesday, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) said, “Time is up here,” and that he would not support “a short-term CR without a long-term commitment.” The question of budget riders is also coming to a head, with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) flatly refusing to allow Republican provisions that would defund health care reform and Planned Parenthood, among other programs. Meanwhile, Democrats offer increasing capitulations on the budget number, chasing the tail of Republican demands. The outlines of a possible deal have emerged, but if that falls through, then the threat of a government shutdown is waiting in the wings. Perhaps summing up the sentiments best, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) reassured nervous Republicans by bluntly asserting that, if they hold the line, “We’re gonna kick their ass.”

UNPOPULIST REVOLT: The strange saga of the 2011 budget began with a February proposal by the House Republicans to cut $32 billion relative to current spending levels. This fell short of the cuts originally demanded by the incoming freshman Tea Partiers, but at the time, even the Republican leadership did not have the stomach for such extreme reductions. Tea Party congressmen, apparently unfazed by whatever concerns were holding back their leadership, forced the Republicans to pass a budget, H.R. 1, a budget with $57 billion in cuts. In fact, the Tea Party stance has become so unforgiving that a strange good-cop-bad-cop split has emerged in which Eric Cantor has begun parroting the Tea Party line while John Boehner has presented the face of negotiation, attempting to work around the extremists in his own party. As for the Democrats, they understandably balked at the $57 billion figure, and along with the White House, have floated a compromise offer of approximately $30 billion in further cuts. But this does not appear sufficient to satisfy the Republicans’ far right. Nor has the Democrats’ proposal to expand the cuts beyond non-defense discretionary spending made much headway. One top Republican aide went so far as to state, “This debate has always been about discretionary spending — not autopilot ‘mandatory’ spending or tax hikes.”

BLEEDING THE MOST VULNERABLE: Republicans are singling out non-defense discretionary spending, which provides the most support to the middle-class. The cuts in the H.R. 1 slash funding for transportation infrastructure, workplace safety, regulation of commodity and energy speculation, and inspections for food, drugs, and consumer products. They also bite deeply into security for railroads, ports, subways and air travel, cut $1.3 billion from local law enforcement, reduce funds for drinking-water infrastructure, threaten to deny 9.4 million individuals Pell grants, and even cut the budget for programs to counter the international proliferation of nuclear weapons. As for the poor, a recent report by the poverty reduction campaign Half In Ten found within H.R. 1 a laundry list of assaults on our society’s most vulnerable members. They include: denying 10,000 low-income veterans housing vouchers and cutting off 218,000 low-income children from early learning opportunities provided by Head Start. Job training and other employment services for 8 million people are also eliminated, as are hundreds of millions of dollars for assistance to dislocated workers, career pathway grants for community colleges, low-income community development, FEMA’s emergency food and shelter funds, community health centers, prenatal and postnatal care for low-income women, and preventative health care for low-income families. And all this while corporate profits are near record highs, the richest fifth of Americans lay claim to half the nation’s income, and unemployment remains at 9 percent. In fact, Half In Ten’s report concluded the GOP‘s cuts could push the unemployment rate back up to 10 percent, Goldman Sachs economists predicted a 1.5 to 2 percentage point drop in economic growth, and Moody’s Mark Zandi predicted 400,000 fewer jobs by the end of 2011 if cuts were enacted.

THE AGONY AND THE IRONY: As of this writing, hints have emerged that negotiations between Republicans and Democrats may have reopened over the $30 billion figure, placing the budget right back where the Republicans had originally proposed. But even $30 billion in cuts would still deal a severe blow to the American economy, the middle-class and millions of the country’s least fortunate citizens — all while leaving intact enormously expensive tax cuts for the wealthy and tax expenditures which have allowed major American corporations to get away with paying to taxes at all. As such, even this “relatively” mild outcome would hurt too many Americans. A sound alternative put forward by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), which would have attempted to reset the budget debates for 2011, 2012 and beyond by opening up other spending cuts and revenue increases as options, has been left on the cutting room floor. And in a bitter irony, the Democrats’ willingness to bend over backwards has thoroughly put the lie to what has been one of the Republicans’ main talking points: that if a shutdown does occur, it will be due to the Democrats’ intransigence.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

RAN:Against all odds -Rebecca Tarbotton, Rainforest Action Network


Some days I feel like the impossible is happening right in front of my eyes. Against insurmountable odds, small groups of people really can make incredible change.

Less than a year ago—with you by our side—RAN took on the U.S. children’s publishing industry. We confronted massive, well established publishers, like Simon & Schuster and Penguin. Sure, these publishers have a couple hundred times our staff and resources—but that’s never stopped RAN from taking on a fight.

Together, we got the top eight publishers in the country to make significant commitments to protect Indonesia‘s rainforests. We are winning.

That’s the difference your support makes—and that’s why I’m asking you to show that support today by making a donation to RAN.

We’ve just got two stubborn publishers left to go in this fight—Disney and HarperCollins. Ironic that the companies that have profited from The Jungle Book and The Giving Tree are the last ones left standing in the fight to get rainforest destruction out of kids’ books. We need your support today to tackle these final contenders.

I know we’re making a difference, and I know it’s because of you. I can’t actually express just how much your support means to Rainforest Action Network and the survival of forests around the world. So I’ll just keep it simple. Thank you.

For the planet,

 Rebecca Tarbotton

Executive Director