Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

A massive game of chicken

12/15/2010 Nativegrl77

I am angry and frustrated that national Republicans, yet again, played political games and held the middle class hostage to extend tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans who need them the least. It is irresponsible, selfish, and wrong.

At the end of the day, I voted for this tax package to protect middle-class families from a tax hike while extending unemployment benefits for 13 months, continuing the sales tax deduction, cutting payroll taxes, and doing everything we can to create jobs.

But it came at tremendous cost.

So I want you to join me in telling Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, House Republican Leader John Boehner, and their right-wing colleagues that we won’t forget how they put their wealthy special interest backers ahead of the national interest and ahead of hard-working families all across America -– and we’re going to hold them accountable.

Click here to sign my open letter to Senator McConnell, Representative Boehner, and the Republican Party now -– and join me in committing to repealing these wasteful tax cuts for the wealthy as soon as we can!

While Democrats offered plans to extend middle-class tax cuts for more than 98% of all Americans, Representative Boehner, Senator McConnell, and their right-wing colleagues refused.

Quite simply, they were willing to play a massive game of chicken with the American people and let all the tax cuts expire unless they got billions of dollars to funnel back to their wealthy corporate backers.

There’s no doubt about it: This package will help millions of hard-working Americans who are doing everything they can to get by in these tough times and keep more of their hard-earned money. And it will stop Republicans from cold-heartedly cutting off unemployment benefits to people who are fighting to find jobs, keep their homes, and feed their families during the holidays.

But, to overcome Republican obstruction and selfishness, helping these middle-class families required an unnecessary and irresponsible tax giveaway for the very wealthiest Americans who aren’t facing the same challenges.

It’s outrageous.

Click here to sign my open letter to Senator McConnell, Representative Boehner, and the Republican Party now — and tell them we’ll hold them accountable for their irresponsibility!

I’m so thankful that by extending middle-class tax cuts, continuing the sales tax deduction, and extending unemployment insurance that we’ll be helping middle-class families and getting our economy back on track.

But I won’t forget the price that national Republicans made us pay to do the right thing.

And, with your help, we’ll roll back these irresponsible Bush tax cuts for the wealthy at the earliest possible opportunity.

Thanks for standing with me and speaking out.

Sincerely,

Patty Murray
U.S. Senator

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Two more banks move mountains

12/15/2010 Nativegrl77

Tell PNC and UBS to go all the way and stop financing MTR

Two of the largest remaining financiers of mountaintop removal (MTR) coal mining have announced that they are taking a step in the right direction to end the devastating practice of blowing up mountaintops and poisoning drinking water for coal.

Pennsylvania-based PNC and Swiss banking giant UBS have both announced policies that will limit their funding of MTR.

PNC and UBS are following in the footsteps of six other banking giants–Bank of America, Citi, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Credit Suisse—that many of you helped push in the right direction on MTR financing over the last two years.

Though this decision does not mean an immediate end to the financing of mountaintop mining, we are encouraged to see PNC and UBS take this step forward. Now let’s get ’em to go all the way!

Join us in urging PNC and UBS to completely cut all financing of mountaintop mining companies. Once your signatures are in, we’ll deliver your demands to PNC headquarters in Pittsburgh, as well as UBS headquarters in both Connecticut and Zurich. Sign this petition today!

Thanks for moving mountains in the banking world with us so that Appalachia’s mountains can stay right where they belong.

		For the mountains,
		Amanda Starbuck, Annie Sartor and Scott Parkin Global Finance Campaign Team

~ Culture & History, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Support NMAAHC …National Museum of African American History and Culture

12/14/2010 Nativegrl77

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Membership Department
P.O. Box 96832
Washington, DC 20090-6832

For Correspondence:
P.O. Box 37012 MRC 509
Washington, DC 20013-7012

AAHCmember@si.edu
nmaahc.si.edu
© 2010 Smithsonian Institution

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Help Us Protect Against New Attacks on HCR – Your Gift Matched

12/14/2010 Nativegrl77

You have to wonder — which part of the landmark health care law do they want to repeal?

Is it the part that ends the practice of charging women higher health insurance premiums than men?

Or perhaps it’s the part that bans the practice of denying coverage to rape victims because insurers consider rape and domestic violence to be “pre-existing conditions?”

This year’s landmark law was an urgent and long-overdue step forward. And we’re not going to let it fall victim to partisan politics.

With your help, we can defend our gains — and make new progress — for women and families in 2011.

Please make an urgent contribution to the Center’s year-end campaign — every dollar you donate will be matched dollar for dollar by our Board of Directors, up to a total of $60,000.

Last year, Congress considered ways to fix our broken health care system, and the Center went to work. We sought to stop insurers from charging women higher premiums than men. We sought to require insurers to provide insurance to 32 million Americans who had none. And we sought to end the trauma of women being denied coverage by insurance companies that consider Cesareans, domestic violence and rape to be “pre-existing conditions.”

We researched and documented the discrimination women face. We put women’s health needs front and center through our attention-grabbing “Being a Woman Is Not a Pre-existing Condition” campaign. We provided expert testimony on Capitol Hill documenting the inequities and discrimination that women faced every day as they sought quality health care for themselves and their families.

And with the help of so many people like you, we won.

The health care law was the culmination of years of work by the Center and its allies — documenting the abuses by insurance companies, organizing policy advocates, activating supporters, and building Congressional support Member by Member.

With your help, we will carry on the fight for women and families in America — in the workplace, in the classroom, on the soccer field, and in the doctor’s office.

And until December 31, every dollar you donate will be matched dollar for dollar by our Board of Directors, up to a total of $60,000.

On behalf of women and families everywhere, thank you for your generous help.

Sincerely,

Nancy Duff Campbell
Co-President
National Women’s Law Center

Marcia Greenberger
Co-President
National Women’s Law Center

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Dear Senators: Patty Murray,Maria Cantwell and Rep.McDermott

12/14/2010 Nativegrl77

Dear Senate Democratic members of Congress you say you are on our side…

“…a vexing question that we’ve got to address.”
Of the more than 15 million Americans out of work, 1.5 million have exhausted all four
tiers of state and Federal unemployment insurance benefits. These men and women are
called the 99ers, and the President’s Council of Economic Advisers estimates that their
ranks will grow by an additional four million by the end of next year.
The job creation engines that power America’s economy are running idle. This chart shows
the unprecedented gap between the number of people looking for work, and the number
of job openings across the country.
In a recent interview, Austan Goolsbee, chairman of the CEA, referred to the problem of
the 99ers as “a vexing question that we’ve got to address.”
Unfortunately, the recent framework deal struck between President Obama and Senate
Republicans does not address the question. While it does fund a temporary extension of
unemployment insurance, it limits recipients to 99 weeks of benefits.
We’re asking you, our members of Congress, to address this vexing question.
We’re asking you to extend a lifeline to the men and women of this country who have been
left destitute in the wake of this recession.
We’re asking you to prevent four million workers and their families from joining the ranks
of the 99ers.
Please eliminate the 99 week restriction
on unemployment benefits.
Our nation’s job crisis didn’t just disappear after 99 weeks. The lifeline that could keep
millions of people out of poverty can’t just disappear after 99 weeks, either