Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The water has stolen everything


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“All my books are lost,” says 12-year-old Adil. “I am missing my school and home.”

Many survivors of the floods that devastated Pakistan recently didn’t have much to begin with and now, like Adil, they have nothing.

But you can give help and hope to children like Adil and so many others who face dire circumstances every single day in the 72 countries CARE serves.

The situation in Pakistan remains bleak. Most survivors of the floods live under open skies — with no sanitation and no clean water. This leaves them vulnerable to potentially fatal diseases, such as cholera and acute diarrhea.

In addition, many children and pregnant women aren’t getting enough to eat. Malnutrition is spreading.

CARE has been on the ground in Pakistan helping men, women and children with emergency relief, but we need your support to continue carrying out our disaster and long-term poverty-fighting programs around the world. Every single day, CARE works to address the root causes of poverty, including low-quality education, poor health care and hunger.

When you give to CARE, you open a world of possibilities for impoverished people everywhere. Let me share an example: With the generous support of friends like you, CARE was among the first responders to the earthquake in Haiti. Eight months after the quake, CARE continues to work with the people of Haiti to help rebuild their country — we’re reopening schools, setting up cash-for-work activities for women and providing counseling for children traumatized by the earthquake.

As you can see, the work we are doing in Pakistan, Haiti and the other countries CARE serves is vital to alleviating suffering and fighting poverty. And it’s only possible because of the generosity of supporters like you.

You can help by making a gift to CARE. You will be a proud partner in changing lives and helping children like Adil regain hope and overcome poverty.

Sincerely,

Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH
President and CEO, CARE

Congress in Session -9/13/10


The Senate Convenes today at 2:30pmET

following any Leader remarks, the Senate will proceed to a period of morning business until 3:30pm with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

At 3:30pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider the nomination of Jane Stranch, of Tennessee, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit. There will be 2 hours for debate with the time equally divided and controlled between Senators Leahy and Sessions, or their designees.

At 5:30pm on Monday, September 13, the Senate will proceed to vote on confirmation of the nomination of Jane Stranch to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit.

As a reminder, Senator Reid filed 4 cloture motions with respect to the Small Business Jobs bill (HR5297). The filing deadline for first degree amendments to HR5297 and the Reid for Baucus-Landrieu amendment #4594 (Substitute) is 3:00pm on Monday, September 13.
Votes:
230: Confirmation of Jane Stranch to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit; Confirmed: 71-21

The next meeting in the House will be on September 14, 2010 at 2:30

Monday mashup &some News


The President will be in WVA to talk about the economy.

Congress is back in Session for about a month and while there is so much on the table it is going to be very interesting to see what the Senate will consider as important to work on and what they will set aside before going on to campaign for the November elections.

The Senate convenes at 2:30pmET will debate and vote confirmation of a circuit judge for Tennessee then the Democratic Party will continue its efforts to help the Middle and Lower class create jobs with HR5297 …the Jobs Bill/small biz jobs bill.

Don’t let conservadem Members of Congress vote against the people !!! Ask Them will they pay for the continuation of the Bush tax cuts for the Wealthy?

This last weekend was full of News, anniversaries and celebrations. We finally decided to watch Spike Lees movie when the levees broke,” after avoiding it for a couple of weeks this weekend seemed like an appropriate time to view and confirm the time-line of events, see the interviews of the people who lived, live, work there and those that came to help but who have all felt the slap of reality.  I know and admit that people of all races, ages, class, religion and educational background felt the wrath of Katrina.  The ugly overwhelming fact remains that the huge percentage of the people were African Americans who not only felt the wrath of Katrina but were and now almost 10years later are still shut down told to shut up and are locked out of the loop of progress.

Though we really did not have to watch Spikes movie to know that the injustices that occurred in Katrina have yet to be resolved that the flooding viewed by some as just a storm compared to the BP disaster which is not only an outrageous comment but was made by a Public Servant who is suppose to be someone who works for all the people all Americans. The officials of the Gulf Coast in my opinion made obvious choices against the people. We may never know who first saw the potential use of such a disaster to get rid of project housing, social services for the poor and hope they decided not to come back. It is with great sadness to know anyone would be treated this way and to be honest this is how folks in Haiti were treated but come on the United States too! The possibilities of profits became the deal breaker for rebuilding housing on the Gulf Coast. The dollar signs in the eyes of officials every time they were interviewed was beyond offensive and when they showed the devastation each year the plan to rebuild started to sound like separating dark people from their land was definitely the final result. plain and simple

If you watch Spikes movie and everyone should because it serves as reminder, a documentation on how discrimination is handled not just in this 21st Century but on the down low. I was offended, surprised and outraged at how many groups had to come in to make local and or state Gulf Coast officials do the right thing. It would be stupid to say there has been no progress but that is a subjective comment when you find out that over 80% of the folks that have not come back are people of colour, disabled, and older definitely displaced folks with having had to leave homes built a hundred years ago. They were neighborhoods and yes communities located near beautiful land now empty of what was middle class,  moderate, low income and some were project housing now unavailable or priced to keep folks out. If you look at the film you see how a group of people had a secret development plan of building resorts type housing but at the cost of lives,  liberty, the pursuit of happiness and rights of those who used to live there.

Again, the various affected areas had what i believe as Republican Politicians with resorts on the brain instead of doing the right thing. There were folks like Gove Jindal who closed down and shut out social services. In my opinion it was a kind of  ethnic cleansing done on the down low in the name of previous plans to knock down project housing anyway. The movie in my opinion shows the viewer how viable these housing apartment buildings were but were demolished anyway and what followed was a green light to stop offering social services. It is discrimination by local government entities done without much notice by reporters. I watched the News and as the days months passed by, there was less and less News about the actual reasons or truth for why LA has given up rebuilding and now seem to be waiting out victims of Katrina. The idea that people with families ties of a hundred years plus could not come back unless they are willing to pay the new sum value of the land and area which now had a value of 3 times as much as it did is disturbing news to anyone with a lick of common sense.  The interviews of people who were paying 300-450 dollars for apartments are now listed at 800dollars are not only outrageous it is an issue of civil rights, housing and human rights legalities.

The movie, “When the levees broke,” by Spike Lee should be a reminder of what discrimination in the 21st Century looks like.  I was shocked at what happened without much TV coverage. I was upset that while so many people were yelling, screaming for help they were ignored and amazed at how and why folks engaged in complicit relationships were able to keep the truth away from the country. It is obvious that some relationships have come apart to an extent some people were more comfortable talking to Spike lee other relationships seem to be intact and a little dirty for me but even a child can see the truth has yet to be addressed.

The decisions made since the Katrina disaster have been by Republicans and the BP oil disaster decisions are being made by Republicans. When will people right of center get it. We are in trouble due to this Political Party and what better way to show the problems … watch “When the levees broke” and see separate and now  becoming more and more unequal in this 21st Century.

Other News …

**Reports are that Boehner is backing down from trying to use the Lower/ Middle Class to pay for the Bush tax cuts for the Wealthy…aren’t people listening? even Greenspan said they were wrong…

**Obama marks the beginning of this week as a celebration of Black Colleges

*The hiker is supposed to be released sometime this week with a 500thousand…something

**Imam is now considering options -possibly moving the islamic community center

**Clinton heads to Mideast

**Today starts the last season for the Oprah show

**US and Saudis near a deal on arms

**Congress is back in session -The Senate on Monday -The House on Tuesday

CSPAN …

Pres. Obama Remarks at Historically Black Colleges Reception Pres. Obama Remarks at Historically Black Colleges Reception

Colorado Senate Debate with Sen. Micheal Bennet (D) & Ken Buck (R) Colorado Senate Debate with Sen. Micheal Bennet (D) & Ken Buck (R)

Weekly Addresses Weekly Address

Be Heard -On Fox Prime Time


Media Matters

Next Tuesday, Media Matters for America is going on the air to let Fox viewers know about a story the network has largely kept them in the dark about: the $1 million donation to a Republican campaign arm by Fox’s parent company, News Corp.

We can’t let Fox continue to pose as a news network while functioning as a political operation. It starts by letting Fox viewers know just how much money the network they’re watching has dumped into campaigns to elect Republicans and defeat Democrats.

Fox News rejected the ad three times. Only after it was confronted by another news outlet did Fox agree to run it. You can help us put it on the air and offer 30 seconds of truth in the midst of Fox’s 24/7 propaganda machine.

It will cost approximately $35,000 to air the ad on The O’Reilly Factor next week. Hundreds like you have helped us raise the funds to air it. Will you put us over the top?

Thanks for your support.

Eric Burns
President,
Media Matters for America

a message from DFA


We face a radicalized Republican Party who wants to take back control of our country and turn it into a Palinesque nightmare. DFA members have chosen John Boehner and Mitch McConnell as the top ‘Villains’ of progressives in 2010. Washington pundits think Democrats could lose the House, the Senate or both in November and then these two Villains will come to power.

We’re not going to let that happen.

With only 51 days left until Election Day, the stakes couldn’t be higher. On Saturday, October 2nd — exactly one month from Election Day — we’re organizing a National Day of Action to volunteer for progressive candidates in your state. We’ll get together for a live nationwide conference call with Jim Dean and other special guests to get fired up and focused on a progressive message for victory. Afterward, we’ll knock on doors, make phone calls, attend a campaign rally… whatever volunteer activity you want to do for the candidate of your choice.

We’re not going to sit around and hope for change, we’re going to keep working to make it happen — but the key to all of it is you. We’ve set a goal of at least 10 Day of Action events in Washington. Can we count on you to host an event?

Sign up to help organize an event in Seattle right now.

All the DC pundits are bleating about our imminent defeat in November. But there’s one thing they don’t see in the polls or hear about in their media bubble – it’s you. It’s because of you that we stopped George W. Bush from privatizing Social Security in 2005, won control of Congress in 2006, and elected Barack Obama in 2008. The pundits got all of these wrong then and they’ll be wrong again this year.

But we’ve just got 51 days to make it happen. Winning means dealing a crushing defeat to the tea party crowd and emboldening those Democrats too afraid to stand on progressive principles. Losing means saying goodbye to progressive Heroes like Barbara Boxer, Russ Feingold and Alan Grayson… and all we’ll have left will be Villains like John Boehner and Mitch McConnell.

The stakes couldn’t be higher and we’re counting on you to step up and make a difference once again.

Sign up to help organize an event today and one of our National Field Organizers will contact you next week to work with you on your event.

Working together, we’ll win in November.

-Matt

Matt Blizek, Field Director
Democracy for America