Something very exciting is happening in a special election in Western New York.

A new poll shows Democrat Kathy Hochul surging to a dead heat in the most Republican district in New York. Kathy’s momentum is no coincidence. This is a direct response to her Republican opponent vowing to support the GOP’s plan to end Medicare as we know it, while preserving tax breaks for millionaires.

A win by Kathy would be a shocking blow to the Republicans’ extremist agenda.

That’s why Speaker John Boehner is desperately raising money to fund attack ads against Kathy. With the election in just 13 days, we must raise $10,000 in grassroots support so Kathy has what it takes to fight back.

http://www.dccc.org/page/m/1d63ca82/1b9dd8ab/4a4de9c1/4e0ce9fe/3423444470/VEsH/

Kathy is a fighter for jobs and someone who will never back down when it comes to helping hardworking middle class families. We need her in the House more than ever so she can stand up to the special interests and stop the GOP’s extremist agenda.

But she’s up against not one, but two deep-pocketed conservatives, including a Tea Party candidate who will spend whatever it takes on attack ads to win. And you know the GOP shadow groups are right behind them.

With the media watching Kathy’s momentum, we need the strongest possible show of grassroots support on her behalf.

http://www.dccc.org/page/m/1d63ca82/1b9dd8ab/4a4de9c1/4e0ce9fe/3423444470/VEsH/

Republicans sense that this race is slipping away from them. They also know that a grassroots-powered Democratic victory would mean the beginning of the end for their extremist agenda.

With this election just 13 days away, it’s now a dead heat. We must act now to put Kathy over the top.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

P.S. This is a race that will come down to the wire. With the world watching,

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13 Emergency savings tips … Bankrate.com

05/13/2011 Nativegrl77

Here are stories published today

Lucky 13 emergency savings strategies | 2011-05-13

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/financial-literacy/lucky-13-emergency-savings-strategies-1.aspx?ec_id=brmint_newsalert_20110513

You can control your finances and build up savings with these 13 easy-to-follow tips.

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New TV Ad

05/13/2011 Nativegrl77

It’s a dead heat. In a race that is already dealing a major blow to Speaker Boehner and House Republicans’ extreme agenda to end Medicare, all the polls show that Democrat Kathy Hochul is charging into the lead in the New York special election.

Now, shadowy, right-wing special interest groups are dumping money into this deep-red district to avoid a shocking defeat. We can’t let the right-wing control the airwaves in the critical closing days of this election.

http://www.dccc.org/page/m/1d63ca8d/1b9dd8ab/4ab9cecb/4e0ce9ca/3694608018/VEsH/

Make no mistake: it’s because of your hard work fighting against the Republicans’ plan to end Medicare as we know it, that this deep-red district is now competitive.

The fact that we now have polls showing Democrat Kathy Hochul narrowly leading shows what a huge liability ending Medicare and protecting Big Oil has become for Republicans. Even Speaker Boehner himself was forced to rush up this weekend for an event to try and bail the Republican out. Now they’ve called in Karl Rove and his shadowy swift-boat group to dump in hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Help us fight back against right-wing special interest attacks — Check out our new TV ad in the New York special election and contribute $3 or more to the DCCC today.

Don’t get me wrong, this is an uphill battle. This is a district that Carl Paladino, George Bush, and John McCain won despite losing big in the rest of New York. But we know that we have to go on offense to take back the majority and take the fight into their turf, even when it’s an uphill battle.

We owe it to ourselves to fight this fight and send a message loud and clear that Republicans completely overstepped on Medicare and are losing the independent voters and seniors who voted them into office last year. I hope you’ll join us in this fight. Contribute to the DCCC today >> http://www.dccc.org/page/m/1d63ca8d/1b9dd8ab/4ab9cecb/4e0ce9ca/3694608018/VEsC/

Thank you for your continued support,

Rep. Steve Israel

DCCC Chairman

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Debra Bowen is a progressive leader

05/13/2011 Nativegrl77

The CA-36 special primary election is just six days away and we need your help to make sure DFA-endorsed candidate Debra Bowen closes strong.

Debra is kicking her Get Out The Vote operation into high gear during the final four days of the election. But the success of this operation will depend on DFA members to step up and push progressive champion Debra Bowen over the top. Can you help deliver the resources Debra needs to win?

http://act.democracyforamerica.com/go/731?akid=779.1480546.-cc5wp&t=1

Debra has always run campaigns empowered by grassroots activists. In this race, over 90% of her contributions have been for less than $100, and over 80% of all contributions have come online.

But Debra’s opponent Janice Hahn is being boosted by $75,000 from an insurance industry outfit targeting Debra’s defeat. And according to the L.A. Times, about half of Hahn’s campaign contributions come from “lobbyists, developers, and others doing business with the city” — the ultimate City Hall insiders.

Debra is a progressive leader who has always put principle over politics. But to ensure victory on May 17th, we need to make sure Debra has the resources to finish her grassroots campaign strong.

Thank you for everything you do.

-Charles

Charles Chamberlain, Political Director

Democracy for America

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A national victory against coal …from Greenpeace

05/13/2011 Nativegrl77 1 Comment

For over 60 years, the coal-fired power plant in Salem Harbor, MA has been taking a toll on the community’s health by polluting the drinking water and poisoning the air.

But the community fought back.

And thanks to the hard work of local activists, it was announced this week that the Salem Harbor Generating Station is going to close. It’s a huge victory. Not just for the people of Massachusetts, but for activists in Colorado, Illinois, Pennsylvania and everywhere else who are working to shut down dirty coal plants in their communities.

Our campaign is just beginning. Greenpeace is going to continue to help these activists shut down the coal-fired power plants that are killing their communities.

However, they can’t win without strong health standards from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that limit pollution of toxins like mercury that come from coal-fired power plants. You have the power to make that happen by submitting a comment right now.

Help us close down even more dirty coal-fired power plants by submitting a comment to EPA now and urging them to strictly limit mercury and other toxic pollution from these plants.

www.greenpeaceusa.org

The EPA’s ability to protect American families from dangerous toxins like mercury is currently under attack by energy industry lobbyists and their friends in Congress. We have to speak up if we want to beat back these attacks and if we want more victories like the one this week in Salem Harbor. It’s as simple as that.

Right now, the coal industry doesn’t have to worry about the kids who develop asthma or the women put at risk of having a child with birth defects. Those costs are just passed on to the community. The EPA can change all that and put the cost of coal back onto the polluters responsible by limiting the pollution of toxins like mercury from these plants.

The comment period is only open for a short time. Submit a comment today.

It’s time to quit coal,

Kelly Mitchell

Greenpeace Coal Campaigner