~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

FREE MARISSA NOW !

03/18/2014 Nativegrl77

Florida State Attorney Angela Corey wants to send Marissa Alexander — a domestic violence survivor and Black mother of three — to prison for the rest of her life.

Tell Gov. Rick Scott to suspend Angela Corey and condemn the charges against Marissa:

Florida State Attorney Angela Corey is best known for failing to secure murder convictions for the killers of Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis. Now, she intends to send Marissa Alexander to prison for 60 years — for firing a warning shot in self defense to stop her abusive husband.¹

In 2012, Marissa was unjustly sentenced to 20 years in prison, and after immense public outrage by Black folks and our allies around the country, she won her appeal and was set free last September.² Rejecting persistent calls to drop the case once and for all, Corey is ramping up her prosecution. It’s cruel and unacceptable. Now is our time to make it clear to Gov. Scott that national outrage over Marissa’s case is growing and unless he takes action to hold Corey accountable, there will be a political price to pay in his tight re-election campaign for Governor.

Demand that Governor Rick Scott suspend Angela Corey from office, condemn the charges brought against Marissa, and defend the just application of the law. It only takes a moment.

Known as the “killingest prosecutor,” Angela Corey has a long legacy of biased and overly harsh prosecutions when the defendant is Black.³ Over the past 5 years, Corey has sent 21 people to death row — more than any other FL prosecutor — 66% of which have been Black despite the fact that Black people account for only 16% of Corey’s district.⁴ Additionally, Corey’s refusal to acknowledge racial bias in the murder trials of George Zimmerman and Michael Dunn led to accusations of prosecutorial misconduct including withholding evidence, failing to prepare key witnesses, and ultimately derailing the case.⁵

Florida’s constitution gives Governor Scott the power and responsibility to intervene and ensure justice for Marissa and Florida as a whole.⁶ Black women are significantly more likely to be convicted for defending themselves against an abuser, and as long as Corey remains at her post we can expect Florida’s criminal justice system to continue to fail Black survivors of violence.⁷ By demanding that Gov. Scott hold Corey accountable for her actions and increase political pressure to free Marissa, we can take important steps to move forward a national conversation on the ways in which Black people are mistreated in our criminal justice system — and secure systemic change.

Please join us in demanding that Gov. Rick Scott suspend Angela Corey from her position and condemn the charges against Marissa Alexander.

Thanks and Peace,

–Rashad, Matt, Arisha, William, Lyla and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team March 17th, 2014

Help support ColorOfChange’s campaign to hold Angela Corey accountable by contributing today.

References

Image art by DignidadRebelde.com

1. “Marissa Alexander’s sentence could triple in ‘warning-shot’ case,” The Florida Times-Union, 03-01-14 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3359?t=9&akid=3336.1174326.lLcS3M

2. See reference 1.

3. “Florida’s killingest prosecutor,” Washington Post, 03-13-14 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3361?t=11&akid=3336.1174326.lLcS3M

4. See reference 4.

5. “Zimmerman Prosecutors Duck the Race Issue,” The New York Times, 07-15-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3366?t=13&akid=3336.1174326.lLcS3M

6. “Constitution of the State of Florida” http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3374?t=15&akid=3336.1174326.lLcS3M

7. “Women’s Experiences of Abuse as a Risk Factor for Incarceration,” VAWNet.org, 12-01-02 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3373?t=17&akid=3336.1174326.lLcS3M

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Overtime pay protections … a great year of ACTION

03/18/2014 Nativegrl77

In this week’s address, President Obama highlighted the action he took this week to reward hard work by strengthening overtime pay protections. As part of this year of action, the President has ordered the Secretary of Labor to modernize our country’s overtime rules to ensure that millions of American workers are paid a fair wage for a hard day’s work.While our economy is moving forward, the middle class and those fighting to get into it are still struggling and too many Americans are working harder than ever just to keep up, let alone get ahead. So, in consultation with workers and business, the Obama administration will update and simplify the rules to reward hard work and responsibility.

Click here to watch this week’s Weekly Address.

Weekly Wrap Up

Between Two Ferns: POTUS EditionIf you’ve been living under a rock, you might not know that President Obama sat down between two ferns to talk health care, Bradley Cooper, basketball, and more with Zach Galifianakis.

The President didn’t hold back in the no-holds-barred interview. If you haven’t already seen the special episode of “Between Two Ferns,” or if you just want to watch it again, check it out on our blog.

On Thursday, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the Department of Labor to update and modernize the nation’s overtime pay system.

The new system will ensure that millions of our nation’s salaried workers will have the protections of overtime pay.

Jennifer Lopez walked at eight months, and was climbing out of her crib at a year old. Alicia Keys was “an old soul” who could hear a song once and then play it. Jonah Hill flooded his elementary school. They also all thought they were invincible, like most young people do. How do we know? Their moms told us.

Sharon Feldstein, Patsy Noah, Terria Joseph, and Guadalupe Rodriguez (otherwise known as the moms of Jonah Hill, Adam Levine, Alicia Keys, and Jennifer Lopez) recently sat down to share why, as mothers, they think it’s so important that everyone — and especially young people — make sure they’re covered.

President Obama met with Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk of Ukraine earlier this week. The two leaders discussed finding a peaceful resolution to Russia’s ongoing military intervention in Crimea that would respect Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity.

They also discussed support that the international community can provide to help Ukraine confront its economic challenges, and the importance of uniting Ukraine and working to fulfill the aspirations of the Ukrainian people as they prepare for May presidential elections.

As always, to see even more of this week’s events, watch the latest episode of West Wing Week:

WATCH NOW

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Comcast/Time Warner Cable

03/18/2014 Nativegrl77

Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota

You have a minute to watch a really important video?
Take a second to watch Al’s video on how bad a Comcast/Time Warner Cable acquisition would be.

Al knows this deal would likely drive up costs, drive down service quality, and result in even less choice for consumers.

And he knows you’re with him.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

All Good Things Must Come to an End

03/18/2014 Nativegrl77

Including Your Daily Fix of On This Day

This will be the last week you will receive On This Day email updates. A+E Networks has partnered with Say Media to re-launch Biography.com. While you will no longer receive the On This Day email, you can still find out who was born on your birthday and discover fascinating stories about people who have shaped our world on the ALL NEW Biography.com.

Want more? Sign up for the People You Need to Know weekly email and get exclusive celebrity interviews, features about famous people from past to present, famous lookalike photo galleries and more

subscribe to People You Need to Know.

Black History

Senate CONGRESS 3/18 House

03/18/2014 Nativegrl77

The Senate will meet on the following dates at the following times for pro forma sessions only with no business conducted:

– Friday, March 14^th at 10:30am

– Tuesday, March 18^th at 10:30am and

– Friday, March 21^st at 9:00am.

The Senate will convene at 2:00pm on Monday, March 24, 2014.

Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S.2124, the Ukraine Act.

At 5:30pm, there will be a roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S.2124.

As a reminder to all Senators, on Thursday, March 13^th, cloture was filed on the following items in the following order:

– Motion to proceed to Calendar #329, S.2124, a bill to support sovereignty and democracy in Ukraine, and for other purposes.- Executive Calendar #581, Christopher Reid Cooper, of D.C., to be U.S. District Judge for D.C.

– Executive Calendar #582, M. Douglas Harpool, of Missouri, to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Missouri

– Executive Calendar #583, Gerald Austin McHugh, Jr., of Pennsylvania, to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and

– Executive Calendar #584, Edward G. Smith, of Pennsylvania, to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

As a reminder when cloture is filed sequentially on several items, the Senate will consider one motion at a time. If cloture is invoked on the motion to proceed to S.2124 and once the motion to proceed is adopted (30 hours after cloture is invoked) or if cloture is not invoked, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session and vote on the next motion to invoke cloture on the Cooper nomination.

If cloture is invoked on any of the US District Judge nominations, there will be up to 2 hours of debate equally divided and controlled on the nomination prior to confirmation of the nomination.

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Last Floor Action:
1:03:32 P.M. – The Speaker announced that
the House do now adjourn pursuant to section 3(b) of H. Res. 515. The next
meeting is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on March 21, 2014.

Last Floor Action:
1:11:06 P.M. – The House adjourned
pursuant to a previous special order.

The next meeting is scheduled for 1:00
p.m. on March 18, 2014.

1:00:19 P.M.		The House convened, starting a new legislative day.
1:00:25 P.M.		The Speaker designated the Honorable Thomas E. Petri to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.
1:00:54 P.M.		Today’s prayer was offered by the House Chaplain, Rev. Patrick J. Conroy.
1:02:07 P.M.		The Chair announced that pursuant to section 3(a) of H. Res. 515, the Journal of the last day’s proceedings was approved.
1:02:25 P.M.		PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – The Chair led the House in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
1:03:32 P.M.		The Speaker announced that the House do now adjourn pursuant to section 3(b) of H. Res. 515.The next meeting is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on March 21, 2014.