Black History, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

CONGRESS


 

The Senate's side of the Capitol Building in DC.
The Senate’s side of the Capitol Building in DC. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Senate will convene at 2:00pm on Monday, April 22.

Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 5:30pm, with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

 

At 5:30pm, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S.743, Marketplace Fairness Act, and immediately proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed.

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April 2013
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Last Floor Action:4/18
2:56:55 P.M. – The House adjourned pursuant to a previous special order.

The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on April 19, 2013. 

11:00:36 A.M.   The House convened, starting a new legislative day.
11:00:54 A.M.   The Speaker designated the Honorable Thomas E. Petri to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.
11:01:15 A.M.   Today’s prayer was offered by the House Chaplain, Rev. Patrick J. Conroy.
11:02:36 A.M.   The Speaker announced approval of the Journal. Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Journal stands approved.
11:02:39 A.M.   PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG – The Chair led the House in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
11:02:45 A.M.   The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she had received the following message from the Secretary of the Senate on April 19, 2013 at 9:48 a.m.: That the Senate passed H.R. 1246, without amendment.
11:03:10 A.M.   The Speaker announced that the House do now adjourn pursuant to a previous special order. The next meeting is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on April 23, 2013.

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~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Duane Buck doesn’t deserve to die


Change.org

                                            I was a prosecutor in a case that used race-based testimony to sentence Duane Buck to death. Now, I’m calling for the state of Texas to spare his life and grant him a fair sentence.                                          

                                                                                                                                              —

In 1997, I was one of the prosecutors in a court case that used race-based testimony to sentence to death Duane Buck, who’s black.

At the time, I was an Assistant District Attorney in Harris County, Texas and Mr. Buck was being tried for murder. During the trial, an “expert” witness named Dr. Walter Quijano was permitted to testify that being black increases the likelihood of ‘future dangerousness’. That testimony in part led to the jury sentencing Mr. Buck to death.

Mr. Buck committed a terrible crime and deserves to be punished, but he does not deserve to be sentenced to death because of the color of his skin. That’s why I started a petition on Change.org calling on Harris County District Attorney Mike Anderson to allow Duane Buck a resentencing hearing so he can serve a sentence based on his crime and not his race. Click here to sign my petition now.

Three years after Mr. Buck’s trial, the Texas Attorney General actually promised that he’d get a new, fair sentencing hearing. This was along with six other men who were sentenced unfairly because of similar testimonies in their own trials. Those six other men have received their hearings, but not Mr. Buck.

I started my petition in the hopes that District Attorney Anderson will act to make sure that our justice system is not tainted by unconstitutional considerations of race — and that begins by having a new, color-blind sentencing hearing for Duane Buck. Please click here to sign my petition now, calling on District Attorney Mike Anderson to grant Duane Buck a resentencing hearing.

Thank you.

Linda Geffin Senior Assistant County Attorney Houston, Texas
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Judy Waxman, National Women’s Law Center


National Women's Law Center
Abortion opponents just won’t stop! In the past few years, they tried to restrict women’s reproductive health care at the federal level — again and again — but we joined with millions of people across the country to speak out, work hard and stop them in their tracks. When you get to the states, things are even worse — and the results are truly frightening.
Please help the Center fight back and protect women’s reproductive health — including access to abortion. Please donate $10 to support our work on these and so many other issues vital to women and families.
Honestly, I’m hopping mad — and here’s why:

  • In just the past few weeks, Arkansas and North Dakota passed bans severely limiting when you can get an abortion, and many other states are considering similar measures. Arkansas’s ban limits abortion at 12 weeks, while North Dakota’s goes even further, limiting abortion after just 6 weeks, a time when many women don’t even know they’re pregnant.
  • Nearly all private insurance plans include abortion coverage, but 22 states have banned this coverage and Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia are considering similar bans, threatening women’s health and well-being.
  • These attacks come after states ALREADY enacted the highest number of restrictions on women’s reproductive health care EVER in 2011 and 2012.

We can’t stand for this! Please donate $10 to support the Center’s work on reproductive health and so many other issues vital to women and families.
All these bans have one important thing in common — they take decision-making away from women and their families and put it in the hands of politicians. The last time we checked, only you know what’s best for your body, your family and your future. We need to put a stop to this, and with your help we will.
Please donate $10 to support our work on women’s reproductive health and so many other issues vital to women and families.
Thank you again for all the work you do — we know we can count on you in the fights ahead.
Sincerely,
Judy Waxman Judy Waxman Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights National Women’s Law Center    

P.S. Please join the fight — donate $10 to support the Center’s work on women’s reproductive health and so many other issues vital to women and families.

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