~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Congress: Republican led House – the Senate … resume consideration of S.1867, the Department of Defense Authorization Act.


The Senate will convene at 1:00pm on Monday, November 28, 2011. Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of S.1867, the Department of Defense Authorization Act.

At 5:00pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider Calendar #270, the nomination of Christopher Droney, of Connecticut, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit with 30 minutes of debate equally divided and controlled between Senators Leahy and Grassley or their designees. Upon the use or yielding back of time (at approximately 5:30pm), the Senate will conduct a roll call vote on confirmation of the Droney nomination.

Additional roll call votes in relation to amendments to the DoD Authorization act are possible Monday evening.

Following Leader remarks this afternoon, Senator Reid filed cloture on S.1867, Department of Defense Authorization. The Senate is now considering the DoD Authorization bill for debate only until 5:00pm.

At 5:00pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider the nomination of Christopher Droney, of Connecticut, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit. There will be up to 30 minutes for debate prior to a vote on confirmation of the nomination.

As a result, at approximately 5:30pm today the Senate will proceed to a roll call vote on confirmation of the Droney nomination.

5:33pm The Senate began a roll call vote on confirmation of the nomination of Christopher Droney, of CT, to be US Circuit Judge for the 2nd Circuit; Confirmed: 88-0

By unanimous consent, the McConnell for Kirk amendment #1084 (Iran Sanctions) and the Menendez amendment #1292 (Iran Sanctions) were withdrawn and the Menendez-Kirk amendment #1414 (Iran Sanctions) was called up. Further, notwithstanding cloture being invoked, if invoked, at a time to be determined by the Majority Leader, after consultation with the Republican Leader, and prior to passage of the Defense Authorization bill, there will be up to 1 hour of debate equally divided in the usual form on the Menendez-Kirk amendment, prior to a vote in relation to the amendment. No amendments, motions or points of order are in order to the amendment prior to the vote other than budget points of order and the applicable motions to waive.

The Leahy amendment #1072 (National Guard) was passed by voice vote.

WRAP UP …

The Senate stands adjourned until 10:00am on Tuesday, November 29. Following any Leader remarks, there will be a period of morning business for 1 hour, with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each. The Majority will control the first 30 minutes and the Republicans will control the final 30 minutes. Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of S. 1867, the Department of Defense Authorization Act. When the Senate resumes the DoD Authorization bill, Senator Udall (CO) will be recognized to speak.

The Senate will recess from 12:30 until 2:15pm to allow for the weekly caucus meetings.

The filing deadline for first degree amendments to the Department of Defense Authorization Act is 2:30pm on Tuesday.

Wrap Up

Legislative:

The Senate began the Rule 14 process on S.1817, the Middle Class Tax Cut Act of 2011 (Casey)

Executive:

Confirmed the nomination of Christopher Droney, of CT, to be US Circuit Judge for the 2nd Circuit; Confirmed: 88-0

————————————————————————-

The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on November 29, 2011.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Getting the facts straight on regulation

2 Comments

 a Bloomberg News analysis found that the Obama administration has passed fewer regulations than George W. Bush had at this point in his presidency — and on top of that, they’ve come at far lower costs to the economy than the annual high mark for regulatory costs set by the first President Bush, or regulatory costs in President Reagan‘s last year for that matter.

It’s funny, because a favorite theme from Republicans these days is that the President is passing an exorbitant number of regulations at crippling costs. John Boehner has said it’s “misguided” for the President to be “imposing so many new rules with such enormous costs.” Rep. Eric Cantor has said President Obama should “reevaluate his position on regulations.”

This news kind of makes all those claims about “job-crushing government regulations” seem like what they are: political talking points with no basis in the truth.

Let’s take a quick look at what this administration has actually done regulation-wise:

— President Obama has taken huge steps to reduce regulatory burdens and costs, and to make regulations more transparent. He signed a landmark executive order requiring agencies to develop tools to cut ineffective, burdensome regulations; issued a memorandum directing agencies to provide taxpayers with easy, comprehensive access to regulatory information; and has, for the first time ever, required those agencies to actually engage with the folks who would be affected by a potential regulation before they propose it.

— This administration has made it a priority to do away with the burdens of unnecessary regulations. So far during this administration’s tenure, tens of millions of hours of regulation-related paperwork have been eliminated, saving businesses hundreds of millions in related costs. And the President initiated a plan to roll back hundreds of burdensome, unnecessary regulations – all told, this overhaul will save businesses more than $10 billion in the next five years. An example of one of the regulations getting cut? An EPA regulation defining milk as an “oil.” This change is going to save the dairy industry $1.4 billion in the next decade.

— The regulations that the President has put in place have filled gaps, closed loopholes, and protected taxpayers. Wall Street reform closed the regulatory gaps that allowed banks to grow “too big to fail” in the first place. And it puts consumer protections in place to make sure financial institutions can’t continue the deceptive and abusive practices of the past — shifting interest rates, unfair late fees, and other hidden charges.

Here’s what it comes down to: This administration is in favor of smart regulations that protect middle-class families and consumers, and against burdensome ones that don’t do anything but waste time and taxpayers’ money.

And this campaign is committed to spreading the truth — not baseless attacks. So help us do just that: Get the word out about how wrong Republicans are on the President’s regulatory record.

Share this article on Twitter: http://my.barackobama.com/Bloomberg-Analysis-TW

Or, just forward this email.

Thanks,

Jen

Jen O’Malley Dillon
Deputy Campaign Manager
Obama for America

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Cage-Free Egg McMuffins …Stephanie Feldstein, Change.org


Change.org
 
 
 

A shocking undercover video released on Friday reveals gruesome and scary conditions in the production of McDonald’s Egg McMuffins.

Tell McDonald’s to stop torturing chickens and switch to cage-free eggs

 

The video is hard to watch. Chicks’ beaks are seared off. Male chicks are tossed in plastic bags to suffocate. Hens live out their entire lives in wire battery cages, packed wing to wing. And dead chickens are left to rot in the cages that serve as living quarters for remaining chickens. Outside of these standard operations, staff members are shown swinging a bird around by its feet and crushing a chick alive.

Mercy For Animals is the group that carried out the undercover investigation. Now, it has started a petition on Change.org to get McDonald’s to abandon these kinds of cruel and inhumane practices altogether by going cage-free. Will you sign Mercy For Animals’ petition to get McDonald’s to commit to purchasing 100% cage-free eggs in the US?

Right after the video aired on Friday, McDonald’s cut ties with Sparboe Farms, whose facilities and staff in Iowa, Minnesota and Colorado are documented in the investigation. But cutting ties with Sparboe Farms won’t end the torture of chickens for Egg McMuffins. The kind of abhorrent conditions at Sparboe are actually standard among battery cage egg suppliers. The only way McDonald’s can guarantee its eggs aren’t produced in the same conditions is to go 100% cage-free.

And McDonald’s has already done this for their locations in Europe, where McDonald’s eggs are already guaranteed to be 100% cage-free.

With the mega fast-food chain dropping Sparboe Farms, it’s clear that the public outcry generated by Mercy For Animals’ investigation is having a big impact. Now is the time to push McDonald’s to take real, meaningful action to distance itself from all battery cage eggs and not just move to another battery cage egg supplier. Tell McDonald’s to publicly commit to sourcing 100% cage-free eggs now:

http://www.change.org/petitions/urge-mcdonalds-to-stop-torturing-hens-for-egg-mcmuffins

Thanks for being a change-maker,

– Stephanie and the Change.org team

P.S. People are taking action on important issues using Change.org everyday. Please check out these urgent petitions that need your support:
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Obama: Keep clean car standards on track


Obama: Keep Clean Car Standards on Track!

The Union of Concerned Scientists has long led the fight to break our country’s dangerous oil dependence and address global warming by strengthening fuel efficiency and pollution standards for vehicles. Thanks to supporters like you, today we stand on the verge of historic progress.

The Obama administration recently proposed clean car standards that would nearly double fuel efficiency to about 50 miles per gallon in 2025, saving consumers billions of dollars at the gas pump, preventing millions of tons of global warming emissions, and saving as much oil in 2030 alone as we currently import from Saudi Arabia and Iraq. As clean energy and public health protections face constant attack in Congress, these standards represent a tremendous victory in the fight against climate change.

Automakers have the technology to make all new cars and trucks cleaner. Just last week at the Los Angeles Auto Show, UCS engineers put a spotlight on the most fuel efficient vehicles already available at dealerships nationwide, and the advanced hybrid and electric vehicles that can lead us to an oil-free vehicle future. But just as opportunity knocks, automakers and their allies are working behind the scenes to weaken the standards with loopholes that could increase pollution and oil dependence.

For the next two months, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation will accept comments on the proposed standards. Please tell the Obama administration to move forward with strong clean car standards and oppose industry-backed loopholes.

Take Action Today!

Sincerely,

Rachel Cohen
National Field Organizer
UCS Clean Vehicles Program

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

from … Rainforest Action Network


Rainforest Action Network
 

Wow, it’s been an incredible year and it’s time for us to say thank you.

It’s activists like you that got us to the negotiating table with Disney to get rainforest destruction out of their supply chain. It’s activists like you that pushed President Obama to make the decision to delay (and possibly kill) the Keystone XL pipeline.

Together, as Rainforest Action Network, we have amassed a lot of hard work, skill and passion to fight for thriving forests, the rights of Indigenous frontline communities and a stable climate. It is not easy work. Not even close. But the rewards of success are so great, it is worth every moment.

So to thank you for everything—the emails, phone calls, rally support, financial contributions, direct actions, and all the events you showed up for—we put together this little video.

Thank You Video from RAN

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

For the planet,
Your friends at Rainforest Action Network

politics,pollution,petitions,pop culture & purses