Dear Washington MoveOn member,

Reports are circulating that a settlement of the robo-signing case between the big Wall Street banks and the 50 state attorneys general will be announced as soon as next week. Early indications are that the settlement will amount to yet another unconscionable giveaway to the banks.

The settlement will provide too little money to homeowners, require only trivial financial penalties for the banks, distributehuge amounts of money to individuals who were NOT fraudulently foreclosed upon, and will not have sufficient enforcementmechanisms to ensure that the money banks are supposed to pay actually gets paid—all while falling far short ofcompensating actual victims for the losses they wrongfully sustained. Worst of all, early reports indicate that the settlementgrants civil and criminal immunity to the Wall Street banks and their executives.

That’s why I created a petition to Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna on SignOn.org, which says:

Oppose any settlement of the robo-signing case that provides civil or criminal immunity to banks or their executives. Instead,create a program that helps Washington state homeowners damaged by fraudulent bank processes to sue banks for full recoveryof damages and punitive awards.

Will you sign the petition? Click here to add your name, and then pass it along to your friends:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=267289&id=32771-17809870-OUgF%3Dvx&t=2

Thanks!

–Linda Brewster

The text above was written by Linda Brewster, not by MoveOn staff, and MoveOn is not responsible for the content. Thisemail was sent through MoveOn’s secure system, and your information has been kept private.

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Big bad Banks

09/01/2011 Nativegrl77

The banks behind the mortgage crisis are looking for a way out, and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner wants to hand them one.¹

Three years after the housing collapse that crashed the world economy, not a single Wall Street executive has faced real punishment for the fraud, corruption, and greed that caused it. And those same big banks continue handing out massive bonuses and dividends while homeowners struggle.²

Now there’s a deal in the works that would let Wall Street banks get away scot-free, giving them immunity from investigation and prosecution of crimes like falsifying documents, encouraging bad loans, and lying to investors. In return they’d pay $20 billion—a fraction of what they could truly owe—and regulators would lose their leverage to help homeowners.³

This deal only works if it stays behind the scenes. If we can get enough people behind this petition, we can embarrass Geithner and the Obama administration into backing down. So we’re joining with MoveOn.org to send a strong message that can’t be ignored.

Tell Treasury Secretary Geithner, “No more sweetheart deals for Wall Street. Let states investigate and prosecute the crimes that crashed our economy.”

The world economy lost $7.7 trillion thanks to the big banks pushing bad loans and risky investments as sound financial planning. And millions of Americans lost houses and jobs. But Wall Street banks got nearly $2 trillion in loans to rebuild, while Main Street Americans are still working to get back on their feet.⁴

If we want to save the American Dream we need to show that big banks will be held accountable for these crimes, and a few state attorneys general are doing just that. Eric Schneiderman and Beau Biden, the attorneys general of New York and Delaware, have said they won’t settle with the banks without doing a real investigation into the fraud and corruption.⁵

Standing with homeowners against bullying by big banks is part of what the American Dream Movement is about. We can stand up and stand behind the state attorneys general who are fighting to expose the crimes that caused the collapse.

Tell Treasury Secretary Geithner, “No more sweetheart deals for Wall Street. Let states investigate and prosecute the crimes that crashed our economy.”

Toward an America that works for all,

–Natalie, Van, Ian, Billy, and the rest of the Rebuild the Dream team

Sources:

1. “New York Attorney General Kicked Off Government Group Leading Foreclosure Probe,” The Huffington Post, August 23, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=263396&id=30464-17809870-86VbHcx&t=4

2. “Biggest Fish Face Little Risk of Being Caught,” The New York Times, February 25, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=263413&id=30464-17809870-86VbHcx&t=5
“Banks Poised to Pay Dividends After 3-Year Gap,” The New York Times, January 13, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/business/14dividend.html

3. “Obama Goes All Out For Dirty Banker Deal,” Rolling Stone, August 24, 20110
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=263395&id=30464-17809870-86VbHcx&t=6

4. “U.S. Subprime Crisis Costs World $7.7 Trillion Dollars,” The Huffington Post, February 15, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=263403&id=30464-17809870-86VbHcx&t=7
“Wall Street Aristocracy Got $1.2 Trillion in Secret Loans,” Bloomberg News, August 22, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=263394&id=30464-17809870-86VbHcx&t=8

5. “New York Attorney General Kicked Off Government Group Leading Foreclosure Probe,” The Huffington Post, August 23, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=263396&id=30464-17809870-86VbHcx&t=9

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Not-so-happy meal …Michael Whitney, Change.org

09/01/2011 Nativegrl77

McDonald’s wants you to “see what we’re made of.” Brace yourself.

The pork in your Egg McMuffin or McRib comes from pigs, of course. What you may not know is that those pigs are birthed by female “breeding” pigs who lead miserable lives, to put it mildly. They live in impossibly small enclosures called “gestation crates,” in which the pigs can barely move. These dirty, restrictive enclosures frequently cause pigs to become covered in sores, open wounds, and infections.

It doesn’t have to be that way: Burger King and Wendy’s have completely phased out gestation crates from their pork supply. Now it’s up to McDonald’s to do the same.

McDonald’s has the power to push its pork suppliers to eliminate gestation crates and improve the lives of female breeding pigs. Please add your name to the petition asking McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner to ensure McDonald’s pork suppliers stop using gestation crates.

McDonald’s has paid lip service to freeing pigs from gestation crates; in 2007, the company even said moving away from these unnecessary enclosures was “at the top of its agenda.” Five years later, pigs at Smithfield Foods, where McDonald’s buys its pork, are still in gestation grates.

McDonald’s is the biggest customer of Smithfield Foods, the largest pork producer in the world. While Smithfield initially pledged to eliminate gestation crates entirely by 2017, the pork processing corporation went back on its promise in 2009.

Smithfield Foods initially blamed the poor economy for indefinitely sticking its pigs in cramped quarters. Yet now Smithfield is posting record profits, meaning the company can recommit to phasing out gestation crates by 2017.

Meredith Slater started a petition on Change.org asking McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner to pressure Smithfield to renew its promise and completely phase out gestation crates by 2017. Click here to sign Meredith’s petition to bring McDonald’s in line with the rest of the fast food industry:

http://www.change.org/petitions/mcdonalds-stop-using-pork-from-abused-pigs

Thanks for being a change-maker,

– Michael and the Change.org team

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Meet the new American sweatshop

09/01/2011 Nativegrl77

Watch the Video

Carwash workers across the country are routinely abused, intimidated and exploited. They are subjected to obscene labor abuses and health hazardous conditions. Car wash workers are the face of the new Americansweatshop.Share the video on your Facebook wall today. Your friends and family need to be aware of these conditions before their next car wash!

Don’t turn a blind eye to the abuse and the exploitation. Carwash workers, routinely subjected to health and safety hazards, often end up with severe kidney damage, respiratory problems and nerve deterioration. You can stop this.

We need your help in exposing this travesty. Have you seen similar conditions at your local carwash? Post it today on our page – thousands will be able to read and follow your lead!

Yours,
Robert Greenwald, Axel Caballero and Brave New Foundation‘s Cuéntame team

P.S. I invite you to join our Cuéntame page on Facebook and follow Cuéntame on Twitter.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Chicken of the Sea: Stop Ripping up the Sea

08/31/2011 Nativegrl77

Tell Chicken of the Sea that it’s time to end their destructive ways and start getting serious about saving the oceans.

There’s more that goes into a can of tuna than just what you find inside. A lot more.

According to an Australian government study, the canned tuna industry is responsible for killing thousands of sharks, rays, sea turtles, sea birds and other marine life as a result of the methods they use to catch tuna every year.

One company called Chicken of the Sea has a particularly bad track record when it comes to ocean destruction. That’s why we’ve been trying to start a dialogue with Chicken of the Sea for months now about how they can make their fishing practices more sustainable.

In fact, just last week I personally traveled to their headquarters and delivered a letter. They promptly showed me the door and have refused to acknowledge the damage they are doing to the oceans.

But they can’t ignore you and the tens of thousands of other Greenpeace supporters who care about the oceans. So join me and sign on to my letter to Chicken of the Sea. Once we reach 30,000 signatures I will head back to their headquarters and deliver the message again.

Tell Chicken of the Sea that it’s time to end their destructive ways and start getting serious about saving the oceans.

As one of the largest tuna companies in the U.S., Chicken of the Sea has a major role to play in saving our oceans. They have a chance to be a real leader in the industry, but it is pretty clear that they aren’t going to do it on their own.

Right now, the company is using something called fish-aggregating devices (FAD) to catch their tuna. The problem is that FADs, which are basically floating objects, don’t just attract tuna. They attract all sorts of things — including sharks, marlin, and baby bigeye tuna, which is a species in serious trouble. When the ship returns, it takes everything that has gathered around the FAD with a net. Very few animals caught in these nets survive the process.

The simple truth is that if Chicken of the Sea doesn’t change how it catches tuna, our oceans don’t stand a chance.

We aren’t going to allow that to happen. Join me and add your name to my letter today.

Once we’ve collected over 30,000 signatures I will head back to Chicken of the Sea Headquarters and deliver the letter with your signature on it. This next time we’ll make sure we get their attention.

For the oceans,

Casson Trenor,
Greenpeace Senior Markets Campaigner

P.S. Forward this to everyone in your address book who eats canned tuna and cares about the oceans.