~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

First, they attacked PBS and NPR. Now this?


First, they went nuclear on PBS and NPR. Now, they have voted to totally shut down AmeriCorps — the groundbreaking national service program that has transformed the lives of millions of Americans.

In the dead of night on Saturday, a Tea Party-driven group of House members voted to kill AmeriCorps, completely eliminating all funding. With a potential government shutdown looming on March 4th, the fate of 85,000 AmeriCorp community organizers, teachers, and tutors will now be decided by the U.S. Senate.

Here is the heart of the matter: AmeriCorps volunteers help and protect our country’s most vulnerable. Every day, AmeriCorps organizers work in many of the poorest communities in America, lessening the pain of those suffering in this brutal economy. As their work rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina exemplifies, these organizers are the backbone of our country’s service community — a Peace Corps for our own country.

After hearing the shocking news, former AmeriCorps volunteer Caleb Jonas decided he had to do something. From a coffee shop in Massachusetts, Caleb logged in to www.Change.org from his laptop and created a petition asking Congress to “Save AmeriCorps.” Caleb’s inspiring action has already been signed by 17,266 Americans — without significant promotion from any major organization. Until now. http://www.change.org/petitions/save-americorps?alert_id=NNHcGQVECl_XoMYVCMMAM&me=aa  

Click here now to quickly sign your name to Caleb’s “Save AmeriCorps” petition to the Senate. Your signature will help Caleb reach his personal goal of 85,000 signatures — one signature for every AmeriCorps member currently serving their country. DEADLINE: Thursday, 5 p.m.

Why does Caleb care so much about AmeriCorps? Because he spent a year improving the quality of tutoring programs for low-income kids in Minnesota — and witnessed AmeriCorps members build houses for Habitat for Humanity, help political refugees start new lives, improve reading test scores for elementary school students, and help disadvantaged high school students get into college.

As Caleb told us over the phone, it breaks his heart that this vital national service program could be shut down at a time when people in the most marginalized communities in America need it the most. That’s why Caleb was inspired to start his “Save AmeriCorps” petition from a coffee shop — and why AmeriCorps supporters are sharing it on Facebook and forwarding messages like this to their friends around the country.

With AmeriCorps on the chopping block, it’s time for us to stand up for Caleb and thousands of other volunteers who have committed years of their lives to community service. Will you click here now to sign your name and tell the Senate not to kill AmeriCorps?

http://www.change.org/petitions/save-americorps?alert_id=NNHcGQVECl_XoMYVCMMAM&me=aa

Thank you for joining Caleb and Change.org members across our country fighting to save AmeriCorps before it’s too late.

— Patrick and the Change.org team

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Wisconsin state Senators joined with protesters …


Thank Wisconsin‘s courageous state senators who have joined with protesters to block the Republican attack on public employees.

Support the Wisconsin 14

Clicking here will add your name to this note to Wisconsin’s Democratic state senators:

“Thank you for taking a courageous stand. I stand behind you in your fight to block a vote on Gov. Walker’s outrageous attack on nurses, teachers and public employees.”

Amazing. Inspiring. This is what people power can do.

When Republican Governor Scott Walker attacked state workers and threatened to call out the National Guard if they protested, it sparked a popular uprising in Wisconsin. And now the extreme proposal to take collective bargaining rights away from public employees is temporarily blocked as a result of mass protests.

Tens of thousands of people — including members of CREDO Action — have been out in the streets and in the Rotunda in Madison, Wisconsin. Students and citizens are protesting in solidarity with nurses, teachers and workers.

And the people are not alone. Instead of caving to the opposition, their elected representatives are fighting with them. In fact, Democratic state senators boldly left the state in order to deny Republicans the quorum they need to pass Governor Walker’s radical anti-worker, anti-union bill. As long as every Democratic state senator refuses to go to the capitol, a vote cannot be held.

Thank the Wisconsin 14 — the Democratic state senators who have fled Wisconsin to block Gov. Walker’s attack on workers. Click here to automatically sign your name. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=7158&id=16906-2591629-_fzv8Kx&t=9

Wisconsin state Senator Chris Larson, who is one of the senators in hiding, laid out the stakes in an open letter and asked for our support:

The ability to organize and get fair treatment are qualities that built our country… If this bill moves forward in Wisconsin, rights in all America we have grown to take for granted will no longer be so reliable… If this passes here, it will pass in your state… It is an unprecedented attack on workers, their communities and our tradition of working with labor to move our state forward… I am seeking your support for the fight ahead of us.

Larson, and his fellow Democratic senators, are literally working to evade capture by state police in order to prevent this radical attack on public workers. He’s asked for our support.

Let’s show the Wisconsin 14 that we wholeheartedly support their actions and offer our profound thanks for their leadership in this fight. Clicking here will automatically sign your name. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=7158&id=16906-2591629-_fzv8Kx&t=9

Too often our elected representatives refuse to lead. But Wisconsin is proving that big things can happen when our elected officials work together with committed activists and fight back.

All 14 Democratic state senators are holed up outside the reach of the State Troopers who are working on orders of the Governor to forcibly return them to the capitol. If even one Democratic state senator is returned to the capitol, Republicans will be able to pass Gov. Walker’s bill. Not only that, but Republicans are organizing recall efforts to throw them out of office. The Wisconsin 14 need to hear encouragement from progressives nationwide. Let’s show them resounding support for their actions.

Thank Wisconsin’s 14 Democratic state senators and tell them they have your support. Click here to automatically sign your name  >> click on link >>http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=7158&id=16906-2591629-_fzv8Kx&t=9

Our teachers, nurses and other public workers wouldn’t have the chance to fight for their rights without the bravery of these Wisconsin state senators. I’m proud to have grown up in Wisconsin. I received an excellent education from its public schools and was raised in a working-class community that valued the contributions of every citizen. Wisconsin would not be the great state it is without the work of thousands of people who have dedicated their lives to public service.

Thank you for taking action in solidarity with the uprising in Wisconsin.

Mark Anthony Dingbaum, Campaign Manager

CREDO Action from Working Assets

P.S.: SEIU has a list of solidarity actions planned for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in 21 states. For a list of actions compiled by SEIU and to RSVP, click here. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=7165&id=16906-2591629-_fzv8Kx&t=13

P.P.S.: Special thanks to the worker who took our order Saturday afternoon at Ian’s Pizza on State Street in Madison, Wisconsin. When we asked if he could deliver pizzas to the protesters on behalf of CREDO Action members, he replied, “Hell, yeah!”

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

DSCC’s Guy Cecil -stands with Wisconsin workers …sign the petition


I’ve been watching what’s going on in Wisconsin, and it’s just one more example of how extreme Republicans have gotten. In Washington, rather than ask the wealthy to pay their fair share, the GOP is trying to balance our national budget on the backs of those who can least afford it. Now in Wisconsin, they’re launching an attack on teachers, prison guards and other public employees – the very workers who educate our children and keep all of us safe. They’re trying to strip away most of their collective bargaining rights and greatly increase the cost of their health care.

It’s unfair, and it must stop.

This is just the start of Republicans showing their true colors. Democrats are fighting back, but they need to know that we’ve got their back.

Click here to sign our petition. Let Democrats in Wisconsin know that we stand with them against the extreme antics of the GOP.>> https://dscc.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=12FTKLQXgXuKsd84F%2BGYYCjDrP7XIFaG  

Republicans are far out of the mainstream, and when they target the very people who teach our children and keep our communities safe, we must speak out as Democrats, and as Americans. Thanks for adding your voice.

Sincerely,

Guy Cecil

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

UPDATE: Wisconsin!


featured pic is from paul baker

Over 75,000 people have signed our letter of solidarity with the workers of Wisconsin. We’re trying to reach 100,000 by Monday — can you click here to sign?

Thanks! — Stephanie

——————————————————————————–

Our previous email:

Thousands are protesting in Wisconsin for days straight! Stand in solidarity with Wisconsin workers — sign the open letter against Gov. Walker’s cuts and intimidation.

(photo via paulbaker)

  For the last four days, tens of thousands of nurses, teachers, workers, students, and citizens have protested in front of the Wisconsin Capitol in Madison.

Governor Scott Walker is trying to cut benefits for state workers and take away their collective bargaining rights – and he threatened to call out the National Guard if they protest, a threat that’s still on the table.

And Democratic State Senators boldly refused to show up for a vote — delaying the vote!

We must stand in solidarity with these Wisconsin citizens who are fighting back against the Governor. Can you sign our open letter? (Already, dozens of local and national leaders have joined us.)

Click tell the Wisconsin State Legislature to oppose Walker’s budget and say no to his threat to use the National Guard against state workers!

Click on link to tell Wisconsin to oppose Walker’s budget >>  http://act.boldprogressives.org/go/3073?akid=3350.264653.6O9-No&t=4

Thousands have camped out in the capitol building overnight, a scene Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan had to admit was “like Cairo has moved to Madison.”

So far, dozens of local Wisconsin leaders like Patrick Landgraf, President AFL-CIO Local 18 have signed on, and they’re joined by the PCCC, VoteVets, CREDO Action, and Daily Kos, as well as thousands of people from Wisconsin and across the country.

We’ll alert the media to the progress of this letter, as more and more people stand in solidarity against Gov. Walker’s cuts and threats. So please pass this email to others.

Open letter to Gov.Walker      http://act.boldprogressives.org/go/3073?akid=3350.264653.6O9-No&t=5

Thanks for being a bold progressive,

Stephanie Taylor, Jason Rosenbaum, Adam Green, and the PCCC team

P.S. I’ve got a guest column in Salon about the history of using military force against workers. Click here to read it when you have a moment. http://act.boldprogressives.org/go/3052?akid=3350.264653.6O9-No&t=6

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Urgent: Tell the U.S. House to End the Budget Insanity …AFL-CIO -repost


Repost …

This week the House will vote on Republican scorched-earth budget cut proposals that would amputate critical government services working families rely on every day. They want to slash education—from Head Start to Pell Grants for college. Cut food safety inspections. Cut job safety inspections. Cut investments in infrastructure. Cut the money to send out Social Security checks. And eliminate hundreds of thousands of middle-class jobs.

This week the U.S. House will be voting on extremist budget proposals that essentially would shut down critical services for working families this fiscal year. House Republicans claim it’s deficit control. It’s not. It’s an all-out assault on America’s middle class and naked political payback to CEOs who poured millions into the 2010 elections.

Sign the petition telling representatives to stop wasting time on outrages like this.

>> http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=JwmLLkAvQ9Z2eaO7KyjEHVAYly69wHrp

Then, forward this message to your friends and urge them to sign, too.  http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=Bw132snZIJsEpBwz1ZhVLumJZ0bcS%2BhP

This isn’t “fiscal responsibility” or “deficit control.” It’s a bald-faced attack on America’s middle class as political payback to CEOs who poured millions into the 2010 elections. CEOs don’t like job safety regulations, so the politicians they elected will cut the funding and fire the inspectors. CEOs don’t want environmental safeguards, energy improvements or curbs on health insurance companies, so their politicians will just defund the programs.

Sign the petition. Tell representatives: Get to work creating jobs and reviving our economy and stop wasting time on outrages like this.

Then, forward this message to your friends and urge them to sign, too. http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=JwmLLkAvQ9Z2eaO7KyjEHVAYly69wHrp

The Republican proposals would propel us squarely in the wrong direction—toward an America we do not want to be. If we don’t stop this budget insanity now, services ordinary Americans count on could cease for months or fail to function at all in this fiscal year.

Think about what America will be like with no occupational safety and health inspections or investigations of workplace fatalities and disasters. No National Labor Relations Board elections to enable working men and women to have a stronger voice on the job, collectively bargain, or choose whether to form a union. No certainty about when the Social Security checks will arrive.

This isn’t about deficit control. It’s about legislating working America out of the way of limitless corporate profits.

Stop this budget insanity. Sign the petition. Tell representatives: Get to work creating jobs and reviving our economy and stop wasting time on outrages like this.

Then, forward this message to your friends and urge them to sign, too. http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=Bw132snZIJsEpBwz1ZhVLumJZ0bcS%2BhP  

The budget madness isn’t limited to the federal level. In state after state, Republican legislators and governors whose election campaigns raked in the corporate contributions are ignoring the job crisis and playing politics-as-usual with the lives of working families. They’d rather take modest pensions and collective bargaining rights away from public employees than win them for working families struggling without. Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin is so determined to make people with decent middle-class jobs suffer and end collective bargaining for public employees that he’s told the National Guard to be ready in case working people strike or rise up.

Wow.

And if that’s not extreme enough, a Missouri state senator, Jane Cunningham (R), proposes ending the ban on employing children younger than 14 and limiting the hours children may work.

Don’t let the budget insanity go any further. Let’s stop it now.

Sign the petition. Tell representatives: Get to work creating jobs and reviving our economy and stop wasting time on outrages like this.

Then, ask your friends to sign, too.

Thank you for taking action.

In solidarity,

Manny Herrmann

Online Mobilization Coordinator, AFL-CIO

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