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The real scoop on …Groupon

02/10/2011 Nativegrl77

So did you catch the Super Bowl?

You might be surprised that the staff at Rainforest Action Network had our eyes glued to the game. Actually, the post-game. Okay, really just the post-game ads.

Why? The folks at Groupon (you know, the online coupon people) ran a post-game Super Bowl ad where Elizabeth Hurley talks about the problem of deforestation in the Brazilian rainforest.

If you haven’t seen the ad yet, don’t get excited about the rapid evolution of Super Bowl ads. Liz also talked about her need for a Brazilian wax: “Not all deforestation is bad.” Painful, I know.

The part we’re excited about is that the ad directs viewers to Groupon’s Save The Money campaign where you can save money by giving money to RAN. http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=tPaxzQs%2FrS9X8bzY0G6QO2tLL4WBA8kG

That’s right, when you give $15 Groupon will turn it into $30. Poof! It’s magic. http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=hB9HFHRKENECygth1bjE3GtLL4WBA8kG

Since Groupon started out as a platform for social change (called The Point), even though they run a multimillion dollar coupon cash cow and made some seriously flawed Super Bowl ads, they still have hearts and want to do good in the world.

Why do we need YOU to jump on this? Groupon uses group buying power—or in this case, group giving power—which means it takes 1000 wonderful people like you giving $15 to “activate” the deal or we don’t get a dime. Nada. Zero. Zilch. Bupkis.

http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=mAExMwa0shGfAc2KQ1QUv2tLL4WBA8kG

That’s why you’ve got to give today, and then tell ALL your friends!

Once the deal tips, Groupon will double donations up to $100,000, which means more awesome RAN actions to protect rainforests, defend human rights, halt climate change and kick corporate butt.

If you’re the kind of person who wants your money to make the biggest impact possible, now’s the time—Groupon it!

http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2B4DJhTQJmjZwq7DG1W3m%2BmtLL4WBA8kG

For the planet,

David Taylor

Online Director

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Tell Clarence Thomas: Recuse yourself

02/10/2011 Nativegrl77

A case challenging the constitutionality of the health care reform bill passed by Congress is headed to the Supreme Court, and Justice Clarence Thomas has a supreme ethical conflict.

It’s been widely reported that the Thomas family has financial ties to the conservative organizations leading the campaign to bring down our new health care law — the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Rep. Anthony Weiner and 73 other members of Congress have signed a letter detailing the appearance of ethical conflict and asking Justice Thomas to recuse himself from deliberations on the constitutionality of health care reform.

We’re asking you to sign a companion letter that Rep. Weiner — a champion of progressive issues — will deliver to the Supreme Court along with the letter signed by members of Congress.

Tell Justice Clarence Thomas: Recuse yourself from deliberations on the constitutionality of health care reform. Click here to automatically sign the letter below.

The letter to Justice Thomas reads: http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=7064&id=16386-2591629-BPS9vgx&t=9

As an Associate Justice, you are entrusted with the responsibility to exercise the highest degree of discretion and impartiality when deciding a case. We join Rep. Anthony Weiner and other members of Congress in writing to note our surprise at recent revelations of your financial ties to leading organizations dedicated to lobbying against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. We write today to respectfully ask that you maintain the integrity of this court and recuse yourself from any deliberations on the constitutionality of this act.

The appearance of a conflict of interest merits recusal under federal law. From what we have already seen, the line between your impartiality and you and your wife’s financial stake in the overturn of health care reform is blurred. Your spouse is advertising herself as a lobbyist who has “experience and connections” and appeals to clients who want a particular decision — they want to overturn health care reform. Moreover, your failure to disclose Ginni Thomas‘s receipt of $686,589 from the Heritage Foundation, a prominent opponent of health care reform, between 2003 and 2007 has raised great concern.

This is not the first case where your impartiality was in question. As Common Cause points out, you “participated in secretive political strategy sessions, perhaps while the case was pending, with corporate leaders whose political aims were advanced by the [5-4] decision” on the Citizens United case. Your spouse also received an undisclosed salary paid for by undisclosed donors as CEO of Liberty Central, a 501(c)(4) organization that stood to benefit from the decision and played an active role in the 2010 elections.

Given these facts, there is a strong conflict between the Thomas household’s financial gain through your spouse’s activities and your role as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. We urge you to recuse yourself from this case. If the US Supreme Court‘s decision is to be viewed as legitimate by the American people, this is the only correct path.

We appreciate your thoughtful consideration of this request. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=7064&id=16386-2591629-BPS9vgx&t=10

Click here to automatically sign your name to our letter to Justice Thomas that will be delivered to the Supreme Court by progressive champion Rep. Anthony Weiner.

Thomas failed to disclose that his wife Ginni Thomas received a total of $686,589 in compensation from the Heritage Foundation.1 Furthermore his wife is currently advertising herself as a lobbyist who has “experience and connections” to conservative groups who have an explicit agenda to overturn health care reform — by repeal in the Congress or overturning the law in the courts.2

Justice Thomas is no stranger to questions of ethics. Along with Justice Antonin Scalia he attended meetings organized by the secretive, Tea Party-funding billionaire Koch brothers. The Koch brothers have been key players in rewriting the political landscape after the Citizens United Supreme Court decision unleashed the floodgates of corporate money in federal politics.3 And Thomas’ wife has received an undisclosed salary paid for by undisclosed donors as CEO of Liberty Central, a 501(c)(4) organization that was formed to take advantage of Citizens United rules and to play an active role in the 2010 elections.

Unlike other members of the federal judiciary, Supreme Court Justices have no specific code of ethics to which they may be held accountable. But there is a clear appearance of a conflict of interest between his wife’s clear financial stake in overturning the health care law and Justice Thomas’ personal duty to exhibit the highest degree of discretion and impartiality. To protect the honor of the highest court in the land, Thomas must recuse himself from deliberations on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Tell Justice Clarence Thomas: Recuse yourself from deliberations on the constitutionality of health care reform. Clicking here will automatically sign your name to the above letter.

Sincerely,

Becky Bond, Political Director

CREDO Action from Working Assets

Notes:

1″What else haven’t they told us?” Common Cause, Jan. 21, 2011.

2″Adventures of Ginni Thomas,” Ben Smith, Politico, Feb. 4, 2011.

3″Justices Scalia And Thomas’s Attendance At Koch Event Sparks Judicial Ethics Debate,” Sam Stein, Huffington Post, Oct. 20, 2010.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Party time for Orangutans

02/10/2011 Nativegrl77

The palm oil branch of Sinar Mas, Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), just unveiled a plan to stop destroying forests and peatlands in Indonesia. For years their plantations fueled rainforest destruction across Indonesia, but this week they promised to change all of that.

A giant palm oil company in Indonesia just unveiled a plan to stop destroying the forests. We need to make sure they keep their word. Help Greenpeace make sure they follow through with their plan by making your most generous contribution right now.

I honestly can’t believe I just wrote that sentence. This is something that a year ago would have been unimaginable. But here we are. If properly implemented, the plan announced by GAR could be an historic step toward full forest and peatland protection in Indonesia and could also mean the survival of endangered wildlife like the orangutan.

For the last three years Greenpeace has been pressuring GAR by convincing large palm oil buyers to cancel their contracts. It worked. Together we got the world’s largest food company (Nestle) and the world’s largest bank (HSBC), a global restaurant brand (Burger King) and one of the largest buyers of palm oil on the planet (Unilever) to take action. Thanks to supporters around the world, we now have a ground-breaking commitment from GAR.

However, this commitment will mean nothing without implementation. Help Greenpeace make sure Sinar Mas follows through with their plan to save the forests by making your most generous contribution right now.

In many ways, our work has just begun. We can’t protect the orangutan and other endangered species and achieve our goal of zero deforestation in Indonesia by 2015 if Sinar Mas doesn’t follow through with their plan. That’s why we have to make sure they do it. This piece of the work is every bit as important as the campaign that got us here.

And while this is a moment to celebrate, we aren’t out of the woods just yet with Sinar Mas. It’s a massive conglomerate and this deal is only with its palm oil branch. Their paper arm — Asia Pulp & Paper — is still destroying the forest unabated. That is unacceptable, and it is something we intend to change with your help.

Without your support to we cannot continue our work in Indonesia and keep the pressure up on Sinar Mas. Please send us your most generous contribution right now. Together we can save these precious forests and the amazing creatures and people who depend on them.

For the forests,

Rolf Skar

Greenpeace Forest Campaigner

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Congress: Both Chambers are in Session today …

02/10/2011 Nativegrl77

The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 10:00amET on February 10, 2011.

CURRENT HOUSE FLOOR PROCEEDINGS

LEGISLATIVE DAY OF FEBRUARY 10, 2011

112TH CONGRESS – FIRST SESSION

9:21 P.M. –

SPECIAL ORDER SPEECHES – The House has concluded all anticipated legislative business and has proceeded to Special Order speeches.

9:19 P.M. –

ONE MINUTE SPEECHES – The House proceeded further with one minute speeches.

H. Res. 72:

directing certain standing committees to inventory and review existing, pending, and proposed regulations and orders from agencies of the Federal Government, particularly with respect to their effect on jobs and economic growth

3:28 P.M. –

POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – Pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule 19, the Chair postponed further consideration of H.Res. 72.

DEBATE – The House proceeded with 9 hours and 30 minutes of debate on H. Res. 72.

3:26 P.M. –

Rule provides for consideration of H. Res. 72 with 9 hours and 30 minutes of general debate. Motion to recommit with or without installowed. Measure will be considered read. Bill is closed to amendments. All points of order against the resolution are waived. The resolution provides that the amendment recommended by the Committee on Rules now printed in H. Res. 72 shall be considered as adopted.

Considered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 73.

H. Res. 73:

providing for consideration of the resolution (H.Res. 72) directing certain standing committees to inventory and review existing, pending, and proposed regulations and orders from agencies of the Federal Government, particularly with respect to their effect on jobs and economic growth

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 255 – 169 (Roll no. 31).

3:18 P.M. –

On ordering the previous question Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 240 – 180 (Roll no. 30).

3:11 P.M. –

Considered as unfinished business.

3:10 P.M. –

UNFINISHED BUSINESS – The Chair announced that the unfinished business was the question of ordering the previous question on H.Res. 73 and adoption of the resolution if ordered, all of which had been debated earlier, and on which further proceedings had been postponed.

H. Res. 79:

providing for consideration of the bill ( H.R. 514) to extend expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 and Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 relating to access to business records, individual terrorists as agents of foreign powers, and roving wiretaps until December 8, 2011

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 248 – 176 (Roll no. 29).

2:47 P.M. –

The previous question was ordered without objection.

1:39 P.M. –

DEBATE – The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H. Res. 79.

1:38 P.M. –

Considered as privileged matter.

H. Res. 73:

POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on H.Res. 73, the Chair put the question on ordering the previous question, and by voice vote, the Chair announced the yeas had prevailed. Mr. Hastings (FL) demanded the yeas and nays and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of ordering the previous question until later in the legislative day.

12:26 P.M. –

DEBATE – The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H. Res. 73.

12:24 P.M. –

Considered as privileged matter.

12:06 P.M. –

ONE MINUTE SPEECHES – The House resumed one minute speeches.

The House received a communication from John V. Sullivan, House Parliamentarian. Mr. Sullivan submitted to the House a facsimile of a letter of resignation submitted by Rep. Christopher J. Lee to the pertinent Executive authority in the State of New York which was received in the Capitol on February 9, 2011. The facsimile previously laid before the House had been addressed to the Governor rather than to the Secretary of State. This document will round out the papers of the House on the matter of Rep. Christopher J. Lee’s resignation.

12:02 P.M. –

ONE MINUTE SPEECHES – The House proceeded with one minute speeches, which by direction of the Chair would be limited to 15 per side of the aisle.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – The Chair designated Mr. Murphy of PA to lead the Members in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

12:01 P.M. –

The Speaker announced approval of the Journal. Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Journal stands approved.

12:00 P.M. –

Today’s prayer was offered by Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archdiocese of Washington, Washington, DC.

The House convened, returning from a recess continuing the legislative day of February 10.

10:34 A.M. –

The Speaker announced that the House do now recess. The next meeting is scheduled for 12:00 P.M. today.

10:00 A.M. –

MORNING-HOUR DEBATE – The House proceeded with Morning-Hour Debate. At the conclusion of Morning-Hour, the House will recess until 12:00 p.m. for the start of legislative business.

The Speaker designated the Honorable Jason Chaffetz to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.

The House convened, starting a new legislative day.

—————————————-

The Senate Convenes at 4:00pmET February 10, 2011

Following any Leader remarks, there will be a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

We hope to clear the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) legislation on Thursday.

Senators should expect the next votes to begin around 5:30pm on Monday, February 14. Those votes could be on a judicial nomination and amendments to the FAA Authorization bill.

Unanimous Consent:

Adopted S.Res.48, a resolution congratulating the Green Bay Packers on winning Super Bowl XLV.