Tag Archives: Barack Obama

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Tell Congress: Support a small investment with big returns


In today’s charged political climate, every decision made by Congress faces increased scrutiny. Right now, our new Congress is under pressure to reduce the growing federal deficit. Congress, currently operating on 2010 funding levels, is poised to vote on the 2011 Federal Budget as early as this week. One of the proposals up for discussion suggests returning federal funding to fiscal year 2008 levels. If this proposal passes, it is very likely that the U.S. foreign aid budget will face significant cuts, perhaps up to 21 percent. We must act now to tell Congress not to cut the foreign aid budget.

As a global humanitarian organization working in 70 countries around the world, CARE knows firsthand how critical U.S. foreign assistance programs are to building a stable and secure world. Supporting these programs is not only the right thing to do – it is a practical and smart investment in global stability.

There is a common misconception about how much of the U.S. federal budget is spent on foreign aid. And for that matter, what Americans think we should spend on foreign aid. The reality is that the foreign aid budget represents only 1 percent of the federal budget. You can see why a 21 percent slash would be tremendously detrimental.

Take action today by telling your member of Congress that you support smart deficit reduction, but not harmful cuts to foreign assistance! Congress could vote as soon as Wednesday!

Then, continue the conversation in person at the CARE Conference & International Women’s Day Celebration on March 8-10. To find out more about how you can join us to speak out on behalf poor women and girls – and register today – please visit http://www.careconference.org.

Thank you for your efforts! Your voice is critical to saving programs that help millions of people struggling with poverty around the world.

Sincerely,

Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH

President and CEO, CARE

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Threats to Social Security Are Not Over

1 Comment

The threats to undermine Social Security continue. This week the Wall Street Journal reported that four Senators, Crapo, Coburn, Conrad, and Durbin(!), are meeting regularly on a plan to reintroduce the ideas from the Deficit Commission that include raising the retirement age and cutting Social Security benefits. Meanwhile, in the House, Rep. Cantor says that Social Security is still on the table to be cut. We can’t let this happen.

We want to make sure that Congress understands what they are doing when they plan to cut the rug out from under working people who need Social Security to support themselves, their families, and their communities. That’s why we are collecting stories from folks like you to share with Congress and to put in TV ads for everyone to see.

Yes! I have a Social Security story I want to share! http://act.democracyforamerica.com/go/466?akid=436.1480546.lkcsxe&t=3

I don’t have a Social Security story, but I’ll contribute $5 to put these stories on the air. http://act.democracyforamerica.com/go/467?akid=436.1480546.lkcsxe&t=2

Social Security is a promise we made with each other to support one another in retirement or in cases of disability. This promise is how we keep our communities stable and secure when we need it most.

We will share these stories with Progressive Members of Congress to talk about on the House and Senate floor, we will send your stories to all Members of Congress, and we will use some stories for a TV ad to make sure that everyone knows the faces of people who depend on Social Security.

Yes! I want to make sure members of Congress hear my story! http://act.democracyforamerica.com/go/466?akid=436.1480546.lkcsxe&t=1

I don’t have a Social Security story, but I’ll contribute so that others’ stories can be shared. http://act.democracyforamerica.com/go/467?akid=436.1480546.lkcsxe&t=4 

Thank you for all that you do.

-Levana

Levana Layendecker, Communications Director

Democracy for America

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

OFA …


This movement was founded on a simple but game-changing idea:

That grassroots, on-the-ground organizing is the most powerful force in politics.

Powerful enough to win a historic presidential election and bring the country together after eight years of division — powerful enough to achieve health reform 100 years in the making.

But we got here because millions of people committed to this idea in the years and months that came before these victories — and President Obama will be the first to tell you that our work is not done.

Right now, Organizing for America is reinvesting in key states and districts, rebuilding our grassroots infrastructure, and preparing for the fights ahead.

Over the next few days, we’ll be deciding where and exactly how much we can invest — and with your help, we can be in the strongest position possible.

Will you donate $25 or more today to support Organizing for America?

When the President was elected on November 4th, 2008, it felt like the world had changed almost overnight.

After eight years of out-of-touch policies that drove our economy into a ditch, we had elected a leader with a new vision for government, a mandate for reforming Washington, and a personal story possible only in America.

But the truth is that nothing happened overnight.

That victory — and every victory that followed — is a credit to the power of this grassroots movement.

From the very first days of the presidential campaign in 2007 through the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in December — the relationships you developed on the ground took root in unprecedented ways, and together, we made history.

We have to do it again.

President Obama has laid out an ambitious agenda for winning the future, calling on Congress to come together to make key investments in innovation, education, and infrastructure. To reform government, confront the deficit, and make sure the economy works for all Americans.

He can’t do it alone. The challenges we’ll face over the next months will call on each of us to remember why we are a part of this movement: because we believe in something bigger than politics. Because we now know what is possible when we invest not just in a campaign, but in one another.

Your support will help us make key decisions about where we can place staff and resources as we rebuild and plan the next phase of this movement.

Please donate $25 or more today:

https://donate.barackobama.com/Reinvesting

Thanks,

Mitch

Mitch Stewart

Director

Organizing for America

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Economy: Obama Goes To The Chamber


Yesterday, President Obama addressed the leaders of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the influential, ideological right-wing trade association that represents mostly large multi-national corporations. Obama told the assembled executives and corporate lobbyists to “ask yourselves what you can do for America,” not just for company bottom lines. “I want to be clear: Even as we make America the best place on earth to do business, businesses also have a responsibility to America.” Citing a long history of corporate fearmongering about government regulations, Obama made a “robust argument in favor of an active regulatory role for the federal government.” Obama urged the audience of business executives to “get in the game” and spend some of the trillions of dollars corporations have banked in the past year on job creation. “We need to make America the best place on Earth to do business,” the president promised. The Chamber’s top lobbyist, R. Bruce Josten, quickly rejected the President’s promotion of the “social compact” with America’s working families. “Bottom line, the most patriotic thing a company can do is ensure it is in business and take steps to stay in business; otherwise everyone loses and more people lose their jobs.”

THE CHAMBER AND JOBS: Indeed, much of the Chamber’s executive leadership has spent the past few years rewarding themselves with millions of dollars in additional compensation while eliminating American jobs. Trucking manufacturer Navistar Inc., on the chamber’s board, has laid off workers at factories across the country. Meanwhile, the company has enjoyed healthy profits, and Navistar CEO Daniel Ustian increased his total compensation to $8.43 million. As agricultural manufacturer Deere and Co. recorded high profits, the company slashed hundreds of jobs in Illinois, Iowa, and North Dakota. Meanwhile, Deere CEO Samuel Allen was awarded a compensation package in 2010 of $12.29 million. Health insurance company WellPoint, also on the Chamber’s board, has reported record profits and extraordinary executive compensation. In 2009, WellPoint CEO Angela Braly was awarded a 51 percent compensation boost, from $8.7 million in 2008 to $13.1 million. As WellPoint’s trade association secretly transfered $86 million to the Chamber to fight health reform, the company shed thousands of jobs across the nation. Despite bloated rhetoric about the virtues of “free enterprise,” the Chamber demanded taxpayer bailouts for its bank members, billions in taxpayer money for its defense contract members, taxpayer money forcleaning up BP’s oil spill, and preferential tax cuts for its millionaire executives. The Chamber has a history of being singularly focused on boosting short-term profits, not creating American jobs by investing in the future. It has pushed for unfettered free trade deals, sponsored a series of conferences to teach businesses how to outsource jobs to China, and even lobbied against legislation that would have helped create over 1.7 million jobs.

THE CHAMBER AND POLLUTION: In his speech, Obama said American business needs to acknowledge that “not every regulation is bad.” At a Washington, D.C. press conference last week, U.S. Chamber of Commerce officials blasted Obama’s call for a clean energy future built on modern standards. Christopher Guith, vice president for policy at the Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy, said a national clean-energy standard is “ridiculously premature,” even though 25 states have renewable and alternative energy standards. The Institute’s president, former Bush official Karen Harbert, said that the United States should instead allow “increased access to land for oil and gas drilling both onshore and offshore,” drilling a deeper hole with fossil fuel dependence. This opposition to clean-energy job creation on behalf of big oil is nothing new for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Throughout the last decade, the Chamber led the opposition to action on climate change, promoting global warming denial. Its history of defending pollution at the expense of the health of the American public and American jobs, however, goes deeper. Just as it is doing now, the Chamber petitioned to weaken the Clean Air Act in 1982, 1990, and 1997. The Chamber has opposed hazardous waste dumping bans, trade sanctions in NAFTA for failure to enforce environmental laws, and the reinstatement of Superfund taxes on toxic polluters. The Chamber’s anti-regulatory campaign is strongly supported by House Republicans. After the President’s speech, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) lashed out: “Far from changing tack, his administration is taking steps to protect the job-crushing regulations in its health care and permanent bailout laws, while plotting a backdoor national energy tax.”

THE CHAMBER AND INFRASTRUCTURE: Following the President’s State of the Union address, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue issued a rare joint statement supporting “Obama’s call to create jobs and grow the U.S. economy through investment in our nation’s infrastructure.” “Whether it is building roads, bridges, high-speed broadband, energy systems and schools,” they wrote, “these projects not only create jobs and demand for businesses, they are an investment in building the modern infrastructure the country needs to compete in a global economy.” Even with the support of business and labor, the president is going to have an uphill battle putting “more people to work rebuilding crumbling roads, rebuilding our bridges.” Many Republican leaders in Congress are strongly opposed to infrastructure investment. “I understand the goal, but right now this is going to be — anytime you talk about ‘investment’ it means new spending,” Sen. John Thune (R-SD) carped. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), the House Budget Committee chairman, is planning “unimaginably steep reductions of 26 percent to transportation and housing.” The Republican Study Committee, a caucus of 175 House conservatives, “wants to completely de-fund Amtrak and high-speed rail.” Republican governors have killed billions of dollars worth of infrastructure projects in Ohio, Wisconsin, and New Jersey. It remains to be seen whether the heavily right-leaning Chamber will actually fight Republican leadership to invest in America.

~ my 2cents ...

Monday mashup &some News …


did you know …it’s Black History Month

Campaign 2011…

Today, President Obama will meet with the Chamber of Commerce …whom in my opinion helped the Republican Tea Party hold the middle class hostage until they gave the bush bonus giveaway to the rich.

I do not know about anyone else but debates are just a fraction of what i use to make my choice of who to vote for elections. I have been following what the Republicans have been saying and or doing over the months let alone the last few years, gone to YouTube to check out comments, questions and the behavior on the part of these candidates. What stands out for me is that they continue to backtrack, lie and or ignore legitimate questions. They often choose to be interviewed only on one station, usually with the same party line -that is troubling and should give pause to anyone who doesn’t know who they will vote for-words matter, anyone practicing exclusion, targeting minorities and willing to throw fellow Americans under the bus to take back their America-(what does that even mean)? In addition, politicians that are so extreme are not worthy to hold Public office or seat in Congress. These positions of power call for working for “We the People” not some or a select few -they say they want the Government out of our lives yet when it comes to “social issues”; they want to control All Americans by way of privatizing most if not all social programs. If you want less government, why among other things tell women what they can do with their own bodies. The stance on less government is definitely a joke when they pull out that whole family values platform. Republicans are for Profits before the People on steroids. They are into privatizing everything, which will put our democracy at risk from the bottom up -the real world understands that the government works for the people -Cops, Teachers, EMT, and Firefighters! In addition, shame on States that make people pay for such services. It makes you wonder about what these States did with the stimulus money targeted toward government programs. I wonder is there “a dirty little secret” in States that would choose to let your house burn down if you have not paid up your privatized service and let’s be honest if the Republican Tea Party gets back in control that is what will happen. If Republicans repeal replace or eliminate –Social Security and other governmental programs, which is more likely to happen because as of late -they, the Republican Tea Party have not announced an alternative plan. When will Republican Tea Party constituents ask themselves how will going back to the failed spending of 2007 be a good thing, telling people how to live or love and practice discriminatory behavior to folks considered under protected status.

Politicians say, do and offer up resolution or promises that are over the top and because the fight is on to win a seat in Congress or keep your seat, it is obvious it does not mean candidates will give great politics or ideology, but how much money you have to look good and out PR your opponent. I have to say it was nice to see that even with all the money thrown out there by Whitman, Fiorina, angle, O’Donnell and others running for midterm elections. The people were listening, watching and made a decision that these embarrassing women were unqualified to hold public office let alone be described as possible public servants of all the people not just some or a select few. In the en People with or without money can be offensive.

We live in a time when money is speaking excessively loud in the world of Politics, protected by activist judges like some in the Supreme Court. I absolutely believe it is time for all of us to complain and or call them out when one side decides to push the envelope too far right of center instead of the so-called “fair and balanced” news of old. The wonders and need to tweet, FB and or blog about how Republicans have all the cable, major newspapers, magazines and whatnot that dominate the airwaves are offensive. If you listen folks or companies like the Chamber of Commerce, who seems to not only represent right of center Corporate America but pushes business to outsourcing jobs. A guy like Murdoch gives to both sides of an issue and when one side becomes more of a commodity and gets more airtime he feeds it. The NRA supports 58 democrats as well as a whole lot of Republicans because they can make money on both sides of the issue, which is hypocritical and offensive.

Americans cannot do a thing about all the money given up by these corporate giants yet. We can object to the lies coming from Fox, fear mongering and race baiting this station engages in what seems like on a daily basis…even CNN has moved right of center and though that rhetoric has 1st amendment on its side it is still offensive. As a person of colour and as a mom hearing Glenn beck send subliminal nonsense out into the airwaves with actual people choosing to do the wrong thing instead of right -and people get hurt and now worse …that is my prob.

My sense of democracy means total cooperation from both sides of an economic collapse yet the Republican Tea Party has decided they will take all the money you’re handing out but vote no or scale down most if not all legislation as well as throw their own constituents under the bus in order to regain power -that is not democracy.

Other News …

**Packers defeat the Steelers -Superbowl

**Palestinians watch Egypt with a sense of hope

**Huff Post/ AOL deal -for $315million

**Missing Google exec released by authorities after sev days

**Thailand/Camboida still trading military fire…charges over ancient temple

**Cuomo’s budget moving through NY has hit NYC schools

**merger deals causing stocks to climb

**Groupon – epic failure –Superbowl commercial -tasteful comments on the back of what seems like Tibetans

**Justice Thomas‘s wife has decided to try her hand at being a lobbyist …

**Factories are doing well but no new hiring being done

CSPAN …

Senate Ethics Committee appoints special counsel in John Ensign case

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/feb/01/senate-ethics-committee-appoints-special-counsel-j/

House Republicans move to slash domestic programs

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110203/ap_on_re_us/us_congress_budget_3

Obama signs nuclear treaty documents Wednesday

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110202/ap_on_re_us/us_obama_russia_nuclear

Shortly after announcing an overhaul of the nation’s homeland security measures, Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), joins C‑SPAN’s Newsmakers to expound on the new approach to prevent terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. http://c-span.com/Events/DHS-Secretary-Janet-Napolitano/10737419403/

**

Egypt will not back to the way it was before protests disrupted the country, President Obama said tonight in a pre-Super Bowl interview. Speaking to Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly, the President would not say when Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak would step down http://c-span.com/Events/President-Obama-Egypt-Not-Going-Back/10737419356/ 

Professor Elizabeth Varon teaches a class on fugitive slave laws in the run up to the Civil War at the University of Virginia. Passed in 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act indirectly resulted in the expansion of the Underground Railroad by which slaves could escape from Southern slave-holding states. http://c-span.com/Events/Lectures-in-History-Fugitive-Slave-Laws/10737419325/