 |
| Net neutrality is a big deal. Corporations are spending big money on lawsuits and lobbying to make the policy go away, and this week those corporations won a big victory. But the fight isn’t over: now is the time to speak out.John Whitehouse Twitter: @existentialfish Net Neutrality Matters A Lot
Cliamte Change And Broadcast Networks
Lives Are On The Line
Inside Fox News
FEATURED VIDEO
JUST WRONG
HERE WE GO AGAIN
HE DOESN’T GET IT
IMAGE OF THE WEEK |
It’s only January 15, but Republican legislators and their activist allies are not wasting any time when it comes to the war on women. Just today, both the Supreme Court and Congress considered new restrictions that could limit basic access to abortion.
1. A panel of House Republicans, all of which are men, is advancing a bill that contains far-reaching restrictions on abortion access. The bill, the so-called Rape Audit, H.R. 7, aims to limit access to abortion by making it much more difficult for women to purchase private insurance that covers abortion (as most private plans currently do) with their own money. (Similar laws were passed by seven states last year.) In addition to increasing taxes on women and small businesses, it would also empower the IRS to conduct audits of rape survivors to ensure they’re not merely pretending to be raped. Pro-choice legislators and advocates have been pushing back against this assault, including a group of Democratic congresswomen who sternly told the GOP to “stop wasting taxpayers’ time and dollars waging attacks on women’s constitutionally protected right to make informed health care decisions about their own bodies.”
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), who chairs the Judiciary Committee, claimed the bill is actually a jobs plan because denying women access to abortions will make them have more children, who will in turn help grow the economy. Another leading anti-abortion legislator, Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), blocked a Democratic effort to amend the bill with legislation that cracks down on workplace discrimination against pregnant women by claiming that abortion access has nothing do with pregnant women.
CREDIT: DEMOCRATIC LEADER NANCY PELOSI
2. The Supreme Court may rule to eliminate buffer zones at abortion clinics, allowing protesters almost unlimited access to patients and staff. Depending on how the Justices rule in McCullen v. Coakley, a case they heard today, cities and states may no longer be allowed to enact buffer zones around reproductive health care facilities. Since protests outside of clinics often turn violent, abortion providers say that buffer zones are critical for ensuring the safety of their patients and staff. In fact, there have been over 4,700 incidents of clinic violence and 140 clinic blockades since 1995.
Justices Scalia and Alito incredulously claimed that anti-abortion activists who gather outside clinics and harass patients and staff aren’t actually even protesting, they merely want to “speak quietly” to patients. It appears likely that Alito, Scalia, Kennedy (who has long opposed buffer zones) will be able to find at least two other justices to strike down the Massachusetts law and perhaps overturn a 2000 ruling that upheld a similar law in Colorado.
It’s worth noting that the Supreme Court bans protests on its own plaza.
3. In the past 3 years, states have enacted more abortion restrictions than during the entire previous decade. A new report from the Guttmacher Institute notes that between 2011 and 2013, state legislatures enacted 205 laws that restrict women’s reproductive rights. In the decade prior, between 2001 and 2010, states enacted 189 such restrictions. While the campaign against abortion rights rages on nationwide, Guttmacher points out that the multiple, often overlapping restrictions enacted just a few states — North Dakota, Texas, Arkansas, and North Carolina — helped drive the spike.
CREDIT: GUTTMACHER INSTITUTE
4. States with anti-choice governors and state legislatures outweigh states with pro-choice ones. The two charts below illustrate the imbalance. And in a new state-by-state report card released this week by NARAL Pro-Choice America, 25 states receive a failing grade for reproductive rights while America on the whole gets just a ‘D’ grade.
Choice Positions Of Governors
CREDIT: NARAL
Choice Positions Of State Governments
CREDIT: NARAL
BOTTOM LINE: Women’s health advocates are hopeful that this year will prove to be a turning point in the fight over women’s reproductive rights, but so far we’re seeing more of the same from their opponents.
 |
ICE: Please Don’t Deport My Mother, Gloria Pedroza |
|
|
My Mother came to this country to give us a better future, but is being prosecuted and will be deported in February 2014. On top of that they want to give her a 10year no entry into the U.S . As a 6 1/2 year service vet with 2 deployments to Afghanistan I find this appalling. I was born here in the U.S, server my country, and they wont let my mother stay.
The only crime here is her not being allowed to stay after she raised us to be the best that she could, which she accomplished. We all have successful jobs as Managers, History majors, Pottery/Art teachers and even in the Military.
But now they want to deport her because she dose not have papers after 26 years of being in this country, which was founded on immigrants who came to this new world in hopes of a better life. She even has a Daughter who depends on her due to having Liver failure cause by a UCLA Hospital due to them giving her the wrong medication. My sister needs my mother for moral and finacial support. She even has grandkids, and still they wont consider this as sufficient to let her stay.
So I’m asking for your help to help me fight this and help keep my mom here so she can watch her grandkids grow and see them have kids of there own.
Thank you for your time. Spc. Sotelo, Joe
Dear Friend,
repost: Why? Where are they NOW ?
It’s been a busy summer here at the White House, with no shortage of exciting and important announcements. In light of this, I’m writing to let you know we will be having more regular updates to this list. During the month of August we find ourselves reflecting and commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington in 1963. During that summer the country reflected on the economic and racial equality of others and today we continue to act on that legacy.
This past week the President met with civil rights leaders to discuss securing the Vote for All Americans. Please take some time to read this weekend and share with family and friends.
Best,
Heather Foster Office of Public Engagement
Monday, President Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder, and Secretary of Labor Tom Perez met with civil rights leaders, and state and local elected officials at the White House to discuss how to safeguard every eligible American’s right to vote in light of the recent Supreme Court decision on Shelby County vs. Holder.
The Supreme Court’s decision invalidating one of the Voting Rights Act’s core provisions, upsets decades of well-established practices that help make sure voting is fair, especially in places where voting discrimination has been historically prevalent.
President Obama acknowledged that for nearly 50 years, the Voting Rights Act has helped secure the right to vote for millions of Americans, and expressed deep disappointment about the recent decision. He asked the leaders in the room for their ideas on how to strengthen voting rights, and also encouraged them to continue educating their communities on the Voting Rights Act, and how to exercise voting rights.
We’ve seen much progress towards guaranteeing every American the right to vote. But, as the Supreme Court recognized, voting discrimination still exists. And while the decision is a setback, it doesn’t represent the end of either our efforts to end voting discrimination, or our basic right to vote.
Since the decision, President Obama has called on Congress to pass legislation to ensure every American has equal access to the polls. The Voting Rights Act has been reauthorized repeatedly by wide bipartisan margins in Congress, and signed into law by Republican presidents. In addition, every single American should have an interest in ensuring that every eligible American is able to exercise his or her right to vote. So we remain hopeful that we will find a legislative solution to ensure a fair and equal voting process.
Monday’s meeting was another step forward to protect the vote, and we will continue to do everything in our power to secure this most basic right for all Americans.
Monday’s participants included:
The Senate will meet for a pro forma session only with no business conducted at 11:45am on Friday, January 3, 2014.
Additionally, only if the Senate does not receive a message that the House has adopted S.Con.Res.30, the adjournment resolution, the Senate will meet on the following dates and times:
– Tuesday, December 24th at noon
– Friday, December 27th at noon and
– Tuesday, December 31st at noon
The Senate will convene at 2:00pm on Monday, January 6, 2014.
Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S.1845, the Unemployment Insurance Extension Act with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.
At 3:00pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to resume consideration of Executive Calendar #452, the nomination of Janet Yellen, of California, to be Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System with the time until 5:30pm equally divided and controlled in the usual form prior to a vote on confirmation of the Yellen nomination.
At 5:30pm, there will be 2 roll call votes:
– Confirmation of the Yellen nomination and
– Motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S.1845, the Unemployment Extension Act.
=====================================================================
Last Floor Action:12/19
11:05:00 A.M. – The Speaker announced
that the House do now adjourn pursuant to H. Res. 438.
The next meeting is
scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on December 23, 2013.
Be a Seed for Change 
You must be logged in to post a comment.