Tag Archives: Barack Obama

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mondaish Monday

04/15/2013 Nativegrl77

079 Capitol Hill United States Congress 1993 (Photo credit: David Holt London)

just another rant …

It’s the middle of April , technically spring, the last day to file taxes, but some Americans are still battling snow or summer like temperature while others hear birds chirping and it feels like spring , though if you live on the left coast …. It still feels like fall.

The weather is like politics …right, seemingly straight forward with designated seasons only to find as the years progress, little bumps appear that turn into malicious masses and in spite of it those who happen to be addicted to politics like so many wait to see when and where the sequester hammer will fall. Though the sequester is only about a month old the media seems to have moved on to sizing up how Hillary will do against the various Republicans wanting to be King; I mean President.

If you did not know better and took what the media spews as the truth, it seemed as if we were closer to 2016 than the beginning of President Obama’s 2^nd term. Telling viewers that gun safety legislation was more than impossible and a filibuster was imminent; then President Obama gave a fabulous speech with families of victims of gun violence standing with President Obama in support of better gun safety laws. This led Newtown families to be advocates for their and our futures asking that members of Congress to do their jobs and let the debate on gun reform happen on the floor of the Senate and the first test vote to move forward and debate Gun Reform was taken on the Senate floor and passed 68 -31. Unfortunately, two Democratic Senators decided to side with Republicans and while gun reform seems like a no brainer to me we should give props to anyone for their bipartisan efforts to move gun laws into the 21^st Century.

Now, the media focus still seems to want viewers to accept that nothing positive can be done in Congress and we hear all their skepticism they have leaped frogged from 2016 elections to the pushing public cynicism on all that is on the Congressional calendar. Yet, this is the time that voters, people who have friend’s family or co-workers fallen victim to gun violence make calls to a Republican member of the House

This week, in Congress the political games are just about to begin; the so-called debates heated and the word filibuster will probably make its way into even the youngest members of our society’s vocabulary, but as Margaret’s Mead said fits …

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. – Margaret Mead

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Now Is The Time …

04/12/2013 Nativegrl77

In January, President Obama proposed a series of executive actions to help keep our kids and communities safe — and put forward a set of commonsense proposals for Congress to consider that can make a real difference in protecting our citizens from gun violence.

As Washington debates this issue, let’s make sure the voices of the American people are impossible to ignore.

Make your voice heard by joining the White House call for action on social media.

Click on graphic below for more information

Today is the Day

04/09/2013 Nativegrl77

National Women's Law Center - Stop Discounting Women


	Today is the day!



	Thank the President for his leadership on fair pay today and ask him to sign a fair pay executive order.

Today is the day!
Equal Pay Day represents the day that the average woman’s wages finally catch up to the average man’s earnings from the year before. You read that right: we had to get more than 3 months into 2013 before women’s wages caught up with men’s from the prior year.
We need to channel our shock and anger into action or it’s not going to get any better.
That’s why we need your help RIGHT NOW! Thank the President for his leadership on fair pay today and ask him to take the next step by signing an executive order on equal pay.
The executive order would ensure that contractors who do business with the federal government cannot retaliate against workers who discuss their own pay. The order would affect over 20 percent of America‘s civilian workforce.
The bottom line is that you can’t learn if you’re being paid less if your employer can penalize you for talking about your salary. That’s the rule that applied to Lilly Ledbetter when she worked for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., which was, you guessed it, a federal contractor. It took her nearly 20 years to find out that she was being paid as much as 40 percent less than her male co-workers. Had there been a ban on these sorts of punishing pay practices, Lilly might have learned much earlier about her lower pay.
President Obama can take steps to end retaliatory pay secrecy policies among federal contractors. Please join us by taking action today!
This is why we need your help: After a decade in which the 23-cent wage gap has not budged one penny, we must fight this issue on all fronts. That’s why we’re asking President Obama to sign the executive order. And that’s why we’re also working with our champions in Congress to pass key equal pay legislation like the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Fair Pay Act.
Thanks for your support and continued work on this important issue.
Sincerely,

Fatima Goss Graves Vice President for Education and Employment National Women’s Law Center

P.S. NWLC has released new resources for Equal Pay Day. Check out our interactive wage gap map and new fact sheets on how the wage gap hurts women and families, wage gap and women of color, and explaining the wage gap.
P.P.S. Want to take action on Facebook? Share our new graphic that explains why punitive pay secrecy policies punish employees and help hide discrimination.

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Building a Cleaner and More Secure Energy Future

04/08/2013 Nativegrl77

President Obama delivers remarks on clean energy at the Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Ill., March 15, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

On March 15, President Obama traveled to the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois to discuss the Energy Security Trust that he announced in the 2013 State of The Union Address. The Trust, which builds on a proposal supported by a broad bipartisan coalition including retired military leaders, would provide a reliable stream of funding for critical, breakthrough research focused on developing cost-effective transportation alternatives to get our cars and trucks off oil.

The President’s proposal sets aside $2 billion over 10 years and would support research into a wide range of cost-effective technologies – like advanced vehicles that run on electricity, homegrown biofuels, fuel cells, and domestically produced natural gas. Paired with other Administration policies, including our historic new fuel economy standards that are already saving families and businesses money at the pump, the Trust would help solidify America’s position as a world leader in advanced transportation technology.

This represents just a snapshot of the Administration’s Energy Security Trust proposal. For more information, read the White House blog on the Energy Security Trust. Also be sure to check out the President’s recent weekly address on this proposal.

News & Events

New EPA Report: Initial Data Shows Significant Gains in Fuel Economy for 2012
The EPA released its annual report that tracks the fuel economy of vehicles sold in the United States, underscoring the major increases made in the efficiency of the vehicles Americans drive, reducing oil consumption and cutting carbon emissions. According to the report, EPA estimates that between 2007 and 2012 fuel economy values increased by 16 percent while carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have decreased by 13 percent, and in 2012 alone the report indicates a significant one year increase of 1.4 miles per gallon (mpg) for cars and trucks. In addition, compared to five years ago, consumers have twice as many hybrid and diesel vehicle choices, a growing set of plug-in electric vehicle options, and a six-fold increase in the number of car models with combined city/highway fuel economy of 30 mpg or higher.

President Obama Nominates New Energy Department and EPA Heads
President Obama on March 4 nominated Ernest Moniz to replace Steven Chu as Secretary of Energy, and Gina McCarthy to take over U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) leadership from Lisa Jackson. Of his new Energy Secretary nominee, Obama said “Ernie knows that we can produce more energy and grow our economy while still taking care of our air, our water and our climate.” In announcing McCarthy’s nomination, President Obama called her a top environmental official in Massachusetts and Connecticut, where she helped design programs to expand energy efficiency and promote renewable energy. She previously served as the assistant administrator of the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation.

Interior Department Approves Three Renewable Energy Projects in California and Nevada
As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to continue to expand domestic energy production, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced on March 13 the approval of three major renewable energy projects that, when built, are expected to deliver 1,100 megawatts to the grid – enough to power more than 340,000 homes – and help support more than 1,000 jobs through construction and operations. Since 2009, Interior has approved 37 renewable energy projects, including 20 utility-scale solar facilities, 8 wind farms and 9 geothermal plants, with associated transmission corridors and infrastructure to connect to established power grids. When built, these projects will provide more than 11,500 megawatts of power, or enough electricity to power more than 3.8 million homes, and support an estimated 13,500 construction and operations jobs.

Obama Administration Holds 39-Million-Acre Oil and Gas Lease Sale in Central Gulf of Mexico
Taking the latest step in President Obama’s efforts to continue to expand safe and responsible domestic energy production, the Department of the Interior recently held a nearly 39 million-acre oil and gas lease sale for the Central Gulf of Mexico. As part of the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy, domestic oil and gas production has grown each year the President has been in office, with domestic oil production currently higher than any time in two decades and natural gas production at its highest level ever.

Energy Department Partnerships Speed Advanced Vehicle Technologies
As part of the Obama Administration’s commitment to speeding the transition to more sustainable energy sources that will help drive economic growth, the Energy Department on March 5 announced 16 major U.S. employers and two stakeholder groups have joined the Workplace Charging Challenge to give more American workers access to new transportation options, while another three U.S. corporations have joined the National Clean Fleets Partnership. These steps support President Obama’s goal to drive new technology that offers more vehicle fueling options to American consumers, as highlighted in his State of the Union address. The Workplace Charging Challenge is a collaborative effort to increase the number of U.S. employers offering workplace charging by tenfold in the next five years. The National Clean Fleets Partnership aims to speed the deployment of clean, energy-efficient vehicles and the infrastructure to support their widespread use.