Tag Archives: Bolton

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the FBI and Washington State
NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre testified in Congress last year that we shouldn’t expand the criminal background checks system to cover more gun sales because — he claims — background checks don’t work.[1]Well, we’ve obtained key FBI data that shows more than 40,000 reasons why LaPierre and the NRA are just plain wrong.Since 1998, the federal background check system has blocked 40,976 dangerous people from buying guns in Washington State — including more than 6,000 domestic abusers.

And that’s precisely why we want to expand background checks to cover all gun sales here, including sales between strangers who meet online or at gun shows.

Please help spread the word about this important information on Facebook or on Twitter. Sharing this stat with others will help explain why it’s so important we pass I-594, Washington State’s ballot initiative to expand the state’s background checks law.

40,976 gun sales to dangerous people have been blocked.

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If you don’t use Facebook or Twitter, you can still spread the word by forwarding this email to friends and family.

Initiative 594 — on the ballot in Washington this fall — would close loopholes in Washington’s background check law so that a convicted felon or domestic abuser can’t buy a gun at a gun show or on the internet without passing the same quick and easy background check that law abiding citizens do every day at gun dealers throughout the state.

Passing I-594 into law won’t stop all gun violence — but it is the most effective way to make Washington a safer place for our families.

The first step is to make sure our friends, neighbors and family members have the facts about background checks — no matter how hard the NRA’s leadership tries to undermine them. Share the message now: It’s time to close the background check loophole in Washington State.

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Thanks for being part of this important fight,

Meera Bhardwaj
Washington State Organizing Director
Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund

1. “Wayne LaPierre, NRA Leader, Opposes Expanded Background Checks,” Huffington Post, January 2013.
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Tell MSNBC: Correct Abby Huntsman’s False Social Security Attacks


cafemaillogo

 a repost
In March, TV viewers were subjected to more anti-Social Security rhetoric, this time from Abby Huntsman, co-host of MSNBC’s “The Cycle” and daughter of millionaire and former Republican presidential candidate John Huntsman.Her talking points ranged from misleadingly used life expectancy data to claims that there would be “nothing left” in Social Security for her generation. The two solutions Huntsman offered were to either cut Social Security benefits by 20 percent or to raise the retirement age to 75.Click here to join us in demanding that MSNBC issue an on-air correction.Huntsman’s are the same talking points dreamed up by right-wing think tanks and used time and time again by politicians and Wall Street billionaires who are trying to create a phony generational war, pitting young against old.

When Huntsman says that our options are to either cut benefits or raise the retirement age (which is simply another form of a benefit cut), she ignores that today Social Security can pay out 100 percent of benefits through 2033 and 75 percent of benefits through 2087.

The simplest solution to the problem that Huntsman overstates is to ask millionaires and billionaires to start paying into Social Security at the same rate as the rest of us. This would not only allow Social Security to pay out 100 percent of benefits owed for the next 75 years, but could also result in a benefit increase by as much as $800 per year for the average recipient.

Please join us today by calling on MSNBC to issue an on-air correction to Huntsman’s false claims.

We won’t stand by and allow right-wing talking points to serve as legitimate evidence for the need to cut our earned benefits.  Stand with us as we fight to expand, not cut Social Security!

Thank you for all that you do.

Sincerely,


Roger Hickey

P.S.: Our own Richard Eskow took apart Abby Huntsman’s commentary in this “Dear Abby” letter on OurFuture.org. Perhaps MSNBC could invite Richard to balance Huntsman’s extreme views?
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“A Good Partner, an Equal Partner, and a Partner for the Long Term” ~~ POTUS


whitehouse2President Obama spoke to a crowd that included 50 African leaders, at the U.S.-Africa Business Forum in Washington, D.C. The Business Forum was part of the historic three-day U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit — the largest event any U.S. President has held with African heads of state and government.

The President highlighted Africa’s impressive economic growth, and made clear that America will be a partner in its success — “a good partner, an equal partner, and a partner for the long term.”

It Only Takes Three Minutes to See Why We Must Act on Climate Change

When it comes to climate change, the facts are in. Watch as President Obama’s Science Advisor Dr. John Holdren explains — in less than three minutes — how climate change is making America’s wildfires more dangerous and why we must act now.

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Remembering James Brady: “A Legend at the White House”

On Monday, former White House Press Secretary James Brady passed away in Alexandria, Virginia at the age of 73. The President, the Vice President, the current Press Secretary, and 11 former Press Secretaries honored a man that the President referred to as a “legend at the White House.”

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Karen Deal, WA Democrats


There’s a lot of great news coming out of the Primary Election, like:

  • Irene Bowling, the real Democrat who’s challenging pretend Democrat Tim Sheldon for State Senate, is leading in the 35th District. Two-thirds of voters sent the message that they are tired of Sheldon’s failed leadership.
  • Cyrus Habib has earned 63% of the vote for the State Senate seat formerly held by Rodney Tom.

Thanks to Tom and Sheldon, the Majority Coalition Caucus has caused gridlock in Olympia we usually see only in Washington DC. They’ve left our schools underfunded, our state without a transportation budget, and our social services in jeopardy.

Now we’re in a strong position to take back both seats occupied by Tom and Sheldon and to shift the balance of power in the State Senate.

Can you donate $5 and help us build on this momentum and win back the State Senate?

Matt Isenhower, State Senate candidate in the 45th, was the victim of a vicious smear campaign by a shady conservative PAC, where they mischaracterized his record and – get this – compared him to Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh.

It’s telling that the right wing machine thinks they can draw votes from Isenhower by calling him a Republican! Even Republicans know 45th District voters agree with Democratic values.

Despite this smear campaign, Isenhower had a strong showing in the Primary.

We only need to pick up two seats to win back the State Senate.

There’s a lot of work ahead, but we know how to take on tough challenges and elect Democrats.

History has shown we’ve built some of the strongest field operations and get out the vote efforts in the country — and we’ll do it again.

But we can’t win without the help of our strongest supporters. Donate $5 and be a part of this effort.

Sincerely,

Karen Deal
Executive Director
WA Democrats