| Weekly Address: Ensuring Equal Pay for Equal WorkIn this week’s address, the President underscored the importance of ensuring equal pay for equal work and highlighted the steps his Administration has taken to expand opportunity and narrow the pay gap that exists between men and women.
Click here to watch this week’s Weekly Address.
|
|||
|
|||
| President Obama at Fort Hood: “Love Never Ends”On Wednesday, President Obama spoke at a memorial service for the soldiers who lost their lives during last week’s shooting at Fort Hood Military Base.
In his remarks, the President explained that we must honor their lives “not in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.” “It’s Nice To Have a Day, But It’s Even Better To Have Equal Pay” The President celebrated Equal Pay Day on Tuesday by doing something only he can: picking up his pen and signing two executive actions to help ensure equal pay for all.
The executive actions President Obama signed will protect federally contracted employees from retaliation if they broach the topic of unequal compensation and will require federal contractors to submit more data on employee compensation, making sure employers take proactive efforts to ensure fair pay for all their employees. Way back in January during the State of the Union address, the President said this would be a year of action, and these executive orders on equal pay are just another reminder that he is keeping that promise. This year marks the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon Baines Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act. President Obama traveled to the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas to reflect on the historic piece of legislation and the legacy of the 36th president.
“Because of the Civil Rights movement, because of the laws President Johnson signed, new doors of opportunity and education swung open for everybody — not all at once, but they swung open. Not just blacks and whites, but also women and Latinos; and Asians and Native Americans; and gay Americans and Americans with a disability,” said President Obama. “They swung open for you, and they swung open for me. And that’s why I’m standing here today — because of those efforts, because of that legacy.” The VP, a Navy SEAL, and Man’s Best Friend Vice President Biden met with Trevor, a Navy SEAL, and Chopper, the military dog who saved Trevor’s life, this week. In this episode of Being Biden — the audio series where the Vice President gives you a window into his daily life and shares some of his most memorable experiences — he shares more about that meeting.
Can’t get enough of the Vice President? Check out every episode of Being Biden. There are a lot of government agencies and web sites out there; sometimes it’s hard to keep track. But scattered on those sites are some helpful resources that can make your life easier.
We’ve searched through the .gov websites out there to find some of the tools that you might just find useful. Head to WhiteHouse.gov/Tools and you can find the farmers’ markets near you, determine if a hybrid car will save you money, and much more. As always, to see even more of this week’s events, watch this week’s episode of West Wing Week:
|
Tag Archives: Congress
BIG win for tigers, orangutans, and you!
|
Share the news with your friends and family |
It’s official. And it’s massive win for Indonesia’s rainforests and the planet.
I almost can’t believe I’m writing this, but after just two short months of campaigning Procter & Gamble (P&G) has officially committed to a ‘No Deforestation’ sourcing policy for its palm oil. This a great step to protect the Indonesian rainforest — home to animals like orangutans and the endangered Sumatran tiger — from future destruction.
Procter & Gamble’s new policy is the direct result of hundreds of thousands of people like you who took their message straight to P&G.
Take a moment to share the good news with your family and friends on Facebook. Or just forward this email.
When Procter & Gamble’s new policy is fully implemented, P&G will trace where its palm oil comes from, and ensure that none of its suppliers are associated with forest destruction.
This a great win — but our work here is far from over. Greenpeace and our allies will be making sure that P&G not only follows through with its commitment, but that it does it faster than its 2020 deadline. We also need many more companies around the world to commit to change their palm oil policies to protect forests. Our goal is to realize No Deforestation worldwide by 2020 — protecting the rainforests of West Africa, South East Asia, and the Amazon.
Today, let’s celebrate the good news together! The power of people made this day possible. Please take a minute to celebrate by spreading the word.
P&G’s new policy is proof that our voices are heard in the board rooms of even the biggest corporations. Companies like Unilever, Nestle, L’Oreal — and now Procter & Gamble — have all committed to No Deforestation because of public pressure from people like you.
For a healthy planet, all of us need forests. And to save them, Greenpeace is building a movement of people across the world who are willing to fight forest destruction wherever they find it: whether it’s in their household products, or directly threatening their communities. Together, we can see more victories for forests like today.
Sincerely,
Joao Talocchi
Greenpeace Palm Oil Campaigner
P.S. YOU did it. Procter & Gamble has officially committed to a ‘No Deforestation’ sourcing policy for its palm oil. That means no more destroying Sumatran tiger habitat for Head & Shoulders shampoo! Celebrate and share the good news with your friends on Facebook.
Share this:
a message from Robert Reich
I’m sick and tired of a tax system that favors the wealthy at everyone else’s expense, so I put together a special Tax Day video that explains the problem—and what we can do about it.
The first step toward solving a problem is understanding it. If, after you watch this video, you agree that it’s time to change things, please share the video with your friends.
Together, we can build an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthiest 1%.
Thanks for lifting up your voice in our democracy.
–Robert Reich
Share this:
Thoughts and prayers
|
After yet another horrific tragedy in Fort Hood this week, we here at the Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility would like to offer our thoughts and prayers for all of those affected by this terrible event. But we know all too well that our thoughts and prayers aren’t enough — we have to offer something more. It is times like this that we are reminded that only together can we address gun violence in our communities, here in our state and across the nation.
We in Washington State are standing together and taking the first step in addressing this problem: We’re going to bring I-594, which would apply existing background checks to all firearm sales in Washington, to the ballot in November. In the face of these tragedies, we need to join hands and work together to make our state safer — and we can’t do it without you. Thank you, Zach Silk |
Share this:
Oncologist had discussions with Merck this week, and they rejected our request
Greetings from Mikaela & I, especially to the 200,000+ who’ve joined our team since our previous email update! At 405,000, we now outnumber our old hometown of Oakland, CA!
For both new and established #WeGotThis members, it’s essential that you join us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/savemikaela), our blog (http://shegotthis.wordpress.com/), and Twitter (https://twitter.com/keithknappjr). We post regular updates and requests for help on these pages, and you’ll miss great shareable content like the #WeGotThis video (http://bit.ly/QMzfPB) if you don’t join us!
You’ll find an update on Mikaela’s health & campaign progress later in this email, but we urgently need your help:
1. Mikaela’s Million — We are working with the change.org folks on planning a day for us to deliver your petitions directly to Merck. Because doing this will require me to leave Mikaela, I want to maximize the impact by having 1,000,000 petitions to hand over. If each of you can get 1-2 of your friends or family to sign the petition, we’ll be able to hit this number easily. Please do it today; Mikaela does not have time to wait.
2. #WeGotThis shirts — Inspired by successful campaigns of the past, we are selling #WeGotThis t-shirts to help fund our campaign. They were designed by Mikaela herself and are available for $15 at http://teespring.com/mikaelaknapp. They are only available until Tuesday (April 8), so buy yours today! The petition URL is on the back of the shirt, so these will be a great way to spread the word with your local community.
3. Social Media Crew: We want to start engaging directly with Merck through their social channels, but we need your help to amplify our noise. If you’re interested in getting involved with this effort, please shoot me an email (keithknappjr@gmail.com) and I’ll add you to our #WeGotThis social media email list. You’ll be prompted to share things like ready-made tweets, so it won’t be a huge time commitment. Before you sign up, please understand that Mikaela & I value the positive tone of the campaign, and will in no way be asking you to attack these companies through their social channels; in fact, we wholeheartedly discourage it.
On to the updates:
First, Mikaela’s health — SHE’S BACK HOME! It always takes her several days to recover from a hospital stay, so she ought to be fully settled by the end of the weekend. We posted a picture of her triumphant return on the #WeGotThis Facebook page, which you should definitely be following for more regular updates than these emails — visit https://www.facebook.com/savemikaela and hit that “LIKE” button right now!
Our fundraiser (http://gfwd.at/1hTL25D) has been a success and we should have our genetic test results within 2 weeks! Thanks to all who donated and those who continue to do so!
Next, an update on our campaign: We’ve had a productive, yet unsuccessful, week of seeking entry into more clinical trials, and we now feel comfortable saying that we have lost all hope on that front. We are shifting the entirety of our efforts to arranging compassionate use with Merck.
Just to be clear, Mikaela’s return home does NOT mean that we have won access to the treatment she needs. Our oncologist had discussions with Merck this week, and they rejected our request for compassionate use. We are not giving up, and our Congressman’s office is working with Merck & the FDA to find ways to assuage their concerns.
Thanks for your continued love and support. Mikaela & I are overcome by the personal level of interest many of you have shown in our cause. Your stories of not giving up and beating cancer fuel our fight, and you’re all playing an essential part in helping us to craft a similar story of our own someday.
With hope for a great week.
#WeGotThis,
Keith
Be a Seed for Change 
You must be logged in to post a comment.