Tag Archives: Congress

by Jessica Pieklo
September 14, 2012
8:00 am

Dispatches From The War On Women: Planned Parenthood Joins The Voter ID Fight

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Welcome to Dispatches, a look at the latest news and issues from the trenches in the War on Women. Have a story from your state or an idea on how to push back? Share them here and fight back against the War on Women.

Maybe it’s a function of necessity, but civil rights organizations have realized the only way to make sure the Republicans don’t lie, cheat, and steal their way to an electoral victory in November is to come together and support each others previously siloed causes.

The latest evidence in this liberal coalition building can be found in the upper Midwest, where Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota has come out to take a public stand against two constitutional amendments on the ballot in Minnesota this fall. One is a measure to ban same sex marriage, and another would pass one of the most restrictive Voter ID requirements in the country.

The group has created two political funds to help defeat the amendments, and as government and public affairs director Timothy Stanley told Minnesota Public Radio, the group is getting involved because both issues matter to the people Planned Parenthood serves. “We work in coalitions with all these groups every day, from doing combined outreach to vulnerable communities that need health care, to working in political coalitions with groups that are fighting for LGBT rights right along side our fight for women’s health care.”

Instead of raising money for Minnesotans United for All Families, the main group working to defeat the marriage amendment, and Our Vote Our Future, the main organization working to defeat the voter ID amendment, Planned Parenthood plans to use its own staff and resources to campaign specifically on those two amendments. Planned Parenthood will be phoning, mailing and using social media to “make sure that people who support Planned Parenthood know that we are standing alongside the communities that are affected by these two amendments and we are calling on our supporters to vote no on these amendments.”
This type of coalition building comes after a historic joining of forces this summer by the NAACP and LGBT groups. The NAACP put its support behind the battle for marriage equality while LGBT groups came out in force over Fathers Day to protest NYPD stop-and-frisk policies in New York alongside the NAACP.

Given the nature of the right’s attacks on civil rights across the board, this kind of coalition building will not just be helpful, it is necessary. And with any luck, it will successfully stem the tide of these attacks and put them to bed once and for all.

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Don’t Let the Fracking Industry Destroy Communities

09/17/2012 Nativegrl77

action alert!

Tell President Obama: Stop letting the fracking industry run amok.

Keep Toxic Chemicals Out of Drinking Water

Disposing of millions of gallons of chemically laced water is something fracking operations are doing unsafely, unsuccessfully, and without federal regulation. President Obama must end fracking’s dangerous exemption from The Safe Drinking Water Act before this wastewater drags down the nation’s health.

Fracking uses water contaminated with 596 chemicals–many of which are toxic to humans even in extremely small doses. Birth defects, cancer, and kidney problems are just a few of the risks posed by an unregulated fracking industry. Tell the Obama administration to prioritize clean air and drinking water.

Holding the fracking industry accountable for water and air contamination is long overdue. We shouldn’t have to put our brains, nervous systems, and vision at risk just from stepping outside and taking a breath of fresh air. It’s time to protect families from chemicals that should have never found their way into the air and water supply.

When the fracking industry uses nearly 600 chemicals in a water supply that gets back to our bathtubs and drinking glasses–why isn’t it subject to federal water regulations? Tell President Obama to regulate a fracking industry intent on serving America a chemical cocktail.

Thank you for taking action,Kara F.
Care2 and ThePetitionSite Team

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Sheldon Whitehouse for Senate

09/17/2012 Nativegrl77


	Too many Rhode Islanders are struggling in this tough economy. You know this, I know this, and so does Senator Whitehouse. That’s why Sheldon’s top priority has been putting people back to work — and that starts with bringing jobs back to America. Our new ad, “Holes,” highlights Sheldon’s efforts to do just that. Watch the video and help us spread the word by sharing the video with your friends by email, Facebook, and Twitter. Sheldon has been fighting to eliminate tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. *That’s right, the United States gives* tax advantages to companies that are outsourcing American jobs — and Sheldon is fighting to close this loophole. In the Senate, Sheldon authored the Offshoring Prevention Act and he co-sponsored and voted for both the Bring Jobs Home Act and the Creating American Jobs and Ending Offshoring Act. These bills will encourage bringing American jobs back home, but too many people in Washington are looking out for special interests and not middle class families*. Fortunately for us, Sheldon does more than vote the right way — he’s been helping to lead* the fight for middle class families. We need leaders like Sheldon in the Senate and it’s more important than ever to re-elect him to keep fighting for Rhode Island, to keep fighting for us. Will you take a moment to watch this ad and share it with your friends? You can help make sure that every Rhode Islander knows what is at risk in this election. And we’ve made it easy for you to share this ad with your friends on this page. We’re in the final sprint to the election. Your continued help over the next 53 days will make all the difference — so let’s go spread the word! Thanks for all you do, Tony Simon Campaign Manager, Whitehouse for Senate P.S. If you haven’t already liked Sheldon’s campaign on Facebook, it’s a great way for you to stay connected with the campaign and help spread the word about Sheldon’s work. Visit Facebook.com/SheldonWhitehouse and be sure to click the “Like” button to see our updates

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the President Speaks : Attack on Benghazi

09/12/2012 Nativegrl77

President Obama Speaks on the Attack on Benghazi

President Obama delivers a statement from the Rose Garden about the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya. September 12, 2012.More

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a message from Alan Grayson … for Congress

08/22/2012 Nativegrl77

Just Chillin’.

I’d like to tell you how I met Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ).
There is a gorgeous hall in the Cannon House Office Building. It has high ceilings, beautiful chandeliers, enormous windows, etc. After the 2008 election, the House Democratic Caucus invited new members, returning members and retiring members to that hall, to choose our caucus and committee leaders.
There were dividers set across the middle of the hall. In the front were the dais, the lectern, the chairs and the speeches, delivered by all the candidates for leadership positions.
In the back was the food.
In the front, you had to listen. In the back, you could have a conversation. You could do business. You could make a deal.
Being a newbie, I was very interested to see who was in front, and who was in back. I went to the back of the hall – not because I was hungry, but because I wanted to see what was up back there.
In the back of the back of the hall, I saw a man with a bushy Van Dyke beard, leaning up against the wall. He was wearing blue jeans, a denim shirt, and a shoestring tie with a silver ornament. He had his beverage of choice in hand.
He was just chillin’.
I walked up to him and introduced myself, rather woodenly: “Hi, I’m Alan Grayson, the Congressman from Orlando.”

He looked at me, smiled warmly, and said simply: “I’m Raul.”

That was my first experience with the preternatural calm, poise, modesty and dignity of Rep. Raul Grijalva.
There are certain thoughts that come to mind for Members of Congress over and over again. One of them goes like this: “If only your voters could see for themselves what kind of person you are, then you would get 99.9% of the vote.”
That’s what other Members of Congress think about Raul Grijalva. The phrase “nice guy” doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Because of the extraordinary respect that other Members of Congress have for him, Raul was elected Chairman of the Progressive Caucus at the end of only his fourth term in office. As the Chairman of the Progressive Caucus, Raul is our spokesman on reducing unemployment, universal healthcare, cutting military expenditures, campaign finance reform, progressive taxation, improving education, and peace.
Right now, a conservative Democrat is challenging Raul Grijalva in his primary next Tuesday. She was appointed to her current position by crackpot Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who is famous for sticking her finger in the face of the President of the United States and shouting at him.
Raul’s opponent says that the reason why she wants to go to Washington is that “she is frustrated with Washington.” Personally, I’m frustrated with traffic jams, but that doesn’t make me want to be in one. I think that you need a better reason than that to be elected to Congress.
Raul’s opponent, a rich businesswoman, is running crass attack ads on TV against him. She’s up on the air, and he’s not. Raul needs to fight back; we need to help. Please contribute to Raul Grijalva’s campaign. We can’t afford to lose him.
Courage,
Alan Grayson