Tag Archives: democrats

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Yelp and ALEC are partners ?

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Yelp! is silencing thousands of its users who oppose its recent decision to join ALEC.ALEC protest in ChicagoAt our new site TELLYELP.NO, submit your own Yelp! “review” and we’ll deliver it directly to Yelp’s CEO.

Go

Friends ,

According to documents ColorOfChange obtained from the highly-secretive American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) last month, user-review site Yelp! joined ALEC — and gave the group at least $10,000 — during the opening week of George Zimmerman‘s murder trial.

More than 50 corporations have pulled their funding from ALEC over its responsibility for deadly so-called “Stand Your Ground” — or “Shoot First” — laws. It’s due to Shoot First that Zimmerman was not only acquitted of all criminal charges for his confessed killing of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin,1 but will likely be immune to any civil penalty for wrongful death.2

Pressed to explain the company’s bizarre decision to join ALEC now, Yelp!’s Director of Public Policy admitted he “can’t ignore” the damage ALEC has done.3 But the company is suppressing thousands of negative reviews posted to ALEC’s Yelp! page opposing the move, and Yelp!’s CEO has made every effort to sidestep the growing controversy. To cut through Yelp!’s filter and reach company decisionmakers directly, ColorOfChange is launching a new site — TELLYELP.NO — that drives home the harm Yelp! inflicts on our communities by funding ALEC.

Check out TELLYELP.NO now, and urge CEO Jeremy Stoppelman to withdraw Yelp!’s funding from ALEC.

In the wake of Zimmerman’s acquittal, Shoot First — with its legal presumption that subjective, racist fears are justifiable grounds for vigilante homicide — has served to paint a target on the backs of Black youth.4 Shoot First endangers millions of people living in more than two dozen states, and there is now eight years of available data on the laws’ racially-biased outcomes.5 But ALEC has taken no steps to repeal Shoot First laws in the states where they’re on the books — nor to stop ALEC legislators from continuing to introduce new ones. Ten Shoot First bills have been introduced so far in 2013, and two have passed.6

ALEC is a bill mill that thrives on millions in fungible corporate “membership,” “scholarship” and “sponsorship” monies;7 this explicit pay-to-play legislation pipeline ensures that ALEC will continue to produce extreme profit-driven laws8 that exploit and endanger our communities. By funding it, Yelp! is directly furthering all aspects of the ALEC legislative agenda, and is responsible for the harms caused by the laws that result.

Join us in urging Yelp!’s CEO to withdraw funding from ALEC and TELLYELP.NO now. And when you do, please ask your friends and family to do the same.

Thanks and Peace,

–Rashad, Matt, Arisha, Kim, Johnny and the rest of the ColorOfChange team
September 26th, 2013

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don’t share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way.

 

References

1. “Fox News Still Denying Role Of Stand Your Ground In Zimmerman Acquittal,” Media Matters for America, 08-20-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2975?t=10&akid=3138.1174326.5lrQmV

2. “‘Stand your ground’ law may snarl any civil suit vs. George Zimmerman,” Orlando Sentinel, 07-16-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2966?t=12&akid=3138.1174326.5lrQmV

3. “Agree: can’t ignore it,” @lutherlowe (Twitter), 08-15-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2967?t=14&akid=3138.1174326.5lrQmV

4. “Open season on black boys after a verdict like this,” The Guardian, 07-14-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2969?t=16&akid=3138.1174326.5lrQmV

5. “Uneven application, shocking outcomes,” Tampa Bay Times, 07-03-12
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2970?t=18&akid=3138.1174326.5lrQmV

6. “ALEC at 40: Turning Back the Clock on Prosperity and Progress,” Center for Media and Democracy, 08-08-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2971?t=20&akid=3138.1174326.5lrQmV

7. “How the ALEC corporate bill mill works,” Capital Times, 08-16-11
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2972?t=22&akid=3138.1174326.5lrQmV

8. “Big Money, ALEC and the Gun Agenda,” Truthout, 12-16-12
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2098?t=24&akid=3138.1174326.5lrQmV

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

how we can win back the House …Mo Elleithee, Democrats.org


We defied some pretty big trends in this past election:

  • For the first time in almost four decades, the winning candidate in Virginia’s governor’s race is from the same party as the president.
  • For the first time in more than twenty years, we elected a Democratic mayor of New York City.
  • In St. Petersburg, Florida we defeated an incumbent Republican mayor, the first time that’s happened in two decades.
  • In Pasco County, Florida, we won a special election for a legislative seat that had been held by Republicans for nearly twenty years.

At one point or another, the cynics and the pundits looked at all of those races, pointed to the history, and said Democrats didn’t have much of a chance. But because supporters like you stepped up, we proved them wrong.

So when people tell you that Democrats can’t take back the 17 seats that we need to win back the House, don’t get mad — get to work and prove them wrong, as well.
Chip in $3 or more and let’s go elect a Democratic House.

If you look at Tuesday’s exit polls from Virginia — a swing state — you see an electorate that looked a lot like the one that showed up to vote for President Obama in 2012. A lot of pundits were saying that would never happen, too.

Load image to see the big news from Election Day.

Recent polling shows Democrats up in 48 congressional races that we need to win 17 of in order to take back the House. If we can do across the country what we did in Virginia — get our Democratic coalition to show up on Election Day — we could be in for a good night next November.

But that won’t happen unless we stand together to put winning plans into action.
Chip in $3 or more to help Democrats seize this moment and invest in talent, tools, and candidates who are going to keep this momentum going:
https://my.democrats.org/Seize-The-Moment

Thanks,

Mo
Mo Elleithee
Communications Director
Democratic National Committee

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

GOP Rejects Own Plan to Keep Government Open


By

CHART: Democrats Have Already Negotiated & Compromised

Republicans continue to falsely claim that President Obama and Democrats won’t negotiate over the budget. That’s just not true.

In fact, Senate Democrats even tried once again this afternoon to launch a formal conference committee to hash out a budget through September of 2014, but Republicans blocked their request, as they have on 19 previous occasions since the Senate passed a budget over six months ago.

What is true is that Democrats refuse to negotiate over keeping the government open and paying the bills that Congress has already racked up. Those items should be non-negotiable. They are simply Congress’ job.

As soon as the GOP brings these latest manufactured crises to an end — as they could at literally any moment if they simply allow the House of Representatives to vote on a clean government funding bill and a bill that guarantees that Congress will not allow an unprecedented and catastrophic default on our obligations — Democrats are more than happy to negotiate on the actual budget.

In fact, they have done plenty of negotiating already. The clean bill to re-open the government is already a huge compromise and agrees to the sequester spending levels that Republicans demanded and promised to bring to a vote mere months ago.

Check out this chart that shows just how much Democrats have already compromised with Republicans:

FundingLevelCharticle-1

This compromise bill was Speaker Boehner’s own idea and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) touted it as a major victory for House Republicans just last month, but now they refuse to even allow the House to vote on it. Worse, Republicans continue to threaten to unleash a “financial apocalypse” on the global economy as soon as next week unless the president and Democrats agree to their laundry list of Tea Party demands.

BOTTOM LINE: Unless Congress acts, we’ll face a global economic calamity next week. Americans across the country — including the family members of our troops killed in action — are already suffering because the GOP shut down the government in a failed effort to deny affordable health insurance to millions.

It’s time for these manufactured crises to end. Republicans just need to allow the House of Representatives to vote on a clean government funding bill and a bill that guarantees that Congress will pay our nation’s bills.

 

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

What a shutdown means for veterans


VoteVets.org

Add your name to VoteVets’ petition calling
for an end to the government shutdown

The Republican-sponsored government shutdown promises to have a drastic, and immediate, impact on veterans and military family members.

Starting today, the Department of Veterans Affairs may be forced to furlough up to 20,000 claims processors — wiping out all of the recent progress made reducing the backlog.

We could also begin to see immediate lapses in care. During the 1995 shutdown, some military hospitals canceled appointments and even some surgeries.

From there, things only get worse…

The VA believes that after two or three weeks “benefit checks it issues, including disability claims and pension payments will be disrupted.”

Worse still, the toll sequester has already taken on military readiness will be multiplied with each passing day.

But nothing ends this shutdown faster than the voices of veterans and military family members, particularly those personally impacted.

Add your name to mine on VoteVets’ petition calling for an end to the government shutdown, and let them know if you expect it to impact your family.

http://action.votevets.org/shutdown

In their zeal to deny coverage to the one million-plus uninsured veterans who will qualify for health care under the Affordable Care Act, Ted Cruz and his Tea Party allies are disproportionately placing the burden of a shutdown on military families.

We have an extraordinarily unique voice in this fight. It’s critical that you make yours heard today.

All the best,

General (Ret.) Wesley Clark

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Tell Mars, Inc. to set an example for the Snack Food 20


Ran

by RAN

Today I visited the corporate headquarters of Mars, Inc. with Strawberry, an orphaned orangutan from Indonesia, to let the company know that consumers all across the world want Mars to stop using Conflict Palm Oil in its products.

Tell Mars and the rest of the Snack Food 20 to cut Conflict Palm Oil!
Image Description

Mars and all of the Snack Food 20 companies need to hear from you too!

Unlike some of its fellow Snack Food 20 companies, like Kraft and Smucker’s, Mars is on the move. We have a chance to push Mars, the maker of wildly popular brands like M&Ms, Snickers, and Combos, to become an industry leader in sourcing responsible palm oil.

After RAN put the snack food sector on notice last April, Mars, Inc. responded by strengthening its palm oil commitment. The company has committed to working towards sourcing 100% of its palm oil from traceable sources that are not associated with deforestation, expansion on carbon-rich peatlands and the violation of human and labor rights.

Mars needs to hear from you right now—the power is in your palm! Tell Mars to turn its new commitments into a global palm oil policy and take action to cut Conflict Palm Oil from its products immediately.

At the Mars HQ, Strawberry and I gave representatives of the company a copy of the RAN report Conflict Palm Oil: How US Snack Food Brands are Contributing to Orangutan Extinction, Climate Change and Human Rights Violations and outlined RAN’s demand to cut Conflict Palm Oil. We’re confident the company is getting the message.

But Mars won’t change unless it hears from enough of us that we expect it to cut Conflict Palm Oil from its products. Tell Mars and the rest of the Snack Food 20 to cut Conflict Palm Oil from their products!