Tag Archives: health care

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FWD: a message from … Zach Silk, Yes on 594

09/27/2014 Nativegrl77

I saw this gun posted for sale online yesterday in Mill Creek.

And, I know you’re not a convicted felon or anything … but if you were, you could just hand over $550 in cash and buy this .45 caliber pistol with no background check at all. He’ll get back to you within an hour.

Really — that’s how huge the loopholes are in our gun laws here in Washington.

Help us close the loopholes in our gun laws that allow people prohibited by law from owning firearms: Pledge to vote Yes on 594 today.

If you’ve read this far, you’ll be horrified to know that recent research suggests that 4,400 people each year WHO LEGALLY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BUY GUNS buy them online in Washington.

4,400 EACH YEAR.

Click here right now to do something about it.

Thanks,

Zach Silk
Campaign Manager
Yes on 594

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Ten years in prison

09/20/2014 Nativegrl77

Eight Greenpeace activists are each facing almost ten years in prison for participating in a peaceful protest to protect Indonesian rainforest.

Sign our statement of support today for the action they took and the right to peaceful protest.

In just a few weeks, eight Greenpeace activists, who last March participated in a peaceful protest at Procter & Gamble’s Cincinnati headquarters to protect Indonesian rainforest¹, will be going on trial.

They’re each facing two separate felony charges — burglary and vandalism — and if convicted, they could spend almost ten years in prison.

These are crimes they did not commit. The charges in this case are an attempt to intimidate us and prevent more people from taking action — especially when it relates to large corporations like Procter & Gamble. The eight individuals on trial in Cincinnati are prepared to accept the consequences of their actions for a cause they believe in. But they aren’t burglars. And they aren’t vandals. That’s why they’re going to trial.

I’ll be there in person in Cincinnati during the trial doing everything I can to support the eight individuals and their case. You have a role to play too.

Add your name to our statement of support today and show these individuals that they’re not alone and that you believe in the right to peaceful protest.

When I took the job of Executive Director of Greenpeace USA, I didn’t think that this would be how I’d introduce myself to you. But this is a very serious moment, and we need your help.

I’m Annie Leonard. You might know me from my most recent project, the Story of Stuff, but I actually got my start in the environmental movement at Greenpeace over 20 years ago. And I’ve seen firsthand the power that peaceful protest can have.

I’ll be delivering your messages of support personally to the activists. It’s important that they know they’re not alone and that the there is broad support for the action they took. And it’s important that we work together to protect the right to freedom of speech which allowed this action to take place, and which will continue to allow other activists to take direct action in the future.

Add your name to our statement of support today and show these eight individuals that they’re not alone and that you believe in the right to peaceful protest.

The right to peaceful protest is one of the single most important tools at our disposal, not only to protect the environment, but to bring about positive social change in a democracy. It should be allowed to be exercised without the fear of unjust legal consequences.

Carmen, I can’t tell you how excited I am to have come home to Greenpeace as its Executive Director. Or how excited I am to work with you in the days, months and years to come to make our world a greener and more peaceful place.

Thanks for all you do. I’ll be sure to keep you updated as we get closer to the trial and the proceedings begin.

Sincerely,

Annie Leonard
Greenpeace USA Executive Director

1. For more information on the protest and why these activists did what they did, check out this blog post.

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Jindal Versus Louisiana Schoolchildren … a repost

09/16/2014 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

Another Republican chooses to sue the Administration

Bobby Jindal, the Republican Governor of Louisiana, filed suit against the Obama administration on Wednesday. He argues that the Department of Education has exceeded its constitutional authority by offering states grants if they choose to opt-in to the Common Core standards.

Jindal’s Complaint claims the Common Core is “an attempt by the executive branch to implement national education reform far beyond the intentions of Congress; in fact, in contradiction to 50 years of Congressional policy forbidding federal direction or control of curriculum, the cornerstone of education policy.”

While this lawsuit makes little sense for a variety of reasons, perhaps the strangest is the complete about-face Jindal made. Not only did he sign the legislation implementing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), his administration actively pushed the legislature to enact them. Back in 2012, Stafford Palmieri, Jindal’s top education policy adviser, wrote: “I frankly don’t foresee a controversy over this and if there is one and we come out swinging about how impt [sic] this is that helps not hurts our case. We stand very firmly behind CCSS as you know,” according to emails obtained The Times-Picayune.

However, in Louisiana, Bobby Jindal is one of only a few politicians to choose politics over kids.

Back in May, a bill to repeal the Common Core didn’t even make it out of the Louisiana Senate Education Committee. And in April, the corresponding House committee shot down two Jindal-backed repeal bills. While a fraction of the state legislature tried to stop implementation by suing Education Superintendent John White, their request was denied. White, too, remains an ardent supporter of the standards.

Jindal marks the far-right on Common Core: only a handful of states are not participating in the voluntary program. If Jindal gets his way, he will join a select group of flip-floppers:

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, who once supported their implementation, signed a bill this June to repeal them.
South Carolina first adopted the standards in 2010, but also had them repealed this summer.
Indiana led the way with its repeal in March, though its new state standards are remarkably similar.

By choosing to sue the Obama administration, Bobby Jindal enters a league of his own on the Common Core. He himself has protested unnecessary lawsuits, once remarking: “This bill will help stop frivolous lawsuits and create a more fair and predictable legal environment, and I am proud to sign it into law.” Unfortunately, he and other Republicans are gumming up the legal system instead of helping ordinary Americans.

BOTTOM LINE: When your duly elected state legislature and elected members of your Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Superintendent of education that you appointed all believe that the Common Core is good for Louisiana’s students, you should listen. Choosing politics – and a possible 2016 presidential run – over schoolchildren is wrong.

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Canada: Home of the Whopper

09/10/2014 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

Architects of Burger King’s inversion claim it’s not about taxes

Burger King is rolling ahead with its plan to move to Canada. It confirmed Tuesday that it will purchase Tim Hortons, a Canadian coffee and doughnut chain, for about $11 billion, one of the biggest foreign acquisitions since 2012.

This makes Burger King one in a string of corporate deserters in recent years. According to new data provided by the Congressional Research Service, 47 companies have inverted in the last decade, including at least seven this year alone. These companies are able to dodge US taxes by moving their headquarters, but not their operations, to countries with lower corporate tax rates. So called “inversions” may save the companies a few bucks, but they could cost the US taxpayer tens of billions of dollars.

The Deal: Founded in Miami in 1954, Burger King operates more than 7,000 locations in the United States, but only 300 in Canada. In 1964, the Canadian fast food service Tim Hortons was founded in Ontario and now has more than one store per 10,000 Canadians. Burger King will shell out $11.4 billion for the coffee shop, but both will actually be controlled by 3G Capital, a Brazilian-US investment firm. According to the Wall Street Journal, Alex Behring, who is currently Burger King’s executive chairman and a managing partner at 3G Capital, will head the new company.

Although America has a top corporate tax rate of 35%, numerous multi-national corporations do not pay that much. Instead, U.S. corporations paid an average of 12.6%, according to the Government Accountability Office. Burger King also does not pay the top corporate tax rate, but has a tax rate in “the mid- to high twenties” according to Mr. Behring. While Burger King CEO Daniel Schwartz doesn’t “expect there to be meaningful tax savings,” Canada’s federal corporate tax rate is 15%.

Moving Forward: Burger King should reconsider its own bid for the company. Since the news broke, the public has denounced this newest corporate deserter. #BoycottBurgerKing is now commonplace on Twitter and Burger King’s Facebook was littered with comments threatening to never return. Senator Sherrod Brown added to that chorus: “Burger King’s decision to abandon the United States means consumers should turn to Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers or White Castle sliders.”

When Walgreens announced its purchase of Alliance Boots, a European pharmacy, it received similar criticism, and it has since said that it will stay headquartered in the United States. They decided that paying their fair share was more profitable.

BOTTOM LINE: When more and more American companies move out of the U.S., ordinary Americans end up footing the tax bill. Companies employing the process of inversion are taking advantage of U.S. taxpayers and cheating the system, to the detriment of our workers and our economy. It’s beyond unpatriotic and it’s time for them to stop.

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Whoa!

09/03/2014 Nativegrl77

Frankly, we were BLOWN away by your support last month. We were able to BEAT our goal of 10,000 donations to stop the Tea Party before Congress comes back to Washington.

In fact, August was one of our best months ever from online donors like you.

Democrats are fired up and are ready to help elect a Democratic majority to finally kick the Tea Party and Speaker Boehner out of control of Congress once and for all. As a special thank you, we wanted to give you a sneak peek of an ad we’re releasing tomorrow in Florida’s second congressional district.

Click here to watch the ad — then can you chip in to help us keep airing this ad and others like it in targeted districts across the country?