Tag Archives: Pennsylvania

Wednesday &some News


Today,President Obama and The First Lady host a Congressional Picnic at the White House at 7pm ET.

My rant today … Two and a half years ago the democratic party controlled both chambers in Congress and both leaders of the House and Senate were on their way to establishing a new path toward the 21st Century with several bills that included among others a jobs bill, dream act, dadt, start treaty, UI and health-care reform. The legislation our representatives brought to the floor of Congress were supposed to address American issues. However, great legislation has been difficult to pass due to Republican filibusters and more recent the lies that won them control of the House of Representatives. While we now know what the true Republican mission is, the Democratic Party has stated they will not give up trying to help the middle class.

Then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressing the status of the middle class stated that in the near future people would be paying 1dollar out of every 5dollars for health-care. Nancy Pelosi also stated that the problem of health-care costs will not go away and we can solve the issue by repealing the anti-trust exemptions, increase, and lower cost and improves choices for all Americans. Though the new health care law allows children under 26 to be covered under their parents insurance, has eliminated discrimination that includes pre-existing conditions, more coverage for our elders and maintaining the health care rights for women. The Republican Tea Party continues to berate the achievement call it Obamacare in order to demean it. Thankfully, the new Affordable Health Care Law passed though the new Congress has made cutting, slashing, and burning it their main mission along with so many other social programs without giving Americans any idea how they will replace hcr or social security, Medicare/Medicaid. The new effort to attack a woman’s right to choose has become more important than creating jobs and as Republicans offer up bills, amendments and comments, it is obvious it should embarrass Americans at how narrow this new party has become since the last guy was in office. The party of no has become the party of let us cut spending, decrease the deficit but they are and or will do so in on the backs of the middle class, poor and we all know minorities by giving them less. The obvious culture wars have become an issue and while candidates running for Congress not only engaged in race baiting, exclusion and outright discrimination. Most if not all were defeated at the polls thankfully but some did get through and are sitting either in the Senate or House. Honestly, I want Republican constituents to ask themselves if these people are true public servant and how upset were you when your own party voted against helping firefighters, teachers, and police while stripping away worker rights. The idea to help maintain these jobs, helping those who lost jobs by voting yes to unemployment and or create them until the lame duck session happened because the RTP wanted something, not that they wanted to help their fellow American. The Republican Tea Party, as we all know managed to hold the middle class hostage and traded the bush bonus dollars for helping Americans even though the house of bush set a date for the bush bonus dollars to expire. Is it just me or does it seem less than American to hold or use money as a tool to insure those Bush bonus tax cuts …That top 2% of our population got those tax cuts but have failed to significantly improve the job numbers even though speaker Boehner stated they were the job creators.

Two and a half years ago, in a series of votes that dramatized the conflicting pressures Democrats face to spur job growth and control the deficit. The House voted 217-212 to raise the government is borrowing authority to a record level, with 37 Democrats joining Republicans opposing the measure. The then Speaker Pelosi reminded people that among other things that the Democratic Party, focused on jobs, concerned and working toward equal rights for the people, proud that the lily Ledbetter law  passed as well. Well, that was two years ago. After gaining control of the House of Representatives, the Republican Tea Party decided that taking apart any legislation that has President Obama’s stamp of approval is the only thing the people elected them for last November. This is not just offensive it is one of several issues that has divided Americans and will continue to until the Republican Tea Party stops playing games with the lives of all Americans and gets to work for the citizens of the United States instead of what seems like only for Corporate America.

Two and a half years ago, in an effort to make it hard to fill the Obama Administrations cabinet, like appointee Martha Johnson. Now, with half of President Obama’s term over, the Republican Tea Party has managed to hold up over 20% of his appointments and some have withdrawn completely, the result is a less than complete cabinet for the governing party.

This behavior by the Republican Tea Party is just not acceptable and be considered un-American. In a moment of emotion, Senator Dorgan voiced my feelings at the time,” that for over 8months Republicans have blocked her nomination and now almost unanimously vote to put her in, which raises doubts in the integrity of Republicans.”

Yes, some good things came out of the hard work that the House and Senate Democrats performed but it is obvious they need to do more while the Republican Tea Party has put the future of America at risk and will continue to do so unless Americans begin to push back.

Other News …

Life expectancy of US women slips in some regions

Washington Day Ahead: Fed Officials Discuss Inflation Target

 Why Michele Bachmann is no Sarah Palin

Latest union proposal exempts Wis. transit workers

Pakistan’s arrest of CIA informants exposes Bin Laden raid frustrations

Police Fire Tear Gas, Stun Grenades Amid Fresh Athens Clashes

Despite Crackdown, Syria Calls for Refugees to Return Home

‘US says it won’t support UN Palestinian statehood bid’

CSPAN …

House Panel Continues Look into “Fast and Furious”

Defense Secretary & Joint Chiefs Chairman Testify on Pentagon Spending

Lawmakers Review Islamic Radicalization in Prisons

AP sources: Pakistan arrests 5 CIA informants from bin Laden raid in latest US-Pakistan rift – The Washington Post

F.D.A. Unveils New Rules About Sunscreen Claims – NYTimes.com

BREAKING: Why I’m on a smokestack in Chicago


Community activists in Chicago are fighting for their lives right now against Edison International — the giant utility company that owns the city’s two coal-fired power plants.

Pollution from the Fisk and Crawford plants prematurely kills 42 people every year. That human cost is paid entirely by the communities who live in the shadows of these two aging plants. You won’t find it on Edison International’s bottom-line.

But Chicagoans are fighting back. And Greenpeace is supporting them. That’s why I’m on the smokestack at the Fisk power plant today taking action with other Greenpeace activists. We’re sending a simple message to Edison International: Shut down these plants and quit coal.

The corporate bottom-line for Edison International says that they can’t make money on these plants if they can’t poison the local community for free. Simple as that. It’s why they’re fighting city efforts to reduce toxic pollution and it’s why they really can’t afford the bad publicity right now. Which is why it’s so important you speak out.

Join us and tell Edison International CEO Ted Craver to shut down Fisk and Crawford. 

www.greenpeaceusa.org

What’s happening in Chicago isn’t unique. It plays out again and again every day in communities just like yours from Texas to Colorado to Pennsylvania. In fact, coal is costing Americans up to an extra HALF A TRILLION DOLLARS every year. Meanwhile, companies like Edison International are making a killing.

It has to stop and it’s why what these community activists in Chicago are doing is so important.

Edison International can make this change. They’ve already done it in California where their local subsidiary has become the largest purchaser of renewable energy among American utility companies and has plans to phase out ALL coal power by 2016.

Chicago deserves the same. Every community affected by a dirty coal-fired power plant deserves the same. That’s why Greenpeace is working and will continue working with communities across the country to make sure that coal companies like Edison International are no longer allowed to poison people for profit.

You can help support these communities by sending a message to Edison International CEO Ted Craver today. Let’s quit coal.

Sincerely,

Kelly Mitchell

Greenpeace Coal Campaigner

P.S. Please forward this to your friends and family

A national victory against coal …from Greenpeace


For over 60 years, the coal-fired power plant in Salem Harbor, MA has been taking a toll on the community’s health by polluting the drinking water and poisoning the air.

But the community fought back.

And thanks to the hard work of local activists, it was announced this week that the Salem Harbor Generating Station is going to close. It’s a huge victory. Not just for the people of Massachusetts, but for activists in Colorado, Illinois, Pennsylvania and everywhere else who are working to shut down dirty coal plants in their communities.

Our campaign is just beginning. Greenpeace is going to continue to help these activists shut down the coal-fired power plants that are killing their communities.

However, they can’t win without strong health standards from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that limit pollution of toxins like mercury that come from coal-fired power plants. You have the power to make that happen by submitting a comment right now.

Help us close down even more dirty coal-fired power plants by submitting a comment to EPA now and urging them to strictly limit mercury and other toxic pollution from these plants.

www.greenpeaceusa.org

The EPA’s ability to protect American families from dangerous toxins like mercury is currently under attack by energy industry lobbyists and their friends in Congress. We have to speak up if we want to beat back these attacks and if we want more victories like the one this week in Salem Harbor. It’s as simple as that.

Right now, the coal industry doesn’t have to worry about the kids who develop asthma or the women put at risk of having a child with birth defects. Those costs are just passed on to the community. The EPA can change all that and put the cost of coal back onto the polluters responsible by limiting the pollution of toxins like mercury from these plants.

The comment period is only open for a short time. Submit a comment today.

It’s time to quit coal,

Kelly Mitchell

Greenpeace Coal Campaigner

Climate change pushes Groundhog Day to January


The Union of Concerned Scientists and the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania announced today that Groundhog Day will be pushed forward eight days to January 25 in 2012 in recognition of the impact climate change has had in the region.

Spring Comes Eight Days Earlier

Groundhog Day will be pushed forward eight days in recognition of the impact climate change has had on the region.

The change is based on analysis by UCS scientists who found that, since 1997, spring has come an average of eight days earlier to western Pennsylvaniahttp://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=Oc_Z2zW4KEenBjrF0nMi9g..

“We hope that the change in date will bring needed attention to the consequences of climate change in Pennsylvania and the importance of investing in a clean energy economy,” said Dr. Phil DeGraeve, a climate scientist at Pennsylvania State University.

Read more about the analysis behind the Groundhog Day change and learn how various elected officials are reacting to the news.

http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=Oc_Z2zW4KEenBjrF0nMi9g..

Sincerely,

Michael Halpern

National Field Organizer