Tag Archives: politics pop culture

One Last Stand for Our Military Women


National Women's Law Center
 
 
     
  End the Abortion Coverage Ban Now  
     
   
     
  Tell your Members of Congress to urge congressional leadership to include an amendment to end the abortion coverage ban in a final bill the President signs into law.  
     
     
     

In the past three weeks, you’ve sent over 54,000 emails to Members of Congress asking them to end the abortion coverage ban on servicewomen who become pregnant due to rape. Just this week, the Senate affirmed our efforts by voting unanimously to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and it includes Senator Jeanne Shaheen‘s amendment that would end this extreme policy.

But we’re not there yet. Negotiations are taking place right now on the final bill for the President to sign.

Tell your Members of Congress to urge congressional leadership to include this critical amendment in the final bill.

We are closer than ever to removing the abhorrent ban on abortion coverage for servicewomen and military dependents that have experienced rape or incest. This unfair policy forces them to pay for the abortion care they need, unlike their civilian counterparts who also depend on the federal government for health insurance. The only thing in the way of ending this unjust ban is some anti-choice Members of Congress who are willing to play politics with the women that serve this nation.

Don’t let anti-choice Members of Congress negotiate away abortion coverage for servicewomen who become pregnant due to rape.

Tell your Members of Congress to urge their leaders to include the critical Shaheen amendment in a final bill for the President to sign into law.

Congressional leaders will finish their negotiations at any moment.

Make sure they hear voice today.

Thanks for all you do to protect women’s reproductive health.

Sincerely,

 
Judy Waxman   Judy Waxman
Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights
National Women’s Law Center
 

P.S. Your support allows us to continue to fight for women’s health, as well as work on many other critical issues. Please consider making a generous donation today.

Congress Must Extend the Middle Class Tax Cuts


 

 
 
 
President Obama urges Congress to extend the middle class income tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses without delay, making it clear that a balanced approach to deficit reduction means that Republicans in Congress must agree to ask the wealthiest Americans to pay higher tax rates.

Clean Power …


 
 
Union of Concerned Scientists
 

Unleash Clean Power

The Union of Concerned Scientists has a practical plan to cut U.S. oil use in half over the next 20 years, which will save billions of dollars each year, dramatically cut global warming emissions, and ease many other serious problems, including oil spills, the high cost of oil and gas price spikes, and health threats from air pollution that have become the all-too-familiar face of oil.

A key piece of that plan is cleaner fuels. Imagine a future where the fuel in our cars and the electricity that powers our homes and businesses come from fast-growing grasses and agricultural and other wastes, which can serve as non-food sources of biofuel or bioenergy. This future may not be far off if we put smart policies in place to spur growth in this emerging industry.

In the coming weeks, an innovative company—INEOS Bio—will begin producing clean fuel and electricity from vegetative waste at a first-of-its-kind biorefinery. And this plant is just the beginning. Our new report, The Promise of Biomass, finds that, by 2030, we could sustainably produce enough non-food bioenergy to make four times the corn ethanol produced in the United States in 2010, or nearly 20 percent of total U.S. power consumption that year.

But the policies that have set the stage for clean bioenergy to become a large-scale power source are under attack from the fossil fuel industry and its allies, who profit handsomely from the status quo. If Congress fails to act, a key policy supporting production of clean bioenergy from sustainable, non-food sources will expire at the end of 2012, slowing the development of this burgeoning industry at a critical time.

Choose a clean power future.

Urge your member of Congress to promote innovation by extending production tax credits for clean, non-food-based fuels and renewable electricity.

Take Action Today!

Sincerely,
Rachel Cohen
Rachel Cohen
National Field Organizer
Clean Vehicles Program
Union of Concerned Scientists

Meet Tiffany and Family


The White House

Over the last week we’ve asked you what $2,000 more in taxes would mean to you and your family, and we’ve already received more than 370,000 responses — including one from Tiffany.

Today, President Obama will meet Tiffany and her family in their Northern Virginia home, where he’ll talk more about why it is so important for Congress to pass the middle-class tax cuts before the end of the year, both for families like hers and our economy.

Meet Tiffany, and find out why $2,000 means so much to her family.

Video: Meet Tiffany

In Case You Missed It
Here are some of the top stories from the White House blog:President Obama Speaks to the Business Roundtable
Yesterday, President Obama spoke to members of the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs of American businesses, and reiterated his plan to extend tax cuts for middle-class families.Watch: President Obama’s Twitter Q&A on #My2k
From the Roosevelt Room of the White House Monday, President Obama connected directly with Americans via Twitter, where he answered questions about extending middle-class tax cuts.

Continuing the Progress in Tribal Communities
Yesterday, President Obama hosted the 2012 White House Tribal Nations Conference at the Department of Interior. This conference continued to build upon the President’s commitment to strengthen the government-to-government relationship with Indian Country

NMAAHC


NMAAHC -- National Museum of African American History and Culture

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 Dear Friend of the Museum,I want to thank you for making 2012 an exciting year of progress for the Museum.

It has been a busy, productive year.

  • Our critically acclaimed new exhibition, Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: Paradox of Liberty, was enjoyed by tens of thousands of visitors.
  • Our collections now number more than 19,000 historic objects and artifacts — and still growing!
  • And since the membership program began in August 2009, nearly 42,000 people throughout the nation — and around the world! — have joined in support of building the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Of course, the biggest event over the past 12 months was our groundbreaking in February. It was marked by a special ceremony attended by President and Mrs. Obama, and featured speeches by the President and other dignitaries. This event stands as one of our major milestones and accomplishments thus far.

Today, our future site on the National Mall is a hive of activity. The bulldozers, backhoes and other construction equipment are drawing a lot of attention from people visiting the Capitol, the national monuments, and the museums that line the Mall.

I cannot begin to tell you how excited we are knowing that in 2015, the National Museum of African American History and Culture will open its doors and take its place among the great family of Smithsonian institutions — provided we continue to progress on schedule.

Your support is vital to the Museum. Now, before we ring in the New Year, I hope you will consider making a special year-end contribution and help ensure we stay on schedule. Remember, your gift is tax-deductible to the full extent of the law — so, while you are helping the Museum, you are benefiting with a tax deduction, too.

Let me take this opportunity to wish you and yours all the best in the coming year. Thank you for your kind generosity to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture — and for making this dream a reality.

Adrienne Brooks Sincerely,
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Adrienne C. Brooks
Director of Development
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