Tag Archives: politics

NEW VIDEO
The Military is Leading the Way to Half the Oil

Half the Oil Leadership

This Fourth of July, salute our military’s commitment to developing oil saving technologies that will benefit our nation.

We see the costs of oil all around us, from the impacts of storms and droughts exacerbated by climate change to the pain of volatile prices at the pump. And it’s a reality that confronts our military daily: every time the price of a barrel of oil rises by ten dollars, the military spends more than one billion dollars more on oil, and that’s money that can’t be used to protect our service men and women or our national security.

In fact, the U.S. military is the largest user of oil in the world. That’s why the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard are leading the way on investing in oil saving solutions.

Across the United States and around the world, engineers, active-duty service men and women, and veterans are producing non-food based biofuels for aircraft and ships and deploying hybrid and electric vehicle technology on military bases and in the field. That’s good for fighting climate change and for our national security.

To tell the story of how our military is affected by oil and what they are doing about it, the Union of Concerned Scientists partnered with the Truman National Security Project—a group of national security experts who are working to address some of our biggest global challenges. Truman’s Operation Free project raises the voices of military veterans who have seen the costs of our oil use first-hand, and share an unparalleled commitment to making clean energy solutions a reality. We are proud to be partnering with Operation Free to support efficient and clean fuel technologies and policies, and hope you’ll join us in sharing the video that we made to explain what’s possible when we work together.

Watch the video and share this important story on Facebook, Google+ or on Twitter by sharing the tweets below:

* On #4thofJuly, salute our military’s work to cut #oil use. Share @ucsusa & @operationfree video: j.mp/1mFcZP5 #HalftheOil
* The military developed microchips & GPS. Now it’s clean vehicles & fuels. @ucsusa & @operationfree video explains: j.mp/1mFcZP5
* Learn what #electriccars & our military have in common, watch new @ucsusa & @operationfree video: j.mp/1mFcZP5 #HalftheOil

You might be surprised to learn how much progress the military is making on cutting oil use, and what citizens and scientists can do to help make these solutions a reality for all of us.

Sincerely,

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

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Charles and David: Our nation is not for sale

06/28/2014 Nativegrl77

The self-interested, ultraconservative Koch machine is undermining and corrupting our democracy by drowning out the voices of the rest of us.

That’s why I’ve made a video to help explain America’s giant Koch problem—and explore what we can do about it.

I hope you’ll take a look.

Charles and David Koch personify everything that’s wrong with big money in politics. This summer, MoveOn is working to ensure that the hundreds of millions of dollars they plan to spend in the upcoming election cycle becomes a searing political liability.

If you agree that it’s high time America told the Koch brothers that our nation is not for sale, please share the video with your friends.

Thanks for standing up for democracy.

–Robert Reich

Want to support our work? We’re entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Be Inspired

06/28/2014 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

A Snapshot Of This Week’s White House Summit on Working Families

Earlier this week the Center for American Progress had the privilege to co-sponsor the White House Summit on Working Families, featuring the President, Vice President, First Lady, and Dr. Biden, as well as many other leading voices for the cause to make workplaces work for everyone and ensure that women have a fair shot to help their families succeed.

Check out CAP’s video recapping the event here, or by clicking on the screenshot below:

We’re feeling fired up! Are you? To learn more and get involved in the movement, visit workingfamiliessummit.org.

BOTTOM LINE: Too many working Americans – both women and men – are living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to make ends meet and respond to the competing demands of work and family. We need policy solutions like paid family leave, equal pay, child care, and a higher minimum wage, that can make a real difference in the lives of working families and ensure America’s global competitiveness in the coming decades.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

‘Serious and Disturbing’ Picture of VA’s Failure to Provide Timely Access to Care

06/23/2014 Nativegrl77

by Patty Murray

Stop Child Summer Hunger

Stop Child Summer Hunger Act

During the school year, low-income children have the opportunity to receive free or reduced-priced meals at school. However, millions of these same children go hungry during summer break. That’s why I was proud to introduce the Stop Child Summer Hunger Act, a long-term, common-sense solution to reducing child hunger during school breaks. This legislation will provide families who have children eligible for free or reduced-price school meals with an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card. This EBT card will include funds that the family can use to purchase food to replace the meals that the children would otherwise be receiving at school. The threat of hunger doesn’t take a summer break. We shouldn’t either. We must do more to make sure kids get the nutrition they need to learn, grow, and thrive.

Learn more about my bill.

“Sen. Murray proposes summer food benefits for low-income kids”
– KUOW

“Bill would buy summer lunch for kids out of school”
– The Olympian

“To fight students’ ‘summer hunger,’ Sen. Murray pushes debit cards for lunches” – KPLU

‘Serious and Disturbing’ Picture of VA’s Failure to Provide Timely Access to Care

The release of the VA’s Nationwide Access Audit of veterans health facilities paints a serious and disturbing picture of the VA’s system-wide failure to provide timely access to care for our nation’s heroes. I am especially concerned by the number of facilities that serve Washington state veterans that have been flagged for further review and investigation. This information confirms what I have been hearing from so many veterans who are struggling with extended wait times in the Pacific Northwest.

Thankfully, the Senate overwhelmingly passed the Sanders-McCain compromise, legislation aimed at addressing transparency, wait times, and accountability issues at the VA. This legislation is a critical step toward addressing some of the immediate accountability and access concerns plaguing the VA. In addition, as further investigations and reviews are completed, we need to keep working to ensure the VA continues to take substantive action to address any management, resource, and personnel shortcomings that have contributed to today’s findings.

Critical Federal Funding for Washington State in Appropriations Bills

As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I was proud to deliver for Washington state in the Appropriations bills passed last week. Funding will go toward projects in Seattle, Spokane, Pullman, Walla Walla and more, and includes everything from funding for the FAA Center of Excellence for Alternative Jet Fuels and Environment led by Washington State University, to new requirements for oil train safety, to funding for airport improvement projects, and more.

The Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill included funding for additional immigration judges to reduce case backlog, a new report on the next generation of polar icebreakers, and funding for pacific salmon restoration.

Find a list of selected projects and programs in the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations bill that benefit Washington state.

A Win For Workplace Fairness

06/21/2014 Nativegrl77

CAP Action War Room

President Obama Just Announced The Single Largest Expansion Of LGBT Workplace Protections In Our Country’s History

Progress

As many as 9 out of 10 voters believe federal law already protects LGBT workers from discrimination. But it doesn’t. And while the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) was passed by the Senate this year, it has stalled in the House; Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has made it clear that there is “no way” ENDA will pass this year.

Enter the latest chapter of the Obama Administration’s “year of action.” The White House announced today that President Obama will issue an executive order requiring that all companies who contract with the federal government must not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Think Progress reporter Zack Ford has the details:

The order, expected to be finalized in the coming weeks, is an extension of orders previously issued by past presidents — most recently Johnson — similarly banning employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin among all contractors and subcontractors who do over $10,000 in business with the government in any one year.

The protections will reach over one million LGBT workers across the country, making it the single largest expansion of LGBT workplace protections in our country’s history. There continue to be 29 states that offer no employment protections on the basis of sexual orientation and 32 with no protections based on gender identity, but many LGBT workers in those states will now have workplace protections for the first time ever. As many as 43 percent of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people and 90 percent of transgender people have experienced some form of harassment or discrimination in the workplace.

As with Obama’s executive order raising the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors to $10.10, this order will cover an enormous number of people but still relies on Congress to pass a law making sure that millions more LGBT Americans have the freedom to work.

Recently, some LGBT advocates have been giving second thoughts to the current ENDA bill in Congress, based on a religious liberty exemption that could have the potential interpreted too broadly. Here’s Zack Ford again:

The LGBT movement has also become increasingly divided over whether ENDA in its current form is worth pursuing. After two decades of failed consideration in Congress, the bill has been weakened by an exemption that would grant religious organizations unprecedented privilege to continue discriminating against LGBT people. A number of state groups and legal organizations have recently dropped their support for ENDA because they believe that the exemption goes too far and codifies into law the idea that LGBT identities are incompatible with faith. The executive order is thus an important step even if ENDA eventually passes.

BOTTOM LINE: Americans of any sexual orientation and gender identity should have the freedom to work and the right to equal treatment in the workplace. President Obama’s latest executive action is the biggest expansion of those rights in American history. There is more left to be done when it comes to giving all Americans equal protection, and Congress should follow the President’s lead by passing a federal law that ends unfair and discriminatory workplace practices that hurt LGBT workers and their families.