Tag Archives: politics

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

You can help stop abuse of science …Kevin Knobloch, Union of Concerned Scientists


Dr. Rosemary Johann-Liang spent seven years working for the government. Her job was to make sure that the prescription drugs we take and give to our families are safe and effective.

Become a member today and help UCS hold the Obama administration and its agencies accountable for protecting science by implementing reforms that will outlast their time in office.

But four years ago, she was reprimanded by her bosses for recommending that the popular diabetes drug Avandia carry a warning label because the drug had been linked to a significant increase in the risk of heart attacks. Her superiors not only failed to act on her recommendation, but they also took away her oversight role in the safety review of the drug. Avandia is made by the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline—which, according to a Senate investigation, intimidated physicians and sought ways to downplay findings that a rival drug might reduce cardiovascular risk.

Unfortunately, Dr. Johann-Liang is not alone. Thousands of scientists, across various federal agencies, have told us they fear retaliation for blowing the whistle on political interference in their work.

The Union of Concerned Scientists called attention to widespread attacks on science like this during the Bush administration. Now, the administration has changed, but the system that allows politics to undermine science largely has not.

Please help UCS lock in government reforms to protect scientists and ensure the best available science informs key decisions about our health, safety, and environment—become a member today.

www.ucsusa.org

Federal agencies are working right now to develop stringent new policies to protect scientists from political pressure by special interests. Working with government scientists and other policy experts, UCS has developed resources for agencies to draw upon and is working to ensure these policies:

Protect scientists who report political interference in agency work;

Prevent conflicts of interest on science advisory committees;

Allow scientists to share their research and scientific analysis with the public and the press; and

Increase transparency so the public knows what science agencies consider when making policy decisions.

We need your help to ensure federal agencies adopt strong policies that protect science—now and into the future.

Please become a member today. www.ucsusa.org

Sincerely,

Kevin Knobloch

President

P.S. When you join UCS, you join more than 79,000 UCS members who also believe that decisions about our health, safety, air, and water should fully consider the best available science. Please join us today and help us keep politics out of science.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Debra Bowen is a progressive leader


The CA-36 special primary election is just six days away and we need your help to make sure DFA-endorsed candidate Debra Bowen closes strong.

Debra is kicking her Get Out The Vote operation into high gear during the final four days of the election. But the success of this operation will depend on DFA members to step up and push progressive champion Debra Bowen over the top. Can you help deliver the resources Debra needs to win?

http://act.democracyforamerica.com/go/731?akid=779.1480546.-cc5wp&t=1

Debra has always run campaigns empowered by grassroots activists. In this race, over 90% of her contributions have been for less than $100, and over 80% of all contributions have come online.

But Debra’s opponent Janice Hahn is being boosted by $75,000 from an insurance industry outfit targeting Debra’s defeat. And according to the L.A. Times, about half of Hahn’s campaign contributions come from “lobbyists, developers, and others doing business with the city” — the ultimate City Hall insiders.

Debra is a progressive leader who has always put principle over politics. But to ensure victory on May 17th, we need to make sure Debra has the resources to finish her grassroots campaign strong.

Thank you for everything you do.

-Charles

Charles Chamberlain, Political Director

Democracy for America

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

288 reasons to fight


First they tried to shut down the government to defund women’s health.

Then two weeks ago they passed a budget that demolishes Medicare.

And all the while, GOP leaders in both houses are still pushing to give more huge tax cuts to big corporations that ship American jobs overseas — including handouts to Big Oil even before the first anniversary of BP’s Gulf Coast disaster.

There are reasons we need to keep fighting. In fact, 288 Republican members of the House and Senate mean we have 288 reasons. And if we aren’t strong enough or committed enough to stop their agenda, we will lose our country as we know it.

Your support is crucial as we challenge the Republican Party for the future of our nation. Help us fight their agenda by contributing $10, $20, $35, or more right now.

My biggest focus as I lead the Senate majority is helping families across the country weather this recession. There still are obstacles. College costs are rising faster than paychecks, too many Nevadans are still out of work, and not even our veterans are immune to falling on hard times — and just one homeless veteran is one too many.

These challenges tell us that we must do better. But we can’t reach the kind of success America is known for so long as Republicans in the House and Senate continue to line the pockets of their corporate buddies while letting their Tea Party wing lead an agenda of partisan wedge issues.

Our opposition is strong. There are 288 of them. They’re well-financed, and they have the resources to wreak havoc on our nation’s future if we don’t succeed in stopping them.

I know there’s still fight left in us. Chip in $10 today because there are 288 reasons we can’t stop standing up for what we know is important.

Thanks for everything,

Harry Reid

~ my 2cents ...

Monday mashup &some News …


So, two weeks without both Chambers of Congress doing the Peoples Business makes me a little unsettled. I wonder what all of us political junkies will do, the weather is very cold here, definitely not spring like and gotta say it makes me think about and I wonder how many left of center members of Congress will support the President’s Budget on camera given what happened last week on the Floors of Congress. I hear some say that they support this President but I have to say the silence from most left of center members of Congress two years ago was and still is a bit much for me as a voter who definitely will vote for Barack Obama in 2012. 

How a Bill Becomes a Law <<

When performing legislative research, it is important to understand the legislative process. The numerous steps that result in a bill becoming a law are described in this 24th edition of “How Our Laws Are Made.”

Failed Promises ?

my take on failed promises? or change to or redirection of promises?

i would say the day the system crashed was the day we all should have hit the re-set button to any campaign pledges that may need a new process to achieve a positive outcome.

… Community Organizer and young Senator Obama watched from the side lines, watching, hearing and knowing the status quo had to change; no financial crisis to speak of but things probably were not as they should be so Presidential Candidate Obama had an agenda for America. It is possible some financial issues are brewing, the house of Bush was focused on the surplus, waging a couple of Wars and giving out tax breaks to what I would say were his friends at least two times.

If we compare and contrast what Bush did to what Candidate for President Obama did, he ideas, his values and visions for America not only seemed far ahead of the Republican Administration but Barack Obama’s other competitors as well. To be sure it is obvious that Barack Obama knew what he wanted to do which included changing the way things are done on the Capitol Hill, Congress. We all know that change takes a while maybe positive change takes years and so does co-operation and as months went by there are more rumblings of financial problems. As more rumors came out about a financial issue some candidates stayed quiet some said our economy was fundamentally strong while others seemed to lose it as more private meetings with candidates became the norm. The political competition, cableheads and or negative noise about candidate Barack Obama started grew stronger. face a lot of criticism from not just the Republican Party but from people from our own party putting out doubt about where he was born, was he an American and did he pal around with terrorists or those questions about his ability to bring in the vote of not only women but white women and men. As all these political debates happen the race card gets pulled out by some if not all candidates who say they want to represent all Americans. As the weeks pass more information about how bad things were started to come out and like everyone else we all started to notice that there were a lot of layoffs happening on a weekly and or monthly basis. I remember the news coverage of employees coming from corporate America companies crying and or leaving the building with boxes or their belongings. While the media dissed candidate Obama, talked about Bush being less available and McCain tells Americans that our economy is still sound and strong though it is clear by his behavior the news is bad. It is also obvious Hillary Clinton opts to say little; seemingly in such shock herself and quite rattled about the financial news of an impending Wall Street crash. It was at that moment that I along with a whole lot of other folks came to believe Hillary did not have what it takes to handle that 3am call not to mention she was engaging in some of that race card nonsense the Republicans were fully engaged in. In my opinion the fact that she even went there was offensive as a democratic candidate for President of the US of A.

In just months before Americans had to vote for President of the United States the House of Bush slowly opened the doors of pain. I believe Americans figured it out themselves long before Bush decided to come clean what with friends, relatives and or neighbors with homes suddenly leaving the area and neighborhoods were definitely emptied and the question that still haunts me is; why did they wait until the next administration was about to be put into place?

Other News …

**Storms in NC kill

**Last day for Taxes

**Japanese voters

**Japanese voters call for prime minister Naoto Kan to step down

**Libyan Rebels Battle Qaddafi Forces as Migrants Flee Misrata

**French minister under ‘attack from Taliban’

**Many dead after Nigerian election protests

**Inflation in China Poses Big Threat to Global Trade

**Libyan forces shell Misrata, 17 killed: rebels

CSPAN

Pakistan Foreign Minister on U.S.-Pakistan Relations … http://c-span.org/Events/Pakistan-Foreign-Minister-on-US-Pakistan-Relations/10737420948/

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A Look at Offshore Drilling and Environmental Regulations … http://c-span.org/Events/A-Look-at-Offshore-Drilling-and-Environmental-Regulations/10737420946/  

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Washington Journal Special Series: National Debt

 http://c-span.org/Events/Washington-Journal-Special-Series-National-Debt/10737420941/

Focus on Bi-partisan Fiscal Commission

~ my 2cents ..., ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Monday mashup & some News


my rant …I find it amusing to see how easy folks seem to throw out labels to describe President Obama’s actions in a time when the jig is up so to speak. The Republican Tea Party plans to reinvent America on the backs of the Middle and Lower Classes, yet our professional left keeps telling the public he might as well be a republican. While i totally disagree I don’t have the same platform as this seemingly wishy washy group. I hope everyone who is in for the 2012 listens to the President lay out the Budget he wants, expect it to hurt some and then goes forth to let everyone know what is fact fiction and what the word compromise does or can do for America 

The facts about what actually got us into a downward spiral toward a complete economic crash need reiteration constantly. I have to say that is offensive by itself but when our President has to go through this nonsense almost on a daily basis without support by our own political party It makes me wonder what kind of BS is going on behind closed doors. The Democratic Party should meet, come up with a strategy instead of subscribing to everyone for themselves attitude or at least try. I personally did not see any kind of solidarity and that is why “We the People” lost the House of Representatives. The Democratic Party, upon the beginning Session of Congress of President Obama seemed to have been completely distracted by the November midterms, got barely a thing done and or ran from him when he needed support. The filibusters, reduction in JOB bills, amendments no one in good faith could vote on has made this voter lose confidence in whatever fight we can be sure this Democratic Party is going to engage in or is willing to put up in good conscious for Americans against those who are not paying their fair share.

If you need a reminder, shorter version is that Wall Street’s creative accounting procedures finally came to an ugly head. To get the full story you definitely need to watch the video”: House of cards” by David Faber on Cnbc. It is, was, and continues to be a cruel reminder and or a rude awakening at how greed affects the mind and actions of some who feel above the law. It is a truthful documentation of the nasty journey our economy took and explained in detail who engaged in such awful behavior and how it (they) brought all of us down with them. If we have to subscribe to labels, call me a Marxist who believes in Socialism at this time. We need someone who cares, who is socially responsible and who believes the gap between the haves and have none needs to shrink. I might be a part of a small percentage of folks so school me; what could be wrong with caring for ALL of the people in our country and not just the top 2%.

The fact is our top 2% has money to throw around and yes some of these folks do create jobs but most who call themselves CEO’s continue to outsource jobs. The rich and the Republican Tea Party have been wheeling and dealing with the countries money since the house of bush walked into a surplus left by Clinton. Then they proceeded to wage 2Wars gave out 2Tax breaks and the only thing that trickled down to main street was pain,bankruptcy and more pain … gotta admit it’s time for a change but it can only happen if our President has support from our Democratic members of Congress to help and this voter is beginning to wonder.

Obama is neither a socialist nor a Marxist okay and contrary to the noise coming from the professional left, this President is not a Republican either but then we have the professional left to help folks lean further right with all this rhetoric … sigh

Other News …

**President Obama will let Americans know what his take on the Budget should be

**Stocks …higher with corporate deals continuing to take place

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**More earthquakes in Japan, the latest today was 6.6

**The french finally capture Gbagbo

**A french woman defies burqa ban

**Powerful yakuza boss released from prison

**Libyan rebels protest over African Union peace misison

**Is the PaulRyam Budget plan a great target for President Obama?

**Palin supports Trump on Birther issue

**Americans are cutting back on driving

**Long Island serial killer taunts ..says he is not done

**Britney & Rhianna team up for S/M remix

*Tornadoes come thru more storms coming thru Midwest

**

CSPAN

 Congress takes up spending agreement, 2012 budget this week

President to address Deficit on Wednesday

http://c-span.org/Events/Congress-takes-up-spending-agreement-2012-budget-this-week/10737420806/

Aspen Institute Looks at the State of Race in America

All day conference

http://c-span.org/Events/Aspen-Institute-Looks-at-the-State-of-Race-in-America/10737420805/

Wartime Contracting Commission on NGOs and PRTs

http://c-span.org/Events/Wartime-Contracting-Commission-on-NGOs-and-PRTs/10737420804/

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Robert McDowell (R) discuss proposed deal between AT&T and T-Mobile, Congressional efforts on the FCC’s net neutrality regulations, the Commission’s efforts on broadband expansion and demands for broadcast spectrum not only for wireless devices but also for emergency communications. http://c-span.org/Events/FCC-Commissioner-Robert-McDowell-R/10737420797/    

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters in Brussels that any cease-fire in Libya must be credible and verifiable. He was responding to questions about the African Union’s recent negotiations in Libya. He also said that Gadhafi’s regime has announced cease-fires before but they have never been implemented. http://c-span.org/Events/NATO-News-Conference-on-Libya/10737420820/