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a message from Judy Waxman, National Women’s Law Center


I have some hard news to share with you.

After nearly 12 years of working on women’s health and reproductive rights at the National Women’s Law Center, I’ve decided to move on to my next adventure.

I am grateful to have been able to serve with you in the fight on behalf of women and their families for all these years. Together, we protected and expanded Medicaid and defeated outrageous attempts to curb reproductive health on the state and federal levels. We also passed a landmark health care law that is helping millions of Americans through better insurance coverage and targeted benefits for women. Now all insurance plans will cover contraceptives without co-pay.

We made Margaret Sanger proud.

A few of my favorite photos from over the years

A few of my favorite photos from over the years

We still have much work to do, and many battles ahead. That’s why I’m thrilled that Gretchen Borchelt, our current Senior Counsel and Director of State Reproductive Health Policy, will be taking over the reins of the Health and Reproductive Rights team at the National Women’s Law Center as the new year begins. Gretchen and I have worked together for 8 years, and I know she’ll provide strong, experienced and committed leadership. She’s as enthusiastic about continuing this work as I am to see her do it.

Gretchen and me

Gretchen and me

Thank you for all the wonderful years. And please stay in touch.

With gratitude,

Judy Waxman

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The First 100 Days


By

The New GOP Congress’s First 100 Days Doesn’t Look Good

While the rest of us take down our holiday decorations, newly elected Congressional Republicans are hanging decorations in their new Capital Hill offices. Now with control of both the House and the Senate, the GOP is kicking off the year with a list of priorities that are sure to please right-wing extremists and special interests. Let’s take a look at a few things to expect in the first 100 days of the 114th Congress, now that the GOP controls the House and the Senate:

Keystone XL Pipeline
Instead of tackling climate change head-on and focusing their efforts on investments in clean and renewable energy, Republicans are looking to pass a bill approving the Keystone XL pipeline within the next few weeks. Building the Keystone pipeline threatens America’s credibility as a climate leader and would create only 35 permanent jobs.

Health Care
Despite the near-constant evidence that the Affordable Care Act is working, Republicans will only double down on their opposition now that they control both chambers of Congress. One of the first things they’ve pledged to do is pass a repeal bill that they know the President will veto. And while they’ve promised to try to repeal the ACA, they still don’t have any semblance of a replacement. Instead, they’re waiting on the Supreme Court to hear a case in March that, if the Court rules the wrong way, could effectively take affordable health care away from millions of Americans.

Deadlines
Department of Homeland Security: After removing most of the Department of Homeland Security’s budget from last year’s budget deal, Republicans now have to figure out how to fund the department and please their far-right anti-immigrant base. Expect proposals opposing President Obama’s immigration executive action and cracking down on child migrants looking to reunite with their family.

Debt ceiling: The next debt ceiling deadline is March 15. As economy improves and confidence rebuilds, will GOP brinksmanship again threaten economic collapse?

Leadership
Despite these priorities, what’s Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) goal in this session of Congress? Don’t be scary. “I don’t want the American people to think that if they add a Republican president to a Republican Congress, that’s going to be a scary outcome,” McConnell told the Washington Post. Meanwhile: Congressional Republicans, from leadership to freshmen, have closed ranks behind the House’s number 3, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), in light of reports that Scalise addressed a white supremacist group headed by a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan in 2002.

States
The GOP not only took over the U.S. Senate in 2014, the party also gained record majorities in state legislatures across the country. That appears to be leading to widespread GOP plans to wage wars against labor and workers, women’s reproductive health, education reform and clean power regulations.

Happy 2015.

BOTTOM LINE: The first 100 days of the new Congress is a marker for the priorities of the new GOP leadership. And from the looks of it so far, that means more attacks on working people, more favors for special interests, and more catering to the extreme right-wing.

 

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Make sure your community is ready for climate change


The White House 

Climate change is happening now — and we’ve got to be ready because we’re going to see more extreme weather.

That’s why we’re taking action. Last Tuesday, the President made a historic announcement with China that sets new targets for carbon pollution reductions.

And on Monday, the Administration released the Climate Resilience Toolkit to help our communities respond to our changing climate.

Check out these easy-to-use tools, including interactive maps and visualizations, that will help prepare your community for the impacts of climate change. See how you can help your community or business get ready.

Check out the Climate Resilience Toolkit here.

Whether you’re a small business owner, planner, farmer, policy leader, or an interested resident, these tools can help you make sure that you have a climate-ready community or business.

Have questions about what climate change means for you, why it matters, and what we can do to fight it? Last Thursday, Dr. John P. Holdren, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, announced that he wants to answer your questions.

Ask Dr. Holdren your questions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Vine with the hashtag #AskDrH — and he’ll answer some of them on camera.

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Presenting the Climate Denier Caucus of the 114th Congress


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More Than Half Of All Congressional Republicans Deny Man-Made Climate Change

While the House gears up to vote on Keystone XL pipeline legislation tomorrow, here is a bit of important context: 53 percent of House Republicans in the new Congress are climate deniers.

Today, we at CAP Action released a comprehensive look at the extent of climate denial in the 114th Congress. While more than 97 percent of climate scientists agree that climate change is real and caused by human activity, 53 percent of House Republicans and 72 percent of Senate Republicans deny it. A truly alarming finding of our report: 91 percent of Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee deny humans are responsible for climate change.

You can read the full report, which has an interactive map with details on how each state performs, here. And be sure to check out the infographic below as well, which among other things, details how much this anti-science caucus has racked up in campaign contributions from dirty energy companies:
Climate deniers in the 114th Congress

BOTTOM LINE: Man-made climate change is real, end of story. Refusing to address it hurts our environment, our nation’s public health, and our economy. Republicans need to stop worrying about the bottom lines of carbon polluters and start worrying about the health and safety of our communities and families.

 

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Alice Jay – Avaaz


Avaazpix

Boko Haram just used a 10-year-old girl as a bomb-detonator right after massacring up to 2,000 people. But the government and the international community are hardly responding. Let’s call for an emergency UN Security Council meeting now:

SIGN THE PETITION

Boko Haram just used a 10-year-old girl as a bomb-detonator right after massacring up to 2,000 people. There is a reign of terror in Northern Nigeria.

But Nigerian President Jonathan has said almost NOTHING about this in his election campaign, and his brutal army, instead of protecting civilians, is fuelling the insurgency.

The world has put this crisis in the ‘too hard to solve’ box — the UN Security Council hasn’t even issued a Presidential Statement on Nigeria!

The only good news: escalating violence has renewed pressure to act.

Let’s multiply that pressure now and persuade our leaders and the United Nations to convene an emergency Security Council meeting and prioritise this crisis.

Join this urgent call — for the sake of that tiny, innocent girl, and all those like her at risk:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_boko_haram_terror_en/?biEWLbb&v=51541

Nigeria is deep into a brutal conflict that’s ostensibly a Muslim/Christian war, but underlying it are tensions between an oil-rich, corrupt, ruling elite and a poor, disenfranchised and neglected North. Over 10,000 people were killed in 2014, and over 1.6 million Nigerians have fled their homes. Boko Haram now controls an area the size of Denmark.

Politicians have fed this divide, and the recent surge in violence comes in the middle of a deadly election campaign. Shockingly, President Jonathan’s under-resourced response could be part of a dark game — if there is chaos in the North and low voter turnout, he is more likely to stay in power since his support base is in the South.

International military advisers and special forces have been sent in, but there is hesitation about working with Nigerian units with terrible human rights records. The UN Council should now prioritise a comprehensive plan that includes cleaning up and training security forces to contain Boko Haram; investing in the poorest regions; and prioritising an anti-corruption programme.

This is not a short, sharp, shock strategy — this crisis cannot be solved in days — but it is immoral to ignore it any longer. Our global community can ensure the UN Security Council finally lays out a genuine plan for peace.

If we do nothing, thousands more will be killed, and the Boko Haram threat will spread. The attacks in Paris have reminded us that terror has no borders. Join the call:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_boko_haram_terror_en/?biEWLbb&v=51541

With elections looming and violence escalating, Nigeria is like a boiling pot. Politicians have failed their people, and the international community has allowed the situation to deteriorate. We cannot wait any longer and with enough backing, a strong UN statement could begin to change the game. Let’s make it happen.

With hope and determination,

Alice, Pascal, Mike, Melanie, Marigona, Ricken and the rest of the Avaaz team

Sources:

Nigeria: two suspected child suicide bombers attack market (The Guardian)
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/11/child-suicide-bombers-nigeria-market

UNOWA Briefing and Consultations
http://www.whatsinblue.org/2015/01/unowa-briefing-and-consultations.php

Nigeria’s Jonathan Slams Paris Attack, Ignores Baga Massacre (Bloomberg)
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-12/nigeria-s-jonathan-slams-islamist-raids-abroad-is-muted-at-home.html

Nigeria’s Boko Haram: Baga destruction ‘shown in images’ (BBC)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30826582

Uniting Against Boko Haram (BloombergView)
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-01-13/boko-haram-can-be-stopped-by-a-nigeria-united-again