Tag Archives: United States Congress

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Stop the next corporate media takeover


Can you call Sen. Cantwell? Tell her: “Fight hard to make sure the Local Community Radio Act passes Congress this month.”

Senator Maria Cantwell
Phone: 202-224-3441


Report your call

Dear MoveOn member,

We all know corporate interests spent hundreds of millions of dollars to buy this election.1

But that’s not all: Many of the same corporations own our TV and radio airwaves, biasing our political debate in favor of corporate interests.2

Now, there’s a bill in Congress that could put media back in the hands of the Other 98% of us instead.3 Thousands of communities could get their own community-run radio stations—think youth, civic leaders, and local musicians on your FM dial, talking about the real issues facing our country.

The low-power FM radio bill has passed the House and has a bipartisan majority in the Senate, but corporate broadcasters are fighting to kill this bill.4 They’ve lined up a tiny group of politicians to block the bill. This week could be our last chance to win a huge victory for independent voices in the media.

Can you urge Sen. Cantwell to make sure the Local Community Radio Act passes before Congress goes home for the holidays?

Senator Maria Cantwell
Phone: 202-224-3441

Then, click here to let us know you called:

http://pol.moveon.org/call?tg=FSWA_2&cp_id=1482&id=25178-9640874-UQWhstx&t=2

Does radio matter? Yes. Twice as many people get their news from talk radio as from the TV evening news—on all three networks combined.5 That’s why lobbyists for corporate broadcasters are paying top dollar to protect their radio monopoly. But when communities run their own local radio stations, people can hear real debate on the issues that really matter.

With thousands of independent radio stations across the country, we can start building a shared understanding of the real solutions to our problems. We can start building a movement to stop corporate influence in our democracy. And then we can start rebuilding an economy that works for everyone.

Call Sen. Cantwell now, and ask her to fight hard for the Local Community Radio Act:

Senator Maria Cantwell
Phone: 202-224-3441

Help track our progress by letting us know you called—just click here:

http://pol.moveon.org/call?tg=FSWA_2&cp_id=1482&id=25178-9640874-UQWhstx&t=3

Thanks for all you do.

–Kat, Amy, Anna, Duncan, and the rest of the team

P.S. You can read more about low-power FM radio from our friends at Free Press by clicking here: http://www.freepress.net/lpfm

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FW: Emergency Action on DISCLOSE Act

Congress is convening today for its “lame duck” session to end the year. This could be our last chance for a long time to pass the DISCLOSE Act and pull back the curtain from the shady corporate spending that helped propel the Far Right into power in the election a few weeks ago.

Join the thousands of activists who have already signed our emergency petition to the Senate by adding your name now.

We need a full court press now to make sure the pressure’s on the Senate to bring up and pass the DISCLOSE Act. If you missed Diallo’s email from last week, please take a moment to read it now and sign the petition.

Thank you for your activism!

— Marge Baker, Executive Vice President

From: Diallo Brooks, People For the American Way
Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2010 5:51 PM
To: Marge Baker
Subject: Emergency Action on DISCLOSE Act

 

disclose 

Dear Senator,

Please do all you can to pass the DISCLOSE Act now, and pull back the curtains to reveal the interests behind the spending. Americans have a right to know.

sign the petition

The window of opportunity for Congress to pass the DISCLOSE Act is shrinking fast.

On Monday, Congress convenes for a “lame duck” session to end the year… in January, the Tea Party-dominated Republican majority takes over in the House, comprised of many of the beneficiaries of this year’s runaway, undisclosed corporate spending.

PFAW is pulling out all the stops and will be putting as much pressure as we can on Congress to pass the DISCLOSE Act in this short session, before time runs out and the new House majority is seated.

Help build the centerpiece of our lobbying efforts. Sign our emergency petition to pass the DISCLOSE Act right now.

Earlier this year, Republican senators voted in lockstep to filibuster the DISCLOSE Act, with a handful of GOP senators from more liberal states hanging their objections on various provisions of the bill. This time around, Democrats will be offering a stripped-down version which will simply require the wealthy interests that bankroll the attack ads and directly support candidates to come out of hiding and reveal themselves.

As we saw in this past election, shadowy front groups with pleasant sounding names like “Commission on Hope, Growth and Opportunity,” the “Coalition to Protect Seniors,” and the “Center for Individual Freedom” are paying for endless ads on the public airwaves and not disclosing their donors. Voters have a right to know who is funding these messages.

It’s time to pull back the curtain from the corporate special interests like Big Oil and Big Insurance which are funding much of this activity and give Americans the information they deserve to make up their minds about issues and candidates.

Join our emergency petition to pass the DISCLOSE Act now and ask others to do the same.

It’s no wonder the Right wants to keep this information hidden from voters. We saw in the midterm elections that when voters know where the funding for campaign messages is coming from, they are more likely to see through misleading attacks and evaluate biased ads more reasonably.

This is a major all-hands-on-deck campaign we are waging, but making sure you are on board by adding your name to our emergency petition is the first critical step.

This is a fight we can win, but we don’t have much time. Please sign now and spread the word.

— Diallo Brooks, Director of Field Mobilization

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Pop Quiz


Pop quiz: Which of the following will make up a majority of the deficit in the next decade?

A) Social Security
B) Medicare
C) The National Park Service
D) PBS
E) George Bush’s tax cuts

Give up? The answer is E — George Bush’s tax cuts.

But this week the co-chairs of the so-called “Deficit Commission” came out with their recommendations on how to fix the deficit. Do you know what their answer was? They said they wanted to cut A, B, C and D.

That’s right — the co-chairs of the Deficit Commission said that they wanted to cut Social Security, Medicare, the National Park Service, PBS and a whole lot more. But they’re OK with leaving George Bush’s tax cuts in place even though those tax cuts are projected to make up over half of the deficit over the next 10 years.

These guys are dead wrong and it’s time Congress knew just how wrong they are — sign the pledge calling on Congress to reject the Deficit Commission’s right-wing attack on Social Security.

Add your name now

Not only are they dead wrong on how to fix the deficit, but they’re probably the only two people in the country who think it’s a good idea to cut Social Security.

On Election Day, Democracy for America polled voters nationwide on some key issues, and when asked about Social Security only four percent said they supported making cuts to Social Security.

The vast majority of Americans — 85 percent — said they don’t want any cuts to Social Security. But they don’t get a vote in the Deficit Commission, so let’s make sure Congress hears what they have to say — sign our pledge today.

Tell Congress to reject the Deficit Commission’s right-wing attack on Social Security.

DFA members told us to stand strong for Social Security. And that’s exactly what we’re doing.

Thank you for working to move America forward.

-Charles

Charles Chamberlain, Political Director
Democracy for America

Democracy for America relies on you and the people-power of more than one million members to fund the grassroots organizing and training that delivers progressive change on the issues that matter. Please Contribute Today and support our mission.

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Out in the cold


 

More than 2 million workers and their families are in danger of losing their unemployment benefits just before the holidays.unemployment

Tell Congress to renew unemployment insurance now:

Click here

 

For millions of Americans and their families, a storm is brewing. Unless Congress acts by November 30th, two million unemployed Americans who are struggling to find work will be cut off from vital unemployment payments just before the holiday season.1

It would be a disaster — not only for people who are out of a job and whose only lifeline is these small unemployment payments, but for the entire economy.2

It’s going to be a tough fight to make sure Congress extends these benefits — Republicans and conservative Democrats have stood in the way of extending unemployment insurance in the past, and they’re likely to do it again. They say we can’t afford to pay for it, but many of the same politicians are willing to add trillions to the deficit to extend President Bush’s massive tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

Please join us in demanding that Congress extend unemployment benefits, and ask your friends and family to do the same:

http://www.colorofchange.org/preserve/?id=2275-1238940

The economic downturn has hurt everyone, but it’s hit Black communities particularly hard — unemployment among Black folks is at 16%, twice the national average. For young Black men, it’s above 40%.3

Economists say that unemployment benefits are one of the most effective ways to boost the economy, and the U.S. Census Bureau data reports that 3.3 million more people would have fallen below the poverty line in 2009 without unemployment benefits.4,5

There are some signs that the economy is starting to recover — the number of new people applying for unemployment benefits has recently fallen. But if Congress fails to extend unemployment for 2 million people who are currently out of work, it would deal a serious blow to that progress. Those two million jobless Americans won’t have money to spend on their basic needs, and all kinds of businesses will suffer as a result — and be even less likely to start hiring.

Congress reconvenes on November 15 — and will only have a short time to continue the federal unemployment benefits program before the November 30 deadline. This past May, because of what conservative Democrats and Republicans to block extending unemployment benefits, Congress missed the deadline and allowed the program to lapse for seven weeks — stopping benefits to more than 2.5 million long-term unemployed job-seekers and their families. The unemployed cannot afford another lapse in benefits, and neither can our economy.

It’s hard to believe, but some politicians are saying we can’t afford to pay for these benefits, while at the same time trying to extend President Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy. It’s a position that prioritizes luxury for the wealthy over survival for the most vulnerable people in our country — and it makes no sense for our economy.

Congress hears from wealthy people with access and power every day. So it’s essential for all members of Congress to hear from ordinary Americans who are struggling to make ends meet or know someone who is.

Please join us in demanding that Congress extend unemployment benefits by clicking the link below. We’re working with the National Employment Law Project to deliver your message to Congress this week. And we’ll keep our eye on politicians who are standing in the way of doing what’s right for our economy, and we’ll give you ways to hold them accountable.

http://www.colorofchange.org/preserve/?id=2275-1238940

Thanks and Peace,

— James, Gabriel, William, Dani, Natasha, and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
November 15th, 2010

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU — your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don’t share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:

https://secure.colorofchange.org/contribute/

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URGENT: Calls needed on DADT now!


Human Rights Campaign


URGENT: Our moment on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is NOW!

The Senate must take action before they leave – and anti-equality lawmakers take office.

Tell your senators to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” this week.

Call now: Sen. Maria Cantwell at (202) 224-3441 and Sen. Patty Murray at (202) 224-2621

The push to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has reached a fever pitch. And this week could make or break it.

Years of work could boil down to what happens this week. The Senate’s “lame duck” session begins today – our last, best hope to end the discrimination this year.

When the new Congress shows up in January, the House will be under staunchly anti-LGBT leadership. We have no time to waste.

Today, as we launch full-page newspaper ads across the country, we need tens of thousands of supporters to back up those ads by joining HRC and the Courage Campaign to call on every single senator to end the discrimination NOW!

Call both your senators now – Sen. Maria Cantwell at (202) 224-3441 and Sen. Patty Murray at (202) 224-2621 – and tell them “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” must end BEFORE you leave and the new Congress takes over.

The last time the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” came up for a vote in the Senate, Sen. John McCain led Republicans in a filibuster of the national defense spending bill that contains the repeal. They blocked it from an up-or-down vote – even though nearly 8 in 10 Americans now favor repealing the law.

Watch a message from Joe SolmoneseBefore time runs out, we need Senate Democrats to bring the defense bill to the floor and we need Republicans to stop threatening to derail the entire thing – including critical military equipment and pay raises – just to keep this discriminatory law on the books.

Is it just me, or is it completely absurd that Senate Republicans would hold troops’ funding hostage, just so they can ensure that lesbian and gay soldiers have to keep lying or be fired?

The ads we’re launching today call out this hypocrisy for what it is: bigotry masked as patriotism.

It’s critical that every single senator hears from us today. Even if your senators are already with us on this issue they need to know that their constituents have their backs as they stand up for what’s right.

And no matter where your senators stand, speaking out today sends a bold message: It’s going to take a lot more than a few anti-gay leaders in Congress to make us give up this fight. As long as injustice is written into our laws, we will not rest.

Join HRC and the Courage Campaign: call Sen. Maria Cantwell at (202) 224-3441 and Sen. Patty Murray at (202) 224-2621 and tell them to act this week. Click here to let us know that you made the call.

Momentum for repeal is high. President Obama has called on the Senate to act during this short session – an important first step of the many needed for him to fulfill the pledge he made in the State of the Union to end this law. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and military chaplains are also speaking out.

Still, repealing this law is no easy task. But if brave men and women are willing to risk their lives while hiding who they are, we must be unafraid to fail – and always, unceasingly, unafraid to fight.

Never giving up,

Joe Solmonese
Joe Solmonese
President