Tag Archives: United States Supreme Court

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

#NotOneMore

06/22/2014 Nativegrl77

You helped make this powerful message unavoidable

If you were in D.C., this ad was all over news sites, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Basically, all the places political offices have to monitor.”

That’s how our ad team described MoveOn members’ powerful ad campaign targeting decision makers in Washington, D.C. and state capitals across the country. The ad featured a call for action on gun violence from Richard Martinez, whose son was killed in the recent shooting at UC Santa Barbara.

This ad generated 8.1 million impressions in capital cities across the country in a week, including nearly 1 million in Washington, D.C. While not all of those “impressions” mean that someone watched the entire video, we do know that it was viewed thousands of times by government staffers and more than 600 times by members of the media.

Together, we’re working to make this powerful message unavoidable—to demand action in the face of the continued scourge of gun violence in communities across America. Sadly, in just the past few weeks, there have been multiple mass shootings since UCSB and countless individual gun deaths.

But passionate messages like Mr. Martinez’s can break through. As this video was being shared from coast to coast, MoveOn member and UCSB student Kyley Scarlet started a petition on gun violence to the Obama administration, and Vice President Joe Biden responded with a personal video message for students at the school.¹

That’s why, no matter how frustrating this effort can be, we have to keep lifting our voices. If you haven’t already, please share the ad with everyone you know.

Thanks for all you do.

–Garlin, Jo, Nick, Alejandro, and the rest of the team

P.S. Have an idea for reducing gun violence in your community? Start your campaign today.

Sources:

1. “Vice President Joe Biden’s video message for UCSB graduates,” KCBX, June 11, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=299639&id=97504-17809870-5iignsx&t=4

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is 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

Teachers forced to sign a “morality contract”

06/21/2014 Nativegrl77

by Dominick Mortarotti via Change.org

I go to a Catholic school in Oakland, and the local Bishop wants to be able to fire teachers for things like supporting gay rights or seeking infertility treatment. Please sign my petition calling on the local Diocese to change this offensive contract.

Sign Dominick’s Petition

Petitions on Change.org are started by people like you who care deeply about an issue. It takes only a few minutes, and can change something big.

Start your own petition

My teachers are in trouble, and we need your help. I go to a Catholic high school in Oakland, CA, and the Bishop of our district just put out a terrible new contract which says my teachers could be fired for being gay, for supporting gay rights, for supporting a woman’s right to choose, even for using or supporting infertility treatments like in vitro fertilization.

No one at my school wants this contract: not the teachers, not the students, not even the administration.

The Bishop in my district re-categorized teachers as ministers to be able to get around employment law and fire teachers for their beliefs or even their personal medical decisions. There’s also a broad ethical clause that would give the Diocese leeway to fire teachers for any belief they hold.

I started a petition on Change.org calling on the Diocese of Oakland to get rid of this offensive and outlandish contract. Please click here to sign my petition.

It has been really difficult to watch my teachers struggle with this terrible contract. Some of them have even quit over it. My favorite teacher is just a few years away from retirement, and she has to choose whether to live with this offensive contract or risk compromising her pension. She’s the teacher who taught me about having strong moral character and standing up for yourself. It’s awful to watch her question whether she should hide her own beliefs because she can’t afford to lose her job.

This isn’t just happening in Oakland. The Catholic church is putting out terrible contracts like this all over America, from Cleveland to Honolulu.

But some communities are fighting back, and they’re winning. In Santa Rosa, the community fought back so hard against a contract like this that the local Diocese was forced to postpone it. I know we can do the same in Oakland — and make the Bishops think twice before they try to do this to teachers in another city.

Please sign my petition calling on the Diocese of Oakland to change the contract that would allow teachers to be fired for supporting gay rights or infertility treatments.

Thank you,

Dominick Mortarotti
Oakland, CA

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

21st century policies ~~ by Valerie Jarrett Senior Advisor The White House

06/20/2014 Nativegrl77

I still remember the moment the value of a flexible work environment became crystal-clear for me.

I was working for Mayor Richard Daley in Chicago, and sitting in a particularly long cabinet meeting along with the Mayor’s corporation counsel, Susan Sher. Susan and I were both single moms, and dear friends — and frankly, we both had somewhere else to be.

As the meeting stretched on, and the two of us kept looking at our watches (and each other), the Mayor interrupted and asked where we needed to be that was more important.

Not quite sure what would happen, I blurted out the truth: “Susan and I both have second graders, and their Halloween Parade starts in 20 minutes — and it’s 25 minutes away.”

Without a second’s hesitation, the Mayor replied, “Well, then what are you doing here? You better get moving.”

We were fortunate that day to have an understanding boss willing to give us the flexibility we needed as parents — but in 2014, most working Americans still don’t have that.

It’s time for our workplace policies to match the realities of our families. That’s why, on June 23, we’re joining together with employers, business leaders, workers, academics, labor leaders, elected officials, and a diverse group of stakeholders and advocates to explore ways to take to scale the best practices designed to build 21st-century workplaces that meet the needs of 21st-century workers.

We’re calling it the White House Summit on Working Families, and you can add your voice to the conversation right now in two ways:

Share how your family would benefit from 21st-century workplace policies.
Join me today at 4:30 p.m. Eastern for a virtual question-and-answer session devoted to working families’ issues. Tweet your questions and stories at @VJ44 using #FamiliesSucceed.

Our families and our workforce have undergone fundamental transformations over the past several decades. In 63 percent of families with children, all parents work. Thirty-two percent of families with children are single-parent households. And yet, employers report just 11 percent of workers have access to paid family leave that includes time off for caregiving.

It’s time our workplaces did something about that, and it’s going to take all of us to make it happen.

So, if you can relate at all to the story I described above — the need to choose between the very real responsibilities of being a worker and a parent — then working families’ issues are your issues.

If you’re a young woman wondering if you’re earning the same as your male counterpart, this is your battle, too.

If you’re a single, working dad struggling to balance the responsibilities of raising a family with the demands of a job, you’re in this fight.

It’s time for 21st-century workplaces that allow every American family to succeed — both at home, and at work.

Each story shared will expand this national conversation, and bring these issues to the forefront.

Add your voice — and pass it on.

Thank you,

Valerie

Valerie Jarrett
Senior Advisor
The White House

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Tell Congress to End the Overuse of Antibiotics on Factory Farms

06/17/2014 Nativegrl77

“They robbed me of that experience with my child”
Tell your members of Congress to save antibiotics for medicine, not factory farms.

Nicole Battled an Antibiotic-Resistant Infection After the Birth of Her Son Thomas

Nicole and Thomas after Thomas’s first birthday.

Tell Congress to act now to protect other families from this problem!

Dear Activist,

About four years ago, an antibiotic-resistant infection changed the life of Nicole, a mom from Kensington, Maryland. This situation could happen to anyone and is becoming increasingly common.

But we can fix it. And you can help. Tell your lawmakers to pass legislation to save antibiotics for medicine, not factory farms.

Nicole leads what she jokingly calls a “pretty crunchy” lifestyle. She grows her own organic vegetable garden, sticks to local and organic meat and limits the amount of processed foods in her pantry.

After three-and-a-half weeks of breastfeeding her newborn baby, Thomas, she developed mastitis. “Sometimes the milk duct can get infected and it’s very painful,” Nicole said. “You’re supposed to work through it… but it got worse and worse. On a scale of 1 to 10, the pain became a 30.”

Nicole received antibiotics from her OB/GYN, but it quickly became apparent that they weren’t working. A team of doctors from different hospitals and offices soon discovered that she had antibiotic-resistant MRSA in her breast. The infection was spreading rapidly, and everyone was concerned that Nicole’s C-section incision would soon become septic as well. Nicole was stunned by the whole situation.

By far the scariest part of Nicole’s infection was learning that it had spread to her breast milk, putting her newborn at risk. “It was devastating to me. The worst part of this whole thing for me was being told I couldn’t breastfeed anymore. It was worse than the pain. They robbed me of that experience with my child.”

It took over four months and a lengthy stay in the hospital for Nicole to finally beat her antibiotic-resistant infection. The unfortunate reality is that she is not alone — 2 million Americans experience antibiotic-resistant infections every year, resulting in at least 23,000 deaths. And these infections can affect anyone, no matter who you are or how you live.

This public health crisis is preventable. We can solve this problem.

Factory farms are a breeding ground for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Every single day, factory farms are feeding their animals regular, low doses of antibiotics to make them grow faster and to prevent disease in filthy, crowded living conditions, creating superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics. In fact, the factory farming industry uses a whopping 80% of the antibiotics sold in the U.S. They’re allowed to play by their own rules when it comes to antibiotics, while we suffer the consequences.

That’s why Food & Water Watch has launched this campaign to stop factory farms from abusing antibiotics. Our members of Congress won’t act unless we spread the word and build public pressure to convince our lawmakers to pass federal legislation to save antibiotics and save lives.

People like Nicole shouldn’t have to go through that kind of ordeal and miss out on some of the most valuable and rewarding experiences of their lives just so factory farms can cut corners and turn a bigger profit.

The first step in the campaign to save antibiotics: tell your members of Congress to support legislation to end the overuse of antibiotics on factory farms.

Thanks for all you do,

Miranda Carter
National Online Campaign Manager
Food & Water Watch
act(at)fwwatch(dot)org

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Rape … in India

06/08/2014 Nativegrl77

Two young girls were hanged from a tree after being gang raped in the fields outside their home in India and a high ranking government official just responded by saying that rape “is a social crime … sometimes it’s right, sometimes it’s wrong.” Let’s make sure India’s leader knows that this is unacceptable and demand he acts now to stop the rape epidemic. Sign now:

That is the government’s response! It’s disgusting and we can change it.

India’s new leader was just elected on a pro-business platform with increased tourism as one of his top economic growth goals. If two million of us, right now, pledge not go to India until something is done about the rape epidemic across the country, we could get his attention and force him to prioritise urgent action.

Sign now and at two million signers, Avaaz will bring our call to the major Indian tourist companies that have Prime Minister Modi’s ear and lobby for travel advisories until something is done to protect this generation of girls and women:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/womanifesto_modi_21/?biEWLbb&v=40655

When the 14 and 15 year old girls went missing, one girl’s dad went to the police and fell in front of them on his hands and knees pleading for them to do something. They laughed at him and told him to go home. This appalling inaction happens to countless families across India that face this horror. The police, the judiciary, and even ministers are failing them! It’s a culture of acceptance of rape!

Before the elections there was a massive movement building to get urgent action to stop violence against women. Experts drafted a Womanifesto — a common sense plan for urgently needed reforms to stop the rape epidemic. It covers law, policing, medical and psychological support, and crucially — public education. Other major parties signed up to it, but Modi ignored it focusing on economics, and it is still languishing on his desk.

Even Modi’s staff agree with the plan. Now we just need Modi to put it into action.

If millions pledge to not visit India now until action is taken, and that call is bolstered by targeted calls to the mega travel businesses that support Modi and calls to our own governments to issue travel warnings, we could force Modi to act to save his political future. Click below to sign now:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/womanifesto_modi_21/?biEWLbb&v=40655

The shock and horror of opening the newspaper and reading this story can sit with us, or it can spur us into action. This is our chance to come together as a global community and use our power and our hope to help and entire nation set out on the journey towards equality and safety for all.

With hope,

Alice, Alaphia, Dalia, Laura, Shreya, Ricken and the rest of the Avaaz team

More Information:

India State Minister on rape: ‘Sometimes it’s right, sometimes it’s wrong’
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/05/india-state-minister-rape-crimes-comment

Another girl found hanging in Uttar Pradesh. Rape attempt on judge
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-another-girl-found-hanging-in-uttar-pradesh-rape-attempt-on-judge-1993315

Modi unveils ‘Five Ts’: BJP’s PM candidate says Talent, Tourism, Tech, Trade and Tradition are the watchwords for India’s future
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2542285/Modi-unveils-Five-Ts-BJPs-PM-candidate-says-Talent-Tourism-Tech-Trade-Tradition-watchwords-Indias-future.html

Horrified at reports of violence against women in India: US on Badaun Rape case
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/horrified-at-reports-of-violence-against-women-in-india-us-on-badaun-rape-case-535671

UN condemns gang rape and murder of teenage girls in Uttar Pradesh and calls for justice
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_73685.html