Tag Archives: United States

Weekly Address: America Is Leading the World In this week’s address, the President reiterated the forceful and optimistic message of American leadership that he delivered in his speech before the United Nations General Assembly earlier this week. America is leading the world against the most pressing challenges, including the fight to degrade and destroy ISIL, the effort to stop the Ebola epidemic, and the movement to confront the threat from climate change.

The world looks to America and its commitment to freedom in the face of uncertainty, and as the President said, it will continue to do so for generations to come.

Click here to watch this week’s Weekly Address.

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President Obama on Climate Change: “We Have to Answer the Call”On Tuesday, at the U.N. Climate Summit, the President highlighted the ambitious clean energy investments and carbon emission reductions the United States has made. And while we’ve stepped up to act on climate change, President Obama made it clear that it’s time for our global partners to stand up too, because “no nation is immune to climate change.”

We have to answer the call. We know what we have to do to avoid irreparable harm. We have to cut carbon pollution in our own countries to prevent the worst effects of climate change. We have to adapt to the impacts that, unfortunately, we can no longer avoid. And we have to work together as a global community to tackle this global threat before it is too late.

Check out the chart below and see why we can’t wait to act on climate change:

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“We Choose Hope Over Fear”

On Wednesday, the President addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York City to discuss matters that demand the urgent attention of our global partners.

During his address, he called on the U.N. to join the United States and reject the cancer of violent extremism. Here’s what the President asked of the international community:

Degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group known as ISIL.
We must bring the world together, especially the Muslim community, to reject the ideologies of terrorists, intolerance, and extremism.
We must address the cycle of conflict that creates the conditions terrorist prey upon.
We must ensure that Arab and Muslim Nations focus on the extraordinary potential of their people.

“We choose hope over fear,” the President said. “We see the future not as something out of our control, but as something we can shape for the better through concerted and collective effort.”

On Thursday afternoon, speaking from the State Dining Room, the President announced that Eric Holder will be resigning from his current position as U.S. Attorney General. He applauded Holder’s passion and commitment to the American justice system and detailed the work he’s accomplished during his six-year tenure.

During his remarks, the President emphasized the superb job that Holder has done:

I chose him to serve as Attorney General because he believes, as I do, that justice is not just an abstract theory. It’s a living and breathing principle. It’s about how our laws interact with our daily lives. It’s about whether we can make an honest living, whether we can provide for our families; whether we feel safe in our own communities and welcomed in our own country; whether the words that the Founders set to paper 238 years ago apply to every single one of us and not just some.

President Barack Obama hugs Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., after statements announcing Holder’s resignation, in the State Dining Room of the White House, Sept. 25, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Holder will continue to serve as Attorney General until the President nominates his successor, and the successor is approved by the Senate.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Día de Reyes: A Time for Friends, Feasts, and Food Safety

01/10/2015 Nativegrl77

Celebrated in January … Some on the 5th , 6th and or the 10th

Nothing brings people together like the Holidays, or Navidades for Spanish speakers. Día de Reyes (Three Kings Day) would not be complete without some excellent eats. Many Hispanic-Americans have a favorite dish during this special season – from lechón topasteles to tamales to atole.

Nothing brings a party down like poor food safety though. No one wants to be down for the count during this time of the year–think of all the parties that will be missed! And you don’t want to be responsible for getting your guests sick either

Goodbye, Colbert Report

01/09/2015 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

On Its Final Day, Remembering Some Of The Colbert Report’s Best

The final episode of “The Colbert Report” airs tonight, as its host Stephen Colbert moves on to succeed David Letterman as the new late night host on CBS. In the move, Colbert is retiring the hilarious, ridiculous, and lovable conservative pundit that hosted his show. In his honor, we wanted to share with you some of our favorite Colbert moments:

The Colbert Super PAC, “Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow.” In one of the best examples of the comedian’s humor to actually educate people about an important civic issue, Colbert’s efforts earned him a Peabody award, over $1 million in donations, and some pretty hilarious bits.
When Colbert interviews Jane Fonda and Gloria Steinem about their new feminist radio station — while the three of them make an apple pie.
Former Arizona Senator Jon Kyl landed himself in some hot water after saying that abortion services are “well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does.” Abortion is actually just 3 percent of Planned Parenthood services, and when Kyl was corrected a spokesman said the Senator’s comment was “not intended to be a factual statement.” Enter Colbert.
Pretty much any time Colbert went head-to-head with Bill O’Reilly.
Colbert’s Congressional testimony — in character — about the plight of migrant farm workers. “I don’t want a tomato picked by a Mexican. I want it picked by an American, sliced by a Guatemalan . . . and served in a spa where a Chilean gives me a Brazilian.”
After Daft Punk cancelled their appearance on the Report, Stephen gathered some of his friends — including Bryan Cranston and Jimmy Fallon — to do their own rendition of the musical group’s summer hit, ‘Get Lucky.’
Any of Colbert’s “Better Know A District” segments — but perhaps most importantly when Nancy Pelosi rode a BMX bike.
Colbert’s appearance as the host of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2006: “To sit here at the same table with my hero, George W. Bush. To be this close to the man! I feel like I’m dreaming. Somebody pinch me. Actually, I’m a pretty sound sleeper, that may not be enough. Somebody shoot me in the face.”
That time when Colbert and Jon Stewart staged the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. Hundreds of thousands of people attended the rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Colbert’s moving, tearful tribute to his late mother. The comedian knew how to be serious, too.

Thanks for nine years of giving us the most low-class, bloviating, hypocritical, obnoxious, arrogant — and all-around amazing — coverage of important progressive issues and so much more. We don’t know what to expect from the new show, but we aren’t expecting anything less.

PS: Want a taste of what Colbert is like out of character? Here he is talking to the Yale Daily News, with Yale student and former CAP Action intern Cody Pomeranz as the interviewer!

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Help protect the public from toxic air pollution ~~ a repost from 2011

01/09/2015 Nativegrl77

Toxic air pollutants from power plants—mercury, lead, arsenic, and others—are linked to health problems such as cancer, heart disease, neurological damage, birth defects, asthma attacks, and even premature death. Mercury, for example, is a potent neurotoxin that poses a threat to fetal and infant brain development. And coal plants are far and away the greatest source of mercury air emissions in the United States.

Shockingly, there are currently no national limits on the amount of mercury and other toxic pollutants that power plants can spew into the environment. This gap in our public health protections is all the more disturbing since the Clean Air Act required the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to start regulating toxic pollutants more than two decades ago. Thankfully, in mid-March, the agency finally proposed a mercury and air toxics rule, which will limit hazardous air pollution from coal- and oil-fired power plants.

Even though the new standards are affordable and would deliver enormous health benefits, some energy companies and their allies in Congress are already working to block or weaken them.

The EPA is now accepting comments on its proposed mercury and air toxics rule. The agency needs to hear from concerned citizens like you, who want a strong rule that protects the public from these dangerous pollutants.

Take Action Today!

Sincerely,

Kate Abend

National Field Organizer

UCS Climate and Energy Program

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Just in: the new food revolution starts NOW

01/08/2015 Nativegrl77

Tell President Obama it’s time for a National Food Policy.

Mr. President, we want a food revolution.

Our food and agriculture system is broken. A National Food Policy would transform our food system to ensure healthy, sustainably grown food for all.

Sign the Petition Today!

ACTION ALERT
Tell President Obama: It’s Time for a National Food Policy

Have you heard? In this weekend’s Washington Post, UCS joined prominent food leaders Michael Pollan, Mark Bittman, and Olivier de Schutter in a call to President Obama. It urges the president to do something bold and necessary: issue an executive order establishing a National Food Policy.

We all know our food and agriculture system is broken. For decades, UCS has demonstrated the costs of diet-related disease, the environmental toll of industrial agriculture practices, and the iron grip corporate giants have on information about what we eat. Government policies have contributed to this mess, and legislative attempts to fix it have been disjointed, lacked a clear direction, and often just made the problems worse.

A national policy for food, health, and well-being would, for the first time, define a comprehensive vision for our health, the sustainability of agricultural lands, and social and economic justice. It’s the first step toward the massive overhaul that we need to transform our food system to ensure healthy, sustainably grown food for all.

This won’t happen overnight. But right now, the real work begins—with you.

Sign the petition today to tell President Obama that you want a National Food Policy.