Tag Archives: United States

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Fracking: who protects us?

11/27/2013 Nativegrl77

ACTION ALERT Keep us safe. Stop this bill.

When it comes to hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) for oil and natural gas, who is making sure our water free of contamination? Who reduces the chance of spills, leaks, or other public health risks? And who holds those responsible for damage to our land and harm to our health?
With the rapid expansion in fracking comes an increased risk to our land, safety, and well-being, which must be addressed. Communities must know the answers to these questions in order to keep their health and security protected.
That is why you need to tell your representative to vote NO on H.R. 2728, the “Protecting States’ Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act”.
This deceivingly-named bill puts the security of communities throughout the country at jeopardy. If passed, the federal government would be prohibited from regulating fracking operations on federal land if a state has already issued regulations or even simply “guidance” on operations—regardless of the adequacy, effectiveness, and level of enforcement of the state regulations.
H.R. 2728 will likely be up for a vote this week: Now is our chance to stop this dangerous bill from becoming law. Let’s make sure all levels of government work together to adequately consider and mitigate fracking-related risks to our health and safety.
Sincerely, Danielle Fox Outreach Coordinator Center for Science and Democracy

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

It Gets Worse

11/27/2013 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

Sequestration About To Go From Bad To Worse

Between the government shutdown and the rollout of HealthCare.gov, you probably haven’t heard too much about sequestration lately. Unfortunately, these painful and damaging spending cuts are still here, still hurting people across the country, and are about to get a whole lot worse.

Early next year, another round of cuts kicks in on top of the cuts put in place this year. And many agencies won’t be able to use some of the tactics they did this year to blunt some of the impact of the current round of cuts.

Our Center for American Progress colleague outlines in a new report and this video exactly why and how sequester cuts get worse in 2014 unless Congress fixes them.

Click on the graphic and Check it out:

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

A Deal With Iran

11/26/2013 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

Global Powers Reach Interim Agreement on Iran’s Nuclear Program

After months of previously secret high-level meetings between U.S. and Iranian officials and years of international diplomacy, global powers reached a signifcant interim agreement with Iran regarding its nuclear program.

ThinkProgress has the details of the deal, which is meant to provide six months for negotiators to hammer out a final, comprehensive agreement:

According to the terms of the deal, Iran has agreed to open itself up to more and greater sanctions from the International Atomic Energy Agency, while halting the installation of any further centrifuges used to enrich uranium. Tehran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to 20 percent will be diluted, and construction at the heavy water reactor in Arak will be halted. Progress at Arak, which will be able to produce plutonium when fully operational, was a key concern left unresolved at the last round of talks.

In exchange, according to the White House fact sheet on the interim deal, the so-called P5+1 — the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, China, and Russia — will provide “limited, temporary, targeted, and reversible” relief from sanctions to Iran. This will include the release approximately $4.2 billion of Iranian funds currently being held and suspending sanctions on “gold and precious metals, Iran’s auto sector, and Iran’s petro-chemical exports” to the tune of approximately $1.5 billion. Embargoes against Iranian oil, banking institutions, and other financial sanctions will remain in place during the six month period the deal covers.

Polling out last week indicated that Americans overwhelmingly support an agreement along the lines of the deal reached on Saturday.

Nevertheless, Republicans and some Democrats almost immediately criticized the deal and threatened to pass additional sanctions when Congress returns next month, something which would violate the agreement and blow up the deal. Last week, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) explained her opposition to a new round of sanctions:

“If you want a war, that is the thing to do. I don’t want a war. The American people don’t want a war. We’ve had years in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is an opportunity to move in a different path, and we ought to try it.”

Others, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), likened the deal to the unsuccessful effort to prevent North Korea from acquiring nuclear weapons. Here’s five reasons why they are wrong.

Still other critics of the deal, including Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn (R-TX), made the bizarre and utterly ridiculous suggestion that the years-in-the-making, high-profile international diplomatic effort was really just a plot to distract from the rollout of HealthCare.gov.

While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been sharply critical of what he called “a historic mistake,” an Israeli military official said a deal could increase regional stability.

(ThinkProgress explains how the deal would look compared to the cartoon bomb that Netanyahu famously displayed during a speech before the United Nations General Assembly last year.)

BOTTOM LINE: The first-step deal announced yesterday in Geneva represents a major achievement by the Obama administration, addressing a top U.S. security challenge. By marshaling all the elements of American power—diplomatic, economic, and military—the United States and its partners haven taken a significant step toward addressing one of the most pressing concerns in the Middle East: the Iranian nuclear program.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Video: Could This Be The Most Expensive Land In The U.S.?

11/25/2013 Nativegrl77

Could This Be The Most Expensive Land In The U.S.?

WATCH THE $PLURGE & SIGN THE PETITION

Cuéntame is proud to announce the launch of our new series, Border Inc: How Corporations Are Bringing the Battlefield Home…And Making a Killing.

We have partnered with Presente and Border Network For Human Rights to expose the “border surge” – or shall we say “border splurge” – and the corporate giants who are pushing for it behind closed doors, as well as the hugely wasteful, absurd border spending & contracting that has repeatedly failed us and is making us less safe. You are paying for it and a CEO is making a killing. Watch our first three short videos exposing the splurge here. You won’t believe the absurdity!

Ultimately, BorderInc.org poses an essential question – rarely asked in the immigration debate – is border militarization and “corporatization” making us less safe? The answer is yes.

Watch the videos to see for your self and stand up to corruption, greed and abuse!

Yours,

Axel Caballero and the Cuéntame team

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Rashad Robinson, ColorOfChange.org

11/25/2013 Nativegrl77

WALMART

For Black Friday, speak out for striking Walmart workers.

Write a letter to the editor of your local paper now: Join Us

Every week, it’s more bad news for Walmart. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), charged with protecting workers’ rights to organize and demand better working conditions, just announced it will prosecute Walmart for illegal firings and threats to workers in 13 states.¹ News of Walmart’s canned food drive for its own employees — who aren’t paid enough to afford Thanksgiving dinner — has gone viral.²

Walmart workers are leading a movement to end the systemic labor exploitation Walmart has made the norm.³ They’re standing up and saying no to part-time, temporary, poorly paid work that keeps our families struggling to put food on the table and holds our economy back. This week, as they engage in historic, nationwide strikes for the second Black Friday in a row, Walmart associates are putting their lives and livelihoods on the line for all of us — and they need our support.

Not everyone knows the risks Walmart associates are taking for workers everywhere this Black Friday, but there’s an easy way to fix that: Please take a moment to send a short letter to the editor of your local newspaper today showing your support for striking workers.

Despite raking in record-breaking billions in annual profits, Walmart recently got caught admitting that most of its employees make under $25,000 a year.⁴ And the company knows that it can afford to give workers a full 50% raise without harming its profitability — bringing take-home earnings up to $33,000 for cash-strapped associates who are now forced to depend on government, food banks and even each other to make ends meet.⁵

All workers are harmed by Walmart’s artificially low pay, wage theft, and aggressive reliance on intimidation tactics — up to and including illegal firings — to keep employees from speaking up for their most basic rights on the job. But as the single largest employer of Black workers in the country,⁶ Walmart has become a critical battleground in the fight to reverse the devastating shrinking of Black economic opportunity we’ve seen over the past few decades.⁷

Walmart won’t suddenly do what’s right on its own — it’s up to us to make the company pay a fair wage for a day’s work and treat its employees with basic respect. By sending a letter to the editor of your local paper — especially in communities with a Walmart store — you are providing exactly the kind of support a worker needs when making the difficult choice to leave work and stand up for all of us. It’s easy with our simple tool: click below to get talking points and writing tips, then submit your letter directly to your local paper online.

Keep Walmart’s bad behavior in the news by writing a letter to the editor of your daily paper: let your community know why you’re supporting striking workers this Black Friday.

Thanks and Peace,

–Rashad, Matt, Arisha, Aimée, Johnny, Kim and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team November 23rd, 2013

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.