Tag Archives: United States

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Keystone XL pipeline


Sierra Club - Explore, enjoy and protect the planet

Keystone XL would be nine times larger than the Arkansas tar sands pipeline that spilled through backyards.
Ten days left to submit your official comment.
Take action! The ExxonMobil tar sands pipeline spill — photo courtesy of the Sierra Club‘s Glen Hooks, on the ground in Arkansas.

Take action!

There are two things you need to know right now.

First — stopping Keystone XL is key to stopping the deadly tar sands, no matter what Big Oil and its allies say. Alternative tar sands pipelines are running into equally stiff opposition and have been delayed. TransCanada executives openly admit that without Keystone, production will be slowed. So if the tar sands don’t need Keystone, why is Big Oil spending millions on lobbyists to ram it through? [1]

Second — there are only ten days left to submit your official comment against Keystone XL. Take action today and push the total to one million comments!

The tar sands are a disaster, from start to finish. Not only are they absolutely toxic for the climate, the mining process destroys the pristine Boreal Forest and threatens Canadian First Nations.

Then, because the tar sands are so heavy and corrosive, the export pipelines are more likely to spill than conventional pipelines [2] — we saw this just days ago when rivers of oil poured through Arkansas backyards where children usually play. Two other spills happened that same week in Canada and Texas, and the first Keystone pipeline spilled 12 times in its first year alone. The 2010 Michigan tar sands spill, which sickened children and killed family pets, still hasn’t been fully cleaned up. [3]

Ask yourself: Do you want this in your home? Do you want it in your town? Do any Americans deserve to live in a community with these risky pipelines — or in a world with a threatened climate?

TransCanada executives get the profits, the rest of us get the risks. Submit your official comment to the State Department against this toxic export pipeline today!

Over the next ten days, the Sierra Club will be partnering with top environmental allies to highlight ten reasons to oppose Keystone XL. Keep an eye on our blogs and social media to learn more about the climate, the families already harmed by tar sands pipelines, alternative energy solutions, the threats tar sands pose to American Indians and First Nations, wildlife issues, and much more.

Today, we’re reminded that tar sands will not help our energy security. Keystone XL is almost assuredly an export pipeline that would send oil through America, not to America — its destination refineries export 60% of their products. Furthermore, top scientists say the tar sands are “game over” for the climate [4] — and the Pentagon has routinely identified climate change as a threat to our national security. [5]

There are countless reasons to oppose the tar sands, one of the most extreme fuels on earth. Stopping Keystone XL will be a huge step forward in that effort — submit your comment today!

Thanks for all you do,

Michael Marx
Sierra Club Beyond Oil Campaign Director

P.S. After you take action, be sure to forward this alert to your friends and colleagues — five comments will have even more impact than one!

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References

[1] Israel, Josh. “Supporters Of Keystone XL Outspend Opponents 35 To 1.” Climate Progress. 20 February 2013.

[2] Swift, Anthony. “Tar sands pipeline risks – examining the facts.” NRDC Switchboard. 30 March 2013.

[3] Rowan, Anne. “EPA Orders Enbridge to Perform Additional Dredging to Remove Oil from Kalamazoo River.” EPA. 14 March 2013.

[4] Hansen, James. “Game Over for the Climate.” New York Times. 9 May 2012.

[5]  Fitzsimmons, Jill. “15 Military Leaders Who Say Climate Change Is A National Security Threat.” Media Matters. 30 May 2012.
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Is $300 justice? Brian, Campaign for a Fair Settlement


Tell your Friends

Bringing Justice to Justice

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“Breaking the law is not a trade secret.” – Sen. Elizabeth Warren, April 11, 2013

$300. For having your home taken from you illegally.
Is that your idea of justice? The federal bank regulators think it is. Want to know why? Sorry, they can’t tell you – that would mean revealing “trade secrets” of the banks.
It’s true. This week some 4 million families whose homes were stolen by Wall Street criminals in 2009 and 2010 will be getting a total of $3.6 billion in compensation. Most will receive less than $1000. For losing their homes. That amount was arbitrarily determined by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and when asked why in a Senate hearing yesterday, they said turning over the information would mean turning over confidential “trade secrets”.
To which Sen. Warren responded, “Breaking the law is not a trade secret.” [1]
Exactly. That’s why hundreds of homeowners from around the country are going to DC this May to demand an end to Too Big to Jail. You can support their fight by signing on to this call to AG Eric Holder and President Obama to start criminal prosecutions of criminal Wall Street bankers.
If our system of justice worked, two things should have happened: (1) those responsible should have been prosecuted for their crimes, and (2) borrowers should have been compensated for these violations. You already know that Attorney General Holder and the Justice Department have given the bankers get out of jail free cards. Now the federal regulators have allowed them to pay pennies on the dollar to people who lost their homes. That’s what happens with Too Big to Jail.
In hearings on April 10th, Senator Warren posed the right question: “Have the families been protected, or have the banks been protected?” So far the regulators and Justice Department have thrown down with the banks, not with families. That’s what happens with Too Big to Jail.
We’ve made calls, sent petitions, written letters – and we’re still not seeing the change we need. So next month members of the Home Defenders League, supported by the Campaign for a Fair Settlement, are taking things right to the steps of the Justice Department in DC.
Add your voice to those going to DC by signing on to the petition to the Administration here. We can guarantee your signature will be delivered as part of dramatic and bold actions at the very heart of law enforcement in the United States.
Delivering the 333,000 signatures on April 2 was just the beginning. And we’ve got Too Big to Jail in our sights.

In solidarity,
Brian Kettenring Executive Director, Action for the Common Good Campaign Director, Campaign for a Fair Settlement

PS. If YOU want to go, you can register your interest by clicking HERE. Home Defenders League staff will contact you with more details.

[1]  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD7zM9K0X4c http://www.campaignforfairsettlement.org/
-=-=- Campaign for a Fair Settlement · 11 Dupont Cir, Suite 240, Washington, DC 20036, United States CFS is a multi-sectoral coalition. Common Good and Action for the Common Good staff provide strategic and logistical support to the effort. This email was sent to ynative77@gmail.com.  To stop receiving emails, click here. You can also keep up with Brian, Campaign for a Fair Settlement   on Twitter or Facebook.   -=-=-
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~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

mondaish Monday


079 Capitol Hill United States Congress 1993
079 Capitol Hill United States Congress 1993 (Photo credit: David Holt London)

just another rant …

It’s the middle of April , technically spring, the last day to file taxes, but some Americans are still battling snow or summer like temperature while others hear birds chirping and it feels like spring , though if you live on the left coast ….  It still feels like fall.

The weather is like politics …right, seemingly straight forward with designated seasons only to find as the years progress,  little bumps appear that turn into malicious masses and in spite of it those who happen to be addicted to politics like so many wait to see when and where the sequester hammer will fall.   Though the sequester is only about a month old the media seems to have moved on to sizing up how Hillary will do against the various Republicans wanting to be King; I mean President.

If you did not know better and took what the media spews as the truth, it seemed as if we were closer to 2016 than the beginning of President Obama’s 2nd term.  Telling viewers that gun safety legislation was more than impossible and a filibuster was imminent; then President Obama gave a fabulous speech with families of victims of gun violence standing with President Obama in support of better gun safety laws. This led Newtown families to be advocates for their and our futures asking that members of Congress to do their jobs and let the debate on gun reform happen on the floor of the Senate and the first test vote to move forward and debate Gun Reform was taken  on the Senate floor and passed  68 -31. Unfortunately, two Democratic Senators decided to side with Republicans and while gun reform seems like a no brainer to me we should give props to anyone for their bipartisan efforts to move gun laws into the 21st Century.

Now, the media focus still seems to want viewers to accept that nothing positive can be done in Congress and we hear all their skepticism they have leaped frogged from 2016 elections to the pushing public cynicism on all that is on the Congressional calendar.  Yet, this is the time that voters, people who have friend’s family or co-workers fallen victim to gun violence make calls to a Republican member of the House

This week, in Congress the political games are just about to begin; the so-called debates heated and the word filibuster will probably make its way into even the youngest members of our society’s vocabulary, but as Margaret’s Mead said fits …

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. – Margaret Mead

Black History, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

:::::: CONGRESS :::::: S.649


The Senate stands in adjournment until 2:00pm on Monday, April 15, 2013.

5:39pm The Senate began a roll call vote on confirmation of Executive Calendar #21, the nomination of Beverly Reid O’Connell, of California, to be United States District Judge for the Central District of California;

Confirmed: 92-0

WRAP UP

ROLL CALL VOTE

1)      Confirmation of Executive Calendar #21, the nomination of Beverly Reid O’Connell, of California, to be United States District Judge for the Central District of California; Confirmed: 92-0

LEGISLATIVE ITEMS

Began the Rule 14 process of S.729, the Disarm Criminals and Protect Communities Act. (Cruz)

Began the Rule 14 process of S.730, the Firearm Straw Purchasing and Trafficking Prevention Act. (Cruz)

No EXECUTIVE ITEMS

*******************************************************************

April 2013
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30

*******************************************************

Last Floor Action:
2:38:04 P.M. – The House adjourned. 4/12/2013

The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on April 15, 2013.

——————————————————————————————-

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The time is NOW ~ Gun Reform Reduces Gun Violence


The White House, Washington

David Simas Deputy Senior Advisor
Hello, all –For the first time since the 1990s, Congress might be on track to pass legislation aimed at reducing gun violence in the United States. And it’s because folks in Washington are starting to understand that the rest of the country isn’t going to sit by and let them ignore this issue. Your voices are the reason we have a chance to win this debate. The American people expect and demand a yes or no vote.But this is a critical moment. It’s been almost four months since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, thousands more Americans have died at the hands of gun violence, and time is on the side of those who would prefer that we do nothing.We want to make sure that your voices are impossible to ignore. So we’re asking people from all over the country to speak out online in concert — all at the same time. Will you join us?

Pledge to speak out about the need to reduce gun violence.

It’s easy to participate. Over the next few days, anyone can sign up to tweet or share a message to Facebook. Through that time, we’ll gather up as many people as we can. Then we’ll make sure that all these individual messages get posted together in the same moment for maximum effect.

That wave of social media will get seen by millions and millions of people.

We’re talking about common-sense reforms. Like the idea that any of us who want to buy a gun should have to go through a background check first — which 90 percent of Americans support.

So let’s make sure that there’s absolutely no confusion about the public consensus.

Pledge to speak out with us, and then forward this email to your family and friends:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/now-is-the-time/action

Thanks!

David

David Simas
Deputy Senior Advisor
The White House