Tag Archives: United States

The Court has granted review of cases challenging provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The orders, briefs, and other information are available at this link. The Chief Justice’s 2011 Year-End Report

The Clerk’s Office and was told that they will post audio files and transcripts on their website >>> http://www.supremecourt.gov with morning session information being posted by 2pm that day and the Wednesday Session will be held from 1pmET – 2pm ET with audio & transcripts being available by 4pm ET

The C-SPAN cable network said it would play back the arguments on a broadcast channel and on radio as soon as they are available.

Listed below are live links to the orders, case filings, and other information pertaining to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act cases. Click on each item to access further information.

Orders

11-14-11	Grant Order
11-18-11	Amici Appointment Order
12-08-11	Briefing Schedule
02-21-12	Allocation of Oral Argument Time


Case Filings

11-117	Thomas More Law Center, et al., v. Barack H. Obama, President of the United States, et al. Petition for Writ of Certiorari Brief in Opposition Reply Brief

11-393	National Federation of Independent Business, et al., , v. Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, et al., Petition for Writ of Certiorari Appendix to Petition Brief in Opposition The American Bar Association has provided a link to the briefs at the merits stage of this case at this link.^*

11-398	Department of Health and Human Services, et al., v. Florida, et al. Petition for a Writ of Certiorari Appendix to Petition Brief of Private Respondents Brief of State Respondents Reply Brief The American Bar Association has provided a link to the briefs at the merits stage of this case at this link^* for the anti-injunction act and this link^* for the minimum coverage provision.

11-400	Florida, et al., v. Department of Health and Human Services, et al. Petition for Writ of Certiorari Brief in Opposition Reply Brief The American Bar Association has provided a link to the briefs at the merits stage of this case at this link.^*

11-420	Virginia, ex rel. Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II, Attorney General of Virginia v. Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services Petition for Writ of Certiorari Brief in Opposition

11-438	Liberty University, et al., v. Timothy F. Geithner , Secretary of the Treasury, et al., Petition for a Writ of Certiorari Brief in Opposition Reply Brief

I spoke to the Clerk’s Office and was told that they will post audio files and transcripts on http://www.supremecourt.gov with morning session info being posted by 2pm that day and the Wednesday Session held from 1pmET – 2pm ET with audio&transcripts being available by 4pm ET

The C-SPAN cable network said it would play back the arguments on a broadcast channel and on radio as soon as they are available.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

White House vids … Jim Yong Kim, President Lee and more

03/26/2012 Nativegrl77

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Real solutions to high gas prices … Union of Concerned Scientists

03/26/2012 Nativegrl77

If you’ve filled up your gas tank recently, you don’t need the newspapers to tell you gas prices are on the rise. But oil and gas prices are in the news, and politicians are grabbing headlines with plans that they claim will bring immediate relief at the pump. But these plans always fall short while real, long-term solutions are often missing from the conversation.

There is no “silver bullet” solution to high gas prices, but there are practical steps we can take to begin the transition from our oil-based transportation system. As a driver, you can take simple steps to cut down on your fill-ups, if you haven’t already. As a citizen, you can push for a plan to cut projected U.S. oil use in half in 20 years. These steps will help insulate us all from even higher prices as we scrape increasingly expensive and dirty oil from the bottom of the barrel.

Oil companies are working hard to maintain the status quo because they are profiting more than ever at the expense of the American public. We must push back and demand a transportation system that works for us—one that is powered by less oil and more American innovation through the development of electric cars, advanced biofuels, and better transportation options.

The Obama administration has taken action to cut U.S. oil use by moving forward with strong new fuel efficiency and global warming emissions standards. This is an important piece of the puzzle, but we can and must do more. We need a combination of smart federal policies and private sector innovation to expand consumer transportation choices and cut U.S. oil use in half in 20 years—and the Union of Concerned Scientists has a plan to do just that.

You can help get the story of real solutions out—submit a letter to the editor of your local paper today showing how we can cut our oil use through a national oil savings plan and how that will help your bottom line.

Take Action Today!

Sincerely,

Rachel Cohen
National Field Organizer
UCS Clean Vehicles Program

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Al Jazeera English presents- History of the Occupy Movement

03/22/2012 Nativegrl77

Hello,

I would like to share with you the first episode of this season’s Fault Lines, Al Jazeera English‘s award-winning U.S. current affairs show.

In the first of a two part series, Fault Lines tells the definitive history of Occupy Wall Street, looking at how it went from a small group of New York protesters to a broad people’s movement. Despite police repression and media ridicule, the movement mobilized thousands of people fed up with the deep economic divide in the US. Within two months hundreds of Occupy Wall Street camps swept across the country changing the political discourse in the US.

Watch the first episode here:

Fault Lines- History of an Occupation

Stay tuned for upcoming Fault Lines episodes this season on voter rights and immigration detention in the U.S.

New episodes air Tuesdays at 2230 GMT/630 EST, and are available the next day on our YouTube page and website.

Fault Lines on Twitter:

@AJFaultlines

Fault Lines on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/AJFaultLines

Sophia Qureshi

Al Jazeera

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Don’t let Congress double the student loan interest rate … Murshed Zaheed, CREDO Action

03/21/2012 Nativegrl77

Tell Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: FIGHT to stop Republicans from doubling the interest rate<br />
on student loans

Clicking here will automatically add your name to this petition to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid:

“Do not let the interest rate double on federal student loans. Extend the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, keeping college education affordable for the 99%.”

Automatically add your name:

Learn more about this campaign

CREDO Action | more than a network, a movement.

Stop Republicans from doubling the interest rate on student loans.

Dear Friend,

This is unbelievable. The interest rates on federal student loans will double this summer if Congress doesn’t take action.¹

Urge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: FIGHT to stop Republicans from doubling the interest rate on student loans. Click here to automatically sign the petition.

Millions of American students from working class families are able to obtain a college education thanks to low-interest federal student loans. But now Congress is putting those loans in serious jeopardy at a time when students and their families can least afford to pay higher interest rates.

Back in 2007, when the Democrats were in charge of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, Congress passed the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. It reduced the interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans incrementally over four academic years, from 6.8 percent at the time to the current 3.4 percent.² The current Republican leadership in the House is planning to let this legislation expire on July 1, effectively doubling the interest rates on these loans. This will result in an average of $5,000 in additional payments for students who are scheduled to pay their loans backs in 5 years, and $11,000 for those who are paying back in 10.³

With Republicans in the House poised to double the interest on federal student loans, we need leadership from the Senate.Specifically, we need Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to stand up and fight on behalf of millions of American students:

Urge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: FIGHT to stop Republicans from doubling the interest rate on student loans.

If Leader Reid leads the Democratic-controlled Senate to move first and take steps to pass legislation that ensures the interest rates remain fixed at 3.4 percent, it will force the hand of Congressional Republicans to either pass the measure or go on the record as the party fighting against the interest of millions of America’s working class students and their families.But we need both the House and the Senate to pass it before July 1, so we need to convey our sense of urgency to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today.

Federal student loans with low interest rates, such as the subsidized Stafford loan, are designed to benefit students whose families make under $40,000 a year — folks who can least afford to see their interest rates jump.⁴ These loans help the neediest students, who are often not eligible to receive Pell Grants. Adding further financial stress on these students and their families by letting the interest rates double this July would be devastating, especially given the extremely fragile state of our economy.

Urge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: FIGHT to stop Republicans from doubling the interest rate on student loans. Click here to automatically sign the petition.

As Sarah Jaffe observed in her excellent piece in AlterNet:

“It’s worth noting, as well, that many of the big banks that make a killing on private student loans and still have billions of government-subsidized student debt on their books, are able to borrow money from the government through the Federal Reserve’s discount window at nearly no interest at all. Why, then, are young people, who aren’t guilty of trashing the economy but remain the victims of a rate of unemployment nearly twice that of the rest of the population, expected to pay more?”⁵

Now is the time for all of us to speak up on behalf of our students. Click here to automatically sign the petition and consider inviting students from your personal network to join the fight.

Click below to automatically sign our petition urging Senator Reid to fight to keep college education affordable and not let the interest rate double on federal student loans.

http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=5541975&id=36922-5440681-yT2lVHx&t=12

Thank you for speaking out to make sure that all students can afford a higher education — including those from working class families.

Murshed Zaheed, Deputy Political Director CREDO Action from Working Assets

PS: This issue is deeply personal for me. Coming from a working class family, I have been able to pursue my own aspirations by working hard and getting a great education from amazing academic institutions. This opportunity would not have been possible for someone like me if I hadn’t had access to affordable federal student loans with low interest rates. I hope you willjoin this cause on behalf of the students andconsider inviting any students you know in your personal network to join this fight by forwarding them this link:

http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=5541974&id=36922-5440681-yT2lVHx&t=15

1. Sarah Jaffe, “Is Congress Going to Double the Interest on Your Student Loan?,” AlterNet.org February 22, 2012. 2. Ann Carrns, “Rising Concerns Over Student Loans, Public and Private,” the New York Times Blog, March 14, 2012. 3. Sarah Jaffe, “Is Congress Going to Double the Interest on Your Student Loan?,” AlterNet.org February 22, 2012. 4. Moe Bedard, “Vermont Senators Leahy And Sanders Join Bill To Prevent July Interest Rate Increase On Stafford Student Loans,” LoanSafe.org, February 2, 2012. 5. Sarah Jaffe, “Is Congress Going to Double the Interest on Your Student Loan?,” AlterNet.org February 22, 2012.