Tag Archives: United States

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Rated “R” … Mark Anthony, Change.org


Katy Butler knows how it feels to be bullied. When she was 12, four boys came up behind her. They called her names and shoved her into a wall — then they slammed a locker on her hand and broke her finger. “I held back tears while I watched them run away laughing,” she says. “I didn’t know what to do so I stood there, alone and afraid.”

So Katy, now in high school, was thrilled when she heard about a new documentary, Bully, that sheds light on America’s bullying epidemic. The film’s distributor, The Weinstein Company, even had plans to screen the film in middle and high schools across America.

But it was just announced that the Motion Picture Association of America has decided to give Bully an “R” rating, meaning no one under the age of 17 can see the movie — and it can’t be screened in middle and high schools.

Katy thinks it’s ridiculous that the MPAA would prevent teens from seeing a movie that was made specifically to help them fight back against bullying.

So Katy started a petition on Change.org asking the MPAA to give Bully a PG-13 rating. Click here to sign Katy’s petition — and watch a two-minute preview of this compelling film.

The Weinstein Company appealed the MPAA’s initial decision to give Bully an R rating (unsurprisingly, language used in the film — especially by bullies — is coarse). But news broke on Friday that they lost the appeal. According to news sources, a two-thirds vote was needed to change the rating to PG-13 — but Bully came up one vote shy. Katy thinks it’s time for the MPAA to make an understandable exception for a film that could impact the lives of countless American teens.

Katy knows about the power of online petitions. Last year, when the Michigan legislature was considering a problematic bill to address bullying, Katy and another Michigan teen started a petition asking the legislators to improve the bill — and it worked.

Now Katy needs your help again. Click here to sign Katy’s petition asking the MPAA to give  Bully a PG-13 rating so the kids who most need to see it — bullying victims and bullies themselves — can do so.

Thanks for being a change-maker,

– Mark Anthony and the Change.org team

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

whitehouse -uploaded videos


Feb 25, 2012 by

President Obama talks about how important it is to embrace an all-of-the-above approach to addressing our nation’s energy challenges.

by on Feb 24, 2012

White House Press Briefings are conducted most weekdays from the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in the West Wing.

President Obama and Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt of Denmark speak to the press after a bilateral meeting at the White House. February 24, 2012.More

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

USA.gov


Six new apps have been added to the USA.gov Mobile Apps Gallery :

View the 2013 federal budget with GPO’s Budget of the U.S. Government mobile site.

Get stories about advanced space with the NASA Visualization Explorer iPad app.

Stay on top of everything with the U.S. Marines by reading the Marines Magazine app, available on both iPad and Android.

Explore the deserts of Southern California with the CA Desert app by the Mojave Desert Ecosystem Program, available on iPhone and Android.

Use the Mojave Desert Tortoise app to learn interesting facts and submit findings of this rare species, available on iPhone and Android.

Use the QuitSTART app from National Cancer Institute to help track your cravings and moods and learn other tips in becoming and staying smokefree.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Tell Congress: Don’t cut off our clean air …Union of Concerned Scientists


Union of Concerned Scientists

Tell Congress: Don’t Cut Off Our Clean Air
As you know, last December, the Obama administration finalized historic standards to limit the amount of mercury and other toxic pollutants that power plants can spew into the environment. And now the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is on the verge of releasing draft standards that will reduce global warming emissions from power plants.

Both of these standards, which will protect our health and the environment, wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the life-saving Clean Air Act.


Unfortunately, this landmark piece of legislation and its health standards are under attack. Fossil fuel lobbyists and their allies in Congress are spreading false claims about the impacts of these standards on our economy. But protecting our health and the environment is the fiscally responsible thing to do.
The total value of the net benefits provided to Americans by the Clean Air Act since its inception is a staggering $51 trillion and counting.

Nevertheless, Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) has introduced legislation that will revoke the historic mercury and air toxics standard, and other members of Congress have announced their plans to block the EPA from reducing global warming emissions under the Clean Air Act.


The Clean Air Act has a 40-year track record of cutting dangerous pollution—all while providing a net economic benefit to the country. The historic mercury and air toxics standard and soon to be released draft standards that will reduce carbon from power plants will save lives and contribute to a much-needed transition to a clean energy economy.
Tell your members of Congress to stop attacking mercury and carbon standards—and stop cutting off our clean air.


Take Action Now!
Sincerely, Chrissy Elles Chrissy Elles Outreach Associate UCS Climate & Energy Program
P.S. Want to expose and challenge attacks on science, help reduce global warming emissions, and advance smart, practical clean energy and transportation solutions?

Become a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists today and help us meet our goal of 1,000 new members by February 29.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Help me help Sherrod Brown … Al Franken


Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota

I’ve noticed something about the right-wing attack machine: Great progressives drive them absolutely nuts.

Sure, they’ll attack anyone who doesn’t agree that corporations are people, Social Security is a Ponzi scheme, and global warming is a hoax (that every legitimate scientist is in on).  But they really lose their minds when they encounter a true progressive who gets results for working families.
And they have gone positively crackers in their negative campaign against my friend Sherrod Brown, throwing everything they can at him — to the tune of more than $3.5 million in attack ads on Ohio T.V. already.
I’m helping Sherrod fight back — and you should, too.  His campaign has to raise $200,000 by the end of the month.  Can you knock $20 off that goal by clicking here right now?
I work with Sherrod a lot — and you’d be hard-pressed to find a more forceful advocate for the middle class.  Less raspy?  Maybe.  But more forceful?  No way.
That’s why the right-wing attack machine has zeroed in on Sherrod.  They can’t stand the idea that a guy who wears his progressive values on his sleeve not only gets to serve in the U.S. Senate, but gets things done there.  Sherrod’s won fights on behalf of working people his whole career — and if we want to win these fights in the future, we’d better make sure he keeps his seat in November.
Every right-wing special interest group in Washington has Ohio’s Senate race at the top of their wish lists in 2012.  Sherrod really drives them berserk.  It’s one of my favorite things about him.
And the only thing that would drive these radicals crazier would be if we helped him overcome their attacks and win.
Thanks for helping me help Sherrod keep driving the far right around the bend.
Al
P.S.: I have it on good authority that another thing that makes the right-wing attack machine flip out is when I include an extra “ask” in the P.S. of a fundraising email.  Seriously, they’re reading this right now and just freaking out — pounding on their desks, tearing out their hair, the whole deal.  And if you want to get them completely unglued, you could click here and prove that the “extra ask in the P.S.” trick works by donating $10 or more to Sherrod’s campaign right now!