Tag Archives: United States

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

a few thousand of us gathered in Springfield, Illinois, to launch an improbable campaign for President.


Five years ago today, a few thousand of us gathered in Springfield, Illinois, to launch an improbable campaign for President.

The task was to build a grassroots movement capable of making the kind of change we believe in.

You’ve got to see this video about that journey — it will make you smile:


From the very start this has been an experiment in our political process, testing whether ordinary people really can still come together to change this country.

We proved that it’s possible. But we’ve also learned that entrenched interests adapt and claw back even harder, which means this election will be even more of a challenge.

I can’t wait to see what you can do.

Barack

—–
More than 1 million people like you power this campaign. If you can, please donate today.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

WA State – Support Jay Inslee FOR Governor … Building a Working Washington


Dear Supporter,

Read my jobs planEarlier today, I unveiled my jobs plan, Building a New Economy for Washington, and the proposals I will pursue to create jobs as Washington’s next governor.

If there’s one state I believe can turn its economy around, that can harness an innovative and creative vision for the future, it’s our state. We are uniquely suited to build a new economy that raises the quality of life for middle-class families for generations to come — and that’s because our state has a unique blend of innovation and values not found anywhere else.

We create. We invent. We build.

This is our first major policy proposal, but it won’t be our last. Over the weeks and months to come, this will be the trailhead as we chart a path to Building a Working Washington.

I want to know you’re standing with me.

Read my plan, Building a New Economy for Washington, today and then sign on as a citizen endorser.

Washingtonians are at a crucial point in our history.

We are still trying to recover from this recession. We are in an international competition for jobs. The middle class is being squeezed like never before. For the first time, parents are facing the prospect of diminished opportunity for their kids.

It’s a wake-up call, and I refuse to let it go unanswered.

My plan takes into account these challenges, the potential we have right now to take steps in the right direction, and the opportunity we have to build on Washington’s innovative past and grow industries of the future like clean tech.

We accomplish this by focusing on existing industry clusters where Washington already can — or has the potential to — out-compete national and international competitors. Then we examine what is standing in the way of growing these industries further, what competition we face from out of state, and what changes we can make that will immediately make Washington more competitive to keep existing jobs while creating new ones.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read my plan and let me know you’re with me.

Read my plan, Building a New Economy for Washington, today and then sign on as a citizen endorser.

In the coming year, we have a choice. We can choose to go small, and tinker around the edges, and suffer from the same tired economic results.

Or we can choose a different approach — a bold, innovative, forward-thinking approach — led by someone who isn’t afraid to think outside the box, be independent, and take the difficult, but right, path.

Together, we will build this new economy. It will take hard work, but that is in our state’s history — and in our future.

I’m committed to this fight. I hope you are too. Read my plan today, and join me.

Very truly yours,


Jay Inslee
Black History

On Contracept​ive Coverage, We Need Your Voice …Judy Waxman, National Women’s Law Center


Last week, together we secured a victory against efforts that would have harmed women’s health. After hearing from women and men across the country, Susan G. Komen for the Cure reversed its decision to stop funding breast cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood health clinics. When people come together to protect access to critical women’s health services, we’re a force to be reckoned with.

But opponents of women’s health are at it again. They’re attacking the recent Obama administration decision to make contraception widely available to women without co-pays. Help us push back on these attacks on affordable access to birth control — tell the Obama administration you support no-cost birth control by signing the petition on the White House website.

The Administration’s decision did give 335,000 houses of worship exemptions from providing this critical coverage to their employees. But contraception opponents aren’t satisfied with that and want to take away contraceptive coverage to millions of women. They are filling the airwaves and editorial pages with messages opposing contraception coverage for women who need it to protect their health and the health of their families. We can’t let them shout us down!

We need your help! Thank the Obama administration for moving women’s health forward and for making no-cost birth control a reality. The Obama administration has committed to responding to petitions that collect 25,000 signatures on its website, and while we’re closing in on that number, opponents of birth control have already surpassed it with their own petition. They don’t want you covered, but we won’t be silent!

It takes just a few minutes to add your name to the petition on the White House “We The People” website

—Create your own account on WhiteHouse.gov, which allows you to sign petitions.

— Once you’ve created an account, look for an email with the subject line “Almost done! Verify your WhiteHouse.gov account.”

–Click the link to verify your account, sign in, and then click “Sign This Petition.”

Don’t forget, once you’ve signed, forward the petition to your friends!

We’ve been telling you for months, but it bears repeating: contraception is more than about preventing pregnancy— it also has proven health benefits that improve women’s health. Women must have access to affordable birth control to prevent unintended pregnancies, plan the timing and size of their families, and protect their health. Nearly all sexually active women in the U.S., regardless of their religious beliefs, use contraception at some point in their lives.

All women should have access to contraception, have it without a co-pay, and have it no matter where they work. But, opponents of birth control don’t want you covered, and we can’t let them sway public opinion — sign the petition on the White House website supporting this big step forward for women’s health.

You helped before and we won.

Thank you for all you do.

Sincerely,

Judy Waxman Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights National Women’s Law Center

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Foreign NGO Employees in Egypt Deserve Fair Trials!


make a difference
Egypt‘s new ruling military council is trying to assert its power on the world stage. What is the cost? »

The council has charged forty-three non-governmental organization (NGO) employees with funding the protests in Egypt. Several NGOs have had their offices raided by Egyptian authorities, and nineteen Americans, five Serbs, two Germans, and three non-Egyptian Arab nationals have been banned from leaving Egypt.

These employees, fighting for the rights of ordinary Egyptians, deserve to be treated in accordance with international human rights standards.

Please take action today. Tell the Egyptian government to ensure a fair trial for these NGO employees. »
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Millions disenfranc​hised … Rashad Robinson, ColorOfChange.org


More than 55,000 ColorOfChange members have demanded that corporations stop suppressing our votes. Can you help us get to 75,000 by signing the petition now?

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/alec

You can read the email below for more information on how corporations are suppressing the votes of Black folks, other minorities, and young people through an organization called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Please take a moment to add your voice and ask your friends and family to do the same. Thanks!

– Rashad

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Major corporations are helping suppress the votes of Black folks and other minorities through a right wing group called ALEC.

Please join us in demanding that they stop:

For years, the right wing has been trying to stop Black people, other people of color, young people, and the elderly from voting for partisan gain — and now some of America‘s biggest companies are helping them do it.

These companies have helped pass discriminatory voter ID legislation by funding a right wing policy group called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Voter ID bills linked to ALEC have already passed in seven states,1 and similar voter ID bills have been introduced in 27 other states.2

Supporters of discriminatory voter ID laws claim they want to reduce voter fraud (individuals voting illegally, or voting twice). But such fraud almost never actually occurs, and never in amounts large enough to affect the result of elections.3 What is clear is that voter ID laws prevent large numbers of eligible voters from casting a ballot, and could disenfranchise up to 5 million people.4

ALEC’s voter ID laws are undemocratic, unjust and part of a longstanding right wing agenda to weaken the Black vote. Major companies that rely on business from Black folks shouldn’t be involved in suppressing our vote. Please join us in demanding that these companies stop funding ALEC:

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/alec

ALEC’s right wing agenda

The American Legislative Exchange Council is a behind-the-scenes group whose membership consists of legislators and corporations who work together to push legislation that benefits their interests. ALEC crafts model legislation, which its member legislators then introduce in statehouses across the country, without mentioning its corporate ties. The group has written legislation to impose harsher criminal penalties on juveniles, to privatize education, and to break unions.

ALEC is funded in part by the Koch Brothers, the same family that funds the radically conservative tea party. It also receives funding from large corporations, many of which are household names.

“Voter fraud” and discriminatory voter ID laws

Supporters of discriminatory voter ID laws say they’re needed to stop “voter fraud.” The fact is that voter fraud rarely occurs, and when it does occur it does not happen at a scale that would change the outcome of an election. The kind of voter fraud addressed by the ALEC voter id bill happens as infrequently as death by lightning.5

Over and over again, the myth of widespread voter fraud is used to justify stronger restrictions on voting and voter registration (like voter ID laws), as well as voter roll purges. It has also been used to attack organizations which register large numbers of low income and minority voters, by painting simple mistakes made during registration drives as organized efforts to commit voter fraud. These kind of made up scandals have helped the right wing convince the public that voter fraud is real and voter ID laws are necessary to protect the integrity of elections.

The truth is that voter ID laws are discriminatory — Black people, Latinos, the elderly, students, people with disabilities, and the poor are all less likely to have the photo IDs necessary to vote under these laws.6 For example, if you’ve recently moved because of foreclosure or some other economic circumstance, you’re more likely to have recently ended up in a new state which won’t accept your out of state driver’s license. If you don’t have a car, you’re less likely to have a driver’s license in the first place.

In many states, it can be expensive and time consuming to secure the proper ID. Even when the ID itself is free, it often requires supporting documents like a birth certificate which cost money to achieve. There are already stories of voters who have been eligible for years struggling to navigate a frustrating bureaucratic maze in order to vote. Requiring ID to vote amounts to a modern day poll tax. And that’s the real purpose of voter ID laws – they are an important part of the modern effort to suppress the votes of groups that usually vote against right wing politicians.

These laws are part of a long history of voter suppression directed at Black folks and other underrepresented groups. No longer is the Black vote suppressed through violence, intimidation and literary tests. It’s now suppressed through laws that make it burdensome and difficult for many Black folks to vote.

Corporate-backed voter suppression

Some of the companies supporting ALEC may simply be unaware that the group is involved in voter suppression. Others might think that voter suppression will benefit their political interests, and hope that they can get away with supporting it because so few people have even heard of ALEC.

We’ve started reaching out to these companies to make sure they know what they’re supporting, and to demand that they stop. Adding your voice to this campaign will help us convince these companies that continuing to support ALEC will hurt their reputation with consumers. We hope that many of them will simply do the right thing and stop supporting ALEC. If they don’t, we’ll be prepared to shine a spotlight on them and make sure the world understands what they’re involved in.

Please take a moment to join us in standing up to corporate-backed voter suppression. And please ask your friends and family to do the same. It takes just a moment:

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/alec

Thanks and Peace,

— Rashad, James, Gabriel, Dani, Matt, Natasha and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team     December 8th, 2011

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. You can contribute here:

http://www.colorofchange.org/donate

References

1. “New Evidence of ALEC Connections in All Successful Voter ID Legislation,” Campus Progress, 09-08-11 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1065?akid=2356.1174326.HucObH&t=8

2. “First, show your face,” The Economist, 09-17-11 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1066?akid=2356.1174326.HucObH&t=10

3. “The Myth of Voter Fraud,” Washington Post, 03-29-07 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1067?akid=2356.1174326.HucObH&t=12

4. “GOP, ALEC Could Make It Harder For 5 Million To Cast Ballots,” Mother Jones, 10-3-11 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1068?akid=2356.1174326.HucObH&t=14

5. See reference 3.

6. “Citizens without proof,” Brennan Center For Justice, 11-2006 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1069?akid=2356.1174326.HucObH&t=16