Tag Archives: United States

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Tell Congress: Protect Unemployment Insurance for Millions of Americans … Joan Entmacher, National Women’s Law Center


National Women's Law Center
Continue Federal Unemployment Insurance Benefits through 2012
Tell Congress: Millions of workers will lose federal unemployment insurance at the end of February unless you act now!
Take Action

They’re at it again. I’m sure you remember the feverish news cycle — federal unemployment insurance (UI) benefits were set to expire right before the holidays in December. House Republicans passed a bill that would slash the UI safety net (and more). At the last minute, Congress agreed to continue federal UI benefits for two months. But that extension expires in less than a month. We need your help to prevent millions of unemployed workers from losing the lifeline of UI benefits.

Tell Congress: Fully Renew Unemployment Insurance for 2012 — no cuts, no barriers to benefits!

     WWW.NWLC.ORG

The House Republican leadership is still pushing to dismantle UI, with drastic benefit cuts and new barriers that would prevent many jobless workers from accessing these vital benefits.

If we don’t act now to ask for a ‘clean’ renewal of federal UI benefits, harsh cuts and punitive barriers to benefits could be tacked on to the bill. The bill passed by House Republicans in December called for slashing benefits by more than half in states with the highest unemployment, denying benefits for workers without a high school diploma or GED, drug testing applicants for UI benefits, making jobless workers pay for their reemployment services, and allowing states to divert unemployment benefit funds to uses other than paying worker benefits.

With unemployment expected to remain above 8 percent this year and long-term unemployment still at record highs, Congress must continue federal UI benefits through 2012. Tell Congress to do right by millions of Americans struggling to get back on their feet!

Don’t let it get down to the wire again — ask your Members of Congress TODAY to pass a clean UI extension with no cuts or barriers to benefits!

WWW.NWLC.ORG

Thank you for all that you do to help us protect women and their families. Millions of Americans depend on these benefits, and we will keep you updated as the deadline draws closer.

Sincerely,
Joan Entmacher  Joan Entmacher
Vice President, Family Economic Security
National Women’s Law Center

P.S. You can find out more about the importance of federal UI benefits to women here and the latest on how women are faring in the recovery here.
~ my 2cents ...

mondaish Monday &some News


 It’s Black History Month

picture by MoveOn.Org

“We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives,”- Susan G. Komen for the cure

just another rant …

On 1/30/2010, the New S.G. Komen for the cure organization put out a press release stating that they would be halting grants to Planned Parenthood. I read about it on twitter talked to a couple of tweeties and decided to research exactly who supports, pays, and otherwise is all in for the organization. The interesting thing about the  new Susan G. Komen for the cure site is that they do not give adequate information about who is actually running the organization, who handles their media or marketing or that Karen Handel held public office while in GA or that she is a staunch conservative. In addition, upon further research at various sites like wiki, I found that Nancy Brinker, a conservative and sister of Susan Komen worked under the Bush Administration, confirmed the Komen association with Ari Fleisher who was involved in filling the position of Karen Handel. Apparently, the move to halt some funding was in the works for about a year yet it looks like some in upper management decided to stay quiet.

I ask everyone who supports the new Susan G. Komen to question and challenge the organizations new policies and motive in deciding to use Rep.Cliff Stearns investigation to quantify the actions or pressures coming from conservative pro-life groups. I know many of us feel that Woman’s Health Care should not be a political football and that Komen should have remained neutral; provide women’s health care, trust the great people in charge at Planned Parenthood and remember the Hyde amendment but do not throw women under the healthcare bus or over the resource cliff.

This move will undermine the way women and men are able to access safe and affordable health care where there are so few facilities to begin with not to mention the number of health care workers who will be unemployed because the new Komen chose the ideology of so few over the lives of the many. The fact is that the number of early detection and services needed afterwards is beyond the number of women who actually get abortions. It is also important to know that funding for stem cell research is also under fire if not already eliminated.

I was sad and offended to learn how the new Susan Komen organization caved to the pressures of Republican representatives in Congress like Cliff Stearns or conservative groups and their ideology. It appears as if that family values platform is gaining more control over a woman’s right to choose and is indeed a political move that will backfire…

This controversy is not over …it is just the beginning folks

   

 in other News …

Former Obama Advisor Discusses Israel and the Middle East

Jay Carney Holds White House Briefing   live at 12:30pm ET

Newsmakers With Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), Campaign Committee Chairman

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Mayor Michael Bloomberg — Super Bowl ad


As you might have guessed, Boston Mayor Tom Menino and I have a friendly disagreement about who’s going to win the Super Bowl this Sunday.  But there’s one thing we agree on: America must do more to keep illegal guns off our streets.

That’s why we’ve filmed a short ad that will air during the game on Sunday – and we wanted supporters like you to be the first to see it.

We had some fun making the ad, but our message is a serious one: we can and must support the Second Amendment while keeping guns away from criminals and other dangerous people.  That’s something our 600 mayors agree on – and we know you do too.  We’re so grateful for your support.

Enjoy the game!

Mayor Michael Bloomberg

New York City

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Chicken of the Sea’s Commitment to Sustainabi​lity …


Chicken of the Sea
Dear Consumer:
Thank you for your email and for sharing our concern about the sustainability of the tuna species. As a leading American tuna brand, we are actively working to ensure there is plenty of tuna today, and for generations to come. The long-term sustainability of the world’s fisheries is clearly in everyone’s best interest, especially Chicken of the Sea‘s.
Long before the Greenpeace campaign, in March 2009, three of America’s most popular tuna companies, founded the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF).   The ISSF is the first organization of its kind – a partnership between the tuna processing industry, the world’s leading fishery scientists and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the world’s leading conservation organization. The ISSF now represents nearly 75 percent of the world’s shelf-stable tuna production. Its mission is to undertake science-based initiatives to support the long-term sustainability of tuna stocks, reduction of by-catch and promotion of ecosystem health. The ISSF does this by supporting the conservation recommendations of tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMO) scientific committees.  Since its inception, the ISSF and its members have committed to a number of meaningful resolutions and actions supporting this mission.
Most recently, the ISSF and its participants released the “Make the Commitment” global improvement plan which calls for best practices and commitments across purse seine, longline and pole and line fisheries.  The commitments were developed in conjunction with the ISSF Stakeholder Committee, a group that includes representatives from various global conservation and scientific bodies.  Groups involved include the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Conservation International, New England Aquarium, FishWise and Birdlife International, among others. Involvement in the ISSF Stakeholder Committee does not imply endorsement, but invites stakeholder organizations to participate in the collective review and analysis of research and ISSF program initiatives.
Greenpeace has been invited to join the ISSF Stakeholder Committee and has repeatedly declined. While Greenpeace is talking, the ISSF and its partners are doing the work necessary to preserve the world’s tuna for today and tomorrow.
Additionally, as a leading tuna brand, Chicken of the Sea is committed to protecting dolphins and we are proud to share with you our worldwide policy to save dolphin lives. This policy states that:

  • Chicken of the Sea will not purchase any tuna caught in association with dolphins.
  • We remain committed to this policy and require certification that all tuna we purchase is dolphin-safe. Our dolphin-safe policy includes Chicken of the Sea tuna, as well as all of our branded and private label products. Chicken of the Sea tuna is labeled with a special “Dolphin-Safe” logo.

Thank you again for reaching out to Chicken of the Sea.  As a leader in the seafood industry, we appreciate and share your commitment to sustainability, and we look forward to continued work with all stakeholders on this matter.  If you have additional questions, we encourage you to visit http://iss-foundation.org/ for a thorough, fact-based look at tuna sustainability.
Sincerely,
Consumer Affairs, Chicken of the Sea Intl