Tag Archives: United States

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Tell the EPA: Protect us from Toxic Air … Kathleen Rogers, Earth Day Network

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Mercury is so toxic… just 1/70th of a teaspoon can  contaminate a 20 acre lake. Imagine the damage 50 tons can do.

Coal-fired power plants emit over 50 tons of mercury into our air every  single year, more than any other source. Today, mercury exposure is so  widespread in our country that as many as 1 in 6 women of childbearing age have  blood mercury levels high enough to put a baby at risk of mercury poisoning.

There are no restrictions on the amount of toxic mercury  that utility companies can emit. But, at long last, the EPA has proposed a critical  rule to reduce the emission of mercury and other toxic chemicals that power  plants are now able to freely dump into our air.

The Power Plant Mercury and Air Toxics Standard is the most  important clean air rule since 1990 — and the EPA is predictably under  tremendous pressure by the coal industry and other polluters to weaken it. Now,  the EPA has asked us – the public – to weigh in on this critical  rule.

Tell the EPA to uphold this rule and protect Americans from dangerous air pollution. Submit your public comment now.

For decades, the electric industry has successfully fought  requirements to reduce these toxics.

They’ve kept releasing mercury into our air, where it finds  its way into the vast majority of our lakes and waterways, into our fish, and  then into our bodies, where the poison accumulates, causing deadly diseases and  impairing fundamental brain functions like the ability to walk, talk, read,  write and learn.

According to the EPA, reduced emissions from this new air  toxics rule will save as many as 17,000 American lives every year by 2015, and  will prevent up to 120,000 cases of childhood asthma. We must put our support  behind this lifesaving new emissions standard!

Tell  the EPA to uphold this rule and protect Americans from dangerous air pollution.  Submit your public comment now.

Thank  you for taking action during this critical comment period,
Kathleen  Rogers

~ Culture & History

Your vision propels us forward! a message from NMAAMC


It is a tremendous and rewarding challenge to build something the size and scope of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Your willingness to get involved in this historic project during these early stages is inspiring. It underscores your vision; your ability to see the entire scope of the plan, and the promise of things to come!

Equally important is the work your support makes possible. Just look for a moment at the Museum’s image above. You can see that you are helping to create a truly spectacular museum on the National Mall.

What will be featured inside will be equally exciting. A collection of exhibitions and treasures that will tell the entire, rich story of the African American experience and its role in our history. Simply put, the African American story is America’s story.

You can tell I am proud and excited about this Museum. I believe you share that pride and anticipation.

That is why I am asking for your financial support today. We cannot build this museum without your help.      http://go.si.edu/site/R?i=mhj_5OJO7nPU690Zcjf6EA..

The entire project will cost $500 million, with Congress providing half of that amount. The remaining $250 million must be raised via private resources and, most importantly, from individual contributions from men and women who, like you, share the greater vision of what this Museum will be when we open our doors in 2015.

There are many good reasons to support the Museum: the powerful history and culture that will be presented in exhibitions and public programs; the opportunity to be part of something that will inspire and educate future generations; and the telling of this important story in the grand tradition of a Smithsonian museum.

Whatever your reasons, we are honored by your commitment to the Museum. Our campaign to build the Museum continues to gain momentum. With the help of supporters like you we remain on schedule to break ground in 2012.

However, the bottom line is that we need your steadfast support now and are very grateful to receive it.   http://go.si.edu/site/R?i=mhj_5OJO7nPU690Zcjf6EA..

So, please, take a moment right now to make a contribution to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Again, thank you very much.

All the best,

Lonnie Bunch
Director
 

 
P.S. I just want to remind you of the great tax benefit your contribution to the Museum represents. Whatever amount you are able to generously contribute today is tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by the law. $250 million is a tremendous goal. We truly need and are grateful for your support.

~ Culture & History

NMAAHC Brings “Treasures​” to Dallas for Juneteenth


National Museum of
African American History and Culture
Brings “Treasures” to Dallas for Juneteenth

 The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture celebrates Juneteenth with a two-day program to help Dallas/Ft. Worth-area residents identify and preserve items of historical and cultural significance tucked away in the attics, closets and basements of their homes. Presented in collaboration with the Dallas Public Library, the event will feature presentations, hands-on activities and preservation tips.

The program will take place Saturday, June 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, June 19, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, 1515 Young Street in Dallas. It will feature welcoming remarks by Lonnie Bunch, founding director of the museum, and Dallas Public Library interim director Corinne Hill. Free and open to the public, the event is the ninth in a series from the museum’s signature program “Save Our African American Treasures: A National Collections Initiative of Discovery and Preservation.” All are welcome.

Mary Ballard, senior textile conservator at the
Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute,
inspects an artifact during a “Treasures” event.

 
Participants can reserve in advance to bring up to three personal items for a 20-minute, one-on-one professional consultation with experts on how to care for them. The specialists will serve as reviewers, not appraisers, and will not determine items’ monetary values. Objects such as books, paper and textiles no larger than a shopping bag (furniture, carpets, firearms and paintings are excluded) can be reviewed. Those wishing to have items reviewed must make reservations by emailing treasures@si.edu or by calling toll free (877) 733-9599. Reservations are only required for those wishing a one-on-one consultation. Additional information is available at nmaahc.si.edu.

“We are extremely proud to bring ‘Save our African American Treasures’ to Dallas during Juneteenth weekend,” said Bunch. “We encourage people to become aware of what they have, to protect it and to preserve it so the story of African Americans in this country can be told. Nineteenth and 20th-century objects — family photographs, military uniforms, farm tools and wedding dresses — can help tell this story for future generations; if we do not act now to preserve these items, the tangible evidence of a critical component of American history will be lost.”

 
A participant from “Treasures” Atlanta meets with
senior objects conservator, Carol Grissom of the
Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute.
“We are so honored that the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture is bringing this outstanding program to the Dallas Public Library,” said Hill.

The “Treasures” program also includes the following activities throughout the day:

 
Marion Butts: A Lens on Dallas:  Carol Roark, the Dallas Public Library’s manager of special collections, discusses its collection of photographs taken by one of the most important and prolific documentarians of African American life in the city.
Preservation Presentations:  Informal basic preservation sessions will take place during the day. The sessions will provide information on preserving clothing and textiles, family photographs and papers, and digital memories.  Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions.
Hands-on Preservation:  In this hands-on activity, participants are invited to learn how to properly store letters, pack garments and prepare photographs for preservation storage and presentation.

On Saturday, from 2 to 4 p.m., participants can meet 94.5 KSoul’s Kelli Simms.

Elaine Nichols, supervisory curator of culture at the
Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American
History and Culture, meets with 99 year old
Amelia Boynton Robinson during “Treasures” Atlanta.

 
“Save our African American Treasures” is made possible with support from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The grants also support the pre-design and construction of the museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., scheduled to open in 2015.

As a companion to the series, the museum has produced African American Treasures: A Preservation Guide, a 30-page guidebook that is distributed free to attendees to highlight the importance of proper preservation techniques. The guidebook is part of the “Treasures” kit. Also distributed will be white cotton gloves, archival tissue papers and archival documents sleeves to help people keep their personal treasures safe.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture was established in 2003 by an Act of Congress, making it the 19th Smithsonian Institution museum. Scheduled for completion in 2015, it will be built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on a five-acre tract adjacent to the Washington Monument. Currently, during the pre-building phase, the museum is producing publications, hosting public programs and assembling collections. It is presenting exhibitions at other museums across the country and at its own gallery at the National Museum of American History. For more information about the museum, visit nmaahc.si.edu or call Smithsonian information at (202) 633-1000, (202) 633-5285 (TTY).

For information on the many free programs and services available at the Dallas Public Library, visit www.dallaslibrary.org. The Dallas Public Library operates the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, 26 branch locations, Bookmarks in NorthPark Center and two bookmobiles. A library card is free for any Dallas resident.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

What’s saving Grace? a word from Helene D. Gayle, CARE


“The corn should be this high now,” Grace Orwa says, holding her hand far above her head. “But the rains came late.”

In Grace’s village in western Kenya, rain was scarce this year and the corn crop — which villagers depend on for food and income — will be meager, if it comes in at all.

The good news is that Grace and her neighbors formed a CARE community savings and loan group, which provides a vital financial safety net during tough times. Even if the crop fails, the villagers have the means to make it through to the next harvest. Thanks to her group, Grace has enough money to keep her children in school.

Your tax-deductible gift today can help poor people access tools and resources to become as resilient and self-sufficient as Grace is today. Here are some ways your gift can help change lives:
$75 can provide three village savings and loan groups with a lock box, ledger and other start-up supplies to help them manage loans and help start small businesses
$115 can provide a community mobilizer with a bicycle to reach village savings and loan groups in remote villages
$150 can provide a farmers’ association with soil testing equipment to help improve harvests
With the price of food skyrocketing, many families are struggling to afford food — and experts predict prices will continue to rise in the future. Veronica Okongo was worried that the increasing cost of food would jeopardize her ability to pay her children’s school tuition. So she moved her life savings from a bank to a CARE-created community savings and loan group where she earns more interest.

 Unlike banks, CARE’s community savings and loan groups are owned by their members, and interest earned from repaid loans is shared among group members. The more money Veronica saves, the more interest she earns! Today, Veronica is confident that her children will be able to stay in school and she will be able to afford the food they need to stay healthy and focused on their studies.

Your tax-deductible donation to CARE today will help women like Veronica and Grace build a brighter future for themselves, their families and entire communities.

 Thank you for all you do to help empower women and girls to escape hunger and poverty — for good.

Sincerely,

Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH
President and CEO, CARE

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

what is Congress doing: the Republican led House – the Senate


The Senate Convenes at 9:30amET June 9, 2011

Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each with the time equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders or their designees with the Republicans controlling the first half and the Majority controlling the final half.Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of S.782, the Economic Development Act.There are several amendments pending to S.782. Senators will be notified when votes are scheduled.

The time until 2:15pm today will be equally divided and controlled between Senators Boxer and Snowe, or their designees, for debate on the Snowe amendment #390 (regulatory reform).

Upon the use or yielding back of time (at approximately 2:15pm today), the Senate will conduct a roll call vote in relation to the Snowe amendment #390. The vote will be subject to a 60-vote threshold. No amendments, points of order, or motions are in order to the Snowe amendment prior to the vote, other than budget points of order and the applicable motions to waive and the amendment will not be divisible.

There will be no further roll call votes today.

Senator Coburn filed cloture on amendment #436 (436, as modified (to repeal the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit).

The following amendments are currently pending to S.782, the Economic Development Act:
-DeMint amendment #394 (to repeal Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act)
-Paul amendment #414 (to increase debt limit by $2.406 trillion)
-Cardin amendment #407 (prohibition on interest charges for on-time principal payments)
-Merkley amendment #428 (mortgage servicing)
-Kohl amendment #389 (NOPEC)
-Hutchison amendment #423 (delay implementation of health care reform until pending lawsuits are resolved)
-Portman amendment ##417 (inclusion of application to independent regulatory agencies)
-Portman amendment #418 (Unfunded Mandates Reform Act)
-McCain amendment #411 (prohibit Federal funds to construct ethanol blender pumps/storage facilities)
-McCain amendment #412(repeal of Davis-Bacon wage requirements)
-Merkley amendment #440 (Energy Efficient Loan Program)
-Coburn amendment #436, as modified (to repeal the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit) *cloture filed on this amendment
-Brown (MA) amendment #405 (repeal imposition of withholding on certain payments made to vendors by government entities)
-Inhofe amendment #430 (reduce the amounts appropriated for EDA)
-Inhofe amendment #438 (regulatory assessment)
-Merkley amendment #427 (technical correction to the HUBZone designation process)
-McCain 2nd degree amendment #441 (to prohibit federal funds to construct ethanol blender pumps or ethanol storage facilities) to Coburn amendment #436, as modified (to repeal the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit).

The Senate is now in a period of morning business.
Votes:
87: Snowe amendment #390: (regulatory reform)(60-vote threshold);
Not Agreed To: 53-46

 
 

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The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on June 9, 2011.

CURRENT HOUSE FLOOR PROCEEDINGS

LEGISLATIVE DAY OF JUNE 9, 2011

112TH CONGRESS – FIRST SESSION

10:32 A.M. –

The Speaker announced that the House do now adjourn pursuant to a previous special order. The next meeting is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on June 13, 2011.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG – The Chair led the House in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

The Speaker announced approval of the Journal. Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Journal stands approved.

10:30 A.M. –

Today’s prayer was offered by Reverend Doctor Alan Kieran.

The Speaker designated the Honorable Thomas J. Rooney to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.

The House convened, starting a new legislative day.