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Thursday …&some News


Washingtonians woke up this morning having to accept the news that Ken Griffey Jr decided to retire.  It was a very sad announcement but most of us here in Seattle were glad he came back and finished his unbelievable career here.  It’s a day that deserves a peaceful start possibly repeated throughout the day  … so reach up  slowly breathe in deeply be still be calm and slowly release your breath as you lower your arms head shoulders and waist while bending your knees …repeat as needed.

Lets be clear —the stuff going on now was not started during the Obama Administration the rules and de-regulations started long before President Obama took the reigns; now is the time to fix the problems and he is trying but without the cooperation of Congress we will continue to have fires sprout up only to spray them out temporarily … we need the change that  53% voted for and the man to do it is President but the right keeps stalling blocking and making our lives  very difficult… now the Gulf Coast is at risk because of the de-regulation that Republicans like, need and continue to vote for … We need Reform People and the Democratic Party has been trying but the Political Party of NO  is on the side of Big Oil Corporations, Big Banks, Big Insurance and Wall Street… the very people that helped drive this country into a financial ditch which effected everything else associated

The President will be meeting with Gov. Jan Brewer… lets hope he does whatever to relax before the meeting begins because her latest comments gave some of us the impression that she was in it to fight; not to examine the constitutionality of the law, negotiate or realize what she and lawmakers of Arizona have done by implementing SB1070, the birther law and maybe other laws that permit the police to legally practice discrimination and as a brown person; where does it end? Just ask people of colour in other places about reasonable suspicion or probable cause as we drive walk and or loiter being black on any given day gets pulled over. This law will give police the right to act as an ICE agent which takes money, training and efforts that will take away from the every day criminal behavior and applying the rule of law;  comprehensive immigration cannot happen without a pathway for people to become American citizens.

The latest reports about BP and the procedure that didn’t work   … is that they were able to cut the pipe but a jagged edge was left and might prevent them from getting a good seal making them decide to go with another type of dome.  There were reports that BP was able to restrict flights going over the Gulf Coast oil spill though the FAA has stated they were not… reports of  code words for nasty air def health risk situations are now called “bad air days” which are becoming more often… and more light is being shown on the lack of safety for workers; as Tony Hayward stated that the worker illnesses were due to “food poisoning.”  There are  people who have firsthand experience with what is going on and are reporting that the President might not have been given all the information about what BP is doing and what they actually have control over.

And if BP has more control than being reported; we need to ask the Obama Administration why and maybe it is time to seize BP as suggested by Progressives on TV Cable and Radio; is the 6 month moratorium enough time to evaluate, make big oil Corporations reinforce changes or provide equipment for emergencies because clearly they have none; should we adopt the same rules as Canada?.  There are a lot of folks on the left telling the Administration, NOAA and the EPA  that they need to separate themselves from BP insist on more action than is being done currently; and no that does not mean nationalizing this thing because the government is not in the oil cleaning business.. But- the talk from credible people like riki ott continues; is an expert and is speaking up and out about what is going on the Gulf Coast; maybe the Obama Administration should listen.

because…

Riki Ott stated during a Reuter’s interview that “A friend in New Orleans is concerned about the oil fumes now engulfing the southern part of town. He says it “smells pretty strong–stronger than standing in a busy mechanics shop, but not as bad as the bus station in Tijuana.” State health officials are warning people who are sensitive to reduced air quality to stay indoors, but anyone who experiences the classic symptoms of crude oil overexposure–nausea, vomiting, headaches, or cold or flu-like symptoms–should seek medical help.”  This is serious: Oil spill cleanups are regulated as hazardous waste cleanups because oil is, in fact, hazardous to health. Breathing oil fumes is extremely harmful.”

last …the info below is from Think Progress and the comment from the Los Angeles Times; though totally on point it just seems like Americans aren’t getting the progress being made or the fact that we are finally moving into the 21st Century … obvious more needs to be done but the step forward is there...     Congress is racking up a record of landmark policy changes in health care, financial industry regulation, economic policy and more, reports the Los Angeles Times. Nevertheless, Congress is facing high levels of disapproval because “they have not done a good job communicating the virtues of their policies, even to potentially receptive voters.”

Other News …

The Obama Admin sent a $69million prelim bill to BP and other responsible parties/operations

**Sellig will not give the perfect rec to the pitcher though everyone knows the referee call was bad

**BP has put out new flying restrictions… no cameras over oil spill and do we wonder what that is… reports that the bad air days are up …

**Gov Jan Brewer meets with President Obama today

**Blagojevich has his first day in court

*”At least 11 states have passed laws this year regulating or restricting abortion,” giving anti-choice activists “an unusually high number of victories.” Approximately “370 state bills regulating abortion were introduced in 2010, compared with about 350 in each of the previous five years, and 250 a year in the early 1990s. At least 24 of this year’s bills have passed,” and the final total may hit the 2005 high of 34. TP

**President Obama is arguing that the Gulf oil catastrophe highlights the need to pass clean energy reform in the Senate. A clean energy future depends on “putting a price on carbon pollution,” Obama said. He added that “the votes may not be there right now, but I intend to find them in the coming months.” TP


C-SPAN

Cybersecurity Policy

South Carolina Democratic Gubernatorial Primary Debate

watch Defense Briefing on Afghanistan

watch Pres. Obama on Economy read Transcript of Pres. Obama’s Remarks read GOP Boehner & Allan Meltzer Statement

watch White House HIV/AIDS Meeting

watch White House Briefing

Cmdr. Of U.S. Cyber Security Discusses Role of New Agency

The United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) was officially activated in May. The agency is responsible for launching attacks on enemy computer networks as well as defending U.S. military systems. At a discussion at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, Gen. Keith B. Alexander, Director of the National Security Agency, spoke on U.S. cyber security policy and the role of USCYBERCOM.

watch CSIS: From Earlier
visit United States Cyber Command

BP Successfully Cuts Oil Pipe , Attempts to cap; Delay Shareholder Dividends Requested

Today, crews managed to cut through the pipe from the leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico. The next step is to proceed with plans to cap the pipe and begin pumping oil to tanker ships.
Also, the White House announced that President Obama will return to the Gulf region tomorrow.
In a letter to the British oil company’s chief executive, Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) asked BP to suspend plans to pay shareholder dividends until the cleanup cost of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is calculated. So far, BP PLC has paid out an estimated $1 billion to clean up the leak and is expected to spend billions more. The dividend is reportedly worth an expected $10 billion.

watch Adm. Allen: From Earlier watch WJ on Implications of the Gulf Oil Spill
watch LIVE Spill Cam

Survey to show many states with budget challenges

The National Governors Association (NGA) and The National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) held a press conference to release the biannual Fiscal Survey of States. The spring edition reflects actual figures from fiscal 2009, estimated fiscal 2010 numbers and recommended fiscal 2011 state budget data. The data examines state spending, state revenue actions and year-end balances.

watch Press Briefing: Available Later
visit Nasbo Website visit NGA Website

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Save the Internet …Support Net Neutrality


T

74 Democratic members of Congress sold you out to AT&T, Verizon and Comcast.

hey need to hear from you.

Take action!
Clicking the text below will add your name to this petition. The petition reads:

I strongly object to your decision to co-sign an industry-backed letter to FCC Chairman Genachowski urging the FCC to allow broadband Internet companies to police themselves.

We can no more trust AT&T, Verizon and Comcast to protect a free and open Internet any more than we could trust BP to protect the oceans.

I want you to stand up for consumers like me, not sell out to wealthy corporations.
Click to sign.

Click here to add your name

Infuriatingly, they signed an industry-backed letter telling the FCC to abandon efforts to protect Internet users by prohibiting big companies from blocking Internet traffic.

Not only is this letter an attack on net neutrality, but by signing the industry letter, these Democratic members of Congress are attempting to drastically undercut the FCC’s ability to make a fast, affordable and open Internet available to everyone in America — they are actually taking a position against the interests of rural and low-income communities.

This is unacceptable.

We need to make sure they know that their constituents and other consumers are paying attention and will hold them accountable when they undermine net neutrality protections.

Click here to automatically sign our petition to the 74 Democrats telling them that you’re upset by their decision to side with the wealthy telecommunications corporations over their constituents.

What this comes down to is a principle known as “net neutrality.” Net neutrality means that Internet users, not Internet service providers, should be in control. It ensures that Internet service providers can’t speed up, slow down, or block Web content based on its source, ownership, or destination.

Of course broadband providers are insisting that we should just trust them and there’s no need for consumers to be protected by net neutrality rules. But we cannot trust AT&T, Verizon or Comcast to protect a free and open Internet any more than we could trust BP to protect the oceans.

Without strong net neutrality rules, we might have to rely upon the good will of large telecoms to protect our access to the diversity of political perspectives. We might have to trust companies like Comcast, which actively and secretly interfered with users’ ability to access popular video, photo and music sharing applications. We might have to trust companies like AT&T, which censored anti-Bush comments made by Pearl Jam’s lead singer during a concert.

A free and open Internet is an important part of 21st Century democracy, but these members of Congress signed a letter that undercut the efforts of the FCC to make sure the Internet stays free and open.

In other words, they decided to stand with wealthy corporations rather than stand up for your interests.

Click here to automatically sign the petition to the 74 Democrats telling them you want them to stand up for you, not the telecoms.

The simple fact of the matter is that powerful companies with a vested interest in this fight like AT&T have armies of lobbyists to push their agenda.

If these 74 Democrats are going to get the message that it’s unacceptable for them to sell out American consumers, it’s only going to be because people like you speak up. So take a minute right now to sign our petition. You can do so automatically by clicking here.

Thank you for standing up for a free and open Internet.

Matt Lockshin, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

What we’re Watching …


Israeli raid debate- Right to Protect or Terror Act?

The UN Human Rights Council wants to set up an independent fact-finding mission to look into what it calls violations of international law

Immigration

Latest news from BP

Update on Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill – 02 June. BP today announced that it supports the U.S. government’s decision to proceed with the construction of six sections of the Louisiana barrier islands proposal. The company will fund the estimated $360 million it will cost to construct the six sections. Read the full press release

Deepwater Horizon boom deployment

> View More Videos | YouTube | CG Visual Imagery

BAYOU LA BATRE, Ala. – Boom is repaired and redeployed off the coast of Alabama by crews with the Environmental Safety and Health Service, May 20, 2010.

Latest Information from Deepwater Horizon

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Move Your Money


Break up the Big Banks. Pledge to Move Your Money now!The big banks on Wall Street — JP Morgan/Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley — have had an incredible year, getting huge taxpayer bail-outs, making record profits and paying out multi-million dollar bonuses to their CEOs while many of them are still participating in all the highly leveraged activities that caused our housing and credit crisis in the first place.

I’d like to say the good news is that Congress is poised to pass major financial reforms later this month, so the President can sign the bill before the 4th of July. The problem is the bill they’re planning to pass isn’t good enough. Don’t take it from me. Here’s what the New York Times said about it last week:

The financial reform legislation making its way through Congress has Wall Street executives privately relieved that the bill does not do more to fundamentally change how the industry does business.

Despite the outcry from lobbyists and warnings from conservative Republicans that the legislation will choke economic growth, bankers and many analysts think that the bill approved by the Senate last week will reduce Wall Street’s profits but leave its size and power largely intact.

In other words, too big to fail banks will still be too big to fail. It’s time to take matters into our own hands. So today we’re joining the Move Your Money campaign started by the good people at The Huffington Post. Declare your independence from big banks and pledge to Move Your Money to a local community bank or credit union today.

PLEDGE TO MOVE YOUR MONEY TO A COMMUNITY BANK OR CREDIT UNION RIGHT NOW

Community banks and credit unions don’t act like the big banks. Typically, they’re more responsible in how they manage their money, they’re more closely connected to the people and businesses who live near them, and they’re more inclined to make loans they know will get paid back. And your local credit union isn’t going to ask Congress for a multi-billion dollar bail-out either. These are the qualities most people want banks to have.

The idea is simple.

To regular Americans this issue isn’t Left or Right — it just makes sense. If enough people move their money from a big bank to a smaller, more local, more traditional community bank, we can break up the big banks ourselves. By working together, we won’t have to wait for Congress make change happen.

TAKE THE PLEDGE AND FIND A CREDIT UNION OR COMMUNITY BANK NEAR YOU

We can send a message to Congress, the President and every candidate running for office that we don’t trust big banks with our money. But it’s up to us to do it.

Let’s get started right now. Thank you for everything you do.

-Charles

Charles Chamberlain, Political Director
Democracy for America

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

ThinkProgress.org


UNDER THE RADAR

HEALTH CARE — POLL FINDS INCREASING NUMBER OF AMERICANS OPPOSING REPEAL OF HEALTH CARE LAW: Just days after Republicans released their third “bill” to repeal the health care law, a new 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll found that “given the option to name the sections of the healthcare law they would most like to see the GOP repeal, 42 percent [of Americans] said they would leave the bill alone and repeal no parts.” Polling for the new health care law doesn’t show the kind of “bump” Democrats had expected, but the numbers are slowly improving. For instance, according to a May 2010 Wall Street Journal/NBC poll, 55 percent of Americans said health reform should have a chance to work, versus 42 percent who said repeal and start over. Just 17 percent thought the health reform bill “would make things better, 36 percent said health care would get worse and 37 percent said it would stay the same.” “In April 2009, those numbers were 22 percent, 24 percent and 29 percent respectively.” Just as Americans are turning against repeal, business groups are showing reluctance to support the conservative agenda. Last month, the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) — a conservative group aligned with Republican interests — surprised other business organizations when it joined a state-based lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of health care reform. Immediately after the announcement, business groups of various sizes and ideological persuasions distanced themselves from the lawsuit. “At this time, we have no plans to” join the lawsuit, a representative of the National Association of Manufacturers told The Hill. The Chamber of Commerce also said it would not join the suit and would instead pursue an “aggressive strategy of battling the regulations” of reform. The NFIB is having a hard time persuading smaller, state-based business groups to join their effort. As one article from New Jersey notes, small business groups seem weary of the lawsuit.