Tag Archives: Voting

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My family is in prison in the Middle East


My sister Grace and her husband Matt are in prison in Qatar because they were accused of trafficking their adopted children. Sign my petition asking for US officials to pressure the Qatari government to release them immediately.

In 2012, my sister Grace and her husband Matt moved to Qatar with their three children. What started as an exciting opportunity for Matt’s work has turned into a nightmare. My niece, Gloria, died suddenly last year, and Matt and Grace were completely devastated — as any parents would be.

But then things got much worse. The Qatari government decided that since Matt and Grace’s adopted kids are African and have special needs, Matt and Grace must have adopted them to harvest their organs or do medical experiments. So they took the kids away and threw Matt and Grace in jail.

It is ridiculous and insulting that the Qatari government would assume that Matt and Grace couldn’t be dedicated, loving parents just because their children are adopted. Our family is now caring for Matt and Grace’s other two kids while Matt and Grace are stuck in Qatar sentenced to three years in prison. Their trial was just a show that didn’t even include a conviction. Just a sentence.

I started a petition on Change.org calling on US officials to pressure the Qatari government to release Matt and Grace. Please click here to sign my petition and help me get my sister and brother-in-law home to be with their children.

Matt and Grace are two of the most amazing people I know. When they were adopting their kids, they specifically requested high needs children because they wanted to become parents to the kids who needed parents the most. The fact that the Qatari government could see something sinister in that absolutely turns my stomach.

I take solace in the fact that Qatar is vulnerable to international pressure right now, especially since they’re hosting an upcoming World Cup. US pressure has also been very successful in helping American prisoners get released in the past — I know one man got to come home from being unjustly held Nicaraguan prison after his family started a petition just like this one.

It absolutely kills me that when my nephews ask me when Mommy and Daddy are coming home, there’s nothing I can tell them except “I don’t know.” But I hope they’ll come home soon, because their kids miss them so much. I miss them so much. We need them to come home.

Please sign my petition calling on US officials to pressure the Qatari government to let Matt and Grace Huang come home.

Thank you,

Joanne Chin
Los Angeles, CA

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Announcing NMAAHC’s new Welcome Center


NMAAHC -- National Museum of African American History and Culture

    Come Visit the New Welcome Center at the

The hours of operation are Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 10:00 AM- 2:00 PM, and on Wednesday from 1:00- 4:00 PM.

    National Museum of African American History and Culture
  Welcome Center Img

Dear Charter Members and friends,
For those of you who may not know, we have a Welcome Center located at the corner of 14th street and Constitution Avenue NW!

It is beautifully designed space displaying panels about the museum which include a statement from our director Lonnie Bunch, information about the design and collections, and information on future exhibitions and programs. In the middle of the Welcome Center there is a scaled down model of the museum and the space it will occupy on the National Mall.

You will also see a media presentation about our February 2012 ground breaking ceremony and a short public service announcement.
Visitors will be able to sign up to become a Charter Member, and engage in a fun audience evaluation game on two interactive computer kiosks. You can even check out our construction progress through a window that looks out upon the construction site! Highly trained volunteers will be onsite to greet Charter Members and visitors, give a brief tour of the space, and answer any questions.

The hours of operation are Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 10:00 AM- 2:00 PM, and on Wednesday from 1:00- 4:00 PM.

In addition to the Welcome Center, our current exhibition, Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 and The March on Washington, 1963 is on view through September 7, 2014 across the street at the American History museum.

The exhibition explores two events that changed the course of the nation—the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and the 1963 March on Washington.

Separated by 100 years, they are linked together in a larger story of freedom and the American experience.
Sincerely,
Edison R. Wato, Jr.
Membership Program Manager
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On March 25 the Supreme Court will hear two cases


On March 25 the Supreme Court will hear two cases brought by for-profit companies that want to deny their employees coverage for birth control. The bosses at Hobby Lobby, a large chain of arts and craft stores, and Conestoga Wood Specialties, which manufactures cabinets, are arguing that their personal religious beliefs should trump the personal beliefs of their female employees, allowing them to evade the law and deny their employees birth control coverage.

Decisions about my birth control are not my boss’s business. If you agree, add your name to the big banner.

This Is Personal will be at the Supreme Court on the day of the hearings to rally in support of birth control coverage and to show America that every woman should have access to this benefit, regardless of her boss’s religious beliefs.

You can be there with us. Add your name to the banner that we’ll unfurl on the steps of the Supreme Court.

Already more than 27 million women have access to the birth control coverage benefit under the new health care law. Birth control, one of the most frequently used women’s preventive health services, is critical to women’s health and equality. Excluding it from insurance coverage for women while covering the full range of preventive care for men is discrimination—pure and simple.

If you agree — show it. You may not be able to be there in person, but you can still keep it personal. Add your name to the big banner.

Thanks for keeping it personal,

Thao Nguyen
Campaign Director
This Is Personal
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Join the Book Club


Union of Concerned Scientists

EVENT INVITATION March 27: Fukushima Online Book Club Discussion

Please join the authors of our new book, Fukushima: The Story of a Nuclear Disaster, in an online “book club” discussion on March 27. Praised as a “gripping, suspenseful page-turner,” the book is a definitive, scientific retelling of what happened at Fukushima three years ago—and an urgent reminder that U.S. nuclear power isn’t as safe as it could and should be.

Fukushima Online Book Club Date: Thursday, March 27 Time: 2:00-3:15 p.m. EST

RSVP for the Online Discussion Today

The book’s co-authors, UCS nuclear power safety experts, Dave Lochbaum and Edwin Lyman, and award-winning journalist, Susan Q. Stranahan, will discuss what the situation in Japan is three years later, what we have learned, and what more needs to be done to make nuclear power safer in the United States.

Visit our website to learn more about the book. If you have any questions about the book club or if you’d like to submit questions for the authors in advance, please email nuclearsafety@ucsusa.org.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Petition: Stop voter suppressio​n in Florida


Rick Scott’s administration has just made their next move in the attempt to suppress voting rights in Florida.

The Secretary of State issued a directive — without much (if any) input from regional election supervisors — that limits the locations at which Floridians can drop off absentee ballots to elections offices only, instead of remote drop off sites that are more convenient for voters.

Put simply: Rick Scott’s administration once again has just made it harder for folks in Florida to vote.

The next big election in Florida is coming up on January 14th — a special election primary to fill the vacant seat in Florida’s 13th congressional district. We have a great candidate in Alex Sink and it’s another prime pickup opportunity for Democrats.

Every Floridian in that district should be able to make their voice heard without worrying about these new restrictions. These limitations are unnecessary and can have a dramatic impact in suppressing the vote. For instance, in 2012, 42% of all ballots were dropped off at these remote sites closer to where voters live.

We cannot let slick Rick try to rig another election. Join me in calling on Rick Scott and Florida Republicans to retract these new voting restrictions immediately.

The right to vote in this country is non-negotiable. Any changes we make to our election structure should make it easier for people to vote, not harder.
Thank you for standing with me against these new restrictions.
Debbie