Tag Archives: West Virginia
Great News! EPA Finally Vetoes Spruce Mine Permit!
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Great news came from the coalfields of Appalachia this morning: the EPA vetoed the Spruce No. 1 mountaintop-removal mining permit in West Virginia! Activists like you from around the country have worked hard to urge the EPA to veto the Spruce Mine permit, and all of your hard work has finally paid off! Thousands of people have emailed comments to the EPA about this issue; many have shared the Spruce Mine story with friends and allies, and still others dumped 1,000 pounds of West Virginian dirt on the front lawn to demand a veto of the Spruce Mine permit. We should all feel proud of this success. Because the Spruce Mine was the largest proposed mountaintop removal mine site in all of Appalachia, it has been viewed as a bellwether for the MTR industry. While we certainly hope that the EPA’s decision this morning means that the agency is working hard to slow the destruction caused by MTR in Appalachia, it’s important that we don’t forget that there are many more MTR mines in central Appalachia that have devastating impacts on nearby residents. Thank EPA Administer Lisa Jackson for protecting communities in West Virginia by vetoing the Spruce No.1 Mine Permit and to encourage her to continue to uphold federal laws and regulations for clean water enforcement. Thank you for helping to stop the Spruce No. 1 mine!
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The next Prop. 8
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Prop. 8 ended marriage equality in California and shocked a nation. I’m writing because New Hampshire could be next. Right-wing lawmakers have taken over the New Hampshire legislature – and they’re already working on four distinct bills to take the right to marry away from loving, same-sex couples. And that’s not all. Hateful groups are trying to ban same-sex marriage in Indiana, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Iowa, and West Virginia. Equality is under attack: along with the anti-LGBT wave in the U.S. Congress, 20 state governments are now under the control of conservative legislatures and governors – twice as many as are under more pro-equality leadership. We have staff on the ground around the country and plans to deploy even more. We’re bolstering state groups, even as we fight against hostile federal bills and amendments. But to make it work, we need 2,011 new members like you – that works out to just 17 more from Washington – to join HRC in the next week. Once you do, we’ll stop sending reminders and get back to the work of securing equality. You already know what we’re defending against in our nation’s capital. A U.S. House led by right-wingers. A whopping 53 more anti-equality representatives and five more anti-equality senators in Congress. But the front line in the battle for marriage equality is in the states. Conservatives now hold more state legislative seats than they have since 1928. Hateful groups like the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) are pushing their agenda in more states than ever before. But there are also some important new opportunities. Your support, right now, could tip the balance.
Just as we did with the successful campaign to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” we’re always working with leaders in both parties to achieve progress on equal rights. But we won’t ever shy away from taking on new legislators who are beholden to the most conservative wing of the Republican Party – and straight, pro-equality Americans like you are a critical part of that effort. LGBT and straight, young and old, of all backgrounds and beliefs, HRC members aren’t satisfied with just sitting back and watching what happens. They’re willing to step up and fuel this fight for equality. In 2011, as state battles heat up and a hostile House of Representatives plays politics with our rights, we’re going to need more members, more strength, and more resolve. State legislatures are already in session; we need you now. Congress. State capitols. Schools. Churches. Corporate headquarters. Wherever equality and acceptance are at stake, HRC is at work – and HRC members are leading the charge. Thank you for everything,
P.S. I’m so grateful if you’ve already put a check in the mail or given to HRC through some other method. If you’ve yet to contribute, though, Your gift is critical to maintaining our fight against hate and bigotry in all its forms. |
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Tell Sarah Palin: Renounce violent political rhetoric
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Violent threats have consequences. And they have no place in American democracy.
Sarah Palin has a special responsibility and opportunity in the wake of the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. For it was Sarah Palin and Sarah Palin alone who earlier put the crosshairs of a gun on Rep. Giffords. And so far, Palin’s response has been Facebook prayers for the victims and an official denial that her widely distributed map involved gun sights at all. This is obscene duplicity at best. Let us be clear. We do not know why the shooter targeted Rep. Giffords. Sarah Palin did not arm him or pull the trigger. We do not know if the shooter admired, loathed or ignored Sarah Palin. We will eventually know, and that will be a different accounting. But only Sarah Palin put 20 Democratic members of Congress in her crosshairs, and only Sarah Palin bragged that 18 are now gone, leaving Rep. Giffords and Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia. Someone has to say it. There has been an astonishing acceleration of violent right wing rhetoric. At the same time, the mainstream media has come to accept armed revolution (second amendment remedies) and violence as legitimate political discourse instead of calling it out as behavior that crosses a very dangerous line. In the past week alone, incendiary devices were received at the offices of the Democratic Secretary of Homeland Security and the Democratic Governor of Maryland. This is what Sarah Palin and others like her have wrought with their violent and vitriolic rhetoric that literally places gun sights on people who don’t agree with their extreme views. Apologists on the right are already saying that while tragic, this event was simply the result of an isolated act by a deranged individual. There have always been deranged individuals. But they have not always had easy access to guns nor have they always lived in a 24-hour-a-day media machine that promotes a toxic soup of violent attacks on political opponents. We are heartbroken by these events and our hopes and prayers are with the victims and their families. But prayers and broken hearts are not enough. How can anyone not be haunted by the prophetic words of Rep. Giffords herself in March 2010, after her office was vandalized, threats received, and her name and district identified by Sarah Palin in her infamous crosshairs: “Sarah Palin has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district and when people do that, they’ve gotta realize there are consequences to that action.”1 Will there be consequences? Imagine the consequences if Palin were to apologize for her use of targeting imagery, pledge never to demonize her opponents in such a way again, call on all of her passionate followers to pledge to do the same, and promise that she will call out those in the media who do not follow her lead. Will Sarah do more than offer her condolences? She might sell fewer books and have fewer Facebook fans. But the consequences would be enormous. What happened in Arizona yesterday was not an isolated incident, but rather the culmination of a long stream of threats and attacks, most in response to the Congresswoman’s support for health care reform. In November of 2009, a staffer fearing for Rep. Giffords’ safety called authorities after a visitor dropped a handgun during another “Congress on your Corner” event at a local Safeway in her district.2 And on March 22, 2010, just hours after Rep. Giffords cast her vote in favor of health care reform, a vandal jumped a gate and smashed the glass front door of her Arizona office.3 It was just days later that the now infamous map featuring Rep. Giffords’ district in the crosshairs was posted by Sarah Palin’s PAC. In announcing the map, Palin issued a chilling tweet urging her supporters “Don’t retreat. Instead — reload!”4 Incredulously, through a spokesperson, Sarah Palin is denying that the crosshairs on her map targeting 20 Democrats who voted against health care reform represents gun sights.5 As if the crosshairs weren’t clear enough, Jesse Kelley, Rep. Giffords’ Republican opponent in a hard fought race for reelection held an event two months later that makes the stakes all too clear. He asked supporters to donate $50 in order to “shoot a fully automatic M16” to “get on target” and help “remove Gabrielle Giffords.”6 Sarah Palin subsequently praised Jesse Kelly on Fox Business News saying: “I don’t feel worthy to lace his combat boots.”7 We agree with Keith Olbermann who said last night that “Violence, or the threat of violence, has no place in our democracy.”8 Our hearts are heavy for the victims of this tragedy. We must put a stop to the escalating hate rhetoric of the right and its very specific calls to armed violent action. Lines of decency have been crossed. Michael Kieshnick and Becky Bond 1 YouTube video of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on MSNBC, March 25, 2010. |
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House DADT victory! Now to the Senate…
 
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What has HRC done for me lately?
MA – HRC volunteers and vets ask Sen. Brown to vote to repeal DADT. More »
US – HRC offers guidance on TSA screenings for transgender travelers. More »
IL – HRC joins successful phonebank-a-thon for civil unions. More »
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Now that the House has once again voted to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the Senate faces its last, best chance to end DADT this year. Last week, the Senate was just three votes shy of moving forward to repeal this discriminatory law. But seven key senators who voted against us last time will make all the difference this time around. We need your help to reach out to everyone you know in ANY of these senators’ states: Alaska, Indiana, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Ohio, and West Virginia. We’ve made it easy – just post this action on Facebook and tell your friends about this critical vote!
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| SUPPORT | |
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Days after the New Year’s Eve decorations come down, we’ll be facing a newly energized, far more right-wing Congress. We will be working around the clock to protect pro-equality victories, go toe-to-toe with radical hate groups, and spread marriage equality across the nation – but we need your support. Become an HRC member – or renew your membership – and you’ll be an integral part of this fight in 2011.
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Sponsor Spotlight | |||||||||||||||||||||||
 This month we salute Microsoft, celebrating its first year as an HRC Platinum National Sponsor. Microsoft also is a generous supporter of the HRC Foundation and for several years has been a sponsor of both the HRC National Dinner and the HRC Pacific Northwest Gala. The company’s strong commitment to LGBT workplace inclusiveness has earned it a perfect 100% score on the HRC Corporate Equality Index since 2005.
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