Tag Archives: Youtube

Two years ago when health care reform was on the line, thousands of Washingtonians shared their personal stories — and that helped shape the national debate.

Then, President Obama accomplished what presidents from both parties had tried to do for more than 70 years. He’ll be the first to admit he didn’t do it alone — he was bolstered by people like you who stood up to fight for reform.

Now, as we approach the two-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, we want to check in on the progress that’s been made. This is going to be a key issue in this election, and your stories will help show voters how this law is already helping millions.

Share how health care reform has helped you or someone you know.

If you’d rather make a video to tell your story, we’re all for it: Just upload it to YouTube and send us the link.

Before reform, hundreds of thousands of families each year would find themselves on the brink of bankruptcy just because someone got sick. Pre-existing conditions allowed insurance companies to deny coverage to children. A coverage gap for prescription drugs caught seniors by surprise, costing them hundreds of dollars out of pocket.

But then you spoke up and stood with President Obama for change. And on March 23rd, 2010, we made history by helping pass the Affordable Care Act.

Now, two years later, folks are starting to see the real-life impact of reform.

In Washington alone, 2.4 million people no longer have a lifetime limit on coverage; 483,000 women have seen their coverage for preventive services like mammograms expanded; 500,000 seniors and people with disabilities who have Medicare have already received free preventive care; and 52,000 young people who would otherwise be uninsured are staying on their parents’ insurance plans until they turn 26.

This isn’t where the story ends. The other side is bent on taking down the health reform we fought so hard for.

Will you help tell the story of the Affordable Care Act and why it matters to families in Washington, and across the country?

Or, submit a video telling your story:

Thanks,

Jen

Jen O’Malley Dillon
Deputy Campaign Manager
Obama for America

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

a message from Senator Al Franken … Let’s talk about intellectual property

01/23/2012 Nativegrl77

As you may know, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has decided not to bring the PROTECT IP Act (the Senate’s version of SOPA) up for a vote next week. And since I’ve heard from many of you about this issue, I wanted to take a moment to share why I support copyright protection legislation – as well as why I believe holding off on this bill is the right thing to do.

As someone who has worked hard to protect net neutrality, I understand as well as anyone the importance of keeping the Internet free from undue corporate influence. There are millions of Americans who rely on a free and open Internet to learn, communicate with friends and family, and do business.

At the same time, there are millions of Americans whose livelihoods rely on strong protections for intellectual property: middle-class workers – most of them union workers – in all 50 states, thousands of them here in Minnesota, working in a variety of industries from film production to publishing to software development.

If we don’t protect our intellectual property, international criminals – as well as legitimate businesses like payment processors and ad networks – will continue to profit dishonestly from the work these Americans are doing every day. And that puts these millions of jobs at serious risk.

That’s reason enough to act. But these criminals are also putting Minnesota families in danger by flooding our nation with counterfeit products – not just bootleg movies and software, but phony medications and knockoff equipment for first responders.

We cannot simply shrug off the threat of online piracy. We cannot do nothing.

I have supported the approach Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy has taken in crafting legislation to respond to the threat of online piracy – and I appreciate his leadership on this important issue.

But I’ve also been listening carefully to the debate – and to the many Minnesotans who have told me via email, Facebook, Twitter, and good old fashioned phone calls that they are worried about what this bill would mean for the future of the Internet.

Frankly, there is a lot of misinformation floating around out there: If this bill really did some of the things people have heard it would do (like shutting down YouTube), I would never have supported it.

But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take seriously the concerns people have shared. And if holding off on this legislation gives us an opportunity to take a step back and try to bring everybody back to the table, I think it’s the right thing to do. This is a difficult issue, and also an important one. It’s worth getting this right.

I strongly believe that we need to protect intellectual property – and protect the free and open Internet. I think most people, even those who have expressed concern about this particular bill, agree. And it’s my hope that we can now build a stronger consensus around how to accomplish these two important goals.

Thanks for reading. And for those of you who have written to me about this issue (even if it was an angry letter), thanks for being honest with me. I’ll always return the favor.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

[censored]

01/13/2012 Nativegrl77 1 Comment

Ask gaming company Electronic Arts to oppose the Internet censorship bill.

Congress has a plan to change the Internet forever. A bill they’re debating right now would give the government power to shut down whole websites, and even let corporations say which websites should be shut down.

That means a huge corporation could have any website even suspected of violating a copyright shut down — no questions asked. The government could then completely block all access to sites as big as Facebook or YouTube if one person posts one thing on those websites that corporations don’t want online.

Most major entertainment companies have come out in support of the bill, but despite swirling rumors, the huge video-gaming company Electronic Arts (EA) has yet to take an official stance. However, EA is part of the Entertainment Software Association, one of the big corporate lobbyists for the bill to censor the Internet — meaning that if EA came out against the bill, that would be a serious blow to the people trying to get it passed.

Shashank Kasturirangan is a student at NYU who’s a huge fan of gaming — including EA’s games — but he can’t believe that EA would want to mess with the Internet. Shashank started a petition on Change.org calling on Electronic Arts to stop lobbying for Congress’s plan to censor the Internet and come out against the bill. Click here to add your name to his petition.

The Internet censorship bill is particularly dangerous, according to advocates, because it would enable the government to set up the same type of tools to block online content that are used in repressive regimes around the world, like China, Iran, and Syria. For the first time, corporations and the government would be able to say what’s acceptable to put on the Internet.

While some companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter have come out against the bill, big movie studios, record companies, and their corporate lobbyists like the Entertainment Software Association are pushing Congress hard to pass Internet censorship.

Electronic Arts has millions of customers around the world playing video games like Madden 2012, The Sims, and Scrabble, and they care deeply about what the public thinks about their company. If enough people call on EA to oppose the plan to censor the Internet, they will be forced to come out against the bill. And if EA backs off, other companies that haven’t yet taken a position will certainly think twice before supporting Congress’s plan to censor the Internet.

Sign Shashank’s petition to Electronic Arts to stop lobbying for Internet censorship and oppose the bill in Congress. Click here to sign.

Thanks for being a change-maker,

– Jess and the Change.org team

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Campaign 2012 …

01/03/2012 Nativegrl77

Friend —

People have been sending around two videos here at headquarters this morning, and I thought you’d want to see them, too.

This first one was posted to YouTube almost exactly four years ago. It’s Barack Obama’s “closing argument” to Iowans the night before the caucuses in 2008.

It’s pretty incredible to see candidate Obama talk about what President Obama ultimately did. He makes four specific promises — on reforming health care, making college more affordable, ending the war in Iraq, and putting us on the path to energy independence — all of which today, four years later, are promises kept.

Check it out here: http://my.barackobama.com/Caucus-Video

Barack Obama's closing argument: Iowa 2008

The second video is from yesterday — posted by the New York Times reporters on the ground in Iowa.

It’s a sneak peek into the “the best-organized presidential campaign in Iowa.” Spoiler alert: It’s not Mitt Romney. Or Ron Paul. Or Rick Santorum.

You can watch that here: http://my.barackobama.com/Caucus-Ground-Game-Video

Both these videos are pretty near and dear to my heart. I was the campaign’s Iowa caucus director in 2008, and I know how hard people are working there right now, opponent or no opponent.

That’s why I want to thank you for opening this email — especially because I know you’ve been pretty bombarded with messages from us lately.

All the work we do here at headquarters or (more importantly) in the field in places like Des Moines and Ankeny and Council Bluffs in Iowa ultimately relies on someone like you deciding to open an email, click on a link on Facebook, or visit BarackObama.com.

Those tiny decisions are what lead to conversations about the campaign, donations that fuel the work we’re all doing, and volunteers turning out at campaign events across the country.

So, thanks for that, and for everything you’ve done.

A new chapter in the story of 2012 starts with what happens in Iowa tonight. Most of us will watch what happens on TV — but as you do, remember that the end of this story is up to you and what you decide to do in the days and weeks ahead.

Thanks,

Mitch

Mitch Stewart
Battleground States Director
Obama for America

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Washington State: : : Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) is ending

01/01/2012 Nativegrl77

Under federal law, the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program shuts off at the end of December. We cannot pay EUC benefits for any weeks after December 23-29, even if you have money remaining in your account.

If Congress votes to continue the program, we will automatically notify everyone who claimed EUC for one or more weeks in December.

We have posted some questions and answers on our website with additional information. You also may contact the EUC claims center at 877-558-8509 (toll-free) with questions about your claim.

If you need help finding a job, we strongly encourage you to contact WorkSource for assistance. WorkSource offers free workshops, job counseling, computers, Internet access, phones and other job-search resources aimed at helping you return to work.

If you need help with housing, food, medical care or other essentials, please dial 2-1-1 or visit www.211.org.