Next post will be about Religion and learning sign language for it, Ha!
More Petitions No One Wishes Were Needed
I am not asking Anyone to join or give money to any organization. I certainly Cannot donate to all of the worthy causes I would like to.
First Petition:
Conservatives want us to think that Rep. Akin is alone in his extremist views but
he's not--lots of current members of Congress have partnered with him in trying to
redefine rape and criminalize some forms of birth control.
Can you chip in $25 to help spread the word?
click here
Click Here
Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) is on the defensive after he made comments stating that women
who are "legitimate" rape victims can't get pregnant. Prominent conservatives from
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) to talking-head Sean Hannity are begging him to drop out
of his race for US Senate.
1
Here's the thing: Their outrage is disingenuous at best. Why?
Because Rep. Akin's views are anything but fringe when it comes to Tea Party members
of Congress.
He, Paul Ryan and 171 mostly Republican members of the House sponsored a bill last
year that would have narrowed the definition of rape to make it even harder for survivors--especially
lower income rape survivors--to get abortions.
2
They felt the need to define rape as "forcible" rape--sound familiar? Akin and 63
others allies in Congress co-sponsored a bill that would have made emergency contraception
and common forms of birth control illegal.
3
Now, conservatives in Congress are falling over themselves to condemn Akin hoping
their statements will stop the media from focusing on the fact that lots of them
hold many of the same views.
We can't let that happen.
We need to make sure that voters everywhere know how widespread the "Akin problem"
is.
So we're planning a big effort--partnering with local groups on the ground in these
districts, organizing survivors to tell their stories and running ads online and
on the radio--to get the word out about how many members of Congress have partnered
with Akin to roll back women's reproductive rights. But we need your help to do it.
This will cost us at least $25,000 to pull off.
Can you chip in $25?
Chip in $25 to help get the word out.
Attempts to "redefine" rape aren't new to Congress. And the consequences of doing
so are far more severe than simply making abortion harder to access--they have a
significant cultural effect too. Too many legislators are willing to go so far as
to place even greater burdens and cast doubt on rape survivors just to advance their
agenda of taking away women's rights to control our own bodies.
In fact, changing the definition of rape has been a key talking point for extremist
anti-choice conservatives for years. John C. Willke, former president of the National
Right to Life Committee, has argued pregnancy from rape is rare in part because “when
women are actually raped, the trauma upsets their endocrine system in a way that
prevents pregnancy.”
4
And a lot of current members of Congress hold equally extreme views and have actively
tried to force rape survivors to take their pregnancy to term, deny survivors access
to emergency contraception and even criminalize some forms of birth control--like
IUDs.
This year's Republican Party Platform even calls for a federal ban on abortion without
an exception for rape or incest.
5
Conservatives in Congress have been able to advance their right-wing agenda without
any scrutiny for years. But this year, they've taken their efforts to new extremes,
so it's been getting more notice. And we have to keep spotlighting them.
Please chip in to help us spread the word to voters all over the country about how
many politicians hold views just as extreme as Rep. Akin's.
Chip in to help get the word out.
Thanks for speaking out,
--Nita, Shaunna and Kat, the UltraViolet team
Sources:
1.
John Cornyn, Top Republicans Call On Todd Akin To Rethink Candidacy,
Huffington Post, August 20, 2012
2.
The House GOP's Crusade Against Reproductive Rights,
Media Matters, October 6, 2011
3.
Paul Ryan and Todd Akin Partnered On Radical ‘Personhood’ Bill Outlawing Abortion And Many Birth Control Pills,
ThinkProgress, August 20, 2012
4.
Todd Akin’s Rape Comment Was Bad, but His Abortion Views Are Much Worse,
Daily Best, August 20, 2012
5.
Report: GOP abortion platform doesn't include rape exception,
The Hill, August 21, 2012
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Second Petition:
Change.org
Veterans Administration: End the double standard for veterans traumatized by sexual assault in the military
Sign Ruth's Petition
Teresa -
The first time the U.S.
my commanding officer in the Navy.
The second betrayal was when the Veterans Administration (VA) denied me disability
benefits for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) -- which I have
because I was raped in the military.
When applying for benefits from the VA, I had to "prove" that my rapes happened,
through testimony from eyewitnesses, my ex-husband and others. This is a higher burden
of proof than for other veterans applying for the same benefits -- and only veterans
applying for benefits because of sexual assault have to meet it. Even more, even
after I had given it what it wanted,
the VA failed to believe that the rapes had occurred or approve my benefits.
Today, I'm fighting back. I recently testified in front of Congress to show elected
officials how the VA is failing countless veterans like me.
I also started a petition on Change.org to build a nationwide outcry against the VA's double standard preventing veterans who have been raped and sexually assaulted within the military from getting the benefits they deserve.
Click here to sign my petition now.
As a result of my rapes, I have endured decades of debilitating PTSD, anxiety, depression,
insomnia, migraines, a sexually transmitted disease, nine miscarriages, suicide attempts,
homelessness and an end to my marriage. It took 23 years, in the end, for the VA
to give me any benefits at all.
And I'm not alone. By DOD’s own estimates, over 19,000 service members
are assaulted in the military each year. For countless veterans like me, a denied
VA claim is the second betrayal, and can mean the difference between life and death.
And yet
only 1 in 3 applicants receives PTSD benefits for military sexual trauma.
In comparison, more than half of veterans applying for PTSD benefits linked to other
kinds of trauma are approved.
A few weeks ago, I watched another military rape survivor, Lance Corporal Nicole
McCoy, start her own petition on Change.org.
More than 300,000 people
signed it, inspiring me to start my own petition to create change within the VA.
Click here to sign my petition calling on the VA to lift the unfair, extra requirements placed on veteran survivors of military sexual violence applying for disability benefits.
And I know public pressure to change the VA's broken system can work: it has happened
before, when the VA changed the requirements for combat veterans applying for benefits.
The same can happen for veterans who are survivors of military sexual assault --
but only if thousands of people join me by signing my petition.
My belief is that the VA wants me to fade away as quickly as possible, but I'm not
going to let it off the hook. It's really that simple. I will continue to serve my
country and defend the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. My campaign
today is a part of that.
Please click here to sign my petition now, and call on the VA to eliminate double standards and extra hurdles for veterans suffering from military sexual trauma and seeking the benefits they're entitled to.
Thank you.
Ruth Moore
Third Petition
I know that voter ID.'s can be demanded to discriminate against poorer voters. To get a new state ID., NOT even a driver's license, I have to pay for a cab or pay someone to take me to a License Bureau Office, then pay for the ID. (under $15) then pay for a cab home. Added together, the cost of a new ID. Would be between $35 and $40. And I think a driver's license costs more, but not sure.
On the other hand it is true that some people steal ID.'s and some few people do vote with them or manage to vote twice. Noot a simple issue, what is?
President Obama is leading in the polls, but he could still lose because of voter
suppression laws in key battleground states like Florida , Ohio , Pennsylvania
more.
Chip in $5 to help convince local election officials to opt out of the Republican
voter suppression campaign.
Chip in $5
Dear MoveOn member,
The latest polls since Mitt Romney picked Paul Ryan show President Obama still holding
a narrow lead of 1-2 points in several key states.
1
But,
if the election was held today, President Obama could still lose
—because of widespread Republican voter suppression tactics in key swing states.
Republicans are purging the voter rolls, shortening voting hours in Democratic precincts,
kicking Democrats off local election boards, and requiring registered voters to show
photo ID.
2
There's no bigger priority between now and November than stopping these GOP voter
suppression tactics so that no eligible Obama voter is turned away at the polls.
And MoveOn is one of the few groups in America
to do something about it.
Can you chip in $5
to help pay for our emergency campaign to stop GOP voter suppression?
We need county-level campaign teams in hundreds of places, lawyers to figure out
the local voting rules, field organizers to cover all the key states, and an ad budget
for targeted local ads urging election officials to do the right thing.
Yes, I'll chip in $5 to stop voter suppression.
Make no mistake: because of GOP voter suppression efforts,
local election officials you've never heard of could easily decide the outcome of
the presidential race.
The battle unfolding in Ohio
of state tried to set shorter voting hours in Democratic counties versus Republican
counties. Voters freaked out and he backed off, setting uniform voting hours statewide.
That was a great partial victory for voters, but the new hours he set are still shorter
than in 2008, which will
make it impossible for some students, folks with two jobs, and other Democratic-leaning
groups
to vote.
And his new rules do not allow for any in-person early voting on weekends, the best
time for many folks to vote.
3
MoveOn members are pushing to reinstate weekend early voting hours so everyone can
vote, but
it's going to require another major grassroots push.
Similar fights are playing out Florida , Pennsylvania , Wisconsin
and come Election Day it'll be too late. We have to pull out all the stops now.
Click here to chip in $5 to stop the GOP's voter suppression.
MoveOn is running local campaigns all over the country to make sure local officials
do all they can to protect the right to vote.
You might have seen Pennsylvania MoveOn member Steven Singer on MSNBC's "The Ed Show"
this week talking about the Allegheny County
petition website.
4
An election official in one Pennsylvania
discriminatory new Voter ID Law, and now
MoveOn members all across Pennsylvania
instruct poll workers to let all registered voters vote.
5
They have the authority to make that decision—we just need to give them the political
backing to do the right thing.
We need county-level campaigns like this in hundreds of places around the country
to make a dent in this problem.
Can you chip in $5
to help pay for the lawyers, field organizers, and ads we need to win?
Yes, I can chip in $5.
Thanks for all you do.
–Ilya, Anna, Steven, Bobby, Stefanie, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Election 2012 State Polls," Real Clear Politics, accessed August 18, 2012
http://bit.ly/NlHyMa
2. "Masters of voter suppression: Republicans employ many techniques to keep low-income
voters away from the polls,"
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=279098&id=49416-9089709-GHAocxx&t=5
3. "Ohio Secretary Of State Restricts Voting Hours In All Counties," Think Progress,
August 16, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=279099&id=49416-9089709-GHAocxx&t=6
4. "Keystone to Victory," The Ed Show, MSNBC, August 16, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=279100&id=49416-9089709-GHAocxx&t=7
5. "Delco election official vows to defy ID law,"
, July 28, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=278191&id=49416-9089709-GHAocxx&t=8
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