Friday, November 15, 2013

Pick One, ANY One

Sometimes I get Very Sick of receiving messages like these, below.  I get tired of being told what to do, how I should think, (believe it or not, I DO erase some of this stuff Without passing it on, especially when some organization calls for the firing of an individual for saying something I violently Disagree with.) Everyone, including me, has to stand up to opinions which make us sick, it's part of living in a Republic.  When someone takes unfair Action against another or advocates violence, that's a different matter.  But where would those of us belonging to minority religions or no religion be if speech which revolted others were muzzled even more than it is?  Where would people with differing sexual orientations be, so we have to insist on our right to speak and let comments not advocating violence which make us sick pass by also. 

 I Really get tired of being told I should feel surprise and shock when I think it's just business as usual, sadly.  Did I know our "justice system is unequal and that None of the CEO's running big banks responsible for the country's financial melt-down went to prison?  Well, Yah.  I Did know that.  Republican And Democratic Presidents cut deals and so do Congressmen and Senators.  Do I think it's right?  Of course not.  But after a while these damned emails all begin to sound the same!

Rant over.  I still care about my country and Our Planet.  So try to pick One of the below you can care about, please.  It's been a crazy week and I know some of these are late reaching you.

Tell lawmakers to support pregnant workers
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Want to know the outrageous reason why these women were fired? Display all images.
Take action now and tell your lawmakers — We need the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
Thanks for keeping it personal,
Thao Nguyen
Campaign Director
This Is Personal

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Right-wing groups are trying to block an amazing, pro-woman lawyer from becoming
a judge on an important court.
Tell the Senate: confirm Nina Pillard!
click here
Click Here

This week is our last chance to get a pro-woman, pro-choice judge confirmed to one
of the most important and influential courts in the country.
President Obama nominated a superhero--Nina Pillard--to be a judge on the DC Circuit
Court. No really,
she truly is a superhero, with a history of fighting injustices against women--and
winning.
 She argued before the Supreme Court nine times, including upholding the Family and
Medical Leave Act and ending the Virginia Military Institute’s exclusion of women.
She’s been a lawyer for the Justice Department, ACLU, and NAACP.
1
But right-wing groups like the Family Research Council are raising a ruckus, trying
to get the Senate to block Pillard's nomination because they don't like her positions
on abortion and abstinence-only sex ed.
2
If their voices are the only ones senators hear, Pillard might not become a judge.
Senator Harry Reid is expected to call for a vote on Pillard’s nomination as early
as Tuesday and some moderate Republican senators are on the fence about how they'll
vote.
3
 We have to show our support right away if we want her to be confirmed.
Will you sign the petition asking the Senate to confirm Nina Pillard and put a great
judge on an important court bench?
Sign the petition.
In the fight for women’s rights, judges have a HUGE influence. Most recently, 3 female
judges appointed by George W. Bush reinstated Texas’s sweeping abortion ban that’s
closing clinics across the state.
4
Judges who are more concerned with pushing an ideological agenda than good law are
hurting women.
But it’s not just Texans who have to worry. Another George W. Bush-appointed judge
on the DC Circuit Court--the very court Pillard is nominated for--authored an opinion
saying religious employers can ignore federal birth control coverage rules. The judge
has also called the New Deal a “socialist revolution” and likened Social Security
to intergenerational cannibalism.
5
Pillard’s nomination won’t just bring balance to the DC Circuit Court, it’s also
critical for the court to function. There are currently 3 vacancies on the court
which only has 11 seats.
6
 The DC Circuit hears cases on federal regulations--everything from environmental
rules to labor policy. That’s why
the DC Circuit Court is considered second in power only to the Supreme Court.
 Four of the current nine Supreme Court justices served on the DC Circuit Court.
7
We can’t let ultra-conservative voices like the Family Research Council be the only
ones senators hear from about Nina Pillard. It’s critical that we get such an amazing
pro-woman, pro-choice superhero appointed as a judge if we want women’s rights to
keep progressing.
Will you sign the petition asking the Senate to stop the filibuster and confirm Pillard?
Add your name.
Thanks for all you do.
--Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Karin, Malinda, Adam, and Gabriela, the UltraViolet team
Sources:
1.
Nina Pillard Nomination for D.C. Circuit Advances
, Legal Times, September 19, 2013
Cry of the Republican Male Senator
, Slate, July 25, 2013
2.
Scary Feminist Nominated for Federal Judgeship; Conservatives Flip Out
, Jezebel, July 24, 2013
3.
Can You Be Openly Pro-Choice And A Federal Judge? We’ll Find Out Next Week
, Think Progress, November 7, 2013
4.
BREAKING: Three Bush-Appointed Judges Reinstate Texas’ Anti-Abortion Law
, Think Progress, October 31, 2013
5.
What You Need To Know About The Severely Conservative Judge Who Just Ruled Against Birth Control
, Think Progress, November 1, 2013
6.
Republicans Push Back On Obama's D.C. Court Nominees
, NPR, September 19, 2013
7. Ibid.

Personal Note:  I just read an interesting book called:  "Oil and Honey: the Education of an Unlikely Activist" by Bill McKiban.  You will need to double check the spelling of his last name, as I cannot.  Check out his "Do The Math" section and find that the fosil fuel companies already have a Surplus of coal, oil, and natural gas for years.  That makes this next issue more pressing for me.  Also, Arkansas, generally an Extremely conservative state, has banned the extraction of natural gas via the technique known as "fracking" because it caused earthquakes.  Some of us in the Mo. Zarks felt them.

Dear Teresa,
In case you missed my last message, we urgently need you to
tell President Obama
 to impose a fracking moratorium on our public lands, which are under assault by
Big Oil & Gas. Please
make your voice heard
 at the White House right away -- and help save our last wild places from destruction.
Frances Beinecke
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council)
Dear Teresa,
President Obama promised to protect us from the ravages of fracking.
fracking flame
But his Administration is stepping aside as the oil and gas industry targets our
public lands and clean drinking water supplies.
Tell President Obama
 to impose a fracking moratorium on
all
 federal lands!
Take action
The fracking boom has already taken a devastating toll on communities across America,
leaving toxic pollution and plummeting property values in its wake.
Now, the oil and gas industry has set its sights on our national forests, wildlife
refuges -- even lands within view of national parks.
Instead of protecting our natural heritage and its clean water supplies, the Obama
Administration is preparing to step aside and let fracking run roughshod over them.
Tell President Obama
 to rein in Big Oil & Gas by imposing a fracking moratorium on
all federal lands
 -- one that will last until he keeps his promise to protect us from the excesses
of the oil and gas industry.
Here’s what’s at stake:
 wild places from Virginia to California ... clean drinking water for millions of
Americans ... and backyards across the country where the government controls the
oil and gas rights beneath
private
 property.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) -- charged with safeguarding our public lands
from the worst abuses of fracking -- has just proposed a shocking set of rules that
reads like an industry wish list.
Those rules would not stop energy companies from fracking next to national parks,
 inside national forests, and across millions more acres of treasured lands. Nor
would they stop the frackers from drilling alongside drinking water supplies on public
lands.
Here are just a few of the places where the BLM is essentially preparing to hang
out a sign that says “Open for Drilling:” Virginia’s George Washington National Forest
... Ohio’s Wayne National Forest ... Colorado’s White River National Forest ... California’s
Los Padres National Forest.
Not to mention lands outside Glacier and Grand Teton National Parks!
Plus: the BLM controls the drilling rights to some 57 million acres of
private property -- a vast area as big as Georgia.
So for many Americans,
BLM has the power to green light fracking operations literally in their own backyards.
 Do you think an agency that has cozied up to the oil and gas lobby should decide
the fate of vulnerable citizens from coast to coast?
Please help us hold President Obama to his word and protect the American people from
an oil and gas industry that is running amok.
Urge the President
 to impose a fracking moratorium on our public lands right now.
 With one stroke of his pen he can safeguard our natural heritage, protect our drinking
water and shield communities from California to Virginia that sit near public oil
and gas reserves.
And call on him to move America beyond all
 fossil fuels as rapidly as possible
, toward a future powered by 100% clean energy. We must do no less if we want to
stave off catastrophic climate change.
Thank you for standing with us against the onslaught of fracking.
Sincerely,
Frances
Frances Beinecke
President
Natural Resources Defense Council
We appreciate the opportunity to communicate with you and other NRDC BioGems Defenders.
We are committed to protecting your privacy and will never sell, exchange or rent your email address.

Dear MoveOn member,
The historic typhoon that hit the Philippines over the weekend has left nearly 2,000
people dead—and officials fear that the death toll could rise to 10,000.
1
It's unlikely that this is just some crazy fluke of the weather.
Scientists overwhelmingly say that climate change is fueling more and more extreme
weather events like Super Typhoon Haiyan.
2
 But world governments, including the United States, seem paralyzed to do anything
about it. Maybe that's why an incredible speech is being shared widely on Facebook
and other social media sites right now, featuring the Philippines' chief climate
negotiator, Naderev "Yeb" Saño.
Saño addressed the United Nations climate change conference in Warsaw two days ago,
and holding back tears, declared:
"
We cannot solve climate change when we seek to spew more emissions.
 I express this with all due sincerity. In solidarity with my countrymen who are
struggling to find food back home and with my brother who has not had food for the
last 3 days...
I will now commence a voluntary fasting for the climate... until a meaningful outcome
is in sight.
"3
Stand with Philippines climate chief Naderev
Here are two actions you can take now—to both support people in the Philippines who
face a long and difficult recovery, and to push for real action to prevent more devastating
superstorms:
1)
Sign the petition to support the Philippines' climate chief Yeb as he calls for real action to curb climate change
 at the UN climate negotiations happening right now in Warsaw. This petition was
written by Christina M. Samala, a Filipina American woman and director of the organization
18MillionRising—and we'll make sure the signatures get to Yeb while he's in Warsaw
in a way that makes an impact on his mission to win meaningful climate action.
2)
Consider making a donation to Oxfam's relief efforts.
 Oxfam teams are aiming to reach 500,000 people with drinking water, sanitation and
shelter, focused on the hardest-hit islands of Samar, Leyte, and Cebu. Oxfam has
set up a donation page for MoveOn members, and your donation is tax deductible.
Two weeks ago, MoveOn members marked the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy.
Now the people of the Philippines are reeling. We're all in this together, and the
best news is that we have each other's backs.
Thanks for all you do.
Anna, Victoria, Maria, Alejandro, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Anger Takes Hold in City Ravaged by Typhoon,"
The New York Times
, November 12, 2013
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=294998&id=77694-9089709-lGXAlGx&t=3
2. "Climate Change Exacerbates Some Extreme Weather,"
Scientific American, September 6, 2013
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=295000&id=&id=77694-9089709-lGXAlGx&t=4
3. "Stop this climate crisis madness," Rappler, November 11, 2013
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=294999&id=77694-9089709-lGXAlGx&t=5
Want to support our work?
 MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions,
no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a
long way.
Chip in here.

If you want to donate to a faith-based organization, there is Convoy of Hope, where 90% of cash donated goes into direct services and supplies, (the standard for excellence is 80
%) there is World Vision, and as many Fillipino people are Catholic, I'm sure the Church is also on the ground trying to help.


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