Personal and Politics out the . . .

I am gradually down sizing.  Have found a person who I can donate bird cages to.  Sad but good.  Check out Barbie as Ursula the Sea Witch and 1999 Fairy of the Forest Barbie on my Facebook page.  I'm considering using Etsy to sell items, as it is already established, but need to take time to check it out first.

Politics below.

We Love Our Land

Teresa,

Lobbyists and politicians want you to think that the oil from the Keystone XL pipeline

will help the United States achieve energy independence.

But despite TransCanada’s economic fairytale, the truth remains: Keystone XL is a

losing deal for the American people, and a boon for foreign countries like China.

Tonight, we’re airing a message before and after President Obama’s State of the Union

address to remind the American people that the Keystone XL pipeline is a sucker’s

deal for the United States.

Will you help us make sure as many people as possible see our ad by sharing it on Twitter?

35 permanent US jobs is not a job creator. #KeystoneXL is only #MadeThroughtheUSA #SOTU pic.twitter.com/38Z8oFm6DK

Take Action

Thanks for all you do,

Jesse

P.S. As one of our supporters, we want to make sure you have the opportunity to see

our ad —

be one of the first people to see our State of the Union ad.

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Photo by

Pembina Institute

 /

CC BY

As his adult children sobbed a few feet away, Dennis McGuire suffered for 24 long

minutes while Ohio used an untested drug to execute him.

A small group of

pharmacists are keeping executions running on experimental drugs after everyone else

has refused to participate.

Let's demand that the American Pharmaceutical Association bans their members from

participating, and end these cruel executions.

Sign the Petition

Teresa,

Two weeks ago, the state of Ohio executed a man using a method that witnesses say

was one of the most cruel and unusual in recent history.

Dennis McGuire suffered for 24 long minutes before finally passing away

 -- because Ohio decided to use an untested drug to kill him.

With doctors, nurses, and pharmaceutical companies all refusing to participate in

executions,

a small group of pharmacists are experimenting with untested, lethal injection cocktails

 to gruesomely kill people like Dennis McGuire and keep executions happening.

If the American Pharmaceutical Association would ban their members from participating

in executions, we could stop lethal injections

 and end almost all executions in the US.

Tell the American Pharmaceutical Association: Stop your involvement in executions now.

Electric chairs, gas chambers, hangings, and firing squads have been banned by almost

all states, leaving lethal injection as the only legal method of killing left. But

lethal injection by its very nature requires medical professionals to be involved.

Doctors and nurses have long since barred themselves from participating in executions

, and they haven’t participated for decades. More recently, all major pharmaceutical

companies have banned their drugs from being used.

So states have been been forced to turn to so-called “compounding pharmacists” --

who are not regulated by the FDA -- to develop untested cocktails like the one used

to kill McGuire.

Ahead of the American Pharmaceutical Association’s annual meeting this spring, let's

tell pharmacists in the US to do something that they should have done decades ago:

ban pharmacists from executions and effectively end capital punishment in most states.

American Pharmaceutical Association: Ban your members from participating in executions.

McGuire was injected with a lethal cocktail that a federal judge conceded ahead of

time was an "experiment in lethal injection processes".

As his adult children sobbed a few feet away in a witness room, McGuire suffered

for 24 long minutes

 -- calling out to his children and struggling loudly for air. It was one of the

longest executions since Ohio resumed capital punishment in 1999.

Without medical professionals, it would be impossible for states to produce lethal

injection cocktails. Doctors and nurses in the US are already banned by their professional

associations from participating in state killings. But some

pharmacists, a profession that is meant to help and save people, are participating

in these killings for a few extra dollars.

 Let’s call on pharmacists to ban their profeession from participating in capital

punishment.

Call on pharmacists to take a stand against any involvement in capital punishment.

Thank you for all you do,

Angus, Kelsey, Martin, and the rest of the team at SumOfUs

**********

More Information:

Ohio executes inmate using untried, untested lethal injection method,

 The Guardian, 16 January 2014

Did Ohio's New Lethal-Injection Cocktail Lead to a Cruel and Unusual Death For Dennis McGuire?,

 Slate, 16 January 2014

SumOfUs is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations

accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

Please help keep SumOfUs strong by chipping in $3.

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Personal Comment:  This is priceless, don't you think?  A University Specializing in Educating us being inaccessible TO us, more than twenty years after the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act?

Change.org

I'm blind and had to switch colleges because I couldn't access class materials. Sign my petition asking Congress to pass the TEACH Act so disabled students can have equal access in the classroom.

Sign Jamie's Petition

As a blind high schooler, I couldn't just apply to my top colleges -- I had to make

sure that classes were going to be made accessible for me, and I was excited to attend

Florida State University because they had a great program for training teachers of

the blind.

But when I started classes at FSU, I quickly found out that the school didn't have

the accessible tools I needed to learn and complete all my work.

 My online classes weren't compatible with my screen reader and I couldn't access

materials in any of my math or biology classes. I struggled for three years, and

eventually decided to change schools.

I sued FSU for failing to meet state and federal disability laws,

but I don't want other blind students like me to experience what I had to go through.

I started a petition on Change.org asking Congress to pass the TEACH Act to make sure that all students with disabilities have equal access to learning. Click here to sign my petition.

When I approached the administration at FSU about the inaccessible materials, they

suggested I try an “easier” major instead of trying to help me and other students

with disabilities. I felt like the school was punishing me instead of trying to help

me learn.

That's why I believe in the TEACH Act. While federal laws require colleges to only

deploy accessible materials, they were written before technology became part of the

classroom, so schools like FSU have no direction for how the laws apply to students

like me.

The TEACH Act creates much-needed guidelines illustrating how schools can provide

instructional technology that is usable for students with disabilities.

I believe that public support of the TEACH Act through my petition will show members

of Congress that constituents around the country believe there is an urgent need

for this. But they won't do it without you.

Sign my petition demanding that Congress pass the TEACH Act, creating guidelines for schools to protect equal access in the classroom for blind students.

Thank you for your support.

Jamie Principado

Sign Jamie's Petition

This email was sent by Change.org

After President Obama's State of the Union address, tune in for a live progressive

response anchored by Ben Wikler of the MoveOn-powered podcast The Good Fight and

the AFL-CIO's Thea Lee, featuring guest commentators from leading progressive and

labor groups and responding to your comments and questions (tweet at us with the

hashtag #SOTUnion). Streaming provided by We Act Radio. Don't miss it!

Click Here to Watch!

Click here to see the full results of the 2014 MoveOn Member Priorities Survey.

Dear MoveOn member,

We've just finished tallying up the results from the Official 2014 Member Priorities

Survey—and wanted to make sure you were among the first to see them.

This year, MoveOn members will lead thousands of powerful campaigns, from our local

city halls to the halls of Congress. And as a national MoveOn community, we'll pick

a small number of high-priority campaigns where we pool our resources and focus to

make the biggest impact.

Here are the top national priorities MoveOn members identified for 2014, out of dozens

of worthwhile options, in priority order:

1. Work to overturn Citizens United

 and get money out of our politics.

2. Pass a new Voting Rights Act and stop voter suppression in the states.

3. Prevent war with Iran.

4. Raise the minimum wage (federally or locally).

5. Work to defend and expand Social Security benefits.

6. Fight against fracking and other polluting industries.

7. Fully implement Obamacare.

Members also overwhelmingly said we should use this as a guide, but have the flexibility

to shift and be responsive to opportunities as they emerge.

See the full results of the 2014 MoveOn Member Priorities Survey.

It's an ambitious agenda, but if there's any community of folks who can make progress

on all those fronts, it's MoveOn members. In the first few weeks of 2014, we've hit

the ground running.

We marked the four-year anniversary of

 Citizens United

by co-hosting a movement-wide virtual teach-in, building support for the soon-to-be-introduced

Government by the People Act, and getting ready to respond to the Supreme Court's

pending McCutcheon ruling (which could open the floodgates for even more millionaires

and billionaires to corrupt our political system with out-of-control spending on

elections).

MoveOn members have launched campaigns in every congressional district in America

to improve and pass the new Voting Rights Act

—and are gearing up for nationally coordinated action.

And we've already made a difference in helping ease the standoff with Iran. More

than 150,000 members have taken action by signing petitions, making over 10,000 phone

calls, and descending on decision makers in person—calling for Senate Democrats to

support, not undermine, the Obama Administration's efforts at diplomacy.

1

But we're just getting started.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and helping to shape the direction of this extraordinary

community. As you'r

e watching President Obama's State of the Union address tonight, be sure to watch

how well it lines up with our shared priorities,

then join us for a discussion of what you thought on a live edition of The Good Fight right after the speech

.

Thanks for all you do.

–Anna, Stefanie, Ilya, Matt B., and the rest of the team

Source:

1.

"Support for new Iran sanctions wanes," MSNBC, January 17, 2014

http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=296475&id=88280-9089709-X6KUE7x&t=6

Want to support our work?

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Lots Happening

I've been making jewelry, some successful designs, some not.  Also, I've been cleaning up old vintage jewelry for sale.

Lots Happening

I'm trying to use Facebook each day, in a combination of teaching people some basics about some of us with disabilities, advertising abilitieslive.com, and gently asking some questions, like why are people with disabilities only valuable in utero?  On this blog I can be rude and just say "You can't have it both ways!"  But I was warned by a couple of friends that Facebook can get pretty nasty.  So, unfortunately, I don't just say what I think. 

Actually though, I really Would like to know how other people who disagree with me understand their world, Only If it doesn't turn into preaching a point of view or a put down contest.  I have never seen Anyone change their mind from an "argument for argument's sake".  To me that seems like a sport which too often degenerates into bitter and hurt feelings at the least, and the division of families at the most.  I'm not willing to play that sport.

I made a mistake about six weeks ago, adopting a shelter dog.  The mistake I made was I wanted to avoid facing future fear and pain.  My thirteen year-old dog ran away on an unusually nice day and I live near a very busy street.  As I sat on the porch shaking his pan and calling I was Terrified of hearing him get hit by a car and begin screaming in pain.  I got him back because he was wearing his colar with a rabies tag and his name plus my phone number on it!  But it took an hour and a half of my friend who saw him slip out the door with us looking. 

I realized during that time how afraid I would feel and how lonely I would be without a dog.  Instead of just facing those feelings I decided to get another dog. 

He is a larger than Beagle sized Beagle mix and he's so happy all of the time he bounces like a dropped, uncooked, Bean, which is his name.  He's the colors of a raw pinto bean.

In the shelter he was the Only dog Not barking.  But whenever I walked past his cage even I could hear his tail begin thumping.  When I petted him it thumped double time.

My older dog is helping Bean with obedience training (Oh, so This is how you get a treat) which I knew would happen.

I was told Bean had never had an accident and was completely house broken.

For the First two weeks this was true.  In the third week he began peeing in the house, I Hate that!  I called the vet who said it was probably a behavior problem and maybe this was Why he was a shelter dog.

I only had four weeks to decide whether or not to keep this dog.  In the fourth week I took him to the vet and learned that his urine was far too alkaline.  Most common cause, urinary tract infection, fixable with antibiotics.  After the first week of meds. My time to return him was up, he was no better, but I had grown attached to him and the vet recommended stronger meds.  He has been on those for a week.

I don't know if he's better.  To clean up puddles I smell I have to Feel around the stinky area for them, oh joy!  I tried diapering him and he magically got out of the one I made with an old towel.  Dog diapers are Extremely Expensive!

So I got a spray for outdoor use to keep dogs and cats away from young trees and gardens.  I'm using it indoors, as it does nothing noticeable to the carpet, and Bean Hates it!  Yesterday I enjoyed my First Peeless day in Weeks!  Of course, I shut the door to room containing this computer and dolls, he may be braving the Ortho right now!  Hope Not!

Moral of that story, Face Down your Fears!

I'm working on a Native style outfit for one 18 inch doll, a Valentine's Day outfit for another, nearly finished.

Then there is OJ.  In 2005 I'd finished chemotherapy in June but was still tired and cranky at the end of August when there was a bird show in town.  Ann wanted to go and went.  She came back with a "rock 'n roll" canary who had been fed dyed food so that he was a Brilliant peachy orange.  We named him OJ.  I had no idea Ann might come back with a bird friend for me.  I expected she might pick one for herself.

But she spent time listening for one she thought I would like.  We stopped feeding dyed food, as it cuts a bird's live approximately in half.  But even after OJ became yellow (normal canary color) he had a peachy cast to his feathers.

I've already written about how OJ took the song of his finch buddy Rafi, and added it to his own song after Rafi died. 

After Ann brought OJ home we found him a girlfriend named Fuzhead because she had a top knot of feathers which drooped down around her head and face.  We had the feeling she wasn't well after a short while and took her to a bird vet.  The vet who is very good couldn't find anything wrong.

But it turned out that Fuzhead was carrying a disease called "canary pox" which is not curable.  When she went blind OJ was her Seeing Eye Bird.  She would call out and he would keep answering until she found him.

She died in 2010 or early 2011, I don't remember for sure.  Well this disease is transmitted to other canaries through physical contact.

I gave OJ medication in his water which helped him stay healthy and prolonged his life.  But somehow, probably because he was completely blind in one eye, he broke a wing. M He went to the vet Wednesday of this week and she said the only antibiotic which would target the bacteria infecting his wing would have to be given to him orally, twice a day.

This would mean catching him, risking more damage to his wing, and trying to get a tiny needleless syringe into his beak twice daily.  Ann had done things like this, I cannot.

The vet said euthanizing him was a serious consideration, given the circumstances, and after an inner struggle I agreed.

OJ was the last bird friend I had and the last bird Ann and I shared.  I have come to dislike Winter a lot since Ann died in it and the time of year she died is approaching. 

OJ and I whistled back and forth this week, whenever the sun came out.  I learned his song and Rafi's and whistled it back to him.  Sometimes we'd "sing" like that for forty-five minutes or so and I can't believe he was still singing when the sun popped out on the day he died.  That is why I did not know anything was wrong.  But the untreated infection would have killed him and I couldn't treat it.  And canary pox would eventually kill him, like it had his girlfriend.

When the vet offered to send back his cage I Knew I didn't want to see that Empty cage.  She said sometimes people brought in injured wild birds and that this smallish cage would be good to keep these birds in while they healed.  That was a good way not to get the cage back so I told her to keep it.

I learned so much from living with little birds, about interspecies friendships among certain kinds of birds, about what I can only call their "feelings" (as when OJ made sounds for Fuzhead) and about how viciously they can fight over mates.

I won't know when the sun is out now, without going outside, my weather bird isn't here.  I keep hearing him in my mind in the mornings, and am both sad and comforted.  Haven't worked up the courage to wipe down the cart his cage rested on in front of the most sunny window in the house yet.  But since I can't care for birds properly alone, I am giving bird supplies away.  

It is thanks to Ann that I got to have the experience of having birds and thanks to her that when I can't hear the ones outside from indoors, she was interested enough to learn about them with me and agreed to bring some indoors for me to enjoy!

I could help scrub their cages, feed and water them.  But it was Ann who caught them, described for me what they were doing, (the introduction of a new bird, or the hierarchy of perches they slept on at night, top perch for king of the cage and "nonscrunchers") Scrunchers are birds who like to be touching other birds when they go to sleep.  And only Ann could give them medicine.  So I thank her and all of the birds who brightened my life and taught me.  I thank all friends who helped me care for them when Ann was gone!

  

A Chance to Be Heard?

A Chance to Be Heard?

This pipeline endangers American farmland, it makes climate change More Rapid, and though the argument for it is that it will create jobs, I've heard estimates which include jobs to be created like "dance teachers" in small rural towns.  Really?

We Love Our Land

On Tuesday night, the President gets an entire speech to address the nation — we

only get 120 seconds. We need your help to make them count.

We have secured national airtime before and after President Obama's State of the

Union address. His speech has major implications on the direction of our country

— most importantly, on how our nation will address the growing urgency of climate

change.

President Obama is the key decision maker on approving the Keystone XL pipeline,

and if you don't want America to receive a raw deal,

make your voice heard with our new television spot bringing attention to Keystone.

We're asking our community to "Choose the #Tagline" of our new ad airing nationally

on Tuesday night. We want to make sure President Obama, and all Americans, know that

the United States won't benefit from this pipeline.

Foreign countries, including China, have invested heavily in the Canadian tar sands,

and the Keystone XL pipeline is the next step in moving that heavy crude through

the American heartland to be refined and then sold on the international market. But

TransCanada wants the American people to assume all the risk of possible leaks and

spills, with none of the reward.

Don't let that happen.

Add your voice to the fight

 by helping us choose the #tagline to air at the end of our TV spot, and get ready

to take the conversation online on Tuesday night and get people talking about Keystone

XL.

Join the Conversation

Thanks always for your support and we value your participation!

Best,

Jesse Thomas

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Dear MoveOn member,

Next Tuesday, President Obama will deliver his annual State of the Union address—and

the whole country will be thinking, at least for a moment, about what's possible

in 2014.

Imagine you were at the podium.

What are YOUR priorities for changing your community and our country as a whole in

2014?

Click here

.

There are tons of issues and opportunities to choose from—including big, upcoming

congressional elections; state and local fights on everything from fracking to paid

sick leave; and national discussions of a

minimum

 wage increase, diplomacy with Iran, implementation of Obamacare, international trade

deals, and more.

This year, MoveOn members will launch and run thousands of powerful campaigns, from

their local city halls to the halls of Congress. And as a national MoveOn community,

we'll pick a small number of high-priority campaigns where we pool our resources

and focus to make the biggest impact.

So we've put together this Official 2014 Membership Survey to get a better idea of

where MoveOn members stand, plan our next steps together, and help connect you to

the campaigns you care about most.

Will you take three minutes to fill out this important member survey?

Click here

:

Take Survey

After we get all the responses, we'll put together a report on MoveOn members' priorities

and share a copy of it with the White House, congressional leaders, and the media

before the State of the Union address—so they know what progressives are focused

on as we kick off 2014.

Of course, every MoveOn member will get a copy as well.

Click here to fill out the survey

.

Thanks for all you do.

–Anna, Linda, Nick, Matt P., and the rest of the team

Want to support our work?

 We're 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

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NextGen Climate Action | 351 California St. San Francisco, CA 94104

A Dreadful Piece of Work?

I was going to title this a Nasty piece of work.  Then I remembered Blogger wouldn't allow me to put "disgusting" in the title of a post and decided the word "nasty" would just be Too much for them.  But that's what I think this is!
Let's see if they allow "dreadful" instead.

I don't like the inflammatory language or all of the aims of this organization.  But if you think NAFTA hurt American workers, check out this "action page" and its links on the TPT (Trans-Pacific Partnership)!

And below this article is One example of what the Trans-Pacific Partnership could hold in store for all of us!

Dear Friends and Activists,

Because people have specifically asked us to include in our alerts on

this more details about why the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership

("TPP") is so evil, we will make the most critical points in this

one. Please therefore read on, gentle reader, remembering it is

always our practice to have supporting reference links on the action

page itself.

But first, the latest petition directly on the outrage of how a fast

track bill for this is has just been formally introduced, without any

manner of proper or judicious consideration.

When you submit this action page, PLEASE go out of your way in your

comments to use the names of your members of Congress in the THIRD

person, so they will make sense also as letters to the editor of your

local newspaper. If your House member has not signed a letter

protesting fast track for the TPP, you can say something like, "I

don't understand why Representative X has not . . .," or "I am

disappointed that Representative X . . . ". If they have taken a

stand against this you can say something like, "I applaud

Representative Y for . . .," etc., or something like that.

And you can instantly determine where your members of Congress stand

on this by clicking the special new function button on the action

page below we created especially for this purpose.

BEGIN NEW PETITION:

Senators Max Baucus, Orrin Hatch and Representative David Camp have

just conspired among themselves to make a back room deal, just the

three of them, to put a fast track bill for the secretive Trans

Pacific Partnership up for the direct vote of Congress.

We Demand Full Committee Hearings On The TPP action page:

http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum1150.php

In doing so, they have disgracefully bypassed their own committees,

with a responsibility for considering and voting on any such

proposal. And yet the letter announcing this appears on the official

Senate Finance Committee web page, and as such on its face

constitutes gross abuse of their authority and duties as chairmen of

their committees.

What makes this all the more outrageous is their 3 man unilateral

press release touts how their fast track bill will promote "access to

information." Do they mean that as some kind of cruel joke!? No

"trade" proposal before has ever been negotiated in such extreme

secrecy, with members of Congress forbidden to disclose what they

know about the TPP now, and journalists systematically excluded from

access since talks on this began.

And it is hardly any surprise why. From leaked documents we know,

among many other evil things, that the TPP as proposed purports to

establish new special rights for corporations to take precedence over

the laws of all the nation states involved, even to be able to

collect damages in lost profits if, for example, they not allowed to

pollute any way they like.

This is truly the sickest proposal ever to come out of a craven

corporate attorney's mind. And shame on any member of Congress too

corrupt not to immediately stand up in vociferous protest.

Shame on any member of Congress who does not demand fully transparent

consideration and their full constitutional voting authority over the

TPP itself in the full and unhurried light of day. Any proposal to

cut Congress out of the loop by a deceptive fast track hustle must be

categorically rejected in any form.

We Demand Full Committee Hearings On The TPP action page:

http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum1150.php

The above is the actual text of the petition sent by the link also

above. And after you submit it, feel free to request one of our

dramatic new "Expressway To Trade Hell TPP" bumper stickers. You can

have one for no charge, not even shipping, must by submitting this

form.

Expressway To Trade Hell TPP bumper stickers:

http://www.peaceteam.net/all_bumper_stickers.php

Of course, if you can make a contribution of any amount, this is what

makes it possible for us to sent free stickers to anyone who cannot

afford to make a contribution right now.

THE CASE AGAINST THE PROPOSED TPP

We have already mentioned in the petition above itself the most

dastardly new evil in the TPP, super-national rights for corporate

business interests, which we only know about at all because there

exist leaked documents, albeit heavily redacted. The TPP purports to

define any law to constrain pollution, establish labor rights, etc.

as an "indirect expropriation" of expected corporate profits, and to

establish an unassailable tribunal to enforce these virtually

unprecedented prerogatives.

So, for example, if some mega-corporation wanted to frack in your

backyard, and you didn't like it, you would have to pay them as

damages the money they would presumptively have made from destroying

your environment, and your own government would be enfeebled to

protect you in any way.

And that's just the start. The TPP would make it easier to export

jobs to markets where labor is even cheaper than where they exported

most of our jobs under NAFTA and preceding "free" trade agreements.

These are nothing but free for all labor exploitation deals, and the

TPP is the worst yet by an order of magnitude. If you want to turn

the entire United States of America into a third world country, this

is the fast track to get there.

The TPP would extend drug patent monopolies, high on the Christmas

wish list of the greediest pharmaceutical monoliths, who are already

raking in monstrous profit margins.

The TPP purports to inhibit on an international scale the ability of

governments to perform proper financial oversight and regulation of

the same Wall Street banks and insurance companies that have come so

close already to wrecking the entire world economy. They would be

free to create toxic assets, play casino with client money, to do

more and more of the very things that created such crises in the

first place.

And that's not all. The TPP would leave governments, including our

own, powerless to regulate pesticides, food additive, or GMOs. They

could force-feed us this stuff against our will by infiltrating our

entire food supply.

This stuff is so unbelievably bad you will have to make a serious

effort to read the deliberately sparse information which is available

to appreciate the kind of peril we are all in right now, unless this

thing is stopped cold.

Oh, and there's more, too. They want to monopolize global food

supplies. They want to abolish policies to "buy local." And on top of

everything else they want to abolish all tariffs so THEY can retain

ALL the profit from the new labor markets they want to exploit.

The only thing "free" about this so-called trade deal is to make

giant corporations free from any accountability whatsoever, a new

world order where governments are entirely subservient to selfish

business interests.

But your voice speaking out can stop these 21st century fascists in

their fast tracks, if only you will speak out now while you still

can. As of this moment, because of your voices, they have been unable

to find a Democrat on the House side to co-sponsor the bill. It must

stay that way, and only our unflagging diligence and activism can

keep it that way.

You may forward this message to any friends who would find it

important.

Contributions to The People's Email Network are not tax-deductible

for federal income tax purposes.

If you would like to be added to our distribution list, go to

http://www.peaceteam.net/in.htm

Or if don't want to receive our messages, just go to

http://www.peaceteam.net/out.htm

usalone539b:17311

Monsanto's friends are trying to strongarm Brazilian lawmakers to allow the sale

of GMO 'terminator seeds'.

These seeds can only be used once -- making them very bad news for cash-strapped

small farmers.

Tell Brazilian lawmakers to keep their ban on these dangerous GMO seeds.

Sign the Petition

Under pressure from big commercial farms,

 the Brazilian parliament is about to hold a vote that will allow companies like

Monsanto, Bayer, and others to start selling so-called ‘suicide seeds’ to farmers.

 The genetically modified seeds can only be used once, forcing small farmers into

buying seeds from Monsanto or others over and over again -- literally forever.

The use of these seeds is essentially prohibited under a UN treaty on biodiversity

which over 193 countries, including Brazil, have signed. But if Brazil overturns

its own ban then this will have huge consequences.

Poor, small farmers could be locked into a cycle of endless debt and dependency

 -- and the rest of the world could be handing control of the global food supply

to a handful of companies. The stakes couldn’t be higher.

The parliamentary proposal has already been approved by some key committees

 and is now hurtling its way to a full parliament vote, which could happen in just

a few weeks time -- meaning

we don’t have long to stop this proposal.

Sign this petition to Brazilian lawmakers urging them to reject any attempt to overturn the ban on terminator seeds.

If the ban is scrapped, huge commercial farms will be allowed to use super fast-growing

GMO crops, damaging neighbouring farms through cross-fertilisation. Small farmers

will have to use the same terminator seeds just to compete -- tying them into buying

seeds from the likes of Monsanto forever.

If Brazil allows these dangerous seeds to be used, it will spark a global domino

effect

, as country after country race to change laws in order to stay competitive. Brazil’s

decision could set the stage for the global ban on terminator seeds to be overturned

when the UN treaty is renewed this year.

It’s absolutely vital that we stop this move in its tracks.

We’ve come together in the past to take on huge agribusinesses like Monsanto before.

 We’re fighting Bayer and Syngenta in their attempts to overturn Europe’s ban on

bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides. We’ve taken on the might of Monsanto when we

campaigned to stop it receiving the World Food Prize. Now we need to demand that

Brazilian lawmakers reject attempts by giant corporate landowners and agribusinesses

to allow the use of these dangerous suicide seeds.

Tell Brazilian lawmakers that the world is depending on them to keep the ban on 'terminator seeds'.

Thanks for all you do,

Martin, Paul, Claiborne and the rest of us

**********

More Information:

Unease among Brazil's farmers as Congress votes on GM terminator seeds

, The Guardian, December 2013.

Brazil contemplates using 'terminator seeds'

, TakePart, December 2013.

SumOfUs is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations

accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

Please help keep SumOfUs strong by chipping in $3.

Personal News

I hope this turns out readable.  Usually I write in Word first, then paste here.  First, I am now on Facebook and can be found under abilitieslive.com or Teresa Myers 90038.  Is there any kind person who has honored me by reading this blog who does not use Facebook?  If so, I will keep writing on both.  The Facebook posts will be somewhat repetitious, about disability and dolls more than politics.  My purposes in using Facebook are to teach about living with disability and to work at promoting abilitieslive.com.  My original purpose in beginning this blog was to cope with the death of my friend of thirty years and my room mate of twenty of those years, Ann.  Also, I simply Needed someone to "talk to".  You have honored me Very much by listening as my interests have become more political.  I have a Facebook post about the different reasons why people collect dolls.

It's going to be hard to teach about disability, promote abilitieslive.com And not make people mad with my politics.  Don't know if I can do it.  But I will have to try, a Challenge.  So, does anyone who actually Wants to continue reading this blog not use Facebook?  You have been so kind, to read what I have to say that I will write just for you, if it matters.
New subject:  Today I received actual evidence that, for the time being, the Mo. Family Support Division has restored my benefits.  I'm still going ahead with my down sizing plans.  Who knows when they will pop up again?  I was very afraid to make the call today to find out and didn't quite know what to do when I realized the two month long struggle of 1 to 2 letters (often reversing previous decisions) lost paper work which I'd previously submitted, long distance phone calls and letters of my own, for now it's Over!  I just bowed my head and said "thank you" over and over.
New subject:  One of the most annoying things about having to watch income carefully is Boredom.  I knew this but had forgotten it until I made a home made pizza.  I do not eat out.  One reason is that the cab fare to ggo anywhere is more expensive than a cheap meal.  Another is that since Ann's death, I haven't met a person who just likes to enjoy getting out of the house, sitting and sharing both conversation and food.  Working people don't have time, and not all disabled people like to sit, talk, and eat.  Ann and I used to eat home made pizza, a real treat!  But I haven't bothered to make one since she died, until this week, when I learned about pre-made pizza crusts.  I was Very surprised at how Happy I've been just to have something Different to eat!  I was nearly Joyful all of the first day I made the first one with lots of veggies and spices, and some deer burger!  Amazing what a Pleasant break in the routine can do.

Personal Is Political for Too Many

Political First, Then Personal

Political Is Personal to Daisy, please read.  Maybe I will save personal news for a different post.

Daisy Coleman is a brave teen rape survivor who spoke out to demand justice in her

case. Now, we need to show her we appreciate all she did to fight a culture that

permits rape.

Will you sign the card to Daisy?

click here

Click here

Daisy Coleman* is a hero.

In January 2012, when she was only 14 years old, Daisy was raped and dumped, unconscious,

on her front lawn in the middle of a freezing cold night.

1

She went to the police, but

instead of getting justice, she was bullied, harassed, and tormented by supporters

of her rapist

—a high school football player whose family has influential political ties. Her mom

was fired from her job.

Her house was literally burned down

.2

Every step of the way, Daisy has refused to be silenced

. When her case stalled, she went public and told her story to the world. But the

harassment continued right up until last week, when Daisy tried to take her own life.

3

Yesterday, the unthinkable happened.

Despite video of the rape being passed around her school

4

 and a rape kit being performed the morning after the attack,

5

 a Special Prosecutor announced that no rape charges would be filed.

 Instead her rapist would face a misdemeanor charge and probation.

6

At this dark time, it is important to show Daisy that there are millions of us all

around the country who thank her for her bravery in speaking out.

As she recovers from her suicide attempt, let's fill her room with thousands of cards

from all over the country showing her support.

 It's easy to believe the world consists of only bullies and rape apologists, when

you've experienced the level of harassment day in and day out that drove Daisy to

want to take her life.

But Daisy and her family deserve to know there are thousands of us who think she

is one of the bravest people we know. That there are thousands of us who are not

giving up on fighting rape culture. That’s why we’re collecting thousands of personal

notes of thanks and support for Daisy. We’re printing them all and delivering them

to her in Missouri.

Can you add your note?

Sign the card to thank Daisy for speaking out.

Stories like Daisy's have tragically become an epidemic in this country. There was

Audrie Pott, a 16-year-old California teen who hung herself after pictures of her

rape were spread online.

7

 And 14-year-old Cherice Morales, who committed suicide after her 50-year-old teacher

raped her and a judge declared she was "as much in control of the situation" as her

rapist.

8

 And 14-year-old Samantha Kelly of Michigan who committed suicide after she was harassed

for reporting a rape in 2010.

9

 And 17-year-old Canadian Rehtaeh Parsons, who just last year took her life for the

same reasons.

10

Stories from survivors who are blamed for their rapes, shamed and bullied into keeping

quiet, and ignored by authorities are too common. It's no wonder that only 3% of

rapists ever spend a single day in jail.

11 But

in a country where one in five women are sexually assaulted, we have to do something

about this

.12

We have to change the culture that tolerates and even encourages rape. And by telling

her story, and demanding justice, Daisy helped do that.

Last fall, 75,000 UltraViolet members called for justice in Daisy's case. Now, we

need to support her one more time. Daisy and her family are stepping out of the public

eye and getting ready to move on with their lives. But as Daisy focuses on her future,

 we can make sure she knows that we all appreciate what she's done to help change

the culture that has allowed rape to become an epidemic

. Will you sign the card?

Sign the card to Daisy.

Thanks for speaking out,

--Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Karin, Malinda, Adam, and Gabriela, the UltraViolet team

*We wouldn't normally identify a sexual assault survivor by name, but Daisy and her

family have come forward publicly in pursuit of justice, and their names have appeared

in the media with their permission.

Sources:

1.

Nightmare in Maryville: Teens’ sexual encounter ignites a firestorm against family

, Kansas City Star, October 24, 2013

2. Ibid.

3.

Daisy Coleman, teen at center of Maryville sexual assault case, is recovering after suicide attempt

, Kansas City Star, January 7, 2014

4.

Daisy Coleman rape case: Maryville teenager's case that divided town to be reviewed

, ABC News, January 9, 2014

5.

Nightmare in Maryville: Teens’ sexual encounter ignites a firestorm against family

, Kansas City Star, October 24, 2013

6.

Maryville teen pleads guilty to endangerment; no sexual assault charge filed

, Kansas City Star, January 9, 2014

7.

Sexting, Shame and Suicide

, Rolling Stone, November 17, 2013

8.

Montana teen loved pit bulls, poetry before rape and suicide

, CNN, August 30, 2013

9.

Teen Bullied After Rape Allegation Commits Suicide

, Hartford Courant, November 12, 2010

10.

Rehtaeh Parsons wanted to go public before her death

, CBC News, October 3, 2013

11.

Reporting Rates

, Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network

12.

Nearly 1 in 5 Women in U.S. Survey Say They Have Been Sexually Assaulted

, New York Times, December 14, 2011

Want to support our work?

 UltraViolet is funded by members like you, and our tiny staff ensures small contributions

go a long way.

Chip in here.

You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.

And You Thought NAFTA Hurt American Workers?

And you thought NAFTA hurt American workers?

I know we're all dealing with the struggles of life, income, moving in the Winter, the illness or passing of loved ones, mental health, and Weather.

But this is both Frightening and Important.  Please, I respectfully ask that you read this long article and write at least One letter.  I don't know what President Obama is doing, but when multi-national corporations are given the power to overturn national laws, I feel sold out!

Dear Friends and Activists,

As promised, tonight we launch a massive new letters to the editor

initiative against fast track treatment for the so-called Trans

Pacific Partnership, a proposal so bad members of Congress risk going

to prison if they even try to tell us what's in it. But from leaked

documents we know it's all about giving corporations veto power over

national laws on pollution, on labor, on privacy, and everything

else.

For more detailed information on this issue there are numerous

supporting reference links on the action page itself.

BEGIN NEW PETITION:

As if the last session of Congress didn't get little enough done, the

first thing some members of Congress want to push for in the next is

to completely abdicate their constitutional duty to make trade

policy, by fast tracking the so-called Trans Pacific Partnership

without a second thought.

No Fast Track For The Trans Pacific Partnership action page:

http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum1149.php

Why should a member of Congress have to risk going to prison just to

tell us what is being secretly negotiated behind our backs? Why do we

have to find out only from leaked documents that they are trying to

give corporations veto power over the national laws of any country on

pollution, labor, privacy and everything else?

Thankfully, 151 wise and dutiful members of the House have already

signed the Rosa L. DeLauro letter, 22 members have signed the Walter

B. Jones letter, and 12 members have signed the John B. Larson

letter, protesting this fast track proposal. This is not a partisan

issue.

For the rest:

We, the people, demand that you immediately make a like commitment in

writing to oppose any consideration of the terms of the Trans Pacific

Partnership not conducted in the full light of day on the floors of

the U.S. Congress.

In particular, we, the people, demand that members of the Senate

demonstrate parallel leadership to put a majority of senators on the

record in writing opposing fast track for the TPP.

Did we mention, this is an election year?

No Fast Track For The Trans Pacific Partnership action page:

http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum1149.php

The above is the actual text of the petition sent by the link also

above. As you know from our last alert we have just freshly revamped

and updated our letters to the editor function, and there is a

special innovation on this action page we have created especially for

this campaign.

People write us and ask, "Why can't someone create an easy way to

track how members of congress have voted?" We've gone one better.

There is a special new button right on the action page which

instantly determines your members of Congress, and tells you where

they stand on this issue.

This same petition also goes directly to the Senate Finance Committee

and the House Ways And Means Committee, the first places we need to

make a stand against this. And as we hold their feet to the fire, we

will update the info so you can know exactly who is responsibly

representing you, and who just works exclusively for some big

corporate donor.

Now, please take a moment to continue reading why it is so important

for you to use the letters to the editor function, and how it works

exactly. A former congressional aide recently wrote that NOTHING gets

the attention of members of Congress more than when their NAME

appears in a letter to the editor.

Think about it. They might get 10,000 phone calls or 100,000 emails

in their offices, but who's to know? Who's to call them out on it?

But when there is PUBLICITY, that's what really gets their attention.

So we are asking you not only to add your personal comments, intended

as a free standing letter to a newspaper, to your action page

submissions, but make a special point of working in the name of your

members of Congress, and your feelings about their position on this.

In the case of the newspapers, keep in mind they will not get the

petition text, just your own words.

We must mention a couple more things that are VERY important for our

policy advocacy success together. Most newspapers like letters to be

no more than about 200 words, so this is a safe number to be in the

ball park of. Also, please do not include any internet website links

in your comments. Newspaper want to know what YOU have to say, not

publish links for people to just leave their own newspaper site.

And while a phone number is not required by our action page form for

regular congressional submissions, newspapers universally require one

so they can confirm you are a real person who authorizes publication

of your letter.

Then, after you submit the action page, feel free to request the must

have new "Expressway To Trade Hell, Trans Pacific Partnership" bumper

stick. Imagine a barren highway racing towards a horizon in flames,

with a sign post that tells you where this is going. This is the most

dramatic bumper sticker we have ever done, and you can have one for

no charge, not even shipping just by requesting one from this page.

Expressway To Trade Hell Trans Pacific Partnership bumper stickers:

http://www.peaceteam.net/all_bumper_stickers.php

Of course, if you can make a contribution of any amount, this is what

makes it possible for us to sent free stickers to anyone who cannot

afford to make a contribution right now.

Thank you for your faithful diligence in reading this alert to the

end. Every word in it is critical stuff you will need to know so that

we can win.

You may forward this message to any friends who would find it

important.

Contributions to The People's Email Network are not tax-deductible

for federal income tax purposes.

If you would like to be added to our distribution list, go to

http://www.peaceteam.net/in.htm

Or if don't want to receive our messages, just go to

http://www.peaceteam.net/out.htm

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