Forum Post: Can your voice make a difference on-line?
Posted 12 years ago on Feb. 5, 2012, 11:08 a.m. EST by DKAtoday
(33802)
from Coon Rapids, MN
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Did you see today’s New York Times? Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas Kristof wrote an inspiring column telling the stories of people like you who are using Change.org to change the world.
Check it out, and have a wonderful weekend.
- Patrick
[Removed]
http://occupywallst.org/forum/citizens-arrest-remember-that-a-citizen-has-the-ri/
maybe not for a long time, but having a website and selling products can really line your pockets with money. Just saying, if you want to try it out. Look at amazon, ebay, hell even sears had a product listed online from a private seller, did anyone else notice this, or just us small business men.
Hi DKA, Thank you for post and links. Agree. We are making a difference.
We must remain vigilant, as there are powers working to strip us of our communication resource.
Best Regards, Nevada
Thank you for taking part. Yes there are many who would love to silence free speech, education and the further promotion of awareness.
Inspiring.
It is. It is also a new way to think and act rather than letting someone tell you that you can't make a difference.
Only if your voice offers rational appeal. And in most cases here, it does not.
The power of social media/internet is amazing. We are reaching the point where the corporate owned media is becoming irrelevant.This will inevitably lead to less viewership, as people realize how unreliable they have been in ignoring the discontent in this country, and in OWS in particular.
Perhaps the only problem is that it takes quite a while to sort out the various positions, theories, sites, entities, icons etc. to determine what is consistent and verifiable.
Creating such a situation for citizens basically makes media networks complicit in treason.
Don't you think that for the most part, they just concentrate on the sensationalism, and purposely ignore the reasons WHY people are out in the streets.
[Removed]
So let us help them realize their mistake.
Keystone XL is not dead yet. Make sure it does die.
http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=1EFmGEqAQzzpBKLvtpSN-Q
Take the time go on the record. While not wholly comforting, I did receive this reply to my letter to Senator Franken. Let us keep up the input to our senators and the response may get more positive/supportive of our efforts.
Response I received :
Office of Sen. Al Franken February 6, 2012
Dear Dan,
Thank you for contacting me about oil sands and the Keystone XL pipeline. I appreciate you taking the time to share your views with me.
The United States currently imports more oil from Canada than from any other nation -- about 19% of our foreign supply. Around half of that oil comes from oil sands. The Keystone pipeline currently originates near the Canadian tar sands in Alberta Canada and extends down to midwestern oil market hubs of Steel City, NE, Pakota Wood River, IL, and Cushing OK. TransCanada has proposed a $13 billion 1,700 mile extension of the pipeline through Saskatchewan, Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, to deliver 700,000 barrels of oil a day to the Port Arthur Texas market place. This proposal combined with two other recently approved pipelines would triple the amount of oil sands crude imported into the U.S.
The proposed pipeline requires the State Department and the President's approval because it crosses international borders. On December 17, 2011, in an 89-to-10 vote, the Senate passed a $33 billion package that extended through February a payroll-tax holiday and unemployment benefits for millions of Americans and avoided cuts in payments to doctors who accept Medicare. I fought hard for these measures that would help working class Americans, but some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle insisted that the deal include provisions that would rush the decision process for approval of the Keystone pipeline. That provision set a 60-day deadline by which President Obama had to give a definitive answer on whether the pipeline can go forward, regardless of whether federal agencies had a chance to fully review the application.
On January 18th, President Obama rejected the proposed Keystone pipeline because the 60 day review period did not allow enough time to adequately investigate the project's effects on sensitive aquifers and grasslands along the pipeline's path. The rejection does not ban the project entirely. TransCanada can resubmit a modified version of the pipeline if it chooses.
Energy Security and jobs-creation are top priorities for me, as they are for many Minnesotans. A secure energy future will require us to diversify our energy mix to include various sources of conventional and renewable energy, and it's critical that we fully examine all options. True energy security means both reducing energy from unfriendly nations, and ensuring our energy sources are safe and environmentally friendly, with low-risk of damaging human health and wellbeing.
While Canadian oil sands represent an alternative to oil imports from the Middle East, extracting crude oil from oil sands is energy intensive and produces higher carbon emissions than conventional oil. In addition, State Department studies reveal the pipeline will not create as many jobs as TransCanada had originally claimed. The entire 1,700 mile project will create only 3,500 jobs. Even while conventional fossil fuels continue to be part of our national energy mix, it is important that we transition toward homegrown sources of energy like wind and biofuels, that are proven to create good clean American jobs. I will keep your thoughts in mind as investigations of the pipeline proposal progress, and as legislation on the topic comes before the Senate.
Thank you again for contacting me, I look forward to hearing from you in the future on this or any other matter of concern to you.
Sincerely,
Signature
Al Franken United States Senator
if the keystone pipeline is for the people
the government should own it
Drive fuel efficiency forward.
http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=GeuOipV3OBdLtzq6YOhWVg
Tweeted:
USA Main stream Media covers social unrest around the World, But Not at Home Hypocrisy? Corporate/greedy/corrupt Fear? The world is watching
yep
Hi GF thanks for stopping in. I know your voice makes a difference.
New petition 2/22/2012
Petition the President.
This is part of what I told Him: ( what would you say ? )
We should not be exporting period. The complaint that we are always given about the high price of gas and natural gas and oil is that our supplies are so low. Is this not why new regions were opened to access more oil and natural gas deposits? Stop lying to us. Shut down fracking shutdown new drilling. Regulate the industry and put a cap on the prices. Tax the industry properly and put the money to work creating and implementing true green energy not bio-fuel.
From the Sierra club ( please take part ):
We need to tell President Obama that exporting dirty LNG is dangerous, environmentally destructive, and unacceptable. Sign our petition urging the president to put the brakes on LNG exports.
http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=4RTsJjuLoMPhCGtObg3BwA
205,401 signatures so far for Bernie Sanders petition as of 11:55am central time 02/21/2012
http://sanders.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=2100081904.557411.411&gen=1&mailing_linkid=34578
OSTA : First we had one, then two sponsors for the "One Subject at a Time Act." NOW WE HAVE SIX!
We've just gained 4 new co-sponsors.
This means that you now have multiple new chances to become more powerful! Here's how to . . .
Do two simple things that will make it more likely that some of these new "One Subject" sponsors will . .
STEP ONE: Go to the Facebook pages for each new co-sponsor and thank them for supporting the "One Subject at a Time Act."
Representative Mo Brooks of Alabama: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Congressman-Mo-Brooks/155220881193244?sk=wall Representative Ann Marie Buerkle of New York: http://www.facebook.com/RepBuerkle?sk=wall Representative Robert T. Shilling of Illinois: http://www.facebook.com/congressmanbobbyschilling?sk=wall Representative Allen B. West of Florida: http://www.facebook.com/AllenWestFL?sk=wall
Use your "thank you" to suggest that they send a "Dear colleague" letter to their friends in Congress, asking them to become co-sponsors too.
Also ask them to consider introducing the "Read the Bills Act" and the "Write the Laws Act." Share the links for those bills with them . . .
https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/rtba/ https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/write-the-laws/
Many of you have done this already with Reps. Marino and Posey. It's had an effect. In fact, we know it's been a positive motivator for Rep. Marino to seek additional publicity for OSTA and to recruit his colleagues.
STEP TWO: Call and say thank you for sponsoring the "One Subject at a Time Act", and suggest that they send a "Dear Colleague" letter asking other members of Congress to also co-sponsor "One Subject."
Rep. Mo Brooks: Phone: (202) 225-4801 Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle: (202) 225-3701 Rep. Bobby Schilling: (202) 225-5905 Rep. Allen B. West: (202) 225-3026
And finally, if you think we're doing a worthy job, consider making a financial contribution here.
Jim Babka President DownsizeDC.org, Inc.
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Dan --
Thanks to your continued support of our efforts to hold Republicans’ feet to the fire, we had an incredible week:
After House Republicans convened a panel on birth control coverage with NO WOMEN, over 250,000 of you demanded that women must be allowed at the table when women's health care is at stake. Add your name >>
http://www.dccc.org/page/m/1d63cf82/1b4d698b/32264ba5/4e0ce757/3936311709/VEsH/
This is what I am talking about. A clean future to be implemented NOW!
Thanks for the link 1 points by ClearView (43)
http://www.hopewellproject.org/ People send this link viral!!!!!!!!!!!
This is what I am talking about when I say we need to push for a new clean fuel base, to save our world and end fossil fuel dependence.
Take Action!
Tell the EPA to strengthen its plan to protect Minnesota's residents and national parks from dirty coal pollution. Take action now!
http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=5533973&id=35208-4904244-yvVVREx&t=5
Learn more about this campaign CREDO Action | more than a network, a movement.
Tell the EPA: Protect Minnesota's national parks from dirty coal pollution. Dear Dan,
Some of Minnesota's most pristine outdoor spaces — including Voyageurs and Isle Royale national parks and the Boundary Waters Wilderness Area — are threatened by air pollution from dirty coal plants and industrial facilities.
The Clean Air Act requires Minnesota and the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce this pollution in order to improve visibility and protect public health. But the plan EPA is considering falls far short of what is necessary, letting the state's biggest polluters off the hook.
Until Feb 24th, the EPA is accepting public comments on its regional haze plan for Minnesota — and it needs to know that Minnesota residents value their beautiful national parks and expect the agency to do more to clear the air throughout the state.
Tell the EPA: Do more to protect Minnesota's national parks and residents from dirty air pollution. Click here to submit a public comment now.
Incredibly, the plan EPA is considering would not require Minnesota's largest coal plant, the Sherburne County station (also known as Sherco), to reduce its pollution emissions at all. This plant has been a huge source of air pollution for decades, burning up to 60 million pounds of dirty coal a day.1
Pollution from the Sherburne County plant and from other Minnesota coal plants and industrial facilities has reduced visibility at Voyageurs National Park from 185 miles on a clear day to just 18 miles on an especially hazy day, partially robbing the park of its beauty.2
Cleaning up Minnesota's dirty coal plants would not only improve air quality at national parks — it will also help protect Minnesotans' health. The Sherburne County plant alone is responsible for more than 1,600 cases of asthma and 92 premature deaths each year.
The plan EPA is considering would effectively let the Sherburne County coal plant and other major polluters in Minnesota off the hook, rather than holding them accountable for their dirty and dangerous air pollution.
We can't allow that to happen — and a strong outpouring of public comments from Minnesotans will make it more likely that the EPA strengthens the plan before it is finalized.
Click below to submit a public comment to the EPA: http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=5533973&id=35208-4904244-yvVVREx&t=7
Josh Nelson, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets
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Update on participation to reclaim government:
204,430 signatures so far for Bernie Sanders petition as of 8:31am central time 02/17/2012
http://sanders.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=2100081904.557411.411&gen=1&mailing_linkid=34578
204,808 signatures so far for Bernie Sanders petition as of 8:46am central time 02/19/2012
http://sanders.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=2100081904.557411.411&gen=1&mailing_linkid=34578
This is the letter that I sent using https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/obey-the-constitution/ :
End Earmarks. Clean-up legislation and remove the temptation to be corrupt or to be corrupted. If legislation is good it should pass on it's own merits. Good legislation should not be used to attach bad legislation to it. Clean-up Government, the people have had enough with abuse and lip service, hence the Occupy and 99% movements among other voices beginning to speak-up. Return government to the people where it belongs.
I sent this letter to my Representative and Senators, telling them to end earmarks by following the Constitution...
From: Jim Babka President DownsizeDC.org, Inc.
https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/obey-the-constitution/
The Washington Post recently published a report on how members of Congress used earmarks to apparently benefit themselves. According to the story... (http://wapo.st/AuMfyZ)
33 members directed more than $300 million in earmarks and other public works spending near their own properties and businesses, increasing the value of their own property 16 members sent tax dollars to companies, colleges, or community programs where their spouses, children, or parents work as salaried employees or serve on boards.
But that's just a smidgeon. In 2010 there were 11,320 total earmarks worth $32 billion.
That's the equivalent of mugging my family for $300!
Is using earmarks for personal financial gain corrupt? Of course.
Is using earmarks to "bring jobs to the District" and buy votes corrupt? Definitely.
But these outcomes are to be expected, because the REAL corruption is your refusal to follow the Constitution. After all, EVERY bill with earmarks must be passed by a majority in both the House and the Senate.
If you just upheld your oath of office, we would be taxed lightly and the budget could be easily balanced. The limited, enumerated powers of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution are there for a reason. It lists what Congress CAN do. The Tenth Amendment is also there for a reason. It says Congress CAN'T do anything except what the Constitution authorizes it to do.
I've looked in the Constitution, and I see NO delegation of power to Congress or the Executive Branch to give some communities...
Are these things useful to the communities that receive them? Maybe. But if states or local communities wouldn't have built them without federal dollars, then they weren't a high priority. Where does the Constitution allow Congress to meddle in local decision-making? Why am I being required to pay for them?
Perhaps $32 billion for earmarks doesn't sound like much in an era of $4 trillion budget and $1.5 trillion deficits. But they are indicative of the larger problem. Building bike lanes for preferred constituents demonstrates that Congress that knows no restraint -- including the limitations of the Constitution.
That's why it's not surprising that Congress has...
bankrupted the nation by providing pensions and healthcare for retirees, weakened the nation with undeclared wars and foreign aid, told us what foods and drugs we are "permitted" to ingest, and authorized the President and military to kidnap anybody with the NDAA indefinite detention provisions.
None of these things were authorized by the Constitution. NDAA clearly violates it.
If Congress can't follow the Constitution on the little things like earmarks, I'm not surprised that you don't follow it on the big things.
Uphold your oath of office. Follow the Constitution. That means, don't authorize earmarks and other pork-barrel spending. Just stop the petty meddling and vote buying you're doing with my money.
END LETTER
You can send your own letter using DownsizeDC.org's Educate the Powerful System. https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/obey-the-constitution/
Feel free to borrow from or copy-and-paste the letter above.
And we encourage you to follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/DDCDispatch
Jim Babka President DownsizeDC.org, Inc.
NOTE: Lots of things compete for your support. How do you manage them all?
Here are two simple ideas, taken from the world of investment. First, diversify. Second, think long-term.
1) You can invest your activist dollars in several different aspects of the market: Think tank research. Public education. Political candidates. Direct action.
2) Weight your budget based on effectiveness and long-term value. Political campaigns draw a lot of energy, but they won't be here next year. And even if your guy wins, he'll need an activist army at his back.
Now, can you see why diversifying is so important?
DownsizeDC.org offers a simple idea. Give $1, each month. That would definitely fit in your portfolio! If every subscriber gave DownsizeDC.org $1 per month, on average, then DownsizeDC.org's budget would increase by more than 40%. That would fund a whole bunch of new outreach and speed the growth of your Downsize DC Army!
Obviously, not everyone is going to give, and one-time contributions are needed each month too. So, please invest farsightedly in our national future: https://secure.downsizedc.org/contribute/
D o w n s i z e r - D i s p a t c h
Official email newsletter of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation.
SUPPORT the "Educate the Powerful System".
Feel Free to Forward or Reprint, as long as attribution and action links are retained/included. But we recommend you delete everything in this footer, i.e., below the words "Downsizer-Dispatch".
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Quote of the Day: “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.” — Edmund Burke
I have GREAT news about the "One Subject at a Time Act."
Remember, that's a bill -- abbreviated OSTA -- that we created to prohibit Congress from combining unrelated legislation. Each proposal would have to pass on its own merits, NOT by being combined with more popular but unrelated measures. HERE'S THE NEWS . . .
OSTA NOW HAS A SECOND CONGRESSIONAL SPONSOR!
Getting the first sponsor -- Representative Tom Marino -- took years. But now OSTA has its second sponsor after only a few weeks. The new sponsor is Representative Bill Posey of Florida.
Could this be the start of a trend? That may depend on how much fuel you pour on this fire. Do this . . .
Flood Mr. Posey's Facebook page with positive comments. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bill-Posey/280117065340803
PRAISE HIM FOR SPONSORING THE "ONE SUBJECT AT A TIME ACT"
Then call his office and thank him for sponsoring OSTA. Suggest to the staffer who answers that Mr. Posey should send out a dear colleague letter asking other House members to also sponsor the "One Subject at a Time Act." The phone number is (202) 225-3671.
Dear Dan,
You did it: 781,000 emails against Keystone XL!
The Senate felt your pressure -- let's do the same thing to an even more disastrous bill in the House.
http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=WXm9HlhX0e10X_mY4jkTBg
Stop the Pipeline Drilling in the Arctic, Keystone XL, and cuts to public transportation, all in the same bill. Call your Representative today. Take Action
You did it -- chalk another one up to the grassroots!
In less than 24 hours, dozens of environmental and progressive groups came together to send 500,000 emails to the Senate against the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. It worked -- Congress heard from nearly 800,000 Americans, from all 50 states.
This is huge. After feeling that grassroots pressure, the Senate has postponed the Keystone XL vote for the second time this month. But there's an even worse bill in the House of Representatives up for a vote this month -- and it's up to you to make sure the House feels the same pressure the Senate did.
H.R. 7 could be the worst environmental bill we see all year. Call your Representative today and let them know: Valentine's Day is over. No more sweetheart deals for Big Oil.
House Republicans are using crucial transportation legislation to push through not just Keystone XL but also drilling in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, deep cuts to public transportation and safe biking and walking programs, and attacks on bedrock environmental protections.
Instead, this legislation should be about giving Americans clean transportation choices that move us beyond oil -- a dirty fuel that spills out of pipelines and wells, threatens our national security, and contributes more to climate change and smog than any other fossil fuel.
It's true that Big Oil has millions of dollars to spend lobbying the Hill. But we have 1.4 million supporters and members -- and as we've seen time and time again, when we stand together, voices can speak louder than money.
Call your Representative today and tell them: Vote no on every title in the House transportation bill.
Calling your Representative is easy. We'll give you their phone number and some basic talking points you can use at the link above. The whole process takes less than three minutes, and you can make a huge difference.
Thanks for all you do to protect our environment,
Sarah Hodgdon Sierra Club Conservation Director
P.S. After you take action, be sure to forward this alert to your friends and colleagues! Share this page on FacebookShare this page on TwitterShare this page with other services
Tar sand mining. Take action.
http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=5532374&id=35139-4904244-wFRefhx&t=7
Tell Prime Minister Harper: Stop Canada's planned wolf killings Dear Dan,
It just gets worse and worse.
To make up for the fact that rapid tar sands oil mining is threatening caribou herds by destroying vast swaths of forest habitat in Alberta, the Canadian government has called for killing thousands of wolves.1
Tell Prime Minister Harper: Stop Canada's planned tar sands wolf killings! Click here to automatically sign the petition.
If Alberta Canada's tar sands oil fields are fully developed, an area of boreal rainforest the size of Florida will be eviscerated, leaving in its wake giant ponds of toxic wastewater.2
It's obvious why this would pose a massive threat to all wildlife species who reside there, including birds, wolves, woodland caribou and the iconic spirit bear.
But instead of preserving the habitat caribou need for their survival, the Canadian government's answer is to blaze ahead with tar sands oil extraction, and kill thousands of wolves who would naturally prey on the caribou. A paper released this week by the National Wildlife Federation reports that The Ministry of the Environment's plan calls for aerial shooting, and poisoning with bait laced with strychnine — a particularly painful type of poison.
Tell Prime Minister Harper: Stop Canada's planned wolf killings! Preserve caribou habitat, and stop the irresponsible tar sands mining which threatens all of us. Click here to automatically sign the petition.
This plan to kill wolves is a misguided, cruel response that does nothing to alleviate the greater problem: tar sands oil extraction is a huge threat to wildlife, local communities, and all of our futures.
But despite the clear negative consequences, the Canadian government continues working to rapidly expand tar sands production and sales, including promoting the Keystone XL Pipeline to export tar sands oil all over the world.
Understandably, this has begun to earn Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and many in the country's government, a negative reputation to which they are becoming increasingly sensitive.3
The Ministry of the Environment has not yet begun this planned wolf kill. With enough public pressure, we can get them to abandon the plan, and build the case for Canada to stop their devastating race to expand tar sands oil development.
Click below to automatically sign the petition: http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=5532375&id=35139-4904244-wFRefhx&t=10
Thank you for fighting tar sands and all their devastation.
Elijah zarlin, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets
Dear Dan,
Thank you for taking action to demand action on an important issue by contacting your representative.
Do you want to do more to help the Sierra Club's efforts to protect the environment?
Please forward the message below to five of your friends and ask them to take action.
Hey there,
I just took action to protect our environment. You should too!
http://action.sierraclub.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=8023
Thanks,
Thanks again,
Margaret Levin, Chapter Director Sierra Club North Star Chapter 2327 E. Franklin Avenue, #1 Minneapolis, MN 55406
Mondays are almost never this exciting. But yesterday was a phenomenal day for four huge campaigns on Change.org that you should know about:
After hearing from more than 82,000 people, Chase Bank called off foreclosing on 78-year-old grandmother and civil rights activist Helen Bailey. "I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders," says Ms. Bailey. "I am so thankful for the support of my neighbors and the nation." Last week Apple customers visited stores on four continents to deliver 250,000 petition signatures demanding better working conditions at factories making iPads and iPhones. (The delivery made news on CNN, the BBC, Al Jazeera, and NPR). Yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced immediate factory inspections, showing that the pressure is working! But experts doubt how reliable the monitoring group’s findings will be and there are still no worker-protection plans for new product releases (when workers are forced to work so hard to meet deadlines that some die of exhaustion -- and others commit suicide). Click here to keep up the pressure on Apple by sharing Mark's petition on Facebook. McDonald's finally responded to the 100,000 people (and groups like the Humane Society of the United States) who told the fast food giant to stop sourcing pork from factory farms using inhumane "gestation crates," (cages so small that pigs can’t move or turn around). McDonald's told all of its suppliers yesterday to start phasing out the cages -- an earthquake for the food industry. And some big news from last week! More than 141,000 banded together to save the life of Jesus Navarro, a father who was reportedly denied a life-saving kidney transplant, despite having insurance to pay for surgery, a volunteer donor, and a benefactor to help pay for his follow-up care. But an ABC News headline gives the good news: "Dying Dad, Jesus Navarro, to Get Kidney Transplant." McDonald's finally responded to the 100,000 people (and groups like the Humane Society of the United States) who told the fast food giant to stop sourcing pork from factory farms using inhumane "gestation crates," (cages so small that pigs can’t move or turn around). McDonald's told all of its suppliers yesterday to start phasing out the cages -- an earthquake for the food industry. And some big news from last week! More than 141,000 banded together to save the life of Jesus Navarro, a father who was reportedly denied a life-saving kidney transplant, despite having insurance to pay for surgery, a volunteer donor, and a benefactor to help pay for his follow-up care. But an ABC News headline gives the good news: "Dying Dad, Jesus Navarro, to Get Kidney Transplant."
With hundreds of people winning campaigns on Change.org, the pace of change is growing unbelievably quickly.
Have something you want to change? Click here to start your own petition -- and we bet you’ll find that you’re more powerful than you ever imagined.
Excited to help you win,
Patrick and the Change.org team
P.S. Yesterday’s Baltimore Sun highlighted Change.org, declaring, "Consumers are starting to flex their newfound muscle." "How the revolution became digitized" was the lead story on CBS Sunday Morning. And if you missed last Sunday’s New York Times column on the power of Change.org, read it here
Thanks GF for the two for one link - clean-up legislation and ban insider trading.
[-] -9 points by GirlFriday (2472) 1 week ago
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-3806
Support a real game changer:
[-] 4 points by MonetizingDiscontent (1252) 6 days ago
Yes this is a great Idea that has been gaining momentum for several years.
~ Excellent Post Nevada1! ~
One Subject at a Time Act: (OSTA)
https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/one-subject/
Congress routinely passes unpopular laws. How? They combine them with unrelated bills that are sure to pass. The "One Subject at a Time Act" (OSTA) would prevent this.
The REAL ID Act is a perfect example of how Congressional leaders pass laws that lack majority support. This bill created a scheme Americans have always opposed — a national ID card. This idea had so little support that it couldn't even be brought to a vote in the Senate. Yet . . .
Congressional leaders got it passed anyway, by attaching it to a bill Senators were afraid to oppose — the "Emergency, Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief." (May, 2005)
Senators were scared to reject funding for the troops in Iraq and Tsunami relief, so the REAL ID Act became the law of the land.
Here's another example...
The Senate majority leader wanted to be a moral busy body. However, he lacked the votes to prohibit online poker. He simply attached his unwanted legislation to a Port Security bill that most in Congress favored. The result . . .
Online gambling was outlawed, and a whole industry was destroyed!
OSTA would prevent such outrages by requiring that . . .
Plus...
Politicians will no longer be able to hide the true subjects of their bills behind propagandistic titles such as the "PATRIOT Act," the "Protect America Act," or the "No Child Left Behind Act." No one wants to be accused of voting against patriotism, or protecting America, or of wanting to leave children behind. But none of those titles actually describes the subjects of those bills. Therefore...
OSTA requires that all titles describe what a bill will actually do, so that Congress and the public can know what the "one subject" is. Good examples of proper titles are the "Read the Bills Act," or the "Write the Laws Act," and the "One Subject at a Time Act."
In conclusion, OSTA will...
(((You can read the full 5-page OSTA text here))): http://www.downsizedc.org/osta-legislation
Use the form at right to send your elected representatives a letter about this issue. -It's Easy-
(((Send Your Letter Here))): https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/one-subject/
Supporting promoting aiding the abuse of people is not defensible.
http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AGcTB/zmCt/B18Bb
Speak-up, Speak-out.
Protect Medicare.
Need a poster for a sign-board????????????
http://www.dccc.org/page/m/1d63cfa5/1b4d698b/3d79258e/4e0ce7b9/1230172882/VEsB/
get along to get things ( good things ) done
Dan --
This is incredible: We’ve reached 140,023 signatures on our petition calling out Eric Cantor for caving to special interests and softening the STOCK Act, a bill intended to ban insider trading and crack down on corruption.
Hours after a watered down STOCK Act passed the House, news broke that powerful Republican Spencer Bachus, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee will face an ethics investigation over possible insider trading allegations. Bachus is being investigated about whether he received secret briefings on the imminent collapse of the economy in 2008 and then made trades to profit off the economic crisis.
If you haven’t signed our petition it’s not too late. House and Senate negotiators will be meeting to hammer out a final STOCK Act bill. Make your voice heard and send an unmistakable message to Eric Cantor and Speaker Boehner to demand the toughest ethics reforms and that that people’s interests come before the special interests.
http://www.dccc.org/page/m/1d63cfa5/1b4d698b/3d79258e/4e0ce7b4/1230172882/VEsH/
Comment on the stock act.
http://www.dccc.org/page/m/1d63cfa0/1b4d698b/3cc06323/4e0ce7c5/1119704429/VEsH/
State by State Campaign Finance Reform Petitions.
Open the link and scroll down, there are a few pages on the link to cover the state by state petition and the start of the listing can move down as other petitions are created on the site.
Here you go.
Campaign Finance reform:
http://www.change.org/petitions#search/campaign%20finance%20reform/2
Unite in support of common cause to win.
Tweeted:
Tweet Main Stream Media and ask why they don't cover USA social unrest Protests.
201,425 signatures so far for Bernie Sanders petition as of 11:42am central time 02/08/2012
http://sanders.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=2100081904.557411.411&gen=1&mailing_linkid=34578
Twittered today.
https://twitter.com/#!/DKAtoday
No coverage of American protest. Corporate Media Hypocrisy? Where is Main Stream Media. Powers that Be say NO? The world is watching!
Uniting in common cause. You can add a comment too. Facebook and twitter it as well.
http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AGBmL/zmBb/B18Bb
Keystone XL is not dead yet. Make sure it does die.
http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=1EFmGEqAQzzpBKLvtpSN-Q
Pulitzer Prize winner