"The
conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and
opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society.
Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an
invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country." - Edward L. Bernays
"Try
as I may I can not escape the sound of suffering. Perhaps as an old
man I will accept suffering with insouciance. But not now; men in their
prime, if they have convictions are tasked to act on them." - Julian Assange, 2007
"Never
doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
bts
The Last Letter
A Message to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney From a Dying Veteran
wrc
Lee Camp This week the Obama Administration fired the guy who tried to push for oversight on Wall Street. We have to make sure Wall Street gets its way, right? Wouldn't want to impede the "free" market!
1) Richard Wolff's book "Occupy The Economy" - http://amzn.to/1812DaI
2) Obama fires Gensler - http://bit.ly/14lA1np
3) Big banks only profiting from taxpayer subsidies - http://bloom.bg/147N3UQ
4) Music by Vili Ross "Money Is God" - http://bit.ly/123iUI1
5) Help MOC continue by visiting http://www.donateyouraccount.com
rt nsa rules
Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s Supreme Court Warning
Common Anti-Gun Arguments
1) The 2nd Amendment is “outdated” and no longer relevant in today’s modern society.
2) We do not want to stop you from “defending yourself”, or interfere with the American tradition of hunting, but people do not need “military assault weapons” for either.
3) Your claimed freedom to own guns should not supersede my freedom to live without fear of guns. We exist in a society, and our society requires us to give up certain freedoms so that it can function.
gunz: To respond briefly to each of the above fallacies:
1) The right to self defense from ANY threat, whether it be an individual, or a criminal government, does not “outdate”. It is a universal and eternal freedom. It is a foundational pillar of natural law. Even if the 2nd Amendment did not exist, I would still have the inborn right to arm and protect myself and those I love, and the best way to do that is to own firearms. The men who drafted the Constitution were far more intelligent than any pithy gun grabber today, yet, these socialist errand boys seem to believe that they have “surpassed” the wisdom of the Founders. The amount of ego required to fuel such an attitude boggles the mind…
Gun violence and violence in general will not end simply by banning firearms. The very idea that any society can remove all weapons from their sight is naïve to begin with. Criminals always find a way. Murder, rape, and mayhem will continue until you confront the root problem, which is the human mind, and the human heart. Only when these two things are balanced in all people will violence end. Disarming good men and women has never made a society “safer”. When the power of defense is removed from the people, someone, somewhere, will seek to abuse their weakness. The most armed entity of the time invariably becomes the subjugator, and usually this is the government. Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, Mao’s China, Pol Pot’s Cambodia, etc, all contained disarmed populations. The guns were gone, and still millions upon millions died. Modern day Mexico is a perfect example of a disarmed population that is now living in terror because of criminal organizations (which, of course, still have guns). Disarmament does NOT end gun violence, it only changes the dynamic of who uses that violence, and it makes innocent victims easier to attack.
2) Because the legal argument over the “interpretation” of the 2nd Amendment is essentially over, and the Supreme Court has ruled that gun rights do indeed apply to individuals, and not just collective bodies like the National Guard, gun grabbers are now reverting to the argument that we ARE allowed to defend ourselves with firearms, but the kinds of firearms we are able to use can still be limited. The goal of this argument is to fool gun owners who only possess conventional firearms (hunting rifles) into believing that they will not be personally affected if they support a ban on military style weapons. These wishy-washy hunting enthusiasts are often referred to as “Elmer Fudds” because of their gullibility.
All gun confiscation programs start by chipping away at the outer barriers of gun ownership. Like termites slowly chewing away at the wooden skeleton of a home, anti-gun proponents start small and end by destroying the entire edifice. Anyone who believes Feinstein’s legislation will begin and end with AR-15’s and AK-47’s is living in fantasy land. That said, the 2nd Amendment was not established for hunting purposes. Nowhere in the writings of the Founding Fathers do they mention “hunting” as their primary concern. Instead, gun rights are protected in order to ensure that the citizenry remains dominant over any centralized government that turns to corruption. We are supposed to police our own political leaders, and without military style arms, this becomes increasingly difficult.
Canada Bans the Mask: Unlawful Protesters Risk 10 Years in Prison
Posted on Jun 20, 2013
 |
| Photo by Alexis Gravel (CC-BY-ND) |
Nonetheless, don’t try it north of the border.
There are some exceptions, as the CBC explains below, but it seems to put the onus on the protester to muster a defense.
CBC:
The bill creates a new Criminal Code offence that makes it illegal to wear a mask or otherwise conceal your identity during a riot or unlawful assembly. Exceptions can be made if someone can prove they have a “lawful excuse” for covering their face such as religious or medical reasons.
The bill originally proposed a penalty of up to five years, but the House of Commons justice committee amended it and doubled the penalty to up to 10 years in prison for committing the offence.
Read more
—Posted by Peter Z. Scheer. Follow him on Twitter: @peesch.
What We Owe Michael Hastings
Wednesday, 19 June 2013 15:46 By Joe Macare, Truthout | Op-EdI met Michael Hastings (1980-2013) three times.
The first time was in the middle of the chaos of the 2012 NATO summit in Chicago and the accompanying mass protests. Hastings, unlike the other journalists I knew who were in town, was there covering the summit and the protests - he had the much-sought credentials to get access to the VIP side of the security barriers, to watch the world leaders and generals meet firsthand.
The rest of the credentialed press corps - whom Hastings later described as "one of the most boring collectives of journalists ever assembled ... very keen on not missing any press releases handed out at the NATO media desk" - weren't that interested in getting a view from the wrong side of the fences and police lines. Hastings was, and he was more than happy to come hang out on the front steps of the apartment in which I was putting up his friend, Jesse Myerson (who reported on the protests for Truthout and got Hastings' take) and an Occupy Wall Street activist, to smoke and shoot the shit.
At the time I met him, he was probably by far the most well-known, successful journalist I'd encountered personally, both in terms of mainstream recognition and undeniable, measurable achievements. He was already just "Hastings" to me and everyone I knew who followed foreign policy and national security journalism - he'd earned being referred to by last name only. <read more>
Are Non-Violent Protestors Now Labeled "Terrorists?"
Wednesday, 19 June 2013 15:42 By The Daily Take, The Thom Hartmann Program | Op-Ed
Corporations
are trying to use the PATRIOT Act in ways that have nothing to do with
Osama Bin Laden because the PATRIOT Act gives transnational corporations
the power to snuff out the activism of all those who oppose them.
Terrorism,
as it is commonly considered, is the use of violence against civilians
to achieve any number of political ends: the destruction of the federal
government, the overturning of Roe V. Wade, the restoration of a
Caliphate. If you try to kill people – or succeed in killing people for a
political purpose - you’re a terrorist. If you blow up the Alfred P.
Murrow Federal Building and kill 168 civilians, like Timothy McVeigh,
you’ve committed an act of terrorism.
Seems
pretty self-explanatory – right? Not according to TransCanada Corp.,
the Canadian owned energy conglomerate that is the backer of the
Keystone XL pipeline extension. A new set of documents obtained by the
group Bold Nebraska shows that this foreign corporation is encouraging
American law enforcement agencies to treat anti-pipeline protestors like
terrorists. Yes, terrorists.
The
documents, which Bold Nebraska got a hold of through a FOIA request,
were part of a briefing given to Nebraska law enforcement agents about
the “emerging threat” of groups like Tar Sands Blockade and Rainforest
Action.
And
what are the “terrorist” activities that TransCanada is so concerned
about? They include things like monkey-wrenching, tree-sitting, and
tying yourself to a construction vehicle with a device called a
“dragon-lock.” <read more>
Taliban Hints At Eventual Power Sharing In Afghanistan
By RFE/RL
"Our
leader Mullah Mohammad Omar has repeatedly said that we want a
government that includes all Afghans," Naeem said. "It should be a
government, in which all our people and their representatives can
participate and be a part of. It should give Afghans the hope that it a
government for all of them and this country belongs to all of them."
Fast-Tracking Toward War on Syria
By Stephen Lendman
America's
run by sociopaths. They're out-of-control criminals. They're traitors.
They menace humanity. They violate their sacred oaths of office.
Irish Parliamentarians Spar Over 'War Criminal' Obama's Summit Visit
By Julian Pecquet
An
outspoken liberal lawmaker on Wednesday denounced the U.S. president
as a "war criminal" for his drone use and his decision to arm the
Syrian rebels.
UN: Palestinian Children Tortured, Used as Human Shields by Israel
By Reuters
Israeli
forces arbitrarily arrest Palestinian children in Gaza and West Bank,
subject them to degrading treatment, exploit them to scope out
potentially dangerous buildings and use them as shields.
US Taxpayers Pay for Apartheid Israel Regime
By Robert Fantina
Human rights? The almighty dollar trumps them every time.
Stranger Than Fiction
Men built X-ray gun to shoot Israel opponents - FBI
By Associated Press
The FBI
has charged two men with making a portable X-ray weapon that they
intended to use to secretly sicken opponents of Israel.
Revealed: The Top Secret Rules That Allow NSA To Use US Data Without A Warrant
By Glenn Greenwald and James Ball
The NSA
is empowered to compel telephone and internet companies to turn over to
it the communications of any individual identified by the NSA.
NSA Whistleblower Alleges NSA Wiretapped Barack Obama as Senate Candidate
Video
Russ
Tice, a former intelligence analyst, claimed Wednesday that the NSA had
ordered wiretaps on phones connected to then-Senate candidate Barack
Obama in 2004.
Control and Dominance
Understanding the Latest Leaks Is Understanding the Rise of a New Fascism
By John Pilger
Having
nurtured old-fashioned fascists around the world - from Latin America
to Africa and Indonesia - the genie has risen at home.
Propaganda
By Edward Bernays
We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of.
The Failure of the Rule of Law
The Strange Case of Barrett Brown
By Peter Ludlow
Amid the
outrage over the NSA's spying program, the jailing of journalist
Barrett Brown points to a deeper and very troubling problem.
You, Terrorist
By William Rivers Pitt
Need a
reason to worry about the NSA spying scandal? Try this: you legally
protest an oil company in your town, are arrested, and wind up in court
facing federal terrorism charges and a personal eternity behind bars.
The Cruel and Unusual Justice Thomas
By Pierre Tristam
The
cruelties of the self-loathing, self-pitying Clarence Thomas were on
display again this week when he provided the deciding vote that had the
Supreme Court managing to turn the right to remain silent against the
accused.
Spying by the Numbers:
Hundreds of Thousands Subject to Government Surveillance and No Real Protection
By Bill Quigley
It is
time to wake up. These secret subpoenas and secret courts and secret
processes should be abolished or fundamentally changed. Otherwise,
change the slogan on the dollar to "In Secrecy We Trust."
Study: 70 Percent Of Americans On Prescription Drugs
By CBS
"The
second most common prescription was for antidepressants - The third
most common drugs were opioids, which is a bit concerning considering
their addicting nature."
Cuts in Food to Feniors?
Here's A Sequester Cut You'll Feel In Your Gut
By Dave Johnson
Read this because what really happens to real people isn't pretty. Let's see if you are still capable of feeling outrage.
Is This Our Future?
People Will Soon Upload Their Entire Brains To Computers: Google's Chief Engineer
By RT
Kurzweil
said in New York last week that more and more of the human body will
soon be synced up to computers, both for backing up our thoughts and to
help stay in good health.
Colonoscopies Explain Why US Leads World in Health Care Expenses
By Gaius Publius
Note first the variation in U.S. prices, then the prices in Europe and other (more) developed countries.
Hard News
Pakistan: Nine People Killed Near Peshawar:
Five
Pakistani Army soldiers reportedly have been killed during an attack
on their military convoy on the outskirts of Peshawar, the capital of
the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Four of the attackers
also were killed, but the militants managed to escape with their
bodies.
US-Taliban Afghanistan peace talks in Qatar cancelled:
Asked
when the talks would now take place, a source in Doha told Reuters:
"There is nothing scheduled that I am aware of." Asked if that meant
they would not happen on Thursday, the source added: "Yes, that's
correct."
Fact or fiction?
Taliban offer to return US soldier in exchange for Guantánamo prisoners: Report:
The
Taliban are ready to free a US soldier held captive since 2009 in
exchange for five of their senior operatives imprisoned at Guantánamo
Bay as a conciliatory gesture, a senior spokesman for the group said
Thursday.
US scraps military equipment worth more than 7-billion-dollar before leaving Afghanistan:
The
US military has destroyed more than 77,000 metric tons of military
equipment - including mine-resistant troop transport vehicles - as it
prepares to withdraw from Afghanistan in late 2014, the Washington Post
reported today.
Two killed as Iraqis vote in delayed polls:
Iraqis
in two Sunni-majority provinces voted under heavy security in delayed
provincial polls on Thursday which were marred by mortar attacks on
polling stations that left two policemen dead.
In northern Iraqi city, al-Qaeda gathers strength:
Mosul and its surroundings are at the center of the country's deadliest outbreak of violence in five years
Syria's Islamists seize control as moderates dither:
The
moderates, often underfunded, fragmented and chaotic, appear no match
for Islamist units, which include fighters from organisations
designated "terrorist" by the United States.
Syrian Rebels: We've Received Heavy Weapons from Saudis:
Rebel sources tell British newspaper that Saudi Arabia has supplied them with "Konkurs" anti-tank missiles.
Analyst: Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria now best-equipped of the group: -
Al
Qaeda's affiliate inside Syria is now the best-equipped arm of the
terror group in existence today, according to informal assessments by
U.S. and Middle East intelligence agencies
Rand Paul One of Four Senators To Introduce Bill To Block Military Funds to Syria:
Sens.
Tom Udall (D-N.M), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Rand
Paul (R-Ky.) have introduced legislation that would block military
funds from going to Syria. Text of the bill , courtesy of Sen. Udall's
office:
Al-Nusra kills Several Free Syrian Army Rebels:
The
terrorist group has now pointed its gun towards its partners, after it
has gained a stronger position in the war-torn country with the help
of its foreign supporters.
Syrian opposition execute three civilians near Aleppo - Warning -
A
video has emerged of a group of opposition fighters in Syria beheading
a man and shooting two women near the city of Aleppo. It's thought
they were executed for committing "heresy".
What motivates Syria's foreign jihadi? - video -
Channel 4 News looks at the role that foreign fighters are playing on the rebel side in the Syrian conflict.
Syrian troops backed by Hezbollah fight rebels in Damascus suburb housing major Shiite shrine:
Protection
of the Sayida Zeinab shrine has become a rallying cry for Shiite
fighters backing President Bashar Assad, raising the stakes in a
conflict that is increasingly being fought along sectarian lines.
'Syria will get back all its territory,' deputy foreign minister says:
Faisal Mekdad decries 'hypocritical' Obama decision 'to arm terrorist groups'; blames US for instigating civil war
'Ireland leads opposition to blacklisting Hezbollah':
Government
officials in Jerusalem accused Ireland on Wednesday of leading
opposition inside the EU to placing Hezbollah, or at least its
"military wing," on the European Union's terrorist black list.
Mubarak to Obama: I don't take orders from you:
"Obama
called me two or three times. Frankly, I did not want to answer his
calls," Mubarak said. "Finally I answered. He asked me, 'What is your
situation now?' And before I answered he quickly said, 'I think you
need to give power to a group of politicians, including Mohamed
Baradei.'"
Remember Libya?:
The
government, such as it is, retains only the most tenuous control over
Libya's major cities. The situation outside the major cities is even
worse:
Face-Tracking Minority Report Style | Big Brother Watch: Video report:
Abby
Martin takes a look at law enforcement's use of facial recognition
technology at mere traffic stops and while taking photo IDs, and how
the practice represents another step closer toward a total surveillance
state.
Firefox Web browser to move ahead plan to block tracking:
The
maker of the popular Firefox browser is moving ahead with plans to
block the most common forms of Internet tracking, allowing hundreds of
millions of users to eventually limit who watches their movements
across the Web, company officials said Wednesday.
TWA Flight 800 crash not due to gas tank explosion, former investigators say:
The
producers of an upcoming documentary on TWA Flight 800-claim to have
proof that a missile caused the Paris-bound flight to crash. And six
former investigators who took part in the film say there was a cover-up
and want the case reopened.
6 Investigators Claim TWA 800 Crash Not An Accident: Video -
In a new documentary on the 17-year-old crash, six investigators say there was a cover up.
Crowd of 30,000 overruns police cordon ahead of Brazil football match (VIDEO):
Violent
clashes have erupted in the northern city of Fortaleza in the hours
leading to a Confederations Cup match with Mexico. Dozens were hurt as
riot police unleashed tear gas and barrage of rubber bullets at a crowd
of some 30,000 Brazilian protesters.
I was Brazil woman pepper-sprayed in face, says protest campaigner:
23-year-old says she faced 'psychological torture' from military police after being arrested
Report finds one in three women abused:
World Health Organisation says phenomenon cuts across entire world, with 30 percent facing abuse from their partners.
Atheist seeking US citizenship told to join church or be denied:
A
65-year-old British atheist who has lived in the US for 30 years has
been denied US citizenship, unless she joins a church by Friday.
Obama offends Catholics in the UK, says religious schools are divisive:
The
Catholic media is up in arms over comments President Obama made during
a speech while in Northern Ireland for the G8 summit. Obama made what
is described as "an alarming call for an end to Catholic education,"
Regulator tells Barclays, Lloyds and RBS to plug £27bn hole in finances:
The
City's financial watchdog said four of Britain's largest banks and
building societies needed to raise the new capital to strengthen their
balance sheets. The banks have been ordered to find the cash without
cutting lending.
London shares dive 3% as US stimulus slowdown prompts global sell-off:
London's
FTSE 100 Index dived 3 per cent today to wipe almost £50 billion off
the value of the top tier after the US Federal Reserve confirmed plans
to scale back its economy-boosting drive.
TENCERE TAVA HAVASI (Sound of Pots and Pans)
Congressional Cartel: List of Senators Who Betrayed Constituents in Favor of Biotech Dollars
Daisy Luther
Once upon a time, a system was designed in which “the people” elected
delegates to go to Washington DC. These members of Congress had the
specific duty of representing the wishes of their constituencies when
laws were being voted upon.The success of last weekend’s March Against Monsanto should have made it very clear that a great many people wish to see, at the very least, labels on toxic GMO foods. The fact that this success was covered up by the media does NOT mean that the members of Congress were unaware of it – just the opposite. Our success was frightening, and that is why it was covered up.
Despite that, the day before the event, an amendment to the farm bill that would have allowed the individual states to pass laws protecting consumers from unlabeled GMOs was quietly shot down in the Senate with a vote of 71-27 against this right. The timing of this betrayal, right before a long weekend, goes along with the general modus operandi of sliding through things that will meet with objections from the public when they are otherwise distracted.
The failure to pass this amendment was due in part to Monsanto mouthpiece Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), the chair of the Agriculture Committee. Stabenow, incidentally, received over three quarters of a million dollars from agribusiness interests ($739,926 to be exact) in agribusiness donations. Stabenow utilized the propaganda that is being dispersed by the likes of Monsanto and the Gates Foundation to argue her point:
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), the chair of the Agriculture Committee, spoke on behalf of the biotech giant seizing the opportunity to focus primarily on the myth that genetically modified ingredients feed the hungry people of the world, ignoring the fact that 64 countries now require GMO labeling.
“This particular amendment would interfere with the FDA’s science-based process to determine what food labeling is necessary for consumers,” Stabenow said. More here
These congressional folk cannot get re-elected/auctioned/bought/ or, how bout, won by majority of popular opine, if you guys knew how badly us commons are being stabbed in the back by the vary same we sent to put an end to this SHIT....do you know your enemy? you should
Alexander (R-TN)
Ayotte (R-NH)
Baldwin (D-WI)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Baucus (D-MT)
Blunt (R-MO)
Boozman (R-AR)
Brown (D-OH)
Burr (R-NC)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coats (R-IN)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Collins (R-ME)
Coons (D-DE)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Cowan (D-MA)
Crapo (R-ID)
Cruz (R-TX)
Donnelly (D-IN)
Durbin (D-IL)
Enzi (R-WY)
Fischer (R-NE)
Franken (D-MN)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hagan (D-NC)
Harkin (D-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Heitkamp (D-ND)
Heller (R-NV)
Hoeven (R-ND)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Johnson (D-SD)
Johnson (R-WI)
Kaine (D-VA)
Kirk (R-IL)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lee (R-UT)
Levin (D-MI)
McCain (R-AZ)
McCaskill (D-MO)
McConnell (R-KY)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Moran (R-KS)
Nelson (D-FL)
Paul (R-KY)
Portman (R-OH)
Pryor (D-AR)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rubio (R-FL)
Scott (R-SC)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Shelby (R-AL)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Thune (R-SD)
Toomey (R-PA)
Udall (D-CO)
Vitter (R-LA)
Warner (D-VA)
Warren (D-MA)
Wicker (R-MS)
Despite the vast campaign donations the politicians receive from special interest groups, the recent grassroots movements like Occupy Monsanto and March Against Monsanto have proven that activism works without the huge budget. Even though Monsanto has a kennel full of obedient pet congress members, we can defeat the biotech enemy by spreading information. Teaching the public about the dangers of consuming GMOs, the environmental and health tolls of Monsanto’s farming methods, and the unscrupulous business practices that are designed to put small farmers around the globe out of business, is our most powerful weapon.
This is a call to action. Use the list above to make it clear that we will not stand idly by while our elected representatives betray us for the benefit of Monsanto.
- Find the email addresses and phone numbers of your Senator HERE. Write them a polite letter or make a polite phone call. Firmly and courteously demand answers.
- Use public forums provided to you on your local level to share information about the selling out of our health by these elected officials. Write letters to the editor, post on social media, and hand out fliers, being sure to follow local ordinances. Always be courteous to encourage dialogue.
- Find your senator’s page on Facebook. Actively post in the comments sections and post on their timelines about your displeasure regarding their betrayals.
- Use the power of social media to spread the word that these senators are the friends of Monsanto, and thus the enemies of food freedom and GMO labeling.
Would you like genetically engineered fries with that?
Keep Genetically Engineered Potatoes Off Supermarket Shelves
Tell the USDA: Drop This Crop Like a Hot Potato!
Tell the USDA: Drop This Crop Like a Hot Potato!
These Potatoes
Are No Small Fries  |
You say potato, I say... trouble.
Apparently even the humble potato isn't safe from the biotech industry. There's now a genetically engineered (GE) potato up for approval in the USDA, and it's making public health activists cringe.
The potato, created by biotech company J.R. Simplot, has been altered to reduce "problems" that normal potatoes have, like black-spot browning. But altering even one enzyme in a plant can unintentionally affect other characteristics of the potato as well, meaning that there may be unintended health risks that we don't yet know about. Will you tell the USDA before July 2nd not to approve this under-tested and potentially unsafe GE potato?
The company intends to use its GE potato in processed foods like french fries and potato chips, and may even market the crop as a "healthier alternative" to normal potatoes. Such advertising would be incredibly misleading, because without more testing it's impossible to know what negative effects this GE potato could have on our bodies. Tell the USDA not to approve this new, under-tested genetically engineered potato.
Once approved, the GE potato will likely be unlabeled. Because shoppers won't be able to tell the difference between regular potatoes and genetically engineered ones, they will have no way to avoid GE potatoes if they prefer not to eat them. We have just a few weeks to convince the USDA not to approve this GE potato — sign the petition today!
Say no to GE potatoes.
Thanks for taking action,
Jill Pape
Online Organizer
Food & Water Watch
act(at)fwwatch(dot)org
..............................
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A judge has ruled that opponents of the
Keystone XL pipeline in Nebraska can proceed with their legal challenge
to a state law that paved the way for a new project route.
Lancaster County District Court Judge Stephanie Stacy on Tuesday rejected a motion by Nebraska state officials to dismiss the lawsuit.
The lawsuit filed by three Nebraska landowners asserts that Gov. Dave Heineman's decision to approve a new pipeline route was rooted in an unconstitutional state law. The law was passed during a special legislative session in 2011 as a way to reroute the pipeline away from Nebraska's environmentally sensitive Sandhills.
Stacy did not rule on the merits of the case, but said opponents should be allowed to present their
But we need your help to send a powerful reminder to the President today.
Thanks for speaking up,
Vanessa Kritzer
Online Campaigns Manager, League of Conservation Voters
Lancaster County District Court Judge Stephanie Stacy on Tuesday rejected a motion by Nebraska state officials to dismiss the lawsuit.
The lawsuit filed by three Nebraska landowners asserts that Gov. Dave Heineman's decision to approve a new pipeline route was rooted in an unconstitutional state law. The law was passed during a special legislative session in 2011 as a way to reroute the pipeline away from Nebraska's environmentally sensitive Sandhills.
Stacy did not rule on the merits of the case, but said opponents should be allowed to present their
USAction Member -- We have reached a dangerous new milestone on the global warming front.
Concentrations of carbon, the primary global warming pollutant, have
reached levels we haven't seen since the dinosaurs. If we don't take
immediate action soon, temperatures and sea levels will rise --
potentially displacing millions of people and wreaking havoc on life as
we know it.
But thankfully, there's still time to act. Please
join our friends at the League of Conservation Voters and tell Obama to
take action to curb global warming pollution from power plants. Click here to take action or read more below.
Sincerely,
Ross Wallen
USAction / TrueMajority
Ross Wallen
USAction / TrueMajority
 |
Dangerous New Milestone Reached
Dear USAction Member,
|
We
have reached a disturbing milestone -- concentrations of carbon
dioxide, the primary global warming pollutant, have hit 400 parts per
million in our planet's atmosphere.
The
last time there was this much carbon dioxide in our atmosphere was
millions of years ago -- and it had a catastrophic impact. Average
temperatures rose by as much as 18 degrees Fahrenheit and sea levels
ranged between 16 to 131 feet higher than current levels.
But as daunting as this sounds, we don’t have to accept dirtier air and an increasingly warming planet as inevitable.
President Obama has the authority and the responsibility to enact the first-ever clean air safeguards that would cut carbon pollution from power plants.
But
unfortunately, the Obama administration just missed the deadline for
finalizing these critical standards for new power plants, and has yet to
propose similar standards for existing power plants. So we need your
help to make sure President Obama takes action as soon as possible.
President
Obama has spoken eloquently about our obligation to future generations
to address climate change. In this year’s State of the Union he said,
“We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the
failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.”
But it’s been four months since that inspiring promise, and we haven’t seen action.
Power plants are the nation’s single largest source of climate change-inducing carbon pollution.
Unless
we dramatically slash the pollution they spew out, we’ll only see
climate change get worse -- with more threats to our health and
livelihood from extreme weather, smog, and more.
President
Obama can use his executive authority to hold polluters accountable and
cut this pollution. And he can also fight climate change by rejecting
the dangerous Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, which would carry the most
carbon-intensive oil on earth.But we need your help to send a powerful reminder to the President today.
In
his first four years in office, President Obama made big progress in
addressing climate change by doubling U.S. use of wind and solar energy
and creating new fuel efficiency standards that will cut the amount of
global warming pollution from our tailpipes in half.
But
we have to remind him that we will only be able to protect our planet
with sustained action to combat climate change. With your help, we can
send him that message and work together for a cleaner, greener future.Thanks for speaking up,
Vanessa Kritzer
Online Campaigns Manager, League of Conservation Voters
Did
you see that the Big Oil billionaire Koch brothers are trying to buy
the Tribune Company's media assets? That would put newspapers like the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune
under Koch control -- and help them spread their climate change-denying
propaganda in news outlets that we rely on right now for strong
coverage on important environmental issues.
Thanks,
 |
They’re
baaaaack! Did you think that the Big Oil billionaire Koch brothers were
finished after spending millions of dollars on losing races in last
year’s election? Think again.
Now the climate change-denying Koch brothers are taking aim at another critical pillar of our democracy: the news.
The
owners of the Tribune Company are selling their media assets --
including TV stations and newspapers across the country like the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune -- and the Koch brothers will snatch them up if we don’t take action now.
We
have already seen what the Koch brothers do with their dirty energy
money -- they poison our airwaves during elections, fund think tanks
that push propaganda for climate change denial, and get their
congressional cronies to block action to protect the air we breathe and
water we drink.
The
Koch brothers cannot be allowed to control some of the most respected
newspapers in the country in order to peddle their anti-science,
anti-environment agenda.
Luckily,
we’re not the only ones who see this as a major problem. Environmental
groups, unions, and civil rights groups across the country have come
together to form the Coalition to Save Our News -- and they’ve already
delivered more than 500,000 petitions to key players at the Tribune
Company! But as the decision draws closer, they need our help to keep
the pressure on.
Millions of readers rely on papers like the LA Times and Chicago Tribune
for strong coverage on important environmental issues. In the past year
alone, these papers have featured editorials from climate scientists,
exposés on public health threats like cancer-causing chemicals in our
furniture, and important endorsements in elections that many use as a
guide when they go to the ballot box.
If
the Koch brothers take control of these news sources, they will not
only have a powerful platform for their anti-science propaganda, but
they will also silence the coverage on critical issues that the public
needs to learn about.
But this isn’t a done deal. If enough of us speak out, we can convince the Tribune Company to reject the Koch brothers’ offer. Will you help us make that happen by adding your name to our petition now?
Thanks so much,
Vanessa Kritzer
Online Campaigns Manager
League of Conservation Voters
Vanessa Kritzer
Online Campaigns Manager
League of Conservation Voters
P.S. The Tribune’s newspapers include the LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, Sun Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel, Hartford Courant, Morning Call, Daily Press, and the Spanish-language papers Hoy and El Sentinel. If you read any of these papers or just care about keeping our news Koch-free, add your name to our petition here >>
Thanks to Forecast the Facts for the image.
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