Tell your Senators to support renewable energy development by cutting oil industry handouts!
Recently the House passed the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act. This bill is a great first step towards improving our environment, creating clean energy jobs and gaining energy independence.
This would be done by cutting government subsidies to the oil and gas industry and shifting them to renewable energy development. The oil and gas industry will get by -- ExxonMobil recently reported the largest quarterly profit for any corporation in American history.
These corporate giants are not in need of any more government handouts. This bill would allow renewable sources such as solar and wind power to get the funding they need and incentives would also be provided for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles that would help clean up pollution in our transportation sector.
Please tell your Senators that this bill needs to be passed. Our environment is too important to be ignored.
GO HERE FOR AN EASY TO COMPLETE FORM:
http://action.citizen.org/t/1153/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=23335&track=actionMain
ALSO GO HERE FOR MORE DETAIL ON THIS BILL
I just read in the Huffington Post that the White House does not want to participate in the GOP's protest to keep Congress in session this August!.
Of course, I may be too optimistic here. It might be simply because George thinks he might have to stay in DC and not go on down to Crawford for the month.
SOURCE:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/04/white-house-says-no-to-he_n_116827.html
I just read a news story that exemplifies what I mean when I say that that Democrats may have a majority in the Senate, but they most certainly do not have control.
GOP Senators filibuster Defense bill for their oil company benefactors.
"Just when you think the GOP Senate obstructionists can't sink any lower, they do. The Senate Republicans voted against the troops.
Mitch McCopnnell and his fellow Republicans have been filibustering every bill until the oil companies get what they want.
Read More »The Democrats do not have enough members to control the Senate. In order to do that, we would need 60 Democratic Senators. This is the important fact for us to remember when supporting Democrats in the fall. Just because we have control of the gavel, does not mean that we have control of the Senate.
There are 49 Democrats and 49 Republicans and two independents. But because both of the independents caucus with the Democrats, the Democrats have a 51 to 49 majority and thus Democrats control the gavel with Harry Reid. However if you will consider that one of those Democrats is Lieberman who votes often with the Republicans, and if you will consider how rarely Republicans cross party lines in the Senate, you can see what a struggle it is for Democrats to pass legislation in the Senate—when it does happen it is only with many amendments to the legislation.
A post in regard to the vote I recently posted was incorrect in regard to the 2/3s majority required for every vote. This is not true. I apologize for posting this misinformation. The 2/3’s rule is required only in certain cases. Among them include ratification of treaties. But, as I said, only 2/3’s majority of a quorum present is required to impeach, not 2/3’s of the Senate. That is important to remember because it is easier to impeach than we may have been led to believe.
Read More »Let's put an end, if we can, to the myth that Democrats Control Congress.
Those of you who think they do, please try to wrap your brains around this and stop blaming Democrats. This is a Republican tactic to discredit the Democrats.
The Democrats have a MAJORITY in both Houses. That part is correct. However, the part to say that they have CONTROL of Congress is incorrect. To pass legislation requires the approval of BOTH houses.
To have CONTROL over the Senate, the Democrats would need 60 Democrats in the Senate as all bills require 2/3's approval of all members (expect for impeachment which requires only the simple majority of a quorum).
Currently the Democrats have 49 in the Senate and the Republicans have 49 in the Senate. There are two independents Bernie Sanders of VT and Joe Lieberman of CT both of whom caucus with Democrats. This makes for the 51 to 49 majority for the Democrats.
BUT DEMOCRATS ARE AT LEAST 9 SENATORS SHORT OF CONTROL. YOU COULD EVEN ARGUE THAT SINCE PART OF THEIR MAJORITY IS DUE TO TWO INDEPENDENTS, THEY NEED 11 MORE DEMOCRATS TO BE IN CONTROL.
So please stop writing that Democrats are "in control" of Congress. We are not. That is why it is so important that we get as many as possible elected to Congress in the fall.
The Republicans can and do block every piece of legislation that they can--except for those few pieces such as Medicare legislation that they know will lose them votes this fall.
I've said it again and again and again and I'll say it again.
One of the ways that the neocon newspeak churned out by the neocon owned mainstream media control the masses (that would be you and me) is by creating red herrings (distractions to divert our attention from the real issues).
Frankly, I sometimes think that most of the members of our Congress are nothing but red herrings themselves, another show to distract us and make us think that things are being done, when in fact nothing is happening except that they are conniving as to how they can put more of our tax dollars into their pockets.
The Republicans and the Democrats sometimes remind me of those fake wrestlers on television who put on these great shows--throwing each other about and head-banging one another (and then laughing about their show together afterwards in the dressing room).
Look at them! I'll bet if you did a financial survery of their assets that you would find that an overwhelming majority of those in Congress have assets in excess of a million dollars.
Read More »Below is an old cartoon that looks like it might hail from Franklin Roosevelt's day, if not even earlier in our history as a nation. Interesting isn't it? The elephant is crashing through the planks of his own platform (inflation, repudiation, etc.) and falling into the abyss. (and to note: the donkey is barely escaping himself).
Following on the extended post is detail for all five of those bills and amendments that I listed previously and suggested that 49 Republicans are blocking the democratic agenda every step of the way. I still hold to that belief and you can see for yourself. Only on one out of five did they vote for the people, but then their president vetoed that one.
However as Betty Lou rightly pointed out, Ron Paul does consistenly vote on the side of the people and with the Democrats more often than not. AND the House of Representatives is the more democratic AND bipartisan body of our Congress. They often pass good legislation that gets hammered by the elitist Senate. And yes the ones who ruin it for the rest of us ARE by and large the Republicans. Although there are sometimes a few stray Democrats who cross over, it is overwhelmingly the Republicans who block the decent legislation. So remember that this fall.
YEA FOR THE SENATORS: Dick Durbin D Illinois Majority Whip. whooo hoo
YEA FOR Byron Dorgan D North Dakota
BREAK OUT THE CHAMPAGNE! DANCE IN THE STREETS!
the House voted 383-41 earlier today to override the veto
The Senate voted 70 to 26 to override the veto!
Harry Reid has shown great leadership on the last two big votes: FISA and now Medicare. He has been on the right side.
This bill is paid for in parts by cuts to private healthcare insurers YEA!
EVEN CORNYN VOTED FOR TO OVERRIDE THE VETO!!!!! Now that is a miracle! and Kay Bailey Hutchison also voted to override the Veto andother miracle. BOTH OF THE SENATORS FROM TEXAS VOTED TO OVERRIDE THE VETO!!!! If you are a Texan, please call and thank them. We want to reinforce this kind of behavior!
Hillary voted, of course to override the veto.
Even Lieberman voted to override the veto.
Hagel voted no on it.
as far as I could tell McCain and Obama were no shows. I could have missed them somehow, but I don't think so.
Source: Religioscope
Author: Richard Cimino
While there have been allegations in the past of government investigation of mosques on issues relating to terrorism, the recent report, first featured in the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper, is said to be the first confirmation that surveillance is taking place.
An article in the Los Angeles Times (May 29) reports that information about the alleged spying surfaced in a case about classified files concerning terrorism that were stolen from a secure office used by military and civilian law enforcement officials at Camp Pendleton. Some of these classified records referred to the surveillance of Muslim communities in Southern California, specifically, the Islamic Center of San Diego. The records alleged that the mosque had been monitored as part of a federal surveillance program targeting Muslim groups, according to the Union-Tribune article. Read More »
Source: Salon
Author: Juan Cole
The U.S. Justice Department is considering a change in the grounds on which the FBI can investigate citizens and legal residents of the United States. Till now, DOJ guidelines have required the FBI to have some evidence of wrongdoing before it opens an investigation. The impending new rules, which would be implemented later this summer, allow bureau agents to establish a terrorist profile or pattern of behavior and attributes and, on the basis of that profile, start investigating an individual or group. Agents would be permitted to ask "open-ended questions" concerning the activities of Muslim Americans and Arab-Americans. A person's travel and occupation, as well as race or ethnicity, could be grounds for opening a national security investigation.
The rumored changes have provoked protests from Muslim American and Arab-American groups. The Council on American Islamic Relations, among the more effective lobbies for Muslim Americans' civil liberties, immediately denounced the plan, as did James Zogby, the president of the Arab-American Institute. Said Zogby, "There are millions of Americans who, under the reported new parameters, could become subject to arbitrary and subjective ethnic and religious profiling." Zogby, who noted that the Bush administration's history with profiling is not reassuring, warned that all Americans would suffer from a weakening of civil liberties. Read More »
here is an update that I received from the NATION yesterday regarding the lawsuit that the Nation joined with the ACLU in filing regarding the constitutionality of the FISA Amendment Act of 2008.
Dear EmailNation Subscriber,
The Nation has joined with the ACLU in a lawsuit filed in the US District Court of New York challenging the constitutionality of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. Read Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel's Editor's Cut to find out why the magazine is suing the government on behalf of itself, our staff and two of our contributing writers--Chris Hedges and Naomi Klein.
Check out the ACLU site for how you can support this legal challenge.
And please join The Nation's campaign to stop Big Media.
Finally, please visit http://www.thenation.com to read new Nation blogs, to view newsfeed links updated each day, to see when Nation writers are appearing on TV and radio, to get info on nationwide activist campaigns, and to read exclusive online reports and special weekly selections from The Nation magazine!
Best Regards,
Peter Rothberg
The Nation