Support Better Background Checks

Over the past 50 years, our nation has suffered through a series of gun assassinations and mass shootings. But even more shocking is the building toll of everyday Americans who are gunned down in big cities and small towns. It’s time for common sense reforms to Fix Gun Checks and stem the tide of gun murders that leaves 34 Americans dead every day.

The Solution — Common Sense Steps for a Safer America

Our leaders must make it a national priority to fix gun background checks. This will take two critical steps:

1. Get all of the names of people who should be prohibited from buying guns into the background check system.
2. Require a background check for every gun sale in America.

Step One: Get all of the names of people who should be prohibited from buying guns into the background check system.

• The Virginia Tech shooter was able to pass a background check and purchase a gun despite a long history of mental illness, including a court ruling that he was mentally ill and an “imminent danger.” His record was never entered into the background check database.
• Since Virginia Tech, Congress passed a law to improve reporting of mental health records. But today, 10 states have not contributed a single mental health record and 18 states have contributed records on fewer than 100 people.
• According to media reports, the Tucson shooter had a drug arrest on his record and may have admitted to the U.S. Army that he was a habitual drug user – red flags that should have barred him from buying a gun. Nevertheless, he went on to pass background checks and buy the Glock 19 he used to kill 6 people and injure 13 others.

To ensure that every prohibited person is added to the national background check system, our leaders in Congress should:

• Guarantee full funding for states to update their information-sharing efforts
• Crack down on federal agencies that fail to submit records
• Penalize states that fail to add records by cutting their federal funding
• Clarify the rules for adding drug abusers and the mentally ill to the database

Step Two: Congress must close all the loopholes and require a background check on all gun sales in America.

• Even if a dangerous individual failed a background check, they can walk into any gun show and buy a trunk load of guns with no background check, no questions asked. That’s because only licensed gun dealers are required to conduct background checks. Occasional sellers, who often sell guns at gun shows, don’t have to do background checks.
• 30% of illegally trafficked guns are connected to gun shows.
• This loophole has been exploited by terrorists, drug cartels, and murderers, including the shooters at Columbine High School, whose guns were purchased from an unlicensed seller at a gun show.

Every handgun sale should come with a background check:

• People who want to sell their guns can take them to a licensed dealer who will conduct the background check.
• There should be reasonable exemptions for transfers to immediate family members, law enforcement, inheritance, and holders of gun permits that meet certain requirements.

Download the Mayors’ Plan to Fix Gun Checks (PDF)

The Consensus — Public Support for the Plan to Fix Gun Checks

• Americans overwhelmingly believe that criminals, drug abusers, and the mentally ill should not have access to guns: 9 out of 10 Americans and 9 out of 10 gun owners support fixing gaps in the background check databases that are meant to stop dangerous people from getting their hands on guns.
• Americans overwhelmingly believe that more needs to be done to ensure records in the background check system are complete: 89% of Americans and 89% of gun owners support full funding of the post-Virginia Tech law designed to put more records in the background check database.
• Americans overwhelmingly believe it’s time to close the loopholes that let people buy guns with no background check: 86% of Americans and 81% of gun owners support requiring all gun buyers to pass a background check, no matter where they buy the gun and no matter who they buy it from.

The bipartisan poll was conducted jointly by Momentum Analysis, a polling firm with Democratic clients, and American Viewpoint, a polling firm with Republican clients between January 11 and January 13, 2011. Full results of the poll available here (PDF).

Five Ways to Reduce Stress...at Mashantucket

Reblogged from Lori Potter:

Stressed out about family, your job, your community, or your leadership?  We all experience that stress from time to time,  but prolonged stress is a silent killer that we should not ignore.  We need to have a productive way to deal with the triggers that we react to the most - the things that stress us out and cause problems in our lives.  

Read more… 798 more words

Congress: the Republican led House – the Senate

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/hub.1326407570.html

The Senate Convened at 10:00amET January 24, 2012

• Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 4:00pm with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each with the time equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders or their designees, with the Majority controlling the first 30 minutes and the Republicans controlling the second 30 minutes.
• The Senate will recess from 12:30pm until 2:15pm to allow for the weekly caucus meetings.

Following any Leader remarks on Thursday, January 26th, the Republican Leader, or his designee, will be recognized to move to proceed to the consideration of Calendar #294, H.J.Res.98, a joint resolution relating to the disapproval of the President’s exercise of authority to increase the debt limit with the time until noon for debate on the motion to proceed, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders, or their designees.

At noon on Thursday, January 26^th, the Senate will conduct a roll call vote on the adoption of the motion to proceed to H.J.Res.98 (majority threshold). If the motion is successful, then the time for debate with respect to the joint resolution will be equally divided between the two Leaders, or their designees. Upon the use or yielding back of time, the joint resolution will be read a third time and the Senate will proceed to vote on passage of the joint resolution.

WRAP UP …

No ROLL CALL VOTES

LEGISLATIVE ITEMS

Adopted S.Res.353, congratulating the North Dakota State University football team for winning the 2011 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Championship Subdivision title.

Discharged the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee from further consideration of H.R.1791, to designate the United States courthouse under construction at 101 South United States Route 1 in Fort Pierce, Florida, as the “Alto Lee Adams, Sr., United States Courthouse” and referred the bill to the Committee on Environmental and Public Works.

No EXECUTIVE ITEMS

———————————————————————————————–

CURRENT HOUSE FLOOR PROCEEDINGS

LEGISLATIVE DAY OF JANUARY 24, 2012

 112TH CONGRESS – SECOND SESSION

HR3630 expires Feb.29th

-The House adjourned. The next meeting is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on January 25, 2012.10:24:55 P.M. -On motion to adjourn Agreed to by voice vote.10:24:50 P.M. -Mr. Cantor moved that the House do now adjourn.10:23:30 P.M. -REFERRAL OF PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGE – Mr. Cantor moved that the message of the President the United States be referred to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed as a House Document (H. Doc. 112-76). The motion was agreed to.10:23:00 P.M. -JOINT SESSION DISSOLVED – The Speaker declared the Joint Session of the two Houses dissolved.8:40:05 P.M. -JOINT SESSION – The House convened in Joint Session with the Senate for the purpose of receiving an address from the President of the United States on the subject of the state of the Union.8:40:00 P.M. -The House convened, returning from a recess continuing the legislative day of January 24.4:58:00 P.M. -The Speaker announced that the House do now recess. The next meeting is scheduled for 8:35 P.M. today at which time the House will meet in Joint Session with the Senate to receive a communication from the President of the United States.4:56:00 P.M. -Mr. Carter asked unanimous consent That, when the House adjourns on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, it adjourn to meet at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 25, 2012. Agreed to without objection.4:55:08 P.M. -H.R. 3630Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.4:55:07 P.M. -H.R. 3630On motion that the House instruct conferees Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 397 – 16 (Roll no. 9).4:48:29 P.M. -H.R. 2070Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.4:48:29 P.M. -H.R. 2070On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 386 – 26 (Roll no. 8).4:41:04 P.M. -H.R. 2070Considered as unfinished business. H.R. 2070 — “To direct the Secretary of the Interior to install in the area of the World War II Memorial in the District of Columbia a suitable plaque or an inscription with the words that President Franklin D. Roosevelt prayed with the nation on June 6, 1944, the morning of D-Day.”4:40:41 P.M. -H. Res. 516Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.4:40:39 P.M. -H. Res. 516On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 410 – 1, 1 Present (Roll no. 7).4:16:59 P.M. -H. Res. 516Considered as unfinished business. H. Res. 516 — “Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the passage of a fiscal year 2013 Federal budget is of national importance.”4:16:36 P.M. -UNFINISHED BUSINESS – The Chair announced that the unfinished business was the question on adoption of motions to suspend the rules, and the Capps Motion to Instruct Conferees to H.R. 3630, all of which had been debated earlier and on which further proceedings had been postponed.4:15:59 P.M. -Mr. Sessions filed a report from the Committee on Rules on H. Res. 522.4:15:53 P.M. -The House convened, returning from a recess continuing the legislative day of January 24.3:06:59 P.M. -The Speaker announced that the House do now recess. The next meeting is subject to the call of the Chair.3:06:13 P.M. -H. Res. 516At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.2:19:33 P.M. -H. Res. 516DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H. Res. 516.2:19:32 P.M. -H. Res. 516Considered under suspension of the rules.2:19:18 P.M. -H. Res. 516Mr. Ryan (WI) moved to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution. H. Res. 516 — “Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the passage of a fiscal year 2013 Federal budget is of national importance.”2:17:03 P.M. -H.R. 3630POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on H.R. 3630, the Chair put the question on the motion and by voice vote announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mrs. Capps demanded the yeas and nays and the Chair postponed further proceedings until later in the legislative day.1:21:25 P.M. -H.R. 3630DEBATE – The House proceeded with one hour debate on the Capps motion to instruct conferees on H.R. 3630. The instructions contained in the motion seek to require the managers on the part of the House at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the Senate amendment to the bill H.R. 3630 be instructed to file a conference report not later than February, 17, 2012.1:20:59 P.M. -H.R. 3630Mrs. Capps moved that the House instruct conferees.1:20:03 P.M. -H.R. 3800Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.1:19:58 P.M. -H.R. 3800On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.1:05:14 P.M. -H.R. 3800DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 3800.1:05:13 P.M. -H.R. 3800Considered under suspension of the rules.1:05:00 P.M. -H.R. 3800Mr. Petri moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill. H.R. 3800 — “To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the funding and expenditure authority of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, to amend title 49, United States Code, to extend authorizations for the airport improvement program, and for other purposes.”1:03:38 P.M. -H.R. 1022At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.12:57:56 P.M. -H.R. 1022DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1022.12:57:55 P.M. -H.R. 1022Considered under suspension of the rules.12:57:40 P.M. -H.R. 1022Mr. Johnson (OH) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill. H.R. 1022 — “To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of alternatives for commemorating and interpreting the role of the Buffalo Soldiers in the early years of the National Parks, and for other purposes.”12:57:37 P.M. -H.R. 290Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.12:57:34 P.M. -H.R. 290On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.12:46:15 P.M. -H.R. 290DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 290.12:46:13 P.M. -H.R. 290Considered under suspension of the rules.12:46:03 P.M. -H.R. 290Mr. Johnson (OH) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill. H.R. 290 — “To amend title 36, United States Code, to ensure that memorials commemorating the service of the United States Armed Forces may contain religious symbols, and for other purposes.”12:45:48 P.M. -H.R. 2070At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.12:35:03 P.M. -H.R. 2070DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 2070.12:35:01 P.M. -H.R. 2070Considered under suspension of the rules.12:35:00 P.M. -H.R. 2070Mr. Johnson (OH) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended. H.R. 2070 — “To direct the Secretary of the Interior to install in the area of the World War II Memorial in the District of Columbia a suitable plaque or an inscription with the words that President Franklin D. Roosevelt prayed with the nation on June 6, 1944, the morning of D-Day.”12:34:34 P.M. -The Speaker announced that votes on suspensions, if ordered, will be postponed until the conclusion of general debate on all suspensions.12:04:59 P.M. -ONE MINUTE SPEECHES – The House proceeded with one minute speeches which by direction of the Chair, would be limited to 15 per side of the aisle.12:04:38 P.M. -PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – The Chair designated Ms. Hayworth to lead the Members in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.12:04:36 P.M. -The Speaker announced approval of the Journal. Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Journal stands approved.12:01:55 P.M. -Today’s prayer was offered by Reverend Dr. Kate Braestrup, Maine Warden Service, Lincolnville, Maine12:00:55 P.M. -The House convened, returning from a recess continuing the legislative day of January 24.11:36:12 A.M. -The Speaker announced that the House do now recess. The next meeting is scheduled for 12:00 P.M. today.10:02:23 A.M. -MORNING-HOUR DEBATE – The House continued with further Morning-Hour Debate.10:02:05 A.M. -The House received a message from the Senate. The Senate passed S. 1134, and H.R. 3237. Senate agreed to H. Con. Res. 96.10:01:05 A.M. -MORNING-HOUR DEBATE – The House proceeded with Morning-Hour Debate. At the conclusion of Morning-Hour, the House will recess until 12:00 p.m. for the start of legislative business.10:00:55 A.M. -The Speaker designated the Honorable Erik Paulsen to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.10:00:28 A.M. -The House convened, starting a new legislative day.

What would you ask President Obama?

What would you ask President Obama?President Obama will deliver his State of the Union address at 9:00 p.m. ET. During that speech, he’ll lay out his vision for an America where hard work and responsibility are rewarded, where everyone does their fair share, and where everyone is held accountable for what they do. There is a range of ways to get involved with this year’s State of the Union address. Immediately following the President’s speech on Tuesday, be sure to stay tuned to WhiteHouse.gov/SOTU for a live panel featuring senior White House advisors answering your questions about the speech. Then, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, a group of policy experts and advisors to the President will sit down for Office Hours on Twitter — discussing the issues that matter to you and your community. Finally, on Monday, January 30, President Obama will join the conversation in a special Google+ Hangout, a live multi-person video chat, from the White House. Participating in the Hangout is easy – just visit the White House YouTube channel to submit your questions and vote for your favorites between now and January 28. A few participants will be chosen to join the President in the Google+ Hangout to ask their questions of the President live! Check out WhiteHouse.gov/SOTU to learn more about watching the enhanced State of the Union online and all the ways you can ask questions this week:    WhiteHouse.gov/SOTU   Here’s the full lineup — all times are ET.    Tuesday 9:00 p.m.: Watch the enhanced version of the speech that features graphics, data and stats that highlight the issues the President is discussing on WhiteHouse.gov/SOTU. Use the Twitter hashtag #SOTU to discuss the speech live. 10:00 p.m.: Immediately following the speech, pose your questions to a live panel at the White House. Senior advisors will answer your questions about the President’s address submitted via Twitter (use #WHChat and #SOTU), Facebook, Google+, and an in-person audience of Tweetup participants. Wednesday Office Hours Schedule All Day: Josh Earnest, Principal Deputy Press Secretary, answers your questions on Twitter (@jearnest44) 1:00 p.m.: Office Hours with Mark Zuckerman, Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council 3:00 p.m.: Office Hours with Dan Pfeiffer (@pfeiffer44), White House Communications Director Thursday Office Hours Schedule 10:00 a.m. Veterans: Matt Flavin, White House Director of Veterans and Wounded Warrior Policy 11:00 a.m. LGBT: Miriam Vogel, White House Senior Policy Advisor and Gautam Raghavan, White House Associate Director for Public Engagement 12:00 p.m. Women: Racquel Russell, Special Assistant to the President for Mobility and Opportunity and Avra Siegel, White House Deputy Executive Director for the Council on Women and Girls 1:00 p.m. Seniors: Jeanne Lambrew, Deputy Assistant to the President for Health Policy and Nick Papas, Assistant Press Secretary 2:00 p.m. Latinos: Felicia Escobar, White House Senior Policy Advisor, Julie Rodriguez, White House Associate Director of Public Engagement and Luis Miranda, White House Director of Hispanic Media 4:00 p.m. Small Business Owners: Christine Koronides, Senior Advisor for Economic Policy, National Economic Council 5:00 p.m. African Americans: Danielle Gray, Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy 6:00 p.m. Asian American Pacific Islanders: Chris Lu, Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary TBD Youth: Administration official to be announced Friday Office Hours Schedule 11:00 a.m. Foreign Policy: Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting 12:00 p.m. Education: Roberto Rodriguez, Special Assistant to the President for Education Policy 1:00 p.m. Health: Jeanne Lambrew, Deputy Assistant to the President for Health Policy and Nick Papas, Assistant Press Secretary 2:00 p.m. Energy: Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change and Dan Utech, Deputy Director for Energy Policy 3:00 p.m. Consumer Protections: Brian Deese, Deputy Director National Economic Council 4:00 pm The Economy: Jason Furman, Principal Deputy Director National Economic Council 5:00 p.m. Job Opportunities: Portia Wu, Senior Policy Advisor for Mobility and Opportunity Policy 6:00 p.m. Urban Issues: Racquel Russell, Special Assistant to the President for Mobility and Opportunity Monday January 30 President Obama participates in a Google+ Hangout from the White House Stay Connected

U.S. Supreme Koch

 We at HCAN renamed the Supreme Court  the ‘U.S. Supreme Koch” with a giant 30-foot banner.

The U.S. Supreme Koch is a better name for a court that has engineered a hostile takeover of our country by the billionaire Koch brothers and other corporate special interests. Thanks to the Citizens United ruling, multinational corporations can now secretly spend unlimited amounts of money to steal our democracy.

Will you pitch in $10 to help us fight these powerful interests?

Insurance companies and their friends at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are trying to roll back health care reform and decimate bedrock programs like Medicare and Medicaid. We have to expose their campaign of lies and misinformation. With your help we can turn up the heat.   

We can only continue this fight with your help.

Will you contribute $10 to help us confront the lies?

We won’t let these greedy billionaires go unchecked and buy our elections in a corrupt system where corporations are “people” and money is “speech.” Working together we can fight back and win.

In solidarity,

Will O’Neill
Health Care for America Now

the Progress Report – Mitt Romney’s Greatest Hits

VIDEO: Mitt Romney’s Greatest Hits — Sympathy For The Corporation

By ThinkProgress War Room  posted on Jan 23, 2012 at 5:38 pm

Mitt’s Most Out of Touch Moments

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You May Have Missed

Mitt Romney has lost independent voters to his rivals in all three early contests and performs poorly with all but high-income earners.

If the feds can shut down Megaupload, why do we need SOPA?

61 percent of Americans say making the tax system fairer should be a top priority for 2012.

Washington state now has the votes to pass marriage equality.

Speaker of the House Boehner (R-OH) promises to revisit Medicare privatization in this year’s budget.

Apple’s overseas jobs and what they mean for the American economy.

Florida sports stadiums skirting state law by failing to house the homeless during off nights.

Romney seemingly reverses position, calls for action to limit home foreclosures in Florida.

Get up to speed on the money man fueling Gingrich’s rise in the polls.

Other recent Progress Reports

Jan 20, 2012: Huge Victory for Women (and Men Too)!

Obama Administration Guarantees Near Universal Contraception Coverage Women’s groups were outraged by a recent Obama administration decision to limit access to the Plan B morning after pill, but today they are smiling. After months of anticipation and debate, the Obama administration today announced a huge victory for women’s health — near universal, no-cost coverage of [...]

Jan 19, 2012: Mitt Romney’s TOP FIVE Tax Giveaways to the Rich

The Loopholes & Giveaways Mitt Loves to Love While much attention has focused on Mitt Romney’s own shockingly low tax rate — a 15 percent rate far lower than that paid by millions of middle class Americans, less attention has been paid to the details of his tax plan. It’s a plan that would slash [...]

Jan 18, 2012: Romney Tax Plan: Cut Mitt Romney’s Taxes Nearly In Half

A $4 MILLION Tax Cut for Himself, A Tax Increase for You? When it comes to Mitt Romney’s taxes and his tax proposals, there is a lot to be shocked about. You can be shocked that Mitt Romney uses unfair tax loopholes to pay a 15 percent tax rate — a rate far lower than millions [...]

Jan 17, 2012: Mitt Romney Probably Pays A Lower Tax Rate Than You Do

Mitt Romney, Tax Loophole Exploiter-in-Chief Way back in October, we called on Mitt Romney to release his tax returns and introduced you to the Romney Rule — the unfair tax loopholes that Romney both supports and which he personally exploits in order to pay a lower tax rate than millions of middle class Americans. This [...]

Official Google blog – Your chance- Interview with President Obama

              Your Interview with President Obama

    click on the link below for more information …

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/your-interview-with-president-obama.html

Posted: 23 Jan 2012 09:08 AM PST

If you could hang out with President Obama, what would you ask him? Would your question be about jobs or unemployment? The threat of nuclear weapons? Immigration reform? Whatever your question is, submit it on YouTube for the opportunity to ask the President directly in a special interview over a Google+ Hangoutfrom the White House.

 

On Monday, January 30, a few days after delivering his State of the Union address to the nation, President Obama will answer a selection of top-voted questions you’ve submitted in a live-streamed interview. Starting today through January 28, you can visit the White House YouTube channelto submit your video and text questions and vote on your favorites. Your YouTube questions will drive the interview, and several participants with top-voted questions will be selected to join the President in the Google+ Hangout to take part in the conversation live.

 

So take out your camera, check your hair and go to youtube.com/whitehouse to submit your question now. Need ideas? Visit youtube.com/whitehouse on Tuesday night at 9:00pm ET to watch the President’s State of the Union address live. The address will be followed by the Republican response on Speaker Boehner’s YouTube channel.

 

Video questions are preferred (though we also accept text) and should be about 20 seconds long. In the video description, be sure to tell us a little bit about yourself, like where you’re from.

 

Your Interview with President Obama will be streamed live at 5:30pm ET on on January 30 on youtube.com/whitehouse. You have until midnight ET on January 28 to submit your question and make your voice heard on the issues that matter to you.

 

Posted by Ramya Raghavan, YouTube News and Politics Manager(Cross-posted from the YouTube blog)

Urge congress to support wind power …Union of Concerned Scientists

	Show Your Support for Wind Energy! Let Congress know that a strong production tax creditfor wind power is good for America and good for our economy. Urge Congress to Support Wind Power! Dear Carmen, Using more clean, renewable electricity from sources such as the sun and wind will increase our energy independence, save consumers money, and reduce our global warming emissions. One of the primary drivers of the growth in wind energy in the United States is the federal production tax credit (PTC), which gives developers tax incentives for generating energy from renewable sources. Despite the PTC being a driving force of wind development, the federal government has allowed it to expire on three separate occasions since 1999. These lapses in the PTC led to a boom-bust cycle that drastically slowed the wind power industry for many months at a time, costing jobs and economic development opportunities. The current PTC for wind power is set to expire at the end of 2012. The expiration of the PTC threatens one of the country’s fastest growing clean energy industries and could put tens of thousands of Americans out of work. Please ask Congress to extend the PTC today.    WWW.UCSUSA.ORG Extending the production tax credit will help maintain the wind industry’s access to financing, allow developers to begin planning installations for 2013, and ensure that the best and most cost-effective projects are built. Wind power is a clean, homegrown energy source that improves public health and poses little threat to the environment while creating jobs and boosting local economies. Urge Congress to extend the PTC. The continued growth of the industry can support 54,000 American wind jobs through 2016. Take Action Today!     WWW.UCSUSA.ORG Thank you for your continued work to promote the transition to a clean energy economy. Sincerely, Megan Rising National Field Organizer UCS Climate & Energy Program

Rick Santorum … campaign 2012 … 12 of his most outrageous moments

Rick Santorum’s Most Outrageous Campaign Moments

By ThinkProgress War Room

Rising GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum is presenting himself to national audiences as a common sense conservative senator from a Democratic state with both economic and national security acumen. A late surge in Iowa led the former Pennsylvania senator to a near-win in that state’s caucuses and gave his campaign momentum ahead of next Tuesday’s New Hampshire GOP primary.

But on the road to his second-place finish, Santorum laid out some extreme positions on health, economic, and social policies. His conservative stances may have won him endorsements from anti-gay Iowa leader Bob Vander Plaats and other groups, but here are 12 outrageous claims that Santorum has made on the campaign trail that you should know about:

1) ANNUL ALL SAME-SEX MARRIAGES: Arguing that gay relationships “destabilize” society, Santorum wouldn’t offer any legal protections to gay relationships and has pledged to annul all same-sex marriages if elected president. During his 99-country tour of Iowa, Santorum frequently compared same-sex relationships to inanimate objects like trees, basketballs, beer, and paper towels and even tried to blame the economic crisis on gay people. As Santorum explained back in August, religious people have a constitutional right to discriminate against gays: “We have a right the Constitution of religious liberty but now the courts have created a super-right that’s above a right that’s actually in the Constitution, and that’s of sexual liberty. And I think that’s a wrong, that’s a destructive element.”

2) ‘I’M FOR INCOME INEQUALITY’: “They talk about income inequality. I’m for income inequality,” Santorum said during an event in Pella, Iowa in December. “I think some people should make more than other people, because some people work harder and have better ideas and take more risk, and they should be rewarded for it. I have no problem with income inequality.”

3) CONTRACEPTION IS ‘A LICENSE TO DO THINGS’: Santorum has pledged to repeal all federal funding for contraception and allow the states to outlaw birth control, insisting that “it’s a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be.”

4) GAY SOLDIERS ‘CAUSE PROBLEMS FOR PEOPLE LIVING IN CLOSE QUARTERS’: During an appearance on Fox News Sunday in October, Santorum defended his support for Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell by arguing that gay soldiers would disrupt the military because “they’re in close quarters, they live with people, they obviously shower with people.” He also suggested that “there are people who were gay and lived the gay lifestyle and aren’t anymore.”

5) OBAMA SHOULD OPPOSE ABORTION BECAUSE HE’S BLACK: During an appearance on Christian television in January, Santorum said he was surprised that President Obama didn’t know when life began — given his skin color. “I find it almost remarkable for a black man to say ‘now we are going to decide who are people and who are not people,” he explained.

6) WE DON’T NEED FOOD STAMPS BECAUSE OBESITY RATES ARE SO HIGH: Speaking in Le Mars, Iowa in December, Santorum promised to significantly reduce federal funding for food stamps, arguing that the nation’s increasing obesity rates render the program unnecessary.

7) ABORTION EXCEPTIONS TO PROTECT WOMEN’S HEALTH ARE ‘PHONY’: While discussing his track record as a champion of the partial birth abortion ban in June, Santorum dismissed exceptions other senators wanted to carve out to protect the life and health of mothers, calling such exceptions “phony.” “They wanted a health exception, which of course is a phony exception which would make the ban ineffective,” he said.

8) HEALTH REFORM WILL KILL MY CHILD: Santorum, who claims that Obamacare motivated him to run for president, told reporters in April that his daughter Bella — who was born with a genetic abnormality — wouldn’t survive in a country with “socialized medicine.” “Children like Bella are not given the treatment that other children are given.”

9) UNINSURED AMERICANS SHOULD SPEND LESS ON CELL-PHONE BILLS: During a meeting with the editorial board of the Des Moines Register in August, Santorum said that people who can’t afford health care should stop whining about the high costs of medical treatments and medications and spend less on non essentials. Answering a question about the uninsured, Santorum explained that health care, like a car, is a luxury resource that is rationed by society and recalled the story of a woman who said she was spending $200 a month on life-saving prescriptions. Santorum told her to stop complaining and instead lower her cable and cell phone bills.

10) INSURERS SHOULD DISCRIMINATE AGAINST PEOPLE WITH PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS: Santorum sounded like a representative from the health insurance industry when he addressed a small group of high school students in Merrimack, New Hampshire in December. The former Pennsylvania senator not only defended insurers for denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, he also argued that individuals who are sick should pay higher premiums because they cost more money to insure. And just this morning, he mocked President Obama for extending health care to “everyone.”

11) HIS FAVORITE JUSTICE THINKS CHILD LABOR LAWS ARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL: At a recent GOP debate, Santorum identified Justice Clarence Thomas as his favorite current member of the Supreme Court, even though Thomas believes that pretty much everything violates the Constitution. Thomas has repeatedly advocated a twisted reading of the Constitution that would invalidate a long list of essential laws, including the federal ban on workplace discrimination, similar laws protecting older Americans and Americans with disabilities, the national minimum wage, national child labor laws, and the federal ban on whites-only lunch counters.

12) MUSLIMS SHOULD BE PROFILED: During the CNN national security debate in November, Santorum endorsed the idea of profiling Muslims to increase airport security. “Obviously, Muslims would be someone you’d look at,” he told the debate’s moderator Wolf Blitzer. But his proposed profiling for the sake of national security follows a pattern of his holding anti-Muslim beliefs.

Big news in our fight against hunger … MercyCorps

 

 

 

		There’s a hero in all of us. Give now.

 

 

At Mercy Corps, we believe there’s a hero in all of us.

That’s why we’ve joined forces with the Justice League and DC Entertainment to bring lifesaving aid and long-term solutions to hungry families in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya.

Your gift today to the Horn of Africa Hunger Crisis Fund will be matched dollar for dollar as part of DC Entertainment’s commitment to match 100 percent of the first $1 million in donations to the “We Can Be Heroes” campaign.

We’re partnering with the team behind Batman, Superman and the rest of the Justice League to raise awareness and money for a crisis that’s fallen out of the spotlight.

Our first priority is to support our mobile medical clinics in Ethiopia, which offer lifesaving aid to mothers and children under 5. These clinics visit the most remote, drought-stricken communities and provide malnourished infants with immunizations, antibiotics, vitamins, medicine and therapeutic food to help them gain weight.

Your generous gift today — doubled by DC Entertainment — will support the lifesaving work of these mobile medical clinics in Ethiopia.

Life remains grim throughout the Horn of Africa. Every night, 13 million people in the region go hungry. Last year’s worst drought in generations dried up drinking water sources, decimated crops and livestock and left families destitute and unable to make enough to even feed themselves.

Scattered rains brought some relief but also flooding and disease. Conflict and lasting effects of drought has left millions of families struggling to escape hunger’s grip.

One small act can make you a hero. Please join our fight against hunger in the Horn of Africa today.