Daily Archives: 08/24/2012
Welcome to West Wing Week
This week, The White House held an historic, first-ever Kids’ State Dinner; hosted Americorps, School Improvement Grantees, and Presidential Innovation Fellows. The President held a news conference and spoke with regional reporters about the need for Congress to agree on a balanced deficit reduction plan; and the First Lady made a major veterans hiring announcement in Jacksonville, Florida. That’s August 17th to 24th or, “The Historic, First-Ever Kids’ State Dinner Edition!”More
the Progress Report
Big Oil’s Best Friend
The Five Most Pro-Polluter Planks in Romney’s Energy Plan
Earlier today, Mitt Romney rolled out a few additional details about his oil above all energy plan. Here’s what you need to know about Romney’s of, by, and for Big Oil energy plan.
1. The Romney-Ryan plan gives the big five oil companies a $2.3 billion tax cut above and beyond existing tax loopholes
Both Romney’s plan and the House-passed Ryan budget would retain $2.4 billion in annual tax breaks for the big five oil companies – BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and Shell – that made a record $137 billion in profits last year, and over $60 billion so far in 2012. Perhaps more outrageous is that the Romney-Ryan proposed cut in the corporate tax rate would provide a $2.3 billion tax cut for the big five oil companies. With the existing tax breaks, the big five companies would skim over $4 billion annually from the U.S. Treasury.
2. Romney plan gives Americans’ lands and waters to dirty energy interests
Romney also proposes the extreme idea of giving states control over energy development on America’s public lands. This is a misguided proposal that would end the tradition of managing lands that belong to the entire country for the wide array of resource values to “meet the present and future needs of the American people.” Instead, on a state by state basis these unparalleled national assets – including national parks – could be turned over to energy companies, making energy development the primary use of the land, at the expense of grazing, hunting, fishing, and all other forms of recreation. A similar proposal was too radical even for arch conservative Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. She vetoed a bill turning all federal lands over to her state.
3. Romney and Ryan would cede clean energy innovation, exports to China, Germany, other nations. They outsource energy jobs to our greatest competitors.
The worldwide market for clean energy technologies will be $2 trillion by 2020. Yet Romney and Ryan would cede this market to other nations by opposing incentives to help emerging technologies grow to scale. Romney and Ryan oppose the extension of the Production Tax Credit to encourage wind energy. The PTC helped the U.S. double its wind electricity generation over the past four years, and ending it could cost at least 37,000 jobs this year.
An American Wind Energy Association analysis predicts that New Mexico and Texas could lose up to 5,000 and 20,000 jobs, respectively, if the PTC expires.
4. Romney plan won’t reduce oil and gasoline prices
Romney falsely claims that his energy plan will “lower energy prices.” Oil prices are set on the global market, regardless of domestic production. Even oil independent nations such as Canada experienced high gasoline prices this year. The Wall Street Journalreiterated that “Producing a lot of oil doesn’t lower the price of gasoline in your country.” To determine whether domestic oil production lowers gasoline prices, the Associated Press analyzed 30 years of production and price data. AP determined that there is:
“No statistical correlation between how much oil comes out of U.S. wells and the price at the pump.”
5. Romney and Ryan support continuing mercury contamination from power plants
The Obama administration issued overdue reduction standards for mercury and cancer causing pollution from power plants. The standard saves thousands of lives of children, seniors and other vulnerable people. Yet Romney promises to undo it on his very first day in office by issuing an executive order that
“Directs all agencies to immediately initiate the elimination of Obama-era regulations that unduly burden the economy or job creation.”
The Mercury and Air Toxics Standard will produce “$3 to $9 in health benefits” for every dollar in pollution reduction costs, according to EPA.
This corporate polluter agenda should come as no surprise, as the Washington Postnoted:
“Romney’s plan caters heavily to oil and coal interests, and oil executives are some of his biggest benefactors.”
Romney’s energy team is comprised of oil and coal industry insiders, from oil billionaire Harold Hamm, the chair of Romney’s energy policy team – and $1 million donor to the conservative Restore Our Future Super PAC — to coal lobbyist Jim Talent, as well as retreads from the George W. Bush administration. Politico described it as “Bush energy advisors going to Romney.”
The Romney-Ryan plan once again claims mysterious “trillions” of dollars in government revenue; however, a recent Congressional Budget Office analysis found that their proposals would bring in only limited federal revenues over the next decade. Instead, the Romney-Ryan energy plan includes billions of dollars of tax breaks to corporate polluter allies, access to lands and waters owned by all Americans, and fewer restrictions on mercury, toxic, and carbon pollution.
Completely absent from Romney’s plan? Any mention whatsoever of either global warming or climate change.
BOTTOM LINE: Romney’s plan means more handouts to polluters at the expense of the rest of us and our clean air, water, and public lands.
Evening Brief: Important Stories That You May Have Missed
An Iowa story: how Romney’s opposition to wind energy tax credit could become a political liability.
GOP Rep. Tipton (CO) says we can’t acknowledge man-made global warming because it would “divide the country.”
Paul Ryan held an event today solely to bash automatic defense spending cuts, which Ryan himself voted for just last year.
Fox News honored the troops today by revealing the name of the Navy Seal who lead the bin Laden raid.
Gawker published 950 pages of documents about Romney’s secretive investments in the Cayman Islands.
New Hampshire sheriff candidate says he’d use deadly force to stop abortions.
Mitt Romney told the anti-abortion doctor behind Akin’s “legitimate rape” claim that “we agree on almost everything.”
Even a Republican oil billionaire says Romney’s energy plan is too focused on oil.
The Romney plan would raises taxes on the middle class in order to pay for a massive new corporate tax cut.
Other recent Progress Reports
Aug 22, 2012: The Exception or the Rule?
Evening Brief: Important Stories That You May Have Missed Tampa mayor ready to cancel GOP convention if hurricane hits. GOP Senate hopeful who claims to be pro-choice vetoed bill requiring hospitals to provide emergency contraception to rape victims. Paul Ryan refuses to say that rape victims should be able to get an abortion. Rep. Steve [...]
Aug 21, 2012: No Abortion. No Exceptions.
GOP Doubles Down on Extreme Social Agenda Even as Republicans attempt to distance themselves from the comments about “legitimate rape” made by Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO), they once again reaffirmed that they agree with Akin and other extremists when it comes to women’s health issues. Just today, the committee drafting the Republican Party’s official policy [...]
Aug 20, 2012: Legitimate Rapes?
A Shockingly Anti-Woman Agenda The news today has been dominated by discussion of the shocking and offensive comments made over the weekend by Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO). Akin, who is also currently the Republican candidate for the Senate in the Show Me State, explained that victims of “legitimate rapes” are not likely to become pregnant and [...]
Aug 17, 2012: A 1% Tax Rate?
No Answers, Only More Questions About Romney’s Taxes We know that under one version of his running mate Paul Ryan’s plan, Mitt Romney’s income tax rate on more than $20 MILLION in income would’ve come to less than 1 percent. What we don’t know for sure is how much Romney paid in any year except [...]
NARAL : a message from Nancy Keenan
July 2012
| ACT NOW |
Tell the Romney-Ryan Ticket What You ThinkWe’ve known for months who we’ll be supporting in November: President Obama.But this week has shown us exactly what we’re up against: anti-choice extremists who think that “legitimate” rape can’t cause pregnancy; a party that pretended to be horrified by such statements, then turned right around and proposed a platform that denies a woman her right to choice, privacy, and freedom; a presidential ticket that has supported “personhood” measures that would ban abortion in almost all cases.Tell Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan: That’s not my platform. That’s not what I believe in. A platform based on disrespecting women has no place in our society.Tell the Romney-Ryan ticket to take the War on Women out of the GOP platform. |
| HALL OF FAME AND HALL OF SHAME |
| Hall of Fame: President ObamaThis isn’t the first time we’ve awarded President Obama with the Hall of Fame listing. This month, we recognize the president because on August 1, the first phase of his no-cost contraceptive-coverage policy went into effect! It’s one of the greatest advancements in women’s health in decades. And it’s why we’re seeing women share photos online of their pharmacy receipts totaling zero dollars.
See what no-cost birth control means for women >>Hall of Shame: Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) Rep. Akin’s outrageous belief about women who have been raped and are facing potential pregnancy because of that traumatic experience are inexcusable. Rep. Akin and his despicable views, which are unfortunately shared by other candidates seeking office this year, are nothing short of dangerous to women’s health. |
| CHOICE IN THE NEWS |
| The unacceptable views voiced by Rep. Todd Akin echo the positions of the Romney-Ryan ticketRep. Steve King (R-IA) decided to echo Rep. Akin’s outrageous statement on “legitimate rape” Nancy Keenan has been tapped to speak at the Democratic National Convention |
Congressional Budget Office: Trademark Act , Asthma Act , Agriculture Act & more
400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild -
 Help us save the last remaining Sumatran tigers and stop KFC from destroying rainforests by making a donation of $5 today. |
Last week, over 40,000 online activists sent a message to KFC CEO David Novak asking him to end his company’s relationship with rainforest destruction.
With only 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild, time is running out to save their forest homes from destruction for fast food packaging.
KFC is definitely feeling the heat. KFC restaurants in Indonesia have already cut business ties with notorious rainforest destroyer, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP). But there’s been nothing but a shameful silence from the company’s headquarters in Kentucky. That has to change.
It’s only going to happen if we keep up the pressure. And that’s exactly what we intend to do with your support.
Please make a donation of $5 so that we can continue to put pressure on KFC and save the Sumatran tiger from extinction.
With so few tigers left in the wild, and their habitat disappearing fast, it is important that we act now to protect them.
Greenpeace is funded by people, not corporations, and the success of this campaign depends on activists like you uniting to stand up to corporate greed.
With your support, we’ll fight back with our expert staff on the ground, international market pressure from customers, and worldwide media exposure — but we need to do it now. The Indonesian rainforest, where the only wild Sumatran tigers left on the planet live, is being destroyed every day at an alarming rate. Please donate $5 today to help save the Sumatran tigers by getting KFC to end its relationship with rainforest destruction.
For the forests,
Rolf Skar Greenpeace Forest Campaign Director
Two days to save Sioux sacred land
This Saturday land considered sacred by the Native Sioux people could be auctioned off to the highest bidder – and turned in to a golf course or tourist trap.US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar can step in to save this sacred land in the Black Hills, but he needs to hear from us first. Sign now!
This weekend an area considered sacred by the Native Sioux people could be auctioned off to the highest bidder, to potentially be bulldozed into a road or a golf course. The Sioux have launched a last-ditch campaign to save their land – if we join them now we can stop the sell off.
For generations the Sioux have used this undeveloped but privately owned stretch of prairie in the Black Hills of South Dakota for important annual ceremonies, but this Saturday’s auction could pave the way for its destruction. That’s why Avaaz member Sara Jumping Eagle, of the Oglala Lakota Sioux tribe, started a petition asking the government to protect the land by designating it a historical landmark. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has the power to do that, but to push him to use it, we need to show that the Sioux have support from every corner of the country.
There’s no time to lose, the auction is this Saturday. Stand with Sara and the Sioux tribes of the Dakotas to save this land from the auction block. Sign now and share with everyone:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Help_Lakota_Sioux_Save_Buy_Pe_Sla_Sacred_Black_Hills_Land/?biEWLbb&v=17301
Pe’ Sla (“The heart of all that is”) is an area in the Black Hills of South Dakota, not far from Mount Rushmore, that’s at the center of the Lakota Sioux’s creation story, a place Sioux families visit every Spring for important rituals of rebirth and renewal. More than a hundred years ago, the US Government stole the Black Hills from the Sioux after gold was found there, and the treaty granting them “permanent” land rights was ripped to shreds. In 1980, the Supreme Court ruled on behalf of the Sioux Nation, ceding that their land had been taken unlawfully, but the Sioux have refused to accept compensation, saying the land has never been for sale.
Now with Pe ‘Sla at risk of being lost forever, an unprecedented coalition of Sioux tribes have come together launching an online fundraiser to buy back the land, but with only days to go until the auction, they are nowhere near raising the millions needed. That’s why taking the land out from under the auctioneer’s gavel is the only real way to save it, and why Avaaz member Sara Jumping Eagle is asking for support from around the country to help stop the sale.
Sara tells us, “Pe ‘Sla is a symbol of a resurgence and belief in who we are as Lakota Oyate (the people). If somebody were to come and build a road or desecrate it in any way, it would be like the Wounded Knee Massacre happening all over again. Can you imagine the Vatican, or Mecca or Bethlehem being bulldozed for an amusement park?”
Right now if enough of us support the Sioux and their fight to protect this land central to their tradition and their religion, we can help correct a longstanding historic injustice, and make the United States a little more united around the rights of Native people. We only have four days to stop the sale – sign the urgent petition and please share with your friends and family:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Help_Lakota_Sioux_Save_Buy_Pe_Sla_Sacred_Black_Hills_Land/?biEWLbb&v=17301
From the Massai people of Tanzania fighting displacement, to indigenous tribes of the Amazon battling a destructive mega dam, the Avaaz community has long stood side by side with native people defending their rights. Here in the US let’s not let history repeat itself — and join hands with the Sioux to protect what’s sacred.
With hope, determination, and spirit
Joseph, Ian, Emily, Emma, Ricken and the whole Avaaz team
More Information
Sioux tribes worry sale of sacred site in South Dakota’s Black Hills could lead to development (Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/sioux-tribes-worry-sale-of-sacred-site-in-south-dakotas-black-hills-could-lead-to-development/2012/08/18/ede0c628-e961-11e1-9739-eef99c5fb285_story.html
The Sioux campaign to buy back the Black Hills that belong to them (The Guardian) http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/16/sioux-campaign-buy-back-black-hills
UN human rights expert calls on US to consult with indigenous people over land sale (UN News Centre) http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=42723&Cr=United+States&Cr1
Exclusive: Sioux Spiritual Leader Speaks Out on Land Sale at Sacred Site (Truth Out) http://truth-out.org/news/item/11035-exclusive-truthout-interview-sioux-spiritual-leader-speaks-out-on-land-sale-at-sacred-site
Black Hills Auction: The Auction of the Sacred (Winona LaDuke) http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/ict_sbc/black-hills-auction-the-auction-of-the-sacred
Pe’ Sla: Help Save Lakota Sioux Sacred Land! (Sioux fundraiser to save the land) http://www.indiegogo.com/PeSla-LakotaHeartland
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UCS …..Save the date: First Center for Science and Democracy forum
Save the Date! Join the UCS Center for Science and Democracy for a forum series focused on barriers to citizen access to governmental scientific information. Webinar: September 18, 2:00 p.m. EDT Call: September 24, 7:00 p.m. EDT Symposium:September 25, 8:30 a.m.EDT
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Lewis M. Branscomb Science and Democracy Forum Improving Citizen Access to Governmental Scientific Information
This September, the Union of Concerned Scientists Center for Science and Democracy will hold a forum series focused on barriers to citizen access to governmental scientific information—such as data about air quality around Ground Zero, the location of coal ash dumps, or the prevalence of toxic chemicals in the FEMA trailers provided to Hurricane Katrina victims.
The forum series will consist of the following events:
- Attend a webinar on Tuesday, September 18, 2:00 p.m. EDT. To kick off the series, UCS will host a webinar to highlight the consequences of inadequate information and recent attempts to restrict access.
- Participate in a conference call on Monday, September 24, 7:00 p.m. EDT. We will host a call to introduce Dr. Andrew Rosenberg, the new director of the Center for Science and Democracy, and provide insight as to how the new center plans to address the challenge of access to government data.
- Join us in Washington, DC, or via webcast for a symposium on Tuesday, September 25, 8:30 a.m. EDT. The centerpiece of the forum series, the symposium will be held at the Newseum in Washington, DC, and is co-sponsored by the First Amendment Center. You’ll hear from top scientific experts and government officials about problems with access to information and ways the government is trying to solve those problems.
We’ll provide more details in the coming weeks, but you can register today for any or all of these events.
We look forward to you joining us and contributing to the conversation!
For more information, please contact Pallavi Phartiyal at pphartiyal@ucsusa.org.
