MARCO RUBIO SAYS IT SHOULD BE LEGAL TO FIRE SOMEONE FOR BEING GAY
SPURS RESPOND TO RACISM AGAINST 11-YEAR-OLD SINGER					FIRED FOR BEING A VICTIM OF DOMESTIC ABUSE

Really, Facebook?!

By  ThinkProgress War Room

Grassroots Campaign Pressures Facebook Over Rape, Assault Imagery

More and more companies are dropping Facebook advertising over the social network’s refusal, heretofore, to address offensive imagery about rape and domestic violence posted by its users. More than a dozen companies have now dropped ads because of Facebook’s apparently permissive attitude toward images like this.

When asked about their policy, a Facebook spokesperson told ThinkProgress that content featuring battered women, rape, and violence falls under “poor taste” or “crude attempts at humor” and therefore does not violate its policies.

Meanwhile, just this weekend Facebook rejected an ad aimed at debunking the false claim that abortion leads to breast cancer because the ad featured the image of a breast. Facebook claimed the educational ad violated a ban on “adult products.”

The ad boycott has been gaining steam as a result of a grassroots campaign launched last week by Women, Action & the Media, the Everyday Sexism Project and other activists. According to Women, Action & the Media, “participants sent over 60,000 tweets and 5000 emails, and our coalition has grown to over 100 women’s movement and social justice organizations.”

This is not the first time in recent weeks that Facebook has come under pressure from progressives. After Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg founded and bankrolled a political group backing immigration reform that instead spent millions of dollars on ads touting dirty energy production and the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, progressive groups launched their own ad boycott and even held a protest outside Facebook’s headquarters. Facebook further enraged activists when it then banned ads going after Zuckerberg on the issue. The Zuckerberg group, FWD.us, also came under fire from others in Silicon Valley and two of its founding members — and top funders — dropped out of the group in protest.

BOTTOM LINE: Imagery celebrating rape and domestic violence is not merely in “poor taste” or just a “crude attempt at humor.”  It’s time for Facebook to get serious about addressing the offensive and violent imagery posted by some of its users and to learn the difference between “adult content” and educational materials.

Late Breaking Update: Just as we were about to click send, Women, Action & the Media announced an agreement with Facebook:

Facebook addressed our concerns and committed to evaluating and updating its policies, guidelines and practices relating to hate speech, improving training for its content moderators and increasing accountability for creators of misogynist content.

Facebook has also invited Women, Action & the Media, The Everyday Sexism Project and members of our coalition to contribute to these efforts and be part of an ongoing conversation. As part of these efforts, we will work closely with Facebook on the issue of how Community Standards around hate speech are evaluated and to ensure best practices represent the interests of our coalition.

Here’s more from Facebook:

In recent days, it has become clear that our systems to identify and remove hate speech have failed to work as effectively as we would like, particularly around issues of gender-based hate. In some cases, content is not being removed as quickly as we want. In other cases, content that should be removed has not been or has been evaluated using outdated criteria. We have been working over the past several months to improve our systems to respond to reports of violations, but the guidelines used by these systems have failed to capture all the content that violates our standards. We need to do better – and we will.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You Might’ve Missed 

Drudge’s latest bogus scoop.

The Washington Post and sexist coverage of women leaders.

Gay soccer player became the first out male athlete to play in a major team sports league after coming out.

Former GOP senator: Republicans need to “rethink their approach as a political party.”

A part of Obamacare that’s working even though it hasn’t even gone into effect yet.

George Zimmerman’s lawyer went on national TV with inadmissible evidence in order to smear Trayvon Martin.

Here’s what it’ll take to turn Texas blue.

Big news on the housing market — and it’s good!

Justice Scalia wants innocent people to just sit in prison.

Top 3: Facebook’s Policy On Pro-Rape Content

FACEBOOK WON’T FILTER MESSAGES LIKE THESE. HERE’S WHAT WOMEN ARE DOING ABOUT IT.

MEET THE EXTREMIST WHO COULD BE VIRGINIA’S NEXT LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

CONGRESSMAN TELLS WOMAN THAT SHE SHOULD HAVE GIVEN BIRTH TO HER BRAIN-DEAD FETUS

CARE2: Voting Rights, Tar Sands and Domestic Violence

Attacks on Voting Rights: A Midterm State Legislative Report

                                    The need for election reform is self-evident. We all remember the long lines, confusion over what identification was needed to vote, registered voters not… read more

Tar Sands Oil May Increase Risk of Pipeline Spills

                                    84,000 gallons of crude oil are glugging their way across an Arkansas community right now, putting the spotlight on the transport of tar sands oil across… read more

Sequester About to Make Domestic Violence Crisis Worse                                     When Republicans stood in unison against renewing the Violence Against Women Act last year and early into this year, their main justification was that the… read more

This is a repost from 4/10/2013

Immigration Action : Julie Rodriguez, The White House

Your Immigration Action Newsletter Friends, It has been a busy few weeks here at the White House. Last Friday, the President met with leaders from the faith community to discuss the need to fix the broken immigration system, focusing on the growing consensus building across American for common sense immigration reform. Last Thursday, President Obama signed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) into law. The newly reauthorized VAWA strengthens and expands protections for victims of violence, including battered immigrant women who are victims of domestic abuse. As President Obama noted during the signing ceremony last week: “Imagine the dilemma for so many — if your immigration status is tied to a husband who beats you or abuses you, if you’re an undocumented immigrant, you may feel there’s too much to lose by coming forward.  The Violence Against Women Act already had protections so that victims could call the police without fear of deportation, and those protections saved lives.  And because we fought hard to keep them in place, they remain a lifeline for so many women.  That’s part of what today is all about.” In addition to the Vice President, Congressional leaders, and domestic violence advocates and survivors, the President was joined by Rosie Hidalgo, Director for Public Policy of Casa Esperanza, who has worked to end domestic violence for the past eighteen years. Watch the President’s full remarks: Meanwhile, immigration reform seems to be moving full steam ahead. The President met with members of his Cabinet on immigration issues in early February, and Congress has held several hearings to focus on key aspects of immigration reform. Last Wednesday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano delivered remarks at the National Association of Evangelicals’ Washington Briefing, underscoring the Administration’s efforts in securing the nation’s borders. President Barack Obama listens to Secretary of State John Kerry during a meeting on immigration with Cabinet members and advisors in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Feb. 7, 2013. As always, please share with your networks and we look forward to working with you as we continue to push for common sense immigration reform! Julie Chávez Rodriguez Associate Director White House | Office of Public Engagement Agency Updates Justice Department Releases Spanish Language Video about Discrimination in Employment Eligibility Verification February 20, 2013 The Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department launched its first Spanish-language educational video, which was developed by the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices, aims to assist employers in avoiding charges of discrimination in the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 Process and to inform employees of their legal rights. Policy Memo: CBP Enforcement Actions At or Near Certain Community Locations February 21, 2013 In a policy memo issued in late January and released in February for public viewing, CBP outlined its intent to carefully plan and mitigate the impact of its presence at and near schools, places of worship, and certain other sensitive community locations. E-Verify Receives High Ratings in Customer Survey February 22, 2013 More than 1,300 randomly selected employers who use E-Verify were asked to evaluate the program on key aspects including registration, online tutorials, ease of use, technical assistance, and customer service. They rated the program as exceptionally high in overall customer satisfaction, averaging an 86 out of 100 on the American Customer Satisfaction Index scale. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano’s Third Annual Address on the State of Homeland Security: “The Evolution and Future of Homeland Security” February 26, 2013 On the 10th Anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Napolitano spoke at the Brookings Institution about the Department of Homeland Security’s journey, and the future of the agency, highlighting her plans for what she refers to as “DHS 3.0.” DOJ Releases New Fact Sheet on EOIR’s Disciplinary Program and Professional Conduct Rules for Immigration Attorneys and Representatives February 27, 2013 The Department of Justice has released an updated fact sheet on the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s disciplinary program and professional conduct rules for immigration attorneys and representatives. Provisional Waivers Introduced on March 4th, 2013 March 4, 2013 Beginning March 4th, certain immigrant visa applicants who are spouses, children, and parents of US citizens (immediate relatives), and have been unlawfully present in the United States, can start applying for provisional unlawful presence waivers through a new process that is expected to shorten the time US citizens are separated from immediate relatives while those relatives are obtaining immigrant visas to become lawful permanent residents. Blog Highlights Businesses Need Common Sense Immigration Reform to Keep Growing, Creating American Jobs On March 6th, Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank met with business executives whoare part of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. They discussed key issues facing them as they continue to grow, create jobs, and drive both innovation and competitiveness here in the U.S., including the need to attract and retain the best and brightest from around the world, which is a key principle of the President’s framework for commonsense immigration reform. A Special Naturalization Ceremony in Honor of the First President of the United States On February 22nd, USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas had the privilege of administering the Oath of Allegiance to fifty new US citizens on the 281st birthday of our first president, George Washington, at Washington’s home estate of Mount Vernon. Director Mayorkas was joined by Senior Policy Director for Immigration at the White House Domestic Policy Council, Felicia Escobar, who welcomed the new citizens and led them in the Pledge of Allegiance. E-Verify Listens—A Look Inside the Ongoing Discussion E-Verify Listens, an online community where users can submit and discuss ideas as well as vote for their favorite ideas to help frame the evolution of the program, was launched in July of 2012 and has recently been updated to accommodate user needs. Get Involved Know a hero? The Citizens Medal is one of our nation’s highest civilian honors. For the past two years, President Obama has relied on you to identify heroes in your community – extraordinary Americans whose exemplary deeds provide inspiration for others to serve. We’re looking for Americans who have made a difference in their communities but who may not have received national attention. Does that sound like someone you know? Click here to nominate the hero in your community today. USCIS Public Engagement Division Introduces New Registration Process for National Stakeholder Engagements Going forward, each invitation will include a unique link to a website where registrants will enter their email address and preferences for that engagement. Public Engagement will also now maintain two subscription lists: updates from the USCIS Public Engagement Division and updates from the USCIS Intergovernmental Affairs Branch. You can now manage your subscriptions here. USCIS Public Engagement Division: Intergovernmental Affairs Quarterly Stakeholder Engagement USCIS invites interested individuals to participate in a stakeholder teleconference. The conference will feature experts from the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program, who will provide stakeholders with program updates and information on the new SAVE Case Check service. Date:  Wednesday, March 20th, 2013 Time:  1 pm to 3 pm (Eastern). Register Today:  To register, please email the USCIS Intergovernmental Affairs Branch (IGA) no later than Monday, March 18, 2013, at USCIS-IGAOutreach@dhs.gov. Reference “IGA Quarterly” in the subject line of your email, and be sure to include your full name and organization in the email body.

Let’s Move! Faith and Community Challenge Winners

First Lady Michelle Obama honors organizations and individuals making healthy changes in their communities. March 7, 2013.

9 Popular Progressive Ideas

By ThinkProgress War Room

Progressive = Popular

The president signed the Violence Against Women Act today, which proves Washington can get things done if House Republicans drop their intransigent resistance long enough to allow important bills to come to a vote.

Here’s 9 other popular progressive ideas that should become the law of the land:

1. Raising the Minimum Wage: In his State of the Union speech, the president called for the minimum wage to be raised to $9.00 an hour. And just this week, two leading progressives, Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), introduced legislation to raise it to $10.00 per hour. A poll out yesterday found that 71 percent of Americans back raising the minimum wage to $9.00.
2. Universal Background Checks for Gun Purchases: The Senate Judiciary Committee is working on gun violence prevention legislation as we speak and is expected to advance a universal background check bill to the full Senate as soon as tomorrow. This is a no brainer. Not only would this be the most effective policy to keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them, it’s supported by nearly everyone. The most recent poll, out just today, finds that 88 percent support universal background checks — including 85 percent of gun-owning households. Other polls have shown support of over 90 percent.
3. Additional Revenues to Reduce the Deficit: A whopping 76 percent of Americans agree with the president that we need a balanced approach to reduce our deficit, one that includes both spending cuts and additional tax revenues. Just 19 percent back the Republican view that we should reduce the deficit through spending cuts alone.
4. Job-Creating Infrastructure Investments: A majority of Americans support making investments to repair and replace our deteriorating national infrastructure — investments that could create hundreds of thousands of jobs. In fact, investmenting in our roads, bridges, airports, and other infrastructure was the most popular job creation policy. Unfortunately, Congressional Republicans have repeatedly voted down such proposals in recent years, citing their unwillingness to finance them using tax hikes on the wealthy and corporate special interests like Big Oil.
5. Pathway to Earned Citizenship: A pathway to earned citizenship is an integral part of reforming our broken immigration system and bringing the 11 MILLION undocumented immigrants already here out of the shadows. Even 60 percent of Republicans support a pathway to earned citizenship, which receives the support of 70 percent of all Americans.
6. Expanding the Medicaid Program: Two-thirds of Americans favor the part of ObamaCare that calls for expanding the Medicaid program. in order to insure millions of lower-income Americans. The Supreme Court made the expansion voluntary and, thankfully, even many conservative Republican governors are coming around and now support expanding the program in their states.
7. Marriage Equality: Support for full marriage equality is now a mainstream, majority view. A study out today found that opposition to marriage equality is now concentrated “among a few narrow demographic groups.”
8. Universal Access to Birth Control: ObamaCare requires health insurers to offer birth control at no additional cost, a policy supported by 70 percent of Americans. This policy is also supported by a majority of Catholics despite continuing opposition by Catholic bishops.
9. Expanded Early Childhood Education: In his State of the Union speech, the president proposed universal pre-kindergarten for every four year-old and a significant expansion of other early childhood education programs. Unsurprisingly, two-thirds of Americans support making these kind of vital investments in our children — investments which come with significant returns.

BOTTOM LINE: Support for progressive ideas and values isn’t limited to Democrats or the left side of the political spectrum. Most progressive policies enjoy broad, bipartisan support and are simply mainstream views held by a majority of Americans. By contrast, conservatives are clinging to an ideology and views that are seen as extreme and out of touch by a majority of Americans.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You Might’ve Missed

Paul Ryan balances the latest GOP budget by embracing Obama policies.

No, Rand Paul, the government is not going to drone Jane Fonda.

In the wake of the Newtown massacre, gun manufacturers are raking in huge profits.

A guide to the conservative movement in one chart.

Rand Paul embraces one of the worst Supreme Court decisions of the 20th century.

Arkansas adopts most restrictive (unconstitutional) abortion ban in the country.

GOP senator insists that gun trafficking is not a problem.

Speaker Boehner thinks the cancellation of White House tours is the greatest tragedy of the sequester.

Tuition at public colleges and universities hit a record high just as education funding has plummeted.

Internatio​nal Women’s Day : 3-8-13

Tomorrow is International Women’s Day. It’s a day to celebrate the potential of women and girls. To do amazing things. To change the world. With activists this passionate, there was no way the threat of a massive snowstorm or even the weather shutting down the government could stop us. Right now, hundreds of CARE supporters like you are helping nurture this potential by meeting on Capitol Hill and demanding a change to the status quo – and an end to brutal violence against women and girls. As someone who shares my belief in the power of women, as well as my horror at the epidemic of senseless, brutal attacks on little girls, mothers, and grandmothers – I hope you’ll do one more thing for women this week: Share this image on Facebook in honor of International Women’s Day, and all of the women and girls who are needless victims of violence and abuse. Or simply forward this email. Whether it’s demanding change from our leaders, working with women AND men to shift attitudes, or preventing gender-based violence or treating its survivors – CARE is determined to create a better world  – one where girls and women don’t have to live in fear and shame. We must make it impossible for our friends, family, and neighbors to ignore these women or their suffering. We must stand up for women all around the world who are threatened and harmed behind closed doors  or even out in the open. We must make visible what has become an invisible, but heartbreaking truth. Thank you for everything you do to support CARE, Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH President and CEO, CARE

H.J. Res. 118 & S.388

from: the Congressional Budget Office

H.J. Res. 118, a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Office of Family Assistance of the Administration for Children and Families of the Department of Health

On September 17, 2012, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for House Joint Resolution 118. In response to Congressional questions we are providing the following additional explanation of the basis of that cost estimate.

S. 388, the American Family Economic Protection Act of 2013

As introduced in the Senate on February 26, 2013

S. 388 would eliminate the automatic spending reductions scheduled to occur under current law for 2013 and would partially eliminate the reductions scheduled for 2014. The bill also would eliminate direct payments to certain agricultural producers, provide funding for agricultural disaster assistance, and exempt from sequestration all mandatory funding provided for the Department of Agriculture.

Weekly Address: Congress Must Act Now to Stop the Sequester.

President Obama urges Congress to stop the sequester — the harmful automatic cuts that threaten thousands of jobs and affect our national security from taking effect on March 1.