Obama Cares: On the Friday before Mother’s Day, President Obama explained how the Affordable Care Act is helping women. For example, the law prevents insurance companies from charging women more than men and requires insurance companies to cover preventive services like mammograms free of charge.

Thanks to the women in this room and people all across the country, we worked really hard — and it’s now been more than three years since Congress passed the Affordable Care Act and I signed it into law. It’s been nearly a year since the Supreme Court upheld the law under the Constitution. And, by the way, six months ago, the American people went to the polls and decided to keep going in this direction. So the law is here to stay.

Review of IRS: On Wednesday, the President delivered remarks on the Treasury Department’s review of the Internal Revenue Service and said the “misconduct that it uncovered is inexcusable.” The President said he will hold the responsible parties accountable, put in place new safeguards to make sure this does not happen again, and work with Congress as it performs its oversight role.

I’ll do everything in my power to make sure nothing like this happens again by holding the responsible parties accountable, by putting in place new checks and new safeguards, and going forward, by making sure that the law is applied as it should be — in a fair and impartial way.

Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey: On Thursday, President Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan held a press conference at the Rose Garden. The leaders discussed U.S. – Turkey relations such as trade and investment, mutual security, and the conflict in Syria.

Prime Minister Cameron of Great Britain: On Tuesday, the President welcomed British Prime Minister David Cameron to the White House. The global partners spoke about the upcoming Group of Eight summit, sustaining the global economy, and the conflict in Syria.

As we’ve said before, the great alliance between the United States and the United Kingdom is rooted in shared interests and shared values, and it’s indispensable to global security and prosperity.

National Peace Officers Memorial Service: On Wednesday, the President headed to the U.S. Capitol for the National Peace Officers Memorial Service. The event paid respect to law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty the last year. The 143 fallen officers were recognized for their courage on the front lines and their dedication to our community.

They exemplified the very idea of citizenship — that with our God-given rights come responsibilities and obligations to ourselves and to others. They embodied that idea. That’s the way they died. That’s how we must remember them. And that’s how we must live.

#WeTheGeeks: On Thursday, the White House launched “We the Geeks,” a new series of Google+ Hangouts highlighting the future of science, technology, and innovation in America. The first “We the Geeks” Hangout covered Grand Challenges, which are “ambitious goals on a national or global scale that capture the imagination and demand advances in innovation and breakthroughs in science and technology.”

Friday hypocrisy


112th Congress Tea Party membership map.

112th Congress Tea Party membership map. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So, Today is a day to close your eyes breathe in through your nose slowly and deeply then release your breathe slowly exhale through your mouth … be still stay calm  repeat when needed

 just another rant …

It has been a big week for members of the tea party, getting a lot of airtime. I have to say that most of the interviews on the airwaves spewed pushed a conspiracy theory about not only who should get 501c(4) status, but also how the IRS’s association with the Affordable Care Act is now tainted. I guess this should not surprise anyone but the paper trail or digital one just seems too coincidental for me.  I want to know what if any association do these folks have to republican members of Congress if as the media states this “scandal” will bring back the tea party. Fact is, only 18% of the public identify themselves as members of the tea party, but seem to show their true colours very loudly and it’s confusing to some because they don’t seem like a legitimate organization to even get this much notice or camera time

 This is also a week, a month, no, years of Republicans coming out of the woodwork that apparently still believes or wants voters to believe the BS about the President and as the mid-terms of 2010 move into 2013-2014, these kooks who were voted into office now appear unqualified and need to be voted out.  The notion that any member of Congress received or backed the tea movement is offensive. It also makes you wonder given the information regarding how many did not meet the threshold requirements just how the Tea Party folks paid for the various rallies not to mention did TV stations help, but have not admitted to sponsoring these so-called rallies.  The Tea Party is not just angry they are misinformed about where the President was born, say, he is a socialist, he favors the poor and because he is Black, he seems to be giving them the advantage.

 My question … are all these people actually buying this or is something else going on.  I understand being upset about the IRS, policy issues and politics in general but the signs at those rallies were telling. The fact is some really are mad that 53% voted an African American into office for a 2nd term and this still upsets folks while others continue to incite fear, promote exclusion and have crossed the lines of sanity

 Yes, I will say it again …  most if not all are misinformed some are racists and then there is a small group who are violet.   There are quite a few solutions, but the best is getting out the vote , remember that the mid-term elections have always been a no big deal vote  and last…   gerrymandering has made them critically important since 2010.

Free Training – Spread the Word about Tax Credits : NWLC


National Women's Law Center
Register for both webinars today!
                Help make sure families get the tax credits they deserve.
Register Now

Rent, groceries, medical bills, car payments… and the list goes on. Life is expensive, but believe it or not, tax season can actually help! That’s because thousands of dollars are available as tax credits to many eligible families.
Unfortunately, millions of dollars of these federal and state tax credits go unclaimed each year. So if you work or volunteer in an organization that serves low- or moderate- income families, join us to find out just how you can help them learn about these opportunities.
Register Now: Attend two free online trainings to get the tools you need to spread the word about tax credits in your community.
Part I – Tax Credits: What Families Need to Know Tuesday, October 16 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern
This webinar will cover:

  • Basic information about valuable federal and state tax credits for families, including:
    • The federal EITC, which is worth up to $5,751 for low- and moderate-income families with children
    • The federal Child Tax Credit, which is worth up to $1,000 per child
    • The federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, which is worth up to $2,100 for families with child care expenses
    • Similar state credits
  • A few key tips for sharing information about tax credits with families

Part II – Tax Credits Outreach Made Easy: Tips & Tools for Advocates Tuesday, October 23 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern
This webinar will unveil NWLC’s brand-new, updated, easy-to-use Tax Credits Outreach Toolkitand will provide you with:

  • Free outreach materials
  • Information to help you connect with local coalitions
  • Ways to find free tax preparation services in your community
  • Some simple but successful techniques for spreading the word about tax credits

Register today! These webinars are free, but participants must register separately for each in advance. A recording of each webinar will be emailed to all registrants within a few days of its conclusion.
In addition to the webinars, you can also sign up to be one of our community partners. Community partners receive customized resources that make it easy to spread the word about tax credits to eligible families in your community, as well as technical assistance on issues relating to tax credits outreach activities.
We hope you can join us!
Sincerely,

Amy Matsui Amy Matsui Senior Counsel National Women’s Law Center   

P.S. If you’re interested in doing more tax credits outreach in your community, remember to sign up for our community partner program in addition to the webinars!

Media Matters for America : ALEC


PA Newspapers Miss Story On ALEC Defections Pennsylvania‘s five largest newspapers have generally failed to cover the mounting defections of lawmakers and corporations from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a right-wing advocacy group whose membership and model legislation have had significant influence on Pennsylvania government. Read More

Congressional Budge Office:HR2117, HR1892, Navy’s FY2012,President’s Budgetary Proposal FY2012


 An Analysis of the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2012 Shipbuilding Plan

Since 2006, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has performed an independent analysis of the Navy’s latest shipbuilding plan at the request of the Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces of the House Armed Services Committee. This CBO study, the latest in that series, summarizes the ship inventory goals and purchases described in the Navy’s 2012 plan and assesses their implications for the Navy’s funding needs and ship inventories through 2041.

  • Additional Information on the Program Integrity Initiative for the Internal Revenue Service in the President’s Budgetary Proposals for Fiscal Year 2012
  • The Congressional Budget Office, along with staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), has analyzed the budgetary impacts of the proposal in the President’s budget for fiscal year 2012 to increase Internal Revenue Service (IRS) appropriations by $13 billion over the next decade to fund initiatives to enhance tax compliance. The Administration estimated that the proposal would increase revenues by $56 billion over the 2012-2021 period. Using information from the President’s budget and additional information provided by the IRS, CBO and JCT estimate that the proposed increase in IRS appropriations would increase revenues above CBO’s baseline projection by about $42 billion over the 2012-2021 period. For Congressional scorekeeping purposes, those additional revenues would not be counted as an offset to such spending pursuant to Congressional scorekeeping guidelines. This document provides details about the proposal, the estimated effects on revenues, and the Congressional scorekeeping rules regarding the estimated increases in revenues.

Republicans continue to choose -Anti-Choice Legislation


Last night House Republicans voted in favor of an appalling piece of anti-choice legislation that could force victims or rape and incest to relive their trauma during an IRS audit and deny millions of American women access to life-saving reproductive health care.

http://www.dccc.org/page/m/1d63cab1/1b9dd8ab/4a3ad271/4e0ce84b/3136141357/VEsE/

Their assault on women has nothing to do with saving money and everything to do with forcing extremist beliefs into the tax code of the United States of America.

And they didn’t stop there. They used the occasion to sneak in a provision restricting the definition of rape to deny victims access to reproductive health care — even after they claimed to have removed the language in the face of overwhelming public opposition.

We must take immediate, decisive action against this attack on women’s health and reproductive freedom.

Help us hold House Republicans accountable: Contribute $3 or more right now so we can get hard-hitting Rapid Response ads up holding Republican extremists in Congress accountable for their radical assault on women’s health care and reproductive freedom.

Republicans’ H.R. 3 bill would drastically restrict women’s options for reproductive services by imposing burdensome new regulations on public and private insurance coverage. If made law, women would be denied using money from their personal health savings accounts to pay for abortion services.

I know how important it is for all women to have access to reproductive health care and it is unconscionable that one party would hold women’s health hostage and use the tax code as a moral club to force their religious beliefs on every American.

We are just $27,215 short of our emergency Rapid Response goal of $100,000 by Midnight Tonight to fight this Republican extremism.

http://www.dccc.org/page/m/1d63cab1/1b9dd8ab/4a3ad271/4e0ce84b/3136141357/VEsE/

Help us hold House Republicans accountable: Contribute $3 or more right now so we can get hard-hitting Rapid Response ads up holding Republican extremists in Congress accountable for their radical assault on women’s health care and reproductive freedom.

With your help, we will stand up to this extremism and protect women’s reproductive freedom.

Thank you.

Rep. Jackie Speier

P.S. House Republicans will stop at nothing to appease their extremist anti-choice Tea Party backers. Please contribute right now so Democrats can get hard-hitting Rapid Response ads up to hold the extremists in Congress accountable for their radical assault on women’s health care and reproductive freedom.