Post Your Online Petitions Here!

[Hollylane]

To the Members of the Democratic Party Platform Drafting Committee:

The Democratic Party has a noble history of fighting for the human and civil rights of all Americans.

We, the undersigned, believe it is time for the Party to hold true to this record and add to the legacy by taking a stand in support of the freedom to marry for all loving and committed couples.

We urge you to affirm the freedom to marry in the Democratic Party by including this plank in the platform discussion of families:

The Democratic Party supports the full inclusion of all families in the life of our nation, with equal respect, responsibility, and protection under the law, including the freedom to marry. Government has no business putting barriers in the path of people seeking to care for their family members, particularly in challenging economic times. We support the Respect for Marriage Act and the overturning of the federal so-called "Defense of Marriage Act," and oppose discriminatory constitutional amendments and other attempts to deny the freedom to marry to loving and committed same-sex couples.

Numerous national polls have shown that a majority of Americans support marriage for same-sex couples. And Democrats overwhelmingly support the freedom to marry, with polls showing as much as 70% support. You are uniquely positioned to stand with the majority of Americans, and the super-majority of the party, and help make a real difference for families across the country.

We hope the Drafting Committee will fulfill its responsibility to uphold the Party's proud commitment to liberty, equality, and justice for all.

Thank you for helping to put an end to marriage discrimination in this country.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

[DapperButch]

Double decker horse transport was to be banned (horses cannot stand straight up in these, subsequently, they trip, fall and injure themselves), as part of the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, but there is a last minute amendment put on the table to remove this part from the bill (a Republican, of course). Please act quickly.

http://capwiz.com/aspca/issues/alert/?alertid=60942061

[Hollylane]

I can hardly believe this: Republican Senators are pushing legislation that will allow any employer to deny women coverage for birth control! Yes, you read that right. Birth control.

What is wrong with these people? More than 98% of American women use or have used contraception. It saves money, and it saves lives, which is why President Obama wants to make sure every woman has access to this critically important part of health care. The Republicans have proved yet again that they are only interested in defeating President Obama and waging war on women.

This ridiculous legislation will probably come up for a vote this week. I need your help. Will you fight back by joining the One Million Strong for Women campaign?

Add your name to One Million Strong For Women, and help fight back against the War on Women!

Who could have imagined that in 2012 we’d be fighting over access to something as fundamental as birth control? It just shows exactly how extreme these Republicans are – and just how crucial it is that we defeat them.

Sen. Patty Murray

[Softhearted]

"To make up for the fact that rapid tar sands oil mining is threatening caribou herds by destroying vast swaths of rainforest habitat in Alberta, the Canadian government has called for strychnine poisoning and aerial shooting of thousands of wolves in areas of tar sands mining.

Tell Prime Minister Harper: Stop Canada's planned wolf killings!

If Alberta Canada's tar sands oil fields are fully developed, an area of boreal rainforest the size of Florida will be eviscerated, leaving in its wake only giant ponds of toxic wastewater.2

It's obvious why this would pose a massive threat to all wildlife species who reside there, including birds, caribou and the iconic spirit bear."

http://http://act.credoaction.com/ca.../?rc=fb_share1

[SoNotHer]

http://priceofoil.org/2012/02/14/ove...say-no-to-kxl/

Over 600,000 Say No to KXL



Andy Rowell

Once again it is the many versus the money. Starting at noon yesterday, a coalition of thirty or so environmental organisations, including Oil Change International (OCI) and 350.org set out to gather at least 500,000 signatures with 24 hours to stop the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. The initiative came as a response to moves within the Senate to vote as early as today on a deal that would give the green light to the construction of the pipeline.

As Steve Kretzmann, the director of OCI said yesterday “After President Obama rejected Keystone XL last month, many Senators are rushing to resurrect it in order to protect their friends: Big Oil. As you read this, the oil industry is tightening the screws on the remaining senators they need to get this thing passed.” The Washington Post reports that the bill currently has the backing of 44 Republicans and one Democrat, although Senate Democratic leaders oppose it.

The Post argues that “the amendment indicates the debate over TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline — which would transport heavy crude from Canada’s oil sands to Gulf Coast refineries — will continue to help define the two parties this election.” In an amazing show of strength against the KXL, the goal of 500,000 signatures was reached just before 7 pm last night. It currently stands at over 600,000 signatures.

These will be delivered later today to the offices of Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Gene Karpinsky, who heads the League of Conservation Voters, told ENS Newswire that handing over 50 giant boxes each holding 10,000 signatures would be a “unified show of our power: our voices against the dollars of Big Oil.”

“Anyone who thought environmentalists were graying into irrelevance was wrong,” added Bill McKibben, the co-founder of 350.org, and one of the leading opponents of the pipeline. McKibben continued: “The arguments by now are clear. This pipeline won’t create jobs (that’s why the biggest labor unions in the country support the President). It puts the heartland of the country at risk from spills – the kind of leaks that devastated the Yellowstone and Kalamazoo Rivers in the year past. And after the year with the most weather disasters in the nation’s history, and amidst this weird and out-of-kilter winter, the fight against climate change must start here.”

So if you haven’t already go here and sign the petition that says: “Senators: Block any efforts to revive the dangerous Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.” So why take the time to do it? As Steve Kretzmann says the petition “will be a unified show of our power: our voices against the dollars of the fossil fuel industry.”

So please add your voice..

[Softhearted]

It seems the link that I gave about the tar sand oils of Alberta and saving the wolves is not working properly, so this is the original address:

www.credoaction.com
and the petition is under the "Stop the Canadian government's plan to kill wolves for tar sands oil" campaign


Sorry about this!

[Hollylane]

President Obama has a piece of paper on his desk that could protect millions of LGBT Americans from harassment and discrimination in the workplace. He doesn’t need congressional approval. All he has to do is sign his name.

That piece of paper is an executive order that would require all federal contractors to provide non-discrimination protections for their LGBT employees. Federal contractors employ tens of millions of Americans, though currently only about 60% of them are protected from sexual orientation discrimination, and only 40% of them are protected from gender identity discrimination. With one stroke of his pen, President Obama could offer anti-discrimination protections to about 16 million more Americans.

As an employment rights attorney, Tico Almeida knows all too well how badly this order is needed -- in fact, according to a recent UCLA study, nearly 30% of LGBT Americans report having been harassed or fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

So Tico started a petition on Change.org asking President Obama to sign the executive order that would extend non-discrimination protections to all LGBT employees of federal contractors. Click here to sign Tico’s petition.

Through his job, Tico has seen the terrible things that can happen without non-discrimination protections -- like the former employee at defense contractor DynCorp who recently received a six-figure settlement because he was called “f*ggot” and other slurs at work.

But Tico also knows that online petitions can be the catalyst for meaningful change. A few weeks ago, Tico started a petition asking DynCorp to adopt non-discrimination protections for LGBT employees, and after more than 50,000 folks signed, DynCorp came through.

The executive order on President Obama’s desk has already cleared key hurdles at the Departments of Justice and Labor -- the decision is now with the White House. When Barack Obama was running for president, he promised to be a “fierce advocate” for LGBT rights. If thousands of people sign Tico’s petition, President Obama will see that Americans are counting on him to keep his promise.

Click here to sign Tico’s petition asking President Obama to sign the executive order that would require federal contractors to protect their LGBT employees from discrimination and harassment.

[Hollylane]

The FDA is on the brink of approving genetically engineered salmon for human consumption. This would be the first genetically engineered animal on supermarket shelves in the United States.

The salmon is engineered to produce growth hormones year-round that cause the fish to grow at twice the normal rate. The government already requires labels to tell us if fish is wild-caught or farm-raised—don't we also have a right to know if our salmon is genetically engineered? Without labels, we'll never know.

More than forty countries, including Russia and China, already require labels on genetically engineered foods. As Americans, we firmly believe that we deserve the same right to know what we are eating.

That's why I created a petition to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on SignOn.org, which says:

Commissioner Hamburg, we urge the FDA to require the mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods. We have a right to know about the food we eat and what we feed our families, but under current FDA regulations, we don't have that ability when it comes to genetically engineered foods.

Polls show that more than 90% of Americans support mandatory labeling. Such near-unanimity in public opinion is rare. Please listen to the American public and mandate labeling of genetically engineered foods.

Will you sign the petition? Click here to add your name, and then pass it along to your friends:



Thanks!

–Eric Schlosser and Gary Hirshberg