Monday's Action Checklist

Should California women pay more for health insurance simply because of their gender?  No!  But, it's happening.  A recent study revealed that California women aged 18-54 are paying as much as 39% more than men for identical individual health plans.  Next week, California Senators will have an opportunity to support AB 119, a bill that would end this discriminatory practice. Tell your Senator to make healthcare coverage more equitable and affordable for women in California!

Sen. Feinstein has not taken the important step of expressing her support for the public option in a public forum, including speeches or written responses to constituent letters. And you will not find a statement of support for the public option on her web site, in a press release or any other format. It's time for us to pressure Sen. Feinstein to go public in her support for a public option. SIGN this open letter calling on Senator Feinstein to publicly support the public option.  

With Congress about to return to work just after Labor Day, it's time to remind them what's at stake with the health insurance reform debate. So, together with our friends at MoveOn, next Wednesday, September 2, we'll hold nationwide vigils highlighting the real people with real stories who need real reform with the choice of a public health insurance option.  FIND A VIGIL IN YOUR AREA AND SIGN UP TO ATTEND NOW
What: "Can't Afford to Wait" Vigil
When: Wednesday, September 2
Where: Your Town

Not only are anti-choice extremists and their allies in Congress spreading false claims about health care reform and abortion, but they are trying to use the heath care reform bill as part of their push to ban abortion across the country. If they have their way, they’ll be taking abortion coverage away from millions of women who already have it as part of their private insurance. Urge Congress to oppose all anti-choice attempts to take away coverage from women already have it! 

The rush for oil and gas drilling is on in the Arctic Ocean -- one of the world's last pristine marine ecosystems. Temperatures in the Arctic are warming at twice the rate of anywhere else on earth and Arctic ice is melting at a rapid pace. And decisions the Obama administration are making now about oil and gas development could have irreversible environmental impacts. More drilling will threaten the survival of many species that are dependent on sea ice, including the polar bear, walrus and ice seals and may endanger the subsistence way of life of Indigenous peoples. Once the drills start, government scientists predict a 40 percent chance of one or more large oil spills in the Chukchi Sea alone! Tell Interior Secretary Ken Salazar: Oil and ice don't mix! 

In the coming weeks Senators will start debating global warming legislation that will determine the fate of our planet. But Big Oil and Dirty Coal, along with allies like Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, and Newt Gingrich, are ramping up their efforts to kill this legislation in the Senate. In the first two quarters of 2009, polluting industries have spent nearly $120 million to halt our progress. We urgently need your help to build support for this critical bill. Send a message to your Senators today asking them to support strong global warming legislation. 

Western Atlantic Bluefin Tuna are in trouble. This amazing fish that travels as fast as 43 MPH and weighs up to 1,500 pounds is in danger of becoming extinct within 10years! Our government should be trying to protect such an incredible creature. But instead it is proposing a regulation that would allow commercial fishermen to kill and sell more bluefin tuna, despite the fact that their population is at the lowest levels on record. Click here to ask the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to stop the use of long-lines in the Gulf of Mexico, which are destroying this already vulnerable population. But hurry! There isn't much time – the NMFS is only accepting public comments on the proposed change through this Monday, August 31st.