California NOW

Call-in Day for Social Security, Unemployment, DREAM, & Childhood Education!

Today is a day of action on four major issues: protecting Social Security, extending unemployment benefits, passing the DREAM act to help immigrant children, and preserving early childhood education funding.

We are urging EVERYONE to take a few minutes out of your day to make calls to your Senators, Representative, and the White House on these issues.  Each call takes only a few minutes, and we can't afford to let any of these issues fail!

Here's a little background on the issues:

Social Security
The co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform have proposed increasing the retirement age to 69 (making us work longer), deeply cut benefits for middle-class workers and reduce annual Cost of Living Adjustments. Poll after poll shows that voters strongly reject cutting Social Security to deal with the federal deficit and prefer measures that would ensure that the rich pay their fair share of taxes. The truth is, there is no Social Security crisis. The program's trust fund will have a $4.3 trillion surplus by 2023, and can pay all of its obligations for decades to come. Also, legally it can't contribute to the deficit—it only ever gives out benefits it can pay for. Call both your Senators TODAY at 1-866-529-7630, toll-free, and let them know you won't accept these proposed changes to Social Security! Then, please report your call by clicking here.

Unemployment Benefits Extension
This is the first holiday season since the Great Depression when so many Americans have been out of work for so long. But if Congress doesn't act TODAY, emergency unemployment benefits will expire for almost 3 million Americans by next year. Extending the Bush tax cuts for millionaires would increase the deficit by an estimated 700 billion dollars over the next ten years.  In contrast, keeping the emergency federal unemployment benefits programs in place for another year for the millions of families who are still desperately looking for work would cost only a small fraction of that. The Congressional Budget Office ranked assistance for unemployed workers as “the most effective policy for generating economic growth and creating jobs” among 11 spending and tax measures it evaluated recently. California urgently needs these federal dollars to keep flowing to help us recover from the recession and grow our way out of our $25 billion budget deficit.  Call your Senators TODAY at 1-866-529-7630, toll-free, and urge them to extend federal unemployment benefits through the end of 2011 or click here to call now! Then take action online, but be sure to call TODAY!

The DREAM Act
After ten years, the House and Senate will finally vote on the DREAM Act, a bill that would provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented young people (known as "DREAMers") who have grown up in the United States after being brought to the country as children. The DREAM Act will finally offer these young people a chance to remain in the only country most of them have ever known. Contact Congress today and ask your representatives to support the DREAM Act. Then fax your Members of Congress to defend the DREAM Act.

Early Childhood Education Funding
Congress still has not finished its appropriations bills. As many as 300,000 children could be dropped from child care and Head Start if they don't decide soon on critical funding for these programs. Make sure that continued funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant and Head Start is not reduced in the appropriations bill and that the Early Learning Challenge Fund is included. Please call the White House TODAY at 1-202-456-1111 and tell them to prioritize funding for early childhood programs! To e-mail the President, go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

Tomorrow is Call-In Day to Protect Social Security

Join us tomorrow, Nov. 30, in a National Call Congress Day to fight Social Security cuts! Thanks to those of you who have already pledged to call. It's not too late to commit to participating in this important event.

Call your Senators tomorrow (Tuesday) at 1-866-529-7630, toll-free. The operator will identify your senators by asking for your zip code. Call BOTH of your senators if you have time. It only takes a minute each.

If you're having trouble getting through on the toll-free number, you can look up your senators' direct lines on NOW's website.

Here's a sample script:
Hello, I am a constituent in [name of your state]. I am calling Senator [Last Name] to urge [her or him] to say no to Social Security benefit cuts. As a women's rights supporter, I am particularly concerned about the millions of women who depend upon Social Security. Due to unequal pay, time spent out of the workforce for caregiving, and having little to no savings, pensions or investments, women disproportionately rely on Social Security. Please don't cut benefits in any way, including by raising the retirement age. Thank you for your time.

Background:
The co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform have proposed increasing the retirement age to 69 (making us work longer), deeply cutting benefits for middle-class workers and reducing annual Cost of Living Adjustments. We need your help to stop them!

Social Security is a promise that must not be broken -- we work hard and our payroll taxes pay for it. It belongs to our children, our parents, our neighbors and us. Throughout their lives, women on average are paid less then men, and they often work at part-time jobs or take extended leave from the workforce for raising children and other forms of caregiving. As a result, women are less likely to have pensions, investments or life savings, so they stand to lose the most if these cuts are made.

Help ensure that Social Security will be there, keeping middle-class women out of poverty and not forcing them to work until they are nearly 70.

If you haven't yet, please sign the "Count on Me" pledge promising to participate in the National Call Congress Day on Nov. 30. Then, forward this e-mail and tell your friends, family and co-workers to add their voices, too. Don't let politicians cut OUR Social Security!

Monday's Action Checklist

According to most estimates, extending the Bush tax cuts for millionaires would increase the deficit by an estimated 700 billion dollars over the next ten years.  In contrast, keeping the emergency federal unemployment benefits programs in place for another year for the millions of families who are still desperately looking for work would cost only a small fraction of that. Tell Members of Congress to get their priorities straight.  Sign this petition to extend unemployment insurance for families struggling to find work.
Call your Senators TODAY at 202-224-3121 and urge them to extend federal unemployment benefits through the end of 2011. 

In Mozambique, about 1.6 million people have HIV or AIDS. The majority of those people are women and girls. International Relief and Development (IRD) has created a program called Women First, which integrates gender-focused HIV/AIDS education with small business skills training. In doing this, IRD makes it so that women don't have to choose between educating themselves and supporting their families.
Education and empowerment is the key to eradicating HIV and AIDS. Please take a moment to show your support for IRD's remarkable program to help the women and girls of Mozambique.

The co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform have proposed carving up Social Security like a Thanksgiving turkey. They want to increase the retirement age to 69 (making us work longer), deeply cut benefits for middle-class workers and reduce annual Cost of Living Adjustments. We need your help to stop them! Join us in a National Call Congress Day on Tuesday, Nov. 30. Sign the "Count on Me" pledge to add your voice and tell Congress: DON'T CUT OUR SOCIAL SECURITY!

In 2008 Toys “R” Us publicly promised (even issuing a news release!) to reduce the use of toxic toys that contain polyvinyl chloride (also known as PVC) from their products and packaging, and to offer more PVC-free products. It seemed like Toys "R" Us had finally figured out that PVC chemicals--which have been linked to rising chronic diseases in children including asthma, learning disabilities, obesity and cancer [2]-- had no place in children's toys.  Now over two years later, it appears that Toys “R” Us doesn’t know the meaning of the word promise, since they have continued to sell toys and infant products that are made of and packaged in PVC.  Join thousands of families fed up with yuck: Tell Toys “R” Us to keep their promise to keep kids safe from toxic PVC chemicals in toys!

For 2 years, GOP leaders in Congress fought tooth and nail to oppose health care reform. They did their best to keep tens of millions without coverage, decrying any effort to help citizens as "socialist," "fascist" or some other equally baffling "ist." And incredibly, they are now talking about repealing it. And yet, when it comes to their own coverage, Republicans in Congress are not only using government-sponsored health care, they are whining about having to wait for it. Write Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Speaker-to-be John Boehner today. Tell them if they want to repeal health care, they need to practice what they preach, and give up their own government-sponsored health care first.

The next two weeks could be the most important weeks in the lives of thousands of young people in America. After ten years, the House and Senate will finally vote on the DREAM Act, a bill that would provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented young people (known as "DREAMers") who have grown up in the United States after being brought to the country as children. The DREAM Act will finally offer these young people a chance to remain in the only country most of them have ever known. By pressuring Congress to pass the DREAM Act, this is also our chance to help fellow activists continue to mobilize for young people and receive the recognition they deserve as valuable, contributing members of the country they love. Contact Congress today and ask your representatives to support the DREAM Act.
Then fax your Members of Congress to defend the DREAM Act.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act would make historic improvements in school and child care nutrition to address both childhood hunger and obesity. For the first time in 30 years we have a chance to improve school lunches across this country. Children can't afford to wait any longer: Nearly 1 in 4 U.S. children stand on the brink of hunger in the U.S. right now AND 1 in 3 children are obese or overweight. Tell your Representative to pass the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act and restore funding to food stamps.

On December 1st, World AIDS Day, we must take action to save women's lives. Right now, young women are rapidly becoming the face of AIDS. Today, women make up an ever increasing proportion of adults living with HIV/AIDS. Globally, young adults, ages 15–24, account for approximately HALF of new adult HIV infections, and most of those young adults are women - 62% worldwide. In sub-Saharan Africa, 76% of HIV+ young adults are women. In some developing countries, infection rates are up to six times higher among young women than young men. Urge the President and Congress to stop abstinence-only programs that are helping to spread AIDS.

Whether you never miss a game, or you're no fan of football, you're not going to believe this...The NFL is preparing a 'lock out' next season unless football players agree to its demands. If there's no football season, it would impact 150,000 jobs – and cause more than $140 million in lost revenue – in each and every city with an NFL team. But the NFL and team owners don't care, because they'll still make billions. They've already signed TV contracts that will pay out even if the season is canceled. Local economies will be devastated. All because of the NFL's greed. In ditching an agreement that was working just fine, the owners actually want players to make absurd, unjustified concessions around wages and benefits – like taking away ALL healthcare benefits from players and their families.  Sign this petition: Urge the NFL to NOT lock out its players in 2011.

Give the Salvation Army Your 2 Cents With This $3 bill

It's that time of the year when Salvation Army Santas and their red kettles will be popping up in every shopping area and downtown street.  Before you toss your spare change into one of their buckets, make sure you know what you're supporting with your donation.

The Salvation Army has a history of discrimination against the LGBT community, as well as discrimination against other religious groups.  Despite receiving billions in public money, the Salvation Army believes it should be allowed to discriminate in hiring and services, and to use public funds for religious proselytization.

The latest involves New York City's recently passed legislation requiring companies and organization who do business with the city to provide same-sex partner benefits. Although the law has yet to be signed by Mayor Bloomberg, whose own company provides same-sex partner benefits, there are enough votes to override a veto. Rather than comply with the law, the Salvation Army, which has multi-year contracts with the city totaling $250 million, has threatened to pull out of New York City entirely, leaving soup kitchens, shelters, and foster care programs unstaffed. When Catholic Charities made a similar threat in D.C. over the same issue, they were replaced as a provider of some services, and chose to eliminate all future spousal benefits to avoid covering same-sex partners.


So how do you let the Salvation Army know that you won't support their homophobic policies?  Print out a sheet of these $3 bills, which clearly state that you won't donate real money to them until they change their policies to acknowledge that accepting public money means complying with non-discrimination law, and serving everyone equally.  Then drop a bill into the SA kettles you see, to let them know about the money their anti-LGBT stance is costing them, and to let the collecters know about the issue.

Net Neutrality Matters in Social Justice

If we don't act quickly, Congressman Bobby Rush — a longtime opponent of a free and open Internet — could become a key leader on the House panel in charge of telecommunications. It could spell disaster for net neutrality.

Net neutrality matters because the internet is one of the few ways left for ordinary people to make their views heard in a national forum. Organizations, coalitions and individuals from underserved and underrepresented groups can use the web to get their issues and voices heard. If content from large corporations gets priority, what happens to these voices? Moreover, underprivileged populations won't be able to afford to pay more for access to full content, creating classes of information haves and have-nots.

Congressman Rush has repeatedly supported the interests of the telecommunications industry over the interests of regular people, and he has been a fierce opponent of network neutrality. In 2006, Rush worked with Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) to kill a key network neutrality amendment. And in the last year, he has supported multiple efforts by Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) to prevent the FCC from instituting network neutrality rules. In addition, Rush has been a major recipient of telecom contributions.

The new Republican majority is certain to continue to assault Internet freedom — and the House Communications, Technology and the Internet (CTI) Subcommittee is the first line of defense. Letting Rush assume leadership in the CTI Subcommittee would a send a message that Congressional Democrats just aren't serious about Internet freedom. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has the ability to influence leadership assignments, and she should know that Rep. Rush is not fit to lead the committee with power over network neutrality.

Can you call Speaker Pelosi today and urge her to oppose Bobby Rush's bid for this key position?  Call Speaker Pelosi at (202) 225-0100.

Here's a sample script you can use:
I'm calling to ask Speaker Pelosi to oppose Bobby Rush's bid to become ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet. CTI needs a leader who will stand up for an open Internet, but Congressman Rush's record shows that he's the wrong person for the job.

After you've called, please click to let Color of Change know how it went.