You may remember the appalling story of 17-year old Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez who died of heat stroke in 2008 while laboring in the scorching grape vineyards near Stockton. Her body temperature reached 108. This was not the only time Merced Farm Labor violated California's heat laws. They were fined in 2006, but never paid. According to the latest newspaper reports, the District Attorney, James Willett, has made a plea deal that will let the people responsible for Maria's needless death off with a small fine and community service. Maria's family asked the UFW and our friends for help and it is working. So far more than 7,000 UFW supporters have sent e-mails to the DA, telling him that jail time is a must and nothing short of that will satisfy the family or the public. Will you join them and send your e-mail today?
H.R.358, has the same dangerous attack on women’s abortion coverage that we battled in the Stupak amendment. If passed, it would essentially eliminate insurance coverage for abortion in the new health-care system. Plus, it would let hospitals refuse to provide abortion care, even when necessary to save a woman’s life! Now we need you. No matter where your lawmaker stands on choice, all 54 members need to hear from their constituents right now.
H.R. 3, Representative Chris Smith's deceptively named bill, represents a grave threat to safe, legal and accessible abortion. In addition to restricting the use of private funds paying for private health insurance plans that cover abortion care, it would permanently write into law an extremist approach to banning federal funding for abortion. Adding dangerous insult to injury, H.R. 3 would narrow rape and incest exceptions.
Demand that your representative vote against this discriminatory and dangerous bill.
Take action with MoveOn.org
Then take action with CREDO.
Believe it or not -- Senate Republicans have tacked on an amendment to the aviation bill that would repeal the entire Affordable Care Act. This is an outrage! This isn’t a theoretical debate or a symbolic vote. Senate Republicans are voting to take away real protections that are helping millions of people right now. Thankfully, California Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein have long been dedicated champions of health care reform -- understanding the importance of what the new law means for countless Californians, and the absolute necessity of opposing efforts to “repeal and replace!” Call Senators Boxer and Feinstein NOW and show your support for their continued commitment in defending the Federal health care law against Republican and corporate repeal-mongers!
Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest provider of health care to low-income women, is facing one of the most deceitful and potentially corrosive attacks in its history. Anti-choice activists have lied their way into local Planned Parenthood health centers and fabricated a story about a child sex trafficking ring -- a serious and horrific crime that no one should exploit for their own political agenda. The truth is that Planned Parenthood gives millions of women the means to control their own reproductive health, from sex education to birth control. If we don't stand up and fiercely defend Planned Parenthood, the radical right could finally achieve its wish of defunding family planning services and reproductive health care for women. The time has come for everyone who cares about women's health to fight back against the lies and the dirty tricks. Tell Democrats in Congress and President Obama: Defend Planned Parenthood against false accusations from the rightwing noise machine.
Then Stand with Planned Parenthood.
Politicians, facing daunting budget deficits, are looking for someone to bear the brunt of deep and painful cuts. And who did they choose? Teachers. Construction workers. Police officers. Food safety inspectors. Nuclear clean-up crews. Anti-worker politicians are using budget crises as an excuse to scapegoat public employees like these – middle class workers who are already working hard just to get by. And while Congress does need an economic recovery plan, slashing jobs and benefits will only make things worse. On TUESDAY, workers are gathering in Washington, D.C., to hand-deliver petitions demanding that President Obama and Congress look for solutions to the country's budget, not scapegoats. Will you join them? Sign this petition urging Congress and the president to stop destroying good jobs and develop a real plan for economic recovery.
Over 1,000 children will be born today with HIV. Yet we have the ability to prevent mother-to-child transmission and change that number to 0. In nearly all countries in sub-Saharan Africa, a majority of people living with HIV are girls and young women. That is why addressing gender inequalities and empowering women and girls to prevent the spread of HIV to their babies is a critical step to reducing the spread of new HIV infection. No child should have to die because of HIV. Sign the petition to the Obama administration, and demand leadership to stop the spread of HIV to children.
As you've likely seen in the news, Ohio mom, Kelley Williams-Bolar, recently went to jail for sending her kids to a highly ranked school near where her father lives, which was out of her home school district. She was trying to give her children a better life. Now, as a convicted felon, helping her children will be even harder -- she was studying to become a teacher, but that dream may have ended with the felony conviction as well. Real justice requires that the punishment fit the crime. By any measure, this is cruelly unjust. Please join MomsRising and the national non-profit organization, ColorOfChange.org, in calling on Ohio Governor Kasich to take a public stand and do everything he can to right this injustice (including making sure that Williams-Bolar has the opportunity to become a teacher in Ohio).
The recent shootings in Tucson have once again exposed flaws in America's efforts to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, drug abusers, the mentally ill and other dangerous people. Please join more than 550 U.S. Mayors in calling on Congress to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.
In the wake of the tragedy in Arizona, FOX News and the right-wing media have cried foul, turned a blind eye to their record of violent rhetoric, and dug in deeper. Are FOX President Roger Ailes and News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch ready to accept responsibility for the tragedy their network invites every day? They must stop the rhetoric before it's too late. Let's make sure they know we'll hold them responsible if they don't. Tell Ailes and Murdoch: Stop the violent rhetoric on FOX News before it is too late.
Less than a month ago, the lead Attorney General in a 50-state investigation of the mortgage industry, Tom Miller of Iowa, promised a group of foreclosure victims and their advocates that the investigation would "put people in jail." This was in response to revelations from Congressional hearings and news articles documenting pervasive abuses by mortgage servicers. But now AG Miller has changed his tune, calling the investigation "inherently civil," not criminal. Call California Attorney General Kamala Harris now and demand criminal penalties for Wall Street's worst — unscrupulous mortgage servicers. Here's the call info and a sample script:
Attorney General Kamala Harris — (916) 445-9555
SCRIPT: "I am a resident of California and I am watching the foreclosure fraud investigation very closely. I want to make sure that the Attorney General reaches as strong a settlement as possible with the banks. The settlement must include principal reduction for millions of homeowners and imposes criminal penalties on those who broke the law."
Comments