Such crap

From Planned Parenthood:

This is not what we worked for. This is not what we fought for. 

You and I, and millions of Planned Parenthood supporters, fought for a year to make sure that health care reform would provide comprehensive coverage to every woman, man, and child in America. We achieved some tremendous victories, including defeating the Stupak amendment that would have banned private insurance coverage of abortion for millions of women. 

Now, a Stupak-like rule is back — and it came from the Obama administration.Tell the Obama administration to reverse this decision and allow women to secure the coverage they need.

The final health care reform bill included extensive restrictions on using federal funds to pay for abortion coverage, but the decision announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services yesterday goes beyond even these restrictions. 

The Obama administration has decided that no woman in the new high-risk insurance pools will be allowed to obtain abortion coverage beyond limited cases (rape, incest, endangering the life of the woman). Not even if she pays for that coverage with her own money. 

We need to make sure the Obama administration knows this is unacceptable. Click here to do your part and tell the Obama administration to reverse this decision.

The high-risk insurance pools are for some of the most medically vulnerable women in the country — those with pre-existing conditions such as breast and ovarian cancer, AIDS, diabetes, and other conditions that may make pregnancy extraordinarily dangerous. These women will be locked out from abortion coverage, even if they pay for it out of their own pockets. 

Tell the Obama administration to reverse this decision immediately.

The president committed his administration to preventing any federal funds from being spent on abortion care. But the fact is, this announcement from HHS goes well beyond that. Nothing in the new health care reform law requires a ban on abortion coverage in the high-risk pools. No law passed by Congress forced this decision. The Obama administration has chosen to place a new burden on ill and medically vulnerable women seeking abortion coverage. 

After all the amazing work and the unyielding dedication from Planned Parenthood supporters like you that helped get us this far, I can't just let that happen. This is not what we fought for — which means it's time to fight back against the Obama administration's abortion coverage ban now. Click here to take action.

Thank you so very much for standing with us and the women, men, and teens who rely on Planned Parenthood.

Action Update

So, your clicks urging President Obama to to stand up for whales worked! From the Humane Society:

It was a close call, but you made the difference: the attempt to sink the ban on commercial whaling was blocked!

At last week’s international meeting to determine the fate of the world’s whales, some nations and groups pushed for a deal that would have granted authority for Norway, Japan, and Iceland to kill whales. But they couldn’t drum up the support -- and that was because of an outpouring of public concern: You said that all whaling must end.

You told the Obama administration that protecting whales was more important than pleasing whalers, and they listened. Thank you.

Never doubt it for a minute: Your voices were heard.

You weren’t alone: Hundreds of thousands of activists from around the world told their governments to choose policies that protect whales, not kill them.

Together we held the line, and I hope you will celebrate along with me.

Click here to thank Mr. Obama.

Afraid

I fear for President Obama's life. I really do. Not *just* because he's black, but because the extreme right wing is out for blood - literally. The recent "Should Obama be Killed?" poll on Facebook can be seen as the canary in the coal mine, IMO. From Credo:

As racist attacks increase and protestors continue to bring guns to presidential events, it is strikingly clear that President Obama is vulnerable to harm. Are the Secret Service and the FBI doing enough to protect him? Are they confronting those who threaten our president? 

Ronald Kessler, a veteran investigative journalist and conservative who recently authored a book about the Secret Service, notes that funding cutbacks have already left the first African-American president in U.S. history particularly vulnerable. The book, which alleges that the cash-strapped Secret Service is endangering the president by cutting corners, has sent shockwaves through Washington. 

We cannot allow funding problems to weaken the organizations charged with protecting the life of our nation's president. It is time for Americans of every stripe to insist that the Secret Service and the FBI operate at the highest levels of effectiveness. 

I just signed a petition to ask Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, to ensure that efforts of the Secret Service and FBI to protect President Obama from escalating threats are expanded and fully funded. I hope you will, too. Please have a look and take action. 

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/protect_obama/?r_by=-2082526-29xgDAx&rc=confemail1 

Stuff to do

Sorry, I've been busy, busy, busy. Here's some stuff to do:

Petition Obama to keep his promise on the Public Option here.

Stand up for Orphan's Rights here.

Support women and girls in Afghanistan here.

Tell Kraft to keep the crap out of our Mac n' Cheese here.

Sign a petition on global warming here.

Tell you Senators that the world can't wait for clean energy here.

Educate yourself on the homeless here. Affordable housing, anyone?

Not an option

The public option is not optional! Sign here to let Obama know that we will not settle for a health care plan without the public option. Seriously.

Quickie: What's on YOUR food?

Click here to find out which types of pesticides are on the foods you and your family consume each day. While there, click on the Take Action button to urge President Obama to support a safe, fair, and green food system in the United States.

h/t Loveland Magazine

Tell Obama to straighten up on gay rights

From Credo:

Back in the days of the 2008 campaign, Senator Obama promised he would work to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act. But now that a gay couple in California is challenging DOMA in federal court, President Obama has chosen to take action to defend a law that prevents legally married same-sex couples from receiving any federal benefits, or from having their marriages recognized in other states.

The Obama administration now tells us it has no choice but to defend DOMA - after all, it's the job of the Department of Justice to defend every law on the books. But a former Special Assistant for civil rights to President Clinton writes on AmericaBlog that this is far from true: On the contrary, the DOJ is charged with figuring out how to argue a president's policy decisions, not the other way around.

Call bullshit on Obama and Holder by clicking here.

Oh, and this is the link for Obama's plan for LGBT rights. (h/t Vegas710)

Another chance to speak your mind

President Obama is encouraging everyone to tell their healthcare story:

Share your personal story about the importance of health care reform in your life and the lives of those you love.

We will share your stories with members of Congress to build support for health care reform. Here are a few pointers for making sure your story is heard:

Be Personal: This is your story, and should focus on your own life experience, your beliefs, and the changes you hope to see.
Be Specific: The most powerful and memorable stories include specific, real-life examples.
Be Concise: There's no specific limit on the length of your story, but you should try to communicate the essence of your story as clearly and concisely as possible.
Your personal stories can be a powerful call for change. When the lobbyists for the status quo tell Congress to hold back, your personal story will give them the courage to press forward.

Go here to share your story. No story is too great or too small and all should be heard. The stakes are high and the wingnuts are already in a full court press to derail real health care reform. Please share your story today.

Stand up for Health Care

The wingnuts are out in force and ready to kill any health care proposal put forth by President Obama. I am so sick and tired of them bemoaning socialized medicine (of which they know nothing about), insisting the "free market" will make the necessary corrections, and throwing up straw men (Social Security and Medicare) to divert the conversation. While I'm sure I won't feel the President's plan goes far enough, I will stand with him on the basics he is proposing:

*Reduce Costs — Rising healthcare costs are crushing the budgets of governments, businesses, individuals and families and they must be brought under control
*Guarantee Choice — Americans must have the freedom to keep whatever doctor and healthcare plan they have, or to select a new doctor or healthcare plan if they choose
*Ensure Affordable Care for All — All Americans must have quality and affordable health care

Click here to declare your support, too.

Quickie: Just Say No

From Change.org:

In order to make responsible and healthy decisions, young people need medically accurate, age-appropriate information about sex and sexuality.

Yet, over the past decade, the federal government has allocated more than $1.3 billion for ineffective, dangerous abstinence-only programs that provide students with incomplete, medically inaccurate information that focuses solely on abstinence and provides little or no information about contraception.

President Obama has said that he supports comprehensive sex education programs that promote abstinence and provide information on contraception.

As President Obama and Congress finalize the details of the fiscal year 2010 budget, urge them to stop funding abstinence-only programs and direct our scarce public health resources to evidence-based, comprehensive sex education programs that actually work.

Click here to tell Mr. Obama to just say no.

Quickie: Public Comment Period

From Planned Parenthood:

President Obama began the process of overturning the Bush administration rule that limits the rights of patients to receive complete and accurate reproductive health information and services. This is huge — as you might know, we've been fighting the rule for months, and I'm just about ready to breathe one heck of a sigh of relief.

But it's not over yet. We still need your help!

In order to overturn the Bush administration rule, President Obama has to allow the public to comment on what he plans to do. That is where YOU come in. It is important that we show the administration that we support the president's proposal. Will you take a moment right now and add your name to the list of people who support reversing Bush's dangerous rule? Thank you, once again.

For background on this issue, click here.

Global Gag Rule & Fair Pay: It's a good day

From Planned Parenthood:

I had no doubt it was going to happen, but I'm going to celebrate anyway. As one of his first official acts in office, President Obama has overturned the global gag rule. Join me in sending him our thanks today.

By overturning the global gag rule, President Obama has taken a tremendous first step toward promoting women's health around the world. Overseas health care providers will now be able to offer counseling, referrals, and services for the full range of reproductive health options to women without fear that the U.S. government will strip them of their funding.

I'm sending our new president a message of thanks on behalf of these providers, the women they serve, and those of us here in the U.S. who have been protesting the global gag rule since the day President Ronald Reagan first implemented it.

Awesome. And, it gets even better: From MomsRising:

We have great news: Last night, the U.S. Senate passed, by a strong majority, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. Since this bill also recently passed the U.S. House, the bill will soon go to President Obama, who has promised to sign it into law.

Thank you -- you helped make this happen! Your nearly 100,000 messages to the U.S. House and Senate; nearly 9,000 resumes to Senator John McCain's office after he refused to support this legislation and said that women don't need fair pay, they need "more education and training"; tens of thousands of petition signatures; and work organizing more than 40 local, in-district meetings with your U.S. Senate offices last year was key to this success.

Take a moment to savor a job well done.

The Fair Pay Act will most likely be the very first bill President Obama signs into law.

Thirty six years - and at least 4 more: UPDATED

Today is the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. From Planned Parenthood:

On January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision, Roe v. Wade, recognizing the constitutional right to privacy and a woman’s right to choose abortion. Many of us don’t recall the deadly days before Roe when abortions were illegal and "choice" for too many women meant a dangerous back-alley procedure. In fact, in 1965, before Roe, nearly one-fifth of all maternal deaths in the United States were due to illegal, unsafe abortions.
It’s more than three decades later, yet a woman’s constitutional right to choose still isn’t safe and Roe is in serious jeopardy. In 2005, Congress confirmed the appointment of two new anti-choice Supreme Court justices — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., both of whom had been nominated by President George W. Bush. As a result, the court is closer than ever to overturning Roe.

Two years later, in a 5–4 decision, the court upheld the federal abortion ban passed by Congress and signed by President Bush in 2003. Although Roe v. Wade is still the law of the land, the ban criminalizes abortions in the second trimester of pregnancy that doctors say are often the safest and best to protect women's health. Thus, the ruling allows politicians to make medical decisions that should be made by women and their doctors. Now, anti-choice legislators are attempting to launch a wave of state abortion bans, in the hope that the new anti-choice court will overturn Roe, leaving a woman’s right to choose safe and legal abortion in the hands of 50 different state legislatures...

Here are ways to commemorate the day:

• Blog for Choice - it's not too late...
  
• Find an event in your area
  
• Support President Obama's efforts at repealing the global gag rule
  
• Learn the history of women's health care prior to legalized abortion
  
• Send a letter to your members of congress urging them to support pro-choice legislation
  
• Write a letter to the editor about why Roe is important and how thankful you are to have at least 4 more years of choice.
  
  UPDATE:
  

Press release from the President:

On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we are reminded that this decision not only protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters. I remain committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose.

While this is a sensitive and often divisive issue, no matter what our views, we are united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, reduce the need for abortion, and support women and families in the choices they make. To accomplish these goals, we must work to find common ground to expand access to affordable contraception, accurate health information, and preventative services.

On this anniversary, we must also recommit ourselves more broadly to ensuring that our daughters have the same rights and opportunities as our sons: the chance to attain a world-class education; to have fulfilling careers in any industry; to be treated fairly and paid equally for their work; and to have no limits on their dreams. That is what I want for women everywhere.

Word.

Send Obama a message

From Moms Rising:

Politics - like parenthood - is a marathon, not a sprint. Now that the election is over, it's time to turn our attention to the next leg of this race, getting family policies passed. And President-Elect Obama and the new Congress will need our voices and support in order to make this happen.

Sign a huge card from MomsRising to President-Elect Obama that reads: "We look forward to working with you to enact more family-friendly policies": www.momsrising.org/obamacard

We will deliver this huge card (let's face it, a little theater and press attention really help make a point) with thousands of your signatures to his staff and display it outside of the White House for ample photo ops. Just imagine, a giant card from us, the White House in the background, tens of thousands of moms signing on. Now that not only makes a picture perfect point, it also shows that there's a movement of committed parents who support these issues.

But that's not all! Obama and his staff have invited the American people to share their stories, hopes and priorities online. Thousands of people have visited the Office of the President-Elect website in the last few days - it's your turn! Just sign the card and hang on - your computer will automatically redirect you to the website comment form. Your comments will reinforce our message that parents care about family-friendly issues.

No truer words have been spoken

An excerpt from President-Elect Obama's speech in New Hampshire - January 2008:

But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope. For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we’ve been told that we’re not ready, or that we shouldn’t try, or that we can’t, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people.

Yes we can.

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.

Yes we can.

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom through the darkest of nights.

Yes we can.

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.

Yes we can.

It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballot; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.

Yes we can to justice and equality. Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity. Yes we can heal this nation. Yes we can repair this world. Yes we can.

And, South Carolina - January 2008.

So understand this... The choice in this election is not between regions or religions or genders. It's not about rich vs. poor, young vs. old. And it is not about black vs. white.

This election is about the past vs. the future. It's about whether we settle for the same divisions and distractions and drama that passes for politics today or whether we reach for a politics of common sense and innovation, a politics of shared sacrifice and shared prosperity.

[...]

And where we are met with cynicism and doubt and fear and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of the American people in three simple words -- yes, we can.

Yes we can. Yes we will. Yes we did.

Yes we did!

Thank you.

The anti-choice ballot measures in Colorado, South Dakota, and California went down. As of this entry, however, Prop 8 in California and 102 in Arizona are winning. Ack! I'm hoping against hope that when all the dust settles these measures will also go down.

Vote.

Rosa sat so Martin could walk. Martin walked so Obama could run. Obama ran so our children can fly.

Vote as if your life, and theirs, depend on it. (They do.)


Obama/Biden 2008

Quickie: Tomorrow (Updated)

Annie pretty much sums it up:

The sun'll come out
Tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar
That tomorrow
There'll be sun!

Just thinkin' about
Tomorrow
Clears away the cobwebs,
And the sorrow
'Til there's none!

So, tomorrow, vote like there is no tomorrow!

UPDATE: This link (hopefully) puts this post in context. Thanks to my friend Lisa for pointing out my oversight!

Obama/Biden 2008

To the Undecideds and Republican Lurkers

My daughter is a single issue voter: she is against wars - any and all wars. Granted, she's 6, but still. If you are an undecided and/or a Republican lurker, please read this article. It's actually a blog post and is only a few paragraphs long. Here's a snippet:

My friends, there is only one way for McCain to make good on his hawkish foreign policy and his virtual pledge of more wars.

McCain will need to institute a draft for young American men (and, given the times, maybe for women as well).

If you are in your late teens and early twenties, or if you are a parent of a person that age, and you have strong views on a renewed draft, it should come into your decision about whether to vote on Tuesday and for whom.

Fear mongering? Perhaps. But, as a mother and an aunt it is not a risk I would ever consider.

What to do? Either stay home or vote Obama/Biden 2008.

Thank you.


h/t Huffington Post

3 days

My 6 year old daughter and 4 year old son took it upon themselves to make Obama signs.

Sally's are a Joe Bama sign (as she calls it) and a Peace, Love, Obama sign (she copied it from this image on my desktop ). She wants them laminated. LOL!



And, here is Sam with his Peace, Love, Obama sign:

Only 3 days left. Click here to find out how you can help get Obama and Joe Bama elected!