Everybody Knows with Dr. Bob and Dan-o

The Bush Administration is desperately trying to contain the brewing controversy about its false statements regarding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. They lied to drive us into a war against a country that posed no threat, a war which has so far killed over 6000 Iraqi civilians (www.iraqbodycount.net) and over 200 American soldiers. Speak out now! Help keep this issue in the public spotlight.

Take Action:

I need your help to convince Governor Taft to veto HB 152 , the bad megafarm bill! The Governor will make a decision about HB 152 in the next week. Please call the Governor's office, ask for Kate Bartter, and tell her that you strongly urge the Governor to veto HB 152 because:

  a.. Local governments should have the authority to prevent disease and nuisance from factory farms. If we erode that right in this case, where do we draw the line?
  b.. The amendment didn't receive anything like a fair hearing. The Senate held one public hearing, at which the amendment was offered and the House held no hearings before passing the bill
  c.. HB 152 establishes a terrible precedent -- if a polluter finally gets closed down due to environmental violations, the industry just changes the rules, rather than changing their behavior

On August 19th, Attorney General John Ashcroft will begin traveling to over a dozen U.S. cities to “set the record straight” about “mischaracterizations” of powers granted to the Justice Department under the USA Patriot Act. Ashcroft may also advocate for additional powers proposed by the so-called “Patriot Act II.”

ACT NOW! capwiz.com/voice4change/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=3142006

Common Cause has a long history of advocating for civil liberties. We continue to monitor the effects of the Patriot Act and its authorization of government intrusion into lives of average Americans. We believe that portions of Patriot Act violate the fundamental rights guaranteed to you under the Constitution.

Is “Big Brother” Here?

He could be. The USA Patriot Act, passed by Congress shortly after 9/11, grants the government new authority to investigate not just suspected terrorists, but you, your neighbor, and any other United States citizen or resident. For example:

Tell the Bush Administration you oppose their plans to exempt the Tongass and Chugach National Forests in Alaska from the Roadless Rule!

Public comment period extended to September 2nd!

This extension appears to be because the agency failed to provide timely response to those who requested more detailed information about plans to take the Tongass and Chugach out of the Roadless Rule.  

www.greenpeaceusa.org/index.fpl/10048/action_id/188.html

The Issue:

Do you want the media to be controlled by a few huge companies?  The future of media could be up to you.  Urge Senators Mike DeWine and George Voinovich to co-sponsor S.1046, a bill to overturn the FCC's new media ownership rules. Senators DeWine and Voinovich are part of a small number of Senators whose support is needed to ensure the passage of this important legislation in the Senate.

The new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules will allow one company to own a daily newspaper, as many as three television stations, and up to eight radio stations in some markets in Ohio.  This benefits the media giants at your expense.

We need your help.

1. Please sign the Ohio petition to encourage Senators DeWine and Voinovich to support the roll back of FCC rules that benefit only big media companies and negatively impact the diversity of voices in our democracy.  Click here: www.commoncause.org/action/petition_fccstate.cfm?state=OH

I want to update you on our work to prevent identity theft, ensure credit report accuracy, and protect consumer privacy. In July, despite our best efforts and thousands of e-mails from supporters like you, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee overwhelmingly approved legislation (HR 2622) that would permanently bar states from enacting most state privacy laws that are stronger than federal law through a process known as preemption. Although this legislation includes modest improvements to federal identity theft protections, its permanent bar on state authority is unacceptable.

Now, however, the stakes are even higher. In August, after a hard-fought 4 year campaign, CALPIRG and other groups, including AARP and Consumers Union, successfully passed the nation's strongest financial privacy law through the California legislature, despite a multi-million dollar bank industry campaign against it.

But unless the Senate amends the House bill, most of California's new financial privacy law could be thrown out in court.

As the Bush administration's deception about Iraq's potential nuclear capacity has come to light, the administration and Congress have begun to quietly re-ignite the nuclear arms race.

  a. They are preparing to build new nuclear weapons and resume nuclear testing.
  b. The administration's official nuclear plan lowers the threshold for using nuclear weapons and calls for developing "more usable" nuclear weapons for "certain battlefield situations."
  c. The administration is threatening non-nuclear countries with nuclear weapons. These are some of the most dangerous developments in two decades. They could decimate international efforts to control, and ultimately abolish these weapons.

We are launching ads nationwide as part of our Campaign for a New Foreign Policy in order to challenge these hypocrisies.

With your help, we are going to run ads just like this one across the county:

You can make this ad campaign happen. Just go to: www.peace-action.org/forms/WMDads.php

The Senate is expected to vote on its version of the energy and water appropriations bill (S.1424) in September, after the August recess. This bill includes funding for the Department of Energy's (DOE) nuclear weapons programs. The Administration is seeking $15 million to fund continued research on the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, or nuclear "bunker buster," and $6 million for research on other advanced nuclear weapons concepts.

On Friday, July 18, the House passed its version of the energy and water appropriations bill. In a courageous move, the House cut most of the money requested ($10 million of the $15 million request) for a new "bunker buster" nuclear weapon and all of the $6 million allocated for Advanced Concepts for nuclear weapons. This was a great victory for arms control. However, for this victory to be solidified, the Senate must act with the same conscience

ACTION: Please contact your Senators. Urge them to vote for amendments to block funding for new nuclear weapons.

The Instituto de las Mujers, D.F. or Women's Institute was formed in 1998 as a result of pressure by the women's movement and the international commitments of the Mexican government to improve conditions for women, to eradicate violence, and to promote public policies to provide for equal opportunity, the full exercise of rights, conditions which make the absence of discrimination possible, and equitable participation by women in the social, economic, political, cultural and family arenas.  It is the only organization of its type in Latin America, providing direct services to women including legal and psychological assistance in cases of divorce or domestic violence and group services and trainings to assist women in learning about and exercising their rights.

In July, 2002, the 200 predominantly women workers at the Women's Institute initiated an organizing campaign through the services union which is affiliated with the Frente Auténtico del Trabajo (FAT).

The Bush Administration is desperately trying to contain the brewing controversy about its false statements regarding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. They lied to drive us into a war against a country that posed no threat, a war which has so far killed over 6000 Iraqi civilians (www.iraqbodycount.net) and over 200 American soldiers. Speak out now! Help keep this issue in the public spotlight.

TAKE ACTION: