[mpen-dayton4] FW: "Accountability Demands Disclosure" & "The TPP fails America" & "'Hurt by the Israel lobby, Obama kisses it goodbye'" & "End 'too big to jail'" & "Protect Social Security from the Kochs" and more

FYI.   Best, Munsup

P.S. "He who dares not offend cannot be honest" - Thomas Paine
P.P.S. Please reply back to me with 'unsubscribe' on the subject line if you no longer want to receive my e-Newsletters. The convenient link to unsubscribe is no longer available due to security reasons.

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·         FW: ACTION ALERT AND UPCOMING EVENTS

·         FW: accountability demands disclosure (can you share this?)

·         FW: The TPP fails America

·         FW: Why I'm running

·         FW: Exciting news which could help us derail TPP (please read)

·         FW: Bill O'Reilly supports the Iran announcement. Wait, what?

·         FW: "Hurt by the Israel lobby, Obama kisses it goodbye" – Mondoweiss

·         FW: An Open Letter to Dr. Laura

·         FW: The Open Letter you signed was published today.

·         FW: End "too big to jail"

·         FW: iEverything

·         FW: Protect Social Security from the Kochs:

·         FW: The People's View: "#IranDeal: Sen. Schumer Steps up to Betray His Country and His President"

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From: SPAN Ohio
Subject: ACTION ALERT AND UPCOMING EVENTS

MEDICARE ACCESS AND CHIP REAUTHORIZATION ACT

This serious health care legislation (H.R. 2, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015) is not the 50th or 60th meaningless vote to end Obamacare.  It's the very meaningful question of Medicare reimbursement rates for doctors, generally referred to as the "Doc Fix" or "SGR" bill.  The House passed a version before the Easter-Passover recess, and the Senate will be taking it up on Monday, April 13th.

Instead of the usual practice of simply funding additional payments for doctors for one year, the House bill includes several provisions that would weaken the social insurance basis of Medicare.  On the House side, majority party leaders hailed this legislation as the first step in privatizing Medicare.  Of course, many health care justice groups are mobilizing against these changes and SPAN Ohio urges every part of our movement to join in.  

What we support:

• Continued funding for CHIP - the Children's Health Insurance Program
• Reasonable payments for providers under Medicare

What we oppose:

• Means testing for parts B and D, making Medicare more expensive for some
• Mandatory deductibles
• The bill's support for the shift toward paying for "value rather than volume" in Medicare is very vague and raises huge questions.

It is important that you let Senators Brown and Portman know where the voters in Ohio stand.   Please make every effort to contact them on this matter.

Senator Brown:   202-224-2315 or email him from his webpage here.
Senator Portman:    202-224-3353 or email him from his webpage here.

SPAN Ohio STATE CONFERENCE

Everybody Institute

Everyone is invited to participate in our Everybody INstitute, being held in conjunction with Healthcare-NOW!   We need you!   One of the purposes of this year's conference is to develop a ten year strategy plan for achieving universal health care in Ohio that meets human rights standards.   Your input is necessary to making this plan successful.

Keynote Speaker: BEN DAY; Director of Organizing, Healthcare-NOW!

Movement Action Planning
 
Saturday, May 2, 2015
9 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. — Registration
10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. — Keynote Speech
11:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. — Program & Workshops
 
Quest Business & Conference Center
8405 Pulsar Place, Columbus, Ohio 43240

Registration is necessary so we can plan effectively for food and seating.   Space is limited so Do not delay!  Do not be left out!   Register and pay online at our website:    SPAN Ohio.

ROOTS CAMP
From our friends at Progress Ohio:

RootsCamp 2015
April 25, 2015, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
OCSEA
390 Worthington Rd, Westerville, OH 43082

RSVP for RootsCamp 2015

RootsCamp is a chance for Ohio's progressive activists, organizers, leaders, tekkies, fundraisers and bloggers to dialogue with each other. We'll share innovations, successes, learning opportunities, old wisdom and new discoveries.

Contact Denise Gastesi with any questions at 614-562-4768 or Denise@progressohio.org.

 

From: DemocracyForAll@pfaw.org
Subject: accountability demands disclosure (can you share this?)

The Washington Post: "Campaign finance in the United States has, by many measures, fallen into an era dominated by 'dark money,' with donors hiding in the shadows and hundreds of millions of dollars of contributions flowing through politics without a trace of who gave it or why."
+++
Munsup, thank you so much for signing our petition to the president. Last week, we delivered your signature to the White House, along with more than 550,000 others, calling on President Obama to issue an executive order requiring the disclosure of political spending by federal contractors.

Help us keep it going!
Please share this image on Facebook:

WASHINGTON POST: The legacy of 'Citizens United' strays from the Supreme Court's vision
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-legacy-of-citizens-united-strays-from-the-supreme-courts-vision/2015/01/20/ee4466c8-a01c-11e4-b146-577832eafcb4_story.html

 

From: Ted Strickland for Senate
Subject: The TPP fails America

What if I told you that NAFTA devastated the Ohio economy and cost our state hundreds of thousands of jobs? I bet you already knew that. What if I then told you another massive, free trade agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will have the same disastrous effects as NAFTA? No one in their right mind would repeat the same mistake and hurt working families again, would they? Unfortunately, foreign companies and special interests are mobilizing right now to enact the TPP. And in the process, they will be enriching themselves by robbing the future of Ohio's working families. It's up to you, me, and folks across Ohio and America to join together now to stop the TPP. We must create a movement large enough to counter the millions of dollars being spent to force the adoption of the TPP. Join me in fighting for Ohio's working families -- and sign my petition to oppose the TPP! Right now, big corporations and officials from the United States and 11 other countries are negotiating the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership behind closed doors. We've seen the results of similar discussions before. Over the past 20 years, NAFTA has devastated Ohio's economy and cost hundreds of thousands of lost jobs. The Trans-Pacific Partnership will only do more harm. Negotiating these critical trade policies is not how you rebuild America's middle class. This will not help America's workers. And this undermines our efforts to defend the American dream. The TPP fails America. Join me now in opposing another devastating free-trade agreement. We must make our voices heard and fight for our own. Sign my petition opposing the TPP today -- and fight for Ohio's families and workers! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: The TPP fails America  Why I'm running" I'm running for the United States Senate in 2016 because I am determined to restore the American Dream for working people in this country. I believe in the American Dream because I've lived it. I grew up in rural Scioto County as the eighth of nine children, and was the first person in my family to go to college. My father was a proud steelworker and my hard-working mother devoted her life to raising our family. I know how difficult it is to move up in this world, and the deck is increasingly stacked against working people. Today, we are producing, building, creating and discovering more than ever before, and yet, for the middle-class, getting ahead has never been harder. I believe that if you're willing to work hard every day and play by the rules, you shouldn't go to bed worrying about tomorrow. To save the American Dream, we need to go back to the basics. We need to create living-wage jobs and invest in the kind of infrastructure projects that benefit our communities. We need to make college more accessible and affordable so that our young people can get an education, get a job, and start saving to buy a home, support their families and retire with a sense of dignity and security. We need to make smart choices on fair trade that reward the worker instead of the wealthy. If we do this, we can put our country back on the right path and bring opportunity for all. This is our country, our Senate, our fight - for higher wages, for fair trade, for education and opportunity for all. Sign on and help us grow our grassroots movement.
CONTRIBUTE »
	Paid for by Strickland for Senate

Contributions or gifts to Strickland for Senate are not tax deductible.
Strickland for Senate, 545 East Town Street, Columbus OH 43215 United States

 

 

From: Paul Hogarth, Daily Kos
Subject: Exciting news which could help us derail TPP (please read)

Five powerful and influential Democratic senators—Sherrod Brown, Harry Reid, Bernie Sanders, Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren—have teamed with Daily Kos to demand Congress say "no" to fast-track approval for trade agreements, including TPP.

Please sign our joint the petition to demand Congress reject fast-track approval for free trade agreements. We must protect American jobs.

Trade deals that members of Congress would not even be allowed to see, let alone alter to help workers. Trade deals that jeopardize more good jobs, while the middle class struggles.

Momentum is on our side. Our grassroots effort has taken opposing the TPP from a fringe issue that only a few progressives knew about—to the very top of the Senate Democratic leadership.

Now, these powerful senators can use your signature to convince even more of their colleagues to join our cause. Sign the petition.

 

 

From: Ahmad, Khurshid
Subject: FW: Bill O'Reilly supports the Iran announcement. Wait, what?

Last week we celebrated the announcement of a framework that will solve the Iranian nuclear issue. The framework is so comprehensive that it's convinced skeptics like Bill O Reilly that it's worth a shot.

That hasn't stopped pro-war lobby groups from hitting the airwaves and spreading misinformation to continue the case for war. That's why we've created a simple infographic that goes through the details of the deal. Will you share it with your friends and family to help inoculate them against the pro-war lobby's message?

Check out the infographic here.

Now that the announcement has been made, it's crucial for us to win the media messaging challenge too. If pro-war lobbyists continue pushing for war it'll be much easier for Congress to undermine the negotiations.

Will you share this awesome infographic and help show your friends and family why diplomacy works?

Thanks for all that you do,

Sara on behalf of the Berim.org team

PS - Want to see more infographics? We're a small team that rely on our members to keep things running. You can make a donation to help create more material like this here.

 

 

From: Judy Burnette

Subject: "Hurt by the Israel lobby, Obama kisses it goodbye" – Mondoweiss

"Everyone is talking about Tom Friedman's interview with President Obama Saturday, published in the New York Times today. Meeting with the official press, Obama states his firm commitment to a new relationship with Iran even as he says that he was personally hurt by the attacks on him for not being supportive of Israel. .... "

http://mondoweiss.net/2015/04/israel-kisses-goodbye?utm_source=Mondoweiss+List&utm_campaign=7f8c6eb8ba-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b86bace129-7f8c6eb8ba-398528101

Also read Thomas Friedman NYT column:
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/the-obama-doctrine-and-iran/ar-AAatm9W

 

 

From: Eric Kramer
Subject: An Open Letter to Dr. Laura

This one first appeared a number of years ago, but it's certainly worth reviewing, and good for more than a few laughs.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/03/25/850561/-An-Open-Letter-to-Dr-Laura-Schlesinger?detail=emailclassic

 

 

From: Naomi Dann; Media Coordinator, Jewish Voice for Peace
Subject: The Open Letter you signed was published today.

Thank you for raising your voice for a just peace.

You did it!

Nearly 20,000 of you signed our Time2Choose Open Letter saying it is time to stop waiting for an empty peace process to end Israel's ongoing policies of occupation, including illegal settlement building, home demolitions and arbitrary detentions.

The Open Letter, published today in The Hill, the influential Washington DC daily read by Capitol Hill staffers, asserts that:

The time to choose is now—we can continue to delay justice by holding onto the illusion of a false peace process or offering only words of criticism, or we can stand on the side of freedom and equality, and embrace all forms of nonviolent pressure on Israel.

The letter went on to describe some of these forms of nonviolent pressure including: ending the US practice of using its veto to defend Israel at the UN; supporting Palestinians' right to go to the International Criminal Court or other international bodies; and engaging in Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaigns.

Whether in Congressional visits, on campuses, in synagogues and churches, or in the media, every day tens of thousands of Jewish Voice for Peace supporters fearlessly say the things that must be said. And we back our words with action.

In the coming days, we'll be very busy, and we'll need your help. Republican Senator Bob Corker is introducing an AIPAC-backed bill that would allow Congress to veto President Obama's diplomatic efforts with Iran, and possibly lead us to war. The French are planning to bring a resolution on Palestinian statehood to the UN in the coming weeks, and the US may try again to use their veto. And the crackdown on campus divestment initiatives will grow even more fierce.

We are so grateful to you for helping us build a grassroots movement, rooted in the values of equality, dignity and freedom for all people of Israel and Palestine.

And if you want to support this or our other work, please make a gift or become a member now.

 

 

From: Senator Jeff Merkley
Subject: End "too big to jail"

I'm Senator Jeff Merkley, and I started a petition to the Department of Justice, which says:

If big banks can buy their way out of criminal prosecution, there's little incentive for them to do what's right. And it's a double standard that says wealthy institutions are above the law.

We believe no bank is "too big to jail" and ask that the Department of Justice hold lawbreakers accountable with serious penalties, including jail time, whether they're individuals or big banks.

Sign Senator Merkley's petition

When Credit Suisse pleaded guilty to criminal charges last May, many called it the end of "too big to jail" for big banks. But guess what: no bank executives actually went to jail.

Instead, they paid a fine —$2.6 billion—to settle the charges.

That may sound like a lot to you and me, but to a major financial institution, that's a cost of doing business. And it's just one in a series of settlements by big banks after wrongdoing when none of the executives went to jail.

That isn't justice. It's time we demand equal enforcement of the law. Click here to add your name.

If we want big banks to respect the law, they should be held accountable when they break it.

We're calling on the Department of Justice to end the "too big to jail" scheme the big banks enjoy today.

After all, just because you're the banker doesn't mean you should get out of jail free.

Add your name and help us stand up to big bank abuses!
Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

This petition was created on MoveOn's online petition site, where anyone can start their own online petitions. Senator Jeff Merkley didn't pay us to send this email—we never rent or sell the MoveOn.org list.

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Start a monthly donation here or chip in a one-time donation here.

 

 

 

 

From: albert baca
Subject: FW: iEverything

Sir Richard, info others,

I was disappointed you didn't bother to read half of what I had to say about voodoo economics.   I worked hard on that thing, mostly to reinforce my thinking.   After that reinforcement, I can honestly and truly say that Supply Side Economics sucks.   There is no doubt in my mind that St. Ronnie was wrong.   Trickle down - Bull!!!

This time I will try something much shorter but along the same vein.

I like reading Robert Reich who had a four year gig as Sec of Labor under Slick Willie.   Reich also served in the Jimmy Carter and Jerry Ford administrations.   He is a political economist by education and also has a law degree.   So he is one smart cookie - and a prolific writer.

His current job is Professor of Public Policy at Berkeley.   For something else to do to kill time, he writes countless books and the Robert Reich Blog.   His book "Aftershock" was a best seller a couple of years ago.

I first read this article several weeks ago.   Do me a favor and read this article and then tell me what we as a nation are going to do about it from the GOP perspective.

Put your thinking cap on, oh great Republican who doesn't agree with many of the things this old yellow dog Democrat has to say.   I await your reply.

Old Al

http://robertreich.org/post/113801138315

THE "iEVERYTHING" AND THE REDISTRIBUTIONAL IMPERATIVE
Monday, March 16, 2015

It's now possible to sell a new product to hundreds of millions of people without needing many, if any, workers to produce or distribute it.

At its prime in 1988, Kodak, the iconic American photography company, had 145,000 employees.   In 2012, Kodak filed for bankruptcy.

The same year Kodak went under, Instagram, the world's newest photo company, had 13 employees serving 30 million customers.

The ratio of producers to customers continues to plummet.   When Facebook purchased "WhatsApp" (the messaging app) for $19 billion last year, WhatsApp had 55 employees serving 450 million customers.

A friend, operating from his home in Tucson, recently invented a machine that can find particles of certain elements in the air.

He's already sold hundreds of these machines over the Internet to customers all over the world.   He's manufacturing them in his garage with a 3D printer.

So far, his entire business depends on just one person – himself.

New technologies aren't just labor-replacing.   They're also knowledge-replacing.

The combination of advanced sensors, voice recognition, artificial intelligence, big data, text-mining, and pattern-recognition algorithms, is generating smart robots capable of quickly learning human actions, and even learning from one another.

If you think being a "professional" makes your job safe, think again.

The two sectors of the economy harboring the most professionals – health care and education – are under increasing pressure to cut costs.   And expert machines are poised to take over.

We're on the verge of a wave of mobile health apps for measuring everything from your cholesterol to your blood pressure, along with diagnostic software that tells you what it means and what to do about it.

In coming years, software apps will be doing many of the things physicians, nurses, and technicians now do (think ultrasound, CT scans, and electrocardiograms).

Meanwhile, the jobs of many teachers and university professors will disappear, replaced by online courses and interactive online textbooks.

Where will this end?

Imagine a small box – let's call it an "iEverything" – capable of producing everything you could possibly desire, a modern day Aladdin's lamp.

You simply tell it what you want, and – presto – the object of your desire arrives at your feet.

The iEverything also does whatever you want.   It gives you a massage, fetches you your slippers, does your laundry and folds and irons it.

The iEverything will be the best machine ever invented.

The only problem is no one will be able to buy it.   That's because no one will have any means of earning money, since the iEverything will do it all.

This is obviously fanciful, but when more and more can be done by fewer and fewer people, the profits go to an ever-smaller circle of executives and owner-investors.

One of the young founders of WhatsApp, CEO Jan Koum, had a 45 percent equity stake in the company when Facebook purchased it, which yielded him $6.8 billion.

Cofounder Brian Acton got $3 billion for his 20 percent stake.

Each of the early employees reportedly had a 1 percent stake, which presumably netted them $160 million each.

Meanwhile, the rest of us will be left providing the only things technology can't provide – person-to-person attention, human touch, and care.   But these sorts of person-to-person jobs pay very little.

That means most of us will have less and less money to buy the dazzling array of products and services spawned by blockbuster technologies – because those same technologies will be supplanting our jobs and driving down our pay.

We need a new economic model.

The economic model that dominated most of the twentieth century was mass production by the many, for mass consumption by the many.

Workers were consumers; consumers were workers.   As paychecks rose, people had more money to buy all the things they and others produced – like Kodak cameras.   That resulted in more jobs and even higher pay.

That virtuous cycle is now falling apart.   A future of almost unlimited production by a handful, for consumption by whoever can afford it, is a recipe for economic and social collapse.

Our underlying problem won't be the number of jobs.   It will be – it already is – the allocation of income and wealth.

What to do?

"Redistribution" has become a bad word.

But the economy toward which we're hurtling – in which more and more is generated by fewer and fewer people who reap almost all the rewards, leaving the rest of us without enough purchasing power – can't function.

It may be that a redistribution of income and wealth from the rich owners of breakthrough technologies to the rest of us becomes the only means of making the future economy work. - - - - END BLOG

 

 

From: FWD This ↘︎
Subject: Protect Social Security from the Kochs:

Thanks for signing our petition demanding Republicans protect Social Security from the Kochs!
http://act.endcitizensunited.org/Expand-Social-Security

------------

The Koch Brothers are spending $1 billion to buy the 2016 elections and end Social Security as we know it. We can't let Republicans cave to the Kochs' demands. Sign your name to demand the GOP ignore the Kochs and expand Social Security benefits: SIGN HERE →

When the Koch Brothers spend millions to elect Republicans, they have one special request: "We favor the repeal of the fraudulent, virtually bankrupt, and increasingly oppressive Social Security system. Pending that repeal, participation in Social Security should be made voluntary." That's pulled directly from David Koch's platform back when he ran for Vice President. Little has changed 35 years later. The Kochs stand to pad their billions substantially from the privatization and defunding of Social Security. Thanks to Citizens United, they're going to spend $1 billion in 2016 to try and abolish Social Security for good. Don't let them undermine Social Security without a fight. 5O,OOO Signatures Needed → Demand Republicans ignore the Kochs and expand Social Security >> SIGN HERE → http://act.endcitizensunited.org/Expand-Social-Security Thanks for standing up! -EndCitizensUnited.org

Paid for by End Citizens United

 

 

From: Judy Burnette
Subject: The People's View: "#IranDeal: Sen. Schumer Steps up to Betray His Country and His President"

#IranDeal: Sen. Schumer Steps up to Betray His Country and His President

This morning, when CNN had a moment between their breathless coverage of the Boston bomber trial (9,876,431 words to say "Jury deliberating") and their hard-on over Rand Paul's entry to the clown car known as the Republican presidential primary, they ran a quick headline that New York Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer has joined forced with Sen. John "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran" McCain to...
Read More

 

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