Rally to Oppose Cuts, Chevron Guilty, Assault on the Environment

1. Rally for the Other 98%!
Republicans scoff at the idea of class warfare, but that is exactly what has been going on for the past 40 years as more and more wealth has been and continues to be concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. Politicians take huge campaign contributions from the moneyed elite and in turn, the wealthiest are given outrageous tax breaks and corporations are allowed to write their own regulations and are given tax loopholes that allow them to pay no corporate taxes. Rich corporations, like the oil companies, are also lavished with billions in subsidies and the bloated Pentagon's budget keeps escalating (we spend over a trillion $ for defense- China at number 2 only spends $380 billion) All of this is happening while there are now proposals to cut: home heating assistance for the poor, Pell grants for deserving college students, food aid for needy women and children, job training, food inspection, green jobs, and very successful programs like Teach for America, Americorps and Headstart.

It is time for everyday Americans to rise up to say no to this system of corruption that is killing the middle class and the American dream!

Join us Thursday, February 24 from 12-12:30PM in front of Congressman Hinchey's office, 291 Wall St, Kingston. The rally, organized by the Ulster County MoveOn Council is being held to thank Rep Hinchey for speaking out on the proposed budget cuts and to hear from local people about how these cuts would affect their lives. For more information, or if you have a story to share contact Linda Abbott at linabbott@gmail.com.

For more background on the growing economic disparity in our country click here. And here are two pie charts that show how inequitable our current system is.

 Should the top 400 families in our country have as much wealth as the bottom 50%? Is it fair or sustainable in a democracy for the top 10% to own 71.5% of all the wealth , while the other 90% of us share just 28.5% of it?

And we all know corporations are making record breaking profits and the stock market is doing well- yeah, once again for the top 10% who own over 90% of the stocks and bonds in our country.

Democracy cannot survive such economic inequality! Join us next Thursday!

Celebration as Mubarak Resigns      Guardian.co.uk

2. Mubarak's stolen fortune should be returned to the Egyptian people! Add your name!

It really is stunning to hear people on the right defending a dictator over the democratic aspirations of a people.

When asked at CPAC why so many were behind democracy in Iraq, but would rather deny it to the people of Egypt, Ann Coulter said because we had an ally in the dictator. When reminded that Mubarak imprisoned journalists and dissidents, Coulter said she would like to see more journalists jailed.

3. Chevron Found Guilty! In Ecuador, Texaco, which Chevron bought in 2001, "deliberately dumped 18.5 billion gallons of highly toxic waste sludge into the streams and rivers that local people depend on for drinking, bathing, and fishing. The company dug over 900 open-air, unlined waste pits that continue to seep toxins into the ground." They did all this intentionally to cut expenses, while destroying ecosystems and peoples' lives. Chevron was ordered to pay a fine of  $8 billion- the beginning of justice.


4.An Invitation to Murder Abortion Providers In South Dakota there is a law under consideration that could make it legal to kill doctors who perform abortions. Since, 1993, eight doctors have been assassinated and 17 others have been victims of murder attempts by anti-abortion extremists. The GOP attacks on women's health continue—including a bill that would allow hospitals to let a pregnant woman die rather than perform a life-saving abortion. Sign this petition, "We Won't Go Back to the Back Alley"

treehugger.com

5. Broad Assault on Clean Water, Air, Wildlife and Public Health
Republicans are using the appropriations bill as a way to eviscerate environmental protections. If they have their way, millions of wetlands and thousands of streams will be left with no protections, the EPA would not have the authority to regulate mercury and cancer-causing air pollutants and wildlife would be removed from the Endangered Species list, based on political calculations instead of science. Sixty percent of Americans already live in areas where pollution reaches dangerous levels. Please make you voice heard.

Breaking- Over 30,000 public employees marched on the capitol at Madison WI today to protest the Governor's plans to end collective bargaining for public employees and reduce benefits. Here is a video from earlier in the week- the movement has only grown stronger since then. Lou Schultz (MSNBC) has been doing an excellent job covering this story- including outing the governor for busting unions (the governor inherited a balanced budget- but he pushed through $140 million in new special interests spending, which he now wants public employees to pay for) Also, seven people were arrested this week for staging a sit in to oppose the destructive practice of mountain top removal mining in W Virginia- Stay tuned on both stories.



The people united will never be defeated!