Let the governor know you support signing strong environmental bills.

Dear Friend, The California legislature has passed and sent to Governor Brown a collection of bills that will help protect the environment and public health. Now he needs to hear from you to make sure those bills become law. Ask Governor Brown to sign into law key bills that will advance clean energy, reduce pollution, and protect wildlands and water. Climate deniers and lobbyists for polluting industries are already writing and collecting letters to oppose good environmental bills. The governor needs to hear from the rest of California and be encouraged to sign into law the bills that will make a difference for the environment. So act now to let the governor know you support signing strong environmental bills. Thanks for your help! Sincerely, Kathryn Phillips Director

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Planned Parenthood is under relentless attack

On Thursday, right-wing extremists in the U.S. House of Representatives will vote to try to defund Planned Parenthood, one of the nation's largest providers of women's health care and family planning services.

In my latest video with MoveOn, I lay out the economic argument for funding family planning and women's health services, and why it's critical that all of us step up right now to defend Planned Parenthood.

Please watch and share this very timely video now.

Here's the bottom line: Everyone benefits when society respects women's right to control their own bodies and plan their own families.

Planned Parenthood is under relentless attack, and it's only going to get worse over the coming weeks. It's up to all of us to fight back. So I hope you'll watch and then share this video with your friends. 

Thanks for all you do.

–Robert Reich

P.S. Want to do more to defend Planned Parenthood? MoveOn is organizing to defend it in Congress. Will you chip in to help MoveOn fight back? 

Source:

1. "House Will Vote This Week to Defund Planned Parenthood," RH Reality Check, September 14, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=307146&id=132227-19913724-ItpoeAx&t=4

Want to support our work? MoveOn member contributions have powered our work together for more than 17 years. Hundreds of thousands of people chip in each year—which is why we're able to be fiercely independent, answering to no individual, corporation, politician, or political party. You can become a monthly donor by clicking here, or chip in a one-time gift here.

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Big Oil Rejoices Over the Gutting of Senate Bill 350

Big Oil Rejoices Over the Gutting of Senate Bill 350 Posted: 15 Sep 2015 05:30 AM PDT By Dan Bacher  Oil industry representatives celebrated the gutting of California Senate Bill 350, the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015, Wednesday night after they mounted an intense campaign for months to defeat the legislation. Before being amended, Senate Bill 350 called for a 50 percent percent reduction in petroleum use in cars and trucks, a 50 percent increase in energy efficiency in buildings, and a goal of 50 percent of state utilities’ power coming from renewable energy, all by 2030. However, Governor Jerry Brown and legislative leaders held a press conference on September 9 to announce the removal of the provision in the bill calling for a 50 percent reduction in petroleum use in cars and trucks. The other provisions remain.   [Read more...] shared from San Diego Free Press ‘News’ Story Pleads Developers Cause on Civic San Diego Oversight Law Posted: 15 Sep 2015 10:57 AM PDT By Doug Porter This is why we can’t have nice things in San Diego. By this I mean the greed of the local billionaire class and the willingness of the Union-Tribune to publish lies on their behalf. UTreporter Roger Showley was apparently called upon to create some propaganda following the legislature’s approval of Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez’s AB 504, a bill designed to strengthen oversight of organizations like Civic San Diego making land use decisions for cities. It’s my guess this UT article represents a last ditch attempt to appeal to Gov. Jerry Brown in the hope he won’t sign the bill. (You never know with the Gov…) Gonzalez and other civic activists saw the necessity for such a measure because San Diego is the only city in California that outsources permitting and planning functions to a nonprofit with minimal oversight. Attempts at oversight and citizen input have been continually stymied.   [Read more...]

The Fight Against GMOs and Toxic Food Posted: 15 Sep 2015 05:31 AM PDT While Other Countries Ban GMOs, US Congress Endorses Them By John Lawrence Scotland has banned genetically modified organisms (GMOs) within its country. "Scotland is known around the world for our beautiful natural environment—and banning growing genetically modified crops will protect and further enhance our clean, green status," said rural affairs secretary Richard Lochhead. Here in the US the fight is just for the right to know that a food product should be labeled as GMO, and that's not going so well. Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1599, the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015. This is BS, of course, since the bill's real purpose is to preempt the rights of state and local governments to pass laws requiring the mandatory labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), to overturn GMO labeling laws already in place in several states, and to prevent the passage of any federal mandatory GMO labeling law in the future. So there is no free speech insofar as knowing what's in something we are eating is concerned. The law's attempt is to suppress truth in labeling. GMOs were developed primarily to be resistant to Monsanto's Roundup so that Roundup could be sprayed directly on crops and only the weeds would die. So whether or not GMO corn and soybeans are good or bad for you, the presence of poison sprayed on them can't be too good for human consumers when they eat such crops. Especially crops such as grapes and apples which have very thin skins and are vulnerable to soaking up the herbicides and pesticides sprayed on them.  [Read more...]

Standing Tall on the Football Field (of Life) Posted: 15 Sep 2015 05:30 AM PDT By Richard Lawrence Last week I sat and watched San Diego State's football team beat USD 37-3. In the second half, a freshman quarterback named Lawrence entered the game and lead the team down the field to its only score--a field goal. I am tickled pink (a really difficult thing for an African-American to do) to testify to the thrill of watching my grandson face the much larger and mightier SDSU squad and stand tall. It was, however, a stand that he did not take alone. The entire USD team and coaching staff should be applauded for preparing the players to tackle (sorry) a nearly impossible challenge with such enormous pride and determination.   [Read more...]

Big Oil Rejoices Over the Gutting of Senate Bill 350 Posted: 15 Sep 2015 05:30 AM PDT By Dan Bacher Oil industry representatives celebrated the gutting of California Senate Bill 350, the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015, Wednesday night after they mounted an intense campaign for months to defeat the legislation. Before being amended, Senate Bill 350 called for a 50 percent percent reduction in petroleum use in cars and trucks, a 50 percent increase in energy efficiency in buildings, and a goal of 50 percent of state utilities’ power coming from renewable energy, all by 2030. However, Governor Jerry Brown and legislative leaders held a press conference on September 9 to announce the removal of the provision in the bill calling for a 50 percent reduction in petroleum use in cars and trucks. The other provisions remain.   [Read more...]

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

What Language Experts Find So Strange About Donald Trump

If you think Donald Trump's speeches are a little...strange, you're not alone. ThinkProgress talked to language experts to find out why. Aspen, Colorado became the third American city to run entirely on renewable energy. And while we all know jail is costly, both for the prisoners and the state, ThinkProgress took a look at the financial burden on the families of the incarcerated. These stories and more, in our top news of the day: What Language Experts Find So Strange About Donald Trump Donald Trump talks funny. You’ve probably noticed, but can’t quite put your finger down on why. Does he use unique words? Weird rhetorical tics? Maybe it’s the way he seems to emphasize the first vowel of every word: L-ooo-ser. M-ooo-ron. Ch-iii-na....(read more) Town Jails Latino Man For Calling It ‘Shitty’ A Third American City Is Now Running Entirely On Renewable Energy Congresswoman Pushes Back Against Paul Ryan’s Welfare Reform With Her Own Plan Here’s How Much It Costs To Have A Family Member In Prison Carla Gonzalez’s younger brother has been in prison for ten years, and her family has only just begun to recover from the economic blow....(read more) ThinkProgress | Center for American Progress Action Fund 1333 H ST NW | Washington, DC 20005 Contributions to Center for American Progress Action Fund are not tax deductible

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Privacy Anyone? Pillaging Academic Emails

Privacy Anyone? Pillaging Academic Emails Edward Wasserman: Anti-GMO activists target Big Food’s science by pillaging emails of academic researchers found friendly to industry. Have we gone too far? READ MORE shared from TUESDAY, 15 SEPTEMBER 2015 What Are We Missing About Haiti in Hillary's Emails? Georgianne Nienaber: The truth is that no one will ever be privy to the complete correspondences, but there is more than enough information available to discuss how the United States conducts corrupt foreign policy in Haiti. READ MORE Friend on Facebook Follow on Twitter Forward to a Friend Privacy Anyone? Pillaging Academic Emails Edward Wasserman: Anti-GMO activists target Big Food’s science by pillaging emails of academic researchers found friendly to industry. Have we gone too far? READ MORE We All Need Heroes! Carl Matthes: When I was about 20, I played the Variations at a concert at a Los Feliz Catholic Church here in Los Angeles. In the audience was my mother who overheard a Catholic priest whisper to his companion, “that boy has a troubled soul! READ MORE Trust: A Two Way Street Ron Briley: As we move toward concluding the historic nuclear pact with Iran it is worth remembering that many Iranians have a good reason for not trusting the Americans. READ MORE Lifelong Learning Charles D. Hayes:Existential education can help human doings become better human beings. Our penchant for tribalism appears to be innate, and existential contempt remains the Achilles heel of our species. READ HERE (Sponsor this newsletter) Our email address is:  dick_and_sharon @yahoo.com Mt. Washington, California 90065 Copyright ©2015, LA Progressive, All rights reserved.

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Bernie in the Lion’s Den

Bernie in the Lion’s Den The socialist senator from Vermont wasn’t exactly eaten alive at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University in Lynchburg. D.D. GUTTENPLAN

shared from

Shouting Back at Donald Trump Trump’s circus of anti-immigrant rhetoric is all fun and games until someone gets attacked. JULIANNE HING

The Problem With Idolizing Sexual Liberation For a lot of people, the contemporary sexual regime celebrating pleasure above all else isn’t that much fun. MICHELLE GOLDBERG

5 Vital Lessons from American Labor’s Rise and Fall America’s unions have been in retreat for decades—but can history point toward some fresh starts? JAMES M. LARKIN

Nurture That Resentment, Young Man! The tragic end of a great political love affair. TOM TOMORROW

The Spanish Media Are the Worst in Europe. These Upstarts Are Trying to Change That. A broad range of leftist media projects committed to democracy and transparency have flourished in recent years. BÉCQUER SEGUÍN, SEBASTIAAN FABER

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Researchers studied the ways spending money can affect happiness. The results are eye-opening.

Researchers studied the ways spending money can affect happiness. The results are eye-opening.

shared from

5 medical breakthroughs bound to make kids of the future way healthier

See the moving before-and-after photos of painful scars turned into art.

Researchers studied the ways spending money can affect happiness. The results are eye-opening.

The TRUTH will set you FREE.