Today's Action Alerts (nat'l call in day today for filibuster & more)

[Liberty Belle]

TODAY'S ACTION ALERTS

SAVE THE FILIBUSTER!

TWO WAYS YOU CAN HELP:

Oppose the "Nuclear Option"
Protect the Supreme Court

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) has threatened to invoke the "nuclear option,"* a parliamentary power-grab that would break a more than 200-year-old Senate rule allowing senators from the minority party to filibuster out-of-the-mainstream judicial nominees - including those for the Supreme Court!

The truth is, the "nuclear option" is an attempt by the majority party to undermine our democratic traditions in order to push through its own agenda and pack the courts with judges who want to overturn Roe v. Wade. If Frist succeeds, pro-choice senators will have virtually no chance to stop President Bush's far-right nominees - even nominees to the Supreme Court.

By engaging in this reckless power-grab, Senator Frist and his colleagues will do lasting damage to our system of checks and balances, and change the makeup of our courts for generations. The stakes are high -- our democratic system needs your help now!

The Senate is set to consider some of President Bush's most controversial nominees in the coming weeks, and Frist could invoke the "nuclear option" at any time. Your senators need to hear from you!

1. "National Call-In Days to Protect Checks and Balances" - Call your senators toll-free at 1.866.808.0065 on April 6 and 7.

Today and tomorrow, April 6 and 7, call Senators Boxer and Feinstein toll-free at 1.866.808.0065 and urge them to oppose any effort to invoke the "nuclear option," an abuse of power that would undermine our government's system of checks and balances.

2. 72 HOURS OF ACTION - Join the Californians for Fair and Independent Judges on April 12-14.

Another effective way to convey your concerns is to make an in-person visit to your senators' district offices.

Next week, Tuesday, April 12 through Thursday, April 14, we are launching a 72 Hours of Action campaign in coalition with progressive organizations across California. We will make short, personal visits to Sen. Feinstein's district offices all over the state so that she knows her constituents feel it is imperative that she protect the filibuster and oppose the "nuclear option" in order to shield our courts from far-right judges.

We are asking that you bring a hand-written letter to leave behind for Senator Feinstein - or a stack of letters from friends, family, and co-workers - explaining why the nuclear option is dangerous and maintaining the filibuster is essential to protecting our courts. Personally delivered hand-written letters carry a lot of weight.

Click here for more details on what an actual visit to a district office in your area will look like and to SIGN UP for a day and time next week!


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*Click here for a fact sheet on the dangers that the "nuclear option" poses to our government's system of checks and balances. For additional information, including statements from senators and coalition partners on the "nuclear option," please click here.

Tell Congress to Fix Flaws in the Patriot Act! (From the ACLU)

Several Members of Congress will soon introduce bipartisan legislation to fix problems in the Patriot Act without weakening any of the new authority it provided to fight terrorism. This legislation -- the Security and Freedom Ensured (SAFE) Act -- would surgically add key checks and balances, like court review, on some of the Patriot Act provisions most prone to abuse.

Urge your Members of Congress to support new bipartisan legislation that would fix flaws in the Patriot Act.

OPPOSE $82 BILLION MORE FOR IRAQ (From MoveOn)


Congress has barely debated the war in Iraq or its aftermath since it voted to authorize the use of force in October 2002. Now, the Bush administration is skipping the normal budget process to ask for an additional $82 billion to fund the American presence in Iraq. Among the big-ticket items, a $600 million embassy and some 14 "enduring" bases. Those bases, and the absence of an exit strategy, will worsen, not improve the situation in Iraq.

And, remember the last $87 billion Congress authorized for the war: a whopping $9 billion of it is missing because of corrupt contracting. We must root out the corporate corruption that has undercut the rebuilding efforts and lost billions of taxpayers' money.

Join me in signing this petition to insist that America has an exit strategy from Iraq with a timeline, that we do not construct permanent bases in Iraq and that we end war profiteering by corporations.

http://www.moveonpac.org/iraq/



STAND UP AGAINST TOM DELAY’S ETHICAL ABUSES (From True Majority)

House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay has dishonored the people's house. His pattern of unethical and illegal behavior is an offense to democracy itself, and he must step down from his leadership post.

Ask your Representative to stand up against Tom DeLay’s abuses. Just click "Reply" and "Send" if you’re a TrueMajority member, and we’ll forward that message to your Representative (text below). If you aren’t a member, or this was forwarded to you, click here to send the message.

http://truemajority.kintera.org/dumpdelay



HOST A “DUMP DELAY” HOUSE PARTY (From Common Cause)

Our efforts to expose the collapsed ethics process in DeLay's House are working. Four major newspapers in Texas have now come out with scathing editorials criticizing Tom DeLay (R-TX) for his pattern of ethical misbehavior. The list of editorials is piling up and includes major newspapers from conservative states such as Alabama, Colorado, and Utah.

Let us continue our fight to restore integrity in DeLay's House. Please consider hosting a house party on Tuesday, April 12:

www.partyhostcenter.com/CommonCause

Invite your friends, family and neighbors to your living room and educate them on how the Republican leadership shut down the ethics process in the House to protect DeLay, and why it is imperative the process not only be restored, but improved. DeLay and other members face allegations that they took foreign trips illegally paid for by lobbyists and/or foreign governments, and those questions must be answered.

Join us in organizing house parties coast to coast. The parties will be connected via a live conference call at 9:00 pm EST with Common Cause President Chellie Pingree and author and radio talk show host Jim Hightower, the Lone Star firebrand from DeLay's home state. www.partyhostcenter.com/CommonCause







ONE" FOR ALL – SIGN THE ONE DECLARATION TO HELP END GLOBAL POVERTY

A diverse coalition of anti-poverty groups, including Bread for the World and World Vision, and celebrities like Bono, lead singer of the rock group U2, and hundreds of thousands of individuals across the United States have come together as ONE to fight global AIDS, extreme poverty and hunger via the ONE Campaign.

This is a new effort to rally people in the United States - ONE by ONE. Together, we stand as God's living presence to help others help themselves in an historic compact for compassion and justice for the most vulnerable people in our world. This campaign is joined by similar initiatives in several countries around the globe to work to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a list of eight achievable commitments to address issues including AIDS, extreme poverty and hunger. The MDGs were approved by 189 countries, including the United States in 2000.

What to Do: Sign the ONE Campaign Declaration (see link below). By signing the declaration online you will be sending a signal to our nation's political leaders that we want to do more to respond to the emergency of AIDS, extreme poverty and hunger. We need a historic new compact, one that provides an additional 1 percent of the U.S. budget to help poor countries fight poverty while combating corruption. This will enable countries to vaccinate children, provide clean water and a future of hope.

· Learn more and Sign the ONE Declaration

Bread for the World One Campaign



STOP IDENTITY THEFT! (From Consumers Union)

Another week, another identity theft scandal. It seems like every week another company announces that its security has been breached, putting more consumers at risk of identity theft. First ChoicePoint reported that crooks had gained access to sensitive information on 145,000 consumers. Then Lexis-Nexis and WestLaw came under fire for lax security practices that make identity theft easy. Enough is enough.

Act now! Urge Congress to pass the Information Protection and Security Act so companies are held accountable for preventing thieves from stealing your sensitive personal information.

https://secure2.convio.net/cu/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr001=h86m58tz73.app1a&page=UserAction&cmd=display&id=425



STOP FUNDING FOR NEW NUCLEAR WEAPONS! (From Act Now)

The Bush administration this year is reviving its proposal for a new generation of "usable" nuclear weapons, often described as "bunker busters." Your actions and the efforts of thousands of others helped support efforts by Rep. David Hobson (OH) to eliminate funding for these weapons in 2004. Now we need to mobilize again to slam the door shut on these new nuclear weapons before the administration proposal gains momentum.

Act Now! Contact your representatives today. Urge them to call for the elimination of all funding for the bunker buster weapons from the defense authorization bill and the energy and water appropriations bill that Congress is now drafting. Also, thank Congress for eliminating funding for the bunker buster weapons last year. Tell your representatives that new nuclear weapons will not make the world more secure.

Developing new nuclear weapons sends a message to the rest of the world that nuclear weapons are usable. This undermines U.S. security.

Contacting your members of Congress is easy. You can email or fax your member of Congress for free by going to FCNL's website at http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=7330336&type=CO. Once there, you will also find talking points to help you write your letter. It is best to put your message in your own words, since congressional staff often ignore "form letters."



VOTE DOWN THE "BANKRUTPCY ABUSE" ACT

Do you have to pay 25, 35 percent or more on your ccards? How do you like huge overlimit and late charges? Have they raised your interest to the max the first time you were one day late?

The Senate turned aside all attempts to include measures prohibiting credit gouging in the proposed bill. Moreover, they would not act to do anything about the untouchable asset protection trusts the corporate elite use to shield THEIR accounts, perhaps what they may have embezzled from your own pension annuity through accounting theft. What are you going to do about this? What MUST we do about it?

Here is the page to continue the fight in the House http://www.usalone.com/bankruptcy.htm





PROTECT ACCESS TO BIRTH CONTROL (From Act For Change)

It usually happens like this: a woman goes to her doctor and receives
her birth control prescription, and then gets it filled at the pharmacy.
Right? Wrong. Welcome to the anti-choice movement’s latest — and most
insidious — attack on a woman’s right to choose.

Here’s what’s happening: *In as many as 20 states, pharmacies are able
to refuse to fill women’s prescriptions for contraception — including
the morning-after pill.*

It’s truly outrageous. When a woman and her doctor decide that a
prescription for contraception is in the woman’s best interest, a third
party has no right to override that decision. Pharmacies must ensure
that their customers get their doctor-prescribed medication without
delay or inconvenience.

Click here to tell our nation’s biggest pharmacies — Wal-Mart, CVS, Rite
Aid, Walgreens and Eckerd — not to stand between a woman and her
physician
<http://act.actforchange.com/cgi-bin7/DM/y/nejp0JLuSW0Okb0xCR0EK>.



THANK STARBUCKS FOR PUTTING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE NEWS MESSAGES ON ITS COFFEE CUPS
Conservatives are steamed at Starbucks’ campaign to put news messages on its coffee cups—such as educating the public about the soaring deficit and environmental problems. Starbucks is being pressured to include conservative voices on its cups. Please e-mail Starbucks at the link below and thank them for airing progressive views. Urge them to stand firm against conservatives’ efforts to distort the truth—and to continue bringing these important messages to their customers.
http://www.starbucks.com/retail/thewayiseeit_comments.asp

SUPPORT ENERGY INDEPENDENCE
Apollo Alliance and Set America Free Join Forces
Set America Free and The Apollo Alliance, two fast-growing coalitions calling for a new national commitment to reducing dependence on oil, today announced plans to partner on efforts to change U.S. energy policies.

"There is remarkable agreement among many so-called strange bedfellows – labor and business, environmentalists and evangelicals, governors and generals, urbanites and farmers – that we can’t afford to finance both sides of the war on terror while losing American clean energy jobs to overseas competitors." Bracken Hendricks, Executive Director of the Apollo Alliance. Read the Press Release

Join America's Governors in Challenging
President Bush on Supporting Clean Energy!
Support Governors Granholm, Richardson and Rendell's call for strong national leadership to"embrace an ambitious, new vision for American energy independence," by signing the petition and spreading the word
Sign the Petition:
http://www.apolloalliance.org/gov.cfm


URGE YOUR SENATORS TO OPPOSE WILLIA G. MYERS: BUSH’S NOMINEE FOR THE 9TH CIRCUIT COURT (from CapWiz)
On March 17, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 10 to 8 in favor of William G. Myers III’s nomination to the Ninth Circuit Court. Bush’s appointee, a former cattle industry lobbyist and Solicitor for the Department of the Interior, was already rejected once through a Democratic filibuster. Myers will likely be the first in a series of previous nominees to be reintroduced before an ideologically divided Senate in which the threat of the “nuclear option” looms large.
http://capwiz.com/thenation/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=7302166

DON’T GIVE THE UN THE FINGER: URGE YOUR SENATORS TO OPPOSE NOMINATION OF JOHN BOLTON FOR AMBASSADOR TO THE UN
Undersecretary of State for Arms Control John Bolton is a poor choice to serve as the US Ambassador to the United Nations. From his post at the State Department, he oversaw the administration’s failed non-proliferation policy, was an outspoken proponent of the principle of pre-emptive war and was a major opponent of the International Criminal Court, which many in the UN see as the only realistic solution to the ongoing genocide in Sudan. Moreover, Bolton is an inexperienced diplomat with a history of belligerent opposition to the United Nations itself.
http://capwiz.com/thenation/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=7176191

WAFFLERS OF MASS DECEPTION:
Urge the Senate Committee to finish the WMD report
http://capwiz.com/thenation/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=7298756

REJECT BUSH’S AGENDA ON SOCIAL SECURITY
Urge your reps to oppose privatization of Social Security.
http://capwiz.com/thenation/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=6750026

PRESERVE TAX INCENTIVES FOR CONSERVATION (From Save Our Environment)

Unfortunately, Congress recently released a report that recommends eliminating tax benefits for Americans who support conservation directly by donating land or providing easements for conservation. Easements have made it possible for Americans to protect 34 million acres at much less cost than any other method.

Our government should be encouraging land owners to support conservation, not discouraging them! We need your help to protect these tax benefits that encourage Americans to conserve their land.

Click here to send a free fax to Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) urging them to protect our natural heritage by preserving tax incentives for conservation.



TELL SCHWAB “HANDS OFF SOCIAL SECURITY!” (From Union Voice)

Let’s show Schwab we aren't going away. Please click the following link to send a fax to a Charles Schwab office near you telling the investment giant to drop its support for privatizing Social Security.

www.unionvoice.org/campaign/SchwabShame

Last week we sure were loud and we sure got enough media coverage—but we’re not going to let up an inch until Schwab drops their support for the harmful plans to privatize our Social Security.

Get this: Charles Schwab executives, starting to feel the heat, claim the firm has “not taken a position” on privatizing Social Security. Schwab is ashamed of its support for privatization—and it should be! Privatizing Social Security would devastate working people, like their clients, by slashing guaranteed benefits, exploding federal debt and opening Social Security up to political corruption and Enron-ization—while handing billions in fees to companies like Schwab that would manage privatized accounts. So Schwab wants us to believe it’s just an innocent bystander in the attack on retirement security.



VOTE IN THE “BIG MEDIA HALL OF SHAME” POLL (From Freepress.net)

http://www.freepress.net/hallofshame/

[crispini]

1. CALL IN AGAINST THE NUCLEAR OPTION!

I just did. If the 800 number's not working for you you can find the direct line for your senators at:

www.congress.org