Keep Mad Cow out of the U.S.

Keep Mad Cow out of the U.S.
*******


Act now.

The 2003 discovery of the first case of mad cow disease in the United States cast serious doubts on years of reassurances from the meat industry and the USDA that it couldn't happen here. Now the USDA and the big meat companies want consumers to believe them again. We need your help to keep Mad Cow Disease out of the U.S.

For the last three years, the USDA has been trying to open the border to Canadian cattle over the age of thirty months. This is significant because older cattle (those over thirty months of age) are considered to be at higher risk for having Mad Cow Disease and therefore pose a greater risk if they enter the food supply. Canada has had 13 cases of Mad Cow Disease, the most recent of which was discovered in June.

So why would the United States take older, high risk cattle from a country known to have a significant prevalence of this disease? The meat companies want to be able to source cattle from wherever they are the cheapest, which is often Canada.

Combined with the known problems in U.S. slaughterhouses in following the rules for handling the risky nervous system materials believed to spread the disease, importing older Canadian cattle creates unnecessary risk for U.S. consumers.

Tell USDA to put public health before meat industry profits and not to open the border to older Canadian cattle. Take Action Now.


Thanks for taking action,
Patty Lovera, Deputy Director
Food & Water Watch

Wall Street

*******

"The Bush economy is in crisis, and giving Bush a blank check is not the solution. Congress must act by putting Main Street ahead of Wall Street."

Sign the petition

Dear MoveOn member,

Turn on the TV and you’ll be told that we’re on the brink of imminent crisis—and the only solution is for Congress to turn over vast power to the Bush administration and trust they’ll use it wisely. Sound familiar?

This time, it’s not to authorize war in Iraq. Bush wants taxpayers to give his administration a $700 billion check with no strings attached, which they’ll then hand over to the same Wall Street firms that got us into this mess.1

It’s clear something needs to be done to deal with the disastrous Bush economy, but Bush’s blank check proposal is not the answer. Yesterday, Barack Obama laid out key principles for dealing with this situation. Obama’s main point: Main Street must be put ahead of Wall Street, and no blank check for the Bush administration.


Members of Congress are trying to figure out what to do, and they need to hear from the public. Can you sign this message to your members of Congress today, supporting Obama’s principles?

“The Bush economy is in crisis, and giving Bush a blank check is not the solution. Congress must act by putting Main Street ahead of Wall Street.”

Click here to sign:
http://pol.moveon.org/wallstreet/

We’ll deliver every signature to Congress this week—so please forward this message to some friends and ask them to speak out with you. Everyone who signs will be given the phone numbers for their Senators and Representative. Calling them will increase our impact.

President Bush wants Congress to give his Treasury Secretary (Henry Paulson, a former Wall Street executive) $700 billion with no congressional or court oversight. That amounts to $2,000 for every single American.2

Would it help families struggling to keep their homes? NO. Do taxpayers get any share of the firms we’re bailing out, so we can benefit from any eventual profit? NO. Would the firms we’re bailing out be required to stop paying their executives multimillion-dollar salaries? NO.3This is a pure giveaway of epic proportions.

Even some Republicans are admitting this is crazy. Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) asked, “Just how long can the poor beleaguered taxpayer be expected to bear all the losses and bear all the risk?”4 Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio) said, “I’m getting a lot of calls from my district, with people saying, why are you bailing out the big guys and not us?”5

Here are the principles Obama laid out over the weekend:

* No blank check. We must insist on independent accountability and oversight.
* Main Street, not just Wall Street. We need an emergency economic plan to help working families—a plan that would help folks cope with rising gas and food prices, create infrastructure jobs, etc.
* Help homeowners stay in their homes. We cannot have a plan for Wall Street banks that does not help homeowners stay in their homes and help distressed communities.
* Taxpayers should be protected. This should not be a handout to Wall Street.
* Rescue requires mutual responsibility. Institutions that benefit from taxpayer help must help protect American homeowners and the American economy. We cannot underwrite continued irresponsibility.
* Build a regulatory structure for the 21st Century. We should commit ourselves to new rules of the road for the 21st Century economy.
* A global response. The United States must lead, but we must also insist that other nations, who have a huge stake in the outcome, join us in helping to secure the financial markets.6

There are many in Congress who want to do the right thing, but they need to know the public has their back. Can you sign our petition to Congress today?

Thanks for all you do.

–-Adam G., Noah, Andrea, Wes and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. “Administration Is Seeking $700 Billion for Wall Street,” New York Times, September 20, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/business/21cong.html

2. Ibid.

3. “What Wall Street Should Be Required to Do, to Get A Blank Check From Taxpayers,” Blog post by former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, September 21, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=30341&id=13979-9982674-PK9bNTx&t=6

4. “Lawmakers Left On the Sidelines As Fed, Treasury Take Swift Action,” Washington Post, September 18, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=30342&id=13979-9982674-PK9bNTx&t=7

5. “Democrats eye bailout—and more,” Politico, September 19, 2008
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13644.html

6. “Senator Obama’s Statement of Principles for the Treasury Proposal,” September 21, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=30343&id=13979-9982674-PK9bNTx&t=8


Want to support our work? We’re entirely funded by our 4.2 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

MoveOn Take Action Page

Oil Prices Spike Again

Thanks to Mick Gallagher.
*******

Oil Prices Spike Again
Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:26:01 -0400 (EDT)

Dear Friends of the Heart,

Last Thursday, the House of Representatives acted to curb excessive speculation, but in the absence of any indication that the Senate will act, prices have spiked. The largest one-day price increase in NYMEX history occurred today. Although we recognize the impact of the financial crisis on Wall Street, the weak dollar and the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, this unprecedented 16% one date jump also reflects the impact of excessive energy speculation. Reversing recent price decreases, oil peaked at nearly $130 a barrel, closing at $120.92 a barrel reflecting the impact of excessive energy speculation.

The market's extreme volatility suggests that speculators who withdrew tens of billions of dollars from the energy markets when Congress threatened to tighten oversight over excessive and harmful speculation breathed a sigh of relief last week when action in the Senate seemed unlikely, and returned to the energy markets in full force today.

We need a bipartisan approach to a national energy policy. Congress must pass a comprehensive energy plan (Send your Senators a message: http://www.stopoilspeculationnow.com/) or all Americans will pay the price as oil prices return to or exceed this summer's record levels.

Sincerely,

Coalition to Stop Oil Speculation Now

*******

Bush Must Be Impeached for this Criminal War

Thanks to Mick Gallagher.

BUSH MUST BE IMPEACHED FOR THIS CRIMINAL WAR
*******

Cindy Sheehan marches, soldiers speak out, and momentum builds for September 15th

Click here to vote in the referendum to Impeach Bush!

The response has been overwhelming to the September 15 March on Washington D.C. With the help of you and thousands of others, we can make the call for the impeachment of bush and cheney resound throughout the land.

September 15 is the date that General David Petraus, representing the bush administration, must report to Congress on the Iraq war. The eyes of the world and national media will be on Washington, DC as bush tries to spin this criminal endeavor in Iraq one more time. We are mobilizing with the anti-war movement to ensure that the demands of the people are heard loud and clear. Bush must be impeached for this criminal war, which was based solely on bold-faced lies to Congress and to the people.

Between now and September 15, there will be a series of high visibility actions demanding: Impeach Bush and Cheney. Cindy Sheehan and others are in the middle of a dramatic march from Crawford, Texas that will arrive in Washington DC on July 23. Cindy will lead a march on July 23 from Arlington Cemetery in nearby Virginia to the House of Representatives. They are insisting that the elected officials initiate Articles of Impeachment. ImpeachBush.org is mobilizing support for this action. Cindy is posting her blog for the Journey for Humanity at the ImpeachBush.org website.

Veterans for Peace and many Iraq war veterans will also be organizing through the summer and playing a major role in the September 15 March on Washington.

The war in Iraq stands as one of the great crimes of the modern era. We, the people, must act with all of our energy to end the war and to impeach bush. This is not a partisan political act. It is a constitutional imperative.

As Ramsey Clark, in his appeal to the impeachment movement, wrote on July 2:

"-- US violence has brought death to hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and physical injury to millions.

Hundreds of billions of dollars in property destruction caused by U.S. aggression will take decades after peace to rebuild.

2.2 million Iraqi's, nearly one in ten, have fled their country to foreign exile, refugee camps and a doubtful future; while at least 2 million more have fled their homes and communities to furtive lives of quiet desperation, to inadequate housing within Iraq, without jobs or schools.

3/4's of the people do not have safe drinking water.

Iraq's internationally acclaimed and free health care system is a shambles.

Since "Shock and Awe" began in March 2003, infant mortality in Iraq has increased radically to the highest death rate of all nations.

Iraq is the most unstable country in the world.

The sight and sound of violent death has created a pervasive state of constant devastating fear.

It must be clear to every informed and thinking person that bush has no concern for human suffering, truth, freedom, democracy, peace, justice, human rights, or the Constitution of the United States. His words and acts are designed only to increase his personal power and achieve his personal agenda and that of those who share his goals and hatred."

On September 15, 2007 Iraq war veterans and their families will be in the front ranks of the demonstration. It is no wonder that they have turned against bush and cheney.

The New York Times reported in a major front page story on Sunday July 15 that soldiers and marines and their families, even those who had earlier supported bush, have turned decisively against the administration after having witnessed first hand what the war is really about.

"Among military members and their immediate families who responded to a national New York Times/CBS News poll in May, two-thirds said things were going badly, compared with just over half, about 53 percent, a year ago. Fewer than half of the families and military members said the United States did the right thing in invading Iraq. A year ago, more than half held that view, according to a similar poll taken last July.

"The New York Times: For some, the Army's efforts have come too late. Penny Preszler, 46, a furniture refurbisher in Phoenix, said she had stopped wearing red on Fridays as she had done for the past year to honor the war effort. "It was when my son started saying he wished he could be injured so he could come home," Ms. Preszler said.

"There was no pride left in his voice, just this robotic sense of despair," she said, describing a telephone conversation with her son, Skyler, 24, an infantryman on his second tour of duty in Iraq. "Mom, we killed women on the street today. We killed kids on bikes. We had no choice," she recounted his saying.

The same week, she said, her son told her he thought he had seen the worst when he had to pick up the body parts of his dead buddy, but then he saw an Iraqi boy picking up "what was left of his dead father."

We are printing 500,000 leaflets, flyers, and stickers, and setting up outreach committees for the September 15th March in Washington all over the country. We are renting buses to bring people from around the country for the demonstration. We are planning newspaper ads. All of this costs money. The struggle for justice and for government accountability will not be funded by Corporate America. It depends on you and the commitment of thousands of people who understand the stakes.

Please donate today by clicking this link

We can organize, arouse public opinion, and raise funds over the summer to bring a massive turnout on September 15 in Washington DC, demanding Impeachment and an end to the war.
If you want to be listed as an endorser and supporter of the September 15th demonstration, you can do so by clicking this link.

**********************
Click here for the ImpeachBush Resource Center.