FOURTH DISTRICT DEMOCRAT

MY SOAP BOX by Mary Francis

NO Nuclear Subsidies!
June 3, 2008

 

A few Facts about the Climate Security Act, now being debated in the Senate:

The Union of Concerned Scientists has called on activists to step up their
efforts by urging senators to help strengthen the bill and oppose any weakening
amendments. Specifically, senators must:

 

Require science-based emission reductions of at least 80 percent by 2050 and ensure that the Environmental Protection Agency adjusts this target if the National Academy of Sciences finds that we are not on track to avoid dangerous warming.

Eliminate or significantly reduce free emission allowances for polluters. Proceeds from auctioned allowances and any free allowances should benefit public programs and promote investment in clean energy technologies.

 

Oppose attempts to provide additional subsidies for coal or nuclear power, which already receive substantial benefits under this bill.

The quote below is from Working Assets (my long distance carrier
who refused to cave to Bush's demand for Warrantless Wiretaps:

" ... unless dramatically improved, the (Climate Security Act) provides
massive giveaways to the worst polluters while guaranteeing that
greenhouse gases will be reduced less than the scientific consensus
requires.

 

Not surprisingly, insider politics have taken over the climate change debate in the Senate. Progress is now being defined as how many votes the legislation can muster, rather than the cost of the deals made to get each vote. Real progress on global warming is no longer the goal. Now the goal is simply votes without progress. For example, Sen. Lieberman is trying to entice John McCain to support the legislation with even more billions for nuclear power. (emphasis added. mf) And senators from states that rely heavily on coal burning industries want special bonuses so that they won't be penalized for polluting choices of the past ...

I say, "Drat these spineless Dems! Working Assets and UCS are right!"
Once those corporations get Free Emissions Permits and Nuclear Subsidies,
it will be like pulling hen's teeth to get 'em back!

I urge you to call these Washington critters tonight. Use your free cell calls
and leave a voice message. Almost all of them have voicemail at night.
*************** Isn't this worth an hour of a your time? ****************
I called 25 congress members in just under one hour. A list containing
28 swing votes in the senate is attached.

 

Tell the fiscal conservatives the cost of inaction far outweighs the cost
of addressing climate change. The costs of cutting emissions to safe levels would be between 1 and 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), while
the costs of allowing climate change to proceed unabated would be on the
order of 10 to 20 percent of GDP. (Info from UCS website.)

Call your Congress Critter and leave a message!

Mary Francis

********************************************************************************

MARY FRANCIS GIVES TC AN OLD FASHIONED TALKING TO

EDITOR: GOOD TO HEAR FROM MARY FRANCIS

Besides using the link at
http://capwiz.com/okccps/issues/alert/?alertid=10355971
   I also went to his official contact page
http://www.cole.house.gov/contact-tom-form.html
Use any idea or part of my letter you want.
Please Distribute these links. 
He needs to hear from ALL of us.  Mary Francis
*****************************************************************
Dear Representative Cole,
As a constituent who cares about the health and well-being of our nation's children, I was horrified to see that you had voted against H.R. 976, the bill to reauthorize and improve the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
As a Congressmember, you enjoy "government funded" health care, as does the president, federal workers, and our deserving troops and veterans.  
If we can have a "government funded" occupation of Iraq we certainly can have public support for the millions of OUR nation's children who need healthcare--according to FamilesUSA, this would include around 77,000 of the nearly 150,000 uninsured children in Oklahoma.  
Do you really think we'd get approval for a lift in the income cap to $80,000 from both the Health and Human Services Department AND approval from the President who VETOED this bill?  Get real!  
You talk about FAMILY VALUES ... how CYNICAL can this party get? How CORRUPT?  How GREEDY?  How UnCHRISTIAN?  
Show us those Family Values.  OVERRIDE this veto.  Do the Right Thing.  Do the Christian Thing.  Do the Compassionate Thing.  "Suffer the little children to come unto me." said Jesus.  Follow Him.
I look forward to hearing from you about this matter and hope that you will have a change of heart and represent our state's children in need. Please vote to override the veto.
Never more sincere than now,
Mary Francis

Technorati Tags: Mary Francis, health insurance

**************************************************************************

Mary Francis
cell: 405 474-0695

"The political pendulum is starting its return swing. Now is the time to be heard."
                                                                         -Rita Brock, Faith Voices

        "Now is the time to speak truth to religious charlatans."  -Mary Francis

"If airplane code were written to the same standards of reliability as voting
 machines, every day about 10 planes flying out of Baltimore/Washington
 International would experience a software failure during flight."
                                        - Justin Moore, Duke University Software Analyst

  
"If you like your freedoms, ... thank a protester." 
              -Brian Terrell, farmer and director of the Catholic Peace Ministry
               He references the abolitionist, labor, women's suffrage and civil rights
               movements as evidence that civil disobedience plays an important role
               in social change.

MY SOAP BOX by Mary Francis

The House Bill is pathetic.  Please forward this info and include some of it in your letters to Cole,

Inhofe and Coburn - or in a letter to the editor.  Several of you have websites -

please put it up. 

Thanks,  Mary Francis

****************************************************

ANALYSIS OF THE HOUSE FUNDING FOR WAR BILL

by Mary Francis

§   MORE FUNDING FOR THE IRAQ QUAGMIRE

The bill gives President Bush more than $100 Billion in additional taxpayer funds to spend on the Iraq quagmire - everything he asked for, and more.

§     EXEMPTING TROOPS FROM THE WITHDRAWAL DATE

The bill does have language calling for the withdrawal of some troops from Iraq by either August or September 2008. But it exempts all troops "training the Iraqi military" “engaged in special operations," or "protecting diplomatic enclaves."   These huge loopholes allow from 60,000 to 80,000 troops to remain stationed permanently in Iraq.

§    BRINGING THE TROOPS HOME - NOT

The troops withdrawn from Iraq don't have to be sent home to the USA. They can be re-deployed immediately to Afghanistan, bases in Arab countries, ships in the Persian Gulf, or used to attack Iran.

§    SENDING ADDITIONAL TROOPS TO IRAQ

The bill does require that any additional troops must be fully trained, adequately equipped, and adequately rested between deployments. But the requirement is toothless - it includes a waiver whereby President Bush simply states his intention to override those restrictions.

§  LEAVING PERMANENT U.S. BASES IN IRAQ

The bill prohibits construction of new permanent bases in Iraq. But it doesn’t close the existing bases. In fact it includes additional billions marked for "military construction."  What does that tell you?

§    TAKING OVER IRAQ'S OIL INDUSTRY

The bill requires Iraq's government to pass new oil legislation. The legislation now being considered in the Iraqi parliament opens the Iraq’s oil industry to control by international, and especially U.S., corporations.

§    FUNDING MERCENARIES 

There are about 100,000 mercenaries in Iraq, exempt from U.S. military restrictions, but paid - at much higher rates than the military - with U.S. taxpayer funds. The bill does cut funding for such "private military contractors"- but only by 10%.

§   ENDING THE OCCUPATION - NOT

The bill could have directed all further funding be spent on bring the troops home and ending the occupation. It does not do that.

§   ALLOWING AN ATTACK ON IRAN

Amendments requiring the president to abide by the Constitution and seek Congressional approval for any pre-emptive war on Iran have been stripped from the bill.

- from notes by Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies

Mary Francis
home: 405 310-6399
cell: 405 474-0695

"The political pendulum is starting its return swing. Now is the time to be heard."
                                                                                        -Rita Brock

        "Now is the time to speak truth to religious charlatans."  -Mary Francis

"If airplane code were written to the same standards of reliability as voting
 machines, every day about 10 planes flying out of Baltimore/Washington
 International would experience a software failure during flight."
                                        - Justin Moore, Duke University Software Analyst

  
"If you like your freedoms, ... thank a protester." 
              -Brian Terrell, farmer and director of the Catholic Peace Ministry
               He references the abolitionist, labor, women's suffrage and civil rights
               movements as evidence that civil disobedience plays an important role
               in social change.