Hello : July 2013

20130725

Stand with me: No more endless wars

From: Rep. Barbara Lee via org.credoaction.com <act@credoaction.com>

Subject: Stand with me: No more endless wars

The email below is from Congresswoman Barbara Lee, a fearless progressive with an unparalleled record of doing what is right under the toughest of circumstances. She was the ONLY member of Congress to vote against giving George W. Bush a blank check for war in the wake of 9/11. She started a petition on org.credoaction.com, where activists can launch their own campaigns for progressive change. We strongly urge you to sign Representative Lee's petition to repeal the overly broad resolution Congress passed in 2001 that gave President George Bush a blank check to wage war anywhere at any time, and that is still in effect today.

Dear .........................,

On September 14, 2001, I was the sole member of either house of Congress to vote against the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force. That misguided resolution is a blank check for war. It has been used to justify activities, such as warrantless surveillance, indefinite detention and the lethal use of drones, that fly in the face of our constitutional values. I am convinced that military engagement with no end in sight actually undermines our long-term national security.

This is not who we Americans think we are or who we want to be. This is why I have introduced legislation - HR 198 - that will reexamine and ultimately repeal the flawed blank-check Congressional authorization for the president to wage war anywhere at any time.

Please sign the petition to Congress, which asks the following:

Support HR 198 - Repeal of the Authorization for Use of Military Force - legislation that will reexamine and ultimately repeal the flawed blank check authorization to the president to wage war, anywhere at any time.

Now is the time for the U.S. Congress to repeal the overly broad 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force.

My bill already has more than a dozen congressional co-sponsors. But a public show of support for this effort is critical now as Congress is getting ready to consider whether to continue the blank check for the executive branch to wage endless war. That's why I'm asking you to sign on as a citizen co-sponsor.

Click here to urge Congress to repeal the blank-check authorization of war by supporting HR 198.

Thank you for your support.

Rep. Barbara Lee

org.credoaction.com helps activists like you make progressive change and fight regressive policies by creating online petitions. Click here to start a petition today.

This petition was created on org.credoaction.com, a new people-powered platform that allows activists to start and run CREDO-style campaigns.

Congress: Give bees a chance!

Friends of the Earth: Congress: Give bees a chance!

Tell your representative to support the Save America's Pollinators Act and protect our bees.

Around the world, bees are dying at alarming rates.

In June, 50,000 bumble bees were killed in a Target parking lot after neonic pesticides were sprayed on nearby trees -- the largest bumble bee die-off ever recorded. Then, in July, 37 million honey bees died on a single farm in Ontario.

But a new bill just introduced in Congress could give bees a fighting chance. Tell your representative to support the Save America's Pollinators Act and protect our bees!

This crisis is escalating at an alarming rate. Last winter, beekeepers from Texas to California consistently reported bee die-offs between 50-70 percent of their bees -- the worst year since the global bee die off known as Colony Collapse Disorder was recognized.

Without immediate action to save bees -- which pollinate two-thirds of our food crops -- everything from almonds to strawberries could disappear from supermarket shelves.

New science is pointing to the world's most popular class of pesticides called neonicotinoids (or neonics), made by giant chemical companies Bayer and Syngenta, as the key factor in this global crisis.

Thanks to Representatives John Conyers (D, Mich.) and Earl Blumenauer (D, Ore.), our bees might just have a fighting chance. They've just introduced the Save America's Pollinators Act, which would suspend the use of toxic, bee-killing pesticides until a full review of scientific evidence indicates they are safe and a field study demonstrates they do no harm to bees and other pollinators.

But they need support from your representative to get this bill passed, so this is a critical opportunity for you to take action to save bees.

This past spring, the European Union placed a two year ban on most neonics -- but our own EPA is dragging its feet, ignoring mounting scientific evidence and delaying action until 2018.

The bees can't wait, and neither can we.

Tell Congress to stand up for our bees today and support the Save America's Pollinators Act!

Standing with you,
Lisa Archer,
Food and Technology program director,
Friends of the Earth

Image credit: Flickr/Stilgherrian, Creative Commons