Wednesday, April 13, 2016

I made it!

Greetings, Dot Calm Readers and
fellow Truth Crusaders!

I made it back from my trip to the Big City! It was a great trip, and we had a great time.

And now...let's get down to bidnith!

Don't forget to read Dot Calm's shadow's favorite independent sources of news and information:

Daily Kos
AlterNet
Democracy Now!
Conservatives are Destroying our Future
Conservative Clown Car
Americans Against the Republican Party
Americans Against the Tea Party
Mrs. Betty Bowers
God, the Good Lord Above

...And, whatever you do,
VOTE BERNIE!!!!!

If at all possible, send him a buck o' five.
 
Don't forget to hug and kiss your loved ones today, and please be good to yourselves because I'd give all of you a great big hug if I could right now. I totes heart you! Totes ma goats!

- Dot Calm's shadow
 
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ATTENTION, REPUBLICANS!
Obama is coming
for your guns 'n' Bibles
November 8, 2016.
DO NOT
LEAVE YOUR HOUSE
THAT DAY
FOR ANY REASON!
The rights you save
may be your own!
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Roe v Wade didn't START women having abortions...it stopped women from DYING from them.
Just ask "agitated american," who wrote I used a hanger.
She was one of the lucky ones who survived to mother the children she already had and adored.
Too many Christians wish she had died a painful, agonizing death...slut that she was...how DARE she have sex, even while married?!??
I guess her painful, agonizing death would have been a real blessing from God for her husband and children.

It was 1971. I had given birth to four live babies within 2 ½ years. I had no prenatal care for the first three births. We were very poor, very ignorant.

I was just 20 in May, 1966, when my first son was born two weeks early, 7 ½ pounds. I wasn’t ready to be a mother, but I fell in love with him instantly.

My young husband told me he’d heard that new mothers couldn’t get pregnant while they were nursing. He was wrong. In February, 1967, my second son was born, two months early, 3 ½ pounds. He lived 36 hours in an incubator, since his lungs weren’t developed. “At least you have your firstborn!” people said, trying to console me.

We used a diaphragm after that. It hurt and slipped around, annoying my husband no end. My third son was born in January, 1968. He was barely 3 pounds, and lived only 24 hours in an incubator.

They asked if I wanted to see him before taking him away. As I held his little body my husband lost it and swept everything off the hospital tray table onto the floor in a fit of rage.

The funeral home attempted to have him buried beside his brother, with just a marker on his grave, but failed. My two infant sons don’t even lie side by side in a graveyard somewhere in North Georgia.

We used an IUD after that. It, too, was uncomfortable, and I never knew if it was inserted correctly. My daughter was born in December, 1968.

Looking back, I now realize I was in mourning during that pregnancy. My maternity clothes were brown and black. I tried to endure the pregnancy without thinking about the baby inside, always expecting the worst outcome.

But this time would be different. After learning I was pregnant, we moved to Central Illinois, and I finally hooked up with a gynecologist. Dr. H. carried a pager on his belt. He saved me.

My daughter sailed past her 28th week, into her 8th month, and beyond. I was so relieved. Came the day when Dr. H. said he’d induce labor in 2 more weeks.

She had other plans. He was in church when his pager summoned him to the hospital after my water broke. She was all of 7 pounds, and breathed on her own right away. I was ecstatic.

We thought we had finally gotten the contraception thing down when I awoke one morning in 1971 knowing I was pregnant again. I knew , too, that I could not go through that again.

Abortion was illegal. Roe vs. Wade wasn’t even on the horizon. We’d both been raised in very strictly religious families. It didn’t even occur to me to go see Dr. H. I couldn’t tell anyone, not even my husband. I knew I had to take care of this immediately on my own.

I’d seen the device Dr. H. had used for a dilation and curettage known as a D&C, the procedure doctors use to remove uterine contents. And I’d heard of hangers being used for abortions. I thought a hanger would make a useful D&C.

I didn’t feel any pain, but I knew I’d punctured the uterine wall when I felt sort of a pop. I was wrong about the hanger, but I still expected everything to be okay.

A week later we were in a restaurant when I began feeling faint. I had a raging fever: 106. Dr. H. said get to the hospital immediately.

They put me on an ice blanket to bring the temperature down. I was diagnosed with a “mysterious” pulmonary embolism, a blood clot on my lung. They didn’t let me see my children while I was in the hospital. After a long week I was finally allowed to go home.

I was lucky. A sustained temperature that high can lead to brain damage and even death.
Dr. H. saw me again in his office a few days later. Of course he knew I’d been pregnant, called it a miscarriage, and did another D&C. He never probed about what happened, I never volunteered.

What he said next told me that he didn’t have to ask. Another of his patients, he said, was experiencing the same “mysterious” symptoms I had had. I knew exactly what he meant.

He offered to do a tubal ligation — tie my tubes. I’d never heard of it. I had no idea there was such a simple procedure that could prevent me from ever getting pregnant again. My nightmare was finally over.

Two years later abortion became legal. My desperate circumstances almost cost my life, and my two beautiful children their mother. But I saw no other options for myself then. I deserved other options.

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Headlines from HuffPo

I was sitting on the train headed home this evening and saw several great articles on Huffington Post. Unfortunately, the computer loads the home page differently, so I can't find them all now. D'oh!! Go check out HuffPo, though, when you get a chance--you'll see how big, profitable corporations are paying an average of 14% on their profits--many get rebates on their taxes...rebates that YOU and I pay for...and don't pay ANY taxes at all! And my Tea Party Christian friend thinks that Berners want free stuff...why would he rather pad the pockets of the already disgustingly rich instead of helping his fellow HUMANS survive until the next day?!??

Anyway, here were some kewl HuffPo headlines that I did find once I got home:

Bernie Sanders Joins Verizon Workers On Picket Line
Report: Trump Aide Who Roughed Up Reporter To Get Free Pass
A Coordinated National Effort to Decimate Public Schools
Lawmaker Wants 'National Day Of Reason' As Alternative To Day Of Prayer
It's Tax Time, But Corporations Aren't Paying
 
********************************************
Republicans like Rafael "BUSTed" Cruz
do not want women to have access
to safe, effective birth control or abortion.
They want to shame women who have sex
and punish them for WANTING abortions.
They want pregnant women to become
wards of the state
so that they can force women to give birth,
whether they realize it
or admit it
or not.
Why?
Just so they can control
women and their sexuality.
It has nothing to do
with saving the unborn...
these hypocrites couldn't care less about
life.
All they want is
POWER.
Over you...over me...over all of us.
********************************************

Petitions!

Donald Trump is not just allowing violence to occur at his rallies, he’s DIRECTLY inciting it.
If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? - Donald Trump
Time and time again, peaceful protesters have been beaten by Trump’s supporters while spectators look on and cheer.

In one incident in North Carolina, Trump even offered to pay for the legal fees of one of his supporters who punched a protester.

This is UNACCEPTABLE. Sign your name to urge the Attorney General to charge Trump for inciting a riot >>

The law is clear: by going from state to state and expressly encouraging violence, Trump is guilty of inciting a riot.
18 U.S. Code, Section 2101
Whoever travels in interstate or foreign commerce... to organize, promote, encourage, participate in, or carry on a riot; or to commit any act of violence in furtherance of a riot; or to aid or abet any person in inciting or participating in or carrying on a riot or committing any act of violence in furtherance of a riot… shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

Regardless of Trump’s dangerous political platform, his behavior has crossed the line, and it’s only a matter of time before even more people get hurt.

We CANNOT allow this to continue. Sign our urgent petition today calling on the Attorney General to charge Trump for inciting violence:

www.ChargeTrump.com

We stand together,

BOLD PAC

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From UltraViolet
 
Over 26,000 UltraViolet members have joined you in calling for Google to dump Trump. Google is feeling the pressure--but not enough yet.1 That's why we're taking our demand for Google to refuse to sponsor the Republican National Convention straight to its political headquarters.

Will you call Google's VP of Government Relations, Susan Molinari, to demand Google dump Trump now? Here's the number: (202) 346-1100 (press 0 when prompted).

After you call, please let us know how the call went.

Google's known as a leader in corporate social responsibility, and it prides itself on having a progressive image.2 Google doesn't want to be associated with the Trump brand of hate, misogyny, xenophobia, and violence. Google's government relations office in Washington, D.C. handles all of its political relationships--like the ones it holds with the Republican National Convention. If we flood the Government Affairs office phone lines with calls, Google will hear our message loud and clear.

It's always best to speak in your own words, but here are some points to guide you:

  • Google has been ranked as a top company for social responsibility. Does Google really want to be associated with Trump's brand of racism, sexism, xenophobia, and violence?
  • It's not just about what Trump says--he's inciting violence. The Republican National Convention could be so dangerous, Cleveland is purchasing riot gear to prepare. 
  • Coca-Cola just backed out of sponsoring Trump's Republican National Convention. Will Google do the right thing too?

Will you make a call now?

Thank you for speaking out.

--Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Karin, Adam, Holly, Kaili, Kathy, Onyi, Susan, Clarise, Anathea, Audine, Ryan, Shannon, Megan, Kaytee, and Libby, the UltraViolet Action team

Sources:

1. Corporations Grow Nervous About Participating in Republican Convention, New York Times, March 30, 2016

2. The 2 Most Socially Responsible Tech Companies of 2015, Motley Fool, October 11, 2015

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Another From UltraViolet
 
This summer's Supreme Court case, Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, is hands down the biggest abortion rights case of the generation. Seriously. Nervous you don't know all the facts? Luckily, the must-see film Trapped, follows the case through the eyes of abortion clinic staff fighting to provide quality abortion care in the midst of constant attacks by anti-abortion extremists. This film is more than informative--it's INSPIRING.

Thanks to a collaboration between UltraViolet and the filmmakers, you can see it for free by hosting a watch event in your community the week of May 1-7.

Trapped shows how the movement to end abortion access isn't just in the South--it will spread like wildfire unless we take action. The first step is getting informed by watching this film.

Whether you've been following every twist, turn, and anti-abortion law or this is your first introduction to the case, you can make sure your community is educated and ready to act by hosting a screening of Trapped. Can you make sure there is a screening in Fairfax between May 1 and May 7?

Hosting a screening is easy--we will send you a DVD and materials and be with you step-by-step as you prepare. You just need to recruit your community to attend and guide the evening.

Thanks for all you do.

--Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Karin, Adam, Holly, Kaili, Kathy, Onyi, Susan, Clarise, Anathea, Audine, Ryan, Shannon, Megan, Kaytee, and Libby, the UltraViolet team


Want to support our work? UltraViolet is funded by members like you, and our tiny staff ensures small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.
 
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Bernie Sanders for President

I need to share a story with you. It will probably anger you, but hopefully it will also inspire you to take action in support of one of the most courageous people I’ve met during this campaign.
 
Lucy Flores was the first Latina assemblywoman in Nevada and made national news when she became one of the first elected officials to testify about an abortion she had at the age of 16.
 
During her 2014 campaign one D.C. pro-choice group, EMILY’s List, endorsed her and added that she was an "inspiring community leader." They even kicked off a program to elect more Latinas to Congress in 2016.
 
But then Lucy Flores endorsed our political revolution before the Nevada caucus, and everything changed. EMILY’s List decided to endorse a different person in Lucy’s House race this time around. So I want to support Lucy like she’s supported us, because we stand together. And I am asking you to join me:
 
Split a contribution between our campaign and Lucy Flores today and send a powerful message that we are going to win this primary AND elect a Congress willing to stand up to the political establishment and billionaire class of this country.

If you've saved payment info with ActBlue Express, your donation will automatically be evenly split between Lucy Flores and Bernie 2016:

Throughout this campaign, I’ve told you that no candidate for president – not Bernie Sanders, not the greatest president you could possibly imagine – can take on the billionaire class alone.
 
Lucy Flores is exactly the kind of person I'm going to need in Congress when I am president. And we can help get her there. That’s why your contribution is so important.
 
In solidarity,
Bernie Sanders
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CREDO action
Tell Congress: Stop the dangerous new anti-encryption bill.
Sign the petition to Congress:
“Stop the Burr-Feinstein Compliance with Court Orders Act of 2016 and any other legislation that would put Americans’ privacy and security at risk by undermining encryption.”
Add your name:
Sign the petition ►
 
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It's Equal Pay Day--Send a Letter to Congress!
 
Apr 12, 2016 — It’s Equal Pay Day, the day each year where women’s salaries catch up to what men made the previous year. I am in Washington talking to Congress about how the ERA will address this issue, and you can help. Send a letter to your elected representatives by clicking here http://bit.ly/1SZQyYi It’s easy: just fill in your zip code and a letter will be sent to your Senators, Representative and... Read more
 
...and fill out this petition!
 
Women in America are still paid 20¢ less than men per dollar earned. We’ve made progress by passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, but we must do more; especially when it comes to women working in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) jobs, where women make $5.23 per hour less than their male colleagues.
 
...and, while you're at it, fill out this one, too! Women need all the help they can get!
 
Tammy Duckworth believes that women deserve equal pay for equal work, and she’s consistently supported legislation that would help ensure women are paid fairly.
Mark Kirk, on the other hand, repeatedly voted against equal pay bills and even called the Paycheck Fairness Act “the most sexist legislation you can have.” 
On average, women in Illinois earn nearly $12,000 less per year than their male counterparts. 
That’s not just a problem for women - it’s an economic issue for all working families. When a woman earns less, her entire family has less money to pay the bills. Failing to act on equal pay makes it harder for families to make ends meet. 
It’s time for Congress to put the needs of working families ahead of corporate interests, and ensure that women receive the equal pay they’ve earned. Add your name:
Thank you for speaking up,
Kaitlin Fahey
Campaign Manager, Tammy for Illinois
 
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From CREDO: Protect Net Neutrality!
 
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote any day now on legislation that could stop the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from enforcing key parts of the historic Net Neutrality rules that were finalized last year.1
Under the guise of stopping the FCC from regulating the price cable and internet companies charge consumers for service, Republicans are pushing extremely broad legislation called the No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act (HR 2666) that would stop the agency from enforcing Net Neutrality rules against blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization.2
We have to fight back now to stop this Republican sneak attack on Net Neutrality.
Call Rep. Connolly: Stop the attack on Net Neutrality. Click here for a sample script and the number to call.
When the FCC finalized its Open Internet Order establishing Net Neutrality rules last year, it explicitly decided not to regulate the price of internet access. But the FCC did use sections of the Communications Act related to rate-oversight authority to justify the rules against blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization by service providers.
HR 2666, which prohibits the FCC from regulating rates, is so broadly written that it could also jeopardize the agency’s ability to enforce these crucial provisions of the Net Neutrality rules CREDO activists and others fought so hard to win.
In addition to the bill’s threat to Net Neutrality, it would also make it harder for the FCC to enforce merger conditions requiring broadband service companies to provide high-speed internet access to low-income communities. Republicans want to gut Net Neutrality and stop the FCC from protecting consumers. Let’s make sure Rep. Connolly and other Democrats don’t help them do it.
Call Rep. Connolly: Stop the attack on Net Neutrality. Click here for a sample script and the number to call.
Thanks for fighting to defend Net Neutrality.
Josh Nelson, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets
Click below for a sample script and the number to call:
Take action now ►
  1. Text of H. R. 2666, Congress.gov.
  2. Jon Brodkin, "Tom Wheeler: Bill banning “rate regulation” would kill net neutrality," Ars Technica, March 29, 2016.
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Protect Democracy: End Superdelegates Now!
 
Last weekend, Bernie trounced Hillary 56 to 44 in Wyoming.
But because of super delegates, Hillary is actually getting MORE delegates from Wyoming, 11 to 7.
This is unacceptable. We are the Democratic Party, not the un-Democratic Party.

That's why I'm working with progressive Democrats around the country to stop the super delegates from shutting down this election before the voters have had their say.
Will you stand with me by making a donation today?
The same thing that happened in Wyoming could happen in my home state of Maine, where Bernie smoked Hillary 64-36--but under the current rules could end up in a virtual tie in the actual delegate count.
And it's possible that voters in California won't get to have their voices heard at all, because the super delegates could push Clinton over the magic number of 2,383 needed to clinch the nomination before California votes on June 7.
Sometimes you have to wonder, why do they bother having voting booths at all?
That's why I'm collaborating with progressive activists and fellow elected officials to reform the super delegate rules in as many states as possible.
And in a few weeks, I'm introducing an amendment at the Democratic Party Convention in my state to ensure that super delegates respect the will of the voters and cast their votes at the convention in proportion to the popular vote.
Bernie can go all the way--but only if we stop Democratic Party super delegates from shutting out the voters.
Will you stand with me by making a donation today?
Thank you,

Rep. Diane Russell
Member, Bernie's Working Class Caucus

Paid for and authorized by Diane Russell for Senate.
 
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It happened again: peaceful Black protestor attacked by Trump supporters at rally!
 
Last night another peaceful Black protestor was violently assaulted by Trump's supporters at a campaign rally in Albany, NY. The protestor was violently attacked for doing nothing more than booing Donald Trump.1 
As deplorable as Trump is for encouraging this hate and violence, the companies funding platforms for him to incite this dangerous atmosphere share just as much of the blame.
This summer, Big Tech companies like Microsoft, Google, and AT&T will fund Trump's biggest and highest profile platform yet - the Republican National Convention (RNC).  
As we barrel toward a convention filled with chaos, racist rhetoric, and potential riots these companies face a history-making choice right now. Once they start writing checks, they are committed to support the platform of someone threatening riots at the convention.
We've already shown that we can get huge companies like these to dump Trump when, just two weeks ago, we got Coca-Cola to terminate its financial support of Donald Trump’s coronation at the RNC. With your continued support we can get these Big Tech companies to do the same.With your help we can run a multi-pronged campaign that will eliminate millions of dollars of financial and technical support for Donald Trump, and deny him the resources he needs to spew his violent and hateful message. 
Will you help us take on these Big Tech titans and force them to cut their critical support to Trump’s platform of violence and hate?
These Big Tech companies, who rely on our dollars, shouldn't be comfortable aligning themselves with Trump's brand of hate and violence - and we're already making sure they feel the pressure for aligning themselves with Trump. Thanks to members like you, we’ve already been able to drive thousands of calls to Microsoft demanding that they cancel their sponsorship. We are now in a critical moment in the fight to get big corporations to end their sponsorships of the Trump’s hateful and violent message. And your support is crucial to making sure we have the resources to rapidly pressure these Big Tech titans before it’s too late.
Based on their previous sponsorships of the RNC, Big Tech companies will give millions of dollars to the convention as well as significant technical and communication support. Support that will allow Trump to beam his violent rhetoric, racially charged imagery, and calls for riots to millions of people around the world.3 These tech companies are the same companies that are under the gun for refusing to hire black and brown folks. Publicly these companies say all the right things, that they’re committed to and value diversity. And yet, when it’s time for them to make a stand about where they really are and what they believe in, they remain silent.
Make no mistake, corporate sponsors of these lavish conventions are about more than promoting “civic engagement” – as some of these companies continue to claim. This is about buying access to power. And this year will be a coronation ball for Trump and his white supremacist supporters sponsored by Microsoft and other Big Tech companies. Bigotry will be front and center on prime time television, with all the accompanying massage rooms, technology and top-shelf drinks sponsored by the same corporations that make their profits off of us.4
In 2012, Microsoft provided tools – like Skype, Kinect, and Web application SharePoint – and consulting services to convention organizers and participants in the planning and execution of the RNC. In other words, they are the speaker box Trump, Cruz and others will get to use to amplify their bigoted, xenophobic and racist rhetoric, not just to those in attendance, but millions of people around the world. Imagine Trump, spewing hatred and encouraging violence brought to our screens by Microsoft, while the rioters he promised circle the convention. Maybe those same people will even get to relax in the Google lounge afterwards. This is absolutely unacceptable.
Let’s send a message that they can't have it both ways. Either they are diverse and inclusive companies, or they are the type of companies that sponsor the hateful and violent message of Donald Trump. If these companies truly believes in corporate civic responsibility, than funding a platform for an anti-democratic demagogue preaching violently anti-Black, anti-Latino, anti-Muslim, and anti-women bigotry should be the last thing they would ever want to sponsor.
Until Justice is Real,
-- Brandi, Rashad, Arisha, Evan, Bernard and the rest of the ColorOfChange team.
  
Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don't share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way.
References:
1. “Violence returns to the Trump campaign: Black protester assaulted by Trump supporters at “New York Values” rally,” Salon, 04-12-2016
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/6170?t=8&akid=5654.765771.9eGWkB
2. “Corporations Grow Nervous About Participating in Republican Convention,” New York Times, 03-30-2016
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/6128?t=10&akid=5654.765771.9eGWkB
3. “Trump predicts 'riots' if he's not nominee,” The Hill, 03-16-2016
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/6129?t=12&akid=5654.765771.9eGWkB
4. "Where the Elite Meet (Open Bar, Anyone?)," New York Times, 08-30-2012  http://act.colorofchange.org/go/6132?t=14&akid=5654.765771.9eGWkB
 

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Join us.
Tomorrow night in Brooklyn, New York, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will come together for another debate ahead of the New York primary on Tuesday.

As you sort through your primetime viewing options, here are three great reasons to watch tomorrow night's Democratic debate at 9:00 p.m. ET on CNN:
  1. It's going to be fun. I really mean that. We hear the Republican candidates spouting nonsense on the campaign trail nonstop, which just makes it even more awesome to know that we've got two candidates who are so passionate about the Democratic values we share.

  2. This is a chance to hear even more about what Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders would do as the next President of the United States to protect and build on our progress. From accessible, affordable higher education to paid family leave, these two have some amazing ideas -- and I want you to hear all about them straight from the candidates.

  3. Donald Trump. Hear me out on this one, A.J. -- Trump is the frontrunner (by a huge lead) on the Republican side, and it's seriously important that we're ready to beat him in November. The best way to do that? Arm ourselves with all the information as Democrats around the country are focused on choosing a nominee.
So, have I convinced you? RSVP to say you'll be watching Hillary and Bernie tomorrow night:

http://my.democrats.org/Watch-the-Democratic-Debate

Enjoy the show, A.J.!

All the best,

Amy

Amy K. Dacey
Chief Executive Officer
Democratic National Committee
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CREDO Action
Tell the Federal Trade Commission: Fight Big Pharma monopolies
Petition to the Federal Trade Commission:
"Fight further consolidation in the pharmaceutical industry and break up monopolies that contribute to skyrocketing American pharmaceutical drug prices."
Add your name:
Sign the petition ►
 
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Center for American Progress
 
April 13, 2016View Online  
 
  North Carolina’s Discriminatory H.B. 2 Threatens More Than Half Billion Dollars in Economic Activity  
 
H.B.2 has lost or put at risk $567.5 million and counting.
Share on Facebook Tweet this
By Shabab Ahmed Mirza, Sarah McBride, Laura E. Durso

In March, the North Carolina Legislature passed House Bill 2, which targets LGBT people for discrimination by rescinding local LGBT nondiscrimination protections, banning local governments from passing future protections, and barring transgender people from using restrooms that match their gender identities. This law gives North Carolina the dubious distinction of enacting what some are calling the most anti-LGBT legislation ever passed, and businesses have announced their opposition.

Based on publicly available estimates of the economic impact of lost or at-risk business activity or events, the North Carolina economy could potentially lose out on more than $567.5 million in private-sector economic activity through 2018. These totals do not include several entities that have announced that they will not do business in North Carolina. The only way for the state to regain its economic footing and restore its image is to repeal the law in full and pass comprehensive LGBT nondiscrimination protections.

Read more about the cost of H.B. 2.

Tell North Carolina this law is hurting its residents and its economy:
  
Twitter In addition to billions in fed funds, HB 2 has lost or put at risk half a billion in econ activity. #WeAreNotThis
  
Twitter The numbers are in: HB 2 is bad for business and bad for NC. #WeAreNotThis
  
Twitter Not only does HB 2 hurt LGBT people, but it has also put half a billion at risk to state’s economy. #WeAreNotThis
  
 
 
  Follow us on: Facebook Twitter YouTube Google+  
 
 
Support CAP | Manage Email Preferences | Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe
Center for American Progress | 1333 H Street NW, 10th Floor | Washington, DC 20005
 
 
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CREDO action
The Election Assistance Commission is engaging in voter suppression
Sign the petition:
“Launch an immediate investigation into Election Assistance Commission Executive Director Brian Newby’s unilateral decision to allow Kansas, Alabama and Georgia to require proof of citizenship to register to vote. Making it harder to register to vote directly contradicts the mission of the EAC.”
Add your name:
Sign the petition ►
 
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              This Thursday, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will meet and debate in New York ahead of that state’s primary—their first head-to-head matchup in more than a month.

The stage is set. The pressure is on. Only one thing remains to be seen: Will the moderator, Wolf Blitzer, #AskAboutAbortion?

With your help, we can make it happen. Will you join us and tweet with #AskAboutAbortion ahead of and during the Democratic Debate on Thursday at 9pm EST on CNN?

Here are a few sample tweets you can share. Just click on the links below and they'll take you to Twitter, where you can post one! And be sure to use them as inspiration for your own tweets, too!
A lot has happened concerning reproductive freedom since the last debate. Most notably, Republican front-runner Donald Trump (now notoriously) said “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who access abortion—before promptly changing his position four more times that week and even suggesting doctors who provide abortion should be thrown in jail.1

And just last week, our friends at the National Abortion Federation released a shocking new report that detailed 2015’s spike in violence at abortion clinics and against providers. In the weeks and months following the smear campaign of Planned Parenthood by anti-choice extremists, threats against providers skyrocketed.2

It’s beyond time for these candidates to debate reproductive freedom with each other on a national stage. Join us in tweeting with #AskAboutAbortion and push the moderators to give us the conversation we deserve!

Thank you for all you do for reproductive freedom.

Ilyse Hogue
President, NARAL Pro-Choice America
PS: If you haven’t already, be sure to sign our petition calling on CNN’s Wolf Blitzer to #AskAboutAbortion during Thursday’s debate!


 
DONATE NOW
 
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CREDO action
Tell Walmart not to sponsor Trump’s hate
Tell Walmart:
“Ensure that Walmart does not help provide a platform for Donald Trump's harmful and bigoted rhetoric by pledging not to sponsor the Republican National Convention if Donald Trump is the Republican nominee.”
Add your name:
Sign the petition ►
 
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Democracy Now!


With the New York primary less than a week away, the race for the Democratic nomination continues to heat up. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will meet Thursday in Brooklyn ... Read More →

As Hillary Clinton seeks to defend her role in the 2009 Honduras coup, we speak with Dana Frank, an expert on human rights and U.S. policy in Honduras. "This is ... Read More →

On Monday, John Kerry became the first secretary of state to visit Hiroshima, the Japanese city destroyed by a U.S. nuclear bomb on August 6, 1945. Three days after the ... Read More →

By the time the next president takes office in January, U.S. troops will have been in Afghanistan for over 15 years. It is already the longest war in U.S. history. Just last week, local ... Read More →

Headlines →



The Black Lives Matter movement continues to shake up the race to the White House. On Thursday, activists in Philadelphia disrupted a speech by former President Bill ... Read More →

Prosecutors in Los Angeles are determining whether to retry six Black Lives Matter activists whose trial recently ended in a hung jury. The six face misdemeanor charges for ... Read More →

As Secretary of State John Kerry visits Hiroshima, Japan, site of the 1945 U.S. nuclear attack which killed 140,000 people, most of them civilians, we turn to another choice ... Read More →

Headlines →


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Daily Kos

  • Louisiana fisherman checks catfish line, ends up reeling in sheer terror (video)
  • Cartoon: Trump beats Trump
  • Teenage girl is kicked out of local McDonald's for using women's bathroom—they thought she was a boy
  • Like the Daily Kos Recommended email? Chip in $1 to support the team that brings progressive news to your inbox every day.
  • Wisconsin soccer players leave game in tears after racist taunts, 'Donald Trump, build that wall!'
  • Missouri legislator demands names of women who've had an abortion
  • Florida governor's wife reads to elementary school kids about Miami 'prostitutes, junkies, and winos'
  • Pew study shows what millennials, women, immigrants and atheists are doing to this country
  • Texas teacher arrested after video of her repeatedly smacking a student surfaces online
  • Trump's children (and millions of other voters) are ineligible to vote in the NY Republican primary
  • Sign if you agree with Everytown: McConnell and Ryan should support efforts to repeal PLCAA - the law passed in 2005 that gives gun and ammunition manufactuers blanket immunity. sponsored
  • Chuck Grassley whines about how he could lose his job
  • Crazy Duck Dynasty dude gives even crazier Republican endorsement prayer at NASCAR event
  • North Carolina Democrats troll GOP governor, force him to appoint top LGBT advocate to legislature
  • The reality of rape: 'I Will Find You'
  • Major redistricting lawsuit could spell the end of unfair partisan gerrymanders
  • Tiger numbers are on the rise—for the first time in 100 years
  • For the love of all that is good, DO NOT use Turbotax this year!
  • Republican staffer quit because colleagues were 'giddy' about voter ID laws preventing votes
  • Remember how Trump raised $6 million for vets? Guess how much of that has actually gone to vets
  • Stand with Hillary if you agree: Companies who walk out on America should pay a price. sponsored
  • Arizona House speaker retaliates against reporter who caught him breaking the law
  • California Sen. Barbara Boxer posts a letter to Bernie Sanders
  • Cartoon: Aliens reveal themselves and explain their purpose
  • Anti-LGBTQ Mississippi law spurs backlash from around the country
  • Rick Scott releases video ad attacking the woman who confronted him on his job record
  • Do you agree voting should be easier? If so, stand with the Democratic Governors Association and call for moving Election Day to a weekend. sponsored
  • The Boss cancels NC concert due to new bigoted law, 'some things more important than a rock show'
  • Why 'voting blue no matter who' matters: Illinois GOP governor shuttering universities
  • What Trump said about punishing women who seek abortions was just part of the GOP's actual agenda
  • Kansas new play on voter disenfranchisement: Voter guidelines are different in Spanish
  • Casting and color: 'Hamilton' and Broadway history
  • How to elect more and better Democrats? Run them
  • Target retail space explains Trump very clearly    

  • North Carolina GOP now in full-on delusional damage control after losing PayPal over HB2    
  • Sign if you agree with NARAL: SCOTUS should rule on the side of reproductive freedom when ruling on targeted regulations of abortion providers in Texas. sponsored    
  • Donald Trump, ‘n***** lovers,’ ‘commies’ and Barack Obama    
  • After Indiana governor signs extreme bill aimed at punishing women, he gets unexpected monthly updates    
  • Married couple evicted from Mississippi RV park for being an interracial family  
  • Cartoon: Trump SMASH!    
  • Chicago man gunned down while live-streaming on Facebook (graphic video)    
  • Panama Papers claim first major casualty, as Iceland’s Prime Minister resigns; Americans named in exposé    
  • Elizabeth Warren is our champion in Washington. Sign if you agree with Democratic Governors Association to tell her you stand with her. sponsored    
  • Trump finally explains how he would force Mexico to pay for that wall    
  • ‘For the people’ Elizabeth Warren wows America with opinions on Bernie, Hillary & Trump    
  • Brewery owner boots sexist customer, unleashes must-read rant about women in the service industry    
  • John Kasich may seem boring, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t terrify you    
  • Cartoon: #Pray for [blank]    
  • I used a hanger

  • ********************************************
    My Tea Party Christian friend thinks it's OK
    for women to die in childbirth
    or to be forced into bearing
    stillborn babies
    rather than getting safe late term abortions
    "because those conditions are rare."
    Not that I would ever wish it,
    but I wonder what he'd say
     if his precious daughter-in-law,
    whom he loves dearly,
    became pregnant again and developed eclampsia.
    Would he wave his hand and let her die,
    quoting Martin Luther by saying let her die...
    it's what she is there for?
    Would he say it's ok for her to die
    because eclampsia is rare?
    Or would he support her
    if she wanted to have an abortion
    so that her other two children don't grow up
    motherless?
    ********************************************
     
    AlterNet
    Kali Holloway, AlterNet
    Bee has tons of trouble getting an NRA mascot costume, but buying a gun is easy peasy.  READ MORE»

    Alexandra Rosenmann, AlterNet
    Doesn't seem to matter that Sanders keeps winning states. Clinton gets the delegates. READ MORE»

    David Masciotra, Salon
    Disgraceful state of politics is tied to collapse of education. Philistines are marching, swarming Trump rallies. READ MORE»

    By Neal Gabler, BillMoyers.com
    She's untrustworthy. She lies. She's a pawn of the rich and powerful. This is "we-all-know" journalism at its worst. READ MORE»

    By Sarah Lazare, AlterNet
    Jim Hanson offered a remarkable window into the mentality of Cruz's national security team. READ MORE»

    By Michael Arria, AlterNet
    Almost 40,000 workers are set to strike on Wednesday, April 13READ MORE»

    By Kali Holloway, AlterNet
    Under New York State law, new technology will identify distracted mobile users at the scene of an accident. READ MORE»

    By gloriasb, DailyKos
    A blacklist to shame women from using their constitutional rights.  READ MORE»

    By Alexandra Rosenmann, AlterNet
    They are celebrating their "state right to own people," pure and simple. READ MORE»

    By Jen Sorensen, AlterNet
    Shell companies for everyone! READ MORE»

    By Stanton Peele, AlterNet
    Will a miracle pill cure your pill or alcohol problem? Don't believe the hype.  READ MORE»

    Kali Holloway, AlterNet
    These are the famous folks who want to make America ... terrible. READ MORE»

    Diane Ravitch, Huffington Post
    The tests today are pointless and meaningless. READ MORE»

    Larry Schwartz, AlterNet
    Sometimes trouble comes in pretty packages. READ MORE»

    By Sophia Tesfaye, Salon
    Conservatives have had a good laugh over "the Chalkening" but messages of "deport them all" are hardly funny. READ MORE»

    By Jacob Hacker, Paul Pierson, Simon & Schuster
    “This is the architect that destroyed our faith,” Glenn Beck said in 2010. “He destroyed our Constitution and he destroyed our founders, okay?” READ MORE»

    By Travis Gettys, Raw Story
    “They came off the field and weren’t able to finish the game because they were too upset and distraught over what happened to them,” said coach Brian Denu. READ MORE»

    By Jim Naureckas, FAIR
    Clinton is raking in millions from super PACs and fossil fuel lobbyists. READ MORE»

    By Martha Rosenberg, The Influence
    Ads about the pathos of aging wives and mothers losing their looks, children, femininity and purpose in life were rampant in medical journals. READ MORE»

    By Alexandra Rosenmann, AlterNet
    Good news: The anti-Trump movement is growing stronger. READ MORE»

    By Sarah Lazare, AlterNet
    Why did Israeli-funded PR firm Ceisler target crisis intervention and suicide hotline services for queer and transgender youth? READ MORE»

    By Asha Parker, Salon
    Don't let the media fool you. READ MORE»

    By Phillip Smith, AlterNet
    New research finds that dropping acid can quiet obsessive thinking about the past, opening up headspace for looking to the future.  READ MORE»

    By Jay Wexler, Religion Dispatches
    A new book examines if clean air is a casualty of our most treasured rituals. READ MORE»

    By Evaggelos Vallianatos, AlterNet
    Government whistleblowers are our first line of defense against unscrupulous companies and purchased politicians responsible for the poisoning of honeybees. READ MORE»

    Robert Reich, RobertReich.org
    Of course Sanders knows how to bust up the big banks. READ MORE»

    Marlena Fitzpatrick García, AlterNet
    Ivanka and Eric Trump failed to register as Republicans because they didn't know the rules. READ MORE»

    Alexandra Rosenmann, AlterNet
    Credit reports affect much more than your ability to get a loan. READ MORE»

    By April M. Short, AlterNet
    If you happen to be born with a vagina in China and haven’t tied the knot by 25, you’re labeled a "leftover woman." READ MORE»

    By Steven Hill, Salon
    A new Uber launch has serious labor, environmental and consumer downsides. You'd never know from reading the Times. READ MORE»

    By Sarah Lazare, AlterNet
    The U.S. government has never apologized for the mass killings. READ MORE»

    By Janet Allon, AlterNet
    A recent terribly corporate-friendly ruling illustrates why we desperately need to keep a Democrat in the White House. READ MORE»

    By Marlena Fitzpatrick García, AlterNet
    Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged to "improve living conditions for all Indigenous peoples." READ MORE»

    By Tom Boggioni, Raw Story
    Sanders comments fall in line with statements made by his own campaign. READ MORE»

    By Marlena Fitzpatrick García, AlterNet
    Black and Latinos are more likely to get traffic citations, with spiraling consequences when they can't pay fines. READ MORE»

    By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!
    Democracy Now! speaks with Eric Fair, a former interrogator in Iraq, who was stationed in Fallujah in 2004 where he witnessed a torture device known as the Palestinian chair. READ MORE»

    Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet
    The odds are not in his favor in an open convention. READ MORE»

    William D. Hartung, Tom Dispatch
    The Military Waste Machine is running full speed ahead. READ MORE»

    Kali Holloway, AlterNet
    There's lots of good news on the menstruation front. READ MORE»

    By Steven Roberts, Kim Allen, The Conversation
    Since the global financial crisis, the supposed plight of the millennials has given rise to the argument that inequality is an age-related issue. READ MORE»

    By Alexandra Rosenmann, AlterNet
    Policy plays only a small role in electing candidate.  READ MORE»

    By Les Leopold, AlterNet
    There's a slippery slope from pragmatism to pure self interest. READ MORE»

    By Phil Torres , Salon
    How the U.S. confronts climate change will shape the world for generations; neither Clinton nor Trump seems to care. READ MORE»

    By Phillip Smith, AlterNet
    Scientists have long sought a pill to fight cocaine dependence. They may have found one.  READ MORE»

    By Kemi Ajisekola , The Frisky
    "Finding out that I was living with someone who supported him was very disturbing to me." READ MORE»

    By David Edwards, Raw Story
    "And I think the danger both among Republicans and among Democrats who just listen to each other or they just listen to people that already agree with them," said Obama. READ MORE»

    By April M. Short, AlterNet
    The ancient practice of "smudging" is apparently antiseptic, which might come in handy to replace chemical cleaners and antibiotics. READ MORE»

    By Carlos Latuff, Max Blumenthal, AlterNet
    An exclusive Latuff cartoon on Israel lobby outrage over Sanders' comments on Israel’s 2014 massacre of Gaza civilians. READ MORE»

    By Chauncey DeVega, Salon
    Trump's fueled by white resentment, racism and nativism. Why does the media mistake that for working-class anxiety?  READ MORE»

    I still wanna know how Floridians ever managed to elect Voldemort governor...
    Janet Allon, AlterNet
    And Bill O'Reilly still has some whitesplaining to do. READ MORE»

    Michael Bader, DMH, AlterNet
    He needs a reality check. His screed against Sanders in the NY Times misses the boat completely.  READ MORE»

    Ijeoma Oluo, The Establishment
    The truth is most all of us can be an asshole under certain circumstances. READ MORE»

    By Stephanie Coontz, Basic Books
    Selective memory leads grown-ups to try to re-create a past that never existed at all. READ MORE»

    By Sarah Lazare, AlterNet
    As billionaire Elisabeth Badinter calls for boycott of clothing lines that produce Islamic fashions, her PR firm promotes Saudi Arabia. READ MORE»

    By Les Leopold, AlterNet
    The New York Daily News has a long history.  READ MORE»

    By Marcy Wheeler, Salon
    After similar coups by WikiLeaks and others, we had an idea of who pulled the trigger, and why. Not this time. READ MORE»

    By Sarah Ferguson, AlterNet
    By sticking her neck out for Sanders, Gabbard positions herself to gain greater media visibility. READ MORE»

    By Carrie Weisman, AlterNet
    Can the power of crystals be used to enhance our sex lives? READ MORE»

    By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet
    Dems are forgetting how much nastier the 2008 nomination was. READ MORE»

    By Lorraine Chow, AlterNet
    Federal regulators found that kombucha kept fermenting as it sat on market shelves, clocking up to 3 percent alcohol. READ MORE»

    By Tom Boggioni, Raw Story
    "If you book a flight with @AmericanAir they will ruin your day, ruin your plans and then rob you." READ MORE»

    By Beatrice Marovich, Religion Dispatches
    A new book explores whether animals have religion.  READ MORE»

    By Phillip Smith, AlterNet
    A training session on "criminal interdiction" of drugs and guns at the Richmond bus depot got very real.  READ MORE»

     
    ********************************************
    "You have never met me,
    nor will you ever met me,
    but I'm about to have a huge impact on your life.
    My religion forbids your wife
    from having that surgery to save her life.
    My god will only be pleased if your wife dies.
    ...
    I use my religion to decide
    that I know what is best for your wife...
    not her doctors, not you,
    and certainly not her...
    since it's her own fault she's in this mess.
    (Don't worry--I use my religion
    to decide that you are blameless.)
    My holy book states
    that your wife is your property,
    just like your house and your car.
    But even though your wife is your property,
    I insist on treating your wife
    like she is my property...
    even though I pretend
    my religion and holy book say
    that men and women are
    equal
    (it doesn't...it says the exact opposite...
    that women are less than men...
    but we pretend it says men and women are equal
    because it's not polite...or something...
    to speak honestly in public..
    or maybe we all just know but refuse to admit
    that men and women ARE equal and that our
    holy book is unjust and WRONG...
    but you'll never catch us saying THAT out loud).
    ...
    but I digress...
    the long and short of it is that,
    a total stranger,
    I will dictate whether your wife lives or dies.
    I dictate that your wife's unborn, already dead
    fetus
    is more important than she ever will be...
    until it's born...
    then, if it's female,
    it's as evil as your wife is
    (while she's still alive, which won't be for long).
    My religion states that vaginas are dirty
    and evil
    and that they pollute with sin
    the innocent fetus passing through.
    Just go check my holy book
    if you don't believe me
    (in which case, enjoy hell).
    Make no mistake...
    according to my religion--
    which doesn't care whether you
    believe or not, and which
    holds you responsible for following it
    to the letter, even if you don't believe--
    your stillborn child
    has more rights than your wife,
    and I have more rights to dictate
    your wife's health and future
    than she or even you do.
    Take it up with my god if you don't like it."
    ...
    This is what American Christians want
    for women,
    whether they realize it
    or admit it
    or not.
    How can they fail to see
    that they are no different
    from the Sharia law they claim to abhor?
    ********************************************
     
    Movie time!
     
    Polyticks...because politicians like Rafael "BUSTed" "Lyin'" Cruz and Donald "Money Boo Boo" "Trumpty Dumpty" Drumpf are like so many ticks sucking the life out of us....
     
    Liberals know stuff, which makes conservatives mad.
     
    HOW exactly do conservatives plan to enforce their new anti-LGBTQ potty laws? Methinks it-snot well thought out at ALL!
     
    Tim Robbins on liberals supporting Bernie because they're sick and tired of compromising their ideals
     
    This video is hi-larious--Bill O'Reilly's antediluvian (that means "pre-Noah's flood," ICYDK) brain (such as it is) melted by the concept of Facebook, which he has to have someone even more antiquated than he is explain to him. Too funny! What's even funnier (although more funny-weird than funny-haha) is that my Tea Party Christian friend and I are both in our 50s, but he gets his news from Fux Noise with the 70+ year-olds, and I get my news from Facebook with the millenials! I gno, right? So why am I BLOGGING rather than using Facebook? Because...Dot Calm started this blog before Facebook (I set her up, but she ran it, of course)...now, Dot Calm WANTED me to set her up on Facebook, too, and I groaned because I was already overloaded, and she wanted to mirror the entire blog in both places...but MAYBE, if I get a SHIT-TON of page views on THIS page, I will start a sister-account on Facebook for Dot Calm's Page of Truth and Sedition in her honor--and yours!


    Sunday skool comes early this week with todaze Bible study--woo hoo!
     
    First the serious stuff...
     
    Learn about the firmament
     
    Jesus said it, but, nah...He didn't mean it! 

    WHICH day was Jesus crucified on? Was that Thursday Passover or Passover Eve? Morning or afternoon? The Gospels do NOT agree!
     
     

    Self delusion

    Do Christians understand the Bible?

    Questions for Bible literalists

    Why mom and dad are Christians

    Christians say the dumbest things

    Bible blunders
     
    ...now the goofy stuff!
     
     
    Sunday skool's out!
    Time for some FUN! 
     
    And since the last one cut off, here's the whole second song:
     
    Did you know that the Atheist Hymnal is one page long? Now you know!
     
    And just in case you needed just one more giggle, here's a goodie!
     
    Once you've watched the above version a few times to read all the funnies, here's a sing-along version so you can learn the words!