The Cassie Times

Tales of a Modern-Day Cassandra with a Philosophy Fetish

Tag: Petition

Stuck at 82…

Stuck at 82…

In the beginning of this month, I decided it was time to create my own White House petition, to get rid of the Patriot Act. I’m tired of listening to all the howling generated by people who think drone attacks are bad, that the President has too much power and that our privacy has been invaded too often.

You’d think it would be a piece of cake. Post the petition, get thousands of signatures, and finally the White House has to respond.

You’d be wrong.

There is a 150-signature minimum requirement for getting the petition turned on for the public. Before that minimum, you have to know where to look. Here’s the URL: http://wh.gov/P9VH [The link is dead because Trump’s administration doesn’t believe in petitions.]

So I get people who sign the petition but don’t share the link, or I get people who share the link but don’t sign the petition.

Before Facebook broke their newsfeed, it was possible for folks to see things posted. Now, unless you can finesse the system by using lists, your posts are naturally restricted to a very small percentage of the actual number of people on your friends list.

This restriction isn’t just for friends, either. It’s for pages and groups, too.

And I have to be careful – the folks most likely to sign are the ones I know through non-profits, but I can’t use the pages to post about the petition because it’s letterbombing (and I won’t participate in that), and potentially risky for the non-profit.

I also can’t tag friends because I will never know whether the tag will be welcome or not. Been trying, got spanked once, won’t do it again.

So, how the heck am I supposed to get the remaining 68 signatures so people can see it live on the site and vote?

It scares me to death to think of the petitions for all sorts of racist/recessionist crap that got to be live. They met their minimums easily. But this, rescinding a flawed law, gets nothing.

Sad.

If you haven’t already signed, please do. If you have, thanks. Please pass the link on. If you won’t sign, at least pass the link on.

This is a public post. No restrictions here. Share freely.

Thanks.

Posted on by Cassandra Troy
Formal statements mean a lot more with names attached…

Formal statements mean a lot more with names attached…

In discussing several topics over the last couple of weeks, having to do with gun control, NDAA and privacy, it occurred to me today that I’ve finally got something worth doing on the White House petition site.

I’ve said repeatedly over the years since President Bush signed the USA Patriot Act into law that it was badly done, giving rise to all sorts of invasive policies and activities in the name of National Security. So today I put my money where my mouth is.

Repeal the USA Patriot Act [a dead Petition thanks to Trump] in its entirety.

Why?

DownsizeDC.org explains: 4 Reasons to Repeal the Patriot Act

For extra bonus points, reread the Bill of Rights, so you have a clear understanding of why I included the Amendments I did. These aren’t just a good idea. They’re the law. There are any number of ways in which the USA Patriot Act is unconstitutional. Do your part and spread the word. You tell two friends and they’ll tell two friends, and so on, and so on…

We need 150 signatures before the Petition will appear to the public, and that’s not as easy as it once was, with Facebook’s broken user interface.

And please share. The more people you tell about the petition, the faster the rest of the public will see it.

 

Meanwhile, I’m heading back to school at the end of this month, taking two classes: Two-Dimensional Design and Western Civilization to Modern Times. Seems to be the perfect time to make my research skills pay off.

Expect more from me on these subject as time goes on.

Posted on by Cassandra Troy
My senators are on the correct side of this issue. Are yours?

My senators are on the correct side of this issue. Are yours?

Thursday, a discriminatory policy that deprives our military of qualified troops, endangers our national security, and violates the simple American principles of integrity, fairness, and equality was allowed to remain law.

Every Republican senator but one — Senator Susan Collins — voted to prevent the passage of legislation to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Several of them had previously claimed to support repeal, but voted “no” Thursday.

It’s a frustrating setback, but here’s the good news: We are just three votes away from moving forward on repeal.

And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and our allies in the Senate are promising another vote on repeal before Congress heads home for the year. There is still a chance for this to pass.

Allies in the Senate are not done fighting. The President is not done fighting. And I know you’re not, either.

Write the Republicans standing in the way in the Senate — and tell them to get on the right side of history.

There’s no question that Thursday’s vote was disappointing.

But we also have a lot of reasons to be proud today.

The letters to the editor you wrote and the phone calls you made — and the 582,000 petitions you signed — have been crucial in building support for repeal.

Thursday morning, OFA volunteers delivered those petitions to Senator Collins’ office. And Thursday afternoon, she voted to move this bill forward.

Now your work can help make sure we secure the votes necessary to finally put an end to this unfair policy.

One final push might be all it takes.

I know we still have a lot of fight left in us. Write Republicans now — and tell them to stop standing in the way:

http://my.barackobama.com/DADTRepealLetters

Posted on by Cassandra Troy
Another petition…

Another petition…

From http://www.MoveOn.org/

Tell your friends: Save the Estate Tax

As soon as the Senate returns to Washington in September they will vote on eliminating the Estate Tax for the richest 2 percent of Americans(1). If they succeed, millionaires will save close to $1 trillion dollars in the first ten years–that tax burden will shift to us and future generations — and Republican leaders are just one or two votes away.

Eliminating the Estate Tax will personally benefit President Bush, Vice President Cheney and 11 other cabinet members up to $344 million – and we’ll have to pick up that tab!

Will you sign our petition before the Senate vote? [Dead link]

Thanks!

Fact Sheet: Who Pays the Estate Tax
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/sites/default/files/legacy/numbers/content/PDF/T13-0019.pdf

Posted on by Cassandra Troy
Another petition to sign…

Another petition to sign…

Doing what I can to pass on the word…

“Urgent – from the ACLU about the Patriot Act”

American Civil Liberties Union

Congress to vote on the Patriot Act next week
*********************************

Dear Friend,

Last week, nearly 50,000 people signed our petition calling on Congress to reform the Patriot Act.

We have just learned that, in a coordinated plan to quickly reauthorize the Patriot Act, Congress will vote next week on a bill to make the expiring parts of the act permanent, including those that give the government too much unchecked access to our medical, library, financial and other personal records.

If we don’t show our strength now, Congress will pass the Patriot Act reauthorization without the reforms we need to keep us safe and free.

Please sign our petition today, telling Congress it’s time to reform the Patriot Act.

The Bush Administration and some leaders in Congress are determined to make these powers permanent, and are even pressing for further expansions to this assault on our fundamental freedoms.

How do you feel about the government having easy access to your personal records? Information about the books you buy and borrow.  Access to your private medical and tax records. “Sneak and peek” warrants that allow searches without telling you until well after the fact.  Are you okay with this?

These are law enforcement powers granted in the flawed provisions of the Patriot Act, and Congress is preparing to vote to extend and broaden these dangerous powers and undermine our Constitution by making them permanent.

If you don’t think this is acceptable, join with thousands of others and let Congress know today.  Sign the petition.

Remind our leaders that last week’s horrifying bombings in London should not short-circuit a real debate over whether the Patriot Act’s powers actually and materially enhance our security, and whether the civil liberties of ordinary Americans are adequately protected, the test suggested by the bipartisan 9-11 Commission.

Please add your name to the petition, and we will deliver it to Congress as this crucial debate over our freedoms unfolds.

We already have nearly 50,000 signatures.  You can help us reach 100,000 by Friday so that we can ensure that Congress protects our most fundamental liberties.  After you’ve signed the petition, ask your friends to sign it, too.

Thank you for helping to keep America safe and free.

Sincerely,

Anthony D. Romero
Executive Director, ACLU

[Petition links are all dead, but the ACLU is alive and well, right here: https://action.aclu.org/]

Posted on by Cassandra Troy
June 24, 2005: HAH!!! NPR not entirely erased by the Republican Preponderance

June 24, 2005: HAH!!! NPR not entirely erased by the Republican Preponderance

There’s a lot still to do – but with luck the Senate will have figured out it’s political suicide to try and kill PBS.

Now, if we can just convince people that a part of free speech is the ability to take on our country’s symbols, and we’ll be all set!

Dang. I need a Rabid Democratic Political Commentary Icon.

AARRRROOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Dear MoveOn member,

In an unexpected move yesterday afternoon, the House of Representatives
approved a measure to restore $100 million of funding for NPR, PBS and local
public stations.1 Republican leaders were proposing to slash $200
million from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, but you helped stop
them.

Everyone said it was impossible to reverse any of the House cuts with
Republicans in control. Yesterday’s Washington Post described the divide
between Democrats and Republicans like this:

“[O]n Capitol Hill, it’s hard to find a Republican with anything
nice to say about National Public Radio or the Public Broadcasting Service.
Instead, they denounce them as liberal and elitist, when they bother to talk
about them at all.”2

Public broadcasting shouldn’t divide Republicans and Democrats. More
Americans trust NPR and PBS for balanced news and children’s programming than
any commercial network.3 Yet many Republicans have been intent on
either gagging or starving public broadcasting.

So why did 87 Republicans break with the majority of their party and vote to
restore the funding? In large part, because over 1 million of you signed the
petition calling on Congress to reverse course. And over 40,000 of you made
phone calls to your elected representatives. There was a surge of public outrage
that couldn’t be ignored. This victory was possible because we were joined by
Free Press, Common Cause and strong allies in the House—Representatives Markey,
Obey, Lowey, Dingell, Hinchey, Watson, Schakowsky, Blumenauer, Eshoo, Slaughter,
and Leach, a brave Republican.

Despite this incredible progress, the House Republicans did manage to cut
over $100 million, including funding for children’s programming like “Sesame
Street.” We’ll take our fight to the Senate when it considers the budget later
this summer. But yesterday’s vote makes it much more likely we can restore every
last cent for NPR and PBS by acting together.

Yesterday also brought darker news in the fight for public broadcasting. The
Republican-dominated board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)
hired a former Republican National Committee chair as the next president,
injecting partisanship into the very organization designed to shield public
broadcasting from political meddling.4 This is only the latest effort
by White House ally and CPB board chair Kenneth Tomlinson to remake public
broadcasting as a partisan mouthpiece. To save NPR and PBS, we’ll need to take
on Tomlinson, but today we showed that the public can and will defend public
broadcasting from partisan attack.

For now, we have a lot to be thankful for. Our kids can keep learning from
PBS’ children’s programming. We can keep enjoying public broadcasting’s
in-depth, trustworthy news and cultural offerings. Most of all, we can be
thankful for the ability of ordinary people to band together and do
extraordinary things.

Thank you, for all you do,

–Noah, Joan, Marika, Wes and the MoveOn.org Team
Friday, June 24th,
2005

P.S. Your Congressman, Rep. Wynn, voted the right way on NPR and PBS
funding.5 You can call to thank him at 202-225-8699.

Please let us know if you call at:

http://www.moveon.org/call?tg=FHMD_04&cp_id=42&id=5703-5792651-An0fzJIyPCB75PsY_p6fHg

Sources:
1. “House votes to keep most PBS funding intact,” USA
Today, June 23, 2005
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-06-23-pbs-funding_x.htm

2. “Opponents On Different Wavelengths,” Washington Post, June 23,
2005
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/22/AR2005062202294.html

3. “CPB’s ‘Secrets and Lies’: Why the CPB Board Hid its Polls Revealing Broad
Public Support for PBS and NPR,” Center for Digital Democracy, April 27,
2005
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=746

4. “Public Broadcasting Chief Is Named, Raising Concerns,” New York
Times, June 24, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/24/politics/24broadcast.html

5. Roll Call Vote in House of Representatives (An “aye” vote is the right
vote.)
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll305.xml

Posted on by Cassandra Troy
June 20, 2005: More actions to take, to save PBS and NPR…

June 20, 2005: More actions to take, to save PBS and NPR…

Check this site:

http://www.weta.org/takeaction/

and please follow the instructions regarding calling your representatives!

Otherwise, noncommercial public television will suffer the consequences!!!

Comments:

SO-D:
Done, oh so much so. I think the majority is trying to punish public broadcasting for not representing the Fox “news” point of view.

Posted on by Cassandra Troy
June 15, 2005: For a just cause…

June 15, 2005: For a just cause…

Save NPR and PBS!!!

Subject: This time, it’s for real: Save NPR and PBS

Hi,

You know that email petition that keeps circulating about how Congress is slashing funding for NPR and PBS? Well, now it’s actually true. (Really. Check at the bottom if you don’t believe me.)

Sign the petition telling Congress to save NPR and PBS:

http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/

A House panel has voted to eliminate all public funding for NPR and PBS, starting with “Sesame Street,” “Reading Rainbow,” and other commercial-free children’s shows. If approved, this would be the most severe cut in the history of public broadcasting, threatening to pull the plug on Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and Oscar the Grouch.

The cuts would slash 25% of the federal funding this year—$100 million—and end funding altogether within two years. The loss could kill beloved children’s shows like “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” “Arthur,” and “Postcards from Buster.” Rural stations and those serving low-income communities might not survive. Other stations would have to increase corporate sponsorships.

Already, 300,000 people have signed the petition. Can you help us reach 500,000 signatures today?

http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/

Thanks!

P.S. Read the Washington Post report on the threat to NPR and PBS at:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=745

Posted on by Cassandra Troy

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