Will anyone call Specter on his flip-flop?

From: Liz Cattaneo, American Rights at Work


2005: Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania co-sponsors the Employee Free Choice Act.

2007: Specter is one of the few courageous Republicans to vote for the bill.

2009: Specter says he'll vote against it. What happened?

Long story short: Specter bowed to pressure from the corporate lobbyists and right-wing groups desperate to block the Employee Free Choice Act. But you and I can put pressure on as well – we can show him his flip-flop has consequences.

We're launching a new TV ad that tells Specter to stand on the side of workers – not greedy CEOs. And at the same time, with your help, we're going to flood his office with calls.

Watch our new ad – then CALL Senator Specter's office and tell him not to sell out America's workers.


Video: Our new TV ad, "Right Thing."



For many years, Senator Specter was a strong supporter of the Employee Free Choice Act. But now that he's siding with anti-union groups, he's said he'll actively work to block the bill from even coming to a vote!

That's why it's so important that people all across the country keep the pressure on him.

Please make a QUICK phone call today (it takes under a minute!), then forward this to all your friends.

Call Senator Specter's office toll-free at (888) 890-4648.

One of Specter's interns will probably answer. Tell him or her you're calling to ask Senator Specter to vote YES on the Employee Free Choice Act. Most calls end right there, but you can add:

The Employee Free Choice Act is crucial to working families.
I'm disappointed in the Senator's reversal on this issue and hope he'll do the right thing after co-sponsoring the bill in 2005.
The recession has hit middle-class families the hardest, and this bill is a critical piece of our economic recovery.

IMPORTANT: Don't forget to tell us that you called.

President Obama, large majorities in both houses of Congress, and 73 percent of the public support the Employee Free Choice Act. Show Senator Specter that America wants this bill – make a one-minute call today.

Thanks for all that you do to support America's working families.

GET BUSY: Help hold the architects of torture accountable

From MoveOn.org:

President Obama released memos that describe, in horrific detail, the torture techniques authorized by the Bush administration. 

So far there HAs been no accountability for the architects of Bush's torture program. We need a full investigation and real consequences for those responsible - it's the only way to keep this from happening again.

I signed a petition urging Attorney General Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the Bush-era torture program. Can you join me at the link below?

http://pol.moveon.org/torture/

ACT: Torture Memo Author Should Not Be a Federal Judge, Impeach Bybee

From: Voters for Peace <action@votersforpeace.org>

 

Voters for Peace is joining in the call for impeachment of Judge Jay Bybee of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Bybee was the primary author of legal memoranda justifying torture during the Bush administration. When he was confirmed for the federal bench this information was not known, in fact it was denied by many. But now that it is known, how can he remain a judge in the U.S. federal courts? His lifetime appointment will continue the legacy of torture under President Bush, rather than put it behind us.

Please write your representative in Congress urging his impeachment. Click here  to take action now. 

Torture violates U.S. law: Section 2340A of title 18 of the U.S. Code says this: "Whoever outside the United States commits or attempts to commit torture shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both, and if death results to any person from conduct prohibited by this subsection, shall be punished by death or imprisoned for any term of years or for life."

And, torture violates international treaties to which the U.S. has agreed to follow. The Convention Against Torture requires criminal prosecution of "an act by any person which constitutes complicity or participation in torture" or in "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." And the Geneva Conventions ban "violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture," as well as "outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment."

The purpose of the Bybee Memos was to provide legal cover for American torturers. To allow the "just following orders defense" and to be able to point to these absurd memos to demonstrate the orders were lawful. Everyone involved knew they were torturing, knew they were inflicting pain, knew they were violating the law. Rather than first focusing on those at the bottom of the torture totem poll, removing Bybee from the bench would be a good first step.

Click here to write your representative to urge impeachment of Judge Bybee .

As David Swanson, a Project Board Member of Voters for Peace wrote:

"Just take a look at the memos officially attributed to Bybee, and consider whether we can maintain any sort of legitimate government without impeaching him, and whether we want him overruling decent honest judges for the next 30 years. Bybee gave President Bush, upon request, "legal opinions" that a president can ignore international laws, that laws do not apply to various groups of people, that a president can kidnap, detain, and ship off to other lands human beings with no due process, and that Congress has no power to interfere with anything a president does."

How can the United States put this torture history behind us if we do not take the essential action of removing Judge Bybee from the bench? His actions constitute war crimes. Please act now and urge Congress to impeach Judge Bybee. Click here to write your representative to urge impeachment of Judge Bybee.

Sincerely,

Kevin Zeese

Executive Director

More information:

The Torture Memos, Pro Publico

New York Times Calls for Impeachment of Judge Bybee

Impeach Jay Bybee, Bruce Ackerman, Slate

Waterboarding Used 266 Times on 2 Suspects

Eric Holder v. America's legal obligations

A Dark Day for Justice, Jeremy Scahill, Rebel Reports

No charges against CIA officials for waterboarding, Devlin Barrett, Associated Press

Subscribe to Voters For Peace Perspectives by email - News and analysis, campaign stats, activist tips, quotes and facts

ACTION: Demand Accountability

From Faithful America:

The Department of Justice "torture memos" released yesterday are horrific.  They define in graphic detail how the U.S. tortured and how it was justified. They are proof the U.S. government authorized torture.

So now...what are you going to do about it?

Click here to demand accountability.

Concerned citizens, many of them people of faith, have been shocked by the brutality and twisted logic flowing through the "torture memos."  While the Obama administration did the right thing by releasing these memos, it's not enough.  We need accountability.  To get it, we need to show politicians we demand it.  Let's reach them through sources they pay attention to: the papers in their home states and districts.

Tell your local paper: endorse an investigation today.

This is a moral issue.  As the National Religious Campaign Against Torture says, "nothing less than the soul of our nation is at stake."

To make sure we never torture again, we need more than an anti-torture president.  At a minimum, we need a Commission of Inquiry to uncover ALL the facts, so we can institute the right safeguards.  The Attorney General should also appoint a special prosecutor to investigate whether criminal charges are warranted.

President Obama has not ruled out investigations and prosecutions for the Department of Justice lawyers who created this policy, and neither should we.
Tell your newspaper: people of faith demand accountability, so should you.

It's going to be a tough fight. Politicians who take a stand for justice may face accusations of partisanship and divisiveness.  But the truth is not partisan. Our political leaders will need to know they'll have backup if they join our cause for truth and accountability.  An editorial endorsing accountability from their local paper can give them the support, or the prodding, they need to do the right thing.

Build the political will for accountability: write your paper today.

Thanks for all you do,
Beth, Katie, Dan, Kristin and Jennifer
The Faithful America Team
All content © 2008 Faithful America
1101 Vermont Avenue, 9th Floor Washington, DC 20005

Demand the Debate!

from MoveOn:

Yesterday was one of the stranger days in presidential election history. John McCain actually asked to "suspend" Friday's much anticipated debate with Barack Obama so that he could posture on the financial crisis.

Even the arch-conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board was mystified.

Bottom line: This isn't presidential behavior. It's a desperate, reckless move that actually threatens to make it harder to resolve this crisis. And of course, presidents have to be able to handle lots of important issues at once—they can't panic and take their eyes off of one urgent priority when another one pops up.

Obama wants the debate to go forward. So do millions of other Americans. With 40 days left until the most important election in a generation, we deserve a debate on the issues.

DO SOMETHING! Sign our emergency petition to the Commission on Presidential Debates urging them to hold strong and make sure that the debate go forward on Friday, as planned. We'll make sure they get your comments by the end of the day.


The petition reads: "Now more than ever, the American people deserve a presidential debate. We urge you to make sure the debate goes forward as planned tomorrow night."

What's motivating all this panicky erratic behavior from McCain? It's hard to tell, but here are what some of the experts are saying might be behind it:

A drop in the polls. As Politico writer Ben Smith pointed out, "In terms of the timing of this move: The only thing that's changed in the last 48 hours is the public polling."

Stopping the VP debate. Last night, McCain surrogate Sen. Lindsay Graham suggested that the vice presidential debate between Gov. Palin and Senator Biden be cancelled to accommodate his request to postpone tomorrow's debate. (Now, why would they ever want to postpone or cancel the VP debate?)

Pure reckless decision-making. McCain has a history of reckless decision making. Here's how Time's Joe Klein put it yesterday, "McCain suspends his campaign because of financial crisis? Oh please. Given today's poll numbers—even Fox has him dropping—it seems another Hail Mary (like the feckless selection of Palin) to try make McCain seem a statesman, which is difficult given the puerile tenor of his campaign's message operation." And the Wall Street Journal wrote last week: "In a crisis, voters want steady, calm leadership, not easy, misleading answers that will do nothing to help."

But whatever the cause is, McCain's wrong. Serious situations like this one are exactly the time when Americans most need a real discussion—a debate.

We've got to make sure that the Debate Commission doesn't bend under Republican pressure. Can you add your signature now?

McCain and Obama Must Debate on Friday

from CREDO Action at Working Assets:

John McCain thinks we don't need a presidential debate on Friday night.

We at CREDO disagree. We need a real debate on the economy, and we need it now. The presidential candidates, as Senator Obama says, should hold their debate Friday as scheduled, and address the proposed $700 billion Wall Street bailout.

We've been hearing a lot this week about how our economy is in a crisis — maybe the worst crisis since the Great Depression. Politicians on the left and the right have made all kinds of claims about exactly how much or little we should panic and what that means for the policies we should enact.

The Bush Administration, for its part, has continued to insist that we must give the largest free lunch in history to the Wall Street tycoons who got us into this mess to begin with, We at CREDO disagreed strongly with this position, and we put forth some of our own policy recommendations in accordance with Robert Reich's suggestions.

If these issues are so serious, then that's only more reason to have a national dialogue about them, and to understand how Senator McCain and Senator Obama would handle them as president.

Americans have a monumental decision to make this November, and we need as much information as possible in order to make the best choice. We reject the notion that canceling the debate is the best way to focus on the economy. Rather, let's use the debate to spotlight the importance of economic issues.

DO SOMETHING! Encourage Senator McCain to show up for the debate on Friday as planned, and to focus on the economic issues facing our nation. As Americans caught in a pivotal moment in our nation's history, we deserve nothing less.

Global Poverty: Just ONE Question

From The ONE Campaign:

Two. Only two questions about global poverty have been asked in the history of modern presidential debates, going back to Kennedy-Nixon in 1960. That's less than one percent of all questions asked.

To change that shockingly low figure, ONE is launching a new campaign to get “Just ONE Question” about the fight against global poverty asked at the 2008 presidential debates.

The first debate at the University of Mississippi at Oxford, MS, will focus on foreign policy and is only 10 days away. Take action now by sending the message below to debate moderator Jim Lehrer. Click the link and we'll send your message to Mr. Lehrer, urging him to ask Just ONE Question on the fight against global poverty.

This first debate will happen just one day after world leaders gather at the United Nations in New York for an emergency meeting on the Millennium Development Goals – the global pledge made in 2000 to halve extreme poverty and global disease by 2015.

Meeting those goals will require unprecedented U.S. leadership during the next eight years. For at least four of those years, John McCain or Barack Obama will be our president. It's up to us to make sure that the issues being discussed at the United Nations in New York are also being raised with Senators Obama and McCain at the debate in Mississippi.

We can't afford to have another presidential debate that ignores extreme poverty and global disease. Please ask Jim Lehrer for Just ONE Question on global poverty, and we’ll deliver your message to him next week, right when he’s sitting down to decide what he'll ask the next President of the United States:

McCain's Gone Too Far with His Lies - Spread the Word

from MoveOn:

For weeks, John McCain has run one of the most dishonest campaigns in American history. Even Karl Rove had to admit McCain has gone too far.1

Now it's time to strike back -— to refocus voters on what we'll get if we elect McCain president. So today, we're launching a new ad that uses the facts to hit John McCain hard—reminding voters of his numerous ties to big oil companies and their lobbyists.

This is one of the top issues for swing voters—and the ad makes McCain's record clear. But we can only get it on the air if enough of us chip in.

TAKE ACTION TO HELP SPREAD THE WORD: Check out the video and then, IF YOU CAN, help us with a donation to get the ad on the air across the country.



Obama is going after McCain's lobbyists, too. Yesterday he said, "If you think those lobbyists are working day and night for John McCain just to put themselves out of business, well I've got a bridge to sell you up in Alaska."2

McCain's ties to oil lobbyists are a real liability—voters are furious at oil companies for high gas prices.3 And McCain is showing how out of touch he is on economic issues: Yesterday, as the stock market plummeted, McCain said he still thinks "the fundamentals of our economy are strong."4

Today, we can put McCain back on the defensive, just as Congress pushes to invest in clean energy by ending tax breaks for oil companies.

Are You SURE You're Registered to Vote????

From Barack Obama:

You'd be surprised by how many people you know who aren't registered to vote.

Registration deadlines are coming up soon, and we need every single vote we can get to win this election.

Tell your friends, family, and neighbors to check out our new one-stop voter registration website.

VoteforChange.com makes it easier than ever to register. Instead of tracking down the right forms, all you need to do is answer a few basic questions and you'll be ready to vote. You can also
confirm your existing registration, apply to vote absentee, and find your polling place.

If you don't know your own registration status or you'd like to learn more, take a minute to visit the site right now. And if you have registered, visit the site to make sure that your registration is in order. You don't want to wait until Election Day and find yourself turned away when you visit the polling place and learn that you won't be allowed to cast a ballot. Make sure everything is in order now!

This race is too close and too important to stay home on Election Day or to give unsavory forces an opportunity to steal your vote.

If you take the time to register and vote -- and make sure everyone you know is registered as well -- we'll be able to turn the tide of the past eight years.

It's people just like you who will transform this nation. Register. Make sure that your registration is solid. And VOTE!

Speak Out Against McCain's Rove-like Lies

Do Something! Sign the petition.

Hit McCain Where It Hurts

from Democracy for America:

On Monday, Jim asked if Democracy for America should join Brave New PAC in running a nationally televised ad exposing John McCain.

The answer: YES!

Over 79% of DFA members said go for it. Our ad, "Unfit to Lead", is aggressive, powerful, and it's the truth. You told us loud and clear that you wanted DFA to hit John McCain where it hurts. Now back up the vote with action.

CONTRIBUTE $50 TODAY TO GET OUR AD ON THE AIR!

John McCain is reckless, erratic, and dangerous. Even his fellow Republicans think so, "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine," Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) told the Boston Globe. "He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."

Yet McCain has a real shot to win this election. Recent polls put him either tied or in the lead nationally. Instead of focusing on the issues that will help get America on the right track, John McCain is using the Karl Rove playbook to scare voters.

It's time for America to hear from someone who served with John McCain. Dr. Butler has known John McCain for decades. Dr. Butler not only served with him in Vietnam, but was a prisoner of war with him at the Hanoi Hilton. Please watch the ad and then contribute $50 to help us cover the air waves with the truth.

CHIP IN $50 RIGHT NOW TO RUN OUR AD IN ALL 50 STATES!

There is too much at stake in this election to pull any punches. You voted to go on the attack. Now, let's put the people-powered resources of our over 725,000 members behind it and get America talking about why John McCain is unfit to lead.

Thank you for exposing the real McCain.