CREDO Action

Let's get gay married!

2008-05-15T23:58:05Z

Back in November, we were projecting Tom Tomorrow cartoons around San Francisco and letting people on the streets text message dialogue for Bush and Cheney.

One of my favorites was when someone in the Castro txted in "Let's get gay married." Well, now it's possible here in California.

It's been hard to get any work done around the office -- the CREDO staff has been so stunned and excited about the California Supreme Court decision that has given gay and lesbian couples in our state the freedom to marry.

Many of us are leaving our San Francisco office soon to head up Market Street to the Community Center where the city is gathering to celebrate this victory. We're bringing over 2,000 "thank you letters" that our members have emailed Mayor Newsom today and hope to deliver them in person tonight.

You may remember that Mayor Newsom was famous (and in some circles infamous) for issuing marriage certificates to same sex couples in 2004 -- and paving the way to today's victory.

The very first message dispatched this morning by one of our members read:

May you receive the love you have just legitimized one thousand times over.

If you want to join us in sending Mayor Newsom your thanks, click here.

Also much deserving of our thanks is the legal team at National Center for Lesbian Rights who led the the court case on behalf of the San Francisco "gay married" couples to victory. We're proud to be a funder of NCLR. (If you're a CREDO member, you don't have to wait until the end of the year -- you can vote now to distribute our donations.)

Give Women a Raise

2008-05-15T21:54:08Z

Last Fall, I was outraged when the Supreme Court told Lilly Ledbetter that she waited too long to bring up the fact that she was making significantly less than her male counterparts and Goodyear Tire. A few weeks ago, it looked like a legislative remedy was going to wind up on President Bush's desk, but fell three senators short of the 60 necessary to force a vote. Only 3 votes! I was again outraged and especially upset that two women Senators -- Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) -- for voting against restoring equal rights. Well we didn't get the votes, but swing senators now get to hear from their constituents directly. My friend Lanae Erickson at Alliance for Justice has been busily calling swing senators offices to set-up constituent meetings for the Memorial Day Congressional Recess. If you live in Anchorage, Alaska you get an extra treat, because you can tell Senator Murkowski directly that she must restore equal rights and vote yes on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Click here to sign up.

If you don't live in Alaska there are 7 other meetings with the staff of swing senators right after Memorial Day. These meetings include Senators Martinez (Orlando, Florida), Grassley (Des Moines, Iowa), Hagel (Lincoln, Nebraska), Domenici (Albuquerque, NM), Voinovich (Cleveland, OH), Hutchison (Austin, TX), and Warner (Washington DC). Help us restore equal pay for women by clicking here.

To learn more about Lilly Ledbetter and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, check out this YouTube video put together by Alliance for Justice. Alliance for Justice is a great organization that helps protect the civil rights of all Americans and are also one of the groups CREDO is funding this year. You can check them out on the 2008 donations ballot by clicking here.

Giving Up Golf to Support the Troops

2008-05-14T18:44:01Z

Well, now we know. After years of wondering just what President Bush has been doing to support the troops mired in Iraq and Afghanistant without sufficient armor, combat pay, home rotations, health benefits and myriad other problems, today George revealed that since October 2003, he has given up golf. Golf. He could not bear the thought that a mother of a soldier serving in Iraq might see him teeing up and wonder what was up with his priorities. So he gave it up. This is not a joke. This is our president, but I repeat myself.

The mind boggles at the missed opportunity to rally the nation's burgeoning numbers of golfers to give it up for the troop. Not a single more round until every soldier is home safely.

What do you think, golfers? Are you willing to sacrifice? If not golf, something else for the troops?

"What Did You do for the War Effort Daddy?"

2008-05-14T17:05:46Z

"Well my dear, after many sleepless hours in the dark watches of the night, pacing the floor, probing the deepest recesses of my soul - I decided to give up golf.

"As I embark on my latest tour of the Middle East, congratulations on my courageous stance have been pouring in from all over the globe. Although one of the toughest decisions of my Presidency, this noble sacrifice has saved the lives of many little children in Iraq, shored up democracy, and made the whole world a safer place. Safer no doubt for all Americans, but especially people like you dear daughter, who can now have fancy weddings free from the fear of attack by marauding terrorists.

"I'll be booking my ticket to Stockholm next week, as I'm sure I'll be getting the Nobel Peace Prize this year."

Back in the real world, members of Iraq Veterans Against the War, a group on the 2008 ballot, will tomorrow begin testifying before Congress about the effects of the occupation of Iraq (more). For the first time since the conflict began, boots-on-the-ground veterans will testify, under oath, about the true costs of war. Golf will probably not be on the agenda.

Dose of Durst

2008-05-12T22:27:06Z

The oil companies are recording $10 billion dollar quarterly profits and they continue to charge us for air and water? Well, there's your problem.

Hard Truth on Global Warming

2008-05-12T21:16:21Z

The first serious material I read on global warming was written by Bill McKibben. And in an article posted this weekend on TomDispatch.com, McKibben brought me up hard on the realities. It is easy to be fool oneself into believing that the Senate just might do the right thing and pass serious global warming legislation. I have sent copies of McKibben's new piece to John Dingell, who chairs the House committee which must pass climate change legislation but has not even taken up limits on CO2, and to John McCain, who seems to be bargaining hard to add significant subsidies for nuclear power to the already weak Senate bill authored by his good friend Joe Lieberman.

To dither at this time reflects an ability to delude one's self that is the hallmark of men who simply are not serious.

Washington State Finally Gets Wilderness Protection

2008-05-09T22:45:30Z

Washington State last had any Wilderness designated. Yesterday, President Bush signed into the Wild Sky Wilderness legislation supported by both Senators Patty Murray and Senator Cantwell, which will designate 106,000 acres in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest northeast of Seattle. CREDO members sent in thousands of letters over the last 6 years to push Congress to pass the Wild Sky Wilderness legislation and now Washingtonians can finally rejoice.

Washington State is often a leader on environmental issues and Wilderness is just one way we can protect the environment for the future. Yet, Bill Gates wants to take us two steps back in protecting the environment by investing on coal powered projects. Gates' personal investment company, Cascade Investment Management, is the largest stakeholder in Otter Tail Corporation, the lead sponsor of the controversial Big Stone II coal project in Minnesota. Washingtonians should celebrate the victory on protecting wilderness, but keep up the fight by tell Bill Gates to stop investing in dirty coal and instead invest in renewable energy sources such as wind, solar or geothermal power. Click here to send Bill Gates an e-mail today.

Yangon, Myanmar: "People tell stories of spending the night of the cyclone hanging onto trees all night long"

2008-05-08T20:04:44Z

The international community's frustration with the Myanmar government's intransigence continues. In the face of continuing delays in allowing aid into the country, it seems that the U.S. is now considering air drops, although it's acknowledged that this is a far from ideal situation, but better than nothing. However, one aid group is in Myanmar and already sending out reports on the devastation. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), a group that we're supporting in 2008, is there on the ground, and its head of mission in Yangon sends a voice from the field:

People are extremely traumatized. One man, a sailor, told us his village had been completely destroyed. He said he had no news of the 4,000 inhabitants of a neighboring village, which is to this day still under water. People tell stories of spending the night of the cyclone hanging on to trees all night long, while watching their villages being destroyed.

For the full story, click here. Although MSF is doing what they can, much, much more aid is needed. MSF urges the Myanmar government to issue emergency visas and allow relief shipments to arrive.

Losing in Afghanistan

2008-05-07T18:36:52Z

Did anyone notice the report in yesterday's Wall Street Journal reporting that "the Pentagon has concluded that it can't send more troops to Afghanistan until sizable numbers of forces withdraw from Iraq".

It seems widely acknowledged that more troops are needed in Afghanistan, and nobody else is willing to send anything more than a few hundred.

We are out of troops. Zero sum game.

So the choice is pretty simple. We let the Taliban keep gaining strength in Afghanistan so we can maintain a failed policy in Iraq. Is it relevant that it was, after all, the Taliban who supported bin Laden, who after all really did attack the U.S.?

I wonder what John McCain would do while not dreaming about bombing Iran?

Dose of Durst

2008-05-07T18:06:24Z

Democrats always get tagged with being elitist: a euphemism for someone who thinks too much. An accusation George Bush was never required to defend.

How to Help the People of Burma

2008-05-06T23:18:11Z

The number of deaths and missing is staggering - and growing rapidly. Fortunately, several long standing experienced relief organizations who are partners of Working Assets/CREDO are already in Burma or working with local partners. They deserve our immediate support:

Mercy Corps, Oxfam America and Doctors Without Borders

Some have argued that the existence of a brutal military junta makes relief less relevant. I would suggest that the very oppression of the Burmese people makes our generosity all the more important.

]]> After you have made a contribution to a group providing direct relief, go on over to the U.S. Campaign for Burma, one of several fine groups working with persistence and endurance to end the military dictatorship in Burma.

And finally, just a brief note to our customers - while I suspect we have relatively few customers with active relationships with those in Burma, we are the first phone company to make calls on our network to Burma free for the next four weeks while friends and relatives sort out their personal situations. I hope others follow.

"Do not waste your time on Social Questions. What is the matter with the poor is Poverty; what is the matter with the rich is Uselessness." - George Bernard Shaw

2008-05-06T17:08:46Z

Talking of which - details have started to trickle out this week on Jenna Bush's "low-key" wedding at the Bush ranch in Texas. She'll wear an Oscar de la Renta wedding dress and have 14 attendants. The ceremony will take place in front of a specially erected monument (no, not a statue of Karl Rove).

In contrast, yesterday also saw a run-up of a different kind. May 10 is Stamp Out Hunger Day, the nation's largest single-day food drive. America's Second Harvest, one of our 2008 ballot groups, has begun a weeklong photo essay series spotlighting Americans at risk of hunger. The first essay featured Diana:

In the remote regions of New Mexico, people living near the poverty line have limited options for both food and employment. Even with a steady job, Diana still finds it hard to make ends meet in the small town of Cuba, New Mexico. She is often forced to either pay inflated food prices at the local grocery store, or drive nearly 90 miles to Albuquerque for more reasonably-priced food. But with the rising price of gasoline, even that option has become untenable. A single mother raising four children, Dianna is utilizing every resource she can for self-improvement and assistance for her family, from continuing education programs to government resources, to the local food pantry supplied by the Roadrunner Food Bank of New Mexico. She says the money she saves by visiting the pantry each month helps her to make it through the winter months, when high utility costs used to force her to choose between buying food or paying her heating bill. The food pantry gives her the food and support she needs to keep her family well-fed, and the hope to keep striving for a better tomorrow.

Dose of Durst

2008-05-05T18:17:37Z

Can't wait to get my tax rebate.
Still haven't decided if I'm going to blow it on a tank of gas or a bag of rice. Will probably flip a coin. If I can borrow one.

"A good farmer is nothing more nor less than a handy man with a sense of humus" - E. B. White

2008-05-02T18:22:34Z

O.K. stop the groaning - apparently American farmers' sense of humus went missing long ago. Soaring food costs - George Bush is blaming the farmers, the farmers are blaming oil prices (and there must be a song in there somewhere). Others point the finger at "domestic and global economic growth, global weather, rising input costs for energy, international export restrictions, and new product markets, particularly biofuels." - they left out the war on terror and presidential primaries.

Meanwhile wrangling over The Farm Bill continues. America's Second Harvest, one of the 2008 ballot groups, is urging a swift resolution to this seemingly endless saga. The organization is facing a crisis year, having seen a 17-percent increase in service over the past three months, and 1.3 million new people joining the country's food stamp program in the past year. None of this is any laughing matter, politicians - make a decision!

Did you know that in the U.K. gas costs $10.00 a gallon?

2008-04-30T18:20:09Z

Which is the equivalent of $8.40 for the smaller U.S. gallon. Two potential presidential candidates are currently proposing temporary cuts in gas tax for the summer, a move which economists say will ultimately benefit only oil companies. The other candidate is totally opposed to this measure. In this particular case it's easy to weigh up either stance, but how do you normally wade through the rhetoric on tax policy and evaluate a candidate's position, be it at federal or state level?

United for a Fair Economy, a group we're supporting on the 2008 ballot, has newly created action tools for evaluating candidates on taxes. They contain short descriptions and definitions of key progressive principles and sample questions that can be asked in research on candidates' proposals and positions.

But back to some perspective on gas prices, and something to think about. To all the Europeans who'll visit this country in the summer (if they can afford the air fare, but that's another story) $4 a gallon is going to seem like a really screaming deal.