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Pony: An American Activist Moment
2.24.2004
So, uh, yeah, the drilling will start about two feet to the right of that clean water supply.
I am not American. My friend who studies in the states, when suggesting to her class that there was more to war reporting than Fox, was subjected to the indignation of a teary classmate, who shouted: "How dare you come here and interfere with our war!" or something to that effect.
I don't like to be spoonfed my activism anymore than the next interwebber, and I imagine if this is not your thing, it would be doubly irritating to be preached at by a furriner.
And I like to think I am well-informed, that I find out about noteworthy issues in my own daily reading, but to be brutally honest, in this age of information saturation, I have spent more time reading about celebrities than reading about the Liberal Government's sponsorship scandal. OK, it is part of my new job to read about Oscar picks, but still...
The MoveOn folks highlight issues they feel are important enough to get you to call your congressperson or senator: activism-lite for those who care but don't leave their desk much.
Every now and then I get one of their emails, and it makes me wish we had something similar that was Canadian-focused. Do we? Oh yeah, Rabble.ca, I forgot..
Here's a nice neutral one (for those who have a hunch that global warming is not a "junk science").
________________
The Bush-Cheney energy bill is back, and it could come up for a vote at any moment. Republicans have signaled that they'll give as little as 24 hours' notice. We've got to get out ahead of it.
Please call your Senator(s) now, at:
Senator Charles E. Schumer
Washington, DC: 202-224-6542
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Washington, DC: 202-224-4451
Make sure they know you're a constituent, then urge them to:
"Please FILIBUSTER to stop the energy bill."*
Give some reasons why you're concerned -- some good ones are listed below.
Please let us know you're calling, here:
The energy bill is still terrible. Here's what it does:
1. Delays clean-up in smoggy cities, which would increase asthma
attacks and other health problems, especially among children and elderly people.
2. Pollutes rivers and coastal waters by exempting oil and gas drilling
from clean-up safeguards
3. Allows energy companies to rip off consumers by repealing the
Public Utility Holding Company Act.
4. Includes billions in subsidies for big oil, nuclear, timber, and
coal companies.
5. Increases air pollution and global warming with new incentives to
burn coal for electricity without adequate pollution controls.
6. Threatens drinking water by allowing the underground injection of
diesel fuel and other chemicals during oil and gas development.
7. Weakens environmental safeguards to pave the way for more oil and
gas drilling on sensitive public lands in the Rocky Mountain West.
At least sixteen national hunting and fishing organizations oppose
these provisions.
8. Locks in American dependence on foreign oil by adding new
roadblocks to better fuel economy.
9. Tramples on states' abilities to protect their coasts from harmful
oil and gas exploration by weakening their input on federal
coastal projects.
10. Promotes nuclear proliferation by reversing long-standing U.S.
policy against reprocessing waste from commercial nuclear
reactors, and using plutonium to generate commercial energy.
Please call your Senator(s) now, at:
Senator Charles E. Schumer
Washington, DC: 202-224-6542
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Washington, DC: 202-224-4451
Urge them to filibuster the energy bill.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
--Adam, Carrie, Eli, James, Joan, Laura, Noah, Peter, Wes, and Zack
The MoveOn.org Team
February 24th, 2004
* For more information on filibusters, see:
http://www.moveon.org/moveonbulletin/bulletin11.html
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