| Betreff: Block Bush's $2 Trillion Boondoggle |
| Von: "ActForChange" |
| Datum: Thu, 02 Dec 2004 11:48:39 -0500 (EST) |
|
ACTFORCHANGE ACTIVISM UPDATE: December 2, 2004 You are receiving this newsletter because you have previously taken action on ActForChange in support of progressive values. IN THIS BULLETIN:
Stop Bush's $2 Trillion Social Security Boondoggle President Bush's top priority for his second term -- privatizing Social Security -- is likely to be even more expensive than his invasion of Iraq and his tax cuts for the highest income taxpayers. It should be stopped before it starts, but momentum is building as an unholy alliance of Wall Street lobbyists and right-wing ideologues plot the demise of Social Security as we know it. In the guise of reform, Mr. Bush wants to divert a portion of today's payroll taxes and let individual participants invest them through Wall Street. Because those payroll taxes are already being used in part to support today's retirees, most nonpartisan observers estimate that this transition would require as much as $2 trillion in additional Federal borrowing.
Representatives, Stand Up For Your Right to Read Bills Before Casting Your Vote The Republican leadership is increasingly forcing votes on essential legislation without allowing any time for review by representatives, senators and the general public. This usually means they have something to hide. For example, both the House and the Senate recently rushed through and passed a $388 billion, 3,000+ page spending bill. Members didn't have enough time to read the bill. They ended up voting on literally hundreds of special interest provisions that would never have survived public scrutiny or a standalone vote, including a buried provision that would have allowed members of Congress to review any American's tax return -- a fundamental violation of privacy. Representatives should not be forced to vote for bills they haven't read and the public should be given ample time to weigh in on such bills.
Urge CBS & NBC to Run Anti-Bigotry Ad CBS and NBC have refused to air a paid advertisement produced by the United Church of Christ (UCC). The outrageous message that warrants censorship? The denomination wants viewers to know that everyone is welcome at their churches. CBS states it is will not run the ad because it has a policy not to run issue advocacy ads on topics that are part of a national public debate. Similarly, the rejection by NBC declared the spot "too controversial." The UCC ad apparently ran afoul of the CBS policy by promoting the fact that its churches welcome gay and lesbian members as well as members of other minority groups, youth and seniors. The ad has been accepted and will air on a number of networks, including ABC Family, AMC, and BET. It appears that CBS and NBC have adopted a policy which says that any ad that differs from the views of the Bush administration has no place on their networks.
Thank you for working to build a better world. Jennifer
Willis |
PLEASE SEND QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS TO: info@actforchange.com. http://www.actforchange.com
|
Please forward this newsletter to your friends
and help spread the word about this important campaign!