I usually post this in the afternoon, but I had a bunch of things to do today, and I wasn't near my computer. When I got back around 4:30 it seemed like it would just get lost very quickly, so I decided to hold it for a while in the hopes that it wouldn't fly off the page.
Obviously the most important action you can take tonight and tomorrow is to call, fax, and email your Senators to BEG them to filibuster. If you live near D.C., and you know where they'll be, I assume you could also go try to follow them around and convince them in person...but that could get you into trouble, so I don't know if I'd really recommend it. How funny would that be though...20 people following around Tom Harkin begging him on hands and knees to vote to filibuster!
Anyway, that's the most important. The other uber-important priorities are the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, both of which are under attack by our favorite earth-hater...Rep. Pombo.
Please take some time to take action on these items. I'll also be writing a diary this week with some action items for the USA PATRIOT ACT which is coming up QUICKLY! We should be calling as much for that as we are for the filibuster.
Women's Issues and the Supreme Court:
Last night, Tanya wrote an great Alito diary. Click here to find the phone number of some swing Senators. Although I'm not sure how much good it'll do you to call Ted Stevens...why not tie up his phone lines too:)
Georgia 10's Alito post with all the swing Senators (according to Senator Kennedy) is also darn useful as far as phone number:)
JudyBrowni has become famous at this point. This one is on the Rec List. LOTS of phone numbers here as well as fax numbers.
Supporting Democrats in 2006:
I've decided to get a Democracy Bond! I'll buy it after the filibuster takes place in the amount equal to the number of our Senators who end up voting FOR the filibuster! Let's help out the DNC so we can win back a majority and then we won't have to come so close to winning/losing on the next nominee.
I'm also going to donate $20 dollars to each Senator who votes to filibuster. As for Senators who refuse to vote for the filibuster, well, I'm donating to their primary challengers instead! If there's no choice, I'll save my money and direct it to House races instead!
Protect Wildlife and Pets:
Want to help save The Endangered Species Act? The Sierra Club has a petition you can sign that will go to Senator Chafee, who is Senate Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water Subcommittee Chairman.
If you want to see pictures and read MORE about the animals you're helping to save, check out melvin's diary that was on the rec list this morning. If you want to read even more, here are more of melvin's diaries, all of which are great...but sad. He includes LOTS of links to great organizations at the end of them too, so if you want to join some of those, you can!
The World Wildlife Fund also has a letter you can send to Stop S 2110 and Save the Endangered Species Act. Once you take action on that, you can forward the action to friends and family and you can also use the links on the right hand side of the page to take action on several other items.
The Union of Concerned Scientists also has a letter you can send to Stop S 2110 and Save the Endangered Species Act. If you're a biologist, or working towards an advanced degree there's an additional step you can take to help save the ESA. Their home page has other action items as well.
Searching for a good Valentine's Day gift for your sweetheart? Defenders of Wildlife makes it easy for you. Click here to adopt a beautiful animal for your loved one! This is a great gift idea and it helps save these animals!
The Canadian Lynx is in trouble and comments are due by February 7th! Please Click here to send a message supporting stronger habitat protections.
Environmental Issues:
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) has been called the Magna Carta of environmental protection because it is the foundation on which all other environmental laws are built. NEPA requires the government to review the public health and environmental impacts of proposed federal projects and has repeatedly saved time and governmental costs by reducing controversy, building consensus, and ensuring that all stakeholders understand a proposed project's impacts. But the House Resources Committee, led by Pombo has undertaken an effort to weaken NEPA and remove the public from the decision-making process. Please take action now to keep NEPA strong.
NRDC has an letter you can send to save NEPA too!
AND the Center for Biological Diversity has a NEPA letter. Click here to enter your info and send!
Voting Issues:
Urge Congress to reject HR 3910 and pass HR 550 as written! The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act (HR 550) will ensure that the voter verified paper record is the official record in the event of a recount, challenge, or discrepancy in a Federal election, and that independent audits of the voter verified paper ballots are routinely performed to check the accuracy of the machines that count the vote. Click here to send your letter!
Put the EAC on notice that violations of federal standards by Diebold and other voting machine manufacturers will not be tolerated by voters. Click here, enter your info, and your letter will be off to the four EAC Commissioners and their Secretariat, which oversees the ITA laboratories. For more information about the interpreted code used by Diebold, how it violates federal standards, and why it puts the integrity of our elections at risk click here.
War in Iraq:
CODEPINK has launched a new campaign, the "Women Say No to War" campaign. You can sign your name by clicking here. They'll deliver the signatures to the White House and U.S. Embassies around the world on March 8th...they'd like to get 100,000 women to sign before then. I'm betting we can certainly do better than 100,000!! So, let's get to work ladies!! Sign on yourselves and then send this to every woman you know!