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8.19.2011

Newsletter: Supercommitte Money Madness, Boycotting Campaign Cash and More



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Sectors With Much at Stake in Debt Talks Heavily Invested in Supercommittee Members


The 12 members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction won't be making decisions about what spending to cut in a vacuum: They bring with them ties to particular industries and loyalties to particular political patrons. And a new section of OpenSecrets.org helps you follow the money associated with these high-profile politicos. According to a new analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics, these 12 lawmakers have collectively raised more than $592 million since the 1990 election cycle. Big chunks of this money have come from interests with much at stake during the deficit reduction talks. » Read More


Starbucks CEO Wants Contribution Boycott


Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, has pledged to "withhold any further campaign contributions to the president and all members of Congress until a fair, bipartisan deal is reached that sets our nation on stronger long-term fiscal footing." This rhetoric isn't just an empty threat. According to research by the Center for Responsive Politics, Schultz has been a prolific donor over the years. Along with his wife, he has donated $183,650 to federal candidates and political committees since the 1994 election cycle -- when he made his first donation. Of that sum, 95 percent has benefited Democrats, including $100,000 to the Democratic National Committee. » Read More


Supercommittee Members Far Wealthier Than Average Americans


The net worths of politicians sitting on the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction range from just over $100,000 to more than $238 million, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics. The median net worth for these dozen lawmakers is $1.2 million -- nearly 13 times larger than the net worth of the average American family. » Read More


Tom Tancredo Forms a Super PAC


Fresh off his unsuccessful gubernatorial bid as the Constitution Party candidate in Colorado, ex-Rep. Tom Tancredo has founded his own super PAC. The group, which is known as the American Legacy Alliance, filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission last week announcing its intention to "raise funds in unlimited amounts" and "make independent expenditures." During the 2008 election cycle, Tancredo unsuccessfully campaigned for the GOP presidential nomination, championing the issues of border security and tougher immigration laws. That's a message that his super PAC is continuing to herald. » Read More


Mets Owners Face Long Arm of the Law


The New York Mets owners may be required to pay up to $300 million to the trustee of the victims of Bernie Madoff's fraud. A federal appeals court this week ruled against Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz in a lawsuit, which claimed that they were "net winners" from their decades of investing with Madoff. They both also have decades of experience making political contributions, research by the Center for Responsive Politics shows. » Read More


Join OpenSecrets.org for Coffee in San Francisco


Join OpenSecrets.org Outreach Coordinator Evan Mackinder at an informal meet and greet on Saturday, Aug. 20, in San Francisco. This will be an informal session, meant to give supporters of OpenSecrets.org a chance to meet with a member of our staff and talk about issues related to campaign finance and government transparency. It's also a chance for us to hear what's on your mind! Come, join us -- and bring your friends! » Read More


Numerous Media Outlets Citing OpenSecrets.org's Research, Reporting


Numerous media outlets have this past week cited OpenSecrets.org's research and reporting, particularly the Center's analysis of the supercommittee members.

CNBC, U.S. News & World Report, the Huffington Post, National Public Radio and the New York Times were among the news organizations to cite the Center's work or experts regarding the supercommittee.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post, ABC News, Fox News, CNNMoney.com and KPCC public radio in Los Angeles were among the news organizations citing the Center in stories about Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz's call for a contribution boycott.

Other outlets to rely on the Center's expertise this week include:

See all the news outlets and blogs who've been citing our work at our "In the News" page.

August 18, 2011
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Copyright © 2011 Center for Responsive Politics, All rights reserved.  You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website, OpenSecrets.org.

Center for Responsive Politics
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Suite 1030
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Get on the Bus: Opening the Door to New Jobs


 The White House  wrote:
The White House Friday, August 19, 2011
 

This week President Obama traveled to the Midwest where he met with Americans in rural towns and communities in Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. The purpose of his trip, dubbed the Economic Rural Tour 2011, was to talk to people from different walks of life about what is happening in our country right now.

The President was there to talk, but also to listen. In town halls, county fairs and an economic forum, Americans shared their hopes for the future and their concerns about the economy and what it means for their businesses and their families.

Throughout his trip, the President proposed a series of common sense steps Congress can take immediately upon their return to Washington that will start rebuilding our economy. These include:

  • Extend the payroll tax cut so that middle class families have more money in their paychecks next year.  If you've got more money in your paycheck, you're more likely to spend it, and that means businesses of all sizes will have more customers. They'll be in a better position to hire. 
  • Extend unemployment benefits so that millions of workers who are still pounding the pavement looking for jobs can support their families
  • Pass a bipartisan road construction bill. There are over a million construction workers out of work after the housing boom went bust, just as a lot of America needs rebuilding.  We can put these workers back to work by rebuilding our roads and bridges and railways. 
  • Pass the patent reform bill to help our innovators and entrepreneurs get their job creating ideas to market faster.
  • Pass the trade agreements that will help businesses sell more American-made goods and services to Asia and South America, supporting tens of thousands of jobs here at home.
  • Put our bright, talented and skilled veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to work. The President has proposed several initiatives to make sure our veterans are able to navigate this difficult labor market and succeed in the civilian workforce, including the Returning Heroes and Wounded Warrior Tax Credits, and his challenge to the private sector to train or hire 100,000 unemployed veterans.

As President Obama said this week, "there is nothing wrong with our country, there is something wrong with our politics…When this country is operating off a common ground, nobody can stop us. But when we're divided, then we end up having a whole lot of self-inflicted problems."

Check out videos and highlights of all of the events from the Economic Rural Tour:

Monday August 15, 2011:

Townhall in Cannon Falls, MN

Townhall in Decorah, IA

Tuesday August 16, 2011:

White House Rural Economic Forum in Peosta, IA

Wednesday August 17, 2011:

Townhall in Atkinson, IL

Townhall in Alpha, IL

P.S. - On Tuesday, President Obama gave a few words in his closing remarks on how his bus trip through rural America reminded him of why he wanted to get into public service in the first place:

Sometimes there are days in Washington that will drive you crazy. But getting out of Washington and meeting all of you, and seeing how hard you're working, how creative you are, how resourceful you are, how determined you are, that just makes me that much more determined to serve you as best I can as President of the United States. 

Watch the full video of his remarks.


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The White House • 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW • Washington, DC 20500 • 202-456-1111

 




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Solar Storm

 Expert Predicts Massive Power Grid Meltdown

In all the years we've been working to develop solutions for self-reliant, independent people such as yourself, I've never
been as worried as I am right now, and that's because of the interview in today's edition of Off The Grid Radio.

Our guest today is John Kappenman, the owner and Chief Analyst of Storm Analysis Consultants. John has a resume and list
of professional accomplishments the length of my arm and is one of the world's leading experts on the dangers from
geomagnetic storms, or what is commonly known as an ElectroMagneticPulse (EMP).

His testimony before the US House of Representatives was so compelling that the House voted unanimously to accept John's
new recommendations to protect the grid, and yet the legislation appears dead in the US Senate. Think about that-unanimity
in the US House of Representatives. Even Ron Paul supports this.

If our leaders fail to act, John and others experts have predicted that:

A solar storm of extreme strength will hit within the next few yearsThe entire global electric grid could go downThe most
at-risk components are hugely expensive and take years to replaceWe may live without electricity for 4-10 years

And tens of millions of people will die as their medications expire and are not replaced, as food rots on the farm and
hospitals turn into morgues.

Just imagine waking up tomorrow to discover that the electricity is off and isn't coming back on. City water will run out
within a day or two. Grocery stores will be out of food within 72 hours... if it lasts that long. No banks are open. Gas
stations can't pump the gas they have, and nothing more will be delivered. There are no telephones, TV and Radio stations
are off the air, there's no internet. And your local hospital is overwhelmed with the sick, injured and elderly...imagine
the ER without electricity, medicine or a reliable way to sanitize equipment. It's horrifying.

In short, we're talking about an apocalyptic time machine that will take us back 100 years, and while your grandparents
may have been accustomed to life before modern technology, polling here at OffTheGridNews.com suggests that even those of
us who are aware of and working towards total independence have a long way to go. (One poll showed that half of all
readers estimated they would starve within a month!)

What about the hundreds of millions in our own country who are blindly stumbling forward through life, oblivious to the
coming darkness.

I want to urge you to take an hour out of your time, right now, to listen to this life-changing interview with John
Kappenman, and after you've heard it, forward this email to everyone you know. There is no charge to listen, but the price
of ignorance could be beyond imagination. This crisis is right around the corner, and history has shown us it's not a
matter of 'if', but when, so please, click through and listen. 

Imagine the lights going off suddenly

Regards,

The Team at Off The Grid Radio

Help a friend by forwarding this newsletter to them! 

This newsletter is a free weekly service of Solutions from Science. You can reach us at: 

Solutions from Science
815 W. Main St.
P.O. Box 518 
Thomson, IL 61285 
Email us at info@solutionsfromscience.com

Solutions From Science, 815 W. Main Street, PO Box 518, Thomson, IL 61285, USA

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MSD Hearings & St Louis, Missouri Water

  • If you are opposed to sewage running in streams in your community's parks, sewage backing up in your basements, and our streams being incorporated into our region's sewer system as if that is their sole purpose, please weigh in at the St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) rate hearings

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Earth Share of Missouri

Better Business Bureau Seal
DOJandEPAannounceCD
Ignacia Moreno, assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division, Richard Callahan, US Attorney, and Karl Brooks, EPA Region VII Director announce the MSD Consent Decree.

 

St. Louis,

 

If you are opposed to sewage running in streams in your community's parks, sewage backing up in your basements, and our streams being incorporated into our region's sewer system as if that is their sole purpose, please weigh in at the St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) rate hearings. These hearings are about clean water- Do we want it? Are we willing to pay for it? Is it cheaper than dirty water? Are we ready to enter the 21st century and leave the 19th century behind?

 

Here's What the MSD Clean Water Rate Hikes Are About:

  •  It's $4.7 billion and 23 years of blue collar and engineering job stimulus for our region.
  • It's kids splashing in streams, chasing fish, frogs and crawdads when the work is done.
  • It's basements that are dry...and not filled with disease-causing sewage after every rain.
  • It's smallmouth bass in Deer Creek again - remember those days?
  • It's swimming in Maline Creek and knowing it's not filled with germ-laden sewage when the work is finished.
  • It's your family's property values preserved because the flooding and sewage back ups are gone.
  • It's this generation taking responsibility for our right to clean water and building a clean water infrastructure for our children and their children.

 

St. Louis deserves clean water.

MSD public hearings- 3 left! 

 

South County

8/20- Saturday, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Cliff Cave Branch Library, 5430 Telegraph Road

North County 

8/22-Monday, 6 to 9 p.m., Florissant Valley Branch Library, 195 S. New Florissant Road

North City

8/24-Wednesday, Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club, 2901 N. Grand

 

And the final one in September: Monday, Sept. 26, Metropolitan Sewer District, 2350 Market St.

 

The Rate Commission can approve MSD's proposal, modify it, or reject it entirely. Now is your time to be heard! The Commission will make its recommendation in October to the MSD board.

 

The proposal will be up on our website next week. It would raise monthly wastewater bills about $3-4 each year in the years between 2012 and 2016 and use bond financing for the investments in new sewer infrastructure.  The projects would take 23 years to complete and cost approximately $4.7 billion. 

 

On a related note 
You'll recall that it was our work that prompted the EPA to finally take action on the more than 200 illegal sewer overflows that dot the entire St. Louis region.

After four years in settlement talks, we have signed a Consent Decree with MSD and the Dept. of Justice that requires MSD to make the infrastructure investments to elminate its illegal sewage overflows and reduce overflows to waters in the combined sewer area.The Consent Decree includes a commitment for funding a green infrastructure pilot project and $100 million for green infrastructure to help reduce sewage flowing into the Mississippi River.

Thank you for helping us advance clean water and jobs in the region.


Upcoming Events

 

August 23-  Maryland Heights Residents for Responsible Growth anticipates a hearing August 23rd at 7 p.m. at the Maryland Heights Government Center (11911 Dorsett Road, Maryland Heights, MO) on the zoning application for Maryland Pointe, a "retail destination" development proposal adjacent to Creve Coeur Lake Park. See our blog for details. 

 

Audubon Center at Riverlands & the Missouri Botanical Garden Premier "Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for our Time"

Friday, August 26 from 6:30pm

Missouri Botanical Garden, Monsanto Hall

4344 Shaw Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63110

Movie begins at 6:30pm with a cocktail reception following at 8:00pm. Cost: $20 per person.

 

 

Missouri Coalition for the Environment | 6267 Delmar Blvd., Ste. 2E | St. Louis | MO | 63130



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