One and a half million trees need your help

Sign the petition: No mass spraying of toxic, bee-killing pesticides

Tell the EPA: No mass spraying of toxic, bee-killing pesticides Sign the petition to the Environmental Protection Agency: "Numerous studies, including research conducted by your own agency, show that the neonicotinoid pesticide thiamethoxam poses a significant risk to pollinators, including fragile bee populations. Deny Syngenta's application to expand its use of this toxic pesticide." Add your name: Dear Katy, There is a massive new threat to fragile bee populations, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the power to stop it. Syngenta, the Swiss-based agro-chemical rival to Monsanto, is seeking government approval to spray its bee-killing pesticide thiamethoxam on more than 165 million acres of American crop land.1 If the Scott Pruitt-led EPA under Donald Trump's regime approves the company's application to apply massive amounts of this toxic pesticide on popular crops like wheat, barley, rice, alfalfa and potato, we could see even more dramatic and rapid declines of bee colonies. We must urge the EPA to deny Syngenta's application immediately. Tell the EPA: No mass spraying of toxic, bee-killing pesticides. Click here to sign the petition. In recent years, bee populations have plummeted significantly due in large part to the expanded use of bee-killing pesticides. More than 700 North American bee species are at risk for extinction, and in 2016-2017 alone, beekeepers lost 33 percent of their bees, yet the EPA has failed to take significant steps to limit pesticide use.2,3 In fact, just before Donald Trump took office, the EPA publicly acknowledged that neonic pesticides pose a significant risk to honeybees but backed away from a proposed rule to limit their use.4 Incredibly, this proposal by Syngenta to significantly ramp up its use of this toxic chemical on crop land fell on the very same day the EPA released a stunning new report detailing the dangers neonicotinoids such as thiamethoxam pose to animal life, including birds of all sizes.5 This most recent EPA study comes on the heels of numerous studies detailing the risks neonics also pose to invertebrate aquatic life. As Lori Ann Burd, director of the Center for Biological Diversity's environmental health program, put it: "If the EPA grants Syngenta's wish, it will spur catastrophic declines of aquatic invertebrates and pollinator populations that are already in serious trouble."6 Activism to protect bee populations works. Hundreds of thousands of CREDO members have mobilized in recent years to pressure the EPA to restrict expansion of Monsanto's bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides. But with Trump occupying the White House and Pruitt leading the EPA, we need to double down our efforts to keep these toxic pesticides from dramatically worsening the bee crisis. Tell the EPA: No mass spraying of toxic, bee-killing pesticides. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/epa_bees_2018?t=7&akid=27456%2E12967895%2ELEFaC3 Thanks for all you do. Josh Nelson, Co-Director CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: Grace Guarnieri, "EPA Might Let Bee-Killing Pesticide Be Sprayed On 165M Acres of Farmland," Newsweek, Dec. 21, 2017. Justin Worland, "More than 700 North American Bee Species Are Headed Toward Extinction," TIME, March 2, 2017. University of Maryland, "American beekeepers lost 33 percent of bees in 2016-17," May 25, 2017. Center for Biological Diversity, "Same Day: EPA Acknowledges Proven Dangers of Bee-killing Pesticides But Refuses to Restrict Them," Jan. 12, 2017. Center for Biological Diversity, "EPA Considers Allowing Bee-Killing Pesticide to Be Sprayed on 165 Million Acres of U.S. Farmland," Dec. 19. 2017. Ibid. Share on Facebook Post to your wall Tweet this Post to Twitter © 2018 CREDO. All rights reserved. This email was sent to katy63.kelso@blogger.com. To change your email or mailing address, please click here: https://act.credoaction.com/me/update/?t=20&akid=27456%2E12967895%2ELEFaC3 To unsubscribe, please visit our subscription management page at: http://act.credoaction.com/cms/unsubscribe/unsubscribe/?t=22&akid=27456%2E12967895%2ELEFaC3

Sign if you agree: DREAM Act now

We must keep pushing for a clean DREAM Act The petition to the U.S. House of Representatives reads: "Protect Dreamers and other immigrants from Donald Trump's hate. Add your name to the discharge petition to force a vote on a clean DREAM Act now." Add your name: Dear Katy, It's time for House Democrats to take the lead and push for a clean DREAM Act now. In the last few months, Senate Democrats failed four times to use their power to pass the DREAM Act as part of a must-pass spending bill.1 All but three of them – including some of our progressive champions – recently voted for a racist compromise bill to protect Dreamers in exchange for cuts to legal immigration and funding for Trump's wall of hate.2 With Senate Democrats cowardly caving to Trump's anti-immigrant agenda, the obligation to stand up for Dreamers falls on the House of Representatives. A few months ago, immigrant rights groups and progressive allies pushed House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to file a discharge petition to force a floor vote on the DREAM Act in the House. Speak out now to demand that all House Democrats and Republicans of good conscience add their names. Tell the House: Force a vote on a clean DREAM Act now. Click here to sign the petition. A discharge petition allows a simple majority of the House – 218 members – to go around leadership and bring a bill to the floor for a vote. So far, 196 members of the House have signed the DREAM Act discharge petition.3 That's just 22 short of the signatures needed to force a vote on the bill, which is why we must keep pushing. The DREAM Act is still the only bipartisan bill – backed by the majority of the country – that would restore and expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program without endangering other immigrant communities. But instead of calling a vote on the DREAM Act, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell want to tie protection for Dreamers with cuts to legal immigration, increased immigration enforcement and border militarization, and funding for Trump's wall of hate. We cannot allow that to happen. Pushing the discharge petition through will not be easy. Republicans will fight tooth and nail to avoid being forced to vote on the DREAM Act and publicly show whether they care more about giving Trump his anti-immigrant priorities or the well-being of their constituents, but we have the power to pressure them to act. House Democrats and Republicans of good conscience must make a choice: Will they resist the racist bigot in the White House and force a vote on the DREAM Act or help him use Dreamers as bargaining chips to uphold white supremacy? It's up to us to make sure they do the right thing. Tell the House: Force a vote on a clean DREAM Act now. Click the link below to sign the petition. https://act.credoaction.com/sign/dreamact_discharge?t=7&akid=27399%2E12967895%2Etl4psN Thanks for all you do, Nicole Regalado, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: Julie Pace and Steve Peoples, "How Schumer Went From Being Face Of The Shutdown To The Face Of The Retreat," Talking Points Memo, Jan. 23, 2018. John C. Yang, "Congress fails miserably: For Asian-Americans, immigration proposals are personal attacks," The Hill, Feb. 20, 2018. Natalie Andrews and Kristina Peterson, "After Senate Failure on Dreamers, Immigration Faces Unclear Path in House," The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 16, 2018. Share on Facebook Post to your wall Tweet this Post to Twitter © 2018 CREDO. All rights reserved. This email was sent to katy63.kelso@blogger.com. To change your email or mailing address, please click here: https://act.credoaction.com/me/update/?t=18&akid=27399%2E12967895%2Etl4psN To unsubscribe, please visit our subscription management page at: http://act.credoaction.com/cms/unsubscribe/unsubscribe/?t=20&akid=27399%2E12967895%2Etl4psN

How important is a straw?

Sign the petition: No support for the NRA

It's time to break ties with the NRA The petition to the National Rifle Association's corporate partners reads: "The NRA is a dangerous extremist group. Its 'guns everywhere' agenda threatens public safety and makes it almost impossible to pass gun control legislation at the federal or state level. It's time to stop supporting them." Add your name: Dear Katy, If we want to stop the epidemic of gun violence in this country, we have to stop the NRA. And a key part of stopping the NRA is stopping the corporate partners that enable and legitimize its toxic extremism. In just the last few days, there has been massive pressure on companies to sever their NRA ties. As a result, some companies – like National, Alamo, Enterprise and Symantec – have ended their partnerships. But others, like FedEx, are still all in.1 It's time for FedEx, and all of the NRA's other corporate partners, to choose a side. Tell the NRA's corporate partners: Stop enabling the NRA's extremism. Click here to sign the petition. The NRA has a chokehold on politicians that keeps most federal or state-level bills about gun control from even getting a vote. It spent at least $55 million in the 2016 election cycle to advance not only its "guns everywhere" agenda, but right-wing Republican extremism more broadly, including at least $30 million that was directly focused on electing racist, misogynistic, xenophobic Trump.2 In addition to this massive political spending, the NRA is able to claim power through its 5 million-person membership. The dues paid by those members help fuel the NRA's deadly agenda – its efforts to arm and train teachers, its support of police militarization and its propaganda – magazines which aim to normalize its agenda and radicalize readers and the rabidly racist and xenophobic NRATV.3,4,5 One of the things that helps drive NRA membership are the benefits that come from being a member, including discounts from major brands. The endorsement of the major brands helps legitimize the NRA; the perks of membership help encourage people to spend from $40 to $1500 to become NRA members. These companies have been able to get away with supporting the NRA for years, but now the tide is turning, and we have an opportunity to demand an end to these partnerships that help feed the NRA's extremism. Can you add your name today to demand that the remaining corporate partners cut their ties to the NRA? Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/NRA_Sponsors?t=7&akid=27388%2E12967895%2EhJlAq8 Thanks for helping us stand up to the NRA, Heidi Hess, Co-Director CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: ThinkProgress is keeping close track of NRA corporate partners here: "The NRA is being supported by these companies." As we've seen in the past few days, companies are moving quickly to distance themselves, so this list may have changed by the time you read this. Lesley Clarke, "Congress' NRA loyalists say new gun laws won't ease shooting sprees," Miami Herald, Feb. 15, 2018. Firmin DeBrabander, "The NRA's dystopian view of freedom," Chicago Tribune, Feb. 23, 2018. Radley Balko, "How the NRA's allegiance to cops undermines its credibility on gun rights," The Washington Post, July 11, 2017. Cydney Hargis, "A guide to NRATV: NRA's news outlet is a hybrid of Breitbart and Infowars," Media Matters for America, Aug. 28, 2017. Share on Facebook Post to your wall Tweet this Post to Twitter © 2018 CREDO. All rights reserved. This email was sent to katy63.kelso@blogger.com. To change your email or mailing address, please click here: https://act.credoaction.com/me/update/?t=20&akid=27388%2E12967895%2EhJlAq8 To unsubscribe, please visit our subscription management page at: http://act.credoaction.com/cms/unsubscribe/unsubscribe/?t=22&akid=27388%2E12967895%2EhJlAq8

Thank you for supporting Medicare for All

Thanks for taking action on our petition: It is time for all Democrats to support Medicare for All.

Here are some ways you can spread the word:

Email your friends or forward the message below.

If you are on Facebook, click here to post the petition to your Timeline.

If you have a Twitter account, click here to automatically tweet:
Tell Democrats: We need #Medicare4All http://share.credoaction.com/322311486t?aktmid=tm62195140.mXqzPM&akid=a306124883.12967895.Kg4okd&t=1&source=conf @BernieSanders @SenJeffMerkley @SenWarren @RepJohnConyers @CREDOMobile

Thanks for all you do.

–Nicole Regalado, Campaign Manager

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Here's a sample message to send to your friends:

SUBJECT: Sign to support Medicare for All

I just signed a petition demanding that all Democrats running for national office publicly support Medicare for All, also known as "single-payer" health care.

Will you add your name? Click this link to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/dems_medicare_2017?referring_akid=a306124883.12967895.Kg4okd&source=conf_email&aktmid=tm62195140.mXqzPM&akid=a306124883.12967895.Kg4okd&t=2

Thank you!

Tell Starbucks to stop trashing our planet

Sign the petition: Ivanka Trump and Marco Rubio want to cut Social Security

Stop Ivanka Trump and Marco Rubio from cutting Social Security benefits The petition to Congress reads: "Pitting paid family leave against Social Security is a cruel false choice. Reject Marco Rubio's plan to pay for paid family leave by cutting Social Security benefits." Add your name: Dear Katy, Sen. Marco Rubio and Ivanka Trump are coming after your Social Security benefits. The pair is reportedly building congressional support for a proposal that would require people to accept a cut in their future Social Security benefits in exchange for six weeks of paid parental leave.1 This is a cruel false choice. The richest country on the planet can afford to ensure that both new parents and our senior citizens are able to meet their basic needs. We must build overwhelming opposition to the cold-hearted Rubio-Trump proposal before it gains traction in Congress. Tell Congress: Don't pit Social Security against paid family leave. Click here to sign the petition. New parents should not have to choose between caring for their children and keeping their jobs. Yet more than 25 years after Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act – which requires some employers to allow employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to attend to family-related matters – the United States remains the only industrialized nation in the world that does not offer all citizens paid family leave.2 Paid family leave is a good, progressive policy that CREDO supports. But we can't allow Sen. Rubio and Ivanka Trump to pit paid family leave against Social Security. As Social Security Works President Nancy Altman put it, "our country can afford to increase, not cut, Social Security's modest benefits, while also adding paid family and medical leave."3 Under the proposal reportedly being discussed, new parents who choose to receive paid family leave would be forced to push back the date at which they would be eligible to receive Social Security benefits. The end result of such a scheme would be a cut in Social Security benefits, as individuals would receive benefits for a shorter period of time.4 The Rubio-Trump proposal is yet another cynical Republican attempt to cut Social Security benefits under the guise of helping families. It is up to us to make sure members of Congress don't fall for this Trojan horse attack on Social Security. Tell Congress: Don't pit Social Security against paid family leave. Click the link below to sign the petition. https://act.credoaction.com/sign/ss-trump-rubio?t=7&akid=27289%2E12967895%2EZnXC9D Thanks for everything you do. Josh Nelson, Deputy Political Director CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name:  Seung Min Kim, "Ivanka, Rubio find a new project: Paid family leave," POLITICO, Feb. 4, 2018. Elissa Strauss, "Paid parental leave elusive 25 years after Family and Medical Leave Act," CNN, Feb. 5, 2018. "Ivanka Trump and Marco Rubio Want to Cut Your Social Security as the Price for Caring for Your Newborn," Social Security Works, Feb. 5, 2018. Rebekah Entralgo, "Rubio's 'paid family leave' plan is actually just cutting Social Security," ThinkProgress, Feb. 6, 2018. Share on Facebook Post to your wall Tweet this Post to Twitter © 2018 CREDO. All rights reserved. This email was sent to katy63.kelso@blogger.com. To change your email or mailing address, please click here: https://act.credoaction.com/me/update/?t=19&akid=27289%2E12967895%2EZnXC9D To unsubscribe, please visit our subscription management page at: http://act.credoaction.com/cms/unsubscribe/unsubscribe/?t=21&akid=27289%2E12967895%2EZnXC9D

Sign the petition: Investigate the NRA’s Russia ties

Senate must investigate: Did the NRA launder money for Russia to help Trump win? Tell the Senate Judiciary Committee: "Conduct a full investigation into the allegations that the NRA helped funnel Russian money into the 2016 U.S. elections." Add your name: Dear Katy, Seventeen school shootings, 34 mass shootings, 2008 deaths from gun violence. This is the National Rifle Association's body count for just the first 7 weeks of 2018. Last week's mass shooting in Parkland, Florida was committed by someone who was able to legally purchase a semi-automatic weapon thanks to the NRA's relentless lobbying for its guns everywhere agenda. Recently, news broke that the FBI is investigating whether the NRA helped launder Russian money to support Donald Trump's election.1 If this is true, it means that not only did the NRA help arm mass murderers in Parkland, Sutherland, Las Vegas, Orlando, Aurora and Newton, but it may have broken the law to help a hostile foreign government illegally tilt the U.S. elections toward a pro-gun, racist, xenophobic fascist. Now more than ever, it is time to stop the NRA. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have already been investigating whether the NRA helped connect Russian officials to Trump's campaign.2 Now, the entire committee must engage. But the NRA's stranglehold on Congress means it will take massive pressure for Senate Republicans to do the right thing. Tell the Senate Judiciary Committee: Investigate whether the NRA helped Russia influence our elections. Click here to sign the petition. According to media reports, the NRA has cultivated deep relationships with influential Russians for years. Russian gun-rights groups have hosted NRA officials, including Trump surrogate Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clark, in Russia, and high-profile Russians have been given high-level access at NRA meetings.3 In 2016, Alexander Torshin, a Putin ally who is a top official at the Central Bank of Russia and is now at the center of the FBI's investigation, sat with Donald Trump Jr. at an NRA convention-related dinner.4 Leading up to that convention, Paul Erickson, a conservative activist and NRA member who was part of an NRA-Russia trip, tried to use the NRA convention as "first contact" to broker a connection between Russia and the Trump campaign.5 Since Putin came back to power in 2012, Russia has increasingly pursued a goal of destabilizing the U.S. Part of their strategy has been aligning with extreme groups within the American right wing to deepen existing cultural and political divisions.6 With the NRA, Russia has a perfect partner. The NRA is extremely divisive and has leverage over corrupt and craven members of Congress. The NRA divides us not only by blocking any efforts to keep communities safe from gun violence, but also by supercharging its long history of racism with reactionary, xenophobic and violent rhetoric that some have said could help further radicalize white domestic terrorists.7 The NRA's extremism combined with Russia's desires to destabilize our democracy is a dangerous combination that the Senate Judiciary Committee must take seriously with a thorough investigation. Tell the Senate Judiciary Committee: Investigate whether the NRA helped Russia influence our elections. Click here to sign the petition. The NRA spent at least $55 million during the 2016 elections, including at least $30 million directly focused on electing Trump.8 When the Supreme Court opened the door for unlimited corporate dark money spending on elections with its Citizens United decision, the court's right-wing majority alleged that the spending would be accompanied by disclosure.9 Nothing could be further from the truth. The NRA has become a hub for dark money donations that are made to organizations that are not required to disclose their donors. A Karl Rove–aligned SuperPAC and a Koch brothers non-profit are among the groups that have given money to the NRA to advance Republicans' extreme right-wing agenda.10 The influence of dark money is bad enough, but there have already been signs that the dark money loopholes will be used to illegally funnel foreign money into our elections.11 It is illegal for a campaign to solicit or receive anything of value from a foreign national. If the NRA helped Russia funnel money into the 2016 elections, it laundered money to help the Trump campaign – and potentially others in the Republican Party – break the law for electoral gain. The Senate Judiciary Committee has a responsibility to make sure it deepens its investigation to find out what really happened – and to ensure it does not happen again. We need to show the Republicans on the committee that defending our democracy is more important than their allegiance to the NRA and make sure that the Democrats on the committee know we will have their backs if they use their power to dig in. Can you add your name today? Click the link below to tell the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate whether the NRA helped Russia influence our elections: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/NRA_Russia?t=8&akid=27316%2E12967895%2EoHnC-P Thanks for everything you do, Heidi Hess, Senior Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: Peter Stone and Greg Gordon, "FBI investigating whether Russian money went to NRA to help Trump," McClatchy DC Bureau, Jan. 18, 2018. Christine Maza, "NRA's role in connecting Trump campaign with Russians is under investigation," Newsweek, Nov. 29, 2017. Josh Israel, "Why has the NRA been cozying up to Russia?" ThinkProgress, Nov. 23, 2017. Ibid Nicholas Fandos, "Operative Offered Trump Campaign 'Kremlin Connection' Using N.R.A. Ties," The New York Times, Dec. 3, 2017. Casey Michel, "The Kremlin's California Dream," Slate, May 4, 2017. Graham Lanktree, "New NRA video fuels American extremists, says former CIA analyst," Newsweek, June 30, 2017. Stone and Gordon, "FBI investigating whether Russian money went to NRA to help Trump." Liz Kennedy and Alex Tausanovitch, "Secret and Foreign Spending in U.S. Elections: Why America Needs the DISCLOSE Act," Center for American Progress, July 17, 2017. Tim Dickinson, "The Trump-Russia-NRA Connection: Here's What You Need to Know," Rolling Stone, Jan. 18, 2018. Kennedy and Tausanovitch, "Secret and Foreign Spending in U.S. Elections: Why America Needs the DISCLOSE Act." photos: Getty Images: Trump: Mandel Ngan, Putin: Mikhail Svetlov Share on Facebook Post to your wall Tweet this Post to Twitter © 2018 CREDO. All rights reserved. This email was sent to katy63.kelso@blogger.com. To change your email or mailing address, please click here: https://act.credoaction.com/me/update/?t=26&akid=27316%2E12967895%2EoHnC-P To unsubscribe, please visit our subscription management page at: http://act.credoaction.com/cms/unsubscribe/unsubscribe/?t=28&akid=27316%2E12967895%2EoHnC-P