The National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009

Senator Webb:

“The National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009 that I introduced in the Senate on March 26, 2009 will create a blue-ribbon commission to look at every aspect of our criminal justice system with an eye toward reshaping the process from top to bottom. I believe that it is time to bring together the best minds in America to confer, report, and make concrete recommendations about how we can reform the process.”
Why We Urgently Need this Legislation:
• With 5% of the world's population, our country now houses 25% of the world's reported prisoners.
• Incarcerated drug offenders have soared 1200% since 1980.
• Four times as many mentally ill people are in prisons than in mental health hospitals.
• Approximately 1 million gang members reside in the U.S., many of them foreign-based; and Mexican cartels operate in 230+ communities across the country.
• Post-incarceration re-entry programs are haphazard and often nonexistent, undermining public safety and making it extremely difficult for ex-offenders to become full, contributing members of society.
“America's criminal justice system has deteriorated to the point that it is a national disgrace. Its irregularities and inequities cut against the notion that we are a society founded on fundamental fairness. Our failure to address this problem has caused the nation's prisons to burst their seams with massive overcrowding, even as our neighborhoods have become more dangerous. We are wasting billions of dollars and diminishing millions of lives.

We need to fix the system. Doing so will require a major nationwide recalculation of who goes to prison and for how long and of how we address the long-term consequences of incarceration. “

Senator Jim Webb (D) Virginia has introduced this needed legislation. If you believe his is correct then shows your support by emailing or calling your representatives in Congress and asks them to cosponsor this legislation or at least vote for it.

Congressman Ralph Hall 4th Congressional District. DC Office: 202-225-6673
Sen. Hutchison's Washington D.C. Office: 202-224-5922
Sen. Cornyn's Washington D.C. Office: 202-224-2934
If not in the 4th Congressional District find your Representative here:

President Obama's Budget Needs Your Help

Join & Help President Obama change partisanship in Congress. If you join you will receive an email like the one below when your help is needed from Organizing for America.

Glen

Members of Congress will begin debating President Obama's budget this week, with a vote likely set for next week.

What you do now will decide what kind of debate they have -- one that's dominated by special interests and partisan voices intent on keeping the status quo, or one that reflects the priorities of citizens like you.

According to our records, you live in zip code 75058, Texas's 4th congressional district.

Can you pick up the phone and let Rep. Ralph M. Hall, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, and Sen. John Cornyn know where you stand on President Obama's budget?

Rep. Ralph M. Hall (R-TX-04)
CALL: 202-225-6673

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
CALL: 202-224-5922

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)
CALL: 202-224-2934


Example Script for Your Calls
Hello, my name is __________ and I'm calling you from __________ (city or town).

I'm calling today because we are in the grips of the worst economic crisis in generations — and President Obama needs the support of every member of Congress to create jobs, fix our economy and rebuild and renew America.

The President has proposed a budget that is honest, responsible and invests in the priorities we need to get our economy moving again and create jobs now and in the future, including:

Renewable energy to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil
Making Health Care more affordable for every American by cutting costs
Improving education so our children are prepared for the jobs of the 21st Century
Can I count on Rep./Sen. _________ to support the President's plan?

Click here when you're done calling.

Last week, thousands canvassed their communities to talk with neighbors about the need for a new direction. Now, it's time to take that message to Washington.

We can't afford to ignore the long-term threats to our prosperity. Now is the time to build the foundation for a recovery that lasts.

Your representatives need to know you support:

Renewable energy to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil
Making health care more affordable for every American by cutting costs
Improving education so our children are prepared for the jobs of the 21st Century
After your call, please record your feedback here:



Thanks,

Mitch

Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America

P.S. -- If you don't live in TX-04 or think you have different members of Congress to call, you can look up your representatives' contact information here:

http://my.barackobama.com/callcongress

President Wrong on Stem Cell Issue

An answer by Christina Johnstone to a letter to the editor published in Herald Democrat, Sherman, Texas intitled "President Wrong on Stem Cell Issue"on March 21,2009.

What Mr. Smelser does’t tell you are that the Family Research Council that he cites is a right wing group that has a very strong political agenda. This is typical of someone of his political persuasion. His misleading letter made me furious and I’ll tell you why.
My beautiful younger sister & my only sibling, Victoria Joann Turk,had the juvenile onset of Huntington's a terminal genetic disease. Her life was a horror show that we as a family was not only forced to watch, but forced to participate. Despite all of the love, devotion & resources our loving parents gave, she was in many nursing homes and hospitals. I will never forget her shrieking as this disease literally ate her brain during one stay at a Plano Hospital. She was on the 3rd floor and all anyone could hear for three days and nights were her blood curdling screams. The doctors said there was nothing they could do for her pain. We prayed endlessly. This went on for 20 years. When Sis finally passed on at age 37, weighing 77 lbs and in a fetal position for many pain racked years, it was a mercy & a blessing. Vicki did not want to suffer like that and she had no agenda.
There are millions of Vicki’s and families out there with similar incurable genetic diseases or spinal cord injuries. Embryonic stem cell research show great promise toward a quicker cure for these helpless people that are beyond cellular stage, but do not have a second to waste.
While compassionate when it comes to individual stem cells, conservatives appear devoid of compassion when it comes to the suffering that millions of people, minute by minute, day by day, year after year must continue to endure. I only see one political agenda here and it is not President Obama’s. It is instead the political agenda of the Family Research Council and those who believe in the unrealistic right wing view of science, which is, scientific decisions are based on ideology, not facts.
Science is the effort to discover and increase human understanding of how reality works.

RICK PERRY SAYS ADIOS TO HELPING UNEMPLOYED TEXANS

Governor Rick Perry announced that he intends to turn down $555 million in stimulus funds that would provide additional benefits for unemployed Texas job-seekers who are trying to get by in the wake of layoffs caused by the Republican recession. After his announcement, it was clear the Governor cares about only one job - his own.
The Governor compared out-of-work Texans to junkies, and now he's using them as political pawns to appeal to what he thinks is his Republican base. Texas needs a leader who will work with mainstream Texans in a bipartisan effort to rebuild our economy. It's shameful that Rick Perry would rather play politics to keep his job than help Texans who have lost their jobs.
In the U.S. Senators, Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, have refused to condemn Perry's destructive actions. Call or email them and insist that they condemn the Governor’s refusal to accept new funds to help unemployed Texans.

Sen. Hutchison's Washington D.C. Office: 202-224-5922 hutchison.senate.gov/contact.cfm
Sen. Cornyn's Washington D.C. Office: 202-224-2934 cornyn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Con...

• The Texas economy will lose between 180,000 to 300,000 jobs in 2009
• The Texas unemployment rate is expected to rise from 6 to 8.2 percent by October
  The unemployment fund is already running low and will reach zero by October 1st
• 26,000 Texans are filing new unemployment claims each week