This place sucks

"THIS WEEK, the Senate votes on the Energy Bill, and the possibility of a seismic survey of the U.S. coastline. At decibel levels of 260, seismic blasts have a devastating impact on whales, dolphins and other marine mammals that rely on their sense of hearing to survive. In fact, they can lead to permanent hearing loss, brain hemorrhaging and even cause entire pods of whales and dolphins to beach."

We can only hope they don't pass this shit bill. Oil companies will get tax breaks (like they need them) and not have to abide by the clean water act. The bill would promote larger production of ethanol, which would in fact increase air polution and use more energy to produce. Oh yes, and more nuclear power plants are on the agenda.

The Bush administration wants to pretend that they are doing something about energy conservation and the environment. Really it is designed to make sure the oil companies don't lose any money, and in fact continue to make huge profits.

And from the NARAL people:

"It's official: Americans can no longer take prescription birth control for granted. Yesterday, Monday, July 25, anti-choice representatives in the U.S. House made it clear that they support pharmacies that refuse to fill birth-control prescriptions - and that women have no right to birth control.

The radical right's campaign to stop birth control
The House Small Business Committee held a hearing on whether pharmacies should be allowed to refuse to fill women's prescriptions. Anti-choice Rep. Steve King (R-IA) told a witness, who had been denied birth control and emergency contraception by her pharmacist, that she had no "right" to her prescriptions - she only believed she did. Anti-choice Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO) told a witness whose prescription had also been rejected by a hostile pharmacist, that her "minor inconvenience" - that is, risking an unintended pregnancy - was nothing compared to the "conscience" of a pharmacist.

The right's anti-birth control campaign doesn't stop in Washington, DC. Across the country, the radical right has engaged pharmacies in its campaign to block women's access to birth control. Women like Julee Lacey, a 32-year-old married mother of two and first-grade teacher from Texas, are being turned away by vigilante pharmacists who think it's their job to dispense morals instead of medicine.

Now, as many as 20 states officially protect pharmacists like Karen Brauer, president of Pharmacists for Life, who says she'd lecture women customers to get off the pill. Other states are pursuing an even more aggressive strategy. Just last month Wisconsin passed a bill to block state universities from filling birth control prescriptions."

I wonder if these anti-contraception people also wouldn't sell condoms.

Also in the news:

Urgent: Ask Your Representative to Say ‘No’ to CAFTA

Sometime in the next two days, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on DR-CAFTA (the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement). If this bill passes, it will be a disaster for farmed animals. All the major front groups for the meat, egg, and dairy industries, including the National Chicken Council, the American Meat Institute, the National Pork Producers Council, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, are aggressively lobbying in support of DR-CAFTA. Why do these industries, which profit from the suffering of animals, support this trade agreement? Because DR-CAFTA will open the doors for enormous animal-abusing corporations like Tyson, Pilgrim’s Pride, and Smithfield to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into building new factory farms in Central America. As more and more Americans turn toward vegetarianism, these industries are desperate to find new markets for their unhealthy, inhumane products. DR-CAFTA will make it much easier for these corporations to peddle flesh, eggs, and dairy in Central America.
Millions of farmed animals will suffer on factory farms if DR-CAFTA passes. While the meat industry doles out contributions to politicians on Capitol Hill, it’s vital that everyone who cares about animals make their voices heard. Please immediately call (it’s too late for letters) your representative and ask him or her to stop DR-CAFTA in its tracks.

Visit Congress.org to find your representative’s phone number.

The best way you can stop factory farming is by joining the growing ranks of vegetarians around the world. For a free vegetarian starter kit, full of delicious recipes and a free DVD, visit VegetarianStarterKit.com.