PETITION ABOUT TPP

from Sharon Lux

Sign this White House PETITION asking the President why he won't release the full text of the TPP now?

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is being written and negotiated in secret by 600 corporate lobbyists without release of its provisions to the American People or their representatives in Congress. Now, the White House is pushing for Fast-Track Authority or FTA.  FTA would effectively silence debate and eliminate any possibility of amendment.  The TPP is anti-democratic and nothing but a power grab by the multinationals for control of our future.

If you like, take a short look at the TPP in general, TheDirtiest Deal You Never Heard Of..

And/or watch a 40 minute video by Dr Erik Monasterio, a physician who explains in plain language about how our public health has already been harmed by big PHARM and the even more harm that would come from the TPP agreement.

Ask the President why he won't release the full text of the TPP now?

(Note: the White House will send you a confirming email before posting your signature.)

Ask him if it is because the American people would strongly object to this blatant takeover of American sovereignty by international corporate interests?

Ask him if it is because the TPP would severely impede our local, state, and national legislatures from establishing American standards for our country for environmental, public health, labor, and technology protections according to the values of the American People?

We MUST stop this trade deal.  It would have horrible effects in the United States and the other countries which sign it.  And, as usual, the most vulnerable citizens would suffer the most.

Then please pass this onto your friends and associates.

Thank you!

SOCIAL JUSTICE FILM: BLUE GOLD: WORLD WATER WARS

from Nancy Stiefel

What:  Social Justice Film “Blue Gold: World Water Wars”

When:  Sunday, March 8, 7:00 PM

Where:  Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, on the corner of 27^th Avenue and 16^th Street in Vero Beach

 

This 2008 film is based on the book Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World's Water, co-written by Maude Barlow, national chair of the Council of Canadians, a citizen advocacy group, and Tony Clarke, a long-time Canadian activist against free trade.

 

In every corner of the globe, our limited supply of fresh water is polluted, diverted, pumped, and wasted at an expediential level as population and technology grows. The rampant over development of agriculture, housing, and industry increase the demands for fresh water well beyond the finite supply, resulting in the desertification of the earth.

 

Corporate giants, private investors, and corrupt governments vie for control of our dwindling supply of fresh water, prompting protests, lawsuits, and revolutions from citizens fighting for the right to survive. Wars of the future will be fought over water as they are over oil today, as the source of human survival enters the global marketplace and political arena.

 

Sarah Barmak of the Toronto Star wrote, “The film sounds the same sweeping alarms as Al Gore's documentary on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, but about our endangered water supply – and the implications are just as grim.”

 

The Fair Trade Corner will be open for one-half hour prior to the 90 minute film. Vicki Machado of Food and Water Watch organization will facilitate the discussion following the film.

FEBRUARY 2015 MEETING REMINDER

from Sharon Lux

Hello all TCPA members,

Just a few reminders of upcoming events.

 Monday Feb 23, 6:30, our monthly meeting, at the Garden Club Center  features Cleaver Haylings, a community activist concerned with the plight of our black friends & neighbors. Come join the discussion, as we are actively seeking to reach out to our minority brothers & sisters and organize together.

Local Activism Dates to remember: Tues. March 3 West Palm Beach, Progress Florida, Awake the State rally on the opening day of the Florida legislative session; Wed. March 11 there is a public meeting in Okeechobee to comment on  DEP draft permit for injecting waste 3200 ft into local aquifer.

Richard & Nancy Silvestri have offered to show the series "Years of Living Dangerously", at their home on Sunday evenings, starting in April.

Details of all upcoming events will be discussed at the Monday Feb 23 meeting, then posted on website & facebook. 

Saturday March 14, TCPA is having a fundraising table (2) at the St . Lucie Yard Sale at Lawnwood Stadium parking lot, 1302 Virginia Ave. Fort Pierce  34982. A HUGE yard sale, last of the season, should be good buys & sells.  Please consider donating, unwanted items for the sale tables. All proceeds made will be used for new signage and rally materials. You may contact Richard Silvestri, rsilvestri@bellsouth.com  or Elizabeth Carr, emcarr55@hotmail.com, if you wish to drop off donated items for the sale. Everyone is welcome to help out or just come to visit &shop.

Monday March 30, Felicia Bruce will speak on Climate Change, at our monthly meeting: 6:30pm at the Garden Club Center.

A membership drive is under way! Please remember to renew for 2015 as your support helps continue to further our commitment to a better community & world.. You may renew at the meetings or contact Gunnar Johnson at gunsjohnson@gmail.com or mail your check to:

TCPA  1101 N US 1  #328  Fort Pierce, FL 34950.   Single member $15  Family $20

As always we meet monthly on the last Monday of the month at the Garden Club Center, 911 Parkway Drive, Fort Pierce 34954  at 6:30 pm. Mark your calendars!

Hope to see you at upcoming events. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at sharlux@comcast.net.

Yours in Solidarity,

Sharon Lux

AWAKE THE STATE

from Sharon Lux

Under Rick Scott and his allies, Florida works for the wealthy and well-connected. If we want Florida to work for all Floridians, we have to show our fellow citizens a better way forward.

Sign up to join a local Awake The State event in your community on the opening day of Florida’s legislative session, or organize an event of your own.

Nearly 2,000 of you voted last week to prioritize a series of strong progressive bills. Here are the five you chose as priorities, and what we’ll be advocating for on the opening day of legislative session, Tuesday, March 3rd:

Expand Access to Health Care: Implements expansion of Florida’s Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act to close the coverage gap. Expansion would provide access to quality health care for nearly one million working Floridians who lack the security of health coverage.

Water Protection Act: Requires the Department of Environmental Protection to establish minimum flow levels for first and second magnitude springs; requires local governments to adopt seasonal fertilizer ordinances; bans the process known as “fracking” statewide. Florida faces a major challenge in both water quality and quantity and needs to take substantial steps to protect our water.

Clean Energy Act: Requires Florida to receive 40% of its energy from non-nuclear renewable sources by 2030. Florida faces serious challenges due to the global threat of climate change, and we should immediately position our state to take advantage of increasingly affordable sources of renewable energy.

Living Wage Amendment: Proposes an amendment to the Florida Constitution raising the state’s minimum wage to $15-per-hour, indexed to inflation. Floridians who work hard should be able to pay for basic necessities like food and rent, provide for their families, and contribute to their local economy.

Anti-Corruption Act: Lowers the individual campaign contribution limit to $250, and allows Floridians who contribute to state and local campaigns to request a rebate of up to $25. This proposal would restrict the influence of big money in campaigns, empower small donors, and provide the foundation for a more citizen-funded election process.

These are five bills that would do more for hard working Floridians than anything they’ve done in the last five years. Our fellow citizens need to know they have a real choice in the years ahead. Floridians are stepping up in their own communities to both organize and participate in local events advocating for a progressive agenda.

Stand up for a real agenda that builds a Florida that works for all Floridians. Find a local Awake The State event in your community or organize an event of your own.

Florida has been governed by a pro-special interest, Tea Party-aligned agenda for too long. The wealthy and well-connected have had it their way, and it’s time to advocate for a new path forward for Florida. We can’t do it alone, and need your participation.

FILM: FOOD CHAINS

from Nancy Stiefel

What:  Social Justice Film Series presents:  Food Chains

When: Sunday, Feb. 15, 7:00 PM

Where:  Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Vero Beach – at the corner of 27^th Avenue and 16^th Street

There is much interest in food these days, yet little interest in the hands that pick that food. In the US, farm labor has always been one of the most difficult and poorly paid jobs and has relied on some of the nation's most vulnerable people.  These days, their exploitation is perpetuated by the corporations at the top of the food chain: supermarkets whose buying power has kept the wages of farmworkers pitifully low.

 

An intrepid group of Florida farmworkers, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), are battling the global supermarket industry with their ingenious Fair Food Program. This agreement partners with growers and retailers to improve working conditions for farm laborers in the US by raising the price of tomatoes by just one penny per pound.

 

To date, thirteen major retailers have signed on to the Fair Food agreement including Fresh Market, Walmart, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, McDonalds, Taco Bell, Chipotle, Burger King, Aramark, Compass Group, Bon Appetit, Sodexo, and Subway.  Publix, Kroger, Safeway, and Wendy’s have resisted signing this landmark agreement.

 

Please join the Social Justice Committee to view this 2014 film produced by Eva Longoria, well-known actress from Desperate Housewives, and Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation.  There is no charge, but donations to offset the cost to rent the film will be gratefully accepted.

 

The Fair Trade Corner will be open for one-half hour prior to the 80 minute film. We are hoping to have a representative of the Alliance for Fair Food on hand to facilitate the discussion following the film.