|
|
|
ne California Communities United Institute Newsletter
www.CalComUI.org
Activism With A Heart Justice |
October, 2011
|
|
| Note: You can place this newsletter on your social networking site (such as Facebook ot Twitter) by clicking on the share button at the bottom of this newsletter.
_______ |
|
|
The 2011 Legislative Score Card Is Out |
 California Communities United Institute (CalComUI) has now placed its score card for the 2011 session of the California Legislature on its web site. Interested people may see it by clicking here. What follows is a summary of the trends shown by the score card. To read the rest of this article, click here. Boyce Hinman ________ |
|
The CMA Calls For Legalization of Marijuana |
 On October 14 the Trustees of the California Medical Association (CMA) called for the legalization of marijuana. The CMA represents 35,000 doctors in California. It is one of the largest medical associations in the nation. It is the first major medical association in the United States to take this stand. In a statement on the issue, the Trustees said "[E]ven with regard to cannabis used recreationally, there is a need for oversight and quality control, just as there is with alcohol, tobacco, and food products. Such oversight and quality control, aimed at protecting personal and public health, can be accomplished with legalization and regulation at both the federal and state levels. Thus far, the criminalisation of cannabis has proven to be a failed public health policy." To read the rest of this article, click here. Boyce Hinman ________ |
|
CBO Says Rich People's Income Is Soaring |
 President Obama and his Republican opponents have been engaged in a vigorous debate on how to balance the federal budget. President Obama has suggested this be done with a combination of budget cuts to some federal programs, and some increases in federal taxes on the wealthiest Americans. His opponents have branded the suggestion of higher taxes on the rich as class warfare. They say the federal budget deficit should be eliminated entirely with cuts to that budget. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has just released a very interesting report that bears on this debate. The CBO is the primary congressional agency charged with reviewing congressional budgets and other legislative initiatives with budgetary implications. To read what the CBO report reveals, click here. Boyce Hinman ________ |
|
Join California Communities United Institute
The members of California Communities United Institute (CalComUI) get monthly E-mailed newsletters filled with information about legislation and other issues that affect each of the communities we serve. The newsletter helps you track the progress of the bills you care about.
Members also get E-mailed alerts about legislation of importance to the communities we serve. These alerts help members easily E-mail their elected officials on that legislation.
You can join CalComUI by visiting our web site and keying your E-mail address into the yellow box at the bottom. To start the process click here.
____________
|
|
CDC Panel Says Vaccinate Boys Against HPV
| |
 Earlier this month an advisory panel of the US Centers For Disease Control (CDC) recommended that boys age 12 and above receive the vaccine against Human Papillomavirus (HPV).
In most cases the CDC adopts the recommendations of its advisory panels. So it is likely that the CDC will soon officially recommend that boys be given the HPV vaccine. The CDC has previously recommended that girls ages 11-12 get the HPV vaccine.
Why do they suggest such early vaccination? They hope, in this way, to get young boys and girls vaccinated before they become sexually active and thus susceptible to becoming infected. The widespread, routine, immunization in this way could eliminate the threat of HPV in the American population. A similar polio vaccine program has virtually eliminated polio from this nation.
To read the rest of this article, click here.
Boyce Hinman
________
|
|
Poverty In America
The Stark Reality |  Recently the Half In Ten Campaign issued a detailed report on the stark reality of poverty in America today. The report also proposes a plan of action to reduce poverty in this country. The report asserts that poverty in the US could be reduced by half in ten years if their plan of action is fully implemented. Interested persons can download and read a copy of the report by clicking here and then clicking on the link at the end of the web based version of this article. The report is long and detailed, so I will summarize its findings about current conditions in this article. In an article published in our November newsletter, I will summarize how the report proposes to reduce poverty by half in ten years. To read the rest of this article, click here. Boyce Hinman ________ |
|
An End To All Abortions? | |
 In Just a few days, November 8, the voters of Mississippi will vote on a state constitutional amendment (Initiative Measure No. 26) that, if approved by the voters, is likely to entirely eliminate a woman's right to an abortion in that state.
The purpose of the initiative is to establish the legal concept that a fertilized human egg is a person from the very moment that it is fertilized. It seems likely then that an abortion, under almost any circumstances, would be considered murder. So would the destruction of unneeded fertilized eggs produced in a fertility clinic.
To read the rest of this article, click here.
Boyce Hinman
________
|
Viewing The Prop 8 Tapes Must Wait |  Earlier this year US District Court Judge Vaughn Walker presided over a long trial on the question of whether or not California's Proposition 8 violates the US Constitution. Proposition 8 amended California's constitution to say that same sex marriage will not be recognized in California. At the end of the trial judge Vaughn ruled that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. He overturned the proposition. As it happens, that court hearing was videotaped. At the end of the trial, Judge Walker ruled that the tapes should be released to the media and the public. However he stayed that ruling pending appeal. Shortly after the trial, Judge Walker retired from the bench. More recently the supporters of same sex marriage went to the US District Court for Northern California asking the court to release the video to the public. On September 19, Judge Ware, of that court, ruled that the video should be released to the public on September 30. However, the 9th US Court of Appeals put judge Ware's decision on hold while it considers an appeal of it made by the opponents of same sex marriage. To read the rest of this article, click here. Boyce Hinman ________ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
