House Judiciary Chair Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and ranking member John Conyers (D-MI) say they'll subpoena the Obama Administration for the "targeted killing" memos -- which putatively describe how our government decides which terrorists to kill overseas, or here at home. Originally the Obama Administration had until Thursday to produce the memos voluntarily, which they didn't, being, of course, the most transparent Administration in history. (I guess they figured you'd only compare them with the last Administration, and not with some idea of what a transparent Administration would actually do.) So Firedoglake helps you call House Judiciary Committee members and ensure they issue the subpoena. A subpoena threat from Sen. Leahy did, after all, get some Senate members to look at some of the memos. But that's not enough, and perhaps the House can outclass the Senate, though admittedly that's not a high bar to clear.
Meanwhile, the Sierra Club helps you tell the EPA to establish binding clean water standards for the Appalachian mountain areas. Why? Because mountaintop removal coal mining corporations dump their toxic waste in valleys, and those toxins wind up in drinking water. And why binding? Because the EPA has, in the past, established voluntary "guidance" standards, but the affected states (primarily Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee) don't seem to be taking very much guidance. Studies find higher incidence of cancer, birth defects, and chronic heart and lung disease near mountaintop removal sites; studies also find vastly decreased biodiversity, as species that depend on the mountaintop before its "removal" die out. I guess the right-wing objection would be that you'll be sorry when energy prices go up! As if money is the only thing anyone cares about -- or blowing up mountains is the only way to power a nation! And even coal corporations have begun to abandon mountaintop removal.
In other news, the House blocked a vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act last week -- but Rep. DeLauro (D-CT) has issued a "discharge petition," which, if signed by a majority of House members, would force a vote on the bill. You'd have to imagine at least a few Republicans, even in this ever-more extreme iteration of the GOP, would want to make it a little easier for women to find out when they're facing pay discrimination and then do something about it. You'd also have to imagine that, in this cut-throat era, more than a few House Reps who have no intention of passing the bill would still go on the record as favoring a vote on the bill, and hope none of their constituents notice the difference. So the National Women's Law Center helps you tell your House Rep to vote in favor of the discharge petition. If this process seems a bit Sisyphean, remember that women make only 77 cents on the dollar that men make, on average, and that can add up over a lifetime -- like, to $400,000 on average. Think you can use an extra $400,000?
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