H.R. 2218, the bill that would prevent the EPA from regulating toxic coal ash, passed the House. Now it moves on to the Senate, where it will, presumably, get a less sympathetic hearing, but let's not get complacent: CREDO helps you tell your Senators to oppose the House effort to keep the EPA from doing its job -- which is not to make everything easier for the coal corporations, but to keep toxic crap out of our air and water. Don't brook any loose talk about "states' rights," either -- H.R. 2218 would give states power to regulate toxic coal ash, but states tend to be pretty lax about regulating toxic coal ash, which is why the feds must step in. And H.R. 2218 doesn't even demand that states meet minimum standards for protecting folks' health, which is almost unprecedented. If you find your Senator is still unconvinced, ask them this: are people more free when their drinking water is full of lead, mercury, and arsenic, or less free? Remind them, also, that regulations aren't job "killers" but job creators -- I mean, do they think robots are going to do all the work of getting coal plants up to snuff?

Meanwhile, Washington state will vote on I-522, an initiative requiring corporations to label genetically-modified food, on Election Day 2013, and the Grocery Manufacturers Association plans to plow millions of dollars into defeating it -- just like it did in California in 2012, where it spent some $2 million to help sow confusion about the "cost" of labeling GMO food and thus defeat Prop 37. It just so happens that Safeway, Starbucks, and Target are all members of -- and big-money contributors to -- the Grocery Manufacturers Association, and since you may well shop at two (if not all three!) of these stores, you may well spy opportunity. So MoveOn helps you tell Safeway, Starbucks, and Target to stop spending money on anti-GMO labeling efforts. Nine out of 10 Americans want corporations to label their genetically-modified food, and 90% is way more than a supermajority; if corporations can't do what virtually everyone wants them to do, what good are they? We're not asking them to do anything unconstitutional -- just tell us what Frankencrap is in their food. It's really not that much to ask.

Finally, Mr. Obama may be talking a good game about the economy lately, but he's still trying to talk Republicans into a "Grand Bargain" on the economy, which would include Medicare cuts. Doesn't his head hurt from five-plus years of wall-banging? Talking to Republicans about the economy is like talking to an arsonist about home rebuilding. And I'm profoundly tired of hearing about Medicare benefit cuts like it's a good idea for anyone, let alone the millions of seniors Medicare has saved from the poverty that persistent medical issues would have otherwise ensured. Mr. Obama could be playing 13-dimensional chess again, hoping that Republicans will say YEZZZZ GIVE UZZZ THA MEDICARE CUTZZZ!!!!!! and he'll say I HAVE YOU NOW!!!! But I think things are much simpler than that: most folks know Republicans want Medicare dead, and most folks also know that Mr. Obama has offered to cut Medicare benefits again and again and again, and most folks would really prefer to have a choice among their elected officials. Daily Kos helps you tell Mr. Obama, one more time, to stop offering Medicare cuts already.