Texas Today

Congress to consider 2 bills next week and your help is needed!!!
Dear Humanitarian:

1. AMERICAN HORSE SLAUGHTER PREVENTION ACT

On April 25, the US Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will hold a mark-up for S. 311, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (AHSPA). At the mark-up, Committee members will decide on the language of a measure they expect to report to the full Senate.

While support on the Senate Commerce Committee is strong, it is critical that all Committee member including cosponsors of this bill hear from an outpouring of constituents. Please urge the members of the Committee to stand strong against any misinformation that is being spread by pro-horse slaughter groups and individuals. Ask all members of the Committee to vote in favor of S. 311 and encourage Senate leadership to move the bill swiftly to the full Senate for consideration. If your own Senator is on the Committee it is especially important for you to contact him/her. Two years ago, the US Senate voted overwhelming to stop horse slaughter for a year; S. 311 will ensure that the practice is stopped permanently.

2. A BILL TO RESTORE THE PROHIBITION ON THE COMMERCIAL SALE AND SLAUGHTER OF WILD FREE-ROAMING HORSES AND BURROS

In the House of Representatives, Members of Congress will have an opportunity to take a stand for wild horses when H.R. 249 comes up for a vote on Thursday. Introduced by Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV), this bill would stop the commercial exploitation and slaughter of wild horses by repealing the 2004 “Burns rider” and restoring the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act to its original language.

Passage of these bills is critical to the welfare of America’s horses. Congress has spoken out several times against the slaughter of both wild and domestic horses, and now they must take a stand to keep our horses safe forever.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
A. Please call and fax members of the Senate Commerce Committee TODAY, urging them to vote “YES” on S. 311, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. If they are currently cosponsoring the bill, also ask them to speak out on behalf of this important measure during the mark-up and persuade their colleagues to join them in support. Feel free to refer to the facts about horse slaughter listed below.

For a complete listing of committee members and their contact information, click here: www.commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=About.Members. To learn more about our campaign to stop horse slaughter for human consumption, please visit www.saplonline.org/horses.htm.

B. Please contact your Representative as well, asking that he or she vote “YES” on H.R. 249 to restore protections for wild horses when the measure comes to the House floor for a vote next Thursday. For more information on these animals’ plight and how to contact your Representative, please click here: www.saplonline.org/w_horses.htm.
Additionally, please share this eAlert with family, friends and co-workers, and encourage them to contact the Commerce Committee Senators and their Representatives, too. As always, thank you very much for your help!

What a great session this would be if we can get something passed for good on these issues!! Please spread the word to all your animal loving friends!

FACTS AND FAQ’s ABOUT HORSE SLAUGHTER
Last year, three foreign-owned slaughter plants cruelly slaughtered more than 100,000 horses for human consumption in Europe and Asia. Tens of thousands more of America’s horses were exported from the United States and slaughtered in other countries.
Slaughter is NOT humane euthanasia. Horses suffer horribly on the way to and during slaughter.
Passage of the AHSPA will reduce animal suffering ­hence its wide support throughout the equestrian and veterinary world, as well as the humane community.
Americans overwhelmingly support an end to horse slaughter for human consumption. In California, a 1998 ballot initiative to ban horse slaughter for human consumption passed with 60 percent of the vote.
Animal cruelty is NOT a property rights issue. It is illegal to abuse and neglect any animal, and horse slaughter is one of many tragic forms of animal cruelty.
A recent ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Texas law making the operation of the two Texas plants illegal.
The US District Court recently ruled that the US Department of Agriculture scheme that allowed the horse slaughter facilities to hire their own inspectors is a violation federal law. All plants were ordered to close immediately.
Horse slaughter has been stopped temporarily in the United States, but could resume without passage of the AHSPA. Horses are still being shipped to Mexico and Canada for slaughter, causing even greater suffering.

Sunday is Earth Day and what better way to show your support than coming out and protesting the coal plants! Everything you need to know is listed below!

Stop the Coal Plants Parade

and Power Plant Tour

Let’s take action for Earth Day… and keep moving toward a Clean Energy future in Texas!

The Stop The Coal Plant/Stop the Coal Rush Coalition urges you to mark your calendars, make your plans to attend, and gather with your family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues to WACO April 22nd for the…
Sunday, April 22nd – Starting at Noon -
Waco, Texas – gathering at Heritage Square
300 Austin Avenue

SEED Coalition, Sierra Club, Keep Waco Green, TPOWER, Democracy for Texas, Robertson County Our Land Our Lives, and Public Citizen invite you to join in a short parade in Waco, followed by a driving tour of the sites of proposed coal-burning power plants in the area.

The Texas Coal Rush is not over! Join us in taking action on Earth Day to stop the coal plants! March in a short parade and join us on an action-oriented power plant tour.

TCEQ will soon make an important decision about whether or not to permit TXU’s Oak Grove, the largest and dirtiest coal plant proposed in Texas.

We’ll ask public officials to take the next steps to stop the coal rush and protect our health. Everyone is welcome at this event and your presence will help make a difference in our push for clean air and clean energy!

Join us in walking (or driving) in a short parade in Waco. You can pull a wagon with children aboard if you’d like and feel free to carry a sign or banner for your organization.

If you want to ride on a float that is being planned, or want to make and bring a float, please let us know. Cars / vans can follow as part of the parade, or you can leave your car parked.

Then we’ll hop into in vans for a driving tour to the proposed coal plant sites and we hope that you’ll ride with us. If you need to, you can take your car and follow the vans, but it will definitely be more fun to ride together.

We’ll bring box lunches for the ride. Please let us know if you prefer a vegetarian meal.

Our power plant tour stops will include:

* The existing Lake Creek Power plant (gas plant)

* LS Power/Dynegy’s site in Riesel for the proposed Sandy Creek coal plant, and

* TXU’s proposed Oak Grove site in Robertson County, where the tower is built already.

* Along the way, we’ll point out the location and direction of the Sempa/PNM Twin Oaks plant near Hammond, the site of the existing TNP coal plant.

We expect to finish up at Oak Grove around 5:00 pm and return to Waco by around 6:30 pm, but the times may vary somewhat.

Register now.
Contact: Karen Hadden, 512-797-8481

Apr 17 2007 – 12:00pm
Kinky will attend a press conference and rally sponsored by the Texas Humane Legislation Network, Humane Society of the United States and the Society for Animal Protective Legislation to Oppose HB 2476/S 1742 on the south steps of the

Texas State Capital at noon on Tuesday, April 17.

HB 2476/S 1742 :

A recent court decision declared that the two horse slaughterhouses in Texas would violate current state law if they sold or possessed horsemeat for human consumption, thus prohibiting them from slaughtering horses for human consumption. The state legislature is considering H.B. 2476/S. 1742, a bill that would reverse this law and allow the sale and possession of horsemeat for human consumption to continue. If this legislation passes, it will allow the two slaughterhouses to slaughter horses for human consumption abroad.

Please contact your state Representative and Senator and ask them to protect horses in Texas by opposing HB 2476/S 1742. To find out who represents you, please visit: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx and fill out the address information in the Who Represents Me? Box .

Go on out and show your support!

I had the most incredible opportunity last night to meet some amazing people including Sheryl Crow herself at the Stop Global Warming college tour. It kicked off in Dallas on the SMU campus with outstretched arms. I think everyone is ready to help put a stop to the earth’s rising climate change. Amid the chaos, I was able to ask Sheryl Crow what she would like to say to texastoday.org .While signing a group of girl’s tops she said” All the college students are so intriguing.They not only give hope but,can succeed in making the difference we all need.” There ya have it! Our exclusive! Now, go sign up for the virtual march at www.stopglobalwarming.org .Get everyone you know involved. 1 million by Earth Day! “C’mon ,C’mon”you know you can do it!

Just in case there is anyone who doesn’t know about it yet, there is a senate bill, SB 4, that is in committee and will be coming up for a vote that needs our support. Specific text can be found here:

http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/80R/analysis/html/SB00004S.htm

Summary:

AUTHOR’S / SPONSOR’S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Many of the state’s charter school operators have been plagued by low performance, mismanaged funds, and fraudulent practices that do not benefit students. Far too many have found loopholes to avoid fully participating in the state’s accountability system. The Texas Education Agency has the authority to revoke low-performing charters, but the number of problem schools exceeds that which can feasibly be cleaned up using case-by-case interventions or administrative
litigation. However, there are also some exceptional charter schools in Texas – 30 schools were rated recognized or exemplary in 2006. These schools are setting an example for others to follow.

C.S.S.B. 4 rewards charter schools that are high performing and makes it easier to close charter schools that are failing. This bill will implement the best practices to ensure inclusion of all public charter schools in the accountability system. Additionally, high performing charter schools that have earned the ratings of recognized and exemplary for two years or more would be rewarded with funding for facilities. This program would serve as an incentive for other schools to achieve this level of performance and help successful schools to expand and serve more students.

If you don’t know who your state senator is, you can visit the following site to conduct a search:

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us

I strongly recommend, if you haven’t already, that you write or send an e-mail to your representatives about this legislation. I will include what I wrote myself, though much of it is personal to my situation. Feel free to pinch any relevant bit you like and use it in your own letters. Please also write your house representative and encourage him or her to support the legislation contained in SB 4. Our children depend on it!

My own letter (personal information removed to protect my privacy):

The Honorable John Carona
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711

4/9/2007

Dear Senator Carona,

I strongly recommend that you support Senate Bill 4 establishing charter districts, setting operating guidelines, establishing performance requirements and addressing funding for charter schools.

In Dallas and across the state, the school system is in desperate need of improvement. Classes are overcrowded and often held in `temporary’ classroom structures that have become permanent fixtures, students are uncontrolled or labeled uncontrollable, teachers are in short supply, and many of the schools are unsafe. When it came time to enroll my own daughter,XXXXXXXXXX, in school, I found my options lacking. The closest elementary school was one of the lowest rated in the state, made worse by language barriers and a severe teacher shortage. Luckily, I discovered XXXXXXXXXX charter school, to begin my daughter’s educational path.

In that school, she thrived. The class size was small, disruptive children were removed from the classroom environment, and appropriate conduct was not just expected, but was a part of the curriculum. Cursive writing and good penmanship was taught from kindergarten on up, something that often begins as late as 4th grade, if at all in the public school environment. Reading was a priority and all students got the assistance they needed in order to make sure they read before they moved on to first grade.

My daughter has since had to move on to other high performing charter schools, attending XXXXXXXXX for 4th and 5th grades, and is now in XXXXXXXXXX for 6th grade. When I selected XXXXXXXXXX, it was in part because I saw the high performance and achievement standards set by the administrators. I saw that the same standards of conduct and
accountability I had grown accustomed to in my daughter’s previous school were held in high regard, and making certain the children were set on a path for success was not just something teachers and administrators talked about, it was what inspired and drove them in every moment of every day at the school. I wanted that for my daughter and I did not feel that she would get the same quality of education in the public schools I had to choose from. I have not been disappointed by my decision. My daughter has been in the highest performance group on the TAKS tests every year she has been tested, consistently achieves high grades, and is being challenged in the classroom in ways I don’t feel she would be otherwise. The classroom is a safe environment where actual learning takes place, disruptions are not tolerated, children are held
accountable for their behavior, and the performance bar is set high.

My daughter and her classmates are proof that when held to high expectations, our children can achieve greatness. In short, these students are being led to present and future success through a quality education in the way that all students everywhere deserve, without regard for their neighborhood or their parents’ financial circumstances.

All charter schools are not created equal, this much is true. There are many in operation that should be closed, including some in my neighborhood. However, by setting districts for charter schools, establishing accountability and oversight, and rewarding those schools that lead in educational excellence, we can only enhance an educational system that has been stretched to its limit and beyond. Inner city students, often the most overlooked group of children, stand to gain the most from this legislation. Charter schools have been able to succeed where public schools have failed because they have had the freedom to approach education from a new direction, with a fresh set of ideas. Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. What we are doing with our school system today is the classic example of insanity. It is time to support change, time to support our children, time to create a legacy of which we can be proud. Support Senate Bill 4. Your future voters are counting on you.

Thank you,

signature
printed name
address
phone number
e-mail address

The Humane Society of the United States is hosting a free lobbying seminar on April 16 from 6-8 p.m. The next day, they will hold a rally and lobby day at the Capitol from 10 a.m.-2.p.m. Be sure to RSVP before 5pm on April 15th with Kelley Dupps at kdupps@hsus.org
Whether or not you can attend these events, please contact your state legislators and urge them to ban slaughter permanently in Texas. Please call your state representative and urge them to oppose H.B. 2476/S.B. 1742 and any efforts to legalize horse slaughter for human consumption.
Making a call is easy. A staff member will take your call and pass your message to your legislators. All you have to say is:

“Hello, my name is [your name] and I am calling from [your city]. I strongly oppose H.B. 2476/S.B. 1742, legislation to legalize horse slaughter in Texas. Horses hold a special place in American history and should not be slaughtered for export to France and other countries for human consumption. It’s time to end this grisly practice and I hope [legislator's name] will oppose any attempts to legalize horse slaughter in our state. Thank you.”
Please call. One day soon victory will be ours!

* Note I just heard from the coordinator that Bo Dereck had a change in her schedule and is now unable to attend the Texas rally. Sorry for the news but still please come out !

Musician Sheryl Crow and Laurie David, activist/ producer of “An Inconvenient Truth” will be kicking off a tour to raise awareness and what we can do in our daily lives to stop global warming from happening.. Here are the dates and times for Texas:
Monday April 9th Dallas,Texas SMU McFarlin Auditorium, 8pm
Tuesday April 10th Texas A&M, College Station, Texas, Rudder Arena, 7:30pm

Try to make it if you can!! *

* I’m not sure how the process of attending is for A&M but, I believe you had to have a ticket. I have just found out the the Dallas event is only available to the SMU community..If anything else comes up I will post!

Should the Supreme Court drop the proposed bill on overturning Roe vs. Wade,Representative Warren Chisum, R-Pampa would like to re-establish an abortion ban here across the state to be placed in effect immediately making it illegal for all women seeking abortions. So far he has gathered the support of Texas Eagle forum,Texas Catholic Conference,Texans for life committee,Concerned Women of America for Texas and Rep. David Swinford R-Dumas ,who leads the powerful state affairs committee. Note that Swinford has only said we should have “something in place until we could meet in legislative session.”