Garbl's Plain English Writing Guide

Garbl's Plain English Writing Guide

In Celebration of International Plain Language Day, Oct. 13, 2018.

Sign and send a petition on the new national DISCLOSE Act!

Sign and send a petition on the new national DISCLOSE Act!

I got the message below from Common Cause and followed up with messages to my U.S. representative and senators:

"It’s already starting… every election year, voters see thousands of political ads without any idea who is paying for them. That represents millions in secret money spent by corporate front groups, wealthy special interests, and billionaires looking to protect their bottom line.

"Everyone deserves to know who is spending money on our elections -- it’s the only way for voters to know who is trying to influence our views and our elected representatives.

"That’s why it’s time for Congress to pass the DISCLOSE Act, which would require big campaign spenders to disclose their donors to the public, including in the ads that go up on the air. It’s a common sense solution to protect our right to know -- and it’s time for our representatives in Congress to act.

"Send a message to your members of Congress today and tell them: voters deserve to know who is trying to influence our votes.

"Since the Citizens United decision in 2010, at least $800 million has come through secret money groups -- and that’s just at the federal level. The money has been funneled through various groups, many with misleading names and without any transparency or accountability.

"It’s corrupting our democracy -- and it's getting worse every election.

"A new DISCLOSE Act has been introduced in Congress, and it's stronger than ever because it requires Dark Money groups to report their secret funders, includes robust follow-the-money transfer provisions to reveal contributors hiding behind front groups, and requires leaders of corporations, unions, and other organizations to 'stand by their ad.'

"Overwhelming bipartisan majorities in states ranging from California and Washington to Montana and Alaska have passed similar legislation -- and it’s time to bring this solution nationwide.

"The Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections (DISCLOSE) Act would set strict disclosure requirements on any individual, corporation, or other entity that spends significant money to influence elections.

"Sign and send a petition to your members of Congress to help pass the DISCLOSE Act now!"

Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited.

Justice Antonin Scalia, writing the majority opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller, 2008:

Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose:  For example, concealed weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the Amendment or state analogues. The Court’s opinion should not be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms. Miller’s holding that the sorts of weapons protected are those “in common use at the time” finds support in the historical tradition of prohibiting the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/07-290.ZS.html

Why We Need to Remember the Iraq War—As Well as the Global Resistance to It | The Nation

Why We Need to Remember the Iraq War—As Well as the Global Resistance to It | The Nation: The Middle East is still suffering from the consequences of the US invasion 15 years ago.

Phyllis Bennis writes in The Nation Magazine:

"As we look at the consequences of that war today—Iraq still in flames, wars raging across the region—we need to remember. ...

"We need to remember how the mainstream media obediently fell—or eagerly jumped—into line with the propaganda churned out by the Dick Cheney–Donald Rumsfeld policy shops.  ...

"We need to remember that the UN refused to endorse the war, aligning instead with the global protesters. ...

"We need to remember how the overthrow of Iraq’s government, the dismantling of its military, and the eradication of its civil service set the stage for years of military occupation, imposition of a US-controlled sectarian political system, and 15 years of death and devastation for the Iraqi people. We need to remember that hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians, perhaps over 1 million, died in the US war and occupation—and that doesn’t even count the hundreds of thousands already dead from the 12 years of brutal sanctions that preceded it.

"We need to remember not only because we still owe an enormous debt to the people of Iraq. We need to remember because the war’s goals remain in place: expanding US military domination, controlling oil and pipelines, building an empire of military bases. ...

"We need to remember that it was Bush’s occupation of Iraq that gave rise to ISIS. ... We need to remember that fact as we work to end the Global War on Terror, now expanded beyond Afghanistan and Iraq to envelop Yemen, Libya, Syria, and beyond. Drones, air strikes, and special-operations forces have replaced the massive numbers of ground troops, but we need to remember that the wars, and the killing, continue. ...

"We need to remember, even as we work to defend the rights of the refugees fleeing these wars, that the most important thing we can do is to prevent and end the wars that create refugees in the first place. ...

Assault Weapons Not Protected by Second Amendment, Federal Appeals Court Rules - NBC News

Assault Weapons Not Protected by Second Amendment, Federal Appeals Court Rules - NBC News: In a 10-4 ruling, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, said that 45 kinds of assault weapons banned under Maryland law aren't protected by the Second Amendment.

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This decision based on this ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller, 2008, written by conservative Justice Scalia:

"Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any mannerwhatsoever and for whatever purpose: For example, concealed weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the Amendment or state analogues. The Court’s opinion should not be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms. Miller’s holding that the sorts of weapons protected are those 'in common use at the time' finds support in the historical tradition of prohibiting the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons."

https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/07-290.ZS.html

Tell Congress to Fully Fund the EPA

Tell Congress to Fully Fund the EPA

Less than half of those polled are now satisfied with the quality of our country's environment, according to a recent Gallup poll. And nearly three in four Americans agree with the statement that "the country should do whatever it takes to protect the environment," according to the Pew Research Center.

Yet the president's proposed 2019 budget slashes Environmental Protection Agency funding by nearly a quarter, compromising the ability of an already-underfunded EPA to keep our air and water clean and protect public health.

Please add your name now and let your lawmakers know that you expect them to fully fund the EPA to protect our communities from pollution and other environmental threats.

International Women's Day - #PressforProgress

International Women's Day - #PressforProgress: #PressforProgress for International Women's Day and beyond. Take action to accelerate gender parity.

Under Take Action on this web page, I chose "challenge stereotypes and bias" as my #PressforProgress commitment.

Garbl's Editorial Style and Usage Manual: S -- includes spelling, superstitions of writing

Garbl's Editorial Style and Usage Manual: S

Here's the link to sex, sexism in my online editorial style and usage manual. It begins: "Base communication on relevant qualities of men and women, not on their sex or sexual orientation."

Preventing Gun Violence: Tell Your Members of Congress that Their Prayers are Not Enough - Indivisible

Preventing Gun Violence: Tell Your Members of Congress that Their Prayers are Not Enough - Indivisible

Congress is considering making mass shootings easier, not preventing them.

The gun lobby’s top priorities enjoy wide support in Congress. On December 6, 2017, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. This legislation was a top priority of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and, if enacted into law, would cause a race to the bottom on gun safety standards. The Senate is expected to take up this same bill this year. We can’t let that happen.