"Honk if you love Jesus"...Text While Driving if you'd like to meet him! FAR SIDE CARTOON

Hi Heroes... Sorry I haven't been blogging this holiday season.
I've been so busy (and who hasn't?) and I can't catch up.
My injuries are not adapting to this cold weather well at all!
At least laughter warms the heart...so here's something funny for you:

Nine of the issues that make up the current Music Industry Crisis! FREE MP3 DOWNLOADS, RIAA, INTERNET RADIO, 360 DEALS, SOCIAL NETWORKS, APPLE,

Nine of the issues that make up the current Music Industry Crisis

1. Internet radio is the future yet providers can not sustain growth due to growing taxes on streaming music and a lack of clear revenue models.

2. 360 deals strain everything and everyone causing countless problems yet they are a necessary evil for struggling funding partners (Labels, publishers, Management, etc. . ).

3. Social networks and other web 2.0 outlets provide easy and personal access to fans yet the growing number of networks dilutes the overall message and dramatically increases the time spent marketing.

4. Apple has been an incredible innovator in the quest to a brighter music industry. We owe them a great debt. However, their unprecedented high market share in digital music sales mixed with their stubborn and controlling business models leave no bargaining room for funding partners (labels, publishers, etc..). Growth and innovation in this important industry sector (music retail) is therefore stifled without the ability for competitive trials. In addition, Apple's 30% take on each track sold leaves little for the artists and songwriters.

5. Physical Retail stores have lost the ability to turn a profit unless attached to a one stop business model (i.e Walmart, Hastings, Best Buy, etc.). As a result the true music pushers, independent music retail stores, are almost extinct.

6. Traditional radio, though still an important promotional front, has lost much of its glory to the on demand world of iPods, satellite radio, and Internet radio. It has therefore become increasingly more difficult to predict market trends without a standard radio format to follow. The result is a much higher risk/return ratio for funding partners (Labels, Publishers, etc..), which in turn limits the number of acts that ever see a major market entry.

7. The RIAA in an attempt to combat the growing number of music pirates, proclaimed war on piracy by means of civil suits with individual copyright infringers. Many average American citizens were made an example of with outrageous and bizarre settlements. The music industries' minds were in the right place. They had intended to create the perception of risk for stealing music and in turn, change consumer thinking. In the end however, it only generated a false image of a "Greedy Recording Industry". This wall between the consumer and the industry has instead furthered the cause for this viral pirating trend.

8. Video and audio sharing networks act as a breeding ground for the spread of illegal music in the form of audio and videos. These new networks cut into the profits of funding partners (labels, publishers, etc.) yet act as a wonderful way for independent artists and major artists alike to receive viral promotion. In addition, simple mathematics states that all of the illegal media sharing portals can not be shut down. Lawsuits cost money, and the recording industry doesn't have much. Instead, the industry goes after the major outlets one at a time. But for every 1 that is shut down, 7 more are built in its place. Let us just say that this fire is out of control.

9. And let us not forget, stealing music is still more convenient to the average consumer than buying music. In addition, the only way to fully shut down music piracy would be to turn on "Big Brother" and violate very important privacy privileges. Therefore, it can never truly be stopped as long as we live in a democratic society. The solution must lie in connotation and change. Though it may appear that the RIAA is doing more harm then good, they have it right. The battle ground is in the mind.

These concepts are far from comprehensive. They are only a spring board for thought and a declaration for change.

Please Share This Article. The information needs to circulate to bring about any real change.Email it to friends, use the share icon under the article, and send it to your favorite music bloggers and magazine writers and let them know you would like to get it reviewed. Your help is greatly appreciated!

WARNER BROS. Takes Wyrd Sisters Band Name... and Charges Musicians 140,000 in Court Costs too! BROTHERS,HARRY POTTER,COPYRIGHT,TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT

Upon reading this horror story, I am truly speechless... and I'm Italian, so that's going some! This is every musician's NIGHTMARE. I have always felt that women NOT supporting other women (and musicians other musicians) was our biggest problem. Thus, I've dedicated my career to promoting "Strength Through Unity."

This women's fight is courageous. Her attitude, fearless. She *is* a real-life "SUPERHERO."

Strength Through Unity,

ulian aKa CCG Pop SUperhero

J

http://CookieCutterGirl.com

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We were in the studio working on a new album when my manager called me. She told me that a lawyer from Warner Bros (Warner Brothers) had called her wanting to speak to me. He had told her that they had put a band of superstars together for a band in the upcoming Harry Potter movie, and they were calling the band The Wyrd Sisters. There had been a band in the novel they were making the movie from called 'The Weird Sisters', but they thought wyrd was a cooler spelling. They were planning merchandise for the band, toys, recordings and possibly tours. " How can they do that? " I asked. I wasn't taking this call very seriously. We've had our fair share of strange calls over the years. I told our manager to have him put what he wanted in writing and to fax it to me. 

Trademark 101:

"...Trademark infringement may occur when one party uses a trademark which is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark owned by another party, in relation to products or services which are identical or similar to the products or services which the registration covers. An owner of a trademark may commence legal action against a party which infringes its registration...."

Laws can be as simple or complicated as you want to make them... or, if you have the time and money, want to bend them. Having said that, this is loosely the general premise of a trade mark:

If you have a business under a certain name, and you are the first to do business under that name in a certain area, then that trademark belongs to you for that area. It's called 'first usage'. If your product is global, then your trademark is global. Your trademark is applied to the product or service you provide. For instance, if you sell tires under the name of Flatt Tires, and you sell your tires worldwide, then no one else can sell tires under that name without your permission. Nor could they sell their tires under the name of Flat, Flott or Flitt. A trademark name for a product/service can not be too similar as it may cause confusion. You could possibly, however, sell Flatt Chicken, or Flatt Diapers. The products are not the same.

The Injunction

I had our lawyer communicate with Warner Bros. We tried to negotiate some kind of reasonable outcome for this blatant infringement of our trademark. They were not willing to negotiate at all. I was offended that not only did they believe that their wealth caused them to be immune from the law, but worse, that the sacred feminine name, the triple goddess- was being given to a band of male rockers. We chose the name to educate, to reclaim... People would ask: Who are the wyrd sisters? We'd answer: The wyrd sisters is the name of an ancient pre-christian deity who was above all all other gods. She was the maiden, the mother and the crone - the three phases of the moon, she who was, she who is, she who will be. The christians modeled the 'father, son and holy ghost' after her, shakespeare used her as his three witches in Macbeth. A form of this triple diety has existed in almost all human cultures.

The Media

Ahhh, now this is where the fairy tale ends and the nightmare begins...
An article was printed that contained a lot of misinformation. This article was picked up and reported, usually verbatim, worldwide. The article said that Warner Bros had offered us 50 thousand dollars. (No. It was 5 thousand...and a not-so-veiled threat .) The article quoted Radiohead as saying that we were ' a little band on a cash grab'. When we contacted radiohead they denied making this statement. The article was slanted to look like we just popped out of the woodwork to take advantage of the harry potter fame and Time Warner wealth. It was difficult to wrap our heads around how the media could be so irresponsible. The article was simply untrue, and it created an environment of public opinion which was very difficult to challenge and deal with. We learned that those who own the media can create their own reality. And who owns the media? Oh, but this was a very bad turn of events...

Court

Being lucky enough to never had to be in court before, we had a rather pedestrian vision of what court would look like. In essence, it would be: Gather your evidence. Present it to an impartial and unbiased judge. Recieve a fair and logical verdict. This is not what it was like. 

We had to gather evidence, and put something together called a 'factum' to go to court with. In a nutshell, what we generally needed to do was prove that there would be confusion created between their band and ours, and that their band could impact negatively on ours. For instance, we didn't want to show up at a performance to an audience of preteens expecting the Harry Potter band. Nor did we want to be seen as 'stealing' the name of the Harry Potter band as some kind of cheap publicity stunt. Our factum, affadavits and evidence were large. We had copies of interviews and articles, hard copy items like the question from the Scene It? game and numerous other related evidences. When our lawyers cross examined the wb lawyer, his cross read like this:
" When did you graduate school?"
wb: " I can't remember"
"When were you called to the bar?"
wb: " I can't remember."

To a court newbie like me, everything seemed nicely sewed up. It was simple, logical and linear. Court, however, was nothing like I was expecting. I had a sort of civilized 'Perry Mason' picture of court in my head. It was not like that at all. We had just a few hours to present our case. The judge, who had appointed himself to hear the case, announced at the start of our court appearance that he had not read our factum and evidence at all. He directed our lawyer 'to explain it'to him. He did not listen to much. Instead he shouted at and insulted our lawyer, cracked jokes at our expense, mugged for the press in the galley and roared statements that had been in the press and Warner evidence like ' Isn't this a publicity stunt by your clients?'. I was horrified. My lawyer didn't make much headway into our evidence at all. I'd watch him square his shoulders under his heavy robes after every rebuke and insult, widen his stance, say 'Yes, Your Honour...If You Please, Your Honour...', and try to make headway into a few more sentences. It was painful to watch, like watching some brute kick a puppy around the block. I couldn't understand why, if the judge had truly not read our evidence, he seemed so intent on not allowing my lawyer to present our case. During a break, a reporter asked me how I felt about our hearing. When I replied that I was feeling very victimized, he retorted: " What did you expect? Taking on a giant...pffft..." The sense all around was very strongly that I should have no expectation of equality when standing up to wealth. In fact, the sense was that I was stupid for being innocent enough to expect any differently.

Since Then... 

There has been a lot of courtroom shenanigans going on over the past couple of years. For instance, the original judge recused himself for bias and then reinserted himself to award costs against us. The costs were $140,000.00. That's a lot of coin and something I was not prepared for. Courts and lawyers are very expensive and I have blown all of my savings and remortgaged my home. Servers have showed up at my foster home with papers called 'Examination in aid of execution' and 'contempt of court' for me. WB came through a legal backdoor to Manitoba and put judgements on my property, even though we're appealing those costs in Ontario. My poor sister's house is one of the properties with a judgement against it. 

READ THE FULL STORY HERE:  http://wyrdsisterscom.nationprotect.net/kitchen.shtml

SIGN PETITION to Tell Washington: Don’t Listen to the Lobbyists. Use Our Money for an Open Internet. BE A HERO & SAVE THE INTERNET!

Dear lynn, "Under no circumstances should we use taxpayer money to fund high-speed Internet networks that aren’t open and neutral. This is our money and it should be used to build a better Internet for everyone." Sign the Petition Buried deep in President Barack Obama's economic stimulus package is a line that should bring a smile to your face. It says that billions of dollars must be spent to connect Americans to Internet services that meet "nondiscrimination and network interconnection obligations." What does that mean? It means that we have won a key battle in our fight for Net Neutrality. The government must now demand that this money -- your money -- is spent the right way: on projects that abide by Net Neutrality principles. But get this: Just as Washington is deciding to spend your tax dollars to connect millions of people to an open Internet, high-priced phone and cable company lobbyists are swooping in to change the rules, scrap the Net Neutrality requirements and stamp out consumer choice. Tell Washington: Don’t Listen to the Lobbyists. Use Our Money for an Open Internet. The agencies in charge of spending your money on broadband are convening public meetings to hear ideas from ordinary people. But the first meeting, held last week in Washington, was "packed to the rafters" with industry lobbyists. They created such noise at the event that public voices are in danger of being drowned out. The final meeting is next week, on March 24. Please join thousands of other Net Neutrality supporters and sign the petition. Free Press will deliver your petitions in person at the final meeting. We promise to let our public officials know that Americans are counting on them to make sure our money only goes to build open, neutral Internet projects. The petition says: "Under no circumstances should we use taxpayer money to fund high-speed Internet projects that aren’t open and neutral. This is our money, and it should be used to build a better Internet for everyone." After you add your name, please forward this petition to friends and family to make sure we're heard. We’ve proven that Washington can’t ignore us when we take action together. We have only one week to deliver this message, so please act now. Thank you, Timothy Karr Campaign Director Free Press www.freepress.net SavetheInternet.com www.savetheinternet.com P.S. Want to know more about exactly how the government should spend billions for broadband? Read Free Press' latest analysis: Putting the Angels in the Details.

TELL CONGRESS: STOP CITIGROUP BAILOUT & Don't Use Taxpayer Money to LOBBY against Middle Class Labor Unions Like WALMART! EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT

Dear lynn, Luxury Jets. Executive Bonuses. Lobbying against the Employee Free Choice Act. Is that how you want Citigroup spending YOUR tax dollars? Tell Congress to put a stop to it! Congress authorized a $750 billion bailout so banks could keep lending money to struggling Americans and fix our economy. Citigroup took $45 billion in bailout money. Without that money, they'd be bankrupt. But like AIG, Citigroup has no shame. Instead of making loans to Americans who desperately need them, they're spreading lies about the Employee Free Choice Act. Tell Congress to put an end to bailout waste – and demand Citigroup stop using taxpayer money to lobby against the middle class. How is Citigroup using bailout funds against working families? Last week, Citigroup hosted a conference call in which the U.S. Chamber of Commerce attacked the Employee Free Choice Act. And a Citigroup analyst recently lowered expectations for Wal-Mart stock. They claim that the retail giant's employees could form more unions if the bill passes.1 And they think that's bad for Wal-Mart's future earnings. But we know the Employee Free Choice Act will help rebuild the middle class and grow our economy. This economic collapse has proven that low wages and corporate excess are the road to ruin. So why is Citigroup really fighting this bill so hard? Simple. Companies like Citigroup and AIG have already proven they'll suck as much money as they can from the rest of us, even if it destroys our entire economic system and America's middle class. After all, if more money went to workers, how could Citigroup pay out $10 million in bonuses to its CEO,2 spend $13 million to "compensate" employees for cancelled trips to tropical resorts,3 or give $68 million in severance to its former CEO who oversaw the subprime mortgage deals that helped create this recession?4 Tell Congress: A majority of Americans want the Employee Free Choice Act – don't let Citigroup use bailout funds to lobby against us! This makes me just furious! I hope you'll join me by taking action today and sending this to all your friends. Sincerely, Liz Cattaneo American Rights at Work www.AmericanRightsatWork.org P.S. Just to be crystal clear on the timeline here: Citigroup helps decimate our economy by gambling on shady subprime mortgage deals. Citigroup comes to the government for a $45 billion bailout from OUR tax dollars. Citigroup – which would be bankrupt without taxpayer money – engages in scare tactics and lobbying against the Employee Free Choice Act. Click here to tell Congress that is unacceptable! P.P.S. Today, actions against corporate excess are happening all around the country. You can find an event near you here: http://action.seiu.org/page/content/march-19-actions/ 1Associated Press, 3/10 – Note that research shows unions organized under the Employee Free Choice Act's system have a positive effect on stock price. 2Reuters, 3/16/09 3Associated Press, 3/10/09 4Crain's New York, 2/26/09

EMAIL CONGRESS: Open Our Airwaves to Low Power FM (LPFM) Radio Stations & Give Everyone a chance to Break Into Radio! The Local Community Radio Act

I signed this to open up some of our airwaves & make local radio stations "by the people and for the people."  Strength through unity!  *smile*  Julian aKa CCG Pop Superhero

Stop the Static. Open the Radio Dial Now. Are you sick of hearing the same talk radio blowhards and cookie-cutter music on the radio in Ipswich? By passing one bill, we can open the radio dial to more than a thousand stations with fresh new voices and alternative music, ending decades of radio domination by Big Media and their mouthpieces. The Local Community Radio Act of 2009 (H.R. 1147) was just introduced in the House. The Act nearly passed in the last Congress with the support of more than 100 members -- including Rep. John Tierney. With just a little urging from you, Rep. Tierney will support the bill in this Congress and help usher in a new era of better radio: Tell Congress to Open Up the Radio Dial This Act would open up the airwaves to more Low Power FM (LPFM) radio stations, giving people across the country a chance to break into radio. It would bring thousands of new voices to a radio dial that’s too often a megaphone for Big Media. Please get Rep. Tierney on board by clicking below and signing the letter: Dear Rep. Tierney: The Time for Better Radio Is Now Rural communities from Ringgold, Ga., to Woodburn, Ore., have benefited tremendously from their own LPFM stations, which bring local perspectives, music, news and information to the public airwaves. The Local Community Radio Act would open urban areas to local radio, too. Organizations like the Chicago Independent Radio Project, which promises to restore local independent programming to the radio dial, are ready to go -- but they need your help. A few companies have dominated the radio dial for too long, muting the voices of so many others. Make sure that Rep. Tierney makes better radio a reality now. Onward, Candace Clement Campaign Coordinator Free Press Action Fund www.freepress.net 1. Join us on Facebook for updates and alerts on the fight to open up the radio dial. 2. Learn more about LPFM: www.freepress.net/lpfm 3. Support our hard-working allies at Prometheus Radio Project: www.prometheusradio.org

PETITION: Sign the "Employee Free Choice Act" to Protect American Rights at Work. HEALTHCARE PLAN,BENEFITS PACKAGE,EQUAL PAY,SALARY,POP SUPERHERO

THIS IS A "MUST SEE" HILARIOUS VIDEO!

Learn how *your* boss determined your salary.
Learn how a Healthcare plan = Hand sanitizer.
Learn how an Employee benefits package = Soda in the break room.
Welcome to a workplace that’s seriously out of whack:
Watch the video - Sign the petition - then share it with your friends!

We all know something's wrong when CEOs rake in hundreds of times what their employees earn, and workers get the boot just for talking about unions.
It could almost be a bad joke if it weren't such a serious problem. That's why we teamed up with the award-winning producers at Brave New Films to make this video.
Take two minutes to SIGN THE PETITION, then forward the video to your book club or your bowling buddies, your mother-in-law or your crazy uncle. There's a sample message below.

Bottom line: we're more than halfway to a million signatures in support of the Employee Free Choice Act, but we need YOU to help us spread the word if we're going to get this country back on track.
Watch our new video today >>

Thank you for your support,
Sincerely,Liz Cattaneohttp://www.americanrightsatwork.org/
P.S. Here's a sample message you can send to one or two (or 10) of your friends. We're counting on you to spread the word!

SAMPLE MESSAGE
Hi,
I thought you’d get a kick out of this video:http://www.freechoiceact.org/page/s/yournewjob.
We all know our economy is going down the tubes, while CEOs rake in millions and working families struggle to make ends meet. This hilarious video skewers the absurdity of CEOs. You gotta check it out:http://www.freechoiceact.org/page/s/yournewjob.
After you watch the video, sign the petition to show your support for fairness at work. Thanks!
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P.P.S Watch a live online show about our video and the Employee Free Choice Act!

Tune into http://meetthebloggers.org/ this Friday, Sept. 12 at 1pm EST / 10am PST.

SIGN PETITION FOR FREE SPEECH: Police in St. Paul arrested journalists at Republican Convention! BE A HERO: Stand Up for Independent Journalism!

Police in St. Paul have arrested several journalists.
Stand Up for Independent Journalism

Police are targeting independent journalists and bloggers covering the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. They have already arrested dozens, including Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman and video bloggers from I-Witness.

The police are cracking down against a new breed of journalists -- citizens equipped with cell phones and video cameras -- who are covering protests outside the convention.

40,000 people have already signed our public letter demanding that this press intimidation cease immediately and that all charges be dropped. We need you to sign the letter as well. It will be delivered tomorrow to St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, and the local prosecuting attorneys.

We need to reach 50,000 signatures in the next 24 hours, so please take action now:
Sign the Letter: Drop All Charges Against Journalists

In addition to these arrests, police with firearms drawn have twice raided a meeting of the video journalists' group I-Witness and arrested independent media, bloggers and videomakers. We’re also receiving late-breaking reports of new arrests.

By signing this letter, you're sending a powerful message: Officials must rein in aggressive and violent tactics by local law enforcement, stop the targeting of journalists and immediately drop all charges against them.

Reporting by independent journalists is vital to a functioning democracy. Americans must have access to diverse sources of information to hold their leaders accountable. Journalists, whether reporting for mainstream media or online alternatives, must be free to do their jobs without intimidation.

Please Take Action by Signing this Letter

Don’t wait. We need a free press now more than ever. Tell your friends and take action now!

Thank you,
Timothy Karr, Campaign Director
Free Press
http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=lqeqM_Tq7dVsmRb_ZB6__Q..

1. Read my report on St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman's failure to protect journalists.

2. Watch the video of arrests as reported by the The UpTake.

3. Watch the video of the police raid of I-Witness.

4. Learn more about the arrest of an ABC News producer during the Democratic Convention in Denver.

BE A HERO: Be a FREE PRESS "Rapid Responder!" Help Inject Media Reform Issues into the Mainstream News. NEW YORK TIMES,POP SUPERHERO,POWER OF PINK

Help Put Media Reform on the Front Page
Become a Rapid Responder!

Free Press recently partnered with a few activists to test a new rapid response online tool called Collactive. It's really great because it lets people like you inject media reform issues into the mainstream news cycle -- and puts important articles and videos before millions of people.
Even in the testing phase, we’ve had huge successes with Collactive, pushing videos to the "most-viewed" page of YouTube and articles to the "most-emailed" list at the New York Times.
Now we're ready to go beyond testing and offer this tool to the hundreds of thousands of additional activists -- like you -- who make up the Free Press activist network. Please join our Collactive rapid response team.
Learn More: Become a Free Press Rapid Responder

Collactive helps us leverage social networking tools on popular news sites -- such as the New York Times, Washington Post and CNN -- making it possible for important stories to get noticed by more people. It also helps us promote items on sites such as YouTube and Digg -- for thousands more to see.

How does it work? Collactive is a simple add-on for your Web browser that immediately alerts you to important action items, news articles and YouTube videos. It's easy to use and it won’t clog your e-mail in-box. We promise.

Start Here: Become a Free Press Rapid Responder
Media reform issues are often buried by mainstream outlets, and they rarely reach the front page. But using social networks, we can reach a bigger audience, build the movement and spread the word.
By becoming a rapid responder, you’ll be joining thousands of media activists who are working together to make our media better.
Thanks for all your help.
Timothy KarrCampaign Director Free Presshttp://free.convio.net/site/R?i=BTZ9dvZ_xhmIISZ5jzghag..P.S. Tell your friends about this exciting tool at: http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=QPXRWg-RUDsCnCLbjLTx2w..

Take action on this important campaign at:http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=01I8mVcf2kQDpUpO-vZS5w..
Tell your friends about this campaign at:http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=qX2HNIAQ5CLrPOIEw_SIKQ..

Tell Congress: Keep the Internet Open for Everyone! Support "Net Neutrality" & Send an Email Now! PUNISH COMCAST,BE A HERO,SUPERHERO,POWER OF PINK

BE A HERO! Keep our internet FREE for everyone by supporting "Net Neutrality." It only takes 1 MINUTE to "be a hero" and click on the link below & send an email to your representative. The FCC has already punished COMCAST for their efforts in blocking YOU from the internet. Congress now needs to hear from YOU, to know that you support their efforts. Internet freedom is something we've taken forgranted for many years... lets not have our freedom taken from us because we were too lazy (or too busy surfing the web!) to speak up and fight for our rights!

Letters to Congress are pouring in, but has your Congressperson heard from you yet? Last Friday, the FCC ruled to punish Comcast for violating Net Neutrality and blocking Internet traffic. Since then, tens of thousands of people have urged their lawmakers to ensure that Net Neutrality is protected on all 21st-century networks. This is a huge victory, but our work is not done. Follow this link to send your letter: Tell Congress: Keep the Internet Open for Everyone More information about this historic victory can be found in the e-mail we sent out last week. Or you can visit the SavetheInternet.com blog for the latest news and information. Thanks for helping to protect Internet freedom, Tim Dear Friend, The FCC just voted to punish Comcast for violating Net Neutrality Join the Open Internet Movement Your hard work is paying off! Just one hour ago, the Federal Communications Commission voted to punish Comcast for violating Net Neutrality and blocking your right to do what you want on the Internet. This win is yours. Defying every ounce of conventional wisdom in Washington, activists, bloggers, consumer advocates and everyday people have taken on a major corporation and won. Today's vote at the FCC is also a precedent-setting victory that sends a powerful message to phone and cable companies that blocking access to the Internet will not be tolerated from this time forward. News of this win is now being covered by every major news outlet as a turning point for Net Neutrality. Many more people are discovering our people-powered movement for a free and open Internet. We need to capitalize on this momentum to grow the movement and ensure that Net Neutrality is protected on all 21st-century networks. Help us send a message to this Congress -- and the next one: Join the Internet Freedom Movement: Stand Up and Be Counted In the past two years, more than 1.6 million of you have already contacted Congress and the FCC. But that's not all. You have sacrificed time and energy speaking out at town meetings, collecting signatures on street corners and on campuses, and spreading the word via blogs, Facebook and house parties. With your help today, signing this letter and forwarding it to friends, we can increase our ranks to more than 2 million. Today's FCC victory is a milestone, but our work is far from done. Companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon are continuing to fight Net Neutrality using lobbyists, lawyers and campaign contributions. These special interests should not be allowed to set Internet policy for the nation. Tell Congress: Keep the Internet Open for Everyone The Internet's true greatness lies in those of us who use its level playing field to challenge the status quo, create and share new ideas, take part in our democracy and connect with others around the world -- without permission from any gatekeepers. With your help and commitment, today's win will be just the first of many to protect innovation, free speech and democracy on the Internet. Thank you! Timothy Karr Campaign Director Free Press www.freepress.net www.savetheinternet.com P.S. Help us spread the word about this important victory for Net Neutrality. Tell your friends and join SavetheInternet on Facebook and MySpace. P.P.S. Want to learn more about this historic ruling by the FCC? Check out these great articles: Historic Victory for Net Neutrality, at SavetheInternet.com Comcast Unleashes the Lap Dogs, at Huffington Post Kevin Martin’s Open Network Manifesto, at the New York Times Adelstein and Copps: Voices at the FCC for a Free and Open Internet, at the Huffington Post Take action on this important campaign at: http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=Iy3no5T99ek3gou0s4znyA.. Tell your friends about this campaign at: http://free.convio.net/site/R?i=SfYwbDgUQ6Mju1DYDOWNhA..

Wal-Mart & the President - demand an investigation! Super Store is threatening employees to NOT vote for pro-worker candidates like Barack Obama.

Subscribe to CCG POP SUPERHERO's "BE A HERO" BLOG! http://popsuperhero.blogspot.com/feed.rss/feed.rss

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POP SUPERHERO SAYS: *YOU* Can Do It!
BE A HERO TODAY...
to your family, your friends,
your colleagues and yourself.
How? Stop, Look & Listen.

Stop what you are doing...
Look within yourself...
Listen to your heart!
YOU have the POWER to HELP.
Discover *Your* INNER SUPERHERO!

CUSTOM VELVET, LACE & SATIN CHOKERS:
Design *YOUR* Wearable Works of ART for $15!

BE A HERO... Click Below!

Ask the Federal Election Commission to investigate Wal-Mart.

We couldn't believe the front page of today's Wall Street Journal. Have you seen it?
Wal-Mart has been threatening employees to not vote for pro-worker candidates like Barack Obama in November because they support the Employee Free Choice Act. If passed, the bill would make it easier to form unions in stores like Wal-Mart.
Telling employees how to vote in a U.S. election is not only morally reprehensible, it's potentially illegal.
So we’re starting a petition to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), asking for an investigation into Wal-Mart’s electioneering. Can you sign on?
Ask the FEC to investigate.
Wal-Mart is stretching the bounds of legality with these outrageous tactics – it's illegal for companies to advocate for political candidates to hourly employees. Here’s how one Wal-Mart worker described the meeting:
"The meeting leader said, 'I am not telling you how to vote, but if the Democrats win, this bill will pass and you won't have a vote on whether you want a union,'" said a Wal-Mart customer-service supervisor from Missouri. "I am not a stupid person. They were telling me how to vote," she said.

Unfortunately for Wal-Mart workers, intimidation is par for the course at the world’s largest employer. Wal-Mart threatens workers who try to form a union, flying in a unionbusting team any time there's a whiff of union activity. Workers at Wal-Mart face threats, propaganda, discrimination, intimidation, and even firings in retaliation for trying to improve their lives and working conditions.

But this is a new low – one that goes to the very core principles of our democracy.
We need to show Wal-Mart – and other anti-union companies – that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated. Ask the FEC to investigate Wal-Mart. All of America’s workers have the right to freely decide whom to vote for independent of employer pressure and intimidation. And all of America’s workers should have ability to form a union free of employer pressure and intimidation.

Please forward this message to friends and family and let them know what's going on. Thank you for helping us call attention to this latest outrage.

BE A HERO... SPREAD THE WORD!

www.CookieCutterGirl.com

POP SUPERHERO'S CD "Cookie Cutter Girl"
"Cookie Cutter Girl" Pop Superhero!
CD SALE ONLY $7.95, Get Yours Here!
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This POP SUPERHERO will "stir the pot" forever, TO FORCE THE TRUTH
to rise to the top like cream, AND BRING JUSTICE to our world!