Stop the Big Oil Giveaway

The Renewable Fuel Standard has made America more secure - powering our economy with homegrown biofuels that keep oil prices in check, and curbing the flow of petrodollars abroad. But the Koch Brothers and Big Oil want to eliminate their cheaper, cleaner competition.
America needs homegrown American energy, not more dangerous dependence on oil. Please join VoteVets and tell the EPA to save the Renewable Fuel Standard.
Thanks for all you do!
Bob Fertik

"The price of a barrel of oil is now one of the most dangerous weapons in the world"
- President Barack Obama

Dear Activist,
Right now, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering gutting one of the most important policies put in place to limit the amount of fossil fuels we burn and lower our dependence on foreign oil.
It's called the Renewable Fuel Standard and it ensures a minimum number of renewable fuels are used for transportation in the United States.
As veterans, military family members, and VoteVets supporters, we have a unique understanding about the cost of our dependence on foreign oil. It's not just measured in the price at the pump, or a changing climate, but also in the lives lost and changed through deployments to protect the flow of oil in the Middle East.
VoteVets is participating in the Environmental Protection Agency's public comment period on this issue. It ends in a few weeks, and we'd love it if you added your name to ours before we submit. You can do that here:
Tell the EPA: Save the Renewable Fuel Standard
This is an important issue and a very real chance for you to make a difference. The EPA traditionally takes these comments very seriously, but our voices are at risk of being drowned out by big oil interests running astroturf campaigns.
That's why your petition signature is so important. I hope you'll add your name to mine today.
All the best,
General (Ret.) Wesley Clark
Advisor, VoteVets.org

1.3 million Americans lost Unemployment Insurance today

Americans should be enjoying the holidays today. But for 1.3 million Americans, because Congress failed to act, today marked the end of their federal unemployment insurance.

Unemployment insurance is a vital safety net that so many job seekers struggling to get back on their feet rely on, and it's suddenly been taken away just three days after Christmas. Worse, if nothing is done, millions more will lose this support in the first half of the new year.

Although our economy is continuing to recover from an economic crisis, too many families are still struggling to rebuild and regain what they had before the recession. The American people shouldn't be penalized for Congress' inability to get things done.

Tell Speaker Boehner and leaders in Congress to fix it -- restore these benefits for people who need them most as soon as they get back to Washington:

http://my.barackobama.com/Restore-Unemployment-Insurance

If they don't, they'll be hearing from a whole bunch of us.

Thanks,

Nico

Nico Probst
Director of Special Projects
Organizing for Action

Defeat Mitch McConnell by Funding Allison Grimes for Senate :Dump McConnell and Rove

Friend -- This is important: Though Alison Grimes remains tied in the battle for the Senate -- McConnell 43 - Grimes 42 -- the Lexington Herald-Leader reports that she’s “seen her negative numbers skyrocket” due to an unending barrage of attacks from Karl Rove and his right-wing friends. Rove's allies have outspent Democrats 2-to-1 to pummel Grimes with revolting attacks. And just this week, a pro-McConnell group spent ANOTHER $382,000 to tear into her chances of winning. Grimes is still in an incredibly strong spot to win. And if she defeats Mitch McConnell and we stop a Republican Senate takeover, the Courier-Journal reports, we “could put the Senate out of the GOP’s reach for years to come.” That's why we absolutely MUST respond to these negative ads and set the record straight. We need another 2,000 supporters to chip in to our Defeat Mitch Campaign in the next 36 hours to close the fundraising gap and defeat McConnell and the GOP -- will you pitch in today? Deadline: 36 hours Suggested Support: $3 (Contribute) Will you make an urgent contribution of $3 to the Defeat Mitch Fund before tomorrow to beat McConnell and extreme Republicans? If we don’t stand up for her right now and fight back against these negative GOP attacks, we will lose the opportunity to defeat McConnell. He could take a big lead and wipe out any chance we have of stopping him or a Republican takeover of the Senate. We absolutely can't let that happen. Will you help us fight back? Please pitch in $3 to defeat McConnell and stop a Republican Senate takeover. Thank you for your support, Julia Ager DSCC Rapid Response Coordinator

Paid for by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, dscc.org,
and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

4 Sneaky Tricks to Lower Your Blood Sugar

You've probably heard over and over again that 'most' carbohydrates are perhaps the WORST thing you could eat when trying to lose fat or transform your body, and for most people, that's 100% true (with a few exceptions) ...

The fact is, due to years of consuming a diet full of processed carbs and sugars (yes, including "whole grains"), most people have grown quite insensitive to one of the most important hormones in your body—a hormone that can either be a huge asset to your body transformation goals, or a total fat-loss and health-derailing nightmare. 

As you might have guessed, the name of this hormone is insulin.

And insulin's function is to help your body keep blood sugar normalized, clear it quickly from your bloodstream after a carbohydrate meal, and (hopefully) shuttle that blood sugar to muscle tissue for energy instead of into fat cells (driving up your weight).

I say "hopefully" because that's actually the exact opposite of what occurs when most people eat carbs.  Going back to insulin sensitivity and carbohydrate tolerance, due to a diet full of processed, insulin- and blood-sugar-spiking carbohydrates (this includes whole wheat which is one of the biggest blood-sugar spikers of all!), most folks are suffering from some level of insulin resistance, a condition in which insulin is no longer able to efficiently remove blood sugar from the blood stream.

The result?  Dramatically reduced fat burning, increased blood sugar levels and increased fat storage.

Even worse, insulin resistance can and often does lead to type II diabetes and an array of other health problems over time, such as an increased risk for Alzheimer’s and other cognitive disorders, premature aging (high blood sugar leads to "glycation" in your body, aging you faster), heart disease, and even stroke…and it all leads back to insulin sensitivity.

Ideally, when you consume carbohydrates, here is what you want to happen:

1.  Minimum insulin release.  This occurs when your body is highly sensitive to insulin.  When it is, only a small amount of insulin is necessary to effectively and efficiently clear glucose from your blood to its storage sites.  This is great news because your body has an incredibly difficult time burning fat in the presence of insulin.  The less insulin you have floating around, the better. 

Not only that, but high insulin levels due to insulin resistance reduces your growth hormone (aka, the youth hormone) production, which I'm sure you'll agree is NOT good if you want to slow aging, look younger, and stay lean.

2.  Quick and efficient blood sugar clearance.  Again, this will occur when your body is highly sensitive to insulin, and keeping lower average blood sugar levels helps to reduce glycation in your body, slow aging, and keep you in a fat-burning mode.

3.  Maximum glycogen uptake.  Glycogen is the term used for stored carbohydrate in muscle tissue and the liver.  When these tissues are highly sensitive to insulin (based on both your nutrition and exercise habits), the vast majority of blood glucose will be stored within them as an energy reserve, instead of being converted to fat.  Most people screw this up though!

4.  Minimum fat storage.  When you increase insulin sensitivity, your body will choose to store your carbohydrate intake as energy, again in lean muscle tissue and the liver, instead of body fat.

Simply put, your body's ability to process the carbohydrates you eat all comes down to your insulin sensitivity and your body's ability to quickly and efficiently clear sugar from your blood.  And as I said, poor blood sugar control and insulin resistance can lead to faster aging, type II diabetes, weight gain, and other health issues.

Knowing that, and also knowing that you yourself are very likely suffering from too much blood sugar and some degree of insulin resistance due to the previously mentioned dietary and lifestyle factors, you’re probably wondering what you can do to improve your insulin sensitivity and make your body responsive once again to this critically important hormone.

Fortunately, there are 4 somewhat odd, but extremely effective strategies you can begin using that will ultimately end your struggle with insulin resistance and carbohydrate intolerance once and for all, while finally allowing you to experience the excitement of seeing a thinner waist, flatter stomach, and a more defined body when looking back at yourself in the bathroom mirror each morning.

My good friend and trusted nutrition expert Joel Marion is giving away a free report for you on the page below that shows you how to do this:

Inside this new Free report "4 Sneaky Tricks to Lower Blood Sugar", you'll discover:

• How a very specific exercise trick can dramatically increase insulin sensitivity & lower your blood sugar (at the same time)
  
• A common ingredient at your local grocery story that’s clinically proven to decrease blood sugar by up to 29% (but only if you choose the right form)
  
• The #1 WORST blood-sugar-spiking carb EVER (it’s hidden in everything) and 2 quick tips to avoid it
  
• And best of all... the EASIEST carb trick of all time that, believe it or not, lowers blood sugar levels and boosts fat loss in as little as 45 seconds flat

Free report: 4 Tricks to lower your blood sugar (and BOOST insulin sensitivity)

We'll be back soon with more tips for a lean body for life,

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

Tell the White House: Don’t silence key advisor John Podesta on the presidential decision on Keystone XL

The petition reads: "Advisors or contractors with a financial stake in the outcome of Keystone XL – like TransCanada-linked contractor ERM – should recuse themselves from the White House decision on the tar sands pipeline. But a key advisor like John Podesta who has a fact-based track record opposing climate change and raising concerns about Keystone XL should not be silenced now that he has accepted the position of White House counselor. The White House should encourage John Podesta to provide his best counsel in deliberations on the presidential permit TransCanada requires to build Keystone XL." Automatically add your name:

Dear William, Apparently in the White House, having common sense now constitutes a conflict of interest. John Podesta is the highly respected founder of the Center for American Progress and recognized as a uniquely effective chief-of-staff to President Clinton. He announced Tuesday he'll be going to work as a top advisor to the president. That should be good news. But because he has a fact-based track record on climate change and has publicly and truthfully criticized the Canadian tar sands for being a highly inefficient and environmentally irreconcilable source of energy, the White House has already announced Podesta will recuse himself from participating in the decision on whether or not to award a foreign oil company the presidential permit necessary to build the Keystone XL pipeline across our northern border.1 It's simply shameful. Podesta has no financial interest in the Keystone XL decision. Meanwhile, key players allied to the oil industry with massive conflicts of interest are playing a major role in Keystone XL decision making. State Department contractor ERM is writing the key environmental impact statement for the State Department, an analysis on which the White House will base its decision making, despite ERM's having direct financial ties to TransCanada. Tell President Obama: If anyone should be recused from discussion of Keystone XL, it’s the ethically compromised ERM, not John Podesta. Don’t silence key White House advisors who tell the truth about tar sands and climate change. Click here to automatically sign the petition. Oil-industry contractor ERM has direct financial ties to the builder of the Keystone XL pipeline. That's as direct a conflict of interest as you can get. But instead of recusing ERM from involvement in the decision when this information came to light, the State Department literally attempted to cover it up!2 Podesta will be a valuable advisor on the Keystone XL decision precisely because he doesn’t have compromising ties to the fossil fuel industry. On the contrary, he has issued honest, straight ahead indictments of their worst products. This perspective has been marginalized at high levels of the Obama administration, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that climate change poses serious dangers to our national interest through heat-waves, fires and superstorms, not to mention escalation of overseas conflicts that are exacerbated by drought, devastating floods and the refugee crises they provoke. That's why after three years we’re still fighting a pipeline whose approval the president’s own leading climate scientist declared would help lead to "game over for the climate." This decision, which is President Obama’s alone, should have been a non-starter given President Obama's previous commitments on climate change and dirty oil. Far from a radical environmentalist, Podesta has touted a widespread embrace of natural gas - something we disagree with. Still, in a White House that has sorely lacked in prominent climate champions, his employ is a welcome addition. And the decision to silence him on what may be the single most closely watched decision of the Obama presidency is a shameful indication that the White House is not yet ready to face the challenge before us as a generation and embrace the climate leadership he promised and we so desperately need. Tell President Obama: We need climate leadership in the White House! Let John Podesta speak on the Keystone XL decision. Click the link below to automatically sign the petition: http://act.credoaction.com/go/2918?t=5&akid=9622.4923402.Vbd6qQ Thanks for taking action. Elijah Zarlin, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets Automatically add your name: Learn more about this campaign 1. "John Podesta Recuses Himself From Keystone Issue, White House Aide Says," Reuters, December 11, 2013. 2. Andy Kroll, "EXCLUSIVE: State Dept. Hid Contractor's Ties to Keystone XL Pipeline Company," Mother Jones, March 21, 2013.

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"Who Really Killed Kennedy?" by Joseph Corsi If You Love America, You Must Read This

     I read today's article "50 Years Ago Today... and Today" and quite frankly,it STUNK. So you retraced the economic history since Kennedy but many of your facts were WRONG. Do just a little research
about Kennedy. I have read 70 going on 71 books about him. Read just one so you have some idea
what you are talking about: "Who Really Killed Kennedy?" by Joseph Corsi, Harvard University ,
Poltical Science,Ph.D.  This guy does research like you would hope a Harvard Ph.D. should.
You do not. Follow his example,please. Oh, and by the way, he is a Republican and I am a Democrat.
But this man leaves no stone unturned. You need to do the same.
     Thank you for your cooperation,
                       William Stewart

 From
"50 Years Ago Today... and Today":
Redefining the Country

Today, we can only speculate on the kind of country that might have been had JFK not been assassinated. Of course, it's the same thing with what might have happened post-Lincoln, post-Garfield or post-McKinley, too. Killing a president -- as with regicide since time immemorial -- bends the arc of history in ways we can scarcely begin to comprehend. We know what happened, after a historical fashion. Or do we?

A presidential life cut short -- and with it, the heart of a political administration -- makes for all manner of counterfactual speculation in a "what if" sort of way.

Indeed, as the superb instructors at the Naval War College used to emphasize, sometimes you cannot truly understand what happened with a historical event unless you take the facts and dissect what did NOT happen. (For example, "what if" Japanese carriers had been able to launch more fighters as air cover during the Battle of Midway?)

As one who was young when President Kennedy died -- third grade at Shadyside Junior School, next to Pittsburgh's Frick Park -- I "lived through" tumultuous events. But it wasn't until many years later, as I began to absorb the scope of historical record, that I really started to comprehend what happened on Nov. 22 half a century ago.

Along those last lines, I'd say that culturally we're still figuring JFK out. His legacy is unfixed, if not unmoored. That is, it changes with the times, and often as not to suit the current needs of those who invoke his ghost.

But at root, even when we think we "know" something about JFK, we really don't know all that much that we can trust. Consider a few common JFK-assassination concepts: Lone gunman? Former Marine? Soviet defector? Cuban connection? Mafia hit? Single bullet? J. Edgar Hoover? Lyndon Baines Johnson? Warren Commission... and with Gerald Ford on it? (Hmm... so THAT's how Jerry Ford wound up succeeding Nixon!)

Consider one key crystal from the Warren Commission report, its explanation of a single crazed gunman. Then toss in myriad of other facts that don't quite make sense -- and there are many. It's possible to come up with all manner of conspiracies, and then you need other conspiracies to hide the first conspiracy. Will we ever know?

Follow the Facts, Especially the Money

There's history and there's karma, too. Not long before he died, President Kennedy approved the assassination of President Diem of South Vietnam. Not long after the JFK assassination, President Johnson escalated the Vietnam War.    ( NOT TRUE - The CIA killed Diem against Kennedy's instructions.)

As the 1960s wore on, the country's Roosevelt-era New Deal morphed into the Johnson-era Great Society. Paying for all of this, plus that distant Vietnam War, began to wreck the value of the dollar.

By 1967, the U.S. government was frantically pulling silver out of circulation in coinage. Then in 1971, President Nixon took the U.S. off the gold standard. By 1973, oil prices quadrupled, and by 1979 they quadrupled again. What saved the U.S. economy was an international agreement for oil to be priced in dollars. (That deal is wearing thin, by the way.)

It's not overstatement to say that post-JFK, from the mid-1960s to today, our economy has been a credit casino based on Federal Reserve Notes and the government's promise to tax people in the future to pay for overspending now. Which leads me to those investment comments I said I'd give you back in the early part of this note.

On this 50th anniversary of the death of President Kennedy, it strikes me that JFK was the last "hard money" president. Certainly, Kennedy's was the last administration in which the American people used silver coins for the duration and carried silver certificates (remember those?) in their wallets.

Consider silver coins. Back in Kennedy's day, a 25 cent "silver" quarter (actually, 90% silver and 10% copper alloy) was worth... well, 25 cents. Today, just based on melt value of metal, an old silver quarter is worth about $3.60 -- meaning the current value is about 14.4 times the original value. Or look at it this way -- we've seen a 93% erosion in the purchasing value of an "old" silver-based dollar versus a new one over the past 50 years.

Or look at the price of gold. In Kennedy's day, the monetary value of gold was $32 per ounce. Today, it's about $1,250 -- depending on the day, of course. It's a diminishment of value by a factor of nearly 40, respecting the dollar versus gold. That's over a 97% decline in 50 years.

Or oil? Back in the early 1960s, a barrel of crude went for $2 or so. Today it's north of $108 (Brent quote). It's a change by a factor of 54 -- a decline of 98.2% in dollar purchasing power for oil.

Looking back, we may or may not know the truth -- and the whole truth -- about what happened with JFK long ago. But we can clearly see what has happened with the value of the dollar over 50 years. Its value has plummeted.

Looking ahead, we still may never know what happened with JFK. People have died off. Evidence has gone missing. The "conspiracy" industry has picked up a bad reputation, which is probably what the conspirators always wished would happen.

But also looking ahead, I foresee more and more inflation and further declines in the value of the dollar. I see no coming correction for government overspending and no way for the future economy ever to repay the debts of the past -- absent another 97% or so reduction in value of the dollar.

So here in OI, we'll keep looking for ideas to help preserve your wealth and keep you ahead of the inflation curve. Some periods in the market are better than others, but we're always looking for new ideas in things that will hold their value over time.

That's all for now. Thanks for subscribing to OI. Have a good weekend.

Best wishes...

Byron W. King

Can you donate $3 today to make this year McConnell's last year in the Senate?

A brand new poll commissioned by MoveOn yesterday shows that Mitch McConnell is one of the most vulnerable Republicans up for re-election next year. Check out this headline in the Huffington Post:

It's clear that voters of Kentucky have had enough (over 50% of voters now disapprove of his job performance)—but McConnell has been the most vocal supporter of unregulated Super PACs, and they'll be spending tens of millions of dollars to keep him in the Senate.

We're building a war chest that can support a yearlong campaign next year to not only air ads across the state, but also to do real on-the-ground organizing—engaging new voters and making sure that Democrats turn out and vote next year.

There is no candidate anywhere who will get as much Super PAC support. It's clear from our polling that McConnell is vulnerable, but it will take everyone pitching in to match what the Koch Brothers and their allies will be spending to get him re-elected.

Can you donate $3 today to make this year McConnell's last year in the Senate?

Defeating Mitch McConnell will not only virtually ensure that Democrats keep control of the Senate next year, but it will also send a powerful message that the American people are sick of having unaccountable Super PACs corrupt our democracy.

For years, McConnell has been the biggest advocate of unlimited and undisclosed campaign contributions. He called the Citizens United decision a "strong validation of a fight I've waged for nearly three decades."¹

And just last month he argued before the Supreme Court in a case that could remove campaign contribution limits entirely. ²

Right wing Super PACs will be working nonstop for the next year to save their champion. If we ever want to curb their corrupting influence, then it has to start by defeating them in Kentucky next year.

Donate $3 today to be part of that effort.

One year from today, let's be celebrating the defeat of Mitch McConnell.

Thanks for all you do.

–Ilya, Milan, Matt B., Mariana, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. Mitch McConnell defends Koch brothers, Politico, June 15th, 2012
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0612/77469.html

2. Mitch McConnell Will Ask Supreme Court To Scrap Campaign Contribution Limits Entirely, Huffington Post, November 3rd, 2013
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=294995&id=77702-15018975-Un7Tx6x&t=4 

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

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PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.