Update on our campaign to send Wall Street bankers to jail.

Update on our campaign to send Wall Street bankers to jail. Dear Friend, After months of activism from people like you, President Obama announced in his State of the Union speech the creation of a new task force to investigate and hold banks accountable for causing the foreclosure crisis and financial meltdown. The task force will have five co-chairs, one of whom is New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a progressive hero who has worked tirelessly to hold the Wall Street banks accountable for their crimes. CREDO joined other groups in calling on President Obama to announce an investigation into the mortgage fraud that led to the economic collapse. And we are heartened that the President of the United States responded to this grassroots pressure with such a high-profile mention in his State of the Union address. This is especially remarkable when some were speculating that the president might use the address to announce a deal with the mortgage servicers that would grant the Wall Street banks immunity from prosecution of crimes that have not yet been investigated. Given the White House's abysmal record on holding Wall Street accountable, President Obama's State of the Union announcement was so extraordinary that many of our allies in the progressive movement have declared victory. We certainly hope they're right, but from our perspective it is still too soon to know whether this will lead to the kind of meaningful justice the American people both need and deserve. One of the greatest sources of potential good in the creation of this task force comes from the inclusion of New York Attorney General Schneiderman, who has been at the forefront of bank accountability fights, as one of its five co-chairs. Yet aside from Attorney General Schneiderman, none of the other co-chairs has done literally anything that achieves our goal of holding banks accountable or prosecuting bankers for criminal activity. What's more, the task force won't be independent but will be housed in the Justice Department's Financial Fraud Task Force which President Obama established in 2009 "to hold accountable those who helped bring about the last financial crisis." That earlier task force has failed to prosecute a single banker in conjunction with the mortgage crisis or hold Wall Street accountable in any kind of meaningful way. It's also concerning that three of Schneiderman's four co-chairs are already members of the current, failed task force at the Department of Justice.1 This means they will have to start behaving very differently if this new task force will follow through on the president's promise of a real investigation. Time will tell whether Attorney General Schneiderman will be empowered to aggressively leverage the authority and investigatory resources of the federal government to hold banks accountable, or if his inclusion will serve as a little more than a symbolic ploy in an attempt to quiet the restive base that has reacted with outrage at the lack of accountability for Wall Street's crimes. We expect Attorney General Schneiderman will push very, very hard to make the work of the task force a meaningful step toward the prosecutions that have shamefully been missing from any federal action on Wall Street accountability in the last three years. If Attorney General Schneiderman is able get his fellow co-chairs on board and launch investigations with teeth from his perch within the Department of Justice, this will be a good development indeed. And we have no doubt that if Attorney General Schneiderman is muzzled in Washington, DC he will simply return to New York, where he can use subpoenas and his powers under the Martin Act to investigate and then prosecute. This is exactly what he did to help scuttle the terrible 50-state deal with the banks pushed by the Obama administration, as did several other Attorneys General, including California's Kamala Harris and Nevada's Catherine Cortez Masto. All that said, we still need to make sure that the Obama administration doesn't close the door on accountability for foreclosure fraud even while it opens the door to investigate other kinds of misdeeds by Wall Street. This is particularly important given the news over the weekend that a terrible settlement deal with mortgage servicers is closer than ever. The robo-signing scandal is just the tip of the iceberg. It simply makes no sense for anyone to settle with the largest banks over foreclosure fraud when there has yet to be a full investigation despite what Reuters called "copious evidence" of "widespread forgery, perjury, obstruction of justice, and illegal foreclosures...." 2 Six months ago many people thought that this kind of mortgage servicer settlement was a done deal, and that in addition to letting the banks off the hook for fraud and misdeeds when servicing mortgages, the banks would also be given immunity for precisely the behavior President Obama has tasked this new task force with investigating. Not a single Wall Street banker has gone to jail for crimes related to the mortgage servicing scandal or the financial meltdown. But thanks to your activism, we have thus far stopped the federal government and state attorneys general from giving a sweetheart deal to banks that lets them off the hook for massive amounts of mortgage and foreclosure fraud. We will continue to fight together to bring Wall Street criminals to justice. In the wake of the State of the Union we celebrate your activism and its continuing impact on the White House. When there are indictments we will celebrate victory. Until then here are five things you can do to bring justice to Wall Street. Tell New York Attorney Eric Schneiderman: Indict Wall Street criminals immediately and we will have your back. Thank California Attorney General Kamala Harris for continuing to help block a bad 50-state settlement. Tell your State Attorney General not to accept any settlement with the Wall Street banks that grants them immunity for crimes not yet investigated. Tell House Democrats: Co-Sponsor the Baldwin resolution and go on the record opposing any deal that would grant mortgage servicers criminal or civil immunity for potential wrongdoing related to illegal mortgage and foreclosure practices. Tell President Obama: Stop pressuring the state attorneys general to cut a sweetheart deal with the banks. Matt Lockshin, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets 1. "There's Already a Financial Fraud Task Force," David Dayen, FDL News Desk, 01-25-12. 2. "U.S. AG Eric Holder, DoJ Head Lanny Breuer Linked To Banks Accused Of Foreclosure Fraud ," Scot J. Paltrow, Reuters, 01-19-12. Share on Facebook Post to your wall Tweet this Post to Twitter © 2012 CREDO. All rights reserved. To remove yourself (5849376 2359847) from this list, please visit our subscription management page at: http://act.credoaction.com/s?i=34025-3362360-97LXUWx To change your email address or update your contact info, please visit: http://act.credoaction.com/subscrip/coa.html?id=34025-3362360-97LXUWx

Thanks for fighting for our democracy

Thanks for taking action.

Here are some ways you can spread the word to make sure Congress gets the message loud and clear.

If you are on Facebook, click here to post the petition to your Wall.

If you have a Twitter account, click here to automatically tweet:
Tell Congress: Overturn #CitizensUnited and end corporate personhood. http://bit.ly/AbXUcM #p2

You can also send the following e-mail to your friends and family. Spreading the word is critical, but please only pass this message along to those who know you -- spam hurts our campaign.

Thanks for all you do.

--The CREDO Action Team

Here's a sample message to send to your friends:

Subject: Tell Congress: Only people are people.

Dear Friend,

The Citizens United vs. FEC Supreme Court decision overturned over a century of precedent and opened the floodgates for unlimited amounts of corporate money to flow into our political system.

Shockingly, the court came to this decision based on the notion that a corporation is legally a "person" entitled to First Amendment rights, and by equating a corporation's right to spend unlimited amounts of money influencing an election with our right to free speech.

Tell your senators and member of Congress to support a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and end corporate personhood.

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/corporations/?r_by=33903-3362360-1bIqDLx&rc=confemail

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Tell Congress: Only people are people.

Clicking here will automatically add your name to this petition to your senators and member of Congress: "We cannot have a government that is bought and paid for by huge multinational corporations. We need a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Put the full power of your office behind a constitutional amendment to undo Citizens United and end corporate personhood. " Automatically add your name: Learn more about this campaign Tell Congress: Overturn Citizens United and end corporate personhood. Dear Friend, We deserve a country where our elected officials are not bought and paid for by big corporations. But the Citizens United vs. FEC Supreme Court decision overturned over a century of precedent and opened the floodgates for unlimited amounts of corporate money to flow into our political system. Shockingly, the court came to this decision based on the notion that a corporation is legally a "person" entitled to First Amendment rights, and by equating a corporation's right to spend unlimited amounts of money influencing an election with our right to free speech. Tell your senators and member of Congress to support a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and end corporate personhood. Click here to automatically sign the petition. Even before the Citizens United decision, we too often saw the interests of Main Street subverted in favor of the interests of Wall Street. But with the Citizens United decision now the law of the land, large corporations have the power to spend unlimited amounts of money from their general treasuries to buy elections. To put things in perspective, the roughly $745 million Barack Obama raised to run for President in the 2008 election cycle (which was the most money raised by any candidate ever to run for office in the U.S.) is dwarfed by the $45 billion in profits a single company (ExxonMobil) made in 2008. What's more, Citizen United opened loopholes that allow corporations to hide their campaign expenditures by laundering the money through non-profit advocacy organizations. Tell your senators and member of Congress to support a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and end corporate personhood. Click here to automatically sign the petition. Unfortunately, because Congress cannot pass a law that supersedes a Supreme Court ruling, it may take a constitutional amendment to undo the worst aspects of the Citizens United decision and end corporate personhood. Clearly, the bar to successfully amending the Constitution is very high. But with 85% of the public opposed to the Citizens United decision, there is a potential for a broad coalition of Democrats, Republicans and Independents who all want to restore our democracy. And let's remember, the stakes are too high to allow inaction on this issue. It's no exaggeration to say that the Citizens United decision fundamentally threatens the integrity of our democracy. We need a government of, for and by the people. And sadly, we might need to work really hard to re-establish the common sense and democratic view that only people are people, not corporations. Your senators and member of Congress need to hear from you, regardless of where they stand on this issue. We need to show them that their constituents are part of a broad movement demanding action — not only to convince them that overturning Citizens United is the right thing to do, but also that it's possible. Today, take a step to be part of that movement. Click the link below to automatically sign our petition telling your senators and member of Congress to support a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and end corporate personhood: http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=745044&id=33903-3362360-1bIqDLx&t=10 Thank you for standing up for democracy. Matt Lockshin, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets Share on Facebook Post to your wall Tweet this Post to Twitter © 2012 CREDO. All rights reserved. To remove yourself (5849376 2359847) from this list, please visit our subscription management page at: http://act.credoaction.com/s?i=33903-3362360-1bIqDLx To change your email address or update your contact info, please visit: http://act.credoaction.com/subscrip/coa.html?id=33903-3362360-1bIqDLx

Thank you for supporting access to birth control

Thanks for taking action.

Here are some ways you can spread the word to make sure President Obama knows that we support his decision to protect access to no-cost birth control.

If you are on Facebook, click here to post the petition to your Wall.

If you have a Twitter account, click here to automatically tweet:
Victory! Thank Pres. @BarackObama for protecting access to no-cost birth control. http://bit.ly/Ak0QTC #fem2

You can also send the following e-mail to your friends and family. Spreading the word is critical, but please only pass this message along to those who know you -- spam hurts our campaign.

Thanks for all you do.

--The CREDO Action Team

Here's a sample message to send to your friends:

Subject: Thank President Obama for protecting access to no-cost birth control.

Dear Friend,

On Friday, President Obama did the right thing for women by rejecting the demands of anti-woman activists to limit access to no-cost birth control.

Extremists who literally oppose any woman having access to contraceptives had lobbied President Obama hard to overturn new health insurance regulations and block access to birth control for millions of women.

If President Obama had caved to the demands of these radical activists, certain employers like religiously affiliated universities and hospitals would have been allowed to prevent their female employees and students from having access to the same health care as every other woman in America.

Fortunately, President Obama sided with the medical community and women's health advocates over these anti-woman extremists.

I just sent a thank you note to President Obama for doing the right thing for women's health and protecting access to no-cost birth control. I hope you'll sign the thank you card, too.

You can add your name to the thank you card at the link below.

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/birthcontrol_thank/?r_by=33857-3362360-AU3XsMx&rc=confemail

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Thank President Obama for standing up to anti-woman extremists.

Clicking here will automatically add your name to this petition to President Obama: "Thank you for standing up to anti-woman activists and ensuring that the women who work or study at religiously-affiliated institutions like universities and hospitals will have full access to no-cost birth control." Automatically add your name: Learn more about this campaign Thank President Obama for protecting access to no-cost birth control. Dear Friend, On Friday, President Obama did the right thing for women by rejecting the demands of anti-woman activists to limit access to no-cost birth control. Extremists who literally oppose any woman having access to contraceptives had lobbied President Obama hard to overturn new health insurance regulations and block access to birth control for millions of women. If President Obama had caved to the demands of these radical activists, certain employers like religiously affiliated universities and hospitals would have been allowed to prevent their female employees and students from having access to the same health care as every other woman in America. Fortunately, President Obama sided with the medical community and women's health advocates over these anti-woman extremists. Thank President Obama for doing the right thing for women's health and protecting access to no-cost birth control. Click here to automatically add your name to our thank you card. The Department of Health and Human Services and the medical community agree that providing no-cost birth control is an essential part of preventive health care for women. And Kathleen Sebelius, the director of HHS, said that providing birth control at no cost to women should be like "covering flu shots."1 However, before CREDO and other organizations like Planned Parenthood began petitioning President Obama, the New York Times reported that the president was dangerously close to caving to the demands of the anti-woman lobby by adding a giant loophole that would keep a large number of women from being able to access no-cost birth control.2 CREDO members like you sent over 160,000 petitions and made over 3,000 calls to the White House asking President Obama not to cave. In the end, President Obama listened to our call to protect women's health. But that doesn't mean our work is done. The anti-woman extremists who are unhappy with President Obama for taking this stand will surely let him know. So let's make sure he hears from those of us who support him standing strong and protecting access to contraception. Thank President Obama for doing the right thing for women's health and protecting access to no-cost birth control. Click the link below to automatically sign our thank you petition: http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=1528836&id=33857-3362360-AU3XsMx&t=9 Thank you for speaking out. This victory is a testament that your activism works. Ali Rozell, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets 1. "New U.S. rules require insurance coverage for contraception," N.C. Aizenman, The Washington Post, 8-1-2011. 2. "Democrats Urge Obama to Protect Contraceptive Coverage in Health Plans," Robert Pear, New York Times, 11-19-2011. Share on Facebook Post to your wall Tweet this Post to Twitter © 2012 CREDO. All rights reserved. To remove yourself (5849376 2359847) from this list, please visit our subscription management page at: http://act.credoaction.com/s?i=33857-3362360-AU3XsMx To change your email address or update your contact info, please visit: http://act.credoaction.com/subscrip/coa.html?id=33857-3362360-AU3XsMx

Thank you for fighting for a free and open internet

Thanks for taking action.

Here are some ways you can spread the word to keep the pressure on the members of congress who still support these censorship bills.

If you are on Facebook, click here to post the petition to your Wall.

If you have a Twitter account, click here to automatically tweet:
Help kill the internet censorship legislation for good. http://bit.ly/x6qUzT @CREDOmobile #SOPA #PIPA #SOPAstrike #blackout

You can also send the following e-mail to your friends and family. Spreading the word is critical, but please only pass this message along to those who know you -- spam hurts our campaign.

Thanks for all you do.

--The CREDO Action Team

Here's a sample message to send to your friends:

Subject: A victory against internet censorship. But the fight continues.

Dear Friend,

On Wednesday, with the Senate poised to vote on legislation that would end the internet as we know it, hundreds of organizations in a one-day strike and day of action against internet censorship.

The results have been amazing. After the national day of action, 71 members of Congress came out in opposition to this legislation.

But we can't stop fighting yet. Although this legislation has been tabled for now, we need keep pressure on the members of Congress who still support these censorship bills. They need to continue to hear that Americans want them to protect our free and open internet and come out in opposition to these bills.

Tell the remaining co-sponsors of this legislation to protect our free and open internet and drop their support of this censorship legislation.

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/sopa_victory/?r_by=33772-3362360-wzLmDpx&rc=confemail

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If you've received this email in error, please correct your campaign subscription information at:
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A victory against internet censorship. But the fight continues.

Clicking here will automatically add your name to this petition to the PIPA and SOPA cosponsors: "Millions of Americans have spoken out to oppose the Protect IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act. It's time for you to listen to the American people, not the lobbyists, and drop your co-sponsorship of legislation that will allow censorship of the internet." Automatically add your name: Learn more about this campaign A victory against internet censorship. But the fight continues. Dear Friend, On Wednesday, with the Senate poised to vote on legislation that would end the internet as we know it, CREDO joined hundreds of other organizations in a one-day strike and day of action against internet censorship. The results have been amazing. After the national day of action, 71 members of Congress came out in opposition to this legislation. And Friday morning, in a victory for those millions of anti-censorship activists, leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives announced that they were pushing back the votes on the Protect IP Act and its companion bill, SOPA. But we can't stop fighting yet. Although this legislation has been tabled for now, we need to keep pressure on the members of Congress who still support these censorship bills. They need to continue to hear that Americans want them to protect our free and open internet and come out in opposition to these bills. Tell the remaining co-sponsors of this legislation to protect our free and open internet and drop their support of this censorship legislation. Click here to automatically sign the petition. In order to make sure that these bills will never become law, we need more senators and representatives to voice their opposition to the legislation. And we need those who have co-sponsored the legislation to end their sponsorship. Every additional member of congress who comes out in opposition to these bills is another nail in the coffin for internet censorship. Tell the remaining co-sponsors of this legislation to protect our free and open internet and drop their support of this censorship legislation. Click here to automatically sign the petition. CREDO members like you played a vital role in breaking the momentum of these bills. Over 165,000 CREDO members have signed a petition opposing internet censorship and CREDO members have made over 11,000 calls to the Senate on this issue — importantly, 6,000 of those calls came in the crucial weeks before the day of action when very few people were paying attention to this issue. Help ensure that this legislation is truly dead. Tell the remaining co-sponsors of this legislation to protect our free and open internet and drop their support of this censorship legislation. We know that when we band together to send a clear message to Congress, they listen. Let's make sure we keep the drum beat going. Click below to automatically sign the petition: http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=745780&id=33772-3362360-wzLmDpx&t=10 Thank you for helping to protect our free and open internet. Ali Rozell, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets Share on Facebook Post to your wall Tweet this Post to Twitter © 2012 CREDO. All rights reserved. To remove yourself (5849376 2359847) from this list, please visit our subscription management page at: http://act.credoaction.com/s?i=33772-3362360-wzLmDpx To change your email address or update your contact info, please visit: http://act.credoaction.com/subscrip/coa.html?id=33772-3362360-wzLmDpx