We, the working people of America, can speak out on the streets – literally, in the case of bumper stickers.

It’s a tragic failure of our society when special perks for Wall Street fat cats are protected, but older Americans who have contributed to the system for decades are now going to have Medicare services denied to them.

This bumper sticker allows you to talk back to those people in power who think that they can take us for granted, as if we’re “the little people”. It’s a big bumper sticker, 12 by 4 inches, so no one will be able to mistake the message: Hands Off My Medicare!

First, Farenthold said that the federal government is a burden, not a help, but then within 24 hours turned around and begged the federal government to come help Texas deal with the drought, heat and wildfires.

Then, not long after Farenthold scoffed that global warming is just a scare tactic, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration released scientific data showing that the drought and wildfires currently afflicting Texas are part of an extreme climactic shift in which the United States as a whole is experiencing the second warmest summer ever, and Texas has endured the hottest average summer temperature recorded in any state ever.

Still, Blake Farenthold won’t admit that he was wrong. With the fires and smoke smothering Texas communities, Farenthold still pretends that global warming isn’t happening.

How much more suffering will Texas have to endure, before Blake Farenthold’s pride will allow his duty of public service to take precedence?

Global warming is real. Blake Farenthold is a fake.

Enough. Stop killing the farmers who grow food for a nation hungry for peace. Stop killing innocent children. It is time to ban cluster bombs now.

Out of 435 possible supporters, only three members of the U.S. House of Representatives have added their support for H.R. 996, a bill to stop the unrestricted sale and use of cluster bombs by the United States. Those three members are James McGovern of Massachusetts, Charles Boustany of Louisiana and Darrell Issa of California. Please, would you consider finding the phone number of your member of Congress today and calling him or her to recommend H.R. 996? If we work together, we can end the scourge of cluster bombs.

He’s wrecked the country like Republicans seem to need to do every decade or so, so go ahead and tell him off: Hey John Boehner, Shut Down THIS!!

Congressman Sam Farr was not among them. Unlike many of his colleagues, Representative Farr took a strong stand against the renewal of the most clearly unconstitutional provisions of the Patriot Act. Farr explained,

“I felt compelled to vote against extending the three expiring provisions of the Patriot Act that continue to give the government sweeping authority to spy on individuals inside the United States and, in some cases, without any suspicion of wrongdoing. These intrusive and sweeping powers stand in stark contrast to the fundamental individual privacy rights enshrined in the Fourth Amendment of our Constitution. All three surveillance provisions are unnecessary, they do not protect us against terrorism, and they should have been allowed to expire long ago. I am appalled by the blatant disregard for the civil liberties of innocent Americans who have absolutely no connection to the global war on terrorism, and I look forward to a time when these provisions are no longer the law of the land.”

You can stand with Sam Farr in his opposition to the Patriot Act. At noon tomorrow, March 12, 2011, Americans will gather in protest against the Patriot Act outside the U.S. Capitol. You can join them. For more day to day, simple activism, if you live in Washington D.C. or in the 17th congressional district of California, where Sam Farr comes from, you can place this bumper sticker on your car, with the simple message: I support Sam Farr.

Jackson Lee explained her vote by recalling the difficult early years of the United States of America. She reminded her colleagues that, although the early U.S.A. was besieged by European powers intent on ruining the new nation, the founders did not allow their fears to interfere with the growth of liberty. The early Americans stood firm in support of the Fourth Amendment’s protection from unreasonable search and seizure in a way that many Americans today are reluctant to emulate.

Jackson Lee declared:

“To win the war on terror, the United States must remain true to the founding architects of this democracy who created a Constitution which enshrined an inalienable set of rights. These Bills Of Rights guarantee certain fundamental freedoms that cannot be limited by the government. One of these freedoms, the Fourth Amendment, is the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures. We do not circumvent the Fourth Amendment, or any other provision in the United States Constitution, merely because it is inconvenient.

As an American citizen, the security and safety of my constituency is pinnacle, but I will never stand for legislation that infringes on the basic rights afforded in our Constitution. When our founding fathers drafted the constitution, after living under an oppressive regime in Britain, they ensured that the American people would never experience such subjugation. Where are the protective measures for our citizens in the Patriot Act? Why are the measures addressed in the last Congress not included in the bill?

Instead of reauthorizing these provisions, Congress should conduct robust, public oversight of all surveillance tools and craft reforms that will better protect private communications from overbroad government surveillance.”

In these times when phantom fears are provoking many politicians in Washington D.C. to rush to sacrifice our constitutional freedoms for a thin semblance of security, we need more leaders like Sheila Jackson Lee who remember what true American courage looks like. Courage means that, even if there are dangers out there in the world, we keep hold of our freedoms.

If you’re a resident of the 18th congressional district in Texas, display your support to Representative Jackson Lee. Put this bumper sticker on your car to show that when Sheila Jackson speaks in support of liberty in the Constitution, she speaks for you.

If you live further to the east, consider making your way to Washington D.C. this Saturday to show some leadership yourself. This Saturday, March 12, 2011 at noon, there will be a protest against the Patriot Act outside the U.S. Capitol Building.

Among the candidates is Marcy Winograd. She’s the most liberal of the Democratic candidates for California’s 36th congressional district. She has a strong history as an anti-war activist, and has consistently campaigned for renewable energy, single-payer health care reform, and constitutional rights (the actual constitutional rights that are in the Constitution, not the Tea Party fantasy version).

To support the Winograd for Congress campaign, volunteer, talk to your friends, donate if you want to. You also can put this bumper sticker on your car, to say I’m With Winograd for Congress in 2011!.

The slogan, at its core, relies on a simple rhyme: Retire Dreier.

“Dreier” in this slogan refers to Congressman David Dreier, a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the 26th district of California, on the marginal hills of metro Los Angeles. Dreier has run into some trouble recently, given some comments he made in a speech last week, saying that when it comes to the Patriot Act, guarantees of liberty and justice aren’t as important as the desire for security.

One bumper sticker, with a simply blue and black design, reads: Retire David Dreier – He’s out of touch with our values. Dreier may want to note that many Republicans value liberty much more than the big government apparatus of a Security State of the sort that’s been set up under the Patriot Act.

Another manifestation of the Retire Dreier slogan comes on a bumper sticker that advises: Time to Retire David Dreier, and shows a rather glum-faced Dreier to the right of the slogan.

The message, I think, is that David Dreier should choose to retire himself, or voters, in the primary election or general election of 2012, will choose retirement for Dreier.

For Congressman Benishek, oil drilling is literally a religious issue. “God gave us this planet and all its resources to meet our needs. America has expansive coal, natural gas, and oil reserves. We need to responsibly tap into these reserves,” Benishek writes. Interfering with this divine providence, in Benishek’s belief, is demonic environmental regulation.

Benishek warns of an impending, and irreligious, energy disaster. Energy exploration has come to a near standstill, according to his vision. “Radical environmentalism has rendered energy development next to impossible,” Benishek says.

The facts show, however, that energy development is moving forward at a fast pace. Over 8,000 leases are currently active along the coasts of the USA. Data from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement from this morning show that, over the last half year, over 3,200 new permits for offshore drilling activity have been granted. Add to these statistics the large number of drilling operations on land, and you get a picture of a thriving energy industry that’s making money hand over fist.

And where is that oil money going to? Well, some of it is going to Dan Benishek. Benishek’s campaign last year took substantial amounts of cash from oil and mining companies.

These contributions appear to have interfered with Benishek’s judgment. On issues of energy and the environment, Dan Benishek is out of touch – with voters, and with reality.