ACLU Important ANNOUNMENT!!! & IT GETS BETTER PROJECT!

A Parent’s Nightmare A Parent’s Nightmare Read more about Elizabeth and Alex's ordeal on our website. Today Isabella is a happy and healthy six-month-old living with her parents. New parents Elizabeth Mort and Alex Rodriguez thought the most difficult thing facing them when they arrived home from the hospital with their newborn daughter Isabella would be the sleepless nights. Instead, they were faced with the unthinkable – having their three-day-old daughter taken from them for five days by Lawrence County Children and Youth services because of Elizabeth’s false positive drug test performed by the hospital where Isabella was born. Elizabeth, who was eventually cleared of illegal drug use, had eaten an “everything” bagel with poppy seeds two hours before being admitted to the hospital, causing the inaccurate test result. “When Isabella was gone, our family was just at a loss of words,” said Elizabeth. “I couldn't stop crying. Alex just didn't even know how to be himself. It felt like our heart was ripped in pieces. The most important person was missing, and we didn't know when we would see her again.” The ACLU of Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit yesterday, October 28th, to stop this from happening to other new mothers in Lawrence County. Find out more about Elizabeth and Alex’s case on our website. American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania www.aclupa.org

Help us continue to defend the Bill of Rights — become a member of the ACLU today! Follow us on Twitter and visit our Facebook page. Also, check out the ACLU of Pennsylvania blog Speaking Freely.

"Seriously they want me to wear purple because five queers killed themselves. The only way im wearin it for them is if they all commit suicide." These were the words posted on Facebook by Clint McCance, a school board member in the Midland School District in Independence Country, Arkansas late last week. Quickly upon learning of McCance's actions, we called on our project's nearly 100,000 Facebook supporters to petition him to resign immediately.  And just one day later, live on CNN, Mr. McCance bowed to the pressure. Check out the segment here, then share your thoughts with us: Our project is about more than a collection of heartfelt videos, it's about creating awareness and calling out the Clint McCance's of the world and shining a light on their bigotry and hate.   It's about making our schools and communities a safer place by inspiring students, teachers, parents and community members from all walks of life to come together to advocate for change all across the country.  And it's about holding people like Clint McCance -- people who are making things worse -- accountable. It has been just over a month since our project began and we're seeing an impact, not just in Arkansas, but also in New Jersey where just last week lawmakers introduced an "anti-bullying bill of rights."  You've helped create an international issue out of something that was tragically ignored for far too long. http://www.ItGetsBetterProject.com/YourMovement Stay tuned in the days ahead for more videos and many more opportunities to act in your area. Thank you for reading!

DESIGN a T-Shirt for ONE.Org it's all for good causes. ♥

Last week ONE asked people to submit designs for "ONE’s Next Top T-Shirt", and I must say, I'm impressed by some of the excellent designs I've seen. But I know that sometimes true greatness doesn't come easy. So to make sure all of you have time to create something fantastic, we're extending our submission deadline to Monday, October 25th at 12:00 PM ET. So what are you waiting for?

After Monday's deadline, we'll narrow down all of the submissions to the top three and ask ONE members to choose their favorite. The winning design will then be printed on 100% organic cotton, African-made shirts and promoted to our over 2 million members around the world. Pretty cool, huh?

We've accomplished some truly remarkable things this year. We helped cancel Haiti's long-standing debt after the devastating earthquake. We helped pass the Cardin-Lugar Transparency amendment and helped secure more essential funding for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Designing a shirt might seem like small potatoes compared to all of that, but when we wear our ONE shirts, we show the world in a very public way that we’re proud to stand together in the fight against extreme poverty – and we hope that they’ll ask questions about our shirts and join the cause, too.

I can't wait to see what you guys come up with.

http://www.one.org/us/tshirt/?id=2005-5253255-JKS8LFx&t=2

Good luck,

ONE.org

The 1st photo from Breaking Dawn: The Twilight Saga♥

The first photo from 'Breaking Dawn' is here! Director Bill Condon gave 'Twilight' fans something very special to be thankful for by tweeting the picture to the Official Twilight Twitter account. It appears to be a taste of the anticipated honeymoon scene - meant to imply ecstasy without revealing anything explicit. Mission accomplished! Just one feather-clutching hand is enough to convey all manners of sexiness!

'Breaking Dawn' finds Bella and Edward finally getting married, and through the violent birth of their daughter, Renesmee, whose birth creates new trouble for the couple as the Volturi scrutinize her possible status as an 'immortal child' - strictly forbidden in the vampire world.

& please please please let ME know what you think of this first glimpse in the comments! 

Take Action for Vietnam Vets & everyone knows MY DADDY was one, may he RIP!♥

Take action to support the Vietnam veterans who were once spit upon rather than welcomed home.

Today is Veterans Day - a day to honor those who have bravely sacrificed so much for our country.

Top of mind are those who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq over the past decade. But often forgotten are those veterans who made it home from the Vietnam War 35 years ago.

Upon return, Vietnam veterans encountered no cheering crowds, no speeches, and no parades. Those who sacrificed so much in a brutal war zone not of their choosing were instead spit upon, and bore the brunt of a divided nation.

Veterans Day is our chance to remember and honor the sacrifices of all soldiers, regardless of how we feel about the wars themselves.

That's why we're supporting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and asking Change.org members to remember and honor those warriors who served during the Vietnam War and finally tell them "Welcome home."

During the long conflict in Vietnam, three million Americans served and 58,193 died. More than 150,000 were wounded and at least 21,000 were permanently disabled.

We must never forget these soldiers, who did everything their country asked of them despite the bitter controversy about the war back home.

Today, on Veteran's Day, give Vietnam veterans the "welcome home" they never received.

The number of surviving Vietnam veterans is becoming fewer each year. With every generation, the memories and lessons of Vietnam fade. It's important we take every opportunity to reach out to those still with us today and tell them we honor their sacrifice.

Thank you for lending your voice,

The Change.org Team

TSA wants to see you naked

Dear ACLU Supporter,

Tell Secretary Napolitano to implement security measures that ensure passenger privacy.

Planning to fly this holiday season? You've probably already braced yourself for long lines, delays and extra fees just to check your luggage.

Unfortunately, you can also expect another hassle at the airport this year. 70 airports around the country are now using controversial body scanners—also known as "naked scanners." These machines use low-dose radiation to produce strikingly graphic images of passengers' bodies, essentially taking a naked picture as passengers pass through security checkpoints.

Yes, authorities at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) say you can opt out of the naked scan. But doing so will subject you to new and highly invasive manual searches of your body, including your breasts, buttocks and inner thighs.

All of us have a right to travel without such crude invasions of our privacy. Tell DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano to put in place security measures that respect passengers' privacy rights.

The government is also violating travelers' privacy in another way: by searching and seizing the laptops and other electronic devices of international travelers. Never before in history have customs officers been able to routinely pour through a lifetime's worth of letters, photographs, purchase records and other data. This enormous invasion of privacy peers into people's lives in a way that has never been done before.

There's already an outcry building over all of these new searches. In fact, travelers and the ACLU have pushed back before against invasive screening, and the TSA quietly retreated back to a lighter touch. But if we want to stop these invasive practices, we've got to put our voices together.

Tell DHS to rein in these invasive, out-of-control searches and to implement security measures that ensure passenger privacy.

The ACLU has prepared a useful guide to help you navigate your options at the airport. It details ways to protect your privacy during air travel. It also describes how to file official complaints about any TSA trouble you encounter. View it here.

If you think your rights have been violated while you're traveling, please let us know about it. Just fill out this form online to share your story.

You shouldn't have to check your rights when you check your luggage. With the holiday travel season fast approaching, we need to make sure that security measures are in place that actually make us more secure without compromising passenger privacy.

Please write Secretary Napolitano today.

Thanks for speaking out,

Anthony D. Romero Executive Director ACLU

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