RGW, PC Call To Arms: Defeat SB 1125 Now
Towards the end of last year, we quietly celebrated the failure to bring SB 1125 to a floor debate, but warned this monster had many heads and would soon re-appear. It now looks like Sen. Frist has made passing the Asbestos Bail-Out Bill a "priority." He has scheduled a vote in late March.
We have roughly six weeks to defeat this grossly unjust corporate give-away that takes away the constitutionally guaranteed rights to due process, equal protection and a jury trial. In 1776, our country declared its independence from the tyrannical British King, whose usurpations and abuses included "obstruct[ing] the Administration of Justice," "depriving us of the Benefits of Trial by Jury" and "abolishing our most valuable laws." Now, 228 years later, Senators Hatch and Frist want to trade away your time-honored rights and freedoms in order to give the corporate wrongdoers who are responsible for the asbestos epidemic the virtues of "manageable risk," accounting regularity" and "a fresh start."
We are urging you, again, to stand up and be counted. The lobbyists pushing the Hatch Bill are raising millions of dollars for television ads and op-ed pieces by ostensibly neutral hired-gun reactionary "think tanks." They will attempt to smear trial lawyers, labor unions and victims advocacy groups as anti-business and anti-jobs. They will appear on talk shows blasting lawyers and victims for bankrupting "reputable" corporations and putting their employees out of work. They won't mention the 225,000 Americans who have been killed by asbestos. They won't mention that the death toll will continue for another 45 years. Nor will they mention that our Federal Government is partially to blame for the unregulated use of millions of tons of asbestos. Nor will they disclose that of the $70 billion spent on asbestos litigation, not a dime has been invested in funding the research to prevent, detect or find a cure for asbestos cancer.
Please review the "talking points" memo. I know this is lengthy. But we want you to know the truth, as in the weeks to come you will be bombarded with statistics and arguments that have the appearance of credibility but when exposed to the sunlight are riddled with half-truths, distortions and bald-faced lies. Arm yourself with facts.
The memo includes the contact information for your U.S. Senator. Please write, fax and e-mail your senator. Better yet, please consider "camping out" in his or her office until they agree to see you. Know this: the backers of the bail-out bill do not want to put a human face on this corporate "get out of jail free" card. They don't want to know the dismal human consequences of their immoral and illegal action. They want to live comfortably in an abstract world where a few are sacrificed for the greater corporate good. The money will come pouring in from all sides. But there is no substitute for a face-to-face reckoning. As I've said many times before, you have more power than you may know.
We are standing by to assist you. We would be pleased to help you set up a meeting in Washington DC at your senator's office, or at your senator's nearest local office. Additionally, please consider a short letter to the editor of your newspaper.
No army of corporate lobbyists can drown out the voice of truth and justice. Rise up and be heard!
Sincerely,
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Message to Sen. Feinstein: Oppose SB 1125! (2/20/04) RGW,PC
*** POSTED FEBRUARY 9, 2004 ***