Left Action continues to surge on Facebook, with a fan base now exceeding 400,000! Check it out, at http://Facebook.com/LeftAction

Folks, we've had some massive traffic as of late, so we're doing a big upgrade on our servers. Please bear with us over the next day as we transition files, tweak code, and do all the other things necessary for this process. The front end of the site (i.e., what you see) will remain the same, but the more powerful server should speed up the site and increase stability & performance during peak times.

Hooray! Michele Bachmann has come out strongly in favor of increasing taxes on the wealthy! Use the form to the right to sign on to our massive "thank you card" to her! Wondering what provoked it? A change of heart? A return of sanity? Nah, just plain ignorance. Click here to learn more.

Read this, and click "like" if you find Michele Bachmann even more appalling than before. Bachmann claimed last night that the HPV vaccine, a vaccine that helps prevent cervical cancer, actually causes "mental retardation" in young girls. It really is hard to know where to start on this one. Wrong, asinine, offensive, tinfoil hat territory... it's a full monty of Bachmannia. (Click for more)

Want to help support Left Action? You can make a donation safely and securely using the form on our donation page: http://leftaction.com/donate Click here to learn more

Left Action's Facebook fan base continues to surge. The number of "likes" for the page recently topped 344,000, and appears on pace to hit 350,000 sometime during the month of September. Click here to visit the page.

Eric Cantor - have you no shame at all? No sense of decency? No awareness of what is right? Throughout our nation's history, a simple rule has applied when it comes to natural disasters: help your fellow Americans, and do what is needed to help them get back on their feet. Thus, it's frankly appalling that Representative Eric Cantor is threatening to hold disaster relief funds hostage to his partisan pettiness. He is demanding immediate cuts to offset spending, even though it is spending necessitated by a natural disaster of historic proportions -- a hurricane hit his very own district: "Despite the devastation caused by Hurricane Irene this weekend, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) today stood by his call that no more money be allocated for disaster relief unless it is offset by spending cuts elsewhere. The Washington Post reported this morning that FEMA will need more money than it currently has to deal with the storm’s aftermath and is already diverting funds from other recent disasters to deal with the hurricane, but Cantor's comments suggest Republicans won’t authorize more funds without a fight." (Click here for more)

Tell Rick Perry to stop lying about global warming and climate change. Again and again, Rick Perry has spouted utter nonsense about global warming. In his new book, he says that the science behind it is, "...all one contrived phony mess that is falling apart under its own weight." On the campaign trail, he recently said that, "a substantial number of scientists [have] manipulated data to keep the money rolling in" and that "Scientists are 'coming forward daily' to disavow a 'theory that remains unproven.'" Click here for more...

"President Michele Bachmann." Scary? You bet. And that's why Left Action is very happy to team up with Obama for America to support the President's re-election campaign. Click here to tell the President "I'm in", and to add any other message you want (including constructive criticism). (Read more)

Tell Congress: I support President Obama's call for shared sacrifice on the deficit. The wealthy need to pay their fair share. America stands on the brink of a catastrophic and unprecedented default. And yet, a contingent of Republicans in Congress has been holding up a deal on the debt ceiling, and threatening to push America and our economy right over that cliff. Why? Because they are refusing to make reasonable compromises, and instead are insisting that the wealthy and corporations make no sacrifice whatsoever to fight the deficit. This contingent is even going so far as to demand keeping tax loopholes for corporate jets at the same time they are advocating slashing Medicare. This is absurd, and in an address to the nation, President Obama called on Americans to contact Congress and demand a reasonable compromise (scroll down for video): "The American people may have voted for divided government, but they didn't vote for a dysfunctional government," Obama said. Obama called on voters who support a more "balanced approach" to make their voices heard by writing or calling their member of Congress. "If you believe we can solve this problem through compromise, send that message," he urged. (source) Send a message to Congress, support President Obama, and tell your elected officials to do the right thing. Tell them that the wealthy need to pay their fair share as well. Do it now, spread the word, and make this message as powerful and loud as possible. (Click here for more, and to send a message)

At the same time that Speaker Boehner is preaching about the need to cut spending, he and the House Republican leadership still plan to spend hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars defending the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The majority of Americans find it shameful to continue this discrimination, and there is no justification for Speaker Boehner to spend money – the people's money – to fight back against basic fairness. Send a message to Speaker Boehner, tell him to practice what he preaches, and to stop wasting money defending DOMA. (Click for more)

Remember the $20 billion BP promised to pay, after its oil spill wrought havoc with the Gulf? The big oil company is now trying to weasel its way out of it -- after paying less than 25% of it. Don't let them do it! Send a message to BP: "Pay what you promised!" Click here to learn more and take action

John Boehner and the Republican leadership is apparently more scared of their own crazy base than of allowing the United States of America to default on its debt. Please send a message to Speaker Boehner, asking him to "man up" and do the right thing. For each signature, we will send a pair of balls to the Speaker. Juvenile? You bet. But since logic and sound arguments are apparently lost on the "cult of stupidity" that the Republican Party has become -- it's time to try giving "juvenile" a shot. Click here to learn more.

Left Action's flagship Facebook page, Facebook.com/LeftAction, has now soared past the 200,000 mark, and is on track to hit 250,000 within the next few weeks. Click here to check it out yourself. Then "like" it, and join in the discussion.

As part of their radical Tea Party agenda, House Republicans passed a budget that will end Medicare. That’s not a typo – they literally voted to end Medicare. Click here to learn more...

Just a few weeks after its launch, our new Facebook page, "Telling Donald Trump He's Full of Crap," has already garnered over 20,000 supporters! Check it out, at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Telling-Donald-Trump-Hes-Full-of-Crap-by-LeftActioncom/138442296229429

Take Action: 1) Send Ann Coulter to Fukushima; 2) Tell Donald Trump he's an idiot; 3) Tell the EPA to stop unlimited mercury and arsenic pollution; 4) Tell John Boehner: "Shut down government? Shut down your own pay first!" Lots of action this week on the Left Action front! Here's the highlights (and remember, you can check out all current Left Action actions at our "actions" page): 1) Tell Ann Coulter: "Go Fukushima Yourself" Just when you thought Ann Coulter couldn't be a bigger idiot, she really takes it "to an 11" by writing a column about the Fukuskima nuclear disaster in which she touts the health benefits of radiation: "With the terrible earthquake and resulting tsunami that have devastated Japan, the only good news is that anyone exposed to excess radiation from the nuclear power plants is now probably much less likely to get cancer." In the middle of a rapidly escalating nuclear crisis, one with potentially catastrophic consequences, one where unbelievably brave workers are trying to prevent an even greater disaster...she is chirping happily (and completely incorrectly) about the sunny side of radiation exposure. And not just in this column, but yet again on Bill O'Reilly's show. Watch the video for yourself, and look at O'Reilly's stunned reaction. When even O'Reilly thinks you've gone off the deep end, you know you've really done a heck of a job. Well, we were thinking it over, and since Coulter is such a fan of radiation, we'll make the following offer: We will send her to Fukushima. We will pay for the ticket. For each supporter who sends a message to her, telling her to "Go Fukushima herself" we will donate one penny towards the flight. Of course, the offer comes with conditions. She'll need to go into the reactor itself, help with the repair, and do it without radiation protection equipment. (If she refuses, we'll instead donate the money to relief efforts in Japan). http://leftaction.com/action/ann-coulter-go-fukushima-yourself 2) Tell Donald Trump he's an idiot Well, apparently beneath Donald's orange toupee there is no brain -- just a second toupee. We learned that this week when Trump went on The View and started spouting birther nonsense about President Obama. You can watch the video right here. And then you can send him a message, telling him he's an idiot. http://leftaction.com/action/donald-trump-youre-idiot 3) Tell the EPA to stop unlimited mercury and arsenic pollution You like breathing mercury, arsenic, and other toxins? No? Well.... then speak your mind to the EPA. A new rule reduces these toxins, but polluters are already trying to weaken it. The EPA is taking feedback as part of a "public comments" period. Click here to speak your piece. 4) Tell John Boehner: "Shut down government? Shut down your own pay first!") Republicans are again threatening a government shutdown -- but one where Congress would still get paid. Seriously? Send Boehner a letter, and tell him if he's foolish enough to push a government shutdown -- Congress should "shut down" its own pay first. http://leftaction.com/action/shut-down-your-pay-first And a reminder, if you want to get even more involved with Left Action, here are other steps you can take: Check out our full list of other actions, at http://leftaction.com/actions, and start taking them. Become a fan of our Facebook page, at http://Facebook.com/LeftAction (this is where we brainstorm new actions before we launch them) Follow us on Twitter, at http://Twitter.com/LeftAction Ever wanted to try your hand at blogging? Check out our sister site, Left Take Forward this email to your 10,000 closest friends, and help grow this movement! Thanks again. Sincerely, John Hlinko and the Left Action team http://LeftAction.com http://Facebook.com/LeftAction http://Twitter.com/LeftAction

Take Action: 1) Send Ann Coulter to Fukushima; 2) Tell Donald Trump he's an idiot; 3) Tell the EPA to stop unlimited mercury and arsenic pollution; 4) Tell John Boehner: "Shut down government? Shut down your own pay first!" Lots of action this week on the Left Action front! Here's the highlights (and remember, you can check out all current Left Action actions at our "actions" page): 1) Tell Ann Coulter: "Go Fukushima Yourself" Just when you thought Ann Coulter couldn't be a bigger idiot, she really takes it "to an 11" by writing a column about the Fukuskima nuclear disaster in which she touts the health benefits of radiation: "With the terrible earthquake and resulting tsunami that have devastated Japan, the only good news is that anyone exposed to excess radiation from the nuclear power plants is now probably much less likely to get cancer." In the middle of a rapidly escalating nuclear crisis, one with potentially catastrophic consequences, one where unbelievably brave workers are trying to prevent an even greater disaster...she is chirping happily (and completely incorrectly) about the sunny side of radiation exposure. And not just in this column, but yet again on Bill O'Reilly's show. Watch the video for yourself, and look at O'Reilly's stunned reaction. When even O'Reilly thinks you've gone off the deep end, you know you've really done a heck of a job. Well, we were thinking it over, and since Coulter is such a fan of radiation, we'll make the following offer: We will send her to Fukushima. We will pay for the ticket. For each supporter who sends a message to her, telling her to "Go Fukushima herself" we will donate one penny towards the flight. Of course, the offer comes with conditions. She'll need to go into the reactor itself, help with the repair, and do it without radiation protection equipment. (If she refuses, we'll instead donate the money to relief efforts in Japan). http://leftaction.com/action/ann-coulter-go-fukushima-yourself 2) Tell Donald Trump he's an idiot Well, apparently beneath Donald's orange toupee there is no brain -- just a second toupee. We learned that this week when Trump went on The View and started spouting birther nonsense about President Obama. You can watch the video right here. And then you can send him a message, telling him he's an idiot. http://leftaction.com/action/donald-trump-youre-idiot 3) Tell the EPA to stop unlimited mercury and arsenic pollution You like breathing mercury, arsenic, and other toxins? No? Well.... then speak your mind to the EPA. A new rule reduces these toxins, but polluters are already trying to weaken it. The EPA is taking feedback as part of a "public comments" period. Click here to speak your piece. 4) Tell John Boehner: "Shut down government? Shut down your own pay first!") Republicans are again threatening a government shutdown -- but one where Congress would still get paid. Seriously? Send Boehner a letter, and tell him if he's foolish enough to push a government shutdown -- Congress should "shut down" its own pay first. http://leftaction.com/action/shut-down-your-pay-first And a reminder, if you want to get even more involved with Left Action, here are other steps you can take: Check out our full list of other actions, at http://leftaction.com/actions, and start taking them. Become a fan of our Facebook page, at http://Facebook.com/LeftAction (this is where we brainstorm new actions before we launch them) Follow us on Twitter, at http://Twitter.com/LeftAction Ever wanted to try your hand at blogging? Check out our sister site, Left Take Forward this email to your 10,000 closest friends, and help grow this movement! Thanks again. Sincerely, John Hlinko and the Left Action team http://LeftAction.com http://Facebook.com/LeftAction http://Twitter.com/LeftAction

How big a jerk do you have to be to try to "whack" the muppets? Yes, the Republicans are not just trying to cut PBS funding -- they're trying to ZERO it out completely. Click here to learn more, and to join 13,000+ people taking action, and fighting back!

A liberal group, apparently frustrated with all the attention its nemesis keeps getting, is promoting "Ignore Sarah Palin Week," urging like-minded souls to change the channel or surf to another Web page whenever the ubiquitous former governor of Alaska pops up. Left Action said it has collected more than 32,500 pledges from partisans willing to take part in the effort, which began Sunday. "You betcha we're ignoring her," the website announced, mimicking Palin's folksy dialect. "We've tried debating her, arguing with her, boycotting her, voting against her, and yet . . . she keeps coming back. Much like a vampire or a nasty fungus." (Read full story at Politics Daily)