The $3.8 trillion budget that President Obama announced yesterday gives us a second chance to win the change in priorities we've sought for years.

Last year, TrueMajority members proved that sensible budgets CAN be achieved when we won a huge fight to end wasteful Pentagon projects like the F-22 fighter jet.

That victory saved billions of dollars that can now be used to build schools and restart the economy. This year we have a chance to save $2.5 billion MORE by ending the C-17, another plane we don't need. Tell Congress to stop building C-17s, and other Pentagon toys we don't need.

During last night's State of the Union, President Obama took the fight to Wall Street, saying "if these firms can afford to hand out big bonuses again, they can afford a modest fee to pay back the taxpayers who rescued them in their time of need".

Thousands of you asked the President to propose just such a tax a few weeks ago. And Obama's proposal is a good start, but fixing our broken economy will take more -- more than one bank tax, more investment in jobs, and a lot more rules to protect consumers from Wall Street's reckless greed.

So tell Congress to go get serious about reforming our economy by expanding the President's bank tax idea, and then using the money to put regular Americans back to work.

President Obama spoke for more than an hour last night -- one of the longest State of the Union addresses ever. He talked about education, job creation, bank taxes, and freezing social spending. But about spending $100 billion to continue and even ramp up the war in Afghanistan, not a word.

It's not like the fact isn't relevant. Freezing spending on social programs in the way the President proposed would take a decade to save us $250 billion.1 But spending on the Afghan war at the current rate would blow ALL of those savings in just a few years.2

No wonder he didn't want to mention it.

But that won't do. Congress has to decide whether we spend money on war, or on jobs, education and health care. Tell them to make the RIGHT choice.

It's been seven days since a massive earthquake rocked the foundations of Haiti. And one week later, the streets are still full of rubble, and the suffering is still intense.

But help is beginning to get through -- thanks in part to you and other progressive donors.

In the few days since we launched Progressives for Haiti, the project has raised over $1.3 million for Doctors without Borders. Our support is helping to keep open one of the few trauma centers in Port-au-Prince, and making it possible for desperately needed medicine and supplies to get through.

It's a huge statement that progressives came together right-away to do our part. We're working with people like DFA, MoveOn, CREDO, and others -- with more groups joining the effort every day.

If you haven't already, please consider a second donation at www.progressivesforhaiti.org.

Our Conversation with Bill McKibben

That's how long it's been since Barack Obama was sworn in as President. At the end of this first year, some progressives are feeling holiday blahs because we haven't won everything we wanted.

Don't.

Remember our hard battle at the start of the year over whether to direct our tax money toward creating jobs and stimulating the economy? Won that one.

Here in my hometown construction workers are doubling the size of our overburdened community health clinic thanks to that stimulus money, and similar worthy projects across the country kept thousands of Americans working. ( support our work to rebuild and renew America's economy. )

Thousands of people marched on downtown Chicago Oct. 27th to call for economic justice. Our target was the American Bankers Association -- a convention of the biggest bankers in America that was held at a fancy local hotel.

These are the same banks that took $17.8 trillion in taxpayer bailouts and backstops. Despite the continuing crisis of foreclosures and unemployment, they have spent more than $35 million of OUR dollars to fight reform in Congress.

But thanks to your support and this amazing rally, Congress is finally working on a solution. Legislation is already moving that will protect consumers, curtail outrageous CEO pay and help prevent another financial meltdown.

I've just seen that when we work together, we can send a powerful message to end Wall Street's greed and protect American consumers. Check out my video report from the streets of Chicago, and then join the fight by signing this petition to Congress and banking CEOs.

WOW. What a day. You have to see what happened October 22nd, thanks to USAction/TrueMajority organizers and our Health Care for America Now coalition.

October 22nd was the big health insurance CEO conference in Washington D.C. Seven brave families confronted the CEOs who denied them care. They were backed up by hundreds of protesters, and tens of thousands of TrueMajority/USAction members.

But don't take our word for it - check out the videos from before and during the event to see what your signatures, donations and support made happen.

Check out the videos.

Dr. Howard Dean has been a physician, a governor, a presidential candidate and the head of the Democratic National Committee. If there is one guy in America who knows what's wrong with our healthcare system and can make sense of the current debate, it's him.

Listen to Monday night's show with Howard Dean by clicking the play button below.

By now you've probably seen the news, but it's worth repeating: after years of work, this month we WON the battle to end the outmoded F-22 fighter jet.

That will free up billions of dollars in tax money, which can be available for projects which truly build America's strength. More importantly, though, the victory has shifted the playing field. Mere days before this historic Senate vote, the conventional wisdom was what it has always been: that you just can't kill a weapons program which defense contractors want. But t hen the program WAS voted down, by an unexpected bipartisan majority of Senators. And in a surprise announcement the very next day Rep. John Murtha, by most accounts the biggest player in the Pentagon pork business, said he wouldn't fight anymore for the F-22 jets.

The point is: the tide we have been swimming against for so long has turned.

The industry knows the same thing we do, and they don't like it: the only way to make reform work for patients and payers is to allow the option of a public insurance plan. Obama has committed to that in the past, but insurance companies are trying to talk him out of his pledge with these promises to cut some unspecified costs, some years in the future. We need to have OUR say about that.

While we couldn't get into that room with the health industry lobbyists, we DO have access to the most widely-read public forum: the local newspaper.

Write a letter to your local paper that reminds Congress and the President that health care reform needs to work for us, and demand a public option.

Ben Cohen on The Colbert Report Did you see our founder, Ben Cohen, on the Colbert Report? Click here to check it out. Unfortunately, the frisbee giveaway is over, but you can still sign up for TrueMajority.org. We'll send you quick alerts letting you know what you can do to help make America better.