The World Socialist Web Site, Socialist Equality Party and International Students for Social Equality are holding an emergency national conference on the social crisis and war, to be held April 17-18 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We urge all of our readers and supporters to register and make plans to attend today.
Instead of real health care reform (Medicare for all, everyone in and everyone pays), the health care bills in the House and the Senate are just expanded Medicaid with a public option that isn't an option to the public at all. Thanks to Stupak, the taxpayers will pay for prayer therapy and Viagra while restricting payments for abortions. Apparently Stupak has no problem with killing 45,000 born babies and their parents each year.
Like the bank bailouts and Medicare Part D, Democratic health care reform is just another corporate rip off of the middle class; and for this privilege, they cut Medicare benefits and raised Medicare's monthly premiums. So much for no increases to people who make fewer than 250K a year.
With Democrats like Stupak in Washington, it really doesn't matter which party wins election because Republicans and religious zealots like Stupak win either way. The Democratic health care reform bills are "like putting whip cream on a turd", to quote a local official in the newspaper on a totally different subject,.
The do nothing Democrats will pass anything, declare victory, and expect applause. Maybe if we clap hard enough, we can make them all disappear.
"People who are my age have no idea what they are going to do," Suter said, trying to angle a workbench into his trailer. "How they are going to live on $12 an hour without benefits when we're used to $29 with benefits? You can't make an economy on cleaning somebody else's shirts or selling mutual funds. What are towns like Ypsilanti going to do?"
Ypsilanti is not the most besieged city in Michigan, but is an auto town, and its problems mirror those of the larger industrial Midwest. Just four square miles and 35 miles west of Detroit, it has lost more than 25 percent of its population since 1970. Schools have closed, as did its two other auto-related plants. Outside the Visteon plant, located on Factory Street in Ypsilanti alongside Interstate 94 and Ford Lake, the building that housed the UAW Local 849 is for sale. --snip--
It's the start of the new calendar year, the start of a new Presidential administration (well on the 20th actually), and of course the start of the first business quarter. We got in some disturbing, ok that's putting it mildly, some crappy manufacturing news from the gang at ISM. The steel industry, in hopes of restoring some business, initiates a new campaign. Arizona & Michigan are starting a green jobs plans. All this, but first...
Greetings folks, I hope your holiday season is going well. In case you were wondering, there was no Manufacturing update last week, family and health related issues. This week will be kinda short, my apologies, but I wanted to cut some of the gloom and doom for the holiday season. We got stuff on solar energy, a new grant system for electric car innovation, milestones on wind, and something for the kids! But as always, we hit our first section...
The Great Lakes - Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario - span more than 750 miles from west to east and are an important part of the physical and cultural heritage of North America. The complexity and magnitude of the Great Lakes water system is difficult to grasp, even for those who live within the basin.
The lakes cover a total of 294,000 square miles and contain about 5,500 cubic miles of water. The Great Lakes are the largest collection of fresh, surface water on earth, containing roughly 18 percent of the world supply. Only the polar ice caps contain more fresh water. Although part of a single system, each lake is different.
Perhaps the most poignant statement of today's DNC Rules Panel, was offered by Donna Brazile, Superdelegate and Panel Committee Member. Brazile's comment came as a counter to Governor Blanchard, Hillary Clinton supporter. Blanchard denies the Michigan election was a "flawed primary" as Congressman Bonior and others pointed out:
"You must NOT turn you back on our loyal state," said Blanchard. The candidates taking their names off the ballot "was a knowing, willing decision. It doesn't make the election flawed. It makes a flawed strategy."
Brazile, driving home the obvious, stated that "Changing the rules in the middle of the game is called cheating."
Donna Brazile: "My Mama Taught Me to Play by the Rules."
While 1500 delegates to the Michigan Democratic State Convention were approving, by acclamation, a resolution supporting legal access to cannabis as medication (On Monday, an Initiative was approved for the Statewide November Ballot), Iowa Senator Tom Harkin replied to letter from a constituent/patient with hyperbole that would make even a Republican White House Drug Czar blush.
Meawhile, the Illinois Senate's Health Committee holds a hearing today on a State Medical Marijuana bill. Action link
So what if he's withdrawn, he's still on the ballot, and there's no delegates at stake anyhow.
15% for Dodd would send a message to Michigan's Senators, Reps, and hopefully the rest of the Congressional Dems that an extension of wiretap authority is unaccesptable. It's not just immunity, Reid's now, according to the Wall Street Journal, going to put up an 18 month extension of the Protect America Act, extending authority for warrantless taps.
The "problem" the bill was intended to fix, a FISA Court decision requiring warrants for foreign to foreign calls transiting US soil, is no big deal. If there's reason to believe the calls sare terrorist communications, there's still a process for getting FISA warrants.
Reform Immigration -
March on Washington
