Feb 07 2009
When a $230 Billion multi-national corporation mugs one of the little guys – is it even a crime in this day and age? Not if you ask the multi-national corporation it ain’t. The corporate gangsters at Microsoft seem to think that their immensity grants them impunity.
Feb 07 2009
Debbie and I were informed about a week ago that our doctor was changing locations, leaving the Family Health Center in Montclair for another practice a half hour away. We are left with the decision of whether to follow her or keep going to the Family Health Center.
For me, that’s not as straightforward a decision as it would be for most people.
Treatment by medical personnel, doctors, nurses and office staff can be a critical issue or transfolk.
Of course, I can only speak for myself and my experience should not be deemed universal. That could be the point…or at least one of them.
Feb 06 2009
Original article, by Ted Grant (originally written June 1943), via Socialist Appeal (UK):
The Third International has been officially buried. In the most undignified and contemptible fashion it would be possible to conceive, it has passed off the stage of history. Hurriedly and without consultation with all the adhering parties, not to speak of the rank and file throughout the world, without any democratic discussion and decision, as the result of the pressure of American imperialism, Stalin has perfidiously abandoned the Comintern.
Feb 06 2009
As I am wont to do on Fridays, I post these to help escape the doldrums of daily humdrum.
Enjoy, & let your mind wander.
BLUE PANELS
Feb 06 2009
The Hill reports Vice President Biden douses Democrats with reality. “Biden, in an overly subdued manner, repeatedly told Democrats that the challenges they face as members of Congress – as a party and as leaders of the country – are ‘daunting.'”
“There has never been the constellation of crises we face right now,” Biden said. “And we have no historical precedent to look back on, other than our grit. Our determination.”
… Recounting a conversation he had with Obama in the Oval Office earlier in the week regarding the economic stimulus bill and other matters, Biden said the two came to the realization that: “If we do everything right… there’s still a 30 percent chance we’re going to get it wrong.“
Biden said the doom-and-gloom manner in which he and the president have been speaking – and on a morning where the government reported a loss of an additional 598,000 jobs – was “not hyperbole.”
But “it’s not that things are so bad now,” Biden said, “it’s what happens if we miss.”
Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported 598,000 jobs were lost in the U.S. in January, pushing the unemployment rate to 7.6 the highest level in more than 16 years. According to the Washington Post, making it the largest one-month job loss since December 1974. The U6, a broader measure of unemployment, is up to 13.9% unemployed.
Four at Four continues with Obama’s continues Bush’s faith based policies, A.Q. Khan is released from house arrest, Cole bombing trial at Guantánamo is halted, and algae hope for coral reefs.
Feb 06 2009
California’s Courage Campaign, which describes itself as the online organizing hub for nearly 400,000 progressive Californians, has produced this video, asking viewers to sign a petition to the State Supreme Court asking that 18,000 same sex marriages already performed in California be allowed to stand, and that Proposition 8, banning gay marriage, be overturned.
In the other corner: Kenneth Starr. It’s a powerful video that speaks for itself, so I will stop typing:
Feb 06 2009
…last Friday ON WWL Radio, he was awesome. He starts at about the halfway point.
I’m still working out technical difficulties, so the show isn’t all that “polished” yet. (My audio files went berserk on me…)
But you can always join us tonight for our next show, too.
Linky goodness below!
Feb 06 2009
Damn he is good! I particularly like the part about cable chatter! And this “Doh!” moment was priceless…
“So then you get the argument, well, this is not a stimulus bill, this is a spending bill. What do you think a stimulus is? That’s the whole point. No, seriously. That’s the point.”
If only the Congressional Dems could emulate him and be actually effective in fighting the Republibans. As the insurgents Republibans use their guerrilla ambush and delay tactics, every hour of delay equals more jobs lost, and our economy getting sucked down a spiral of unemployment…leading to less consumer spending…leading to more job losses…
600,000 jobs gone in one month. And the states are already running out of unemployment benefit funds.
Feb 06 2009
“The evil of bigotry gives way to the power of redemption!”
Man Asks Entire Town for Forgiveness for Racism
2.06.09: 48 Years Ago, He Attacked Future Rep. John Lewis; Now the Two Hug
Elwin Wilson and John Lewis
Nearly half a century ago, in a very different America, Elwin Wilson and John Lewis met under a veil of violence and race-inspired hate. The men had not seen each other again until Tuesday when, with “Good Morning America’s” help, Wilson approached Lewis again — this time offering an apology and a chance to relieve a burden he’d carried for more than four decades.
Feb 06 2009
HELP YOURSELF!!!
This nifty Tool Kit was sent out today in an e-mail, both by David Swanson, and After Downing Street. Grab it — use it!!
Aw, the mounting pressure — love it, love it!
Feb 06 2009
The other day, the Environmental Defense Action Fund opened voting for ‘the people’s choice’ as to the best 30-second video to explain how a Cap & Trade program to control carbon dioxide would help cut the nation’s dependence on oil. Putting aside questions as to Environmental Defense’s devotion to a CAP uber all, the best video seemed clear: The Thinking Cap. This choice seemed clear, evidently, to many as this video was the runaway victor for EDAF’s $1000 “People’s Choice” award. (The Climate Activists’ Choice Award.) But the experts, the experts had a different perspective. They went with the foul-language oriented Cursing Cap.
Feb 06 2009
I wanted to take a couple of minutes to share an op-ed that I co-aurthored with my friend Howard Salter.
It ran in the Baltimore Sun today (link here) and suggests that the Obama administration use the pending ICC arrest warrant of Omar al-Bashir to push for international action to end the killing in Darfur.
We note that:
The expected warrant also opens a door for Mr. Obama and his talented foreign policy team. They can leverage the arrest warrant to work with influential partners across the globe to stop the killing and solidify a concrete peace agreement. By doing so, Mr. Obama would address a serious human rights crisis at the dawn of his presidency while also sending a clear signal that the U.S. is ready to once again lead by example.
and remind readers of the failure of the last administration: