By Deep Harm crossposted with permission from Daily Kos.

One of President Bush's counter-terrorism programs, ironically named "Rewards for Justice," is unraveling, but the mainstream media are 'reporting' it like stenographers.

The festering scandal began with a secret January 24 State Department ceremony, where a witness in the Zacarias Moussaoui case was awarded $5 million for...well, we're not exactly sure what, yet; but, it must have been quite a performance. According to a retired immigration official interviewed by McClatchy Newspapers, the reward was "obscene." None of the MSM seem aware that, on the same day, the nonprofit organization abruptly closed its doors, allegedly because its mission - helping to track down terrorists - was completed. And, none have pointed out the unsavory history of U.S. government 'rewards' to witnesses, a practice that sometimes helps terrorists roam free.

Is it me, or does that elephant have a wide stance?

Meet Max and Maxine, the newest members of the Republican National Committee.

Read the whole laugh-riot promotional email from the RNC huckster chairman himself on the flip.

Especially toward the end of the week GAO issued a number of important studies. Here are my picks for studies of high public interest and importance.

By Deep Harm crossposted with permission from Daily Kos

The trial of terrorism suspect Zaccharias Moussaoui, the alleged "20th hijacker," was marred by administration misconduct, briefly coming to a halt after a prosecution attorney was accused of witness tampering. More recently, the CIA admitted destroying evidence requested by Moussaoui's attorneys

Colorado PBS public affairs show host, Aaron Harber, is generously offering Colorado Confidential readers the opportunity to submit questions to be posed to Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker.

Honestly! Is the best way to deal with a recession to give those who are relatively well off among us money so we can go shopping?

OK, so let's assume that the reason Terry Etherton hasn't listed those 3000 studies he claims exist and show rBST is safe is that he is just so darned busy conducting scientific studies. So if he is too busy to justify his claim about those 3000 studies showing rBST is safe, how about Monsanto? Posilac is its product after all. It has the most to gain or lose in this debate. Surely, it has all the latest studies up on its website. Maybe there we can wade through and be dazzled by the well conceived, well executed studies that demonstrate that rBST is safe. Or at least that it is not unsafe.

At least two times, in public, Terry Etherton has claimed that there have been 3000 studies showing rBST is safe. Now, that is a heck of a lot of studies, and you would think this would be enough to put the matter at rest. So why is there still doubt?

The Colorado state legislature re-convened for its annual 120-day session on January 9 and without missing a beat, toll road bills are once again front and center.

As Unbossed has documented since 2005, the threat of privatization of public roadways is one of the great political equalizers — energizing average Americans across partisan, class, race/ethnic and economic boundaries.

The 35-year battle to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade decision is once again firmly planted in women's wombs. This time, instead of directing their wrath at women's clinics, abortion foes are targeting a much different constituency -- fertilized eggs.

I mentioned Paul Light in Part 1. Let me add some of his ideas on the subject.

I assume that the Democrats will take the White House and gain seats in Congress. But then the hard work begins. There can be no excuses, especially if there are majorities in both houses. With a Democratic president there should not even need to be a veto-proof majority. Just a simple majority with a couple extra for a safety margin. But it will not be smooth sailing.

Into death and disease? Pandemic preparations? Me too. Here's a mini-round up of writing relevant to that issue.

Today we got good news. The Monsanto astroturf scheme to take away the rights of the citizens of Pennsylvania to know how their milk was produced lost . . . mostly. The Department of Agriculture issued a notice removing the gag rule, but with lots of caveats.

But more important than the milk labeling is what this this battle says about democracy and how fragile it is.

Terry Etherton participated in a discussion of Pennsylvania's milk labeling on WHYY, Tuesday's Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane. If you listen to the show (here via real player) you will hear him make certain claims over and over - when he wasn't shouting to try to keep the other guest, Consumer's Union Michael Hansen, from making important points about the weakness of Etherton's claims. You could almost gauge just how much Etherton's ox was gored by the level of his yelling.

Etherton was right on message with the behind-the-scenes propaganda campaign to make the world safe for Posilac a/k/a rBST. Wanna see what I mean?

On WHYY, Tuesday's Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane Hour Two was on the subject of milk labeling. Here is the show's description and a link to the streaming show.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture recently ruled that dairies that do not inject their cattle with synthetic growth hormone can no longer label their milk as hormone-free. The decision, which has been put on hold until the beginning of February, raises serious questions for consumers, dairy farmers, and retailers. We talk to TERRY ETHERTON of Penn State University and MICHAEL HANSEN of Consumer’s Union. Listen to this show via Real Audio.

According to the free marketers out there, everyone benefits from at-will employment - the dominant and default form of employment in the US - and employers and employees prefer it. Under at-will employment, you can be fired for a bad reason or no reason. You can also be fired for a good reason, but that would also apply if you had just cause employment. But is this assumption true?

crossposted with permission from: by OrangeClouds115

In New Jersey, a flurry of emails from citizens defeated the all-powerful Monsanto. We need a big push of emails to do the same in Pennsylvania. If Monsanto gets their way in one state, that will help embolden them to come after YOUR state.

The particular Monsanto goal we're fighting: banning "hormone-free" and "rBGH-free" labels in Pennsylvania (and ultimately other states too). We need your help even if you don't live in PA.

Suddenly, it's all over the place - Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio - at almost the same time and using similar tactics - planning to ban milk labels that tell the public whether the milk we buy was produced using Monsanto's Posilac - that is, whether it was produced with recombinant bovine somatatrophin or recombinant bovine growth hormone - rBST / rBGH. An amazing coincidence?

Among the websites worth dipping into from time to time to check what's new is Open CRS.

The newest addition is on same-sex marriage and benefits.

Please voice your concerns to Gov. Rendell. Time is running out. You can find the contact information here. Your emails and calls at this time are critically important. Don't delay.

How was it that Pennsylvania came to ban references to rBST on milk labels?

First, here's how the story goes, according to Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff.

In a report issued today, GAO concludes that states are using highway contractors to such a large extent that states are losing control over highway projects and also losing the expertise to exercise oversight to ensure that contractors are accountable and perform as required.

Not my title. That's the title of a new GAO report released yesterday afternoon on information security problems at the IRS. The bottom line:

IRS has made limited progress toward correcting previously reported information security weaknesses. It has corrected or mitigated 29 of the 98 information security weaknesses that we reported as unresolved at the time of our last review.

So they're batting about .300. Ok for the Majors, but not for our private information.

A Columbia University webpage provides disturbing statistics about access to legal education. The link is here. It's worth a visit if you care about equality of opportunity and equality in education. 'nuff said.

Ronald Reagan set the nation on a new course in 1980 with his simple question, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" We now have a quarter century of experience and data that allows us to judge whether to stay the course or change direction.

Unbossed reviews David Cay Johnston's new book Free Lunch: How the wealthiest Americans enrich themselves at government expense (and stick you with the bill) later this week.

So, in the meantime, what's your answer to Reagan's infamous query?

On January 4, 2008, made what has to be a most embarrassing announcement for the appointee.

The Tax Policy Center, a Brookings-Urban Institute think tank, is proposing an interesting way to fund Social Security.

For over a year, while the economic pundits have been using the mantrum: "The economic fundamentals are all good." I wondered whether we lived in the same economy or even space-time continuum. The adulation given to Greenspan and his book - the air time given to this man who constantly lies about his actions and their significance is just part of that picture. This, even though he admitted that he purposely spoke gibberish to congress, an action that is hugely irresponsible, given his position. He has yet to admit that he spoke and speaks gibberish even when he doesn't intend to.

Words such as infuriating, embarrassing, and appalling.

In a pair of interviews with foreign journalists during the 10 o'clock hour on Friday (h/t WIIIAI), George Bush showed once again why we cannot permit another such dope to occupy the White House. First he spoke to Israeli reporters:

Q Mr. President, you just mentioned Iraq. Can you clarify to us whether there was any Israeli involvement in your decision to invade Iraq?

THE PRESIDENT: No, not at all. None whatsoever. My decision was based upon U.S. intelligence, based upon the desire to provide security for our peoples and others. It was based upon my willingness to work with the international community on this issue. Remember, if you look back at the history, there was a unanimous vote in the Security Council: disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences. And when he defied, when he refused to allow the inspectors in, when he made a statement by his actions that he didn't really care what the international community said, that I decided to make sure words meant something.

The words "refuse" and "in", however, have no meaning for Bush.

I hate to admit this very fear crossed my mind as well last night while watching television coverage of Barack Obama's victory speech in Des Moines.

From Group News Blog:

But I want you to understand what that nervousness and yes, I'll say it—fear was about as Barack Obama thanked his supporters and urged them onward. I don't know if you'll ever really understand it and why it comes so quickly to the fore for Black folks. I guess, you need only to look at not distant, but recent American history and how deadly cruel it has been to Black people on the cusp of busting a door wide open. In my lifetime, Malcolm X was cut down. Medgar Evers was blown away. Martin Luther King's flame was sniper's bullet snuffed. Never mind all the back-room, black-bag shit the U.S. government ran on folks who stood tough locally like Chicago's Fred Hampton and others.

We have developed an unfortunate Pavlovian response to the repeated sight of our best and brightest being blown away like so many dandelion bits in the wind.

An excellent post to ponder — just how much progress have we made in race relations?

Meteor Blades has a rich, informative piece on the pathsetting of black presidential candidates with special tribute to Rep. Shirley Chisholm -- the inspiration for this blog -- and her remarkable 1972 campaign.

A highly recommended read by the erudite, Mr. Blades.

If you live in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or Ohio, you probably know about the milk labeling battle. There are a lot of issues that come to a head here. One is whether the public has a right to information we want so we can make choices about the milk we buy. Other issues involve questions about the safety of our food, the democratic process and its subversion by astroturf organizations. We've discussed these issues and will return to them. But let's take a look at how the press is reporting on these important issues.

Since November, unbossed has been following the milk labeling controversy and uncovering the politics behind this story. But that period has included the holidays and has played out over many weeks. This post is intended to give you an update. A new post will discuss more on how this story has played out in the media.

FedEx drivers have been fighting to be classified correctly as employees rather than incorrectly as independent contractors. It’s a fight that has gone on for nearly a decade. And it’s a fight that has been turning in their favor since last August. And now there is more good news. The IRS is weighing in on the side of the FedEx drivers to the tune of billions of dollars. That’s a lot of zeros for a group of workers whose employer treated them like nothings.

Feeling reflective today on this first day of 2008. Which takes me back to where we are as a country, as a people. A couple diaries by elishastephens at Daily Kos brought my focus to war and its toll. Which then brought me to . . .

We wish you the best of everything in the New Year!