"They lay there, clinging to one another and trying to shield the more vulnerable parts of their bodies from the blows of the nightsticks, while the police hauled them apart and dragged them bodily into waiting patrol wagons." - NY Times, March 31, 1948
Every once in a while an underdog defeats a Titan.This isn't one of those times.
It isn't the victory of an underdog that inspires us so much as is the incredible courage is takes to even challenge the overwhelming champion.
Ultra-conservative Christian talk radio hosts are taking a new approach to getting their message out — ambushing right-wing pundit Ann Coulter over her support for 2008 GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who absolutist antiabortion activists accuse of being "willing to sacrifice children for your vote."
The Denver-based American Right to Life Action is leading the charge with a YouTube video excerpting Coulter's on-air radio freak outs and calling on the acid-tongued author to apologize and retract her support for Romney.
I hear it all over these days: Future Generations Will Pay for [fill in the blank]. We have a stark political breakdown on what load will be transferred to future generations. What does this mean for us?
Traditionally, medical research has been done at academic institutions with high levels of scrutiny and control over the entire process. Key to the system has been the Institutional Review Board (IRB) which has ensured that all aspects of the human subject testing process give participants notice of dangers and are performed in a way to minimize psychological and physical dangers where they cannot
be eliminated.
In recent years, however, private IRBs have come into existence. If you participate in studies in the future, perhaps you would like to know how they operate.
A guest commentary by Janet Brazill posted with permission
Reaction of the world community proves that the antiquated views of medieval potentates have no relevance for modern society. Pope Benedict XVI stated that the use of condoms would risk “aggravating” the problem of AIDS. He added that addressing the disease will require a "spiritual and human awakening" and "friendship for those who suffer."
You may recall that the basic reporter questions are who, what, where, when, and why. They also seem to apply elsewhere. Or not. When the DOD hires private contractors, it seems to make no effort to answer these basic questions.
Ever suspect that the Bush administration wasn't exactly on the side of workers? Ever suspect that DOL Secretary Chao was in the employers' pocket but have no strong proof?
Well, look no farther than a new report out yesterday from the GAO. When it comes to enforcing wage and hour laws, the DOL was definitely choosing the employer's pocket - or at least pocketbook - over the worker's. Indeed, under Chao, the DOL seems to have become a wholly owned subsidiary of the US Chamber of Commerce.
Everyone agrees: The populist fires are burning. But what's next? Bob Borosage, co-director of the Campaign for America's Future, thinks our historic moment could push Obama farther to the left. But only if the forces of the left start pushing.
On March 26, 2009, the Office of Information Policy (OIP), Department of Justice, will host a governmentwide training conference to discuss President Obama’s and Attorney General Holder’s Memoranda which establish a new era of open government.
...
No pre-registration is required. However, you must present your Government ID to attend the training.
On June 24, 1982, four bank examiners from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City walked into the rear of a small shopping mall in Oklahoma City.
This unlikely location marks the start of a series of events that have brought us to the brink of a global economic collapse and a second Great Depression.
The mantrum of the last few weeks is that Obama must focus only on the budget and, either explicitly, or implicitly drop a focus on climate change, energy independence, green jobs, just to name a few. The idea repeated through the right wing echo chamber is apparently that it is possible to do only one thing at once, that only once the most pressing thing on the list is completed is it possible to move to item number 2. And then 3. And then 4. . . .
A federal judge has temporarily blocked implementation of a controversial 11th-hour Bush administration rule that would allow people to carry loaded, concealed guns in national parks, wildlife refuges and historical centers, according to the Washington Post.
The fact that this announcement came out just one day after the Federal Reserve committed itself to printing money by the trillions, is not a coincidence.
(Reuters) - A U.N. panel will next week recommend that the world ditch the dollar as its reserve currency in favor of a shared basket of currencies, a member of the panel said on Wednesday, adding to pressure on the dollar.
GAO knows. In a report released today, GAO reviews the quality of the methods used by financial regulators and the actions taken when problems were found. It. is. not. a. pretty. picture.
The question of who is to blame for the AIG bonuses and its general performance is much in the news. We have an almost Watergatian inquiry: What did they know and when did they know it?
GAO has produced an overview of events, including a timeline, that should be helpful in understanding these complex issues.
The GAO has issued many studies on information security. This time it was the SEC in the spotlight. The public report does not include all the information. Some has been held back for limited distribution. Here, though, are the findings.
A new study by CUPE, a public sector union in Canada, finds that current approaches to fighting hospital and healthcare acquired infections are ineffective.
Is it, though? The mantrum you hear every where these days is: To get good workers and good work an employer must be able to fire workers. That means just-cause employment, tenure, and union grievance procedures are on the firing line, because, they, well, stand in the way of the “firing” line.
NPR reporter Claudio Sanchez can barely report a story that advocates this position. For example, on March 18, his story starts with:
This past week saw a flood of important reports from GAO. I'm going to post a selection of what I consider the most significant with the GAO summaries. Here is number 2. Just how great are those new secure passports?
This past week saw a flood of important reports from GAO. I'm going to post a selection of what I consider the most significant with the GAO summaries.
First, a 111 page report on another Bush-era failure - on Bush's main claim - keeping us safe. What can keep us safer than poorly tested weapons?
Air Force ROTC cadet Mara Boyd pledged to uphold the principles of integrity, service before self, and excellence. But trying to adhere to those values not only unraveled a promising military career, it saddled Boyd with more than $30,000 in debt.
Boyd's saga began in 2001, eight years after President Clinton signed into law the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which bans openly gay, lesbian and bisexual people from serving in the U.S. military.
Poverty, unemployment, depression are all on our minds these days. It is almost a breath of fresh air to return to the good ol’ days of 2007 when poverty was off our national radar screen. Of course, that didn’t mean it wasn’t there. It was. In 2007, 37.3 million people, or 12.5 % of Americans, lived at or below the official poverty level. And, believe it or not, many of those people were able to be poor while also working. In fact, 7.5 million of us were in the ranks of the working poor.
Among unbossed's focuses - or even, obsessions - as been privatization. You can find links to prior posts on this issue here.
It is a matter of great relief to see that we now have a president who does not have, as his first priority, selling off the country’s China on the cheap. There have been a number of executive orders and other strong statements from the Obama administration on this issue, laying the groundwork for comprehensive reform related to privatization and contracting out.
Last April the Bush Administration changed the rules so that the Federal Home Loan Banks could take a more active part in propping up the housing bubble.
The looming financial difficulties have not prevented the Bush administration from expanding the F.H.A.’s role to help ease the nation’s foreclosure crisis. Since September, more than 150,000 homeowners have refinanced through F.H.A. and officials hope that the number will increase to 400,000 by the end of the year.
Many in the Republican "base" found John McCain an outrage, his policy views and perspectives abhorrent, not least of which that he deigns to consider reality in stating that Global Warming is a serious issue meriting attention (even if his policy prescriptions aren't enough).
For years, people have asked why it is that employers are not required to post information about rights to organize unions in the workplace. Employers are required to post information about wages, toxic materials in the workplace, and other rights.
The omission of the most fundamental right of workers, under the National Labor Relations Act, the rights that are the source of power that has led to - and maintains the existence of - these other rights is glaring. It is a fundamental admission that at the core this country is anti-union. It is a statement that we think employers' domains should be free of any incursion by unions. It is evidence that we as a people have not accepted the right of workers to organize.
GAO issued two reports today related to highways. The first tells us just how close our highways have come to being out of money. In fact, according to the report, at some brief periods over the past few months, the cupboard was indeed bare.
The second report deals with issues of the security of our basic infrastructure.
To follow up on the prior two parts of this series on the status of our health system and terms of the debate, here are additional voices and links to studies and information related to healthcare in the US. Let's start with the March 5, 2009 press briefing by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
The health share of GDP is anticipated to rise rapidly from 16.2 percent in 2007 to 17.6 percent in 2009, largely as a result of the recession, and then climb to 20.3 percent by 2018. Public payers are expected to become the largest source of funding for health care in 2016 and are projected to pay for more than half of all national health spending in 2018.
We know just how important an issue this is. Whitehouse healthcare reform now now has its own url. http://www.healthreform.gov/
There are continuing efforts to provide equity for same-sex couples. The Human Rights Campaign website includes information on a number of those initiatives on its website.
Apparently, the same goes for hearing the clink of bad money.
You know the phrase "Bad money drives out good money” - a/k/a Gresham's Law. Take a google twirl around the world press, and you will see it's all the rage these days. You see it popping up everywhere.
The situation at the mortgage giants of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to get worse. The news yesterday is that Fannie Mae lost another $25.2 Billion last quarter and has requested another $15.2 Billion bailout just to stay afloat.
“We expect the market conditions that contributed to our net loss for each quarter of 2008 to continue and possibly worsen in 2009, which is likely to cause further reductions in our net worth,” Fannie Mae said in a statement.
The other player here, Freddie Mac, is watching defaults on its mortgage debts accelerate to record highs. Freddie will need another bailout as well.
This all sounds very tragic, not to mention costly for the taxpayer, but would it surprise you to learn that this was no accident? It was designed by the Bush Administration.
Among GAO's greatest hits this past week is a basic report on how poorly government contracting can be done. That's not quite the title or the intent, but it's certainly the theme. The report and a second report with testimony show how poorly the Government Services Agency (GSA) - and its Excluded Parties List System is working at its most basic function - excluding parties who have defrauded the goverment in the past financially or by providing defective products or by breaking laws. The reasons for the failure to do this basic job are many, and examples from the reports are included below.
An unclassified "For Official Use Only" document attributed to the The Department of Homeland Security alleges that peaceful mainstream conservatiion groups (and Greens) provide cover for "ecoterrorists." The May 7, 2008 document, posted on Wikileaks, defines ecoterrorists as "those individuals who independently and/or in concert with others engage in acts of violence and employ tactics commonly associated with terrorism to further their sociolpolitical agenda aimed at animal and/or environmetal protection."
Unbossed was founded in 1897 by poor, but honest, immigrants. It flourished during the turn of the century -- marching with the suffragists and helping organize labor unions -- only to wither during the Great Depression.
