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LOUISVILLE /JEFFERSON COUNTY

DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEWSLETTER

Week of November 4, 2007

The link to this electronic newsletter is being e-mailed to 4,000+

Jefferson County Democrats 

We hope you will forward the link to your own e-mail list.

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CLICK HERE FOR CURRENT LIST OF EVENTS

Updated on a regular basis

The Louisville/Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee meets the 4th Wednesday of every month at 5:00 pm at Democratic Headquarters,           

640 Barret Avenue .

 

Notice to our Readers &  2007 General Election Candidates:

This newsletter will carry in this space any Democratic candidates' notice of events or communications (250 words or less) to our readers that the candidate provides to the editor at rcrider@louisvilledem.com

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Vote. To find your polling location, click here, or call the Kentucky State Board of Elections office at

502-573-7100.
 

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Bad News for Kentucky Gov. Is Good News for Working Families

It’s still dark when union volunteers are at plant gates, greeting Kentucky union members with info on the state’s upcoming key elections.

Rachele Huennekens, AFL-CIO Media Outreach fellow, is blogging and leafleting her way through the eighth day of a 10-day bus tour through Kentucky, where former Lt. Gov. Steve Beshear (D) is challenging Gov. Ernie Fletcher (R), who has canceled bargaining rights for state employees and taken other anti-worker stands. Dozens of local labor leaders and union volunteers are taking part in the Bluegrass Express tour, which over the weekend made stops at many diverse worksites.   

On Friday, Kentucky State AFL-CIO President Bill Londrigan, AFL-CIO field representative Don Slaiman, Labor 2007 zone coordinator Eddie Bowling and I were joined by United Steelworkers (USW) Local 14300 President Ben Suttles and USW Vice President Gary Smith. Together, we distributed leaflets at the Jackson/MSC steel plant in Barbourville in southeastern Kentucky. Next, we visited the nearby Seal Technologies plant and then made our way to Lexington, where we distributed leaflets to Brenda Lynn, SEIU Local 541 vice president, to pass on to members of her local union who are employed at the famous Keeneland horse race track.

On Sunday and Monday mornings, the bus moved to Ashland in northeastern Kentucky, where we made three stops: at the huge AK Steel Plant, with members of USW Local 1865, at a Cingular call center, joining members of Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 3371, and at the Raceland rail yard, with members of the United Transportation Union (UTU). 

Everywhere we went, we could feel the excitement among union members. Nearly everyone had heard about the election and many people had strong feelings about the candidates and were concerned about working family issues such as affordable health care, the freedom to form a union and good jobs. 

This positive response was no different from the past seven days of the tour. So far, at some of the most diverse worksites possible, the Bluegrass Express has been very successful in stimulating discussion and interest about politics among union members. 

Slaiman highlighted the reasons we all are taking part in the Bluegrass Express tour.

Regardless of it being a behemoth power plant, a tobacco factory, a steel plant, a call center, a race track, or a construction site, there’s always a conversation going on [among co-workers] that we need to be part of. That’s why it’s important to engage our members in various settings.

Adds Londrigan:

When we distribute leaflets outside a given workplace, the conversation and “buzz” about politics and the upcoming elections builds inside. With a leaflet in hand, union members are motivated to talk to their co-workers and family members. 

That’s bad news for Gov. Fletcher and his greedy corporate cronies, but even worse for them: There’s no way they can stop the growing excitement and political engagement the Bluegrass Express has generated across the state.

On Nov. 6, Kentucky’s working families are going to flex their political muscle like never before, and I can hardly wait! 

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Rally in Okolona

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Congressman Yarmuth Announces $3,823,600 for Catholic Charities

HUD funding will go toward affordable housing for seniors

Congressman John Yarmuth (KY-3) announced that Catholic Charities of Louisville will receive $3,823,600 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program, which provides capital advances to build or renovate rental housing for low-income elderly persons and rental subsidies. 

The funding, which Congressman Yarmuth requested from HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson in May, will go toward conversion of the former St. Denis Catholic School into 34 one-bedroom affordable housing units for seniors. 

“I’m extremely thankful for Congressman Yarmuth’s support and advocacy for the St. Denis Project,” said Steve Bogus, Executive Director of Catholic Charities.  “This will be a tremendous boost toward completing a project that will enhance the neighborhood community and preserve a traditional aspect of it, while providing help and creating hope for residents.”

“Ensuring that our seniors have a safe, affordable home for their golden years could not be more important,” Yarmuth said.  “In Louisville, we’re fortunate that Catholic Charities is working to fulfill these needs, and I’m happy that I was able to lend a helping hand to this effort.”

In addition, the renovation of the St. Denis building will include several modifications to enhance the access and safety for its senior residents.  New installations include a sprinkler system and elevator, and each unit will be equipped with a communication system and remote entrance control connected to the front entrance. 

“This funding allows for the opportunity to form additional community partnerships to complete the project,” Bogus added.  “Another exciting aspect is that we will not only preserve, but adaptively reuse a prominent neighborhood site.” 

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ADMINISTRATION -- BUSH MAY RECESS-APPOINT HOMOPHOBIC SURGEON GENERAL NOMINEE: President Bush's Surgeon General nominee James Holsinger (Kentucky Native) appeared before the Senate health committee on July 12, forced to defend his controversial positions on homosexuality. Yet three months later, Holsinger has still not responded to a follow-up questionnaire the committee sent, raising the possibility that "Holsinger will either have to wait until next year for a confirmation vote or get the job through a 'recess appointment' by Bush." Bush has been more than willing to use this executive power to avoid or delay battles over divisive nominees such as former U.N. ambassador John Bolton and Swift Boat-funder Sam Fox. In June, the Washington Post reported that Bush had filled 105 full-time positions with recess appointments, compared to just 42 such appointments under President Clinton at the same point in his presidency. Holsinger has come under intense criticism for founding a church that "ministers to people who no longer wish to be gay or lesbian" and opposing "a decision to allow a practicing lesbian to be an associate pastor" in the United Methodist Church. In 1991, he also authored a graphic document arguing that gay sex is "intuitively" unnatural and can lead to "lacerations, perforations and deaths." 

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MAKING “THE LIST”, Posted by Jim Hightower

Time for another peek [lifestyle theme] into the “Lifestyles of the Rich… and Cranky.”

Those of us in the riff-raff class rarely realize how hard life is for the rich. I don’t mean the merely rich, but the richy-rich – the billionaire class. Yes, if you’re one of them, you’ve got half a dozen luxurious houses around the world, servants galore, private jets and helicopters, your own chef, and… well, anything you want. But what if you don’t “make it?”

The “it” is the list, the annual Forbes magazine list of the 400 richest Americans. This is the ultimate social register, the measure of whether your wealth is really “wow”… or just common. Well, this year’s list has come out, and even being a billionaire no longer assures you of making the cut. In fact, being at the very bottom of the list, the 400th richest American, now requires $1.3 billion in wealth. This means that 82 certified American billionaires failed to qualify. How embarrassing is that? You can practically feel their pain, can’t you?

Part of the problem for run-of-the-mill billionaires is that a horde of Wall Street speculators have recently zoomed to a level of über-wealth, thanks to the unregulated schemes of hedge-fund managers and private equity executives. Of the 45 newcomers to this year’s Forbes list, half made their bundles in such schemes. With these operators pocketing billions of bucks, such regulars as the honcho of Starbucks and an heiress to the Campbell Soup fortune were bumped right off the Forbes list. See… it’s a cruel world.

Interestingly, these high-flying Wall Streeters have been lobbying furiously in Washington to stave off any regulation of their financial flim-flammery and, especially, to forestall efforts to tax their pots of gold. After all, if they are regulated and taxed, even at the low level of other billionaires… they are not likely to make next year’s list.

“Now, being a billionaire not enough to make Forbes list,” Boston Globe, September 21, 2007

“The Forbes 400,” www.forbes.com , September 20, 2007

“The Forbes One Billion,” www.forbes.com, October 8, 2007

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Unsafe Toys: Report Says Conservative Trade, Regulatory Policies at Fault, by James Parks

When children go trick-or-treating for Halloween tonight, parents want to make sure they are safe. But how can we be sure? Just last week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled imported Halloween pails children might use for their treats because they contained high amounts of lead.

In the past two months alone, more than 13 million toys have been recalled after tests indicated lead levels that sometimes reached nearly 200 times the federal safety limit.

How did it get this bad? Today, the Institute for America’s Future released a eye-opening report, Toxic Trade: Globalization and the Safety of the American Consumer, pinpointing the problem. The report shows how the double mantra of free trade at all costs and little or no regulation at home have combined to make the products we buy toxic and unsafe.

Even as corporations are sending U.S. manufacturing jobs to countries with terrible safety records, the Bush administration is deliberately undermining the CPSC, which is charged with protecting us from dangerous products.

Millions of U.S. manufacturing jobs have been lost to globalization, especially to China, where a lack of workers’ rights and safety and environmental standards is well documented. According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), the growing U.S. trade deficit with China has cost 2.1 million U.S. jobs between 1997 and 2006.

With more and more of the products sold in our stores being imported from countries that have lax safety and environmental standards, the report’s authors say:

When it comes to imported products, Americans are basically on their own. 

But we can act now to help make products, especially toys safer. Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) have introduced the Safety Assurance for Every (SAFE) Consumer Product Act, which would require children’s products to undergo independent testing and strengthen the CPSC’s enforcement authority. The bill has quickly attracted more than 100 co-sponsors. Click here to urge your lawmaker to become a co-sponsor.

At the same time as we import unsafe products, the agency that is charged with protecting us from toxic toys and clothes is being starved of money and resources. The CPSC has half the staff it had in the 1980s. It has only one full-time employee to test toys. Only 15 inspectors are assigned to police all imports of consumer products under the agency’s supervision, a marketplace that last year was valued at $614 billion.

Yet, amazingly, The New York Times reports today that Nancy Nord, acting chairwoman of the CPSC, has asked Congress not to give the agency more money, more staff or more authority to protect American consumers from bad and unhealthy products.

If you check out BushWatch on the AFL-CIO website, you’ll see that Nord, a former official of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, sent two letters to Capitol Hill asking lawmakers to reject measures that would strengthen the agency. Her reasoning? She opposes provision in the bills that would increase penalties against companies for safety violations, make it easier for the government to let the public know about faulty products, protect industry whistleblowers and prosecute executives of companies that knowingly violate the law.

Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), who chairs the consumer safety subcommittee, told The New York Times:

It’s hard for me to know if it’s just ideological or she is just expressing the wishes of the administration. Either way, it comes to the same conclusion, and that is that they say they want more resources, but they are very reluctant to accept those resources.

Unions are taking action to address these critical failures and gaps. Last month, the United Steelworkers (USW) launched a major campaign, “ Protect Our Kids—Stop Toxic Imports,” in which the union will distribute thousands of Get the Lead Out Screening kits and spearhead a series of “Safe Home Sessions,” so families can learn more about protecting themselves and their loved ones.

At the same time, these programs help working families fight the failed trade policies and inadequate regulatory protections that allow dangerous products to threaten families and jobs.

But the bottom line is that conservative policies have failed the American people and made the products we use less safe. As Robert Borosage, co-director of the Institute for America’s Future, says:

We should never have to worry about our children’s enjoyment of Halloween or the winter holidays. But that’s what the failure of conservatism has done to us. It’s time to close the book on conservatism and clean up the mess they’ve left.

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We are only a handful of days away from one of the most important elections in Kentucky history.  Democrats are on the verge of retaking the Governor's mansion and several crucial "down ballot" races.  With your vote and then your help, Democratic Election parties Tuesday night are going to be one heck of a celebration. Pledge your vote for KY Democrats! www.yda.org/kypledge No matter what you hear, this election is not over.  Getting as many young people to the polls on Tuesday as possible will help Democrats win all over the Commonwealth. This election is our chance to not only prove the conventional wisdom wrong that Kentucky youth don't vote - but by voting and getting our friends, classmates, and colleagues to the polls - we can create real change in Kentucky that will last well beyond this year and this election. So, as soon as you recover from last night's Halloween celebrations, pledge your vote to Kentucky Democrats.  When you are done pledging, get all your friends to do the same. Together, we can make a huge impact this Election Day. Pledge your vote for KY Democrats! www.yda.org/kypledge Don't forget, while Halloween 2007 has come and gone - now is when the real fright fest  begins.  A desperate Kentucky Republican Party is pulling out all the stops in a last ditch effort to win, and they know if young voters stay home on election day, it gives them a better chance of winning. Republicans have failed us, our families, and our friends too many times. Let's prove our generation's political power by doing what they don't want us to do and voting for change this Tuesday. Take the pledge! www.yda.org/kypledge Tony Cani YDA Political Director tcani@yda.org PS. If you want a bunch of youth specific campaign literature with pledge cards to give to your friends, coworkers, or classmates - send an email to tcani@yda.org and I will get some to you right away!

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DAILY GRILL       

“We will not be a safer country, we will not be a safer America if the whole world watches us being defeated by a bunch of kids with improvised explosive devices." -- Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN), 10/25/07, on the Iraqi insurgency

VERSUS

"Groups are well organized, produce regular publications, react rapidly to political developments and appear surprisingly centralized." -- International Crisis Group, 2/16/06, in a report on the Iraqi insurgency

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“He's not the type to dis the press." -- Former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, 10/28/07, on President Bush

VERSUS

"Bush has three enemies: foreign adversaries, the Democrat Congress and the mainstream media." -- Washington Examiner's Bill Sammon, in his new biography of Bush

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Quotes of the Day

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Recent Senate Votes 

Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations Act, FY2008 - Vote Passed (75-19, 6 Not Voting)

The Senate voted in favor of this $605.5 billion bill funding the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education for the 2008 fiscal year.

Sen. Mitch McConnell voted YES

Sen. Jim Bunning voted NO

 

Nomination of Leslie Southwick to be U.S. Circuit Judge - Vote Confirmed (59-38, 3 Not Voting)

The Senate confirmed Mississippi Appeals Court Judge Leslie Southwick to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.

Sen. Mitch McConnell voted YES

Sen. Jim Bunning voted YES

 

Recent House Votes 

 

Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act - Vote Passed (261-153, 18 Not Voting)

The House passed this bill that would allow Native Hawaiians to form an Interim Governing Council which would have the power to negotiate with the federal government.

Rep. Ron Lewis voted NO

Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES

 

Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act - Vote Passed (265-142, 26 Not Voting)

A new bill to reauthorize and expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program was passed by the House, a week after the chamber failed to override President Bush’s veto of the previous version of the bill.

Rep. Ron Lewis voted NO

Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES

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HUMOR    

"Candidates out there campaigning very hard. Everyone's trying a different angle right now to get the lead. Presidential candidate John McCain has been taking his 95-year-old mother along with him on his campaign bus. None of the other candidates are traveling with their mothers, but Bill Clinton is traveling with several MILFs." --Conan O'Brien

"Good news for the terrorists: Undercover agents posing as passengers were able to get simulated bombs through the screening process here at LAX 75% of the time ... but not one drop of shampoo." --Bill Maher

"The Turkish Parliament has voted to approve the idea of invading Iraq. President Bush was furious. He said, 'What kind of country takes a vote before it invades Iraq?'" --Bill Maher

"He met the Dalai Lama this week. I'm not sure that he really understands what being a Lama means, because all of his questions were about what it's like to live in Michael Jackson's zoo." --Bill Maher

"How many arch conservatives are here tonight? Sam Brownback has quit the race for president. His supporter is devastated. ... Brownback said he couldn't raise enough money, he couldn't get enough support, and he got tired of carrying around that fetus in a jar. ... He said he knew he made the right decision to get out of the race when he sat down to tell his wife and she said, 'You're running for president?'" --Bill Maher

"Two of the defendants in the Jena 6 case ... were guests last night at the BET Hip Hop awards. Wow, that's pretty good for teenage kids, right? They said if they had known they'd be getting this much attention, they would have beat the crap out of a white kid a long time ago." --Bill Maher

"More bad news today for Barack Obama. He just found out he's related to Bill O'Reilly too. The guy can't get a break!" --Jay Leno

"Screeners at the L.A. International Airport missed 75% of the fake bombs that were sent though the line. However, they did confiscate 100% of people's water bottles" --Jay Leno

"Congratulations to Al Gore for winning the Nobel Peace Prize. I thought this was sad: Al had the Nobel Peace Prize for less than a week and O.J. broke in and stole it." --David Letterman

"He's won an Academy award, he's won an Emmy award, and now he's won a Nobel prize. Honestly, I think it's going to his head. Listen to what happened over the weekend: Al Gore was in a bar screaming, 'Who wants a Nobel prize piece of ass?'" --David Letterman

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IRAQ -- STATE DEPARTMENT AWARE OF BLACKWATER MISCONDUCT IN 2005: Yesterday, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker defended the embattled defense contractors Blackwater USA, even as he denounced the Sept. 16 shootings in Baghdad when Blackwater employees shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians. "I continue to have high regard for the individuals who work for Blackwater...That said, the incident in September was...horrific," he said. But as Congress steps up its investigations into Blackwater's misconduct, the State Department continues to stand by the company. This week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "quietly promoted two senior staffers who directly oversaw" Blackwater operations in Iraq. Rice and Crocker's defense of the company come even as newly disclosed internal State Department emails show that the department was aware of alleged Blackwater misconduct as early as 2005. "In one instance, internal emails show that State Department officials tried to deflect a 2005 LA Times inquiry into an alleged killing of an Iraqi civilian by Blackwater guards." "Give [the LA Times] what we can and then dump the rest on Blackwater," a State official wrote. "We can't win this one."     

ADMINISTRATION -- FEMA OFFICIAL INVOLVED IN FAKE PRESS CONFERENCE RESIGNS: On Tuesday, while wildfires raged in California, FEMA staged a live press conference at which agency staffers posed as journalists and lobbed softball questions. On Saturday, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff called FEMA's fake press conference "one of the dumbest and most inappropriate things I've seen since I've been in government," and promised "appropriate disciplinary action" for those involved. The White House also condemned the fake presser. Last week, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino denied having previous knowledge of the presser and said, "It is not a practice that we would employ here at the White House. ...  FEMA is responsible." Yet one of the FEMA staffers who asked questions at the staged event and took responsibility for the charade, Director of External Affairs John "Pat" Philbin, has since resigned. He has instead landed an "amazing opportunity" to head public affairs at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence

POLITICS OVER JUSTICE IN OHIO: On election day 2004, "5,000 to 15,000 frustrated voters" in mostly African-American precincts were estimated to have been "turned away" from voting centers in Ohio's Franklin County "without casting ballots" because of lines that lasted up to seven hours. The main reason for the long lines was a shortage of voting machines, a phenomenon that appeared to heavily benefit President Bush as "27 of the 30 wards with the most machines per registered voter showed majorities for Bush" while "six of the seven wards with the fewest machines delivered large margins for Kerry." John Tanner was tasked with investigating the matter, but conducted it in a manner that appeared to intentionally "hamper future lawsuits or investigations concerning the problems" in Ohio. After concluding that "Franklin County assigned voting machines in a non-discriminatory manner" and the extended waits at predominantly African-American polling places were a result of "the tendency...for black voters to cast ballots in the afternoon (i.e., after work)," Tanner wrote a detailed letter to Columbus, OH officials to inform them of his conclusion. Career voting rights section attorneys told TPM Muckraker that not only was Tanner's analysis faulty, but such a letter was an "unprecedented" move that would "poison the well" for future investigations. "Tanner bent over backwards to rule that black voters did not have a right to the same number of machines as white registered voters, and then went out of his way to make that ruling public," said David Becker, a former attorney with the section.

IRAQ -- STATE DEPT. GRANTED DISGRACED BLACKWATER GUARDS IMMUNITY AFTER SHOOTOUT: Following the deadly September shootout in Baghdad involving Blackwater USA, the Bush administration rushed to the security firm's defense and even awarded the firm a new $92 million contract. Yesterday, the AP reported that the State Department "promised" legal immunity to Blackwater guards after the shooting incident. The administration's efforts to protect Blackwater are hampering the investigations into the shootings. Earlier this month, the FBI took over the case after Justice Department prosecutors realized they "could not bring charges against Blackwater guards based on their statements to the Diplomatic Security investigators." Prosecutors now "will have to prove that any evidence they use in bringing charges against Blackwater employees was uncovered without using the guards' statements to State Department investigators." The revelations occur as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki recently revoked an order granting "immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts." In her recent congressional testimony, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice neglected to mention that she granted the Blackwater guards prosecutorial immunity after the shootings. 

ADMINISTRATION -- CHAIR OF CONSUMER SAFETY COMMISSION OPPOSES SAFETY REGULATIONS: Today, the Senate Commerce Committee is set to vote on legislation that would strengthen the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) by raising its budget, increasing its staff, and granting it "broad new powers to police the marketplace" in the name of consumer safety. The CPSC's acting chairman, Nancy Nord, however, wrote to lawmakers yesterday to oppose the bill. Nord "opposes provisions that would increase the maximum penalties for safety violations and make it easier for the government to make public reports of faulty products, protect industry whistleblowers and prosecute executives of companies that willfully violate laws." Last month, during a congressional hearing looking into safety concerns surrounding toys from China, Nord was similarly contrarian. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post wrote that "instead of showing contrition, Nord treated the lawmakers as if they were impertinent children." 

MEDIA -- CLEAR CHANNEL REFUSES TO AIR SPRINGSTEEN'S ANTI-WAR ALBUM: Bruce Springsteen's new album, "Magic," became the number one selling album in America when it was released three weeks ago, and his current U.S. tour is selling out stadiums across the country. But despite the album's popularity, Clear Channel Communications, which owns over 1,100 radio stations in the United States, has refused to air any of its songs. Clear Channel recently circulated a memo to its classic rock stations "not to play tracks from 'Magic.' But it's OK to play old Springsteen tracks such as 'Dancing in the Dark,' 'Born to Run' and 'Born in the USA.'" Springsteen, whose songs have consistently contained anti-war messages, is more explicit in "Magic" about his opposition to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The album includes a song entitled "Last To Die" which features the lyrics: "Who'll be the last to die for a mistake/The last to die for a mistake/Whose blood will spill, whose heart will break/Who'll be the last to die for a mistake." Last month, Clear Channel also refused to air a commercial by a veteran critical of the Iraq war during Rush Limbaugh's program because the ad presented information that "would conflict with the listeners who have chosen to listen to Rush Limbaugh." Clear Channel is also the company responsible for ostracizing the Dixie Chicks after they made comments critical of President Bush in 2003.

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NEED COMPUTER ASSISTANCE?? 

Democrat Activist Mike Bailey is now providing “Professional Computer Support.”  He can be contacted at 502-558-4026, or mikebailey2000@usa.net. 

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Think Fast    

  

As Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld wrote 20 to 60 "snowflakes" -- his trademark missives for developing policy -- each day. In a sampling of them obtained by the Washington Post, Rumsfeld "argued that Muslims avoid 'physical labor' and wrote of the need to 'keep elevating the threat,' 'link Iraq to Iran' and develop 'bumper sticker statements' to rally public support."

 

"The growing numbers of foreign fighters in Afghanistan are more violent and extreme than their local allies" and are "helping to change the face of the Taliban from a movement of hard-line Afghan religious students" into a broader network of foreign militants, "disgruntled Afghans," and drug traffickers.                                  

The largest dam in Iraq is "in serious danger of an imminent collapse" that could lead to "as many as 500,000 civilian deaths by drowning Mosul under 65 feet of water." A "U.S. reconstruction project to help shore up the dam in northern Iraq has been marred by incompetence and mismanagement."    

"Despite declining violence in Iraq, the shaky state of security is still impeding the nation's $100 billion recovery and rebuilding effort," according to a report from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. 

Warren Buffett yesterday told CNBC that he believes there is a "fairly significant" chance that the United States is headed toward a recession. 

Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN) said he doesn't share Dick Cheney's views of executive power. "No, I think the constitution in times of war, especially, is very definitive about that," he said. "[I]t's divided power in the constitution. Our founding fathers divided that up. ... So no one branch of the government can misuse power." 

According to new U.N. report on climate change, "the human population is now so large that the amount of resources needed to sustain it exceeds what is available at current consumption patterns." The speed at which mankind has used the Earth's resources over the past 20 years has put "humanity's very survival" at risk, the study concluded. 

"House Democratic leaders" are "privately surveying their members" to determine "support for a criminal contempt resolution against White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers for shunning congressional subpoenas in the U.S. attorney investigation," which could happen "as early as next week." 

International human rights groups have filed a lawsuit in France against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for allowing torture at detention centers in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay. The groups say that Rumsfeld should be detained when he visits France on Friday for authorizing human rights abuses. 

During a tour of the California disaster area yesterday, President Bush couldn't resist taking a shot at Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, blaming her for Katrina. "It makes a significant difference when you have somebody in the statehouse willing to take the lead," Bush said of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The House yesterday voted 265 to 142 to pass a revised SCHIP bill that sought to address concerns of conservative lawmakers. But two fewer Republicans voted for the new version. The vote tally "fell seven votes shy of the 272 needed for a veto-proof two-thirds majority." 

Bush's Iraq policy is less popular than ghosts. "A poll released yesterday by the Associated Press made it official: Americans are more likely to believe in ghosts (34 percent) than to believe that President Bush is doing a good job with the war in Iraq (29 percent)."

"Twenty-one states will run out of money for children's health insurance in the coming year, and at least nine of those states will exhaust their allotments in March if Congress simply continues spending at current levels." President Bush yesterday threatened to veto Congress's SCHIP legislation.

Lawmakers have increasingly steered federal funds to "overtly religious organizations -- many of which claim proselytizing or religious conversions as their primary function" -- using earmarks. For instance, Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) tried to earmark $100,000 for a creationist organization.

"In a shift of strategy that indicates an increasingly weakened political position, President Bush has included at least $2.51 billion for projects unrelated to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in his latest 'emergency' supplemental request."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates agreed yesterday that "all State Department security convoys in Iraq will now fall under military control." The move is the latest effort "to bring Blackwater Worldwide and other armed contractors under tighter supervision."

"Draft legislation that lifts immunity for foreign private security companies gained the consent of the Iraqi cabinet on Tuesday and was sent to Parliament for approval." Under the approved version, security companies must have "all their weapons be licensed by the Iraqi Interior Ministry."

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair "turned down a last-minute offer from President George Bush for Britain to stay out of the Iraq war because he thought it would look 'pathetic,'" according to a new book on Blair's tenure.

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INTERESTING  

    

Drug Industry Paying Big Bucks for Sneaky Ads, by Tula Connell  

Our friends over at the Alliance for Retired Americans sent this item today in the organization’s weekly e-mail newsletter.  Seems as though the giant pharmaceutical industry is spending lots of its money on cleaning up its tarnished image.

But the new series of paid advertisements by the drug industry is being promoted as public affairs programs and features interview segments with guests such as talk show host Montel Williams and former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow. 

Let’s hope Alliance Secretary-Treasurer Ruben Burks is right when he says:

Savvy seniors won’t be fooled by these slick infomercials.

 From the Alliance:

On the heels of recent drug recalls, accusations of political influence and outrage over high prescription drug prices, the pharmaceutical industry has begun a campaign to bolster its image.  An article in The Hill details a “Healthcare Campfire with Billy Tauzin,” a recent effort by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the major lobbying group for big drug companies.  Launched last month as part of a campaign that also includes several websites and weekly radio shows, the half-hour television program is hosted by Billy Tauzin, a former Republican congressman from Louisiana and the head of PhRMA since 2005. 

Reports on drug research and other various health topics are narrated by ex-professional broadcasters and produced to look like local news, the result of over $1 million spent on a high-tech studio and control room that could be found at a television station.  PhRMA aims for the show to be nationally broadcast by the end of 2008. 

At the same time, Prescription Access Litigation (PAL), a national coalition of groups–including the Alliance–that challenges illegal and costly tactics by the pharmaceutical industry, called for increased enforcement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) against misleading prescription drug direct-to-consumer advertisements.  The call was part of comments offered to the FDA regarding its proposed study of on-screen images appearing while the risks and side effects of drugs are read during advertisements, and whether they change how viewers understand drug safety information.   

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Kentucky Get Out the Vote Setting the Pace for 2008

Bernard Pollack, AFL-CIO field coordinator, is working on the union movement’s campaign to elect a working family-friendly governor in Kentucky, where working families’ candidate Steve Beshear is running against anti-worker Gov. Ernie Fletcher. He fills us in on the weekend’s union-member-to-union-member get out the vote walk.

The front page, above-the-fold article and photo in Sunday’s Ashland Daily Independent says it all:

Union members deliver message to community.

More than 115 union members from Communications Workers of America (CWA), Electrical Workers (IBEW), Fire Fighters (IAFF), Iron Workers, Kentucky Education Association, Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), Plumbers and Pipe Fitters (UA), SOAR, United Steelworkers (USW) and Carpenters participated in Saturday’s Ashland labor walk. USW District 8 Director Billy Thompson spoke at the event and the local NBC station, an area newspaper reporter and photographer accompanied him and Steelworkers Deputy Director Spurge Mason door to door. Thompson reported the response for Steve Beshear was nearly unanimous and members were grateful to hear from their union.

Many union leaders at the event emphasized the importance of mobilizing turnout for the Labor 2007 get-out-the-vote (GOTV) operation. Says Ashland Area Labor Council President Keith Adkins:

Elections are won on the ground. The worst thing you can do is get complacent and overconfident. With a light turnout, anything can happen folks.

Across the state, dozens more union members participated in labor walks. 

Union members see 2007 as an opportunity to build momentum toward the 2008 elections. Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, Republican minority leader, pushed hard to ensure a vote never came up on the Employee Free Choice Act in the U.S. Senate earlier this year, and union members in Kentucky have not forgotten it. In fact, across the state, union members are seeking resolutions in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. Two weeks ago, Boyd County, which includes the city of Ashland, passed the first of many resolutions supporting the Employee Free Choice Act—the first of many such legislative actions likely in the state. Further, as Howie Klein writes, McConnell long has been an “unofficial”—but immensely well-paid—lobbyist for China. Now, according to an article in the Lexington Herald-Leader: 

McConnell has taken at least $53,000 in campaign donations from [British arms maker] BAE’s political action committees and employees since his 2002 re-election.  

He is suspected of having taken hundreds of thousands of dollars under the table. 

Meanwhile, this past weekend, in Henderson and Calvert City, 16 walkers participated from AFSCME, IUPAT, Machinists (IAM), Mine Workers (UMWA) and USW. State Sen. Dorsey Ridley joined the Henderson walk and County Commissioner Terry Anderson joined in Calvert City.

Over in Bowling Green, 20 walkers participated, all from UAW Local 2164, while in Louisville, 24 walked participated from AFSCME, CWA, IAM, IBEW, IUEC, IUPAT, Laborers, UAW, USW and UA.

The next Kentucky GOTV kicks off  Nov. 1 in Louisville. More than 1,500 union members will volunteer as part of the GOTV push, making more than 76,000 GOTV volunteer calls and talking to thousands more union members at the door, at the plant gate and via local union mail.

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VIDEOS    

Bill "everybody's got to relax on all this gay stuff" O'Reilly keeps talking about J.K. Rowling's gay wizard  

Christopher Shays (R-CT) "I can't think of hardly anything that the Democrats have done [to try to win this war]!"

Think our government wouldn't suppress our right to peacefully protest? Think again!

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