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LOUISVILLE /JEFFERSON COUNTY

DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEWSLETTER

Week of July 8, 2007

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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 901 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

 

McConnell's Immigration Failure, By Robert D. Novak

I asked one of the few conservative Republican senators who stuck with President Bush on immigration to assess how Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell handled the issue. Asking not to be quoted by name, he replied: "If this were a war, Sen. McConnell should be relieved of command for dereliction of duty." Not only did the minority leader end up voting against an immigration bill that he said was better than the 2006 version he supported, he abandoned his post, staying off the floor during final stages of the debate.

Although I had never before seen a Senate party leader bail out of a major legislative fight, relieving McConnell of his command seems too drastic. Until now he has gotten high marks from colleagues since taking over the leadership six months ago following four dreary years under Bill Frist. McConnell's non-performance on immigration derived from general Republican malaise going well beyond a single issue.

It is difficult to exaggerate the pessimism about the immediate political future voiced by Republicans in Congress when not on the record. With an unpopular president waging an unpopular war, they foresee electoral catastrophe in 2008, with Democratic gains in both the House and Senate and Hillary Clinton in the White House. That's the atmosphere in which these lachrymose lawmakers have for several months faced an increasingly hysterical onslaught from constituents demanding the death of the "amnesty" for immigrants they heard vilified on talk radio.

These callers swamped phone lines to Republican congressional offices (as well as to the White House) with threats that they would never vote again for anybody supporting "amnesty." While that intimidated some previous supporters of the immigration bill, its opponents saw in the xenophobia of their backers a ray of light in the bleak political landscape.

"We did it!" exulted freshman Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, one of the bill's leading Republican opponents, in an e-mail to financial contributors (and some who had never given DeMint any money). "When the U.S. Senate brought the Amnesty bill back up this week, they declared war on the American people." The message concluded with a request for a donation to DeMint's 2010 reelection fund. DeMint was not the only triumphant e-mailer. Newt Gingrich, eyeing a presidential run, declared to contributors "a soaring victory for the American people" in the defeat of the "Bush-Kennedy-McCain bill."

DeMint and Gingrich gloated because 12 Republican senators who had supported the bill succumbed to pressure and voted against it Thursday -- most without prior explanation -- as McConnell did. He is up for reelection in Kentucky in what will be a difficult 2008 for Republicans, with the state's other GOP senator, Jim Bunning, beating a tattoo on immigration. Among the switchers were Saxby Chambliss, who was booed in May at the Georgia Republican convention for supporting the bill and faces a reelection fight next year, and Richard Burr, under attack in his state of North Carolina.

McConnell was among six switchers who voted no after the 40 senators needed to kill the bill were recorded. Another late switcher was Sen. Sam Brownback, seeking the Republican presidential nomination as the candidate of the right. He voted for the first cloture motion on Tuesday to keep the immigration bill alive and put out a news release on his presidential Web site explaining his vote. On Thursday he voted again for the bill. But when it became clear the measure had failed, he changed his vote from aye to nay and scrubbed his earlier statement from the Internet.

Unlike McConnell, the second- and third- ranking Senate GOP leaders -- Trent Lott and Jon Kyl -- stuck with the bill despite intense pressure in their respective states of Mississippi and Arizona. So did Lindsey Graham, facing threats of Republican primary opposition in South Carolina next year. So did John McCain, despite damage to his crumbling presidential campaign.

"This isn't a day to celebrate," McConnell said in his postmortem. Indeed, Republicans drove another nail in George W. Bush's political coffin and undermined hopes for winning the growing, and winnable, Hispanic vote. Contending that the time "wasn't now" for immigration, McConnell added: "It wasn't the people's will. And they were heard." He was blaming Republican failure on his fellow citizens, which seldom works in politics.

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The Structural Imbalance of Political Talk Radio

By John Halpin, James Heidbreder, Mark Lloyd, Paul Woodhull, Ben Scott, Josh Silver, S. Derek Turner

Read the full report (PDF)

Despite the dramatic expansion of viewing and listening options for consumers today, traditional radio remains one of the most widely used media formats in America. Arbitron, the national radio ratings company, reports that more than 90 percent of Americans ages 12 or older listen to radio each week, “a higher penetration than television, magazines, newspapers, or the Internet.” Although listening hours have declined slightly in recent years, Americans listened on average to 19 hours of radio per week in 2006.

Among radio formats, the combined news/talk format (which includes news/talk/information and talk/personality) leads all others in terms of the total number of stations per format and trails only country music in terms of national audience share. Through more than 1,700 stations across the nation, the combined news/talk format is estimated to reach more than 50 million listeners each week.

As this report will document in detail, conservative talk radio undeniably dominates the format:

§       Our analysis in the spring of 2007 of the 257 news/talk stations owned by the top five commercial station owners reveals that 91 percent of the total weekday talk radio programming is conservative, and 9 percent is progressive.

§       Each weekday, 2,570 hours and 15 minutes of conservative talk are broadcast on these stations compared to 254 hours of progressive talk—10 times as much conservative talk as progressive talk.

§       A separate analysis of all of the news/talk stations in the top 10 radio markets reveals that 76 percent of the programming in these markets is conservative and 24 percent is progressive, although programming is more balanced in markets such as New York and Chicago.

This dynamic is repeated over and over again no matter how the data is analyzed, whether one looks at the number of stations, number of hours, power of stations, or the number of programs. While progressive talk is making inroads on commercial stations, conservative talk continues to be pushed out over the airwaves in greater multiples of hours than progressive talk is broadcast.

These empirical findings may not be surprising given general impressions about the format, but they are stark and raise serious questions about whether the companies licensed to broadcast over the public airwaves are serving the listening needs of all Americans.

There are many potential explanations for why this gap exists. The two most frequently cited reasons are the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987 and simple consumer demand. As this report will detail, neither of these reasons adequately explains why conservative talk radio dominates the airwaves.

Our conclusion is that the gap between conservative and progressive talk radio is the result of multiple structural problems in the U.S. regulatory system, particularly the complete breakdown of the public trustee concept of broadcast, the elimination of clear public interest requirements for broadcasting, and the relaxation of ownership rules including the requirement of local participation in management.

Ownership diversity is perhaps the single most important variable contributing to the structural imbalance based on the data. Quantitative analysis conducted by Free Press of all 10,506 licensed commercial radio stations reveals that stations owned by women, minorities, or local owners are statistically less likely to air conservative hosts or shows.

In contrast, stations controlled by group owners—those with stations in multiple markets or more than three stations in a single market—were statistically more likely to air conservative talk. Furthermore, markets that aired both conservative and progressive programming were statistically less concentrated than the markets that aired only one type of programming and were more likely to be the markets that had female- and minority-owned stations.

The disparities between conservative and progressive programming reflect the absence of localism in American radio markets. This shortfall results from the consolidation of ownership in radio stations and the corresponding dominance of syndicated programming operating in economies of scale that do not match the local needs of all communities.

This analysis suggests that any effort to encourage more responsive and balanced radio programming will first require steps to increase localism and diversify radio station ownership to better meet local and community needs. We suggest three ways to accomplish this:

§       Restore local and national caps on the ownership of commercial radio stations.

§       Ensure greater local accountability over radio licensing.

§       Require commercial owners who fail to abide by enforceable public interest obligations to pay a fee to support public broadcasting.

In the pages that follow, we believe our analysis of the talk radio marketplace merits serious consideration of the remedies we then present.

§       Read the full report (PDF) 

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Fast Track Is Dead Today, by Tula Connell, Jun 30, 2007 

Quick note on a happy event: Fast Track trade-promotion authority expires today. Fast Track allows the president to push through trade deals with no amendments from Congress, such as those that would ensure the deals don’t destroy good U.S. jobs.

Fast Track has been a major weapon in President Bush’s trade arsenal, helping produce flawed agreements such as the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and the proposed agreements with Colombia and South Korea.

Yesterday, four top House leaders said they are united in opposition to two key free trade deals and do not intend to renew Fast Track. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and Ways and Means Trade Subcomittee Chairman Sander Levin (D-Mich.) said:

Our legislative priorities do not include the renewal of Fast Track authority. Before that debate can even begin, we must expand the benefits of globalization to all Americans.

Fast Track has sped up all the worst aspects of globalization.  But now Fast Track is dead. Long live the public will over Fast Track deals.

Noting that Fast Track authority gives Bush a “blank check” in negotiating bad trade deals, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says: 

For the last six years, this administration has negotiated one bad trade deal after another, each agreement passing by the slimmest of margins, over the objections of working people worldwide.  

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Obstructionist Senate Republicans Blocking Anti-Terrorism Bill

by Mike Hall, Jun 29, 2007

Stubborn, obstructionist and downright mulish is the best way to describe the legislative strategy of Senate Republicans since voters stripped them of majority status in November.  

Yesterday, we told you about the verbal spanking given by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) to the ”We’ll Hold Our Breath Until We Turn Blue” tactics used by Republicans on the ethics and lobbying reform bill—a bill for which almost every Republican voted in January but now find objectionable. 

That same Republican, mule-stubborn minority leadership is now digging its hooves in to block a conference on an anti-terrorism bill that also won a Senate bipartisan majority on a 60–38 vote in March. Apparently, they agree with President Bush that busting unions is more important then implementing the recommendations of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission. 

The bill contains a provision that grants bargaining rights to 43,000 airport screeners in the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The House bill, also passed with a bipartisan majority in January, contains the same provision. Bush says he will veto the bill if those front-line Homeland Security workers are granted the freedom to form a union. Ideology over national security?  

In 2003, as TSA workers at several airports were readying to vote on joining AFGE, the Bush administration, citing so-called “national security” concerns, terminated the screeners’ bargaining rights. Bush claims allowing airport screeners to carry a union card would create a so-called lack of workforce flexibility.  Says AFGE President John Gage:

The notion that granting bargaining rights to [transportation security officers] would result in a less flexible workforce is just plain nonsense, and it is also an insult to the thousands of dedicated federal workers within Homeland Security, including the Border Patrol, FEMA, Federal Protective Service, and the Army Corps of Engineers. One only need look at 9/11. Unionized workers from both the public and private sector were first on the scene and worked tirelessly to restore what had been. Having union rights did not hamper response time or the ability to do their jobs, but instead it helped prepare them to be ready in case of emergency.

Siding with Bush, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is using congresssional rules to block a conference between the House and Senate to produce a final bill.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says: 

Democrats have been working hard to pass critical legislation, despite efforts by some Republican senators to slow down or stop our progress. Whether the issue is implementing the 9-11 Commission recommendations or instituting new ethics reforms to clean up Washington, the American people are counting on Republican senators to help us lead the way, not stand in the way. 

On the House side, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) says:

Once again, Senate Republican leaders have chosen partisanship over progress by blocking consideration of the 9/11 and lobbying reform bills, both of which passed the House and Senate by large bipartisan majorities.

After failing to take action for years when they controlled Congress, Republican leaders are now preventing the New Direction Congress from implementing the independent 9/11 Commission recommendations that would protect Americans from terrorism.

Republican senators don’t seem to care that their obstructionist tactics are strangling any chance for real lawmaking. In fact, they are reveling in it, as Robert Borosage, co- director of the Campaign for America’s Future, points out on TomPaine.Com:

Conservatives boast about the “success” of their strategy in discrediting the new majority. As Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss.) put it, “The strategy of being obstructionist can work or fail. So far, it’s working for us.”How is it working? It’s dragging the reputation of the Congress down to the level of the failed president. Conservatives lie in the road of progress and then complain that nothing is moving.

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Welcome everyone to our new site! Thanks for visiting. Please check regularly for new events and announcements.  http://www.louisvilleyoungdems.com/

The Louisville Young Democrats represent hundreds of Young Democrats between the ages 18 and 39 in Louisville and surrounding areas, including student organizations at University of Louisville, Bellarmine University and several area high schools.  The organization works toward the following purposes: to represent the interests of young people and communicate those interests for the purpose of promoting political debate and change; to serve as a social and learning political involvement network, connecting members with other young people, elected officials and political candidates; and to assist and promote Democratic officials, candidates and the Democratic Party.

Annual dues are $20 and includes membership in the Kentucky Young Democrats.

General meetings are held the third Thursday of each month. Executive Committee meetings are held the first Thursday of each month. All meetings are held at 7 p.m. at Democratic Party Headquarters, 640 Barret Ave., unless otherwise noted.
 

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DAILY GRILL         

“I took 'Mission Accomplished' out. I was in Baghdad and I was given a draft of that thing and I just died. And I said, it's too inclusive. And I fixed it and sent it back. They fixed the speech but not the sign." -- Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld quoted in Bob Woodward's 2006 book State of Denial

VERSUS

"There was a comment Rumsfeld made in one of those books where he claimed that he took the phrase mission accomplished out of the speech itself but that he couldn't get the banner pulled down. That's just wrong. I went back and looked at every draft of the speech. That phrase was never in it."  -- Former White House counselor Dan Bartlett, 7/07 

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President Bush had a nearly hour-long secure video teleconference with Iraqi leaders on Monday and came away impressed and reassured by the progress they're making on political, security and economic reforms." -- AP, 6/18/07

VERSUS

"More Americans than ever before, 77 percent, say the war is going badly, up from 66 percent just two months ago. Nearly half, 47 percent, say it's going very badly." -- CBS News, 6/29/07 

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But given the fact that the judge has set up a process for appeal and given the way that the President has handled this for the past year or so, he's not going to intervene."  -- White House spokesperson Dana Perino, 6/5/07

VERSUS

"I respect the jury's verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby's sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison." -- President Bush, 7/3/07

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"I think it handled it in a routine manner in the sense that the president took a careful look."  -- White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, 7/3/07

VERSUS

"For the first time in his presidency, Bush commuted a sentence without running requests through lawyers at the Justice Department, White House officials said."  -- Washington Post, 7/3/07

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Quotes of the Day    

Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss.) put it, “The strategy of being obstructionist can work or fail. So far, it’s working for us.”.

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You could lose your job to a foreign worker—not because he’s cheaper but because he has better workplace skills and discipline. That’s the message Labor Secretary Elaine Chao hears from U.S. executives who are worried about America’s competitive future. While losses are low thus far—one study estimates that only 280,000 jobs in the service industry out of 115 million are outsourced each year—that could change. Beyond the cheaper cost of labor, U.S. employers say that many workers abroad simply have a better attitude toward work. “American employees must be punctual, dress appropriately and have good personal hygiene,” says Chao. “They need anger-management and conflict-resolution skills, and they have to be able to accept direction. Too many young people bristle when a supervisor asks them to do something.”  Source

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Recent Senate Votes 

 

Employee Free Choice Act - Vote Rejected (51-48, 1 Not Voting)

The Senate did not have the necessary 60 votes to close debate and proceed to a vote on this labor bill, which would allow workers to form unions by signing union cards rather than by secret ballot elections.

Sen. Mitch McConnell voted NO

Sen. Jim Bunning voted NO

 

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act - Vote Rejected (46-53, 1 Not Voting)

After six weeks of working toward a compromise on immigration reform, the Senate failed to reach the 60 votes needed to close debate and vote on this bill.

Sen. Mitch McConnell voted NO

Sen. Jim Bunning voted NO

 

Recent House Votes 

 

Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations, FY 2008 - Vote Passed (272-155, 5 Not Voting)

The House passed this $27.6 billion bill that would fund the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Interior, the Forest Service and the Indian Health Service for the 2008 fiscal year.

Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES

Rep. Ron Lewis voted NO 

 

Financial Services and General Government Appropriations, FY 2008 - Vote Passed (240-179, 13 Not Voting)

The House passed this $21.4 billion bill that would fund the Department of Treasury, the Executive office, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia and independent agencies for the 2008 fiscal year.

Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES

Rep. Ron Lewis voted NO

 

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HUMOR    

"Earlier this morning in London, police defused a potentially massive car bomb parked in front of famed Piccadilly Circus. President Bush got a little confused. He called the new prime minister and made sure all the animals and clowns were safe." --Jay Leno

"Authorities said the terrorist planned to detonate the bomb with his cell phone. Luckily, the guy had Cingular so he couldn't get a signal." --Jay Leno

"President Bush's immigration bill failed to pass. To be fair, this is not the first time in his life George Bush has heard the term 'failed to pass.'" --Jay Leno

"It was voted down by the Senate. You know, I wondered why the help at Wal-Mart seemed so testy today. ... In fact, some illegal immigrants are so angry, they are threatening to leave the country." --Jay Leno

"The Senate switchboard completely shut down after they got over 10,000 calls protesting the immigration bill. 10,000 calls ... all from Lou Dobbs." --Jay Leno

"The other day at the Mexican/U.S. border, three illegal aliens were discovered under the hood of a Ford pick-up truck, crouched around the engine. When President Bush heard about it, he said, 'No, that was wrong. We don't call them engines anymore. They're now Native Americans.'" --Jay Leno

"President Bush is hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Bush family compound in Maine this week. They're going fishing and boating. The press is calling it the 'Lobster Summit.' Now, don't confuse that with Paris Hilton's upcoming weekend in Maui. That's called 'Crabfest.'" --Jay Leno

"Experts say the price of milk could rise to as much as $4 a gallon. $4 a gallon for milk? I didn't know Dick Cheney was involved with the dairy industry" --Jay Leno

"Another presidential debate last night. One of 90 scheduled before the election in November next year. Democrats gathered at Howard University in Washington, DC. Joe Biden talked about AIDS in the black community. He's against it and he had some interesting things to say [on screen: Biden saying he and Barack Obama have been tested for AIDS]. It looks like Joe Biden has the African American vote wrapped up" --Jimmy Kimmel

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MEDIA -- PELOSI: 'HATE RADIO' HIJACKED POLITICAL DISCOURSE WITH 'XENOPHOBIC, ANTI-IMMIGRANT' RHETORIC: Earlier this week, PBS's Charlie Rose interviewed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). During their discussion, Rose asked Pelosi about her opinion of the immigration bill in the Senate (which was defeated yesterday). Pelosi praised several provisions of the bill but strongly criticized the bill's vehement opponents on the radical right -- especially on talk radio. Pelosi objected to their tactics saying that "talk radio, or in some cases hate radio...just go on and on and on in a xenophobic, anti-immigrant" manner. Pelosi noted that when it comes to bashing undocumented immigrants, "all of a sudden, all these people of faith are just very unforgiving." Pelosi's characterization of the "xenophobic" and "anti-immigrant" dialogue on talk radio is well-documented. In recent weeks, Media Matters has highlighted several particularly egregious examples. For example, Bill O'Reilly asserted that supporters of the immigration bill "hate America" and "want to flood the country with foreign nationals, unlimited, unlimited, to change the complexion" of our society. Michael Savage called a Hispanic advocacy group, National Council of La Raza, "the Ku Klux Klan of the Hispanic people" and said that La Raza "is the most stone racist group I've ever seen in this country!". Similarly, Neal Boortz argued in favor of the controversial border fence, stating, "I don't care if Mexicans pile up against that fence like tumbleweeds in the Santa Ana winds in Southern California. ... [J]ust run a couple of taco trucks up and down the line." Though conservatives may take up 91 percent of the talk radio airwaves, talk radio is not representative of the American people, who broadly supported the key components of the legislation. More information about the radically conservative bias in daytime talk radio HERE. 

ETHICS -- LEAHY THREATENS COURT ACTION AGAINST WHITE HOUSE OVER U.S. ATTORNEY DOCUMENT STONEWALLING: In an interview with NBC's Meet the Press yesterday, Senate Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy (D-VT) said he would not hesitate to "cite the White House for criminal contempt of Congress" if it continues to withhold documents related to the firings of nine U.S. attorneys. "If they don't cooperate, yes, I'd go that far," he said. The White House has refused congressional requests for internal documents that would potentially clarify the role that senior White House officials had in the removal of U.S. attorneys, citing executive privilege. In a sign of mounting pressure on the White House, Leahy has given President Bush until next Monday to "provide a signed letter from the president asserting executive privilege, as well as a description of each withheld document, a list of who has seen the documents and the legal basis for arguing that the documents may be shielded from public view." The White House's stonewalling of the congressional investigation has spawned further suspicions that it had a central role in the U.S. attorney scandal, as a recent legal memo from Solicitor General Paul Clement strongly suggests that the White House played a pivotal effort in the firings. If the claims of executive privilege are deemed invalid by House and Senate committees, Congress could vote that the president be held in criminal contempt and refer the case to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, creating a legal fight that could last into the next presidency.

HEALTH CARE -- UPON HUGE OPENING WEEKEND, MICHAEL MOORE'S SiCKO PASSES FACT-CHECK TEST: On June 29, Michael Moore's latest film, SiCKO -- an exploration of the failings of the current American healthcare system -- opened in theaters nationwide. On the heels of strong reviews, the response to the film has been overwhelming, according to Moore, who sent a message to fans this weekend declaring that the film is "on track to have the second largest opening weekend for a documentary in the history of the movies." In his letter, Moore also noted that the industry polling for the film found that 93 percent of viewers would "strongly recommend 'SiCKO'" to their friends and family, which is more than double the industry average of 45 percent. Not everyone is reacting so positively to SiCKO, however, as the health care industry and its surrogates on the right are doing all that they can to pushback against the film. Before the premiere, think tanks funded by the healthcare and pharmaceutical lobby launched a smear campaign against Moore, using personal attacks against the director while propagating the message of those invested in maintaining the status quo. Moore's opponents have thus been forced to resort to personal attacks as SiCKO has stood up to scrutiny: on Saturday, a CNN fact-check found "surprisingly few inaccuracies in the film" while noting that "most pundits or health-care experts...spent more time on errors of omission rather than disputing the actual claims in the film." Click here to find a showing near you.

ETHICS -- LAND SALE TO REP. CALVERT VIOLATED CALIFORNIA STATE LAW: The sale of four acres of public land to Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) and his investment partners by the Jurupa Community Services District in 2005 violated California state law, according to a grand jury report released on Tuesday. The report said that the group should have first offered the land to other public agencies, including the local park district that wanted it, before quietly selling to Calvert. "The grand jury recommends that the water and sewer agency turn over the $1.2 million it pocketed from the sale, minus costs, to the Jurupa Area Recreation and Park District." Calvert, who was recently placed on the House Appropriations Committee to the chagrin of conservative activists, subsequently pushed water legislation that benefited Jurupa. He has been tied to other questionable land deals in the past. Less than a year after buying land near the March Air Reserve Base in California, "without making any improvements to the run down parcel, [Calvert and his partners] sold the property for $985,000, a 79% increase." During the period of his ownership, Calvert used his seat in Congress to earmark $9.5 million for development near to the land. According to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, "by using his position to earmark funds to increase the value of his own property, Rep. Calvert violated the prohibition against using his position as a member of Congress to advance his own financial interests, as well as the House rule requiring all members to conduct themselves "at all times in a manner that reflects creditably on the House."

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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    

"At the nadir of his presidency, George W. Bush is looking for answers." Unbeknownst "even to many on his staff," Bush has summoned "leading authors, historians, philosophers and theologians to the White House" to discuss questions like, "Why does the rest of the world seem to hate America? Or is it just me they hate?"

"Battle stress may cause combat-hardened Marines with clean records to get into trouble after they return home," new Marine Corps research shows. "The Marines have a plan to help these troops but not the resources to implement it, said a leading mental health expert with the Corps."

"Air strikes by foreign forces in Afghanistan have recently killed more civilians than the Taliban and the U.S.-led operation should cut them back," said Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission. "In the latest incident involving civilian fatalities, Afghan officials said on the weekend that 45 civilians were killed in an air strike in the south of the country."

"Four U.S. soldiers and a Marine were killed in attacks in Baghdad and Iraq's western Anbar province, the military said Monday," bringing the total number of U.S. fatalities to 3,582.

The Bush administration is "considering moving its program for a new-generation nuclear warhead into the development stage within a year, with an eye to putting the program on track before the end of its term in January 2009."

In 1999, Congress told the federal agencies that they should "award 3 percent of their contracts to businesses owned by service disabled veterans." But currently, only FEMA has met the target. "Government-wide, less than 1 percent of all federal contracts have gone to businesses owned by service-disabled veterans."

"The Pentagon has approved an Army recommendation for a 600% increase in production of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles to protect soldiers from makeshift bombs in Iraq." Although lawmakers applauded the Pentagon's increase -- which would cost $8.1 billion -- Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) noted that he couldn't "support more than $6 billion in MRAP spending for next year because contractors can't build the vehicles fast enough."

"This year is on track to be the second warmest since records began in the 1860s and floods in Pakistan or a heatwave in Greece may herald worse disruptions in store from global warming."

105: Number of full-time positions President Bush has filled with recess appointments. In contrast, President Clinton had used his recess appointment powers to install just 42 people in full-time jobs at the same point in his presidency.

Just as violence in Afghanistan is "heating up" with "civilian casualties rapidly escalating, the health-care system is breaking down, according to Afghan and international medical experts." The International Committee of the Red Cross said it "faces a more restrictive environment than it has in two decades of work in Afghanistan."

Yesterday, ousted U.S. attorney John McKay spoke out about his regret for initially supporting Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and telling "lawyer friends it was good news when Gonzales was confirmed": "I said, 'You're gonna like this guy -- he's humble, he's honest, he's hard-working, and he's smart. And he's proved me wrong.'"

The "largest Pentagon overseas construction project" is now at least $50 million over budget, and "pocked with vandalism and shoddy construction." Yesterday in a congressional hearing, the House Oversight and Government Reform committee sharply criticized the project, which has had "inadequate oversight from the military," and "demanded accountability from the Air Force."

"Five American soldiers were killed and seven wounded in a coordinated attack in southern Baghdad involving a roadside bomb and rocket-propelled grenades, the U.S. military announced Friday."

During one response at last night's Democratic presidential debate, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) ran over his allotted time. Cutting him off, debate host Tavis Smiley referenced CNN's recent decision to dump filmmaker Michael Moore in favor of a Paris Hilton interview, stating, "Senator Dodd, I was going to say, were you Paris Hilton you could have an hour, but you're not, so..."

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INTERESTING    

Working America Says: Ask A Lawyer,  Cliff Schecter

Can my boss really do that? How many of us find ourselves asking that very question on a weekly, if not daily basis (Perhaps Hunter Bates?)? Well now we just may get the answers we seek. Because Working America, the 1.6 million-member community affiliate of the AFL-CIO, who provides a voice for those of us denied the right to union membership on the job, has started their “Ask-A-Lawyer” program.

First of all, who benefits from Working America? Well, only those of us who don’t have stock options in Haliburton or stay up nights uncontollably excited about the next day’s bank merger. The silenced majority, if you will.

Working America very simply provides its members, who are located everywhere from Kentucky to California, Ohio to Oregon, Missouri to Minnesota, essential information on “good jobs, a just economy, affordable health care, quality education, retirement security and globalization.” And interestly enough, the majority of Working America members identify themselves as politically moderate or conservative, as one-third are “born again” Christians and one-third own guns. Sorry to disappoint, Mr. McConnell.

So it is only logical that the country’s fastest growing progressive organization would pioneer a new frontier in providing information to workers about their rights, by providing a “free online service to help workers understand their rights and determine whether the boss can really do that–or not.” Questions may range from “can I be fired for something I put on my blog”–(probably, unless you are writing about politics) to “can I be fired for being a smoker even if I don’t smoke at work”–(yes, in 21 states). Or you may be interested in more everyday subjects such as workers’ compensation, pay and benefits or discrimination at the workplace.

To the chagrin of corporate-jet executives everywhere, Working America’s “Ask-A-Lawyer” program can and will answer these and other general questions that arise at the workplace. So find out what your rights are, and enjoy the benefits of an organization that helped defeat tax initiatives that would have hurt working familes in Oregon, assisted in getting a Family and Medical Leave act passed in Washington state and fought to get a fair hearing for the Employee Free Choice Act.

Unless of course you come from the school of exploiting your workers, Mitch and Elaine. Then you had better prepare yourself. Because Working America is on the job day in and day out, to make sure your day comes to an end.

Full Disclosure: I am being sponsored by Working America, a community affiliate of the AFL-CIO. More disclosure, I could not be more passionate about this project.  Source

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Special Comment: It's Time to Resign

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CLOGGING UP CONGRESS, Posted by Jim Hightower

Listen to this Commentary

To the Democratic leaders of congress, I can only say: Heck of a job!

In less than six months, the top Democrats, have squandered the outpouring of public support gained from last year's congressional elections. On the war, on ethics, and on challenging corporate power, American voters expressed faith that Democrats would change congress and begin to serve the public interest.

But – poof! – that faith is gone. The latest polls show that only 27 percent of the people approve of the way congress is doing its job.

Why the precipitous decline? Because the "new" Democrats are still burdened with too many don't-rock-the-boat, money-soaked, corporate-backed, old Democrats who sit in key leadership posts. They are so entrenched that they don't feel the public's anger about Bush's war, so they have no sense of urgency about confronting this out-of-control President.

Even on congressional ethics reform, which should be a slam dunk for Democrats, some of the old bulls have balked. They don't want an independent ethics commission, they don’t want to limit their own possibilities of cashing in to become lobbyists, and they don’t want to stop using lobbyists as their campaign fund raisers.

Then, on their first chance to confront corporate power, some old guard Democrats have weaseled. Rather than an honest, bold energy bill to stop the corporate causes of climate change, the Democrats' house bill would prevent the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks, would prevent states from doing so, and would set fuel economy standards weaker even than Bush has proposed!

What this means is that our job of congressional clean up is not complete. Voters made a good start last year, but we must continue next year, recruiting and electing more true reformers to replace the business-as-usual crowd that's clogging up both parties.

"For Democratic Leaders, a Fear That the Focus on the War Has Blurred,"
The New York Times, June 14, 2007
"The Democrat Lag on Warming,"
www.nytimes.com

                              

 

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