Current Events
Goldman Plays, We Pay
The story of the financial debacle will end the way it began, with the super-hustlers from Goldman Sachs at the center of the action and profiting wildly. Never in U.S. history has one company wielded such destructive power over our political economy, irrespective of whether a Republican or a Democrat happened to be president.
HAITI LIVE BLOG DAY 3: Obama Taps George W. Bush, Bill Clinton to Lead US Relief Efforts
Here's the link to Wednesday's live blog.
5:26 pm PDT: We couldn't leave for the day without first reporting on this development.
Letter From Flint, Michigan
It began on December 30, 1936, at Fisher Body No. 1 in Flint, Michigan: workers occupied General Motors factories, launching one of the key struggles in U.S. labor history. A Women's Emergency Brigade brought them food; when the police tried to drive out the strikers with tear gas, the women broke the windows to give them fresh air. After 44 bitter winter days, the sit-down strike forced GM to recognize their union, the United Auto Workers.
It was no accident that Flint was the scene of this historic battle.
Democrats Unlikely to Repeal Tax Cuts for the Rich
Washington - Democrats in Congress are poised to play a leading role this month in thwarting their party's effort to raise income tax rates on the wealthy.
Tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 expire at the end of this year. President Barack Obama and Democratic congressional leaders have been eager to extend the breaks for individuals who earn less than $200,000 annually and joint filers who make less than
The Cry for Democratic Moral Leadership and Effective Communication
If you have not read Drew Westin's outstanding piece "What Created the Populist Explosion and How Democrats Can Avoid the Shrapnel in November" on The Huffington Post, AlterNet, and other venues, read it immediately. Westin states as eloquently and forcefully as anyone what he, I, and other progressives have been saying from the beginning of the Obama administration. I agree fully with everything he says. But ...
Westin's piece is incomplete in crucial ways. His piece can be read as saying that this election is about
Robert Reich | The Stock Market Rally Versus the World's Economic Fundamentals
What passes for business reporting in the United States is too often a series of breathless reports about the stock market. When the Dow rises precipitously, as it did today (Wednesday), the business press predicts an end to the Great Recession. When the stock market plummets, as it did last week, the Great Recession is said to be worsening.
Alexander Zaitchik on "Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance"
Glenn Beck organized a much-publicized "Restoring Honor" rally on Saturday in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. Beck’s fans reportedly number in the millions and Saturday’s rally drew nearly 100,000 supporters. We speak with Alexander Zaitchik, author of Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance.
Appeals Court Ruling Allows Government to Use GPS to Track People's Moves
A federal court in California has issued a ruling that’s raising widespread alarm among advocates for civil liberties. Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said law enforcement agents can sneak onto a person’s property, plant a GPS device on their vehicle, and track their every movements. The court’s ruling means the spying is legal in California and eight other Western states.
After Years of Organizing, Domestic Workers Win Bill of Rights Law in New York
New York Governor David Paterson has signed into law a measure establishing a landmark set of working standards for housekeepers, nannies and other domestic workers. With the signing of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, New York becomes the first state where domestic workers will be guaranteed overtime pay after a forty-hour workweek, at least one day off per week, and at least three days off with full pay per year.
As Pakistan Floods Continue Moving South, Calls for Debt Cancellation Grow
In Pakistan, torrential rains a month ago that triggered unprecedented floods have moved steadily from north to south, engulfing a fifth of the country. Seventeen million people have been affected and some five million have lost their homes. Meanwhile, a movement to cancel Pakistan’s external debt is now underway as campaigners plan a protest in front of Pakistan’s parliament house today to call on international institutions like the IMF to cancel the country’s debt.
Headlines for September 2, 2010
- Palestinians: Obama Vows to "Stop the Settlements"
- Biden Marks Nominal End to US Combat Operations in Iraq
- Over 60 Killed in Pakistan Air Strikes
- Justice Dept. Charges Mehsud with CIA Bombing in Afghanistan
- UN Increases Estimate of DRC Rape Victims
- Evacuations Ordered in NC Ahead of Hurricane Earl
- Armed Suspect Killed After Taking Hostages at Discovery Channel
- Judge Rejects Dismissal of Suit to Overturn Drilling Ban
- BP Ad Spending Tops $93M Since Spill
- Recession Spurs Sharp Decline in Undocumented Immigration
- Wyoming Town Near Drilling Told Drinking Water Unsafe, Potentially Explosive
- Wikileaks Founder Speaks Out Against Swedish Probe
- Lawyer: Mental Health of Alleged Leaker Was Questioned
E.J. Dionne Jr. | What's on Obama's Next Page?
Washington - By insisting Tuesday evening that "it's time to turn the page," President Obama was talking about more than the Iraq War, and doing much more than reviving one of his most effective slogans from the 2008 campaign.
He was also trying to turn the page on a period in which he has found himself on the defensive, his party in a perilous position for November's elections, and his reputation for political mastery in doubt.
Dean Baker | Seven Key Facts About Social Security and the Federal Budget
Washington, DC - Heading into the midterm elections, Social Security has proven to be one of the hot button issues of this cycle. Despite the fact that the program has just begun its 75th year contributing to the retirement security of millions, the relationship between Social Security and the federal budget is unclear to many Americans.
James Kwak | Just Because You Make a Lot of Money Doesn't Mean You Know What You're Talking About
Hedge fund managers may be good at investing money. (Or they may just be the beneficiaries of luck, like successful stock mutual fund managers.) But that doesn’t mean they can think clearly.
Andrew Ross Sorkin comments on the letter by fund manager Daniel Loeb, a former Democratic fundraiser, criticizing the supposed anti-business policies of the Obama administration. The letter includes blather like this:
Another False Ending: Contracting Out the Iraq Occupation
Another false ending to the Iraq war is being declared. Nearly seven years after George Bush's infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech on the USS Abraham Lincoln, President Obama has just given a major address to mark the withdrawal of all but 50,000 combat troops from Iraq. But while thousands of US troops are marching out, thousands of additional private military contractors (PMCs) are marching in. The number of armed security contractors in Iraq will more than double in the coming months.
Feds File New Arizona Immigration Lawsuit, This Time to Protect Workers
The Justice Department alleges that an Arizona public college discriminated against immigrant job candidates. The case could pit states' rights against those of the federal government.
Los Angeles - Less than two months after the US Department of Justice sued Arizona over the state’s controversial immigration law, it has filed another lawsuit targeting immigration practices by Arizona authorities.
A Speech for Endless War
On the last night of August, the president used an Oval Office speech to boost a policy of perpetual war.
Hours later, The New York Times front page offered a credulous gloss for the end of "the seven-year American combat mission in Iraq." The first sentence of the coverage described the speech as saying, "that it is now time to turn to pressing problems at home." The story went on to assert that Obama "used the moment to emphasize that he sees his primary job as addressing the weak economy and other domestic issues
Alaska's Murkowski Concedes to Tea Party-Backed Miller
Anchorage - Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Tuesday night conceded the Republican primary election to Joe Miller, the tea party backed challenger who maintained his Election Day lead after thousands of additional absentee and other ballots were counted through the day.
"Security for Everyone, Not Just Settlers and Occupiers" - Ali Abunimah on Opening of US-Brokered Mideast Peace Talks
US-brokered talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority begin today in Washington. Both sides agreed to sit down last month after the US successfully pressured Palestinian leaders to drop their precondition of an Israeli settlement freeze. On the eve of the summit, Palestinian militants killed four Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. We speak with Ali Abunimah, co-founder of The Electronic Intifada. [includes rush transcript]
Invisible War: How Thirteen Years of US-Imposed Economic Sanctions Devastated Iraq Before the 2003 Invasion
While the US invasion and occupation of Iraq over the past seven years has inflicted multiple disasters on the country, many argue that the US assault on Iraq really began twenty years ago with the US-imposed economic sanctions. Joy Gordon, author of Invisible War: The United States and the Iraq Sanctions, writes, "U.S. policymakers effectively turned a program of international governance into a legitimized act of mass slaughter." [includes rush transcript]
