|
|
|
Check out this photo of the lava flow from that Alaska volcano erupting this week. Remember how John McCain, Bobby Jindal and their fellow anti-"big government" phonies ridiculed federal funding for things like volcano observatories?
Blogger John Aravosis posted a relevant commentary at AMERICAblog.com earlier this month. He was in Anchorage the last time the same volcano blew, in 1989.
Here's an excerpt:
I remember it was a clear sunny day, except for the black mass that was slowly advancing on us as we drove down the highway. By the time we got to my friend's sister's house, the sky was black. Pitch black. Street lights came on. It was the middle of a sunny day. And it was darker than the darkest closet, lights off, middle of the night. But there were no stars. Nothing. I've seen few things as creepy, and nothing as apocalyptic-seeming, in my life. The city initiated a quarantine, so I was stuck at my friend's sister's for 24 hours. Then the ash fell. Fascinating. A snowshower of volcanic ash - they're these sort of large grey snowflakes that fall even slower than snowflakes. Beautiful in a way. But not very good for you, healthwise. Volcanic ash has a way of making you choke. It nearly brought down a commercial airliner after it got sucked into the planes engines and they all turned off. Check out the whole article. A good commentary on the ignorant Republican attacks on federal funding of important programs they deride as "pork barrel."
GALL AND CHENEY
by Lawrence Albright
Hell hath no fury like an ex-Vice President scorned. Or so it seems.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney, still smarting over the fact that former President George W. Bush failed to grant a full and complete pardon to Lewis "Scooter" Libby, has grabbed a rhetorical shotgun and and toothbrush and is shooting his mouth off again. This time he states that Americans feel less safe now that President Barack Obama is in the White House.
I cannot speak for anyone else, but unless Vice President Joe Biden accidentally shoots one of his friends in the face while hunting small and defenseless birds, I am feeling decidedly more safe.
Among the remarks made by Cheney and reported by the Associated Press was his assertion that Iraq will never "go back to producing weapons of mass destruction." Of course, there were no weapons of mass destruction, as anyone who has follows the historical record, including the "Downing Street memo" can attest. I had a greater sense of anxiety worrying whether I was going to get Salmonella after eating a Reece's peanut butter cup.
And of course Cheney had to do a bit of crowing about how safe Americans were at thwarting plans for terrorist attacks after 9/11 due to the repressive measures offered up by the Bush administration. But when pressed for details, Cheney stated such things were classified and couldn't be disclosed.
At least he didn't opt for the old (and not very good) joke: "I would tell you but then I would have to kill ya." That would have made us feel so much safer!
What would make me feel both safe and content is for the media to stop reporting Mr. Cheney's utterances. Yes, he's entitled to speak his mind, but I don't think he intends being a contender for the GOP nomination in 2012. I also want to point out there is precedent for a "mute button" on former Vice Presidents: Spiro T. Agnew and Dan Quayle come immediately to mind. Historically, of course, many Vice Presidents were muted within 24 hours or so after taking the oath. I mean, is there anyone who can name the VP's for Coolidge, Hoover and Benjamin Harrison without looking up that information?
From United Farm Workers
http://www.ufwaction.org/campaign/chavezholiday09/
Join the Petition Drive for a National Cesar E. Chavez Holiday!
As UFW Founder Cesar Chavez? March 31st birthday approaches--an official holiday in eight states and dozens of cities and communities throughout the nation--we want to ask for your support in making Cesar's March 31st birthday a national holiday.
Sen. Robert F. Kennedy called Cesar, "one of the heroic figures of our time." He led the historic non-violent movement for farm worker rights and dedicated himself to building a movement of poor working people that extended beyond the fields and into
cities and towns across the nation. He inspired farm workers and millions of people who never worked on a farm to commit themselves to social, economic and civil rights activism. Cesar's legacy continues to educate, inspire and empower people from all walks of life.
"Chavez left a legacy as an educator, environmentalist and a civil rights leader. And his cause lives on. As farmworkers and laborers across America continue to struggle for fair treatment and fair wages, we find strength in what Cesar Chavez
accomplished so many years ago. And we should honor him for what he's taught us about making America a stronger, more just, and more prosperous nation. That's why I support the call to make Cesar Chavez's birthday a national holiday. It's time to
recognize the contributions of this American icon."
--Barack Obama
"I have been a farm worker since I was 8 years old. Even now, working in the fields is hard work, but before Cesar it was so much harder. Cesar made such a difference to the farm workers out in the fields. He unified us all, not just Mexicans, but
Filipinos, Black, White and other all other races. He gave us the courage to fight for our rights. He made many huge changes for the people who work in the fields. He got us breaks, bathrooms, unemployment insurance, the ALRB and so much more. He
also got rid of many dangerous pesticides and he not only worried about farm workers but for all people so that their food would be safe. Cesar deserves a holiday and so much more."
--Josephina Flores
"He evoked a spirit and a challenge to all of us to do what was right for its own sake...A national holiday honoring Cesar Chavez would secure his profound legacy."
--Martin Sheen
The Cesar Chávez National Holiday Coalition is gathering signatures asking Congress to designate March 31--Cesar's birthday--as Cesar Chávez Day. The United Farm Workers and the Cesar E. Chávez Foundation are proud to support the grassroots efforts of the Cesar E. Chávez National Holiday Coalition.
Please help us ensure all Americans learn about Cesar's life and work by signing the petition asking Congress to designate March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day.
Sign the petition today! Go to: http://www.ufwaction.org/campaign/chavezholiday09/
Tell-A-Friend: Forward this message to at least 10 friends or family and ask them to sign the petition too.
http://www.ufwaction.org/campaign/chavezholiday09/
Interesting take on the Senate vote shape up...
From Congress Matters http://www.congressmatters.com/story/2009/3/11/134348/804/242/769
EFCA head-counting
by Nathaniel Ament Stone
Wed Mar 11, 2009 at 10:43:48 AM PDT
The Employee Free Choice Act was introduced yesterday as H.R.1409 (George Miller with 222 cosponsors) and S.560 (Ted Kennedy with 39 cosponsors). With 223 total sponsors in the House, obviously the House is ready to approve EFCA, no questions asked. But what about that darned Senate? 40 total sponsors, with 60 votes needed for cloture.
Well, all 40 sponsors are Democrats (including Lieberman and Sanders in that definition). Knowing that Franken hasn't yet been seated but likely will be by July, we can be close to 100% sure that there are 41 votes locked in for cloture (the Dems won't be dumb enough to miss out because of Kennedy's ailing health...nor would he miss that vote for the world. If he resigns before then, his replacement will make it, but either way, there will be a second Massachusetts vote for cloture.)
Which 18 Democrats aren't signed on as cosponsors?
Arkansas: Lincoln and Pryor (Pryor is supposedly leaning toward support, but doesn't want to be too vocal, while Lincoln is wavering. Both are getting their arms twisted by Walmart, the unchallenged corporate king in Arkansas.)
California: Feinstein (I'm nearly 100% sure she supports it, though.)
Colorado: Bennet and Udall (pretty sure they both support it...it's just that they're both rather quiet folks.)
Indiana: Bayh (here's a fun fact: he's been the least loyal Democrat, other than Ben Nelson, so far in the 111th Congress, bucking us frequently on amendment votes though rarely bucking us on cloture. But Indiana is hurting economically, and is pretty pro-labor as swing states go.)
Louisiana: Landrieu (getting tons of pressure from the mucky-mucks in the oil, natural gas, and fishing industries, all of whom hold a lot of sway in right-to-work Louisiana. She's worth working over, though...)
Missouri: McCaskill (I'm pretty sure she's on the right side...like Bennet and Udall of Colorado, she doesn't like being identified too obviously with union bosses, but she's one of the biggest common sense populists in the Senate. Missouri is a major labor state, at that...Dick Gephardt built his career on it.)
Montana: Baucus and Tester (not a right-to-work state or an especially anti-union one, though nowhere in the Mountain West is labor very powerful except Nevada. They might want to avoid the shrillness of this controversy and stay out, but Baucus chairs the Finance Committee and was the manager of SCHIP expansion and the stimulus in the Senate. I think they'll go for it in the end, Baucus being a major Dem wheeler-dealer and Tester being a freshman who needs to stay on Reid's good side.)
Nebraska: Ben Nelson (says he opposes the bill in its current form. A right-to-work state, and an especially anti-union one at that. He'll be the toughest to get back. Lincoln, Pryor, and Landrieu are more worthwhile efforts. The good news is that, once Kennedy is back/replaced and Franken is seated, we can get 60 without Nelson if Specter stays on the right side of this one. Tough, but doable.)
New Mexico: Bingaman (a Feinstein Democrat...he's low-key but will come down on the right side.)
North Carolina: Hagan(also rumored in the Politico article. North Carolina is probably the second-most anti-union state in the nation, following only South Carolina. Remember that this is the land of Norma Rae, and has a union membership of...get this...2%! By comparison, even famous right-to-work states like Georgia, Florida, Alabama, etc. are more unionized. But, Hagan is a moderate-to-progressive and is a freshman needing to stay in Reid's favors.)
North Dakota: Conrad and Dorgan (both rather quiet, but Dorgan is avowedly pro-labor and Conrad is a key Obama ally and budget guru. They'll vote for it.)
Virginia: Warner and Webb (both fiscal conservatives and social moderates-to-progressives. Another right-to-work state with low union membership. But like Hagan and Tester, these are freshmen and Reid can keep them from moving up the ladder if he chooses. They'll be kept in line...if Reid is as smart as we hope he is.)
Wisconsin: Kohl (a businessman, but one of the more reliable liberals in the Midwest. Don't worry about him.)
Some of these people were cosponsors in 2007...what's up with that? I suppose the stakes were lower when cloture was impossible, and now that it's within reach, the "moderates" are getting cold feet. Special props to people like Tim Johnson, Bill Nelson, Mark Begich, and Sherrod Brown, who are cosponsoring S.560 despite coming from swing or conservative states. Johnson and Nelson hail from right-to-work states, at that.
So, some counting...40 sponsors of the bill + Feinstein, Bennet, Udall of CO, McCaskill, Baucus, Tester, Bingaman, Hagan, Conrad, Dorgan, Warner, Webb, and Kohl = 53 "lean" votes for EFCA (including Kennedy or his replacement in MA). 60, of course, are needed. Lincoln, Pryor, Bayh, Landrieu, and Nelson of NE are all serious concerns, and the latter may be lost for good. If so, the best case scenario is 57 right now, meaning we need Specter, Franken, and someone else (Voinovich of Ohio, a relatively pro-union Republican who is retiring?). Of course, those five Democrats all voted for cloture in 2007, so what real reason other than pressure from business hacks do they have to switch?
This will be the most dramatic cloture vote of 2009.
In the middle of the worst crisis of our lifetimes, the Texas Senate has thrown its full energies into solving a problem that doesn’t exist! Even the Dallas daily paper, usually as anti-worker as any mainstream press, ended their lead editorial with “Someone should end this charade.”
They referred to the “Voter-ID” bill that was passed by Republicans in the Texas Senate on March 11 with a precise partisan vote. If it is also passed by the state House, it will require all Texas voters to present a state-provided picture identification card in addition to their registration card. Thousands of blind, disabled, and older voters would thus be required to buy these cards or quit voting. The Republican Lieutenant Governor, David Dewhurst, maneuvered to suspend Senate rules specifically to pass this particular bill.
Union spokespersons say that the Republicans are trying to impose a new poll tax to restrict voting rights. The Republicans say that they are trying to stop “massive voter fraud” when imposters, specifically Latino immigrants, illegally impersonate voters. The problem with their argument is that, despite years of effort entailing millions of dollars, Republicans haven’t been able to find a single incident of any imposter voting in any Texas election!
Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott, who has already been shamed by his failure to find any of his highly-touted “massive voter fraud,” was conspicuously absent from the Senate discussions, according to the Texas AFL-CIO.
One of the many people who traveled to the state capitol in Austin was Texas Alliance for Retired Americans President Annie Banks, a retired teacher. According to the Texas AFL-CIO, Banks traveled from Houston, then waited 23 hours in the capitol, though the night of March 11, to give her testimony.
On the day after the Senate’s action, the Ft Worth newspaper ran the story of a 97-year old African American woman who had already made three separate attempts to get a picture-id from the state, and had been turned down every time!
The worst part of the debacle isn’t in most reports: the state’s unemployment trust fund, doling out unprecedented amounts in recent months, is running out of money while the legislature dawdles! Last year, despite gathering economic storm clouds, Governor Perry pushed through a cut in the employers’ tax for the fund. This year, it is clear that the legislature will have to borrow money, and pay interest, to keep the fund going. Texas cannot qualify for the $555 million in federal stimulus money for the unemployed unless the state legislature acts to update its rigid anti-worker qualifications. Presently, an unemployed Texas worker has less chance of actually receiving any unemployment benefits than workers in any other state. Several politicians, including Perry, have made it clear that they want to keep it that way!
Why would Governor Perry, Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst, and Attorney General Abbott disgrace themselves and the state so thoroughly? A good answer came from Austin political expert Harvey Kronberg during the Texas AFL-CIO Legislative Conference on January 28. He said that right wingers are positioning themselves to win the Texas Republican primary elections in 2010. He expects U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson to resign her seat in order to run for Governor against Perry. Dewhurst, Abbott, and others are likely preparing themselves to run for Hutchinson’s Senate seat. The Texas Republican primary is a small election, with usually fewer than 600,000 voters in a state of over 20 million people. Republican candidates do not care what the general public, or the world, thinks of them as long as they can win that small race – and the key is to be the most right wing of all the candidates!
By pushing the nonsensical “voter-ID” legislation and ignoring the suffering of the unemployed, Texas Republicans are grasping for power!
--Jim Lane, flittle7@yahoo.com
|
|
