Take Action: Internet Access Denied? FactCheck.org

Q: Is Obama seeking power to "disconnect your computer, shut down your favorite websites, or block your email"? A: A Senate bill would allow the president to restrict access to government or "critical infrastructure" networks in case of a "cybersecurity emergency." But it has bipartisan support, and even critics admit it would not allow him to shut down all private Internet traffic.

The Obama Phone? FactCheck.org

Q: Has the Obama administration started a program to use "taxpayer money" to give free cell phones to welfare recipients? A: No. Low-income households have been eligible for discounted telephone service for more than a decade. But the program is funded by telecom companies, not by taxes, and the president has nothing to do with it.

Take Action: Real Health Care Reform Now!

Nothing communicates better to a member of Congress than a short personal letter from a constituent. Mention that you are counting on your member of Congress to represent you and so many others who want and need health care reform.

House health-care reform bill includes public option, Medicaid expansion - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) unveiled a health-care reform bill Thursday that includes a government insurance option and a historic expansion of Medicaid, although sticking points involving abortion and immigration remain unresolved.

Sorry Deniers, There's No Such Thing as 'Global Cooling' Environment AlterNet

The latest plot by some global warming deniers is to push a bogus 'theory' that the earth is actually cooling, instead of warming. But the AP's Seth Borenstein took the hot air out of their sails.

Lieberman: Sure, I'd Filibuster A Health Care Reform Bill With A Public Option Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) told reporters today that he would in fact filibuster any health care bill he doesn't agree with--and right now, he doesn't agree with the public option proposal making its way through the Senate

Sorry Deniers, There's No Such Thing as 'Global Cooling' Environment AlterNet

The latest plot by some global warming deniers is to push a bogus 'theory' that the earth is actually cooling, instead of warming. But the AP's Seth Borenstein took the hot air out of their sails.
Lieberman: Sure, I'd Filibuster A Health Care Reform Bill With A Public Option
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) told reporters today that he would in fact filibuster any health care bill he doesn't agree with--and right now, he doesn't agree with the public option proposal making its way through the Senate
GOP lawmakers may be warming to changing Florida unemployment system to get more federal stimulus cash
TALLAHASSEE — With Congress poised to extend jobless benefits, the red ink flooding Florida's unemployment compensation system is deepening and now also spurring renewed calls for change from both Democrats and Republicans.

Facebook Home Space Coast AFL-CIO, Central Labor Council

SEIU.org Crash the Big Banks Party
This weekend, Wall Street CEOs are flying to Chicago to party it up on our dime. It's the American Bankers Association's annual conference - hosted by the lobbying group that takes millions of our tax dollars from America's bailed out banks. We may be paying for it, but we aren't invited.
The White House - Blog Post - Women, Mothers, Families and Reform
We've discussed health insurance reform from a lot of different perspectives here at WhiteHouse.gov, from doctors to seniors to small business owners. In a new video, First Lady Michelle Obama discusses it as a woman, and as a mom:
A decade of losses for working families SocialistWorker.org Heidi Shierholz, a labor economist at the Economic Policy Institute and co-author of The State of Working America 2008-2009, spoke to Lee Sustar about the problem of long-term unemployment that is gripping the U.S. economy.
Take Action: Real Health Care Reform Now!
Real Health Care Reform Now! Nothing communicates better to a member of Congress than a personal letter from a constituent. A short letter is fine. A few tips:
Buzz Aldrin: Mr. President, Will You Lead Us to Greatness in Space?
The roadmap is now complete. Today the commission formed to provide President Barack Obama with a series of potential pathways to America's future in space has delivered its final report. Officials in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP, as they say in Washington) received the report from my friend Chairman Norm
Robert Reich's Blog: Why Wall Street Reform is Stuck in Reverse
At a conference in London, a Goldman Sachs international adviser, Brian Griffiths, praised inequality. As his company was putting aside $16.7 billion for compensation and benefits in the first nine months of 2009, up 46 percent from a year earlier, Griffiths told us not to worry. “We have to tolerate the inequality as a way to achieve greater prosperity and opportunity for all,” he said.
Augustine final report set for release today
The presidential committee reviewing options for NASA's human space exploration program is expected to release its final report today.
Richard Trumka: Showdown in Chicago
I'm going to Chicago next week for the American Bankers Association meeting. Oddly, I haven't been invited to the Roaring '20's dance party I hear they're having.
Glenn Beck Slams Obama Encouraging Volunteerism: "Almost Like We're Living In Mao's China" (VIDEO)
The Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a Hollywood charitable organization, has helped to organize a push in the television industry to encourage volunteerism among the citizenry. The support for volunteerism will be spread across 60 shows, and in some cases woven into the plot lines.
Health experts say the swine flu vaccine is safe and effective, but many parents still think it's too risky for their kids - St. Petersburg Times
Thousands of American kids are getting sick from the swine flu epidemic, which has hit months before the traditional flu season

Hundreds of Brevard school employees protest insurance costs
In a last-ditch effort to get the Brevard County School Board to reverse a hike in health insurance costs, hundreds of employees dressed in all black and held up signs that read "You are bleeding teachers to death" or "Mourning the loss of respect to teachers."

Senate Finance Passes Health Care Reform Bill. Public Option Still AWOL
The Senate Finance Committee this afternoon approved what one panel member called “a down payment” on health care reform. By a 14-9 vote, the committee approved a bill that Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) says is ”a down payment and…the start of reforms.”
Join IWJ in National Day of Action to Stop Wage Theft

Wage theft is a national epidemic. A recent study found that low-wage workers in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles are routinely denied proper overtime pay and often are paid less than minimum wage

Dear President Obama and Vice President Biden,
We, the undersigned, are just a few of the more than 11 million artists living, working, and creating across the United States. Our work brings significant cultural and economic value to our society - and contributes $1.52 trillion to the nation's GDP. Yet that value is being disregarded as our rights and incentives to create are increasingly under threat.

Along With Layoffs, Recession’s Cost Can Be Seen in Pay Cuts
MECHANICSVILLE, Va. — The dark blue captain’s hat, with its golden oak-leaf clusters, sits atop a bookcase in Bryan Lawlor’s home, out of reach of the children. The uniform their father wears still displays the four stripes of a commercial airline captain, but the hat stays home. The rules forbid that extra display of authority, now that Mr. Lawlor has been downgraded to first officer

Federal Pay Czar Tries Again to Trim A.I.G. Bonuses
The federal pay czar is trying to force the American International Group to reduce $198 million in bonuses promised to employees of its trading unit, where problems posed a threat to the global financial system last year.

Lies, Damned Lies and a Health Insurance Industry Report Condemning Reform
With the prospect of Congress passing health care reform legislation becoming more likely each day, the nation’s health insurance industry has launched a new scare campaign to torpedo reform. Ironically, in doing so, Big Health Insurers also have shown why a public health insurance plan option is vital to real health care reform

Watering down the public option
Senate Democrats are growing increasingly bold in predicting a public health insurance option will pass Congress this year, defying months of pessimism and outright opposition from party moderates. But it’s not the “public option” you think.

Tea partiers turn on GOP leadership
While the energy of the anti-tax and anti-Big Government tea party movement may yet haunt Democrats in 2010, the first order of business appears to be remaking the Republican Party

77-Cent Increase Per Gallon of Gas? FactCheck.org www.factcheck.org/2009/10/77-cent-increase-per-gallon-of-gas/ Q: Will the House cap-and-trade bill raise the cost of a gallon of gasoline by 77 cents? A: That extreme estimate comes from the oil and gas industry’s lobby. Nonpartisan government
Editorial - View From the Bridge - NYTimes.com www.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/opinion/09fri4.html?th&emc=th Understanding the pace of our changing climate depends, to a large extent, on our ability to understand and model the climates of the past and their rate of change. These days we’re barraged by weather and climate data. But that is only a comparatively recent phenomenon. Scientists did not begin to gather accurate meteorological data until the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In Trial, 500,000 Homeowners Get Lower Mortgage Payments - NYTimes.com www.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/business/09home.html?th&emc=th For months, troubled homeowners seeking to lower their mortgage payments under a federal plan have complained about bureaucratic bungling, ceaseless frustration and confusion. On Thursday, the Obama administration declared that the $75 billion program is finally providing broad relief after it pressured mortgage companies to move faster to modify more loans.
U.S. Blocks Oil Drilling at 60 Sites in Utah - NYTimes.com www.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/science/earth/09leases.html?th&emc=th WASHINGTON — The Department of the Interior has frozen oil and gas development on 60 of 77 contested drilling sites in Utah, saying the process of leasing the land was rushed and badly flawed.

Study Finds High Rate of Imprisonment Among Dropouts - NYTimes.com www.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/education/09dropout.html?th&emc=th On any given day, about one in every 10 young male high school dropouts is in jail or juvenile detention, compared with one in 35 young male high school graduates, according to a new study of the effects of dropping out of school in an America where demand for low-skill workers is plunging.
Despite Housing Slump, Mortgage Lenders Making Record Profits From Fees www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/08/mortgage-lenders-making-r_n_312973.html Never ones to let an opportunity go unexploited, mortgage lenders are taking advantage of a market fueled by low interest rates and massive government subsidies to turn record profits. Their secret: The return of "junk fees."
Politifact Micheal Moore: Capitalism, a Love Story
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/oct/02/michael-moore/michael-moore-says-young-people-are-increasingly-w/
Michael Moore says young people are increasingly warm to socialism Michael Moore movie says that top 1 percent owns more financial wealth than bott... http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/oct/01/michael-moore/moore-says-top-1-percent-owns-more-financial-wealt/
Take Action: Tell Red Cross: Don't Cut Corners with Our Blood Supply www.unionvoice.org/campaign/redcross The Missouri Jobs with Justice Workers' Rights Board released a report today on the steps of the Red Cross Blood Services headquarters in St. Louis that raises concerns about donor safety and the security of the nation's blood supply at the country's largest supplier of blood and blood products.

Op-Ed Columnist - The Wizard of Beck - NYTimes.com

Let us take a trip back into history. Not ancient history. Recent history. It is the winter of 2007. The presidential primaries are approaching. The talk jocks like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and the rest are over the moon about Fred Thompson. They’re weak at the knees at the thought of Mitt Romney. Meanwhile, they are hurling torrents of abuse at the unreliable deviationists: John McCain and Mike Huckabee.
Take Action: Another Reason for the California Employee Free Choice Act
Another Reason for the California Employee Free Choice Act Supposedly we have the water available, we have the shade available, we have bathrooms available but dare not use them for fear of being fired. It was as if we had none at all. -- Rigoberto Ramirez, Blueberry worker
AFL-CIO NOW BLOG Hotel Workers Fight Cutbacks with Peaceful Civil Disobedience
Nearly 300 UNITE HERE members protesting demands from major hotels in Chicago and San Francisco for cutbacks, and the firing of 100 housekeepers in Boston, were arrested in peaceful civil disobedience demonstrations in recent days
Taxpayer-Funded Destruction « The Pump Handle

Several years ago when I was writing an article about solar energy, I tried without success to find a reliable figure for how much the U.S. spent subsidizing fossil fuels. So I was delighted to see that the Environmental Law Institute has released a report that answers that very question

Take Action: Tell Congress: Jobs, Homes, Health Care - NOW!
Near record unemployment levels mean that 25 million Americans are out of work or forced to scrape by on part-time jobs.
Will Ferrell, Pygmy Horses and Health Insurance FactCheck.org#
MoveOn.org Political Action’s latest video is a satirical send-up of a public service announcement titled "Protect Insurance Companies."
Op-Ed Columnist - The Wizard of Beck - NYTimes.com
Let us take a trip back into history. Not ancient history. Recent history. It is the winter of 2007. The presidential primaries are approaching. The talk jocks like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and the rest are over the moon about Fred Thompson. They’re weak at the knees at the thought of Mitt Romney. Meanwhile, they are hurling torrents of abuse at the unreliable deviationists: John McCain and Mike Huckabee.