FRONTLINE: the warning: watch the full program online | www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/warning/view/ "We didn't truly know the dangers of the market, because it was a dark market," says Brooksley Born, the head of an obscure federal regulatory agency -- the Commodity Futures Trading Commission [CFTC] -- who not only warned of the potential for economic meltdown in the late 1990s, but also tried to convince the country's key economic powerbrokers to take actions that could have helped avert the crisis. "They were totally opposed to it," Born says. "That puzzled me. What was it that was in this market that had to be hidden?"

AFL-CIO NOW BLOG | Jobless Workers Get Answers from Trumka, Franken Via Working America blog.aflcio.org/2010/01/15/jobless-workers-get-answers-from-trumka-franken-via-w... Lisa in Louisville, Ky., was one of some 20,000 unemployed Working America members who took part in a conference call today with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) to talk about solutions to the jobs crisis and how to make the economy work for working families again.

H.R. 3149: The Equal Employment for All Act: Activity Requests: Monday hr3149.blogspot.com/2010/01/activity-requests-monday.html [As always, we provide only what we are sending as an idea, but do NOT try and dictate what you have to say or what you send. What we provide is simply one opinion only and we're sure that many if not most of you can do better on your own.]

Cruise ships still find a Haitian berth | World news | The Guardian www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/17/cruise-ships-haiti-earthquake Luxury liners are still docking at private beaches near Haiti's devastated earthquake zone for holidaymakers to enjoy the water

Running scared, running hard - The Boston Globe www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2010/01/17/running_scared_running_har... Mike Urbonas was waving blue-and-red campaign signs for Democrat Martha Coakley yesterday in downtown Melrose, hoping to give the campaign a jolt and help derail her surging Republican opponent, Scott Brown.

Why did union reject reform? | floridatoday.com | FLORIDA TODAY www.floridatoday.com/article/20100117/COLUMNISTS0207/1170331/1086/ With little regard for its details, the teacher's union in Brevard County rejected the country's biggest, best-funded attempt ever at school reform and improvement.

Op-Ed Columnist - The Great Tea Party Rip-Off - NYTimes.com www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/opinion/17rich.html Even given the low bar set by America’s bogus conversations about race, the short-lived Harry Reid fracas was a most peculiar nonevent. For all the hyperventilation in cable news land, this supposed racial brawl didn’t seem to generate any controversy whatsoever in what is known as the real world.

Think Progress » Despite controversy over Haiti, Robertson still welcome at McDonnell’s inauguration prayer breakfast. thinkprogress.org/2010/01/16/mcdonnell-robertson/ Despite his controversial remarks this week tying Haiti’s devastating earthquake to the country’s “pact to the devil,” televangelist Pat Robertson still attended Bob McDonnell’s gubernatorial inauguration prayer breakfast today. McDonnell, who was sworn in as Virginia’s new Republican governor today, attended law school at Robertson’s Regent University and took some heat on the campaign trail over his graduate thesis. Although Robertson went to McDonnell’s prayer breakfast this morning, he was not given the honor of sitting behind the governor on the podium during the actual ceremony:

Think Progress » Wall Street Investors Lavish Scott Brown’s Campaign With Money, Get Out The Vote Operations thinkprogress.org/2010/01/15/wallst-scott-brown/ Scott Brown and Rudy Giuliani Major U.S. banks which instigated the financial crisis are set to pay out “record” bonuses and compensation — $145 billion by some estimates. State Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), the Republican candidate running for the special U.S. Senate election next week, announced yesterday that he would oppose the recently announced financial crisis responsibility fee on large banks. Brown’s defense of the financial industry has not been ignored by Wall Street. Wall Street’s two largest political enforcers are also out fighting to elect him: – The Wall Street front group FreedomWorks is mobilizing get out the vote efforts

Obama Massachusetts-bound: 60th vote: The Swamp www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2010/01/obama_massachusettsbound_hill.h... Earlier this week, the White House said that President Barack Obama had no plans to campaign in Massachusetts for the Democratic Senate candidate, Marha Coakley