Fix The SENATE !

Tell the Senate: Fix the filibuster

The petition reads:

"I am writing today to ask that you support a strong package of reforms to the filibuster, including a requirement that senators have to speak on the Senate floor in order to filibuster, and oppose the McCain/Levin proposal that would not help end the dysfunction in the Senate."

Automatically add your name:

The filibuster is one of the biggest barriers to progress in our country.

This antiquated provision in Senate procedure has given a minority of right-wing senators the ability to paralyze the Senate.

It's the reason there was no public option in health care reform, financial reform didn't end "too big to fail," and the DREAM Act never made it to the Senate floor.

Every two years there's an opportunity to reform the filibuster by a majority vote at the beginning of a new Congress.

The next chance to do so will come up in a few weeks, but if we miss this opportunity we will not have a chance to fix the filibuster until 2014.

Speak out and tell the Senate: Fix the filibuster. Click here to automatically sign the petition.

The filibuster of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" no longer exists.

Today's filibuster doesn't require opponents of a bill to make their case on the Senate floor. Instead filibusters now require very little time or effort, which has led to widespread abuse by the conservative minority.

While filibusters used to be extremely rare, right-wing senators are now routinely stopping bills and nominees that a majority favors.

Two years ago, there was movement to fix the filibuster until Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid cut a bad deal with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell that killed the reform effort.

We can't allow the Senate to once again take a pass on meaningful reform of the filibuster. We simply cannot afford another two years of Senate paralysis and dysfunction.

So this time around, we're working to create momentum behind a strong package of reforms championed by Sen. Jeff Merkley, including the "talking filibuster" which requires senators to speak on the Senate floor in order to continue debate and prevent a vote.

Unfortunately a bipartisan group of more conservative senators have announced a much weaker proposal (called the McCain/Levin proposal) that would not fix the Senate's dysfunction but could have the effect of scuttling the meaningful filibuster reform. And in some ways the McCain/Levin proposal could be worse than the status quo.

We need to speak out and make sure the Senate confronts this issue head on and passes a strong reform package that includes the "talking filibuster."

Speak out and tell the Senate: Fix the filibuster. Click here to automatically sign the petition.

Abuse of the filibuster has reduced the Senate to an arena where petty political posturing and the casual and callous disregard for the crises we face as a country can bring the business of the legislative branch of our government to a grinding halt.

In a few weeks, the Senate will be able to change the filibuster rules with a simple majority vote.

We need to speak out now to make sure that Democrats lead with a strong package of reforms that includes the "talking filibuster," and don't fall prey to the weaker bipartisan proposal which will effectively kill our efforts to actually fix the filibuster.

Click the link below to automatically sign the petition:
http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=6994756&p=filibuster_reform_2013&id=52909-3026155-mmVz%3D1x&t=5

Thank you for all you do.

"Democracy...is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch"!
Liberty...is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.

Fiat Lux

WHAT CONGRESS DID ~ FISCAL CLIFF ?

Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka On Senate Agreement on Fiscal Showdown

January 1, 2013

The agreement passed by the Senate last night is a breakthrough in beginning to restore tax fairness and achieves some key goals of working families.  It does not cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits. It raises over $700 billion over 10 years, including interest savings, by ending the Bush income tax cuts for families making over $450,000 a year. And in recognition of the continuing jobs crisis, it extends unemployment benefits for a year.  A strong message from voters and a relentless echo from grassroots activists over the last six weeks helped get us this far.

But lawmakers should have listened even better.  The deal extends the Bush tax cuts for families earning between $250,000 and $450,000 a year and makes permanent Bush estate tax cuts exempting estates valued up to $5 million from any tax. These concessions amount to over $200 billion in additional tax cuts for the 2%.

And because of Republican hostage taking, the deal simply postpones the $1.2 trillion sequester for only two months and does not address the debt ceiling, setting the stage for more fiscal blackmail at the expense of the middle class.

Instead of moving to address our nation’s real jobs and public investment crisis, our leaders will be debating a prolonged artificial fiscal crisis.  In the weeks to come, as the confrontation over the economic direction of our country continues, the working men and women of the AFL-CIO will continue to fight to keep poor and middle class families from giving more so rich people can continue paying less.  That means a fairer, more progressive tax system, an end to Bush tax rates for the 2% and protection of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid from benefit cuts.

"Democracy...is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch"!
Liberty...is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.

Fiat Lux

Continued ! THE WAR on DRUGS !

TO GOOD TO PASS UP !

Values and Virtues;

Values and virtues are things we do not often speak of, but they are of utmost importance to the recovering addict and alcoholic. Values are the things we hold dear. They define what is important and where we invest our time and energy. If I value my recovery I will invest time and energy into it. The same is true with family, a spiritual life, work, self-care and our relationships with others. Virtues on the other hand determine how we go about living our lives. The program teaches us many virtues such as honesty, courage, wisdom and many others. We discover that we do not need to live in a manner of self-deceit, dishonesty, fear and stupidity. We find that we can develop healthy values and virtues. Recovery and the steps and traditions teach us how to live. Am I developing a healthy set of values and virtues?

Brought to you by OneHealth™ Solutions, Inc. and their OneHealth Meeting Finder. OneHealth products are uniquely built by people dedicated to helping people change behavior and lead healthier lives. OneHealth offers a supportive space for members to connect with people who understand, share stories and support one another as they set and achieve their personal health goals. For more information check our site.

“The past is the cause of the present and the present will be cause of the future” !

"Democracy...is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch"!
Liberty...is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.

THE MONEY WAR !

 Robert Reich

Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy, University of California at Berkeley; Author, 'Beyond Outrage'

The Ongoing War: After the Battle Over the Cliff, the Battle Over the Debt Ceiling

Posted: 01/02/2013 9:08 am

"It's not all I would have liked," says Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, speaking of the deal on the fiscal cliff, "so on to the debt ceiling." The battle over the fiscal cliff was only a prelude to the coming battle over raising the debt ceiling -- a battle that will likely continue through early March, when the Treasury runs out of tricks to avoid a default on the nation's debt. The White House's and Democrats' single biggest failure in the cliff negotiations was not getting Republicans' agreement to raise the debt ceiling. The last time the debt ceiling had to be raised, in 2011, Republicans demanded major cuts in programs for the poor as well as Medicare and Social Security.

They got some concessions from the White House but didn't get what they wanted -- which led us to the fiscal cliff.

So we've come full circle.

On it goes, battle after battle in what seems an unending war that began with the election of Tea-Party Republicans in November, 2010.

Don't be fooled. This war was never over the federal budget deficit.

In fact, federal deficits are dropping as a percent of the total economy.

For the fiscal year ending in September 2009, the deficit was 10.1 percent of the gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced in America. In 2010, it was 9 percent. In 2011, 8.7 percent. In the 2012 fiscal year, it was down to 7 percent.

The deficit ballooned in 2009 because of the Great Recession. It knocked so many people out of work that tax revenues dropped to the lowest share of the economy in over sixty years. (The Bush tax cuts on the rich also reduced revenues.) The recession also boosted government spending on a stimulus program and on safety nets like unemployment insurance and food stamps.

But as the nation slowly emerges from recession, more people are employed -- generating more tax revenues, and requiring less spending on safety nets and stimulus. That's why the deficit is shrinking.

Yes, deficits are projected to rise again in coming years as a percent of GDP. But that's mainly due to the rising costs of health care, along with aging baby boomers who are expected to need more medical treatment.

Health care already consumes 18 percent of the total economy and almost a quarter of the federal budget (mostly in Medicare and Medicaid).

So if the ongoing war between Republicans and Democrats was really over those future budget deficits, you might expect Republicans and Democrats to be focusing on ways to hold down future healthcare costs.

They might be debating how to make the cost controls in the Affordable Care Act more effective, for example, or the merits of moving to a more efficient single-payer system, as every other advanced country has done.

But they're not debating this, because the federal deficit is not what this war is about.

It's about the size of government. Tea-Party Republicans (and other congressional Republicans worried about a Tea-Party challenge in their next primary) want the government to be much smaller.

"My goal," says conservative guru Grover Norquist, "is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub."

What's behind this zeal to shrink government? It's not that the U.S. government has suddenly become larger. In fact, non-military government spending relative to the size of the U.S. economy remains the smallest of any other rich nation.

Apart from the military, Medicare and Social Security account for almost everything else the federal government does -- and these programs continue to be hugely popular, as Republicans learn every time they threaten them.

The animus toward government has more to do with the growing frustrations of many Americans that they're not getting ahead no matter how hard they work.

Government is an easy scapegoat, utilized by much of corporate America to convince average Americans to cut taxes, spending, and regulations -- and divert attention from record-high corporate profits and concentration of income and wealth at the top.

The median wage continues to drop, adjusted for inflation, even though the economy is growing. And the share of the economy going to wages rather than to profits is the smallest on record.

Increasingly it's looked like the game is rigged, especially when people see government bailing out Wall Street (the Tea Party movement grew out of the bailout, as did the Occupiers), and handing out corporate welfare to big agriculture, big pharma, oil companies, and the insurance industry, to name but a few of the recipients.

The outrage grows when average working people are told -- falsely -- that a growing portion of Americans don't pay taxes and live off government handouts.

The battle over the fiscal cliff is over, but the trench warfare will continue.

"Democracy...is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch"!
Liberty...is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.

Fiat Lux

UNIONS an ARM for THE WORKING CLASS

HELLO ~ 2013

Goodbye 2012. . . Bring on 2013!   

As the year comes to a close, we want to acknowledge the work that you do to make sure the voices of working people are part of the debate wherever policy is decided.  Once again, nobody does it like our union!  In 2012, you:

• Took on China.  This time, you stood up for hundreds of thousands of Steelworkers whose livelihood is threatened by China’s predatory, protectionist and illegal tactics to dominate manufacturing in the auto supply sector. You pushed your lawmakers to sign on to a letter to the President and wrote letters to the editor.  The result?  The President launched a trade case.

• Stood up to outsourcing.  You supported the Bring Jobs Home Act by calling Congress and taking part in over 90 events nationwide.  You rallied to expose outsourcers and highlighted those who are insourcing.  You met with lawmakers to build support and protested outside of the offices of opponents.  You marched in parades and spoke out in the press.  Despite the bill being blocked in both the House and Senate, the issue would resurface in the year-end fiscal negotiations.

• Got voters registered.   We have reports of over 14,000 voters getting registered through this year’s national voter registration drive, while countless others confirmed their registration status.  Special thanks goes to Districts 12, 7 and 9 for topping the nation in both numbers registered and the percentage of locals participating.

• Stood up to bad cuts.  You fought cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in the year-end fiscal negotiations and spoke out against more tax breaks for the wealthiest 2%.  You participated in multiple call-in days and local events across the country.  The most recent reports show this is making a difference.

• Fought for workers’ rights everywhere.  You opposed deceptive “right to work” laws and other anti-worker legislation (and ballot initiatives) in states across the country. You acted proactively to maximize Buy American in state projects and put pro-worker issues on the ballot. 

• Educated, empowered and engaged.  In one year’s time, you circulated over 150 different InfoAlerts, ActionCalls, Feedback Reports and Candidate Comparisons.  You also joined us on our new facebook page, which hit 1,000 “likes” this fall. 

• Took part in hundreds of training sessions designed to build local Rapid Response programs.  That includes the 700+ attendees taking part in the first-ever Regional Rapid Response Conferences held earlier this year. 

We know that our work is far from done, but with great activists like you and a drive to bring back the middle class, we will make a difference.  Have a very happy New Year, and we’ll see you in 2013!

“We must close union offices, confiscate their money and put their leaders in prison. We must reduce workers salaries and take away their right to strike." !   Adolph Hitler - May 2,1933 

Fiat Lux

REPUBLICANS ? HOW LOW CAN YOU GO ?

• i

Robert Kuttner

Co-founder and co-editor, 'The American Prospect'

New Year, New Low for Republicans

Posted: 12/30/2012 10:30 pm

Four years ago Barack Obama prepared to take the oath of office as a Democratic president, at a moment when free market ideology and Republican incumbency were disgraced by events. But a year that should have marked the end of the laissez-faire fantasy and the resurgence of effective government instead began an era of muddle through.

I have often quoted the British historian A. J. P. Taylor. Speaking of the revolutionary year in Europe, 1848, when democratic revolutions broke out only to be crushed, Taylor observed, "It was a turning point of history, but history didn't turn." In many respects, that also describes 2008.

The Republicans were voted out, but the big banks that caused the collapse were propped up rather than broken up. Their basic business model was allowed to continue, with taxpayers guaranteeing billion dollar paydays for corporate moguls. The economic rules of the game continued to tilt against regular working families, who are more precarious than ever. Obama took most of his economic advice from the very people whose belief in complete license for finance caused the collapse.

The administration played softball with a Republican opposition determined to wreck the recovery rather than allow Obama any victories. Democrats were almost as thoroughly in bed with Wall Street as Republicans. The mantle of populist frustration, absurdly, passed to the tea parties. Democrats, in the 2010 mid-term, suffered the worst defeat since 1938, a year when President Roosevelt listened to the Wall Street deficit hawks of that era.

But two years later, even muddle-through managed to beat muddled thinking. Mitt Romney divided his own party, committed one mistake after another; and despite one decent debate performance, he couldn't beat the incumbent even in a weak economy.

Now the political gods have granted President Obama a do-over. It remains to seen whether he will use it to maximum advantage.

If anything, circumstances at the start of Obama's second term are even more auspicious for the president and the Democrats than they were at the beginning of his first term, after Wall Street crashed the economy.

How far are Republicans out of touch with public sentiment? Let us count the ways.

The president, sensibly, has jettisoned the bad idea of a grand budget bargain that would result in serious cuts to Social Security and Medicare. He is trying to enlist Republicans to support a small bargain that will avert a contrived fiscal contraction -- no tax hikes on 98 percent of Americans, and the continuation of benefits for upwards of two million long-term unemployed.

The White House and Congress, having avoided the worst of the fiscal cliff, could then continue to debate other budget issues, like how to avoid the "sequester" of devastating automatic cuts and how to arrest the inflation in medical costs without cutting into medical care.

Most Americans oppose a tax increase on the middle class and support one for the rich. Obama was very effective on Meet the Press, reducing the budget debate to that simple essential issue.

But the Republicans in Congress are so dysfunctional that they may not be able to avert bearing responsibility for a tax hike that nobody wants. Even after President Obama tentatively offered to raise the income cut-off for a tax increase from $250,000 a year to $400,000 a year - limiting tax hikes to the top one percent, neither House Speaker John Boehner not Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell could bring himself to support it. Both prisoners of legislative caucuses even more extreme than they are.

Earlier in the negotiations, Obama had opened the door to adjusting the cost of living adjustment formula -- the so-called chained CPI -- as a backdoor way of cutting Social Security, in the context of a bigger budget deal. This was both a tactical and a policy mistake, and it gave Senate Republican Leader McConnell a basis for demanding more concessions from Democrats in return for agreeing to higher taxes on the rich. But Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, sensibly, wants nothing to do with any kind of cuts in Social Security, back door or front door.

The Democrats have the strongest hand when they keep the basic issues clear and simple. Eventually, the budget deal being offered by President Obama or something very much like it will be made. The only question is how much damage the Republicans do to themselves and the economy in the meantime. If no deal is struck before January 1 and taxes briefly go up on everybody while financial markets swoon, the pressure on Republicans only increases.

And that isn't all. In the new Congress, the Republicans will find themselves on the wrong side of other high-profile issues, ranging from gun control to immigration reform to same-sex marriage, as well as protecting Social Security and Medicare from cuts that are less about "saving" these programs than about saving tax breaks for the rich.

On all these issues, there is no question that President Obama will be on the right side of public opinion. The only question is whether he will lead public opinion.

Over the pre-New Years weekend, President Obama was sounding like a partisan, albeit a reluctant one. He should not be so reluctant. A radical, obstructionist, and dysfunctional Republican opposition in the House and Senate stands between the country and the policies that the economy needs and that the majority of Americans want.

The president was right to call the Republicans on taxes. As the New Year wears on, he should do the same on gun control, immigration reform, and gay and lesbian rights.

Obama wanted to be the president who would change the tone in Washington, meaning a more collaborative relationship with the Republicans. That was not to be. The Republicans would not allow it. Now, history invites Obama to change the tone in Washington by dispatching an extremist Republican Party to the far fringes of public discourse where it belongs.

Robert Kuttner is co-editor of The American Prospect and a Senior Fellow at Demos.

 

Follow Robert Kuttner on Twitter: www.twitter.com/rkuttner

"Democracy...is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch"!

Liberty...is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote

Fiat Lux

SOCIAL SECURITY ~ "THE POISON PILL"!

A Democratic source familiar with the talks tells CNN they have hit a “major setback” because Republicans are now insisting that any fiscal cliff deal include “chained CPI."


Chained CPI, which Democrats consider a “poison pill,”would change the way Social Security benefits are adjusted for inflation, effectively meaning Social Security recipients would receive less money over the years.

The Democratic source’s understanding is that the president offered this in talks with House Speaker John Boehner, but Democrats say that was in the context of a larger deal -- in exchange for changes to the way the debt ceiling is approached, which is not in the plan anymore.

This source did not want to be identified because of the closed nature of the talks, but was clearly giving the information to CNN to make public the Democrats’ point of view and push the Republicans to give in on this high-stakes issue. The source also told CNN that Democrats are currently “going outside their comfort zone” in these talks with regard to tax rates -- keeping tax rates in place for higher income households than the president wants. The source also said Democrats are negotiating with Republicans on extending the current lower estate tax rate, a big issue for many Republicans as well as moderate Democrats.

A Senate Republican leadership source responded by pointing to the president’s comments in an interview that aired Sunday suggesting he is willing to look at chained CPI “in pursuit of strengthening Social Security for the long term.” 

"Democracy...is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch"!
Liberty...is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.

Fiat Lux

DIANE BLACK ! MILLIONAIRE CONGRESS PERSON...

Diane Black

 They're back!! Murfreesboro Taxpayers to Hold Second Rally to Call On Rep. Diane Black to Vote on Already Senate Passed "Middle Class Tax Cut Extension" and Avert Looming $2,200 Tax Hike on Middle-Class Families

WHAT: Escalating concerns over the "Fiscal Cliff" in Rep. Black’s district and across Tennessee have inspired local taxpayers to once again rally in front of Rep. Diane Black's office in Murfreesboro. They will deliver more letters and make brief remarks calling on Black to to stop blocking a vote on Middle Class Tax Cut Extension. Rep. Black's support of the bill, already passed in the Senate, would avert a huge tax hike on the Middle Class families (98% of Tennesseans) and small businesses beginning in January. 

WHO: Murfreesboro residents and Black's constituents including Colleen Janus (see statement below).

WHEN: Friday, December 28th at 2:00 p.m. CT

WHERE:  Office of Rep. Diane Black, 305 W. Main Street, Murfreesboro, TN

Colleen Janus, a local volunteer organizer of the rally: “My husband and I are Murfreesboro parents who have worked hard to ensure our children have the benefit of a college education.  Our son Paul graduated from MTSU two years ago, and our daughter Stacy graduates in May with a nursing degree. A tax hike on us and her of over $2,000 means a lot to our family.  It is the price of one semester’s clinicals, fees and books If Rep. Black doesn’t get back to work and pass the Middle Class Tax Cut extension it means a $2,200 tax hike for folks like us. For me, that’s gas money and groceries. For my daughter it’s tuition and books at MTSU. Rep. Black and Rep. DesJarlais need to stop holding middle class tax relief hostage to protect tax breaks for the richest 2%, folks like Donald Trump who doesn’t need another tax break.  All Rep. Black has to do is approve the bill already passed in the Senate bill to immediately extend tax relief to 98% of the American people and 97% of small businesses.”

PUT THE POLITICIANS ON MINIMUM WAGE......AND WATCH HOW FAST THINGS CHANGE !

"Democracy...is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch"!
Liberty...is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.

Fiat Lux

MILLIONAIRES TAKING CARE OF MILLIONAIRES !

Robert Reich

Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy, University of California at Berkeley; Author, 'Beyond Outrage'

Cliff Hanger: Why Republicans Don't Care What the Nation Thinks

Posted: 12/28/2012 8:42 am

Are House Republicans -- now summoned back to Washington by Speaker John Boehner -- about to succumb to public pressure and save the nation from the fiscal cliff?

Don't bet on it.

Even if Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell cooperates by not mounting a filibuster and allows the Senate to pass a bill extending the Bush tax cuts to the first $250,000 of everyone's income, Boehner may not bring it to the House floor.

On a Thursday conference call with House Republicans he assured conservatives he was "not interested" in allowing such a vote if most House Republicans would reject the bill, according to a source on the call.

Democrats are confident that even if the nation technically goes over the cliff January 1, Boehner will bring such a bill to the floor soon after January 3 -- once House Republicans have reelected him Speaker -- and it will get passed.

But this assumes Boehner and the GOP will be any more swayed by public opinion than they are now.

Public opinion is already running strongly in favor of President Obama and the Democrats, and against the GOP. In the latest CNN/ORC poll, 48 percent say they'll blame Republicans if no deal is reached while 37 percent blame Obama. Confidence in congressional Republicans is hovering at about 30 percent; Obama is enjoying the confidence of 46 percent. And over half of all Americans think the GOP is too extreme.

Yet Republicans haven't budged. The fact is, they may not care a hoot about the opinions of most Americans.

That's because the national party is in disarray. Boehner isn't worried about a challenge to his leadership; no challenger has emerged. The real issue is neither he nor anyone else is in charge of the GOP. Romney's loss, along with the erosion of their majority in the House and Democratic gains in the Senate, has left a vacuum at the top.

House Republicans don't run nationally. They run only in their own districts -- which, because of gerrymandering, are growing even more purely Republican. Their major concern is being reelected in 2014, and their biggest potential obstacle in their way is a primary challenge from the right.

The combination of a weakened national party and more intense competition in primaries is making the Republican Party relatively impervious to national opinion.

This poses a large strategic problem for the Democrats. It could be an even bigger problem for the nation.

ROBERT B. REICH, Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, was Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration. Time Magazine named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the last century. He has written thirteen books, including the best sellers "Aftershock" and "The Work of Nations." His latest is an e-book, "Beyond Outrage," now available in paperback. He is also a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine and chairman of Common Cause.

"Democracy...is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch"!
Liberty...is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.

Fiat Lux

 

UNREPORTED STORY of 2012 ~ BILL MOYERS

The Most Underreported News Story of 2012 Is...

Posted: 12/26/2012 9:33 pm

BY: BILL MOYERS

It's easy enough to compile a "best" and "worst" list, but what about bringing attention to important issues that went largely unreported in 2012?

That's the challenge we posed to editorial leaders from Alternet, Truthout, The Root, Common Dreams, and TomDispatch when we asked them to share what they consider the most underreported issue of 2012. Some of the answers will still surprise you.

See excerpts below, and visit the latest "Group Think" at BillMoyers.com for complete responses, and to share your own suggestions.

"The great underreported story of 2012 is the accelerated spread of poverty and concentration of wealth in the United States." 
-- Don Hazen, Executive Editor of Alternet

"As the unconventional oil and gas drilling rapidly industrializes rural areas across the nation, the lessons of Bayou Corne will be crucial to draw upon. The full story of America's current oil and gas rush cannot be told without the voices of the people living in areas impacted by the industry." 
-- Maya Schenwar, Executive Director of Truthout

"If you asked me 25 years ago how people would react when we found a way to prevent HIV infection, I would have predicted dancing in the streets and widespread news coverage." 
-- Sheryl Huggins Salomon, Managing Editor of The Root

"As long as meaningful action on climate change will hurt the short-term profits of the fossil fuel industries, the media conglomerates and Wall Street, we can't expect the media blackout to end..." 
-- Craig Brown, Founder and Director of Common Dreams

"The real reporting crisis involves the inability of the mainstream to connect the dots, almost any dots, or display any kind of historical memory." 
-- Tom Engelhardt, Editor of The Nation Institute's TomDispatch

"Democracy...is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch"!    

Liberty...is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote. 

Fiat Lux

SOCIAL SECURITY & MEDICARE...NOT BROKEN !

---

Click here to take action!

Have you heard about House Speaker John Boehner’s plan to lower the deficit?

Cut Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid, and raise the age when you can begin receiving the benefits that you paid for and earned.  Instead of eliminating tax breaks for the wealthiest 2 percent of the country, Boehner is asking those with the least to sacrifice the most.

Today retirees and activists of all ages gathered at the U.S. Capitol to send a loud and clear message: Hell No!
Add your voice by telling your Senators and U.S. Representative to protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid and to end tax breaks for millionaires.

Social Security has not added one penny to the deficit.  Medicare and Medicaid have improved the lives of millions of Americans.  These vital programs have not caused our deficit.  Instead, reckless tax cuts and loopholes for the wealthiest and greedy Wall Street behavior have.  It’s time for us to tell Congress hands off Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.  Make those who caused the deficit pay for it.

Click here to join your fellow retirees today by sending the attached letter to your U.S. Senators and Representative.  They need to hear from you and thousands of other retirees as soon as possible.

Let’s not be the last generation to retire – contact Congress today!

Thank you for all you do !

Underdog = Don Jones

PUT THE POLITICIANS ON MINIMUM WAGE......AND WATCH HOW FAST THINGS CHANGE !

 

"Democracy...is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch"!
Liberty...is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.

Fiat Lux

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2012

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

Click on Christmas Card > ; "Christmas Card" 

Underdog = Don Jones

"Democracy...is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch"!

Liberty...is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.  

Fiat Lux       

  

AMERICA`S FUTURE ?

What if we told you that you could help save Social Security and support the work of the Campaign for America’s Future with just two clicks? It’s easy, and it doesn’t cost you a penny. 1. Sign Credo’s Petition to tell the Senate not to cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid.   We’ve teamed up with CREDO Action to help send a strong message to your senators: Reject any deal that cuts these vital programs. 2. Vote for Campaign for America's Future. Once you've signed the petition, you are eligible to vote for which nonprofits Credo Mobile will fund in the coming year. (If you're a Credo mobile subscriber or have participated in one of their actions you are already eligible.)  You will find Campaign for America's Future under Economic & Social Justice. Last year they donated over $2.7 to nonprofits. Two clicks are all it takes to defend Social Security now and build a bold progressive jobse agenda for 2013. With heartfelt appreciation and best wishes for a happy holiday season, Thanks for all you do, Underdog = Don Jones "Democracy...is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch"! Liberty...is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote. Fiat Lux

FINCHERS HENCHMEN in MARTIN TENNESSEE

HECKLED FOR TAKING ACTION

In Martin Tennessee, they rallied at Congressman Stephen Fincher's office and according to one participant, they were met by "hecklers" who "ridiculed working men and women who don't want their taxes to go up." More from an eyewitness writing for The Rural Progress blog:

 

"Today, my husband and I joined a small group of concerned citizens and tried to hold a peaceful demonstration at the Martin field office of Congressman Stephen Fincher. We were greeted with threats of violence.

When my husband and  I arrived I was a little nervous - there were hecklers. Who would heckle an "Anti-Tax Hike" demonstration?

That's kind of a weird. I really thought they must just be there to watch.

So off we went, marching down Lindell Street past the new fountain in the park...And I was right, there they were -  a group of about 5 big guys waiting for us. They ridiculed working men and women who don't want their taxes to go up. It made no sense. I really couldn't believe what I was watching. It was embarrassing. Five old white men booing and mocking and giving the thumbs down to a group of mostly middle aged women. The animosity was shocking and it felt genuine."

 

The Action is not just today, but ongoing - until members of Congress get it together and decide that cutting vital service programs and earned benefits like Social Security and Medicare is not an option.

"Democracy...is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch"!
Liberty...is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.

EDITORIAL : CONGRESSMAN STEPHEN FINCHER OUGHTA BE ASHAMED !