Saturday, May 21, 2011

A Doctor’s Push for Single-Payer Health Care for All Finds Traction in Vermont

I've been following this story for a while and it's good to see the NYT put a front page story on their website about Vermont's new single payer health insurance law. Now we need only to adapt this model for the entire nation and we could cut healthcare costs dramatically and expand coverage to the uninsured.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/us/22vermont.html?hp

Ransacked Nation: VERMONT MAKES HISTORY, PASSES UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE

Recount ends, gives Prosser the win in Supreme Court race

I've been following the Wisconsin Supreme Court race and recount and am saddened by this report concluding that conservative Justice David Prosser has won a new 10-year term. This is a bitter disappointment and may have severe consequences as legal challenges to anti-labor and environment regulations work their way to the Supreme Court. The Court now has a clear 5-4 conservative majority and I'm not sure what recourse citizens in Wisconsin will have to challenge their rulings or change its composition. With the US Supreme Court firmly established as a champion of corporate 'individual' rights, we are continuing to lose the legal battle for social justice in America.
http://www.defendwisconsin.org/2011/05/20/recount-ends-gives-prosser-the-win-in-supreme-court-race/

Connecting the Dots: Novel GMO-Based Bug Threatens U.S. Food Supplies

A Professor Emeritus and senior plant pathologist from Purdue University, Dr. Don Huber, warns that a new organism spawned by glyphosate (the primary ingredient of Roundup) has infected GM corn and soy feed and poses a grave threat to livestock and agriculture in the US. But, the government has turned the other cheek to the scientific data and approved two new glyphosate (Roundup) dependent crops, GM Alfalfa and GM Sugar Beets, despite the clear evidence that glyphosate has led to a 20% infertility rate in cattle and dairy herds, and an abortion rate of 45% in some animals. I'm very happy to see this story on HuffPost and hope it gets more mainstream attention as it is a critical issue for all of us. Included in the piece is a link for co-signing a letter to halt new GM crop planting until independent peer-reviewed studies are completed.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alison-rose-levy/connecting-the-dots-novel_b_861897.html

Dr. Huber explains the science behind threat from Monsanto's Roundup and GMOs to infertility and disease - video
http://vimeo.com/22997532

GMOs, Glyphosate and Tomorrow 
http://www.acresusa.com/toolbox/reprints/May2011_Huber.pdf

How Monsanto Might Destroy Itself
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/how-monsanto-may-destroy-itself.html

Four more years! (Of the Patriot Act ...)

Not only was the Patriot Act extended by Obama, but it's powers were expanded with little debate or press coverage by his administration. The fundamental legal foundation of our democracy has been put at risk due to the over-zealous anti-terrorism laws enacted in response to 9/11. There must be a reaffirmation of the privacy rights of American citizens and the scaling back of wholesale government surveillance, without warrants or probable cause, or the concept of true democracy in America will be nothing more than a cruel joke.
http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/05/21/patriot_act_extended/index.html

TIME’S UP: OBAMA IGNORES WAR POWERS ACT FOR LIBYA

The War Powers Resolution of 1973 is intended to require a vote in Congress for approval to engage in war on behalf of the US. With Obama's assertion that our involvement in Libya does not constitute 'war,' we are at risk of ceding unilateral control of our armed forces and the power of the military in the Executive branch. This makes it easier to use force and what we have now is continuous military operations ongoing throughout the world. We should insist on Congressional approval for military actions as a brake on our increasing tendency to deploy armed forces to address international problems.
http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/times_up_obama_ignores_war_powers_act_for_libya_20110521/?utm

FDA agents launch covert ops against D.C.-area raw-milk buying club

The FDA has engaged in a number actions against natural food and raw food providers and coops around the country. I will be posting additional stories on this issue as I find it odd, and alarming, that such investigative resources, including undercover operations and armed raids, should be mounted by the agency against such innocuous threats as raw food coops. Perhaps the threat they are responding to is the one posed by a growing coterie of citizens who believe there are too many chemicals and GMOs in industrial foods and have rejected the government-approved food policies of the nation. 
http://www.grist.org/food/2011-04-29-picture-this-fda-agents-slinking-through-md-backyards-to-grab

Chief Offshore Drilling Regulator Criticizes Lack of Oversight for Contractors

Regulations for offshore oil drilling are lax and pertain only to operators, not the legions of contractors who actually operate the wells. This became apparent in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe in the Gulf, and needs to be remedied with new regulations and oversight. It is not enough to simply give industry the responsibility of regulating their contractors - voluntary reporting and policing by corporations does not work.
http://www.propublica.org/article/chief-offshore-oil-drilling-regulator-criticizes-lack-of-oversight-and-prom

DuPont Ignores Catastrophic Liability at Shareholders Meeting

This report is about a month old but I wanted to put it up because not nearly enough attention is given to the chemical manufacturing industry and the safety of chemical plants in this country. While there are certainly some chemicals that are essential in today's society we should not lose sight of the fact that chemicals are pervasive in our food and environment in America. We have the highest cancer rates in the world and potential time bombs like the plant featured in this story all over the country.
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/news-and-blogs/campaign-blog/dupont-ignores-catastrophic-liability-at-shar/blog/34463

Deutsche Bank Goes After Whistleblower’s Son

The former Certified Fraud Examiner for the FBI, who uncovered the robo-signing practices of big banks to mass process foreclosures, now has to worry that her son is being sued by Deutshe Bank. Meanwhile, the courts and regulators continue to give favorable treatment to the financial institutions whose reckless behavior brought the world economy to its knees in 2008.
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/05/10765/deutsche-bank-goes-after-whistleblower’s-son

Free College on Wall Street's Tab? 5 Reasons the Finance Sector Should Pay for Full Tuition at Public Universities

A small transaction tax on the financial sector, like one already instituted in Great Britain, could fund an expansion of public education for 20 million Americans. College tuition is capped at $5,000 in Britain, and free in Europe and China, but most Americans spend $25-$50,000 a year on college, and students are saddled with longterm debt. This idea would provide tremendous relief to American families and stimulate the economy with jobs and a better educated workforce.
http://www.alternet.org/news/150976/free_college_on_wall_street's_tab_5_reasons_the_finance_sector_should_pay_for_full_tuition_at_public_universities/?page=1

Jesse Ventura on Government Cover-Ups . . . 9/11, the Reality of HAARP and Making Government Better

The former Governor of Minnesota, Navy SEAL and pro wrestler gives an in-depth interview on the state of America. Very interesting.
http://my.auburnjournal.com/detail/176133.html

AFL-CIO's Rich Trumka on the Post-Wisconsin Game Plan

"All these incredible events should be understood as part of a single challenge. It is not just a political challenge—it’s a moral challenge.  Because these events signal a new and dangerous phase of a concerted effort to change the very nature of America—to turn this into an “I’ve got mine” nation and replace the land of liberty and justice for all with the land of the rich, by the rich, for the rich."
http://www.thenation.com/blog/160828/afl-cios-rich-trumka-post-wisconsin-game-plan