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

Has Your Meat Been Glued Together?

A video of a British investigative report details the widespread practice of using meat glue, transglutaminase, to stick meat parts together so effectively they are sold as prime cuts. Beef, pork, chicken and lamb are routinely processed in this way, introducing dangerous bacteria into the meat you eat. The practice has been banned in the EU and several other countries but there's been very little coverage of this in the States.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/05/04/has-your-meat-been-glued-together--why-you-need-to-know-and-avoid-this-dangerous-process.aspx

Exposed - The Dirty Little Secret of the Meat Industry
http://www.naturalnews.com/032315_meat_industry_secrets.html

The always-expanding bipartisan Surveillance State

All of the talk about privacy rights and the excessive surveillance authorized by the Patriot Act by Obama in his 2008 campaign was, it turns out, simply empty posturing on the part of the President. Under Obama, the administration has attacked whistleblowers, repeatedly reauthorized the Patriot Act, and expanded the ability of the FBI to collect data on American Internet communications. We are moving with great speed and zealous bi-partisan support into a national-surveillance state, that is, a police state.
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/05/20/surveillance/index.html

In One Month, 214,399 Ohioans Sign Petition To Stop Kasich’s Anti-Worker Law

With two months left to collect signatures to force a referendum on Ohio's anti-labor laws, groups advocating for the rights of the working class have already garnered 93% of the required signatures. This is another sign that people have had enough of the extremist right-wing attack on workers and that the GOP may pay a spectacular price for overreaching in their push to crush protections for labor.
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/05/20/ohio-referendum-winning/

Accusing DSK of Sexual Assault Took Guts -- But Union Protection Is Essential

This is an interesting piece that focusses on the less salacious aspects of the DSK arrest in NYC by pointing out that it may be because of union job protection that the accuser was able to stand up and go public with rape charges against a powerful international figure. It makes a great point, that without the New York Hotel Trades Council union, the woman could have had her job taken away just for reporting the assault. Naturally, this would have been a strong dis-incentive to reporting the attack.
http://www.alternet.org/news/151022/accusing_dsk_of_sexual_assault_took_guts_--_but_union_protection_is_essential/?utm

L.A. Times: Obama is throwing ‘the environment and public health under a bus’ to get reelected

President Obama's executive order to delay environmental regulations that might hinder economic growth, issued after the 2010 midterm elections, demonstrate that he is willfully putting politics ahead of good policy. For example, one delayed rule on industrial boiler efficiency would reportedly cost industry $1.4 billion a year though the gains for society, in terms of health benefits range from $22-$54 billion. Nonetheless, the President is eschewing good regulatory policy while pandering to the powerful polluters behind dirty coal and mountaintop coal removal industries at the expense of the environment and public health.
http://www.grist.org/politics/2011-05-20-la-times-barack-obama-environment-public-health-under-reelected

Flashback 2003: Romney Attacked Coal Jobs That "Kill People"
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/05/20/romney-coal-jobs/

‘Electronic Brownshirts’

Amy Goodman reports on another Andrew Breitbart-inspired video smear campaign, this time directed at two professors teaching a labor history course. Footage from the online video was re-edited and statements were taken out of context, again, resulting in one dismissal and death threats before everyone realized the videos had been doctored. I'm getting tired of these fear-mongering extremists who will go to such lengths to deprive the progressive agenda through misinformation and lies.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/electronic_brownshirts_20110518/?utm

One Lawman With the Guts to Go After Wall Street

This piece hails the recent actions of the NY Attorney General to investigate major banks regarding their behavior in the mortgage crisis. I look forward to what will hopefully be a hard-hitting prosecution of bankers for their fraudulent actions against American investors and homeowners. 
http://www.truth-out.org/one-lawman-guts-go-after-wall-street/1305815368

An A-Team for Progressive Messaging in the States

A very interesting article on the coordinating role played by the group Alliance for a Better Minnesota in harnessing the collective power of individual advocacy groups into a longterm oriented and organized force for progressive politics.
http://www.truth-out.org/team-progressive-messaging-states/1305211733

Thank God Environmentalism Is Dead

Oddly, many organizations of the Christian Right actively oppose environmentalists and regulations to reduce pollution, global warming and toxic dumping. This is despite studies that demonstrate that society received $20 in health and productivity benefits for every $1 spent in enacting and enforcing the Clean Air Act. It appears that these religious organizations have been co-opted by their fervent right-wing, pro-business supporters.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-j-cabin/thank-god-environmentalis_b_863383.html?ref=fb&src=sp

John Nichols: Effort to thwart voter suppression necessary and appropriate

Efforts by senate Democrats in Wisconsin to defeat a Voter ID bill counters a nationwide trend of limiting voting access in what amounts to voter suppression initiatives based on spurious assertions of voter fraud.
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/column/john_nichols/article_346411da-8203-11e0-ae0f-001cc4c03286.html

California Internet Privacy Bill: Facebook, Google Explain 'Strong' Opposition

Social networking sites come out in opposition to a new internet privacy law in California. While there may be some problems with the legislation, it's clearly in the public's interest to have increased control over personal data that is shared by the likes of Google, Facebook and other networking sites.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/17/california-internet-privacy-bill-facebook-google-opposition_n_862942.html?ref=fb&src=sp

Websites Skew Views of the News
http://www.prwatch.org/spin/2011/05/10756/websites-skew-views-news

No Exemptions for Wisconsin Firefighters and Police

A new bill in Wisconsin would limit collective bargaining rights for police and firefighters in that state. An Ohio anti-union bill also strips these workers of organizing and bargaining rights. Wisconsin emergency union workers have stood with other public sector workers since the beginning of the Walker assault on labor, and it would make a big difference in this battle if the rest of the country's police and firefighters also stood up for the rights of labor.
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/05/10761/no-exemptions-wisconsin-firefighters-and-police

New trade pacts will kill jobs, and Obama knows it

An expose of the hypocrisy of the Obama Administration in claiming that the new free trade agreement with South Korea, Panama and Columbia will create American jobs. In an acknowledgement that the agreement will actual result in job losses, the administration is insisting on expanded assistance for Americans impacted by the deal.
http://www.salon.com/news/david_sirota/2011/05/18/obama_trade_contradictions/index.html

How gas drilling contaminates your food

The dangers of Hydraulic Fracturing for natural gas, known as Fracking, to drinking water supplies have been revealed over the past couple of months. The fracking process, which was exempted under Cheney's 'Halliburton loophole' from the Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Water Act, CLEAR Act, and EPA regulation, not only threatens our drinking water but is a disaster for sustainable agriculture. Unless fracking is banned because of the toxic wastewater it creates, thousands of small farmers will be ruined by the poisons released into the environment by the natural gas industry.
http://www.salon.com/food/feature/2011/05/18/fracking_food_supply/index.html?utm

Forced Pooling: When Landowners Can't Say No to Gas Drilling
http://www.propublica.org/article/forced-pooling-when-landowners-cant-say-no-to-drilling

Gas Drilling Companies Hold Data Needed by Researchers to Assess Risk to Water Quality
http://www.propublica.org/article/gas-drilling-companies-have-the-water-quality-methane-risk-data

Democrat wins special election in heavily Republican New Hampshire state legislature district

In the third recent special election victory in GOP-controlled states for Democrats, Jennifer Daler of New Hampshire's win signals that there is a strong public backlash building against the extremist right-wing anti-worker agenda.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/05/18/977200/-Democrat-wins-special-election-in-heavily-Republican-New-Hampshire-state-legislature-district?utm

Emergency vents in 31 U.S. reactors same as ones that failed in Fukushima

Let's not allow our government and the NRC to mislead us about the safety of nuclear energy in the US. There are many compelling reasons why we should not accept the party lines of industry and regulators that are aging reactors are managed to protect public safety at all costs. It simply is not true. The priority for operators and their advocates in government is to keep costs down, both in old and new projects, by promoting exemptions to existing rules and systemic passivity in safety oversight.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/05/18/977106/-Emergency-vents-in-31-US-reactors-same-as-ones-that-failed-in-Fukushima-?utm

Dominique Strauss-Kahn Sits in Prison While the IMF Keeps Ravaging Entire Economies Every Day

After a salacious week filled with revelations of sexual misconduct by the erstwhile head of the International Monetary Fund, AlterNet focusses on the impact of the IMF on countries impoverished by the global financial meltdown of 2008. Countries such as Greece, Ireland and Portugal have received IMF loans in return for selling off state assets and other austerity measures.
http://www.alternet.org/news/150999/dominique_strauss-kahn_sits_in_prison_while_the_imf_keeps_ravaging_entire_economies_every_day/?utm

"But that’s what the IMF has always done. It provides loans at cheaper rates than countries would receive any other way during times of economic distress, in return for forcing them to open their economies to hot money looking for a good deal. This is based on the premise that public infrastructure and social safety nets are the cause of financial woes, and not the over-leveraged banks that funneled in the hot money to begin with."

The People vs. Goldman Sachs

They weren't murderers or anything; they had merely stolen more money than most people can rationally conceive of, from their own customers.....

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-people-vs-goldman-sachs-20110511

WILL THEY BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE
OR CONTINUE TO SNAKE THROUGH THE REVOLVING
DOORS TO STEAL OUR $ ?

CONTACT YOUR SENATOR ASAP AND
LET THEM KNOW YOU WANT JUSTICE!

The Strengths and Weaknesses of American Exceptionalism

This is an excellent piece on the need for a transformational shift of the American model to reverse stagnant wages and the debilitating income inequality levels that have made the US a country defined by high and longterm unemployment, poverty, inequality and debt.
"But there is no such conservative openness to economic management and social reform in the contemporary United States. On the contrary, the current Republican Party debate is truly exceptional, characterized as it is by an internationally-unique rigidity of dogma, ignorance of foreign practices, and barely-disguised contempt for foreign models. Nativism, intellectual bankruptcy and self-delusion go hand-in-hand in what passes for intelligent economic discourse in right-wing circles in America these days. The danger is that their folly might yet rub off on the rest of us."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-coates/american-exceptionalism_b_855812.html

Are Petitions An Effective Way of Remedying Important Issues?

I have recently been wondering about the potential effectiveness of on-line petitions, and had hoped that massive responses to such petitions could, in fact, influence policies in a meaningful way. Many of you may already be familiar with this report from Snopes on this issue, but it was news to me and I post a link to it here. The bottom line, apparently, is that online petitions are largely ineffective beyond reflecting a subset of public opinion, and are easily dismissed by policymakers and manipulated by computer techies to distort the authenticity of 'signers.' Many petitions, furthermore, are never delivered to the intended politician or group after signatures are collected. A much more effective activity for those who truly want to demonstrate their position on an issue is to write letters as a constituent to elected officials.
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/internet.asp

Big Cat News discusses the empty promise of the online petition and points out that many such petitions are used primarily to collect email addresses of individuals sympathetic to specific issues. They referred me to the Snopes piece above and also to the Capwiz site at the bottom of this post which enables citizens to write directly to their representatives on any issue they wish.
http://bigcatnews.blogspot.com/2009/01/catlawscom-and-petition-sites.html

Capwiz.com site for writing directly to elected officials.
http://capwiz.com/bigcatrescue/officials/congress/?district=08&azip=10036&state=NY&bzip=6333

Guidelines on effectively letter writing from Friends Committee on National Legislation - this is a terrific resource for people determined to have their voices recorded on the great issues of the day.
http://fcnl.org/resources/toolkit/write_congress/

6 State Battlegrounds in the Right-Wing War Against Teachers, Firefighters, Caregivers and the Entire Middle Class

I've also admired the fire and homespun combativeness that Jim Hightower has brought to his writings over the years. He and Molly Ivins, one of the great truth-tellers of journalism who died a few years ago, were terrific friends as I read in her biography, A Rebel Life. Jim is still kicking those in political power who seek to marginalize the rights and pocketbooks of working Americans, with this recent piece about the legislative assault that is currently being carried out against the public throughout the nation, honing in on the activities of six key states.
http://www.alternet.org/news/150928/6_state_battlegrounds_in_the_right-wing_war_against_teachers,_firefighters,_caregivers_and_the_entire_middle_class/?utm

THE SECRET SHARER - Is Thomas Drake An Enemy of the State?

Thomas Drake was a whistleblower at the NSA and sought only to inform the public of waste and fraud at the agency. In doing so he attracted the wrath of the national security apparatus and Obama's DOJ which has charged him with violating the Espionage Act. It turns out that the Obama Administration has been the most aggressive presidency in history in acting against whistleblowers, bringing more Espionage Act charges against Americans than all precious administrations combined. These suits are designed to have a chilling effect on future whistleblowers, cutting off the major source of information that has traditionally existed for information based on government documents about corruption and other wrong-doing to the public, through releases to the press. America is fast becoming a police state and the forces behind these trends are formidable and organized effectively. Proponents of civil rights and privacy rights had better get it together quickly, and on a massive scale, if there is any hope to reverse the tide.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/05/23/110523fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=1

Lynch vetoes anti-union bill in New Hampshire

The Governor of New Hampshire, John Lynch (D), vetoed the Republican-controlled legislature's anti-union bill to make the state "right-to-work,"pointing out that states with such laws tend to have workers with a lower standard of living who more often have to do without health insurance. It's really great to see some reasoned push back against the assault on workers collective bargaining rights for a change.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/05/11/975158/-Lynch-vetoes-anti-union-bill-in-New-Hampshire?utm

Open thread for night owls: ConocoPhillips thinks cutting oil subsidies is 'Un-American'

Wouldn't it be something if these absurd billions in federal subsidies to the oil and gas industry were finally eliminated? While we're at it let's do something about legal oil speculation activities that artificially inflate gas prices and amount to a robbery of the general public.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/05/11/869264/-Open-thread-for-night-owls:-ConocoPhillips-thinks-cutting-oil-subsidies-is-Un-American?utm

Japanese Officials Ignored or Concealed Dangers

The Times is having a good day as I've felt compelled to post several pieces from the paper today. This in-depth report on the nuclear industry's history of ignoring and downplaying safety issues at nuclear power plants in Japan, particularly risks associated with earthquake vulnerabilities, reveals that regulators and government there were too closely aligned with TEPCO to effectively perform their duties to protect public health. We have precisely the same problems here in the US and yet our officials are pushing for new nuclear power plant construction despite the fallout from the disaster in Japan. Do not forget that all nuclear plants in this country are subsidized 100% with taxpayer money because the private sector will not invest without government support, because of the massive risks and cost overruns involved in nuclear energy. Based on this story and the history of NRC negligence in regulating nuclear power in America, we simply cannot trust the governments assertions that these plants are safe. We need to stand up and say "No!" to more nuclear power in this country, and insist that the hundreds of spent nuclear fuels rods and pools that currently exist, as well as the aging plants still in service, are responsibly managed and regulated.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/world/asia/17japan.html?pagewanted=2&hp

Greenpeace Welcomes Japanese Move to Shut Down Reactor - Will US Regulators Learn From Japan?
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/news-and-blogs/campaign-blog/greenpeace-welcomes-move-to-shut-down-japanes/blog/34620

Propublica reports on persistent cost-cutting shortcuts that have undermined the integrity in the construction of a nuclear fuel plant that produces particularly dangerous mixed oxide fuel in the US. Engineers on the NRC who complained about safety issues were removed from the project by regulators. 
Safety Reviewers Raise Questions About Construction of New Nuclear Fuel Plant in South Carolina
http://www.propublica.org/article/safety-reviewers-raise-questions-about-construction-of-new-nuclear-fuel-pla

A Conflict Without End

This NYT editorial brings to light new legislation voted by the GOP-controlled House that seeks to expand the terror mandate against any "associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States." The vague language of the law would allow it to be applied to groups who had nothing to do with 9/11 and could also be applied domestically. Such military actions and indefinite detentions (and torture) of 'belligerents' would take place in secret and without the approval of Congress. This is bad news and we've got to resist the hyperbole and false patriotism that its proponents use to sell it to us.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/opinion/17tue1.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

HIDDEN DANGERS IN KIDS MEALS

This is a compelling documentary on scientific analysis of data on GMOs, and the health hazards that genetically-engineered food pose for all people with a particular emphasis on the increased impact these foods have on children. It's really critical information that all of us need to have as we contemplate the future of food in America.
http://geneticallyengineeredfoodnews.com/gmo-and-ge-food-related-videos/hidden-dangers-in-kids-meals

New York Investigates Banks’ Role in Fiscal Crisis

A new investigation into the mortgage securitization deceptions of Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley has been launched by the New York State attorney general, Eric Schneiderman. Now, this is good news! 
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/business/17bank.html?hp

The Man Behind Citizens United Is Just Getting Started

Some fascinating background on the Citizens United case and the attorney behind it all. 
http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/03/james-bopp-citizens-united

Mobile phones soon required to receive, display White House propaganda messages

Apparently, in 2012, cell phones under Verizon and ATT will automatically send alert messages from the White House to private mobile phones. This should be troubling for Americans who are familiar with the unreliability of news that emanates from our government. Just think back to the buildup for war in Iraq and all of the misinformation put out into the public discourse by the Bush Administration during that time. Natural News extrapolates how this precedent can be extended to the Internet as well, to a time when your Google request could be automatically routed to the White House page even if you're not trying to get there. A useful bit of information in the story points out that you can bypass such maneuvering if you know the IP address of the sites you are trying to visit. While the article riffs on many worst-case scenarios of information and Internet access abuse, the speculation is realistic, in my view, and points to the importance of Net Neutrality laws and other legal protections that will be critical in maintaining the openness of the Internet in the future.
http://www.NaturalNews.com/032347_White_House_mobile_phones.html

Feds Unveil Emergency Mobile Alert System in NYC
http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/feds-unveil-mobile-emergency-alert-system-in-nyc-1.2866514?showAll=true

Greeks mobilise to protect endangered seeds

Greece has stopped growing a form of GM corn that was approved for the EU. Since 1995, a former pesticide salesman has been collecting traditional seed that goes back generations to maintain the plant and crop diversity that is key to Greece's agricultural heritage. Monsanto and other biotechs continue to mount legal pressure on the EU to allow more GM varieties but, so far, the EU has refused these pressures and stated that there is no benefit in allowing these crops. 
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jnfiR9EOf2CY5BKgM5I5HN4pnpaw?docId=CNG.d6b33dbd6cbec1036d87f814a9179ab7.441

Buyer Beware: Why Advertisers Should Still Be Wary Of Financially Supporting Fox News

A Media Matters report on the advertisers that fled Glenn Beck's show and how Fox News continues to air extremist commentary in its other offerings.
http://mediamatters.org/research/201105160002?utm_source=feedburner&utm

Third month of Wisconsin Capitol protests: Unions smell blood in recalls

The Defend Wisconsin website reports on the May 14th protests at the Capitol in Wisconsin, where tens of thousands gathered, as the recall battle heats up. There are several links on the page with additional information of the populist movement to recall GOP state senators who supported legislation that promotes the wealthy and business agenda at the expense of ordinary citizens. 
http://www.defendwisconsin.org/2011/05/14/third-month-of-wisconsin-capitol-protests-unions-smell-blood-in-recalls/

Currently only 19 states states have recall laws and this page gives the details. I think recalls are one of the most powerful tools the public can use to shape policy and I'd like to see more states add these provisions to their constitutions.
http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=16581

Eli Pariser: Beware online "filter bubbles"

In this short TED Talk, the Executive Director of MoveOn.org reveals how website filters on sites like Facebook, Google and Yahoo News function to invisibly customize the information we see on the Internet.  Google, for example, uses 57 different algorithms to tailor your search results according to their pre-conceived notion of what you want to see. This means that two people who Google "Egypt" will receive entirely different results to a query, and not necessarily receive important critical information if they have not shown an interest in such content previously. And so, the Internet is already not as free and open as we are led to believe.
http://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles.html

Desperation is the Father of Invention

The Fukushima Plate would enable you meter radiation levels in your food. Food & Water Watch then riffs on other potential products the the future may hold.
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/blogs/desperation-is-the-father-of-invention/

Hundreds of thousands of young people insured because of Affordable Care Act

It's good to see a tangible effect from healthcare reform. Though the bill did not go anywhere near far enough in failing to adopt a single payer system, this is something positive.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/05/14/973087/-Hundreds-of-thousands-of-young-people-insured-because-of-Affordable-Care-Act?utm

This week in the War on Women

A roundup of all the legislation restricting abortion access and health care options for women across the land. It's pretty scary stuff. The post also considers compensation discrimination against women and the impact that has on social security down the road.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/05/14/976094/-This-week-in-the-War-on-Women?utm

It's the Inequality, Stupid

Eleven devastating and revealing charts that 'explain everything that's wrong with America,' from Mother Jones. These are worth a good look...
http://beta.motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph

Ten CEOs Who Got Rich by Squeezing Workers
http://beta.motherjones.com/mojo/2011/05/ceo-executive-pay-layoffs

The FDA Exposed: An Interview With Vioxx Whistleblower David Graham

This is an important story about the institutional bias of the FDA, and its pro-pharma policies, as revealed in an interview with the current Associate Director for Science and Medicine in FDA's Office of Drug Safety. 
http://www.naturalnews.com/011401_Dr_David_Graham_the_FDA.html

Leading the Fight against “Corn Sugar”

An inspiring story of an ordinary citizen becoming outraged at the deleterious health impact of high fructose corn syrup and it's connection to diabetes in America, who decided to fight and get information out to the public. He launched a FB page about HFCS and managed to get a lot of people interested and active in opposing this common additive that has zero nutritional value. I think this is a great example of the kind of citizen-led activism that we need to change things for the better in this country.
http://organicconnectmag.com/wp/2011/05/leading-the-fight-against-corn-sugar/

Here's a petition site to register disapproval of the plan to relabel HFCS as "corn sugar," which is an attempt to mask its presence in so many industrial food products.
http://www.stopcornsugarnow.com/

Texas Fracking Bill Would Be First To Require Public Disclosure Of Gas Drilling Chemicals

Passage of this Texas bill, in a state with a Republican super-majority in the legislature, would be a tremendous victory for the public's right to know what chemicals are being put into their water. The law would require gas companies to identify all of the 900 chemicals used in the fracking process and would send a very strong signal to industry and politicians that the hydraulic fracture process needs to be regulated responsibly to protect health and drinking water supplies.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/12/texas-fracking-bill-chemical-disclosure_n_861286.html

Farming and Fracking Don’t Mix: A Farmer Speaks Out

http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/blogs/farming-and-fracking-don’t-mix-a-farmer-speaks-out/

Hay Now — It’s Boycott Time: Land O’Lakes, This Means You!

If you're against genetically modified foods and animal feed then this consumer action is calling your name. Land O Lakes has partnered with Monsanto through its' wholly owned subsidiary Forage Genetics International, to produce Roundup Ready Alfalfa seeds. Activists are calling for a boycott of Land O Lakes because of its role in promoting and profiting from the new GM Alfalfa crops that could ultimately threaten the viability of the organic food industry.
http://farmwars.info/?p=5376

Fired For Your Personal Life? A New Law Could Make It Possible

A new law introduced in Florida could make it possible for employers to deny unemployment benefits to workers who are fired based on no work-related wrongdoing. If passed it would constitute a serious erosion of civil rights and could ultimately restrict free speech on political issues that are not aligned with employers.
http://www.care2.com/causes/civil-rights/blog/fired-for-your-personal-life-a-new-law-could-make-it-possible/

Factory farms the only way to ‘feed the world’? Not so, argues Science paper

The mainstream press, including NPR, has propelled the notion that the only way to feed the world in the future is through genetically-modified patent-protected seeds and the pesticide-intensive industrial agriculture model, despite the fact that there are a number of major studies from scientists around the world demonstrating that sustainable agriculture is a more sound, productive and safe choice. A new study, published in Science and carried out by a research team at Washington State University, urges a fundamental rethinking of the industrial agriculture system and the Farm Bill to promote more organic and low-input ag techniques, in ringing contrast to the conventional clamor celebrating biotech that is constantly promoted in the media. There's no doubt that we're losing the PR battle for a safe and sustainable food production system, and the only way that can possibly change is if millions of Americans took more interest in what they are putting into their bodies and the uncertainties that untested GM foods hold for human health into the future.
http://www.grist.org/sustainable-farming/2011-05-11-factory-farms-only-way-to-feed-the-world-no-says-science-paper

Don’t Let Go of the Anger

As many folks who were in large part responsible for the financial meltdown in 2008 continue to rake in profits while much of the country suffers high unemployment and foreclosure, this piece urges Americans to get involved and show some passion in the fight to reform Wall Street, and maybe even put a few culprits in jail.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/dont-let-go-of-the-anger/?ref=opinion

WikiLeaks: US opens grand jury hearing

An immensely important Grand Jury has convened to determine whether WikiLeaks and Julian Assange will be charged with violating the Espionage Act and other possible laws. Such charges against Daniel Ellsberg failed in 1971, but the US was a much different country forty years ago with a Supreme Court committed to the defense of civil liberties. The Obama Administration is currently investigating five leak cases in a crackdown against whistleblowers. 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/may/11/us-opens-wikileaks-grand-jury-hearing

Was the Killing of Osama bin Laden Legal?

This is a fascinating breakdown of the laws and treaties that govern wartime killing as applied to the recent operation that resulted in Osama bin Laden's death. It's a detailed and well-reasoned analysis, and an extremely informative read.
http://www.alternet.org/news/150911/was_the_killing_of_osama_bin_laden_legal/?page=1

THIS IS WHY PEOPLE HATE WASHINGTON

The outrageous revolving door of industry and government strikes again! We have a very serious problem with industry influence in government policy and former regulators working for the very companies they were responsible for policing on behalf of the public. And, as always, it's the people who lose...
http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/this_is_why_people_hate_washington_20110511/?utm