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/
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
"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
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
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
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/
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
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/
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
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
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
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
