We must finally put an end to the days when dirty interests — who put their own short-term profits before the long-term health of our country — have more influence than the people.On the first anniversary of the BP/Gulf Oil disaster please read Lax Congressional Response to BP Oil Disaster Another Gulf Tragedy?
America belongs to everyone. It’s time to take our power back from the polluters.
One year ago today, an explosion aboard the BP Deepwater Horizon drilling rig claimed the lives of 11 workers and initiated the worst oil disaster the U.S. has ever seen. Thousands of animals in the Gulf of Mexico were killed, many of which were endangered or threatened already, and oil and toxic dispersants continue to impact coastal communities and natural habitats.There is no pretty way to say it...women, strike that, poor women are under attack by rich white men aka republicans. Read Give me your money and your conscience , then read how the gop wants poor women to Trust their Twat to Walgreen's big H/T to Writechic.
Despite recommendations from the Presidential Oil Spill Commission, Congress has yet to pass legislation that ensures safer operations in any water depth, provides better spill response, lifts the existing liability cap or secures funding for restoration efforts in the Gulf.
Speaker Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, the House leader, praised the bills, which are set for review Wednesday by the House Ways and Means -- General Fund Committee.
"I believe we've long needed to update the members of the boards overseeing those funds, to make sure they make sound, professional decisions and ... look out for the taxpayers," he said. The state expects to pay a total of $964 million to support the TRS and ERS this year.
Mac McArthur, executive director of the Alabama State Employees Association, said the ERS board doesn't need fixing. "I don't know why anybody would want to fix something that's not broken," McArthur said.
Recently, I wrote a post about the difference between blogs and the big newspapers and why I favored blogs. Reading Archibald’s column today, it occurred to me that blogs allow us (as in “we, the people”) to serve the function that the newspapers once ostensibly served: holding those with power accountable. I see no reason that the Birmingham News and its journalists should be exempt. They have power. And influence.Check out this headline from The Birmingham News (not to be confused with the Birmingham Skews)Birmingham's Nation of Islam leaders call for firing of officers involved in latest video-taped incident which prompted comments like this;
The Nation of Islam is a joke. Who really gives a rip what they say?
Religious leaders are social gagsters (sic) prey on the weak of mind.
"Granted the police shouldn't have kicked his tail . . . " - I happen to disagree with you: They SHOULD have kicked his tail! They should have kicked it longer and harder! They should have kicked it enough for him to be coming forth with an apology instead of a lawsuit!
The UN Security Council voted on Thursday to authorize a “no-fly zone” over Libya – a surprise to the author, who had predicted in the this column on Tuesday that China and/or Russia would veto the move. The measure gives the OK to “all necessary measures" to protect civilians from attacks by Moammar Gadhafi's forces – wording the U.S. and its allies will undoubtedly treat as a mandate to apply as much force as they wish.The righty's are already calling the US led enforcement of the UN sanctioned No Fly Zone Obama's War in a lame attempt to equate Bush using our grief over 911 to send our sons and daughters to Iraq and Afghanistan, and firing cruise missiles.
"I feel like in two days max we will destroy Gadhafi," said Ezzeldin Helwani, 35, a rebel standing next to the smoldering wreckage of an armored personnel carrier, the air thick with smoke and the pungent smell of burning rubber. In a grisly sort of battle trophy, celebrating fighters hung a severed goat's head with a cigarette in its mouth from the turret of one of the gutted tanks.
It's a simple point, but an important one, and one that gets overlooked. Whether or not you think a particular war is moral and good, the fact remains that war is illegal. Actual defense by a country when attacked is legal, but that only occurs once another country has actually attacked, and it must not be used as a loophole to excuse wider war that is not employed in actual defense.There is Oil in Lybia. Black gold. Texas Tea.
Oil reserves in Libya are the largest in Africa and the ninth largest in the world with 41.5 billion barrels (6.60×10^9 m3) as of 2007. Oil production was 1.8 million barrels per day (290×10^3 m3/d) as of 2006, giving Libya 63 years of reserves at current production rates if no new reserves were to be found. Libya is considered a highly attractive oil area due to its low cost of oil production (as low as $1 per barrel at some fields), and proximity to European markets. Libya would like to increase production from 1.8 Mbbl/d (290×10^3 m3/d) in 2006 to 3 Mbbl/d (480×10^3 m3/d) by 2010–13 but with existing oil fields undergoing a 7–8% decline rate, Libya's challenge is maintaining production at mature fields, while finding and developing new oil fields. Most of Libya remains unexplored as a result of past sanctions and disagreements with foreign oil companies.[1]
Cumulative production through 2009 was 27 Gbbl.[2] Given the stated number, this would be 65% of reserves.
The drilling of oil wells in Libya was first authorised by the Petroleum Law of 1955.[3] The National Oil Corporation is the largest oil company of Libya
The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating reports of a large oil sheen 20 miles north of the site where BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded last April. Multiple reports indicate a sheen nearly 100 miles long and 12 miles wide originating near the site of the Matterhorn SeaStar oil rig, owned by W&T Offshore, Inc.
U.S. corporate media coverage of the unfolding events in Egypt provide little or no window into the true social and political dynamics of the country – who the actual popular actors are in this history-shaking drama. The author describes the people and movements behind the revolt.
West is one of only two black Republicans in the House.
"You endured the relentless and hostile attacks from the liberal left, such as being called racist," West told the conservative activists. "Perhaps they should see who is standing here as your keynote speaker."
Attempting to repeal insurance reform would be bad enough. Attempting draconian budget cuts during a halting recovery from a deep recession would be bad enough. Making fools of themselves by wasting time reading selections from the Constitution while doing absolutely nothing to create jobs would be bad enough. Launching a war on women would be bad enough. Whining about deficits while proposing policies that would actually increase them would be bad enough. The entire Republican approach of knowing nothing and doing nothing, unless it is to attempt a return to the prevailing values of the Thirteenth Century, is so corrupt and irresponsible that it would defy credulity, were we not already so accustomed to it as to take it for granted. But it's even worse.
Incensed over BP ads claiming that the spilled oil is gone and the Gulf's beaches are clean, Hurricane Creekkeeper John Wathen of Alabama set out to document the truth.
Imagine this. You are asleep in a basement apartment with your roommate. You are both Rutgers students. One of you is white, the other an Arab American, and you are both 19. One of you has a father who was a cop. Police in New Brunswick, NJ have a warrant for a different student living in a different apartment in the same building. You have no police record. You are not identified on the warrant. It's 4:30 in the morning. Guess what happened next:
Artur Davis happened to Artur Davis.
He lived in a district where one out of 3 folks didn't have health insurance of any kind. He comes from a SAFE Black district, and NEVER got above 50% from the CBC Monitor - so, he's been misrepresenting his district for a long time. But, it took the health care vote to crystallize it. He lives in a district, majority Black, and we, statistically, are at the top of every worst list in health care, and supposedly, his health care vote wasn't supposed to matter, because he was BLACK?
come on with that.
he deliberately poked the established Black leadership in the eye, told Black folk to repeatedly kiss his a$$, and then was shocked when Black folk didn't vote for him?
he told them to kiss his a$$, and Black folks, in return, told him to go somewhere and sit down.
Black folk have supported a number of WHITE candidates, that they didn't think could win. IFFFF Davis had run the right kind of campaign, where he respected his base, they would have cast a vote proudly for him, because he would have worked for it.
he did nothing of the kind. he refused to do Black radio, and Black press, repeatedly disrespecting them.
he gave Black folk the middle finger, and they gave it back to him.
Glad his clowning a$$ lost.
After getting trounced by Ron Sparks in the Democratic primary for governor, Davis showed that he is both a weak candidate and a sore loser. In his latest interview, he reveals that he apparently isn't all that smart.
Even Davis' most harsh critics have tended to admit that he is a bright guy. But after reading the new interview with reporter Mary Orndorff, we're not so sure about that anymore. Smart people usually learn from their mistakes--especially huge, public mistakes. But Davis sounds as if he has learned nothing from his crash-and-burn campaign for governor.
In fact, Davis seems to have so many sour grapes in his mouth, you wonder how Orndorff could understand a word he said. He predicts that Sparks will lose to Republican Robert Bentley in November. He says Republicans have a "very good chance" of taking over both houses of the Alabama Legislature. And without directly saying it, he seems to imply that such outcomes would have been unthinkable if voters had only recognized the brilliance of . . . Artur "Superman" Davis.
One, or both, of Davis' predictions might come true. But we see no reason to think Artur Davis was the answer to Democrats' problems in Alabama--or anywhere else.
The Untold Story of Human Health Effects From BP’s Oil Disaster
Editor’s Note: The Washington Post was given an opportunity for first, exclusive rights to publish this story Tuesday, but took a pass “because of the complicated nature of this story and our concerns that it’s too early to judge the real health effects.” Due to the time sensitive nature of this story, and because of tonight’s community health meeting in Orange Beach, we cannot hold it any longer for traditional news outlets. A special thanks to Spot.us for partial funding to cover travel expenses for reporting on this story.
Republicans want to repeal the new law’s guarantee that children with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied coverage, and to do away with new rules limiting insurance company premium hikes and requirements that they spend money on health care not CEO perks.
Several new provisions of the Affordable Care Act kicked in Jan. 1 that could benefit tens of millions of working Americans.
If your insurance company doesn’t spend at least 80 percent of its premium dollars on health care, it may be forced to give rebates to you and other consumers.
“Republicans want to repeal that,” Trumka said.
Prescription drug costs could shrink $700 for a typical Medicare beneficiary in 2011, as the law begins to close the so-called “doughnut hole” created by the Bush administration’s flawed drug plan for seniors. The National Council on Aging estimates the savings could reach $1,800 for some.
“Republicans want to repeal that,” Trumka said.
Medicare enrollees will be able to get many preventive health services — such as vaccinations and cancer screenings — for free starting this month.
“Republicans want to repeal that,” Trumka said.
Medicare beneficiaries also can get a free annual “wellness exam” from their doctors who will set up a “personalized prevention plan” for them.
“Republicans want to repeal that,” Trumka said.
Companies with fewer than 100 workers that start wellness programs focused on nutrition, smoking cessation, physical fitness and stress management, will be eligible grants from a $200 million federal program.
“Republicans want to repeal that,” Trumka said.
More provisions will be phased over time, including tax credits and other cost-sharing devices that will make health coverage more affordable for as many as 28.6 million low-and moderate-income workers and a $1 trillion cut in the deficit.
“Republicans want to repeal that,” Trumka said.
With more than 1,000 modest ranch homes, wide curving streets and 200 acres of green space, Pontchartrain Park was our very own "mocha Mayberry" built around a golf course that later included a Little League ballpark, tennis courts and two historically black colleges. This community, built during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation in Louisiana, was a safe haven for working-class and upper-income blacks. In many ways it shielded us from the harsh realities of racism and prejudice that pervaded just beyond its borders.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- New Orleans, which managed to escape the oil from the BP spill for more than two months, can't hide any longer.
For the first time since the accident, oil from the ruptured well is seeping into Lake Pontchartrain, threatening another environmental disaster for the huge body of water that was rescued from pollution in 1990s to become, once more, a bountiful fishing ground and a popular spot for boating and swimming.
Environmental racism is a policy, or structured practice having to do with the built environment that negatively impacts a racially homogeneous group at a disproportionately higher rate than its (often) more affluent counterpart. These biased policies are reflected in deliberate efforts to concentrate toxins and other hazardous waste and pollutants in low-income communities of color or divert necessary infrastructure improvements from these very same communities. Research has confirmed that long-term exposure to toxins in the air, land, and water lead to long-term negative health conditions, including increased risk of asthma, cancer, and other chronic and deadly diseases. However, the impact of environmental racism is not only confined to health--the economic impact can be just as fatal.
Police Captain Harry Mendoza, and his lieutenant, Mike Cahn III, told federal prosecutors last month that they were ordered by Warren Riley, then the department's second-in-command, to "take the city back and shoot looters.'' Mendoza quotes Riley as saying: "If you can sleep with it, do it."
Our report, Learning from Katrina: Lessons from Five years of Recovery and Renewal in the Gulf Coast, finds that many of the problems exposed in the botched federal response to the storm--from breakdowns in disaster planning to a misguided and mismanaged recovery--have yet to be addressed in Washington.
What's more, these key flaws in federal policy will stall Gulf Coast rebuilding and put lives at risk in future disasters unless the President and Congress take action soon.
There are no words to express or anything to say. Sometimes showing a story is better than telling it.
It's probably not right of me to dance on the political grave of Artur Davis, but as his brother from another mother, Clay Davis, would say, shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit. He deserves it! I told one of his staffers following his no vote on HCR, he's not going to get where he wants to be on the backs of his poor Black constituents.
The Hamilton County Democratic Women have released video of their heated meeting with Tim Crawford, Democratic candidate for the House in IN-05, who local Democrats see as an inept right-winger ruining their chance to take control of the seat.
Just what the hell is BP doing denying people access to land they don't own, much less airspace they don't control?
And what about this nonsense about BP simply "not heed[ing]" EPA directives?
If the White House is looking for a way back into the driver's seat on this thing, this is it.
The proliferation of stories about journalists and others being denied access to these areas ostensibly by local authorities but at the direction of the private corporation responsible for the disaster in the first place is an scandal that would ordinarily have the dictators of banana republics hanging their heads in shame.
Michael Clauer is a captain in the Army Reserve who commanded over 100 soldiers in Iraq. But while he was fighting for his country, a different kind of battle was brewing on the home front. Last September, Michael returned to Frisco, Texas, to find that his homeowners' association had foreclosed on his $300,000 house—and sold it for $3,500. This story illustrates the type of legal quagmire that can get out of hand while soldiers are serving abroad and their families are dealing with the stress of their deployment. And fixing the mess isn't easy.
Whether you commemorate Memorial Day somberly or celebrate the arrival of summer with barbecues, beaches, and beer, your thoughts are probably drawn back to a particular person who died in uniform.
A meticulous research in the book 'Alabama, Portrait of a Deep South State,' notes, in the 1960's, when poor whites who'd recently entered the middle class saw their earning power failing to keep pace with inflation, instead of acting rationally and organizing or joining unions, they often acted in non-rational ways, "through scape-goading, fatalism, or blind rage." To champion the cause, "they chose George C. Wallace."
You want to deliver those glasses or should I pick them up? :)Although, this is nothing new in America if your not brown or black skinned people. O'Keefe won't get the felony label that is issued out like free tickets to the circus. We all know that had he been black or brown he would have been singing that tune they sing when baseball player hits a baseball out of the park-bye,bye baby! And some white folks wonder why black and brown people get all puff out of shape and complain about the sentencing system in the courts of America. Puleeeeeze!
Ya think?I think that the Superintendent Phil Hammonds felt obligated simply because of the national attention and the fact he was named MSNBC's worst person in the world.
Translation, we want to replace the good guys with the bad guys. You know the good guys who believe in women's rights, equal rights, civil rights, human rights, health care reform, labor, and public education.Generally, we are going with the outsiders this year. The corrupt, good old boy culture in Montgomery has done no favors for Alabama or the Democratic Party. It's time to bring in some fresh troops and generals because we aren't going to solve our problems by continually electing political retreads.
Let me see if I've got this right (pun intended), they want resident righty Old Prosecutor to tell them how a progressive Alabamian might want to vote on them? ROFLMAO! I guess it depends on what the definition of a progressive Alabamian IS. *Snark*. But in any event, now we know progressive at Left in Alabama means the following;Of course, this is Alabama, so there will be Constitutional Amendments on the ballot next Tuesday. Knowing nothing about them as yet, we hope and pray someone (Old Prosecutor?) will take pity and tell us what they mean and how a progressive Alabamian might want to vote on them.
Sound familiar?If you don't like the content, write your own. We're a progressive blog that deals mainly with state issues - particularly during a state primary season.
As far as progressive issues go, most of us here support Constitution reform, ethics reform, tax fairness, and a better educational system.
Alabama Governor - This is a tough call. Artur Davis has brought a lot of attention to the 7th Congressional District. However, as progressives we are extremely disappointed in some of his recent votes that have shown his capitulation to the right. I.E. Health Care Reform, Hate Crimes. Ron Sparks is the alternative in this race and we genuinely like some of his ideas such as an Education Lottery. Sparks has been an outstanding Ag Commissioner and been great in that position. However, we are also disappointed in his stance on constitutional reform. The constitution in its current form continues to hinder our State from reaching its potential. Therefore we issue a no-endorsement in this race.
I can't make up my mind in this race between Sheila Smoot and Earl Hillard Jr, because they both are better than the current Congress Critter from the 7th district, so may the best liberal win!I was surprised to learn that an African American woman has NEVER been elected to a full term to represent the state of Alabama in the House of Representatives.
My goal today is to help change that.
When last I wrote about one of my heroes, Rosa Parks, it was to illustrate how the right would roll back the Civil Rights act to allow discrimination in the name of economic freedom.
145 years after the Civil War, much has changed, but more should change, until we truly achieve the Change We Can Believe In!.
In 2010, it is finally time to elect an African American woman to a full term in Congress to serve the State of Alabama in the House of Representatives!
Maturity and reason? What's that?President Obama expected, however wrongly and however stupidly, that the American media -- even though overloaded with voluble crazy uncles -- would, for a change, react to this crisis with proper disgust, but also maturity and Reason.
What if BP, the principal corporate entity responsible for the monstrous oil well rupture a mile beneath Gulf of Mexico were a human being, a flesh and blood person instead of a faceless transnational corporation? It's a fair and simple question, and the answers tell us a lot more about the world we live in.
The nomination of Elana Kagen to the Supreme Court has produced many more questions than answers, but that has not stopped the avalanche of news stories, which could take days to sift through. Nevertheless, it seems pretty clear from what we know so far that this is not good news for anyone who hoped that the president might choose a nominee that would continue in the liberal tradition of the justice she's replacing, John Paul Stevens.Which is why progressives must fight the nomination of Elana Kagen;
For more than 15 months, evidence has mounted that President Obama routinely combines progressive rhetoric with contrary actions. As one bad decision after another has emanated from the Oval Office, some progressives have favored denial -- even though, if the name "Bush" or "McCain" had been attached to the same presidential policies, the same progressives would have been screaming bloody murder.What if we were investing in America's future instead of all war all the time?
Congress is being asked to vote on another appropriations bill for billions more dollars to fund military operations in Afghanistan despite reservations among many members about the corrupt regime of Afghan leader, Hamid Karzai. Operations that many in the Pentagon are beginning to question from both an tactical and strategic standpoint:What if 9 Alabama State University students hadn't been expelled under pressure from then Governor John Patterson for protesting off campus? Note to Alabama gubernatorial candidate Artur Davis, these are the "old school" civil rights pioneers who were in the trenches when you were just a twinkle in your mother's eye. These are the "old school" warriors who helped Dr. Joe Reed with the help of African American political organizations pave the way for you to be the sitting Congressman from the 7th district of Alabama. These are the "old school" people you disrespect and threw under the bus to pander to the white, I mean right. Shame on you.
