U.S. Politics News

Bankruptcy could permit a state to alter its contractual promises to retirees, which are often protected by state constitutions
 

God knows there is a plethora of problems in Nova Scotia and Canada about which I should be commenting, and will, in time. But with all of my American friends and relatives about to send their politicos the message that they are PISSED OFF and ain’t gonna take it anymore, I felt compelled to at least acknowledge their struggle to regain control of their government(s) … which is long overdue, in both the U.S. and Canada

The 300 citizen journalists who joined the  investigation of the bubble barons - elite billionaires like Stanley Druckenmiller  [heavily invested in the disastrous West Virginia coal mine recently in the news] who saw astronomic gains in wealth over the housing bubble years - made over 1,200 of these kinds of connections, linking the wealthy billionaires to politicians, foundations, families and businesses, and collectively mapping a network that controls hundreds of billions of dollars in capital. In doing so, they parted the corporate veils that distance the barons from the business activities that enrich them, discovered the odd philanthropic habits they share, and developed an illuminating picture of the strange world they inhabit.

What follows is a selection of findings that came out of these  efforts. In some sense, the project will not end as long as the bubble barons rule our economy; there will always be more to dig up, and they deserve sustained scrutiny. But we´re off to a good start.
 

The Senate voted Wednesday to extend for a year key provisions of the nation's counterterrorism surveillance law that are scheduled to expire at the end of the month. In agreeing to pass the bill, Senate Democrats retreated from adding new privacy protections to the USA Patriot Act.

Three important sections of the Patriot Act are to expire at the end  of this month. One authorizes court-approved roving wiretaps that permit surveillance on multiple phones. A second allows court- approved seizure of records and property in anti-terrorism operations. A third permits surveillance against a so-called lone wolf, a non-U.S. citizen suspected of engaging in terrorism who may not be part of a recognized terrorist group.

 

America’s criminal addiction to militarism is a global pestilence

Even as drug makers promise to support Washington’s health care overhaul by shaving $8 billion a year off the nation’s drug costs after the legislation takes effect, the industry has been raising its prices at the fastest rate in years.

   Obama must be recast as the Hollywood hero

The National Animal Identification System (NAIS) is a federal program which enjoys the support of large corporate agribusiness farms.  It consists of premises registration, as well as animal identification and tracing.  It remains voluntary, but some states have taken measures to mandate certain elements of the program.  There has been strong opposition from small farmers and ranchers who view NAIS as a threat to privacy and property rights.  Full implementation would also be expensive and could put many out of business.  NAIS is unfair and by all accounts, would be ineffective.  It is yet another way to squeeze out small family farmers and further monopolize America's food production.

As Documentation of Thermitic Materials
in the WTC Twin Towers Grows,
Official Story Backers Ignore, Deny, Evade, and Dissemble

by
Jim Hoffman
Version 1.0, April 3, 2009

Introduction

The obliteration of the Twin Towers was the centerpiece of the event that launched the 'War on Terror'. Shocking on multiple levels, the events were especially traumatic for Americans, being the first bombing on the US mainland in modern history that killed thousands of people -- civilians -- in one day. Given the collective psychological trauma of the attack, it is not surprising that public discourse would remain free of observations that the destruction of the Twin Towers bore obvious features of controlled demolitions. Early candid public remarks by reporters and demolition experts where quickly retracted or forgotten. Passage of the USA PATRIOT Act and the invasion of Afghanistan would proceed apace.

By 2003 the United States had occupations of two countries, and an international reputation as a rogue state all resting on a shaky-at-best collapse theory whose principal alternative hypothesis -- controlled demolition with pre-planted pyrotechnics -- had not even been tested by the straightforward forensic analysis of debris for residues of such materials.

Obama must be as ruthless in establishing universal Medicare for Americans as his predecessor was in gutting the country’s constitution.

The road back begins in Obama’s own back yard as the American homeland has been plundered by the self interest of corporations, especially those of the military industrial complex.

 

 

Can the government fashion a fast and efficient economic stimulus while also seizing the moment to remake America?
 

America is a country that must now be finely tuned to the echo chamber of its own history

As a new American president takes office there are global epidemics of anquish, speculation and raised expectations as to what direction this new president will take America. Will he succeed in achieving any real measure of reform-as indeed this is the most urgent task at hand- and take his place in the pantheon of great American presidents such as Lincoln and Roosevelt or will he be consumed by an intransigent status quo  so well entrenched and so invidious that it will ruthlessly thwart any real change?

 

In the shadow of the economic crisis, a war of words rages over whether President-elect Barack Obama will hold to his campaign promise of opening up the North American Free Trade Agreement for renegotiation.

The debate isn’t likely to stay in the shadows for long. Campaign attacks on NAFTA and candidate promises to renegotiate proved that demands for revision of the free-trade model have reached critical mass in U.S. politics. A post-election report from Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch heralded a net gain of 28 fair-trade members in the House and seven senators. Most of these politicians, it notes, didn’t just happen to be critical of the free-trade model. They actively ran on a fair-trade platform and won partly on that stance.

The economic crisis only strengthens those demands. If international trade and investment policy is the pillar of the current economic model, its revision must be a foundation of global restructuring plans.

The emergency bailout of General Motors and Chrysler announced by President Bush on Friday gives the companies a few months to get their businesses in order