"Andrew Leonard" - Obama's economic nightmare

Time is running out for the White House. A lesson from the failed reelection bid of George H.W. Bush

Andrew Leonard

June 2, 2011

http://www.salon.com/news/2012_elections/index.html?story=/tech/htww/2011/06/02/obama_economic_nightmare

On Oct. 27, 1992, less than a week before Election Day, the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy had grown by a surprising 2.7 percent in the third quarter. Seizing his last chance to refute Bill Clinton's "it's the economy stupid" campaign strategy, President George H.W. Bush jumped all over the new numbers.

From The New York Times:

"We have now had six straight quarters of growth in the United States," Mr. Bush said as he campaigned through Iowa, Kentucky and Ohio. "And yet the Democrats keep telling us that everything is going to hell. And they're wrong."

The Clinton camp scoffed.

Ronald H. Brown, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said Mr. Bush's reaction was "another example of a failed President grasping at straws."

And specialists working in the campaign of Gov. Bill Clinton, the Democratic nominee, noted that growth in the last six quarters had averaged 1.8 percent -- less than one-third the rate for comparable periods in the other eight postwar recoveries. They said the third-quarter advance could not be sustained.

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“Progressive Radio Network Host Danny Schechter, Friday @ 1pm(est)” - As We Mark The 150th Anniversary of the U.S. Civil War, We Celebrate Unity Domestically While We Promote Division Globally

By Danny Schechter

Author of The Crime Of Our Time.

One of America’s greatest songs begins this way:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:

He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;

He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:

His truth is marching on.

Think of that image of “truth marching on” with “terrible swift swords’ at the ready to reunify a divided nation, end a bitter secession and restore a union that had been torn asunder,

The author, Julia Ward Howe, was not just a patriot, but an activist, and an abolitionist who supported the North against the South to eradicate slavery and restore the union.

When President Obama speaks today, he always makes a point of invoking and punching up the name, or perhaps the memory, of “The UNITED States of America.”

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"Christopher Byron" - America's Most Dangerous Pill?

Christopher Byron , The Fix
Posted on June 1, 2011, Printed on June 2, 2011
http://www.alternet.org/story/151166/america%27s_most_dangerous_pill

http://www.thefix.com/content/worlds-most-dangerous-drug

You could argue that the deadliest “drug” in the world is the venom from a jellyfish known as the Sea Wasp, whose sting can kill a human being in four minutes—up to 100 humans at a time. Potassium chloride, which is used to trigger cardiac arrest and death in the 38 states of the U.S. that enforce the death penalty is also pretty deadly . But when it comes to prescription drugs that are not only able to kill you but can drag out the final reckoning for years on end, with worsening misery at every step of the way, it is hard to top the benzodiazepines. And no "benzo" has been more lethal to millions of Americans than a popular prescription drug called Klonopin.

Klonopin is the brand name for the pill known as clonazepam, which was originally brought to market in 1975 as a medication for epileptic seizures. Since then, Klonopin, along with the other drugs in this class, has become a prescription of choice for drug abusers from Hollywood to Wall Street. In the process, these Schedule III and IV substances have also earned the dubious distinction of being second only to opioid painkillers like OxyContin as our nation's most widely abused class of drug.

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"Joshua Holland" - How Fraudulent Is the GOP Budget Plan? It Wouldn't Even Make a Dent In the Deficit!

By Joshua Holland, AlterNet
Posted on May 31, 2011, Printed on June 2, 2011
http://www.alternet.org/story/151156/how_fraudulent_is_the_gop_budget_plan_it_wouldn%27t_even_make_a_dent_in_the_deficit%21

The Republican budget plan is the purest expression of the Right's longstanding desire to dismantle the social safety net. It's not about the budget deficit—that's simply a premise -- it's the "Shock Doctrine" in action.

How radical is it? According to an analysis by the non-partisan Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), the plan would slash all public spending other than Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid by almost three-quarters by 2050. And because the “budget does not envision defense cuts in real terms,” what this means is that “most of the rest of the federal government outside of health care, Social Security, and defense would cease to exist.”

It's the epitome of anti-tax zealot Grover Norquist's fantasy of shrinking the government down to a point where he could “drown it in a bathtub.”

And it's not just a matter of bait-and-switch; the entire proposal is a fraud. Just consider this: while selling their plan to the public as a “serious” and “bold” attempt to reduce the federal deficit, Republicans are overstating how much it would cut the budget gap by ten-fold. 

That's right, Rep Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, says his plan would reduce the deficit by $160 billion per year over the next decade, but it actually trims just $15 billion per year over that period – which is next to nothing in the context of budgets that run well over $3 trillion. To put that figure in perspective, it represents less than half of the spending cuts proposed by Barack Obama for next year; the average savings would have reduced this year's deficit by just one measly percent.

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"David Suzuki" - Humans May Have Loaded the Bases, but Nature Bats Last

Published on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 by the Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-suzuki/humans-may-have-loaded-th_b_869431.html

by David Suzuki

Humanity is facing a challenge unlike any we've ever had to confront. We are in an unprecedented period of change. Exponential growth is causing an already huge human population to double in shorter and shorter time periods.

When I was born in 1936, just over two billion people lived on the planet. It's astounding that the population has increased more then threefold within my lifetime. That staggering growth has been accompanied by even steeper increases in technological innovation, consumption, and a global economy that exploits the entire planet as a source of raw materials and a dumping ground for toxic emissions and waste.

We have become a new kind of biological force that is altering the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the planet on a geological scale. Indeed, Nobel Prize-winning chemist Paul Crutzen has suggested that the current geologic period should be called the Anthropocene Epoch to reflect our new status as a global force -- and a lot of scientists agree.

As noted in a recent Economist article, "Welcome to the Anthropocene," we are altering the Earth's carbon cycle, which leads to climate change, and we have sped up by more than 150 percent the nitrogen cycle, which has led to acid rain, ozone depletion, and coastal dead zones, among other impacts. We have also replaced wilderness with farms and cities, which has had a huge impact on biodiversity.

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"David Korten" - But What About My 401(k)?

Published on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 by YES! Magazine

http://www.yesmagazine.org/blogs/david-korten/but-what-about-my-401-k

Credit cards, mortgages, insurance, retirement: How to fulfill our basic financial needs without Wall Street.

by David Korten

The first reaction of most people to the call to shut down Wall Street is one of jubilant enthusiasm. The second reaction is, “But what about my 401(k) retirement account?” The same question might be raised about our credit cards, mortgages, and medical, homeowners, and auto insurance.

Money may be nothing but a number, but survival in a modern society is impossible without basic financial services. There are, however, better ways to deal with our very real financial needs than those presently offered by Wall Street. Here are some examples.

Credit Cards. Credit cards have two distinct functions: a convenient means of clearing transactions and an open line of credit. The first is a straightforward and beneficial service if properly regulated and transparent. The second is an enticement to debt slavery and predatory lending.

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"Suzanne Goldenberg" - Canada Tries to Hide Alberta Tar Sands Carbon Emissions

Published on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 by The Guardian/UK

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2011/jun/01/canada-tar-sands-carbon-emissions

Greenhouse gas emissions from the tar sands are on the rise, but try finding that in Canada's official report to the UN

by Suzanne Goldenberg

Barely a day goes by it seems when someone from Stephen Harper's government is not touting the benefits of the Alberta tar sands.

Emissions from tar sands mining, such as this pit in Alberta, were left out of Canada's carbon emissions reporting. But when it came to counting up the carbon emissions produced by the tar sands - big and growing bigger - a strange amnesia seems to have taken hold.

The Canadian government admitted this week that it deliberately left out data indicating a 20% rise in emissions from the Alberta tar sands when it submitted its annual inventory to the United Nations.

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"The Australian" - European drought raises fears of food riots

From: The Australian

May 31, 2011

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/european-drought-raises-fears-of-food-riots/story-e6frg6so-1226065963651

Bernard Maquis's cattle would normally be grazing in the lush green pastures of the Limousin region, in central France, at this time of year. Instead, they are eating hay intended for the winter after months of drought have turned the fields yellow.

He is wondering whether it might be better to sell his cows at a reduced price rather than find himself without fodder by the end of the autumn. "I'm starting to sleep badly," he said.

Mr Maquis is not alone. With northern Europe facing its worst drought since 1976, politicians in the West are expecting protests from farmers, consumer discontent and a strain on budgets. Third World nations are braced for riots as Europe's heatwave creates a rise in food prices and drives millions deeper into poverty.

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"Reuters" - Europe E.coli outbreak caused by toxic new strain

Reuters, June 2, 2011  8:36am EDT

HONG KONG/MOSCOW (Reuters) - A deadly outbreak of E.coli centred in Germany and spreading across Europe is caused by a dangerous new strain, Chinese scientists who analyzed the bacteria said.

The scientists said the outbreak, which has killed 17 and made more than 1,500 others ill in at least 10 European countries and is thought to come from vegetables, carried genes making it resistant to several classes of antibiotics.

"This E. coli is a new strain of bacteria that is highly infectious and toxic," said the scientists at the Beijing Genomics Institute in Shenzhen city in southern China who are collaborating with colleagues in Germany.

World Health Organization spokesperson Aphaluck Bhatiasevi said the WHO was waiting for more information from laboratories. "This strain has never been seen in an outbreak situation before," he said.

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"Ruth Conniff" - In the Midst of Economic Destruction, Inspiration

Published on Thursday, June 2, 2011 by The Progressive

http://www.progressive.org/rc060111.html

by Ruth Conniff

As things go from bad to worse in Wisconsin and other states, with massive cuts to schools, medical care, voter rights, and, as of last night in Wisconsin, the Earned Income Tax Credit, it's easy to feel overwhelmed.

It's a full-time job just to keep up with the coordinated assault on our democracy, our rights, our kids' future, and basic human services that make people's lives livable.

That's why gathering with people who have creative ideas and a ton of energy to help build a better world is both a relief and a big dose of inspiration.

Last night, across the street from the capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin, a group of progressives gathered in the boardroom of a large bank to talk about hopeful alternatives to the Republican model of budget slashing, inequality, and destruction.

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