Dr. King's Economic Dream Deferred
Bill Moyers and Michael Winship comment for Truthout: "This is a perilous moment. The individualist, greed-driven free-market ideology that both our major parties have pursued is at odds with what most Americans really care about. Popular support for either party has struck bottom, as more and more agree that growing inequality is bad for the country, that corporations have too much power, that money in politics has corrupted our system, and that working families and poor communities need and deserve help because the free market has failed to generate shared prosperity - its famous unseen hand has become a closed fist."
Top Fed Official Wants To Break Up Megabanks, Stop The Fed From Guaranteeing Wall Street's Profits
Shahien Nasiripour writes for the Huffington Post: "The U.S. should bust up its megabanks and impose strict laws curbing the size and complexity of financial institutions, a top Federal Reserve official told the Huffington Post. In a 45-minute interview this week, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Thomas M. Hoenig, who's emerged as one of the few influential voices calling for a fundamental redesign of a broken U.S. financial system..."
Economy Adds 162,000 Jobs in March, Unemployment Steady at 9.7 Percent
Dean Baker report for The Center for Economic and Policy Research: "The establishment survey (CES) showed the economy adding 162,000 jobs in March, the biggest increase since March of 2007. The household survey (CPS) showed the unemployment rate remaining steady at 9.7 percent with the employment to population ratio edging up to 58.6 percent, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from its low last November."
Fraud on the Street
Robert Reich writes on RobertReich.org: "The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Monday it had begun an inquiry into two dozen financial companies to determine whether they followed accounting practices similar to those recently disclosed in an investigation of Lehman Brothers."
7th Anniversary of Iraq War Passes -- But Myths Endure
Greg Mitchell writes for the Huffington Post: "Seven years ago The New York Times ran a prominent photo from a meeting of past Pentagon chiefs who had gathered at the White House for a discussion about 10 days into our invasion of Iraq. Victory still seemed assured but it was also becoming clear that we were not being greeted as liberators in most areas. The picture showed current Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld shaking hands with a past master, Robert McNamara."
McChrystal's Support for Afghan Raids Belies New Image
Gareth Porter, Inter Press Service: "Gen. Stanley McChrystal has recently acquired the image of a master strategist of the population-sensitive counterinsurgency, reducing civilian casualties from airstrikes and insisting that troops avoid firing when civilians might be hit during the recent offensive in Helmand Province. One recent press story even referred to a 'McChrystal Doctrine' that focuses on 'winning over civilians rather than killing insurgents.'"
CIA Seeks to Influence Opinion on Wars
Daan de Wit reports for DeepJournal: "The CIA recommendations for influencing the European public into continuing their support for the mission in Afghanistan is receiving a lot of attention both in The Netherlands and beyond. But in a military conflict, war is only one stage of the struggle. The biggest struggle is for the hearts and minds of the public at large. What's special about the case of the document is not so much its content, but the fact that it is now available for all to see."
Destroying Educational Institutions or Using Them for Military Purposes Is a War Crime
Dirk Adriaensens comments for Truthout: "'The education system in Iraq, prior to 1991, was one of the best in the region; with over 100 percent Gross Enrollment Rate for primary schooling and high levels of literacy, both of men and women. Higher education, especially the scientific and technological institutions, was of an international standard, staffed by high quality personnel.' (UNESCO Fact Sheet, March 28, 2003)"
More Dark Truths From Guantanamo as Five Innocent Men Are Freed
Andy Worthington reports for Truthout: "After eight years imprisonment without charge or trial, five former Guantanamo prisoners are beginning new lives this week - two in Switzerland and three in Georgia. Their stories reveal, yet again, how Republican lawmakers and media pundits in the US, who have, in recent months, renewed their fear-filled attacks on those still held, are guilty of hyperbolic and unprincipled outbursts and, in addition, how these critics' attacks are damaging to the prospects of cleared men, seized by mistake, finding new homes in countries that, unlike the US, are prepared to offer them a chance to rebuild their shattered lives on a humanitarian basis."
Agent Orange and Vietnam's Forgotten Victims
Geoffrey Cain reports for GlobalPost: "At 46, each year of misery seems to have etched new wrinkles around Tran Thanh Dung's angry gaze. When he was child in the early 1970s, Tran says he witnessed U.S. soldiers shoot his parents - both of whom were communist Viet Cong soldiers during the Vietnam War. Bent on revenge, he joined the guerrilla group within hours."
Who Are the 46.3 Million Uninsured?
The Center for Economic and Policy Research reports: "The most recent available data (2008) show that 46.3 million people in the United States had no health insurance. Adults between 18 and 64 are by far the largest group of uninsured (38.3 million in 2008). Children are the next largest group of the uninsured (7.3 million). Thanks primarily to Medicare, only a small share of the uninsured are 65 or older (0.6 million). Most uninsured adults are workers. Over 23 million workers 18 to 64 have no health insurance from any source, compared to about 15 million non-working adults in the same age range. A large majority of the working adults (14.7 million) are “full-time, full-year” (that is, worked at least 50 weeks in the year, for at least 35 hours per week)."
Will Obama Screw the Left Again?
Eric Alterman writes for the Daily Beast: "A strong liberal appointment to replace Justice Stevens, who’s expected to retire soon, would fire up the president’s troops ahead of a bruising election season. But Obama may seek middle ground once more by choosing Elena Kagan. A symbol that Obama wants a fight would be the choice of either Cass Sunstein, formerly of the University of Chicago and now working in the Office of Management and Budget, or former Yale Law dean Harold Koh."
Will FOX News Destroy the Republican Party?
Leslie Savan writes for AlterNet: "Over the past week or so, stories about conservative hypocrisies have been popping up in mainstream media like cute kitten videos on the internets. There was the Vatican blaming the news media for the pedophilia practiced by priests; the Republicans blaming the violence against Democrats on the Democrats themselves; Sarah Palin, intoning that "violence isn't the answer," studding a map with gunsights to target the Dems who should be gotten rid of come November; and, of course, fundraisers for the family values party trying to expense-account their visit to that faux-lesbian, bondage-themed nightclub in West Hollywood. It almost made you think the conservative movement was about to collapse under the weight of its own delusions."
Democracy and Domestic Violence
Joe Conason writes for Turthdig.com: "When the Department of Homeland Security released a cautiously worded report on the potential dangers of right-wing extremism last April, the talk-radio wingnuts and certain Republican lawmakers went into spasms of indignation. Clearly, that report - an innocuous nine-page document commissioned by the previous Republican administration - had been conjured up by White House Democrats to smear conservatives."
Not Satisfied With US History, Some Conservatives Rewrite It
Steven Thomma reports for McClatchy Newspapers: "The right is rewriting history. The most ballyhooed effort is under way in Texas, where conservatives have pushed the state school board to rewrite guidelines, downplaying Thomas Jefferson in one high school course, playing up such conservatives as Phyllis Schlafly and the Heritage Foundation and challenging the idea that the Founding Fathers wanted to separate church and state. The effort reaches far beyond one state, however."
Meet the Toxic 100 Corporate Air Polluters
Michael Ash and James K. Boyce report for the Political Economy Research Institute: "Researchers at the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst today released the Toxic 100 Air Polluters, an updated list of the top corporate air polluters in the United States."
Nate Phelps, TPAC and the Million Fag March
Amber Farley writes for the Kansas Free Press: "If you live in Kansas, chances are pretty darn good that you've heard of psychotic homophobe, religious cult leader and all-around a-hole freakazoid Fred Phelps. You may not, however, have heard of his son, Nate Phelps. Nate is the 6th of Fred Phelps' 13 children. Rather than follow in his father's footsteps and stay with his family clan, Nate chose to leave home at 18 and has never looked back. He denounces all of his family's homophobic beliefs and, through lots of thoughtful contemplation, is an atheist."
Free Press Haven: Iceland May Soon Become Utopia for Journalists and Publishers
Samuel Knight writes for In These Times: "Icelandic members of parliament have plans to transform their crisis-ridden North-Atlantic nation into a sanctuary for publishers, production companies and information technology firms from around the world. 'It would free the press from fear,' says Thor Saari, one of the members of parliament spearheading the proposal, which is known as the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative (IMMI). Iceland's Parliament, the Althingi, is expected to support the effort."
Comcast Rolls Out Broadband Meters Coast to Coast
Ryan Singel writes for Wired: "Comcast cable internet users across the country can now keep track of their data usage to make sure they don’t go over their 250GB a month data allowance, thanks to bandwidth meters deployed to customers nationwide Thursday. Comcast will send users an e-mail with a link to the meter, which can be found on their Comcast.net user page. As of Thursday, the meter is now available more than 25 states including all or parts of: Oregon, Washington, Maine, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri , Colorado, Utah, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, and Washington, D.C."
Study: 52 Percent Of Bloggers Consider Themselves Journalists
Leena Rao writes for Tech Crunch: "According to a new study released by PR Week and PR Newswire, 52% percent of bloggers surveyed consider themselves journalists. This is an increase from 2009’s study, when just one in three had the same opinion. However, despite this, only 20% of bloggers obtain the majority of their income from their blogs; which is an 4% increase from 2009."
Top Fed Official Wants To Break Up Megabanks, Stop The Fed From Guaranteeing Wall Street's Profits
Shahien Nasiripour writes for the Huffington Post: "The U.S. should bust up its megabanks and impose strict laws curbing the size and complexity of financial institutions, a top Federal Reserve official told the Huffington Post. In a 45-minute interview this week, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Thomas M. Hoenig, who's emerged as one of the few influential voices calling for a fundamental redesign of a broken U.S. financial system..."
Economy Adds 162,000 Jobs in March, Unemployment Steady at 9.7 Percent
Dean Baker report for The Center for Economic and Policy Research: "The establishment survey (CES) showed the economy adding 162,000 jobs in March, the biggest increase since March of 2007. The household survey (CPS) showed the unemployment rate remaining steady at 9.7 percent with the employment to population ratio edging up to 58.6 percent, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from its low last November."
Fraud on the Street
Robert Reich writes on RobertReich.org: "The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Monday it had begun an inquiry into two dozen financial companies to determine whether they followed accounting practices similar to those recently disclosed in an investigation of Lehman Brothers."
Recommended Audio: Keith Olbermann - Predatory Banking Practices Interview With Rep. Barney Frank
Keith Olbermann discusses predatory banking practices and interviews Rep. Barney Frank on Countdown.7th Anniversary of Iraq War Passes -- But Myths Endure
McChrystal's Support for Afghan Raids Belies New Image
Gareth Porter, Inter Press Service: "Gen. Stanley McChrystal has recently acquired the image of a master strategist of the population-sensitive counterinsurgency, reducing civilian casualties from airstrikes and insisting that troops avoid firing when civilians might be hit during the recent offensive in Helmand Province. One recent press story even referred to a 'McChrystal Doctrine' that focuses on 'winning over civilians rather than killing insurgents.'"
CIA Seeks to Influence Opinion on Wars
Daan de Wit reports for DeepJournal: "The CIA recommendations for influencing the European public into continuing their support for the mission in Afghanistan is receiving a lot of attention both in The Netherlands and beyond. But in a military conflict, war is only one stage of the struggle. The biggest struggle is for the hearts and minds of the public at large. What's special about the case of the document is not so much its content, but the fact that it is now available for all to see."
Destroying Educational Institutions or Using Them for Military Purposes Is a War Crime
Dirk Adriaensens comments for Truthout: "'The education system in Iraq, prior to 1991, was one of the best in the region; with over 100 percent Gross Enrollment Rate for primary schooling and high levels of literacy, both of men and women. Higher education, especially the scientific and technological institutions, was of an international standard, staffed by high quality personnel.' (UNESCO Fact Sheet, March 28, 2003)"
More Dark Truths From Guantanamo as Five Innocent Men Are Freed
Agent Orange and Vietnam's Forgotten Victims
Geoffrey Cain reports for GlobalPost: "At 46, each year of misery seems to have etched new wrinkles around Tran Thanh Dung's angry gaze. When he was child in the early 1970s, Tran says he witnessed U.S. soldiers shoot his parents - both of whom were communist Viet Cong soldiers during the Vietnam War. Bent on revenge, he joined the guerrilla group within hours."
Who Are the 46.3 Million Uninsured?
The Center for Economic and Policy Research reports: "The most recent available data (2008) show that 46.3 million people in the United States had no health insurance. Adults between 18 and 64 are by far the largest group of uninsured (38.3 million in 2008). Children are the next largest group of the uninsured (7.3 million). Thanks primarily to Medicare, only a small share of the uninsured are 65 or older (0.6 million). Most uninsured adults are workers. Over 23 million workers 18 to 64 have no health insurance from any source, compared to about 15 million non-working adults in the same age range. A large majority of the working adults (14.7 million) are “full-time, full-year” (that is, worked at least 50 weeks in the year, for at least 35 hours per week)."
Will Obama Screw the Left Again?
Will FOX News Destroy the Republican Party?
Leslie Savan writes for AlterNet: "Over the past week or so, stories about conservative hypocrisies have been popping up in mainstream media like cute kitten videos on the internets. There was the Vatican blaming the news media for the pedophilia practiced by priests; the Republicans blaming the violence against Democrats on the Democrats themselves; Sarah Palin, intoning that "violence isn't the answer," studding a map with gunsights to target the Dems who should be gotten rid of come November; and, of course, fundraisers for the family values party trying to expense-account their visit to that faux-lesbian, bondage-themed nightclub in West Hollywood. It almost made you think the conservative movement was about to collapse under the weight of its own delusions."
Democracy and Domestic Violence
Not Satisfied With US History, Some Conservatives Rewrite It
Steven Thomma reports for McClatchy Newspapers: "The right is rewriting history. The most ballyhooed effort is under way in Texas, where conservatives have pushed the state school board to rewrite guidelines, downplaying Thomas Jefferson in one high school course, playing up such conservatives as Phyllis Schlafly and the Heritage Foundation and challenging the idea that the Founding Fathers wanted to separate church and state. The effort reaches far beyond one state, however."
Meet the Toxic 100 Corporate Air Polluters
Michael Ash and James K. Boyce report for the Political Economy Research Institute: "Researchers at the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst today released the Toxic 100 Air Polluters, an updated list of the top corporate air polluters in the United States."
Nate Phelps, TPAC and the Million Fag March
Amber Farley writes for the Kansas Free Press: "If you live in Kansas, chances are pretty darn good that you've heard of psychotic homophobe, religious cult leader and all-around a-hole freakazoid Fred Phelps. You may not, however, have heard of his son, Nate Phelps. Nate is the 6th of Fred Phelps' 13 children. Rather than follow in his father's footsteps and stay with his family clan, Nate chose to leave home at 18 and has never looked back. He denounces all of his family's homophobic beliefs and, through lots of thoughtful contemplation, is an atheist."
Free Press Haven: Iceland May Soon Become Utopia for Journalists and Publishers
Samuel Knight writes for In These Times: "Icelandic members of parliament have plans to transform their crisis-ridden North-Atlantic nation into a sanctuary for publishers, production companies and information technology firms from around the world. 'It would free the press from fear,' says Thor Saari, one of the members of parliament spearheading the proposal, which is known as the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative (IMMI). Iceland's Parliament, the Althingi, is expected to support the effort."
Comcast Rolls Out Broadband Meters Coast to Coast
Ryan Singel writes for Wired: "Comcast cable internet users across the country can now keep track of their data usage to make sure they don’t go over their 250GB a month data allowance, thanks to bandwidth meters deployed to customers nationwide Thursday. Comcast will send users an e-mail with a link to the meter, which can be found on their Comcast.net user page. As of Thursday, the meter is now available more than 25 states including all or parts of: Oregon, Washington, Maine, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri , Colorado, Utah, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, and Washington, D.C."
Study: 52 Percent Of Bloggers Consider Themselves Journalists
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