http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosuforums/list.page Public Action Democrat asks public to push for oil-policy changes

First they misdiagnose the Problem:
price of oil, fostered by President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney's close ties to
the oil industry, is no longer just a burden.

Democratic Solution:

She promoted the Democratic proposals for changing energy policy. Those call for:

• Ending billions of dollars in tax breaks for big oil

companies.

• Forcing the oil companies to invest some of their profits in clean and affordable alternative energy.

• Protecting the American people from price gougers and greedy oil traders

who manipulate the market.

• Temporarily stopping

the diversion of oil to the national Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is 97 percent full.

• Standing up to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil-producing nations that are working together to keep oil prices high.

http://www...ml?sid=101



]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1056409.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1056409.page GMT http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1054209.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1054209.page GMT http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1049810.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1049810.page GMT
"Also, our present emergency and a common sense of decency make it imperative that no new group of war millionaires shall come into being in this nation as a result of the struggles abroad. The American people will not relish the idea of any American citizen growing rich and fat in an emergency of blood and slaughter and human suffering."

Fastfoward to 2008 and the Military-Industrial-Media Complex: http://www...ganda.html

Think Again: Pentagon Propaganda and the Media Stonewall
By Eric Alterman, George Zornick | May 1, 2008

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On April 18, 2006, retired U.S. Air Force Major General Donald Shepperd appeared on CNN’s “Situation Room” with Wolf Blitzer to respond to the news that a wave of retired generals was calling for the resignation of then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in response to his mishandling of virtually every aspect of the war effort in Iraq.

Rumsfeld had called a meeting with many current and former military officials days earlier, and Shepperd was one of them. When Blitzer asked Shepperd if Rumsfeld brought up the controversy, Shepperd downplayed its importance. “Very little, Wolf. Everybody expected the headlines out of this to be the secretary says the following things. And the focus of the meeting was very little on that. … Basically, the focus was on how the war in Iraq is going, how it would have been different in the past if, and that type of thing. It was not about the retired generals controversy, although the secretary is clearly distracted by it and worried about it and concerned about it, and he listened to a lot of things from the group.”

On the same program, CNN Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre simply (and uncritically) repeated Shepperd’s assertion, explaining, “Well, Wolf, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld is not taking much of this criticism to heart, and he’s making it clear he’s not [going] any place, anywhere—any time soon.”

What viewers could not know at the time was that Rumsfeld called the meeting in question specifically for the purpose of combating calls for his resignation. Mr. Rumsfeld’s staff insisted that “the boss” wanted the meeting fast “for impact on the current story.” When the New York Times leaked word of the planned meeting, the Pentagon scrambled to play it off as simply a matter of routine.

Viewers also didn’t know that it wasn’t the first time retired military officers, who often appeared as objective analysts in the media, met with Rumsfeld to construct carefully honed messages. To the contrary—as reported by the New York Times in a stunning, 7,500 word story last week “the analysts met personally with Mr. Rumsfeld at least 18 times, records show, but that was just the beginning. They had dozens more sessions with the most senior members of his brain trust and access to officials responsible for managing the billions being spent in Iraq.”


]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1045210.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1045210.page GMT http://www...p?id=26376

The Anti-Obama, Anti-Wright, and Anti-Clinton GOP Model Has Been Tested -- And It Failed
The Republican brand has been so badly damaged that if Republicans try to run an anti-Obama, anti- Reverend Wright, or (if Senator Clinton wins), anti-Clinton campaign, they are simply going to fail.

This model has already been tested with disastrous results.

In 2006, there were six incumbent Republican Senators who had plenty of money, the advantage of incumbency, and traditionally successful consultants.

But the voters in all six states had adopted a simple position: "Not you." No matter what the GOP Senators attacked their opponents with, the voters shrugged off the attacks and returned to, "Not you."

The danger for House and Senate Republicans in 2008 is that the voters will say, "Not the Republicans."

Anti-Obama, anti-Pelosi, anti-Obama's ex-preacher ads did not work in Special Congressional elections in Illinois and Louisiana.

]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1045209.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1045209.page GMT http://www...more-29032

3. eBay is the answer for poverty and recession. During his so-called “Forgotten Places” tour last month, John McCain offered the people of the economically devastated regions in Martin County, Kentucky and Youngstown, Ohio a path out of financial desperation: eBay. “Today, for example,” McCain said, “1.3 million people in the world make a living off eBay, most of those are in the United State of America.” If that sounds like something McCain’s national campaign co-chair and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman might say, it’s because she did. In March, she told Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes, “We have about - around the world, about 1.3 million people make most, if not all, of their living selling on eBay.” (It should come as no surprise that President Bush, too, extolled the virtues of Americans’ economic futures as sellers on eBay.)

]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1043809.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1043809.page GMT
Today, it is one of the most prosperous countries in Europe. Iceland is energy self-reliant and even exports energy. Iceland invested tapping into its renewable resources and it is paying off handsomely. Manufacturers are lining up to open factories there. http://www...d=16836510

The U.S. has more the potential for even more renewable energy sources than Iceland, in relative terms. Yes, it would take several trillion dollars in ivestment to hook up the grid for solar and wind but it would be money well spent and put millions of people to work.

One third of the houses in gloomy Germany have solar panels because banks are required to give low interest loans to homeowners for the installation and then residents pay off the loans by selling power back to the grid. It costs homeowners virtually nothing.

The technology exists for America to become energy self-reliant again. This would equate to true freedom. Even John McSame said that the Iraq War was started for oil.

]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1043613.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1043613.page GMT
"My friends, I will have an energy policy that we will be talking about, which will eliminate our dependence on oil from the Middle East that will - that will then prevent us - that will prevent us from having ever to send our young men and women into conflict again in the Middle East."

http://www...99866.html]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1037210.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1037210.page GMT http://www.johnmccain.com/espanol/

This comes two years after McSame voted to make the English the official national language of the U.S.

This guy will do anything to pander for votes---vote against an immigration bill that had his name on it, vote for the CIA to continue torture tactics a few months ago even though he says he so against the use of torture, etc, etc.

]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1037209.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1037209.page GMT http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1024213.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1024213.page GMT http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1024210.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1024210.page GMT http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1024209.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1024209.page GMT
The rich use more government services to acquire and maintain their wealth. Government services being an educated workforce, courts to enforce contracts, water, air, roads, etc.

Progressive taxation is about the wealthy paying their fair share as Teddy Roosevelt spoke out about. Bill Gates realizes that his fortune was made possible by taxpayer funded government research that developed the internets.

I say let's not only roll back the Bush tax cuts but we should also roll back the Reagan tax cuts too.

Remember that the Republicans said the Clinton tax hikes on the rich would cause a Great Depression. Instead, the economy went gangbusters and the budget got balanced.

We don't have to reinvent the wheel here---a vigorous progressive tax schedule worked out pretty good in the Eisenhower years with a huge middle class and rising wages.
]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1023612.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1023612.page GMT http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1019009.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1019009.page GMT
The corporate media selectively plays the guilt by association game. Where was the furor by the fact that George H.W. Bush was having breakfast with Osama Bin Laden's brother the morning of 9-11? Then the White House approved Bin Laden family members in America to be flown out of the USA the day after 9-11 without even debriefing them???]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1016609.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1016609.page GMT
Economy grows by only 0.6 percent in 1st quarter of 2008
Wednesday April 30, 9:01 am ET
By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer
Economy limps ahead at a 0.6 percent pace in first quarter, better pace than expected


WASHINGTON (AP) -- The bruised economy limped through the first quarter of this year at only a 0.6 percent growth rate as housing and credit problems forced people and businesses alike to hunker down.
http://biz...onomy.html]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1015609.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1015609.page GMT
All the back-ups have been destroyed as well as the hard drives and all the computers went missing with no tracking whatsoever.

Several courts have ruled that documents created by the people belong to the American people since the advent of email technology. The Presidential Records Act considers emails as official records.

Republican Dan Burton held several hearings because emails written by staffers with the last name beginning with the letter 'D' of then Presidnent Bill Clinton went missing. Burton spent $11 million of taxpayer money and the investigation found that it was because of a glitch.

Possibly most troubling is that the White House switched to an email system in 2002 that sends emails to a server in Chattnooga TN which is 1200 miles from DC OVER OPEN AND UNSECURE LINES OF THE INTERNET. Tens of millions of White House emails were sent wildly unsecure.

Yet, the conservative media such as the Dispatch, NPR and the TV news shows execpt Olbermann barely mention the story. Here in Columbus we have heard much about Marc Dann's stupid email behavior but nothing about the White House breaking the laws of the Presidential Records Act and risking national security and Karl Rove ignoring Congressional subpoenas.]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1015009.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1015009.page GMT
2. Deregulation of the commodity markets by President Clinton and the Republican Congress in 2000. Many industries were deregulated since Reagan and we are now paying a heavy price.

3. Price of oil is going through the roof which is causing food prices to increase (fertilizer, fuel for farm equipment, transportation costs).

4. Global warming. Many areas of the world are turning into deserts. Drought, flooding and extreme weather ruining crop yields.

5. Sideshow Bob's favorite, corn ethanol which is a very inefficient biofuel. Both the Republicans and Dems are equally at fault for pandering to the Corn Lobby on the corn ethanol issue.

Sugar-cane is many times better as a biofuel. We should make hemp legal to grow as it is a very efficient biofuel. There are other good biofuels too---switchgrass, etc.

]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1012009.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1012009.page GMT
I think conservative justices are holding back on Roe for political reasons. They don't want the issue to become a wedge issue for Dems. How incredibly lame!

That said, I believe Roe was a bad decision. I think the issue should be left for states to decide. The Supreme Court ruled on Roe before the politics of the right to choose had formed.

Making the right to choose illegal will completely change how the issue is covered by the media. Cable news shows will cover stories about women dying horrible deaths. Countries that have made abortions illegal have found it necessary to have government vagina inspectors in hospitals. Few people will support that reality.]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1010612.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1010612.page GMT
American-made arms are used in several conflicts throughout the world, many of which are distributed by private arms dealers. Is the USA to blame when munitions made here are used in violent conflicts throughout the world???]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1010610.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1010610.page GMT
IMO, the mainstream media is doing a crapy job giving context to the story. Rev. Wright preaches from the Liberation or Social Gospel theology. He has never advocated violence. IMO, his sermons are consistent with the preaching of MLK, Jr. who we have a national holiday for.

Rev. Wright was a decorated U.S. Marine during the Vietnam era. He disagreed with the war but treated soldiers. He must have been very accomplished as he graduated at the top of his class in Medic training with the military and was even part of the medical team that operated on President LBJ.]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1010609.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1010609.page GMT Senator Thad Cochran gave these worries wide attention back in January when he remarked, "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."
http://www...86252.html

]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1008810.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1008810.page GMT
The story we're told about the human race is that our population was relatively stable for over a hundred thousand years, then slowly grew to around a quarter-billion about the time of Christ. Finally, in 1800, we hit our first one billion humans.

From there, our population exploded like cockroaches in a dirty New York apartment. Two billion by 1930. Three billion in 1960. Four billion in 1974. Five billion in 1987. Six billion around 2000.

The solution to the problems are two-fold: cultural (changing human thinking and behavior) and technological. Empowering women is the answer to achieving a negative birth rate. Affluent women from rich oil producing countries ten to have many children. But women in societies that have a level playing field of rights as men have always produced negative birth rates.

The other solution is to covert from relying on CONG (coal, oil, nukes and natural gas) and instead rely on renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal, geothermal.

Stopping the use of energy from the sun that was produced millions of years ago we can get the earth's ecosystems back in balance. The technology exists TODAY to reduce the carbon footprint of humans by 90%. It's critical we make that happen now.

I highly recommend "The Eleventh Hour." It takes off where Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth" left off. ]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1008809.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1008809.page GMT
I'm no expert, but I don't think you can grow corn in the desert, and we can drill in ANWR. America simply has been too kind to the Middle East. It is time to fight fire with fire.

]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1007809.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1007809.page GMT http://www...htm#011805

The Bushies don’t want a government workforce of experienced professionals who inform the public with reliable, objective factual data.

They want a government of political hacks who will put out the (mis)information the president wants.

The Heritage Foundation laid out the conservative vision of the federal workforce when Dubya first came to town, in the report “Taking Charge of Federal Personnel.”

That report sniffed at the “Public Administration Model” of government as “emphasiz[ing] the Progressive ideal--a value-free ‘scientific’ program of government administration.”

Instead, it preferred the “Political Administration Model” which it defines as “providing presidential leadership to committed top political officials…holding them and their subordinates personally accountable for achievement of the President's election-endorsed and value-defined program.”

That may sound nice enough on paper, but we’ve seen what that means in action.

It means pressuring the intelligence community to provide assessments that fit with predetermined Administration objectives.

It means threatening to fire staff that dare try to give Congress accurate cost estimates of Medicare proposals.

It means creating a Homeland Security agency, without civil service protections, that is prone to politicized terror alerts.

It means installing cronies at the head of Cabinet agencies, turning the Cabinet into a Politburo.

In sum, it means a government that is no longer yours, no longer one that serves the broad public, but one that serves a single politician.

]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1005610.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1005610.page GMT
This is crazy. It's like taxpayers allowing drunk drivers to go w/o insurance and sticking liability on taxpayers.

Solar, wind and other renewable energy sources are the way to go. Nuke plants are dangerous and produce millions of pounds of radioactive waste.]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1005216.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1005216.page GMT
I hear almost as much corporate ads on NPR as on commerical radio. I think most NPR reporters want to give fair and balanced reports but the politics of the time hold them back.

NPR is now run by political zeolots of the neocons.

NPR did not do enough to expose the rush to war with Iraq. These days I think NPR stands for National Pentagon Radio or National Petroleum Radio. There are some good shows and good solid reporters on NPR but also alot of propaganda and the neocon perspective is given way too much deference.]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1005213.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1005213.page GMT
]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1004010.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1004010.page GMT
Adams tried to gin up a war with the French in the xyz affair. A classic example of a conservative using fear and war to gain political power.

Adams put journalists and rival politicians/citizens in prison for expressing their opinions using the alien and sedition acts. Typical conservative tyranical behavior very similar to Bush.

McCullough portrays Jefferson as a buffoon in his book. I'm steering clear of the John Adams mini-series on HBO. ]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1003411.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1003411.page GMT
China has a prison economy. Many factories are right next to prisons. Workers who speak out soon end up inside the prisons or worse. Essentially all workers are prisoners.

Huge corporations such as Wal-Mart and General Electric are in bed with the despots who run China. People who have a social conscience should try to change what is happening in China by putting pressure on such huge corporations such as Wal-Mart.

The Chinese have occupied Tibet for over 50 years. Most Tibetans suffer from extreme poverty. The situation in Tibet is very similar to what South African apartheid was like. Tibetans are twelve-class citizens and are given no opportunities. Tourists are taken to Tibetan markets but the merchants are really Chinese people in Tibetan costume. Tibet is rich in resources such as uranium and timber. The Tibetans don't necessarily want independence. They just want to be treated humanely.

I don't think we should boycott the Olympics but the people who have protested the torch are doing God's work.

Thomas Jefferson and slave masters long ago had to look their slaves in the eye. Today almost all our goods are made by what is essentially slave labor on the other side of the world. ]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1000809.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/1000809.page GMT
1. Free time on the public airwaves was given to serious political candidates. This is a no-brainer.

2. Broadcast stations had to show that they were using the public airwaves with public interest in mind. There was a firewall between news divisions and advertising. Newscasters reported real news. News was not expected to be a profit center. Journalists weren't million dollar stars. Today, corrupt politicians deny journalists access if they are asked tough questions and the broadcast journalists risk losing their million dollar salaries. No-brainer here too.

3. Equal time given to issues. This part of the Fairness Doctrine is the most controversial. Columbus has 6 conservative radio stations and one liberal even though almost 65% vote Democratic. Conservative tycoons own and control broadcasting companies. If they don't change their ways and offer programming that's more fair and balanced then this part of the Doctrine should be reinstated too.

]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/998210.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/998210.page GMT http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/993419.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/993419.page GMT
John Wayne went to great measures to avoid fighting in WWII. This was at a time that most celebrities served-Clark Gable, Tyrone Power, Ted Williams, etc.

In the decades that followed, John Wayne was a cheerleader for war against China, the Soviets, Vietnam, Korea, etc.

The American public is beginning to see that first-strike wars and corporate imperialism has disasterous consequences. The John Wayne chickenhawks are dangerous and should not be trusted.

John Wayne was only a tough guy in the movies.]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/992409.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/992409.page GMT
Only someone who is delusional would applaud this mess.

A barrel of oil has reached $117. Could it be $200 before Bush and Cheney leave office? Attacking Iran is the recipe for $200/barrell.]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/992212.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/992212.page GMT
And here's another thing few people realize. FICA taxes are not taken out for capital gains and dividend income. Taxing these income streams would fund Social Security forever.

Where is the fairness in someone who sits around the swimming pool and waiting for dividend checks to arrive pays only 15% on that income whereas a coal miner or teacher pays 40% or more in total taxes?

Greedy tycoons have rigged the system. Time to wake up, America.]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/992210.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/992210.page GMT
http://en....pean_Union]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/991610.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/991610.page GMT http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/991609.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/991609.page GMT
For more info, visit: http://www.wosu.org/televison/dtv/

Cable and Satellite:
If you use your analog set with a multi-channel pay service such as satellite (DirecTV or DISH Network) or cable (Time Warner, Insight, or Wide Open West), you will continue to get local stations. The only exception would be if your cable/satellite service would go down for a period of time. The only way to be certain your reception is never interrupted is to purchase a digital converter box.

Antenna:
If you receive over-the-air programming by rabbit ears or another type of indoor or outdoor antenna and want to continue using your antenna, you will need either a digital television set or a digital converter box connected to each analog television set you use. Go here to get one: https://www.dtv2009.gov/


TVs with digital tuners:
If you have a television set with a digital tuner, your television reception will continue uninterrupted. So, if you haven’t switched to digital yet, and you receive over-the-air television by rabbit ears or other type of indoor or outdoor antenna, you’ll need either a digital TV or a digital converter box connected to each analog television set you use so that you can continue to receive WOSU and other channels after February 17, 2009.

]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/988214.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/988214.page GMT http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/984029.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/984029.page GMT http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/984019.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/984019.page GMT
Here are two Documentaries that make this case in phenomenal Fashion:

Indoctrinate U and Expelled

Expelled:
http://www.expelledthemovie.com/

Indoctrinate U:
http://ind...lcome.html]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/984016.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/984016.page GMT http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/983810.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/983810.page GMT
Since Jack Duffy thinks he understands "gall," let me point out his own when he calls the Democrats "big-spending do-gooders" ("Pelosi has nerve questioning general," letter, Wednesday).

Under the Democratic administration before President Bush took office, the United States had a balanced budget and a booming economy.

Under Bush's leadership, we are trillions of dollars in debt -- mostly to communist China, which can pull our strings anytime it chooses. This country under Bush has a recession looming and people losing jobs and homes.

That equates to big spending, of borrowed money, with no good being done.

Which would you rather have?

MARGARET SCHUBBE



Powell
http://www...ml?sid=101

]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/967609.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/967609.page GMT
ECONOMIC SILVER LINING
Weaker dollar aiding Ohio
Manufacturers poised to profit from exports
Sunday, April 13, 2008 3:39 AM
By Gerry Shih

COX NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON -- Three months ago, as subprime mortgage and recession worries hit a fever pitch, one of Wall Street's most respected but notoriously gloomy economists intrigued investors by dropping a morsel of optimism.

A sharp U.S. manufacturing renaissance, Merrill Lynch's David Rosenberg said, should flourish for at least five years.

"This means a revival in the Rust Belt," he declared, and financial circles buzzed.

To that jaded swath of America, it sounds like a familiar claim peddled by economists once every few years but that never pans out at home: Some estimate that 200,000 manufacturing jobs have left Ohio since 2000.

But for the first time in decades, various economic and political factors appear to be converging in transforming the global currency order in the long run. If the dollar were to remain devalued, as some think, it could bring sweeping changes to the U.S. economic landscape and its manufacturing heartland.
http://www...ml?sid=101]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/966613.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/966613.page GMT http://joh...b527cf.htm
Copy and pasted straight from John McBush's campaign website:

"John McCain believes that insurance reforms should increase the variety and affordability of insurance coverage available to American families by fostering competition and innovation.
Reform the tax code to eliminate the bias toward employer-sponsored health insurance, and provide all individuals with a $2,500 tax credit ($5,000 for families) to increase incentives for insurance coverage. Individuals owning innovative multi-year policies that cost less than the full credit can deposit remainder in expanded health savings accounts."

The way I read this is that McBush would like to end tax incentives for Employers to help pay for employees health insurance. It's safe to say that CEO's won't go uncovered but McBush's plan would send tens of millions more Americans onto the uninsured rolls.

Also, from McBush's website:

"Make patients the center of care and give them a larger role in both prevention and care, putting more decisions and responsibility in their hands."

Uh, no. Doctors should be the center of care. They get schooling and training for at least ten years. People are being bombarded by advertisements for expensive prescription drugs that don't sell well and most people don't need. McBush's plans will only make the medical care/insurance crisis much worse.


]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/965812.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/965812.page GMT
Additionally, the IMF, hardly a liberal organization, has announced the anticipation of credit losses at nearly a trillion dollars. That was quickly followed by an announcement by Nouriel Roubini, who has been on the bullseye with his predictions on this crisis in advance of the present dislocations, with a statement in which he now estimates the losses at $1.7 trillion in the credit markets.

These two announcements are targeting the losses from defaults on credit instruments only and not including the deflation of real estate assets which will be extraordinary.
]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/962809.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/962809.page GMT http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/962010.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/962010.page GMT
What do you think of Marc Dann's performance?]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/962009.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/962009.page GMT
Exit polls have shown that the contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama has produced deep divisions among Democratic constituencies. It looks something like tribal warfare. Whites have voted, if you average the results from the states, 53 percent to 39 percent for Clinton; blacks, 80 percent to 17 percent for Obama; Latinos, 58 percent to 39 percent for Clinton; Asians, in California (the one primary state where they're numerous enough to gauge), 71 percent to 25 percent for Clinton.

The differences in voting by the young, overwhelmingly for Obama, and the elderly, overwhelmingly for Clinton, are as large as any I can remember in either a primary or general election. Upscale voters are heavily for Obama; downscale voters are heavily for Clinton.
http://www...bes_at_war]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/955810.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/955810.page GMT Possible guest: Matt Slaybaugh and/or others from "Available light [theatre]." http://www.avltheatre.com/

As I am planning to present a production of Our Town (NOT politically edgy, I know), I've come to know these folks. They use theatre (shows never presented before in Columbus) to wake citizens to social action and engagement. It's more than a nice night out at the theatre. It's a call to action.

Thanks, Fred!

-- Artie Isaac
614-643-1006]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/955809.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/posts/list/955809.page GMT