|
Good Dog!
(Actions by our leaders that
deserve a yummy pig's ear)
|
12-2009
9-2009
 | Sep 10:
What the Death of the
F-22 Really Means
Daniel Strauss, Campus Progress: "It’s no accident that the military’s
budget has reached $515.4 billion (that makes it 21 percent of the gross
domestic product of the United States), because military spending
amendments are usually met with little to no opposition. But this July,
the Senate voted to cut $1.75 billion for the F-22 fighter. It may seem
like a small thing—less than 0.3 percent of the total military budget—but
by killing the F-22 program, it gave hope that seemingly
impossible-to-kill wasteful or unnecessary military projects are actually
beatable." |
2-2009
| Feb 27:
Senate to Investigate CIA's
Actions Under Bush
Greg Miller, The Los Angeles Times: "The Senate Intelligence Committee is
preparing to launch an investigation of the CIA's detention and
interrogation programs under President Bush, setting the stage for a
sweeping examination of some of most secretive and controversial
operations in recent agency history." |
| Feb 5:
Salazar Scraps Sale of Oil and
Gas Leases in Utah
Paul Foy, The Associated Press: "In a high-profile reversal of the Bush
administration, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Wednesday the
government is scrapping the lease of 77 parcels of federal land for oil
and gas drilling in Utah's redrock country. 'In the last weeks in office,
the Bush administration rushed ahead to sell oil and gas leases near some
of our nation's most precious landscapes in Utah,' Salazar said from
Washington in a teleconference call with reporters. He ordered the Bureau
of Land Management, which is part of the Interior Department, to not cash
checks from winning bidders for parcels at issue in a lawsuit filed by
environmental groups." |
| Feb 4:
Obama Seeks Russia Deal to Slash
Nuclear Weapons
Tim Reid, The Times UK: "President Obama will convene the most ambitious
arms reduction talks with Russia for a generation, aiming to slash each
country's stockpile of nuclear weapons by 80 per cent. The radical treaty
would cut the number of nuclear warheads to 1,000 each, The Times has
learnt. Key to the initiative is a review of the Bush Administration's
plan for a US missile defence shield in Eastern Europe, a project fiercely
opposed by Moscow." |
1-2009
|
Jan 30:
Senate Passes Health Insurance
Bill for Children
Ceci Connolly, The Washington Post: "The Senate overwhelmingly approved
legislation yesterday to provide health insurance to 11 million low-income
children, a bill that would for the first time spend federal money to
cover children and pregnant women who are legal immigrants." |
|
Jan 23:
Obama Ends Funding Ban for
Abortion Groups Abroad
Matt Spetalnick, Reuters: "President Barack Obama on Friday will lift
restrictions on US government funding for groups that provide abortion
services or counseling abroad, reversing a policy of his Republican
predecessor George W. Bush, an administration official said." |
|
Jan 21:
President Barack Obama
Delivers Inaugural Address
Barack Obama, sworn in as the 44th president of the United States,
delivers his inaugural address in front of more than a million
enthusiastic supporters on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. |
|
Jan 16:
US Suspends Munitions
Delivery to Israel
David Pallister, The Guardian UK: "The Pentagon has suspended the delivery
of a shipload of munitions to Israel after international concern that it
could be used by Israeli forces in Gaza. The German-owned cargo vessel,
Wehr Elbe, under charter by the US Military Sea-lift Command, is currently
in Greek waters with its transponder tracking turned off to prevent its
location being identified." |
|
Jan 15:
House Votes to Expand
Children's Health Program
Carolyn Lochhead, The San Francisco Chronicle: "Congress took the first
small step Wednesday toward what Democrats promise will produce universal
health care coverage for the first time in the United States under the new
Obama administration. The doubts and disagreements that killed President
Bill Clinton's efforts in 1993, they said, are giving way to powerful
forces for reform." |
|
Jan 14:
Congress Aims to Take Back
Constitutional War Powers
Maya Schenwar, Truthout: "As America anticipates the official arrival of
the Obama presidency on January 20, the power grabs and ballooning
executive privileges of the Bush administration may seem far behind us.
However, staving off the normalization of those abuses has remained at the
forefront of several Congress members' legislative agendas. Congress took
little initiative to rein in Bush's excesses throughout his
administration, and now, some members worry that his vast expansion of
executive powers could set a dangerous precedent for generations to come.
Unless Congress formally rejects Bush's generous interpretation of the
role of the president, they say, the system of checks and balances could
be permanently disrupted." |
12-2008
| Dec 5:
Justice Department Says Pentagon
Must Comply With EPA Cleanup Orders
Lyndsey Layton, The Washington Post: "The Justice Department dealt a blow
to the Pentagon this week, saying it has no legal authority to resist
orders from the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up Fort Meade in
Maryland and two other military sites that have been contaminated by
chemicals." |
11-2008
| Nov 14:
Democrats to White House:
Preserve Your Records
Pamela Hess, The Associated Press: "Senate Democrats on the Intelligence
and Judiciary Committees last week told the White House to preserve all
records produced by the Bush administration and expressed 'particular
concerns' whether Vice President Dick Cheney's office will comply with the
law. 'We believe it is vital the presidential and vice presidential
documents belonging to the American people be preserved, including those
related to key national security decisions in which the (office of the
vice president) played an important role,' the senators wrote in the Nov.
7 letter to White House lawyer Fred Fielding. The letter was obtained by
The Associated Press." |
9-2008
| Sep 30:
For Once, Congress Heard Voters
David Lightman, McClatchy Newspapers: "Almost until the early afternoon
vote Monday on the financial rescue plan, voters bombarded congressional
offices, protesting almost in unison: Don't bail out renegade financial
executives and companies. On Monday, House members, who face the voters in
five weeks, listened to their constituents rather than their party leaders
and rejected the $700 billion financial rescue package. For many, it was
just too much to swallow too quickly, and too hard to explain."
|
| Sep 23:
Democrats Reject $700 Billion Blank Check
Carolyn Lochhead, The San Francisco Chronicle: "Congressional Democrats
worked Monday to reshape the lame-duck Bush administration's jaw-dropping
request for an additional $700 billion and unprecedented authority to buy
distressed assets to prevent a financial meltdown, amid a sense of deja vu
on Capitol Hill over a similarly open-ended war resolution that Congress
gave the administration six years ago." |
|
Rep. Conyers Demands Answers in Justice's Oil Decision
Marisa Taylor and Greg Gordon, McClatchy Newspapers: "The chairman of the
House Judiciary Committee demanded Tuesday that the attorney general
provide an 'immediate explanation' for a Justice Department decision that
could have cost taxpayers up to $40 million in royalties from a major oil
company. In a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Conyers said
charges that politics might have played a part in a decision favoring a
major oil company 'must be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.'
Conyers said he wanted to question the officials involved in the case and
that he sought access to all related records." |
8-2008
| Aug 14:
Unnecessarily
Evil
Linda Hirshman, Slate: "The Democratic Party platform of 2008 finally
dropped its old abortion language ('safe, legal and rare'), which had
asked that women not have abortions unless they absolutely must. The 2008
platform, just announced, says instead, 'The Democratic Party strongly and
unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to choose a safe
and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and
all efforts to weaken or undermine that right.' Should a woman desire to
bear her child, the Dems advocate prenatal care, income support, and
adoption programs to help her there, too. But in the world of the new
Democratic platform, it's the woman's decision to make." |
| Aug 4:
Democrats Unrelenting in Oversight of Bush Administration
Peter Grier, The Christian Science Monitor: "The Democratic-led Congress
appears intent on using its oversight powers to investigate the Bush
administration until the day the latter packs up and walks out of the
White House. Oversight hearings and reports have been as common as
lobbyists on Capitol Hill since the Democrats swept the 2006 elections. In
July alone, hearings covered a range of subjects including allegations of
faulty wiring installed by US contractors in Iraq, possibly misleading
testimony from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Stephen
Johnson, and charges that politics guided hiring of career workers in the
Justice Department." |
4-2008
| Apr 18:
Bill Would Boost
US Power to Prosecute War Fraud
From Reuters: "The US government would have greater power to prosecute
cases of fraud in contracts for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan under a
measure introduced in Congress on Friday." |
| Apr 1:
GAO Blasts
Weapons Budget
Writing for the Washington Post, Dana Hedgpeth reports: "Government
auditors issued a scathing review yesterday of dozens of the Pentagon's
biggest weapons systems, saying ships, aircraft and satellites are
billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule. The Government
Accountability Office found that 95 major systems have exceeded their
original budgets by a total of $295 billion, bringing their total cost to
$1.6 trillion..." |
3-2008:
| Mar 26:
Blackwater abandons plans for California training camp On March 7,
private contractor Blackwater Worldwide announced it was abandoning plans
to construct a military and police training facility in Potrero,
California, a small town in southeast San Diego County. The decision came
after a storm of public protest that culminated in a special recall
election that replaced county officials who supported Blackwater’s bid. |
1-2008
| Feb 1:
Berkeley Finds a
New Way to Make War Politics Local
Jesse McKinley, of The New York Times, reports: "while the City Council
here has little - read, no - sway over foreign policy and distant wars,
local parking is a different matter. And so it was that a parking space
directly in front of the recruiting station here for the Marine Corps was
awarded on Tuesday night to an antiwar group in the hope of running the
Marines out of town. Having failed in recent years to impeach President
Bush and stop the war in Afghanistan, members of the City Council approved
a resolution that encourages people to nonviolently 'impede, passively or
actively,' the work of the recruiters." |
12-2007
| Dec 27:
Senate Blocks
Bush From Appointing Official to DOJ Post
Laurie Kellman, reporting for The Associated Press, writes: "The House was
quiet as a mouse the day after Christmas. But across the Capitol, the
Senate was operating in an unusually efficient manner in its ongoing power
struggle with President Bush." |
| Dec 18:
Dodd Wins Battle
in Spy Bill Standoff
Truthout's Matt Renner reports, "after a full day of debate on Monday,
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Connecticut) prevailed in his effort to halt an
Intelligence Committee bill that included legal immunity for
telecommunication companies that may have broken the law in cooperating
with the Bush administration's warrantless spying programs." |
11-2007
| Nov 8:
California Sues
EPA Over Auto Emissions
The Associated Press: "California sued the federal government on Thursday
to force a decision about whether the state can impose the nation's first
greenhouse gas emission standards for cars and light trucks." |
| Nov 5:
House
Panel to File Miers/Bolten Contempt Papers
Laurie Kellman reports for The Associated Press that, "House Democrats
threatened Monday to hold President Bush's key confidants in contempt of
Congress unless they comply with subpoenas for information on the Justice
Department's purge of federal prosecutors last winter." |
10-2007
| Oct 30:
Senators Want
Probe on Content Blocking by Telecoms
The Associated Press says, "Two senators on Friday called for a
Congressional hearing to investigate reports that phone and cable
companies are unfairly stifling communications over the Internet and on
cell phones." |
| Oct 24:
Senate Reverses
Bush's Budget Cuts
Andrew Taylor, reporting for The Associated Press, writes, "Senate
Democrats on Tuesday reversed President Bush's cuts to education, health
research and grants to local communities as they gird for Bush's
first-ever veto of a regular appropriations bill." |
| Oct 2:
Court Reverses
Bush on Archive Secrecy
JoAnne Allen, of Reuters, writes: "a federal judge on Monday tossed out
part of a 2001 order by President George W. Bush that lets former
presidents keep some of their presidential papers secret indefinitely. US
District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled that the U.S. Archivist's
reliance on the executive order to delay release of the papers of former
presidents is 'arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion and not in
accordance with law.'" |
9-2007
| Sep 14:
NJ's Corzine to
Defy New Health Care Rules
Christopher Lee reports for The Washington Post, "Democratic Gov. Jon
Corzine informed President Bush this week that New Jersey will not obey
federal rules that would make it harder to enroll middle-income kids for a
popular government-subsidized health insurance program." |
| Sep 7:
Congress Votes
to Repeal Global Gag Rule
Tod Preston for RH Reality Check says that "last night, despite President
Bush's veto threat, the Senate passed the FY 2008 State-Foreign Operations
Appropriations bill (by a vote of 81-12) that includes significant
provisions overturning destructive policies on family planning and
HIV/AIDS." |
8-2007
| Aug 31:
Iowa Judge Rules
Against Gay Marriage Ban
The Associated Press reports: "A Polk County judge on Thursday struck down
Iowa's law banning gay marriage. The ruling by Judge Robert Hanson
concluded that the state's prohibition on same-sex marriage is
unconstitutional and he ordered the Polk County recorder to issue marriage
licenses to six gay couples." |
| Aug 30:
Judge Blocks
New Missouri Abortion Law
David Twiddy for The Associated Press reports that "a federal judge
temporarily blocked a new Missouri abortion law Monday after Planned
Parenthood said the law would harm women by dramatically reducing the
clinics available to provide the procedure." |
| Aug 7:
Judge Bans Navy
From Using Sonar off Southern California
Kenneth R. Weiss, The Los Angeles Times, says, "A federal judge in Los
Angeles banned the US Navy from using high-powered sonar in nearly a dozen
upcoming training exercises off Southern California, ruling today that its
use could 'cause irreparable harm to the environment.'" |
|
Feingold
Introduces Resolutions Censuring Bush, Cheney and Gonzales
Frederic J. Frommer reports for The Associated Press that Senator Russ
Feingold (D-Wisconsin) has introduced resolutions to censure President
Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for
misleading the nation into war and undermining the rule of law. In the
House, Representative Maurice Hinchey (D-New York) introduced companion
resolutions. |
| Aug 4:
Inside a New
Antiwar Campaign
Eleanor Clift, Newsweek, says, "Remember President Bush's summer from
hell? Gold Star mother Cindy Sheehan had camped out in Crawford, Texas,
igniting the nascent antiwar movement. Two years later, as Congress heads
off on its August recess, antiwar activists are waging their Iraq Summer
campaign. The idea: to bird-dog 40 lawmakers, all Republicans, much the
way Sheehan did Bush." |
| Aug 3:
Senate passes child health bill
The US Senate approves a bill expanding a children's health insurance plan
amid a veto threat by President Bush. |
7-2007
| July 24:
Minimum Wage
Will Rise Today
The minimum wage rises 70 cents to $5.85 an hour today, the first increase
in a decade, reports Jesse J. Holland for The Associated Press. |
| July 20:
Senate Defies
Bush; Approves Tobacco Tax Hike to Fund Child Health
"In an overwhelming majority of 17 to 4, and in defiance of a threatened
veto by President Bush, the US Senate Finance Committee approved a bill to
expand child health care using a large increase in tobacco tax. Most of
the Republicans on the Committee joined the Democrats to vote in favour of
the bill," reports Medical News Today. |
| Paid Family
Leave - It's About Time
Martha Burk of Ms. Magazine says, "Senators Christopher Dodd
(D-Connecticut) and Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) have introduced a bill to
provide paid family leave for birth or adoption of a newborn, care of an
elderly parent, or serious illness of the employee." |
| July 3:
Massachusetts
Begins Universal Health Care
Massachusetts "becomes the first state to require its residents to have
health insurance or face financial penalties. Making insurance mandatory -
and more affordable - for Massachusetts's 6.5 million residents is the
centerpiece of a law approved by the legislature last year that civic and
business leaders hope will dramatically reduce the ranks of the state's
400,000 uninsured and the number of people who seek costly 'uncompensated'
care in hospital emergency rooms," reports The Washington Post. |
| July 2:
New Hampshire
Repeals Parental Notice of Abortion
"Governor John Lynch signed legislation Friday that made New Hampshire the
first state to repeal a law requiring a parent be notified before a minor
received an abortion," reports Norma Love of The Associated Press. |
5-2007
| May 18:
Wolfowitz
Resigns From World Bank
World Bank President Paul D. Wolfowitz resigned Thursday afternoon,
effective June 30, giving in to overwhelming pressure from bank staff and
governments around the globe that he depart to end the ethics controversy
that has consumed the institution. |
| May 11:
Powell's Chief
of Staff Proposes Impeachment
Speaking on National Public Radio on Thursday, Army Colonel Lawrence
Wilkerson (Retired), Vietnam War veteran, former chief of staff at the
State Department from 2002 to 2005 under then-Secretary of State Colin
Powell, former acting-director of the Marine Corps War College at
Quantico, and currently a teacher of national security at William and Mary
College, proposed impeaching President George W. Bush and Vice President
Richard Cheney. |
| May 9:
Pelosi Threatens
to Sue Bush Over Iraq Bill
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) is threatening to take President
Bush to court if he issues a signing statement as a way of sidestepping a
carefully crafted Iraq war spending bill compromise. |
| May 3:
House Approves
Funding for Head Start
The House approved more money for the popular Head Start program Wednesday
after rejecting a GOP-led attempt to allow religious groups participating
in the program to hire and fire staffers based on religious grounds. |
| May 1:
California
Democrats Pass Impeachment Resolution
Sparked by an insurgency among delegates, the California Democratic Party
has taken an historic step forward on the issue of impeachment. In a
resolution affirmed by the full state party convention Sunday, the
Democrats called on the US Congress to use its subpoena power to
investigate misdeeds of President Bush and Vice President Cheney - and to
hold the administration accountable "with appropriate remedies and
punishment, including impeachment." The delegate insurgency was
coordinated by Progressive Democrats of America and its allies. |
4-2007
| April 25:
Kucinich
Officially Moves to Impeach Cheney
Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) on Tuesday introduced articles of
impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney. Kucinich outlined three
charges against Cheney: that he "manipulated the intelligence process ...
by fabricating the threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction" to justify
the war in Iraq; that he deceived citizens and Congress "about an alleged
relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda" to justify the war; and that he
has "openly threatened aggression against the Republic of Iran, absent any
real threat to the United States, and has done so with the United States'
proven capability to carry out such threats." |
| April 24:
Lawmakers to
Open Tillman-Lynch Hearing
Lawmakers plan to press the Pentagon on Tuesday with questions still
hovering over the one-time National Football League star's shooting: Was a
drone flying overhead when Tillman was killed? Did it videotape the
incident? |
| April 19:
New Hampshire
Governor to Sign Bill Allowing Civil Unions
Gov. John Lynch told The Associated Press on Thursday he will sign
legislation establishing civil unions in New Hampshire. New Hampshire thus
will become the fourth state to adopt civil unions and the first to do so
without first having a court fight over denying gays the right to marry. |
| April 2:
Judge Tosses
Out Bush's National Forest Rules
A federal judge on Friday overturned Bush administration regulations for
national forests that critics said expedited logging and energy
exploration, weakened wildlife protection, and shut the public out of
forest planning. |
3-2007
| March 25:
Hagel: Some See Impeachment As Option With his go-it-alone approach on
Iraq, President Bush is flouting Congress and the public, so angering
lawmakers that some consider impeachment an option over his war policy, a
senator from Bush's own party said Sunday. |
| March 15:
Democrats'
Resolution on Iraq Reaches Senate Floor
After weeks of delay, Democratic leaders yesterday managed to bring to the
Senate floor for the first time a binding resolution that would bring US
troops home from Iraq. But Republicans remained confident that they could
kill the proposal and the White House threatened a veto, raising
Constitutional concerns. |
| March 14:
Iraq Resolution Passes Senate Panel On Party Lines The families of two
Marines found themselves on opposite sides of the debate Wednesday as
state lawmakers held a public hearing on a resolution criticizing
President Bush's decision to send more troops to Iraq. |
| March 12:
Activists
Announce Protests at Pentagon and on Campuses
On Saturday, March 17, anti-war activists from around the country will
gather near the Vietnam Memorial and march to the Pentagon. This event
comes 40 years after the historic march on the Pentagon which many
observers saw as a turning point in the movement against the Vietnam War.
Student organizers are also planning events on campuses around the country
between March 15 and 20. |
| March 6:
Boulder Hospital Sends Heart Cath Lab To Ethiopia Boulder Community
Hospital is donating its old heart catheterization laboratory and machine
to Ethiopia to improve healthcare in the African nation. The cardiac
medical tool will be the first lab of its kind in the country of 75
million people. |
| March 5:
Leave No Child
Inside
Richard Louv writes about the movement to reconnect children to the
natural world, which has arisen quickly, spontaneously, and across the
usual social, political, and economic dividing lines. |
| March 2:
Waxman to Force
Walter Reed Ex-Chief to Talk About Problems, Contract
Democratic congressman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) is challenging the
Pentagon, which is attempting to block the former chief of Walter Reed
Army Medical Center from testifying before Congress next week. |
| Democrats
Send Out First Round of Subpoenas
A House judiciary subcommittee approved today the first in what is
expected to be an avalanche of subpoenas to Bush administration officials.
They will likely explore corruption and mismanagement allegations on
everything from pre-war Iraq intelligence to the mishandling of the
response to Hurricane Katrina. The first round of subpoenas concern the
recent controversial firings by the Bush administration of seven US
attorneys, some of whom were pursuing public corruption cases against
Republican members of Congress. |
2-2007
| Feb 16:
Senators
Introduce Bill to Restrict Use of Cluster Munitions
Democratic senators introduced legislation that would bar U.S. use of
cluster bombs in or near civilian areas. The bill would restrict funding
for the use, sale or transfer of cluster munitions unless their
submunitions have a failure rate of less than one percent, or unless the
president grants a waiver on national security grounds. |
| Feb 9:
US cash for Agent Orange study
The US agrees for the first time to help towards cleaning up a site where
Agent Orange was kept in the Vietnam war. |
| Feb 8:
Letter to
US Treasury Secretary on Blocking Oil Payments to Sudan In a letter
sent today to the US Secretary of the Treasury, Henry M. Paulson, Human
Rights Watch welcomed the Treasury Department's proposed use of its
regulatory authority to block transfers by US commercial banks of oil
payments to the government of Sudan. |
|
Mistrial Could
Be End of Watada Case
The opposition of Watada and his defense team to the mistrial, declared by
the military judge and eventually endorsed by prosecutors after their case
fell apart, opens the door for a double-jeopardy defense. Double jeopardy,
which forbids a person from being tried twice for the same crime, does not
apply only after a verdict is rendered, but can apply after a jury is
empaneled and witnesses have been called. |
| Feb 7:
Lieberman Wants "War on Terrorism Tax"
An outspoken supporter of the Iraq War on Tuesday called for a new tax to
pay for its astronomical cost as Congress opened a debate on President
Bush's $2.9 trillion budget plan for next year. |
| Feb 2:
Senate Votes to
Raise Minimum Wage
The Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to boost the federal minimum wage
by $2.10 to $7.25 an hour over two years, but packaged the increase with
controversial tax cuts for small businesses and higher taxes for many $1
million-plus executives. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she supports
some of the tax provisions in the House package, but would prefer they be
put in a separate, House-initiated tax bill. |
1-2007
| Jan 31:
Maryland Pushes
Expansive Medical Coverage
Maryland lawmakers are drawing up ambitious proposals to provide medical
insurance to hundreds of thousands of residents without coverage, stepping
into the national debate over who should pay the soaring costs of health
care. |
| Jan 27:
President's
Actions Could Lead to Impeachment
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) accused the White House of mounting a
media blitz to prepare the US public for an eventual attack on Iran. "The
White House is up to its old tricks again: Providing information by
anonymous sources and portraying Iran as an aggressor in Iraq," Kucinich
said. |
| Jan 19:
House Rolls Back
Oil Company Subsidies
The House rolled back billions of dollars in oil industry subsidies
Thursday in what supporters hailed as a new direction in energy policy
toward more renewable fuels. Critics said the action would reduce domestic
oil production and increase reliance on imports. The energy legislation
was the last of six high-priority issues that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
had pledged to push through during the first 100 hours of Democratic
control. The bill passed by a 264-163 vote. |
| Jan 12:
Congressman Acts
to Revoke Iraq War Resolution
Congressman Sam Farr introduced legislation that would strip President
Bush of the authority to continue using force against Iraq. Matt Renner
discusses the congressman's reaction to Bush's new plan. |
| Jan 11:
Minimum Wage
Boost Races Through House
The House of Representatives voted to raise the federal minimum wage
Wednesday for the first time in a decade, to $7.25 an hour. |
| Jan 9:
California Plan
for Health Care Would Cover All
On Monday, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed extending
health care coverage to all of California's 36 million residents as part
of a sweeping package of changes to the state's huge, troubled health-care
system. |
| Jan 5:
Pelosi's Ascent
Breakthrough for Women
It shouldn't be surprising that it took more than 200 years for Congress
to select a female speaker of the House. The United States isn't exactly
at the forefront when it comes to women in politics. |
| Waxman
Launches New Committee to Monitor Bush Administration
Representative Henry Waxman (D-California), the chairman of the Committee
on Oversight and Government Reform, has created a new subcommittee that
will tackle decisions made by the Bush administration regarding which
government records should be made available to the public. |
12-2006
| Dec 18:
75 Immigrants Sent To Texas Returned To Colo. The Greeley Tribune
reported Sunday that 75
immigration detainees shipped to Texas after the
Swift & Co. raid were being returned to Colorado. |
| Dec 9:
A Closing Call
for Impeachment
"President George W. Bush has failed to preserve, protect, and defend the
Constitution of the United States; he has failed to ensure that senior
members of his administration do the same; and he has betrayed the trust
of the American people," Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney explained in
remarks prepared to accompany her submission on Friday of articles of
impeachment against Bush, Vice President Cheney and Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice. McKinney, in her last legislative act before leaving the
House at the end of her current term, represented not merely a final
thrust by the Georgia Democrat against the Bush administration that she
has so consistently opposed but a challenge to the new House Democratic
leadership to pay more than lip service to its Constitutionally-mandated
duty to check and balance the executive branch. Read the full text of
McKinney's remarks. |
| Dec 8:
McKinney
Introduces Bill to Impeach Bush
In what was likely her final legislative act in Congress, outgoing Georgia
representative Cynthia McKinney announced a bill Friday to impeach
President Bush. |
| Dec 4:
Bolton Resigns
From UN
Unable to win Senate confirmation, UN Ambassador John Bolton will step
down when his recess appointment expires soon, the White House said
Monday. Bolton's nomination has languished in the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee for more than a year, blocked by Democrats and several
Republicans. |
11- 2006
| Nov 18:
Judge Refuses to
Dismiss NSA Surveillance Lawsuits
Forty-eight lawsuits against the nation's largest telecommunications
companies for alleged participation in a warrantless government
surveillance program had their first day all together in court Friday, in
a courtroom packed with more than two dozen lawyers for the government,
the companies and civil liberties groups. |
| Nov 16:
Pennsylvania
Passes Plan to Cut Mercury
On Thursday, a state regulatory board approved Governor Ed Rendell's
proposal to make deeper cuts in mercury emissions from Pennsylvania's
coal-fired power plants, despite opposition from power plants and mining
companies. If the rule becomes final, Pennsylvania will be the first major
coal-producing state to require a tougher-than-federal limit on mercury
emissions from power plants. |
| Nov 15:
Rare Bipartisan
Support to Keep Iraq Watchdog Agency Alive
Jason Leopold reports that the Senate voted Tuesday in favor of keeping
open a federal agency that monitored taxpayer-funded reconstruction
efforts in Iraq, a month after the Republican majority in both houses of
Congress quietly passed legislation signed into law by President Bush to
close down the agency. |
| Nov 10:
Bolton May Not
Return as UN Envoy
Key lawmakers said yesterday they would block the nomination of John R.
Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations, all but killing chances for
him to remain in the post past December. For nearly 20 months, President
Bush has tried, unsuccessfully, to get Bolton confirmed in a job he has
held since August 2005. Bolton then received a recess appointment after
not getting enough support in the Senate. |
| Nov 1:
Colorado City
to Vote on "Carbon Tax"
Voters in Boulder, Colorado, will decide Tuesday whether the city will
become the first in the nation to impose a "carbon tax" on homeowners and
businesses to fund efforts to reduce emissions that cause global warming. |
10-2006
9-2006
| Sept 30:
Ashcroft Is
Denied Immunity in Case
A federal judge in Idaho has ruled that former attorney general John D.
Ashcroft can be held personally responsible for the wrongful detention of
a US citizen arrested as a "material witness" in a terrorism case. |
| Sept 1:
US Direct
Action: How American Cities Have Bypassed Bush on Kyoto
It is not just the state of California that is bypassing the authority of
the US government to take action on global warming. The mayors of more
than 300 cities across the country have signed a Climate Protection
Agreement in which they have pledged to meet the emissions-cutting
timetable laid down by the Kyoto Protocol - regardless of what the Bush
administration decides. |
| Challenging
the Culture of Obedience
"We are here to say, 'We will not stand for it any more. No more lies. No
more pre-emptive, illegal war, based on false information. No more
God-is-on-our-side religious nonsense to justify this immoral, illegal
war. No more inhumanity.' Let's raise our voices," Salt Lake City mayor
Ross C. "Rocky" Anderson proclaimed, "and demand, 'Give us the truth! Give
us the truth! Give us the truth!'"
|
8-2006
|
August 29:
Lawyers Will
Subpoena Bush White House in Phone Company Spying Case
Two lawyers who brought the first lawsuit against the Bush administration,
Verizon and AT&T for illegally examining the phone records of virtually
every American citizen will announce today that they are serving subpoenas
on the Bush White House and on Verizon. |
|
August 30:
California
Assembly Approves Universal Health Care
The Democratic-controlled Legislature is on the verge of sending Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger a bill that would create a state-run universal
health care system, testing him on an issue that voters rate as one of
their top concerns in this election year. |
|
August 18:
In the NSA Case,
a Judge Says No to King George
In ruling on Thursday that the Bush administration's warrantless
surveillance program is unconstitutional and must be halted, US District
Judge Anna Diggs Taylor slammed the White House on several critical
fronts. "In her decision," writes David Corn, "she accused the
administration of dishonestly arguing that the lawsuit filed by the ACLU
and others (including journalists, researchers and lawyers) against the
NSA wiretapping should be dismissed because it would expose state
secrets." |
|
August 14:Governors
Oppose Federal Control of Guard
The nation's governors, protesting what they call an unprecedented shift
in authority from the states to the federal government, will urge Congress
today to block legislation that would allow the president to take control
of National Guard forces in the event of a natural disaster or a threat to
homeland security. |
|
Chicago Pushes
Living Wage for Big-Box Stores
Mayor Richard Daley is poised to exercise his first veto in 17 years on a
new bill that sets a "living wage" of $10 an hour plus $3 an hour in
benefits or additional wages by 2010 for stores of more than 90,000 square
feet with at least $1 billion a year in corporate sales. |
|
August 8:
A Reprieve for
Public Lands
A federal court decided last week that the Bush administration had rushed
to sell oil and gas leases on public lands without considering their
wilderness characteristics. The New York Times says, "With any luck, the
decision will send a signal to Ms. Norton's successor, Dirk Kempthorne,
that the administration's policy of indiscriminately fast-tracking leases
in fragile areas needs a fresh look." |
|
Democrats Call
on Congress to Probe BP Shutdown
Democratic members of the US House of Representatives called on Congress
to hold hearings into BP's operations in Alaska following a second oil
pipeline rupture at its Prudhoe Bay operations over the weekend that will
shut the 400,000 barrel-a-day oilfield, saying the shutdown reflects BP's
chronic mismanagement of its US drilling operations and that the company
had been earning enough money to prevent the problem. |
7-2006
|
July 27:
Kucinich
Introduces Legislation to Abolish All Nuclear Weapons
Today, Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich introduced legislation, HR 950, to
abolish all nuclear weapons. The Kucinich resolution states: "That the
House of Representatives calls upon the President to initiate multilateral
negotiations for the abolition of nuclear weapons." |
|
July 25, 2006:
Specter to Sue
Bush Over Signing Statements
A powerful Republican committee chairman who has led the fight against
President Bush's signing statements said Monday he would have a bill ready
by the end of the week allowing Congress to sue him in federal court. |
|
July
24, 2006
Bigger
Salaries for Big Box Workers?
The Chicago City Council recently looked poised to pass an ordinance that
would require big box retailers located within city limits to pay their
employees a living wage. The legislation requires retail stores larger
than 90,000 square feet that are owned by companies who sell $1 billion in
merchandise annually to pay their workers a minimum of $9.25 an hour plus
$1.50 an hour in benefits beginning July 2007. |
|
July
21st, 2006
Bush
Loses First Round in Wiretap Suit
A federal judge Thursday refused to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the Bush
administration's domestic spying program, rejecting government claims that
allowing the case to go forward could expose state secrets and jeopardize
the war on terror. |
|
July
18th, 2006
House
Rejects Gay Marriage Ban Amendment
The House on Tuesday rejected a constitutional amendment to ban gay
marriage, ending for another year a congressional debate that supporters
of the ban hope will still reverberate in this fall's election. |
|
Senate Passes
Stem Cell Bill, Defying Veto Threat
The Senate voted Tuesday after two days of emotional debate to expand
federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, sending the measure to
President Bush for a promised veto, the first of his presidency. The bill
passed 63-37, four votes short of the two-thirds majority that would be
needed to override Bush's veto. update:
House Fails
to Override Stem Cell Veto
President Bush rejected legislation Wednesday that could have multiplied
the federal money going into embryonic stem cell research, using the first
veto of his presidency to underscore his stand on the emotionally charged,
life-and-death issue. update: Bush
Issues First Veto, Nixes Stem Cell Bill President Bush vetoed a bill
for the first time today, using his Constitutional power to reject
legislation passed by Congress that would expand federal research on
embryonic stem cells, a step he said would be crossing a "moral line."
Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House minority leader, said
that the veto amounted to "saying 'no' to hope." It is up to members of
Congress, she said, to "represent their constituents" and vote to override
the veto. |
|
June
30th, 2006
Did Bush
Commit War Crimes?
Rosa Brooks points out, "The Supreme Court on Thursday dealt the Bush
administration a stinging rebuke, declaring in Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld that
military commissions for trying terrorist suspects violate both US
military law and the Geneva Convention. But the real blockbuster in the
Hamdan decision is the court's holding that Common Article 3 of the Geneva
Convention applies to the conflict with al-Qaeda - a holding that makes
high-ranking Bush administration officials potentially subject to
prosecution under the federal War Crimes Act." |
|
June
28th, 2006
Senate
Rejects Flag Desecration Amendment
A Constitutional amendment to ban flag desecration died in a Senate
cliffhanger Tuesday, a single vote short of the support needed to send it
to the states for ratification a week before Independence Day. |
|
June
27th, 2006
Democrats Vow to Block Pay Raises Until Minimum Wage Increased
Democrats ratcheted up their election-year push for an increase in the
federal minimum wage Tuesday by promising to block a Congressional pay
hike unless some of the lowest-paid hourly workers get their first raise
in nearly a decade. |
|
Supreme Court Rules Bush Overstepped Authority at Guantanamo |
|
May 27th, 2006
Activists
Celebrate Postponement of Bomb Test
A scheduled protest turned into a celebration outside the
Mercury entrance to the Nevada Test Site this weekend. According to the
Associated Press, about 300 anti-nuclear demonstrators gathered at the
Nevada Test Site to celebrate the indefinite postponement of a massive
explosion that they feared would spread radioactivity. |
|
|
Good
Gov,