 Muse in the Morning |
by hurting those who seek happiness
will never find happiness
–M. K. Gandhi, from his poem, Violence
Phenomena XXIX: helping
 Beyond the End
|
August 2010 archive
Aug 03 2010
Muse in the Morning
by hurting those who seek happiness
will never find happiness
Aug 03 2010
All For Single Payer video
These folks, Health Care for All Texas, did a great job on this video! Please feel free to share.
A parody of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” that takes a fun look at a critical subject: health care. For a more serious look at the facts and myths, go to our website, www.healthcareforalltexas.org or to Physicians for a National Health Program at www.PNHP.org.
And its even better because….
Aug 02 2010
ebt
Thadius Lindahl
case # 1B27J13
SS # 550-33-5081
To Status Report Group
I was recently sent a letter stating that my benefits were cut due to a change on my response form. The confusion seems to be about contributions from a web site, when I contacted a worker regarding this he asked me to clarify the situation re the amount of donations.
The donations I receive are voluntary. They come from the web sites readers and fluctuate from month to month. They cannot be predicted, and have been falling steadily as the economy has worsened. It is quite possible they will dry up completely in the near future as the web site is also losing readers, and thus contributors.
Last month there were no contributions, and so that is what I listed on the response form in question. So far this month there have been no contributions as well.
I hope that clears up the confusion and I am eager to resolve this issue.
Aug 02 2010
DREAM Now Letters: Tania Unzueta
The “DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama” is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service. With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!
President Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
My name is Tania Unzueta and I’m undocumented.
I have lived in Chicago since I was 10 years old. I came with my mother to join my father, who had found a stable job and a promise to legalize his status. Eventually our tourist visas ran out, and my family became undocumented.
Aug 02 2010
Afghan War Logs: what did we learn?
The subject title is the one from a Guardian report one of the participants in the Wikileaks document dump and explanations of.
In this first blockquote, and if in the U.S., think of all that you’ve read or especially heard since the three outlets, the Guardian where this comes from being one, helped bring out what the online Wikileaks had obtained and posted simultaneously.
One disappointed paper deliberately provided the Taliban with a to-do list: it drew their attention to specific Wikileaks documents they might inspect in order to take reprisals. The low point was perhaps reached by Channel 4 News, which respectfully quoted a “spokesman” for the bearded murderers, as he uttered promises of revenge on alleged informants. It felt like PR for the Taliban.
Aug 02 2010
“Accentuating the Positive” in Iraq
When gunmen ambushed Iraqi security checkpoints in a large Sunni neighborhood of Baghdad last Thursday, terrorized residents said the attack reminded them of the worst days of the war. The United States military said it was unaware of any gunfighting.
On Sunday, when The Associated Press reported that July was the worst month for Iraqi casualties in more than two years, the United States military denied it. Yes, Iraqis are still dying, the American command said, but in strikingly fewer numbers than Iraqi government ministries have told the news media.
As American forces exit Iraq, with only 50,000 to remain by the end of this month and all to be withdrawn in a year, the American military command is accentuating the positive.
Aug 02 2010
News at Noon
| From Reuters |
BP chief Dudley to visit Russia
By Tom Bergin
August 2, 2010
| (Reuters) – BP Plc Chief Executive-designate Bob Dudley will fly to Moscow this week to meet government officials and partners in the oil company’s Russian venture — his first visit since fleeing the country in 2008.
The visit comes as the oil giant prepares to plug its blown out Gulf of Mexico well for good on Monday. When he left Russia in 2008, Dudley said he had been forced out under a campaign of harassment by billionaire partners in the TNK-BP joint venture of which he was CEO. |
Related Stories
BP to set aside $100 million for unemployed rig workers
Singapore ex-BP employees seek to set aside search order
Aug 02 2010
How We Will Fix This: Undoing Citizens United Part 3
cross-posted from Sum of Change
This is our last round of videos from the Netroots Nation panel, Undoing Citizens United: A Comprehensive Plan to Prevent Corporations from Buying Elections (here is part 1, and part 2). Today, we are going to focus mostly on how to move forward. But first, some inspiration from Congresswoman Donna Edwards:
Aug 02 2010
Gleaning: Bringing in the Sheaves
With so many people still out of work and depending upon unemployment benefits, I thought I might briefly explore one particularly ancient safety net program. Republicans believe that welfare in any form swells the deficit and creates a system of entitlement, but I disagree. Pointing back to the Bible, as I so often do, I’d like to discuss the particulars and modern day application of a very ancient custom. Those who are up in arms about the very thought of welfare might benefit from a different means of framing the issue.