Progressive Justice

Poor Neighborhoods May Contribute To Poor Health

2011-10-21T09:05:00.000-07:00

Poor neighborhoods may contribute to poor health

A study of low-income residents in L.A. and four other U.S. cities finds that those who moved into better-off areas may become healthier than those who stayed behind.

Vickie Webb stands in the door way of her apartment after checking her blood pressure in Durham, N.C. Webb, 43, lived in the projects in Durham for several years before a housing agency helped relocate her and her husband to a better neighborhood. According to a study released Wednesday, poor women in big city public housing given a chance to live in more affluent neighborhoods had lower rates of diabetes and extreme obesity. Webb was not part of the study. (Jim R. Bounds / Associated Press / October 19, 2011)

By Amina Khan, Los Angeles Times

October 20, 2011

People who move from a poor neighborhood to a better-off one could end up thinner and healthier than those who stay behind, according to an urban housing experiment that tracked low-income residents in five major cities for 10 to 15 years.

The research, set up by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, shows that health is closely linked to the environments people live in — and that social policies to change those environments or move people away from blighted areas could be a key tactic in fighting the "diabesity" epidemic.

The study released Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine took advantage of a 1990s social experiment approved by Congress primarily to track the changes in income, education and employment of people given the opportunity to move out of low-income housing in Los Angeles, Baltimore, Chicago, New York and Boston. At least 40% of the residents at the start of the study made less money than the federal poverty threshold.

Researchers soon realized that the project could allow them to study residents' changes in health as well, said study coauthor Dr. Robert Whitaker, a pediatrician at Temple University inPhiladelphia.

Between 1994 and 1998, the researchers randomly divided 4,498 women with children who made less than the federal poverty level into three groups. A third were given a voucher that would pay for a portion of their rent, so long as they moved to a much better-off area in which no more than 10% of residents had incomes below the poverty level. They were provided with counseling to help them make the move.

Another third were offered traditional vouchers, which would subsidize housing regardless of location. The final third served as the control group and did not receive vouchers.

Ten to 15 years later, researchers measured the women's height, weight and blood sugar. They found that rates of extreme obesity among women given vouchers to move to less impoverished neighborhoods were about 19% lower than those who stayed in the low-income neighborhoods, and rates of diabetes were about 22% lower.

"This is one of the first studies to show that where you live — the circumstances of your neighborhood, the social characteristics of the people around you — all these things may play a role in your own health," said Dr. Harlan Krumholz, a cardiologist at the Yale School of Medicine who was not involved in the study. "Your health is not just what happens to you, but is influenced by all of those around you and the environment. … Some environments are toxic to health."

One only has to visit one of these housing projects to grasp that toxicity, said study lead author Jens Ludwig, a public policy professor at the University of Chicago.

On one visit to Baltimore, he recalled, "we walk into the elevator and it's like a tin can. It's just metal everywhere, meant to reduce graffiti — unsuccessfully." Obscene and graphic language were scrawled across the walls, he said.

"It smelled like a urinal … and in walks this mom with this incredibly sweet 6- or 7-year-old girl, and you think, this is the environment these poor moms have to raise their children in," Ludwig said.

Experts have yet to identify for sure what aspects of such environments make them so damaging to health — but they do have ideas, as well as suggestions for improvement, said Dr. Michael Rodriguez, a UCLA professor of family medicine who was not involved in the study. Among them: safer ways for schoolchildren to walk home, better and safer public spaces, a focus on crime reduction, and incentives to bring healthful grocery options to low-income areas.

"The next step would probably be to intervene by altering neighborhoods rather than moving people out of neighborhoods," Whitaker said. "Now that we have seen experimentally that people who are placed in very different neighborhoods do better, the question is, how we can address the quality of the neighborhoods … without necessarily having [residents] move?"

The nation's overall obesity rates doubled between 1980 and 2000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and newly diagnosed cases of diabetes have more than tripled since 1980.

Poorer and minority populations have especially high rates of obesity and diabetes, and some obesity experts have blamed that fact on the unhealthful environments they live in: Low-income urban areas are often described as "food deserts," full of fast-food joints and few healthful grocery options, and high crime rates deter outdoor activity.

amina.khan@latimes.com

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Comments (8)

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mxgreen451 at 9:44 PM October 20, 2011

How much money did this cost? But anyway the cubicle occupiers at HUD needed something to do...

Ponchinello at 4:46 PM October 20, 2011

Now there's an epiphany...." poor neighborhoods may contribute to poor health."

McrockerRocker at 3:02 PM October 20, 2011

Temporarily Sterilizer all government food stamp, WIC, Section 8, and welfare recipients. This is the only way to protect these people from creating more of themselves. It would save money, lower a dysfunctional population, stop unwanted pregnancy, and push people of the governments doll. Problem solved...And PS it says nothing in the constitution about providing government entitlements to less productive human plasma

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Herman Cain It's About Choices

2011-10-21T08:57:00.000-07:00

Herman Cain Is All About Choices, Kind of Like Toppings on a Pizza Menu

Posted October 20th, 2011 by Evan Hurst

John wrote this morningabout Herman Cain’s inexplicable belief that homosexuality is a choice, something that can bewashed off on a whim. Indeed, just this morning I woke up and washed the gay right outta of my hair. It was back within thirty minutes, and I’m already back to making musical theater references, but y’know.
But in the same Piers Morgan interview John referenced, Herman Cain revealed that his attitudes toward choice go a bit further than that:

No, it comes down to is, it’s not the government’s role — or anybody else’s role — to make that decision. Secondly, if you look at the statistical incidents, you’re not talking about that big a number (abortion because of rape – LHW). So what I’m saying is, it ultimately gets down to a choice that that family or that mother has to make. Not me as president. Not some politician. Not a bureaucrat. It gets down to that family. And whatever they decide, they decide. I shouldn’t try to tell them what decision to make for such a sensitive decision.
. . .
No, they don’t. I can have an opinion on an issue without it being a directive on the nation. The government shouldn’t be trying to tell people everything to do, especially when it comes to a social decision that they need to make.

Uh oh. The new frontrunner for the GOP nomination is, um, ahem!, pro-choice. As in, about abortion.
Well, that was a nice run for Herman. Back to the old pizza stone…
[h/t Blue Texan. Image: Phelan Ebenhack/REUTERS]
Tags: 2012, abortion, choices, goat rodeo, GOP, Herman Cain, pizza, pro-choice, wingnuts

Comments (1)

1 Comment »

Herman is my age. I think I grew up listening to his line of thinking/being from many well-meaning-folks-who-harm innocents– sounds more like Eisenhower than Regan but they all lived in a world of their own pretend making…likeable Ikeables, but just plain ill-equipped for the Presidential job that requires justice for all…may I have your attention: all means all.
Comment by Leonardo Ricardo — October 20, 2011 @ 6:01 pm

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All Together Now? African, Americans, Immigrants, and the Future of California

2011-10-21T08:25:00.000-07:00

All Together Now? African Americans, Immigrants, and the Future of California
Manuel Pastor, Juan De Lara, and Justin Scoggins
September 2011

Download and read the shorter version >>
Download and read the longer and more technical version of the report>>
With many analysts fixated on the shrinking white (once-) majority in California, another important story has often been underplayed: the movement of many immigrants, particularly Latinos, into traditionally African American neighborhoods. While this has transformed the urban landscape with new businesses, new churches, and new ways of living, it has also generated a palpable sense of loss – one exacerbated by worries over the negative impacts of immigrants on less-skilled and less-connected Black workers.
With African Americans and immigrants bumping up against each other in their neighborhoods and the economy, the media has tended to focus on interethnic tensions, conflicts, and clashes. This may make for good reporting – but it misses the daily accommodations in our neighborhoods and schools, the common struggles to reduce over-policing and disproportionate incarceration, and the efforts to organize across race and ethnicity for safer housing, better jobs and a healthier environment.
“All Together Now? African Americans, Immigrants, and the Future of California,” offers this more complete story. The authors – Manuel Pastor, Juan De Lara, and Justin Scoggins – dig deep into data on residential integration, wage and employment outcomes, and best practices of grassroots organizers to understand what’s happening in neighborhoods. The report “provides organizers and activists with much needed facts and insightful analysis surrounding African American-immigration relations in California,” says Gerald Lenoir, of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration.” The empirical evidence is surprising and counterintuitive at times – and, in the end, offers implications for building a new set of alliances through the frame of “everyday social justice.”
First, using an immigrant proximity index, they find that living together is common but complex. Neighborhoods are indeed changing as many African American neighborhoods have experienced a sharp increase in immigrants (of many ethnicities). But while some communities have seen sharp declines in their Black population, others have remained relatively stable, and there are also a set of neighborhoods where African Americans and immigrants have moved together.
Second, economic competition cannot be denied but it is not the main story. Within some specific occupations, displacement of African Americans by immigrants does exist, but in most cases immigrants are improving the economic picture for existing residents of all skill levels. Overall, both groups share an everyday neighborhood reality of high need, significant disadvantage, and lower opportunities – and so have more in common than in conflict.
Third, there are a range of community-based organizations building new alliances to address these common challenges. Working to strengthen both immigrant and Black institutions in rapidly changing neighborhoods, developing policy agendas that serve multiple constituencies, understanding that groups sometimes need to organize separately before they organize together, and paying special attention to youth, parent, and faith-based leadership, these efforts are pointing the way to a better future for all Californians.
According to Lenoir, “The results can help to inform our education, advocacy and organizing strategies as we struggle to overcome the obstacles to building a multiracial social justice movement for all."

Breaking News—California May Require Labeling of GE Food Products!

2011-10-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

An exciting new ballot initiative, if California voters approve, could turn the tide against genetically engineered foods in America.

In 1994, a Monsanto employee was quoted as saying, “If you put a label on genetically engineered food you might as well put a skull and crossbones on it.” If that’s true, then a new ballot initiative in California—launched just last week—could mean the death knell for GMOs in America. Food manufacturers will not be able to afford different packaging and labeling for California customers only, so they’ll have to label all their food.

The Organic Consumers Association is asking California to require the labeling of GE foods as well as foods containing GE ingredients. To get the measure on the November 2012 ballot, they need to collect 504,760 signatures by March of next year.

As you know, ANH-USA strongly supports GE labeling and informed consumer choice, and this is a big step in the right direction. The public agrees: in a 2008 nationwide poll by Consumers Union, 95 percent of respondents said they thought food from genetically engineered animals should be labeled. And with consumers overwhelmingly against genetically engineered foods, a labeling requirement could remove these foods from the shelves.

We wish to thank Mike Adams for breaking this exciting news. We will keep readers informed as the initiative progresses.

If you live in California and want to help support this ballot initiative, please visit the Organic Consumers Fund campaign page to see how you can get involved.

Breaking News—California May Require Labeling of GE Food Products!

Fracking--ALEX EXPOSED

2011-09-30T09:41:00.000-07:00

Fracking (also often referred to as hydraulic fracturing or hydrofracking) is a process in which a fluid is injected at high pressure into oil or methane gas deposits to fracture the rock above and release the liquid or gas below. The process and its aftermath has generated controversy because of harm to drinking water and health where it has been used, in Colorado and New Mexico ^[1], and more recently in expanded drilling plans in the Marcellus Shale in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and other mid-Atlantic states.^[2]
Fracking -- which uses enormous amounts of drinkable water along with toxic chemicals and which also releases radioactive materials and other hazardous substances in shale deposits -- has raised significant environmental and health concerns.^[3] In New Mexico, for example, similar processes have leached toxic chemicals into the water table at 800 sites.^[4]
The industry lobbied the Bush Administration and Congress with its claims that the "fracking fluid" should be considered "proprietary" and exempt from disclosure under federal drinking water protection laws.^[5] Led by Halliburton and aided by the former CEO of Halliburton, then-Vice President Dick Cheney, the industry obtained this exception in the law along with favorable treatment by political appointees and regulators in the "Environmental Protection Agency." As a result of the "Halliburton loophole" to the law, drilling companies have not been required to divulge the cocktail of chemicals that are in the fracking fluids used at each of the proposed or continuing drill sites across the country.

[hide]

What Fracking Involves

The method for extracting methane gas being used in the Marcellus Shale region of the U.S. is more formally called "horizontal hydraulic fracturing," or hydrofracking or fracking. In this process, a fluid is injected into the rock which then releases the gas along with radioactive toxins and other hazardous substances in the shale. This procedure has raised serious environmental and health concerns.^[6] In New Mexico, for example, similar processes have leached toxic chemicals into the water table at 800 sites.^[7] To force methane gas out of shale, millions of gallons of fresh, drinkable water are forced through a pipe drilled into the shale at extremely high pressure. A variety of chemicals are added to the water to keep the fractures in the shale open and keep the gas flowing to the surface.
Pro Publica has created two very helpful charts depicting how the fracking process works. "What is Hydraulic Fracturing?" can be seen at: http://www.propublica.org/special/hydraulic-fracturing-national and "Anatomy of a Gas Well can be seen at: http://www.propublica.org/feature/anatomy-of-a-gas-well-426.

Hydrofracking and the "Halliburton Loophole"

In 2005, at the urging of Vice President Dick Cheney, Congress created the so-called "Halliburton loophole" to clean water protections in federal law to prevent the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from regulating this process, despite serious concerns that were raised about the chemicals used in the process and its demonstrated spoiling and contamination of drinking water. In 2001, Cheney's "energy task force" had touted the benefits of hydrofracking, while redacting references to human health hazards associated with hydrofracking. Halliburton, which was previously led by Cheney, reportedly earns $1.5 billion a year from its energy operations, which rely substantially on its hydrofracking business.)^[8]
According to Pro Publica reporter Abrahm Lustgarten, the EPA under Christine Todd Whitman's tenure as Administrator engaged in secret negotiations with industry, while purportedly addressing drinking water issues related to "fracking."^[9] In 2004, the EPA undertook a study on the issue and "the EPA, despite its scientific judgment that there was a potential risk to groundwater supplies, which their report clearly says, then went ahead and very surprisingly concluded that there was no risk to groundwater," Lustgarten noted in September 2009. "[P]art of my reporting found that throughout that process the EPA was closer than seemed comfortable with the industry. I filed FOIA requests for some documents and found conversations between Halliburton employees and the EPA researchers, essentially asking for an agreement from Halliburton in exchange for more lax enforcement. The EPA, in these documents, appeared to offer that and agree to that. And it doesn’t appear, by any means, to have been either a thorough or a very objective study." ^[10]
In June 2009, U.S. Representatives Diana DeGette, John Salazar and Maurice Hinchey and Senators Robert P. Casey Jr. and Chuck Schumer introduced the Fracking Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act (FRAC ACT).^[11] The proposal is aimed at closing the 'Halliburton loophole' and requiring the oil and gas industry to disclose the chemicals used in drilling projects which can contaminate ground water and drinking water.
In late October 2009 the House of Representatives agreed to include a statement in the Interior and Environment Appropriations bill and report for fiscal year 2010 urging the EPA to reassess the impact of fracking on water supplies. The report stated:

"The conferees urge the EPA to carry out a study on the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and drinking water, using a credible approach that relies on the best available science, as well as independent sources of information. The conferees expect the study to be conducted through a transparent, peer-reviewed process that will ensure the validity and accuracy of the data. EPA shall consult with other federal agencies as well as appropriate state and interstate regulatory agencies in carrying out the study, and it should be prepared in accordance with EPA quality assurance principles."^[12]

On March 18, 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would lead a $1.9 million for this comprehensive, peer-reviewed study on the impacts hydrofracking would have on water quality and public health.^[13] Despite the study, Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) has expressed that it is crucial to continue the push forward for the passing of the FRAC Act^[14]
More information about other legislative proposals can be found in the main page on this topic, Marcellus Shale.

Possible violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act

Although the 2005 Bush-Cheney Energy Policy Act exempted hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act - the "Halliburton Loophole" - it made one small exception: diesel fuel. The Policy Act states that the term “underground injection,” as it relates to the Safe Drinking Water Act, “excludes the underground injection of fluids or propping agents (other than diesel) pursuant to hydraulic fracturing operations related to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities [italics added].” But a congressional investigation has found that oil and gas service companies used tens of millions of gallons of diesel fuel in fracking operations between 2005 and 2009, thus violating the Safe Drinking Water Act. Diesel fuel contains a number of toxic constituents including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene, which have been linked to cancer and other health problems.^[15]
In a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, the congressional committee noted that between 2005 and 2009, “oil and gas service companies injected 32.2 million gallons of diesel fuel or hydraulic fracturing fluids containing diesel fuel in wells in 19 states.” None of the companies sought or received permits to do so. “This appears to be a violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. It also means that the companies injecting diesel fuel have not performed the environmental reviews required by the law.” Yet because the necessary environmental reviews were circumvented, the companies were unable to provide data on whether they had used diesel in fracking operations in or near underground sources of drinking water.^[15]
The EPA is conducting its own study of the impact of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water supplies, due out in late 2012. It is unknown whether companies that have violated the Safe Drinking Water Act since 2005 be held accountable. Matt Armstrong, a lawyer with the Washington firm Bracewell & Giuliani, which represents several oil and gas companies, told the New York Times: “Everyone understands that E.P.A. is at least interested in regulating fracking.” But: “Whether the E.P.A. has the chutzpah to try to impose retroactive liability for use of diesel in fracking, well, everyone is in a wait-and-see mode. I suspect it will have a significant fight on its hands if it tried it do that.”^[15]

Why People Are Concerned

Although no complete list of the cocktail of chemicals used in this process exists, information obtained from environmental clean-up sites demonstrates that known toxins are routinely being used, including hydrochloric acid, diesel fuel (which contains benzene, tuolene, and xylene) as well as formaldehyde, polyacrylimides, arsenic, and chromates.^[16] In a letter to Congress, an Environmental Protection Agency employee describes how the Bush Administration's EPA produced a scientifically unsupportable conclusion that hydrofracking should not be regulated under the Clean Water Drinking Act.^[17] These chemicals include known carcinogens and other hazardous substances.^[18]
Pro Publica reporter Abrahm Lustgarten revealed that as much as 85% of the fluids used during hydrofracking is regularly left underground after wells are drilled in the Marcellus Shale. Translation: "[Over] three million gallons of chemically tainted wastewater could be left in the ground forever. Drilling companies say that chemical make up less than 1% of that fluid...[which] still amount[s] to 34,000 gallons in a typical well." The old school of thought was that only roughly 30% of the fluids stayed in the ground, which has proven false.^[19] Toxics Targeting created a video which shows what they call "ignitible water."^[20] The video can be seen at right.

Fracking and Ignitible Water

Concerns about Fracking and the New York City Water Supply

Citizen groups have mobilized in New York to oppose hydrofracking. This opposition has deployed several tactics, including a class action lawsuit.^[21] New videos have also been produced to educate the public about the dangers of fracking the Marcellus shale. In the following video, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer calls massive proposed drilling operations in the watershed that provides New York City with its drinking water is the "most alarming environmental news he has heard in a long time, and makes this the number one environmental crisis" they face in the city:

Kill the Drill

In response to these and other concerns, New York City urged the state to ban methane gas drilling in its watershed on Wednesday, December, 23, 2009. Steven Lawitts, the city's top environmental official, called fracking techniques "unacceptable threats to the unfiltered fresh water supply of nine million New Yorkers," putting the City at odds with the methane gas industry, which considers shale drilling completely safe. Marc LaVorgna, spokesman for NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg stated, "Based on all the facts, the risks are too great and drilling simply cannot be permitted in the watershed."^[22]
The New York Times noted that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, which was tasked with "going through a public review of its new rules on hydraulic fracturing," was looking into reports that "gas companies use at least 260 types of chemicals, many of them toxic, like benzene. These chemicals tend to remain in the ground once the fracturing has been completed, raising fears about long-term contamination."^[23]
American Rivers, a Washington, D.C. advocacy group, announced on June 3, 2010, that hydrofracking poses a huge threat to the Delaware River, which is the drinking source for nearly 17 million people across New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. In the America's Most Endangered Rivers Report: 2010 Edition report, the American Rivers advocacy group named the Delaware River the number one most at-risk river, due to the threat of extensive drilling into the Marcellus Shale.^[24] Here is a great link to a Factsheet produced by the American Rivers Group on the threat faced to the Delaware River by drilling into the Marcellus Shale: http://www.americanrivers.org/assets/pdfs/mer-2010/upperdelaware_factsheet_2010.pdf

Facts about Drilling

Dangers of Fracking Noted around the Country

Catskill Mountainkeeper has noted that "A number of these [hydrofracking] fluids qualify as hazardous materials and carcinogens, and are toxic enough to contaminate groundwater resources. There are cases in the U.S. where hydraulic fracturing is the suspected source of impaired or polluted drinking water. In Alabama, Colorado, New Mexico, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming, incidents have been recorded by people who have gas wells near their homes. They have reported changes in water quality or quantity following fracturing operations." ^[25] Significant harms have also been exposed in Pennsylvania, as noted below.

Pennsylvania

On November 9, 2009, Reuters reported that the owner of 480 acres of land in southwest Pennsylvania claimed Atlas Energy Inc. ruined his land with toxic chemicals used in or released there by hydraulic fracturing, and he also claimed to find seven potentially carcinogenic chemicals above permissible levels set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He performed tests on his well water a year before drilling began and said the water conditions were "perfect." After the drilling began, water tests found arsenic at 2,600 times acceptable levels, benzene at 44 times above limits and naphthalene five times the federal standard. He has decided to sue Atlas Energy Inc. for negligence and is seeking an injunction against further drilling, and unspecified financial damages. Jay Hammond, general counsel for Atlas, said Zimmermann's claims are "completely erroneous" and said Atlas will "vigorously" defend itself in court and declined further comment.^[26]
Later that month on November 20, 2009, Reuters reported that residents of Dimock sued Cabot Oil & Gas Corp claiming the company's natural-gas drilling had contaminated their water wells with toxic chemicals, caused sickness and reduced their property values. The complaint says residents have suffered neurological, gastrointestinal and dermatological symptoms from exposure to tainted water. They also say they have had blood test results consistent with exposure to heavy metals. The lawsuit accuses Cabot of negligence and says it has failed to restore residential water supplies disrupted by gas drilling.^[27] Contaminated water from methane gas drilling operations, such as in Dimock, Pennsylvania, is often ten times more toxic than water produced from petroleum production, and can contain high concentrations of salts, acids, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, radioactive materials," and other chemicals. ^[28]

Colorado

Oil and gas drilling in Colorado, predominantly in western Colorado, has raised health concerns from residents who believe the industry is the root cause of their illnesses or that is has exacerbated disease.
Chris Mobaldi, who lived in Rifle, Colorado, believes her neurological system was damaged by drinking water that may have been contaminated by drilling fluids from wells around her home. She had two tumors removed from her pituitary gland and endured excruciating pain. ^[29]
Odor complaints and air pollution concerns are also on the rise in Garfield County, on the western slope, where longtime residents often endure hazy skies in the Colorado River valley. Many believe the gas industry is responsible. Carol and Orlyn Bell noticed a "terrible" smell when they neared their Dry Hollow ranch, south of Silt, Colorado. "It was the strongest odor we've smelled in the last four years," Carol Bell said. The Bells said the odor came from nearby gas wells and production facilities, something they've seen surround their 110-acre ranch within the span of four years. ^[30] From September to December, 2005, the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission documented ten complaints from eight separate households related to odors emanating from wells being drilled and completed by the Barrett Corporation ^[31]

Louisiana

In the April 30, 2009 [Pro Publica]]'s Abrahm Lustgarten wrote about a story he dug up from Louisiana's Shreveport Times. The story revealed that 16 cattle mysteriously and abruptly dropped dead in a "northwestern Louisiana field after apparently drinking from a mysterious fluid adjacent to a natural gas drilling rig, according to Louisiana's Department of Environmental Quality. At least one worker told the newspaper that the fluids . . . were used for . . . hydraulic fracturing.^[32]

Texas

In late 2007, three families near Grandview, Texas noticed changes in their well water just after a natural gas well within a couple of hundred yards of their properties was hydraulically fractured. Within days, five goats and a llama had died. All three families noticed strong sulfur smells in their water, making it unusable. At first their water ran dry, and then the water returned with extremely high pressure, blowing out pipes. Showering caused skin irritation. The Railroad Commission of Texas acknowledged that testing of well water found toluene and other toxic contaminants.^[33]

Wyoming

Reuters also reports that "the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found 14 "contaminants of concern" in 11 private wells in the central Wyoming farming community of Pavillion, an area with about 250 gas wells.^[34]

Documentary Film Gasland Exposes the Harms Caused by Hydrofracking

Gasland Trailer

Gasland is a 2010 documentary about unconventional natural gas drilling, or hydraulic fracturing. Its director, Josh Fox, lives in the Upper Delaware River Basin, on the border between Pennsylvania and New York State, part of the area of Marcellus Shale. (For more information on Gasland, Marcellus Shale, and the impact of drilling on drinking water, please see SourceWatch's water clearinghouse.)
In May 2008, Fox received a letter from a natural gas mining company, who wanted to lease 19.5 acres of land from Fox for $100,000. On an interview on NPR's Fresh Air, Fox said the company stated,"'We might not even drill. We don't even know if there's gas here. It's going to be a fire hydrant in the middle of a field — very little impact to your land. You won't hardly know we're here.' " Instead of saying yes, Fox decided to travel around the country to see how the process of natural gas drilling affected other communities and homeowners, producing the documentary Gasland.^[35]
In an interview on NPR's Fresh Air, Fox talked about the effects of unconventional gas drilling, and lack of regulations on hydraulic fracturing, also known as "Fracking": "Hydraulic fracturing is a process of injecting, at incredibly high pressure, a huge volume of water — they use between 2 and 7 million gallons of water per frack to fracture the rock formation. It's called unconventional gas drilling. It fractures that rock apart and gets at all of the tiny bubbles of the gas that are sort of infused in that rock. In order to do that, they inject [these] million gallons of fluid down the wellbore that breaks apart the rock. It causes a kind of mini-earthquake under very intense pressure. What seems to be happening is that's liberating gas and other volatile, organic compounds. ... The volatile organics are released along with the gas. Sometimes they're used as part of the compounds. The fracking fluid creates this. You're releasing volatile organics, which are carcinogenic, and that is traveling, somehow — along with the methane — getting into peoples' water supply so that it's flammable."^[35]
Some homeowners he spoke to noticed that their water had been discolored, or was starting to bubble. In some communities, people were able to light the water coming out of their faucets on fire — because chemicals from the natural gas drilling process had seeped into the water, an event documented in the film. Despite the pollutants, Fox says, "[t]he gas industry is very powerful, and their power in Congress is well shown. They were exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act by the 2005 Energy bill. The Safe Drinking Water Act monitors underground injection of toxins. They were also exempted in previous years from the Clean Air Act, the Superfund Law. . . . It's an unregulated industry."^[35]
At the end of the interview, Fox summed up the extent of the reach of the gas industry into community water supplies:^[35]
Josh Fox: "You'd be surprised at how many of those summer camps are leasing [their land to natural gas companies]. Listen, we're talking about 65 percent of Pennsylvania, 50 percent of New York. Even if the summer camps aren't leased, their neighbors are leasing."
Terry Gross: "You know, I never thought of that. So that means some of the summer camps might become oil wells?"
Josh Fox: "Well, no. Listen. What the gas company is saying is, 'You can live where this is happening. You can go to camp where this is happening.' If watersheds are not off the table, schools are not off the table, summer camps are not off the table — near hospitals are not off the table. You have close to 15,000 wells in the downtown Fort Worth area — in the urban area, in the country, in the city. This is everywhere. So it stands to reason if you can put it next to somebody's house and the gas company says that's OK, you can put it in the middle of a summer camp. You can put it in the middle of a lake. You can put it right on the banks of the Colorado River, which supplies all the water to Los Angeles. This is what we're seeing."
In September 2011, Josh Fox won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming. Upon accepting the acclaimed award, Fox told the audience, “We cannot allow America to turn into a gas field.”^[36]

Enforcement Problems

With state budget limitations and shortfalls, oil and gas regulators are spread too thin to do their jobs, even with the minimal guidelines in place^[37] In West Virginia, for example, for the state's 17 inspectors to visit West Virginia's 55,222 wells once a year, they would have to inspect nine wells a day, every day of the year, with no weekends off, nor any vacation days. While the number of new oil and gas wells being drilled in the 22 states each year has jumped 45 percent since 2004, most states have added only a few regulators.^[38]
Texas has largest imbalance, with 273,660 wells and just 106 regulators to oversee them. In late 2007, a Texas state auditor's report found that nearly half of the state's wells hadn't been inspected in the five years between 2001 and 2006, when the data was collected. According to Pro Publica's analysis, the number of new wells drilled each year in Texas has jumped 75 percent since 2003. However, staffing increased just 5 percent during that period and enforcement actions increased only 6 percent.^[39]
Maps and charts depicting this problem can be seen here: http://projects.propublica.org/gas-drilling-regulatory-staffing/

Articles and resources

External resources

[FRAC Act Articles], Articles and Blogs about the FRAC Act by the Colorado Independent.
For more information on the environmental impact of hydrofracking on U.S. residents, see: http://www.earthworksaction.org/pubs/JointFS_HalliburtonLoophole.pdf

Split Estate Trailer

Information from the Union of Concerned Scientists:

"When an EPA study concluding that hydraulic fracturing "poses little or no threat" to drinking water supplies was published in 2004, several EPA scientists challenged the study's methodology and questioned the impartiality of the expert panel that reviewed its findings. The Bush administration has strongly supported hydraulic fracturing, an oil extraction technique developed by Halliburton Co., but environmental groups as well as scientists within the EPA have warned that the practice may contaminate drinking water and needs to be regulated."^[40]

For information from Earthworks on the environmental impact of fracking on U.S. residents and efforts to close the Halliburton loophole, see http://www.earthworksaction.org/pubs/JointFS_HalliburtonLoophole.pdf.
Toxics Targeting also has more information on fracking in New York state. They are a service that obtains environmental data from local, state and federal government sources and interactively maps toxic sites on a lot-by-lot basis in New York, has identified 270 past oil and gas spills in New York state that have caused fires, explosions, home evacuations, massive pollution releases, contaminated drinking water sources and tainted farmland. For more information on how they are helping citizens get more involved, see http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/coalition_letter sign a letter

References

↑ Jeff Moscou A Toxic Spew? Officials worry about impact of 'fracking' of oil and gas Newsweek August 20, 2008
↑ Catskill Mountainkeeper, "Marcellus Shale: The Marcellus Shale – America's next super giant", Catskill Mountainkeeper website, accessed March 2009.
↑ "What Is Hydraulic Fracturing?", Pro Publica, accessed October 2009.
↑ Abrahm Lustgarten, "New York’s Gas Rush Poses Environmental Threat", Pro Publica, July 22, 2008.
↑ See Jeff Moscou A Toxic Spew? Officials worry about impact of fracking of oil and gas Newsweek August 20, 2008
↑ "What Is Hydraulic Fracturing?", Pro Publica, undated, accessed October 2009.
↑ Abrahm Lustgarten, "New York’s Gas Rush Poses Environmental Threat", Pro Publica, July 22, 2008.
↑ Tom Hamburger and Allen C. Miller, "Halliburton's Interests Assisted by the White House", Los Angeles Times, October 14, 2004.
↑ See http://www.democracynow.org/2009/9/3/fracking_and_the_environment_natural_gas.
↑ Interview with Abrahm Lustgarten, "Fracking and the Environment: Natural Gas Drilling, Hydraulic Fracturing and Water Contamination," Democracy Now!, September 3, 2009.
↑ "Senators, Representatives act to close Halliburton Loophole in the Safe Drinking Water Act", Media Release, June 9, 2009.
↑ Congressman Maurice Hinchey, "Congress Gives Final Approval to Hinchey Provision Urging EPA to Conduct New Study on Risks Hydraulic Fracturing Poses to Drinking Water Supplies", Media Release, October 29, 2009.
↑ [1], "EPA Initiates Hydraulic Fracturing Study: Agency seeks input from Science Advisory Board." Environmental Protection Agency, March 18, 2010.
↑ [2], "EPA to study hydraulic fracturing, but calls for FRAC Act continue." Colorado Independent. March 18, 2010.
↑ ^15.0 ^15.1 ^15.2 Adam Federman, "Oil and Gas Companies Illegally Using Diesel in Fracking" AlterNet, Feb. 1, 2011.
↑ [3] "Q+A: Environmental fears over U.S. shale gas drilling," Reuters, Dec. 23, 2009.
↑ Weston Wilson, Letter to Senators Allard and Campbell and Representative DeGette, October 8, 2004.
↑ "Gas Drilling Plan Raises Water Contamination Fears in New York City", Voice of America News, Carolyn Weaver, December 24, 2009
↑ [4], "New gas wells leave more chemicals in ground," Abrahm Lustgarten, Politico.com, December 27, 2009
↑ [5], "Ignitible Drinking Water From a Well in Candor, New York, Located Above the Marcellus Shale Formation."
↑ "Marcellus Shale Developments", Pocahantas County Fare Blog, March 9, 2009
↑ "NYC urges ban on shale gas drilling in watershed", Edith Honan, "Reuters" December 23, 2009].
↑ [6] "Dark Side of a Natural Gas Boom," Jad Mouawad and Clifford Krauss, New York Times, Dec. 8, 2009
↑ [7],"America's Most Endangered Rivers Report: 2010 Edition: #1 Upper Delaware River, Pennsylvania and New York Threat: Natural Gas Extraction."
↑ "The Marcellus Shale – America's next super giant" Catskill Mountainkeeper", 2009
↑ [8] "Pennsylvania lawsuit says drilling polluted water," Jon Huddle, Reuters, Nov. 9, 2009.
↑ [9] "Pennsylvania residents sue over gas drilling," Jon Huddle, Reuters, Nov. 20, 2009.
↑ [10], "What the Frack? Poisoning our Water in the Name of Energy Profits," Peter Gleick, Pacific Institute, December 8, 2009
↑ Judith Kohler (The Associated Press) 'Collateral damage' - Residents fear murky effects of energy boom, Aspen Times, December 3, 2006
↑ Associated Press Oil and Gas Drilling Raise Health Concerns in Garfield County, Summit Daily News, October 22, 2006
↑ Eaerthworks Action Contamination Incidents Related to Oil and Gas Development, Web page, accessed February 3, 2010
↑ [11], "16 Cattle Drop Dead Near Mysterious Fluid at Gas Drilling Site," Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica, April 30, 2009
↑ "Congress Should Close the Halliburton Loophole Hydraulic fracturing should be regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act", EarthsWorkAction.org
↑ [12] "Q+A: Environmental fears over U.S. shale gas drilling," Reuters, Dec. 23, 2009.
↑ ^35.0 ^35.1 ^35.2 ^35.3 "Josh Fox: Living In The Middle Of A 'Gasland'" NPR, June 25, 2010.
↑ Deadline.com. 2011 Creative Arts Emmys: John Walsh, Gwyneth Paltrow, Justin Timberlake, Jeff Probst, ‘Deadliest Catch’, ‘Boardwalk Empire’. News website. Accessed September 14, 2011.
↑ "State Oil and Gas Regulators Are Spread Too Thin to Do Their Jobs", Abrahm Lustgarten, Pro Publica; December 30, 2009
↑ "State Oil and Gas Regulators Are Spread Too Thin to Do Their Jobs", Abrahm Lustgarten, Pro Publica; December 30, 2009
↑ [13], Abrahm Lustgarten, Pro Publica, December 30, 2009
↑ Union of Concerned Scientists, "EPA Findings on Hydraulic Fracturing Deemed 'Unsupportable'", Union of Concerned Scientists website, undated, accessed October 2009.

External Resources

External Articles

Carrie La Seur, "Clean Water Act Issues Raised by Saltwater & Oil Pipeline Issues" Dakota Resource Council 2010 report.

File:Aex.jpg - SourceWatch

Shock Doctrine at U.S. Postal Service: Is a Manufactured Crisis Behind Push Toward Privatization?

2011-09-28T22:09:00.000-07:00

Today, postal workers and their supporters are holding events across the country to press their demand for repealing the benefit-funding mandate and push back against calls for their workplace to be privatized. For months, Americans have heard dire warnings about the impending collapse of the United States Postal Service due to fiscal insolvency and a drop in the use of mail service. In early September, the U.S. Postmaster General told Congress that the USPS is close to default and unveiled a series of radical proposals to cut costs by firing up to 120,000 workers, closing several thousand facilities, scaling back deliveries, and reducing benefits for retirees. But many postal workers say the much-touted crisis facing the U.S. Postal Service is not what it seems. They argue the greatest volume of mail handled in the 236-year history of the postal service was 2006. They also point to a 2006 law that forced the USPS to become the only agency required to fund 75 years of retiree health benefits over just a 10-year span, and say the law’s requirements account for 100 percent of the service’s $20 billion in losses over the previous four years, without which the service would have turned a profit. Last week, Republicans introduced legislation to overhaul the USPS in response to a bill proposed by Democrats that would refund a reported $6.9 billion in over-payments to the USPS retirement plan, offer early retirement and voluntary separation incentives, adjust retiree benefits prepayment requirements, and preserve employee protections set out in collective bargaining agreements. We host a debate between Chuck Zlatkin, the legislative and political director of the New York Metro Area Postal Union, and Gene Del Polito, president of the Association for Postal Commerce in Washington, D.C. [includes rush transcript]

Filed under Obama, Democratic Party, Republican Party, U.S. Economy, Financial Meltdown, Election 2012, Unions, U.S. Labor Protests

Shock Doctrine at U.S. Postal Service: Is a Manufactured Crisis Behind Push Toward Privatization?

Ron Paul, Rick Perry and Other Right Wingers Want to Turn Back the Clock to 1900 -- What Was Life Like Back Then? | | AlterNet

2011-09-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

September 22, 2011 |

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Wednesday's 230-195 vote in the GOP-controlled house against Speaker John Boehner's special funding measure to keep the government running past September 30th showed how far the far-right of the already far-right Republican Party will push a principle. They refuse to pass the bill (containing much-needed disaster relief, which is meager enough that the Democrats largely declined to vote for the bill) without deeper budget cuts written in. Boehner will have to rewrite the thing either to placate recalcitrant Democrats, intent on helping the vulnerable, or recalcitrant Republicans, intent on depriving the government of the means to help the vulnerable. One wonders what the odds are regarding his decision.

Weeks earlier, the destruction wrought by Hurricane Irene had provided an excellent opportunity to examine the real-life implications of arguments over the size of government in relation to the quality of liberty. Conservatives have always held that a government’s growth implies freedom’s decline and vice versa, but disaster relief has historically been an area where that formulation acquires the flavor of angels dancing on pinheads: when Americans are suffering and their local communities are ill-equipped to mitigate their despair, the federal government has routinely stepped in with aid.

But this time around, the libertarian populism exemplified by the Tea Party took center stage. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) at first insisted the debt situation was so dire that disaster relief funds would have to come from elsewhere in the budget.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) insinuated that the deaths and destruction from North Carolina to Vermont were God’s way of alerting us to his will that America “rein in the spending.”

And Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), assuming the vanguard of Tea Party reactionaries, deemed a FEMA response unnecessary, remarking, “We should be like 1900… I live on the Gulf Coast; we deal with hurricanes all the time. Galveston is in my district.”

There it is: the GOP fantasy laid bare. Return the United States to the way it was in 1900. In the grotesque flight of fancy occupying the minds of ultraconservative politicians and activists, 1900 was a simpler time, a time when Uncle Sam wasn’t always busy poking his nose into everyone’s affairs, a time when anyone could start a business and make a good living if he worked hard enough, a time when America respected her Christian roots and everything went like it came. But this 1900 is a myth; the disparity between it and actual history is enormous.

In 1900, the American South was essentially run by a religious fundamentalist terrorist faction that perpetrated untold murders with impunity. Women were deprived of individual rights and therefore limited to the chattel position to which the Bible conscripts them. Children worked in factories, where they were often severely injured or worse. In short, 1900 was a time of Dickensian squalor in America. As for disaster relief in that year, Melissa Harris-Perry reminded MSNBC viewers that “somewhere between 6,000 and 12,000 people died in the Galveston hurricane – so many bodies that people couldn’t bury them all. Barrels of whisky were handed out to dull the horror of the funeral pyres that burned across the city for weeks on end. That seemed to be the extent that the government could respond, to dull your pain with some free liquor. ‘Sorry, we can’t do more.’”

A list of important developments in the field of rights and liberty in America since 1900 must necessarily be rather summary, but it should include women’s suffrage, child labor laws, antitrust laws and the Federal Trade Commission, the National Park Service, the Food and Drug Administration, social security, the minimum wage, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the federal highway system, racial integration, the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, Medicare and Medicaid, Head Start, Pell Grants, seatbelt requirements, health care privacy rights, women’s equality laws including education and employment opportunities and prohibitions of spousal abuse and marital rape, the Environmental Protection Agency, the creation of the internet, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and, recently, the extension to homosexual Americans of the right to serve in the military.

Ron Paul, Rick Perry and Other Right Wingers Want to Turn Back the Clock to 1900 -- What Was Life Like Back Then? | | AlterNet

WATCH LIVE: GOP candidates speak at CPAC

2011-09-23T12:18:00.000-07:00

NRA declares an 'Obama conspiracy' to not ban guns

Did Perry execute an innocent man?

Perry wrongly insists he opposed ‘No Child Left Behind’

Film shows death penalty's ugly truth in Perry’s Texas

Porn magnate Flynt offers $1 million to embarrass Perry

Republican debate audience boos gay soldier

TV’s Judge Mathis: ‘Georgia has blood on its hands’

Marijuana question tops White House petition site

WATCH LIVE: GOP candidates speak at CPAC

U.S. sold bunker-busting bombs to Israel: report President Barack Obama secretly authorized the sale of 55 powerful bunker-busting bombs to Israel.

Abbas stakes Palestine’s statehood claim at U.N. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked the United Nations on Friday to recognize a state for his people.

Disaster relief funds hit partisan wall in Congress With aid to disaster victims running out, Congress on Friday ratcheted up a high-stakes confrontation over spending.

Huge crowds pack West Bank cities to back U.N. bid Huge crowds turned out to support a Palestinian bid to seek U.N. membership.

Fox lets hate group participate in GOP debate

Bachmann wants to eliminate all taxes

Colbert urges Earth evacuation before sat. crash

Particles travel faster than light, say scientists

Lawyers start legal action against News Corp. in U.S.

Nearly 1 in 4 children now in poverty in U.S.

Armstrong: U.S. space program ‘embarrassing’

Rep. Walsh: Media protects black president

Texas ends last-meals for death row inmates

Bachmann: We shouldn't be at 'back of the bus’

House passes spending bill as showdown looms

Millionaire Romney: I'm ‘middle class’

Pittsburgh sued over sonic device at G-20

Warren gives rebuttal to 'class warfare'

FBI arrests LulzSec suspect over Sony hacking

Poll: Most Israelis would accept Palestinian state

For more videos, check out RawReplay >>

NATION

Ralph Nader: Palin should be commended

Senators target China with currency bill

Rep. Speier delivers 8th House speech on military rape

FBI probes markings on airline’s planes

‘Occupy Wall Street’ protest enters sixth day

Obama uses decaying bridge to slam GOP

Probe into porn shoot using LA fire trucks

Troy Davis executed at Georgia prison after Supreme Court rejects appeal

U.S. leads mass walkout of Ahmadinejad U.N. speech

WORLD

Israel on high alert as Palestinians petition U.N.

As sparks fly, Pakistan warns U.S.: ‘You will lose an ally’

Hundreds of protesters attack police station in China

Amnesty says teen girl is first female to die in Syrian custody

Moody’s hits Greece and Slovenia with downgrades

LOCAL

BLOGS / MEDIA

Olbermann calls out media hypocrisy on ‘Occupy Wall Street’

Michael Moore demands Georgia boycott after Troy Davis execution

Colbert has trouble finding ‘hippie argle-bargle’ in ‘Occupy Wall St.’

Ron Paul: Jon Stewart helped make my case

O’Donnell demolishes O’Reilly’s tax ‘lies’

ENVIRO / SCIENCE

Did chemical reactions cause Twin Towers collapse?

Red Cross: The obese now outnumber the hungry

Japanese typhoon kills 10, spares nuclear plant

‘Longevity gene’ may be dead end: study

Toxic BPA turning up in children’s soup cans: group

Report: Radiation ‘hot spots’ discovered in Tokyo

BIZ / TECH

Talk of Greek default increases, markets pause on G20

HP names Meg Whitman as CEO

U.S. markets extend losses, Dow down 4%

Facebook changes spark complaints

Fed ramps up aid to economy with $400 billion stimulus

Apple to unveil iPhone 5 on October 4

WATCH LIVE: GOP candidates speak at CPAC

Times grow harder for the US working man

2011-09-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

Times grow harder for the US working man

Falling union membership has coincided with a drop in real-terms pay in recent years, with official data showing downward pressures spreading - Sep-22

Brazil blames Fed move on fiscal inaction

Mantega criticises Fed moves to boost demand as ‘overextended’, saying it has potential to weaken the dollar - Sep-22

US funds slash exposure to European banks

Biggest US money market funds have slashed their exposure to Europe’s embattled banking sector to the lowest level since at least 2006 - Sep-22

US jobless claims decline to 423,000

Claims for jobless benefits remained elevated last week as US companies continued to lay off workers amid concerns over global growth - Sep-22

Republicans tell Fed to avoid stimulus

Letter adds to political pressure on Bernanke, drawing criticism that the congressmen were meddling with the central bank’s independence - Sep-21

US home resales jump 7.7% in August

Sales of previously owned homes in the US lept 7.7 per cent in August as lower prices attracted buyers, helping reduce the glut of properties on the market - Sep-21

Gulf’s dollar peg makes sense

The US currency’s weakness has prompted many to argue that the region’s link to it be ended, but economic interests should dictate otherwise - Sep-21

US challenges China on poultry restrictions

The US is bringing a case against China in the World Trade Organisation to challenge the Asian nation’s imposition of trade remedies against American poultry exports - Sep-21

Multimedia: US state budget gaps

As the US government faces its own funding crisis and politicians wrangle over stimulus funding and the federal budget, each government of the 50 states is grappling with the effects of the recession on their funds - Sep-20

US home construction drops 5% in August

Starts plunged amid disruption by hurricane Irene in northeastern states - Sep-20

IMF warning over stimulus policies

US homebuilder sentiment at a new low

Q&A: Central banks intervene in funding markets

US consumer sentiment edges up in September

Lex: US CPI

Lagarde sees global crisis of confidence

US jobless claims rise to 428,000

Canada protests against Obama’s jobs act

US mortgage applications rise as rates tumble

Short View: US/Europe decoupling

Times grow harder for the US working man

breaking news--Tea Party Government Shutdown

2011-09-22T09:50:00.000-07:00

--Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Tea Party Republicans are to blame for the government lurching toward a possible shutdown.

Durbin said this is the third time this year that Congress has been unable to agree on spending measures to keep the government funded. Each time, the possibility of a government shutdown has been raised.

"We're watching the Tea Party shutdown movie for the third time this year," he said in comments on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Thursday.
Durbin said that despite the obstructionism he believes is caused by the Tea Party, he is optimistic that President Obama's jobs bill has a chance of passing.

"There are Republican senators that are courageous, that are speaking up, who are saying we should do this on a bipartisan basis," said Durbin.
He told MSNBC that he thought Congress would be more open to compromise after returning from the August recess. "I thought the last thing in the world the Republicans would want to do is see another shutdown," said Dur

breaking news

Drug deaths now outnumber traffic fatalities in U.S., Times analysis shows - latimes.com

2011-09-19T16:22:00.000-07:00

Drug deaths now outnumber traffic fatalities in U.S., data show

Fueling the surge are prescription pain and anxiety drugs that are potent, highly addictive and especially dangerous when combined with one another or with other drugs or alcohol.

Lori Smith of Aliso Viejo with photographs of her son Nolan, who died of a drug overdose in January 2009, six months shy of his 16th birthday. A toxicology test turned up Zoloft, which had been prescribed for anxiety, and a host of other drugs that had not been prescribed, including two additional anti-anxiety drugs, as well as morphine and marijuana. (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times / September 18, 2011)

By Lisa Girion, Scott Glover and Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times

September 17, 2011, 2:55 p.m.

Propelled by an increase in prescription narcotic overdoses, drug deaths now outnumber traffic fatalities in the United States, a Times analysis of government data has found.

Drugs exceeded motor vehicle accidents as a cause of death in 2009, killing at least 37,485 people nationwide, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While most major causes of preventable death are declining, drugs are an exception. The death toll has doubled in the last decade, now claiming a life every 14 minutes. By contrast, traffic accidents have been dropping for decades because of huge investments in auto safety.

Public health experts have used the comparison to draw attention to the nation's growing prescription drug problem, which they characterize as an epidemic. This is the first time that drugs have accounted for more fatalities than traffic accidents since the government started tracking drug-induced deaths in 1979.

Fueling the surge in deaths are prescription pain and anxiety drugs that are potent, highly addictive and especially dangerous when combined with one another or with other drugs or alcohol. Among the most commonly abused are OxyContin, Vicodin, Xanax and Soma. One relative newcomer to the scene is Fentanyl, a painkiller that comes in the form of patches and lollipops and is 100 times more powerful than morphine.

Such drugs now cause more deaths than heroin and cocaine combined.

"The problem is right here under our noses in our medicine cabinets," said Laz Salinas, a sheriff's commander in Santa Barbara, which has seen a dramatic rise in prescription drug deaths in recent years.

Overdose victims range in age and circumstance from teenagers who pop pills to get a heroin-like high to middle-aged working men and women who take medications prescribed for strained backs and bum knees and become addicted.

A review of hundreds of autopsy reports in Southern California reveals one tragic demise after another: A 19-year-old Army recruit, who had just passed his military physical, took a handful of Xanax and painkillers while partying with friends. A groom, anxious over his upcoming wedding, overdosed on a cocktail of prescription drugs. A teenage honors student overdosed on painkillers her father left in his medicine cabinet from a surgery years earlier. A toddler was orphaned after both parents overdosed on prescription drugs months apart. A grandmother suffering from chronic back pain apparently forgot she'd already taken her daily regimen of pills and ended up double dosing.

Many died after failed attempts at rehab — or after using one too many times while contemplating quitting. That's apparently what happened to a San Diego woman found dead with a Fentanyl patch on her body, one of five she'd applied in the 24 hours before her death. Next to her on the couch was a notebook with information about rehab.

The seeds of the problem were planted more than a decade ago by well-meaning efforts by doctors to mitigate suffering, as well as aggressive sales campaigns by pharmaceutical manufacturers. In hindsight, the liberalized prescription of pain drugs "may in fact be the cause of the epidemic we're now facing," said Linda Rosenstock, dean of the UCLA School of Public Health.

In some ways, prescription drugs are more dangerous than illicit ones because users don't have their guard up, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Steve Opferman, head of a county task force on prescription drug-related crimes. "People feel they are safer with prescription drugs because you get them from a pharmacy and they are prescribed by a doctor," Opferman said. "Younger people believe they are safer because they see their parents taking them. It doesn't have the same stigma as using street narcotics."

Lori Smith said she believes that's what her son might have been thinking the night he died six months shy of his 16th birthday. Nolan Smith, of Aliso Viejo, loved to surf, sail and fish with his brother and father. He suffered from migraines and anxiety but showed no signs of drug abuse, his mother said.

The night before he died in January 2009, Nolan called his mother at work, asking for a ride to the girls basketball game at Aliso Niguel High School. Lori told him she couldn't get away.

When Nolan didn't come home that evening, his parents called police and his friends. His body was found the next morning on a stranger's front porch.

A toxicology test turned up Zoloft, which had been prescribed for anxiety, and a host of other drugs that had not been prescribed, including two additional anti-anxiety drugs, as well as morphine and marijuana.

All investigators could give the family were theories.

"They said they will have parties where the kids will throw a bunch of pills in a bowl and the kids take them without knowing what they are," Lori said. "We called all of his friends, but no one would say they were with him. But he must have been with someone. You just don't do that by yourself."

The triumph of public health policies that have improved traffic safety over the years through the use of seat belts, air bags and other measures stands in stark contrast to the nation's record on prescription drugs. Even though more people are driving more miles, traffic fatalities have dropped by more than a third since the early 1970s to 36,284 in 2009. Drug-induced deaths had equaled or surpassed traffic fatalities in California, 22 other states and the District of Columbia even before the 2009 figures revealed the shift at the national level, according to the Times analysis.

Drug deaths now outnumber traffic fatalities in U.S., Times analysis shows - latimes.com

Social Networking Spurs Wall Street Protest - NY1.com

2011-09-18T21:10:00.000-07:00

Social Networking Spurs Wall Street Protest

By: Nicole Ward

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Protesters set up camp in Manhattan's Financial District Saturday for a demonstration stemming from the social networking site "Occupy Wall Street" that aims to last for months. NY1’s Nicole Ward filed the following report.

Lisa Fithian said she's not part of any official group and that the “occupation” of Wall Street is the work of many people coming together with the same message.

"Wall Street is certainly the heart of why we're here. It's the corporations — the big banks in this country have been destroying this country,” said Fithian. "Overfees or high mortgages, student loans, the banks are touching every aspect of our lives."

She added that banks and the wealthy have taken money for their own interests and their own survival.

“The people here are saying enough of that," said Fithian.

Inspired by events around the world, she drew the analogy to Tahrir Square in Egypt and said the power of the people is leading to change.

"I'm here, I'm tweeting," said one protester.

The protest was also being streamed live around the world, and one protester estimated that at least 5,000 people were watching.

People brought sleeping bags and cardboard boxes and planned to spend at least one night.

"We as the people who are not investment banks need to come up with a different solution to the way things are going right now,” said a protester.

This event was largely organized by a social networking site called Occupy Wall Street.

Social Networking Spurs Wall Street Protest - NY1.com

Paul Ryan accuses Obama of ‘class warfare’ over millionaire tax

2011-09-18T12:16:00.000-07:00

Nation

World

Science/Tech

Biz/Money

Political Satire/Parody

Culture

Say What?

Activism

Paul Ryan accuses Obama of ‘class warfare’ over millionaire tax

Posted on 09.18.11
By David Edwards
Categories: Biz/Money, Featured

A top House Republican said Sunday that President Barack Obama was engaging “class warfare” with a proposal to tax millionaires at a higher rate.

The so-called “Buffet rule” would make sure millionaires pay about the same tax rate as the employees that work for them. It’s named after billionaire Warren Buffet, who has said that he is taxed at a rate of about 17.4 percent, while his secretary is taxed at a rate of about 36 percent.

“If you tax something more, Chris, you get less of it,” Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) told Fox News’ Chris Wallace. “Class warfare, Chris, may make for really good politics, but it makes for rotten economics. We don’t need a system that seeks to divide people and prey on peoples’ fear, envy and anxiety. We need a system that creates jobs and innovation, and removes these barriers for entrepreneurs to go out a rehire people. I’m afraid these kinds of tax increases don’t work.”

“This is being called the ‘Buffet rule” because it comes after Warren Buffet, the multi-billionaire owner of Berkshire Hathaway said, ‘I get so much of my money from capital gains, I end up paying a lower effective tax rate than my secretary who gets her money in salary,’” Wallace noted. “What about the question of fairness, sir?”

“What he forgets to mention is that is a double tax,” Ryan insisted. “Capital gains and dividends are taxes on money that has already been taxed once before based on income… It looks like the president wants to move down the class warfare path. Class warfare will simply divide the country more, attack job creators, divide people and it doesn’t grow the economy.”

Watch this video from Fox’s Fox News Sunday, broadcast Sept. 18, 2011.

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Daily Kos: Bernie Sanders goes against grain, introduces real plan to save Social Security

2011-09-15T15:23:00.000-07:00

Bernie Sanders goes against grain, introduces real plan to save Social Security

by Joan McCarter

10.6K 40

permalink	166 Comments

(Brian Snyder/Reuters)

Here's a chance for some small measure of sanity to be introduced into the Catfood Commission II's work, and the larger debate about deficits and the safety net, if Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) can get enough cosponsors and momentum behind his efforts.

Sanders, one of the Senate’s staunchest liberals, is proposing to make individual income higher than $250,000 per year subject to the payroll tax—an idea he says he is lifting from President Obama’s 2008 campaign for the White House.
As it stands, the payroll tax, which funds Social Security, applies to up to $106,800 of annual income. The Sanders bill would not impose the payroll tax on income between that level and $250,000.

In a Thursday news release, the Vermont senator said he was also worried that the new supercommittee tasked with finding additional ways to reduce the deficit will try to find savings through cuts to Social Security. One method that has already been discussed would involve switching to the so-called "chained CPI," an alternate form of inflation that would lead to a slower increase in Social Security benefits.

"Unfortunately, Republicans in Congress—and too many Democrats—have been discussing harmful cuts to Social Security as part of an overall scheme to balance the budget on the backs of the elderly, the sick, the children and working families," Sanders said.[...]

According to Sanders's office, the chief actuary for Social Security says the senator's proposal to make the payroll tax applicable at higher income levels would create enough new revenue to keep the program solvent for the next 75 years.

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) has a similar bill in the House, introduced in February. Neither piece of legislation is likely to see actual action, particularly on the House side, but a strong showing of cosponsors of both bills could, maybe, influence their colleagues on the Super Congress, the Democrats, anyway. If you have a Democratic representative or senator(s), call them and ask them to co-sponsor these bills. If you happen to be represented by a member of the Super Congress (Sens. Patty Murray, Max Baucus, John Kerry and Reps. Jim Clyburn, Chris Van Hollen, Xavier Becerra) give a few extra calls.

At the very least, it's the smartest policy response for ensuring Social Security's future and kudos to Sen. Sanders for attempting to take the discussion beyond austerity.

Originally posted to Joan McCarter on Thu Aug 25, 2011 at 12:55 PM PDT.

Also republished by Social Security Defenders and Daily Kos.

Daily Kos: Bernie Sanders goes against grain, introduces real plan to save Social Security

In The Face Of Historically Low Taxes, O'Reilly Claims Taxation Is "Strangling The U.S. Economy" | Media Matters for America

2011-09-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

Fox host Bill O'Reilly claimed that "rampant taxation" is "strangling the U.S. economy." But the total U.S. tax burden is "at [the] lowest level since [19]58," and the economy and employment grew at high levels under the Clinton administration, when federal income taxes were higher.

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O'Reilly Claims Taxation Is "Strangling The U.S. Economy"

O'Reilly: "Your Take-Home Pay Is Being Gutted By The Rampant Taxation. That's What's Strangling The U.S. Economy." On the September 14 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly claimed that Americans' "take-home pay is being gutted by the rampant taxation" and concluded, "That's what's strangling the U.S. economy. ... Punishing taxation is bleeding us." From the broadcast:

O'REILLY: Now, the Obama administration says it will continue the payroll tax cut for working Americans, while it wants to increase the income tax rate on the affluent and corporations. But all Americans are being battered by a variety of hidden taxes. Here is the grim news: in New York state, where I live, not only do we pay a federal income tax, but also a state income tax, and in places like New York City, a local income tax as well.

New York gasoline tax, 45 cents a gallon, the highest in the nation. Cigarette tax, $2.75 a pack. Sales tax collections average about $1,700 per New Yorker. That includes Baby Huey. $1,700 for every man, woman and child living in the state -- sales tax. Property tax, close to $2,000 per person. Toll revenue, $86 a person. New driver's license cost you $80. Cell phone tax and fees, 23 percent of your bill every month.

The list goes on and on and on. I'm exhausted. I can't even list anymore.

So you can see if you're a working person in New York or California or New Jersey or Massachusetts or most other states, your take-home pay is being gutted by the rampant taxation. That's what's strangling the U.S. economy. Consumers can't buy stuff without incurring even more debt. Punishing taxation is bleeding us. And these taxes continue to go up because the states and cities are bankrupt. Why are they bankrupt? Because of pensions, health care costs, corruption, and general irresponsibility with our tax dollars. [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 9/14/11]

But Total Tax Burden Is "At [The] Lowest Level Since '58," And Federal Taxes Are At "Historically Low Levels"

USA Today: "U.S. Tax Burden At Lowest Level Since '58." In a May 5 article, USA Today reported:

Americans are paying the smallest share of their income for taxes since 1958, a reflection of tax cuts and a weak economy, a USA TODAY analysis finds.

The total tax burden -- for all federal, state and local taxes -- dropped to 23.6% of income in the first quarter, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis data.

By contrast, individuals spent roughly 27% of income on taxes in the 1970s, 1980s and the 1990s -- a rate that would mean $500 billion of extra taxes annually today, one-third of the estimated $1.5 trillion federal deficit this year.

[...]

USA TODAY examined the full range of taxes that individuals pay to all levels of government. That includes income taxes for Medicare, property taxes for schools and gas taxes for roads.

At the national average, a person with an income of $100,000 would pay $23,600 in taxes today vs. $28,700 in 2000 and $27,300 in 1990. [USA Today, 5/5/11]

CBPP: "With [Obama's] Making Work Pay Tax Credit, The Median Family's Federal Income Taxes ... [Are] Lower Than In Any Year Since 1955 ... Except For 2009." A report updated by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) on April 15 found that "[m]iddle-income Americans are now paying federal taxes at or near historically low levels." From the report:

Middle-income Americans are now paying federal taxes at or near historically low levels, according to the latest available data. That's true whether it comes to their federal income taxes or their total federal taxes.

Income taxes: A family of four in the exact middle of the income spectrum will pay only 4.7 percent of its income in federal income taxes this year, according to a new analysis by the Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center. This is the third-lowest percentage in the past 50 years, after 2008 and 2009.
Overall federal taxes: Middle-income households are paying overall federal taxes -- which include income as well as payroll and excise taxes -- at or near their lowest levels in decades, according to the latest data from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

[...]

This year and last, the Making Work Pay tax credit, which President Obama and Congress enacted as part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is providing a credit of $800 to married joint filers ($400 to single filers). A median-income family with two children thus will receive an $800 tax cut in the return it files this year.

With the Making Work Pay tax credit, the median family's federal income taxes will equal just 4.7 percent of its income in 2010. That is lower than in any year since 1955 (the first year for which these data are available) except for 2009, when taxpayers also received the Making Work Pay credit, and 2008, when another stimulus-related tax cut was in effect.

The post also included the following chart illustrating the average federal income tax rate since 1955:

[CBPP, 4/15/11]

Former Reagan Adviser Bartlett: As Percentage Of GDP, "Federal Taxes Are At Their Lowest Level In More Than 60 Years." Bruce Bartlett, former adviser to President Reagan and Treasury Department economist under George H.W. Bush, wrote in a May 31 post on the New York Times blog Economix: "The Congressional Budget Office estimated that federal taxes would consume just 14.8 percent of G.D.P. this year. The last year in which revenues were lower was 1950, according to the Office of Management and Budget." From his post:

Historically, the term "tax rate" has meant the average or effective tax rate -- that is, taxes as a share of income. The broadest measure of the tax rate is total federal revenues divided by the gross domestic product.

By this measure, federal taxes are at their lowest level in more than 60 years. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that federal taxes would consume just 14.8 percent of G.D.P. this year. The last year in which revenues were lower was 1950, according to the Office of Management and Budget.

The postwar annual average is about 18.5 percent of G.D.P. Revenues averaged 18.2 percent of G.D.P. during Ronald Reagan's administration; the lowest percentage during that administration was 17.3 percent of G.D.P. in 1984.

In short, by the broadest measure of the tax rate, the current level is unusually low and has been for some time. Revenues were 14.9 percent of G.D.P. in both 2009 and 2010.

[...]

The truth of the matter is that federal taxes in the United States are very low. There is no reason to believe that reducing them further will do anything to raise growth or reduce unemployment. [Economix, The New York Times, 5/31/11]

Bartlett: "[F]ederal Taxes Are Very Considerably Lower By Every Measure Since Obama Became President." In a March 19, 2010, post on Forbes.com, Bartlett wrote that "federal taxes are very considerably lower by every measure since Obama became president. And given the economic circumstances, it's hard to imagine that a tax increase would have been enacted last year":

As noted earlier, federal taxes are very considerably lower by every measure since Obama became president. And given the economic circumstances, it's hard to imagine that a tax increase would have been enacted last year. In fact, 40% of Obama's stimulus package involved tax cuts. These include the Making Work Pay Credit, which reduces federal taxes for all taxpayers with incomes below $75,000 by between $400 and $800.

According to the JCT, last year's $787 billion stimulus bill, enacted with no Republican support, reduced federal taxes by almost $100 billion in 2009 and another $222 billion this year. The Tax Policy Center, a private research group, estimates that close to 90% of all taxpayers got a tax cut last year and almost 100% of those in the $50,000 income range. For those making between $40,000 and $50,000, the average tax cut was $472; for those making between $50,000 and $75,000, the tax cut averaged $522. No taxpayer anywhere in the country had his or her taxes increased as a consequence of Obama's policies. [Forbes.com, 3/19/10]

AP: "You Wouldn't Know It By The Tax Day Rhetoric, But Americans Are Paying Lower Taxes This Year." The Associated Press reported on April 14, 2010, "You wouldn't know it by the Tax Day rhetoric, but Americans are paying lower taxes this year, even with increases passed by many states to balance their budgets." While noting that in future years, some taxes may increase for some Americans, the article said that "Tax Day rhetoric" does not match the reality of Americans' tax burdens today. From the article:

Congress cut individuals' federal taxes for this year by about $173 billion shortly after President Barack Obama took office, dwarfing the $28.6 billion in increases by states

[...]

The massive economic recovery package enacted last year included about $300 billion in tax cuts over 10 years. About $232 billion was in cuts for individuals, nearly all in the first two years.

The most generous was Obama's Making Work Pay credit, which gives individuals up to $400 and couples up to $800 for 2009 and 2010. The $1,000 child tax credit was expanded to more families, and the working poor can qualify for as much as $5,657 from the Earned Income Tax Credit.

There were also credits for qualified families who buy new homes or make energy improvements to existing ones, as well as tax breaks to help pay college tuition or buy new cars. [AP, 4/14/10, via Yahoo Finance]

And Economic Growth Was High During Clinton Presidency, When Tax Rates Were Also Higher

PolitiFact: "Most [Economists] Agree That The [Clinton] Tax Increases Did Not Appear To Hinder Job Growth." In a July 6 post, PolitiFact fact-checked President Obama's claims about

In The Face Of Historically Low Taxes, O'Reilly Claims Taxation Is "Strangling The U.S. Economy" | Media Matters for America

Bad AT&T Deal Disconnected; Consumer Watchdog Applauds Justice Department for Filing Complaint to Block AT&T/T-Mobile Merger | Consumer Watchdog

2011-08-31T16:17:00.000-07:00

Merger

News Release

Bad AT&T Deal Disconnected; Consumer Watchdog Applauds Justice Department for Filing Complaint to Block AT&T/T-Mobile Merger

8/31/2011

Contact Info

Name:

Harvey Rosenfield, Laura Antonini & John M. Simpson

Phone Number:

Harvey, 310-392-0522 ext. 304; Laura Antonini, ext. 318; or John, 310-392-7041

SANTA MONICA, CA -- Consumer Watchdog applauded the U.S. Justice Department today for filing a civil antitrust complaint to block the AT&T/T-Mobile Merger, calling it a victory for cell phone consumers, and urged the Federal Communications Commission to reject the deal as well.
Earlier this month, Consumer Watchdog wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Communications Commission, and the California Public Utilities Commission, pointing out that the very same promises of better services and cheaper prices that AT&T makes today it also made back in 2004, when it sought permission to merge with Cingular, only to betray those promises after federal officials approved the deal.
Consumer Watchdog’s letter calls attention to the negative impacts that the 2004 merger had on consumers:

"After the Federal Communications Commission approved the deal with negligible scrutiny, the newly merged company - which later renamed itself AT&T Mobility LLC- betrayed its promises. It abandoned the old AT&T network, deliberately degrading the network so that AT&T customers would be forced to migrate to Cingular's own network, pay an upgrade fee of $18, buy new phones and agree to new and more expensive rate plans. These anti-consumer moves were enforced by an anti-competitive 'early termination fee' of anywhere between $175 and $400, which prevented customers of AT&T from moving to another carrier.

"In short, AT&T policyholders were railroaded into spending hundreds of dollars more in order to maintain their cellular service - a colossal rip-off by the same corporate executives who are now asking for permission to do it all over again."
Read Consumer Watchdog’s letter opposing the AT/T-Mobile merger here:

http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/cwd_att_merger_letter_final.pdf

Consumer Watchdog's lawyers subsequently brought a nationwide class action lawsuit against AT&T in 2006 seeking refunds for AT&T's customers. AT&T continues to fight that lawsuit, claiming that its customers are barred from suing AT&T in courts and must take their dispute to secret arbitration panels paid for by AT&T.

The Justice Department’s complaint seeks a declaration that AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile would violate U.S. antitrust law. Upon making the announcement, Justice Department officials said the deal would result in reduced competition which would in turn lead to higher prices, poor wireless service quality, and less choices for consumers.
“The last thing beleaguered American consumers need right now is higher prices and shoddier cell phone service. That’s exactly what would happen if AT&T was permitted to buy T-Mobile. The FCC should join DOJ in opposing this anti-competitive proposal,” said Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Consumer Watchdog and one of the lawyers in the 2006 lawsuit against AT&T.
- 30 -

Consumer Watchdog is a non-partisan public interest organization with offices in Santa Monica, CA and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit us on the web at

http://www.ConsumerWatchdog.org

Bad AT&T Deal Disconnected; Consumer Watchdog Applauds Justice Department for Filing Complaint to Block AT&T/T-Mobile Merger | Consumer Watchdog

Fed hands banks a win with debit card rule - The Hill's On The Money

2011-06-29T18:13:00.001-07:00

Banks might have lost the broader war over debit-card fees, but they scored a small victory Wednesday when the Federal Reserve proposed a fee less severe than originally intended.

The central bank’s decision brought to a close a long and contentious lobbying battle on Capitol Hill.

Fed hands banks a win with debit card rule - The Hill's On The Money

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Republicans Speak For The Rich

2011-05-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

Yet Again, Republicans Package Tax Cuts for the Rich and Killing off Consumer and Environmental Protections as a "Jobs Plan"
Here is a fact: today when you hear from Republicans you are hearing from Wall Street, giant oil companies, huge multinational firms and a few billionaires, period.

The Republicans The Party Of The Rich

Too Big Too Fail Organized Criminals

2011-05-25T20:12:00.000-07:00

HBO's "Too Big To Fail"—I just caught up with it last night; thank you, HBO On Demand—is extraordinarily revealing about the financial crisis. Only its revelations are almost entirely inadvertent.
The movie is set up in the Hollywood conventional way: A gang of misfits, each with a special expertise, is brought together for an impossible mission. There's Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, steely eyed at the moment of truth. There's New York Federal Reserve head Timothy Geithner, the athlete (he doesn't just jog, but also plays what appears to be squash). And then there's Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, the professor with a heart of gold and secret knowledge of the Great Depression.

Ostensibly it's a story of their success against all odds. Michael Kinsley, reviewing the movie in the New York Times, labeled Hank Paulson [1] the "hero" of the account.
Except that the movie actually depicts something entirely different: failure upon failure. "Too Big To Fail" The Movie isn't the story of how the Three Musketeers saved the global economy. It's a story of how the three didn't see the financial crisis coming; hadn't prepared for it; made mistake after mistake as it was cresting; and then, in their moment of triumph, made their most colossal blunder of all.
That, it turns out (whether or not "Too Big To Fail" knows it), is the true story of the financial crisis.
How much did Curtis Hanson and the writers mean for that to be the story? Throughout, the characters drop hints about their missteps, but the plot unfolds like a financial "Die Hard," with our intrepid heroes battling fiendishly powerful forces toward a happy ending. (Full disclosure in this era of transparency: I write a regular column [2] for DealBook, the New York Times section edited by Andrew Ross Sorkin, the reporter upon whose book [3] the movie was based.)

The Big Banks Abuse Of Power Too Big Too fail

2011-05-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

Louisiana Birther Bill To Restrict Voter Partication

2011-05-15T20:49:00.000-07:00

Back in April, two Louisiana state Republican legislators introduced a “birther” bill, clearly to score some political points and try to make themselves relevant, I suppose. Specifically, the measure required that any presidential candidate seeking to be on the Louisiana ballot would need to swear out an affidavit that he was in fact a U.S. citizen, then offer a birth certificate to validate the claim.

Less than a week later, the office of Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) said he would sign the bill if it made it to his desk.

I have just one question surrounding this issue. Are you serious?

Why Louisiana? Other states are considering similar measures, so the foolishness of such a move is not lost solely down on the Bayou. But come on folks. Don’t the state’s lawmakers have enough to worry about with unemployment, high gas prices and other pressing domestic concerns to be moving legislation that will not improve one life inside its borders? Not to mention the ongoing cleanup from the BP oil spill that continues to haunt every major industry along the Gulf.

Racism Is The Cultural Of Mental Illness That's Ripping The USA Apart

On Ending Corporate Welfare

2011-05-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

In a scene reminiscent of the congressional hearing where tobacco company executives innocently denied that nicotine is addictive, oil company executives solemnly told Congress last week that their exorbitant profits are no big deal. One even suggested that closing big oil’s tax loopholes is somehow “un-American.”

Close Corporate Loopholes End Corporate Welfare

Bin Laden Death Adds to Bulls’ Clout After Europe, Quake

2011-05-03T09:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday’s market reaction was “basically noise,” Lee said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “In the Loop” with Betty Liu. “It’s positive because people have been avoiding stocks because they think they’ve been risky, and part of it is global security. This is going to basically really boost inflows into stocks.”

Shares Decline

U.S. stocks retreated yesterday, pulling the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index down 0.2 percent to 1,361.22 after it reached the highest level since June 2008. Yields on 10-year notes fell one basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, to 3.28 percent at 5:11 p.m. in New York, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader prices, after rising as much as three basis points.

Bin Laden's Death Will Boost Stock Profits

America's Poor Twice As Likely To Say U.S. Is In A Depression: Gallup

2011-05-02T12:00:00.001-07:00

Corporations have become the new kingdoms, Their CEOs The Feudal Kings, Their Corporate Executive Officers live like a Prince. They control politicians, the mainstream media, and they’re trying to control the global. Their main focus is profits at all cost, they want to paralyze the masses, to prevent us from organizing, and from mobilizing. They use Racism, and Entertainment to divert our attention from what is really happening in the world; to divide and conquer us to submit to their will.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Mayors To Washington: Stop Fooling Around, Help Us Create Jobs

2011-05-01T14:22:00.001-07:00

Let's call it what it is; Washington politicians have become islands on to themselves. They no longer response to the cries of the people. They've sold their souls to GREEDY CEOs, and global corporations. They fight for Reagan Trickle Down Economics Theory "give more to the rich they're the job creators." My only question is where are the jobs? China is now the second largest economy in the world, and will pass the US OF A as number 1 by 2016. That's where the jobs are along with Korea, India, and Viet Nam; Since 2001 we have closed 50 thousand factories in the US OF A because of Unfair Free Trade Agreements. Yet, our politicians in Washington are not willing to discuss this. We have 25 million unemployed, 1 in 5 children go to sleep hungry, and we have exposing health-care cost; this is an outrage. Our states are nearly bankrupt, our infrastructure is crumbling, our education is still producing factory workers, and our justice system is corrupted, our judges our seeking their personal financial interest. This leaves us out in the snow freezing to death.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Progressive Justice

Poor Neighborhoods May Contribute To Poor Health

Poor neighborhoods may contribute to poor health

A study of low-income residents in L.A. and four other U.S. cities finds that those who moved into better-off areas may become healthier than those who stayed behind.

« Previous StoryMore Health - health, medicine, nutrition, disease, healthcare, fitness - latimes.comNext Story »

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Herman Cain It's About Choices

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All Together Now? African, Americans, Immigrants, and the Future of California

Breaking News—California May Require Labeling of GE Food Products!

Fracking--ALEX EXPOSED

Contents

What Fracking Involves

Hydrofracking and the "Halliburton Loophole"

Possible violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act

Why People Are Concerned

Concerns about Fracking and the New York City Water Supply

Dangers of Fracking Noted around the Country

Pennsylvania

Colorado

Louisiana

Texas

Wyoming

Documentary Film Gasland Exposes the Harms Caused by Hydrofracking

Enforcement Problems

Articles and resources

External resources

References

External Resources

External Articles

Shock Doctrine at U.S. Postal Service: Is a Manufactured Crisis Behind Push Toward Privatization?

Ron Paul, Rick Perry and Other Right Wingers Want to Turn Back the Clock to 1900 -- What Was Life Like Back Then? | | AlterNet

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WATCH LIVE: GOP candidates speak at CPAC

U.S. sold bunker-busting bombs to Israel: report President Barack Obama secretly authorized the sale of 55 powerful bunker-busting bombs to Israel.

Abbas stakes Palestine’s statehood claim at U.N. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked the United Nations on Friday to recognize a state for his people.

Disaster relief funds hit partisan wall in Congress With aid to disaster victims running out, Congress on Friday ratcheted up a high-stakes confrontation over spending.

Huge crowds pack West Bank cities to back U.N. bid Huge crowds turned out to support a Palestinian bid to seek U.N. membership.

Times grow harder for the US working man

breaking news--Tea Party Government Shutdown

Drug deaths now outnumber traffic fatalities in U.S., Times analysis shows - latimes.com

Drug deaths now outnumber traffic fatalities in U.S., data show

Fueling the surge are prescription pain and anxiety drugs that are potent, highly addictive and especially dangerous when combined with one another or with other drugs or alcohol.

Social Networking Spurs Wall Street Protest - NY1.com

Social Networking Spurs Wall Street Protest

Paul Ryan accuses Obama of ‘class warfare’ over millionaire tax

Daily Kos: Bernie Sanders goes against grain, introduces real plan to save Social Security

Originally posted to Joan McCarter on Thu Aug 25, 2011 at 12:55 PM PDT.

Also republished by Social Security Defenders and Daily Kos.

In The Face Of Historically Low Taxes, O'Reilly Claims Taxation Is "Strangling The U.S. Economy" | Media Matters for America

O'Reilly Claims Taxation Is "Strangling The U.S. Economy"

But Total Tax Burden Is "At [The] Lowest Level Since '58," And Federal Taxes Are At "Historically Low Levels"

And Economic Growth Was High During Clinton Presidency, When Tax Rates Were Also Higher

Bad AT&T Deal Disconnected; Consumer Watchdog Applauds Justice Department for Filing Complaint to Block AT&T/T-Mobile Merger | Consumer Watchdog

Bad AT&T Deal Disconnected; Consumer Watchdog Applauds Justice Department for Filing Complaint to Block AT&T/T-Mobile Merger

Fed hands banks a win with debit card rule - The Hill's On The Money

Republicans Speak For The Rich

Too Big Too Fail Organized Criminals

Louisiana Birther Bill To Restrict Voter Partication

On Ending Corporate Welfare

Bin Laden Death Adds to Bulls’ Clout After Europe, Quake

Shares Decline

America's Poor Twice As Likely To Say U.S. Is In A Depression: Gallup

Mayors To Washington: Stop Fooling Around, Help Us Create Jobs