Iraq vet jailed for refusing to redeploy to Afghanistan
An army soldier was sentenced to a one month jail term and demoted Wednesday for refusing to fight in Afghanistan. Victor Agosto, a veteran of the Iraq war who was due for release in June was a victim of the armed services' “stop loss” program and was told he would be redeployed to Afghanistan.
Non-discrimination bill gets bipartisan boost in the Senate
Civil rights and labor organizations this week praised the introduction of the Employment Non-discrimination Act (ENDA) by a bipartisan group of Senators. ENDA would create a federal standard for outlawing workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, say the bill's authors, Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.
Dont close womens health clinic! Protesters tell University of Chicago
Chicago — The University of Chicago Medical Center, citing financial shortfalls, is closing its Women’s Health Center on 47th Street, which annually serves thousands of women on the South Side. Protests over the last two months forced UCMC to delay the official closing, but at present, rather than posting a new closing-date, the medical center is quietly dismantling the clinic piecemeal.
Twitter silenced, hackers suspected
Hackers may have brought down Twitter this morning. The rapidly expanding new communications tool, which gained global attention in the Iran election crisis, was inaccessible for several hours Thursday. The company is blaming a “denial-of-service” attack.
Electric rate hike fought in St. Louis
ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, and its allies from the Service Employees International Union and Missouri Progressive Vote held a spirited rally outside the Ameren U.E. office here August 5. Ameren U.E., Missouri's electric and gas utilities provider, has proposed an 18 percent rate hike.
Abdul's 'American Idol' exit shakes up TV's top-rated show
Say what you want about Paula Abdul, but give her this: She makes for great television, especially at her own wacky expense.
Anti-worker group pays Rove $100,000 to fight EFCA
Here we go again. Yet another misleadingly named, corporate-funded front group has been created to block the freedom to form unions and bargain and scare people away from the Employee Free Choice Act. And where there are big corporate dollars and smear campaigns, you can bet that repudiated and disgraced political hacks like Karl Rove can’t be far behind.
Why you cant sit out the health care fight
I was part of a recent Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA) conference call on the mobilization to fight for real health care reform. It was a wonderful, well attended event, chaired by Ed Coyle the group's director. ARA is a labor union-based retirees organization.
SLIDE SHOW Faces of health care fight
On Aug. 4, some 800 Illinois residents, political leaders, union members and health care experts came together to demand quality, affordable health care for all. Rally sponsors included Health Care for America Now, Illinois Citizen Action and Organizing For America.
Lozano launches bid for state office
The announcement was made at the site of the new Little Village High School, symbolic of the many struggles waged by Chicago’s Mexican American community and a beacon of hope for the future.
