People Before Profit blog

Eartha Kitt, pioneer in art and protest

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 10:51:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — Eartha Kitt, a sultry singer, dancer and actress who rose from South Carolina cotton fields to become an international symbol of elegance and sensuality, has died. She was 81.

Family spokesman Andrew Freedman said Kitt, who was recently treated at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, died Dec 25 in Connecticut of colon cancer.

Kitt, a self-proclaimed “sex kitten” famous for her catlike purr, was one of America’s most versatile performers, winning two Emmys and nabbing a third nomination. She also was nominated for several Tonys and two Grammys.

Her career spanned six decades, from her start as a dancer with the famed Katherine Dunham troupe to cabarets and acting and singing on stage, in movies and on television. She persevered through an unhappy childhood as a mixed-race daughter of the South and made headlines in the 1960s for denouncing the Vietnam War during a visit to the White House.

Her first album, “RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt,” came out in 1954, featuring such songs as “I Want to Be Evil,” “C’est Si Bon” and the saucy gold digger’s theme song “Santa Baby,” which is revived on radio each Christmas.

In Chicago, The Rev. Jesse Jackson hailed Eartha Kitt as “a pioneer,” and said her talents were so immense and strong that the walls of segregation began to come down when people watched her perform.

Jackson, like Kitt, is a native of South Carolina. He said he remembered visiting his aunt in Chicago in 1955 and being taken to see Kitt at the Chicago Theatre, where she was one of the first black headliners.

Recalling the White House luncheon at which Kitt spoke out against the Viet Nam war to first lady Lady Bird Johnson and other guests, Jackson said, “We are a better people and a better world because of her her audacity, and her protest at the White house brought a message of dignity and peace to high places. It created temporary discomfort to some, but peace-loving people around the world rejoiced.”

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For more information visit the website:

Playwright Harold Pinter, Iraq war critic, remembered

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 10:48:00 +0000

LONDON (AP) — British Nobel laureate Harold Pinter, who produced some of his generation’s most influential dramas and later became a staunch critic of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, has died. He was 78.

Pinter died Dec. 24 after a long battle with cancer, said his wife, Antonia Fraser. In recent years he had seized the platform offered by his 2005 Nobel Literature prize to denounce President George W. Bush, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the war in Iraq.

But he was best known for exposing the complexities of the emotional battlefield. His writing featured cool, menacing pauses in dialogue that reflected his characters’ deep emotional struggles and spawned a new adjective found in several dictionaries: “Pinter-esque.”

His characters’ internal fears and longings, their guilt and difficult sexual drives were set against the neat lives they constructed in order to try to survive. Usually enclosed in one room, the acts often illustrated the characters’ lives as a sort of grim game with actions that often contradicted words. Gradually, the layers were peeled back. Pinter wrote 32 plays; one novel, “The Dwarfs,” in 1990; and put his hand to 22 screenplays.

Art, truth and politics, excerpted from British playwright Harold Pinter’s speech accepting the Nobel Prize for literature, delivered by video in Stockholm, Sweden, Dec. 7, 2005. The speech is a hard-hitting indictment of the Iraq war and occupation policy of both the Bush administration and British Prime Minister Tony Blair:

Ash flood may change way TVA handles coal waste

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 10:16:00 +0000

KINGSTON, Tenn. (AP) — The spill of more than a billion gallons of coal ash from a power plant in East Tennessee may change the way the nation’s largest government-owned utility stores coal waste.

Roane County officials are pushing the Tennessee Valley Authority to quit using large retention ponds filled with water and fly ash, a byproduct of coal-fired power plants.

One of the ponds burst Dec. 22 at a plant roughly 35 miles west of Knoxville, sending a flood of gray sludge over about 300 acres and destroying three homes.

Roane County Executive Mike Farmer said Monday he doesn’t expect to see such holding ponds on the TVA property in the future.

TVA Chief Executive Tom Kilgore also told residents at a meeting Sunday that his agency is reviewing storage options at the plant.

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From the TVA website:

Ash Slide at Kingston Fossil Plant

TVA, local, state and federal agencies continue to work on recovery and clean up of a release of ash caused by a failure of a coal fly ash containment retention wall at TVA’s Kingston Fossil Plant in East Tennessee.

The agencies have opened a Joint Information Center at the Roane County Rescue Squad Building, located at 2735 Roane State Highway, Harriman, Tennessee.

Details on community assistance efforts, water testing results, inspection history, and recovery and clean up status can be found on the Kingston update page:

Connecticut celebrates: Fight of our life to change our countrys direction

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 10:31:00 +0000

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — There was much to celebrate at the 89th anniversary of the Communist Party USA here Dec. 7. The party and its allies, unionists and friends joined together this year to work diligently to help elect our first African American president, Barack Obama. Folks pounded the pavement in Bridgeport, Conn., to defeat the last standing congressional Republican, Chris Shays. His replacement, newly elected Jim Himes, is vowing to take the people’s agenda forward.

The event was filled with the spirit of the movement in our country that says America can get back on the right track.

The anniversary celebration featured Amistad awards given to three outstanding fighters for justice.

Juan Hernandez, assistant district leader of SEIU 32 BJ Justice for Janitors, has not only been involved in political campaigns but also helped organize the first successful union drive for janitors in Fairfield and New Haven counties, helping to increase the workers’ wages and improve health benefits. Hernandez will be continuing this kind of leadership so that we can win the Employee Free Choice Act and real immigrant rights.

Kathy Jackson, another awardee, is president of the Connecticut chapter of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, vice president of the Hartford Labor Council and member of the Voting Rights Act committee. Her dedication and outspoken manner have helped others to join the movement for equal rights for all. Jackson expressed great appreciation that she was considered for this award.

Al Marder, the third award recipient, has been a leader and activist for decades. Marder was an organizer for the Communist Party in the 1950s. Where there was injustice you would always find him. With others he organized the City of New Haven Peace Commission in the late 1980s. He has served on the United Nations International Association of Peace Messenger Cities. One of his projects was to organize the replica of the Amistad ship in 1994. Marder keeps on keeping on — you might get tired but he won’t let you stop.

Guests were entertained by the Rabble Rousers, who got the crowd clapping and stomping to the beat of their music. One of the musicians, Bill Collins, spent time in Virginia during the election campaign organizing and playing music for union members there.

This year’s greeting book was dedicated to the memory of Merrilee Milstein, a friend, wife and mother. Most people remember her from her 1199 days as an organizer. She was a person who would take you by the hand and help you to the finish line. Event participants said her presence continues to be felt in tough organizing drives, with many drawing inspiration from the courage and efforts of a woman who helped change the labor movement.

Now that the election is over and people prepare for a historic inauguration, the celebration reminded us that we must keep the unity that we had in 2008 and work to advance the people’s agenda with the new White House. The ball is in our court.

The event and greeting book benefitted the People’s Weekly World/Nuestro Mundo fund drive. The successful celebration put Connecticut over the top in the drive and helped cover the cost of the papers that are distributed weekly year round.

Coalition urges San Francisco to live up to sanctuary ordinance

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 11:52:00 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO — Representatives of a broad immigrant rights, labor, faith and community coalition gathered at City Hall Dec. 18 — the day set by the United Nations as International Migrants Day — to call on the city and its mayor to live up to the 1989 Sanctuary City Ordinance.

The San Francisco Immigrant Rights Defense Committee of more than 30 organizations also urged revision of the city’s new juvenile justice policy requiring probation officers to automatically refer immigrant youth to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prior to a hearing. The committee called on the city to set a specific date to implement its municipal ID card program, work to end federal ICE raids and police collaboration with ICE, and preserve funding for vital services including those for immigrant youth and families.

“As a member of the immigrant community, I think it is important for everyone in San Francisco and the country to understand the contributions all of us as immigrants have made, whether documented or not … and that we as a community are not going to tolerate second class status,” incoming Supervisor David Campos told the crowd. Campos, who said he is the first supervisor to have been undocumented at some point, called the Board of Supervisors “the voice that stands up for immigrants in this city.” Six other supervisors also addressed the rally.

Abigail Trillin of Legal Services for Children told the heart-wrenching story of a 14-year-old boy who was detained after an incident at school that would have brought minor sanctions to a citizen. Instead, she said, the boy was placed in immigration detention, despite having never been in trouble before, and his father was forced to choose between leaving his son there or risking deportation himself by picking the boy up.

In a telephone interview, Angela Chan, staff attorney with the Asian Law Caucus, said a change last summer in city policy toward immigrant youth had set off a wave of concern leading to the Immigrant Rights Defense Committee’s proposals. Where formerly, courts did not refer youth to immigration authorities until all other factors had been considered, Chan said, ICE is now informed of youths’ possible undocumented status even before they have had a hearing or a chance to get an attorney. She said in recent months least 72 young people have been turned over to ICE in that way.

“This has had a huge ripple effect in the community,” Chan said. “You can’t expect to keep trust between the immigrant community and the city if the city is not protecting its most vulnerable citizens.”

San Francisco’s 1989 “City of Refuge” ordinance bars city workers from helping ICE to investigate or make arrests unless required by federal or state law or a warrant. The ordinance has been reaffirmed by city authorities, including at an event last April where Mayor Gavin Newsom and others launched a public awareness campaign to promote the policy and to assure undocumented residents they could use city services without being reported to federal immigration authorities.

The mayor ordered the “top-down review” of policy toward undocumented residents last summer after a spate of negative publicity about alleged shielding of youth accused of drug offenses. The review has also included examination of city contracts with organizations that might serve undocumented residents, and cuts or delays in funding.

At about the same time, Newsom expressed interest in the 2010 governor’s race.

The mayor also delayed implementation of a city ID card program approved last year for all San Francisco residents and okayed by a Superior Court judge this fall. Following protests by seniors, the LGBT community, homeless residents and immigrant rights advocates, the mayor has said the program will be implemented in January but rights advocates remain cautious.

In a conversation after the rally, Adoubou Traore, executive director of the San Francisco-based African Immigrant and Refugee Resource Center, said that besides facing the same problems as other immigrants, newcomers from Africa are often fleeing violence and oppression in their home countries. “They view the U.S. as the ‘promised land’ where we will see an end to this oppression,” he said. “It is shocking to them to find that here in America, we face similar issues.”

mbechtel @pww.org

Biden slams Cheney on violating Constitution

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 05:47:00 +0000

Dick Cheney's actions and advice as vice president were 'not healthy,' Vice President-elect Joe Biden told ABC's George Stephanopoulos in an interview Sunday Dec. 21.

'I think the recommendations, the advice that he has given to President Bush,' Biden said, 'has been not healthy for our foreign policy, not healthy for our national security, and it has not been consistent with our Constitution.'

Biden referred to the Vice President's positions on the so-called unitary executive, Cheney's refusal to change his views on the Iraq war, and his refusal to back the general consensus that the US prison camp at Guantanamo ought to be closed.

The unitary executive concept, Biden charged, 'caused this administration in adopting that notion to overstep its constitutional bounds, but at a minimum to weaken our standing in the world and weaken our security.'

Biden also rejected Cheney's claim that as the new administration came to learn more about the available intelligence about terrorism, it would come more and more to share Cheney's opinion about the tools they used in the so-called war on terror.

'As chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee,' he countered, 'unless they were lying to me all along, I knew the details of the threat. Secondly, I have been getting what they call that presidential briefing you get every morning from the intelligence community since the day we were elected. I have learned nothing thus far that would change my view.'

Biden also slammed the Bush administration's policy on torture. '[T]o quote from a previous national security report put out by the intelligence community,' he noted, 'we have created, not dissuaded, more terrorists as a consequence of this policy.'

'Nothing I've learned thus far has changed my fundamental view on the constitutional as well as the practical positions we should take relative to the issues of torture and others,' he added.

A bipartisan Senate report published earlier this month specifically linked top Bush administration officials such as Donald Rumsfeld and Alberto Gonzales to the formulation of an administration policy authorizing torture and creating a climate in the intelligence community allowing illegal methods of interrogation to be used.

See the video here:

New protests as anti-women Bush admin. rule goes into effect

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 05:07:00 +0000

New protests as anti-women Bush admin. rule goes into effect

Women's health advocates sharply criticized a last minute Bush administration rule that allows health care providers to deny health care information and services to women. The new rule allows doctors, nurses, pharmacists and technicians to refuse to provide women with information about or access to birth control, abortions, or other medical services based on ideological opposition.

“This midnight regulation,' said Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, 'undermines this country’s fragile health care system as well as patients’ access to health care information and services.”

Richards added that she hoped the incoming administration would do more to protect women's health. “We look forward to working with President-elect Obama and leaders in Congress to repeal this disastrous rule and expand patients’ access to full health care information and services — not limit it,” she stated.

According to Planned Parenthood's estimates, the new rule will restrict health care access at nearly 600,000 health care facilities.

In addition to the specific problems linked to reproductive rights, Planned Parenthood also argued that the rule will worsen an already broken health care system. 'With more than 45 million Americans currently uninsured, this is no time to make access to health care even more difficult,' a press statement from the organization noted.

“We are shocked that the Bush administration chose to finalize its midnight regulation and to take this parting shot at women’s health and ignore patients’ rights to receive the critical health care services and information they deserve,” said Richards. “From day one, this administration has made ideology and politics a priority over patients’ rights and needs, and this regulation is no different.”

Following the announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services earlier this year to implement the rule, some 200,000 people, elected officials, medical organizations, and health care advocacy and religious organizations submitted comments opposing the misguided rule.

The new rule fails to provide protections for women patients from discriminatory behavior by health care providers who might be motivated by political bias rather than the medical needs of patients and patrons, the women's health advocacy organization stated.

In addition to a massive protest from a broad section of the public, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Legal Counsel and the commissioners submitted letters of opposition to this rule, saying it overlaps with existing law, that it is potentially confusing to the regulated community, and that it will impose a burden on covered employers, particularly small employers.

Biggest bill for working class people in 30 years

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 01:18:00 +0000

CLEVELAND — The Employee Free Choice Act, aimed at eliminating barriers to workers seeking union representation, is key to any meaningful economic recovery, speakers told more than 100 labor and community activists at a forum here Dec. 16. The forum, sponsored by the North Shore AFL-CIO, was held at Trinity Cathedral in response to a Dec. 5 conference opposing the bill held by the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the local branch of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber, spearheading a national campaign against the bill, has raised over $200 million for the battle, which it calls “Armageddon,” Frank Snyder of the national AFL-CIO said.

But, said Michael Ettlinger of the Center for American Progress, the opposition to employee free choice is extremely shortsighted.

The economy for working people has been in decline since 2000 with growing poverty and unemployment and declining average incomes. The recession was papered over by artificially raised housing values, but now, with that bubble burst, the economy is in general decline and expected to get worse. Credit, even for routine business operations, has dried up, Ettlinger said, and unless companies regain confidence they can sell their goods and services, the entire economy could collapse.

He praised the programs advocated by President-elect Obama to increase mass purchasing power and create jobs.

“The Employee Free Choice Act in this situation is especially important,” Ettlinger said. We not only need jobs, we need good jobs so that people can buy more than food and shelter.”

“This is not just about unions and workers; this bill would improve the general well-being,” he said. “It is about raising American living standards.”

Higher wages paid to union workers add $1 billion to the Cleveland economy, John Ryan, representing Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), said. But the effect of unions is far greater than that because non-union companies raise wages to meet union standards, he noted. Ryan was previously executive secretary of the North Shore AFL-CIO

“Collective bargaining is key to U.S. prosperity,” he said. “That’s why we need this bill.”

Given the well-funded and organized opposition, it will take a big effort to enact the bill, but with Obama and bigger majorities in both houses of Congress, including some Republicans backing it, it could be approved, he said.

In fact, according to David Eckstein, national AFL-CIO assistant director for organizing, labor is hopeful the bill will be an integral part of Obama’s recovery package and is working for it to be adopted in the House in March and in the Senate in May. Speaking at this month’s meeting of delegates to the North Shore labor federation, Eckstein called the Employee Free Choice Act “the biggest bill for working class people in 30 years” and said the labor movement intends to campaign for it in the same way it worked for the election of Obama.

Group demands Feds investigate Sheriff Joe Arpaio

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 07:18:00 +0000

America's Voice, a group that favors comprehensive and humanitarian immigration reform, released a new Web video this week slamming infamous Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

The video calls on the Justice Department to investigate Arpaio for what it describes as habitual racial profiling and a systematic failure to address real crime problems in his jurisdiction. According to America's Voice, while Arpaio seems obsessed with catching immigrants he supposes to be in the country illegally, some 40,000 felony warrants remain outstanding in his jurisdiction.

An Arizona Republic study published in November also revealed that Arpaio's office specifically targeted Latinos for arrest after minor traffic violations and during anti-immigrant round-ups.

'Rather than focusing on crime and criminals, Arpaio has made anyone with brown skin a potential target for arrest,' Paco Fabián, spokesperson for America's Voice, noted in a press statement.

Earlier this week, members of Maricopa Citizens for Safety and Accountability, a group concerned about Arpaio’s record, held a protest outside the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors meeting to hold Arpaio accountable for his actions. Several protesters were arrested.

At least 2,700 lawsuits for violations of civil rights have been filed against Arpaio.

“I thought the days of the OK Corral and Tombstone were over,” said Fabián. “But it looks like Sheriff Joe didn’t get the memo. His tactics are terrorizing communities in Maricopa County, and everyone suffers as a result.'

Arpaio is set to host a new 'reality' show on FOX.

The notorious sheriff's actions 'may be a great way to get the attention of TV producers and your own reality show, but it’s certainly no way to tackle a local community’s problems,” Fabián concluded.

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, whose city is located in Maricopa County, along with several Arizona state legislators have endorsed the call for a federal investigation into Arpaio's actions.

America's Voice is also hosting in support of their call for a federal investigation into Arpaio's actions.

See the America's Voice video here:

Hurricane Ike: Dj vu all over again

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 11:04:00 +0000

GALVESTON, Texas — After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, many people speculated that if a similar disaster hit Texas, the Bush administration would respond more positively. Over two months after Hurricane Ike hit, the evidence suggests otherwise.

Visiting here Nov. 30, I was horrified by what I saw. Once a bustling tourist-oriented city with a strong medical center and vibrant African-American community, Galveston appears to be a ghost town, devastated first by the storm and now by the cruelty of capitalism. It should be noted that while the community suffers, large numbers of oil tankers are waiting just off the coast for permission to enter the Houston Ship Channel and deliver oil to refineries.

Some, including Bush’s crony, Texas Governor Rick Perry, expected more from the administration since the current lame-duck president claims to be from Texas. According to the Dallas Morning News, Perry, who appears to have been recently reborn as Governor of the People, has complained loudly that “President George W. Bush didn’t even know of the Texas request for aid when the governor spoke with the president by phone last week.” The News editorialized, “Texas coastal communities are waiting for help. Hundreds of residents still live in tents, disabled cars and condemned homes as they await Federal Emergency Management Agency inspectors, insurance adjusters, mobile homes and utilities. If this is emergency management, we’d hate to see emergency mismanagement.”

The grim lesson is that capitalism has other priorities than the needs of people.

Hunger at evacuation site

Hurricane Ike struck on Sept. 12. Soon after, there were stories of National Guard troops starving at a football stadium near my home. It turned out that the stadium was a huge staging area for evacuation of Ike’s survivors.

When I went to the site, National Guard troops and Texas public safety officers refused to talk with me. But motor coach operators contracted to evacuate people from the Gulf Coast told me that though some arrived as early as Aug. 27 because of the earlier Hurricane Gustav, they were not provided with suitable housing facilities or food while on duty, and were not allowed off the staging area premises to obtain food. Fortunately, nearby working people heard of their plight and brought huge quantities of food. This was a harbinger of the treatment the federal government has provided to storm survivors.

FEMA ignores survivors

Now “blue roofs” are everywhere in Houston and Galveston. After the storm, FEMA acted quickly to put blue tarps over damaged roofs. Many of my friends, neighbors and co-workers are suffering while FEMA fiddles over whether to pay for needed repairs. According to an article in the Houston Chronicle Nov. 24, thousands are still waiting for FEMA assistance so they can repair their damaged roofs. Meanwhile, Bush has pushed through billions in bailout money for the wealthiest corporations which presumably still have a roof over their head.

According to the Galveston Daily News, in early November — two months after Ike hit — 77 percent of upper Texas Coast residents who had requested assistance had “fallen through the gaps in the safety net the government spreads wide to help victims of natural disasters” because “they did not qualify for help under federal guidelines.” Meanwhile, many residents of Galveston and Houston remain homeless or are residing in substandard housing.

Medical care eliminated

To add insult to injury, over 3,000 people have been laid off from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, which is the only state facility in the area and has served many indigent patients for a long time. The great Medical Center appeared to be a ghost town after the layoffs. The few staff members I encountered during a visit there said they were not at liberty to talk about current conditions.

Though it is unconscionable that after a catastrophe like Hurricane Ike, the first targets would be public health facilities, this only mirrors the closing of the Charity Hospital and the VA Medical Center in downtown New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

The layoffs are a severe financial blow to Galveston County. UTMB was the city’s largest employer. Union officials from the Texas State Employees Union continue to organize UTMB workers with support of the Galveston County AFL-CIO, to press the University regents to reinstate workers. Galveston’s City Council is also urging the UTMB Board of Regents “to fully support the university and its historic mission of tending to the medical needs of the indigent.”

Meanwhile, the UTMB system, which has cared for inmates in the Texas prison systems, has closed its 365-bed prison hospital. Sick inmates are now being sent to other facilities throughout the state.

A bipartisan group of Texas Congress members including Nick Lampson, Gene Green, Kevin Brady, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Chet Edwards, Louie Gohmert, Al Green and Sheila Jackson-Lee is pressing FEMA to provide much-needed services to Ike’s survivors.

The survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Ike and their supporters should unite to demand that the Gulf Coast be rebuilt and a priority be placed on the recovery of families rather than extending the profits of the world’s largest corporations. We need a bailout of those inundated by natural catastrophe.

PHill1917@ comcast.net

The economic crisis: Understanding causes and solutions

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 08:50:00 +0000

What will be impact of the Wall Street bankruptcies, bailouts and blunders on working people in this country and worldwide? What's the solution to the crisis?

Perhaps only time will tell the full extent of the impact. Needless to say, this week’s developments don’t bode well for the future. Here are some thoughts from contributors to the People’s Weekly World and Political Affairs on the current economic crisis, the policies that got us to this point and the historical precedents.

We will update this resource list in the days and weeks to come, as the full scope of the crisis is better known.

Latest headlines...

Auto Bailout: 'We're Gonna Own Your Ass'
by PA
Dec. 4, 2008 – Political Affairs.net

As economic crisis worsens, hunger stalks the land
by Tim Wheeler
Dec. 3, 2008 – People's Weekly World

Union Leader Slams Wall Street/GOP Hypocrisy
by PA
Dec. 3, 2008 – PoliticalAffairs.net

People Before Profits: Economic stimulus in China and the U.S.
by Wadi'h Halabi
Dec. 3, 2008 – People's Weekly World

They auto know better: Fueling anti-union fires
by Walter Brasch
Dec. 1, 2008 – People's Weekly World

November 2008

Obama projects massive recovery plan
by Susan Webb
Nov. 26, 2008 – People's Weekly World

Global labor needs a global stimulus
by Scott Marshall
Nov. 25, 2008 – People's Weekly World

Reflections on the (Unplanned) Death of an Ideology
by Peter Zerner and Joel Wendland
Nov. 24, 2008 – PoliticalAffairs.net

The Crash of 2008 and Historical Materialism
by John Case
Nov. 24, 2008 – PoliticalAffairs.net

Let the nation own the Big 3
by Ralph Shaffer and Norma Jeanne Strobel
Nov. 24, 2008 – People's Weekly World

Nationalization (Not Loans) Can Save US Auto
by John Case
Nov. 18, 2008 – PoliticalAffairs.net

World unions: Time for a global economic fix is now
by John Wojcik
Nov. 17, 2008 – People's Weekly World

Opinion: Recovery Package for Working Women
by Ellen Bravo
Nov. 17, 2008 – People's Weekly World

How More Socialism Can Save the Economy
by John Case
Nov. 12, 2008 – PoliticalAffairs.net

Jobs Report Signals Need for New Stimulus Package
by PoliticalAffairs.net
Nov. 7, 2008

240,000 Jobs Lost Last Month
by John Wojcik
Nov. 7, 2008 – People's Weekly World

Economy fix can’t wait until 1.20.09
by John Wojcik
Nov. 6, 2008 – People's Weekly World

Government by Market Gods or for the People?
by Anna Pha
Nov. 5, 2008 – PoliticalAffairs.net

Inject Demand into the Economy not Liquidity
by Prabhat Patnaik
Nov. 3, 2008 – PoliticalAffairs.net

Oct. 2008

Credit Crunch Hits College Students
by Matthew Cardinale
Oct. 24, 2008 – PoliticalAffairs.net

'Jobs for workers come first'
by John Wojcik
Oct. 23, 2008 – People's Weekly World

Time Warp: Hoover, Bush, McCain and Economic Crisis
by Norman Markowitz
Oct. 23, 2008 – PoliticalAffairs.net

Economic crisis clobbers California
by Marilyn Bechtel
Oct. 17, 2008 – People's Weekly World

Marx was right
by PWW/NM Editorial Board
Oct. 17, 2008 – People's Weekly World

Nationalize banks, employ unemployed
by John Case
Oct. 16, 2008 – People's Weekly World

Revising the Social Contract
by Norman Markowitz Oct. 16, 2008 – PoliticalAffairs.net

Presidential Debate Fact Check: McCain's Big Bank Bailout
Oct. 16, 2008 – PoliticalAffairs.net

Some Reflections on the Turbulence of Alan Greenspan
by Thomas Riggins
Oct. 15, 2008 – PoliticalAffairs.net

Labor-led coalition demands recovery plan for Main Street
by John Wojcik
Oct. 9, 2008 – People's Weekly World

Is this Capitalism’s End of Days?
by Norman Markowitz
Oct. 8, 2008 – PoliticalAffairs.net

The crisis of family debt
by Art Perlo Oct. 6, 2008 – People's Weekly World

Obama calls for 'middle class' bailout
by Joel Wendland
Oct. 3, 2008 – People's Weekly World

To bail, or not to bail?
by Teresa Albano and John Wojcik
Oct. 1, 2008 – People's Weekly World

OPINION: Finances and the current crisis: How did we get here and what is the way out? Part 2
by Sam Webb
Oct. 1, 2008 – People's Weekly World

Taking it to Wall Street: Rallies vs. bailout crowd 'the street'
By Libero Della Piana
Oct. 1, 2008 – People's Weekly World

Why the Rush
by Peter Zerner and Joel Wendland
Oct. 1, 2008 – PoliticalAffairs.net

Obama Calls for Comprehensive Response to the Economic Crisis
Oct. 1, 2008 – PoliticalAffairs.net

International Perspectives

Results of G-20 Meeting on the Global Economy
by Fidel Castro

Canada: Invest in Jobs and Improve Employment Insurance
by People's Voice

Vietnam Creates Measures to Tackle Financial Turmoil
by Vietnam News Agency

Another World Depression? Finance Capital and Neo-Deflationism
by Utsa Patnaik, People's Democracy

Australia's Bailout Black Hole
by Anna Pha, The Guardian

Japan: Government Plans to Force People to Pay for Financial Fallout
by Akahata

Israel and the Current Capitalist Crisis

Economy is key issue in Canada's elections

RECESSION

Trade Unions Demand Effective Responses to Worsening Financial and Food Crises

Financial Crisis in Europe: Alternatives Demanded

US Crisis Affects Central America

Bailing Out Capitalism
From The Guardian (Australia), Sept. 24, 2008

Bush's Self-criticism
From Cuban News Agency, Sept. 28, 2008

The End of the Illusion
From People's Democracy (India), Sept. 28, 2008

Time to Break with Casino Capitalism
From Akahata (Japan), Sept. 24, 2008

Sept. 2008

Financial Crisis, Bailouts, and the Real Economy, Speaking with Sam Webb
by PoliticalAffairs.net
Sept. 30, 2008 – PoliticalAffairs.net

How about a trickle-up bailout instead of trickle down
by Scott Marshall
Sept. 29, 2008 – Labor Up Front

Stock market drops 777 points as House votes down Wall Street bailout
by Joe Sims
Sept. 29, 2008 – People's Weekly World

Audio: Interview with Sam Webb, CPUSA
Sept. 28, 2008 – Political Affairs Podcast

OPINION: Finances and the current crisis: How did we get here and what is the way out?, Part 1
by Sam Webb
Sept. 28, 2008 – People's Weekly World

What the Banking Crisis Really Means
by Norman Markowitz
Sept. 2008, PoliticalAffairs.net

Editorial: Shock and Awe Revisited
Sept. 25, 2008 – People's Weekly World

$700,000,000,000 for what?
By John Wojcik Sept. 25, 2008 – People's Weekly World

Reject the 'Bankers' Strike': Groups Demand No Bailout Without Conditions
Sept. 25, 2008 – PoliticalAffairs.net

Rescue Me!: What Else Could We Use the Bailout Money For?'
By Peter Zerner and Joel Wendland
Sept. 25, 2008 – PoliticalAffairs.net

Barney Smith, Not Smith Barney
By Joelle Fishman
Sept. 24, 2008 – People's Weekly World

Save Main Street, Not Wall Street
By Communist Party USA
Sept. 23, 2008 – CPUSA.org

Ramming Through the Bailout
By Sam Webb
Sept. 23, 2008 – CPUSA.org

Wall Street Bailout: Not Without Preconditions
By Joel Wendland
Sept. 23, 2008 – PoliticalAffairs.net

EDITORIAL: Bailout Main Street
Sept. 19, 2008 – People's Weekly World

Economic Meltdown
By Joel Wendland
Sept. 19, 2008 – PoliticalAffairs.net

Wall Street meltdown wallops Main Street
By Phil Cadman
Sept. 19, 2008 – People's Weekly World

From Archives:

Is Freddie Mac really never coming back?
By John Wojcik
Sept. 8, 2008 — People's Weekly World

Got money?
By Marilyn Bechtel
Aug. 15, 2008 — People's Weekly World

Mac the Knife: Cut the Needy to Feed the Greedy
By Joelle Fishman
July 24, 2008 — PoliticalAffairs.net

Interview with Doug Henwood, Left Business Observer
May 29, 2008 — PoliticalAffairs.net

It’s

Time for a New Deal
by Norman Markowitz
May 29, 2008 — PoliticalAffairs.net

Financial Crisis and Class Struggle
By Paulo Nakatani and Rémy Herrera
May 28, 2008 — PoliticalAffairs.net

Foreclosures point to systemic crisis
By Denise Winebrenner Edwards
April 4, 2007 — People's Weekly World

Bailout goes to Wall Street, not Main Street
By John Wojcik
March 20, 2008 — People's Weekly World

Things Fall Apart: Wall Street and the Crisis of US Imperialism
By Joe Sims and Joel Wendland
March 2008 – PoliticalAffairs.net

Weathering

the Storm: the economic recession
Video interview with Sam Webb
March 10, 2008 — Communist Party USA

Unions tackle

housing, foreclosure crisis
By John Wojcik
March 9, 2008 — People's Weekly World

Interview

with Art Perlo, CP Economics Commission
Feb. 15, 2008 — PoliticalAffairs.net

To fix economy

put working class first
By Teresa Albano
Jan. 24, 2008 — People's Weekly World

Banks bilk

homebuyers, Black, Latino families hit hardest
By Tim Wheeler
Jan. 19, 2008 — People's Weekly World

A look behind

the housing crisis
By Art Perlo
Aug. 30, 2007 — People's Weekly World

Mortgage crisis

stoked by incredible greed
By Susan Webb
Aug. 16, 2007 — People's Weekly World

Corporate thievery, a new political moment
By Sam Webb
July 20, 2002 — People's Weekly World

En Español:

Salvemos al pueblo, no a Wall Street
por Partido Comunista de Estados Unidos de América (PCEUA).
Oct. 2, 2008 – Nuestro Mundo

¿Rescate económico o no rescatar?
por Teresa Albano y John Wojcik
Oct. 2, 2008, Nuestro Mundo

La crisis económica y las viviendas
Por Art Perlo
26 de Julio, 2008 — Nuestro Mundo

La crisis economica hoy: Entrevista con Douglas Henwood
29 de Mayo, 2008, – PoliticalAffairs.net

Folk music, civil rights legend Odetta dies at 77

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:07:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — Odetta's monumental voice rang out in August 1963 when she sang 'I'm on My Way' at the historic March on Washington, where Martin Luther King gave his 'I Have a Dream' speech.

She had hoped to perform again in Washington next month when Barack Obama is inaugurated as the nation's first black president. But the acclaimed folk singer, who influenced generations of musicians and was an icon in the civil rights struggle, died Tuesday after battling heart disease. She was 77.

In spite of failing health, Odetta performed 60 concerts in the last two years, and her singing ability never diminished, manager Doug Yeager said.

'The power would just come out of her like people wouldn't believe,' he said.

She was admitted to Lenox Hill Hospital with kidney failure about three weeks ago, Yeager said in confirming her death.

With her classically trained voice and spare guitar, Odetta gave life to the songs by workingmen and slaves, farmers and miners, housewives and washerwomen, blacks and whites.

First coming to prominence in the 1950s, she influenced Harry Belafonte, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and other superstars of the folk music boom.

An Odetta record on the turntable, listeners could close their eyes and imagine themselves hearing the sounds of spirituals and blues as they rang out from a weathered back porch or around a long-vanished campfire a century before.

'What distinguished her from the start was the meticulous care with which she tried to re-create the feeling of her folk songs; to understand the emotions of a convict in a convict ditty, she once tried breaking up rocks with a sledge hammer,' Time magazine wrote in 1960.

'She is a keening Irishwoman in `Foggy Dew,' a chain-gang convict in `Take This Hammer,' a deserted lover in `Lass from the Low Country,'' Time wrote.

Odetta called on her fellow blacks to 'take pride in the history of the American Negro.' When she sang at the March on Washington — along with Baez, Dylan, Josh White and Peter, Paul and Mary — 'Odetta's great, full-throated voice carried almost to Capitol Hill,' The New York Times said.

'I'm not a real folk singer,' she told The Washington Post in 1983. 'I don't mind people calling me that, but I'm a musical historian. I'm a city kid who has admired an area and who got into it. I've been fortunate. With folk music, I can do my teaching and preaching, my propagandizing.'

While she hoped to sing at Obama's inauguration, she had not been officially invited, Yeager said. Her last big concert was on Oct. 4 at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, where she performed in front of tens of thousands at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival. She also performed Oct. 25-26 in Toronto.

In 1999, she was honored with a National Medal of the Arts. Then-President Bill Clinton said her career showed 'us all that songs have the power to change the heart and change the world.'

She was nominated for a 1963 Grammy awards for best folk recording for 'Odetta Sings Folk Songs.' Two more Grammy nominations came in recent years, for her 1999 'Blues Everywhere I Go' and her 2005 album 'Gonna Let It Shine.'

Among her notable early works were her 1956 album 'Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues,' which included such songs as 'Muleskinner Blues' and 'Jack O' Diamonds'; and her 1957 'At the Gate of Horn,' which featured the popular spiritual 'He's Got the Whole World in His Hands.'

Her 1965 album 'Odetta Sings Dylan' included such standards as 'Don't Think Twice, It's All Right,' 'Masters of War' and 'The Times They Are A-Changin'.'

In a 1978 Playboy interview, Dylan said, 'the first thing that turned me on to folk singing was Odetta.' He said he found 'just something vital and personal' when he heard an early album of hers in a record store as a teenager. 'Right then and there, I went out and traded my electric guitar and amplifier for an acoustical guitar,' he said.

Belafonte also cited her as a key influence on his hugely successful recording career, and she was a guest singer on his 1960 album, 'Belafonte Returns to Carnegie Hall.'

She continued to record in recent years; her 2001 album 'Looking for a Home (Thanks to Leadbelly)' paid tribute to the great blues singer to whom she was sometimes compared.

Born Odetta Holmes in Birmingham, Ala., in 1930, she moved with her family to Los Angeles at age 6. Her father had died when she was young and she took her stepfather's last name, Felious. Hearing her in glee club, a junior high teacher made sure she got music lessons, but Odetta became interested in folk music in her late teens and turned away from classical studies.

She got much of her early experience at the Turnabout Theatre in Los Angeles, where she sang and played occasional stage roles in the early 1950s.

'What power of characterization and projection of mood are hers, even though plainly clad and sitting or standing in half light!' a Los Angeles Times critic wrote in 1955.

Over the years, she picked up occasional acting roles. None other than famed Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper reported in 1961 that she 'comes through beautifully' in the film 'Sanctuary.'

In The Washington Post interview, Odetta theorized that humans developed music and dance because of fear, 'fear of God, fear that the sun would not come back, many things. I think it developed as a way of worship or to appease something. ... The world hasn't improved, and so there's always something to sing about.'

Odetta is survived by a daughter, Michelle Esrick of New York City, and a son, Boots Jaffre, of Fort Collins, Colo. She was divorced about 40 years ago and never remarried, her manager said.

A memorial service was planned for next month, Yeager said.

Associated Press writer Cristian Salazar contributed to this report.

Miami activist moves people into foreclosed houses

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 08:15:00 +0000

MIAMI (AP) -- Max Rameau delivers his sales pitch like a pro. 'All tile floor!' he says during a recent showing. 'And the living room, wow! It has great blinds.'

But in nearly every other respect, he is unlike any real estate agent you've ever met. He is unshaven, drives a beat-up car and wears grungy cut-off sweat pants. He also breaks into the homes he shows. And his clients don't have a dime for a down payment.

Rameau is an activist who has been executing a bailout plan of his own around Miami's empty streets: He is helping homeless people illegally move into foreclosed homes.

'We're matching homeless people with people-less homes,' he said with a grin.

Rameau and a group of like-minded advocates formed Take Back the Land, which also helps the new 'tenants' with secondhand furniture, cleaning supplies and yard upkeep. So far, he has moved six families into foreclosed homes and has nine on a waiting list.

'I think everyone deserves a home,' said Rameau, who said he takes no money from his work with the homeless. 'Homeless people across the country are squatting in empty homes. The question is: Is this going to be done out of desperation or with direction?'

With the housing market collapsing, squatting in foreclosed homes is believed to be on the rise around the country. But squatters usually move in on their own, at night, when no one is watching. Rarely is the phenomenon as organized as Rameau's effort to 'liberate' foreclosed homes.

Florida — especially the Miami area, with its once-booming condo market — is one of the hardest-hit states in the housing crisis, largely because of overbuilding and speculation. In September, Florida had the nation's second-highest foreclosure rate, with one out of every 178 homes in default, according to Realty Trac, an online marketer of foreclosed properties. Only Nevada's rate was higher.

Like other cities, Miami is trying to ease the problem. Officials launched a foreclosure-prevention program to help homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage, with loans of up to $7,500 per household.

The city also recently passed an ordinance requiring owners of abandoned homes — whether an individual or bank — to register those properties with the city so police can better monitor them.

Elsewhere around the country, advocates in Cleveland are working with the city to allow homeless people to legally move into and repair empty, dilapidated houses. In Atlanta, some property owners pay homeless people to live in abandoned homes as a security measure.

In early November, Rameau drove a woman and her 18-month old daughter to a ranch home on a quiet street lined with swaying tropical foliage. Marie Nadine Pierre, 39, has been sleeping at a shelter with her toddler. She said she had been homeless off and on for a year, after losing various jobs and getting evicted from several apartments.

'My heart is heavy. I've lived in a lot of different shelters, a lot of bad situations,' Pierre said. 'In my own home, I'm free. I'm a human being now.'

Rameau chose the house for Pierre, in part, because he knew its history. A man had bought the home in the city's predominantly Haitian neighborhood in 2006 for $430,000, then rented it to Rameau's friends. Those friends were evicted in October because the homeowner had stopped paying his mortgage and the property went into foreclosure.

Rameau, who makes his living as a computer consultant, said he is doing the owner a favor. Before Pierre moved in, someone stole the air conditioning unit from the backyard, and it was only a matter of time before thieves took the copper pipes and wiring, he said.

'Within a couple of months, this place would be stripped and drug dealers would be living here,' he said, carrying a giant plastic garbage bag filled with Pierre's clothes into the home.

He said he is not scared of getting arrested.

'There's a real need here, and there's a disconnect between the need and the law,' he said. 'Being arrested is just one of the potential factors in doing this.'

Miami spokeswoman Kelly Penton said city officials did not know Rameau was moving homeless into empty buildings — but they are also not stopping him.

'There are no actions on the city's part to stop this,' she said in an e-mail. 'It is important to note that if people trespass into private property, it is up to the property owner to take action to remove those individuals.'

Pierre herself could be charged with trespassing, vandalism or breaking and entering. Rameau assured her he has lawyers who will represent her free.

Two weeks after Pierre moved in, she came home to find the locks had been changed, probably by the property's manager. Everything inside — her food, clothes and family photos — was gone.

But late last month, with Rameau's help, she got back inside and has put Christmas decorations on the front door.

So far, police have not gotten involved.

Commonwealth study serves health care campaign

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:17:00 +0000

Debate on overhauling the U.S. health care system has centered on cost, administrative waste, and profiteering. Such concerns are hardly misplaced, what with 2006 health care costs rising to 16 percent of GDP, or $7,000 per capita.

In 2004, when U.S. costs came to 15.3 percent of GDP, those in France, Britain, Germany, Sweden and Canada hovered between 8.7 and 10.9 percent. Princeton economist Uwe Reinhardt recently attributed 21 percent of excess health care spending to overspending on “health administration and insurance.”

Private health insurance companies apply 20 percent of all revenues to profit, administration and marketing. Hospitals and clinics dealing with insurance bureaucracies have to add another 12 percent in costs, bringing the total health care overhead bill to 32 percent, according to Physicians for a National Health Program. Analyst Steffie Woolhandler reports private for-profit health institutions charge 19 percent more than their not-for-profit counterparts.

Health care, however, relates to human well-being, dignity and survival. The case for radical change in U.S. health care gains strength when its supporters enter the dimension of human reality often downplayed in the news blur of financial piracy.

In a report based on international comparisons released Nov. 13, the Commonwealth Fund enlarges the discussion by detailing dire effects of U.S.-style health care on people’s ability to cope with illness.

The report surveys the care of adults afflicted with chronic illnesses living in Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Britain, Canada and the United States. Interviewers engaged with 750 to 2,600 persons in each country diagnosed with hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, lung diseases, cancer or depression.

U.S. patients led in reporting wasted time and delays in obtaining care and complaining of provider errors, duplication and poor coordination. They were exceeded only by French patients in viewing care recommendations as valueless.

During the survey year, 29 percent of U.S. respondents had no insurance. Of these, 82 percent “did not fill a prescription, get recommended care, or see a doctor when sick because of costs.” U.S. chronically-ill patients were tops in having to pay out-of- pocket costs, with 41 percent of them giving up $1,000 or more.

Diminished access due to cost affected 54 percent of U.S. patients and 23 percent of those from other countries; 34 percent and 21 percent respectively complained of poorly coordinated care; 34 and 22 percent, of medical, laboratory or medication errors.

Survey authors attribute good showings by Great Britain and Holland in coordination, trust in providers and access to care to strong primary care systems involving family doctors. The U.S. sample led in complaints of irregular sources of care, particularly lack of personal physicians. Yet U.S. medical graduates entering family practice training programs dropped 50 percent between 1997 and 2005, according to the New England Journal of Medicine. Pediatric and internal medicine educators noted similar trends favoring specialty careers.

Analysts see medical graduates’ high debt loads as encouraging high-paying lines of work. Public support for U.S. medical education is nil.

Writing earlier this year in “Health Affairs,” Ellen Nolte and C. Martin McKee document preventable human suffering. They examined recent falling mortality rates in 19 industrialized countries — specifically deaths “amenable to health care” among older adults. In 18 countries, the decline averaged 16 percent; in the United States, 4 percent. They suggest 101,000 deaths would not have occurred if the United States had matched improvements demonstrated by the three top performing countries.

These reports touch upon actual manifestations of inequalities and unfairness. Words to educate and mobilize for health care change are crucial. One recalls Martin Luther King’s judgment, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.” But battle-cries and expression of ideals alone are insufficient, especially as progressive forces, encouraged by the November election results, renew the fight for single-payer, universal health care.

They work with two sets of realities. The money story needs retelling and explanation so that profiteering and insurance companies are excluded. And awareness of the human realities of care, illness, and death assures both that the urgency of the health care crisis is not overlooked and also that, as consciousness of shared experience deepens, unity in struggle advances.

Drive for jobs gets boost from blue-green alliance

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 07:21:00 +0000

The Blue-Green Alliance (BGA), founded by the United Steelworkers and the Sierra Club, has called on President-elect Barack Obama to enact a “Green New Deal” creating millions of federally-funded green jobs to head off a major economic depression.

The Minneapolis-based BGA urged the public works jobs program in announcing the second “Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference” to be held in Washington, D.C. Feb. 4-6 just days after Obama is sworn in with a pledge to create 2.5 millions jobs in a “green” federal public works program.

BGA calls it “an agenda so significant it can change everything,” adding, “transforming the economy through environmental solutions -- creating good jobs and exploring technologies that reduce global warming and increase energy independence—is key to our future.”

BGA Executive Director David Foster said federally-subsidized jobs greening the nation’s infrastructure is the “smart thing to do for the economy and a strategically wonderful thing to do for the environment. It leads us down the path for energy independence.” He cited a study by the University of Massachusetts earlier this fall that $100 billion invested in clean technology could create two million new jobs in the next two years. The Blue-Green Alliance initiative seeking to reverse the economic crisis was one of several as unemployment soared past 6.5 percent.

In his first speech since winning the Nov. 4 election, Obama urged enactment of his Economic Recovery Plan (ERP) to create 2.5 million green jobs over the next two years rebuilding roads and bridges, schools, solar and wind energy and fuel efficient cars.

“These aren’t just steps to pull ourselves out of this immediate crisis,” Obama said. “These are the long-term investments in our economic future that have been ignored for far too long. And they represent an early down payment on the type of reform my administration will bring to Washington—a government that spends wisely, focuses on what works, and puts the public interest ahead of the same special interests that have come to dominate our politics.”

Obama laid out the crisis: new home purchases at the lowest level in half a century, 540,000 more jobless claims the second week of November, the highest in 18 years and the loss so far in 2008 of 1.2 million jobs. “And if we don’t act swiftly and boldly,” he added, “most experts now believe that we could lose millions of jobs next year.” Enactment of the ERP will be at the top of his agenda when he is sworn in next Jan. 20, he concluded.

Obama reiterated his commitment to a federal jobs program the following Monday when he announced his team of economic advisers during a news conference at his Chicago transition headquarters. The team is dominated by allies of former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, blamed for neo-liberal policies that created the crisis in the first place.

Robert Borosage, co-director of the Campaign for America’s Future (CAF) responded quickly. “It’s not the personnel, it’s the policy,” he said in a Nov. 24 statement. “And on this Obama has been clear. He’s announced a massive recovery plan based on putting people to work with public investment in areas vital to our future.” Borosage said the current crisis “makes Rubinomics irrelevant. Deficit spending must go up, finance must be re-regulated, trade imbalances must be reduced and manufacturing can no longer be scorned.” Obama, he concluded, will “set the direction and so far he’s on course.”

CAF sponsored a daylong “Real Investment in America” conference on Capitol Hill Nov. 18 to urge $450 billion or more in a massive federal public works jobs program. Eric Lotke, CAF research director, told the conference that every federal dollar invested in public transportation generates $6 in economic returns. Public works, he said, “puts people to work right away” unlike tax cuts or tax rebates which people use to “pay down their credit-card debt” and has very little job-creating effect. He predicted that $500 billion in federal investments over ten years would create over five million “high-wage, clean energy jobs building solar and wind turbines and generating clean-energy.”

The current crisis, he added, also means shelving Congress’ current “pay-as-you-go” policy that any increase in federal funding for economic stimulus programs must be offset by cuts elsewhere in the federal budget. “These are long term problems that require long term solutions and long term solutions,” he said.

“Save Our Environment,” a coalition of the 10 largest environmental organizations launched a petition drive to Obama titled “Repower, Refuel, and Rebuild America.” The petition declares, “By investing in clean energy, we can cut our dependence on oil, get clean electricity and reduce global warming pollution….These investments will create millions of good-paying jobs in the hardest hit construction and manufacturing sectors and create pathways out of poverty for the most affected communities.”

Initiators include the Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters, National Audubon Society, Earthjustice, and the Union of Concerned Scientists.