Senate narrowly rejects gun measure
Senate lawmakers defeated a Republican effort July 22 to allow gun owners to carry concealed weapons across state lines. The measure was pushed by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and was offered as an amendment to the annual defense authorization bill, a must-pass piece of legislation.
Obama presses forward on health reform; GOP stalls
President Obama continued his campaign for health care reform this week with a stop at a Cleveland area clinic, July 23. The town hall event came one day after a major televised press conference during which the President confronted Republican obstructionism to health reform and pressed Congress for urgent action.
Port Chicago disaster remembered
PORT CHICAGO, Calif. ― In what would become a pivotal moment in the civil rights struggle, 320 men died July 17, 1944 in a munitions explosion aboard a ship being loaded at the Port Chicago Navy Magazine with armaments bound for the war in the Pacific. This base was the largest weapons transfer facility on the West Coast. Some 1,431 Black enlisted personnel served there together with 71 officers, 106 Marines who guarded the base, and 231 civilian skilled workers.
COMMENTARY Recession related suicides skyrocket in Houston, Texas
HOUSTON – An article in the Houston Chronicle recently documents a dramatic jump in suicides in Houston since the onset of the recession. It points out that many suicides are directly related to the loss of jobs and property as a result of the economic crisis. Total number of suicides in Harris County jumped from 364 in 2004 to 455 in 2008.
Student loan bill clears House committee
President Barack Obama’s proposal to make the process of going to college affordable, accessible and fair for all students under the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act passed the House education committee July 21.
Higher minimum wage equals best economic stimulus package
Scheduled to bump up to $7.25 per hour this Friday, July 24, a higher federal minimum wage is the best kind of economic stimulus for working families, said workers’ rights advocates and even some business owners this past week.
COMMENTARY Immigration reform: Castaneda and Jacoby are wrong
In a guest column in the Washington Post on Tuesday, July 21, former Mexican foreign minister Jorge Castañeda and US commentator Tamar Jacoby criticize projected comprehensive immigration reform on the grounds that it does not provide US industry with massive new numbers of temporary workers, and Mexicans with enough opportunities to go and work (temporarily) in the United States.
Stakes in health care fight couldnt be greater
Determined to turn back a tide of right-wing propaganda about costs, a negative drumbeat from Republicans and complaints from conservative Democrats, President Obama will use a televised news conference tonight to mobilize the American people in support of a sweeping reform of the U.S. healthcare system.
Immigration and organizing at Tucsons Food City
TUCSON -- 'The immigration issue is a labor issue' was how Immigration rights activist, Isabel Garcia, summed up discussion at a July 21st 'Worker and Immigrant Rights Solidarity Forum' at the First Christian Church here. The well attended community forum was sponsored by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), with active support from Jobs with Justice, Derechos Humanos Coalition, and other community organizations.
COMMENTARY Challenging Morning Joe on health care
Sometimes don't you fantasize about jumping through the TV onto a talk show set? Well, I did exactly that this Monday morning while watching MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' (Joe Scarborough, former Republican Congressman).
