Reports show drinking water contaminated by herbicide
U.S. drinking water is widely contaminated by atrazine, a weed-killer that disrupts hormones in animals and is considered dangerous for pregnant women, according to a new report released by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Not just talk, but action for jobs, health care and democracy
What motivates people to take action? Necessity, yes, but there are many people who have lost their jobs or health care or face a loss of rights and they turn inward. Blaming themselves, or their families or their neighbors.
Working class mourns the loss of its 'lion': Ted Kennedy
Millions of working-class families are feeling an emptiness today that they know they will have to struggle hard to fill.
Sen. Edward Kennedy's death creates that emptiness because throughout his political life he had a single-minded focus: the betterment of the lives of the working people. He was the champion of civil rights and equality for African American, Latino, Asian, Native American, and all people of color. Everyone, he said, should be able to take a seat at a lunch counter anywhere in America.
Labor leader to head New York Fed
The Federal Reserve has for so long been thought of as the guarantor of what’s good for big business that news out of New York yesterday came as a big surprise to many in labor and progressive circles.
The federal deficit: The bar tab will have to be paid
The Congressional Budget Office announcement of a nearly $10 trillion price tag on government borrowing for the next decade has sent a shiver down the spine of the most committed liberals.
700 cheer ‘Mad as Hell Doctors’
SEQUIM, Wash. — Nearly 700 people packed the Sequim High School auditorium Aug. 25 to cheer calls by Oregon-based “Mad As Hell Doctors” for universal single-payer health care.
US attorney general announces torture probe
Human rights groups hailed President Obama’s decision to remove the CIA from interrogation of detainees in the so-called “war on terror” and to create a new White House unit that spurns torture methods such as “waterboarding” in questioning prisoners.
Amnesty International denounces repression in Honduras
Human rights are taking a beating in Honduras in the aftermath of the June 28 coup d'etat which sent left-wing President Manuel “Mel” Zelaya into exile. Although the corporate controlled media are not reporting it, the de-facto government headed by Roberto Micheletti is employing heavy handed tactics to silence opposition activists and media.
Mauricio Terrazas, Mexican American activist, dies at 92
LOS ANGELES — Mauricio Terrazas, a longtime Mexican American activist and trade unionist, died here recently at the age of 92.
It takes a fight to win
It seems clear that the prospects for a bipartisan health care bill are diminishing with each passing day. And as far as I'm concerned that is a good thing. Nothing good, nothing resembling "reform" could come from bipartisanship in this Congress. The Republicans have no appetite for real health care reform. The health care system isn't broken in their view. So why fix it? A few cosmetic changes maybe, but nothing more.
