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Mike Elk

BIO

Abandoning EFCA Is Obama's Political Suicide: Lessons From Three Presidents on Workers' Rights

Mike Elk | Posted January 7, 2010 | Politics


Whatever happened to the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)? Is it dead?

I remember sitting in a meeting last May with Senate staff who said that after Al Franken was sworn in, EFCA would be an eight-week fight and then a vote in the Senate. It has been nearly...

Julie Menin

BIO

Let the Sun Shine in on Final Health Care Debate

Julie Menin | Posted January 6, 2010 | Politics


One of the key items President Barack Obama campaigned on was his promise to transform government and restore Americans faith in government, which had in 2008, fallen to a historic low. He repeatedly spoke on the campaign trial about making government transparent and even proclaimed in 2007 that he would...

Philip N. Cohen

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Born in Chains

Philip N. Cohen | Posted January 6, 2010 | Politics


On the one hand:

When [Shawanna] Nelson was six months pregnant, she was incarcerated in Arkansas for passing bad checks. She went into labor during her short sentence. A correctional officer shackled her legs to opposite sides of the bed that transported her to ha delivery room, removing...

Chris Weigant

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Obama's Second-Year Potential

Chris Weigant | Posted January 6, 2010 | Politics


President Barack Obama has the potential of having a pretty good second year in office. Conventional inside-the-Beltway wisdom is that "nothing much gets done in a congressional election year," but this ignores the fact that life itself does not halt for electioneering, but rather keeps right on happening. And there...

George Pataki

BIO

The Obama Administration's Systemic Failure on Terrorism

George Pataki | Posted January 6, 2010 | Politics


Following the Christmas Day near-disaster on an international flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, President Obama referred to a "systemic failure" of our nation's intelligence sharing. He is right in referring to a systemic failure, but it is not just in intelligence sharing. From day one, the Obama Administration's anti-terror policies...

Patt Morrison

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Jerry Brown Gets a Big GOP Name Behind Him

Patt Morrison | Posted January 7, 2010 | Los Angeles


I spent the afternoon of Boxing Day, December 26, talking with Rick Caruso. He's the creator of the Grove and the Americana developments in Southern California, a billionaire philanthropist and a man whose name is still bruited about as a possible contender for mayor of L.A.

A version of a...

Susan Ohanian

BIO

Needed: People Who Quit

Susan Ohanian | Posted January 6, 2010 | Politics


In October, 2009, former Marine officer Matthew Hoh resigned his senior Foreign Service post in Afghanistan because he feels the war is pointless and not worth dying for. He said, American families "must be reassured their dead have sacrificed for a purpose worthy of futures lost, love...

Rob Richie

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Rhode Island Expands Voter Registration and Requires Elections for Senators

Rob Richie | Posted January 6, 2010 | Politics


I wanted to share some good news that put a smile on my colleagues' faces here. These reform efforts have taken years, but have won -- are of national import. Here was our news release today.

FairVote Catalyst for Major Wins for Youth Pre-registration, Elections for U.S. Senate...

Josh Schrei

BIO

Avatar and the Vocabulary of Evildoers -- Or, Why James Cameron's Script Isn't as Bad as You Think

Josh Schrei | Posted January 6, 2010 | Entertainment


While critics have unanimously agreed that the visual spectacle that is James Cameron's Avatar is beyond compare, there has been less enthusiasm for the plot line, which has been called out by some critics as flat and unoriginal.

It's quite true that the movie's script -- which centers on a...

Steven Newton

BIO

Science Denial on the Rise

Steven Newton | Posted January 6, 2010 | Politics


From evolution to global warming to vaccines, science is under assault from denialists--those who dismiss well-tested scientific knowledge as merely one of many competing ideologies. Science denial goes beyond skeptical questioning to attack the legitimacy of science itself.

Recent foment over stolen e-mails from a British research group inspired an...

Bob Cesca

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The Twisted and Dangerous Republican Record on Terrorism

Bob Cesca | Posted January 6, 2010 | Politics


The Republican record on terrorism is pretty damn terrible. Naturally, this hasn't stopped them from milking whatever remains of their purely cosmetic tough-guy reputation in order to fear-monger the failed Underpants Bomber incident irrespective of their lengthy history of failure, cowardice and stupidity on the issue.

I think we all...

Sandy Goodman

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Obama's A Wimp, Even to a Yellow Dog Dem Like Me

Sandy Goodman | Posted January 6, 2010 | Politics


I am a 76-year-old yellow dog Democrat, with a picture of Franklin Delano Roosevelt still prominently displayed in my bedroom. And yes, I would likely vote for a yellow dog if the dog were running on the Democratic ticket against any of today's Republicans. To me, the current crop...

Sec. Hilda Solis

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Green Jobs: A Down Payment on the Workforce of Tomorrow

Sec. Hilda Solis | Posted January 6, 2010 | Green


Over the last year, the Obama Administration has been focused on many issues, none more important than creating jobs. We are working hard to sustain economic growth and spur renewed hiring for millions of Americans who need and want work, but cannot find it.

As I have said from day...

Dr. Sherri Tenpenny

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All for the Sake of One

Dr. Sherri Tenpenny | Posted January 6, 2010 | Politics


Here we go again. Failure of the multibillion-dollar TSA and CIA has allowed the actions of one man to put an entire nation into a tailspin, creating new regulations to "beef up National Security." Because a few sloppy employees at airport security counters didn't do their jobs, every person in...

Amy B. Dean

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The Message of Linda Chavez-Thompson in Texas

Amy B. Dean | Posted January 6, 2010 | Politics


The campaign theme of the Texas Democratic Party this election cycle is "Moving Texas Forward." And there is no better person to help the Democrats achieve that goal than longtime labor union leader Linda Chavez-Thompson, who announced her candidacy for Texas Lieutenant Governor yesterday.

I have...

R.J. Fried

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We Treat Dolphins Better Than Gays

R.J. Fried | Posted January 6, 2010 | Politics


Nice work, team. While we were focusing on denying gays their right to marry, a few scientists had a couple dolphins over for dinner, the dolphins cracked a couple jokes, and next thing you know, scientists believe dolphins deserve rights of their own. According to a recent article...

Mario Solis-Marich

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Ritter Succumbs to a Labor-Latino Coalition

Mario Solis-Marich | Posted January 6, 2010 | Denver


It was the tale of the tape. Ritter had been losing heavyweight status since he threw a one two punch at organized labor and Latinos. In the end a knockout was scored, but it was Ritter who hit the mat.

Ritter, believing that he could be reelected only by pleasing...

Gautam Dutta

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The Grinch Who Steals Our Elections

Gautam Dutta | Posted January 6, 2010 | Los Angeles


Note: This piece was coauthored by Gautam Dutta and former Congressmember (and 2010 GOP California gubernatorial candidate) Tom Campbell.

This Christmas season, the Grinch is about to steal nearly $2 million of our tax dollars - for an election we simply don't need.

Last month, Governor Schwarzenegger tapped...

Joseph A. Palermo

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Lame Duck Terminator

Joseph A. Palermo | Posted January 6, 2010 | Los Angeles


Before the music swells, the long dissolve, and the credits roll, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his merry band of right-wing Republicans who control a third of the state legislature are intent on making one final power play to squeeze the last drops of blood from California's public institutions. Schwarzenegger's hackneyed...

Bob Franken

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Congress: The Pet Theory

Bob Franken | Posted January 6, 2010 | Politics


I have always resolved that I'd never write about my dog. Too self-indulgent to say nothing of too chiche-ish. So let's consider this the first resolution I'm breaking in the new year.

It's OK though. This is about his obvious similarity to Congress. Because, all you have to do is...

All posts from 01.07.2010 < 01.06.2010