(we need EFCA! Petition to sign at bottom! - promoted by poligirl)
The pending Bill in Congress, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) will prove what Congress is made of in the next session. It should prove which side your representative is on -- the side of the CEOs, or the side of the Workers:
See Saw - National Ad for the Employee Free Choice Act
(I wish I could say I was surprised... - promoted by poligirl)
Reprinted with permission from Greg Palast, who has extraordinary skills in finding dots and connecting them.
January 5, 2009
Bill Richardson is out: Caught with his hand, if not exactly in the cookie jar, at least you could say his sticky finger were near it. I'm not surprised.
For years I've been investigating the second-most corrupt state in the USA (after Alaska). I like to check in on the enchanted state with my bud Santiago Juárez.
I knew it was not a polite question, but it was really bugging me, so I asked him, "Exactly how does a Mexican get the name William Richardson?"
Today I saw an interview on TV with the former President George H W Bush. It was apparent to me that the former President was doing his standard PR for his son Jeb Bush. Obviously, the question about Jeb Bush being in the Senate is being talked about, but the former President went on to say he would like to see Jeb become President and Fox News is promoting the idea.. Hold on a minute! No! I said no! Absolutely no and he must be stopped. This country has been destroyed by Bushes and I don't care if Jeb walks on water I don't want to see him in the Senate Brothers Two nor in the White House.
Sign the Petition. Sign it now! NO more Bush's! Read my lips!
Hello fellow Progressive Blue progressives. Since poligirl is off tonight trying to stay warm, which is the norm for the kind of temperatures the northwest is experiencing right now. The Monday Night Twilight will go on. How? Priceman, me, will be your host tonight, as you can see, here. I can't believe I typed 2009 and it really is a new year.
(Crescent Moon Sunset on Yellowstone Lake by Fort Photo)
But never fear! Progressive Blue is still here, even if you will have to put up with the antics of priceman tonight for this Twilight.
Should I give the rhyming thing a rest, maybe, but your reaction will be the test. Monday is no fun-day, but I'll try to make it so for awhile. Let's hope Al Franken is actually seated, confirmed, and there is no more BS Norm Coleman Florida 2000-esque trial
And again, I'm channeling Dr. Suess for awhile. It could be worse, Bill Richardson could of been the Secretary of Commerce, but that's not going to happen. Wow, maybe now there will be someone really qualified for that position in that vein. The rules remain the same.
Well well guys! Howdy to all you fine folks out here surfin' the Progressive Blue today! It has been a while. Now that the longest election season in American history is over, it's time to get back to some basics, and keepin' and eye on those shifty Congress Critters is necessary. So welcome to the Critter Watch! We do it because, of course, we all know that we have to keep a close eye on those Congress Critters of ours; you never know what they'll vote forsellauction off give away next...
(photo by Cam in Van on Flickr)
The first order of business is to give you the two links to everything Congress, both of which are excellent sources of information:
The first link is for The Library of Congress, affectionately called THOMAS after Thomas Jefferson. Here you can look up just about anything that Congress has done (even previous Congresses.)
The second link is to the GPO Access site regarding Legislative Branch Resources. This page has quick links to many Legislative documents, including Rules, Procedures, Calendars, Reports, etc...
In this week's Critter Watch: Not much this week except a brief introduction to the D-newbies and a couple of other notes on what to expect this week (hint: a lot of bloviating and not much actual work; oh and you'll hear the word "economy" a LOT...)
(a few economic goals for economic recovery... - promoted by poligirl)
These 4 Economic Goals could be slyly framed as "Demand-Side Economics".
They certainly put workers needs, front and center, as the REAL Engine of the Economy ...
(Nothing "Voodoo" about it ...)
1) we should raise the minimum wage about one dollar per hour every year until it hits $10 an hour. And then we should index it with inflation.
2) should increase government wages -- you're setting a new bench mark for the cost of labor; If you raise their wages, then people will look at as a permanent rise in income so there will be a big increase in consumer demand out of increased wages.
3) our trade deficits -- we have to really start reducing sharply because ... if we don't do that, every other measure is going to have limited success. This trade deficit is killing our manufacturing base
4) instead of bailing out the auto industry, buy the stock and sell the stock to the workers. And at the same time the government can assume a part of those legacy costs. So that [they have the] level of the costs that the foreign transplants have, like Toyota and Honda ...we need to have a national health care plan, not of the kind that Hillary Clinton was offering; one where we have a single-payer like the government is in charge of, like the Canadian plan
As Jerome a Paris has noted, among others, Paulson and others of his ilk have started blaming the Chinese and Germans for our economic woes:
The US Treasury Secretary said that in the years leading up to the crisis, super-abundant savings from fast-growing emerging nations such as China and oil exporters - at a time of low inflation and booming trade and capital flows - put downward pressure on yields and risk spreads everywhere.
This, he said, laid the seeds of a global credit bubble that extended far beyond the US sub-prime mortgage market and has now burst with devastating consequences worldwide.
What a sorry load of ... well, let me go for a better analogy than that ... and then dig more deeply into the whys and wherefores of its load of ...
(Hurry - there are only 36 spots left now and it's gonna be tough and fun competition! If anyone has questions, feel free to ask in the thread below! Also - the connection has been sporadic throughout the weekend, so keep trying if you can't get through... - promoted by poligirl)
Let me begin by saying that I'm sorry it's been so long since I've diaried here. I got some bad news and had to take a few days off from everything. But now I'm back and better than ever, and just in time for the upcoming Progressive Blue season of Fantasy Congress.
Hey there everyone out there on the Progressive Blue for this first Sunday Sunset of 2009. Hope the close of the holiday season doesn't bring too much melancholy and that wishes for the new year buoy your spirits!
(Grand Crescent Moon Sunset by Fort Photo.)
Well, I bid you welcome to the last vestige of frivolity until (gasp) you have to go back to work tomorrow. So we will end our weekend properly with The Sunday Sunset. This open thread is meant to try to keep the weekend alive a little longer with our own late night farewell. I'll also post the weekly sunset photo in the body.
The floor for the Sunday Sunset is an open to any stories about your weekend, as well as to any ranting, whining, crying, bitching, moaning, kvetching, and venting any of you would like to do. Laughing is of course definitely allowed and even encouraged, even if it's just desperate hysteria that's causing it.
There are only 2 rules in this particular open thread:
1. Be Good To One Another
2. Vote in the Poll
Notes on the poll: It's multi-choice; please choose as many as you wish... ;>
Good Morning to all of you out there surfin' the Progressive Blue this Sunday Morning!
Since it is the first Sunday Morning of the new year, we begin a new Sunday tradition here at Progressive Blue with a weekly quiz to start off your week! Not quite the Sunday Crossword or anything, but we hope to give your brain a tease and hopefully liven up your Sunday!
Oh - yeah - there's a poll of course! It's multi-choice - choose at will... ;>
(photo by Leo Reynolds)
Since this is the first edition, I figured I'd start you guys out with a softball of sorts; most of us have probably taken something like this in the past, but hey - we all change so you may not be what you thought you were.
Hello everyone out there this Saturday night surfin' the Progressive Blue! Hope all is well with you in this post holiday portion of the weekend!
This is poligirl, and I'd like to welcome you to our Saturday Evening Photo Blogging! Here's how we play our game: I'll get the ball rolling with our theme and then you all chime in and/or post your photos in the thread. (*Note: photos should not be more than 500 pixels wide due to margin issues.*)
Tonight, expanding on the theme that desmoinesdem posted in her diary below, I ask you all to share any photos or videos you may have from Iowa last year during caucus week, or any stories about watching it on TV, thoughts and/or music that reminds you this time last year, etc...
Now, the only photos I have from Iowa are from my camera phone, so they suck and I will only post a few (that suck) so you all should chime in if ya can! And also we can use desmoinesdem's as an open thread as well.
Also, it is an Open Thread so you can post anything else ya feel like down in the thread as well!
The poll is multi-choice; please choose as many as apply... ;>
Oh good memories. Sad ones, but good ones... Photos below...
Today I saw an interview on TV with the former President George H W Bush. It was apparent to me that the former President was doing his standard PR for his son Jeb Bush. Obviously, the question about Jeb Bush being in the Senate is being talked about, but the former President went on to say he would like to see Jeb become President and 
As 
