If I speak out as a citizen, or join with others and decide "to speak, just as a group," I am choosing to further democratic decision making by adding my voice. Democracy's foundation is the belief that citizens are able to deliberate and choose what is best for society as a whole. And indeed Americans often vote with this goal foremost--voting what they think is right, not necessarily in their narrow self-interest. But if I form a corporation, or own shares in one, my purpose is utterly different. Partly, I seek to shield myself against personal financial liability and to enjoy other legal advantages for financial gain. These very different purposes and protections are among the reasons a corporation is not a citizen, nor is it a group of citizens; and why it cannot vote or sit on a jury, for example.

For the past generation, agriculture has been neglected both by African leaders and by the international community as a development tool. It is only recently that global leaders, such as the G8 and the UN, have again begun to prioritise agriculture in the broader political agenda. Yet today, in 2010, the effects of climate change are exacerbating an already vulnerable food supply in Africa, leaving farmers less capable of providing for themselves, let alone their communities. African farmers need to be able to access the knowledge and tools with which to grow a food-secure future for Africa.

Lest we forget, US servicepeople are not supposed to be dying in Pakistan. It’s not Iraq, it’s not Afghanistan. There’s no agreement for combat troops to operate. Until recently, U.S. officials have repeatedly officially denied having any combat troops in place. This month’s killing exposed that lie — so what were the US troops doing there?

The Department of Health said late Monday there appears to be "a very large area" at the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor contaminated with radioactive tritium, and contamination levels continue to rise. Because the area is so big, according to William Irwin, radiological health chief, there are many potential sources of radioactive water at this particularly high concentration of tritium. "This is a very large area that encompasses many potential sources of water at this concentration of tritium, including the condensate storage tank and the systems and components of the advanced off-gas system," Irwin said late Monday afternoon.

The South Carolina Republican Party announced Monday that it’s uniting with tea party groups in the state to share resources, coordinate messaging and push the GOP in a more conservative direction. .... The agreement, as announced by South Carolina Republicans, is designed to serve four goals: increase precinct involvement, improve communication between the state party and grass-roots groups, create liaisons between the state party and the various tea party organizations and to work 'closely to make the Republican Party more conservative.'”

Reckless finance has undone more empires throughout history than invasions by enemies. If history teaches one important lesson, it's that politicians should never be given a free hand to borrow money to cover the costs of wars, overseas adventures, or military spending. President Barack Obama calls the US $3.8 trillion budget he just sent to Congress a major step in restoring America's economic health. In fact, it's another potent fix given to a sick patient deeply addicted to the dangerous drug of debt.

"Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today made the following statement after First Lady Michelle Obama announced a new effort to combat childhood obesity: “I support the First Lady’s ambitious efforts to combat childhood obesity. During childhood, we develop the eating habits and preferences that can drive our food choices for the rest of our lives. We need to ensure that families can make their own decisions about their diet, without the manipulative influence of the highly profitable and sometimes predatory junk food industry."

The Union of Concerned Scientists advises that a recent study reveals “the number of genes for antibiotic resistance in soil microbes has significantly increased over the past 70 years” – fifteen-fold in the case of tetracyclins. Linked below is a petition to support the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act, and a discount for DIRT! the movie.

An amazing chart showing job loss under the Bush and Obama administrations reminds of Superman flying counter-clockwise to undo Lex Luthor's fiendish destruction.

The Tea Party movement may be the biggest thing going in American politics, but it's also the whitest phenomenon on the national scene and the undercurrent of racial resentment should not be ignored. Includes video of MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Tom Tancredo's calling for a revival of the 'literacy test.'

Dennis Kucinich knocked Alan Grayson out of the #1 spot and now leads the field in Day 4 of the FDL Fire Dog Contest to determine which members of Congress will get FDL support in 2010. Yesterday, Kucinich sent an email out to his list asking supporters to vote for him, and is now ahead by over 11,000 votes. But Grayson is fighting back and now has a post up at The Seminal, asking readers to vote for him. The top three vote getters will receive a $10,000 fundraiser on ActBlue and 500 voter ID’s in their district to assist in getting Democratic voters to the polls in November.

he story that everyone wants to tell is that the Democratic Party is disheartened and disintegrating. Teabagger Republicans are juiced up and on top. Or so the media says, over and over again. But the House candidate who raised the most money in the entire country during the last FEC reporting period -- $860,000 in three months -- is not a teabagger. He is not boosted relentlessly by Fox News. He's not even a Republican. He doesn't think that the Earth was created 6000 years ago, that President Obama was born in Kenya, or that global warming is a hoax. This House candidate also, remarkably, had the largest number of contributors. Over 15,000 individuals contributed, many of whom have given time after time, whatever they could. The House candidate who raised the most money did so without French-kissing lobbyists, without flattering the idle rich, and without reaching into his own pocket. The House candidate who raised the most money, from the most people, is an outspoken populist who tells it like it is on the war, on jobs, and on health care. His website is called CongressmanWithGuts.com. In the 100,000 e-mails that he has received this year, the most common refrain is, "You are saying what I've been thinking." I know who he is. Because he's me. But no one has reported that the House candidate who raised the most money, from the most people, is a proud Democratic populist. No one.

I think everyone agrees that America needs to be creating jobs. Although they do not agree how, it seems that some sort of legislation to create jobs is favored by both parties. However, as always with the Democrats they seem to be taking something that could be good and turning into a very different animal. You see, in all his "wisdom" Harry Reid has decided to add a re-authorization of the Patriot Act into the Jobs Bill.

Insurers, remember, are exempt from the federal antitrust laws. And WellPoint, Anthem’s parent, is the largest insurer in America. Anthem is a microcosm of what ails our private for-profit health insurance system – the most expensive in the world, whose costs are rising faster than anywhere in the world; a system rapidly becoming unaffordable to more and more Americans, in which insurers are rapidly consolidating into behemoths that have almost no competitors. And a system in which the biggest health insurers are lobbying like mad against reform because they like things just the way they are. They can squeeze the public and the public has no alternative but to pay up. All this makes Anthem one of he best arguments for reform — which is probably why the President mentioned Anthem today when he emerged from what was billed as a “bipartisan” meeting to talk about health care and jobs. Obama says he’s open to any new ideas from Republicans for how to control health care costs and expand coverage. The problem is Republicans don’t want to play this game. They don’t care about controlling costs or expanding coverage. They care only about taking back the House and/or the Senate next November. And they believe a means toward attaining this goal is to prevent Obama from achieving a victory on health care. The sooner the President accepts that undeniable fact — and gets the House to pass the Senate’s bill, and then uses the reconciliation process (that requires only 51 votes in the Senate) to deal with any remaining irreconcilable differences between the House and Senate — the better. In the meantime, next chance I get I’m switching to another insurer — if that makes any difference at all in what I pay or the service I get, which seems increasingly doubtful. I’m also joining any Tea Party of mad-as-hellers fed up with how Big Insurance, Big Pharma, Wall Street, and much of the rest of corporate America have taken over our democracy.

The 9th Circuit wrote a really fascinating opinion in the EFF FOIA. The Circuit was dealing with three questions regarding EFF’s FOIA of the documents pertaining to telecom lobbying leading up to the passage of PAA and FAA. Those three questions are: * Whether FOIA Exemption 3 (protection of sources and methods) applies * Whether FOIA Exemption 6 (privacy) applies to contractors who lobby * Whether FOIA Exemption 5 (intra- and inter-agency communications) applies While there’s a lot of nuance in this decision (and it’ll take a review of the actual Vaughn Indices to see what will definitely get released), the most exciting part of this ruling is the Circuit Court’s ruling that the government can’t protect the identities of the telecoms that lobbied for a Get Out of Jail Free Card, just because they needed one.

Why Couldn't My Tax Dollars Pay to Save My Stepfather's Life? I lost my job a year ago, and I don't have health insurance. I'm 37. My stepdad did have private health insurance--he was healthy and fit, and paid hundreds of dollars a month. And when he did get sick with a rare cancer, we had to fight for every appointment and wait months for others. His cancer spread quickly and he died within several months, but I believe the insurance companies caused his death. His illness was treatable and he could have beaten it. It's been a few years and I still miss him. I actually hope the current version of the healthcare bill fails. I cannot afford insurance right now--and to be put on my husband's insurance will be over $300 a month, and that's with Kaiser Permanente; I haven't had good dealings with them in the past. In any case, the bill currently punishes people with fines for not having insurance, and it's just wrong. It's a giveaway to the insurance companies, and that makes my blood boil. At the very least, we need a public option, but I'm a single-payer girl. I just refuse to believe that those moronic teabaggers are the majority opinion in this country. I know they aren't, but you'd think they were with all the attention they get. I'm also an "average Joe." I've worked all my life and paid taxes. I'm sickened (pun intended) that my tax dollars pay for war and death, and not saving people's lives, like my stepfather's. Jennifer M., 37 California [Note: Jennifer is just one among many stories that sound like it could happen to anyone of us.]

"Buzz"? Google didn't do any homework at all? Let's sue the b@$t@rds!

Interactive Map included --- Between 2009-2018, the United States is scheduled to give Israel--the largest recipient of U.S. aid--$30 billion in military aid. Through its illegal 42-year military occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip, Israel misuses U.S. weapons in violation of U.S. law to kill and injure Palestinian civilians, destroy Palestinian civilian infrastructure, blockade the Gaza Strip, and build illegal settlements in West Bank and East Jerusalem.

In its ostensible attempt to create a nondiscriminatory application process, the Department of Justice is inviting candidates with "mental retardation" to pursue attorney posts. A DOJ job listing at its official Web site reveals that its Civil Rights Division is seeking 10 "experienced" trial attorneys for its Voting Section in Washington, D.C. and is encouraging "qualified applicants with targeted disabilities to apply." The targeted disabilities it mentions include "mental retardation" and "mental illness," among others such as blindness and deafness. ~~~ Eugene Volokh, a law professor at UCLA, described the posting as "pretty striking in a call for applications from experienced attorneys" but suggested it was merely "[b]oilerplate that was designed for a wide range of federal jobs." [Note: I like that last comment by Volokh, "mental retarded jobs are designed for a wide range of federal jobs."]

"Obama’s Republican Class War Presidency” with financial economist, Michael Hudson, on Obama’s State of the Union Speech and its economic consequences. The reappointment Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke."

Sirota's thesis in this article appears to be has our ever evolving technology helped or hindered our culture? You decide. Here is his Sunday's article that he has asked you also to read in conjunction with this: http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_14336557

Globalization is killing Europe, just as it's already wiped out much of the American middle class. Spain and Greece are facing immediate crises that many other European nations see on the near horizon: aging boomer workers are retiring with healthy benefit packages, but the younger workers who are paying for those benefits aren't making anything close to the income (or, therefore, paying the taxes) that their parents did. Globalists/corporatists/conservative "free market" and "flat earth" advocates say this is a great opportunity to cut benefits for the old folks (and for the young folks in the future), thus bringing the countries budgets back into balance, and this story is the main corporate media storyline. But it overlooks the real issue (and the real solution): how globalization is killing these nations' economies and what can be done about it.

This disregard of progressive thought is tantamount to a definition of the mainstream media. It doesn't have to be a conspiracy; it's a matter of who owns the mainstream media and the type of journalists they hire — men and women who would like to keep their jobs; so it's more insidious than a conspiracy, it's what's built into the system, it's how the system works. The disregard of the progressive world is of course not total; at times some of that world makes too good copy to ignore, and, on rare occasions, progressive ideas, when they threaten to become very popular, have to be countered. So it was with Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. Here's Barry Gewen an editor at the New York Times Book Review, June 5, 2005 writing of Zinn's book and others like it: ~~~ Those like Zinn who questioned the basic suppositions of the Cold War abroad, and capitalism at home, were regarded as polemicists. One of my favorite Howard Zinn quotes: "The chief problem in historical honesty is not outright lying. It is omission or de-emphasis of important data. The definition of 'important', of course, depends on one's values." [See Failure to Quit: Reflections of an Optimistic Historian, (1993), p.30.] A People's History and his other writings can be seen as an attempt to make up for the omissions and under-emphases of America's dark side in American history books and media.

Police told reporters that Tabor sat her on the edge of the bathroom sink and dunked her head when she failed to recite the alphabet. As if Tabor was channeling Cheney, he explained to police that after her dunk in the water, "She said her letters after that." Well, then. There you go. It’s just a dunk in the water, after all. The police apparently had to coax the terrified girl out of the bathroom. She was covered with bruises.

Kucinich and Greenwald discuss the SCOTUS decision which opens the floodgates on corporate influence of electioneering. Continuation of the interview which started on subject of assassinations (so there are a couple of references to that, too.)

Dennis Kucinich and Glenn Greenwald talk about the extrajudicial killing of US citizens on Democracy Now!

I know it's not news that Rich Lowry is an intellectually dishonest hack. And I also know it's not news that the brain of right-wing authoritarians allows its host to blithely accuse others of exactly that which they do. Still, as common as it is, there are times when I'm amazed at how compartmentalized and self-blinding the human brain can be