Happy New Year 2013! Vintage New Year Films & Sing-Alongs (1950-1960) AU...

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013

Life is Political: Fwd: MONICA CROWLEY, MICHELLE MALKIN and more at EPC 24! A Perfect Christmas Gift...

Life is Political: Fwd: MONICA CROWLEY, MICHELLE MALKIN and more at EPC 24! A Perfect Christmas Gift...:


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Conference opens at 7 p.m. on Thursday, January 24th and ends at 5 p.m. on Saturday, January 26th. Full Registration price includes:  Friday lunch, dinner and Saturday lunch:   Early Bird Full Registration (by Jan 5) - $300 Special First Time Rate (by Jan 17) - $199 Full Registration (after Jan 17) - $350  Michele Malkin Dinner ONLY - $65 Michele Malkin Reception/Dinner ONLY - $250 Michele Malkin Reception/Dinner & Photo-op - $500   REGISTRATION OPTIONS:  You may register for EPC 24online  here - password: Code 24, or mail in a completed registration form that you had  received in the mail. Reservations may also be made over the phone by calling us at 636-386-1789 or via email at freedombasics5@sbcglobal.net.

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note costs on tea party event..  getting ready for midterms it seems.  one wonders if dems or general gop doing the same?

Predator Bankers Make 'Ghetto Loans' for 'Mud People'

some of this in Missouri as well if reports are true. where is law enforcement?

Obama Ignores Climate, EPA Head Leaves

/the-stars-editorial-missouri-medicare expansion

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/12/28/3985157/the-stars-editorial-missouri-and.html

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Right now, it is nearly impossible for low-income workers in Missouri and Kansas to obtain health insurance if their employers don’t provide it. Both states have very low Medicaid eligibility limits. People go without care, use free health clinics, or use hospital emergency rooms.

The economic and moral reasons to expand Medicaid are compelling.
The federal government would pay all of the costs of the expansion for three years, and never less than 90 percent. Expansions of health care systems would create thousands of jobs and a huge economic development boost. Some populations who use state aid, such as the mentally ill, would be brought under the Medicaid umbrella, saving states money. People would be healthier and more financially secure.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon intends to include the Medicaid expansion in his budget but will face opposition from the legislature. In Kansas, neither Brownback nor legislative leaders have said how they intend to proceed.

Hospitals, citizens and states’ economies will suffer if leaders allow an antipathy toward all things “Obamacare” to deny the benefits of health security.

Missouri senator wants changes in Medicaid - KansasCity.com

Missouri senator wants changes in Medicaid - KansasCity.com

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JEFFERSON CITY -- While Gov. Jay Nixon and Republican legislative leaders quarrel over whether to expand the public health insurance program for the poor, one GOP state senator is proposing to cut some people off the coverage.

Sen. Rob Schaaf, a St. Joseph Republican, wants to roll back Medicaid eligibility standards for pregnant women and young children.

That savings, Schaaf said, would be used to expand eligibility for elderly, disabled and blind Missourians.
“I’m trying to make sure coverage goes to those who really need it the most,” Schaaf said. “We try to cover too many people, so we do a bad job of taking care of those that really need it

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and folks that need the help are the wealthy and businesses in Missouri--my take on those hillbillies in Jefferson city whom serve as fearless leaders

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/12/29/3986471/missouri-senator-wants-changes.html#storylink=cpy#storylink=cpy

Judge blocks Missouri insurance law on birth control | Fox News

Judge blocks Missouri insurance law on birth control | Fox News:

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 JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. –  A federal judge on Friday blocked a new Missouri law that requires insurers to exclude birth control coverage for moral objectors, ruling that it conflicts with an insurance mandate under President Barack Obama's health care law.

The temporary restraining order halts the Missouri law just three months after the Republican-led Legislature enacted it by overriding Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon's veto.

The state law requires insurers to issue policies without contraception coverage if it runs contrary to the religious or moral beliefs of an individual or employer. The law appeared to be the first in the nation to directly rebut an Obama administration policy that requires insurers to cover birth control at no additional cost to women.

U.S. District Judge Audry Fleissig wrote in her order that there "appears to be an irreconcilable conflict" between the state and federal laws that puts insurance companies in an awkward position. If they were to comply with Missouri's law, insurers could be subject to federal penalties for not abiding by the contraception mandate. Yet insurers also could face financial penalties from the state insurance department for failing to follow the Missouri law.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/22/judge-blocks-missouri-insurance-law-on-birth-control/#ixzz2GYessGJM

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look for this to go to higher court--my opinion

What to expect if Congress fails to act on "fiscal cliff" - The Telegraph: Local News

What to expect if Congress fails to act on "fiscal cliff" - The Telegraph: Local News

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 By KATHIE BASSETT 

The Telegraph

ALTON - Whether Congress can reach a compromise to avoid the "fiscal cliff" could have a significant impact on the average taxpayer by triggering tax consequences most have been exempt from paying.

"Taxes will go up for most people, and to an extent, they will go up for everybody," said Mike Fitzgerald, CPA, with Scheffel and Company in Alton. "When the Bush-era tax cuts sunset in the next couple of days, the 10 percent bracket disappears and everybody starts at 15 percent beginning in 2013."

Embedded in the fiscal cliff morass is Congress' failure to pass an annual "patch" of the alternative minimum tax (AMT), which was enacted in the 1960s to make sure the wealthiest could not avoid taxes by accumulating too many deductions and credits.

"In Illinois, people will already be paying more in state income taxes, going from 3 percent in 2010 to 5 percent in 2011," Fitzgerald said. "People keep thinking that they can take an itemized deduction for this, but under AMT they get no deduction for taxes - either income taxes or real estate taxes. This means more and more people will be subject to AMT."

If a deal isn't reached, the average tax increase for affected households would total approximately $3,700 for 2012, according to the Tax Policy Center.

A flat rate of 26 percent would be applied to the first $175,000 under the alternative minimum tax calculation, with income above that level subject to a 28 percent flat rate, Fitzgerald said.

In 2011, only 1.3 percent of households earning between $50,000 and $75,000 paid alternative minimum tax; in 2012, the percentage in this bracket is expected to jump to 12.3 percent, with higher income levels being even more affected.

New year to bring changes | The Columbia Daily Tribune - Columbia, Missouri

New year to bring changes | The Columbia Daily Tribune - Columbia, Missouri:

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 JEFFERSON CITY (AP) — The new year is bringing a dime increase for Missouri's minimum wage and the end of an open records exemption that has shielded from disclosure security systems and structural plans for buildings and polices for responding to terrorism.

Starting Wednesday, workers in Missouri will be paid at least $7.35 an hour, an increase above the federal rate of $7.25 because of inflation. A 2006 voter-approved law increased the minimum wage and included an annual cost of living adjustment. The federal minimum wage for the past several years had remained higher, so Missouri followed the federal requirement.

Lara Granich, director of Missouri Jobs with Justice, said many workers have been waiting three years for a raise. "While Missouri's minimum wage remains decades out of date, this modest increase will deliver a valuable stimulus to the state's economy and ensure that low-wage workers do not fall further behind as the cost of living continues to rise," Granich said.

The minimum wage also is increasing in nine other states, the National Employment Law Project said. Advocates estimate Missouri's minimum wage increase could directly affect 72,000 people and indirectly affect 7,000.

Business groups said Missouri needs to rethink automatically increasing the minimum wage based upon inflation because it makes it harder to compete with neighboring states.

Dan Mehan, president and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said after the increase was announced this fall that it causes uncertainty.

"At a time when 

Employee-owners hope to reverse Casino Queen's fortunes : Stltoday

Employee-owners hope to reverse Casino Queen's fortunes : Stltoday

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Employees tend to fare better in an ESOP than if a company is sold to a third party, Rodgers said.

“It tends to be a more stable form of ownership,” he said. “ESOP companies know they have something to lose if there is a change in ownership.”

The Casino Queen has a 40,000-square-foot gaming floor with 1,100 slot machines and 27 table games. The casino, in Illinois across from downtown St. Louis, replaced a riverboat in 2007 with a new facility that cost $92 million.

Before Wednesday’s sale, the Casino Queen was owned by a group of private investors, including members of the Koman family in the St. Louis area, which held a 20 percent ownership stake. Other stakeholders included members of the Bidwill, Kenny and Rand families in Chicago and Las Vegas casino operator Michael Gaughan.

Obama Watermelon Statue 'Not Racist,' Says Owner

Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura - The Ozarks

5ometimes I love this program. alas, not so sure folks that put this on youtube have copywrite official permission. will withdraw if objections made

The Vanishing Ozarks

062306 01MAC Expedition St Louis Volume 3 Early St Louis Documentaries...

old doc dealing with civil war battle

072706.002PC Early St Louis Television Programs - Cookey and the Captain...

many of the group remember this program

Official Trailer - the Pruitt-Igoe Myth: an Urban History

What was Demolished? Screening of "The Pruitt-Igoe Myth"

Conspiracy Of Silence Full Documentary

"Gasland" . NOW on PBS

"Gasland" . NOW on PBS:

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Right to Work | Unfilter 29

-------- this issue will be back both in Mo and Il this next year

"The World in 2030" by Dr. Michio Kaku

from 09 and still interesting

Earth Days (2009) - Full Movie--politics and enviroment

Verizon's New DVR Will Spy On You

Rod Serling Interviewed by Mike Wallace

------- deals with censorship. interesting because it does mention " Noon on Doomsday",us steelhour presentation. vid was about lynching in south and non only censored, missing from history.

Anonymous Responds To Sandy Hook School Shooting

not really sure whom put this out. could be progun folks interesting, but I do not agree with all the points we do need serious debate on guns

Bowling For Columbine Trailer

currently making it rounds in several circles. not a bad movie

Akin's Last Hateful Bill: Bully Gay Soldiers

Fox News' Hilary Clinton Conspiracy Theory

Filthy Cities - Industrial New York redo

When Bankers Were Good redo

The Rockefellers (Full) redo

Truman, 1995 HBO Films redo

Duffy cartoon: 'Fiscal Cliff'

2012 McDonalds' War on Christmas - No Overtime for Workers

Healthcare-NOW! - Obamacare architect leaves White House for pharmaceutical industry job

 Obamacare architect leaves White House for pharmaceutical industry job:

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Few people embody the corporatist revolving door greasing Washington as purely as Elizabeth Fowler

By Glenn Greenwald for the Guardian –

Former WellPoint VP Elizabeth Fowler sits behind her boss, Sen. Max Baucus

When the legislation that became known as “Obamacare” was first drafted, the key legislator was the Democratic Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus, whose committee took the lead in drafting the legislation. As Baucus himselfrepeatedly boasted, the architect of that legislation was Elizabeth Folwer, his chief health policy counsel; indeed, as Marcy Wheeler discovered, it was Fowler who actually drafted it. As Politico put it at the time: “If you drew an organizational chart of major players in the Senate health care negotiations, Fowler would be the chief operating officer.”

What was most amazing about all of that was that, before joining Baucus’ office as the point person for the health care bill, Fowler was the Vice President for Public Policy and External Affairs (i.e. informallobbying) at WellPoint, the nation’s largest health insurance provider (before going to WellPoint, as well as after, Folwer had worked as Baucus’ top health care aide). And when that health care bill was drafted, the person whom Fowler replaced as chief health counsel in Baucus’ office, Michelle Easton, was lobbying for WellPoint as a principal at Tarplin, Downs, and Young.

Whatever one’s views on Obamacare were and are: the bill’s mandate that everyone purchase the products of the private health insurance industry, unaccompanied by any public alternative, was a huge gift to that industry; as Wheeler wrote at the time: “to the extent that Liz Fowler is the author of this document, we might as well consider WellPoint its author as well.” Watch the five-minute Bill Moyers report from 2009, embedded below, on the key role played in all of this by Liz Fowler and the “revolving door” between the health insurance/lobbying industry and government officials at the time this bill was written and passed.

More amazingly still, when the Obama White House needed someone to oversee implementation of Obamacare after the bill passed, it chose . . . Liz Fowler. That the White House would put a former health insurance industry executive in charge of implementation of its new massive health care law was roundly condemned by good government groups as at least a violation of the “spirit” of governing ethics rules and even “gross”, but those objections were, of course, brushed aside by the White House. She then becameSpecial Assistant to the President for Healthcare and Economic Policy at the National Economic Council.

Now, as Politico’s “Influence” column briefly noted on Tuesday, Fowler is once again passing through the deeply corrupting revolving door as she leaves the Obama administration to return to the loving and lucrative arms of the private health care industry:

Obama Weighs Social Security Benefit Cut In Fiscal Negotiations — Here’s How It Works | TPMDC

Obama Weighs Social Security Benefit Cut In Fiscal Negotiations — Here’s How It Works | TPMDC:

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 The quasi-technical term for the new index is called chained CPI. It’s been kicking around in policy circles for years, and loomed large in budget negotiations between Obama and Boehner in 2011.

Supporters like to describe it as a technical fix to the way the government calculates inflation. But in practical terms, it will effectuate a genuine Social Security benefit cut. If it’s applied across the board, it will also reduce food stamp benefits and veterans benefits, and function as a modest but regressive tax increase, as brackets grow more slowly and taxpayers find themselves pushed across income thresholds more quickly than in the past.

Chained CPI differs from the way the government currently calculates inflation by taking a broader view of the behavioral changes consumers make when prices rise.

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note:  if dems cave on ths; watch a serious backlash 

hard to ask folks to vote for perpetual losers and backstabbers

Social Security: Will Obama Cave?

Social Security: Will Obama Cave?

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AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

President Barack Obama looks toward reporters shouting questions at him regarding the fiscal cliff as he walks to the White House after attending a holiday party for the National Security Council.

Once again, President Obama seems to be on the verge of folding a winning hand.

Widely leaked reports indicate that the president and House Speaker John Boehner are making a fiscal deal that includes hiking tax rates back to the pre-Bush levels with a threshold of $400,000 rather than the original $250,000, and cutting present Social Security benefits.

Obama, the reports say, will now settle for as little as $1.2 trillion in tax increases on the rich rather than the $1.6 trillion that he had originally sought. The difference, in effect, will come out of the pockets of workers, retirees, the young, and the poor.

Especially foolish is the cut in Social Security benefits, disguised as a change in the cost-of-living adjustment formula. Before getting to the arcane details of the formula, here’s the bottom line. The proposed change will save only $122 billion over ten years, but it will significantly cut benefits for the elderly.

Because the cut is in the form of a change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the longer you live, the more is the total cut. On average, the cut is about 3 percent a year, but if you live twenty years after you start drawing benefits (the average), that adds up to over ten thousand dollars.

Paul Krugman: That terrible trillion - San Jose Mercury News

Paul Krugman: That terrible trillion - San Jose Mercury News:

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 As you might imagine, I find myself in a lot of discussions about U.S. fiscal policy, and the budget deficit in particular. And there's one thing I can count on in these discussions: At some point someone will announce, in dire tones, that we have a $1 trillion deficit.

No, I don't think the people making this pronouncement realize that they sound just like Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers movies.

Anyway, we do indeed have a $1 trillion deficit, or at least we did; in fiscal 2012, which ended in September, the deficit was actually $1.089 trillion. (It will be lower this year.) The question is what lesson we should take from that figure.

What the Dr. Evil types think, and want you to think, is that the big current deficit is a sign that our fiscal position is completely unsustainable. Sometimes they argue that it means that a debt crisis is just around the corner, although they've been predicting that for years and it keeps not happening. (U.S. borrowing costs are near historic lows.) But more often they use the deficit to argue that we can't afford to maintain programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. So it's important to understand that this is completely wrong.

Obama Makes Counteroffer in Fiscal Cliff Talks

Are You a Psychopath? Take the Test.--throw the fatman off the platform

throw the fat guy on the tracks is very popular philosophy thinking test. philosophy 101

Joe Lieberman Leaves the Senate--Good Riddance!

Paul Krugman: Lost Decade Watch

Hostess CEOS Take Pensions from Employees

ALL U.S. CITIZENS IN JAIL FOR DRUGS - MUST BE RELEASED - THIS IS WHY!!!

Obamacare, brought to you by Johnson & Johnson

Obamacare, brought to you by Johnson & Johnson

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 It’s an old story, the latest chapter of which came to light a few days ago with a small item inPolitico : “Elizabeth Fowler is leaving the White House for a senior-level position leading ‘global health policy’ at Johnson & Johnson’s government affairs and policy group.”

A familiar name. We had talked about Liz Fowler on Bill Moyers Journal in 2009, during the early stages of Obama’s health care reform. She was at the center of the action, sitting behind Montana Senator Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee at committee hearings. Bill noted, “She used to work for WellPoint, the largest health insurer in the country. She was Vice President of Public Policy. And now she’s working for the very committee with the most power to give her old company and the entire industry exactly what they want: higher profits, and no competition from alternative non-profit coverage that could lower costs and premiums.”

After Obamacare passed, Senator Baucus himself, one of the biggest recipients in Congress of campaign cash from the health care industry, boasted that the architect of the legislation was none other than Liz Fowler. “I want to single out one person,” he said. “… Liz Fowler is my chief health counsel. Liz Fowler has put my health care team together… She put together the White Paper last November 2008, [the] 87-page document which became the basis, the foundation, the blueprint from which almost all health care measures in all bills on both sides of the aisle came. She is an amazing person. She is a lawyer; she is a Ph.D. She is just so decent. She is always smiling, she is always working, always available to help any Senator, any staff. I just thank Liz from the bottom of my heart.”

Ford During the Slide into the Great Depression

Father Coughlin Before the 1936 Election

huey long----ken burns pbs

cta strike of 1968

Labor Beat: Resolution 53: How the AFL-CIO Stood Up Against the War : Labor Beat : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive

Labor Beat: Resolution 53: How the AFL-CIO Stood Up Against the War : Labor Beat : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive:

click link

Documentary. The Dark Side Of Chocolate

Video: Sick Around America | Watch FRONTLINE Online | PBS Video

Video: Sick Around America | Watch FRONTLINE Online | PBS Video:

click link  part one of five with links within page to others

Watch Sick Around America on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

Sicko - Michael Moore on Vimeo

Sicko - Michael Moore on Vimeo:

click link

note  copyright concerns.

BBC The Partys Over How the West Went Bust 1of2 576p HDTV x264 AAC MVGro...

Enron The Smartest Guys In The Room

'Right to Work' Law Kill Unions in Michigan

The American Dream By The Provocateur Network

old one, but still true for some

Oliver Stone TYT Interview Politics, Special, and Book

Capitol Steps - "If I Tax a Rich Man" (Satire)

Capitol Steps - Sarah Palin.m4v--great

Capitol Steps - The Republican Candidate's Hello redo

It's My Way I'm Big Gov (A Parody of "Friday I'm In Love" by The Cure)

Universal Healthcare (Runaround Sue Parody - ObamaCare)--redo

Cliff Diving---mark fiore comments on budget and cliff

Pay Attention--fiore congo comment

Thanks, Turkey! mark fiore treat

NRSC quietly backed Akin in the end

NRSC quietly backed Akin in the end

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After insisting that Todd Akin was on his own in his bid for Senate in Missouri, the National Republican Senatorial Committee quietly sent him a life raft in the final days of the campaign.

Politico reports that the NRSC gave the money to the Missouri Republican Party, which spent it on a last-minute ad buy in support of Akin.

After Akin made his infamous “legitimate rape” comments, national Republicans condemned his remarks and urged him to drop out of the primary, saying they would not support him financially. In September, NRSC Chair John Cornyn, R-Texas, told the Kentucky Courier-Journal that the plan hadn’t changed and the NRSC wouldn’t support Akin. “We have no plans to do so,” he said, adding: “I just think that this is not a winnable race.”

jobs, not cut rally in st louis--dec 10th

Jobs Not Cuts -- Protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security Jobs Not Cuts Rally Social Security Office 5669 Delmar Blvd St. Louis, MO 63112 Monday December 10 12:00pm G Join us for a rally at the Social Security office at 5669 Delmar, 63112. Then we'll march a few blocks to Claire McCaskill's office. Senator McCaskill needs to hear from her constituents regarding the "Fiscal Cliff" budget talks. Missouri JwJ has been working with member and partner organizations to call on Senator McCaskill to keep her promises to put valuable federal programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security before tax cuts for the richest 2% of Americans, while protecting and promoting job creation. Through the end of the year we are continuing to work with these partners across the state to take part in some targeted actions during the 2012 Congressional lame duck session. The next set of those actions is happening in St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield. This rally is at the Social Security office at 5669 Delmar, 63112. Then we'll march to Senator Claire McCaskill's St. Louis office at 5850 Delmar Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63112. For more information, contact Missouri Jobs with Justice staff Ashli Bolden at Ashli@mojwj.org. There are similar actions happening in Kansas City, Columbia and Cape Girardeau, where constituents are targeting several different federal legislators on their stance on Medicare, Mediacaid, Social

RNs to Hold Candlelight Vigils, Protests in 20 U.S. Cities | National Nurses United

RNs to Hold Candlelight Vigils, Protests in 20 U.S. Cities | National Nurses United:

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 On the fiscal cliff showdown, “raising the age for Medicare or Social Security, delays in cost of living increases, or cuts in benefits, three of the approaches proposed by some in Washington, would severely harm the seniors and low and moderate income families who have suffered the most from the economic crisis, which continues in Main Street communities across America,” said Deborah Burger, co-president of the 185,000-member NNU.

“Wall Street’s agenda, of more punishing cuts for working people, and more handouts for the banks, who are the main beneficiaries of policies that put debt payments ahead of protecting seniors and working families, was roundly rejected by voters in November. Let’s not hand Wall Street the victory they lost at the polls. Instead, it is time to hold the bankers and speculators accountable, and levy a small tax on their reckless behavior to help rebuild the economy they did so much to wreck, Burger said.

Actions are planned in California, Florida, Illinois (event held Dec. 6), Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Texas, with events in other states pending. RNs are joining with labor, senior, and scores of community activists in insisting on no increase in the eligibility age or cuts in benefits.

Photo from Chicago action on Dec.6, 2012.

Rich People Feel Things More Deeply Than The Common Man, According To

Rich People Feel Things More Deeply Than The Common Man, According To


click link for simpson clip

60 minutes medicare drug benefit

link to 60 minutes drug benefit: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=2635796n ----- note: vid was shown at meeting

Robert Greenwald's "Koch Brothers Exposed" (Full)

MO Alliance for Retired Americans National Call-In Day, Wednesday, December 5th NO CUTS TO Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid! Negotiations in Congress are under way right now to reduce the federal deficit. Retirees need to act quickly and in a loud voice to tell Congress not to balance the budget on the backs of retirees who have earned their guaranteed benefits after a lifetime of hard work. Call: 888-659-9401 Tell Congress: 1. No benefit cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. 2. No more tax cuts for the richest 2% of Americans. Time is short. Politicians and special interests are demanding deep cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid – all to guarantee more big tax breaks for the wealthy and Wall Street. We need to protect what we’ve earned. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rep. Jo Ann Emerson leaving Congress to join top campaign donor - latimes.com

Rep. Jo Ann Emerson leaving Congress to join top campaign donor - latimes.com:

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WASHINGTON -- Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), freshly reelected to her ninth term in Congress, announced Monday that she would resign in February and become the president and chief executive of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Assn., the top donor to her campaigns during her congressional career.

Emerson, who was elected to her late husband Bill Emerson’s seat in a 1996 special election and was the first woman to represent Missouri in the House, handily won reelection earlier this year over Democratic rival Jack Rushin with nearly 72% of the vote. One of the few women to hold Republican leadership positions in Congress, Emerson was chairwoman of the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee and sat on the House Appropriations Committee.

The electric cooperative, a prominent spender in congressional races nationwide with more than $1.8 million donated during the latest election cycle, and a sizable amount spent on lobbying efforts, voted Monday to appoint Emerson. Over the course of her congressional career, the cooperative donated a total of nearly $80,000 to Emerson’s campaign efforts, making it her top donor.

Jerry Tucker dies; a legendary troublemaker and a hero of the labor movement : Stltoday

Jerry Tucker dies; a legendary troublemaker and a hero of the labor movement : Stltoday

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overdue posting

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Jerry Tucker

HANDOUT

Jerry Tucker, a nationally-known labor leader, died Friday, October 19, 2012

2012-10-24T00:05:00Z2012-10-24T08:28:23ZJerry Tucker dies; a legendary troublemaker and a hero of the labor movementBy MiICHAEL D. SORKIN msorkin@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8347stltoday.com

October 24, 2012 12:05 am • By MiICHAEL D. SORKIN msorkin@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8347

11

Jerry Tucker, who died last week, was a labor leader who helped defeat the 1978 anti-union “Right-to-Work” campaign in Missouri.

Polls showed it passing 2-1, with even union members favoring it by 51 percent. Industry groups were confident of a victory that they hoped they could repeat in other states.

Mr. Tucker helped put together a coalition of labor, civil rights, women's, religious and farm groups. They defeated the measure by a stunning 3-2 margin.

Mr. Tucker was elected regional director of the United Auto Workers here, an influential position. But his career within the union stalled when he took on the old guard national leaders with his New Directions reform movement.

By then Mr. Tucker was in demand. He traveled the country and the world training workers how to empower themselves. His goal was to spread democracy in unions and the workplace.
Mr. Tucker became a legendary troublemaker. He was a hero to those workers he helped win major contract victories. His foes at the top of the UAW labeled him a communist.

A Look Back • Rev. Martin Luther King appeals for end to racism, starting in church pews : Stltoday

A Look Back • Rev. Martin Luther King appeals for end to racism, starting in church pews : Stltoday

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ST. LOUIS • The National Council of Churches gathered in Kiel Auditorium on Dec. 1, 1957, two months after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first man-made satellite. Speakers urged jittery Americans to calm down.

“Outward programs of security and defense must be matched with inward signs of justice and charity,” counseled the Rev. Frederick Nolde, a leader of the World Council of Churches.

That sentiment led the assembly of 2,000 Protestant ministers and lay leaders to the thornier social issue of race relations. Among the speakers during its six-day national convention was the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., 28 years old and suddenly prominent as leader of the lengthy boycott that integrated public buses in Montgomery, Ala., in 1956.

What are the consequences of the "fiscal cliff"?

Politics of the "fiscal cliff"

The end of the World 2012 [Official Version]

happy holidays. guess we do not have to worry about taxes and going off the cliff

Perpetual Campaign

Nixon favors expanding Medicaid program : Stltoday

Nixon favors expanding Medicaid program : Stltoday

click link

snip

 
“Our hope is that with this report, they will see the economic and health benefits to accepting the new federal health care funding, so that we may avoid leaving the working poor with no options,” coalition Chair Joe Pierle said.

According to the most recent figures available, more than 881,000 Missourians are enrolled in the Medicaid program, which has varying degrees of coverage based on income. More than 60 percent are children, and 18.6 percent are people with disabilities.

The expansion proposal calls for coverage of all Americans who make below 138 percent of the federal poverty level — about $31,800 a year for a family of four or $15,400 a year for a single person.

That includes childless adults who cannot participate in Missouri’s current program, and increased coverage for parents. The expansion would also reduce the number of seniors and disabled Missourians who have to spend some of their income before they can receive Medicaid benefits.

A recent study from the Urban Institute shows that many of the Missouri residents who would benefit from an expansion here are male, white and younger than 44.

Filthy Mitt Romney Delivers Campaign Speech To Audience Of Confused Shoppers In Ohio Safeway | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Filthy Mitt Romney Delivers Campaign Speech To Audience Of Confused Shoppers In Ohio Safeway | The Onion - America's Finest News Source:
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 CANTON, OH—According to eyewitnesses at the scene, an unkempt and thoroughly disheveled Mitt Romney gave an impassioned campaign speech Monday to a group of bewildered shoppers inside a local Safeway.

Sources confirmed the filth-covered former presidential candidate walked into the store unannounced early yesterday evening, went to the store’s cereal aisle, and started to play Kid Rock’s “Born Free” on a portable boom box, enthusiastically waving and pointing to no one in particular.

As customers began to recognize the 2012 GOP nominee through his scraggly beard and uncombed hair, Romney reportedly picked up a can of Pringles from a nearby shelf, held it near his mouth, and began loudly addressing the growing crowd of confused onlookers.

“How are we feeling out there, friends?” said Romney, who paused briefly as though waiting for applause from the baffled and completely silent supermarket shoppers. “First and foremost, thank you so much for coming out here today and for your continued support throughout the campaign. We’re making our voices heard across the country—that’s for sure!”

Gqs 25 Least Influential People Alive Ryan Lochte Amanda Bynes Mitt Romney More | E! Online

Gqs 25 Least Influential People Alive Ryan Lochte Amanda Bynes Mitt Romney More | E! Online:

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 As GQ so kindly stated, among the leaders of the world, there is also "a collection of people so uninspiring that we should round them all up and stick them on an iceberg." 

Lucky for us, the magazine compiled a list of 25 of these great souls, honoring them as the Least Influential People Alive. And you might be shocked to see who made the (unfortunate) cut—ahem, Mitt Romney. 

Oh, and they also note, "that these folks are ranked in no particular order, because all zeros are created equal."

[ABC] Factory Workers: We Were Locked In As Flames Spread - Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights

[ABC] Factory Workers: We Were Locked In As Flames Spread - Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights:

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"None of our licensees have been permitted to manufacture Disney-branded products in this facility for at least the last 12 months," a Disney statement read.

As with Disney, other retailers continue to question how their products could be found in a factory they did not know they had hired. Li & Fung, a Hong Kong supplier that works with several large brands, confirmed it was producing clothes in the factory for a Sean Combs label, ENYCE. But in a statement to ABC News Wednesday, Li & Fung said it had not brought clothes to the factory for any other client, including Sears, Disney and Wal-Mart.

Asked why it hired a factory that had been cited by at least one auditor for having safety problems, Li & Fung said it was investigating that question.

"As this tragic event is still under official investigation by the authorities, and since Li & Fung will conduct our own investigation, it would be premature to comment on our prior assessment of the factory's compliance," the statement said.

Labor rights groups said the American clothing co

Hands Off Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid

Will Republicans Violate Sacred Pledge?

Claire McCaskill, United State Senator of Missouri, for ST. LOUIS Scrooge of the Year | Missouri Jobs with Justice | causes.com

Elect Claire McCaskill, United State Senator of Missouri, for ST. LOUIS Scrooge of the Year | Missouri Jobs with Justice | causes.com:

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claire has not been our buddy on many issues soar might be progressive and blue dogs sometimes do make the mark

ST. LOUIS Scrooge Candidates | Missouri Jobs with Justice | causes.com

ST. LOUIS Scrooge Candidates | Missouri Jobs with Justice | causes.com:

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Fault Lines - For sale: The American dream

this still going on in the land

Suzielection! -------fiore

GOP on post- election course correction

Locked Out documentary trailer--rio tinto

pbs shows this from time to time. 2010 was produced date. rio tinto uses this tactic quite a bit. sad for the present owners of american can, whih was a far superior outfit

blocking votes--ed show

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The Daily Advance - Paul Krugman: Longing for the good old days of economic justice

The Daily Advance - Paul Krugman: Longing for the good old days of economic justice

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 It wasn’t so long ago that the name of David Petraeus seeemed destined for a place alongside that of other brilliant generals of the late 20th and 21st centuries. Names like Norman Schwarzkopf and Colin Powell.

Petraeus made his mark at one of the lowest points in the U.S. war on Iraq. He commanded the 2007 troop surge, under orders from former President George W. Bush, and his efforts resulted in what probably was the turning point of the war. The move gave the U.S. military enough strength to put down the insurgency and stabilize the fledgling Iraqi government.

The leadership and foresight demonstrated by Petraeus in those days opened the door to high-profile career opportunities. The U.S. Senate voted 94-0 last year to confirm his appointment as director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Some people whispered – as they had in other years about Schwarzkopf and Powell – that the cool resolve and brilliance Petraeus displayed in a theater of war could pave the way to the White House, if he chose to pursue that goal.

Today, that career path looks more like scorched earth.

Freebies from lobbyists becoming harder to track in Missouri : Stltoday

Freebies from lobbyists becoming harder to track in Missouri : Stltoday

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JEFFERSON CITY • Many state legislators hate it when their names show up on lobbyists’ monthly expense reports. Getting free food or ballgame tickets may not sit well with constituents.
So some legislators work to avoid it. Not the free food and entertainment — the disclosure.
Legislators can void expenditures reflected in online reports by reimbursing lobbyists who paid the tab. On the surface, that sounds fine.

But some legislators use campaign funds to pay back the lobbyists. That practice has raised questions in the capital, because state law says campaign contributions “shall not be converted to any personal use.”
------- where is my payoff?

Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States - Oliver Stone's Unto...

Black Friday Begins (Early): Walmart Workers Already Striking in at Least Seven States | The Nation

Black Friday Begins (Early): Walmart Workers Already Striking in at Least Seven States | The Nation:

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 It’s on.

A year and a half after retail workers announced the founding of a new Walmart employee group, five months after guest workers struck a Walmart seafood supplier, and seven weeks after the country’s first multi-store Walmart strikes, the Black Friday strike has begun.

Walmart stores opened at 8 PM, drawing additional ire from employees required to come into work on Thanksgiving earlier than ever. But workers’ protests got off to an early start too. Around 7:30 PM EST, 30 workers from three Miami stores went on strike, joining 100-plus supporters for one of several nighttime rallies across the country. “It’s been so long that I’ve been working for people that had no respect for me,” Miami striker Elaine Rozier told The Nation. “They retaliated against me, and they always treated me like crap. And I’m so happy that this is history, that my grandkids can learn from this to stand up for themselves.” In the past, said Rozier, “I always used to sit back and not say anything…I’m proud of myself tonight.”

At 9:45 PM CST, workers struck and rallied with supporters outside a store in Dallas; OUR Walmart says that the peaceful crowd was dispersed by police. When workers walked off the job in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the group says that managers kicked customers out of the store on the mistaken assumption that they were there to protest. Workers are also on strike in San Leandro, California, and Clovis, New Mexico. Stores in Ocean City, Maryland; Orlando, Florida; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana each have a single worker out on strike. In St. Cloud, Florida, Walmart associate Lisa Lopez was joined by Congressman-Elect Alan Grayson as she walked out on strike.

TYT pardons political 'turkey' Chris Christie, pledging to stay positive...

Rush Limbaugh Reaction To Obama Re-Election: "In A Nation Of Children, S...

Why are we standing up to live better?

: FDA needs teeth to regulate drug compounders : Stltoday

Editorial: FDA needs teeth to regulate drug compounders : Stltoday

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People have died. Others still are sick and suffering the consequences of the tainted drug.
Congress should stop pointing fingers and write the sort of laws that will make it clear the FDA has authority over every step of the making of compounded drugs. Such drugs are for small-batch specialty medications not readily available.
Dr. Hamburg testified that the law doesn’t even include a clear definition of what compounding is, and that conflicting court decisions on the matter have further mucked up the findings on regulatory responsibility.

There are two distinctly different types of drug compounding. One is the type that was done by the New England Compounding Center of Framingham, Mass., which is where the tainted injectable steroid used to treat back and joint pain was made. The company has shut down, surrendered its license and recalled all its products since the problem was discovered.

For 20 years such large compounding companies have been at the center of dire warnings about the potential for health hazards, and have been threatened with federal intervention. The compounders dodged tough federal oversight by positioning themselves as lower-cost, community-based alternatives to “big pharma.”

Even though the current attack on the FDA is partisan, the effort to help compounders dodge oversight was bipartisan. Both the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, aided the industry.

Editorial: Public pensions are a promise to be kept : Stltoday

Editorial: Public pensions are a promise to be kept : Stltoday

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Don’t look now, but something like class warfare is heating up over the issue of public pensions in Illinois.

The first shot was fired last Wednesday when the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago — sort of the Windy City’s version of St. Louis’ Civic Progress, only more engaged — declared that “the pension crisis has grown so severe that it is now unfixable.”

“We do not make that statement lightly,” the memo from the club’s leaders to members said. “It is an honest statement that no one — not our legislators, nor or governor, no labor leaders — is willing to say publicly. But we will.”

The Illinois office of AFSCME — the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — fired back with a statement saying, “Millionaire CEOs want to slash the modest retirement savings earned by middle-class public servants like teachers, police, nurses and caregivers.”
The odd thing is that both sides are right, but both are guilty of hyperbole. Without drastic changes in the state’s revenue picture and political climate, the pension crisis probably is unfixable. And while not all members of the Commercial Club are millionaires, it’s also true that the average public pension in Illinois is $32,000 a year. The average retired judge gets more than $112,000 a year and the average retired legislator gets more than $50,000, so averages aren’t particularly useful. But whatever the number, that’s what the retiree has to live on, because public pensions usually take the place of Social Security.

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all pension agreements should be kept.  alas that is not true. ask soar 11-3

Walmart strikes are necessary for workers to ever earn a living wage

claire mccaskill comments on budget

Yahoo! Mail Reply from Senator McCaskill Tuesday, November 20, 2012 12:52 PM From: "senator@mccaskill.senate.gov" To: November 20, 2012 Dear M Thank you for contacting me regarding your priorities for the federal budget. I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to respond. The growing federal debt is an imminent threat to our nation's economy and the long-term viability of our most essential federal programs. Today our nation's gross debt is $14 trillion. If we do nothing, interest payments on the debt alone will limit our ability to invest in essential programs. For example, current projections show that by 2035, we will be paying more in interest than we currently spend on Medicare and Social Security combined. In the Senate, I have been focused on reducing the annual budget deficit in a responsible way. I have never requested an earmark and I worked to ban earmarks from Congress. As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, I have been working to root out waste and fraud in government contracting, especially in the Defense Department. I support allowing the Bush era tax cuts to expire for multi-millionaires, and I sponsored Pay-As-You-Go legislation that would require any new tax cuts or spending to be deficit neutral. With Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, I fought to impose binding caps on discretionary spending that came within one vote of passing the Senate. However, I will continue to oppose any budget proposal, like the Ryan budget plan passed by House Republicans and supported by nearly every Senate Republican, which would end Medicare as we know it. Instead of guaranteed access to affordable health insurance, the Republican plan would give seniors a voucher and force them to fend for themselves against health insurance companies in the private market. Under the Republican plan, when health costs go up, seniors would be forced to shoulder the burden. In fact, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office concluded that the Republican budget would double senior's out-of-pocket costs for health care. For most seniors, who are on a fixed income, this poses an impossible and unacceptable burden. I am also committed to protecting Social Security. That is why I am a cosponsor of the Keeping Our Social Security Promises Act, S. 1558. Introduced by Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont, this legislation would eliminate the cap on Social Security payroll taxes for income above $250,000. Currently, these payroll taxes are only assessed on an individual's first $106,800 of income. If enacted, this legislation would ensure that Social Security remains fully funded for the next 75 years, strengthening the program without cutting benefits. I also know that the absence of a cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security beneficiaries for 2010 and 2011 only made getting by more difficult, which is why I voted three times in 2009 and 2010 to provide Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries with additional support. Providing Social Security is a pact we have made with our nation's seniors and I will oppose any attempt to privatize Social Security, which would fundamentally undermine the program and jeopardize the benefits of millions of beneficiaries. And, I will not support any plan to drastically slash benefits for future beneficiaries. I am committed to reducing our nation's deficit and the debt, and that means I consider any serious proposal to address these challenges. Because, in the long term, doing nothing is the surest way to jeopardize middle-class priorities like education, veterans' benefits, Social Security and Medicare. I assure you, I will continue to work with my colleagues to address our growing federal debt in a balanced manner that protects our most important federal programs, especially Medicare and Social Security. Again, thank you for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can be of further assistance to you on this or any other issue. Sincerely, Claire McCaskill United States Senator P.S. If you would like more information about resources that can help Missourians, or what I am doing in the Senate on your behalf, please sign up for my email newsletter at http://mccaskill.senate.gov. ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Healthcare-NOW! - Remembering Jerry Tucker

Healthcare-NOW! - Remembering Jerry Tucker:

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 Stopped Right to Work

While he was known for his tough bargaining fights, Jerry also understood the political world. In 1978 he was appointed to lead what many viewed as a hopeless effort to defeat a right-to-work referendum in Missouri. He constructed a campaign where workers reached out to farmers and small businesses and framed the issue as a “Main Street” fight against big business. The initiative was overwhelmingly defeated.

Until his illness prevented it, he was working closely with activists in Wisconsin to help unions recover from the assault on public workers, starting on the shop floor.

Since 2009, I have had the privilege of working with Jerry in the Labor Campaign for Single Payer Healthcare, which he co-founded. He saw the healthcare fight as the linchpin of an alternative worker-oriented political economy. Jerry served as unpaid staff to the organization and his leadership, contacts, and respect helped bring a broad group of leaders to the table. Throughout our deliberations, Jerry always advocated for the long view: building a grassroots movement strong enough to confront the massed corporate power at the core of the healthcare system. He stressed connecting our campaign to the fights against concessions at the bargaining table and urged against “inside the Beltway” thinking.

Jerry had an abiding belief in the ability of working people to make a better world for themselves. Despite all the defeats and disappointments, he never deviated from that touchstone. In his recorded remarks to last spring’s Labor Notes Conference he said, “I have an uncompromising faith in the rank and file’s capacity to respond when the truth is shared and a two-way flow of strategic and tactical options is offered the base.”

krugman One reason we should pine over the ‘Twinkie Era’ | Opinion | The Seattle Times

One reason we should pine over the ‘Twinkie Era’ | Opinion | The Seattle Times

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 The Twinkie, it turns out, was introduced way back in 1930. In our memories, however, the iconic snack will forever be identified with the 1950s, when Hostess popularized the brand by sponsoring “The Howdy Doody Show.” And the demise of Hostess has unleashed a wave of baby-boomer nostalgia for a seemingly more innocent time.

Needless to say, it wasn’t really innocent. But the ’50s — the Twinkie Era — do offer lessons that remain relevant in the 21st century. Above all, the success of the postwar American economy demonstrates that, contrary to today’s conservative orthodoxy, you can have prosperity without demeaning workers and coddling the rich.

Consider the question of tax rates on the wealthy. The modern American right, and much of the alleged center, is obsessed with the notion that low tax rates at the top are essential to growth. Remember that Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, charged with producing a plan to curb deficits, nonetheless somehow ended up listing “lower tax rates” as a “guiding principle.”

ed show and comments on hostess--twinkies

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Ben Stein We need to raise taxes on the rich.Fox Host, You're a Communist

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