Sunday, November 29, 2015

If Walmart Paid Its Employees a Living Wage, How Much Would Prices Go Up?

The Right Asks the Court to Curb Unions

The Right Asks the Court to Curb Unions:



click link



snip



Scheduled for oral arguments in January, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association threatens to turn all federal, state, and local government workplaces into right-to-work shops, circumventing the voters and their elected representatives who have rejected such anti-labor measures time and time again.
The case involves a small group of California teachers, led by Orange County’s Rebecca Friedrichs, who object to paying the so-called fair share fee that covers the cost of collective bargaining, contract administration, and grievance adjudication—all services the union is required by law to provide to members and non-members alike.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Koch Brothers Building Their Own CIA To Spy On Progressives

U.S. Steel will 'temporarily' close Granite City facility, will lay off 2,000 workers | St. Louis Public Radio

U.S. Steel will 'temporarily' close Granite City facility, will lay off 2,000 workers | St. Louis Public Radio:



click



snip



Updated at 6 p.m., November, 23, 2015:
U.S. Steel is going through with temporarily idling its Granite City operations.
In a statement released Monday, the company said it is consolidating its work force to match declining customer demand, citing fluctuating oil prices, depressed steel prices and unfairly traded imports. 
Last month, the company sent notices to about 2,000 plant employees about potential layoffs as required by federal law, despite saying it wouldn't shutter the plant earlier in the year.
 U.S. Steel's operations in Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Alabama won't be affected. A company spokeswoman said no final work date has yet been set.

Monday, November 23, 2015

Don't let your retirement savings fuel secret election spending! - People For the American Way

Don't let your retirement savings fuel secret election spending! - People For the American Way:



click link



Don't let your retirement savings fuel secret election spending!


Corporations are already channeling unprecedented amounts of secret money into the 2016 elections. Even worse, they're doing it with our retirement savings.
From oil companies to defense contractors, big corporations that don't disclose their political spending depend on investments from Vanguard, which represents the retirement savings of millions of American families.
Investments from 401(k) retirement funds such as those managed by Vanguard are the lifeblood of every corporation on the stock market. For years, shareholders have filed hundreds of resolutions pushing corporations like these to disclose their political spending. But, unlike many other mutual funds, Vanguard has so far refused to support them.
As the largest manager of retirement savings in the country, Vanguard has the power -- and the obligation -- to combat Citizens United politics and special interest influence in our elections.
Send a message to Vanguard now to keep our retirement savings out of secret money politics.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, Tommy Excerpt, Ferguson, Missouri Speech

Does Welfare Encourage Laziness?

5 Ways America Is Already Socialist

Missouri GOP Rep.: Obama 'Stood Up For ISIS' When He Criticized Republicans On Refugees | Crooks and Liars

Missouri GOP Rep.: Obama 'Stood Up For ISIS' When He Criticized Republicans On Refugees | Crooks and Liars:



click link




Missouri GOP Rep.: Obama 'Stood Up For ISIS' When He Criticized Republicans On Refugees
Credit: Andrew Harnik / AP
If Rep. Ann Wagner wants something to be disgusted about, she just needs to take a good long hard look in the mirror. GOP Rep.: Obama 'Stood Up For ISIS' And Not 'The Side Of Freedom':
Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO) said Friday in an interview with radio station KFTK that President Obama defended the Islamic State and not "the side of freedom" when he criticized Congress members who supported turning refugees away because of security risks.
A bill that would make the screening process for refugees from Iraq and Syria stricterpassed the House on Thursday by a veto-proof majority. President Obama had threatened to veto the bill.
Wagner criticized President Obama in the radio interview and said that what Obama had said about the bill "disgusts" her.
“He decided to pick a fight and stand up for ISIS and stand up against the side of freedom and to pick a fight with not just Republicans, but Democrats, over this refugee issue,” Wagner said. “It is a politicization. It is a deflecting measure.”

Tell Senate Democrats: Stand strong against Monsanto’s DARK Act | CREDO Action

Tell Senate Democrats: Stand strong against Monsanto’s DARK Act | CREDO Action:



click link



Tell Senate Democrats: Stand strong against Monsanto’s DARK Act
The dangerous anti-GMO labeling bill dubbed the “DARK Act” – Denying Americans the Right to Know Act – has hit a roadblock in the U.S. Senate. But it will only hold if Democratic Senators stand up to Big Food.
Right now, as Monsanto and its allies spend millions to lobby Congress to support the DARK Act, not a single Democratic Senator has signed on to co-sponsor the bill. Without Democratic support, the DARK Act will likely fail to pass procedural hurdles to make it to the Senate floor for a vote.
This is our opportunity to stop this bill dead in its tracks and protect our right to know what’s in our food. We must pressure Senate Democrats not to support this anti-GMO labeling legislation.
Tell Senate Democrats: Stand strong for GMO labeling and reject the DARK Act.
If signed into law, the DARK Act would block all state laws requiring mandatory GMO labeling, prevent the FDA from establishing a national mandatory GMO labeling program, block all state and local efforts to protect rural communities and farmers from the impacts of GMO crops, and prevent claims by food companies that non-GMO foods are better than GMO ones.
Monsanto and the nation’s major junk food companies have spent over $50 million just in lobbying alone to protect their bottom line.1 But with over 90% of Americans supporting GMO labeling in poll after poll,2 our lawmakers must hear directly from as many of us as possible to ensure this bill doesn't move forward in the Senate.



Keep Illinois Working: Take Action dec 10th in collinsville

Keep Illinois Working: Take Action:



click link got gull



snip




Gov. Rauner is holding hostage the state budget and funding for vital public services, harming countless Illinois citizens, especially children, the elderly and the disabled. He’s trying to force legislators to accept his so-called “Turnaround Agenda” that would hurt working families, drive down wages and strip workers’ rights.
He’s also holding hostage a fair union contract for puvlic service workers in state government, making extreme demands that would freeze workers’ wages, double their costs for health care, eliminate safeguards that prevent reckless privatization and open the door wide to cronyism in government by allowing politically appointed bosses to determine who gets a raise.
That’s why, public service workers and their supporters are coming together with other union members and their communities. We’ll send a message to the governor: Drop your harmful demands and work toward a fair budget and a fair contract now!

note:

The Rally in the Metro EastThursday, December 10th  5:30 p.m.
Location at IBEW Local 309 Hall,
2000 Mall Street, Collinsville



Saturday, November 21, 2015

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Tell the Postmaster General to Make Postal Banking a Reality Now

Tell the Postmaster General to Make Postal Banking a Reality Now:



click link



snip of article



Nearly 28% of U.S. households are underserved by traditional banks, and turn, instead, to payday lenders, check cashers and other financial predators – spending nearly 10 percent of their income on fees and services, on average. These services are part of an industry that rakes in $103 billion a year at the expense of the most financially vulnerable.
There is a simple solution: postal banking. The more than 30,000 branches of the U.S. Postal Service can provide affordable, nonprofit, consumer-driven financial services ranging from paycheck cashing and bill payment to savings accounts and small dollar loans.
The USPS is a well-trusted public institution that currently provides limited financial services such as money orders. The USPS can act now to:
  • Install surcharge-free ATMs that make it possible for recipients of public benefits to access funds without paying a fee;

  • Expand services to include payroll check cashing; and

  • Provide bill paying and electronic funds transfers.

  • Trump Reclaims Top Spot In Republican Polls

    Ben Carson Attacks Bernie Sanders And Tax-Funded College

    Thursday, November 12, 2015

    Good Riddance To Mainstream Media-Intelligence Squared U.S.

    NO FRACKING WAY: THE NATURAL GAS BOOM IS DOING MORE HARM THAN GOOD- Inte...

    How America ACTUALLY Treats Veterans

    10 right-wing conspiracy theories that have slowly invaded American politics

    10 right-wing conspiracy theories that have slowly invaded American politics



    snip



    1. Common Core – The Plot Against Our Children 
    Ever since the Supreme Court ruled in 1948 that outside groups like churches couldn’t provide religious instruction in public schools — the first of a series of court decisions meant to ensure such schools would be genuinely secular — far-right forces in America have increasingly rejected the very notion of public education, attacking it as part of an anti-God, socialistic plot to poison our children’s minds.
    The latest and most virulent example of that is the rapidly spreading idea that the Common Core State Standards, an ambitious effort to lift student achievement across the country, is actually a dangerous conspiracy to indoctrinate young people into “the homosexual lifestyle,” communism and globalist ideology, all the while collecting detailed and highly personal information about millions of citizens.

    Charles Koch Likely Won't Back A Candidate In GOP Primary

    Charles Koch Likely Won't Back A Candidate In GOP Primary:





    snip



    B5iuckipxaymav2dwcmt
    AP Photo / Bo Rader
    "If they start saying things we think are beneficial overall and will change the trajectory of the country, then that would be good, but we have to believe also they’ll follow through on it, and by and large, candidates don’t do that," he told USA Today.



    O'Reilly Presses Trump on Deportation Plan: 'operation wetback--foreign policy

    Tuesday, November 10, 2015

    Keystone XL = REJECTED. Thank President Obama!

    Keystone XL = REJECTED. Thank President Obama!:



    please fill out short form and send,

    How the Keystone XL Pipeline fight turned tens of thousands of ordinary citizens into “radical environmentalists”

    How the Keystone XL Pipeline fight turned tens of thousands of ordinary citizens into “radical environmentalists”



    snip



    How the Keystone XL Pipeline fight turned tens of thousands of ordinary citizens into "radical environmentalists"Enlarge(Credit: Jeff Malet/maletphoto.com)
    When President Obama announced Friday that he was finally rejecting the Keystone XL Pipeline, Republican presidential hopefuls swiftly tweeted their condemnation, accusing him of “bowing to radical environmentalists” and pledging to reverse his decision if elected. While the end of the oil industry project once called a “done deal” can certainly be attributed to grass-roots activism, that is only half the story. Even more important, the protracted fight against the world’s most famous pipeline actually turned tens of thousands of ordinary people into so-called radical environmentalists, recruiting and training us to commit civil disobedience and helping us to feel our power when working together.
    I was one of the organizers of a civil disobedience action against the Keystone XL Pipeline that took place in Philadelphia in March 2014. When I heardFriday’s announcement, I remembered the solidarity I felt in the bowels of the Federal Building, where 29 of us were jailed, handcuffed behind our backs. One woman introduced a South African song that calls for courage, and we sang to each other by name, starting with the women and then singing down the block to the nearby men. By the time we were released that afternoon, I knew everyone’s names. I also knew that the experience had made me bolder, less afraid to stand up for what I believe, despite a fine and stiff wrists.

    University President Resigns Over Racism

    Saturday, November 7, 2015

    part of rapid response on tpp bill

    TPP? No Way. After six years of negotiations, we now have access to the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). As we’ve suspected all along, it’s bad. In fact, as our USW news release affirms, “it will be a dagger twisting in the heart of American manufacturing.” The conservative, pro-business Wall Street Journal anticipates that the 12-nation pact will cause a massive trade deficit in manufacturing, resulting in hundreds of thousands of job losses. As China and other nations continue to dump commodities and products into our markets, battering our steel, aluminum, paper, tire and other sectors, this is not the time for more bad trade. Manufacturing still has not fully recovered from the economic crisis – we’re still shedding good, family-supportive jobs at an alarming pace. We don’t need more incentives to outsource production and offshore jobs. The TPP compromises our future. Workers have been on the losing end of trade agreements for far too long and this deal is more of the same.

    Man of Action (1955)





    continental can was sponsor of this

    American Can Company (1944)

    How it's made - Canned corn

    Canning Food: "Miracle of the Can" circa 1956 American Can Co

    COMPLETE INTERVIEW: Bill Maher Interviewes Keith Olbermann On Real Time ...

    Elizabeth Warren On Social Security, Marco Rubio | MSNBC

    Martin O'Malley: 'For Profit' Prisons Are 'Immoral' | Democratic Forum |...

    Bernie Sanders Highlights Civil Rights | Democratic Forum | MSNBC

    Friday, November 6, 2015

    Bernie Sanders Introduces Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act

    Jeb Bush's Friends Are Turning Their Back On Him

    Obama Kills Keystone XL Pipeline For Good

    MoveOn Petitions - Tell Congress: CEOs got a raise. Seniors & veterans deserve one too.

    MoveOn Petitions - Tell Congress: CEOs got a raise. Seniors & veterans deserve one too.:



    snip



    Tell Congress: CEOs got a raise. Seniors & veterans deserve one too.

    To be delivered to The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate
    On January 1st, for just the third time since 1975, seniors who receive Social Security won’t be getting an annual cost of living increase. Neither will millions of other Americans whose veterans’ benefits, disability benefits, and other monthly payments are pegged to Social Security. Please pass the Seniors and Veterans Emergency Benefits Act (SAVE Benefits Act) to give seniors and veterans a one-time 3.9% payment in 2016 -- the same raise that America's top CEOs received last year.

    Obama rejects Keystone XL pipeline in win for greens | Reuters

    Obama rejects Keystone XL pipeline in win for greens | Reuters:



    snip



    U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday rejected the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada in a victory for environmentalists who campaigned against the project for more than seven years.
    "The pipeline would not make a meaningful long-term contribution to our economy," Obama told a press conference. He said it would not reduce gasoline prices, and shipping "dirtier" crude from Canada would not increase U.S. energy security.
    The denial of TransCanada Corp's more than 800,000 barrels per day project will make it more difficult for producers to develop the province of Alberta's oil sands. It could also put the United States in a stronger position at global climate talks that start in Paris on Nov. 30 in which countries will aim to reach a deal to slow global warming.
    U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who determined the pipeline was not in

    Read more at Reutershttp://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/06/us-usa-keystone-idUSKCN0SV28P20151106#z4gDkvsd5MEewZdP.99

    Military Pays A LOT For Propaganda

    Thursday, November 5, 2015

    P.J. O'Rourke on Millennials and Baby Boomers

    George H. W. Bush Calls Dick Cheney Iron Ass?

    Hillary Clinton Advocates $12 Minimum Wage

    State Department Rejects Request to Delay Keystone Pipeline

    On November 10, we’re holding a national day of action to support $15 an hour and union rights. Believe me, you want to be there. | Fight for $15

    On November 10, we’re holding a national day of action to support $15 an hour and union rights. Believe me, you want to be there. | Fight for $15:



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    IMG_0037

    On November 10, we’re holding a national day of action to support $15 an hour and union rights. Believe me, you want to be there.

    As fast-food workers across the country go on STRIKE on November 10, people across the country will be coming together to stand with them, with child care workers and with all 64 million underpaid workers making less than $15. Because it’s TIME for $15.
    Together we’re turning the tide in favor of working people and our families. And we’ll need everyone’s help – including yours – to make this a reality.
    Sign up now to let us know you’ll be there on November 10 and be one of millions demanding the fair pay, respect, and the future we deserve!

    Monday, November 2, 2015

    Keystone pipeline company wants pause to the bid process - BBC News

    Keystone pipeline company wants pause to the bid process - BBC News:



    snip



    Map of pipeline



    President Barack Obama is expected to reject the project, which has also been undermined by falling oil prices.
    On Monday the White House indicated that it would rule on the project before the end of the president's term in office in January 2017.

    Political complications

    But a delay to the government review might leave a decision in the hands of President Obama's successor in the White House.
    In February 2015, the newly Republican-led Congress voted to begin construction immediately, but Mr Obama vetoed the bill, saying it undermined the necessary review process.
    "Our expectation at this point is that the president will make a decision before the end of his administration on the Keystone pipeline, but when exactly that will be, I don't know at this point," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Monday.

    How cockroaches could save lives - BBC News

    How cockroaches could save lives - BBC News:



    snip



    Then there's the robotic roach - a fusion of live cockroach and mini-computer, surgically attached to its back. By sending messages to the computer, the cockroach can be directed to places that are hard for to humans to access, such as collapsed buildings or broken sewers, where they collect data.
    "When I first saw them, my hair stood up," says the lead researcher on a project at Texas A&M University, Hong Liang. "But I went on to keep some in my office as pets for a while. They are actually beautiful creatures. They are constantly cleaning themselves."
    In June students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University demonstrated how they could control cockroaches with their minds. Translating human brain waves into electrical impulses, they directed a cockroach attached to receiver down different shaped tunnels - simply by thinking about it.
    There is cockroach-related research in medicine too. Scientists had long wondered how roaches could spend their lives in dirty environments with no ill effects and it turns out they produce their own powerful antibiotics.
    They might hold the key when it comes to developing drugs to knock out the most virulent bacteria that make humans ill, such as E. coli, MRSA and other superbugs resistant to many existing treatments.


    Cockroach

    Trans Canada Corp. Pulls the Plug on Keystone XL Oil Pipeline

    Trans Canada Corp. Pulls the Plug on Keystone XL Oil Pipeline:



    snip from sputnik



    the Plug on Keystone XL Oil Pipeline

    © AP Photo/ Danny Johnston
    POLITICS
    Get short URL
     052520

    TransCanada Corporation, the Canadian company that sought to build the Keystone XL pipeline, has withdrawn its request to the Obama administration to export shale oil from its western provinces to the United States, media reports said.

    WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US President Barack Obama was expected to refuse permission to bid the pipeline, delaying it approval at least until after the next presidential election.
    The dramatic victory of Justin Trudeau and his Liberal party in the Canadian general election last month through more question marks over the project.
    “In order to allow time for certainty regarding the Nebraska route, TransCanada requests that the [US] State Department pause in its review of the presidential permit application for Keystone XL,” The Wall Street Journal reported the company as saying on Monday.
    The US state of Nebraska also wants to review the Keystone XL project before giving permission for it to pass through its territory.


    Read more: http://sputniknews.com/politics/20151103/1029511688/trans-canada-pulls-plug-on-keystone-xl.html#ixzz3qOpOeTN9
    map

    Keystone pipeline company wants pause to the bid process

    Billionaire Mathematician - Numberphile

    Food Stamps More Effective Than We Knew

    On the Trail: What do gubernatorial contenders think about Nixon's stadium push? | St. Louis Public Radio

    On the Trail: What do gubernatorial contenders think about Nixon's stadium push? | St. Louis Public Radio:



    snip



    “Especially given all the effort that I’ve gone through to make sure that make sure everybody knows,” Schaaf said in a telephone interview. “I mean, we have gone out of way to tell everybody in the media … to tell these people that when they buy the bonds, they’re buying worthless pieces of paper. That’s what they’re buying. Because we’re not paying! It’s that simple.”
    Once January 2017 hits though, Nixon will be out of office – and either Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster or one of five Republican contenders will be in the gubernatorial hot seat over the stadium.
    Assuming St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke is unsuccessful in relocating his team to Los Angeles, Missouri’s next chief executive will have some big, tangible decisions to make in regards to the potential facility – especially since lawmakers like Schaaf will still be around:

    Sunday, November 1, 2015

    Mike Tyson endorses Donald Trump as he insists The Donald isn't a racist | Daily Mail Online

    Mike Tyson endorses Donald Trump as he insists The Donald isn't a racist | Daily Mail Online:



    snip





  • Former heavyweight boxing champ endorses New York billionaire's bid for the presidency

  • Tyson and Trump go back as pals to at least 1988, when Trump funded the boxer's title fight against Michael Spinks - which only lasted 91 seconds

  • But fight is considered the single highest-grossing match in boxing history

  • Tyson also defends Trump against charges of racism



  • Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3290722/Now-Mike-Tyson-endorses-Donald-Trump-insists-Donald-isn-t-racist-won-t-position-Hillary-vs-Bernie.html#ixzz3qHXtdfAu
    Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

    Hillary Clinton Still Way Ahead With African-American Voters