The Hijacked Commission

By PAUL KRUGMAN

Published: November 11, 2010

Progressive Change Campaign Committee

Adam Green, co-founder

Take a deep breath. The Huffington Post and CNN reported this morning that President Obama is ready to cave again to Republicans — this time on the Bush tax cuts he campaigned against in 2008.

As Republicans boast that their #1 priority is to defeat Obama in 2012, we’ve seen nothing but capitulation and talk of “compromise” from the President since Election Day.

It’s time for us to ask: President Obama, ARE YOU KIDDING? Fight the Republicans already!

Sign our petition telling President Obama that Americans want him to fight the Bush tax cuts for millionaires — and that Democrats will keep losing if he keeps caving.

Click here.

I’ll be on MSNBC’s Ed Show tonight at 6:15pm EST — and will announce the progress of our petition. The White House and Democratic leaders will be watching. So please join over 28,000 others and sign now.

Make no mistake, this petition is a rallying cry.

Our days of “trusting” that Democratic leaders have some brilliant plan are over. We saw the results last Tuesday when many Obama voters were not inspired enough to return to the polls.

Progressives need to push Democratic leaders to fight for popular progressive change — and win. Sign the petition telling Obama to fight the Bush tax cuts here — then, pass this to as many progressive friends as you can think of.

Working together, we’ll push and push Democratic leaders until they finally fight for “change we can believe in.”

Thanks for being a bold progressive.

Student fees protest: ‘This is just the beginning’

• Tory HQ attacked as demonstration spirals out of control
• 35 arrested and 14 injured in violent clashes at Millbank
• Police admit being caught out by scale of student action

Video of Protest

Tens of thousands of students took to the streets of London in a demonstration that spiralled out of control when a fringe group of protesters hurled missiles at police and occupied the building housing Conservative party headquarters.

Ministers and protesters acknowledged that the demonstration – by far the largest and most dramatic yet in response to the government’s austerity measures – was “just the beginning” of public anger over cuts. Police, meanwhile, were criticised for failing to anticipate the scale of the disorder.

An estimated 52,000 people, according to the National Union of Students, marched through central London to display their anger over government plans to increase tuition fees while cutting state funding for university teaching.

Continue reading 52,000 Students March on London Tory HQ to Protest Education Cuts →

Chairmen of Deficit Commission Reveal Proposals

The chairmen of the commission unveiled their overarching recommendations for debt and deficit reduction on Wednesday afternoon, weeks before the official unveiling is expected.

The findings are not the final report of the commission, officially known as the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Rather they are the specific suggestions of its two chairs, former Sen. Alan Simpson and former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles. The ultimate findings will require the support of 14 members of the 18-member commission. And at this juncture it is unclear if the votes are there, sources familiar with deliberation say.

Leading public figures denounced the proposals.

Senator Bernie Sanders (VT):

The Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction plan is extremely disappointing and something that should be vigorously opposed by the American people. The huge increase in the national debt in recent years was caused by two unpaid wars, tax breaks for the wealthy, a Medicare prescription drug bill written by the pharmaceutical industry, and the Wall Street bailout. Unlike Social Security, none of these proposals were paid for. Not only has Social Security not contributed a dime to the deficit, it has a $2.6 trillion surplus. 

It is reprehensible to ask working people, including many who do physically-demanding labor, to work until they are 69 years of age. It also is totally impractical. As they compete for jobs with 25-year-olds, many older workers will go unemployed and have virtually no income. Frankly, there will not be too much demand within the construction industry for 69-year-old bricklayers.

Despite all of the right-wing rhetoric, Social Security is not going bankrupt. According to the Congressional Budget Office, Social Security can pay every nickel owed to every eligible American for the next 29 years and after that about 80 percent of benefits.

If we are serious about making Social Security strong and solvent for the next 75 years, President Obama has the right solution. On October 14, 2010, he restated a long-held position that the cap on income subject to Social Security payroll taxes, now at $106,800, should be raised. As the president has long stated, it is absurd that billionaires pay the same amount into the system as someone who earns $106,800.

With the richest people in this country getting richer and the middle class in decline, it is absurd that billionaires pay the same amount into the Social Security system as someone who earns $106,800.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka:

The chairmen of the Deficit Commission just told working Americans to ‘Drop Dead.’ Especially in these tough economic times, it is unconscionable to be proposing cuts to the critical economic lifelines for working people, Social Security and Medicare. 

Some people are saying this is plan is just a “starting point.” Let me be clear, it is not.

by Randy Shannon

11/10/10

PA 4th CD Chapter of Progressive Democrats has formed a Marcellus Shale committee. It is temporarily chaired by Tina Shannon, PDA Chairperson. Due to the large number of news items from the mass media, business media, and environmental advocacy websites, we are adding a Marcellus shale page that will be periodically updated. Please click on the page listing at the top of our website to go to the Marcellus Shale page.

Dow Jones News Wire

Chevron Corp. (CVX) has agreed to acquire independent natural-gas producer Atlas Energy Inc. (ATLS) and its liabilities for $4.3 billion, joining its larger rival Exxon Mobil Inc. (XOM) in making a bet on natural gas.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20101109-711992.html

-By Matt Jarzemsky and Matt Day, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2240; matthew.jarzemsky@dowjones.com

Exxon’s acquisition of XTO nearly a year ago, some believe, has pressured Exxon’s stock because of a slump in natural-gas prices.

Chevron Vice Chairman George Kirkland said, however, “We are acquiring a company that has one of the premier acreage positions in the prolific Marcellus.”

The Marcellus shale, located in Appalachia and concentrated in parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York, is one of the hottest shale plays in the U.S. It’s helped contribute to the surge in North American natural-gas supplies and the resulting price weakness. Strong U.S. gas production has sent gas stockpiles to record levels, pressuring prices for much of the last two years. Natural gas futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange are trading at their lowest level for this time of year since 2002.

Continue reading Big Oil Buys into Republican “Tax Free” Pennsylvania →

The Olbermann Suspension and Corporate Media

I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the hundreds of thousands of progressives and others who demanded that Keith Olbermann be reinstated to his position at MSNBC. These people understand the enormously important role that the media play in contemporary American politics. They know the recent ascendancy of the Republican Party and right-wing politics had less to do with the leadership skills of Mitch McConnell or John Boehner and far more to do with the enormously powerful role played by Rupert Murdoch, Fox News and right-wing talk radio.

Progressives know there is something very wrong when a nation divided politically has one major network operating as a propaganda arm of the Republican Party and 90 percent of talk radio is dominated by right-wing extremists.

If there is a silver lining in the action of MSNBC against Keith Olbermann, it is that people will now pay more attention to the political role of corporate media in America. While commentators on Fox and right-wing radio have the backing of Rupert Murdoch, a major Republican contributor, and other conservative corporations, progressives understand that their position is extremely vulnerable. Keith Olbermann was suspended by General Electric’s MSNBC for a bogus reason. What will prevent the same thing from happening to Rachel Maddow, Ed Schultz and other progressives?

General Electric, NBC’s parent, is one of the largest corporations in the world with an anti-labor history of outsourcing jobs and with financial links to military and nuclear power industries. Surely we understand that GE is not going to provide the same backing for MSNBC commentators that Rupert Murdoch provides for his mouthpieces at Fox News.

What has not gotten a lot of attention in the midst of this controversy is that GE’s NBC Universal, one of the largest media conglomerates in the country, is in the process of merging with Comcast, the largest cable television provider in America. The new head of that company would be Stephen B. Burke, Comcast’s chief operating officer and a “Bush Ranger” who raised at least $200,000 for the 2004 reelection campaign of President George W. Bush.

As Vermont’s senator, I intend to do all that I can do to stop this merger. There already is far too much media concentration in this country. We need more diversity. We need more local ownership. We need more viewpoints. We do not need another media giant run by a Republican supporter of George W. Bush. That is the lesson we should learn from the Keith Olbermann suspension.

Stop Gas Drilling in Rider Park

By Friends of Rider Park

http://www.northcentralpa.com/article/stop-gas-drilling-rider-park

October 30, 2010

Rider Park is a treasure selflessly donated to the people of Lycoming County from the late Thomas J. Rider.

This park has been in existence for over twenty years. The park is used by schools to educate children and by colleges to demonstrate biodiversity. Mountain bikers, hikers, trail runners, cross country skiers, birders, gardeners, and many other clubs, organizations and individuals enjoy the park in every season.

Rider Park’s 868 acres of beautiful vistas and diverse forests are now threatened by development from the gas companies.
Stakes are already in place for two well pads. This would mean the destruction of forest and meadow, the construction of well pads and roads, the noise and pollution from over 8,000 heavy trucks going up and down the park road (2200 per well – in and out) carrying gravel, toxic chemicals, water, sand, etc, glaring flood lights in the night sky, pipeline construction and a possible compressor station.
The park as we know it would virtually cease to exist.

The current owner of Rider Park is the First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania (FCFPA). The Partnership is entrusted with stewardship of this much-loved and utilized land within our community. The Board of Directors, is scheduled to vote on signing the gas lease on November 8th.
The window of opportunity to save the park is extremely narrow.

Please join with the Friends of Rider Park today.
There are several ways you can help.

1. Sign the “Save Rider Park” petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/7771100/petition.html
2. Visit the Friends of Rider Park website http://www.friendsofriderpark.com
3. Write a letter to your local newspapers
4. Send a letter or email directly to the FCFPA. Email: fcfpa@fcfpa.org Address: 330 Pine Street, Suite 401 Williamsport, PA 17701
5. Post the “Friends of Rider Park” website on your Facebook page, Twitter and other networking sites
6. Forward this message to everyone who may be concerned about this violation of public trust

Help STOP Rider Park from becoming an industrialized gas well drilling site.
The online Petition will be presented to FCFPA on November 8, 2010
Take Action Today!
Thank you