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Cong. Dennis Kucinich: Obama Must Change Course

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Exclusive: Kucinich shreds Democrats for betraying the promise of change

By Sahil Kapur
Thursday, January 21st, 2010 — 9:45 am

kucinich1 Exclusive: Kucinich shreds Democrats for betraying the promise of changeSlams health bill ‘madness’

WASHINGTON — Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) on Wednesday said the Massachusetts election was a “wake up call” for Democrats and that his party had better change course or it could suffer devastating losses come November.

“People elected Democrats in 2008 to change the direction,” he told Raw Story in a nearly hour-long interview. 

“And the same entrenched interests that George Bush could not shake, this current White House is having great difficulty in shaking. One could suggest they might be more entrenched than ever.

“Kucinich staunchly defended liberalism but alleged that Democrats are not behaving like liberals.

Continue reading Cong. Dennis Kucinich: Obama Must Change Course →

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International Association of Machinists (IAM) Stands Firm Against Tax on Health Benefits

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Machinists Remain Opposed to Health Care Excise Tax

Washington, D.C., January 14, 2010

Despite the so-called agreement announced today by various labor organizations, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) reiterated its
opposition to any health care reform legislation that is funded by taxing the value of workers’ existing health care benefits.

“The IAM opposes the excise tax, period. We believe it is unfair to our current members and particularly unfair to those members we hope to organize in the future,” said IAM President Tom Buffenbarger.

Continue reading International Association of Machinists (IAM) Stands Firm Against Tax on Health Benefits →

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Local Progressive Democrats of America Leader Reports from Worcester, Massachusetts

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 an email from Chris Horton

Martha Coakley vs Scott Brown

January 18, 2010

I’m writing from Worcester.  It is the second largest city in New England, the city where the American Revolution began in Sept. 1774, and perhaps the largest city in North America that no one has ever heard of! I have been going door to door in my immediate neighborhood canvassing for Democrat Martha Coakley.  

After campaigning for PDA endorsed Mike Capuano in the primaries I dropped back to get my life back together, and then left town and went out of contact for a week.  When I returned I found three emails from one progressive democratic activist and one from MoveOn.org about the campaign – when the Internet should have been abuzz with traffic about it.  
 
I am told that she made no outreach to the Capuano and Khazei campaigns to include them and their supporters, who have responded by sitting on their hands.  For the last week however everyone has been in panic mode.
 
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Tune in Rustbelt Radio Tonight to hear Ed Grystar on Single Payer Health Care

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Rustbelt Radio, Pittsburgh’s local independent media outlet, is featuring Ed Grystar and Dr. Mary Pat Donegan on the Monday January 18th show.

The 20-minute feature covers how a single payer system would function, a look at the current healthcare delivery system, and what the bill in Congress will mean for Pennsylvania residents. The show airs Monday, January 18th on WRCT 88.3 FM from 6pm-7pm.

 Rustbelt Radio is broadcast live from WRCT studios every other Monday at 6 PM on 88.3 FM in Pittsburgh, and the program airs again on WRCT every Tuesday morning at 9AM after Democracy NOW!

 We’re also available on the internet, both on WRCT’s live webstream at wrct.org and for download, stream or podcast from our website at radio.indypgh.org.

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The Massachusetts Story: How Obama Can Win

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by Randy Shannon, Treasurer

PA 4th C.D. Chapter, Progressive Democrats of America

Democrat Martha Coakley may win the Massachusetts special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by the death of Ted Kennedy. But the massive mobilization of Democratic Party resources across the nation, including the President, to save a Democratic seat from a Republican upset in a state with a 3:1 Democratic registration edge is a sign of a serious problem.

President Obama said in Massachusetts today that he understands that people are upset. He claimed that it wasn’t his fault but the fault of eight years of Bush that he’s had only one year to rectify. “Understand what’s at stake here, Massachusetts,” Mr. Obama said. “It’s whether we’re going forwards or backwards.”

Continue reading The Massachusetts Story: How Obama Can Win →

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Haiti – What Would Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Say on His Birthday

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April 4, 1967

‘A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. On the one hand we are called to play the good Samaritan on life’s roadside; but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life’s highway.

Continue reading Haiti – What Would Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Say on His Birthday →

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First Responders: 400 Cuban Doctors and 573 Haitian Doctors trained in Cuba in Haiti before the Disaster

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Cuban and Haitian Doctor Trained in Cuba Aid Victims

Cuba is Missing… From US Reports on the International Response to Haiti’s Earthquake  

  by Dave Lindorff  

The Christian Science Monitor, in a second article, quoted Laurence Korb, former assistant secretary of defense and now based at the Center for American Progress, as saying that the US, which is leading the relief efforts in Haiti, should “consider tapping the expertise of neighboring Cuba,” which he noted, “has some of the best doctors in the world–we should see about flying them in.”  

Continue reading First Responders: 400 Cuban Doctors and 573 Haitian Doctors trained in Cuba in Haiti before the Disaster →

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The Story of America’s Haiti

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Published on Thursday, January 14, 2010 by CommonDreams.org

What You’re Not Hearing about Haiti (But Should Be)

by Carl Lindskoog

In the hours following Haiti’s devastating earthquake, CNN, the New York Times and other major news sources adopted a common interpretation for the severe destruction: the 7.0 earthquake was so devastating because it struck an urban area that was extremely over-populated and extremely poor.  Houses “built on top of each other” and constructed by the poor people themselves made for a fragile city.  And the country’s many years of underdevelopment and political turmoil made the Haitian government ill-prepared to respond to such a disaster.   

True enough.  But that’s not the whole story.  What’s missing is any explanation of why there are so many Haitians living in and around Port-au-Prince and why so many of them are forced to survive on so little.  Indeed, even when an explanation is ventured, it is often outrageously false such as a former U.S. diplomat’s testimony on CNN that Port-au-Prince’s overpopulation was due to the fact that Haitians, like most Third World people, know nothing of birth control.   

Continue reading The Story of America’s Haiti →

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Monsanto Genetically Modified Corn Causes Organ Failure in Rats

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Monsanto’s GMO Corn Linked To Organ Failure, Study Reveals

Huffington Post   |  Katherine Goldstein/Gazelle Emami Posted: 01-12-10 05:30 PM

 

Germany Gm Corn

In a study released by the International Journal of Biological Sciences, analyzing the effects of genetically modified foods on mammalian health, researchers found that agricultural giant Monsanto’s GM corn is linked to organ damage in rats.
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December 13th National Call-In Day to Congress: No Tax on Workers Healthcare Benefits

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Friends,

 

This Wednesday, January 13th, is a national day of action for health care reform. We must keep on fighting; we can still win strong reforms.
 
We are standing strong for our priorities for real reform and we must have insurance industry accountability and real affordability for American families in the final bill. Please join us at two important actions on Wednesday –

Affordable coverage must be a priority in merging the House and Senate Reform Bills. It’s what the American people want.

Sponsored by Healthcare for America Now (HCAN), Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the Pennsylvania Health Access Network (PHAN)

and also

COME PHONEBANK WITH US for National Call Congress Day

Call Dave (412-370-5247) for details/to RSVP