Letter from ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis
December 9, 2009

In late September, ACORN and its Advisory Council asked former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger to lead an independent inquiry into the circumstances and implications of the videos that led to the intense responses in Congress and the media in September and October.

Today Mr. Harshbarger released his report. ACORN’s leadership is pleased that this evaluation shows even the low-level employees portrayed in the videos did not engage in any illegal activity or seek to encourage it as the heavily-edited videos seek to imply.[1]

Continue reading Independent Inquiry Clears ACORN of Accusations of Wrongdoing →

U.S. Nurses Unions Merge, Back Healthcare Overhaul
By Tim Gaynor
December 8, 2009, Phoenix, AZ

Published by Reuters.

Three nurses unions merged on Monday to form the largest-ever labor organization for U.S. medical professionals, which is expected to wield greater clout in collective bargaining and the national healthcare debate.

Leaders of the new 150,000-member National Nurses United, comprising union locals from Maine to Hawaii, said their top priority would be to seek to organize the overwhelming majority of registered nurses who remain without union representation.

Of roughly 1.5 million nurses who provide direct patient care in U.S. hospitals and clinics, about 80 percent have no union contract, NNU officials said.

Continue reading National Nurses United Formed: Goals Organize the Unorganized & Universal Healthcare →

End the U.S. Occupation & Air War in Afghanistan

WHEREAS the California Democratic Party, concerned citizens and lawmakers are calling for a U.S. exit strategy from Afghanistan that will end the occupation and air war while ensuring the safety and security of our troops, our nation, and the region;  while even the U.S. Ambassador General Karl Eikenberry expresses concern about corruption in the Afghan government and our inability to stabilize the situation; and

WHEREAS the plight of women in Afghanistan is such that they continue to bear an especially heavy price under an eight-year occupation, and that far from eradicating the Taliban and other insurgencies, the presence of foreign troops has instead strengthened them, creating greater insecurity, death and impoverishment of the Afghan, people; and

WHEREAS a majority of Americans are increasingly disturbed about the toll the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan is taking on the honorable young men and women who have been killed and wounded, on the families of these young men and women, as our involvement there continues to cost billions each month while the United States and particularly the state of California are in an economic crisis without money to fund domestic needs;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the California Democratic Party, in addition to reiterating its support for a time-table for withdrawal of our miltary personnel, calls for an end to the use of mercenary contractors, as well as an end to air strikes that cause heavy civilian casualties, and urges our President to oversee a redirection of our funding and resources to include an increase in humanitarian and developmental aid, multi-party talks aimed at ensuring a democratic and legitimate representation of the people of Afghanistan, as well as multi-party regional diplomacy for the safety and stability of neighboring  countries; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED a copy of this resolution shall be sent to the California Democratic Party Congressional delegation, as well as to President Obama.

Obama Announces Afghanistan Escalation

By Tom Hayden

The Nation

December 1, 2009

It’s time to strip the Obama sticker off my car.

Obama’s escalation in Afghanistan is the last in a string of disappointments. His flip-flopping acceptance of the military coup in Honduras has squandered the trust of Latin America. His Wall Street bailout leaves the poor, the unemployed, minorities, and college students on their own. And now comes the Afghanistan-Pakistan decision to escalate the stalemate, which risks his domestic agenda, his Democratic base, and possibly even his presidency.

The expediency of his decision was transparent. Satisfy the generals by sending 30,000 more troops. Satisfy the public and peace movement with a timeline for beginning withdrawals of those same troops, with no timeline for completing a withdrawal.

Continue reading Afghanistan Escalation: NO! →

Aetna prepares for loss of 600,000 members as it raises 2010 prices

By Emily Berry, amednews staff. Posted Nov. 30, 2009.

Back when it was the largest private health plan in the country, Aetna downsized its membership by millions but boosted profits during an overhaul of its business several years ago.

Now it looks to be making a similar — but smaller — move with a planned price increase for many of its customers in 2010.

The company figures it will lose between 600,000 and 650,000 members next year because of the price hikes.

In a conference call with investment analysts to discuss the company’s third-quarter earnings, Chair and CEO Ron Williams told analysts, “The pricing we put in place for 2009 turned out to not really be what we needed to achieve the results and margins that we had historically been delivering.”

Continue reading Aetna to Wall Street: We’ll raise prices, cut benefits, and dump 600,000 policy holders to boost 2010 profits →