Anonymous Mailings Targeting PCs?
No Ideas?: Arizona Congressman Co-Sponsored National Clean Elections Legislation
Nixon and Gore
MoveOn.org Positive Agenda Party 5/25 @ 6pm
Senate panel backs Hayden CIA confirmation with 4 of 7 Democratic Votes
UPDATE 5/26/06: The Senate today confirmed Hayden by a 78-15 vote, demonstrating that the majority of Democratic Senators have forgotten their role as constitutional counterweight to the Administration and an investigatory and oversight body. They’re still running scared from a President whom less than 1/3 of Americans continue to support. In short, they’re letting down their party by failing to provide an effective opposition, and worse, they are letting down America.
Senate Intelligence Committee backs NSA’s Gen. Hayden’s CIA confirmation by a 12-3 vote. That means that 4 Democrats, Feinstein, Rockfeller, Levin, and MIkulski, voted to confirm General Hayden, likely giving him exactly the bi-partisan lustre he needs to win confirmation.
The links above are to each Senator’s statement on their votes to recommend confirmation to the full Senate. Every single one of them dodges the real issue that, as Senator Feingold said in his statement on his NO vote, "General Hayden directed an illegal program that put Americans on American soil under surveillance without the legally required approval of a judge."
The issue is that Hayden has already proven himself amenable to carrying out illegal directives of the President. He did not resign when asked to break the law, he rolled over and did it. Now the Administration is moving him to the CIA where they can order him to violate American laws and the Constitution again.
I’m disgusted with my party today.
Senators Feingold, Wyden, and Bayh did the right thing and voted against a man, who despite his talents and qualifications, facilitated a massive breach of the public trust and the rule of law. Senator Feingold’s statement explains the case eloquently below the fold…
Who do you support in 2008?
Bashas Uses Citizen’s Arrest to Break up Labor Organizing
I received an interesting press release which I reproduce here in its entirety and without independent fact checking. The release is from the UFCW. There is some poor quality phonecam video of the incident available, too:
(May
21, 2006 Phoenix, AZ) Two women were arrested Sunday morning as part of
the Bashas corporation ongoing effort to silence worker concern over
unprecedented increases in health insurance premiums.The two women, Sarah Gresoski, 23, and Teresa D¹Asaro, 39, both members of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, were meeting with employees at the Basha-owned A.J.s at Uptown Plaza in Phoenix. Such meetings are allowed and protected under federal law.
The A.J.¹s store manager made a "citizens arrest" of the two women apparently after consultation with unnamed company officials. Phoenix Police Officers then were called to take the women into custody and charged them with "criminal trespassing.
Following the arrests upwards of 60 employees and union members launched a picket line in front of the A.J.s store chanting slogans like "Eddie keep your promise, your workers deserve better" and "Eddie, Eddie you can¹t hide you just showed your greedy side.
For the past three days UFCW members have been meeting with employees at Bashas-owned stores across the Valley including Bashas, A.J.s, and FoodCity.
While Bashas has a history of labor problems, most notably at FoodCity, the health insurance issue is companywide affecting virtually all of Bashas 10,000 employees.
On June 1st, workers at Bashas-owned stores are being hit with dramatic cost increases in their health insurance premiums and forces them well below the industry standard.
Last year Bashas trailed only Wal-Mart and McDonald¹s in taxpayer funded health insurance "subsidies" paid by the State of Arizona. An estimated 5-percent of Bashas employees were forced to turn to public assistance for health care according to published reports in 2005.
By loading more of the health care burden on already strained households, Bashas is only going to be sending more and more of employees to Arizona¹s taxpayers for their health care," said UFCW Local 99 President James McLaughlin.
