Looks like we'll be doing some more things in the near future....

I've had to take care of some personal bills and put this project on the backburner for awhile but it looks like we'll be starting some new Kickstarter like projects very very soon. They're going to focus on the issue of student debt.

Sign this petition urging Governor Corbett to sign medicaid expansion legislation.

It really is a no brainer. It's almost six years of practically free money. Three years of definitely free money. There's just no good reason not to accept. You can sign the petition here.

I also wish the people doing this would pay the Greater Good Coalition to knock on doors on this issue because this would be a fantastic issue to knock doors on. I also think it would be more effective than television ads. Or more effective combined with television ads. We could put pressure on the governor and state reps that don't support the bill.

SEIU attempts to persuade horrible PA Governor Tom Corbett to change his mind on Medicaid expansion.

Good luck. I think we'll change his mind once he's no longer governor.

Two pictures that illustrate what's wrong with what happened at that West Texas explosion. #westtexas #westtexasexplosion

I'm still waiting for the breathless 24 hour hunt for the evil doers. Here are those illustrations.

And the idiotic governor of Texas had the gall to be upset with this cartoon. Real political cartooning by the way.

I just hate that Hollingsworth Hound....!

You can find the cartoon at either Boing Boing or the Daily Kos.

Might be starting up the field canvass again...

We've done some sporadic canvassing over the last several years. The most canvassing I've been doing has been with Working Families over the last year or so. Working Families is a great organization that's based in New York. They've been much more successful there when it comes to stopping fracking development. They weren't as successful in their election efforts here (Pennsylvania) but they're learning and they will only get better.

Meanwhile, no one is canvassing in this town about Medicaid expansion or stopping social security/medicare, or the crisis in student loan debt. So someone should try for six weeks or so. Or more if we can find people.

And as always: There is the mythical land of France.

Meant to Be Published in October 2012

We're still here but we're involved with election issues. No canvassing this summer but we'll be back knocking on doors next year. Meanwhile, I agree: I think Chris Shropshire is wrong to voluntarily enlist. I mean, if you let me vote it might be a good idea but otherwise...

Transit Update: Good News (with a catch), Bad News and More Bad News

Transit Update: Like the headline says there's good news with a catch, some bad news and then there was some more bad news. Bottom Line: You need to start calling your governor and your state legislature, which is unfortunate because the republicans are the pro privatizing party. Not that the dems are much better. They used to be. Lately, not so much. I didn't realize how much PAT workers hated Onorato until I went to that Pat rally a few weeks back.

Anyway.

First the sorta good news with a big catch. The governor's commission did come up with a plan back on October 19th. You can read that story here.

Here's a bit from the story:

The governor's Transportation Funding Advisory Commission in August recommended measures that would eventually raise $2.7 billion in new annual revenue for roads, bridges and public transit.

Now, the good news is that would seem to be enough to fund public transit not just for Pittsburgh but also for Philly. Here's the bad news or the catch: just about all the money raised for that $2.7 billion comes from regressive taxation. If you're
poor or middle class, then you'll pay more for roads and public transit than if you're wealthy. The best and fairest solution would be to tax the Marcellus Shale oil drillers. But, bottom line, if the governor pushes this, then you'll keep your bus service at decent levels.

This is where the bad news comes in. Governor Corbett isn't in a hurry to pass his own commission's recommendations. This is the story in the Post Gazette:

Here's the nut graph as we used to call it:

In remarks after a speech to the national Waterways Symposium Downtown, Mr. Corbett said he would "take a look" at any transportation bills proposed this year, but they would battle for attention with measures on school vouchers and Marcellus Shale regulations. He said transportation fixes might have to take a back seat, especially because the Legislature's current session is only half finished.

Here is a response yesterday by Steve Bland, the Port Authority's CEO. This is from the Tribune Review:

"We're getting less funding from the state and county government now than we were seven years ago," Bland said in an interview with reporters after a Port Authority board of directors meeting Downtown. "If the state doesn't act, there will be service cuts, there will be fare increases regardless of what the union does."

Bland acknowledged the transit agency's prospects for additional help from lawmakers in Harrisburg dimmed last month when Gov. Tom Corbett said increasing transportation funding isn't among his priorities this year. Corbett said he's hesitant to increase fees on vehicles and drivers — a recommendation from his transit advisory commission — that would help boost funding by up to $2.7 billion over five years.

Port Authority officials said Sept. 23 they're facing a potential $64 million deficit next fiscal year that they characterized as a "death spiral." It could mean cuts of up to 40 percent by July — double the cuts made in March.

Read more: Port Authority CEO: Transit cuts, fare increase inevitable without state help - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_764944.html#ixzz1cZ7x7ilh

So, this is horrible news, especially if you're in one of those areas already served by only one bus. After that bus is gone, you have no other options.Yeah, you might find yourself eligible for a car loan but I hear that's a bit of scam, too.
 

But there is a plan, apparently. It was discussed in your usual stereotypical back room deals.There might be a privatized answer on the way. Privatization, by the way, means paying more for bus service not less. Unless you like your 10 dollar a day round trip bus fare from Cranberry...Here's the story:

What they've done is successfully taken struggling transit companies and brought in their expertise and a fresh, new look and made some great turnarounds," Mr. Campolongo said.

That includes New Orleans, where Veolia took over a transit system that had been decimated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. According to news accounts, the system has ordered new buses, won a federal grant for a new streetcar line and raised its bond rating since the company took over in 2008. But some have complained that service is unreliable and far less frequent than what was in place before the storm.

Read more: http://www.postgazette.com/pg/11297/1184433-455.stm#ixzz1cZIUf8EM

Yeah, some complaints I'm sure. As stated in the beginning of this post, please write your state legislator and your governor.

Yet Another Heartbreaking We are the 99 percent Pic

Here's another from that Firedoglake series.

Occupy Wall Street Pic One

These are taken from a Firedoglake series and they're kind of heartbreaking. I'm sure that 99 percent of us can relate.

September 24 noon rally at Mellon Park to Save Public Transit

There is a noon rally at Mellon Park this Saturday the 24th to save public transit. And there's probably truth in advertising there. Its just clear that there are factions of both parties that want to privatize public transit. They mus tbe stopped unless you like spending 10 bucks on a one day round trip like the citizens of Cranberry now must do.

Read more about the rally here.

Please sign the petition calling not to execute Troy Davis.

This isn't one of our issues and we won't be canvassing on this but, seriously, if you have time please sign this petition regarding the execution of Troy Davis.

More at Change.org.

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

My brother, Troy Davis, has been on Georgia's death row for 20 years despite strong evidence of his innocence. His execution date is now scheduled for Wed, Sept 21. He has a hearing in front of the GA Board of Pardons & Parole tomorrow.We need to tell the Board and the District Attorney strongly and clearly: There's too much doubt to execute Troy Davis!

The case against my brother Troy consisted entirely of witness testimony which contained inconsistencies even at the time of the trial. Since then, seven out of nine witnesses from the trial have recanted or contradicted their testimony.

Many of these witnesses have stated in sworn affidavits that they were pressured or coerced by police into testifying or signing statements against Troy Davis. Here is what one had to say:

“I got tired of them harassing me, and they made it clear that the only way they would leave me alone is if I told them what they wanted to hear. I told them that Troy told me he did it, but it wasn’t true."

We need to tell the DA and Board strongly and clearly: There's too much doubt to execute Troy Davis!

More Middle Man Comics (featuring a president that we know...)

We support Jan Schakowsky's Plan for Job Creation

We completely support this plan but will the president support it? Or will he support it enough?

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, announced on Wednesday that she will introduce a progressive-minded budget outline aimed at putting more than two million people to work.


Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, announced on Wednesday that she will introduce a progressive-minded budget outline aimed at putting more than two million people to work.
Titled the “Emergency Jobs to Restore the American Dream Act,” the plan would cost $227 billion and would be implemented over two years. It would be financed by separate legislation introduced by Schakowsky called the "Fairness in Taxation Act," which would raise taxes for Americans who earn more than $1 million and $1 billion. It would also eliminate subsidies for big oil companies while closing loopholes for corporations that send American jobs overseas.

The congresswoman said that her plan would create 2.2 million jobs and decrease the unemployment rate by 1.3 percent.

"If we want to create jobs, then create jobs," Schakowsky said in a press release. "I’m not talking about "incentivizing" companies in the hopes they’ll hire someone, or cutting taxes for the so-called job creators who have done nothing of the sort. My plan creates actual new jobs."

Schakowsky’s proposal reads more like a progressive wishlist than legislation likely to be signed into law. But it does provide a template of sorts to help Democrats frame their budget argument as lawmakers enter the high-stakes super committee negotiations.

Under her plan, the following policies would be implemented:

The School Improvement Corps would create 400,000 construction and 250,000 maintenance jobs by funding positions created by public school districts to do needed school rehabilitation improvements.
The Park Improvement Corps would create 100,000 jobs for youth between the ages of 16 and 25 through new funding to the Department of the Interior and the USDA Forest Service’s Public Lands Corps Act. Young people would work on conservation projects on public lands including the restoration and rehabilitation of natural, cultural, and historic resources.
The Student Jobs Corps would create 250,000 more part-time work study jobs for eligible college students through new funding for the Federal Work Study Program.
The Neighborhood Heroes Corps would hire 300,000 new teachers, 40,000 new police officers and 12,000 new firefighters.
The Health Corps would hire at least 40,000 health care providers, including physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and health care workers to expand access in underserved rural and urban areas.
The Child Care Corps would create 100,000 jobs in early childhood care and education through additional funding for Early Head Start.
The Community Corps would hire 750,000 individuals to do needed work in communities, including housing rehab, weatherization, recycling, and rural conservation.
In addition, the bill would give priority to the longterm unemployed -- the so-called "99ers" who have exhausted both their state and federal unemployment benefits. Federally extended unemployment benefits are set to expire this year, even though nearly 14 million Americans remain out of work and it takes the average worker nine months to find a new job.

“The worst deficit this country faces isn’t the budget deficit," Schakowsky said. "It’s the jobs deficit. We need to get our people and our economy moving again.”

© 2011 Huffington Post

Why is the Obama administration helping the Big Bankers?

I'm a lifelong democrat but I find the actions of my president to be disturbing.

Contract for the American Dream with Cute Kids

A helpful video about the Contract for the American Dream.

We Support the Contract for the American Dream

Go sign this petition now if you're looking for a plan to create jobs.

Here is the contract in full:

CONTRACT FOR THE
AMERICAN DREAM
We, the American people, promise to defend and advance a simple ideal: liberty and justice... for all. Americans who are
willing to work hard and play by the rules should be able to find a decent job, get a good home in a strong community,
retire with dignity and give their kids a better life. Every one of us – rich, poor or in-between, regardless of skin color or
birthplace, no matter their sexual orientation or gender – has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That is
our covenant, our compact, our contract with one another. It is a promise we can fulfill – but only by working together.
Today, the American Dream is under threat. Our veterans are coming home to few jobs and little hope on the home front.
Our young people are graduating off a cliff, burdened by heavy debt, into the worst job market in half a century. The big
banks that American taxpayers bailed out won’t cut homeowners a break. Our firefighters, nurses, cops and teachers –
America’s everyday heroes – are being thrown out onto the street. We believe:
AMERICA IS NOT BROKE. America is rich – still the wealthiest nation ever. But too many at the top are grabbing
the gains. No person or corporation should be allowed to take from America while giving little or nothing back. The superrich
who got tax breaks and bailouts should now pay full taxes – and help create jobs here, not overseas. Those who do well
in America should do well by America.
AMERICANS NEED JOBS, NOT CUTS. Many of our best workers are sitting idle, while the work of rebuilding
America goes undone. Together, we must rebuild our country, reinvest in our people and jump-start the industries of
the future. Millions of jobless Americans would love the opportunity to become working, tax-paying members of their
communities again. We have a jobs crisis, not a deficit crisis.
To produce this Contract for the American Dream, 131,203 Americans came together online and in their communities. We
wrote and rated 25,904 ideas. Together, we identified the 10 most critical steps to get our economy back on track and
restore the American Dream:
1. INVEST IN AMERICA’S INFRASTRUCTURE.
Rebuild our crumbling bridges, dams, levees, ports, water and
sewer lines, railways, roads and public transit. We must invest in
high-speed Internet and a modern, energy-saving electric grid.
These investments will create good jobs and rebuild America. To
help finance these projects, we need national and state
infrastructure banks.
2. CREATE 21ST-CENTURY ENERGY JOBS.
We should invest in American businesses that can power our
country with innovative technologies like wind turbines, solar
panels, geothermal systems, hybrid and electric cars, and
next-generation batteries. And we should put Americans to work
making our homes and buildings energy efficient. We can create
good, green jobs in America, address the climate crisis, and build
the clean energy economy.
3. INVEST IN PUBLIC EDUCATION. We should
provide universal access to early childhood education, make
school funding equitable, invest in high-quality teachers, and
build safe, well-equipped school buildings for our students. A
high-quality education system, from universal preschool to
vocational training and affordable higher education, is critical for
our future and can create badly needed jobs now.
4. OFFER MEDICARE FOR ALL. We should expand
Medicare so it’s available to all Americans, and reform it to
provide even more cost-effective, quality care. The Affordable
Care Act is a good start and we must implement it – but it’s not
enough. We can save trillions of dollars by joining every other
industrialized country – paying much less for health care while
getting the same or better results.
5. MAKE WORK PAY. Americans have a right to fair
minimum and living wages, to organize and collectively bargain,
to enjoy equal opportunity and to earn equal pay for equal work.
Corporate assaults on these rights bring down wages and
benefits for all of us. They must be outlawed.
6. SECURE SOCIAL SECURITY. Keep Social Security
sound, and strengthen the retirement, disability, and survivors’
protections Americans earn through their hard work. Pay for it
by removing the cap on the Social Security tax, so that upperincome
people pay into Social Security on all they make, just like
the rest of us.
7. RETURN TO FAIRER TAX RATES. End, once and
for all, the Bush-era tax giveaways for the rich, which the rest of
us – or our kids – must pay eventually. Also, we must outlaw
corporate tax havens and tax breaks for shipping jobs overseas.
Lastly, with millionaires and billionaires taking a growing share
of our country’s wealth, we should add new tax brackets for those
making more than $1 million each year.
8. END THE WARS AND INVEST AT HOME.
Our troops have done everything that’s been asked of them, and
it’s time to bring them home to good jobs here. We’re sending $3
billion each week overseas that we should be investing to rebuild
America.
9. TAX WALL STREET SPECULATION. A tiny fee of
1/20th of 1% on each Wall Street trade would raise tens of
billions of dollars annually with little impact on actual
investment. This would reduce speculation, “flash trading,” and
outrageous bankers’ bonuses – and we’d have a lot more money
to spend on Main Street job creation.
10. STRENGTHEN DEMOCRACY. We need clean,
fair elections – where no one’s right to vote can be taken away,
and where money doesn’t buy you your own member of
Congress. We must ban anonymous political influence, slam shut
the lobbyists’ revolving door in D.C. and publicly finance
elections. Immigrants who want to join in our democracy deserve
a clear path to citizenship. We must stop giving corporations the
rights of people when it comes to our elections. And we must
ensure our judiciary’s respect for the Constitution. Together, we
will reclaim our democracy to get our country back on track.
“I HAVE A DREAM. IT IS A DREAM DEEPLY ROOTED IN THE AMERICAN DREAM.”
– Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963 March on Washington
HTTP://CONTRACT.REBUILDTHEDREAM.COM

What Ian Welsh said.

Technically, if you're been supporting us at the door (thank you) or reading the blog we've essentially borrowed the Bold Progressives line and said no cuts to social security, medicare or medicaid. It seems like that's what happened with the debt deal exception being medicare, which aids old people or your parents or grandparents, great aunts and the like. However, given the president's weak and/or non existent negotiating skills I honestly don't know how long that will continue.

Or here's a fun scenario, thanks to the Super Congress: social security, medicare and medicaid aren't touched but we lose the EPA and Americorps. I just don't consider this debt deal a victory. In fact, it looks to be a horrible loss which could repeal the New Deal. Just awful. Or as I've stated elsewhere: Bad optics. Bad policy. Bad president (When you score this much for the opposing team I begin to think that you're on the other side).

Ian Welsh speaks for me:

What the Debt Limit Crisis Should Have Taught You

2011 JULY 31

by Ian Welsh

This is not primarily about the Tea Party

It is about what rich donors want.  The Tea Party does not even have the amount of muscle progressives do.  Progressives can bring tens of thousands of people out, the Tea Party can rarely even get above 1,000.  They are a convenient excuse to do what the Beltway and the oligarchs already want to do.

Where are you going to go?

Both Dems and Republicans are onside with cutting Social Security and Medicare. They are only third rails if there is someone else to vote for.

The deals being offered will cause a second downleg of the Depression and a worse one

We’re in a Depression.  This is fact.  Anyone who doesn’t call it that is gutless, stupid or uninformed.  This will make it worse, not just for the US, but for the entire developed world.

Representatives work for the people who pay them

That isn’t really you.  They don’t become multi-millionaires on their salaries, you know.  It’s their donors, the people who hire their wives and children, the people who fund their campaigns, the people who give them good jobs when they leave government.  If you want Reps and Senators to work for you, you must pay them better, you must fund their campaigns (and sharply limit outside funding) and you must make it illegal for them to EVER make more money in a year than their government salary (index it to an average of the median wage, the minimum wage, and CPI).  You should do what Canada used to do and give them a good pension after 6 years.  You DON’T want them worrying about their next job, or what they’ll do if they’ll lose.

Point being, they don’t work for you.

This is a representative plutocracy

I believe Stirling Newberry, in the early 90s, pointed this out first.  Politicians are paid by people other than you.  You are the product.  Think of this as the Facebook rule, if you aren’t paying for something, then you are the product.  The rich pay politicians to rangle you.  The amount of salary and public funding most Reps get is trivial compared to how much money they get from donors, even during their time in elected office, let alone after they leave.  You are the product, not the customer, of DC politicians.  They do not represent you, and you should not expect your interests to be looked after except as an afterthought.  When the oligarchs all agree that something needs to be done (like cut entitlements), it will be done, no matter how unpopular it is.

This “Crisis” is what Obama wanted

Again, if he didn’t, he would have raised the debt ceiling in the lame duck.  Nancy Pelosi was always very good at getting those sort of basic housekeeping bills through. It would have passed.  Period.  Obama wanted to cut SS and Medicare, and he needed a “crisis” in order to do it.  He also needed a Republican House, which he had, because his policies during 2009 and 2010 didn’t fix the economy.

You should have been working on nothing but primarying Obama since the day after the midterms

If you don’t understand why, I can’t help you.

There is no war but class war

Break the rich, or they will finish institutionalizing aristocracy.  Period.

Sign the Credo Petition Today! Make your voice heard!

The best solution for the president and the country would be for the president to invoke the 14th amendment solution. One way you can get involved is to sign the Credo Action petition: "Enough is Enough: Invoke the 14th Amendment and end the crisis."

Here's what it says:

Enough is Enough: Invoke the 14th Amendment and end the crisis

Tell President Obama to use his 14th Amendment powers, raise the debt ceiling without Congress, end this crisis, and tell the House Republicans to go take a hike.

For weeks now, House Republicans have been holding America hostage, and threatening to wreak havoc with our credit rating and our economy. They have refused to raise the debt ceiling unless their extremist policies are enacted, policies that place a higher priority on defending tax loopholes for corporate jets than on preserving Medicare and Social Security.

Enough is enough. Mr. President, it is time to use your 14th Amendment powers to end this crisis.

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution clearly states that the validity of the U.S. government's debt "shall not be questioned." Leaders from President Clinton¹ to Representative James Clyburn to have called upon the president to invoke these powers.

Republicans, apparently unable to read, have tried to claim that doing this would be unconstitutional. But these same Republicans have held America hostage for too long. It is time for President Obama to move ahead without them, and use the powers given to him by the Constitution. If the Republicans really want to take their claims to court, let them. But right now, it's time to end this long, national nightmare.

Enough is enough. Tell President Obama to use his 14th Amendment powers to end this crisis.

Yves Smith (of Naked Capitalism) on the Debt Ceiling Debate

Yves Smith gives a nice rundown on the debt ceiling debate.