Tag Archives: American Politics

March for Jobs at the G20! | Bail Out the People Movement

march4jobsWhy are we demanding jobs or income at the G-20 Economic Crisis Meeting in Pittsburgh in September?

30 million people in the U.S. are unemployed or underemployed – We say NO!

 

 

What is the G-20?

It’s a group of Treasury officials and central bankers from 20 countries, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Its goal is to protect bank profits, whatever it costs the people of the world.

The U.S. delegation is led by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Ben Bernanke, head of the Federal Reserve System (The Fed). They organized a bailout of the banks, insurance companies and stock brokerages that totals $12.6 trillion–or $42,105 for every adult and child in the U.S.

How much is a trillion dollars? It is 1,000 billion. And a billion is 1,000 million.

The Federal Reserve controls this money, yet most people have never heard of it. The Fed has seven governors, all bankers, appointed by the U.S. President for 14-year terms. George W. Bush appointed Bernanke Chairman of his Council of Economic Advisors and then head of the Fed. The Fed operates in secrecy, even from Congress, yet makes decisions affecting whether we work, have homes, or eat.

Geithner, the former chief of the NY Federal Reserve Bank, worked with the Fed under the Bush administration to devise the bank bailout. He invented the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) and eight other programs to funnel taxpayer money into the banks. His top aide is from Goldman Sachs Bank. He changed bank regulations to prohibit congressional audits of the Federal Reserve.

Who is representing the people at the G20 conference? No one!

Profit recovery for banks –
Jobless ‘recovery’ for workers
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Filed under Actions, Actions | Events, American Politics, American Progressive Politics, Economics, Foreclosure/Housing, Obama Administration, Protest, The Bush Administration

Edward M. Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) | June 1968 Address at the Public Memorial Service for Robert F. Kennedy

John, Bobby and Teddy Kennedy
John, Bobby and Teddy Kennedy

Edward M. Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009)

Click photo for audio of Kennedy’s Address at the Public Memorial Service for Robert F. Kennedy delivered 8 June 1968 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York

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Filed under American Culture, American History, American Politics, Historic Photos - People

Cindy Sheehan heads to Martha’s Vineyard to Confront Obama on the War

 
John Conyers and Cindy-Sheehan

John Conyers and Cindy-Sheehan

Cindy Sheehan will join other like-minded peace activists to have a presence near the expensive resort on Martha’s Vineyard where President Obama will be vacationing the week of August 23-30.

 
From her home in California, Ms. Sheehan released this statement:
 
“There are several things that we wish to accomplish with this protest on Martha’s Vineyard.
First of all, no good social or economic change will come about with the continuation or escalation of the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. We simply can’t afford to continue this tragically expensive foreign policy.
 
Secondly, we as a movement need to continue calling for an immediate end to the occupations even when there is a Democrat in the Oval Office. There is still no Noble Cause no matter how we examine the policies.
 
Thirdly, the body bags aren’t taking a vacation and as the US led violence surges in Afghanistan and Pakistan, so are the needless deaths on every side.
 
And, finally, if the right-wing can force the government to drop any kind of public option or government supported health care, then we need to exert the same kind of pressure to force a speedy end to the occupations.”
 
Cindy Sheehan will arrive on the Vineyard on Tuesday, August 25th.
 
For more information, or to request an interview with Cindy Sheehan please contact:
 
Laurie Dobson
lauriegdobson@yahoo.com
(207) 604-8988
 
or
Bruce Marshall
brmas@yahoo.com
(802) 767-6079
 
To donate to help with logistical support, or to help Cindy and other Gold Star Families (families who have lost loved ones in war) get to Martha’s Vinyard please go to:
 
Or go to
www.Paypal.com and put in the email: Cindy@CindySheehansSoapbox.com
or
Mail a check to:
Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox, LLC
55 Chumasero Dr STE 5D
San Francisco, Ca 94132

Families who oppose the wars and have lost a loved one during the Obama Regime are especially encouraged to attend.
Please forward this far and wide!

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Filed under Actions, Actions | Events, American Politics, anti-war, Events, Human Rights, Obama Administration, Peace, The Obama Administration

Robert Pollin | Forum on the Financial Crisis 2008 | 1&2

Robert Pollin

Co-director and Professor of Economics

POLLIN

POLLIN

Pollin is Professor of Economics and founding Co-Director of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of  Massachusetts, Amherst. His research centers on macroeconomics, conditions for low-wage workers in the U.S. and globally, the analysis of financial markets, and the economics of building a clean-energy economy in the U.S. His books include A Measure of Fairness: The Economics of Living Wages and Minimum Wages in the United States (co-authored, 2008); An Employment-Targeted Economic Program for Kenya (co-authored, 2008); An Employment-Targeted Economic Program for South Africa (co-authored, 2007); Contours of Descent: U.S. Economic Fractures and the contoursLandscape of Global Austerity (2003); and The Living Wage: Building A Fair Economy (co-authored, 1998); and the edited volumes Human Development in the Era of Globalization (co-edited, 2006); Globalization and Progressive Economic Policy (co-edited, 1998); The Macroeconomics of Saving, Finance, and Investment (1997); and Transforming the U.S. Financial System (co-edited, 1993). Most recently, he co-authored the reports “Job Opportunities for the Green Economy” (June 2008) and “Green Recovery” (September 2008), exploring the broader economic benefits of large-scale investments in a clean-energy economy in the U.S. He has worked with the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Economic Commission on living wageAfrica on policies to promote to promote decent employment expansion and poverty reduction in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. He has also worked with the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress and as a member of the Capital Formation Subcouncil of the U.S. Competiveness Policy Council.

 

 

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President Dwight Eisenhower’s Farewell Address | The Military Industrial Complex

Dwight David Eisenhower

Dwight David Eisenhower

Eisenhower warns the United States of America against the rise of the Military Industrial Complex in his Jan.17,1961 address.


34. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER 1953-1961

Bringing to the Presidency his prestige as commanding general of the victorious forces in Europe during World War II, Dwight D. Eisenhower obtained a truce in Korea and worked incessantly during his two terms to ease the tensions of the Cold War. He pursued the moderate policies of “Modern Republicanism,” pointing out as he left office, “America is today the strongest, most influential, and most productive nation in the world.”

My fellow Americans:

Three days from now, after half a century in the service of our country, I shall lay down the responsibilities of office as, in traditional and solemn ceremony, the authority of the Presidency is vested in my successor.

This evening I come to you with a message of leave-taking and farewell, and to share a few final thoughts with you, my countrymen. Continue reading

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