by Isaiah J. Poole | May 18, 2007 | Blog
Veteran journalist Bill Moyers is using his PBS show, Bill Moyers' Journal, to raise the public profile of a postal rate change that has been stirring anger in the progressive press for weeks. Earlier this month, the price of a first-class stamp went up two...
by Bill Scher | May 17, 2007 | Blog
Nativist conservatives are in full foam over the new immigration deal,
by Bill Scher | May 17, 2007 | Blog
Blue Climate flags this New York Times article about a study from the economic research arm of management consultant giant McKinsey & Company, backing strong government standards on energy efficiency. Blue Climate makes the common sense point that: "Energy efficiency...
by Bill Scher | May 17, 2007 | Blog
Speakers at the Apollo Summitin Washington earlier this year emphasized the importance of making our buildings energy efficient, slashing carbon emissions and creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs. The Los Angeles chapter of the Apollo Alliance talked...
by Isaiah J. Poole | May 16, 2007 | Blog
Our blog posts show how too many in power either ignore, misunderstand or underestimate what we the people told Washington in November. That's why we're looking to have more than 3,000 progressives rock the nation's capital June 18-20 at Take Back America 2007....
by Bill Scher | May 16, 2007 | Blog
Throughout the short history of "Weekend Watchdog", I keep asking why doesn't Senate Judiciary Chair Pat Leahy actually issue subpoenas for Karl Rove and other White House officials to testify about the Prosecutor Purge. The committee has authorized Leahy to issue...
by Bill Scher | May 16, 2007 | Blog
At our Apollo Summit, speakers emphasized the importance of making our buildings energy efficient, slashing carbon emissions and creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs. The Los Angeles chapter of the Apollo Alliance talked about raising $100 million to...
by Isaiah J. Poole | May 16, 2007 | Blog
There's more proof today that America's health care system, far from being what presidential candidate and former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson last week called "the absolute best in the world," lags far behind those of other major countries and...
by Bill Scher | May 16, 2007 | Blog
The key to building trust in government is to show deep understanding of the difference between effective and ineffective government -- putting our tax dollars into what works, scrapping or revamping programs that don't work. Thankfully, some ineffective government...
by Bill Scher | May 16, 2007 | Blog
The key to building trust in government is to show deep understanding of the difference between effective and ineffective government—putting our tax dollars into what works, scrapping or revamping programs that don't work. Thankfully, some ineffective government...
by Bill Scher | May 15, 2007 | Blog
As noted here before, Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., who chairs a key environmental committee, is close to the auto industry and may be an obstacle to strong global warming legislation. But yesterday at the Detroit Economic Club, Dingell said his committee is "working to...
by Bill Scher | May 15, 2007 | Blog
The Hotline's Marc Ambinder wins the coveted "Wanker of the Day" honor from Atrios today, after Ezra Klein called him out for "pat[ting Sen. Barack] Obama on the back for becoming 'the first top-tier Democratic presidential candidate to acknowledge that Social...
by Bill Scher | May 15, 2007 | Blog
To "greenwash" is to spin something as good for the environment, when it really amounts to direct harm or damaging inaction. Like Monday, when President Bush addressed the nation in the Rose Garden, and called for Congress to pass his "20 in 10" plan, cutting our gas...
by Bill Scher | May 14, 2007 | Blog
When the Supreme Court last month told the Bush administration to follow the law and treat greenhouse gases as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act, environmental groups noted that the ruling should end the administration's efforts to prevent states from adopting their...
by Bill Scher | May 14, 2007 | Blog
To "greenwash" is to spin something as good for the environment, when it's really amounts to direct harm or damaging inaction. Like today, when President Bush addressed the nation in the Rose Garden, and called for Congress to pass his "20 in 10" plan, cutting our gas...
by Bill Scher | May 14, 2007 | Blog
A few months ago, Bush's Medicare officials claimed private insurers were getting pharmaceutical companies to lower prices, but when Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif, and Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., asked for the proof, the administration wouldn't cough up the data. So, Waxman's...
by Bill Scher | May 14, 2007 | Blog
Here's how the Sunday news shows did with our Weekend Watchdog questions. In a word, not well. For former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (Fox News Sunday): One of the first things you did after leaving the mayor's office was become a PR flack for the makers of...
by Bill Scher | May 14, 2007 | Blog
Here's how the Sunday news shows did with our Weekend Watchdog questions. In a word, not well. For former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (Fox News Sunday): One of the first things you did after leaving the mayor's office was become a PR flack for the makers of...
by Bill Scher | May 14, 2007 | Blog
Here's how the Sunday news shows did with our Weekend Watchdog questions. In a word, not well. For former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (Fox News Sunday): One of the first things you did after leaving the mayor's office was become a PR flack for the makers of...
by Bill Scher | May 14, 2007 | Blog
Here's how the Sunday news shows did with our Weekend Watchdog questions. In a word, not well. For former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (Fox News Sunday): One of the first things you did after leaving the mayor's office was become a PR flack for the makers of...
by Bill Scher | May 13, 2007 | Blog
The Sunday show hosts failed to ask any of our Weekend Watchdog questions today. Fox News Sunday taped its interview with Rudy Giuliani on Friday, one day after his client Purdue Pharma had some its executives plead guilty for misleading the public about...
by Bill Scher | May 11, 2007 | Blog
Every Friday in our Weekend Watchdog feature, we post suggested questions for scheduled Sunday guests. You can add your own questions in the comment thread. We'll also include contact information for the shows, so we can let them know what their viewers want asked....
by Isaiah J. Poole | May 11, 2007 | Blog
The Enron scandal is rearing its ugly head again, and the Securities and Exchange Commission has to decide with whom it will stand: Will it be with small investors who depend on the honest advice of financial advisors or with bankers who, thanks to a recent federal...
by Robert Borosage | May 11, 2007 | Blog
Robert Borosage, co-director of the Campaign for America’s Future, gave these remarks at a press conference this week with victims of the Enron collapse and their supporters, along with attorney William S. Lerach. The victims are asking the Supreme Court to overturn a...
by Bill Scher | May 11, 2007 | Blog
Yesterday, the House passed an intelligence bill that included a provision requiring a comprehensive report on how climate change may exacerbate national security threats. This should be obvious and non-controversial. The intelligence community already analyzes the...
by Bill Scher | May 10, 2007 | Blog
As President Bush touched down in devastated Greensburg, Kan., on Wednesday, I thought back to April 2001, when a white policeman killed a 19-year old black man in Cincinatti, sparking riots. There was no presidential visit to Cincinnati, or even extended...
by Bill Scher | May 9, 2007 | Blog
Back in February, presidential hopeful Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., quietly made a bold move. He co-sponsored the "gold standard" of global warming bills, Sanders-Boxer, cutting greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050. This week, three other...
by Bill Scher | May 9, 2007 | Blog
Over at the Take Back America 2007 blog, I'm posing the question: what can we do to galvanize the grassroots and remove the grip the pharmaceutical industry has on the Senate?
by Bill Scher | May 9, 2007 | Blog
As President Bush touched down in devastated Greensburg, Kansas today, I thought back to April 2001, when a white policeman killed a 19-year old black man in Cincinatti, sparking riots. There was no presidential visit to Cincinnati, or even extended remarks, to help...
by Bill Scher | May 9, 2007 | Blog
Business leaders jumped into the universal health care pool this week, as 36 companies formed the Coalition to Advance Healthcare Reform and called for a system where all individuals are required to carry health insurance. The announcement further shifts the center of...
by Bill Scher | May 8, 2007 | Blog
A little sampling of blogger reactions to yesterday's Senate vote scuttling an attempt to allow cheaper prescription drugs to be imported from Canada. David Sirota: "How Many 'Free Trade' Senators Can PhRMA Turn Into Corporate Protectionists?" Down With Tyranny:...
by Bill Scher | May 8, 2007 | Blog
I spoke too soon on Friday, when I heralded a Senate vote denying a filibuster on allowing drug imports from Canada, where costs are lower. Yesterday, Big Pharma struck back, winning a vote inserting a disingenuous provision, only allowing imports if the Secretary of...
by Bill Scher | May 8, 2007 | Blog
There is more evidence that partially privatizing Medicare is currently hurting our seniors. Private insurers already have been given a role in delivering Medicare coverage. In addition to private companies providing "Part D" prescription drug coverage, seniors...
by Bill Scher | May 7, 2007 | Blog
More evidence of how partially privatizing Medicare is currently hurting our seniors, in today's New York Times. Private insurers already have been given a role in delivering Medicare coverage. In addition to private companies providing "Part D" prescription drug...
by Bill Scher | May 7, 2007 | Blog
Sunday morning news talk show hosts went 0-for-3 this week, failing to ask any of the Weekend Watchdog questions we wanted answered. Here's what we wanted to know: For House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio ( Fox News Sunday ): You recently said: "We can walk...
by Bill Scher | May 7, 2007 | Blog
Sunday morning news talk show hosts went 0-for-3 this week, failing to ask any of the Weekend Watchdog questions we wanted answered. Here's what we wanted to know: For House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio ( Fox News Sunday ): You recently said: "We can walk...
by Bill Scher | May 7, 2007 | Blog
Sunday morning news talk show hosts went 0-for-3 this week, failing to ask any of the Weekend Watchdog questions we wanted answered. Here's what we wanted to know: For House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio ( Fox News Sunday ): You recently said: "We can walk...
by Bill Scher | May 7, 2007 | Blog
Sunday morning news talk show hosts went 0-for-3 this week, failing to ask any of the Weekend Watchdog questions we wanted answered. Here's what we wanted to know: For House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio ( Fox News Sunday ): You recently said: "We can walk...
by Bill Scher | May 7, 2007 | Blog
The Sunday show hosts went 0-for-3, failing to ask any of our Weekend Watchdog questions. Even though House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said on Fox News Sunday, "I'm not for benchmarks with artificial timelines, yanking funds, trying to ensure that there's...
by Bill Scher | May 4, 2007 | Blog
Every Friday in our Weekend Watchdog feature, we post suggested questions for scheduled Sunday guests. You can add your own questions in the comment thread. We'll also include contact information for the shows, so we can let them know what their viewers want asked....
