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From the blogs

Official Unemployment Hits 9.5% (Reality Even Worse)

by Meteor Blades, Daily Kos

The official count -- known as U3 and dutifully reported by most of the media -- fails to show the true extent of the wreckage.

Thinking Chipotle For Lunch? Read This First If You Care About Workers' Rights

by Peter Rothberg, TheNation.com

The country's fastest-growing fast food chain has resisted calls for a commitment to ending the brutal exploitation in Florida's tomato fields.

Happy Days Are Here Again (For the Masters of the Universe)

by Digby, Hullabaloo

Citigroup joins Morgan Stanley and UBS AG in boosting salaries for executives and employees.

Bankrupt GM Begins Slashing Jobs

by Harry Hanbury, American News Project

Despite the government's efforts to keep GM afloat, the company is hemorrhaging jobs.

It's Sleazy Union-Busters Versus the Pope!

by Art Levine, AlterNet

The labor movement has a powerful new ally in the fight for workers' rights.

Colin Powell: Our Streets and Neighborhoods Bear the Indelible Marks of Immigrants’ Cultures

by Staff, AlterNet

In a February speech, Powell laid out the rationale for sane immigration policies.

A 'Perfect Storm for Disaster' Brewing With Washington's 'Unprecedented' Shadow Army

by Jeremy Scahill, Rebel Reports

As troops and private contractors surge in Afghanistan, a new report reveals a system rife with abuse.

Obama, GM and Silly Psuedo-Constitutional Arguments

by Joshua Holland, AlterNet

The Beltway media gives credence to, and amplifies, every partisan accusation, no matter how thin.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Threat To Capitalism

by Eric Lotke, Campaign for America's Future

The Chamber of Commerce doesn’t get it. They aren’t defending capitalism and free enterprise. They are all but destroying it.

Revealed: Blackwater Still Working in Iraq for John McCain-linked 'Non-Profit'

by Jeremy Scahill, Rebel Reports

A new lawsuit reveals that the notorious mercenary firm is working, under a different name, for the International Republican Institute in Iraq.

Rolling Stone Expose Declares Goldman Sachs Behind Every Market Crash Since 1920s

Daniel Tencer, Raw Story. July 4, 2009.
Matt Taibbi explains how the company created market bubbles and then profited from the crash that followed.

The Results Are In: A Public Health Plan Saves Big Money

Bill Scher, Campaign for America's Future. July 3, 2009.
The arguments by obstructionists are dead -- the math shows health care costs will drop while achieving near universal coverage.

Chamber of Commerce Launches $100 Million Campaign to Protect Wall Street's Power at Our Expense

Zach Carter, AlterNet. July 2, 2009.
The CoC is the world's most powerful lobbying machine and it's working to make sure our money gets funneled to corporate execs.

Worker Uprising Against Wells Fargo Spreads After Major Victory to Keep Factories Open

Mike Elk, AlterNet. July 2, 2009.
Workers fight back against Wells Fargo for closing their factory and they win! Now other workers take on the fight.

Apologists for the Rich Are Scraping the Bottom of the Barrel

Sam Pizzigati, Too Much: A Commentary on Excess and Inequality. July 1, 2009.
In a down economy, apologists for the awesomely affluent are having to dig deep for inspiration. In the process, they're looking dopey.

Getting Laid-Off May Lead to Early Death -- But There Are Ways to Cushion the Severe Health Impact of Job Loss

Tom Jacobs, Miller-McCune.com. July 1, 2009.
Studies show that the current economic climate may be eroding months or even years from the lives of those on the bleeding edge of insecurity.

Bernie Madoff: Fall Guy or First of Many?

Eric Lotke, Campaign for America's Future. June 30, 2009.
Congressional Commission on financial fraud has the ability to put hundreds of Madoffs in jail and lead the way for real bank reform.

Got Health Insurance? Fighting for a Public Option Might Just Get You a Raise!

Joshua Holland, AlterNet. June 29, 2009.
Controlling health care costs isn't just necessary for the health of our economy -- it'd also be likely to boost personal incomes.

Abyss of Joblessness: The Economy Can't Improve Unless We Put People Back to Work

Bob Herbert, The New York Times. June 29, 2009.
How do you put together a consumer economy that works when the consumers are out of work?

Coca-Cola's Troubling History: Drug Addicts, Nazis and MLK's Condemnation

Mark Thomas, Nation Books. June 27, 2009.
Knowing the history behind the ubiquitous bottle of Coca-Cola just might leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Foreclosure Fiasco Continues: The Bush-Obama Strategy of Throwing Billions at Banks Doesn't Work

Robert Scheer, Truthdig. June 27, 2009.
Americans are now $14 trillion poorer. Many who thought they were middle class have now joined the ranks of the poor.

Will the 'Dollar Wars' Kill What's Left of the American Dream?

Scott Thill, AlterNet. June 26, 2009.
Countries yoked to America's currency, and therefore its cratering empire, want to kick the dollar to the curb. And that's bad news for the U.S.

So What Happened to That Talk About Reining in CEO Pay?

Chuck Collins, Sam Pizzigati, AlterNet. June 25, 2009.
The Obama administration has watered down the rules on executive pay into mushy prescriptions that pose no real threat to the Big Boys' windfalls.

Gas Pump Thievery: Who's Really Behind the Rising Prices at the Pumps?

Jim Hightower, AlterNet. June 25, 2009.
What's going on here is not the "magic of the marketplace," but some hocus-pocus by brand-name dealers.

Food Inc: Michael Pollan and Friends Reveal the Food Industry's Darkest Secrets

Tara Lohan, AlterNet. June 25, 2009.
The new film Food Inc. is a shocking look at the health, human rights and the environmental nightmare that lands on our plate each meal.

Obama's False Financial Reform Is Nothing But Smooth Talk and Some Fuzzy Plans

William Greider, The Nation. June 25, 2009.
Missing in the Obama plan are hard rules -- the classic quality of laws that command behavior by prescribing "thou shalt" or 'thou shalt not."

Big Business Is Aiding the Internet Crackdown in Iran and China -- Will the Technology Be Used on Americans Next?

Amy Goodman, King Features Syndicate. June 25, 2009.
No legislation in the U.S. prevents the government from employing technology that monitors everything that goes through the Internet.

5 Progressive Bright Spots in a Bleak Economic Landscape

Les Leopold, AlterNet. June 24, 2009.
This disaster has a few bright spots that we should build upon.

McDonald's Is Poisoning Consumers -- And Blaming Everyone Else for the Catastrophic Societal Costs

Stacey Folsom, AlterNet. June 24, 2009.
McDonald's refuses to take responsibility for the skyrocketing rates of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

We Made Them Rich and They Called Us Criminals

David Bacon, TruthOut.org. June 23, 2009.
Companies exploit undocumented workers, and then claim that sanctions require them to fire them when it's convenient.

Obama's Economic Reforms Should Re-structure the System -- Not Just Reform It

Danny Schechter, AlterNet. June 22, 2009.
We're dealing with a political elite that is more Clintonesque than Rooseveltesque. Will meaningful change be possible?

'Green Shoots' of Recovery? Don't Fall for the Media's Economic Triumphalism

Joshua Holland, AlterNet. June 22, 2009.
A narrative is emerging that we're seeing the first signs that a recovery is around the corner, but the reality is less encouraging.

How Unions Gave My Redneck Family a Chance at the American Dream

Joe Bageant, AlterNet. June 22, 2009.
Restoring dignity to laboring America won't be easy. It won't be pretty, and it won't be "within the system." Because the system is the problem.

"Suck on Our Yachts": Goldman Sachs Issues Non-Apology for Destroying the World Economy

Matt Taibbi, True/Slant. June 22, 2009.
Goldman Sachs chief Lloyd Blankfein says he's sorry, then proceeds to brag about screwing us all.

While the Economy Crashes and Burns, Bush Loyalists Are Making a Killing

Nick Turse, Tomdispatch.com. June 19, 2009.
They shredded our economic safety nets, but for them jobs are plentiful and lucrative. You'll be surprised to know who's cashing in and where.

Obama's New Economic Plan: The Good, the Bad and the Weak

Nomi Prins, Mother Jones. June 19, 2009.
His new regulations have been billed as the most sweeping overhaul of the financial system since the Great Depression. Obama, alas, is no FDR.

Next on the Endangered Species List: Your Hometown Newspaper

Benjamin Dangl, AlterNet. June 18, 2009.
They ground us in a globalized world, and help define who and where we are.

Have Geithner and Summers Seen the Error of Their Ways and What Does it Mean For Our Future?

Robert Scheer, Truthdig. June 18, 2009.
Summers and Geitner finally condemned the Wall Street shenanigans they once abetted. But will this mean any real change in Obama's policy?

Homes Still Cost Too Much

John Wasik, AlterNet. June 18, 2009.
Unfortunately the cost of land, homebuilding, taxes and homeownership far exceed what millions of households are able to cover.

Union Busting Ended My Love Affair with a Beer

Mike Elk, AlterNet. June 17, 2009.
Women had come and gone, dogs had died, but Yuengling had always been there for me - until now.

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