“People have the power. If they begin to organize, if they protest, if they create a strong enough movement, they can change things.” — Howard Zinn
The late historian, writer and activist Howard Zinn would have turned 90 years old today. Zinn died of a heart attack at the age of 87 on January 27, 2010. After serving as a bombardier in World War II, Zinn went on to become a lifelong dissident and peace activist. He was active in the civil rights movement and many of the struggles for social justice over the past 50 years. In 1980, Howard Zinn published his classic book, “A People’s History of the United States,” which would go on to sell more than a million copies and change the way we look at history in America. We air an excerpt of a Zinn interview on Democracy Now! from May 2009, and another from one of his last speeches later that year, just two months before his death.
Ron Collins, Communication Workers of America (CWA) joins Thom Hartmann. A job that’s becoming increasingly harder and harder to find in America over the last few years is one in the call center industry. Since 2006 – a half-millions American call center jobs have been packed up and shipped overseas to low-wage countries. Companies like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and T-Mobile are the some of the biggest culprits when it comes to killing American call center jobs. But, Democrats in Congress have been pushing legislation to put an end ot this mass exodus of jobs. The United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act cuts off federal loans and benefits to companies that off-shore their call center jobs. This bill also keeps a running list of companies that have off-shored call center jobs in an effort to discourage the practice. Back in June, the House of Representatives took a vote on this legislation – and most Republicans lined up against it – killing the bill – and leaving the few Americans who still have call center jobs screwed. But now, Democrats in the Senate are trying to revive the legislation with the help of Senators Sherrod Brown in Ohio and Bob Casey in Pennsylvania – two states that have been hit really hard by call center job losses. As Senator Sherrod Brown said this week in defense of the United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act: “When companies send call center jobs overseas, they don’t just frustrate consumers – they hurt our economy as well. With thousands of Ohioans looking for work, it just doesn’t make sense to ship these jobs overseas.” He’s right – so what can be done to make sure this legislation passes to stimulate OUR economy – instead of stimulate foreign economes with what used to be American call center jobs.
The federal government has rescinded its approval of the proposed Prairie Parkway which would connect I-80 and I-88 in Kane, Kendall, and Grundy counties under an agreement to settle a lawsuit filed by opponents of the highway project.
The action eliminates federal funding for the project, and the Illinois Department of Transportation will now shift federal funds previously allocated to the Prairie Parkway to improvements to Illinois 47 and US 34.
After an 11-year fight, we have finally scuttled this highway which would have destroyed thousands of acres of prime farmland, threatened the Fox River and its tributaries, and forever changed the area’s small community way of life,” said Jan Strasma, Chairman, Citizens Against the Sprawlway (CATS), the grassroots organization long opposing the highway.
Note: The Prairie Parkway opponents will celebrate the end of the project at the 11th Annual “Stop the Beltway’ Picnic which begins at 4 pm Sunday at the Marvel Davis farm, 47W066 Jericho Rd, near Big Rock, about 5 miles west of Illinois 47.
Matt Taibbi, contributing editor for Rolling Stone, talks about how the lack of any individual prosecutions relating to the 2008 financial crisis has emboldened Wall Street in this “Viewpoint” Web exclusive. Taibbi recently took Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice to task for failing to bring any cases against Goldman Sachs in a Rolling Stone piece.
Assassination has always been a tool of the American state, but before the “War on Terror” it was not something our leaders bragged about. As TomDispatch.com‘s Tom Engelhardt and Nick Turse explain in their new book, Terminator Planet: The First History of Drone Warfare, 2001-2050, President Obama has gone beyond his predecessors, even beyond George W. Bush, and consolidated his power to the point of becoming the Assassin-in-Chief. Whether the American people are in favor of this type of warfare has never been asked, leaving the decision of who lives and who dies squarely with the president.
On August 21, 2012 CTU members and supporters engaged in informational picketing at schools across the city to discuss contract negotiations with the communities we serve.
On August 20, 2012 CTU members and supporters engaged in informational picketing at schools across the city to discuss contract negotiations with the communities we serve.
Bill McKibben shares this call to action for what could not only be the biggest fight of our time, but of all time.
The fossil fuel industry is quickly destroying the planet, and making the fight to protect our future increasingly challenging as industry lobbying, and unabated growth continues. We all need to come together and rally behind leaders like Bill McKibben, 350.org, and countless others, to save this planet. How? With passion, spirit, and creativity, and as Bill says, sometimes putting our bodies on the line. Will you join the fight?
As offshore oil drilling edges ever closer to becoming a reality in the Arctic Ocean, the Center for American Progress examines the region’s lack of readiness in the event of a spill. The video highlights the concerns and challenges facing the Coast Guard charged with its protection, the grave doubts of the scientific community about the lack of knowledge in this area, and the perspectives of those who depend on the Arctic Ocean for their livelihood.
