HAVA (Help America Vote Act) repackaged as S. 3212

By Richard Van Slyke July 30, 2008

It’s politics as usual. When the majority of people are opposed to a bill because it doesn’t serve the best interest of the country, Congress drags its feet by repackaging it and going through a lengthy process that insures that nothing will change.  S. 3212, the "Bipartisan Electronic Voting Reform Act of 2008", is a typical example of it.

Food, Oil, and Speculators

By Richard Van Slyke
May 12, 2008

The truth is slowly starting to trickle out.  Not thanks to the hard work of the U.S. mainstream media, but just because it’s so real that it can’t remain totally hidden. What is really causing the rise of food and oil prices?
Many reasons have been given over the past few months.
Shortage of oil production turned out to be a false pretext; there is more oil being produced now than in the 1970’s.
The use of corn and soybean for biofuels, a reason given by George Bush a few weeks ago, was retracted days later.  Biofuels do play a part in the rise of food prices, but absolutely not to an extent that would justify the rise that occurred.
So the major factor in food and oil prices jump is slowly emerging in the news: speculators.  Of course, the first reports came from outside the U.S.; then it was picked-up here by alternative medias here, citing foreign sources.  And now some major media are (probably reluctantly) bringing it up.

J Street: New Jewish Lobby Group to Tackle Big Brother

By Richard Van Slyke
April 29th, 2008

April 15th, 2008 was a landmark.  Mostly unnoticed, a new lobby group was officially founded: J Street. It is being described by the few who wrote about it as an organization of Jewish Liberals.  Strangely, it seems like whenever people advocate policies that make sense, they are labeled as liberals.  This tells you right away that there must be a good side to J Street.

U.S. Presidential Elections: The Biggest Game Show in the World

By Richard Van Slyke
March 30th, 2008

“Who is your favorite candidate?” Sounds familiar?

Grannies arrested for wanting to enlist.

By Richard Van Slyke
March 19th, 2008

Two days ago, 10 members of Grandmothers for Peace were arrested in Atlanta for trying to enlist at an Army recruiting station. I won’t go over all the details of the event as it is best related by Atlanta Progressive News (1), but this story definitely needs close attention. Despite the fact that it is quite hilarious, it is also definitely a serious matter.

The motto was: "We don’t want our grandchildren to go to war, so take us instead."

By Richard Van Slyke
01/29/2008

As usual, the most important stories are sometimes the ones ignored by the major media. And the Sibel Edmonds story is typical.
Why is it an important story?
Because it shows that within our government there are people who are working for exactly the opposite of what this administration is faking to stand for.
And why is it not covered?
Because digging into it could lead to a domino effect reaching people in high positions.

What started out as a reasonable, though not perfect, stimulus plan has been ruined by Republicans in Congress:

REPORTED STIMULUS PACKAGE WOULD PROVIDE LITTLE IMMEDIATE BOOST DUE TO REMOVAL OF MOST EFFECTIVE PROVISIONS

Changes reportedly made last night in the stimulus package would reduce its effectiveness as stimulus. Although the package includes a reasonably designed tax rebate, the two most targeted and economically effective measures under consideration — a temporary extension of unemployment benefits and a temporary boost in food stamp benefits — were zeroed out, apparently at the insistence of House Republican leaders.

Lately, President Bush has been admonishing Congress, asking them to curtail spending.
Medicare and Medicaid are the prime targets, with Social Security benefits next in line; but many other budget cuts are creeping up, in a way that will affect our everyday lives for generations to come.
Meanwhile, we are spending $720 Million a day to fight a war that is becoming harder and harder to justify. This price tag is an issue that is seldom addressed by the major media.

If you live in the U.S., you're rich. Even if you are homeless and reading this article in a public library. How do we know that? Your GDP is high!

What is the GDP?
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is in economics the leading indicator of the wealth of a country.
It is calculated by adding-up private consumption, business investments, government expenditures, and the difference (positive or negative) between exports and imports.

By dividing that figure by the number of inhabitants, the GDP per capita is also usually used as an indicator of the standard of living in that country.

Georgia torture training school sees crosses as sticks.
By Richard Van Slyke. 

Columbus, Georgia is a city of 186,000 people in central Georgia, in a county that borders Alabama. This is as deep inside the Bible Belt as can be, and a place where crosses are usually more than welcome. With at least one exception: when they are used as a sign of protest against torture.