Working Life

This bodes well, if it works. The Washington Post reports today that House Democrats will introduce a series of votes on ethics reforms: But they will do it with a twist: Instead of forwarding one big bill, Democrats will put together an ethics package on the House floor piece by piece, allowing incoming freshmen to […]

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First, the good news. While Tammy Duckworth wasn’t our first choice in Illinois’ 6th District, it’s sweet to see Gov. Blagojevich appointing her as the new director of Illinois Veterans’ Affairs. Duckworth said a priority will be bolstering Blagojevich’s new “Veterans Care” program and “making it available to more veterans.” Low-income veterans between the ages […]

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As the entrenched incumbent corporatist Democrats anticipate the incoming class of 2006, Jim Webb of Virginia, the man who saved the Senate, sets foot firmly in the populist camp with this WSJ op-ed. In the class war between the investing class and the working stiffs, Webb’s choosing sides: The most important–and unfortunately the least debated–issue […]

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Houston janitors and supporters, who blocked a downtown intersection in an act of peaceful civil disobedience, were held on $888,888 bond each yesterday, according to the SEIU. In contrast, bail for a Harris County man accused of killing another man in a bar fight was set at $30,000. The janitors are striking for a living […]

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Who comes up with the names for these industry groups? The “Compete America” coalition is asking Congress for an increase in the number of H-1B Visas, allowing them to import more foreign workers, primarily in the IT sector. A coalition of business and education groups is making a renewed push to persuade Congress to raise […]

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So now that Democrats have officially swept the midterms, barring Republicans from picking up a single Congressional seat or governorship, what next? Why, more troops and more war, of course! Leaks indicate that, in typical “who cares what you think” fashion, Bush and his new minder, James Baker, have settled on an Iraq strategy that […]

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This story today from the AP, with the inaccurate title, “Report: Fewer People in U.S. Are Hungry,” is emblematic of the banal, bureaucratic assaults on decency lobbed by the current administration at every level, every day. The report, from the Department of Agriculture, is, according to the AP, “drawing criticism, this time because analysts decided […]

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Having assessed the punditry, Michael Tomasky argues that conventional wisdom touting the Democratic win as a victory for moderates is, well, wrong. While, he explains, there are a handful of newly elected Democrats who might be type-cast as centrists based on demographic assumptions (think Tester), in fact there’s a unifying liberal tide beneath the surface […]

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[Note: This is Stef Cannon posting here today, as guest-blogger for the week while Tasini finally takes a vacation.] And the good news keeps rolling in. Today the NY Times reports that the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, with its 7,000 members, will join the New York City Central Labor Council The taxi drivers, who […]

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While Joe Lieberman has said that he will caucus with the Democrats, the newly-minted “Independent Democrat” is not pledging fidelity forever, leaving the balance of Congressional power solely in his hands. HARTFORD, Conn. — Sen. Joe Lieberman on Sunday repeated his pledge to caucus with Senate Democrats when the 110th Congress convenes in January, but […]

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