Newsitem List
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Lack of affordable housing has deadly consequences
Three tornadoes lashed through central Florida in the early morning hours on February 2, killing 20 people. Separate twisters touched down between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. local time, the first in the rural community of Lady Lake, killing six people, and a few minutes later a second one swept through the small town of Paisley, claiming another 13 lives. Most of the victims were asleep and unaware of any impending danger. It is estimated that over 1,500 homes were destroyed or heavily damaged and th...
Posted: Sat, Feb 10, 2007 4:44pm PST
Action Alert: Invigorate, Don't Decimate, the Family and Medical Leave Act
The Department of Labor has asked us to tell them what we think about the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and we have a week to tell them: "Invigorate, do not decimate, the Family and Medical Leave Act"....
Posted: Fri, Feb 9, 2007 9:28pm PST
Back-Alley Medicine? Uninsured Seek New Health Options
Rising health care costs and crackdowns on undocumented immigrants are making many U.S. residents seek medical care from alternative health practitioners -- some of whom have dubious credentials. Viji Sundaram is New America Media's health editor....
Posted: Fri, Feb 9, 2007 7:40am PST
US Federal Reserve chairman issues warning on social inequality
In a speech to the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, America’s central banker and one of the most powerful figures in the country, became the latest member of the US establishment to issue a caution about the growth of social inequality....
Posted: Thu, Feb 8, 2007 9:50am PST
Urgent: Camp Quixote in Olympia Given Orders to Shut Down
I thought I'd pass this along as yet another example on how this country is waging war on the homeless. Maybe the Bay Area homeless need to get more organized, like these guys appearently are....
Posted: Wed, Feb 7, 2007 8:38pm PST
Senate Votes on Funding for Public Housing: Call Today!
Our Senators will vote this week on a joint funding resolution which could help fill the $1 billion shortfall for Public Housing. Now is the time to call to urge Senators Boxer and Feinstein to increase funding levels!...
Posted: Wed, Feb 7, 2007 10:44am PST
Bush Declares War on Homeless, Low-Income Tenants
Blunted thus far in his efforts to expand America’s war to Iran, President Bush has found a target closer to home: America’s homeless and low-income tenants. The Bush budget plan for fiscal year 2008 announced on February 6 slashes key low-income housing programs, while increasing America’s mammoth defense budget by 11%---an increase that does not include funding for the Iraq war. It will again be up to Congress to not only stop the cuts, but to achieve the long overdue budget increases neces...
Posted: Wed, Feb 7, 2007 7:30am PST
Bush wants to make tax cuts for the rich permanent
President George W. Bush’s budget proposal calls for making permanent the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts scheduled to expire at the end of 2010. This would further widen the chasm between the wealthy elite and the rest of the population....
Posted: Wed, Feb 7, 2007 7:16am PST
Long-Term Price of Providing Veterans Medical Care Could Reach $660 Billion
Over 200,000 soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan have been treated at Veterans Affairs medical facilities thus far, with 900,000 still deployed on active duty. A new study from Harvard University predicts that the cost of medical care and compensation benefits for returning veterans will skyrocket once those troops return home....
Posted: Tue, Feb 6, 2007 8:23am PST
War Against The Poor Enters New Phase in New Orleans
"...two officers got out of the car and approached Common Ground volunteers. One of them, officer Lusk (badge number 1811) was involved in a previous incident where, he ... and another off duty officerin uniform broke into the office without a warrant and took computers and files belonging to Common Ground....
Posted: Sat, Feb 3, 2007 9:57pm PST
Deadly house fire in Petersburg, Virginia: the human cost of social inequality
In the early hours of January 12, 2007, an old wood-frame house in Petersburg, Virginia caught fire, killing three boys and injuring seven others. Two sisters, Diamond and Hope Hazer, were renting the house, and their extended family was living in it. Six-year-old Mark Banks, 11-year-old Na’Tyah Hazer and 16-year-old John Harper Jr. were unable to escape the fire....
Posted: Thu, Feb 1, 2007 8:54am PST
Schwarzenegger M.I.A. On Liberty Quarry
Today there is a battle that is being waged in Southwest Riverside County; an industry giant, Granite Construction, is attempting to obtain permits to quarry a 311 acre site to meet the growing need for aggregate in Southern California. The residents of several communities are committed to keeping the quarry from opening due to potential health risk, the traffic the quarry will bring to the area and the severe impact the quarry will have on the natural environment....
Posted: Wed, Jan 31, 2007 8:55pm PST
Police Arrest Public Housing Activists in New Orleans, Federal Officials Try to Silence Attorney for Low-Income Residents
New Orleans police raided the Saint Bernard housing project this morning where activists had been occupying a building to prevent government plans to demolish it. Meanwhile, the Housing Authority of New Orleans has sent a letter to one of the lead lawyers for the residents, Bill Quigley, asking him to stop speaking to the media and to remove statements he made that appear in several online videos....
Posted: Wed, Jan 31, 2007 7:49am PST
Tens of thousands affected by Sri Lankan floods and landslides
Tens of thousands of people were displaced by floods and landslides in mid-January in southern, central and eastern Sri Lanka. According to the Ministry of Disaster Relief Services, more than 80,000 people were forced to shelter in 80 makeshift refugee camps. Just 5 million rupees (about $US50,000) were allocated last week to the relief effort....
Posted: Wed, Jan 31, 2007 7:09am PST
A New Age for the Medically Unisured
We are all aware of runaway medical costs. Health care is far too expensive for the average American to pay. If you can't afford health insurance, it's no surprise....
Posted: Mon, Jan 29, 2007 6:36am PST
If clinics close, where will sick go?
CHICAGO — The battle to fund human needs instead of war or tax breaks for the super-rich found its expression right in the heart of the Midwest....
Posted: Mon, Jan 29, 2007 6:33am PST
Our healthcare bill has been reintroduced;this is our chance!
This is your chance to help make history! What you do right now will make a huge difference? How can we really get to a quality national healthcare system now, this time around?...
Posted: Fri, Jan 26, 2007 7:09pm PST
Bush’s Healthcare Reform: More Welfare for Corporate America
When is a national healthcare plan almost as bad as no healthcare plan at all? When it’s proposed as a desperate PR gesture by a president with the lowest public approval rating (35%) since Richard Nixon got caught knee deep in the Watergate mudslide....
Posted: Fri, Jan 26, 2007 7:23am PST
US: Threadbare “college affordability” bill passes in the House
The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill January 17 proposing a halving of interest rates on federally subsidized student loans. Part of the Democrats’ vaunted “first 100 hours,” HR5 is supposed to represent the fulfillment of a campaign promise to rein in spiraling education costs and debt burden....
Posted: Fri, Jan 26, 2007 6:08am PST
Katrina Glaringly Missing in Bush's State of the Union
Bush's failure to mention the status of Katrina reconstruction this past week points to a problem many GOP conservatives have. They simply don't feel comfortable talking about poverty and the government's responsibility to aid the poor, writes New America Media Associate Editor Earl Ofari Hutchinson, a political analyst and social issues commentator....
Posted: Thu, Jan 25, 2007 6:20pm PST