News & Action Alerts
April 16, 2008
Meet Your Kanawha County Candidates Saturday
April 19th 2008: Kanawha County Democrats will be hosting a meet your candidate Hot Dog Social at the Marmet Community Center from 12- 2pm. This event is free and open to the public.
EDITORIAL OBSERVER
The Selling of the Judiciary: Campaign Cash 'in the
Courtroom'
By DOROTHY SAMUELS
Often, it seems, special interests are finding that buying up judges likely to side with them in big-dollar cases is a good investment. READ MORE >>
Confirmation
Over the past two decades the incomes of West Virginia wealthiest families – top 5 percent - grew much faster than middle and low-income families in the mountain state. From the late 1980s to the mid-2000s, the average income of families in the top five percent is 12 times as large as the poorest 20 percent of families and 4 times more than middle-income ones. The growth in income inequality between the richest 20 percent of families and the poorest 20 percent is the 12th largest in the nation.
This data comes from the new report Pulling Apart, released by the Economic Policy Institute and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, two non-partisan research organizations in Washington, D.C. This 50 state study was conducted using modified census data to measure state level income trends from the last three economic cycles, the late 1980s, late 1990s and the mid-2000s.
To read our response to the report go here.
To read today's article on the subject in The Charleston Gazette go here.
Ted Boettner
Executive Director
West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy
303 West Washington Street
Charleston, WV 25302
Tel: 304 720 8682
Fax: 304 342 4300
tboettner@wvpolicy.org
The Latest Inequality Thesis
One of the most interesting, even startling, data-based policy findings to come along in quite some time was published in a book earlier this year by Larry Bartels (Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Guilded Age). He advances the frankly and unapologetically partisan suggestion that (income) inequality increases in Republican Administrations and decreases in Democratic ones from the Truman Administration to the present. Given the importance of income inequality for workers, this is an issue of obvious major importance.
The NY Times economics columnist Paul Krugman (himself author of the recent The Conscience of a Liberal) has been examining the data to support this hypothesis, and today offers a new analysis on his daily blog.
PayWatch Brought to You By AFL-CIO
The brand-new AFL-CIO 2008 Executive PayWatch website exposes CEO pay packages, including those of the chief executives whose companies helped create the subprime mortgage meltdown.
Click here to learn more at the 2008 Executive PayWatch site.
And you can do something about this corporate greed:
- Click here to tell your representative and senators to help homeowners affected by the irresponsible corporate lending practices that led to the mortgage meltdown.
- Click here to urge your senators to support giving shareholders a say on CEO pay.
While chief executive officers say their pay is linked to company performance, many CEOs received large paychecks and bonuses while their company’s performance suffered.
Tomgram: Michael Klare, Oil Rules!
It's strange that the business and geopolitics of energy takes up so little space on American front pages -- or that we could conduct an oil war in Iraq with hardly a mention of the words "oil" and "war" in the same paragraph in those same papers over the years. Strange indeed. And yet, oil rules our world and energy lies behind so many of the headlines that might seem to be about other matters entirely.
Take the food riots now spreading across the planet because the prices of staples are soaring, while stocks of basics are falling. In the last year, wheat (think flour) has risen by 130%, rice by 74%, soya by 87%, and corn by 31%, while there are now only eight to 12 weeks of cereal stocks left globally.
Governments across the planetary map are shuddering. This is a fast growing horror story and, though the cry in the streets of Cairo and Port au Prince might be for bread, this, too, turns out to be a tale largely ruled by energy: Too many acres turned over to corn (and sugar cane) for the creation of biofuels; a historic drought
in Australia and other climate-change-induced extremes of weather -- a result of the burning of fossil fuels -- that have affected crop yields; and many new middle-class consumers, in China and elsewhere, coming on line, with a growing desire for meat, the production of which is heavily petroleum based.
From resource wars to oil wars (the subjects of his last two books), Michael Klare, Tomdispatch's energy expert, has long been ahead of the curve when it came to ways in which our planet was being reshaped at the most basic level. Today, he offers Tomdispatch readers a peek into some of the key themes in his staggering new book, Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet: The New Geopolitics of Energy.
If you want to grasp the true shape of our shaky world, of where exactly we've been and where we might be going, this is a book not to be missed. It offers the profile-in-formation of a shape-shifting planet, a planet in transition and on a road to nowhere pretty. Check out as well, the latest Tomdispatch brief video (produced by TD's Brett Story) -- in which Klare discusses key issues in his new book -- by clicking here. Tom
Watch the Debate
Please try to attend regardless of who you are "for" right now. Power Alley grill has pretty decent food, really good salads. (We all need to have dinner, right?)
It is also a great way to network and meet people with common goals, like VOTE DEMOCRAT.
If you are eager to volunteer for this campaign to arrange a tea or coffee, send post cards or arrange a Honk & Wave with your friends, contact Phyllis Rutlege: phylrut@aol.com.
Join Up With Women for Hillary by going here
From the Democratic Party
A recent report by the Associated Press has revealed that the Republican National Committee is pulling together a joint fund with John McCain called the "Victory Committee." Its goal is to raise $120 million -- which they're sure to spend trying to destroy our candidates.
We've seen this before -- we know they're already launching attacks on Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. And while they're tearing them down, they'll try to spin John McCain to the American people.
It's a $120 million makeover fund, designed to make everyone forget about the last eight years of John McCain, George Bush, the war, the economy, Katrina, and a stunning lack of competency.
We can't let John McCain and the RNC get away with it -- Hillary and Barack need us to fight back while they're trying to win the nomination.
That's why I'm making an urgent request for you to help us with a contribution today -- we have to keep up. They've got a head start, but we can stay competitive if you make a contribution right now.
From the DCCC
What a response! Thanks to your overwhelming feedback, our "Pain at the Pump" campaign was a huge success. Within a few hours, thousands upon thousands of you voiced your outrage over skyrocketing gas prices.
Thank you for telling George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Big Oil what you think of having to pay $4.00 a gallon at the pump.
Check out the map and see what others like you are saying and paying!
Jim from California, a DCCC Supporter and Veteran of both the Korean and Vietnam Wars, voiced his outrage about paying $3.34 at a military base in California and the Bush/Cheney Big Oil conglomerates, "They've made enough profits for 1,000 lifetimes."
For those of you like Jim who already voiced your outrage, thank you -- now spread the word to your friends and family. If you haven't yet made your voice heard -- please check out our map and tell us what you're paying at the
pump.
Last week, AAA reported that gas prices surged to a new all-time record high. Did we expect anything different from an Administration that holds secret meetings with Big Oil and tells middle class families that their voices don't matter?
We're in this mess thanks to George Bush and Dick Cheney letting Halliburton write America's energy policies.
Just for Fun
I have tickets for the Briar Hills Garden Club House Tour--ticket price is $15.
Date: Tuesday, May 20th, 10am-4pm
Houses:
- Robert Chilton's on 1266 Loudon Heights Rd. Large older home/yard borders on Wildacre Rd.
- Fonda and John Elliot's house on 1516 Royal Oaks Rd.--large addition recently added.
- Melissa and David Hunt's house on 820 Spring Rd. (formerly Sunrise Art Museum)
Light lunch will be provided at the Hunt's house. For the first time this year your ticket will be entered into a raffle. Please call (345-4344) or email if you would like tickets. Thanks - Judy McJunkin - JHDRUID@aol.com
From MoveOn
We're going to be testing some innovative new programs this year to make MoveOn even more effective—but to shape our plans, we need to know a bit more about who MoveOn members are and what they do. Can you tell us a bit about yourself? To start with, how old are you? (Answering this will send you to a few more optional questions, which you can answer if you have time.
17 or under
18-22
23-30
31-35
36-50
51-65
66 or over
Where Are Your Tax Dollars Going
How much is your community paying for the war?
You can slice and dice the figures at the National Priorities Project web site.
Here in Arlington, MA, we've paid well over $122 million. That is MORE than our entire town budget for FY09. Schools, police, fire, DPW... We run an entire town on that! And we're hurting. We could use that $122 million!
Federal Discretionary Budget
Download a nice version of the pie chart: In color | In black and white
(These are PDF files.) Copy and distribute all you like! Thanks!
Go to Original
Big Oil to Big Wind: Texas Veteran Sets Up
$10 Billion Clean Energy Project
By Ed Pilkington
The Guardian UK
Monday 14 April 2008
Dallas - T Boone Pickens is famous for thinking big. He founded his Texan oil company, Mesa Petroleum, in 1956 with just $2,500 (£1,200) in the bank. After a string of audacious takeovers he turned it into an independent empire that challenged the big oil companies, and today he is worth $3bn.
Retailing Chains Caught in a Wave of Bankruptcies
By MICHAEL BARBARO
A consumer spending slump and tightening credit markets are prompting thousands of store closings that may remake shopping districts across the country.
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