50-State Blog Network

Alabama Historian Wayne Flynt On HB56: "Meanest, Most Hateful Thing I've Ever Read"

October 13, 2011 by Left in Alabama

Wayne Flynt is a man who cares about the welfare of working class Alabamians as much - or more than - their middle class brethren. He's not a softie.  The author of "Poor But Proud: Alabama's Poor Whites" is not someone who stands by quietly while those people get treated unfairly.

Nor is he someone who'll stand quietly by while anyone is being denied their basic human dignity and their civil rights. His voice and vision carry weight: Flynt has this to say about Alabama's immigration law:

"This is the most mean-spirited, hateful thing I’ve ever read," he said.

Flynt said the chief argument for the bill — that illegal workers are taking jobs from Alabamians — is bogus.
[...]
He said the controversy will hurt efforts to recruit new jobs and industry to Alabama, where the economy is increasingly reliant on foreign direct investment.
[...]
The message, he said, "is that we only like immigrants if they come with car plants."
[...]
The irony, Flynt said, is that we are all a nation of immigrants.

Post of the Day

October 12, 2011 by Kenneth

From The Spencerian:

Often it’s just the easiest sideways glance from my daughter, and I become overwhelmed with a sense of responsibility I fear I will one day be unable to manage. My sense of responsibility for Emeline doesn’t necessarily stem from what may happen to her in the great, wide world — though I do have to tamp those dark thoughts which linger like an unwelcome haunt in my too-vivid imagination. I see every day that she is bright, her mind vibrant and inquisitive. I will one day have to tell her about life, about who we are, why we are here, what our meaning represents, and what happens beyond life. I wonder what in the hell I will say.

Rep. John Conyers Brings Health Care Reform Message To Greater Birmingham ... Oct. 21

October 12, 2011 by Left in Alabama

Alabama New South Coalition of Jefferson County and the Over the Mountain Democrats have an early treat for Greater Birmingham ... Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D, Michigan), sponsor of HR 676, often referred to as the Medicare for All Act, will urge Alabama to implement healthcare reform in a responsible fashion.

When: Friday, October 21 at 5:30 pm

Where: Miles College’s Brown Hall in Fairfield, Alabama

Admission: Free!

Quote, unquote

October 12, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

History will tell whether Karl Rove is right or Mark Block is right. -- Wisconsinite Mark Block, Herman Cain's campaign manager, in Roll Call.

Tough to pick between two repulsive choices, but I'll have to go with Karl Rove.

Did I mention that Block was once banned from doing any political work in Wisconsin?

6 Years of VivirLatino – Still Causing Trouble as Latin@ Blogging Shifts

October 12, 2011 by Vivirlatino

Marty Chavez: End Wall Street Welfare

October 12, 2011 by Democracy for N...

This is a guest blog by Marty Chavez, candidate for Congress in the NM-1 Democratic primary.

Our classrooms are overcrowded. Our teachers are overworked. All due to misplaced priorities during budget cuts. And, the mega corporations? Record profits. They’re making more than ever before.

New Mexico’s working families are tightening their belts and doing more with less. It’s time for everyone to pay their fair share and end the corporate handouts!

Mega companies such as ExxonMobil, General Electric and Bank of America pay ZERO taxes -– and they’re not alone! Nearly 2/3 of U.S. corporations pay no taxes at all after deductions, refunds and credits.* In fact, General Electric recently closed a local New Mexico plant that cost us 400 high-quality jobs.

Jobs: Obama Administration Announces Selection of Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project and 13 Others to be Expedited Through Permitting/Review Process

October 12, 2011 by Democracy for N...

Yesterday, the Obama Administration announced the selection of 14 infrastructure projects around the country that will be expedited through permitting and environmental review processes. The administration says it's an important next step in its efforts to improve the efficiency of federal reviews needed to help job-creating infrastructure projects move as quickly as possible from the drawing board to completion. 

One of the 14 selected for expedition is the Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project, which will build two water treatment plants and deliver water through approximately 280 miles of pipeline, 24 pumping plants and numerous water regulation and storage facilities bringing a clean and sustainable water supply to the Navajo Nation in northwestern New Mexico. The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation will work to improve coordination between Federal and non-federal entities and to expedite land acquisition through the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Land Management.

Congressman Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico’s Third District applauded the move by the Obama Administration.

Heartless vs. The Dream

October 12, 2011 by Calitics

by Brian Leubitz

The California Dream Act is not quite the major reform that the Dream Act represents at the federal level, but it is a nice place to start.  There was some doubt as to whether Gov. Brown would sign the second piece of legislation, as there was a $14.5 million redirection of funds involved.  However, ultimately the Governor came to the right decision:

"Going to college is a dream that promises intellectual excitement and creative thinking,'' Brown said in a statement. "The Dream Act benefits us all by giving top students a chance to improve their lives and the lives of all of us.''

Under AB 131, illegal immigrants who are accepted into state universities can receive, starting in 2013, Cal-Grant assistance, which last year provided grants averaging $4,500 apiece to more than 370,000 low-income students.

The measure also allows students who are not in the country legally to get institutional grants while attending the University of California and California State University systems, and to get fee waivers in the California community college system.

You Get What You Pay For

October 12, 2011 by Left in Alabama

My Facebook friends keep me informed about every special event—last week it was National Angelfood Cake Day, and yesterday was National Coming Out Day. For docs who see Medicare patients, it seems like every day has turned into Fix the SGR Day. To the point that I want it fixed too, just so they will find something else to talk about!

The SGR (Sustainable Growth Rate) was intended to be a tool to keep Medicare payments to providers from escalating out of control. It hasn’t worked, partly because it has never been used as anything other than a threat or bargaining tool.  Each year (or more often than that), Congress delays putting it into effect but lets the AMA foam at the mouth protesting. Because payments have risen much faster than the SGR allows, invoking it would result in an ever-increasing cumulative pay cut.