Politizine

• What the hell are we doing in Pakistan?

  I woke up this morning to this: ["School bombing exposes Obama’s secret war inside Pakistan"]. Of course, it will take months, if ever, to find out about this on the American news. But, it begs the question, what the hell are we doing there? What the hell are we [...]
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  Posted: February 08, 2010, 6:59am EST
  

• A tribute to Howard Zinn

  Guest perspective by Ralph Nader
  There are several memorial services and events being planned for Howard Zinn whom The New York Times called a "historian, shipyard worker, civil rights activist and World War II bombardier, when he passed away at age 87 late last month."
  
  His legion of [...]
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  Posted: February 07, 2010, 4:09pm EST
  

• This is becoming a standing head ...

  ["Ayotte Leads Hodes in New Hampshire"]. [...]
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  Posted: February 05, 2010, 11:29pm EST
  

• Doubt, misunderstandings fester after State of the Union

  Guest Perspective by Ralph Nader
  The President's State of the Union Speech is the Big Speech of the year. Yet there is never an opportunity either for the press or the citizenry to promptly follow up with any questions or requests for clarifications. As a result, doubt and misunderstandings fester.
  [...]
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  Posted: January 30, 2010, 8:12am EST
  

• BIA to hold Small Business Day Jan. 27

  New Hampshire small business owners and managers can learn more about the state tax extension to include distributions from LLCs and partnerships at the Business and Industry Association's fifth annual Small Business Day at the State House from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. Jan. 27 at the Holiday Inn, 172 North [...]
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  Posted: January 23, 2010, 5:13pm EST
  

• An extreme Supreme Court decision

  Guest perspective by Ralph Nader
  Yesterday's 5-4 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission shreds the fabric of our already weakened democracy by allowing corporations to more completely dominate our corrupted electoral process. It is outrageous that corporations already attempt to influence or bribe [...]
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  Posted: January 23, 2010, 11:54am EST
  

• Radio Saturday

  I'll be on The Samantha Clemens Show Saturday morning at a little past 10 a.m. We'll be talking about the U.S. Senate special election in Massachusetts and maybe some other things. Here's Sam's iten for the show:
  
  Sam on the radio: Senator I’m Hot (so are my daughters) Brown???
  [...]
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  Posted: January 22, 2010, 4:16pm EST
  

• Greens: Brown victory about breakaway progressives not GOP surge

  From the inbox:
  With the surprise victory of Scott Brown over Martha Coakley in Tuesday's special U.S. Senate election, the conventional wisdom regarding the dominance of the Democratic Party in Obama-era Massachusetts has been shattered.
  But in the scramble to understand what the voters said on Tuesday, a fundamental [...]
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  Posted: January 21, 2010, 11:45pm EST
  

• Granny D responds to Supreme Court ruling

  From the inbox:
  January 21, 2010 statement from Doris “Granny D” Haddock in response to the Supreme Court’s decision today to kill campaign finance reform:
  
  Ten years ago, I walked from California to Washington, D.C. to help gather support for campaign finance reform. I used the novelty of my [...]
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  Posted: January 21, 2010, 9:41pm EST
  

• Granny D turns 100 ...

  From the inbox:
  She's 29 Years Young and Holding ........for 71 Years!
  Defender of Truth, Justice and the American Way: Champion of Campaign Finance Reform, Public Funding of Elections and Voting Rights. Doris Granny D Haddock is 100 Years Old. The Coalition for Open Democracy cordially invites you to [...]
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  Posted: January 20, 2010, 4:53pm EST
  

• February 2010 Top 30 Chart

  January 2010 Top 30 Chart
  Reporting: WAAF, WBRS, WCUW, WFNX, WHRB, WMBR, WMFO, WRBB, WUML, WTCC, WZBC, WZLX
  
  1.Passion Pit – Manners
  2. The Lights Out – Color Machine
  3. Ad Frank & the Fast Easy Women – Your Secrets Are Mine Now
  4. Pants Yell! [...]
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  Posted: January 18, 2010, 11:31pm EST
  

• Keeping an eye on privatization

  Guest perspective by Ralph Nader
  Whenever Frank Anderson speaks the way he did at a recent public forum in Washington, D.C. about "œessential state functions performed by businesses," people better listen. Mr. Anderson is the president of the Middle East Policy Council, but previously he was the chief of the [...]
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  Posted: January 18, 2010, 12:48am EST
  

• Two political radio bits this week ...

  Sorry for the short notice but on Thursday, today, at 3:30 p.m. and Friday, tomorrow, from 3:15 to 3:30 p.m., I'll be doing short segments on "The Fairness Doctrine," a new radio program featuring Chuck Morse and Patrick O'Hefferman. The show can be heard on WNSH in Beverly and WDIS [...]
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  Posted: January 14, 2010, 3:14pm EST
  

• Hodes continues to stray ...

  I have voted for Paul Hodes twice now. He lives up the road from me. I like the man and think he and his wife are quite talented. But, when I see headlines like this, I begin to wonder whether I will vote for the guy again: ["Hodes: I" [...]
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  Posted: January 10, 2010, 8:24am EST
  

• This story is so sad ...

  I haven't really commented a lot on all the John Edwards affair stuff. As someone who voted for the guy and endorsed him as a newspaper editor in 2004 primary and almost in 2008 (he dropped out the morning we went to press so I had to pull the endorsement' [...]
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  Posted: January 10, 2010, 6:29am EST
  

• Schocking Mass. Senate poll: Brown leads Coakley!

  This is absolutely shocking: ["Senate Race Competitive"].
  I don't know if Republican Scott Brown will win. I still think Democrat Martha Coakley will pull it off - with the help of indie Joe Kennedy shaving off some libertarian votes from Brown. But if Coakley does lose, it will' [...]
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  Posted: January 09, 2010, 10:06pm EST
  

• Dodd and Dorgan depart

  Editor's note: Ralph is not the only one worried about the departing Sen. Byron Dorgan, one of the last true champions in the Senate for working folks. Unlike the supposed champion of working folks, the late-Sen. Kennedy, who promised labor to vote against GATT and then voted for it after [...]
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  Posted: January 09, 2010, 6:00pm EST
  

• Scott Brown's great tax ad

  
  
  I haven't written much about the U.S. Senate special election in Mass. lately mostly because I have been busy and haven't had a lot of time. And, frankly, I don't have that much interest in it either. I haven't even had the chance to watch any of the [...]
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  Posted: January 03, 2010, 7:43pm EST
  

• HNY!

  Happy New Year everyone! Best to you and yours ... and let's hope 2010 is a lot better than 2009. [...]
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  Posted: January 02, 2010, 1:56pm EST
  

• Liberals (finally) wake up to Obama

  Guest perspective by Ralph Nader
  Those long-hoping, long-enduring members of the liberal intelligentsia are starting to break away from the least-worst mindset that muted their criticisms of Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential campaign.
  
  They still believe that the President is far better than his Republican counterpart would have [...]
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  Posted: January 01, 2010, 7:50am EST
  

• Ayotte, Lamontagne both lead Hodes ...

  Here is the latest ARG poll: ["Ayotte/Hodes. Hodes/Lamontagne, 2010 US Senate Ballots"].
  Still huge undecideds. But look at all those Dems going to the Republicans: 13 percent. This is like all those Democrats in Florida voting for Bush instead of Gore in 2000. Wow.
  Even Lamontagne - a right-wing [...]
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  Posted: December 31, 2009, 3:30pm EST
  

• More proof of a divided nation?

  Via Political Wire
  Check out the best selling political books from the NYT for the last few weeks: ["Poli-Books Best-Seller List"]. It would be interesting to see the best sellers list from the entire year. [...]
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  Posted: December 27, 2009, 8:33am EST
  

• Holiday reading list 2009

  Guest perspective by Ralph Nader
  This is the golden age of muckraking books and documentaries but some of them may have escaped your attention because reviews and promotions cannot keep up with the sheer volume of material.
  
  Here are my recommendations for your Holiday and later reading time:
  
  [...]
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  Posted: December 24, 2009, 6:19am EST
  

• Stupid, sucker Americans ...

  While I have been busy with freelance projects and local stuff going on in Concord, Politizine has been a bit slow. Sorry about that. I'll get back to it after the holidays (Happy Christmas everyone, BTW).
  But, I did want to note two pretty huge things, especially while the health' [...]
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  Posted: December 22, 2009, 8:22am EST
  

• Agent of Change

  Guest perspective by Ralph Nader
  The ancient Greek philosopher, Heraclitus (535-475 BC) said that “character is destiny.” He might have added that “personality is decisive.” Where is Barack Obama in this framework?
  
  The venerable historian, James MacGregor Burns, in his book “Transforming Leadership,” drew an important distinction between [...]
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  Posted: December 22, 2009, 6:43am EST
  

• High schoolers needed at the State House

  From the inbox:
  The N.H. House of Representatives has launched a volunteer page program for high school students at least 15-years-old.
  A page serves during a House session and, among other duties, delivers messages to members of the House of Representatives. The program provides an excellent opportunity for high school [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2009, 8:04am EST
  

• New income tax on small biz will cripple NH's recovery

  Guest perspective by Andy Sanborn
  With more than 55,000 people unemployed and hundreds of thousands underemployed, the current leaders of our state are trying to institute a new, personal income tax on 30,000 small business owners in New Hampshire. At a time when even the ultra spending President Obama is [...]
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  Posted: December 12, 2009, 7:27am EST
  

• Will it be 1994 all over again?

  Guest perspective by Ralph Nader
  President Obama, the Afghan war escalator, received the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, and proceeded to deliver his acceptance speech outlining the three criteria for a “just war” which he himself is violating.
  
  The criteria are in this words: “If it is waged [...]
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  Posted: December 11, 2009, 9:25pm EST
  

• Post-special election bias?

  I received the link to this report in the mail from Newsy.com, which analyzes some of the newspaper and television reporting in the wake of Mass. Senate special election primaries on Tuesday:
  
  
  
  Very nice job finding the clips and putting this together. Unlike blogs or political [...]
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  Posted: December 11, 2009, 3:41pm EST
  

• Tightening Senate race in Mass.

  The polls are getting interesting in Mass., as noted on the Phoenix's David Bernstein's blog recently: ["Confirmation Of Contradiction"].
  Personally, I think the easy money is on Coakley to win. I think the gender thing is going to be big this time around, with even moderates saying, You know, [...]
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  Posted: December 06, 2009, 10:51am EST
  

• Talking Mass. Senate race

  On Saturday morning, I'll be doing a bit of radio with Samantha Clemens talking about the U.S. Senate special election race. David Bernstein of the Boston Phoenix will be in the first segment; I'll be on the second one. We may talk about Afghanistan too.
  The Samantha Clemens Show [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 11:16pm EST
  

• It's time to get out of Afghanistan

  Guest perspective by Ralph Nader
  Misusing professional cadets at West Point as a political prop, President Barack Obama delivered his speech on the Afghanistan war forcefully but with fearful undertones. He chose to escalate this undeclared war with at least 30,000 more soldiers plus an even larger number of corporate [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 11:14pm EST
  

• Oh my God no!

  Please, no Dick Cheney 2012 draft movement! ["Draft Dick Cheney 2012"] No, no, no! [...]
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  Posted: November 29, 2009, 11:15pm EST
  

• Black Friday thoughts ...

  Two quick things about Black Friday: First, I almost always work on Black Friday. I always have. Today is no different. And, I'm assuming, when I get to work, I'll probably be the only one there. Which is nice. No offense to my co-workers, but I get so much more [...]
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  Posted: November 27, 2009, 7:42am EST
  

• Obama's sad, strange trip to China

  Guest perspective by Ralph Nader
  There was something both sad and strange about President Obama’s weak presence in China last week.
  
  Sad because he arrived with no seeming goals and left empty handed just after visiting the ancient Great Wall, which he said gave him a perspective on time.
  [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 11:01pm EST
  

• Palin power?

  Yeah. Thousands of people waiting in the freezing cold to get a book signed. Wow.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 7:30pm EST
  

• Is climate change a fraud?

  For the last few days, I've been seeing some rumors about this situation in England where hackers broke into a climate change institute and found that scientists have been rigging the numbers. Well, it looks like the story is true: ["Hackers leak e-mails, stoke climate debate"].
  Like a lot' [...]
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  Posted: November 22, 2009, 8:41am EST
  

• A letter to Barack Obama

  From Ralph Nader
  
  November 18, 2009
  
  Dear President Obama,
  
  You are nearing the day of decision as to whether you order the dispatch of more soldiers to Afghanistan.
  
  Some of your advisors have urged up to 50,000 more soldiers, including several thousand called trainers of the [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 2:16pm EST
  

• Down right creepy?

  Or maybe not: The first lady of South Carolina recently tried sought to have her name trademarked after it was revealed that her husband was having an affair with a woman in South America. The July 2 filing of the trademark was intended for items to be sold by an [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 8:10am EST
  

• Oh wow ... look at this car!

  [...]
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  Posted: November 14, 2009, 12:39am EST
  

• A quick kudos to President Obama ...

  assuming the following is true: ["After spending binge, White House says it will focus on deficits"].
  Since I'm always criticizing the president for the clueless and inept things he does, let me be a bit positive here. This is a great idea. In fact, I'll go one step further: [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 8:28am EST
  

• Uh-oh ... NY-23 not settled ...

  Via Political Wire.
  It looks like final counts are not actually final in NY-23 where the Conservative candidate apparently lost to the Democrat. Eh, well, maybe not so fast: ["Recanvassing shows NY-23 race tightens even as Rep. Bill Owens is sworn into House seat"].
  Three thousand votes with more [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 4:10pm EST
  

• Democrats failing the people; Republicans acting worst than third-graders

  Guest perspective by Ralph Nader
  The House of Representatives debate on the health insurance “reform” is over with the Democrats failing the people and the Republicans disgracing themselves as having left their minds back in the third grade (with apologies to third graders).
  
  House Democrats were determined to pass [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 10:26am EST
  

• Hilarious political ad

  This is funny and so true: ["Pass Medicare for All or Pass Nothing"]. [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 7:55am EST
  

• Dobbs out

  This is a bit weird:
  
  
  
  I wonder what this is about. Speaking tours? New jobs? Presidential campaign? I guess we'll have to wait and see.' [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 7:58pm EST
  

• Healthcare insurance isn't auto insurance

  A quick break from my work duties to share this diddy from our clueless president via ABC News: ["Interview with the President: Jail Time for Those without Health Care Insurance?"].
  
  On the issue of jail time for people who don't comply and buy federal government approved health insurance,' [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 11:43am EST
  

• Political passage of the week?

  Yeah, most definitely. From this article: ["Deeds memo damning in hindsight"].
  This pretense is more reassuring to the candidates paying for the advice than what is often the reality: voters are fickle, the factors that motivate them are ephemeral, political operatives are often winging it, and even the shrewdest [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 7:41am EST
  

• The Afghanistan quagmire

  Guest perspective by Ralph Nader
  Matthew P. Hoh, a former U.S. combat marine captain and Department of Defense civilian in Iraq starting in 2004 and until September a political officer in the Foreign Service stationed in Afghanistan is giving some consternation to President Obama’s advisors as the Commander in Chief [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 6:33am EST
  

• House passes supposed "health care" reform ...

  The vote was 220 to 215, with one Republican voting for the bill.
  A provision remains in the bill that has a criminal penalty of prison time for not purchasing an insurance policy. They also took out abortion funding in order to secure the votes (to secure the votes of [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2009, 11:07pm EST
  

• 47 years ago today ...

  Richard Nixon held a press conference in which he railed against the press, since he wasn't given fair coverage in a gubernatorial race against Pat Brown in 1962. Nixon stated the classic line, "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore." Six years later, he won the presidency. Via Political [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2009, 3:47pm EST
  

• Menino pulls away

  Menino is pulling away from Flaherty, by 13,500 votes with 92 percent counted. Wow. An unprecedented fifth term. [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 9:40pm EST
  

• Election 2009: Tight race in Boston

  The Menino-Flaherty battle is going down to the wire. With 24 percent counted, less than 200 votes separates the two. Wow.
  In Manch, Republican Ted Gatsas wins easily ... so does the tax cap.
  In Concord, incumbent at-large city councilor Dan St. Hilaire has easily won reelection, with more than [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 8:48pm EST
  

• Al Gore: Looking good

  Former Vice President Al Gore has a new book coming out. I stumbled across this clip from CBS via Political Wire:
  
  
  Watch CBS News Videos Online
  
  Since I'm always commenting on how female pols look, let me look beyond the book promotion and get right to' [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 5:59am EST
  

• Great Frontline show ...

  called "The Warning," about how officials in the Clinton Administration refused to allow derivatives to be regulated and how two of the three people who stop this are now working in the Obama Administration. What a hero Brooksley Born is. And now, the Democrats are refusing to regulate derivatives again, [...]
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  Posted: October 29, 2009, 11:02pm EDT
  

• Thoughts on the first (and only?) Mass. special election Senate debate

  I was able to listen to most of the Democratic U.S. Special Election Senate debate via WBZ 1030 tonight and then, later, switched to NECN online, which I realized it was webstreaming [I would later try to pick up WBZ-TV's webstream but it wasn't working for me at work, for [...]
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  Posted: October 26, 2009, 11:30pm EDT
  

• Change presidents, but some things never change

  A good word out to Political Reporter Mark Matthews of ABC 7 in San Francisco for asking Leon Panetta some tough questions after his appearance at the Commonwealth Club, basically admitting that the CIA was continuing to assassination people overseas:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [...]
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  Posted: October 24, 2009, 5:20pm EDT
  

• Nov. 2009 Top 30 Chart

  Nov. 2009 Top 30 Chart
  Reporting: WAAF, WBRS, WCUW, WFNX, WHRB, WMBR, WMFO, WRBB, WUML, WTCC, WZBC, WZLX
  
  1. Passion Pit – Manners
  2. Drug Rug – Paint the Fence Invisible
  3. Dinosaur Jr. – Farm
  4. Mission of Burma – The Sound The Speed The [...]
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  Posted: October 23, 2009, 7:15am EDT
  

• This looks good

  ["The Fourth Kind"]. [...]
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  Posted: October 19, 2009, 11:22pm EDT
  

• Hooksett Banner to publish weekly

  There is some seemingly good news on the local media front: The Hooksett Banner, one of the Neighborhood News newspapers serving the suburban Manchester region, will return to publishing as a weekly, according to a notice on the front page of the Oct. 15 edition.
  The Banner and the Goffstown [...]
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  Posted: October 19, 2009, 9:11am EDT
  

• CBO Report On Medical Malpractice Flawed

  Guest Perspective by Ralph Nader
  Stuart Hagen must either be greatly overworked or possessed of an overwhelmingly monetized mind.
  
  As the author of a Congressional Budget Office’s reply to the request by Senator Orrin G. Hatch (Rep. Utah) for an “updated analysis” of medical malpractice reform, Hagan neglected [...]
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  Posted: October 19, 2009, 6:43am EDT
  

• New Citizen Funded Elections Task Force Convenes Tuesday

  From the inbox:
  A new task force charged with developing policy to create a system of publicly financed elections in New Hampshire will meet for the first time at 3 pm on Tuesday, October 20th in Room 103 of the State House in Concord. The bi-partisan group was mandated [...]
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  Posted: October 19, 2009, 12:07am EDT
  

• Shut your TV off on Nov. 5 ...

  [...]
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  Posted: October 19, 2009, 12:02am EDT
  

• This video is critically important ...

  I don't get to listen to Democracy Now much and, frankly, I don't care for some of Amy Goodman's obsessions. But this segment, featuring former bank regulator William Black, author of, "The Best Way to Rob a Bank Is to Own One," is very good, and a warning to all' [...]
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  Posted: October 16, 2009, 8:02pm EDT
  

• Barney Frank and the Planet of the Banks

  Guest perspective by Ralph Nader
  What planet is Congressman Barney Frank on, anyway? It is the planet of the banks and other financial firms that keep his campaign coffers humming, as their chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.
  
  On his extraterrestrial perch, camouflaged by his witty and [...]
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  Posted: October 16, 2009, 1:33pm EDT
  

• Sometimes, I'm brilliant ...

  Yeah, I have moments of brilliance sometimes. Like this little line I wrote on facebook early this morning in reaction to Samantha Clemens posting a note about the Nobel Peace Prize Committee explaining its ridiculous prize to President Barack Obama:
  Hmm, well, I guess if continuing the fraudulent war in [...]
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  Posted: October 14, 2009, 12:30am EDT
  

• Newseum

  I'll have pictures and a bit about my trip to the Newseum on Sunday. Stay tuned. One thing I was shocked about D.C.? The friggin' 10 percent sales tax! Yikes!!
  
  Update: Maybe I should have written "food tax" is 10 percent ... I paid a 50 cent tax on [...]
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  Posted: October 12, 2009, 11:38pm EDT
  

• Blogging break

  I'm going to take a few days off from blogging. Talk amongst yourselves.' [...]
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  Posted: October 09, 2009, 6:11am EDT
  

• Another round of short takes ...

  First, this is the most laughable thing I have ever seen, which had me rolling off my kitchen table seat after turning on my computer and spitting out my coffee this morning: ["President Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize"]. I have lost whatever remaining small amount of faith I had [...]
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  Posted: October 09, 2009, 5:42am EDT
  

• Oh, this is not good ...

  A bit of analysis from the Washington Post here. New healthcare system, meet old healthcare system: ["Meet the New Health-Care System, Not That Different From the Old Health-Care System"].
  Eh, that doesn't sound like "reform" to me ... that sounds like status quo. How stupid can people be supporting' [...]
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  Posted: October 08, 2009, 7:55am EDT
  

• Sign of the times

  In the Monitor this morning, in the D section, there are a slew of auction notices. One of them is for the Plymouth moviehouse in Plymouth, which apparently went out of business recently. It was renovated in 2003 too. The auction will be held on Oct. 23. You would think [...]
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  Posted: October 08, 2009, 7:45am EDT
  

• What's going on in Boston?

  I haven't had much time to write about much at all these days. So, I totally missed the returns from the Boston city elections.
  David Bernstein from the Boston Phoenix has some pretty good analysis here: ["At-Large Campaign Funds, As They Pass The Prelim"].
  I too would question the' [...]
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  Posted: October 07, 2009, 10:51pm EDT
  

• Follow the N.H. Legislature on Twitter

  From the inbox:
  The New Hampshire House of Representatives is now on Twitter, the social networking site where short messages can be seen describing news events and other developments taking place in the largest state legislative body in America.
  “We are excited to use this newer form of communication to [...]
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  Posted: October 06, 2009, 8:16am EDT
  

• Credit card problems still overwhelming

  Guest perspective by Ralph Nader
  Consumers rejoice. Floyd Norris has just penned a piece for the New York Times titled: “Rich and Poor Should Pay Same Price.”
  
  Mr. Norris said, it seems “absurd to have a system that requires people who do not use credit to subsidize those who [...]
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  Posted: October 05, 2009, 10:03pm EDT
  

• "Jack and squat ..."

  Oh, this is too funny ... and too true. What has President Obama actually done? Jack and squat:
  
  [...]
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  Posted: October 05, 2009, 7:30am EDT
  

• Time for Citizens to Convene

  Guest perspective by Ralph Nader
  Just when many conditions seemed ripe for a progressive political movement, the likelihood is fading fast. Concentrated corporate power over our political economy and its control over peoples lives knows few boundaries.
  
  As Republican investor advocate leader Robert Monks puts it: “The United States [...]
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  Posted: October 03, 2009, 10:24am EDT
  

• State House Reps. to hold food drive

  From the inbox:
  
  The New Hampshire House of Representatives will sponsor a food drive on its next session day, Wednesday, Oct. 28.
  The session known as Veto Day, the time when the House takes up the bills which have been vetoed by Gov. John Lynch, will begin at [...]
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  Posted: October 01, 2009, 12:02pm EDT
  

• Ayotte continues lead ...

  I think this is the third or fourth poll in a row that has Republican Kelly Ayotte leading over Democrat Paul Hodes for the U.S. Senate seat here: ["Ayotte/Hodes 2010 US Senate Ballot"].
  Not unlike other polls, the two candidates have overwhelming support within their own parties and get [...]
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  Posted: October 01, 2009, 7:31am EDT
  

• Hot tweets Wednesday

  Well, technically, Tuesday, but since it is Wednesday morning, I'll call it Wednesday ... All of these articles were on my TwitterFox when I got home last night:
  
  * Black Flag's Henry Rollins, writing for Vanity Fair, pretty much says it all here: ["In Afghanistan, Worse Is the" [...]
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  Posted: September 30, 2009, 6:52am EDT
  

• Censored 2010 releases top censored stories

  From the inbox:
  
  Censored 2010: What would you expect in return if you gave someone 64 million dollars?
  
  Censored 2010: What would you expect in return if you gave someone 64 million dollars? You'll find the answer to that question and other puzzling social and political issues' [...]
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  Posted: September 30, 2009, 12:01am EDT
  

• Tuesday morning news briefs ...

  Here are a few things to eye this morning ...
  
  First, this kinda stuff really irks me and probably not for the reasons you imagine: ["NH Says It Can't Afford To Subsidize Day Care"].
  Well of course the state can't afford to subsidize day care - it has [...]
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  Posted: September 29, 2009, 7:54am EDT
  

• Monday morning short takes ...

  Here are a few things to think about this Monday morning ...
  
  First, new tapes released from cameras around the Oklahoma City bombing tragedy apparently have been edited - removing footage of the roads leading to the Murrah Building before the detonation of the bomb: ["Attorney: Oklahoma City" [...]
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  Posted: September 28, 2009, 8:50am EDT
  

• Short radio notice ...

  I've been asked back to be on the The Jim Christy Show on Roots Up Radio today at 5:30 p.m. Roots Up Radio is an online radio station and can be found here: ["Roots Up Radio"].
  Jim is having me back on to talk about the appointment of Paul' [...]
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  Posted: September 24, 2009, 5:00pm EDT
  

• Oh this is too funny ...

  Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell [...]
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  Posted: September 24, 2009, 8:36am EDT
  

• 'Look into my eyes, what do you see?'

  The cult of personality:
  
  
  
  This stuff is just getting a bit creepy. I mean, the music teacher couldn't show them "John Henry" or something?' [...]
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  Posted: September 23, 2009, 10:39pm EDT
  

• A Novel Idea

  Guest perspective by Ralph Nader
  At a little noticed meeting with Senate Democrats, Warren Buffett, the famous investors’ guru, told the lawmakers that rich people are not paying enough taxes.
  
  A tax increase for the very wealthy? Many of the Senators backed away from that recommendation, even though [...]
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  Posted: September 23, 2009, 5:32am EDT
  

• Noise Top 30 chart for October

  Reporting stations: WAAF, WBRS, WCUW, WFNX, WHRB, WMBR, WMFO, WRBB, WUML, WTCC, WZBC, WZLX
  
  1. Passion Pit – Manners
  2. Magic Magic – Magic Magic
  3. The Beatings – Late Season Kids
  4. Dinosaur Jr. – Farm
  5. Drug Rug – Paint the Fence Invisible
  6. The Peppermint [...]
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  Posted: September 22, 2009, 7:59am EDT
  

• Predicting the future?

  I don't know if this is the best thing to do if you're a business blogger: ["Ten Big Companies That Are Veering Toward Bankruptcy"].
  Sprint, Macy's, Hertz ... household names ... wow. I don't know why Sprint is "bleeding" customers. I use them and while they aren't perfect, they' [...]
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  Posted: September 22, 2009, 7:53am EDT
  

• How to end the 'birther' movement ...

  For those of you that aren't political junkies and don't know what the term means, some have nick-named anyone who challenges President Barack Obama's qualification to serve because he may not have been born in the United States, as a "birther."
  The birther movement has become an organizing tool among [...]
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  Posted: September 22, 2009, 7:20am EDT
  

• The truth about the D.C. march

  This is a guest perspective by Politizine reader Benjamin Jones.
  For three days I have been struggling for words to describe my feelings about participating in the March on our nation’s Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 12, 2009. I continue to struggle with this so I will just start. [...]
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  Posted: September 21, 2009, 8:00am EDT
  

• Exactly what the world needed ...

  Another zombie movie!!!
  
  [...]
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  Posted: September 18, 2009, 9:42pm EDT
  

• You know it's been a long day when ...

  you take off your baseball cap at 10:30 p.m. after getting home from work and your wife says, "Your hair looks like Jim Traficant's ..." Thanks dear ... Oh, and BTW, Traficant is out of jail: ["Ex-Con Jim Traficant Weighs Reelection to House"]. [...]
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  Posted: September 18, 2009, 8:47am EDT
  

• Note to SEA: Do what's best, take the deal!

  Today's big news: The governor is playing chicken with the state employees' union here in New Hampshire: ["Lynch: If no deal by tomorrow, layoffs"].
  I feel for the SEA, I truly do, but we're in the middle of another great depression here. Non-union, private sector workers, you know, the' [...]
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  Posted: September 17, 2009, 8:36am EDT
  

• Indies smitten with Ayotte

  Rasmussen Reports released a new poll today about the 2010 Senate race showing Republican Kelly Ayotte with a decent sized lead: ["Ayotte Leads Hodes 46% to 38% in 2010 New Hampshire Senate Match-Up"].
  Both Ayotte and Rep. Paul Hodes garner 81 percent each from their respective parties. But Ayotte [...]
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  Posted: September 16, 2009, 10:30pm EDT
  

• Cigna, rationing care?

  Looks like it:
  
  [...]
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  Posted: September 15, 2009, 10:15pm EDT
  

• Oops, I didn't call that one right ...

  A press representative of U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, a potential contender for the U.S. Senate seat, just issued the following press release:
  After thorough consideration I have decided that I will not be a candidate for the Special U.S. Senate race to succeed Edward M. Kennedy.
  
  The challenge of [...]
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  Posted: September 15, 2009, 11:52am EDT
  

• Health care thoughts ...

  This is the first in a series of occasional short pieces and data about health care issues.
  
  First, according to the NYT on Sept. 6, cumulative growth in insurance premiums has gone up 120 percent between 1999 and 2008. Premiums have more than doubled in less than 10 years. [...]
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  Posted: September 14, 2009, 8:10am EDT
  

• Spooky, indeed ...

  One of the great things about the Internet, and getting news "free" from the Internet, is being able to read stories like this, which you wouldn't otherwise be able to see: ["Revealed: The ghost fleet of the recession"].
  I think that no matter what anyone says at this point,' [...]
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  Posted: September 14, 2009, 8:00am EDT
  

• A new 9-11 investigation?

  Charlie Sheen is calling for one:
  
  [...]
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  Posted: September 14, 2009, 7:59am EDT
  

• R.I.P. Jim Carroll

  NYT is saying it's a heart attack at 59 ... of course, as he would probably say, he should have been dead years ago. I got to meet him once in 1987 at the book signing for "The Basketball Diaries" ... I have a picture of him somewhere but who [...]
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  Posted: September 13, 2009, 8:58pm EDT
  

• Millions? Maybe not ... maybe

  Check out this timelapse video from a Web cam in DC ... Maybe there weren't two million people in D.C. but there were hundreds of thousands, if not more, for sure. The video proves it.
  
  ' [...]
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  Posted: September 13, 2009, 8:45pm EDT