North Texas Progressive Newsletter
...bringing North Texas news and discussion since 2004

February 14, 2011

Dear nancy,

Good Morning!

Happy Valentine's Day!
I encourage you to read these two great columns by Krugman and Herbert. The presidents budget was released today and I've included links to the document and some great additional information provided by the Budget Office ( OMB)
I've also included info on Randi moving to Atlanta, more on Current and Olbermann and how you can sign up for his new show newsletter.

Thanks,
Nancy Cunningham

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In This Issue

Eat The Future By PAUL KRUGMAN NY Times.

1160/WCFO-AM Atlanta adds Randi Rhodes to lineup Feb. 14..

Democracy Now

Action: Defend health care!...

North Texas Progressive Book Suggestion

Recession Over: What's Holding Us Back?

End Modern Day Slavery Conference

When Democracy Weakens...By BOB HERBERT

Eat The Future By PAUL KRUGMAN NY Times

On Friday, House Republicans unveiled their proposal for immediate cuts in federal spending. Uncharacteristically, they failed to accompany the release with a catchy slogan. So I'd like to propose one: Eat the Future.

I'll explain in a minute. First, let's talk about the dilemma the G.O.P. faces.

Republican leaders like to claim that the midterms gave them a mandate for sharp cuts in government spending. Some of us believe that the elections were less about spending than they were about persistent high unemployment, but whatever. The key point to understand is that while many voters say that they want lower spending, press the issue a bit further and it turns out that they only want to cut spending on other people.

read on

Olbama released his budget this morning - you can look at it your self here http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/

To download "Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2012" as a single PDF click here (216 pages, 4.1 MB)

OMB also has a nifty state by state breakdown HERE

1160/WCFO-AM Atlanta adds Randi Rhodes to lineup Feb. 14

Atlanta fans of quick-witted Randi Rhodes should be thrilled to know she's returning to the AM dial on Monday on NewsTalk 1160/WCFO-AM.

She had been on AM 1690 in Atlanta from 2004 to 2006 when Air America attempted to create a liberal counterpoint to the heavily conservative world of talk radio.

Jeff Davis, vice president and general manager of WCFO, runs mostly conservative talk show hosts but after fiery Dr. Laura Schlessinger left in December for Sirius/XM, he decided to try something different.

read on

Democracy Now

Bush's Shrinking World: George W. Bush Cancels Europe Trip as Human Rights Lawyers Threaten Legal Action over Torture

Former President George W. Bush has been forced to cancel a planned trip to Switzerland after human rights attorneys threatened to take legal action against him for sanctioning the use of torture. The Center for Constitutional Rights said they had planned to bring a complaint on behalf of two men who were tortured by U.S. interrogators and held at the military base at Guantánamo. Watch/Listen/Read

"The Heroes are the Ones in the Street": Google Exec and Facebook Activist Wael Ghonim on His Release After 12 Days in Egyptian Jail

Twelve days after being snatched from the streets of Cairo, Wael Ghonim was released Monday from secret detention. He is being hailed as a hero by the pro-democracy movement for administrating a Facebook page key to organizing Egypt's unprecedented pro-democracy uprising. Watch/Listen/Read

"Omar Suleiman, the CIA's Man in Cairo and Egypt's Torturer-in-Chief"

During his televised speech on February 10, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak delegated some of his presidential authority to handpicked Vice-President Omar Suleiman. Professor Lisa Hajjar of the University of California, Santa Barbara chronicles Suleiman's record, including his role in the U.S. extraordinary rendition program, his close ties to Israel and his personal involvement in the torture of prisoners. Watch/Listen/Read

Action: Defend health care!

How long can you and your loved ones wait for treatment while Republicans play partisan politics with your healthcare?

Vicious attacks against the Healthcare Reform Act by the far right wing of the Republican Party combined with the ruling of a Florida court are more recent examples of the undercutting of protections for already overburdened American families by GOP leadership.

The party of "family values" has proven it's radically out of touch with the needs of most Americans and puts little value in the survival of our families when it attempts to:

· Eliminate both the care for impoverished children, as well as the extended coverage for our kids through their college years,

· Deny coverage for pre-existing conditions,

· Allow cancellation of insurance during the treatment for a serious illness, and much, much more.

This radical brand of Republicans wants to turn back the clock to when these protections did not exist by repealing the Health Care Reform Act.

In spite of the strong support among the American people for Health Care Reform, Republican lawmakers and 26 of their fellow State Attorneys General have launched a monumental effort to eradicate it. Instead of working in a bipartisan effort to improve the Act, they want to start all over, expecting families to wait once again for relief from the devastating costs associated with obtaining and retaining quality health care.

This Assault Against Families Must End.

We can not allow representatives in Washington to work against our best interests in favor of large special interests - at the expense of our families.

Now is the time to take action.

· Call or write your representatives and let them know you will hold them accountable to protect the health, welfare and survival of American families. (Their contact info is listed below.)

· Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.

· Add a comment or note on your Facebook page or other social networking site and start a dialog with friends.

· Speak up - talk to your co-workers and neighbors. And,

· Support your local Democratic Party's fight for fairness for the American family - for you and your loved ones - by clicking here: Support DCDP

Contact info for your U.S Senators & Representatives:

Senator John Cornyn (202) 224-2934

517 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington DC 20510

http://cornyn.senate.gov

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (202) 224-5922

284 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington DC 20510

http://hutchison.senate.gov

Representative Michael Burgess (202) 225-7772 or (972) 434-9700 2241 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515

or 1660 South Stemmons Freeway, Suite 230, Lewisville, TX 75067

http://burgess.house.gov

Representative Kenny Marchant (202) 225-6605 or (866) 213-803 110 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 or 9901 E. Valley Ranch Pkwy., Ste. 3035, Irving, TX 75063

http://marchant.house.gov

Your local Democrat Party needs money to continue to work for you. The DCDP receives no funds from the national or state parties - it is supported solely by the generosity of Denton County citizens.

Give online by clicking here: Support DCDP or mail a check to the Denton County Democratic Party, P.O. Box 1165, Denton, Tx 76202.

Thanks Denton County Democrats !

North Texas Progressive Book Suggestion

Two books really helped me understand the events in Egypt last week ...

The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Vintage)

By Lawrence Wright

List Price: $17.00

Price: $10.19 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25.

BUY HERE

Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA

By Tim Weiner

List Price: $16.95

Price: $10.84 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. BUY HERE

Recession Over: What's Holding Us Back? Dallas Democratic Forum

Recession Over: What's Holding Us Back? with Chris Griffin CEO & Managing Partner, 4G Companies

Daniel Healy Managing Partner, Civitas Capital Management

Fred Newbury, Ph.D. Professor of Economics, Richland College

Devin Phillips Managing Partner, Hayman Municipal Strategies, LLC

Shelley Kofler - Moderator KERA News Director

Come hear a distinguished panel of experts discuss our current Texas and national economic situation from various perspectives.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

The Belo Mansion -- Ross and Olive

11:30 am Registration/Buffet

12:00 Noon Program Recession Over: What's Holding Us Back?

Attend here

End Modern Day Slavery Conference

Dallas Peace Center-End Modern Day Slavery Conference

When : Saturday, February 19, 2011, 1 - 4pm

Where Rooms 237/239 Northhaven UMC

For more information, please contact Bill McElvaney at franbillmc@sbcglobal.net or email Kellie at director@dallaspeacecenter.org.
For more info :
Northhaven UMC Methodist Church http://www.northaven.org/

When Democracy Weakens

By BOB HERBERT

As the throngs celebrated in Cairo, I couldn't help wondering about what is happening to democracy here in the United States. I think it's on the ropes. We're in serious danger of becoming a democracy in name only.

While millions of ordinary Americans are struggling with unemployment and declining standards of living, the levers of real power have been all but completely commandeered by the financial and corporate elite. It doesn't really matter what ordinary people want. The wealthy call the tune, and the politicians dance.

So what we get in this democracy of ours are astounding and increasingly obscene tax breaks and other windfall benefits for the wealthiest, while the bought-and-paid-for politicians hack away at essential public services and the social safety net, saying we can't afford them. One state after another is reporting that it cannot pay its bills. Public employees across the country are walking the plank by the tens of thousands. Camden, N.J., a stricken city with a serious crime problem, laid off nearly half of its police force. Medicaid, the program that provides health benefits to the poor, is under savage assault from nearly all quarters.

read on

North Texas Progressive Newsletter

Nancy Cunningham
Editor
Contact: Nancy

This newsletter is a project of the North Texas Progressive , which is an umbrella organization for the Dallas Air America group, which was founded in 2004 to promote and support progressive talk radio and independent media in North Texas.

Visit the North Texas Progressive web pages to get more information.

Newsletter archive

Sponsor the newsletter here !

John Oliver, Senior British Correspondent on the Daily Show, is coming to Dallas!

John Oliver, Senior British Correspondent on the Daily Show, is coming to Dallas! Your favorite current events expert will be performing a live stand up comedy show at the House of Blues on Saturday, March 12^th! Get your tickets here

We need you to be a sponsor!

Sponsor an edition today

Dr. Errington Thompson's "Where's the outrage? " blog

Dallas native Dr. Errington Thompson, former host on Revolution 880 from Asheville, NC now blogs at

erringtonthompsonmd.com

Olbermann's Big Gamble?

Maybe, maybe not: Current TV is a very unsure bet

The Al Gore-founded Current TV has been called many things since it first went to air on August 1, 2005-and even before that. When rumors surfaced that Gore had television ambitions, many thought he was looking to start a Fox News Channel for the left, a kind of televised Air America. Then, when Gore and co-founder Joel Hyatt confirmed that "Current TV" was happening and what it would be-a nonideological roster of short, youth-created YouTube-style mini-documentaries-it was called something else: a television revolution. It was also called a high-risk gamble, an ambitious leap ahead of the curve, and a foolhardy endeavor. Then, for a while, it wasn't called much at all.

In the almost six years since Current TV launched to great fanfare and media buzz, it has generally defied expectations. Mostly it has done so by staying out of sight and out of mind. But even if you look closely, many predictions were well off the mark. Has it revolutionized television? With an average of 23,000 primetime viewers and just a trickle of incoming user-generated content, not exactly. What has it become then? Not much of anything, really, in terms of impact. The only time most Americans have thought of Current TV in the past five years was when two of its reporters, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, were captured in March 2009 after walking across the shallow Tumen River from China to North Korea.

Read on Columbia Journalism Review

sign up for CO Current newsletter

The Progressive Strategy Handbook:Mobilizing to Take Back America

"In the last several years, I've worked closely with a wide variety of progressive groups and everywhere I go people hunger for better ways to communicate, persuade, collaborate, and engage with those around them. The recent election was largely determined by the absence of progressive voters. It wasn't Tea Party supporters who determined this election. It was the progressives who were disengaged from the process largely through strategies designed to "not offend" conservatives by liberal elites."

You can help create and implement:

Download here for free

"A crowd-funded, open sourced, collaboratively created project that YOU can join. Read the book, suggest changes, put it to practice, and report back.The Progressive Strategy Handbook:Mobilizing to Take Back America."

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