George W. Bush used to say he was a “compassionate conservative.” Whether he was or not is beside the point – the fact that no such animal exists any more.
The town of Moore, Oklahoma was devastated yesterday by a massive tornado. But James Inhofe, US Senator from that state wasted no time in declaring that any disaster relief would have to be offset by cuts elsewhere. Sickening.
We are a nation already suffering from money hoarding at the top and too much being taken from those with the least to give. On today’s show, we looked at areas of need the actions being taken to effect change.
I was aware that we, the taxpayers, subsidize big corporations like McDonald’s and Walmart for their low-wage jobs as employees often turn to public assistance to survive. But we’re also subsidizing the low wages to employees under federal contracts, concessions and leases! Hundreds of those employees went on strike today in Washington DC, as Good Jobs Nation and the workers called on President Obama to ensure contractors pay their employees a living wage and improve working conditions for all those employed by federal dollars. Today, I spoke with Travis Dupree, one of the organizers on the ground.
While we, the taxpayers, subsidize these big corporations by providing assistance for their employees who can’t get by on the measly wages they’re paid, there are many in Congress who want to keep cutting the assistance available. 20% of our nation’s children go to sleep hungry at night! In this, the wealthiest nation on the planet, 1 in 5 children has no food security. Yet the geniuses in Congress will vote this week to cu $20 Billion from the SNAP (Food Stamp) program! It’s sickening. My friend, activist Kim Doyle Wille joined me on the show this morning to discuss the problem that she outlined in this piece for HuffPost, and urges you to call you Congressional representative and write letters to the editor too.
The Koch Brothers are trying to buy the media! Today, 1Miami is holding an action at the South Florida Sun Sentinel saying that they don’t need a Koch problem! This video does a good job of explaining what this is all about:
And in the wake of Attorney General Eric Holder’s pronouncement that he couldn’t possibly prosecute and jail the banksters who tanked our economy and caused the foreclosure crisis, the Home Defenders League and a number of people who had their homes stolen from then decided to target the DoJ with a peaceful protest and occupation yesterday. Unfortunately, the police responded by violating their first amendment rights by arresting dozens and even tazing a few. This morning, I spoke with Nathan Henderson-James of the HDL, and homeowner Vivian Richardson, a member of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment who fought back against an unjust foreclosure in San Francisco, and traveled to DC this week to stand with others.
Of course, all eyes are on Oklahoma in the wake of yesterday’s horrific tornado. Of course, the Red Cross does some great work. But there’s a group of veterans who jumps into action when disaster strikes: Team Rubicon. Help them help the people who lost everything yesterday, if you can…
Here’s one story from the disaster with a happy ending: