Elms Progressive Media

1:59 p.m. | Updated President Obama hailed the late-night budget deal that averted a government shutdown on Friday as “good news for the American people,” but members of his own party seemed less convinced. Hours after the spending crisis was averted with a series of handshakes just before midnight, some Democrats began complaining that their legislative leaders and Mr. Obama had given away too much in the bargain. Robert Reich , the former labor secretary under President Bill Clinton, wrote on Twitter: “The right held the U.S. govt hostage, and O paid most of the ransom — inviting more hostage-taking. Next is raising debt ceiling.” David Plouffe, a senior adviser to the president, dismissed the criticism. “I would ask Robert Reich and others to actually consume the details of this,” Mr. Plouffe said in an interview on Saturday. “There are some in our country who simply believe spending cuts are not required to help the economy. The president has made it very clear that we cannot...

An Overview of Social Inequality : "EXPLORATIONS IN SOCIAL INEQUALITY An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics. --Plutarch Edward N. Wolff's Recent Trends in Wealth Ownership 1983-1998 A 1979 Carnegie study ('Small Futures: Children, Inequality, and the Limits of Liberal Reform', Richard de Lone principal investigator) found that a child's future to be largely determined by social status, not brains. Consider Bobby and Jimmy, two second-graders, who both pay attention in the classroom, do well, and have nearly identical I.Q.s. Yet Bobby is the son of a successful lawyer; Jimmy's works infrequently as custodial assistant. Despite their similarities, the difference in the circumstances to which they were born makes it 27 times more likely that Bobby will get a job that by time he is in late 40s will pay him an income in the top tenth of all incomes in this country. Jimmy had about one chance in eight of earning...

theGrio | African American Breaking News and Opinion : "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

MLK Was a Working-Class Hero : "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Robert Kennedy Quotes - Page 2 - BrainyQuote : "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

China terms Obama-Dalai Lama meeting a gross violation of international relations : "Beijing, Feb.19 (ANI): China on Friday described Thursday’s meeting between US President Barack Obama and Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in the Map Room of the White House as a “gross violation” of international relations and called for the United States to “stop conniving and supporting anti-Chinese forces”. “The US act grossly violated the norms governing international relations and ran counter to the principles,” The Telegraph quoted Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu, as saying.”It also went against the repeated commitments by the US government that the US recognises Tibet as part of China and gives no support to ‘Tibet independence’,” he added. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

ThinkProgress » After Promising To ‘Repeal And Replace’ Obama’s Health Law, Republicans Have No Replacement : "As the first major legislative act with their new majority, Republicans are planning to hold a futile vote next week to repeal President Obama’s health care law. The laughably named “Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act” has an equally laughable chance of becoming law, as the Democratic majority in the Senate will inevitably block it. President Obama has also confirmed that he’ll veto it. Nonetheless, House Republicans are rushing headlong into inevitable defeat, insisting that their efforts aren’t doomed, and promising to “replace” Obama’s law with their own, better one. “Repeal and replace” has been a mantra for Republicans and their conservative allies since March of last year, though the repealers have been hazy on with what they would “replace” it with. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Today in America 50% of the White have $67,000 in total assets, the Hispanic $8,000 in total assets, and the Blacks $5,000; while 1% of the population owns 90% of all the wealth in America. How can America prosper with such inequality. The Oil Industry Is Gauging Us

The current rules that govern the Senate are hurting our democracy.Obscure rules like secret holds and filibusters allow individual Senators to hold the nation's work hostage while cutting backroom deals. They give preference to the special interests that fund and further their careers.In order for our legislative branch to once again become part of a functioning democracy, the Senate’s rules must be updated. Let the Senate know that national interest comes before self-interest. Join us and sign the petition to Fix the Senate Now. Fix the Senate Now | Sign the Petition Now Blogged with the Flock Browser

John G. Roberts Jr. was originally nominated by President George W. Bush in 2005 to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court succeeding Sandra Day O'Connor, who was retiring. But the sudden death of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist that September prompted the president to name Mr. Roberts to the chief justice's position. He was confirmed by a vote of 78 to 22 after an uneventful confirmation hearing, in which Mr. Roberts stressed his philosophy of judicial modesty and respect for precedent. John G. Roberts Jr. News - The New York Times Blogged with the Flock Browser

Following the first election since the Supreme Court has struck down limits on election-related advertising, a new poll finds that 9 in 10 voters said that in the 2010 election they encountered information they believed was misleading or false, with 56% saying this occurred frequently. Fifty-four percent said that it had been more frequent than usual, while just three percent said it was less frequent than usual, according to the poll conducted by WorldPublicOpinion.org, based at the University of Maryland, and Knowledge Networks. Voters Say Election Full of Misleading and False Information - World Public Opinion Blogged with the Flock Browser

What will the senior and disabled eat, and how are they going to pay their bills; they’ll need to move-in with relatives to share the facilities and the living expenses in order to survive. Senior and the disabled will need to (Eat Cat Food) to survive. They will need to live with their children because they won’t be able to afford rent. It will like it used to be when senior and the disabled lived in closets, and they were invisible. Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

I am totally opposed to tax breaks to millionair ­es and billionair ­es; please stand with Senator Bernie Sanders to filibuster the President’ ­s deal with the Republican ­s. This is a bad deal and this will widen the gap between “THE RICH And THE POOR“, this will increase the national debt by 1 Trillion, and some states could go bankrupt. We’ll need to borrow 400 Billion from China who already own us. We’ll need to cut the safety net to pay for this welfare to millionair ­es and billionair ­es this will kill jobs. I am done with Obama; and I am done with any Democrat who votes yes on this irresponsi ­ble tax deal. Finally, cutting Social Security Taxes by 2% is unacceptab ­le. What’s next privatizin ­g Social Security? Where does this end up? Killing this program altogether ­. Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Has Obama become a trader turning his back on his own party; what will happen in 2012 when he’s up for reelection will the Democrats support him? Has Obama become a Republican? Money really changes people surrounding himself with “Wall Streeters” has really changed him. Standoff with Obama makes villain out of Schumer Blogged with the Flock Browser

Senator: Fed's priorities misplaced

(Written by an American expat living in the European Union).It wasn't until I left America that I started to realize how badly the American plutocrat owned media lies to the American people through its disinformation campaign.Well today for a span of at least this one Daily Kos diary, you will get to see what the American plutocrat owned media never wants you to see, and that is how Europe in particular and the world in general has come to see America as a country in decline, whose people are so badly misinformed by the media, they actually don't realize that America is the only major industrialized nation in the world that by right of law does not offer universal medical access, paid sick leave, paid maternity leave and paid annual leave. It just seems almost impossible to get that word out to the American people. Even diaries on that subject at the Kos top out at just over 2,000 views. Let's please remember the purpose of the plutocrat owned commercial media isn't so ...

Latinos for Reform (LFR), a conservative group that advocates for Latino concerns, is airing an ad that discourages Latinos from voting in the upcoming midterm elections.LFR says in the Spanish version of the ad that there is “no excuse” for the lack of action on immigration reform from the current Congress. It attacks “both Democrats and Republicans,” going as far as to call them “traitors” for “playing with our future.” The ad has both an English and Spanish version, with the key difference between the two versions being that the English version singles out Democrats while the Spanish version targets all politicians as having betrayed Hispanic voters. Latinos for Reform ad urges Latinos not to vote - Yahoo! News Blogged with the Flock Browser

- In recent years Democrats and Republicans have tried to pass laws that balance the humanitarian reasons to allow immigration with the fact people are committing a crime when they come here without permission from the U.S. government. - Many Latinos strongly seek reform, and their vote or lack thereof could swing crucial states in 2010. - A comprehensive immigration reform bill introduced by President George W. Bush failed, and President Obama has also made little progress on the issue. - Liberal Democrats have pushed for a new effort to give undocumented workers "a path to citizenship" without leaving the country. - Republicans in Congress have said they will never again consider such a bill until the border between the United States and Mexico is safe and secure. What You Need to Know: Immigration and the Elections Blogged with the Flock Browser

For 18 years in the House of Representatives, Dick Armey fought tirelessly for lower taxes, less government, and more freedom. In 2003, he joined FreedomWorks to lead the same political revolution at the grassroots level. Weak Tea? Conservatives Need a 'Tea Party Makeover' Blogged with the Flock Browser

The Tea Party Express kicked off its fourth bus tour of the U.S. on Monday with a rally in Nevada hosted by none other than Sarah Palin, the movement's de facto figurehead. The former vice presidential candidate rallied crowds with one of her trademark stump speeches, telling Tea Partiers they couldn't "party like it's 1773" until they took over Washington D.C. Will the Tea Party Express tour help broaden the movement's appeal ahead of the election? ( Watch Palin's bus tour speech ) Tea Party Express: The 2010 election tour - Yahoo! News