Taking the plunge
I have been following this site ever since the convention, and shortly after decided to become a full-fledged member of the BMG community. I have held off posting a diary and have only posted maybe...
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Guerrilla Vlogger: AFL-CIO hosts John Edwards in Manchester, NH with oreos
Tula Connell asked an important question in her excellent Labor Day diary. If Unions are so great then why don’t more people join them? Today this is what employers do when you try to start a union:...
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Guerrilla Vlogger: Booted at YouTube, the agony…
Update: I’ll be vlogging the Edwards gig back in Portsmouth tomorrow so look for my vlog on the Town Hall event here in the next couple of days if you can’t get up to see it. And as far as reposting, I...
View ArticleInvoking President Franklin D. Roosevelt In Support Of Increasing The Minimum...
President Franklin Roosevelt told us, “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” The...
View ArticleInvoking President Franklin D. Roosevelt In Support Of Increasing The Minimum...
By increasing the federal minimum wage by $2.10 – from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over two years – we are giving a long overdue pay raise to about 13 million Americans, which amounts to an additional...
View ArticleMA Residents Can Help Save Affordable Housing in New Orleans
Because you either live in the 4th Congressional District of MA or know others who do, you can help stop the demolition of public housing in New Orleans. What 4th District Residents Can Do Call US...
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Vlog: Hunger in America – Merrimack Valley Food Bank
Everyone that I talked to for this project wanted me to let you know that the need is greatest at this time of year because of the cost of home heating. People in this industry, the clients and...
View ArticleThe US ranks near the bottom in child welfare, per UNICEF
UNICEF released a study showing the United States near the bottom in regards to the well-being of children. http://rawstory.com/… Children’s health is not related to a country’s gross national...
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Vlog: Hunger in America – Merrimack Valley Food Bank Part 2
Everyone that I talked to for this project wanted me to let you know that the need is greatest at this time of year because of the cost of home heating. People in this industry, the clients and...
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Vlog: Hunger in America – Part 3
First a recap from Part 1 and Part 2 … Some stats on the current hunger situation in the country. In 2005, 37 million people were in poverty including 12.9 million children under the age of 18 yet less...
View ArticleDear Massachusetts: I think one of your welfare policies is swell.
One program through which this has been realized is Choices, which allows people receiving welfare opportunities to build economic security for their families. Through Choices, people receiving welfare...
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Guerrilla Vlogger: Edwards Town Hall in Dover
Video: Edwards in Dover: “It’s a change election.” (5:17) Bill McCann former NH State Rep from Dover introduces Edwards with some very brief remarks. He has endorsed Edwards in the primary and...
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Guerrilla vlogger: Edwards Town Hall in NH Part 2
In the final clip presented in Part 1 of this vlog, Edwards sums up the need for activism and engagement on the part of voters this time around. It’s a change election and though the “I can’t change...
View ArticleWhy should Guatemalans have to give us their babies to save them from starving?
But then, the focus of child welfare law in these United States, post “The Adoption and Safe Families Act” [also called “ASFA”] is to speed up permanency, by which the law means terminating parental...
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Guerrilla vlogger: Edwards in Portsmouth
Video: John Edwards in Portsmouth: Intro (5:22) Elias is a Korean War veteran and he’s an active advocate for vet issues. He introduces Elizabeth in this clip and tells us why he’s supporting Edwards...
View ArticleWhat John Edwards said, before picking up a hammer to help build a house in...
You do not have to take my word for what John Edwards said. Go to: http://www.johnedwards.com/wat… I plan to write and thank him for his service. But, as to this primary election, sign me: Undecided.
View Article90,000 infants abused or neglected – or 90,000 poor parents demonized?
Increasing the number of children removed and placed in foster care does not protect children nor does this improve outcomes for children or reduce abuse and neglect. Failure to strengthen families...
View ArticleWhat John Edwards said in Cambridge Mass today about his delegates, super...
First, you can hear the speech yourself and see if my comments are accurate. Go to: http://www.necn.com/Boston/Pol… Edwards stated that HIS delegates are free to vote their conscience, and he will NOT...
View ArticleWHY sex scandals matter in the US of A: Blog “atlanticfreepress” asks the...
Here is a link to an intriguing post: http://www.atlanticfreepress.c… Personally, I don’t mind the sex as much as the whining and lying – I would prefer a guy or gal who did the randy to just say...
View ArticleWhy youth violence still plagues urban communities
By: Devona Walker theloop21.com Young urban violence is not something many want to talk about. Black folks have grown tired of having our communities pigeonholed as violent. And in America at large,...
View ArticleWhy not just shoot fish in a barrel, or tied up animals? This is shameful.
The only words I have for this is “more mean-spirited cuts, more balancing the budget on the backs of the powerless who are already crawling”. Here is a quote that really says it all: By reducing those...
View ArticleDemocratic Party Platform Online Forum: Economic Justice & Poverty
This post will serve as an online forum to discuss your thoughts and ideas on what the Democratic Party Platform should say about Economic Justice and Poverty. We had a lively discussion earlier this...
View ArticleOne in ten Americans on food stamps
10% of Americans are on food stamps. http://www.reuters.com/article... WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A record 32.2 million people -- one in every 10 Americans -- received food stamps at latest count, the...
View ArticleStop talking about “taxes” start talking about fundamental fairness – w poll
Stop framing the discussion as “raising taxes”. Start talking about fundamental fairness and the American Dream being destroyed by greedy banksters and a rapacious elite. Go to What will kill the...
View ArticleWelfare benefits cashed in Casinos
Welfare benefits cashed in Casinos One more reason I am glad THIS has not come HERE. Magical thinking: THIS time I will win. More magical thinking: My money doesn’t last through the month and...
View ArticleFord Hall Forum: “AIDS, Social Justice and the Politics of Transformation”...
On September 30 from 6:30-8pm at the Old South Meeting House in Downtown Crossing (Boston), the Ford Hall Forum will be hosting a panel discussion on how to stop the spread of HIV by addressing the...
View ArticleEnd Poverty in California
End Poverty in California [EPIC] was the platform of Upton Sinclair’s campaign for the Governorship of California in 1934. Sinclair had won the nomination of the Democratic Party although he had been...
View ArticleWANNA make a for real “CHRISTMAS ” all year long?
If not now, when? If not you, then who? And I know these folks, and this group – 100% of any donations go to the kids; no paid staff, no professional fundraising, no political donations – 100% goes...
View ArticleBuilding a stronger human service system in Massachusetts
2011-2012 Human Services Legislative Agenda Prior to the 2011-12 legislative session, the Providers' Council surveyed its statewide membership of human services providers about the challenges and...
View ArticleGov’s budget would cut homeless, mental health and employment programs
I'm not sure what happened to "seeing the faces behind the budget" and "turning to each other, not on each other," but the budget proposed by Governor Patrick today offers some very troubling cuts to...
View ArticleTwo Americas: The Barack Obama Edition
In his State of the Union Address, President Obama promised that the US will “out-educate” the world. In his new budget, he is proposing $100B in cuts to Pell Grants and graduate loan aid. It will...
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Free Energy: Solar and Dynamo LED Keychain Lights
Last year, one of the vendors at NESEA’s Building Energy conference (http://www.nesea.org/buildingenergy/) gave away a keychain fob, a little two LED hand crank light. This year, another vendor gave...
View ArticleSupport civil legal aid
PLEASE SUPPORT FUNDING FOR CIVIL LEGAL AID! Imagine being a single parent of young children, facing serious illness, loss of employment due to that illness, the consequent loss of health insurance, and...
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New Census Info for Massachusetts: Median Income Up Slightly, Poverty Unchanged
The Massachusetts median income grew slightly between 2011 and 2012, while nationwide median income was basically unchanged, according to new data released today by the Census Bureau. Even with the...
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GOP’s Race War Still Dividing the Working Class
From Richard Nixon’s efforts to divide poor whites & blacks to Ronald Reagan’s open “Cadillac welfare queens” race-baiting to the Romney/Ryan 47% and makers/takers, using race to divide...
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The State of Working Massachusetts
A strong economy is one that works for everyone, including young and experienced workers, children and families, lower-wage and high-wage earners. Over the past year, the Massachusetts economy has...
View ArticleSolar Christmas Present
Wakawaka (http://us.waka-waka.com) makes a super efficient, sustainable, lightweight, sturdy and compact solar phone charger and lamp. It enables you to charge virtually any type of (smart)phone or...
View ArticleConfronting Inequality on MLK Day & Beyond
Martin Luther King Jr. Day challenges each of us to confront the racial and economic inequality of our time. Geography, income, and race stubbornly and persistently shape opportunities for too many...
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Paul Ryan, Shameless Liar: School Lunch Edition
For someone with a reputation in Washington as a teller of hard truths, no one tells more obvious lies than Paul Ryan. When he went on national television to accept the GOP vice presidential nomination...
View ArticleLet’s end child poverty
We are a wealthy state in a wealthy nation, and yet one out of every seven people in Massachusetts lives in poverty. And even that doesn’t tell the true story. The number is 29% among African...
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