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Wednesday, Nov 28, 2007
Policing Corporate Pricing Policies
by Stephen Crockett, co-host of
Democratic Talk Radio
Among the top priorities of the current
and next Congressional sessions should be new laws to regulate
corporate pricing policies. In particular, our nation needs strict new
federal laws against price-gouging and predatory pricing.
We
all know about price-gouging. We see it everyday when buying gasoline,
diesel fuel, home heating oil, prescription drugs and many other
products or services. Price-gouging is the result of an “all the
market will bare” corporate mentality, as opposed to the more
traditional “reasonable rate of return on investment” corporate
mentality which prevailed in most corporate boardrooms before the
1980’s Reagan Revolution changed government policies and societal
attitudes. This is the truly darkside of the Reagan Era. We are still
suffering from the negative impacts as consumers and citizens.Read
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Monday, Nov. 26, 2007
Pennsylvania's Costing-Out Study Released
 The
PA State Board of Education has released its long awaited
"costing-out" study.
The costing-out
analysis found that $12,057 is the average level of funding required
to ensure that every student reaches state standards of academic
achievement. The study identified a base cost per student of $8,003
and the additional funding needed to close the achievement gap for
students in poverty, English language learners and children with
special needs.
Overall, the study
found, 474 out of 501 school districts in Pennsylvania are currently
spending below their adequacy levels, and Pennsylvania’s system of
public education is underfunded by $4.61 billion (26.8 percent more
than current spending).
Read more...
Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2007
REPORTING FROM LANCASTER PA
Film
Screening, "In Debt We Trust:
America
Before the Bubble Bursts"
by
Danny Schechter,
NewsDissector.com
I hustled over to N.Y.’s
Penn Station in the rain yesterday to make the train to Lancaster Pa
for a screening of In Debt We Trust. It was a good turnout considering
that this is Thanksgiving week and half the students have already
split. The train chugs into Philly but them goes BACKWARD to
Lancaster. I felt I was moving back in time, through the suburbs and
then coal and farm country. I finally arrived at Franklin and Marshall
College (Founded 1787) which I am told is a pricey place to go school.
The campus is impressive and the students, to my surprise, paid
attention even if I am always rattled when some are multitasking with
their computers while watching the film.
I hung out with Jerry
Pollicoff, a former TV ad exec who is also a JFK conspiracy buff and
media critic who was in my film BEYOND JFK back in ’92. He now has a
new hip and a new home and is very engaged locally in progressive
Democratic politics as part fo a group fighting for single payer
health care in Pennsylvania. The Governor Ed Rendell said he’s sign it
if the advocates can get it passed.
Jerry told me that
Lancaster has for years had a reputation as a conservative Republican
town and has result has been frequently visited by President Bush. On
his last stop here a few weeks ago, 400 people turned out to protest
and a few infiltrated the President’s event and let their feelings be
heard. Lancaster is no longer a safe town for GWB.
Monday, Nov. 19, 2007
"Treating bodies, losing hearts: the paradox of US presence in Iraq."
Chester County Democracy
Caucus and Chester County Peace Movement will present Peter Fish,
Captain in the New York Army National Guard who has just returned from
12 months of duty in Iraq.
His review of the war in
Iraq will be presented on Tuesday, December 4th at 7 p.m. at West
Chester Borough Hall, 401 East Gay St. (parking in back).
All are welcome and
questions and discussion will follow the presentation.
Peter Fish graduated from
the Yale School of Medicine Physician Associate Program and practiced
Cosmetic and Trauma surgery prior to being deployed to Iraq. In Iraq
he was the Officer in Charge of Medical Affairs for a combat hospital
in Tallil, the Flight Surgeon for the Emergency Room and Outpatient
Clinic that treated 31,000 soldiers in southern Iraq, and a Flight
Surgeon for the Medevac Company that was co-located with the hospital.
His talk will focus on the experience of working in an Army Combat
Hospital.
For more information about
this talk: info@2CDC.org.
Sunday, Nov. 11, 2007
Homelessness High Among Veterans
Veterans Day, November 11, is a national
holiday set aside to honor the men and women who have served in
America’s armed forces and to acknowledge the debt we owe them.
However, a new
study shows that veterans are more likely to be homeless than
those in the general population, and that, nationwide, veterans tend
to have less access to health care and other supportive services than
they need.
Read more...
Friday, Nov. 9, 2007
Waterboarding
Republicans vs. Supporting Our Troops
by Stephen Crockett, co-host of
Democratic Talk Radio
You cannot honestly say you are
supporting American soldiers if you support the use of torture
techniques like waterboarding. By any objective definition,
waterboarding is torture. The technique is a type of simulated
drowning of a prisoner who has their limbs bound.
Read more...
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Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007
Film
Screening, "In Debt We Trust:
America
Before the Bubble Bursts"
 A
screening of Danny Schechter's "In Debt We Trust" will be shown at the Roschel
Center for the Performing Arts at Franklin and Marshall College on Monday,
November 19th at 4:30PM.
IN DEBT WE TRUST is the latest
film from Danny Schechter, "The News Dissector," director of the
internationally distributed and award-winning WMD (Weapons of Mass Deception),
an expose of the media's role in the Iraq War. The Emmy-winning former ABC
News and CNN producer's new hard-hitting documentary investigates why so many
Americans are being strangled by debt.
A Question and Answer session will
follow the film. This event is open to the public and is cost free. For more
information, contact
Kristen
Anne Evans.
View interactive map of campus...
Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007
Lois on Panel at WNDC Candidate Forum
 Lois Herr, Senior
Editor of newPA16.com,
was a member of a panel discussing "Lessons Learned from 2006 to
Forward Thinking in 2008". The Forum was held in Washington, D.C. and
is sponsored by the
Woman's
National Democratic Club.
The Panel was
moderated by Sharron Caplan, PAC Chair/Treasurer.
Members of the Panel
were:
Lois Herr-
2004 and 2006 Democratic Candidate for Congress in Pennsylvania’s
16th Congressional District. Herr is currently working on Dear
Coach: Letters Home from World War II, which tells the story of her
father and his athletes, who wrote him over 200 letters when they
left college to serve in World War II.
Judy Feder–
2006 Democratic Nominee for Congress in Virginia’s 10th
Congressional District. Feder is currently Professor and Dean of the
Georgetown Public Policy Institute.
Donna F.
Edwards– 2006 candidate for Congress in Maryland’s 4th
Congressional District. Edwards is currently the Executive Director
of the ARCA Foundation in Washington DC.
Dan Maffei–
running for Congress to help bring accountability back to Congress,
so central New Yorkers can trust the federal government is doing
right by them. Maffei is currently the Senior Vice President of
Pinnacle Capital Management, LLC.
Sunday, Nov. 4, 2007
Picking A Democratic Presidential “Winner” Candidate
by
Stephen Crockett, co-host of
Democratic Talk Radio
Let me start this
column with a personal admission, I like all the Democratic
Presidential candidates. Frankly, every single Democratic contender is
far superior to any of the announced Republican candidates. Picking a
“winner” candidate for Democrats should include the ability to get
elected in the general election, the ability to govern effectively and
a proven commitment to the core values of the grassroots Democrats.
My personal belief
is that former Senator John Edwards and Senator Joe Biden are the best
choices. Both are extremely intelligent. They are both obviously
sincere and strongly committed to Democratic values. In my personal
opinion, Edwards and Biden can win in many of the red states against
any of the potential Republican candidates.
Read more...
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