United States News
The latest news from and about U.S. issues.Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Mexico sees decline in migrant remittances.
AP, July 29, 2008 - “Half-year figures are expected to show the first sustained decline on record in remittances sent home by Mexicans working abroad, officials said. The downturn in U.S. housing construction and stepped-up immigration raids have made it tougher for migrants to find jobs, and less able to send money home. Mexico’s Central Bank is scheduled to release figures on the remittance flow on Wednesday.” Read more.
A common-sense energy policy.
The Examiner, July 29, 2008 - “There’s no upside to $4 gasoline. Texas families are struggling to meet basic demands due to the skyrocketing price of fuel and the related spike in food prices. Yet, as a result of our energy crisis, we finally have a consensus that we can’t rely on the same old solutions to what has been a steadily-worsening problem. Politicians have done us a disservice by pretending that there are simple solutions to energy issues and by putting forth a false choice about energy.” Read more.
Senate deadlocked over energy speculation bill.
Reuters, July 29, 2008 - “Senate lawmakers remained deadlocked on Tuesday over legislation to rein in excessive energy speculation, as they haggled over adding amendments to the bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Monday gave Republicans a chance to offer four amendments to the bill, including a measure expanding offshore oil drilling. A spokesman for Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said the deal was not rejected, but that lawmakers are still working on a deal.” Read more.
The Maquiladora Reader: Cross-Border Organizing Since NAFTA.
MyCoffeeBeans, July 29, 2008 - “Cross-Border Organizing Since NAFTA Globalization is one of the most talked-about phenomena - but little information is available on how those who are most involved - the communities and working people affected by globe-trotting corporations - are responding to its challenges. The Maquiladora Reader explores how grassroots activists are facing one of the most important trends in the globalization of production: the proliferation of maquiladoras - the foreign-owned (mainly by US corporations) assembly plants along the Mexico-U.S. border. Through more than two dozen readings culled from a variety of sources - The Maquiladora Reader reveals the determination and creativity of maquiladora workers as they seek to improve their wages and working conditions - protect their communities from health and environmental hazards - and build cross-border relationships with unions - religious groups - community organizations - and others.” Read more.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Obamanomics Is a Recipe for Recession.
NYforMcCain, July 28, 2008 - “What if I told you that a prominent global political figure in recent months has proposed: abrogating key features of his government’s contracts with energy companies; unilaterally renegotiating his country’s international economic treaties; dramatically raising marginal tax rates on the ‘rich’ to levels not seen in his country in three decades (which would make them among the highest in the world); and changing his country’s social insurance system into explicit welfare by severing the link between taxes and benefits? The first name that came to mind would probably not be Barack Obama, possibly our nation’s next president. Yet despite his obvious general intelligence, and uplifting and motivational eloquence, Sen. Obama reveals this startling economic illiteracy in his policy proposals and economic pronouncements.” Read more.
Republicans Seek to Capitalize On Drilling Support.
Wall Street Journal, July 28, 2008 - “Republicans are upping the ante on their bet that energy issues—especially increased domestic oil production—will be key to closing Democrats’ imposing advantage with voters on the economy. This week, President George W. Bush heads to two election battleground states, Ohio and West Virginia, to draw attention to congressional inaction. Senate Republicans are planning a floor fight before August recess to try to win authorization for more production.” Read more.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Let Bloomberg, Rendell and Schwarzenegger Rebuild America.
QuigleyBlog, July 27, 2008 - “Three of the country’s major politicians, Ed Rendell, Governor of PA, Mike Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City and Arnold Schwarzenegger have urged both the Republican and Democratic national committees to adopt pro-infrastructure planks in their party platforms. They are co-chairs of Building America’s Future which is dedicated to bringing about a new era of U.S. investment in the infrastructure which enhances our nation’s prosperity and quality of life. Both parties should heed their call.” Read more.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
How Free Trade Can Help Solve the Energy Crisis.
Wall Street Journal, July 26, 2008 - “The unprecedented escalation in oil and food prices is a clear and present danger to our economy and national security. The root cause of this crisis is our dependence on a single commodity, oil, for transportation—we burn 145 billion gallons of gasoline a year. The only permanent solution is diversity in our fuel supply to ensure competition and choice in the marketplace. While a number of alternatives to oil are being developed, we already have one strategic solution at our disposal: biofuels, both domestic and from Latin America.” Read more.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Energy Is Top Economic Issue for Voters.
Wall Street Journal, July 25, 2008 - “Congress will likely break for the summer without passing legislation to curb high gasoline prices. But Americans are fashioning their own energy policy, founded on conservation and support for more production. A new Wall Street Journal/NBC news poll finds that energy—including gasoline and utility costs—ranks as the economic issue that voters say affects them the most personally. New data indicate Americans are conserving energy with fervor.” Read more.
Symbolic Politics and U.S. Border Enforcement.
Huffington Post, July 25, 2008 - “Last week, Secretary Michael Chertoff testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, hailing his Department’s efforts in securing the “homeland” by essentially militarizing and building a 335-mile barricade along the U.S.-Mexico border. Many of the declared achievements that Chertoff noted are associated with Operation Jump Start, a joint program by the Border Patrol and Department of Defense that deployed 6,000 National Guard troops to assist with surveillance operations and fence construction. Shortly after the two-year anniversary of its inception, Operation Jump Start is coming to an end. Meanwhile, its ‘raging success’ tenuously dangles on Chertoff’s misleading ‘metrics of success.’” Read more.
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