Closed Shop (or how Obama plans to get folks back to work)

Nov 12, 2009 - Closed Shop By Kevin Mooney on 11.12.09 @ 6:07AM Non-union construction workers could be locked out of new federal projects thanks to an executive order President Obama signed back in February on the sly as part of a payback to organized labor. The election of Republican governors in Virginia, and especially New Jersey, who are both opposed to union-only favoritism in contracting, could complicate the administration’s efforts, at least on the state level. The loss of New Jersey must be viewed as a particularly acute setback, given how active labor bosses and White House operatives were in their failed effort to secure re-election for a long-time ally. - 5 Comments

The Frank Marshall Davis Network in Hawaii

Aug 20, 2009 - By Andrew Walden July 29, 2008 In a July 14 news release the “Honolulu Community Media Council” (HCMC) denounces Accuracy In Media and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review for “shoddy journalism and smear tactics.” HCMC, headed by Chris Conybeare of the University of Hawaii, “finds” that “there is no substance to the claim” that “Frank Marshall Davis was a lifelong Communist and a mentor to (presidential candidate Barack) Obama.” Conybeare may be hoping that nobody else knowing the post-WW II history of Hawaii is willing to talk. Davis, it turns out, was just one member of a network whose works continue to exert influence to this day. Connecting the Dots A faculty member of the UH-West Oahu Center for Labor Education and Research (CLEAR), Conybeare is producer of a many-part PBS series on the history of labor organizing in Hawaii, focusing on the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). - 4 Comments

Air France: Missing jet possibly hit by lightning

Jun 01, 2009 - SAO PAULO, Brazil - A missing Air France jet carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris ran into lightning and strong thunderstorms over the Atlantic Ocean, officials said Monday. Brazil began a search mission off its northeastern coast. Chief Air France spokesman Francois Brousse said it is possible the plane was hit by lightning. - 24 Comments

Top diplomat's Asia comments cross taboo lines in international diplomacy

Feb 23, 2009 - By Glenn Kessler The Washington Post updated 2:44 a.m. CT, Mon., Feb. 23, 2009 BEIJING - Hillary Rodham Clinton's blunt and unadorned style of diplomacy has been evident throughout her first trip as secretary of state the past week in Asia. - 0 Comments

Putting Government First

Jan 19, 2009 - Putting Government First By Chris Reed on 1.19.09 @ 6:07AM The idea that Democrats care more about the poor and the needy is an enduring American political stereotype -- and one of the party's most potent vote-getting tools. It's highly questionable whether Democrats' emphasis on government paternalism and a generous welfare state actually helps the downtrodden more than Republicans' recipe of economic growth and low taxes. But at least on a rhetorical basis, Democrats certainly do talk the most about the hurting. - 4 Comments

Stinging Talk About Obama? Never Mind Now -- Palin: "God Bless Barack Obama"... And other Hypocrites

Nov 08, 2008 - That whole anti-American, friend-to-the-terrorists thing about President-elect Barack Obama? Never mind. But there she was on Wednesday, after narrowly escaping defeat because of those comments, saying she was “extremely grateful that we have an African-American who has won this year.” Ms. - 20 Comments