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    <title>Employee Free Choice Act supporters</title>
    <link>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/group_rss/EmployeeFreeChoiceActsupporters/html</link>
    <description>This group is for all supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act. If you want to make it easier for workers to unionize, please join this group. Labor unions support us and we should support them!</description>
                        <item>
            <title>Not Vindictive, Just Prudent to Invest Billions on Main Street</title>
            <description>Barack it has absolutely nothing to do with saving our neighbors house that is burning because it might be a threat to our own but everything to do with not risking life and limb to save this same house that is already entirely destroyed by termites. The American people are not being vindictive by wanting to hold back $700 billion dollars from Wall Street but are being prudent by not wanting to waste what may be the last substantial amount of taxpayer dollars before the final decent into the abyss of a global income crisis. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
We have one last chance at &#039;jump starting&#039; this economy and that can only be done from below where 95% of lower to middle income citizens consume by purchasing products and services that are produced by the global economy. Nothing will be accomplished by throwing more and more money at Wall Street in an attempt to get the credit markets lending again because once the investment community became aware of the extent of consumer and business leverage they lost a certain amount of confidence in all facets of the U.S. economy. Both foreign and domestic credit markets are not freezing up but what is actually occurring is a natural reaction to the discovery that U.S. businesses and consumers have overextended themselves in an un-concerted attempt at maintaining a level of economic expansion (lifestyle or revenue stream) that is unsustainable given the continuing drop in consumption spending by consumers as a result of their declining incomes.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Now that both businesses and consumers are facing the reality of the real market economic forces that act to stabilize out of balance conditions, all facets of the economy are crying for immediate relief even those such as the financial institutions that will just have to write off or write down most of the over valued credit assets that their customers both businesses and citizens are unable to continue to carry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Until the 95% of low to middle income U.S. citizens are afforded a substantial increase in income (equated to all the lost income never received from years of productivity gains) the global economy will continue to tank. No other option remains - either use the $700 billion (more required) to &#039;jump start&#039; this dying income starved economy or watch it decline to the point of no return.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Also, we shouldn&#039;t believe everything pandered by the sensationalist media parrots especially when it regards Economics. Investors moved back into the markets today mainly to acquire &#039;dirt cheap&#039; bargain stocks and investment instruments not simply because they even remotely expect help in the form of a bailout from the U.S. Congress or that if it did transpire would have any effect on confidence anyway. Therefore, what all of us should attempt to do is maintain a link to reality based upon the facts of each day and not take credence in any neoclassical Economic ideology predictions that are rooted in policies that have brought us to this calamitous point in time.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Moving our economy back to a higher level of consumption spending that is not based upon consumers who are over leveraged and businesses that are equally overleveraged because their income is being drained off by greedy executives and board members must be the goal for our nation. Draining more income from the 95% of low to middle income citizen taxpayers in order to invest in worthless debt related assets that would be better purged from our economic system entirely does not lead to a sustainable economic system nor does it help in resolving our current chronic income crisis - it only makes matters worse. We need to invest in America not throw what may be our last remaining dollars that haven&#039;t yet been devalued (given time) to the point of being worthless up into the wind, only to be blown across a fast encroaching economic desert.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
We have the power to thoughtfully address the income crisis which is the root cause of our economic calamity but only if we remain open-minded to all approaches that are centered upon getting substantial income in the hands of average Americans who will faithfully spend (representing 2/3&#039;s of GDP) it on products and services. Not only is it the economically sensible thing to do but the morally right thing to do.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
http://structuralEconIssues.blogspot.com/</description>
            <link>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/raypairan/CGrn</link>
            <comments>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/raypairan/CGrn/commentary#comments</comments>
            <pubDate>Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:57:11 EDT</pubDate>
            <guid>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/raypairan/CGrn</guid>
            <dc:creator>Ray Pairan</dc:creator>
                        <db:profile>
                <db:picture>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/profile_picture/d80fbb2b207214e86d_vwm6bnjwo.jpg</db:picture>
                <db:author_name>Ray Pairan</db:author_name>
                <db:school></db:school>
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            <db:comment_count>0</db:comment_count>
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        </item>
                    <item>
            <title>Essays - Get Income to Main Street</title>
            <description>All the below essays may be read at-&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
http://structuraleconissues.blogspot.com/&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
          o Use $700 Billion to Stimulate Real Economy&lt;br /&gt;
          o Fast Bailout of Wall Street â€&quot; No Help for Main Street&lt;br /&gt;
          o Stand Up Citizens - It is Time to Be Counted&lt;br /&gt;
          o Death of the Great Consumption Engine&lt;br /&gt;
          o Stepping from the Past into the Future&lt;br /&gt;
          o Our Nation’s Dying Debt Engine&lt;br /&gt;
          o $700 Billion to Feed the Supply Side Monster&lt;br /&gt;
          o $700 Billion Bailout â€&quot; Reverse Robin Hood Effect&lt;br /&gt;
          o Financial Pollutants, Government Bailout, and HOLC&lt;br /&gt;
          o Great Depression History Propaganda Spread by Elite&lt;br /&gt;
          o Income Drained From Below Covers Losses of Elite&lt;br /&gt;
          o Federal Toxic Debt Clearinghouse â€&quot; Cleansing Debt from   Books&lt;br /&gt;
          o U.S. Treasury Open To Loot â€&quot; An Economy Spiraling Down&lt;br /&gt;
          o AIG Raids U.S. Treasury â€&quot; Lobbyists Work Pays Off&lt;br /&gt;
          o Root Causes of Our Current Income Crisis&lt;br /&gt;
          o Acquiring a Rational Economy&lt;br /&gt;
          o Workers Demand Democracy Not Machiavellian Evil&lt;br /&gt;
          o Income Crisis - Accelerating For Impact into Economy&lt;br /&gt;
          o They Sacrifice the Dreams of a Nation&lt;br /&gt;
          o Building a Foundation of Understanding&lt;br /&gt;
          o Completely Nationalize Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae&lt;br /&gt;
          o Deflationary Stage of Income Crisis Reached&lt;br /&gt;
          o The Illusion of Justice</description>
            <link>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/raypairan/CGJV</link>
            <comments>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/raypairan/CGJV/commentary#comments</comments>
            <pubDate>Tue, 30 Sep 2008 07:20:18 EDT</pubDate>
            <guid>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/raypairan/CGJV</guid>
            <dc:creator>Ray Pairan</dc:creator>
                        <db:profile>
                <db:picture>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/profile_picture/d80fbb2b207214e86d_vwm6bnjwo.jpg</db:picture>
                <db:author_name>Ray Pairan</db:author_name>
                <db:school></db:school>
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            <db:comment_count>0</db:comment_count>
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                    <item>
            <title>SU2C and the March of Dimes</title>
            <description>Late Friday afternoon I was driving with my daughter. She asked if I was going to watch Stand Up 2 Cancer that evening. I said yes but that it was going to be hard. You see my mother died of cancer. My wifeâ��s father died of cancer. My daughter said she guess she understood. The thing is someday she probably will. As we all learned that night or at least those who did not know already, everyone gets touched by cancer eventually.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When the show began I was where I am most nights at eight oâ�� clock, I was washing dinner dishes. I looked up and saw the people in the stands as they asked that every other person sit down. As I listened to one person after the next tell who in their lives had already been lost salty tears reached my lips. Ever time someone said â��my momâ�� the tears grew stronger. I remember my mother taking care of a neighborâ��s wife as she whittled away from cancer. My aunt on my motherâ��s side was more than emaciated by the time she passed. I remember saying good-bye to my own mother while she could still understand. The more I watched the more it reminded me of other telethons gone by.</description>
            <link>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/barryconsidine/CCFL</link>
            <comments>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/barryconsidine/CCFL/commentary#comments</comments>
            <pubDate>Sun, 07 Sep 2008 10:58:38 EDT</pubDate>
            <guid>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/barryconsidine/CCFL</guid>
            <dc:creator>Barry C aka Casey</dc:creator>
                        <db:profile>
                <db:picture>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/profile_picture/dae7408199a3f5697e_2rymv2s5d.jpg</db:picture>
                <db:author_name>Barry C aka Casey</db:author_name>
                <db:school></db:school>
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            <db:comment_count>0</db:comment_count>
            <wfw:commentRss>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/comment_rss/CCFL/</wfw:commentRss>
        </item>
                    <item>
            <title>Essays - Let&#039;s Light a Path To The Future</title>
            <description>All the below essays may be read at-&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
http://structuraleconissues.blogspot.com/&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[The Illusion of Justice] &lt;br /&gt;
Unique boundless power is exerted upon those citizens that are unfortunate enough not to be among the corrupt few. Regardless of your stature, education, or intelligence those unscrupulous corporations and other guardians of government &#039;disservice&#039; who command influence over our judges will engage in any action that will perpetuate our obedient servitude to their slanted economic system. It is an economic system integrally tied to a legal system woven to snuggly fit our corporate culture manipulated by a few business elite who use it to their exclusive benefit.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
With staggering sums of money being spent by the elite to maintain a legal web of forced obedience on the part of the general citizenry is it any wonder that a citizen of modest income is &#039;priced out&#039; of obtaining council for anything other than trivial cases.&lt;br /&gt;
...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Essays written in August-&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Our Survival Depends Upon Cooperation &lt;br /&gt;
Don&#039;t Become another One of the Worn-Out &lt;br /&gt;
Citizens Gather to Hear Message of Hope &amp; Change &lt;br /&gt;
A Sustainable Future for America Built Upon Equali... &lt;br /&gt;
Americans United Behind a More Equitable Future &lt;br /&gt;
One Nation, One World Willing To Dream &lt;br /&gt;
Pragmatic Solutions to Global Economic Problems &lt;br /&gt;
Henry Ford Realized the Importance of Adequate Wag... &lt;br /&gt;
Reach Out For the Radiant Light of Hope &lt;br /&gt;
Production Camps Build Upon Tumor of Greed &lt;br /&gt;
Unity Vanquishes Selfish Destruction &lt;br /&gt;
Business Alchemists Believe In Their Infallibility... &lt;br /&gt;
Democrats and Republicans Extol Business Party Lin... &lt;br /&gt;
Russia&#039;s Plan for Reestablishing Empire &lt;br /&gt;
The Programming Wasteland &lt;br /&gt;
Crumbling, Neglected, Cheap American Society &lt;br /&gt;
Shock Waves from Russian Conflict with Georgia &lt;br /&gt;
Corporate Masters Marginalize Current Citizens &lt;br /&gt;
Collusion to Lower Wages and Thus Fix Prices &lt;br /&gt;
The Corporate Beast Reigns Supreme over Everything... &lt;br /&gt;
Human Labor Exploitation Has Occurred For Eons &lt;br /&gt;
Message from Behind the Economic Iron Curtain&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is important that all our efforts be directed at getting Barack&#039;s message of positive change out because it is currently being overshadowed by the news coverage devoted to Sarah Palin.</description>
            <link>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/raypairan/CCXg</link>
            <comments>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/raypairan/CCXg/commentary#comments</comments>
            <pubDate>Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:01:37 EDT</pubDate>
            <guid>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/raypairan/CCXg</guid>
            <dc:creator>Ray Pairan</dc:creator>
                        <db:profile>
                <db:picture>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/profile_picture/d80fbb2b207214e86d_vwm6bnjwo.jpg</db:picture>
                <db:author_name>Ray Pairan</db:author_name>
                <db:school></db:school>
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            <db:comment_count>2</db:comment_count>
            <wfw:commentRss>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/comment_rss/CCXg/</wfw:commentRss>
        </item>
                    <item>
            <title>Exxon Ed Whitfield&#039;s Continued Corruption</title>
            <description>In 2006, we went a long way towards defeating corruption in the Congress. The former Republican Congress, led by such men as &lt;a href=&quot;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_DeLay_campaign_finance_investigation&quot;&gt;Tom Delay&lt;/a&gt; was shown the door by American voters. Despite this, we still have a long way to go towards defeating Corruption in the Congress. As long as men like Exxon Ed Whitfield are allowed to haunt the hallowed halls of Congress, we have work to do.</description>
            <link>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/rdillon/CxBV</link>
            <comments>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/rdillon/CxBV/commentary#comments</comments>
            <pubDate>Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:13:21 EDT</pubDate>
            <guid>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/rdillon/CxBV</guid>
            <dc:creator>RDillon</dc:creator>
                        <db:profile>
                <db:picture>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/profile_picture/d34f56282444a7bd00_cpm6iihpj.jpg</db:picture>
                <db:author_name>RDillon</db:author_name>
                <db:school></db:school>
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            <db:comment_count>0</db:comment_count>
            <wfw:commentRss>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/comment_rss/CxBV/</wfw:commentRss>
        </item>
                    <item>
            <title>What&#039;s the prize Fred?</title>
            <description>I sit here and grind my teeth and listen to the lies that Fred Thompson and the RNC are trying to force the bright and knowledgable people of this to country believe.  &lt;br /&gt;
Do they really think that anyone...other than the lack luster people sitting in that audience, will believe any of it?&lt;br /&gt;
So I ask Former Senator and might I add much better actor than I thought Mr. Thompson,  We are winning the war are we? &lt;br /&gt;
Well whats the prize dumb@$$?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Any one know what he thinks?</description>
            <link>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/jessicabarrett/CxGJ</link>
            <comments>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/jessicabarrett/CxGJ/commentary#comments</comments>
            <pubDate>Tue, 02 Sep 2008 22:48:21 EDT</pubDate>
            <guid>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/jessicabarrett/CxGJ</guid>
            <dc:creator>JESSICA &quot;The Glamorous Democrat&quot;</dc:creator>
                        <db:profile>
                <db:picture>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/profile_picture/276ace6927f6b2fcc6_gvkamv8kn.jpg</db:picture>
                <db:author_name>JESSICA &quot;The Glamorous Democrat&quot;</db:author_name>
                <db:school></db:school>
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            <db:comment_count>1</db:comment_count>
            <wfw:commentRss>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/comment_rss/CxGJ/</wfw:commentRss>
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                    <item>
            <title>That&#039;s What We&#039;re Talkin&#039; About</title>
            <description>From the lion Teddy Kennedy to the not so silent lamb Michelle Obama, that is the way to start a convention. Baltimore&#039;s favorite Californian Speaker Pelosi let the convention know that we&#039;ll get to take on John McCain, later. [Just heard the Tonight Show audience&#039;s response to Leno&#039;s question to McCain about houses and his POW answer - Carson would have thrown them out of the theatre] Back to what I was going to say. The themes they spoke about are the ideals that first brought me to the Democratic Party. First family, seating down to dinner together, helping kids with home work, helping neighbors when they need it. The other ideal, that to who much is given, much is expected. There are two views of America - one that looks at the shining city on the hill and the other stands on the shore looking out on the horizon.</description>
            <link>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/barryconsidine/CgbD</link>
            <comments>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/barryconsidine/CgbD/commentary#comments</comments>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:20:53 EDT</pubDate>
            <guid>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/barryconsidine/CgbD</guid>
            <dc:creator>Barry C aka Casey</dc:creator>
                        <db:profile>
                <db:picture>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/profile_picture/dae7408199a3f5697e_2rymv2s5d.jpg</db:picture>
                <db:author_name>Barry C aka Casey</db:author_name>
                <db:school></db:school>
            </db:profile>
            <db:comment_count>1</db:comment_count>
            <wfw:commentRss>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/comment_rss/CgbD/</wfw:commentRss>
        </item>
                    <item>
            <title>Words</title>
            <description>Words have to be more than just words. As we reach the apex of another election cycle it is time for words to start having real meaning. Unless you were the neighborhood bully one of the first platitudes thrown at you came from your mother, &quot;Sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never harm you.&quot; Nice sentiment but as we grew up we learned that words can be more harmful than sticks and stones. The words I would most like to see us work into the fabric of our government come from Pres. Eisenhower and Sen. Robert Kennedy.</description>
            <link>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/barryconsidine/CgpQ</link>
            <comments>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/barryconsidine/CgpQ/commentary#comments</comments>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:11:06 EDT</pubDate>
            <guid>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/barryconsidine/CgpQ</guid>
            <dc:creator>Barry C aka Casey</dc:creator>
                        <db:profile>
                <db:picture>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/profile_picture/dae7408199a3f5697e_2rymv2s5d.jpg</db:picture>
                <db:author_name>Barry C aka Casey</db:author_name>
                <db:school></db:school>
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            <db:comment_count>7</db:comment_count>
            <wfw:commentRss>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/comment_rss/CgpQ/</wfw:commentRss>
        </item>
                    <item>
            <title>Heather Ryan Continues to Impress</title>
            <description>Here in Kentucky&#039;s First Congressional District, our candidate Heather Ryan is really beginning to turn some heads. It all started at the Ruby Laffoon Dinner a couple of months ago, and has been building through to Fancy Farm weekend, where she fired up Democrats at the breakfast, and then took it to Republicans in the heat of Fancy Farm.</description>
            <link>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/rdillon/CBrv</link>
            <comments>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/rdillon/CBrv/commentary#comments</comments>
            <pubDate>Fri, 15 Aug 2008 23:16:44 EDT</pubDate>
            <guid>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/rdillon/CBrv</guid>
            <dc:creator>RDillon</dc:creator>
                        <db:profile>
                <db:picture>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/profile_picture/d34f56282444a7bd00_cpm6iihpj.jpg</db:picture>
                <db:author_name>RDillon</db:author_name>
                <db:school></db:school>
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            <db:comment_count>3</db:comment_count>
            <wfw:commentRss>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/comment_rss/CBrv/</wfw:commentRss>
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                    <item>
            <title>Building Alliances and Voting for Change in 2008</title>
            <description>&lt;p&gt;The American nation has an excellent opportunity to change the nature of politics in our country this year. We have a real chance to build lasting alliances that will re-define the political landscape at every level of government and permit us to take back our government by the average citizen. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For decades, the political power of the largest international corporations and the wealthiest of the Super Wealthy have been tightening their grasp on governments in America. They have effectively bought their way to power by giving billions in campaign donations and buying up the media. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The effect has been passage of laws that undermine the power of average citizens to control their own economic futures, have an effective voice in government policies and to hear opposing political viewpoints. It is no accident that most Americans think that their children will not have as high a standard of living as they currently experience. It was economic policy on the national and international levels that forced tens of millions of families to have both parents working to maintain a decent standard of living. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Your rights to sue corporations when they abuse you as a worker, investor or consumer are being stripped away by Republican politicians like George W. Bush, John McCain, Dick Cheney and your allegedly &amp;ldquo;moderate Republican&amp;rdquo; member of Congress. The same bunch of Republican politicians are and have been for decades falling all over themselves to pass legislation that ships high-paying jobs with healthcare benefits to Third World nations where the high pay and employer provided healthcare vanishes while corporate profits explode! Yes, Bush, McCain and Cheney love NAFTA, the WTO, CAFTA and the rest of these deals. They have been a goldmine of campaign cash for the Republican Right and the alleged &amp;ldquo;Republican moderates&amp;rdquo; in Congress. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;By appointing corporate thinking federal judges and government regulators, American workers have seen their rights to form labor unions effectively undermined and often destroyed. The public fiction of &amp;ldquo;free elections&amp;rdquo; in the workplace is there for these deceitful Republicans to &amp;ldquo;defend.&amp;rdquo; However, in most workplaces, the reality is that these giant corporations make real free elections impossible by intentionally breaking the law (the penalties are a joke), firing pro-union workers, preventing union organizers from talking to workers or distributing material, issuing threats and the like. The reality of these &amp;ldquo;free unionization elections&amp;rdquo; is that they are no more free and fair than the &amp;ldquo;free elections&amp;rdquo; in the former Soviet Union, communist China or Nazi Germany! Still, the Republicans vehemently oppose passage of the Employee Free Choice Act which would return effective workplace democracy when it comes to unionization votes. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The decline of labor unions has meant the decline of the American Middle Class both economically and politically and corporate forces know it! An effective labor movement has meant real economic opportunity for tens of millions of working class and poor Americans. Labor unions have been the vehicle for millions of racial and ethnic minorities to join the mainstream, Middle Class majority in experiencing the American Dream. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Corporate controlled politicians like Bush and McCain are simply killing that Dream. Will we let them? &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The wealthiest of the Super Wealthy control our mainstream media but not our votes. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We all should know that racism has an economic purpose. It is the tool most often used in America to get the working class whites and Middle Class majority to put in power politicians who vote against the economic interests of working class and Middle Class whites. Racism is the tool used to divide the non-economic elite majority so that all working class and Middle Class Americans do not demand government policies that provide real economic opportunity for the vast majority. Racism is a sucker bet for all poor, working class and Middle Class Americans! &lt;/p&gt;</description>
            <link>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/stephencrockett/CBVS</link>
            <comments>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/stephencrockett/CBVS/commentary#comments</comments>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Aug 2008 12:39:22 EDT</pubDate>
            <guid>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/stephencrockett/CBVS</guid>
            <dc:creator>Stephen Crockett</dc:creator>
                        <db:profile>
                <db:picture>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/profile_picture/a999563ec2ab3cc380_dum6y9d61.jpg</db:picture>
                <db:author_name>Stephen Crockett</db:author_name>
                <db:school></db:school>
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            <db:comment_count>13</db:comment_count>
            <wfw:commentRss>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/comment_rss/CBVS/</wfw:commentRss>
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            <title>Politicians Suck</title>
            <description>Lets see how this goes over here. On DailyKos it has garnered more comments than anything I&#039;ve ever written. I was even called a troll.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This will be a short one. I was truly disappointed yesterday when I heard Sen. John Edwards&#039; announcement. I feel sorry for Elizabeth Edwards and the Edwards&#039; family. However, there is a part of me that would have stood up and cheered if Elizabeth Edwards had announced that she was leaving him. Why do politicians keep doing this?</description>
            <link>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/barryconsidine/CBBb</link>
            <comments>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/barryconsidine/CBBb/commentary#comments</comments>
            <pubDate>Sat, 09 Aug 2008 18:57:03 EDT</pubDate>
            <guid>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/barryconsidine/CBBb</guid>
            <dc:creator>Barry C aka Casey</dc:creator>
                        <db:profile>
                <db:picture>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/profile_picture/dae7408199a3f5697e_2rymv2s5d.jpg</db:picture>
                <db:author_name>Barry C aka Casey</db:author_name>
                <db:school></db:school>
            </db:profile>
            <db:comment_count>5</db:comment_count>
            <wfw:commentRss>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/comment_rss/CBBb/</wfw:commentRss>
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                    <item>
            <title>Union Web Sites that can help you buy union-made products</title>
            <description>&lt;p&gt;Union Web Sites that can help you buy union-made products &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;BUILD UNION, BUY UNION, SHOP UNION, BE UNION! &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unionlabel.com/&quot;&gt;http://www.unionlabel.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Miscellaneous &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.allamericanclothing.com/&quot;&gt;http://www.allamericanclothing.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Clothing (Formerly Union Jean Company) &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unionhouse.com/&quot;&gt;http://www.unionhouse.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Clothing &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justiceclothing.com/&quot;&gt;http://www.justiceclothing.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Clothing &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unionmade.com/&quot;&gt;http://www.unionmade.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Miscellaneous &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kinglouie.com/&quot;&gt;http://www.kinglouie.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Clothing &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.legendaryusa.com/&quot;&gt;http://www.legendaryusa.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Leather Jackets (All Jackets Made in USA, Schott Jackets are Union Made) &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.tigereyedesign.com/&quot;&gt;http://www.tigereyedesign.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Promotional Items &amp;ndash; Bumper Stickers, Buttons, Pens, Etc. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unionvacations.com/&quot;&gt;http://www.unionvacations.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Air, Hotel, Car, Cruises &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unionsales.com/&quot;&gt;http://www.unionsales.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Miscellaneous &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unionwear.com/&quot;&gt;http://www.unionwear.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Miscellaneous &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.atc-ny.com/&quot;&gt;http://www.atc-ny.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Watches, Clothing, Clocks, Etc. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.buyunion.us/&quot;&gt;http://www.buyunion.us&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Clothing, Specialty Items, Promotional Items &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.backdraftproducts.us/&quot;&gt;http://www.backdraftproducts.us&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Specializing in IAFF Products Union Retail Stores &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Greater Lehigh Valley Area in Pennsylvania&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Wines &amp;amp; Spirits Shoppes &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Rite-Aid &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Super Fresh &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Shop-Rite &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Strauss Auto &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Mailroom Copy &amp;amp; Print Center (call Stephen Crockett at 443-907-2367 for details)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;K-Mart , T.J. Maxx Distribution Centers are Union, Retail is Not &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Marshall&amp;rsquo;s &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Do Not Shop! Wal-Mart Sam&amp;rsquo;s Club &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Union Web Sites &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; Bakery Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.bctgm.org/&quot;&gt;http://www.bctgm.org&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Food Products &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; UNITE-HERE (UNITEHERE) &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unitehere.org/&quot;&gt;http://www.unitehere.org&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Textiles, Hotels, Casinos, Etc. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; International Association of Machinists (IAM) &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.goiam.org/&quot;&gt;http://www.goiam.org&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Motorcycles, Miscellaneous &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; United Food &amp;amp; Commercial Workers (UFCW) &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ufcw.org/&quot;&gt;http://www.ufcw.org&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Retail, Miscellaneous &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.teamster.org/&quot;&gt;http://www.teamster.org&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Truck Drivers, UPS, Misc. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; United Food &amp;amp; Commercial Workers Local 1776 (UFCW 1776)&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ufcw1776.org/&quot;&gt;http://www.ufcw1776.org&lt;/a&gt; Eastern Pennsylvania &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; AFL-CIO &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.aflcio.org/&quot;&gt;http://www.aflcio.org&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; Change to Win &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.changetowin.org/&quot;&gt;http://www.changetowin.org&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;-United Steelworkers of America &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.usw.org/&quot;&gt;http://www.usw.org&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;-United Auto Workers &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.uaw.org/&quot;&gt;http://www.uaw.org&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you cannot find a Union Made product, please contact me at 610-217-5123 or at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:schlen@union-america.com&quot;&gt;schlen@union-america.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In Solidarity, &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;James S. Schlener &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;IAFF Local 735 &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;UFCW 1776 &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Lehigh Valley CLC. VP. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Bethlehem City Democratic Party Chair&lt;/p&gt;</description>
            <link>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/stephencrockett/CVmG</link>
            <comments>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/stephencrockett/CVmG/commentary#comments</comments>
            <pubDate>Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:35:55 EDT</pubDate>
            <guid>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/stephencrockett/CVmG</guid>
            <dc:creator>Stephen Crockett</dc:creator>
                        <db:profile>
                <db:picture>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/profile_picture/a999563ec2ab3cc380_dum6y9d61.jpg</db:picture>
                <db:author_name>Stephen Crockett</db:author_name>
                <db:school></db:school>
            </db:profile>
            <db:comment_count>8</db:comment_count>
            <wfw:commentRss>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/comment_rss/CVmG/</wfw:commentRss>
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            <title>Latest news from the AFL-CIO Blog</title>
            <description>&lt;p&gt;Aug. 5, 2008 The AFL-CIO Executive Council is in Chicago this week fine-tuning the union movement&#039;s largest-ever voter mobilization to take back the White House and strengthen working family majorities in Congress. The labor leaders will focus on the drive to inform union voters--who will make a difference in key battleground states--about the candidates and the strategy to get out the vote on Election Day. ***** Quick Poll: Whom do you trust most for information about House and Senate candidates? http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/o1a31_F1xcTy/ Got comments? Post them at: http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/9pa31_F1xcTU/ ***** &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Executive Council Meeting Focuses on Election Drive &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/kpa31_F1xcTu/&quot;&gt;http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/kpa31_F1xcTu/&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Verizon Contract Talks Continue Past Strike Deadline &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/9da31_F1xcTm/&quot;&gt;http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/9da31_F1xcTm/&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Kentucky Nurses&#039; Long Struggle for Justice Takes a Step Forward &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/91a31_F1xcTj/&quot;&gt;http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/91a31_F1xcTj/&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Bricklayers Endorse Obama http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/k7a31_F1xcT7/ &lt;/p&gt;</description>
            <link>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/stephencrockett/CVst</link>
            <comments>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/stephencrockett/CVst/commentary#comments</comments>
            <pubDate>Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:04:00 EDT</pubDate>
            <guid>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/stephencrockett/CVst</guid>
            <dc:creator>Stephen Crockett</dc:creator>
                        <db:profile>
                <db:picture>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/profile_picture/a999563ec2ab3cc380_dum6y9d61.jpg</db:picture>
                <db:author_name>Stephen Crockett</db:author_name>
                <db:school></db:school>
            </db:profile>
            <db:comment_count>3</db:comment_count>
            <wfw:commentRss>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/comment_rss/CVst/</wfw:commentRss>
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                    <item>
            <title>Why Democrats should organize boycotts of Wal-Mart, picket their stores and challenge all store openings</title>
            <description>Wal-Mart Wants to Make Sure Its Employees Don’t Vote Democratic &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
by Tula Connell, Aug 1, 2008&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/08/01/wal-mart-wants-to-make-sure-its-employees-dont-vote-democratic/&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Wal-Mart and all its $13 billion in 2007 profits are quaking. The retail monolith is scared that Democrats will be elected to office this fallâ€&quot;and might pass legislation that would level the playing field for workers seeking to join unions. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121755649066303381.html reports on Wal-Mart’s corporate tremors today, noting that&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
in recent weeks, thousands of Wal-Mart store managers and department heads have been summoned to mandatory meetings at which the retailer stresses the downside for workers if stores were to be unionized.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Downsides, huh? Like getting paid enough to support yourself and your family. Or maybe even the real big downside of having affordable job-based health insurance so that the emergency room isn’t the only option when your child has the flu. Because by not paying its employees enough to afford the company health plan, Wal-Mart dumps the cost of health care onto all taxpayers http://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/walmart/upload/walmart_tax_memo.pdf , even making it a corporate policy to encourage new hires to use public emergency rooms, according to author Barbara Ehrenreich. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
(You can tell Wal-Mart to stop its unfair and immoral workplace intimidation by signing a petition here http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/wal_mart_petition .)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Wal-Mart has been so intent upon piling up its billions in annual profits, it has created a mini-industry of anti-unionism to ensure it keeps its employees at everyday low wages. So, Wal-Mart is stepping up its efforts to prevent Democrats from being elected this fall, by telling employees http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121755649066303381.html that “voting for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama would be tantamount to inviting unions in.” And Wal-Mart employees report feeling pressured to vote for candidates who oppose the Employee Free Choice Act.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Wal-Mart is doing even more arm-twisting workers on their way to the ballot box. Rather than pay its employees a decent wage and provide affordable health care, Wal-Mart is putting mega bucks into front groups that are spearheading a multi-million dollar ad campaign to slam workers, their unions and their efforts to pass the Employee Free Choice Act http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/ . &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For instance, Wal-Mart is the largest member of the Retail Industry Leaders Association, one of the main funders of the $30 million anti-union campaign called “Coalition for a Democratic Workplace http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/the-anti-union-network/chamber-of-commerce/coalition-for-a-democratic-workplace-exposed-20080424-557-273.html .” &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says this latest revelation of Wal-Mart’s egregious meddling into its employees’ voting preferences&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
goes to show the extent that companies like Wal-Mart will go to maintain the status quo, which allows them to exploit workers to maximize profit. It’s clear the business community intends to spend heavily to protect its interests but working people know this election is about creating real, lasting economic change.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Wal-Mart is ready to use its corporate power as America’s largest private employer to corrupt the political system to safeguard its profits. American Rights at Work has lots of info on Wal-Mart’s actions attacking the Employee Free Choice Act here http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/employee-free-choice-act/latest-updates/wal-mart-mobilizing-against-the-employee-free-choice-act-20080801-605-83-83.html and has a detailed report here http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/wal-mart/wal-mart/wal-mart-rolling-back-workers-wages-rights-and-the-american-dream.html on how Wal-Mart rolls back workers’ wages in an assault on the American Dream. Plus the worker advocacy organization also tracks the front groups behind the Employee Free Choice Act smear campaign, with info here http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/the-anti-union-network/chamber-of-commerce/coalition-for-a-democratic-workplace-exposed-20080424-557-273.html . &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Take action now and tell Wal-Mart stop intimidating its employees http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/wal_mart_petition . Sign the petition here http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/wal_mart_petition .</description>
            <link>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/stephencrockett/CVdB</link>
            <comments>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/stephencrockett/CVdB/commentary#comments</comments>
            <pubDate>Tue, 05 Aug 2008 07:49:00 EDT</pubDate>
            <guid>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/stephencrockett/CVdB</guid>
            <dc:creator>Stephen Crockett</dc:creator>
                        <db:profile>
                <db:picture>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/profile_picture/a999563ec2ab3cc380_dum6y9d61.jpg</db:picture>
                <db:author_name>Stephen Crockett</db:author_name>
                <db:school></db:school>
            </db:profile>
            <db:comment_count>29</db:comment_count>
            <wfw:commentRss>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/comment_rss/CVdB/</wfw:commentRss>
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            <title>Ryan For Kentucky: Lets Fight for American Workers</title>
            <description>At Ryan for Kentucky, we believe that the playing field has been tilted against working families for far too long. My whole life, it seems that war has been waged on union workers and workers attempting to form new unions. I have witnessed this personally in a union fight. Although initially, 80% of the workers at our warehouse signed on to become union, the long process allowed the company to come in and &quot;behind the scenes&quot; peel off these votes. How? By turning worker against worker. Promising promotion of certain workers, and higher wages and more benefits if the union failed.</description>
            <link>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/rdillon/CB4p</link>
            <comments>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/rdillon/CB4p/commentary#comments</comments>
            <pubDate>Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:43:48 EDT</pubDate>
            <guid>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/rdillon/CB4p</guid>
            <dc:creator>RDillon</dc:creator>
                        <db:profile>
                <db:picture>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/profile_picture/d34f56282444a7bd00_cpm6iihpj.jpg</db:picture>
                <db:author_name>RDillon</db:author_name>
                <db:school></db:school>
            </db:profile>
            <db:comment_count>0</db:comment_count>
            <wfw:commentRss>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/comment_rss/CB4p/</wfw:commentRss>
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            <title>Town Committee website...</title>
            <description>I have completed building the website for the Dracut Democratic Town Committee,and would like everyone in the world to click on it so that it will start coming up in google searches.I am new at sitebuilding but it came out O.k. and the committee seems to like it.Please find the time to check it out,the address is www.dracutdems.com.Thank You Much,Bye...</description>
            <link>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/HowieJames/CBkK</link>
            <comments>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/HowieJames/CBkK/commentary#comments</comments>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2008 12:26:00 EDT</pubDate>
            <guid>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/HowieJames/CBkK</guid>
            <dc:creator>HowieJames</dc:creator>
                        <db:profile>
                <db:picture>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcc4f3520b898f56e5_pwhmv26bk.gif</db:picture>
                <db:author_name>HowieJames</db:author_name>
                <db:school></db:school>
            </db:profile>
            <db:comment_count>4</db:comment_count>
            <wfw:commentRss>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/comment_rss/CBkK/</wfw:commentRss>
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            <title>Exxon Ed Whitfield: What About PEOPLE?</title>
            <description>I will make an admission. I don&#039;t want anyone to think that here at Ryan for Kentucky we are not fair. Our Congressman, Exxon Ed Whitfield, besides supporting Big Oil, Energy, and their record profits has managed to do a little good. Yes, Exxon Eddie has managed to be a defender of horses. Now, at Ryan for Kentucky, we love animals too, and applaud Whitfield for being a defender of horses. But, we must ask, what about the PEOPLE?</description>
            <link>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/rdillon/CN2L</link>
            <comments>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/rdillon/CN2L/commentary#comments</comments>
            <pubDate>Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:08:25 EDT</pubDate>
            <guid>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/rdillon/CN2L</guid>
            <dc:creator>RDillon</dc:creator>
                        <db:profile>
                <db:picture>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/profile_picture/d34f56282444a7bd00_cpm6iihpj.jpg</db:picture>
                <db:author_name>RDillon</db:author_name>
                <db:school></db:school>
            </db:profile>
            <db:comment_count>0</db:comment_count>
            <wfw:commentRss>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/comment_rss/CN2L/</wfw:commentRss>
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            <title>For your reading pleasure or pain....you decide</title>
            <description>In the extended, you will find the text of my speech in Martinsville, VA on Monday. Tom Perriello announced a 22 city Economic Revival tour to help restore jobs to the Southside.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Hope you like it.</description>
            <link>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/jameswhite/CNZ7</link>
            <comments>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/jameswhite/CNZ7/commentary#comments</comments>
            <pubDate>Sat, 12 Jul 2008 05:47:40 EDT</pubDate>
            <guid>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/jameswhite/CNZ7</guid>
            <dc:creator>JC</dc:creator>
                        <db:profile>
                <db:picture>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/profile_picture/66add6d9411373d974_55m6y13sb.jpg</db:picture>
                <db:author_name>JC</db:author_name>
                <db:school></db:school>
            </db:profile>
            <db:comment_count>5</db:comment_count>
            <wfw:commentRss>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/comment_rss/CNZ7/</wfw:commentRss>
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            <title>Register To Vote, And Send Voltage To DNC Convention.</title>
            <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.registrationbyworkingassets.com/register/?api_key=fXIOB3JfhstYtF0vXFIk31fgEOA&amp;amp;source=rtv-468x60v2&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://rtvmultimedia.s3.amazonaws.com/banners/468x60/rtv-468x60-v2.jpg&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; alt=&quot;Register to Vote at Rock the Vote&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;Register to vote, and send Voltage to play at the Democratic National Convention. &amp;nbsp;We have songs that are perfect for the event already written, and I am already the number one democrat at the DNC. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.chartertv.com/theset_season_six.htm&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee134/voltagerocks/VoltageTHESETSeasonSixBanner.gif&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://globalpolicy.igc.org/socecon/tncs/top200.htm&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee134/voltagerocks/EconomyBanner.gif&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
            <link>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/JeffersonCountyMissouriDemocrats/CN5v</link>
            <comments>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/JeffersonCountyMissouriDemocrats/CN5v/commentary#comments</comments>
            <pubDate>Tue, 08 Jul 2008 06:57:20 EDT</pubDate>
            <guid>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/JeffersonCountyMissouriDemocrats/CN5v</guid>
            <dc:creator>Michael Tiffany</dc:creator>
                        <db:profile>
                <db:picture>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/profile_picture/271eb0c167b3a4b3cd_ogthmvk33.jpg</db:picture>
                <db:author_name>Michael Tiffany</db:author_name>
                <db:school></db:school>
            </db:profile>
            <db:comment_count>2</db:comment_count>
            <wfw:commentRss>http://www.democrats.org/page/community/comment_rss/CN5v/</wfw:commentRss>
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                    <item>
            <title>Articles - Breaking Through To Reality</title>
            <description>Blind Acceptance of Unjust Economic Society&lt;br /&gt;
http://structuraleconissues.blogspot.com/2008/07/blind-acceptance-of-unjust-economic.html&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
We&#039;ve all been blessed with the ability to rationally discern reality from illusion propped up by an aesthetic orthodoxy of economic fundamentalism. What do we realize when we arrive at a gas station to fill our car up with gas, visit the grocery, receive a bill from a hospital that shows a $200,000 balance that our insurance didn&#039;t pay, open the mailbox and find a foreclosure notice on our home, get the news that our office or factory is closing and moving overseas, or we find ourselves unable to send our child to a university because the cost is now beyond our comprehension? Are we then struck with a profound belief that the &#039;free market&#039; coupled with &#039;globalization&#039; will continue to provide us with economic security or does reality grasp us by the neck demanding our recognition.&lt;br /&gt;
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We all know far to well what is transpiring globally - a select group of oligarchs (the business elite) that comprise less than 5% of the population have setup a system (totalitarian economic society) that ensures them ultimate power over the 95% of us that fall under their crushing &#039;boot&#039;. Within their society we&#039;re continually bombarded by the frantic ranting of fanatic experts espousing the omnipotence and infallibility of the &#039;free market economy&#039;. They&#039;ve even instructed the most intellectually pliable among us in the fine art of simultaneously reconciling a multitude of contradictions into unquestioned compliance and acceptance of their orthodoxy. Essentially, all it requires is a citizenry that is indoctrinated into thinking in terms of proffered processes and dissuaded from deep thought.&lt;br /&gt;
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When you can rob someone of all pretenses of personal power over their lives and instill in them a sense of hopelessness in the face of forces seemingly beyond their control you&#039;ve essentially anesthetized them from taking meaningful actions at understanding the reality of their situation much less directly acting to change their condition. Feelings of &quot;that&#039;s just the way it is&quot;, &quot;we&#039;ve done it to ourselves&quot;, &quot;there&#039;s nothing we can do about it&quot;, and &quot;we&#039;ll just have to adjust&quot;, begin to permeate the collective consciousness.&lt;br /&gt;
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The &#039;Free Market&#039; Guise Is &quot;Big Brother&quot;&lt;br /&gt;
http://structuraleconissues.blogspot.com/2008/07/free-market-guise-is-big-brother.html&lt;br /&gt;
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Funnel everything back onto the adaptive, receptive masses of the global citizenry instilling in them a feeling of inferiority whereby all their actions have and will be perceived to result in a continuing deterioration of their economic situation. It is a perversion of thought pandered through the totalitarian economic society that every injustice or inequality committed by the business elite is ultimately our fault due to our inherent inferiority. We are to blame for not adequately educating ourselves, for over spending, and generally not adjusting to the new world economic order.&lt;br /&gt;
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In order to effectively perpetuate this ball-faced lie the media is used by the business elite to manipulate not just public opinion but thought itself. There now exists correct and incorrect thought and incorrect thought is portrayed as deviant thought to be identified and ultimately vanquished within our current authoritarian society. Thought is always constrained to only those ideas and concepts acceptable to those who wield power within a strictly regimented hierarchical society. Therefore within the totalitarian economic society complete uniformity of opinions throughout the entire global citizenry is a goal strived for constantly by the elite.&lt;br /&gt;
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The totalitarian economic society can only effectively extend it tentacles of corruption, subversion, hate, and inequality into every crevice of existing equality through their complete obliteration of the self. Individuality is the enemy of the oppressor for it represents individual thought that disrupts the currents of illusion perpetuated by effective societal propaganda. In fact, the two primary aims of the totalitarian economic society is the complete subjugation of all global citizens under the &#039;heal&#039; of the business elite and the maintenance of a perpetual vigilance targeted at rooting out and extinguishing all independent thought from whatever level of society it originates.&lt;br /&gt;
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Not Inflation but Monopolistic Pricing&lt;br /&gt;
http://structuraleconissues.blogspot.com/2008/07/not-inflation-but-monopolistic-pricing.html&lt;br /&gt;
Inflation is an increase in prices that is triggered primarily from rising wages among the general population which in turn results in a significant consumption &#039;pop&#039;. With more and more money flowing into the economic system from the acceleration in consumption spending by a citizenry flush with wealth - prices will trend higher. Companies realize that there are far more consumers that are willing to spend money on their products than products available to purchase - they therefore ramp up production to meet the demand. In the process, these companies will increase their prices for their products realizing full well that consumers that may never have purchased their products before may now want them given their new found wealth.&lt;br /&gt;
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Prior to reaching an inflationary period the Federal Reserve will analyze trends in inflation indicators such as the M1 money supply and wage levels relative to worker productivity. If the money supply and wages start rising within an economy that has experienced negligible productivity increases this (along with other economic markers) typically indicates that an economy is moving towards an inflationary period. Wage increases within an economy that has experienced negligible productivity gains is indicative of a tight labor market and/or a well organized labor market that is in a position of strength relative to (capital) corporations. In the 1960&#039;s &amp; 70&#039;s when the United States was at its economic nadir and labor unions represented a larger percentage of workers there were periods of inflation and one brief instance of stagflation.&lt;br /&gt;
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Wake up America - The Financial Pillage Continues&lt;br /&gt;
http://structuraleconissues.blogspot.com/2008/06/wake-up-america-financial-pillage.html&lt;br /&gt;
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The U.S. dollar&#039;s fall against most of the major currencies is the result of a lack of confidence by speculators and governments in the future viability of our economy. We are a nation of debtors that produce very little of anything - not even our past ingenuity and technological base remains for it was erased by greed induced multinational companies scouring the planet in search of cheap labor. Why would anyone want to possess even one dollar bill since it represents a government in name only, a government that is completely beholden to special interest business elites that only use its shell to do their exclusive bidding. Therefore it is only logical that these same evil cloaked speculators realize that the United States is on the verge of a final pillaged by their fellow wicked business elite rulers. Why possess the paper money of a shell of a nation whose poor citizens are bleeding profusely on the pavement (from globalization) unable to muster any meaningful spending power without acquiring debt that they can no longer find or afford.&lt;br /&gt;
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Only the special interests of a few well heeled business elites matter to our governmental representatives - you&#039;re of no concern to them, just a mere citizen. National interests are no longer relevant because nations are fast becoming just fascades that are used by the business elite to exact their complete control over every aspect of our lives - our wallets will be completely drained into the bottomless cauldrons of a seething greed that covers the entire financial landscape of this corrupt totalitarian economic society.&lt;br /&gt;
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The Human Toll of Our Economic Death&lt;br /&gt;
http://structuraleconissues.blogspot.com/2008/06/human-toll-of-our-economic-death.html&lt;br /&gt;
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Sitting out in the car last fall waiting for Diana to step out of the last remaining department store in a dilapidated mall that had been dying slowly for a few short years, it occurred to me that the moment represented the collapse of our nation. This store was closing its doors forever, when the setting sun caressed it in shadows - there would be no returning. Looking over the quiet, dark, and desolate concrete that the encased towering glass opening one couldn&#039;t help but wonder what went wrong, for when it happened we were all in the midst of flying head first towards the payment with hair streaming back - there was no halting the terrible fall.&lt;br /&gt;
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This had mall been just a reflection of the general capital destruction (both material and human) that had been occurring even prior to the &#039;Great Fall&#039; which happened in just a few sharply defined months. Through a combination of factors both inherent to the distorted economic society and symptomatic of the resulting consumption crisis that grew unabated as real wages steadily dropped lights everywhere started their crescendo of darkening.&lt;br /&gt;
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Consumption Crisis Resulting From Distorted Economy&lt;br /&gt;
http://structuraleconissues.blogspot.com/2008/06/consumption-crisis-resulting-from.html&lt;br /&gt;
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Everything that transpires on our planet cycles within one of many natural loops given that the entire biosphere is our self contained spaceship hurtling us on its elliptical track around the Sun. Space engulfs this living organically lush planet reaching around it with a cold vacuum of nothing other than plasma energies that race across the poles ebbing from our pulsing star. All the various natural systems stabilize across a range of dynamic spectrums merging, mingling, and converging across boundaries that are in a constant state of flux. Nothing is at any instant in a state of equilibrium but only continually approaching a natural steady state. The key word is approaching, since the planetary events are like a boiling pot of water vigorously active but never so stimulated to exceed the natural limits placed upon their expanding volume of molecular excitement.&lt;br /&gt;
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Chaotic systems both natural and artificially induced (like our contorted, manipulated economic society) always involve the excitement of a multitude of variables that operate within a unique closed system. It is still a system even though most of the variables have been distorted in order to bring short-term gain to a few at the expense of those many who continually grope for income with outstretched hands. Any one of the perturbed variables may tilt the entire system towards temporary instability. Granted a multiplicative effect of income generation is possible by generously infusing the system with income but only through meaningful production either creative or actual transformation of material into useable capital is unperturbed economic steady state migration possible.&lt;br /&gt;
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Caress Us with Lies from a Corrupt System&lt;br /&gt;
http://structuraleconissues.blogspot.com/2008/06/caress-us-with-lies-from-corrupt-system.html&lt;br /&gt;
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The cackles can be heard coming from behind every wall of this &#039;windowless dirty room&#039; that where trapped within - with little or no hope of escape. Don&#039;t worry every now and then they&#039;ll throw us a dark moldy piece of stale bread from that opening in the wall to our far right. Word is that those on the other side who call themselves &#039;controllers&#039; have nightly banquets within crystal palaces. The controllers belong to a select group of privileged citizens who are the lobbyists, business elite, corrupt elements of the intelligentsia, and least we forget the governmental representatives that have been &#039;body snatched&#039; by the business elite through their lobbyists.&lt;br /&gt;
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We&#039;ve been dropped here because when we were working outside within their society we had the indiscretion to engage in wasteful spending. Not just your average supplementing of our paltry subsistence wages through excessive borrowing (credit card, and 2nd mortgage debt) at their financial &#039;company stores&#039; but the heinous act of causing a correction within their economic society. We neglected to cut back our daily meals from 3 to 1 in order to save some of our meager income at their banks.&lt;br /&gt;
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Oil Block Induced Profit Inflation - Crumbling Economy&lt;br /&gt;
http://structuraleconissues.blogspot.com/2008/06/oil-block-induced-profit-inflation.html&lt;br /&gt;
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Immediately nationalize all the oil companies whose corporate offices reside within the borders of the United States. Seize all assets belonging to the oil companies and their associated oil block (OPEC, oil speculators, and oil companies) thieves&#039; intent upon exacting a short term extraction of available income from every sector of our dying economy. The consuming nation-states should use any and all means at their disposal to ensure that an adequate oil supply is maintained. We cannot afford to idly watch while the entire contrived totalitarian economic society swirls into an income drain gasping with flailing arms for consumption that is mostly chocked off through artificially imposed oil company profit inflation, and speculator income extraction enhanced through OPEC production limits.&lt;br /&gt;
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Stop the profit inflation spurred on by the oil &#039;block&#039; intent upon financially razing each and every global citizen leaving behind a barren economic landscape incapable of sustaining consumption spending. With the consumption &#039;machine&#039; already sputtering from lack of any real wage growth among the working class (even during a period of unprecedented productivity gains) the assault by the oil &#039;block&#039; on the wallets of this most important group of citizens further erodes their already strained ability to spend. With each and every day the erosion of potential spending from this majority of the citizenry is spilling every additional dollar of potential spending into an encroaching sea of oil profits.&lt;br /&gt;
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Many more articles that break through the wall of illusion...&lt;br /&gt;
http://structuraleconissues.blogspot.com/</description>
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            <pubDate>Sun, 06 Jul 2008 09:57:12 EDT</pubDate>
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