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HavenWorks.com/labor/archive/2007 |
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- Labor Archive
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John
Edwards
- 
Iowa
- 
Families
- 
Jobs
- 
Money
- 
Attorney
General - 
North
Carolina
- 
2008
Election - "Edwards
the orator energizes audience." ... "Dayton Countryman
said he's been around long enough to know what it means when a supposedly
underdog presidential candidate can pack more than 500 folks into a social
hall in this town [Boone, Iowa] of 12,000 people." ... ""This ought to
scare the hell out of the other campaigns," Countryman said Sunday as he
watched more and more people come in from the cold to hear [2008 Election
Democratic Presidential Candidate] Democrat John Edwards speak." ... "The
89-year-old lawyer is a former Iowa attorney general who recently became
a Democrat after more than 50 years as a Republican. He said he's fed up
with what's going on in Washington, D.C., and he'll caucus for Edwards
because he believes the former North Carolina senator will stand up." ...
"Edwards has been drawing increasingly large and energetic crowds in recent
weeks as he presses his case that America needs a fighter in the White
House. His audiences are filled mainly with people who are middle age or
older, and he's banking that such Iowans have been most likely to show
up in caucuses." ... ""The corporate greed that's stealing your children's
future, that's destroying middle-class jobs in this country, it's not just
destroying the middle class for Democrats. It's destroying the middle class
for independents. It's destroying the middle class for Republicans," Edwards
said." -By Tony Leys -DesMoinesRegister
John
Edwards
- 
Music
- Des-Moines
- Iowa
- Farm
- 
History
- Working
- Poverty
- Race
- 2008
Election - "Edwards
Wins the Mellencamp Primary." ... "So it is that
[singer John] Mellencamp will come to Iowa Wednesday to close the [2008
Election Democratic Presidential Candidate John] Edwards campaign off with
a "This Is Our Country" rally at the not-exactly-Hollywood Val Air Ballroom
in West Des Moines [Iowa]. (In case anyone is missing the point here, they
will be distributing the tickets from the United Steelworkers Local 310
hall.)" ... "Where [Oprah] Winfrey brought a big name but little in the
way of a track record on the issues that are fundamental to the rural and
small-town Iowans who will play a disproportional role in Thursday's caucuses,
Mellencamp is more than just another celebrity taking a lap around the
policy arena." ... "For a quarter century, the singer has been in the thick
of the fight on behalf of the rural families he immortalized in the video
for "Rain on the Scarecrow," his epic song about the farm crisis that buffeted
Iowa and neighboring states in the 1980s and never really ended." ... "Mellencamp
has not merely sung about withering small towns and farm foreclosures.
As a organizer of Farm Aid, he has brought some of the biggest stars in
the world to benefit concerts in Iowa and surrounding states, and he has
helped to distribute the money raised at those events to organizations
across Iowa." ... "Farm Aid is nonpartisan. It's not endorsing in this
race. But Mellencamp is. The singer, who this year will be inducted into
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but whose music remains vital enough to
have earned a 2008 Grammy nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, was
lobbied for support by other campaigns, especially Clinton's. But he has
a long relationship with Edwards. He has an even longer relationship with
the issues that Edwards is talking about. Indeed, his credibility is grounded
in the recognition that Mellencamp has repeatedly taken career-risking
anti-war, anti-racist and anti-poverty stances that other celebrities of
his stature tend to avoid." ... "What matters, of course, is the fact of
that credibility -- and the fact that it is so closely tied to the farm
and rural issues that have meaning even in the more urbanized regions of
Iowa. That is why, if there is an endorsement that is going to have meaning
with the people who drive down country roads to attend caucuses on what
looks to be a very cold and unforgiving Thursday night, it is likely to
be that of the guy who proudly sings that, "I was born in a small town...""
-By John Nichols -TheNation.com
John
Edwards
- Working
- Family
- Economics
- Iowa
- 2008
Election - "Edwards
says he's ready to fight for the middle class." ...
"[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate John] Edwards has been
trying to hammer home his message that he'll stand up to special interests
in Washington. As part of the effort, he has launched an eight-day, 38-county
tour keeping him in Iowa until the caucuses, which begins the 2008 nominating
process." ... ""My belief is that we desperately need to make this government
work for everybody again. We need to stand up to the forces of corporate
greed that are destroying the middle class of this country," he told a
crowd of about 150 people packed tightly into a small restaurant bar in
northeastern Iowa." ... "Edwards reminded them that despite his wealth
as an adult, he grew up in a working-class family and knows their struggles."
... ""The truth is, all of us have an enormous responsibility to our children,
to our grandchildren to do what our parents did for us and our grandparents
did for us _ to give them a better life," he said. "I have no intention
of letting this corporate power and corporate greed get in the way"" -By
Amy Lorentzen -QCTimes
John
Edwards
- 
Wisconsin
- Iowa
- Poll
- Union
- 2004
Election - 2008
Election - "Edwards
may be closer than he appears." ... "In 2004 [Election],
when [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] John Edwards nearly
beat John Kerry in Wisconsin, he declared, "Objects in your mirror may
be closer than they appear."" ... "In 2008, he may be getting close again."
... "He has run in Iowa and knows the caucus system. He has worked rural
counties, where a little-reported study revealed that last time it took
only 22 caucus-goers to win a delegate, compared with 80 in urban counties."
... "According to a shrewd observer, a big chunk of Dick Gephardt's 2004
trade union support has gone to Edwards. Adding what he already had gives
him a solid share of the 122,000 people who caucused last time." ... "[Iowa]
Caucus-goers whose candidates don't get 15 percent at a given caucus can
switch on a subsequent ballot to a "viable" candidate. A recent poll found
Edwards is much more likely (42 percent) to be the second choice of those
whose candidate didn't make the cut than Obama (31 percent) or Clinton
(27 percent)." -By Dan Payne
-BostonGlobe
Government
- Corporations
- Employee
- 
Retirees
- 
Health
- Law
- 
Politics
- History
- "U.S.
Ruling Backs Benefit Cut at 65 in Retiree Plans."
... "The [Republican President Bush run] Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
said Wednesday that employers could reduce or eliminate health benefits
for retirees when they turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare." ... "The
policy, set forth in a new regulation, allows employers to establish two
classes of retirees, with more comprehensive benefits for those under 65
and more limited benefits — or none at all — for those older." ... "More
than 10 million retirees rely on employer-sponsored health plans as a primary
source of coverage or as a supplement to Medicare, and Naomi C. Earp, the
commission’s chairwoman, said, “This rule will help employers continue
to voluntarily provide and maintain these critically important health benefits.”"
... "But AARP and other advocates for older Americans attacked the rule.
“This rule gives employers free rein to use age as a basis for reducing
or eliminating health care benefits for retirees 65 and older,” said Christopher
G. Mackaronis, a lawyer for AARP, which represents millions of people age
50 or above and which had sued in an effort to block issuance of the final
regulation. “Ten million people could be affected — adversely affected
— by the rule.”" ... "The new policy creates an explicit exemption from
age-discrimination laws for employers that scale back benefits of retirees
65 and over. Mr. Mackaronis asserted that the exemption was “in direct
conflict” with the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967." ... "Under
the new rule, employers may, if they choose, provide retiree health benefits
“only to those retirees who are not yet eligible for Medicare.” Likewise,
the rule says, retiree health benefits can be “altered, reduced or eliminated”
when a retiree becomes eligible for Medicare." ... "Further, employers
will be able to reduce or eliminate health benefits provided to the spouse
or dependents of a retired worker 65 or over, regardless of whether benefits
for the retiree are changed." -By Robert Pear-NYTimes
John
Edwards
- 
Barack
Obama
- 
Hillary
Clinton
- Iowa
- Manufacturing
- Jobs
- Family
- Health-Care
- 
Environment
- Human
Rights - 
US
- 
China
- Corporations
- 
Iraq
- 
Military
- 
Indiana
- 
Idaho
- 
Illinois
- 
Homes
- Consumers
- 2008
Election - "Behind
the Edwards Surge: Right Message at the Right Time."
... "To a far greater extent than [2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidates Barack] Obama or [Hillary] Clinton, [John] Edwards has struck
at the heart of issues that should matter most in the race to replace not
just [Republican President] George W. Bush, but the Bush agenda of corporate
giveaways, job-crushing free trade deals, war profiteering in Iraq, and
subprime mortgage profiteering in Indiana, Idaho, Illinois and, yes, Iowa."
... "Edwards summed up his increasingly aggressive and powerful anti-corporate
themes with a declaration: "What makes America America is at stake: jobs,
the middle class, health care, preserving the environment in the world
for future generations."" ... ""But all those things are at risk. And why
are they at risk? Because of corporate power and corporate greed in Washington,
D.C. And we have to take them on. You can't make a deal with them. You
can't hope that they're going to go away. You have to actually be willing
to fight. And I want every caucus-goer to know I've been fighting these
people and winning my entire life. And if we do this together, rise up
together, we can actually make absolutely certain, starting here in Iowa,
that we make this country better than we left it."" ... "Edwards got to
know workers in Iowa. He stood with them in their struggles." ... "Turning
a broad question about human rights toward the specific issue of trade
policy, the former senator said that human rights, human needs and human
values "should be central to our trade policy."" ... ""But," he added,
"if you look at what's happened with American trade policy, look at what
America got: Big corporations made a lot of money, are continuing to make
a lot of money in China. But what did America get in return? We got millions
of dangerous Chinese toys. We lost millions of jobs." ... ""And right here
in Iowa, the Maytag plant in Newton [Iowa] closed. A guy named Doug Bishop,
who I got to know very well, had worked in that plant, and his family had
worked in that plant literally for generations. And his job is now gone.
The same thing, by the way, happened in the plant that my father worked
in when I was growing up. It is so important that we stop allowing these
corporate powers and corporate profits to run America's policy, whether
it's trade policy, how we engage with China. This is not good for America.
It's not good for American jobs. And it's not good for working people in
this country."" ... "That's an issue Edwards has taken far, far more seriously
than his opponents in what is now a three-way race in Iowa. And that seriousness
has benefitted the former senator." -By John Nichols
-TheNation
John
Edwards
- Working
- Family
- 
College-Education
- Money
- Race
- Des-Moines
- Iowa
- NC
- Barack
Obama
- Hillary
Clinton
- 2008
Election - "The
Road Warrior: Even if he loses in Iowa's bigger cities,
[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate John] Edwards can still
win by wrapping up smaller, far-flung precincts." ... "For months, Edwards
has been rounding up support in the state's rural precincts where the front
runners have paid less attention. While [2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate Barack] Obama and [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate
Hillary] Clinton have drawn crowds in the thousands in places like Des
Moines [Iowa] and Ames [Iowa], Edwards has been winning over people in
tiny towns like Sac City [Iowa] (population: 2,189). That's important,
the strategists say, because under Iowa's arcane caucus rules, a precinct
where 25 people show up to vote gets the same number of delegates as a
place that packs in 2,500. In other words, even if he loses to Obama and
Clinton in the state's bigger cities, he can still win by wrapping up smaller,
far-flung precincts that other candidates have ignored. "The bulk of our
support is in small and medium counties," says Jennifer O'Malley, Edwards's
Iowa state director. O'Malley says Edwards has visited all 99 counties
in the state; the campaign has so far trained captains covering 90 percent
of all 1,781 precincts. Rural voters are sometimes reluctant to caucus,
so the campaign has been enlisting respected community leaders to encourage
first-timers to get past their apathy or fear." ... "This could be wishful
thinking from an ailing campaign. But it's worth keeping in mind just how
wrong the media echo chamber can be when it comes to predicting winners
and losers. At about this time four years ago, Vermont Gov. Howard Dean
was the press-anointed darling who could seemingly do no wrong in Iowa.
Dour John Kerry was scorned by reporters as the should-have-been who had
blown it and couldn't possibly win. But on caucus night, Kerry wound up
the victor—and Dean wound up screaming. Reporters were left to wonder what
they had missed. One story the talking heads may be missing this time:
just how badly John Edwards hates to lose." ... "The desire to get ahead—to
win—is no small thing for Edwards. He was raised in the depressed town
of Robbins, N.C. [North Carolina], where his father, Wallace, worked in
a now long-gone textile mill. It's a biographical detail the candidate
mentions so often in speeches and campaign ads that it can sometimes border
on self-parody. Yet his father's story is what Edwards's campaign, and
political career, is all about. His dad worked his way up in the mill and
was promoted to supervisor. But without a college degree, there was only
so far he could rise. "He heard his mother and I talk about it at the dinner
table, so he knew what I was faced with," his father tells NEWSWEEK. Money
was scarce. Wallace was determined that John and his younger brother and
sister, Wesley Blake and Kathy, would attend college. He set an example
of self-improvement. He took classes offered by the mill, and tuned in
to the education channel on TV early each morning when the station aired
lessons in statistics and probability." ... "Tall and good-looking—and
he knew it—John Edwards was a popular student and a star football player,
skinny but fast. His high-school friend John Mashburn remembers Edwards
as a leader. "In a little redneck town, he was different," he says. There
was still racial tension in Robbins in the early 1970s, and black students
were sometimes mistreated. In protest, several of them once held a sit-in.
Edwards persuaded his white friends to join in. "Johnny got a lot of the
athletes, myself, our girlfriends … he was instrumental in encouraging
us," Mashburn says. John Frye, another high-school friend, says it was
a gutsy thing to do. He "stuck his neck out," Frye recalls. "There was
a price to pay in how some folks treated him after that. We had people
who didn't embrace desegregation even though it had been a bridge crossed
years earlier."" (1, 2,
3,
4,
5)
-By Arian Campo-Flores and Suzanne Smalley Dec
24, 2007 Issue -Newsweek
Mitt
Romney
- 
Rudy
Giuliani
- 
Mike
Huckabee - 
Tom
Tancredo - 
Criminal
- Illegal
- Employer
- Immigrants
- Employees
- Language
- 
Terrorism
- History
- 
Colo
- 
New
York
- 
Arkansas
- US
- 
Mexican
- 
People
- Noteworthy
- 2008
Election - "GOP
hopefuls run in a hypocrisy derby." ... "Everybody
knows that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney
was running - as [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Rudy
Giuliani put it - a "sanctuary mansion." But not many people know that
he was not the only one." ... "No less an anti-immigrant zealot than [2008
Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Colorado Representative]
Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.[Republican-Colorado]), the would-be President
who built a failing campaign on the single issue of persecuting "criminal
aliens" - as he is fond of calling undocumented immigrants - also has a
few skeletons in his closet." ... "Listen to this: Five years ago, when
Tancredo wanted to install a home theater and make other renovations in
his house, he had no qualms hiring a contractor that - gasp! - also employed
undocumented workers." ... "The man who had said, "[The face of illegal
immigration] is the face of murder. It is the face of infiltration into
the country of people who are coming to do us great harm," wasn't at all
troubled by the fact that only two in the crew of five or six laborers
spoke English." ... "[In 1994, then New York Republican Mayor Rudy Giuliani
said] "If you come here and you work hard, and you happen to be in an undocumented
status, you're one of the people who we want in this city," he told The
New York Times in 1994." ... "While in Arkansas, he [Arkansas Republican
Governor and 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee]
was instrumental in bringing a Mexican Consulate to Little Rock [Arkansas's
capital]. That consulate issued thousands of identification forms that
now, after he has become a presidential hopeful, Huckabee has begun to
call "illegal immigrant identification cards."" ... "And do not forget
that if he is elected President, he has vowed to expel the nation's estimated
12 million undocumented immigrants within 120 days, which comes to deporting
100,000 people per day." -By Albor Ruiz -NYDailyNews.com
John
Edwards
- Working
- Families
- 
Energy
- Corporate
- Government
- 2008
Election - Iowa
- "Edwards
Offers Middle-Class Pitch: [2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate] John Edwards Sharpens Pitch Aimed At Working Families."
... "Edwards, on the seventh day of an eight-day bus tour of the state
[of Iowa], spelled out the components of what he calls his "middle class
rising agenda," including tax breaks for working families, tougher trade
policies and investment in alternative energy." ... ""Corporate greed and
political calculation have taken over our government and sold out the middle
class," Edwards said. "That is wrong. It doesn't say 'life, liberty and
the pursuit of endless corporate profits' in the Declaration of Independence.""
... ""We have a fight in front of us, we have a fight for the future of
this country," he said. "We need someone who is going to step into that
arena on your behalf, someone who is ready for that fight, somebody who
has got it inside, somebody who has the toughness and strength and fight."
... ""Brothers and sisters, I was born for this fight," he told the more
than 500 people jammed into a high school gym [in Iowa] to hear him." ...
"Edwards also is making the case that he's best positioned to win the White
House in November [2008's Election], pointing to polls that show him ahead
of all the leading Republican presidential contenders." ... ""I was the
only Democrat who beat every Republican in head-to-head matchups," Edwards
said, telling backers to use that argument with wavering voters. "Make
sure they know that the data is powerful, that I'm a winner. Say it that
way."" -AP
via -CBSNews
John
Edwards
- Iowa
- Economy
- Union
- 2008
Election - "Edwards
banks on veteran caucusgoers to pull off Iowa." ...
"... [M]ost of his [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate John
Edwards] supporters already have experience with this state's sometimes
daunting system of caucuses held in each of 1,784 precincts." ... "Retired
postmaster John Backer, 62, of Greene [Iowa], is one of them. Come Jan.
3, as he has done in the past, he'll join a few dozen neighbors at the
community center and stand up for Edwards. "I know almost everybody in
town," Backer says. "I feel comfortable going there."" ... "Most polls
of Iowa show Edwards trailing his two rivals, yet still within the margins
of error and within reach of winning. They also show that as many as three-quarters
of his backers qualify as "likely caucusgoers" — that is, they've already
been to a caucus." ... "Edwards will need every vote he can get to stay
in the game." ... "Edwards has run a storm-the-barricades campaign this
year
driven by rhetoric about economic unfairness and destructive corporate
influence." ... "But mostly his campaign is about basics: an endorsement
from U.S. [Iowa Democratic Representative] Rep. Bruce Braley, an army of
union members, that solid base of likely caucusgoers, visits to all 99
Iowa counties, and an 80-page policy book sent to more than 200,000 households."
-By Jill Lawrence -USATODAY
Mike
Huckabee - 
Fred
Thompson
- Mitt
Romney
- Employed
- Illegal
- Immigrants
- Enforcement
- 
Tennessee
- 
Massachusetts
- Iowa
- 2008
Election - Ad
- US
- 
Cuba
- Money
- "Huckabee
rivals go on the attack." ... "Former Tennessee [Senator
and 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Sen. Fred
Thompson’s campaign kept up a steady stream of attack, criticizing
[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate Mike] Huckabee for everything
from past support for ending the Cuban embargo to allegedly allowing state
hard drives and servers to be destroyed while he was governor." ... "And
CNN’s John King reports that former Massachusetts [Governor and 2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate] Gov. Mitt
Romney’s campaign announced that it plans to run a television ad
in Iowa that targets Huckabee’s record on illegal immigration. The spot,
which attacks him by name, hits the airwaves Tuesday." ... "Romney spokesman
Kevin Madden said the ad was intended to highlight the difference between
the former Massachusetts governor’s “pro-enforcement record” – under assault
after recent revelations that he employed illegal immigrants on his property
– and Huckabee’s somewhat softer stance in the past." -By
John King, Alexander Mooney and Rebecca Sinderbrand
-CNN
John
Edwards
- United
States - 
Canada
- Mexico
- Working
- Families
- 
Multinational
- Corporate
- 
Media
- Government
- 2008
Election - 
New
Hampshire - "Edwards
Condemns NAFTA." ... "[2008 Election] Democratic
presidential hopeful John Edwards said Saturday he wants to replace the
empty promise that NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement] would create
millions of jobs with his own promise to be a tough negotiator on trade
deals." ... "On the 14th anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement,
Edwards condemned the deal that lowered trade barriers between the United
States and Canada and Mexico, arguing that it has paved the way for a series
of deals that put the interests of multinational corporations ahead of
working families." ... ""NAFTA was sold to the American people with promises
that it would grow the economy and create millions of new jobs. But today,
we know those promises were empty," he said. "In all three countries, it
has hurt workers and families while helping corporate insiders."" ... "He
also told voters in Derry [New Hamshire] that those corporate powers are
in danger not only of controlling what comes out of government but the
election process itself. Responding to a woman who said she resented media
conglomerates trying to dictate the outcome of the presidential campaign,
Edwards said the concentration of media ownership has become unhealthy
for democracy." ... ""This all goes back to the same problem. Are the big
corporate interests in Washington going to decide what's going to happen
with your democracy and what's going to happen with your government? You
can't let them decide what's going to happen with your elections," he said.
"Then, they're not only controlling your democracy, they're controlling
your elections."" -AP
via -CBSNews
Mitt
Romney- Rudy
Giuliani
- Immigrant
- Workers
- Company
- 2008
Election - Politics
- 
Florida
- New
York
- Massachusetts
- New
Hampshire - 
Arizona-
"More
immigrant woes for Romney: GOP candidate fires landscaper
after Globe shows continued use of illegal workers." ... "Standing on stage
at a Republican debate on the Gulf Coast of Florida last week, [2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney repeatedly lashed out at
rival [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Rudy Giuliani for
providing sanctuary to illegal immigrants in New York City [New York]."
... "Yet, the next morning, on Thursday, at least two illegal immigrants
stepped out of a hulking maroon pickup truck in the driveway of Romney's
[Massachusetts] Belmont house, then proceeded to spend several hours raking
leaves, clearing debris from Romney's tennis court, and loading the refuse
onto the truck." ... "In fact, their work was part of a regular pattern.
Even after a Globe story in December 2006 highlighted Romney's use of a
landscaping company that employs illegal immigrants to tend to his grounds,
Romney continued to employ Community Lawn Service With a Heart - until
yesterday. The company continued to employ illegal immigrants." ... "The
two workers confirmed in separate interviews with Globe reporters last
week that they were in the country without documents. One said he had paid
$7,000 to a smuggler to escort him across the desert into Arizona; the
other said he had come into the country with a student visa that has expired.
Both were seen working on the lawn by either Globe reporters or photographers
over the last two months." ... "Questioned yesterday afternoon during a
campaign swing through New Hampshire about the use of illegal immigrants
on his lawn, Romney declined to answer." -By Maria
Cramer and Maria Sacchetti with contributions by Connie Paige and James
Pindell -Boston/Globe
Consumer
- Health
- Safety
- 
Food
- Agriculture
- Country
- Peoples
- Labor
- Law
- Money
- Politics
- Language
- 
West
Virginia - "Democrats
Use Fine Print to Stymie Bush's Deregulation Agenda."
... "It is a single sentence, on page 147 of the annual appropriations
bill funding the [Republican President Bush] White House, listed under
the title ``Additional General Provisions.''" ... "The 18-word clause eliminates
the money to pay for political appointees in each federal agency whose
jobs are to approve any new regulations. By cutting the money for the positions,
Congress would effectively repeal President George W. Bush's 11-month old
initiative." ... "Democrats, writing the budget for the first time since
Bush took office, are using their power over the purse to thwart Bush's
campaign to loosen federal regulations. Lawmakers have added fine print
to must-pass appropriations bills that sets new policy goals and increases
funding for regulators such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
and the Consumer Product Safety Commission." ... "``It is critically important
when we are facing beef recalls, toy recalls, mine collapses and workplace
infringements that Congress provide the necessary resources to the relevant
agencies for them to do the jobs they are required to do,'' said Senate
Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd, 90, a West Virginia Democrat."
... "Lawmakers also want agencies to file periodic reports to Congress
charting their progress toward a host of Democratic policy goals, such
as developing workplace ergonomic guidelines for a dozen industries, requiring
country-of-origin labels on meat products and regulating a flavoring chemical
that has been linked to lung disease." -By Brian Faler
-Bloomberg
Noteworthy
- Housing
- Consumers
- Employed
- People
- Fla
- "Foreclosure
gridlock threatens economy: Millions 'in limbo' face
possible default as adjustable mortgages reset." ... "Like a lot of Americans,
Anne Violette is having trouble with her mortgage." ... "Violette, a self-employed
photographer, moved to Delray Beach, Fla. [Florida], in 2004 and bought
a home with a 30-year fixed-rate loan. A year later, she said, a friend
in the mortgage industry sold her on the idea of refinancing with an adjustable-rate
mortgage that saved her hundreds of dollars a month." ... "Violette said
her problems began when she learned that the rate on her loan could nearly
double, despite assurances that it would not rise more than a half-percent
a year for the first three years. Eventually her monthly payments rose
by $900, and she was unable to keep up. She began making calls to the lender,
moving from one department to another, to see if she could work out a payment
plan." ... "“They say, 'I’m sorry, but we can’t restructure your loan until
you’re caught up,'” she said. “But I keep saying, ‘I can never be caught
up until you restructure my loan.'”" ... "After more phone calls, Violette
found a bank representative who agreed to help modify her mortgage. That
was in August. The bank had her house appraised, but then she got a letter
from another bank saying they had taken over her loan. In October, she
called the first bank to find out where things stood and learned that the
title company she used when she bought the house is out of business and
that her loan is "in limbo," she said." ... "As consumers watch home prices
slump and their equity melt away, some economists fear the housing recession
could spill over to the broader economy." ... "25Over the next four years,
some $1.5 trillion in mortgages are scheduled to reset, according to an
analysis by Credit Suisse." (1, 2,
3,
4)
-By John W. Schoen -MSNBC
Business
- Government
- Politics
- 2008
Election - Family
- Health
- Safety
- Environment
- 
Air
- 
Water
- 
Soil
- Labor
- Animal
- Farmers
- Energy
- Transportation
- 
Automakers
- Consumer- History
- "Business
Lobby Presses Agenda Before ’08 Vote." ... "Business
lobbyists, nervously anticipating Democratic gains in next year’s elections,
are racing to secure final approval for a wide range of health, safety,
labor and economic rules, in the belief that they can get better deals
from the [Republican President] Bush administration than from its successor."
... "Hoping to lock in policies backed by a pro-business administration,
poultry farmers are seeking an exemption for the smelly fumes produced
by tons of chicken manure. Businesses are lobbying the Bush administration
to roll back rules that let employees take time off for family needs and
medical problems. And electric power companies are pushing the government
to relax pollution-control requirements." ... "The Federal Register typically
grows fat with regulations churned out in the final weeks of any administration.
But the push for such rules has become unusually intense because of the
possibility that Democrats in 2009 may consolidate control of the White
House, the Senate and the House of Representatives for the first time in
14 years." ... "At the Transportation Department, trucking companies are
trying to get final approval for a rule increasing the maximum number of
hours commercial truck drivers can work. And automakers are trying to persuade
officials to set new standards for the strength of car roofs — standards
far less stringent than what consumer advocates say is needed to protect
riders in a rollover." ... "At the Interior Department, coal companies
are lobbying for a regulation that would allow them to dump rock and dirt
from mountaintop mining operations into nearby streams and valleys." ...
"Some of the biggest battles now involve rules affecting the quality of
air, water and soil." (1, 2)
-By Robert Pear -NYTimes
Scott
J Bloch
- 
Karl
Rove
- Federal
- Investigators
- 
Computer
- Politics
- Employees
- Campaigns
- "U.S.
Special Counsel Says He Won't Provide Files." ...
"A U.S. official overseeing a probe of potential [Republican President
Bush] White House misconduct declared through a spokesman yesterday that
he will not give federal investigators copies of personal files that he
deleted from his office computer." ... "The decision by Special Counsel
Scott J. Bloch escalates the confrontation between the Bush appointee and
the White House, each of which is investigating the other." ... "Bloch's
office is tasked with upholding laws against whistle-blower retaliation
and partisan politicking in federal agencies. Earlier this year, Bloch
directed lawyers in his office to look into charges that former Bush adviser
Karl Rove inappropriately deployed government employees in Republican political
campaigns." ... "Attorneys representing the staff members in the complaints
against Bloch cited the latest dispute in calling for his resignation."
... ""At the time that he initiated this probe of Karl Rove, we thought
he was doing this to make himself bulletproof so the White House could
not take disciplinary action against him," said Debra Katz, an attorney
for the staff members. Bloch denied that charge and said the Rove investigation
is the responsibility of his office." -By Elizabeth
Williamson -WashingtonPost
Work
- 
Science
- 
- "Working
the graveyard shift may cause cancer." ... "Those
who work the graveyard shift for long periods or who experience jet lag
on a regular basis face a higher risk of cancer, according to a World Health
Organization cancer report." ... "A working group of the International
Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the cancer arm of the WHO, says they
have reviewed the literature on the effects of working the night shift
and have decided that it disrupts the body's internal clock -its circadian
rhythm -- and "is probably carcinogenic to humans."" ... "The experts'
assessment will appear in the December issue of The Lancet Oncology."
... "The higher cancer rates don't prove that working overnight can cause
cancer and the experts note that the link with shift work observed so far
has been modest." ... "But the IARC's decision to designate night work
as "probably carcinogenic" means there is limited evidence of cancers in
humans but sufficient evidence of cancers in lab animals to make the link."
... "Scientists suspect that overnight work is dangerous because it disrupts
both the circadian rhythm and the production of the hormone melatonin.
Melatonin can suppress tumour development, but is produced by the body
primarily at night." -CTV.ca
Rudolph
Giuliani
- Mitt
Romney
- Mike
Huckabee - Immigration
- Politics
- Employee
- Legal
- Children
- College
- 2008
Election - Iowa
- New
York
- Arkansas
- "Topic
of immigration animates testy Republican debate."
... "The Republican candidates for the presidency engaged in a slashing
debate over immigration and other issues, confronting one another in testy
exchanges that reflected the wide-open nature of the race in the final
sprint toward the Iowa caucuses." ... "The debate Wednesday night showcased
some of the fierce battles that have raged recently between [2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidates] Rudolph Giuliani and Mitt Romney. Romney
accused Giuliani of making New York a "sanctuary city" for illegal immigrants
when he was mayor; Giuliani turned the tables on him, noting that Romney
had employed illegal immigrants at his home and adding, "I would say he
had sanctuary mansion, not just sanctuary city."" ... "After Romney and
Giuliani argued over immigration, Romney turned on [2008 Election Republican
Presidential Candidates Mike] Huckabee for a proposal he made as governor
of Arkansas to give breaks in college tuition to the children of illegal
immigrants." (1, 2)
-By Michael Cooper and Marc Santora
-IHT.com
Noteworthy
- Scott
Bloch
- Karl
Rove
- Military
- Government- Computer
- 
Intelligence
- Company
- Hacking- 2006
Election - Politics
- Employee
- Justice
- Investigation
- 
Kan
- "Head
of Rove Inquiry in Hot Seat Himself: Bloch Used Private
Company, Geeks on Call, to Delete Files On His Office Computer." ... "The
head of the federal agency investigating [Republican President Bush's former
aide] Karl Rove's White House political operation is facing allegations
that he improperly deleted computer files during another probe, using a
private computer-help company, Geeks on Call." ... "TScott Bloch runs the
Office of Special Counsel, an agency charged with protecting government
whistleblowers and enforcing a ban on federal employees engaging in partisan
political activity. Mr. Bloch's agency is looking into whether Mr. Rove
and other White House officials used government agencies to help re-elect
Republicans in 2006." ... "TAt the same time, Mr. Bloch has himself been
under investigation since 2005. At the direction of the White House, the
federal Office of Personnel Management's inspector general is looking into
claims that Mr. Bloch improperly retaliated against employees and dismissed
whistleblower cases without adequate examination." ... "TRecently, investigators
learned that Mr. Bloch erased all the files on his office personal computer
late last year. They are now trying to determine whether the deletions
were improper or part of a cover-up, lawyers close to the case said." ...
"In an interview, the 49-year-old former labor-law litigator from Lawrence,
Kan., confirmed that he contacted Geeks on Call but said he was trying
to eradicate a virus that had seized control of his computer." ... "Mr.
Bloch believes the White House may have a conflict of interest in pressing
the inquiry into his conduct while his office investigates the White House
political operation." ... "Depending on circumstances, erasing files or
destroying evidence in a federal investigation can be considered obstruction
of justice." ... "Mr. Bloch had his computer's hard disk completely cleansed
using a "seven-level" wipe: a thorough scrubbing that conforms to Defense
Department data-security standards. The process makes it nearly impossible
for forensics experts to restore the data later. He also directed Geeks
on Call to erase laptop computers that had been used by his two top political
deputies, who had recently left the agency." -By John
R. Wilke -WSJ.com
Hillary
Clinton
- John
Edwards
