News

December 3, 2005

13:26
John S. Friedman writes that the tragedy wrought by the Iraq War cannot be told in numbers alone. But the cost of the war depicted in this chart--every loss, every life, every dollar--only strengthens the arguments against this brutal war. (Download the PDF version.)

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13:26
Christopher Hayes writes that if progressives are to democratize the country, they must first democratize their politics. Grassroots activists around the country are energized to develop the infrastructure that will effectively galvanize voters for change.

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13:26
The Editors write that President Bush's plan to privatize Social Security is dead, thanks to a remarkable mobilization by progressive groups. Much can be learned from that victory about the power of working together to inform citizens and arouse them to meaningful political action.

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13:26
Daniel Lazare reviews The Jewish Century and A History of Jews in the Modern World, two books that defy the conventional view of Jews as outsiders and follow the Diaspora in the modern era.

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13:26
Brenda Wineapple reviews Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her,, and concludes that this spunky girl detective--never sad, wrinkled or misunderstood--is both heartwarming and a little scary.

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13:26
Jack Rakove reviews Akhil Reed Amar's America's Constitution: A Biography, which yields a rich understanding of the prosaic founding text Americans routinely worship but rarely examine.

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13:26
Based on a comprehensive database of child care fatalities, this report found that paid child care is very safe overall. Centers are the safest form of paid child care.
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13:26
Congress is rolling back vital services that protect the middle class, and dismantling the social safety net that has protected all Americans for generations in order to offer permanent tax cuts for those least in need.
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13:26
The Ohio General Assembly soon will take up legislation to implement Issue 1, the constitutional amendment passed by Ohio voters on Nov. 8. To ensure that government funds are spent in the most effective manner and provide the greatest benefit to Ohioans, the implementing legislation should ensure the accountability of all public funds used for Third Frontier projects by all levels of government, universities and other nonprofits, and the private sector.
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13:26
This report shows that recent news articles claiming that women are voluntarily leaving the workforce to raise their children are based solely on anecdotal accounts and not economic data. Although women's labor force participation rates have declined occasionally over the past few years, this has been due to the economic recession and job availability, not the presence of children in women's lives.
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13:26
This book documents the World Trade Organization's nine-year track record with case-by-case accounts, including how the WTO chills government actions to fight sweatshops, make life-saving drugs available, and protect endangered species -- and even limits our elected governments' ability to maintain policies on everything from meat inspection to media concentration.
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13:26
A survey of some of the 1580 Cleveland-area tax filers who received free tax assistance through sites in a local tax coalition found that nearly half claimed the earned income tax credit (EITC). Of these, nearly a quarter did not know if they'd previously been eligible for the credit and more than 16% had not filed taxes at all the previous year.
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13:26
An analysis of Ohio House Bill 414, a proposal to give new incentives to large automotive employers in Ohio. The measure will drain state revenue and subsidize companies that reduce their Ohio workforce without providing real assurances that it will retain additional jobs in Ohio.
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13:26
Wendy Patton testified before the Ohio House Public Utilities & Energy Committee, in support of the Ohio Fuel Production Task Force. Her testimony emphasized three ways by which this Task Force could broaden opportunities for fuel production in Ohio, beyond the traditional energy realms of petroleum and coal. Policy Matters Ohio recommends that the Task Force include representatives from renewable energy sources and experts in energy efficiency.
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13:26
This 900+ page resource includes information on 538 prescription drugs like Celebrex, Crestor and Paxil, including 53 top-selling drugs that should not be taken under any circumstances.
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13:26
This report is on the role of the arms lobby in promoting missile defense and space weapons.
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13:26
The Apollo Alliance and Energy Action created a comprehensive guide that demonstrates how campuses across the nation can be a catalyst for sustainable energy independence. This report lays out strategies for campuses to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save money at the same time.
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13:26
This report takes an in-depth look at how West Company is helping microentrepreneurs document their participation in the economy and access potentially thousands of dollars in tax refunds through the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The publication points out that microenterprise programs are uniquely positioned to fill a critical need for affordable or even free tax preparation assistance among certain entrepreneurs, given that they have expertise in serving small, start-up and side businesses and have staffs skilled in providing outreach, training and technical assistance to the working poor.
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13:26
This report found that in the 23 years since New Jersey re-instated capital punishment (a period during which there have been no executions) administering the death penalty has cost taxpayers over $250 million. That comes to $4.2 million per death sentence -- much more than the cost of imprisoning someone for life. This may be a conservative estimate, in part because of the difficulty in getting detailed cost figures from many of the entities involved in the capital punishment system.
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13:26
Democracy Rising calls for a three-step approach to rapidly and responsibly remove U.S. military forces, civilian military contractors and U.S. corporate interests from Iraq.
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