July 11, 2007


IMPEACH BUSH


IMPEACH CHENEY

A WELCOME CHANGE AT THE SUN-TIMES

The Chicago Sun-Times had a long history as a liberal working class paper. During the Reagan administration the paper moved to the right. Now the Sun-Times is going back to its progressive roots. It's a welcome change to have any media that represent the majority of us who aren't wealthy, who aren't part of the big business establishment, and who don't support the Bush administration. This article is from www.editorandpublisher.com:

CHICAGO The Chicago Sun-Times is turning left.

The tabloid that shifted toward political conservatism under the brief ownership of Rupert Murdoch more than two decades ago now says that it is "rethinking our stance on several issues, including the most pressing issue facing Americans today: Bush's war in Iraq."

Under marching orders from Publisher John Cruickshank and Editor in Chief Michael Cooke, new Editorial Page Editor Cheryl L. Reed introduced a new Commentary section Tuesday with a promise to turn the tabloid back into the liberal-leaning paper it was for decades before the Reagan administration.

"We are returning to our liberal, working-class roots, a position that pits us squarely opposite the Chicago Tribune -- that Republican, George Bush-touting paper over on moneyed Michigan Avenue," Reed wrote. "We're rethinking our stance on several issues, including the most pressing issue facing Americans today: Bush's war in Iraq."

CREDIT CARD PREDATORS

Many of us are way too much in hock to credit card vultures. The legal system, especially since the passage of the new bankruptcy law, gives credit card companies a totally one-sided advantage in taking advantage of consumers. Nowadays credit card "disclosures" commonly say that the company can change the interest rate any time for any reason. If you don't read the fine print, you're in for a shock. There are a whole assortment of fees that entrap you. And the offers keep coming. This article by James Ridgeway is at www.motherjones.com:

As it stands, approximately 40 percent of American households spend more than they make each year, and the average household debt to credit cards is about $10,000. According to the Federal Reserve, consumer credit card debt in the United States totals $880 billion; this figure, adjusted to current dollars, has increased a hundred-fold in the last 40 years. These numbers, huge by any standard, represent a growing factor in the nation's questionable economic future.

Those carrying credit card debt are not limited to self-indulgent spenders: "The Plastic Safety Net," a 2005 survey of low and middle income households conducted by Demos and the Center for Responsible Lending, found that declines in public and private benefit programs—health coverage, pensions, and unemployment insurance among them—have contributed to the growth in credit card debt. For example, 29 percent of households surveyed reported that medical expenses made up a portion of their current balances.