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The Republican Party’s greatest ally in Washington these days seem to be conservative Democrats. The so-called Blue Dog Democrats, which comprise roughly 20% of the party’s elected representatives, are stalling progress on the President’s push for a public health insurance option. Their greatest objections are to subsidies that would help low-income Americans pay for health-insurance, and to the …

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The Eviction of the “Bonus Marchers”

Back in the day on July 28th, 1932, hard up World War I veterans encamped in Washington D.C. were forcibly evicted. Having taken place during the depths of the Great Depression, the marchers, dubbing themselves the “Bonus Expeditionary Forces,” and numbering in the tens of thousands, pressured Congress to accelerate payments …

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With the music of Beethoven’s Consecration of the House Overture, KPFK radio went on air in Los Angeles with regular programming for the very first time on July 26th, 1959. In tune with the unique mission statement of the Pacifica Foundation, the inaugural broadcast that took place fifty years ago yesterday on KPFK 90.7 FM featured classical music, a reading of a short story …

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Albert “Ginger” Goodwin

Back in the day on July 27th, 1918, labor leader Albert “Ginger” Goodwin was shot to death in Canada. Originally from Yorkshire, Goodwin immigrated to Canada and worked as a coal miner. When his travels took him to Cumberland on Vancouver Island, the future martyr cut his teeth as an organizer and effective orator against …

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Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya is set to announce his second return attempt to his country despite threats of an immediate arrest by the interim opposition government of Roberto Micheletti. Central America’s first military coup since the Cold War came after Zelaya angered Congress with a push for constitutional changes to allow presidential re-election. In office since 2006, Zelaya …

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A popular vegan/vegetarian-friendly Mexican café and art gallery on historic Olvera Street in downtown los angeles recently received notice of eviction. Casa De Sousa, famous for its coffee and chocolate, has been on LA’s oldest street for more than 60 years and the Sousa family has a history in the founding of the street that attracts thousands of tourists …

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Thoreau’s Night in Jail

Back in the day on June 23th, 1846, philosopher poet Henry David Thoreau spent the night in jail for refusing to pay his poll taxes. The acclaimed author of “Walden” did so in protest of the U.S. – Mexican War which had started months earlier. As an opponent of slavery, which many abolitionists saw …

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President Obama is focusing all of his efforts on health care reform these days with nearly daily remarks to the press and the public. Today he will hold a press-conference on the subject followed by a townhall meeting in Cleveland, Ohio tomorrow. But the President is losing the support of members of his own party. A Washington Post article …

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The Obama administration broke with its predecessor last week when it filed a new legal brief in an asylum case for a survivor of domestic violence. Opening a narrow pathway, the shift in immigration law stated that battered women may be eligible for entry into the United States if their particular case illustrates that the abuse took place in a …

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