Congress Returns next week: Will they pass Tier 5?

Next week, Congress will be back in session - but will they deal with extending unemployment or will they pass Tier 5 for the 99ers?

Currently, S3706 is not on the Lame Duck Senate agenda at all. Nancy Pelosi told the Huffington Post that extending UI benefits (filing dates only) is third on her priority list - yet did not mention of the coveted Tier 5. Nancy still runs the House (for now) but S3706 is a Senate bill which requires Harry Reid to put the bill on the Senate floor "Lame Duck" agenda.

Ed Schultz, staunch supporter of the 99er cause, was on The Rachel Maddow Show last night. When asked during Maddow’s new ‘Lame Duck’ segment about what the Democrats should do when they return next Monday, though Ed did mention extending unemployment benefits for those Americans who are “about to lose them” - he did NOT even mention Tier 5 for the 99ers (who have been without UI benefits now 8 months and counting). Say it isn’t so!

This omission by Schultz leads me to believe that he must know Tier 5 isn’t even on the radar when Congress returns. We all know that it is not on the official Congressional schedule, available online. Harry Reid is the one who decides what bills come to the Senate floor - and this is how he shows his gratitude for us saving his job?

My calls this week to the Senate offices of several co-authors of S3706 all had the same result. “The Americans Want to Work Act (S3706) is not scheduled to come to the floor for a vote during the remainder of this session and not likely to ever be considered even next year.”

Personal visits yesterday to the San Diego offices of CA Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstien (on behalf of the 99er community) met the same result. This is an outrage!

I say every 99er and concerned non-99er needs to contact Harry Reid via his staffers and tell them how we feel about being ignored and left to die after saving his butt:

Congressional Toll free Switchboard: 1-866-220-0044
Senator Harry Reid 202-224-3542 REID FAX 202-224-7327
Reno office:Tel 775-686-5750 Fax 775-686-5757

Reid Staffers:
Rodell_mollineau@reid.senate.gov,
Danica_daneshforouz@reid.senate.gov,
Mike_esposito@reid.senate.gov,
Mary_conelly@reid.senate.gov,
Gary_myrick@reid.senate.gov,
Robin_mccain@reid.senate.gov,
jim_manley@reid.senate.gov,

99er Nation, it is time yet again to flood the Ed show with emails http://www.bigeddieradio.com/emailEd/ saying we need his voice for the 99ers to survive! ed@edshultzshow.com


And please do not forget to keep calling the White House Comments Line 202-456-1111 - Comment line is only open 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Monday thru Friday EST. ***REMIND the President that this is an emergency and the very survival of millions of Americans depends on Tier 5 getting passed immediately!

[See the interview with Ed Schultz at 8:25 into the clip below]

Happy Birthday Marine Corps

Today marks the 235 years of the United States Marine Corps.

"The Few, The Proud" and "Semper Fidelis" are two of the mottos that the marines live by. The Marines are the smallest branch of the U.S. armed forces.

The Washington Post recalls that Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!"

The New York Daily News recalls how much the USMC has done for its country. The Corps protected Washington from three major British assaults during War of 1812 and stopped the German advance at the Battle of Belleau Wood in World War I. The Corps makes up less than 11percent of the U.S. military, but more than 23 percent of the Americans killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan are Marines.

Tomorrow is Veterans day: so remember and give thanks to those who have fought overseas to protect the rights of the United States.

KPFA: Show Cancellation at Local Radio Station (Video)

The KPFA The Morning Show cancellation issue drew 200 people for a rally on Tuesday outside the KPFA studios in Berkeley. The show hosts - Aimee Allison and Brian Edwards-Tiekert, and Morning Show Executive Producer Laura Prives and Esther Manilla - managed to lock themselves in a third floor studio and broadcast their show. (Video courtesy of The Daily Cal.)

That went against the wishes of KPFA Executive Director Arlene Englehardt. She wanted to bring in a radio feed from the sister station in LA. But the LA producers managed to get sick. That paved the way for the guerrila show.

In the audience look for the number of people who aren't using camcorders. That's one problem with media today - it's in the hands of each of us, but we have to know to use it to make a difference.

KPFA and NPR

What is it about Liberal Media lately? Why does it seem like the one medium needed to make a difference is coming apart at the seams? NPR has the embarrassing Juan Williams issue, and KPFA has this matter, where both seem like they're being ran by Old Media thinkers.

More on this soon.

KPFA: Show Cancellation at Local Radio Station (Video)

The KPFA The Morning Show cancellation issue drew 200 people for a rally on Tuesday outside the KPFA studios in Berkeley. The show hosts - Aimee Allison and Brian Edwards-Tiekert, and Morning Show Executive Producer Laura Prives and Esther Manilla - managed to lock themselves in a third floor studio and broadcast their show. (Video courtesy of The Daily Cal.)

That went against the wishes of KPFA Executive Director Arlene Englehardt. She wanted to bring in a radio feed from the sister station in LA. But the LA producers managed to get sick. That paved the way for the guerrila show.

In the audience look for the number of people who aren't using camcorders. That's one problem with media today - it's in the hands of each of us, but we have to know to use it to make a difference.

KPFA and NPR

What is it about Liberal Media lately? Why does it seem like the one medium needed to make a difference is coming apart at the seams? NPR has the embarrassing Juan Williams issue, and KPFA has this matter, where both seem like they're being ran by Old Media thinkers.

More on this soon.

Steven Spader Sentenced To Life Without Parole

New Hampshire's Steven Spader celebrated his 19th birthday today and then he found out that he will be spending the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole following his conviction today on premeditated first degree murder.

The Union Leader reports that Judge Gillian L. Abramson sentenced Spader after finding no mitigating factors that could possibly lessen his punishment. She tells the Union Leader that during his sentencing he had threatening behavior toward witnesses in the courtroom, and that required the courts to admonish him through counsel on three occasions.

"I sentence you to the maximum, the rest of your pointless life," Abramson's exact words to Spader.

For those who are unfamiliar with Spader - he is also known as the "Machete Murderer." In October of 2009 he used a machete to hack Kimberly Cates, 42, to death, and maimed her daughter, Jaimie, who was 11 at the time, during a brutal home invasion.

The Boston Globe reports that Abramson also said:

"I could go on for days and days about the depths of your depravity. It's sufficient to say you belong in a cage."

The Boston Globe includes that the jury also convicted Spader of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with witnesses and informants, and conspiracy to commit burglary


For more in-depth or background information about this case please click the links to the articles within this post.

Pacifica's KPFA Morning Show Axed: Show Hosts Stage Locked-In Show

Berkeley, CA - The drama around the cancellation of The KPFA Morning Show has attracted so much media attention KPFA Executive Director Arlene Engelhardt should revive the show, if only to take advantage of the increased attention.

The question is does she care to save the show? Indeed, given Tuesday's actions by The KPFA Morning Show hosts and producers Aimee Allison and Brian Edwards-Tiekert, and Morning Show Executive Producer Laura Prives and Esther Manilla - with an assist from producers in Berkeley and in Los Angeles who called in "sick" to make way for The Morning Show team - they were able to host a "guerilla" show.

If you're reading this, scratching your head, and asking "why," all of this has it's roots in a long-standing disconnect between KPFA show staff, and the local board and the Pacifica Network. It's confusing that KPFA, the station that gave birth to Pacifica, would be in this position against Pacifica, but nothing about this story meets the logic test. Some back story is needed; here it is.

According to Sasha Lilley, of KPFA's Against the Grain and a critic of the management and board of KPFA, the foundation for today's unrest started in 1999, when Pacifica attempted to sell KPFA, and locked out the staff for 23-days in an effort to clear the decks. The result was a 10,000 person "Save KPFA" march in Berkeley and an end to Pacifica's lockout efforts.

In order to theoretically make a KPFA that was more responsive to its listeners and end the staff / management rancor, the organization was altered to allow board members elected by KPFA listeners, which really is anyone the board candidate could get to cast a vote. Instead of less rancor, the new system only created more arguments and power struggles.

A big reason for this was that a person can be on the KPFA Board with just 300 votes out of a listenership of around 150,000 people.  So, what happens, according to Lilley, is that the board that's elected doesn't actually reflect what the listeners want, only what the individual KPFA board members want.  That's the foundation for the recent problems.

Adding to that foundation is the fact that KPFA is losing money because it can't attract listeners.  Arlene Engelhardt is on record as saying KPFA has lost over $1.5 million over the last two years.  Moreover, from the perspective of one who's been a guest on KPFA shows several times, the organization has not learned how to master New Media to help gain more listeners.

All of that, and this bloggers observation that Liberals - and I'm Liberal - all too often eat their own for reasons of ego.

The Email In The Printer

The current controversy started when an email written by one of the KPFA managers and calling for The Morning Show hosts to be fired along with other staffers was found in a printer.  According to Lilley, the misdirected email was a violation of the CWA 9415 Union contract with KPFA management.

The person targeted was Brian Edwards-Tiekert, who had the most seniority. But in order to "get him" reportedly, management had to sack the whole staff.

Brian Edwards-Tiekert A Save KPFA Enabler

According to a source via email, Brian Edwards-Tiekert's name was on a list of people to be fired that was created, reportedly, by three members of Pacifica's National Board.

The email states that Edwards-Tiekert was a "key player" in the "SaveKPFA slate" that is in power after October's KPFA Board elections.

Arlene Engelhardt Targeted As Problem

KPFA Executive Director Arlene Engelhardt was targeted by Save KPFA members as the person who made the decision to sack The Morning Show. Save KPFA reports that:

Engelhardt has rejected most of the alternative proposals put forward in a Sustainable KPFA Budget backed by workers, the local station board, and KPFA management, and refused to reveal her own salary and those of other high-level managers. While Pacifica’s plan would lay off a large portion of the union staff, the Sustainable Budget would reduce bureaucratic overhead and board expense rather than cut on-air programming.

Engelhardt planned to let go of the KPFA Morning Show staff and replace it with "piped-in" programming from Pacifica's KPFK station in Los Angeles.  Instead, what she got was an on-air argument with show producer Esther Manilla on Monday...



...And a Monday show broadcast featuring Aimee Allison, Brian Edwards-Tiekert, and Morning Show Executive Producer Laura Prives featuring long-time Pacifica broadcaster Larry Bensky.



Sasha Lilley said today that some KPFA managers and board members wanted a volunteer staff. That, she said, would result in a dramatic loss of listenership, and already she's received calls from long time supporters who said they would stop contributing to KPFA if The Morning Show was axed.

Missile Mystery off the California Coast

There was an apparent missile mystery off the California Coast last night and nobody seems to know who launched the projectile.

The unmistakable contrail streaking into the California sunset was captured on video last night by a KCBS news helicopter flying over Los Angeles at around 5 p.m. Pacific time.

KFMB showed video of the apparent missile to former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Robert Ellsworth, who is also a former Deputy Secretary of Defense, to get his thoughts.

A Navy spokesperson told KFMB it wasn't their missile. He said there was no Navy activity reported in the area Monday evening.

On Friday night, Vandenberg Air Force Base, in California, launched a Delta II rocket, carrying an Italian satellite into orbit, but a sergeant at the base told KFMB there had been no launches since then.

Ellsworth urged American to wait for definitive answers to come from the military.

When asked, however, what he thought it might be, the former ambassador said it could possibly have been a missile test timed as a demonstration of American military might as President Obama tours Asia.

"It could be a test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile from a submarine … to demonstrate, mainly to Asia, that we can do that," speculated Ellsworth.

Late this morning, MSNBC was reporting that the military now states this was just a plane taking off and not a missile as previously speculated.

Common man! Clearly that is an explanation about as credible as the “weather balloon” or “swamp gas” scenarios when responding to UFO sightings. A plane? Really? If you believe that then you’ll believe anything!