Progressive Democrat Issue 194

Big week this week, right? Lots going on.

So, the Bank Bailout succeeded while the Autoworker Bailout failed in the Senate. Why the difference? Eighteen Republican Senators voted to shower money on the financial industry but refused to help working class Americans. Now if someone voted against both, they have a consistent philosophy on bailouts, whether you agree with them or not. To vote in favor of saving the bankers but letting the auto industry die shows a clear elitist bias. The list of those 18 elitist Republican Senators who will help bankers but leave auto workers out in the cold:

Bob Bennett, R-UT
Richard Burr, R-NC
Saxby Chambliss, R-GA
Tom Coburn, R-OK
Norm Coleman, R-MN
Bob Corker, R-TN
John Ensign, R-NV
Chuck Grassley, R-IA
Judd Gregg, R-NH
Orrin Hatch, R-UT
Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-TX
Johnny Isakson, R-GA
John Kyl, R-AZ
Mel Martinez, R-FL
John McCain, R-AZ
Mitch McConnell, R-KY
Lisa Murkowski, R-AK
John Thune, R-SD

This week Obama named one of his best cabinet picks yet: Steven Chu, director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, former chair of Stanford University's physics department, and Nobel Prize-winning physicist was named Obama's Energy Secretary. Chu also has been a strong supporter of alternative fuels and renewable energy research. THIS is the kind of leadership this country needs!

This week was one where Democrats eliminated two corrupt Democrats. The corrupt Governor of Illinois was taken into custody, and a corrupt Conrgessman from Louisiana was defeated in a special election. In both cases, the Democratic Party did what the Republican Party never does: it distanced itself from and rejected a corrupt member. Obama refused to help either one, and most Democratic leaders did the same. In the case of the Congressman, it meant sacrificing a Congressional seat to Republicans. But the defeat of a corrupt politician is seldom if ever a bad thing. I intentionally distanced my self from Louisiana Congressman Jefferson, caught with marked bribe money in his home freezer, more than two years ago and tried defeating him then. It took an additional 2 years to finally get rid of him. The Republican who defeated him is the first Vietnamese-American elected to Congress, and I welcome Congressman Cao. I may try to defeat him in 2 years, but for now it is better he won. In the case of the Illinois Governor, he was basically caught red handed trying to sell the Illinois Senate seat (vacated by a certain President-elect) to the highest bidder. Obama's transition team refused to play along and helped bring him down. Good riddence to his corrupt ass!

If Republicans treated their corrupt members the same way, they might do far better. Instead remember how they circled the wagons to protect even their most corrupt members? They even protected a pedophile in Florida and re-nominated (and almost re-elected) a CONVICTED felon in Alaska. Democrats fight corruption even within their own ranks. Republicans don't. That is one of the major differences between the parties.

This week's newsletter is kind of a responsible consumer issue, focusing on companies that are responsible members of society. The resources I present are from the past few week, but it is good to highlight the good companies. Too often we call for boycotts but forget that patronizing good companies is just as important as boycotting bad ones.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

COMPANIES THAT CARBON OFFSET

RESPONSIBLE SHOPPER

BROOKLYN FOCUS: Shopping for the Community

NEW YORK STATE

WASHINGTON STATE

FLORIDA

CALIFORNIA

PENNSYLVANIA

COLORADO

ARIZONA

VIRGINIA

GEORGIA

NORTH CAROLINA

IOWA

WISCONSIN

NEW JERSEY

TEXAS

NEVADA

ILLINOIS