This week on Information Underground our studio guest is Dr. Jennifer Mercieca, Associate Professor at Texas A&M University, and Dr. Justin Vaughn. Our topic of conversation will be the conference hosted by Texas A&M University, Rhetoric, Politics, and the Obama Phenomenon.
Listen to Information Underground on 89.1FM KEOS on Sundays from 5-6pm after Tavis Smiley, for all the alternative news, politics, and commentary that you don’t hear in the mainstream media. To listen to Information Underground online and to listen to past episodes visit Information Underground on BlogTalkRadio. Tune in every week to hear headlines, interviews, and political and social thought to the Left of College Station.
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Friday, February 26, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Headlines
Local News
Wellborn Special Election Request Denied
According to a report by KBTX Channel 3, Wellborn residents are considering their next move after plans to have a special election where postponed. The College Station City Council has declined to address the Citizens for Wellborn's request to have a special election in May which would let residents decide if they would like to incorporate their area. More than 400 residents signed a petition in favor of calling an election earlier this year. Instead the City Council is waiting to have a workshop on March 11th when all council members can be present. At the workshop they will discuss ways the city can assist Wellborn residents in their efforts and see if other avenues are available other than incorporation or annexation. The College Station Comprehensive Plan calls for annexing Wellborn in three years to ten years time.
Local Politics
Waco VA Regional Office Adds 100 Jobs to Speed up Claims Process
The Waco Veterans Affairs Regional Office will soon add 100 new employees to expedite benefits claims processing to reduce back-logged claims. The Waco Tribune-Herald reports that the jobs were announced at a press conference Thursday with U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, and U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. The positions, which are being funded from the $787 billion stimulus package passed last year, are scheduled to begin March 1. The regional office services veterans in 156 North Texas counties and processed 126,000 claims in the 2009 fiscal year. Pending claims totaled 18,647 at the end of the 2009 fiscal year. A backlog of 3,731 — 20 percent — had been pending for 125 days or longer. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funded 91 new claims positions at the office last year, including 80 temporary posts that were scheduled to end this September.
Texas News
Study Finds Katrina's Impact on Crime Nonexistent
According to an article in the Houston Chronicle, a huge crime wave blamed on thousands of Katrina evacuees in Houston and other Southwest cities never happened, and criminologists warned public officials and the media to be careful in attributing crime to the former New Orleans residents. Five criminologists who reviewed crime statistics published a study in the current issue of the Journal of Criminal Justice, and found only a “modest” increase in the murder rates of Houston and Phoenix, and none in San Antonio, three cities that took in thousands of evacuees from storm-ravaged New Orleans. The researchers did not find an accompanying rise in auto theft and assaults and other crimes, which they said would have been expected if dispossessed evacuees were responsible for a crime hike.
Texas Politics
Texas Sues EPA Over Limits on Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Texas filed suit against the Environmental Protection Agency over a declaration that could broaden government enforcement of carbon dioxide emissions. The McClatchy Newspaper Service reports that Governor Rick Perry, Attorney General Greg Abbott and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples announced the lawsuit at a joint news conference to declare that the two-month-old declaration is based on bogus conclusions and could cause billions of dollars of economic damage in Texas. The suit was filed in Washington in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The state will also file a "petition for reconsideration" with the Environmental Protection Agency calling on EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to review her declaration. The EPA declared in December that carbon dioxide emissions constitute a threat to public health, opening the door to further regulation to control greenhouse gases. The policy could have a far-reaching impact on Texas, which produces more carbon dioxide than any other state and many countries.
National Politics
Record $3.5 Billion Spent on Lobbying in 2009
Lobbying appears to be recession-proof, according to a report out by the Center for Responsive Politics. Companies and interest groups spent a record $3.47 billion on federal lobbying in 2009, a 5% increase over the year before, according to the watchdog group, which tracks money in U.S. politics at its site OpenSecrets.org. The pharmaceutical and health industry dominated lobbyist spending in D.C. at an estimated $266.8 million -- the greatest amount ever spent by a single industry in one year, according to OpenSecrets. Other big spenders included business associations ($183 million), oil and gas ($168.4 million) and insurance ($164.2 million). Each of those sectors spent more in 2009 than in 2008. The biggest lobbying powerhouse was the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The association, which represents more than 3 million businesses in various industries, has held the top-spender spot for nine consecutive years. In 2009, the Chamber shelled out about $145 million -- the largest sum spent by a single interest group in one year. That figure marks a 6% increase from last year's lobbying expenses.
Foreign Policy
United States Steps Up Sanctions Diplomacy Against Iran
According to a report by IPS, faced with an increasingly impatient Congress and a defiant government in Tehran, the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama is currently stepping up its diplomatic efforts in the Middle East as it seeks to prepare the ground for tougher sanctions on Iran. A main goal, if not the main, is to persuade Sunni Arab states in the region to supply China's energy needs so that Beijing gets on board Western plans for more sanctions on the Islamic Republic. As senior administration officials have ratcheted up their sanctions rhetoric, the White House has dispatched four envoys to the Middle East. Top of the list is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is currently on a tour of the Gulf countries, where she has visited Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
War and Peace
NATO Troops Die in Afghan Fighting
Nato forces in Afghanistan say that six of their soldiers have been killed in a single day during their major offensive against the Taliban in the south. The BBC News reports two of those who died on Thursday were British; the nationalities of the other four have not been given. Nato says it is investigating an air strike which killed seven Afghan policemen in the Kunduz province. The officers were mistakenly hit after a joint Nato-Afghan patrol was ambushed by Taliban insurgents, officials said. On Thursday, Isaf said four Nato soldiers had died and Britain's Ministry of Defence confirmed that two Britons were among them. Then, in a brief statement, Isaf said two further service members had died during Operation Moshtarak on Thursday.
Environment
New Study Says Seas Acidifying Faster Today Than 55 Million Years Ago
According to a report by Yale Environment 360, a study published in the journal Natural Geoscience, compares what happened in the oceans 55 million years ago to what the oceans are experiencing today. The research supports what other researchers have long suspected: the acidification of the ocean today is bigger and faster than anything geologists can find in the fossil record over the past 65 million years. Indeed, its speed and strength — it is estimated that current ocean acidification is taking place at ten times the rate that preceded the mass extinction 55 million years ago — may spell doom for many marine species, particularly ones that live in the deep ocean. While the saturation horizon rose to 1,500 meters 55 million years ago, it will lurch up to 550 meters on average by 2150, according to the model.
Health Care
Report Warns of Rising Health-Insurance Premiums
WellPoint Inc., the country's largest insurer by members, is instating a 39% premium increase for individual plans by Wellpoint's Anthem Blue Cross unit in the individual market in California. The Wall Street Journal reports that at a news conference Thursday, Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius cited more "extreme premium increases," including requests that insurers made to state regulators to raise rates by 56% in Michigan, 24% in Connecticut, 23% in Maine and 20% in Oregon. WellPoint and other insurers say they are raising prices to keep up with rising medical costs and sicker customer pools. WellPoint runs the Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in Maine and Connecticut, where state insurance regulators denied the company's request to raise prices last year, according to the HHS report.
Human Rights
Iranians Protest Bill Limiting Rights of Women
According to an article in the New York Times, in the first burst of activism in months not related to the disputed presidential election, about 1,200 Iranians signed a statement against a bill that would further curb women’s rights, the feminist Web site Change for Gender Equality reported. The statement calls for other groups to protest the bill, which would give men the right to take additional wives without having to tell the current wives under certain conditions and would impose restrictions on alimony for women. The bill was approved last month by Parliament’s legal committee. In Iran, men can have several wives, but they are generally supposed to get permission from their current ones. Women have played a major role in the protests since the election in June, which the opposition claims the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stole. Many women have been jailed and at least several were killed in the government crackdown on street protests that followed the vote.
GLBT Issues
Virginia Governor Strips Non-Discrimination Protections For Gay State Workers
Gay and lesbian state workers in Virginia are no longer specifically protected against discrimination, thanks to a little-noticed change made by new Republican Governor Bob McDonnell. Talking Points Memo reports that McDonnell on signed an executive order that prohibits discrimination "on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, political affiliation, or against otherwise qualified persons with disabilities," as well as veterans. It rescinds the order that former Democratic Governor Tim Kaine signed Jan. 14, 2006 as one of his first actions. After promising a "fair and inclusive" administration in his inaugural address, Kaine added veterans to the non-discrimination policy - and sexual orientation.
Race and Racism
Utah Legislature Proposes Ending Affirmative Action in Higher Education
According to an article in the Salt Lake City Deseret News, Utah lawmakers are considering a resolution that would call for a constitutional amendment that could effectively end affirmative action and "preferential treatment" in state agencies and higher education. Republican Representative Curtis Oda is proposing legislation that would forbid state agencies, contractors, universities and colleges from providing preference based on race or sex. Under the proposed HJR24, state entities "may not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin with respect to public employment, public education, or public contracting." Federal law, such as Title IX, would still trump any state amendment, and the law would not apply to private businesses or schools, except those that contract with the state.
Wellborn Special Election Request Denied
According to a report by KBTX Channel 3, Wellborn residents are considering their next move after plans to have a special election where postponed. The College Station City Council has declined to address the Citizens for Wellborn's request to have a special election in May which would let residents decide if they would like to incorporate their area. More than 400 residents signed a petition in favor of calling an election earlier this year. Instead the City Council is waiting to have a workshop on March 11th when all council members can be present. At the workshop they will discuss ways the city can assist Wellborn residents in their efforts and see if other avenues are available other than incorporation or annexation. The College Station Comprehensive Plan calls for annexing Wellborn in three years to ten years time.
Local Politics
Waco VA Regional Office Adds 100 Jobs to Speed up Claims Process
The Waco Veterans Affairs Regional Office will soon add 100 new employees to expedite benefits claims processing to reduce back-logged claims. The Waco Tribune-Herald reports that the jobs were announced at a press conference Thursday with U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, and U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. The positions, which are being funded from the $787 billion stimulus package passed last year, are scheduled to begin March 1. The regional office services veterans in 156 North Texas counties and processed 126,000 claims in the 2009 fiscal year. Pending claims totaled 18,647 at the end of the 2009 fiscal year. A backlog of 3,731 — 20 percent — had been pending for 125 days or longer. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funded 91 new claims positions at the office last year, including 80 temporary posts that were scheduled to end this September.
Texas News
Study Finds Katrina's Impact on Crime Nonexistent
According to an article in the Houston Chronicle, a huge crime wave blamed on thousands of Katrina evacuees in Houston and other Southwest cities never happened, and criminologists warned public officials and the media to be careful in attributing crime to the former New Orleans residents. Five criminologists who reviewed crime statistics published a study in the current issue of the Journal of Criminal Justice, and found only a “modest” increase in the murder rates of Houston and Phoenix, and none in San Antonio, three cities that took in thousands of evacuees from storm-ravaged New Orleans. The researchers did not find an accompanying rise in auto theft and assaults and other crimes, which they said would have been expected if dispossessed evacuees were responsible for a crime hike.
Texas Politics
Texas Sues EPA Over Limits on Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Texas filed suit against the Environmental Protection Agency over a declaration that could broaden government enforcement of carbon dioxide emissions. The McClatchy Newspaper Service reports that Governor Rick Perry, Attorney General Greg Abbott and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples announced the lawsuit at a joint news conference to declare that the two-month-old declaration is based on bogus conclusions and could cause billions of dollars of economic damage in Texas. The suit was filed in Washington in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The state will also file a "petition for reconsideration" with the Environmental Protection Agency calling on EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to review her declaration. The EPA declared in December that carbon dioxide emissions constitute a threat to public health, opening the door to further regulation to control greenhouse gases. The policy could have a far-reaching impact on Texas, which produces more carbon dioxide than any other state and many countries.
National Politics
Record $3.5 Billion Spent on Lobbying in 2009
Lobbying appears to be recession-proof, according to a report out by the Center for Responsive Politics. Companies and interest groups spent a record $3.47 billion on federal lobbying in 2009, a 5% increase over the year before, according to the watchdog group, which tracks money in U.S. politics at its site OpenSecrets.org. The pharmaceutical and health industry dominated lobbyist spending in D.C. at an estimated $266.8 million -- the greatest amount ever spent by a single industry in one year, according to OpenSecrets. Other big spenders included business associations ($183 million), oil and gas ($168.4 million) and insurance ($164.2 million). Each of those sectors spent more in 2009 than in 2008. The biggest lobbying powerhouse was the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The association, which represents more than 3 million businesses in various industries, has held the top-spender spot for nine consecutive years. In 2009, the Chamber shelled out about $145 million -- the largest sum spent by a single interest group in one year. That figure marks a 6% increase from last year's lobbying expenses.
Foreign Policy
United States Steps Up Sanctions Diplomacy Against Iran
According to a report by IPS, faced with an increasingly impatient Congress and a defiant government in Tehran, the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama is currently stepping up its diplomatic efforts in the Middle East as it seeks to prepare the ground for tougher sanctions on Iran. A main goal, if not the main, is to persuade Sunni Arab states in the region to supply China's energy needs so that Beijing gets on board Western plans for more sanctions on the Islamic Republic. As senior administration officials have ratcheted up their sanctions rhetoric, the White House has dispatched four envoys to the Middle East. Top of the list is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is currently on a tour of the Gulf countries, where she has visited Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
War and Peace
NATO Troops Die in Afghan Fighting
Nato forces in Afghanistan say that six of their soldiers have been killed in a single day during their major offensive against the Taliban in the south. The BBC News reports two of those who died on Thursday were British; the nationalities of the other four have not been given. Nato says it is investigating an air strike which killed seven Afghan policemen in the Kunduz province. The officers were mistakenly hit after a joint Nato-Afghan patrol was ambushed by Taliban insurgents, officials said. On Thursday, Isaf said four Nato soldiers had died and Britain's Ministry of Defence confirmed that two Britons were among them. Then, in a brief statement, Isaf said two further service members had died during Operation Moshtarak on Thursday.
Environment
New Study Says Seas Acidifying Faster Today Than 55 Million Years Ago
According to a report by Yale Environment 360, a study published in the journal Natural Geoscience, compares what happened in the oceans 55 million years ago to what the oceans are experiencing today. The research supports what other researchers have long suspected: the acidification of the ocean today is bigger and faster than anything geologists can find in the fossil record over the past 65 million years. Indeed, its speed and strength — it is estimated that current ocean acidification is taking place at ten times the rate that preceded the mass extinction 55 million years ago — may spell doom for many marine species, particularly ones that live in the deep ocean. While the saturation horizon rose to 1,500 meters 55 million years ago, it will lurch up to 550 meters on average by 2150, according to the model.
Health Care
Report Warns of Rising Health-Insurance Premiums
WellPoint Inc., the country's largest insurer by members, is instating a 39% premium increase for individual plans by Wellpoint's Anthem Blue Cross unit in the individual market in California. The Wall Street Journal reports that at a news conference Thursday, Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius cited more "extreme premium increases," including requests that insurers made to state regulators to raise rates by 56% in Michigan, 24% in Connecticut, 23% in Maine and 20% in Oregon. WellPoint and other insurers say they are raising prices to keep up with rising medical costs and sicker customer pools. WellPoint runs the Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in Maine and Connecticut, where state insurance regulators denied the company's request to raise prices last year, according to the HHS report.
Human Rights
Iranians Protest Bill Limiting Rights of Women
According to an article in the New York Times, in the first burst of activism in months not related to the disputed presidential election, about 1,200 Iranians signed a statement against a bill that would further curb women’s rights, the feminist Web site Change for Gender Equality reported. The statement calls for other groups to protest the bill, which would give men the right to take additional wives without having to tell the current wives under certain conditions and would impose restrictions on alimony for women. The bill was approved last month by Parliament’s legal committee. In Iran, men can have several wives, but they are generally supposed to get permission from their current ones. Women have played a major role in the protests since the election in June, which the opposition claims the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stole. Many women have been jailed and at least several were killed in the government crackdown on street protests that followed the vote.
GLBT Issues
Virginia Governor Strips Non-Discrimination Protections For Gay State Workers
Gay and lesbian state workers in Virginia are no longer specifically protected against discrimination, thanks to a little-noticed change made by new Republican Governor Bob McDonnell. Talking Points Memo reports that McDonnell on signed an executive order that prohibits discrimination "on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, political affiliation, or against otherwise qualified persons with disabilities," as well as veterans. It rescinds the order that former Democratic Governor Tim Kaine signed Jan. 14, 2006 as one of his first actions. After promising a "fair and inclusive" administration in his inaugural address, Kaine added veterans to the non-discrimination policy - and sexual orientation.
Race and Racism
Utah Legislature Proposes Ending Affirmative Action in Higher Education
According to an article in the Salt Lake City Deseret News, Utah lawmakers are considering a resolution that would call for a constitutional amendment that could effectively end affirmative action and "preferential treatment" in state agencies and higher education. Republican Representative Curtis Oda is proposing legislation that would forbid state agencies, contractors, universities and colleges from providing preference based on race or sex. Under the proposed HJR24, state entities "may not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin with respect to public employment, public education, or public contracting." Federal law, such as Title IX, would still trump any state amendment, and the law would not apply to private businesses or schools, except those that contract with the state.
Friday, February 19, 2010
This Week on Information Underground
This week on Information Underground our studio guest are the Democrat primary candidates for Brazos County Precinct 4 County Commissioner. Incumbent County Commissioner Irma Cauley and challenger Bryan City Councilman Paul Madison will debate the issues.
Listen to Information Underground on 89.1FM KEOS on Sundays from 5-6pm after Tavis Smiley, for all the alternative news, politics, and commentary that you don’t hear in the mainstream media. To listen to Information Underground online and to listen to past episodes visit Information Underground on BlogTalkRadio. Tune in every week to hear headlines, interviews, and political and social thought to the Left of College Station.
Information Underground on Facebook
Information Underground on BlogTalkRadio
Listen to Information Underground on 89.1FM KEOS on Sundays from 5-6pm after Tavis Smiley, for all the alternative news, politics, and commentary that you don’t hear in the mainstream media. To listen to Information Underground online and to listen to past episodes visit Information Underground on BlogTalkRadio. Tune in every week to hear headlines, interviews, and political and social thought to the Left of College Station.
Information Underground on Facebook
Information Underground on BlogTalkRadio
Sunday, February 14, 2010
This Week on Information Underground
This week on a special edition of Information Underground: Republican primary candidates for Texas House of Representatives District 14 debate the issues.
Listen to Information Underground on 89.1FM KEOS on Sundays from 5-6pm after Tavis Smiley, for all the alternative news, politics, and commentary that you don’t hear in the mainstream media. To listen to Information Underground online and to listen to past episodes visit Information Underground on BlogTalkRadio. Tune in every week to hear headlines, interviews, and political and social thought to the Left of College Station.
Information Underground on Facebook
Information Underground on BlogTalkRadio
Listen to Information Underground on 89.1FM KEOS on Sundays from 5-6pm after Tavis Smiley, for all the alternative news, politics, and commentary that you don’t hear in the mainstream media. To listen to Information Underground online and to listen to past episodes visit Information Underground on BlogTalkRadio. Tune in every week to hear headlines, interviews, and political and social thought to the Left of College Station.
Information Underground on Facebook
Information Underground on BlogTalkRadio
Friday, February 5, 2010
This Week on Information Underground
This week on Information Underground our studio guest is Kimberly Brown, an associate professor of English at Texas A&M who specializes in contemporary African American literature and culture, black feminist theory, Caribbean women's literature, black film, and American and Africana literatures; and Chissy Nulia Uba, a junior political science major and president of the Texas A&M chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Our topics of conversation will include the current state of race relations in America, the importance of Africana studios, and reflections on Black History Month.
Listen to Information Underground on 89.1FM KEOS on Sundays from 5-6pm after Tavis Smiley, for all the alternative news, politics, and commentary that you don’t hear in the mainstream media. To listen to Information Underground online and to listen to past episodes visit Information Underground on BlogTalkRadio. Tune in every week to hear headlines, interviews, and political and social thought to the Left of College Station.
Information Underground on Facebook
Listen to Information Underground on 89.1FM KEOS on Sundays from 5-6pm after Tavis Smiley, for all the alternative news, politics, and commentary that you don’t hear in the mainstream media. To listen to Information Underground online and to listen to past episodes visit Information Underground on BlogTalkRadio. Tune in every week to hear headlines, interviews, and political and social thought to the Left of College Station.
Information Underground on Facebook
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