Truthout roundup 7/31

Bill Moyers and Michael Winship write on Americans' responsibility to call out our wayward leaders; McCain's newfound enthusiasm for offshore drilling angers some supporters; lawmakers fear a fall shutdown of the federal government; Senator Coburn blocks aid for paralyzed veterans; more than ever, workers' hours are being trimmed to part time; and more ... Browse our continually updating front page at http://www.truthout.org

t r u t h o u t 07.31

Moyers and Winship The Wave of "Capitol Crimes" Continues
http://www.truthout.org/article/the-wave-capitol-crimes-continues
Bill Moyers and Michael Winship write for Truthout: "Like the largesse he spread so bountifully to members of Congress and the White House staff - countless fancy meals, skybox tickets to basketball games and U2 concerts, golfing sprees in Scotland - Jack Abramoff is the gift that keeps on giving. The notorious lobbyist and his cohorts (including conservatives Tom DeLay, Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed) shook down Native American tribal councils and other clients for tens of millions of dollars, buying influence via a coalition of equally corrupt government officials and cronies dedicated to dismantling government by selling it off, making massive profits as they tore the principles of a representative democracy to shreds. A report earlier this summer from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform builds on an earlier committee investigation that detailed some 485 contacts between Abramoff and the Bush administration. According to the new report, 'Senior White House officials told the Committee that White House officials held Mr. Abramoff and members of his lobbying team in high regard and solicited recommendations from Mr. Abramoff and his colleagues on policy matters.'"

McCain Bets on Offshore Drilling
http://www.truthout.org/article/mccain-bets-offshore-drilling
In The Washington Independent, Sherry Jeffe writes: "On a January afternoon in 1969, Paradise was violated and the modern environmental movement was born. Six miles off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif., a 'blowout' erupted below a Union Oil Co. platform, spewing crude oil from drilling-induced cracks in the Santa Barbara Channel floor. It took almost two weeks to cap the leak and, before it was plugged, the oil spill had grown to more than 3 million gallons. It spread across 800 square miles of ocean, spoiling more than 35 miles of Southern California's coast.... In the wake of Santa Barbara's calamity, the U.S. president, a Republican and a California native, observed, 'What is involved is the use of our resources of the sea and of the land in a more effective way and with more concern for preserving the beauty and the natural resources that are so important to any kind of society that we want for the future. The Santa Barbara incident,' Richard M. Nixon concluded, 'has frankly touched the conscience of the American people.'"

Fears of a Government Shutdown
http://www.truthout.org/article/fears-a-government-shutdown
Mike Soraghan and Manu Raju report for The Hill: "The prospect of a September government shutdown loomed over the Capitol on Wednesday as the two parties fought over rising energy prices. It's a fight some members of either party are willing to have, but others worry about who will get blamed for a repeat of the 1995 shutdown that President Clinton pinned on a Republican Congress. Lawmakers and staff are starting to talk not just about how to avoid such a repeat, but also about who would gain and lose November election votes if it happened."

Aid Bill for Paralyzed Vets Blocked by GOP Senator
http://www.truthout.org/article/aid-bill-paralyzed-vets-blocked-gop-senator
For The Air Force Times, Christian Hernandez reports: "A bill promising more money for programs that help paralyzed veterans is part of a bundle of legislation tied up in partisan bickering in the Senate. The Christopher Reeve and Dana Reeve Act, which includes money for research into spinal cord injuries, is one of about 36 bills combined by Senate Democrats into what they are calling the Advancing America's Priorities Act."

A Hidden Toll on Employment: Cut to Part Time
http://www.truthout.org/article/a-hidden-toll-employment-cut-part-time
Peter S. Goodman, of The New York Times, reports: "The number of Americans who have seen their full-time jobs chopped to part time because of weak business has swelled to more than 3.7 million - the largest figure since the government began tracking such data more than half a century ago. The loss of pay has become a primary source of pain for millions of American families, reinforcing the downturn gripping the economy. Paychecks are shrinking just as home prices plunge and gas prices soar, furthering the austerity across the nation."