Did you ever work for minimum wage?

I did, while working my way through college.  That was back in the 60s, when minimum wage, adjusted for inflation, was $8.41 per hour in today's dollars.   Were I working my way through college today, I would have a harder time, earning only $7.25 per hour (today's minimum wage).  http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/07/sixties_budget_plan.html


Working 40 hours a week with only 2 weeks off for (unpaid) vacation, with no holidays nor sick days (rather unrealistic), I would earn $3,610 above the poverty level for a single person.  But, for a 2 person household, say I had a child to support, my income would be $210 below poverty level.  (The earned income tax credit would help some.)


How can we justify a minimum wage that is $1.26 lower than it was 35 years ago?

Economic Recovery???

Cartoon by Signe Wilkinson, 7-6-11, http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/signe/?c=r

Budget Deficit

It seems to two main causes of the Federal budget deficit are the economic downturn and the Bush era tax cuts.  Foreign wars come in third.  For more http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3490

Stop street harassment of girls and women

"Across three years I’ve received hundreds of stories from women in 30 countries detailing the sexually explicit comments, following, groping, whistling, and public masturbation that men impose on them, simply because they are female and occupy public space. . . . No country has achieved equality and no country will until women can navigate public places without experiencing or fearing street harassment."  The author describes 4 steps to stop street harassment of women.

From opinion piece "Street harassment of women:  It's a bigger problem than you think," 
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2011/0418/Street-harassment-of-women-It-s-a-bigger-problem-than-you-think?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feeds%2Fcsm+%28Christian+Science+Monitor+|+All+Stories%29

Drone Attacks

The Obama administration has increased the use of drones in Pakistan and elsewhere.  Because our administration does not provide information about these attacks, there is wide disagreement over the number of militants and civilians killed.  Here is a report using Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann's drones database at the New America Foundation.
http://counterterrorism.newamerica.net/drones

Estimated Total Deaths from U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2011

	Deaths (low)	Deaths (high)
2011*	49	68
2010	607	993
2009	368	724
2008	273	313
2004-2007	89	112
Total	1,386	2,210

*Through February 25, 2011

Estimated Militant Deaths from U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan 2004 - 2011

	Deaths (low)	Deaths (high)
2011*	49	68
2010	581	939
2009	265	501
2008	133	164
2004-2007	81	103
Total	1,109	1,775

*Through February 25, 2011

"A Force More Powerful"

An excellent essay on the power of non-violence:
http://www.examiner.com/soulful-leadership-in-national/a-force-more-powerful

Good News and Bad News

The good news is that the Pentagon says it will cut it's budget.  The bad news is that it is stepping up new weapons.


" The Pentagon is stepping up investments in a range of weapons, jet fighters and technology in response to the Chinese military buildup in the Pacific, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gatessaid Saturday on the eve of his visit to Beijing.

Despite billions of dollars in proposed Pentagon budget cuts that Mr. Gates announced this past week, he said that the Chinese development of its first radar-evading fighter jet, as well as an antiship ballistic missile that could hit American aircraft carriers, had persuaded him to make improvements in American weaponry a priority."

New York Times, 1/9/11, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/world/asia/09military.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha22

Sacred Bull