Barney Frank Endorses Joe Sestak For The Senate

Kos has the scoop ~

File This Under 'Say It Ain''t So': WaPo Profiles Kashkari For 'Faces Of The Recession' Series

Jason Linkins writes ~ Washington Post Profiles Neel Kashkari As Recession-Era Victim

Washington Post has been running "an occasional series of stories about how Americans are coping with the ongoing recession and its deepening fallout." ...This weekend's Face Of The Recession is Goldman Sachs's own Kashkari

...the Post tracked him down to Nevada County, California, where he built a shed in the middle of the woods in which to encase all of his remarkable pathos.

"I had to do something with my hands. It's a big amorphous unknown -- what's going to happen to our economy. And the shed is solid, measurable. I can see it, I can touch it. It's going to be around for the next 30 years. It's the opposite of amorphous."

...He opens his hands into the darkness: "This makes $700 billion seem small."

AAAAAAAAAARRRRRGHH!!!!!

~*~

Consumer Protection Act - Support HR 4173

From the inbox ~ right now, we need the message on the ground to hammer on three things to Members of Congress (Delaware's Mike Castle)

1. Do you support H.R. 4173 – Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act?

2. To strengthen H.R. 4173, do you support the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) and will you maintain the states’ ability to act? Do you agree that the federal rules and laws must be a floor, not a ceiling?

3. Real financial reform is crucial to getting the economy back on track and people back to work. That means reform that will police Wall Street from making our economy into a casino, defend consumers from abusive practices, and make sure financial industry serves the real economy, rather than being its master.

The well-financed and powerful Wall Street lobbyists are, as predicted, causing havoc on the direction of H.R. 4173 – Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act – to the extent that until amendments, good and bad, are offered, we can no longer simply state to ‘support H.R. 4173 and make it stronger.’ As noted, the fate of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, whether it will set the floor and not the ceiling (preemption) on the states’ right to act, and the regulation of derivatives are in jeopardy.

1. In response to the economic crisis, Congress is considering financial reform that should police Wall Street, defend consumers from abusive practices, and make sure banking and finance no longer treat the economy like a casino. Lobbyists representing the biggest banks and Wall Street titans who brought our economy to the brink are working to undermine tough and fair reform that would address their irresponsible behavior.

2. The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act must include a strong Consumer Financial Protection Agency, set a floor and not a ceiling on states’ right to act, and the regulation of derivatives.

Darlene Battle
DSEJ Director
Office302-656-3699
Cell 302-588-1782
dsej@ymail.com
de.head.org@acornmail.net

~*~

Frieda Berryhill Writes: Here Comes The Sun

American entrepreneurial spirit!!!
NOT NEEDED: $Billions in subsidies, no Emergency evacuation plan, no waste product dangerous for thousands of years, no health effects from emissions, not useful for warfare (proliferation welcomed)………

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."(Galileo Galilei)

Largest Solar Power Plant In the United States Planned for Florida
The beauty of "largest" records is that they just keep on growing. Florida Power & Light Company announces the selection of SunPower to build the largest solar photovoltaic power plant in the United States ,
Google builds largest solar installation in U.S. — oh, and bigger than Microsoft’s
Search giant Google will begin constructing the nation’s largest solar electricity system on its Mountain View campus, the company said today….
Solar Installations up 33% in US in 2006, 41% in World, Solar Capacity only Utilized 62%
Solar array at Nellis Air Force Base. These panels track the sun in one axis. Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Larry E. Reid Jr.
Nellis Solar Power Plant, the second largest photovoltaic power plant in North America
Avon Old Farms School Unveils the Largest Solar Installation at a Private School in New England
Tucson Region - Green energy to power 900 d-m households - Solar community to be one of largest in US
MGM Tower to Receive Third Largest Solar Installation in Los Angeles
The MGM Tower is also LEED Silver certified as of July 2008
900 Acres of Canadian Solar
A California company is preparing to install a massive solar installation near Sarnia , Ontario (across the river from Port Huron , Michigan ) that will be the largest

~~

SunEdison + Duke = Largest Solar PV Farm in U.S.
A deal between solar producer SunEdison and power company Duke Energy could produce the largest solar photovoltaic farm in the United States . Built and operated by SunEdison, the farm will be located in Davidson County , N.C. ,
GM Adding World's Largest Rooftop Solar Power Installation to Zaragoza Plant

~~
Atlantic City center begins installation of largest solar roof system in U.S. - The first section of solar panels has been installed atop the Atlantic City Convention Center. The power system is to be the largest single-roof photovoltaic system in the U.S.
Largest Solar Installation at a Transit Facility. (Chevron Energy Solutions)
“ Los Angeles is now one step closer to becoming the solar capital of the United States ,” said Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Chair Antonio Villaraigosa.
CUA Announces Installation of Largest Solar-Energy System in D.C. Area Harry Warren, left, president of WGES, Father David O’Connell and Scott Wiater, president of Standard Solar, soak up the sunshine on the roof of Flather Hall.
Catholic University announced in a rooftop ceremony today that it is creating the largest solar-energy system in the Washington , D.C. , metropolitan area with the installation of more than 1,000 solar panels

~~

Austin Council approves largest solar system in the nation, one of largest in the world.
The Austin City Council today approved (7-0) a proposal that would give the capital city of Texas the largest solar system in the nation and among the 10 largest in the world, when the project goes on line by the end of 2010.
SolarCity and Woodside Priory Unveil Bay Area’s Largest Solar Installation at a Private High School WHERE: Woodside Priory School , 302 Portola Rd. , Portola Valley , Calif.
NEW ENGLAND'S LARGEST SOLAR POWER INSTALLATION UNVEILED AT STAPLES DISTRIBUTION CENTER IN KILLINGLY, CONN. Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, Staples and SunEdison Install Solar Power System That Will Generate Clean Energy
Exelon and Conergy Complete Largest Solar Energy System on East Coast
Hamburg/ Philadelphia , PA - Conergy and its subsidiary Epuron have announced the completion and sale of the Exelon-Conergy Solar Energy Center . The 3 MW project is located on the Waste Management G.R.O.W.S 16.5-acre landfill site just outside of Philadelphia .
Eco Energy: Toyota installs the biggest single-roof solar installation in North America
Eco Factor: Toyota installs the largest solar rood in North America that is sufficient to meet 60 percent of the energy needs for its manufacturing plant. Toyota has installed North America’s largest solar roof top on its North America Parts...
World’s Largest Solar Project Planned for Saharan Desert If just 0.3% of the Saharan Desert was used for a concentrating solar plant, it would produce enough power to provide all of Europe with clean renewable energy. That is why 20 blue chip German companies are gathering together next month to discuss plans and investments to create such a massive project. Both the meeting and project are being promoted by the Desertec Foundation, which is proposing to erect 100 GW of concentrating solar power plants throughout Northern Africa.
The red squares in the above map represent the land area necessary to meet the energy demand of the world, the EU and MENA in 2005. The last square represents the land necessary for the proposed project to generate 100 GW of concentrating solar power. The project being proposed by Desertec would not all be situated in one location, but scattered throughout politically stable countries. Taken as a whole, the project qualifies as the world’s largest solar installation – 80 times larger than the PG&E and BrightSource project planned for the Mojave Desert . The power generated would be transported over high-voltage DC lines across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe , where it would supply 15% of the energy demand. The project is still 10-15 years from going online, but that’s why major players are getting started now.
Companies like Siemens, Deutsche Bank, energy companies RWE and E.on, as well as the German insurer Munich Re are all interested in getting involved despite the financial crisis. All of the companies claim that this is how they are fighting back against climate change, and that in order to avoid an energy crisis in 2050 they have to start building now. To build the 100 GWs worth of solar power a total of €400bn investment is needed.
Even more frightening than the energy crisis is the water scarcity that is set to occur even sooner. Taking this into account, the project hopes to combine desalination plants and agriculture along with the solar plants to provide fresh drinking water and grow crops in arid desert region. Concentrated solar power will provide energy and waste heat to create freshwater from seawater. Some of that water would then be used to irrigate nearby crops, while the rest would supply fresh drinking water to local populations. This concept is very similar to the Sahara Forest Project, which we explored last year.
Herman Scheer, President of the European Association for Renewable Energy is disappointed that these companies are considering such large scale projects and not distributed generation at the demand centers, and says that the Desertec project is “highly problematic” due to sand storms, dealing with foreign countries, meeting deadlines and so on. Others contend that large scale projects such as this are the fastest way to meet our energy demands and are a far better option than continuing buring fossil fuels. We’ll certainly be keeping tabs on this exciting project to see how it progresses. + Desertec Foundation

~*~

MoveOn.Org's Health Care Reform Overview: "The Good And Bad --And What We're All Going To Need To Keep Fighting For"

MoveOn.org sent this along ~

The health care debate has so many moving parts that it's hard for anybody to keep them straight. So we decided to put together an overview of where we're at—both good and bad—and what we're all going to need to keep fighting for. Neither of these bills is close to perfect. But we're entering the home stretch where we risk losing a lot of what's good in these bills and where we have a huge opportunity to strengthen the parts that need work.

Here's where we are: The House of Representatives passed their bill last month. The Senate is aiming to pass its version before Christmas. Overall, both pieces of legislation would do four major things:

Create a "Health Insurance Exchange." The bills create a one-stop marketplace where people can choose from various insurance plans, including the public option. The details aren't set yet, but initially the Exchange would likely be open to the self-employed, people without insurance at work, and small businesses.1 The key with the Exchange is that it brings "the bargaining power and scale that's generally accessible only to large employers" to individuals—and with that, lower costs and better options.2

Provide insurance to over 30 million more people. The House bill would expand coverage to 36 million people by 2019. The Senate bill extends coverage to 31 million.3

Outlaw discrimination based on pre-existing conditions and gender. Insurance companies will have to stop denying coverage to people with "pre-existing conditions." And they won't be allowed to charge women more than men for the same coverage.4

Eliminate coverage limits and price-gouging. The bills differ on some details, but in general would place limits on how much people have to pay for health care beyond their premiums. They both cap out-of-pocket costs and ban insurance companies from setting limits on how much health care they'll cover for a person each year.5

Of course, the devil is in the details, and much in these bills still needs work.
Here's what still needs to be fixed:

Both bills leave millions uninsured. The House bill leaves 18 million without insurance in 2019; the Senate bill, 24 million. Neither comes close to the vision for universal coverage so many of us fought for for years. We'll all need to fight to continue to expand coverage in the bills this year, and in the years to come.6

The Senate public option is weak, and conservatives are pushing to make it weaker. The public option is a core piece of reform that will create real accountability and competition for private insurance—and that's why it's at the center of such a huge fight. While the House bill creates a national public option, the Senate lets states opt out, denying their residents access to it. Plus, conservatives are working to weaken it even more. We're all going to have to fight hard for the strongest version possible.7

Many reforms don't start quickly enough. While some pieces of reform go into effect right away, the larger structural changes are not scheduled to go into effect until 2013 (House bill) or 2014 (Senate bill). This includes the Exchange, the public option, and subsidies—the major ways coverage will be expanded.8

Required insurance could still be too expensive for many. Both bills require virtually all Americans to have insurance. But the caps on how much we're expected to pay are way too high, and the subsidies are way too low. Many progressives are working to fix this, but it's going to be a significant fight.9

Reproductive rights are severely restricted in the House bill. An egregious anti-choice amendment in the bill virtually prohibits anyone purchasing insurance in the Exchange from buying a plan that covers abortion—even if paid for with their own money. We need to make sure the final bill doesn't include this rollback of reproductive rights.10

The Senate bill could discriminate against lower income workers. The current Senate legislation retains a version of what's called the "free rider" provision, which essentially penalizes employers for hiring lower income workers. This provision needs to be fixed before the bill is finalized.11

There's a lot going on in these bills, and we're all going to need to be vigilant to ensure the good pieces end up in the final bill, and the bad ones are fixed. It's going to be a rocky ride. But if we fight together, we'll come out stronger in the end.
Thank you, as always, for everything you do. –Justin, Adam, Amy, Anna, Annie, Carrie, Christopher, Daniel, Danielle, Eli, Emily, Gail, Ian, Ilya, Ilyse, Joan, Jodeen, Kat, Keauna, Laura, Lenore, Marika, Matt, Matthew, Melanie, Michael, Nita, Noah, Peter, Scott, Stephen, Steven, Susannah, and Wes

P.S. Check out more about the House bill here and the Senate bill here or here, and see what the impact of reform would be in your state here. If you want to read the full bills, for the House, click here or here (PDF), and for the Senate, here or here (PDF).
Sources:
1. "A Health Insurance Exchange: The Fine Print," The New York Times, August 20, 2009; "Health Reform at a Glance: The Health Insurance Exchange," House Committees on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor, July 14, 2009;

2. "Health Insurance Exchanges: The Most Important, Undernoticed Part of Health Reform," The Washington Post, June 16, 2009

3. "H.R. 3962, Affordable Health Care for America Act," Congressional Budget
Office, November 20, 2009; "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," Congressional Budget Office, November 18, 2009

4. "Top 10 Ways Health Insurance Reform Works for You," The Speaker of the House, October 29, 2009; "How Health Insurance Reform Will Help Your Family," Senate Democratic Policy Committee; "Meeting Women's Health Care Needs," The Speaker of the House; "Reports on Health Insurance Reform—Women," Senate Democratic Policy Committee

5. "Top 10 Ways Health Insurance Reform Works for You," The Speaker of the House, October 29, 2009; "How Health Insurance Reform Will Help Your Family," Senate Democratic Policy Committee

6. "H.R. 3962, Affordable Health Care for America Act," Congressional Budget
Office, November 20, 2009; "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," Congressional Budget Office, November 18, 2009; "REPORT: How the Senate Bill Compares to Other Reform Legislation," Think Progress, November 19, 2009

7. "Sen. Reid Announces 'Opt Out' Public Plan," The New York Times, October 26,
2009; "Carper: Conservative Democrats Not Likely To Support Senate Public Option," Talking Points Memo, November 17, 2009

8. "Top 14 Provisions That Take Effect Immediately," The Speaker of the House; "What happens before 2014?" The Washington Post, November 19, 2009; "Senate, House Democratic health bills compared," The Associated Press, November 18, 2009

9. "The Details of The New Merged Senate Bill," Think Progress, November 18, 2009; "REPORT: How the Senate Bill Compares to Other Reform Legislation," Think Progress, November 19, 2009; "Analysis: How the Senate health care bill stacks up with the House health care bill," Think Progress, November 19, 2009

10. "The Ban on Abortion Coverage," The New York Times, November 9, 2009

11. "The noxious 'free rider' provision," The Washington Post, November 25, 2009; "Senate Health Bill Improves Employer Responsibility Provision," Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, November 19, 2009 ; "The Baucus Bill: The Worst Policy in the Bill, and Possibly in the World," The Washington Post, September 16, 2009

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 5 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

~*~

In The Wall Street Journal, John Cassidy Showed Why We Should All Be Jumping On The Global Transaction Tax Bandwagon

It turns out that there is a long-time understanding of the potential free-market glitch of unintended consequences...one that in recent years, Wall Street's been taking quite a bit of an advantage of -- to everyone else's detriment.

( click to enlarge FDL image)

From FireDogLake's masaccio ~ Justification for the Tobin Tax in The Wall Street Journal

The huge securities trading of the giant banks is just that kind of problem: the value to traders is much greater than the social value. Society gains nothing from flash trading. In fact, every one of those trades costs investors money. It amounts to a tax on small investors,one that only exists because traders make rules that favor themselves. Day traders, who try to make a few pennies per share on rapid trading are doing nothing of value, and neither are computer programs that try to exploit price differences between markets. It isn’t clear that big chunks of trading have any value.

Goldman Sachs is a great example of this problem. For the last 12 years, GS has reported four categories of income: investment banking, which includes both income from underwriting issuance of securities for others, and income from mergers and acquisitions; asset management; trading; and interest. The [above] chart shows the percentage each has contributed to total revenues over that period (2009 is the first three quarters only.)

~*~

Is Everyone Ready For Winter?

(meghan eldersma's image)
My sister-in-law sent some seasonal cheer ~

Type in any Christmas song and see what the little puppets do. Also, type in any non-Christmas song and you'll get a kick out of the response. They get mixed up sometimes and sing the wrong one....

HOW DO THEY COME UP WITH THIS STUFF?
http://www.sundog.net/carolofthechins/flash/card.swf

~*~

Matt Taibbi Chews Tacks; Spits Out BushcObama Fiscal Policy Madness (For The Middleclass, Anyway)

Americans need to keep reading up on what's going on between the Beltway, K Street and Wall Street. Good to know that Matt Taibbi and the Rolling Stone magazine are grabbed up along the Main Streets.
Taibbi's newest piece is a video on Obama's selling out to Wall Street. EEEEK! BushcObama ~

Plus, don't forget to read Elizabeth Warren's HuffPo piece ~ America Without a Middle Class - and a Comment rescue ~

Now if you had just been making $60 million a year, instead of $60,000, your effective tax rate would have been closer to 20%. Wonder why the rich get richer?The house just passed an extension of the inheritance tax bill that would of expired next year. (Bush administration) This taxes 45% of inheritances over 3.5 million dollars. While it's good the tax was not repealed, it should have been raised to what it was (55%) before the Bush cuts. Ben Bernanke of the federal reserve wants congress to repeal social security, because "that's where the money is".

I think he must be blind on one side. The richest 1/2 of one% of Americans, THAT's where the money is. At least it is now, after the tax cuts for the rich put into effect in 2000.

The decade of the 50's was probably the most prosperous in American history. At that time the top tax rate was over 2 and 1/2 times more then it is today. If you really want to eliminate the federal deficit (Started by the Reagan administration by the way, at least post WW2) we need to heed the Fed chairs advice and "go where the money is". You can't get blood out of a turnip, and you can't tax the middle class when you have no middle class. I don't advocate tax and spend. Rather taxing fairly to draw down the deficit, it's only prudent. Something wealthy business people SHOULD understand.

- Averal

~*~

Ben Bernanke's US Employment Problem: 'Return On Investment' And Modern Capitalists' Inability To Value People (And Therefore To Invest In People)?

It was interesting that Bernanke's renomination 'interview' on Thursday was buffeted by two 'events' that he hoped would strengthen the notion that he's competent at his job: that BoA announced they'd decided to immediately pay back their bailout loans and that the unemployment numbers for November were 10 times lower than expected. But one couldn't help thinking that bits of Bernanke's testimony were off the mark. Is the Federal Reserve's purview --in some part-- having direct responsibility for unemployment or not?
Dean Baker nails it here ~ (via Atrios)

If Bernanke Did Not Know the Fed's Mission, Would That Be News? Not at the WSJ, nor it seems anywhere else. Yesterday, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke referred to the "our dual mandate, which is growth and inflation."

In fact, the dual mandate is full employment (defined as 4.0 percent unemployment) and price stability. Presumably Bernanke had unemployment in mind when he said "growth," but it striking that he would not use the right term. The two are of course not synonymous.

Comment rescue ~ @marcello - that has everything to do with 'return on investment', and modern capitalists inability to value people (and thereforeto invest in people).

Plus, if anyone missed Jim Bunning's (R-Kentucky) incredible smackdown of Ben Bernanke's job competency, lordy lordy, Read it HERE.

Meanwhile, Matt Taibbi takes it home ~

Bernie Sanders, as he did earlier in the year with the nomination of Gary Gensler of the CFTC, is placing a hold on the re-nomination of Ben Bernanke to the chairmanship of the Fed. I wonder sometimes if Bernie is the only Senator who is actually worrying about who is running our key financial institutions.

The problem with the Fed is that almost nobody outside the financial community understands how it works, and as a result the popular outrage over its behavior is not nearly at the level it should be. The Greenspan legacy of providing a sort of permanent, built-in backstop for Wall Street by continually loosening the money supply every time the financial services sector blows itself up in this or that idiotic speculative craze is something that should make every citizen muy enojado.

Now it’s even worse — direct bailouts of companies and billions in discount window lending coupled with zero transparency, zero taxpayer access to the Fed’s books. Bernanke doesn’t bear as much responsibility for the financial crisis as Greenspan, but his policies have certainly been in many ways a continuation of the the Greenspan era, which combined an extreme soft-touch regulatory posture (to put it mildly; it might be more accurate to say that the Fed hasn’t had a regulatory record for the last decade or so) with a Dionysan, drink-and-be-merry, fully enabling attitude toward the risk-taking crowd on Wall Street.

The Sanders release summed up Bernanke’s record: continue »

~*~

Global Transaction Tax Under Fire By Treasury Secretary Geithner; Whose Side Are You On, Timmeh?

Hours after this post was published, I read that Secretary Geithner was 'dismissive' about implementing a global transaction tax (Eschaton comment rescue) ~

Geithner Dismisses Tax on Financial Transactions as Unworkable By Robert Schmidt Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, throwing cold water on a plan by congressional Democrats to tax financial transactions, said banks and other market participants would find ways to circumvent the expense."

........Straight out of the George Bush textbook. Remember when GB said taxing the rich doesnt work because they hire accountants to avoid the tax? Geithner should be aboard the next rocket launched into deep space.

...The GOP will distort any higher tax on the rich as a burden on the working class, class warfare,freedom, apple pie. It's what they do-protect the rich and pose it as a threat to the middle class.The financial transaction tax is understood by everyone. If you don't play, you dont pay. - karamojo,2012 mayan

Robert Schmidt reports ~

The prospect of a so-called Tobin tax, floated last month by U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, is already provoking nervous U.S. financial companies to lobby for its defeat. Democrats, including Oregon Representative Pete DeFazio and IowaSenator Tom Harkin, this week proposed taxing large transactions in stocks and derivatives. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the idea has a “great deal of merit.”
Tobin Tax
In yesterday’s interview, Geithner, echoing some of the banking industry’s reasons for opposing a Tobin tax, said he was concerned it wouldn’t be able to be adopted globally, making it harder to impose. He also noted that the tax may hit less sophisticated investors, instead of the big firms. “There’s a real risk that retail investors, who’ve got fewer choices, they end up bearing the cost of the tax,” he said.

As you might have read at Bloomberg News last month, Tim Geithner's picked treasury staffers have come under scrutiny as a gang of Wall Street lobbyist insiders ~ which should caution anyone against their counsel. Whose side you guys on, Timmeh?

So I posted a few reminders ~ (via 2008 - Loaded Orygun blog)

Here is DeFazio (trans. tax sponsor) back in Sept. 2008

"Today, Congress stood up to Wall Street, the President, and Congressional leaders. I don't believe we should borrow $700 billion in the name of the American taxpayers to throw money at Wall Street's bad debts and cross our fingers and hope it will work," DeFazio said. "If Wall Street needs a cash infusion, it should be paid for by Wall Street. We need something more targeted average taxpayers." "We need to go back to the drawing board and craft a plan which does not leave the tax payers holding the bill," DeFazio said. "Wall Street should pay to bailout itself, not hard working Americans who are already struggling to make ends meet. I voted against the Bush Administration's cowboy capitalism, markets know best, deregulation at all cost policies. And, we've just witnessed the stunning failure of those policies. The American public didn't create this problem, and they shouldn't be stuck with the tab. The bill lies at the feet of those who willfully, wantonly, and irresponsibly created this mess.

...DeFazio's proposal would impose a modest one-quarter percent (0.25%) tax on financial transactions. This tax would fall most heavily where it belongs, on those who trade large quantities of stocks, day traders and speculators. The transfer tax would have a negligible impact on Americans who have retirement assets in 401-k plans. In the past, respected economists such as Larry Summers, John Maynard Keynes and Nobel prize winners Joseph Stiglitz and James Tobin have supported financial transaction taxes.

Well known economist Dean Baker, Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy, estimates a transaction tax along the lines of DeFazio's proposal could generate up to $150 billion a year.There is considerable precedent for a transfer tax. The United States had a similar tax from 1914 to 1966. The Revenue Act of 1914 levied a 0.2% tax on all sales or transfers of stock. In 1932, Congress more than doubled the tax to help plug the holes from the Great Depression. And today the United Kingdom has a modest financial transaction tax of 0.25 percent, a penny on every $4 invested.

~*~

Bernie Sanders Unfiltered: A Brave New Films Production

From the inbox ~
Hold on Bernanke

The American people overwhelmingly voted last year for a change in our national priorities to put the interests of ordinary people ahead of the greed of Wall Street and the wealthy few,” Senator Bernie Sanders said. “What the American people did not bargain for was another four years for one of the key architects of the Bush economy.” That’s why Bernie placed a hold on the nomination of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, a move that slows down and could block his confirmation. He talks about why he hopes the president will name a new Fed chief in his weekly Web video -- Senator Sanders Unfiltered.

Get involved and:
Sign the Petition - We Need a Change at the Federal Reserve
Fill out our poll - Federal Reserve, Afghanistan, and Health Care

~*~

Frieda Berryhill Writes: The Answer Is Blowing In The Wind

Delaware Mountain Wind Farm
Owner: American National Wind Power
Size: 30 MW
Location: Culberson County, Texas
Installed: 1999
American National Wind Power is a subsidiary of National Wind Power. This wind farm is National Wind Power's (NWP) first project in Texas and is located in Culberson County

~

Texas Wind Power Project
Owner: General Land Office & Lower Colorado River Authority
Size: 35 MW
Location: Culberson County, Texas
Installed: 1995
The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) teamed with the General Land Office GLO) and private industry to develop this commercial wind power plant, the first in Texas .

Photo courtesy FPL Energy (upper right)

Southwest Mesa Wind Project
Owner: West Texas Energy Partners LP, a subsidiary of FPL Energy
Size: 75 MW
Location: McCamey, TX
Installed: May 1999
This project consists of 107 Multipower 48 NEG Micon WTGs. Located 350 miles southwest of Dallas , the Southwest Mesa Wind Energy Project sits atop a 2000 feet mesa. The local communities and local landowners welcome the project and the long term business activities it provides.

October 2, 2009
Duke Brings Two Wind Power Projects Online
North Carolina, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]
Two Duke Energy wind power projects in Pennsylvania and Wyoming are now generating electricity.
To make a long story short, click on any state and see all the existing wind projects here: http://www.awea.org/projects/
U.S. Wind Energy Projects (As of 06/27/2009)

~*~

Are Progressives Liking Tom Carper's Health Care Reform Hammer? Not So Much...

From facebook ~

Public Option Please Sen. Carper's Stupid Alternative Is Not A Public Option

Daily Kos: State of the Nation The Carper so-called triggered "alternative" to the public option is a joke that I'd laugh at if it wasn't so painful to do so. It's a non-public triggered co-op non-option that progressives should reject ...

~*~

Health Insurance Profits Deemed Too Low, Aetna Opts To Squeeze 600 Thousand Poor Souls Out Of Their Policies Next Year

Sam Stein reports ~ Aetna Forcing 600,000-Plus To Lose Coverage In Effort To Raise Profits

Aetna's decision to downsize the number of clients in favor of higher premiums is, as one industry analyst told American Medical News, a "pretty candid" admission. It also reflects the major concerns offered by health care reform proponents and supporters of a public option for insurance coverage, who insist that the private health insurance industry is too consumed with the bottom line.

A government-run plan would operate solely off its members' premiums. Aetna
actually made a profit in 2009 but not at levels that it anticipated.

~*~

Public Policy Polling Is Unequivocal That Delaware DEMs Hold Sway For 2010 Senate Seat; Says Castle Is Peaking Early

Update: A friend of mine who would know (since she ran against Mike Castle a few times), says that Nicole Gaudiano is a GOPer hack. I guess that Gaudiano's deep swoon over Mike Castle was to be expected HERE. As for Charlie Cook, well, he ought to familiarize himself with Delawareans before making a fool out of himself again. And there's this comment rescue: "Is this the same Charlie Cook who Sean Hannity said was a "Republican?" See Hannity/Snow interview 9/6/06. Need I say more?"
Also...WTF??? More comment rescue ~

CharlieCook wrote:
I would like to apologize for my comment of a moment ago. I misread it thinking it said that I said that there was a 95 percent chance that Sen. Carper would not seek re-election, when it quoted me as saying Castele, if elected. My haste. piece stands fine.12/3/2009 5:42:51 PM

CharlieCook wrote:
I would like a retraction from Nicole Gaudiano and Delaware online. At no time during the briefing this morning, before, after or at any time in my life have I ever said that there was a 95 percent chance, or any other percentage chance, of Sen. Carper retiring in two years. I said "a good chance" or " a fair chance" but did not assign any percentage whatsoever to it. Any report to the contrary is false. Charlie Cook, Editor, The Cook Political Report 12/3/2009 5:34:14 PM

~~~~~
After a few days of Delaware GOPer wishful thinking, the nitty gritty shakes out. The Public Policy Polling's own analysis slashes expectations of any kind of a Castle edge. Or even the slightest hint of Republican uptick. HEH.
(via twitter) ~

Delaware right now voted for Obama and still like him

Castle's numbers right now may represent a peak, De is one place Dems should pull it out (if Biden runs)

Delaware is definitely somewhere Dems need to nationalize the election. GOP extremely unpopular

Going deeper on our Delaware poll, some good news for Beau Biden

Meanwhile, Jud Bennett writes ~

Congressman Mike Castle could have his hands full in the 2010 Senate Race. Conservatives are dedicated to supporting Christine O'Donnell, especially in Sussex County. Castle's Republican base appears to be severely divided. That being said, could O'Donnell actually beat Castle in a Primary? Former convenience store entrepreneur and local, conservative activist- Eric Bodenweiser from
Georgetown-apparently thinks so ! He writes a Letter to the Editor below:
The following letter was published in the 12/2/09 Sussex Countian
and the 12/3/09 Delaware State News:

11/28/09 To the Editor;
Christine O’Donnell, candidate for US Senate, spoke to both the Kent and Sussex chapters of the 9-12 Delaware Patriots on November 18th and 19th. She gave an impassioned twenty-minute speech followed by thirty minutes of real, straightforward answers to questions, not phony, political ones. Miss O’Donnell answered as to why she chose to run again for the US Senate seat currently being kept warm by Sen. Ted Kaufman who was appointed in a roundabout fashion by now Vice President Joe Biden. She explained that there are already quite a few constitutional conservative candidates that are throwing their hats in the ring for the US House seat being vacated by Rep. Mike Castle (a few names that come to my mind; Doug Campbell, Charlie Copeland, Fred Cullis, and Kevin Wade). The reality is that she is the only person strong willed enough to take on “Cap and Tax Mike” Castle who is also running for the Senate seat.

Miss O’Donnell deserves our full support; we should embrace her now so we can begin the war against Castle’s campaign machine. She explained that she plans to formally announce her campaign once she has reaches her initial goal of $100,000 in contributions. This is the same amount she reached during her entire campaign last year when she ran for the seat held by then Senator Joe Biden. This goal will only be a dent in what she will eventually need. I have been told that these campaigns cost at least $2 million to have any chance to win these days. In reality, I suppose the opposite will be true in that if Miss O’Donnell is unable to reach her initial goal she will never formally announce and we will all be left without a true
conservative candidate.

There are some that think the fix is in on this election. Attorney General Beau Biden will run again for his current position and the Democrats will not put up a viable candidate (Kaufman?). And why should they? Rep. Castle is as good a liberal as they will ever want. In four years Castle will have twenty-two years in federal office. He can retire on a fat pension and the Republicans will then let the Democrats resume the nepotism of the Biden dynasty by not countering with a viable candidate of their own. No matter whether this theory is true or not, this writer would just as soon have a liberal Democrat in office that I can count on voting the wrong way every time than a RINO republican that will constantly disappoint me with his votes. Will we allow Castle to assume the crown without a struggle? I for one will not. I look at it this way. We can either contribute to the O’Donnell campaign now or save it to pay higher taxes with later. Now is the time to start writing her checks so she can formally announce.

Here is what must happen for O’Donnell to win the primary against Castle: Independents and conservative Democrats must switch parties to gain the right to vote in the Republican primary for Christine O’Donnell and all conservatives must become active in Christine O’Donnell’s campaign. Her website is www.christineodonnell.com and phone number is 302-299-8066. Furthermore, we must all get our young people to become involved in the election process. Talk to them about what will happen to the future of their country, as the bills being incurred by the liberals today are the debts they must pay tomorrow. 2010 could be our last chance. In 2012 our current President will be back on the ballot and those who adhere to the entitlement mentality will be back to try to vote him in again. Please don’t let our country go down without a struggle.

Eric Bodenweiser
302-856-9395
9 Lynchs Lane
Georgetown, DE 19947
ericbodie@comcast.net

~*~

Two House Global Transaction Tax Bills Get The Blessing Of The Speaker And Treasury Secretary?

From the inbox~

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has reportedly come around to the idea of a global transaction tax. Pelosi discussed the tax with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner yesterday. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced bills that would impose a .25 percent tax on securities transactions the same day.

~*~

Markell: Delaware is Committed to Offshore Wind

Gov. Jack Markell's address to the American Wind Energy Association’s conference in Boston on Dec. 2. ~

~*~

State Releases Comprehensive "Plan To Strengthen Delaware's Schools"; Public Has 30 Days To Comment Before January Adoption

Regulations submitted to help every child receive a world-class education

DOVER – To improve the quality of Delaware schools and better prepare Delaware students for college, work and life, the Governor and the Department of Education have created an education reform action plan that represents the input of more than 100 participants, including teachers, administrators, the business community, parents, the disabilities community, higher education leaders, and legislators over the course of several months.
“This action plan focuses on four specific goals to help ensure that Delaware schools are world-class – improving student readiness, ensuring teacher quality, effectively using student data, and turning around persistently low-performing schools,” said Delaware’s Secretary of Education Lillian Lowery. “It is a plan that takes bold steps and was built from months of discussion from everyone who has a stake in the strength and success of our public schools.”
The Secretary and the Governor will be attending community forums in local districts to discuss the plan in depth and how the plan aligns with efforts to compete with the federal Race to the Top competition for additional federal dollars to invest in public schools. Today, the administration submitted for review proposed regulations that focus on improving teacher evaluation systems and turning-around struggling schools, which are significant elements of the state’s “Plan to Strengthen Delaware’s Schools and Help Every Child Receive a World-Class Education.”
The public will have 30 days to comment on the regulations before their proposed adoption in January. The Delaware State Board of Education is expected to hold two public meetings where the plan will be discussed. The regulations are available here: http://regulations.delaware.gov/register/december2009/index.shtml

“Every child in Delaware deserves a world-class education. From the moment they leave our schools, Delaware's students will compete for jobs and college admission against students from across our country and around the globe. Their ability to compete – and Delaware's economic future – depends on providing Delaware students with the education they need to make a difference in the 21st century economy.
Today and tomorrow, a thriving public education system is and will be the cornerstone to ensuring that Delaware remains an attractive place for families to live and for businesses to grow,” said Governor Jack Markell, who has been spending a few hours each week in a different public school to talk with its teachers, administrators and students about what they believe works best in public education and what challenges they face.
The plan focuses on four areas.

· Improving Student Readiness: Delaware needs to set high standards for what we want our children to learn. Those standards need to be benchmarked against both national and international standards to ensure that our children are prepared to compete in the world economy. Delaware also needs to measure effectively what our children have learned and use that information to ensure they are getting the best instruction possible. Governor Markell joins Governor Sonny Perdue of Georgia as the national co-chair of the Common Core Standards initiative at the National Governor’s Association.

· Ensuring Teacher Quality: Great teachers are the foundation of student success. Delaware will improve the way it prepares, hires, and supports teachers. Delaware must also evaluate how the best teachers in our schools developed those skills, and apply those lessons to developing teachers of the future. We will also better compensate teachers in the most challenging schools who have proven to be effective, and pursue funding capabilities to make that happen

· Effective Use of Longitudinal Data Systems: Delaware will use the data we collect about students throughout their education careers to support decision-making in the classroom and to determine what teaching methods, teachers and schools are effectively educating students.

· Turning Around Persistently Low-Performing Schools: Approximately 40,000 Delaware students are in schools that did not meet targets for educational progress in 2008-09. Of those, 26,000 are in schools that have not made their targets for at least five consecutive years. Delaware must do more to target those schools needing assistance so that all of Delaware’s children receive the opportunity to succeed.

A World-Class Education for Every Child

Delaware's Plan to Strengthen Our Schools

Improving Student Readiness: “Improve student readiness for post-secondary education and workforce opportunities by implementing rigorous college- and career-ready standards and valid and reliable high-quality assessments.” Delaware’s education community will:
• Continue to participate with governors and state education leaders from across the country in the development of Common Core standards.
• Work with districts and charter schools to prioritize the standards and develop grade level expectation for Delaware students.
• Assist districts in development of instructional programs based on the Common Core standards, including programs for students with disabilities and those who are learning English as a second language.
• Implement a new student assessment system to replace the DSTP with the Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System ("DCAS") – a series of assessments that can be given up to three times a year to better assess student progress and help teachers adjust to each child’s needs.
• Focus on incorporating Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (“STEM”) programs into schools, including the formation of a STEM Coordinating Council, implementation of STEM programs in all districts and some charter schools, and professional development focused on interdisciplinary teaching of STEM material. •Maintain link between student assessments and graduation/end of course requirements.
• Permit districts to opt into receiving flexible funding –

In order to opt in, districts must:

• Have stakeholder support for doing so within the district;
• Submit financial reports, including reports showing that the district has met goals set by the Department regarding the percentage of funding spent on instructional versus non-instructional expenses; and
• Increase student achievement.
Ensuring Teacher Quality: “Improve teacher effectiveness and equitable distribution of qualified teachers for all students.” Delaware’s education community will:
Provide Support for Educators:
• Strengthen the leadership in Delaware schools and the capacity of those leaders to engage with teachers to improve instruction by:
• Encouraging districts to use teacher leaders within their schools to provide day-to-day feedback and support to other teachers;
• Assisting districts in implementing a new collaborative leadership model that will allow principals to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time supporting educators; and
• Continuing to develop a pipeline for strong school principals by establishing regional leadership preparation programs to assist districts and schools in school leadership succession planning.
• Assist districts in providing more collaborative time for their teachers by surveying current practices and providing technical assistance to districts and schools to assist them in identifying scheduling changes that will permit shared planning opportunities.
• Implement a parent education and awareness campaign to promote parental involvement.
• Implement performance incentives for schools that show school-wide student growth, and allow teachers to assist in deciding how the funding should be spent.
• Utilize the DCAS assessment system to ensure teachers receive real-time feedback on student achievement and are able to use that data to inform their planning and instruction.
• Provide training on current data systems to assist teachers in identifying areas needing focus in their classroom and in using the data proactively.
Enhance Educator Preparation and Selection:
• Evaluate and improve the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs in our colleges and universities by using data systems to link teacher assessments to the teacher preparation programs from which the teacher graduated.
• Work with the institutions of higher education to establish teacher residency programs.
• Evaluate and support the newly implemented Teach for America program.
• Provide a statewide teacher application and website dedicated to recruitment of all education personnel.

• Work collaboratively with the Delaware State Education Association and the Delaware Economic Development Office to develop a statewide marketing strategy for promoting Delaware educator positions.
• Work with school districts on evaluating reforms that would help them hire the most qualified teachers out of college earlier in the process.

• Work with stakeholders to develop a robust program of alternative routes to certification for school administrators.
Improve Educator Assessment and Professional Development:
• Adopt a robust rating system, for both teachers and administrators, that will strengthen the link between student growth and evaluations of educator performance by:
• Re-defining the student improvement component of the Delaware Performance Appraisal System ("DPAS II") to require measurement of student growth, benchmarked against standards to be set by the Secretary after consultation with various stakeholders;
• Changing the current DPAS II rating system so that educators must earn a Satisfactory rating on the student growth evaluation to receive an overall “Effective” rating. In addition, change the rating system so that educators who earn a Satisfactory rating on the student growth evaluation cannot be rated “Ineffective;” and
• Requiring schools to provide a mentor or instructional coach to teachers who do not receive an "Effective" rating as part of their improvement plan.
• Work with stakeholders to identify appropriate student growth measurements, to ensure that appropriate levels of growth within the relevant school year are being measured for teacher evaluation purposes.
• Add to the evaluation system a new “Highly Effective” rating for outstanding educators.

• Require novice teachers to show appropriate levels of student growth among their students prior to offering continuing licenses and tenure protections to those teachers.
• Provide school leaders with additional training on performing teacher assessments.
• Implement certification program for professional development courses, requiring that state or federally funded programs meet National Staff Development Council requirements and be related to the State and school strategic plans.
• Require that professional development courses taken by educators be related to areas of improvement identified by the educator’s latest assessment. Ensure Equitable Distribution of Teachers across Delaware Schools:
• Build on the Teach for America program and other alternative certification processes to enhance teacher quality at challenging schools.
• Provide performance incentives for highly effective teachers choosing to work in critical areas or challenging schools.
• Provide hiring incentives for teachers choosing to work in critical areas and challenging schools.
• Collect data from districts regarding distribution of teachers based on the teachers’ assessment ratings.
• Explore other means of attracting teachers to high needs subjects and schools, including working with local colleges to better prepare aspiring teachers for work in those areas.
Effective Use of Longitudinal Data Systems: “Design and implement Pre-K to College and Career data systems that track progress and foster continuous improvement. Delaware’s education community will:
• Train educators to use Delaware’s highly-rated longitudinal data system to its fullest potential.
• Teachers, students, and parents can use data to provide continual feedback on how students are progressing, thereby allowing targeted opportunities for improvement throughout the school year.
• Educators can use data system not only to measure individual student performance but also to measure areas of strength and weakness across an entire class, so educators can identify areas needing remediation class wide.
• The data system can be used proactively to identify leading indicators for at-risk students, so that educators can be aware, for example, of students who may be at-risk of dropping out of school.
• Build on the current data system to permit cross-agency sharing to:
• Assist in ensuring college and workforce success;
• Provide teachers with key non-academic indicators, including attendance, mobility, and social services information;
• Provide parents and students with access to data systems to provide linkages to assist with college and workforce information; and
• Provide rich opportunities for outside research on education programs.
• Build a data governance process to ensure appropriate sharing of information when linking early learning, K-12, postsecondary, workforce, and social services data.
• Use the data system as a repository of instructional information and materials, which teachers can store and retrieve as needed for planning purposes.
• Build capacity in the Department of Education to use the data system for programmatic evaluation, to identify elements – such as scheduling and instructional changes – that have led to increased student performance.
Turning Around Persistently Low-Performing Schools: “Provide intensive support and effective interventions to turn around the lowest performing schools and ensure optimal student learning and growth.” Delaware’s education community will:
• Provide supports and flexibility to schools that have not met targets for educational progress in an area for at least two years. The Department will provide a school support team and work with the district to create an improvement plan that may include increased use of community partnerships and supplemental services for students, professional development and mentoring, use of family crisis therapists, and technical assistance. The Department will offer districts the opportunity to implement performance incentives to attract and retain effective teachers and principals.
• Expand supports and evaluate more aggressive reforms for schools that continue not to make educational progress. Schools that do not make educational progress in an area for three or more years will work with the district and the Department to implement a reform plan that may include replacing school leadership and/or select staff, providing outside expertise to advise the school, decreasing management authority at the school level, and implementing scheduling changes to increase teacher collaboration time and extend learning time. The district may also choose to institute flexible funding for the school, with performance incentives for effective teachers and school leaders.
• Pursue more aggressive reform in those schools that have shown a sustained inability to make educational progress. Districts with such schools will be required to make fundamental changes in the school, which may include closing the school, converting the school to a charter school, contracting with a management company to manage the school, or other major restructuring efforts that will vary depending on the school’s particular circumstances.
• Schools not meeting educational targets but whose students are showing growth will have more latitude, while schools not showing progress will face more prescriptive options, such as requiring new school leadership, instructional reform and extendedlearning time.
• Develop a "Partnership Zone" program in which a limited number of schools that have been well below performance targets for several years will partner with the district and the Department to chart a new course for achieving student success. At the schools, the Department and the district will negotiate and enter an agreement on how to turn that school around. Those agreements will require major changes in the school – such as reorganization of school leadership, redistributing educators to use them most effectively, financial incentives for teachers who join the school or choose to stay at the school, specialized educator training, and allowing new administrators to have critical flexibilities over budgeting and staff with appropriate oversight. Districts will also have the option of restarting the school as a charter school, contracting with an outside management organization, or closing the school. Changes implicating collective bargaining protections would be negotiated with the local bargaining unit, and the Secretary of Education would be empowered to resolve such disputes.

~*~