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thorny Thursday and some News ..

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Like most people… well those who seem sane are definitely wondering how Republicans are going to explain Rand Paul … he has a lot to offer … so says some on the right.

It is my hope that we do not go back in time to a completely different era where people of this country were treated as 3rd World peoples … lunch counter protests street marching and more should not be on any agenda but if so We the People should prepare, those who believe in equal rights for all not just some,  a few or a select group.

I believe Rand Paul is going to enlighten us all about Tea baggers, what they are all about and if not i will attempt to at least make sure people know what he has said in the past and present.  The Rand Paul page will be ( simple) and  hopefully show all or most of his feelings, interviews and comments in quotes that can be captured.

It is obvious to me that the Republican base has changed in a way that most Americans should turn away from.  The idea that the ideology of all  people on the  right truly want to practice exclusion; i may be naïve but we are a country made up of immigrants that include people who are not brown or dark skin who helped build the USA and should be recognized and respected; anyone who commits crimes and beyond should be duly processed and subjected to the rule of law … skin colour should not be the reasonable suspicion factor or element used to solve an issue that affects so many.

The Oil Dump along the Gulf Coast is becoming much more of a disaster we all need everyone in Government to get crazy over. The economy in the Gulf Coast is under attack and the 3stooges will never be able to really reverse the damage but the people should demand to be reimbursed for the Revenue lost; this dump will effect the Coast for a very long time and plans for the future of the Gulf Coast and its People need to be started … by our government.   The oil dump is now a month long and while things are being done; it all seems to be behind some sort giant door of secrets and or a group of folks who clearly do not know what to do… The effort by the EPA today is long overdue but the EPA finally took steps to stop BP from using the current poison and has told BP to use a different source within 24hrs; this is just one of several things that transpired over the last few days…

Kevin Costner has offered up a machine he bought  after the Valdez dump and hopefully this thing will be used immediately…and like others …tankers should be out there siphoning what is on the bottom on the floor of the Gulf where our Oyster beds are, Shrimping cages and while there are miles and miles of oil plumes out there no one seems to be dealing with those plumes floating toward the Marshes and Wetlands …

Other News…

**Bill Halter now leads Blanche Lincoln- 48% to 46%– in overnight polling for the June 8 Run-Off!

**News that Kevin Costner offered up a machine to drain oil out of the Gulf Coast is in fact a great idea…he bought the machine after the Valdez dump and hopefully this thing will be used immediately…and like others …tankers should be out there siphoning what is on the bottom on the floor of the Gulf.

**EPA has finally tells BP to stop using the current poison to disperse the oil dump on the Gulf Coast and change to a different one within 24hrs

**Don Blakenship/Massey mine hearing is today

**House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told The Hill yesterday that she vows to end Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell by the end of this year. “I don’t have any doubt that ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ will be a memory by the end of this year,” said Pelosi.TP

**Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has set Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan’s confirmation hearings for June 28. “I would urge everybody to come to the hearing with an open mind, listen to her answers to those questions, and we will make sure that every senator — both sides of the aisle — has ample time to ask the questions they want,” Leahy said.TP

**Congress about to limit political speech of bloggers? read the article at hotair.com


C-SPAN …

House Speaker News Conference

Toyota Recall

Lawmakers call for stricter Auto safety laws, Toyota to testify

The House Subcmte. that oversees auto safety will examine whether Toyota and NHTSA have taken adequate steps to investigate and correct Toyota’s sticking accelerator pedals. Lawmakers will also consider amendments to the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, a wide-ranging rewrite of U.S. safety laws. Toyota USA Sales Chief Jim Lentz will testify alongside Nat’l Highway Traffic Safety Admin. David Strickland.

watch House Hearing: C-SPAN3 at 10am ET
read Toyota exec: Electronics are not to blame
read Consumer Reports: Proposed Safety Regs.

Coal Mine CEO to Appear Before Congress For the First Time Since Disaster

Twenty-nine miners were killed in an explosion at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia on April 5th. For the first time since the accident, Don Blankenship, the head of Massey Energy, will testify before a Senate Appropriations Cmte. on investments and spending in mine safety programs. Mr. Blankenship is expected to discuss problems with his company’s ventilation systems and other issues for which the company has been

watch Senate Hearing: c-span.org at 2pm ET
watch Senate HELP Cmte. Hearing on Mine Safety (4/27

Mexican President addresses Congress: Immigration main topic

Mexican Pres. Felipe Calderon is expected to comment on U.S. immigration policy in remarks to a Joint Meeting of Congress. This comes as the House and Senate prepare for possible debate on immigration legislation. Yesterday he criticized the new Arizona state immigration law, saying that millions of immigrants “still live in the shadows; and at times, like in Arizona, even face patterns of discrimination.” The speech caps a two-day state visit.

watch Mexican President: C-SPAN at 11am ET

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ThinkProgress.org


UNDER THE RADAR

ECONOMY — GRASSLEY SIGNS ON TO ESTATE TAX BILL THAT COULD EXEMPT HIS ENTIRE FORTUNE WHILE AFFECTING FEW OTHERS: President Bush’s massive tax cuts for the rich included a provision that that repealed the estate tax in 2010. Though the tax is slated to spring back to the 2001 rate in 2011, the House passed a bill late last year to re-establish the tax at the reduced 2009 level. Under this rate, estates worth less than $3.5 million pay no taxes at all, while larger estates pay 45 percent of anything above that threshold. As a bill to reinstate the tax is negotiated in the Senate, some senators have been pushing to cut this tax on multi-millionaires even lower to 35 percent, while raising the exemption to $5 million. Iowa’s Sen. Chuck Grassley (R) has signed onto the plan, thus coming out in support of what could be an enormous tax break for his own family. Grassley’s net worth is between $2.1 and $5.2 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, so his entire estate could be exempted under a $5 million exemption. Moreover, Grassley’s proposed tax cut would affect few families other than his own. If the 2009 rate were made permanent, 99.8 percent of estates would owe no tax at all. If these levels were made permanent, the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities points out that “[o]nly three percent of taxes owed” would be from estates that are, like Grassley’s, worth less than $5 million. The vast majority of current estate tax revenue comes from the “extremely wealthy,” with 62.5 percent of revenue coming from estates worth more than $20 million. Beyond this, the cut would cost $60 to $80 billion in lost revenue, which would have to be offset with spending cuts or other tax increases. As the Wonk Room’s Pat Garofalo has noted, it’s a huge waste to spend $60-80 billion in order to help the wealthiest 0.2 percent of households while we have soaring deficits and high unemployment.

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PROGRESSIVE VICTORY!

Progressives are making history!

Progressives are making history!

What an amazing night for progressives!

In Pennsylvania, progressive challenger Joe Sestak defeated Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen Specter in the primary!

In Arkansas, progressive challenger Bill Halter advances to a run-off election against corporate Democrat Blanche Lincoln. Lincoln only has 43% so far in a Democratic primary — giving Halter a great chance to win the run-off.

Thousands of PCCC members contributed time and money to these campaigns — and tonight, we shocked the political world.

Can you chip in $10 to help Halter and other progressives continue the momentum in upcoming primaries? Click here!

Here are the top 3 progressive candidates on our radar:

  • Bill Halter (D-AR) — is campaigning for the public option and cracking down on big Wall Street banks. Senator Blanche Lincoln helped Joe Lieberman kill the public option and has taken millions from Wall Street. Last week, she proposed cutting Social Security and Medicare while giving more tax cuts to the rich.
  • Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH) — is the progressive running for Congress in a primary against Joe Lieberman’s 2004 presidential campaign co-chair, Katrina Swett. Annie supports the public option and is a longtime advocate for health care and women’s rights in New Hampshire. She’s running an amazing people-powered campaign.
  • David Segal (D-RI) — is a progressive hero running in the primary for Patrick Kennedy’s open House seat. He’s both a state legislator and activist — and forged grassroots coalitions to pass laws cracking down on big banks, which he’s promised to continue in Congress. He’s also running a fantastic grassroots campaign.

Tonight, we proved that our support can truly help good candidates win!

Can you chip in $10 to help Halter and other progressives continue the momentum in upcoming primaries? Click here!

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American Superconductor Signs $445 Million Contract (Update1)


By Mark Scott

May 17 (Bloomberg) — American Superconductor Corp. signed a $445 million contract to supply components to Chinese wind- turbine maker Sinovel Wind Group Co., helping cement the U.S. company’s position in the fastest-growing wind energy market.

The supplier, based in Devens, Massachusetts, will sell electrical devices for Sinovel’s 1.5-megawatt windmills for 30 months starting in early 2011, according to Greg Yurek, American Superconductor’s founder and chief executive officer.

“This contract will help us to continue to grow aggressively in China,” Yurek said in a phone interview. “If you want to be in wind, you have to be in China.” The U.S. company’s shares rose as much as 6.5 percent in Nasdaq trading.

Buoyed by $47 billion in stimulus spending for clean-energy projects, China installed more than twice the number of turbines in 2009 than in the previous year, Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimated. The country will add 18 gigawatts of capacity in 2010, equal to 15 new nuclear power plants, or double the wind turbines planned in the U.S., the second-largest market.

The contract extends an existing $450 million supply accord with Beijing-based Sinovel that will finish in the first half of 2011. The U.S. company made 70 percent of its 2009 revenue from the Chinese manufacturer, Barclays Capital has estimated.

Beijing-based Sinovel is China’s largest wind-turbine maker and ranks third worldwide behind Vestas Wind Systems A/S and General Electric Co. of the U.S., according to a 2009 report by Danish research firm Make Consulting.

Shares Climb

Shares in American Superconductor climbed as much as $2 in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. The stock traded at $32.43, up $1.47, or 4.8 percent, as of 10:10 a.m. local time.

To branch out, American Superconductor has signed several deals with other mainland firms since the fourth quarter of 2009. They include a $70 million contract with China’s Shenyang Blower Works on Jan. 2 and a $10 million agreement with Zhuzhou City-based CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Research Institute Co. Ltd. on March 3.

Even with the diversification, Sinovel remains the main customer for American Superconductor, Barclays Capital said.

“Sinovel continues to make up the majority of the company’s 12-month backlog,” Barclays Capital analysts said in a May 14 research note to investors.

–With assistance by Jeremy van Loon in Berlin; Editors: Todd White, Reed Landberg

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A border-only immigration bill?


Reform Immigration FOR America

TAKE ACTION
Tell your Senator:
We need real reform, not more grandstanding about the border. Vote “NO!” on the McCain-Kyl “Border-Only Bill” and get to work fixing our immigration system.

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For months, Republican obstruction has slowed work on immigration reform in the Senate. And now we know why. Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl have been working on a bill that ignores real immigration reform so they can continue to use immigrants as a political punching bag.

The Senators from Arizona have concocted a bill that does nothing to fix our broken immigration system. Their “border-only” bill focuses merely on enforcement and security – it doesn’t help our families, our communities, or our economy. It’s what you’d expect from senators who agree with their state’s decision to legalize racial profiling.

Tell Senator Maria Cantwell:

We need real reform, not more grandstanding about the border. Vote “NO!” on the McCain-Kyl “Border-Only Bill” and get to work fixing our immigration system.

Click here to sign your name and send a fax

The border-only bill does nothing to move the debate forward. All it does is provide political cover for people trying to stop real comprehensive immigration reform. We need a real debate on the floor of the Senate, not partisan posturing.

Send a message to your Senator: we need debate, not false solutions.

Thank you,
Marissa Graciosa
Reform Immigration FOR America

p.s. We need to get 5,000 faxes to Senators today to show them how strong the opposition to this bill is – click here to send your fax, then forward this email to a friend!