Aaron Krager Posts

The last time so many desired to rid themselves of a tyrannical president they declared war on the Union. Thus, your use of a peaceful means through petitions on the White House’s site is commendable. Furthermore, each state now finds themselves represented by a petition and signatures from people possibly wanting to secede from the United States. Texas leads the way with more than 100,000 people asking the White House to address the issue.

Indiana Senate Republican candidate, Richard Mourdock, last night:

"I believe life begins at conception. The only exception I have for to have an abortion is in the case of the life of the mother. I struggled with myself for a long time but I came to realize life is that gift from God, even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape. It is something that God intended to happen."

The AP is reporting from a Romney campaign stop in Nevada 20 mins ago that Romney spokesperson, Andrea Saul, said that Romney disagrees with his opposition to exceptions for rape and incest but that Romney still supports Mourdock.

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News broke yesterday of Change.org’s decision to open its platform to anyone except hate groups. Ryan Grim covered it here, Jeff Bryant here, and my own piece.
Initial talks between Ben Rattray, the CEO ...

In a shocking move the petition oriented site, Change.org, will open up its platform anyone, this includes the Republican party, corporations, possible front groups, and other anti-progressive causes. According to leaked internal documents the only parties not allowed access will be hate groups as defined by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Ryan Grim at the Huffington Post broke the story first.

Student debt jumped five percent for 2011 graduates compared to the debt load of 2010 graduates. It leaves young adults, typically just 22 years old, carrying an average debt of $26,600 before they even begin their first full-time job.
A rough job market is making things worse for them as 37.8 percent of recent graduates are working in jobs that do not require a college degree. These are low wage jobs and also likely to be part-time employment. The pre...

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The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart sat down with the President on last night’s show. It starts out with some soft but intriguing questions. It ramps up a little bit on civil liberties but Stewart does not press ahead. He would respond that he is a comedian and not a newsman. That much is true but sadly this interview felt more pressing than anything that would happen on any mainstream media outlet.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
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Today in the world of ignorance and pure stupidity we have the Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota. The school district is now in the process of forming a task force, following the national attention to a string of suicides by students and a federal investigation that revealed the school did not do enough to protect students from bullying.
This anti-bullying task force will have a bully who will try to push hateful rhetoric in the school district’s policy. Brian Lindquist, head of the Parents Action League,

Change.org and its founder, Ben Rattray, find themselves the center of attention in the upcoming issue of Forbes magazine. The article, already published online, tells the story of Ben stumbling into the online petition world and within a few years the site becoming a hub for online slacktivism – along with making millions of dollars.
Yes, the website that promotes individuals to create their own vision of social change is a for-profit business solicit...

In a moment by moment look at the second Presidential debate, Stewart looks at how Romney fumbled and Obama charged on. For some reason though The Daily Show has them in three different clips. Here they are for you laughing pleasure.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
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Today’s episode. The best news show out there!

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By now you probably saw the staged photo-op of Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan at a Youngstown, Ohio soup kitchen. After holding a campaign rally, Ryan and his entourage, arrived at the soup kitchen unbeknownst to the president of the faith-based charity. By then everyone had been served and the kitchen cleaned. Instead of shrugging one’s shoulders they decided to have the VP candidate rewash a few dishes… just to get that caring image out to Ohio voters.

This really is nothing new in campaigns. Each event, each moment really, is crafted to portray the candi...

Last night’s townhall style debate featured two candidates on fire and determined to win four years in the White House. Mitt Romney blasted Barack Obama for not doing enough while the President dished Romney’s multiple positions on issues right back at him. It was epic!

Oh wait, that’s not the debate and Candy Crowley is no Abraham Lincoln. The debate last night ran over time as Crowley allowed the two men to speak well past their time limits and jump over each other. Instead we have moments like this.

Crowley’s shining moment came when...

John Oliver continues his series featuring a Herman Cain presidency. A scary thought that the Daily Show contributor has turned into some great comedy.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

This is what I just posted on my Facebook wall in regards to supporters of Mitt Romney.
I cannot help but laugh at the ignorance coming from Romney supporters. Their simple-minded comments feel more like a punchline to a joke than a coherent case for voting Republican. This election is too damn important to rely upon one-liners or thoughts that Romney’s monetary success qualifies him to lead a nation of more than 300 million people… not counting the corporations, of course.
The civil rights of my LGBTQ friends are on the line. The ability for my peers ...

The second Presidential debate, in a townhall style, airs tonight as we enter the final three weeks of election season. The entire battle feels like an eternity in some cases as the Republican primary geared up last year about this time. It featured Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, Rick Perry, and of course the nominee Mitt Romney. Since then Romney’s conservatism evaporated heading into the first debate two weeks ago. We should not find anything new in this 180 because Romney is famous for his constant shifts on the issues.
On the other hand we have Barack Obama. Over the last 45 ...

A must watch news show. Amy Goodman is one of the best journalists out there and this show covers the underreported stories. I will be posting this on a daily basis so look for more.

Let’s see. A person decides to dedicate their career to teaching at a livable but below par wage in an inner city school that is underfunded, overcrowded, and plagued by urban poverty and violence.

Another decides to spend their time in the limelight, make millions in the markets, and then become a leading politician in the same city.

Yet, it is the collective group of teachers who are selfish, greedy, and not thinking of the children they spend countless hours trying to educate despite near impossible circumstances?

In a bold move, one showing solidarity in the labor movement, six union presidents wrote a letter to Change.org’s founder and CEO Ben Rattray that encourages him to clearly articulate his company’s position on workers’ rights and collective bargaining.

While we are encouraged by the fact that you have decided to end your relationship with both StudentsFirst and Stand for Children, we are very concerned that you have not yet defined a clear policy regarding prospective clients who have a history of attacking workers and supporting the dismantling of public services. An unequivocal public statement from you articulating Change.org’s position on collective bargaining, and on workers’ rights more generally, would go a long way toward clarifying what your brand represents.

The letter, dated July 10th, comes in the wake of Change.org’s decision to cease its work with Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst organization once the contract ends. Last month Stand for Children ran a petition on the progressive for-proft company’s site asking for Chicago teachers and the Board of Education to come to the bargaining table. All the while, Stand for Children has worked to undermine the teachers union. Progressive community pressure that started from a Chicago teacher forced Change.org to do the right thing.

Labor leaders point to Change.org’s own mission statement:

We accept sponsored campaigns from organizations fighting for the public good and the common values we hold dear – fairness, equality, and justice. We do not accept sponsored campaigns from organizations that consistently violate these values, support discriminatory policies, or seek private corporate benefit that undermines the common good.

They highlight the contradiction of it when the company works with organizations promoting anti-union policies:

Organizations that weaken workers’ rights and facilitate the privatization of public services undermine the common good for private corporate benefit. Experience has shown that when these services upon which the public depends are opened to corporate interests, considerations of equal access, fairness and quality become much less important than profitability.

During the initial dustup I wrote “Change.org says they do not take any official position and only asks that the organizations are ethical in their practices and policies.”

Promoting oneself as progressive and growing because of progressive support should mean holding progressive values – believing workers should have a voice at the table with their employers is an essential progressive value.

Signing the petition include: Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO, Randi Weingarten of American Federation of Teachers, Lee Saunders of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Larry Cohen of Communication Workers of America, Leo Gerard of United Steelworkers, and Edwin Hill of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

The letter (posted in full below) leads one to believe the labor unions could initiate a boycott of Change.org if the company does not take a stand in favor of workers’ rights. The company, founded in 2006 by Ben Rattray, has taken strong stands in favor of gay rights, immigrants and women’s rights. Why should the rights of workers be excluded?

Change.org’s spokesperson Benjamin Joffe-Walt replied to the Huffington Post:

“As we’ve noted, Change.org is undertaking a company-wide process to evaluate and clarify our client policy. As part of this process, we are reaching out to thousands stakeholders across the Change.org community through surveys and in-person meetings, including with the organizations represented in this letter. We are eager to engage with the millions of people who interact with Change.org every day, and we we will continue to actively seek input from this diverse community as part of this process.”

Did they do the same thing on other progressive issues?

The pressure on Change.org continues for now.