Gas Prices & the Middle Class Squeeze -ASK THE EXPERT

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http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/06/gas_food.html How are rising gas prices affecting household budgets? Is there an end in sight to the middle-class squeeze? And how can we ease the strain on America's families? Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Christian Weller answers the call in the latest installment of CAP's ASK THE EXPERT series.

McCain U: Energy & Environment - Appetite for Destruction

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http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2008/analyzing_mccain.html George Bush cannot be the bar against which we measure John McCain, argued Navin Nayak of the League of Conservation Voters. Nayak provided McCain 101 for the final panel of the day on energy policy. The panel included Joseph Romm and Bracken Hendricks, both Senior Fellows at CAPAF, and Nayak, who emphasized that while McCains energy policies look good compared to President Bush, voters must look at McCains policies more broadly. Like Bush, Nayak said, McCain opposes renewable energy, as evidenced by his votes against a renewable electricity standard and tax credits for renewable energy. Nayak also criticized McCain for voting against increasing automobile fuel efficiency, his advisors ties to the oil and gas industries, and the fact that McCains plan to combat global warming only calls for 60 percent reductions in greenhouse gases by 2050. Romm criticized McCain for what he called a placebo energy policy, which would do nothing to resolve the energy crisis, but would still make people feel better. Similarly, Hendricks criticized McCain for supporting energy policies which even McCain acknowledged would only have a psychological effect. Attacking McCains support of a gas tax holiday, Romm said, the important thing to realize about the gas tax holiday is that its just a holiday for gas and oil companies. Romm also argued that allowing offshore drilling in sensitive costal areas, as McCain has proposed, would have no effect on oil prices. Romm also attacked McCains plan to offer $300 million to the inventor of cheaper, more efficient batteries that could make plug-in hybrids more efficient. It is completely pointless for the federal government to offer $300 milliontheres no way you could actually award this prize. Nobody invents anything that is much cheaper than existing technology today. That only occurs when you sell a million units a yearthis is a complete and utter gimmick, he said. Panelists criticized McCains plan to build more nuclear power plants for a number of reasons. Nayak pointed out that building nuclear plants is expensive, and that the electricity generated by such plants would also be expensive in the absence of government subsidies. Romm said that providing such subsidies to a mature technology like nuclear energy would be a poor choice, and instead suggested subsidies for alternatives like wind and solar power. He also noted the difficulties in disposing of the radioactive waste that is a byproduct of nuclear power. [McCain is] trying to simultaneously appeal to conservatives and moderates by adopting ambiguous and ultimately ineffective positions, said Romm.

McCain U: Don't Get Sick

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http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2008/analyzing_mccain.html Overall, the goal is not universal coverage, it's cost containment, Peter Harbage said while introducing McCains health care plan. Harbage, Health Care Policy Advisor at CAPAF, described how McCains plan would allow a $5,000 tax credit for families and $2,500 for individuals with which they could purchase private health insurance and establish health savings accounts. Harbage noted, however, that the tax credit would grow at the rate of inflation, rather than at the higher rate of health care cost increases. He also said that McCain would allow the sale of health insurance across state lines. Currently, states regulate insurance within their borders. Jeanne Lambrew, Senior Fellow at CAPAF, moderated the discussion on health care. Panelists included Karen Davenport, Director of Health Policy for CAPAF; Karen Pollitz, Director of the Health Policy Institute at Georgetown University; and Harbage, filling in for Elizabeth Edwards, also a Senior Fellow at CAPAF. Pollitz set the framework for the discussion by arguing that a successful policy must make health care available, bring down costs, and provide adequate coverage, all the time. She noted that health care costs are unevenly distributed, and the sickest 5 percent account for half of all spending. Pollitz said that a competitive insurance industry will always try to limit insurance for people when they are sick, so the only way to make a competitive insurance market cover people when they are sick is to regulate it. She criticized McCains health care plan for deregulating health care and removing tax credits for job-based coverage, although such coverage currently provides health insurance to many Americans. Pollitz further faulted McCains plan for allowing insurance companies to choose the state in which they are regulated, and therefore choose which set of regulations apply to them. Panelists agreed with Davenport when she commented, for people with disabilities or chronic disease, those tax credits are going to be inadequate to pay for their insurance. McCains proposal would establish Guaranteed Access Programs, through which the federal government would work with states to provide coverage to those with pre-existing conditions. Pollitz noted, however, that the $10 billion McCain proposes to spend on these programs is only about 1 percent of the funding necessary to provide health care to this population. Panelists also agreed that McCains health care plan would benefit insurance companies. One of the top groups that would benefit from this plan is the insurance industry itself, remarked Harbage. As a factual matter, the individual market is more lucrative for insurers than the group market, he said. Davenport noted, its a fallacy to think that individuals are going to have the kind of bargaining power they need to find the insurance policies that meet their needs. Its called consumer choice, its really insurance company choice, said Pollitz. I think that people want good choices, and this plan offers them a lot of bad choicesand when they get sick, no choices at all.

McCain U: What Economic Policy?

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http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2008/analyzing_mccain.html Whats rather stunning about Sen. McCains proposalsis their magnitude, and the magnitude of the tax relief that is devoted solely to people at the very top, Gene Sperling, a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, told the audience. Sperling was a participant in the economic panel, which was moderated by Robert Gordon, also a Senior Fellow at CAPAF, and included Jared Bernstein, Director of the Living Standards Program at the Economic Policy Institute. Prior to the panel, James Kvaal, Domestic Policy Advisor for CAPAF, provided an overview of McCains economic plan. The panelists focused on the presidents influence on the distribution of wealth and national regulatory policies. Referring to McCains economic policy, Sperling said, I dont think I have ever seen anything quite like that. Sperling pointed out that all major presidential candidates from both parties support extending the Bush tax cuts for people earning under $250,000, but McCain supports an additional $110 billion in tax cuts for those with incomes above that amount. Additionally, McCain has proposed corporate tax cuts of over $175 billion. The difference between him and most progressive candidatesis about $300 billion per year, said Sperling. The panelists agreed that McCains plan to offset these tax cuts by eliminating earmarks and holding down spending was unrealistic, with Bernstein comparing cutting earmarks to bringing a thimble to a crater. This notion that we can hold the line on spending is a complete abstraction, said Bernstein. To offset tax cuts, youre going to have to go after the entitlements, and thats actually what worries me the most. Because they favor the wealthy, the Bush and McCain tax plans exacerbate the inequalities in the system, Bernstein said. Sperling added, corporate profits have not been a problem. The problem has been wages and jobs. He suggested focusing on creating jobs in the United States and ensuring effective regulation of the economy when crafting tax policy. Panelists pointed to the housing crisis as evidence of excesses in the private market and the need for government oversight. Bernstein said that such excesses can be squeezed out of the system with good policies, but noted that McCain hasnt said nearly enough about the kind of regulation we need in financial markets.

Debating the Divine - CAP Event HIGHLIGHTS

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http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/06/debating_the_divine.html The iconic public square where Americans of the past used to gather to debate the politics of the day is long gone from most cities and towns, but the spirited conversations that once defi ned these placesboth in myth and factare alive and well today. The topics of our current political and cultural conversations range from the mundane to the profound, but a recurring theme has to do with religion and politicsin particular, whether religion should be a force shaping our public policies and our common civic life. Of course, this is not a new conversation. Contrasting views about the role of religion in public life predate our nations birthfrom the Massachusett s Bay Colony, where officials collected taxes to support the Puritan church and compelled att endance at its services, to the Founders who disestablished religion from the state and drafted the Constitution without mention of God. In recent years, these conversations have been heating up. Invectives fly back and forth as opponents stake out mutually exclusive claims on behalf of truth, fairness, and the American way. Listening to each side, one is hard-pressed to tell whether we are a God-saturated, intolerant, antiintellectual theocracyor a severely secular nation that punishes the practice of religion and banishes God altogether from our laws, policies, and public life. Debating the Divine: Religion in 21st Century American Democracy aims to turn down the heat and turn up the light. Because the issue of religion in public life is complex, encompassing theory, history, and practice, we purposely did not set up a narrowly-focused debate in which each side shot at the other, and the side with the fiercest arguments and most adherents won. Instead, we have chosen to examine the many facets of the issue in a thoughtful way, in hopes of finding new insights and, perhaps, common ground.

How to Close Guantanamo - ASK THE EXPERT - CAP's Gude

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http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/06/guantanamo.html President George W. Bush is fond of saying that his administration tackles challenges head-on and refuses to leave tough decisions to his successors. No description could be further from the truth when applied to his policy at Guantánamo. Regardless of what happens over these last months of the Bush administration, the next president will inherit a detainee policy in total disarray. Transfers out of Guantánamo have stalled; the easier cases have already been shipped out, leaving a population stabilizing at around 270 detainees. Trials of Guantánamo detainees in Military Commissions are sputtering as the unproven system struggles to get through simple procedural hearings. Future prosecutions have been thrown into doubt as charges were dropped against a detainee once thought to be the 20th hijacker on 9/11 because too much of the evidence against him was obtained through torture. In its third successive decision rebuking the Bush administrations detention policies, the Supreme Court recently ruled that the Guantánamo detainees have a constitutional right to habeas corpus. This decision will finally allow the detainees to contest the lawfulness of their confinement in a truly impartial hearing before a federal judge, rejecting the Bush administrations contention that Guantánamo existed outside the law. And beyond the prisons walls on the eastern tip of Cuba, serious problems have arisen in Afghanistan as both U.S.- and Afghan-run detention camps are replicating the worst excesses of Guantánamo. One critical conceptual error of the architects of Guantánamo within the Bush administrationan exclusive focus on the threat posed by the detainees themselveshas frustrated the efforts of senior officials like Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to overcome the prisons deficiencies. This myopic vision has completely discounted the strategic impact Guantánamo has had on the global security environment. In the Bush administrations paradigm, the risk of transferring or releasing any one detainee is measured only against the potential harm that individual might do if set free, a calculus always tilted in favor of continued detention in cases when doubt exists. In this context, the status quo gives the illusion of perfect security dramatically increasing the burden on those arguing for alternatives to Guantánamo. The reality is that the potential harm from Guantánamo detainees to American interests is not limited to the prospect of violence perpetrated after release. Guantánamo as currently constructed has become a symbol of a rogue American hegemony that disregards the rule of law, even as it uses calls for freedom and democracy as a weapon to assert its influence across the globe. The perpetuation of that symbol does great damage to American interests. Recognizing this new paradigm significantly alters the landscape when considering the future of Guantánamo and strongly favors closing the prison and pursuing alternative regimes for those detainees that require additional imprisonment. Counterintuitively, reaching the threshold decision to close Guantánamo will be the easiest part of cleaning up the catastrophe of U.S. detention policy. The next president will confront numerous obstacles in any effort to make changes at Guantánamo and to all U.S. detention policy, including: overturning the massive current credibility and legitimacy deficit of the United States; satisfying the real security challenges posed by some the detainees and respecting legitimate anxieties and fears about future acts of terrorism; building a far greater level of international cooperation, because even though this is an American problem, the United States cannot solve it on its own; deciding who among the Guantánamo detainees should stand trial, which trial venue is most appropriate, and what evidence can be used in those trials; and finding a new home for those detainees that are not going to be tried.

What is SUSTAINABLE SECURITY? CAP's Gayle Smith

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http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/06/sustainable_security.html That much of the world has lost faith in America bodes ill for our national security because our role in the world is secured not simply by our military power or economic clout, but also by our ability to compel other nations to follow our lead. The next president will have the opportunity to craft a modern national security strategy that can equip the United States to lead a majority of capable, democratic states in pursuit of a global common gooda strategy that can guide a secure America that is the worlds champion for all of us. But positioning America to lead in a 21st century world will take more than extending a hand to our allies, fixing a long list of misdirected policies, or crafting a new national security strategy that is tough but also smart. With globalization providing the immutable backdrop to our foreign policy, America is today competing on a global playing field that is more complex, dynamic, and interdependent and thus far less certain than in the past. Leading in this new world will require a fundamental shift from our outdated notion of national security to a more modern concept of sustainable securitythat is, our security as defined by the contours of a world gone global and shaped by our common humanity. Sustainable security combines three approaches: * National security, or the safety of the United States * Human ƒsecurity, or the well-being and safety of people * Collective ƒsecurity, or the shared interests of the entire world Sustainable security, in short, can shape our continued ability to simultaneously prevent or defend against real-time threats to America, reduce the sweeping human insecurity around the world, and manage long term threats to our collective, global security. This new approach takes into account the many (and ongoing) changes that have swept our planet since the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union.

Ante Up for Africa - Las Vegas Poker Tournament for Darfur

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http://www.anteupforafrica.org/ http://www.enoughproject.org/ The ENOUGH! Project to stop Genocide & Crimes Against Humanity is once again partnering for the 2nd annual Ante Up for Africa, No Limit Texas Hold-Em Tournament in association with the World Series of Poker. Proceeds from the event will once again go to charities that provide aid and assistance to the survivors of the crisis in Darfur, Sudan and support activism dedicated to resolving this crisis. Last year we raised over $700,000 and hope to exceed that this year on July 2nd at 2pm at the WSOP® in the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. The situation in Darfur, although improved in some ways since our tournament last year, continues to be perilous. Government forces in Sudan embarked upon a campaign of ethnic cleansing that has to date resulted in 400,000 dead and almost 4 million people displaced, living in squalor in refugee camps on the Chad/Sudan border. Deployment of peacekeeping troops has been authorized but helicopters and other supplies are needed to make this a reality. A new U.S. envoy has begun high level talks with the Sudanese government and the International Criminal Court has indicted two top Sudanese officials with more indictments expected to come so pressure is definitely mounting. Last year companies were just beginning to divest themselves of holdings in those entities doing business with Sudan. Now, among others, Berkshire Hathaway and Fidelity have sold all of their holdings in companies that do business there. This is tens of millions of dollars of divestiture. Also 22 states in the U.S. have passed laws barring their pension funds from investing in companies doing business in Sudan. Other states, including Nevada, have initiatives pending to accomplish the same thing. Our hope is that through efforts like Ante Up For Africa, we can continue to keep the issue in the spotlight while providing real funds to support the efforts of peacekeepers and aid workers on the ground.

Conservatives Dominate Talk Radio - CAP's Palmieri on FNC

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http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/06/talk_radio.html Despite the dramatic expansion of viewing and listening options for consumers today, traditional radio remains one of the most widely used media formats in America. Arbitron, the national radio ratings company, reports that more than 90 percent of Americans ages 12 or older listen to radio each week, a higher penetration than television, magazines, newspapers, or the Internet. Although listening hours have declined slightly in recent years, Americans listened on average to 19 hours of radio per week in 2006. Among radio formats, the combined news/talk format (which includes news/talk/information and talk/personality) leads all others in terms of the total number of stations per format and trails only country music in terms of national audience share. Through more than 1,700 stations across the nation, the combined news/talk format is estimated to reach more than 50 million listeners each week. Conservative talk radio undeniably dominates the format: * Our analysis in the spring of 2007 of the 257 news/talk stations owned by the top five commercial station owners reveals that 91 percent of the total weekday talk radio programming is conservative, and 9 percent is progressive. * Each weekday, 2,570 hours and 15 minutes of conservative talk are broadcast on these stations compared to 254 hours of progressive talk10 times as much conservative talk as progressive talk. * A separate analysis of all of the news/talk stations in the top 10 radio markets reveals that 76 percent of the programming in these markets is conservative and 24 percent is progressive, although programming is more balanced in markets such as New York and Chicago. This dynamic is repeated over and over again no matter how the data is analyzed, whether one looks at the number of stations, number of hours, power of stations, or the number of programs. While progressive talk is making inroads on commercial stations, conservative talk continues to be pushed out over the airwaves in greater multiples of hours than progressive talk is broadcast. These empirical findings may not be surprising given general impressions about the format, but they are stark and raise serious questions about whether the companies licensed to broadcast over the public airwaves are serving the listening needs of all Americans.

Bruce Schneier on Identification & I.D. Security

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Bruce Schneier is the chief security technology officer of BT. An internationally renowned security technologist, he is referred to by The Economist as a "security guru." He is the author of eight books, including the best sellers Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly about Security in an Uncertain World, Secrets and Lies, and Applied Cryptography, as well as hundreds of academic articles and papers, and the influential Blowfish and Twofish encryption algorithms. Best known as a refreshingly candid and lucid security critic and commentator, his influential newsletter "Crypto-Gram," and his blog "Schneier on Security," are read by over 250,000 people. He has testified before Congress on several occasions, and has served on several government technical committees. He is a prolific writer and lecturer, and his essays have been published in national and international publications. He is a frequent guest on television and radio, and is regularly quoted in the press on issues surrounding security and privacy.

Identity & Biometrics - Bruce Schneier at CAP

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http://www.americanprogress.org/events/2008/06/progressive.html Security of personal information is also a concern of identification and authentication systems. No ID system can be more secure than the breeder documents used to get that ID, says Bruce Schneier. If a birth certificate is used to obtain an ID card, the ID itself cannot be more reliable than the birth certificate, because that is the breeder document. It was easy for the September 11 terrorists to obtain authentic IDs from the DMV by bribing a DMV clerk. If the issuance procedures have flawsand they all willthat will hurt security.

Domestic Partner Benefits for Federal Employees - HIGHLIGHTS

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In 1997 President Bill Clinton nominated Jim Hormel to be the first openly gay Ambassador to Luxembourg. After a 20-month politically divisive battle, Secretary Albright swore in Ambassador Hormel. Two years later, in 2001, President Bush nominated Michael Guest to be ambassador to Romania. While there was no battle for confirmation, what both ambassadors had to cope with was an inequitable system that treated them and their committed partners differently under the law. Federal Employees, whether in the foreign service or working in a regional office of HHS, are denied the ability to purchase domestic partner benefits. The Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act (S. 2521 and H.R. 4838) would provide domestic partnership benefits to all federal civilian employees on the same basis as spousal benefits. These benefits, available for same sex domestic partners of federal employees, would include participation in applicable retirement programs, compensation for work injuries, and life and health insurance benefits. By offering health benefits to the domestic partners of federal employees, employment practices in the federal government would be in line with those of Americas largest and most successful corporations, including AT&T, General Motors, and Raytheon. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Sen Gordon Smith, Rep Tammy Baldwin and others appeared at a June 11, 2008 event at the Center for American Progress (CAPAF) to discuss the current policy and the future.

Lationos and the Electorate -- ASK THE EXPERT

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http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/06/cardenas_video.html Why do politicians need to start paying attention to Latinos? And what are the biggest issues facing Latino voters right now? Vanessa Cardenas of the Center for American Progress answers these questions in the latest installment of CAP's ASK THE EXPERT series.

The ID Divide - HIGHLIGHTS

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http://www.americanprogress.org/pressroom/releases/2008/06/ID_Divide_Release.html This spring, 12 nuns were turned away from voting booths during the Indiana presidential primary because they lacked state identification (none of them drove). This was a stark reminder that the recent Supreme Court ruling that upheld Indiana's voter ID law poses lasting consequences for our democracy. This issue of voter identification is just one of the identification issues addressed in a major new report by Cassandra Butts and Peter Swire: "The ID Divide: Addressing Problems of Identification and Authentication in American Society." Much like the "digital divide," the ID Divide is an easily overlooked but vital reality that affects many in our country. Over 20 million adult citizens lack government-issued photo ID, while victims of identity theft and those put on watch lists also fall on the wrong side of the divide. Badly-designed new ID programs, furthermore, may well impose large costs on ordinary citizens, including raising the risk of identity theft. The report stems from the Progressive Identity Project, which included experts in the many areas affected by identification issues: national and homeland security, immigration, voting rights, electronic health records, computer security, and privacy and civil liberties. The report proposes six new Progressive Principles for Identification, and sets forth a comprehensive approach for how the next administration should address issues of identification and authentication. Featured Panelists: Jim Harper, Director of Information Policy Studies, Cato Institute Bruce Schneier, Founder and Chief Technology Officer, BT Counterpane Peter P. Swire, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress; C. William ONeill Professor at the Moritz College of Law of the Ohio State University Tova A. Wang, Vice President for Research, Common Cause Moderated by: Cassandra Q. Butts, Senior Vice President for Domestic Policy, Center for American Progress

Young People & The Economy - ASK THE EXPERT

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How do young people think about the economy? What separates young people's views from those of older generations? What role will young peoples economic views play in the elections? Amanda Logan of the Center for American Progress answers these questions in the latest installment of CAP's ASK THE EXPERT series.

Rep Ed Markey on Congress & Climate Change - HIGHLIGHTS

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The 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports clearly indicate the need for urgent action to reduce the dangerous build-up of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere. With the international community moving forward on the next climate change agreement and states and cities in the United States taking steps to reduce global warming pollution, national action is overdue. Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming and senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee discussed his views on federal climate policy and announced new legislation called iCAP. Markey has spent over 30 years in the House of Representatives developing progressive energy and environmental policies, including the increase in fuel economy standards that became law in December as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act

Rep Edward Markey on the Future of Climate Change Legislation iCAP

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The 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports clearly indicate the need for urgent action to reduce the dangerous build-up of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere. With the international community moving forward on the next climate change agreement and states and cities in the United States taking steps to reduce global warming pollution, national action is overdue.

Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming and senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee discussed  his views on federal climate policy and announced new legislation called iCAP.

Markey has spent over 30 years in the House of Representatives developing progressive energy and environmental policies, including the increase in fuel economy standards that became law in December as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act.

Is the Housing Crisis Over? ASK THE EXPERT

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http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/05/helping_homeowners.html Andrew Jakabovics of the Center for American Progress sits down with our cameras for this latest installment in CAP's ASK THE EXPERT SERIES to answer these questions: Is the housing crisis over? What does the congressional legislation do and will it help? And what's left to be done?

ThinkProgress.org

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http://thinkprogress.org/ Think Progress is a project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. The Center for American Progress Action Fund is a nonpartisan organization. With the blog, CAPAF seeks to provide a forum that advances progressive ideas and policies. ThinkProgress was voted Best Liberal Blog in the 2006 Weblog Awards. It was also named best blog of 2008 by The Sidney Hillman Foundation, receiving an award for journalism excellence.

The Crisis In Myanmar (Burma) - ASK THE EXPERT - Sally Steenland

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Why should the United States and international community help the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar? What are our options given the principles of national sovereignty? And does the United States have anything to gain from humanitarian intervention in Myanmar?

Sen Joe Biden -- The Progressive Vision for US Foreign Policy

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http://www.americanprogressaction.org/events/2008/senbiden.html 

Last week, Senator John McCain laid out what he hopes to achieve with his foreign policy by 2013without a single sentence on how he expects to actually get there.  In a speech and Q&A session at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joe Biden will challenge in detailand offer a progressive alternative toSen. McCains foreign policy ideas.

Senator Chuck Hagel on the Future of US National Security - Center for American Progress

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http://www.americanprogress.org/events/2008/05/senatorhagel.html

Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) visited the Center for American Progress to discuss the national security challenges facing the next American President.

Lawless Lands in Pakistan - Safe Havens for al Queda

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http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/terrorism Caroline Wadhams of the Center for American Progress discusses the lawless lands in Pakistan's frontier areas, lands where al Queda have regrouped and use as their operational base. THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS America at its best. That's Progressive

Congress Gives Stem Cells Another Shot -ASK THE EXPERT- Jonathan Moreno

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http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/05/moreno_video.html Jonathan Moreno of the Center for American Progress talks about a why the new effort in Congress to lift the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research is vital to move research forward.

Cut Poverty By 50% in 10 Years - www.HalfInTen.org

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http://www.halfinten.org/index.html Half in Ten plans to reduce poverty in the United States by 50 percent within 10 years. Under the leadership of Senator John Edwards, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), the Center for American Progress Action Fund (CAPAF), the Coalition on Human Needs (CHN), and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), have joined forces on the campaign to: (1) Elevate and sustain a focus on the situations facing the poor and middle class today (2) Build and strengthen an effective constituency to demand legislative action on poverty and economic mobility (3) Advance specific legislative and policy proposals that will deliver real benefits to struggling American families For more information on how to reduce poverty in America, see From Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half by the Center for American Progress Task Force on Poverty.

Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb) on Security & the Next President

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http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/05/hagel_event.html HIGHLIGHTS of Sen. Chuck Hagel's (R-Nebraska) remarks at the Center for American Progress on the security challenages facing the next American President. www.AMERICANPROGRESS.org

Center for American Progress - America at its Best, That's Progressive.

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http://www.americanprogress.org/ The Center for American Progress is a think tank dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through ideas and action. We combine bold policy ideas with a modern communications platform to help shape the national debate, expose the hollowness of conservative governing philosophy, and challenge the media to cover the issues that truly matter. Our work builds upon progressive ideals put forth by such leaders as Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, JFK, and Martin Luther King. We draw from the great social movements of the 20th centuryfrom labor rights and worker safety, to civil rights and women's suffrage. We translate those values into new ideas and action firmly rooted in the economic and political realities of the 21st century. Founded in 2003, CAP is headed by John D. Podesta, former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton CAP is designed to provide long-term leadership and support to the progressive movement. Our ability to develop thoughtful policy proposals and engage in the war of ideas with conservatives is unique and effective.

Gas Prices - How Are They Affecting YOU?

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http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/domestic/energy/ The Center for American Progress went out on the streets of Washington DC to ask people about how the rising cost of gasoline is affecting their lives. Who is thinking about the lives of everyday Americans? WE ARE. The Center for American Progress www.AMERICANPROGRESS.org

The U.S. & The 2008 Beijing Olympics -ASK THE EXPERT- Winny Chen

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What should we expect when the Olympic torch finally arrives in China? What can China do to prevent possible violence before and during the Olympics? What is the United States' place in the lead-up to the Olympics? www.AMERICANPROGRESS.org

Make Progress - Make Progressive History

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www.MAKEPROGRESS.org Make Progress is the new advocacy site from the Center for American Progress's advocacy arm, the Center for American Progress Action Fund. www.americanprogressaction.org

Who is a Progressive?

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The Center for American Progress is a think tank dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through ideas and action. We combine bold policy ideas with a modern communications platform to help shape the national debate, expose the hollowness of conservative governing philosophy, and challenge the media to cover the issues that truly matter. Our work builds upon progressive ideals put forth by such leaders as Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, JFK, and Martin Luther King. We draw from the great social movements of the 20th centuryfrom labor rights and worker safety, to civil rights and women's suffrage. We translate those values into new ideas and action firmly rooted in the economic and political realities of the 21st century.

A New Farm Bill -ASK THE EXPERT- Jake Caldwell

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http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/04/sustainable_crop.html What issues have been holding up the vote on the Farm Bill? How can we fix the subsidy system? And how do biofuels figure into the Farm Bill debate? Jake Caldwell of the Center for American Progress weighs the answers. THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS www.AMERICANPROGRESS.org

New Orleans - 3 Years After Katrina - By CAP

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Photographer Serena Kefeyah turned her lense on the city of New Orleans, documenting the destruction that remains nearly 4 years after Hurricane Katrina devastating the Gulf states. THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS www.AMERICANPROGRESS.org

Body of War: Phil Donahue & Iraq Vet Tomas Young

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http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/04/body_of_soldier.html Twenty-two year-old Tomas Young called his Army recruiter on September 13, 2001. He wanted to go to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Instead, his unit was sent to Iraq in March 2004. Less than a week after arriving, Young suffered a shot to the collarbone that left him paralyzed from the chest down. While Young was recovering at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington DC, he met former talk-show host Phil Donahue. I didnt know then that I was going to make a movie, Donahue said last night at a Reel Progress screening of the film. But upon hearing Youngs story, he wanted to show the human costs of war to a larger audience. Donahue had never made a movie, so he partnered with documentary filmmaker Ellen Spiro. The resulting film, Body of War, follows Young from his 2005 wedding, through his daily struggles with physical disability, to his involvement in Iraq Veterans Against the War, all set against the backdrop of the 2002 congressional debate over whether to authorize the president to use military force in Iraq. The past year has seen a glut of films about the Iraq conflict, but none so pointedly from the perspective of a returned soldier. THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS www.AMERICANPROGRESS.org

The Business of Biofuels -ASK THE EXPERT- Jake Caldwell

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http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/02/biofuels_diversity.html Jake Caldwell of the Center for American Progress discusses some the common arguments surrounding the deployment of biofuels. THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS www.AMERICANPROGRESS.org  

Body of War: Paralyzed Iraq Vet Tomas Young Asks '08 Candidates

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Iraq veteran Tomas Young, subject of the documentary BODY OF WAR poses questions to the 2008 Presidential candidates.  

The Future of Human Rights - Center for American Progress

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"America did not invent Human Rights. Human Rights invented America." -Jimmy Carter US standing in the world has receded as America's human rights record has been dealt blows by a failure to observe the rule of law and scandals like Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo. The US must repair its record and standing in the world. THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS www.americanprogress.org   

What's Next for Iraq? Oscar Nominee Charles Ferguson

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Charles Ferguson, 2008 Academy Award nominee for his documentary on the Iraq War, NO END IN SIGHT, joined the Center for American Progress to discuss the state of Iraq 5 years after the conflict began. Reel Progress - A PROGRESSIVE film series brought to you by the Center for American Progress www.AMERICANPROGRESS.ORG/reelprogress  

How Low Can You Go? The Housing Crisis Gets Worse

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Who is being affected by the housing crisis? What are the broader economic consequences of the housing crisis? What should we do to stabilize the housing market?  

The Center for American Progress - Progresssive History

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The Center for American Progress A Progressive Think Tank for the 21st Century www.AMERICANPROGRESS.org   

The Health Care Crisis: 47 Million Can't Afford to Get Sick

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America's health system is in crisis, leaving out too many and costing too much. 47 million Americans lack health insurance. Millions more are struggling to pay premiums that are growing five times faster than wages, but still seeing their benefits shrink. While some Americans have access to the most sophisticated medical care in the world, others are left to overcrowded emergency rooms, under-funded clinics, or no health care at all - all because they lack the insurance it takes to provide for the care they need. This is wrong. It violates America's deep, long-standing commitment to fairness for all of our citizens - old and young, weak and strong. Unlocking our health care system's potential for everyone in America is the great moral challenge of our time. Center for American Progress Health Policy Director Karen Davenport explains what's at stake as President Bush prepares to deliver his final State of the Union address in ASK THE EXPERT, CAP's new video feature. www.AMERICANPROGRESS.org  

The R Word - What do YOU think about the US Economy?

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American families are feeling the pressure of a tightening economy from all sides. They are burdened with massive amounts of debt that have become harder to handle due to accelerated house price drops and the stagflationary nature of the downturn. Jobs are going away, wages are flat, and benefits are disappearing, while prices are skyrocketing everywhere. Just like a balloon squeezed from all sides, family finances are increasingly being burst. And the overall economic outlook doesn't help. Massive trade deficits pose a drain on our national resources, slowing innovation means that we are generating less of what we need, and long-term budget deficits due to tax cuts for the rich are preventing the government from addressing the economic needs of America's families. THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS www.americanprogress.org  

Fixing Homeland Security -ASK THE EXPERT- PJ Crowley

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What is needed is a new national security strategy and a renewed commitment to homeland security, one that builds capabilities from the ground up rather than imposing unfunded mandates from the top down. Adequate resources must be committed to all dimensions of national power, not just one. Investments should not just enhance our ability to counter the terrorism threat, but also promote far-reaching systemic improvements that will better position the United States to cope with a range of challenges and major disruptions regardless of the originterrorism, yes, but also pandemics, natural disasters, and man-made events. This takes on special significance given al Qaeda's recent pattern of strikes associated with elections or political transitions. The United States faces increased risk of another attack over the next year and a half, which will place a burden on the next administration. Iraq may well be the dominant national security issue in the presidential campaign, but homeland security could well present the next president with his or her first national security challenge. This paper provides the framework for the reevaluation of our homeland security policies that the next administration should pursue as part of a balanced national security strategy to make the United States more secure in the years to come. www.americanprogress.org  

Economic Worries - ASK THE EXPERT - CAP's Christian Weller

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Since the beginning of the current business cycle in early 2001, family incomes in the United States have not risen, yet the costs for important consumer items such as housing, health care, transportation, energy, and food all climbed at often breathtaking speeds. To afford these necessities, families piled on record amounts of debt relative to their incomeat a rate more than four times faster than that in the 1990s. Families, though, were not the only ones going deeper into debt. The federal government ran up large budget deficits due to massive tax cuts for the rich and a spending spree for an ill-designed Medicare prescription drug benefit and two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Since March 2001, foreign investors financed close to 80 percent of the federal budget deficit. More importantly, these large capital inflows financed a massive U.S. trade deficit that still remains at an unsustainable 5 percent of gross domestic product. To finance this deficit, the U.S. economy borrowed heavily overseas, selling everything to foreign investors, including home mortgages. The result: a vicious cycle of debt, with foreign investors fueling a housing market boom that required households to borrow money that foreigners were willing to borrow. This process is now going into reverse. Stock market investors are selling off shares tied however tenuously to the U.S. housing market, thus fueling the financial markets downturn. This sell off is also increasing worries about a broader credit crunch that could lead to further deterioration in the U.S. housing market. The largest drawback of the debt boom was that it let U.S. policymakers get away with not addressing the country's underlying economic problems. The fundamental weaknesses of the U.S. economya weak labor market, large budget deficits, and massive trade deficits, and an unsustainable housing boomwere masked by record amounts of debt, allowing the federal government to continuously ignore these problems. Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Christian Weller explains the underlying issues and the way forward in ASK THE EXPERT, the new video feature from CAP. www.AMERICANPROGRESS.org   

Pakistan Election Video Journal - CAP's Caroline Wadhams

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CAP's Caroline Wadhams recently returned from Pakistan where she and CAP Senior Fellow Brian Katulis served as election monitors for Pakistan's parliamentary election. The exclusive footage in this video was taken by Caroline during her trip and features her narration and analysis of the election and current challenges facing Pakistan. What if our most powerful weapons were ideas? THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS www.AMERICANPROGRESS.org  

Iraq: 5 Years Later

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http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/iraq On April 8 and 9, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus will present his assessment of the security situation in Iraq to Congress. But if Petraeus is again allowed to testify without his superior officers, as he did last September, neither Congress nor the American people will be receiving the complete picture. It is clear that the Bush administration wants to keep it that way. In a recent media briefing, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates said: "I've asked Gen. Petraeus to make his evaluation ... completely based on what's going on in Iraq. He doesn't need to look over his shoulder, think about stress on the force or anything else." Moreover, President Bush has indicated that he will allow Petraeus alone to decide whether to continue the troop drawdown. FOR THE RECORD: Generals: A March 14 Op-Ed article about Gen. David H. Petraeus' upcoming Iraq testimony used two branches of service, the Army and Marines, to identify Gen. Peter Pace. He is a Marine. But other military leaders who are looking at the larger national security picture need to be consulted. They know well how maintaining an average of 130,000 troops in Iraq over the last five years has not only decimated our ground forces, it also has compromised our security interests around the globe. "The Army is out of balance," Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. told the House Armed Services Committee last fall. That's a polite way of saying it's broken. Casey, who is responsible for the Army's overall health, is rightfully concerned. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, echoed Casey's unease. In January, Mullen told the Marine Corps Times that there was reserve capacity in the Navy and Air Force but that ground troops were a different story. "Clearly, if we had to do something with our ground forces, a significant substitute would be a big challenge," he said. Mullen's predecessor, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, also has expressed his discomfort with our ability to respond to other crises. Before leaving his post last October, Pace, stated that the troop commitment to Iraq would "make a large difference in our ability to be prepared for unforeseen contingencies" in the region and elsewhere. The abrupt retirement Tuesday of Adm. William J. Fallon, the head of U.S. Central Command, demonstrates how imperative it is that Congress hear his unfettered perspective or that of his successor. Fallon was responsible for overall U.S. security interests in the Middle East and was known to be particularly concerned about the war in Afghanistan. Today, the government of President Hamid Karzai controls less than a third of Afghanistan. Three independent reports released last month concluded that the security situation there has deteriorated to its worst level in two years. Fallon was understandably uncomfortable with the administration's focus on Iraq. He wanted and needed more troops in Afghanistan -- the true central front of the war on terror -- but could not get them unless the number of troops in Iraq fell well below 130,000. So far, neither the acting head of Central Command nor any of the Joint Chiefs have been asked to testify when Petraeus does next month. That was not the case with the previous commanding generals in Iraq. Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee with Gen. John P. Abizaid -- then Centcom commander -- once in 2004. Casey, who was commander in Iraq from June 2004 to February 2007, testified before the Senate and House Armed Services committees a total of four times, always with Abizaid. In fact, Petraeus was the first commander of U.S. forces in Iraq to testify on the war without the Centcom commander by his side. Moreover, Fallon never testified before either committee solely on Iraq during his yearlong tenure as Centcom commander. The reason we need the head of Central Command and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs at the table was demonstrated last September. Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), a former secretary of the Navy, asked Petraeus, "If we continue what you have laid before the Congress ... does this make America safer?" Petraeus correctly responded, "Well sir, I don't know." Mullen, Casey, Fallon or the next Centcom commander could tell Congress and the country that the answer to that question is no. Congress must demand the full military picture if it is to fulfill its constitutional responsibility to provide for the common defense.   

Afghanistan: The Forgotten Front

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Six years after the United States led an invasion of Afghanistan to remove the Taliban from power and destroy Al Qaeda's safe haven, Afghanistan faces a growing insurgency that directly threatens its stability and the national security interests of the United States and its allies. The United States and the international community initially made great strides to oust the Taliban and Al Qaeda and stand up the Afghan government following the invasion in October 2001, but the situation has dramatically deteriorated since 2005. The Taliban and Al Qaeda have regrouped in the borderlands of Pakistan and Afghanistan and are supporting the Afghan insurgency while strengthening their own capabilities. Although the current administration has portrayed Iraq as the central front of the "global war on terror," Afghanistan and the borderlands of Pakistan remain the central battlefield. www.AMERICANPROGRESS.org  

The Health Care Crisis: 47 Million Can't Afford to Get Sick

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America's health system is in crisis, leaving out too many and costing too much. 47 million Americans lack health insurance. Millions more are struggling to pay premiums that are growing five times faster than wages, but still seeing their benefits shrink. While some Americans have access to the most sophisticated medical care in the world, others are left to overcrowded emergency rooms, under-funded clinics, or no health care at all - all because they lack the insurance it takes to provide for the care they need. This is wrong. It violates America's deep, long-standing commitment to fairness for all of our citizens - old and young, weak and strong. Unlocking our health care system's potential for everyone in America is the great moral challenge of our time. Center for American Progress Health Policy Director Karen Davenport explains what's at stake as President Bush prepares to deliver his final State of the Union address in ASK THE EXPERT, CAP's new video feature.

www.AMERICANPROGRESS.org

Climate Change & The State of the Union - ASK THE EXPERT - Dan Weiss

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http://www.americanprogress.org

What will President Bush say about the climate change crisis in his final State of the Union address to Congress? Dan Weiss of the Center for American Progress says talking and doing are very different -- and we will get more of the former than the latter in ASK THE EXPERT, the new video feature from The Center for American Progress.

http://www.americanprogress.org/

The Rise of China, India & Russia: The Next American Century

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