April 12, 2012

Senator Sanders 

Tax Millionaires Sen. Bernie Sanders backs a proposal - set for a Senate vote on Monday - to make sure the rich don't pay a lower effective tax rate than the middle class, WCAX-TV reported. "At a time of record deficits should the wealthiest people in this country be asked to pay more in taxes? Of course they should," Sanders said on MSNBC. LINK, VIDEO, VIDEO, VIDEO

Citizens United The Vermont Senate gave preliminary approval to a resolution aimed at reversing a U.S Supreme Court decision allowing corporate campaign spending. "If Congress ever did send the states a constitutional amendment for ratification, a share of the credit would certainly go to Vermont and to Sen. Sanders, who is sponsoring such an amendment," Andy Bromage wrote in Seven Days. LINK 

Vermont Yankee Sen. Sanders, Gov. Peter Shumlin and Attorney General William Sorrell will address a demonstration on Saturday against extending the state license for the 40-year-old Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, the Brattleboro Reformer and The Commons reported. LINK, LINK  

Letter Carriers Disgruntled letter carriers were to demonstrate outside the Tennessee offices of Sens. Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander to protest a Senate bill that would overhaul of the U.S. Postal Service. "Much more to the letter carriers' liking is a bill sponsored by Sen. Sanders,"  Nashville Scene reported. LINK

Red Scare Rep. Allen West told a town meeting in Florida that scores of his colleagues are Communists. In fact, none are, NPR and Politico reported.  The Progressive Caucus, a group of liberal Democrats, has 75 members from the House plus Sen. Sanders. LINK, LINK

World

Afghanistan A majority of Republicans say for the first time that the war in Afghanistan has not been worth fighting, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. LINK

Syria An uneasy calm descended on Syria on Thursday indicating that both the government and rebels were keeping their promises to observe a U.N.-brokered cease-fire which went into effect at dawn, The Washington Post reported. LINK

National

U.S. Sues Over E-Book Prices The U.S. accused Apple Inc. and five of the nation's largest publishers of conspiring to raise e-book prices, The Wall Street Journal reported. LINK

Obama Won't Order Ban on Gay Bias by Employers President Obama vexed gay supporters on Wednesday with his decision not to sign an executive order banning discrimination against gays by employers with federal contracts, The New York Times reported. LINK

J.&J. Fined $1.2 Billion in Drug Case A judge in Arkansas ordered Johnson & Johnson and a subsidiary to pay more than $1.2 billion in fines after a jury found that the companies had minimized or concealed the dangers associated with an antipsychotic drug, The New York Times reported. LINK

Zimmerman Charged with Murder More than six weeks after he shot and killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old with no criminal record, neighborhood watch coordinator George Zimmerman, was charged with second-degree murder and taken into custody, The New York Times reported. LINK

Vermont

Teachers End Strike An agreement was reached between striking teachers and school administrators in the Rutland Southwest Supervisory Union, bringing a six-day strike to a close, AP reported. LINK

Dairy Farms With milk prices dropping because of increased production, Vermont dairy farmers once again are worried about staying in business, the Burlington Free Press reported. The Vermont delegation backs a measure to stabilize prices, a spokesman for Sen. Patrick Leahy said. LINK

Food Labeling A bill that would require food produced with genetic engineering to be labeled will be considered today by the House Committee on Agriculture. Vermont is one of 20 states considering what proponents say is a consumer protection measure, vtdigger reported. LINK