Unhappy Anniversary

House Joint Resolution 114 passed the House on October 10, 2002 by a vote of 296-to-133. It passed the Senate on October 11 by a vote of 77-to-23. It was signed into law by President Bush on October 16, 2002. The resolution required the president to employ diplomatic efforts at the United Nations Security Council to “obtain prompt and decisive action by the Security Council to ensure that Iraq abandons its strategy of delay, evasion, and noncompliance and promptly and strictly complies with all

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Help the Needy, Not the Greedy

“At a time when poverty is increasing, the middle class is shrinking and the distribution of wealth and income is more unequal than at any time since the 1920s, it is imperative that Congress initiate progressive tax reform which asks the rich and large corporations to start paying their fair share of taxes. This tax reform certainly should include raising the tax rate on private-equity firms and hedge funds from the current 15 percent,” Senator Bernie Sanders said on Tuesday. The hedge fund ta

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Town Meetings

Senator Bernie Sanders is traveling across Vermont this week holding a series of town meetings. About 200 people attended “Brunch with Bernie” on Sunday in South Burlington, where the senator told reporters, “The reason that I like doing these events is that it’s important for me to hear what is on peoples’ minds.” He added, “It’s amazing how often you learn things that you did not know.” Summing up events in Washington, Sanders said, “The good news is, we passed a higher education funding bi

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Week in Review

The Senate voted to expand services for veterans. The legislation includes a provision by Senator Bernie Sanders for a national veterans outreach program. Also on Capitol Hill, safety concerns about the aging Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant were aired at a Senate oversight hearing. At the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, President Bush made good on his threat to veto a children’s health insurance program, a move Sanders called “beyond comprehension.” There was good news. A 101-year-old Ver

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Fair Trade

Costa Rica on Sunday will become the first country where citizens have the opportunity to vote for or against a trade agreement. Despite being heavily outspent by the moneyed interests, despite opposition from the Costa Rican government and the U.S. ambassador, despite an extremely hostile media, the latest polls show momentum building for the opposition to the Central American Free Trade Agreement. The Wall Street Journal editorial page, the voice for the wealthy and powerful in the United Stat

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