Clinton's welfare reform bill, which was signed on Aug. 22, 1996, obliterated the nation's social safety net. It threw 6 million people, many of them single mothers, off the welfare rolls within three years. It dumped them onto the streets without child care, rent subsidies and continued Medicaid coverage.

Families were plunged into crisis, struggling to survive on multiple jobs that paid $6 or $7 an hour, or less than $15,000 a year. But these were the lucky ones. In some states, half of those dropped from the welfare rolls could not find work. Clinton slashed Medicare by $115 billion over a five-year period and cut $25 billion in Medicaid funding.

The booming and overcrowded prison system handled the influx of the poor, as well as our abandoned mentally ill. And today we stand in shame with 2.3 million of our citizens behind bars, most for nonviolent drug offenses. More than 1 in 100 adults in the United States is incarcerated, and 1 in 9 black men ages 20 to 34 is behind bars. The United States, with less than 5 percent of the global population, has almost 25 percent of the world's prisoners. -- Chris Hedges America's Democratic Collapse"

Throughout American history, black people have faced huge and seemingly insurmountable dangers and challenges. Blacks have also been blessed with some of the most courageous, innovative and brilliant leaders, spokespersons and warriors......[more]

To A Penal System Regenerating Character or a Subtle Industry - By T. Duffy

In countries where growth is essential today, I would assume prisons wouldnt be considered part of that development. Many years ago, prisons here were probably perceived as many others are abroad, so why and how did it become such a lucrative business where rarely does anyone get laid off even when times are bad......[more]

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The De-Evolution of Humanity? - By M. Quinn

This article is in no way shape or form a ringing endorsement of Darwins theory of evolution, nor is it an endorsement of the religious belief of creationism; because the truth regarding these two ideological perspectives may very well reside somewhere in the middle......[more]

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As if Things Weren't Bad Enough, Russian Professor Predicts End of U.S.

For a decade, Russian academic Igor Panarin has been predicting the U.S. will fall apart in 2010. For most of that time, he admits, few took his argument -- that an economic and moral collapse will trigger a civil war and the eventual breakup of the U.S. -- very seriously. Now he's found an eager audience: Russian state media.

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Nigeria: Thousands Demonstrate Against Israel in Kano

Thousands of Muslims under the umbrella of Muslim Brothers demonstrated against the ongoing Gaza attack by the Israeli army, describing the air strikes as sign of the end of the Zionist regime. The demonstrators, who gathered at the Fagge Central Mosque, raised the Palestine flag and shouted slogans in their support, condemning Israel, US and Europe.

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History Lessons on Cuba for a New President

Time and again Fidel Castro has taken an American overture or challenge and, using a Fidelista jujitsu, turned it to his own advantage. In the process, countless families like mine have been whipsawed between hope and despair.

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Bush and Obama Opt for Corporatism over Freewheeling Capitalist Economy

Is Barack Obama a socialist? Not really. Is George W. Bush a free marketer? Not hardly. In fact, right now they both seem to be pursuing policies that are neither socialist nor laissez-faire but rather corporatist.

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Over the Top Fed Actions Feed Conspiracy Thinking

"Nobody ever wants to upset the apple cart," Schiff explains. "No one wants to tell taxpayers that they've stumbled on a new get-rich-quick scheme where home ownership takes the place of hard work and savings, especially since they're making a lot of money. We've learned nothing from the past at this point. What we've done to ourselves with this attitude is create a situation where there is no way to postpone the unbearable destruction."

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Ex-Bush aides: He didn't recover from Katrina

Hurricane Katrina not only pulverized the Gulf Coast in 2005, it knocked the bully pulpit out from under President George W. Bush, according to two former advisers who spoke candidly about the political impact of the government's poor handling of the natural disaster.

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Holiday sales seen worst in 38 years

The U.S. recession, heavy discounting by retailers and a nasty mix of winter weather in the days before Christmas combined to produce the worst holiday season since at least 1970, the International Council of Shopping Centers said on Tuesday.

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Members of Congress Getting $4,700 Pay Raise in January

A senior citizens' group notes that members of Congress will get an automatic $4,700 pay raise beginning in January, bringing their annual salaries to $174,000. The increase will cost taxpayers more than $2.5 million.

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