News Roundup
Santorum for sweatshops:

This is as low as it goes, as the GOP fights to expand sub-minimum wage sweatshops across the country. Pennsylvania's Rick Santorum is leading the charge for a GOP bill that would ostensibly raise the minimum wage by $1.10 per hour, but in reality would cut wages for millions of American workers and expand unregulated sweatshops across the country.

This is a must read about how the Republican Party is trying to shred labor. If you work for a paycheck you need to be very, very concerned.

John Arovosis takes the LA Times to task. In the LA Times, Sex, Lies and Spies: This Isn't News?:

I can think of three possible reasons The Times didn't cover this obviously major story with any vigor:

(1) Trepidation about gays, sex and power. In the age of wardrobe malfunctions, news organizations are extra cautious about covering anything involving s-e-x. And a gay angle only makes things more confusing. Would you be anti-gay or pro-gay if you wrote about an allegedly homophobic journalist who happened to be gay? Answer: Allegations of prostitution aren't just about someone's private life, they're about a crime that can lead to blackmail, especially if state secrets are involved. And in any case, your readers are adults ? give them the facts and let them decide for themselves.

(2) Reverse liberal guilt. Too sensitive to right-wing accusations of being liberal, traditional media have overcompensated by becoming too timid in covering certain stories. They seem loath to aggressively report on scandals involving Republican politicians, in general, and this White House in particular.

(3) Blogophobia. Liberal bloggers scare the mainstream media. Media critics fret over our supposed lack of professional credentials, even though many of us are journalists. They doubt our facts but don't independently investigate the stories.

The lack of coverage plays into the hands of the White House. Mainstream media editors act as if our investigation of Guckert is about prurience and lacks merit. But there is more than enough evidence to make any reporter want to check out the possibilities of White House deception and media manipulation.

The Times' editors shouldn't allow themselves to think they are above the fray. In truth, they are failing to speak truth to power.

The state of reporting in Iraq, NPR correspondent Amos details Iraq assignments:

Amos, who addressed and audience of more than 500 on Saturday, Feb. 26 at the 2005 Camden Conference on the Middle East, said the full story of what is happening in Iraq is not being reported for two reasons: the dangerous situation in the country severely restricts movement, and the U.S. military restricts media access.

Since Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo has been so busy keeping us informed about the Republican Social Security Phase-out Scheme (RSSPS) that he is allowing a group from Harvard Law to keep us informed on the Republican Bankruptcy Bill Scheme.

Are we targeting journalists? Italian hostage accuses US of trying to kill her as thousands mourn her rescuer.

Have they hit their nadir? The can't cut taxes any further. Is this the end of the road for the Republican agenda? They have control of every branch of government and they're done. Tax Cuts Lose Spot On GOP Agenda:

President Bush and Republican lawmakers are being forced to temper their anti-tax ambitions, as the party that consolidated power in Washington by promising to shrink government grapples with the high cost of its efforts to expand the Defense Department and the nation's two largest entitlement programs.

- posted by Mom/Dad @ 12:30 PM