The American Trial Lawyers Association

Today's top story – A veteran of the Iraq War, along with the mothers of two other soldiers, have taken their fight against the war to court. The lawsuit filed last May claims that, despite being authorized by Congress in fall 2002 to deploy armed forces against Iraq as he deemed necessary, President George W. Bush overstepped his constitutional authority by invading the country six months later without formally declaring war. Yesterday, the case was presented before a federal judge, where the defense was attempting to get the case thrown out, on the grounds that the court didn't have jurisdiction over the matter. However, the plaintiffs have found an unlikely ally in Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Scalia isn't actually on their side, but a ruling he made last year is coming back into play. Plaintiffs pointed to Scalia's strict interpretation of the Constitution in a decision last year that affirmed the right of homeowners to own guns for self-defense, and said that it's all about the original intent of the founders. When this country was founded, it was made clear that only Congress could declare war. In the case of Iraq, Congress authorized force, but never declared war. The plaintiffs said that they aren't seeking to change current policy, but that they do hope to set a precedent for the future.


In other news, if you live in the Western part of the US and you like drinking water here's a bit of advice – Get it while you still can. According to a new report by the National Academy of Sciences, if future predictions of climate change are correct, water delivery for at least 7 US states will be severely hindered. The threat comes from the Colorado River, which supplies drinking water to numerous states. As the climate continues to shift, scientists predict that parts of the river, as well as many other bodies of water that feed into it, could dry up to a point where water delivery is no longer an option. The study found that, with a 20 percent reduction in runoff, by 2050 nearly 9 of every 10 scheduled deliveries would be missed. Scientists believe that there are a few options, such as water reuse and conservation that could curtail this problem, but so far there have been no suggestions on how to prevent this problem altogether.


And finally today, if you're having a hard time finding a job in this economy, the adult entertainment industry has an idea for you – Come to one of their career fairs. In heavily populated areas like Dallas, Texas, the jobless rate has risen so high and people are getting so desperate that many strip clubs are now flooded with applications. This has led them to announce a job fair for those who are seeking any kind of employment. According to one strip joint, even corporate managers who've found themselves without work are applying for jobs ranging from strippers to bouncers, which are needless to say, well below their skill level. The Jobless to Topless Job Fair – which is the actual name of the one in Dallas - will be accepting applications for management, entertainers, waitresses, beer bar girls, door girls, bar back, bartenders, kitchen staff, DJs and hair and makeup specialists. So if you happen to be in Dallas today, make sure you check it out. And if you do, please email us and let us know how it goes.

Labels: Climate Change, Colorado River, Constitution, Dancing, Farron Cousins, Global Warming, Iraq War, Lawsuit, Legal, Strip Club, Stripper, Topless, Veteran

A British diplomat has come forward and made it clear that the British government has a paper trail that proves that both the US and the British government were fully aware that Saddam Hussein posed no threat to the world. Carne Ross, who was a first secretary at the United Nations in New York for the Foreign Office until 2004, told MPs: "A lot of facts about the run-up to this war have yet to come to light which should come to light and which the public deserves to know." He told the inquiry that the intelligence made it "very clear" that Saddam Hussein did not pose a significant threat to the UK, as was being claimed at the time by ministers, and that tougher enforcement of sanctions could have brought his regime down. Ross believes that his revelations could call the very legality of the invasion into question. When prodded about why he didn't come out sooner, or try harder to prevent the invasion, Ross said that he was aware that speaking out too often or too openly - even in internal debates - about his concerns about the government's policy direction would damage his career by winning him a reputation as a "naive troublemaker".


In environmental news today, a poll released recently by Gallup says that, while a majority of Americans still believe the seriousness of global warming is “either correctly portrayed in the news or underestimated,” an all-time high of 41 percent of those polled say it is exaggerated. One of the main reasons for this drop in concern can be attributed to the success of climate change deniers in disseminating their message. While they are no more credible now than they were a few years ago, the difference today is that they have more friendly media outlets that are willing to broadcast their message. Since Gallup began tracking domestic sentiment on global warming in 1997, American views that climate change was being underestimated were at their highest in 2001 and 2006 (the year An Inconvenient Truth came out). The poll also saw declines from last year in the number of people who believe the effects of global warming are occurring now, and in the number that believe global warming will pose a “serious threat” in their lifetimes. By age group, the biggest jump (13 percent) from last March in those who now believe global warming claims are exaggerated was in the 65-and-older demographic. While other age groups also saw an increase, the 18-29 segment had no change at all in the number of those who believe claims are exaggerated.


And finally, it just wouldn't be a news day if there weren't something to say about AIG. Admittedly, I'm getting pretty sick of these stories, and would prefer to no longer write about them. But people seem to enjoy it, so I'll play along one last time. But rest assured, after today, I'm done covering anything to do with AIG, unless aliens come down, beam up their building, and probe each and every executive. Now THAT would be a news story. Despite the protestations of a few congressmen, the House voted overwhelmingly to pass bonus tax legislation Thursday afternoon. Roll Call reports the vote was 328-93 to impose a 90 percent tax on employee bonuses at companies that received federal bailout funds, which includes AIG. CNN notes that the measure, which now heads to the Senate for consideration, would tax individuals on any bonuses received in 2009 from companies getting $5 billion or more in money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Those with incomes more than $250,000 would see their bonuses taxed at the 90 percent rate.

Labels: AIG, Bailout, Bonuses, Britain, Climate Change, Environment, Farron Cousins, Global Warming, Intelligence, Iraq War, Ron Paul, Saddam Hussein

In case you've been wondering where all of that bank bailout money has gone, AIG finally decided to disclose their activities. Rather than investing in new hires, or providing affordable loans to new borrowers, the company instead shipped billions of taxpayer dollars to foreign banks. The documents AIG released account for some of the more than $180 billion in aid that AIG has received, and they detailed for the first time which financial firms are benefitting from the federal handout.
In all, AIG disclosed payments of $105.3 billion between September and December 2008, and some of the biggest recipients were European banks. Political pressure is now building on AIG, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday called on AIG executives to “renounce” their bonuses and refuse retention pay, and said that House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank would “examine options that are legally available to recover taxpayer funds of companies that abuse the privilege of taxpayer assistance.” Edward Liddy, the government-installed CEO of AIG, has been called to testify before Frank's committee on Wednesday.


In other financial news, a new report has been released showing that those who have had the loudest voices in denouncing the bailout and stimulus packages – mostly republicans – are also the ones that have been hit the hardest by the recession. According to the Center for Responsible Lending, who recently issued the new report, nine of the top ten districts with the most foreclosures are Republican and most likely to receive the bulk of any homeowner bailout, and thus, at least according to one On Air editor of a major cable network, fit the definition of "losers". I'm sure we all recall the protests from rank and file members of the GOP, where they would hold signs saying things like “your mortgage is not my problem,” but now it looks like it might be. Only one of these top ten districts leans democratic, which is a location in Michigan. The ones held onto by Republicans include districts in Oklahoma, Florida, Arizona, Delaware, and Georgia. According to Republican Rick Santelli, all of these republicans are irresponsible losers. Those are his words, not mine. You see, not long ago, Santelli appeared on cable news and said that any homeowner bailout would just go to irresponsible people who were losers. Of course, this was probably before he realized that those same losers are the ones who make up his base.


And finally today, according to a new study, a predicted slowdown in Atlantic Ocean currents will cause sea levels along the US northeast coast to rise twice as fast as the global average, exposing New York and other big cities to violent and frequent storm surges. For example, Manhattan's Wall Street, which is barely a three feet above sea level, will find itself underwater more often as the 21st century unfolds. The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded in early 2007 that expanding ocean water driven by climate change will drive up sea levels, on average, anywhere from seven to 23 inches by 2100, depending on how successful we are at slashing greenhouse gas emissions. This rising water mark will erase several island nations from the map, and is likely to cause devastation in Asian and African deltas home to tens of millions of people. The weakened currents account for nearly half of a predicted sea rise -- from thermal expansion alone. Rapid sea level increases would put cities such as New York, Boston, Baltimore and Washington D.C. at significantly greater risk of coastal hazards such as hurricanes and intense winter storm surges. Of course, given the fact that a large portion of American citizens still don't believe that global warming is real, it would probably take flooding of this nature just to convince them.

Labels: AIG, Bailout, Bank, Climate Change, Farron Cousins, Foreclosure, Fraud, Global Warming, Manhattan, Protest, Republican, Rick Santelli, Wall Street

Since the start of the Iraq War, the funding of body armor and protective supplies for our troops has been deplorable. Not only have we been hit with a constant stream of reports showing that our troops are in the field with outdated equipment, but now Pete Geren, Army Secretary, has recalled more than 16,000 bullet-proof vests because they failed during tests.


This leads to two possible conclusions. The first is that our soldiers fighting overseas were given equipment that was not adequately tested before being used in the field. The second is that the Army knew that the products did not pass testing, but were shipped out anyway.


According to the story by the Associated Press, the former seems to be the case. From the LA Times:


The audit by the office of the Defense Department inspector general, not yet made public but obtained by the Associated Press, faults the Army for flawed testing procedures.


In a letter dated Jan. 27 to acting Inspector General Gordon Heddell, Geren said he did not agree that the plates had failed the testing or that soldiers were issued deficient gear. He said his opinion was backed by the Pentagon's top testing director. But Geren said he was recalling the sets as a precaution and asking that a senior Pentagon official resolve the disagreement between the Army and the inspector general's office.


Hundreds of thousands of body armor sets have been manufactured by several companies in the last seven years. Vests are standard gear for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.


The contract examined by the inspector general's office is listed in the audit only as W91CRB-04-D-0040. An Aug. 20, 2004, announcement on the Defense Department's website says a contract under that designation was awarded to Armor Works of Chandler, Ariz.


The Army bought 51,334 sets of the protective inserts under the contract for just over $57 million, according to the inspector general.

Labels: Army, Body Armor, Global Warming, Iraq, Malfunction, Recall

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has released a new study with some pretty grim news about the state of our environment. According to the study, even if carbon emissions could be abruptly halted, we have reached an irreversible point in climate change, which will likely be the status quo for the next one thousand years.

The study, published in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, showed that current human choices on carbon dioxide emissions are set to irreversibly change the planet. CO2 levels are irreversibly impacting climate change, which will contribute to global sea level rise and rainfall changes in certain regions.

The authors of the study emphasize that increases in CO2 that occur from 2000 to 2100 are set to "lock in" a sea level rise over the next 1,000 years. Rising sea levels would cause irreversible commitments to future changes in the geography of the Earth, since many coastal and island features would ultimately become submerged.

The study also outlined regional impacts, which include -- but are not limited to -- decreased human water supplies, increased fire frequency, ecosystem change and expanded deserts. If we do manage to decrease our carbon emissions, we're still stuck with the climate that we've created now, and the last 8 years of inaction certainly helped exacerbate the problem.

Labels: Carbon Emissions, Climate Change, Global Warming