A peculiar little news item today gives a sense of how petty and ugly Burger King and its allies have gotten in their drive to keep immigrant farm workers from earning a living wage. According to the News Press, which publishes in southwest Florida, Burger King vice president Stephen Grover used his daughter’s email address to write insulting comments on online articles about the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. The source of this news: Grover’s daughter. It wasn’t her, she told the reporter–it was dad. The Coalition has been campaigning for years to get decent wages and living conditions for people who pick tomatoes and other crops in southern Florida. They’ve been joined by student and church do-gooders in an interesting campaign that bypasses the tomato growers and goes directly to retailers, asking for a penny a pound more for tomatoes. Yum! brands and McDonalds agreed to pay the extra penny–a third-party auditor cut the workers’ (thus far meager) checks. But Burger King, the Coalition’s third target, and the Florida Tomato Exchange, which represents growers, hired a public relations company and tried to quash the campaign by threatening growers who cooperate with it. Then it was revealed that at least one corporate spy had been hired to infiltrate the Coalition. This is a lot of effort, considering that it would cost Burger King an estimated $300,000 a year to pay the extra penny.
Rep. Patrick McHenry: Please, Conservatives, Fill Out Your Census Forms!
The conservative congressman from North Carolina, a constant critic of the census -- one of the people who sounded the alarm about politicization when the
Rep. Paulsen allies with medical device industry to relax FDA oversight
Source: Flickr; Republicanconference (www.flickr.com/photos/republicanconference) On the heels of the Minnesota Independent story last week about U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen’s cozy financial relationship with the medical device industry, the New York Times reported Tuesday that some health professionals are alarmed by Paulsen’s push to relax Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight
Rep. Parker Griffith (R-Ala.)
One of the most conservative Democrats in the House -- a freshman who said he couldn’t support Nancy Pelosi again -- is going to switch over to the GOP. Josh
Rep. Paulsen touts balanced budget constitutional amendment
In a post for the conservative blog True North , U.S. Rep
Rep. Paulsen, Karl Rove the latest to get ‘glittered’
Rep. Erik Paulsen and former Bush staffer Karl Rove were both showered with glitter at the Midwest Leadership Conference Friday
Rep. Paul Ryan to deliver SOTU response
Chairman of the House Budget Committee Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will deliver the Republican response to the State of the Union Tuesday, according to Mike Allen
Rep. Perlmutter criticizes House measure that would eliminate 800K federal jobs
Congressman Ed Perlmutter today issued a scathing statement criticizing the House of Representatives for passing a spending bill that could put nearly a million federal employees out of work. The Colorado delegation voted strictly on party lines, with all four Republicans voting in favor of the bill and the three Democrats voting in opposition. Perlmutter’s statement: “My number one priority is to get people back to work because that’s the best thing we can do to pay our debt and move forward toward economic stability
Rep. Perlmutter to hold constituent meet-up in grocery store
Colorado Congressman Ed Perlmutter will hold a Government in the Grocery constituent meet-up this evening from 5-7 at the Safeway at 38th and Wadsworth in Wheat Ridge. The address is 3900 Wadsworth. The meeting, where Perlmutter typically sits at a folding table and talks to whomever shows up, is free and open to the public
Rep. Peace, ACLU seek investigation of soldier’s allegations of racial discrimination in Afghanistan
Both Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM) and the American Civil Liberties Union agree: There needs to be an investigation into Spc.
School of Hock
A growing number of college grads are defaulting on their student loans as the economy worsens.