DAGGER 24 Hour News Service

studentloanjustice posted an informative article regarding student loans and how they are currently being administered.  He also just formed a political action committee! 

Senator Kennedy has publicly decried the fact that Student lenders like Sallie Mae can make far more money when students default on their loans than when they remain in good stead. Under current federal law, Lenders are guaranteed nearly full payment for loans that go into default. Furthermore, with the massive fees, penalties, and increased interest legally allowed to be attached to such debt, lenders such as Sallie Mae (who own collection companies) can, and do get a "second bite of the apple" through fees on collection of this massively inflated amount. In fact, Chairman Albert Lord said in the 2003 annual report that their record profits were attributable to penalties and fees collected from defaulted loans. This has caused astonishing, paralyzing and ridiculously cruel hardship on millions of students who couldn't afford to pay the original amount in the first place, but are strongarmed into paying the massively inflated amount.

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Have you heard about Blackwater, it's ties to George Bush and the GOP?  There is a new book out that looks into Blackwater and it's mercenery army.  Based on the interview I saw with it's author it will be a very enlightening read:

Well, here we are a decade later, and it’s the most powerful mercenary firm in the world. It has 20,000 soldiers on the ready, the world’s largest private military base, a fleet of twenty aircraft, including helicopter gunships. It’s become nothing short of the Praetorian Guard for the Bush administration's so-called global war on terror. And it’s headed by a very rightwing Christian activist, ex-Navy Seal named Erik Prince, whose family was one of the major bankrollers of the Republican Revolution of the 1990s. He, himself, is a significant funder of President Bush and his allies.
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Are "security measures" really security measures or a way to track, identify and influence worker's behavior?  Find out here.

Al Franken is considering running in 08 for Senate in Minnesota.  I think he should go for it.  He's not the most entertaining man on the radio, but he'd sure be one of the most entertaining Senators I could think of.  The other politicians could learn from him and realize perhaps that in order to have a sense of humor, you have to first know what's going on.  A looser approach is needed in Washington.  Not one that is focused like a laser on minute soundbytes but one that can sit back and take in the big picture and occasionally laugh at itself.

I took some time out to help a friend recuperate from surgery but I'm back and ready to go.  Please keep emailing us stories and stroy ideas.  So far you've all been wonderful on that front.  This site will soon become part of a larger network of sites, more news on that soon.

Ravenly Gate from Bruford's Bay
wet white gauze 'gainst hot raw metal
revolving dancers revolving chambers
a compulsion to drum
a purple thumb here and there
yeah the GOP got their photo op
then continued killing
stay on this side
don't run cross the street
i don't trust them
Abe's mother said
her history would prove correct
as the laser tracers fell
with a burst of infrared bomblets for good measure
take down a sign and reverse the flow
scuttleproof systems and 4D Maps with geolocation
it just means the asshats are asking for it
so be it
so be it
they shot a mayor in Louisiana because he was black
they shot 4 New Orleans activists
they shoot their neighbors
and they'll shoot you too
don't mind the killer bees
they just see an opportunity to thrive
over on the west side
ho ho ho
another 30 dead
happy new year
a few hundred more
every 4 hours an American Soldier is allowed to die
ever 4 hours another family must be notified
there will be no reunion on the tarmac

I recently posted about how Exxon Mobil was paying large amounts of cash for articles, press releases, fake news segments etc, that sought to confuse the public when it came to global warming.  Enough other people joined me in posting about it that now the giant has given up on it's goal of confusing Americans.  Of course this means that they have a backup strategy in place already but it does feel good knowing that occasionaly people read what we bloggers have to say.

The Pump Handle has the scoop.

Thanks to all the scientists and public watchdog groups that brought the problem to light in the first place.  To every driver out there, how do you feel about a company using the profits sucked from your pockets being used to lie to you?  Maybe it's made you angry, angry enough to boycott.  Maybe you know of another company endangering people's lives and wellbeing for a quick buck, if so you are encouraged to blow the whistle. 

Set up a blog on freeflux or send me an email and I'll post items for you.

Peace.

As much as I loathe to link to the corporate media, this story pretty much says it all about Mister Bush's escalation plan in Iraq:

Seventy percent of Americans oppose sending more troops to Iraq, according to a new poll that provides a devastatingly blunt response to President Bush's plan to bolster military forces there.

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It may come as a shock to people from other countries but our current President is not acting on behalf of America, and yes we Americans do realize it and yes we are trying to do something about it on many levels.

Do you pride yourself in being an ethical consumer?  Do you like boycotting companies that seek to crush the voice of their own workers, cheat owners of tribal lands from billions of dollars, lock doors on workers and fail to supply adequate safety equipment?  If so then you'll love our new sidebar section.  We'll keep it updated and will do a story here and there about one of the companies on the list.  So far the list consists of:

• Exxon-Mobil
• British Petroleum
• General Electric
• WalMart
• AIG
• State Farm
• Caterpillar
• Chevron Texaco
• Coca-Cola
• DeBeers
• Donna Karan
• Esso
• Proctor and Gamble
• SC Johnson
• Shell

If you know of a reason that another company should be added please post in the comments.

Well when it comes to honest old fashioned reporting, it is hard to beat Eric Alterman.  He seems to understand the definition of journalist much more than do others that wear the title.  His latest article for AmericanProgress.org takes a look at the insider's that would speak for Democrats as a whole, the man behind the new "surge" strategy, then turns his attention to the corporate media's handling of said "surge":

But don’t tell that to CNN’s talking heads. They continue to cast the move in purely partisan terms. Correspondent Elaine Quijano declared on Monday that not only are Democrats seemingly the only opposition to the “surge” plan, but they’re “seeking to cast a surge as an escalation of the unpopular Iraq war.”

Maybe you are a blogger, perhaps a news junkie, some may be journalism students, if so, read Eric's stuff, digest it, then read it again in hopes that something will sink in.

Whigsboy vs Milloy:

Milloy begins the column by talking about a parent with a young girl heading into the sixth grade and she’ll need the usual vaccinations. This year, though, something’s different:

But this time, there's another disease on the list, one that the D.C. government is strongly urging your daughter be immunized against: the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which is sexually transmitted. After all, your daughter is 11 and probably black, so the assumption is she'll be having unprotected sex in no time -- but don't take offense.

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