Read a Pacific Northwest, liberal perspective on world, national, and local politics. From majestic Redmond, Washington - the Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

In Brief - March 1st, 2007

Here is today's quick news digest:
  • Gristmill has some good talking points to thoroughly debunk the recent right wing attacks on Al Gore. No wonder wingnuts are unhappy: the Vice President has been all over the media following the Academy Award victories for An Inconvenient Truth.. CNN couldn't stop talking about a Gore presidential run yesterday evening, showing endless footage from past campaigns and events Al has appeared at (including one last fall for Senator Maria Cantwell's reelection campaign).
  • The Project for Public Spaces has published a guide about turning waterfronts around as part of their recent focus on civic use of shorelines. PPS outlines 13 key steps that planners can use to create vibrant public spaces. Step 10, for example, notes that "waterfronts are dramatically enhanced when they can be accessed by means other than private vehicles."
  • A needed copyright reform bill has just been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rick Boucher and John Doolittle. The FAIR Use Act, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, "would remove some of the entertainment industry's most draconian anti-innovation weapons and chip away at the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's broad restrictions on fair use." While this bill doesn't bring about complete reform, it's a good start. Help push it through by responding to the EFF's action alert here.
  • White House Resident George W. Bush will veto legislation that would strengthen the nation's security if it passes the U.S. Senate, a spokesman says, because the bill would unionize 45,000 airport workers. 36 Republican senators sent a letter to the administration earlier this week saying they would provide the needed votes to sustain a veto in the 100-member Senate. Forget the 9/11 Commission recommendations. How typical. Republicans can't stop talking about securing our nation against terror but when asked to make a choice between ideology and America's safety, they choose ideology.
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