Evergreene Digest A Journal of Progress for the Rest of Us

• On a daily basis, many Republicans are out telling their constituents and the national media that Democratic policies are dangerous.
• 10 Most Horrifying, Absurd Things in the GOP State Platforms

Faiz Shakir and Others, Think Progress

The 2010 midterm elections are just four months away, and with Republicans excited at the prospect of picking up seats and perhaps even gaining a majority in at least one -- and possibly both -- legislative chambers, talk is now turning to what the GOP will do if it takes over. Several of their "plans" so far include vapid talking points about "standing with the American people back home" and hollow gimmicks to "listen" to the American public for policy ideas. If elected back into leadership positions, many members of the Republican Party would like to extend their "Party of No" agenda and put their partisan ideologies over the best interests of the American public. There are already rumblings that the GOP would try to repeal significant portions of President Obama's agenda -- including health care reform, the stimulus, and financial regulatory reform -- and take the country back to the days of the Bush administration.

Minnesota case the next phase of national battle over campaign finance reform

Andy Birkey, Minnesota Independent<http://minnesotaindependent.com>

US Courthouse, Minneapolis

A trio of Minnesota organizations wants to contribute directly to GOP-endorsed gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer and the Republican Party of Minnesota without having to register as political organizations — and they’re suing to get that right.

Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, the Taxpayers League of Minnesota and Coastal Travel Enterprises are seeking an injunction in Minneapolis’ District Court, and they’ve enlisted the help of the lawyer that successfully litigated the recent U.S. Supreme Court case — known as Citizens United – that overturned laws banning independent expenditures by corporations.

The Minnesota DFL and watchdog groups say the effort is an attempt to circumvent disclosure laws passed unanimously by the legislature earlier this year and is detrimental to a transparent election process.

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Related:

Such is the vaunted United States of America where poverty is at its worst and wealth has become king.

Andy Driscoll, Truth to Tell, KFAI-FM

My friend, former State Senator and Author, John Milton, penned a short piece on the ungovernability of the US, to which I found myself following up with something of rambling dissertation on how this country is ungovernable for many reasons, many of which are embodied in the current political construct and atmosphere, both structural, that is, and by the Senate Club's design.

On Jun 28, 2010, at 10:30 AM, John Milton wrote:

In the Gulf disaster, many of us pretend immunity by blasting British Petroleum or the feds, when in fact the responsibility for perpetuating our addiction to oil is ours.  Once again, when the U.S. Senate refuses to extend unemployment benefits for lack of 60 votes, we can pretend to be offended, but once again we must hold ourselves accountable.  We elected the senators, and, especially those of us who celebrated a Democratic majority in that body in 2006 and 2008, we need to look in the mirror.

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A special message to our readers

David Culver, ed., Evergreene Digest

Yours truly is going on a short break from Wednesday, July 14 through Sunday, July 19, to participate as a crew member on the Red Ribbon Ride. I’ll be in the company of over 200 riders and 135 crew members on a 300 mile, 4 day bike trip through beautiful southeastern Minnesota to raise money (hopefully $400,000) for agencies that provide care and other services for people with HIV/AIDS. More about this extraordinary effort is on the web here.

There will be no regular content editing or reader’s notices during that time. (However, there will still be new material to read. There are over 7300 articles archived on the site and no one’s read ‘em all, which means there’s plenty of new--to you--material!) We’ll be checking the site regularly, though, to be sure things are still together technically. Our normal operations will resume Monday, July 19.

Again, thanks for reading Evergreene Digest!

Dave