As promised, I tried to contact the Congresspersons sitting on the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources who will be deciding the fate of HR 589. Eleven calls – eleven press secretaries away from their desks, out of the office, or speaking on a conference call.  I left a lot of messages with only one return call and one lady even hung up on me when I told her she was my employee and I wanted to know her name.  In short, I was denied access most likely because so many 99ers have been emailing and calling the members of the committee since we released their names here on From the Trenches.

The one person that did call me back was from Lloyd Doggett’s office.  However she became agitated and distressed when I pushed her to answer one simple question.  Mind you, she did not even know what the question would be.  She gave me the number to the press person for the Democratic side of the Committee and of course I got voice mail. 
Continue reading “99ers – HR 589 to be Decided by 7 Republicans and 4 Democrats – Does it stand a Chance? Let’s Find Out”

How will the Iranian government react as Green Movement protesters take to the streets of Tehran today?  The Green Movement was formed in Iran in response to the 2009 elections which they believed were rigged in favor of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. 

Iranian reformist leader Mehdi Karroubi has been placed under house arrest after seeking government permission to hold the anti-government rallies.  He is reportedly being denied access to communication, although a statement did come out on his blog proclaiming that the rally would go forth.

Some are accusing the Iranian government of hypocrisy as it has openly praised the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. 
Continue reading “Iranians Take to the Streets in Step with Egypt and Tunisia”

Every once in a while it becomes necessary to attack the false left-right paradigm in order to keep the lie it represents front and center in the minds of those the propagandists seek to control.  I’m sure every 99er would agree that jobs and unemployment are for the majority the number one issue in the U.S. today.  However the will of the majority is subservient to the interests of the rich. 

The Demopublicans have historically sold themselves as proponents of the working man and the poor, whereas the Republicrats claim corporations and the rich as their own.  The fact is they all defecate through the same hole and the American workers et.al. are spoon fed what comes out.  As the fact that we are losing more jobs every day is being ignored out of hand, the one party socialist system is busy catering to their fellow filthy rich.
Continue reading “99ers Break the False Left-Right Paradigm, Push HR 589 and Eliminate NAFTA, CAFTA, GATT (WTO)”

Many would like to know exactly what is being done in reference to solving our ever worsening jobs problem.  You would think that as our continuing loss of jobs is the number one issue in America today, it would be all over the mainstream news.  Not so.  The fact is unless you are an Egyptian living in America you might as well not bother turning the television on.

I have been reading a lot of comments saying we need to do what the Egyptians did and little blurbs such as “Walk like an Egyptian.”  I have something to tell you.  The Egyptians haven’t accomplished shite.  The fact is if Jose Mubarak had dropped dead of a brain aneurism nineteen days ago, the Egyptian people would be in the same condition that they are in today.  That is living under martial law and under the control of a military dictatorship.
Continue reading “99ers Go Forth and Push HR 589 through the Ways and Means Committee”

In looking at the way the 99ers have jumped on the opportunity to change their destiny by aggressively attacking the problem of the Ways and Means Subcommittee that needs to move HR 589 to the House Floor as soon as possible, I am encouraged.  I believe that if enough of us can get together and assert ourselves aggressively, it is going to catch many who might oppose us completely off balance. 

The drive to force the passage of HR 589 needs to get out of control.  We cannot slow down, but rather we must intensify our efforts over the weekend.  We must go to every venue where a 99er might be found and convince him or her to email and tweet all the eleven members of the subcommittee over the weekend.
Continue reading “99ers – The Fight for HR 589 Intensifies”

In following the progress of the unemployment extension legislation it is revealed that it is being identified as HR 589 Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2011.  The emergency legislation was introduced Wednesday by Congresswoman Barbara Lee to the House Ways and Means Committee. 

This is an alert.  It is imperative that every 99er work to flood the Ways and Means Committee with emails demanding that the legislation expediently be moved through the committee and onto the House floor.  These are the individuals who sit on the Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Ways and Means Committee.  Also call the Capitol switchboard at 1-866-220-0044 and ask to speak to these members.  Don’t ask, demand, that HR 589 be put through.
Continue reading “99ers Alert – HR 589 Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2011 is Introduced to Ways and Means Committee”

Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman announced today that President Mubarak is stepping down.  Apparently Mubarak will be turning his power over to the military.  How this whole scenario is going to play out, no one can be sure, but there are talks of doing away with the Egyptian constitution.  I guess this leaves Egyptian under martial law which is essentially the state they were in before they started.  It will be interesting to see how the Islamic Brotherhood reacts to the new power vacuum.

I believe if the Egyptian people had any sense they would draft a new constitution from the United States Constitution, copying it verbatim.  I think even the corrupt U.S. government would have a hard time not coming out in full support of the Egyptian people.  And how cool would it be to see the Obama administration have to support our Constitution in another country at the same time they are violating it here? 
Continue reading “Historic Day in Egypt as Mubarak Steps Down in Face of Revolution”

Well it has been two days since the press release to reintroduce HR 6556 and as of the writing of this article I haven’t heard the word 99er mentioned once in the mainstream propaganda.  Congresswoman Lee said there would be a lot of hard work ahead which leads me to wonder what the hard work involves.  If she would tell us maybe we could help.  The fact is I have seen Harry Reid introduce and have a bill voted on within a matter of days.  And if this House Resolution is going to be introduced as an emergency measure, one would think that the very word emergency would indicate the need for a speedy process.

I understand that support for the bill will probably be its single greatest obstacle as most of the politicians are already bought and serve only those special interests that paid for them.  In observing the political maneuvering in Washington DC, I am beginning to wonder if HR 6556 is being put in place as a measure of compromise.  Continue reading “99ers – HR 6556 Not by Compromise but by Right”

The Chinese are busy building new cities as their real estate market explodes.  There is just one problem.  Not only does no one live in these cities but no one was ever intended to.  The cities are built in the desert and consist of sky scrapers, apartment buildings, and metro domes.  The cities are being built to create an exploding housing market, wherein investors and developers are making bank in creating an illusion. 

Imagine brand new cities that no one lives in.  And we actually have people coming to this site expounding as how the Chinese government industry and people are so superior to us here in the United States.  It is true we allow our government to get away with a lot, but building whole cities for no other purpose than going through the act, well I don’t think that even the most stupid of Americans would fall for this.
Continue reading “Chinese Ghost Cities”

Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Congressman Bobby Scott held a press conference Wednesday morning to announce the reintroduction of HR 6556.  And Monday evening MSNBC’s Ed Shultz addressed the issue of the 99ers and the legislation extensively.  It was good to see the 99er issue thrust back into the mainstream propaganda machine.

Of course there is a trade off.  Schultz seemed to rave without taking a breath for five minutes expounding on his total devotion to social communism.  He mixed truths with half truths and lies.  Truths, like the description of the deplorable conditions the 99ers are living in.  Half truths, like the right wing of the false left-right paradigm is 100% responsible for our plight.  Outright lies, like social communism is American.
Continue reading “99ers – HR 6556 No More than Another Lie?”

I just received this email from Joel Payne, Communications Directory for Congresswoman Barbara Lee. 

Henry –

How are you?  I am the Communications Director for Congresswoman Barbara Lee who introduced the 99er bill today with Congressman Scott.  I understand that you are concerned about the coverage we got for today’s event.  Continue reading “Update: HR 6556 Coverage”

Well 9:45 am Eastern Time has come and gone and nowhere in the mainstream media is there the smallest mention of Barbara Lee’s long awaited press conference.  I contacted Ms. Lee’s office this morning.  One of her receptionists told me that the big news release was indeed happening, but apparently there is nowhere in the media that we 99ers can go to view this earth shattering event.  Ms. Lee’s receptionist said that CNN was supposed to be on the scene but apparently, if they are, they are not reporting the event live. 

C-Span’s website at present has no information on the subject.

I contacted Bobby Scott’s office.  His receptionist would not even confirm that CNN was present at the press release.
Continue reading “99ers HR 6556 Secret Press Release”

The mainstream propagandists, in thinking they have eliminated the 99ers from reality, have now concentrated their efforts on attacking the labor unions in the individual states.  The states are in a lot of trouble, but one must ask how much of it has been caused by federal mandates.  The main focus in the demonization of the labor unions is in reference to salary increases and the states’ inability to pay retirement pensions in the long run. 

The filthy rich have milked the individual states just as surely as they have milked the United States and now that they have piled the wealth they are aggressively pushing for laws to protect what they have acquired.  You see the states have to continue to function and the money has to come from somewhere.  The rich man has no intent of giving back that which he has stolen and is trying to turn we the people against one another in determining who will replace the stolen monies.
Continue reading “99ers Watching HR 6556 Closely”

President Barack Obama AKA Barry Soetoro held a meeting Monday morning with the United States Chamber of Commerce.  The event was hyped by the mainstream propagandists as a new era wherein Obama will be becoming more business friendly.  This is an insult to the intelligence.  Obama has been engaged in a virtual lip lock with big business since taking office.  This administration and the propagandists that represent it seem to believe that the people of America have the long term memory of a cabbage and will accept any assertion they put forth, either out of desperation or raw stupidity.

The Obama administration represents one of the biggest corporate giveaways, well since the last administration.  In specific the bailouts of the car companies, stimulus moneys channeled to big business, billion dollar tax cuts to the top 2%, and let’s not forget the $30 billion given to the so called small banks just before the 2010 Congressional elections, which is being identified as the point that Obama decided he needed to become more business friendly.
Continue reading “99ers, Obama’s Speech, HR 6556, Unemployment Extension, SSDD”

The situation in Egypt has taken a new turn following American reporters being beaten, abused and thrown out of the country.  There are now anti-American slogans being shouted by the Egyptian people on the streets.  This change in attitude has in turn caused a change in attitude in the United States, where a majority of the people are now saying that if Egypt has nothing but contempt for the U.S. all aid should be stopped immediately. 

This whole scenario has resulted in one of the most surprising admissions to come from our government in a long time.  For years we have been told that the $1.5 billion per year we are giving Egypt is being sent because they are a strong ally and promote our interests in the area.  Continue reading “New Information out of Egypt”

The trial for the three American hikers who were arrested near the Iran/Iraqi border and charged as spies is underway.  Sarah Shourd, the only woman among the three, was released on bail a couple of months back and will not be returning to Iran to face the charges.  I guess she can hope the Iranian government doesn’t hire Dog the Bounty Hunter to come after her.

Joshua Fattal and Shane Bauer are facing a prosecution that could get them the death penalty, though it is being speculated that a ten year prison sentence is more likely. 
Continue reading “Trial Begins for American Hikers Accused of Spying in Iran”

Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s HR 6556 is supposed to be introduced this week and every 99er is praying that it will not be swept aside again.  Republicans released a document last week purporting that they intend to cut $100 million from the budget this year.  Frankly I do not see how the unemployment extension can possibly be passed in the face of these budget cuts.

Some people seem to think that I am seeking recognition and fame.  Anyone who has followed my work has to know that this assertion is repugnant to the message I have been putting forth.  One thing that has bothered me all my life is the fact that our founding fathers are identified with a specific elitist group; George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, and John Hancock to name a few.  Continue reading “99ers – Will Boehner Allow HR 6556 to Proceed?”

It seems everyone is looking for a quick fix for the unemployment problem.  Well to get a quick fix or any other we must understand the motivations of the people who are causing the problem.  And just what exactly is the motivation of the rich?  Profit.  The fact is they have profited to a fault in what they have done to the 99ers and they will continue to abuse us as long as it is profitable to so. 

I am not an attorney but I do believe there is something contained in the body of our law in reference to unjust enrichment.  The enrichment they are enjoying at present is the direct result of an unjust act in that they have unlawfully manipulated our institutions to allow them to enrich themselves through our natural resources without any compensation to the rest of us; in short they have taken their share of our natural resources and ours. 
Continue reading “99ers – 14 Weeks of Socialist Free Unemployment Benefits”

We are now 13 days into the Egyptian protests and Friday was more of a whimper than a bang.  I guess the anti-Mubarak protesters rethought the strategy of marching on the Presidential Palace, which is probably for the best as the Egyptian military seems to have gotten things back under control.  The protests are mostly peaceful at present but it is being speculated that violence could erupt again if President Mubarak does not step down soon.

Increasingly we are finding out more about the Islamic Brotherhood, a faction which technically is outlawed in Egypt as no religious political parties are allowed.  Apparently the Brotherhood wields a lot more power than originally reported and in fact has been involved in the uprisings since the beginning. 
Continue reading “13th Day of Protests in Egypt”