Boys Club

Defiant Weiner Refuses to Resign

Congressman Weiner urged to resign, seeks treatment Reuters

Representative Anthony D. Weiner near his home in Queens on Saturday. David Karp/Associated PressDefying the requests of key Democratic leaders that he resign and seek professional help, NY Rep Anthony Weiner left town today to seek treatment and a better understanding of his behavior.

In a brief statement, the congressman’s spokeswoman, Risa Heller, indicated Weiner would remain in office at least until he receives unspecified professional help.

“Congressman Weiner departed this morning to seek professional treatment to focus on becoming a better husband and healthier person,” Heller said.

Earlier today key Democrats including House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi asked him to resign from Congress.

Pelosi’s words were echoed by Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who called his behavior ‘indefensible’ and the head of the Democrats’ campaign fundraising in the House, Representative Steven Israel who said that Weiner’s problems had become ‘an insurmountable distraction to the House’.

In the latest developments of the Weiner scandal, he agrees that he had exchanged at least five private messages on Twitter with a 17-year-old Delaware girl. He insists that the messages were ‘neither explicit nor indecent’. Delaware police seem to agree.

GreenBeings

Formaldehyde and Styrene

Government Says 2 Common Materials Pose Risk of Cancer NTimes

Government scientists have listed formaldehyde as a carcinogen, saying concernful quantities exist in plywood, particle board, mortuaries and hair salons.

They also said that styrene, which is used in boats, bathtubs and in disposable foam plastic cups and plates, may cause cancer but is generally found in such low levels in consumer products that risks are low.

Officials are more concerned about workers with frequent exposure to the materials than consumers. The release of the report had been delayed because of intense lobbying from the chemical industry, which continues to dispute its findings.

David H. Koch in 1996. He and his brother Charles are lifelong libertarians and have quietly given more than a hundred million dollars to right-wing causes, writes The New YorkerLast year New Yorker reporter Jane Mayer wrote that billionaire David Koch, whose company Georgia Pacific (a subsidiary of Koch Industries) is one of the country’s top producers of formaldehyde, was appointed to the NIH cancer board by President Bush in 2004. As the NIH failed to proceed with action on its reasearch the NIH was pressured from Greenpeace and the scientific community.

Koch offered an early resignation from his board position in October, freeing the way for yesterday’s report to be released.

More reading: Covert Operations: The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama The New Yorker

RedTracker

Global SlutWalking

‘Slut Walk’ hits London streets AFP

Women take part in a ‘Slutwalk’ protest (AFP, Carl Court)Thousands of women took part in a SlutWalk in London today, insisting that women don’t cause their own rapes because of how they dress. Mostly women, the protesters were joined by a few men, dressed in everyday clothes. Anne will not be wearing a black lace bra in her SlutWalk but she likes this message on her back. On the front: ‘No Virginity Tests for Any Woman.’

New Delhi ‘Slut Walk’ Brings Global Sexual Violence Protest Phenomenon to India Huffington Post

Elizabeth Warren and Consumer Protection

The Warren Court The New Yorker

Libertarians like David Koch argue that consumers should be responsible for staying informed about products. Smart people embrace good products and reject bad ones. If you can’t read the ‘mice type’ in the pages that accompany credit cards and loan documents, it’s your fault.

A well-informed friend of Anne’s says that half of Americans fail the following question: You have $100 and are paid 2% interest for five years. At the end of the period you have 1) less than $100; 2) $102 or 3) more than $102.

Accepting our friend’s example, how in the world can anyone argue that Elizabeth Warren’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is not good for ordinary Americans. She will only get the position in a recess appointment, and Republicans are determined to derail that possibility as well. The New Yorker writes that Clizabeth Warren may be the most hated person in Washington.

HopeTracker

The Rise of Smart Jobs

The Economic Rebound: It Isn’t What You Think Wired.com

‘Revolutionary’ is not a word politicians use in talking about new jobs in the American economy. Especially Republicans just say lower taxes and get out of the way of business. Reality is that the US has not only become a two-class society instead of the three-class one with a strong middle class.

Without major ‘new thinking’ many workers in America will not be hireable for the new jobs.

The rise in global trade, technological advances, the decline in unions, and slowing growth in education all work against America’s old middle class. The growth is in ‘smart jobs’, as Wired shows us in this graph of job growth from 2006 to 2010.

By looking closely at data from both government and academic sources, we can see the gradual emergence of a whole new category of middle-class jobs: a realm of work that (given time and luck) could begin to close the chasm in American employment. These new middle-class jobs are what you might call smart jobs. They’re innovative and high tech, but most of them are located far from Silicon Valley or New York. They’re specialized, but that doesn’t mean you need a PhD or even (in some cases) a college degree to get them or to do them well—though they do require some serious training, whether on the job or in a vocational program.