Social Welfare Action @ Eastern Michigan University

Hi, I've been charged with conspiracy and money laundering!

Feel free to check out Tom Delay's mug shot and arrest warrant at the famous website The Smoking Gun.

While your there don't forget to check out  all the puppy dog greeting cards and correspondance Harriet Miers has sent George W. Bush.

DeLay Rejects Plea Bargain?

If that is true, Delay is the epitome of someone who feels a strong sense of entitlement.  He is offered a "sweet deal", plead guilty to a "misdemeanor" and he says NO!  You know why?  Because he believes he will get off with less than the slap on the wrist that was offered to him.
Check out this article by Larry Margasak of the AP to read more.
Written & Edited by Betty Sellers

From Poverty Reform to Program Funding Cuts

Where are the advocates? Where are the social workers? What are the Democrats doing? People thought that electing Howard Dean as the chairman of the Democratic National Convention would make some waves but even in light of the recent Republican debacles the conservatives have us chasing our tails and too overwhelmed to push any issues effectively.

Check out this piece on how the conservatives are turning hurricane rebuilding into another reason to turn the screws on the poor.
Jason DeParle writes in his NYT article Liberal Hopes Ebb in Post-Storm Poverty Debate:

Conservatives have already used the storm for causes of their own, like suspending requirements that federal contractors have affirmative action plans and pay locally prevailing wages. And with federal costs for rebuilding the Gulf Coast estimated at up to $200 billion, Congressional Republican leaders are pushing for spending cuts, with programs like Medicaid and food stamps especially vulnerable.

"We've had a stunning reversal in just a few weeks," said Robert Greenstein, director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal advocacy group in Washington. "We've gone from a situation in which we might have a long-overdue debate on deep poverty to the possibility, perhaps even the likelihood, that low-income people will be asked to bear the costs. I would find it unimaginable if it wasn't actually happening."

Submitted and Edited By Josh Wilkins

No-Bid to Re-Bid

After some news attention, much public uproar and a Senate panel investigation millions of dollars of no bid contracts are going up for rebid.

"I've been a public servant for a long time, and I've never been a fan of no-bid contracts," Paulison told a Senate panel investigating the Federal Emergency Management Agency's response to the hurricane. "Sometimes you have to do them because of the expediency of getting things done. And I can assure that you we are going to look at all of those contracts very carefully."

"All of those no-bid contracts, we are going to go back and rebid," he said of pacts that were worth millions of dollars.

Paulison said after the hearing that he did not have a total figure for no-bid contracts that have been given, but said they include four agreements for $100 million each for housing and construction services awarded immediately after the storm hit. The government has been accused of overpaying for some contracts that were awarded with unusual haste in an effort to speed assistance to Katrina's victims.

Check out the full article on written by Lara Jakes Jordan of the AP at AOL News

Submited by Betty Sellers
Edited by Josh Wilkins

Paris’ parents tell hurricane evacuees to get out of their hotel

Holbrook Mohr of the Associated Press reports that Hurricane evacuees are being asked to leave Hilton Hotels.

Hilton Hotels Corp., the parent company of Hampton Inn and other brands, is trying to find other rooms for the evacuees but said they were warned when they checked in that their stays would be limited by room availability, said Hilton spokeswoman Kathy Shepard.

The article points out how many times evacuees are living several families to a room and are receiving vouchers to reimburse the hotels for there stays. The hotels are upset because the evacuees tend to use more water and electricity then normal guests and don't spend as money on things such as food or incidentals. The hotel companies are worried about bad press but on the other hand must cater to there high paying guests with reservations.

Submitted by Betty Sellers
Edited by Josh Wilkins

Well off hurricane evacuees having problems affording housing

Joe Garofoli reports in the SF Gate that even well off hurricane evacuees are having a hard time making ends meet in one of the most liberal but expensive cities in the country. Maybe its time for San Francisco Bay area resources to take a cultural / social ergonomic status refresher course.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said last week that it would give families $2,358 apiece over three months in renewable housing subsidies. The trouble for evacuees in the Bay Area is that the figure is based on a national average for what it costs to rent a two-bedroom apartment.

In San Francisco, however, the average rent for a two-bedroom unit is $1,539 a month, according to federal housing figures.

DeLay steps down as majority leader after conspiracy charge

CNN is reporting

A grand jury in Austin charged DeLay, 58, and two associates already facing criminal charges with a single count of criminal conspiracy, accusing them of improperly funneling $190,000 in corporate donations to a DeLay-founded political action committee to Republican candidates for the Texas Legislature in 2002.

The move forced DeLay, R-Texas, to temporarily give up his position as the Republican leader in the House of Representatives

-Josh Wilkins

Too poor to have access to healthy foods

Donna Gordon Blankinship of the AP highlights a freequently ignored issues in her story "Poor Have Difficulty Eating Healthy Foods"

Cossey, a 43-year-old community college student, and her son, Andrew, survive on food stamps, trips to the food bank, and a state program for pregnant women and their children that provides essentials such as dairy products, fruit juice and cereal.

She knows they should both be eating more fruits and vegetables. But the foods on the government's new food pyramid are too expensive. Boxed macaroni and cheese costs less than a dollar to feed the whole family; a fresh chicken breast and steamed vegetables cost about $2.60.

For further reading on the abuse of poor people, business and nutrition look at the following which talk about how the fast food industry prey upon people who can not afford higher quality food.
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
Super Size Me by Morgan Spurlock
-Josh Wilkins

Texan Rita victims still living like "cave dwellers" blame red tape

Abe Levy of the AP gives us some insight that New Orleans isn't the only area suffering from the recent hurricanes. FOUR DAYS after Rita the people of Port Arthur in Texas are still suffering for lack of power and basic necessities. Local government is blaming federal red tape for the delays in recovery efforts.
-Submitted by Russell, written by Josh

Project Backpack Update

Please stop by the Official EMU Project Backpack Site to learn how you can donate to a great project that will directly go to help school children and infants affected by the Hurricane.