Cindy Sheehan was arrested at the State of the Union address last night.

I never ever, not ever never thought I'd ever be in agreement with the freepers, but they do have one valid point....

[Six here. After the day we had today, this piece from Crisis Papers says it too damned well....]

I've had problems finding good information on part time workers in the U.S., since the government's statistical sampling survey that it uses to compute unemployment (see WTW story) apparently does not compile statistics on how many people were employed only part time.

I did finally track down some a Bureau of Labor Statistics series that covers various reasons for working part time. If I read it correctly, the number of people who regularly worked part time--not temporarily because of slow work, or the like--was 11,182,000 in 1976, 19,214,000 in 2005.  That's an increase of 8,032,000 in that 29 years.

I wonder what the numbers would be for people working temp jobs?

Sounds like things just got a lot trickier/scarier/more dangerous in the world, especially the Middle East, as the various "sides" start searching for ways to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, while Iran searches for ways to keep going and/or convince everyone that they don't want a bomb.

Paul Weyrich.  Formerly of the heritage Foundation, currently of the Free Congress Foundation.  Widely recognized as one of the moral leaders of the those people known on the right as "people of Christian values," and known by most of the rest of us as the "lunatic right fringe."

Which perspective is closer?  Well, Paul Weyrich is the author of the quote: "We are different from previous generations of conservatives. We are no longer working to preserve the status quo. We are radicals, working to overturn the present power structure of this country."

And moral leader Weyrich just 'fessed up to some behavior that he had unequivocally denied only a short time before.

It somehow seems odd to come across a headline "Vatican Charges Publisher $18,000 for Quoting Pope," on a religious news wire service.  

For those who have yet to hear about it, check out the news that the new deficit reduction bill passed by the Senate, and due before the House for a last approval, drastically changes the Medicare rules for people on home oxygen therapy.

The Senate bill, S. 1932 requires that Medicare home oxygen patients own their equipment after 36 months of rental, a seemingly simple change that carries with it the consequence that "responsibility and the cost for servicing and maintaining this equipment will fall on the Medicare patient."

Do you think it's just coincidence that as of this morning (1/30/06) the text of this bill was not yet available on Thomas, the web-based Congressional service?

For an administration with a markedly poor record in reforming government agencies, not to mention Medicare prescription drug benefits, the Bush administration remains committed to that "reform" effort.  So, amid the news from UPI that FEMA couldn't even be bothered to accept help from a fellow fed agency, Interior, in its horrid response to Hurrican Katrina, we now have attempts to reform the pay system at DoD, the Homeland Security Department's personnel rules, and the mail delivery system at DoD, all chronicled at Federal Times.

This is the House that Jack bought.

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