It’s time once again for our pseudo weekly feature wrapping up the missed stories from the past week. Sadly we don’t have time to cover everything and this lets us catch up, and helps our readers stay informed. We are still accepting contributers, as long as your writing is progressive and liberal we want to hear it.

Current biggest issue you should be paying attention to:

This week there is a toss up between the drought in the southeast and the flooding in Mexico. Both are large scale disasters that deserve more attention. The flooding and humanitarian crisis in Mexico is getting some attention, yet the drought seems to be getting very little. Atlanta water shortage is an excellent blog that is covering this crisis.

The Saintly Seven

1. Tens of Thousands marched in protest to the Iraq war last week. While overall there was a fairly large showing of support for ending the war I don’t see anything changing. If this administration has shown us one thing, its that they could care less what the American people want.
2. Responsible, accessible, and intelligent sex education and contraceptives are paying off. There has been a large decrease in the number of teen pregnancies in D.C. Amazing what happens when you don’t rely on superstitions and guilt to keep your kids safe.
3. Who says there is not progress in the Iraqi government? They have drafted legislation that will remove immunity from security contractors. This is largely in response to the Blackwater shooting that killed 17 civilians. Good for them.
4. Cheney went on another hunting trip. The not insignificant fact that the hunting lodge flies the confederate flag is trumped by the restraint shown by Cheney by not shooting anyone in the face. See even soulless cyborgs can show restraint sometimes.
5. U.S. Military deaths have dropped significantly. This is a very nice change, though many question it giving the administration’s funny math. Anyhow fewer Americans dying is always a good thing.
6. The United Methodist Church has ruled that a transgendered man can retain his post as pastor. Very cool, it is glad that not all Christians are using the bible to spread hatred and intolerance.
7. Rudy Giuliani is finally facing an investigation into the no bid contract that led to faulty radios on 9/11. About damn time. Rudy’s “leadership” is one of the key reasons so many of our bravest died on that tragic day. If only this looked to have an impact on his campaign.

The Sinning Seven

1. Remember when McCain was bashing Hillary for supporting a$1 Million earmark for the Woodstock museum; while ignoring a Republicans $25 Million earmark to a foreign company under criminal investigation? Well, turns out another Republican wants money for a Donkey Museum. No outrage from the McCain camp or other fiscal conservatives, Surprise!
2. Gap clothing stores have been caught using child labor, some as young as 10, to make clothes. These kinds of abuses are all too common, and most often companies are never held accountable.
3. Fox News has finally, after 4 years, decided to cover the Iraq war. In typical Fox fashion they only cover the supposed success and ignore the failures. Even for a fake news station Fox is pathetic.
4. FEMA held a fake news conference regarding the California Wildfires. In a stunning turn of events the public actually cared that they were being misled. In an even more stunning turn of events Pat Philbin, who staged the fiasco, was actually held accountable and lost his job and promotion over the affair. What the hell is going on, aren’t you supposed to get promoted for this kind of thing in the Bush administration?
5. The White House has apparently offered limited immunity to Blackwater guards for the shooting and killing of 17 Iraqi civilians. Nice to see they are staying consistent on their views of accountability.
6. The Republican Conservatives still don’t like minorities. I guess you can’t pander to racists and minorities at the same time.
7. Turns out Mitt Romney isn’t as pro-big-business as he says. While governor of Massachusetts he aggressively closed tax loopholes and ran up the tax bill for businesses by about 300 million. Say it ain’t so Mitt, Say it ain’t so!