NPR News Today 2/10/05

Listened to Morning Edition.

Doesn't it feel, sometimes, like us little people keep getting screwed? Well, don't read any farther if you get depressed when you think of how the rich get all the breaks.

Bush calls the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 "A fair solution" that does not eliminate the rights of citizens to sue corporations (no, I guess not, it just severely hampers their efforts by making it too expensive for individuals, and impossible for groups of people to pool their resources to get justice). And guess what? The Act is backed mainly by...imagine that!...business interests. Hmm. Senators who support the bill say it is helpful to citizens who currently get taken advantage of by "predatory lawyers." To keep these horrible, unethical litigators from bilking the public (or, some people might say, getting justice where justice is due), the bill forces class actions involving more than $5 million into federal courts. Those against this bill are trying to couch it in terms of the erosion of states' rights. It will be interesting to see how this PR battle works out, but at the moment, it does not look good for the opposition.

And we are back again to the privatization of Social Security. NPR explored the story of Galviston, Texas, a city that replaced SS with a private system in the 70s. It seems to be working....for rich people. The GAO (that is, The Government Accountability Office) has been studying Galivston's system and came to the conclusion that private SS systems are best for high wage earners, but it will not keep up with regular SS if you live a long time for most people. In addition to experts at the GAO and from Galviston, NPR interviewed a recent retiree who said that she feels cheated by the system because she just figured out that, in she'd stuck with SS, she would've been entitled to $500 more per month than she gets from Galviston. Sigh.

There was a bit about elections in Saudi Arabia. Women can't run for office or vote, the men who will vote will vote for only half of the governing body. The other half of the government will be appointed by the king. Hmm. NPR interviewed a woman professor who teaches in Saudi Arabia, and she was great! She was, like, hey, it is a tiny, tiny step, but at least it is a step. However, without including women, it is all a farce. You cannot have a fair government that looks out for everyone's needs if only men are allowed to run things.

N. Korea announced that they have NUKES today. No one knows for sure if this is true. The report today made it sound like it might not be. Is it all blustering rhetoric on NK's part? Or is it true? At any rate, NK said also that they would not return to talks on the subject.

Armed services has fallen short on recruitments for the first time in a long long time, and the spokesperson told NPR it is only an anomaly. The report followed a group of Marines as they visited high schools and ROTC programs to try to gain greater numbers of recruits. These guys go around with Hummers and attack helicopters to impress the kids, and they do an amazing job. An interesting use of PR to sway people to their way of thinking.

But the news for us peons is not all bad. It's Fashion Week! Oh, wait, us peons can't afford any of the clothes that will be shown in NYC, and for the most part can't get in to see what's on the runways anyway. Gah.