Woot sells one item, and one item only, per day, generally tech oriented and really low priced. Definitely worth checking out. And yes, they have an rss feed too.

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Banks making sub-prime loans will be required to actually consider the borrower’s ability to pay and confirm a borrower’s income before handing over the money. Now there’s a radical notion.

And yes, some banks and mortgage companies are screaming about such onerous rules, and if the government would just leave the market alone, everything would magically fix itself. What they of course fail to mention is that such lack of regulation is precisely what led to the greedfest followed by the implosion of credit markets.

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That would be his son.

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The NY Times has a poignant article about a 49 yr old man forced to move back home with his mother after the plant he worked at thirty years shut down. He was working hard, doing everything right too.

It’s going to get worse, what with the recession coming on. I caught part of an NPR piece about a small town where the factories closed. Most commute 60 miles to the nearest jobs. Do the math. You make $10 an hour ($80 a day) and your car gets 20 mpg. So you’re using 6 gallons of gas a day costing you about $20 - or 25% of your pretax income. Ouch.

What happens when there are many more millions of people like that?

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Garett Reppenhagen, board member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, left this comment yesterday to our post on the antiwar movement.

Thank you to all the organizations that are assisting the Iraq Veterans and GI Resistance who are opposing this war. All of our mentors and friends from the peace movement will be needed to help educate and guide the next generation as we step into the role as leaders of the movement. We at IVAW feel we have a unique role and a link to the majority of Americans who are against this war, but thus far have been silent in their opposition. Hopefully by granting us this opportunity we can experiment with new strategies and focus on specific messages. IVAW does not wish to divide the movement, we still would love your support and cooperation. Help hold a spot light to the truth of the occupation of Iraq and help us hold our government accountable.

A more broadly-based antiwar movement is the next big step. If we want to attract and bring into the movement people of all politics, then the focus needs to change. An antiwar rally with 90 minutes of speeches denouncing imperialism plus ten speakers talking about unrelated causes ain’t gonna cut it if you want to attract Middle America. But someone talking about how they served in Iraq and why the war needs to end might well get their attention.

Some of them might define themselves as right wing patriots who are appalled by the war. Great, bring them into the movement. Remember Scott Ritter, the UN weapons inspector turned war critic? He defines himself as a conservative ex-Marine who was proud to serve and bases much of his criticism of the war on the egregious violations of the Constitution. Someone like him can reach and convince people that lefties couldn’t get in the door with. And vice versa, of course.

So, let’s take the antiwar movement to the next level.

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