Dems who need pressure, a call to action on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid 22OKT13

TWO prominent Democrats in the US Senate are laying the groundwork for Pres Obama and the Democratic caucus in the US to betray the American people who elected them to office. Both Sen Dick Durbin D IL and Sen Mark Warner D VA have gone on national TV and stated there will have to be "adjustments" made to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in the upcoming budget negotiations with the repiglicans and tea-baggers. They are willing to sacrifice the retirement security and the health care of the disabled to satisfy the greed of the same people in congress who shut down the federal government earlier this month. The same people who don't represent the best interest of the people who elected them or the American people as a whole, but who represent the wealthy and corporate interest who bought  and paid for their elections to congress. The decision has already been made for another grand betrayal, and the propaganda campaign has started to sell it to the American people. See my earlier post Government Close Down - Another Grand Betrayal in the Works? 4OKT13
http://bucknacktssordidtawdryblog.blogspot.com/2013/10/government-close-down-another-grand.html
Below is a call to action from the PCCC / Progressive Change Campaign Committee to hold all Democrats who promote, support and vote for cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid accountable, including supporting Democratic challengers when they are up for reelection and not volunteering for or contributing to their campaigns. Click the link to sign the pledge.
Sen. Mark Warner keeps saying he's open to cutting Social Security. And he's negotiating for Democrats with Paul Ryan!
We're preparing to fight back during the upcoming months of negotiations.
Sign the pledge to take action against anyone -- Democrat or Republican -- who wants to cut Social Security.
More below... -- Adam

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Sunday on CBS's Face the Nation, Sen. Mark Warner said: "We all know at the end of the day...Democrats are going to have to give on entitlement reform."

This is coming from one of the Democrats picked to negotiate with Paul Ryan and hash out a budget.

We need to pressure Sen. Warner on his home turf to stop pushing for a Grand Bargain that cuts Social Security.

Can you help us fight against Warner and other Democrats who push for benefit cuts? Sign the pledge to take action and hold Democrats accountable.

Sen. Warner has a bad habit of pre-emptive caving on Social Security. Days before the government shutdown, Warner told CNBC, "Democrats are gonna have to give on entitlements." He was wrong.

This broken record needs to find a new tune. We must expand benefits for seniors and veterans, not cut them.

Starting next week, we want to organize Warner's Virginia constituents, generate local media events, and flood his office with pressure from constituents.

Pledge to take action against benefit cuts and ensure that Sen. Warner and any Democrats who follow his lead hear loudly from their constituents -- click here to sign.

Some groups won't name names of Democrats who need pressure. We just did because, with Social Security at stake, progressives need to pressure the right people.

Thanks for being a bold progressive.

-- Adam Green, PCCC co-founder

On Fox News Sunday, the second ranking Senate Democrat, Dick Durbin said he was open to cutting Social Security and explained:

"Social Security is gonna run out of money in 20 years. The Baby Boom generation is gonna blow away our future. We don't wanna see that happen."

Huffington Post points out, "Social Security will not run out of money in 20 years. The program currently enjoys a surplus of more than $2 trillion."
We expect false facts and a push to cut Social Security benefits from Republicans, but not from Democrats like Dick Durbin.
Senator Durbin is on the key committee for the budget talks, and negotiations begin soon. That's why he needs to hear from us now.
Thanks for being a bold progressive.
-- Kimberly Fountain, Campaign Director

 

Sec of State Clinton Claims Fault for Benghazi Attack in Heated Hearing, VIDEO & REPORT 23JAN13

SEC OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON slams back at the hypocritical repiglicans and tea-baggers in Congress during her testimony on the attack on our consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Sen Durbin D IL tells it like it is with his comment in response to the attacks on Sec Clinton and the Obama administration when he said "I do want to make one point, for the record here, about whether the American people are told everything right away, in the right way, so that they can be fully informed. And I would like to refer to five words for them to reflect on: Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

We were told by every level of government here there were Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that justified a war, the invasion of the United States. We're still searching for those weapons. They didn't exist. Thousands of Americans lost their lives.

We could have a hearing on that, if you'd like." Check out these videos and the story from the PBS NewsHour...

Watch the Full Clinton-Paul Exchange from the Benghazi Hearing

Watch the Full Clinton-McCain Exchange from the Benghazi Hearing

Watch the Full Clinton-Johnson Exchange from the Benghazi Hearing

REPORT    AIR DATE: Jan. 23, 2013

Secretary of State Clinton Claims Fault for Benghazi Attack in Heated Hearing

SUMMARY

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke before Senate and House committees about the deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Gwen Ifill reports on Clinton's taking responsibility for the inadequate security as well as her rejection of claims from Republicans that the Obama administration had deceived the nation.

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Transcript

GWEN IFILL: Secretary of Clinton – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified for the first time today about last September's deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Her testimony before Senate and House committees was at times tense and even emotional.

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HILLARY CLINTON, Secretary of State: As I have said many times, I take responsibility, and nobody is more committed to getting this right. I am determined to leave the State Department and our country safer, stronger and more secure.

GWEN IFILL: From the start, Sec. Clinton made clear she accepts ultimate blame for security failings before the attack that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. She told a Senate hearing this morning, it's not just about policy; it's personal.

HILLARY CLINTON:  I stood next to President Obama as the Marines carried those flag-draped caskets off the plane at Andrews. I put my arms around the mothers and fathers, the sisters and brothers, the sons and daughters, and the wives left alone to raise their children.

GWEN IFILL: But sparks flew when Senate Republicans accused the Obama administration of deceiving the nation by initially suggesting the Benghazi attack was something other than terrorism.

VIDEO: Watch Secretary Clinton's Testimony on Consulate Attack in Libya

Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin:

SEN. RON JOHNSON, R-Wis.: We were misled that there were supposedly protests and then something spread out of that, an assault sprang out of that. And that was easily ascertained that that was not the fact.

SEN. RON JOHNSON: And the American people could have known that within days, and they didn't know that.

HILLARY CLINTON:  With all due respect, the fact is, we had four dead Americans. Was it because of a protest? Or was it because of guys out for a walk one night and decided they would go kill some Americans? What difference at this point does it make?

It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, Senator. Now, honestly, I will do my best to answer your questions about this, but the -- the fact is that people were trying in real time to get to the best information.

GWEN IFILL: Republican John McCain pressed Clinton on why U.S. consular staff evacuated from Libya to Germany weren't questioned sooner.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, R-Ariz.: I categorically reject your answer to Sen. Johnson about, well, we didn't ask these survivors, who were flown to Ramstein the next day, that they -- that this was not a spontaneous demonstration.

To say that it's because an investigation was going on? The American people deserve to know answers, and they certainly don't deserve false answers.

So, here we are four months later and we still don't have the basic information. Now, if you want to go out and tell the American people what happened, you should at least have interviewed the people who were there, instead of saying, no, we couldn't talk to them because an FBI investigation was going on.

HILLARY CLINTON:  Well, Senator, I understand your very, very strong feelings.

You knew Chris. You were a friend of Chris. You were one of the staunchest supporters of the efforts to dislodge Gadhafi and try to give the Libyan people a chance. And we just have a disagreement. We have a disagreement about what did happen and when it happened with respect to explaining the sequence of events.

We did get to talk to the D.S. agents when they got back to this country. We did so. It was not before September 15. We had no access to the surveillance cameras for weeks, which helped to answer a number of questions.

GWEN IFILL: The challenges continued later in the day before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

REP. DANA ROHRABACHER, R-Calif.: Over and over and over again, it was repeated that we had enraged the Islamic terrorists which, by the way, what's that do?

When you say that we enraged the Islamic terrorists, that means we're at fault, they're not at fault.

HILLARY CLINTON:  I want to be clear that, of course, it was a terrorist attack.

The very next day, I called it an attack by heavily armed militants on our compound. I think there is still, however, questions about exactly what caused it, who the attackers were.

GWEN IFILL: In the Senate, Kentucky. Republican Rand Paul said Clinton, who is leaving office shortly, should have be.en fired first.

SEN. RAND PAUL, R- Kentucky.: I'm glad that you're accepting responsibility. I think that ultimately with your leaving, you accept the culpability for the worst tragedy since 9/11. And I really mean that. Had I been president at the time, and I found that you did not read the cables from Benghazi, you did not read the cables from Ambassador Stevens, I would have relieved you of your post. I think it's inexcusable.

GWEN IFILL: Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois accused Republicans of applying a double standard.

SEN. RICHARD DURBIN, D-Ill.: I do want to make one point, for the record here, about whether the American people are told everything right away, in the right way, so that they can be fully informed. And I would like to refer to five words for them to reflect on: Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

We were told by every level of government here there were Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that justified a war, the invasion of the United States. We're still searching for those weapons. They didn't exist. Thousands of Americans lost their lives.

We could have a hearing on that, if you'd like.

GWEN IFILL: While the Benghazi attack was the main focus, Clinton also turned her attention to upheaval elsewhere in North Africa.

HILLARY CLINTON:  Benghazi did not happen in a vacuum. The Arab revolutions scrambled power dynamics and shattered security forces across the region. Instability in Mali has created an expanding safe haven for terrorists who look to extend their influence and plot further attacks of the kind we saw just last week in Algeria.

GWEN IFILL: In Mali, elements of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, known as AQIM, have seized a large swathe of territory, prompting France to intervene militarily with airpower and ground troops.

The U.S. military is providing transport flights to aid the French, and Clinton said other assistance is still under consideration.

HILLARY CLINTON:  But it is a necessary struggle. We cannot permit northern Mali to become a safe haven. People say to me all the time, well, AQIM hasn't attacked the United States.

Well, before 9/11, 2001, we hadn't been attacked on our homeland since, I guess, the War of 1812 and -- and Pearl Harbor. So you can't say, well, because they haven't done something they're not going to do it.

This is not only a terrorist syndicate; it is a criminal enterprise.

GWEN IFILL: Clinton also said the recent crisis at a natural gas plant in Algeria is more evidence of the growing threat of AQIM.

Islamist militants seized the site last week, and the Algerian military struck back. The Algerian government says at least 37 foreign hostages were killed, including three Americans.

Clinton conceded many questions remain about that incident.

HILLARY CLINTON:  And let me offer our deepest condolences to the families of the Americans and all of the people from many nations who were killed and injured in that recent hostage crisis. We're in close touch with the government of Algeria. We stand ready to provide assistance. We are seeking to gain a fuller understanding of what took place so we can work together with Algerians and others to prevent such terrorist attacks in the future.

GWEN IFILL: Clinton is expected to be back before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee tomorrow, to introduce her likely successor, Sen. John Kerry.

JEFFREY BROWN: Online, you can watch some of the more heated exchanges from the hearing, as well as read the full testimony transcript.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/jan-june13/clinton_01-23.html

Bank Of America Debit Card Fee Leads To Legislative Response 3OKT11

bank of america is among the worst of the financial institutions sapping the chance of a economic recovery in the U.S. Their greed knows no bounds, here is their latest grab for your money, if you are foolish enough to bank with them. The story on HuffPost follows this call to action from the PCCC.....

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Click here to sign Rep. Brad Miller's "move your money" bill -- going on offense against Bank of America.

Last week, Bank of America announced they will charge a new $60-per-year fee to use debit cards on basic things like groceries. It will pad their profits by an estimated $2 billion.
In reaction, a TV host cut up her Bank of America card on the air.
Now, Congressman Brad Miller -- from Bank of America's home state of North Carolina -- is going on offense against Bank of America with legislation that would make it much easier for customers to switch banks.
To gain momentum, Miller needs other members of Congress to pile on this week.
Can you sign our petition urging your Representative and others to support Brad Miller's "move your money" bill? Click here.
When the new debit card fee was announced, Sen. Dick Durbin said, “Bank of America customers, vote with your feet, get the heck out of that bank."
A right-wing blogger wrote, "I actually agree with Durbin to a point." One person shared, "After 30 years of banking with Bank of America, today I walked into a local branch and asked to speak to the branch manager and closed every account."
But here's the catch -- Bank of America intentionally puts up obstacles to customers leaving.
In many states, walking into a bank branch isn't even enough! Miller's bill would change that -- allowing people to close accounts by phone or Internet, and have things like direct deposit transfer automatically.
Urge Congress to hold Bank of America accountable now. Sign here.
Across America, a simmering rage is coming to a boil against Wall Street greed.
The Occupy Wall Street movement has channeled this anger. Today, we're focusing it into a deep corporate accountability campaign against one of Wall Street's worst actors.
Rep. Miller's bill is just the first step. Later, we'll organize at local branches across the country and target Bank of America with hard-hitting ads.
But first, please sign our petition urging your Representative and others to support Brad Miller's "move your money" bill today. Click here.
We'll deliver this petition to Congress, and work with Rep. Miller to move his legislation forward. Thanks for being a bold progessive.
-- Kristiane Skolmen, Stephanie Taylor, Adam Green, Neil Sroka, and the PCCC team

P.S. On the petition page, you can also write a note to Occupy Wall Street protesters. Our staffer on the ground will personally deliver these notes to their General Assembly. Sign here.

Bank Of America Debit Card Fee Leads To Legislative Response

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/30/bank-of-america-fee_n_992623.html
WASHINGTON -- While demonstrators in New York are calling for an occupation of Wall Street, a new push by Democrats in Congress proposes a different tactic: Just walk away.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and Rep. Brad Miller are going on the offensive against Bank of America after the financial behemoth cited Wall Street reform in announcing a new five dollar monthly debit charge last week. Miller, a Democrat from BofA's home state of North Carolina, plans to introduce legislation that would make it easy for consumers to switch banks and simultaneously swap their direct deposit, electronic bill paying and other automatic features that make moving money from one bank to another more hassle than it's often worth.
Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin, meanwhile, is encouraging consumers to abandon the bank's debit card. "My word to consumers across America is talk with your feet, look for a debit card that doesn't charge the Bank of America fee," Durbin told HuffPost, adding that the revenue from the new fee likely far outstrips what they'll lose to swipe fee reform. "It would be no surprise if we found out that Bank of America is overcharging consumers again. They've been found guilty of that in the past, but I really encourage consumers across America to look for competition that doesn't charge this fee, move their debit cards."
The Chicago Tribune, Durbin's home state paper, dubbed the BofA charge "the Durbin fee," which conservative blogs and Republicans have been happy to latch onto, arguing that the hike was a logical consequence of Durbin's swipe fee reform, which capped the fees banks could charge merchants for using debit cards.
On Saturday, the Federal Reserve instituted a 24 cent cap on swipe fees, estimating that running the card costs banks between 7 and 10 cents per swipe. The cap is roughly 20 cents lower than the average swipe fee had been previously.
Anne Pace, a Bank of America spokeswoman, noted that other banks are testing similar fees and that Regents and SunTrust are also hiking charges. "The price of a debit card was previously determined by the amount and type of transactions. We were able to pass some of these costs along to merchants, but because of regulatory changes, we are adjusting our pricing to reflect today’s economics," she told HuffPost.
On Friday, Durbin's office sent around a memo, obtained by HuffPost, to other senators who had supported his swipe fee amendment, telling them to reject the suggestion that swipe fee reform required BofA to raise fees. Banks raise fees no matter what, Durbin argued in defense, noting that they'd raised fees after the bailout.

The Electronic Payments Coalition, which represents banks in the swipe fee battle, hit back at Durbin. “It is astounding that Senator Durbin, who created today’s chaos, is now trying to point the finger at everyone but himself for the widely predicted consumer harm," spokeswoman Trish Wexler emailed to HuffPost.
"Senator Durbin has spent years pushing the agenda of giant retailers, while flatly ignoring repeated warnings by consumer advocates, economists, and regulators this type of consequence. The truth is that Senator Durbin knew that banks and credit unions across the board would have to raise prices. Instead of heeding our warnings and protecting consumers, he chose to put millions of dollars into the pockets of giant retailers.”
Miller's bill represents a chance to go on offense. Durbin told HuffPost it's something he could get behind, though he has yet to see the legislative language. "I've worked with Brad, he's come up with some pretty good ideas and I like the concept very much," Durbin said. "We've got to give consumers an opportunity for creating competition in the banking industry. Right now that is very difficult, we've got to make it easier."
The system in place today makes it difficult to switch accounts. But it doesn't have to be that way. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation regularly takes over failing banks on Friday afternoons and converts them to new banks by Monday morning, using software that makes sure not a single customer misses an automatic bill pay or a direct deposit. Miller's bill would require banks to make it as easy as technologically possible to switch accounts, and would forbid practices aimed at keeping consumers locked in.
Miller had been studying the legislation for at least a year, he said, but decided to pull the trigger after BofA's $5 fee was instituted. It is at heart a free-market reform, he said, and was inspired by HuffPost's Move Your Money campaign that unfolded after the bailout.
“If we can find a way to introduce real competition into banking, that'd do more than any regulation," Miller told HuffPost. "The biggest banks have turned the switch for market forces to the off position. If consumers could shop around for banks the way they can for everything else, banks wouldn’t think they had a God-given right to pay their executives vulgar bonuses and still make enormous profits, and consumers would get a much better deal."
Due to Republican-controlled redistricting, Miller faces a difficult primary against Democratic Rep. David Price if he hopes to remain in Congress, as both have been stuffed into the same district.
Legislation and regulation without a free market will ultimately fail, Miller said, and will lead to endless new fees as banks replace revenue lost to consumer protections with new charges. Without a real free market, consumers won't be able to respond the way they normally would.
Durbin noted that small banks and credit unions that are able, under Durbin's amendment, to charge higher swipe fees, should use that revenue to provide free debit cards that could win market share from BofA. "The community banks and credit unions that are exempt from this ought to step in with a zero charge debit card. At that point, it could be interesting. We could actually have some competition over debit cards," he said.
"In any other line of business, companies would be reluctant to raise their fees for fear of losing customers. That fear doesn't seem to be present in the banking industry," Miller said.
Even without the increased competition from Miller's bill, BofA's fee may not last. In January 2010, TCF Bank, which pioneered free checking in the 1980s, announced it would begin charging a monthly fee in response to Fed rules restricting overdraft charges. The move was regularly cited during the 2010 swipe fee fracas as evidence of the harm that would befall consumers if Durbin didn't back off. This January, TCF brought back free checking after losing customers.
One day before the Senate was expected to vote on delaying swipe fee reform in June, Chase went one step further: Thanks to the Durbin amendment, thousands of Chase customers were warned, your kid can forget about that trip to Disney World. "Congress recently enacted a new law known as the Durbin Amendment that significantly impacts debit cards," reads the letter. "As a result of this law, we will be changing our debit rewards program. After July 21, 2011 you will no longer earn Disney Dream Reward Dollars when you use your Disney Rewards Debit Card."
Durbin said that the fee is part of the bank's lobbying strategy to undo swipe fee reform. "I expect the banking industry to continue to kick and scream over this...They just happen to think they can win the day, ultimately, in Congress if they keep the pressure up," he said. "I'm not going to shed any tears for Bank of America. They made some awful decisions when it came to mortgages that jeopardized the future of their bank. They've had problems with profitability and losses leading up to this moment and for them to blame this law, which finally puts an end to the monopoly they had on swipe fees, it just doesn't bear up under close inspection."
Miller, in a letter to House colleagues, describes ways in which the legislation makes it easier to switch accounts:

The Freedom and Mobility in Consumer Banking Act makes the following changes and clarifications to existing law: Increases competition among banks by guaranteeing consumers the right to close a personal checking or savings account:
• Provides consumers the right to close an account at no charge
• Provides consumer the right to close an account at any time, regardless of whether the balance is positive, zero, or negative
• Provides consumer the right to close an account in person, by phone, or by other remote means as may be prescribed by regulation
Prohibits abusive fees and charges:
• Prohibits fees or charges from being assessed to an account after receiving a request to close an account
Requires banks to take reasonable steps to facilitate account closures:
• Requires institutions to notify consumers of preauthorized and recurring debits that hit their account for 30 days after a qualified account is closed
• Requires institutions to remit the balance in a closed account to the customer’s new account electronically if the consumer chooses
Prohibits banks from blacklisting consumers for failing to satisfy bank-generated fees assessed to an account at time of closure:
• Provides that consumers shall be given at least 30 days to remit payment for an account that is closed with a negative balance before the institution can initiate any collection activity, or reporting to a third party
• Provides that where an account is closed with a negative balance that is exclusively the result of overdraft or other fees assessed to the account by the depository institution, the institution may not report the account as delinquent to ChexSystems or any similar specialty consumer reporting service.

HuffPosts's Zach Carter contributed reporting.
This article has been updated to include a statement from the Electronic Payments Coalition.

Tell Sen. Durbin: Don't put Social Security on the chopping block. from CREDO 22APR11

SOCIAL SECURITY DOESN'T CONTRIBUTE TO THE FEDERAL BUDGET DEFICIT. TELL SEN DURBIN TO KEEP HIS GREEDY, GRUBBY HANDS OFF SOCIAL SECURITY, IF HE IS LOOKING FOR CUTS IN FEDERAL SPENDING HE CAN START WITH THE CONGRESSIONAL RETIREMENT PLAN, THE CONGRESSIONAL TAX PAYER SUBSIDIZED HEALTH CARE PLAN, THE CONGRESSIONAL PAY PLAN AND THEN MOVE ON TO THE CUTTING THE PENTAGON'S AND INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITIES BUDGETS. CLICK THE HEADER OR LINK TO SIGN THE PETITION, AND YOU CAN ALSO E MAIL SEN DURBIN AT 

http://durbin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

Tell Sen. Durbin: Don't put Social Security on thechopping block. Social Security is not just another bargaining chip. Clicking here will add your name to this petition: "Senator Durbin, don't put Social Security on the chopping block. Social Security has nothing to do with the federal budget deficit, so stop treating Social Security like a bargaining chip in negotiations about a deficit plan." Click here to add your name On Sunday, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, the second most powerful Democrat in the Senate, told ABC News that he was open to putting Social Security on the table as part of a negotiation about the federal budget deficit. It is simply absurd for Social Security to even come up in the context of the federal deficit. Social Security is one of the greatest anti-poverty programs in our country's history and is wildly popular. In addition, despite fear-mongering to the contrary, Social Security is currently running a surplus, will be fully solvent for decades, and is prohibited by law from adding to the deficit. It's time for Sen. Dick Durbin to stop treating Social Security like it's nothing more than a political bargaining chip. Tell Sen. Durbin: Don't put Social Security on thechopping block. Click here to automatically sign the petition. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had it right when he declared that Social Security should be "off the table." But on Sunday, Sen. Durbin acknowledged that he was open to a bipartisan "compromise" somewhere between Congressman Paul Ryan's crazy plan on the right (the one that among other things would destroy Medicare as we know it), and President Obama's plan (which was described as "a center-right plan" by Paul Krugman) on the left. In other words, Sen. Durbin is actively working to find a middle ground between an ultra-right plan and a center-right plan. This from a supposedly progressive Democrat! Social Security has been around for 75 years, and it will be around for another 75 years if people like Sen. Dick Durbin don't provide political cover to those who want to destroy the program. Tell Sen. Durbin: Don't put Social Security on thechopping block. Click here to automatically sign the petition. Thank you for speaking out. Matt Lockshin, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets Share on Facebook Post to your feed wall Tweet this Post to Twitter

Afghanistan Weekly Digest: Quran Burning. Troop Drawdown. War Tax Calculator. from SOJO 7APR11

THE latest Afghanistan Weekly Digest from SOJO, be sure to check out the war tax calculator......

[Editors' note: As part of Sojourners' campaign to end the war in Afghanistan, we will run a weekly Afghanistan news digest to educate our readers about the latest news and developments related to the war, the U.S. military's strategy, and the people impacted by our decisions. Read more about our campaign at www.sojo.net/afghanistan.]

• Durbin wants troop drawdown in Afghanistan: “Second-ranking democrat in the Senate supports summer drawdown of troops in Afghanistan.”

• What Would You Do With an Extra $70 Billion?: “Defense Secretary Robert Gates has vowed that the days of profligacy are over and that the Pentagon will reform its bloated and often corrupt acquisition process.”

• Taliban has strengthened along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, report finds: “The Taliban insurgency has gained strength in Pakistan’s border regions with Afghanistan in recent months despite a sustained government offensive against it, the Obama administration said in a stark new assessment of the war effort.”

• Afghans continue to denounce Quran burning: “Hundreds of people have taken to Afghanistan’s streets in fresh protests against a Quran burning in the United States, as the UN vowed a deadly attack on its staff would not derail its work.”

• Have you done your taxes yet? In honor of the upcoming tax day, check out this war tax calculator. See how much of your taxes this year will go to the war efforts.

Hannah Lythe is policy and outreach associate at Sojourners.