Let's work to make this happen nationwide. From Civil Rights.org

In a victory for workers and labor advocates, the Connecticut legislature recently became the first in the nation to pass a statewide mandate for paid sick days.

Eighty percent of low-wage workers in the United States do not have any paid sick days, according to the National Partnership for Women & Families. S.B. 913 will require employers with fifty or more employees to provide paid sick leave when workers are ill or need to care for their families. With the implementation of this bill, workers in Connecticut will no longer have to decide between feeding their families and staying home from work due to illness.

The really good news about this is that it applies to PART-TIME employees, as well. Too many companies avoid paying benefits to their employees by insisting on a part-time work force.

You should have heard the whining and moaning from Connecticut Republican legislators about how this bill was a...wait for it...."job killer."

You know what hurts a business? I stop shopping at stores when I see an obviously sick employee running a cash register. I can shop at home and not catch something. Shopping does not have to cost me days of being ill myself, let alone facing the misery of passing something on to my three kids.

There is national legislation on this, called The Healthy Families Act, that would enable all workers in the United States to earn up to seven paid sick days a year. Just one more reason we need to kick out the Republicans in the House and remove Blue Dogs from the Senate.

One of the many depressing aspects of Obama's horrific decision to start a third simultaneous war with a Muslim-majority nation is that it's providing endless pangs of pleasure to Bill Kristol. After all, America's Chickenhawk-in-Chief hasn't been able to watch other people risk their asses invading a sovereign country since 2003 and he's just as thrilled and excited about this latest adventure as you'd expect him to be:

And so, despite his doubts and dithering, President Obama is taking us to war in another Muslim country. Good for him.

No, seriously. That's how Kristol actually starts out his column. Read it again:

And so, despite his doubts and dithering, President Obama is taking us to war in another Muslim country. Good for him.

It's hard for most of us to comprehend the sort of vile vampiric scumbag who relishes the thought of having his country go to war in three different countries at the same time, but that's pretty much how Bill Kristol rolls. I wonder what would happen if America successfully invaded the entire world -- whatever would Kristol do to pleasure himself? Perhaps he'd recommend sending our entire army into the depths of the Pacific Ocean to launch a long-overdue war against the lost city of Atlantis. Those shifty Mermen have had it coming for a long time, after all.

More:

The president didn’t want this. He’s been so unhappy about such a possibility—so fearful of such an eventuality—that first he tied himself in knots trying to do nothing. Then he decided that, if he had to act, it would be good to boast that he was merely following the Arab League and subordinating American action to the U.N. Security Council. After all, nothing—nothing!—could be worse than the perception that the United States was “invading” another Muslim country.

Yeah, where the hell did we get this stigma about "invading" Muslim countries from? It's not like anyone's ever died from such "invasions" before. Why, you'd think it was as bad as trying to give people health insurance!

In all seriousness, Kristol is just happy to be starting another war, since apparently the Afghanistan conflict has gotten so BOE-RING! The one downer for him is that Obama bothered to get the UN's permission to attack Libya rather than going all in and giving other countries the finger like Bush did. Kristol is at his absolute happiest when our country is both at war and defying the will of the international community. But he'll happily take the war all the same.

Rubbish. Our “invasions” have in fact been liberations.

They have liberated many people from their lives, yes.

We have shed blood and expended treasure in Kuwait in 1991, in the Balkans later in the 1990s, and in Afghanistan and Iraq—in our own national interest, of course, but also to protect Muslim peoples and help them free themselves. Libya will be America’s fifth war of Muslim liberation.

It's amazing that after five glorious wars, the Middle East isn't yet a mecca of sunshine, lollipops, rainbows and everything that's wonderful that I feel when we're together. But of course, there's always the option of starting a sixth war, which I'm sure will make everything better.

[T]he Reagan tradition—indeed, the Reagan-Bush-Dole-Bush-McCain tradition—in foreign policy isn’t a burden to be borne. It’s a tradition to be proud of. It’s rare that a political party gets to stand for more than a partial interest, for more than a limited point of view. It’s rare that a political party gets to stand for the national interest, for national greatness, for the exceptional American role in the liberation of peoples around the globe.

I'm amazed that Kristol can't type this crap without God coming down from the heavens, striking Kristol down with all manner of lightning and saying, "I didst err when I made thee, vile spawn of darkness!" In case Bill hasn't noticed, we're facing massive cuts to public education, to social safety net programs and even to services as basic as public street lights. And yet Kristol thinks we should sacrifice all of these things on his bloody altar of permanent warfare.

Thanks for aiding his agenda, Obama!

What did you think about John Kerry and Bill Clinton's speeches?

Open thread below...

STLtoday:

JEFFERSON CITY -- Missouri state Rep. Scott Muschany, R-Frontenac, was indicted today in connection with a reported sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl on May 17, the day after this year’s Legislative session ended.

The alleged victim is the daughter of a state employee. The girl’s mother and Muschany -– who is married and has two children -- were romantically involved, the woman said.

A Cole County grand jury returned an indictment today charging Muschany with the Class C felony of "deviate sexual assault." The indictment identifies the victim only by initials. It says that on May 17, Muschany "had deviate sexual intercourse" with the girl, "knowing that he did so without" her consent.

The document also alleges that the mother "did admit that the incident did take place, including her witnessing same." Read on...

After so many Republican sex crimes and scandals, you just have to scratch your head and wonder how one party could attract so many deviant hypocrites. Ready for the money shot? Muschany co-sponsored a bill in 2006 that toughened sex offender laws.

He already has his op-eds published every week---only they are filed under the name: Bill Kristol.

Amygdala: Always trust your government. Just don't trust anyone else's

The Reality-Based Community: Grampa McCain on net neutrality: NO

The Pump Handle: Congress demands more info on Labor Secretary Chao's mystery proposal for risk assessment.

Wonk Room: What kind of economist is Phil Gramm?

Pharyngula: Fight back against phony-baloney Catholic, Bill Donohue!

OFF THE BEATEN PATH: The Black Snob, Prairie Sun Rising, Lambasted!, earth family alpha,
Actors and Crew

I just turned on the tevee. It's good to see them on the stage together in NH. The Villagers will be having a field day later---trying to tear them down. This is Obama's party and he calls the shots. When you start hearing the media elites attack Bill Clinton just turn it off. They need controversy. They don't want us to come together....McCain' Media will be on display.

And John McCain isn't too happy right now...Maybe he'll run another battery contest on The Situation Room...

We'll have video later...

You keep saying that you'll bring the troops home with honor. When have they not been honored? Can you please give examples? C&L and many other sites fight everyday for the rights of our troops, their health care, benefits and the conditions of Walter Reed. And the best way I know how to fight for them is to never send them to war without a true cause and bring them home now so their families can see them alive and healthy. You are against Sen Webb's GI Bill not because it doesn't give them adequate compensation for their service, but as you say, it will lead to many more troops leaving the armed forces sooner:

They are very hard to replace. Encouraging people to choose to not become noncommissioned officers would hurt the military and our country very badly." McCain argues his bill would have a smaller impact on retention rates than the legislation that the Senate passed.

Is that an honorable argument?

C&Ler Bill G reminded me of this clip by Max. It's "Blumenthal's latest that takes us on a shocking and at times bizarre tour of right-wing Pastor John Hagee's annual Washington-Israel Summit". Hagee introduces Liebermann by saying that he supports Joe's vision of attacking Iran.

Hagee: Therefore it is time for America to embrace the words of Senator Joe Lieberman, and consider a military preemptive strike on Iran to prevent a nuclear holocaust of Israel.

Lieberman: I want to take the liberty of describing Pastor Hagee in the words that the Tirah uses to describe Moses....he is a man of God.

How long has Joe Lieberman known Pastor Hagee anyway? We do know as far back as July of 2007, that's almost a year ago---Lieberman was hanging with Hagee, comparing him to Moses and knew nothing of his extreme positions? Will the press finally ask Joe about his relationship with Hagee now?

<corrected>

Guest roundup by Brad Jacobson of MediaBloodhound

War and Piece: Why is Israel “appeasing” Syria? And the real reason Bush is pissed at NBC.

Hullabaloo: dday digs beneath the surface of Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ comment that we’re “stuck” with Gitmo.

David Corn: Addressing upset Hillary supporters, Corn notes they can vote for Obama in November or “vote for a guy who will appoint Supreme Court justices likely to overturn Roe v. Wade.”

After Downing Street: David Lindorff on Bush’s war crimes against children. In addition, of course, to these other war crimes against them.

Booman Tribune: Interesting breakdown of November’s electoral college strategy.

Scholars and Rogues: Hilarious new footage of Bill O’Reilly’s Inside Edition blow-up. And here’s an excellent song to jumpstart your next workout. (Warning: turn down volume if at work.)

Well, that’s all for me, C&L’ers. It’s been fun filling in for Mike. And I’d like to thank him, John and Nicole for the keys. (Final programming note: Hope you can stop by MediaBloodhound this Friday for a fresh satirical dispatch from The Wounded-Courier; it’s about this guy.) Take care, everyone!