When the Montana State Senate voted overwhelmingly two weeks ago to oppose approval of reauthorization of "Fast Track" Trade Promotion authority for new trade deals, it sent a powerful message that the American people and state governments are tiring of misguided trade deals.

Every wonder which corporations are dodging your state corporate income tax?  Unfortunately, you usually can't find out since corporations have maneuvered to keep their tax returns secret from the public-- including from state legislators who have to write tax policy without knowing which companies are abusing loopholes to evade paying their fair share of taxes.

Over a dozen groups have filed protests against a plan by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to open up the top of Colorado's Roan Plateau to leases for drilling, which could be put up for bid as early as November.  Oil and gas drilling already takes place on the plateau, but federal land managers have chosen to open the top of the Roan Plateau for drilling without waiting until resources at the bottom of the plateau are tapped.  Oil in the undeveloped plateau could supply the U.S. with all of 5.8 hours worth of its oil needs.  Gas in the undeveloped Plateau could supply the U.S. demand for a little over a month.  All this in exchange for permanently scarring the unique landscape and rendering it unfit for hunting and recreation.  And, more unsettling, is that the BLM recognizes the ecological and recreational importance of the area.  A recent BLM study found that streams on the Plateau would meet the requirements to be designated as part of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System by Congress.  The BLM Draft Management Plan recognizes that several areas within the Plateau met the criteria to be designated as Areas of Critical Environmental Concern.

To the embarassment of a country with leaders that bill themselves as supporting "family values," a new report by the Project on Global Working Families finds that US federal policies are some of the least supportive of families in the world.