For most of us, a huge holiday dinner or a night out on the town with friends sounds like a great idea.

But for the millions of Americans living with gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, it sounds more like a recipe for disaster.

Characterized by symptoms of heartburn and regurgitation, GERD is a chronic condition where the acidic contents of the stomach flow back up into the esophagus. This constant backwash of stomach acid irritates the lining of the esophagus, and sufferers are left “feeling the burn.”

There are easy changes that patients can make to their diet and lifestyle to help them manage the discomfort of their acid indigestion, according to Dr. Anish Sheth, a gastroenterologist and assistant professor of medicine at Yale University.

“It basically comes down to how frequently they are having symptoms and how much the symptoms are affecting their life,” Sheth told FoxNews.com. “Avoiding caffeine, eliminating fatty or acidic foods, losing excess weight and quitting smoking are all things patients can do to control their acid reflux.”

But while avoiding certain foods and changing habits may help people who deal with an occasional case of heartburn, these lifestyle modifications offer only temporary relief for patients suffering from more severe symptoms associated with GERD.

“If people are having symptoms on a daily basis or more than three times a week, we usually recommend they begin medication,” stated Sheth.

But with so many medications available, how do you know which one is right for you?

Antacids. Popular over-the-counter medications like Tums, Maalox, Rolaids and Mylanta neutralize stomach acid and provide fast-acting relief in mild or isolated cases of acid reflux. Some antacids come in liquid form to coat the lining of the esophagus and help reduce the amount of acid in the stomach. But they will not aid in reducing inflammation of the esophagus associated with GERD.

“Most patients suffering from mild acid reflux will treat themselves with over-the-counter medications,” Sheth said. “Antacids are better for immediate relief — like after a huge meal — because their effectiveness is short-lived in nature and only lasts for as long as it’s in the system.” 

Patients need to be conscious of the amount of antacids they are taking, because overuse can cause diarrhea, constipation and, in rare cases, an imbalance in electrolytes if the antacid contains calcium.

“You should see a physician if your symptoms are not controlled by over-the-counter medicines because it could be a sign of a more serious condition,” Sheth said.

Oral suspension medicines. These medications, like Pepto Bismol and Carafate, are sometimes used to treat heartburn and indigestion as well as nausea, diarrhea and ulcers in the throat, stomach and intestines.

“Carafate is a liquid suspension that essentially coats the inside of the esophagus. It’s short-lived in its effectiveness because once the coating wears off it’s not going to do much,” Sheth said. “We really only prescribe it for people who have symptoms less than a couple times a week or month.”

Anti-gas, anti-flatulence. Some patients experience pressure and bloating when they get heartburn.

For these symptoms, over-the-counter products like Phazyme, Gas-X and Beano can aid in relieving pressure, bloating, and gas in the digestive tract. These medications usually come in tablet form and work by breaking up gas bubbles, making it easier to eliminate.

H-2-receptor blockers. Previously available only with a prescription, H-2-receptor blockers such as Pepcid AC and Zantac are now sold over-the-counter.

“H-2-receptor blockers work by shutting off the production of acid in the stomach,” Sheth said. “They are effective for mild reflux, they are relatively affordable and can be used casually by people who only have symptoms a couple times a month.”

H-2-receptor blockers provide longer-lasting relief than antacids, but they do not take effect as quickly, so it is suggested that people take them 30 minutes before meals or before bed.

Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs). These medications, which include Prilosec, Prevacid and Nexium, block acid production and aid in healing damaged esophageal tissue, so they should be taken by people who are having more frequent, severe symptoms.

PPIs are usually taken under the care of a physician to prevent acid reflux from recurring, but certain ones, like Prilosec, are now available over-the-counter.

“The standard of care for treating GERD and related digestive diseases has become proton pump inhibitors. And because they are so safe, these are the most common medicines,” Sheth said.

The majority of people who go on a PPI will get better, Sheth said. But there are other medications that can be prescribed by a physician in the event that they don’t.

The bottom line
It’s important for patients to pay attention to the frequency and severity of their symptoms, and to see a physician if they suspect they may have GERD, because GERD can cause severe complications if left untreated.

Sheth stated there are a number of red flags that may indicate complications, including trouble swallowing, unexplained weight loss, anemia, and drastic changes in symptoms.

“GERD can cause a narrowing of the esophagus that leads to trouble swallowing,” Sheth said. “And in some patients, it causes a change in the lining of the esophagus called Barrett’s esophagus — a condition that can lead to cancer.”

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews states law enforcement officials need Canadians to be aware of the signs of human trafficking. (CBC)The announcement Tuesday by Public Safety Minister Vic Toews comes in the wake of last month’s arrival of the MK Sun Sea, a ship carrying hundreds of Tamil migrants, in British Columbia.

Toews stated that by exposing the reality of the “disturbing” crime of human trafficking, the “Blue Blindfold” campaign will give Canadians a better understanding of how to detect it and report suspicious activity.

While Toews acknowledged the Sun Sea was a case of human smuggling, not trafficking, he noted that smuggling sometimes turns to trafficking if those being transported are unable to make payment.

While human smuggling involves the illegal movement of people across international borders for payment, trafficking includes an additional element of exploitation — usually in the form of forced labour, prostitution and other forms of servitude — and usually involves threats or the use of force.

Toews stated most human trafficking victims are women and kids from Asia, who are often forced into the sex trade.

“Most are women and kids and their cases often go unnoticed and unreported due to threats from offenders, language barriers or mistrust of authorities,” he said.

CBC News has learned that Toews is also expected to present Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s cabinet with a list of legal options later this week on how to target human smugglers.

The Conservative government has been floating the idea of new laws since the arrival of the Sun Sea in Victoria on Aug. 12. All 492 people on board have requested refugee status in Canada.

Toews stated there was “certainly a possibility” of other vessels from Sri Lanka coming to Canada and reiterated investigators’ suspicion that the Sun Sea was a “test ship” to gauge the Canadian government’s response.

Kenney calls for minimum sentences for smugglers

Migrants are escorted from the MV Sun Sea after the vessel arrived at CFB Esquimalt in British Columbia last month. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)Meanwhile, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney stated Parliament needs to think about minimum jail sentences for human smugglers to send a message to those who seek profit through exploiting desperate migrants.

Kenney made the comments on Monday during a meeting with other European leaders in Paris on the issue of human smuggling.

Critics and some legal experts have questioned what, if anything, the government can do to prevent future migrant ships from arriving in Canada.

As a signatory to the UN Convention on Refugees, Canada is obliged not to send migrants who have reached Canada’s territorial waters back to their own country if they face persecution there.

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 1985 that all people in Canada were protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The ruling gives asylum-seekers who enter Canadian territory the legal right to a refugee status hearing before facing potential removal from the country, provided they are not deemed a threat to public safety.

Letters from representatives of those who were on the ship claim the ethnic Tamil population in Sri Lanka still faces harsh treatment since the end of the bloody, decades-long civil war between government forces and separatist Tamil rebels.

The Sri Lankan government has steadfastly denied such claims and insists the country is at peace since last year’s defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, also known as the Tamil Tigers.

The Tamil Tigers were outlawed in Canada as a terrorist group in 2006 for their use of child soldiers and suicide bombers during the country’s 25-year civil war, which killed an estimated 70,000 people.

With files from The Canadian Press

For the new season, fashion is calling for a total remodel, one that requires an architect rather than a decorator. Sleek severity rules the closet with the only sartorial challenge being how to turn this streamlined look into chic serenity.

It has been a while since the first chill of September inspired the buy of a coat. But there are now a plethora of cover-ups — even if they are more about a return to tailoring than a bulwark for a cold snap.

Hence the sleeveless coat as a new basic to wear with a shirt, a sweater (camel, of course), and either pants or a slim skirt. It is an update, more refined and grown up, of the tunic/leggings combo.

While a classic jacket can look staid, light coats in lush materials perform a similar service, making the wearer look serious but not dull. Above all, as if fashion were discreetly adapting to climate change, the coat — especially in a light color — provides the layering that is the essence of the in-between fall and spring seasons.

Will you still wear it next year? After gorging on the one-season wonders of fast fashion, the mood is switching back to looks that last. A good coat requires an investment, but repays its owner with versatility and longevity.

The leader of the new microminimalism is Phoebe Philo at Céline, whose apparently easy clothes still have precise attention to detail, as do other designers of the sleek-and-chic genre, such as Tomas Maier at Bottega Veneta and Raf Simons at Jil Sander.

In a way, these classy clothes throw down the gauntlet (or, rather, a plain toffee-colored leather glove) to the virtual world. Viewed on-line or on YouTube, the subtlety of detail is lost, compared with the brash, girly clothes shown off as instant buys on those so-called “haul videos.”

Instead, there is an intimacy in the touch of fine fabric and a private pleasure in the barely visible decoration of Céline’s tie-pin brooch at the neck

Words like “graphic” and “linear” define this new look, meaning that there is a clear, clean cut. But not just one single shape. There are diverse silhouettes that require decisive judgments about what relates to body type and personal preference.

The tendance is downward. However you select to read falling hemlines — as a new “New Look” or a classic response to a drooping economy — maxi-shapes are being offered with some conviction.

A bath-wrap camel coat sweeping the floor may not work in the subway, but lop a tiny off the hem and there is a long-line look to go with slim pants or even with the newly fashionable over-the-knee boots.

Mostly coats, like skirts, slither to somewhere below the knee, just above the curve of the calf. Or, the outerwear is shorter but worn over a longer skirt in that challenging fashion game of playing with proportions.

Take another geometric shape: the triangle. With some dexterous wielding of compass, square and ruler, you get the cape. As a controlled version of a swingy cloak, it looks ideal as part of a combo of matching-toned pants and sweater.

Then there is the wide skirt. Most of the versions are part of the 1950s revival — all curvy bosoms, belted waists and full dirndls — that is a sideshow to the lean-and-clean look, even if it was promoted by the design heavyweights Miuccia Prada and Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton.

But there are also A-line skirts that are more graphic and drawn on straight lines. They can give fresh life to old jackets that have been lingering in dry-cleaner bags.

Another “retro” look is the return of the pants suit. This is not really part of the continuing fascination with the 1980s, but more a realization that closets are cluttered with dresses and that modern women could do with a dose of masculinity.

As further proof that this autumn has brought sense and sensibility back to the female wardrobe, two staple attractions, bags and shoes, have downsized. In tune with the sleeker look, bags have reduced their body weight and gone from sack to easy zipper-topped purse or envelope-shaped clutch.

The footwear that for the last few seasons has challenged the “it” bag as the must-have accessory, has also been given a reality check. There are still plenty of killer heels and club-sandwich platform soles, but the newer look is the once-elusive medium height on a court shoe or kitten-heel pump.

It all adds up to a shift in style that offers subtlety as a new emblem for women who want to look adult, not girly, and to take fashion seriously, but not solemnly.

In fact, Europeans have long been able to purchase nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or Nsaids (pronounced EN-seds), in gels, creams, sprays and patches to ease muscle and joint pain more directly than a pill. But in the United States, the first of these topical Nsaids was approved just three years ago, for prescription use only, with a “black box” insert warning of side effects.

“I slap it on as soon as I get an injury,” stated R. Andrew Moore, a pain researcher at the University of Oxford in England who was an author of a recent analysis of studies on the use of topical Nsaids for acute injuries like sprains and strains. (Dr. Moore has received research financing from and has consulted for drug companies in the past.)

At first, he said, the researchers were skeptical of the drugs. Older studies had been poorly designed or too brief, and there has been tiny evidence of effectiveness for other types of medicated creams or those containing the chili pepper component capsaicin.

But a number of new controlled trials and meta-analyses like Dr. Moore’s suggest that topical Nsaids are as effective as their oral counterparts for treating osteoarthritis in the knee and hand as well as musculoskeletal injuries like soreness and tendinitis.

The main advantage of a skin cream is that it bypasses the stomach and much of the bloodstream, theoretically minimizing serious side effects. Oral Nsaids can be toxic to the kidneys, and they increase the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. And some, including Vioxx and Bextra, were taken off the market after they were linked to heart attacks and strokes.

“The turning point for topical Nsaids was the fright over heart problems with Vioxx,” Dr. Moore said. “Suddenly there were tons of folks who thought topical Nsaids were a good idea.”

Dr. Roy D. Altman, a rheumatology professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, stated the drugs might be especially helpful for “the elderly or those taking multiple medications, who were not getting treated but who can now use topical Nsaids and get some benefit.”

(Dr. Altman has consulted with Novartis, which makes one of the painkillers, Voltaren gel.)

Another leading pain researcher, Dr. Roger Chou, an associate professor of medicine at Oregon Health and Science University, noted that the skin creams delivered “very high joint concentrations of the topical Nsaid, higher than with standard oral doses, with very low blood levels” — less than 5 percent of those found with oral Nsaids.

In clinical trials, the skin creams are linked to a higher rate of redness, irritation and rash. And the three topical Nsaids sold in this country — Voltaren gel, the Flector Patch and Pennsaid, a liquid — all contain the Nsaid diclofenac, whose oral version has been linked to liver damage.

The risks in the most vulnerable population — people with other illnesses, like liver disease, or those on blood thinners — are not known, because these patients are generally excluded from studies. One analysis of 19 studies of older adults found that about 15 percent of patients had gastrointestinal complaints, even though not life-threatening ones.

“Future research needs to be done using patients with co-morbidities to know that these agents are safe in the highest-risk population,” stated the author of the analysis, Dr. Una Makris, an associate research scientist at the Yale School of Medicine.

Still, in one of the only head-to-head trials between topical and oral Nsaids, subjects taking the pills had a much higher rate of indigestion, diarrhea, abdominal pain, abnormal liver tests and anemia than those using the creams.

No randomized, controlled study has assessed the risks for serious events like heart attacks, kidney failure and gastrointestinal bleeding, but other types of studies have found no association between topical Nsaids and these serious risk factors.

The American College of Rheumatology is rewriting its guidelines for osteoarthritis management and will include topical Nsaids in the recommendations, stated Dr. Altman, who is on the guidelines committee.

Sports medicine and pain physicians are also recommending them for problems like tennis elbow, Achilles tendinitis and overuse injuries and strains. “We used them off label for a while before they were approved,” stated Dr. Robin M. Gehrmann, the director of sports medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. “Now that you can just write a prescription, I use them in my practice a lot more.”

Since the Food and Drug Administration approved the first topical Nsaid in 2007, sales in the United States have soared — to more than $264 million in 2009, according to IMS Health, a health care research company. The average co-payment for a month’s supply of Voltaren gel or Pennsaid is around $30.

“I think many people are not aware of topical Nsaids, or there is a perception that they don’t work well, or people confuse topical Nsaids with other topical drugs, like the topical salicylates or capsaicin,” Dr. Chou said.

The topical painkillers are not for everyone. Aside from the possible risks to people with other illnesses, the drugs are not helpful for patients with pain throughout the body, like fibromyalgia, and should not be used along with oral Nsaids.

Nor are they recommended for stress fractures or tendon tears, because anti-inflammatory drugs in general have been shown to slow healing of tendons and bones.

And young, healthy patients may not want to bother with creams or gels, which have their maximum effect if applied four times a day. “It’s easier to pop a pill,” Dr. Altman said.

But for immediate relief of my tennis-related muscle pull, the cream was handy and helpful.

Hitting the gym helps slow the aging process in space, as well as on Earth, Canadian scientists have found.

Normally, spending six months on the International Space Station can be like taking a trip on an accelerated aging device that makes astronauts as weak as 80-year-olds.

Researchers discovered that in the weightless environment of space, without exercise:

Muscle-power decline in 40-year-old astronauts is equivalent to that of a person twice as old. Astronauts lose more than 40 per cent of the slow-twitch fibres in their calf muscles, which are important for balance and posture. Up to two per cent of bone mineral density is lost each month — four times the rate for a post-menopausal women on Earth.

Canadian astronauts contributed data for a seven-year study by Prof. Richard Hughson, research chair in vascular aging and brain health at the University of Waterloo.

Hughson describes his research to the CBC’s Kelly Crowe.

Is it an authentic, warts-and-all documentary about a tortured artist who has fallen out of love with his chosen profession? Or is it a shameless stunt, perpetrated by a pair of Hollywood playboys with too much time and money on their hands? Last night the crowds thronged the Venice red carpet to catch the world premiere of I’m Still Here, a film that features the Oscar-nominated actor Joaquin Phoenix and is directed by his brother-in-law, Casey Affleck. It’s safe to state they went home none the wiser.

Shot over a 12-month period, I’m Still Here documents Phoenix’s spectacular fall from grace as he attempts to reinvent himself as a bona-fide rap star. It shows him lumbering from a disastrous appearance on David Letterman’s talk show to a calamitous concert in Miami, where he interrupts his set to attack a heckler. At one point the star of Gladiator and Walk the Line is seen snorting what appears to be cocaine off the bare breast of a giggling groupie.

Yesterday, Affleck insisted the film was strictly on the level. “There’s no hoax,” he told reporters. “The idea of a hoax makes me think of [US TV series] Candid Camera and that never entered my consciousness.” Affleck was, however, more coy when quizzed on the specifics of several key scenes within the film. “I can comprehend why this motion picture can be confusing in terms of what is real and what is not,” he admitted. “But I’m reluctant to talk about certain scenes because that would influence people’s interpretation of the film. I sincerely do not want to do that.”

Instead he described I’m Still Here as a film about “friendship and ambition and dreams”, as well as being a portrait of a certain strain of celebrity culture. “I’m not quite what it states about celebrity,” he said. “Nothing good, I guess.”

Phoenix, for his part, blunders through I’m Still Here sporting dark shades, a survivalist’s beard and a thousand-yard stare. The actor was in town, clean-shaven, to attend the premiere, but chose to maintain a dignified silence when it came to the press.

This, inevitably, struck some onlookers as a case of closing the stable door after the horse had bolted. After all, I’m Still Here contains a scene in which the sleeping actor is defecated upon by an aggrieved personal assistant.

Affleck claimed to have no idea what Phoenix thought of the completed film. “I hope the motion picture will be part of a redemptive process for him,” he said. “I think it’s hard to watch yourself like that, especially when it’s not a character. When it’s your name and your face. I imagine Joey is experiencing many things when he sees himself on screen. But his presence here is at least a gesture. It shows that he supports the motion picture and is not afraid of it.”

Five-time US Open winner Federer dismissed Melzer 6-3, 7-6, 6-3, taking the second-set tiebreaker by 7-4, as he extended his record by reaching a 26th consecutive grand slam quarterfinal.

Federer, 29, played with his accustomed style on Arthur Ashe center court, registering 41 winners to 23 for the Austrian as he continued his 2010 Flushing Meadows run without the loss of a set.

Waiting in the last eight for the second-seeded Swiss is fifth seed Soderling, who eliminated Federer in the quarterfinals of the French Open for his only win against him in 13 meetings.

“He’s always been a hazardous player but these days he is been able to do it consistently, at the highest level,” Federer stated about Soderling. “So this is a tough draw for me, playing him in the quarters.”

The Swiss master, who has won 45 of his last 46 US Open matches, benefited from two net cord points during the tiebreaker against Melzer, the second one at 4-4 giving him the only mini-break of the decider.

“Obviously, the tiebreakers are always crucial,” Federer said. “It was a tough match today, breezy. He’s a tough opponent and a close friend of mine so it was never going to be easy. I’m really relieved and happy to get through.”

Melzer was disappointed. “I think I deserved the second set,” stated the 29-year-old left-hander. “I was the more hazardous player. I had break points. He did not have any. You could not be more lucky in a tiebreaker than he was in this tiebreaker.”

The Austrian, who screamed in frustration at the end of the decider, stated Federer told him he was sorry about the tiebreaker when they met at the net after Federer ended it with a love game, punishing another of Jurgen’s misguided drop shots for the final point.

“I have not lost a set so obviously I’m very happy,” Federer said. “I’m happy I’m finding a way to win. I’m playing the right way, playing aggressive, so it’s a lot of fun out here.”

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The play is unabashedly Leftist, in the classic meaning of the term. It tells two parallel stories of factories facing shutdowns, and the possibilities open to them; one from modern-day San Francisco and one from a few years ago in Argentina, and it manages to link these two stories in a very personal way through the lead female character.

And yes, it has dialogue. It’s not a completely-silent “mime show,” as one might think from the thespian group’s moniker. It also has music, which is actually one of the high points of the show, as the musicians range over an enormous breadth of musical styles, varying from New Age to a telenovela soundtrack (and everything in between), seamlessly and perfectly on cue.

All around, the technical aspects of the show were equally impressive. The show I saw was performed outdoors, with a portable stage which was smallish but unbelievably versatile and ingenious in its use of the limited amount of space. The actors all played multiple roles, and the costumes were so good it seemed the cast was much bigger than six people. The different characters were portrayed so well, in other words, by both the actors and their wardrobe changes, that it was hard to even recognize that the same actors were playing these very different roles.

As I said, the plot is a tale of Labor, where the workers are pitted against a boss who has sold out his family’s factory to a corporate master. In an only-in-San-Francisco twist, the boss is a dreadlocked peace-love-and-flowers type who (when it gets right down to it) truly only cares about his own creature comforts — and not so much about the workers turning out his hemp fiber clothing. This is not your 1930s mine owner, in other words, but a much more updated concept of the “big boss.” This provides many opportunities for comic relief, as well.

The show is a rollercoaster ride emotionally, as it does indeed have many very funny moments in it, but also tells the personal tragedy of one woman’s previous experience in the struggle of Argentine workers to take over a factory and keep it running when the capitalist owners try to shut it down (based on a true story). The action alternates back and forth between the South American story to the San Francisco factory, where the workers have — nearly by accident — occupied the factory in order to keep it from being shut down. The pace of the plot does slow down a bit in the middle, as both these stories play out, but it picks up again to build to a rousing finish.

Towards the end, the play manages to even poke fun at the way Leftist movements sometimes can become victims of their own success, when it comes time for the workers to decide how to actually run the place. But the conclusion is definitely worth waiting for, even though I will not spoil things by saying any more.

I spoke with Sullivan after the show, and asked him what inspired him to write the play. He mentioned the story of the Bruckman Textile Mill in Buenos Aires (which is told within the play), and also of the Illinois workers who recently occupied the Republic Windows and Doors factory — just to get their severance pay. He expressed frustration with how this protest played out, since the workers were only trying to get the pay they were entitled to after their factory was shuttered — while the company moved the equipment to a newly-purchased non-unionized factory. “If the bosses cannot run the place when they are making money, then they do not deserve to run the place,” stated Sullivan.

When asked what he was hoping to accomplish by writing the play, Sullivan said, “I think for me, what I want from the audience is to question themselves. So much of the American working class has a limited view of change. We struggle for a seat at the table, but we do not realize we built the table, and no one else would be there without us. We shouldn’t be fighting for a seat at the table, we should be fighting for the table.” When I asked about the Argentinean story within the play, Sullivan responded, “Each year we try to create a show that is going to be challenging to the audience. Right now, we are trying to rebuild the economy. Central and South America has already gone through this,” and he pointed out that we should be learning from their example in how to take on the “corporate bastards.”

As I stated at the beginning of this piece, I’m not a theatrical reviewer. If I was, I probably would have written this at the beginning of the S.F. Mime Troupe’s season, instead of at the end (there are only a few more scheduled performances of the show, in the next few weeks). But there is a reason for highlighting the show today, on Labor Day. And that is that the show has been invited to take part in a massive Union centenary effort next spring, as part of a national memorial movement for the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire (which claimed 146 lives nearly one hundred years ago, in a New York City sweatshop).

So, if you are a member of a Union (especially if you are an officer or hold other clout with your Union), urge them to extend an invitation to the San Francisco Mime Troupe to perform POSIBILIDAD, or Death of the Worker. While the Troupe will be participating next spring, the details of where exactly they will be performing will depend on the invitations which are extended to them. And I heartily recommend the play, even though it’s not specifically about Union organizing in nature. Because I’m confident that any Union lucky enough to see this performance will enjoy the message nonetheless. Sullivan summed this message up as: “The job is not to make profit, but to make jobs.” Which, as it turns out, is an excellent way to wish everyone a “Happy Labor Day” this year as well.

[Further Information: Visit the San Francisco Mime Troupe website for more information on both the group and the play, including photos, complete schedule, and contact and booking information.]

[Full Disclosure: I was personally invited to attend this performance of POSIBILIDAD, or Death of the Worker by the playwright. It was a free show, where they asked the audience for donations at the end. To avoid any possible conflict of interest, I donated five bucks, which seemed to be about the average donation, from what I could see.]

Chris Weigant blogs at:

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant

The infrastructure spending is part of a package of targeted proposals the White House announced on Monday. With November’s elections for control of Congress approaching, Obama planned to discuss the proposal later Monday at an event in Milwaukee marking the Labour Day holiday.

The proposals would require congressional approval, which is highly uncertain with many legislators and voters worried about adding to federal deficits that are already sky-high. With Republicans saying spending is out of control and polls showing many people want to end Democrats’ control of Congress, even many Democratic lawmakers are reluctant to approve new spending so close to the elections.

Even if legislators could pass a bill in the short window between their return to Congress from their summer break in mid-September and the elections, the early projects would not create jobs immediately. Senior administration officials, who would not be quoted by name before Obama’s announcement, stated the initial projects would lead to new jobs over the course of 2011.

Republicans made it clear that Obama can anticipate no help from them.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell stated the plan “should be met with justifiable skepticism” because it would raise taxes while Americans are “still looking for the ‘shovel-ready’ jobs they were promised more than a year ago” in the original stimulus program.

The House Republican leader, John Boehner, added “We do not need more government ‘stimulus’ spending. We need to end Washington Democrats’ out-of-control spending spree, stop their tax hikes and create jobs by eliminating the job-killing uncertainty that is hampering our small businesses.”

The officials stated the initial $50 billion would be the beginning of a six-year program of transportation improvements, but they did not give an overall figure. The proposal has a longer-range focus than last year’s economic stimulus bill, which was more targeted on immediate job creation.

Unemployment at 9.6%

The goals of the infrastructure plan include: rebuilding 150,000 miles of roads; constructing and maintaining 4,000 miles of railways, enough to go coast-to-coast; shorter, high speed rail projects; and rehabilitating or reconstructing 150 miles of airport runways while also installing a next generation air navigation system designed to reduce travel times and delays.

Obama will also call for the creation of a permanent infrastructure bank that would focus on funding national and regional infrastructure projects.

Administration officials would not state what the total cost of the infrastructure projects would be but did state the initial $50 billion represents a significant percentage. Officials stated the White House would think about closing a number of special tax breaks for oil and gas companies to pay for the proposal.

Obama made infrastructure improvements a central part of the $814 billion stimulus Congress passed last year, but with that spending winding down, the economy’s growth has slowed. Officials stated this infrastructure package differs from the stimulus because it’s aimed at long-term growth while still focusing on creating jobs in the short-term.

In an interview on CBS television, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis stated the plan Obama was to unveil Monday would “put construction workers, welders, electricians back to work … folks that have been unemployed for a long time.”

With the unemployment rate ticking up to 9.6 per cent, and polls showing the November elections could be dismal for Democrats, the president has promised to unveil a series of new measures on the economy.