Friday, May 31, 2013
Aspiring Marijuana Mogul, Former President Of Mexico Join Forces In Unlikely Roll-Out Of National Pot Brand
Cigarette Maker Funded Dark-Money Conservative Groups
"Reynolds doled out $175,000 to Americans for Tax Reform, conservative activist Grover Norquist's anti-tax group. The company also gave $50,000 to Americans for Prosperity, $45,000 to the US Chamber of Commerce, and $100,000 to the Partnership for Ohio's Future, an Ohio Chamber-backed group that supported restricting the worker bargaining rights."
After Obama Tears Him a New One, Boehner Lies About Raising Student Loan Rates
"Boehner’s lies and spin can’t hide the fact that House Republicans keep digging their party in deeper by constantly putting their corporate masters ahead of people. The emptiness of the Republican Party was put on display. When confronted with the truth, all John Boehner could do is respond with lies."
The Latest Report On Medicare Shows The Program Is Getting Stronger
Joe Conason: Watergate Amnesia, the Nixonian Slur and Other Big Lies - Truthdig
"Let’s state this very simply, so everybody will understand. The notion that Barack Obama is “Nixonian”—or that his administration’s recent troubles bear any resemblance to “Watergate”—is the biggest media lie since the phony “Whitewater scandal” crested during the Clinton presidency.
Fraudulent as it is, we have listened repeatedly to versions of this bogus comparison uttered by figures as diverse as former Fox News commentator Dick Morris and Bob Woodward of the Washington Post, alongside a phalanx of Republican politicians, including Senator Lindsey Graham and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell—whose latest attack ad directly links Obama with Nixon.
Only in a country afflicted with chronic historical amnesia could they issue such accusations without shame or embarrassment."
Chinese Meat Firm With Terrible Food Safety Record Buys The Largest Pork Producer In The U.S.
Conservative Activist Urges Republicans To Forget Hispanics, Work Harder At Courting Whites
"The truth of the matter is that the GOP has moved ever further to the right since Reagan was in office. It doesn’t matter which side of the political spectrum you’re on; the further toward the fringe you go, the less appeal you will have to the general population."
Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/05/31/conservative-activist-urges-republicans-to-forget-hispanics-work-harder-at-courting-whites/#ixzz2UtcHPkF9
Police Allegedly Assault Black Kid Carrying A Puppy For Looking At Them Wrong
Radio Wingnuts Call for Armed 'Peaceful' Overthrow' Of U.S.
"The "Santilli" that he's talking to there is my old pal Pete Santilli, who made violent threats against Hillary Clinton just a couple of weeks ago and doubled down on them last week."
Monsanto's 'Genetic Pollution' Threatens US Wheat Industry | Common Dreams
"The U.S. wheat industry is reaping the swift global repercussions of the genetic pollutioncaused by Monsanto's rogue glyphosate-resistant wheat on an Oregon farm."
Bankruptcy Ruling Leads To Cutting Pensions For Thousands
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How to Protest Corporate Power | Alternet
"The broad movement for peace and social, economic and environmental justice is here and you should be part of it."
How Tesla's Success Is Rewriting The Future For Electric Cars
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Coal Workers Lose Pensions As Execs At Bankrupt Company Get Bonuses
Thanks To Obamacare, Young Adults And Hospitals Saved $147 Million In 2011 Alone
Disheartening Spate Of Threats Mar Political Discourse
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Obama To Call On Congress To Avoid Doubling Student Loan Interest Rates
Congress' Farm Bill Readies to Kick Poor Off Food Assistance | Common Dreams
"If the House GOP gets its way, the new Farm Bill passing through Congress will prove the perfect opportunity to make some of the nation's most poor and vulnerable even less secure."
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Issa Brings Back 'Summer Of Subpoena'
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How Obamacare May Help Make Health Care Cheaper By Forcing Insurance Giants To Compete
Republican Lies Thwart Attempts to Reach Democratic Ideal of Educated Citizenry
"Having an enlightened and educated citizenry is a great ideal to strive for in theory, but it can be very hard to achieve in practice.
Google Will Post Detailed Nutritional Information For More Than 1,000 Foods Starting Today
PERRspectives: CBO Study Shows Tax Breaks Favor the Rich
"Every year, tax expenditures--Uncle Sam's myriad credits, exclusion, loopholes and breaks--cost the U.S. Treasury over $1 trillion a year. To put that in perspective, that figure is greater than the cost of Medicare, Social Security and national defense. Much larger than this year's projected budget deficit of $642 billion, tax expenditures equal roughly 30 percent of federal spending. It's no wonder why Republicans are so fond of calling for closing loopholes while lowering rates to produce "revenue-neutral" tax reform.
Nearly Zero Percent Savings Interest Rates Are Forcing Seniors to Ration for Survival, While Wall Street Investors Are Making Record Profits
"The continual cries of "austerity" by the wealthy integrally relate to this tale of two economies, because there is no austerity being imposed on the wealthy: it's like the 1920's all over again for them.
REPORT: Corporate Profits Soar And Wages Fall Thanks To Declining Unionization
Rick Perry Vetoes “Buy American” Bill Approved 145-0 by Texas House
"Passing the Senate by a vote of 23-7 and the House 145-0, the Texas legislature overwhelmingly passed a bill meant to give preference to American-made goods for purchase by the State of Texas when they are of equal cost and quality to foreign-made products.
The Danger in Our Water Supply
"A dairy farm with 2,500 cows produces as much waste as Miami. FairWarning investigates how that puts our water supply in danger."
Economic policy is largely being driven by obstructionism, not economic advisers | Economic Policy Institute
"the GOP has routinely and frequently obstructed economic recovery since 2009—much of which should inform any debate this summer regarding much needed reform of the Senate’s filibuster rules, as well as the inevitable political fight over the debt ceiling. Conservatives, particularly the Tea Party caucus, are to blame for exploiting every piece of leverage available (including thenation’s credit worthiness) to extract premature spending cuts, filibustering just about anything that would boost aggregate demand, watering down the Recovery Act, hamstringing monetary policy and demanding counterproductive legislative ‘pay fors’—stipulated to never, ever include revenue increases. The frequently espoused pox-on-both houses punditry is not just off-base, but is also somewhat complicit in this sad state of affairs."
Illegal Monsanto Wheat Contamination Found On Oregon Farm
Senate Republicans Want to Destroy the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Elizabeth Warren Created
"Count the ways that the GOP in Congress is still trying to destroy the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). There are so many that you would need a calculator."
How The American Tax Code Helps The Rich The Most
Nutjob Calls For Armed Insurrection On July 4th
"Kokesh also gave the federal government a one-year deadline to comply with his demands before possibly taking violent action"
Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/05/30/july-4th-gun-march-cancelled-wingnut-calls-for-armed-rebellion-instead/#ixzz2UnNukAlX
Issa's latest round of subpoenas shows that for GOP, Benghazi is about stopping Hillary in 2016
"Issa's most recent hearing made it clear that for the GOP, the Benghazi "investigation" is really the "Stop Hillary 2016" campaign. During that hearing, President Obama was mentioned just 15 times. Hillary, on the other hand, was mentioned 71 times. And now Issa is going on a fishing expedition hoping to obtain materials that can be distorted by Republicans in a political attack. It's a complete waste of resources—unless you're the GOP political hack who leaked the inaccurate Benghazi talking points emails to ABC's Jonathan Karl."
Exxon CEO: ‘What Good Is It To Save The Planet If Humanity Suffers?’
Tea Party's Idea of Joke: "Shoot" Senator Who Supports Immigration | Alternet
"Right-wing extremists see no need to dial back violent rhetoric"
"They're not rational": 80-Year-Old Educator Speaks About Her Arrest in “Moral Monday Protests” Against Extreme Right-Wing Agenda in North Carolina | Alternet
"A senior citizen endures an ordeal to protect equality and quality in the public school system."
Workers Strike In Seventh City As Congressional Progressives Launch Campaign To Boost Wages
After Bachmann, Who's America's Next Top Wacky Right-Winger?
"Facing a mounting investigation into her presidential campaign's alleged campaign finance improprieties, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) announced Wednesday morning that she won't seek reelection in 2014. Here's a quick guide to the people jockeying for Bachmann's place as the far right's biggest star in Congress."
Letters Containing Ricin Poison Sent To Bloomberg And Gun Control Group Director
"This is the act of a coward. It appears as though a gun nut decided he didn’t like what these men were saying so he took it upon himself to try to kill them. I guess that’s the only thing that sort of person can understand; violence and threats. Not a great way to get sympathy for your position, is it? Hopefully this yellow-bellied blowhard will be arrested soon."
Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/05/29/letters-containing-ricin-sent-to-bloomberg-gun-control-group-director/#ixzz2Un98NGIh
Want the American Dream? Get Rich Parents or Move to Canada | Alternet
"The culprit is the growing role of inherited advantage, as affluent families make investments that give their children a leg up. Combined with the 2008 economic meltdown and budget cuts in public investments that foster opportunity, we are witnessing accelerating advantages for the wealthy and compounding disadvantages for everyone else."
Colorado Becomes World's First Legal, Fully-Regulated Marijuana Market
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North Carolina GOP Seeks Even More Regressive State Tax Burden Than Current Law
Don't Blame the IRS For Doing Their Job
"That's really the bottom line here. Billionaires used these organizations to hide their massive contributions to election-buying. The only difference between a PAC and a c4 organization as they were used is that the c4 didn't have to disclose donors, which served them quite well and sent many of us on a lot of treasure hunts to try and find out who was behind those ugly ads in many states. The IRS was right to question them and right to carve them out for higher scrutiny."
Budget Cuts Reduce Economic Growth In First Quarter Of 2013
Tea Party Conference Call Features Threat To Assassinate U.S. Senator Because She Supports Immigration Reform
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
School Bus Driver Fired For Facebook Rant over 'Free' Lunches
" it does seem shameful that his constitutional right to free speech was abridged in this manner. The moral: stay the hell off Facebook and other social media if you want to keep your job.
Ohio School District Considers Teaching Beck's Cuckoo Conspiracies
"After electing Tea Party representatives to school boards and city councils across the nation, the move is on to push these whacko theories into the mainstream, and in the case of at least one Ohio school district, they're succeeding."
War on Democracy in Wisconsin: Bill Would Enact Voter ID, End Disclosure, Limit Early Voting, Expand Lobbyist Influence
"A Wisconsin legislator has managed to bundle nearly all of the excesses associated with dirty elections into a single bill that good government advocates are describing as a "sweeping assault on democracy:" the legislation would try reinstating restrictive voter ID requirements, make it easier for donors to secretly influence elections, expand lobbyist influence, restrict early voting, and make it harder to register, among other measures."
Leader of Armed March On Washington Calls For ‘Revolutionary Army’ To Topple Government
50 Million Americans Are Going Hungry As Congress Considers Gutting Food Stamps
Top US Brand of Children's Vitamins Contains Aspartame, GMOs, & Other Hazardous Chemicals
"Kids vitamins are supposed to be healthy, right? Well then, what's going on with Flintstones Vitamins, which proudly claims to be "Pediatricians' #1 Choice"? Produced by the global pharmaceutical corporation Bayer, this wildly success brand features a shocking list of unhealthy ingredients"
The Republican Party Ignores Reality According To Former Reagan Adviser
"Ultimately, Bruce Bartlett has come to understand the fundamental flaw in conservative thinking. It is insular, only able to exist properly when divorced from reality. While one can be conservative, one cannot be ruled by conservatism. This demand for a reality bubble has resulted in Republican anti-science legislation geared to replace reality with their own brand of fantasy. No conservative thought can survive except in isolation, and if in isolation then it is unable to react to the realities of the moment. The modern Republican Party, and conservative movement can be summed up as a collective of putting their fingers in their ears and pretending not to hear what people are telling them."
Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/05/29/nates-reality-based-community-article/#ixzz2UiAG8V00
Bye Bye Bachmann: Reliving Ten of the Tea Party Darling's Craziest Gaffes | Alternet
"Minnesota far-right Republican Rep. Michelle Bachmann has declared she will not run for a fifth term in 2014, and is making the dubious claim that her decision has nothing to do with that ongoing ethics probe into her campaign fund-raising in the 2012 race, or her falling poll numbers. No, she is a newfound convert to term limits.
Social Security, And Four Other Things The GOP’s Latest Senate Candidate Thinks Are Unconstitutional
Oklahoma Lawmaker Blasts GOP’s War On Women: ‘What Happened To The Republican Party That I Joined?’
Beware of Economic Nonsense Trotted Out by Profit-Seeking Corporations and Their Stooges | Alternet
"Forbes Magazine deployed its small army of corporate defenders and apologists in the multi-billion dollar fight to keep effective tax rates low for global corporations."
Democrats Are Three Times More Likely To Tell Truth Than GOP, Study Reveals
"At this moment, Republicans have noses that even Pinocchio would be ashamed of, but they’re not only liars, they’re hypocrites too.
Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/05/29/republicans-lie-three-times-more-than-democrats/#ixzz2UhBcdYW4
Both Sides Don’t Do It: Study Finds Republicans Lie Three Times More Than Democrats
"A new study from the nonpartisan Center For Media Affairs has concluded that since the beginning of President Obama’s second term, Republicans have lied three times more often than Democrats.
Radical Kleptocrats Anxious to Stop Disclosure of Corporate Money in Elections | Common Dreams
"These kleptocrats are the real radicals. It's time to stop them, not only by disclosing their thievery, but ultimately by outlawing it — and retuning elections to the people. To join the effort, contact Public Citizen: www.citizen.org."
The 8 Most Outlandish Moments Of Michele Bachmann’s Time In Congress
Why We Should Be Very Worried About the Arctic Oil Rush | Alternet
"Big oil companies like Shell have a proven record of negligence and a legacy of pollution in Alaska."
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Obama's Judicial Nominees May Spotlight Obstructionism
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Engineering Empire: An Introduction to the Intellectuals and Institutions of American Imperialism
"Educating yourself about empire can be a challenging endeavor, especially since so much of the educational system is dedicated to avoiding the topic or justifying the actions of imperialism in the modern era."
GOP's Lurch Right Leaves Party Moderates Behind
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Shell Admits Real Reason Coast Guard Had To Rescue Its Arctic Drilling Rig: Failed Tax Avoidance Scheme
Shell Admits Tax Avoidance Played Role In Rig Accident
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Republicans get three times more ‘false’ ratings from PolitiFact than Democrats
An analysis of PolitiFact ratings suggests Republicans are significantly less credible than Democrats. The Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University found Republican’s had made three times as many false statements as Democrats this year. PolitiFact examines a variety of political…
The Bank Bailout Cost US Taxpayers Nothing? Think Again | Common Dreams
"The bailout cost us plenty, and continues to do so. Sadly, it is the gift that keeps on giving to the very banks that drove our economy over a cliff – and took trillions in housing wealth, retirement funds and millions of jobs with it."
The World's Richest 8% Earn Half of All Planetary Income | Alternet
"The lead research economist at the World Bank, Branko Milanovic, will be reporting soon, in the journal Global Policy, the first calculation of global income-inequality, and he has found that the top 8% of global earners are drawing 50% of all of this planet's income."
The U.S. Ranks Ninth-To-Last In Work-Life Balance
Think Fracking Is Bad? Wait Until You Hear About 'Acid Jobs' | Common Dreams
"'Acid jobs,' a highly toxic method of fossil fuel extraction, have gone vastly unregulated by lawmakers, particularly in California where the method is commonly used.
An 'acid job' is a process whereby companies pump chemicals such as hydrofluoric acid into an already built gas and oil well to "melt rocks" and objects that are obstructing oil flow."
March Against Monsanto Over 2M Strong. Blackwater Ops Watching?
"Most corn, soybean and cotton crops grown in the United States today have been genetically modified. But critics say genetically modified organisms can lead to serious health conditions and harm the environment."
Local Charities Speak Out On GOP’s Effort To Slash Food Stamps
Monday, May 27, 2013
Source of Anti-Government Extremism
"The Right’s hostility to “guv-mint” is not new. It traces back to the South’s fears that any activism by the national government, whether building roads or providing disaster relief, would risk federal intervention against slavery and later against segregation, perhaps even the end of white supremacy"
Representative Trey Gowdy is Darrell Issa’s Henchman and Big Part of the Problem
"In March of 2011, he voted against a measure that would have assured that a stopgap budget wouldn’t be used to privatize Social Security and either cut Medicare benefits or switch Medicare to a voucher plan. Of course he supported defunding National Public Radio. He worked to pass HR 2560 that barred Congress from raising the national debt ceiling until the states passed a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget. The sequester was born out of negotiations based on this bill."
Some Groups Targeted By IRS May Have Violated Election Law
Republicans Have A Bridge To Sell You
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‘Show Me Your Papers’ Bill Could Make North Carolina The Next Arizona
GOP Terrified Of Ending The War On Terror
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U.S. Groundwater Consumption Accelerating | Alternet
"Aquifers across the United States are being drawn down at an increasing pace, finds a new study released today by the U.S. Geological Survey."
PERRspectives: Red States Rejecting Obamacare Medicaid Expansion Need It Most
"the defining irony of the never-ending debate over Obamacare is this: health care is worst in those states where Republicans poll best. The map of the states with the worst health care systems largely mirrors GOP strongholds in the Electoral College. Red state residents are generally the unhealthiest and more likely than their blue state cousins to be uninsured."
Texas Will Deny Health Coverage To 1.5 Million Low-Income Residents
The New Farm Bill is an Economic Disaster | Common Dreams
"The US Congress, its approval rating still near all-time lows, is reinforcing its own record of stupefyingly short-sighted lawmaking with what may be the most harmful piece of economic legislation in America in years: the $1tn 2013 farm bill."
Ohio School District May Add Glenn Beck Conspiracy Theories To Curriculum
Protests Grow In NC Against Hard Right Turn
"A century and a half after the Civil War ended, the GOP-dominated North Carolina legislature is finishing the destruction Gen. Sherman’s troops never got to visit upon Raleigh, NC."
How Many Rotting Apples Do Our Hedges Hide?
"High-profile prosecutions only hint at the crime and ethical misbehavior rampant in America’s most rewarding high-finance suites."
Bob Dole: Republicans Need 'Closed for Repair' Sign Until 2014
"Former Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole is telling Republicans to put a "closed for repair" sign on the door until 2014 so that the party can develop a "positive agenda"."
5 Controversial Cases Where Supreme Court Is Poised to Roll Back Civil Rights | Alternet
"Let’s go through a half-dozen cases where the high court majority, justices appointed by Republican presidents, is likely to stop or slow down the social evolution that began in the 1950s civil rights movement and also grant corporate America and the police more power over the genes in our bodies."
The Real Numbers: Half of America in Poverty -- and It's Creeping toward 75% | Alternet
"The Census Bureau has reported that one out of six Americans lives in poverty. A shocking figure. But it's actually much, much worse."
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Bob Dole On GOP: 'Closed For Repairs'
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So Much For Fiscal Hawks – Republicans Now Costing You Tens Of Millions To Save A Few Million
"Now, instead of the $7 million in renovations and upgrades, the cost to replace the collapsed bridge will run $15 million and take up to a year. The collapse will cost an estimated $47 million in reduced productivity and trade. With the current average tax revenue from this total for trade and productivity in dealing with trade to Canada to be around 22%, the result is that this bridge collapse will cost the federal government $10 million in revenue for the period of repair, which when added to the $15 million pricetag means that we are looking at a total impact of $25 million. All in order to save $7 million."
Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/05/25/so-much-for-fiscal-hawks-republicans-now-costing-you-tens-of-millions-to-save-a-few-million/#ixzz2URcpXgcM