Congressional Progressive Caucus Launches Campaign To Expose ‘The Scandal Of Low Wages’

Congressional Progressive Caucus Launches Campaign To Expose ‘The Scandal Of Low Wages’: SAN JOSE, CA — As fast food workers strike across the country and hourly wages hit new lows, the Congressional Progressive Caucus launched the Raise Up America campaign, a multi-city tour to raise awareness of the crises facing low-wage workers. The campaign, helmed by Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), will advocate for increases to federal and [...]/p

What the Supreme Court Doesn’t Understand About the Voting Rights Act | The Nation

What the Supreme Court Doesn’t Understand About the Voting Rights Act | The Nation
"Today’s 5-4 decision by the Roberts Court gutting the VRA was the result of three factors, as I wrote in February: “a whiter, more Southern, more conservative GOP that has responded to demographic change by trying to suppress an increasingly diverse electorate; a twenty-five-year effort to gut the VRA by conservative intellectuals, who in recent years have received millions of dollars from top right-wing funders, including Charles Koch; and a reactionary Supreme Court that does not support remedies to racial discrimination"."

Ignoring Facts SCOTUS Strikes Down Key Provisions in the VRA

www.politicususa.com/2013/06/25/ignoring-facts-scotus-strikes-key-provisions-vra.html
"This ruling also gives us a lesson in political reality.  Republican governors and Republican controlled state legislatures will suppress the vote.  Voting Republican means endorsing vote suppression. We see that in the fact that all voter suppression programs, be they subtle or blatant were passed by Republican controlled state legislatures and signed by Republican governors. It is that simple and will be that simple for several election cycles."

O'Donnell wants you to sign WH petition

The Voting Rights Act has been gutted

www.dailykos.com/story/2013/06/25/1218714/-The-Voting-Rights-Act-has-been-gutted
"This is a bad, bad day. Just imagine what GOP-controlled states are going to try to attempt now."

Civil Rights Icon John Lewis Tears Into Supreme Court For Gutting Voting Rights

Civil Rights Icon John Lewis Tears Into Supreme Court For Gutting Voting Rights: Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) urged Congress to enact legislation that would protect the freedom to vote on Tuesday, just hours after the Supreme Court struck down a portion of the Voting Rights Act that stopped discriminatory voting laws from going into effect in areas of the country with histories of disenfranchisement. In [...]/p

Election day in Massachusetts: Go vote, then GOTV!

www.dailykos.com/story/2013/06/25/1218735/-Election-day-in-Massachusetts-Go-vote-then-GOTV
"Low turnout is the only thing that could stand in the way of Ed Markey becoming the junior senator from Massachusetts tonight. Markey's lead in the polling is safely in the double digits, with an average of a 12 point lead. The key for Markey will be getting out all those voters who support him, because turn-out is expected to be low, very low."

Celebrating 75 Years of the Fair Labor Standards Act | Economic Policy Institute

Celebrating 75 Years of the Fair Labor Standards Act | Economic Policy Institute
"The Fair Labor Standards Act succeeded in improving labor standards and actual working conditions, a result that continues to better the daily lives of millions of working Americans."

Iowa Governor Must Personally Decide Whether Each Poor Woman On Medicaid Deserves Abortion Coverage

Iowa Governor Must Personally Decide Whether Each Poor Woman On Medicaid Deserves Abortion Coverage: Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) has approved a measure to expand his state’s Medicaid program under Obamacare, which will extend health coverage to tens of thousands of his poor residents. But there’s a catch buried in the Medicaid expansion legislation that the governor signed last week. Now, when low-income women on Medicaid seek insurance coverage [...]/p

Conservatives Celebrate Gutting Of Voting Rights Act

Conservatives Celebrate Gutting Of Voting Rights Act: After the Supreme Court struck down a critical provision of the Voting Rights Act this morning, several prominent conservative groups and writers tap-danced on the historic civil rights legislation’s grave. Writing at National Review, a magazine that defended segregation and has more recently published pieces by white nationalists and “race realists,” John Fund suggested that [...]/p

Get Angry: The Arrogant Activist Supreme Court Majority Demolished Your Right To Vote

www.politicususa.com/2013/06/25/angry-arrogant-activist-supreme-court-majority-demolished-vote.html
"Their reasoning was deeply flawed, and their motives were laughably transparent. This was the conservative justices’ attempt to put a Republican back in the White House. Through this decision, they opened the door to all sorts of voter suppression laws that will largely target two key pieces of the new Democratic coalition that has grown up during the Obama years, Hispanics and African Americans."

Poor Darrell Issa! Turns Out IRS Also Targeted Groups With 'Progressive' Or 'Occupy' In Title

Poor Darrell Issa! Turns Out IRS Also Targeted Groups With 'Progressive' Or 'Occupy' In Title
"That hissing sound you hear is the last of the so-called IRS scandal melting away forever. Like every right-wing faux outrage, it's yet another example of how effortlessly they light up our ADHD media, creating smoke but no fire. First it was Benghazi and now it's the IRS non-scandal which is now an embarrassment for Darrell Issa in a very, very big way."

Why the U.S. Is Becoming Ground Zero For the Dirtiest Energy [With Slideshow] | Alternet

Why the U.S. Is Becoming Ground Zero For the Dirtiest Energy [With Slideshow] | Alternet
"The practice that has devastated parts of Canada is already underway in the U.S. and things could get a lot worse."

Three Ways The Supreme Court Gutted Voting Rights Today

Three Ways The Supreme Court Gutted Voting Rights Today: The Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling striking down key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, for the moment at least, eliminated the requirement that jurisdictions with a history of discrimination pre-clear election and voting law changes to ensure they do not disenfranchise minority voters. While the remaining provisions will still ban outright racial discrimination, those states [...]/p

The Last Mystery of the Financial Crisis

www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-last-mystery-of-the-financial-crisis-20130619
"Thanks to a mountain of evidence gathered for a pair of major lawsuits by the San Diego-based law firm Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, documents that for the most part have never been seen by the general public, we now know that the nation's two top ratings companies, Moody's and S&P, have for many years been shameless tools for the banks, willing to give just about anything a high rating in exchange for cash."

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-last-mystery-of-the-financial-crisis-20130619#ixzz2XF49zpgO 
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Matt Taibbi's Blockbuster Cover Story Exposes Key Culprits in Financial Crash | Alternet

Matt Taibbi's Blockbuster Cover Story Exposes Key Culprits in Financial Crash | Alternet
"Despite the implosion of the U.S. economy due to the top grades these bad deals got, the system remains much the same."

Outrage As Texas Abortion Bill Threatens Care, Wellbeing Of Millions Of Women

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BREAKING: Supreme Court Kills Key Prong Of Voting Rights Act

BREAKING: Supreme Court Kills Key Prong Of Voting Rights Act: Earlier today, the Supreme Court declared Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 unconstitutional. Section 4 is the formula which determines which jurisdictions are subject to “preclearance” under the law, meaning that new voting laws in those jurisdictions must be reviewed by the Justice Department or a federal court before they can take [...]/p

BREAKING: Senate Clears Way For Immigration Reform Bill To Pass With Broad Bipartisan Support

BREAKING: Senate Clears Way For Immigration Reform Bill To Pass With Broad Bipartisan Support: On Monday night, the Senate moved forward a key provision predicted to make or break its ability to pass comprehensive immigration reform. The amendment, offered by Sens. Bob Corker (R-TN) and John Hoeven (R-ND) and known as the “border surge” amendment, would add 20,000 border patrol agents, require the completion of 700 miles of fencing, [...]/p

SCOTUS Dances to US Chamber of Commerce Tune In Today's Decisions

SCOTUS Dances to US Chamber of Commerce Tune In Today's Decisions
"Today's opinions, however, can only be seen as a complete bow to the United States Chamber of Commerce, who was the beneficiary of 3 out of 4 of their decisions. The 4th, on affirmative action, was a punt back to the circuit court by all of the justices but Justice Ginsberg."

Massachusetts, help elect Ed Markey as your new senator

www.dailykos.com/story/2013/06/24/1218423/-Massachusetts-help-elect-Ed-Markey-your-new-senator
"The only shot at this Gomez has now is in massively depressed Democratic turnout. If you're in Massachusetts, don't let that happen. Get in touch with the Markey campaign or call them at (617) 286-4147, or contact the Massachusetts Democratic Party and volunteer to help get out the vote."

Texas Legislator Claims Rape Kits Are A Form Of Abortion

Texas Legislator Claims Rape Kits Are A Form Of Abortion: In the midst of all the chaos on Sunday night as the Texas legislature pushed through a series of stringent restrictions on abortion and women’s health, it was easy to miss what might have been the most inaccurate and dangerous claim of the evening: One state representative tried to argue on the State House floor [...]/p

102 Things NOT To Do If You Hate Taxes

www.addictinginfo.org/2013/06/22/102-things-not-to-do/
"The Republicans are lying when they say that we pay the highest taxes in the world and are only attacking taxes to reward corporations and the wealthy and to weaken our infrastructure and way of life."

Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/06/22/102-things-not-to-do/#ixzz2XAuV6n52

Darrell Issa just had a bad day: IRS 'targeted' groups with 'Occupy' and 'Progressive' in names

www.dailykos.com/story/2013/06/24/1218531/-Darrell-Issa-just-had-a-bad-day-IRS-targeted-groups-with-Occupy-and-Progressive-in-names
"The IRS has stopped using any so-called BOLO ("Be on the lookout") lists, but you know what this looks like? It looks like they were trying to screen for groups engaged in political activity ... because groups engaged mainly in influencing campaigns are not entitled to non-profit tax exempt status. In other words, they were trying to enforce the law."

The IRS Targeted Progressive Non-Profits, Too

The IRS Targeted Progressive Non-Profits, Too: After weeks of conservative outrage over the Internal Revenue Service’s improper targeting of Tea Party groups applying for 501 (c)(4) status, newly released documents obtained by the Associated Press showed that the agency was also targeting progressive groups. Conservatives and Republican lawmakers charged that the IRS was operating under directions from the White House to [...]/p

Under Obamacare, You Might Be Eating Better Hospital Food

Under Obamacare, You Might Be Eating Better Hospital Food: Obamacare will change huge aspects of the health care industry for Americans: Women won’t be charged more for the same care just because of their gender, insurance companies won’t be able to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions, young adults will be able to remain on their parents’ health plans up to the age of [...]/p

Generic Drug Companies Get Even More Immunity From The Roberts Five

Generic Drug Companies Get Even More Immunity From The Roberts Five: Today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling immunizing drug companies from lawsuit for egregious injuries wasn’t terribly surprising for those who have been following along. Two years ago, in a case called PLIVA v. Mensing, the U.S. Supreme Court held that generic drug companies were largely immune from lawsuits alleging their failure to warn of harmful consequences. [...]/p

Supreme Court Ruled In Favor Of America’s Top Corporate Lobbying Group In 13 of 16 Cases This Term

Supreme Court Ruled In Favor Of America’s Top Corporate Lobbying Group In 13 of 16 Cases This Term: Earlier today, the Supreme Court handed three big victories to big corporations seeking immunity from the law, and equally substantial defeats to American workers and consumers. In a pair of workplace civil rights decisions, the Court made it easier for many bosses to get away with sexual or racial harassment, and it eased the path [...]/p

PERRspectives: Health Insurers to Skip Half of Mississippi Counties

PERRspectives: Health Insurers to Skip Half of Mississippi Counties
"As the New York Times documented last week, the choices and pricing of private health insurance will vary widely from state to state when the Affordable Care Act's exchanges launch this fall. In state-run marketplaces in California, Colorado and Oregon, residents will have a wide array of providers and plans to choose from. But in many poorer, often Republican led states, consumers may have few alternatives. And in some part of Mississippi, the state with the very worst health care system in the nation, there will be no choices at all."

POLL: Majority Of Texans Don’t Support The Abortion Restrictions Moving Through The Legislature

POLL: Majority Of Texans Don’t Support The Abortion Restrictions Moving Through The Legislature: Most Texas residents don’t support Senate Bill 5, the omnibus anti-abortion bill currently advancing in the legislature, according to a new bipartisan poll. In fact, 80 percent of Texans don’t want their lawmakers to be considering abortion-related bills during the special session that Gov. Rick Perry (R) convened at the beginning of the month. SB [...]/p

An Open Letter to Anyone Ready to Write Off Texas: Don’t, Because it’s "Your" Future at Stake | Common Dreams

An Open Letter to Anyone Ready to Write Off Texas: Don’t, Because it’s "Your" Future at Stake | Common Dreams
"It’s no accident or coincidence that so-called flyover states have passed highly restrictive abortion bills in advance of Congress’ vote. That’s part of the plan. Anti-choice politicians and activists have been working for years to reduce access to abortion in red states where they know they’ll find little opposition from friendly legislators looking to ramp up the war on women.

Texas is not a throw-away state full of throw-away people who can be shrugged off with a contemptuous, “Well, what do you expect?” Texas is not an outlier. Texas is a test case for right-wingers with their eyes on the coasts and, as Congress showed this week, Washington, D.C."

'A Slow-Motion Train Wreck': The Real Consequences of the Sequester | The Nation

'A Slow-Motion Train Wreck': The Real Consequences of the Sequester | The Nation
"The Republican-led House voted to eliminate $1.5 trillion in discretionary spending through 2022 during the much-publicized sequester, causing widespread pain and havoc through American communities, the effects of which we’re starting to see. In some cases, these cuts are literally stripping the clothes from children’s backs and taking food and shelter from the needy."

How The Supreme Court Stomped On Workers’ Rights Today

How The Supreme Court Stomped On Workers’ Rights Today: Monday was a great day for sexual harassers and for bosses who retaliate against workers claiming discrimination. The rest of us did not fare so well in the Supreme Court. While most Court watchers will likely focus on the narrower-than-expected decision in the Fisher affirmative action case, the most lasting impact of today’s decisions likely [...]/p

Republican Strategy For 2016: Change Nothing, Piss Everyone Off

www.addictinginfo.org/2013/06/23/shannons-failing-gop-piece/
"Republicans will once again lose the popular vote in the 2016 election, just as they have the last five of six presidential elections unless they put their listening caps on and and pay attention to what they are being taught. It does not matter how they convey their message if their message is: We hate poor people, we hate minorities, we hate women. Hate is no way to win an election and there isn’t a nice enough way in the world to sugarcoat it."

Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/06/23/shannons-failing-gop-piece/#ixzz2X9WKuDxS

Report: Federal Defense Contractors Paid Almost Double Obama’s Salary

Report: Federal Defense Contractors Paid Almost Double Obama’s Salary: A new report out from the government’s oversight agency finds that millions of dollars could be saved if federal contractors — particularly at the Pentagon — made only as much as the President of the United States. The report — invitingly titled “Information on the Impact of Reducing the Cap on Employee Compensation Costs” — [...]/p

The Price of Sand

The Price of Sand
'The industry can't do without the silica - hence the gold rush in sand that is destroying landscapes, particularly in Wisconsin and Illinois, but increasingly in Minnesota."

A Congress Only CEOs Could Love | Common Dreams

A Congress Only CEOs Could Love | Common Dreams
"Only 10 percent of Americans now have confidence in Congress, Gallup has just informed us. No other major institution in American life today has this low an approval rating. In fact, adds Gallup, no major American institution has ever had an approval rating this low."

Americans Support Job Creation To Fix Crumbling Infrastructure

Americans Support Job Creation To Fix Crumbling Infrastructure: Seventy-two percent of Americans say they support spending government money to put people to work on urgent infrastructure repairs, according to a new survey by Gallup. The same number say they would support a law that would spend government money to create 1 million new jobs. Over 90 percent of Democrats, about 70 percent of [...]/p

Despite Massive Protests, Texas GOP Rushes Through Abortion Restrictions In The Middle Of The Night

Despite Massive Protests, Texas GOP Rushes Through Abortion Restrictions In The Middle Of The Night: More than 600 women’s health advocates crowded into Texas’ state capitol building on Sunday night, hoping to prevent a vote on a package of abortion restrictions before the state’s special session ends early this week. Ultimately, however, their efforts were unsuccessful. In the early hours of Monday morning, Republicans used their majority to cut off [...]/p

The Scariest Pending Supreme Court Case That You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

The Scariest Pending Supreme Court Case That You’ve Probably Never Heard Of: When the Supreme Court starts handing down decisions just one hour from now, most Court watchers will be awaiting four high profile cases — the two race cases that will decide the fate of affirmative action and the Voting Rights Act, and the two marriage equality cases. A fifth case, however, could prove just as [...]/p