When 'Libertarian' Billionaires Default To Neoconservatism
"The entire body of libertarian political theory rests on the false assumption that Kochs and Adelsons share exactly the same interests as the other 99.99% of Americans; convincing a majority of that majority to believe such nonsense is the highest art of libertarian rhetoric. When it comes to getting rid of estate taxes, labor laws, or environmental regulations, these guys are the most important ‘libertarians' on the planet, but that doesn't mean they're genuinely interested in greater freedom for anyone other than themselves - and it doesn't prevent them from pandering to cruel and violent sectarian impulses, or promoting zealots to positions of power, in order to get what they want. Call it a ‘one percent doctrine for the one percent'."
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
It’s Here: Louisiana Public High Schools Are Teaching The Bible In Science Class
http://www.occupydemocrats.com/its-here-louisiana-public-high-schools-are-teaching-the-bible-in-science-class/
"All over the country, Republicans are waging war on education. It’s been scientifically proven that the more educated someone is, the less likely they are to vote for a red candidate. Besides voter suppression and gerrymandering, the easiest way to ensure that their party doesn’t go extinct is to dumb down the electorate. The easiest people to fool are the ones who don’t know that they are being fooled, and that’s why the GOP is pushing so hard for religion in classrooms."
"All over the country, Republicans are waging war on education. It’s been scientifically proven that the more educated someone is, the less likely they are to vote for a red candidate. Besides voter suppression and gerrymandering, the easiest way to ensure that their party doesn’t go extinct is to dumb down the electorate. The easiest people to fool are the ones who don’t know that they are being fooled, and that’s why the GOP is pushing so hard for religion in classrooms."
Supreme Court shuts down Scott Walker: Today’s ultrasound decision is a big defeat for anti-choice warriors
Supreme Court shuts down Scott Walker: Today’s ultrasound decision is a big defeat for anti-choice warriors
"The GOP contender thinks forced ultrasounds are "cool," but the justices just dealt the movement a big setback"
"The GOP contender thinks forced ultrasounds are "cool," but the justices just dealt the movement a big setback"
The Republican Party Has Built its Foundation By Embracing the Worst Parts of Our Society
The Republican Party Has Built its Foundation By Embracing the Worst Parts of Our Society
"Looking at the Republican party, we see a group of people who build their ideologies upon:
Opposing the government.
Fear and paranoia.
Religious extremism.
Bigotry.
Sexism.
Intolerance.
And that’s just to name a few things."
"Looking at the Republican party, we see a group of people who build their ideologies upon:
Opposing the government.
Fear and paranoia.
Religious extremism.
Bigotry.
Sexism.
Intolerance.
And that’s just to name a few things."
Scott Walker’s Toxic Contempt for Women
http://www.progressive.org/news/2015/06/188176/scott-walker’s-toxic-contempt-women
"Former state Sen. Glenn Grothman, who once proposed defining single motherhood as a form of child abuse, strolled through the hearing room during one extended late-night session, saying he “just wanted to see what the weirdos look like.”
They look like your mother, your grandmother, your favorite teacher."
"Former state Sen. Glenn Grothman, who once proposed defining single motherhood as a form of child abuse, strolled through the hearing room during one extended late-night session, saying he “just wanted to see what the weirdos look like.”
They look like your mother, your grandmother, your favorite teacher."
California Republican Blames Drought Conditions on Abortion and Liberals
http://thedailybanter.com/2015/06/california-republican-blames-drought-conditions-on-abortion-and-liberals/
"Grove will go on with her career in public service with this kind of unmitigated nutbaggery informing her legislation as well as her votes. In the year 2015, there are way too many politicians mainstreaming this silliness in the name of oppressing women, the LGBT community or anyone else who Grover condemns as oogy. Being wrong on the issues is one thing, but selling that wrongness while suggesting one has special knowledge of God’s decision-making process is batsh*t crazy."
"Grove will go on with her career in public service with this kind of unmitigated nutbaggery informing her legislation as well as her votes. In the year 2015, there are way too many politicians mainstreaming this silliness in the name of oppressing women, the LGBT community or anyone else who Grover condemns as oogy. Being wrong on the issues is one thing, but selling that wrongness while suggesting one has special knowledge of God’s decision-making process is batsh*t crazy."
Why Do Republican Officials Keep Partnering With Christian-Nation Extremist David Lane? | Right Wing Watch
Why Do Republican Officials Keep Partnering With Christian-Nation Extremist David Lane? | Right Wing Watch
"All of Lane’s events are designed to promote conservative GOP candidates by introducing them to networks of politically engaged conservative pastors who are willing to turn their churches into GOTV operations on behalf of the right kind of right-wing candidate."
"All of Lane’s events are designed to promote conservative GOP candidates by introducing them to networks of politically engaged conservative pastors who are willing to turn their churches into GOTV operations on behalf of the right kind of right-wing candidate."
The Religious Right’s Full Page Denunciation of the United States Constitution
http://www.politicususa.com/2015/06/15/religious-rights-full-page-denunciation-united-states-constitution.html
"As theocracy arrives in North Carolina and Michigan, the Religious Right, going with its penchant for hyperbolic full-page ads in major newspapers, publicly announced last week that if forced to choose between Bible and Constitution, the Constitution will lose.
Then, almost as though begging us to laugh at them, they used their various propaganda organs like the Tea Party, The Catholic Beat, Christian Examiner, World Net Daily, and so forth, to announce how heroic and great they are for putting their unconstitutional AND unbiblical beliefs on full display."
"As theocracy arrives in North Carolina and Michigan, the Religious Right, going with its penchant for hyperbolic full-page ads in major newspapers, publicly announced last week that if forced to choose between Bible and Constitution, the Constitution will lose.
Then, almost as though begging us to laugh at them, they used their various propaganda organs like the Tea Party, The Catholic Beat, Christian Examiner, World Net Daily, and so forth, to announce how heroic and great they are for putting their unconstitutional AND unbiblical beliefs on full display."
The 5 Biggest Lies Conservative “Christians” Tell About Themselves
The 5 Biggest Lies Conservative “Christians” Tell About Themselves
"3. They care about the poor and income inequality: This one might be my favorite. Republicans are constantly trying to gut programs that help the most needy among us, while simultaneously painting them as “lazy moochers,” while also opposing raising the minimum wage – yet they’re unapologetic about their support for massive tax breaks for the richest among us. They’re literally trying to convince us that the “solution” to income inequality is more of the same policies that caused it to begin with. And what are those polices? The ones that make the rich even richer at the expense of everyone else."
"3. They care about the poor and income inequality: This one might be my favorite. Republicans are constantly trying to gut programs that help the most needy among us, while simultaneously painting them as “lazy moochers,” while also opposing raising the minimum wage – yet they’re unapologetic about their support for massive tax breaks for the richest among us. They’re literally trying to convince us that the “solution” to income inequality is more of the same policies that caused it to begin with. And what are those polices? The ones that make the rich even richer at the expense of everyone else."
GOP-Fox Pundit Finds Lying About Hillary Much Harder On CNN
GOP-Fox Pundit Finds Lying About Hillary Much Harder On CNN
"Hill got in the last word and Lisa Boothe was left looking like a shallow mouthpiece for the real hypocrites: the GOP."
"Hill got in the last word and Lisa Boothe was left looking like a shallow mouthpiece for the real hypocrites: the GOP."
Report: Fox Boss Roger Ailes Leaning Towards Scott Walker, Helped Edit Special Based On Anti-Clinton Book
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/06/12/report-fox-boss-roger-ailes-leaning-towards-sco/203983
"A report from New York magazine indicates that Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes is leaning towards Gov. Scott Walker for the Republican presidential nomination, while personally involving himself in the network's attacks on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton."
"A report from New York magazine indicates that Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes is leaning towards Gov. Scott Walker for the Republican presidential nomination, while personally involving himself in the network's attacks on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton."
Florida House rejects Medicaid expansion again, but passes sweet insurance deal for themselves
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/06/12/1392824/-Florida-House-rejects-Medicaid-expansion-again-but-passes-sweet-insurance-deal-for-themselves
"How low? Really low, as in "$8.34 a month for individual coverage and $30 a month for family coverage." That's for the high-level state employees, like Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi, legislative staff and various management level state employees."
"How low? Really low, as in "$8.34 a month for individual coverage and $30 a month for family coverage." That's for the high-level state employees, like Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi, legislative staff and various management level state employees."
Erick Erickson Defends ALEC, Attacks 11Alive For Investigating Secretive Group
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/06/12/erick-erickson-defends-alec-attacks-11alive-for/203985
"Following an investigation by Atlanta's 11Alive into the inner workings of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) -- the secretive organization that brings together corporate lobbyists and state legislators to draft model legislation businesses want to see passed - RedState editor-and-chief, Fox News contributor, and Atlanta-based radio host Erick Erickson gave an ALEC spokesman a platform to deflect questions raised by the report and used his own microphone to question the investigative reporter's character."
"Following an investigation by Atlanta's 11Alive into the inner workings of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) -- the secretive organization that brings together corporate lobbyists and state legislators to draft model legislation businesses want to see passed - RedState editor-and-chief, Fox News contributor, and Atlanta-based radio host Erick Erickson gave an ALEC spokesman a platform to deflect questions raised by the report and used his own microphone to question the investigative reporter's character."
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Oregon Becomes Fourth State To Pass Law Guaranteeing Paid Sick Days
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2015/06/13/3669059/oregon-paid-sick-leave/
"There is no countrywide requirement that employees have access to paid sick leave, however, unlike all other developed countries. That leaves about 40 percent of the workforce without the ability to take a paid day off if they get sick. And among those who do get the benefit, the trend has been toward offering fewer days."
"There is no countrywide requirement that employees have access to paid sick leave, however, unlike all other developed countries. That leaves about 40 percent of the workforce without the ability to take a paid day off if they get sick. And among those who do get the benefit, the trend has been toward offering fewer days."
Trickle-down’s middle-class massacre: Failure of conservative economics should discredit these bankrupt ideas forever
Trickle-down’s middle-class massacre: Failure of conservative economics should discredit these bankrupt ideas forever
"the trickle-down worldview has impacted policymaking for more than three decades. Not only is trickle-down still lodged firmly in place, but since the Great Recession, adherents of supply side have doubled down on their policies. The rhetoric supply-siders use may be shifting to be more supportive of the middle class, but their policies have gotten more extreme.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney ran against Obama in 2012 by proposing tax cuts for the wealthy that were far larger than the cuts enacted by President George W. Bush. The budget proposal by the House Republicans in 2013 would have provided bigger tax cuts to the wealthy than even the Romney plan. Further, these federal proposals for additional tax cuts for the rich would likely have required tax increases on the middle class, according to a number of analyses. Similarly, Republican governors like North Carolina’s Pat McCrory, Kansas’s Sam Brownback, Wisconsin’s Scott Walker, and New Jersey’s Chris Christie have recently proposed policies that cut taxes for businesses and the wealthy, but raise them on the middle class. In contrast, supply-side proposals of the past cut taxes most dramatically for the wealthy, but still reduced taxes for most everyone.
That supply-side supporters have become even more dogmatic in the aftermath of the Great Recession is not particularly surprising. American history shows that proponents of the dominant theory often do not admit the error of their ways, but rather become even more strident as evidence mounts that their logic has failed."
"the trickle-down worldview has impacted policymaking for more than three decades. Not only is trickle-down still lodged firmly in place, but since the Great Recession, adherents of supply side have doubled down on their policies. The rhetoric supply-siders use may be shifting to be more supportive of the middle class, but their policies have gotten more extreme.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney ran against Obama in 2012 by proposing tax cuts for the wealthy that were far larger than the cuts enacted by President George W. Bush. The budget proposal by the House Republicans in 2013 would have provided bigger tax cuts to the wealthy than even the Romney plan. Further, these federal proposals for additional tax cuts for the rich would likely have required tax increases on the middle class, according to a number of analyses. Similarly, Republican governors like North Carolina’s Pat McCrory, Kansas’s Sam Brownback, Wisconsin’s Scott Walker, and New Jersey’s Chris Christie have recently proposed policies that cut taxes for businesses and the wealthy, but raise them on the middle class. In contrast, supply-side proposals of the past cut taxes most dramatically for the wealthy, but still reduced taxes for most everyone.
That supply-side supporters have become even more dogmatic in the aftermath of the Great Recession is not particularly surprising. American history shows that proponents of the dominant theory often do not admit the error of their ways, but rather become even more strident as evidence mounts that their logic has failed."
Marco Rubio And Five Members Of Congress Voted For Florida's 'Scarlet Letter' Adoption Bill
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/11/florida-adoption-bill_n_7565046.html
"Sen. Marco Rubio (R) was among the Florida state legislators who voted for the so-called "Scarlet Letter" law in 2001 that required single mothers to publish their sexual histories in the newspaper in order to place their babies up for adoption."
"Sen. Marco Rubio (R) was among the Florida state legislators who voted for the so-called "Scarlet Letter" law in 2001 that required single mothers to publish their sexual histories in the newspaper in order to place their babies up for adoption."
Walker, Abele Want To Build Arena On The Backs Of The Poor
Walker, Abele Want To Build Arena On The Backs Of The Poor
"Scott Walker, as he usually does, caved in to the wealthy special interests, and came up with a cockamamie scheme on how he would borrow money to pay for the state's share - almost the same amount he cut from higher education - and the City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County would chip in the rest."
"Scott Walker, as he usually does, caved in to the wealthy special interests, and came up with a cockamamie scheme on how he would borrow money to pay for the state's share - almost the same amount he cut from higher education - and the City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County would chip in the rest."
Kansas Governor Begs Legislature To Fix His Tax Mess
Kansas Governor Begs Legislature To Fix His Tax Mess
"Governor Brownback. You rolled around in the Koch mud, and now you're stuck in it."
"Governor Brownback. You rolled around in the Koch mud, and now you're stuck in it."
Killing Medicare on back burner as Paul Ryan pushes 'tax reform'
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/06/10/1392061/-Killing-Medicare-on-back-burner-as-Paul-Ryan-pushes-tax-reform
"A key problem Republicans face with any new Paul Ryan plan is that voters know a little too much about the last Paul Ryan plan, and don't like what they know. Sure, this time it will include big promises of tax cuts (bigger for rich people than for you, but Republicans will have a talking point to obscure that), but you can confidently expect Democrats to remind voters—correctly!—that this is a plan coming from a guy whose end game is privatizing Medicare and Social Security."
"A key problem Republicans face with any new Paul Ryan plan is that voters know a little too much about the last Paul Ryan plan, and don't like what they know. Sure, this time it will include big promises of tax cuts (bigger for rich people than for you, but Republicans will have a talking point to obscure that), but you can confidently expect Democrats to remind voters—correctly!—that this is a plan coming from a guy whose end game is privatizing Medicare and Social Security."
Watch: Paul Ryan’s Obamacare Hypocrisy Gets DESTROYED In Two Minutes
http://www.occupydemocrats.com/watch-paul-ryans-obamacare-hypocrisy-gets-destroyed-in-two-minutes/
"The Republican House has made it their number one priority to deny healthcare to millions of Americans"
"The Republican House has made it their number one priority to deny healthcare to millions of Americans"
The high price of being uninsured in for-profit America
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/06/12/1391895/-The-high-price-of-being-uninsured-in-for-profit-America
"Most of these hospitals are in red states that didn't take Medicaid expansion and where subsidies for health insurance purchased through Obamacare are jeopardized by the lawsuit the Supreme Court will decide by the end of the month. Which means that a lot of these hospitals are in states that already still have high uninsured rates. Rates that will increase if the Supreme Court rules against the administration and the Republican Congress refuses to act. But hey, that's just more profit to Community Health Systems, which operates 25 of the hospitals on the list, and Hospital Corporation of America, which has 14 of the others. Republicans will say that's just how it works in the world's greatest healthcare system."
"Most of these hospitals are in red states that didn't take Medicaid expansion and where subsidies for health insurance purchased through Obamacare are jeopardized by the lawsuit the Supreme Court will decide by the end of the month. Which means that a lot of these hospitals are in states that already still have high uninsured rates. Rates that will increase if the Supreme Court rules against the administration and the Republican Congress refuses to act. But hey, that's just more profit to Community Health Systems, which operates 25 of the hospitals on the list, and Hospital Corporation of America, which has 14 of the others. Republicans will say that's just how it works in the world's greatest healthcare system."
Unease growing in red states over Supreme Court Obamacare decision
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/06/09/1391861/-Unease-growing-in-red-states-over-Supreme-Court-Obamacare-nbsp-decision#
"Gwinnett County, Georgia, is one of those places in deep-red America where there's a growing sense of doom about what the Supreme Court might do in a few weeks to Obamacare, when it decides King v. Burwell. About one in eight residents of the county gets insurance through Obamacare. They got that insurance on the federal exchange, because the state's Republican leadership refused to establish one for the state."
"Gwinnett County, Georgia, is one of those places in deep-red America where there's a growing sense of doom about what the Supreme Court might do in a few weeks to Obamacare, when it decides King v. Burwell. About one in eight residents of the county gets insurance through Obamacare. They got that insurance on the federal exchange, because the state's Republican leadership refused to establish one for the state."
PERRspectives: New School Voucher Laws Put Public Education in Peril
PERRspectives: New School Voucher Laws Put Public Education in Peril
"The result won't just be a massive taxpayer subsidy for more affluent families that regardless would have chosen private schools for their children. As the recent record shows, voucher programs don't just strangle funding for public schools, they provide life-saving cash injections into some dubious academies that would otherwise fail.
In Georgia, the state's $2,500 tax credit for donations to "nonprofit scholarship groups" to help poor and needy children turned into something else altogether. As the New York Times reported in 2012, "Most of the private schools are religious" and "nearly a quarter of the participating schools in Georgia require families to make a profession of religious faith, according to their Web sites." In the first year of Governor Bobby Jindal's voucher program in Louisiana, almost half of students attended private schools with a D or F rating. As the New Orleans Times Picayune detailed in November 2014, the voucher students performed poorly"
"The result won't just be a massive taxpayer subsidy for more affluent families that regardless would have chosen private schools for their children. As the recent record shows, voucher programs don't just strangle funding for public schools, they provide life-saving cash injections into some dubious academies that would otherwise fail.
In Georgia, the state's $2,500 tax credit for donations to "nonprofit scholarship groups" to help poor and needy children turned into something else altogether. As the New York Times reported in 2012, "Most of the private schools are religious" and "nearly a quarter of the participating schools in Georgia require families to make a profession of religious faith, according to their Web sites." In the first year of Governor Bobby Jindal's voucher program in Louisiana, almost half of students attended private schools with a D or F rating. As the New Orleans Times Picayune detailed in November 2014, the voucher students performed poorly"
It’s official: Louisiana public schools are using the Book of Genesis in high school science classes
It’s official: Louisiana public schools are using the Book of Genesis in high school science classes
"Louisianans can now get a 19th Century education to accompany their 19th century economy"
"Louisianans can now get a 19th Century education to accompany their 19th century economy"
Friday, June 12, 2015
Montana Republican Uses the Story of Noah’s Ark to Justify Why Americans Don’t Need Social Security
Montana Republican Uses the Story of Noah’s Ark to Justify Why Americans Don’t Need Social Security
"Once upon a time these sort of wackos could easily be ignored because nobody was really paying attention to them, let alone electing them to public office. But since the rise of the tea party, these crazy people now have a voice."
"Once upon a time these sort of wackos could easily be ignored because nobody was really paying attention to them, let alone electing them to public office. But since the rise of the tea party, these crazy people now have a voice."
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Sam Brownback guts Kansas even more: This is life under America’s worst Republican governor
Sam Brownback guts Kansas even more: This is life under America’s worst Republican governor
"Brownback’s well-paid tax consultant, the legendary economist Laffer, promised Kansans that the cuts would pay for themselves in supercharged economic growth. At the time, a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy showed that Laffer had things backward: over the previous decade, economic output per person had grown significantly faster in the nine states levying a “high rate” income tax than it had grown in the nine states with no income tax at all. Without the promised faster growth, there was simply no way that cutting taxes could bring in more revenue, they would only bring in mountains of debt, as Reagan had done nationally when he first took Laffer’s advice in 1981.
As Brownback’s tax-cutting fantasies predictable failed last year, there was a wave of hope that the state might change direction, by voting Brownback out. In March, a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities warned that “Kansas is a cautionary tale, not a model,” explaining that “As other states recover from the recent recession and turn toward the future, Kansas’ huge tax cuts have left that state’s schools and other public services stuck in the recession, and declining further — a serious threat to the state’s long-term economic vitality.
Meanwhile, promises of immediate economic improvement have utterly failed to materialize.” The damage was inescapable—in March, the State Supreme Court ruled, in Gannon vs. State of Kansas, that under Brownback (in part resulting from his tax cuts) state school funding cuts had violated the state constitution."
"Brownback’s well-paid tax consultant, the legendary economist Laffer, promised Kansans that the cuts would pay for themselves in supercharged economic growth. At the time, a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy showed that Laffer had things backward: over the previous decade, economic output per person had grown significantly faster in the nine states levying a “high rate” income tax than it had grown in the nine states with no income tax at all. Without the promised faster growth, there was simply no way that cutting taxes could bring in more revenue, they would only bring in mountains of debt, as Reagan had done nationally when he first took Laffer’s advice in 1981.
As Brownback’s tax-cutting fantasies predictable failed last year, there was a wave of hope that the state might change direction, by voting Brownback out. In March, a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities warned that “Kansas is a cautionary tale, not a model,” explaining that “As other states recover from the recent recession and turn toward the future, Kansas’ huge tax cuts have left that state’s schools and other public services stuck in the recession, and declining further — a serious threat to the state’s long-term economic vitality.
Meanwhile, promises of immediate economic improvement have utterly failed to materialize.” The damage was inescapable—in March, the State Supreme Court ruled, in Gannon vs. State of Kansas, that under Brownback (in part resulting from his tax cuts) state school funding cuts had violated the state constitution."
Senate Republicans Just Literally Voted Against Clean Water
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/06/11/senate-republicans-just-literally-voted-against-clean-water/
"Pro-pollution Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works committee voted 11-9 Wednesday to pass a bill that undermines the administration’s recently announced protections against polluting our nation’s waterways.
In a straight party-line vote, Republicans once again displayed their wanton disregard for what Americans want: Clean water."
"Pro-pollution Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works committee voted 11-9 Wednesday to pass a bill that undermines the administration’s recently announced protections against polluting our nation’s waterways.
In a straight party-line vote, Republicans once again displayed their wanton disregard for what Americans want: Clean water."
Billionaire Republican to Montana: Old people should be more like Noah and build arks until they die
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/06/10/1392152/-Billionaire-Republican-to-Montana-Old-people-should-be-more-like-Noah-and-build-arks-until-they-die#
"A billionaire claiming the "concept of retirement is not biblical"? What could possibly go wrong?"
"A billionaire claiming the "concept of retirement is not biblical"? What could possibly go wrong?"
8 Ways the Supreme Court Has Been Destroying American Democracy | Alternet
8 Ways the Supreme Court Has Been Destroying American Democracy | Alternet
"Most people have little idea how badly the U.S. Supreme Court has damaged American democracy.
It’s not just watching a handful of billionaires drive the Republicans’ 2016 presidential contest from the inside out, as a result of the Court’s Citizens United ruling in 2010 and others that followed. There’s been a long line of anti-democratic rulings going back decades that have narrowed who can—and cannot—participate in politics, from citizens to candidates to parties and reformers."
"Most people have little idea how badly the U.S. Supreme Court has damaged American democracy.
It’s not just watching a handful of billionaires drive the Republicans’ 2016 presidential contest from the inside out, as a result of the Court’s Citizens United ruling in 2010 and others that followed. There’s been a long line of anti-democratic rulings going back decades that have narrowed who can—and cannot—participate in politics, from citizens to candidates to parties and reformers."
House Republicans sneak net neutrality attack into appropriations bill
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/06/10/1392153/-House-Republicans-sneak-net-neutrality-attack-into-appropriations-bill
"They're putting this provision deep inside a spending bill where it's going to be hard to carve out, attempting to do it as stealthily as possible. That could be because they don't want the public to know that they're doing it, because they're aware that the public overwhelmingly supports net neutrality. That includes conservative Republicans, 83 percent of whom support the concepts behind net neutrality."
"They're putting this provision deep inside a spending bill where it's going to be hard to carve out, attempting to do it as stealthily as possible. That could be because they don't want the public to know that they're doing it, because they're aware that the public overwhelmingly supports net neutrality. That includes conservative Republicans, 83 percent of whom support the concepts behind net neutrality."
Kansas Governor Declares War On The State Court System
http://samuel-warde.com/2015/06/kansas-governor-declares-war-kansas-courts/
"He even imported Arthur Laffer, the man who invented “trickle-down” economics, to sell it to the suckers, I mean citizens. The story line was that in eliminating taxes for 200,000 businesses and slashing the tax rates for the wealthy, businesses would flock to Kansas, creating jobs and more disposable income. Thus they would make up the difference in sales taxes. While all this was transpiring, Kansas would keep the budget balanced by cutting unnecessary expenditures in areas like social services, infrastructure, highways and education.
For the 2014 fiscal year, tax collections came in $333 million short of expectations. The Kansas legislature had cut $150 million in those “unnecessary expenditures,” but total collections were down $700 million from the previous year. The state had to raid the reserve fund to the tune of $320 million to balance the books.
In May, Moody lowered Kansas’ credit rating from Aa1 to Aa2, citing sluggish recovery and risky tax plan. In August, Standard and Poor’s followed suit by lowering Kansas’ bond rating from AA+ to AA, citing the state’s unbalanced budget caused by the 2012 tax cuts.
This year is even worse. Even wiping out that $380 million remaining in the reserve fund, Kansas is coming up $279 million short. According to the Kansas constitution, the books must be balanced and they’ve got less than three weeks to do it. The bell tolls at midnight, June 30.
Oh, and next year the shortfall is expected to be in the neighborhood of $800 million and the reserve fund cupboard is bare!"
"He even imported Arthur Laffer, the man who invented “trickle-down” economics, to sell it to the suckers, I mean citizens. The story line was that in eliminating taxes for 200,000 businesses and slashing the tax rates for the wealthy, businesses would flock to Kansas, creating jobs and more disposable income. Thus they would make up the difference in sales taxes. While all this was transpiring, Kansas would keep the budget balanced by cutting unnecessary expenditures in areas like social services, infrastructure, highways and education.
For the 2014 fiscal year, tax collections came in $333 million short of expectations. The Kansas legislature had cut $150 million in those “unnecessary expenditures,” but total collections were down $700 million from the previous year. The state had to raid the reserve fund to the tune of $320 million to balance the books.
In May, Moody lowered Kansas’ credit rating from Aa1 to Aa2, citing sluggish recovery and risky tax plan. In August, Standard and Poor’s followed suit by lowering Kansas’ bond rating from AA+ to AA, citing the state’s unbalanced budget caused by the 2012 tax cuts.
This year is even worse. Even wiping out that $380 million remaining in the reserve fund, Kansas is coming up $279 million short. According to the Kansas constitution, the books must be balanced and they’ve got less than three weeks to do it. The bell tolls at midnight, June 30.
Oh, and next year the shortfall is expected to be in the neighborhood of $800 million and the reserve fund cupboard is bare!"
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