Thursday, January 31, 2013

Recall Effort Against America's Most Notorious Immigrant-Hating Sheriff Begins | Alternet

Recall Effort Against America's Most Notorious Immigrant-Hating Sheriff Begins | Alternet
"A citizen’s group called Respect Arizona filed paperwork at the Maricopa County Elections Department on Wednesday to initiate a recall effort against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio."

Tea Party Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli: Scalia Is Too Liberal

Tea Party Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli: Scalia Is Too Liberal: Justice Antonin Scalia is easily the Supreme Court’s most strident conservative. He defends torture and finds little wrong with executing the innocent. He once argued that the Constitution does not protect women from gender discrimination (although he’s since backed off this statement somewhat). Scalia compared same-sex attraction to murder. He believes our immigration law should [...]/p

Smart Talk on the Next Austerity Disaster | Common Dreams

Smart Talk on the Next Austerity Disaster | Common Dreams
"Fixing our economy requires a very different agenda than mindless cuts. We need to invest in areas vital to our future, and stop squandering resources on things we don’t need and can’t afford. End the wars abroad, bring our troops home, and invest the savings in rebuilding America – putting people to work while modernizing our decrepit infrastructure, from roads and rail to broadband and the electric grid.

End the subsidies and tax breaks to big oil companies and invest the resources in research and development to capture a lead in clean energy and the green industrial revolution sweeping the country.
Crack down on global tax havens, tax Wall Street speculation, tax investors at the same rate as workers, and use that income to provide every child with the opportunity to learn, from universal preschool to affordable college.
Lift the minimum wage, empower workers to gain a fair share of the profits they help to generate and curb perverse CEO compensation schemes that give them million-dollar incentives to ship jobs abroad."

Austerity Is Dead: Can Someone Please Tell Paul Ryan and His Deluded GOP Cohorts? | Alternet

Austerity Is Dead: Can Someone Please Tell Paul Ryan and His Deluded GOP Cohorts? | Alternet
"In the academic world, at least, the debate over austerity seems to be at an end. But if the GOP has its way, austerity will come to America in a big way in 2013."

As Predicted, Austerity Policies Send US Economy Downward | Common Dreams

As Predicted, Austerity Policies Send US Economy Downward | Common Dreams
"As warned by experts not cowed by the "deficit hawk" alarmists who dominate the national conversation on the economy, the dip in growth was not the result of "uncertainty" in the private sector or the future demands of public spending obligations, but rather on the contraction of public spending and the tax increases prematurely foisted on low-income and middle class workers in the form of a payroll tax increase that took effect on January 1."

What Is Visa Hiding? Majority Shareholders Thwart Effort to Require More Disclosure of Money Spent on ALEC

What Is Visa Hiding? Majority Shareholders Thwart Effort to Require More Disclosure of Money Spent on ALEC
"Meanwhile, Visa is only one of 49 companies that socially responsible investors wrote to last year to urge ALEC funders to reconsider their financial support for the controversial group.  Walden Asset Managementand their other allies are continuing their shareholder-based outreach that has helped move other corporations out of ALEC.
But as a result of the shareholder vote in January, the amount of money Visa has spent funding ALEC over the years will remain hidden from investors and the public."

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

REPORT: Prominent Conservative Leader Once Ran White Supremacist Group

REPORT: Prominent Conservative Leader Once Ran White Supremacist Group: A new report by Mother Jones reveals that James B. Taylor, a prominent conservative movement leader and board member for the Young America’s Foundation, once served as vice president of a white supremacist group. Taylor’s bio notes that he is “chairman of World Youth Crusade [for Freedom] and former executive director and chief of staff [...]/p

AEI Scholar To Fellow Conservatives: Forget About The Debt!

AEI Scholar To Fellow Conservatives: Forget About The Debt!
"Seriously, I think hell just froze over. An American Enterprise Institute "stink tanker" publicly contradicts the party line and tells conservatives the debt is no big deal -- based on actual facts n' stuff? The AEI, home to Lynne Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Newt Gingrich and John Bolton?
There's always the possibility this is merely a public relations move in reaction to the sound drubbing conservatives took in the November election, but even if it is, so what? A chink in the armor is going to make our job of stopping austerity measures a lot easier"

Ted Cruz Thinks He's Qualified To Judge Kerry, Hagel On Military Support

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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Mississippi Tea Partiers Seek To Nullify Any Federal Laws They Don’t Like

Mississippi Tea Partiers Seek To Nullify Any Federal Laws They Don’t Like: Responding to President Obama’s plan to issue 23 executive orders on gun violence prevention, radical lawmakers in a number of states have re-upped their efforts to exempt their state from federal gun laws through the insidious and unconstitutional practice of nullification. Now, Tea Partiers in Mississippi want to institutionalize the nullification process, with a proposal [...]/p

Three Charts Reminding The GOP That Domestic Spending Is Already Headed Toward Historic Lows

Three Charts Reminding The GOP That Domestic Spending Is Already Headed Toward Historic Lows: Republicans like to portray President Obama as a big government spender, despite the fact that government spending under Obama has grown at its slowest pace since the Eisenhower administration. The GOP is also trying to pretend the spending cuts that Obama has signed into law over the last two years simply didn’t happen. In fact, [...]/p

31 Senate Republicans Opposed Sandy Relief After Supporting Disaster Aid For Home States

31 Senate Republicans Opposed Sandy Relief After Supporting Disaster Aid For Home States: When the Senate passed the long-delayed $50.5 billion Hurricane Sandy relief package Monday, 36 Republicans voted against the bill. But of the 32 no-votes from Senators who are not brand-new members, at least 31 came from Republicans who had previously supported emergency aid efforts following disasters in their own states. While opponents complained that the [...]/p

GOP Rep Says He Opposes Immigration Reform Because Latinos Are Uneducated, Will Never Support Republicans

GOP Rep Says He Opposes Immigration Reform Because Latinos Are Uneducated, Will Never Support Republicans: Republican senators in the so-called Gang of 8 working to enact comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship argue that repairing the broken system would attract Latino voters to the GOP. As Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) explained during a Sunday appearance on ABC’s This Week, “We are losing dramatically the Hispanic vote, which we [...]/p

Republican Advocacy Group Coaching GOP on How Not Sound like Racist A**holes | Alternet

Republican Advocacy Group Coaching GOP on How Not Sound like Racist A**holes | Alternet
"But it also seems like pretty obvious advice—or at least it should be obvious advice to any congressman who doesn't hate brown people. And the fact that the pro-GOP Hispanic Leadership Network thought it was necessary to remind their party not to say offensive things like "send them all back" is a damn harsh commentary on the state of the Republican Party."

Monday, January 28, 2013

Dear Republicans: It's Not Your 'Messaging'. It's You.

Dear Republicans: It's Not Your 'Messaging'. It's You.
"The GOP brand is still reeling from the disastrous presidency of George W. Bush. To wit, 53 percent of voters last year said Bush was responsible for our current economic problems, compared with 38 percent for Obama. It’s no wonder voters gave Obama a second term—it takes more than four years to clean up a mess of that magnitude."

Obama Is Dismantling Reagan's Right-Wing Legacy | Alternet

Obama Is Dismantling Reagan's Right-Wing Legacy | Alternet
"Actually, the GOP is doing a pretty good job annihilating itself. As Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal put it, Republicans need to “stop being the stupid party"."

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Paul Ryan: Calling Out My Hypocrisy on 'Entitlements' is a 'Straw Man Argument'

Paul Ryan: Calling Out My Hypocrisy on 'Entitlements' is a 'Straw Man Argument'
"Apparently taking note of the fact that someone is s hypocrite and rightfully pointing out that their policies hurt the most vulnerable among us is now a "straw man argument." On this Sunday's Meet the Press, David Gregory asked Rep. Paul Ryan about this quote from President Obama's inaugural speech, and Ryan pretty well twisted himself in knots trying to pretend that he and his fellow Republicans really don't want to gut our social safety nets. And all of that talk about "makers vs. takers"... well, just disregard all that."

Paul Ryan: Calling Out My Hypocrisy on 'Entitlements' is a 'Straw Man Argument'

Paul Ryan: Calling Out My Hypocrisy on 'Entitlements' is a 'Straw Man Argument'
"Apparently taking note of the fact that someone is s hypocrite and rightfully pointing out that their policies hurt the most vulnerable among us is now a "straw man argument." On this Sunday's Meet the Press, David Gregory asked Rep. Paul Ryan about this quote from President Obama's inaugural speech, and Ryan pretty well twisted himself in knots trying to pretend that he and his fellow Republicans really don't want to gut our social safety nets. And all of that talk about "makers vs. takers"... well, just disregard all that."

Paul Ryan Embraces Spending Cuts He Said Would Devastate The Country

Paul Ryan Embraces Spending Cuts He Said Would Devastate The Country: During an interview on Meet The Press on Sunday, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) predicted that the sequester cuts are “going to happen” and made no concrete proposals for how to avoid the reductions. The tone represents a sharp rhetorical and policy shift for the onetime GOP vice presidential nominee, who warned during the 2012 presidential [...]/p

Finally, the Swaggering Republicans Are Afraid | Alternet

Finally, the Swaggering Republicans Are Afraid | Alternet
"Of course, the Republicans still have the Right-Wing Machine churning out propaganda to rally the party’s angry white-male base. Plus, the GOP is coming up with more new plans for minimizing the votes of black and brown people and maximizing the political clout of whites, such as a scheme in several states to apportion presidential electors based on the Republicans’ gerrymandered congressional districts.
But Boehner seems to sense that something fundamental has changed. Perhaps he was playacting a bit when he warned fellow Republicans that Obama hoped to “annihilate” the Republican Party. But – overdramatized or not – Boehner’s alarm suggests that finally it is the Republicans who are afraid."

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Arizona Bills Require Public School Students To Recite Loyalty Oaths

Arizona Bills Require Public School Students To Recite Loyalty Oaths: Public high school students in Arizona will have to “recite an oath supporting the U.S. Constitution” to receive a graduation diploma, if a new bill introduced in the new session of the state legislature is passed and signed into law. The measure, House Bill 2467, was offered by Rep. Bob Thorpe (R), a freshman tea [...]/p

Friday, January 25, 2013

Are Conservatives Rethinking Fox News' Endless Outrage Model? | Alternet

Are Conservatives Rethinking Fox News' Endless Outrage Model? | Alternet
"But it's exhausting. And it doesn't work. (Note the Republican Party's  26 percent approval rating.) That, plus the fact that the perpetual outrage approach is now entering its second four-year cycle with Obama. If politically, the tactic didn't work the first time, why is it being adopted again and reprised for the second term?
The bad news for Erickson is not only is the conservative movement purposefully trapped inside the phony Outrage Machine, but the machine's stuck on a replay loop."

GOP Governors Would Help the Rich Pick Your Pockets - Truthdig

GOP Governors Would Help the Rich Pick Your Pockets - Truthdig
"A slew of Republican governors are taking advantage of an “improving economy and a gradual rebound in revenues” toaggressively push for cuts to personal and corporate income taxes, and propose to make up the difference by raising sales taxes.
We’ve been over this before. Sales taxes do not differentiate based on people’s ability to pay. All are equal before the cash register. The Wall Street banker is treated no differently from the lowly paid schoolteacher. Therefore all are required to pay the same tax rate regardless of income. The result is a tax scheme that takes more from the middle class and the poor than the wealthy."

Fox News Isn’t Renewing Sarah Palin’s Contract

Fox News Isn’t Renewing Sarah Palin’s Contract: At the New York Times, cable news chronicler Brian Stelter has the story that Sarah Palin’s original contract with Fox News will not be renewed: Yes, Ms. Palin’s contract with Fox News has ended, and no, it is not being renewed. A Fox spokeswoman confirmed Friday that Fox had parted ways with the former Alaska [...]/p

Feds: 'Ex-Marine' With 'Right-Wing' Manifesto Built Bombs for Cocaine, Hoarded Assault Weapons

Feds: 'Ex-Marine' With 'Right-Wing' Manifesto Built Bombs for Cocaine, Hoarded Assault Weapons
"A Colorado man, who said that he was an ex-Marine and claimed a "right-wing declaration of independence/constitutionalist political manifesto," built improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to trade for cocaine and hoarded several military-style assault weapons that may have been converted to machine guns, the Department of Justice said on Thursday."

Five Reasons Bobby Jindal Is Responsible For Transforming The GOP Into ‘The Stupid Party’

Five Reasons Bobby Jindal Is Responsible For Transforming The GOP Into ‘The Stupid Party’: Days after Mitt Romney lost his bid for the presidency, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) kicked off a publicity campaign for his 2016 run, casting himself as a different kind of Republican. In a series of interviews, statements and op-eds, Jindal called for reform within the GOP, embracing a more moderate message that could appeal [...]/p

Thursday, January 24, 2013

GOP has to rig elections to win

Republicans in Virginia rushed through an election rigging plan in the state Senate while everyone was focused on the inauguration. I'll tell you what they did - and more importantly why they did it - and how it speaks to the fundamental difference between Conservatives and Liberals.

The 8 Most Extreme Moments of the New Congress | Alternet

The 8 Most Extreme Moments of the New Congress | Alternet
"The 113th Congress has barely started, but that hasn’t stopped Republicans from already dishing out plenty of extreme, offensive, and out-of-touch comments. Here’s a roundup of the eight most extreme moments so far:"

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Paul Ryan, Pathological Liar | Alternet

Paul Ryan, Pathological Liar | Alternet
"He got famous for telling fibs during the campaign and now he's spreading lies about his attack on society’s “takers"."

Paul Ryan Throws A Hissy Fit, Rewrites His Recent History

Paul Ryan Throws A Hissy Fit, Rewrites His Recent History
"Paul Ryan believes 60 percent of the people in this country are takers. He's said that many, many times. And that category includes Medicare and Social Security recipients, no matter how much lipstickhe puts on that pig.
Always remember, this is a moral issue for Ryan. He can deny it all he wants, but this maker/taker belief rests at the core of his very being.
The only difference between Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney is a number: 13 percent. Romney said 47 percentwere takers; Ryan says 60 percent are takers.
Otherwise, there's no daylight between them."

GOP Rep: ‘The Only Constitution That Barack Obama Upholds Is The Soviet Constitution’

GOP Rep: ‘The Only Constitution That Barack Obama Upholds Is The Soviet Constitution’As the AJC noted in a brief summation of the congressman’s remarks, the last Soviet constitution was ratified in 1977 and disappeared along with the Soviet Union before Obama graduated from law school.

GOP Stunt on Debt Ceiling Is Total Surrender to White House

GOP Stunt on Debt Ceiling Is Total Surrender to White House
"But it’s important to note this moment in federal budget history: The House GOP plan is nothing less than total capitulation to the Obama administration and Senate Democrats."

Another Walker Aide Sentenced to Prison in Secret "John Doe" Investigation

Another Walker Aide Sentenced to Prison in Secret "John Doe" Investigation
"Another top official to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker during his tenure as Milwaukee County Executive has been sentenced to two years in prison for embezzling funds intended for families of veterans."

Support For Tea Party Budget Amendment Craters In The Senate

Support For Tea Party Budget Amendment Craters In The Senate: At the opening of the last Congress, House and Senate Republicans lined up behind a Tea Party “balanced budget amendment” that would have made it functionally impossible to raise taxes while simultaneously forcing spending cuts so severe that they would “throw about 15 million more people out of work, double the unemployment rate from 9 [...]/p

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

President Obama Has Issued Fewer Executive Orders Than Any President in Over 100 Years

President Obama Has Issued Fewer Executive Orders Than Any President in Over 100 Years
"Obama has issued fewer executive orders per day in office than conservative heroes like George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and Calvin Coolidge. In fact, you have to go all the way back to Grover Cleveland in the nineteenth century to find a president who has issued executive orders at a lower rate than Obama."

Colin Powell Calls Out GOP On Systemic Voter Suppression

Colin Powell Calls Out GOP On Systemic Voter Suppression
"What kind of future does a party have when the only way they win is to lie, trick and steal their way into power?"

A Second Inaugural - A Second Conspiracy...

Their agenda was straightforward. Sabotage the American economy, blame it on the young President, and then retake the White House in four years.

Virginia Senate Passes Redistricting Plan To Oust Democratic Senator During Inaugural

Virginia Senate Passes Redistricting Plan To Oust Democratic Senator During Inaugural
"As mentioned earlier, seizing on the absence of a Democratic senator who happens to be a veteran of the civil rights movement and was in Washington, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, for the second inauguration of the country’s first black president, Republicans in the evenly split Virginia state Senatepushed through a surprise mid-decade redistricting plan to try to gain decisive control of the body in the next election.
We’re not done yet.
At the end of this wild day, the “Senate adjourned in memory or (sic) General Thomas J. ‘Stonewall’ Jackson,” according to the minutes of the session. Jan. 21 is the Confederate general’s birthday."

Our Dumb Democracy: Why the Untied States of Stupid Still Reins Supreme | Common Dreams

Our Dumb Democracy: Why the Untied States of Stupid Still Reins Supreme | Common Dreams
"These are the same loonies who deny global warming; the same ones who set up a museum showing prehistoric humans walking with dinosaurs; the same ones who think the answer to gun violence is more guns; the same ones who voted against relief for victims of Sandy … the same ones who want to shove ultrasound instruments into women’s vaginas and tell people who they can and cannot marry while simultaneously shouting to the rooftops about freedom and values. 

Yeah. Their freedoms, their beliefs and their values, please.  All others step to the back of the bus, or consult Leviticus.  You know, that font of ancient wisdom that tells us when and how to stone our neighbor’s daughter.
Want to know how our political discourse got so mind-numbingly stupid? 
Well, we can start with this little fact:  The press is so enamored with “balance” that they’ll treat even the most ignorant, shallow, fatuous movement – a movement composed of the selfish, the self-obsessed, the angry, the bigoted, and the blissfully ignorant – as if it were a serious movement."

Under Obama, Government Spending Has Grown More Slowly Than Under Any President Since Eisenhower

Under Obama, Government Spending Has Grown More Slowly Than Under Any President Since Eisenhower"Federal outlays over the past three years grew at their slowest pace since 1953-56, when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president. Expenditures as a share of the economy sank last year to 22.8 percent, their lowest level since 2008, according to Congressional Budget Office data. That’s down from 24.1 percent in 2011 and a 64-year high of 25.2 percent in 2009, when Obama pushed through an $831 billion stimulus package. [...]
Spending grew just 0.6 percent from 2009 to 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from government reports." And for all the tea partiers that love to deny math, republicans admit this true and actually want to take credit for it. So before you go denying numbers (like Romney's poll numbers) just remember republicans want credit for this.

12 Ways Obama Smacked Down the Tea Party and the Right in Inauguration Speech | Alternet

12 Ways Obama Smacked Down the Tea Party and the Right in Inauguration Speech | Alternet
"Driving the message home were the hands of the Fates, who conspired to see the second inauguration of the nation’s first African American president fall on Martin Luther King Day, the national holiday whose very creation was opposed by so many who still today comprise the Republican Party’s right wing."

Ayn Rand Is for Children | Alternet

Ayn Rand Is for Children | Alternet
" the era defined by the politics of  “makers versus takers.” After all, these folks purport to adore the free-market triumphalism of “The Fountainhead” and “Atlas Shrugged,” haughtily imagine themselves as rugged up-from-the-bootstraps individualists like Howard Roark and John Galt, tell themselves that their greed is patriotic, and thus demonize government and taxation. Yet, most of these same people tend to live their lives in ways that belie their personal mythology.
Typically, they are more than happy to (among other things) drive on taxpayer funded roads; to have their assets defended by government agents (aka police and firefighters); to have their property rights protected by a law enforcement collective known as the judiciary; and to  pocket their share of handouts. Some alleged Randian individualists are even willing to decry the social safety net for others  but not for themselves, and still others are  happy to to vote in Congress for the epitome of what Randianism stands against."

Monday, January 21, 2013

In Historic Inauguration Address, Obama Takes the Fight to the Right | Alternet

In Historic Inauguration Address, Obama Takes the Fight to the Right | Alternet
"From climate-change deniers to Confederacy buffs to Ayn Rand accolytes, Obama had a smack-down for every right-winger."

Notable (and Hilarious) Examples of the Christian Right's Failed Prophecies | Alternet

Notable (and Hilarious) Examples of the Christian Right's Failed Prophecies | Alternet
"The Christian right in America, like all organized religions, claims to have a correct and exclusive understanding of God's will. To hear them tell it, the almighty creator of the universe has strong opinions about corporate tax rates, firearm ownership and what consenting adults do with their genitals, and he's delegated them to speak on his behalf.
But if they want us to believe they have this authority, it seems only fair to consider their track record. After all, the Bible itself tells how to identify false prophets, saying that if they're not really speaking for God, their predictions won't come true -- a very sensible test!"

A Time for ‘Sublime Madness’ | Common Dreams

A Time for ‘Sublime Madness’ | Common Dreams
"The planet we have assaulted will convulse with fury. The senseless greed of limitless capitalist expansion will implode the global economy. The decimation of civil liberties, carried out in the name of fighting terror, will shackle us to an interconnected security and surveillance state that stretches from Moscow to Istanbul to New York. To endure what lies ahead we will have to harness the human imagination."

Fox Pretends Romney’s Jeeps-In-China ‘Lie Of The Year’ Was True

Fox Pretends Romney’s Jeeps-In-China ‘Lie Of The Year’ Was True
"By the way, there’s reason to suspect Fox knows this was a bunch of baloney. Despite banners saying “PANTS ON FIRE” and “WHOOPS” (about PolitiFact) during the segment, FoxNews.com casts doubt on that by making the title of its video of the segment a question: PolitiFact's 'Lie of the Year' actually true?
Fox News: The network where lying liars lie about true lies."

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Law Enforcement Preps For Second Presidential Inauguration

Law Enforcement Preps For Second Presidential InaugurationThe decrease in overall noise tracks with what independent observers are seeing as well. What worries J.M. Berger more is the severity of what he’s seeing from the far right. Berger tracks terrorism in the form of both jihadi extremists and white supremacists through their Internet presence on his website Intelwire. According to Berger, “There are certain phrases that you see, that are always in the mix, but are more prominent now.” He described these phrases as calls to action, such as “The time is now,” that ebb and flow in their usage, but have peaked in the last few days.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

The congressional GOP has smothered a more rapid economic recovery | Economic Policy Institute

The congressional GOP has smothered a more rapid economic recovery | Economic Policy Institute
"PBS’ Frontline has an interesting piece on the GOP response to President Obama’s election in 2008, reporting that, “After three hours of strategizing, they decided they needed to fight Obama on everything.” Part of this “everything” was the efforts of the new administration to end the Great Recession and restore the economy back to full health. From the start, the GOP sought to block measures that a wide swath of economists agreed would provide help to boost the economy and bring down unemployment. This obstructionism has been a constant theme throughout the past four years, and it continues today."

Congressman Receives Threats From Gun Advocates Warning Him To ‘Watch His Back’

Congressman Receives Threats From Gun Advocates Warning Him To ‘Watch His Back’: Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN), gun safety advocate who represents “real gun country,” told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes on Saturday that his office is receiving anonymous threats, warning the Congressman to watch his back. “I have never, ever in all my life feared for my security, and I’m not fearful of it now,” Nolan began. “But I’m [...]/p

America's Big Political Fight: Will We Grapple with Reality or Fully Detach and Live in Fantasyland? | Alternet

America's Big Political Fight: Will We Grapple with Reality or Fully Detach and Live in Fantasyland? | Alternet
"The real struggle confronting the United States is not between the Right and the Left in any traditional sense, but between those who believe in reality and those who are entranced by unreality. It is a battle that is testing whether fact-based people have the same determination to fight for their real-world view as those who operate in a fact-free space do in defending their illusions."

Friday, January 18, 2013

New York Rep: GOP Made Us ‘Go Around Like Third World Beggars’ For Sandy Aid

New York Rep: GOP Made Us ‘Go Around Like Third World Beggars’ For Sandy Aid: Rep. Peter King (R-NY) did not hesitate to attack his fellow House Republicans after they refused to hold a vote on providing disaster relief funds to states affected by Hurricane Sandy. After public shaming, the House finally passed a bare-bones aid package on January 4. But King has not forgotten his colleagues who tried to [...]/p

No, Actually, This Is What a Fascist Looks Like

No, Actually, This Is What a Fascist Looks Like
"But, whether Mackey meant to or not, it’s about time someone injected the word fascism back into our political debate. Especially now that corporations wield more power today than they have in America since the Robber Baron Era."

New West Point Study Highlights Threat Posed by Far Right-Wing Groups In U.S. | Alternet

New West Point Study Highlights Threat Posed by Far Right-Wing Groups In U.S. | Alternet
"new study from a think tank connected to the West Point Military Academy highlights the threat of violent far-right movements in the United States, leading to the conclusion that, while diverse in in their causes, they are similar in their use of violence to achieve their aims."

New Study Highlights Threat From Far Right-Wing Groups In U.S.

New Study Highlights Threat From Far Right-Wing Groups In U.S.: A new study from a think tank connected to the West Point Military Academy highlights the threat of violent far-right movements in the United States, leading to the conclusion that, while diverse in in their causes, they are similar in their use of violence to achieve their aims. West Point’s Combatting Terrorism Center was founded [...]/p

Twilight of the Pale Patriarchs | Alternet

Twilight of the Pale Patriarchs | Alternet
"Being the party of white men no longer adds up to victory for the GOP."

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

A Wave of Negative Impressions, Which Are Accurate, But Still | Common Dreams

A Wave of Negative Impressions, Which Are Accurate, But Still | Common Dreams
"With Obama's re-election, Allen West's defeat, anti-tax rhetoric fading fast and new polls showing nobody much likes or wants to join the Tea Party - just 8% of voters identify as members, and half view it unfavorably - Tea Partiers scrambling to stay alive have decided to rebrand themselves in South Florida, though the famously quarrelsome factions are arguing about how. Some have renamed themselves the grand-sounding National Liberty Federation."

The GOP's Boldest Election-Rigging Move Yet

The GOP's Boldest Election-Rigging Move Yet
"But most shocking of all, the latest endorser of this election-rigging scheme is none other than the top Republican Party official himself, RNC Chair Reince Preibus. In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Priebus said, “I think it’s something that a lot of states that have been consistently blue that are fully controlled red out to be looking at.” 
What all this adds up to is this: Republicans are really going to try to do this. Over the next few years, they really are going to try to rig the next election."

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Lost, Lonely Little 'Tea Party' Undergoes Name Change

Lost, Lonely Little 'Tea Party' Undergoes Name Change
"The real reason for the name change couldn't possibly be the results of this poll from last week:
"Views of the Tea Party movement are at their lowest point ever, with voters for the first time evenly divided when asked to match the views of the average Tea Party member against those of the average member of Congress. Only eight percent (8%) now say they are members of the Tea Party, down from a high of 24% in April 2010 just after passage of the national health care law."
The organization formerly known as the "Tea Party" can change its name to whatever it wants, when the same old hate-filled, racist zealots show up...that "party" will be over, too."

Monday, January 14, 2013

Indiana GOP Lets Glenn Beck Set Legislative Agenda: Introduces Bill To Fight U.N. Conspiracy Theory

Indiana GOP Lets Glenn Beck Set Legislative Agenda: Introduces Bill To Fight U.N. Conspiracy Theory: You’d be forgiven for having not heard of Agenda 21. Developed at a summit in Brazil in 1992 with support from President George H.W. Bush, Agenda 21 is a series of non-binding UN recommendations for ensuring that economic growth does not undermine the environment. The agreement aims to encourage “international cooperation to accelerate sustainable development [...]/p

Bold New Conservative Idea: Screw the Poor | Alternet

Bold New Conservative Idea: Screw the Poor | Alternet
"This is the fresh new plan from a guy regularly touted as the future of the party: A massive tax cut for rich people, in an already  low-service state, paid for with a tax hike on poor people. Remember this the next time you read a story about how a major conservative figure — like Jindal or Marco Rubio or Paul Ryan — has announced that his party has to get serious about  helping the poor or at least not actively hurting them: The movement these guys are products of is incapable of generating “new ideas” to help poor people, and is still dedicated to a policy agenda developed mostly before Reagan was president."

North Carolina Mulls Taxing The Poor To Pay For Tax Cuts For The Rich

North Carolina Mulls Taxing The Poor To Pay For Tax Cuts For The Rich: Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) last week tentatively endorsed a plan that would eliminate his state’s income and corporate taxes, replacing them with an increased sales tax. Such a move would disproportionately impact the poor, in a state where the tax code is already tilted against those with lower incomes. But Jindal is not alone in [...]/p

FreedomWorks Putting Its War Chest to Work for ALEC’s Anti-Union Agenda in the States

FreedomWorks Putting Its War Chest to Work for ALEC’s Anti-Union Agenda in the States
"The Tea Party-affiliated group FreedomWorks -- the right-wing organization that helps connect “Tea Party” groups with talking points, rallies, and more -- is gearing up to direct its sizeable war chest towards advancing anti-union initiatives in the states, supporting an agenda set by groups like David Koch's Americans for Prosperity and the Koch-funded American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). This strongly suggests that the battle for the future of private and public sector unions in America is beginning a new phase of combat."

Saturday, January 12, 2013

FBI Informant Who Blew the Cover on a Murderous Right-Wing Domestic Terror Group Speaks Out | Alternet

FBI Informant Who Blew the Cover on a Murderous Right-Wing Domestic Terror Group Speaks Out | Alternet
"Cox’s sentence came down earlier this week, as part of the trial of Alaska Peacemaker Militia members, a right-wing group that was plotting to stockpile illegal weapons and take violent action against the government."

Friday, January 11, 2013

Conservative Think Tank Ranks Countries With Government-Run Health Care As The Freest In World

Conservative Think Tank Ranks Countries With Government-Run Health Care As The Freest In World: Former Senator Jim DeMint, the new president of the conservative Heritage Foundation, has decried Obamacare as “a cancer” that is “is fundamentally inconsistent with liberty.” During the Senate Obamacare fight, DeMint famously declared “If we’re able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him.” But a new report from [...]/p

After Raising Taxes, California Expects Budget Surplus In 2014

After Raising Taxes, California Expects Budget Surplus In 2014: Since the Great Recession, California has epitomized the fiscal problems facing states. Its economy was ravaged by the housing crisis, and its budget gaps swelled into the tens of billions of dollars. Even before the recession, the state often struggled to balance its budget, hamstrung by legislative rules that made it nearly impossible to increase [...]/p

DeMint’s Bold Plan for Heritage: How to Lie More Effectively | Right Wing Watch

DeMint’s Bold Plan for Heritage: How to Lie More Effectively | Right Wing Watch
"DeMint, a former ad man, promises to launch a “conservative revival” by figuring out how to do a better job selling conservative policies to the American public. That’s not exactly a big shift for the folks at Heritage, which is and always has been a giant marketing operation for right-wing “ideas.” The most revealing thing in DeMint’s column is his use of a thoroughly debunked lie that Republicans tried to use against President Obama in last year’s campaign.  Says DeMint of President Obama, “He disabled welfare reform last year, when he took away the work requirements that were at the heart of that law’s success.”That false claim earned politicians like Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum “Pants on Fire” ratings from Politifact and similar ratings from other fact checkers.

Fox "News" Claims that Algebra Classes Are a Conspiracy of Liberal Indoctrination | Alternet

Fox "News" Claims that Algebra Classes Are a Conspiracy of Liberal Indoctrination | Alternet
"Wait. These clowns don’t understand the distributive property in elementary arithmetic, and they confuse it with some kind of Communist plot? I think we’re done here. Where’s the hook? Can someone just yank these idjits off the stage?"

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Rick Scott Used Fake Medicaid Numbers To Veto ACA Expansion - Updated

Rick Scott Used Fake Medicaid Numbers To Veto ACA Expansion - Updated
"This is the state governed by the man who bilked so much from Medicare that his company was forced to agree to a $1.7 billion fine, which represented only a fraction of what he actually stole. Yet, voters elected him, and now they're stuck with Governor Gollum, who thinks it's just too expensive to cover poor people in his state and would rather leave them in a gutter to die."

Parroting Conspiracy Theorist, Drudge Compares Obama To Hitler And Stalin

Parroting Conspiracy Theorist, Drudge Compares Obama To Hitler And StalinWhile Alex Jones is generally dismissed as a conspiracy theorist who cannot be taken seriously, the Drudge Report is a favorite website of political pundits and conservative politicians. However, Drudge regularly posts links to Jones’ fringe theories, from the soundly debunked claim that Obama was not born in the US, to the less well known theory that the president once secretly worked for the CIA in Pakistan.

Billionaires vs "We the People"

When Ronald Reagan came into office, America was one of the most socially- and economically- mobile nations in the developed world. Today it is among the least. Democracy is being replaced by plutocracy. Modern oligarchs are richer than the kings of old.

Virginia KKK Uses Obama’s Presidency As A Recruiting Tool

Virginia KKK Uses Obama’s Presidency As A Recruiting Tool: The Ku Klux Klan of Virginia is trying to find new members, and it is using President Obama’s second term as a recruitment tool. According to local Richmond television station WTVR, residents in the area have received two KKK fliers in their driveways in the course of as many months. The fliers read, “WAKE UP [...]/p

Tea Party Brand Now Toxic: Only 8% of Americans Identify As Members

Tea Party Brand Now Toxic: Only 8% of Americans Identify As Members
"Over the past four years, political pundits (especially on the right) have been hailing the Teabaggers as some great new force in American politics. But it was obvious to most of us from the very beginning that the Tea Party wasn't a new movement at all -- it was just a convenient rebrand of the GOP rump in the wake of the catastrophic failures of the Bush/Cheney administration.
Either way, the Tea Party is toast."

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Fool Us Again: 30 Years of Bait and Switch Budget Politics | Common Dreams

Fool Us Again: 30 Years of Bait and Switch Budget Politics | Common Dreams
"Republicans are trying to accomplish through the back door that which they could never accomplish directly: gutting social security; Medicare; Medicaid; Pell grants; unemployment insurance; and regulatory programs covering the environment, labor, worker safety, food and drug safety, the financial sector and anything else which might get in the way of giant giveaways to oligarchs, plutocrats and fat cats."

Fox News Airs Serious, Thoughtful Interview with Crazy Texas Secessionist

Fox News Airs Serious, Thoughtful Interview with Crazy Texas Secessionist
"For those who don't know him, Cary Wise and his fringe, nutball organization are promoted on right-wing hate sites like Stormfront (not going to link, Google it). Yet he's treated with the utmost respect on Fox, as some kind of credible figure."

How the Conservative Movement Cons Its Naive Followers Out of Their Cash | Alternet

How the Conservative Movement Cons Its Naive Followers Out of Their Cash | Alternet
"The most prominent conservative organizations in the nation are primarily dedicated to separating conservatives from their money."

Monday, January 7, 2013

America’s Craziest Sheriff Sends Armed Posses to Arizona Schools | Alternet

America’s Craziest Sheriff Sends Armed Posses to Arizona Schools | Alternet
"Arpaio made a name for himself by abusing the civil rights of undocumented immigrants — and for detaining a six year old undocumented child. Now he’s heeding the  NRA’s advice that every school needs a “guy with a gun” and is sending out volunteers “ with questionable pasts” to guard students:"

GOP Congressman Suggests Iraq May Have Been Involved In 9/11 Attacks

GOP Congressman Suggests Iraq May Have Been Involved In 9/11 AttacksA decade later, Cotton is perpetuating a soundly discredited myth that even former president George W. Bush no longer believes.

There's a Violent World War Going on Right Now, with Millions of Casualties -- Oligarchs vs. Everyone Else | Alternet

There's a Violent World War Going on Right Now, with Millions of Casualties -- Oligarchs vs. Everyone Else | Alternet
"Democracy is being replaced by plutocracy.  Modern oligarchs are richer than the kings of old.  And, still not content, they’re amping up the war with a coming July 4th attempt to amend the US Constitution so the wealthy need never again fear tax increases.  It’s being led by the Goldwater Institute with its “Compact For America.” 
Look out.  We’re moving from trench warfare to aerial bombardment.  And when they’re done, Western Democracies will look far more like Italy in the 1930s…"

37 Congressional Republicans Opposed Sandy Relief After Supporting Disaster Aid For Home States

37 Congressional Republicans Opposed Sandy Relief After Supporting Disaster Aid For Home StatesWhile the first vote provided just $9 billion in funds — compared to the $60 billion total requested — 67 Republicans still voted against even this bare-bones package. The majority of those Representatives had, however, supported emergency aid efforts following disasters in their own states.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Huckabee Paints Rep. Duffy and Obstructionist House Members as Acting Responsibly

Huckabee Paints Rep. Duffy and Obstructionist House Members as Acting Responsibly
"We've got some of the most irresponsible hostage takers running one of the three branches of our government right now and this clown is going to paint them as though they've got one iota of concern about our economy, the welfare of our citizens other than the wealthiest among us or the real work of actually governing this country and negotiating with someone in good faith. They're ready to burn the place down if they don't get their way and the two of them are pretending like the only thing that would happen if they refuse to let the government pay its bills is a government shut down, when everyone knows the consequences would actually be much more dire."

Senate Republicans Stack Judiciary Committee With Two More Constitutional Extremists

Senate Republicans Stack Judiciary Committee With Two More Constitutional ExtremistsSen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is no stranger to conspiracy theories; he published an article last year claiming that the United Nations and George Soros are at the head of a global conspiracy to eliminate the game of golf. (Seriously. We aren’t making this up.)

Tea Party Senator: ‘I Don’t Think What Washington Needs Is More Compromise’

Tea Party Senator: ‘I Don’t Think What Washington Needs Is More Compromise’: [/caption]For the last two years, Republicans in Congress have achieved new levels of obstructionism never before seen in Washington, passing fewer bills than any other session of Congress since such information began being recorded in the 1940s. But if voters sent a message to the GOP in November by reelecting President Obama and voting out [...]/p