Chris Hayes: The Republican Bubble Trap

Chris Hayes: The Republican Bubble Trap
"From this Saturday's Up With Chris Hayes, Chris' Story of the Week and the Republicans who have been living in their own alternative universe these days as they refuse to accept the reality that the poll numbers in the presidential race really are not looking good for Mitt Romney."

As the Romney campaign unskews, will the GOP's racist id take over?

As the Romney campaign unskews, will the GOP's racist id take over?
"Like Mitt Romney's 47 percent remark, the Republicans use overtly racist appeals to whites to attempt to give the impressions that non-whites are the prime beneficiaries of "government handouts." And as in that case, when the 47 percent was mostly comprised of whites, like whites on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans benefits, student loan for college, the universal phone service requirement primarily benefits whites, in this case rural whites. Consider the Universal Service Program for Rural Health Care Providers"

'I don't have the time' to explain tax plan, says Paul Ryan on Fox News

'I don't have the time' to explain tax plan, says Paul Ryan on Fox News
"Ryan is straight-up using his reputation as the Republican party's big budget wonk to get out of giving direct answers to any actual budget wonking questions. Because from his point of view, "I don't want to get too wonky" or "I don't have the time" are more palatable answers than "if I gave you details you'd see that I've been lying"."

Big Pharma Medicaid Fraud Penalties at Record High | Common Dreams

Big Pharma Medicaid Fraud Penalties at Record High | Common Dreams
"The seemingly undeterred pharmaceutical industry remains the biggest defrauder of the federal government."

Another right-wing attack on public workers | Economic Policy Institute

Another right-wing attack on public workers | Economic Policy Institute
"How does government pay compare with that in the private sector? The answer is pretty much what you’d expect: Wages and salaries are lower, but benefits are better. Overall compensation is, if anything, slightly lower, though this varies by class of worker; less educated workers are better paid in the public sector and more educated workers are better paid in the private sector. This again is not surprising when you consider that less educated workers in the private sector often earn poverty wages with no health benefits and government employers have little incentive to shift costs onto Medicaid and other government programs.

But anti-government ideologues have deep pockets, so a minor industry has sprung up trying to show that government workers are overpaid. "

The Complete Idiot's Guide to The Nuclear Standoff With Iran

The Complete Idiot's Guide to The Nuclear Standoff With Iran
"Over at WhoWhatWhy.com, Christian Stork has a thorough analysis debunking the most common myths propagated about the West's nuclear stand-off with Iran. It's all so familiar, isn't it? I know if I think really hard, I can figure it out. Oh, wait - it's just like the buildup to both wars in Iraq! And of course both times, the media did their best stenography impression."

Voter fraud by Republicans uncovered in Florida

Dirty tricks are on display in Florida, Ohio and Colorado as Republican operatives pull out all the stops to alter the trajectory of the election.

Why Right-Wingers Need ‘Skewed Polls’ Conspiracy Theory for Romney to Win -- And Even More If He Loses | Alternet

Why Right-Wingers Need ‘Skewed Polls’ Conspiracy Theory for Romney to Win -- And Even More If He Loses | Alternet
"Since the inception of the ironically named Fox News Channel, right-wing media consumers have been convinced that every news source outside of their favored outlets pushes lies designed to destroy their beloved country with a collectivist agenda, one that favors those perceived as unworthy of partaking in the nation’s bounty. (These “unworthy,” of course, are often non-white and/or non-heterosexual-male.)

To those of the paranoid, xenophobic mindset first  identified by Richard Hofstadter in the 1960s, it’s hardly a stretch to believe it when they’re told that the very polls that are used by media to assess the state of political contests are skewed to favor the liberal candidate, especially when the candidate is a black man named Obama."

3 Things That May Have Wrecked Mitt Romney's Shot at President | Alternet

3 Things That May Have Wrecked Mitt Romney's Shot at President | Alternet
"Mitt Romney arguably lost Florida , with its heavy concentration of older voters, when he picked as his vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan, the face of the conservative plan to end Medicare as we know it."

Obama blocks Chinese wind farms purchase near Navy base

Obama blocks Chinese wind farms purchase near Navy base
Citing national security risks, President Barack Obama on Friday blocked a Chinese company from owning four wind farm projects in northern Oregon near a Navy base where the U.S. military flies unmanned drones and electronic-warfare planes on training missions."

Marine Veteran and Senator Jim Webb Rewrites Mitt Romney

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Romney Loves American Cars; Obama Loves American Car Workers - In These Times

Romney Loves American Cars; Obama Loves American Car Workers - In These Times
"Obama has repeatedly confronted countries whose illegal trade practices threaten American companies and workers, filing twice as many cases in one term as Bush did in two. He has tangibly demonstrated his love for American cars and American car workers."

Top whoppers: Why Mitt’s pants are on fire

Questions for Governor Romney

Since republicans are blocking the Veterans Jobs Bill, it's time for Mitt Romney to answer some questions.

GOP Senate Candidate Akin: ‘Free Enterprise’ Means Being Allowed To Deny Equal Pay To Women

GOP Senate Candidate Akin: ‘Free Enterprise’ Means Being Allowed To Deny Equal Pay To Women: Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) has struggled with a well-established woman problem in his Senate campaign, ever since he claimed women could not get pregnant from “legitimate rape.” After he said his opponent, incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), was not “ladylike,” her campaign released a video of Akin suggesting that businesses should be allowed to pay [...]/p

Fox News' bad news for Romney

Fox News' Laura Ingraham refuses to participate in the GOP battle against the polls especially after a Fox poll shows Romney trailing by five points.

Bill Moyers Exposes the Stranglehold the Corporate & Right-Wing Alliance Has on Our Democracy | Alternet

Bill Moyers Exposes the Stranglehold the Corporate & Right-Wing Alliance Has on Our Democracy | Alternet
"This week,  Moyers & Company  reports on the most influential corporate-funded political force most of America has never heard of —  ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council . A national consortium of state politicians and powerful corporations, ALEC presents itself as a “nonpartisan public-private partnership”. But behind that mantra lies a vast network of corporate lobbying and political action aimed to increase corporate profits at public expense without public knowledge. Using interviews, documents, and field reporting, the episode explores ALEC’s self-serving machine at work, acting in a way one Wisconsin politician describes as “a corporate dating service for lonely legislators and corporate special interests.” In state houses around the country, hundreds of pieces of boilerplate ALEC legislation are proposed or enacted that would, among other things, dilute collective bargaining rights, make it harder for some Americans to vote, and limit corporate liability for harm caused to consumers — each accomplished without the public ever knowing who’s behind it."

Mike Papantonio on Romney Harvesting America's Middle Class

Recent video has surfaced with Mitt Romney discussing his plan to pillage companies through Bain Capital.

Romney Versus Realonomy: A Peek Inside the Bubble

Romney Versus Realonomy: A Peek Inside the Bubble
"In the real economy - the place where the 99% live and work - it's hard to take Mitt Romney's plan seriously; but let's try to make sense of it anyway, unhindered by logic, arithmetic or the laws of time, space and gravity."

National Review Admits Bush Legacy Is Dragging Down Romney

National Review Admits Bush Legacy Is Dragging Down Romney
"After cheering on George W. Bush for 8 years, then spending the next 4 polishing his legacy, the clowns at the National Review are finally realizing that he was a big, freaking disasterfor the Republican Party."

Linda McMahon doubles down on Social Security sunset, endorses Ryan Medicare plan

Linda McMahon doubles down on Social Security sunset, endorses Ryan Medicare plan
"McMahon is absolutely saying she wants to have the ability to end Social Security. And now she's adding privatizing Medicare into the mix? Raising the retirement age?"

Romney’s Approach To Medicare Reform Will Lead To Higher Costs, Study Finds

Romney’s Approach To Medicare Reform Will Lead To Higher Costs, Study Finds: A new Urban Institute Health Policy Center study finds that premium support models, such as the proposed Romney/Ryan Medicare plan, are more likely to increase excess costs in the program. According to the report, turning Medicare into a “premium support” program would encourage private insurers to draw less costly beneficiaries from traditional Medicare, leading to [...]/p

Poll suggests Republicans would be better off with Bush

Poll suggests Republicans would be better off with Bush
A wave of recent polls has shown Romney struggling to keep up with President Barack Obama. A lower favorability rating than Bush, who was recently named the most unpopular living U.S. president, shows how difficult it has been for the GOP nominee to resonate with voters during his current presidential bid.

Why Mitt Romney Is Losing Ohio | Alternet

Why Mitt Romney Is Losing Ohio | Alternet
"Those famed white working-class voters that pollsters love to obsess over, make up a large chunk of Ohio's electorate, and they're not happy with the Bain Capital-ist and his history of calling for the auto industry's bankruptcy, endorsing attacks on their collective bargaining rights, and his plans—or lack thereof—for the economy. Barack Obama may not look like them, but Romney, as many have said, looks like the guy who fired them. And despite Republican governor John Kasich trying to take credit for improvements in the state's economy, Ohioans think that Democrats are a better bet when it comes to jobs. So it's no wonder that Romney's behind by 8 points or so in Ohio."

Why Mitt Romney May End Up Wishing He Never Picked Paul Ryan | Alternet

Why Mitt Romney May End Up Wishing He Never Picked Paul Ryan | Alternet
"Asked whom they trust to deal with the Medicare program, Ohio voters side with Obama over Romney by a 19 percentage-point margin. The president has a 15-point advantage on the issue in Florida and a 13-point lead on it in Virginia. In a separate national poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation released Thursday, Obama’s 17-point lead over Romney on Medicare is larger than it has been across public polls all year."

Romney's silence on security leaves duty unfulfilled

Rachel Maddow reviews some alarming headlines coming from Afghanistan and points out that the most Mitt Romney has managed to muster on the subject has been misguided remarks on suicides among veterans when what America really needs is a robust debate.

New Romney Video Surfaces Debunking His Job Creator Claims

New Romney Video Surfaces Debunking His Job Creator Claims
Remember when Mitt Romney used his time with Bain Capital to assure us that he was the only candidate in the race who "understood job creation" because he had been in business and had "turned around" companies?

Yeah. Not so much. Thanks to David Corn over at Mother Jones, we have a new video of a much younger Willard Mitt Romney talking up the purpose of Bain Capital. Here it is in a nutshell straight from Willard himself:

Bain Capital is an investment partnership which was formed to invest in startup companies and ongoing companies, then to take an active hand in managing them and hopefully, five to eight years later, to harvest them at a significant profit…

Republican senators file court brief to protect their right to break the government

Republican senators file court brief to protect their right to break the government
"Republicans had been using and were going to continue using the filibuster to block any appointments to the NLRB and CFPB, simply because they don't think an NLRB controlled by Democrats should be allowed to function and don't want the CFPB to exist at all. Now they're objecting to President Obama taking steps to make the government work. So what we have here is 42 of 47 Republican senators—all but Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Dean Heller of Nevada, both of whom are in tough reelection battles, along with Mark Kirk of Illinois, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Olympia Snowe of Maine—who are filing a court brief to insist on their right to, as a minority, prevent government agencies from functioning. Breaking the government is their priority, and they think they should get more power."

Senator Puts 'Secret Hold' on Veterans COLA Bill | Military.com

Senator Puts 'Secret Hold' on Veterans COLA Bill | Military.com
A Republican senator is using an anonymous hold to block the traditionally bipartisan cost of living adjustment that is given to America’s disabled veterans and their survivors.

How The Tea Party Hopes To Purge Thousands of Ohio Voters

How The Tea Party Hopes To Purge Thousands of Ohio Voters: Members of an Ohio tea party group are taking it upon themselves to individually police alleged voter fraud, launching challenges to a targeted list of voters that includes hundreds of college students, trailer park residents, homeless people and African Americans in counties President Obama won in 2008. In all, the group has sought to remove [...]/p

Explaining Today’s Great Jobs News

Explaining Today’s Great Jobs News:  New data released this morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the private-sector added 450,000 more jobs as of March 2012 than previously thought. This means that the economy has crossed the threshold and more jobs [...]/p

Romney Has a Jobs Plan ... for China | Common Dreams

Romney Has a Jobs Plan ... for China | Common Dreams
"You may never have heard of Sensata Technologies, but in this election season, you’ve probably heard the name of its owner, Bain Capital, the company co-founded and formerly run by Mitt Romney. When they learned this, close to a dozen Sensata employees decided to put up a fight, to challenge Romney to put into practice his very campaign slogans to save American jobs. They traveled to Tampa, Fla., joining in a poor people’s campaign at a temporary camp called Romneyville (after the Hoovervilles of the Great Depression). They organized a petition drive, getting 35,000 people to join their demand for Romney to call on his former colleagues to save their jobs. Since Freeport is close to two swing states, Iowa and Wisconsin, they traveled to a Romney rally and appealed directly to him there (Ironically, for appealing to Romney to save their jobs from being sent to China, the Sensata workers were jeered as communists at the rally, and removed by U.S. Secret Service)."

Repackaging Mitt as a Compassionate Conservative? It’s Too Late | Common Dreams

Repackaging Mitt as a Compassionate Conservative? It’s Too Late | Common Dreams
"Trickle-down economics is the core of Romney’s economics, and it’s bunk. George W. Bush cut taxes — mostly for the wealthy — and we ended up with fewer jobs, lower wages, and an economy that fell off a cliff in 2008."

GOP Senate Candidate Proposes A ‘Sunset Provision’ For Social Security That Would Jeopardize It’s Longterm Future

GOP Senate Candidate Proposes A ‘Sunset Provision’ For Social Security That Would Jeopardize It’s Longterm Future: Linda McMahon, the former CEO of the World Wrestling Federation and current Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Connecticut, told a Tea Party gathering earlier this year that she would be open to a change in Social Security that would introduce a “sunset provision,” effectively attaching an expiration date to the social program. The remarks [...]/p

Romney’s Budget Plan Could Kill Millions Of Jobs Over The Next Two Years

Romney’s Budget Plan Could Kill Millions Of Jobs Over The Next Two Years: The budget and tax proposals put forth by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney would not lead to the economic prosperity and job growth he has claimed, according to a new study released this week. In fact, the Economic Policy Institute found that Romney’s plans would actually lead to a net loss of jobs over the [...]/p

Forbes 400 List Reveals Why the Greedy Rich Fully Deserve Your Contempt -- And Jesus’s | Alternet

Forbes 400 List Reveals Why the Greedy Rich Fully Deserve Your Contempt -- And Jesus’s | Alternet
"The bulk of America’s superwealthy refuse to pull their weight and kill opportunity for the rest. And they want your thanks!"

Scott Brown’s Racial Stereotyping of Elizabeth Warren | Alternet

Scott Brown’s Racial Stereotyping of Elizabeth Warren | Alternet
"Disturbingly absent from the analysis of Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown’s rebuke at last week’s debate of Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren’s claim that she has Native American ancestry is any reference to the racially insensitive nature of his reproach. After noting that “Professor Warren claimed she was a Native American,” he added pointedly, “And as you can see, she’s not.”

Which raises the obvious question: which of her facial features alerted Brown that she has no Native American blood coursing through her veins? Surely, if she possessed whatever tiny fraction of one’s DNA must trace back to an indigenous tribe before he or she is deemed to be Native American, she’d have shiny, jet-black hair or a tan complexion. Or was it the absence of beads or a feather and a headband that tipped Brown off?

For a fellow who, like so many other Republican senatorial candidates, has been distancing himself from Romney’s recent stereotyping of 47% of the populace as freeloaders, Brown’s remark was downright Romneyesque. Or worse."

Romney staff quick to correct Romney, slow to correct falsehoods

Contrary to Mitt Romney's claim that his campaign corrects or removes anything "amiss" in his ads, he continues to maintain several demonstrably false ads on his site, and the one thing the campaign does correct is Romney, who frequently misstates his own positions.

Obama Widens Lead in Two Biggest Swing States | Alternet

Obama Widens Lead in Two Biggest Swing States | Alternet
"President Obama has widened his lead in the two biggest swing states, Florida and Ohio, according to new polls by The New York Timesand the Washington Post . Obama leads in Ohio by 10 points and in Florida by 9 percentage points.

“In Ohio — which no Republican has won the presidency without — Mr. Obama is leading Mr. Romney 53 percent to 43 percent in the poll,” the Times/CBS Newspoll found. “In Florida, the president leads Mr. Romney 53 to 44 percent in the poll"."

6 Ways Mitt Romney's Getting His Butt Kicked | Alternet

6 Ways Mitt Romney's Getting His Butt Kicked | Alternet
"One has to admire the conservative brain's ability to stave off cognitive dissonance. Republicans have convinced themselves that Obama is the second coming of Hitler, and were sure that Americas would reject him for a nice-looking white business-guy with good hair. But now things aren't going well, so they've simply decided, en masse , that a conspiracy is afoot. The polls are being skewed, and any minute now Romney will come thundering back to crush the Kenyan interloper.

Here in the real world, however, a different picture is emerging. After the necessary caveats – Romney can still win, external events could shake up the race late, nobody knows how restrictive voting laws will ultimately impact the vote – Romney is getting his butt kicked. And here’s how."

Staples to close 30 U.S. stores, dealing another blow to Mitt Romney's job creation claims

Staples to close 30 U.S. stores, dealing another blow to Mitt Romney's job creation claims
"Mitt Romney didn't create those $9 an hour jobs he knows just aren't right, but he wanted us to believe he did. For a while, those jobs were pretty much the basis for his entire presidential campaign. Now some of them—we don't know how many—are going away. Kind of like Mitt's political career."

After Nearly A Decade Of Declines, Manufacturing Jobs Begin Rebound

After Nearly A Decade Of Declines, Manufacturing Jobs Begin Rebound: Obama took over at a time when manufacturing was at one of its lowest historical points, and the decline continued through the early part of his term thanks to the recession. The rebound, however, began with manufacturing production, which turned around in the wake of the stimulus package passed in the opening months of Obama’s term, and jobs began to follow. The automobile industry has also shown sustained job growth, making manufacturing one of the most positive sectors in the nation’s economic recovery.

GOP lashes out as polls deflate Romney fantasy

Romney’s Tax Rate Lower Than Any President’s Since Nixon

Romney’s Tax Rate Lower Than Any President’s Since Nixon: Mitt Romney is worth double the sum of the last eight presidents’ wealth, but he has paid one of the lowest tax rates. According to CNN Money, only President Richard Nixon paid a lower tax rate, at 6.1 percent, in the last 40 years. The chart below compares Romney’s relatively low tax rate to recent [...]/p

1st they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win...

Congratulations to Sheldon Adelson - the casino mogul who's made a fortune in China - and is now the new record-holder for the most money spent in an election here in the United States - at least that we know about. According to Politico - Adelson has funneled $70 million to the Republican Party so far this election - more than tripling the previous record of campaign spending by any single individual. And while Adelson hasn't shied away from the spotlight - and is, in fact, proud of his attempts to buy the election for Mitt Romney - there are a lot of other right-wing millionaires and billionaires in the shadows also spending huge amounts of money. You won't hear their names - you won't see their faces - but they're sure to have a profound effect in November - if not on the White House, then on the congressional and Senate races across the nation. And we can thanks the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision in 2010 for making all of this possible. According to a new report by the sunlight foundation - more than three-quarters of the $465 million in outside spending so far this election would have been a crime for which people could go to prison before five right-wingers on the Supreme Court, in their lopsided 5-4 Citizens United decision, decided that billionaires and corporations - including those that make their money in other countries - should be able to buy American elections. SuperPACs - those political creatures spawned by the Supreme Court's five to four decision - have dished out $272 million so far on this year's election - and trade organization and non-profits, which according to Citizens United don't have to disclose their donors, have spent another $93 million so far - that we know about.

Voter Suppression Is the Last Resort of These Stop-at-Nothing Republicans | Common Dreams

Voter Suppression Is the Last Resort of These Stop-at-Nothing Republicans | Common Dreams
As millions of ad dollars have failed to put Mitt Romney ahead, his allies are trying to rig this election in worst Jim Crow tradition

GOP strategist: Success of auto bailout 'a kick in the balls' for Romney

GOP strategist: Success of auto bailout 'a kick in the balls' for Romney
"And while Obama gets credit for saving the auto industry, Mitt Romney's plan was to simply let Detroit go bankrupt. Given that one in eight Ohio jobs are linked to the auto industry, it's not hard to see why the issue plays well for President Obama, a fact lamented by a GOP strategist with this colorful language"

California's Prop 37: Monsanto, GMO Labelling and the Public Interest | Common Dreams

California's Prop 37: Monsanto, GMO Labelling and the Public Interest | Common Dreams
"While the initiative merely seeks to add a few words to nutrition labels, it has incurred the wrath and moneyed opposition of biotech and food giants - no doubt because they fear the initiative might herald actual regulations on an industry that has long been allowed to experiment willy-nilly with the food people consume in the United States."

Romney’s startling confession on taxes

Romney’s startling confession on taxes
"For months, Mitt Romney has argued repeatedly that President Obama raised taxes. It's not really true -- Obama has cut taxes repeatedly -- but it's a standard line of attack."

Exposed: "Small Business" Group Just a Front for "Big Business" Interests | Common Dreams

Exposed: "Small Business" Group Just a Front for "Big Business" Interests | Common Dreams
"As the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), a little-examined business lobbying group, floods millions of dollars into this year’s elections, the Center for Media and Democracy is launching a new website (www.NFIBexposed.org) to shine a light on the group’s secret funding and partisan efforts. NFIB, the leading plaintiff in the lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act nicknamed “Obamacare,” has received $3.7 million from Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS, and as disclosed on this new website, NFIB's legal arm received $1.15 million in 2010 from Donors Trust, a major donor to the Koch brothers’ Americans for Prosperity Foundation."

Romney To Small Businesses: ‘Don’t Be Expecting A Huge Cut In Taxes’

Romney To Small Businesses: ‘Don’t Be Expecting A Huge Cut In Taxes’: Mitt Romney told voters in Westerville, Ohio on Wednesday not to expect a “huge cut in taxes” from his economic proposal, noting that he is “also gonna get rid of deductions and exemptions.” The message is at odds with the GOP nominee’s promises to cut taxes for the middle class and small businesses, while maintaining [...]/p

There's Been a Dictatorial Coup -- Koch Bros. Have a Bunch of Czars Running Cities Across Michigan | Alternet

There's Been a Dictatorial Coup -- Koch Bros. Have a Bunch of Czars Running Cities Across Michigan | Alternet
"The Republican and Koch political networks are going all out to win--and if they do, your state/city could well be next on their Berzerkistan anti-democracy agenda."

Mitt Romney's Terrible Horrible Plan For Poor People

Mitt Romney's Terrible Horrible Plan For Poor People
"The idea of Mitt Romney taking food out of the mouths of hungry kids on school lunch programs, or housing assistance away from veterans, or leaving people with no options for long-term care for their elderly loved ones is so incredibly evil and cynical it should be called what it is: Selfish greed."

Five Facts About Voting In America For National Voter Registration Day

Five Facts About Voting In America For National Voter Registration Day: Today is National Voter Registration Day. With little more than a month remaining until the elections, time is running out for new voters or voters who moved since the last election to register to vote this November. Voters who need a registration form from their home state can sign up for one here. In honor [...]/p

Freedom isn't just for the 1%

If this is a big idea election - then Mitt Romney should lose. On 60 Minutes - Romney said his "big idea" is...Freedom! That's it - Freedom. At least it can easily fit on a bumper sticker. You see - Mitt Romney's so-called "big idea" is the same "big idea" that's been pushed by every Republican since Reagan - freedom, freedom, freedom. When Republicans are talking about freedom - they're not talking about freedom like we think of it. They're talking about freedom for billionaires and corporations. That's freedom from taxation - like the freedom for Mitt Romney to treat his capital gains income as special and pay a lower tax rate than the rest of us. Or the freedom for a corporation like General Electric to pay no taxes. They're talking about freedom from regulation - like the freedom for Koch Industries to pollute entire towns or let oil pipes explode now that government regulators have been taken out of the picture. They're talking about freedom from litigation - like the freedom for doctors and hospitals to not get sued when they amputate the wrong leg. Or freedom for banksters not to get sued after they gamble away your savings or blow up your home's value. The so-called 'big idea" about freedom - pushed by Republicans for more than three decades, and now being pushed by Mitt Romney, is very specific, despite how vague it sounds. It means freedom for the wealthy elite to continue getting richer while the rest of us get poorer and poorer. That's why over the last three decades - ever since these freedom fighters for the rich took power - wealth inequality has exploded and the middle class has come under siege. Wall Street was given freedom to crash our economy and then get a bailout. Big oil was given freedom to destroy the Gulf of Mexico and yet continue to receive billions in subsidies courtesy of you and me the taxpayer.

Ryan's 'Secret' Tape Is Even More Extreme Than Romney's | Alternet

Ryan's 'Secret' Tape Is Even More Extreme Than Romney's | Alternet
"When they  booed Paul Ryan at the American Association of Retired Persons last week, most people didn't even know he called Medicare and Social Security "third party or socialist-based systems." Or that he  said he wants to privatize them in order to "break the back" of a "collectivist philosophy."

On recently transcribed remarks from an audio recording, Ryan said his ideas and values were shaped by an extremist author who thought humanity must "reject the morality of altruism," and that his opinions on monetary policy are guided by a fictional speech which says "the words 'to make money' hold the essence of human morality."

That author says the "collectivist philosophy" Ryan ascribes to Social Security and Medicare is a "looters' credo." By that reckoning, anyone who receives assistance from the government -- including disabled combat veterans or impoverished children -- is a "looter"."

How Europe Is Taking Online Privacy Far More Seriously Than The U.S.

How Europe Is Taking Online Privacy Far More Seriously Than The U.S.: Last week, Facebook announced it would cease using facial recognition technology on European Union users and delete all data following complaints from member states and an inquiry by the Irish Data Commissioner. While the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission here in the U.S. over Facebook’s use of [...]/p

Romney Goes Against Facts, Lies About Taxes And The 1%

So, Romney doesn't think it's unfair at all that he pays a lower tax rate than a bus driver. In fact - he goes a step further and says that it's better for everyone if the Paris Hilton class pays a lower tax rate than the working class. Romney says him and Paris Hilton paying a lower tax rate is the best way to put Americans back to work. This is the same sort of scam that the extremely wealthy have been perpetrating on working people for centuries. And to compound the hustle, now Romney and his rich buddies are claiming that if we tax them at the same rate a surgeon pays, at 35 percent like everybody else instead of the 15 percent "capital gains" rate paid for by banksters like Romney and heiresses like Paris Hilton, then the economy will suffer. But history - and facts - prove this point wrong.

Calamity Romney and his tax troubles

Mitt Romney can't get himself out of his tax mess because no matter what he says, his low tax rate looks unfair to mainstream Americans.

Taxes and the Super Rich » Counterpunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names

Taxes and the Super Rich » Counterpunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names
"A few more years of supply-side economics and America will turn into a virtual reality of the film Escape from New York, a dystopian world where the city of New York has been converted into a maximum-security prison."

Romney bused in activists for TV forum

Mitt Romney is hurting big time with Latino voters. During last week's Univision forum, he bused in activists to cheer for him on TV, and "threw a tantrum" when he didn't like his introduction.

How The Right's Latest Conspiracy Theory Might Unleash a Wave of Domestic Terrorism if Obama Wins | Alternet

How The Right's Latest Conspiracy Theory Might Unleash a Wave of Domestic Terrorism if Obama Wins | Alternet
"In a somewhat desperate attempt to maintain morale among a Republican base that disdains its standard-bearer, a number of conservative media outlets are pushing an alternate reality in which Mitt Romney is leading in the polls by wide margins and American voters have a decidedly negative view not of the challenger, but of Barack Obama.

It's an exceptionally dangerous game that the right-wing media are playing. If Obama wins – and according to polling guru Nate Silver, he'd have a 95 percent chance of doing so if the vote were held today – there's a very real danger that this spin -- combined with other campaign narratives that are popular among the far-right -- could create a post-election environment so toxic that it yields an outburst of politically motivated violence."

STUDY: Contraception Is ‘Critical’ For Ensuring Women Achieve Their Life Goals

STUDY: Contraception Is ‘Critical’ For Ensuring Women Achieve Their Life Goals: A new study from the Guttmacher Institute investigates the ways that women believe their birth control has impacted their lives. Although the strong connection between increased access to contraception and increased improvements to women’s lives has been confirmed, women are rarely asked to speak about the effects of birth control on their own lives and [...]/p

Bush-Cheney Economic Failures Refresh

Top GOP Senate Candidate Just Says It: 'Do Away With Medicare, Medicaid' | Common Dreams

Top GOP Senate Candidate Just Says It: 'Do Away With Medicare, Medicaid' | Common Dreams
"The video has only now surfaced and its a blockbuster -- especially in the aftermath of the release last week of a similar video that saw Republican presiential nominee Mitt Romney dismissing 47 percent of Americans as a "dependent" class unworthy of Republican consideration.

Just to repeat: a top Republican Senate candidate has been caught on video talking about how he would “DO AWAY WITH MEDICAID, AND MEDICARE.”

Just to repeat: “DO AWAY WITH MEDICAID, AND MEDICARE.”

It should be understood that Thompson is no fringe-dwelling Todd Akin. As the longtime Republican governor of a swing state, he’s worked with every GOP president since Ronald Reagan, and he oversaw social programs for the Bush-Cheney administration. This year, he’s one of his party’s premier recruits in the fight to retake the Senate. Indeed, the race between Thompson and Democratic Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin could decide which party controls the chamber.

Thompson is, as well, closely aligned with Paul Ryan. The Senate candidate’s ties to Ryan’s politically connected family go back to when the Republican vice-presidential nominee was a child. Thompson has been a Ryan booster from the very beginning of the younger Wisconsinite’s career in electoral politics—when Thompson was the powerful governor of the state and Ryan was organizing his first Congressional bid."

Chinese oil company's Romney connection fouls new campaign message

Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, talks with Rachel Maddow about Mitt Romney's financial dealings with a Chinese oil company, and holding China accountable for violating trade law.

Top 10 Ways Corporate Food Is Making Us Fat and Threatening Our Food Supplies | Alternet

Top 10 Ways Corporate Food Is Making Us Fat and Threatening Our Food Supplies | Alternet
"Large corporations account for half of the national economy and pay more for lobbyists to write and pass laws in Congress favorable to themselves than they do in Federal taxes. The way in which the Congressional committees that are supposed to watch certain industries actually become beholden to them is called ‘legislative capture.’

For this reason, I don’t entirely trust the US government any more to look out for our health. We are increasingly exposed to thousands of chemicals that haven’t really been tested (plastics are full of them). We’re not even given the courtesy of knowing which foods are genetically modified so we can make a market choice for the natural ones.

Here are the top ten disturbing news stories about our food that have come across my screen in recent days, and which inspire a certain amount of alarm in me."

Nuns On A Bus: Romney’s 47 Percent Comments Show ‘He Has No Idea How Hard It Is’ To Be Poor

Nuns On A Bus: Romney’s 47 Percent Comments Show ‘He Has No Idea How Hard It Is’ To Be Poor: The leader of the Nuns On A Bus tour that has criss-crossed the nation highlighting the effect the House Republican budget would have on low-income Americans said Monday that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s recent comments about the “47 percent” “show that he is “out of touch” and “has no idea how hard it is [...]/p

Scott Brown takes the racial low road

Rachel Maddow reviews the way Senator Scott Brown has relied heavily on racial resentment as a campaign strategy against Elizabeth Warren.

Wealthy Right Wingers Including the Kochs Have Pledged to Raise $1 Billion to Elect Romney and Other Republicans | Alternet

Wealthy Right Wingers Including the Kochs Have Pledged to Raise $1 Billion to Elect Romney and Other Republicans | Alternet
"Koch wasn't discussing the stock market or oil futures. He was talking money in politics: wealthy donors "investing" in elected officials,  apparently with the expectation of getting a return . In total, donors like the Kochs, along with Sheldon Adelson, Harold Simmons, and "outside" groups have pledged to raise a total of $1 billion this election to elect Republicans, particularly President Barack Obama's opponent Mitt Romney.

With support from these deep-pocketed outside donors and organizations, Romney could be the  first candidate  in modern history to outraise and outspend the incumbent president. Much of that money will be spent funding a  flood of ads  in the next few weeks in an effort to reverse Romney's poll numbers."

Romney’s ‘War On Coal’ Ad Features Miners Who Were Forced To Attend His Rally

Romney’s ‘War On Coal’ Ad Features Miners Who Were Forced To Attend His Rally: Mitt Romney’s new ad, “War On Coal,” accuses President Obama of “ruining the coal industry” and putting coal miners out of work. It also showcases footage of Romney speaking at a rally at an Ohio coal mine, flanked by solemn-looking miners. Those miners, however, are not Romney supporters. In fact, they later said they were [...]/p

Congress' most inept crook tries to hide evidence ... with Wite-Out

Congress' most inept crook tries to hide evidence ... with Wite-Out
"s you might now, Rep. David Rivera decided that he didn't have enough FBI agents on his tracks, and decided to add to his pile of wrong-doings by illegally trying to influence the Democratic primary in FL-26. You see, one of those candidates was O2B endorsee Joe Garcia who gave him a serious run in the 2010 wave year. With a more Democratic district and better political climate, Garcia was a serious threat to his seat."

Desperate Scott Brown loses nice-guy image

Desperate Scott Brown loses nice-guy image
"The Scott Brown that showed up at Thursday's Massachusetts Senate debate, "condescending, snide, repetitive, off topic, rote, eager to get personal," and "dark, hyperkinetic," is apparently the Scott Brown that is going to stick around through the rest of this election season. Elizabeth Warren is surging in the polls, and Brown's desperation is showing."

Kochtopus Pours Vast Resources Into Election Day Ground Game

Kochtopus Pours Vast Resources Into Election Day Ground Game
"It's sickening, the amount of money and manpower the Kochtopus is pouring into this year's election. All we have are our votes. Will it be enough to fight the right-wing tide? This is not a year where we can take even one vote for granted. After all, they've made it clear they're willing to steal their way to control."

Paul Ryan called Cayman Islands 'the place where you hide your money'

Paul Ryan called Cayman Islands 'the place where you hide your money'
"So according to Paul Ryan:

1. People like Mitt Romney use the Cayman Islands to hide their money.
2. The reason they hide their money their is to avoid American tax laws.
3. The solution is to make American tax laws just like the Cayman Islands so guys like Mitt Romney won't want to bail on America.

Most awesome Republican ticket ever. In a race to the bottom kind of way."

Romney’s Advice To The Uninsured: Go To The ER

Romney’s Advice To The Uninsured: Go To The ER: However, as Pelley points out, ambulatory care is extraordinarily expensive and shifts costs from often-uninsured emergency room patients into the overall health care market, effectively driving up everyone’s cost of care.

'Won't Back Down' Pushes ALEC's Right-Wing Education Agenda

'Won't Back Down' Pushes ALEC's Right-Wing Education Agenda
"So the new movie, "Won't Back Down", is a production of Philip Anschutz, a right-wing extremist billionaire -- one of the major funders of Americans for Prosperity -- and not coincidentally, ALEC. Which also happens to be the group pushing this "parent trigger" legislation."

Study Busts Myth Corporations Use To Justify Skyrocketing CEO Pay

Study Busts Myth Corporations Use To Justify Skyrocketing CEO Pay: CEO pay has increased 725 percent over three decades, while worker pay has essentially remained flat. A new study challenges a conventional practice corporations use to justify skyrocketing CEO pay, which is that without it, CEOs would leave for competitors. According to the study by the University of Delaware’s Charles M. Elson and Craig K. [...]/p

Millionaire Mitt: It’s ‘Fair’ For Me To Pay Lower Taxes Than Middle Class Americans

Millionaire Mitt: It’s ‘Fair’ For Me To Pay Lower Taxes Than Middle Class Americans: Mitt Romney told CBS’s 60 Minutes that it’s “fair” for him to pay a tax rate of just 14.1 percent on his investment income of $20 million, a lower rate than someone earning $50,000 a year in wage income: SCOTT PELLEY (HOST): Now, you made on your investments, personally, about $20 million last year. And [...]/p

'Citizens United' and the Corporate Court | The Nation

'Citizens United' and the Corporate Court | The Nation
"We live in what will surely come to be called the Citizens United era, a period in which a runaway corporatist ideology has overtaken Supreme Court jurisprudence. No longer content just to pick a president, as five conservative Republicans on the Rehnquist Court did in 2000, five conservative Republicans on the Roberts Court a decade later voted to tilt the nation’s entire political process toward the views of moneyed corporate power."

Clinton: Republican Voter Suppression Targeting African-American Churches

Clinton: Republican Voter Suppression Targeting African-American Churches
"Former President Bill Clinton is warning that President Barack Obama's edge in the polls may not be enough to defeat GOP hopeful Mitt Romney because the Republican Party was using voter suppression techniques to target traditionally Democratic voters like African-American church members and the elderly."

The decline of collective bargaining and the erosion of middle class incomes in Michigan | Economic Policy Institute

The decline of collective bargaining and the erosion of middle class incomes in Michigan | Economic Policy Institute
"In Michigan between 1979 and 2007, the last year before the Great Recession, the state’s economy experienced substantial growth and incomes rose for high-income households. But middle-class incomes did not grow. The Michigan experience is slightly worse than but parallels that of the United States as a whole, where middle-class income gains were modest but still far less than the income gains at the top. What the experience of Michiganders and other Americans makes clear is that income inequality is rising, and it has prevented middle-class incomes from growing adequately in either Michigan or the nation."

GOP Senate Candidate Tommy Thompson: ‘Who Better Than Me… To Do Away With Medicaid and Medicare?’

GOP Senate Candidate Tommy Thompson: ‘Who Better Than Me… To Do Away With Medicaid and Medicare?’: Republicans and their defenders have claimed that the GOP’s massive proposed cuts to the nation’s health care safety net will not eliminate Medicare or Medicaid. The Romney campaign even released talking points claiming GOP proposals would “strengthen Medicare” shortly after they announced that Paul Ryan, the author of a 2011 plan to phase out Medicare, [...]/p

Tipping into New Climate Territory as Scientists Put Fears on Ice | Common Dreams

Tipping into New Climate Territory as Scientists Put Fears on Ice | Common Dreams
"AS ARCTIC sea ice hits a record low, focus is turning to climate ''tipping points'' - a threshold that, once crossed, cannot be reversed and will create fundamental changes to other areas."

Lindsey Graham Pushes Romney To Keep Troops In Afghanistan

Lindsey Graham Pushes Romney To Keep Troops In Afghanistan: As the last of the “surge” troops leave Afghanistan, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called for Mitt Romney to back an extended presence in Afghanistan. President Obama plans to bring all American troops home from Afghanistan by 2014. But Graham said that Romney should say he wants to keep U.S. troops there past that deadline. The [...]/p

Ryan Shrugged - In These Times

Ryan Shrugged - In These Times
"You’d expect a Rand devotee mired in the bureaucratic maw of the federal Leviathan to emulate her heroes by cultivating their sneeringly autocratic flare for rebellion. But Ryan has been an arch GOP loyalist, backing George W. Bush’s massive expansion of Medicare drug coverage and the costly invasion of Iraq, in spite of his carefully curated image as a crusading budget slasher. 

On closer look, though, Ryan’s Randianism seems like a pose adopted as a deeper psychic compensation to make up for a chronic need to please in every conventional manner. He shows a craving for approval going back to his senior year in Janesville, Wis., when the yearbook named him the school’s “biggest brownnoser.” And that penchant for not merely pursuing, but luxuriating in, the ripest opportunity has stayed with Ryan ever since."

Bill Kristol: Obama Has Turned Around The Financial Meltdown ‘Pretty Well’

Bill Kristol: Obama Has Turned Around The Financial Meltdown ‘Pretty Well’: The Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol advised the Mitt Romney to avoid making the election about the last four years, noting that the Obama administration inherited the crisis from Bush and has handled it well. “If this election is just about the last four years, that’s a muddy verdict. Bush was president during the financial meltdown. [...]/p

Romney’s Housing ‘White Paper’: No Plans For Foreclosure Prevention, Just Debunked Right-Wing Rhetoric

Romney’s Housing ‘White Paper’: No Plans For Foreclosure Prevention, Just Debunked Right-Wing Rhetoric:  There’s an old rule of thumb in politics: if you have rotten news to drop, do it late on a Friday afternoon. Mitt Romney tweaked that rule yesterday: if you have a rotten [...]/p

Romney Threatened To Cancel Univision Forum If Organizers Didn’t Allow Him To Bus In Supporters

Romney Threatened To Cancel Univision Forum If Organizers Didn’t Allow Him To Bus In Supporters: Mitt Romney packed the audience for a Univision forum earlier this week, BuzzFeed’s McKay Coppins reports, busing in local supporters “after exhausting the few conservative groups on campus.” The campaign threatened to “reschedule” the event if organizers did not allow the “rowdy activists from around southern Florida in order to fill the extra seats at [...]/p

Take a Look at What Paul Ryan Did to His Own Congressional District, and Be Very Scared for Your Country | Alternet

Take a Look at What Paul Ryan Did to His Own Congressional District, and Be Very Scared for Your Country | Alternet
"Ryan trumpeted the $1.2 trillion in Bush tax cuts showered largely on the richest 1%, pushed for the deregulation of Wall Street financial manipulations, opposed 2007 efforts to rein in the financial industry’s increasingly risky practices but then voted for a virtually unconditional bailout of the big banks after the meltdown in 2008 in order to “save the free enterprise system.” Ryan also voted for the auto bailout without any provisions to prioritize US jobs including those in his district. Further, Ryan has been a consistent supporter of the “free trade” deals with low-wage, repressive regimes that have fueled the offshoring of jobs.

In recent years, Ryan’s home district has lost thousands of family-sustaining jobs. Its economic foundations have been dangerously hollowed out: Delco in Oak Creek shut down at a cost of 3,800 jobs, mostly going to Mexico; Chrysler in Kenosha had 850 jobs sent to Mexico with the help of auto industry “bailout” funds; and General Motors in his hometown of Janesville eliminated 2,800 jobs directly with its pre-Christmas 2008 plant closing, while GM kept open a low-wage plant with parallel capacities in Silao, Mexico. The GM shutdown in Janesville wiped out another 3,000 jobs in nearby supplier plants.

The three major industrial counties in Ryan’s district have endured devastating manufacturing job losses since 2000, with Kenosha County losing 30%, Racine County 33%, and Rock County an astonishing 54%.

Battleground snapshot: Obama winning by bigger margins than four years ago

Battleground snapshot: Obama winning by bigger margins than four years ago
"'ve made a couple of changes to our weekly battleground snapshot. First of all, New Mexico and Pennsylvania have been removed. They are no longer battlegrounds, so no need to pretend that they are. More interestingly, I've added a new column -- a comparison to the Real Clear Politics composite score from exactly four years ago ("O" is for Obama, "M" is for McCain). So today's numbers include a comparison from September 21, 2008. That way we can see how Pres. Barack Obama is running compared to his first bid. And the answer, for the most part, is "much better"."

10 Questions Romney Must Answer About His Taxes

10 Questions Romney Must Answer About His Taxes:  On Friday afternoon, the Romney campaign released the candidate’s 2011 tax return, which showed that he paid a tax rate of approximately 14 percent on more than $13 million of reported income. The campaign also disclosed that [...]/p

Arun Gupta and Marina Sitrin on Occupy’s Anniversary And how the Media of the %1 misrepresent Occupy

Surprise! Another Financial Meltdown on the Horizon

Professor Max Wolff, Economist/Instructor, New School University / Senior Analyst-Greencrest Capital joins Thom Hartmann. Surprise surprise! A new report out says the very banks we bailed out in 2007 and 2008 are behaving riskier now than those that didn't get the bailout. So - now that Wall Street is again up to its same old dirty tricks - is another financial meltdown on the horizon?

Mitt's desperate Friday news dump

Mitt's desperate Friday news dump
"In the near future, I think we might be able look back to say that this was the week the Mitt Romney campaign entered its death throes. I suppose some miracle cure is still possible, but given that his vice presidential pick is getting pelted by boos from seniors and he himself was caught on tape calling half the nation shiftless moochers, sending things so off the rails that Mitt now wants to talk about his tax returns, of all things, you know the Romney camp is in quite a panic. That's a hell of a Friday news dump."

By Romney’s Own Standard, His Tax Returns Would Disqualify Him From The Presidency

By Romney’s Own Standard, His Tax Returns Would Disqualify Him From The Presidency: Mitt Romney will disclose his 2011 tax on Friday, along with a summary going back 20 years. The campaign has published the following summary: In 2011, the Romneys paid $1,935,708 in taxes on $13,696,951 in mostly investment income. The Romneys’ effective tax rate for 2011 was 14.1%. The Romneys donated $4,020,772 to charity in 2011, [...]/p

Disdain for Workers | Common Dreams

Disdain for Workers | Common Dreams
"By now everyone knows how Mitt Romney, speaking to donors in Boca Raton, washed his hands of almost half the country — the 47 percent who don’t pay income taxes — declaring, “My job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.” By now, also, many people are aware that the great bulk of the 47 percent are hardly moochers; most are working families who pay payroll taxes, and elderly or disabled Americans make up a majority of the rest."

Is GE Part of Romney’s 47 Percent? | Common Dreams

Is GE Part of Romney’s 47 Percent? | Common Dreams
"Is he including, for instance, the General Electric Corp., which routinely finds a way to weasel out of paying any taxes yet basks in a ton of government services that help support it, and all-too-much of the rest of corporate America, which likes to complain about high taxes but seldom pays any?"

‘Obscene and arrogant’: Bernie Sanders reacts to Mitt Romney’s 47 percent comments

Koch Cash: As American Income Decreased, Billionaires' Brothers' Wealth Skyrocketed | Alternet

Koch Cash: As American Income Decreased, Billionaires' Brothers' Wealth Skyrocketed | Alternet
"The billionaire Koch brothers, Charles and David, richest men on earth #7 and 8 (but together with more wealth than #1) have been in the headlines all summer thanks to their pouring funds into SuperPACS designed to unseat President Obama and the Democrats. Oh, and as ofrecently they're also funding a bogus "astroturf" anti-Occupy protest.

But how have they been doing personally? Is all that SuperPAC and fake-protest spending making a dent in their massive family fortune? Sadly the answer is no."

Granholm: ‘Get your absentee ballot now, right now!’

Former Romney Campaign Chairman Turned Bank Lobbyist: Banks Should Regulate Themselves

Former Romney Campaign Chairman Turned Bank Lobbyist: Banks Should Regulate Themselves: Former Minnesota Governor and unsuccessful presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty announced yesterday that he was stepping down as co-chairman of the Romney campaign in order to take over the top spot at the Financial Services Roundtable, a lobbying group that represents the largest financial services companies in the country. Pawlenty assumed the role as a top [...]/p