Iowa Debates Permitting Blind People To Carry Guns In Public

Iowa Debates Permitting Blind People To Carry Guns In Public: Iowa is wrestling with the question of whether people with vision impairments should be restricted from receivin gpermits to carry guns in public.

Flow Chart Exposes Common Core's Myriad Corporate Connections

Flow Chart Exposes Common Core's Myriad Corporate Connections
"U.S. education reform isn't so much a "Race to the Top," because no matter which schools climb to the top of the ladder first, corporations always win.
Morna McDermott mapped the Common Core State Standard Initiative's corporate connections in a new flow chart, which reveals how corporations and organizations that are members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) have funded and perpetuated Common Core standards throughout the states.
ALEC has been funded for decades in large part by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch. According to the Center for Media and Democracy, about 98 percent of ALEC's funds come from corporations such as Exxon Mobil and corporate foundations like the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation."

Republican Rewrites Reagan On Chemical Attacks

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US Farmers Continue David Vs. Goliath Battle Against Monsanto | Common Dreams

US Farmers Continue David Vs. Goliath Battle Against Monsanto | Common Dreams
"A group of U.S. farmers is not giving up its fight against biotech giant Monsanto"

Will White House Strike Syria If Congress Says No?

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Alternative To Force Proposed For Syria Response

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Iran Surprises With Jewish Holiday Greeting

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Holy Cow: Former Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Says Every Single Reactor in the U.S. Should Be Shut Down | Alternet

Holy Cow: Former Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Says Every Single Reactor in the U.S. Should Be Shut Down | Alternet
"The first thing to remember about nuclear power is that it’s not safe. Just ask Japan.

The second thing to remember is that nuclear power isn’t cheap. Connecticut draws half its juice from nuclear reactors and has the  second-highest rates in the country, after Hawaii. The third thing to know is that everybody lies about it. The power plant designers lie, the builders lie, the utility companies lie, the regulators lie, and the politicians lie."

MSNBC and CNN's Education Contributor Loses His Marbles on Twitter

MSNBC and CNN's Education Contributor Loses His Marbles on Twitter
'If I were MSNBC, I'd be thinking hard about whether or not this is a guy they want speaking for education reform on their network. It seems to me he's far better suited for Fox News.'

North Carolina Hospital Will Shut Down In Six Months Because The State Won’t Expand Medicaid

North Carolina Hospital Will Shut Down In Six Months Because The State Won’t Expand Medicaid: On Wednesday, residents of Belhaven, North Carolina got a taste of how stubborn GOP opposition to the Affordable Care Act can affect them personally when executives at Vidant Health System unanimously voted to shut down the local Vidant Pungo Hospital within six months. Vidant officials said the move was necessary as a consequence of North Carolina’s refusal to participate in Obamacare’s optional Medicaid expansion.

Obama Nominates Voting Rights Supporter To Powerful Court — Here’s How The GOP Freakout Will Play Out

Obama Nominates Voting Rights Supporter To Powerful Court — Here’s How The GOP Freakout Will Play Out: Judge Robert Wilkins is not simply a DC Circuit nominee, he is also one of three judges that prevented Texas from enforcing a voter suppression law last year.

Washington State Got Flooded With Hundreds Of Phone Calls This Week About Signing Up For Obamacare

Washington State Got Flooded With Hundreds Of Phone Calls This Week About Signing Up For Obamacare: On Tuesday, Washington officials opened the new call center for its state-level marketplace, which will allow residents to dial in and ask questions about their options for coverage under Obamacare.

GOP’s flaring anti-women problem invades 2014

GOP’s flaring anti-women problem invades 2014
"Ledbetter makes it easier for women suffering discrimination to sue their employers. The Paycheck Fairness Act would make it harder for employers to pay unequally for similar work to begin with. But Republicans have filibustered that bill twice in the past two Congresses. Once in 2010 and again in 2012."

Mitt Romney Campaign Admits Fox News Was Their Home

Mitt Romney Campaign Admits Fox News Was Their Home
"This is an amazing story for its honesty. Most of us know that Fox News functions as the GOP's home base of operations, but did you know that Mitt Romney used Fox as a way to hide out from the rest of the journalists that were covering the 2012 election?"

Kerry: US Strike Wouldn't Assume Responsibility For Syria War

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Kerry: Syria Strikes 'Important To The Security Of Our Country'

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Dem Rep: 'Syria Is Not Our Problem'

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SNAP Treason: House Republicans Take Aim at Food Stamps

SNAP Treason: House Republicans Take Aim at Food Stamps
"what if you learned that a group of domestic troublemakers was planning to destabilize the U.S. economy and invite ruinous hardship on millions of Americans, mainly women, children, the disabled and the elderly? What if you discovered that their plan was to increase unemployment, hunger, homelessness, poverty and poor health? To slow local economies still reeling from a sluggish (or non-existent) recovery, and push deprivation to Third World levels? Would you sit idly by and let this happen? Or would you fight back?
Although we can't all be Bruce Willis, we suspect that most Americans would do what they could to oppose this scheme. And in this case, this nightmare scenario is no Hollywood plot.
In fact, the subversive plan in question is the House Republicans' stated goal of cutting $40 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, traditionally referred to as food stamps) over the next ten years."

Fossil Fuel-Backed Group Is Behind The Latest Climate Change Denier Campaign

Fossil Fuel-Backed Group Is Behind The Latest Climate Change Denier Campaign: Ahead of a major climate change report due to be released at the end of September, a prominent climate change denier organization has launched a misinformation campaign to muddle the findings of scientific experts.

Fox News Guest: 'That's a Teaching Moment' When Hungry Students Don't Get School Lunches

Fox News Guest: 'That's a Teaching Moment' When Hungry Students Don't Get School Lunches
"A Fox News guest on Thursday argued that hungry students would have a "teaching moment" if they were refused access in the cafeteria line to school lunches because their parents hadn't properly filled out the right paperwork."

Budget Debates Matter: The Difference in GOP and Democratic Levels of Discretionary Spending for 2014 Translates into Nearly 1 Million Jobs | Economic Policy Institute

Budget Debates Matter: The Difference in GOP and Democratic Levels of Discretionary Spending for 2014 Translates into Nearly 1 Million Jobs | Economic Policy Institute
"The difference between these discretionary spending levels can be summarized in one word: sequestration. The Ryan budget preserves it while the Democratic budgets do not. And this difference is large"

Transportation Grants Meant For Innovation Being Used For Urgent Repairs

Transportation Grants Meant For Innovation Being Used For Urgent Repairs: The TIGER grant was meant to promote innovative, sustainable projects, but it's ended up plugging holes in the infrastructure crisis.

Top House Republican Rewrites History, Claims Reagan Stood Up To Chemical Weapons Use

Top House Republican Rewrites History, Claims Reagan Stood Up To Chemical Weapons Use:
"What Ros-Lehtinen seems oddly unaware of, however, is that Ronald Reagan did exactly the opposite. For the majority of the 1980s, Iraq under Sadaam Hussein was locked in combat with the Islamic Republic of Iran in a war that killed more than 100,000 people on both sides. The United States explicitly backed the secular Hussein over the Ayatollah Khomeini’s government in Tehran, still smarting from the embassy hostage crisis that had only ended when Reagan took office. That backing not only included the shipment of tons of weapons to support Baghdad, but also looking the other way when Iraq unleashed its chemical weapons stockpiles — including sarin and mustard gas — against Iranian civilians and soldiers alike.
Recently declassified documents from that time indicate that not only did the U.S. government know that Hussein possessed these weapons, but “conveyed the location of the Iranian troops to Iraq, fully aware that Hussein’s military would attack with chemical weapons, including sarin"."

Study proves that politics and math are incompatible

Study proves that politics and math are incompatible
"It’s hard to look at climate change deniers as being anything other than willfully ignorant. The numbers are right there: As surely as greenhouse gas emissions are rising, so are global temperatures. To discount all that is to choose to be stupid."

Obamacare 'rate shock' myth debunked

www.dailykos.com/story/2013/09/05/1234186/-Obamacare-rate-shock-myth-debunked-by-Kaiser-survey
"The whole idea behind the health insurance exchanges was that competition in the marketplace would do what it's always done, force companies to provide their best price to consumers. Early reports out of Oregon and California hinted at this trend. With more and more states reporting rates as October 1, the target date for the launch of the nation's insurance shopping spree nears, the trend is bearing out."

MUST WATCH: Jon Stewart Eviscerates John McCain for Playing On-Line Poker During Senate Hearing On Syria | Alternet

MUST WATCH: Jon Stewart Eviscerates John McCain for Playing On-Line Poker During Senate Hearing On Syria | Alternet
"Jon Stewart had a field day last night with the revelation that hawkish Senator John McCain was caught blatantly playing on-line poker during the hearing of whether to back the Obama Administration's plans to take military action, a.k.a. bomb, Syria."

Kansas Will Kick 20,000 People Off Of Food Stamps

Kansas Will Kick 20,000 People Off Of Food Stamps: Gov. Sam Brownback's administration is about to make life harder for the unemployed.

Former Senator Opens Luxury Animal Hospital, But May Try To Avoid Insuring His Human Employees

Former Senator Opens Luxury Animal Hospital, But May Try To Avoid Insuring His Human Employees: John Ensign describes his new pet clinic as the "Ritz-Carlton" of veterinary options. But the employees who work there may not have a similar level of luxury when it comes to their own health care options.

Florida GOP-Led Voter Fraud Investigation Finds Nothing—Except GOP Fraud | Alternet

Florida GOP-Led Voter Fraud Investigation Finds Nothing—Except GOP Fraud | Alternet
"An investigation into the issue of voter registration fraud in the Sunshine State initiated by Florida Repulicans has unearthed no evidence of wrongdoing—except on the part of the GOP."

Looking Beyond Military Options For Syria

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'No Good Options' At Japan's Damaged Nuclear Plant

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Iraq War Architects Not Welcome In Syria Debate

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Major New Study On Obamacare Premiums Should End The ‘Rate Shock’ Hysteria Once And For All

Major New Study On Obamacare Premiums Should End The ‘Rate Shock’ Hysteria Once And For All: The most detailed study on Obamacare insurance premiums to date finds that Americans will be paying even less than expected for plans on the new marketplaces.

Rep. Cummings On The Syria Debate

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Clinton Hits The Road To Explain Obamacare

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Why Syria Is Not Our Fight

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Surprising Reason Antibiotic-Laced Meat Could Be Making Us Fat and Sick | Alternet

Surprising Reason Antibiotic-Laced Meat Could Be Making Us Fat and Sick | Alternet
"New research identifies a correlation between diversity of gut microflora and obesity, heart disease and cancer."

McConnell Noticeably Absent From Syria Debate

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Hayes: 'I Don't Think We Should Send Missiles Into Syria'

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The Familiar Drumbeat Of War

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Iraq War Architects Add Their Voices To Syria Debate

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6 Major Players Who Turned the Syrian Crisis Into a Devastating Proxy War Nightmare | Alternet

6 Major Players Who Turned the Syrian Crisis Into a Devastating Proxy War Nightmare | Alternet
"What started out as a civil uprising against Bashar al-Assad’s regime has turned into a regional proxy war that is engulfing the Middle East."

Thanks to Republicans Kids Are Sharing Out of Date Textbooks in NC Public Schools

www.politicususa.com/2013/09/04/republicans-kids-sharing-date-textbooks-nc-public-schools.html
"It’s gotten so bad that North Carolina’s new textbook budget that once stood in excess of $100 million in 2008 has dipped to $24 million this fiscal year. Money for classroom supplies has been cut nearly in half from $44 million to $24 million. Think about it. In an era when new technologies are exploding, North Carolina students already come up short by being taught from dated and often irrelevant textbooks starting in Elementary School."

New Evidence Puts Tangle In McDonnell Story

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Imagining America Under 'President McCain'

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Mitch McConnell: Ladies Man?

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Fresh Hell When Congress Returns

Fresh Hell When Congress Returns
"Republicans are expected to double down on their effort to sabotage jobs and economic growth."

What’s Motivating Sport Fishermen To Become Climate Advocates?

What’s Motivating Sport Fishermen To Become Climate Advocates?: A new report from the National Wildlife Federation puts a magnifying glass on fresh water, climate change, and the most well-known denizens of lakes and waterways - fish.

Georgia’s Governor Took Money From The Insurance Lobby While Denying Health Coverage To The Poor

Georgia’s Governor Took Money From The Insurance Lobby While Denying Health Coverage To The Poor: A Super PAC linked to Gov. Nathan Deal (R) has taken over half a million dollars in political contributions from the health care industry. But he's been far less willing to accept generous federal money to extend Medicaid coverage to 650,000 of Georgia's poorest residents.

PERRspectives: Study Debunks Myth of Doctors Fleeing Medicare

PERRspectives: Study Debunks Myth of Doctors Fleeing Medicare
"The claim has become a staple of Republican efforts to undermine the Affordable Care Act and transform Medicare into a system in which future elderly receive vouchers to purchase health insurance in the private market. "We are starting to see physicians turn away from taking patients who are on Medicare," the GOP.gov web site warns, with "more and more physicians are choosing to opt out of Medicare altogether." In July, the Wall Street Journal dutifully picked up that cudgel, cheering one "doctor goes off the grid" while fretting "more doctors steer clear of Medicare."

Unfortunately, there's only one problem with the conservative claim that America's doctors are fleeing Medicare--and Medicare patients--in massive numbers. As a new study from the Department from Health and Human Services reveals, it's simply not true."

One In Seven American Families Face Food Insecurity

One In Seven American Families Face Food Insecurity: Yet Congress is poised to cut anti-hunger programs further.

Boston Public Schools To Serve All Students Free Meals

Boston Public Schools To Serve All Students Free Meals:
"The change comes at a time of high rates of child hunger. Three-quarters of the country’s teachers say they have students who routinely show up to school hungry. Half say hunger is a serious problem in their classrooms. More than one in five children lack steady access to food."

More Than 50 Years Ago, Eisenhower Warned Us Of Iraq, Afghanistan And Syria (VIDEO)

www.samuel-warde.com/2013/09/50-years-ago-eisenhower-warned-us-iraq-afghanistan-syria-video/
"In 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican, warned us about corporatism and more specifically, about the military/industrial complex, which compels us into unnecessary wars for the sake of profit."

The Coalition of the Screwed

The Coalition of the Screwed
"We live in a society that allows one man to make $15 million a day while a low-income mother gets $4.50 a day for food, and much of Congress wants to cut the $4.50.
Are political and corporate leaders even remotely aware of the conditions of society beneath the wealthiest 10% or so?"

War Powers for Dummies

War Powers for Dummies
"The Constitution gives Congress the sole power to declare war, but it also says that the president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces. So the way presidents have usually responded is simply by not bothering to ask for a declaration of war when they want to begin a military undertaking. In fact, the last time Congress declared war was in 1942, when it did so against Romania, or as it was known then, Rumania. There were six separate war declarations in World War II, one for each country in the Axis (see here for more detail on our 11 war declarations; h/t Garance Franke-Ruta). Many of our biggest wars, including Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq, had no formal declaration of war."

87 Percent of Ohio's Charter Schools Fail To Meet Minimum Standards

87 Percent of Ohio's Charter Schools Fail To Meet Minimum Standards
"For all of the ballyhoo over charter schools, no one is actually dealing with the fact that they're failing, not only in Philadelphia but across the country. When do our elected officials get a clue?"

Just Seven Percent Of Republican Voters Actually Want To Defund Obamacare

Just Seven Percent Of Republican Voters Actually Want To Defund Obamacare: Some far-right GOP lawmakers have been pushing to block funds for the health reform law, but those efforts are extremely unpopular among their voter base.

GA Gov. Nathan Deal Taking Payola To Obstruct Obamacare

GA Gov. Nathan Deal Taking Payola To Obstruct Obamacare
"Let's also pay attention to the Big Donors here: United Health, Aetna, Humana and Blue Cross. United Health and Aetna have declined to participate in state-based exchanges in states where they're actually regulatedlike California and New York, opting instead to hand off some payola to a corrupt Georgia governor in order for him to behave like an obstructionist."

An Easy Way to Squeeze a Lot of Taxes from Corporations That Try to Hide Their Profits Offshore | Alternet

An Easy Way to Squeeze a Lot of Taxes from Corporations That Try to Hide Their Profits Offshore | Alternet
"Here is one thing Congress could do that would create more jobs, boost the economy and reduce both the budget deficit and the trade deficit. This one thing would not only provide a big boost now, but would provide an ongoing boost from now on. Congress should modify the “deferral” tax loophole that lets companies dodge their taxes by moving and keeping profits “out of the country"."

CDC Predicts Obamacare May Help Reduce The Number Of Americans Dying From Heart Disease

CDC Predicts Obamacare May Help Reduce The Number Of Americans Dying From Heart Disease: The CDC estimates that about 200,000 deaths each year could be prevented with better access to health insurance.

CHARTS: How The Increase Of 401(k)s Has Created Lots Of Inequality

CHARTS: How The Increase Of 401(k)s Has Created Lots Of Inequality: The shift to saving for retirement in 401(k)s instead of pensions hurts low-income and minority workers.

The Disastrous Consequences of a U.S. Military Attack on Syria | Alternet

The Disastrous Consequences of a U.S. Military Attack on Syria | Alternet
"President Obama has not spelled out the possible consequences of a military attack on Syria, but U.S. military leaders are warning about the risks."

Please Shut It! You are NOT the Party of Abe Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, or Dwight D. Eisenhower Anymore!

www.forwardprogressives.com/please-shut-it-you-are-not-the-party-of-abe-lincoln-teddy-roosevelt-or-dwight-d-eisenhower-anymore/
"Today’s Republican party is anti-equality, anti-union, anti-minimum wage, anti-unemployment, anti-welfare, anti-woman, anti-United Nations, anti-healthcare, anti-immigration, and pro-corporation. So, again, Republicans, please do us all a favor and stop calling yourselves the party of the above named men – you are nothing like them."

Failing Up to the Fed, A Reporters' Guide to the Paper Trail Surrounding Larry Summers

Failing Up to the Fed, A Reporters' Guide to the Paper Trail Surrounding Larry Summers
"In the shadows, between 2000-2008, the OTC derivatives market grew from $95.2 trillion to $672.6 trillion, notational value. When the dark market deals started to go sour, the impact was felt around the world. The man who was featured on the cover of Time Magazine as part of the "Committee to Save the World" with Robert Rubin and Alan Greenspan in 1999, instead helped bring it to its knees."

Wisconsin Workers "Fight For Fifteen"

Wisconsin Workers "Fight For Fifteen"
"Wisconsin workers are joining the "Fight for Fifteen" -- better wages for those at the bottom of the U.S. payscale."

Retirement Inequality Chartbook: How the 401(k) revolution created a few big winners and many losers | Economic Policy Institute

Retirement Inequality Chartbook: How the 401(k) revolution created a few big winners and many losers | Economic Policy Institute
"The switch from pensions to 401(k)s has left most Americans without enough money to retire. 46 interactive charts explore this growing problem."

Celebrate Labor on Labor Day

The Conservative Crackup: How the Republican Party Lost Its Mind | Alternet

The Conservative Crackup: How the Republican Party Lost Its Mind | Alternet
"The relentless radicalization of the Republican Party since 1964 is the most important single event in the political history of the United States since the New Deal. It has significantly shaped the course of our government and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. But this means it has also shaped the individual life of every citizen— the complex amalgam of possibilities and opportunities available (or not) to each of us. The conservative visionaries of the ‘50s and ‘60s wanted a new world. We’re all living in it now."

Labor Day 2050: Global Warming And The Coming Collapse Of Labor Productivity

Labor Day 2050: Global Warming And The Coming Collapse Of Labor Productivity: The next time you see a projection of the economic cost from climate change -- and a resulting social cost of carbon -- you might want to double the numbers to get a more accurate picture of what we are risking by our callous inaction.

8 Despicable Right-Wing Statements From This Last Week Alone | Alternet

8 Despicable Right-Wing Statements From This Last Week Alone | Alternet
"The extreme right produced a host of offensive, racist and wildly inaccurate statements this week."