Matt Taibbi Explains JP Morgan Chase’s Crime Spree

Matt Taibbi Explains JP Morgan Chase’s Crime Spree
"Matt Taibbi explains the myth of JP Morgan Chase as the “one good bank”, why too big to fail is the problem, why Washington is finally getting fed up with Wall Street, how Wall Street miscalculated the 2012 election, how JP Morgan Chase hides losses and commits regular acts of financial fraud and is genuine Wall Street reform possible now?"

States Cut Higher Education Funding, Increase Tuition To Avoid Raising Taxes

States Cut Higher Education Funding, Increase Tuition To Avoid Raising Taxes: For five years since the Great Recession, states have drastically cut funding for public universities, with long-lasting consequences for the U.S. economy. A new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities finds that every state except North Dakota and Wyoming is spending less per student than before the recession. As a result, students [...]/p

House Democratic budget would also boost employment | Economic Policy Institute

House Democratic budget would also boost employment | Economic Policy Institute
"The Van Hollen budget would be a net positive for the labor market over the next two years, relative to current budget policy, current law, or the Ryan budget."

Truthdig - The Last Letter

Truthdig - The Last Letter
"A Message to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney From a Dying Veteran"

16 Giant Corporations That Have Basically Stopped Paying Taxes -- While Also Cutting Jobs! | Alternet

16 Giant Corporations That Have Basically Stopped Paying Taxes -- While Also Cutting Jobs! | Alternet
"Corporations have simply stopped paying their taxes, perhaps using the 2008 recession as an excuse to plead hardship, but then never restoring their tax obligations when business got better. The facts are indisputable. For over 20 years, from 1987 to 2008, corporations paid an average of 22.5% in federal taxes. Since the recession, this has  dropped to 10% -- even though their profits have doubled in less than ten years."

5 Reasons The U.S. Is Worse Off Because Of The Iraq War

5 Reasons The U.S. Is Worse Off Because Of The Iraq War: Ten years after the first American bombs fell on Baghdad, the United States is still paying the costs for the invasion of Iraq — monetarily, strategically, psychologically and morally. The decision to launch the war is sure to be re-debated ad nauseum over the coming days, but the simple reality is that the United States, [...]/p

Are We Learning From The Iraq War Mistake?

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10 Years After Iraq Invasion: Continued Myths, Hundreds of Thousands Killed | Common Dreams

10 Years After Iraq Invasion: Continued Myths, Hundreds of Thousands Killed | Common Dreams
"The Iraq war, which most today in the U.S. see as a mistake, has cost the U.S. trillions of dollars, billions of which were "wasted."

But the devastation for the people of Iraq is incalculable: hundreds of thousands have been killed, over a million remain refugees and U.S. weapons used in the country, such as depleted uranium, have left a haunting legacy far past the drawdown of U.S. troops."

History Shows War A Tool For Political Opportunists

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INFOGRAPHIC: House Republicans, Senate Democrats Offer Competing Visions For The Federal Budget

INFOGRAPHIC: House Republicans, Senate Democrats Offer Competing Visions For The Federal Budget: Last year, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and his radical House budget rode a wave of conservative popularity all the way to a spot on the Republican Party’s presidential ticket. Six months and one resounding electoral defeat later, Ryan’s popularity has collapsed and even his Republican allies are disavowing his ‘cut first, ask questions later’ approach [...]/p

PERRspectives: How the GOP Gets It All Wrong on Medicare in 5 Charts

PERRspectives: How the GOP Gets It All Wrong on Medicare in 5 Charts
"Of course, the real culprit is the very private insurance market Republicans want to put in charge of Medicare. And as the five charts above show, that won't be a pretty picture."

How Three Top Republicans Are Already Blowing Up The RNC’s Minority Outreach Strategy

How Three Top Republicans Are Already Blowing Up The RNC’s Minority Outreach Strategy: Well, that didn’t take long. This morning, the biggest political story in Washington was a Republican National Committee “autopsy” of the GOP’s 2012 election loss. In it, the RNC proclaimed that “[i]t is imperative that the RNC changes how it engages with Hispanic communities to welcome in new members of our Party” and that “the [...]/p

Republican National Committee Plan: More Money In Politics, More Influence For Rich People

Republican National Committee Plan: More Money In Politics, More Influence For Rich People: The Republican National Committee’s investigation into its 2012 electoral defeat, dubbed their “Growth & Opportunity Project,” aims to provide a blueprint for how to “grow the Party and improve Republican campaigns.” Among their top proposals for how the GOP can win: dismantling the nation’s already weak campaign finance laws to allow rich people even more [...]/p

PERRspectives: 10 Signs Paul Ryan is Dropping Acid

PERRspectives: 10 Signs Paul Ryan is Dropping Acid

1. Two Million Jobs Lost in 2014 Alone
2. $4.4 Trillion Tax Cut, Mostly for the Wealthy
3. Zero Tax Breaks Ended
4. Tax Hikes for the Middle Class
5. Medicare Rationing Boosts Annual Premiums for Seniors by $2,200 in 2030
6. 38 Million More Uninsured
7. Slashing Medicare and Medicaid Benefits, But Keeping the Tax Revenue
8. Non-Defense Discretionary Spending at Lowest Level in Decades
9. Two Trillion Dollar Flip-Flop on Defense Spending
10. Cutting Historically Small Federal Workforce by 10 Percent 

REPORT: Over Half Of U.S. States Get An ‘F’ On Health Care Price Transparency

REPORT: Over Half Of U.S. States Get An ‘F’ On Health Care Price Transparency: In a new state-by-state study of price reporting provisions for medical services in America, over half of all U.S. states receive a failing grade. The report, which was compiled by two major American health care consulting firms, judges states based on both their price reporting laws and the availability of that information to the public [...]/p

House GOP Budget Would Give Millionaires A $200,000 Tax Cut

House GOP Budget Would Give Millionaires A $200,000 Tax Cut: The latest House Republican budget would grant taxpayers with incomes above $1 million at least $200,000 in tax cuts even if the GOP closes tax loopholes to help pay for the plan, according to an analysis from Citizens for Tax Justice. The GOP plan, authored by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), aims to reduce [...]/p

Stop Freaking Out About the Debt! 5 Reasons There Is No Debt Crisis | Alternet

Stop Freaking Out About the Debt! 5 Reasons There Is No Debt Crisis | Alternet
"In conclusion: the “debt crisis” is a mere phantom — only one of many possible futures, and far from a certainty. The interest America is paying on its debt  is currently lowerthan it was in the 1990s, despite a lower debt-to-GDP ratio then. When inflation is factored in, current real interest rates on our debt  are negative. Financial markets are willing to pay us to borrow from them.

Meanwhile, every dollar we cut — nay, every dollar we fail to borrow — is a dollar that isn’t going to shore up the safety net, to rebuild the country’s infrastructure, or to support struggling Americans while their livelihoods remain on the line. That we’re passing on this opportunity to repair our country, much less even considering the monstrosity that is the Ryan budget, really is absurd."

Republicans: There's No Debt Crisis, We Just Want to Screw the Poor | Alternet

Republicans: There's No Debt Crisis, We Just Want to Screw the Poor | Alternet
"Admitting that there’s no immediate crisis illustrates that the GOP’s proposed monstrous cuts to social welfare programs are more an attempt to push through their ideology than save the country from collapse. As the media continues to hyperbolize the deficit, the need for compromise and the instantaneous dangers that will occur if we don’t impose austerity cuts, Republicans are happily using the spin to quickly demand these absurd cuts. But now, especially with both parties acknowledging that there’s no immediate debt crisis, we must demand an honest, smart budget from Congress."

With Inequality Spiraling Out of Control It's Insane to Consider Cutting Social Security | Alternet

With Inequality Spiraling Out of Control It's Insane to Consider Cutting Social Security | Alternet
"The United States already has a poverty rate among the elderly of 24 percent."

7 Things You Need to Know About the Shocking Cyprus Bailout Crisis That Has Everyone Freaked Out | Alternet

7 Things You Need to Know About the Shocking Cyprus Bailout Crisis That Has Everyone Freaked Out | Alternet
"Fears of bank runs, a Lehman-like collapse, and widespread panic are building."

March Madness: The 5th Straight Year of Extreme Corporate Tax Avoidance | Common Dreams

March Madness: The 5th Straight Year of Extreme Corporate Tax Avoidance | Common Dreams
"Corporations have simply stopped paying their taxes, perhaps using the 2008 recession as an excuse to plead hardship, but then never restoring their tax obligations when business got better. The facts are indisputable. For over 20 years, from 1987 to 2008, corporations paid an average of 22.5% in federal taxes. Since the recession, this has dropped to 10% -- even though their profits have doubled in less than ten years."

It’s The Policy, Stupid: 4 Policies That Undermine The GOP’s New Voter Outreach Strategy

It’s The Policy, Stupid: 4 Policies That Undermine The GOP’s New Voter Outreach Strategy: On Monday, following its loss in the 2012 presidential election, the Republican National Committee (RNC) released an autopsy report that aims to “grow the Party and improve Republican campaigns.” The so-called “Growth and Opportunity Project” spoke with “more than 2,600 people, both outside Washington and inside the Beltway” about how the party can appeal to [...]/p

The Brutal and Secretive Trade of American Horses Killed For Their Meat | Alternet

The Brutal and Secretive Trade of American Horses Killed For Their Meat | Alternet
"Few Americans are aware that our country's horses are being exported and slaughtered abroad to supply other nations' taste for a meat that's shunned at home."

Why Does Anyone Still Take Paul Ryan Seriously? | Alternet

Why Does Anyone Still Take Paul Ryan Seriously? | Alternet
"His failed V.P. bid may have made him a national figure, but his budget plan is hopelessly out of touch."

Five Reasons Washington Shouldn’t Panic About The Debt

Five Reasons Washington Shouldn’t Panic About The Debt: Once again, the March budget season has arrived, and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) has engineered another draconian fiscal vision for the House Republicans. The plan would radically remake Medicare, decimate Medicaid, grant a huge tax cut to the wealthy, and slash support for the poor, investments, and civic infrastructure. Ryan and his cohorts justify these [...]/p

Break Up the Behemoth Banks | Common Dreams

Break Up the Behemoth Banks | Common Dreams
"Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, fresh from his impressive re-election victory last fall, is back again with a simple, straightforward solution: make the big boys smaller. He is working on legislation with Republican Senator David Vitter to break up the half-dozen mega-banks and strengthen capital standards. This forced downsizing would make space in the marketplace, allowing many more midsize and smaller banking institutions to flourish. It could also protect the nation from another disastrous bailout of Wall Street at public expense."

CPAC Panel Decrying Conservative Racism Disrupted by Conservative Racists

CPAC Panel Decrying Conservative Racism Disrupted by Conservative Racists
"A CPAC session sponsored by Tea Party Patriots and billed as a primer on teaching activists how to court black voters devolved into a shouting match as some attendees demanded justice for white voters and others shouted down a black woman who reacted in horror."

CPAC Participant Defends Slavery At Minority Outreach Panel: It Gave ‘Food And Shelter’ To Blacks

CPAC Participant Defends Slavery At Minority Outreach Panel: It Gave ‘Food And Shelter’ To Blacks: "The exchange occurred after an audience member from North Carolina, 30-year-old Scott Terry, asked whether Republicans could endorse races remaining separate but equal. After the presenter, K. Carl Smith of Frederick Douglass Republicans, answered by referencing a letter by Frederick Douglass forgiving his former master, the audience member said “For what? For feeding him and housing him?” Several people in the audience cheered and applauded Terry’s outburst.

After the exchange, Terry muttered under his breath, “why can’t we just have segregation"?"

House Republicans Vote Down Increase In Minimum Wage

House Republicans Vote Down Increase In Minimum Wage: House Republicans on Friday unanimously voted down a bill that would have raised the minimum wage. Six Democrats joined them in defeating the effort. The vote came after a surprise move by Democrats, who tacked onto a jobs training program bill an amendment that would have brought the national $7.25 minimum wage to $10.10 by [...]/p

The Progressive Caucus’ Budget Invests Where It Matters

The Progressive Caucus’ Budget Invests Where It Matters: Earlier this week, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) released a budget proposal that would undermine America’s long-term economic growth and competitiveness by slashing critical investments in education, science and technology, and infrastructure. If Ryan’s budget is an example of what not to do, the budget (PDF) proposed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus is a great example [...]/p

An Open Challenge to Michelle Rhee and the Corporate Education Zombies | Common Dreams

An Open Challenge to Michelle Rhee and the Corporate Education Zombies | Common Dreams
"Rhee, the prominent corporate education reform advocate, former D.C. Public Schools Chancellor, and CEO of the ironically-named “Students First” organization, now has Seattle in her crosshairs. In her March 5thop-ed for the Seattle Times, Rhee berated teachers at Garfield and other Seattle schools for their boycott of the district required MAP test."

Path to Prosperity? How about Path of Austerity | Economic Policy Institute

Path to Prosperity? How about Path of Austerity | Economic Policy Institute
"Paul Ryan’s FY2014 budget alternative was released earlier this week, and though titled Path to Prosperity, a more appropriate title would be “Path of Austerity"."

Report Reveals JP Morgan as a Lying, Scheming Rogue Trader (Quelle Surprise!) | Common Dreams

Report Reveals JP Morgan as a Lying, Scheming Rogue Trader (Quelle Surprise!) | Common Dreams
"The first stunner, that JP Morgan was restating the first quarter financials, should have caused a deafening ringing of alarm bells. For a company of JP Morgan’s stature to be compelled to restate prior period financials is a very clear signal of bigger problems with their overall financial reporting. In isolation we would normally expect to see a massive selloff with an event of that seriousness. Analysts and reporters may have missed the significance since it was dropped into a footnote and overshadowed by the other disclosures. …

But the real cause for alarm is the reason for the restatement. JPM was forced to disclose that it relied on its traders to provide honest and accurate valuations for its financial statement disclosures. That’s like putting the foxes in charge of not just the henhouse, but the entire farm."

Teachers Prepare 'Civil Disobedience' Tactics to Fight School Closings | Common Dreams

Teachers Prepare 'Civil Disobedience' Tactics to Fight School Closings | Common Dreams
"An announcement from Chicago this week reveals that teachers are preparing to ramp up their fight to save the shuttering of as many as 129 schools across the city, putting their bodies on the line in order to fight back on behalf of their students and the communities where they teach."

How Arctic Ice Loss Amplified Superstorm Sandy — Oceanography Journal

How Arctic Ice Loss Amplified Superstorm Sandy — Oceanography Journal: We’ve written extensively about how global warming worsened the impact of Superstorm Sandy. Now a new article, “Superstorm Sandy: A Series of Unfortunate Events?” (PDF here) connects the dots even more explicitly: Cornell and Rutgers researchers report in the March issue of Oceanography that the severe loss of summertime Arctic sea ice — attributed to [...]/p

The Plan To Save The Middle Class & Trim The Deficit

What's Not to Like? It Raises Needed Revenues and Curbs the Beasts of Wall Street | Common Dreams

What's Not to Like? It Raises Needed Revenues and Curbs the Beasts of Wall Street | Common Dreams
"Let’s get one thing straight: The United States doesn’t have a public debt problem. Net interest payments on the federal public debt are less than 1 percent of GDP [PDF], which is about as low as they have been in the post-World War II era.  In the long run, projected debt problems are a result of rising health care costs  – driven by the private sector – and would disappear if we were to reduce these costs to the level of other high-income countries."

Low-Income Kids Are Being Kicked Out Of Their Preschool Programs Thanks To Sequestration

Low-Income Kids Are Being Kicked Out Of Their Preschool Programs Thanks To Sequestration: The early childhood education program Head Start provides educational opportunities specifically to low-income kids. But 70,000 of those students will lose the opportunity to be in the program, thanks to the drastic reductions in funding triggered by this month’s across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration. Reports are beginning to roll in about how children will [...]/p

New 'Costs of War' Report: Hundreds of Thousands Dead, Trillions Spent | Common Dreams

New 'Costs of War' Report: Hundreds of Thousands Dead, Trillions Spent | Common Dreams
"As the ten year anniversary of the US invasion approaches, updated research shows that both the human and financial costs of the preemptive and prolonged military adventure in Iraq are higher than the most Americans even now realize and astronomically higher than its proponents assured the public as they made their case for war a decade ago."

Superheated American City Dealing with 110 Degrees for 33 Days -- Phoenix Confronts Apocalyptic Climate Change | Alternet

Superheated American City Dealing with 110 Degrees for 33 Days -- Phoenix Confronts Apocalyptic Climate Change | Alternet
"Horrific heat, droughts, windstorms, water shortages and forest fires will plague nation's 13th largest city."

Study: Iraq War Cost U.S. $2.2 Trillion, Claimed Nearly 200,000 Lives

Study: Iraq War Cost U.S. $2.2 Trillion, Claimed Nearly 200,000 Lives: A new report by the “Costs of War” project at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies finds that nearly 200,000 people, including soldiers and civilians, were killed in the war in Iraq President George W. Bush launched 10 years ago. The report also found that American taxpayers will ultimately spend roughly $2.2 trillion on [...]/p

Memo to Washington: Private Debt Threatens Our Economy, Not Government Deficits | Alternet

Memo to Washington: Private Debt Threatens Our Economy, Not Government Deficits | Alternet
"The debt we are talking about is private-sector debt. But most officials this afternoon focus on government debt and budget deficits as the problem – especially social spending such as Social Security, not bailouts to the banks and Federal Reserve credit to re-inflate prices for real estate, stocks and bonds."

Back To 1948: Ryan’s Fantasy Budget Cuts Spending To Its Lowest Level In 65 Years

Back To 1948: Ryan’s Fantasy Budget Cuts Spending To Its Lowest Level In 65 Years: Over at Investors.com, Jed Graham ran the numbers on Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) new budget for the House GOP, and found that by 2023, it would drive all government spending that isn’t either Social Security or interest on the debt to its lowest level since 1948. On only three other occasions in the last 60 [...]/p

Why Climate Change Matters: A Three-Minute Analogy

Inequality and the Social Security Debate | Common Dreams

Inequality and the Social Security Debate | Common Dreams
"Next time you see one of these CEOs on TV lecturing about belt-tightening, keep in mind who’s talking. The stakes in this debate are extremely high for ordinary Americans who work hard every day but still have to worry about their retirement security. For CEOs with mega-million retirement funds, there’s not much to lose."

Ryan v. the Congressional Progressive Caucus | Alternet

Ryan v. the Congressional Progressive Caucus | Alternet
"For those who take a look, the contrast will open your eyes.

Both parties agree that we suffer from mass unemployment, declining wages, and growing inequality. Both agree that rising future deficits should be addressed. But they offer completely different responses to these realities."

The ‘Back to Work’ budget: Analysis of the Congressional Progressive Caucus budget for fiscal year 2014 | Economic Policy Institute

The ‘Back to Work’ budget: Analysis of the Congressional Progressive Caucus budget for fiscal year 2014 | Economic Policy Institute
"It builds on recent CPC budget alternatives in prioritizing near-term job creation, financing public investments, strengthening the middle class, raising adequate revenue to meet budgetary needs while restoring fairness to the tax code, protecting social insurance programs, and ensuring fiscal sustainability."

Right-Wing Group Spent At Least $300,000 To Keep Scott Walker Ally on Wisconsin Supreme Court

Right-Wing Group Spent At Least $300,000 To Keep Scott Walker Ally on Wisconsin Supreme Court: The Club for Growth, a right-wing group that supports tax cuts for the rich, privatizing Social Security and writing Tea Party ideology into the Constitution, spent $300,000 to keep a key ally of anti-union Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) on the Wisconsin Supreme Court — and that was just in the primary: Now, another member of [...]/p

Doomed: Phoenix Arizona Sits Squarely in Climate Change Crosshairs | Alternet

Doomed: Phoenix Arizona Sits Squarely in Climate Change Crosshairs | Alternet
"Phoenix’s pyramid of complexities looks shakier than most because it stands squarely in the crosshairs of climate change. The area, like  much of the rest of the American Southwest, is already hot and dry; it’s getting ever hotter and drier, and is increasingly battered by powerful storms. Sandy and Katrina previewed how coastal cities can expect to fare as seas rise and storms strengthen. Phoenix pulls back the curtain on the future of inland empires. If you want a taste of the brutal new climate to come, the place to look is where that climate is already harsh, and growing more so -- the aptly named Valley of the Sun."

Progressive Caucus Budget Includes Tax On Risky Trading, Investments To Boost Economy

Progressive Caucus Budget Includes Tax On Risky Trading, Investments To Boost Economy: The Congressional Progressive Caucus introduced a budget this week that it says would bring total deficit reduction to $4.4 trillion through defense cuts, new revenues, and economic growth that would result from measures to boost the economy and education. It includes a substantial amount of revenue through the closure of tax loopholes and new taxes [...]/p

Koch Brothers: Vulture Capitalists

Cable News Obsessively Covers Cuts To White House Tours, Virtually Ignores Cuts To Programs For The Poor

Cable News Obsessively Covers Cuts To White House Tours, Virtually Ignores Cuts To Programs For The Poor: Thanks to Congressional gridlock, automatic budget cuts took effect 14 days ago, threatening 700,000 jobs and gutting funds for vital programs in housing assistance, early childhood education, disaster relief, and national security. Secret Service staffing was also impacted, prompting the cancellation of White House tours last week. Republicans immediately attacked the decision as a political [...]/p

Progressive 'Back to Work' Budget Wins Praise for Anti-Austerity Approach | Common Dreams

Progressive 'Back to Work' Budget Wins Praise for Anti-Austerity Approach | Common Dreams
"In the midst of ongoing hysteria about a 'non-existent deficit crisis' in Washington, the Congressional Progressive Caucus on Wednesday unveiled an alternative approach to destructive austerity economics by releasing their 'Back to Work Budget' plan for 2014."

The Cruel Gap Between CEO Pay and the Stagnant Minimum Wage | Common Dreams

The Cruel Gap Between CEO Pay and the Stagnant Minimum Wage | Common Dreams
"It is time for a movement of the people to restore a level of minimal fairness to the compensation of working Americans and catch up with 1968."

Familiar Lies Return In Republican Rerun

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Gag Order: Town Board Decides Community Can No Longer Discuss Fracking at Town Meetings | Alternet

Gag Order: Town Board Decides Community Can No Longer Discuss Fracking at Town Meetings | Alternet
"Still, I had never heard of a town that actually imposed a gag order on its own citizens, until the Natural Resources Defense Council (which publishes OnEarth) received complaints about a town board in Sanford, New York (population: 2,400), that told its residents they could no longer bring up concerns about fracking at town meetings."

Charles Koch Reflects on Last Election, Promises to Do More to 'Persuade Politicians' | The Nation

Charles Koch Reflects on Last Election, Promises to Do More to 'Persuade Politicians' | The Nation
"Why the obsession with global warming? The “freedom” Koch discusses seems to relate to the freedom to pollute. Koch’s business empire, according to an estimate by Brad Johnson, emits several hundred milliontons of carbon dioxide a year. The political suppression of climate science, and any reasonable response to the climate crisis, clearly benefits Koch Industries’ bottom line—and such selfish lobbying at the expense of the common good is the very worst example of crony capitalism."

South Carolina Republican Suggests GOP Opposes Medicaid Expansion Because Obama Is Black

South Carolina Republican Suggests GOP Opposes Medicaid Expansion Because Obama Is Black: On Tuesday, the South Carolina House rejected extra Obamacare funding for the state’s Medicaid program. One Republican legislator offered a novel reason for the Republican majority’s decision: the President’s race. State Rep. Kris Crawford’s comments came during the early stages of the state Medicaid debate in late January. Crawford suggested that it was politically beneficial [...]/p

Portland, Oregon Becomes Fourth American City To Adopt Paid Sick Day Law

Portland, Oregon Becomes Fourth American City To Adopt Paid Sick Day Law: Portland became the fourth American city to approve a paid sick days law Wednesday, an important step forward today that will help the city’s workers, employers, and residents. Portland joined three other cities – San [...]/p

Senate Democratic Budget Reduces Deficit By $1.85 Trillion, Half From Revenue

Senate Democratic Budget Reduces Deficit By $1.85 Trillion, Half From Revenue: A day after House Republicans outlined their budget proposal for fiscal year 2014, Senate Democrats unveiled a broad outline of their budget, which Senate Budget Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) said will reduce the deficit to less than three percent of gross domestic product while bringing total deficit reduction to $4.2 trillion over the last [...]/p

Conservatives: The New Taliban

Conservatives: The New Taliban
"And don't for a minute think that it's really all about religion. Religion is just used to manipulate the useful idiots. It's really about money, power, and control. And that can only be held by thugs like the Taliban when the people are kept poor and stupid.

Here in America, there's a new Taliban rising. They fetishize guns, just like the Afghan Taliban. They fear women and education. They want to keep the people stupid and in chains.

They're the plutocrats and the billionaires who rose to power on the heels of Reagan's trickle-down economics. And now, what's trickling down to us is their stupidity."

Katrina Vanden Heuvel: Taking Paul Ryan Seriously Is Dangerous

Katrina Vanden Heuvel: Taking Paul Ryan Seriously Is Dangerous
"There were a lot of good points made about Ryan's ridiculous op-ed in The Wall Street Journal and the fact that he just wants to go after programs that help the poor, the elderly and the most vulnerable in our society and that his "budget" has a lot of numbers that don't add up."

How ALEC Is Fueling Efforts To Block Paid Sick Leave And Other Pro-Worker Policies

How ALEC Is Fueling Efforts To Block Paid Sick Leave And Other Pro-Worker Policies: The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which has been described as a “collaboration between multinational corporations and conservative state legislators”, is waging a campaign against workers, especially those in minimum wage jobs with few to no benefits. The National [...]/p

McConnell: GOP Will Likely Take Debt Ceiling Hostage For Spending Cuts — Again

McConnell: GOP Will Likely Take Debt Ceiling Hostage For Spending Cuts — Again: Republicans and Democrats agreed to increase the debt ceiling for three months at the end of January, but with another deadline approaching in May, the top Senate Republican is hinting that the GOP will again demand spending cuts in exchange for any increase. That is par for the course for Republicans, who have repeatedly threatened [...]/p

Republican Reversal On Science, Energy, Puts US At Disadvantage

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Wave of "Ag Gag" Bills Threaten Food Safety and Freedom of the Press

Wave of "Ag Gag" Bills Threaten Food Safety and Freedom of the Press
"In its original form, the "ag gag" bill was a blatant violation of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and expression and would have quashed the right of independent investigators to document the truth. So legislators in Iowa and Utah changed the bills to make lying on employment applications a crime. Now factory farms and slaughterhouses can screen out reporters and other investigators by asking on job applications, "Are you affiliated with a news organization, labor union, or animal protection group"?"

Postal Union Members Rally Against 'Death Spiral of Cuts and Closures' | Common Dreams

Postal Union Members Rally Against 'Death Spiral of Cuts and Closures' | Common Dreams
"With Congress weeks away from deciding the fate of Saturday Postal Service delivery, some postal union members are saying the fight must be not only about saving six-day delivery but about stopping the multi-pronged assault on the postal system including privatization efforts."

Raise The Minimum Wage

Paul Ryan, a.k.a. Scrooge, Needs Both a Reality and a Humanity Check | Alternet

Paul Ryan, a.k.a. Scrooge, Needs Both a Reality and a Humanity Check | Alternet
"Someone needs to tell Paul Ryan that his party -- and the economic platform of austerity and plutocracy he crafted for it -- lost a national election last year."

Ryan Budget Remains Political Liability For GOP In 2014

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