Tuesday, December 31, 2013

On Christmas, Republicans Quietly Declare War on Themselves

www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/on-christmas-republicans-quietly-declare-war-on-themselves-20131230
"The news came in the Wall Street Journal, where the Chamber of Commerce disclosed that it will be teaming up with Republican establishment leaders to spend $50 million in an effort to stem the tide of “fools” who have overwhelmed Republican ballots in recent seasons."

Republicans Are Betting on a Losing Strategy in 2014 | Common Dreams

Republicans Are Betting on a Losing Strategy in 2014 | Common Dreams
"The shutdown, the sequester, and now the cruel cancellation of unemployment benefits during Christmas hurts many of the same people the Republicans want to court."

Tea Party activists discuss Obama’s plot with alien lifeforms to help his approval ratings

www.freakoutnation.com/2013/12/30/tea-party-activists-discuss-obamas-plot-with-alien-lifeforms-to-help-his-approval-ratings/
"Conservative activist Jim Garrow, who insists that he’s a former covert CIA operative, and knows that President Obama killed Andrew Breitbart (he knows it for a fact), appeared on Erik Rush’s radio show to promote the Operation American Spring rally, where he predicted the President is in touch with alien life forms."

Why Republicans Don’t Believe In Evolution Anymore

www.thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/12/31/3108741/republicans-evolution-demographics/
"There are two keys to understanding what the Pew poll teaches us about Republicans. First, the drop in belief in evolution is among Republicans and, more or less, Republicans only. Acceptance of human evolution was basically the same among Democrats and independents in 2013 as it was in 2009. Second, the share of the total population that believes in evolution hasn’t changed at all. The drop in Republican belief doesn’t appear to be people changing their minds about evolution so much as people who already didn’t believe in evolution becoming Republicans.
Why might that be? The obvious explanation is the changing character of the Republican base."

The National Memo » Call It A Comeback: More Than 9 Million Americans Have Health Insurance Through Obamacare

The National Memo » Call It A Comeback: More Than 9 Million Americans Have Health Insurance Through Obamacare
"After two months of barely functioning, the federal online health care exchanges delivered, racking up 975,000 enrollments in the month of December. That brings the total number of people who have picked a plan through an exchange since October 1 to about two million. The administration reached about two-thirds of its goal of enrolling 3.3 million by the end of 2013 after being fully operational one-third of the time. And it turns out most of the enrollments came during the one-week extension the White House gave itself after the initial problems with the site became apparent.
Four million people have qualified for Medicaid, according to ACASignups.net. Another 3.1 million young adults are covered by their parents’ health insurance, thanks to a provision in the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
This means over nine million people have gained coverage through the ACA since it first became law."

The 8 Most Absurd Things the Right Wing Did This Year

www.alternet.org/8-most-absurd-things-right-wing-did-year
"From Megyn Kelly's freak out over Santa Claus to GOP efforts to kill Obamacare -- here's the worst of the worst."

Monday, December 30, 2013

The Republican Autopsy Report Revisited: 5 Ways The GOP Got Worse In 2013 | Right Wing Watch

The Republican Autopsy Report Revisited: 5 Ways The GOP Got Worse In 2013 | Right Wing Watch
"After a devastating loss in 2012, Republicans claimed that they didn’t need to change themselves or their platform, but only cosmetic attributes such as their rhetoric and presentation. Other right-wing activists simply pretended that Republicans actually won the last election.
But if the actions taken this year by Republican leaders are any clue, it looks like Republicans either ignored or outright rejected even the superficial recommendations made in the GOP’s plan to revive the party"

The 10 biggest GOP rebranding fails of 2013

The 10 biggest GOP rebranding fails of 2013
"In March of this year, just a few months after the party’s drubbing in the 2012 elections, the Republican National Committee released its much-anticipated “autopsy” report. The goal of the report was to explain the GOP’s 2012 failure and to recommend changes the party could make to improve its chances in the future. On both counts, the authors concluded, the answer was inclusiveness — or the lack thereof. If the GOP were to stay competitive on the national level, it would be necessary to change the way many voters (young and Latino ones, especially) saw the party. And in order to do that, the Republican Party would, as the authors put it, have to “stop talking to itself.” It was time to rebrand.
Nine months later, however, it’s hard to conclude that the GOP’s rebranding effort has been anything other than an abysmal failure."

All In All-Star Show: Voting Rights Act

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Living in a red state is hazardous to your health

www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/26/1256778/-Living-in-a-red-state-is-hazardous-to-your-nbsp-health
"Of the 25 states above the national average, 19 are blue and just six are red. Of the 25 states below the national average, 17 are red and just eight are blue.
Environmental policies, access to health insurance, workplace safety regulations ... these things matter. They are literally a matter of life and death. And it's clear that conservatism is hazardous to your health."

Seems like the Pope Has Conservative Paul Ryan Rattled

www.alternet.org/economy/paul-ryan-lectures-pope-about-capitalism
"Sure, a lot of Republicans share blame with Ryan. But he deserves extra-special (negative) credit for the deal, because he has lately had the audacity to depict himself as the new face of “compassionate conservatism,” insisting Republicans must pay attention to the problems of the poor. Friends say the man who once worshipped Ayn Rand now takes Pope Francis as his moral role model. Except he can’t help treating his new role model with arrogance and contempt."

Pope Francis Is Hated By Conservatives, But Americans Approve Of Him By A Landslide

www.addictinginfo.org/2013/12/24/pope-francis-is-hated-by-conservatives-but-americans-approve-of-him-by-a-landslide/
"Pope Francis has taken up the plight of the poor and immigrants. He supports protecting the environment. He has called for putting a stop to hating homosexuals. He has been a progressive on women’s rights. And he has attacked trickle-down economics as a “tyranny.” In addition, he has also condemned obsessive ideology and those Christians who think they are superior to others. In short, Pope Francis represents everything that conservatives hate."

What America Would Look Like If Libertarians Got Their Way

www.alternet.org/what-america-would-look-if-libertarians-got-their-way?paging=off&current_page=1#bookmark
"A North America dotted with Third World colonies. And a blighted landscape where Others are subjugated to Owners."

Ted Cruz Just Admits Outright that Blocking Immigration Reform in 2014 Is About Helping GOP

www.alternet.org/immigration/ted-cruz-just-admits-outright-blocking-immigration-reform-2014-about-helping-gop
"Cruz said he hopes that Speaker John Boehner will not take on immigration reform next year. Doing so, Cruz argued, would diminish the “incredible opportunity to retake the Senate in 2014.” Cruz emphasized that he is focused on winning the Senate majority from Democrats, and said passing immigration reform legislation would be the “number one thing Republicans could do to mess that up"."

Meet The Man Who Told The GOP How To Destroy America’s Middle Class

www.addictinginfo.org/2013/12/26/powell-memo-gop-blueprint/
"The Powell Memo came up with the plan, the blueprint. Based on the ideas presented in the Powell Memo, the Republican party created think tanks responsible for dispersing misleading information with a false cloak of authenticity. The Heritage Foundation is a classic example of this."

NYT Benghazi Bombshell: Embassy Attack Spurred by Anti-Islam Video

NYT Benghazi Bombshell: Embassy Attack Spurred by Anti-Islam Video
"Right-wing conspiracy theorists were dealt a heavy blow today by The New York Times, as actual investigative journalism reared its head"

Darrell Issa Hid The Truth About Benghazi For a Year While Attacking President Obama

www.politicususa.com/2013/12/29/darrell-issa-hid-truth-benghazi-year-attacking-president-obama.html
"The current scandal in Washington is that slimy crook Darrell Issa who has had the same information the New York Times reported for over a year and sat on his ass wasting taxpayer time and money pursuing Barack Obama."

The National Memo » America’s Greediest: The Koch Brothers, The ‘Libertarians’ Who Hate The Free Market

The National Memo » America’s Greediest: The Koch Brothers, The ‘Libertarians’ Who Hate The Free Market
"While the Kochs insist that their goal is freedom, their agenda seems entirely based on policies that increase economic inequality and make it easy for carbon polluters like Koch Industries to continue their unfettered domination of energy markets.
Perhaps the best example of the Kochs’ hypocrisy comes in their war on solar power.
While the Kochs spent millions to try to put politicians in office who have vowed to never raise taxes on the rich or anyone, the billionaires are aiding efforts to “tax the sun” in an effort to squash the nascent solar industry."

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Conservatives' Quagmire: The War on Christmas | Common Dreams

Conservatives' Quagmire: The War on Christmas | Common Dreams
"The annual "war on Christmas" took an unexpected twist this holiday season, when the UK-based website the Freethinker published the ironic headline "First known casualty in America's 2013 'War on Xmas' turns out to be a Salvation Army member". A woman attacked a bell ringer in Phoenix, Arizona because she was angry at being wished a "Happy Holidays" instead of honoring Jesus' birth by saying "Merry Christmas"."

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Friday, December 20, 2013

Southern Republicans Drag the Rest of the Nation Down by Doing the Kochs’ Bidding

www.politicususa.com/2013/12/19/southern-republicans-drag-rest-nation-kochs-bidding.html
"One of the reasons America has become a third-world nation is three decades of Republican trickle-down economics, the monopolization, privatization and deregulation of industry, and decimation of labor protection has sent 50 million Americans into wretched poverty while all the wealth has risen to the top 1% of income earners instead of investing in America. In fact, the destruction of labor has gotten so bad that real first-world nations offshore their jobs to the American South making this country the new Indonesia because foreign corporations look at America as having one of the world’s cheapest labor forces on the planet; solely because of the non-unionized, right to work for less Southern states."

Thursday, December 19, 2013

The GOP Is a Cult Worthy of Jim Jones

The GOP Is a Cult Worthy of Jim Jones
"From taking away health care and food, to failing to fight climate change or give unemployed Americans assistance, Republicans are effectively killing off the very people who have helped put them in positions of power.
 If that doesn't scream cult, I don't know what does..."

PERRspectives: GOP Releases Government, Takes U.S. Economy Hostage Again

PERRspectives: GOP Releases Government, Takes U.S. Economy Hostage Again
"That was quick. Just two days after he joined House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) in lashing out against right-wing extremists who threatened to trigger another government shutdown by blocking his compromise budget, Rep. Paul Ryan on Sunday promised to support the Tea Party's other favorite act of national economic blackmail. Despite the fact that both Ryan and Boehner have admitted "we have no immediate debt crisis" and that "you can't not raise the debt limit" because that "would be a financial disaster, not only for our country but for the worldwide economy," Ryan on Sunday threatened to do just that."

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Republican To Concede In VA Attorney General Race

Republican To Concede In VA Attorney General Race
"Obenshain's concession means all statewide offices in Virginia will be held by Democrats, a welcome change from the administration of Bob McDonnell and Ken Cuccinelli."

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Senate GOP Meeting Tuesday to Figure Out How to Block More Nominees | Alternet

Senate GOP Meeting Tuesday to Figure Out How to Block More Nominees | Alternet
"Senate Republicans aren't sure yet how they're going to try to continue to block President Obama's nominees, now that they can't filibuster them on the floor. But what they do know is that they want to keep blocking the nominations."

Thursday, December 12, 2013

As It Turns Out, There Still Is a Vast Right Wing Conspiracy - The Many Friends of ALEC

As It Turns Out, There Still Is a Vast Right Wing Conspiracy - The Many Friends of ALEC
"Meanwhile, newly revealed documents show that legislators who co-chair ALEC committees must sign a State Chair Job Description and Agreement. Among other things, state legislator chairs agree to "act with care and loyalty and put the interests of the organization [ALEC] first." Another provision says: "Legislators must inform ALEC of any public records / FOIA requests that include ALEC documents"."

6 Reasons There's No Such Thing As Compassionate Conservatism | Alternet

6 Reasons There's No Such Thing As Compassionate Conservatism | Alternet
"Conservatives worship Ayn Rand, who said it was morally wrong to help people. How's that for compassionate?"

Saturday, December 7, 2013

PERRspectives: Red States Face Triple Whammy from GOP Medicaid Rejection

PERRspectives: Red States Face Triple Whammy from GOP Medicaid Rejection
"In Ohio, Governor John Kasich's decision to take Washington's money will actually produce a $400 million surplus for the Buckeye State (one which Republican legislators want to give away in the form of more tax cuts). The simple math-and simpler consideration in insuring millions of indigent patients as the DSH funding is reduced over time is precisely why hospital associations in Texas, Kentucky, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and every other state pleaded with Republican governors and legislatures to take Obamacare's money for Medicaid expansion."

Latest Phony Obamacare ‘Horror Story’ Destroyed By Chris Hayes

www.addictinginfo.org/2013/12/05/cornelius-kelly-fox-obamacare-baby/
"The Capital New York story brings up two points that the Fox News coverage managed to leave out. First, they point out that Cornelius Kelly’s original application only listed three of his four children. The second gap in the Fox coverage may be the most important: Cornelius Kelly is a failed Conservative Party candidate for the Suffolk County legislature. So he’s not exactly the unbiased American citizen that Fox News wants you to think he is."

FBI searches former Michele Bachmann campaign staffer’s home

www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/04/fbi-searches-former-michele-bachmann-campaign-staffers-home/
"Bachmann, a four-term incumbent in Congress, has insisted her decision not to seek another re-election is not related to her own ethics investigation, which landed her on the annual list of “most corrupt” lawmakers by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) in September 2013."

Secretive Right-Wing Group Continues Its War On Clean Energy

www.thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/05/3022271/alec-solar-clean-energy-freeriders/
"The next day, the paper explained how ALEC “is mobilizing to penalize homeowners who install their own solar panels — casting them as “freeriders” — in a sweeping new offensive against renewable energy”."

Rick Santorum Compares Obamacare To Apartheid, Himself To Nelson Mandela (VIDEO)

www.addictinginfo.org/2013/12/06/santorum-obamacare-mandela-apartheid/
"They are so obsessed with destroying the signature legislative achievement of America’s first African-American President, that they are willing to say and do anything to topple it. To date, Republicans have compared Obamacare to Hitler, Stalin, Nazism, communism, slavery, the 9/11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and the Holocaust, just to name a few. And now, Rick Santorum has added apartheid to the big list. Republicans oppose Americans having health care so much that they are literally picking any terrible thing throughout history to compare it to in an effort to scare people from supporting it. That’s a true injustice that Nelson Mandela would be disgusted by and so should most Americans."

Ted Cruz posts Mandela tribute on Facebook. His fans go crazy.

www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/06/1260642/-Ted-Cruz-posts-Mandela-tribute-on-Facebook-His-fans-go-crazy
"Just ... sad."

The Right Wing’s Campaign To Discredit And Undermine Mandela, In One Timeline

www.thinkprogress.org/home/2013/12/06/3029871/wing-timeline-mandela/
"After President Jimmy Carter imposed sanctions on South Africa Reagan reversed course, labeling the African National Congress a terrorist organization."

Remembering The Religious Right's Attacks On Nelson Mandela | Right Wing Watch

Remembering The Religious Right's Attacks On Nelson Mandela | Right Wing Watch
"Mandela faced criticism from Republican leaders including Dick Cheney, who described Mandela’s ANC as a “terrorist organization,” and Jesse Helms, who “turned his back during Mandela’s visit to the U.S. Capitol.” Even in 1998, Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly lumped Mandela together with notorious dictators.
The late Jerry Falwell urged [PDF] his supporters to write their congressmen and senators to tell them to oppose sanctions against the apartheid regime."

Will Local Media Cover ALEC Now That Its Agenda Has Been Exposed?

www.mediamatters.org/blog/2013/12/04/will-local-media-cover-alec-now-that-its-agenda/197145
"As legislative sessions begin next year, will state media outlets begin to question legislation offered by their state representatives, especially those who are known to be members of ALEC? Will state media outlets question their ALEC state chairmen about the loyalty oath and whether they are putting the interests of ALEC interests above those of their state and constituents?"

Rick Santorum Compares Obamacare To Apartheid

www.thinkprogress.org/health/2013/12/06/3030141/rick-santorum-obamacare-mandela/
"Comparing apartheid — the systematic, institutionalized segregation of the black population of South Africa — to Obamacare — the signature legislative achievement of the United States’ first black president — is among the worst reactions by conservatives to the news of Mandela’s passing. And implying that Mandela would have opposed legislation like the Affordable Care Act is to ignore the reality of the health care system that Mandela himself fought for.
After bringing an end to apartheid rule, Mandela enshrined in the new South African constitution a fundamental right to health care for all citizens, and introduced a government-funded public health care system to help cover those who could not afford the private system already in place."

Republicans feel a need to train their men to talk to women

www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/05/1260319/-Republicans-feel-a-need-to-train-their-men-to-talk-to-women
"Republican incumbents facing challenges from Democratic women are being given lessons in messaging against women ... er, messaging against women opponents. The problem is that they're already too good at messaging against women, so now they need to learn to cover up some of the condescension and pretend their policies won't hurt, yes, women."

Friday, December 6, 2013

Koch Networks Fueled 2012 Dark Money Machine

Koch Networks Fueled 2012 Dark Money Machine
"According to Open Secrets, Koch-funded organizations represented one-quarter of the dark money spent in 2012. That's one-quarter of all dark money, not just conservative funding."

Here's ALEC's Plan To Bring Right Wing Policies To States Near You

Here's ALEC's Plan To Bring Right Wing Policies To States Near You
"The documents not only show these organizations' plans for how to serve their oligarchs at the expense of ordinary people, they also reveal a player most people don't hear much about: Searle Freedom Trust. Searle Freedom Trust is closely tied to Donor's Trust, the donor-advised slush fund for conservative causes."

How the Christian Right Plays Victim While Imposing Its Ideology on America | Alternet

How the Christian Right Plays Victim While Imposing Its Ideology on America | Alternet
"Why does every religious-right publication and event echo the claim that right-wing Christians are somehow being stripped of the very right to religious freedom the right has worked tirelessly to take from everyone else for decades?
The simple answer is they’re lying. Claiming the mantle of victimhood is so politically potent that religious-right leaders are going to do it, no matter how untrue it is, because, to be blunt, they’re not held back by any moral interest in honesty. Getting Grandma to think she's going to lose her church is a great way to get her to sign her Social Security check over to your organization."

Thursday, December 5, 2013

The lifecycle of an Obamacare lie

Army of Rightwing Groups Plan Assault on State Laws in 2014 | Common Dreams

Army of Rightwing Groups Plan Assault on State Laws in 2014 | Common Dreams
"The documents also cast light on the nexus of funding arrangements behind radical rightwing campaigns. The State Policy Network (SPN) has members in each of the 50 states and an annual warchest of $83m drawn from major corporate donors that include the energy tycoons the Koch brothers, the tobacco company Philip Morris, food giant Kraft and the multinational drugs company GlaxoSmithKline."

Rep. Chaffetz Makes Excuses for Refusal to Raise Minimum Wage

Rep. Chaffetz Makes Excuses for Refusal to Raise Minimum Wage
"Never mind that the minimum wage would be $22.62 per hour today if it had grown at the same rate as the earnings of the one percent. Never mind that most minimum wage earners are adults. Never mind that most Americans favor raising the minimum wage. That wasn't going to stop Rep. Jason Chaffetz from defending the Republicans' skewed priorities in the House of Representatives to host Stephanie Cutter on this Wednesday's Crossfire, or pretending that raising it would keep companies from hiring teenagers."

Georgia School 'Terrorized' After Fox News False 'Christmas' Report

Georgia School 'Terrorized' After Fox News False 'Christmas' Report
"Last month, members of school board in South Dakota said that they received death threats after Fox News falsely reported that they had voted to drop the Pledge of Allegiance at schools."

Ohio GOP Resurrects Voter Suppression Efforts | The Nation

Ohio GOP Resurrects Voter Suppression Efforts | The Nation
"But now Ohio Republicans are once again resurrecting efforts to make it harder to vote. Last month, the GOP-controlled Ohio Senate, on a party-line vote, voted to cut early voting by a week, eliminating the “Golden Week” when Ohioans can register and vote on the same day during the early voting period (Senate Bill 238). The legislation was introduced and passed in one week, with almost no time for substantive debate."

Trickle-Down Economics and Broken Promises

www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/report/2013/12/04/80381/trickle-down-economics-and-broken-promises/
"Yet empirical economic data show that these misguided policies did not deliver on their promises, as our nation’s economy after the tax increases of 1993 significantly outperformed the periods after tax cuts in the 1980s and 2000s. Investment growth, productivity growth, employment growth, middle-class income growth, national fiscal health, and overall economic growth were weaker or declined under trickle-down policies."

Republicans Vote Against Their Own Survival as the Top 14 Child Poverty States Are Red

www.politicususa.com/2013/12/04/republicans-vote-survival-top-14-child-poverty-states-red.html
"The top fourteen states with the highest percentage of children living in dire poverty are deeply-held red states and far exceed the humiliating national child poverty rate of nearly 24%."

New Guardian Docs Show ALEC Misled Press, Public

New Guardian Docs Show ALEC Misled Press, Public
"Internal documents from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) published by The Guardian provide stunning insight into the inner workings of the "corporate bill mill" -- and offer new evidence about how the group has continually misled reporters, the public, and even its own members."

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

113th Congress Set To Be Least Productive In History; GOP Proud Of Their Do Nothing Record

www.addictinginfo.org/2013/12/04/113th-congress-set-least-productive-history-gop-sees-bragging-point/
"It’s no secret that republicans in the House and Senate view the government as the enemy. We should make no mistakes about it. They are there to prevent the government from functioning, not to help it function better. They don’t want to streamline government functions, they want to do whatever they can to keep the government from functioning at all. The fact that they see the complete failure of the 113th Congress to carry out its duties as bragging points, just proves that they don’t belong in government at all."

Remember All Those Obamacare Horror Stories? Not Looking So Bad Now | Alternet

Remember All Those Obamacare Horror Stories? Not Looking So Bad Now | Alternet
"In the absence of facts, conservative media just made things up to fit their narrative."

Insurance Commissioner Compares Pre-Existing Conditions To Car Wrecks: ‘It’s Your Fault’

www.thinkprogress.org/health/2013/12/04/3020831/georgia-insurance-commissioner-pre-existing-fault/
"Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens (R) has a message for the estimated 57.2 million Americans suffering from diabetes, asthma, cancer, genetic disorders, and other pre-existing medical conditions: it’s your fault."

California Republicans Create Fake Healthcare Website To Mislead Constituents

www.addictinginfo.org/2013/12/03/california-republicans-create-fake-healthcare-website-mislead-constituents/
"Republicans have tried everything in their power to keep the ACA from taking effect. After more than 40 attempts to repeal the law, a failed Supreme Court challenge and a full blown shut down of the US government, they did not succeed. They tried to sabotage the law in every way possible, up to and including a “Destroy Obamacare” program, which was supposed to bring down the national ACA website.
What’s left for them now, except to create a fake healthcare website? They’ll try whatever they can to try to keep people from getting to the truth and then signing up for the ACA.
Misleading voters, billing taxpayers for right wing propaganda, using every kind of deceptive tactic they can think of… there’s really nothing new here. It’s habitual for the party that has no other options left. They can’t stand on the truth. Voters would never accept GOP policies if they were offered at face value. They can only hope that their low information base doesn’t catch on before the next election.
Since statistics show that more and more Republicans are signing up for the ACA every day, the odds of that happening are getting smaller and smaller."

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

CA Assembly GOP Puts Up Fake California Health Exchange Site

CA Assembly GOP Puts Up Fake California Health Exchange Site
"What we have here are elected officials intentionally trying to make California's health exchange fail, and using taxpayer dollars to misinform taxpayers, using the standard fear and loathing tactics as their linchpin."

DonorsTrust—the Right's Dark-Money ATM—Pumps Out Record $96 Million

www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/12/donors-trust-franklin-center-alec-mercatus-center-dark-money
"Wealthy conservatives use DonorsTrust as a surefire way to invest their money, fingerprint-free, with the assurance it will end up in the right hands."

The Fake Obamacare Site That Is Trying To Trick Californians

www.thinkprogress.org/health/2013/12/03/3012281/california-republicans-trick-voters-fake-obamacare-site/
"Despite the GOP’s effort to dissuade Californians from purchasing coverage, however, nearly 80,000 people signed up for health insurance in the state’s new exchange as of late November, with approximately 2,7000 people enrolling daily.
A disclaimer on the site — which is situated next to a link to the Assembly Republican Caucus — notes that “The California State Assembly does not warrant or make any representations as to the quality, content, accuracy, or completeness of the information, text, graphics, links and other items contained on this server or any other server.” Indeed."

Oh Hell, 16, 12, 8 — Put Those Worthless Kids to Work!

Oh Hell, 16, 12, 8 — Put Those Worthless Kids to Work!
"Republicans are determined to undo every labor reform we’ve had in this country since sweatshops burned to the ground. And trust me, they don’t mean having their own kids work. They mean your kids."

PERRspectives: GOP: Founding Fathers Created Defect-Free Constitution, Ended Scourge of Slavery

PERRspectives: GOP: Founding Fathers Created Defect-Free Constitution, Ended Scourge of Slavery
"The Republican National Committee's proclamation honoringRosa Park's "role in ending racism" is continuing to receive the scorn and derision it richly deserves. As it turns out, the GOP's attempt to literally whitewash American history is hardly its first."

Monday, December 2, 2013

ALEC’s Extreme Legislative Agenda for 2014

ALEC’s Extreme Legislative Agenda for 2014
"On ALEC's agenda for 2014 are the following priorities and bills (which will become official ALEC "models" once passed by the task forces -- with corporate lobbyists voting as equals alongside state legislators -- and approved by the board of directors)"

Republicans’ self-hatred swells: The GOP vs. its own base

Republicans’ self-hatred swells: The GOP vs. its own base
"Rick Santorum is unhappy that older people, who tend to vote Republican, are getting insurance via the ACA"

Where the Minimum Wage Would Be If It Kept Pace With the Earnings of the 1% | Alternet

Where the Minimum Wage Would Be If It Kept Pace With the Earnings of the 1% | Alternet
"Worker productivity has  more than doubled since 1968, and if the minimum wage had kept pace with productivity gains it would have been  $21.72 last year."

Conservative Claims About Minimum Wage Put To The Test After Town Increases It To $15

www.addictinginfo.org/2013/11/27/seatac-minimum-wage-raised-15/
"The residents of SeaTac, WA — a little hamlet of 27,667 people — are under attack by the Koch Brothers and affiliated right-wing groups, after the results of their last election. The reason why? The town dared to raise its minimum wage to $15 per hour."

The RNC Claims Rosa Parks Ended Racism, Demonstrating What’s Wrong with the GOP

www.politicususa.com/2013/12/01/rnc-claimes-rosa-parks-ended-racism-demonstrating-wrong-gop.html
"Racism isn’t dead. The Republican Party, abusers of the Southern Strategy, do their part to keep it alive with their rhetoric and their policies."

GOP Credits Rosa Parks For ‘Ending Racism’

www.thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/12/01/3007041/gop-credits-rosa-parks-ending-racism/
"Racism, of course, hasn’t ended and may have actually increased since the election of President Obama in 2008."

Ted Cruz Begins Sad Backtrack on the Importance of ACA Website as Site’s Issues Fade

www.forwardprogressives.com/ted-cruz-begins-sad-backtrack-on-the-importance-of-aca-website-as-sites-issues-fade/
"You had to know that this was coming.  After weeks and weeks of right-wing propaganda pointing to the failures of the Affordable Care Act website as the proof that “Obamacare” is a failure, now that it’s pretty much fixed and working, we’re going to start seeing Republicans minimize the importance of the functionality of the website.  Which is exactly what Ted Cruz’s sentiments were with his tweet where he said that a “Faulty website is but 1 symptom of Obamacare. In other words, “Damn, now that the website is working I won’t be able to use it to attack “Obamacare” so I need to downplay the importance of it.”
It’s just sad."

The Tea Party Will Likely Try To Manipulate Voting Machines in 2014 and 2016

www.politicususa.com/2013/12/01/tea-party-manipulate-voting-machines-2014-2016.html
"Can the theft of the 2014 and 2016 elections actually happen? Progressive Website ‘firedoglake’ certainly thinks so given this 2012 expose’ of the 2004 Bush/Kerry presidential race. According to the site, victory was snatched from Kerry in an action masterminded by Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell."

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Santorum Complains That 'Sicker, Older' People are Getting Insurance

Santorum Complains That 'Sicker, Older' People are Getting Insurance
"I don't know who Rick Santorum is trying to appeal to with this fearmongering on CNN's State of the Union this Saturday, but it seems to me he's taking aim straight at the GOP's base with his complaints about people over sixty now being able to get health insurance due to the Affordable Care Act."

10 Outrages and Crazy Statements by Right-Wingers This Week: Pope Provokes Free-Market Freakout | Alternet

10 Outrages and Crazy Statements by Right-Wingers This Week: Pope Provokes Free-Market Freakout | Alternet
"Before the Thanksgiving floats, there was the usual parade of right-wing nuts this week, many of whom became apoplectic after Pope Francis’ much-publicized Joy of the Gospel document, which critiqued unfettered capitalism and insinuated that thoroughly discredited trickle-down economics is naïve and just plain wrong."

How GOP Oligarchs and the Christian Right Are Hiding Behind the 1st Amendment to Ram Through Their Political Agenda | Alternet

How GOP Oligarchs and the Christian Right Are Hiding Behind the 1st Amendment to Ram Through Their Political Agenda | Alternet
"The Tea Party is turning the Constitution’s most fundamental protections into a refuge for scoundrels and billionaires."