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."

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

This Was One of The Least Productive Years Ever for Congress

This Was One of The Least Productive Years Ever for Congress
"Congress is on track to have one of the least productive years in modern history, having passed only 52 bills since January, just 44 which are considered “substantive”—far below the average of 70 in the years 1990-2012."

Long December break could create 2nd shutdown

The Tea Party gave birth to this: Christian American Patriots Militia calling for Obama’s assassination

www.freakoutnation.com/2013/11/25/the-tea-party-gave-birth-to-this-christian-american-patriots-militia-calling-for-obamas-assassination/
"The Secret Service is aware of the threats. The page has been reported numerous times."

Jim Garrow and Erik Rush Obama Should Be Stood Against Wall and Shot

www.politicususa.com/2013/11/27/jim-garrow-erik-rush-obama-stood-wall-shot.html
"Republicans have become obsessed not with simply impeaching or imprisoning President Obama, but with killing him."

New IRS rules could temper big campaign cash

Did Karl Rove’s super PAC commit perjury?

Did Karl Rove’s super PAC commit perjury?
"The return, signed under penalty of perjury, specified that the grants would be used for social welfare purposes, “and not for political expenditures, consistent with the organization’s tax-exempt mission.” But that’s not what happened."

Heart of Darkness: Criminal Investigation of WI Recall $

Heart of Darkness: Criminal Investigation of WI Recall $
"The controversy immediately kicked off a struggle for control of the Wisconsin Senate. Between 2011 and 2012 Wisconsin voters across the state knocked on doors, circulated recall petitions, and put an unprecedented number of state officials up for recall. Thirteen state senators eventually faced recall elections. Close to one million people signed recall petitions for the Governor and Lt. Governor, and even before an election was certified, outside money began to saturate the state. $137.5 million is estimated to have been spent on the recalls in total, the vast majority from out-of-state players.
The source of much of that spending remains unknown. Millions were spent by "dark money" nonprofits -- most of them organized under 501(c)(4) of the tax code -- that allow deep pocketed donors to hide their identity."

Billionaires' Bad Day: New Rules Would Rein in Nonprofits

Billionaires' Bad Day: New Rules Would Rein in Nonprofits
"The fact that these groups were ever considered "social welfare" groups in the first place is laughable. I'm waiting for them to start screeching on Fox about how they're taking away their "free speech" and how terrible the IRS "thugs" are for finally trying to curb some of this activity."

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Republicans continue efforts to suppress the vote in places where it will do them the most good

www.dailykos.com/story/2013/11/26/1258522/-Republicans-continue-efforts-to-suppress-the-vote-in-places-where-it-will-do-them-the-most-good
"Shaming the GOP for its determination to shave a few points off Democratic election turnout obviously hasn't had an impact. Unblushable, the party is still at it. Instead of doing all they can to encourage every eligible person to vote, Republicans have been relentlessly imposing new restrictions to make it harder"

Some Florida Election Supervisors Stunned By New Voter Restrictions

www.thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/11/26/2995801/florida-election-supervisors-stunned-voter-restrictions/
"Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s (R) chief election official issued new rules Monday night that could hamper absentee voting, just months before Floridians in the state’s 13th Congressional district take part in a special election to replace the late Rep. C.W. Bill Young (R). The seat was held by Republicans for decades, but is now considered a tossup."

Right-Wing Militia Leader Says Constitution Gives Him The Right To Assassinate President Obama (IMAGE)

www.addictinginfo.org/2013/11/24/right-wing-assassinate-obama/
"These threats justify why the Department of Homeland Security and a West Point think-tank classified right-wing extremists as a dangerous threat to the country. Ever since Obama took office, the right has gone completely crazy with hate. They have zero ideas and are incapable of winning elections by making a reasonable case to voters. They can’t even bring themselves to compromise on anything. So they threaten the nation with guns and violent revolution in order to scare Americans and get their way."

Michigan GOP Recruits Civil Rights Act Critic Rand Paul To Launch African American Outreach Project

www.thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/11/22/2986251/michigan-gop-rand-paul/
"While Paul has since denied ever making the comments, he has repeatedly criticized the Civil Rights Act of 1964′s bans on whites-only lunch counters and discrimination by private employers."

4 Ways the Koch Brothers' Wealth Is Beyond Comprehension | Alternet

4 Ways the Koch Brothers' Wealth Is Beyond Comprehension | Alternet
"Charles and David Koch are both members of the .00001%. That's a group of twenty individuals who have a total net worth of over a half-trillion dollars , about $26 billion each."

Darrell Issa's Traveling Obamacare Hearings Exclude ACA Supporters

Darrell Issa's Traveling Obamacare Hearings Exclude ACA Supporters
"In his traveling road show of “hearings” on the Affordable Care Act rollout, Darrell Issa has hand-picked the people testifying, and has excluded those who want to speak in favor of the ACA."

Stink tank: Heritage vs. the GOP

The Kentucky miracle

Kentucky loves Obamacare

Wealthy Libertarians Are Driving Poverty, Unemployment, and Anti-Government Discontent

www.politicususa.com/2013/11/24/wealthy-libertarians-driving-poverty-unemployment-anti-government-discontent.html
"There is a reason the Koch brothers and their cohort ALEC are funneling millions to anti-government teabaggers and religious right anti-choice activists, and it is part of their plan to stir up opposition to equal rights, religious freedom, and particularly the federal government and social programs. Inciting discontent and division among the population, coupled with their job-killing austerity economics, stagnating wages, and domestic spending cuts is the recipe for the growth of fascism and at some point the people will look to a champion who will promise a path to economic prosperity if they are given authority to transform America according to the Koch brothers’ libertarian vision of no federal government, no regulations, no taxation, a return to Christian moral values, and free market capitalism that is code for corporate owned-and-operated government."

Monday, November 25, 2013

New Tax Return Shows Karl Rove's Group Spent Even More On Politics Than It Said

New Tax Return Shows Karl Rove's Group Spent Even More On Politics Than It Said
"Social welfare nonprofits, also known as dark money groups because they don't have to report their donors, are allowed to spend money on politics as long as their primary purpose is social welfare. The groups often count so-called issue ads that stop short of advocating for or against a candidate and grants toward that social welfare mission. Since the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision allowed corporations and unions to spend directly on election ads, these nonprofits have turned into the vehicle of choice for anonymous spending, dumping more than $254 million into the 2012 elections.
Of the 150 or so social welfare nonprofits that reported spending to the Federal Election Commission during the 2012 election cycle, Crossroads was king, the biggest anonymous spender by far. Americans for Tax Reform came in fourth, with $15.8 million."

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Say What? Civil Rights Act Critic Rand Paul Tapped to Launch African American Outreach Project in Michigan | Alternet

Say What? Civil Rights Act Critic Rand Paul Tapped to Launch African American Outreach Project in Michigan | Alternet
"The Michigan Republican Party will  launch its new African American Engagement Office in Detroit next month, aiming to improve on the mere  two percent of the vote their presidential nominee received in the city last year. To headline this event, the party has enlisted Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) — though Paul has been an  outspoken critic of the 1964 Civil Rights Act."

Friday, November 22, 2013

How the Republican Tempest Over the Affordable Care Act Diverts Attention from Three Large Truths | Common Dreams

How the Republican Tempest Over the Affordable Care Act Diverts Attention from Three Large Truths | Common Dreams
"Having failed to defeat the Affordable Care Act in Congress, to beat it back in the last election, to repeal it despite more than eighty votes in the House, to stop it in the federal courts, to get enough votes in the Supreme Court to overrule it, and to gut it with outright extortion (closing the government and threatening to default on the nation’s debts unless it was repealed), Republicans are now down to their last ploy."

Surprise! GOP Following Scripted Plan To Attack Obamacare

Surprise! GOP Following Scripted Plan To Attack Obamacare
"I know you are shocked -- SHOCKED -- to discover that all the Obamacare noise over the last month is the product of a very carefully orchestrated public relations campaign."

Conservatives Trying to Resurface Compassionate Conservative Bunk | Alternet

Conservatives Trying to Resurface Compassionate Conservative Bunk | Alternet
"Paul Ryan, whose policy ideas are disastrous for the poor, is cynically trotting out the old "compassionate-conservative" canard."

Thursday, November 21, 2013

McConnell: 'Senate Republicans Have Been Very, Very Fair To Obama'

McConnell: 'Senate Republicans Have Been Very, Very Fair To Obama'
"McConnell essentially argued that Republican obstruction was all the Democrats fault, that they were responsible for the filibusters because they kept trying to do things-- as opposed to the do nothing GOP -- like allow the president to appoint people to vacant court seats. McConnell's lies and the conviction with which he expressed them was indeed a disturbing thing to behold."

The Senate GOP's Unprecedented Obstruction In Five Charts | Right Wing Watch

The Senate GOP's Unprecedented Obstruction In Five Charts | Right Wing Watch
"And the blanket filibuster of D.C. Circuit nominees is just the latest in the GOP’s onslaught of unprecedented obstruction under President Obama. Here are four charts showing just how far Republican obstruction has gone in the Obama administration."

How the GOP Is Literally Killing Its Voters | Alternet

How the GOP Is Literally Killing Its Voters | Alternet
"In the past, there were many Republicans who saw the value of having a social safety net. Today’s Tea Party Republicans, however, believe in assaulting the poor and the middle class at every turn—and the older whites who vote for them are not exempt. Between butchering the food stamp program, opposing healthcare reform, trying to turn Social Security over to the whims of Wall Street, and going out of their way to eliminate what’s left of the New Deal, modern-day Republicans are no friends of older Americans—including their older white male rural base."

Right wing abandons facts to bash Obama

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Today in Hypocrisy: Anti-Drug GOP Congressman Busted on Coke Charge - Truthdig

Today in Hypocrisy: Anti-Drug GOP Congressman Busted on Coke Charge - Truthdig
"Rep. Trey Radel, R-Fla., who backed proposed rules to let states require drug tests of welfare recipients, was sentenced Wednesday morning to a year’s probation after being caught with a small amount of cocaine last month in Washington, D.C."

Facebook: Assassination Threats Stay, Pregnant Bellies Go

Facebook: Assassination Threats Stay, Pregnant Bellies Go
"This isn't the first assassination threat posted on social media and it won't be the last. Mr. Wilhelmsen is a militia man, a self-proclaimed good Christian who is standing up for his country while he calls for the assassination of our President just days ahead of the 50-year observance of the anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination."

Colbert Skewers Bachmann for Calling Herself a Genius

Colbert Skewers Bachmann for Calling Herself a Genius
"Bachmann actually had the nerve to call herself a "genius" for supposedly predicting the problems with the health care law, and Colbert decided to play a montage of her "greatest hits" to... ahem... "prove" her point."

Paul Ryan's Poverty Plan: Cutting Government Assistance, and Jesus

Paul Ryan's Poverty Plan: Cutting Government Assistance, and Jesus
"I think he's busy re-reading Atlas Shrugged and brushing up on his Ayn Rand."

Abbott Responds to Former Staffer's 'Illegal Immigrant' Game by Linking Wendy Davis to 'Satan'

Abbott Responds to Former Staffer's 'Illegal Immigrant' Game by Linking Wendy Davis to 'Satan'
"Greg Abbott, the Republican candidate for Texas governor, has responded to the news that a former staffer had organized a “Catch an Illegal Immigrant" game at the University of Texas at Austin by linking his Democratic opponent, state Sen. Wendy Davis, to Satanism."

Fact Check: Social Security Does Not Increase the Deficit | Alternet

Fact Check: Social Security Does Not Increase the Deficit | Alternet
"There are basically two categories of people who want to see Social Security cut: 1) financiers who wish to move us toward privatized retirement accounts so that they can charge us fees; and 2) rich people who do not like to pay taxes. Their main champions are conservatives at the Heritage Foundation, libertarians at the Cato Institute and Wall Street financier Pete Peterson."

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

New anti-Obamacare ads are Classic Koch

State Policy Network: The Straw That Stirs the Conservative Movement

State Policy Network: The Straw That Stirs the Conservative Movement
"As might be expected the Koch Brothers have their imprint writ large over the SPN: The September event was attended by "representatives from Koch Industries, the Charles Koch Institute, and Charles Koch Foundation, and other the Koch-funded groups such as David Koch's Americans for Prosperity, Generation Opportunity, and the Association for American Innovation, which is now called 'Freedom Partners' and is funded to an unknown extent by the fortunes of the billionaire Koch brothers, housed in the same building as other Koch front groups, staffed by Koch operatives, and stacked with a board full of Koch insiders"."

WI Club for Growth, Target of Walker Recall Probe, at Center of Dark Money Web

WI Club for Growth, Target of Walker Recall Probe, at Center of Dark Money Web
"Governor Scott Walker's campaign and dozens of Republican-aligned political groups have been subpoenaed in a wide-ranging probe into potential campaign finance violations during Wisconsin's contentious 2011 and 2012 recall elections, and a group at the center of the storm appears to be Wisconsin Club for Growth, one of the top spenders during the recalls and whose leaders have close ties to Governor Walker and national donors, including the Koch brothers."

WSJ: Scott Walker's Campaign is Target of Extensive Investigation

WSJ: Scott Walker's Campaign is Target of Extensive Investigation
"Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's campaign office and about 30 conservative groups have been subpoenaed by a special prosecutor, and the homes of at least three people connected to the campaign have been raided, according to The Wall Street Journal. Among the groups subpoenaed were the Wisconsin Club for Growth; Karl Rove’s American Crossroads; the Republican Governors Association; and the state’s largest business lobbying group, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. The subpoenas came out of a secret John Doe investigation of Walker’s campaign and allies."

GOP Group Declares 'Catch An Immigrant' Day on UT Campus

GOP Group Declares 'Catch An Immigrant' Day on UT Campus
"Nice Hispanic outreach, Abbott."

Monday, November 18, 2013

The Terrifying Future Envisioned By Libertarians | Alternet

The Terrifying Future Envisioned By Libertarians | Alternet
"The future will belong to those who prepare public policy for that eventuality, and who work to put politicians in power who are ready to enact that policy when the time comes, and when the demographics of the nation have altered enough to make it possible.
Whatever happens, the libertarian fairy dreams of men like Tyler Cowen must not be allowed to become realities."

Tea Party Group Wants Disclosure Exemption On Grounds That The Movement Is Small, Powerless, And Harassed

Tea Party Group Wants Disclosure Exemption On Grounds That The Movement Is Small, Powerless, And Harassed: The Federal Election Commission is scheduled to vote Thursday on a request by the Tea Party Leadership Fund to be exempted from campaign disclosure laws, based on alleged "sustain harassment and severe hostility" to Tea Party activists by the federal government and the general public.

Wisconsin Republicans Roll Anti-Democratic Measures Through Assembly

Wisconsin Republicans Roll Anti-Democratic Measures Through Assembly
"Wisconsin Republicans rolled a raft of anti-democrat measures through the legislature late Thursday night, ranging from additional restrictions on voting to new limits on the right to recall elected officials, following a recall effort against Governor Scott Walker last year."

ALEC Mulls Assault On Constitution’s 17th Amendment — The Direct Election Of Senators

ALEC Mulls Assault On Constitution’s 17th Amendment — The Direct Election Of Senators: Say goodbye to voting for Senators by popular vote?

Friday, November 15, 2013

Wisconsin legislature fractures over GOP push

Corruption On Steroids - Koch Brothers Spend Record Cash

FEC Poised To Give Tea Party Group Disclosure Exemption

FEC Poised To Give Tea Party Group Disclosure Exemption
"Anyone who thinks the Kochs and their compatriots wouldn't use this as their primary avenue for buying elections hasn't been paying close attention to much of anything."

Justice Clarence Thomas' Newest Ethics Breach

Justice Clarence Thomas' Newest Ethics Breach
"Justice Thomas has once again graced the Federalist Society with his presence for their annual fundraiser, without shame or apology, along with fellow justices Alito and Scalia. In their minds, this is perfectly fine for them to do because they have cheerfully waived the ethics rules other judges must abide by."

Michele Bachmann Lies, Obamacare Edition

Michele Bachmann Lies, Obamacare Edition
"Just in case there was any doubt, this is really just another day, another Bachmann lie."

Chris Christie Is an Extreme Right-Winger -- Don't Fall for His "Moderate" Act | Alternet

Chris Christie Is an Extreme Right-Winger -- Don't Fall for His "Moderate" Act | Alternet
"Behind the facade, Christie is a Bush/Cheney-esque neoconservative promoting the old politics of division and ignorance."

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Poll: Americans Overwhelmingly Support Increase in Minimum Wage | Common Dreams

Poll: Americans Overwhelmingly Support Increase in Minimum Wage | Common Dreams
"Critics have blasted a call for a $9 minimum wage as not nearly enough, and MIT's Living Wage Calculator shows that rate would still leave many without a living wage."

Real journalism uncovers the conservative lies

Stop Being 'Reasonable' With These Global Warming Enablers

Stop Being 'Reasonable' With These Global Warming Enablers
"First of all, let's get the terms straight. They're not climate change "deniers". They're climate change enablers.And I don't care if they're sincerely misinformed Christianists, Teabaggers, plutocrats or just stupid. Stop treating them as if they might have a point. They don't."

GOP Food Stamp Cuts Would Kick 170,000 Vets Out of the Program

www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/11/veterans-food-stamp-cuts-republicans-snap
"In addition to reducing housing aid, and denying health care to vets, the GOP is also trying to remove thousands of vets from the food stamp program, known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP."

GOP Did Contribute To Obamacare, Study Finds – Turns Out They Wrote A Large Portion

www.addictinginfo.org/2013/11/10/obamacare-study-republican-contribution/
"For the final bill, over 10% came from House Republicans, and almost 30% came from Senate Republicans. That brings the total GOP contribution to Obamacare to 38.5%, meaning that over a third of Obamacare was written by the Republican party."