Koch Brothers
Conservative Media Cast Obama’s Bin Laden Order As Opposite Of Foreign Policy Views
In the wake of President Obama's decision to approve the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, right-wing media are claiming that the call was in direct contradiction to Obama's foreign policy positions. In fact, as a presidential candidate, Obama promised he would take action against terrorists in Pakistan if "President Musharraf won't."
Wisconsin Democrats pickup state Assembly seat in key recall district
Last night, Democrat Steve Doyle won the 94th Wisconsin state Assembly seat, which had been held by Republicans for over 16 years. It was a special election caused by the resignation of Republican Mike Huebsch, who left the seat to become Scott Walker's Administration Secretary. The final margin was 54% to 46%.
Daily Kos State of the Nation Poll Birthers wane, but GOP still in fantasy land
GOP congressman doesn’t know why we have the oil subsidies he voted for
It's a real pattern now. Republicans voted unanimously to protect oil company subsidies earlier this year. But now that those oil companies are announcing record profits, these very same Republicans are refusing to publicly acknowledge that the reason why the subsidies are in place is because they voted for them.
Romney At Koch-Sponsored Forum: We Need To Hang Obama…Metaphorically Speaking
George Soros considers his options
George Soros at Cato It’s all about Hayek
The Cato Institute opened its doors to George Soros on Thursday, and he came in peace. The 35th wealthiest man in the world arrived at the libertarian think tank, evaded a question about Donald Trump from a video-camera-wielding reporter, and relaxed in a back room as a crowd gathered for his speech.
Karl Rove Obama suckered Republicans into becoming birthers
Paul Ryan tells constituents he supports ending the oil subsidies that he voted for
CEPR: Republican Medicare plan costs seniors $7 for every $1 government saves
Critics have pointed out that the Republican plan to turn Medicare into vouchers would only save the government money by shifting healthcare costs to seniors. A new study from the Center for Economic and Policy Research quantifies that cost shift. For every dollar saved by government, they find, seniors would pay more than seven dollars.
Bachmann backs up Now vows to ‘keep our promise’ to current and future seniors
WaPo factchecker: GOP lawmakers Medicare claim ‘stretched’
Birthers reborn Now they think the long-form was a forgery
Ask GOP reps from devastated areas if they still back Ryan’s budget that guts FEMA, NWS
I couldn't help but notice the GOP twitterati whipping out their instant and expected responses to the storms that devastated the southern tier. From Michele Bachmann to Sarah Palin to Newt Gingrich, GOPers were falling all over themselves offering their prayers for victims of the horrific weather events.
Supreme Court Reinforces the Corporate State
We might not be there yet, but we are standing on the porch getting ready to ring the doorbell on America's new home: The Corporate State. a 5-4 decision, the justices of the United States Supreme Court voted to block individuals from joining together in class-action lawsuits against corporations, which would force people to arbitrate disputes with large companies on a case-by-case basis
From Democracy to Plutocracy
Republican health plan vs. the public option
Anger on display at Republican town hall meetings over Medicare, taxes
What would Abbie Hoffman do to stop the Koch brothers
Thinking about Abbie today, I wager he d acknowledge social media as the great force for democratization. He d have an iPhone (after all, Jerry Rubin was an early Apple investor), he d have a page on Facebook and would interact with critics, imitators and allies through Twitter. His YouTube channel would feature young protestors everywhere from Cairo to Madison, WI.
Dems can beat Scott Brown in 2012 – here’s how
Ground Zero for American Politics
Instead of raising taxes on the super-rich, Michigan Republicans are employing dictatorial powers -- dissolving local governments and selling off public facilities to private corporations, including, as you'll find out below, a public school for pregnant teens. This is tea party government in action. This is your pro-life party. They arrest pregnant teens and deprive them of a decent education -- instead of taxing the rich. Utterly disgusting.
Party’s Over
Rep. Jeffrey Landry, R-La., a tea party favorite, beat a former state House speaker in the primary last year en route to winning his seat in Congress. Now, state legislators in the party establishment have exacted their revenge: When it came time to eliminate one of Louisiana s congressional seats-required under this year's reapportionment-they picked Landry's.
GOP Rep. Who Complained About Struggling on $174K Salary Gets Earful at Town Hall
All across America, a Main Street Movement has broken out to defend the middle class against right-wing attacks on labor rights and basic public services. In recent days, this movement has turned on GOP House members who voted to effectively end Medicare and turn seniors over to private insurance companies when they approved Rep. Paul Ryan s (R-WI) radical budget bill.
Republicans Plan For 2012: Suppressing The Minority Vote
Top Contributors to Barack Obama
This table lists the top donors to this candidate in the 2008 election cycle. The organizations themselves did not donate , rather the money came from the organization's PAC, its individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals' immediate families. Organization totals include subsidiaries and affiliates.
The People’s Budget
GOP schizophrenia on debt ceiling
Time puts Michelle Rhee on a list, ignores her critics and scandals
The ongoing uncritical liberal establishment's deification of former Washington DC schools chancellor Michelle Rhee has finally, belatedly met some pushback -- notably from Diane Ravitch -- but there is no hint of that in the piece commemorating her entry into the 2011 Time 100, one of their many, endless lists of "the most influential people in the world."
Blair government worked with companies pre-Iraq invasion
Coburn – Gang of Six won’t support meaningful revenue increases
Republicans file recall petitions against three Wisconsin Dems, but trail in overall intensity
At long last, Republicans have filed recall petitions against Democratic state Senators. They made three filings in total, against Jim Holperin, Dave Hansen, and Robert Wirch. In two weeks, it's possible that Republicans will submit recall petitions against Democratic state Senator Julie Lassa as well.
Huckabee trashes Glenn Beck for calling him a progressive
Tea party fizzle across the nation
Emergency managers Scott Walker’s next power grab
Reports are surfacing that Scott Walker is now preparing his next assault on the democratic political process in the State of Wisconsin. Following the lead of Michigan GOP Governor Rick Snyder, Walker is said to be preparing a plan that would allow him to force local governments to submit to a financial stress test with an eye towards permitting the governor to take over municipalities that fail to meet with Walker s approval.
Wisconsin recall Organizers over 110% of minimum signatures against third GOP state Senator
Ross Douthat’s racial paranoia
Roger Ailes brings big-city paranoia to small-town newspaper
Here's some free career advice for all you struggling reporters out there: If Roger Ailes buys the small-town community newspaper you work for, seek employment elsewhere. Because, as Gawker's John Cook and Hamilton Nolan report today, he might have News Corp. security officers tail you and conduct surveillance on your lunches.
Chris Christie vs. Family planning funding
In September, he vetoed state support for family planning clinics, a move strongly backed by anti-abortion groups because some of the clinics performed abortions. In February, after the Democratic-controlled Legislature approved a much smaller appropriation for family planning, backed mostly by federal dollars, he vetoed that, too. Mr. Christie also applied for federal money for abstinence-only education, something that the Democrat he unseated, Gov. Jon S. Corzine, had not done.
And so it begins. Emergency Financial Mgr. fires entire government of Benton Harbor, MI.
As you probably know, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder recently signed legislation passed by the Republican-dominated House and Senate that gives State-appointed Emergency Financial Managers (EFMs) historically broad and sweeping powers. These new powers allow the EFM to cancel or modify contracts (including with unions) and even to fire the municipality's government
Rick Santorum disowns campaign slogan when told a gay liberal poet came up with it
Long-ago Sen. Rick Santorum is running for president, despite his "Google problem," and fresh out of the gate he has already invited more mockery. His campaign website features the slogan, "Fighting to Make America America Again" (by which I think he means that America is not America when there's a Muslim in charge).
Christie: Take the bat out on female legislator
Scott Walker says stripping collective bargaining rights doesn’t save any money
Dems have some fun with Kyl’s Planned Parenthood ‘excuseplanation’
Koch Industries gains from pollution law delays
Koch Industries since 2005 has owned Georgia-Pacific, which owns the former Fort Howard paper-making facility in Green Bay. The Green Bay plant is one of the largest contributors of phosphorus into Wisconsin waters. One state report estimates that Georgia-Pacific is responsible for nearly 10 percent of total phosphorus pollution in the Lower Fox River
The secret militarism of Obama’s defense spending cuts
One of the major headlines to emerge from President Obama's debt reduction plan is his proposed $40-billion-a-year cut to defense. For progressives in particular, this is one of the good initiatives in a mixed bag. But most of the Washington press corps has missed the underlying story: The administration's spending cuts would actually make defense an even larger part of the overall discretionary budget.
Walker admits to Congress he never campaigned on killing collective bargaining rights
Right-Wing Media Use Budget Talks To Wage War On Women
Progressive Group To Supporters: Withhold Donations To Obama If He Cuts Medicare, Medicaid
Sherrod Brown to Obama ‘Oppose any attempts to dismantle Medicare’
Budget deal details reveal painful cuts, but some creative accounting too
Hawaii Takes on The Foolish Birthers
Can any one not be dis gusted and dis ap pointed by the con stant polit i cal dis trac tions of the birthers and their base less accu sa tions against the President s cit i zen ship? Now imag ine if you had first hand knowl edge of the president s birth in Hawaii, and were friends with his par ents, imag ine your dis gust and dis ap point ment with the birthers then
How a ‘win’ portends potential losses for the GOP
There are some real alarm numbers for the GOP in these numbers, even if they now appear to point to a decidedly narrow re-election for Prosser. Start with the obvious points of alarm, which nonetheless deserve to be repeated. Prosser had a thirty-point lead over Kloppenburg after the primary, which was less than two months ago. Even if you make the presumption that Kloppenburg should get the lion's share of the other votes in the primary, Prosser still had a ten-point lead that dissipated in about seven weeks. This despite the fact it is a virtual certainty that Prosser and his advocates had the money edge over Kloppenburg and her allies.
What the Republican budget plans tell us about Republican values
Waukesha County clerk served GOP caucus while Prosser oversaw it
Here s the full story on when Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus, a Republican, previously worked in the Wisconsin Legislature. Nickolaus upended the tight state Supreme Court race Thursday when she announced she had failed to correctly tally thousands of votes in an unofficial report to the press. That swung the unofficial totals in the race from challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg to Justice David Prosser, who previously served as a top GOP lawmaker.
Wisconsin Democrats to file recall petitions against Randy Hopper
Scott Walker blames Wisconsin Supreme Court Loss on Madison
Van Hollen: Tea Party Wing Has Taken Over House Budget Talks
America’s Hatred of Sarah Palin Reaches Historic Heights
In case you thought there was no way that America could possibly hate Sarah Palin any more than they already do, check out her new approval ratings from the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Palin s approval rating has dropped to 25%, which is tied with George W. Bush and one point behind Richard Nixon for the worst ever
Scott Walker flinches, demotes son of major campaign contributor
Is ALEC Leading GOP’s Charge to Suppress the Youth Vote
The Mega-Rich Have Declared War Against Ordinary Americans
The American Creed reminds us that we all are created equal, and that our compassion for each other is the very basis for our democracy and our honor. In times of greatest crisis, we are called upon to assert our Creed, as we originally did during the American Revolution, or to reaffirm it, as we did during the Civil War.
Why is Bank of America Not Paying Any Taxes on $4.4 Billion in Income
Tea Party Express’ Game Plan for 2012 as Unfavorable Rating Rises
Wisconsin Voters: Tomorrow May Be Your Last Chance To Keep Your Judiciary Out Of The Koch Brothers’ Hands
There is a group little known called Citizens for a Strong America (CSA)?? that has been putting a surprising amount of money into the WI State Supreme Court election to be held Tuesday. Some folks have been digging around and found some very interesting things on the group. I urge you to go read Cognitive Dissidence because it has a summary of that info and more on how these folks operate. Here is part:
What would public broadcasting do with $178 billion?
Apparently Americans want to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting because they think 5% of the federal budget goes to NPR and PBS. That was the median guess in a CNN poll released Friday. If that were true, Talking Points Memo noted, that would mean the CPB would receive $178 billion a year from the government. (And that's not even counting what they get from Archer Daniels Midland and viewers like you.)
The most uncounted cost of Endless War
Harry Reid and Lindsey Graham yesterday both suggested that Congress take unspecified though formal action against the Koran-burning by Florida preacher Terry Jones, which triggered days of violence this week by angry Muslims in Afghanistan. Graham in particular -- using the "but" that is the hallmark of all enemies of the First Amendment -- said: "Free speech is a great idea, but we re in a war."
Forget the Tea Party: The left is waking up
You know those experiences that serve as a living example of something you re studying or reading about? You learn a word s meaning, and then you hear it everywhere; the natural angling of your bike as you turn around the corner makes sense of a physics lesson, or your grief over a loss is reflected in an assigned novel.
The Tea Party’s Cleverly-Packaged Fascism
It's exactly that vilification of teachers, as well as all public sector workers and all people who accept government entitlements that is the dark cloud hanging over this very clearly orchestrated push by the Tea Partiers to wipe out the middle class,while preserving a separate set of rules for the wealthy and corporations that leads me to believe that we are in the middle of a fascist movement in America.
Tea Party Hypocrisy Some Lawmakers With Tea Party Ties Are on the Government Dole –
Ohio to host second major union-fueled election of 2011
A union-fueled election of equal importance to the recall elections in Wisconsin will take place this November in Ohio. This is because Ohio Republicans overcame their differences, and today passed Senate bill 5, which strips collective bargaining rights for state employees (among many other heinous provisions):
Democrats: If there’s a shutdown, Congress shouldn’t get paid
Obama’s new view of his own war powers
Yesterday, Hillary Clinton told the House of Representatives that "the White House would forge ahead with military action in Libya even if Congress passed a resolution constraining the mission." As TPM put it: "the administration would ignore any and all attempts by Congress to shackle President Obama's power as commander in chief to make military and wartime decisions," as such attempts would constitute "an unconstitutional encroachment on executive power."
Ohio police, firefighters cite safety concerns, vow fight over collective bargaining limits
Ohio Union Bill Signed Into Law By John Kasich
Poll Unfavorable View Of Tea Party Hits Record High
What Is ALEC? Dragging the Secretive Conservative Organization Out of the Shadows
Newt Gingrich’s Rx Cuts, but not at NIH
Republicans consulting Chevron and lobbyists on offshore drilling bills
House Republicans on the Natural Resources Committee are in the process of readying three bills on offshore drilling, and it seems that the Chairman, Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA), has taken a page out of Dick Cheney's book on formulating energy policy. Which means, if you want to know the details, you need to either be a select Republican or on the guest list of Hastings':
The fallacy that tax cuts stimulate economies
The tax cuts were supposed to stimulate Ohio's economy and create jobs. But that never happened once the economy tanked. Instead, the changes ended up costing Ohio more than $2 billion a year in lost tax revenue; money that would go a long way toward closing the state's $8 billion budget gap for fiscal year 2012