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GOP Leaders Finally Ready to Cave on Taxing the Rich by Daniel Gross, thedailybeast.com | December 17, 2012
Fiscal cliff hostage situation, day 40. It’s taken six weeks, but President Obama has finally got the Republican House leader to make the case for a more progressive tax system. In an effort to resolve the fiscal cliff impasse, John Boehner reportedly has offered to raise income-tax rates on people who make more than $1 million a year—but if, and only if, Obama agrees to entitlement cuts. In addition, The Washington Post reported, Boehner also has offered to take the toxic debt-ceiling debate off the table for a year. Like those Japanese soldiers holed up in caves on Pacific islands in 1945, the House Republicans don’t seem to grasp that the war over higher taxes on the rich is effectively over. This war ended, of course, with the election. read more »Unreason On Health Care by E.J. Dionne, truthdig.com | December 17, 2012
The human capacity to put passion and intense feeling over cool rationality does not surprise us when it comes to love, sex, family, friendship, certain kinds of religious commitment and even devotion to sports teams. But emotional approaches can be quite dangerous in public policy, and on no subject is irrationality as pronounced as it is in health care. Here’s the difficulty: Conservatives who were once genuinely interested in finding market-based alternatives to government-provided health insurance have, since the rise of Obamacare, continued to make choices that are dysfunctional, even from their own point of view. read more »How the GOP Promoted Gun Madness by Robert Parry, consortiumnews.com | December 17, 2012
New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof offers a typical column reacting to the massacre of 20 school children in Newtown, Connecticut. He calls on politicians to show courage in standing up to the National Rifle Association, but he doesn’t seem to have the courage himself to identify the key political culprits in a three-decade-long pandering to the NRA clout. There’s a reason for that. The vast majority of the politicians who have served as handmaidens to the NRA’s war on commonsense gun control are Republicans, including such icons as Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. In other words, Republicans – and particularly Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush – hold primary responsibility for the kinds of horrors that have claimed innocent lives in places like Newtown, Aurora, Tucson, Columbine, Virginia Tech and so many other locations whose names will long be associated with butchery. read more »Why Republican Efforts to Block Obama Won’t Work This Time by Michael Tomasky, thedailybeast.com | December 17, 2012
So the Republicans look like crap right now. The brand, as they say, is at a horrible low. Naturally I find this amusing and satisfying. But then I recall: Well, they looked pretty bad in December 2008, too. Remember? They were written off. But then they came roaring back and really showed some muscle and swept the next elections. So what’s to prevent them from doing the same this time? Three factors, actually. History may repeat itself, as the saying goes, but never so precisely that the exact same tricks will work a second time. read more »Why You Can Kiss Public Education (and the Middle Class) Goodbye by Thomm Hartman, alternet.org | December 17, 2012
Quick - when you hear "public housing," what picture jumps into your mind? Or "public hospital"? All around us, our public institutions are disintegrating, and the most important public institution of all – our public education system – is the next to be ghettoized. Despite several progressive victories this Election Day, there was one significant defeat in Georgia, as voters approved of Constitutional Amendment 1 , which changes Georgia’s Constitution to give Republicans in that state the power to create charter schools as part of Georgia’s public education system. The result will be crucial taxpayer dollars being funneled away from free public schools and directed toward brand new, sometimes for-profit, privately-run charter schools. This is a major shot in the multigenerational war on public education part of our commons. read more »Americans And Guns: The Shots Heard Round The World by The Guardian, The Guardian | December 17, 2012
The United States is not the only country in the world to have been brought to a juddering, weeping standstill by a mass shooting, as happened this weekend. Where America really is different, however, is in three things. The first is the increasing commonness of shooting sprees. The second difference is the exceptionally dangerous weaponry to which Americans have easy access. The final difference is in many ways the most destructive of all. This is America's sheer difficulty in conducting any kind of rational collective conversation about gun control. In any other country, a shooting spree of the sort that took place in Newtown would set off a serious public debate. The fault for this lies overwhelmingly with the U.S. gun lobby. read more »How ALEC Thwarts Honest Debate About Gun Violence by John Nichols, The Nation | December 17, 2012
The first response of any country to violence of the sort seen in Connecticut must be one of horror. And sorrow. But there is nothing more absurd than the suggestion that it is wrong to raise political concerns at a moment such as this. It is in a moment such as this that responsible nations examine themselves, their cultures, their laws. So why don’t we have that discussion? It is easy to blame the National Rifle Association. But the NRA never walks alone. In this regard, the NRA has a powerful ally at the level of government, where the most meaningful interventions against violence can and frequently must be made. The American Legislative Exchange Council, the Koch Brothers–guided group that aligns corporations with conservative legislators who will introduce the “model legislation” crafted by those corporations, has been in the forefront not just of averting sensible gun control but of trying to shut down public debate about gun control. read more »Michigan: Workers, Women, What's Next? by Jenniver Granholm, Huffington Post | December 14, 2012
Back in March of 1984, the owner of the Baltimore Colts moved Baltimore's beloved football team to Indianapolis. He said he wouldn't do it, but, in the middle of the night, 12 Mayflower moving trucks were hired to tear out the region's heart and soul under cover of darkness. It was incredibly unpopular, extremely underhanded, and it devastated the people. It even brought Baltimore's mayor to tears. What's happening in Michigan this week is no less deceptive and devastating. The Republican legislature is ramming unpopular bills down the people's throats. That they're doing it in this murky, under-cover-of-darkness lame duck session is evidence enough of how unpopular it is. First it was the right to work law, and now it's bills restricting women's freedom to control their bodies and health care choices. First the workers, now the women -- we can only wonder whose rights they'll pile into their moving vans next. read more »Rick Snyder's Turn Toward Confrontation In Michigan by Ruth Marcus, The Washington Post | December 14, 2012
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has — or had — a quirky slogan to describe his governing philosophy: “relentless positive action.” His approach, as I heard him describe it at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, was to find practical solutions and avoid unnecessary partisan division. Relentless positive action, he kept repeating. The mantra sounded more Dale Carnegie than Karl Rove, but it was goofily charming. Not anymore. Now it seems more like a sad commentary on the hopelessly fractured state of our politics. read more »Smoosh by Josh Marshall, talkingpointsmemo.com | December 14, 2012
Remember that scene in Star Wars when they’re in the garbage compactor on the Death Star? Now imagine it’s John Boehner in the garbage compactor. Now imagine John can’t get through to C3P0. Boehner is still at least nominally fighting over the tax hike for income over $250,000 a year, a battle that’s clearly already been lost. It’s not crystal clear to me whether this is Boehner’s own viewpoint, to the extent something like that could be identified, or simply a measure of his weak position in the face of House GOP fire-eaters. But the difference may not matter. As Boehner digs in, McConnell is now openly working against his position, trying to organize a tactical retreat on the tax question and thus leaving Boehner increasingly exposed. read more »
The Latest
GOP Has Self-Esteem Issues, Poll Suggests, CNN | June 11, 2009
Nearly half (47 percent) of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents surveyed in a USA Today/Gallup Poll failed to come up with a single name when asked who is the party's spokesperson. Republicans have been forced to rebuild after suffering demoralizing losses in 2006 and 2008. Democrats control the White House, both chambers of Congress and also hold more gubernatorial seats. read more »
Travel Freebies For Pentagon Cause Concern, MSNBC News | June 11, 2009
Pentagon employees have received millions of dollars in free travel and lodging from foreign countries, trade groups and companies with an interest in shaping policies or doing business with the U.S. military. Defense officials say the arrangement is legal, saves taxpayers money and is carefully monitored to ensure there are no conflicts of interest. read more »
Panel Fines Lax Oversight of Wartime Contracting, Associated Press | June 8, 2009
The Defense Department has failed to provide adequate oversight over tens of billions of dollars in contracts to support military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, says a new report by an independent commission investigating waste and fraud in wartime spending. U.S. read more »
Mattel Fined for Lead Paint on Toys, USA Today | June 8, 2009
In the Consumer Product Safety Commission's first penalty resulting from a chain of toy recalls in 2007, toymaker Mattel and its Fisher-Price subsidiary have agreed to pay a $2.3 million civil penalty for importing and selling toys with excessive levels of lead.The penalty is part of a settlement the companies reached with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which announced that the toymaker read more »
F.D.A. Chief Lauds Food Safety Bill, The New York Times | June 4, 2009
Margaret A. Hamburg, the new commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, plunged into the contentious debate over how to fix the nation’s food safety system. In her first appearance before Congress as commissioner, Dr. read more »
Katrina Trailers For Sale -- For $5 or Less, MSNBC News | June 3, 2009
The Obama administration will announce plans to virtually give away roughly 1,800 mobile homes to 3,400 families displaced by Hurricane Katrina who are living in government-provided housing along the Gulf Coast, officials said. read more »
Review of Government Secrecy Ordered, The Washington Post | May 28, 2009
President Obama directed his national security adviser and senior Cabinet officials to examine whether the government keeps too much information secret. In a memo, Obama acknowledged that too many documents have been kept from the public eye for years and affirmed that he remains "committed to operating with an unprecedented level of openness." Obama asked national security adviser James L. read more »
EPA: Chinese Drywall Has High Levels of Chemicals, The Miami Herald | May 22, 2009
Drywall imported from China used in newer homes across the country contains sulfur, strontium and other substances that are either nonexistent or found in much lower levels in U.S.-made plasterboard, according to Environmental Protection Agency test results. The EPA conducted the tests at the behest of Florida Sen. Bill Nelson and Louisiana Sen. read more »
Manufacturers, Retailers See More China Risk, Reuters | May 22, 2009
U.S. manufacturers and retailers that get products or components from China are increasingly concerned about quality, intellectual property and rising costs in China, and more are looking at alternate sites, according to a new study. read more »
Obama undoes Bush Policy That Undercut States, Associated Press | May 21, 2009
The Obama White House undid a Bush administration policy that used federal regulations to undermine a wide range of state health, safety and environmental laws. Many of the federal regulations limited the ability of injured consumers to sue companies in state courts. read more »
