February 2012
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Everyone hates regulation, everyone loves... →
Asked whether they believed that government regulation of business was necessary to protect the public or that such regulation usually does more harm than good, just 40 percent answered that regulation was necessary, while 52 percent said it did more harm than good.
But then came the specifics. Pew asked whether federal regulations should be strengthened, kept as is, or reduced in particular...
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Consumers are Irrelevant to Economics
OliverWright said: The law of supply and demand has a hidden sub-clause that Keynes (and Obama and Axelrod) miss or ignore: it involves the same people in both capacities (production and consumption). When that sub-clause is forgotten or evaded, you get the calamity of a Trillion Dollar Stimulus with zero stimulus. The title of consumer must be earned by producing products or services that are...
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Up to 1.5 million people owe their jobs to the... →
A new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report estimates that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) increased the number of people employed by between 300,000 and 2 million jobs in December.[1] In other words, between 300,000 and 2 million people employed in December owed their jobs to the Recovery Act. This estimate, by Congress’ non-partisan economic and budget analysts, is...
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“This is not just about dishonoring the Koran, it is about disrespecting our dead...”
– Maruf Hotak, one of the rioters in Kabul
The causes of the protests in Afghanistan | Glenn... →
theamericanbear:
Whatever. They hate us for our freedom:
The U.S. has violently occupied their country for more than a decade. It has, as Gen. Stanley McChrystal himself explained, killed what he called an “amazing number” of innocent Afghans in checkpoint shootings. It has repeatedly — as in, over and over — killed young Afghan children in air strikes. It continues to imprison their citizens...
Perry’s On-the-Job Retirement Lifts Pension Perk... →
sarahlee310:
It’s been discovered that an old obscure paragraph dealing with state pension benefits has allowed Texas Gov. Rick Perry to increase his take-home pay by more than $90,000 a year. While slashing programs for the poor, he’s getting retirement benefits while still working.
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“If we had 51% women in Congress, do you think we’d be debating access to...”
– Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (via subconciousevolution)
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“The Framers also recognized a second reason to oppose the linkage of state and...”
– PoliticalProf, laying it down. I recommend The Godless Constitution for further reading on the subject. Not a few of the strongest advocates for the Separation of Church and State in colonial America were religious leaders who recognized that melding church and state together (where the terms...
“The influx of money in this election cycle makes disclosure and disclaimer...”
– Senator Michael Bennet(D-CO), in an open letter to the FEC, asking them to consider broad disclosure and disclaimer requirements as the agency prepares to change several rules in the wake of the Citizens United decision.
Sen. Bennet pointed to the tens of millions of dollars already being donated...
“White privilege conditions white people not to see white rage. However, it makes...”
– Crunktastic, White Women’s Rage: 5 Thoughts On Why Jan Brewer Should Keep Her Fingers to Herself, Crunk Feminist Collective 1/27/12 (via racialicious)
Fantastic post.
(via fatbodypolitics)
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Ron Paul on the 1964 Civil Rights Act
inquisitionsandanomalies:
Ron Paul’s vote against the 1964 Civil Rights Act has has stirred much controversy during the campaign trail. I’m reading way too many posts by individuals who have clearly not read or heard what he had to say on the issue. I am still undecided on what he has to say, but from what I have read in his speech, I do not see racial bigotry, but the establishment of...
Why Might Iran Want a Nuclear Weapon?
politicalprof:
Well, here’s one observation:
The United States has never so much as spat at a nation that possesses a nuclear weapon.
Just a thought.
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What Oligarchy Means: Small Groups of... →
Forget the five people you meet in heaven, here are the five people running the US election system these days.
We know how the super PACs have come to dominate the presidential campaign, but a closer look at financial-disclosure numbers shows how just a tiny handful of billionaires are dominating those super PACs. An analysis of January’s campaign-disclosure filings reveals that 25 percent...
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Increasing Minimum Wage Does Not Increase... →
This was a 16 year study on a county-by-county basis. Rather than an increase in unemployment (as so many big business advocates and libertarians would have you believe), it did nothing to unemployment, but rather decreased employee turn over. The poorest people in those counties were better paid, had a higher standard of living and kept their jobs longer- all because the minimum wage...
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Let's Be Blunt
journalofajournalist:
Journalists Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik are dead. They are dead because the Syrian government, by all appearances, is intentionally targeting journalists and foreign observers. The Syrian government was able to target individuals—to monitor satellite uplinks, phone records, and internet activity—due to technology and expert assistance rendered by foreign governments and...
Ben & Jerry's launches campaign to assuage my... →
There’s way too much money in American politics. It’s drowning out people’s voices, especially since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision gave corporations the green light to spend limitless sums of money to influence our elections. We are building a movement of engaged citizens and responsible business leaders working together to oppose this decision and Get the Dough Out of...
Just lost 3 paragraphs filled with links
Serves me right for not editing using word or some other non-browser editor. :/
“President Obama will ask Congress to scrub the corporate tax code of dozens of...”
– Obama Offers to Cut Corporate Tax Rate to 28% - NYTimes.com
You fucking asshole. Exceptions to favored industries are exactly why the nominal corporate tax rate doesn’t matter. This is exactly what’s wrong with tax policymaking in America and it’s unsurprising to see this administration again...
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Anonymous Officials Love War, Hate Facts →
Iran is poised to greatly expand uranium enrichment at a fortified underground bunker to a point that would boost how quickly it could make nuclear warheads, diplomats tell The Associated Press.
They said Tehran has put finishing touches for the installation of thousands of new-generation centrifuges at the cavernous facility — machines that can produce enriched uranium much more quickly and...
It's happening again
The exact same reasons we went into Iraq- the cowardly media, the warmongering politicians, the faux-threat from a scary middle-eastern country. It’s going down exactly like it did last time. Unbelievable.
“I think it only makes sense to seek out and identify structures of authority,...”
– Noam Chomsky (via 0versite)
Chomsky on Iran
stay-human:
Why exactly is Iran regarded as such a colossal threat? The question is rarely discussed, but it is not hard to find a serious answer — though not, as usual, in the fevered pronouncements. The most authoritative answer is provided by the Pentagon and the intelligence services in their regular reports to Congress on global security. They report that Iran does not pose a...
Income Inequality Breaks Down Rule of Law →
realitydoctor:
jonathan-cunningham:
One of the central characteristics of highly unequal societies is that two sets of laws develop: One set for the rich and powerful and one set for everyone else. The more unequal societies become, the more easily they accept the unacceptable, and with each unrebuked violation, the powerful actors at the top of the society gain an ever greater sense of...
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Obama proposes ending separate funding caps,... →
Under current law, separate caps limit total defense discretionary funding and total nondefense discretionary funding for each year from 2013 through 2021. The President’s budget would replace those caps with a single overall cap on discretionary appropriations starting in 2014, throwing defense and nondefense funding into the same pot. (Essentially, the President is proposing to return to the...
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Income Inequality Breaks Down Rule of Law →
One of the central characteristics of highly unequal societies is that two sets of laws develop: One set for the rich and powerful and one set for everyone else. The more unequal societies become, the more easily they accept the unacceptable, and with each unrebuked violation, the powerful actors at the top of the society gain an ever greater sense of entitlement and an ever greater sense that...
Anonymous asked: Are there any noteworthy independent candidates running for the USA 2012 election, and if so, what should I know about them?
Am I allowed to use this word to describe myself?
iamateenagefeminist:
1. Has this word been used against a specific group of people in the past or is it being used against a specific group of people in the present?
If no then you are allowed to use that word to describe yourself.
If yes then move onto question two
2. Are you a part of the group the word has been used against?
If yes then you are allowed to use that word to describe...
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Ninth Circuit Refuses To Remove Name Of Federal... →
letterstomycountry:
Jon Turley takes note of a recent opinion from the 9th Circuit in which, refreshingly, a prosecutor was disciplined for unethical conduct. The DOJ tried to get his name erased from the opinion, but the 9th Circuit refused. Here’s an excerpt from the opinion that’s worth reading in full:
The mistake in judgment does not lie with AUSA Albert alone. We are also troubled by...
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I met with members of the ISO today
We discussed a couple things- what my background knowledge of socialism/Marxism is, the ways the ISO works, issues that were important to us, and how to proceed.
I’ll be starting “The Meaning of Marxism,” by Paul D’Amato- we’re meeting weekly to talk about our progress. The first discussion group will be held on the 1st of March, at the student union of Metro college...
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Denver "Turnaround" Schools Show Incredible Gains... →
Denver’s largest school turnaround effort is already producing student achievement that has surprised even early supporters of education reform in the city’s far northeast…
Community concerns made Smith have his doubts about the turnaround plan, but data presented to the Denver Public Schools board Thursday night show that from August through February, 30 percent of students...
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“I’m also sad to note that amongst the new slate of editors, you won’t find...”
– Ari Kohen hasn’t sold out but has accepted some of the editorial power of Tumblr’s politics tag (via tofias)
Freibiergesicht: well i had a delicious shabbat... →
freibiergesicht:
well i had a delicious shabbat dinner of cholent and pickles and eggs and cornbread (too lazy to make challah) and a decent california cabernet sav and it was exceedingly pleasant and delicious.
then i get on the internet and lol greenwald is the last thing i ever need to see ever my god nobody…
List one lie. If “he was straight up lying, constantly” then it...