April 2, 2014

The Supreme Court Just Put America Up For Sale

www.addictinginfo.org/2014/04/02/supreme-court-just-put-america-sale/
"This court decision is just the status quo for the Roberts Court. He has overseen the largest dismantling of voting rights in US history with his support of the fledgling American Plutocracy
and their fight to eliminate the rights of “lesser” citizens to have a voice in their governance.
America is now directly up for sale to the highest bidder. Money is the only voice which matters in Robert’s America."

A Supreme Court out of control! How McCutcheon will spur corruption and inequality

A Supreme Court out of control! How McCutcheon will spur corruption and inequality

"That clanging sound you hear is the Supreme Court, hammering the final nails into democracy’s casket. With Wednesday’s decision in McCutcheon v. FEC, the court has crossed the line protecting the last vestige of campaign finance reform, and making it official: Rule by the rich is now unfettered. Plutocracy’s moment has arrived."

The Supreme Court’s Ideology: More Money, Less Voting | The Nation

The Supreme Court’s Ideology: More Money, Less Voting | The Nation

"In the past four years, under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme Court has made it far easier to buy an election and far harder to vote in one."

RNC's Priebus Lauds SCOTUS Decision On Spending Limits

RNC's Priebus Lauds SCOTUS Decision On Spending Limits

"RNC Chair Reince Priebus pretended not to have an opinion about whether or not it's a problem that we've got too much money in politics, but he was more than happy to continue with is praise of the Supreme Court's ruling this Wednesday, striking down aggregate limits on campaign donations, and claiming they violate the First Amendment."

How The Supreme Court Just Legalized Money Laundering By Rich Campaign Donors

www.thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/04/02/3422036/how-the-supreme-court-just-legalized-money-laundering-by-rich-campaign-donors/
"Chief Justice John Roberts begins his opinion in McCutcheon v. FEC with a flourish: “[t]here is no right more basic in our democracy than the right to participate in electing our political leaders.” He then spends the next forty pages explaining why that participation includes the right of rich people to attempt to buy elections."

New wave of voting restrictions sweeps the US

More money more problems? Not for the GOP

Hobby Lobby Investments In Birth Control And Abortion Drugs Exposed

www.addictinginfo.org/2014/04/01/hobby-lobby-invests-abortion/
"The company’s retirement fund is invested heavily in the companies that make the very drugs they claim to oppose."

A big victory for Obamacare

Obamacare a divisive topic in Kentucky

Paul Ryan’s budget could hurt the poor

Supreme Court’s abomination: How McCutcheon decision will destroy American politics

Supreme Court’s abomination: How McCutcheon decision will destroy American politics

"Thanks to Scalia and co., the rich will now be able to buy politicians as effortlessly as they buy anything else"

Appeals Court: Rick Scott’s Voter Purge Was Illegal

www.thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/04/01/3421701/florida-voter-purge-illegal-appeal/
"Gov. Rick Scott’s (R-FL) 2012 voter purge was so error-riddled that 30 Republican local elections officials refused to carry it out and his hand-picked Secretary of State had to apologize for it."

‘Armageddon’ not brought by Obamacare success

Bragging rights for Democrats with Obamacare milestone

Month without US combat deaths first in years

April 1, 2014

The Ryan Budget Is a Broken Record of Failed Trickle-Down Economics

www.americanprogress.org/issues/budget/news/2014/04/01/86873/the-ryan-budget-is-a-broken-record-of-failed-trickle-down-economics/
"For the past three years, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) has been trotting out the same conservative, top-down policies that have failed the nation’s middle- and working-class families, seniors, and the economy. The House Republican budget is built around the tenet that nearly everyone else must sacrifice in order to continue to give billions of dollars in tax breaks to millionaires, big corporations, and Big Oil. At every turn, the House Republican budget reveals its vision of an economy and government that only works for the wealthiest individuals and special corporate interests at the cost of everyone else.
Now for the fourth consecutive year, the House Republican budget proposes dismantling traditional Medicare and slashing investments that drive our economy, all while cutting taxes for the rich and protecting taxpayer subsidies for big businesses and oil companies. The American people have seen this before, and we know how it ends—with millionaires, big corporations, and Big Oil as the only ones who are better off."

President Obama proudly shares success of ACA

Big money plays key role in local elections

After 7 Million Americans Sign Up For Obamacare, Fox News Insists ‘No One’ Opposed Some Of Its Provisions

www.thinkprogress.org/health/2014/04/01/3421871/obama-fox/
"Moments after President Obama announced that 7.1 million Americans have signed up for coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s health care exchanges and criticized Republicans for seeking to repeal the law, Fox News host Neil Cavuto jumped in to defend the party — and the most popular parts of Obamacare."

Ball: Rising inequality is ‘the true enemy of Democracy’

Tax Dodging Companies Hoarding Nearly One Trillion Overseas | Common Dreams

Tax Dodging Companies Hoarding Nearly One Trillion Overseas | Common Dreams

"Profits for U.S. companies are at a record high, yet companies have hoarded nearly one trillion overseas to dodge U.S. taxes, a new Moody's analysis shows."

Paul Ryan budget cuts go even deeper

Obamacare enrollment numbers could rise even higher

Contamination Even More Widespread After Nuclear Dump Site Leak | Common Dreams

Contamination Even More Widespread After Nuclear Dump Site Leak | Common Dreams

"Four more workers have now tested positive for radiation after being exposed to a February leak from an underground nuclear waste dump near Carlsbad, New Mexico, the U.S. Department of Energy announced Monday, bringing the total number of contaminated workers to 21."

Koch brothers vs. a bus: Why two billionaires hate a transit project in Nashville

Koch brothers vs. a bus: Why two billionaires hate a transit project in Nashville

"A bus rapid transit project is imperiled because a couple of rich guys love meddling"

Obamacare Cuts Kentucky's Uninsured Rate By 40 Percent

www.talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/obamacare-cuts-kentucky-uninsured-rate-by-40-percent
"Obamacare has cut Kentucky's uninsured population by more than 40 percent, signing up roughly 360,000 residents since enrollment opened up on Oct. 1, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal."

'Unprecedented' Ocean Temperatures on Track to Bring Death to Coral Ecosystems | Common Dreams

'Unprecedented' Ocean Temperatures on Track to Bring Death to Coral Ecosystems | Common Dreams

"An effect of this warming is an event known as coral bleaching, which often leads to the death of coral ecosystems."

PERRspectives: Paul Ryan Aptly Releases GOP Budget on April Fool's Day

PERRspectives: Paul Ryan Aptly Releases GOP Budget on April Fool's Day

"Paul Ryan's vision for America--more debt, a tax cut bonanza for the mega-rich, Medicare rationing and millions more uninsured--is hardly the stuff of Republican talking points for November's midterms."

Take heart Republicans. You've kept millions of kids from getting health coverage

www.dailykos.com/story/2014/03/31/1288657/-Take-heart-Republicans-You-ve-kept-millions-of-kids-from-getting-health-coverage
"Republicans can take heart on this sad Obamacare enrollment good news day because they've achieved something in their relentless war on health insurance: They've kept millions of children off of the health care coverage rolls."

Unfortunately, Paul Ryan’s Cruel New Budget Proposal Is Not An April Fool’s Day Joke

www.politicususa.com/2014/04/01/unfortunately-paul-ryans-cruel-budget-proposal-april-fools-day-joke.html
"Ryan also fulfills another fantasy in his budget by pushing for Medicare to be a voucher program. This is something that he proposed during the 2012 campaign and turned out to be troubling for him and Mitt Romney. Essentially, he is calling for the death of Medicare. Instead of Medicare being a government-run insurance program, it will in essence just be a subsidy that senior citizens get to buy insurance from private companies. If the insurance is more than the voucher, then the senior citizen will have to pay the remainder of their premium out of pocket."

Gov. Scott Walker Ends Early Weekend Absentee Voting In Wisconsin

Gov. Scott Walker Ends Early Weekend Absentee Voting In Wisconsin

"Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed a measure into law that eliminates absentee voting on weekends ahead of elections."

Student #WalkOut4Climate Demands Ban on Fossil Fuels | Common Dreams

Student #WalkOut4Climate Demands Ban on Fossil Fuels | Common Dreams

"Roughly 200 students from universities across Massachusetts walked out of class on Monday before rallying in front of the State House to demand that the governor commit to a "clean energy future"."

Ohio Senate Republicans Launch Attack On State’s Renewable Energy Law

www.thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/03/31/3420880/ohio-republicans-attack-renewable-law/
"After multiple failed attempts to roll back Ohio’s clean energy and energy efficiency standards, Republicans in the state senate aren’t giving up, releasing another bill on Friday that takes aim at the law. The measure stems from a previous bill pushed by Sen. Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati), member of the corporate-funded, anti-clean energy group the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)."

Why Are The Koch Brothers Getting Involved In Tennessee’s Bus Lines?

www.thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/04/01/3421088/koch-brothers-tennessee/
"The Tennessee Senate passed a bill last week that, if approved, would broadly ban mass transit projects in the region, an anti-transit effort that’s gotten some help in the state from Charles and David Koch."

Democracy vs. Oligarchy | Common Dreams

Democracy vs. Oligarchy | Common Dreams

"The disastrous 2010 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United threw out campaign funding laws that limited what wealthy individuals and corporations could spend on elections. Since that ruling, campaign spending by Adelson, the Koch brothers and a handful of other billionaire families has fundamentally undermined American democracy. If present trends continue, elections will not be decided by one-person, one-vote, but by a small number of very wealthy families who spend huge amounts of money supporting right-wing candidates who protect their interests.
This process – a handful of the wealthiest people in our country controlling the political process – is called "oligarchy"."

The “Billionaire’s Primary”: Meet America’s New Political Bosses | Common Dreams

The “Billionaire’s Primary”: Meet America’s New Political Bosses | Common Dreams

"The Republican 2016 presidential primary season opened with the “Sheldon Adelson Primary.” The eight wealthiest person in the country, worth an estimated $40 billion, doesn’t have to wait for the official GOP primary season to start. He holds his own primary."

Torture Report: CIA Lying to US Public and Government | Common Dreams

Torture Report: CIA Lying to US Public and Government | Common Dreams

"A classified Senate Intelligence Committee report charges that the Central Intelligence Agency lied to the U.S. public and government for years about its brutal interrogation techniques by hiding the extent of abuse and misleading about the lives this interrogation saves."

Gov. Pence Lets Indiana Energy Efficiency Program Die

www.thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/03/31/3420960/end-indiana-energy-efficiency-program/
"Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has refused to either sign or veto a bill that would end Indiana’s state-wide energy efficiency program which will now, by default, become law. By Indiana law if the governor does not sign or veto a bill, it becomes law on its own."

UN report warns climate change effects will be ‘severe’

Bribery, Money-Laundering, And Islamaphobia: The Sheldon Adelson Story The Media Forgot

www.mediamatters.org/blog/2014/03/31/bribery-money-laundering-and-islamaphobia-the-s/198684
"Billionaire Sheldon Adelson has a history of illegal behavior and controversial comments -- facts that were left out of mainstream print reporting on GOP candidates trying to win his favor last week."

Obamacare fails to fail, GOP notwithstanding

As climate dangers increase, GOP in denial

Giuliani to Christie’s rescue, true to form