Chuck Hagel Swiftboated For Not Bowing Down to AIPAC

Chuck Hagel Swiftboated For Not Bowing Down to AIPAC
"Are Republicans petulant children or just insane or both? After whining and grousing over Susan Rice, they're now going after as-yet-unnamed-for-any-cabinet-post former Senator Chuck Hagel, for not being properly deferential to Israel."

Welcome to 'Michiganistan' | Common Dreams

Welcome to 'Michiganistan' | Common Dreams
"Formerly the Republican governor, Snyder has been enthroned by the GOP’s lame-duck, legislative supermajority to rule with an iron fist — democracy, rule-of-law, fairness, and the people be damned."

Report: Ecosystems in Upheaval, Biodiversity in Collapse | Common Dreams

Report: Ecosystems in Upheaval, Biodiversity in Collapse | Common Dreams
"A new report documents how climate change is already causing rapid, massive changes with "cascading effects" on ecosystems and biodiversity."

Olive Garden, Red Lobster See Sharp Drop In Profits After Anti-Obamacare Campaign Backfires

Olive Garden, Red Lobster See Sharp Drop In Profits After Anti-Obamacare Campaign Backfires: Ever since Darden Restaurants — the owner of the Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains — first announced its anti-Obamacare campaign, the company has had a tough couple of months. Darden admitted as much when it revised its predictions for latest quarterly earnings down in December, attributing the drop to “recent negative media coverage on [...]/p

David Frum Shares His Shocking Marijuana Ignorance With Newsweek/Daily Beast Audience | Alternet

David Frum Shares His Shocking Marijuana Ignorance With Newsweek/Daily Beast Audience | Alternet
"David Frum's new Daily Beast article on marijuana bemoans the poor economic prospects of America's younger generations, and brings in the absurd claim that legalizing marijuana would kick young people -- and the disadvantaged at-large -- while they’re down.

Relying on a variety of well-worn drug myths, Frum says that Americans already engage in too many risky behaviors, and because life is still so hard for so many of us, legalizing pot would only make it all worse. The reality is that legalizing marijuana would be a big boost to opportunity for young people: In one year, marijuana decriminalization in California reduced the youth crime rate by 20 percent. Decreasing pot arrests is additionally important because some people -- low-income, young men of color -- are far more likely to be arrested for marijuana use than their pot-smoking, richer, white counterparts."

'Listening to the Generals?' Who Do The Generals Listen To?

'Listening to the Generals?' Who Do The Generals Listen To?
"Remember how when pressured to get the troops out of Middle East, Republicans insisted that we needed to listen to the generals on the ground? We apparently didn't ask the necessary follow up question: who were the generals listening to? And in the case of Gen. David Petraeus, that answer was disturbingly neo-conservative"

Interest Rate Rigging By Big Banks May Have Cost U.S. Taxpayers Billions Of Dollars

Interest Rate Rigging By Big Banks May Have Cost U.S. Taxpayers Billions Of Dollars: UBS and Barclays have both been fined more than $1 billion by regulators for manipulating the LIBOR interest rate, a key global benchmark. UBS bankers were caught in emails bragging about the “fu*king humongous deals” they were arranging by gaming LIBOR. LIBOR rigging could have affected Americans of all stripes, sucking funds from the cities [...]/p

Federal Court Says Newspaper Has the Right to Fire Journalists -- Under the First Amendment | Alternet

Federal Court Says Newspaper Has the Right to Fire Journalists -- Under the First Amendment | Alternet
""The First Amendment affords a publisher - not a reporter - absolute authority to shape a newspaper's content," Judge writes."

CHART: The Global Corporate Tax Rate Plummeted In The Last Decade

CHART: The Global Corporate Tax Rate Plummeted In The Last Decade: Evidence that the global corporate tax rate has dropped significantly in the past decade counters a conservative myth that corporations suffer from too-high taxes. As several countries — most prominently the UK — renew scrutiny over tax dodging, a Deutsche Bank report illustrates how the global effective corporate tax rate has dropped significantly in the [...]/p

Glenn Greenwald: Woman Imprisoned for Life for Minor Drug Offense; Banking Giant Immune to Justice for Massive Drug Laundering | Alternet

Glenn Greenwald: Woman Imprisoned for Life for Minor Drug Offense; Banking Giant Immune to Justice for Massive Drug Laundering | Alternet
"The US is the world's largest prison state, imprisoning more of its citizens than any nation on earth, both in  absolute numbers  andproportionally. It imprisons people for longer periods of time, more mercilessly, and for more trivial transgressions  than any nation in the west. This sprawling penal state has been constructed over decades, by both political parties, and it punishes the poor and racial minorities at overwhelmingly disproportionate rates.

But not everyone is subjected to that system of penal harshness. It all changes radically when the nation's most powerful actors are caught breaking the law."

Canada Slammed for Abysmal Human Rights Crisis | Common Dreams

Canada Slammed for Abysmal Human Rights Crisis | Common Dreams
"Canada is failing to address serious human rights concerns within the country, particularly for its indigenous populations, Amnesty International reports Wednesday. Following three UN committees on racial discrimination, prevention of torture, and children’s rights, which reveal a "range” of “ongoing and serious human rights challenges,” Amnesty called on the Canadian government to acknowledge the country's rights abuses and swiftly implement policy changes."

Senator Bernie Sanders Voices His Strong Opposition To Cutting Social Security

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Lawrence O'Donnell Rewrite - Wayne LaPierre Cannot Wash The Blood From His Hands

Coal Exports Emerging As Major Climate Fight In The Pacific Northwest

Coal Exports Emerging As Major Climate Fight In The Pacific Northwest: In the Pacific Northwest, activists and their allies are ramping up for a full-throttle battle over a proposal to haul coal across the west for export to China. Big Coal’s latest master plan promises to generate a second epicenter of climate-change resistance—our very own Keystone XL pipeline showdown. With coal prices plummeting, thanks in [...]/p

Time to Face the Facts: Our Level of Consumption Is Pathological | Alternet

Time to Face the Facts: Our Level of Consumption Is Pathological | Alternet
"We're suffering from a world-consuming epidemic of collective madness, rendered so normal by advertising and the media that we scarcely notice what has happened to us."

Top Conservative Publication Attributes Newtown To Feminism: Shooting Occurred Because Women Ran The School

Top Conservative Publication Attributes Newtown To Feminism: Shooting Occurred Because Women Ran The School: If there were less women and more “male aggression” in Sandy Hook Elementary School, the massacre there never would have taken place, according to a contribution to a leading conservative magazine. National Review, whose inhouse editorial suggested Newtown was the price of the Second Amendment, published a piece on Wednesday from anti-feminist Charlotte Allen suggesting [...]/p

Thanks To Budget Cuts, U.S. Remains Unprepared To Combat Future Public Health Emergencies

Thanks To Budget Cuts, U.S. Remains Unprepared To Combat Future Public Health Emergencies: Despite numerous public health threats over the past decade — including bioterrorism threats like anthrax attacks, the spread of airborne diseases like the swine flu epidemic, and extreme weather disasters like Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy — a new report finds that states across the country still have serious gaps in their emergency preparedness plans. The [...]/p

Right-Wing Teacher-Arming Hysteria Grows | Alternet

Right-Wing Teacher-Arming Hysteria Grows | Alternet
"The latest high-profile Republican to say he is open to possibly allowing firearms on school grounds is Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, who said in the wake of the Newtown, Conn. school shootings that he thinks “that’s a reasonable discussion that ought to be had"."

NRA Repeatedly Responds To Massacres By Lobbying For Weaker Gun Safety

NRA Repeatedly Responds To Massacres By Lobbying For Weaker Gun Safety: The National Rifle Association finally broke its silence and announced they would hold a press conference a week after the massacre of 27 people, most of them children around 6 years old, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. In the official statement, gun advocates’ most prominent lobby suggested they would make “meaningful contributions [...]/p

4 Key Tax Provisions That Expire At The End Of The Year

4 Key Tax Provisions That Expire At The End Of The Year: Most of the ink spilled over negotiations surrounding the so-called “fiscal cliff” — the year-end set of tax increases and spending cuts — has covered the impending demise of the Bush tax cuts. But several other important tax provisions will also expire, some with severe impacts for the middle-class: – The payroll tax cut. A [...]/p

Even While Crossing One Of World’s Largest Aquifers, Keystone XL Would Not Use Advanced Leak Detection

Even While Crossing One Of World’s Largest Aquifers, Keystone XL Would Not Use Advanced Leak Detection: Even after causing more than a dozen spills in 2011 from its newest tar sands pipeline — including a six story “geyser” of crude — Canadian energy developer TransCanada claimed its planned Keystone XL pipeline would “exceed” safety standards. But according to a new investigation of TransCanada’s development plans, the company does not plan to [...]/p

Halfway To Hell (And High Water): 333rd Month In A Row Global Temperatures Exceed Long-Term Average

Halfway To Hell (And High Water): 333rd Month In A Row Global Temperatures Exceed Long-Term Average: Okay, NOAA’s State of the Climate Report for November isn’t the Mayan meteorological forecast. And the Apocalypse isn’t quite “now.” But this part of the NOAA report is kind of ominous: Including this November, the 10 warmest Novembers have occurred in the past 12 years. The 10 coolest Novembers on record all occurred prior to 1920. [...]/p

A Grand Swindle: What We Don’t Need Now Is a Bad “Grand Bargain” | Common Dreams

A Grand Swindle: What We Don’t Need Now Is a Bad “Grand Bargain” | Common Dreams
"It seems that since Nov. 6, many politicians forgot that the people they represent used their voice at the polls to stand up for working families and the programs they rely on. Democratic lawmakers should resist any “grand bargain” on the budget that protects the wealthy at the expense of the rest of us."

Unionized Teachers, So Vilified By the Right, Are the Heroes of Sandy Hook | Alternet

Unionized Teachers, So Vilified By the Right, Are the Heroes of Sandy Hook | Alternet
"The teachers, workers and education professionals of Sandy Hook Elementary School saved dozens of children -- some at the cost of their own lives."

With Gov. Chris Christie, It's Corrupt Business As Usual

With Gov. Chris Christie, It's Corrupt Business As Usual
"Although he sells himself that way, Gov. Chris Christie is not a "reformer." He simulates being candid, but uses that illusion to cloak a host of crooked problems he'd be hard pressed to explain. And he's the big hope of the Republican party?"

Virginia Governor McDonnell Wants More Guns In Schools

Virginia Governor McDonnell Wants More Guns In Schools: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) became the latest anti-gun control figure to embrace the notion that the best way to protect against future tragedies like Newtown, Connecticut, is to put more guns in public schools. In his monthly “Ask the Governor” segment on WTOP radio, McDonnell endorsed the idea of arming adults in schools. Asked [...]/p

Corporate-Occupied Government: A 'Redistribution Machine' for the Wealthy | Common Dreams

Corporate-Occupied Government: A 'Redistribution Machine' for the Wealthy | Common Dreams
"In the first article of the series, published Tuesday, Reuters traces the ways in which the federal government has acted as a wealth redistribution machine, not towards those in need, but upwards towards the already wealthy. According to the report, an analysis of decennial Census data, the federal government has "emerged as one of the most potent factors driving income inequality in the United States - especially in the nation's capital."

The report cites public policy decisions, government 'outsourcing' of projects to private firms, weakened unions, a shift in labor demand from low-skill jobs to high-skill professions and, most broadly, sweeping tax cuts, particularly during the Bush administration, that largely benefit top income earners and the corporations, lobbying firms, and law firms they work for."

How Christianity Became a Lucrative Brand | Alternet

How Christianity Became a Lucrative Brand | Alternet
"Prosperity Christianity, or what some call “health and wealth” religion, is largely a North American religious movement, connected to Pentecostal Christianity and Word of Faith teachings, and is often tied to Oral Roberts and other evangelists who became well known in the 1980s and 1990s. However, Prosperity Christianity is also historically related to faith healing; in the early 20th century, evangelicals focused on physical well-being as the therapeutic ethos of culture became normative and activities like the “mind cure,” which stressed the power of positive thinking as a cure for disease, became popular."

5 Reasons Our Changing Climate Is More Dangerous Than You Think | Alternet

5 Reasons Our Changing Climate Is More Dangerous Than You Think | Alternet
"Here’s what we’re not so good at understanding: We are part of a slowly enfolding tragedy in which the end of the world as we know it may be getting closer and closer. It won’t happen on any particular day that we can pinpoint and there won’t be a giant explosion or a big flood that will wipe everything away. There will be many floods and fires over many years. One species, one crop dying off after another."

Sen. Mitch McConnell's Sixteen Seconds Of Shame

Sen. Mitch McConnell's Sixteen Seconds Of Shame
"We've all seen George Bush's Seven Minutes of Silence in Michael Moore's blistering documentaryFarenheit 911, and we've heard Bill Maher discuss it at length. Well, now we have a new political embarrassment to add to the lexicon of shame. This one is a shout-out to Mitch McConnell, who refused to answer a simple question about gun control after the massacre at Sandy Hook."

Florida Sought To Disenfranchise College Students In 2012 Election, Lawmaker Admits

Florida Sought To Disenfranchise College Students In 2012 Election, Lawmaker Admits: Election Day in Florida became a nightmare due to several changes to election law, resulting in marathon lines and more provisional ballots. Now that the election is over, Florida Republicans are beginning to admit the mess was intended to suppress votes. State Rep. Dennis Baxley (R-FL) and GOP chair of Alachua County, Stafford Jones, cooked [...]/p

New Press Freedom Group is Launched to Block US Government Attacks | Common Dreams

New Press Freedom Group is Launched to Block US Government Attacks | Common Dreams
"Secrecy is the linchpin of abuse of power. Few priorities are more important, in my view, than supporting and enabling any efforts to subvert the ability of the US government and other factions to operate in the dark. It's particularly vital to undercut the US government's ability to punish and kill groups that succeed in these transparency efforts. Those are the goals to which this new press freedom foundation are devoted, and I hope that anyone who believes these goals are important will find ways to support this effort."

In Arkansas, Heavily Armed Cops to Patrol City Stopping Residents at Random | Alternet

In Arkansas, Heavily Armed Cops to Patrol City Stopping Residents at Random | Alternet
"A city in Arkansas is dealing with an increase in crime. The police chief thinks the solution to the problem is granting law enforcement expansive new powers."

Remember, the Gun Nuts Spew Hatred of Schools and Teachers Too

Remember, the Gun Nuts Spew Hatred of Schools and Teachers Too
"As Susie has already noted, a number of pro-gun nutcases -- including gun-rights lobbyists like Larry Pratt, with actual influence inside the Beltway -- have responded to the atrocity at Sandy Hook with the atrocious argument that "gun free zone" policies caused the massacre, and that what we ought to be doing is arming our schoolteachers.

Yes, these people are evil. And insane. And unfortunately, they play a real role in our politics."

5 Sensible Steps We Can Take To Prevent Gun Massacres

5 Sensible Steps We Can Take To Prevent Gun Massacres: Since Friday’s massacre in an elementary school in Newtown, CT, lawmakers — and even life-long National Rifle Association members — have come out for sensible gun safety and health measures that could avert future shootings. While “no single law — no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world, or prevent every senseless act [...]/p

NRA Cowards Go Into Hiding As Gun Control Support Surges | Common Dreams

NRA Cowards Go Into Hiding As Gun Control Support Surges | Common Dreams
"On Saturday, one day after the massacre at the Newtown, Conn. elementary school, the NRA deactivated itsFacebook page. And he NRA's mainTwitter account has gone silent since Friday."

The Corporate War Against Teachers as Public Intellectuals in Dark Times

The Corporate War Against Teachers as Public Intellectuals in Dark Times
"Right-wing fundamentalists and corporate ideologues are not just waging a war against the rights of unions, workers, students, women, the disabled, low-income groups and poor minorities, but also against those public spheres that provide a vocabulary for connecting values, desires, identities, social relations and institutions to the discourse of social responsibility, ethics, and democracy, if not thinking itself."

Meet Five CEOs Who Prove That Lower Corporate Taxes Don't Equal More Hiring | Alternet

Meet Five CEOs Who Prove That Lower Corporate Taxes Don't Equal More Hiring | Alternet
" Several of the CEOs pushing this idea actually run companies that pay extremely low corporate tax rates, well below the statutory 35 percent rate—or pay none at all. So, via the invaluable Institute for Policy Studies, let’s see what kind of job creation these folks did while enjoying very low corporate tax rates:"

America's Most Dangerous Enemy | Alternet

America's Most Dangerous Enemy | Alternet
"At this moment, America is threatened by the greatest danger we may ever face. This danger lurks within our borders—a powerful network of organizations, which, while once vital to our country, now serves to weaken and ultimately ruin America.

This network is directed by dangerous radicals, on a path to fundamentally upset the balance of our world. They have infiltrated our highest levels of government and business. Their plan, if carried through to fruition, will result in the deaths of millions of Americans, and the suffering of millions more."

9 Horrible Gun Laws Backed by the Right Wing | Alternet

9 Horrible Gun Laws Backed by the Right Wing | Alternet
"The corporate-backed American Legislative Exchange Council works hand-in-glove with the National Rifle Association."

How ALEC Thwarts Honest Debate About Gun Violence | Common Dreams

How ALEC Thwarts Honest Debate About Gun Violence | Common Dreams
"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."

Indiana Man Arrested After Threatening To Shoot Up Elementary School

Indiana Man Arrested After Threatening To Shoot Up Elementary School: A man equipped with a 47 gun arsenal was arrested on Sunday after threatening to kill children at a local elementary school. The Cedar Lake, Indiana man had also threatened his wife: Cedar Lake police were called to the home of 60-year-old Von I. Meyer early Friday after he allegedly threatened to set his wife [...]/p

Big Money, ALEC and the Gun Agenda

Big Money, ALEC and the Gun Agenda
"One of the key avenues it has used to exert its influence is the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). For decades, the NRA has helped bankroll ALEC operations and even co-chaired ALEC's "Public Safety and Elections Task Force," where it secretly voted on bills alongside elected representatives."

GOP Rep Suggests Teachers Should Be Armed With Assault Rifles

GOP Rep Suggests Teachers Should Be Armed With Assault Rifles: A Republican Congressman suggested that had the teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary been armed with assault rifles, they could have prevented Friday’s massacre and saved lives. Appearing on a special Fox News Sunday dedicated to the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) said that an armed teacher or principal could have taken the [...]/p