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Sheila Samples is an Oklahoma writer and a former civilian US Army Public Information Officer. She is a Managing Editor for OpEd News, and a regular contributor for a variety of Internet sites.
Thursday, February 16, 2012 US military intelligence: "Iran won't start the war'
In a briefing over the escalating hostilities between the US and Iran, American intelligence officials say it is unlikely that Iran will initiate any military action against the United States.
If and when the US does launch a strike on Iran, however, the consequences could be catastrophic. Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Ronald Burgess said an attack at the hands of Iran is unlikely, unless, of course, the US acts first. Burgess also added that, despite increased sanctions imposed by the US and a build up of American military forces surrounding the country, Iran is unlikely to halt the nuclear program that has become the cause of international concern.
Thursday, February 16, 2012 Israeli forces destroy "the only place for children in Silwan" | The Electronic Intifada
Israeli forces arrived before sunrise on Monday, 13 February to demolish a newly completed community facility that residents refer to as a cultural café in occupied East Jerusalem. The bulldozers arrived without any prior warning.The community is determined to rebuild the café. For local residents, the right to build and live on their land is a constant battle and one they are not prepared to lose. Like many Palestinians living in the Jordan Valley, they have adopted the principle that to exist is to resist.
Thursday, February 16, 2012 Joseph Kennedy III announces congressional campaign; meets voters at T stop
Joseph P. Kennedy III, the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy and the son of former US Representative Joseph P. Kennedy II, shook hands and spoke to voters this morning at the Newton Centre MBTA stop, on the first day of his official campaign for Congress. He said that if elected, his priorities would include a fair tax code, job growth, and a 21st-century energy policy. He also touted his recent experience as a prosecutor and an advocate for low-income residents during his studies at Harvard Law School, as well as his time as a Peace Corps volunteer.
Thursday, February 16, 2012 Truck with explosives found near Kansas Capitol; Gov. Brownback threatened
An early-morning parking complaint led authorities to a pickup truck with homemade explosives across the street from the Kansas Capitol on Wednesday. The truck's discovery was the first in a day of unusual events at the statehouse that included threats made to the governor's office and hundreds gathering on the steps of the Capitol to protest policies advocated by Gov. Sam Brownback and Secretary of State Kris Kobach.
Thursday, February 16, 2012 Alaska Bill Would Criminalize Invasive TSA Pat Downs
The TSA is facing a series of confrontations over the next few months, with Texas State Rep. David Simpson set to resurrect the Traveler Dignity Act, the aforementioned bill that would have made invasive TSA groping a criminal offense in Texas, as well as the passage of a new law which now opens the door for airports to evict the TSA from the security screening process altogether.
Thursday, February 16, 2012 Consumer agency wants oversight of debt collectors, credit bureaus
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday sought to bring debt collectors and credit bureaus under its purview, marking the first time the often controversial industries would be subject to federal supervision.
Thursday, February 16, 2012 Gail Collins: Why Congress Has No Date for the Prom
Congress, the beating heart of American democracy, is unpopular. Not unpopular like a shy kid in junior high. Unpopular like the Ebola virus, or zombies. Held in near-universal contempt, like TV shows about hoarders with dead cats in their kitchens. Or people who get students to call you up during dinner and ask you to give money to your old university.
Thursday, February 16, 2012 California Audit Finds Broad Irregularities in Foreclosures
Anecdotal evidence indicating foreclosure abuse has been plentiful since the mortgage boom turned to bust in 2008. But the detailed and comprehensive nature of the San Francisco findings suggest how pervasive foreclosure irregularities may be across the nation.
Thursday, February 16, 2012 Amy Goodman: The Afghan War's Nine Lives
The number of U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan approaches 2,000, which is about the number of civilians killed there annually. Nic Lee, the director of the independent Afghanistan NGO Safety Office, wrote in his year-end report for 2011, "The year was remarkable for being the one in which the US/NATO leadership finally acknowledged the unwinnable nature of its war with the Taliban." Meanwhile, images surface of U.S. Marines urinating on Afghan corpses, or posing with a Nazi SS flag, and the drumbeat continues, death by death.
Thursday, February 16, 2012 Iran seems an unlikely culprit for the attacks on Israeli diplomats
For Iran it doesn't make sense to risk alienating India by launching an assassination attempt in the capital of the country. Similarly, Iran has good economic and political relations with Georgia and Thailand. Why would the leadership in Tehran risk a major crisis with these countries during this sensitive period when IAEA inspectors are moving in and out of Iran to investigate the country's nuclear program?
Thursday, February 16, 2012 Congressional negotiators reach deal on $150 billion economic plan
Congressional negotiators put their final signatures late Wednesday on an economic plan worth more than $150 billion that would extend a payroll tax holiday and unemployment benefits. A key roadblock was overcome when the lawmakers agreed to require new federal workers to contribute more to their pension plans, clearing the way for a majority of the House-Senate conference committee to approve the deal just past 11 p.m.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 800,000 Americans Tell Senate: Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline
Over the last 24 hours, environmental and progressive groups flooded the Senate with more than 800,000 messages opposing TransCanada's Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. The 1,700-mile-long proposed pipeline would carry heavy bitumen oil from the tar sands of northern Alberta to refineries in Oklahoma and on the Texas Gulf Coast.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 Pentagon advances case against Guantánamo captive Khan
A senior Pentagon official approved terror charges Wednesday against a U.S. high school graduate accused of conspiring with confessed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed -- a swift turnaround that sets the stage for a new war court case at Guantánamo within the month. Majid Khan allegedly plotted with Mohammed to blow up underground fuel tanks at U.S. gas stations and volunteered to assassinate then President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan with a suicide bomb belt.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 The Right-Wing Media's Discipline Machine
The bullying of an educated executive vying to be leader of the free world into the denial of demonstrable facts--was a striking demonstration of the sway Limbaugh and his cronies in conservative media hold over Republican hopefuls. It's a degree of influence unmatched by any entity on the left, or for that matter by issue activists on the right.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 Willie Nelson and 300,000 Other Activists Sue Monsanto
Little did Willie Nelson know when he recorded "Crazy" years ago just how crazy it would become for our cherished family farmers in America. Nelson, President of Farm Aid, has recently called for the national Occupy movement to declare an "Occupy the Food System" action. Nelson states, "Corporate control of our food system has led to the loss of millions of family farmers, destruction of our soil""
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 Congress Left in Dark on DOJ Wiretaps
A Senate staffer was tasked two years ago with compiling reports for a subcommittee about the number of times annually the Justice Department employed a covert internet and telephone surveillance method known as pen register and trap-and-trace capturing. But the records, which the Justice Department is required to forward to Congress annually, were nowhere in sight. That's because the Justice Department was not following the law and had not provided Congress with the material at least for years 2004 to 2008.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 Independent voters are rejecting Romney
Last weekend, Romney was trying to reassure attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference he was "severely conservative," but that elevation of ideological inflexibility sounds like someone who's hitting the Kool-Aid a little too hard for most independent voters. Independents outnumber Democrats or Republicans and how they swing will determine the winner of the next election.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 Ethan Bronner out as NYT Jerusalem chief
Two years* after the New York Times public editor recommended his reassignment, Ethan Bronner is being replaced as Jerusalem bureau chief.
Today, the Times announced that Education editor Jodi Rudoren has been named Jerusalem bureau chief. Bronner will become the legal affairs reporter at the National desk.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 Mark Morford: Santorum, the bishops, and you
Do you know why Rick Santorum is surging in popularity among frightened ultraconservatives right now? Simple: because he's not the creepy, wooden Mormon guy. Nor is he the creepy old adulterer guy, both of whom ultraconservatives feel do not best represent their violently constricted worldview at this particular moment.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 Deal would extend unemployment benefits, prevent Medicare cut - latimes.com
One day after House Republican leaders made a major concession on the payroll tax cut, congressional negotiators struck a tentative deal that also would extend long-term unemployment benefits and prevent drastic reductions in doctors' Medicare payments.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 Fake Cancer Drug Found in U.S.
The maker of the widely used Avastin cancer drug said Tuesday that it is warning doctors, hospitals and patient groups that a counterfeit version of the medicine has been found in the U.S. Roche still is testing the vials of counterfeit Avastin to see what ingredients they contain, but the Genentech spokeswoman said: "It's not Avastin. It's not safe and effective, and it shouldn't be used."
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 Birth Control Amendment 'Dangerous,' Obama Spokesman Says
The measure, proposed by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) would amend the Affordable Care Act to allow any employer to exclude any health service coverage, no matter how critical or basic, by claiming that it violates their religious or moral convictions. Moreover, according to the National Women's Law Center, the amendment would remove critical non-discrimination protections from the Affordable Care Act. For instance, an insurer could deny maternity care coverage to a same-sex couple, an interracial couple or a single woman for religious or moral reasons.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 GOP Goes All-In Against Birth Control (And More!) (2 comments)
Republicans in Congress are doubling down on their phony charges of a "war on religious liberty" and are now targeting essential health care benefits far beyond birth control. As soon as today, the Senate could vote on a radical measure sponsored by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) that would allow ANY employer to deny coverage for ANY preventative or essential health care service, not just birth control.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 Roseanne Barr Pulls 6 Percent Against Obama and Romney in National Presidential Poll
A survey found that in a three-way race between President Obama, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, and Roseanne, Roseanne pulls 6 percent, ahead of undecided at 5 percent. Those are still minuscule numbers in comparison to Obama, who leads with 47 percent, and Romney, who follows him with 42 percent. And it's not clear that Roseanne's numbers will hold under any circumstances: she has a 63 percent disapproval rating and a 14 percent approval rating.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 Republicans call Obama's budget a reelection "gimmick"
House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) called Obama's proposal "a gloomy reflection of his failed policies of the past, not a bold plan for America's future" and promised that Ryan would soon offer "an honest budget" that would control future debt, most likely through a version of Ryan's controversial plan to reshape Medicare.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 Republicans retreat on payroll tax cut
In their joint statement Monday, Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced that Republicans would unveil a bill simply extending the payroll tax cut through December. The bill is being introduced as a House-Senate conference committee is negotiating over the payroll tax holiday, as well as the extension of unemployment insurance and a fix to the Medicare reimbursement rate for doctors.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 Iran presses ahead with dollar attack
"Recall that Saddam [Hussein] announced Iraq would no longer accept dollars for oil purchases in November 2000 and the US-Anglo invasion occurred in March 2003," the Times said. "Similarly, Iran opened its oil bourse in 2008, so it is a credit to Iranian negotiating ability that the 'crisis' has not come to a head long before now."
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 Frank Rich: Who in God's Name is Mitt Romney?
The party's panicked Establishment, and its Wall Street empire, will succeed in their push to crush Gingrich and prop up Romney in any way they can. They still see Mitt as the best available front man for the radical party the Republicans have become--the dutiful Eagle Scout who can hold down the fort as the right's self-styled revolutionary rabble threaten to overwhelm today's GOP elites the way the Goldwater insurgents once did Nelson Rockefeller and Romney's father, George.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 Admiral Seeks Freer Hand in Deployment of Elite Forces
The nation's top Special Operations officer, a member of the Navy Seals who oversaw the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, is seeking new authority to move his forces faster and outside of normal Pentagon deployment channels.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 Military Cuts and Tax Plan Are Central to Budget Proposal
President Obama's final budget request of his term amounts to his agenda for a desired second term, with tax increases on the affluent and cuts in spending, especially from the military, both to reduce deficits and to pay for priorities like education, public works, research and clean energy.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 Silent State: The Campaign Against Whistleblowers
The Obama administration has already charged more people - six - under the Espionage Act for alleged mishandling of classified information than all past presidencies combined. (Prior to Obama, there were only three such cases in American history.)
Monday, February 13, 2012 Netanyahu blames Iran, Hezbollah for bombs targeting Israelis
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran on Monday for twin attempts to bomb people affiliated with the Israeli embassies in New Delhi and Tbilisi, Georgia. Netanyahu quickly pointed a finger at Iran, which has vowed revenge for recent assassinations of scientists involved in its nuclear program, and at Hezbollah, a terrorist group sponsored by Iran that had pledged to avenge the assassination four years ago of one of its leaders.
Monday, February 13, 2012 Thomas Friedman: We Need a Second Party (9 comments)
Watching the Republican Party struggling to agree on a presidential candidate, one wonders whether the G.O.P. shouldn't just sit this election out -- just give 2012 a pass. Until the G.O.P. stops being radical and returns to being conservative, it won't provide what the country needs most now -- competition -- competition with Democrats on the issues that will determine whether we thrive in the 21st century.
Monday, February 13, 2012 Afghan War Risks Are Shifting to Contractors (1 comments)
American employers in Afghanistan are under no obligation to publicly report the deaths of their employees and frequently do not. While the military announces the names of all its war dead, private companies routinely notify only family members. Most of the contractors die unheralded and uncounted -- and in some cases, leave their survivors uncompensated.
Monday, February 13, 2012 Republicans Finally Realize They're Helping Obama
Republicans, to be sure, are still plenty full of crazy. The ideological zeal remains almost fully intact, but the political zeal -- the sheer bloody-minded insistence that steadfastness would invariably bring triumph -- is always the first to flag. Signs have been popping up for a few weeks now. At their retreat last month, a pollster told House Republicans that their polling numbers had collapsed while Congressional Democrats have actually seen theirs improve.
Saturday, February 11, 2012 Robert Fisk: From Washington this looks like Syria's 'Benghazi moment'. But not from here
It's not difficult to see how the opposite plays in the West. The barrage of horrifying Facebook images from Homs, and statements from the "Free Syrian Army", and the huffing of La Clinton and the amazement that Russia can be so blind to the suffering of Syrians -- as if America was anything but blind to the suffering of Palestinians when, say, more than 1,300 were killed in Israel's onslaught on Gaza -- doesn't gel with reality on the ground. Why should the Russians care about Homs? Did they care about the dead of Chechnya?
Saturday, February 11, 2012 Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies (1 comments)
Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48. Houston's publicist, Kristen Foster, said Saturday that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unknown.
Saturday, February 11, 2012 Obama's 2013 budget proposal launches election-year debate
President Obama will send Congress a 2013 spending plan that would raise taxes on the rich and pump nearly $500 billion into new transportation projects over the next decade, launching an election-year debate over the budget that promises starkly different visions for managing government debt and the sluggish economy.
Saturday, February 11, 2012 Foreclosure Deal to Spur New Wave of U.S. Home Seizures, Help Heal Market
The $25 billion settlement with banks over foreclosure abuses may result in a wave of home seizures, inflicting short-term pain on delinquent U.S. borrowers while making a long-term housing recovery more likely. A surge of home seizures may drive down values, at least for a while, in a fragile market. The number of new foreclosure filings fell 34 percent last year, according to RealtyTrac, resulting in a backlog that now may flood the market with low- cost properties. About 1 million foreclosures will be completed this year, up 25 percent from 2011.
Saturday, February 11, 2012 MJ Rosenberg: Iran War: What Is AIPAC Planning? (1 comments)
These are strange times for those of us who follow the debate about a possible war with Iran. It is clear that the Israeli government and its neoconservative camp followers here in the United States are increasing pressure on President Obama to either attack Iran or let Israel do it (in which case, we would be forced to join in). But the idea of another Middle East war is so outlandish that it seems inconceivable it could actually occur. It's not an illusion. And it certainly won't be if Netanyahu gets the president he wants in November, a Republican who will fight the war Netanyahu wants but isn't eager to fight himself. Surely Mitt or Rick or Newt will do it for him.
Saturday, February 11, 2012 Gail Collins: The Battle Behind the Fight
Republican politicians have other fish to fry. They want to use the bishops and the birth control issue to get at health care reform. Right now in Congress, there are bills floating around that would allow employers to refuse to provide health care coverage for drugs or procedures they found immoral. You can't have national health care coverage -- even the patched-together system we're working toward -- with loopholes like that.
Saturday, February 11, 2012 It's Time To Occupy Mainstream Media
A media system dominated by such a narrow coterie of owners has a direct impact on the quality of news presented to the public -- affecting a diversity of viewpoints as well as the depth of coverage on issues such as corporate greed, poverty, corruption, racism, climate change and a host of other topics that an electorate needs to know in order to make educated decisions which directly affect their lives.
Saturday, February 11, 2012 Van Jones: Bank Settlement: $25 Billion Down, $675 Billion to Go
(1)The U.S. Department of Justice and state attorneys general must investigate and prosecute banks more aggressively than ever, at a much larger scale than anything that has happened to date. (2) We must force banks to make massive principal reduction of hundreds of billions of dollars, to immediately relieve the 14 million homeowners in the country who have underwater mortgages. (3) We must change laws and regulations to prevent this kind of crisis and fraud from ever happening again.
Friday, February 10, 2012 David Corn: Dr. Gingrich and Mr. Newt
Gingrich does have the capacity to be a respected policy statesman--one of the elites!--which clearly is one of his aims. But he cannot resist being the flame-throwing bad boy of American politics. And it's tough to be both. Jekyll was a philanthropist who couldn't say no to his uncivilized urges. And Gingrich has been as unsuccessful as the Victorian-age doctor in controlling his darker impulses. His inability to resolve such a fundamental internal conflict may well be his biggest obstacle to becoming president.
Friday, February 10, 2012 Constance Johnson : About my 'spilled semen' amendment to Oklahoma's Personhood bill
As a woman and a 31-year veteran of the legislative process in Oklahoma, I am increasingly offended by state law trends that solely focus on the female's role in the reproductive process. With Oklahoma's new, never-before-experienced Republican majority, we are seeing enactment of more and more measures that adversely affect women and their rights to access safe medical procedures when making reproductive healthcare decisions.
Friday, February 10, 2012 Decline Watch: Is the U.S. Constitution going out of style?
The Constitution's waning influence may be part of a general decline in American power and prestige. The most controversial legal battles of American history have involved the interpretation of non-specific language in the constitution -- whether the bill of rights implies a right to privacy, whether the first amendment mandates a complete seperation of church and state, whether firearms laws are prohibited by the second amendment.
Friday, February 10, 2012 Children Killed in NATO Airstrike, Afghan Leader Says
Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, accused NATO on Thursday of killing eight children in a coalition airstrike in eastern Afghanistan. Civilian casualties have caused serious tensions between the United States-led military coalition and the Afghan government.
Friday, February 10, 2012 Large Catholic Institutions Offered Contraception Even Before Required To Do So
The New York Times reported in 2002 that the Catholic Archdiocese of New York extended contraception coverage before the state passed its requirement. Catholic universities, Marquette and Mount Mary in Wisconsin were also offering the benefit prior to enactment of the state's contraception equity clause in 2010.
Friday, February 10, 2012 5 Big Lies About the Phony 'War on Religion' (2 comments)
Exploiting religious divides has long been one of the ways conservatives seek to win over working-class voters, whom they otherwise don't seem to care about. Abortion, gay rights and religious education become wedge issues for politicians like Rick Santorum, who blend a kind of faux-populism with frighteningly reactionary sentiments about the rights of women and LGBT people.
Friday, February 10, 2012 White House modification still guarantees contraceptive coverage for women
Seeking to allay the concerns of Catholic leaders and head off an escalating political storm, President Obama on Friday announced an adjustment to the administration's health-care rule requiring religiously affiliated employers to provide contraceptive coverage to women. Women still will be guaranteed coverage for contraceptive services without any out-of-pocket cost, but will have to seek the coverage directly from their insurance companies if their employers object to birth control on religious grounds.
Friday, February 10, 2012 Kevin Drum: Why I'm Feeling So Hard-Nosed Over the Contraception Affair
This is hardly a unique matter of conscience. Anyone who pays taxes, including Catholic bishops, ends up financially supporting things they disapprove of. Public regulations often involve financial commitments too, and this one is no different. It's also pretty minuscule. This is an issue that's very clearly being blown up for partisan political reasons far beyond its actual impact on religious organizations or religious conscience.
Friday, February 10, 2012 Paul Krugman: Money and Morals
Conservatives are telling us that inequality is not really about money; it's about morals. Never mind wage stagnation and all that, the real problem is the collapse of working-class family values, which is somehow the fault of liberals.
Thursday, February 9, 2012 Archbishop Recants Apology for Sex Abuse, Says "I don't Think We Did Anything Wrong"
In 2002, at the height of the outcry over the sexual abuse of minors by Roman Catholic priests, the Archbishop of New York, Edward M. Egan, issued a letter to be read at Mass. In it, he offered an apology about the church's handling of sex-abuse cases in New York and in Bridgeport, Conn., where he was previously posted....Now, 10 years later and in retirement, Cardinal Egan has taken back his apology.
Thursday, February 9, 2012 Vermont Introduces Monumental GMO Labeling Legislation (1 comments)
Vermont has taken the initiative against Monsanto and other biotechnology corporations in launching new legislation that would require the labeling of products containing genetically modified ingredients.
Thursday, February 9, 2012 Bradley Manning's Own Defense Appears To Concede He's No Hero
Pfc. Bradley E. Manning, suspected of leaking thousands of documents to WikiLeaks, will face a court martial on 22 counts. If convicted, Manning, 24, could receive a maximum of life in prison. Last week, the entire parliamentary group of The Movement of the Icelandic Parliament nominated Manning for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Thursday, February 9, 2012 Robert Redford: Keystone Pipeline Facts
Canada wanted to send the dirtiest oil on the planet through the heart of America so that they could access export routes. And they proposed getting there by bringing the pipeline right over the Ogallala Aquifer, one of America's most important repositories of fresh water. Along the route, Democrats and Republicans alike opposed it.
Thursday, February 9, 2012 U.S. and Israel Split Over How to Deter Iran
Amid mounting tensions over whether Israel will carry out a military strike against Iran's nuclear program, the United States and Israel remain at odds over a fundamental question: whether Iran's crucial nuclear facilities are about to become impregnable.
Thursday, February 9, 2012 Missing: 5.4 million workers (2 comments)
Millions of Americans have vanished from the US labor force in the past three years, many of them so discouraged by long, fruitless job searches that they have given up looking for work, convinced that no employer wants them, according to a new study.
Thursday, February 9, 2012 New nuclear reactors set to be OK'd for Georgia
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is set to approve licenses to build two new nuclear reactors Thursday, the first approvals in over 30 years. The reactors are being built in Georgia by a consortium of utilities led by Southern Co. They will be sited at the Vogtle nuclear power plant complex, about 170 miles east of Atlanta. The plant already houses two older reactors.
Thursday, February 9, 2012 Keystone XL benefits from taxpayer subsidies
The refineries that are linked to the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline as committed shippers will receive between $1 billion and $1.8 billion in tax breaks. They are paid specifically for investing in equipment to process the heavy sour oil the pipeline promises to deliver.
Thursday, February 9, 2012 Pentagon: Women Could Serve Closer to Front Line
The Pentagon on Thursday is set to recommend a new policy to Congress that would ease restrictions on women serving in combat -- but one that would continue to keep females off the front lines of battle.
Thursday, February 9, 2012 Congress finds a new home in the doghouse (1 comments)
A new Gallup poll shows Congress's approval rating has actually hit a new low of 10%, despite some positive signs for the economy.
Gallup editor Frank Newport said it’s hard to deduce precisely why Congress’s approval rating continues to fall.
“Congress at this point is again wrangling over the extension of the payroll tax holiday and unemployment benefits — both of which were temporarily extended late last year in a short-term fix that expires at the end of February,” he said. “It is notable that President Obama has continued to make criticism of Congress a part of his broad presidential re-election strategy.”
right now, we’re seeing as big a gap between Congress’s approval rating and the president’s (50 percent in a recent WaPo-ABC News poll) as we’ve seen in a long time.
Generally, Congress’s approval rating will rise or fall with the president’s
Thursday, February 9, 2012 Ethics Reform Bill to Ban Insider Trading
The House on Thursday overwhelmingly approved its scaled-back version of an ethics reform package that would prohibit insider trading on Capitol Hill and in the executive branch. On a 417 to 2 vote, the legislation won approval despite complaints from senators and House Democrats that GOP leaders stripped the measure of several key reforms that the Senate had easily approved.
Thursday, February 9, 2012 E.J.Dionne Jr -- Clint Eastwood, Rick Santorum and the limits of pessimism
Eastwood was right to offer his lovely tribute to American resilience. "We find a way through tough times, and if we can't find a way, then we'll make one." Americans prefer hope and optimism to gloomy declarations of impending doom. Why would Romney and so many in his party want to be the doom guys?
Thursday, February 9, 2012 Planned Parenthood pulls a 'Buffy' on the Right
February 2 was the day that Planned Parenthood was supposed to crumble into dust. It worked perfectly a couple of years ago with ACORN, the largest low-income advocacy organisation in the United States. Why should Planned Parenthood be any different?
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 States Negotiate $26 Billion Deal for Homeowners
After months of painstaking talks, government authorities and five of the nation's biggest banks have agreed to a $26 billion settlement that could provide relief to nearly two million current and former American homeowners harmed by the bursting of the housing bubble, state and federal officials said. It is part of a broad national settlement aimed at halting the housing market's downward slide and holding the banks accountable for foreclosure abuses.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 Santorum wins make Romney's path to nomination much harder
With victories Tuesday in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri, Rick Santorum became a threat. The sweep by the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania exposed long-held voter qualms about Romney, and conservatives are likely to take a fresh look at Santorum.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 Eric Cantor under fire for STOCK Act tweaks (1 comments)
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) has released his version of a congressional insider-trading ban, and it strips a provision that would require so-called political intelligence consultants to disclose their activities, like lobbyists already do. It also scraps a proposal that empowers federal prosecutors going after corruption by public officials.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 Dear Ronald Reagan: Thanks for Wrecking America (1 comments)
How do you like your party now, Ronnie? A Mormon everyone hates, a world-historical balloon animal 10 years past his sell-by date, a survivalist crank from Texas, and a guy who is pretty much a dick. That's the party you and your boys created.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 Mark Morford: How to be outraged in America
Who knew Komen's pink-clad army was run by such anti-choice, right-wing hand-wringers? Who knew that their founder and CEO, Nancy G. Brinker, voted for Bush and their former VP of Policy, Karen Handel (who just resigned in a huff over the flap), was a failed Republican gubernatorial anti-choice crusader from Georgia? Who knew that it's possible to separate the cause of supporting women who have cancer from the cause of supporting women's health and empowerment overall?
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 "Bypassing Strait of Hormuz, impossible'
Energy experts say if the strategic Strait of Hormuz is closed by Tehran in reaction to the Western oil ban on Iran, there will be no alternative way to compensate for the blockade.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 Mormon Church 'owns unregulated gun sale website' (2 comments)
KSL.com was criticised by the Mayor's office for running classified adverts which allow individuals to buy and sell handguns and other firearms without proper background checks and no questions asked. The site is owned by Deseret Media, the for-profit arm of the Church of the Latter Day Saints -- also known as the Mormons -- which has come to prominence recently as a result of the presidential run of member Mitt Romney.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 BP Made $3 Million An Hour In 2011, While Spill Victims Continued To Suffer
BP earned $3 million every hour in 2011. Its fourth-quarter profits reached $7.69 billion, which is up 38 percent from 2010. The company continues to scale back its production in the wake of the spill, producing 10 percent less than 2010 levels. BP contributions to federal candidates totaled more than $98,000 in 2011, with more than half (65 percent) to Republican candidates.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 Capitol Assets: Some legislators send millions to groups connected to their relatives
Some members of Congress send tax dollars to companies, colleges and community groups where their spouses, children and parents work as salaried employees, lobbyists or board members, according to an examination of federal disclosure forms and local public records.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 5 Amazing Places in the US in Danger of Being Destroyed By Dirty Energy
TransCanada, the company behind Keystone XL, showed the petroleum industry's usual indifference to people and nature. It planned on running the pipeline through Nebraska's ecologically sensitive Sandhills. Just beneath the Sandhills lays the Ogallala Aquifer, the major source of irrigation on the Great Plains. If the oil leaks into the aquifer, the prime source of water for America's breadbasket would be contaminated.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 Obama Camp Feared "Half-Billion Dollar' Koch-Led Attack
In a conference call with reporters explaining their move, senior officials repeatedly invoked the Koch spectre, referencing reports of a recent conference in which the conservative billionaires secured $100 million in pledges from wealthy donors to support Obama's Republican challenger. Combined with the Rove-founded American Crossroads' goal of raising as much as $240 million ($50 million of which they raised in 2011), the campaign said they were concerned they would be swamped by as much as a "half billion dollars" in "Karl Rove/Koch Brothers unlimited spending," most of which they expected to be devoted to negative ads.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis: Truth, Lies and Afghanistan
I was sincerely hoping to learn that the claims were true: that conditions in Afghanistan were improving, that the local government and military were progressing toward self-sufficiency. I did not need to witness dramatic improvements to be reassured, but merely hoped to see evidence of positive trends, to see companies or battalions produce even minimal but sustainable progress. Instead, I witnessed the absence of success on virtually every level.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 The Payroll Tax Fight
Republicans in Congress seem to have forgotten the embarrassment they suffered late last year for trying to block a payroll tax cut for millions of wage-earners. The two-month extension they reluctantly approved will run out in three weeks, yet, again, they are stalling a full-year's tax cut with extraneous issues and political ploys.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 U.S. Jews Should Heed Top Israeli Soldiers Who Oppose Bombing Iran - The Daily Beast (1 comments)
Some of Israel's leading soldiers and spies are warning against bombing Iran. American Jews should listen to them rather than accept Netanyahu's apocalyptic claim that Tehran's nuclear program is an existential threat to the state.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 Obama Reverses Course, Gives Blessing to Super PAC
After watching the arm-wrestling competition of rival GOP super PACs in the 2012 Republican primaries, Obama has reversed course and decided to support the super PAC campaigning for his re-election.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 Iran parliament summons President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Iran's parliament has summoned the president for questioning for the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad faces a long list of questions about the state of the economy, as well as his foreign and domestic policy decisions.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 Bain execs spent nearly $5 million on Romney's White House runs
Current and former Bain executives and their relatives have given about $4.7 million to organizations that are dedicated to making Romney the next president of the United States, according to a Center for Public Integrity investigation.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 Komen official quits breast cancer charity over Planned Parenthood dispute
Karen Handel resigned Tuesday from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast-cancer charity after a dispute over whether the group should give funding to Planned Parenthood, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press.
Handel, the charity's vice president for public policy, told Komen officials that she supported the move to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood. She said the discussion started before she arrived at the organization and was approved at the highest levels of the charity.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 Occupy U.: Roosevelt offers class on social movement
The Occupy movement is moving to academia.
Thirty-two undergrads are enrolled this semester in "Occupy Everywhere," a three-credit political science course offered at Roosevelt University that takes a look at the movement and the issue of social inequality in the United States.
Monday, February 6, 2012 Congressional earmarks sometimes used to fund projects near lawmakers' properties
Thirty-three members of Congress have steered more than $300 million in earmarks and other spending provisions to dozens of public projects that are next to or within about two miles of the lawmakers' own property, according to a Washington Post investigation.
Monday, February 6, 2012 Ron Paul Would Only Support Woman's Right To Choose In Cases Of 'Honest Rape' (3 comments)
Ron Paul told Piers Morgan on Friday that he would support a woman's right to an abortion in cases of "honest rape" and suggested that some women lie about undergoing the horrific crime in order to terminate their pregnancies.
Monday, February 6, 2012 Netanyahu: PA President must choose between peace with Israel and peace with Hamas
"Hamas is a terrorist organization that wants to destroy Israel and is supported by Iran," Netanyahu said at a Likud meeting. "Israel had made great efforts to advance the peace process. If Abbas realizes what was signed in Doha it shows that he is choosing to abandon the path of peace and join with Hamas, without Hamas accepting the minimal conditions of the international community."
Monday, February 6, 2012 US levies new sanctions on Iran's Central Bank
President Barack Obama has ordered new sanctions on the Islamic republic, including its Central Bank, in a move to enforce a law he signed in December. In a letter to Congress Monday, Obama said the tougher sanctions are warranted "particularly in light of the deceptive practices of the Central Bank of Iran and other Iranian banks."
Monday, February 6, 2012 U.S. to elevate Special Operations forces' role in Afghanistan
The U.S. military is planning to elevate the role of Special Operations forces in Afghanistan as it shifts away from a combat focus to a mission that places greater emphasis on advising Afghan forces and raids to kill top insurgent leaders, senior U.S. officials said.
Monday, February 6, 2012 E.J. Dionne, Jr -- The Citizens United catastrophe
We have seen the world created by the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, and it doesn't work. Oh, yes, it works nicely for the wealthiest and most powerful people in the country, especially if they want to shroud their efforts to influence politics behind shell corporations. It just doesn't happen to work if you think we are a democracy and not a plutocracy.
Monday, February 6, 2012 Army Colonel Challenges Pentagon's Afghanistan Reports
Late last month, Colonel Davis, 48, began an unusual one-man campaign of military truth-telling. He wrote two reports, one unclassified and the other classified, summarizing his observations on the candor gap with respect to Afghanistan. He briefed four members of Congress and a dozen staff members, spoke with a reporter for The New York Times, sent his reports to the Defense Department's inspector general -- and only then informed his chain of command that he had done so.
Monday, February 6, 2012 U.S. Embassy in Syria Halts Operations as Violence Flares
The United States closed its embassy in Syria on Monday and withdrew all staff members in response to escalating mayhem in the country and what American officials called the Syrian government's unbridled repression of an 11-month-old uprising that has become the bloodiest conflict in the Arab Spring revolts.
Monday, February 6, 2012 Paul Krugman: Things Are Not O.K. (1 comments)
Our economy remains deeply depressed. As the Economic Policy Institute points out, we started 2012 with fewer workers employed than in January 2001 -- zero growth after 11 years, even as the population, and therefore the number of jobs we needed, grew steadily. The institute estimates that even at January's pace of job creation it would take us until 2019 to return to full employment.
Sunday, February 5, 2012 Maureen Dowd: The Great Man's Wife (3 comments)
IF you want to figure out why Newt Gingrich is still out there grasping for lost power, howling at the moon like King Lear, look to Callista. You can find her anytime standing statue-still on stage next to Newt as he speaks, gazing at him with such frozen attentiveness that she could give a master class to Nancy Reagan.
Sunday, February 5, 2012 Stephen Colbert is winning the war against the Supreme Court and Citizens United (1 comments)
n the history of the Supreme Court, nothing has ever prepared the justices for the public opinion wrecking ball that is Stephen Colbert. The comedian/presidential candidate/super PAC founder has probably done more to undermine public confidence in the court's 2010 Citizens United opinion than anyone, including the dissenters. In this contest, the high court is supremely outmatched.
Sunday, February 5, 2012 Egypt to prosecute Americans, including Sam LaHood, in NGO probe
The Egyptian government intends to prosecute at least 40 people, including some U.S. citizens, as part of an investigation into nongovernmental organizations that receive foreign funding, state media reported Sunday.
The announcement came a day after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned the Egyptian Foreign Ministry that failure to quickly resolve the probe could jeopardize the more than $1.3 billion Egypt expects to get this year in U.S. aid.
Sunday, February 5, 2012 Koch Brothers, Allies Pledge $100 Million At Private Meeting To Beat Obama
At a private three-day retreat in California last weekend, conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch and about 250 to 300 other individuals pledged approximately $100 million to defeat President Obama in the 2012 elections.
Saturday, February 4, 2012 Police, some on horseback, clear Occupy DC protesters
Police removed protesters as they confiscated bedding and most tents on Saturday from an "Occupy" protest site just blocks from the White House, enforcing a no-camping rule for the public McPherson Square they had ignored for months. Occupy demonstrators called the action a "full force eviction" and said the police had beaten them with batons and pushed them out so violently that several people were trampled.
