by Dave Johnson | Oct 2, 2013 | Blog
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been severely impacted by the government shutdown. What does this mean to you and me? One of the core functions of government is protecting our safety. The CDC describes its mission this way: CDC works 24/7 to...
by Bill Scher | Oct 2, 2013 | Blog
Earlier today on MSNBC, I participated in a panel discussion, following an interview with GOP Rep. Sean Duffy. The congressman was in exceptional "up is down" mode" "The President has won. He can't take yes for an answer. We've said OK, let the excahnges go up, let...
by Bill Scher | Oct 2, 2013 | Uncategorized
Republicans Struggle To Shift Blame... Republicans try to deflect blame by proposing to fund bits of government. CNN: "The Republican-led House offered its latest gambit on Tuesday night but failed in separate votes to approve piecemeal funding for three specific...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Oct 2, 2013 | Making it in America, Trans-Pacific Partnership
A legislative initiative could emerge soon that could address the race to the bottom fueled by free trade agreements that is harming workers in the United States and worldwide. The idea is to penalize countries and companies that engage in "social dumping" – the act...
by Dave Johnson | Oct 2, 2013 | Conservatism, Shutdown, This Is The GOP
Republicans are exercising the one power that the American People have not yet been able to take away from them: the power to destroy. Conservatives are "giddy" over shutting down the government. This is who they are. "We’re very excited," said Rep. Michele Bachmann...
by Leo Gerard | Oct 1, 2013 | Blog
Like “Git ’er done,” Americans should be yelling at Republicans in Congress: “Do yer job!” That’s because Republicans are shirking their sworn duty by both shutting down the government and threatening to default on its bills. Before taking office, each member of...
by Digby | Oct 1, 2013 | Conservatism, Economy, Health, This Is The GOP
I think one of the major misunderstandings (willful, in many cases) of this budget mess is that it's about Republicans just running around willy-nilly screaming "nonononono" like toddlers having a temper tantrum. I know it looks that way, but that's not what's...
by Jeff Bryant | Oct 1, 2013 | Education
Scores on the SAT – "the nation's most widely used" college entrance exam – made news headlines recently, and the averages are either a "call to action," a sign of progress, or "meaningless." Confused? You should be. Because reports of testing data, whether they're...
by Dave Johnson | Oct 1, 2013 | Blog
Holy smokes, who gave Republicans the keys to the car again? Just look what they did this time! Haven't We the People learned our lesson yet? We saw what they did to the country after Bush got elected. Remember the Onion headline: Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of...
by Bill Scher | Oct 1, 2013 | Conservatism
Over at The Week today, I detail the "5 bogus Republican arguments to justify a government shutdown." It may not surprise readers of this blog that "Obama won't negotiate," "Republicans have already compromised" and "Harry Reid is the one who shut down the government"...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Oct 1, 2013 | Conservatism
This morning, I had had enough. I usually don't waste my time anymore wading into the comments sections of columnists to react to their bloviations. (They've never waded into the comments section to react to mine.) But one Petula Dvorak finally provoked me. She's a...
by Bill Scher | Oct 1, 2013 | Uncategorized
Republicans Shutdown Government Shutdown begins as Republicans refuse to give up ObamaCare attacks. WSJ: "On a 228-199 vote, the House passed a measure instructing House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) to appoint a set of negotiators to work out a budget resolution...
by Richard Eskow | Oct 1, 2013 | Shutdown
In the end, the Republicans won. A majority in Congress, made up of Republicans who understood they'd won and Democrats who feared a government shutdown, would have voted for a bill that included all of the Republicans' wrong-headed fiscal demands. Minority Leader...
by Thom Hartmann | Sep 30, 2013 | Conservatism, Economy, Health, Shutdown, This Is The GOP
Over the weekend, House Republicans approved a so-called compromise to avoid a government shutdown. However, their idea of negotiation was nothing more than ridiculous, right-wing demands they included in the continuing resolution. Rather than voting on the complete...
by Dave Johnson | Sep 30, 2013 | Conservatism, Shutdown
It finally came time for Republicans to put up or shut up. Instead they're shutting down. Never mind Obamacare; that's just a mask for a huge Republican failure to govern. If you want to understand how we got to the point of a government shutdown, ask any Republican...
by Digby | Sep 30, 2013 | Conservatism, Health, Rick Perlstein
Listening to the Republicans lie outrageously on the Sunday shows about the catastrophic effects of a program that isn't even in effect (while denying that climate change exists!) is enough to give me a headache. It reminded me of this: Rick Perlstein wrote a...
by Sam Pizzigati | Sep 30, 2013 | Blog
Exactly a hundred years ago, decades of progressive struggle finally paid off and outfitted America with a tool for braking the unlimited accumulation of grand private fortune. The federal income tax this week turns a century old. A hundred years ago, on...
by Bill Scher | Sep 30, 2013 | Uncategorized
Shutdown At Midnight Senate to reject House hostage demand to delay ObamaCare. National Journal: "The Senate is scheduled to come back today at 2:00 p.m. At that point, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has indicated, the Senate will reject the continuing...
by Richard Eskow | Sep 29, 2013 | Shutdown
This may sound ironic, considering the source, but now is not the time for Democrats to start sounding like bloggers. Republicans are preparing to shut down the government, and it’s time for their opponents to draw a clear and inspirational contrast in vision, values...
by Roger Hickey | Sep 27, 2013 | Jobs and Growth
Forty-one organizations, representing millions of Americans, have signed this letter to Congress, asking them to stand against those who would "hold our economy hostage in order to dictate the terms of the debate." See the list of signers below. Please read this...
by Terrance Heath | Sep 27, 2013 | Conservatism, Democracy, Economy, Health
I've been writing lately about the crossroads the GOP has reached, and the choices before them: Republicans can either change their policies and their tone to attract minority voters, or the GOP can rely solely on white voters. There's increasing evidence that...
by Dave Johnson | Sep 27, 2013 | Blog
Get back to funding government. Stop harming the economy. Budget cuts and the sequester are killing the economic recovery and jobs. Several key House and Senate Democrats have come out for cancelling the sequester as part of the current budget negotiations. The House...
by Bill Scher | Sep 27, 2013 | Blog
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Today on MSNBC, I noted that a debt default is inconceivable, and at the end of the day, Speaker John Boehner won't allow it. To go over that cliff risks a global depression and Republican...
by Digby | Sep 27, 2013 | Conservatism, Health, This Is The GOP
Matt Yglesias points out that the CW (which I believe as well) in which the WH ends up "negotiating" with Republicans over the debt ceiling the way mothers of children having a tantrum in the grocery store negotiate with them by giving them a candy bar, can no longer...
by Emily Foster | Sep 27, 2013 | Blog
In just four days, uninsured Americans will finally be able to enroll in the Affordable Care Act’s new health exchanges. But Republicans in the states are engaged in shady efforts to block the operation of these exchanges in ways that affect millions of citizens. They...
by Bill Scher | Sep 27, 2013 | Uncategorized
All Eyes On House Senate to pass bill to keep government open today. AP: "Senators were expected to pass it after derailing a conservative effort to block the bill and after removing House-approved language that strips money from President Barack Obama's health care...
by Dave Johnson | Sep 27, 2013 | Conservatism, Shutdown
After the last election Republicans have one power left: the power to destroy the country. They are threatening to use it to get what they want. And what they want is to reverse the results of the last election. Shutdown Threat, Followed By Debt-Ceiling Threat We...
by Richard Eskow | Sep 26, 2013 | Blog
A new study says that nearly half of all American jobs may soon be performed by robots. And the White House has just announced the formation of “the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Steering Committee ‘2.0,’” which it describes as “part of a continuing effort to...
by Bill Scher | Sep 26, 2013 | Climate
Progressives may be feeling pretty good these days. De Blasio ascendant. Summers thwarted. Republicans imploding over ObamaCare. Well, here's a jerk back into harsh reality. President Obama's EPA is expected to unveil the centerpiece of its climate plan in June 2014....
by Digby | Sep 26, 2013 | Conservatism, Health, This Is The GOP
Yesterday, post-"filibuster": RUSH: I have to tell you, I've had so many people... I've been off the past couple of days, but, while this has been going on, I've had so many people e-mail me so uplifted by what you did in the last 21 hours and what you did leading up...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Sep 26, 2013 | Blog
News stories around the country have trumpeted a public pension “crisis” in various states, featuring elected officials who insist that these crises justify slashing the retirement benefits of public employees. What these stories usually don’t say is that conservative...
by Emily Foster | Sep 26, 2013 | Blog
Close to 100 cleaning and concessions contract workers from various federal facilities in Washington walked off their jobs and marched to the White House to protest what they called taxpayer-funded "poverty jobs". Workers from Union Station, the Smithsonian Museums,...
by Bill Scher | Sep 26, 2013 | Uncategorized
Senate May Speed Up Vote To Avert Shutdown Senate expected to vote Friday to give House more time before shutdown deadline reports TPM. Unclear if House Dems will support Senate stopgap bill that extends sequester. The Hill: "The lawmakers are adamantly opposed to the...
by Dave Johnson | Sep 26, 2013 | Blog
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz did a great thing this week. Cruz stood before the Senate and talked for 21-plus hours. Texas State Senator Wendy Davis did a great thing in June. Davis took to the Texas Senate floor and talked for more than 11 hours. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul...
by Jeff Bryant | Sep 25, 2013 | Education
One of the most popular shows on TV currently centers on a high school chemistry teacher whose cancer diagnosis and lack of adequate health insurance vault him into a life of crime in the drug trade. The series takes to an extreme the personal human drama of the main...
by Thom Hartmann | Sep 25, 2013 | Conservatism, Democracy, Health, This Is The GOP
On Tuesday, Senator Ted Cruz took the floor of the Senate to launch an all-night fake filibuster. His 21-hour marathon speech was arranged in advance, and there was no way it would stop the Senate from voting on a continuing resolution to fund the government. ...
by Digby | Sep 25, 2013 | Economy, Retirement Security, The Jobs Challenge
There's a lot of resentment toward baby boomers among young people out there and often for a very good reason. We are an insufferably self-centered lot. (And the generation that famously used "never trust anyone over 30" as its credo is in no position to complain.) In...
by Terrance Heath | Sep 25, 2013 | Economy, Too Big To Jail
Someone should tell AIG CEO Robert Benmosche that unless he's hanging from the end of a rope, he's not being lynched. Americans are at the end of their ropes, because the wealthy got bailed out while the rest of us got left out. Benmosche recently told the Wall Street...
by Bill Scher | Sep 25, 2013 | Uncategorized
Senate Dems Set To Keep Sequester ... For Now Reid unites Senate Dems around maintaining sequester in stopgap bill. The Hill: "Reid’s ability to forge a consensus within his caucus — despite the grumbling of liberals — stood in contrast to the Senate GOP conference,...
by Dave Johnson | Sep 25, 2013 | Blog
Senate Democrats: Never mind the Obamacare misdirection. Restore pre-sequester spending levels and save the economy. Send the restored budget to the House and use their own shutdown threat against them. Republicans will need Democratic votes to pass this in the House,...
