by Isaiah J. Poole | Feb 15, 2017 | Economy
It took two years of agitation and protest, but finally this week homeowners in New Jersey still seeking relief in the wake of the devastation of superstorm Sandy could claim an important victory, as Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill giving homeowners still recovering...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 15, 2017 | Blog
Donald Trump didn't really appoint Walter White, the guy from Breaking Bad, to run the DEA, but his nomination of fast-food CEO Andrew "women are meat" Puzder to be Labor Secretary sure comes close. Update: Amid reports that as many as 12 Republicans were ready to...
by Miles Mogulescu | Feb 14, 2017 | Blog
If Michael T. Flynn informed Donald Trump about his multiple conversations with the Russian ambassador about rolling back President Barack Obama’s sanctions to punish Russia for interfering in the U.S. presidential election, it’s an impeachable offense for President...
by Leo Gerard | Feb 14, 2017 | Blog
Whirlpool, the big appliance manufacturer, stressed in recent years its preference to make it in America. In 2013, it actually moved dishwasher manufacturing jobs back to the United States from Mexico. The next year, it announced a $40 million investment in its...
by People's Action | Feb 14, 2017 | Breakfast
Does Puzder Have The Votes? "Labor secretary nominee Andrew Puzder in jeopardy" reports CNN: "Four Republican senators have told GOP leadership they are withholding support for President Donald Trump's choice for labor secretary ... Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 14, 2017 | Blog
President Donald Trump and his Republican-controlled Congress are getting ready to kill off our public "Dodd-Frank" protections passed after the financial crash, including killing or maiming the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Our lawmakers need to hear...
by Robert Reich | Feb 13, 2017 | Blog
Don’t be fooled by Trump’s and Republican promises to “repeal and replace” Obamacare. They could repeal it, but they can’t and won’t replace it. They’ve tried for years to come up with a replacement that keeps at least as many people covered. Their “replacement” never...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Feb 13, 2017 | Economy
Eighty-nine years after its creation, Mickey Mouse remains the beloved and instantly recognizable symbol of the now-sprawling Walt Disney empire. But lately, Disney CEO Bob Iger's association with Donald Trump has a lot of America smelling a rat. Iger is serving on...
by People's Action | Feb 13, 2017 | Breakfast
Mnuchin Up, Puzder Next Mnuchin expected to be confirmed today. Reuters: "...no Republicans have declared opposition, setting the stage for a party-line 52-48 vote. The vote is set for around 7 p.m. EST." Expect more Wall Streeters in the Treasury. Politico: "Senior...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 13, 2017 | Blog
There are plenty of signs that Steve Mnuchin is not a good guy, even by the lax standards of today’s banking industry. OneWest, a bank he established with partners and ran from 2009 to 2015, mounted a record of ruthless foreclosures (in one case over a 27-cent error)....
by Sam Pizzigati | Feb 10, 2017 | Blog
Michael Piwowar has been seething for some time. Now he’s getting to take his revenge — against the new federal regulation that’s driving America’s mega-millionaire CEOs crazy. This particular regulation spells out how corporations must go about complying with an...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 10, 2017 | Blog
[fve]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZqjbylSo88[/fve] Early news reports on Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, tended to emphasize his personal story and his conservative leanings. But they failed to provide much detail on Gorsuch's...
by People's Action | Feb 10, 2017 | Breakfast
Travel Ban Banned Travel ban restraining order remains in place after 3-0 9th Circuit ruling. NYT: "The three-judge panel, suggesting that the ban did not advance national security, said the administration had shown 'no evidence' that anyone from the seven nations —...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 10, 2017 | Blog
Just because the Senate voted to make Tom Price the nation’s top health care official doesn't mean that the debates that flared over his nomination should end. This fight is just beginning. The Senate confirmed Price as secretary of Health and Human Services in the...
by Gloria Totten | Feb 9, 2017 | Blog, Gender Justice, Health
Many of us have been fixed to our screens, watching in horror as President Trump and his colossally unqualified administration roll back progress at an unprecedented pace. But, let’s remember this political moment came, in part, because of relentless attacks by...
by Brenda Patoine | Feb 9, 2017 | Health
If you had told me two weeks ago that I would be telling my “health care story” before a standing-room-only auditorium of 1,000-plus people and then again to the policy wonk at my U.S. congressman’s office, I’d have told you that you were nuts. As in, bonkers. Public...
by Jeff Bryant | Feb 9, 2017 | Blog, Education
Betsy DeVos may have won her contest in the Senate to become the new U.S. Secretary of Education, but her opposition wasn't the only thing that went down to defeat that day. For decades, federal education policies have been governed by a“Washington consensus” that...
by People's Action | Feb 9, 2017 | Breakfast
Sessions Confirmed, Price Next USA Today previews "5 big issues where Sessions may have an immediate impact": "Trump won’t need to worry about having to coax his new attorney general into enforcing his immigration ban ... Civil rights advocates have expressed doubts...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 9, 2017 | Blog
Sen. Warren was giving a lengthy speech. She had appeared to violate the rule. She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted. - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Raw Power Republicans — President Donald Trump along with lawmakers in...
by Mark Trahant | Feb 8, 2017 | Blog
Cognitive scientist George Lakoff has described the process for Republican thinking as a set of assumptions built on the idea of a strict father. He wrote in his classic book, "Don’t Think of an Elephant," The strict father model begins with a set of assumptions: The...
by Nancy Altman | Feb 8, 2017 | Blog
No one voted to destroy Medicare. Yet, the first battle in the war over Medicare has arrived. Why would anyone want to destroy Medicare? It has stood the test of time. The smart policy is to expand it to everyone. Medicare shows government at its best. Government at...
by People's Action | Feb 8, 2017 | Breakfast
"Nevertheless, She Persisted" Republicans try to silence Warren, fail. W. Post: "...Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) interrupted Warren’s speech ... and said that she had breached Senate rules by reading past statements against [Jeff] Sessions from figures such...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 7, 2017 | Blog
For Donald Trump, this has got to hurt: Less than two weeks after his inauguration, the people who took to the streets to protest his policies have outstripped him in popularity. And, given his rich history of "locker room banter" and other sexist comments, it must be...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 7, 2017 | Blog
The United States ran the most enormous, humongous trade deficit last year since 2012. The gap between our exports and imports widened by 0.4 percent to $502.3 billion in 2016, the Census Bureau reported today. The government also found that the trade deficit amounted...
by Leo Gerard | Feb 7, 2017 | Blog
President Donald Trump had Harley-Davidson executives and employees over to lunch at the White House last week and reiterated his promise to end wrong-headed trade policies that enable foreign countries to eat American workers’ lunch. Trump reassured the Harley...
by People's Action | Feb 7, 2017 | Breakfast
Tell Your Senator to Vote "No" on DeVos At noon today, the full Senate is expected to vote on billionaire Betsy DeVos, Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education. DeVos has raised bipartisan concerns and is now only one vote away from losing the nomination. Act now to...
by Jeff Bryant | Feb 7, 2017 | Blog
This is going down to the wire. Senate Democrats, channeling public opposition to Trump's nomination of Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education while venting their own outrage over her lack of qualifications for the job, are occupying the Senate floor for 24 hours...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 6, 2017 | Blog
The post-inauguration wave of protests is continuing and morphing. Over Super Bowl weekend, some of the biggest took place in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida and Roseville, California. Many of these protests are aimed...
by People's Action | Feb 6, 2017 | Breakfast
Tell Your Senator to Vote "No" on DeVos One of Trump's cabinet nominees is on the ropes. Betsy DeVos has raised bipartisan concerns and is now only one vote away from losing the nomination in the next few days. Act now to Dump DeVos! Ruling Expected Today on Travel...
by Sam Pizzigati | Feb 6, 2017 | Blog
Another new study on the devastating impact of the Great Recession — on the middle class — has just come out, this one from the Hudson Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank. America’s richest 10 percent, this latest analysis shows, lost 7 percent of their...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 6, 2017 | Blog
The best way to spot a con artist is by paying attention to what you don't see, as well as to what you see. Donald Trump says he represents working people, but he has already moved aggressively to tilt the scales in favor of Wall Street’s criminal elite. As Trump...
by Dean Baker | Feb 3, 2017 | Blog
During his presidential campaign Donald Trump frequently talked about how he used campaign contributions as payoffs to advance his business interests. He boasted that if you give politicians money they have to do what you want. In an apparent effort to further advance...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 3, 2017 | Blog
[fve]https://youtu.be/TfWqEeiBp5U[/fve] As the third week of Donald Trump's presidency gets underway, his administration's war on immigrants, especially Muslims, continues unabated. In the first weekend following his "Muslim ban" decree, U.S. Customs and Border...
by Bill Scher | Feb 3, 2017 | Uncategorized
DeVos May Squeak Through Senate advances DeVos nomination. The Hill: "Senators voted 52-48 to advance DeVos’s nomination. No Democrats voted yes. The vote, which came during a rare Friday session, sets up lawmakers to take a final vote early next week. Vice President...
by Jeff Bryant | Feb 2, 2017 | Blog
Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of education, got awful reviews for her performance during her confirmation hearing. But no one predicted her confirmation was anything less than a sure deal. Now, suddenly, she's in big trouble. The DeVos unraveling...
by Kathy Mulady | Feb 2, 2017 | Blog
More than 2,000 people jammed Lancaster, Pennsylvania’s Penn Square on Tuesday, the chanting crowd overflowing into other streets as the protest against Donald Trump’s Muslim ban grew. By some estimates the event, organized by Keystone Progress and other groups, was...
by People's Action | Feb 2, 2017 | Breakfast
Stop Puzder Donald Trump’s nominee for Labor Secretary—fast-food CEO Andrew Puzder—is out of touch with the needs of working people. Despite having built his business and fortune on the backs of hard working Americans, he opposes meaningful increases to the minimum...
by Jeff Bryant | Feb 2, 2017 | Blog
Betsy DeVos had a rocky Senate confirmation hearing in committee before the panel split along party lines while voting to send Trump's nominee for education secretary to the full Senate. Subsequently, two Republicans who took part in the hearing, Susan Collins of...
by Libero Della Piana | Feb 2, 2017 | Blog
I was a high school student in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1986, the first year Martin Luther King Day was observed as a federal holiday. Just not in Utah. Utah voted that year to observe “Human Rights Day” on the third Monday in January instead, because of opposition to...
by Antonia Juhasz | Feb 1, 2017 | Blog
It’s official: Former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson will serve as secretary of state. The Senate voted 56-43 to make the Texan multi-millionaire the nation’s top diplomat just one day after ExxonMobil reported its lowest profits in almost 30 years. The oil major’s weak...
