by Donald Kaul | Jul 29, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism, This Is The GOP
At long last Republican presidential hopefuls crept out of their foxholes, where they’d been cowering and maintaining radio silence, to attack Donald Trump. With one or two exceptions, the field went AWOL as Trump trashed immigrants, calling them drug runners and...
by Terrance Heath | Jul 29, 2015 | Blog, Progressive Vision
When I heard of Sandra Bland’s death in a Texas jail, after a traffic stop on a dusty road in Waller County, Texas, I thought of the time my father gave me The Talk that generations of African-American parents have had with their children. My father’s father had it...
by Dave Johnson | Jul 29, 2015 | Blog, Progressive Vision
Rexdale Wayne Henry, a Mississippi Choctaw Native American activist, was arrested on July 9 for failing to pay an old traffic fine. He was found dead in his Philadelphia, Mississippi jail cell on July 14. What happened? Sources say Rex Henry was running for tribal...
by Bill Scher | Jul 29, 2015 | Uncategorized
Congress Poised To Pass 3-Month Transportation Bill Senate bends to House on transportation bill. The Hill: "The House will vote Wednesday on a three-month highway-spending bill ... Senate leaders signaled they will approve the three-month extension before the end of...
by Dave Johnson | Jul 28, 2015 | Blog, Trade
"Pope Francis says when the economy controls politics both lose ... When economics takes over we tolerate anything for the sake of the dollar."- Sister Simone Campbell Cheap labor is the whole point of our corporate-rigged, NAFTA-style trade agreements. Companies get...
by Jim Hightower | Jul 28, 2015 | Blog
In this exclusive election, Jeb is way out front of the GOP pack with a record haul of $100 million, while Hillary has bagged $45 million to lead among the Dems. Hold on. Here come the Koch brothers from out of nowhere, overwhelming all the other campaigns with nearly...
by Leo Gerard | Jul 28, 2015 | Blog, This Is The GOP
Donald Trump says exactly what the GOP believes. It’s a simple axiom: personal wealth accumulation is everything. Republican Party officials believe individuals like The Donald attain riches through their own guts, glory and gumption with not an iota of aid from...
by Bill Scher | Jul 28, 2015 | Uncategorized
House, Senate Dig In On Transportation Bill Senate nears final vote on highway trust fund bill. The Hill: "Senators voted 62-32 [Monday night] on a procedural vote to end debate ... The move sets a 30-hour clock until lawmakers can take a final vote ... House...
by Mary Green Swig | Steven L. Swig | Roger Hickey | Jul 28, 2015 | Blog, Education
MaryGreenSwig Steven L.Swig RogerHickey It will not be news to 41 million Americans that this nation is in the middle of a student debt crisis. That's the number of people burdened by student loan payments. But many people, including many student debt holders, may be...
by Bill Scher | Jul 28, 2015 | Blog
[fve]https://youtu.be/_ZwguLJVxsM[/fve] If you want a presidential candidate who supports a carbon tax and vociferously opposes the Keystone pipeline, you should vote for Sen. Bernie Sanders. If you want a presidential candidate who has thought through how to best...
by Terrance Heath | Jul 27, 2015 | Blog, Economy, Election 2016, Progressive Vision
The stakes were high for the speech by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to the national gathering of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Saturday night. Sanders’ speech to the civil rights organization, whose first president was Rev....
by Dave Johnson | Jul 27, 2015 | Blog
We don't know what the evidence will show happened to Sandra Bland in that jail cell. It shouldn't matter. Does it really matter if Sandra Bland committed suicide while in police custody or was murdered? Does a suicide under police watch in any way absolve the police...
by Bill Scher | Jul 27, 2015 | Uncategorized
Divided Congress Faces Highway Cliff Highway trust fund goes bust Friday. The Hill: "Majority Leader Mitch McConnell [is] hoping to ship the [six-year] bill across the Capitol to the House by the end of this week [and] force the House's hand ... But if the Senate...
by Alan Jenkins | Jul 27, 2015 | Blog, Democracy
It’s a rare moment when two branches of our federal government take major steps to expand opportunity for all Americans. But, with relatively little fanfare, that’s what’s happened over the last few weeks in the critical area of housing. First, on June 25, the U.S....
by Dave Johnson | Jul 27, 2015 | Blog, Democracy
Presidential candidate Jeb Bush gave a speech last Monday at an event organized by a corporate lobbying group in which he vowed to cripple our government. So who gets to be in charge if he succeeds? Who decides how to allocate our country's resources, determine and...
by Robert Borosage | Jul 27, 2015 | Blog, Financial Reform
Last week, Hillary Clinton opened an important “conversation” about what she calls “quarterly capitalism” or excessive “short-termism.” She noted how the rules have been rigged to pressure executives to focus on the next quarter’s stock return rather than the...
by Joshua Ferrer | Jul 24, 2015 | Blog, Current Issues, Progressive Vision
After over two months as an announced presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT.) has for the first time come out for substantive sentencing reforms. In an interview with MSNBC on Wednesday, Sanders said “We need to take a look at mandatory minimum sentences,...
by Joshua Ferrer | Jul 24, 2015 | Conservatism, Jobs and Growth, This Is The GOP
It’s been a big week for American workers. On Wednesday, progressives introduced bills in the House and Senate to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 and, in a letter, called on Obama to issue an executive order raising the minimum wage of federal contract...
by Terrance Heath | Jul 24, 2015 | Conservatism, This Is The GOP
The barely-a-billionaire bully has taken over the GOP’s presidential primary playground. The Republican presidential debate will now take place after school, by the flagpole. Outside of a Republican presidential primary, there’s no place that Trump’s “juvenile...
by Bill Scher | Jul 24, 2015 | Blog
Since the federal government picks up nearly all the cost of Obamacare's voluntary expansion of state Medicaid programs, you might think all the governors would have accepted the sweetheart deal. While Republicans in some states have come around, there are still 19...
by Bill Scher | Jul 24, 2015 | Uncategorized
Hillary Speaks On Reforming Capitalism Today Hillary Clinton speech today to unveil policies promoting "long-term growth" instead of "short-termism." Bloomberg: "For the top income tax bracket, capital gains taxes would be determined using a sliding scale ... [New tax...
by Jeff Bryant | Jul 23, 2015 | Blog
Education activists are rejoicing that the latest versions of No Child Left Behind reauthorization coursing through Congress may give struggling schools a way to have more control over their own governance and destiny. NCLB originally mandated such unreal expectations...
by Nancy Altman | Jul 23, 2015 | Retirement Security
Every year, the Social Security Board of Trustees releases an annual report to Congress, assessing the health of the Social Security trust fund. In spite of what is often repeated by the media, every year the Trustees Report shows the Social Security trust fund...
by Terrance Heath | Jul 23, 2015 | Conservatism, Election 2016, This Is The GOP
Wisconsin governor Scott Walker says that he, out of all the GOP candidates, will be “a president who will fight and win for America.” His record as governor shows how much America stands to lose if Walker wins. What would President Scott Walker’s America look like?...
by Cormac Close | Jul 23, 2015 | Blog, Financial Reform
[fve]https://youtu.be/3foBrqHVCOo[/fve]In this video, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) reviews the state of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill after five years and the record of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Republicans have done their best to prevent the...
by Bill Scher | Jul 23, 2015 | Uncategorized
Highway Bill Advances, But Not In The Clear Senate breaks filibuster to consider transportation bill. Roll Call: "...the minority splintered ... with Minority Leader Harry Reid; his heir apparent, Charles E. Schumer of New York and No. 4 Democrat Patty Murray of...
by Robert Borosage | Jul 23, 2015 | Blog, Jobs and Growth
Chanting “$15.00 and a union,” thousands federal contract workers walked off their jobs yesterday, led by the Capitol’s cafeteria workers who serve senators their food. They were joined by Senator Bernie Sanders, now running for president, and members of the...
by Emily Foster | Jul 22, 2015 | Jobs and Growth
Sontia Bailey, a full-time federally contracted cashier at the U.S. Capitol, gets paid a mere $10.10 an hour. She works a second job at KFC, which actually pays more than her government contract job. She clocks in 70 hours each week to make ends meet, which leaves her...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Jul 22, 2015 | Jobs and Growth
If Congress is unable to move forward on a long-term funding bill for federal surface transportation programs this month, you can lay a huge share of the blame on Grover Norquist. Mr. Shrink-Government-and-Drown-It-In-A-Bathtub is at it again, having members of the...
by Dave Johnson | Jul 22, 2015 | Blog
Representatives Jan Schakowsky, Zoe Lofgren, Jerry Nadler, and Yvette Clarke sent a letter asking Attorney General Loretta Lynch and California Attorney General Kamala Harris asking them to investigate whether laws were broken by the Center for Medical Progress. This...
by Joshua Ferrer | Jul 22, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism, This Is The GOP
In less than two months, Republicans will starve the middle class and increase poverty levels again if their budget is passed. They will slash billions of dollars from necessary programs that stabilize our middle class, leaving more people jobless, hungry, and...
by Digby | Jul 22, 2015 | Blog, Progressive Vision
As I have written several thousand times, Americans, especially black Americans, cannot assume they have rights or live in a free country when they are dealing with the police. It is no longer up to police to be professional and calm, it is the citizens' job to...
by Dave Johnson | Jul 22, 2015 | Blog, Economy
A "sneak law" attachment to a "must-pass" bill gives sacred Native American land to a foreign mining company. How did this happen? Do you remember that "Citibank budget," where a budget bill to avert an imminent government shutdown suddenly had in it a...
by Robert Reich | Jul 22, 2015 | Blog, Progressive Vision
A new report finds more U.S. children living in poverty than before the Great Recession. According to the report, released Tuesday from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 22 percent of American children are living in poverty (as of 2013, the latest data available)...
by Bill Scher | Jul 22, 2015 | Uncategorized
Senate Transportation Bill Hits Speed Bump Sen. Mitch McConnell announces bipartisan transportation bill with a patchwork of new revenue streams. NYT: "... the measure would spend more than $300 billion on infrastructure over six years ... Tax law compliance changes...
by Cormac Close | Jul 22, 2015 | Financial Reform
The actual provision of the law is 108 words. The gist: The Securities and Exchange Commission requires corporations and banks that it supervises to disclose in their annual reports the “annual total compensation of the chief executive officer,” the “mean of the...
by Jacob Woocher | Jul 21, 2015 | Financial Reform
Designed to address the problem of soaring executive compensation, ‘say-on-pay’ is a core provision of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill. But on the legislation’s fifth anniversary say-on-pay is not having the impact its advocates had hoped for. After briefly...
by Terrance Heath | Jul 21, 2015 | Conservatism, Election 2016, This Is The GOP
Ohio governor John Kasich, the 16th candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, is neither the moderate Republican nor the “compassionate conservative” he pretends to be, but he still won’t get the Republican nomination. This isn’t Kasich’s first time at the rodeo....
by Bill Scher | Jul 21, 2015 | Blog
Quiz time: Which president said this? I think that some of the people who are objecting the most and just refusing even to accede to the idea of ever getting any understanding, whether they realize it or not, those people, basically, down in their deepest thoughts,...
by Cormac Close | Jul 21, 2015 | Financial Reform
Most corporate executive pay comes in the form of bonuses tied to the performance of their company. While this rewards CEOs who make their company prosper, it also gives them a perpetual temptation: Why not lie about the performance of your company so you can make...
