How can we take it back?

[ImaginaryBloke]

Published on
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Common Dreams
Outcry Kills Anti-Protest Law in Arizona, But Troubling Trend Continues Nationwide
Rash of anti-protest laws and effort to dismiss demonstrators as 'paid agitators' are 'standard operating procedure for movement opponents,' says expert
Lauren McCauley, staff writer

Approximately 50 protesters gather outside of the Pentagon City Mall in Arlington, Virginia on Saturday, November 29th, 2014 to show solidarity with Ferguson, Missouri protests. (Photo: Joseph Gruber/cc/flickr)

An Arizona bill that sought to prosecute protest organizers like racketeers is officially dead after widespread outcry forced state lawmakers to put that effort to rest, marking a victory for the national resistance movement currently facing a rash of legislation aimed at stifling dissent.

Arizona House Speaker J.D. Mesnard announced late Monday that the bill, SB 1142, would not move forward in the legislature.

"I haven't studied the issue or the bill itself, but the simple reality is that it created a lot of consternation about what the bill was trying to do," Mesnard, a Republican, told the Phoenix New Times. "People believed it was going to infringe on really fundamental rights. The best way to deal with that was to put it to bed."

Indeed, the legislation, which would have expanded state racketeering laws to allow police to arrest and seize the assets of suspected protest organizers, made national headlines last week after passing the GOP-led Senate.

However, according to The Arizona Republic, the bill's "fate was sealed over the weekend" as Mesnard "fielded phone calls from the public to complain about the bill". The House leader's personal cellphone number is listed on his personal website. As he listened to the callers, Mesnard realized their belief that the legislation was intended to curb free-speech rights outweighed any merits its supporters might put forward. He carefully read the legislation and by the time he returned Monday to his office, where there were more than 100 messages about the bill awaiting him, he decided he would kill the measure."

[...]

A recent analysis by the Washington Post found that "Republican lawmakers in at least 18 states have introduced on voted on legislation to curb mass protests," which includes bills that would "increase punishments for blocking highways, ban the use of masks during protests, [and] indemnify drivers who strike protesters with their cars."

[...]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/20...-arizona-troubling-trend-continues-nationwide


There is absolutely no way that the public would approve of such a piece of legislation. They are trying to do it in North Dakota too to stop the pipeline protests.

It is strange that the House Speaker Mesnard did not read the bill himself. Does he not have staff to do that for him? Instead, the public has to inform him.

Is it only Reps who are introducing such legislation or are corporate Dems doing it too?

 

[Skarekrow]

Published on
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Common Dreams
Outcry Kills Anti-Protest Law in Arizona, But Troubling Trend Continues Nationwide
Rash of anti-protest laws and effort to dismiss demonstrators as 'paid agitators' are 'standard operating procedure for movement opponents,' says expert
Lauren McCauley, staff writer

Approximately 50 protesters gather outside of the Pentagon City Mall in Arlington, Virginia on Saturday, November 29th, 2014 to show solidarity with Ferguson, Missouri protests. (Photo: Joseph Gruber/cc/flickr)

An Arizona bill that sought to prosecute protest organizers like racketeers is officially dead after widespread outcry forced state lawmakers to put that effort to rest, marking a victory for the national resistance movement currently facing a rash of legislation aimed at stifling dissent.

Arizona House Speaker J.D. Mesnard announced late Monday that the bill, SB 1142, would not move forward in the legislature.

"I haven't studied the issue or the bill itself, but the simple reality is that it created a lot of consternation about what the bill was trying to do," Mesnard, a Republican, told the Phoenix New Times. "People believed it was going to infringe on really fundamental rights. The best way to deal with that was to put it to bed."

Indeed, the legislation, which would have expanded state racketeering laws to allow police to arrest and seize the assets of suspected protest organizers, made national headlines last week after passing the GOP-led Senate.

However, according to The Arizona Republic, the bill's "fate was sealed over the weekend" as Mesnard "fielded phone calls from the public to complain about the bill". The House leader's personal cellphone number is listed on his personal website. As he listened to the callers, Mesnard realized their belief that the legislation was intended to curb free-speech rights outweighed any merits its supporters might put forward. He carefully read the legislation and by the time he returned Monday to his office, where there were more than 100 messages about the bill awaiting him, he decided he would kill the measure."

[...]

A recent analysis by the Washington Post found that "Republican lawmakers in at least 18 states have introduced on voted on legislation to curb mass protests," which includes bills that would "increase punishments for blocking highways, ban the use of masks during protests, [and] indemnify drivers who strike protesters with their cars."

[...]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/20...-arizona-troubling-trend-continues-nationwide


There is absolutely no way that the public would approve of such a piece of legislation. They are trying to do it in North Dakota too to stop the pipeline protests.

It is strange that the House Speaker Mesnard did not read the bill himself. Does he not have staff to do that for him? Instead, the public has to inform him.

Is it only Reps who are introducing such legislation or are corporate Dems doing it too?

I really like the derps who think that people were bussed in from out of town to vote in certain districts.
This is all while the Republicans are now getting investigated for their insane redistricting and gerrymandering that has been going on for years to the point where the votes of the people in that district mean absolutely nothing...democracy indeed!
Or the people who actually believe Trump’s lies about the “millions of illegal voters and voter fraud”.
*sigh*

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Chicago gets its first organic fast-food chain
Wednesday, March 01, 2017 by: Daniel Barker
Tags: burger chains, certified organic, Chicago, Nic's Organic Fast Food, organic fast food drive-thru

(Natural News) Fast food has an undeniable appeal, despite its unhealthy reputation – it’s convenient, cheap and satisfying, making it attractive on several levels. On the other hand, fast food products are notoriously packed with unhealthy ingredients: highly-processed mystery meats, GMO products, pesticide-laden produce and more.

But is it possible to offer a classic fast food menu consisting of burgers, fries and shakes, etc. using all-natural, organic ingredients – and without having to charge exorbitant prices?

Benjamin Brittsan and his wife Nicolette are betting on the concept by opening the nation’s first certified-organic drive-thru burger chain, called Nic’s Organic Fast Food.

The first restaurant will open in the Rolling Meadows suburb of Chicago this February, with plans to open 50 more Chicago-area locations before launching the chain nationwide – if all goes according to plan.

Nic’s first location is a refurbished Pizza Hut that will seat 60 people indoors in addition to its drive-thru. The restaurant features a mascot named Nic the Organic Farmer – a muscular, life-sized super-hero figure in overalls who is ready to “take back fast food from the clutches of pesticides.”

Brittsan stresses that his products are truly certified organic and not merely labeled as such.

From the Chicago Eater:

“The restaurant’s products have been certified organic by Quality Assurance International… Certification means the foods are free of pesticides and other chemicals. The certification is something that comes with standards and isn’t an empty buzz phrase like ‘all natural,’ said Benjamin Brittsan.”

For example, the beef used in Nic’s hamburgers is USDA-certified organic and free of chemicals, antibiotics or hormones. But the all-organic standard extends to everything on the menu at Nic’s, including the chicken nuggets (made from organic white meat), french fries and even the drinks, which include organic juices, sodas and coffees.

But don’t expect a lot of low-fat, vegan-leaning menu items at Nic’s. Sure, you can order a fresh green salad or a veggie burger, but the emphasis – as with any fast food restaurant worthy of the name – is on big, greasy beef hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, french fries and sodas.

There’s nothing particularly healthy about the BigNic Bacon Burger – two beef patties, two slices of cheese, smoked bacon and all the trimmings – but the important thing, according to Brittsan, is what it doesn’t contain.

“The organic lifestyle doesn’t mean you’re eating any healthier in terms of the food,” he said. “What you’re benefiting from is from what’s not in the food.”

The prices at Nic’s are around the same as popular burger chains such as In-N-Out Burger or Steak ‘n Shake, with burgers at around $5 and combos for under $8.

Whether or not Nic’s can compete with the big fast food chains remains to be seen, but there does seem to be a trend towards fast food that uses fresh, natural ingredients.

Meanwhile, sales at McDonald’s and some of the other mega chains are slowing down significantly and part of the reason is that Mickey D’s and others have been so slow in cleaning up their act, in terms of using quality ingredients.

In fact, one of the headlines in today’s news concerned recent testing of chicken used in Subway products revealing that it contained less than 50 percent chicken DNA. One can only imagine what the rest of the product consisted of…

There will probably always be a market for greasy cheeseburgers, french fries and milkshakes, but it may no longer be possible to use the most questionable ingredients imaginable and expect the public to buy it – especially when restaurants like Nic’s can offer products that satisfy those fast food cravings without having to poison your body with GMOs, pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics.

Sources:

Chicago.Eater.com

Chicago.Eater.com

NicsOrganicFastFood.com

WCPO.com


http://www.naturalnews.com/2017-03-01-chicago-get-its-first-organic-fast-food-chain.html



That sounds yummy. In a parallel universe, I am visiting Chicago next weekend to try out this organic hamburger restaurant.

I am just wondering about the water that the animals are drinking. There are lots of reports that people in the US are not drinking clean water. What about cows at farms?

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

And The World's Most Valuable Passport Is...

by Tyler Durden
Mar 4, 2017 2:49 PM
0
SHARES
What is the "value of citizenship"? That's the question that Nomad Capitalist answers in their 2017 Passport Index, ranking 199 countries using a weighted approach that considers visa-free travel options, the amount of taxes a country levies on citizens who live abroad, along with the nation’s overall global reputation, civil and personal freedoms, and the ability to hold multiple passports simultaneously. And no, America, you’re not even in the top 20.

As Bloomberg notes, atop the list is Sweden, followed by a bevy of other European Union nations.



A Swedish passport allows visa-free travel to 176 countries or territories, just one fewer than world leader Germany. Moreover, Swedish expats can easily “get out of the high taxes in Sweden and go live somewhere else where there are lower taxes without a lot of headaches,” says Andrew Henderson, the veteran traveler, entrepreneur, and blogger who founded Nomad. “Not too many people are getting into fights with the Swedes,” Henderson said in a video posted on Wednesday...

[...]

The British, German, and U.S. passports once billed as the world’s “best” rank below several European nations. (Of the top 43 passports on Nomad’s list, 33 are European.) The common denominator among all these countries is a lack of tax on citizens’ income regardless of where they live. The U.S., by comparison, taxes citizens’ income no matter where it’s earned.

When it comes to passport desirability, America finds itself tied for 35th with Slovenia, both having visa-free travel to 174 nations. The U.S. earned low marks because of its taxation stance toward nonresidents and the world’s perception of America. This last measure was assigned a value based on how a country and its citizens are received around the world, as in when its passport holders are refused entry or “encounter substantial hostility.”

[...]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-03-04/and-worlds-most-valuable-passport


The US is feudal in some ways because of how it treats its expats. US expats still have to file their tax at home as long as they are US citizens. I never had to do that when living abroad.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Published on
Thursday, March 02, 2017
Common Dreams
'Visa War': EU Votes to Bar Visa-Free Travel for American Citizens
Since US won't allow visa-free entry for citizens of some EU member states, European Parliament voted to end visa-free travel for Americans

Nika Knight, staff writer

This is a "serious negative step in the E.U.-U.S.A. visa war," a European Parliament source told the Telegraph. (Photo: MPD01605/flickr/cc)

United States citizens traveling to Europe will soon have to pay for a visa to enter the continental bloc, thanks to an escalating "visa war," as the Telegraph puts it, between the U.S. and the European Union.

The European Parliament, "by a show of hands, [on Wednesday] urged the Commission to adopt restrictive measures against U.S. citizens 'within two months,'" reports Reuters.

The U.S. has long forced citizens of some E.U. countries—namely Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland, and Romania—to purchase visas in order to enter the country, denying the E.U. complete reciprocity when it comes to visa-free travel. The E.U. gave U.S. officials notice in 2014 that the country need to enact reciprocity or the visa-free travel for U.S. citizens would come to an end, but the U.S. did nothing. While E.U. officials told Reuters that talks are ongoing, under the hostile right-wing Trump administration visa reciprocity seems extremely unlikely to happen.

[...]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/03/02/visa-war-eu-votes-bar-visa-free-travel-american-citizens


What I find interesting about this topic is not that the EU would impose Visa requirements. Rather, why does the US have so restrictive Visa requirements and such a heavy passport control that no other modern country has?

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Published on
Sunday, March 05, 2017
Common Dreams
Bernie Sanders, Nina Turner, Civil Rights Leaders Demand Workers' Rights at Mississippi Nissan Factory
'What corporations understand is if they stop workers in Mississippi from forming a union, they can keep wages down in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania'

Nika Knight, staff writer

"It is time for justice for working people," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told the Nissan factory workers. (Photo: New Orleans DSA/Twitter)

While President Donald Trump was tweeting from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, former presidential contender Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was doing something Trump had promised to do throughout his campaign: advocating for workers.

On Saturday, Sanders and former Ohio state senator Nina Turner, a Democrat, led hundreds of workers in a "March on Mississippi" in Canton, Miss., to demand that Nissan grant factory employees the right to hold a union vote free from fear or intimidation.

Also taking part in the march were NAACP president Cornell Williams Brooks, Sierra Club president Aaron Mair, and the actor Danny Glover.

The march culminated in the delivery of a letter to Nissan officials "demanding the company halt its ongoing harassment of African-American workers who are organizing to form a union," the coalition of rights advocates behind the march, known as the Mississippi Alliance for Fairness at Nissan (MAFFAN), wrote in a statement.

Nissan has come under so much fire for its labor abuses of its Mississippi employees that politicians in France, where Nissan's corporate partner Renault is headquartered, released a series of videos expressing their solidarity with the Canton workers' fights for union rights.

[...]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/20...hts-leaders-demand-workers-rights-mississippi


Bernie is still in motion.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Published on
Wednesday, March 01, 2017
by
Common Dreams
With Battles in Multiple States, Fight to End Gerrymandering Heats Up
SCOTUS ruling in Virginia case seen as "yet another blow against GOP's use of racial gerrymandering to artificially inflate their power"

Deirdre Fulton, staff writer

(Photo: Common Cause NC/Twitter)

On the same day as the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a major victory in a Virginia gerrymandering case, pro-democracy forces gathered at the North Carolina state capitol building for a day of action opposing the practice.

Wednesday's 7-1 decision (pdf) from the nation's high court "instructed a lower court to reconsider its finding that race was not the dominant factor in drawing 11 General Assembly districts, opening the door to a new political map that could reshape the Republican-controlled state legislature," the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.

Progress Virginia said the ruling was "a great victory for Virginia voters who want to have a real say in who represents them in Richmond," while the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee—which works to get Democrats elected at the state level—described it as "[y]et another blow against GOP's use of racial gerrymandering to artificially inflate their power."

If allowed to stand, the lower court's ruling "could have significantly bolstered future attempts to draw gerrymandered districts" nationwide, ThinkProgress justice editor Ian Millhiser wrote in his report.

The Virginia lawsuit was one of two redistricting cases the Supreme Court heard in December. The other, involving North Carolina congressional districts, remains undecided.


But North Carolinians aren't waiting passively for that ruling to come down. On Tuesday, state lawmakers filed a bill that backers say "would take politics out of the redistricting process."

[...]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/03/01/battles-multiple-states-fight-end-gerrymandering-heats


Let us hope of more such events in the future.

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[Littlelissa]

Racist fuck.

Extended Interview:
Jorge Ramos Talks Race with Jared Taylor

Jared Taylor of American Renaissance explains the importance of white racial consciousness to Jorge Ramos,
anchor of Spanish-language television network, Univision.

Mr. Taylor asks why American whites deserve a homeland, just as much as Mexicans do?
Part of the interview was in the Univision documentary "Hate Rising."​

Jose Ramos, what a patient guy, I feel for him in this video.

"You don't think that all people are created equal".
"In an abstract liberal sense maybe we are".

 

[Littlelissa]

Hate Rising
with Jorge Ramos

From the Ku Klux Klan to the so called alt-right movement, white supremacist groups are growing in numbers and influence.
In “Hate Rising,” Jorge Ramos shows us how their ideas, usually confined to private and secretive gatherings, are becoming mainstream thanks in part to the rhetoric on the campaign trail this election cycle.​

Holy Jesus, fucking Christ!

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

'We Exist, We Resist, We Rise': Thousands March for Native Nations
Published on
Friday, March 10, 2017
by
Common Dreams
'We Exist, We Resist, We Rise': Thousands March for Native Nations
'Standing Rock was just the beginning'

by
Nika Knight, staff writer


6 Comments

The march began at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers headquarters and ended at Lafayette Square. (Photo: Alejandro Alvarez / @aletweetsnews)

"Water is life!" was the cry heard throughout Washington, D.C., on Friday as thousands of people filled the streets and marched for Indigenous rights and the sovereignty of native nations, demonstrating that the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline has sparked an ongoing movement.

Indigenous people across Turtle Island rising as one on the streets of Washington DC#nativenationsrise #stoppipelines #cdnpoli #waterislife pic.twitter.com/sR6npku1Ng

— Mike Hudema (@MikeHudema) March 10, 2017

The Native Nations Rise march was the culmination of a week of workshops, actions, and prayers to battle for native rights in the face of the right-wing Trump administration and the ongoing #NoDAPL fight.

[...]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/20...resist-we-rise-thousands-march-native-nations


Water is life - oil is poison. Trump is not making anything constructive by supporting the oil pipeline. Expect more protests in the future.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Published on
Friday, March 10, 2017
Common Dreams
Another Sign Just Came in That Tar Sands Operations Are on Life Support
'Societal acceptance of the energy system as we have it is just disappearing,' Shell chief executive said
Andrea Germanos, staff writer

This 2014 photo shows the Shell Albian Sands, the mining operation part of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project (AOSP). (Photo: Julia Kilpatrick, Pembina Institute/flickr/cc)

Royal Dutch Shell announced Thursday that it is selling off the majority of its tar sands assets, as its chief executive noted dwindling "societal acceptance of the energy system as we have it."

Of the $7.25 billion deal with energy company Canadian Natural, Shell said in a statement that it will "sell all of its in-situ and undeveloped oil sands interests in Canada and reduce its share in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project (AOSP) from 60 percent to 10 percent."

As InsideClimate News noted, the sale is "one of the biggest in a series of steps by multinational companies to turn away from the tar sands, among the most expensive and carbon-intensive sources of oil."

[...]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/20...st-came-tar-sands-operations-are-life-support


The Athabascan oil fields have turned the forests into wasteland. The water is poisoned, making it difficult for elk, fish and the Indian natives to maintain their health.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Published on
Thursday, March 09, 2017
Common Dreams
Corporate Tax Dodgers Exposed, Debunking Trump Myth That Rates Are Too High
Citing new analysis, Bernie Sanders and other lawmakers introduce Corporate Tax Dodging Prevention Act
Deirdre Fulton, staff writer

"Here's the simple truth," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Thursday. "You can't be an American company only when it benefits you." (Image: Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy)

Undercutting President Donald Trump's assertion that U.S. corporate taxes are too high—the justification for his and Republican leaders' pitches to lower the business tax rate—a new report finds that many profitable American companies pay far less than the 35 percent often cited by lobbyists and GOP officials.

"For years, corporate lobbyists have claimed that they can't be competitive because the corporate tax rate is too high. They have a receptive audience for those complaints in the current Congress and Trump administration, but it doesn't make these claims any less false."
—Robert McIntyre, Citizens for Tax Justice

In fact, the analysis reveals, 18 of the country's most profitable corporations paid nothing in taxes between 2008 and 2015, and fully 100 companies enjoyed at least one year in which their federal income tax was zero or less.

[...]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/20...posed-debunking-trump-myth-rates-are-too-high


End corporate welfare. They are getting tax cuts while the 99% are being starved of income. The claim of the Laffer curve is that tax cuts starting from a too high level of corporate taxation will result in economic growth and higher tax revenues. The key of this argument is investment of the private sector. But the corporate psychopaths do not invest their tax cuts into new machinery. They raise their salaries and put the money in tax havens. The Laffer curve is one of those intellectual frauds of the psychopathic right. (There is a right that does not compromise its intellectual integrity like this. That is another story.)

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Published on
Saturday, March 11, 2017
DeSmogBlog
Former Koch Agents, Fossil Fuel Industry Hired Guns Now Staffing Trump's Federal Agencies
Steve Horn, DeSmogBlog

A DeSmog investigation finds Trump's "beachhead teams" include "former operatives allied with Koch Industries, oil and coal industry employees, a former employee of a prominent climate denial group, and an advocate for a pro-trophy hunting organization funded by oil and gas." (Photo: SMelindo/flickr/cc)

On March 8, ProPublica obtained “beachhead team” rosters with the names of hundreds of temporary staffers the Trump administration has installed in federal agencies, including the Department of Interior (DOI), Department of Energy (DOE), the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and others.

A DeSmog investigation shows that this list of staffers, largely undisclosed before this week, includes former operatives allied with Koch Industries, oil and coal industry employees, a former employee of a prominent climate denial group, and an advocate for a pro-trophy hunting organization funded by oil and gas. The background and connections of these staffers may serve as a preview to potential priorities these agencies may take on related to energy, climate, and environment under Donald Trump.

[...]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/20...dustry-hired-guns-now-staffing-trumps-federal


Good old-fashioned corruption. Is Trump really cleaning up the swamp like he claimed to do in his campaign?

The list is long. Click the list for more info.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Texas Republicans drew congressional districts on racial lines, judges find
Map found to be gerrymandered to weaken growing voting power of minorities, giving Democrats hope of new maps that could turn over more seats in Congress



Republicans hold two of three congressional districts ruled newly invalid and were found to have been partly drawn with discriminatory intent. Photograph: Hisham Ibrahim/Getty Images

Associated Press in Austin

Saturday 11 March 2017 15.36 GMT

Federal judges found more problems in Texas’ voting rights laws, ruling that Republicans racially gerrymandered some congressional districts to weaken the growing electoral power of minorities.

The ruling late Friday by a three-judge panel in San Antonio gave Democrats hope of new, more favorably drawn maps that could turn over more seats in Congress in 2018. But the judges in their 2-1 decision didn’t propose an immediate fix, and Texas could appeal to the US supreme court.

Republicans hold two of three congressional districts ruled newly invalid and were found to have been partly drawn with discriminatory intent. The GOP-controlled Texas legislature approved the maps in 2011, the same year then governor Rick Perry signed a voter ID law that ranks among the toughest in the US. Courts have since weakened that law, too.

Judges noted the “strong racial tension and heated debate about Latinos, Spanish-speaking people, undocumented immigrants and sanctuary cities” that served as the backdrop in the legislature to Texas adopting the maps and the voter ID law.

Those tensions are flaring again over Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration, and Republican Texas governor Greg Abbott is also demanding tough crackdowns on so-called sanctuary cities.

“The record indicates not just a hostility toward Democrat districts, but a hostility to minority districts, and a willingness to use race for partisan advantage,” US district judges Xavier Rodriguez and Orlando Garcia wrote in their opinion.

Republican Texas attorney general Ken Paxton did not immediately remark on the ruling.

Hispanics were found to have fueled Texas’ dramatic growth in the 2010 census, the year before the maps were drawn, accounting for two out of every three new residents in the state. The findings of racially motivated mapmaking satisfied Democrats and minority rights groups, who are now pushing a separate federal court in Texas to determine that the voter ID law was also crafted with discriminatory intent.

Texas was forced ahead of the November election to weaken its voter ID law, which allows concealed handgun licenses but not college student IDs, after a federal appeals court found that the requirements particularly hampered minorities and the poor.

The Obama administration had brought the muscle of the US justice department into Texas to help challenge both the maps and voter ID law. But barely a month after Trump took office, the federal government reversed course and announced it would no longer argue that Texas purposefully discriminated against minorities with its voter ID law.

It was not yet clear whether the Trump administration will also drop opposition to Texas’ maps. But US circuit judge Jerry Smith, in a blistering dissent, criticized Obama administration attorneys after they joined the case.

“It was obvious, from the start, that the DoJ attorneys viewed state officials and the legislative majority and their staffs as a bunch of backwoods hayseed bigots who bemoan the abolition of the poll tax and pine for the days of literacy tests and lynchings,” Smith wrote. “And the DoJ lawyers saw themselves as an expeditionary landing party arriving here, just in time, to rescue the state from oppression, obviously presuming that plaintiffs’ counsel were not up to the task.”

The stakes in finding discriminatory intent are higher because it provides a window for opponents to argue that Texas should be forced to resume having changes to voting laws “pre-cleared” by the justice department or a federal court. A 2013 US supreme court ruling did away with pre-clearance by striking down a key provision in the federal Voting Rights Act.

The congressional districts voided by the panel belong to Democrat Lloyd Doggett and Republicans Will Hurd and Blake Farenthold. Hurd’s district, which runs from San Antonio to El Paso, has been a rare competitive swing district in Texas in recent years.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/11/texas-election-gerrymandering-congress-minorities


It is gerrymandered all over the country. I have a feeling that this ruling is justifying the existing rules of gerrymandering rather than getting to the root of the problem.

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[Skarekrow]

Even though the CBO is respected and often cited by both Democrats and Republicans, conservatives knew that their report was going to confirm basically every horrific thing about the GOP’s plan to screw millions of Americans out of health care.
And that’s exactly what the CBO report did. Here are a few of the main findings:
By 2026, Trumpcare would lead to 24 million fewer people having health insurance.
By next year, the number of uninsured Americans would be 14 million higher than under the current law.
Typically, premiums for people buying insurance on their own would increase by 15 to 20 percent more in 2018 and 2019 than they would under the current law.
Some states would likely discontinue their expansion for Medicaid eligibility.
By 2026, 52 million people would be without health insurance, nearly double the projected 28 million under the current law.
Medicaid spending would be slashed by 25 percent, with an estimated 14 million fewer people qualifying for the program.
As the New York Times also calculated:
A 64-year-old earning [$26,500] would fare much worse. That person’s $15,300 health plan would be offset by a $13,600 tax credit under current law, leaving the consumer responsible for $1,700. Under the Republican plan, health insurers would be free to charge older people more, raising that person’s premium to $19,500. But the tax credit would be only $4,900, and that person’s share of the premium would then be $14,600.
Meaning that a 64-year-old person with a low-income would end up paying nearly $13,000 more per year for insurance. For those who don’t feel like doing the math, that means that 64-year-old person would go from paying about 6 percent of their already low income on health care to 55 percent. Realistically, they probably wouldn’t be able to afford health care at a point in their life when most people need it the most.
By all accounts, this “health care” bill is a complete and total disaster when it comes to providing, you know, actual health care. It does nothing to fulfill the GOP’s promises to make health care better and more affordable.

This is unconscionable.

Republicans like Ryan are distracting Americans by claiming this is about “providing access to care” when, in fact, it’s really nothing but a bill to give wealthy Americans a tax break and gut Medicaid.
Leave it to Republicans to support a “health care bill” they promised would “make health care better and more affordable” that literally doesn’t do any of that. Fewer people will have health care, premiums will go up (especially for the poor and older Americans), and coverage will only get worse for most.
Yet according to Ryan, it “exceeded his expectations” because, well, screwing millions of Americans out of health care and gutting Medicaid obviously doesn’t bother him. As long as he can brag about tax cuts for the rich and reducing the deficit, no matter how many poor and elderly people he has to hurt in the process, that’s a “win” in Paul Ryan’s book.
This is another prime example where Paul Ryan’s obvious disdain for the poor was on full display. That he could say a report indicating that the “health care plan” he supports would cause premiums to increase (especially on the elderly and poor), tens of millions of Americans would lose health insurance, and Medicaid would be gutted “exceeded his expectations” is absolutely repulsive.
At the end of the day, it’s indicative of the type of scumbag Paul Ryan truly is.

Even Fox Faux News see’s through the BS.

 

[Skarekrow]

The reality is that when it comes to supporting real family values like paid leave, the United States lags behind every major country on earth, and virtually all poor countries as well.
Out of 188 countries, the U.S and Papa New Guinea are the only two that don’t provide some form of paid leave.
Or, to put that another way: the citizens of every other major industrialized country get more protection for their families than we do here in the United States.

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[Skarekrow]

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate makes clear what we already know: the GOP health care plan would hurt people across the country.
Because of the ACA, we now have the lowest uninsured rate in history.
In contrast, the CBO report shows that Congressional Republicans' plan would rip coverage away from 24 million people, drive up costs for seniors, force rural hospitals and nursing facilities to close, limit access to providers, and jeopardize tens of thousands of health care jobs.
It would also end Medicaid as we know it.
The Republicans in Congress should abandon this harmful effort and help to improve the ACA.

https://www.cbo.gov/…/costestimate/americanhealthcareact.pdf​