DNCC CEO Steve Kerrigan to Keynote South Carolina
Democratic Convention

post from DemConWatch on 11 May 2012 10:33:08 AM. © DemConWatch

CHARLOTTE – Democratic National Convention Committee CEO Steve Kerrigan will deliver the keynote address at the 2012 South Carolina Democratic Convention this Saturday, May 12, at 1:15 p.m.

The South Carolina Democratic Party will elect 62 delegates this Saturday to the 2012 Democratic National Convention, which will be held in Charlotte, N.C., the week of September 3. Kerrigan will discuss South Carolina’s role in the Democratic National Convention and provide an update on convention planning.

The SC Democratic National Convention will take place at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com/diary/5320/dncc-ceo-steve-kerrigan-to-ke
ynote-south-carolina-democratic-convention

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GOP Complains of Unfunded Mandates, Then Cuts
Medicaid

post from Firedoglake on 11 May 2012 10:20:55 AM. © Firedoglake

The GOP position is this: expanding Medicaid is coercive because the feds might take away funds if a state doesn't provide coverage, but let's cut Medicaid funding anyway, and while crippling public insurance, let's make it harder for people looking for[...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/firedoglake/fdl/~3/hIvzspv5lEw/

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Today in False Equivalence

post from The American Prospect on 11 May 2012 10:20:05 AM. © The American Prospect

The 111th Congress was practically defined by Republicans who turned an extraordinary measure?the filibuster?into a routine tool of obstruction. GOP senators invoked holds and filibusters on virtually everything that came from Senate Democrats, resulting in a session that saw more filibusters than any previous session in history. This nifty graph is illustrative:

Democrats aren?t blameless, but their use of the filibuster pales in comparison to Republican abuse, which made 60 votes a de facto requirement for the passage of any legislation. This is obvious to anyone who looks at the last two years of congressional action?Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein, for example, have been excoriating Republicans for filibuster abuse for the past four years. Regardless, false equivalence continues to reign in congressional coverage. Here?s Politico?s Manu Raju, who seems to have missed 2006 to 2010:

It takes 60 votes ? and time-consuming cloture motions ? to overcome a filibuster, a tool that has been employed with growing frequency by both parties over the years.

At this point, I?m honestly unsure of what will convince reporters to cease the constant equivalence between the two parties. Democrats aren?t angels, of course, but the Republican Party has embarked on a crusade against the norms that govern conduct in the Senate. It?s totalistic approach to politics is responsible for congressional dysfunction, and placing blame on both sides only makes the problem harder to solve.

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http://prospect.org/article/today-false-equivalence

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Roubini: Eurozone Is a "Slow Motion Train Wreck."

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 11 May 2012 10:11:47 AM. © Docudharma - Front Page

Cross posted from The Stars Hollow GazetteUS stocks continue to dip and oil fell to below the $100 mark as the Europeans are balking at austerity only budgets that have exacerbated the recession. Nobel prize winning economist, Nuriel Roubini[...]

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http://www.docudharma.com/diary/29852/roubini-eurozone-is-a-slow-motion-train-wre
ck

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Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's plan to break
unions is 'divide and conquer'

post from Daily Kos on 11 May 2012 10:08:53 AM. © Daily Kos

Just weeks before Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker rolled out his plan to strip public workers of collective bargaining rights, he explained to a billionaire donor that it was the first step in a larger anti-union plan. The January 18, 2011 conversation was filmed by documentary filmmaker Brad Lichtenstein, who has released some footage.

In the video, Diane Hendricks, who owns a roofing wholesale and siding distribution company, asks Walker:

"Any chance we'll ever get to be a completely red state and work on these unions?"
Walker: "Oh, yeah."
Hendricks: "?and become a right-to-work? What can we do to help you?"
Walker: "Well, we're going to start in a couple weeks with our budget adjustment bill. The first step is we're going to deal with collective bargaining for all public employee unions, because you use divide and conquer."

Hendricks gave Walker $10,000 shortly after that conversation, but that's peanuts compared to the $500,000 she gave him during the pre-recall period when he could accept unlimited contributions.

"Divide and conquer" makes clear how much bigger a fight Walker is interested in than just going after public workers and collective bargaining. Divide public-sector and private-sector workers, weaken one, and leave the other standing alone to be picked off at your leisure. Divide union and non-union workers, because if you can get rid of unions, you can do whatever you want to non-union workers?especially if you get rid of equal pay enforcement and environmental regulations and paid sick leave laws and disenfranchise voters from groups that don't support you. These aren't isolated actions. They're steps along the way to what Hendricks first asked Walker: Getting to be a completely red state.

What Walker has passed in the past 17 months is bad enough. But this is what's happened while he's been treading at least somewhat carefully, with himself and many of his allies in the Senate facing recall. It's a dead certainty he has more and worse in mind if he hangs on as governor.

Please give $3 to help Tom Barrett defeat Scott Walker on June 5.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/C5EInPbqwpU/-Wisconsin-Gov-Scott-W
alker-tells-billionaire-donor-the-plan-is-divide-and-conquer-

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Cartnoon

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 11 May 2012 10:05:32 AM. © Docudharma - Front Page

Foney Fables [...]

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http://www.docudharma.com/diary/29851/cartnoon-by-ek-hornbeck

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U.N.: Civilian Deaths Down 20 Percent So Far In
2012

post from ThinkProgress on 11 May 2012 10:00:24 AM. © ThinkProgress

Compared to a four-month period running from January to April last year, civilian deaths in Afghanistan are down 20 percent, according to the United Nations’ special envoy to Afghanistan Jan Kubis. After rising for five straight years, the drop in deaths will be welcome news for the U.S.-led coalition there and Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government, who are frequently at odds over civilian deaths. More than 3,000 civilians died in 2011, and May of that year was the deadliest month on record. Kubis speculated that the drop in deaths could be because of Western measures to limit them, but rights groups say the harsh winter may have played a part by stymying fighting.

Read The Full Article:
http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/05/11/482485/un-civilian-deaths-down-20-pe
rcent-so-far-in-2012/

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Tony Perkins Takes Press Tour On Obama’s
Marriage Equality Coattails

post from ThinkProgress on 11 May 2012 10:00:24 AM. © ThinkProgress

Few elected Republicans have been willing to go on the record this week about President Obama’s support for marriage equality, which has created an opening for religious conservatives to speak out to media news outlets. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, has made numerous appearances, including at least three on CNN over the past few days. GLAAD’s Herndon Graddick took CNN to task for ignoring the vitriol Perkins stands for as the leader of an anti-gay hate group:

But when Perkins gets interviewed, a responsible journalist needs to tell the audience exactly who Perkins is speaking for. Based on his own statements — Tony Perkins represents people who believe supporting LGBT equality is akin to being a terrorist. Who believe marriage equality is the same as bestiality. Who say that gay people are “vile,” “hateful,” “spiteful” “pawns of the enemy.” Tony Perkins does not represent people who oppose marriage equality. Tony Perkins represents those who oppose LGBT people — period.
If CNN wants that side represented in this discussion, then Perkins is absolutely the right man for the job. But they need to make it clear to the audience that that’s what he’s there for. And by not doing so, they have not told the whole story.

GLAAD created the Commentator Accountability Project for exactly this reason, to make sure that anti-gay voices are properly identified and contextualized when they’re amplified by the media. After several appearances in which Perkins’ views went unchallenged, he finally faced his comeuppance in an appearance on MSNBC’s Harball yesterday evening. Both Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) and host Christ Matthews took Perkins to task for teaching his children that being gay is wrong and for preventing children in need from being adopted by same-sex couples. Watch it:

Read The Full Article:
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2012/05/11/482473/tony-perkins-press-tour/

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Today, ALEC Brings Lawmakers And Big Oil Together
To Undermine Clean Energy

Today, behind closed doors in Charlotte, North Carolina, legislators from 15 states will meet with the oil and gas industry to discuss so-called “model legislation” as part of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The result could be laws that handicap renewable energy targets — while creating loopholes for fossil fuels, written directly by the oil and gas industry itself.

ALEC has faced backlash recently for its role in crafting Florida’s Stand Your Ground laws. Now the organization is taking the same secretive approach to kill renewable energy development across the country.

Oil and gas corporations have a very strong role in politics through groups like Americans For Prosperity, American Petroleum Institute, and, of course ALEC. Four of the largest oil and gas corporations and two of the most profitable U.S. corporations overall, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP, sit on ALEC’s task forces. And so today, according to documents posted by Common Cause, representatives from these and other energy groups will discuss potential legislation that would undermine clean energy standards and limit regulations of polluting industries.

The agenda items illustrate ALEC’s objectives. An economist from the oil lobby American Petroleum Institute leads a discussion on oil and gas prices, and a few of the panels include, “The Dirty Truth Behind Reusable Bags” and “Resolution Supporting a Reasonable Compliance Timeline and Economywide Impact Study of EPA?s Mercury and Air Toxics Rule.” Peabody Energy — one of the largest coal companies in the world — will give the presentation on “Regulation Through Litigation Of Greenhouse Gases Is Unsound Public Policy.”

ALEC already benefits from special exemption from some state laws: For example, South Carolina, Indiana, and Colorado have specifically exempted ALEC from lobbying status.

The oil industry’s astroturfing does not end with ALEC. Heartland Institute, part of the consortium of ultra-conservative think tanks leading a broad attack on clean energy, will also speak at ALEC’s meeting. Americans For Prosperity, funded by money from the Koch brothers, is also involved in Big Oil’s PR campaign against clean energy.

We have already seen oil dominating election ad spending this year, with well over $24 million spent by groups like Americans for Prosperity and American Energy Alliance since January. More than 80 percent of election year attack ads have focused on energy — all of them thoroughly debunked.

Read The Full Article:
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/05/11/482422/today-alec-brings-lawmakers-an
d-big-oil-together-to-undermine-clean-energy/

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Report: Pittsburgh Tea Party Chair Compares Obama
To Nazi Regime

Pittsburgh Tea Party Chair Patti Weaver

Pittsburgh Tea Party Chair Patti Weaver (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review photo)

At a Tea Party rally two weeks, Pittsburgh Tea Party Chair Patricia “Patti” Weaver told supporters that President Barack Obama, like the Nazis in World War II, is an ?an evil in this country that you are standing up to,? according to a recent story in the daily Butler Eagle newspaper. Weaver is an elected representative for Allegheny County on the Pennsylvania’s Republican state committee and mounted an aborted campaign for Allegheny County Controller in 2011.

Speaking along with Republican U.S. Senate nominee Tom Smith, a former coal mining CEO, Weaver reportedly also told the audience of about 100 people that Obama “wants the country to fail.”

Another report from the rally noted that she said Obama “wants our country to follow Europe into bankruptcy” and to “demonize prosperity.” In a 2010 video, she warned that “we’re moving from a Republic to really a Socialist country.”

Reached by ThinkProgress yesterday, Weaver said she had not read the article but said she had not compared Obama to the regime. She promised to read the story and provide a comment last night, but has not yet done so.

Kelly B. Garrett, the original reporter, read her notes aloud to ThinkProgress by phone, confirming that Weaver had indeed said “Obama?s like the Nazis. There?s an evil in the country and you are standing against it.”

Read The Full Article:
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/05/11/482522/report-pittsburgh-tea-party-c
hair-compares-obama-to-nazi-regime/

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