Trent Franks Blocks D.C. Representative From
Testifying About Proposed D.C. Abortion Ban

post from ThinkProgress on 16 May 2012 07:00:03 PM. © ThinkProgress

Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) wants to restrict abortions in the District of Columbia, but he refuses to allow D.C.’s delegate from testifying on behalf of the city’s residents during a hearing about his proposal. Franks’ “fetal pain” bill would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy in D.C. even though there is no scientific proof that a fetus can feel pain at that point and a fetus is not viable.

Del. Eleanor Norton (D), D.C.’s only elected represetative, asked Franks last week if she could testify about the bill at an upcoming Thursday hearing. Franks denied her request, which Norton said breaks tradition of allowing members of Congress to testify about a bill that affects their constituents. Similarly, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) prevented women from testifying on a panel about contraception back in February.

Norton told the Huffington Post that her constituents are “up in arms” about the proposed abortion ban:

“This is the first bill in history that attempts to take the residents of the District of Columbia outside of the protection of the Constitution,” she continued. “The right to have an abortion until viability is a mandated right under Roe v. Wade. I think it takes a lot of nerve to single out the constituents of another member’s district for discriminatory treatment, and we deeply resent it.” [...]
D.C. is an easy target for anti-abortion bills, Norton said, because it doesn’t have any elected officials who can vote in Congress.
“Why wouldn’t they put this bill in for the entire country if they feel so deeply about it?”

In December, House Republicans forced a ban on funding for abortion services in D.C. to avoid a government shutdown and even prevented the city from using local taxes to pay for abortion care, reinstating a 13-year ban on abortion funding in D.C. that President Obama overturned in 2009.

Lawmakers in six conservative states have banned abortion after 20 weeks, including Georgia and Arizona which approved the bans this year.

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http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/05/16/485380/trent-franks-dc-abortion-ban/

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Outside Groups Spend Almost $4 Million For Texas
GOP Senate Primary

post from ThinkProgress on 16 May 2012 07:00:03 PM. © ThinkProgress

In the past two days a Super PAC called the Texas Conservatives Fund — which acknowledges that it was created expressly to boost the Senate candidacy of Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (R-TX) — has reported spending over $1.25 million on independent expenditures attacking one of his primary opponents, former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz (R). In total, outside groups have already spent at least $3,961,331 advocating for and against candidates in the May 29 Republican Senate primary — with two weeks left until Election Day.

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http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/05/16/484853/outside-groups-spend-almost-4-
million-for-texas-gop-senate-primary/

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CHART: Wages For Young Colleges Graduates
Haven’t Grown In A Decade

post from ThinkProgress on 16 May 2012 07:00:03 PM. © ThinkProgress

According to data from the Economic Policy Institute, “between 2000 and 2011, the wages of young college graduates [aged 21-24] dropped 5.4 percent (1.6 percent for men and 8.5 percent for women),” after they grew 19 percent between 1995 and 2000. As EPI noted, “young graduates who enter the labor market during periods of strength (e.g. 1995?2000) face much stronger wage prospects than young graduates who enter the labor market during periods of weakness (e.g. 2001 to the present).”

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http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/05/16/485482/college-grads-wages/

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A Tentacle Rape Game – Why Are People
Supporting This Again

post from ThinkProgress on 16 May 2012 07:00:03 PM. © ThinkProgress

I almost didn?t want to write about this because the whole situation has given me a near migraine with the number of times my head has hit my desk since first hearing about it. For those of you just catching up, Kickstarter recently pulled the plug on a campaign by Soda Pop Miniatures to fund their title, Tentacle Bento. What is Tentacle Bento you ask? In a nutshell, it?s a creeptastic game ?spoofing? anime (but made by a crew from the West) where the end goal is to rape as many cute ladies as possible. The whole thing is done in lovely pastel colors so it?s totally not violent or gross or anything like that – it?s, as it?s creators would have you believe, subversive, edgy, fun! (Is your head on your desk yet?).

As usual the Borderhouse crew is on top of things with an insightful and poignant analysis about why the game?s existence and appeal is damning and damaging not just for gamer culture but for popular culture at large. You can check out contributor Alex?s insightful write up about the whole affair here.

Rather than recap Alex?s excellent take on the whole mess, I?ll add my own two cents to the mix. The most chilling aspect of Soda Pop Miniature?s marketing of Tentacle Bento is their own obtuseness about the fact that they?re making a rape game. Simply put, they really just don?t get it. These folks seem to be so blinded by their own privilege that they can?t possibly conceive of the fact that they?re making a game that trivializes rape. I mean the core object of the game is literally raping (oh I?m sorry, ?snatch and grabbing? to use their words) as many girls as possible. If you can?t see how that?s royally fucked up I don?t think I can have a meaningful conversation with you.

The developers haven?t, as of my writing, commented publicly on the critiques to their game. They did, however, include this statement on both their kickstarter and website?s funding page: ?We are firmly against the depiction of violence against women in any regards.?

Yup.

If you are, in fact, against the depiction of violence against women – in ANY FORM – how do you not understand that a game that involves ?collecting? women and using assault as a mechanic is a form of violence. I mean seriously Soda Pop Miniature crew – read your OWN WORDS.

The company calls their game ?cheeky satire? but it seems that they don?t actually understand what either of those words means. (Much like how most of the privileged internet doesn?t grasp the true and appropriate usage of the word ?censorship.?) As far as I can tell, there?s not a trace of irony or sarcasm present in the video for or pitch for Tentacle Bento. If this game is meant to satirize the genre of anime that fetishizes tentacle rape then why are players rewarded for subduing and conquering as many women as they can – that?s not satire, that?s just literally the genre they claim to poke fun of. (I?m not seriously trying to ?fix? the design of this awful game, just attempting to keep my palm from smacking my forehead again).

Moreover, if your game is actually supposed to satirize this genre, then why is one of the donation incentives an opportunity to have a WOMAN YOU KNOW DRAWN INTO THE GAME?!!! You read that right – one of the prizes for funding this game is getting your own wife or girlfriend (or potentially non consenting woman because how the hell do these folks know) drawn in as a character in the game! Yup, with or without their consent you can include the women in your life as fodder for the ?mischievous? rapey monster villain in this game. All in good fun right?

Here?s the thing – I know there are those who will read this and wonder why I, or others aren?t up in arms about murder in games or violence in games in general. The thing is, I can?t, for the life of me, think of a game where the primary objective is to murder children or where murder is normalized and trivialised in the way that rape is in Tentacle Bento. And while video games, especially, are rampant with violent content, I can?t think of a game where, even as a villain, my primary core gameplay objective is the destruction and assault of totally innocent parties as it is in Tentacle Bento.

And the thing is, we know, and it?s culturally accepted, that murder and violence are wrong. They?re abnormal – they?re scary. The same is not so true with rape. We still live in a cultural climate where most victims don?t report their rape, where rape is not seen as a big deal, where victim blaming is prevalent, and where, yes, in 2012, some folks still think women are asking for it. As Alex so rightly pointed out at the close of her piece, ?Tentacle Bento may just be a drop in the ocean of rape culture, but every drop counts, and no individual or private company is obligated to support such a game.?

While I applaud Kickstarter for pulling the campaign, to me, common sense dictates that it shouldn?t have even been up there in the first place. I don?t know what I?m more bothered by, the fact that Tentacle Bento exists, that gamers are defending it, or that there?s enough of an audience for it that it?s on its way to being funded….

Read The Full Article:
http://thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2012/05/16/485711/tentacle-rape-game/

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Americans Overwhelmingly Want Obama To End
Crackdown on Medical Marijuana

post from Firedoglake on 16 May 2012 06:30:46 PM. © Firedoglake

An incredible three-fourths of American voters want President Obama to stop using federal resources to crack down on state medical marijuana programs, according to a new Mason-Dixon poll sponsored by the Marijuana Policy Project.[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/firedoglake/fdl/~3/42PXWZ0UkrY/

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Americans Overwhelming Want Obama To End
Crackdown on Medical Marijuana

post from Firedoglake on 16 May 2012 06:30:46 PM. © Firedoglake

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The Wild West Is Where I Want To Be

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 16 May 2012 06:24:53 PM. © Docudharma - Front Page

"He seldom has any point to make except obvious ones" - The Christian Science Monitor [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.docudharma.com/diary/29894/the-wild-west-is-where-i-want-to-be

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Saverin: This Had Nothing To Do With Taxes

Eduardo Saverin tells the Times his decision to renounce his US citizenship had nothing to do with US taxes. "This had nothing to do with taxes. I was born in Brazil, I was an American citizen for about 10 years. I thought of myself as a global citizen."[...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Talking-Points-Memo/~3/xL_qE3FaLOw/saverin_this_ha
d_nothing_to_do_with_taxes.php

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He Was Warned

It sounds like consular officials in Singapore would have made very clear to Eduardo Saverin that he faced being barred for life from the USA.From TPM Reader JG ...I can't speak for the quality of Mr. Saverin's legal advice going into the renounciation[...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Talking-Points-Memo/~3/smOAIFUxROc/he_was_warned.p
hp

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Top Scott Walker Donor’s Business Paid
Nothing In State Income Taxes From 2005 To 2008

Top Walker Donor Diane Hendricks

The donor doing the most to finance Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) campaign against a recall hasn’t put the same effort into financing Wisconsin’s state government, according to income tax data obtained by a non-profit organization based in the state.

Diane Hendricks is a billionaire who donated $500,000 — the largest donation ever made in a Wisconsin governor’s race — to Walker this year, but the company she owns paid absolutely nothing in taxes from 2005 to 2008, the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future reports:

ABC Supply may be a huge money-maker for Hendricks, but the Wisconsin corporate income tax returns she files claim the company makes not a penny in taxable profit.
ABC Supply paid exactly $0.00 in state corporate income tax in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, according to the state Department of Revenue. Tax data for more recent years were not available when the information was requested from the department.

Hendricks gained notoriety earlier this month when Walker was caught on film admitting to her that he was planning a “divide and conquer” strategy with the state’s public sector unions. That strategy, which led to Walker’s signature union-busting legislation and massive protests outside the state capitol, is why Walker is now facing a recall.

Walker pitched the legislation as necessary for balancing the state’s budget, which was facing a $137 million budget deficit in 2011. According to IWF, businesses dodge $113 million in Wisconsin state taxes each year.

“It?s not known which loopholes ABC Supply used to avoid income taxes,” the IWF report said, but Hendricks has long been an advocate of lower taxes. In a 2010 editorial, she wrote, “Taxing job creators is a sure way to stop the engine of economic growth.?

Read The Full Article:
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/05/16/485114/walker-donor-avoids-taxes/

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