Obama Starts to Run on the Economy

post from Firedoglake on 19 October 2012 01:10:35 PM. © Firedoglake

Zeke Miller of Buzzfeed highlights this new wrinkle in President Obama's stump speech: taking credit for some good economic numbers of late.[...]

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Connecticut GOP Senate Candidate Wont Talk About
Social Security Reforms Because Of The Media

post from ThinkProgress on 19 October 2012 01:10:11 PM. © ThinkProgress

Republican Linda McMahon, the former professional wrestling executive who is taking her second shot at winning a Connecticut Senate seat, won’t specify how she would reform Social Security because the media will “bash” the plans, she said after a debate with her opponent, Democratic Rep. Chris Murphy. At a tea party gathering in April, McMahon [...]

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gress0Borg0Ceconomy0C20A120C10A0C190C10A488310Cmcmahon0Esocial0Esecurity0Emedia0C/story01.htm

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Gallup Getting Lonely

post from Talking Points Memo on 19 October 2012 01:00:50 PM. © Talking Points Memo

National polls, tracking and otherwise, from the last 24 hoursPPP Obama +1Rasmussen TiedReuters/Ipsos Obama +3IBD/TIPPP Obama +.5RAND Obama +5.7UCONN: Obama +3Gallup Romney +7Details here. [...]

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Tim Kaine Wiped the Floor with George Allen in
Debate, Starting with Social Security

post from Taylor Marsh on 19 October 2012 01:00:47 PM. © Taylor Marsh

THERE IS absolutely no question that Tim Kaine outperformed George Allen in last night’s debate. Every third sentence from Allen he used the word “sequestration,” trying to scare Virginia voters that military cuts would send them to the[...]

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en-in-debate-starting-with-social-security/

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Banks campaign responds to Waller's attempts to
take credit for drug courts and e-filing

post from Cottonmouth on 19 October 2012 01:00:47 PM. © Cottonmouth

Here's the text of a press release issued by the Earle Banks for Supreme Court campaign today:

WALLER OVERSTATES DRUG COURT AND E-FILING CREDIT
In response to a new campaign TV adby Chief Justice Bill Waller, Jr.?s campaign, touting Waller?s leading role inpromoting drug courts and statewide ?e-filing,? the Earle Banks campaignresponds as follows:
?Justice Waller only witnessedsuccess with drug courts after the heroic legislative efforts of RepresentativeAlyce Clark (D-Jackson) to create and fund them. And it was the state legislature, includingRep. Earle Banks, who voted to fund drugs courts, just as he helped to createthe Court of Appeals in Mississippi,? said Banks campaign spokesperson TanyaPatterson.
?Waller?s claim to success withelectronic filing, or ?e-filing,? a system modeled after the feds that wouldallow lawyers to file court documents by computer, is absurd. Only four or five out of eighty-two countieshave e-filing. Even the three largestcourthouses in this district, Hinds, Rankin and Lauderdale, cannot afforde-filing. The smaller counties in poorand rural areas will likely never see electronic filing in theircourthouses. In fact, you cannot evenfile appeal briefs in Waller?s Supreme Court electronically,? says Patterson.

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The LiberalOasis Radio Show: The Hunt For
Romney's Jobs Plan

post from LiberalOasis : The Blog on 19 October 2012 01:00:37 PM. © LiberalOasis : The Blog

Can Romney tie the Stabby Five record after the second debate? Plus, we take you on a journey of Romney's website in a desperate search for his jobs plan.

You can download the podcast at these links: (iTunes / XML feed / MP3).

Or watch us on the YouTube machine!

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Gary Delong-- Global Warming Denier... In
Southern California

post from DownWithTyranny! on 19 October 2012 01:00:32 PM. © DownWithTyranny!

Thursday we looked at how hostile to Science-- the engine of all economic progress-- the Republicans in Congress are. And, of course, like most reactionary trains of thought, Global Warming deniers are dominant in the old slave-holding states of the Confederacy. But in Southern California? Gary Delong, the Republican nominee who beat mainstream Republican Steve Kuykendall in the primary, roiled the race for the 47th CD congressional seat (Long Beach, Cypress, Westminster and Garden Grove) by making a stunning claim that he sees no scientific evidence of Climate Change. Does he think he's running for a seat in Mississippi or Alabma instead of California?

Delong removed the video of his crackpot statements from his own website, but luckily some of his fans had saved it and you can watch the whole thing here. (Delong gets going into Republican Fantasyland at 10:25.) David Allgood, Executive Director of the California League of Conservation Voters, was stunned. "Climate change and global warming are real. The denial of this scientifically proven phenomenon is not only a threat to our planet's health, but our economy and our children's future. Climate change deniers are nothing more than apologists for polluters, oil companies, and right-wing ideologues like the Koch brothers. Gary DeLong is not just wrong, his position is dangerous. We can't afford someone like him who puts politics and ideology ahead of science and the health of our community."

Thursday the editorial board of the very right-wing Long Beach Press-Telegram, the biggest newspaper in the district-- which has endorsed Delong-- was also mortified.

With the weather being so unseasonably warm over the last few days, one would think Long Beach City Councilman Gary DeLong would believe in a proven little fact like climate change. Alas, no.

The Republican congressional candidate recently told the Rossmoor Homeowners Association that global warming is "questionable."

When asked a follow-up question as to whether climate change is manmade, DeLong offered this doozy:

"No, you know there are scientists on both sides of it, but no, I don't immediately get there," DeLong said in a video posted on YouTube. "I don't see any scientific evidence."

These pages endorsed DeLong for the 47th Congressional District and hailed him as a moderate based on his own statements that he would buck the GOP's lockstep train of thought on social issues and the environment. ... Was DeLong pandering to the conservative views of a handful of Orange County voters in this new congressional district? With only 20 days left until Election Day, it's up to the voters to decide where DeLong's vision for the environment truly lies.

State Senator Alan Lowenthal is the progressive running for the seat. He also happens to be widely considered one of the most environmentally-conscious members of the state legislature and has been lauded for drafting the legislation that has made Long Beach and Los Angeles the cleanest ports in America and models for ports all over the world. Alan will be the Blue America guest at Crooks and Liars on Tuesday morning at 11am (PT). (You can contribute to his campaign on the main Blue America page.) His campaign was surprised to hear Delong take such an extreme, ideological position that is so diametrically opposed to that of most people in the district. Claiming that "now is not the time" to address the climate crisis, isn't something most voters in the 47th want to hear from someone running for office.

It is worth noting that DeLong went on record, and even wrote published editorials, opposing Alan Lowenthal?s bill SB 568, which places recycling standards on non-biodegradable expanded polystyrene containers that pollute the Los Angeles River and the Pacific Ocean.

?Climate change isn?t just a political issue, it is a scientific fact and an economic issue,? said Alan Lowenthal. ?Economists Frank Ackerman and Elizabeth Stanton calculated that putting off adaptation and mitigation efforts could cost the United States 1.4% of its gross domestic product by 2025, and 1.9% by 2100. We can?t afford this hit to our economy just so polluters can avoid making sensible changes to stop fouling our air and water.?

A recent Pew Research study also concluded that 67% of Americans believe in climate change.

?Gary DeLong is now aligning himself with polluters and right-wing climate deniers like the Koch brothers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This is not a principled position. This is putting the future of our children and the health of our planet at risk in order to increase profits for oil companies and polluters,? Lowenthal spokesman Mike Shimpock said, ?Climate change is a scientific fact, it is not a partisan issue or a talking point. Gary DeLong just chose politics and profits over the truth.?

California is the 12th largest emitter of carbon in the world, but has been widely recognized as the leader in climate change awareness and mitigation.

In 2006, Senator Alan Lowenthal voted in support of AB 32, the landmark law to reduce California?s carbon emissions, and serves as a national model. The law requires the California Air Resource Board to develop regulations and market mechanisms to reduce California's greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, representing a 25% reduction statewide, with mandatory caps beginning in 2012 for significant emissions sources and was signed by then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Alan Lowenthal is a leader in reducing pollution and the amount of carbon emissions at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. His efforts helped cut pollution at the Port by more than 75%.

He is endorsed by shipping industry leaders such as Maersk, Inc., and environmental organizations such as Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters.

?Climate change is real-- the facts are there,? Lowenthal said, ?If Gary wants to continue denying it, then so be it; Californians such as myself will continue on a path of climate change mitigation, adaption, and cooperation with or without politicians like him.?

Delong is at odds with the majority of Americans, who are very well aware of teh reality-- and the dangers inherent-- in man-made climate change. A just released study from Yale is further proof that Climate Change deniers like Delong should be kept as far away from public policy as possible. This is what the new study shows:

? Americans? belief in the reality of global warming has increased by 13 percentage points over the past two and a half years, from 57 percent in January 2010 to 70 percent in September 2012. At the same time, the number of Americans who say global warming is not happening has declined nearly by half, from 20 percent in January 2010 to only 12 percent today.

? For the first time since 2008, more than half of Americans (54%) believe global warming is caused mostly by human activities, an increase of 8 points since March 2012. Americans who say it is caused mostly by natural changes in the environment have declined to 30 percent (from 37% in March).

? A growing number of Americans believe global warming is already harming people both at home and abroad. Four in ten say people around the world are being harmed right now by climate change (40%, up 8 percentage points since March 2012), while 36 percent say global warming is currently harming people in the United States (up six points since March).

? In addition, they increasingly perceive global warming as a threat to themselves (42%, up 13 points since March 2012), their families (46%, up 13 points), and/or people in their communities (48%, up 14 points). Americans also perceive global warming as a growing threat to people in the United States (57%, up 11 points since March 2012), in other modern industrialized countries (57%, up 8 points since March), and in developing countries (64%, up 12 points since March).

? Today over half of Americans (58%) say they are ?somewhat? or ?very worried? - now at its highest level since November 2008.

? For the first time since 2008, Americans are more likely to believe most scientists agree that global warming is happening than believe there is widespread disagreement on the subject (44% versus 36%, respectively). This is an increase of 9 percentage points since March 2012.

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More About Our Fund Drive

post from Crooks and Liars on 19 October 2012 01:00:11 PM. © Crooks and Liars

The really beautiful thing about Crooks and Liars is that all it looks so easy from the outside, you probably take it for granted. You come to the site, you see the videos you want to see (usually before anyone else has them), and the stories go up like clockwork. When it doesn't work, you're surprised -- because it's dependable, like the sun coming up in the morning.

John Amato had the vision. He created this groundbreaking space, and it's still a great one. Each of us who writes for the site has our own voice, but somehow they all sound like Crooks and Liars. Amato is the reason that happens.

The thing is, it's a lot of work -- and it costs a lot of money. The costs go up every year. Not only that, Amato and our tech maven Jamie have plans to make the site even better.

We know times are hard. (We're hurting, too.) But it's absolutely necessary that readers support this piece of progressive infrastructure as much as you can. Even $5 helps. So if you haven't donated yet, it's time to invest in our future. And if you've already given, thanks as always for your support.

DonationsTracker.com - Live Donations Tracking for 2012 Donations

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ThinkProgress Stands Up To Bullying For Spirit
Day

Today marks the third annual Spirit Day, on which individuals wear purple (the color of “spirit” from the Pride Flag) to show solidarity against anti-LGBT bullying and harassment of any kind. It was created in 2010 by a Canadian teenager named Brittany McMillan in response to a spate of suicides that gripped national headlines. ThinkProgress [...]

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gress0Borg0Clgbt0C20A120C10A0C190C10A476810Cthinkprogress0Estands0Eup0Eto0Ebullying0Efor0Espirit0Eday0C/story01.htm

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AFL-CIO will knock 5.5 million doors in final
four days before the election

Volunteers get ready for an AFL-CIO election canvass in Virginia.The AFL-CIO will be knocking on 5.5 million doors, making 5.2 million phone calls, and handing out 2 million leaflets at worksites in just the final four days before the election, the labor federation's political director, Michael Podhorzer, and national campaigns manager, Sasha Bruce, announced on a press call Friday morning. More than 128,000 volunteers are expected to take part in this effort. This final four-day push comes on the heels of a major effort to register union members to vote and an ongoing campaign that has battleground state early voting by union members ahead of where it was in 2008 or 2010. And these totals don't count additional houses that will be visited by community affiliate Working America, which will total 1 million doors knocked between late August and election day.

An internal poll of both union members and non-union members who have been contacted by the AFL-CIO or its Super PAC, Workers' Voice, in Ohio, Wisconsin, and Nevada finds that 54 percent of union members believe President Barack Obama has a better understanding of their everyday struggles, to 16 percent saying Mitt Romney does. Among non-union members polled, it was 50 percent Obama to 20 percent Romney. Among union members, 62 percent trusted Obama to do a better job handling the economy to 27 percent for Romney; non-union members were 48 percent to 39 percent for Obama. Obama had wider margins with both groups when they were asked about Medicare and Medicaid.

The AFL-CIO is also carrying out a major direct-mail campaign; Sam Stein got a look at mail pieces going to Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, New Hampshire, Washington, and Wisconsin and reports that:

[O]n occasion, they paint a dim portrait of the current economy?in more depressed terms than the president and his campaign would use?with warnings that Romney would take send it into a free-fall.
"We know things are bad," reads an AFL-CIO mailer targeting House races. "We just can't let them get worse."
The message reflects the union federation's belief that workers don't necessarily want to be told that their personal circumstances are improving, even if the broader economic picture is looking brighter. It also underscores the belief that economic fear can still be used as a political motivator to get out the working class vote.

As the list of states these mailers are going to shows, the AFL-CIO's program is not just about reelecting Obama but about winning key gubernatorial races and getting what Podhorzer described as a Senate that's "as progressive as possible." In fact, the AFL-CIO program will reach 25 states and focus on races down to the state legislative level.

You can be part of this effort. Sign up to help our partners at Workers' Voice get out the vote in swing states.