O'Donnell was a brief cause celebre for Tea Party activists in 2010, who helped her defeat heavily favored Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) in a Senate primary before she was trounced in the general election by Democrat Chris Coons. But the magic seems to have faded after her defeat as her much-hyped book has only sold about 2,000 copies.
Maybe she could do what the rest of the GOP profiteers do, Open a PAC as buy your own book and giveaway as a premium when someone donates 100.00
Rampant Denial About the Threat Posed By Christian Dominionists, Perry and Bachmann
Photo Credit: AFP
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Sometimes the truth really is stranger than fiction, at least as perceived by members of a culture removed from a particular truth. Today's strange truth is the fact of the Christian dominionist influence on the beliefs of right-wing evangelicals, and in particular, on the worldviews of Rep. Michele Bachmann and Texas gov. Rick Perry, two top-tier contenders for the Republican presidential nomination.
Then there are the deniers, such as Lisa Miller, Newsweek's religion editor, who stepped forward on the Web site of the Washington Post to reassure readers that all this talk of dominionism and the GOP is just a paranoid fantasy of the left.
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As Irene Lashes Carolinas, Parts Of N.Y., N.J. Evacuate
Residents of low-lying areas of New York City and those in the summer resort towns along the 100-mile Jersey Shore were ordered to evacuate Friday, as Hurricane Irene barreled toward the Mid-Atlantic region.
The hurricane was expected to make landfall in North Carolina early Saturday as a Category 2 storm, then move up the Eastern Seaboard, where more than 50 million people from the Carolinas to Massachusetts could be in its path. Rain and tropical storm-force winds of at least 39 mph were already pelting the coasts of the Carolinas on Friday.
EnlargeAFP/Getty Images
This NOAA satellite image shows Hurricane Irene as it approached the East Coast on Friday.
Experts are forecasting billions of dollars in losses, though the storm's economic impact will depend on factors including its size and speed and where it makes landfall. Computer models from catastrophic-insurance provider ICAT put the estimated damage at $4.7 billion, a figure that includes destruction of homes, cars, public infrastructure and other property caused by high winds and flooding.
President Obama, speaking from his vacation rental on Martha's Vineyard, Mass., said all indications point to the storm being a historic hurricane.
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As Irene Lashes Carolinas, Parts Of N.Y., N.J. Evacuate : NPR
Gaddafi’s House in Tripoli: Playboy, Corona, Hot Tub - The Daily Beast
The Daily Beast’s Babak Dehghanpisheh visited a Gaddafi family home this morning and discovered a secret palace hidden behind an ordinary façade. Read about the garden labyrinth, 40-foot deep bunker, hot tub, waterfall, Playboy magazine collection, yachting brochures, and an empty box of Coronas.
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Free 2012, Obama bumper stickers
A bumper sticker may seem like a small gesture, but it sends a message that our commitment to this campaign is one that's shared by Americans all around the country -- and we want as many supporters as possible to send that same message to folks in their communities.
Sign up here to get your free 2012 bumper sticker.
Sending out these stickers won't just help us increase this campaign's visibility in all 50 states.
When you sign up to get one, you're also making sure we have your most recent contact information. We're running this campaign at the local level, and we can't keep you up to date on the best ways to get involved in your area if we've got your old address on file.
Bottom line: You'll stay looped in, and you'll get a free sticker too. Not a bad deal.
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Perry Vaults Into Lead For GOP Nomination In Two National Polls
Former Mass. Governor Mitt Romney has been the frontrunner in most national polls of the GOP primary over the last year, and the general punditry considered it his nomination to lose, at least at first. And while it's still early, new polling released on Wednesday shows his unchallenged time at the head of the pack may be over.
A new national Gallup poll of GOP and GOP-leaning voters shows Romney, who had more than a quarter of the total vote in Gallup's June numbers in the same poll, has fallen to 17 percent, while newly minted candidate Tex. Gov. Rick Perry surges to 29 percent and the lead. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), considered a top contender, falls to fourth with 10 percent, behind Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) at 13 percent. The rest of the field is in single digits.
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Perry Vaults Into Lead For GOP Nomination In Two National Polls | TPMDC
Romney's New Anti-Union Video Is Dangerous
Romney's video (and presumably his next RtW salvo as well) is just plain wrong. The video features a New Hampshire business owner, one in the warm grandpa mode, talking plaintively about how his business is a family and he has "reasonable confidence" his workers are happy and he's just worried about them, the workers:
What if they don't want to join the union and the union says you have to join? What happens to them? Do they have to leave the company because it's a union house? Well, to me that's absolutely wrong. Absolutely wrong....We live in the Live Free or Die state and they can damn well choose whether they want to join an organization or not join an organization.Read more
Top Romney adviser campaigned for Marxist Islamic terrorist group
One of former Mass. Governor Mitt Romney's (R) top foreign policy advisers became the subject of a report by Salon on Tuesday for his links to a group of Iranian terrorists who were responsible for killing Iranian civilians and U.S. citizens during the 1970s.
Known as the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization, or just MEK, the group is described by the U.S. State Department as a cult-like sect formed in the 1960s to combat western influence, driven by a mixture of Marxism and Islam. It is also the largest armed resistance group opposed to the current Iranian regime.
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Top Romney adviser campaigned for Marxist Islamic terrorist group | The Raw Story
Robocalling Against Robocalls for Fun and Profit
The Florida progressive group Florida Watch — having collected phone messages from Floridians angry at Gov. Rick Scott, delivered them as sort of reverse-robocall voicemails, and attracted some media attention from it — put out a fundraising request earlier this week. Think of it as the activism equivalent of hitting for the cycle.
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Study: Tea Party Members Cultural Dispositions 'Authoritarianism, Fear Of Change, Libertarianism And Nativism'
I COULDA TOLD YOU THAT
A new academic study cites the four primary characteristics of the Tea Party movement as 'Authoritarianism, Fear Of Change, Libertarianism And Nativism.'
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Study: Tea Party Members Cultural Dispositions 'Authoritarianism, Fear Of Change, Libertarianism And Nativism' |
Major Funder For Glenn Beck’s Israel Rally Linked To Anti-Semitic Group
David Barton’s record of intolerance and historical revisionism should offer some insights into who is funding Beck’s Jerusalem rally and which individuals have Beck’s ear. Back in 1994, the Anti-Defamation League had harsh words for Barton’s decision to appear at events hosted by the Christian Identity movement, a group the ADL said:
Asserts that Jews are ‘the synagogue of Satan’; that Blacks and other people of color are subhuman; and that northern European whites and their American descendants are the ‘chosen people’ of scriptural prophesy.
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Gaddafi’s rule crumbling as rebels enter heart of Tripoli
Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi’s four-decade-long rule over Libya was crumbling at breakneck speed Sunday as hundreds of rebel fighters swept toward the heart of Tripoli and dissidents said they had secured control of many parts of the capital.
With rebel leaders saying that Gaddafi’s compound was surrounded, that his son Saif al-Islam had been captured and that his presidential guard had surrendered, the six-month-old battle for control of Libya appeared to be hurtling toward a dramatic finale.
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)
ALEC, through its members made up mostly of CEOs, endeavors to create what it calls "model bills" in order to influence policies made at the state level. Most of these policies seek to benefit corporate interest, often to the detriment of everyday citizens. Board members at ALEC have direct access to state legislators and make their pitch for these “model bills” that seek to benefit the private sector and often undermine the public sector. The most disturbing fact is people do not get to vote on these bills. This sets up an oligarchic approach to governance, taking the power of influence away from the people and placing it in the hands of the moneyed few.
This organization's stated goal is to get government off of our backs and let the free market reign and regulate itself. It would be one thing if this objective was meant to benefit American citizens, but the double speak of the word "our" here becomes apparent when one looks at who benefits from such proposals. Everyday hard-working Americans do not benefit from deregulated businesses that pollute our air and drinking water or make public school too expensive for the working class.
While lobbyists have been around for ages trying to influence legislative actions in politics, ALEC takes it a step further by enacting legislation at the state level in a coordinated effort of influence. Further, every citizen of our democratic republic does not get to vote on such legislation. This is what makes it especially dangerous. Democracy gets thrown out of the window when citizens are bypassed by corporate entities that dictate new legislation.
What is especially dangerous is ALEC’s attempt of voter suppression. All across the country, states are adopting laws that seek to disenfranchise minority voters. It seems that ALEC is trying to find ways around the annoying ability of everyday Americans to voice their opinions. This is just another example, among many, of the ways in which ALEC seeks to undermine our democracy.
Websites like alecexposed.org and movetoamend.org provide information on how to combat such takeovers. Democracy is dependent on an educated electorate, but with organizations like this in place we find our small voices not only silenced but circumvented and ignored.
Thomas Jefferson himself once said, "I hope that we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country." Since our country's founding this sort of power play has been happening. It is time we the people, with our small voices, stand against the tyranny of moneyed interests.
Elizabeth Warren vs. Scott Brown: It's On | Mother Jones
BREAKING.... Elizabeth Warren will challenge Sen. Scott Brown in Massachusetts in 2012.
What beliefs predict a Tea Partier?
In 2006, Robert Putnam and David Campbell began a research project on political attitudes that included interviewing a nationally representative sample of 3,000 Americans. They then went back to talk to the same group of people over this summer. “As a result,” they explain, “we can look at what people told us, long before there was a Tea Party, to predict who would become a Tea Party supporter five years later.” Their findings are going to make a lot of people unhappy
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DOWNLOAD FREE ISOTONIC AND BINAURAL BEATSCLICK HERE
Why do the Kochs want to end public education?
Our latest video connects the dots and reveals how the Koch brothers fight against public education in every possible way.
Their efforts began in North Carolina where they funded an effort to resegregate schools in an award winning school district. Using the same language as Gov. George Wallace in the 60s, Koch-supported school board members attempted to make “segregation always” a policy for tens of thousands of families.
While David and Charles Koch drink down the high life, they are causing tens of thousands of families in North Carolina to lose their opportunity at enjoying educational equality and a free and fair shot at success. It’s part and parcel of the Kochs’ ideology to dismantle public service generally.
Watch the video, then take action.
Call David Koch at his Manhattan office at 212-319-1100 and tell him to "stop funding school resegregation now."
We can’t let the Koch brothers ruin an equal opportunity for all. We've partnered with the Advancement Project, People for the American Way, Center for Social Inclusion and African American Ministers in Action to take action and spread this important investigation around.
You can forward our video to a friend by clicking here.
Yours,
Robert Greenwald
and the Brave New Foundation team
P.S. I invite you to join our Koch Brothers Exposed page on Facebook and follow me onTwitter.
Dominionism: Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry’s Dangerous Religious Bond
| A Christian Plot for World Domination?
Surging GOP presidential candidates Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry aren't just devout—both have deep ties to a fringe fundamentalist movement known as Dominionism, which says Christians should rule all earthly institutions. The Daily Beast's Michelle Goldberg on the extreme belief system that may be driving the Republican Party to theocracy. |
Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry aren't just devout—both have deep ties to a fringe fundamentalist movement known as Dominionism, which says Christians should rule the world.
Former Counterterrorism Czar Accuses Tenet, Other CIA Officials of Cover-Up
In a stunning new interview set to air on a local PBS affiliate in Colorado tonight, former counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke, for the first time, levels explosive allegations against three former top CIA officials - George Tenet, Cofer Black and Richard Blee - accusing them of knowingly withholding intelligence from the Bush and Clinton White House, the FBI, Immigration and the State and Defense Departments about two of the 9/11 hijackers who had entered the United States more than a year before the attacks."
Read the Article
Read the Article
GOP Debate Watch
The Republican presidential candidates are debating in Iowa tonight, and we're keeping score. Keep track with our new scoreboard and you'll be able to see where they double down, where they backtrack, and what they fail to account for at all.
Each of the eight candidates at tonight's debate has three past statements up on the board. When someone reiterates a promise about bringing down Obamacare or taking away the minimum wage, we'll show it on the board with a checkmark. When a candidate runs away from their record, it'll show up as an X.
You can help get the word out about the candidates' reinforcements and reversals by using the scoreboard to share your favorite moments from tonight's debate on Facebook or Twitter.
Folks will also be tweeting at #GOPDebate and #Scoreboard. Don't forget the popcorn.
How Right-Wing Extremist Rick Perry Passes Himself Off As A Regular Guy--And How That Could Win Him The GOP Nomination
While Rick Perry's fringe positions give him status with the far right, his ability to seem like a guy you'd like to have a beer with could win him an election.
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How Right-Wing Extremist Rick Perry Passes Himself Off As A Regular Guy--And How That Could Win Him The GOP Nomination
Mitt Romney Behind S&P downgrade scandal
Standard and Poor's is owned by McGraw-Hill. Harold McGraw III, the current CEO, worked for H.W. Bush, Dole, W. Bush, Cheney, Giuliani and is currently working for Romney 2012. So the person who has downgraded the nation's credit, "works for Mitt Romney." And Romney released a prepared statement only minutes following news of the downgrade. I'm sure it's just a coincidence.
Gov. Perry wants presidency, says Bush prodded him to run - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
Gov. Perry wants presidency, says Bush prodded him to run
Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) talked to former President George W. Bush last month about possibly running for president.
In an interview with Time magazine, Perry, who's set to make an announcement about entering the race this weekend in South Carolina, said he has decided he wants to be president. And he said his predecessor in Texas governor prodded him toward running.
" 'You’ll do what’s right,' " Perry said Bush had told him when Perry called the former president on his birthday. "He said you don’t want to wake up when you’re 70 and go, 'I wish I had tried that. I wish I had done that.' "
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Pelosi picks Clyburn, Van Hollen, Becerra for supercommittee - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has selected Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) for the so-called "supercommittee" on Thursday.
Progressives Say American Dream Movement Rivals Tea Party | Truthout
Mike Ludwig, Truthout: "As Americans face the economic fallout of the recent debt deal in Washington, members of the burgeoning American Dream Movement on Tuesday announced the Contract for the American Dream, a new agenda for economic recovery supported by a grassroots movement that progressive leaders say will rival the Tea Party in size and impact."
Read the Article
Progressives Say American Dream Movement Rivals Tea Party
Fox Nation Blows The Racial Dog Whistle Once Again
News Hounds has documented over and over again how Fox News uses its Fox Nation web site to blow the racial dog whistle. Then, just as day follows night, the comment section fills with some of the most hateful and racist rhetoricimaginable. It has happened so many times, that it’s not even in dispute anymore. And, while it usually uses President Obama to blow the racial dog whistle, that’s not always the case. Occasionally it’s the use of Muslims or Hispanics to get the citizens of Fox Nation to demonstrate their racism in the comment section. It’s such a predictable pattern, and News Hounds has called them out for it so many times, that it would be a total surprise if that the mold was ever broken. And yet, today the mold WAS broken. First here’s the dog whistle:
Help Get Out the Vote in Wisconsin from Home!
The eyes of the nation are on Wisconsin, where the elections to recall right-wing Republican state senators for waging war on working families are taking place THIS TUESDAY.
You can volunteer and make a difference in the recall effort from home or wherever you are.
Our friends at the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy For America have a great tool for activists across the country to help with progressive GOTV (get out the vote) efforts.
Simply sign up at CallOutTheVote.com for shifts from tomorrow through Tuesday and you'll get set up with an orientation, a script and everything you need to call important voters in Wisconsin to make sure they turn out.
If you live in a bordering state -- or even if you don't -- and can actually make it to Wisconsin this weekend or early next week, we need your help. Canvasses and other volunteer opportunities will be going on through Election Day. You can sign up to volunteer in person on We Are Wisconsin's web site here.
Sign up to volunteer in person OR call voters from your home ... Help defeat extremist Wisconsin Republicans ... Elect Democrats who will stand up to the corporatist right-wing agenda ... And stop the war on working families.
You can volunteer and make a difference in the recall effort from home or wherever you are.
Our friends at the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy For America have a great tool for activists across the country to help with progressive GOTV (get out the vote) efforts.
Simply sign up at CallOutTheVote.com for shifts from tomorrow through Tuesday and you'll get set up with an orientation, a script and everything you need to call important voters in Wisconsin to make sure they turn out.
If you live in a bordering state -- or even if you don't -- and can actually make it to Wisconsin this weekend or early next week, we need your help. Canvasses and other volunteer opportunities will be going on through Election Day. You can sign up to volunteer in person on We Are Wisconsin's web site here.
Sign up to volunteer in person OR call voters from your home ... Help defeat extremist Wisconsin Republicans ... Elect Democrats who will stand up to the corporatist right-wing agenda ... And stop the war on working families.
President Obama has announced that bipartisan leaders have come to an agreement that will cut the deficit and avert default.
· President Obama has announced that bipartisan leaders have come to an agreement that will cut the deficit and avert default – a default that would have had catastrophic consequences for the American economy.
· That agreement is a victory for American families because:
o It extends the debt limit to the year 2013, getting rid of the cloud of uncertainty looming over the American economy and guaranteeing that no one can use the possibility of default right now or in the coming months for political gain.
o It will boost global confidence in the American economy by establishing a framework for balanced fiscal discipline in the long term.
o It guarantees that America can meet all its obligations – including Americans’ monthly Social Security payments, veterans’ benefits, and the contracts our government has signed with thousands of businesses across the country.
· Details of the Debt Agreement. President Obama said from the start that any solution to avert default and achieve significant deficit reduction had to have the support of Democrats and Republicans. After working toward an agreement for months, bipartisan members of the House and Senate have come to an agreement that includes:
o A down payment on deficit reduction that includes historic long-term spending reductions, including almost $1 trillion in spending cuts. Those cuts are set out in a way that avoids damaging our economic recovery. They are balanced between domestic and defense spending, and they protect essential initiatives like aid for college students.
o An expedited process to achieve balanced deficit reduction. The agreement establishes a longer term process to achieve another $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction with a committee structure that is going to put everything on the table, including reforms to taxes and entitlements. To stop either side from utilizing procedural tricks that would stop Congress from acting, the recommendations of the committee will get fast track authority, meaning they can’t be filibustered or amended.
o Setting the stage for a balanced agreement that includes revenues. American families and an increasing number of Republicans are united in agreement that any deficit reduction deal has to be balanced and must include revenue.
§ Even the Speaker of the House was willing to consider an agreement with $800 billion in revenues, and almost 20 Republican Senators lent their support to the Gang of Six framework, which included more than $2 trillion worth of revenue.
§ If the Committee is not able to achieve meaningful balanced deficit reduction that includes revenue-increasing tax reform for the wealthiest Americans by the end of 2012, President Obama can put his veto pen to work to raise nearly $1 trillion from the wealthiest Americans by vetoing any extension of the Bush tax cuts for the most well-off individuals.
o A demonstrated enforcement method. The enforcement mechanism in the agreement will force cuts that are painful enough to both sides that Congress will have to act. By their nature, enforcement mechanisms should include aspects that neither side supports in order to guarantee action is taken.
§ The enforcement mechanism in this agreement does just that. If Congress doesn’t act, then beginning in 2013 there are going to be $1.2 trillion in spending cuts through 2021 – 50 percent from domestic spending and 50 percent from defense spending.
§ Low income programs such as Medicaid and Social Security and Medicare benefits would be exempt. Cuts to Medicare would be capped and limited to the provider side.
§ The last time such an enforcement method was put to use – with 50 percent domestic and 50 percent defense reductions – the threat of defense reductions helped spur the bipartisan budget agreement of 1990 under President George H. W. Bush, an agreement that included revenues as well as spending cuts.
o An agreement in keeping with President Obama’s commitment to shared sacrifice. This agreement does not accept entitlement reform without giving equal consideration to revenue-increasing tax reform, and it guarantees that low-income and middle class families won’t be forced to carry the burden of deficit reduction alone.
· We haven’t put this challenge behind us yet. Leaders of both parties are now taking the framework agreement to their caucuses, and bipartisan members of Congress have to vote on this agreement in the next two days.
· If Congress doesn’t act, America could default on its obligations for the first time in our history, not because we aren’t able to pay our nation’s bills, but because we don’t have a Triple A political system to match our bond rating.
· Those who say the tough choices included in the framework agreement aren’t good enough should know that a default on America’s debt would have catastrophic economic consequences and would lead to real hardship for Americans across the country – with a tax increase in the form of higher interest rates on Americans’ mortgages, car loans, and credit cards as well as delays in payments to America’s seniors, the disabled, veterans, and small companies that do business with our federal government.