The Supreme Court met this morning to take a vote on the healthcare law. There’s nobody else in the room when they take their vote, so nobody but the justices themselves will know the outcome. Great, nobody but them knows for sure if they’re going to have health insurance in the future… and they already have great health insurance.
If the Supreme Court strikes down the entire healthcare law, 30 million Americans could be denied health coverage. Talk about “activist judges!” That would be a case of hyper-activist judges! This week Antonin Scalia seemed obsessed with the notion that if the mandate stands, then the government could also mandate that people buy broccoli. In reality, healthcare is nothing like broccoli... except in the sense that both are good for you. If I don’t buy broccoli, that doesn’t infringe on someone else’s ability to obtain broccoli. I say that if the Supreme Court declares our health insurance unconstitutional, we propose a constitutional amendment that would allow it... AND force everyone in America to buy broccoli.
George Zimmerman’s brother has joined the small chorus of Zimmerman supporters—and I do mean chorus. They’re all hitting the exact same notes at the same time. They certainly have their talking points down. Do they have their own Fox News? Besides Fox News, I mean. Zimmerman’s brother and father both claim the screams for help sound like George. The screams are hysterical shrieks. Exactly how often did they hear such sounds from Gerorge? Are those frightened shrieks the kind of thing that George would routinely make around the family dinner table? He must have really wanted someone to pass the gravy. Or maybe his family remembers George making those hysterical shrieks every time a black person appeared... like on the TV. “Stop screaming, George. It’s just Urkel.”
A study shows that conservatives’ faith in science has dropped dramatically. Conservatives think that science “serves the agenda of the regulatory state.” Uh, maybe that’s because regulations make scientific sense. On the other hand, you don’t have to have PhD in science to know that the stuff that comes out of the tap on your kitchen sink shouldn’t be able to catch on fire.
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Working people across that nation went on strike and took to the streets to protest an austerity budget being pushed by their new government. It’s the same sort of social unrest that’s followed austerity measures in Greece, the U.K., and Italy. And it’s the same sort of austerity budget that Republicans just passed out of the House of Representatives yesterday, approving multi-millionaire Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget. In a vote of 221 to 191 – the Ryan Budget passed the House – but is dead on arrival in the Senate.
Ten Republicans joined the unanimous Democratic opposition – although many of those Republicans likely voted “no” because the budget doesn’t go far enough in crashing the economy. Under the Ryan Budget – government discretionary spending will fall to its lowest level in 50 years – that means benefits for veterans, senior citizens, the poor, the sick, students – all of it will be slashed. Meanwhile – big oil gets $40 billion in corporate welfare – and Paul Ryan would give American billionaires a $3 trillion tax cut.
If you think what’s happening in Europe can’t possibly happen in the United States – think again. If the Republicans win in November – their radical billionaire/bankster/oil agenda will tear this nation apart.
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Police video of George Zimmerman on the night of the killing of Trayvon Martin shows no blood or bruises(video below). He doesn’t look like a guy who was on the wrong end of a punch. He looks like a guy who was on the safe side of a pistol. Zimmerman’s lawyer said his client was convinced “one of them was going to die that night.” I’m sure that he did. And I’m even more certain that he absolutely knew that it was going to be Trayvon Martin.
George Zimmerman's father was interviewed yesterday by an Orlando TV station where he doubled down on the claim that his son had been severely beaten and added that Trayvon verbally threatened his son's life. Also, it turns out that Roger Zimmermanther IS a former magistrate. He was a Virginia magistrate, without being an actual judge. Maybe that’s like how his son pursued and harassed suspects without ever being a police officer... or even an official Neighborhood Watch member.
The Supreme Court Justices said they didn’t want to read the entire 2,700 page healthcare law before making a ruling on it. I guess my question is—how do you make a decision on how you read the law... if you don’t read the law? Now that the Supreme Court has heard all the arguments, you may be wondering what happens next. Well first of all, all of the Justices take a long nap. They’re getting on in years, and that was a long three days. They heard the arguments. Now they will consider the arguments, or ignore the arguments, as the case may be. Nobody knows what the Justices will do, but one bad sign is that, no matter how they rule, they themselves will still have absolutely top shelf health insurance.
As you know, Mitt Romney occasionally likes to get in touch with voters to remind them of how out of touch he is. Mitt’s latest “out of touch” gaffe came when he decided to tell voters in Wisconsin a “humorous” anecdote. You know it’s going to end up being funny—but not in the way Mitt intended. Mitt’s little joke was about the time his father, as the head of American Motors, shut down a factory in Michigan and moved it to Wisconsin. I don’t want to ruin the funny part for you, but that pretty much is the funny part. It seems the point of the story is to appeal to Wisconsin voters by joking how his dad shut down a factory in Michigan and moved it to Wisconsin. And Mitt says that President Obama is trying to divide Americans! Why didn’t that “humorous” story pop into you money-soaked mind when you were campaigning in Michigan, Mitt? I get the feeling that someday Mitt is going to be giving a speech in China or India, and he’s going to be joking with the people there about how, with Bain, he shut down all these American factories and sent the jobs overseas.
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Most CEOs who watch their corporation’s stock value drop in half get fired, or at the very least take a pay cut. But not if you’re a bankster. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan was given a big fat check for $7.5 million in 2011 – a 600% increase from the year before – despite the fact that Bank of America’s stock dropped 58% over the year.
Not to mention – Bank of America had to pay out $335 million in a settlement against charges that it discriminated against minority homeowners – and is currently hard at work blocking mortgage aid for its customers. All the things that would get a guy fired on Main Street – is just business as usual on Wall Street…and even gets banksters a raise.
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I came back from Washington, DC Tuesday, after doing the WWRL Morning Show across the street from the US Supreme Court building. Inside, the nine justices (eight, since Clarence Thomas remained mute) took up weighty issues like forced broccoli, cell phone, and burial insurance mandates. After the protests and counter protests, and headline seekers like Michelle Bachmann and Rick Santorum, I was ready to go. To do so, I had to go through Washington's cavernous Union Station. The station, in 21st century parlance, is undergoing a reboot. Outside, construction workers were laying concrete, part of the effort to make the old station seem young again. The unique pinging sound of raw cement running down a funnel caught my attention.
So too did the sight of about a dozen homeless men, sitting (or trying to lie down) on railing not 25 feet from the construction work. It dawned on me that maybe, once upon a time, these homeless panhandlers may have had decent jobs. Just because they may be down on their luck now doesn't mean its been that way all their lives. And not far away from them workers are building a new plaza in front of Union Station, all of them making wages sufficient to feed their familes. The contrast and the potential irony struck me at the same time. Could those now working ever think they'd be in the same situation as the homeless?
With that in mind, I walked into the station and into a sea of red shirts. Upon closer scrutiny I realized I'd run smack into a group of healthcare law opponents. "Don't Mess with My Healthcare" was defiantly emblazoned on the front of the shirts. On the back, tucked in the bottom right corner was the message from their sponsor, Americans for Prosperity. If you don't know the oprganization, just know its funded by the Koch Brothers. Like the homeless and the construction workers, they were occupying the same space, if only for a little while. In listening to their conversations (yeah, eavesdropping) I realized they were well organized, determined, and, it seemed, scared.
Scared of what, I couldn't quite figure out. Is it fear of Barack Obama, and what he represents? Was it really the healthcare law? Or was it that the me-first attitude that permeates the oppsition to the Affordable Care Act (I, the taxpayer, don't want to pay for anyone else's healthcare, or for that matter, anything) could one day end up biting them back? We are a nation of abundance, that's what we've always been told. How much of it do they really want, and at whose expense?
I'm not naive enough to think the red shirts noticed the homeless people they had to pass to get into Union Station. If they noticed the contruction work at all, it may have been to wonder how much of their taxpayer dollars are being used to fund the renovation. Yet at the end of the day, do we as a nation really want to be that self absorbed, that narrow, that small?
Already yesterday, news reports were saying the Supreme Court hearing was a “train wreck for the Obama administration.” Relax, people—the train hasn’t even left the station yet. Today the Court hears arguments about “severability,” which sounds like something surgeons discuss before they perform an amputation. In the legal sense, severability refers to whether or not the entire healthcare law has to go if the mandate part is ruled unconstitutional. The individual mandate is the centerpiece of the new law. If it is struck down, salvaging the rest will be difficult. It would be like trying to save the bathwater after you’ve thrown out the baby.
The lead homicide investigator in the Trayvon Martin killing recommended that George Zimmerman be charged with manslaughter the night of the shooting. The way this case panned out, I’m a little surprised to find out there ever was a homicide investigator. It turns out that the first detective to question George Zimmerman was not a homicide detective, but a narcotics officer. Maybe he was asking George just what kind of drugs he thought that crazy black kid was on.
Geraldo Rivera has apologized for his “hoodie” comments... and here’s the part you have to add for every Fox News-associated apology—“sort of.” He went out of his way to reemphasize his comments, even as he was apologizing for them. He actually said “I apologize to anyone offended by what one prominent black conservative called my ‘very practical and potentially life-saving campaign’ urging black and Hispanic parents not to let their children go around wearing hoodies.” Thank, Geraldo. “Sorry” would have been fine.
The NRA sells hoodies on their website! Of course, since they’re intended for white guys, they’re called “hooded sweatshirts,” not “hoodies.” I noticed the “NRA Concealed Carry Hooded Sweatshirt” doesn’t have any NRA insignia on it. I guess an NRA logo would be a pretty good tip-off that the person wearing the hoodie was carrying a gun! The ad says “the included Velcro®-backed holster and double mag pouch can be repositioned inside the pockets for optimum draw.” For those of you who don’t speak firearm, that means it’s easier to kill people.
Already yesterday, news reports were saying the Supreme Court hearing was a “train wreck for the Obama administration.” Relax, people—the train hasn’t even left the station yet. Today the Court hears arguments about “severability,” which sounds like something surgeons discuss before they perform an amputation. In the legal sense, severability refers to whether or not the entire healthcare law has to go if the mandate part is ruled unconstitutional. The individual mandate is the centerpiece of the new law. If it is struck down, salvaging the rest will be difficult. It would be like trying to save the bathwater after you’ve thrown out the baby.
The lead homicide investigator in the Trayvon Martin killing recommended that George Zimmerman be charged with manslaughter the night of the shooting. The way this case panned out, I’m a little surprised to find out there ever was a homicide investigator. It turns out that the first detective to question George Zimmerman was not a homicide detective, but a narcotics officer. Maybe he was asking George just what kind of drugs he thought that crazy black kid was on.
Geraldo Rivera has apologized for his “hoodie” comments... and here’s the part you have to add for every Fox News-associated apology—“sort of.” He went out of his way to reemphasize his comments, even as he was apologizing for them. He actually said “I apologize to anyone offended by what one prominent black conservative called my ‘very practical and potentially life-saving campaign’ urging black and Hispanic parents not to let their children go around wearing hoodies.” Thank, Geraldo. “Sorry” would have been fine.
The NRA sells hoodies on their website! Of course, since they’re intended for white guys, they’re called “hooded sweatshirts,” not “hoodies.” I noticed the “NRA Concealed Carry Hooded Sweatshirt” doesn’t have any NRA insignia on it. I guess an NRA logo would be a pretty good tip-off that the person wearing the hoodie was carrying a gun! The ad says “the included Velcro®-backed holster and double mag pouch can be repositioned inside the pockets for optimum draw.” For those of you who don’t speak firearm, that means it’s easier to kill people.
Listen to me Monday through Friday 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600. Follow me on Twitter @RandiRadio.
The corporate corruption of our government is most glaring when it comes to regulating Wall Street. According to a new report released today by Public Citizen – lawmakers who oppose the Volcker Rule, which says banks can't gamble with your checking account money, receive on average four times more in campaign contributions from Wall Street than those lawmakers who support the Volcker Rule.
In total – Members of Congress opposing the Volcker Rule have collected more than $66 million since 2010 from the banksters – which works out to about $388,000 per Member. While most Americans are horrified by this blatant buy-off of our Congress – Wall Street considers it a worthwhile investment and the Supreme Court says it's legal.
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Today all of the conservative justices on the Supreme Court had harsh questions for the new healthcare law... well, except for Clarence Thomas, who never has questions for anything. Clarence doesn’t have answers, either—he just uses Antonin Scalia’s answers. Would the John Roberts Supreme Court shoot down our healthcare? Hey, with Citizens United, they’ve already shot down our democracy.
It has come out that George Zimmerman told police that Trayvon Martin attacked him. It’s certainly not surprising that he told them that. The shocking thing is that the police believed him. Zimmerman told police he had lost Martin and was returning to his vehicle when Martin came up and accosted him. Right. Have you ever heard the phrase “When the rabbit attacks the hound?” No, you haven’t—because there is no such phrase. The rabbit never attacks the hound. Zimmerman said Martin asked him if he had a problem. When he said no, he claims that Martin said “Well, you do now!” and punched him in the face. OK, it sounds like George has been watching too many movies... and not very good ones at that. The reason it sounds like movie dialogue is that it was written for Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman. And unlike in an actual movie, this dialogue was written after the shooting had already taken place.
Someone in the Sanford police department evidently selectively leaked the information about the case in an attempt to smear Trayvon Martin. From the information, it looks like the Sanford police did a thorough investigation... into the victim. The Sanford police announced they would conduct an internal-affairs investigation to determine the source of the leak. It seems they’re a lot better at leaking information than they are at gathering information.
Amnesty International is out with a new report on the death penalty – showing that only 20 out of the 198 nations worldwide carried out executions last year – the United States is one of those nations. We’re also the only Western democracy to still use the death penalty. The United States ranked fifth in the world in executions in 2011 – behind nations with upstanding human rights records like China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.
On the bright side – worldwide, the number of nations embracing the death penalty has plummeted from ten years ago – when more than thirty counties still executed their citizens. And more and more states in the United States are taking steps to abolish the death penalty.
Then again – 16 states have passed “Stand Your Ground” laws like the one that killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida – leaving it up to average citizens to play the role of judge, jury, and executioner on the streets.
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It Begins... by Randi Rhodes,posted Mar 26 2012 5:14PM
Today, the Supreme Court starts hearing three days of arguments about the constitutionality of the healthcare reform act. Supporters and opponents of the law are outside the Supreme Court building to demonstrate. I hope nobody gets hurt, but at least if they do, they have a better chance of receiving affordable care under Obamacare!
Nobody knows for sure how the arguments will go. Anything can happen. But then, anything can happen in life in general. That’s the whole reason we have health insurance in the first place. For people who love to watch the Supreme Court, this is like the Super Bowl... if the outcome of the Super Bowl determined whether or not you got health insurance. I don’t think anybody’s ever made a Super Bowl bet that important. At least we don’t have to worry about the Supreme Court getting dragged into politics. Dragged? With their “Citizens United” decision, this Supreme Court already dove headfirst into politics.
Geraldo Rivera says that the fact that he was wearing a hoodie was as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was. No, if that was true, the Sanford police chief would have exonerated the hoodie too. I have news for you, Geraldo—George Zimmerman’s problem wasn’t the hoodie, it was the black skin directly underneath the hoodie. The hoodie wasn’t the cause of Trayvon’s shooting. It was just the excuse. Geraldo said he is ignoring the criticism because he is “the one who punched out the KKK and the Neo-Nazis.” Actually Geraldo, they punched you out. But it’s hard to remember the details when you get whacked that hard in the face. Hmm... Geraldo did get punched by a Ku Klux Klansman. Maybe that’s where he got his obsession about people wearing hoods!
Meanwhile, George Zimmerman has a black friend who was out trying to defend him. He tried to say that when Zimmerman uses a racial slur on the 911 tape, he is actually saying the word “goons,” which the friend describes as a “term of endearment.” Funny, I don’t recall ever seeing the word “goon” on a Hallmark greeting card. Somebody needs to tell George’s friend, when George was calling you a “goon,” it wasn’t a term of endearment... and he wasn’t saying “goon.”
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Today kicks off three straight days of oral arguments before the Supreme Court over the constitutionality of Obamacare. If the court ends up siding with the right-wing state Attorneys General who are in the pocket of the for-profit health insurance industry, then 50 million Americans will lose access to healthcare.
Not to mention – 17 million children will be denied insurance coverage because of pre-existing conditions – and more than 100 million Americans will have to live in fear that their insurance company will cap them just when they need a life-saving procedure. While Obamacare isn’t perfect – and our nation should eventually adopt a single-payer system that makes health care a basic human right like in the rest of the developed world – the law is at least a start.
So now all eyes are on the Supreme Court and whether five unelected right-wing judges will put politics and corporate profits above the health of the nation.
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More than 8,000 people rallied in support of Trayvon Martin at a park in Sanford, Florida. Many of them were wearing hoodies and carrying Skittles. Fortunately, they were not followed around by 8,000 weirdoes in SUV’s. Meanwhile, Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee, Jr. has announced that he is stepping down “temporarily.” Temporarily? This guy never seems to get it—and that’s not a good for a chief of police.
Today marks the 2nd anniversary of Obamacare. And somehow, we have managed to avoid becoming either Stalinist Russia or Nazi Germany or both, as Fox News warned us would happen. Fox told us that Obamacare would be the end of America as we know it. I guess that was true, if you knew America as a place where children could be denied health insurance for pre-existing conditions, because they can’t be denied now.
Ever since the Romney adviser made his Etch A Sketch comment, sales of the toy have skyrocketed by more than 2,000 percent. And that will be the only beneficial effect Mitt Romney can or will ever have on the economy. Now the people at Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em robots are trying to find a way to get the Romney campaign to make some kind of gaffe involving their product. Actually, Mitt Romney could kick-start the entire economy if he could find a way to make the sales of one product soar for every gaffe he commits.
Karl Rove wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed in which he said that President Obama’s killing of Osama bin Laden was no big deal. Well, it was a much bigger deal than George Bush could arrange. Rove “proves” his point with a quote from Bill Clinton. But since Rove’s point is wrong, he has to do it with a totally misleading quote from Bill Clinton. Rove quotes Bill Clinton in Obama’s campaign film as saying of the bin Laden decision “that’s the call I would have made.” What Clinton actually says is “I hope that’s the call I would have made.” Bill Clinton, you’ve just been “Shirley Sherrod-ed!” It’s nice to know that, even if Andrew Breitbart is gone, his tactics still live on in people like Karl Rove.
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The Trayvon Martin case brings back memories of the civil rights era in the 60’s. Today the video images are no longer in black and white, but our society is still defined in terms of black and white. Today, the Attorney General is a black man. The President is a black man. So some things have changed, but not Florida. There’s something about Florida that allows very frightening things from the past to survive. It’s no coincidence that Florida is where you find alligators.
“Stand Your Ground” gun laws have been pushed all over America by the ultra-conservative American Legislative Exchange Council. Florida’s law is identical to the model legislation that ALEC came up with. Come on, Florida legislators! Even high school kids know to rearrange a few things from the Wikipedia entry before turning it in as their own work. The NRA supports ALEC, which controls Republican state governments. So if you live in a Republican-controlled state, the person ultimately in charge of your life is Ted Nugent.
You’ve probably already heard about how the Mitt Romney campaign adviser said that Mitt’s ultra-conservative positions in the primary could just be erased in the general election: “It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again.” The fascinating thing about this Romney gaffe is that it was made by an aide. Mitt has so many gaffes that he has to delegate them!
Within hours of the gaffe, both Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich were at campaign events with actual Etch A Sketches as props. The Rick Santorum campaign is so disorganized that I wouldn’t have been surprised if he would have showed up at a campaign even with a Lite Brite or an Easy-Bake Oven. Santorum warned Republican voters that if they vote for Romney, “whoever you vote for is going to be a completely new candidate.” Actually, that’s something of a comforting thought. A candidate who is completely fake and insincere is better than a candidate who truly believes in the ultra-conservative crap that Mitt Romney has been spewing. And the candidate who truly believes that crap is Rick Santorum.
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The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas is out with its annual report on America’s banking industry – and the numbers are shocking. Currently – only 5 banks control more than half of all the industry’s assets. That’s right – the top 5 banks in America own 52% of all the wealth in the finance sector. To put that in perspective – in 1970 – the top 5 banks controlled only 17% of the industry’s assets. Not only that – the total wealth owned by the top 10 banks in the nation now equals half of America’s total GDP.
These startling numbers have prompted the President of the Dallas Fed – Richard Fisher – to call for the breaking up of the big banks – warning that they’ve become so large they not only threaten the Federal Reserve’s ability to conduct monetary policy – but also “erode faith in American capitalism.” Fisher also called for tough new financial reforms to strengthen the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law. Thanks to three decades of Reaganomic deregulation of Wall Street – we’ve all become slaves to the banksters.
As President Grover Cleveland said in his 1888 State of the Union address to a nation then under the control of the Robber Barons, "Corporations, which should be the carefully restrained creatures of the law and the servants of the people, are fast becoming the people's masters." Here we are again. It’s time to break up Wall Street before they crash our economy for a second time in just a few years.
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First, let's face facts. A lot of people, including most of the media, wrote off the Occupy Movement as elected officials and law enforcement shut down encampments and started treating them like terrorists. Even as the movement came out of hibernation and into the unusually warm end of winter sun, the skepticism remained. Yet in the wake of the six month celebration on St. Patrick's Day and actions planned for the future, Occupy is alive and well.
The media has in too many instances misrepresented what Occupy, and in particular Occupy Wall St. has accomplished. This became obvious to me back in October, when OWS was still in Liberty Square/Zucotti Park. It was then that I heard two local television reporters discussing what new "angle" they could find to insert in their next report. There's nothing overtly sinister about this, reporters do it all the time. The problem comes when they can't wrap their brains around the most obvious "angle" of all. Occupy Wall St. was about a simple message, and in the end it has resonated throughout this country and around the world.
The widening income inequality that has flowed from the greatest economic collapse since the Great Depression needs to be addressed. And now, Occupy Wall St. is addressing other issues. Wednesday night it's the Million Hoodie March, in support of Trayvon Martin, the 17 year old shot dead with a bag of Skittles in his pocket in Sanford, Fla.. Police bruality against OWS will also be the subject of a march and rally. And then, on May 1st, a rally to end all rallies. While this awakening takes place, despite the irrelevent reports of money problems and the like, one question remains, for Occupy Wall St. and its sister movements around the nation and world. Will new encampments be found, and occupied?
There are certain things and certain people in life you learn not to bet against, no matter what the odds. I have a friend who has been giving the most wonderful parties New York City has ever seen, and he's been doing it for more than 40 years. Lots of people thought he was done 20 years ago. Like my friend, Occupy Wall St. has been pilloried, mocked, and left for dead.
Don't take that bet.
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Ryan's Rerun by Randi Rhodes,posted Mar 21 2012 4:28PM
In the middle of everything that’s going on, the House Republicans have released their budget plan. I think they were hoping that maybe that way fewer people would notice it. This GOP plan actually looks scarier than Paul Ryan himself does! The plan turns Medicare into a “premium support” system. That’s a nicer term for “vouchers,” which itself is a nicer term for “you’re on your own, Grandma.”
Last night, Mitt Romney beat Rick Santorum in the Illinois primary by a convincing margin. And that is the only thing about Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign that has been convincing, in any sense of the word. Rick Santorum gave his election night speech from Gettysburg, PA. I know Rick is from Pennsylvania, but Gettysburg is an odd choice for a guy whose major strength is in the South. Gettysburg sends a great message, Rick. From now on, your campaign is just going to be a slow, painful slog to Appomattox.
Fox News is saying that they never said or implied that President Obama is a Muslim. And even that is hard for them to say without implying that President Obama is a Muslim. Bret Baier said “For the record, we found no examples of a host saying President Obama is a Muslim.” Thanks, Bret. All that proves is that you didn’t look. One Fox News segment was titled “Islam or Isn’t He?” So Fox News is guilty of spreading lies AND using terrible puns to do it. “Islam or Isn’t He?” Really? Who is writing copy for Fox News now, Rip Taylor? Fox News, your corny Islam puns are full of Shiite. But I don’t want to Mecca big deal out of it.
Fox News initially had a hard time deciding how to cover the killing of Trayvon Martin. So they decided to cover it up... kind of like the Sanford Police Department did, and about as successfully. The story is all about race, guns, and crime. You would think Fox News would be all over it. Unfortunately, this story has the wrong bad guy to fit in with the rest of the fairy tales on Fox News. Fox News always has a problem reporting tragedies, because they have a very different idea of what constitutes a tragedy. If this had been the story of a 17-year old black teenager who had managed to vote fraudulently, you’d never hear the end of it.
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Putting aside the Republican's war on women for a moment – a new report from the National Women’s Law Center reveals that health insurance companies are charging women in American an extra billion dollars annually, and it's just good old fashioned gender discrimination. The report finds that the practice of for-profit health insurers charging women more than men for identical coverage is widespread – and states are doing little to stop the rip-off. In the states that don’t ban health insurance gender discrimination, 92% of the best-selling plans charge women more than men.
President Obama’s Affordable Care Act would ban this practice nationally – saving women a billion dollars a year. Unfortunately for women – Republicans are working as hard as they can to repeal Obamacare.
Listen to me LIVE Monday through Friday 3 PM to 6 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has announced that it will open an investigation into the killing of Trayvon Martin. It seems that the only way to get justice in Florida these days is to bring it in from out of state. If you haven’t heard the tragic story, a crime watch volunteer pursued, shot, and killed an unarmed black teenage boy as the boy was walking home from the store with an Arizona iced tea and a bag of Skittles. Skittles are not a deadly weapon. If they were, the NRA would demand that everyone be allowed to carry them everywhere.
The shooter, crime watch volunteer George Zimmerman, said he felt threatened by Martin. If you feel threatened by a kid who is running away from you, you have a pretty low threshold for feeling threatened. You probably shouldn’t be carrying a gun. But according to the NRA, there’s nobody who shouldn’t be carrying a gun. No crime was being committed before George Zimmerman shot the unarmed boy. And according to the way the cops handled it, no crime was committed in the act of that shooting. The police in Sanford, Florida made no arrest, hence the Justice Department has stepped in to investigate what is being called a botched investigation.
Florida has a “Stand Your Ground” law that essentially suspends all other laws, and makes guns themselves the law. In Florida, as long as you have a reasonable belief that your life and safety is in danger, you can use deadly force to defend yourself. In other words, if somebody makes you afraid, you’re free to shoot them in Florida. Under Stand Your Ground laws, there is no more right or wrong. Whoever has the gun is right. And if both parties have guns, the one who is right is the one who shoots first.
After the Stand Your Ground law went into effect, the number of justifiable homicides in Florida tripled. That should tell you that a lot of these homicides weren’t justifiable at all. The Stand Your Ground law turns Florida into the Wild West, except that a lot of the killings in the Wild West were at least technically illegal.
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Republicans in Congress unveiled their vision for America today – and if they succeed, the 99% of us are condemned to live like serfs. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, himself a multimillionaire, released his blueprint budget for fiscal year 2013 – which includes massive cuts to food stamps, student loans, Medicaid, and Social Security. The budget also dismantles Medicare as we know it – transforming an insurance program into a voucher program, leaving millions of senior citizens on their own to deal with for-profit health insurance companies.
And in a nod to the Republican Party’s super-rich members like himself, Ryan proposes enormous tax breaks for the 1% - lowering the top income tax rate from 35% down to 25%. According to the Tax Policy Center – Ryan’s budget would give $3 trillion in tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans – all paid for by cutting spending on education, healthcare, and Medicare. Congressman Ryan said about his budget, “It’s up to the people to demand ... a choice between two futures. The question is which future will you choose?”
That is the question indeed – will we choose the future in which a middle class can thrive again in America like it did for 50 years after the New Deal until Ronald Reagan blew everything up? Or – will we choose Paul Ryan’s path to an Ayn Rand dystopia, in which only the super-wealthy can go to good schools and see doctors, and everyone else is left with what trickles down from the tables of the rich?
Listen to me LIVE Monday through Friday from 3 PM to 6 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Porn Patrol by Randi Rhodes,posted Mar 19 2012 5:10PM
Rick Santorum is promising to fight pornography. That’s rich—depending on what search engine you use, Santorum IS pornography. Rick, for most Americans, pornography is not a priority. OK, I need to rephrase that. For most Americans, fighting pornography is not a priority. Judging from the numbers, pornography itself is a huge priority for a lot of Americans. And you can’t deny that the porn industry gives a lot of people jobs. You can make a double entendre joke out of it, but you can’t deny it. Anti-pornography crusaders say that porn is damaging to women. Perhaps so, but it’s not nearly as damaging as Republican policies. Here’s the irony—Republicans would like to outlaw depictions of penetration among willing participants, while mandating penetration for women who don’t want it.
Santorum blasted President Obama for not enforcing laws against pornography. Sorry, I guess he got distracted by catching bin Laden and saving the auto industry. Give it up, Rick. The only thing that’s sadder than a man who is obsessed with porn is a man who is obsessed with porn, without ever actually enjoying it. Of course, I may be assuming too much.
Yesterday, Mitt Romney won the primary in Puerto Rico after failing to come up with a gaffe anywhere near as big as Rick Santorum telling the Puerto Ricans they had to learn English. The Romney campaign pointed to the win in Puerto Rico as a sign of Romney’s strength. It’s really more of a sign of Rick Santorum’s weakness. But then Rick’s weakness is Romney’s greatest strength. Romney won 83 percent of the vote in Puerto Rico. 83 percent! This was a victory so lopsided that even the Republicans are able to count the ballots correctly.
This weekend the Occupy Wall Street movement marked the 6-month anniversary of the uprising with protests in Manhattan. Dozens of people were arrested at the protests on Saturday, which was St. Patrick’s Day. What exactly are they going to be charged with—disorderly conduct on the streets of New York on St. Patrick’s? Everyone on the streets on St. Paddy’s Day is disorderly! The Occupy protesters should have been dressed in kilts and leprechaun hats. You can do anything you want on St. Patrick’s Day if you’re dressed like that.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Newt Gingrich said that his mind works on such a grand scale that “the news media can’t cover it and, candidly, my opponents can’t comprehend it.” We can’t get our minds around Newt’s ideas any more than Callista can get her arms around Newt’s waist. Newt also said “The willful avoidance of knowledge, it’s astonishing.” This is a Republican talking! Newt, you can’t complain about “the willful avoidance of knowledge” when you’ve spent the past few months trying to appeal to voters who don’t believe in evolution or global warming. “The willful avoidance of knowledge” is the motto of today’s Republican Party! They just won’t let themselves know that.
Rick Santorum is trying to “clarify” his comments that Puerto Rico would have to adopt English as its official language if they want to become a state. The Santorum campaign said Rick “knows there’s no current federal law in place — but what he was talking about — is that once English is made the official language, obviously all states would need to comply.” So Rick Santorum wants us to comply with laws he just thinks should be in place! Great! Rick Santorum is already living in his dream world... and now he’s insisting that the rest of us join him there!
President Obama is out mocking the Republican’s ideas on energy... which is hard to do when you realize that the Republicans have no ideas on energy. The President said that if Republicans had been around when Columbus sailed, that they would have been part of the Flat Earth Society. It’s odd to think of Republicans being around when Columbus sailed—Republicans seem to be living in the 15th century right now.
The second huge post-death Andrew Breitbart scoop about President Obama is out—and it’s deader than Breitbart himself. It turns out that, 14 years ago, Barack Obama attended a play about Saul Alinsky. I shouldn’t have sprung that on you. I hope you were sitting down. Of course, the Breitbart people made their big expose on Sean Hannity’s show. What? You were expecting “60 Minutes”? Hey, these revelations are so pathetic that I doubt they could get booked on “The Search for Bigfoot” on the Animal Planet network.
Listen to me Monday through Friday 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
The largest online protest in the history of the Internet may have derailed SOPA and PIPA earlier this year – but major entertainment corporations like the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America are still coming after you. With the help of Internet Service Providers like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T – tabs are being kept right now on people who are sharing copyrighted material online.
And on July 12th, Internet providers will begin putting in a place a new anti-piracy plan – warning internet users that they could face penalties of up to $150,000 if they continue to file-share. Providers will begin cutting down – or eliminating altogether – bandwidth for so-called offenders – until said offender agree to take an education course on piracy. Providers may also restrict access to only major websites like Google and Facebook. And most disturbingly – providers may share your information with other Internet providers to effectively create a blacklist of people who won’t be allowed to sign online.
This is the corporate lock-down of the Internet that we’ve feared – and it’s the reason why Libertarians and Free Marketeers are wrong. Without the government protecting us from industry – be it Wall Street, dangers in the workplace, or the Internet – corporate power always creeps in to strangle consumers.
Listen to me LIVE Monday through Friday from 3 PM to 6 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Pump Politics by Randi Rhodes,posted Mar 15 2012 6:12PM
You can tell how good the unemployment numbers are starting to look by the fact that the only numbers Fox News wants to talk about are gas prices. When Bush was president, Fox News blamed high gas prices on everything except Bush. The only surprising thing is that Fox News even mentioned high gas prices when Bush was president. Back around 2008, high gas prices were this uncontrollable thing that a heroic president was doing his best to contain. In 2012 high gas prices are part of an evil president’s plan to turn us all into Volt-driving pinkos. Now that Barack Obama is president, Fox News thinks that there’s a button the president can push to control gas prices—and Obama just refuses to push the button.
Greg Gutfeld on Fox News says that “feminists should be outraged” over high gas prices because they limit women’s access to birth control. High gas prices aren’t the problem—the problem is that some women have to drive hundreds of miles to get to a women’s health clinic. Gas prices do become a problem—when rightwing nutcases in state government shut down most of the women’s clinics in a state… and gut the funding for public transportation on top of it. This isn’t a case of gas prices limiting women’s access to birth control—the thing that limits women’s access to birth control is a perfect storm of intentional Republican policies.
Mitt Romney just can’t seem to wash away the story of him putting his poor dog on the roof of his car. Look on the bright side, Mitt—at least it’s a break from all these stories about how ridiculously rich you are. It would have been worse if the story also reinforced the “rich guy” theme, like if the car had been one of Ann’s Cadillacs.
A senior Santorum campaign strategist mentioned the dog story on CNN. They should be careful—Rick Santorum has at least one rather embarrassing dog quote of his own. Rick compared gay marriage to “man on dog sex.” It’s a toss-up whether “Man on dog” is more disturbing than “dog on roof.” Word to Mitt—if a guy like Rick Santorum has any leeway at all to call you weird, then your campaign has some serious problems.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
After a U.S. soldier snapped, and massacred 16 Afghan civilians – including nine children – Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for all NATO troops to be pulled out of rural areas. That could throw a wrench in the US exit strategy, which depends on handing Afghanistan over to NATO and Afghan Security Forces by 2014.
Another blow to the US exit strategy came when the Taliban suspend negotiations with US diplomats. In order to end the civil war in Afghanistan – a power-sharing deal with the Taliban must be worked out – but Taliban leaders walked away from the table, claiming that the US keeps changing the terms of the negotiations.
Clearly – after a decade of war – the Afghans want us out of their country. And recent polls show that the American people – who are watching this nation go bankrupt from war and our young soldiers deteriorate mentally and physically – want the war to end as well. In fact – 50% of Americans want the United States to speed up its withdrawal from Afghanistan. Time to pull a Saigon – and just get the hell out of there.
Listen to me LIVE from 3 PM to 6 PM Monday through Friday on WWRL AM 1600.
Mississippi and Alabama have spoken. And it’s pretty clear what they said, despite the missing teeth. Voters in Mississippi and Alabama rejected both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich—which is the first sign of intelligence we’ve seen from voters in Mississippi and Alabama. Then they went and blew it all by voting for Rick Santorum. In his victory speech, Rich Santorum said “We did it again.” Somehow, when Rick Santorum says that, it sounds like he spilled something. That’s OK, Rick. We’ll get a mop.
Today, Mitt Romney is left with the taste of bitter grits. Mitt finished third place in both Mississippi and Alabama. And Ron Paul’s numbers are so pathetic at this point that there essentially is no fourth place. So after another stinging rebuke, Mitt Romney is left to argue delegate math. At least Mitt’s delegate math arguments are remotely connected to real math, which is more than you can say for his economic numbers. And anything is better than listening to him recite the lyrics to “America the Beautiful.” But Mitt’s delegate math argument essentially boils down to him saying “I’ll be the pick—even if nobody wants me.”
Republican voters last night thought that Mitt Romney was the most electable, but that he was not conservative enough. Has it occurred to you geniuses that being electable and being radically conservative might be mutually exclusive properties?
After last night, Newt Gingrich is running on $2.50 gas fumes. After his defeat, Newt delivered yet another victory speech. Newt tried to make the point that Mitt Romney was not inevitable. Newt, Mitt might not be inevitable, but you’re impossible. Newt Gingrich’s entire campaign is based on promising voters that he will deliver gas prices of $2.50 a gallon. He’s one step away from sending out emails promising a way to enlarge your penis... if you just make him president. Newt thinks he can command the laws of supply and demand. I have news for you, Newt—the laws of economics aren’t as easy to break as, say, the ethics rules in Congress. Newt must think that the voters are a bunch of idiots. Actually, that might not be such a bad assumption when your whole campaign is based on a Southern strategy.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Former Goldman Sachs Executive Director Greg Smith recently resigned from the banking giant, and today in a New York Times op-ed blew the whistle on what he called a “toxic and destructive” environment within the bank. Smith writes, “I believe I have worked here long enough to understand the trajectory of its culture, its people and its identity. And I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it.”
Smith went on to write that banksters at the firm “callously” rip their clients off – and routinely refer to their customers as “muppets.” Most shocking, Smith reveals that the most common question he gets from fellow banksters is, “How much money did we make off the client?”
The dangerous part of this is that banksters like Goldman Sachs now make up more than a quarter of our economy when they used to make up less than a tenth. That means one-fourth of all the money in the United States comes from banksters on Wall Street preying on their customers with things like exploding mortgages and fees, jacking up oil and food prices by gambling on them, and making a profit crashing entire nations economies.
This is called financialization – and if it’s not reined in – it will destroy our nation and much of the developed world.
Listen to me LIVE Monday thorugh Friday from 3 PM to 6 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Food prices have increased 4.4% in the last year – nearly twice as much as all other consumer goods. And a new study out of the New England Complex Systems Institute argues that Wall Street speculators are the ones driving up the price this year – just like they did in 2008 – when a billion people around the planet were pushed to the brink of starvation, and unrest and food riots swept the globe.
The new study forecasts another food bubble to be inflated by 2013 – that could once again create turmoil around the world. From the ongoing debt crisis in Europe – to rising gas prices in the United States – to increasing food costs around the world – Wall Street is destabilizing the entire global economy – and making huge profits by doing it. Just like they did when they crashed the world in 2008.
Listen to me LIVE Monday through Friday from 3 PM to 6 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Hot damn! by Randi Rhodes,posted Mar 13 2012 2:54PM
If you’re voting in the Republican primary in Mississippi or Alabama today, I would urge you to make the right choice, but there is no right choice. Of course, if you’re voting in the Republican primary in Mississippi or Alabama today, you’ve already made a few wrong choices somewhere down the line. Also, Hawaii holds its Republican caucuses today. Boy, there’s a jarring juxtaposition! You’re in paradise... and you’re at a Republican caucus. That’s like getting a root canal while you’re sitting in a Jacuzzi.
Well, Mitt Romney did it again. Talking about football on an Alabama radio show, Mitt said “I’ve got a lot of good friends, the owner of the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets, both owners are friends of mine.” Yeesh. Back when Mitt said that his friends owned NASCAR crews, people used the example of Mitt saying his buddies owned football teams as an absurd “what’s next” premise. Turns out, that really was next. You can’t out-absurd Mitt. I would say “what’s next” now, but I can’t think of anything more ridiculous, and if I could, Mitt would actually say it. There’s one more “rich guy” gaffe for Mitt... and in the Deep South, no less. For shame, Mitt! Go wash your mouth out with cheesy grits.
If you thought Mitt Romney looked ridiculous trying to appeal to regular people, you should see him try to appeal to Southerners. That’s even more of a stretch. He’s trying to appeal to people in mobile homes when he’s got multiple homes. Rick Santorum mocked Mitt Romney for having previously warned about the dangers of carbon dioxide. Santorum actually said “Tell that to a plant – how dangerous carbon dioxide is!” Uh Rick, just because something is good for a plant doesn’t mean it’s good for people. Otherwise, we could eat dirt. One more time, Rick—plants consume carbon dioxide. We consume oxygen. So having more carbon dioxide and less oxygen is not good for us... unless by “us,” you mean hydrangeas.
Chuck Norris has recorded a robo call for Newt Gingrich. The ad’s title is “Chuck Norris doesn’t endorse. He makes reality.” In the call, Chuck talks about gas costing $2.50 a gallon under President Newt Gingrich. If that’s not making your own reality, what is.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Did you see the movie “Game Change”? Julianne Moore was very realistic as Sarah Palin—quite a challenge when you consider that Sarah Palin herself is far from realistic. All in all, it was the best job of an actor “playing dumb” since Forrest Gump. Julianne Moore was so good as Sarah Palin that Fox News should think about hiring her as an analyst. She can look and talk exactly like Sarah Palin, and unlike Sarah, I bet she’s able to speak in complete sentences. On top of that, I’m sure that Julianne Moore knows a lot more about the issues than Sarah Palin does. But when you think about it, that completely disqualifies her from being an analyst for Fox News. And Ed Harris was great as John McCain. Oddly, Ed Harris playing John McCain was a more convincing candidate than John McCain was. And he’s miles better than Mitt Romney. I don’t see why John McCain is annoyed about the movie. He came out of this movie looking better than he did coming out of the actual 2008 campaign.
Of course, Sarah Palin doesn’t like the movie. Weird—Sarah always thinks that everything should all be about her. Well, here’s a movie that actually is all about her—and she doesn’t like it. McCain and Palin have to quit fighting this. McCain should just admit that he made a mistake. And Palin should just admit that she was that mistake.
GOP strategist Mary Matalin says Mitt Romney has “the heart and soul” of an average American. Mary, it’s not clear that Mitt Romney has a heart and soul at all, let alone one of an average American. The two words I would least associate with Mitt Romney are “heart” and “soul.” Do I have to keep it to two? It’s hard to leave “funky” off the list
Finally, Bill Maher sent a camera crew to Mississippi to see why people vote against their own best interests (see video on WWRL home page). It’s probably the same reason they say stuff that makes them look like idiots on camera—they’re idiots.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Did you see the movie “Game Change”? Julianne Moore was very realistic as Sarah Palin—quite a challenge when you consider that Sarah Palin herself is far from realistic. All in all, it was the best job of an actor “playing dumb” since Forrest Gump. Julianne Moore was so good as Sarah Palin that Fox News should think about hiring her as an analyst. She can look and talk exactly like Sarah Palin, and unlike Sarah, I bet she’s able to speak in complete sentences. On top of that, I’m sure that Julianne Moore knows a lot more about the issues than Sarah Palin does. But when you think about it, that completely disqualifies her from being an analyst for Fox News. And Ed Harris was great as John McCain. Oddly, Ed Harris playing John McCain was a more convincing candidate than John McCain was. And he’s miles better than Mitt Romney. I don’t see why John McCain is annoyed about the movie. He came out of this movie looking better than he did coming out of the actual 2008 campaign.
Of course, Sarah Palin doesn’t like the movie. Weird—Sarah always thinks that everything should all be about her. Well, here’s a movie that actually is all about her—and she doesn’t like it. McCain and Palin have to quit fighting this. McCain should just admit that he made a mistake. And Palin should just admit that she was that mistake.
GOP strategist Mary Matalin says Mitt Romney has “the heart and soul” of an average American. Mary, it’s not clear that Mitt Romney has a heart and soul at all, let alone one of an average American. The two words I would least associate with Mitt Romney are “heart” and “soul.” Do I have to keep it to two? It’s hard to leave “funky” off the list
Finally, Bill Maher sent a camera crew to Mississippi to see why people vote against their own best interests (see video on WWRL home page). It’s probably the same reason they say stuff that makes them look like idiots on camera—they’re idiots.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
The dogs of war were released in Afghanistan more than a decade ago – and are now out of our control. News broke this week of a murder spree in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province committed by at least one US soldier against Afghan civilians. Reuters reports that as many as 3 American soldiers, who appeared to be drunk, opened fire in a small village at around 2am Sunday morning – shooting dead 16 civilians – including nine children.
One soldier has surrendered in connection with the attacks, which President Obama referred to as “tragic and shocking.” This latest incident is sure to spark another episode of violence in that unstable, war-torn nation – just as the Quran burning incident did a few weeks ago. The Taliban has vowed to avenge the killings, calling them a “blood-soaked and inhumane crime.”
Meanwhile, 60% of Americans now believe this war is not worth fighting. Let Afghanistan serve as a lesson to all those who are calling for more war with Iran – because it’s very easy to release the dogs of war – and much, much harder to bring them back.
Listen to me LIVE every Monday through Friday from 3 PM to 6 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Mitt Romney is campaigning in Alabama and Mississippi. Mitt actually told a crowd in Mississippi “I am learning to say ‘y'all’ and I like grits and things.” I hope your staff briefed you about the grits, Mitt. You can put butter on them. You can put cheese on them. But don’t put truffles, pate, or arugula on them. “Yes, I’ll have the grits with foie gras and balsamico, some braised squab, and a side of Tuscan greens... y’all.”
There’s more good news on the economy—this month’s jobs report looks excellent. I know, I said that last month. And the month before that. If it sounds like I’m repeating myself, that’s because the good news on the economy is repeating itself. Payrolls have now grown by more than 200,000 for three months in a row. Of course, you knew that from the fact that the Republicans have spent the last three months talking about things like contraception.
Sarah Palin has accused President Obama of “bringing us back to the days before the Civil War.” Really! That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard in weeks—and we’re in the middle of a Republican Primary! Palin thinks President Obama needs to learn that “Here in America we are equal and we all have equal opportunities, not based on the color of your skin.” Sarah, President Obama doesn’t have to learn that. He embodies that. Sarah Palin is a paid political commentator on Fox News. She gets money for giving her opinion. That would be like paying Betty White to help you move a piano.
And Pat Robertson has come out for legalizing marijuana. For the record, marijuana is the only thing Pat Robertson thinks should be legal. Is it possible that Pat Roberstson is a closet stoner? It would explain a lot of the stuff he says. Pat, you gotta get some mellower buds—that stuff you’re smoking is making you paranoid. I haven’t been stoned for ages, but I was never so wasted that I thought a hurricane was punishment for homosexuality.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Breitbart’s supposedly shocking 1991 video of Obama has been unleashed. It turns out that there’s no need for a leash. This little puppy isn’t going to bite anybody. In the video, Obama is seen speaking on behalf of granting tenure to more minority and female professors at Harvard. Anybody who could be even remotely disturbed by this video is already severely disturbed. Unfortunately, that includes a sizeable chunk of the rightwing.
There is absolutely nothing in this video of a young Barack Obama that is embarrassing to Obama. Nothing! Even his clothing and haircut are tasteful. How many of us can say that about pictures of ourselves at that age? I mean really, it was the early 90’s. Most of the kids in America were wearing Nirvana-inspired flannel shirts, and the other ones were wearing harem pants like MC Hammer. This tape is an embarrassment, alright—it’s an embarrassment to anyone who would think this kind of thing would be an embarrassment. If this is Andrew Breitbart’s posthumous legacy, it’s almost as pathetic as the stuff he did when he was alive.
Mitt Romney’s campaign says it would take “an act of God” for anyone else to get the nomination at this point. Mitt! Don’t tempt Him! God has already called Michelle Bachmann, Herman Cain, and Rick Perry to run this election. It seems like He’s willing to do anything for a laugh. And an act of God to make Rick Santorum the nominee is not out of the question. The recent storms in the Midwest show that sometimes acts of God can be terribly destructive.
Mitt Romney is saying that his budget plan “can’t be scored” while still insisting that it will balance the budget. In other words, nobody can tell what it will do, so Mitt will tell you what it will do—trust him. Mitt said “I think it’s kind of interesting for the groups who try and score it because, frankly, it can’t be scored.” Well isn’t that what everyone looks for in an economic plan—something that can’t be scrutinized! Mitt, just because you wouldn’t let anyone see what you were really doing at Bain all those years doesn’t mean that we’re going to let you run the country that way. Word to Mitt—if you have a budget plan that can’t be scored... you don’t have a budget plan. You have a budget scheme.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
While listening to the play back of last week’s show I came to the realization that I am indeed a “good time girl!” Clay and I have always joked about my southern, lady-like, “nickel between my knees” upbringing, especially when it comes to the highly competitive dating scene on New York City. All of our loyal Clay Cane Live listeners know that I am searching for my “first husband” and Mr. Cane has even played cupid by hooking up one-on-one celebrity interviews with some of today’s most eligible bachelors in the world of entertainment -- in hopes that I will return with an exclusive quote and an engagement ring. The ultimate goal being is that I work my way from radio co-host to "Radio Wife."
Last Thursday night, something in my spirit moved me to make it crystal clear to Broadway star Norm Lewis (currently appearing in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess) that I am single and ready to mingle. As he shared his experience of portraying a heartbroken and physically challenged Porgy, I shamelessly flirted over the airwaves -- confessing my want to jump onto the stage at the Richard Rodgers theater and stroke his character’s crooked leg straight! I will keep you all posted with any updates on Norm Lewis in future blogs (crossing fingers and toes that there is something worth telling).
We also had the great pleasure of chatting it up with actress Tichina Arnold. Tichina is currently playing funny girl Fran Drescher’s BFF “Judi” on TV Land’s Happily Divorced. But die hard Tichina fans will always see her as “Sheneneh’s” arch nemesis “Pam” in the 90’s hit sitcom Martin. The legendary "around the way girl" talked her hustle in Hollywood and told us a touching story about her brief encounters with the late, great Whitney Houston.
This week’s show will prove to be just as lively. Aubrey O’Day (formerly of Diddy’s girl group Danity Kane) will be calling to discuss Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice (her charity is the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) and the legendary Sheryl Lee Ralph will be chatting her new book Redefining Diva: Life Lessons from the Original Dreamgirl, which is available on Tuesday, March 13th,
Be sure to tune into Clay Cane Live tonight at 11pm… it’s ovah!
When Republicans talk about killing off the EPA – they’re also talking about killing American jobs. Despite right-wing talking points that environmental regulations are “job-killers” – a new analysis by the Economic Policy Institute finds just the opposite – regulations are ACTUALLY job creators. EPI estimates that as many as 135,000 net jobs will be created by 2015 thanks to new EPA regulations.
After all, when an energy plant has to follow new pollution regulations – then they have to hire people to design and build smokestack scrubbers and buy new clean technology - all of which puts people to work. In fact – a new proposed regulation to clean up the Chesapeake Bay would create 35 times more jobs than the Keystone XL Pipeline!
The real story Republicans don’t want you to know is that EPA regulations cut into the massive profits being pocketed by oil barons – while actually creating working-class jobs. Republicans don’t care about putting Americans back to work or having cleaner skies – they care about keeping the fat-cats who own them happy.
Listen to me LIVE beginning Monday, March 12 on WWRL AM 1600.
Never mind putting boots on the ground in Syria. Iran's nuke program can wait. The war that's being waged in this country is going forward full steam ahead, and its victims are a majority of the population. Consider that the hot button social issues right now, the ones that get morons like Rush Limbaugh upset enough to call someone a slut and a prostitute, all have to do with choices women make about their own health. Contraceptives? Back up lady. Birth control=promuscuity, didn't the women of this country get the memo?
And now it gets worse. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell signed a bill into law that requires all women seeking abortions in his state to undergo an ultrasound. After all, women aren't bright enough to figure out on their own choices regarding their own bodies. No....somebody has to show them the error of their ways. Now imagine what would happen if unmarried men were required to watch a film chronicling the downside of unprotected, premarital sex. Does anybody in their right mind seriously think there's a power on earth that could make such a thing happen?
Virginia and other states who push these types of laws ought to asked right off the top about just who will pay for all these ultrasounds. They also ought to be made to show data that supports the notion that forcing women to have this procedure actually reduces the rate of abortion. Otherwise, these clowns should be recalled, and the laws repealed ASAP.
Down in Texas, the war is against Planned Parenthood, and by inference, abortion. That state's legislature has cut funding for women's health programs by two thirds. The reason? They don't want a dime to go to Planned Parenthood, even though state law prohibits clinics taking monies from the state under its Medicaid Women's Health Program from performing abortions at all. Gov. Rick Perry is ready to forego $35 million dollars in federal money to make sure Planned Parenthood doesn't get a dime.
So who does this hurt? Poor working women, that's who. They're the ones with the fewest options for things like breast and cervical cancers screenings and other services these clinics, including those run by Planned Parenthood, provide. The next stop , nationally, is the proposed elimination of Title X, the major federal family planning program. The House tried to get rid of it, but the bill was blocked in the Senate. And who began Title X? Richard Nixon, with the support of George Bush, the elder.
Ladies, is this starting to sound a bit like Afghanistan to you?
Well that was quite a Super Tuesday. Happy Stupor Wednesday! Congratulations, Republicans—you’ve created a process to make everybody despise your candidates... especially you. You’ve got two incredible losers. Why can’t one of them just lose? I guess that’s impossible, as long as neither of them can win.
Mitt Romney outspent Rick Santorum over 10-to-1 in Ohio, and barely beat him by 1 percent. If Mitt Romney didn’t have tons of money, he wouldn’t have a chance. Of course, that’s true about Mitt Romney for life in general. Look at the map of who won Ohio by county. Mitt Romney only has the major cities. They look like a few defensive forts in a territory controlled by hostile forces. Here’s a question for Mitt: if all you can win are the major cities, what happens in the general election... when black people are allowed to vote? In fact the entire Republican primary process just answers the hypothetical question “What if there were nothing but white people?” None of this will have any connection to the reality that will be November.
Mitt Romney killed in Massachusetts, which is appropriate, since what he did as Governor of Massachusetts has killed Mitt Romney for most conservatives. Mitt got 72 percent of the vote in Massachusetts! The big question is—how is he going to explain that to the base?
And then there’s Newt. It’s like the Deep South is saying “We don’t care how bad your two main candidates are. We want somebody worse.” And they’ve found him in Newt. Once again, the Deep South goes off the Deep End. In his Georgia victory speech, Newt said “There’s lots of bunny rabbits that run through. I’m the tortoise.” Yes Newt, you’re just like a tortoise—you live in your own little world that you carry around with you. But once you get outside of the Deep South, you’re a tortoise whose been turned over on his back and is totally helpless.
This GOP primary is the greatest I’ve ever seen—and I can’t stand it anymore. I actually want to throw my hat in the air, and then start tearing my hair out.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM on WWRL AM 1600.
Governor Scott Walker and his Republican buddies in the state legislature passed a radical voter ID law last year that could disenfranchise tens of thousands of eligible voters in the Badger state. Recognizing that – Dane County Judge David Flanagan blocked the law from going into effect – calling it “extremely broad and largely needless.”
Judge Flanagan went on to say that, “irreparable harm is likely to occur in the absence of an injunction.” Republicans in the state are outraged – and are calling for an investigation into Judge Flanagan after the ruling. That’s because they know the only way Governor Walker keeps his jobs during an upcoming recall election – is to make sure angry Wisconsinites can’t vote.
Join me LIVE starting Monday, May 12 on WWRL AM 1600.
Super Tuesday by Randi Rhodes,posted Mar 6 2012 5:30PM
It’s Super Tuesday, the day that was designed to pick a winner in the primary race. Unfortunately, there aren’t any winners in this particular race. It’s all going to come down to which candidate the voters got to know the best—that guy is definitely going to lose. Mitt Romney told an Ohio crowd “If you do your job tomorrow, we’re going to win this thing.” Do your job? Uh oh, Ohio voters! Mitt Romney thinks of you as employees! That means that after today, you’re going to be laid off.
The only state where Mitt Romney seems to have an easy path to victory is in Massachusetts—the state he’s been trying desperately to distance himself from. Don’t worry. If Mitt wins by a landslide in Massachusetts, by tomorrow he’ll be saying that it never happened. Ron Paul is the only candidate who has gone up to campaign in Alaska. No problem for Ron—Ron Paul is used to being on the furthest fringes. Newt Gingrich is leading in Georgia, a state that is as deep down in the South as Newt Gingrich is in the national polls. And the only two candidates who qualified for the ballot in Virginia are Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. Virginia’s only choice is between the fake and the flake.
Rick Santorum actually failed to qualify for the ballot in about a quarter of Ohio’s congressional districts because he didn’t submit the required slate of delegates. Rick isn’t too good at the nuts and bolts of campaigning. You would think that Rick Santorum would at least have the “nuts” part down
And Peter Gabriel has demanded that Rush Limbaugh stop using his music. It was a weird choice for Rush anyway. We know you disseminate the talking points, Rush. Don’t you get the listening points? In terms of being the right fit for a rightwing show, Peter Gabriel is down there with Tracy Chapman, dude! You’re supposed to go with Ted Nugent or Toby Keith. Oh, and Kid Rock is trying to get on the list, too.
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As many as 68 patriots were arrested as they occupied the state capital in California Monday night – protesting against planned cuts to education. With tuition fees soaring – hundreds of demonstrators descended on the capital building in Sacramento calling for a tax on millionaires to help fund public universities in the state.
Over the last five years – tuition at public universities in California has doubled – and - along with it - so, too, has outstanding student debt. For the first time in world history – student debt outweighs credit card debt in America – with students around the nation more than a trillion dollars in the hole.
In November – voters in California will have a chance to approve a referendum to raise income taxes on those making more than $250,000 a year and divert that revenue to education budgets. We just learned that in 2010 – 93% of all income gains in America went to just the top 1%. It’s time for that 1% to pay their fair share in taxes to make sure America doesn’t experience a lost generation.
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Stupid Tuesday by Leslie Marshall,posted Mar 6 2012 2:59PM
It's Super Tuesday! Ok, well it wont be by the time you read this. As of this writing, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich have pretty much divided up the states, the votes and the delegates. As of this writing, Ohio is still neck and neck with Santorum leading by a very small margin of 38% to Romney's 36%.
All of this makes Democrats like me happy. Further, the evidence seems to suggest that at least Gingrich and Paul are in this for the long haul; that makes me happier. (Gingrich has hired the secret service indicating he's in this at least til' the summer)(Side note- dont you love the no government hand out guys like Romney, Gingrich and Santorum taking government hands outs by having secret service provide security while the u.s. taxpayer picks up the tab... hmmm?-kudos to Ron Paul who at least wasnt a hypocrite in this regard)
After tonite, many expect/expected the Gingrich's, the Paul's and of course Rick Santorum to bow out gracefully and to leave the path open for Republicans to put their money, their support and of course their votes come November to Mitt Romney; but it doesnt look like that will happen.
Conservatives who feel Romney's still too moderate or not right leaning enough or still can't wrap their head around his being a Mormon are still uncomfortable with him as their candidate and look to Santorum or Gingrich to provide an option for them and for what ailes them.
And although it was all about, as James Carvelle once said, "the economy stupid..." now it's about much, much more. Do we provide military support to the citizens of Syria? What happens if Israel attacks Iran? Do we push for tougher sanctions and wait? etc.
Americans are seeing, that the President, uncontested as a candidate pretty much nationwide, no question he will have the Democratic platform beneath him while seeking that second term; Americans are seeing this is much more than just about our economy, about job creation or the housing market. And albeit slowly, all three seem to be headed in the right direction.
This now comes down to our safety and security. Mitt Romney may have been Governor of Massachusetts and he might have made a lot of money in the private sector; but his experience with foreign affairs? With the military?
The President today spoke of launching attacks on Iran not being a game, I hope Americans were listening.
For tonight is Super Tuesday, and those on the right are casting their ballots for the candidate they best feel will represent them, their party and have a shot at beating our President in November.
As a Democrat, I cringed in the past when Ralph Nader split the vote for the Democrats. Sorry, but I am elated that the Republican candidates might be splitting their own votes not wanting to put their support behind Mitt Romney.
I guess it comes down to what matters more to them....Anyone but Romney, or anyone but Obama? Or perhaps they'll join many of us on the left, and even some independents who might say....who wont' lead us into war with Iran??
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As I’m sure you know already, Rush Limbaugh has issued an “apology.” Yes, that’s in quotes. It’s hard to express the word “apology” with as much insincerity as Rush Limbaugh put into his apology. As believable apologies go, it was about two notches above “I’m sorry I called that slut a slut.”
Rush said “I chose the wrong words...” Yes, Rush, you did. And you continued to choose them for three straight days! If that’s a choice, it’s a choice of lifestyle. He also says “I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke” Well then, launching a personal attack was a curious choice. The term “prostitute” shouldn’t come up in civil discourse, unless you’re debating prostitution... or talking about David Vitter. Then Rush asks “What happened to personal responsibility and accountability?” Classic! He asks that in the middle of a screed designed for him to avoid personal responsibility and accountability for what he’s said! Rush’s “apology” repeats all the lies he’s been spewing, continues to slander the girl, misrepresents the entire debate, and aggrandizes himself. Wow—Rush is almost as good at writing fake apologies as he is in slandering people in the first place. Finally at the end, Rush says “I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices.” Great, Rush. Now apologize to everyone for your lies. And for this joke of an apology.
Chris Wallace pointed out on Sunday that the health insurance at Fox News includes birth control coverage. Frankly, I’m surprised that Fox News gives its employees health insurance at all. I guess Fox News couldn’t find employees willing to go on the air and undermine health coverage for the rest of the country—unless they got health coverage. Of course Fox News’ health insurance covers birth control—they want as few of their employees on pregnancy leave as possible. Do you think it’s easy to find that many empty-headed blondes? If the Fox news-models keep getting pregnant, they can’t be on the air as much attacking the interests of women.
For the record, Daily Kos has actually compiled a list of 53 times over three days that Rush Limbaugh smeared Sandra Fluke on his show. Yuck. I’d rather sift through my dog’s poop for three days if he swallowed a diamond ring
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On Saturday – the radio voice of the Republican Party – Rush Limbaugh – issued a non-apology to Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke who he called a “slut” and a “prostitute” last week. Limbaugh said his “choice of words was not the best” – yet he repeated his lie that Fluke was asking Americans to pay for birth control.
Limbaugh’s senseless attack on Fluke has so far cost his radio show seven sponsors, which is probably the real reason why he issued his fake apology. As filmmaker Michael Moore pointed out – who’s the prostitute now? The real problem this story highlights, though, is the well-funded right-wing radio and TV machine that lets their "stars" be racist and misogynous over and over again with no consequences.
I make my LIVE debut on WWRL Monday, March 12. Join the conversation!
John Boehner has pledged to take the fight over contraception to the House floor. In the Senate, the anti-contraception bill was called “the Blunt amendment.” If a version comes to the floor of the House, please, please, please… let it be called the “Boehner Bill.” Conservatives always crow about “government intrusion” into our lives. These bills would allow your boss to decide what conditions you can have health insurance for—it’s a case of “corporate intrusion” into our private lives. Somebody ask John Boehner how he would feel if his health insurance excluded paying for conditions caused by alcohol consumption and artificial tanning.
Rick Santorum is getting testy about being asked questions about birth control. Rick wants to impose his views on birth control on the rest of the country. For him to be offended when people ask about it is like Ted Bundy getting offended if somebody gets into his car and asks “Why do you have a roll of duct tape in the back seat?”
There’s been quite a reaction to Rush Limbaugh’s comments calling a young college student a slut and a prostitute. I’m tempted to say that Rush said those things just to get a reaction, not because he honestly likes saying those kinds of things. Tempted to... but I can’t.
At a House hearing on birth control, Health and Human Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and GOP Rep Tim Murphy clashed over the facts. Sebelius was for them, and Murphy was against them. Sebelius kept repeating the facts, and Murphy kept arguing with her. It’s not enough for these people just to be wrong—they won’t be satisfied until everybody else is wrong too. Murphy yelled “In a religious belief, that is a violation of a religious belief.” Tim, you’re on the House Energy and Commerce Committee here. I think you have it confused with the House God and Jesus Committee. There is one, right? Murphy went on a spiel about Jesus, and the apostles, and Mary Magdalene! I didn’t know if this was a US Congressional hearing, or an inquisition at the Vatican... in the year 1550! And I don’t think Congressman Murphy knew either.
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Mistreated workers are screwed in Georgia, where the Peach State has opened a new front in the war on working people. This week – legislation was passed by a state Senate Committee that would criminalize union picketing outside places of business. The new law would definite union picketing as, “interfering with the resident's right to quiet enjoyment," and hits union picketers with jail time.
The law also applies ONLY to unions and labor organizations. One of the main opponents of the legislation is Fulton County Sheriff Ted Jackson who said the law would, “overburden an already stressed prison system,” and that the role of the police shouldn’t be to, “police free speech.” The war against workers is getting truly nasty - first they cut the right to bargain, then they cut wages and pensions, and now they want to put union picketers in prison.
Welcome to the Plutocracy.
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But here’s the truth: high gases prices have nothing to do with lack of available gas in America. That’s because for the first time in 62 years – the United States became a net exporter of oil products. In 2011, our nation sent 439,000 more barrels of oil overseas than we imported. That means we’re awash in oil and gasoline, it’s just in the hands of oil barons who are making more money shipping it overseas than selling it to U.S. customers.
So, drilling in Alaska or in the Gulf won’t cut gas prices. Our status as a net exporter of oil also means we’re now the world’s dirt pit – where the dirty work like refining and processing crude is done, because oil barons don’t have to worry about the costs of pollution. We the taxpayers and consumers pay for all the externalities of oil production – from more asthma and cancers to the environmental damage. In the hands of banksters and oil barons, the United States of America is Un-developing and unraveling.
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The website of Andrew Breitbart is reporting that he has died. That’s the first true thing they ever put on that site. Now the major media outlets are all saying that Breitbart died. That means that now all of his followers will refuse to believe it. On his website, Breitbart’s fans don’t know whether to believe that he has died or not. What else is new? These people never knew what to believe. That’s why they read Breitbart.
However, while certainly not a fan of Breitbart’s 'work' (and vice-versa), I do wish his loved ones comfort today. 43 years old... so young.
The Senate considered legislation about contraception today. That’s not the kind of headline you would expect to see, unless “today” was some time in the 1950’s. Evidently it’s not—today the Senate defeated the Blunt amendment by 51-48. The bill would have allowed employers to deny any health insurance coverage that they have any “moral” objection to. Hello! To conservatives, any spending by employers on healthcare for their employees is considered immoral.
The Blunt amendment came and went quickly, but not so fast that Mitt Romney didn’t have time to flip-flop on it. When asked if he supported the bill yesterday, Mitt Romney said “I’m not for the bill.” And as we all know, that’s Mitt’s roundabout way of saying he’s for the bill. Sure enough, within an hour, Mitt’s campaign issued a statement saying he was for the bill. That’s the way Mitt Romney “clarifies” his statements—by completely contradicting them. Some candidates look at both sides of an issue. Mitt Romney takes both sides of an issue. And he still manages not to have the right position.
Rush Limbaugh said that a college student who testified before Congress about the high cost of contraception was a slut and a prostitute. If you call girls who use contraception sluts, what do you call girls who don’t use contraception? Oh, that’s right—“unwed mothers.” According to Rush, the girl “essentially says that she must be paid to have sex.” Um Rush, just because every woman whoever slept with you wanted payment, that doesn’t mean that that’s the norm. Now, I’m not saying that any of Rush’s many wives are prostitutes. But any woman that sleeps with Rush would be crazy not to at least demand they be compensated for their pain and suffering.
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It seems that everybody wants to know what's been going on at the NSA. Everybody, that is, except for 53 US Senators. Last week Senators were given a briefing by high-ranking intelligence officials about the surveillance programs. Only 47...
Tea Party senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) says that "restoring faith in government" is "the wrong solution." Well then by all means, keep talking, Senator. Instead, Johnson says "we need to engender that healthy distrust, that healthy...
Senator Elizabeth Warren is fighting hard for government transparency, and it has nothing to do with the NSA. On Thursday, Senator Warren sent a letter to President Obama's U.S. trade negotiations nominee, calling on the Administration to...
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The Supreme Court ruled that human genes cannot be patented, because they are a product of nature. However, the offered a compromise which allowed synthetic, complementary DNA, known as cDNA, to be protected by patent law, because it is not...
Before last week, very few people knew the name Edward Snowden. Not the case now. It seems he's either a hero or traitor, depending on who you talk to and their political ideology. No matter what you think of him, however, we owe him a...
The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives will do anything to avoid getting any actual work done. As if 37 votes to repeal Obamacare didn't waste enough taxpayer time and money, the House GOP has decided to vote on a...
We need to have a debate over surveillance. Even more, we need to have a debate over exactly who is doing the surveilling. Government surveillance can be worrisome, but it's much more worrisome when the surveillance is being done by private...
Today, the United States Senate will begin debate on the so-called comprehensive immigration plan. Senators will consider the overall legislation, and dozens of amendments, before a final vote can be reached. The debate is likely to last...
Is Edward Snowden a whistleblower or a leaker? This story still has a lot of gray areas. For now, he's something like a whistle-leaker. To some people, Snowden is a hero, to others he is a traitor. To most Americans, he's the guy whose face in...
The Supreme Court 
Working people across that nation went on strike and took to the streets to protest an austerity budget being pushed by their new government. It’s the same sort of social unrest that’s followed austerity measures in Greece, the U.K., and Italy. And it’s the same sort of austerity budget that Republicans just passed out of the House of Representatives yesterday, approving multi-millionaire Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget. In a vote of 221 to 191 – the Ryan Budget passed the House – but is dead on arrival in the Senate. 
Police video of George Zimmerman on the night of the killing of Trayvon Martin 
Most CEOs who watch their corporation’s stock value drop in half get fired, or at the very least take a pay cut. But not if you’re a bankster. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan was given a big fat check for $7.5 million in 2011 – a 600% increase from the year before – despite the fact that Bank of America’s stock dropped 58% over the year.
I came back from Washington, DC Tuesday, after doing the WWRL Morning Show across the street from the US Supreme Court building. Inside, the nine justices (eight, since Clarence Thomas remained mute) took up weighty issues like forced broccoli, cell phone, and burial insurance mandates. After the protests and counter protests, and headline seekers like Michelle Bachmann and Rick Santorum, I was ready to go. To do so, I had to go through Washington's cavernous Union Station. The station, in 21st century parlance, is undergoing a reboot. Outside, construction workers were laying concrete, part of the effort to make the old station seem young again. The unique pinging sound of raw cement running down a funnel caught my attention.
Already yesterday, news reports were saying the Supreme Court hearing was a “train wreck for the Obama administration.” Relax, people—
The corporate corruption of our government is most glaring when it comes to regulating Wall Street. According to a new report released today by Public Citizen – lawmakers who oppose the Volcker Rule, which says banks can't gamble with your checking account money, receive on average four times more in campaign contributions from Wall Street than those lawmakers who support the Volcker Rule.
Today all of the conservative justices on the Supreme Court had 
Amnesty International is out with a new report on the death penalty – showing that only 20 out of the 198 nations worldwide carried out executions last year – the United States is one of those nations. We’re also the only Western democracy to still use the death penalty. The United States ranked fifth in the world in executions in 2011 – behind nations with upstanding human rights records like China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. .jpeg)
Today, the Supreme Court starts hearing 
Today kicks off three straight days of oral arguments before the Supreme Court over the constitutionality of Obamacare. If the court ends up siding with the right-wing state Attorneys General who are in the pocket of the for-profit health insurance industry, then 50 million Americans will lose access to healthcare. 
More than 
The Trayvon Martin case 
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas is out with its annual report on America’s banking industry – and the numbers are shocking. Currently – only 5 banks control more than half of all the industry’s assets. That’s right – the top 5 banks in America own 52% of all the wealth in the finance sector. To put that in perspective – in 1970 – the top 5 banks controlled only 17% of the industry’s assets. Not only that – the total wealth owned by the top 10 banks in the nation now equals half of America’s total GDP. 
First, let's face facts. A lot of people, including most of the media, wrote off the Occupy Movement as elected officials and law enforcement shut down encampments and started treating them like terrorists. Even as the movement came out of hibernation and into the unusually warm end of winter sun, the skepticism remained. Yet in the wake of the six month celebration on St. Patrick's Day and actions planned for the future, Occupy is alive and well.
In the middle of everything that’s going on, the 
Putting aside the Republican's war on women for a moment – a new report from the National Women’s Law Center reveals that health insurance companies are charging women in American an extra billion dollars annually, and it's just good old fashioned gender discrimination. The report finds that the practice of for-profit health insurers charging women more than men for identical coverage is widespread – and states are doing little to stop the rip-off. In the states that don’t ban health insurance gender discrimination, 92% of the best-selling plans charge women more than men.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has announced that 
Republicans in Congress unveiled their vision for America today – and if they succeed, the 99% of us are condemned to live like serfs. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, himself a multimillionaire, released his blueprint budget for fiscal year 2013 – which includes massive cuts to food stamps, student loans, Medicaid, and Social Security. The budget also dismantles Medicare as we know it – transforming an insurance program into a voucher program, leaving millions of senior citizens on their own to deal with for-profit health insurance companies. 
Rick Santorum is promising to 
Newt Gingrich said that his mind works on such a grand scale that 
The largest online protest in the history of the Internet may have derailed SOPA and PIPA earlier this year – but major entertainment corporations like the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America are still coming after you. With the help of Internet Service Providers like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T – tabs are being kept right now on people who are sharing copyrighted material online.
You can tell how good the 
After a U.S. soldier snapped, and massacred 16 Afghan civilians – including nine children – Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for all NATO troops to be pulled out of rural areas. That could throw a wrench in the US exit strategy, which depends on handing Afghanistan over to NATO and Afghan Security Forces by 2014.
Mississippi and Alabama have spoken. And 
Former Goldman Sachs Executive Director Greg Smith recently resigned from the banking giant, and today in a New York Times op-ed blew the whistle on what he called a “toxic and destructive” environment within the bank. Smith writes, “I believe I have worked here long enough to understand the trajectory of its culture, its people and its identity. And I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it.”
Food prices have increased 4.4% in the last year – nearly twice as much as all other consumer goods. And a new study out of the New England Complex Systems Institute argues that Wall Street speculators are the ones driving up the price this year – just like they did in 2008 – when a billion people around the planet were pushed to the brink of starvation, and unrest and food riots swept the globe. 
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