Climate Change, Denialists, Weather Control; Environment, Carbon Caps, Unclean Energy, Fracking; Law and Disorder, BP, Pollution, Water; Ecology, Poached, Oceans, Forests

Climate Change

• Krugman: Interests, Ideology And Climate—"The monetary stakes, it turns out, are not the biggest obstacle to rational action on global warming." NYT
• Republican EPA chiefs to Congress: Act on climate
• Hawaii: Gov. signs climate change bill—"Being the only island state in the country, we are especially vulnerable to climate change and are on the frontlines of impacts like sea level rise."
• How the insurance industry sees climate change—"Why, if climate change is a hoax, are we paying for it?" LA Times
• Brazil Has Done More To Stop Climate Change Than Any Other Country, Study Finds
• Fiji accuses global community of abandoning the Pacific on climate change, singles out 'selfish' Australia
• Apparent pause in global warming blamed on 'lousy' data—"European Space Agency scientist says annual sea level rises since 1993 indicate that warming has continued unabated."
• Climate change will 'cost world far more than estimated'

Denialists

• Obama: Denying Climate Change Is Like Saying the Moon Is "Made of Cheese"
• Florida Congressman: If Humans Cause Climate Change, Then 'Why Did The Dinosaurs Go Extinct'?
• Koch Brothers Unveil New Strategy at Big Donor Retreat—"The Koch brothers' financial network is planning on spending almost $300 million in the 2014 election, including a new anti-environment effort."
• Coal Company CEO Threatens To Sue EPA For 'Lying' About Climate Change
• Fox News slams local newspaper for refusing to entertain climate deniers Salon
• Whitehouse: GOP is 'shrinking' from climate change challenge
• Tony Abbott seeks alliance to thwart President Obama on climate change policy—UK and NZ say no.
• Australia: Labor, Greens challenge Tony Abbott to call double dissolution election after climate bill voted down again in Senate

Weather Control

• China creates 55 billion tons of artificial rain a year—and it plans to quintuple that
• The United States Is Experimenting With Drones To Control The Weather
• Air conditioning raising night-time temperatures in the US

Environment

• The Turning Point: New Hope for the Climate—Al Gore: "It's time to accelerate the shift toward a low-carbon future."
• Chile rejects Patagonia wilderness dam project—"The Chilean government has rejected a plan to build five hydroelectric dams on rivers in the south of the country. Its decision follows years of campaigning by environmentalists and local communities."
• Germany produces half of energy with solar
• U.K. Approves Plans For What Could Become The World's Largest Offshore Wind Farm
• Oil-rich United Arab Emirates aims to be a sustainable energy pioneer—"One of the world's richest oil-based economies is Fembracing sustainable technologies, and making a surprise bid to become a clean energy leader."

Carbon Caps

• In Some States, Emissions Cuts Defy Skeptics—"At least 10 states have already met President Obama's goal of a 30 percent reduction in power plant emissions by 2030, without the economic damage that critics have warned would occur." NYT
• Ohio rebels against Obama climate change agenda with energy bill—"Governor John Kasich puts a two-year freeze on measures promoting wind and solar power and energy efficiency."
• House Republicans Are So Mad at the EPA that They Might Force Another Shutdown

Unclean Energy

• Push To Impose Extra Fees On Customers Who Install Solar Panels Sparks Outrage In Utah
• America's Coal-Producing States Weigh Their Options
• Despite Protests, Canada Approves Northern Gateway Oil Pipeline—"The project, which would send oil from Alberta to Asia, faces stiff opposition from aboriginal groups, environmentalists and community advocates." NYT

Fracking

• Drug Gangs Attacking With Tanks Block Mexican Shale Boom
• Buru to gas frack without EPA assessment—"The West Australian government has decided to allow Buru Energy to frack for gas in the Kimberley region without an Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) assessment."
• German beermakers look like winning their battle to stop fracking
• Russia in secret plot against fracking, Nato chief says—"Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Russia was mounting a sophisticated 'disinformation campaign' aimed at undermining attempts to exploit alternative energy sources such as shale gas."

Law and Disorder

• Court rules against homeowners in toxic water case—"The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a group of homeowners in North Carolina can't sue a company that contaminated their drinking water decades ago because a state deadline has lapsed.... even if residents did not realize their water was polluted until years later."
• Iowa high court reinstates major pollution lawsuit—"In a major environmental case, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday that residents can bring a nuisance lawsuit against a Muscatine manufacturer accused of routinely blanketing their properties with soot and chemicals."
• EPA fines Buffalo for mishandling waste

BP

• Did Jindal tell us his brother's law firm represents BP before signing SB 469? We didn't get the memo from press office—Protecting corporations, screwing real people.
• BP loses bid to freeze Gulf of Mexico spill payouts—"The US Supreme Court has refused to allow BP to stop paying compensation claims while it awaits a review of its settlement with businesses over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill."
• New trial ordered for ex-BP engineer—"A new trial was ordered Thursday for a former BP engineer convicted of deleting text messages related to the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico."
• Four Years After Deepwater Horizon Spill, Tar Balls Continue to Wash Up on Shore—"Researchers have analyzed oil-soaked sand patties near the Gulf of Mexico to track oil from the spill."

Pollution

• Australia drops planned Aborigine nuclear waste site
• NC AG Says Coal Ash Must Be Cleaned Up—"North Carolina's attorney general said Wednesday that Duke Energy's coal ash pits must be cleaned up to protect the state's waterways, but the costs shouldn't be passed along to consumers through higher utility rates."
• China pollution arrests rise as Beijing pushes green agenda
• Chinese official tries to blame industrial lead pollution on "pencil chewing" Salon
• Smog-busting roof tiles could clean tons of pollution, study says

Water

• Suit: Pure Life H2O complaint brought death threats—"A Philly who called Nestle's customer-service department to inquire about the fluoride content in her Nestle Pure Life water was "threatened with a bloody death" by the customer representative who took her call, according to a lawsuit filed last week in Common Pleas Court."
• Indian officials order Coca-Cola plant to close for using too much water—"Mehdiganj plant at centre of protests accused of extracting too much groundwater and releasing pollutants above limits."
• Venezuela Sacrifices Drinking Water to Pay Bondholders—"At a time when Venezuela's record $25 billion in arrears to importers has its citizens waiting hours in line to buy drinking water and crossing borders in search of medicine, President Nicolas Maduro is using the nation's dwindling supply of dollars to enrich bondholders."
• Detroit Plan to Profit on Water Looks Half Empty—"Cities and counties that have long bought their water from Detroit's vast, aging system are teaming up to bypass the bankrupt city." The cut-offs are coming. NYT
• Gwyneth Paltrow believes water has feelings: 'Negativity changes the structure of water'—Wait... what?

Ecology

• WildLeaks attracts major wildlife crime leads in first three months—"WikiLeaks-style website yields 24 tip-offs including elephant poaching, tiger killing, illegal fishery and forest destruction."
• First California condor spotted in San Mateo County since 1904
• Tufted puffin seen on Atlantic coast for 1st time since 1830s
• India: 200 crore trees to be planted along highways—1 crore is 10,000,000 so that makes it 2 billion trees. Project will employ jobless youth. Definitely a win-win.

Poached

• Alarm as 117 elephant carcasses found
• Poachers massacre 68 elephants in Congo park
• Kenya's biggest elephant killed by poachers
• Notorious poacher Bheema Bavaria arrested
• Huge haul of blood-stained ivory found in 32 suitcases at Hong Kong airport SCMP
• Orphaned baby rhino Gertjie refuses to sleep alone after witnessing his mother's death at the hands of poachers

Oceans

• Govt opens Maui's dolphin area for oil drilling
• Pacific Nation Bans Fishing in One of World's Largest Marine Parks
• Obama proposes vast expansion of Pacific Ocean sanctuaries for marine life
• Chinese fishermen held in Philippines defiant ahead of turtle-poaching trial SCMP
• Japan to press for resumption of annual whale hunt

Forests

• Saving Tasmania's forests—"The Australian government will attempt to delist part of Tasmania's forests from UNESCO's World Heritage List."
• Dying to save the Amazonian rainforest—"An environmental campaigner is killed every week in Brazil. Jonathan Watts and Karina Vieira travel to Lábrea in the heart of the Amazon to meet the people risking their lives."
• Brazil's recent fight against deforestation has been a huge success

Earth Day, Pollution, Ecology, Climate Change, Denialists, Unclean Energy, Trashing Renewables, Keystone XL, Fracking; Fat Tuesday; Obamacare, GOP Obstructionism; Big Pharma, Medical Malpractice, Vax Populi

Earth Day

• The Latest "Cosmos" Explains How Corporations Fund Science Denial—"Neil Tyson explores the surprising connection between the age of the Earth and the dangers of lead."
• Killing of environmental activists rises globally
• Documents reveal extent of Shell and Rio Tinto lobbying in human rights case—"Multinationals sought legal support from UK government to fight allegations of rights abuses in Nigeria and Papua New Guinea."

Pollution

• Why Are 20 Far-Away States Trying To Block The Cleanup Of The Chesapeake Bay?—"EPA overreach."
• Plane Search Shows World's Oceans Are Full of Trash—"Search for missing Malaysian plane shines spotlight on giant ocean garbage patches."
• James Dyson Is Designing A Giant Vacuum-On-A-Boat To Clean Ocean Trash
• China just revealed a major state secret: nearly 20% of its farmland is polluted
• China's new environment law submitted to parliament

Ecology

• Arab royal hunts down 2,100 houbara bustards in three week safari
• Japan Plans to Resume Whaling Program, With Changes to Address Court Concerns NYT
• BP refuses to fund Gulf oil spill studies—"BP is refusing to pay a large bill for US government-led studies into its 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, including research into its impact on dolphins, whales and oysters." FT

Climate Change

• IPCC finally weighs in on how to avoid further climate change—"Third and final section of latest IPCC report gives policymakers a roadmap."
• Apple: climate change is real and it's a real problem—"Technology company claims 94% of its corporate facilities are now powered by renewable energy."
• Climate change to 'cost €2bn a year as droughts hit crops'
• Climate change increasing massive wildfires in West
• Climate changes visible by ZIP code with new online tools

Denialists

• Va. Supreme Court rules for U-Va. in global warming FOIA case—"The high court decision rejects an argument by global warming skeptics who wanted to see the work of a climate researcher." WaPo
• Congressman Denies Manmade Climate Change, Calls It 'An Agenda-Driven Science'—"Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) readily admits he’s 'not smart enough' to determine the roots of climate change. He is, however, able to rule out one possible cause: humans."
• Who is mucking up science education?—Wyoming Department of Education Chairman Ron Micheli: "I don’t accept, personally, that [climate change] is a fact. [The standards are] very prejudiced in my opinion against fossil-fuel development." WaPo
• States of Denial: States with the Most Federal Disaster Aid Sent Climate-Science Deniers to Congress
• Why climate deniers are winning: The twisted psychology that overwhelms scientific consensus Salon

Unclean Energy

• Triumph of the Drill: How Big Oil Clings to Billions in Government Giveaways—"Deficit hawks slam them. Execs say they don't need them. So why does petroleum still get big tax breaks?"
• Louisiana's traumatic bond with Big Oil—"What is it about the oil and gas industry that engenders such steadfast devotion from our political leaders? In case you hadn't noticed, Louisiana's government has long functioned as a wholly owned subsidiary of Big Oil."
• EPA drastically underestimates methane released at drilling sites
• World must end 'dirty' fuel use - UN
• Canadian town says 'no' to Enbridge pipeline in vote
• It's Final -- Corn Ethanol Is Of No Use—"Can we stop pretending biofuel from corn is helping the planet and the environment?"

Trashing Renewables

• ALEC Defeated Again In Attacks On Solar, Net Metering Preserved In Kansas
• Op-Ed: ALEC and the Koch brothers fight solar energy with surcharges
• Oklahoma electric utilities want higher rate for solar, wind energy producers

Keystone XL

• Jimmy Carter comes out against Keystone XL pipeline WaPo
• Keystone XL pipeline decision postponed by Obama administration WaPo
• Keystone XL delay pounds TransCanada stock

Fracking

• Ohio geologists link local earthquakes directly to fracking—"For the first time, a state study links Ohio's recent seismic events to hydraulic fracturing, not just water disposal."
• Series of small earthquakes rock Oklahoma in record seismic activity
• North Dakota Finds Itself Unprepared To Handle The Radioactive Burden Of Its Fracking Boom

Fat Tuesday

• Junk food makes you lazy, not just fat, study suggests
• Hello fruits and vegetables! "Junk food" banned from schools July 1
• Thinking 'obesity is a disease' makes you more likely to eat high-calorie foods, study finds
• Yale student , 92 lbs., stuffed her face with Cheetos, ice cream to pacify school officials
• Oscar Nominated Actor Kicked Off Plane—"He says he usually buys two seats, but only one was available."

Obamacare

• Obamacare Signups Hit 8 Million—"And both young and old are on board."
• Very Bad News For Obamacare Opponents In The Government's Latest Report
• States embracing Obamacare are doing a better job of covering the uninsured, surveys show WaPo
• Nobody believes there is any GOP alternative to Obamacare WaPo
• Poll: Republicans Admit Obamacare Might Not Be The End Of The World

GOP Obstructionism

• How the GOP Bet on Failure And Lost
• Making the GOP pay for Medicaid obstruction Salon
• Democrats Need to Start Blaming the GOP for the Death of Charlene Dill—"How liberals should talk about the Medicaid expansion."
• GOP, Insurers Bully Dems Into Retreat On Medicare Cuts
• Florida Voter Confronts GOP Representative On His Repeated Efforts To Repeal Obamacare
• For Republicans, Obama's Obamacare news changes nothing WaPo
• The Right's New Scam: Feigning Anger on Behalf of People They Encouraged to Skip Obamacare
• Cruz Still Pledging To 'Repeal Every Single Word Of Obamacare'

Big Pharma

• Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline bribed doctors to boost sales, says whistleblower
• US: A mecca for overpriced medicine
• What the Tamiflu saga tells us about drug trials and big pharma
• Big pharma struggles to balance transparency and profits

Medical Malpractice

• Grandmother 'was put in morgue freezer while still alive'
• Medical Malpractice Caps Voided in Florida
• Nursing Home Hired Strippers For Patients: Suit
• Australia: NHMRC rule homeopathic remedies useless for human health

Vax Populi

• Jenny McCarthy: I am not "anti-vaccine." This is not a change in my stance nor is it a new position that I have recently adopted.—Is she being disingenuous? Sure sounds like it. This is her legacy.
• Ontario Health Minister slams Jenny McCarthy for 'outrageously irresponsible' anti-vaccine campaign
• Mom Whose Child Died After Catching Chicken Pox Advocates for Vaccines
• Dear parents: you are being lied to about vaccines
• Measles Outbreak Traced to Fully Vaccinated Patient for First Time—This is where herd immunity can come in.
• Fear of polio virus: India, Georgia place curbs on Pakistanis—There's a danger of fake vaccination certificates.

Workers and Wage Slaves, Millenials, Occupational Hazards, Economy; Obamacare; Class Warfare, Politics, GOP, Bridgegate, Corruption, Taxes, Vote Machinations, Campaign Finance Deform, Plutoligarchy, Koch Suckers

Workers and Wage Slaves

• Loss Of Unemployment Benefits Has Now Cost Almost $5 Billion As Congress Dithers
• Robert Reich: Blame big money for our dysfunctional economy—"Former secretary of labor weighs in on our latest underwhelming jobs report and the implications of 'McCutcheon.'" Salon
• Nearly 90% of fast-food workers allege wage theft, survey finds
• McDonald's ex-managers sound off to Salon: Non-existent breaks and illegal overtime—"Former managers says the giant chain's employees were illegally denied their pay - and the corporation's to blame." Salon
• Walmart Realizes It's Losing Billions Of Dollars By Denying Workers More Hours
• Walmart living wage: If the company paid its employees more, how much would prices go up?
• Politicians violated VW workers' rights—"[Tenn. Gov.] Haslam, according to the documents, essentially offered Volkswagen $300 million in taxpayer dollars for plant expansion — but only if the plant remained union-free."

Occupational Hazards

• This GOP House Candidate Proposed Eliminating the Weekend
• UPS Fires 250 Employees For Staging A 90-Minute Protest To Defend Co-Worker
• Woman allegedly fired for checking her email during maternity leave Salon
• Four More Shipbreaking Workers Die in Bangladesh
• Labour markets: A mighty contest—"Job destruction by robots could outweigh creation."

Millenials

• The First Person to Talk to Millennials Like Human Beings Will Run the World—"A new study says Millennials will put an end to the two-party system in America. Will the people currently in power learn to talk to them like people before it all happens?"
• Millennials Mired in Wealth Gap as Older Americans Gain: Economy
• 260,000 graduates in minimum wage jobs

Economy

• Wider U.S. trade deficit to weigh on first-quarter GDP
• Pro-Democrat group says 9 of the 10 poorest states are Republican—Politifact says: Mostly true.
• If homeless people had a safe place to live, taxpayers could save millions—"By providing housing to its homeless, Charlotte, N.C., saved $1.8 million, research at the University of North Carolina–Charlotte found."

Obamacare

• TV Networks Denied Obama Airtime To Tout Obamacare Enrollment
• Facing Obamacare deadline, more young people signed up in March WaPo
• Medicaid boosted by 3 million, bringing 'Obamacare' sign-ups to 10 million—"The numbers may boost Democrats' assertion that 'Obamacare' is working."
• Paul Ryan: We Can Totally Still Repeal Obamacare
• Paul Ryan's honesty problem: How he just exposed GOP's true Obamacare intentions—"Golden boy inadvertently admits GOP doesn't agree insurers should be prohibited from discriminating against the ill." Salon
• Paul Ryan: Popular parts of Obamacare too costly to keep, alternatives needed—It's called single-payer. WaPo
• GOP Candidate Touts Fake Phone Call From Obama In New Ad—Sad.
• The next GOP scheme to manufacture Obamacare "horror stories" WaPo

Class Warfare

• Sen. Sanders: Democracy vs. Oligarchy—"The great political struggle we now face is whether the United States retains its democratic heritage or whether we move toward an oligarchic form of society where the real political power rests with a handful of billionaires, not ordinary Americans."
• There's a Class War Going On and the Poor Are Getting Their Butts Kicked
• The Shocking Rise of Wealth Inequality: Is it Worse Than We Thought?
• You'll Never Guess What Just Happened to Paul Ryan's Promise to Tackle Poverty
• Ryan Unsuited to Lead 'Adult Conversation' About Poverty
• Paul Ryan's budget: Even more austerity
• Judge said du Pont heir 'will not fare well' in prison—"A Superior Court judge who sentenced a wealthy du Pont heir to probation for raping his 3-year-old daughter noted in her order that he 'will not fare well' in prison and needed treatment instead of time behind bars, court records show."
• The heir, the judge and the homeless mom: America's prison bias for the 1%

Politics

• Pro-Pot, Pro-Gay, Anti-NSA… and Running for Senate—"Meet Shenna Bellows, Maine's former ACLU chief who's looking to unseat Susan Collins with a mix of left and right issues that might appeal to millennials." This is how the Tea Party can be effectively countered.
• Tea Party Aims at Incumbents, but Falls Short—"The Tea Party has nudged Republicans to the right in Congress, but falls short when it comes to recruiting good challengers to take out incumbents." NYT
• Honey Maid ad features two father family, single father, military family and more in 'This is Wholesome' campaign

GOP

• 'Imperial Presidency' Becomes a Rallying Cry for Republicans—"While criticizing President Obama as weak, Republicans are also uniting behind a message of government overreach." NYT
• The Shame of American Politics: GOP Presidential Hopefuls now Trek to Las Vegas seeking Adelson Blessing
• Documents reveal secretive Hollywood group's shady donations to conservative politicians
• How the Right Hijacked Arizona—"Ultraconservatives have seized the state's Legislature—and the middle-of-the-road electorate has only its own apathy to blame."
• Once disgraced, Mark Sanford is unopposed—South Carolina, 'nuff said.
• The GOP's Amazing Doublespeak On Medicare And Social Security
• Senate Resolution To Honor Cesar Chavez Dies After Republican Tries To Add Border Security Language—"Senator Bob Menendez introduced a resolution to honor Cesar Chavez legacy but it was scuttled after Senator David Vitter tried to add language about border security and illegal labor."

Bridgegate

• Christie is innocent, says Christie-ordered internal review
• 'Daily Show' Has A Field Day With Christie's Self-Exonerating Report
• Chris Christie update: New Jerseyans think guv's lying about Bridgegate—"Plus: A new report shows the ways that the Christie administration used public employees to secure endorsements." Salon
• Grand Jury Convened in Christie Bridge Scandal Probe
• Why Christie isn't out of the woods just yet

Corruption

• $6 Billion Goes Missing at State Department
• Rick Scott Fundraiser Founded Drug Clinic Closed Due To Abuse Reports
• Charlie Crist: Rick Scott was 'stealing from sick people' as CEO

Taxes

• The Trillions of Dollars U.S. Companies Are Hoarding Overseas—"And a tax repatriation holiday is no way to get them to bring it all back home."
• Senate report claims Caterpillar avoided $2.4bn in US taxes—"Carl Levin's subcommittee on investigations says the equipment-maker routed money through a Swiss subsidiary."
• Congress Should Keep Lights Off on Tax Package That Nets GE Billions in Tax Breaks
• An "Army of Lobbyists" Is Quietly Fighting for Budget-Busting Corporate Tax Breaks
• Congress once again moves to extend 'tax extenders'—"Analysis: The lucrative tax breaks take billions out of the budget, at great reward to lobbyists and lawmakers."
• NY's millionaires getting hefty tax breaks

Vote Machinations

• Here's The Exact Plan The Cheating GOP Is Using To Steal The 2014 Elections
• How Republicans Rationalize Voter Suppression—"The GOP's claims of defending 'voter integrity,' 'fairness,' and 'uniformity' are complete nonsense."
• Appeals Court Finds Florida's 2012 Voter Purge Broke The Law
• State elections officials seek tighter security—"State elections officials said Wednesday that they're investigating hundreds of cases of voters who appear to have voted in two states and several dozen who appear to have voted after their deaths."
• A Well-Informed Electorate Is a Prerequisite for Democracy—Not a coincidence that public education has been constantly attacked and degraded, and substituting information with Fox-News propaganda.

Campaign Finance Deform

• Supreme Court Strikes Down Aggregate Limits On Campaign Contributions
• McCutcheon Decision Campaign Finance - The American Government Is Open For Corruption
• Critics attack Chief Justice John Roberts' opinion that the Internet will safeguard against campaign corruption
• The Supreme Court's Faulty Reasoning In McCutcheon v. FEC
• There Are No Gods on the Supreme Court—"The Supreme Court just made it easier to buy a vote in America today. So why are we still taking them so seriously?"
• Justice Roberts Hearts Billionaires—"The chief either doesn't believe, or doesn't care, that money corrupts politics."
• Justice Roberts Defends the Embattled Rich in McCutcheon
• Nancy Pelosi Slams Supreme Court's McCutcheon Ruling: 'Is This Supposed To Be A Money War?'
• I stood up to the supreme court. It just struck down democracy. What now?—"We should've seen the McCutcheon decision's blow coming. But we must still fight to get big money out of politics."
• Obama signs ban on public funding of presidential campaigns into law—"White House enacts Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act, day after supreme court removed cap on campaign contributions."

Plutoligarchy

• The Court's Decision on 'McCutcheon' Will Empower the Oligarchs, Say Reformers
• Thanks to the Supreme Court, the US Just Moved One Step Closer to Full Oligarchy
• With 'McCutcheon' Ruling, An Activist Court Opts for Full-On Plutocracy
• History Shows Capitalism Begets Plutocracy

Koch Suckers

• The Koch Brothers and the Danger of American Plutocracy
• Greediest family on earth: Proof Koch brothers have just one political principle—"The Koch brothers like to pretend they're high-minded free marketers. Here's proof it's a scam." Salon
• Koch brothers vs. a bus: Why two billionaires hate a transit project in Nashville—"A bus rapid transit project is imperiled because a couple of rich guys love meddling." Salon
• Chuck Schumer: If People Know Who The Koch Brothers Are, We're Doing Something Right
• Politifact: Harry Reid says Koch brothers are richest family in the world—Mostly true.
• Charles Koch blasts "collectivists" in Wall Street Journal op-ed—"The billionaire industrialist and GOP donor says he's being unfairly maligned by for believing in liberty." Salon
• To Strike at Kochs, Democrats Revive Tactic That Hurt Romney NYT
• How to Vote Against the Koch Brothers

Workers and Wage Slaves, Minimum Wage, Unemployment, Occupational Hazards, Whistleblowers; Banks and Wall Street, Class Warfare; Politics of Lying, Koch Suckers, Corruption, Bridgegate, Vote Machinations; Obamacare, Abortion and Birth Control, War on Women

Workers and Wage Slaves

• Former CEO: There Is No One Representing Low-Wage Workers
• Wal-Mart manager speaks out about his store's ugly reality—"From no time off, to working multiple roles at once, here's what's really going on at the mega-chain." Salon
• Goodwill paying disabled employees pennies per hour—"Advocacy groups push to end subminimum wage law, which allows bosses to give scant payment to people with disabilities."
• Blueberry lies: WSJ spearheads disingenuous effort to keep exploiting farm workers—"When the government recently stepped in to protect low-paid laborers, the conservative establishment lost its mind." Salon
• Apple, Google lose bid to avoid trial on tech worker lawsuit

Minimum Wage

• Connecticut senate approves bill to raise minimum wage to $10.10
• $28.25: the minimum wage D.C. would need to support a modest 2-bedroom WaPo
• White House urges higher pay for tipped workers
• Edwards calls on Maryland Senate to restore wage hike for tipped employees—"Our tax dollars are actually subsidizing the profit line of employers who are not paying a minimum wage."
• SeaTac Workers Fight for Their 15

Unemployment

• Only 11% of the long-term unemployed find work again a year later
• Long-term jobless face a dark future in U.S.: study
• Jobless father of 4: Awaiting lifeline from Congress

Occupational Hazards

• Study: Welfare recipients spend millions on ATM fees—Punishing the poor.
• Interns are now protected against sexual harassment in New York City—"New bill adds the Big Apple to growing list of cities establishing greater safeguards for unpaid workers." Salon
• Fit-to-work tests: Atos quits contract—"The firm that carries out assessments of whether disability claimants in Britain are fit to work is quitting its contract early, the government says."

Whistleblowers

• Dish Fined $250,000 For Blacklisting Whistle Blowing Employee
• HMRC criticised for using terror laws against tax whistleblower—"Public accounts committee chair says tax official's use of powers to track down journalist had 'shocked her to the bones.'"
• Why must whistleblower employees stand alone?

Banks and Wall Street

• Ex-Madoff employees found guilty of conspiracy
• Bank of America to pay $9.3 billion to settle mortgage bond claims
• Bad News Drew Citi CEO to Rush Home—"Results of 'stress test' mean Corbat had to hurry to reassure staff and investors."
• U.S. Banks Enjoy 'Too-Big-To-Fail' Advantage: Fed Study
• 'Inevitable glitches' ahead for U.S. anti-tax evasion law: IRS
• Wal-Mart sues Visa for $5 billion over 'swipe fees'
• The Case That Could Rock the Occupy Movement—"Cecily McMillan faces up to seven years in jail on charges of assaulting a police officer, sending a chilling message to Occupy protesters."

Class Warfare

• Krugman: Wealth Over Work—"Making America safe for oligarchy." NYT
• It's Ugly—"Sen. Bernie Sanders discusses Republican proposals to cut food stamps with Rev. Al Sharpton on MSNBC."
• Georgia may soon drug test food stamp recipients

Politics of Lying

• Some conspiracy theories aren't cheap
• Conservatives Have Figured Out A Disturbingly Effective Strategy: Tell Lots And Lots of Lies
• Explainer: Who Can Lie to Congress?

Koch Suckers

• Koch-Funded Network Jumps To Defend Billionaire Brothers Against Democratic Attacks
• The Koch brothers' influence on college campus is spreading
• Out-of-county anti-taxer prompts confrontation in Chesterfield—"A spirited public hearing on a proposed tax increase in Chesterfield County turned ugly Wednesday night when a conservative activist for a national organization got into a confrontation with an audience member."

Corruption

• Calif. Lawmakers Vote to Suspend Sen. Leland Yee, 2 Other Senators
• Mayor Cannon resigns after corruption arrest
• Hidden cameras catch lobbyists, AZ lawmakers wining and dining

Bridgegate

• Chris Christie's 'Bridgegate' given a $1-million coat of whitewash
• Christie: I Can't Recall What Port Authority Exec Told Me During Lane Closures
• Attorney For Former Christie Aide Unloads On Governor's Self-Exoneration

Vote Machinations

• New G.O.P. Bid to Limit Voting in Swing States—"Already, nine states, under Republican control, have passed measures making it harder to vote since the beginning of 2013." NYT
• Wisconsin governor signs bill ending early weekend voting—Also forcing them (non-Republicans... sshhh) to skip work in order to vote.
• North Carolina ordered to release documents in voter law challenge—"North Carolina legislators who shaped sweeping voting changes, including requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, must provide some emails and other documents to groups challenging the law, a federal judge has ruled."
• Arkansas: State GOP seeks to intervene in lawsuit over voter ID

Obamacare

• White House Delights In Taunting Republicans Who Mocked Early Obamacare Numbers
• Obamacare Still Needs To Overcome Hurdles After Enrollment Deadline
• Bill Clinton to Democrats: Don't run from a fight Politico
• The House Republican Mess—"Did you see what happened yesterday in the House of Representatives? Yup, another example of a dysfunctional Republican Party."
• Why Funny or Die entered the Obamacare wars—"The comedy website released its second viral Obamacare video on Tuesday. Here's why." Salon

Abortion and Birth Control

• Appeals court upholds Texas abortion restrictions behind a devastating health crisis in the state—"The panel of judges ruled that the law 'does not impose an undue burden on the life and health of a woman.'" Salon
• New abortion clinic planned for Texas as law closes facilities
• Who uses birth control? Irresponsible people, says state senator
• W.Va. gov. vetoes 20-week abortion ban bill
• In 2014, why are we still arguing about birth control?
• New Anti-Abortion Debate: Just How Extreme Are We?
• When Anti-Abortion Harassment Gets Personal

War on Women

• Inside The GOP's Attempt To Change Its 'War On Women' Image—"The 2014 campaign cycle is shaping up to be a war over women, and a slew of PR firms on both sides are up for the challenge."
• Jimmy Carter: Not Supporting Equal Pay Is Abuse Against Women
• Democrats seize on equal pay as a midterm issue
• Sidestepping Equal Pay Attacks, Greg Abbott Tries To Accuse Wendy Davis Of Gender Discrimination—Perry calls equal pay debate 'nonsense.'
• California's 'Close The Gap' Tour Is Demanding Gender Equality In Politics

Earth Hour, Oil Spill, Air Pollution; Ecology; Climate Change, Science Under Siege, Cosmos

Earth Hour

• State allowed logging on plateau above slope—"In recent decades the state allowed logging — with restrictions — on the plateau above the Snohomish County hillside that collapsed in last weekend's deadly mudslide."
• Duke Energy seeks to keep records from regulators—"Worried about getting a fair shake from investigators, Duke Energy is asking a judge to shield its records from North Carolina regulators and environmental groups while a federal criminal probe is ongoing."
• US House votes to allow dumping of coal mining waste into streams—"House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, called it part of an effort to stop what Republicans call the 'war on coal' and a 'pro-growth jobs bill.'"
• George Osborne is preparing to kill off Britain's renewable energy revolution—"In delivering budget, chancellor stealthily abolished a tax break that attracts private money to help build our green energy future."
• State officials abruptly cancel talk by FSU professor Diane Roberts—"Roberts [who has been critical of the administration of Gov. Rick Scott] planned to discuss Florida's environment and problems with the state's rivers, lakes and springs."
• Death threats made to Ecuadorian lawyer in Chevron pollution case—"Juan Pablo Saenz is representing small farmers trying to force Chevron to pay damages for pollution in the Amazon."
• In California, Demand for Groundwater Causing Huge Swaths of Land to Sink
• Kiruna: How to move a town two miles east

Oil Spill

• Malfunction at BP's Whiting Refinery sends oil into Lake Michigan—They've doubled their original estimates.
• Texas Oil Spill Investigation Far From Over
• Hikers find unreported oil spill into Grand Staircase monument
• Seattle scientists show how Deepwater Horizon spill caused heart damage in young tuna
• Galveston Bay Oil Spill: Wildlife Damage Expected to Get 'Much Worse'; 100 Ships, Barges At Standstill

Air Pollution

• Air Pollution Kills 7 Million a Year, WHO Says
• Most Face Masks In China Don't Work And Pollution Is Getting Worse
• China Admits Its Cities Are Failing Pollution Standards As Beijing Chokes On Smog Again

Ecology

• Tigers slaughtered in show of social stature for Guangdong businessmen—"Police seize body of freshly killed tiger and discover video evidence of electrocution and torture after raid in Zhanjiang."
• Copenhagen Zoo kills 4 lions, weeks after shooting giraffe
• Elephant thought rescued by Sir Paul McCartney found beaten in chicken shack

Climate Change

• UN Blames 2013 Storms, Floods On Human-Induced Climate Change
• Bad Astronomy: This Old Earth Is Warming Up
• How climate change will acidify the oceans
• Bill Nye, the Climate Guy—"A kids' TV star is liberals' most effective spokesman against right-wing science skeptics."
• Obama Talks Climate Change in James Cameron's Showtime Documentary—He's looking into new gas and oil regulations to address climate change.
• Climate Denier Jim Inhofe Says He Could Lead Senate's Top Environment Committee Next Year—"Inhofe has also said that humans lack the ability to affect the climate because control is limited to divine powers: 'The arrogance of people to think that we, human beings, would be able to change what [God] is doing in the climate is to me outrageous.'" Best evidence for not having a god if this guy gets the job.
• Nate Silver's Climate Author Accused Of Threatening Critics—"Pielke argued that the cost of natural disasters has risen not because of climate change, but as a result of an increase in wealth."
• U.S. Tries To Stop India's Solar Policy While Pushing Fight Against Climate Change

Science Under Siege

• Contrarians bully journal into retracting a climate psychology paper—"After threats of frivolous libel and defamation lawsuits, a journal will retract an academically sound paper."
• How The Koch Brothers Are Hacking Science
• Billionaires With Big Ideas Are Privatizing American Science—"As government financing of basic research has fallen off precipitously, philanthropists have stepped in, setting priorities and drawing both gratitude and trepidation from scientists." NYT
• Right-wing billionaires, creationism and pseudo-science: Why is a wingnut giving commencement speech at Montana's best tech college?—"Uproar at Montana Tech as a conservative funder of creationist museums is asked to speak at top engineering school." Salon
• Special report: Taxpayers fund creationism in the classroom Politico
• GOP: Predict storms, not climate change

Cosmos

• Yes, "Cosmos" Fans, Creationists Also Deny the Science of Comets—"Last night on "Cosmos," Neil deGrasse Tyson explained how comets work, and why they're not bad omens. They are for creationists, though." I never knew Halley was had such a profound influence on Newton.
• Creationist Complains That His Side Isn't Getting Equal Time on Cosmos
• Cosmic terror: Why Neil deGrasse Tyson has religious fundamentalists so freaked—"Religious belief systems prefer a universe with mankind firmly at its center. No wonder 'Cosmos' is so threatening." Salon

Obamacare, Hobby Lobby; Koch Suckers; Hi-Yo Silver; Racism

Obamacare

• The Affordable Care Act Is Working—Will it be really succesful? Politico
• Poll: 60 Percent Of Uninsured Don't Know About Looming Obamacare Deadline
• Obama To Latinos: Enrolling In ACA Won't Affect Undocumented Relatives
• Voters should know who's holding up their health care WaPo
• New anti-Obamacare ad makes misleading claims—As someone who doesn't live in the US, I ask: are there enough, if any, pro-ACA ads running to counter this propaganda? WaPo
• The Bizarre Case Of Matt Drudge And His Obamacare 'Liberty Tax'
• Obama Co-Opts Tea Party Slogan For Obamacare Bumper Sticker

Hobby Lobby

• Justices Wonder If Obamacare Tweaks Undercut Birth Control Mandate
• Kagan Throws Scalia's Own Religious Liberty Arguments Back In His Face
• Justice Kennedy Thinks Hobby Lobby Is An Abortion Case — That's Bad News For Birth Control
• Birth control is not a religious issue; it is a basic health-care issue
• Supreme Court signals support for corporate religious claims
• Your Health Care, Your Choices (Amen, to That!)—"The contraception mandate rightfully highlights preventative care, including a woman's right to use her benefits as she so chooses—whether it impedes on a company like Hobby Lobby's religious beliefs or not."
• Should Corporations Have the Same Religious Freedom Rights as People?—"An analysis of today's Supreme Court arguments in the 'Hobby Lobby' case."

Koch Suckers

• The Koch Brothers: Only 48 Percent of Americans Know Them, Most Dislike Them
• An amazing chart on how the Koch brothers are dominating the Senate ad race WaPo
• Whining about the Koch Brothers is a losing strategy

Hi-Yo Silver

• Nate Silver's 2014 Senate prediction: The FiveThirtyEight whiz forecasts Democratic defeat, and Democrats are furious—Shooting the messenger. Typical.
• Nate Silver Knocks 'Hypocritical' Democrats Who Criticized His Analysis—This should be a wake-up call.
• Nate Silver Is 'Happy To Forgive' Paul Krugman For Acting Like A Hedgehog

Racism

• No, Donald Rumsfeld Wasn't Calling Obama a "Trained Ape"—Tell that to Belgium's The Daily Herald and their so-called satire.
• A Minneapolis Restaurant Hosted A Nazi-Themed Party On MLK Day—They did nazi the ensuing uproar.
• Black students eight times more likely to be suspended than whites in Madison public schools

Workers and Wage Slaves, Class Warfare; Mortgage Fraud, Banks and Wall Street; GOP, Koch Suckers, Corporatocracy, Obamacare; Vote Machinations; Politics and Economy; Making Money; World Water Day

Workers and Wage Slaves

• Reich: The 'Paid-What-You're-Worth' Myth
• GOP Lawmaker Says Sick Leave, Equal Pay Bills Make Women 'Look Like Whiners'
• Low-Wage Workers Are Finding Poverty Harder to Escape—"For those at the low end of the hourly wage scale, even meeting basic household needs can be a stretch, and roads out of poverty are scarce." NYT
• Bill Gates: Yes, robots really are about to take your jobs—"As for what governments should do to prevent social unrest in the wake of mass unemployment, the Microsoft cofounder said that they should basically get on their knees and beg businesses to keep employing humans over algorithms."
• This J.C. Penney Worker Was Fired For Telling The Truth About Its 'Fake' Prices
• Revealed: Apple and Google’s wage-fixing cartel involved dozens more companies, over one million employees

Class Warfare

• Krugman: That Old-Time Whistle—"American conservatism is still, after all these years, largely driven by claims that liberals are giving money away to 'those people.'" NYT
• Krugman: High Fallutin' Nazis—"Here comes another billionaire who thinks that anyone who talks about income inequality is a Nazi; this time it's Ken Langone, co-founder of Home Depot." NYT
• Dems hit back after House Speaker Boehner accuses N.Y. and other states of 'cheating' food stamp rules—"House Speaker John Boehner accused New York and four other states of 'cheating' and 'fraud' for sidestepping federal cuts to food stamps through what critics call a 'loophole' in the laws. But Democrats say the states had to step in to keep people from going hungry."
• Paul Ryan's Irish Amnesia—"Talking the familiar, heartless language of hunger economics." NYT
• Tax-Hating States Totally Fine With Taxing The Poor
• The Missing White Poor—"Guess who makes up a plurality of America's poor?"

Mortgage Fraud

• Sen. Elizabeth Warren and others question lack of prosecutions for mortgage fraud
• Despite Promises To Fight Mortgage Fraud, DOJ Basically Ignored It, Then Claimed Success With Faulty Stats
• Wells Fargo foreclosure manual under fire—"A lawsuit claims it is an elaborate guide telling lawyers how to produce key documents that are missing."

Banks and Wall Street

• The Tea Party and Wall Street Are Friends After All
• The 1% have gained back their recession losses and then some
• 'Then They Fight You' -- Why The 1 Percent Is In Full Panic Mode
• Former bank employee pleads guilty to stealing over $2 million from customers
• Appeals court upholds Fed's debit card 'swipe fee' limits
• Oakland to pay Iraq War vet $4.5 million for Occupy shooting
• The FBI Is Hiding Details About An Alleged Occupy Houston Assassination Plot

GOP

• Why the GOP Won't Change—"A year after their "autopsy," the recommendations haven't been—and won't be—followed."
• Groucho Marx's Republican Party—"Why the GOP is in more trouble than you think." Politico
• Tea Party Candidate Gets Turned Away By The GOP For Spreading Racist Views
• Republican House Candidate Who Said Autism Was the Result of God's Anger Over Gay Marriage Just Won Her Primary
• GOP Lawmaker Thinks Businesses Ought To Be Able To Deny Service To Black People
• AL Republican outraged at teaching of 'The Crucible' because 'McCarthy was right'
• Republicans Versus an Informed Public—"Answering the American Community Survey is the civic duty of everyone, yet some House Republicans seem to think it should be voluntary. That would make the survey's data useless." NYT
• John Oliver Teases New HBO Show By Mocking GOP's 'Millennial' Ads

Corporatocracy

• Bill Maher: Most GOP Voters 'Just Corporate America's Useful Idiots'
• Corporate America Is Hiding $2 Trillion In Profit From The IRS
• The great corporate cash-hoarding crisis—"Companies are sitting on mountains of liquidity, thanks to government policies; the losers are the economy and all of us."

Koch Suckers

• Koch Group, Spending Freely, Hones Attack on Government—"Americans for Prosperity, backed by the Koch brothers, is using a data-driven approach as it pursues its overarching goal of changing the way voters think about government." NYT
• David Vitter defends Koch brothers—"Sen. David Vitter stepped up this week to defend the billionaire Koch brothers from Democrats' repeated attacks [NYT], concluding that they are 'two of the most patriotic Americans.'" Politico
• The biggest lease holder in Canada's oil sands isn't Exxon Mobil or Chevron. It's the Koch brothers. WaPo

Obamacare

• The House has voted 54 times in four years on Obamacare. Here’s the full list. WaPo
• This guy knew when Obamacare enrollment would hit 5M before anyone else. Now he's predicting 6.2M. WaPo
• The House GOP's Obamacare Alternative Won't Curb Health Care Costs—But It Will Enrich the Insurance Industry
• Koch Group Yet Again Fails Fact Check On Obamacare Horror Story
• Politifact: Americans for Prosperity claims people are getting less at a higher cost under Obamacare—False.
• The real goal of all those anti-Obamacare ads—"A new report suggests they're all about protecting the Koch brothers' bottom line." WaPo
• South Carolina lawmakers fail in attempt to undo Obamacare
• Paul Ryan Gets An Earful From Constituent Who Will Save Hundreds Under Obamacare
• Fox News's Bret Baier corrects Obamacare mistake WaPo

Vote Machinations

• Kane shut down sting that snared Phila. officials—"The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office ran an undercover sting operation over three years that captured leading Philadelphia Democrats, including four members of the city's state House delegation, on tape accepting money.... Yet no one was charged with a crime." The money was for a "vote against a bill that would require voters to show identification at the polls, the sources said."
• Wisconsin Voters Under Attack—"Wisconsin's legislature approved a bill to limit absentee ballots." And early voting.
• Ohio Mistrusts Democracy—"Republicans again pass restrictive new laws making it harder for their opponents to vote." NYT
• Federal Judge Hands Republicans In Kansas, Arizona A Big Win In Voting Rights Fight—All about suppressing the vote [NYT].
• Right-Wing Extremists in Montana File for Legislative Races as Democrats
• Ga. Congressman slams door on Ch. 2 reporter when asked about campaign coach
• Former offender acquitted in Iowa voter fraud case—"A former drug offender who believed her voting rights had been restored when she cast a ballot last year was acquitted of perjury Thursday, a public rebuke of Iowa's two-year investigation into voter fraud."
• Who's Buying our Midterm Elections?—'In the coming weeks, the Supreme Court is expected to issue another big decision on campaign finance, one that could further open the floodgates to unfettered and anonymous contributions, just as the Citizens United case did four years ago."
• Scalia's looming fiasco: Obscure new SCOTUS case may be worse than Citizens United. Salon
• Nate Silver: What the Fox Knows

Politics and Economy

• Paul Gosar Wants To Ban Members Of Congress From Flying First Class On 'Taxpayer Dime'
• Personal FBI flights for Holder and other Justice officials went unreported—"Personal FBI flights for Holder and other Justice officials went unreported." WaPo\
• After Casino Mogul Throws Him Big Money Fundraiser, Graham Seeks Internet Gambling Ban
• Government's Empty Buildings Are Costing Taxpayers Billions
• Are Malls Over?

Making Money

• Obama Proposes the End of Pennies—Nickel for your thoughts?
• Federal Reserve to Unveil a Redesigned $100 Bill—"The new $100 bill will have modern and colorful anti-counterfeiting features, overcoming problems that postponed its debut for more than two and a half years." NYT
• Laundering money — literally — could save billions of dollars
• How the U.S. Mint Made Its First-Ever Domed Coin
• UK's new 12-sided £1 said to be the world's most secure coin

World Water Day

• Facing drought, California farmers rally against regulations limiting water supplies
• Brazil drought raises concerns about World Cup water supply
• Fracking and water pollution: what we can learn from the US experience
• North Carolina to withdraw Duke Energy settlement over coal ash spill—"North Carolina regulators say they have asked a judge to withdraw a proposed settlement that would have allowed Duke Energy to resolve environmental violations by paying a $99,000 fine with no requirement that the $50bn company clean up its pollution."
• Hog Wild: Factory Farms Are Poisoning Iowa's Drinking Water—"Millions of pigs are crammed into overcrowded barns all across the state, being fattened for slaughter while breeding superbugs—all to feed China's growing appetite for Spam."