Workers and Wage Slaves, Minimum Wage; Banks and Wall Street, Financial Crisis; Bitcoin; Politics, Economy, Corporatocracy, Tax Dodge, NJ Corruption; Grand Ol' Tea Party; Vote Machinations, Campaign Finance Deform; Media; Sterling Racism

Worker and Wage Slaves

• Fast-food workers announce global protest, walkouts set for 33 countries—"Employees plan to expand movement to demand better pay and working conditions across the world [on May 15]."
• Japanese Restaurant Eliminates Tipping And Just Pays A Higher Wage
• Republicans Block Hearing on Long-Term Jobless Benefits
• My personal Wal-Mart nightmare: You won't believe what life is like working there—"The president's visiting my store Friday. He won't see how I sleep on my son's floor and eat potato chips for lunch." Salon
• Pay Violations Rampant in Low-Wage Industries Despite Enforcement Efforts—"If you steal from your employer, you're going to be hauled out of the workplace in handcuffs. But if your employer steals from you, you'll be lucky to get your money back."
• Samsung offers apology for workers' leukemia—"Ten people have died after working in Samsung's semiconductor plants, an industry health rights group said."

Minimum Wage

• The Minimum Wage Loophole That's Screwing Over Waiters and Waitresses
• Vermont Passes The Highest State Minimum Wage In The Country
• The GOP and the minimum wage—"Why the GOP argument against raising the minimum wage is really an argument against having a minimum wage at all."

Banks and Wall Street

• Elizabeth Warren: Obama Team 'Chose Wall Street Instead Of American Families'
• Krugman: Now That's Rich—"Big surprise! Hedge fund managers make a lot of money. But there are some lessons there." NYT
• The SEC Has Revealed Astounding Corruption in Private Equity—"And, for once, the commission is not letting them get away with it."
• Thomson Reuters settles lawsuit with whistle-blowing ex-employee—"Thomson Reuters has reached a settlement agreement with a former staffer who sued the firm for wrongful termination, claiming he lost his job for whistle-blowing."
• How Wall Street Financial Fees Choke Our Cities

Financial Crisis

• Why Only One Top Banker Went to Jail for the Financial Crisis—"The economic catastrophe of 2008 was the largest of its kind since the Depression. Who's taking the fall?" NYT
• Morgan Stanley CEO Doesn't Believe More Bankers Should Have Gone To Jail For Financial Crisis
• U.S. attorney general says banks may face criminal cases soon
• University economics teaching isn't an education: it's a £9,000 lobotomy—"Economics took a battering after the financial crisis, but faculties are refusing to teach alternative views. It's as if there's only one way to run an economy."
• Occupy Wall Street activist found guilty of assaulting police officer—Too small not to jail.

Bitcoin

• SEC's Investor "Warning" On Bitcoin Could Stifle Innovation
• Federal Election Commission approves bitcoin donations to political committees—Guess money is money. WaPo
• In 18 months, feds got nearly 300 complaints about Bitcoin miner maker—"Federal Trade Commission received worldwide complaints about Butterfly Labs."

Politics

• George H.W. Bush received a profile in courage award. All it took was rewriting history.—"Bush was honored for being willing to break his famous 'Read my lips: no new taxes' pledge. But the history is more complicated--and less flattering." WaPo
• San Francisco Chinatown duo claim FBI entrapment in organised-crime case SCMP
• The Farce Is Complete: Joe Biden's Son Joins Board Of Largest Ukraine Gas Producer

Economy

• All of the US government's spending will soon be available on one website
• Bipartisan House bill calls on Congress to fly coach
• Missouri Lawmakers Override Veto, Enact Tax Cut—"Missouri's Republican-led Legislature enacted the state's first income tax rate reduction in almost a century Tuesday by overriding the veto of Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon, who has denounced it as a reckless financial experiment."
• CNBC survey shows millionaires want higher taxes to fix inequality
• GOP's fake poverty push gets a new charlatan: Rob Portman's latest ploy Salon
• Paul Ryan's Approach To Poverty Is Straight Out Of The 19th Century

Corporatocracy

• GOP Lawmakers Say Yes To $310 Billion For Business, But $12 Million For At-Risk Kids? Nope
• Conservative Pro-Growth Policies Don't Actually Produce Any Growth
• Surprise! 'Pro-business' policies hurt state economic growth LATimes

Tax Dodge

• U.S. wants Credit Suisse to plead guilty in tax dispute: report
• Swiss company agrees to pay $4.4m fine for helping US tax dodgers—"US thanks Swisspartners for 'extraordinary cooperation but Credit Suisse expected to face big fine and criminal charges."
• David Cameron: Taxes will rise unless we can raid bank accounts—"David Cameron claims he will "have to put up taxes" unless tax officials are given draconian powers to raid people's bank accounts"

NJ Corruption

• Governor's Office Ignored Report That Kelly, Stepien Knew About Bridgegate—"Drewniak says he told Christie's chief counsel about Wildstein's claim, but pair were not questioned until more than a month later."
• NJ has distributed less than 25 percent of Sandy aid—"New Jersey's latest quarterly report shows the state has distributed $416 million of nearly $1.83 billion in federal disaster relief aid."
• Christie Aide Uses Truly Multitudinous Variety of Adjectives, Adverbs in Denying Bridgegate Role
• Rowan Students, Alumni Protest Christie Commencement Speech

Grand Ol' Tea Party

• Fringe Factor: Democrats Boasting About Obamacare Are Just Like Nazis—"A Tennessee lawmaker compares liberal crowing about health-care signups to Germans bragging about 'train rides' for Jews, Krauthammer thinks climate change is superstition, and more."
• Lost? The Tea Party has already won, and its influence will be felt for years to come—"Out of America: It may seem to be in decline, but the Republicans' wacky wing has achieved its main aim of pushing the party to the right."
• Republican Party wants to limit primary debates: The GOP wants to assert itself in 2016.
• The GOP Has Finally Found a Way to Defeat the Tea Party—"Electability is trumping ideological purity—just as the establishment had planned."
• There Are No Mainstream Republicans Left in North Carolina—"Thom Tillis, who just won the state’s Republican primary, has been the point-man in a sadly effective anti-government project." NYT
• Koch brothers face an unexpected new foe: tea party conservatives
• Poll: For the midterms, a tilt to the GOP

Vote Machinations

• GOP vote scheme finally imploding: Why the end may be here—"From landmark ruling in Wisconsin, to new signs from top Republicans in other states, a shameful ploy may unravel." Salon
• Appeals Court Puts Brakes On Judge Who Shut Down Scott Walker Investigation—"One day after a federal judge dramatically shut down the secret 'John Doe' probe investigating Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's (R) 2012 recall election, a federal appeals court on Wednesday stayed the lower judge's ruling."
• Lawsuit Accuses Virginia Republicans Of 'Racial Gerrymandering'
• This is what America would look like without gerrymandering
• Why Karl Rove Uses Dirty Tricks: They Work—"Karl Rove reportedly hinted that Hillary Clinton may have brain damage from a fall—then quickly backed away. His history suggests it's a calculated maneuver."

Campaign Finance Deform

• Al Gore: 'Our democracy has been hacked'—"The average member of the House and Senate has to spend five hours per day begging rich people for money. Begging rich interests for money!" Politico
• Vermont first state to call for constitutional convention to get money out of politics
• Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens: 'Money Is Not Speech'
• Wendy Davis Attacks Greg Abbott's Oversight of Cancer Agency—Claimed "money earmarked for lifesaving medical research was slipped into major Republican donors' pockets instead."

Media

• Glenn Greenwald: U.S. Corporate Media is "Neutered, Impotent and Obsolete"
• Warren Buffett, Joe Nocera and 'Fessing Up to Readers—"When a critical column is built on a faulty premise, the writer needs to tell his readers what happened and why." NYT
• Impeachment, Fox News-style: Wing-nuts go mad, mainstream media follows them off the cliff — again—"Objective" media covered Iraq and '08 meltdown so brilliantly. Danger: False balance crowd wants impeachment next." Salon
• Stewart Strikes Back At Limbaugh's Hashtag Hate: #F*@KYOURUSH

Sterling Racism

• Befuddled Donald Sterling: 'What New Recording?'
• Community manager fired after controversial tweets about embattled NBA owner Donald Sterling
• CNN exclusive: Donald Sterling insists he's no racist, still slams Magic Johnson
• Donald Sterling's interview disaster: Rich old racist self-destructs to Anderson Cooper Salon
• The Daily Show: John Hodgman wants to buy the LA Clippers

International Labor Day, Whistleblow While You Work; Banks and Wall Street; Net Neutrality and Broadband; Obamacare, Health Issues; US Politics, Class Warfare; Vote Machinations, Campaign Finance Deform; Sterling Racism; Oh Canada, South Korea Ferry, World News, RIP Bob Hoskins

International Labor Day

• Thousands of workers mark May Day—From protests in Istanbul to parades in Moscow.
• Jobless must sign on every day: Government to dock money from long-term unemployed if they do not comply
• France agrees workers can give days off to colleagues with sick children
• Subway leads fast food industry in underpaying workers
• Recovery Has Created Far More Low-Wage Jobs Than Better-Paid Ones—"The strongest employment growth after the recession has been in low-wage work, at places like strip malls and fast-food restaurants, according to a new report." NYT
• $10.10 wage bill set to die—On a federal level.
• Hawaii lawmakers vote to increase hourly minimum wage to $10.10
• Seattle Announces $15 Minimum Wage, Highest In The U.S.
• "I'm gonna need you to come in on Saturday": How "Office Space" got the modern workplace just right—"Cubicles, layoffs, TPS report, flair -- 'Office Space' bombed at the box office, but endures because it was right." Salon

Whistleblow While You Work

• Court Considers Whistleblower Free Speech Rights
• Obama Administration Argues in Favor of Right to Fire Public Employees Who Testify at Corruption Trials
• Justices Troubled By Their Earlier Ruling On Public Employee Speech Rights
• Probe looks at Marine higher-ups suspected in retaliation against whistleblower—"Maj. Weirick stripped of duties after accusing Gen. Amos of meddling in prosecution."
• VA Hospital Whistleblower: Top Official Knew About Secret Waiting List, Wanted to Further Her Career
• Whistleblower lawsuit exposes health company for Medicare fraud—"Louisiana-based home health company will have to pay over $150 million in a settlement to a former employee in a whistleblower case."
• Mortgage Whistleblower Stands Alone as U.S. Won't Join Lawsuit

Banks and Wall Street

• It's Good – no – Great to be the CEO Running a Huge Criminal Bank
• Pa. judge upholds sale of widow's home over $6 tax bill
• U.S. Set to Bring Criminal Charges Against Banking Giants—"Federal prosecutors are reportedly preparing to file charges against Credit Suisse and BNP Paribas, defying the notion that Wall Street giants are 'too big to jail.'"
• Rigged market? SEC busts the NYSE—"The SEC charged the New York Stock Exchange and two affiliated exchanges for "failure to comply with the responsibilities" of following securities laws."

Net Neutrality and Broadband

• Your complete guide to the murder of net neutrality LATimes
• The Internet Is About to Become Worse Than Television
• Elizabeth Warren Blasts FCC Net Neutrality Plan: 'Just One More Way The Playing Field Is Tilted'
• Google and Netflix are considering an all-out PR blitz against the FCC's net neutrality plan
• Don't Expect Google's Help in Saving Net Neutrality
• The FCC's Flimsy Defense of Fake Net Neutrality
• State laws that ban municipal Internet will be invalidated, FCC chair says
• Welcome to Comcast Country—"Philadelphia has become a company town where the cable TV giant wields vast influence." NYT

Obamacare

• The Biggest Reason People Didn't Sign Up For Obamacare
• Obamacare Now Widely Accepted As Here to Stay
• Once opposed to ACA, now a convert—"Dean Angstadt fells trees for a living. He's a self-employed, self-sufficient logger who has cleared his own path for most of his 57 years, never expecting help from anyone. And even though he'd been uninsured since 2009, he especially wanted nothing to do with the Affordable Care Act."
• Obamacare Enrollees Emboldened To Leave Jobs, Start Businesses
• Looking for complaints, Rick Scott instead finds praise for Obamacare
• A sneaky lie that left 750,000 Floridians without health coverage—"They lied to you.Not a big, bald-faced lie. Not a get-a-load-of-this lie."
• OOPS: Senate Candidate Pitches Obamacare Replacement That’s Already Failed
• Red States Hatch Plans To Block Obamacare Even If Dems Take Over
• Boehner concedes ACA repeal 'isn't the answer'
• The Fact Checker: The bogus claim that Obamacare has boosted the number of uninsured—Four Pinnochios. WaPo

Health Issues

• Oregon Supreme Court: State can immunize children in its custody
• 'Superbugs' that can overpower antibiotics are spreading: WHO
• American homes harbor antibiotic-resistant "superbug" MRSA
• Deaths from measles outbreak may be 'inevitable' as cases surge in US
• Saudi Arabia reports pilgrim infected with MERS
• New Virus Related To Smallpox Is Found In Republic Of Georgia

US Politics

• Of Course The U.S. Is An 'Oligarchy' — We Keep Electing The Rich
• Why Does the Right Have Such a Problem with History?—"[W]e're fascinated by how often leaders and activists on the far right misquote the Founders and get so much else about our nation's history so incredibly wrong — especially since they often portray themselves as uniquely informed about what makes America exceptional."
• Republicans pass tax breaks, but don't pay for them
• If you dispute Chris Christie's budget estimates, he'll go after you — even if you're right

Class Warfare

• Paul Ryan Won’t Let Poor People Testify At Hearing About Poverty
• South Dakota GOP Senate Candidate Compares Food Stamp Recipients To Animals
• Rare Indian Burial Ground Quietly Destroyed for Million Dollar Houses
• Millionaire reportedly filmed beating girlfriend 117 times will not face jail time
• Top 1% taking lion's share of global growth, OECD says—"37% of growth in last 30 years has gone to Canada's wealthiest."
• California’s bid to tax companies who don’t share the wealth WaPo
• Brazil poor get welfare rise and tax cuts from Rousseff—"Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff has announced a 10% increase in social security payments as well as tax cuts for the less well-off."

Vote Machinations

• Voter ID Is the Real Fraud—"A federal judge struck down Wisconsin’s voter-identification law, making it clear that the law was a harmful solution in search of an imaginary problem." NYT
• Judge Halts Minnesota Online Voter Signup System
• Young Republicans likelier to vote in midterms than Democrats: survey
• People Trust Democrats, But That Doesn't Mean They'll Vote for Democrats
• Pundit Who Was Dead Wrong In 2012 Is Now Questioning Nate Silver

Campaign Finance Deform

• What Happens When a Dark Money Group Blows Off IRS Rules? Nothing.—"The Government Integrity Fund spent most of its money on election ads, despite IRS rules prohibiting a social welfare nonprofit from doing so."
• A long con for Tea Party PACs?—"Conservatives who donate to Tea Party PACs probably assume they're helping like-minded candidates. In practice, it doesn't quite work out that way."
• Senate Democrats Plot Vote To Overturn Citizens United In 2014
• Flipside: Lawrence Lessig Launches MayOne, The "Super PAC To End All Super PACs"—"The free culture activist and Harvard professor launched a super PAC today. Its goal: To create a revolution of political reform in the midterm elections through a wave of small donations."

Sterling Racism

• Clippers Owner Donald Sterling to GF -- Don't Bring Black People to My Games ... Including Magic Johnson
• NBA: Donald Sterling receives lifetime ban
• GOP Congressman Falsely Claims Donald Sterling Is A Democrat
• Mark Cuban's 'Slippery Slope' Comment Is Why No One Thinks The NBA Will Force Donald Sterling To Sell The Clippers

Oh Canada

• How Obama Shocked Harper as Keystone's Frustrator-in-Chief
• Canada Supreme Court rejects Harper Senate reform plan
• Pauline Marois loses seat, Parti Québécois loses power—Her party had controversial measures.
• Canadian mail service to scrap all home deliveries—"Older residents angered over cost-cutting decision by Canada Post to make first G20 country without door-to-door service."
• Rob Ford takes leave as recent drug video emerges

South Korea Ferry

• South Korean shipwreck survivors: Passengers told 'don't move' as ship sank
• Video of fleeing ferry captain angers Koreans
• Ferry disaster's toll on South Korea's national psyche
• 3 arrested over evidence, call center raided in South Korea ferry probe
• South Korean president apologizes for response to ferry sinking
• Dead part-time employees ignored by Sewol owner—"The owner of the sunken ferry Sewol refused coverage of funeral costs for part-time employees of the ship, according to Kookmin Ilbo Wednesday."

World News

• British Officials Portrayed Reagan as a "Bozo"
• David Cameron would quit as Prime Minister after general election if he could not deliver on in-out EU referendum pledge
• 'Bring children to pee in Hong Kong': Mainlander starts campaign after public urination clash—"Call for action may break mainland law; call of nature may cost HK$2,000."
• Norway: Wealthy man 'forgot' boat in Swedish harbour
• German porn star dropped by Neo-Nazi party for having sex with black male

RIP Bob Hoskins, 1942–2014

Workers and Wage Slaves, Class Warfare; Politics, GOP, Civil Rights and Racism, Vote Machinations, Campaign Finance Deform; Banks and Wall Street, JPMorgan, Stock Market; Obamacare, Medicaid Expansion, Bill of Health, Anti-Vax; Heartbleed Bug

Workers and Wage Slaves

• Senate extends unemployment insurance. Why such a tough sell in the House?
• Getting Walmart Workers Off Food Stamps Would Cost Customers Barely Anything
• Reich: Why the Minimum Wage Should Really Be Raised to $15 an Hour
• SeaTac, Wash., fast becoming epicenter of 'livable wage' debate
• Work-life balance: what changes could help improve yours?—"New labour laws in France protect workers from responding to emails after 6pm, and a trial in Sweden is reducing work hours to just 30 hours a week. Do these initiatives sound like a good idea to you? Or what changes could help improve your work-life balance?"

Class Warfare

• How America is rigged for the rich—"Eric Liu says Paul Ryan gets it very wrong: The U.S.'s problem is not a culture of poverty, it is a culture of wealth destroying the value linking work to reward."
• Alabama Passes 4 Bills Restricting Welfare
• Why Is Georgia About to Pass a Law That Will Make It Easier to Send Poor People to Prison?—"After extensive lobbying, the private probation industry is poised to wield ever more power over Georgia's debtors."
• Drum: Nobody Cares What You Think Unless You're Rich
• Du Pont heir didn't go to court-ordered clinic—Send him to prison where he belongs.

Politics

• Obama blasts 'least productive Congress in modern history'
• Fed-Up Eric Holder Rips Congress: 'Unprecedented, Unwarranted, Ugly and Divisive'
• Sen. Charles Grassley plans new whistleblower-protection caucus WaPo
• Why people are not engaged in politics and policymaking – and how to fix it—"We asked former home secretary David Blunkett and other experts how to involve #peopleinpolitics. Here's what they said."
• CapitolBells.com—Leveraging social media to track bills
• How politics makes us stupid

GOP

• Busy Day For House GOP: Blocks Bills On Minimum Wage, Equal Pay, LGBT Rights, Mine Safety
• Darrell Issa Tries Tactic In IRS Probe Last Used In McCarthyism—More circus acts [WaPo] to come.
• Dems seek end to Benghazi probe; GOP presses ahead
• Poll: More than half of N.J. voters say Christie's 'Bridgegate' report was 'whitewash'
• Judge: Key BridgeGate Figures Don't Have To Give Documents To Lawmakers
• Huckabee: Men Hunt Together, Women Go To The Restroom Together—Misogynistic and homophobic Salon.

Civil Rights and Racism

• Many doubt 1964 Civil Rights Act could pass today
• GOP Senate Candidate: Obama Is Dodging Impeachment Because He Isn't White
• Study: When whites are told they're becoming a minority, they become more conservative
• Jimmy Carter: Southern White Men Turn To The GOP Because Of 'Race'

Vote Machinations

• The Supreme Court Gutted the Voting Rights Act. What Happened Next in These 8 States Will Not Shock You.
• We Should Be in a Rage—"When will we demand the country we deserve? If we don’t like the path we’re on, we can alter it." NYT
• How to reverse a supreme court attack on democracy: fight for voting rights—"John Roberts' wrecking ball got you mad as hell? Don't take his court's electoral destruction for granted anymore."
• Clinton: Voting limits derail civil rights—"President Bill Clinton ripped the Supreme Court's conservative justices and Republicans pushing voter identification laws on Wednesday, accusing them of undermining civil rights." He also urges adding photos to Social Security cards for voter identification WaPo
• Why voting rights is the Democrats' most important project in 2014 WaPo
• Could absentee ballot controversy lead to Ohio voting probe?—"Going after the personal finances of public officials for trying to promote voter participation is unprecedented."
• Voter laws: Imposter anxiety
• Senate sends governor bill banning United Nations election monitors from Tennessee—What a waste of time.
• Wisconsin Had Best-Run Elections in U.S., So Republicans Fixed 'Em
• Report: Florida Voting Wait Times In 2012 Were Worst In the Nation
• New Rule Prohibits Voters In Miami-Dade County From Using The Restroom, No Matter How Long The Line
• In the Exciting New World of Campaign Financing, Deceptive Fundraising Websites Are A-OK

Campaign Finance Deform

• Thought money could buy an American election? You ain't seen nothin' yet—"The supreme court's relaxing of donation rules just made US elections even more undemocratic and corruptible."
• Dionne: Supreme oligarchy—"Combine McCutcheon with the decision in the Citizens United case and you can see that the court is systematically transferring more power to a tiny, privileged sliver of our people." WaPo
• The war against American citizens—"The Supreme Court’s ‘McCutcheon’ decision exemplifies the struggles against average Americans." WaPo
• RNC Chair Complains That The Supreme Court Hasn’t Done Enough To Let Rich Donors Give The GOP Money
• Revealed: Rahm Emanuel's top donor bought stock in Marriott just before it was awarded huge Chicago contract

Banks and Wall Street

• Why Obama's Regulators Let Wall Street Bankers Off Easy—"Remember when the economy collapsed because some people were criminally negligent and nobody went to prison?"
• SEC Goldman Lawyer Says Agency Too Timid on Wall Street Misdeeds—"Kidney said his superiors were more focused on getting high-paying jobs after their government service than on bringing difficult cases. The agency's penalties, Kidney said, have become 'at most a tollbooth on the bankster turnpike.'"
• Wall Street's wily front group: Inside story of a rental scheme's secret facelift—"How profit-hungry Wall Street landlords are secretly trying to turn themselves into a modest, lovable trade group." Salon
• Banker Who Helped Crash Housing Market Helped Crafting Mortgage Reform
• Fannie, Freddie shareholders lobby against U.S. housing reform bill
• Bank of America to pay nearly $800 million for deceptive credit card practices WaPo
• Trial of Occupy activist struggles to find jurors impartial to protest movement—"Series of potential jurors voice opposition to protest movement in trial of Cecily McMillan, who faces seven years in prison for assault on police officer."

JPMorgan

• Office Of Outgoing JPMorgan Asia CEO Raided By Hong Kong's Commission Against Corruption
• J.P. Morgan Backs Off Russian Payment Halt
• JPMorgan fails to end lawsuit over London Whale losses

Stock Market

• U.S. stock markets are rigged, says author Michael Lewis
• Yes, the stock market is rigged
• The FBI Is Investigating High-Frequency Traders
• In Defense of "Flash Boys"—Felix Salmon: "[T]he big problem with high-frequency trading isn't that small investors get ripped off, it's that the system is so complex that literally no one really understands how it works or what kind of danger it poses."
• Katsuyama vs. O'Brien - who won the fight?
• The Wolf Hunters of Wall Street NYT

Obamacare

• Obamacare: It's Working!—"Once left for dead, the president's signature legislation is hitting its goals. And it's changing the political calculus for November."
• Obamacare Might Be Covering Way More People Than Previously Thought—Good news for those who weren't denied.
• GOP Grapples With The Unsettling Fear That Obamacare May Succeed
• Conservative Health Experts Wonder How To Coexist With Obamacare
• Gov. Rick Scott stands by two misleading campaign ads on Obamacare
• Many Obamacare Critics, Including Koch Brothers, Accepted Its Subsidies
• WSJ Editors To Conservatives: Stop Acting Crazy Over Obamacare
• The Right Searches for Obamacare Replacement, Finds Obamacare
• Forget Obamacare: Vermont wants to bring single payer to America
• This Generation of Med Students Wants a Truly Just Healthcare System for All
• Obamacare's Next Task: Break Our Dependence On The Emergency Room

Medicaid Expansion

• The perils of Florida's refusal to expand Medicaid—"Charlene Dill is one of an estimated 2,000 people who expected to face dire health issues due to lack of access to care."
• Maine's GOP Governor Vetoes Medicaid Expansion For Third Time
• Virginia's Medicaid expansion fight: More proof that the Commonwealth is broken
• Court Rejects Louisiana's Bid To Stop Anti-Jindal Pro-Obamacare Billboard
• Boehner Concedes on Sneaky GOP Voice Vote Expanding Obamacare: "It Was a Good Thing"

Bill of Health

• $1,000-a-day miracle drug shocks U.S. health care system
• Top Medicare Doctor Paid $21 Million in 2012, Data Shows
• Tamiflu: Millions wasted on flu drug, claims major report
• On Indiegogo, a miracle health device crowdfunds $730k. One problem: it might be total bullshit

Anti-Vax

• Anti-vaccine movement is giving diseases a 2nd life
• More measles outbreaks in Calif. as debate continues over vaccines
• Chili's cancels fundraiser with National Autism Association—They were planning on donating 10% of their profits to anti-vaccine truthers this month.
• Vaccinations fall, measles rise in Oregon
• Measles In Calgary: Unvaccinated Students Should Stay Home
• Australia: Court grants father right to vaccinate his children
• JHallComics: Vaccine
• Blast from the Past: Penn & Teller's Bullshit - Vaccinations

Heartbleed Bug

• My Heart Bleeds for OpenSSL
• Schneier on Heartbleed—"'Catastrophic' is the right word. On the scale of 1 to 10, this is an 11."
• The Real Threat From The Heartbleed Security Flaw Is The NSA
• How Companies Are Reacting to the Heartbleed Security Bug
• How to protect yourself from the 'Heartbleed' bug

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, Wage Slaves, Income Inequality, The IT Crowd, Politics; Obamacare; Corporatocracy; Wall Street, JPMorgan, Accountability; NSA Spying, Surveillance and Privacy; October 26 Driving for Women

Workers

• Many middle-class Americans plan to work until they die
• Most Americans accumulating debt faster than they’re saving for retirement—"For three of every five workers, mortgages, credit card balances and loans outpace their savings." WaPo
• Pensions Ask Retirees to Pay Back Tens of Thousands
• Gallup: In U.S., Fewer Believe "Plenty of Opportunity" to Get Ahead
• Walmart employee fired after trying to help assault victim in store parking lot—Bad PR prompted them to offer him his job back, but good on him for saying that he won't go back. He's not going to be their poster boy to abuse.

Wages Slaves

• 75th anniversary of minimum wage: We're back to 1950
• Increasing the minimum wage a no-brainer
• Fast-Food Chains Costing Taxpayers the Most Money—"According to one group, often the industry workers' pay is not enough and many turn to government programs for assistance." Earning profits by devaluing employees.
• McDonald's helps workers get food stamps—"A McDonald's helpline admits that workers will be able to qualify for public assistance."
• Bill de Blasio to Burger King: 'This Is an Unsupportable Situation'—"The mayoral hopeful is one of the most high-profile politicians to come out in support of the growing movement for low-wage workers' rights."
• McDonald's Won't Be Lovin' This NYC Sidewalk Art Piece by Banksy
• Sued Over Pay, Condé Nast Ends Internship Program—"The publisher took the action after two former interns sued, complaining they had been paid below minimum wage for summer jobs at W Magazine and The New Yorker." NYT

Income Inequality

• Billionaires' Row and Welfare Lines—"The widely divergent fortunes of the rich and poor in this country are an unsustainable imbalance." NYT
• Income inequality isn't 'a problem' says NYC mayoral candidate
• CEO-to-worker pay gap is obscene; want to know how obscene?—"Corporate America is fighting a proposed SEC rule requiring companies to calculate the ratio of their CEO's pay to the median pay of all their employees."
• Swiss support rises for reduced executive pay—"Supporters of a drive to rein in executive pay in Switzerland stepped up their campaign on Thursday after polls put them neck and neck with opponents a month before a referendum."
• You earn how much?! Breaking the workplace taboo—"A small – but increasing - number of companies are implementing a pay program that breaks the most entrenched of workplace taboos: revealing your salary.

The IT Crowd

• Judge Certifies Class in Silicon Valley 'No-Poach' Case—"In one of Silicon Valley's most closely watched cases, a federal judge on Thursday certified a class of more than 60,000 skilled workers who accuse Adobe Systems Inc., Apple Inc., Google Inc. and Intel Corp. of illegally suppressing their pay through a conspiracy not to compete for each other's employees." Law.com
• Behind the 'Bad Indian Coder'—"An ongoing debate about the quality of outsourced code prompts a look at the country's precarious economic and educational picture."
• How "Dilbert" Practically Wrote Itself—Twenty years of pointy-heard bosses.

Politics

• The Republicans' War on the Poor—"The GOP is pushing to decimate food-stamp programs, punishing the most vulnerable just out of sheer spite." And helping out their corporate backers.
• The Republicans' Food Stamp Fraud: It's Not About Austerity—"As conference committee talks begin, the GOP isn't trying to cut $40 billion from SNAP just to save money. It wants to punish the poorest among us."
• Gov. LePage lets slip what he really thinks about Maine people—"About 47% of able-bodied people in the state of Maine don't work."
• Wis. judge: Officials in contempt for union curbs—"A Madison judge on Monday found Wisconsin labor relations officials in contempt for enforcing parts of Gov. Scott Walker's contentious bargaining restrictions despite a ruling that they're unconstitutional, clearing the way for hundreds of school district and municipal worker unions to negotiate with their employers again."
• Landowner uses congressional ties to sway Forest Service—"When a Texas millionaire built his 8,000-square-foot log home here, he placed it on or near a road that hikers, bikers and skiers had used for decades to access Forest Service land and the Spanish Peaks Wilderness." What a tool.

Obamacare

• The GOP's Obamacare chutzpah—"Republicans are furious that their plan to undermine Obamacare worked." WaPo
• Health law fails to keep prices low in rural areas—Whither the public option? NYT
• Republican clown show on Obamacare has already started
• Krugman: Raising The Medicare Age, Revisited—"It doesn't even save money." NYT
• Debugging the Healthcare.gov Hearings—"Thursday's testimony was a spectacle of tech illiteracy and buck-passing."
• Sebelius suggests Republicans to blame for ObamaCare website woes
• Admin: HealthCare.gov Will Be Fixed By End Of November

Corporatocracy

• Actor Russell Brand reduces BBC newsman to stunned silence with diatribe against corporate oligarchy
• Large companies find ways to a zero tax rate—"Despite widespread groans about the recent disclosure that Apple is finding ways to cut its federal tax bill, an analysis shows the computer giant is one of scores of corporations largely dodging the taxman."
• Marty Sullivan figured out how the world's biggest companies avoided billions in taxes. Here's how he wants to stop them. WaPo

Wall Street

• On the New Wall Street, Boring Is Better
• N.Y. Fed Moves to Seal Documents in Ex-Bank Examiner's Suit
• Big Banks Can Be Dismantled, Say U.S. and U.K. Regulators
• How to lose $172,222 a second for 45 minutes
• The Scholars Who Shill for Wall Street—"Academics get paid by financial firms to testify against Dodd-Frank regulations. What's wrong with this picture?"

JPMorgan

• JPMorgan pays $100M, admits fault in London trades
• JPMorgan in $4 billion deal with U.S. housing agency
• JPMorgan to pay $5.1B in mortgage settlement—"The deal is expected to be the opening step in a $13 billion overall mortgage-related settlement with federal prosecutors and government agencies."
• JPMorgan settlement could cost bank closer to $9 billion—"JPMorgan Chase & Co's preliminary $13 billion mortgage settlement with the U.S. government could end up costing the bank closer to $9 billion after taxes, because the majority of the deal is expected to be tax deductible, two sources familiar with the matter said." Emphasis mine.
• Record JPMorgan Settlement Wouldn't Deter Some Investors
• What Fine? Why JPMorgan Is Laughing All the Way to the Bank
• JPMorgan: Wall Street's Not Saying It's Guilty. It's Not Even Sorry—"For the big banks, cutting penalty deals without admitting wrongdoing is just a cost of doing business."
• Nobody Should Shed a Tear for JP Morgan Chase

Accountability

• 9 More Banks Are Getting Probed By The DoJ On Matters That Led To JP Morgan Paying $13 Billion
• Sen. Warren asks whether federal agencies are enforcing as well as TARP watchdog
• Former BofA employee accused of taking bribes to rig short sales
• Bank of America loses fraud trial over U.S. mortgages
• Executive At Center Of Bank Of America Mortgage Fraud Case Now Working For JPMorgan Chase
• Banks and tax evasion: The fall-out from Falciani—"A 41-year-old native of Monaco increasingly looks to be to banking what Edward Snowden is to American surveillance."
• This Is What Happens When A Spanish Judge Sends A Senior Banker To Jail
• Strangers donate $14K to woman facing petty theft case over $3 in courthouse fountain coins—The authorities went after someone who took $3 and many of those who have stolen millions are still uncharged.

NSA Spying, Surveillance and Privacy

• Obama promises changes after latest NSA snooping disclosure—"Under fire about disclosures of broad National Security Agency snooping on global leaders, President Barack Obama is offering a two-pronged response: You do it, too, and we'll make some changes."
• Alan Grayson: Congressional oversight of the NSA is a joke. I should know, I'm in Congress—"I've learned far more about government spying on citizens from the media than I have from official intelligence briefings."
• Head of NSA blasts reporters for 'selling' leaked documents—"Reporters should be prevented from 'selling' National Security Agency documents, Gen. Keith Alexander says in a videotaped interview with Department of Defense blog Armed With Science." Desperation tactics.
• Leaked memos reveal GCHQ efforts to keep mass surveillance secret—"Edward Snowden papers show UK spy agency fears legal challenge if scale of surveillance is made public."
• Germany wants a German Internet as spying scandal rankles
• US spied on Spanish leaders: Reports
• Snowden files: Report suggests Israel behind attempt to hack into French communication network
• The End of Hypocrisy: American Foreign Policy in the Age of Leaks—"Manning's and Snowden's leaks mark the beginning of a new era in which the U.S. government can no longer count on keeping its secret behavior secret."

October 26 Driving for Women

• Saudi Arabia's women hold day of action to change driving laws—"Government warily observes public reaction as media joins calls for ban on female drivers to be rescinded."
• Saudi Arabia Warns Online Backers of Women Drivers—Their website got hacked, but the fight goes on.
• Saudi Arabia women defy authorities over female driving ban—Some of them went through with it [WSJ].

Arbor Day; Exxon; Plying Politics; Vote Machinations; Economy; Youth; Religious Wrong; Conservatives; Aurora; Guns

Arbor Day

Exxon

• 'Major spill' after Exxon pipe ruptures in US
• Reporters Say Exxon Is Impeding Spill Coverage in Arkansas
• Thank You Exxon: Mayflower, Arkansas' New Oil Lake
• Secretly shot video shows Exxon cleaning up Alabama oil spill with paper towels
• Exxon Oil Spill Could Be 40% Larger Than Company Estimates, EPA Figures Show

Plying Politics

• The Republican Party is officially broken—"Washington's problem isn't partisanship or a fatally flawed system. It's that one party is massively dysfunctional." Salon
• Courts Without Judges—"The number of vacancies on the nation's federal courts has reached an astonishingly high level, creating a serious shortage of judges and undermining the ability of the nation's court system to bestow justice." NY
• American Democracy Is a Corruption: How .05 Percent Of Our Population Have Bent Our Republic Into An Oligarchy

Vote Machinations

• Election 2013: Voting Laws Roundup
• The Five Most Outrageous Facts About Our Broken Voting System—"New study reveals voting rights are in even worse trouble than you thought."
• Voting Against Voting
• North Carolina Senate bill seeks to curb college vote—By raising taxes on parents.
• Young People Are Voting. Why Do Politicians Want to Stop Them?
• Arkansas Passes Voter ID Law Over Guv's Veto
• Florida legislators ask court to shield them from having to testify over maps
• Gingrich Campaign Worker Pleads Guilty to Election Fraud Felonies in VA
• Those who wait the longest to vote
• Election Spending 2012: Post-Election Analysis of Federal Election Commission Data

Economy

• Chained CPI: What It Is and How It Will Affect You
• Bobby Jindal kills controversial tax plan Salon
• Report: Ohio courts illegally jailing the poor

Youth

• Generations X and Y start to rule politics
• Yale senior: We millennials don't stand a chance
• No noon meal for kids in debt at middle school

Religious Wrong

• Bible-thumpers and gay marriage: Bill O'Reilly is right about conservative fundamentalists
• Tennessee May Deliberately Exclude Muslim Schools From New Voucher Program
• Florida Republican's anti-Sharia bill would ban courts from recognizing Jewish divorces
• Pat Robertson: "simple, humble" foreigners get miracles because they aren't corrupted by education and science
• Right-wing religious nuts limit Republican Party's future
• North Carolina House Speaker Kills Bill To Create State Religion
• Texas A&M student body president to veto 'Religious Funding Exemption Bill'

Conservatives

• Changing of the guard in the GOP?—"Reagan-era conservatives are having a tough time of it because they calcified in the 1980s."
• Severely Conservative Republicans Vote to ‘Starve the Children
• Why Conservatives Think the Ends Justify the Means
• Texas School Conspiracy Reaches State Legislature—"The latest example stems from a certainty among a segment of parents that President Obama is forcing Texas public schools to teach Muslim propaganda, Marxism, and Nazi mind control. "
• Brooklyn judge slams birther lawsuit as 'fanciful, delusional and irrational' and orders theorist to pay $177G
• 'Tea Party' is over: Ex-activist says racism, hypocrisy killed the movement
• Dan Slott: Dear Conservative Blogger...

Aurora

• Death Penalty Is the Wrong Punishment for James Holmes
• Holmes' doctor warned police before Colo. movie attack
• Fox News reporter could face jail for protecting Aurora sources Salon

Guns

• Gun vote set for Thursday as Democrats beat back GOP-led filibuster
• National data on shootings by police not collected
• 4-year-old grabs loaded gun at family BBQ and accidentally kills wife of Tennessee sheriff's deputy