Workers and Wages Slaves, IT Crowd, Minimum Wage; Banks and Wall Street, Class Warfare, Corporatocracy; Tea Party, Obamanation, Politics and Partisanship, Vote Machinations, Campaign Finance Deform, Christie, Hillary; IRS; Redskins

Workers and Wage Slaves

• The Economy May Be Improving. Worker Pay Isn't. NYT
• The Downward Ramp—"The jobs crisis has begun to affect even highly skilled college graduates, who are taking jobs that once went to people with fewer skills." NYT
• I got my Master's, couldn't find a job and lived on food stamps. Now stop calling me a 'welfare queen'
• 5 reasons US workers hate their jobs more than they used to
• Young workers hate their jobs WaPo
• It's Official: The Boomerang Kids Won't Leave—"One in five young adults lives with his or her parents. It might be a recessionary blip — or the dawn of a whole new economic age." NYT
• Elizabeth Warren on creating jobs: 'This isn't magic, we actually know how to do this'

IT Crowd

• This IT worker had to train an H-1B replacement—"U.S. workers protested job losses to foreign workers by displaying American flags in their cubicles."
• Should tech workers settle "no-poach" case for $324M? Judge has real doubts—"One plaintiff says the deal isn't fair to workers, and the judge is listening."
• Robot doctors, online lawyers and automated architects: the future of the professions?—"Advances in technology have long been recognised as a threat to manual labour. Now highly skilled, knowledge-based jobs that were once regarded as safe could be at risk. How will they adapt to the digital age?"

Minimum Wage

• IMF urges U.S. to raise minimum wage
• Massachusetts approves $11 minimum wage
• Obamas Want Daughters To Get Taste Of Life On Minimum Wage
• 'Subminimum wage' for disabled workers called exploitative—"Critics of program that pays disabled workers 'subminimum wage' say it should be abolished. Others say it's an important tool to provide training and employment."

Banks and Wall Street

• Wikileaks: Secret Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) - Financial Services Annex—"Despite the failures in financial regulation evident during the 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis and calls for improvement of relevant regulatory structures, proponents of TISA aim to further deregulate global financial services markets."
• City of Miami sues JPMorgan, claims mortgage discrimination
• Ex-Goldman director goes to prison, still owes $13.9 million fine
• Senate hearing examines flaws in stock markets
• Why a guy making $100,000 a year can't get a bank account WaPo
• Greenpeace suffers $5.2-million loss after rogue employee's currency investment flops
• Master Currency Counterfeiter Prints Millions, Says 'Screw You' to US

Class Warfare

• Class in America: The Fault Lines
• Reich: Real Business Leaders Want to Save Capitalism
• Arizona GOPer Went Birther, Compared Poor To 'Lazy Pigs' In Anonymous Blog Comments
• No, The Poor Aren't Poor Because They Refuse To Work
• America's Dying Factories Are Widening Income Inequality
• Justice Sotomayor: Inequality Could Trigger 'Unrest' In U.S.
• U.S. appeals court overturns L.A. ban on homeless living in vehicles
• British public wrongly believe rich face highest tax burden, new research shows—"Study shows poorest 10% pay eight percentage points more of their income, prompting calls for more progressive system."
• Australia's richest 1% own as much as bottom 60%, says Oxfam—"Income inequality has risen since mid-1990s and nine richest people now have greater net worth than poorest 4.54 million."

Corporatocracy

• How America became uncompetitive and unequal—"How corporate mergers contribute to economic inequality." WaPo
• The Corporate Daddy: Walmart, Starbucks, and the Fight Against Inequality—"Walmart, the world's largest public corporation, is a big part of the income-gap problem. It could be a big part of the solution." NYT
• The True Cost of Hidden Money—"A Piketty Protégé's Theory on Tax Havens." NYT
• Medtronic Is Biggest Yet to Renounce U.S. Tax Citizenship
• Legislation Introduced to Stop American Corporations from Pretending to Be Foreign Companies
• EU launches attack against corporate tax avoidance—"The EU has taken steps to curb tax avoidance by global corporations. In recent months, criticism in the budget-strapped bloc has mounted over tax loopholes exploited by companies such as Apple, Google and others."
• Thrown Out of Court—"How corporations became people you can't sue."
• Halliburton Ruling Could Be A Big Win For Big Pharma, Wall Street

Tea Party

• Eugene Robinson: Overdosing on tea—"The Republican Party's reliance on tea party support is like an addict's dependence on a dangerous drug: It may feel good at first, but eventually it eats you alive." WaPo
• Teatopia—"What would actually happen if Tea Partiers controlled Congress and Rand Paul was president?"
• Unwitting tea party folk do the bidding of big business LA Times
• David Brat's Success Due to 19,000 new primary voters
• Reince Priebus After Eric Cantor Loss: I Don't Think GOP Is Divided
• Muslim reporter describes being ridiculed at the Texas GOP convention—"Republican chairman: 'Would the state party ever condone that? Absolutely not.'

Obamanation

• Krugman: Yes He Could—"Health Care and Climate: President Obama's Big Deals" NYT
• GOP Rep: Obama Impeachment 'Probably Could' Pass The House
• Conservatives Uncover Obama Plot to Destroy Phil Mickelson—"According to the latest conspiracy theory, Obama sent the FBI and SEC to investigate the pro golfer because he once complained about high tax rates."
• Here's every presidential executive order going back to George Washington

Politics and Partisanship

• Poll: Congress historic midterm low Politico
• America prepares to reelect the Congress it loathes WaPo
• Congress is making a lot of history! (By being so unpopular) WaPo
• The shocking numbers: Americans are dangerously ignorant on politics—"The scary thing about the man who upset Eric Cantor last week is how familiar his brand of ignorance is." Salon
• Time to Stand Up and Fight for a More Perfect Union—"The irony of American politics is that the right is far weaker than it appears and the left far stronger than it asserts."

Vote Machinations

• End Polarization. Make Everyone Vote.
• Middle Class Squeeze: As incomes slide, voters check out
• AZ Candidate Who Changed His Name To 'Cesar Chavez' Thrown Off Ballot
• Fox News paid Scott Brown $136,000
• Alaska's Don Young violated US House ethics—"The House Ethics Committee has found that U.S. Rep. Don Young of Alaska violated House rules by using campaign funds for personal trips and accepting improper gifts."
• Shadowy Obama Megadonor Indicted On Fraud And Manslaughter Charges
• SCOTUS Rules For Anti-Abortion Group In Case About Campaign Lies

Campaign Finance Deform

• Prosecutors: Walker's Campaign 'Tacitly Admitted' Breaking The Law
• Gov. Scott Walker's Campaign Violations—"There clearly is plenty to fear from independent spending groups that raise unlimited dollars." NYT
• The Koch brothers may spend $290 million on this election. That's how much 5,270 American households make in a year. WaPo
• Campaign-Finance Reform Has to Be Cross-Partisan—"Democrats love to talk about cutting the influence of money in politics, but are they actually any more eager to fix it than Republicans?"
• After Lindsey Graham met billionaire, supportive super PAC secured donation an hour later
• Cronies, corruption and cash: Lawrence Lessig on why we need a super PAC to end all super PACs Salon

Christie

• Despite budget gap, Christie holding firm that business tax cuts are off-limits
• Chris Christie to GOP donors on bridge scandal: 'You'll get over it' LA Times
• Prosecutor Is Closing In on Gov. Christie—"Indictments against four cronies are near certain, sources say. Only question is if David Samson, Christie's longtime mentor, will flip."

Hillary

• The GOP's weapon against Hillary? A giant squirrel
• Clinton: Matt Drudge, Karl Rove Planting 'False Information'
• Man who beat NSA in T-shirt parody case wins against Ready for Hillary

IRS

• Lawmakers fume over lost emails in IRS probe
• Congressman asks NSA to provide metadata for "lost" IRS e-mails
• Attkisson On Missing IRS Documents: If The Emails Really Are Lost, 'That's Quite A Story In Itself'
• IRS Commissioner To Testify About Lois Lerner's Lost Emails
• Republicans, at Hearing on Lost Emails, Accuse I.R.S. Chief of Lying NYT
• Drum: Yet Another IRS Scandal That Isn't

Redskins

• Federal agency cancels Redskins trademark registration, says name is disparaging WaPo
• Retired Native American Chief Would Be Offended If Redskins Did Change Name
• What About the Celtics?
• The Onion: Redskins' Name Only Offensive If You Think About What It Means
• The Onion: Redskins' Kike Owner Refuses To Change Team's Offensive Name
• The Onion: Washington Redskins Change Their Name To The D.C. Redskins
• The Onion: Washington Redskins Ease Tensions With Native Americans By Adding Bottle Of Booze To Logo
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: The Washington Redskins
• The Daily Show: Thursday Night Law

Flag Day; Iraq'd; Politics, Cantor; Vote Machinations, Campaign Finance Deform; Immigration, Race and Racism; Economy; Workers and Wage Slaves, Occupational Hazards, Minimum Wage, On the Job; Homeless; Banks and Wall Street

Flag Day

• Why Are Flags So Cheap? -- Red White and Screwed: How Wal-Mart is Killing the American Flag Business—"The American flag-making business is dying. But those cheap, Chinese-made stars and stripes? They're not to blame."
• Pennsylvania Flag Desecration Case Heads to Court
• 'The Star-Spangled Banner' in a Minor Key Is More Dramatic Than Ever

Iraq'd

• Obama says no combat troops to Iraq; U.S. weighs airstrikes
• Wait, McCain was wrong on Iraq? Yup.
• Fareed Zakaria: Who lost Iraq? The Iraqis did, with an assist from George W. Bush WaPo
• Shep Smith: The Same People Who Were Wrong About Iraq Now Want Us To Go Back
• Opinion: Bush's toxic legacy in Iraq
• Jon Stewart Wonders 'What The F*ck Is Going On' In Iraq?

Politics

• We Hate Each Other, We Really Hate Each Other—This is why you can't have nice things [WaPo], America
• The 3 Things Republicans and Democrats Agree On—"Voters are more split along partisan lines than ever—but there's something like consensus on immigration, national security, and gay rights."
• Conservatives Are So Conservative They Think the Congressional GOP Are Moderate Squishes
• Rand Paul: Moderates aren't GOP's future Politico
• Tea party candidates have lost five times as much as they've won WaPo
• For tea party Republicans, House leadership hopes turn into disappointment—Democrats say, GOP leadership can't get worse. WaPo
• The tea party in Congress: Talking loud, doing nothing WaPo
• Seriously Out of Touch: GOP Uses Live Elephants As Party Props In Downtown Dallas

Cantor

• Eric Cantor's Legacy Is One Of Economic Destruction—"From day one — literally, the night of President Obama's first inauguration — Cantor was leading the charge to not just oppose Obama, but to delegitimize him — denying him the conciliatory, bipartisan policy style he campaigned on, and turning even policy successes into the kind of grueling partisan battles that voters dislike."
• Real lesson in Eric Cantor's loss: Beware conventional wisdom
  
• Krugman: The Fix Isn't In—"The surprise primary defeat of Eric Cantor is the unraveling of an ideological movement."
• The New Nihilism Threatens GOP's Growth—"Cantor's defeat signals deep problems for a party being pushed further to the right by the antigovernment wing."
• Eric Cantor's Loss Was a Fluke, But It Still Reshapes 2014
• Everybody Hates Eric Cantor: A Roundup
• Blast from the Past: Bullet That Hit Eric Cantor's Office From Random Gunfire —He allegedly lied about being shot at, probably to garner sympathy and instill fear.

Vote Machinations

• Alabama GOP struggles to find voter fraud despite $1,000 reward
• A federal judge reminds Ohio Republicans that fettering the right to vote violates the Constitution
• Bill Clinton stresses voter turnout at annual Ohio Democrats' dinner

Campaign Finance Deform

• Krugman: The Koch Cycle of Endless Cash—"The wealthiest Americans are using their fortunes to lobby Congress against any limits on their ability to buy elections." NYT
• Unlimited Dark Campaign Money Is 'The American Way,' Says Terri Lynn Land
• Billionaire's Campaign Contribution Among Biggest In Recent History—Griffin, well known for saying the very wealthy have an 'insufficient influence' in politics, is the richest man in Illinois...."
• The Dark Money Machine That Beat Eric Cantor
• Cuomo Has Raised Millions Through Loophole He Pledged to Close—"The governor has called for closing a gap in the state's campaign finance laws, but he's taken far more through the loophole than his predecessors, much of it from real estate developers."

Immigration

• Cantor Loss Hurts 2016 Republicans Seeking Hispanic Votes
• Immigration Does Matter in GOP Primaries, But It's Not Clear Why
• Influx of minors across Texas border driven by belief that they will be allowed to stay in U.S. WaPo
• Palin: Immigration Debate 'Just About Driving Me To Renounce My Republican Ties'

Race and Racism

• White People Think One Black Person's Success Proves Racism Is Over
• Inside The KKK's Plan For Expansion—"A group of Ku Klux Klan members says it is planning military style combat training for the first time in KKK history."
• A Library of White-Supremacist Hand Gestures—"The Anti-Defamation League has published an online catalog of the symbols, flags, and slogans used by hate groups. Is this an educational tool or a portal for perverse curiosity?"
• Ku Klux Klan hood-wearer to get $215,000 from Los Angeles—"Black resident wore KKK hood and T-shirt emblazoned with racial slur to protest city during 2011 parks commission meeting."
• Ditch 'Old Hickory' and Put Martin Luther King on the $20 Bill—"The civil-rights leader helped America to realize its founding ideals as surely as any president, and ending the run of exclusively white faces on bank notes is long overdue."

Economy

• Recession 'led to 10,000 suicides'
• House GOP approves more tax breaks without paying for them
• America's middle class: Poorer than you think
• Then and now photos of Detroit reveal the real frontline of the Global Financial Crisis
• Rich got 14.6% richer in 2013—"Number of Chinese millionaires jumps as Asia-Pacific region leads growth."

Workers and Wage Slaves

• Why Newport restaurant has 'no tipping' policy—"Packhouse servers earn $10 per hour or 20 percent of their individual food sales per shift, whichever is larger – almost always the 20 percent. And servers have to meet certain goals – sales and service targets, for example – to get their 20 percent."
• Waffle House denies NC waitress a $1,000 tip from 'angel'
• La Porchetta owner who paid young workers in pizza fined $335k

Occupational Hazards

• US: NY firm made workers pray, say 'I love you'—"A federal agency says a New York healthcare firm forced employees to join prayer circles, thank God for having jobs and say 'I love you' to co-workers and managers."
• The Dangers for Women Who Negotiate—"Contrary to the advice of “Lean In,” for women, asserting a strong position in negotiations can backfire."
• Noncompete Clauses Increasingly Pop Up in Array of Jobs—"Once largely limited to the technology and sales sectors, the agreements are entering a range of fields; even camp counselors and hairstylists are being required to sign." NYT
• Facing massive strikes, mining corporations may soon use weaponized drones to control workers
• Amazon warehouses under scrutiny after worker deaths
• Revealed: Asian slave labour producing prawns for supermarkets in US, UK
• India steel plant gas leak kills six in Bhilai

Minimum Wage

• Obama Moves On Minimum Wage Without Congress
• Vermont To Raise Minimum Wage To $10.50
• Seattle: Business adds 'living wage surcharge' after minimum wage hike—"A locally-owned parking business is adding an unusual charge that customers are just starting to notice."
• Industry Group Files Lawsuit Seeking To Kill Seattle's Minimum Wage, Claiming It Violates Their Free Speech
• Why Are Rhode Island Democrats Blocking Minimum-Wage Increases?—"With friends like this, who needs Republicans."

On the Job

• Why You Hate Work—"Excessive demands are leading to burnout everywhere." NYT
• Google Has Started Hiring More People Who Didn't Go To College—Shades of Silicon Valley?
• European court: Death doesn't end holiday benefits—"Dying for a holiday, but can't fit one in? Not to worry — a new European court ruling says vacation benefits are still valid after death." WaPo
• The Onion: More Office Workers Switching To Fetal Position Desks
• PVP Online: Workaholics

Homeless

• Boris Johnson calls for removal of anti-homeless spikes
• More US Cities Are Cracking Down on Feeding the Homeless
• Sarasota leaders help homeless veterans

Banks and Wall Street

• NYC Settles With 14 Occupy Protesters for $583K
• Cop who punched Occupy Wall Street protester gets tax-free disability pension—"Deputy Inspector Johnny Cardona has been granted three-quarters tax free disability pension of roughly $120,000 a year for injuries suffered during his violent encounter with Felix Rivera-Pitre n the Financial District in October 2011."
• How House Democrats Are Caving On Key Mortgage Rules
• U.S. to Sue Citigroup Over Faulty Mortgage Bonds: Sources—"The U.S. Department of Justice is preparing to sue Citigroup Inc on charges that the bank defrauded investors on billions of dollars worth of mortgage securities in the run-up to the financial crisis, after talks to resolve the probe broke down, people familiar with the matter said on Friday." NYT
• Judge considers dismissing U.S. fraud case against Bank of America—"DOJ may not have the evidence to try this as a fraud case."
• Senator to SEC: Stop granting waivers to law-breaking companies
• Australia: Government grabs $360 million from idle household bank accounts

Government Shutdown, Obamacare; NSA Spying and Surveillance; Environment, Pollution, Water Security, Climate Change, Animal

Government Shutdown

• Bill Clinton Says Obama Should Call the Bluff of Republicans—Says they're "begging for America to fail."
• Poll Shows Disapproval of Threat of Government Shutdown—"Republicans, Democrats and independents alike object to the threat of a shutdown during budget negotiations, a poll says." The Tea-Partisanship is an abject failure. NYT
• CNN Poll: GOP would bear the brunt of shutdown blame
• The House Republican tantrum that knows no end
• GOP tries to counter narrative—"Domestic terrorists" and "hostage takers." Politico
• Bob Woodward hits GOP over 'blackmail' Politico
• Who Goes to Work? Who Stays Home? NYT

Obamacare

• House Republicans Really Believe Democrats Will Cave On Obamacare To Avoid A Government Shutdown—And they're getting desperate as the clock ticks away.
• Tea Party letter demanding repeal of medical device tax written by medical device lobbyist
• Peter King Won't Vote For Another Bill Amending ObamaCare: 'Tired of Ted Cruz Calling the Shots'
• Rand Paul Gets Schooled By Bob Schieffer On Defunding Obamacare
• U.S. Plans to Unveil New Insurance Options—"The Obama administration will announce on Monday new health insurance options to be offered through Blue Cross and Blue Shield in 30 states next year." NYT

NSA Spying and Surveillance

• Glenn Greenwald working on new NSA revelations—"Two American journalists known for their investigations of the United States' government said Saturday they've teamed up to report on the National Security Agency's role in what they described as a U.S. assassination program."
• Valerie Plame-Wilson & Joe Wilson: The NSA's metastasised intelligence-industrial complex is ripe for abuse—"Where oversight and accountability have failed, Snowden's leaks have opened up a vital public debate on our rights and privacy."
• Whistleblower Russ Tice Reveals the Truth About NSA Spying
• Ex-Spy Christopher Boyce on Snowden, WikiLeaks, and NSA Backdoors
• US government given December deadline to unseal more NSA documents
• N.S.A. Gathers Data on Social Connections of U.S. Citizens—"The analysis of phone call and e-mail logs for foreign intelligence purposes adds to the growing body of knowledge about the agency's access to private information, prompting concern from lawmakers." NYT
• Feinstein's NSA 'reform' bill would expand snooping powers
• Zegart joins scholars at NSA for rare briefing on spy agency's woes
• Feds Targeted Snowden's Email Provider the Day After NSA Whistleblower Went Public
• NSA Internet Spying Sparks Race to Create Offshore Havens for Data Privacy WSJ
• John McAfee reveals details on gadget to thwart NSA
• Secret Cold War documents reveal NSA spied on senators

Environment

• Victory: Judge Halts Tar Sands 'Megaloads' Through Nat'l Forest—"This ruling shows that the oil industry and the world's largest corporations can't run roughshod over the Tribe, the people of Idaho or our nations' most precious natural assets."
• Republican solution to wildfires: Sell the trees!
• Fire scars big nature reserve in Ecuador's capital

Pollution

• Fox Guest: 'Fracking Is Actually Incredibly Good For Our Environment'—War is Peace. Slavery is Freedom.
• Fracking Chemicals May Be Unknown, Even To Gas Drillers, Lawsuit Documents Suggest
• Exxon Charged With Illegally Dumping Waste in Pennsylvania
• Cold Lake Bitumen Spill Photos Leaked By Government Scientist: Report
• 5,250 gallons of oil spills into South Platte River
• Halliburton Pays $200,000 Fine for Destroying Gulf Spill Evidence
• In BP Trial, the Amount of Oil Lost Is at Issue—"The fines against BP hang in the balance, and depend on the level of negligence that is determined and how much oil was spilled." NYT

Water Security

• Huge water reserve discovered in Kenya—"A massive aquifer that holds enough water to meet all of Kenya's needs for 70 years has been discovered, ITV News can reveal."Nestlé licking their lips.
• Conflict of interest claims persist in Maine’s Nestlé water case
• Commodification of Water, the Quintessential Issue of Our Time

Climate Change

• What 95% Certainty of Warming Means to Scientists
• Global Warming Is Very Real—"Scientists are fighting deniers with irrefutable proof the planet is headed for catastrophe."
• Confirmed: Greenland reached hottest temperature in modern record this summer
• Wild Weather Tied To Unusual Jet Stream Activity
• World won't cool without geoengineering, warns report

Animal

• California ban on foie gras upheld by federal appeals court
• Shark fin banned at official Hong Kong functions
• Record number of rhinos killed in South Africa in 2013—"Total of 688 rhino deaths passes last year's record, with three months of the year still to go." It's disgusting that the "dramatic growth in rhino poaching... has largely been driven by demand in Asia, in particular Vietnam, where rhino horn is seen as a status symbol."

The Big Dog, Class War, Red State of Mind, The Lyin' Ryan, Truthiness, Voter Suppression, Journalism, Politics, Military, Local Government

The Big Dog

• What Bill Clinton Wrote vs. What Bill Clinton Said
• Jon Stewart Praises Bill Clinton's 'Amazing' DNC Math
• Obama: Clinton could be 'secretary of explaining stuff'

Class War

• Politics and Plutocrats: A Parade of Inequality
• Income Inequality: Powers That Be Won't Take It Up, Occupy Can't Take It to the Bank, and It's Still Very Real
• Bernie Sanders: Billionaires & corporations now buying elections, this should frighten every American
• Could You Raise Your Kids on Less Than $15,000 a Year? Millions of Parents Are Forced to Learn How
• Exiling the Poor--"Affluent suburban communities are refusing to build state-mandated affordable housing, leaving the inner-city poor with few options."

Red State of Mind

• Six reasons Texas pols are dangerous--"From rewriting history textbooks, to denying minorities the right to vote, Texas politicians have become a menace." Salon
• Why Do So Many Southerners Think They're the Only Real Americans?
• Liberal professor sends video of self being liberal to right-wing Campus Reform group, demands his $100 bounty for turning himself in

The Lyin' Ryan

• Paul Ryan won't back down on statements branded as false
• Since When Did Paul Ryan Become a Liar?
• Paul Ryan Has Not Run Sub-3:00 Marathon

Truthiness

• Is the Right-Wing Psyche Allergic to Reality? A New Study Shows Conservatives Ignore Facts More Than Liberals
• Romney Suggests Obama Has Plans To Remove God From Currency
• Republicans, the Post-Truth Party
• New Labor--War is peace. Freedom is Slavery. Labor Day is for Employers.
• Disillusioned Obama Supporter In Romney Ad Is Actually GOP Staffer

Voter Suppression

• In South Carolina, Shockingly Candid Talk About Voter Discrimination--"The state's chief election official -- a bureaucrat, not a politician -- patiently and professionally proves how the new law could be used to not only keep residents from voting but systematically discard their votes."
• Judge orders Ohio secretary of state to show up personally to explain why he's ignoring court order--"Husted... issued a directive telling county election boards not to arrange early-voting hours on those three days until after the appeal court's decision. In other words, he flipped off district court Judge Peter C. Economus."
• GOP Targets African-American Women in Voter Suppression Efforts
• 'Register to vote' Google searches double after Obama speech
• It’s Never Been Easier To Register, Which Is Why Republicans Have To Make It Harder To Vote--Now more than ever (NYT).

Journalism

• Forget Lehrer and Zakaria—Most Online Journalism Is Rotten to the Core
• Fox News Publishes Name Of SEAL Who Led Bin Laden Raid---John Moody, Executive Vice President and Executive Editor FOX News says that, "Once you write a book, anonymously or not, you have no reasonable expectation of privacy." And soon enough, "Mark Owen" has been targetted by Jihadists.
• Why didn't CNN's international arm air its own documentary on Bahrain's Arab Spring repression?--"I couldn't believe CNN was making me put what I knew to be government lies into my reporting."

Politics

• Why George Orwell is as relevant today as ever
• Brave New World: Aldous Huxley’s predictions seem to be upon us--"Eighty-one years ago this month, while living in the south of France, Aldous Huxley completed his timeless satire about an infantilized, drug-dependent, science-controlled, consumer society — much like our own."
• Idiocracy is Coming True

Military

• The modern US army: unfit for service?--"Gone are the days of the all-American army hero. These days, the US military is more like a sanctuary for racists, gang members and the chronically unfit."
• Congress Passes Restrictions On Military Funeral Protests, Delivers Blow To Westboro Baptist Church--And Obama has signed it as well as bill helping the families of Camp Lejeune.
• Obama announces 'reverse bootcamp' for veterans
• How do you get a sick day if you work for the military?
• Sarah Lawrence, With Guns--"We asked a former West Point professor about teaching literature at the nation’s most prestigious military academy. What he told us revealed the truth behind the country’s most elite warrior caste – and how liberal heroes like Thoreau and the Beats inspire the next generation of 'Runaway Generals.'"

Local Government

• Woman Sues City of Tulsa For Cutting Down Her Edible Garden
• Man Sentenced to 30 Days for Catching Rain Water on Own Property Enters Jail--"The Oregon Water Resources Department, claims that Harrington has been violating the state's water use law by diverting water from streams running into the Big Butte River."
• Pitchfork-wielding Virginia farmers rally against birthday party fine
• Phoenix Woman Ordered to Not Give Out Water in 112 Degree Heat Because She Lacked a Permit
• Code Enforcement Officer Enters Woman's Home--Is he or is he not facing charges for trespassing?
• Canada: Front yard gardener wins over officials with petition--"[N]ot only will the garden stay, but the town publicly announced that it will implement new guidelines which explicitly permit it."
• Blast from the Past: Politician Breaks Into Home, Sues Owners For Injuries--And later on withdraws the lawsuit.

The Lyin' Ryan, Racism, RNC, The Pr0n Republicans, Elections 2012, Dissing Disenfranchisement, Obstructionism, Economy, Taxes

The Lyin' Ryan

• Paul Ryan's speech in 3 words--Dazzling. Deceiving. Distracting.
• Paul Ryan fails -- the truth
• How The Media Soft-Plays Paul Ryan's Lies: 'Factual Shortcuts,' 'Perceived Inaccuracies,' 'Questionable Claims'

Racism

• RNC Attendee Allegedly Threw Nuts At Black CNN Camerawoman, Said 'This Is How We Feed Animals'
• Russell Pearce's disastrous Arizona campaign is over
• In modern GOP, the old South returns

RNC

• Did RNC "Scripted" Rules Change Start A Civil War In The Republican Party?
• The GOP’s Enduring Clint Eastwood Problem
• The Daily Show: The Road to Jeb Bush 2016 - The Best F#@king News Team Ever Audits America--"While convincing us that President Obama has destroyed our future, Republicans have also invented a past where they were trying to help him succeed."

The Pr0n Republicans

• Republicans call for crackdown on pornography
• Steven Hirsch, Porn Producer, Tells Republicans To 'Catch Up... Sex Is Everywhere'--He reminds them which states look at porn the most.
• GOP, hands off my porn!--"The Republican Party has committed to "vigorously" enforcing obscenity laws. A look at what that could mean." Salon

Elections 2012

• If Romney Loses
• 10 Things Conservatives Don’t Want You To Know About Ronald Reagan
• Scaring the Voters in the Middle NYT
• Al Gore Calls for End of Electoral College
• 'The Right to Vote'--"How does voting really work — or sometimes not work — in America?" NYT
• People Aren't Smart Enough for Democracy to Flourish, Scientists Say
• I Side With...--See how your take on issues match up with the candidates. Here's mine.

Dissing Disenfranchisement

• Court: GOP's Texas Redistricting Plan Intentionally Discriminated Against Hispanics
• Federal Court Rules Texas Voter ID Law Is Discriminatory
• Federal Judge Orders Ohio to Restore Weekend Early Voting in Ohio Weekend Before Election Day

Obstructionism

• The Party of No: New Details on the GOP Plot to Obstruct Obama
• The Death of Moderation: Republicans Have Become a Party of Naysayers
• Powell: Partisanship perhaps worst in 40 years

Economy

• Paul Ryan's Grim Vision for America
• Greed and Debt: The True Story of Mitt Romney and Bain Capital--"How the GOP presidential candidate and his private equity firm staged an epic wealth grab, destroyed jobs – and stuck others with the bill."
• 60 Years of American Economic History, Told in 1 Graph

Taxes

• Pew Poll: Most Americans Believe Rich Pay 'Too Little' In Taxes
• Add It Up: Taxes Avoided by the Rich Could Pay Off the Deficit
• At 102%, His Tax Rate Takes the Cake NYT

Budget, Taxes, Class War, Military, GOP, Economic Sabotage, Fucks News

Budget

• How Bush-Fueled Deficits Continue To Haunt Obama
• Obama spending binge never happened--"Government outlays rising at slowest pace since 1950s," despite what the Republicans have been lying about.
• CBO Report Says Deficit Reduction Will Cause New Recession
• GOP rookies buck Grover Norquist
• A New Politics That Rejects Austerity and Wars of Whim

Taxes

• Geithner: U.S. 'Can't Afford' Bush Tax Cuts for Wealthy-- WSJ
• Pelosi asks Boehner for immediate vote on middle-class tax cuts
• Harry Reid to Republicans: Give in on Bush tax cuts, gutting Medicare and maybe we can talk
• Windfall! Rich will get richer from new tax credit
• Hey Gov. Christie, New Jersey is over here
• After Slashing Funds For Health And Education, Ohio Prepares To Cut Taxes For Banks
• Grijalva Slams Arizona Governor For Using Foreclosure Settlement Funds To Balance Budget--She'd rather give corporate tax cuts.

Class War

• Census shows 1 in 2 people are poor or low-income
• Bill Clinton: How to Tame the Debt Without Screwing the Poor and Middle Class
• Obama: War savings should be devoted to middle class, debt

Military

• Behind Army’s $17,000 Drip Pan, Harold Rogers's Earmark NYT
• China fake parts 'used in US military equipment'
• Even more bloated than you think--"Ignore the GOP's budget cut outrage: National Security will still acount for a third of the projected 2013 budget." Salon

GOP

• Respected scholars: Frustrated with Washington? Blame Republicans
• Schwarzenegger: GOP, take down that small tent--"California's Republican Party used to work toward solutions. Now it's an exclusive club where members' ideological cards must be checked at the door."
• Jon Stewart on the Right's Cognitive Dissonance With Refusing to Give President Obama Credit for Anything
• GOP to modernity: Stop--"For House Republicans, the less we know about our country and our planet, the better." Salon
• Opinion: GOP faithful in a state of denial

Economic Sabotage

• House GOP Throws Out Entire Summer Of Debt Ceiling Negotiations In Less Than 10 Minutes
• Sabotage: The new GOP plan--"Paul Ryan and the Republicans' latest tactic is outright treachery: They want to break the government." Salon
• The GOP is Today's Know Nothing Party--"Their hyper partisanship is paralyzing Washington."
• Is GOP trying to sabotage economy to hurt Obama?
• David Vitter Is Trying To Crush the Economy

Fucks News

• It’s Official: Watching Fox Makes You Stupider
• FCC urged to revoke Fox News' license
• Roger Ailes criticizes New York Times, AP during Ohio University talk-
• Roger Ailes: Jon Stewart ‘basically’ told me he was a socialist
• 14 Propaganda Techniques Fox 'News' Uses to Brainwash Americans