Politics

Slim Majority of Americans Expect Republicans to Take Control of the U.S. Senate in November

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By Glynn Wilson – Fifty-two percent of Americans say they expect the Republican Party to win control of the U.S. Senate in November, according to the latest Gallup poll on the subject, although there are a few key races still up in the air that could change that. An even larger majority of Americans, 63…

Most People Are Not Predisposed to Kill, Even in War

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Note: When the U.S. went to war in Iraq under the Bush administration, I noticed an immediate shift in the media. Suddenly, the major media used the work “kill” this and that. There was also the “de-humanizing” of Saddam Hussein and demonizing of Iraqis who surrounded and supported Hussein. I knew this was the major…

People’s Climate Change March: The Times They Are A-Changin’ Too

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By David Underhill – NEW YORK, N.Y. – Teddy Roosevelt looked down from his bronze horse and saw time spin off course. The forged Indian and African afoot beside him for nearly a century abandoned the pedestal and strode into the street. In the Museum of Natural History behind him the display cases showing natives…

Health Issues Could Haunt Hillary Clinton’s Presidential Campaign in 2016

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By Nick Sheppard – From The Sheppard Post – Near the end of 2012, Hillary Clinton’s health made headlines as she finished her term as secretary of state. She developed a stomach virus, hit her head, suffered a concussion and subsequently developed a blood clot in her brain but was medicated and made a good…

The Disease of American Democracy

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By Robert Reich – Americans are sick of politics. Only 13 percent approve of the job Congress is doing, a near record low. The President’s approval ratings are also in the basement. A large portion of the public doesn’t even bother voting. Only 57.5 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots in the 2012 presidential…

Will the Legal Fate of Federal Judge Mark Fuller Be Influenced by Facebook?

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Super Lawyer Donald Watkins Thinks So – The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – I’ve been following with some interest the stories about the arrest of U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller, sharing some of the links on Facebook and Twitter. But it seemed like a stretch to me that his arrest on misdemeanor battery…

Is A Two-State Solution In the Mid-East All But Dead?

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By Nick Sheppard – From The Sheppard Post – There is an increasingly openly-stated view amongst the Israeli leadership that the conflict with the Palestinians can only be managed, not resolved by the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. In a recent press conference, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “I think the Israeli…

Organized Labor Could Make the Difference in Key Kentucky Senate Race

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If Union Members Were Not So Politically Conservative – By Berry Craig – PADUCAH, Ky. — Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes says Bluegrass State union members are her “secret weapon” in her quest to unseat arch conservative Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and help the Democrats keep a majority hold on the…

AFL-CIO Executive Council Says New Coal Dust Standard Will ‘Save Miners’ Lives’

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A new standard that limits miners’ exposure to the coal dust that causes black lung “will save miners’ lives,” the AFL-CIO Executive Council said in a statement issued Thursday at the council’s summer meeting at AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C. The Mine Safety and Health Administration issued the final rule in April and it goes…

Benghazi and the Right Wing Media: Facts on a So-Called ‘Scandal’

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By Nick Sheppard – From The Sheppard Post – When it comes to Benghazi, the Conservative commentariat is willing to make an association with almost anything that happens, past or present, domestic or international, relevant or irrelevant. On the Fox network’s show The Five, Andrea Tantaros opined about the missing Malaysian airliner: “Think how long…

Labor Report Shows States That Raised the Minimum Wage See Faster Job Growth

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A new report released by the U.S. Department of Labor provides solid evidence that raising the minimum wage in states tends to spur job growth, the opposite of what conservative critics claim. The state-by-state hiring data, released Friday by the Labor Department, provides ammunition to the camp in favor of raising the minimum wage. In…

Hillary Clinton Is the Best Known, Best Liked Presidential Candidate for 2016

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Hillary Clinton is currently the best known and best liked of 16 potential 2016 presidential candidates, according to the latest Gallup poll on the subject, due to her 91 percent familiarity score and plus 19 net favorable rating. The net favorable is based on her 55 percent favorable and 36 percent unfavorable ratings. In the…

The Limits of Corporate Citizenship: Why Walgreen Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Influence U.S. Politics If It Becomes Swiss

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By Robert Reich – Dozens of big U.S. corporations are considering leaving the United States in order to reduce their tax bills. But they’ll be leaving the country only on paper. They’ll still do as much business in the U.S. as they were doing before. The only difference is they’ll no longer be “American,” and…

States Miss Economic Opportunities by Failing to Expand Medicaid

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By Glynn Wilson – MARION, Va. — The Council of Economic Advisers released a report on Wednesday detailing the negative effects on local economies and public health in states where Republican administrations failed to cooperate with the federal government and expand Medicaid. The report, entitled Missed Opportunities: The Consequences of State Decisions Not to Expand…

Break the Koch Machine

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By Robert Reich – A number of billionaires are flooding our democracy with their money, drowning out the voices of the rest of us. But Charles and David Koch are in a class by themselves. They’re using their fortune – they’re the fifth and sixth richest people in the world — to create their own…

The Three Biggest Right-Wing Lies About Poverty

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By Robert Reich – Rather than confront poverty by extending jobless benefits to the long-term unemployed, endorsing a higher minimum wage, or supporting jobs programs, conservative Republicans are taking a different tack. They’re peddling three big lies about poverty. To wit: Lie No. 1: Economic growth reduces poverty “The best anti-poverty program,” wrote Paul Ryan,…

Political Polarization of the American Public Pollutes Democracy

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How Increasing Ideological Uniformity and Partisan Antipathy Affect Politics, Compromise and Everyday LifeANALYSIS – By Glynn Wilson – Republicans and Democrats are more divided along ideological lines – and partisan antipathy is deeper and more extensive – than at any point in the last two decades, according to a new research study from the Pew…

A Majority of Americans View Democratic Presidential Front Runner Hillary Clinton Favorably

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But Her Numbers Are Already Starting to Take A DiveBy Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Hillary Clinton takes the national stage as the early front runner in the presidential election of 2016, a majority of Americans, 54 percent, view her in a positive light, according to the Gallup Poll’s latest favorability rating survey.…

Trial Balloons Already Filling the Skies in the Presidential Election of 2016

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The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – If former Southern Baptist preacher and Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee can float trial balloons and turn his attention to the presidential election of 2016 before the 2014 midterm elections are in the bag, what the heck? It’s about time we started talking about it anyway. Every other…