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American Petroleum Institute Uses Stock Photos Of ‘Americans’ To Defend Oil Subsidies - 03/10/2010 07:24 PM

Big Oil is using fake “Americans” to defend billions in tax subsidies. The American Petroleum Institute is running full-page ads in Politico and Roll Call that attack Congress for “new energy taxes”: Congress will likely consider new taxes on America’s oil and natural gas industry. These new energy taxes will produce wide-reaching effects, and ripple through [...]

Archidioscese responds to controversy over its decision to kick children with lesbian parents out of school. - 03/10/2010 06:33 PM

Last week, officials “at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School, acting at the direction of the Archdiocese of Denver,” decided to not re-enroll two unnamed children because their parents were lesbians. Following fierce protests of the decision, the Archbishop of Denver has written an op-ed where he says the Church “does not claim” that [...]

‘Jihad Jane’ Undermines Right-Wing Calls For Profiling Based On The Myth That All Terrorists ‘Look Alike’ - 03/10/2010 05:33 PM

Since the Ft. Hood shooting and the failed Christmas Day terror attack, some on the right have stepped up their calls for ethnic “profiling” and “discrimination,” with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich saying the Obama administration is more interested in “protecting the rights of terrorists” than “protecting the lives of Americans.” Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s [...]

Netanyahu Apologizes For Settlements News, Despite Recently Appearing With Pro-Settlement Cleric Hagee - 03/10/2010 04:41 PM

On Monday, the day Vice-President Joe Biden was to arrive in Israel, the Israeli government announced approval for 112 new homes in Beitar Illit, an ultra-Orthodox settlement near Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, despite having agreed in November to curb settlement growth in partial fulfillment of Israel’s obligations under the Bush administration road [...]

Mukasey calls Liz Cheney’s ‘Al-Qaeda 7′ ad ‘shoddy and dangerous.’ - 03/10/2010 03:51 PM

Yesterday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) joined a growing chorus of conservatives condemning the McCarthy-like tactics of Keep America Safe, the new group led by Bill Kristol and Liz Cheney, which recently released an ad questioning the loyalties of Justice Department lawyers who were once involved in representing al-Qaeda terror suspects. Today in the Wall Street [...]

ThinkFast: March 10, 2010 - 03/10/2010 03:00 PM

Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), who is a playing “a crucial role in bipartisan negotiations over financial regulation,” pushed to “remove a provision from draft legislation that would have empowered federal authorities to crack down on payday lenders. … The industry is politically influential in his home state and a significant contributor to his campaigns, records [...]

Beck: The Census Is The Government’s Attempt To ‘Increase Slavery’ - 03/10/2010 12:40 AM

The Census is a popular topic of right-wing

Will Tea Parties Embrace Movement Pushing To Portray Women From Mexico As ‘Welfare Queens’? - 03/09/2010 11:41 PM

Erin Rosa of Campus Progress reports that NumbersUSA, a “mainstream” immigration restrictionist group with troublesome ties to hate groups, hosted a public conference call last night to discuss “a variety of tactics to thwart an upcoming march on Washington DC by immigrant rights supporters.” One tactic proposed on the call involves portraying women from Mexico [...]

Graham condemns Keep America Safe’s attacks on DOJ lawyers as ‘shameful.’ - 03/09/2010 11:03 PM

In recent days, prominent conservatives have denounced a McCarthyite ad questioning the loyalties of Justice Department lawyers who have represented Guantanamo detainees in the past. The ad was produced by Keep America Safe, the new group led by Bill Kristol and Liz Cheney. Today, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) added his name to the opposition: “I’ve been [...]

34 Of 41 Senate Republicans Supported Passing Major Domestic Policy Legislation Through Reconciliation - 03/09/2010 10:03 PM

As the outlook on passage of health reform improves, Republicans have shifted to a new obstructionist strategy: attacking the process of reconciliation. Republicans claim that reconciliation was only intended to be used for bills dealing closely with the budget. In fact, when Republicans were in power, GOP lawmakers used reconciliation numerous times to pass major [...]

Number of millionaires in America increased 16 percent in 2009. - 03/09/2010 09:00 PM

A new study released by the research and consulting firm Spectrem Group finds that the number of millionaires in the United States increased by double digits the last year. According to Spectrem Group’s data, “families with a net worth of at least $1 million, excluding primary residences, rose to 7.8 million in 2009,” an [...]

Health Insurance Industry Defends Massive Profits, Complains It Is Being ‘Vilified’ - 03/09/2010 07:51 PM

Insurers have responded to the administration’s campaign against recent rate hikes by blaming increasing health care costs, provider cost increases and adverse selection (healthier Americans are dropping coverage) for their premium increases. To hear them tell it, the insurance industry is a low-profit industry that spends just one cent of every premium dollar on [...]

Romney: ‘I find it hard to disagree with Rush Limbaugh.’ - 03/09/2010 07:01 PM

Last month, Rush Limbaugh criticized Mitt Romney for endorsing Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in his campaign against J.D. Hayworth in Arizona’s GOP Senate primary. “I think he’s risking his career over a guy, endorsing McCain, who is so out of step with what’s going on right now,” Limbaugh complained. Newsmax asked Romney about Limbaugh’s criticism [...]

As Chamber Builds Up Political Operation, Treasury Officials Express Frustration With Group’s Distortions - 03/09/2010 06:01 PM

The LA Times reports today on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s growing “large-scale grass-roots political operation” that is being “funded by record-setting amounts of money raised from corporations and wealthy individuals.” In 2009, the Chamber spent $144 million on lobbying and grassroots organizing, “well beyond the spending of individual labor unions or the Democratic [...]

First same-sex couple weds in D.C. - 03/09/2010 04:59 PM

Same-sex couples began marrying in the nation’s capital today, with some lining up as early as 3:30 a.m. to pick up their licenses from D.C. Superior Court. The first couple to officially tie the knot was Angelisa Young and Sinjoyla Townsend, who met in a constitutional law class at the University of the District of [...]

Limbaugh vows to flee the country if health care passes. - 03/09/2010 03:55 PM

Hate radio host Rush Limbaugh has been one of health care reform’s most vociferous opponents, warning that “[h]uman beings will die earlier than normal” under the “freedom killing” and “life threatening” plan, and calling for it to be “aborted.” Yesterday, Limbaugh put his money where his mouth is, saying that if health care passes and [...]

ThinkFast: March 9, 2010 - 03/09/2010 03:00 PM

Former president George W. Bush, “in his most active intervention since leaving the White House,” called the UK’s Conservative Party leader David Cameron to ask him to support the Northern Ireland peace process. Members of Congress wrote to Cameron last month to tell him that insurgents would be “emboldened” if the peace process is slowed [...]

After Telling Women, Gays How To Live, Oklahoma GOP Outraged At ‘Government Intervention’ In Divorces - 03/09/2010 12:09 AM

The Oklahoma legislature is currently locked in a dispute over whether to tackle the state’s divorce rate, the third-highest in the nation. Although some Republicans are pushing the legislation, other conservatives are outraged at the “government intrusion” into their private lives: Republican members proposed three pieces of legislation imposing new regulations on marriage and [...]

Home-school textbook market dominated by books skeptical of evolution. - 03/08/2010 11:10 PM

According to the Associated Press, home-schooling parents seeking textbooks that include evolution are finding the dominance of Christian-based materials to be isolating and frustrating. The publishers that largely control the home-school textbook market, which include Bob Jones University Press and Apologia Educational Ministries Inc., often include overt affirmations of Christianity and “stack the deck against [...]

As Obama Nominees Languish, Committee Schedules Vote On Right-Wing McConnell Nominee - 03/08/2010 10:07 PM

During his reign as Senate Minority Leader, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has led his party to engage in an unprecedented level of obstruction — wielding the filibuster to block even routine bills and nominations while simultaneously lying about his own previous support of majority rule in the Senate. No one has fared worse under McConnell’s [...]