Daily News Drop
Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Daily News Drop. We strive to encapsulate the news of the day into one concise post. Here are today’s batch of stories!
The Ongoing Unemployment Crisis As perpetual as this high unemployment feels, it might be more permanent – Obama’s Chief Economic Advisor announced that even if Obama’s Jobs Bill is passed, the unemployment rate will stay above 9% until after the 2012 election. This is the first bit of news that has made me think that Obama might not have a chance in 2012. Read this article by Alternet that explains why our unemployment crisis is worse than it seems.
Another Government Shutdown Standoff? As much fun as the last showdown over a potential government shutdown was, I’m not keen on another one… but that might be exactly where we’re heading. The problem revolves around the emergency funding for FEMA that is needed in response to Hurricane Irene. Not surprisingly, House Republicans are not keen on passing this funding and may be willing to hold the nation hostage again. Do we all have Stockholm Syndrome yet?
Obama Backs off SS/Medicare Cuts One thing that Obama put out as a potential olive branch to the Republicans to help pass the American Jobs Act – ‘reasonable’ cuts to Social Security and Medicare – now appears to be off the table. This is more of a testament to Obama’s political acumen than his strong principles. Social Security and Medicare are central planks to the Democratic platform. One thing that Obama can’t afford to do this close to the election is alienate his base (more than he has already, to be fair).
How Israel Benefits from either Outcome of Palestine’s UN Bid Once again, I have to say it – no one in the American media has the bravery to do the sort of analysis that Al Jazeera English does. This opinion piece by Joseph Massad argues that Israel will be strengthened whether Palestine’s Statehood bid is accepted by the UN or is rejected/vetoed. This situation is assured because of one person – Barack Obama and his steadfast opposition to Palestine’s push. Read the piece and learn a lot, I know I did.
Corruption
Shocker – Corporate Speculators Behind 2008 Oil Spike Remember when gas prices spiked over the Summer of 2008? Turns out a large portion of the price increase is because of commodity speculation (betting) by hedge funds, big banks, oil companies and the Koch Brothers. Senator Bernie Sanders leaked confidential documents to media outlets, thus ‘outing’ these oligarchs and showing the American public what they are – the well being of the nation comes way behind personal profit in terms of priorities.
The ‘Rogue Trader’ Meme Matt Taibbi looks at the meme of the ‘rogue trader’ that single-handedly loses money for a huge firm through the lens of the current UBS scandal, where $2 Billion was lost. He doesn’t buy it. The banking culture has more and more valued short term profit over long term stability. Taibbi makes dense financial news easy to understand. Read and share it!
Today we finish the day with a happier story to lighten the mood a bit…
Overrated White Dudes Thanks to Amanda Marcotte for bringing my attention to this Tumblr. White dudes, there are a ton of popular ones out there… do they all deserve it? Um, no. Not at all. I suggest you go directly to the source and bask in the glory.
Thanks for reading and staying informed! Keep reading The Progressive Playbook and check back here tomorrow for another Daily News Drop!
Sources: Alternet, Talking Points Memo, The Nation, Al Jazeera English, Think Progress, Rolling Stone, Pandagon, Overrated White Dudes
Daily News Drop
Happy Friday everyone! I hope all is well and everybody is safe tonight. Please stay safe this weekend, especially if you’re in an area impacted by Ms. Irene! Now, let’s get to some news!
Hurricane Irene As everybody knows by now, a huge Hurricane is bearing down on the East Coast, and apparently this is going to be a bad one! Just stay on top of the radar and be careful! Also, in a related note, this kind of weather might be the new normal. Climate change isn’t real though, right?
Gadhafi and Condi Sittin’ in a Tree In a supremely weird story, rebels found a stash of photos of Condoleeza Rice in Gadhafi’s lair in Libya (also, how exactly do you spell his name??) He’s been quoted as saying, “I support my darling black African woman. I admire and am very proud of the way she leans back and gives orders to the Arab leaders. … Leezza, Leezza, Leezza. … I love her very much. I admire her, and I’m proud of her, because she’s a black woman of African origin.” Huh.
Boy Scout Homophobia After they became aware of a troop leader’s sexual orientation, the Boy Scouts of America removed her from that position. The Boy Scouts don’t just discriminate against gay people though… I personally didn’t know that the Boy Scouts also prohibit atheists and agnostics, as well as gay people, from holding leadership roles within the organization. Can you imagine the outcry if they prohibited African Americans from holding leadership positions? How about people who are in an interracial marriage? This open display of discrimination is really disheartening, but a way to fight it is to boycott the Boy Scouts. We should ban together and do just that!
Drug Testing the Unemployed The old “let’s drug test unemployed people because they’re all losers!” idea is back. GOP state representative, Tim Grendell, from Ohio is going to propose legislation that would require anybody taking any kind of government assistance (including unemployment) to get be drug tested first. It’s insulting on its face, but what people tend to forget is PEOPLE PAY INTO UNEMPLOYMENT. It’s not a handout – it’s a right and it’s INSURANCE that you pay into while you’re working. Who do these people think they are to legislate everybody else’s life choices?! This is so infuriating. Not only is it maddening and insulting, but it’s also unconstitutional.
Celebrating 91 Years of Women Voting 91 years ago today, women got the right to vote! This is a huge, amazing, wonderful thing that nobody is really talking about. In addition to not enough talk about the gains women have made in history, there’s also not enough talk about the efforts being made today (mainly by the GOP) to keep women down and reverse progress that has been made. Today, however, let’s celebrate the good things and look to the future to make sure women continue to make progress!
Oil is Resurfacing in the Gulf Not that the oil ever really went away or just dispersed, but now there seems to be “fresh” oil bubbling to the surface. The Coast Guard and BP claim they haven’t discovered a fresh leak, but they’ll keep searching for the source of the leak. So, let me get this straight – they won’t acknowledge a fresh leak, but claim they’re going to continue looking for the source. Makes sense.
Israeli Blindness As Israelis are organizing demonstrations to protest the skyrocketing cost of living and hardships they’re facing, they ignore the humanitarian crisis that is the West Bank. Israel is ignoring the crisis they are facilitating by justifying their actions with cries of “national security.” However, some Israeli citizens are acknowledging a problem and at times, putting their own lives on the line, to protest the situation. I really applaud those people and hope that we show them our support from across the world.
Thanks for checking in – please come back tomorrow, and again…. BE SAFE!
Sources: CNN, The LA Times, MSNBC, Think Progress, Daily Kos,
Daily News Drop
Welcome back Progressives! It’s the Saturday edition of the Daily News Drop,and just because it’s the weekend doesn’t mean that the news takes a break. Let’s get to it!
The Rick Perry Primer The Right is touting Rick Perry’s announcement of his Presidential run as the arrival of their savior – making Perry out to be the perfect candidate to defeat Barack Obama. Think Progress has put out a few posts to reasonably explain Perry as a hypocritical social conservative zealot. Take a quick look at his stances on Medicare and Social Security, the Stimulus, the Environment and Gay Rights. After reading them, Perry looks less like an independent Governor focused on job creation and more like a usual Republican candidate.
Appeals Court Rules Against Affordable Care Act The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld part of a lower court ruling which declared the Individual Mandate to buy health insurance, which was an aspect of the Affordable Care Act, unconstitutional. The decision will now likely go to the Supreme Court. The individual mandate to buy insurance from private companies was initially a Republican idea that they have since soured on (probably because President Obama supported it). Now that it appears that many from the Right and the Left disapprove of it, why can’t we find a better alternative? John Nichols from The Nation has that alternative – Medicare for All. This would be a way to cover all Americans without providing a windfall to already super wealthy private health insurance companies.
Alabama’s Harsh Immigration Law Criminalizes Good Samaritans The state of Alabama has passed an immigration in the vein of Arizona’s draconian policy, but with a few more even harsher aspects. Beyond empowering law enforcement officers to be able to compel individuals to produce verification of citizenship during routine traffic stops, it also criminalizes transporting, harboring and renting to known illegal immigrants. It also renders all contracts with illegal immigrants null. Churches are legitimately upset that these provisions prevent them from providing shelter to the needy and inviting them to services. I’m appalled by this law, not only because churches can’t assist illegal immigrants, but neither can you or I. Laws like this dehumanize these people, and it’s sickening that a policy this callous can be passed in this nation.
Companies Discriminating Against the Unemployed Interesting story from the Daily Kos about a new policy that some companies are instituting – requiring that applicants must be currently employed to be qualified for their positions. This discrimination, however upsetting, is legal. Bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate to make it illegal to refuse to consider applicants due to their unemployment. Hopefully a law will pass soon to end this deplorable practice.
Battle Against DADT Not Over As we wait for the final repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the court battle determining the legality of the policy seems unimportant. It matters quite a bit for individuals who have already been discharges under the policy. If the policy is just repealed, individuals who have been discharged have no recourse for lost wages or rank and must re-apply with no priority. With the economy in as bad a shape as it is, there are a surplus of individuals trying to enlist - getting back into the military is no sure thing for discharged gay and lesbian soldiers. The success of this lawsuit might be the only way back into the service for many. The Obama Administration is fighting the lawsuit in the courts.
Real Life Class War Ann Coulter, given the platform of the Fox Nation blog to spout her hateful views, took full advantage. In regard to the uprising in London, Coulter advocated more than ‘a few rifle shots.’ Claiming that a “more sustained attack on the rampaging mob might save England from itself” because it would “remov[e]” more people from the welfare rolls. Wow, calling for a literal class war resulting in a mass murder that would save the nation some money. The blog then devolves to racism and bigotry. This post is shocking, but I suggest you read it to see what qualifies for borderline acceptable rhetoric on the Right.
Once again we conclude with a happier story…
Colbert Looks Back at the Week While searching for a positive story to end today’s post, I couldn’t find a better example than Stephen Colbert’s satire. Colbert has been on fire recently with his creation of a Super PAC that he has used exclusively to underline how crazy our new campaign finance structure is (Thanks Supreme Court).
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