Chamber Blames Women For Pay Gap: They Should Choose The Right ‘Place To Work’ And ‘Partner At Home’
Chamber Blames Women For Pay Gap: They Should Choose The Right ‘Place To Work’ And ‘Partner At Home’
Today is the anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which granted the right to vote to women. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has decided to use this day of equal rights for women to argue that women are now to blame for unequal pay in the workplace. On the organization’s official blog, ChamberPost, Senior Director of Communications Brad Peck today makes the argument that the pay gap between men and women in the American workforce — women currently earn roughly 77 cents to every dollar a man earns — is “the result of individual choice rather than discrimination.” He argues that, instead of bold legislative action being taken to help correct this pay gap, women should pick the “obvious, immediate, power-of-the-individual solution: choosing the right place to work and choosing the right partner at home“:
Most of the current “pay gap” is the result of individual choice rather than discrimination. [...]
It is true that culturally speaking women are more likely to have to make the tough choices about work-life balance. But as we all seek to fit our values into a dynamic 24/7 economy, let’s not overlook the obvious, immediate, power-of-the-individual solution: choosing the right place to work and choosing the right partner at home.
Peck’s argument that women could close the pay gap by simply choosing jobs in better paying fields and marrying wealthier men is based on a faulty premise — that the pay gap in the United States between genders exists because women choose to work for less and men choose to work for more.
While it’s true that women sometimes migrate into fields that have lower pay, what Peck ignores is that even within the same occupation, women are paid less. For example, data collected by the Census Bureau in 2007 shows that “female secretaries…earn just 83.4% as much as male ones” and female truck drivers “earn just 76.5% of the weekly pay of their male counterparts.” A report put out this year by the University of Minnesota finds that women in that state are “are paid $11,000 dollars less each year than men with the same jobs.” A 2007 American Association of University Women report compared men and women with similar “hours, occupation, parenthood, and other factors normally associated with pay” and found that “college-educated women still earn less than their male peers earn“; the report concludes that workplace discrimination is the culprit in the wage gap.
It is important to note that this pay inequity is so pervasive that it even affects people who undergo a sex change. In 2008, researchers Kristen Schilt and Matthew Wiswall examined the wages over their lifetimes of people before and after a sex change operation. Even “when controlling for factors like education, men who transitioned to women earned, on average, 32% less after the surgery. Women who became men, on the other hand, earned 1.5% more.”
Unfortunately, the Chamber of Commerce has a long history of overlooking women’s struggles in America and of actively opposing movements for gender equality. While opposing the Pregnancy Discrimination Act in 1978, the Chamber argued that pregnancy was a “voluntary” act and thus should not have discrimination protections in the workplace. In 1987 it ominously warned that the Family and Medical Leave Act would set a “dangerous precedent” of employer-sponsored benefits. And last year, the organization lobbied against legislation that would allow rape victims to bring lawsuits against their employers.
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GOP IA state candidate deletes offensive Facebook posts, but unsure if AIDS is punishment for gays.
GOP IA state candidate deletes offensive Facebook posts, but unsure if AIDS is punishment for gays.
Yesterday, the Iowa Independent broke the story that Jeremy Walters — a Republican candidate for the Iowa State house — posted Facebook messages in which he quoted biblical verses saying that gay people should be “put to death” and suggested that AIDS is a punishment for the sin of homosexuality:
Walters’ statements were immediately condemned by One Iowa, the state’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) advocacy organization, and the Iowa Republican party, leading the candidate to remove the posts. But in a subsequent interview with the Wonk Room, Walters explained that his outburst was motivated by the recent Prop 8 decision and that he was still uncertain if God was trying to kill gay people. Read the interview here.
‘Tea Party Exchange’ organizer ‘hoodwinked’ local Ohio businesses into forking over cash for failed scheme.
‘Tea Party Exchange’ organizer ‘hoodwinked’ local Ohio businesses into forking over cash for failed scheme.
There is already a disturbing trend of profiteering among the Tea Party movement, from Glenn Beck’s Goldline scheme to conferences that cost $550 per ticket. Another such scheme unraveled in Ohio today, involving a discount program for Tea Party members at businesses near Dayton. Local businessman Donald Hutchison, who will speak at the Tea Party gathering in Washington, DC on Sept. 11, started the “Tea Party Exchange” last year, in which about 30 local businesses agreed to give discounts to local Tea Party members. The businesses, which believed they would see increased patronage, paid $150 to participate in the program. Yesterday, however, Hutchison abruptly shut down the program, and there is “no word” on whether the participating businesses will get their money back. Bill DeFries, owner of the local Beef O’Brady’s Family Sports Club and participant in the Tea Party exchange, is not pleased:
“I feel like I was hoodwinked,” said DeFries. “I think he was trying to make money.”
“I think he should refund everybody their money, including me,” said DeFries, who didn’t get a single TPX customer since he joined June 1.
The participating businesses varied widely, from restaurants to roofing companies. Many were in or near the congressional district of House Minority Leader John Boehner (R). (HT: TP reader EW)
Dean suggests ‘compromise’ on Park 51: No point doing ‘something good’ if met with ‘enormous resistance.’
Dean suggests ‘compromise’ on Park 51: No point doing ‘something good’ if met with ‘enormous resistance.’
Today, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D) appeared on radio network WABC-77 and fielded questions from a host about a variety of political issues. At one point, the host asked Dean what his position was “on the controversy surrounding the mosque at Ground Zero,” referring to the Park 51 Islamic community center and mosque. Dean responded by saying he favored some sort of “compromise” of the issue that involved using the proposed site for “people of all faiths.” He called the presence of the mosque an “affront to people who lost their lives, including Muslims.” He then went on to say that while the congregation building the mosque probably has good intentions, “there’s no point trying to do something good if it’s met with enormous resistance from a lot of folks“:
HOST: Governor, what is your position on the controversy surrounding the mosque at Ground Zero?
DEAN: I gotta believe there has to be a compromise here. This isn’t about the right for Muslims to have a worship center, or Jews or Christians or anybody else to have a place to worship, any place at Ground Zero. This is something we oughta be able to work out with people of good faith. And we have to understand that it is a real affront to people who lost their lives, including Muslims. That site doesn’t belong to any particular religion, it belongs to all people of all faiths. So I think a good reasonable compromise could be worked out without violating the principle people oughta be able to worship as they see fit.
HOST: You’re calling for a compromise, are you calling for the mosque to be moved?
DEAN: Well I think another site would be a better idear. Again, I would look to do that in collaboration with the people trying to build the mosque. I think the people who are trying to build the mosque are trying to do something good. But there’s no point in trying to do something good if it’s met with enormous resistance from a lot of folks. This is a very delicate, difficult religious and cultural issue. I think it’s great to have mosques in American cities. There’s a growing number of American Muslims. I think most of those Muslims are moderate. I hope they’ll have an impact on the world, because Islam is really back in the 12th century in some of these countries like in Iran and Afghanistan, where they’re stoning Muslims to death. And that can be fixed. And the way it can be fixed is not by pushing Muslims away, it’s by embracing them and having them become just like any other American, Americans who happen to be Muslim. So the way you do that is to integrate people into the fabric of the United States, which is what I think this congregation wants to do. But I do think we should work out a compromise so that everyone is accommodated by this.
Of course, if progressive movements throughout history had followed Dean’s advice, there’d be very little progress. During the health care debate, Howard Dean boldly said, “I’m going to fight for a public option until we get one. It really is that simple. … We will not stop because Democrats in Washington say it’s done. We will not wait 20 years — 10 years — we will not wait a single year — because we will not stop until every American has the option to voluntarily buy into a program like Medicare.” It appears that running into the “enormous resistance” of the U.S. Senate and political opposition from the insurance, drug, and medical-industrial industries did not stop Dean from fighting for a public option. One has to wonder why he feels like it would be enough to sacrifice the rights of American Muslims to peacefully worship where they please.
World Net Daily Drops Ann Coulter From Conference For Speaking To ‘Twisted And Dangerous’ Gay Conservatives
World Net Daily Drops Ann Coulter From Conference For Speaking To ‘Twisted And Dangerous’ Gay Conservatives
Earlier this month, the new gay conservative group GOProud vowed to put the “fun” back in politics at next month’s inaugural Homocon Conference by featuring special guest, right-wing pundit Ann Coulter. In an apparent lack of imagination, GOProud Board Chairman Christopher Barron said he “could not think of any conservative more fun” than the “the right-wing Judy Garland,” a nickname Coulter suggested herself.
Fellow right-wing groups have rebuked her decision. Rick Scarborough of right-wing Christian group Vision America said Coulter “can’t hold herself forth as a defender of traditional values while playing footsie with homosexual groups.” Scarborough called on conservatives to boycott her books to show “this betrayal to our values is not without cost.” Americans For Truth About Homosexuality President Peter LaBarbera asked Coulter to reconsider speaking to the “phony homosexual ‘conservatives.’” To him, it is akin to speaking before “Republicans for Responsible Porn Use” and sends a “dangerous message to young Americans that homosexuality is OK. (It’s actually a sin.)”
But the right-wing publication World Net Daily landed the biggest blow to its “superstar” contributor yesterday when it dumped her as a keynote speaker for its Taking America Back National Conference next month. In a “gut-wrenching” decision, WND CEO Joseph Farah said he had to drop Coulter for abetting GOProud’s “infiltration of the conservative movement” with its “twisted and dangerous ideas” and validating its “coup” by helping GOProud raise money. Coulter fired back, saying she speaks for groups all the time that she does not endorse, including WND, who is “nuts on the birther thing”:
“Asked by Farah why she was speaking to GOProud, Coulter said: “They hired me to give a speech, so I’m giving a speech. I do it all the time.”
Farah then asked: “Do you not understand you are legitimizing a group that is fighting for same-sex marriage and open homosexuality in the military – not to mention the idea that sodomy is just an alternate lifestyle?”
Coulter responded: “That’s silly, I speak to a lot of groups and do not endorse them. I speak at Harvard and I certainly don’t endorse their views. I’ve spoken to Democratic groups and liberal Republican groups that loooove abortion. The main thing I do is speak on college campuses, which is about the equivalent of speaking at an al-Qaida conference. I’m sure I agree with GOProud more than I do with at least half of my college audiences. But in any event, giving a speech is not an endorsement of every position held by the people I’m speaking to. I was going to speak for you guys, I think you’re nuts on the birther thing (though I like you otherwise!).”
In response to LaBarbera’s censure, GOProud Board Chairman Christopher Barron scoffed, “If Mr. LaBarbera spent less time obsessing about gay sex and hanging out at gay Pride events,” then maybe he would not be so “completely clueless” about “what Ann has actually written and said about gay people and gay conservatives.”
Indeed, Coulter is loud and proud in her gay-bashing. At this year’s CPAC, Coulter denounced “liberal elites” by launching a bigoted attack against Assistant Deputy Secretary for Safe and Drug-Free Schools Kevin Jennings. She is also comfortable throwing anti-gay slurs at her political enemies, calling Al Gore a “total fag” in 2006 and then-presidential candidate John Edwards (D) a “faggot” in 2007. Such open hostility begs the question of why GOProud would want to provide her a platform. Unless, of course, this is the group’s idea of “fun.”
Deficit fraud Blunt calls for permanent taxpayer giveaways to the real estate industry.
Deficit fraud Blunt calls for permanent taxpayer giveaways to the real estate industry.
Yesterday, Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO), who is running for Missouri’s open Senate seat, unveiled his jobs plan at an event with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Blunt spends a lot of time in the document fearmongering about the deficit, saying “we must put a stop to this reckless and embarrassing culture of running up the bill and passing it along to our children and grandchildren.” He even advocates rescinding the stimulus money that has yet to be spent, which amounts be a tax increase on the middle class. But Blunt’s concern about spending evaporates when it comes to having the federal government subsidize the real estate industry, as he calls for permanently extending the home buyers tax credit:
Recently it was announced that new home purchases had fallen off more than 30%. Clearly people respond to tax incentives and the recently-expired home owners’ tax credit is no exception. Encouraging people who can afford it to purchase homes helps employ homebuilders, real estate workers, bank employees, and keeps liquidity in the market.
As The Wonk Room explained, the home buyer’s tax credit was enacted as part of the stimulus and then extended a couple of times, and by all accounts it was a complete and total boondoggle, costing taxpayers billions to subsidize activity that was going to happen anyway. Even the credit’s staunchest supporters have said that its “sunsetting is an incentive to drive people to the marketplace” and poo-pooed the notion of extending it forever, which clearly turns it into a permanent subsidy to the real estate industry. But since Blunt has received far more money from the finance/insurance/real estate sector than any other in his career, maybe that’s precisely the point, no matter what it costs.
Fox News stays silent on News Corp’s controversial $1 million donation to Republicans.
Fox News stays silent on News Corp’s controversial $1 million donation to Republicans.
One of the top political controversies this week has been the news that News Corp., the Rupert Murdoch-led parent company of Fox News, donated a whopping $1 million to the Republican Governors Association (and $0 to the Democratic Governors Association). The contribution, noted Politico’s Ben Smith, was “new step toward an open identification between Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and the GOP.” As ThinkProgress reported, it may also violate News Corp’s own “standards of business conduct.” According to a search by ThinkProgress, there has so far been no mention of the News Corp/RGA story on Fox News so far. Fox Business and FoxNews.com have also ignored the news, notes Media Matters. Also, as Huffington Post’s Sam Stein reports, Fox has even refused to allow the head of the DGA to come on and talk about it:
In a brief interview with the Huffington Post, Nathan Daschle, the executive director of the DGA, said that he has tried on numerous occasions to go on Fox News to discuss the donation made by News Corp. None of his entreaties have been answered as of 3:30 p.m on Tuesday.
“We haven’t gotten a single phone call or email returned. We want to engage in a discussion with them about this,” Daschle said. “But they didn’t even respond.”
9/11 family member Ted Olson breaks from the GOP on NYC mosque: Obama ‘was right about this.’
9/11 family member Ted Olson breaks from the GOP on NYC mosque: Obama ‘was right about this.’
This afternoon, Ted Olson — whose wife died in the September 11th attacks — distanced himself from other conservatives and told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell that he did not oppose the building of a mosque near ground zero. “It may not make me popular with some people, but I think probably the President was right about this,” he began:
OLSON: I do believe that people of all religions have a right to build edifices or structures, places of religious worship or study where the community allows them to do it under zoning laws and that sort of thing. And that we don’t want to turn an act of hate against us by extremists into an act of intolerance for people of religious faith. And I don’t think it should be a political issue. It shouldn’t be a Republican or Democrat issue either. I believe Governor Christie from New Jersey said it as well, that this should not be in that political partisan marketplace.
Watch it:
Olson also discussed the recent court decision to stay Judge Walker’s decision overturning Proposition 8 and why marriage equality is “consistent with conservative values.”
Rove Equates Building Of A Mosque Near Ground Zero With A Neo-Nazi Meeting At A Jewish Hotel
Rove Equates Building Of A Mosque Near Ground Zero With A Neo-Nazi Meeting At A Jewish Hotel
As a part of their vitriolic campaign against the Park 51 Islamic community center and mosque being planned two blocks from Ground Zero in New York City, leading conservatives have argued that while Muslims have a right to build a mosque on property they own, it would be unwise or insensitive to do so.
Former Bush adviser Karl Rove was the latest conservative to make this argument, and in doing so took it to new levels, during an appearance on Bill O’Reilly’s show last night. Explaining to the Fox host that the first amendment to the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and freedom of speech, Rove said that there “are rights everyone has” that we think it’d be “prudent to not exercise them at certain times.” He then cited the examples of skinheads demonstrating at an African-American sorority convention and Neo-Nazis attending a Jewish hotel for a meeting, apparently equating those examples with the building of a mosque near Ground Zero:
ROVE: The vast majority of the American people believe there is freedom of religion in our Constitution and that right of freedom of expression would be best exercised by not building it here. Look, in that same first amendment there’s a right to freedom of speech. Who believes that skinheads should show up at a Black sorority convention and scream bigoted remarks? Who believes there’s a right of freedom of assembly. Who believes Neo-Nazis should show up at the B’nai B’rith hotel and have their meeting in the next meeting room? There are rights everyone has that we think it’d be prudent to not exercise them at certain times.
Watch it:
Equating the building of a mosque near Ground Zero with a demonstration by racist skinheads or a Neo-Nazi meeting at a Jewish hotel is extremely insensitive to ordinary Muslims like those building Park 51. Unlike Nazis or skinheads, the founders of Park 51 are Sufis with no history of advocating hate or taking part in violence. In fact, the founder of the institution, Imam Abdul Rauf, has even advised the FBI and been a diplomatic envoy for the State Department as a part of the U.S. struggle against terrorism. Unfortunately, Rove isn’t the only leading Republican to endorse the Nazi analogy. Former GOP Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich recently compared the mosque to placing a “Nazi sign next to the Holocaust Museum.”
Comcast Threw Local Boston Reporter Under The Bus To Appease Fox News And Bill O’Reilly
Comcast Threw Local Boston Reporter Under The Bus To Appease Fox News And Bill O’Reilly
In April 2008, Boston news reporter Barry Nolan publicly announced that he planned to protest the Boston/New England National Academy of Television Art and Science chapter’s decision to award Fox News host Bill O’Reilly an Emmy Award. Nolan, who worked for Comcast Cable’s CN8 channel, said he was “appalled” and encouraged industry colleagues to “express their displeasure to the board of governors.”
At the awards ceremony, Nolan “quietly put fliers on tables that ’simply had’ quotes from O’O'Reilly as well as three pages from the sexual harassment lawsuit O’Reilly settled that was brought by his former producer.” Although security did tell Nolan he couldn’t distribute materials, Nolan maintains that he never booed or made a ruckus during the event. Nevertheless, two days later, Nolan’s boss told him to go home. About a week later, he was fired.
Six months after the incident, Nolan filed “a $1.2 million lawsuit against Comcast for wrongful termination, charging that his First Amendment rights ‘to speak freely’ had been violated.” The Columbia Journalism Review now has new details about Nolan’s firing, showing that it appears Comcast threw the local newsman under the bus to appease Fox News and Bill O’Reilly’s ego:
On May 12, 2008 — two days after the Emmys — O’Reilly went on the offensive against what he called Nolan’s “outrageous behavior” with a carefully worded, lawyerly letter to Brian Roberts, the chairman and CEO of Comcast, which distributes Fox News and entertainment programming, to its subscribers. The letter was written on Fox News stationery and was copied to Fox News CEO Roger Ailes.
Pointedly, O’Reilly began by noting their mutual business interests. “We at The O’Reilly Factor have always considered Comcast to be an excellent business partner and I believe the same holds true for the entire Fox News Channel. Therefore, it was puzzling to see a Comcast employee, Barry Nolan, use Comcast corporate assets to attack me and FNC.” [...]
Other documents, however, filed in connection with Nolan’s lawsuit strongly suggest that O’Reilly’s letter to Roberts was a key factor in his firing. Once Comcast was in receipt of the O’Reilly letter, e-mails, talking points, and memos went flying from one jittery Comcast executive to another. Should they call O’Reilly? Who should call? Should they send a letter? Who should draft it? Who should sign it? And don’t forget to CC Roger Ailes. Roberts himself was very much in the loop, but waited until May 22 — two days after Nolan’s firing — to send O’Reilly an apology letter of his own.
Significantly, court documents show that Comcast and Fox were “involved in ‘ongoing’ contract talks at the time, with Comcast fearing Nolan’s protest ‘jeopardized and harmed’ its business dealings with Fox.”
In 2008, Nolan wrote a post for ThinkProgress urging people to keep speaking out: “And in our role as citizens, we have been told by O’Reilly to shut up, or Fox Security may pay you a visit. We are called traitors if we simply speak the truth about the absence of WMD’s — the way the war is going — the disgraces of Abu Ghraib, of Gitmo, of waterboarding. Shut up. So, when exactly do they think we have the right to speak up? To speak the quiet simple truth, to people who have more power than us? Well, I think now would be a good time. The fog of fear is lifting. The balance of power is shifting. People are beginning to talk to each other again instead of shouting. I think it’s time to reclaim the right to free speech — even if it comes at a price.”
GOP candidate Dino Rossi clueless: Thinks 1/3 of his state is making over $200,000.
GOP candidate Dino Rossi clueless: Thinks 1/3 of his state is making over $200,000.
Last night, Dino Rossi officially became the Republican Senate candidate in Washington. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) has embraced the Obama administration’s proposal to allow the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of Americans to expire, while renewing those for the lower- and middle-class. Rossi, though, wants to extend all of the cuts, saying that allowing those for the rich to expire is a “class warfare program”:
Rossi argued that 2 1/2 million people in Washington benefit from the 2001 Bush tax cuts, the extension of which will be a major issue in Congress this fall. Rossi described as “this class warfare program” the Obama administration’s plan to extend the cuts enjoyed by middle-income taxpayers, while repealing tax cuts for high-income households.
There are about 6.7 million people in Washington state, so for Rossi’s number to be accurate, he’s either claiming that Obama and Murray want to raise taxes on people that they don’t, or he is claiming that more than one-third of the state’s population is making more than $200,000 per year. According to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, there are 105,209 households in the state that would be affected by the expiration of the Bush tax cuts (or about 1.6 percent of the total population). So Rossi inflated his state’s wealthy population by 24 times. Also, as The Wonk Room explains, Rossi’s push to extend the tax cuts for the rich would definitely help one Washingtonian: Dino Rossi.
Armey Implies Steele Has Become A ‘Bumbling’ ‘Horse’s Rear,’ Says ‘He’s Made Some Fairly Dramatic Stumbles’
Armey Implies Steele Has Become A ‘Bumbling’ ‘Horse’s Rear,’ Says ‘He’s Made Some Fairly Dramatic Stumbles’
Freedomworks’ Chairman Dick Armey and President Matt Kibbe have authored a new book, “Give Us Liberty: A Tea Party Manifesto,” which advocates “a hostile takeover” of the Republican Party. Both Armey and Kibbe are long-time Republican operatives. Armey of course served as a Republican congressman from Texas and as House Republican Majority Leader during the so-called “Republican Revolution” in the 90s. Kibbe worked at the Republican National Committee and as a senior staffer to a Republican congressman.
Armey’s mission has grown more ideological, though not any less political, in the past few years. As ThinkProgress has documented, Armey has manipulated the heated emotions and anger of tea partiers and organized them to help push his corporate-friendly agenda, which includes advocating tax cuts for the rich, defeating clean energy reform, defending health insurers’ worst practices, and weakening regulations designed to protect consumers. Armey has been endorsing right-wing Republican candidates who are willing to take up his corporate-backed agenda.
This morning, Armey appeared on C-Span to tout his new tea party manifesto and was asked what he thinks about RNC Chairman Michael Steele. Armey couched his criticism of Steele in general terms:
C-SPAN: Mr. Armey, what do you make of the tenure of Michael Steele as head of the RNC.
ARMEY: Well again, he works with the Republican Party. You know, Armey’s axiom is “politics sooner or later makes a horse’s rear out of anybody.” Anybody that gets involved in a political party deeply and lets their behavior be governed by politically-defined choice criteria is gonna make some bumbling choices. While he’s done many good things, he’s made some fairly dramatic stumbles too.
Watch it:
Armey’s criticism of Steele comes in the wake of Republican strategist Ed Rollins’ comments this weekend that the RNC chairman’s tenure has been “a disaster.”
Armey and Steele teamed up in a failed effort to defeat the passage of health reform late last year. And Armey has advised Steele to make inroads into the tea party movement by fully embracing “taxing-and-spending issues.”
GOP Candidate Allen West: People With ‘Coexist’ Bumper Stickers Want To ‘Give Away Our Country’
GOP Candidate Allen West: People With ‘Coexist’ Bumper Stickers Want To ‘Give Away Our Country’
Republican Allen West is the Tea Party candidate for House in Florida’s 22nd district, a seat currently held by Rep. Ron Klein (D). West is an extremely successful fundraiser — he raked in the most money of any GOP challenger in the second fundraising quarter of 2010 — and has become a favorite among conservatives, earning the endorsement of Sarah Palin and receiving over two million hits on YouTube for a speech he delivered to a Florida Tea Party gathering.
Last week, video surfaced of West making a series of inflammatory statements about Islam during a March 8 pubic forum. He began by criticizing the ubiquitous “Coexist” bumper stickers, which display the symbols of Christianity, Judaism, Islam and other religions. West said:
“[A]s I was driving up here today, I saw that bumper sticker that absolutely incenses me. It’s not the Obama bumper sticker. But it’s the bumper sticker that says, ‘Co-exist.’ And it has all the little religious symbols on it. And the reason why I get upset, and every time I see one of those bumper stickers, I look at the person inside that is driving. Because that person represents something that would give away our country. Would give away who we are, our rights and freedoms and liberties because they are afraid to stand up and confront that which is the antithesis, anathema of who we are. The liberties that we want to enjoy.”
West went on to call Islam a “very vile and very vicious enemy that we have allowed to come in this country because we ride around with bumper stickers that say co-exist.” Among his opinions on Islam offered during the town hall:
– “We already have a 5th column that is already infiltrating into our colleges, into our universities, into our high schools, into our religious aspect, our cultural aspect, our financial, our political systems in this country. And that enemy represents something called Islam and Islam is a totalitarian theocratic political ideology, it is not a religion. It has not been a religion since 622 AD, and we need to have individuals that stand up and say that.”
– “George Bush got snookered into going into some mosque, taking his shoes off, and then saying that Islam was a religion of peace.”
Watch the video, shot by the Florida Democratic Party:
West began his political career after resigning from the military following an investigation into his interrogation tactics. In 2003, West was interrogating an Iraqi policeman who was not being cooperative. According to his own testimony during a military hearing, West watched four of his men beat the suspect, and West said he personally threatened to kill the man. According to military prosecutors, West followed up on his threat by taking the man outside and firing a 9mm pistol near his head, in order to make the man believe he would be shot.
ThinkFast: August 18, 2010
ThinkFast: August 18, 2010
Last night in an interview with CNN’s Larry King, radio personality Dr. Laura Schlessinger announced that she will be ending her show at the end of the year. Schlessinger steps down amidst intensive criticism over her racially-charged rant last week, initially documented by Media Matters. She said she will not be renewing her contract in order to “regain” her “First Amendment rights.”
Gov. David Paterson’s (D-NY) staff is still trying to entice the Cordoba Initiative organizers to move the proposed Muslim center to an alternate site. However, project planners reiterated that “they had no plans to build the center elsewhere” and that “a meeting has not been scheduled” with Paterson’s office.
Elizabeth Warren, currently being considered to run the new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, met with several big bank lobbyists in Washington last week. Though Warren and bank lobbyists “largely steered clear of each other” until now, she sat down with them for an hour near the White House last week. Details of the discussions were not disclosed.
Citing street protests in Australia over climate inaction there, former Vice President and climate campaigner Al Gore called for demonstrations in the United States over the failure to enact policies that would curb global warming. “Across the world, when politicians fail to take action to solve the climate crisis, people are taking action,” said Gore. “It is my hope we see activism like this here in the United States.”
Mine Safety and Health Administration “cited Massey Energy for failing to report more than 20 accidents at its Upper Big Branch coal mine in the two years before an April explosion killed 29 miners there.” Four of violations “directly involve the explosion,” while the others involve “unreported roof collapses, assorted injuries” and two incidents related to black lung — all were supposed to be reported.
GOP Congressional Campaign Committee Has No Plans To Defend Its Asian-American Members
GOP Congressional Campaign Committee Has No Plans To Defend Its Asian-American Members
In 2008, Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA) became the only Asian-American in the Republican caucus. The GOP leadership quickly embraced him, with House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) penning a memo titled, “The Future is Cao.” In May, another Asian-American, Rep. Charles Djou (R-HI) joined Cao, winning a special election in a heavily Democratic district. Now in the GOP caucus, in addition to Cao and Djou, there is “first-generation Filipino” Steve Austria, three Cuban-American members (Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario Diaz-Balart, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen), and one Native American (Tom Cole). Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele has also said one of his major objectives is to increase diversity in the GOP.
Today, however, Politico reports that the National Republican Congressional Committee’s (NRCC) 2010 blueprint for winning back Congress leave Cao and Djou out in the cold. Republicans are pursuing an “offensive effort,” buying ads mostly in districts currently held by Democrats:
Cash-flush Democrats have used their deep pockets to invest in several competitive seats where national Republicans have yet to signal their intention to compete aggressively. The NRCC has so far bypassed a handful of open or otherwise reasonably competitive seats that offer some promise for GOP gains. [...]
Notably, the NRCC has yet to announce plans to defend several imperiled GOP incumbents who rank high on Democratic target lists. Rep. Charles Djou (R-Hawaii), Rep. Joseph Cao (R-La.)—the two incumbents widely considered to be the most endangered Republicans—were left off the NRCC roster. Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), who is thought to be in better shape, was also not included.
Both Djou and Cao have occasionally broken from the party line, which may have angered the Republican leadership. Djou has criticized his party’s attempts to change the 14th amendment and supports efforts to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Cao was the only House Republican to vote for health care reform. Austria’s OH-7 district is also not on the NRCC’s target list.
19 of the 22 states suing government over ObamaCare accept grant money from health care law.
19 of the 22 states suing government over ObamaCare accept grant money from health care law.
Yesterday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that 45 states and the District of Columbia “will receive $1 million in grant funds to help improve the review of proposed health insurance premium increases, take action against insurers seeking unreasonable rate hikes, and ensure consumers receive value for their premium dollars.” The $46 million are part of the $250 million in rate review grant dollars authorized by the new health care law. Indeed, interest is so high that states that oppose the health law applied for grants. As the Wonk Room points out, 19 of the 22 states that are suing the federal government over the constitutionality of the health care law will receive $1 million each to improve their rate review capabilities. Below is a sampling:
– ARIZONA: “The State intends to improve their filing review process by hiring an actuarial consultant to review 95% of submissions for compliance and make recommendations regarding whether filings are unjustified or excessive.”
– VIRGINIA: “Virginia will expand the information required to be submitted with rate filings and will develop a procedures manual for the review of rate filings.”
– FLORIDA: “The State will expand the scope to include large group and out-of-State products.”
The Wonk Room argues that this disconnect highlights the growing divide between state health commissioners’ implementation efforts and political rhetoric.
Hate Radio Host Mark Levin Attacks Gov. Chris Christie Over Mosque Comments: ‘Absolutely Dead Wrong’
Hate Radio Host Mark Levin Attacks Gov. Chris Christie Over Mosque Comments: ‘Absolutely Dead Wrong’
Yesterday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) warned fellow Republicans to stop “overreacting” to the proposed Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero. He said that while some degree of “deference” must be shown to some 9/11 families who don’t want the center nearby, “it would be wrong to so overreact to that, that we paint Islam with a brush of radical Muslim extremists that just want to kill Americans because we are Americans.”
Even though Christie included obligatory digs at Democrats and President Obama for somehow “playing political football” with the issue, his comments were still apparently too much for right-wing hate radio host Mark Levin. He unleashed on Christie last night during his radio show, and called the governor “absolutely dead wrong” and questioned Christie’s conservative credentials:
“Just because you clobber public sector unions, and you fight to cut your state’s budget, does not necessarily mean you are presidential material. He will see….It’s a matter of right and wrong. If the 9/11 families hadn’t stood up, if some of the most, you know, outspoken individuals in conservative media hadn’t spoken up, many, many people not only wouldn’t know about it, they wouldn’t care about it. And this is something we should care about. This is fundamental. So, sorry governor. You’re absolutely dead wrong. It’s not a political football game.“
Listen:
Levin is right that Christie has been extremely conservative on budget issues: his budget proposal this year refused to extend a tax on earners over $400,000 — which would have generated $900 million for the state — but it did cut $820 million to public schools. He also vetoed a tax on residents with incomes over $1 million, which was designed to help fund property tax relief for senior citizens and the disabled, among other programs. According to the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services, due to Christie’s veto, “a retired couple living on a fixed income of $40,000 would see an increase of $1,320 in taxes under the governor’s plan while a family making $1.2 million would receive a tax cut of $11,598.”
Christie has been mentioned as a 2012 Republican nominee for president, and even Rush Limbaugh recently asked: “Is it wrong to love another man? Because I love Chris Christie.” Still, Christie does not appear to pass Levin’s notoriously strict litmus test for conservatives.
Rand Paul’s Answer To Kentucky’s Drug Epidemic: Help ‘Rich People’
Rand Paul’s Answer To Kentucky’s Drug Epidemic: Help ‘Rich People’
Last week, Kentucky Senate candidate and Tea Party darling Rand Paul (R) told the AP of his desire to cut federal funding for undercover drug investigations and drug treatment programs that are “badly needed” in his state. While recognizing drugs as a “scourge,” Paul didn’t think Kentucky’s high-profile drug problem was “a real pressing issue.” His Democratic opponent and Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway blasted Paul for being widely “out of touch with drug abuse woes” in the state, warning that “his policies would actually hurt the people of of Kentucky.” The AP suggested that he may lose votes over his stance.
In the face of the uproar, Paul is walking back his dismissal of the problem. In a local WYMT-TV interview yesterday, Paul insisted that, as “a physician and a father,” he is “very concerned” and thinks “we need to everything we can to stop drugs.” But, as the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent notes, “it’s unclear whether his clarification will help much.” Because Paul, in feeling that the government solution is “still failing,” went on to offer his own answer to drug problem – help rich people:
“I personally think we’ve been trying the government solution, and maybe there are some good aspects to it. But we’re still failing, and we’re not getting rid of the drug problem,” Paul said.
Paul says reinvesting money in the local economy will help ease the unemployment, which he says leads to more drug use.
“You want rich people because that’s what creates jobs. If you punish people, they won’t expand or create jobs,” Paul said.
While Paul touts the magical remedies provided by the rich, it is the poor Appalachian residents in eastern Kentucky that are facing a tough reality where a “higher proportion of people abuse prescription pain killers that in the rest of the nation.” In fact, while trafficking in pain killers is the “largest drug problem” facing the region, Kentucky is also a prominent hotbed for marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine, according to the latest DEA study. This year, local officials reported 114 overdose deaths in the region within the first two months alone.
And, rather than failing, government-run programs are producing unprecedented success. Conway’s inter-governmental task force to cut prescription pill trafficking busted over 500 people in an interstate drug pipeline and was part of the “largest prescription pill bust in Kentucky history.” Kentucky law enforcement recognize the need for similar federal programs. State Fraternal Order of Police President Michael “Spike” Jones said he “would not be able to keep up with drug crime” without federal assistance to “pay overtime logged by tracking down drug dealers.” “It would be impossible to stop” drug traffickers “without federal assistance, because of the dire straits” state economies are in, said another Appalachian drug enforcement official.
But Paul seems deaf to their needs. In offering further clarification to Sargent, Paul now says that while prevention and enforcement are important, aiding the rich to ensure healthy employment is still a better cure. His insistence in remaining out of touch with his state’s epidemic even leaves members of his own party perplexed. “‘Apparently (Paul) just doesn’t know, or he wouldn’t make that statement’ about drugs not being a pressing issue” said former County Judge-Executive Tommy Slone (R). “It’ll hurt him if he says that because there’s a lot of people up here that’s been affected by these drugs.”
Gingrich Backs Out Of 9/11 Anti-Islam Rally?
Gingrich Backs Out Of 9/11 Anti-Islam Rally?
On Sunday, ThinkProgress reported that the right-wing group Stop Islamization of America (SIOA) had announced that it would be hosting a rally against the proposed Cordoba House Islamic community center on September 11, and that its confirmed list of speakers included both disgraced former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and far-right Dutch Parliamentarian Geert Wilders.
Writing on her blog yesterday, anti-Islam activist Pamela Geller, one of the leaders of SIOA, confirmed that “Newt Gingrich, and Geert Wilders are among those speaking at our rally against the mega-mosque on 9/11.” Geller also referenced Gingrich’s participation in an earlier post.
Today, however, a spokesman for Gingrich, Joe DeSantis, told Politico’s Ben Smith that Gingrich “is not scheduled to be at this rally. He is not speaking.”
Was there a scheduling conflict? Given his rhetoric lately, it’s hard to believe Gingrich is experiencing a sudden onset of decency.
‘Shadow RNC’ Unveils Obstructionist GOP Agenda Proposal: ‘Stop,’ ‘End,’ And ‘Block’ Progressive Policy
‘Shadow RNC’ Unveils Obstructionist GOP Agenda Proposal: ‘Stop,’ ‘End,’ And ‘Block’ Progressive Policy
Republicans often bristle at being called the “party of no,” yet they have thus far failed to articulate a clear positive agenda with new ideas about how to govern. Earlier this year, former Bush advisor Karl Rove and former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie helped form American Crossroads as part of proliferation of new conservative advocacy groups that were quickly dubbed the “Shadow RNC,” and were designed, in part, to help generate these new ideas.
But today, Crossroads GPS, the advocacy arm of American Crossroads, will release a proposed platform on which Republicans should run in November that is based almost entirely on obstruction. As the conservative Daily Caller notes, “instead of things they think the GOP should do, the agenda…is made up mostly of things they think Republicans should oppose or eliminate.” Indeed, Crossroads GPS is even calling the platform an “emergency intervention to stop” President Obama’s policies:
The program calls on the GOP to “stop” the Bush tax hikes from expiring at the end of the year, to “end” stimulus projects deemed to be “wasteful,” to “call a ‘timeout’” on Obama’s health care bill, to enact a “moratorium” on “government handouts to banks, automakers, labor unions and other politically-connected interests,” to “block” any bill putting a price on carbon emissions, and to “stop stalling” on securing the border.
On the nation’s looming entitlement crisis, Crossroads’ GPS proposes a commission to study the problem and suggest solutions, even though President Obama has already created a commission that has been meeting for most of the year.
Even the seemingly positive items on the Crossroads GPS agenda use obstructionist language. For example, the “Prioritize American Energy Development” item calls for Republicans to “block” any means of pricing carbon, while the “Protect our Borders” bullet urges Republicans to “stop stalling” on border security.
American Crossroads vowed to raise $50 million to influence the 2010 elections, and are on their way thanks to just four right-wing billionaires, who alone have contributed 97 percent of the group’s money. Rove has directly credited his group’s fundraising prowess to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision.
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