House Republicans Block Child Marriage Prevention Act

House Republicans Block Child Marriage Prevention Act: "The bill would ensure that child marriage is recognized as a human rights violation, and develop comprehensive strategies to prevent such marriages around the world. The legislation seemed likely to garner strong bipartisan support in Congress, and in the Senate, it did. But last night, the bill was voted down in the House by Republicans who argued the bill is too costly and could lead to increased abortions -- gripes the measure's supporters say have no basis in reality and are just excuses to kill the popular bill."

Fox News Viewers Are The Most Misinformed: Study

Fox News Viewers Are The Most Misinformed: Study: "UPDATE: Fox News senior vice president for news Michael Clemente has responded to the study which found that his network's viewers are more misinformed about American political issues than any other channel. In a statement to the New York Times' Brian Stelter, Clemente disparaged the University of Maryland, where the study was done."

NewsDaily: "Dream Act" immigration bill blocked in Senate

WHY? Why are the Republicans blocking GOOD legislation like this? This act would have helped hard-working kids become productive members of society.

The 9/11 responders deserve our help, too. (Another bill blocked by the Republicans.)

NewsDaily: "Dream Act" immigration bill blocked in Senate: "The legislation would have provided legal residency to young people who came to the United States illegally before age 16 and who graduated from high school, completed two years of college or military service and had no criminal record."

December 16, 2010 - Mike Huckabee - The Daily Show With Jon Stewart - Full Episode Video | Comedy Central

The entire show is dedicated to pushing through legislation to help 9/11 responders with their medical issues. The Republicans filibustered it because...well... just because.

December 16, 2010 - Mike Huckabee - The Daily Show With Jon Stewart - Full Episode Video | Comedy Central

Big Government, Big Business Both Evil: 'Black Swan' Taleb - CNBC

Big Government, Big Business Both Evil: 'Black Swan' Taleb - CNBC: "Both big business and big government should be viewed as evils and threatening the real engine of economic growth, which is small business, author Nassim Taleb told CNBC Friday."

Jan Brewer Medicaid Cuts Have Arizona Governor Under Fire

Jan Brewer Medicaid Cuts Have Arizona Governor Under Fire: "Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) commented recently on the cuts to her state's Health Care Cost Containment System, which have imperiled the lives of some patients in need of an organ transplant. Brewer said that people branding the cuts as a real-life incarnation of 'death panels' should be asking the federal government to send more money -- a perhaps surprising position from someone who continues to oppose the federal health care reform legislation passed earlier this year."

Michael Moore: Why I'm Posting Bail Money for Julian Assange

Michael Moore: Why I'm Posting Bail Money for Julian Assange: "But back then only a few people had access to that document. Because the secret was kept, a flight school instructor in San Diego who noticed that two Saudi students took no interest in takeoffs or landings, did nothing. Had he read about the bin Laden threat in the paper, might he have called the FBI? (Please read this essay by former FBI Agent Coleen Rowley, Time's 2002 co-Person of the Year, about her belief that had WikiLeaks been around in 2001, 9/11 might have been prevented.)"

Unemployment Has Topped 10.5 Percent for 18 Months | CEPR Blog

That's horrifying. Incidentally, David Rosnick is one of the world's most renowned economist and his opinions should be taken very seriously.

Unemployment Has Topped 10.5 Percent for 18 Months | CEPR Blog: "The official unemployment rate is a fine statistic as far as it goes. As unacceptable as 9.8 percent unemployment is on its face, it understates the historical depth of trouble in the labor market today. The U-6 alternative measure of unemployment is at 17.0 percent—more than 1 in 6 workers who have not completely dropped out of the labor force are unemployed or underemployed. Only 58.2 percent of the population age 16 and over are employed — the lowest rate of employment since the summer of 1983."

Zuckerberg Joins 'The Giving Pledge': 17 More Billionaires To Give Away At Least Half Of Fortunes

This is so wonderful! THANK YOU for being good stewards all you members of The Giving Pledge!!!

Zuckerberg Joins 'The Giving Pledge': 17 More Billionaires To Give Away At Least Half Of Fortunes: "Gates, his wife Melinda, and Buffett have asked U.S. billionaires to give away at least half their wealth during their lifetime or after their death, and to publicly state their intention with a letter explaining their decision.

The Giving Pledge does not accept money or tell people how to donate their money but asks billionaires to make a moral commitment to give their fortunes to charity."

Word On The Hill: NO DEAL in [Market-Ticker]

Word On The Hill: NO DEAL in [Market-Ticker]: "I fully-expect the market to throw some sort of hissy fit on the possible tax implications here shortly; indeed, it may have started this morning, in that we've lost basically a full percentage point from where we were in the early morning hours. 

That's likely to cause the Democrats and Republicans to try to find some 'compromise' on the tax issue that leads to even more rape of the budget.  After all, cutting spending never enters these people's minds."

TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH...A look at history...

The bitter truth is that we have to CUT GOVERNMENT SPENDING while simultaneously letting the Bush tax cuts expire if we're going to fix our deficit problem. Nobody likes to hear that. Too bad. If we don't, the problem gets worse.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Lies Continue - Unemployment in [Market-Ticker]

This is interesting.

The Lies Continue - Unemployment in [Market-Ticker]: "What Obama said he had done was extend the existing '99 weeks' unemployment welfare.

He did not say he was promising or providing even more time beyond that 99 weeks.

And let's cut the crap - this isn't 'unemployment insurance.'

IT IS NAKED WELFARE.

The original 26 weeks are indeed 'insurance.' That is, your employer pays a premium to both the government and private insurers (although the purchase thereof is mandatory) in order to 'fund' this insurance. Your salary is reduced by the amount of that 'contribution', even though it is a violation of Federal Law to itemize it - that is, to show you exactly how much you don't get paid as a consequence of this force-placed 'insurance.'"

Tax Cut Deal: White House, GOP Leaders Close To Agreement

Great! $300 BILLION plus. Bush Tax cuts for the rich. Unemployment insurance extended. Something for everybody.

And how is this going to be funded? I mean, there must be some stimulus money left to dip into. There must be some cuts in government spending that will correspond with these new provisions. Right?

WRONG!

Good thing we have all of these conservative "so-called" deficit hawks making sure that our government is fiscally responsible and doesn't spend money it doesn't have!

Tax Cut Deal: White House, GOP Leaders Close To Agreement: "Briefing The Huffington Post about the deal, which could be announced as early as Monday night, the two senior administration officials claimed that they were able to get more bang for their buck than previously imagined. The costs for the payroll tax holidays, UI and other refundable credits come in at roughly $215 billion over two years. The extensions of the income tax rates strictly for the wealthy is estimated to cost about $95 billion. All of it is unpaid for. But the former provisions are more stimulative than the latter."

Media Diary Blog | The Australian

Media Diary Blog | The Australian: "Democratic societies need a strong media and WikiLeaks is part of that media. The media helps keep government honest. WikiLeaks has revealed some hard truths about the Iraq and Afghan wars, and broken stories about corporate corruption.

People have said I am anti-war: for the record, I am not. Sometimes nations need to go to war, and there are just wars. But there is nothing more wrong than a government lying to its people about those wars, then asking these same citizens to put their lives and their taxes on the line for those lies. If a war is justified, then tell the truth and the people will decide whether to support it."

VOA | WikiLeaks Exploits Weaknesses in Technology, Human Nature | Asia | English

This is a matter of trust. Individuals are, by nature, a security risk. And the more people that know a secret, the more likely that secret will be leaked. This is why silencing a media outlet is of grave concern. You can shoot the messenger, but another one will pop up. The idea is out there now.

VOA | WikiLeaks Exploits Weaknesses in Technology, Human Nature | Asia | English: "'You could take a computer, bury it in the ground, make sure you never turn it on,' Schneier says. 'Don't tell anybody where it is and it's probably pretty secure. But as soon as you turn it on and have people look at it, you have to trust the people.'"

VOA | Lawyer: WikiLeaks' Assange Arrested in London | News | English

VOA | Lawyer: WikiLeaks' Assange Arrested in London | News | English: "The WikiLeaks founder is due to appear in a London court later Tuesday.

Assange's lawyers have said he will fight extradition to Sweden, for fear he could be turned over to the United States.

Assange founded the WikiLeaks website that has released some 250,000 secret U.S. diplomatic cables over the Internet.

A spokesman for the website says the arrest of Assange does not affect plans for the release of more documents."

VOA | Lawyer: WikiLeaks' Assange Arrested in London | News | English

VOA | Lawyer: WikiLeaks' Assange Arrested in London | News | English: "The WikiLeaks founder is due to appear in a London court later Tuesday.

Assange's lawyers have said he will fight extradition to Sweden, for fear he could be turned over to the United States.

Assange founded the WikiLeaks website that has released some 250,000 secret U.S. diplomatic cables over the Internet.

A spokesman for the website says the arrest of Assange does not affect plans for the release of more documents."

Why won't the Pentagon help WikiLeaks redact documents? - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com

This article contains compelling evidence that the DOD has purposely refused to help Wikileaks redact documents and then lied about it to the American people in a deliberate effort to move public opinion in the government's favor. If this is the case, the government is just as culpable as Wikileaks (if not more so) for the release of informant names that took place during the Iraq/Afghan document dump this past summer.

What is even more disturbing is this legislation that has been brought before congress and sponsored by Senators Lieberman, Ensign and Brown.

Don't get me wrong, I believe that there SHOULD be a prohibition on the publishing of informant names. This is good...

HOWEVER, if the evidence in the article below is true, our government can simply refuse to redact documents while at the same time threatening prosecution if those documents are released in an effort to pursue and press charges against media organizations that release leaked information.

I say that this bill should contain language that makes it clear that the government has a moral obligation to cooperate with attempts to redact the names of informants.

IF this article is true, then it is shameful that these people, who have sacrificed so much to help the cause of the United States, can't count on our government to do EVERYTHING possible to protect them. Instead, these heroes are being used as pawns in a struggle to control the flow of information.

Why won't the Pentagon help WikiLeaks redact documents? - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com: "Newsweek's Mark Hosenball follows up on the issues raised here in a new article today, with more evidence proving that WikiLeaks has been attempting to secure the Pentagon's cooperation in redacting names -- exactly as Assange has been explaining -- while the Pentagon has been issuing multiple false denials of these facts. Shouldn't anyone who criticized WikiLeaks for its lack of redactions also be criticizing the DoD for refusing WikiLeaks' requests for redaction assistance (and then falsely denying it happened)?"

In WikiLeaks wake, whistle-blower bill set to pass - Yahoo! News

Well, alright! This is good legislation as a direct response to the Wikileaks intelligence dumps.

In WikiLeaks wake, whistle-blower bill set to pass - Yahoo! News: "Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said Wednesday the legislation 'provides a means of securing justice to those individuals who are punished for doing the right thing.'
In a bid to draw attention to the risks whistle-blowers now face, Devine's organization prepared a report detailing the ordeals of 12 government officials whose employers sought 'to enforce secrecy though repression.'"

Rep. Ron Paul: Wikileaks should not be stopped | The State Column

Rep. Ron Paul: Wikileaks should not be stopped | The State Column: “In a free society we’re supposed to know the truth,” Mr. Paul said. “In a society where truth becomes treason, then we’re in big trouble."

State Department To Columbia University Students: DO NOT Discuss WikiLeaks On Facebook, Twitter

State Department To Columbia University Students: DO NOT Discuss WikiLeaks On Facebook, Twitter: "Earlier this week, companies like Amazon and PayPal shut off the services they provided to WikiLeaks, threatening the site's survival and impeding further dissemination of its treasure trove of classified documents.

Now, however, it appears the federal government has moved beyond staunching the flow of leaked information, to suppressing even the very mention of WikiLeaks online by prospective employees."

Espionage Act of 1917 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here is a history of the Espionage Act under which the U.S. may try to prosecute Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. What is striking to me while reading this was how many ways the government entities have tried to abuse this Act to silence free speech.

Espionage Act of 1917 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "In the 1990s, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan deplored the 'culture of secrecy' made possible by the Act. noting the tendency of bureaucracies to enlarge their powers by increasing the scope of what is held 'secret'"

72 super PACs spent $83.7 million on election, financial disclosure reports show

There you have it. Do you really think your voice will be heard amid the millions and millions of campaign dollars flowing from PACs, lobbies, and corporations into the coffers of our "representatives"?

I guess this is all well and good if you truly believe that the interests of these massive organizations are in line with your and mine. Personally, I don't.

72 super PACs spent $83.7 million on election, financial disclosure reports show: "'Super PACs provide a means for the super wealthy to have even more influence and an even greater voice in the political process,' said Meredith McGehee, a lobbyist for the Campaign Legal Center, which advocates for tighter regulation of money in politics."

WikiLeaks: Espionage? Journalism? Something else? - The Reporter

WikiLeaks: Espionage? Journalism? Something else? - The Reporter: "But WikiLeaks has entered a space where no journalist has gone before. News organizations have often sought information, including government secrets, for specific stories and printed secrets that government workers delivered to them, but none has matched Assange's open worldwide invitation to send him any secret or confidential information a source can lay hands on.

Is WikiLeaks the leaker or merely the publisher?"

YouTube - Julian Assange: Why the world needs WikiLeaks

If you've got 20 minutes, you should watch this. Like him or hate him, he believes he's doing a SERVICE to the people of the world. I happen to agree. I hope Wikileaks is around long enough for us to see that "large U.S. bank" document dump around the new year...

YouTube - Julian Assange: Why the world needs WikiLeaks: ""

Net tightens on Assange and WikiLeaks

Net tightens on Assange and WikiLeaks: "Mr Assange said: ''These attacks will not stop our mission, but should be setting off alarm bells about the rule of law in the United States.''"

YouTube - Wikileaks Founder Suggests U.S. Is Out to Kill Him - ABC News

I'm somewhat conflicted about Wikileaks. On the one hand, I hate that released information (war documents) might have endangered our troops and our allies. I feel like that was reckless.

That said, I am also THRILLED that somebody is out there trying to provide the citizens of the world with information that some government, corporation, or organization has decided should not be public knowledge.

If Wikileaks is shut down, we all lose. We should never censure truth. Our founding fathers understood that a free press (and Wikileaks IS media) is essential to preventing corruption and excess.

I am profoundly disturbed to see servers dropping Wikileaks, PayPal canceling accounts, and members of Wikileaks on the run. These people are not OUR enemies! They are the enemies of secrets, lies, and subterfuge.

YouTube - Wikileaks Founder Suggests U.S. Is Out to Kill Him - ABC News: ""

Unemployment Rate— Dismal Jobless Rate Likely to Get Even Worse: Economists - CNBC

Given the rise in unemployment (9.8% and likely to go into the double digits) it looks like we're going to see more stimulus and an extension of unemployment benefits.

You know our legislators are just playing a game of chicken and when it comes down to it they will vote to extend unemployment benefits.

After all, none of them want 24 million angry, jobless, homeless citizens marching through the streets of our cities.

Unemployment Rate— Dismal Jobless Rate Likely to Get Even Worse: Economists - CNBC: "'I'm not surprised by the 9.8 percent unemployment rate,' Swonk went on to say. 'It does give us pause at how uneven the recovery is. But I see unemployment getting into double digits as the economy sees some growth and even more people are looking for work.'"

YouTube - Sen Bernie Sanders Amazing Speech!

Bernie Sanders is RIGHT ON, here!  Just listen to him speak about the shrinking middle class.  I would go a step farther, though, and say that the top 5% income earners in this country have a moral obligation to invest in PEOPLE.  Rather than hording wealth, they should be providing healthcare, benefits, and good pay for good work.  I don't think taxing the hell out of the rich will fix this... The rich need to take some responsibility for the dismal condition of the "working class" and DO something about it.

YouTube - Sen Bernie Sanders Amazing Speech!: ""

Congressional Budget Office Recommendations for Increasing Economic Growth and Employment in 2010 and 2011

This is interesting...especially the table on page 18. According to the non-partisan CBO, the best way to increase employment AND economic growth is to continue unemployment benefits. In contrast, the WORST thing we could do is cut income taxes. Huh.

http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/108xx/doc10803/01-14-Employment.pdf

"Extending additional unemployment benefits would

directly help those who would otherwise exhaust their

unemployment benefits between March and December

of this year. Households receiving unemployment benefits

tend to spend the additional benefits quickly, making

this option both timely and cost-effective in spurring economic

activity and employment."