Alvin Ailey was born on January 5, 1931, in Rogers, Texas. His experiences of life in the rural South would later inspire some of his most memorable works. He was introduced to dance in Los Angeles by performances of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and the Katherine Dunham Dance Company, and his formal dance training began with an introduction to Lester Horton’s classes by his friend Carmen de Lavallade. Horton, the founder of one of the first racially-integrated dance companies in the United States, became a mentor for Mr. Ailey as he embarked on his professional career. After Horton’s death in 1953, Mr. Ailey became director of the Lester Horton Dance Theater and began to choreograph his own works. In the 1950s and 60s, Mr. Ailey performed in four Broadway shows, including House of Flowers and Jamaica.
In 1958, he founded Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to carry out his vision of a company dedicated to enriching the American modern dance heritage and preserving the uniqueness of the African-American cultural experience.
DYLAN SCOTT – MARCH 17, 2014, 5:00 PM EDT
More than five million people have now enrolled in private health coverage through Obamacare, the Obama administration announced Monday.
The figure, announced via a blog post, provided another data point as the law’s open enrollment comes to a close at the end of March. The administration said 4.2 million people had enrolled by the end of February, which means about 800,000 have signed up in March.
Obamacare is still set to fall well short of the Congressional Budget Office’s original enrollment projection of 7 million, but the CBO’s revised projection of 6 million — offered after HealthCare.gov’s disastrous launch — seems attainable.
Administration officials and health policy experts have long said they expected enrollment to accelerate ahead of the March 31 deadline.
Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/obamacare-enrollment-5-million
Mr. President, will you be taking questions?
SG2, WHERE ARE YOU?
Women’s organization asks State Attorney Angela Corey to resign
National Organization for Women calls for Angela Corey to stand down
The National Organization for Women announced Monday it is pushing for State Attorney Angela Corey’s resignation over the case of Marissa Alexander.
Corey has arguably been right in the middle of some controversial court cases. The cases range from the George Zimmerman trial, to the Michael Dunn trial and now to the case of Alexander.
Alexander is facing up to 60 years in prison for shooting toward her estranged husband, which supporters of Alexander said was in self-defense.
http://www.news4jax.com/news/prominent-organization-asks-fla-state-attorney-to-resign/24908732
Whoa! *applause*
Angela Corey need to go with her racist ASS! Good for NOW calling for her resignation.
What took NOW so long? I smell ulterior motives, and it starts with Hill-ary.
Ah Ha! You may have a point. Hillary wants black women votes. She probably thinks rescuing Marissa may win black women over.
I never thought about that. Now I’m fuming.
Hillary Clinton
Press Release – Clinton Endorsed by National Organization for Women During Day of Women’s Outreach
Hillary Clinton was endorsed by the National Organization for Women’s political arm and sports legend Billie Jean King during a day of women’s outreach that included a live web chat for supporters with the women running Hillary’s campaign.
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/images/names/70.gif
Trust, NOW coming forward after all of Angela Corey and the state of FL’s fuckery with Zimmie, Dunn’s and Marisa’s trials is suspect.
I won’t forget the deafening silence from NOW while John McCain and Lindsey Graham viciously attacked Susan Rice about Benghazi.
NOW’s support, and I mean LOUD support would have been more appreciated, when Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis were murdered for being BLACK. They are women, some of them mothers.
Why wait until after the verdicts to show support for Marisa Alexander now?
@3ChicsPolitico @GoBrooklyn Yes! They hired a black guy to head up outreach to black women. They're already holding events.
— LiberalPhenom(@LiberalPhenom) March 17, 2014
“NOW’s support, and I mean LOUD support would have been more appreciated, when Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis were murdered for being BLACK.”
White folks (including organizations that are predominantly white) were generally not supportive of justice for Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis. Even those who agreed that two young men were murdered were not willing to publicly support the efforts to bring the killers to justice. White folks were either silent or hostile, for the most part.
In the case of Trayvon Martin, I believe that Zimmerman’s lawyers and supporters were so vocal and vitriolic and so dominant in the MSM that white politicians and activists were afraid to take a stand, so they mostly remained silent. There were a few exceptions, of course, but the grassroots efforts to get justice for these two murders have been organized and led by black activists and the participants are mostly black. As for Jordan Davis, I cannot even guess why white support for justice was close to non-existent.
It does seem very calculated that NOW would at this late date start supporting justice for Marissa Alexander and I concur that they seem to be looking for political capital in that vast sea of black women voters.
It doesn’t matter how many black people they put on the face of these “outreach” campaigns. Most black women (and men too) will see straight through these ploys and they are not going to enthusiastically support Hillary Clinton.
Where are these people when their support might actually do some good? That is my question and we know the answer.
Also, I signed a petition days ago calling for AC to resign and I’m sure it wasn’t NOW’s petition. So, I believe someone else started this, it wasn’t even their idea.
Well stated, Liza. These folks are so transparent. Now and other offshoots of these orgs are only looking out for their own best interests. And the disrespect they show for pulling these antics is insulting. They must really believe we’re stupid to fall for this shit.
GTFOH NOW
As usual, after all the protests, marching, and heavy lifting, white folks swoop in and attempt to gain attention and credit for giving a damn.
I concur. There was deafening silence from NOW while Sybrina ran from pillar to post in order to get GZ arrested. Isn’t she a woman? We didn’t hear ISH from NOW calling for the resignation of Angela Corey when the jury came back with a not guilty verdict for GZ. Where were they then?
Never said a word about how Rachel Jeantel was treated by both the prosecution and the defense in Zimmerman’s trial. That was an outrage, IMHO.
Liza, you’re in my head. NOW had the same opinion of Rachel Jeantel as Juror B37. They think black women will rush to vote for Hill just like Palin thought women were going to flock and vote for McCain. Black people vote their interest. Fuck outta here NOW!
You know, SG2, it just occurred to me that these people (like NOW for example) do not even understand the significance of Zimmerman’s botched trial and his acquittal, what that said to black people and how things have fundamentally changed in the aftermath. I guess I never thought how even in hindsight these people wouldn’t get it.
KTLA news anchors dive under desk during earthquake.
Jeff Gauvin @JeffersonObama
Follow
Shiver me timbers….Greenwald going on a full rant that Russia is entitled to Crimea, using ridiculous straw men falacies.
2:02 PM – 17 Mar 2014
https://twitter.com/WebAntOnYT/status/445217983313354752/photo/1
He is nuts!
Nuttier than a truckload of Planters.
ALL FOR HIM-NONE FOR THE REST OF THE LITTLE PEOPLE!
Louisiana vs. MoveOn.org
03/17/14 10:07 AM—Updated 03/17/14 11:26 AM
By Steve Benen
Following up on an item from last week, Gov. Bobby Jindal’s (R) administration in Louisiana has decided to sue MoveOn.org in federal court, accusing the progressive activist group of violating trademark rules when it put up billboards criticizing Jindal’s opposition to Medicaid expansion.
The state is suing MoveOn.org for its use of the Louisiana tourism logo and tagline for the critical billboard, alleging that the group’s parody and criticism is causing “irreparable harm, injury, and damages” to the state’s culture tourism office. They sent a cease-and-desist letter last week, warning of the impending lawsuit.
“We have invested millions of dollars in identifying the Louisiana: Pick Your Passion brand with all that is good about Louisiana,” Republican Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne said in a release announcing the lawsuit, according to the Times Picayune. Dardenne, a candidate for governor next year, runs the state’s culture tourism office. “No group should be allowed to use the brand for its own purposes, especially if it is for partisan political posturing.”
This is sure to be an interesting lawsuit. In Louisiana, Medicaid expansion would bring coverage to nearly a quarter of a million low-income residents, but the conservative governor has refused to even consider the proposal. It’s why MoveOn.org put up a billboard that reads, “LOU!SIANA Pick your passion! But hope you don’t love your health. Gov. Jindal’s denying Medicaid to 242,000 people.”
The Jindal administration wasn’t amused – “Louisiana: Pick Your Passion” is the slogan tied to the state’s tourism campaign, and it doesn’t want the phrasing appropriated by a progressive group targeting the governor. MoveOn.org, meanwhile, believes its political speech is intended as satire and is therefore covered by the First Amendment.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/louisiana-vs-moveonorg
Dems fear vote on surgeon general nominee
03/17/14 10:46 AM
By Steve Benen
Dr. Vivek Murthy’s nomination to serve as the nation’s Surgeon General was, by all appearances, entirely uninteresting up until very recently. His confirmation hearings were so quiet that the most interesting thing about them was Sen. Pat Roberts’ (R) tone-deaf comments about Indian-American doctors he knows in Kansas.
When Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) announced an effort to block Murthy, much of the political world just rolled its eyes. His confirmation appeared so likely, the fight was over before it started.
Or so we thought. The New York Times reported over the weekend that the White House is no longer sure Murthy can get a Senate majority, and as such, the West Wing is eyeing an indefinite delay for the nominee.
The nominee, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, an internist and political ally of the president’s, has come under criticism from the National Rifle Association, and opposition from the gun-rights group has grown so intense that it has placed Democrats from conservative states, several of whom are up for re-election this year, in a difficult spot.
Senate aides said Friday that as many as 10 Democrats are believed to be considering a vote against Dr. Murthy, who has voiced support for various gun control measures like an assault weapons ban, mandatory safety training and ammunition sales limits.
When Senate Democrats executed the so-called “nuclear option” last fall, it seemed the White House no longer had much to worry about on this front. The Senate Democratic caucus has 55 members, and so long as President Obama sent qualified nominees for administrative posts, there wasn’t much the Senate Republican minority could do to stop them.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/dems-fear-vote-surgeon-general-nominee
Journalist Tom Ricks ‘Beginning To Believe The Worst’ About Greenwald And Snowden
Tom Kludt – March 17, 2014, 1:23 PM EDT
Tom Ricks has a growing suspicion that Glenn Greenwald and Edward Snowden are up to something.
On Saturday, the Pulitzer Prize-winning national security reporter posed a question to Greenwald on Twitter.
“Glenn, any comments from you or Edward Snowden on the recent round of media shutdowns in Russia?” Ricks asked.
After initially referring Ricks to Snowden’s representative at the ACLU, Greenwald asked Ricks if he had any comment on “Peruvian police corruption,” “corporate waste dumping in E Africa,” or a U.S. drone strike from last year that killed 13 people en route to a wedding party in Yemen.
Sure, Ricks said, he’d be “happy to comment,” but not before he saw Greenwald denounce Vladmir Putin “and his crackdown.”
The next day, after he evidently didn’t get the response from Greenwald that he was looking for, Ricks took to Twitter to denounce “Peruvian police corruption and US drones that kill innocents.”
“Now [your] turn to discuss Putin,” Ricks said to Greenwald.
By Monday morning, the silence had distressed Ricks so much that he was ready to suggest a pretty harsh criticism of both Greenwald and Snowden
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/tom-ricks-glenn-greenwald-edward-snowden
The House GOP’s health care ‘plan’
03/17/14 12:42 PM—Updated 03/17/14 01:01 PM
It was just seven weeks ago that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) offered a fairly specific vow. “This year, we will rally around an alternative to ObamaCare and pass it on the floor of the House,” he said on Jan. 30. A month later, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said GOP leaders would have “conversations” with members about possible ideas that could go into a theoretical alternative to the Affordable Care Act.
It was hard to miss the incompatibility of Cantor’s promise and Boehner’s half-hearted hedge.
That said, Robert Costa reports that House Republican leaders are still moving towards some kind of reform blueprint to present to voters in advance of the 2014 midterms. It’ll apparently be called “A Stronger Health Care System: The GOP Plan for Freedom, Flexibility, & Peace of Mind.”
The plan includes an expansion of high-risk insurance pools, promotion of health savings accounts and inducements for small businesses to purchase coverage together.
The tenets of the plan – which could expand to include the ability to buy insurance across state lines, guaranteed renewability of policies and changes to medical-malpractice regulations – are ideas that various conservatives have for a long time backed as part of broader bills.
Let me get this straight. It took House Republican leaders five years of secret meetings, held far from public view, to come up an outline of ideas we already knew they supported?
Costa added that this will be “the first time … House leaders will put their full force behind a single set of principles,” and that’s certainly nice. But (a) they’ve spent five years promising a bill, not a set of principles; (b) what’s needed are specific provisions that can be scored, not vague blueprints; and (c) the Affordable Care Act already has some of the Republicans’ favorite provisions in it.
Or put another way, health care policy is hard. A political party that’s serious about substance and policy outcomes will have to invest a lot of time and energy into crafting a health care plan that works.
And yet, at this point, the Republican approach rests with presenting a fragile coin. On one side of the coin we see a bunch of hollow complaints about the ACA; on the other side we see a list of ideas Republicans have always liked, but which do not amount to a real, credible plan.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-house-gops-health-care-plan
Koch Group Abandons Obamacare ‘Horror’ Stories After Fact-Check Backlash
Dylan Scott – March 17, 2014, 10:55 AM EDT6467
Have we heard the last Obamacare “horror” story? If new ads from the Koch Brothers-backed group are any indication, we might have.
Americans for Prosperity, the well-funded conservative group that has been attacking Democrats in battleground states over the health care reform law, put out TV ads Monday against Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Mark Udall (D-CO).
But what’s notable about the ads is what they aren’t: A personalized story of someone who’s been negatively affected by Obamacare, the kind of verifiable set of facts that can be checked — and rebutted, as happened with a recent AFP ad that led to significant backlash from the fact-checking community.
“People don’t like political ads. I don’t like them either,” a woman tells the camera to start AFP’s new ads, announced Monday by the group. “But health care isn’t about politics. It’s about people.”
She then criticizes the law for canceled health plans, narrow provider networks and higher premiums while linking Landrieu and Udall to those problems — but she speaks in general talking points. The new ad buy is $1.7 million across the two states, and the spots will run for three weeks.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/afp-obamacare-horror-stories-no-more
Today, I am reading “Thunder of Freedom: Black Leadership and the Transformation of 1960’s Mississippi” by Sue Lorenzi who with her husband were in the movement in Holmes, MS from 1964 to 1969.
In the short video below she tells of the beginnings using many, many photos that she and her husband took during that time. I personally have never seen any of these photos before. This 7 minute video is well worth watching if you have the time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=K1_3-vfC6AU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=b8zGE742mPo
Elon Musk Writes A Blistering Takedown Of Chris Christie And New Jersey’s Decision To Ban Tesla’s Sales Model
[….] “On Tuesday, under pressure from the New Jersey auto dealer lobby to protect its monopoly, the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, composed of political appointees of the Governor,
ended your right to purchase vehicles at a manufacturer store within the state. Governor Christie had promised that this would be put to a vote of the elected state legislature, which is the appropriate way to change the law. When it became apparent to the auto dealer lobby that this approach would not succeed, they cut a backroom deal with the Governor to circumvent the legislative process and pass a regulation that is fundamentally contrary to the intent of the law.”
And later, he adds: “The rationale given for the regulation change that requires auto companies to sell through dealers is that it ensures “consumer protection”. If you believe this, Gov. Christie has a bridge closure he wants to sell you! Unless they are referring to the mafia version of “protection”, this is obviously untrue. As anyone who has been through the conventional auto dealer purchase process knows, consumer protection is pretty much the furthest thing from the typical car dealer’s mind.”[….]
http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-blog-post-on-new-jersey-2014-3
Earl Ofari Hutchinson: Mahopac’s Racist Tweets are Much of America’s Tweets
Mar 17, 14
Here is an extensive sampling of the racist tweets that got the mostly white Mahopac High School in Westchester County, New York in hot water and drew recent national attention.
“That’s why you shouldn’t let monkeys out of their cages #MtVernonZoo,” @ryansarf.
@max_Senger1. posted the extremely racist picture of a Confederate flag with the simple word: “Hello.”
“tough loss boys, but at least we can talk to our dads about it.”
“Guess Dad’s not buying me that Ferarri now.”
“We still have fewer illegitimate children than those guys.”
“Good luck in prison after your brief pro careers, MV Knights.”
“Good thing I’m not counting on a basketball scholarship. Good luck Knights on getting into Mount Vernon Community College.”
“Can’t wait to read about the future success of the MV Knights in the state championship. One day, they might be able to read too.”
“Will being a Varsity Basketball State Champ impress your future cellmates?”
“It’s nice to see the success of the SNAP program in Mount Vernon. Your ‘head start’ has really paid off.”
“Hard loss. Going to have to blow off steam tomorrow at the Mahopec Country Club Golf Course. #whitesonly”
The tweets were posted and sent following the near all white Mahopac basketball teams narrow loss to the predominantly black Mount Vernon High School on February 27. Now it’s true that eight Mahopac students were suspended, and the coach Kevin Downes, who is African-American, resigned. The Mt Vernon district superintendent demanded that the basketball team be placed on a one year suspension.( It didn’t happen). And that school officials warned the student body to be on good behavior.
http://www.eurweb.com/2014/03/earl-ofari-hutchinson-mahopacs-racist-tweets-are-much-of-americas-tweets/
Op-Ed
Much depends on Ginsburg
The 81-year-old Supreme Court justice should retire this summer to ensure Obama can choose a like-minded successor.
By Erwin Chemerinsky
March 15, 2014, 1:44 p.m.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg should retire from the Supreme Court after the completion of the current term in June. She turned 81 on Saturday and by all accounts she is healthy and physically and mentally able to continue. But only by resigning this summer can she ensure that a Democratic president will be able to choose a successor who shares her views and values.
A great deal turns on who picks Ginsburg’s successor. There are, for example, four likely votes to overturn Roe vs. Wade on the current court: Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel A. Alito Jr. If a Republican president selects Ginsburg’s replacement, that justice easily could be the fifth vote needed to allow the government to prohibit all abortions. On many cases — including ones involving environmental law, healthcare, gay marriage, the death penalty and the rights of those in Guantanamo — the four liberal justices have joined with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy for a progressive result.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/commentary/la-oe-chemerinsky-ginsburg-should-resign-20140316,0,6883426.story#ixzz2wERQTweW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTZSIfX0iKQ
Soon, very soon, when will this idjit Gregory get dumped from MTP?
President Barack Obama will make a statement on Ukraine at 10:45 a.m. ET, White House officials said.
Earlier Monday, Obama signed an executive order to impose sanctions on Russia, blocking assets and entry to the United States for seven members of the Russian government and four others. It also authorizes additional sanctions if needed.
On Sunday, Ukraine’s Crimea region voted overwhelmingly to break from Ukraine and join Russia in what Western government say was an illegal election.
Read the story here.
http://cnn.com/CNNtv
Calling MN Legislator, Pat Garofalo’s
What say ye? regarding your comments about NBA players and street crime created stir on social media, though he denies it was a comment on race.
Colts owner James Irsay was arrested by Carmel Police Sunday night on preliminary charges of driving under the influence and possession of a controlled substance, police said.
The bond for Irsay was set at $22,500, said Bryant Orem of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department. Irsay should be able to post bond and be released this afternoon, Orem said.
Irsay, 54, was booked into the Hamilton County Jail at Noblesville at 3:07 a.m. He was arrested just before midnight, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Carmel police say they will release details of the arrest soon.
In a tweet on Oct. 21, 2013, Irsay said he has not had a drink in 15 years.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2014/03/17/indianapolis-colts-owner-arrested-for-dwi/6515285/
I bought Peanut some St. Patrick’s Day stuff to wear with her school uniform.
She was like, ‘ Auntie, what do I say if they say I’m not Irish?’
Without missing a beat, I told her to tell them that you are part Irish – compliments of slavery. Told her to say it just like that.
LOL There you go, Rikyrah. And I’ll bet anything Peanut will say it without missing a beat too.
I am officially freaked out about that missing plane. If this were a movie, folks would be complaining that it was too ‘out there’.
Yes indeedy, and now they’re blaming the co-pilots, after what? 10 days?
Sunday, March 16, 2014
MAYBE MILLENNIALS TRUST INSTITUTIONS LESS BECAUSE INSTITUTIONS DESERVE LESS TRUST
A recent Pew poll says that millennials don’t have a lot of trust in institutions, and Ross Douthat is sad:
Under Obama, millennials can’t get jobs and can’t pay off student loans, and their parents have been struggling financially for years — but millennials didn’t exactly see their elders thrive even during the supposedly better days of the Bush presidency, when the only way a non-rich person could get an extra sliver of the pie was by tapping into what turned out to be hyperinflated home equity. America’s military might was more or less useless under Bush, and it’s not much use under Obama. Churches, then and now, were overpoliticized and scandal-plagued. D.C. has been reduced to permanent dysfunction by a cabal of nihilists — we know they’re Republicans, though most millennials probably assume, because they’re constantly told this, that “both sides do it.”
Maybe millennials think institutions suck because institutions suck.
Douthat suggests that there’s the potential for a turn to fascism here. He cites the conservative sociologist Robert Nisbet:
http://nomoremister.blogspot.com/2014/03/maybe-millennials-trust-institutions.html
Mississippi readies welfare drug tests
03/14/14 12:29 PM—Updated 03/15/14 01:50 AM
By Steve Benen
Conservative policymakers have created drug-testing policies for welfare recipients in several states nationwide, and as a rule, the policies have flopped rather spectacularly.
But proponents of the idea in other states just don’t seem to notice. Reid Wilson reported yesterday:
Florida, you may recall, had a similar program struck down in the courts, but that policy applied to all beneficiaries in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Mississippi is more selective – recipients will only be tested if the state thinks you might have a substance-abuse problem, depending on how you answer officials’ questionnaire.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/mississippi-readies-welfare-drug-tests
House Republicans balk at jobless aid
03/14/14 03:03 PM—Updated 03/15/14 01:20 AM
By Steve Benen
Last night’s “bipartisan breakthrough” in the Senate offered new hope for those who need unemployment benefits. An agreement was finally in place to extend jobless aid to nearly 2 million Americans; the benefits would be applied retroactively; and the whole thing is paid for.
The White House is thrilled; the public supports the policy; the benefits would give the economy a boost; and with 60 proponents, a Republican filibuster probably can’t stop the bill anymore. Assuming it passes the upper chamber soon, the bill would simply need a majority of the House.
As of this afternoon, that looks like a longshot (via Greg Sargent).
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/house-republicans-balk-jobless-aid
Where The GOP Might Target Obamacare If It Wins The Senate
Dylan Scott – March 17, 2014, 6:00 AM EDT2891
Facing the very real possibility of a GOP-controlled Senate in 2015, health industry insiders are working up a wish list — the changes they’d like made to the Affordable Care Act under a fully Republican Congress.
But they’re also a little unsettled by the prospect of GOP control in Congress: Nobody is sure what exactly the Republicans would do if they had the opportunity to legislate however it wanted on the health care reform law.
It’s plausible that Republicans would simply continue their absolutist opposition to President Barack Obama’s signature legislation, especially if they view capturing the Senate as a vindication of their anti-Obamacare messaging. In that scenario, expect more symbolic repeal votes that the House has taken over the last few years. That would force Obama to pull out his veto pen again and again to defend the law.
The GOP’s absolutist position would also keep the health insurance industry nervously on edge. Disruptive legislative actions like repealing the individual mandate or cutting funding for tax subsidies would be worrisome for companies that have spent four years adjusting to and investing in Obamacare’s new reality.
But there’s another route Republicans could take: foregoing broad offensives in favor of more targeted strikes that might be harder for the White House to reject.
It’s telling that the industry isn’t yet sure which course a GOP-controlled Congress would choose. But if Republicans do decide to legislate in a more restrained fashion, the health insurance industry is expected to be the biggest player because, once repeal is off the table, they have the biggest beef with Obamacare of all the special interest groups.
“I think the health plans would be most ready to spring into action if the Republicans did well,” Caroline Pearson, vice president at Avalere Health, an independent consulting firm, told TPM. “They have more they’re disgruntled with right now that the Republicans are conceptually open to.”
The most obvious repeal targets would be the law’s health insurance tax and Medicare Advantage cuts. The industry has been railing against both for a while now.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/gop-senate-takeover-obamacare
Ohio’s Jeeps, two years later
03/14/14 04:20 PM—Updated 03/14/14 07:16 PM
By Steve Benen
Long-time readers may recall the “Mitt’s Mendacity” project from the 2012 campaign, documenting the more noteworthy falsehoods from the Republicans’ presidential nominee. I used to get asked from time to time if I had a particular favorite, and though the competition was fierce, Romney’s bogus Jeep claims always stood out as especially brazen.
It was late October 2012 when the Romney campaign, fearful of losing Ohio, suggested Chrysler was poised to move Jeep production from Ohio to China. It was a lie, but when confronted with the truth the candidate doubled and tripled down on the falsehood, even as auto industry executives called him out for deceiving the public.
The New York Times editorialized, “It’s bad enough to be wrong on the policy. It takes an especially dishonest candidate to simply turn up the volume on a lie and keep repeating it.” What’s more, the Toledo Blade chastised Romney for “conducting an exercise in deception about auto-industry issues that is remarkable even by the standards of his campaign.”
Whatever happened to that Jeep plant in Ohio? Josh Green offers a fascinating update.
It didn’t move to China. And it’s actually doing quite well. No, scratch that: It’s going gangbusters. Demand for Jeeps is so high that Chrysler workers are clocking 60 hours a week and still can’t keep up.
Wait, it gets better.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/ohios-jeeps-two-years-later
McCain’s Cold War confusion
03/17/14 08:00 AM—Updated 03/17/14 08:43 AM
By Steve Benen
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) made his latest Sunday show appearance yesterday, having just completed a trip to Ukraine, and though much of the senator’s rhetoric was expected, there was one thing that stood out for me.
Not surprisingly, McCain is concerned about the crisis and sees Crimea’s departure from Ukraine as “a fait accompli.” But the Arizona Republican also told CNN he does not want to see a “re-ignition of the Cold War.” McCain added:
“[W]e need to give long-term military assistance plan, because, God knows what Vladimir Putin will do next, because he believes that Ukraine is a vital part of his vision of the Russian empire and we need to understand that and act accordingly.
“And again, no boots on the ground. It is not the Cold War over again.”
Wait, so McCain doesn’t believe this is the Cold War all over again?
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/mccains-cold-war-confusion
House GOP fights for food-stamp cuts
03/17/14 08:41 AM
By Steve Benen
Ordinarily, when conservative policymakers complain about “fraud” and “cheating” in federal programs intended to help poor people eat food, they’re referring to individuals accused of abusing the system unfairly. But over the last few days, congressional Republicans are using familiar rhetoric in an unfamiliar way.
As a policy matter, the underlying change is a little tricky. Republicans successfully cut food aid to the poor – though not nearly as much as they’d hoped – which mostly affected 17 states that participate in the “Heat and Eat” program, which connects federal LIHEAP (Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program) assistance with SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).
At last count, six of the affected governors – five Democrats and one Republican – have decided to start fiddling with the books, moving money around so low-income constituents won’t lose their food benefits. Other governors appear eager to do the same.
And this has apparently outraged Republicans on Capitol Hill. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told reporters late last week that he wants Congress to “try to stop this cheating and this fraud from continuing.” Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), who helped write the relevant legislation, wants a full congressional investigation and new measures intended to guarantee food-stamp cuts.
Remember, the “cheating” and “fraud” is in reference to state officials trying to help low-income residents access food.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/house-gop-fights-food-stamp-cuts
March 16, 2014, 6:10 pm
Russia Could Still Turn U.S. ‘Into Radioactive Dust,’ News Anchor in Moscow Reminds Viewers
By ROBERT MACKEY
As the United States condemned a referendum on the future of the Crimean peninsula staged by pro-Russian separatists on Sunday, one of Russia’s most influential television hosts appeared on the evening news in Moscow, before a huge mushroom cloud graphic, to remind viewers that Russia is still “the only country in the world capable of turning the U.S.A. into radioactive dust.”
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/russia-could-still-turn-the-u-s-into-radioactive-dust-news-anchor-in-moscow-reminds-viewers/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&emc=edit_tnt_20140316&nlid=1811197&tntemail0=y&_r=1
Key and Peele Land Cover of Time Magazine, Write Opinion Piece About Comedy
Comedy Central duo Key and Peele are on a roll. After landing on the cover of New York Times Sunday Magazine last year, this week they are cover boys for national weekly news magazine Time. It’s the Ideas Issue, and Key and Peele offer an opinion piece about comedy that may or may not make you laugh, but at the very least will make you think. Check it out below:
Would you make fun of a burn victim? Well, we did. Sort of… We’re comics. In the most recent season of our TV show, in a sketch titled “Insult Comic,” a traditional stand-up comedian professes that he is “going to get everybody” in his set (the guy toward the front with big ears, the fat guy, the woman with comically large breasts). That’s the phrase, isn’t it, when a critic wants to praise a comedian for the fearless nature of his or her comedy? That he or she “gets everybody”? That “nobody is safe”? One of the club patrons in our sketch, however, is a wheelchair-bound burn victim. “You skipped me,” he calls from the audience, with a robotic-sounding artificial larynx. “Go for it,” he says, “I can take it.”
http://goodblacknews.org/2014/03/16/key-and-peele-land-cover-of-time-magazine-write-opinion-piece-about-comedy/
If Hillary Clinton doesn’t run, the Democratic primary race in 2016 could be one for the ages
By Chris Cillizza, E-mail the writer
Conventional wisdom — and even some unconventional wisdom — dictates that Hillary Rodham Clinton is running for president in 2016.
A universe of super PACs and other organizations has been built, and staffed by former Clinton operatives, to prepare the way for Hillary. And yet, running through all of these preparations is a current of uncertainty about whether the former first lady, senator and top diplomat will, you know, actually run.
The thinking is that Clinton would never let such extensive efforts go forward if she, in her heart of hearts, wasn’t planning to enter the race. But that, like most of what we think we know about Clinton and her plans, is based not on facts but on interpretation.
One thing that everyone — those who want Clinton to run and those who don’t — agrees on is that she has simply not made up her mind yet and probably won’t for some time. So, what happens if she decides not to campaign for the White House? In a word: chaos. Here’s why:
1. There’s a panoply of ambitious Democrats who watched Barack Obama leapfrog them in 2008 and won’t want to miss their opportunity this time.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/if-hillary-clinton-doesnt-run-the-democratic-primary-race-in-2016-could-be-one-for-the-ages/2014/03/16/0a4e4b40-ad16-11e3-a49e-76adc9210f19_story.html?hpid=z3
Faces of DRUG ADDICTION…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-cGsDwAm68
https://twitter.com/Sherrea_D/status/445530327981641728/photo/1
Good Morning, Everyone :)
Good morning, everyone!
Mornin’ SG2. *sigh* ice, sleet, snow today. wash, rinse, repeat
Oh nooo! It just keeps coming. GO AWAY, cold weather!
Good Morning, Everyone. Happy Monday!
I’m looking forward to the Ailey Dance series this week,SG2. They’re My favorite dance company.
Morning, Ametia! It’s going to be a treat. Hope everyone enjoys.