Archive for May, 2011

Venus’ climate II: How scientists know Venus’ surface temperature isn’t from internal heating

One of the hypotheses proposed by climate disruption deniers for Venus’ hot surface temperature is that Venus has an unusually hot core. The logic goes like this – if the core is hot enough, then the surface temperature would be from heat bleeding through the crust instead of from the greenhouse effect of a 97% carbon dioxide (CO2) atmosphere. This hypothesis can be quickly disproved by running three simple calculations.

Scientists estimate that Venus’ solid crust is about 50 km thick, and data from robotic probes indicates that it’s of similar composition to the Earth’s crust. The Earth’s crust is largely silicates, and so I’ve simplified the following calculations by assuming that the entire surface of Venus is composed of silica (silicon dioxide, SiO2, aka quartz), which makes up about 60% of the Earth’s crust. The physical property that we care about at the moment is thermal conductivity, or how easily a material conducts heat through it. Silica’s thermal conductivity is 1.38 W·m-1·K-1 (source).

Full Story Here: Venus’ climate II: How scientists know Venus’ surface temperature isn’t from internal heating | Scholars and Rogues.

| Strategy for Privatizing Public Schools Spelled out by Dick DeVos in 2002 Heritage Foundation Speech

Right-wing think tanks have determined that school vouchers are key to eradicating public education and Dick and Betsy DeVos lead the way in execution of the well-funded plan. The money is tracked in two extensive reports on Talk2action [1 and 2]. DeVos video excerpt below fold.

“We need to be cautious about talking too much about these activities,” Dick DeVos warned in a December 2002 speech at the Heritage Foundation. DeVos was introduced by former Secretary of Education William Bennett and then proposed a stealth strategy for promoting school vouchers in state legislatures. DeVos and his wife Betsy had already spent millions promoting voucher initiatives that were soundly rejected by voters. Pro-privatization think tanks had concluded that vouchers were the most politically viable way to “dismantle” public schools; the DeVoses persevered. Dick DeVos introduced his 2002 Heritage Foundation audience to a covert strategy to provide “rewards or consequences” to state legislators, learning from the activities of the Great Lake Education Project (GLEP) initiated by Betsy DeVos. Vouchers should be promoted by local “grass roots” entities and could not be “viewed as only a conservative idea.” DeVos added, “This has got to be the battle. It will not be as visible.”

Ten years later, the DeVos stealth strategy has been implemented and is winning the voucher war in several states. As recommended to the Heritage Foundation in 2002, the public face of the movement is bipartisan and grass roots, and millions of dollars are poured into media firms to reinforce that image. However, behind the scenes the movement continues to be led by the DeVoses, and the funding used to provide “rewards or consequences” for state legislators continues to be raised from a small group of mega-donors.

Full Story Here: | Strategy for Privatizing Public Schools Spelled out by Dick DeVos in 2002 Heritage Foundation Speech.

Canada’s cold new dawn

Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper is our version of George W Bush, minus the warmth and intellect

Canada woke up to an election shock this morning. It was a self-inflicted jolt, and all the more painful for that. After three minority governments in seven years – all following inconclusive, forgettable elections that never gave the Conservatives the solid majority they were sweating for – a man of the hard right named Stephen Harper finally has his win.

He triumphed over Michael Ignatieff – known to the British as a fine writer, historian and BBC talking head – who had returned to Canada to lead the Liberals, often described as the country’s traditional party of government. Instead, Ignatieff got whacked, and the left-leaning New Democratic party did very well indeed, astonishing even themselves. To put this in British terms, the Liberals (New Labour) were humiliated, the New Democrats (the Liberal Democrats) came in a powerful second and a Canadian version of George W Bush, minus the warmth and intellect, is now prime minister.

What happens now is the full-scale Americanisation of Canada, hinted at over the past seven years by Harper – he fired people who talked too loudly about this – but not acted upon because Canadians have always valued their distinctiveness from the angry country in decline south of the border.

Full Story Here: Canada’s cold new dawn | Heather Mallick | Comment is free | The Guardian.

25 Years After Chernobyl – A Bigger Threat Now From Japan?

Americans rank the threat from the post-earthquake and tsunami problems at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan as equal to or even worse than the accident that took place at Chernobyl exactly 25 years ago. 

Full Story Here: 25 Years After Chernobyl – A Bigger Threat Now From Japan? | YouGov US Opinion Center.

Medicare and the Usual Suspects

Hatchet Jobs By the Washington Policy Gang

By DEAN BAKER

The film Casablanca features one of the greatest moments in movie history. With Humphrey Bogart standing with a smoking pistol over the body of the dead Gestapo major, Claude Rains, in the role of the French colonel tells his troops: “the major has been shot, round up the usual suspects.”

Unfortunately the Washington policy gang is busy following Claude Rains’ instructions. The nation is drowning in endless accounts of how the huge deficit will sink the economy and the country. These accounts invariably feature stories of a Congress addicted to spending and a nation that wants government benefits that it doesn’t want to pay for.

This story has nothing to do with reality as all budget analysts know. The explosion of the budget deficit in the last three years is a response to the plunge in private sector demand following the collapse of the housing bubble. If the budget deficit were smaller, we would simply have less demand and fewer jobs.

Full Story Here: Dean Baker: Medicare and the Usual Suspects.

The Peaceful Atom and Other Nuclear Fairy Tales

Will the Nuclear Power Industry Melt Down?

By HARVEY WASSERMAN

“There’s never been a death because of radiation … in a civilian nuclear power plant. … In Texas, if there’s any kind of a serious earthquake or natural disaster, I want to be in the control room at Comanche Peak [Nuclear Power Plant] because that is the absolute safest place to be.”

—Texas Congressman Joe Barton, April 6, 2011

In the wake of the apocalyptic nightmare at Fukushima, the multi-trillion-dollar global nuclear power industry is looking over the abyss at a long-overdue extinction.

But the issue is far from decided. Japan’s horrifying catastrophe has sent the industry’s spin machine into overdrive. Hell-bent on minimizing the dangers of this unprecedented disaster, we’ve been shown the script of what reactor-backers are willing to say and do to save themselves.

It is not a pretty picture. It focuses on the assertion that there are safe doses of radiation, and that atomic energy has harmed few, if any. Three Mile Island “hurt no one.” There were few casualties at Chernobyl. And Fukushima’s long-term damage will be minimal.

Full Story Here: Harvey Wasserman: The Peaceful Atom and Other Nuclear Fairy Tales.

Economic Terror Wins the Day: We’re in a Depression

Meanwhile, Back in the Homeland

By MIKE WHITNEY

On Thursday, Gallup reported that “More than half of Americans say the U.S. economy is in a recession or a depression despite official data that show a moderate recovery…..The April 20-23 Gallup survey… found that only 27 percent said the economy is growing. 29 per cent said the economy is in a depression and 26 per cent said it is in a recession, with another 16 per cent saying it is “slowing down,” Gallup said.”

55 percent of Americans believe we are in a depression or a recession a full 5 years after the housing bubble burst (2006) and 3 years after Lehman Brothers collapsed. (2008) Gallup’s findings jibe with other surveys that indicate growing desperation among the public. For example, Globescan found that a large number of Americans have given up on free-market capitalism altogether, while other polls show dwindling confidence in government institutions, the Federal Reserve, the Congress, the judicial system and the media.

This is from the New York Times:

“Americans are more pessimistic about the nation’s economic outlook and overall direction than they have been at any time since President Obama’s first two months in office, when the country was still officially ensnared in the Great Recession, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll…

Full Story Here: Mike Whitney: We’re in a Depression.

U.S. Labor Groups Call for Suspension of Bahrain Trade Pact

One of the nation’s largest labor organizations is calling for the suspension of one of America’s smallest trade pacts after reports of illegally detained union leaders in Bahrain have appeared in the media.

Democratic uprising in the Middle Eastern country have led to government suppression across the country, and labor leaders in the country have been one of the main targets.

“Bahrain’s actions have gone so far beyond the pale,” said Jeff Vogt, deputy director of the AFL-CIO’s international department. “We shouldn’t be in this agreement.”

Under the agreement, Bahrain is required to protect human rights and respect the rights of workers to organize collectively.

Full Story Here: U.S. Labor Groups Call for Suspension of Bahrain Trade Pact | Economy In Crisis.

Radioactive cars from Japan arrive in Chilean port

Customs agents in Chile have detected low levels of radioactivity in cars shipped from the Japanese port of Yokohama.

Chile says the radioactivity was found in 21 of nearly 2,500 cars that arrived in Iquique aboard the Hyundai 106 cargo ship.

About a hundred port workers have protested, saying their health was at risk.

But Chilean deputy treasury secretary Miguel Angel Quesada said Monday that the Chilean nuclear commission has confirmed that the radioactivity is too low to cause damage to humans. He says the cars will be hosed down on board and any radioactivity will be contained inside inside the ship.

Full Story Here: Business & Technology | Radioactive cars from Japan arrive in Chilean port | Seattle Times Newspaper.

Shareholders call for nuclear plant closures

Some of the shareholders of a Japanese electric power company say they want the utility to close its nuclear power plants.

On Monday, a group of 232 individual stockholders of Tohoku Electric Power Company submitted the documents needed for their proposal to scrap its nuclear power plants.

The proposal is expected to be put to a vote in an annual shareholders’ meeting at the end of next month.

Tohoku Electric Power has 2 nuclear power plants in Japan’s northeastern region, one in Higashidori Village in Aomori Prefecture and another in Onagawa Town in Miyagi Prefecture.

The group is also calling for the company to end its investment in spent nuclear

Full Story Here: NHK WORLD English.

Santorum’s Response To Bin Laden’s Death Is To Accuse Obama Of Not Defending American Freedom

ThinkProgress’ Igor Volsky contributed to this report from the Family Leader Presidential lecture series in Iowa City, IA today.

President Obama has received praise from Republicans and Democrats alike for bringing an end to the decade-long search for Osama bin Laden. But at the Family Leader Presidential lecture series in Iowa today, former senator and presidential candidate Rick Santorum (R) chose to envelop his brief praise for the president in a larger attack on his foreign policy credentials, insinuating that Obama isn’t interested in defending American freedom:

Barack Obama, who certainly is not someone I would say is known for fighting great causes in defense of American freedom, but I will give him credit in this, that he remained vigilant in going after Osama bin Laden. [...]

We have to continue to be vigilant in going after this enemy, when we’ve seen, if anything from this administration, is a lack of leadership, an indecisiveness, a confusion in dealing with the troubles that have erupted, particularly in the Middle East during this presidency. We’ve seen a lack of conviction, a lack of resolve. … Maybe, again, that will change as a result of this success over the weekend.

Full Story Here: ThinkProgress » Santorum’s Response To Bin Laden’s Death Is To Accuse Obama Of Not Defending American Freedom.

Barney Frank On Cantor Crediting Bush For Killing Bin Laden: ‘That’s Just Sad’

Announcing the death of Osama bin Laden, President Obama explained that shortly after assuming office, he ordered CIA Director Leon Panetta to make it the Agency’s top priority to bring bin Laden to justice. Obama said the effort was the result of “many months” of hard work. But many on the right also want to give credit to President Bush — who regularly said that getting bin Laden wasn’t his priority. House Majority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) said in a statement, “I commend President Obama who has followed the vigilance of President Bush in bringing Bin Laden to justice.”

ThinkProgress asked Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) to respond to Cantor’s comment and Frank didn’t mince words:

FRANK: Well first of all, I think, let’s give discredit where it is due. For Eric Cantor to phrase it that way, to say he followed the vigilance of President Bush is a degree of key partisanship that exceeded what I even expected from Cantor. That’s just sad. [...]

If Bush had gotten Osama after Clinton had failed do you think Eric Cantor would’ve given Clinton credit and said, “Oh good Bush got Osama bin Laden, he showed the same vigilance as Bill Clinton”? No. Not even close.

Full Story Here: ThinkProgress » Barney Frank On Cantor Crediting Bush For Killing Bin Laden: ‘That’s Just Sad’.

After Voting To Keep Them, Rep. Joe Walsh Tells Town Hall We ‘Absolutely’ Should Get Rid Of Oil Subsidies

Conservative members of Congress have been feeling the heat all over the country, as a Main Street Movement of everyday Americans have been protesting their efforts to cut crucial services and public investment, including their vote to effectively end Medicare.

Last week, during a town hall in Schaumburg, Illinois, Walsh came face to face with this public anger. A video of the town hall posted on YouTube shows that a constituent asked why we aren’t reforming the laws that give tax dollars to oil companies that are making huge profits. Walsh replied by saying that he “absolutely” wants to get rid of subsidies for oil companies:

CONSTITUENT: You say you want reform, how about reforming the banking system that got us into this mess? How about reforming the laws that give away our tax dollars to giant oil companies making record-breaking profits? And gives tax breaks to multi-millionaires. Your constituency wants Social Security, Medicare, and universal health care including the right to women’s health. [...]

Full Story Here: ThinkProgress » After Voting To Keep Them, Rep. Joe Walsh Tells Town Hall We ‘Absolutely’ Should Get Rid Of Oil Subsidies.

Fukushima radiation levels rise to highest levels yet

As the twenty-fifth anniversary of Chernobyl passes, Fukushima looks set to overtake it as the world’s worst nuclear disaster. Two weeks ago Fukushima was raised from a level 5 disaster to a level 7 like Chernobyl. But nearly two months after the crisis began, Fukushima is still emitting radioactivity, while Chernobyl’s emissions had been contained at this stage.

Robots sent into the Number 1 reactor building have recorded the highest reading of radioactivity so far found at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant since the emergency began almost two months ago. Two robots found 1,120 millisieverts of radiation an hour was being emitted from the stricken reactor. This level of radiation is more than enough to cause immediate radiation sickness if a human being were exposed to it. The Tokyo Electrical Power Company (Tepco) which runs the Fukushima facility has begun to use robots because it has become impossible to send workers into the plant for long enough to take accurate readings.

The company has just admitted that a woman worker at the plant was exposed to 17.55 millisieverts last month and taken off the job. Her exposure exceeds the 5 millisieverts 3-month dose limit for females. Women have a lower dose level than men because of the potential danger to a foetus if a woman were to become pregnant. The woman worked indoors and her exposure to radiation was limited to clothing and other material brought in from outside her workplace. The fact that she has exceeded the permitted dose gives an indication of the now generalised level of contamination at Fukushima and suggests that no areas of the plant can be classified as safe for prolonged periods. Tepco has laid off 18 other female workers. It has not said what their exposure level is.

Full Story Here: Fukushima radiation levels rise to highest levels yet.

Daniels to defund Planned Parenthood in Indiana

Indiana governor and possible presidential hopeful will end all state funding for organization

Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels said Friday he will sign restrictive abortion legislation, making Indiana the first state to cut off all government funding for Planned Parenthood and boosting Daniels’ credentials among social conservatives as he considers whether to run for president.

Daniels said he supported the abortion restrictions from the outset and that the provision added to defund abortion providers did not change his mind. He said women’s health, family planning and other services will remain available.

“The principle involved commands the support of an overwhelming majority of Hoosiers,” Daniels said in a statement announcing his intention to sign the bill when it arrives on his desk in about a week.

Full Story Here: Daniels to defund Planned Parenthood in Indiana – Abortion – Salon.com.

Springtime for Bankers

Paul Krugman :-:

Last year the G.O.P. pulled off two spectacular examples of bait-and-switch campaigning. Medicare, where the same people who screamed about death panels are now trying to dismantle the whole program, was the most obvious. But the same thing happened with regard to financial reform.

As you may recall, Republicans ran hard against bank bailouts. Among other things, they managed to convince a plurality of voters that the deeply unpopular bailout legislation proposed and passed by the Bush administration was enacted on President Obama’s watch.

And now they’re doing everything they can to ensure that there will be even bigger bailouts in years to come.

Full Story Here: Springtime for Bankers – NYTimes.com.

The Year of Living Dangerously

 

2010 Extreme Weather Cost Lives, Health, Economy

April 2011 has been a cruel month indeed for Americans due to extreme weather. The Weather Channel observed that:

It’s been a truly awful, record-setting, tornadic April. We’ve had eleven major severe weather events, some lasting multiple days.

These extreme events included “supercell thunderstorms” in Iowa, severe drought and record wildfires in Texas, and heavy rains across the United States. The recent southeastern storms and tornados took at least 297 lives across eight states. And heavy rains in the Mississippi River valley could cause the most severe, damaging floods there in nearly a century.

This extreme weather, though record setting in some places, may be the new normal. Last year, unprecedented extreme weather led to a record number of disaster declarations by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The United States and the world were swept by flooding, severe winter storms, heat waves, droughts, hurricanes, and tornadoes.

Full Story Here: The Year of Living Dangerously.

U.S. Debt Limit 101

Over the past decade, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has borrowed trillions of dollars to finance military interventions in two countries, unfunded tax cuts, and, most recently, efforts to rescue our financial system from collapse and help our economy recover from the Great Recession. But there is a limit to this borrowing, which the Treasury expects to reach by no later than early July.

As this debt-limit deadline approaches, the American people are wondering what the effects will be should Congress not raise the debt limit. This Debt Limit 101 briefly outlines everything you need to know about our debt limit, as well as the potential consequences of failing to raise it.

What is the national debt?

When the federal government spends more money than it receives through tax revenue, it needs to cover the difference by borrowing. The total amount that the federal government cumulatively borrows over time, minus what it pays back, is the national debt. Simply, it is the sum of what the federal government owes to its creditors.

Full Story Here: U.S. Debt Limit 101.

President Obama, Don’t Just Scold the Media, Fix the Media!

After revealing his “long form” birth certificate Wednesday, President Obama scolded the news media for letting this non-issue become a national obsession.

But if President Obama really wants to restore reporting to its rightful role, he needs to act on commitments he made immediately after his inauguration. As I wrote in September 2009 for The BRAD BLOG:

Shortly after Barack Obama was sworn in as President last January, as Brad Friedman reported at the time, the new White House website “Technology” page signaled a hopeful change, and a call to re-examine the oversight of our public airwaves:

Encourage Diversity in Media Ownership: Encourage diversity in the ownership of broadcast media, promote the development of new media outlets for expression of diverse viewpoints, and clarify the public interest obligations of broadcasters who occupy the nation’s spectrum.

Okay, let me connect some dots here.

Full Story Here: The BRAD BLOG : President Obama, Don’t Just Scold the Media, Fix the Media!.

Green schemes are ‘wide open to major corruption’

Millions of pounds in grants and aid are being siphoned off by fraudsters, warns report

Corruption is threatening global steps to combat climate change, a new report from Transparency International (TI) warned yesterday. Billions of pounds will be plundered and wasted, it says, unless stronger measures are introduced against embezzlement and misappropriation.

The organisation warns that 20 nations most vulnerable to climate change – where millions in grants and aid will be targeted – are judged to be among the most corrupt in the world – and stronger oversight is needed to ensure the funds are properly spent. None of the countries, which include Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Egypt and Vietnam, scores higher than 3.6 on TI’s influential Corruption Perception Index, where 0 is wholly corrupt and 10 “very clean”.

Any siphoning off of green grants would undermine efforts to reduce the impact of climate change by developing projects such as wind farms or solar power plants, improving sea wall defences, irrigation systems and housing capable of withstanding natural disasters, says TI

Full Story Here: Green schemes are ‘wide open to major corruption’ – Green Living, Environment – The Independent.

Banks Should Pay for Foreclosures

The epidemic of foreclosures that began in 2008 has been devastating America’s families, communities and the state economy.

Nowhere is this more true than in California, where one in five U.S. foreclosures has taken place. Since 2008, more than 1.2 million Californians have lost their homes, and the number is expected to exceed 2 million by the end of next year. More than a third of California homeowners with a mortgage already owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.

As a result, home values in the state are estimated to plummet by $632 billion. That translates into a loss of more than $3.8 billion in property taxes. One foreclosed home in a neighborhood can reduce property values for the rest of the houses in the neighborhood, and a cluster of foreclosed houses compounds the physical, economic, and social devastation.

Full Story Here: Banks Should Pay for Foreclosures | Common Dreams.

Tens of Thousands March for May Day Across Globe

Tens of thousands took to the streets across the globe for May Day on Sunday, to press for workers’ rights amid tough economic times and to back an array of other causes.

From Hong Kong to Indonesia and from Moscow to Paris, protesters marched and rallied in largely peaceful demonstrations for international Labour Day.

In Russia, hundreds of thousands took to the streets in May Day rallies, most showing support for the Kremlin amid a handful of opposition protests.

Anti-Kremlin rallies were far outnumbered by pro-government demonstrations organized by pro-Kremlin parties and trade unions.

Full Story Here: Tens of Thousands March for May Day Across Globe | Common Dreams.

You Come for Our Unions We Come for Your Corporate Mega Churches

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumpka gave a rousing speech this week about the need for a mobile, global labor movement to counter-act the attacks on workers around the globe. He pointed out that in a declining economy, politics become vicious and the viscous attack. And most importantly, he noted that the CEO backed Republicans attacked unions and collective bargaining because the unions are weak right now. The Republicans thought it would be an easy kill.

They were wrong.

But instead of just fighting to hang on, we need to fight for the rights of all workers, we need to fight to grow union labor and grow workers rights if we are to save the middle class. We need to grow an army of people dedicated to workers rights who can and will protest peacefully and memorably as they did in Madison at the drop of a hat. We need to take the Madison spirit, the Egyptian spirit, and the Tunisian spirit – and plant it, feed it, nurture it.

We need to be educating our fellow citizens and teaching our children about the importance of unions. We need solidarity to extend permanently, not just during a crisis. We need to come together for the battle of a lifetime. We need to unite all unions and middle class labor under the umbrella of human rights and we need to hold our elected officials from both parties accountable to labor. Fight for the people, represent the people, or get out. But we also need to go on the attack. We will not advance the cause of the middle class by mere defense of battle lines.

Full Story Here: You Come for Our Unions We Come for Your Corporate Mega Churches.

2011 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner

Politics and Hollywood collided once again at this year’s annual White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) Dinner. The event has evolved into a star-studded affair as celebrities descend upon Washington, joining journalists and President Obama.

This year’s comedian headliner, “Saturday Night Live’s” Seth Meyers, was charged with the task of poking fun at the President and Washington politics. Each year, the President uses the occasion to show a more humorous side as well, making fun of himself and the people who cover him.

Full Story Here: 2011 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner | C-SPAN.

Brown Recluse Spiders May Spread Across U.S. Due To Climate Change

Brown recluse spiders are scary, and they may be coming to a town near you.

A new study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, suggests that the potentially deadly spiders might be spreading throughout North America as the planet warms. According to LiveScience, the spider’s range, which currently covers a large portion of the southeast, may not be suitable for it by 2080.

However, a changing climate could make parts of Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Nebraska and South Dakota suitable for it. It’s not the amount of space that’s changing, but the area it covers.

Scientists used predictive mapping to determine the likely redistribution of the spiders, according to Science Daily.

Don’t freak out just yet.

Full Story Here: Brown Recluse Spiders May Spread Across U.S. Due To Climate Change.

How to Feel Better When You’re Feeling Down

“What do you do when you feel sad?” people often ask me. (Some even ask, “Do you ever get sad?”)

Yes, of course my kids and I both feel sadness, anger, anxiety — sometimes downright misery — just like everyone else. Leading a joyful life does not mean always trying to be happy.

At the same time, I’m not really one for rumination. Meaning: My kids and I feel our feelings — often deeply — and then, if the feelings are negative, we try to move on. If the feelings are positive, we try to savor them, to hang on to them.

When people hear that I encourage my kids to move on from unpleasant feelings, many of them worry. “Well, make sure you aren’t denying their negative emotions,” I’ve been warned, “or sending the message that bad feelings are bad and should be avoided.”

Full Story Here: Christine Carter, PhD: How to Feel Better When You’re Feeling Down.

Rep. Rehberg, Whose Net Worth Is $31 Million, Says He’s ‘Cash Poor’ And ‘Struggling’

As ThinkProgress has been reporting, conservative members of Congress are facing a backlash across the country as Main Street Americans, outraged by a GOP budget that effectively ends Medicare, speak out.

At a town hall earlier this week in Montana, Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) began comparing the plight of every day middle class Americans like those at his town hall with his own economic circumstance. He droned on about how he’s ‘struggling’ as a small businessman. A constituent asked him what his own net worth is and he said he’s “land rich and cash poor”:

REHBERG: I’m a small businessman. My wife is a small businessman. She hasn’t taken a salary in ten years as a result of business. We’re struggling like everyone else. With the ecnoomy.

CONSTITUENT: What’s your salary?

Full Story Here: ThinkProgress » Rep. Rehberg, Whose Net Worth Is $31 Million, Says He’s ‘Cash Poor’ And ‘Struggling’.

Three Ways To Save Medicare Paul Ryan Doesn’t Want You To Know About

Across the country, Main Street Americans are speaking out against a GOP budget plan that would effectively end Medicare.

In taking aim at Medicare, these conservative members of Congress are claiming that they are actually “saving Medicare” from financial ruin and that there is no possible choice other than to privatize the program and throw seniors to the insurance industry. They say this to justify a plan that the Congressional Budget Office says would have the elderly spending the majority of their income on health care.

Yet what Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) — the architect of the plan to end Medicare — and other right-wingers don’t want you to know is that there are actually numerous way to shore up the fiscal solvency of Medicare that wouldn’t involve such a dangerous privatization scheme.

Full Story Here: ThinkProgress » Three Ways To Save Medicare Paul Ryan Doesn’t Want You To Know About.

Reagan Budget Director: ‘Absolutely’ Raise Taxes, Just Like Reagan Did

As Washington considers ways to rein in the deficit, Republicans have obstinately demanded that any tax revenue increases be taken off the table, claiming that raising taxes during a down economy would doom the recovery. As evidence, they often point to the presidency of Ronald Reagan, claiming his massive 1981 tax cuts caused that decade’s economic boom. But this anti-tax position makes it almost impossible to do anything serious about the deficit, since — despite GOP talking points — the country has a revenue problem, not a spending problem. On ABC’s This Week today, Reagan’s own budget director, David Stockman, exposed the GOP tax cut “theology” for the ahistorical sham it is. Asked by Reuter’s Chrystia Freeland if the economy could “sustain” a tax increase, Stockman said “absolutely,” noting that the economy only recovered under Reagan once he raised taxes in 1982 after “cut[ting] taxes too much” the year before:

FREELAND: You worked for Ronald Reagan. Do you think the American economy — so you’re, like, a red-blooded capitalist — could it sustain higher taxes than it has now?

STOCKMAN: Absolutely. In 1982, we were looking at the jaws of the worst recession since the 1930s. We overdid it in 1981, cut taxes too much. We came back with a big deficit reduction plan in 1982. Unemployment’s at 10 percent, the economy is in dire shape, and we raise taxes by 1.2 percent of GDP, which would be $150 billion a year right now — not 10 years down the road — but right now.

Watch it:

Full Story Here: ThinkProgress » Reagan Budget Director: ‘Absolutely’ Raise Taxes, Just Like Reagan Did.

Michigan’s “Emergency” Financial Regime: What Fascism Looks Like

Michigan’s Republicans are creating a legal model for American fascism for the benefit of Wall Street. The state’s new emergency financial management legislation “is the prototype for a host of laws designed to make government – the state – a compliant tool for a dictatorship of the most predatory sections of the ruling class.” Naturally – this being the United States – the first localities targeted for de-democratization are Black.

“There is nothing to stop the state from abolishing democratic governance in any of Michigan’s cities, if an emergency can be declared or created.”

Fascism is not all about jack-boots and guys with mustaches. It is a system of economic and social control. The particularities of fascism in any given nation grow out of the special dynamics of that country. Fascism in the United States will be blow-dried. And its legal and bureaucratic form will take shape in places like Michigan, where an innocuous sounding piece of legislation called the Local Government and School District Fiscal Accountability Act is the prototype for a host of laws designed to make government – the state – a compliant tool for the dictatorial rule of the most predatory sections of the ruling class. In 2011 America, that’s Wall Street, finance capital.

Full Story Here: Michigan’s “Emergency” Financial Regime: What Fascism Looks Like | Black Agenda Report.

Canada vote dominated by left-leaning third-party surge

Canada vote dominated by left-leaning third-party surge A third-party surge has unsettled the status quo as Canada prepares to go to the polls on Monday.

OTTAWA — A third-party surge has unsettled the status quo as Canada prepares to go to the polls on Monday, with Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper seeking an ever-elusive majority government.

The run-up to Canada’s fourth election in seven years has been dominated by speculation over how the surging support in opinion polls for the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) will play out.

Full Story Here: ccokzsblog: Canada vote dominated by left-leaning third-party surge.