Poll: Hillary Clinton Is Voters’ Favorite
Despite Benghazi controversy, Hillary Clinton leaves the State Department on top.
Brennan Hearing Much Smoother Than Hagel’s
Obama adviser outlines how CIA would be different under his watch.
President makes nice with members of his own party.
Voters To Settle Tight And Turbulent Presidential Battle
Americans go to the polls today to choose the winner of the long, expensive and bitter race between President Obama and Republican Mitt Romney. The outcome is expected to be determined by a handful of battleground states, and perhaps only one.
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After Driving On Sidewalk To Pass School Bus, Woman Must Wear ‘Idiot’ Sign
A bus driver had seen Shena Hardin of Cleveland pull her dangerous maneuver before. So he tipped off police and had his camera phone at the ready. Now, her license is suspended. She’s been fined. And she has to stand at the scene of the crime with a sign telling the world that she’s an idiot.
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Restaurant Meals Mean More Calories And Soda For Kids And Teens
Whether you pick up some fast food or eat at a full service restaurant, eating out means eating more calories and drinking more sugary soda. For kids and teens, that has a lot of implications, especially as the country faces an obesity crisis.
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Obama Coming Up Short With White Voters
First African American president has not bridged the country’s racial divide.
The NYSE, Shut Down by Sandy, Isn’t as Vital as You Think
The stock exchange–shut down due to Hurricane Sandy–only handles about one eighth of all trades.
Conspiracy Theorists Say Obama Engineered Hurricane Sandy
HAARP is a program funded by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force that studies the upper atmosphere.
Young voters, don’t give up on Obama
Jack Schlossberg, JFK’s grandson, says young voters have learned political change doesn’t come easy, but Obama has delivered on key issues
GOP leaders reflect U.S. diversity
William Bennett says GOP convention viewers will see a lineup of speakers that demonstrate the party’s new reach to voters who in the past would vote Democratic
Common chemical linked to heart disease
A chemical used in the manufacture of common household products — such as nonstick cookware and some food packaging — may be associated with an increased risk of heart disease, a new study suggests.
Women Voters Disenchanted With Presidential Candidates
Female voters, reeling from the recession they blame on Obama, don’t see much in Romney.
Leaked: The GOP’s Proposed New Position On Internet Freedom
Rep. Darrell Issa asks the GOP to officially support Internet freedom.
Paul Ryan’s Uphill Fight for the Catholic Vote
The battle for the White House is raging between social justice Catholics and pro-life church goers.
President Barack Obama, fresh from his renewed pitch to cut taxes for the middle class, takes his message to Iowa Tuesday—a trip shadowed by Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus as part of a GOP strategy of “bracketing” the president’s public appearances in battleground states.
Scorching heat in Northwest hurts crops
With cooling temperatures in the South and Midwest, national attention has shifted to Arizona and California, where temperatures are well above 100. And the blistering heat has farmers fearful of losing their crops.
If hearing loss were officially considered a disability, it would rank as the largest disability class in the country. Yet most private medical insurance doesn’t cover the cost of hearing aids.
The Court’s upholding of Obamacare may reenergize the GOP base. But to independents and others who Romney needs to win, it may be time to give it a rest
Aaron Carroll says even with the Court’s upholding Obamacare, health reform is far from over in a country that trails other comparable countries on health care.
In its 5-4 decision to uphold the U.S. health care law, the Supreme Court answered several key questions:
Voters Split Over ObamaCare’s Fate
FOX NEWS POLL: More US voters continue to oppose Obama’s health law than favor it, but are divided over what to do if the law is upheld, struck down or kept partly intact by the Supreme Court.
Dems Ally With GOP on Eve Of Holder Contempt Vote
Conservative Dems announce they will side with Republicans on contempt vote against Attorney General Holder
‘Bath Salts’ Ruled OutIn Face-Chewing Attack
Medical examiner says only marijuana found in system of Rudy Eugene, left, who chewed off homeless man’s face
Voter ID Laws: A Republican Attempt to Usurp the Voters
Republican lawmakers in several states for the last several months have been putting Voter ID laws on the ballot and passing bills in their legislative bodies to require state-issued identification at the polls.
If this was a one-state issue, then it wouldn’t be an issue but appears to be a concerted effort by Republicans to change turnout on election day, or in effect – block some voters from the polls, especially the poor, Hispanic, college-age and black voters it’s most likely to affect. These particular minorities of course, vote in large majorities for the Democratic ticket.
Republicans governors and lawmakers have declared that their efforts are solely to stop voter fraud. Yet, several sources from the states where the implementation of the Voter ID laws are taking place shows there’s no indication that voter fraud has been a serious problem in the past.
You would think that duly elected government lawmakers would concern themselves and spend their government resources toward efforts that are more beneficial for the state. Besides, it is taxpayer dollars they’re using to pursue laws that have no foundation of necessity.
If we also look at the states that these laws are being implemented in, besides the state government being controlled by Republicans, several are considered swing states.
It would seem Republicans have ascertained that with just a bit of effort, they can turn the balance in their favor. What I want to know is; is this how the GOP wants to now do business; by blocking legitimate voters from the polls so that they can win? Where is the dignity in their endeavors?
There is a better way for Republicans to win in November, and that is by becoming the party that works to serve all Americans, not just the few whose bank accounts can bankroll their election campaigns.
Republican lawmakers have focused on the task of making President Barack Obama a one-term president, when instead they would gain the approval of the majority of Americans if they only spent their efforts in looking for ways to create jobs for the unemployed and financial relief for homeowners losing their homes.
Instead we’ve seen a steady stream of laws to restrict abortion, laws to restrict gay marriage and now laws to restrict who can or cannot vote. Along with these laws, the GOP has moved further to the right, this in order to appease the Tea Party movement and assure the Republican Party of their votes.
Like their candidate for president – Mitt Romney –the Republican Party I believe no longer has a core of principles, just a hunger to survive in a world that is changing around them while they insist in holding on to all the old relics, such as trickle-down economics and a large expensive military.
What I hope for is an active campaign by Democrats across this nation and the White House – in not only in efforts to fight these Voter ID laws – but also to work seeing that all citizens are able to vote come Election Day, no matter their party affiliation. There are some efforts underway even now though I’m not sure they’re adequate to guarantee a good turnout.
I do believe Democrats can overcome these Voter ID laws by actively working to get voters who don’t have proper identification, equipped with proper identification. The quicker and the harder we work at it, the more likely we can keep the negative effect of the Voter ID laws from making a significant difference in voter turnout in November.
It’s my opinion Voter ID laws are going to be difficult to fight in our justice system. In all practicality, Voter ID laws are a good thing, it’s the motivation behind the widespread and partisan efforts in this current voting season to now suddenly put such effort into fighting voter fraud when no serious problem exist.
Though the GOP is the party that needs to adapt better to today’s world, this is one that the Democratic Party will need to fight by seeing that all voters can vote. If we believe as progressives that a majority of Americans will support us in November, then let us expend our efforts to rest assured that in this election the majority can vote.
In the end maybe, the Republican Party will lose, Voter ID laws will have limited effect and instead of blocking voters from the polls, it will stir up a big enough effort to overcome the obstacles placed in the path of voters by this party of “No” and produce a huge turnout by Democratic voters on Election Day.
If Republicans succeed in overturning the 2012 Election in their favor, just because of their Voter ID efforts across this country, maybe we Americans should get use to a Republican Nation.
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Middle-Class Keep Losing Ground While 1 Percent Grow Wealthier
Trickle-down economics have not been good for the middle-class, over time they keep losing ground to the wealthiest of Americans. An average middle-class family’s net worth has dropped along with their incomes over the last few years.
An average family’s net worth was $ 126,400 in 2007, before the Great Recession and it’s now $ 77,300. Add to that, the average income level of $ 49,600 fell to $ 45,800 within that same period.
There also seems to have been a gulf building between the middle-class and the wealthy over the last few decades. In a Sanford University study researchers found that in 1970, 65 percent of families lived in what was considered middle-class neighborhoods, now that number is 44 percent.
The top 1 percent of Americans isn’t doing so badly either, from 2002 to 2007 they took in two-thirds of the nation’s income. That’s a good piece of the pie for just 1 percent of the population, wouldn’t you say?
I believe what really went on here was a redistribution of wealth. We’ve been warned by conservatives that this is what liberals want; a redistribution of wealth. But where really is the wealth being distributed to?
The facts here suggest the real redistribution of wealth is from the middle-class to that top 1 percent, the same people that liberals are accused of envying and overtaxing.
Americans like me, who are old enough to remember the 70s, can probably remember that even though we didn’t make anywhere close to what we make now, everything was so much cheaper. My first apartment in the 70s – small as it may have been – was just $ 60 per month; I paid the electric bill during the summer and the gas during the winter. Average bill would maybe be somewhere less than 5 bucks per month; 6 bucks during extreme temperature months. Single guy like me could get a decent week’s worth of groceries for 30 bucks. I was a smoker back then – not anymore – 4 bucks for a carton, not just a pack.
Nowadays my rent is half my salary and my cable bill takes up about a fifth of my income. And yes, we had cable back in the 70s and much cheaper; maybe 20 bucks a month.
Then there were families. The traditional and the typical family throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s lived on one income; men went to work and women tended to the home and the children.
This was the ideal American dream; an average income family could live comfortably on one income, enjoy a nice vacation every year and keep an excellent health insurance policy for the whole family, which was most generally provided through their jobs.
Along with all those simple expectancies of life with being a middle-class family in America came providing a decent education to their children and finally retiring on a nice nest egg and pension so that a couple could live out their twilight days in comfort. This was obtainable to the average family during those simpler days. That’s changed for so many families in so many ways.
Many families now can only survive if both adults in the family work full time jobs. This leaves children growing up with less supervision and parenting, which in my opinion is one of the downfalls of American society.
Health care is expensive and many families go under just because of a medical crisis. An expensive hospital bill can put a family in bankruptcy and cause them to spend their nest egg they were saving for retirement or their kid’s college funds, or have to put up a second mortgage on their homes, risking their financial stability and their credit.
I believe that if America is going to survive as a land of opportunity for many, then it will need a strong middle-class to do it. The health of the middle-class has always been a strong indicator of the strength of an economy. For a free-based market system to work, the middle-class needs to see prosperity and be confident in that market system to provide for them. They are after all the consumer and when consumers stop spending money, the economy suffers.
Though this would be called “redistribution of wealth” by conservatives; a call for a fairer tax system that favors the middle-class instead of the rich would be a good start in assuring the wealth and health of the middle-class but there also needs to be more, such as the strengthening of unions for workers and a lifting of salaries so that the middle-class can afford to live in today’s economy.
Being middle-class needs to go back to what it used to be; a life that most Americans aspired to once in this great nation. The very backbone of this country has always been the workers, which with their strong hands, backs and minds lifted this nation into prosperity beyond its greatest expectations.
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