Bucknackt's Sordid Tawdry Blog

Arab League: Syria Observer Mission Halted 28JAN12 & SYRIA LIVE BLOG from AL JAZEERA 27-28JAN12

2012-01-28T14:48:00.001-05:00

THIS last week in Syria has been one of the bloodiest since the peaceful demonstrations started in 2011, the nation is headed in the same direction as Libya, and assad, sadly, seems intent in killing off as many of his citizens before he is finally removed from power. The Arab League must keep it's observers in the country and must keep documenting the atrocities by the government. The U.N. Security Council has a moral responsibility to pass the proposed resolution from the Arab League to bring about an end to the violence. Russia and China may veto the resolution, but do so at their own risk as there will be consequences for their actions in the Arab world. This from HuffPost and from Al Jazeera (click the links in the blog for more information on those post).......

BEIRUT — The Arab League halted its observer mission to Syria on Saturday, sharply criticizing the regime of President Bashar Assad for escalating violence in recent days that has killed nearly 100 people across the country.
The rising bloodshed has added urgency to new attempts by Arab and Western countries to find a resolution to the 10 months of violence that according to the United Nations has killed at least 5,400 people as Assad seeks to crush persistent protests demanding an end to his rule.
But the initiatives continue to face two major obstacles: Damascus' rejection of an Arab peace plan which it says impinges on its sovereignty, and Russia's willingness to use its U.N. Security Council veto to protect Syria from sanctions.
Syrian government forces clashed with anti-regime army defectors across the country on Saturday. At least 20 were reported killed in the clashes and other violence. The new deaths come after two days of bloody turmoil killed at least 74 people, including small children.
The clashes have been the most intense near the tightly-controlled capital since the uprising began in March.
Syrian Interior Minister Mohammed Shaar was quoted by state-media as telling families of security members killed during the crackdown that the government "will continue their struggle to clean Syria's soil of the outlaws."
The month-old Arab observer mission in Syria has come under widespread criticism for failing to bring a halt to the regime's crackdown. Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia pulled out of the mission Tuesday, asking the U.N. Security Council to intervene.
League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby said in a statement that after discussions with Arab foreign ministers, the organization decided to halt the observers' work immediately because of the increasing violence, until the League's council can meet to decide the mission's fate.
He blamed Damascus for the spike in bloodshed, saying the regime has "resorted to escalating the military option in complete violation of (its) commitments" to end the crackdown, Elaraby said. He said the victims of the violence have been "innocent citizens," in an implicit rejection of Syria's claims that it is fighting "terrorists."

Elaraby's deputy, Ahmed Ben Heli, told reporters that the around 100 observers will remain in Damascus while their mission is "reevaluated."
Ben Heli suggested the observers could resume their work later. Asked if the mission would be withdrawn, he said the halt was "forced by events" and aimed to ensure the observers' safety, but he spoke of a possible "new map" of places where the teams would visit, and said the mission would wait to see what new personnel and logistical help the League would give it.
Elaraby and the prime minister of Qatar were set to leave for New York on Sunday to seek U.N. support for the latest Arab plan to end Syria's crisis. The plan calls for a two-month transition to a unity government, with Assad giving his vice president full powers to work with the proposed government.
Syria has rejected the proposal, saying it violates its sovereignty. Elaraby had previously been due to travel Saturday, but his trip was pushed back to Sunday with no explanation.
The U.N. Security Council began closed-door negotiations Friday on a new Arab-European draft resolution aimed at resolving the crisis, but Russia's envoy said he could not back the current language as it stands.
Any resolution faces strong opposition from China and Russia, and both nations have veto power. Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters that the text introduced by new Arab Security Council member Morocco has "red lines" for Moscow, but he's willing to "engage" with the resolution's sponsors.
Churkin said those lines include any indication of sanctions, including an arms embargo. "We need to concentrate on establishing political dialogue," he said.
Arab League chief Elaraby has been holding talks with Russia's foreign minister over the crisis ahead of the visit to the U.N., Ben Heli said.
In the bloodiest incident reported on Saturday, Syria's state-run news agency SANA said "terrorists" ambushed a bus carrying army officers near the tense Damascus suburb of Douma, killing seven of them.
Although Damascus has been relatively quiet since the uprising began, its suburbs have witnessed intense anti-regime protests and army defectors have become more visible and active in the past few months.
Syrian opposition groups had no immediate reports on the ambush in Douma, but the Local Coordination Councils activist network said government troops were attacking several other Damascus suburbs – Kfar Batna, Saqba, Jisreen and Arbeen – using tanks and armored personnel carriers. It added that defectors were fighting advancing troops.
In the eastern oil-rich province of Deir el-Zour, an oil pipeline took a direct hit and caught fire as government troops shelled a town, activists said.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the LCC said the early morning shelling of the town of Qoriah killed at least one person and set the pipeline on fire.
Syria's state-run media blamed anti-government "terrorists" for the attack, saying the fire was extinguished four hours later. It said the pipeline carried crude oil from al-Omar field to a station in the area.
SANA also reported that Syrian troops prevented gunmen from crossing from neighboring Turkey into the northwestern province of Idlib. SANA said a Syrian soldier was wounded while many of the infiltrators were either killed or wounded, adding that the rest returned to Turkey.
The Free Syrian Army force of anti-regime military defectors is based in Turkey, and its fighters frequently try to cross into Syria through the mountainous border area in the northwest.
The LCC and the Observatory also reported intense fighting between troops and defectors in the town of Rastan near the restive central city of Homs.
The observatory said at least 34 people, including 15 civilians, three defectors and 16 troops were killed across the country in Saturday's violence while the LCC said 20 died, half of them in the central province of Homs, which has been one of the areas hardest hit by government crackdowns.
___
Associated Press writers Aya Batrawy in Cairo, and Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, contributed to this report.
___
Bassem Mroue can be reached on twitter at http://twitter.com/bmroue

1 of 8

PLAY

FULLSCREEN

ZOOM

Syrian army defectors patrol a street in Homs province, central Syria, on Wednesday Jan. 25, 2012. Government forces clashed with army defectors and stormed rebellious districts in central Syria on Wednesday, firing mortars and deploying snipers in violence that killed at least seven people, including a mother and her 5-year-old child, activists said. (AP)

Syria Live Blog 27-28JAN12

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/Syria

Demonstrators in Houla, near Homs, protested against Assad after Friday prayers [Reuters]

People continue to take to the streets across Syria, while the uprising is becoming increasingly militarised. The UN says more than 5,400 people have been killed since the uprising began in March. Meanwhile, the government blames "armed gangs" for the unrest and says more than 2,000 members of the security forces have been killed.
We bring you the latest news from various sources.
Al Jazeera is not responsible for content derived from external sites.

56 min 6 sec ago - Syria

Syria said the Arab League's suspension of its monitoring mission in the country was an attempt to influence the United Nations Security Council and increase pressure for foreign intervention, according to state television.

"This will have a negative impact and put pressure on [Security Council] deliberations with the aim of calling for foreign intervention and encouraging armed groups to increase violence," a news flash on Syria Television said.

The Arab League called on President Bashar al-Assad to step down last week and is meeting with the Security Council in the coming days to discuss an Arab peace plan.

"Syria is still committed to the success of the Arab monitoring mission and to protecting the mission observers," the news flash said.

Tags Arab League observers, Bashar al Assad, syrian state tv, UN Security Council

1 hour 55 min ago - Syria

The Arab League said it had suspended its monitoring mission in Syria because of "the critical deterioration of the situation" as fighting continues.

Syria said it regretted and was surprised by the decision to halt its mission monitoring a peace plan in the country.

"Syria regrets and is surprised at the Arab decision to stop the work of its monitoring mission after it asked for a one-month extension of its work," Syrian state television reported in an urgent news flash.

Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr has this report from Beirut in neighbouring Lebanon:

Read our news story for more detail and context: Arab League suspends Syria mission

For our full Syria coverage click here.

Tags Arab League monitors, damascus, fighting, homs, Observer mission

3 hours 12 min ago - Syria

It has been a day of fast moving developments in Syria. Here’s a quick update:

• The Arab League has confirmed it is suspending its monitoring mission in the country.

• The pan-Arab bloc also says it is holding talks with Russia - one of the main opponents of the Arab League peace plan - ahead of a United Nations meeting on Monday.

• The main Syrian opposition group says it will go to the UN to appeal for protection from President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

• Opposition activists say a further 27 people have been killed in Syria on Saturday.

• There have been fierce clashes on the outskirts of the capital Damascus, and as this picture reportedly shows, heavy shelling in the Baba Amr neighbourhood in Homs:

Read our news story for more detail and context: Arab League suspends Syria mission

For our full Syria coverage click here.

Tags Arab League monitors, Bashar al Assad, Russia, Syrian opposition, UN resolution

5 hours 18 min ago - Syria

The Arab League's monitoring mission to Syria has been frozen given the escalation of violence in the country, the Arab League said in a statement.

"It has been decided to immediately stop the work of the Arab League's mission to Syria pending presention of the issue to the league's council," the Secretary-General of the Arab League said in a statement.

The mission would remain in Syria, a source at the league had earlier told the Reuters news agency, but would temporarily freeze its work.

The head of the monitoring mission, Ambassador Adnan al-Khodeir, had earlier said that the General Secretariat of the league would take all the necessary procedures to protect the safety of its monitors in Syria.

Read our news story for more detail and context: Arab League suspends Syria mission

Tags Adnan al Khodeir, Arab League monitors, Arab League observers

6 hours 40 min ago - Syria

The Arab League is suspending its observer mission in Syria because of an upsurge in violence, according to an official.

They have been monitoring the crackdown on dissent in the country.

More soon...

Tags Arab League observers, Bashar al Assad, Observer mission

8 hours 6 sec ago - Syria

Louay Safi, a member of the Syrian National Council, the main opposition group, told Al Jazeera in Doha that the Free Syrian Army "is part of the solution".
The council has said it is ready to provide the opposition army with funding and weapons.
Safi described the support in question as "defensive equipments".
"We like them to to keep security forces away from protesters and civilians".
The clip below includes the interview as well as comments from Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr in Beirut.

Tags Louay Safi, syria, Syrian National Council

8 hours 17 min ago - Iraq

Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani has expressed support for minority Kurds in Syria.
Barzani, the president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, was speaking at a two-day conference of Syrian Kurds in the Iraqi Kurdish capital of Erbil.
"We do not want to interfere in the affairs of Kurds in Syria, but we will help and support your decisions," he said.
"But on the condition that you remain united during this sensitive period, and that you avoid internal conflicts.
"The situation is important to us because it is a neighbouring country, we have a long border with it, and more than two million Kurds live there. It is important to know their future."
More than 200 Syrian Kurds living in 25 countries took part in the conference, which will conclude on Sunday in Erbil.
Syria's Kurdish community is represented by a dozen squabbling political parties, all of them banned by authorities in Damascus. [AFP]

Tags Kurds, Massoud Barzani, syria

8 hours 32 min ago - Syria

The Local Coordination Committees report violent clashes between the Free Syrian Army and government forces in Rastan, in Homs province.
The activists say several armoured vehicles and army checkpoints of the regular army.

Tags Local Coordination Committees of Syria (LCC), Rastan

8 hours 41 min ago - Syria

Sources tell Al Jazeera there are fierce clashes between the Free Syrian Army and security forces in the Damascus suburb of Kfar Batna.

Tags damascus, Free Syrian Army, Kafr Batna

9 hours 38 min ago - Turkey

The Gulf Arab states and Turkey are due to meet in Istanbul on Saturday for talks expected to be dominated by the quest for a tough UN Security Council resolution. [AFP]

Tags Gulf Cooperation Council, syria

10 hours 22 min ago - Syria

This video purports to show a protest in the Aleppo neighbourhood of Marjeh this morning. YouTube operates on American time, which probably explains the discrepancy between the upload date - January 27 - and the date given in the description.
The description says the protesters have gathered outside Maqar Al-Anbiaa mosque. The Syrian Revolution General Commission said nine people were killed on Friday when a demonstration taking off from the same location was attacked with teargas and gunfire.

Tags Aleppo, Marjeh, syria citizen video

12 hours 16 min ago - Syria

The New York Times has a report from the Damascus suburb of Saqba, where armed opposition fighters appear to be in control:

At a funeral for one of the more than 5,400 victims of Syria’s unfolding civil war, fighters from the opposition Free Syrian Army kept a menacing watch, their faces covered with scarves and balaclavas as they stood at the edge of a square, carrying assault rifles and grenade launchers. Thousands of demonstrators marched behind the coffin beneath the green, white and black banner of the opposition — not the Syrian government’s flag. Suspected state security agents were grabbed by the crowd."

Tags New York Times, Saqba

12 hours 43 min ago - Syria

Assad supporters rallied in front of the central bank in Damascus on Friday, holding pictures of the president and banners denouncing the Arab League.
One sign read: "Walid Muallem is a mountain that winds can't shake, his Saudi counterpart Prince Saud al-Faisal can be shaken without winds and needs a hundred mountains to hold him," referring to the foreign minister's address earlier this week in which he accused Arab nations of trying to internationalise the Syria crisis but said Syria would stay unshaken. [AFP]

Tags Assad supporters, damascus, image

14 hours 18 min ago - Lebanon

Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr has written a blog on how the opposition is increasingly taking up arms against the state:

Omar, who is originally from Homs but who is living in exile in Istanbul told me: 'This is our right ... It is our right to take up arms and we are not going to shy away from this any longer. We are being killed. We waited for any action from the Arab League and the United Nations and none was forthcoming. All they have been doing is stalling and that has given the regime time to crush the revolution,' he said.
"Omar explained that military councils are now being set up in governorates across Syria. It is part of efforts to organise a command structure. Councils that will be made up of civilians as well as army defectors. 'Yes, civilians who want to hold weapons are joining our struggle,' he said.

Tags syria, Zeina Khodr

20 hours 46 min ago - Russia

Russia's UN envoy says parts of the Arab-European draft resolution on Syria is unacceptable but Russia is ready to "engage" on it [Reuters]

Tags Arab, draft resolution, European, syria

1 day 3 hours ago - Egypt

For more on the incident at the Syrian embassy in Cairo, the AFP news agency had this report:
Scores of opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime stormed the Syrian embassy in Cairo on Friday before being dragged away by security forces, an AFP reporter said.

At least 200 protesters forced their way into the building in the Garden City neighbourhood in Cairo, breaking doors and windows, before Egyptian security officials arrived and took them out. No arrests were made.

The embassy was empty because Friday is a weekend day in Egypt.

Syrian Ambassador Yusef Ahmed headed to the embassy after the incident and said he would formally complain to the authorities.

The Syrian embassy is being targeted. We will be sending a formal letter calling for the embassy to be protected. The protection today was very weak," Ahmed told AFP.

The protesters "went into the building. They reached the floor where the ambassador's office is located. Unfortunately they were not resisted," he said as he walked over broken glass and into the building.

"This is a very serious development," he said.

Tags Cairo, syria, syrian ambassador, Syrian embassy

1 day 3 hours ago - Egypt

Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh tweets from Cairo where activists have tried to breach the Syrian embassy:

RawyaRagehSyrian opposition supporters demonstrate outside #Syria's embsy in #Cairo, try to overrun the bldg #EgyptFri Jan 27 15:27:59 2012

Tags Rawya Rageh, syria, Syrian embassy

1 day 5 hours ago - Syria

Fresh violence has erupted in the besieged Syrian city of Homs, a day after armed forces loyal to President Bashar Assad barraged residential buildings with mortars and machine-gun fire and killed at least 30 people, activists have said.
Heavy gunfire erupted for a second day on Friday in the city, which has seen some of the heaviest violence of the 10-month-old uprising against Assad's rule. Activists said at least 33 people have been killed across the country since Thursday.
To read more, click HERE.

Tags Assad, protests, uprising

1 day 5 hours ago - Syria

A car bomb exploded on Friday at a checkpoint outside the northern Syrian city of Idlib, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, citing witnesses on the ground.
The number of casualties was not immediately clear.

Tags Assad, protests, uprising

1 day 5 hours ago - Syria

Syrian security forces loyal to President Bashar Assad have barraged residential buildings with mortars and machine-gun fire, killing at least 30 people, including a family of women and children in the besieged Syrian city of Homs, activists said on Friday.
The violence erupted on Thursday, but important details were only emerging a day later. Video posted online by activists showed the bodies of five small children, five women and a man, all bloodied and piled on beds in what appeared to be an apartment after a building was hit in the Karm el-Zaytoun neighborhood of the city.
A narrator said an entire family had been "slaughtered" by the government.

Tags Assad, protests, uprising

1 day 8 hours ago - Syria

The LCC's have increased their death toll for today to 14. Five more deaths are being reported from Homs, and one from Hama.
Firing and violence has been reported in Deir Ezzor, Bokamal in the suburbs of Damascus, in Douma and Kanaker. A heavy security presence, including the presence of snipers, is being reported in Mouadamia and Baniyas.

Tags Local coordination committees

1 day 8 hours ago - Syria

The Local Co-ordination Committees, a loose umbrella organisation of opposition activists, has released new figures on the violence across Syria today.
The group claims that eight people have been killed so far today: five in Homs, two in Idlib and one in the Qedsaya suburb of Damascus.
In Latakia, the group says that "a number of soliders" have defected near the youth camps in southern Raml, resulting in "an exchange of gunfire with the regime's army before the soldiers were able to withdraw safely".
In the Domair suburb of Damascus, the group says five people, including a retired colonel in the army, were arrested today.
In Assal al-Ward, a column of tanks was seen advancing towards the Rankous suburb of Damasus, the group said.
The group's update from Douma, where violence has been ongoing, is that communications continue to be cut off, and that the water supply has now also been cut.
The Syrian government has restricted reporting in the country, and does not allow Al Jazeera to report freely from within its borders. As such, we cannot immediately verify these figures.

Tags damascus, homs, idlib, Latakia, Local coordination committees

1 day 9 hours ago - Syria

Members of the Free Syrian Army claim that they have captured members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard operating in Syria.
The man is speaking in Farsi. Here's a translation:

I am Sajjad Hyder Ali from the Islamic Republic of Iran. I am from a team of five specialists. On the date of 24-7-1390, I and my team, under the order of Syrian forces suppressed and fired on ordinary people. We were returning from our place of operation to where we were staying we killed a lot of people in the city of Homs including women and children.
We received orders directly from Syria's security intelligence forces in Homs.
We have a request of Mr. Khameini, leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to issue the order of the return of all forces that are here to suppress Syrians.

He is quoting the date by the Iranian calendar, which corresponds to January 14.

Update: Questions have been raised over the veracity of the claim that the men are soldiers.

The names of the hostages match the names of five Iranian engineers abducted in December. The names of the engineers were listed by Iranian media. At least one of the Iranians in the FSA video bears a striking resemblance to a kidnapped engineer.

Tags Free Syrian Army, iran, Revolutionary Guard

1 day 9 hours ago - Syria

"There has been a terrifying massacre," Rami Abdul-Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based opposition rights group, has told the AP regarding violence in Homs.
Reports indicate that more than 30 people, including young children, have been killed in a barrage of mortar fire and attacks by armed forces loyal to President Assad.
Both the SOHR and the Local Co-ordination Committees (a loose network of opposition activists) say that more than 35 people were killed in the violence.

Tags homs

1 day 9 hours ago - New York City

Ban Ki-moon, the secretary-general of the United Nations, has urged the UN Security Council to speak in unison on Syria.
"I hope that the Security Council will be able to act," said Ban, referring to a meeting scheduled for 20:00 GMT, when the UNSC will discuss the crisis in Syria.
"We have to seize this moment, we have to help these people. They have been oppressed for so long. Now they have come out, women and young people, they are yearning for these aspirations. That's why I have been urging leaders to listen very
sincerely and carefully to their aspirations," he said.
"I'm going to continue to do that. I'm encouraging that when it comes to the Syrian situation."

Tags Ban Ki Moon, Security Council, syria, United Nations

1 day 9 hours ago - Russia

Aa senior Russian diplomat has said that the draft resolution on the Syrian crisis that will be discussed by the UN Security Council today is unacceptable because it does not take Moscow's position into account, the Itar-Tass news agency reports.
The resolution, which backs the Arab League's proposals on Syria, contains "no fundamental consideration for our position" and is missing "key aspects that are fundamental to us", Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov was quoted as saying by the news agency.

Tags Itar Tass, syria, United Nations

1 day 10 hours ago - Syria

Activists say that dozens of people have been killed in the last few days in Homs, the AP news agency reports.
Two activist groups have told the AP that the death toll in Homes on Thursday was at least 35, but reports remain unconfirmed.
Witnesses have told AP that they are still gathering information on what exactly happened during Thursday's violence. Many of the reported victims were inside a building in the Karm al-Zaytoun neighbourhood.

Tags homs

1 day 10 hours ago - Syria

The official Iranian IRNA news agency reports that gunmen in Syria have abducted 11 Iranian pilgrims who were travelling by road from Turkey to Damascus.
The report says that 49 Iranians were in a bus which was stopped after leaving the town of Halab on Thursday. Gunmen abducted 11 of them, leaving the rest, who included women, elderly men and three children.
IRNA reports that thieves later attacked the group, stealing their money and valuables.
Pilgrims from Iran, a staunch of ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, routinely visit Syria to pay homage at Shia holy sites.

Tags iran, IRNA

1 day 11 hours ago - Syria

Saudi Arabia may recognise the opposition Syrian National Council as the "official representative" of the Syrian people, a senior member of the SNC says.
"Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told an SNC delegation he met in Cairo last week the kingdom will recognise the Council as the official representative of the Syrian people," SNC executive council member Ahmad Ramadan has told Kuwait's Al-Rai newspaper.
He did not say when Riyadh will make the move or whether it will be joined by its five partners in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) which this week announced that it was following Saudi Arabia's lead in pulling out its representatives from a widely criticised Arab League observer mission to Syria.
Ramadan, who was at that meeting, quoted Prince Saud as saying that Arab governments are holding the Syrian government squarely to blame for the observer mission's perceived failure.

Super Bowl Friday, TOUCHDOWN KIVA!!!!! 27JAN12

2012-01-28T12:36:00.002-05:00

HERE are my latest loans through Kiva, and I made them as part of the NY Giants lending team! Check out Kiva and consider making a loan as part of either the NE Patriots or the NY Giants lending teams. I think the Giants will have the most loans, and will win the Super Bowl!!!!

Touchdown, Kiva!

The Super Bowl is coming, capping off one of the most exciting American football seasons in years. More about that in a minute. Much like this football season, Kiva's 2011 was a year of milestones passed, records broken, and lessons learned.

Success on the Field

In 2011, we introduced social performance badges; twenty six new field partners, including non-traditional partners; Kiva City; and a pilot person to person lending program called Kiva Zip. All of these touchdowns (yes, there will be gratuitous football references throughout this message) are really points scored for our borrowers as we help the working poor around the world access the resources they need to improve their own lives.

The Kiva office staff, volunteers, and interns.

And of course, none of this would have happened without some amazing “assists” and ongoing cheering from our lenders. In November, we set a record of $8.8 million in loans funded, only to smash that record in December with $10.5 million in loans for thousands of borrowers around the world. In total, Kiva lenders funded $90 million in loans in 2011, up 26% from 2010.

It was a big year for Kiva staff and volunteers as well. Kiva staff visited over 53 countries, Kiva volunteer translators & editors performed the work of 53 full time employees, 81 Kiva Fellows spent 41,080 hours with our Field Partners, and 87 interns worked on nearly every project across every department at Kiva.

We're excited to be kicking off a New Year, with a goal to do even more in 2012. Check out our full year in review on the blog to learn more.

Are you ready for some football?

Now, to the Super Bowl! If you're not an American football fan, our non-football-loving Kivans have put together some super fascinating data about how football and Kiva surprisingly relate to one other. For the rest of you, we've got a fun proposition.

You might think that the Super Bowl is on February 5, but you're only partially correct. Starting today (January 27) at 12:01am Pacific, the Kiva Super Bowl is officially on.

The New England Patriots Lending Team is taking on the New York Giants Lending Team. The winning team is the team that lends the most money between January 27 at 12:01am and the time the last whistle is blown during the Super Bowl on February 5th. The winning team gets eternal glory, bragging rights, and the satisfaction that they've helped change a lot of lives.

So who's it going to be? Will the fans of The Patriots with Tom Brady in his record-tying fifth Super Bowl prevail? Or will the Giants faithful emulate Eli Manning to score another upset? Join a team today, invite your friends, and find out!

Felipa Agueda

Mexico Food | Food Production/Sales

A loan of $625 helps Felipa Agueda purchase ingredients to prepare her dishes.

44% raised, $350 to go

Repayment Term:: 7 months (more info)
Repayment Schedule:: Monthly
Pre-Disbursed:: Jan 19, 2012
Listed: Jan 27, 2012
Currency Exchange Loss:: Possible
Default Protection: Not Covered

Your funds will be used to backfill this loan.

Repayments will go to you.

Doña Felipa Agueda is thirty-nine years old. She tells us that she considers herself a hard worker with dreams and the strength to make them a reality. Doña Pipa as she is best know by her group partners has been selling food for twenty five year. She sells delicious soups such as chicken and vegetable, shrimp, fresh fish and iguana. She tells us that she also sells baby clothing such as bottles, rattles, linens and hats. She is happily married to Señor Pedro, a hard working man with whom she has three children. Two of her children, Cristian and Iván, are happily married and she has a daughter, Guadalupe, who is still in school. Her daughter Guadalupe tells us that she is very proud of her mother for working to give her a better future.

Doña Felipa is requesting a loan to buy more ingredients to prepare her foods such as green chili, dried chilies, onion, garlic, tomatoes, chicken, beef, and vegetables to make salads. She is grateful to Fundación for putting their trust in her and helping her business to grow.

Translated from Spanish

by Kiva Volunteer, Ann Achilli

View original language description ↓

About the Country

Country:

Mexico

Average Annual Income:

$11,249

Currency:

Mexico Pesos (MXN)

Exchange Rate:

13.1758 MXN = 1 USD

Marlon

New Jersey, United States Manufacturing | Manufacturing

A loan of $10,000 helps Marlon to pay for bedding materials.

6% raised, $9,325 to go

Repayment Term:: 32 months (more info)
Repayment Schedule:: Monthly
Pre-Disbursed:: Dec 30, 2011
Listed: Jan 27, 2012
Currency Exchange Loss:: N/A
Default Protection: Not Covered

Your funds will be used to backfill this loan.

Repayments will go to you.

Marlon is the proud owner of White Lotus Home, an organic bedding company that makes mattresses, pillows and other bedding products, out of organic fiber. The original business was established in 1981 and Marlon began working at the company in 2002, becoming the sole owner in 2006. Marlon sells his products on the internet, for wholesale and in his store operated out of Highland Park, New Jersey. Marlon works with over 70 distribution partners in over 20 states. In addition, he recently began selling his products in Canada. Customers rave on his website about the quality of product and amazing customer service. Marlon needs capital to purchase bedding materials, in order to keep up with the sales growth in 2011. A loan will help him to make this purchase, also enabling business growth and new customer acquisition.

Additional information about this loan

Important information

Kiva realizes that access to credit is a challenge for entrepreneurs everywhere. Kiva started out as a website focused on developing-world entrepreneurs. In June 2009, Kiva began experimenting with allowing entrepreneurs in the United States to raise money on its website. If this is something you support, please feel free to fund this loan. If you have questions, including how an entrepreneur in your neighborhood might get a loan, please visit our Help Center and click on "Loans in the United States."

About the Country

Country:: United States
Average Annual Income:: $47,000
Currency:: United States Dollars (USD)

President Obama: Be on the Right Side of History in Egypt and Bahrain! from Human Rights First 25JAN12

2012-01-28T11:20:00.002-05:00

THE American government has to make it clear to the government in Bahrain and the transitional government in Egypt that they must honor and respect the human rights of their citizens. Inaction, and the approval of material exported to these countries to be used against their own citizens will result in long term harm to relations. Please click the link and send a message to Pres Obama to stand on the side of freedom, democracy and human rights in Egypt and Bahrain. From Human Rights First......

President Obama asserted in last night's State of the Union address that the United States is a global leader.
He said that the United States "will stand for the rights and dignity of all human beings" and that it "will support policies that lead to strong and stable democracies...because tyranny is no match for liberty."
We agree. But as the people of Egypt build a new government and as human rights defenders and NGO's in Bahrain call for democratic reforms, tyranny continues.
Tell President Obama to support in word and deed democracy and human rights in Egypt and Bahrain!
We've seen a positive impact when the United States leads and it must do so more concretely in the Middle East. Last weekend, President Obama called Egyptian Field Marshal Tantawi to condemn SCAF's recent violence against peaceful protesters and raids in NGO's. He reminded him that an active civil society and respect for human rights are foundations for a stable democracy. We need more of this leadership.
In Bahrain, despite recommendations by its own Independent Commission of Inquiry, the monarchy continues to attack, harass, and detain human rights defenders who are calling for democratic reforms. Medics and peaceful protesters continue to receive unfair sentences in sham trials and international NGO's—including Human Rights First—are denied entry to document abuses. Yet the United States remains silent on these abuses.
To lead in the Middle East, President Obama must give unequivocal support for human rights and democracy in Egypt and Bahrain. He must openly criticize attacks against NGO's and human rights defenders in the region.
Tell President Obama to call for an effective transition to civilian rule in Egypt and an end to violence against peaceful protesters in Bahrain!
Sincerely,
Neil Hicks
Human Rights First

Human Rights First is an independent American advocacy organization that challenges our country to live up to its ideals. We press American institutions to respect human rights and the rule of law. When they don't, we step in to demand accountability and justice. Around the world, we work in places where we can harness American influence to secure core freedoms.

Human Rights First,
333 Seventh Avenue, 13th Floor, New York, NY 10001-5004
www.humanrightsfirst.org
Join us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter

Navy wants commando ‘mothership’ in Middle East 27JAN12 & Crude Oil and Total Petroleum Imports Top 15 Countries September 2011 Import Highlights 29NOV11

2012-01-28T10:16:00.001-05:00

AGAIN the American taxpayers are being asked to put our troops in harms way and to pay for protecting oil exports from the Persian Gulf, oil exports we are not dependent on, but the American oil cartel is dependent on for their corporate profits, and the economies of Europe, Southeast Asia, India, Japan and South Korea are dependent on. Let those who need this oil provide the forces necessary to keep it flowing. Big oil and the military-industrial complex in the U.S. dictate American foreign policy in the region, it is nothing on their corporate books for their greed and willingness to sacrifice American lives, spill American blood for oil.Let those who need this oil provide the forces necessary to keep it flowing. Let the oil producing nations of the Persian Gulf pay for it. Instead of continuing to waste American lives and tax dollars on this oil profit protection racket and subsidizing the military-industrial complex (because war is big business) we should eliminate corporate welfare subsidies for big oil and gas in the U.S., invest those hundreds of millions of dollars into the proven renewable energy technology available now and more into upgrading our energy grid to effectively distribute energy and into R&D into improving and developing more renewable energy and conservation programs. The propaganda of big oil, gas and the military-industrial complex deceiving the American people, their ownership of too many American politicians in D.C. and throughout the states and their insatiable greed keep us dependent on imported oil. In return we get a "mother ship" in the Persian Gulf, another platform for launching the caskets of American troops to their families in the U.S.
Here is the Washington Post article on the commando "mother ship" followed by the latest available from the Dept of Energy showing the top 15 oil exporters to the U.S.

The Pentagon is rushing to send a large floating base for commando teams to the Middle East as tensions rise with Iran, al-Qaeda in Yemen and Somali pirates, among other threats.
In response to requests from U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, the Navy is converting an aging warship it had planned to decommission into a makeshift staging base for the commandos. Unofficially dubbed a “mothership,” the floating base could accommodate smaller high-speed boats and helicopters commonly used by Navy SEALs, procurement documents show.
Special Operations forces are a key part of the Obama administration’s strategy to make the military leaner and more agile as the Pentagon confronts at least $487 billion in spending cuts over the next decade.
Lt. Cmdr. Mike Kafka, a spokesman for the Navy’s Fleet Forces Command, declined to elaborate on the floating base’s purpose or to say where, exactly, it will be deployed in the Middle East. Other Navy officials acknowledged that they were moving with unusual haste to complete the conversion and send the mothership to the region by early summer.
Navy documents indicate that it could be headed to the Persian Gulf, where Iran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route for much of the world’s oil supply. A market survey proposal from the Military Sealift Command, dated Dec. 22 and posted online, states that the floating base needed to be delivered to the Persian Gulf.
Other contract documents do not specify a location but say the mothership would be used to “support mine countermeasure” missions. Defense officials have said that if Iran did attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz, it would rely on mines to obstruct the waterway.
With a large naval base in Bahrain, and one or two aircraft carrier groups usually assigned to the region, the Navy has a substantial presence in the Persian Gulf and surrounding waters. Adding the mothership would do relatively little to bolster U.S. maritime power overall, but it could play an instrumental role in secretive commando missions offshore.
The deployment of the floating base could also mark a return to maritime missions for SEAL teams, which for the past decade have spent most of their time on land in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Other details of the project became public Tuesday when the Military Sealift Command posted a bid request to retrofit the USS Ponce, an amphibious transport docking ship, on a rush-order basis.
Until December, the Navy had planned to retire the Ponce and decommission it in March after 41 years of service. Among other missions, it was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea last year in support of NATO’s air war over Libya.
Instead, the ship will be modified into what the military terms an Afloat Forward Staging Base. Kafka said it would be used to support mine-clearance ships, smaller patrol ships and aircraft.
The documents posted by the Military Sealift Command in December, however, specify that the mothership will be rebuilt so that it can also serve as a docking station for several small high-speed boats and helicopters commonly used by Navy SEAL teams.
Among the vessels listed are Mark 5 Zodiacs, inflatable boats that can carry up to 15 passengers and can roll up into bags, and seven-meter-long Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats, which can carry an entire SEAL squad.
SEAL teams also deploy from regular warships, but most vessels in the Navy’s fleet must patrol or move around on a regular basis. A mothership can stay in one spot for weeks or months, effectively serving as a floating base for commandos as they monitor coastal areas or prepare for amphibious operations.
The U.S. Special Operations Command has sought a transportable floating base for several years, saying that a mothership would expand the range of commando squads operating from small speedboats, particularly in remote coastal areas.
Defense officials said the Ponce will serve as a stopgap measure until the Navy can build a new Afloat Forward Staging Base from scratch. In budget documents released Thursday, the Pentagon said it would fund that project starting next year.
The floating base also could be suited to the coast of Somalia, a failed state that is home to an al-Qaeda affiliate and gangs of pirates. A mothership there would give SEALs or other commandos more flexibility in missions such as Wednesday’s rescue of a pair of American and Danish hostages who had been held for months by Somali pirates.
The term “mothership” is also commonly used to describe a vessel used by Somali pirates. After hijacking a large container or cargo vessel, pirate crews often turn it into a floating base to extend the range of their skiffs or speedboats far into the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden and Persian Gulf.
U.S. military officials declined to say what prompted them to give the Ponce a sudden new lease on life. But contract and bidding documents underscore the urgency of the project.
One no-bid contract for engineering work states that the military was waiving normal procurement rules because any delay presented a “national security risk.” Other contract bids are due Feb. 3. The Navy wants the conversion work to begin 10 days later on the Ponce, which is docked in Virginia Beach.

Crude Oil and Total Petroleum Imports Top 15 Countries

September 2011 Import Highlights: Released November 29, 2011

ftp://ftp.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/import.html
Monthly data on the origins of crude oil imports in September 2011 has been released and it shows that three countries exported more than 1,000 thousand barrels per day to the United States (see table below). The top five exporting countries accounted for 69 percent of United States crude oil imports in September while the top ten sources accounted for approximately 88 percent of all U.S. crude oil imports. The top five sources of US crude oil imports for September were Canada (2,324 thousand barrels per day), Saudi Arabia (1,465 thousand barrels per day), Mexico (1,099 thousand barrels per day), Venezuela (759 thousand barrels per day) and Nigeria (529 thousand barrels per day). The rest of the top ten sources, in order, were Colombia (510 thousand barrels per day), Iraq (403 thousand barrels per day), Ecuador (299 thousand barrels per day), Angola (283 thousand barrels per day) and Russia (275 thousand barrels per day). Total crude oil imports averaged 9,006 thousand barrels per day in September, which is a decrease of (16) thousand barrels per day from August 2011.

Canada remained the largest exporter of total petroleum in September, exporting 2,829 thousand barrels per day to the United States, which is an increase from last month (2,637 thousand barrels per day). The second largest exporter of total petroleum was Saudi Arabia with 1,479 thousand barrels per day.

Crude Oil Imports (Top 15 Countries) (Thousand Barrels per Day)
Country	Sep-11	Aug-11	YTD 2011	Sep-10	YTD 2010

CANADA	2,324	2,240	2,157	1,937	1,971
SAUDI ARABIA	1,465	1,075	1,180	1,082	1,072
MEXICO	1,099	1,150	1,113	1,108	1,132
VENEZUELA	759	806	893	919	928
NIGERIA	529	854	826	1,107	1,018
COLOMBIA	510	365	364	308	328
IRAQ	403	637	473	422	464
ECUADOR	299	303	203	229	215
ANGOLA	283	311	323	404	413
RUSSIA	275	252	246	286	295
BRAZIL	163	213	225	177	270
KUWAIT	145	165	164	172	204
ALGERIA	139	140	204	366	337
CHAD	74	32	54	30	14
OMAN	72	52	39	0	0

Total Imports of Petroleum (Top 15 Countries) (Thousand Barrels per Day)
Country	Sep-11	Aug-11	YTD 2011	Sep-10	YTD 2010

CANADA	2,829	2,637	2,670	2,479	2,537
SAUDI ARABIA	1,479	1,075	1,187	1,093	1,086
MEXICO	1,192	1,185	1,218	1,254	1,260
VENEZUELA	806	906	979	1,008	1,007
RUSSIA	592	585	609	648	624
NIGERIA	580	892	876	1,174	1,053
COLOMBIA	529	395	395	363	360
IRAQ	404	637	473	422	464
ECUADOR	305	309	205	229	217
ANGOLA	304	331	335	417	422
ALGERIA	291	298	396	543	512
VIRGIN ISLANDS	189	185	189	302	261
BRAZIL	188	228	240	181	289
ARUBA	149	81	79	0	0
KUWAIT	145	165	165	172	206

Note: The data in the tables above exclude oil imports into the U.S. territories.

Obama Administration And Banks Near Deal On Mortgage Fraud Legal Liability

2012-01-28T09:09:00.001-05:00

THE bankers and financial industry leaders that brought the recession to us should not get away with the destruction done to the U.S. and world economy brought on by their greed. no immunity, no slaps on the wrist. They are entitled to fair trials, and the public is entitled to justice. Punishments should be stern, with no pandering to the lifestyle those found guilty of financial crimes are used to. Send them to prison, not "country club" confinement, and fine them to the extent that they are not able to return to their previous wealthy lives. Make them pay for their crimes so it hurts as much as they hurt tens of millions of regular people. Is this agreement a step in that direction, or an out for these criminals? We shall see.....

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration, state attorneys general, and, perhaps, the nation's largest banks are close to a final settlement on the years-long struggle over allegations of massive foreclosure fraud, according to several sources familiar with the talks. And the final details of the arrangement, according to the source who revealed them, will apparently not preclude prosecutors and regulators from taking legal action against many of the common abuses during the house bubble. It remains to be seen whether all parties will ultimately sign off on the language.
The settlement is worth $25 billion, a sum which will be distributed to homeowners who were wrongfully foreclosed on as well as those who remain underwater. In addition, banks could still face future legal action over 12 specific violations.
According to someone intimate with the negotiations, there will be no legal release of the banks with respect to:

Criminal liability.
Tax liability
Fair lending, fair housing, or any other civil rights claim.
Federal Housing Finance Agency or the GSEs [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac]
CFPB claims for the period after they came into existence in July 2011
SEC claims
National Credit Union Association Claims
FDIC claims
Federal Reserve Board claims
MERS claims

In addition, the source said, there will be preservation of the vast majority of securitization claims including all claims regarding state pension funds as well as the vast majority of the origination fraud claims from HUD, the VA and the USDA.
According to Mike Lux, who originally reported the settlement for The Huffington Post, the release will be "almost entirely confined to robosigning cases" -- meaning that banks will likely not see further punishment from the states for foreclosure fraud. Robosigning fraud is perhaps the easiest type of misconduct for prosecutors to target.
That said, their legal liabilities on the federal level remain vast, even after handing over $25 billion for homeowner relief.
The announcement is, in some regards, a victory for the few state attorneys general who, over the course of several months, refused to sign off on a quick and limited settlement with the big banks.
"I think it is fair to give [New York Attorney General] Eric Schneiderman and the other progressive attorneys general a lot of credit for holding the line," said a source intimate with the negotiations. "This is a big victory for them."
The announcement comes just two days after President Obama announced the creation of a mortgage crisis unit to be headed by Schneiderman and other prosecutors. Federal claims, such as those that will be permissible under the negotiated settlement, have not been aggressively pursued over the last three years despite widespread evidence of abusive lending. The emergence of the unit as well as the final language of the settlement suggests that the administration is refiguring its approach to future litigation.
The lingering question is whether the banks will sign off on the final language. Agreement from all 50 state attorneys general has also not been finalized. Schneiderman was not the only attorney general who spent months unhappy with the deal, and after Obama's State of the Union speech, Delaware's Beau Biden and California's Kamala Harris reiterated their opposition to the deal as it stood.
Tom Kelly of Chase's media relations office declined to comment. "No input from us," he said.
Schneiderman's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Huffington Post.

Habitat Update from Habitat for Humanity International 26JAN12

2012-01-27T11:07:00.003-05:00

BAD news all around us, here is a newsletter full of good news, the Habitat For Humanity e mail newsletter. Enjoy the articles and make a donation to Habitat if you can, it is a 4 star charity per Charity Navigator and I am proud to be a monthly donor for over a year now. ALSO, please click the link to like Valspar on Facebook, they will donate $1 for every like through JAN, up to $100,000, over $50,000 has been raised so far!


January 2012 News
	‘Living out his words’ AmeriCorps VISTA member Ashley Hartzell reflects on Dr. King’s legacy in the Habitat World blog.
	Rebuilding continues after Haiti earthquake In two years, Habitat has helped more than 40,000 families in Haiti. Read about our milestones and how you can help us put more families into safe, secure homes.
	*January Habitat World* now available** Our first-ever, online-only edition offers stories and multimedia about historic preservation projects, advocacy and more.
	Valspar will donate $1 to Habitat for each like and share For each “like” of Valspar’s Facebook page or share of the “Color of the Week” post in January, Valspar will donate $1 to Habitat for Humanity up to $100,000!

Get Involved with Habitat
	Multiply the power of your giving 12 times Become a HopeBuilder with a monthly gift that provides Habitat with reliable funding year-round.
	Help Habitat amplify its voice and impact By inviting friends and family to advocate for decent, affordable housing, we all move closer to ending poverty housing worldwide. Encourage loved ones to join us today.

Why We Build
	‘Christmas tree’ house Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newburgh in New York’s Hudson Valley dedicated a very special home and helped one local family obtain the gift of affordable housing.


	Q&A: Habitat ReStore



	Read about the interesting things found and purchased at a Habitat ReStore!

Housing Statistic 13,503: Total number of homes built, rehabilitated and repaired by Habitat for Humanity in Africa and the Middle East in FY2011.

Subscribe Was this e-mail forwarded to you by a friend? Sign up for Habitat's e-mail newsletters via our Web site.

Learn about Habitat
- Your local Habitat
- Fact sheet
- Read our site index

Partner with Habitat
- Donate online
- Job opportunities
- Volunteer programs
- Be an advocate
- Employer matching
- Social websites

To contact us:
Habitat for Humanity International
121 Habitat Street
Americus, GA 31709-3498

©2012 Habitat for Humanity® International. All rights reserved.

BOHICA!!!! GOP Candidates Debate Health Care, Pledge To Repeal 'Obamacare' 26JAN12

2012-01-27T10:50:00.001-05:00

NONE of the gop / tea-bagger candidates answered the question posed by a person in Florida, showing their lack of compassion and concern about the day to day struggles of the poor, the working class and the middle class, in short the 99%. Their answers were attacks on the Affordable Care Act ("obamacare") and on romney's "romneycare" passed while he was gov of Massachusetts. This is a clear message to America, the only "medical" procedure these guys will approve is BOHICA, and we will pay for it! From HuffPost....

During the GOP debate in Florida on Thursday, an unemployed Floridian in the audience named Lynn asked the candidates what their policies could do to help her get affordable health insurance again. The candidates offered her a host of long-term solutions and big-picture theories in return.
Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) told her she was the victim of government meddling. "When government gets involved in medicine, you don't [get] better care -- the cost goes up," Paul said. "You're suffering from the consequences of way too much government."
Asked how he'd help Lynn, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich was the first to beat the Obamacare horse. "Repeal Obamacare, repeal Dodd-Frank," the former House speaker said, referring to the financial reform bill. "Give her a chance to have a job ... You combine reforming our insurance system and getting the economy growing again, you cure an awful lot. She is not dependent on Barack Obama to take care of her."
Although his health care overhaul in Massachusetts served as a model for the president's, Mitt Romney, too, grabbed at the opportunity to bash "Obamacare" when asked how his policies could help Lynn. "It's bad medicine," he said of the Affordable Care Act. "The president has failed the American people." Meanwhile, as he has before, Romney admitted that his own plan enacted in Massachusetts was "not perfect," though he said most residents approved of it.
As much as Romney tried to distance "Romneycare" from "Obamacare," Rick Santorum clearly relished drawing a line between the two.
"What he just said is top-down government-run medicine is working pretty well in Massachusetts," Santorum said.
Romney's plan, Santorum went on, has "15 items in common with Obamacare ... 1 in 4 people in Massachusetts don't get the care they need. This is the top-down model that both of these gentlemen" -- Romney and Gingrich (who has voiced support for the individual mandate) -- "say they're against but have been for."
"We cannot give the issue of health care away in this election," Santorum added.
Romney, perhaps taken aback by Santorum's passion, responded, "It's not worth getting angry about...."

Why No Responsible Democrat Should Want Newt Gingrich To Get The GOP Nomination 26JAN12

2012-01-27T10:22:00.001-05:00

THERE is a serious threat to democracy, freedom and the nation if newt gingrich(k) is the gop / tea-bagger nominee for president. He is a racist, a liar, a neo-con extreme right winger controlled by the interest of the rich, the greed of corporate America and by powerful, dangerous members of the military-industrial complex. His mastery of propaganda and manipulation of the ignorance of the white electorate is frightening, these skills present the greatest threat to the unity of the nation, recovery from the recession and the re-election of Pres Obama. To discount him a buffoon is a mistake, and the Democratic Party has to be ready to challenge him. This from HuffPost......

Republicans are worried sick about Newt Gingrich's ascendance, while Democrats are tickled pink.
Yet no responsible Democrat should be pleased at the prospect that Gingrich could get the GOP nomination. The future of America is too important to accept even a small risk of a Gingrich presidency.
The Republican worry is understandable. "The possibility of Newt Gingrich being our nominee against Barack Obama I think is essentially handing the election over to Obama," says former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, a leading GOP conservative. "I think that's shared by a lot of folks in the Republican party."
Pawlenty's views are indeed widely shared in Republican circles. "He's not a conservative -- he's an opportunist," says pundit Joe Scarborough, a member of the Republican Class of 1994 who came to Washington under Gingrich's banner. Gingrich doesn't "have the temperament, intellectual discipline or ego control to be either a successful nominee or president,"says New York Republican representative Peter King, who hasn't endorsed any candidate. "Basically, Newt can't control himself."
Gingrich is "an embarrassment to the party," says New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie, and "was run out of the speakership" on ethics violations. Republican strategist Mike Murphy says "Newt Gingrich could not carry a swing state in the general election if it was made of feathers."
"Weird" is the word I hear most from Republicans who have worked with him. Scott Klug, a former Republican House member from Wisconsin, who hasn't endorsed anyone yet, says "Newt has ten ideas a day -- two of them are good, six are weird and two are very weird."
Newt's latest idea, for example -- to colonize the moon -- is typically whacky.
The Republican establishment also points to polls showing Gingrich's supporters to be enthusiastic but his detractors even more fired up. In the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, 29 percent view Gingrich favorably while 51 percent have an unfavorable view of him. (Obama, by contrast, draws a 53 percent favorable and 43 percent unfavorable.)
Independents, who will be key to the general election, are especially alarmed by Gingrich.
As they should be. It's not just Newt's weirdness. It's also the stunning hypocrisy. His personal life makes a mockery of his moralistic bromides. He condemns Washington insiders but had a 40-year Washington career that ended with ethics violations. He fulminates against finance yet drew fat checks from Freddie Mac. He poses as a populist but has had a $500,000 revolving charge at Tiffany's.
And it's the flagrant irresponsibility of many of his propositions -- for example, that presidents are not bound by Supreme Court rulings, that the liberal Ninth Circuit court of appeals should be abolished, that capital gains should not be taxed, that the First Amendment guarantees freedom "of" religion but not "from" religion.
It's also Gingrich's eagerness to channel the public's frustrations into resentments against immigrants, blacks, the poor, Muslims, "liberal elites," the mainstream media, and any other group that's an easy target of white middle-class and working-class anger.
These are all the hallmarks of a demagogue.
Yet Democratic pundits, political advisers, officials and former officials are salivating over the possibility of a Gingrich candidacy. They agree with key Republicans that Newt would dramatically increase the odds of Obama's reelection and would also improve the chances of Democrats taking control over the House and retaining control over the Senate.
I warn you. It's not worth the risk.
Even if the odds that Gingrich as GOP presidential candidate would win the general election are 10 percent, that's too much of a risk to the nation. No responsible American should accept a 10 percent risk of a President Gingrich.
I'd take a 49 percent odds of a Mitt Romney win -- who in my view would make a terrible president -- over a 10 percent possibility that Newt Gingrich would become the next president -- who would be an unmitigated disaster for America and the world.
Republicans are worried sick about Newt Gingrich's ascendance, while Democrats are tickled pink.
Yet no responsible Democrat should be pleased at the prospect that Gingrich could get the GOP nomination. The future of America is too important to accept even a small risk of a Gingrich presidency.
The Republican worry is understandable. "The possibility of Newt Gingrich being our nominee against Barack Obama I think is essentially handing the election over to Obama," says former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, a leading GOP conservative. "I think that's shared by a lot of folks in the Republican party."
Pawlenty's views are indeed widely shared in Republican circles. "He's not a conservative -- he's an opportunist," says pundit Joe Scarborough, a member of the Republican Class of 1994 who came to Washington under Gingrich's banner. Gingrich doesn't "have the temperament, intellectual discipline or ego control to be either a successful nominee or president,"says New York Republican representative Peter King, who hasn't endorsed any candidate. "Basically, Newt can't control himself."
Gingrich is "an embarrassment to the party," says New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie, and "was run out of the speakership" on ethics violations. Republican strategist Mike Murphy says "Newt Gingrich could not carry a swing state in the general election if it was made of feathers."
"Weird" is the word I hear most from Republicans who have worked with him. Scott Klug, a former Republican House member from Wisconsin, who hasn't endorsed anyone yet, says "Newt has ten ideas a day -- two of them are good, six are weird and two are very weird."
Newt's latest idea, for example -- to colonize the moon -- is typically whacky.
The Republican establishment also points to polls showing Gingrich's supporters to be enthusiastic but his detractors even more fired up. In the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, 29 percent view Gingrich favorably while 51 percent have an unfavorable view of him. (Obama, by contrast, draws a 53 percent favorable and 43 percent unfavorable.)
Independents, who will be key to the general election, are especially alarmed by Gingrich.
As they should be. It's not just Newt's weirdness. It's also the stunning hypocrisy. His personal life makes a mockery of his moralistic bromides. He condemns Washington insiders but had a 40-year Washington career that ended with ethics violations. He fulminates against finance yet drew fat checks from Freddie Mac. He poses as a populist but has had a $500,000 revolving charge at Tiffany's.
And it's the flagrant irresponsibility of many of his propositions -- for example, that presidents are not bound by Supreme Court rulings, that the liberal Ninth Circuit court of appeals should be abolished, that capital gains should not be taxed, that the First Amendment guarantees freedom "of" religion but not "from" religion.
It's also Gingrich's eagerness to channel the public's frustrations into resentments against immigrants, blacks, the poor, Muslims, "liberal elites," the mainstream media, and any other group that's an easy target of white middle-class and working-class anger.
These are all the hallmarks of a demagogue.
Yet Democratic pundits, political advisers, officials and former officials are salivating over the possibility of a Gingrich candidacy. They agree with key Republicans that Newt would dramatically increase the odds of Obama's reelection and would also improve the chances of Democrats taking control over the House and retaining control over the Senate.
I warn you. It's not worth the risk.
Even if the odds that Gingrich as GOP presidential candidate would win the general election are 10 percent, that's too much of a risk to the nation. No responsible American should accept a 10 percent risk of a President Gingrich.
I'd take a 49 percent odds of a Mitt Romney win -- who in my view would make a terrible president -- over a 10 percent possibility that Newt Gingrich would become the next president -- who would be an unmitigated disaster for America and the world.

Thank you! The pressure is working! Take action today. from IVAW 26JAN12

2012-01-26T18:29:00.001-05:00

TO all who participated in lobbying the commander of Ft Hood to address the issues of military sexual trauma and PTSD, TBI and care for our troops this update from IVAW. General Campbell is holding a virtual town hall tonight via Facebook and phone calls in response to the pressure he has received from the thousands of postcards received from the IVAW campaign (see my initial post on this blog on the campaign VETERANS DAY 2011 FOCUS: WOMEN VETS AND SERVICE MEMBERS 7NOV11 posted 11NOV11). Thank you to all who participated for your support of our troops!

Take Action

Join our virtual vigil by posting a message on the Fort Hood Facebook wall that says, "I support Fort Hood soldiers' rights to heal from military trauma"
Donate now if you like our work.

Send us your feedback.

After two months of pressure from the Operation Recovery campaign, Fort Hood Commander announces he will hold a town hall

Help keep the pressure on by posting a message on Fort Hood's Facebook wall before tonight's virtual town hall event.

Since November, the General has received postcards from thousands of Operation Recovery campaign supporters like you urging him to hold a town hall community forum to address the crisis of untreated trauma at Fort Hood.

Tonight's virtual town hall is strictly for the Fort Hood community, and soldiers and their family members will be asking questions via Facebook and phone calls. But we want General Campbell and the Fort Hood community to know that thousands around the nation care what happens to soldiers there.
Today, before the town hall takes place, will you post this simple message on the Fort Hood Facebook wall?
I support Fort Hood soldiers' rights to heal from military trauma.
Then let us know you took action by sending us an email. It's that simple.

Please make your post BEFORE 2:00 PM Pacific, 3:00 PM Mountain, 4:00 PM Central, or 5:00 PM Eastern. We don't want to clog up Facebook and prevent Fort Hood soldiers from asking important questions tonight during the actual town hall. This is a forum we have fought for, and we don't want to undermine the opportunity for service members' voices to be heard.

This virtual town hall is not perfect

We are pleased that General Campbell has agreed to hold this event, but the virtual format makes it easy for him to avoid answering the tough questions about untreated military trauma plaguing his base. To ensure these issues are addressed, we are co-hosting a simultaneous public gathering with Under the Hood Cafe and Outreach Center, where soldiers and their families will submit questions that address the critical issues at Fort Hood, including:
1) inadequate access to behavioral health counseling
2) commanders overriding the advice of medical doctors
3) over-medication of soldiers
4) a culture that allows sexual harassment and assault to occur
Making a town hall virtual also reinforces the alienation and anonymity experienced by soldiers who who need help. Naomi, whose husband serves in Fort Hood's 2-5 Cavalry says, "Having a virtual town hall doesn't bring people together in a visible way to see and discuss our common experience." Our in-person gathering will bring soldiers together to let them know they are not alone.

Show your solidarity before tonight's town hall with a Facebook post.

Go to the Fort Hood Facebook wall and post this short message:
I support Fort Hood soldiers' rights to heal from military trauma.
Then let us know you took action by sending us an email.

Again, please make your Facebook post BEFORE 2:00 PM Pacific, 3:00 PM Mountain, 4:00 PM Central, or 5:00 PM Eastern.

Imperfect as it is, this virtual town hall is an important first step, but Operation Recovery will continue our work to end the deployment of traumatized troops and ensure that soldiers have the right to heal at Fort Hood and around the nation.
Thank you for your continued support of our campaign.
In Solidarity,
The Operation Recovery Campaign Team
Iraq Veterans Against the War

P.S. Base commanders don't hold town halls regularly. The only other town hall in Fort Hood's history was in 2010 after the major crisis of the mass shooting that killed 13 soldiers. Clearly, the Fort Hood community is in crisis again with thousands of troops cycling out of Iraq after multiple tours of duty. A recent Army report shows that despite expanded efforts at suicide and substance abuse prevention, Army suicides are at a record high and violent sex crimes by active duty service members has increased by a whopping 30%.

Iraq Veterans Against the War is a 501(c)(3) charity,
and welcomes your tax deductible contributions

Republican Racism is an Air Raid Siren, Not a Dog Whistle from SALON 18JAN12

2012-01-26T17:48:00.001-05:00

THIS is an honest and insightful analysis of the gop / tea-bagger field of presidential candidates in the 2012 race. It is an indictment of the tolerance, acceptance and even the proselytizing of racism by poor, working class and middle class whites willingly or through self imposed ignorance. They are accepting the us against them propaganda of rich whites controlling corporate (political) America, refusing to think through the propaganda to the logical conclusion, that the "us" doesn't include the poor, working class and middle class whites, that they themselves are included in the "them", and that romney, gingrich(k), santorum and paul are seeking the presidency only for the benefit of the 1%, not the 99%. It is too bad they will only realize the truth if one of these candidates is actually elected, by then it will be too late and we will all be suffering the consequences. From Salon.....

On his MSNBC show Hardball, Chris Matthews called out Newt Gingrich and other Republicans for what he described as their "dog whistle" appeals to white racism during the South Carolina debate on Monday night.

He was correct in identifying the work that racism does for the Tea Party GOP and its candidates in their efforts to win over white conservative voters. However, Chris Matthews was too generous and kind. Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry and other Republican candidates are not engaging in subtle dog whistles to their faithful, where racism and white racial anxiety hides in the background, masked and hidden by other language.

Definitions matter: dog whistle politics are based on a signal or cue to the in-group, and one so subtle that those not in the know will overlook it as no more than quixotic background noise, a blip, a comment without context or meaning.

For example, during the 2004 election, President Bush's mention of the infamous Dredd Scott Supreme Court decision had nothing to do with African Americans and slavery. Rather, it was a wink to a rabidly anti-choice conservative Right-wing audience that Roe vs. Wade would be overturned by his administration.

In 2008, McCain-Palin featured a negative campaign ad which borrowed from the movie The Ten Commandments and suggested that Barack Obama was the Anti-Christ. If one was not part of the Left Behind Jesus Camp Christian Nationalist Dominionist crowd, the visuals and narrative of the commercial were odd, bizarre, utterly strange, and devoid of context. The ugliness of these symbols and metaphors were so covert, that they made sense for those outside of the targeted audience only after Time magazine thoroughly deconstructed the campaign adand its malicious intent.

In 2012, Republican candidates are using overt signals, what are for all intents and purposes blaring air raid sirens and signal flares that race, whiteness, and American identity are deeply intertwined. The appeals to white racism by the Tea Party GOP during the primaries are not background rhythms or subdued choruses. They are the driving guitars of Blue Oyster Cult's "Godzilla," the chorus of Jay-Z's "99 Problems," the opening moments of the Notorious B.I.G's "Kick in the Door," or the flipped samples of Justice's "Stress". You feel it. You know it. To deny the obvious is to close one's ears to a driving drum line and cadence that travels up through your shoes...and to your bones.

How else can a fair observer excuse away Republican arguments that blacks are lazy parasites, whose children should live in work houses and pick up mops and brooms to learn a work ethic, that "illegal" immigrants should be killed by electric fences, or Muslim Americans should be subject to racial profiling, marked like the "Juden" of Nazi Germany?

In all, the Tea Party GOP's campaign for the presidency rests upon marshaling white anger and rage at The Usurper, a perpetual Other, and one not fit for the presidency by virtue of his birth and skin color--he who we know as President Barack Obama. If Birtherism is not based on this calculation, on what else does it rest?

Race matters to the Tea Party GOP. It matters overtly. And it matters to the white populists of the Republican Party without apology or subtlety. This leads to the following practical question: how do we separate the subtle dog whistle from blaring conservative racism? What are the elements of the racial appeal? How can we identify it so that reasonable folk can neuter and castrate it? Is this even possible?

Knowing is half the battle. To that end, let's work through elements of the puzzle:

The speaker effect. Using one of the most gross examples, when Newt Gingrich talks about lazy blacks on welfare and food stamps who do not know the meaning of hard work he is mindful of his audience. Remember, politics is ultimately about the creation and reinforcement of imagined communities. Gingrich, Santorum, Perry, and Paul know exactly how to talk to their respective audiences in order to get a response. To point: white conservative populists have disdain for non-whites, see them as lazy, outside of the polity, and as rightful targets for appeals based on symbolic racism. In the eyes of the Right, "those people" are not "real Americans." They never can be.

The audience as a public who receives, internalizes, and circulates the Tea Party GOP message about race, white racial resentment, white oppression, and hostility to people of color. The folks in the audience and on the stage during the Republican primary debates "get" the terms of the conversation. In fact, they are deeply attuned to the language and rhetoric of the New Right, as anyone who either goes to one of these events, or votes in a primary election, are deeply invested in its outcome, and a return to white American normality. In all, they are chasing nostalgia and a Leave it to Beaver vision and lie of America. This audience is also "tuned in" to politics. Gingrich and his peers are sending signals to a group primed and ready for his racial appeals...without a need for explanation.

This reality speaks to why there should be no surprise when Republican audiences cheer the death penalty, dying people without insurance, or heckle soldiers who happen to be gay. There are unstated rules, a script, which govern social norms and behavior. The outliers who go to political debates are intimately familiar with this language. Like marks at a professional wrestling event they know when to boo and when to cheer.

Context matters. In isolation, perhaps it would be a more difficult case to suggest that Gingrich's appeals to white audiences about lazy blacks are predominantly and clearly about white racism. However, given that communities are created through speech, and that "discourse" is about a sense of shared meaning with unstated assumptions, any argument for conservative colorblindness is judged to be insincere.

In South Carolina, where the Confederate flag still flies, there was Rick Perry (a neo-Secessionist that wants a Civil War 2.0 and a renewed fight for states' rights); Ron Paul (a bigot whose newsletters continue to suggest that African Americans are ravenous, craven, criminal, stupid beasts); Rick Santorum (a man fascinated by bestiality and the idea that blacks are parasites who only want to live off of white people); and Newt Gingrich who sees all African-Americans and Latinos as being on welfare and the public dole until proven otherwise. In total, these candidates are a rogues gallery where white supremacist attitudes towards non-whites is a standing rule, one only to be disputed after the fact.

Juan Williams is an object of abuse, a means to prove a point. Juan Williams is a paid pinata for white conservatives. I do not know if he was legitimately hurt and surprised by their reaction to him, or if his pain was not feigned, and rather sincere and real. In understanding the logic of Republican racism and naked appeals beyond the dog whistle, Williams was the stand-in, the object of abuse through which to actualize rage and hostility. Barack Obama was not available. Any black body would do. The cheering, snide glee of Newt Gingrich dressing down uppity "Juan," and the audience's cheering of a "boy" being put in his place, would be missed by only the most in denial observer.

Juan Williams is/was a repository for the fecal matter of white conservative bigotry, and a need to maintain superiority over negroes who dare not to step off of the sidewalk when white folks pass. That in another life Juan Williams would be a critic of "negro agitators" during the Civil Rights movement is coincidental to his designated role on Fox News: he is exemplary of Joel Kovel's theories about white supremacy, and how it manifests as a White society which is collectively (and individually) stuck in the fecal phase of human psychological development--it is all over his face. Juan Williams smiles while cashing his checks at the prospect of his politicalcoprophagia at the ass end of conservative politics. He revels in playing the role of the human centipede.

The excuse of ignorance and a lack of memory. One does not need to understand the root of a thing in order to buy into its power. White conservatives (and others) who traffic in racism do not necessarily need to be able to explain how blacks came to be associated in the White racist mind with apes. Likewise, those who hate Jews do not need to be able to give an exegesis on Nazi propaganda in order to be expert anti-Semites.

This is one of the greatest tools and defenses of the contemporary white racist--I didn't know that, you are being unfair!; You are "playing the race card" for calling out my association of the Obama with watermelons and apes as "racist"; I never associated blacks with welfare or crime, people like you are the real bigots for calling attention to how Republicans talk about such things, we are really all Americans!; stop talking about slavery, my family never owned black people!; (and of course) whites are oppressed in America by Barack Obama!

There is a collective reservoir of symbols, assumptions, and narratives that individuals borrow from in a given society in order to make sense of their world. Knowing the wellspring helps; it is not a requirement to perpetuate common sense understanding(s) of the world.

Ultimately, Chris Matthews was correct in the spirit of the law versus the letter of the law. To defeat President Obama, the Republican Party is wallowing in white racism in order to win over racially and economically insecure white voters. However, Gingrich and company are doing this overtly. There is little subtlety. Looking forward, the 2012 Presidential season will make the infamous Willie Horton ad of the 1988 presidential election look like a celebration of Dr. King's birthday. The challenge for liberals, progressives, and reasonable conservatives, is how to make the Republican Party pay for their race baiting, and desperate reaching back to the Civil War, Redemption, and Birth of a Nation as playbooks in order to defeat the United States' first Black President.

Sadly, matters may be so dire that the white identity politics of years past are now "new school" rather than "old school." To marshal that fear, insecurity, and anger one does not need nuance, sophistication, or dog whistles. White conservatives can put such feelings on blast and gin up the psychological wages of white fear, white anxiety, and white rage to try to defeat Barack Obama.

As always, the past isn't even past. It is yesterday. Get ready folks. What occurred in South Carolina is only a warm up for what the Tea Party GOP is preparing to unleash in the months to come. What is coming to pass will be an ugly, wild ride.

CHAUNCEY DEVEGA

Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Birthday: September 12

Title: A (Sometimes) Respectable Negro

Bio: Failed Polemicist, A Race Man in Progress, and Contributor to the blog We Are Respectable Negroes

THE SPIRIT OF THIS COUNTRY......THOMAS JEFFERSON

2012-01-26T13:48:00.000-05:00

Newt’s no-win political appeal from SALON 25JAN12

2012-01-26T13:15:00.001-05:00

A great piece from Salon that slams the ignorance of gop / tea-bagger south carolinians, reminds us that callista gingrich(k) is an adulterous trophy wife and exposes a brief moment of sanity in the fotze known as ann coulter....Enjoy!

The neo-Confederate wing of the GOP cares more about humiliating Obama than about beating him in November

By Gene Lyons

(Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Look, nobody’s third wife is going to be first lady. In the privacy of the voting booth, American women won’t stand for it. Regardless of how flawlessly the bejeweled Callista enacts the role of pious matron, she remains the embodiment of the Trophy Wife — younger, more adoring, unencumbered by children, a climber on the make. In effect, a successful Monica Lewinsky, although unlike Bill Clinton’s paramour, Callista was no kid.
Even Ann Coulter knows that. Having placed an early bet on Mitt Romney, the GOP’s vestal virgin pronounced herself shocked to hear South Carolina Republicans accepting “Democratic” arguments excusing Newt Gingrich’s serial adultery. On “Fox & Friends,” Coulter said, “I promise you, if Mitt Romney or Rick Santorum had cheated on two wives — that we know, the ‘open marriage’ thing is the only thing he contests, we know he cheated on two wives — I wouldn’t support Mitt Romney.”
Ah, but there were deeper passions at play in South Carolina. So let’s switch metaphors. Judging by the whooping and hollering of the CNN debate audience, the GOP’s neo-Confederate wing wishes for nothing less than an electoral replay of Pickett’s charge — the doomed infantry attack at Gettysburg most historians believe marked the beginning of the end of the Civil War. A sizable proportion of South Carolinians have yearned for a rematch ever since.

And they don’t think they’re going to get it with Mitt Romney, a Yankee’s Yankee who goes around babbling passionless truisms like this gem unearthed from his standard stump speech by the National Review’s Mark Steyn:
“I believe in an America where millions of Americans believe in an America that’s the America millions of Americans believe in. That’s the America I love.”
Do what? (That’s Southern for what the hell?)
Romney’s not only a dead ringer for Sesame Street’s puppet anchorman Guy Smiley, but could probably have switched places with CNN’s John King without missing a beat. To Gingrich supporters, Steyn observes, he comes across as “a synthetic, stage-managed hollow man of no fixed beliefs.”
There’s little sign of anger in his personality. But then why would there be? The son of a failed candidate, Romney gives every indication of wanting to be president simply because, well, he deserves to be president.
To a GOP base bombarded with Manichaean propaganda depicting President Obama as a veritable antichrist, that may not be good enough. They don’t simply want to prevent Obama’s reelection. They want to see him obliterated, humiliated and shamed. Watching Gingrich verbally pummel Fox’s Juan Williams and CNN’s King — antagonists who, by definition, can’t fight back — sharpened their appetite to see him take on Obama.
Republican debate audiences that have boisterously cheered Texas’ use of the death penalty, booed a gay soldier serving in Iraq, hooted at Fox News’ Williams for asking about racially stereotyping food stamp recipients, and even applauded torture, appear to find Gingrich’s surliness and ill-concealed personal resentments a perfect match for their own. Newt’s ability to channel their anger resembles Richard M. Nixon’s, albeit without Nixon’s self-discipline.
Fox News’ Steve Doocy spoke for them all, predicting that, if nominated, “Newt is going to take off the head of the president” (lovely metaphor) in debates. Many actually believe that Newt’s a brilliant extemporaneous thinker like Rush Limbaugh, while Obama’s an affirmative action hire who’s helpless without his teleprompter.
Meanwhile, back in reality, the saner kinds of Republicans are running scared. The Washington Post’s George Will empathizes with GOP candidates who could find themselves “running next autumn with Gingrich — whose current approval rating nationally in a Jan. 12-14 Fox News and Opinion Dynamics poll was 27 percent favorable, 56 percent unfavorable — atop the ticket.”
The very decorous Ms. Coulter laments that “South Carolinians would rather have the emotional satisfaction of a snotty remark toward the president than to beat Obama in the fall.” The scholarly author of “Demonic: How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America” explains that the GOP nominee can’t win over independent voters simply by calling the president bad names. Now she tells us.
Conservative talk show host Michael Medved cautions that “for swing voters and independents, Gingrich’s reference to ‘Obama’s secular-socialist machine’… may sound extreme and irresponsible; few of them would agree with his conclusion that the current president represents a greater threat to the nation than Nazism or Soviet communism.” He adds that “the current craving for an intense and impassioned candidate” would likely backfire in the general election.
You know things are crazy when Ann Coulter starts making sense. I think even the perception that Newt could get under Obama’s skin is badly mistaken. In a presidential debate, the guy sweating and glowering is the guy losing. The sorehead right, however, won’t believe it until they’ve lost the visceral confrontation they so crave.
In that sense, a Gingrich nomination could end up being very good for the country.

Arkansas Times columnist Gene Lyons is a National Magazine Award winner and co-author of "The Hunting of the President" (St. Martin's Press, 2000). You can e-mail Lyons at eugenelyons2@yahoo.com. More Gene Lyons

REAL ESTATE TAX: A PROVISION OF HEALTH CARE LEGISLATION CREATES A 3.8% MEDICARE TAX ON REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS 26JAN12 & 24APR10

2012-01-26T12:30:00.002-05:00

GOT this e mail from a friend who wanted to know if it is true or not. Here is the link to the Snopes page on it http://www.snopes.com/politics/taxes/realestate.asp
Too bad more people aren't like her and be responsible enough to check things out before forwarding something that is deceptive, misleading and actually works against their own best interest. Their voluntary ignorance ends up hurting themselves, how stupid is that? Check this out and then click the link and get the truth from Snopes....

The National� Association of REALTORS is all over this and working to get it repealed, before it takes effect.� But, I am very pleased we aren't the only ones who know about this ploy to steal billions from unsuspecting homeowners.� How many REALTORS do you think will vote Democratic in 2012?� Did you know that if you sell your house after
2012 you will pay a 3.8% sales tax on it?� That's $3,800 on a $100,000 home, etc.� When did this happen?� It's in the health care bill and goes into effect in 2013.� Why 2013?� Could it be to come to light AFTER the 2012 elections?� So, this is "change you can believe in"?
Under the new health care bill all real estate transactions will be subject to a 3.8% Sales Tax.� If you sell a $400,000 home, there will be a $15,200 tax.� This bill is set to screw the retiring generation who often downsize their homes.� Does this make your November and 2012 vote more important?� Oh, you weren't aware this was in the Obamacare bill?� Guess what, you aren't alone.� There are more than a few members of Congress that aren't aware of it either.�
http://www.gop.gov/blog/10/04/08/obamacare-flatlines-obamacare-taxes-home�

�

I hope you forward this to every single person in your address book.��VOTERS NEED TO KNOW.�

Real Estate Tax

Claim: A provision of health care legislation creates a 3.8% Medicare tax on real estate transactions.

MIXTURE OF TRUE AND FALSE INFORMATION:

	FALSE: Health care legislation imposes a 3.8% tax on all home sales.

	TRUE: Health care legislation imposes a 3.8% transaction tax on profits over the capital gains threshold.

Example: [Collected via e-mail, April 2010]

3.8% tax on real estate transactions

Under the new health care bill - did you know that all real estate transactions are subject to a 3.8% "Sales Tax"?

You can thank Nancy, Harry & Barack (and your local Congressmen) for this one.

If you sell your $400,000 home, this will be a $15,200 tax.

Remember Obama’s battle cry — take from the workers and give to the drones.

TAX ON HOME SALES

Imposes a 3.8 percent tax on home sales and other real estate transactions.

Middle-income people must pay the full tax even if they are "rich" for only one day — the day they sell their house and buy a new one.

Origins: One of the provisions of the recently passed Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (PPACA) health care legislation calls for high-income households to be subject to a new 3.8% Medicare tax on investment income starting in 2013:

The PPACA creates a new Code Section 1411, which will generally impose a 3.8 percent tax on the lesser of "net investment income" or the excess of modified adjusted gross income over a "threshold amount" (generally, $250,000 for taxpayers filing a joint return, $125,000 for married taxpayers filing a separate return and $200,000 in all other cases). Net investment income generally means the excess of (i) interest, dividends, annuities, royalties, rents, income from passive activities, income from trading financial instruments and commodities, and gain from the disposition of certain non-business property, over (ii) allowable deductions properly allocable to such income. In determining the amount of net investment income, special rules apply with respect to dispositions of equity interests in certain partnerships and S corporations, and to distributions from certain qualified plans. This additional tax applies to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2012.

This is a complicated section of a complicated piece of legislation, and the 3.8% Medicare tax has been frequently misreported as amounting to a 3.8% "sales tax" on all real estate transactions. This is incorrect: the Medicare tax is not a sales tax, nor does it apply to all real estate transactions; it is a tax on investment income (income which may or not derive from the sale of property) for persons who earn more than the amounts specified in the bill: As Sara Orrange, Government affairs director of the Spokane Association of Realtors noted in response to a repetition of the "sales tax" rumor in the Spokane Spokesman-Review:

In his recent guest column regarding the impact of the health care bill, Paul Guppy of the Washington Policy Center claimed that a 3.8 percent tax on all home sales was a part of the recently passed legislation. This is inaccurate and needs to be corrected. The truth about the bill is that if you sell your home for a profit above the capital gains threshold of $250,000 per individual or $500,000 per couple then you would be required to pay the additional 3.8 percent tax on any gain realized over this threshold.

Most people who sell their homes will not be impacted by these new regulations. This is not a new tax on every seller, and that correction needs to be made. This tax is aimed at so-called "high earners" — if you do not fall into that category you will not pay any extra taxes upon the sale of your home.

(In other words, a couple who sold their home would be subject to the 3.8% tax only if they made a profit of at least $500,000 on the sale, and the tax would apply only to the portion of that profit in excess of $500,000.)

The referenced tax is therefore not a tax on all real estate sales; it is an investment income tax which could result in a very small percentage of home sellers paying additional taxes on home sales profits over a designated threshold amount. In short, if you're a "high earner" and you sell your home at a substantial profit, you might be required to pay an additional 3.8% tax. However, given that the existing home sale capital gains exclusion on a principal residence ($250,000 allowable gain for individuals, or $500,000 for couples) still stands and no Medicare tax will apply for gains within those limits, that the bill's definition of "high earners" encompasses less than 5 percent of all taxpayers, and that the median sales price of existing single-family homes in the U.S. was only $170,700 in March 2010, the Medicare tax will likely affect only a small percentage of home sellers when it is implemented in 2013.

Last updated: 24 April 2010

Urban Legends Reference Pages © 1995-2012 by Barbara and David P. Mikkelson.
This material may not be reproduced without permission.
snopes and the snopes.com logo are registered service marks of snopes.com.

Sources:

Donmoyer, Ryan J. and James Rowley. "Health Bill Would Add 3.8% Tax on Investment Income.": BusinessWeek. 18 March 2010.
Sahadi, Jeanne. "Medicare Tax Hikes: What the Rich Will Pay.": CNNMoney.com. 25 March 2010.

Kaine Criticizes Allen’s Irresponsible Pipeline Stance 24JAN12

2012-01-26T11:55:00.001-05:00

george allen continues to offers reasons why he should not be elected to the Senate. Check this out and click the header to go to Tim Kaine's campaign website for more on his positions on the economy, education, the environment....

Today: Allen told Virginians he would greenlight a pipeline through the Commonwealth without review
Richmond, VA - In a conference call today, Gov. Tim Kaine criticized Republican candidate George Allen for refusing to apply his own standard of safety in energy projects to the Keystone pipeline project. When it comes to uranium mining in Virginia, Allen says we should wait for a thorough review because "while jobs are important, so is public health and safety." But when it comes to the Keystone pipeline, George Allen and his oil company allies are pushing for approval before a thorough review can be completed. In addition to pointing out Allen's contradictory position, Kaine criticized Allen for saying that he would not require a review or study of any oil or natural gas pipelines through Virginia. Allen made his comments on WINA 1070 in Charlottesville as part of his continuing push for approval of the Keystone pipeline —an effort Allen has pushed since before the affected states had performed their own reviews.
Key quotes from Governor Kaine from today’s call are below:
“In discussions with George at the debate and since, I’ve been surprised to see how adamantly he has been lobbying to build the Keystone pipeline before the full federal review is completed, thereby refusing to apply his own standards of safety and review to the pipeline project.
…
“George Allen said, if Virginia were considering a natural gas or oil pipeline through the Commonwealth we wouldn’t need to do any review or study it, wouldn’t need to review its effects on homeowners or communities because we’ve built other pipelines before. That’s a position that’s really ridiculous. The notion that we can just approve things, without study, that would affect homeowners and the local community is flat wrong.
…
“There’s a reason that we do these reviews. Reviews help you get it right. I think this is a project that may well be the right thing to do, but until the review is complete, we don’t know the answer. We don’t know whether and how it should be done and hopefully the review will point that out. His decision to jump over the review process and say ‘we can do it anyway because it’s popular with the oil companies, who cares about what the citizens of Nebraska think about the routing of the pipeline,’ that’s irresponsible. I’m not going to let any Senator from Nebraska put some pipeline through Virginia and just casually opine upon it because it doesn’t affect their own real estate. If I am representing Virginia I’m going to make sure that projects like this get a review and I’m not letting other Senators from other states just dictate what should be done.”

Earlier today on Charlottesville radio station 1070 WINA, George Allen said:

Host Question: Now it’s for the average person, I understand, I understand the differences, but for the average person who kinda just, you know, on, just pays attention a little bit and gets the superfluous kinda information, what we hear in the last few minutes, the President and his administration says we need time to study the pipeline to make sure that its safe, to make sure we have the safety, the safe guards in place, but then with this other one, we say we need more time to make sure uranium mining is legislated properly and regulated properly in Virginia, both have been studied for years, both could create tons of jobs, what is the real difference?
George Allen: Well there’s a big difference, in that there are pipeline, again, throughout Virginia, and throughout Nebraska, and throughout the plains, so that, the pipeline issue has been studied for three years, the uranium mining issue, there’s been a moratorium in Virginia for years, and with a moratorium naturally there’s no studies, the National Academy of Sciences has just issued their report just last month, and, and, we don’t have any regulations, if this were an issue, I guarantee you, if there were an issue, gosh we’d put a natural gas pipeline, or should be put an oil pipeline through Virginia, it wouldn’t be worrying about gosh, let's have a study, let's determine the danger of this, this is something that is already done, it is fairly routine, uranium mining is unprecedented in Virginia, and obviously radioactive waste is a much greater environmental concern than, than is oil, or natural gas, not that you’d want to have an oil spill, that’s, that’s, harmful, but it's not highly radioactive, it’s why there is such high regulations, because of these potential dangers. So they are not at all comparable, in that again, oil pipelines are throughout Virginia and throughout the country, uranium mining is an issue of first impression, that's really science, Academy of Sciences report came out late last year, and so, I think Virginia’s taking the appropriate approach, if Virginia were trying to hold up a gas pipeline, or oil pipeline, it simply wouldn’t happen, because we have them.

We're Still at War: Photo of the Day for January 26, 2012 from MOTHER JONES

2012-01-26T11:36:00.001-05:00

US Army Pfc. Eric Guzman, 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Task Force Spartan, provides security alongside Afghan Border Police officers while patrolling a village in Khowst province, Afghanistan on January 18, 2012. Photo by the US Army.

Newt Gingrich wrong in attack against media on open marriage question from the WASHINGTON POST 26JAN12

2012-01-26T10:26:00.002-05:00

The "reporter" at the debate set himself up for the attack from gingrich(k) and the audience response. His question was stupid. He should have asked gingrich(k) about his hypocrisy in leading the impeachment of Bill Clinton while having an affair or about his hypocrisy of giving "family values" speeches while having extramarital affairs or the hypocrisy of his opposition to same sex civil unions / marriage because they are a threat to marriage while he was having extramarital affairs. When a person is a candidate for political office and part of his candidacy involves tell the nation to clean up it's moral act while having multiple extramarital affairs that person's position should be challenged on their rhetoric and the hypocrisy of their actions. And one should remember, marianne gingrich(k) had an extramarital affair with the married newt gingrich(k) while she was married. From the Washington Post....

By Amy Gardner

It was one of the highlights of the South Carolina debate: Newt Gingrich fielding a question about one of his failed marriages, lashing out at the media, stirring the debate audience to its feet and going on to win the South Carolina primary in a landslide.
According to a CNN report late Wednesday, Gingrich misspoke on the
Republican presidential candidate former House speaker Newt Gingrich makes a point during the opening question of a debate at the North Charleston Coliseum Jan. 19., in South Carolina. (John Moore - GETTY IMAGES) debate stage when he accused ABC of airing an unfair report about his second marriage. The report included an interview with Marianne Gingrich, who accused her ex-husband of asking for an "open marriage" in the 1990s. But it didn't include interviews, Gingrich said on the debate stage last Thursday in Charleston, with people who say the charge is false.
"The story is false," Gingrich told CNN's John King at the debate. "Every personal friend I have who knew us in that period says the story was false. We offered several of them to ABC to prove it was false. They weren't interested because they would like to attack any Republican."
The Gingrich campaign conceded Wednesday that the only two people they offered to ABC were Gingrich's two daughters, from his first marriage (not Marianne Gingrich’s daughters). ABC contacted both of them and they said Marianne Gingrich’s allegations were false.
What's unclear is whether Gingrich's advisers told him otherwise.When asked Thursday morning to explain the misstatement Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond replied: “I’m not talking about ABC anymore. I’m sick of talking about ABC. It’s a week old.”
At the debate, Gingrich went on to call King "despicable" for opening the debate with a question about Gingrich's marital history. And in an interview this week with King, he said it was "just plain baloney" that that his campaign hadn't offered any other contacts beyond his daughters. But he faltered a little, looking off camera at his staff and saying: "I'll check with R.C. Hammond in a minute, but if they're saying that, they're just not being honest."
In CNN's Wednesday report, King said: "The Gingrich campaign concedes now that Speaker Gingrich was wrong, both in his debate answer and in our interview yesterday.

Gingrich spokesman Hammond says the only people the campaign offered to ABC were the speaker's two daughters from his first marriage.

Prosecutor: Campaign Worker's Arrest Not Obama's Watergate from MOTHER JONES 26JAN12

2012-01-26T08:43:00.001-05:00

CONSPIRACY nuts are having a field day with this story, using it to spread fear, hate and racism of Pres Obama. How pathetic, and sad that so many Americans, especially Christian Americans, will believe them and spread this around the net, voluntarily forgoing the truth. From Mother Jones.....

—By Nick Baumann

But how do we know that the Clintons aren't behind all of this? The Death of Vince Foster/Screenshot

On Friday, Zachary Edwards, who worked as the Iowa new media director for President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, was arrested in Des Moines and charged with attempting to impersonate Matt Schultz, Iowa's Republican secretary of state. Edwards, who had been working for a Des Moines political consulting company with close ties to Iowa Democrats, was promptly fired.
To several right-wing news sources, not only was Edwards' guilt immediately obvious, so was the fact that his arrest likely represented one small piece of a conspiracy reaching straight to the top. "Much like Watergate, which began with a seemingly simple (if puzzling) burglary and ultimately unraveled the Nixon administration, it is impossible to say how far the trail of criminality will go," wrote Powerline's John Hinderaker.
"The big question is how far up it goes," pondered the notoriously conservative editorial board of Investors Business Daily, before speculating about Edwards' supposed ties to "the secretive rich-man's club known as The Democracy Alliance, and the loud crazies of MoveOn.org, both funded by socialist billionaire George Soros" and "a conspiracy to defraud democracy" involving "some of the highest political crimes ever."
Newsbusters, the site dedicated to "exposing and combating liberal media bias," speculated that the lack of coverage of the Edwards story meant it wasn't "safe" for the mainstream media to cover and insinuated that the Associated Press had purposely "avoided the damning details." (Glenn Reynolds, a.k.a Instapundit, promoted Newsbusters' coverage of the story.) And Hot Air wondered "what connections Edwards has to Democratic Party leadership" and "how many more Zach Edwards we can expect to find in Barack Obama's campaign this time around."
Since every journalist worth his salt would love to expose something "much like Watergate," I decided to try something the right-wingers hadn't thought of: reporting. The criminal complaint against Edwards (PDF) has a case number associated with it, so when I couldn't hunt down a number for Edwards himself, I tried the Polk County court clerk's office and Edwards' bail bondsman to see if he had an attorney. As it turns out, it was a dead end—Edwards apparently hasn't hired a lawyer yet or had one appointed for him. No one, at least, has made court appearances on his behalf.
But I didn't have to go to a defense attorney to find out that Edwards probably isn't part of a grand conspiracy. John Sarcone, the county attorney in charge of prosecuting the Edwards case, couldn't say much about the details because of Iowa ethics rules. But when I told him what Hinderaker and IBD had been saying about Edwards, he laughed. "People have got imaginations, I'll tell you that," he said. "I don't think that's the case at all. They ought to give those jobs to creative writers, because that's fiction."
The White House and the Obama 2012 campaign declined to comment as to whether the president might be involved in an obscure campaign worker's alleged plot against the Iowa secretary of state. I smell a coverup!
Front page image: Pete Souza/White House

Nick Baumann

News Editor

Nick Baumann covers national politics and civil liberties issues for Mother Jones' DC Bureau. For more of his stories, click here. You can also follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Email tips and insights to nbaumann [at] motherjones [dot] com. RSS | Twitter

Philippines may allow greater U.S. military presence in reaction to China’s rise 26JAN12

2012-01-26T07:52:00.001-05:00

AMERICAN military forces, and the money they bring through resupply, fueling, repair and leave time for sailors, soldiers and airmen should only be available to countries that are democratic or are making tangible (not superficial) changes to democracy and who respect and follow the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We should not be showing the flag in Vietnam when the government in Hanoi is more repressive than the prc and corruption is rampant. We should not be spending U.S. taxpayer dollars in Singapore while their government continues it's policies of political repression. We have been down this road before. The Cold War with the communist bloc from the late 40's into the 80's brought conflict over economic resources, political power and spheres of influence to much of Africa, Central America and the Caribbean, the Mid-East, many countries in South America as we as across the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The regular people of these nations were used as pawns by both sides and the nations used in this worldwide cold war lost too many of their own, lost human rights, economic development, educational development, health care for their citizens and lost political stability and maturity. The U.S., for all the military lives sacrificed, the billions of dollars in military material wasted, the political opportunities squandered by supporting corrupt, brutal, dictatorial, autocratic regimes and revolutionary movements ended up worse off in relations with most of the world and despised by most of the world's people.
We are starting to make the same mistake on a global scale again. The American government, following the dictates of corporate America (who sees oil and gas and gold and profits in the waters and lands of Southeast Asia) and the American military-industrial complex (because war is business) is muscling it's way back into the area, but for all the wrong reasons. We are not establishing a military presence in the area to protect and promote human rights and democracy, to encourage democratic governments to stay the course, to support new democracies to continue on the path to full democracy, or to show the repressive autocratic governments the economic benefits they are missing by not being democratic. No, we are there because of economic greed and lust for power. And just like every other military foray dictated by corporate America and the U.S. military-industrial complex, this one will cost us too many American lives and too many American taxpayer dollars, and our nation end up worse off economically, politically, militarily and in our international standing. This from the Washington Post....

By Craig Whitlock

Two decades after evicting U.S. forces from their biggest base in the Pacific, the Philippines is in talks with the Obama administration about expanding the American military presence in the island nation, the latest in a series of strategic moves aimed at China.
Although negotiations are in the early stages, officials from both governments said they are favorably inclined toward a deal. They are scheduled to intensify the discussions Thursday and Friday in Washington before higher-level meetings in March. If an arrangement is reached, it would follow other recent agreements to base thousands of U.S. Marines in northern Australia and to station Navy warships in Singapore.
Among the options under consideration are operating Navy ships from the Philippines, deploying troops on a rotational basis and staging more frequent joint exercises. Under each scenario, U.S. forces would effectively be guests at existing foreign bases.
The sudden rush by many in the Asia-Pacific region to embrace Washington is a direct reaction to China’s rise as a military power and its assertiveness in staking claims to disputed territories, such as the energy-rich South China Sea.
“We can point to other countries: Australia, Japan, Singapore,” said a senior Philippine official involved in the talks, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the confidentiality of the deliberations. “We’re not the only one doing this, and for good reason. We all want to see a peaceful and stable region. Nobody wants to have to face China or confront China.”
The strategic talks with the Philippines are in addition to feelers that the Obama administration has put out to other Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam and Thailand, about possibly bolstering military partnerships.
The United States already has about 600 Special Operations troops in the Philippines, where they advise local forces in their fight with rebels sympathetic to al-Qaeda. But the talks underway between Manila and Washington potentially involve a much more extensive partnership.
Officials in the Philippines — which has 7,107 islands — said their priority is to strengthen maritime defenses, especially near the South China Sea. They indicated a willingness to host American ships and surveillance aircraft.
Although the U.S. military has tens of thousands of troops stationed at long-standing bases in Japan, South Korea and Guam, as well as the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, it is seeking to solidify its presence in Southeast Asia. Some of the world’s busiest trade routes pass through the South China Sea and the nearby Strait of Malacca.
Instead of trying to establish giant bases reminiscent of the Cold War, however, Pentagon officials said they want to maintain a light footprint.
“We have no desire nor any interest in creating a U.S.-only base in Southeast Asia,” said Robert Scher, a deputy assistant secretary of defense who oversees security policy in the region. “In each one of these cases, the core decision and discussion is about how we work better with our friends and allies. And the key piece of that is working from their locations.”
‘Political sensitivities’
The distinction is critical in the Philippines, which kicked the U.S. military out of its sprawling naval base at Subic Bay in 1992 after lawmakers rejected a new treaty. Along with the nearby Clark Air Base, which the Pentagon abandoned in 1991 after a volcanic eruption, Subic Bay had served as a keystone of the U.S. military presence in Asia for nearly a century.
Manila and Washington signed a subsequent agreement that allows U.S. forces to visit the archipelago or deploy there periodically while remaining under U.S. legal jurisdiction. The constitution of the Philippines forbids foreign military bases without a treaty.
“There are political sensitivities, and the U.S. is aware of that,” said a senior Philippine official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential deliberations. “So how can we achieve that presence without it costing too much in terms of political friction?”
Philippine officials said they favor allowing the United States to deploy more troops or ships, as long as they rotate periodically or are considered temporary.
Temporary, however, can still mean a long time. The 600 U.S. Special Operations troops in the Philippines have been on the southern island of Mindanao since 2002, and there is no firm timetable to withdraw them.
The number of port visits by U.S. Navy ships has soared in recent years. The Philippines recently acquired a cutter from the U.S. Coast Guard and is seeking two more of the ships to boost its naval forces. It also wants to buy F-16 fighter jets from Washington.
In interviews, neither Philippine nor Obama administration officials would rule out a return by U.S. ships or forces to Subic Bay. The harbor is now a thriving economic hub and free-trade zone, so any American military presence would pale in comparison with the old days.
But even a small, visiting U.S. force in the Philippines would send a strong signal to Beijing. Although Washington has said it is not trying to contain China’s rise as an economic and military superpower, Obama announced a new military strategy this month under which the Pentagon will “rebalance” the armed forces toward the Asia-Pacific region in the aftermath of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
‘A necessary normal’
Some advocates said the shift in emphasis to Asia was long overdue, given its economic importance and China’s rise.
“I don’t really see this as a pivot. . . . What I see now is a return to a necessary normal,” said Sen. James Webb (D-Va.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific affairs. “The presence of the United States has become the essential ingredient for stability.”
In addition to the Philippines, Vietnam — another country that once shunned the U.S. military — is restoring ties. In August, a U.S. Navy ship visited the Vietnamese naval base at Cam Ranh Bay for the first time in 38 years. Cam Ranh Bay is a deep-water harbor that served as one of the largest American military installations during the Vietnam War. Vietnam, which has its own territorial disputes with China, has slowly opened its bases to the U.S. Navy for port visits and ship repairs since 2009.
“I don’t see in the near future an American base in Vietnam, but we have seen much more increased military cooperation,” said Webb, a former Navy secretary who fought in Vietnam as a Marine. “They’re not shutting down their relationship with China, but they’re attempting to balance it.”
Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, chief of naval operations, has called Southeast Asia the region with “perhaps the greatest potential in the future” for the Navy to increase its presence through military partnerships. In a Jan. 10 speech to the Center for a New American Security in Washington, he singled out the Philippines as a country “where perhaps there will be more opportunities emerging,” although he didn’t elaborate.
Greenert cautioned that some of those partnerships would be limited, saying, “Not everybody is interested in getting in an alliance and getting tied up in a long term.” He cited Vietnam as an example. “We don’t want to push it too hard,” he said. “If you move a little too fast, there’s a hesitation.”

Urge Eric Schneiderman: Jail bankers who broke the law. from PCCC 25JAN12

2012-01-25T18:30:00.002-05:00

WE have all paid dearly for the recession, all of us except the 1% and the greedy bankers and financiers of wall street. Now Pres Obama has appointed NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to head a Special Unit to prosecute wall street illegality. Now with any luck we will see some, hopefully many, of these greedy, manipulative pigs charged, tried, and if found guilty sentenced to prison and heavily fined for the damage they have done to our economy. Click the link to let AG Schneiderman know you support his mandate AND expect him and his staff to investigate and prosecute wall street to the MAX!!!!

Please forward this action alert to your friends!

BIG NEWS: President Obama announced last night that our friend Eric Schneiderman, New York's progressive Attorney General, will lead a new Special Unit to prosecute Wall Street illegality.
Let's show Eric that if he's willing to jail Wall Street bankers who broke the law and wrecked our economy, the American people will have his back.
Join over 25,000 others on our statement stating: "Bankers who broke the law must go to jail." Click here.
We'll deliver this statement directly to Eric -- to let him know that thousands of progressives across the country support bold action.
Even the banks themselves have confirmed Wall Street fraud and illegality existed. But there hasn't been any accountability -- only bailouts.
Eric Schneiderman single-handedly blocked a bad 50-state deal that would have given banks massive criminal and civil immunity for their lawbreaking.
And he's launched numerous hard-hitting investigations of Wall Street in New York. This new federal position gives him even more power to get the job done!
Click here to encourage Eric Schneiderman to be bold and jail Wall Street bankers who broke the law and destroyed lives.
Jailing the bankers would be a historic moment. We need to create the momentum to make it happen -- so please pass this email to others.
Thanks for being a bold progressive.
-- Adam Green, Jason Rosenbaum, Kristiane Skolmen, Jeff Budd, and the PCCC team

Obama: Middle class is under threat STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH 24JAN12

2012-01-24T22:56:00.001-05:00

A very good speech except his comments on Iran.....I hope that was just pandering to the right wing because another war will probably do us in. From the Washington Post....

Obama: Middle class is under threat

(Bill O'Leary / WASHINGTON POST)

Scott Wilson and David Nakamura DEC 6

None of the proposals constitutes a single bold stroke to revive the economy, but the heart of his message was that America’s wealthiest citizens must do more to cement the economic recovery and pull the country from its dire fiscal condition.

Obama’s pre-SOTU report card

Scott Clement 3:37 PM ET

President Obama received a decidedly mixed report card in a Washington Post-ABC News poll released last week.

Obama’s 2011 State of the Union: an accounting

The most memorable SOTU moments

Rachel Weiner 3:47 PM ET

Over the past 222 years of speeches, there have been lots of great moments. Here are the most memorable ones captured on video.

GOP strategy: A referendum on Obama

Paul Kane 2:15 PM ET

In advance of Tuesday’s State of the Union address, Republicans began laying the blame for prolonged joblessness at Obama’s feet.

White House releases full guest list

David Nakamura 2:22 PM ET

21 Americans will sit in first lady Michelle Obama’s box during the State of the Union address Tuesday night.

Mitch Daniels: What could have been

Aaron Blake JAN 23

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels will deliver the GOP response to President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night.

‘There is zero instant gratification’

Joel Achenbach 9:18 PM ET

On Sarasota’s Main Street, there’s little interest in watching the State of the Union address.

Mitt Romney offers a ‘prebuttal’

Dan Zak 3:31 PM ET

This is the fifth presidential election cycle in which the rhetorical tactic has been used.

Romney: Obama will not offer true State of the Union

Obama’s Cabinet hitting the road

Ed O'Keefe 7:45 PM ET

Various officials will visit states — particularly the purple ones — to tout plans unveiled in the address.

Vilsack is ‘designated survivor’

Will Republicans and Democrats sit together at the State of the Union?

Allen McDuffee JAN 23

For the State of the Union address, one think tank tries to get Republicans and Democrats to sit together.

The Fix: The history behind ‘date night’

More Headlines

Video

President Obama's promises | Fact Check Video (2:53)

JAN 23

President Obama detailed 25 proposals in his 2011 State of the Union address. Washington Post Fact Checker Glenn Kessler looks at how three of them fared over the past year.

Gallery

The State of the Union's history

JAN 22, 2011

Technology and partisanship have transformed the State of the Union over the past century.

The Plum Line by Greg Sargent

Bucknackt's Sordid Tawdry Blog

Arab League: Syria Observer Mission Halted 28JAN12 & SYRIA LIVE BLOG from AL JAZEERA 27-28JAN12

Syria Live Blog 27-28JAN12

Super Bowl Friday, TOUCHDOWN KIVA!!!!! 27JAN12

Success on the Field

Are you ready for some football?

Felipa Agueda

About the Country

Marlon

Additional information about this loan

Important information

About the Country

President Obama: Be on the Right Side of History in Egypt and Bahrain! from Human Rights First 25JAN12

Navy wants commando ‘mothership’ in Middle East 27JAN12 & Crude Oil and Total Petroleum Imports Top 15 Countries September 2011 Import Highlights 29NOV11

Obama Administration And Banks Near Deal On Mortgage Fraud Legal Liability

Habitat Update from Habitat for Humanity International 26JAN12

BOHICA!!!! GOP Candidates Debate Health Care, Pledge To Repeal 'Obamacare' 26JAN12

Why No Responsible Democrat Should Want Newt Gingrich To Get The GOP Nomination 26JAN12

Thank you! The pressure is working! Take action today. from IVAW 26JAN12

After two months of pressure from the Operation Recovery campaign, Fort Hood Commander announces he will hold a town hall

Help keep the pressure on by posting a message on Fort Hood's Facebook wall before tonight's virtual town hall event.

This virtual town hall is not perfect

Show your solidarity before tonight's town hall with a Facebook post.

Again, please make your Facebook post BEFORE 2:00 PM Pacific, 3:00 PM Mountain, 4:00 PM Central, or 5:00 PM Eastern.

Republican Racism is an Air Raid Siren, Not a Dog Whistle from SALON 18JAN12

THE SPIRIT OF THIS COUNTRY......THOMAS JEFFERSON

Newt’s no-win political appeal from SALON 25JAN12

The neo-Confederate wing of the GOP cares more about humiliating Obama than about beating him in November

REAL ESTATE TAX: A PROVISION OF HEALTH CARE LEGISLATION CREATES A 3.8% MEDICARE TAX ON REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS 26JAN12 & 24APR10

Real Estate Tax

Sources:

Kaine Criticizes Allen’s Irresponsible Pipeline Stance 24JAN12

We're Still at War: Photo of the Day for January 26, 2012 from MOTHER JONES

Newt Gingrich wrong in attack against media on open marriage question from the WASHINGTON POST 26JAN12

Prosecutor: Campaign Worker's Arrest Not Obama's Watergate from MOTHER JONES 26JAN12

If You Liked This, You Might Also Like...

Philippines may allow greater U.S. military presence in reaction to China’s rise 26JAN12

By Craig Whitlock

Urge Eric Schneiderman: Jail bankers who broke the law. from PCCC 25JAN12

Obama: Middle class is under threat STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH 24JAN12