Motley Moose – Archive

UPDATE: Tuesday, January 7th – Remarks by the President on the Importance of Extending Emergency Unemployment Insurance

From the transcript:

You heard Katherine’s story.  And she’s far more eloquent than I could ever be.  She wrote me last month to say, “Please let those who think I am sitting at home enjoying being unemployed know that I would much rather be working.”  And I had a chance to talk to Katherine, and I think it’s pretty clear that that’s the case.  Katherine went on to say, “I have applied to everything for which I am possibly qualified to no avail.  I have worked hard all my life, paid taxes, voted, engaged in political discussion, and made the ultimate sacrifice:  My two sons serve in the U.S. military.  Job loss is devastating, and if I could fix it myself, I would.  I challenge any lawmaker to live without an income.”  That’s what Katherine said.  It’s hard.  (Applause.)

So when we’ve got the mom of two of our troops, who is working hard out there, but is having to wear a coat inside the house, we’ve got a problem.  And it’s one that can be fixed.  

Found on the Internets …

The Cruel …

Democrats Make Last-Ditch Push To Bring Back Unemployment Benefits

When Congress returns from the holiday recess this week, Democrats will kick off the new session with a last-ditch push to renew emergency unemployment benefits that expired on Dec. 28.

But despite their cautious optimism, they face a tough slog as most Republicans have little desire to extend the benefits, which have already lapsed for some 1.3 million Americans who have been out of work for at least 26 weeks, and will expire for more in the coming months.

Senate Democrats have set up a test vote on Monday to extend unemployment compensation for three months. The bill is sponsored by Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Dean Heller (R-NV). Sixty senators are required to break an expected filibuster and it’s not clear there are that many votes.

Poverty Rate Would Be Nearly Twice As High Without Government Programs

Ron Johnson Suing To Cut Health Care Subsidies For Congress, Staff

Wisconsin Lawmaker Wants To Take Away Workers’ Weekends

… and the Bat Guano Crazy Unusual.

Gay Marriage Opponents Call For Uprising In Utah

The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association on Saturday organized a meeting in Highland, Utah to call for an uprising and to express their opposition to same-sex marriage in Utah, Fox 13 Now Salt Lake City reported.

“The people of Utah have rights, too, not just the homosexuals. The homosexuals are shoving their agenda down our throats,” Former Graham County, Ariz., Sheriff Richard Mack said at the meeting.[…]

“State sovereignty supercedes what this judge did,” Mack said. “The Governor needs to get some courage and grip.”

Josh Marshall: Trestin Meachum Watch

Yesterday I told you about Trestin Meacham, an idealistic young Utahan who is putting himself forth as the Gandhi of hating gay people, now two weeks into a hunger strike meant to compel Utah to “nullify” federal court decisions that allow gay marriage in the state. He’s even live-tweeting his fast. […]

It turns out Meacham isn’t just some young doofus upset about gay people. Or at least that’s not all he is. Back in 2012 he was a candidate for Utah state senate from the far-right US Taxpayers Party.

Privilege has its privileges …

Rep. Trey Radel To Take Leave Of Absence, Get Treatment

Just hours after pleading guilty on Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of cocaine possession, Rep. Trey Radel (R-FL) announced that he would take a leave of absence from Congress and seek treatment to deal with his problems.

After entering his guilty plea in Washington, D.C. Superior Court on Wednesday, Radel was sentenced to one year of supervised probation and ordered to pay a $250 fine to a victims’ compensation fund. If he successfully completes the probation, the court would then dismiss the case.

Read More: Pelosi Takes Shot At GOP Food Stamp Policy After Radel Drug Charge

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Tuesday that she hoped drug charges against Rep. Trey Radel (R-FL) could “humanize” Republicans’ approach to food stamps.

Speaking at a BuzzFeed Brews event, Pelosi noted that when Radel allegedly purchased cocaine from an undercover federal agent on Oct. 29, the buy came “on the heels of the Republicans voting to make sure that everybody who had access to food stamps was drug tested.”

Good news from Massachusetts …

Massachusetts State Senators Approve Nation’s Highest Minimum Wage

The Massachusetts state Senate passed a bill on Tuesday that would raise the state’s minimum wage to $11 an hour and ensure future automatic increases tied to inflation. If it were to pass the state House and be signed into law by the governor, it would be the highest state minimum wage in the country.

Federal lawmakers have pushed for a minimum wage hike for the whole country, with President Obama recently coming out in favor of a $10.10 an hour wage, something that Democrats introduced in March but was unanimously shot down by Republicans.

A federal hike enjoys strong support, with one poll showing 80 percent in favor of a raise to $10.10, including two-thirds of Republicans, and another showing 76 percent support a $9 wage, including nearly 60 percent of Republicans.

Bad News for the Currently Hungry: Food Stamp Cuts Leave Rural Areas, And Their Grocers, Reeling

(More news under the fold …)

How We Got Here: A Timeline Of The Syria Chemical Weapons Saga

While the White House insists in public that no decisions have yet been made, it seems increasingly likely that the U.S. will join in with several of its allies in launching limited punitive strikes against Syria for the use of chemical weapons against civilians. While the wisdom of setting so clear a trigger for action has been questioned since Obama first set chemical weapons use as a so-called “red-line,” the international norm against their use has been growing since the horrors of mustard gas were first observed in World War I.

Read More: From NPR: Striking Syria Still Seems A Question Of When, Not Whether

Read More: British Parliament Closes Door On Syria Intervention

Read More: White House Briefs Congressional Leaders On Syria

Read More: Wesley Clark: Syria vs. Kosovo

Merrill Lynch Set To Pay Largest Racial Discrimination Settlement Ever

Eight years after a group of black financial advisers filed a lawsuit alleging their bosses systematically steered the most profitable business to white employees, Merrill Lynch is preparing to pay the largest racial discrimination settlement ever. […]

Merrill’s specific history aside, the financial world as a whole is an inhospitable place for women and minorities. Both groups remain hugely underrepresented in management positions within the industry, with minorities holding just one in ten management positions. The 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform law included new requirements for both racial and gender diversity at private financial firms and government regulatory offices.

President To Issue New Executive Orders On Guns

The White House says President Obama will issue two new executive orders on guns – one to curb the import of military surplus weapons and another that closes a loophole allowing some felons to get around background checks.[…]

According to the statement, “felons, domestic abusers, and others prohibited from having guns” can skirt background checks by registering the weapon as a trust or corporation.

“The proposed rule requires individuals associated with trusts or corporations that acquire these types of weapons to undergo background checks, just as these individuals would if the weapons were registered to them individually,” the statement says.

Read More: Biden Hints At 2014 Push To Elect Gun Control Advocates To Congress

Read More: Why It’s Easier To Buy An Assault Weapon Than To Vote, In One Graphic

Republicans in the news …

Maine Town Official Visited By Secret Service For Racially Charged Obama Post

David Marsters, a retired Massachusetts police officer and a candidate for selectman in Sabattus, Maine, posted a photo of Obama along with a link to a story about a Republican push to impeach the president at 8:17 p.m. Friday, writing “Shoot the N***er” above it, according to the newspaper.

He said he told the Secret Service agents who questioned him that he didn’t intend to threaten the president.

Marsters told the Press Herald in a telephone interview that his post was taken out of context.

How The Uber-Conservative John Cornyn Ticked Off The Tea Party

On paper, the Republican minority whip is an unusual target for Tea Party guns. Cornyn has been one of the most conservative members of the Senate since he was first elected to the chamber in 2002. National Journal ranks Cornyn the second most conservative member of the Senate. He has an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association, has won multiple awards from the anti-tax group Americans for Tax Reform, has a 0 percent rating from the pro-choice NARAL and a 100 percent rating from the National Right To Life Committee.

That’s not good enough for some Tea Partiers now.

Tea Party groups’ ire centers on Cornyn’s decision in late July to remove his signature from a letter by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) expressing strong support to defund Obamacare in any debt limit or government funding bill. Cornyn was one of a number of senators who had originally signed the letter a few days before he changed his mind and removed his signature.

Heritage’s Fun With ‘Defund Obamacare’ Polling Numbers

The Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank that has been a leader in the Defund Obamacare movement, appeared to go through a small crisis in the last 24 hours over just what percentage of Americans support their cause.

Wednesday morning, Heritage debuted a poster asking if “you” were a part of the 57 percent of Americans who support defunding Obamacare. That same morning, the Kaiser Family Foundation, one of the most respected health policy think tanks, released a monthly tracking poll that found the exact opposite: 57 percent of Americans opposed defunding the health care reform law.

Facts, Schmacts! We don’t need no stinkin’ facts!!!

More Lousy Poll Numbers For Pennsylvania Gov. Corbett

Only 20 percent said Corbett deserves re-election, down from 25 percent in the May poll. The latest poll showed 69 percent of Pennsylvania voters believe it’s time for a change.

In fact, Corbett is struggling to win support from his own party, with only 38 percent of Pennsylvania Republicans saying he deserves a second term. Only 30 percent of in-state Republicans rate his performance as “excellent” or “good.”

Quick Takes …

OOPS: Senator Who Advocates Arming Teachers Accidentally Shoots Teacher With Rubber Bullet

The experience gave [Arkansas Sen. Jeremy] Hutchinson “some pause” but failed to shake his confidence in the plan.

NFL, Retirees Reach $765M Settlement On Concussions Suits

The NFL and more than 4,500 retired players have reached an agreement calling for the league to contribute $765 million to a fund that will pay “medical and other benefits, as well as compensation” to those who suffered concussions and related injuries during their careers.

Justice Department Won’t Challenge State Marijuana Laws, Major Shift In Law Enforcement Policy

U.S. Government Will Recognize Same-Sex Couples For Tax Purposes

Judge Apologizes For Saying 14-Year-Old Rape Victim Was Just As In Control As Rapist Teacher

Study Finds Obamacare Won’t Hike Workers’ Premiums: ‘The Rate-Shock Concerns Were Overblown’

Poll: McAuliffe Leads Unpopular Cuccinelli By 7

John Lewis At March On Washington: ‘I’m Not Going To Stand By And Let The Supreme Court Take The Right To Vote Away’

Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) – who was the youngest speaker during the March on Washington in 1963 – delivered a passionate address about the importance of protecting voting rights at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial fifty years later, as thousands gathered to celebrate the anniversary of the historic event on Saturday.

Read More: WaPo Editorial: Fighting for the Franchise

Read More: DOJ to Texas: Voter Suppression Will Not Stand

Read More: Unfinished Business Marks March On Washington 50th Anniversary

A Guide To The Nation’s Most Vulnerable Governors

Democrats Jerry Brown and Andrew Cuomo look like safe bets for re-election in California and New York, respectively. And, despite the pending retirement of Rick Perry, Republicans are confident of maintaining their hold on the governor’s mansion in Texas.

But Florida, Pennsylvania and Illinois all feature embattled incumbents whose reelection campaigns will easily cost tens of millions of dollars. Michigan GOP Gov. Rick Snyder could also face a real contest.

In all, 36 states will be voting for governor in 2014. All but a handful will feature incumbents favored for re-election.

OOPS: Obamacare Opponent Is Very Impressed With The Law He Hates So Much

After [Kentucky public health workee Reina] Diaz-Dempsey explained that he will either qualify for tax credits to buy insurance through Kynect (the state’s new insurance marketplace) or an expanded Medicaid pool in October, the man seemed pleased and mused, “This beats Obamacare, I hope.”

Kynect is actually one of the statewide insurance marketplaces at the heart of Obamacare, and the Medicaid expansion is another provision that stems from the health reform law. But Diaz-Dempsey doesn’t tell the man that – figuring the connection to Obamacare might actually dissuade him from pursuing coverage in a state with terrible public health demographics, where one in every five adults is uninsured.

Read More: Parts of ACA More Popular Than The Whole

Black Lung Has Been On The Rise For Years, But A Long-Delayed Rule Might Finally Stop It

As cases of black lung surge in coal country, the Obama administration may finally be moving forward with a long-delayed rule to protect coal miners from the deadly disease. On Thursday, a notice posted on the administration’s Office of Management and Budget website said a final version of the rule was sent to the White House on Wednesday.

The new rule, first proposed in October 2010, aims to reduce miners’ exposure to coal dust. The dust causes the irreversible and potentially fatal black lung disease, which has been on the rise in recent years. The rule would seek to tighten allowable levels of coal dust exposure, as well as require continuous personal dust monitors for miners and change how companies monitor dust exposure.

Republicans being Republicans …

New Jersey Senate Candidate To Single Mothers: Stop Relying On Food Stamps And Go To Work!

Six Colorado Counties Will Vote To Secede And Form North Colorado

Senator Claims Pentagon Policy Allowing Gays To Marry Harms Straight Couples

GOP Sen. Coburn: Obama Getting ‘Perilously Close’ To Impeachable Offenses

Found on the Internets …

The 7 Types Of Republicans And How To Debate Them

If you’ve ever spent time trying to discuss politics with a Republican you’ve probably noticed that there are several different types of Republicans, all with their own unique debating style. In this article I’m going to attempt to break down the seven types of Republicans, what’s wrong with their views, and how you should debate them. I’ll start with the most intelligent, and work my way down.

The Educated Republicans:

These are the rarest of all Republicans. Occasionally you will run into one in public or in a public forum online. These Republicans can be the most difficult to deal with. They have learned everything there is to know about their position… from a Republican perspective. They’ve educated themselves on all the reasons why their position is correct, and are not concerned with anything that contradicts their beliefs.

Thirty-three of the arrested Solidarity Singers request jury trials

The protesters have gathered almost every day for the last two years to sing against Republican Gov. Scott Walker. Police began arresting them last month after a federal judge ruled that officers can require groups of more than 20 to get a permit to gather in the building.

The protesters refuse to apply for permits, saying they shouldn’t need the government’s permission to protest the government. They say the First Amendment protects their rights to free speech and assembly, and they also say that because they’re not an organized group no one can assume responsibility for any damages to the building, as a permit would require.

Are College Costs Reaching a Breaking Point?

Next week President Obama will swing through four college towns on a bus tour, promoting ways to reduce higher education costs. The growing attention to universities’ soaring prices is pushing some private colleges to a tuition tipping point, according to Standard & Poor’s Rating Services. In a new report, S&P said costs have risen so much, “many of their customers can’t afford tuition without significant financial aid.” If some schools don’t keep their tuition under control, they’ll shoot themselves in the foot and face the need for more drastic cost-cutting, such as layoffs, and potential mergers or closures, S&P says.

Republicans in Disarray …

Can the GOP Fix Its Woman Problem in Time to Fight Clinton?

“In the last election, Governor Romney won among married women by 11 percentage points, but he lost among single women by a whopping 36 points. With single women making up 40 percent of the voters, well, you can do the math. And the president won women by 11 points,” said RNC Co-Chair Sharon Day in her remarks at the panel. “The bottom line is we’ve got to make the case for more women leaders in this party.”

Read More: Amid Struggle For ‘Soul’ Of GOP, Libertarians Take Limelight

Read More: 10 Ways Republicans Have Blown Their Own Minority Outreach Strategy

Read More: Conservatives Revolt As GOP Tries To Calm Obamacare Shutdown Mania

Read More: Scott Brown Heading To Iowa To Gauge Interest In His ‘Brand Of Leadership’

Read More: RNC Unanimously Passes Resolution, No Debates For NBC Or CNN

Quick Takes …

Tennessee Republican tells girl her father has to be deported as tea party crowd cheers

Sorry, Oklahoma – Federal Court Says State Cannot Write Anti-Islamic Bigotry Into Its Constitution

In Rural N.C., New Voter ID Law Awakens Some Old Fears

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Republicans in Disarray …

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Quick Takes …

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