OOPS! Texas Just Annexed Juarez, Mexico!

Texas Governor Rick Perry may want to brush up on his geography.

According to Politico, the Lone Star State Republican and chairman of the Republican Governors Association inaccurately called Juarez, Mexico "the most dangerous city in America" when speaking with reporters on Monday. The gaffe reportedly came in a criticism Perry made against the Obama administration for its handling of issues related to border security.

HERE

Indiana Gov. Daniels Says Governments Should Slash Spending 'Even if They End up Seriously Costing a Lot of Jobs'

When asked earlier this month about the job loss that would occur if the continuing resolution passed by House Republicans were actually implemented, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) replied “so be it.” “We’re broke. It’s time for us to get serious about how we’re spending the nation’s money,” he said.

And Boehner is evidently not the only one who feels that budget cuts should be imposed with complete disregard for their effect on employment. In an interview with NPR’s Steve Inskeep today, Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN) was asked if budget cuts should still go forward, even if they would result in widespread job loss, and replied “yes”.

HERE

Michael Moore: We Face a Global War on the Middle Class

Regular people across the world are standing up to elites and saying "No!" to the future they have planned for us.

HERE

Once Again, Fox Masquerades GOP Activist As Concerned Parent To Attack Unions

This morning, Fox & Friends hosted an "upset Wisconsin parent" to discuss her objection to Wisconsin public schools' teaching of labor union history. Left unsaid during the segment: The parent, Amber Hahn, is also a local GOP official.

This is now the second time Fox has masqueraded a GOP activist as a concerned parent to attack unions. As Media Matters noted on February 18, Your World guest host Chris Cotter interviewed "Wisconsin parent" Dave Westlake to attack teachers for calling in sick to protest, resulting in some schools in Madison, Wisconsin, being closed. Not noted was the fact that Westlake ran for Senate in Wisconsin, losing in the GOP primary.

HERE

Workers' Uprising: Americans Overwhelmingly on Public Workers' Side, Republicans Defect from Walker's Scorched-Earth Tactics

Americans oppose weakening the bargaining rights of public employee unions by a margin of nearly two to one: 60 percent to 33 percent. While a slim majority of Republicans favored taking away some bargaining rights, they were outnumbered by large majorities of Democrats and independents who said they opposed weakening them. Those surveyed said they opposed, 56 percent to 37 percent, cutting the pay or benefits of public employees to reduce deficits, breaking down along similar party lines. A majority of respondents who have no union members living in their households opposed both cuts in pay or benefits and taking away the collective bargaining rights of public employees.

HERE

War On The Middle Class

According to Moody's chief economist Mark Zandi -- who the Washington Post reports "has advised both political parties" -- Republican plans to slash government spending will impact the GDP in such a way that would eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs this year and the next.

From the report:

The House Republicans' proposal would reduce 2011 real GDP growth by 0.5% and 2012 growth by 0.2 percentage points This would mean some 400,000 fewer jobs created by the end of 2011 and 700,000 fewer jobs by the end of 2012.

...the Moody's report is the second outside report in recent days to find that the Republican's slash-and-burn spending strategy (necessitated in part by pressure from the GOP's tea party wing) will slow the economy dramatically while it's still struggling to recover from the 2008 financial crisis.

ABC News reported last week on a confidential Goldman Sachs report which found the Republican budget "would be a drag on the economy, cutting economic growth by about two percent of GDP."

MOODY'S

ABC NEWS

Batshit Crazy ALERT!

Glenn Beck: Some Muslims Want To Bring About The Antichrist

Glenn Beck theorized that some Muslims are trying to bring about the equivalent of the Antichrist on his Thursday show.

Beck claimed that he was bringing the issue up because Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt both believe in the Twelfth Imam--a figure in Shia Islam who Beck and his guest, author Joel Richardson, said bore a disturbing resemblance to the Biblical Antichrist.

Beck and Richardson (who has written a book called "The Islamic Antichrist" that "makes the case that the biblical Antichrist is one and the same as the Quran's Muslim Mahdi"), cast the Twelfth Imam as a messiah (or Mahdi) who would bring about Judgment Day--but not before years of bloodshed and chaos which Beck told his audience people like the Iranian regime and the Muslim Brotherhood were trying to hasten.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/18/glenn-beck-muslims-antichrist_n_824963.html

Florida Gov. Absurdly Refuses Rail Funding, Enraging His Fellow Floridians

The federal government had already allocated over $2 billion for a high-speed rail project linking Tampa and Orlando. With Florida's 12% unemployment rate, the project was poised to give the state a much needed boost -- creating tens of thousands of jobs and boosting economic development, with practically no investment needed from the state government.

Yesterday, for reasons that no one can explain, Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) announced he'd refuse to accept the money and would instead allow the jobs to go to some other state.    Read more

Glenn Beck's Latest Paranoid Conspiracy Target: Google

Watch this bizarre rant from Glenn Beck as captured by Mediate, in which he conflates his distaste for Egypt's hero (and Google executive) Wael Ghonim , paranoia about the U.S.government being in league with Google, and some old criticism of "Google Buzz" to air his suspicion for the internet company which stops short of outright boycott.

And of course, he throws in some George Soros scaremongering into this pastiche as well.

BULLETIN: Mary Matalin accuses TEACHERS of child abuse!!!

I heard it on CNN just now!

The unkindest cut of all?

Republican promises to defund the Affordable Care Act and, perhaps, turn Medicare into a voucher scheme are getting a lot of attention right now. And rightly so. But the Republicans are also proposing a more immediate cut in health care spending--one that could impose real hardship on a population that can ill afford to bear it.

Specifically, the House Republicans propose to reduce federal funding for the health clinics known as "federally qualified community health centers." The change would take effect in the very near future, since it's part of the House Republican proposal for financing government operations through the end of this fiscal year.

If you want to get a sense of what I'm talking about, take a look at the St. John's Well Child and Family Center in South Central Los Angeles. Services there include dental care, parent workshops, literacy programs for children entering school, and so on. On one of my visits to St. John's a few years ago, a staffer told me that clinic workers were visiting patient homes to inspect for environmental hazards. Cockroaches nestling inside children's ears had apparently become a major problem, to say nothing of asthma and lead poisoning that are bona fide epidemics in that community.

If the case for funding these clinics seems a bit too bleeding heart for your sensibilities, consider that uninsured people who don't get primary care tend to end up in the emergency room, contributing to overcrowding and generating bills that hospitals eventually pass onto everybody else. That's one reason community clinics have traditionally enjoyed bipartisan support. In fact, it was the one health care program for low-income Americans that the Bush Administration endorsed consistently and enthusiastically, with dollars as well as words: "This is a really good use of taxpayers' money," Bush said at one point. "It makes a lot of sense to have Community Health Centers so that we can cut down on unnecessary visits to the emergency rooms. Health centers help lower the cost of health care for everyone.”

HERE.

Tea Party congresswoman proposes cuts to veterans' services

Michele Bachman, who else...

Tea Party is no friend of veterans

The first thing you will see when you go to teaparty.org is an image of soldiers in the upper-left corner. The slogan, “Tea Party Vets For God and Country” is emblazoned above the soldiers' images. Below the soldiers are the words "Support the Troops." Based on this, one might believe that the Tea Party is dedicated to meeting the needs of soldiers and veterans.

Why then is Tea Party heroine and newly elected U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) putting forward a plan that would freeze health care funding for the already underfunded Department of Veteran affairs? She is also proposing cutting $4.5 billion in disability to military veterans. Why on earth would a person who is the vanguard spokeswoman of the Tea Party work to cut care for wounded veterans while her party claims to support the troops? The truth is the Tea Party does not support us.

The Tea Party promotes the idea that it supports the troops and veterans because this creates an image that pulls on people's heartstrings. The Tea Party has created a “revolutionary” image; its very name evokes a historic event in the U.S. revolution. They speak of “freedom,” and that appeals to veterans who are trying to make sense of the Iraq and Afghan occupations, who are trying to understand why they are being deployed multiple times.

But what kind of “freedom” does the Tea Party really stand for?

The Tea Party poses itself as a grassroots people's movement that acts in the interests of “average Americans.” But in reality, the Tea Party acts in the interests of the super-rich and giant corporations.

HERE.

Veterans and GIs to the Wisconsin National Guard: ‘Stand with the workers and students!’

Open letter HERE.

Walker Manufactured Wisconsin’s So-Called Budget Crisis

Wisconsin's new Republican governor has framed his assault on public worker's collective bargaining rights as a needed measure of fiscal austerity during tough times.

The reality is radically different. Unlike true austerity measures -- service rollbacks, furloughs, and other temporary measures that cause pain but save money -- rolling back worker's bargaining rights by itself saves almost nothing on its own. But Walker's doing it anyhow, to knock down a barrier and allow him to cut state employee benefits immediately.

Furthermore, this broadside comes less than a month after the state's fiscal bureau -- the Wisconsin equivalent of the Congressional Budget Office -- concluded that Wisconsin isn't even in need of austerity measures, and could conclude the fiscal year with a surplus. In fact, they say that the current budget shortfall is a direct result of tax cut policies Walker enacted in his first days in office.

HERE.

Long Island Faith Leaders Call On Peter King To Cancel ‘Muslim Radicalization’ Hearings

As Rep. Peter King (R-NY) prepares to hold a congressional inquiry into the “radicalization of the American Muslim community and homegrown terrorism,” faith leaders in and around his district are forcefully asking him to cancel the hearings. Over 80 representatives of Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu congregations on Long Island signed a letter to King expressing their concern that his hearings will “only further divide our community and undermine our nation’s highest ideals.”

While King has said he does not “want anything said at my hearing that could justify someone throwing a brick at a mosque,” his isolation of Muslim extremism as the only domestic terror threat, along with a history of troubling statements about Islam — he once said there are “too many mosques in this country” — concerns the faith leaders:

Protecting our nation requires allegiance to the fundamental values that give life to our democracy. A commitment to pluralism and respect for diversity are strengths in the fight against terrorism. We agree that law enforcement must find practical solutions to stop terrorism, whether these threats come from religious or nonreligious extremists. Muslim-Americans have consistently denounced terrorism and worked closely with law enforcement to prevent violence. Building and maintaining trust with the Muslim community is crucial to furthering this cooperation, and we fear your hearings will only sow greater distrust and division at a time when unity and moral courage are needed.

A more constructive approach to strengthening the bonds of trust that bolster our security and protect our values would be convening a dialogue among faith leaders, law enforcement and elected officials such as yourself. It is with a spirit of goodwill and sincere hope that we propose beginning such an initiative with you.

King has already dialed back some of the more blatantly Islamophobic aspects of his hearings. He cancelled planned testimony from witness who believes “Islam is a cult,” and is refusing to call several hateful right-wing fearmongers despite some conservative pressure to do so.

Nevertheless, his narrowly focused inquiry is still potential red meat for an impressionable segment of Americans who hold anti-Muslim sentiments.

HERE.

Wisconsin Protests: State Police Pursue Democratic Lawmakers Boycotting Vote

Wisconsin Democrats on Thursday fled the statehouse in an effort to prevent legislators from reaching a quorum and passing a bill put forth by Gov. Scott Walker (R), which would cripple the collective bargaining rights of public unions.

The move produced a frantic political drama, as state troopers were reportedly sent out to find the fleeing lawmakers and Walker hinted that the National Guard would be called in to fill the void left by protesting union workers.

One Democratic senator told the Milwaukee-WIsconsin Journal Sentinel that most of the members of his caucus had already crossed state lines.

Their flight further heightened the drama that has surrounded the Wisconsin statehouse this week. On Wednesday there were an estimated 30,000 peacefully rallying in front of the state capitol building, and on Thursday that number is expected to be even higher.

HERE.

Ohio, Other States Gear Up For Wisconsin-Like Fights Over Worker Rights

Over the course of a week, national attention has turned to Wisconsin. There, a definitional battle between Democratic backed state workers and anti-union Republicans will play out over the course of days, amid the most impassioned protests the country has seen since the anti-health care rallies of August 2009.

But just across the Great Lakes in nearby Ohio, where Republicans swept control of government in November, a similar fight is brewing.

But the situations in Wisconsin and Ohio are not isolated incidents. There are similar efforts in nascent stages just about everywhere Republicans took control of one or more branches of government: Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, and to a lesser degree in Maine and Pennsylvania.

What happens in the states like Wisconsin leading the anti-union fight will have a tremendous influence on whether similar efforts are successful in other states.

HERE.

Scenes from the class war... and what it looks like when we fight back!

http://www.facebook.com/RepublicanDirtyTricks

And:

http://blog.aflcio.org/2011/02/16/wisconsin-rally-for-workers-grows-to-30000/

John Boehner On Entitlement Cuts: 'Everything Is On The Table'

Everything except tax cuts for the rich, which will cost the Nation $830 billion in upcoming years.

House Republicans remain divided on whether their upcoming budget for fiscal year 2012 will include cuts to government entitlement programs, but Speaker John Boehner suggested Tuesday that reductions in Social Security and Medicare funding were indeed possible.

HERE.

The Right continues to fear-monger about freedom in the Middle East

Once upon a time, the Right claimed our military actions in the Middle East were to build freedom in the Middle East. Now that citizens are taking measures into their own hands to build freedom in the Middle East, the Right wing is changing its tune. Freedom is extremism, they now say. Hmm. Maybe our actions in the Middle East have never really been about freedom and democracy? 'Ya think???

The bottom line: there is at least a 50 percent chance, if not more, that a candidate from the Muslim Brotherhood or a party with a generally similar approach and orientation will win the next (Egyptian) presidential election.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/02/10/muslim-brotherhood-win/#ixzz1E3DjiW4B

http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/4539665/what-influence-does-muslim-brotherhood-have-in-egypt?playlist_id=87073