ProgressiveDem
"Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. " Eleanor Roosevelt
ProgressiveDem

FYII, Thursday, March 28, 2012

"American anniversaries from hell...what you don't know can hurt you"

"Barack Obama's economic legacy: the billionaire boosting big four on his wish list"


"Top Pentagon thinker bemoans 'civilian subjugation to the military"

"Austerity lovers in D.C., austerity haters at home and "Surprising studies find that DC does what wealthiest want, majority opposes"

"Fracking the first amendment"

Sen. Bernie Sanders: End the stranglehold on our democracy by banks too big to fail or jail

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has challenged AG Eric (I'm for the rich banksters) Holder.

Ruth Conniff at The Progressive writes:

"Senator Bernie Sanders challenged Attorney General Eric Holder in a speech on the Senate floor today.

" 'Taking on Holder's statement that the Justice Department may not pursue criminal cases against big banks because filing charges could "have a negative impact on the national economy, perhaps even the world economy,' " Sanders declared that it is time to end the banks' stranglehold on our democracy.

"In other words,' " Sanders said, " 'we have a situation now where Wall Street banks are not only too big to fail, they are too big to jail." The Obama Administration should think long and hard about that, he added, "because America is based on a system of law.' "

"Sanders announced he would introduce legislation to break up the largest financial institutions. The top six of these, he pointed out (J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley) have assets equal to two-thirds of the nation's gross domestic product.

"Sanders's bill would give Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew 90 days to compile a list of commercial banks, investment banks, hedge funds and insurance companies that he deems too big to fail. The affected financial institutions would include "any entity that has grown so large that its failure would have a catastrophic effect on the stability of either the financial system or the United States economy without substantial government assistance."

"Within one year after the law takes effect, the Treasury Department would be required to break up those banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions identified by the secretary.

"' If an institution is too big to fail, it is too big to exist,' " Sanders said. " 'No single financial institution should be so large that its failure would cause catastrophic risk to millions of American jobs or to our nation's economic wellbeing. No single financial institution should have holdings so extensive that its failure could send the world economy into crisis,' " Sanders said. " 'We need to break up these institutions because of the tremendous damage they have done to our economy.' "

FYII, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

"Chicago is ground zero for disastrous 'free market' reforms of education"

"Corporate kangaroo courts supplant our seventh amendment rights"

"Cyprus has the global money elite's fingerprints all over it"

"Howard Dean launches campaign to flip state legislatures"

"The Court's gay marriage confusion" and "As the Supreme Court considers DOMA, Boehner goes mum"

Poor Biological Health Plagues More Than Half US Rivers and Streams

The latest EPA report says that more than half the rivers in the US are in "poor shape."

From the Washington Post: "More than half of the country’s rivers and streams are in poor biological health, unable to support healthy populations of aquatic insects and other creatures, according to a nationwide survey released Tuesday. << MORE >>

FYII, Monday, March 25, 2013

"Washington policy-makers say the deficit is the greatest threat to the US economy. In reality, it's the failure of banking reform"

".....Five ugly extremes of inequality"

"Has everyone improved except working people?"

"Call it what it is: A class war"

"State level tax cuts don't boost job growth, study says"

Corporate Blame It On The Workers Continuing Lie

We've highlighted many times on this blog corporate honchos and their political puppets blaming workers for the economic crisis----a myth and a lie.<< MORE >>

FYII, Thursday, March 21, 2013

"Democrats flirt with disaster as they put Social Security cuts and Medicare changes 'on the table' "

"The price of evil at JP Morgan Chase"

"Can the Democratic Party survive an Obama-Boehner Grand Bargain?"

"Corporate America toys with desperate job applicants"

"State Dept. hid contractor's ties to Keystone XL pipeline company"

Dems Like These Are Killing The New Deal, The Great Society, etc

And these are supposed to be Democrats.......they are DINOs not Dems! They stand for government of, by, and for the rich and money. << MORE >>

FYII, Wednesday, March 20, 2013

"Snyder's coup"

"Obama's transparent deception on special- interest money"

"Gun bill gutted by gutless senators"

"Obama in Israel: preserving an untenable status quo"

"Steubenville shows the bond between jock culture and rape culture"

MLB Owners' Greed Starting Baseball Season

According to the calender (certainly not the temperature in many parts of the country), today is the first day of spring which means baseball's opening day for 2013 is just around the corner. And a majority of avaricious MLB owners are channeling Gordon Gekko and considering abolishing their non-uniform wearing employees' pensions.<< MORE >>

FYII, Tuesday, March 19, 2013

" 'Simply unacceptable': US gets D+ for infrastructure"

"Way worse than a dumb war: Iraq ten years later"

"Democrats share the blame for tragedy of Iraq war"

"In the war on the poor, Pope Francis is on the wrong side"

"Cyprus bank panic: It can't happen here----or can it?"

Keeping American Voters In The Dark

Has all that information about the "Back to Work" budget from the Congressional Progressive Caucus been illuminating? What "Back to Work" budget, you ask? Well, you would have heard about it, except for the deliberate blackout on that budget by the media and Washington insiders.<< MORE >>

FYII, Monday, March 18, 2013

"Fight for the only budget plan that matters"

"Chavez's death , like his life, shows the world's divisions"

"New Labor Secretary pick"

"Donating to the DCCC means helping Dems who vote like Republicans"

"What happened to the US press corps?"

Other Voices in the Steubenville Rape Case

Other voices in the Steubenville rape case:

From Think Progress: 

"When the guilty verdict was announced in the Steubenville rape case on Sunday, journalists had to figure out how they would frame the story. Perhaps because of the lack of details about the unnamed 16-year-old “Jane Doe” victim, the collective media narrative became centered on her assailants.

"Stories about the case relied far too heavily on the public details about the defendants, 17-year-old Trent Mays and 16-year-old Ma’lik Richmond, to set up a sympathetic portrayal of two bright young football stars whose lives have been ruined by the criminal justice system. By emphasizing the boys’ good grades and bright futures, as well as by describing the victim as “drunk” without clarifying that the defendants were also drinking, many mainstream media outlets became active participants in furthering victim-blaming rape culture........"

And from Atrios:

"Being drunk (and possibly drugged by others) does not give other people license to do what they want with your body. I thought we all understood that now.

"Having said that, I'm glad the perpetrators were tried of juveniles. Of course lots of other juveniles who should be tried as juveniles are tried as adults. I don't think - and Teh Science seems to support this - that teenage brains are anything near wired up correctly yet. That doesn't mean there should be no punishments for egregious crimes, just that it is best that we have this thing called the Juvenile Justice System that is separate from the adult system.
 

"My brain wasn't wired up right when I was a teenager. I'd certainly like to think I wouldn't have done what these kids did. I'm pretty sure that's true. Sadly, if I had been there and been 15, I'm not sure I would have seen it as being as bad an act as it was, and I certainly can't claim to know that I would have done anything to intervene. Maybe I'm selling my teenage self short. But I don't know."

FYII, Friday, March 15, 2013

"Why we need a financial speculation tax"

"From the folks who brought you NAFTA"......and "what's at stake for our health, our environment, our economy"

"Eric Holder enables dishonesty, fraud and likely criminal activity on Wall Street"

"Dirty war questions for Pope Francis"

"Bureaucracy v. Bradley Manning"

A Decade After the Iraq War Invasion, Report Debunks Claims That Costs Were Worth It

Read it and weep: the costs of Bush-Cheney's illegal war of aggression in Iraq<< MORE >>

FYII, Thursday, March 14, 2013

"Obama's secrecy fixation causing Sunshine Week implosion"

"US claims no indefinite detention at Guantanamo"

"One nation, under sequester"

"Big bank immunity: When do we crack down on Wall Street?"

"Chavez succeeded where Obama failed"

Other Voices on Pope Francis I

Shortly after the announcement of former Pope Benedict's resignation, Frances Kissling wrote an interesting piece in The Nation. The editors noted that in her article "she argued that merely electing a pope from Africa or from Latin America wouldn't be enough to spur the fundamental changes the Catholic Church desperately needs." << MORE >>

FYII, Wednesday, March 13, 2013

When you act like a DINO aka Republican........"Obama's poll numbers drop"

"Critics: Ryan's GOP Austerity Budget Only Dangerous if Democrats Play Along"

" 'The Dow' vs. 'The Doug': On Getting Kicked While the Richest Get Richer"

"Paul Ryan's budget wants to make rich people richer"

"Child abuse abuse cases covered up by papal elector (Cardinal Mahony) are settled in $10m deal"

"House Democrats demand Obama release full legal basis' for drone strikes"

"Once upon a time, corporations paid taxes"

Where are the Pitchforks​, Pots and Pans?

Plain, direct straight talk: "Corporate America's message to taxpayers: Fuck you"

From Jonathan Tasini at Working Life:

"We don’t give a fuck about you. That message is sponsored and paid for by U.S. corporations — no matter the utterly phony bullshit use of American flags or homey cultural images that you might see in advertising. They just do not care.

"That analysis is pretty clear thanks to the radical left wing rag, The Wall Street Journal:

U.S. companies are making record profits. And more of the money is staying offshore, and lightly taxed.

A Wall Street Journal analysis of 60 big U.S. companies found that, together, they parked a total of $166 billion offshore last year. That shielded more than 40% of their annual profits from U.S. taxes, though it left the money off-limits for paying dividends, buying back shares or making investments in the U.S. The 60 companies were chosen for the analysis because each of them had held at least $5 billion offshore in 2011.

And:

Within the group of 60 companies, the Journal found 10 that parked more earnings offshore last year than they generated for their bottom lines. They include Abbott Laboratories, whose store of untaxed overseas earnings rose by $8.1 billion, to $40 billion. The increase exceeded the pharmaceutical maker’s net income of $6 billion, which was weighed down by a $1.4 billion charge related to early repayment of debt. Including that charge, Abbott reported a pretax loss on its U.S. operations.

"See, here’s the game. These leeches pay people crap wages everywhere, sell people products, pocket the profits, park the profits overseas, and, then, they whine and scream about the alleged high tax rates in the U.S. — even though corporate tax rates here are actually quite low compared to other industrialized countries — and demand a tax holiday, and promise to use the money they “repatriate” to create new jobs, at the crap wages they pay (and the whole repatriation argument is a scam.)

"All the while CEO par and benefits rises.

"This is robbery. But, they really don’t care. It’s a big fuck-you to every American. A big fuck-you enabled by the corrupt political system that allows the buying of politicians via campaign contributions, which, in turn, buys the tax laws that enable the…big fuck-you."

Unfortunately, struggling Americans have been kicked, battered and beaten down by this system so there won't be any righteously angry taxpayers with pitchforks banging pots and pans protesting this massive, unjust, unfair inequality.

Third Time A Charm?

Third time is supposed to be a charm.  After a third bout with a terrible cold, which kept ProgressiveDem offline for a few weeks---February was a lost month-----medication and rest seem to have finally been successful and we're back online this week.  Glad that spring is just around the corner.

FYII, Friday, February 15, 2013

"Obama, the US and the Muslim world: the animosity deepens"

"Another giveaway to the banksters"

"Obama's $9 per hour minimum wage"

"The great wealth robbery"

"Ecuador's New Deal: Nothing succeeds like success"

"Venezuelan president gives heating aid to US poor"

Unfair Tax Preference​s for Corporatio​ns

Talk about unfairness; listen up taxpayers, especially Facebook customers. Facebook paid no federal or state income taxes last year despite making more than $1 Billion in profits. Guess who is forced to shoulder that tax burden? You. Another example of control of this country by the corporatocracy which screws regular, struggling taxpayers<< MORE >>

FYII, Thursday, February 14, 2013

"As the nation spent the week debating the CIA assassination program, Obama lawyers exploit secrecy to shield it from all review"

"Remember growth?"

"The state of the progressive union 2013"

"Congress can block postal austerity and save Saturday delivery"

"...our own government is endangering our lives by letting banks and their executives knowledgeable about illicit activity escap prosecution."

Is the Pentagon nuts??? A new medal for drone 'pilots" higher ranking than the Bronze Star!!!!!!

A new medal for drone 'pilots'!!!!! This is shameful, ludicrous, stupid and completely dishonors current and former military medal recipients. << MORE >>

FYII, Wednesday, February 13, 2013

"Yes, he did: Obama plugged Trans Pacific Partnership while touting 'middle class' growth"

"Mixed messages in President Obama's State of the Union"  

 "Bread and circuses at the State of the Union"

"Republican senators bravely stand up for the rights of rapists and abusers"

Best in Show

Suggested Minimum Wage Increase A Pittance

What the hell is wrong with these people-----those Dems touting a proposed increase to $9.00 per hour minimum wage and the anti-workers GOP that is against it. Let all of them try to live on that measly, insufficient suggested rise!<< MORE >>

FYII, Monday, February 11, 2013

"DOJ kill list memo forces many Dems out of the closet as overtly unprincipled hacks" and hypodrites

"Rigging elections to steal the White House"

"Why the sudden papal exit?"

"The GOP plan to flush your state's economy down the toilet"

"Geithner's replacement at Treasury, Lew, stashed money in the Cayman Islands"

The Dead Helped Pay for RC Church's Clergy Abuse Lawsuits' Settlement in LA

Along with the headlines that Pope Benedict is resigning, comes this piece of news about the RC Church in Los Angeles.

From Attaturk at Firedoglake: "The bilking of the dead"

Well you cannot say the Los Angeles Diocese of the Catholic Church hasn’t gone out of its way to compound error.

Pressed to come up with hundreds of millions of dollars to settle clergy sex abuse lawsuits, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony turned to one group of Catholics whose faith could not be shaken: the dead.

Under his leadership in 2007, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles quietly appropriated $115 million from a cemetery maintenance fund and used it to help pay a landmark settlement with molestation victims.

The church did not inform relatives of the deceased that it had taken the money, which amounted to 88 percent of the fund. Families of those buried in church-owned cemeteries and interred in its mausoleums have contributed to a dedicated account for the perpetual care of graves, crypts and grounds since the 1890s.

It’s not like they could talk back, I guess.

UPDATE: Annnnnnnnndddd...the Pope is resigning. Rick Santorum polishing the froth off resume.

FYII, Friday, February 8, 2013

Brennan's Orwellian show: "according to the guy who has been acting as judge and jury for the last four years, the guy who has been acting as judge and jury is completely incompetent to act as judge and jury." and "Brennan's obscene testimony"

"The age of austerity: states brace for coming cuts"

"The Deficit: why we should make it grow"

"Obama tells Democrats he still wants Grand Bargain"

"Being American is bad for your health"

"Historic blizzard poised to strike New England: What role is climate change playing?

"4 ways everyone in America pays a Sports Tax, including $1 billion a year to the NFL"

Greedy, Destructiv​e Corporate Execs

Two unsurprising but on target tales of wealthy, greedy, corporate executives being their usual destructive selves towards regular, struggling Americans.<< MORE >>

FYII, Thursday, February 7, 2013

"The collective self-censorship over a US drone base in Saudi Arabia is but the latest act of government-subservient 'journalism'

"Drone memo puts Brennan on the spot"

"What they don't tell you about the economy"

"Iraq war contractor fined for late reports of 30 deaths"

"The CBO Report: Six things you can't talk about in Washington"

401Ks a Catastroph​e

For all those baby boomers with 401k plans, actually for anyone with 401k plans-----read it and weep.<< MORE >>

FYII, Wednesday, February 6, 2013

"Chilling memo from Obama's DOJ justifies assassination of US citizens"

"Corporate America: Saving the Twinkie but not the workers"

"Groundhog Day in the labor market"

"Nearly half of all U.S. farms have superweeds"

Ten years ago yesterday: Colin Powell at the UN---Lie after Lie

"S&P will be charged, but nothing will change"

Congress Refuses To Follow Constituti​onal Charge To Protect The Postal Service

We're back! No, we didn't disappear. We were laid low by the horrible common cold!!!!! While protected by flu shots, we were dealt a debilitating blow by a contagious cold. Although not yet hale and hearty, we're at least functioning which is a positive step. So, onward.

Last year, we wrote about the United States Post Service's problems, caused by Congress, and how the ultimate goal of GOP and DINO machinations was privatization of that long lived institution. Well, read on.<< MORE >>

FYII, Monday, January 28, 2013

"As federal prosecutors cash in, big bankers go unpunished."

"Bail out big pay"

"The Senate immigration plan isn't terrible----it's just unworkable"

"Three strategies to block the gerrymandering of the Electoral College" and "inconvenient politics"

"Warning: Internet voting virus spreads to California"

A Question Of Ethics

If you check Progressive Dem's archives, you will find many postings that show the frustration about President Obama's questionable selection of DINOs or Republicans to powerful positions in his administration such as Timothy Geithner, Larry Summers, Ben Bernanke, Bob Gates, Rahm Emanuel, Bill Daley, etc., some former, some current<< MORE >>

FYII, Friday, January 25, 2013

"The effort to undo Roe v Wade threatens not just reproductive rights but the very definition of personhood for American women"

Obama does his usual 'fox guarding the hen house' routine, this time with his SEC nominee....DINO hypocrisy at its finest

The corporate revolving door at DOJ an injustice to the American people

"Obama silent on labor"

"Look out, here come the drones"

Protecting Social Security from the GOP and DINOs

Two postings highlight the necessity for never-ending vigilance and activism of regular Americans required to protect Social Security, especially from DINO's knives.<< MORE >>

FYII, Thursday, January 24, 2013

"Combat ban lifted: women's long march to equality in the military"

"Job piracy: Why state paying for corporations to move is bad for the economy"

"Military contracting: our new era of corporate mercenaries:

"Media avoid reality behind inaugural rhetoric"

Another GOP controlled state legislature, Virginia, "moves to rig electoral votes in GOP's favor"

Reid again proves to be a DINO invertebrate

The list of destructive DINOs that this DINO president picked to serve in his DINO administration is disastrous: Timothy Geithner,
Eric Holder, etc. etc. etc. etc.

Hypocrisy: "Catholic hospital argues fetuses aren't people in medical malpractice suit": 

The Super Bowl Economic Myth

New Orleans officials and businesses may be the latest examples of the adage that "there's a sucker born every minute."<< MORE >>

FYII, Wednesday, January 23, 2013

"The Untouchables: How the Obama administration protected Wall Street from prosecutions"

"On Jobs and Economic Justice: Will we lead or be lulled by the speech?"

"Secretary of Defense lifts ban on women in combat"

"Civilian drones in US could possibly be hijacked for use in attacks"

"Cat beats stockbrokers in picking best stocks for 2012"

"Phil should keep on talking"

Return of Gilded Age Employers

Some troubling news about workers' rights as employers gain the upper hand and wield control during this era of massive economic and income inequality.<< MORE >>

FYII, Monday, January 21, 2013

"MLK's vehement condemnations of US militarism are more relevant than ever"

"The Second Inaugural Address of Barack Obama"

"In appreciation of Gun Appreciation Day, many people were shot"

"Boeing outsourcing strategy in spotlight as FAA grounds Dreamliner"

"Men who have never done a day of physical work call to raise retirement age to 70"

MLK Remembranc​e 2013

In Remembrance of Martin Luther King, Jr

1929 - 1968

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. waves to crowd at speech
http://www.mlkonline.net/images.html


"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Martin Luther King, Jr.

FYII, Friday, January 18, 2013

"Myrlie Evers-Williams, 79, will deliver the invocation at Monday's ceremony, placing the contribution of women firmly centre stage"

"......More of the same at Treasury"

"Republicans plan to change Electoral College rules to rig future elections"

"The Second Amendment was ratified to preserve slavery"

"It's official.  NRA president loses his ever-loving mind"

Thought for the Day

Thought for the the day.............

From the inimitable Atrios:
"Priorities"
"If only George Bush, Dick Cheney, Baghdad Dan Senor, Ari Fleischer, and Don Rumsfeldhad inspired such outrage."

FYII, Thursday, January 17, 2013

For the wealthy, pampered, and narcissistic CEOs of the Business Roundtable, sacrifice is always for someone else"

"How obsequious media coverage perpetuates NRA mythology"

"A program for combating poverty-----stop the cuts to Social Security, Medicare, expand Medicare to all"

"Who are Ed Meese and Oliver North to lecture Obama?"

"GOP Memo: Gerrymandering won us the House majority"

In Case You Missed It........

In case you missed it........<< MORE >>

FYII, Wednesday, January 16, 2013

"Obama's new team shows the Iraq lessons are forgotten"

"The inspiring heroism of Aaron Swartz"  and "Imposing real consequences for prosecutorial abuse in his case"

"Timothy Geithner: Modern Day Metternich"

"Who's behind 'Fix the Debt' "

"Everything you need to know about Obama's gun violence prevention proposal"

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