Pages

Thursday, September 6, 2012


Three million people


By Mary Hough on  Infographics




We just hit a major milestone: More than 3 million supporters now own a piece of this

campaign. Find out more about the people who make this campaign

possible:http://OFA.BO/KawTy3



Three million people




blueyes43 • 3 days ago

36 Reasons to Thank a Union
1. Weekends
2. All Breaks at Work, including your Lunch Breaks
3.Paid Vacation
4. FMLA
5. Sick Leave
6. Social Security
7. Minimum Wage
8. Civil Rights Act/Title VII (Prohibits Employer Discrimination)
9. 8-Hour Work Day
10. Overtime Pay
11. Child Labor Laws
12. Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA)
13. 40 Hour Work Week
14. Worker's Compensation (Worker's Comp)
15. Unemployment Insurance
16. Pensions
17. Workplace Safety Standards and Regulations
18. Employer Health Care Insurance
19. Collective Bargaining Rights for Employees
20. Wrongful Termination Laws
21. Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
22. Whistleblower Protection Laws
23. Employee Polygraph Protect Act (Prohibits Employer from using a lie detector test on an employee)
24. Veteran's Employment and Training Services (VETS)
25. Compensation increases and Evaluations (Raises)
26. Sexual Harassment Laws
27. Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
28. Holiday Pay
29. Employer Dental, Life, and Vision Insurance
30. Privacy Rights
31. Pregnancy and Parental Leave
32. Military Leave
33. The Right to Strike
34. Public Education for Children
35. Equal Pay Acts of 1963 & 2011 (Requires employers pay men and women equally for the same amount of work)
36. Laws Ending Sweatshops in the United States



Avatar

VegasNevada • 3 days ago • parent

This is what Paul Ryan thinks about Labor when confronted at last year's Labor Day Parade...video...





Uploaded by  on Sep 7, 2011
Among supporters, Rep. Paul Ryan meets protesters and hecklers along parade route







blueyes43 • 3 days ago

BETTER OFF
A MESSAGE TO THE MEDIA
Seniors caught in Hole for their drugs, now save over $2000 that they had to pay out of their own pockets! Thanks Mr. President
People with pre-existing conditions who NOW have Health Insurance
Shortly after Obama took office the Dow hit 6626, it's now at 13,066. The stock market has DOUBLED.
President Obama got out of Iraq, eliminated bin Laden, saved the Auto Industry, reformed Wall Street, and expanded Health Care!
In 2008 had to lay off 25 workers. Have since hired more than that number back.
My 25 yr old daughter is covered under my health care.
Did you get a no-copay physical lately?
Did you take out a federal student loan or get pell grant to afford college in the last 4 years?
4 years ago, George W. Bush was President. Now, Barack Obama is
President Obama respects all citizens & believes in our potential 4 success of all. Out of many !
Our air quality + our wallets with NEW MPG standards for our cars + trucks. Thank you Mr. President!
4 years ago, you could be refused health insurance if you'd ever been sick in the past. Now, you can't.
Our climate with Green Jobs + Renewable Energy use put in place through Stimulus Act! Thank you President Obama!
President Obama believes in wind and solar energy for better jobs and a better environment.
President Obama has enabled the military to decimate Al Qaeda.
4 years ago, US car manufacturers were about to go bankrupt. Now they're ALL profitable.
President Obama stared down BP oil to demand responsibility for their horrendous oil spill.
Women + THEIR families do not have co-pays for birth control! Thank you Mr. President!
We're NOT LOSING jobs! WE'RE GAINING JOBS!
Seniors that do NOT have to pay for Preventative Screenings! Thank you President Obama! President
Obama recognized contribution of Latino Dreamers-they can now be part of our success.
President Obama is responsibly drawing down the war in Afghanistan.
President Obama signed the LIly Ledbetter Act ensuring equal pay for women.
Small business owners who have 18 different tax breaks to use to build their businesses! Thanks President Obama!
More students who can afford College because President Obama increased Pell Grants! Thanks Mr. President!
Anyone who was afraid that Osama Bin Laden would attack America again! Thank you President Obama!
Anyone who invests in the stock market because our POTUS got Dodd Frank passed into law. Thanks Mr. President!
4 years ago, insurers could take uncontrolled profits. Now they must spend 80% of what you pay on care or give you the difference
Yes, the USA economy is betteroff because of Pres. Obama; the Dow is up 64.68% since our President took office!!
The soldiers who have fought for us so valiently coming home to education + job opportunities! Thank you President Obama!
Yes, I’m #betteroff because of Pres. Obama and despite the Republican/ American Taliban Party obstruction, racism, & hatred!!
Tax credit + CUTS for workers during worst recession since the Great Depression! Thanks President Obama!
Are we again respected around the world? YES. Is economy improving? YES. 4 yrs ago we were in full tailspin thx to GOP policies.
Anyone applying for a mortgage or credit card has clearer contracts to sign b/c POTUS got us Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau
More transparency with earmarking forcing lawmakers to JUSTIFY their requests for money. Thank you Mr. President
4 years ago young people were kicked off parent's insurance after graduation. Now they can stay on until 25, as 2.5M of them have
I am and we r. It's a slow recovery, but we r recovering. We cannot return 2 the same policies that created the downturn. Bush2?
I blame traitorous GOP #PartyOfNo for sacrificing America for political goal of taking down the Prez. But despite them we ARE #BetterOff
More weeks of unemployment insurance to millions of Americans EVEN though he had to extend tax cuts 2 RICH 2 get them. Thanks PBO
4 years ago, I was embarrassed when my President travelled abroad. Now, I'm proud.
Any military member who can now FREELY serve their Country + not be afraid to TALK about WHO they LOVE! Thanks Pres. Obama
ALL Americans are now FREE to express their LOVE without the Dept. of Justice defending only CERTAIN marriages! Thanks Mr. Pres.
Thx, media, for inspiring us to point out how we are #BetterOff than 4 yrs ago, since you can't seem to report it yourselves.
Despite 9/20/09 RW plot & relentless GOP obstruction, PBO soldiered on: saved auto ind, 29mo of growth, ACA, got OBL
Families who got REFUNDS from their Health Insurer b/c the POTUS capped Adm. costs in his ObamaCARE! Thanks Mr. President!
Extended Child tax credits + Alt. Min. Tax patch to help families pay LESS taxes! Thanks Mr. President!
With new MPG standards + funding of RESEARCH for Renewables, LOWEST Importation of OIL to USA. Thank you Mr. President!
This President REDUCED Gov't spending to LOWS not seen since Ike was in office! Thank you Mr. President!
The REST of the WORLD no longer SEES USA as Aggressor BUT as a Partner. Thank you President Obama!
My 401k is growing instead of hemorrhaging so yeah
More can be found on twitter under the #BetterOff




Desert Dove Dan • 3 days ago

Why is the media obsessed with the question, "are YOU better off than you were four years ago?" Shouldn't the correct question be, "is OUR country better off than it was four years ago?" Makes a big difference, no? "No man is an island," right?




Gen44 Isack • 3 days ago • parent

Why run away from this question, when the answer is simple:
0- 4 years ago we were losing 700,000 jobs per month. Today we are creating private sector jobs
1- Auto Industry, Ohio, Detroit IS BETTER TODAY THAN 4 years ago
2- Car Battery Industry is better today that it wast 4 years ago
3- Student Loans is better today than it was 4 years ago
4- Senior who's presc drugs are cheaper today is better today than she was 4 years ago
5- Stock market is better today than it was 4 years ago
6- Consumer Protection bureau is better today than it was 4 years ago
7- 4 millions jobs created is better today than it was 4 years ago
8- Latino Dreamers are is better today than they where 4 years ago
And I could EASILY GO ON. Why would any democrat run away from this? LOL Makes no sense!





MARWBI • 3 days ago • parent

Posted by at No comments:

FACT CHECK: Clinton claims of compromise a stretch

By MATT APUZZO and TOM RAUM | Associated Press – 10 hrs ago




WASHINGTON (AP) — It's a fact of life in Washington that what one party considers a principled stand, the opposition considers pigheadedness. Compromise? That's the other guy's problem.
But when former President Bill Clinton took the stage at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, he portrayed President Barack Obama as a pragmatic compromiser who has been stymied at every turn by Republicans. There was no mention of the role that the president and the Democrats have played in grinding compromise to a halt on some of the most important issues facing the country.
That was among the lines by the former president and others Wednesday that either cherry-picked facts or mischaracterized the opposition. A look at some of them:
CLINTON: "When times are tough, constant conflict may be good politics but in the real world, cooperation works better. ...Unfortunately, the faction that now dominates the Republican Party doesn't see it that way. They think government is the enemy and compromise is weakness. One of the main reasons America should re-elect President Obama is that he is still committed to cooperation."
THE FACTS: From Clinton's speech, voters would have no idea that the inflexibility of both parties is to blame for much of the gridlock. Right from the beginning Obama brought in as his first chief of staff Rahm Emmanuel, a man known for his getting his way, not for getting along.
One of the more high-profile examples of a deal that fell apart was the outline of a proposed "grand bargain" budget agreement between Obama and House Speaker John Boehner in 2011.
The deal would have required compromise from both sides. It slashed domestic spending more than most Democrats wanted and would have raised some taxes, which most Republicans oppose.
Boehner couldn't sell the plan to tea party factions in the House or to other conservative activists. And Obama found himself accused of going too far by some Democratic leaders. The deal died before it ever even came up for a vote.
In another instance, Obama appointed a bipartisan group, known as the Simpsons-Bowles Commission, to recommend ways to fix major fiscal problems like Social Security and Medicare. The commission issued its recommendations but fell three votes short of formally endorsing them. And Obama mostly walked away from the report. He later incorporated some of the less contentious proposals from the report into legislation he supported.
But that ensured the tough compromises would not get made.
The problem with compromising in Washington is that there are few true moderates left in either party. The notion that Republicans are the only ones standing in the way of compromise is inaccurate.
___
CLINTON: Clinton suggested that Obama's health care law is keeping health care costs in check.
"For the last two years, health care spending has grown under 4 percent, for the first time in 50 years. So, are we all better off because President Obama fought for it and passed it? You bet we are."
THE FACTS: That's wishful thinking at best. The nation's total health care tab has been growing at historically low rates, but most experts attribute that to continued uncertainty over the economy, not to Obama's health care law.
Two of the main cost-control measures in Obama's law — a powerful board to keep Medicare spending manageable and a tax on high cost health insurance plans — have yet to take effect.
Under the law, Medicare has launched dozens of experiments aimed at providing quality care for lower cost, but most of those are still in their infancy and measurable results have yet to be obtained. Former administration officials say the law deserves at least part of the credit for easing health care inflation, but even they acknowledge that the lackluster economy is playing a major role.
Meanwhile, people insured through the workplace by and large have seen little relief from rising premiums and cost shifts. According to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, the average premium for job-based family coverage rose from $13,375 in 2009 when Obama took office to $15,073 in 2011. During the same period, the average share paid by employees rose from $3,515 to $4,129.
While those premium increases cannot be blamed on the health care law — as Republicans try to do — neither can Democrats claim credit for breaking the back of health care inflation.
___
CLINTON: "I know many Americans are still angry and frustrated with the economy. ... I experienced the same thing in 1994 and early 1995. Our policies were working but most people didn't feel it yet. By 1996, the economy was roaring, halfway through the longest peacetime expansion in American history."
THE FACTS: Clinton is counting on voters to recall the 1990s wistfully and to cast a vote for Obama in hopes of replicating those days in a second term. But Clinton leaves out the abrupt downward turn the economy took near the end of his own second term and the role his policies played in the setting the stage for the historic financial meltdown of 2008.
While the economy and markets experienced a record expansion for most of the rest of Clinton's two-term presidency, at the start of 2000, there were troubling signs. Then-Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned in February 2000 that "we are entering a period of considerable turbulence in financial markets."
Sure enough, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite stock index and the Dow Jones industrial average both peaked in March 2000. The bursting of the high-tech bubble dragged down the economy and markets through the rest of the year. From September 2000 to January 2001 when Clinton left office, the Nasdaq dropped 46 percent. Even now, in 2012, the Nasdaq has not returned to its 2000 peak. By March 2001, the economy toppled into recession.
Also, as president, Clinton supported the 1999 repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, a law dating back to the Great Depression that separated banking from high-risk financial speculation. Robert Rubin, who had been Clinton's first treasury secretary, helped broker the final deal on Capitol Hill that enabled the repeal legislation to pass. Some financial historians say the repeal of the law paved the way for banks to invest in risky investments like mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations that played a role in the 2008 financial meltdown.
___
CLINTON: "Their campaign pollster said, 'We're not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers.' Now that is true. I couldn't have said it better myself — I just hope you remember that every time you see the ad."
THE FACTS: Clinton, who famously finger-wagged a denial on national television about his sexual relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky and was subsequently impeached in the House on a perjury charge, has had his own uncomfortable moments over telling the truth. "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky," Clinton told television viewers. Later, after he was forced to testify to a grand jury, Clinton said his statements were "legally accurate" but also allowed that he "misled people, including even my wife."
___
Associated Press writer Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.
EDITOR'S NOTE _ An occasional look at statements by political candidates and how well they adhere to the facts

Posted by at No comments:

WORLD NEWS

 AFRICA


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

SOUTH AFRICA


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

SOUTH AFRICA


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

SOUTH AFRICA


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

SOUTH AFRICA


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

SOUTH AFRICA


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

SOUTH AFRICA


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

SUDANESE


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

SWAZILAND
Posted by at No comments:

Workers face an economic power gap

By , Published: September 2


On Labor Day 2012, U.S. workers are in dire straits, and an increasing share of elite opinion says it’s their own damned fault.
Not quite so bluntly, of course. But it’s impossible to read the business press and the editorial pages without encountering the argument that the economy hasn’t perked up because of the “skills gap.” U.S. workers, this thinking goes, just don’t have the skills required by our advanced economy. If only our workers and schools were better, if only teachers unions ceased to exist, all would be well.

There are indeed some skills-gap problems plaguing the economy, but the downward mobility of U.S. workers results far more from their lack of power than their lack of skills.
Since the recession bottomed out in June 2009, median household income has fallen by $2,544, to $50,964 — a 5 percent drop — according to a new report by Sentier Research. It’s no mystery why wages are falling even during the recovery. In a studyreleased last week, the National Employment Law Project found that 58 percent of the jobs created since 2010 pay between $7.69 and $13.83 an hour. New jobs in the mid-range of the wage distribution, paying $13.84 to $21.13, account for just 22 percent of the positions created since the recovery began, though they constituted 60 percent of the jobs lost in the downturn. Higher-wage jobs are just 20 percent of the newly created positions. The biggest increase in jobs has come in food preparation and retail sales.
These numbers underscore the question of whether our primary problem is the lack of skills or, rather, the lack of good jobs. And the problem isn’t just that mid-range jobs were offshored or fell prey to the construction bust. It’s also the declining or stagnating wages and benefits in a far wider range of sectors — even where U.S. workers have the skills they need and then some.
Is it really insufficient education that’s dragging down Americans? Since 1979, the share of U.S. workers with college degrees has increased from 19.7 percent to 34.3 percent, the Center for Economic and Policy Research found this summer. Yet the percentage of college graduates with good jobs — which the center defines as jobs paying at least $37,000 and providing health insurance and some kind of retirement plan — had declined from 43 percent in 1979 to 40 percent in 2010.
Are American workers becoming less productive? On the contrary, a Wall Street Journal survey of the Standard & Poor’s 500, the nation’s largest publicly traded companies, found that their revenue per worker increased from $378,000 in 2007 to $420,000 in 2010. The problem is that workers get none of that increase. As economistsIan Dew-Becker and Robert Gordon have shown, all productivity gains in recent decades have gone to the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans, in sharp contrast to the three decades following World War II, when Americans at all income levels shared in the productivity increases.
The primary plight of U.S. workers isn’t their lack of skills. It’s their lack of power. With the collapse of unions, which represented a third of the private-sector workforce in the mid-20th century but just 7 percent today, workers simply have no capacity to bargain for their share of the revenue they produce.
This is not to say that there is no skills gap or that U.S. schools don’t need improvement. But the decline of unions has both weakened workers’ bargaining power and diminished the kind of apprenticeship programs that the building trades unions have long (and ably) provided. Under increasing right-wing pressure to justify their very existence, however, some unions in other sectors are embarking on skills training or professional development programs.
The most notable is that of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which has created an interactive professional development Web site for teachers called Share My Lesson in response to school districts cutting back on their ongoing teacher education. “Teachers want and need to share best practices with each other,” AFT President Randi Weingarten told me, so her union is rolling out this site as the school year begins.
Unions can address the skills gap just as, in the days when they were larger, they could address the economic power gap. But if the war that business and Republicans are waging on labor isn’t defeated, good jobs will continue to dwindle and work in America will grow steadily less rewarding.
And a happy Labor Day to you.
Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, September 5, 2012


Video: Tuesday night's DNC speeches

The NBC Politics team has compiled highlights from Tuesday night's Democratic National Convention speeches.


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
In an emotional speech, First Lady Michelle Obama says President Barack Obama remains anchored by the same values he brought to the White House nearly four years ago.


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
San Antonio mayor Julian Castro touts the Democratic education platform and President Barack Obama's record while portraying GOP nominee Mitt Romney as a danger to the American Dream. "It's a choice between a country where the middle class pays more so that millionaires can pay less—or a country where everybody pays their fair share," says Castro.


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Addressing the Democratic convention, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley says, "Facts are facts: No President since Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the Great Depression inherited a worse economy, bigger job losses, or deeper problems from his predecessor. But President Obama is moving America forward, not back."


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick tells the Democratic convention crowd it's time for Democrats to not let President Barack Obama to be "bullied out of office," saying, "we're Americans. We shape our own future."


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Actor Kal Penn reaches out to America's youth encouraging them to register and vote for President Barack Obama


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel tells of his time in the White House working side-by-side with President Barack Obama touting his decision making during a time of multiple crises.


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee says moderates are "conservative in the best sense of the word … and there's nothing conservative about today's Republican party."


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Combat veteran and candidate for the US House of Representatives, Illinois, Tammy Duckworth endorses President Barack Obama as Commander in Chief saying he has lived up to his responsibilities "ending the war in Iraq, refocusing on Afghanistan and eradicating terrorist leaders including bin Laden."


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid gives a strong endorsement for President Barack Obama's record while slamming the GOP as a roadblock to progress at the Democratic National Convention.


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Newark Mayor Corey Booker energetically outlines the new National Democratic Party platform.
Posted by at No comments:

Democratic Women Leaders: "Women will lead us to victory"



House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi led the call Tuesday night for women across the nation to join President Barack Obama in moving America forward. Pelosi, joined by other Democratic women of the House of Representatives, explained as a mother and grandmother her work is not about the next election, but the next generation.


Kourtney Geers, Special to NJ.com

Women were a reoccurring theme of the first evening of the 2012 Democratic National Convention, woven into everything from speeches about policy to videos about healthcare and equal pay.

The Democratic women of the U.S. House of Representatives took the stage early Tuesday evening in Charlotte, N.C., to rousing applause and made a call to the audience to respond to women's issues in the upcoming election and in the future of American politics.

The Congresswomen addressed reproductive rights, equal pay and abuse, which sparked conversation on social media, including the reactions of political leaders.

Former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm showed her support for the women appearing at the convention.





As the evening's events continued, a video on reproductive choice was featured, showing Pres. Barack Obama saying that women are not an interest group and should not be treated as one and that Republicans have focused on "battles that were settled long ago."
National Abortion Rights Action League- Pro-Choice America (NARAL) President Nancy Keenan spoke later, sharing her perspective on the future of women's health if President Obama is not reelected.
Another speaker well known for her views of insurance companies and health care, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius addressed the audience about the change President Obama has brought about in his time in office, also emphasizing women's rights.

Sebelius said, "The good news: Being a mother is no longer a liability, and being a woman is no longer a pre-existing condition. That's what change looks like."

Continuing the theme, Lilly Ledbetter, the namesake of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, came to the stage to address women's equal pay. After nearly two decades of hard work and the realization she was getting paid less than her male equals, Ledbetter fought for change.
Ledbetter said, "That was the first step but it can't be the last. Because women still earn just 77 cents for every dollar men make."



Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy



Tue Sep 04, 2012 at 04:17 PM PDT

Transcript of House Women remarks as prepared for delivery, Democratic National Convention


2012 Democratic National Convention: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by House Women
The following is a transcript of a speech, as prepared for delivery by House Women at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, September 4, 2012. Good evening.
I'm Nancy Pelosi, but my grandchildren call me Mimi. For me, politics is an extension of my role as a mother and a grandmother. For the Democratic women of the House, our work is not about the next election, but rather the next generation. Working with President Barack Obama, we are committed to reigniting the American dream: the ideal that if you're willing to work hard, play by the rules and take responsibility, you have the opportunity to climb the ladder of success. The Democratic women of the House are ready to join President Barack Obama to move America forward.
I'm Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, and we have work to do. America's women still make just seventy-seven cents for every dollar men earn. It's even tougher for women of color. Those pennies add up to a real difference to middle-class families: trying to pay their bills, trying to get ahead, trying to achieve the American dream. And we are making progress.
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, to give victims of pay discrimination their day in court, was the first bill President Obama signed into law. Now we want to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act: real protections to ensure equal pay for equal work. The Democratic women of the House are committed to closing the wage gap for American families to move America forward.
I'm Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney from the great state of New York. When President Obama made health care a right, not a privilege, for all Americans, it was one of the proudest moments of my life. Now women are beginning to get the preventive services—including birth control—that they deserve. If they get sick or pregnant, they won't lose their insurance. And soon, for the first time, no longer will being a woman be a pre-existing medical condition!
Healthy moms mean healthy families. When my Republican colleagues held a hearing about birth control and refused to include a single woman on the first panel as a witness, I asked, "Where are the women?"
Where are the women? The women are here. And we are on our way to re-elect our president. The Democratic women of the House are committed to women's health and to moving America forward.
I'm Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania. Moving America forward means never going backward on America's great promise of health care for our seniors: Medicare. As a daughter who cared for an elderly parent, I know medical care is not optional for seniors. We will not let the Republicans end the guarantee of Medicare, which could cost seniors thousands and endanger the health and retirement security of millions of Americans.
Americans have worked for their Medicare. They have paid for their Medicare. Whether you're 65, 55, 45 or 35, you've earned your Medicare. Americans deserve the security Medicare provides. President Obama will strengthen and protect Medicare. Democrats will make the tough choices—the right choices—to reduce the deficit and to preserve Medicare, for this generation and the next.  The Democratic women of the House know that a secure retirement moves America forward.
I'm Congresswoman Gwen Moore of Wisconsin: mother of three, grandmother of three granddaughters. For our daughters and our granddaughters, I'm working to end violence against women. No victim of domestic violence or bullying—man or woman—should feel unprotected in America. Yet when Democrats acted to strengthen the Violence Against Women Act, Republicans in the House moved to weaken it. In other legislation, they have even tried to change the definition of rape.
Vice President Biden wrote the Violence Against Women Act. He, President Obama and Democrats are standing strong to prevent violence for all—whether you were born on a reservation or in another country, whether you love a man or a woman. The Democratic women of the House will fight violence against all Americans to move America forward.
I'm Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez. Women in business are helping lead the way for America's economic recovery. Nearly 8 million American women own small businesses—the engines of job creation and the backbone of the American economy. And in these tough economic times, they need a level playing field and a fair shot to get ahead. Supporting small businesses means expanding access to credit and supporting investment that will help them grow.
Working with President Obama, House Democrats gave entrepreneurial Americans the freedom to pursue their passions, success and the American dream. The Democratic women of the House know that when women succeed in our economy, we move America forward.
Aloha. I'm Tulsi Gabbard, candidate for Congress in Hawai'i and captain in the Army National Guard.
When I stepped down from the state legislature and headed to a war zone, I joined a long, proud line of Americans who sacrificed to make us the land of the free and the home of the brave.
As a combat veteran, I know the cost of war. The sacrifices made by our troops and military families are immeasurable. These days, it's often women in uniform —moms, wives, even grandmothers—who deploy and leave their families behind. Such heroes and patriots need and deserve leaders who truly understand and care about their hardships and will fight for them—leaders like President and Michelle Obama, and Vice President and Dr. Biden—the strongest advocates military families could have. The Democratic women of the House will honor the service and sacrifice of our troops to move America forward.
I'm Joyce Beatty, and I'm running for Congress from the great state of Ohio to move America forward. Moving America forward means higher education that's affordable and prepares our young people to lead in the 21st century economy. Moving America forward means affordable health care and equal pay for equal work.
And to unleash the power of moms in the economy, it means quality, affordable child care. We will move America forward on behalf of you: your families and communities, your aspirations and your hopes for your children.
That's because America's success is dependent on the success of women in education, in business, in the military and in public service. Women will lead us to victory—for strong Democratic majorities in Congress, and to re-elect Vice-president Joe Biden and President Barack Obama. The Democratic women of the House are ready to move America forward.

Posted by at No comments:

Ghost Of Ted Kennedy Haunts Mitt Romney At DNC (VIDEO)




Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

TPM2012
Ghost Of Ted Kennedy Haunts Mitt Romney At DNC (VIDEO)                   

Sahil Kapur 24447
The opening night of the Democratic convention included a video tribute to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy and his accomplishments — one of which was socking it to Mitt Romney.
The most crowd-pleasing parts of the seven-minute video Tuesday night featured snippets of debates from the 1994 contest for U.S. Senate between Kennedy and Romney, which were notably unflattering for the now-Republican nominee for president.
One exchange from the debate that year highlighted in the clip:
ROMNEY: “I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country. I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years, that we should sustain and support it. And I sustain and support that law and the right of a woman to make that choice.” KENNEDY: “On the question of the choice issue — I have supported the Roe v. Wade. I am pro-choice. My opponent is multiple choice.”

 Another featured Kennedy chiding Romney for remarks on health care reform.



The clip package also included Kennedy savagely mocking Romney as a flip-flopper.
“Now he’s for family leave. Now he looks like he’s for minimum wage. Now he’s for education reform,” the senator said. “If we give him two more weeks then he may even vote for me, because those are the things that I am for.”
The anti-Romney crowd erupted with thunderous applause.
The video tribute mentioned the causes Kennedy championed — including civil rights, voting rights, immigration reform, women’s rights and universal health care.
Posted by at No comments:
Don't Buy The GOP Narrative That Obamacare Is A Tax On Middle Class-It's A Lie Designed To Mislead


176 comments, 70 called-out
+ Comment now
English: Official photo cropped of United Stat...
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Rick Ungar, Contributor
6/28/2012 @ 2:29PM |87,944 views

“Minority Leader Mitch McConnell wasted no time getting to the floor of the Senate to argue that today’s Supreme Court ruling clarifies that Obamacare is nothing more than a tax on the middle class which—according to McConnell—is precisely what the Administration and Congressional Democrats promised it was not.
Leader McConnell, and his fellow Republicans, should read the Majority ruling before they embarrass themselves further.
In the opening paragraphs of Chief Justice Roberts’ opinion, he clarifies that the law specificallydoes not involve a tax. If it did, Roberts clarifies, the Court would have had no choice but to reject the case for lack of jurisdiction as a tax case cannot be brought until someone is actually forced to pay the tax. This is, as we know, not the case.



The fact that the Court found that the mandate was constitutional under the taxing authority granted Congress by the Constitution is an entirely different matter. This finding does not reduce the individual mandate to the status of a tax—it merely says that as the penalty for failing to purchase health insurance will fall to the Internal Revenue Service for collection, it was something Congress could provide for under its Constitutional authority.
While I grant you that this gets a bit into the weeds, the effort that is being made by the GOP to use the Court’s basis for decision as a weapon fails on its face and is completely disingenuous. There is a difference between the levying of a tax and the Court finding Constitutional authority for Congress under the taxing authority. But then, anything that is more complicated than your basic “See Spot Run” first grade reading primer has always been fair game and fodder for the GOP message machine which would prefer to base their arguments on misstatements than educating and enlightening its base.
UPDATE (Monday morning)- some support for this position from an unexpected source:
“Mitt Romney’s senior adviser Eric Fehrnstrom told Chuck Todd on MSNBC’s Daily Rundown that he agrees – the fee is a penalty and not a tax, as the Supreme Court ruled last week.
“The governor disagreed with the ruling of the court,” Fehrnstrom said. “He agreed with the dissent that was written by Justice [Antonin] Scalia, which very clearly stated that the mandate was not a tax.”
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)