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Archive for the 'Political Powwow' Category

Money Matters

Posted by Michelle Moquin on 7th April 2014


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Good morning!

I HOPE you all had a fantastic weekend!

I was perusing the net late last night, reading up on the latest…taking it all in. Sometimes I have the toughest time deciding what I want to feature on the blog. Like last night…these thoughts went through my head: Do I want to blog something for Monday Madness or Money Matters?  Or perhaps something funny from the weekend? How about a post on animals?…one of my fave topics, that I don’t nearly post as much as I used to.

Many of you may think that I just pick something within a few minutes of reading and then just copy and paste. Yeah, I wish it was that easy. I am not saying that sometimes it can’t be that easy. But most of the time, I am reading and reading and reading some more, wondering what would be the most important, what would have the most impact or be the most inspirational, for my readers. Or Sometimes, not often enough, I just find something funny, and it’s really simple.

Believe it or not, since I am only posting once a day, and there are soo many things that come across my plate, it is rarely an easy decision. And the fact that I have been blogging for almost 7 years doesn’t make it any easier, like I thought it would.

If it sounds a little like I’m bitchin’, really, I’m not, just talkin’ the facts. I’m a one girl show, just sharing a little behind the scenes with y’all:)

Speaking of behind the scenes…I can’t even remember the last time I posted Obama’s weekly address. It’s been a really long time…maybe a year, maybe more.

So here it is from yesterday:

 

And if that isn’t enough, Think Progress has detailed it for us:

The Progress Report Banner

A Broken Record

The Five Biggest Failures Of The Latest Ryan Budget

Today, for the fourth consecutive year, House Republicans released a budgetspearheaded by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI). And for the fourth consecutive year, it is a budget that only works for the wealthiest individuals and special corporate interests at the cost of America’s middle- and working-class families, seniors, and the economy. Budgets, as we said when President Obama put out his in early March, are a reflection of a political party’s priorities and values. We can only say that we wish the latest effort from Ryan and the GOP caucus were an April Fool’s joke. Sadly, it is not.

Here are the five most regrettable pieces of the latest Ryan Budget:

1. Returns To The Same Failed Trickle-Down Tax Policies Of Past Republican Proposals. The Ryan Budget proposes giving generous tax breaks to corporations and the wealthiest among us while in effect raising taxes on middle- and working-class families. It calls for reducing the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent, and lowering the highest income tax bracket from 39.6 percent to 25 percent. Meanwhile, as analyses of identical previous tax proposals showed, there is no way to implement these tax cuts in a deficit-neutral way without raising taxes on the middle-class.

2. Leaves Working-Class Families Out In The Cold. As in years past, The GOP Budget contains a number of proposals to radically cut programs that many working people rely on. For one, the budget repeals the Medicaid expansion provision in the Affordable Care Act and slashes $1.5 trillion over ten years from the program thatcovered 67 million people in 2012, including 32 million children. It also cuts $125 billion over ten years from the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), also called food stamps. These draconian cuts are just two of many choices made that attack programs which support working-class and struggling families.

3. Makes Wild And Misleading Claims About The ACA.Unsurprisingly, Ryan’s latest budget document calls for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. But it includes additional language missing from previous budgets that makes some pretty crazy claims about the law. In a possible preview of the GOP’s election-year rhetoric, Ryan warns that the law “will undermine the private insurance” and would “eventually lead to a single-payer system.”

4. Radically Alters Medicare. It’s long been a hallmark of Ryan’s budget proposals to dismantle traditional Medicare and replace it with a voucher system. Premiums for traditional Medicare wouldincrease by 50%, forcing seniors out of Medicare and into the private insurance market. And while last year’s plan allowed those age 55 and older to remain in traditional Medicare once they became eligible, this year’s plan forces 55-year-olds into a new voucher system.

5. Doubles Down On Misguided Austerity Through Investment Cuts. Austerity has failed. Crucial investments have already fallen tohistorically low levels due to sequestration. The latest GOP budget ignores those facts, and offers more enormous cuts to middle-class investments in infrastructure, science, and education.

BOTTOM LINE: The economy is simply not working for most Americans. But instead of trying to build an economy that works for everyone by addressing our many economic challenges head on, the Ryan Budget ignores them and continues to advocate for failed conservative policies that only benefit the wealthiest people and corporations.

*****

Readers: What do you want to say to Paul Ryan? Say it here. Blog me.

Peace out. 

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

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Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2012

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Posted in Political Powwow | 9 Comments »

Just Noticing: Observations of a blogger

Posted by Michelle Moquin on 6th April 2014


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Good morning!

“Just noticing…”

“…Obama has had another first.”

From Think Progress:

Zero U.S. Troops Died In Combat In March, The First Time In More Than A Decade

Caleb L. Erickson

March 2014 marked the first time in more than a decade that there were zero U.S. fatalities among American troops engaging in combat, according to numbers from the Department of Defense.

After a decade at war in the post-9/11 environment, with major wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and smaller conflicts in the various other countries where the U.S. uses more covert methods to fight against terrorism, the lack of combat deaths in March 2014 marks a milestone. In Iraq, the death toll reached 4,474 before thelast soldier fell in November 2011. For years after the war’s launch in 2003, no months passed where at least one American didn’t die in battle and then only towards the end of the conflict did the numbers taper off enough to have a month where the only fatalities were non-combat related.

Based on information collected at the website iCasualties, which pulls from Pentagon data, it is the first time since July 2007 that no Americans were killed in Afghanistan in support of Operation: Enduring Freedom. The worst single month for U.S. forces in that conflict was July 2010, amid the summer fighting season, during which 65 Americans died. At that point, 98,000 American forces were stationed in Afghanistan amid the surge of 30,000 additional soldiers into the country. To date, 2176 U.S. military personnel have lost their life in Afghanistan.

While this marks a low point in deaths among American soldiers, the same cannot be said of the coalition forces fighting alongside the U.S. — two allied soldiers died over the course of the month. It also doesn’t mean that the situation in the two countries the United States has fought wars in over the last country are also free from strife. As NATO forces prepare to withdraw combat troops at the end of the year, violence in Afghanistan is currently threatening the ability of observers to verify its pending election. And in Iraq, 16 civilians died in an attack just this weekend. (HT: Kevin Sieff)

“Just noticing…”

“…and another first for Obama.

From Think Progress:

The ACA Has Spurred The Largest Expansion In Health Coverage In America In Half A Century

surge

MARCH 31, 2014 AT 5:41 PM

Today marks the last day of the six-month open enrollment period for people to get insurance coverage through the state and federal marketplaces. Despite technical challenges and staunch ideological opposition, it has already been a huge success with over six million people enrolling. But in the last several days, the interest in signing up and the outreach efforts to those not yet covered has reached new heights.

Take a look at the final surge by the numbers:

  • 9.5 Million: Number Of Uninsured That Now Have Insurance Thanks To The ACA. A new analysis of enrollment data has found that almost ten million people who were previously without health insurance now are covered. The report estimates that two million have enrolled in private coverage on the new marketplaces; about 4.5 million previously uninsured people have gained public coverage through Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion; and about three million previously uninsured young people are now covered on their parents’ insurance plans. The law, as written by the Los Angeles Times, “has spurred the largest expansion in health coverage in America in half a century.”
  • 10 million: Number Of Visits To Heathcare.gov In The Past Week. The Washington Post tallied 8.7 million in the past week through Monday morning, with 2 million visiting this weekend alone. Today, the Department of Health and Human Services tweeted that there had been another 1.2 million visitors just by noon–”record volume.”
  • 125,000: The Number Of Concurrent Users On Healthcare.gov On Monday. An unprecedented level of traffic on the website has led to an unprecedented number of people using the site to sign up for health insurance.
  • 4,000: Number Of Grassroots Events To Help People Enroll In March.For all the money spent over the airwaves, grassroots organizing was a huge component of outreach efforts to get people signed up for coverage. Events took place all over the country, with a focus on reaching the uninsured to make sure they had the information they needed to enroll.
  • 300: Number of Radio Interviews Administration Officials Have Given In The Past Six Weeks. While there have been enormous efforts to use new media to promote the law, good old-fashioned radio has been a go-to source for top White House officials: from Chief-of-Staff Denis McDonough and Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett to President Obama himself.
  • 49 Percent: Public Support For The ACA. According to a ABC News/Washington Post poll out today, support for the law is at 49 percent, its highest level in months. Back in November, just 40 percent supported and 57 percent opposed the law; today the picture looks much different:

acasurge

BOTTOM LINE: If there’s any indication that the Affordable Care Act is in high demand, this is it. The law is working, it’s here to stay, and it’s delivering on its promise to provide quality, affordable health coverage that will be there when consumers need it most. Conservatives will continue their repeal-at-all-costs agenda, but the success of these past six months will make it harder because people do not want to go back to the way it was.

*****

What’s next President Obama?

Readers: I can see yesterday’s topic brought up a lot of controversy for many of you. I found reading your diverse writes even more interesting than the original write itself, which doesn’t surprise me considering the quality of readers that visit here. So, again, thanks for being here, sharing your thoughts, and contributing to the conversations. All of you truly make this blog an exciting, and thought-provoking place to visit.

Social Butterfly: My pleasure. Nice to hear from you. No worries.

I think Lupita is gorgeous too. Her comment about being inspired by Alek Wek, because they look similar, brought to mind a memory that I every so often look back on for inspiration in my work, because it left such an impression on me. I remember seeing Wek in a fashion spread for the first time many years ago, and I couldn’t take my eyes off the magazine pages. I believe the entire feature was of her dressed in white, at least that is the part I remember. The white clothing against her dark skin playing off her bright white teeth and the whites of her eyes was absolutely mesmerizing. The most wonderful example of high contrast was simply stunning. And here in this video, Nyong’o is replicating that gorgeous look. It will be interesting to see how the ripple of inspiration and HOPE continues.

Alycedale: Happy to see you here again giving your two. I HOPE all is well with you.

Happy Sunday – Peace & Love. 

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2012

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Posted in Health & Well Being, Political Powwow | 17 Comments »

Flap Your Lips Friday

Posted by Michelle Moquin on 4th April 2014

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Good morning!

More of the same same…

From Think Progress:

How The Supreme Court Just Legalized Money Laundering By Rich Campaign Donors

Republican Billionaire Sheldon Adelson

Republican Billionaire Sheldon Adelson

CREDIT: AP PHOTO/KIN CHEUNG

Chief Justice John Roberts begins his opinion in McCutcheon v. FEC with a flourish: “[t]here is no right more basic in our democracy than the right to participate in electing our political leaders.” He then spends the next forty pages explaining why that participation includes the right of rich people to attempt to buy elections. Thanks to the decision Roberts and his four fellow conservative justices handed down today (Though Thomas did not join Roberts’ opinion, he wrote a more radical opinion calling for all limits on campaign donations to be eviscerated), wealthy donors now have a broad new power to launder money to political candidates — they just have to be a bit creative about how they do it.

Prior to Wednesday’s opinion, federal law placed two complementary limits on campaign donors. During the current election cycle, donors may give no more than $5,200 per election cycle ($2,600 for the primary and another $2,600 for the general) to a given federal candidate, and there are also higher limits on how much they can give to party committees and political action committees. These limits remain intact.

What McCutcheon invalidates are aggregate limits on the total amount of money that donors may give to all federal candidates ($48,600) and to all political committees ($74,600). Thus, before Wednesday, donors could spend as much as $123,200 seeking to influence the 2014 election cycle — now they can spend as much as they want. Make no mistake, this decision benefits no one except for a handful of very wealthy donors (and the candidates they give to). Who else can say that they’ve already given more than a hundred thousand dollars worth of donations and that they are upset that they cannot give even more?

A major purpose of the aggregate limits was to prevent money laundering schemes that could enable donors and political parties to evade the cap on donations to individual candidates. In dissent, Justice Stephen Breyer lays out what some of these schemes could look like. The Democratic or Republican Party, in one example, may set up a “Joint Party Committee” consisting of all three of their national party committees and a state party committee from each of the 50 states. Under McCutcheon, a single donor may now give as much as $1.2 million to this joint committee, which would then be distributed to the various smaller party organizations.

Once the money is distributed, however, it can legally be redistributed to the races where it is likely to have the most impact. Thus, for example, the Republican Party committees in safe red states like Idaho, Utah or Mississippi — where large infusions of money aren’t exactly needed to win elections — can redistribute their funds to battleground states like Ohio or Florida. Meanwhile, blue state Democratic committees in Vermont and Rhode Island can do the same.

Similarly, the same wealthy donor might decide to write a maximum dollar donation to every single Republican House and Senate candidate in the country — perhaps by writing a single $2.4 million check to the same “Joint Party Committee” which then distributes the funds. Once this money is distributed, candidates in safe seats can then redistribute at least some of it to candidates in disputed seats — and the rest can frequently be used to benefit candidates in tough races through “coordinated expenditures.”

Roberts denies that these money laundering schemes will actually arise, but many of the arguments he raises to defend this point betray his own naiveté how modern elections work. The Chief Justice argues, for example, that for these money laundering schemes to work a donor would have to engage in “illegal earmarking” — federal law prohibits a donor from “directing funds ‘through an intermediary or conduit’ to a particular candidate.” But a wealthy donor does not need to earmark his donations for these money laundering schemes to work. Indeed, it is in both the donor’s interest and the party’s interest if the donor does not do so. A donor will typically want his money to go to the candidates who are most likely to benefit from his money — those in closely contested races. By donating to a joint party committee, the donor gives their party more flexibility to redirect their money to the candidates who appear most in need as the election approaches.

Similarly, Roberts claims that “[t]he Government provides no reason to believe that many state parties would willingly participate in a scheme to funnel money to another State’s candidates.” But this argument assumes that each state Democratic or Republican Party is an island. If Republicans control the Senate, Mississippi’s Republican senators have more clout and Mississippi Republicans benefit. The same applies to Rhode Island’s Democratic senators when Democrats control the Senate. America has two national parties and it has a national legislature. When Iowa elects Republicans to Congress, that makes it more likely that Republicans in Mississippi will see their preferred policies enacted into law.

Roberts does, however, raise one fairly strong argument in support of his belief that wealthy donors will not resort to complicated money laundering schemes — thanks to the line of cases culminating in Citizens United, they won’t have to. Before McCutcheon, wealthy donors basically had free reign to spend as much money as they wanted seeking to influence elections, just as long as they give that money to “independent” organizations such as super PACs. In light of this body of law, why would a candidate resort to an elaborate money laundering scheme when they can simply write a check to the super PAC of their choice?

It’s a good question, and not an easy one to answer. But it’s hardly an argument for eliminating even more limits on how far the wealthy can go to influence elections. If allowing a single person to spend millions of dollars to change the outcome of an election is a bad idea, then it is a bad idea no matter what kind of legal regime permits that spending to take place.

*****

Readers: I guess it’s that time again. Here are Anonz’s exact words as he posted them years ago. It was his comment in response to some readers who were upset over his wealth and the ways that he has continually attained it. I’ve printed them before. However, in light of the continued conversation and the political climate around this election year, I thought it was a good idea to print them again.

Anonz’s advice on how to stop him and others like him:

(ANONZ) Destroy it by; (1) insisting that special interest groups not be allowed to lobby congress. (2) Out law PAC’s political contributions (3) get your Congress to fix the opinion rendered by the bought and paid for 6 of the Supreme Court who ruled that corporations can spend as much as they want on political issues and candidates.

I can now buy any candidate in either House. I can influence any law to my benefit. I can influence you and most americans to believe what I wish about any issue. Your crooked Supreme Court gave me the right to spend any amount of money to influence the passage or any issue.

Criticizing me may make you feel good, but it has no affect on anything I do. Voting to eliminate the people who keep the likes of me from being regulated would be effective in stopping me from profiting at your expense.

But I have no fear of that because you secretly envy the money and power I have. You dream of being one of us, so you allow us to have unfettered access to to the profit trough.

Sure I have more money that I will every be able to spend, but if you are too stupid to regulate me, and too stupid to make me pay my fair share of taxes, and if you continue to allow me to set up corporations with all the rights of a living person, I WILL CONTINUE TO GET RICHER AT YOUR EXPENSE.

And unfortunately, I will continue to brag, boast, be in your face about your STUPIDITY. Deciding whether to rant against me or to vote against me will determine whether you will wise up or remain a mat for me to wipe my feet on as I stroll to that feeding trough.

!!!!!!!

It’s obvious enough of us didn’t heed his advice because it hasn’t gotten much better since he posted those words; it’s gotten worse. I’m HOPEing by reposting them again, it will piss off enough to inspire action. Thoughts? Opinions? Blog me.

Alycedale: For some reason, you just popped into my mind. Are you still reading? I HOPE so, and I HOPE you are well.

PeaCE OuT. 

BLOG UPDATE:

The blog url address, has changed from .com to .net. The new address is blog.michellemoquin.net. So, although there is a redirect from blog.michellemoquin.com to blog.michellemoquin.net, please take note and change your bookmarks bar to go directly to blog.michellemoquin.net. Thank you.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2012

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

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Posted in Health & Well Being, Human Rights and Equality, Political Powwow | 60 Comments »

Supreme Court Strikes Down Another Limit on Campaign Contributions

Posted by Michelle Moquin on 3rd April 2014


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Good morning!

Speaking of….

Frank, CMD, Credo: This is what I found:

The Progress Report Banner

Citizens United, Part 2

Supreme Court Strikes Down Another Limit on Campaign Contributions

Just days after 2016 GOP hopefuls traveled to Las Vegas to kowtow to billionaire Republican donor Sheldon Adelson, the Supreme Court has made it even easier for the ultra-rich to control elections. In McCutcheon v. FEC, the five conservative Justices ruled that aggregate limits in campaign contributions are unconstitutional.

Ian Millhiser at ThinkProgress breaks down exactly what the decision does, and why it is so harmful:

What McCutcheon invalidates are aggregate limits on the total amount of money that donors may give to all federal candidates ($48,600) and to all political committees ($74,600). Thus, before Wednesday, donors could spend as much as $123,200 seeking to influence the 2014 election cycle — now they can spend as much as they want. Make no mistake, this decision benefits no one except for a handful of very wealthy donors. Who else can say that they’ve already given more than a hundred thousand dollars worth of donations and that they are upset that they cannot give even more?

The previous landmark campaign finance case, 2010′s Citizens United, struck down limits on campaign expenditures by independent groups. This paved the way for the explosion of super-PACs and gave billionaires like the Koch Brothers and casino mogul Sheldon Adelson the ability to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to influence the 2012 election.

The McCutcheon decision gives the wealthiest even more influence in elections. The public policy organization Demos has estimated that the decision will “bring more than $1 billion in additional campaign contributions from elite donors through the 2020 election cycle.” According to their analysis, if these limits had not been in place during the 2012 election, 1,219 super-wealthy donors would have more than tripled their giving to more than $459 million. That number would have been almost 50 percent more than the $313 million in small dollar contributions to the Obama and Romney campaigns.

demosmccutch2

CREDIT: DEMOS

In the dissenting opinion, Justice Stephen Breyer sums up the consequences:

Taken together with Citizens United v. FEC, today’s decision eviscerates our Nation’s campaign finance laws, leaving a remnant incapable of dealing with the grave problems of democratic legitimacy that those laws were intended to solve.

BOTTOM LINE: In the past four years, the Supreme Court has made it far easier for the wealthiest to buy an election and far harder for average Americans to vote in one. The McCutcheon decision doubles down on Citizen’s United, giving even more unchecked power to those who can afford to buy influence. Somewhere, the Koch Brothers and Sheldon Adelson are raising a glass.

BONUS: For an in-depth look at why the conservative Justices display a naive view of political corruption in their McCutcheon opinion, be sure to check out this brieffrom our colleagues at the Center for American Progress. And take action with this online tool to tell your Senators to confirm judges who follow the law, not special interests.

****

Blog me. 

Peace out. 

BLOG UPDATE:

The blog url address, has changed from .com to .net. The new address is blog.michellemoquin.net. So, although there is a redirect from blog.michellemoquin.com to blog.michellemoquin.net, please take note and change your bookmarks bar to go directly to blog.michellemoquin.net. Thank you.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

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All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2012

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Posted in Political Powwow | 34 Comments »

The Hobby Lobby Case Is Here

Posted by Michelle Moquin on 27th March 2014

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Good morning!

From…

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Slippery Slope

The Hobby Lobby Case Is Here

Tomorrow the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a closely-watched lawsuitbrought by Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood. When it rules on these cases this summer, the Supreme Court will decide whether the religious beliefs of the owners of for-profit corporations can be used as a justification to deny the company’s employees the contraceptive health coverage they are entitled to under the Affordable Care Act. While these cases are specifically about the Affordable Care Act’s birth control benefit, the High Court could open the floodgates to discrimination in the name of religious belief.

Why Should You Care? Consider the potentially slippery slope of Hobby Lobby. A poorly decided Hobby Lobby decision has the potential to go beyond “corporations are people, my friend.” It has the ability to dramatically transform religious liberty from a fundamental value that protects religious beliefs into a loopholes that can be used to discrimination, dictate women’s health choices, evade federal protections, and promote unfair advantages in the corporate world. The following infographic details the potential consequences that a poorly decided Hobby Lobbyruling could have on our nation.

Slippery Slope

Are You In D.C.? If so, join Generation Progress to rally at the Supreme Court in support of the birth control benefit provided by the ACA. RSVP here!

BOTTOM LINE: Religious liberty is a core American value and progressives believe in religious liberty for all, not just for some. Religious liberty means religious liberty for everyone. And that includes the freedom from having the theological doctrines of your boss or those of business owners in your community being forced upon you.

The upcoming Supreme Court cases are not really about religious liberty, they are about minority of individuals seeking a license to ignore laws and regulations they disagree with in order to discriminate against women, and others.

 

*****

Blog this BABE.

 

BLOG UPDATE:

The blog url address, that has changed from .com to .net. The new address is blog.michellemoquin.net. So, although there is a redirect from blog.michellemoquin.com to blog.michellemoquin.net, please take note and change your bookmarks bar to go directly to blog.michellemoquin.net. 

 

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2012

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Posted in Political Powwow | 47 Comments »