Watch this entire video.
You will understand.
Year: 2012
Why the Rich Should Pay More Taxes
Taxes on the super-rich, now at their all-time lowest.
From Paul Krugman at the New York Times:
When you hear about the low, low taxes of people like Mr. Romney, what you need to know is that it wasn’t always thus — and the days when the superrich paid much higher taxes weren’t that long ago. Back in 1986, Ronald Reagan — yes, Ronald Reagan — signed a tax reform equalizing top rates on earned income and capital gains at 28 percent. The rate rose further, to more than 29 percent, during Bill Clinton’s first term.
Low capital gains taxes date only from 1997, when Mr. Clinton struck a deal with Republicans in Congress in which he cut taxes on the rich in return for creation of the Children’s Health Insurance Program. And today’s ultralow rates — the lowest since the days of Herbert Hoover — date only from 2003, when former President George W. Bush rammed both a tax cut on capital gains and a tax cut on dividends through Congress, something he achieved by exploiting the illusion of triumph in Iraq.
Correspondingly, the low-tax status of the very rich is also a recent development. During Mr. Clinton’s first term, the top 400 taxpayers paid close to 30 percent of their income in federal taxes, and even after his tax deal they paid substantially more than they have since the 2003 cut.
And here’s more from the same source:
And the economic record certainly doesn’t support the notion that superlow taxes on the superrich are the key to prosperity. During that first Clinton term, when the very rich paid much higher taxes than they do now, the economy added 11.5 million jobs, dwarfing anything achieved even during the good years of the Bush administration.
Very Distressing: Charles Taylor, Liberian Ex-president, Had CIA Ties
When I think of Charles Taylor, I think of “blood diamonds.”
And I am relieved that Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is currently President of Liberia, a country still recovering from the slave trade.
Still recovering from the devastation wreaked by Europe and the Americas.
So I was distressed to learn this week that Charles Taylor, currently on trial for Crimes Against Humanity, was at one point employed by the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency.
Liberia’s Charles Taylor, the first African head of state to be prosecuted for war crimes by an international tribunal, used to work with the CIA, according to a report in the Boston Globe from this week.
The report, based on information uncovered through a Freedom of Information Act request made six years ago, said that Taylor had a relationship with the US spy agency for years, although the details of what he actually did were unclear.
“The Pentagon’s response to the Globe states that the details of Taylor’s role on behalf of the spy agencies are contained in dozens of secret reports – at least 48 separate documents – covering several decades,” the US newspaper said.
“However, the exact duration and scope of the relationship remains hidden.”
A spokesperson for the ICC told the Globe that the Taylor-CIA relationship was unrelated to his charges at the court.
The Globe report backed up long-standing rumours of Taylor’s work with the CIA, which confirmed a relationship with Taylor beginning in the early 1980s.
Even though this happened during the Reagan administration, this still gives me no pride.
Charles Taylor?
Think “blood diamonds.”
And mass executions.
Taylor is accused of 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity on claims that he armed Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in exchange for illegally mined, so-called blood diamonds.
Catholic Leaders Challenge Gingrich and Santorum on Divisive Rhetoric Around Race and Poverty
More than 40 national Catholic leaders and prominent theologians at universities across the country released a strongly worded open letter today urging “our fellow Catholics Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum to stop perpetuating ugly racial stereotypes on the campaign trail.”
In the lead up to Saturday’s primary in South Carolina, Newt Gingrich has frequently blasted President Obama as a “food stamp president” and implied that some African Americans are more content to collect welfare benefits than work. Rick Santorum attracted scrutiny for telling Iowa voters he doesn’t want “to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money.”
The open letter reminds the two presidential candidates, vying for Christian conservative voters, that U.S. Catholic bishops have called racism an “intrinsic evil” and consistently defend vital government programs such as food stamps and unemployment benefits that help struggling Americans.
The full text of the statement and signatories follow.
An Open Letter to Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum:
As Catholic leaders who recognize that the moral scandals of racism and poverty remain a blemish on the American soul, we challenge our fellow Catholics Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum to stop perpetuating ugly racial stereotypes on the campaign trail. Mr. Gingrich has frequently attacked President Obama as a “food stamp president” and claimed that African Americans are content to collect welfare benefits rather than pursue employment. Campaigning in Iowa, Mr. Santorum remarked: “I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money.” Labeling our nation’s first African-American president with a title that evokes the past myth of “welfare queens” and inflaming other racist caricatures is irresponsible, immoral and unworthy of political leaders.
Some presidential candidates now courting “values voters” seem to have forgotten that defending human life and dignity does not stop with protecting the unborn. We remind Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Santorum that Catholic bishops describe racism as an “intrinsic evil” and consistently defend vital government programs such as food stamps and unemployment benefits that help struggling Americans. At a time when nearly 1 in 6 Americans live in poverty, charities and the free market alone can’t address the urgent needs of our most vulnerable neighbors. And while jobseekers outnumber job openings 4-to-1, suggesting that the unemployed would rather collect benefits than work is misleading and insulting.
As the South Carolina primary approaches, we urge Mr. Gingrich, Mr. Santorum and all presidential candidates to reject the politics of racial division, refrain from offensive rhetoric and unite behind an agenda that promotes racial and economic justice.
Francis X. Doyle
Associate General Secretary
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (retired)
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Institute Leadership Team:
Sisters Patricia McDermott, RSM (President) Eileen Campbell, RSM Anne Curtis, RSM Mary Pat Gavin, RSM Deborah Troillett, RSM
Sister Pat Farrell, OSF
President
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
Rev. Bryan N. Massingale
Associate Professor of Theology
Marquette University
Rev. Clete Kiley
Director for Immigration Policy
UNITE HERE
Rev. Anthony J. Pogorelc, M.Div., Ph.D.
The Catholic University of America
Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies
Rev. David Hollenbach, S.J.
University Chair in Human Rights and International Justice
Boston College
Sr. Patricia J. Chappell, SNDdeN
Executive Director, Pax Christi USA
Marie Dennis
Co-President, Pax Christi International
Rev. John F. Kavanaugh S.J.
Professor of Philosophy
St. Louis University
Rev. Jim Keenan, S.J.
Founders Professor in Theology
Boston College
Rev. Thomas J. Reese, S.J.
Senior Fellow
Woodstock Theological Center
Georgetown University
Sister Mary Ellen Howard
Executive Director
Cabrini Clinic, Detroit
Rev. James E. Hug, S.J.
President
Center of Concern
Sister Simone Campbell
Executive Director
NETWORK, A Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Steven Schneck
Director
Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies
The Catholic University of America
Sister Karen M. Donahue, RSM
Justice Team
Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community
Sister Mary Ann Hinsdale
Assoc. Prof. of Theology
Boston College
Tom Allio
Cleveland Diocesan Social Action Director (retired)
M. Shawn Copeland
Associate Professor of Theology
Boston College
Sister Maria Riley, OP
Senior Advisor
Center of Concern
Todd Whitmore
Associate Professor
Department of Theology
University of Notre Dame
Terrence W. Tilley
Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., Professor of Catholic Theology
Chair
Theology Department
Fordham University, Bronx, NY
Michael E. Lee
Associate Professor
Theology Department
Fordham University, Bronx, NY
Paul Lakeland
Aloysius P. Kelley S.J. Professor of Catholic Studies
Director, Center for Catholic Studies Fairfield University
Lisa Sowle Cahill
Monan Professor of Theology
Boston College
Eric LeCompte
Board Member
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good
Tobias Winright
Associate Professor of Theological Ethics
Saint Louis University
Christopher Pramuk
Assistant Professor of Theology
Xavier University, Cincinnati
John Sniegocki
Associate Professor of Christian Ethics
Xavier University, Cincinnati
Kathleen Maas Weigert
Carolyn Farrell, BVM Professor of Women and Leadership
Loyola University, Chicago
Daniel K. Finn
Professor of Theology and Economics
St. John’s University, Minnesota
Gerald J. Beyer
Associate Professor of Christian Social Ethics
Department of Theology and Religious Studies
Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia
Jeannine Hill Fletcher
Associate Professor of Theology
Faculty Director
Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice
Fordham University, Bronx, NY
Sister Mary Ann Hinsdale
Assoc. Prof. of Theology
Boston College
John Inglis
Professor and Chair
Department of Philosophy
University of Dayton
Anthony B. Smith
Associate Professor
Department of Religious Studies
University of Dayton
David O’Brien
University Professor of Faith and Culture
University of Dayton
William L. Portier
Mary Ann Spearin Chair of Catholic Theology
University of Dayton
Alex Mikulich
Research Fellow
Jesuit Social Research Institute
Loyola University, New Orleans
Susan M. Weishar
Migration Specialist
Jesuit Social Research Institute
Loyola University
Kristin Heyer
Associate Professor
Religious Studies
Santa Clara University
James Salt
Executive Director
Catholics United
Vincent Miller
Professor of Religious Studies
University of Dayton
Nancy Dallavalle
Associate Professor and Chair
Department of Religious Studies
Fairfield University
Source: http://www.faithinpubliclife.org
How the War on Drugs Became a Race War (MSNBC Video)
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
How the war on drugs became a race war, from the Dylan Ratigan Show on MSNBC.
Newt Gingrich Wanted an Open Marriage, Says Second Wife
Try to keep up. It’s tough.
Newt Gingrich wanted an open marriage, former wife Marianne Gingrich said in an interview with ABC News.
ABC just put out a video clip and excerpts of the interview, which is scheduled to air on Nightline tonight after the GOP presidential debate in South Carolina. Ms. Gingrich, who was married to the former House speaker for 18 years, said she is disclosing details of her marriage now to tell voters what she knows about Mr. Gingrich’s character. The two divorced in 1999, after, she says, Mr. Gingrich had suggested an open marriage that would allow him to continue an affair with Callista Bisek, the congressional aide who later became his third wife.
Ms. Gingrich told ABC’s Brian Ross that after Mr. Gingrich made that suggestion, “I just stared at him and he said, ‘Callista doesn’t care what I do’… He wanted an open marriage and I refused.”
That’s Newt Gingrich, conservative Catholic.
Yoi.
Just In Time for the Primary: Romney Announces Support of South Carolina Veterans
No kidding, this was published TODAY on mittromney.com:
Romney for President today announced the support of veterans in South Carolina:
“I am proud to receive the endorsement of these South Carolina veterans who have selflessly and bravely fought to keep our nation safe and defend our American way of life,” said Mitt Romney. “We must continue to support all of those who have served our nation as we work to preserve those very freedoms that our veterans and troops have fought to defend.”
“Mitt Romney has been a strong advocate for veterans and will work to ensure that those who have heroically sacrificed for our country receive the care that they deserve,” said Lt. General Bud Watts, former President of the Citadel. “We need a Commander-in-Chief who will support our veterans and troops, strengthen our military, and strengthen our national defense. Mitt Romney believes in America and in the founding principles that make our country great, and he is the kind of steadfast leader we need during these challenging times.”
Good timing! Since there’s a presidential primary there soon enough, you know.
Sh*t Homophobic People Say. No Kidding. (Video)
Commentary
Sh*t Homophobic People Say: no spoofing necessary, 100% real commentary by antigay public figures. Some, many, masquerading as Christians.
Lambda Legal fights for the rights of LGBT people and people with HIV.
Wow.
Dogs Against Romney: Mitt Really Really Abused the Family Dog Seamus
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Mitt Romney tied his dog Seamus to the roof of a car for a family vacation.
The dog got sick.
Romney hosed down the dog and went on.
Abuse? You bet.
In response to a query on this Chris Wallace at Fox News, Romney says, "This is a completely air-tight kennel on the top of our car."
If the kennel was "air-tight," how did the "brown liquid" pour from the dog’s kennel atop the wagon?
For more information:
Did You Get Your Last Shoeshine on the Tarmac Like Mitt Romney?
If you got your last shoeshine on the tarmac at an airport — any airport — than chances are you, like Willard “Mitt” Romney have more money than most of the top 1%.
Mitt Romney has an empathy problem. Regardless of whether he’s actually an empathetic guy, Mr. Romney remains the son of a wealthy man who then went out and made another fortunebuying companies and firing people. He’s still the guy who says that questions about income inequality amount to the sin of envy, he’s still the guy who manages to say the words “I like to be able to fire people,” he’s still the guy who offers up a $10,000 bet to prove his point. He’s still the guy who drove to Canada with the family dog in a kennel on top of the car and who responded to evidence of the family dog’s distress by stopping at a car wash to rinse it away.
The last link in the paragraph above goes to a story when Romney, like Chevy Chase’s fictional character Clark Griswold, abused a family pet on a family vacation. Clark killed the dog when he took off with the dog tethered to the family wagon. Mitt literally scared the you-know-what out of the poor beast by strapping it to the top of the family wagon while en route to Canada.