I will not fulminate here: either the rich purchase our democracy and run things (first priority: tax breaks for the rich and estate tax breaks), in which case, we are doomed to a hereditary oligarchy, as wealth flows freely from generation to generation, because this is a GENERATIONAL plan.
Washington has become engulfed in grief. This town is in a depth of mourning for veteran diplomat Richard Holbrooke—who died late Monday at the age of 69—usually reserved for senators or others of elected office. The outpouring of eulogies for Holbrooke—with such supreme acclaim as that he was “a true giant of American foreign policy,” in President Obama’s words, or one whose “life’s work saved tens of thousands of lives,” in those of Sen. John Kerry—has been intense. And...
The House has been busy today weighing the in’s and out’s of the Tax Cut Package. The Hill reports that House Dems are urging a longer extension of unemployment benefits: “The Democratic Caucus opposes legislation that extends the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of Americans for longer than it extends much-needed unemployment benefits for middle-class families,” reads a part of the short resolution. Politico adds: “The Democratic Caucus shall vote to consider a bill in the...
President Obama’s $858 billion tax deal has moved from the Senate tonight to the House, thanks to a huge bipartisan majority vote: In a 83-15 vote, the Senate quashed a filibuster by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Va.). Fifteen lawmakers voted against it, including five Republicans: Sens. Tom Coburn (Okla.), Jim DeMint (S.C.), Jeff Sessions (Ala.), John Ensign (Nev.) and George Voinovich (Ohio). Nine Democrats and one independent voted against the bill: Sens. Jeff Bingaman (N.M.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Russ Feingold (Wis.), Kirsten Gillibrand...
A prominent conservative and tea-party enthusiast is hailing a federal judge’s decision to strike down a big part of the health care reform law as a big victory for the tea party movement. Judge Henry Hudson on Monday declared unconstitutional the mandate within the reform law that all Americans carry health coverage. Hudson reportedly released a 42-page opinion that finds that the mandate, a key provision of the law, exceeds the ability of Congress to regulate interstate trade. The...
Much has been made of the liberal anger over President Obama’s deal with congressional Republicans to extend Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. And, yet, it might be expected that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) might be joined in his marathon Senate speech against the agreement by a fellow progressive like Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Sanders also found himself in the company of a much more conservative ally, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.). Landrieu is one of...
If you want to really understand why liberals are outraged over President Obama’s tax-cut deal with Republicans, pay attention to Richard Trumka. The head of the venerable AFL-CIO labor organization, Trumka’s a stalwart fighter for working people in this country. He’s usually a solid ally of the president’s, but he is no fan of this agreement to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy. “The tax cut deal rewards Republican obstructionism by giving the wealthy the tax breaks...
Robert Mercer, as we learned in "Peter DeFazio and the Daughters of Mercer," is more than just a hedge fund co-manager. His company specializes in complex data-mining to trade virtually anything using "mad scientist" computer algorithms.
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