{Political_Views} Texas: What a wussie "Oh don't leave me now businesses - I'll give you anything y'all want - let me lift my hem and drop my bloomers for y'all"

Texas: What a whore!


Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Sunday, December 2, 2012 -- 8:15 PM EST
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Lines Blur in Texas as Industries Seek Givebacks

Under Gov. Rick Perry, Texas offers more incentives to attract businesses than any other state, around $19 billion a year, an examination by The New York Times has found. Texas justifies its largess by pointing out that it is home to half of all the private sector jobs created over the last decade nationwide.
Yet the raw numbers mask a more complicated reality behind the flood of incentives, the examination shows, and raise questions about who benefits more, the businesses or the people of Texas.

In a state that markets itself as "wide open for business," the lines are often blurred between decision makers and beneficiaries, according to interviews with dozens of state and local officials and corporate representatives.

Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/us/winners-and-losers-in-texas.html?emc=na



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{Political_Views} Tell the Senate: No more judicial obstruction

Dear Friend Our friends at People For the American Way (PFAW) have been working for a fairer, freer, and more progressive America for 30 years — including a special focus on the federal judiciary. Over the past two years, Senate Republicans have waged an unprecedented campaign of delay and obstruction to stop President Obama's judicial nominees — even the uncontroversial ones — from being confirmed. And despite the clear results from the election, Republicans still haven't stopped standing in the way. The result? Denied justice for countless Americans who are forced to wait years to have their day in court. Please take action with PFAW today, and tell Senate Republicans: End the obstruction and confirm the president's judicial nominees in the current lame duck session. — Jordan Krueger, Campaign Manager, CREDO Action The people spoke. Tell the Senate GOP: End the obstruction now! Tell Republican Senators to end the obstruction and confirm the president's judicial nominees now. Dear Progressive Activist, Earlier this month, President Obama offered seven new nominees to fill vacancies on federal district courts, showing that while Republicans have been busy obstructing, the White House has been busy finding qualified judges. The president also urged the Senate to move on 19 judicial nominees (including four appellate court nominees) who continue to languish — some for many, many months — while an abundance of vacancies that overburden the courts and cost countless Americans their access to justice persist. The election's over, President Obama won and Democrats expanded their majority in the Senate — what clearer sign do Senate Republicans need that America is fed up with their obstruction and it's time to confirm these nominees? Please take a moment to tell Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans to END THE OBSTRUCTION AND CONFIRM THE PRESIDENT'S JUDICIAL NOMINEES IN THE CURRENT LAME DUCK SESSION. Of the 19 nominations who Senate Republicans continue to filibuster: None of the nominees are in any way controversial, with almost all of them receiving overwhelming bipartisan support in committee. All of the nominees have the support of their home state senators, including those from states with Republican senators. Half of the vacancies the nominees would fill in courts across the country have been declared judicial emergencies because of the crippling effect they're having on the courts' ability to do their job. The unprecedented and unconscionable abuse of the filibuster to obstruct progress and the basic functions of government by Senate Republicans has perhaps been most egregious in the area of presidential nominations, both executive branch nominations and those for the federal courts, but especially judicial nominations. It's time for Senate Republicans to take the hint from the election and drop their filibusters. It's time for the obstruction to end once and for all. Tell GOP senators to confirm the president's judges now! After you take action, please spread the word and share the petition with others via email and social media. We need as many Americans speaking up and telling the GOP to end its shenanigans as we can get. Thank you for all you do. Sincerely, Michael Keegan, President

© 2012 CREDO. All rights reserved.

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{Political_Views} Fox Declares War On Christmas

David Sirota@davidsirota

By its own standard of what the "War on Christmas" is, @FoxNews declares war on Christmas: http://www.opposingviews.com/i/politics/omg-fox-news-video-uses-holiday-instead-christmas-its-title …

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{Political_Views} News Alert: Republicans make laughable counteroffer to White House on fiscal cliff

Republicans make counteroffer to White House on fiscal cliff

Monday, December 3, 2012 3:23:12 PM National News Alert Republicans make counteroffer to White House on fiscal cliff House Republican leaders on Monday endorsed a far-reaching plan to rein in the national debt that that would raise $800 billion in new tax revenue, slice $600 billion from federal health programs and apply a stingier measure of inflation to Social Security benefits. House Speaker John A. Boehner suggested that the framework – first laid out by Democrat Erskine Bowles during last year's budget battles – should serve as a starting point for budget talks aimed at averting the year-end fiscal cliff. Read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2012/12/03/boehner-offers-4-6-trillion-counter-proposal/

saltyjamie2@gmail.com

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{Political_Views} Special Report: As Companies Seek Tax Deals, Governments Pay High Price

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Saturday, December 1, 2012 -- 12:38 PM EST
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As Companies Seek Tax Deals, Governments Pay High Price

A New York Times investigation into the incentives that governments offer businesses has found that states, cities and counties are giving up more than $80 billion a year to attract or keep the companies and the jobs that they provide. The beneficiaries come from virtually every corner of the corporate world, encompassing oil and coal conglomerates, technology and entertainment companies, banks and big-box retail chains.
But the cost of the awards is certainly far higher. A full accounting, The Times discovered, is not possible because the incentives are granted by thousands of government agencies and officials, and many do not know the value of all their awards. Nor do they know if the money was worth it because they rarely track how many jobs are created. Even where officials do track incentives, they acknowledge that it is impossible to know whether the jobs would have been created without the aid.

Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/us/how-local-taxpayers-bankroll-corporations.html?emc=na



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