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Score One for President Obama, John Boehner Admits the Rich Will Pay Higher Taxes

December 5, 2012 by 2 Comments

Score one for President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner admits the rich will have to pay higher taxes. According to CNN, Boehner conceded on Wednesday in challenging President Barack Obama to sit down with him to hammer out a deal for avoiding the fiscal cliff. “President Obama, however, continued to insist on Republicans first ensuring no tax hike for anyone but the top 2% of Americans as a first step toward a broader agreement on tackling the nation’s chronic federal deficits and debt.The statements reflected how negotiations on the automatic spending cuts and tax hikes set to occur on January 1.”

Filed Under: Barack Obama, U.S. Politics Tagged With: , , , , , ,

South Laurel County HS Teacher Kendra Baker in Hot Water Over Politically-Charged Statement

November 24, 2012 by 6 Comments

UPDATED:  South Laurel County High School teacher Kendra Baker is in the hot seat after she posted a politically charged statement on a class whiteboard:  ’You can’t be a democrat and go to heaven’ during a classroom discussion about politics on November 13, one week after the presidential elections. South Laurel County High School is in Kentucky. It should be noted that a student made the statement and Kendra Baker agreed to put it on the board for everyone to see.

The class had been debating around Election Day, and Superintendent Doug Bennett says the psychology teacher, who has been identified as Kendra Baker, wrote a student’s comment on the board. ”The teacher regrets the incident, and has no intention of doing this again,” said Bennett.

Mary Gilbert says her daughter, Chelsea was ridiculed when she tried to stick up for other students in the class. She says Chelsea is choosing to be home schooled rather than go back. Source

I’m not sure if this rises to the level of pulling your child out of a school, but I believe the teacher shouldn’t have let her political views cloud her judgment.

***RETRACTION:  We posted the wrong photograph in reference to this incident. The photo we posted was of Kendra Hoskins-Baker who teaches at a different school in Kentucky. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We have pulled the photograph from our site and would urge anyone else who has this Facebook photo to do the same. Apologies to Mrs. Kendra Hoskins-Baker.***

Watch the video:

Filed Under: Latest News, Presidential Election, U.S. Politics Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Tea Party Darling Rep. Allen West Concedes Defeat to Patrick Murphy After Stonewalling

November 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment
8122913959 7f5da875bd m Tea Party Darling Rep. Allen West Concedes Defeat to Patrick Murphy After Stonewalling

Tea Party Darling Rep. Allen West Finally Concedes Defeat to Patrick Murphy (Photo credit: DonkeyHotey)

Tea Party darling Rep. Allen West  concedes to Patrick Murphy after acting as though he was entitled to the seat. It was abundantly clear on Election night, November 6, 2012, that he had lost, but no, like the bully that he is, he demanded a recount.

“For two weeks since Election Day, we have been working to ensure every vote is counted accurately and fairly. We have made progress towards that goal, thanks to the dedication of our supporters and their unrelenting efforts to protect the integrity of the democratic process,” West said in a statement to POLITICO. “While many questions remain unanswered, today I am announcing that I will take no further action to contest the outcome of this election.”

West congratulated Murphy, saying, “I pray he will serve his constituents with honor and integrity, and put the interests of our nation before his own.”

All I can say is, good riddance to a horrible lawmaker. There are more like him sitting in Congress who deserve to be voted out of office.

Tea Party Darling Rep. Allen West Concedes Defeat to Patrick Murphy After Stonewalling
Filed Under: Breaking News, U.S. Politics Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Andrew Sullivan: If Obama Wins Reelection He Becomes the Democrats’ Ronald Reagan

September 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment
300px Official Portrait of President Reagan 1981 Andrew Sullivan: If Obama Wins Reelection He Becomes the Democrats Ronald Reagan

Andrew Sullivan:  If Obama Wins Reelection He Becomes the Democrats’ Ronald Reagan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Daily Beast’s Andrew Sullivan wrote an interesting article about what Obama’s possible reelection would mean, saying he would become the Democrats’ Ronald Reagan, who beat the odds and won. Odds such as a recession, looming terror threats, passing universal healthcare and dealing with high unemployment.

Andrew Sullivan:  ”If Obama wins, to put it bluntly, he will become the Democrats’ Reagan. The narrative writes itself. He will emerge as an iconic figure who struggled through a recession and a terrorized world, reshaping the economy within it, passing universal health care, strafing the ranks of al -Qaeda, presiding over a civil-rights revolution, and then enjoying the fruits of the recovery. To be sure, the Obama recovery isn’t likely to have the same oomph as the one associated with Reagan—who benefited from a once-in-a-century cut of top income tax rates (from 70 percent to, at first, 50 percent, and then to 28 percent) as well as a huge jump in defense spending at a time when the national debt was much, much less of a burden.”

“But Obama’s potential for Reagan status (maybe minus the airport-naming) is real. Yes, Bill Clinton won two terms and is a brilliant pol bar none, as he showed in Charlotte in the best speech of both conventions. But the crisis Obama faced on his first day—like the one Reagan faced—was far deeper than anything Clinton confronted, and the future upside therefore is much greater. And unlike Clinton’s constant triangulating improvisation, Obama has been playing a long, strategic game from the very start—a long game that will only truly pay off if he gets eight full years to see it through. That game is not only changing America. It may also bring his opposition, the GOP, back to the center, just as Reagan indelibly moved the Democrats away from the far left.”

Andrew Sullivan: If Obama Wins Reelection He Becomes the Democrats Ronald Reagan
Filed Under: Presidential Election Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rep. Kevin Yoder Apologizes to Constituents for Skinny-Dipping in Sea of Galilee

August 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment
300px Kevin Yoder%2C Official Portrait%2C 112th Congress Rep. Kevin Yoder Apologizes to Constituents for Skinny Dipping in Sea of Galilee

Rep. Kevin Yoder Apologizes to Constituents for Skinny-Dipping in Sea of Galilee (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-KS), who skinny-dipped in the Sea of Galilee during a trip to Israel, has issued an apology saying, “I feel incredibly remorseful that I have caused embarrassment to my constituents.” Um, really? Had that been a Democrat, he and fellow House Republicans would have a field day.

“I feel incredibly remorseful that I have caused embarrassment to my constituents and I have caused folks who believe in me to be disappointed,” Yoder told The Star Sunday night.

“The gravity of the situation and the actions I’ve taken are not lost on me, and I feel certainly regret at what has occurred, and I just want to apologize to my constituents for a momentary lapse in judgment.” Source

Um, if he knew your constituents would be embarrassed by  skinny-dipping in the Sea of Galilee, then why did he engage in such behavior in the first place? Oh, I’m sorry, there are two rules for Republicans and everyone else.

The reaction on Twitter is hilarious:

More hilarious tweets on Sea of Galilee.

Rep. Kevin Yoder Apologizes to Constituents for Skinny Dipping in Sea of Galilee
Filed Under: Presidential Election, U.S. Politics Tagged With: , ,

Ohio Republican Doug Preisse: “Our Voting Process Shouldn’t Accommodate Black Voters”

August 19, 2012 by 3 Comments
doug preisse Ohio Republican Doug Preisse: Our Voting Process Shouldnt Accommodate Black Voters

Ohio Republican Doug Preisse: “Our Voting Process Shouldn’t Accommodate Black Voters” (Photo Credit: Think Progress)

You can run but you can’t hide, the truth always comes to light. Franklin County, OH, Republican Doug Preisse voted to block Democratic efforts to expand voting hours. In an email to the Columbus Dispatch he wrote, “I guess I really actually feel we shouldn’t contort the voting process to accommodate the urban — read African-American — voter-turnout machine.”  He reacted to Ohio Democratic Chairman Chris Redfern calling this unfair as “bullshit.”

Buzzfeed:  “I said I believe that there’s a line of how far that taxpayers should have to go to match a specific political operation, and that’s what I mean.” 

Filed Under: Black Politics, Presidential Election Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Study: 26 ‘Kingpin’ Companies, Including Citigroup and Boeing, Paid More to CEOs Than Federal Tax

August 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Left-Leaning Institute for Policy Studies found that 26 big U.S. companies, including Boeing, AT&T and Citigroup paid their CEOs more than they paid in federal taxes.

Citigroup Study: 26 Kingpin Companies, Including Citigroup and Boeing, Paid More to CEOs Than Federal Tax

Study: 26 ‘Kingpin’ Companies, Including Citigroup and Boein, Paid More to CEOs Than Federal Tax (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Yahoo Finance:  Twenty-six big U.S. companies paid their CEOs more last year than they paid the federal government in tax, according to a study released Thursday by a liberal-leaning think tank.

The study, by the Institute for Policy Studies, said the companies, including AT&T, Boeing and Citigroup, paid their CEOs an average of $20.4 million last year while paying little or no federal tax on ample profits, according to regulatory filings.

On average, the 26 companies generated net income of more than $1 billion in the U.S., the study said.

The study blasted tax rules allowing unlimited deductions for CEO “performance-based” pay, like many stock options. It said the five biggest performance payers among the 26 companies took $232 million of these deductions last year.

Here’s an excerpt from the study results:

  • Of last year’s 100 highest-paid U.S. corporate chief executives, 26 took home more in CEO pay than their companies paid in federal income taxes, up from the 25 we noted in last year’s analysis. Seven firms made the list in both 2011 and 2010.
  • The CEOs of these 26 firms received $20.4 million in average total compensation last year. That’s a 23 percent increase over the average for last year’s list of 2010′s tax dodging executives
  • The four most direct tax subsidies for excessive executive pay cost taxpayers an estimated $14.4 billion per year—$46 for every American man, woman, and child. That amount could also cover the annual cost of hiring 211,732 elementary-school teachers or creating 241,593 clean-energy jobs.
  • CEOs have benefited enormously from the Bush tax cuts for upper-income taxpayers. Last year, 57 CEOs saved more than $1 million on their personal income tax bills, thanks to these Bush-era cuts.

Read the full report: Executive Excess 2012: The CEO Hands in Uncle Sam’s Pocket (PDF)

Filed Under: Financial News, U.S. Politics Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Rep. Darrell Issa to File Civil Contempt Charges Against AG Eric Holder Over Fast and Furious Documents

August 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment

House watchdog Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) to file civil contempt charges against AG Eric Holder over Fast and Furious Monday. SMH. Another Republican scare tactic. The Republicans decision to file civil contempt charges against Eric Holder come at a peculiar time — days before the convention. Issa & Co. hope a judge will force Eric Holder to release the documents.

Filed Under: U.S. Politics Tagged With: , , , ,

OH Congressional Candidate Marisha Agana Compares Obama to Adolf Hitler and Mao Tse Tung

August 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment

OH Congressional Candidate Marisha Agana Compares Obama to Adolf Hitler and Mao Tse Tung

OH Congressional Candidate Marisha Agana Compares Obama to Adolf Hitler and Mao Tse Tung

Ohio congressional candidate Marisha Agana, who is of Filipino descent like conservative windbag Michelle Malkin, compared President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler in a tweet, saying “History has a way of repeating itself: Stalin, Hitler, Mao Tse Tung and now Obama!!!”

Marisha Agana later tweeted:

She also accused President Obama of encouraging voter fraud:

Agana was born in the Philippines in 1960, was a “subject of the dictatorial Marcos regime,” and “suffered through the consequences of a government intent on ignoring its Constitutional limitations,” according to her campaign website.

Marisha Agana is a disgrace to the people in her constituency, many of whom I am sure are black. You have a right to disagree with President Obama on his policies, but denigrating him to the point of comparison with Adolf Hitler, a man who caused so much pain and anguish to the Jewish community is not just irresponsible. It’s reprehensible and deserves an apology.

Filed Under: Race in America, U.S. Politics Tagged With: , , , , ,

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) Being Treated for Depression at Mayo Clinic

July 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment
300px Jesse Jackson%2C Jr.%2C official photo portrait Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D IL) Being Treated for Depression at Mayo Clinic

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) Being Treated for Depression at Mayo Clinic (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Now we know why Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) has been missing from Congress since mid-June — he’s being treated for depression at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. The congressman released a statement through the clinic saying he arrived at the healthcare center for  ”extensive inpatient evaluation for depression and gastrointestinal issues.”

“Further information will be released as Congressman Jackson’s evaluation proceeds,” the statement continued.  ”Congressman Jackson and his family are grateful for the outpouring of support and prayers that have been received throughout his care.”

Previously, his office would only say that he was being treated for a “mood disorder” and disputed reports that he was receiving medical help for alcohol addiction.

Jackson’s absence from the Hill led to questions from his fellow Democratic lawmakers and a split over whether he should be more forthcoming about his condition. Source

Um, did it have to take him so long to admit why he left his duties as elected official? Jesse Jackson Jr. isn’t the first to suffer from depression, but it would be interesting to find out what is the root cause for the depression. You know he hands aren’t exactly clean with the Chicago senate seat debacle that landed former governor Rod Blagojevich behind bars. It must be really nice that Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. can go to one of the best medical facilities for treatment. How many people are in our midst suffering from depression who don’t have the means to get medical care or who can’t afford to get the best care like Rep. Jackson?

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D IL) Being Treated for Depression at Mayo Clinic
pixel Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D IL) Being Treated for Depression at Mayo Clinic
Filed Under: Black Politics Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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