September 2, 2011
Retweet Mash-up: Equal Pay, Rights Or Security, Marijuana & more
Random tasty morsels from the twitterverse:
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September 2, 2011
GOP Disdain for Americans Who Don’t Pay Income Taxes
There is a growing chorus of Republicans singing the same tune about a recent report that 46% of Americans pay no federal incomes taxes. The voices include Michele Bachmann, Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry to name the most prominent. I posit that the reason they point to this statistic is to offer further proof towards a longstanding conservative narrative that there are people in this country getting a free ride. That these people are the freeloaders that are taking advantage of the “productive class” in this country.
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September 1, 2011
Newborn Mortality And The Hidden Health Care Story
A new study published by PLoS Medicine tracks newborn mortality rates in 193 countries from 1990 to 2009. While newborn deaths worldwide declined by 1.3 million – 4.6 to 3.3 million – from 1990 to 2009, the newborn mortality rate in the United States ranks higher than 40 other countries.
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August 31, 2011
Retweet Mash-up for August 31, 2011
Not exactly daily mash-up of interesting, informative or amusing morsels on the twitterverse.
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August 30, 2011
Not Cheering – Not Zero
A new report released by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the stimulus bill that went into effect in February 2009 has created between 1 million and 2.9 million jobs. While this falls short (even at 2.9 million) of where job creation needs to be it also invalidates the right-wing narrative that the stimulus didn’t work. Just this past week Sean Hannity falsely stated we are losing 400,000 jobs a month.
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August 30, 2011
Irene Shines A Light
In the wake of all the destruction left by Hurricane Irene we find that it did have at least one positive effect. Irene shines a light on the fact that we are all in this together. If we recognize that simple fact then we must also recognize that we need an entity – that represents ALL people – to lend assistance when disasters occur. That entity isn’t a charity or a private company. That entity is government. Yes, I know it’s so easy to hate on government but that is the easy path to take. It feels good to vent towards a large – and at times – abstract entity but it’s not exactly intellectually stimulating and quite frankly it accomplishes nothing. Government can work if we don’t give up on it. It’s because government actually does work really well in many areas that some find it so easy to assume they can do without it. Would it be a good idea to do away with the National Weather Service? Should we abolish FEMA as Ron Paul suggests? Nobody thinks it would be a good idea to get rid of the police, the fire departments and all other first responders. It might be a good idea to – at least occasionally – extend that sentiment towards other government agencies tasked to promote the general welfare of the nation.
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August 29, 2011
You Almost Can’t See It
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August 29, 2011
Massive Disconnect
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August 28, 2011
I’m a Socialist and So Are You
Did you hear? President Obama wants the Bush tax cuts to expire – only on the top tax bracket – therefore he is a socialist. Or let’s try another one… They are saying Obama is a socialist because he wants everyone in this country to have access to healthcare. Actually “they” are right about that second one. That is a socialist idea and I fully embrace it. This must mean I’m a socialist too, at least when it comes to the topic of healthcare. I will show I’m also a socialist in many other areas and you likely are as well.
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August 25, 2011
Decay at Morals and Main
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