The Kalonjis said they were held by the gunmen for 10 minutes with their hands above heir heads, and that they thought they were being robbed. The couple did not have their closing papers with them, and could not prove that they owned the home. When deputies arrived, they arrested the Kalonjis and charged them…
Category: News & Opinion
Top Republican Says Senate GOP Could Escalate Government Shutdown Fight
A member of the Senate GOP leadership says he and his colleagues could end up backing House Republicans in their efforts to fund the government at levels below those agreed to in the bipartisan debt-limit deal last August, increasing the chances of a government shutdown fight just weeks before the 2012 election. “I think the…
Military Shift Campaign Donations From Ron Paul To Obama In March
The Army Times reported in February that anti-war GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-TX) was at that time, “by far,” getting the most in campaign contributions from members of the United States military. According to a review of Federal Election Commission data, Paul received nearly $250,000 in donations from servicemembers, President Obama, $130,000 and GOP…
Atlanta Bar Owner Posts Sign Calling President Obama a N*gger
An Atlanta bar owner posted a sign outside his restaurant that says, “I do not support the Ngger in the White House. ”The sign, posted outside the Georgia Peach Oyster Bar in Paulding County, Georgia, has caught the attention of many onlookers.In an interview with Atlanta’s Fox 5 news, bar owner Patrick Lanzo says that he’s…
Governor Rick Scott Vetoes Funds For Rape Crisis Centers During Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) shocked the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence this week when he vetoed $1.5 million in funding for 30 rape crisis centers in the middle of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. State lawmakers allotted the money to offset an increase in need and a lack of sufficient funding for victim services. A…
Progressives: Yank ALEC’s Nonprofit Status!
After pressuring dues-paying corporations to ditch the American Legislative Exchange Council, the good-government group Common Cause has launched a new attack on the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) by challenging its status as a tax-exempt nonprofit. Late last week, lawyers representing Common Cause filed a lawsuit under the Tax Whistleblower Act with the Internal Revenue…
More Than One-Third Of All U.S. Executions Took Place In Texas
The Economist maps out every American execution since 1976, when the Supreme Court announced the modern constitutional regime governing death penalty cases after effectively suspending all executions nationwide for four years. Over one-third of all executions during this period took place in Texas, for a total of 481 people killed by that state. Of the…
The Koch Brothers Exposed
Now the Kochs are the subject of a blistering (but to all appearances factual) documentary by the activist filmmaker Robert Greenwald. Koch Brothers Exposed aims to show how the brothers’ machinations affect the lives of “living, breathing human beings,” as Greenwald put it to me at the film’s New York premiere in late March. “When…
MTV hopes online game can energize 2012 youth vote
MTV is hoping to give its get-out-the-vote campaign a viral boost with an online game, inspired by fantasy sports, that rewards players for participating in the 2012 elections. Gamers will rack up points in “Fantasy Election ’12” for registering to vote, watching debates and publicly supporting candidates with transparent fundraising records and who refrain from…
Controversial White Editor Forced Out At Essence Magazine
The hiring of Michael Bullerdick last July created an uproar, partly because the title of “managing editor” implied to many a major role for a white man in the editorial process of a magazine for black women. In his LinkedIn profile, Bullerdick lists “Edit stories for tone and style” among his duties, even though editor-in-chief…
Couple held at gunpoint, arrested after buying home
The Kalonji family had just closed on a foreclosed home and were told by their real estate agent they should go over to the house and change the locks. But when Jean Kalonji and his wife, Angelica, started working at the home, an armed man and another person who appeared to be the man’s son…
McConnell to House: Don’t shut down the government
You might remember that, in August 2011, Congress almost defaulted on the national debt. Eventually, the two parties reached a deal — the Budget Control Act — that would, among other things, cut more than $900 billion from the discretionary side of the budget over the next 10 years. This wasn’t exactly a shining moment…
Do voters really flee high-tax states?
The CBPP study argues that taxes are often much less significant than housing costs. For example, between 2004 and 2007, Arizona was the most popular destination for outgoing Californians. But it’s not clear that this was due to taxes. Indeed, many middle-income and upper-middle-income families actually faced higher local taxes in Arizona. More likely, many…
The Right-Wing Bully Machine
Not all overheated political rhetoric is alike. Delusional right-wing crazy talk — the kind of ranting we’ve heard recently from washed-up rock star Ted Nugent and tea party-backed Rep. Allen West — is a special kind of poison that cannot be safely ignored. Let me be clear: I’m saying that the extreme language we hear…
The Federal Tax Code and Income Inequality
From 1979 to 2007 there were a number of major tax changes, but the cumulative effect was to render the federal tax code less progressive and therefore less able to dampen income inequality. By one measure of inequality, the federal tax code in 2007 was about one-third less effective at reducing income inequality than it…
Update on Ga. Woman Convicted of Homicide After Drunk Driver Killed Her Son
Raquel Nelson faced a dilemma after she was convicted of vehicular homicide in the jaywalking-related death of her 4-year-old son: She could serve a year of probation for the conviction or risk a new trial and lengthier penalty for a crime she doesn’t believe she committed. On Tuesday, though, Nelson picked a third option. Her…
KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut’s Owner Is The 12th Corporation To Drop ALEC
Yum! Brands, the owner of fast food brands KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut told Color of Change that they will no longer support the American Legislative Exchange Council, the right-wing front group that, until recently, was a driving force behind state voter suppression and “stand your ground” gun laws. Yum!’s decision means a dozen…
CHART: 17 Years After Oklahoma City Bombing, Right-Wing Extremism Is Significant Domestic Terror Threat
The Department of Homeland Security released a report in 2009 stating that the economic and political climate bears important similarities to the conditions of the early 1990s when right-wing extremism experienced a dramatic resurgence. These conditions, including the public debate around hot-button issues such as immigration, gun control, and abortion, along with the election of…
If Its Sunday, Its Meet The Republican White Men
Compared to other metrics though, the imbalance of political ideology seems almost insignificant. Across all four shows over the eight month period, there were just 36 appearances by women during one-on-one interviews compared to 228 men. And of those 36, 17 were Rep. Michele Bachmann R-MN. Meanwhile, there 242 appearances by white guests, compared to…
ALEC to Right-Wing Bloggers: We Need Your Help!
As PR Watch reported, Caitlyn Korb, ALEC’s director of external relations, told attendees at a Heritage Foundation “Bloggers Briefing” on Tuesday that the campaign against ALEC was “part of a wider effort to shut all of us down.” She asked the bloggers for “any and all institutional support” in ALEC’s fight against progressive groups, especially…