Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, most health insurance plans will cover women’s preventive services, including contraception, without charging a co-pay or deductible beginning in August, 2012. This new law will save money for millions of Americans. But more importantly, it will ensure Americans nationwide get the high-quality care they need to stay healthy. Under…
The Hannity Challenge: How To Make The Case That The Economy Is Improving
Sean Hannity pushed the myth that President Obama has made the economy worse, arguing that you could not “make the case” that it has improved during Obama’s watch. In fact, when Obama took office, he inherited an economy that was shrinking faster than it had in 50 years and that had lost 2 million jobs…
Why Millions of Americans Have No Government ID
Several states have tightened voting requirements, making it mandatory to show a form of government-issued photo ID before casting a ballot. But millions of Americans don’t have a government ID. Host Michel Martin talks with NPR’s Corey Dade about who is least likely to have one and why. READ/LISTEN: via Why Millions of Americans Have…
“8%” in Sight : Jobless Claims Fell By 12,000 Last Week
The number of Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits fell by 12,000 last week, to 367,000 from 379,000 the week before, the Employment and Training Administration just reported. The agency also said that “the 4-week moving average was 375,750, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 377,750.” READ MORE: via…
Komen Says Efficiency, Not Politics, Drove Planned Parenthood Change
In a statement posted on its website and a video on YouTube late Wednesday, Komen said its action had been “mischaracterized” so the organization needed to “set the record straight.” In the video, Nancy G. Brinker, who founded and leads the organization, said that the decision was made as part of a broad effort to…
Another Useless Unconstitutional Florida Law – Prayer in Schools
After a heartfelt debate from both sides, the Florida Senate approved a measure authorizing student-led prayers at schools as long as adults are not involved. The “inspirational messages” proposal SB 98, filed by Orlando Democratic Sen. Gary Siplin and approved by a 31-8 vote, would allow school boards to adopt policies granting students the right…
U.S. ‘Seems to Have Largely Escaped Winter.’ Failure to Mention Global Warming Is ‘Journalistic Malpractice’
For reasons that no major U.S. news outlet can apparently explain, it has been really, really warm in the middle of winter over much of the country. How warm is it? It is so damn warm: “Dick Cheney waterboarded himself.” “Charlie Sheen was snorting actual snow.” “I saw Rupert Murdoch trying to hack his way…
Republicans Have Journalists Arrested for Entering Public Hearing
In a stunning break with First Amendment policy on Capitol Hill, House Republicans directed Capitol Hill police to detain a highly regarded documentary crew that was attempting to film a Wednesday hearing on a controversial natural gas procurement practice. Republicans also denied the entrance of a credentialed ABC News news team that was attempting to…
CBO: Medicare Spending To Reach $1 Trillion By 2022
Outlays for Medicare, Medicaid and “other mandatory federal programs related to health care accounted for just under 40 percent of mandatory spending in 2011,” the Congressional Budget Office reported today and will continue to grow into the future. For instance, a boost in the number of beneficiaries will increase Medicare spending to more than $1…
Romney Serenades Crowd
I don’t usually like to comment on the GOP all that much, but this was just a bit too weird. Not the song itself, but the act of singing it seemed awkward and out of place. Watch the video here:
President Obama Hangs Out With America
Just after 5:30 PM ET today, President Obama sat down for a discussion with a group of Americans from across the country in a Google+ Hangout. It was the first online conversation to happen at the White House in real time — ever. Even before the event, more than 227,000 people had taken time to…
On Google+, Big Question for Obama Is Weeded Out
President Obama did not tackle the subject most on the minds of some questioners during an online forum Monday. What drew many citizens to a Google+ chat with the president was their interest in how soon marijuana could be legalized, according to the rated popularity of questions posted before the event. “With over 850,000 Americans…
Democrats prime recruits to try to take back the House
Just 15 months after taking a thumping in the 2010 midterm elections, House Democrats have seized on the current anti-Washington fervor and are confident they can win the 25 seats they need to regain control of the House. Vice President Joe Biden made a bold prediction on Friday, telling House Democrats at their annual retreat…
Obama to host Google hangout
In the latest iteration of the administrations efforts to connect to supporters via social media, President Barack Obama will take part Monday in a Google+ Hangout,” a chat room-like feature of Google+ that allows users to connect with each other via video connections. The White House pledges the president will answer “several of the most…
An Argument Obama Can Win
There are some Republicans who can’t wait to take the issue of Buffett’s tax rate vs. Bosanek’s head-on. They are eager to argue that one of the world’s richest men deserves to pay a lower rate because his income derives from job-creating investments. These Republicans presumably consider his secretary a mere salaried employee who spends…
White House visitor records made available to the public
From the White House blog: In September 2009, the President announced that—for the first time in history—White House visitor records would be made available to the public on an ongoing basis. Today, the White House releases visitor records that were generated in October 2011. Today’s release also includes visitor records generated prior to September 16,…
Keystone XL Jobs Claims Draw Complaint To SEC
ThinkProgress Green has learned that TransCanada, the foreign tar sands company behind the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, is facing a potential inquiry into whether it deliberately deceived investors by inflating the job-creation potential of the project. Greenpeace has filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission SEC over TransCanada’s “false or misleading statements about…
By the Numbers: 3.2 Million
In 2011, American businesses created the most jobs in any year since 2005. In fact, the private sector has added nearly 3.2 million jobs in the last 22 months. These numbers are proof that we are steadily climbing out of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. But we can’t stop now. We must…
Arizona Gov. Brewer Sticks Her Finger in the President’s Face
The two leaders could be seen engaged in an intense conversation at the base of Air Force One’s steps. Both could be seen smiling, but speaking at the same time. Asked moments later what the conversation was about, Brewer, a Republican, said: “He was a little disturbed about my book.” Brewer recently published a book,…
Majority Of Americans Think Ideology Will Affect High Court’s Ruling On Health Law
With the Supreme Court just two months away from hearing a historic legal challenge to the 2010 health law, nearly 60 percent of the public expects the justices to depend more on personal ideology than a legal analysis of the individual mandate, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s January health tracking poll. Just 28 percent of…