Hundreds of people have been wrongly imprisoned inside the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department jails in recent years, with some spending weeks behind bars before authorities realized those arrested were mistaken for wanted criminals, a Times investigation has found. The wrongful incarcerations occurred more than 1,480 times in the last five years. They were the…
Michigan Tea Party Mayor Says No To Fed Funds, Sends Business Packing
In what could be a new high water mark of anti-Washington sentiment, the city of Troy, Mich., is rejecting a long-planned transportation center whose construction would have been fully financed with federal stimulus money. The terminal, which would help Troy become a transportation node on an upgraded Detroit-to-Chicago Amtrak line, was hailed by supporters as…
14,000 U.S. DEATHS TIED TO FUKUSHIMA REACTOR DISASTER FALLOUT
An estimated 14,000 excess deaths in the United States are linked to the radioactive fallout from the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear reactors in Japan, according to a major new article in the December 2011 edition of the International Journal of Health Services. This is the first peer-reviewed study published in a medical journal documenting…
Boehner announces deal with Reid on end to payroll tax impasse
House Speaker John Boehner announced Thursday that he had agreed with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on a two-month extension of a package including a payroll tax cut and an extension of unemployment benefits. Boehner said in statement he and Reid “reached an agreement that will ensure taxes do not increase for working families on January…
Obama renews call for end to payroll tax impasse [video]
President Obama renewed his call Thursday for the House of Representatives to pass a two-month extension of the cut in Social Security payroll taxes and unemployment insurance benefits which Congress enacted a year ago. The only reason the impasse continues is because “a faction of House Republicans have refused to support this (two-month) compromise,” Obama…
McConnell on Payroll Tax: “We can and should do both.”
Here’s his statement: “The House and Senate have both passed bipartisan bills to require the President to quickly make a decision on whether to support thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs through the Keystone XL pipeline, and to extend unemployment insurance, the temporary payroll tax cut and seniors’ access to medical care. There is no reason…
Congress Cuts Winter Heating Aid For The Poor While Boosting The Defense Budget
Poverty in America is only getting worse, with data showing rising income inequality and the startling fact that half of all Americans are now either in poverty or considered low-income. Were it not for the government programs that comprise the social safety net, those numbers would be even worse. More than a quarter would live…
Immigration dragnet snares Americans
A growing number of United States citizens have been detained under Obama administration programs intended to detect illegal immigrants who are arrested by local police. In a spate of recent cases across the country, American citizens have been confined in local jails after federal immigration agents, acting on flawed information from Department of Homeland Security…
New Data: Obamacare Extended Health Coverage To At Least 2.5 Million Young Adults
At least 2.5 million younger Americans now have health insurance as a result of a provision in the Affordable Care Act that allows adults to stay on their parents’ health care plans until 26 years of age, the Associated Press reports. The Obama administration is expected to release additional data later this afternoon: Using unpublished…
The Return Of Debtor’s Prisons: Thousands Of Americans Jailed For Not Paying Their Bills
More than a third of all states now allow borrowers who don’t pay their bills to be jailed, even when debtor’s prisons have been explicitly banned by state constitutions. A report by the American Civil Liberties Union found that people were imprisoned even when the cost of doing so exceeded the amount of debt they…
New Poll Suggests Latino Voters See ‘Hostile’ GOP
The survey of 500 Latino registered voters found that Hispanics continue to lean toward President Obama and other Democratic candidates, and that they feel alienated by Republicans because of their general support for tougher immigration enforcement instead of a path to legal status. Forty-six percent of Latino voters said Republicans “don’t care too much” about…
Romney Confronted By Gay Vietnam Vet On Same-Sex Marriage Stance
Politicians and journalists always run a risk when they judge a voter strictly on on appearances. There was a reminder of that Monday when Mitt Romney was forced to defend his opposition to gay marriage during a restaurant encounter with a grizzled Vietnam veteran who happened to be gay. As it turned out the vet,…
Study: Health reform will not overwhelm Colorado’s medical system
Though Colorado will add 510,000 to insurance rolls under health care reform, the state will need far fewer new doctors than previously thought, in part because those patients will be shifting from emergency rooms and other existing care, a report says. Even with that many newly insured, Colorado will need only about 141 new doctors,…
Berwick: Don’t Blame Medicare, Medicaid. It’s The Delivery System
Berwick said the 2010 federal health law is changing how doctors and hospitals are paid and deliver care though such new arrangements as accountable care organizations, which are designed to improve coordination and lower costs. But he said it is unclear whether such efforts would produce results quickly enough to hold off critics, including most…
DeMint Blocks Confirmation Of El Salvador’s Ambassador Because She Condemned Homophobia
On June 28, Aponte penned an op-ed praising the Funes’ directive, writing, “No one should be subjected to aggression because of who he is or who he loves. Homophobia and brutal hostility are often based on lack of understanding about what it truly means to be gay or transgender. To avoid negative perceptions, we must…
No Driver’s License? We’re Taking Your Kids.
For instance, at the June hearing that terminated the Mendez’s parental rights, they were peppered with seemingly irrelevant questions about their English-speaking ability and immigration status. “Describe for the court why even three years after [the children went into the state’s custody] you cannot speak English without an interpreter,” asked Bruce Kling, special assistant attorney…
Meet the Obese, Uninsured, Unemployed, Cigarette Smoking Plaintiff Suing to Strike Down Health Care Reform
Ms. Brown, 56 years old, had health-care insurance for herself and her husband several years ago but dropped it because the $1,100-a-month cost was prohibitive, she said in an interview. Referring to the health overhaul, she said: “No one has the right to try to control how you spend your money.” When the…
More Radioactive Leaks From Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant
Nearly nine months after Fukushima Daiichi was ravaged by an earthquake and tsunami, the plant continues to pose a major environmental threat. Before the latest leak, the Fukushima accident had been responsible for the largest single release of radioactivity into the ocean, threatening wildlife and fisheries in the region, experts have said. The new radioactive…
Raise Taxes on Rich to Reward True Job Creators
I’m a very rich person. As an entrepreneur and venture capitalist, I’ve started or helped get off the ground dozens of companies in industries including manufacturing, retail, medical services, the Internet and software. I founded the Internet media company aQuantive Inc., which was acquired by Microsoft Corp. in 2007 for $6.4 billion. I was also…
Wisconsin Gov. Wants Protesters To Pay For Security
Yesterday, the Walker administration took a step that is likely to antagonize protesters further. His administration enacted new regulations that would require permits to protest at the Capitol and other state buildings. The controversial part is that the bill allows officials to charge groups for the security and clean-up costs of such events. The Milwaukee…