MISLEADING POLLS

CHECK-IT-OUT at First Read:  Chuck Todd breaks down the poll numbers on the latest attitudes of the American people.  For the first time the GOP has higher approval numbers than Dems in some areas of concern, leading some to think that the November elections will be a tsunami win for the GOP.  But as First Read asks, "... could those GOP electoral gains come from just one part of the country? The ...

WHY THE MIDDLE CLASS IS IN TROUBLE

CHECK-IT-OUT at The Huffington Post, and get the details on:  "PHOTOS: 8 Surprising Facts About The Shrinking Middle Class" Income Inequality Is Soaring Cash-Strapped States Are Cutting Crucial Services Corporations Are Skipping Out On Taxes America's Infrastructure Is Crumbling America's Education System Is In Crisis The Foreclosure Crisis Is Not Abating The Financial Services Sector Is D ...

UNCONSTITUTIONAL = ILLEGAL!

"WHAT DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE WORD ILLEGAL?" That's the question the Right keeps asking about immigration reform.  So, now we throw it right back at 'em: "WHAT DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE WORD UNCONSTITUTIONAL?"

FRIDAY’S FYI

***MISSOURI VOTED IN FAVOR OF PROP C this week, which would block the federal government from requiring Missourians to purchase health insurance --- that is IF Prop C could pass Constitutional muster, because federal law takes precedence over state law.  The vote may have been skewed because Missouri had more competitive Republican primaries than Democratic ones, driving more Republicans to the po ...

THANK YOU HARRY AND NANCY!

WOWEE!!!  We are all shocked and thrilled today to learn that Harry Reid actually got the “aid to the states bill” passed — we all thought it had been killed by Senate obstructionism.  But, no, our majority leader in the Senate secured the votes of the two Maine senators, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe today, and surprised everyone by overcoming the threatened filibuster.  Forty-eight governors ...

DEFICIT PIE CHART

It's said that "a picture is worth a thousand words."  We've been blogging a lot lately about the federal deficit, economic inequality, and supply side economics, and when we found this pie chart we thought it was worth sharing with readers.  It shows that the deficit increases when people are unemployed and have their hours cut back, and that the deficits will decrease when the economy improves a ...

BLIND FAITH

Even Republicans are admitting that the Bush tax cuts will not stimulate the economy.  They claim, somewhat vaguely, that letting the tax cuts on the upper 2% lapse (on their own timetable) will harm the economy. Now if that sounds like a familiar refrain, that’s because it IS!  Yep, that’s exactly what the Republicans said about raising taxes on the wealthy under President Clinton.  I remember i ...

BIG OIL

We just saw in the New York Times that Exxon Mobil Corporation --- the biggest worldwide public oil company --- has just announced that their second quarter revenues jumped 24% to $92.5 billion.  Oh, and just thought you’d might like to know:  The Republicans recently voted against (and defeated) an amendment to take away Big Oil’s federal subsidies of $35 billion. Sooooo, Republicans support th ...