Bad jobs at bad wages are better than no jobs at all.

"Rick Perry’s disastrous campaign deserves to be remembered for appealing to the darkest impulses of the right—and for wasting a phenomenal amount of money."

Thirteen Observations made by Lemony Snicket while watching Occupy Wall Street from a Discreet Distance

—By Barbara Ehrenreich

House Republicans' assault on our environmental laws must be stopped.

The award for most audacious use of self-help language in the service of naked political gain probably belongs to James Baker, an adviser to George Bush in the chaotic weeks following the disputed US election of 2000. "At some point, there must be closure… for the healing and uniting [to begin]," Baker declared, in an effort to prevent further Florida recounts. It wasn't that he wanted Bush to win, you understand – he just wanted to help the nation achieve "closure".

Due to the handiwork of a fringe religious activist, Mississippians will soon vote on a ballot initiative that would ban abortion in cases of rape and incest. ...If it passes, it would have a "chilling effect" on women's health care access—including seemingly unrelated procedures such as in vitro fertilization. "When you have in vitro fertilization, multiple eggs will get fertilized, but not all of them can be implanted," she explains. "And now you have that problem of eggs which can't be implanted, or of implanting too many or all of them, which would put the woman's health at risk. So really, the only choice the woman would have would be to not to go forward."

To our great shame, among the 20 major advanced countries America now has
the highest poverty rate, both generally and for children;
the greatest inequality of incomes;
the lowest government spending as a percentage of GDP on social programs for the disadvantaged;
the lowest number of paid holiday, annual, and maternity leaves;
the lowest score on the United Nations’ index of “material well-being of children”;
the worst score on the United Nations’ gender inequality index;
the lowest social mobility;
the highest public and private expenditure on health care as a portion of GDP,
yet accompanied by the highest

infant mortality rate;
prevalence of mental health problems;
obesity rate;
portion of people going without health care due to cost;
low-birth-weight children per capita (except for Japan);
consumption of antidepressants per capita;

"look at that, you son of a bitch"

A group of pastors and other conservative Christian leaders from across the country continue to plan their behind-the-scenes strategy to defeat President Obama in 2012.

However, the group does not seem likely to support a Republican during the primary race or even reach a consensus as to which candidate should receive the Republican nomination.

The group is connected to Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry's plan for a large prayer rally in August.

Type in the name of a COMPANY, your LAWMAKER or a prominent INDIVIDUAL, and see how they're influencing the political system.

'It's hard to imagine any headline better than the one imagined by Yahoo.com's Dylan Stableford: "BOEHNER HARD ON WEINER".'

'Still, Mr. Holt scored a minor triumph for the often-castigated political class. “I think more of Congress just hearing about it,” said Tom M. Mitchell, a computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon University and an artificial intelligence expert.'

To have had a blue-collar job before becoming a politician in this country is still so rare and incredible that it is enough to be a defining feature for ever

"Sukey is a free of charge communications tool for non-violent demonstrations." Currently London only; Sukey 2 will be national

Ouch. Word clouds of what Obama said vs. what America heard: #sotu

He was the founding director of the Peace Corps, the signature success of Kennedy’s New Frontier. He founded Head Start, created the Job Corps and Legal Services for the Poor, and gave us Volunteers in Service to America, which was the domestic version of the Peace Corps. He served as president and chairman of the Special Olympics, which was founded by Eunice Shriver. Indefatigable and unrepentantly idealistic, Mr. Shriver may have directly affected more people in a positive way than any American since Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Though American and Israeli officials refuse to talk publicly about what goes on at Dimona, the operations there, as well as related efforts in the United States, are among the newest and strongest clues suggesting that the virus was designed as an American-Israeli project to sabotage the Iranian program.

Bush: "Damn Right" I Ordered Torture.

the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling allowed this election to be the costliest and least transparent midterm in recent history.

Top 10 (updated to 14!) Anti-Gay Activists Caught Being Gay:

“Nice middle class you got here,” said Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader. “It would be a shame if something happened to it.”... Threats to punish innocent bystanders unless your political rivals give you what you want have no legitimate place in democratic politics.

With every new swipe at President Obama’s exotic background or cultural influences, a contingent of Republican leaders are signaling that they believe the coming elections are more than just a referendum on the administration’s economic policies. Rather, to a degree that is striking, conservatives are also trying to make the fall campaign about the president himself and the kind of societal change he actually represents.

Glad to see that @marcidale has started going public about popvox. What they are working on is important.

The employment situation in the United States is much worse than even the dismal numbers from last week’s jobless report would indicate. The nation is facing a full-blown employment crisis and policy makers are not responding with anything like the sense of urgency that is needed.

With some shabby sleight of hand, Congress has begun tapping into the food stamp program for the hungriest Americans to help pay for lawmakers’ higher election-year priorities. The Senate approved two important measures this week — the $26 billion state-aid bill and the $4.5 billion school nutrition program — in part by shaving food stamp funds as a target of least resistance.

Endgame in Afghanistan: 'It's taken a year to move 20km'As the war in Afghanistan enters its final chapter, Sean Smith's brutal, uncompromising film from the Helmand frontline shows the horrific chaos of a stalemate that is taking its toll in blood.

"As 'Truth-O-Meter' Spreads, Politicians Wince" @Statesman @politifact featured on @NPR: #austin #texas #politics

They groped. They skirt-chased. They lusted in their hearts. And now they will live in infamy

Read More http://www.gq.com/news-politics/politics/201006/the-twenty-five-greatest-philanderers-in-american-political-history#slide=11#ixzz0osKt3WTl

A proposal to drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean as early as this summer received initial permits from the Minerals Management Service office in Alaska at the same time federal auditors were questioning the office about its environmental review process.

The approvals also came after many of the agency’s most experienced scientists had left, frustrated that their concerns over environmental threats from drilling had been ignored.

Nice NYTimes infographic on 2010 midterm elections

"Ask not what your country can code for you - ask what you can code for your country" says @CodeforAmerica #gov20