SPLC Updates List of Anti-Gay Hate Groups

SPLC Designates Family Research Council and American Family Association as Hate Groups

From Evan Hurst, Truth Wins Out:

The Southern Poverty Law Center has updated its list of designated hate groups, and this year is significant in that some of the larger anti-gay outfits have made the cut. After a litany of ever more extreme statements from people such as Peter Sprigg and Tony Perkins of the FRC, Bryan Fischer of the AFA and Laurie Higgins of the IFI, the SPLC has determined that these groups all deserve to be designated as having gone beyond mere advocacy, and into full-blown hatred against the LGBT community. Especially after the recent spate of gay teen suicides elicited no remorse from any of these institutions, they have indeed earned their place in the halls of hate.

It is notable that Focus on the Family is not on the list. Though we at Truth Wins Out still stand in solid opposition to Focus’s mission, they have indeed made baby steps in the past year to moderate their message, which is in stark contrast with the growing extremism at FRC and AFA. Higgins and the IFI have always been awful, of course. These groups especially deserve recognition for their abject ignorance of facts and reality, choosing as they do to spread anti-gay propaganda at all costs, which indeed suggests that their “work” is inspired by little more than juvenile animus.

The list of anti-gay hate groups now includes the following:

1. Abiding Truth Ministries [Scott Lively]
2. American Family Association
3. Americans for Truth About Homosexuality [Peter LaBarbera]
4. American Vision
5. Chalcedon Foundation
6. Dove World Outreach Center [Terry Jones]
7. Faithful Word Baptist Church [Steven Anderson]
8. Family Research Council
9. Family Research Institute [Paul Cameron]
10. Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment
11. Illinois Family Institute
12. MassResistance
13. Traditional Values Coalition

18 Anti-Gay Groups and Their Propaganda | Southern Poverty Law Center

Corporate Profits Soar, Unemployment Soars

Corporate America Has Best Quarter in U.S. History, as Unemployment Soars

The Tea Party right-wing claims Obama is anti-business, socialist, etc.  despite the fact that Obama's pro-corporate policies, including bailing out failing banks, tax cuts, etc., has allowed corporate profits to soar, while unemployment continues to soar and wages are stagnant:

Even amid the most turbulent economic conditions since the Great Depression, US corporate profits are at an all time high, according to a Tuesday report [PDF link] by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis.

At the same time, America's poor and middle classes are under siege, with a mostly stagnant job market that has shown only marginal signs of improvement.

In spite of meager growth in some sectors, the real unemployment rate remains high, at approximately 1 in 5 Americans.

Yet for seven fiscal quarters running -- since President Obama's election -- American corporate profits have shown strong growth.

According to a New York Times analysis, Q3 2010 saw the largest corporate profits in recorded US history, at $1.66 trillion

Tea Party vs. Tea Party

Will War Between the Religious Right and Libertarians Tear the Tea Party Apart?

The tea party's social conservative and libertarian wings are poised for a showdown that could decide the fate of the movement.

TN RootsCamp

Over 100 progressive activists and organizers gathered in Memphis today for the Tennessee RootsCamp

For more information visit the RootsCamp site

The Tea Party Moron Complex

Matt Taibbi, The Tea Party Moron Complex

If American politics made any sense at all, we wouldn’t have two giant political parties of roughly equal size perpetually fighting over the same 5–10 percent swatch of undecided voters, blues versus reds. Instead, the parties should be broken down into haves and have-nots -- a couple of obnoxious bankers on the Upper East Side running for office against 280 million pissed-off credit card and mortgage customers. That’s the more accurate demographic picture of a country in which the top 1 percent has seen its share of the nation’s overall wealth jump from 34.6 percent before the crisis, in 2007, to over 37.1 percent in 2009.   Moreover, the standard of living for the  average American has plummeted during the crisis -- the median American household net worth was $102,500 in 2007, and went down to $65,400 in 2009 -- while the top 1 percent saw its net worth hold relatively steady, dropping from $19.5 million to $16.5 million.


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GOP Urged to Avoid Social Issues

GOP URGED TO AVOID SOCIAL ISSUES

Gay conservative group GOProud joined forces with some Tea Party leaders to urge Sen. Mitch McConnell and Rep. John Boehner to avoid social issues such as same-sex marriage and keep their congressional members focused on economic freedom and individual liberty.

According to a news release, GOProud and Tea Party leaders from at least 10 states sent an open letter to McConnell and Boehner on Monday morning. Part of the letter, which includes 17 signatories, reads:

“This election was not a mandate for the Republican Party, nor was it a mandate to act on any social issue, nor should it be interpreted as a political blank check.

“Already, there are Washington insiders and special interest groups that hope to co-opt the Tea Party’s message and use it to push their own agenda – particularly as it relates to social issues. We are disappointed but not surprised by this development. We recognize the importance of values but believe strongly that those values should be taught by families and our houses of worship and not legislated from Washington, D.C.

“We urge you to stay focused on the issues that got you and your colleagues elected and to resist the urge to run down any social issue rabbit holes in order to appease the special interests.”

According to Politico, signatories like Ralph King, a Tea Party Patriots national leadership council member and Ohio co-coordinator, may be more motivated by limited government than they are pro-gay.

Sanders Plans Progressive Alternatives to Deficit Cuts - Newsroom: U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (Vermont)

Bernie Sanders Plans Progressive Alternatives to Deficit Cuts - Newsroom: U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (Vermont)

Published on The Nation (http://www.thenation.com)

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The Progressive Plan to Balance the Budget, Defeat the Deficit and Avert Austerity

John Nichols | November 13, 2010

There is no question that inside-outside strategies are going to be needed to assure that President Obama's "Deficit Commission" does balance the federal accounts on the backs of working Americans.

Progressive members of the House and Senate are going to need to say "no" with a level of commitment and consistency that many of them failed to display during the fights over health-care and financial-services reform. Activist groups are going to need to pressure Congress in smart and effective ways.

Senator Bernie Sanders [1], I-Vermont, gets this.

An organizer before he was elected mayor of Burlington, congressman and senator,Sanders has taken the lead [2] in pulling together a muscular inside-outside coalition of members of Congress, labor unions, seniors citizen organizations and others to present and fight for progressive alternatives to the proposal that National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility co-chairs Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles to address the deficit by making major cuts in programs that are essential for seniors, college students, working families and vulnerable Americans.

"It is no surprise that these two favor draconian cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the needs of our veterans, and education while proposing tax reductions for the wealthy and large profitable corporations," says Sanders, whose office describes former Wyoming Senator Simpson as "a darling of the Republican right wing" and former Clinton White House chief of staff Bowles as "a former investment banker who made a fortune on Wall Street."

The Vermont independent's view recognizes that deficits have mushroomed not because of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid but because of "two unpaid wars, tax breaks for the wealthy, a Medicare prescription drug bill written by the pharmaceutical industry, and the Wall Street bailout."

"Everyone agrees that over the long-term we have got to reduce the record-breaking $13.7 trillion national debt and unsustainable federal deficit," the senator says. "The national debt is a very serious issue and we’ve got to tackle it, but we can do it without balancing the budget on the backs of middle-class families."

To that end, Sanders has invited progressive activists and economists to meet next week in Washington to develop a progressive plan to cut the deficit. "We all know that there are a number of fair ways to reduce deficits without harming the middle class and those who have already lost their jobs, homes, life savings and ability to send their kids to college," he says. "The time has come to put these proposals into a package so that a fair and progressive deficit reduction plan will become part of the national discussion."

Where would Sanders begin?

1. End Bush-era tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.

2. Stop funnding expensive and outdated Cold War-era Pentagon programs.

3. Eliminate tax credits for big oil companies that have posted the highest profits in history.

Sounds like the start of a plan.

It won't stop there, of course.

But the Sanders approach illustrates a fundamental reality: It is possible to restore fiscal responsibility without stealing from working Americans, forcing them to retire later and undermining their health-care benefits.

That's a message progressives need to deliver. And Sanders is exactly right when he argues that, with smart inside-outside strategies, this debate can be steered in the right -- make that the left -- direction.

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Source URL: http://www.thenation.com/blog/156427/progressive-plan-balance-budget-defeat-deficit-and-avert-austerity

Links:
[1] http://sanders.senate.gov/
[2] http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=e601c2f8-ff96-4982-93f8-f27b7ab2560f

Rebooting the American Dream

Thom Hartmann, America's No. 1 Progressive Radio Host, has published a great book for progressives: Rebooting the American Dream--11 Ways to Rebuild our Country.

This book can be a great resource and road map for progressives across the country to organize and lobby our representatives to defend Social Security and fight for a REAL universal healthcare program, and take back our government from the corporate elites who are backing the Tea Party takeover of Congress.

Thom is releasing individual chapters for FREE on Truth-out.org
(You can also buy the book and help support Tom's work and Truth-Out.org)

Chapter One: Bring My Job Home!

Be sure to listen to Thom's daily radio program, it is the national townhall of the progressive movement in the U.S.

Here Come the Teabaggers: Tea Party vs. GOP

Here are some of the right-wingnuts the Tea Party sent to Congress:
The Ten Scariest Republicans Headed for Congress

Now that the Tea Party cost the Republicans the U.S. Senate, the real battle heats up between the Tea Party and the GOP:

Republicans vs. the Tea Party: The Power Clash Begins

Upset Republicans Believe Tea Party Cost GOP Control of Senate

The Tea Party Has Arrived:  Let the Infighting Begin

Michelle Bachmann's Leadership Bid Gets Cool Reception

GOP Leaders Ignore Tea Party's Call for Earmark Ban

Don't Mourn, Organize!

The 2010 Election was a major setback for Obama and the Democratic Party, but it may be good for the progressive left. 

The failure of Obama and the Democrats to push a progressive agenda (e.g single-payer Medicare for All) and escalation o the war in Afghanistan suppressed younger and more progressive voters. 

But the Tea Party and the Republican Party are still unpopular and do not have popular support for their radical agenda of austerity and cuts to social programs like education and Social Security. 

John Boehner and the Republican Congress will soon loser favor with the Tea Party and the American people.

The progressive/left must learn from the Tea Party and take over the Democratic Party, or better yet build a movement for a viable third party.

As labor organizer Joe Hill said before he was killed, "Don't Mourn, Organize!"

Republican Blowout, But NO Conservative Mandate

It Didn't have to Be this Way--Progressives Must Be Bolder

Krugman, Blame the Whiny Center

7 Things Progressives Need to Keep in Mind about the "Bloodbath"

Norman Solomon, Back to Basics

Thom Hartman, This is the End of the Republican Party

The Comeback of the Republicans and the Rise of the Tea Party -Result of Democrats' Failure

Buck Up People--PROGRESSIVES WON!

What Voters Don't Know

Eight FALSE Things the Public "Knows" Prior to Election

There are a number of things the public "knows" as we head into the election that are just false. If people elect leaders based on false information, the things those leaders do in office will not be what the public expects or needs.

Here are eight of the biggest myths that are out there:

1) President Obama tripled the deficit.
Reality: Bush's last budget had a $1.416 trillion deficit. Obama's first budget reduced that to $1.29 trillion.
2) President Obama raised taxes, which hurt the economy.
Reality: Obama cut taxes. 40% of the "stimulus" was wasted on tax cuts which only create debt, which is why it was so much less effective than it could have been.

3) President Obama bailed out the banks.
Reality: While many people conflate the "stimulus" with the bank bailouts, the bank bailouts were requested by President Bush and his Treasury Secretary, former Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson. (Paulson also wanted the bailouts to be "non-reviewable by any court or any agency.") The bailouts passed and began before the 2008 election of President Obama.

4) The stimulus didn't work.
Reality: The stimulus worked, but was not enough. In fact, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the stimulus raised employment by between 1.4 million and 3.3 million jobs.

5) Businesses will hire if they get tax cuts.
Reality: A business hires the right number of employees to meet demand. Having extra cash does not cause a business to hire, but a business that has a demand for what it does will find the money to hire. Businesses want customers, not tax cuts.
6) Health care reform costs $1 trillion.
Reality: The health care reform reduces government deficits by $138 billion.
7) Social Security is a Ponzi scheme, is "going broke," people live longer, fewer workers per retiree, etc.
Reality: Social Security has run a surplus since it began, has a trust fund in the trillions, is completely sound for at least 25 more years and cannot legally borrow so cannot contribute to the deficit (compare that to the military budget!) Life expectancy is only longer because fewer babies die; people who reach 65 live about the same number of years as they used to.

8) Government spending takes money out of the economy.
Reality: Government is We, the People and the money it spends is on We, the People. Many people do not know that it is government that builds the roads, airports, ports, courts, schools and other things that are the soil in which business thrives. Many people think that all government spending is on "welfare" and "foreign aid" when that is only a small part of the government's budget.

This stuff really matters.

If the public votes in a new Congress because a majority of voters think this one tripled the deficit, and as a result the new people follow the policies that actually tripled the deficit, the country could go broke.

If the public votes in a new Congress that rejects the idea of helping to create demand in the economy because they think it didn't work, then the new Congress could do things that cause a depression.

If the public votes in a new Congress because they think the health care reform will increase the deficit when it is actually projected to reduce the deficit, then the new Congress could repeal health care reform and thereby make the deficit worse. And on it goes.

How Dems Allowed the Tea Party to Rebrand the GOP

How Dems Allowed the Tea Party to Rebrand the GOP

Tea Party Right Gears Up to Suppress The Vote

Numerous reports have documented how state GOP chapters, local Tea Party groups and organizations like Americans for Prosperity are mobilizing across the country—holding training sessions and posting instructional videos on their websites about how to challenge suspicious voters. But the right’s concern about widespread voter fraud has virtually no basis in empirical reality; a 2007 study by the Brennan Center for Justice found that “an American is more likely to get struck by lightning than impersonate another voter at the polls.”


Inside Wisconsin Right's Voter Suppression Scheme