September 2011

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Under Investigation for Nondisclosure

One of the highest judges in our court system is accused of not disclosing hundreds of thousands of dollars in income

House Democrats filed a request yesterday to begin a federal investigation into Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' financial past. They accuse Thomas of neglecting to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in income on financial disclosure papers, dating all the way back to the beginning of tenure on the Supreme Court. The papers, which contains a line item in which he must claim any income made by his wife, has been marked "none" for his entire tenure. However, 20 Democrats lead by House Rules Committee member Rep Louise Slaughter, contend that Thomas' wife did receive money; $700,000 from the conservative Heritage Foundation in 2003-2007 alone. Additionally, Thomas himself is accused of not disclosing a number of travel expenses or reimbursements from using a private yacht and airplane owned by real estate magnate Harlan Crowe. Thomas is one of the most conservative judges on the Supreme Court, and the potential for an ouster of the already right-leaning panel would leave another possible appointment for Barack Obama just before the 2012 elections.

Chris Christie a No Go

As much as GOPers are slavering for a candidate they can believe in, Chris Christie is a Primary Change Denier.

Chris Christie, the alliterative governor from New Jersey, has been fingered for a possible Presidential run since very early in the primary campaign season. However, he has been turning down invitations, and most recently, a number of impassioned pleas by republican voters, for him to enter the Republican primary. At a recent speech at the Reagan Library in California, Christie turned down his most avid fans as they asked the straight-talking governor to run for President. "I mean this with all my heart," a woman gushed, "Please, sir, reconsider. Go home and really think about it. Please. Do it for my daughter, do it for our grandchildren, do it for our sons. Please, sir, your country needs you to run for president." Christie attempted to deflect these kinds of requests, even directing supporters to a recent POLITICO video montage of his various refusals to enter the campaign. However, with this particular woman's heart-felt plea, he acknowledged her feelings... but that time, he didn't say no.

Obama: Reaching Out to Minority Voters for 2012

Obama Targets Minorities for his Re-Election Campaign

 

As President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign moves into high gear, he is at long last paying much-needed attention to his political base and the groups which were responsible for electing him in the first place. Instead of portraying himself as the politician who can reach across the aisle to the other party, Obama is showing himself as the candidate who can reach out to different ethnic groups within the United States. 

 

Obama’s campaign has been dubbed “Operation Vote” and is designed to recruit a large volunteer base from a wide variety of ethnic communities within the nation. The efforts will be coordinated by campaign staff from some of the main ethnic groups; a Jewish campaign strategist has already been hired by the Obama campaign. 

Chocolate as the new Super Fruit

How it Benefits Your Health

When anyone thinks of chocolate, the normal response is that it's the world's most famous sweet, but a square of dark chocolate has now become one of the healthiest snacks. Chocolate in its original form as tropical seeds is rather bitter before it undergoes the process of becoming the treasured sweet, but chocolate is no longer just something for dessert. Chocolate has vegetal qualities in its original form before being processed.

Chocolate was just named one of the leading 'super fruits', demonstrating more antioxidants, polyphenol and flavanol than fruit juice. Chocolate and cocoa powder are derived from beans that have large quantities of natural antioxidants called flavonoids. Antioxidants are thought to prevent cancer, heart disease and stroke. Antioxidants help protect cells. Every living cell is subject to damage by free radicals, which are cells damaged by oxygen that can cause diseases such as cancer. Flavonoids are a type of antioxidant that are shown to relax blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide and balance certain hormones in the body. 

Minneapolis Music Venues

Minneapolis music scene has a variety of venues to satisfy most music enthusiasts. From concert halls to clubs, event centers to bars. Do not like to catch your favorite band play inside? Minneapolis music scene has outdoor venues with a variety of bands playing throughout the 'short' Minnesota summer.

First Avenue is a Minneapolis music institution. Made famous by Prince's (or artist formerly known as Prince) “Purple Rain” and is Minneapolis' top music venue. This venue is pretty small and extremely dark. The music played seems to resonate off the walls and ceiling, catching pitches and harmonies of the great artist that have played this venue. Artists like Ani DiFranco, INXS, Aerosmith, Eminem, Atmosphere and Pantera have played First Avenue. They also have a side bar, 7th Street Entry, for local and upcoming performers.

NOFX speaks the truth with their song “Seeing Double at the Triple Rock”. The Triple Rock Social Club has been bringing Minneapolis music from the punk scene since the mid 80's. One might not expect to see an amazing concert in this small, basement like venue but they can pull it off. If you do not go there for the music, at least stop in for the nostalgia of the punk scene. Free Bacon on Wednesdays, decent beer selection and it is a dive bar with a trained chef.

Conservatives and Special Interests Wrap Congressional Lobby in University Clothing to Skirt Gifting Regulations

The Koch brothers, who are no strangers to liberal interpretations of campaign finance laws when it comes to conservative issues, are at it again.

The Koch brothers, Charles and David, have been financing a pro-business, anti-government conservative agenda for years now. Owners of an industrial empire that began with oil (as so many do), these two have founded PAC's, foundations, and other conservative money bundlers for any potential state or federal lawmakers that will promise to continue a program of corporate welfare. In this vein, the Koch brothers' most recent endeavor includes funding a "judicial academy" that was formed just this year, called the Congressional Civic Justice Caucus Academy (CCJCA). The CCJCA was launched by the Law and Economics Center (LEC) at George Mason University, but despite being a part of the university, the LEC is entirely funded by a group of right-wing corporate and philanthropic foundations. The CCJCA was the business-end of this LEC, founded to host "educational retreats" for congressional lawmakers under the auspices of the University, an entity which is not subject to the same gifting bans according to the House Ethics Committee. Thus, the Koch brothers and the other bagmen for this thinly veiled conservative lobby are able to wine and dine congressional lawmakers with impunity, pushing their agendas and circumventing the law.

Rick Perry Aims to Steal New York Dem Votes, Charles Rangel Crashes the Party

On a trip to NYC to butter up the Hispanic and Jewish votes in that areas, Democratic Sen. Charles Rangel crashes a speech unannounced.

Rick Perry has been, despite his overwhelmingly conservative cred, working for two traditionally strong democratic votes; those of the Hispanic and Jewish communities. In particular, Perry traveled to New York City recently for a two-day tour of the burroughs where he spoke about things like immigration reform (he has a decidedly un-Republican record in Texas on that point) and on his support for Israel. Perry, the current front-runner in the GOP primary, has reason to campaign in NYC ahead of the general election. For one, a recent upset in the NY-9 special election, a traditionally Democratic leaning election district, elected Republican Bob Turner over a "third tier" Democrat. In addition, one of President Obama's strong lines of support came from Hispanic and Jewish communities, with exit polls showing 67% and 78%, respectively. Perry is no doubt taking advantage of some of Obama's eroding support among those constituencies to "poison the well".

Super Committee Members Create Powerful Target for Special Interests

Placing 12 lawmakers in charge of all federal spending and the tax code creates a dangerous political bottleneck.

The twelve-member Joint Special Committee on Deficit Reduction began meeting last week after being addressed by the Congressional Budget Office's director, Douglas Elmendorf. Elmendorf laid out the committees options like this: raise taxes, cut spending; cut spending, cut taxes; cut taxes, leave spending alone. Elmendorf advocated for the latter, which, he explained, would help to grow the economy in the short term. Elmendorf was careful about not advising the committee in any way, and not taking any ideological sides in the debate. However, he did say that cutting taxes and allowing government spending on incentives and entitlements are the only thing shown fundamentally to improve the economy. Of course, that wasn't going to please anyone, but he seemed to be the harbinger of truth in his address. Instead, his advice will go unheeded by a staunchly partisan committee that has been given absolute power over the nation's budget and the nation's tax code. It seems a little like giving two children the "big red button" and locking them in a room to figure out who gets to launch all of the nukes. Nonetheless, this was the "compromise" that our elected representatives reached on August 2nd.

Middle-Class Warrior: Elizabeth Warren to Run For Senate

Elizabeth Warren, former White House staffer and originator of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, wants Scott Brown's senate seat.

With all of the Presidential politicking and the unending media parade that is the GOP presidential candidates' daily "he said, she said", it's easy to forget that there will also be a number of smaller elections in 2012. One of those will be for the Massachusetts senate seat currently held by Republican Scott Brown, formerly that of the late Senator Teddy Kennedy. Tomorrow, Democratic and progressive favorite Elizabeth Warren will announce her bid to challenged Brown; a move that is sure to make corporations and a "billionaire friendly congress", to quote Warren Buffet, uneasy. Elizabeth Warren if a former White House staffer, and was also the force behind the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a government agency meant to police Wall Street in order to better protect consumers from unfair banking and credit card fees and from dangerous financial products like the sub-prime mortgages that ultimately destroyed the housing market and forced thousands out of their homes.

Pages