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Posted at 2:37 PM ET, 02/24/2011 By Greg Sargent I tend not to get into the business of questioning the guest choices made by the Sunday shows. But if there were ever a time the networks would want to book labor officials to appear, you'd think it would be now. The Wisconsin standoff is the most important domestic political story in the country right now, and as many commentators at those same networks have pointed out, both sides view this battle as ground zero in a national war that may determine the fate of organized labor in America. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2011/02/no_labor_officials_on_sunday_s.html

The Plum Line - No labor officials on Sunday shows this weekend?

Here's how a caliphate could play out. You have Somalia and Iran already in green. Now, let's add Tunisia. Former Tunisian government was considered one of the most secular and corrupt governments in the Arab world. The poor and the angry demanded changes. Most dangerous scenario is that radical Muslims seize power and put Sharia law into place. http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2011/02/04/glenn_beck_and_mitt_romney_on_the_caliphate.html

Weigel : Glenn Beck and Mitt Romney on the Caliphate

Evan McMorris-Santoro After pressure from women’s groups, Democratic politicians and Jon Stewart , the authors of the controversial abortion bill in the House will drop language that appeared to exempt some rape victims from seeking federal help to pay for an abortion. Politico reports this morning that Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), the lead sponsor of the bill and chair of the House pro-life caucus, will remove the phrase “forcible rape” from the bill and replace it with the same wording used in the Hyde Amendment. That Amendment bans federal abortion coverage already, and proponents of the House law say their goal was to make Hyde — which has to be renewed every year — a permanent fixture of federal law. “The word forcible will be replaced with the original language from the Hyde Amendment,” Jeff Sagnip, a spokesperson for Smith, told Politico . http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/02/report-republicans-give-up-on-forcible-rape.php

Report: Republicans Give Up On Redefining Rape

http://thinkprogress.org/2011/02/22/the-gops-anti-health-reform-crusade-now-brought-to-you-by-industry-lobbyists/

The GOP’s Anti-Health Reform Crusade Now Brought To You By Industry Lobbyists

In an effort to deny more than 30 million uninsured Americans health care coverage, 26 states have filed legal action against the Affordable Care Act which passed last year. But Republican demagoguery costs money and “the [lawsuit's] cost the states have split so far amounts to $46,000.” But Florida Republican Attorney General Pam Bondi has “paid less than $6,000″ for its lawsuit. Why? Because an anti-health care lobbying group is picking up the 26-state tab : Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi told a state House committee this month that most of the rest is being covered by the National Federation of Independent Business, a group that opposes the law because of what it considers unconstitutional costs and regulations on firms and people.
http://techland.time.com/2011/02/21/interview-felicia-day-on-her-new-dragon-age-web-series/ Fans of super-successful web series The Guild know Felicia Day best as Cyd/Codex, the shy MMO-addicted violinist who has trouble navigating relationships IRL. She’s also portrayed monster-slayer-in-training Vi on the late, lamented Buffy the Vampire Slayer and teamed up with that series’ creator Joss Whedon to play Penny on Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog , helping the internet musical become a hit. But she’s about to embark onto a new fantasy journey with Dragon Age: Redemption, a new web series rooted in the mythology of BioWare’s action RPG games. We spoke to the Huntsville, Alabama native about getting to work inside a fictional world she loves and get some hints as to what to expect in Season 5 of the Guild. How did Dragon Age: Redemption come about?

Interview: Felicia Day On Her New ‘Dragon Age’ Web Series

It’s Official: More Private Sector Jobs Created In 2010 Than During Entire Bush Years

The September jobs report was just released and demonstrates that America is on a far slower path to recovery than anyone originally predicted. Despite this, the shedding of government jobs cloaks a glimmer of hope: more private sector jobs have been created this year than during the entire Bush administration. Read that again: http://newsjunkiepost.com/2010/10/08/its-official-more-private-sector-jobs-created-in-2010-than-during-entire-bush-years/
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/02/anti-walker-protests-continue-outnumbering-pro-walker-showing.php Eric Kleefeld Demonstrations continued today in at the state Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, against Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal — which in addition to requiring greater contributions from public employees to their benefits packages, would also strip public employees of most collective bargaining rights.

Anti-Walker Protests Continue, Outnumbering Pro-Walker Showing

One of the reasons Colorado GOP Senate nominee Ken Buck declined to prosecute the rape of a 21-year-old college student in 2005 was that he believed she had previously had an abortion of a child fathered by the suspect. According to Buck, that abortion gave the victim motive to lie about the suspect "to get back at" him. Of course, Buck's theory made no sense -- given that an abortion would have been the victim's choice, it would be the suspect who would have a revenge motive, not the victim. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/10/12/909555/-CO-Sen-Buck-didn-t-prosecute-rape-case-because-he-believed-victim-had-abortion

CO-Sen: Buck didn't prosecute rape case because he believed victim had abortion

Poll: Most oppose Wisconsin-style bills - Jennifer Epstein

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/49986.html Most Americans say they oppose limiting or ending collective bargaining for public sector unions, according to a poll released Tuesday. Sixty-one percent of Americans surveyed for a USA Today/Gallup Poll said they would oppose a law in their own state similar to the one that has sparked massive protests in Wisconsin, while 33 percent said they would support such legislation. Six percent said they had no opinion. Continue Reading The poll also found that 71 percent of Americans said they would oppose a hike on sales, income or other taxes to tackle budget shortfalls, while 27 percent said they would oppose such increases.

Christine Pelosi: We Are All Wisconsin Workers

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christine-pelosi/we-are-all-wisconsin-work_b_825708.html By carpool and caravan, populists are crowing the capitol to stand up for working people. Millions of Americans are standing together today saying "we are all Wisconsin workers." All eyes are on Madison, watching to see whether America's public service workers will continue to have a voice on the job and whether -- by extension -- any of us will. The outpouring in Wisconsin erupted after years of downward pressure on wages and benefits that public employees have been feeling for years. Benefits negotiated when private sector jobs were flush are resented now that recession takes its toll.

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We Ask America 7/17/12-7/18/12; 1,092 likely voters, 2.95% margin of error Mode: Automated phone We Ask America release Nevada 2012 President 49% Obama (D), 43% Romney (R), 2% Johnson (L) (chart) If someone told you that your chances of surviving a debilitating disease depended on where you live, the word unjust might come to mind. While many of us think the epidemic of HIV/AIDS has greatly diminished and is no longer the death sentence that it once was, certain communities... **Written by Doug Powers Sources tell me an alternate procedure is in the works in case the pothole isn’t filled in time. The contingency planning includes slightly altering the route of the First Lady’s motorcade to steer around the pothole, but hopefully those kinds of drastic measures won’t be necessary: The office... RedState Morning Briefing July 19, 2012 Go to www.RedStateMB.com to getthe Morning Briefing every morning at no charge.
A 21-year-old woman is in a relationship with a man who repeatedly tells her he wants to get her pregnant. Even though he is physically abusive, she too, wants to have a baby with him. But a few months into her pregnancy, he changes his mind. He threatens to punch her in the stomach to induce an abortion, or to throw her down the stairs if she doesn’t have one.

Coerced Abortions: A New Study Shows They’re Common

ABC This Week's Elites to Wisconsin Workers: "We Won, So Screw You All"

ABC’s This Week didn’t even make a pretense of being fair and balanced, let alone honest, because the truth probably frightens them. In covering the historic labor protests in Wisconsin, ABC stacked it’s panel with the elitist right wing propagandist George Will (left unchecked by his nemesis fact-checker, Paul Krugman), a Tea-GOP freshman from Florida, and a senior ABC reporter apparently okay with deficit hysteria, all arrayed against “labor Democrat” Donna Brazile. Even the usually sensible host Amanpour wondered if the President’s mild statement about an “assault” on public employees went too far. Heavens, pass the smelling salts!
Sarah Palin We can't say we weren't warned. When HarperCollins announced the publication of Sarah Palin's America by Heart , six long months ago, there were signs that it might not be interesting.

Sarah Palin's new best-seller reveals that she's still stuck on 2008. - By David Weigel