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Rape Is Not An Accident
By Amanda Marcotte Wednesday, January 9, 2013 10:06 EDT Dozens of Israeli activists take part in a “SlutWalk” rally in Jerusalem on Friday to protest sexual violence and counter claims that women’s attire or behaviour provoke rape and sexual assault, an AFP correspondent said. Predominantly young women and some men marched through central streets of the Holy City in minimal or sexually suggestive clothing, chanting slogans and bearing signs. (AFP Photo/Gali Tibbon) With all attention being paid to rape culture lately—which is good!—I’m seeing a not-so-good consequence of it, which is a number of people, some well-intentioned, perpetuating the myth that rape frequently occurs on accident.
Executive Summary:“Public Opinion and Democratic Responsiveness: Who Gets What They Want From Government?” by Martin Gilens | Russell Sage Foundation
Gilens examines the extent to which different social groups find their policy preferences reflected in actual government policy and the variation in these patterns across time and policy domains. For example, when Americans with low and high incomes disagree on policy, are policy outcomes more likely to reflect the preferences of affluent Americans? If so, does the advantage of more affluent Americans differ over time (e.g., depending on which party controls the congress and presidency) or across policy domains?
Millionaires to Washington: More Taxes, Please!
A pack of millionaires descended on Washington, DC, Wednesday to tell Congress to take more of their money. The Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength , a group formed in 2010 to push Obama to allow the Bush tax cuts on millionaires to expire, are back, and lobbying for the same thing as Congress faces the looming fiscal cliff. A dozen or so 1-percenters, representing the group's total membership of about 200, are meeting with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle this week to deliver the message that " we care as much about our country as we do about our money ," and that any budget agreement Congress cobbles together in the coming weeks should include fat taxes on the rich. At a press conference to kick off the campaign Wednesday, Frank Patitucci, CEO of NuCompass Mobility , explained why the group is seemingly advocating against its own interests.This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. NERMEEN SHAIKH : Today we spend the rest of the hour with renowned political and legal writer Glenn Greenwald. His new book is called With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful_. Glenn blogs for greenwald/">Salon.com.
Glenn Greenwald on Two-Tiered U.S. Justice System, Obama’s Assassination Program & the Arab Spring
Tar Sands Blockade: Radical Environmentalism is Radical Libertarianism
As Charles Johnson notes in The Clean Water Act Vs. Clean Water , asking the government for help is generally counterproductive, especially when it comes to addressing ecological concerns. Unfortunately, Johnson is also right in saying that market anarchists don’t talk about environmental concerns as much as they should.
By Denis G. Campbell and Charley James (c) 25 October 2012 UPDATED: Why is Mitt Romney so confident? In states where the winner will be decided by less than 10%, of the vote he already knows he will win. This is no tinfoil hat conspiracy.
NSA Analyst Proves GOP Is Stealing Elections
How Do You Take Your Poison? Posted on Sep 24, 2012 By Chris Hedges
Chris Hedges: How Do You Take Your Poison? - Chris Hedges' Columns
[Updated below] Nothing tests one's intellectual honesty and ability to apply principles consistently more than free speech controversies. It is exceedingly easy to invoke free speech values in defense of political views you like. It is exceedingly difficult to invoke them in defense of views you loathe. But the true test for determining the authenticity of one's belief in free speech is whether one does the latter , not the former.
nservatives, Democrats and the convenience of denouncing free speech | Glenn Greenwald | Comment is free
On the campaign trail, Mitt Romney has been promising that he will cut taxes “across the board,” while also instituting tax reform that will not add to the nation’s deficit . But a new report from the Tax Policy Center at the Brookings Institution shows that this is much easier said than done. In fact, if Romney were to actually implement his plan to reduce tax rates by 20 percent while eliminating tax deductions in order to pay for it, taxpayers with more than $200,000 would certainly see a tax cut.
New Analysis Shows Romney Tax Plan Would Raise Taxes On Middle Class Families By More Than $2,000
Laurie Penny: It's nice to think that only evil men are rapists - that it's only pantomime villains with knives in alleyways. But the reality is different - Commentators - Opinion
The people saying this are not all prize imbeciles like George Galloway or frothing wingnuts like the Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin. Some of them are just everyday internet idiots who happen to believe that if a man you have previously consented to sex with holds you down and fucks you, that isn't rape. If you were wearing a short skirt and flirting, that isn't rape. If a man penetrates you without a condom while you're asleep, against your will, that isn't rape, not, in Akin's words, "legitimate rape". Old, white, powerful men know what rape is, much better, it seems, than rape victims.Poor in India Starve as Politicians Steal $14.5 Billion of Food
Sanjit Das/Bloomberg 52-year-old Ram Kishen with his government provided ration card in Satnapur Village, Uttar Pradesh, India. Ram Kishen, 52, half-blind and half- starved, holds in his gnarled hands the reason for his hunger: a tattered card entitling him to subsidized rations that now serves as a symbol of India ’s biggest food heist. Enlarge image Poor in India Starve as Politicians Steal $14.5 Billion ofSierra Davis leads a march for her slain aunt, Shantel Davis. Courtesy of the Alliance of Conscious Documentarians. “Normally, I don’t like to wear sunglasses when I talk to people,” said Harold Davis, in a pair of dark rims. “But I won’t let my enemy see my tears.” It was a hot, sunny Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn August 4, at the corner of Church Avenue and 38th Street.
Victims of police violence take to the streets for justice
The Conservative Psyche: How Ordinary People Come to Embrace Paul Ryan's Cruelty | Alternet
August 19, 2012 | Like this article? Join our email list: Stay up to date with the latest headlines via email. Earlier this year, Democratic operatives looking for the best way to define Mitt Romney discovered something interesting about Paul Ryan's budget.Late last night, the mysterious group of hackers known as Anonymous successfully hacked the main database for the Internal Revenue Service. The group appeared to have a singular target- Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Romney has been criticized by both parties for his failure to produce more than one past tax return. According to Ann Romney on ABC’s “Good Morning America” they had no intention of ever disclosing the contents on those returns: “We’ve given all you people need to know and understand about our financial situation and how we live our life”.