Happy Earth Day!

Save the Earth ~ It's the Only Planet with Chocolate! <3

R.I.P. Roger Ebert ~ Movie Lover and Progressive Hero

There are really no words. Did you know that Roger Ebert was the FIRST film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize? I think many people forget that because he was a humble person and didn't blow his own horn too much.

I grew up watching Ebert and Siskel on our local PBS station. Back then we didn't have 500 reviews online for every movie. You either read an odd review now and then in the newspaper or you had to buy Newsweek or Time. So thanks to television and PBS, Ebert and Siskel because THE movie critics of America, the only ones who really mattered. I always stayed up after 11:30 to see their show on Sunday nights, even when my husband grumbled or if I had to be at work early on Monday morning. I enjoyed it most when they disagreed and got fired up about movies they cared about - that's what a real fan does, and above all, they were movie fans.

Gene Siskel was more of a macho guy who liked "The Deer Hunter," "Raging Bull" and "Saturday Night Fever", while Ebert was the nerdy, intellectual guy who loved nostalgia and Stephen King movies. I remember his review of "Star Wars" back in the seventies, talking about the "old universe" it portrayed, and the classic coming of age story - I couldn't wait to go see it after hearing his review.



I remember when my kids were little how much I appreciated it that Ebert would seriously review movies like "Babe" and "Free Willy" and "Toy Story." Before there was an internet, he introduced his audience to the work of the Japanese master Miyasaki, showing clips of "My Neighbor Totoro," a movie I would never have chosen for my children at the video store without his review. My kids went on to become Japanese movie junkies, and they may not realize that it all goes back to Ebert.

I also remember when he praised "Dirty Dancing," saying it reminded him of being young and in love, and I used his review to help my husband understand why I liked that movie so much. I remember he usually loved musicals, unless Madonna was the star, LOL.

But Ebert was more than a movie critic. He was also a Kick-Ass Democrat who campaigned for President Obama tirelessly last year on Twitter, and who made time each day to push Progressive causes that mattered the most. That's his most lasting legacy, I think. Cancer had stolen his ability to speak on television, but Twitter gave him a new voice and a platform with millions of new readers and fans. And now we all mourn the loss of a a great writer, communicator and powerhouse Progressive. But above all he was a really, really nice guy, certainly someone you would love to see a movie with, and go for a hamburger afterward to analyze every scene.

And like the movie heroes he loved, he was brave - he stood up for what he believed, and he fought cancer like a boss. R.I.P., Dear Critic from Chicago - I wish we had hundreds more just like you.

Roger Ebert's Last Column: "A Leave of Presence"
 
Fans and Celebrities React to the Death of Roger Ebert 

LA Times Hero Complex: A Look Back at 5 Fan Favorite Reviews by Roger Ebert

One Amazing Protestor Spins a Yarn

I found these amazing pictures of a super-knitting activist sitting in front of the White House via reporter Jennifer Bendery of Huffington Post. Knitted into her hat are the words "Stop XL" - referring to the Tar Sands Pipeline, no doubt, and on her afghan it says "Occupy Grandparents, Pay It Forward." Her umbrella is a pie chart! Amazing!

This woman in front of the WH wins the day: she KNITTED a pie chart of the US budget onto an umbrella. twitter.com/jbendery/statu…
— jennifer bendery (@jbendery) March 11, 2013

The amazing knitting protestor outside the WH has also knit herself an "Occupy Grandparents" blanket. twitter.com/jbendery/statu…
— jennifer bendery (@jbendery) March 11, 2013

Obama Calms Progressive Fears on Tax Promise

Good work, Mr. President. Stand your ground with Boehner and the rest! You have a mandate from all of us and we want the wealthy to pay their share of taxes. It's a whole new world and they will have to deal.

Huffington Post

President Barack Obama will enter high-stakes budget negotiations firmly committed to seeing the tax rates for high-income earners rise to pre-George W. Bush levels, he assured a gathering of progressive and labor leaders on Tuesday.

"I am not going to budge," he told the group, according to an attendee who relayed material from the meeting on condition of anonymity. "I said in 2010 that I'm going to do this once, and I meant it."

. . . Several sources at the meeting said the president was, as one noted, "more nuanced than going off the cliff." Obama hopes to place "maximum pressure on House Republicans so at the end of the day he may be able to budge them," the source added.

"It seemed like he meant it," the first source said. "That suggests that they are ready to go over the ledge."

Following the meeting, a handful of attendees spoke briefly to the press, praising Obama for vowing to firmly oppose an extension of the tax cuts for the wealthy.

"It was a very, very positive meeting," said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. "We're very committed to making sure that the middle class and workers don't end up paying the tab for a party that we didn't get to go to, and the president is committed to that as well."

"The president was really standing firm on taxes," said Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress. "Everyone in the room talked about how much they have the president's back in this fight."

Supreme Impatience as Possible Verdict on Obamacare Draws Near

I hate waiting for anything - patience is not my virtue! And in this information age with lightning-fast computers and instant tweets, it seems ridiculous to make people wait for weeks to hear the Supreme Court verdict. But this is "how it's done" so we wait. There's almost a sense of impending doom hanging in the air, no matter what the verdict is. I can't even imagine what's going to happen at that moment - heads explode, certainly. People cussing on Twitter and Facebook. Speeches, marches, anger - either side could be ticked off royally. Predictions are running rampant that the mandate will be struck down. What the Supremes will do with the rest of the Health Care Bill is anyone's guess.

UPDATE: It was "Or Nothing" - no ruling on Health Care today! See you next Monday!

NPR: Ruling Could Come Today

Word about which of its remaining decisions the court releases today should come just after 10 a.m. ET. The court's website is here.
We'll be watching for news from the court. So will SCOTUSBlog, which is always quick with updates.

From the LA Times

WASHINGTON -- Television cameras will surround the Supreme Court on Thursday morning, as they did Monday, anticipating something that may, again, not happen.
The momentous healthcare decision could be announced Thursday. Or not. All we really know is that it is extremely likely to be handed down by the following Thursday, June 28, when the court is expected to end its current term.

. . . The decisions are printed inside the ornate 1935 Corinthian-style building, and handed out to reporters as the justice who authored the opinion announces the decision from the bench shortly after 10 a.m. By tradition the senior justice goes last, so healthcare is likely to be the last decision announced on the day it comes down.

Only a few times in modern history have the results leaked ahead of time, once reputedly from a comment by a justice to a reporter, another time from a talkative printer.
The court is not meeting Friday, so if the healthcare decision does not come Thursday, the next opportunity would be Monday.

Daily Beast: How the Supreme Court Ruling Will Move Markets

Most academics are bullish on the constitutionality of the individual mandate, the law’s cornerstone. There’s around a “10-to-1” chance of the provision’s survival, said Thomas Maguire, a professor of health economics at Harvard. But the market isn’t as optimistic.
“The market is pricing a 60% to 70% likelihood of the mandate being struck down,” said Michael Gregory, manager of two healthcare funds for an investment firm affiliated with Highland Capital Management LP.
According to six industry analysts and fund managers interviewed by The Daily Beast, Wall Street money believes that the individual mandate, if not the entire law, will be dumped.

Shepard Smith: Republicans on the "Wrong Side of History" About Gay Marriage

This is fantastic - Shep Smith is the one smart guy on the Fox News payroll and he isn't afraid to speak the truth and say that President Obama is on the correct side of history in his stance on gay marriage, while the Republicans refuse to "evolve."



And a little truth goes a long way when there is so much nonsense spouted about LGTB issues on the Right among people who actually know better. Watch the clip below from Hardball and you'll see what I mean - a Republican Romney tool saying that if parents just did all the right things such as reading the Bible to their kids, then they would never have a homosexual child. Funny thing - I bet almost everyone in the U.S. has known a preacher or deacon or Sunday School teacher with a gay child. And where do all those gay priests come from if their families indoctrinate them in religion from an early age? Answer: *crickets chirping*. There is no answer because sexual orientation is involuntary, not a choice. Unbelievable.

President Obama Endorses Same-Sex Marriage

Today in a major interview on ABC News, President Obama said he is in favor of gay marriage. This comes a day after North Carolina voted to add an amendment to their state constitution defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman, effectively banning gay marriage in that state. The pronouncement also came a few days after Vice President Joe Biden said he was "absolutely comfortable with gay marriage" on MSNBC's Meet the Press.

"I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married," he said.

President Obama Seeks to Move Forward in 2012

New 2012 Election Video for President Barack Obama

Insidious ALEC Draws More Fire

 Source: Common Cause

From Bloomberg

Common Cause, a Washington-based political ethics watchdog group, today filed a complaint accusing the American Legislative Exchange Council of violating its tax-exempt status by lobbying state legislators.The filing asks the Internal Revenue Service to force ALEC to pay back taxes and penalties.

“ALEC is a corporate lobby front group masquerading as a public charity,” Common Cause President Bob Edgar, a former Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania, said in a statement announcing the complaint. “It tells the IRS in its tax returns that it does no lobbying, yet it exists to pass profit-driven legislation in state houses all over the country that benefits its corporate members.”

By definiton, the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, which was founded in 1973, is supposed to be a registered Non-Profit Group that idealistically brings together business and politics in a productive way. In reality, ALEC has literally written much of the Republican legislation passed in this country, such as the NRA-backed Stand Your Ground laws, as well as new strict rules passed in Florida, Tennessee, Arizona and elsewhere that require even long-time voters to produce a picture ID. At least 2000 members of ALEC are elected politicians in State Legislatures so obviously Corporations are paying for access to those members when they join. When a group "sells" access to a bunch of politicians, we have what is known as "lobbying." That's not illegal, but it also doesn't deserve tax-exempt status from the IRS.

You can read the complete IRS complaint filed by Common Cause Here.

ALEC's primary, if not sole objective is to "influence legislation." Its bylaws state that its purpose is to "formulate legislative action programs," "disseminate model legislation and promote the introduction of companion bills in Congress and state legislatures," and "[e]establish a clearinghouse for bills at the state level, and provide for a bill exchange program." [1] As recently as April 11, 2012, ALEC boasted that "for years, ALEC has partnered with legislators to research and develop better, more effective ... legislation. [2] Notwithstanding these claims, however, ALEC has reported "for years" to the IRS that it has not spent a single penny on lobbying or attempting to influence legislation. These tax returns are patently false.
ALEC is a de facto organization of corporations, which have veto power over any ALEC legislation, and which pay enormous sums of money for the privilege of lobbying ALEC's legislator-members (who pay nominal dues of $50 per year). ALEC spends its resources enabling its corporate members to communicate their desired legislative outcomes to state lawmakers, publicly brags that it "partner]s]" with legislators to pass the so-called "free enterprise" corporate-drafted bills into law, but disclaims in its IRS 501(c)(3) filings that it spends resources on attempting to influence legislation. ALEC is a corporate lobbying group masquerading as a public charity.

The ALEC website also includes this brag about Legislative influence that seems to be admittance of guilt:

To date, ALEC’s Task Forces have considered, written and approved hundreds of model bills on a wide range of issues, model legislation that will frame the debate today and far into the future. Each year, close to 1,000 bills, based at least in part on ALEC Model Legislation, are introduced in the states. Of these, an average of 20 percent become law.

 Time Magazine's Swampland Blog has a great description of how ALEC works with State Legislatures:

For a modest membership fee, conservative legislators gain access to the group’s resources. Think of ALEC’s prepackaged and prelawyered legislation as Swanson TV dinners: all you need is a majority vote to reheat it, and it’s ready to serve. The result: similarly flavored bills in statehouses across the country.

Since the Trayvon Martin shooting highlighted the sketchy nature of "Stand Your Ground" laws as well as the possible racist connotations for the Voting restrictions and the strange legislative attacks on women, many large corporate sponsors such as Wendy's, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Mars Candy, Intuit, McDonald's, and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have severed ties with ALEC. Update: And just today, giant Proctor and Gamble pulled out. See the List of Remaining Corporate ALEC Sponsors on Sourcewatch. To send a message to remaining sponsors that they should break their connections with ALEC Click Here.

The pressure is working because last week ALEC disbanded its social-issues wing to concentrate on economic issues. But many groups say that is not enough. From CBS News

"ALEC's latest statement is nothing more than a PR stunt aimed at diverting attention from its agenda, which has done serious damage to our communities," ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson said in a statement.
. . . "This year, because of ALEC, millions of voters who had been eligible to vote in 2008 will be denied access to the ballot box," NAACP President Benjamin Jealous said in a statement. "We may never know how many families will be denied justice because of the 'stand your ground' laws that continue to put communities in danger, or how many families will be torn apart under repressive anti-immigrant laws."

The only possible way that ALEC might keep it's non-profit status is because it defines itself as a "bipartisan" organization, yet the vast majority of bills it helps to pass favor the conservative agenda.Therefore, organizations such as Bold Progressives are calling for Democrats to "Dump ALEC" - story from Alternet:

"It's a sham to project that [ALEC] is bipartisan in nature. And no Democrat should give aid and comfort to this organization by participating in it, to promote its alleged 'bipartisanship,'" said New York State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries. "It is very important that members of the Democratic Party, who traditionally have stood for enfranchising voters and have stood for promoting the rights to organize and for sensible gun laws, should withdraw from an organization that pushes an agenda that is exactly the opposite."

South Dakota State Sen. Angie Buhl added, "At the end of the day, the Democratic Party is big and diverse, but we've always been about standing up for middle- and working-class families, not for corporations. ALEC is the antithesis of what we stand for as Democrats. Dozens of companies like Kraft and Coca-Cola have already dumped ALEC, and it's time for Democrats to do the same."