BOOM: The Historic Proof Obamacare Foes Are Dead Wrong On Subsidies

"...under all that scrutiny and after all its familiarity with the law, the CBO never did one thing: It never considered that subsidies would be unavailable in some states if they didn't set up an exchange, as Auerbach told TPM this week. In all its iterations of the law, the idea that the subsidies would be available nationwide permeated all of them..."

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/obamacare-halbig-cbo-scores

Report: Israel Eavesdropped On Kerry's Calls During Peace Talks

Israel intelligence eavesdropped on some of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's phone calls last year during Middle East peace talks, Germany's Der S... Read more

France: Israel Right To Security Does Not Justify 'Massacre'

PARIS (AP) — Israel's right to security does not justify the "massacre" of civilians, France's foreign minister said Monday in unusually harsh languag... Read more

Big Oil Companies Pay Just A 11.7 Percent Tax Rate, Report Finds

In many cases, the companies were able to defer "more of their federal income taxes than they actually paid during the last ... Read more
 

KKK Leader Offers Way To Handle Border Crisis: 'Shoot To Kill'

A man who described himself as an imperial wizard for a Ku Klux Klan group in North Carolina said this week the best way to deal with undocumented imm... Read more

'Palin Of The South’ Out-Palins Palin

Republicans/Climate Change/Global Warming: "A Republican congressional candidate from Louisiana reportedly fled from an interview recently when she was asked about President Barack Obama’s birthplace.

After meeting with 55-year-old Louisiana state Rep. Lenar Whitney last week, The Cook Political Report’s David Wasserman came to the conclusion that she was “the most frightening candidate I’ve met in seven years interviewing congressional hopefuls.”

Whitney, who is running for Louisiana’s open 6th District, gained some national attention last month after releasing a video claiming that climate change was “the greatest deception in the history of mankind.”"

http://youtu.be/ipVUY01Bghk

House GOP Votes To Spurn Obama, Deport Dreamers Before Leaving Town

In a vote likely to exacerbate their party's demographic problems, House Republicans passed legislation on Friday night to effectively require the dep... Read more

Oz: 'Lose-lose situation for Israel'

Israel's ground offensive against Gaza is excessive, Israeli writer Amos Oz tells DW. But he also criticizes Hamas' strategy, in which both Israeli and Palestinian victims boost the organization's standing in Gaza. ... Read more

US 'Appalled' By Israel Shelling Of UN School

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States says it is "appalled" by the "disgraceful" shelling by Israel of a United Nations school sheltering some 3,000 dis... Read more

Juan Williams Suggests Calls To Impeach Obama Have Racist Undertones (VIDEO)

Fox News pundit Juan Williams on Sunday suggested that conservatives calling for President Obama's impeachment are racist given that they mostly come ... Read more

Cliven Bundy: Ranch Standoff Was A 'Spiritual' Battle

"..."The Lord told me ... if (the sheriff doesn't) take away these arms (from federal agents), we the people will have to face these arms in a civil war. He said, 'This is your chance to straighten this thing up,'" Bundy told members of the Independent American Party at an event Saturday in St. George, Utah, as quoted by the newspaper..."
... Read more

These are the images from Gaza that are too graphic for many US news outlets to publish (DAY 24)

Human misery is hard to look at. But it's one way to understand the true cost of warfare.

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TIL, Al Capone was responsible for expiration dates on milk jugs.

"...Although the Federal government viewed Capone as a gangster, to the people of his adopted city of Chicago, he was a modern-day Robin Hood..."

http://www.carboncountymagazine.com/CarbonCountyMagazine/2011/2011-08/Articles/Article4.html

Senate blocks aid to Israel

In the end, the Senate couldn’t even agree to deliver emergency aid to one of the United States’ closest allies.
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Alpenglow at Maroon Bells in Aspen, Colorado. Photo by Chung Hu. [OS] [1024x682]

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Israeli military announce they will bomb al-Shifa hospital in Gaza

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Rainbows and lightning on Crater Lake, Oregon. Photo by Jasman Mander. [1110x1170]

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Blooming Human Society and Technology Boom Linked to Less Testosterone

"...The researchers measured more than 1,400 ancient and modern skulls and found that when cultural advancements were made, heavy brows were out and rounder heads were in. These changes can be blamed on less testosterone working on their skeletons...."

http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/16413/20140804/blooming-human-society-technology-boom-linked-less-testosterone.htm

Tucker Carlson: Atheists 'Assaulting' Christians With IRS Rules Against Church Electioneering | Crooks and Liars

Fox News host Tucker Carlson asserted overt the weekend that a group of atheists had launched an "assault on people of faith" because they had asked the IRS to enforce existing anti-electioneering rules.

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/08/tucker-carlson-atheists-assaulting

KY State Rep., Coal Advocate Ben Waide (R) Indicted For Campaign Finance Violations

"...According to the Kentucky Attorney General's Office, Waide illegally accepted approximately $10,000 in campaign contributions from Liberty Rehabilitation, where he was a partner. The indictment also charges him with submitting approximately $6,000 in receipts to his campaign fund for reimbursement of expenses that were personal, not campaign-related..."
... Read more

Steve King Warns Obama: 'Please Don't' Make Congress Impeach You

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) pleaded with President Barack Obama over the weekend not to force the House of Representatives to begin impeachment hearings by... Read more

Self-Proclaimed 'Christian' Mike Huckabee Attacks U.N. For 'Whining' About Israel Bombing Gazan Schools

There are so many things wrong with this godawful segment from this Friday's Your World with Neil Cavuto, it's hard to know where to begin, so I guess... Read more

Sovereign Citizens Now Considered Top Terrorist Threat In United States

A consortium of law enforcement intelligence agencies has ranked various terrorist threats in terms of the perception of those that pose the greatest ... Read more

Liz Cheney Attacks Obama For Going After 'American Patriots' Who Tortured Prisoners

This would almost be humorous if it weren't so disgusting and infuriating. First we get to listen to President Obama go on the air and make excuses fo... Read more

Week In The News: Israel-Gaza Escalates, Congressional Recess, Russian Sanctions (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

A ceasefire that has not lasted in Gaza this week, and news on many fronts.  In Washington, where the CIA has admitted spying on its Senate Intelligence Committee overseers.  And where Congress is breaking for recess with no solution to the crisis of kids stacked up at the border.  In West Africa, where Ebola hits a record outbreak, with one patient headed to Atlanta.  With Russia, and new sanctions.  California and more water woes.  Wall Street, with a big swoon and all eyes on the US economy.  This hour On Point:  Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines. / Tom Ashbrook

Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2014/08/01/israel-gaza-congress-russia-recess-impeachment

Friday News Roundup - Domestic (Diane Rehm Show)

The unemployment rate rises slightly to 6.2%. House Republican leaders pull their bill to address the border crisis after opposition from within the GOP. Congressmen meet again today to try to re-work the bill before leaving town for August recess. Ahead of the summer break, the Senate does pass legislation to replenish the Highway Trust Fund. A CIA internal investigation reveals its officers spied on Senate Intelligence Committee computers. In response, the agency’s director apologizes to lawmakers. And the Justice Department challenges election laws in Ohio and Wisconsin. Diane and a panel of reporters discuss the week in news.
 

Interview:

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014-08-01/friday-news-roundup-domestic

 

 

Friday News Roundup - International (Diane Rehm Show)

A short time into a three-day cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, the truce collapsed. Israel said Hamas militants attacked Israeli soldiers who were dismantling a tunnel. For the first time the E.U. agreed to impose broad sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine. The U.S. also announced tougher sanctions. Ukraine declared a pause in fighting to allow international investigators to reach the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. In Libya the worst fighting since the overthrow of Colonel Gadhafi led the U.S. Embassy to evacuate. And Argentina defaulted on its debt after talks with bondholders failed. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top international news stories.
 

Interview:

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014-08-01/friday-news-roundup-international

 

 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren Asks About Lack of Private Student Loan Relief Options

Sen. Warren's Q&A at a July 31, 2014 Senate Banking Committee hearing on “Financial Products for Students: Issues and Challenges.”

http://youtu.be/haoKLe3rJxc

Stop sharing USB Flash drives - right now

It's time to start thinking of smartphones and USB Flash drives like toothbrushes or razors -- for personal use only.
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Meet The Dangerous, Xenophobic Ammosexuals Lookin' For Brown People To Shoot.

There's a crisis at the border–and, no, it's not the Central American refugee children fleeing miserable poverty and violence.

... Read more

Fox News' Phony Obama Approval Rating Chart

Let's all take a minute and give Roger Ailes a quick math lesson. One plus one equals two. Three plus three equals six. Now we can continue. Fox News... Read more

KKK Group Embraces 'Shoot To Kill' Policy For Refugee Children

Same KKK, different target. In fact, in its zeal to stop all brown people from crossing the border at all times no matter how miserable their lives we... Read more

Humanist Charity Raising Funds for Unaccompanied Immigrant Children's Legal Aid

"...The Humanist Crisis Response program will donate the funds to two organizations that provide attorneys for minors in immigration hearings -- the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project in Arizona, and Kids in Need of Defense, which operates in California and Texas...."

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2014/07/nations_largest_humanist_charity_raising_funds_for_unaccompanied_immigrant_childrens_legal_aid.php

Baerren: Let’s talk about atheism

"...If you want atheists to stop doing obnoxious things to let you know they object to your bigotry, stop being a bigot..."

http://www.themorningsun.com/opinion/20140731/baerren-lets-talk-about-atheism

A brief history of religion

Religious Lunacy Of All Kinds Has Real World Consequences

"When Israel ended its 38-year occupation of the Gaza Strip by withdrawing settlers in 2005, then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon hailed it as a "disengagement" from conflict with Palestinians in the densely populated coastal enclave.

But the conflict did not end, it only changed.

Israel kept expanding settlements in the West Bank where the Palestinians also seek a state. Hardline Islamists seized control of Gaza in 2007 and periodic U.S. efforts to broker a permanent peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority under secular President Mahmoud Abbas have proved fruitless. "

http://youtu.be/VYH4aYb7IAU

Holocaust Survivor Mourns What Israel Has Become

"As a Jewish youngster growing up in Budapest, an infant survivor of the Nazi genocide, I was for years haunted by a question resounding in my brain with such force that sometimes my head would spin: “How was it possible? How could the world have let such horrors happen?”

It was a naïve question, that of a child. I know better now: such is reality. Whether in Vietnam or Rwanda or Syria, humanity stands by either complicitly or unconsciously or helplessly, as it always does. In Gaza today we find ways of justifying the bombing of hospitals, the annihilation of families at dinner, the killing of pre-adolescents playing soccer on a beach.

In Israel-Palestine the powerful party has succeeded in painting itself as the victim, while the ones being killed and maimed become the perpetrators."

http://youtu.be/IynADeLxfCU

Debunked: The Mendacious Propaganda Israel is Pushing to Justify Its War On Gaza

"It was Israel that initiated the assault on Gaza--not the Palestinians..."
... Read more

'I Cried as I Took Notes,' Reporter on Gaza's Child Victims

AFP Middle East correspondent: "I've seen dead children before, but never like during this war in Gaza. Never so many, never so often."

 ... Read more

The Media's Pro-Israel Bias: Why Does TV News Look Like a Netanyahu Ad?

"...No one is asking the Israeli officials parading across the screen the hard questions...."
... Read more

WATCH: Jon Stewart Spanks Parasitic, Tax-dodging Corporations

Why are we constantly giving in to every whim of corporations? And why are they constantly throwing tantrums? Stewart has a theory. Read more

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Israel's Crazy Doctrine for Justifying Deaths of Over 1,000 Gazans

"The worsening of life for people in Gaza is a deliberate goal of the Israeli military..."
... Read more

10 Reasons to Be Hopeful that We Will Overcome Climate Change

Action in China, falling solar costs and rising electric car sales, for starters.

 ... Read more

Right-Wing Backlash Against 'Smartypants' Like Neil deGrasse Tyson

"Conservative elites delight in tearing down smart, educated people."

 ... Read more

4 Reasons Why the Newly Declared GOP ‘War FOR Women’ Is a Ridiculous Joke

"The GOP's package of bills aimed at improving women's economic circumstances is laughably transparent."

... Read more

Smart phones are making us antisocial

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Garden of the Gods. Winter in Colorado [1920x1080] [OC]

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I'm vacationing in Cambodia, here's my hotel at sunset

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Kanuhura, Maldives.

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Nasa validates 'impossible' space drive (Wired UK)

"...Nasa is a major player in space science, so when a team from the agency this week presents evidence that "impossible" microwave thrusters seem to work, something strange is definitely going on. Either the results are completely wrong, or Nasa has confirmed a major breakthrough in space propulsion...."

Read more

Paul Ryan Says Climate Change Is Just An Excuse For Obama To Raise Taxes

 Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) said he thinks that "climate change occurs no matter what," but that the EPA's recent efforts to reduce ... Read more

New Bill Would Create ‘License To Discriminate’ For Religious Adoption Agencies

"...The bill would force the government to continue to contracting with any organization that provides services to children, regardless of how their religious tenets affect the way they provide those services. Though the text doesn’t mention “same-sex” anywhere, it specifically references “some States, including Massachusetts, California, Illinois, and the District of Columbia,” four places where recognition of same-sex unions conflicted with Catholic Charities, which refused to provide adoption services to those couples..."
... Read more

Why The Koch Brothers Are So Interested In Who Becomes The Next Attorney General Of Colorado

A large group, which has received significant funding from the fossil fuel industry and dark money groups backed by ... Read Moore

Megyn Kelly Twists Pelosi’s Words To Suggest She Supports Hamas

Did Megyn Kelly bother to actually read or watch Nancy Pelosi’s comments about Israel, Hamas and Qatar before smearing her with a blatant misinterpretation?
... Read more

FreedomWorks Has Millions Of Reasons To Repeal The ACA

Mother Jones investigates the cozy and expensive relationship between Cancer Treatment Center of America and Freedomworks.
... Read more

Vote Cancelled On Border Crisis Bill; GOP Tells Obama To Act Alone

No wonder Li'l Luke Russert was shocked. One day after authorizing a lawsuit against President Obama for taking executive action, Speaker Boehner yank... Read more

Watch This Fox Pundit Call Out Tucker Carlson's 'Christian Nation' Hypocrisy On Refugee Kids

Fox News host Tucker Carlson has converted to secularism -- at least, when it comes to denying help to refugee children who are fleeing violence in Ce... Read more

The Video Israelis Should Be Ashamed Exists

“A United Nations school crammed with people displaced by Israel's war with Palestinian militants was hit in shelling in the Gaza Strip early Wednesday, killing at least 16 people and injuring scores more, local officials said.

The strike happened the day after Israel unleashed some of the most intense bombardments of the 23-day operation against Hamas, which controls the narrow coastal enclave.

More than 100 people were killed in Israeli shelling across Gaza on Wednesday, lifting the Palestinian toll for the campaign to more than 1,300, said Ashraf Kidra, a Health Ministry spokesman."

http://youtu.be/oyqWYz8oeoY

Creationist Leader Ken Ham Slams Launch of the World’s First Atheism-Themed TV Network

"...“It is incredible that atheists spend so much time, effort, and money arguing against Someone that they don’t even believe exists!,” Ham, who leads the Christian group Answers in Genesis, wrote on his blog. “Where are all their books, websites, and magazines that argue against the mythical Easter Bunny? This is because they do know God exists but they are suppressing the truth in unrighteousness.”...

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/07/30/religion-of-godlessness-creationist-leader-ken-ham-slams-launch-of-the-worlds-first-atheism-themed-tv-network/

5 ways the religious right is wrong again

"President Obama delivered a big win for the LGBT community when he signed an executive order last week barring federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. And he went further still, refusing to grant any exemption for religious organizations who do business with the government despite calls from more than a dozen high-profile faith leaders – some his own allies – to create such a carve-out. Under Obama’s order, all federal contractors, religious or otherwise, will be prohibited from firing, refusing to hire, or discriminating in any other way against LGBT employees

Needless to say, members of the religious right haven’t been too pleased. Here’s a look at some of their assertions..."

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/5-false-claims-religious-exemptions-lgbt-discrimination-executive-order

 

Israel bombs another UN school despite them telling Israel 17 times that the school housed civilians

"...UN spokesman Chris Gunness said "the world stands disgraced" by the attack, in which 15 died and dozens were hurt..."

Read more

In Two Years, Denmark's Wind Power Will Be Half the Cost of Fossil Fuels

Denmark's Energy Association (everything about Scandinavia is friendlier, even its DEA) announced the news last week, and it's an achievement worth highlighting. Wind and solar are achieving grid parity with fossil fuels—that is, it's just as cheap—in many places around the world. Even without the tax breaks, declining manufacturing costs and growing scale have rendered wind power just as cheap as natural gas in many states right here in the gas-rich US. And at least one analyst determined that this is the "beginning of the grid parity era" for solar, worldwide.

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Bolivia declares Israel a "terrorist state" and bans its citizens from entering the country without a visa

"...At an event in the city of Cochabamba (center), Morales said the decision was taken in his cabinet because “Israel does not respect the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”...

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House Republicans Fiddle While Forest Service Runs Out Of Money To Fight Wildfires

The House is expected to vote on a bill that would waive at least 14 environmental laws within 100 miles of the southern U.S. ... Read more