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Monday, August 27, 2012

Tom Morello on Paul Ryan • Romney/Ryan • Lying Republicans • Climate Change • Fascist Ronald Reagan • Going Vegan • more

- GOP's Concern for Disaster Preparedness Doesn't Extend Beyond Tampa
    Since assuming control of the House, Republicans have consistently played dangerous politics with disaster relief funds and slashed the budgets of storm monitoring agencies, thereby executing the same small-government-at-all-costs mentality that led to widespread destruction in New Orleans. They may go to great lengths to assure the safety of party delegates in Tampa Bay, but they have not shown the same compassion for storm victims in the rest of the country.
- Four Ways the Ohio GOP is Already Stealing the 2012 Election
    The Ohio Republican Party has moved four ways to steal America's 2012 election. The Buckeye State is almost certain to emerge as a decider in this year's presidential election, and the GOP is moving fast to ensure victory, no matter what it takes.
- Tom Morello: 'Paul Ryan Is the Embodiment of the Machine Our Music Rages Against'
    Rage Against the Machine's guitarist blasts Romney's VP pick and unlikely Rage fan
- If You Aren't Young/Old, Middle Class/Poor, Gay, A Student, A Vet, Or A Woman, You'll Love Paul Ryan
    Meet Mitt Romney's vice presidential nominee, Paul Ryan. He wants to basically cut everything. And then basically give Mitt Romney the biggest tax cut ever.
- Paul Ryan Cracks Joke As 71 Year-Old Citizen Is Forced To The Ground (VIDEOS)
    This took place last fall at one of Congressman Rep. Ryan’s “Pay to Play” town hall meetings where he was discussing cutting Senior’s Social Security, and Medicare as a means of debt reduction. As you might imagine, one senior was not pleased.
- 3 Essential Things To Read About Paul Ryan Today
    Mitt Romney chose super-conservative superstar Rep. Paul Ryan as his vice-presidential nominee this morning. Read these articles if you want to know who he is and what this might mean for America.
- Millionaire Mitt Romney Would Pay ONLY 0.82 Percent in Taxes Under Paul Ryan's Plan
    Under Paul Ryan's plan, Mitt Romney wouldn't pay any taxes for the next ten years -- or any of the years after that.
- The Five Reasons Why the Ryan-Romney Economic Plan Would Be A Disaster for America
    The Romney-Ryan Economic Plan - The Five Reasons Why the Ryan-Romney Economic Plan Would Be A Disaster for America
- Paul Ryan: Randian poseur
    Mitt Romney couldn't have chosen a better example of the fakery at the heart of today's GOP
- Mitt Romney: “I was too important to go to Vietnam”
    Monday, at a press event in California before the GOP primary in that state, former Gov. Mitt Romney was asked about his support of United States military involvement overseas. He was pleased to answer the question, however after his response, his answer to a follow-up question regarding his four deferments from the Vietnam War did not please onlookers, especially veterans.
- Republican Official: N.M. Governor ‘Dishonored’ Gen. Custer By Meeting With American Indians
    A progressive group called on Republican National Committee leader Pat Rogers to step down on Friday after emails showed him telling New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez’s staff that meeting with a group of American Indians “dishonored” Gen. George Armstrong Custer, the 19th century commander who killed scores of American Indians.
- Romney's Campaign Strategy: Lie, Lie, and Lie Some More -- Can Democracy Survive with 0% Media Accountability?
    The Romney campaign has turned to a strategy of swamping the public with flat-out, blatant lies, one after another, again and again, endlessly and lavishly repeated. They do this because they are making a calculation that it will work! So what is going on? And can democracy survive this assault?
- Why reproductive rights have the Republican Party on the defensive
    I put together this chart based on the latest CNN poll (pdf), which asked respondents, "Now I am going to read some specific situations under which an abortion might be considered. For each one, please say whether you think abortion should be legal in that situation, or illegal."88% believe abortion should be legal when a woman's life is endangered, 83% believe abortion should be legal when a woman's physical health is endangered, and 83% believe abortion should be legal when a pregnancy is caused by rape or incest.
    In other words, the Akin/Paul-Ryan/GOP-platform position on abortion is really unpopular.
- Book Reveals Extensive Effort by Reagan, FBI to Undermine California’s Student Movement in 1960s
    FBI director J. Edgar Hoover ordered his agents to investigate and then disrupt the Free Speech Movement that began in 1964 on the Berkeley campus of the University of California. In part two of our interview, Rosenfeld discusses how Ronald Reagan collaborated with the FBI to target California’s student movement and strengthen Reagan’s own rise to power.
- Study Shows Bill Nye Was Right About CNN's Climate Coverage
    CNN anchor Carol Costello recently asked Bill Nye "The Science Guy" if he is "disappointed" that climate change is largely ignored in American political discourse. Nye responded: "Well if I'm disappointed, everybody, it's in you guys." And with good reason: CNN rarely mentions climate change, even while reporting on its consequences -- as a new Media Matters study shows.
- Arctic sea ice extent breaks 2007 record low
    Arctic sea ice appears to have broken the 2007 record daily extent and is now the lowest in the satellite era. With two to three more weeks left in the melt season, sea ice continues to track below 2007 daily extents.
- Arctic sea ice levels to reach record low within days
    The dramatic melt expected over the next week signals that global warming is having a major impact on the polar region
- MIT Study Shows Geothermal Could Produce 100,000 Megawatts of Energy in the US Within 50 Years
    So far, Humans have harnessed the strength of the sun, water, and wind to generate clean electricity. Now, it may be time to take advantage of the earth’s capacity to provide renewable power. An interdisciplinary panel from MIT estimated that the United States could potentially produce 100,000 megawatts of geothermal energy within the next 50 years.  The report estimates that 200,000 exajoules of energy could be captured from EGS (enhanced geothermal systems) by 2050 in the US alone – that’s roughly 2,000 times the total consumption of the country in 2005.
- Central Valley Meat Co. Shut Down After Undercover Video Surfaces From Within Slaughterhouse
    Federal regulators who shut down a Central California slaughterhouse after receiving an animal welfare video were investigating Tuesday whether beef from sick cows reached the human food supply.The video appears to show workers bungling the slaughter of cows struggling to walk and even stand. Under federal regulations, sick animals cannot be slaughtered for human consumption.
- Veganism: Making The Transition
    It seems that every few weeks, a news story breaks about an undercover investigation inside a factory farm. Just this past week, the DC-based group Compassion Over Killing, revealed footage taken by one of their investigators that caused the USDA to shut down a slaughterhouse near Fresno, CA. This time it was dairy cows being slaughtered for hamburger. COK's undercover video documented horrific abuse: a cow being suffocated by a worker who is stepping on her muzzle, cows too weak to walk or even stand being jabbed with electric prods, cows still fully conscious having their throats slit.
    When confronted with these images, most people turn away, disgusted and sad. Yet time and time again we hear of the abuse, torture and neglect farm animals endure. Many of my friends not involved in animal rights ask me: How can this be?
    The answer to that question is many-fold: desensitized farm workers, "standard" farm practices that are exempted from animal cruelty laws, the phenomena of seeing animals as commodities rather than sentient beings. My question back to them is always the same: What are you going to do about it?
- Answers to the plant based diet protein deficiency myth
    Anyone who is vegan, or even vegetarian, is likely quite familiar with the infamous question, "But where do you get your PROTEIN?" Some veggie lovers may already know how to answer this question without missing a beat. But if you're not quite sure, read on to arm yourself with knowledge; not just for a quick response, but more importantly for your own health!
- Wondering About a Vegan Diet? (Infographic)
    Want to know how to be healthy and cruelty-free? No worries—eating vegan is easy! Get all your answers and more with PETA's "Wondering About a Vegan Diet?" infographic, and don't forget to share this infographic on Facebook.

Sean