When Mitt Romney Came To Town – Watch the video.
Ari Fleischer Secretly Involved in the Komen Foundation’s Strategy Regarding Planned Parenthood – Ari Fleischer, former press secretary for George W. Bush and prominent right-wing pundit, was secretly involved in the Komen Foundation’s strategy regarding Planned Parenthood. Fleischer personally interviewed candidates for the position of “Senior Vice President for Communications and External Relations†at Komen last December. According to a source with first-hand knowledge, Fleischer drilled prospective candidates during their interviews on how they would handle the controversy about Komen’s relationship with Planned Parenthood.
Fleischer’s relationship with Komen and the Planned Parenthood controversy was previously undisclosed. In November, Komen advertised for a top level communications position in Roll Call. Promising applicants received a call from Fleischer. According to a source, during at least one interview, Planned Parenthood was a major topic of conversation and Fleischer indicated that he had discussed the Planned Parenthood issue with Komen’s CEO.
As a result of this process, Komen hired Karen Handel for the position. Handel not only has a long anti-choice history, but pledged to eliminate grants for Planned Parenthood to provide breast and cervical cancer screenings when she ran for governor of Georgia in 2010. Handel has now resigned.
BP Made $3 Million Per Hour In 2011, While Spill Victims Continue To Suffer – BP’s 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill is still affecting the lives of many Americans, particularly the tens of thousands that have not settled lawsuits with the company. Yet the company has bounced back from the billions it lost in the wake of the spill.
BP announced today that its 2011 profit totaled $26 billion, a 114 percent jump from the year before, when the company’s “failure of supervision and accountability†caused the worst oil spill in U.S. history. As the company prepares for its upcoming criminal trial, let’s take a look at how BP has made out after the Deepwater Horizon disaster:
- BP earned $3 million per hour in 2011. Its fourth-quarter profits reached $7.69 billion, which is up 38 percent from 2010.
- The company is sitting on another $14 billion in cash.
- The company continues to scale back its production in the wake of the spill, producing 10 percent less than 2010 levels.
- BP contributions to federal candidates totaled more than $98,000 in 2011, with more than half (65 percent) to Republican candidates.
- BP spent $8 million lobbying Congress in 2011, down from the record $15 million the company lobbied in 2009 – one year before the oil disaster.
- For every dollar the big five oil companies use in lobbying, they effectively receive $30 in subsidies. This could mean BP potentially gained up to $243 million in subsidies, although the exact amount for an individual company is undisclosed.
- In the third quarter, BP’s Bob Dudley announced the company had reached a “definite turning point†of boosted profits. However, nearly two years following the Deepwater Horizon disaster, BP has still only paid $7.8 billion of the $20 billion fund they created to compensate individuals and businesses for losses incurred by the spill.
Republican Representative Thinks Onion Article About “Abortionplex†Was Real – Louisiana Republican Rep. John Fleming reposted a story about the opening of a supposed $8 billion Planned Parenthood “Abortionplex†on his Facebook page on Friday. But, the article was from comedy fake-news website The Onion. The more unbelievable something is, the more likely these guys will believe it. Their main source of exercise is jumping to conclusions.
Immigrant Children Targeted in Child Tax Credit Fight in Congress – The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has proposed excluding families who pay their taxes with an ITIN (rather than a Social Security number) from receiving the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). This credit offers up to a $1,000 tax break for millions of parents to offset the costs of raising children and to reduce child poverty. In most instances, ITIN filers are low-income families already struggling to pay their bills, as over 60% of families receiving this credit earn less than $25, 000 per year. This modification to the ACTC would target approximately 4 million U.S. citizen children being raised in 2 million immigrant households.
Health Insurance Companies Bilk Policy Holders While Raking in Huge Profits, CEO Salaries and Bonuses, and Spending Big on Lobbying – Anthem Blue Cross is spending millions on executive salaries and lobby efforts against healthcare reform — and how are they paying for it? By forcing 39% increases on their policy holders in California.
Netting $2.5 billion in profits wasn’t enough for WellPoint, the nation’s largest insurance company. WellPoint’s affiliate, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, is spending millions by suing the state of Maine for refusing to guarantee the company a profit in the midst of a painful recession.
Texas Congressman Wants Pipelines for Caribous – Apparently, Texas Republican Congressman Louie Gohmert got a new memo, and it said something about promoting a massive petrochemical pipeline in Alaska. Well, ok, so far this is fair enough, he’s also undoubtedly a proud card-carrying member of the Drill-Baby-Drill Caucus.
Here’s the theory Gohmert managed to come up with: we can’t stop this pipeline. Because if we stop this pipeline, the caribou will suffer. The caribou will suffer because the pipeline provides warmth. Without the warmth, the caribou won’t want to mate.
Yes, friends, apparently Gohmert believes oil pipelines make caribou horny. Without the pipeline, he’s concerned there won’t be enough caribou screwing going on. Pipelines apparently make the other caribou look really hot to each other, and they have sex with wild abandon. Pipelines apparently bring out all the slutty caribou who might otherwise stay home. But with the pipeline, it’ll totally be like a cari-booty call situation all the time. In conclusion, pipelines are caribou beer goggles.
Have a good laugh and read the whole article at the link above.
Regards,
Jim
Andy Hailey