RSN: Democrats and the Expansion of Social Security

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DISASTER FUNDRAISING: IS THAT ALL THAT WORKS? It’s nearly impossible at this point to run a normal fundraiser. Unless things get seriously dire we get no support. That is one bad formula. We need fewer donations now than we have ever needed before. That should be easier, not harder. If you are going to be a part of this, be a part of it. Let’s finish the July fundraiser. / Marc Ash, Founder Reader Supported News

Sure, I'll make a donation!

Paul Krugman. (photo: NYT)

Democrats and the Expansion of Social Security

By Paul Krugman, The New York Times

12 April 15

s Republican presidential hopefuls trot out their policy agendas — which always involve cutting taxes on the rich while slashing benefits for the poor and middle class — some real new thinking is happening on the other side of the aisle. Suddenly, it seems, many Democrats have decided to break with Beltway orthodoxy, which always calls for cuts in “entitlements.” Instead, they’re proposing that Social Security benefits actually be expanded.

This is a welcome development in two ways. First, the specific case for expanding Social Security is quite good. Second, and more fundamentally, Democrats finally seem to be standing up to antigovernment propaganda and recognizing the reality that there are some things the government does better than the private sector.

 

Like all advanced nations, America mainly relies on private markets and private initiatives to provide its citizens with the things they want and need, and hardly anyone in our political discourse would propose changing that. The days when it sounded like a good idea to have the government directly run large parts of the economy are long past.

 

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RSN: Obama Has Turned the Economy Around

Are Republicans who control both houses of Congress interested in governing or will they remain stuck in their ideological corner? Their current approval rating of 11% does not seem to faze them, so the signs are not encouraging. In an unprecedented move, 47 Senate Republicans just signed a letter deliberately undermining both our President and important allies' in the negotiation to halt nuclear arms proliferation by Iran.

It's Live on the HomePage Now:
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FOCUS: Barbra Streisand | Obama Has Turned the Economy Around

Barbra Streisand, Reader Supported News
Streisand writes: "In the wake of the financial crisis, President Obama took the helm of a sinking economic ship and help to right it."
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Populism Rising & Merry Christmas!

Stop Telling Lies About Liberals And We'll Stop Telling The Truth About You shared The Other 98%'s photo.

(chs)

Up too late Christmas Eve, I guess.

 

Ha! Thanks for the laugh, Dan Piraro Bizarro Comics.

NationofChange

Populism, by definition, doesn’t trickle down from the top. It spreads as a bottom up movement that chooses and elevates its own leaders.

 

Populism Rising?

nationofchange.org

 

The Beltway crowd has discovered populism. Senator Elizabeth Warren’s surging popularity from her aggressive defense of Social Security and demand...

 

 

 

TheBlueSquirrel.org: My Left Nut shared Gregg Braden's photo.

To all of Squirrel Nation....please be safe throughout the holidays.
Hugs and sparkles, Blue.

 

 It's always about ENERGY!

 

Bold Nebraska

Merry Christmas from Bold Nebraska!

Here's a funny tongue-in-cheek list of ideas for how you can unnecessarily waste lots of energy over the holidays.

 

12 Sexiest Ideas for Wasting Crazy Amounts of Energy at Christmastime

Posted on December 22, 2013 | By

Denis Du Bois

 

 

 

Each household energy waster is like a Christmas gift from you to your utility. In the spirit of the season, please enjoy this tongue-in-cheek parody of link-baiting blog posts.

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There are so many easy and amazing ways to enhance energy waste around the house during the holidays.
How many can you find? Get the whole family to search together and make a game of it! Here are twelve ideas to get you started:
1. String all your old lights on the house and in the yard, then leave them on 24/7.

Untangling that wad of fading, failing incandescent light strands is part of the joy of the holidays. Why change?

LED light strands would use 70 percent less energy than traditional bulbs, and they’re brighter so you would use fewer of them.

2. Leave the fireplace flue open.

Santa needs unimpeded access through your chimney. When the fire goes out, don’t bother closing the flue. Bonus points for chimneys or furnace flues with holes or gaps around them that allow air to escape.

Adding metal flashing and caulk would decrease drafts and your energy bill.

3. Crank up the thermostat.

Everybody likes a warm house for the holidays. But all those Christmas lights don’t generate very much heat, and the open fireplace flue causes quite a chilly draft. Every degree you

turn your thermostat up in cold weather will add to your overall energy bill. Is your thermostat programmable? You might need to find the “hold” button. Otherwise a programmable thermostat can save about $180 a year in energy costs. Too warm? Turn on the ceiling fan.

4. Keep your old Xbox 360 or PS3.

Game consoles use crazy amounts of energy, costing you $16 to $36 a year — but they’re so much fun! As tempting as it is to give new Xbox One, Sony PS4 and Ouya hardware as gifts, they use

less energy by comparison (although you still get credit for wasting energy if the gift recipient leaves it in standby day and night).

5. Put only clean dishes in the dishwasher.

With all those holiday guests, rinsing dirty dishes before loading your dishwasher uses a lot of water and energy. Never mind that most dishwashers today can thoroughly clean dishes that have had food scraped off. Extra points for running a half-empty dishwasher and using the “heat dry” option.

6. Give each other a luxurious hot tub.

Keep it nice and warm for those spontaneous dips. Leave the cover off — the rising steam will look pretty in the Christmas lights and waste insane amounts of energy and water.

7. Run partial loads of laundry. Remember to use hot water!

Clothes washers use about the same amount of energy regardless of the size of the load. Running half loads doubles your waste for the same effort. Hot water heating accounts for about 90 percent of the energy your machine uses to wash clothes, and costs you an extra $30-$40 a year.

8. Let dryer lint accumulate on the filter.

Leaving the filter dirty after every load chokes air circulation and decreases the efficiency of the dryer, costing you about $34 per year.

9. Leave those storm windows in the basement.

It’s so much trouble to replace your screens with

storm windows to provide an extra barrier to the cold outside air. You’ve been meaning to replace your windows anyway, and your future ENERGY STAR qualified windows will save $150-$500 per year in energy costs, so splurge while you can!

10. Add a new refrigerator. But don’t get rid of the old one.

It’s too late for Black Friday, but there are still deals to be had. Move the old refrigerator to the garage and stock it with your favorite beverage. Don’t worry about the

$100 yearly cost of running it. Out of sight, out of mind! No garage? Sell or give it away so someone else will inherit an energy waster for years to come.

11. Use separate office devices for printing, copying, scanning and faxing.

Teleworkers have so many more ways to waste energy. If you were to buy a multi-function device that combines several capabilities (print, fax, copy, scan) what would you do with all that unused desk space?

12. And finally, after you share this article on every possible social media site, don’t forget to leave your computer on!
For serious ideas about saving energy throughout the holiday season and beyond, check out the Department of Energy web site about holiday energy savings.


More on energy efficiency.

 

 

 

http://blog.seattlepi.com/energy/2013/12/22/12-sexiest-ideas-for-wasting-crazy-amounts-of-energy-at-christmastime/

 

 

The Humane Society of the United States

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the HSUS family to yours!

 

 

Urgent Ohio Dogs

MISSING- AKRON / ELLET OHIO AREA--- These babies have been missing for over 50 days now- Please help find these family dogs. The family has been looking and posting and driving all over to check leads. They refuse to give up because they are FAMILY Please help them find their Christmas Miracle At this point they could be anywhere---- If you see them please call Pam at 330-431-8451.

 

 

 

 

Time For Fiscal Sanity!

VooDoo Economics has failed! It's time to restore fiscal sanity to the federal budget and restore the Moral Definition of our Great Nation!

Thank you, Senator Sanders!

Bernie Sanders

For a Budget That Is Both Morally and Economically Sound - Sen. Sanders, The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/for-a-budget-that-is-both_b_4170193.html?utm_hp_ref=yahoo&ir=Yahoo

 

From Senator Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders

Today's news from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.):

Budget Committee: Sen. Bernie Sanders was named to a committee to try and create a long-term budget plan by Dec. 13 and prevent another government shutdown. “It’s important to have Sen. Sanders on that committee to make certain they make the right choices going forward and we don’t end up in this mess all over again in January,” Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin told WPTZ-TV on Saturday. “I look forward to working with my Democratic and Republican colleagues to end the absurdity of sequestration and to develop a budget which works for all Americans,” Sanders said in a report posted byvtdigger.org.

Sanders in the South: Sen. Sanders' visit Saturday to St. Helena's Island resulted in something rare in the conservative Lowcountry: a self-described socialist receiving a standing ovation. Sanders told more than 150 people at the S.C. Progressive Network fall retreat that "white, working-class people in the South" have a tendency "to vote against themselves." The longest-serving independent in Congress visited South Carolina after stops in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi in an effort to unite progressives and working- and middle-class conservatives, The Beufort Gazette, The Associated Press and Raw Story reported.

Obama Wins Standoff with Congress: President Obama trounced the Republicans last week with a strategy of holding firm and winning an argument, not by finding common ground. Obama has proved better at the messy business of helping hold together his own party's congressional caucus than President Bill Clinton did. “For all the talk of Obama's distaste for schmoozing, he was the one who finally passed a health care law by holding together every single Senate Democrat, from Bernie Sanders on the left to Ben Nelson on the right,” according to The New York Times.

Continue reading here: http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/newswatch/102013