Following the defeat of Sen. Richard Lugar in Indiana's GOP primary, the Tea Party Patriots were quick to claim partial credit for taking down the long-serving moderate. To underscore the group's clout (and push back against chatter about the movement's slow demise), TPP cofounder Jenny Beth Martin revealed to an interviewer that her organization's most recent IRS filing shows that TPP had raised more than $12 million. This impressive figure wasn't exactly proof of TPP's role in dispatching Lugar, but Martin's disclosure did raise a question: Where did all that money go?
The group's full IRS filing, obtained by Mother Jones, offers details on TPP's spending that may make conservative activists wonder about about TPP's fiscal responsibility. It covers the fiscal year ending in May 2011 and shows that TPP spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on high-priced political fundraisers (in one case paying a firm tens of thousands of dollars more than it was able to raise during the reporting period), shelled out more than a half-million dollars in travel expenses, and paid its once-volunteer leaders six-figure salaries.
Complaints about frivolous spending have plagued TPP since the 2010 midterm elections, when some activists accused Martin and fellow TPP co-founder Mark Meckler of hiring expensive consultants and racking up big travel tabs. Since then, local tea party activists have continuiously griped that the national group directs scant funding to its state-based network of grassroots organizations and that it has been poorly managing the contributions it raked in.
Prepare for an incoming transmission: Flickr/Steven HegerLate last Friday, Buzzfeed reporter and Rolling Stone contributor Michael Hastings broke what looked like a big scoop: Congress was quietly planning to lift a 64-year-old law preventing the US government from using propaganda on its own citizenry. Before the House passed its defense budget bill Friday afternoon, Hastings reported, a bipartisan group of congressmen tacked on an amendment that would "essentially neutralize" a set of time-tested guidelines "that had been passed to protect U.S. audiences from our own government's misinformation campaigns."
Progressive thinkers balked at the news: Mideast expert Juan Cole decried the amendment as "the creeping fascism of American politics…by our representatives, who apparently have never read a book on Germany in the 1930s-1940s or on the Soviet Union in the Stalin period." On civil libertarian Jonathan Turley's site, guest bloggerElaine Magliaro asked: "How about some propaganda for the people paid for by the people being propagandized?"
But the outcry in this case seems misguided. For starters, the proposed law doesn't permit the spread of any information that isn't already available to the American public. Moreover, the amendment could conceivably bring more of the government's overseas information operations into the sunlight, a good thing.
Around midnight on June 5, 2011, a 23-year-old African American transgender woman named Crishaun "CeCe" McDonald was walking with four friends past Schooner Tavern in Minneapolis. A group of at least four white people outside the bar began harassing McDonald and her friends, calling the group, all of whom were African American, "niggers" and "faggots." One of the men in the group, who would later be identified as Dean Schmitz, said "look at that boy dressed like a girl tucking her dick in." As McDonald and her friends tried to walk away, Schmitz's ex-girlfriend Molly Flaherty hit McDonald in the face with a glass of alcohol and sliced open her cheek, causing an injury that would later require stitches. The groups began fighting, and when McDonald attempted to leave the scene, Schmitz followed. McDonald took a pair of scissors out of her purse and turned around to face Schmitz; he was stabbed in the chest and died from the wound. Though she was injured in the scuffle with Flaherty and claimed the wound inflicted on Schmitz was in self-defense, McDonald was arrested that night and then charged with second-degree intentional murder.
Since her arrest last June, support for McDonald's case and her self-defense argument has been steadily growing. According to Katie Burgess, executive director of the Trans Youth Support Network, a Minneapolis organization that McDonald was also involved with, this is because many believe McDonald was "on trial for surviving a hate crime."
This story first appeard on the Guardian website and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
The first Heartland Institute conference on climate change in 2008 had all the trappings of a major scientific conclave—minus large numbers of real scientists. Hundreds of climate change contrarians, with a few academics among them, descended into the banquet rooms of a lavish Times Square hotel for what was purported to be a reasoned debate about climate change.
But as the latest Heartland climate conference opens in a Chicago hotel on Monday, the think tank's claims to reasoned debate lie in shreds and its financial future remains uncertain.
Heartland's claims to "stay above the fray" of the climate wars was exploded by a billboard campaign earlier this month comparing climate change believers to the Unabomer Ted Kaczynski, and a document sting last February that revealed a plan to spread doubt among kindergarteners on the existence of climate change.
Along with the damage to its reputation, Heartland's financial future is also threatened by an exodus of corporate donors as well as key members of staff.
You\'re not alone. Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, and megadonor Foster Friess have said they want to get rid of those pesky limits on how much individuals and corporations can give to candidates. (On the bright side, that might make super-PACs obsolete.) But you\’ll have to wait for the Supreme Court to step in again. You may not have to wait too long.
',
connects: {
'start' : '
Start over?
'
}
},
SCOTUS : {
html: '
Do you think the Supreme Court will change its mind and reverse Citizens United?
',
connects: {
'roberts' : '
Yes. The justices will realize what a mess they\'ve made.
',
'hate' : '
No, the court is a lost cause.
'
}
},
roberts : {
html: '
Reality check: Chief Justice John Roberts is 57. In the meantime, do you want to focus on undoing Citizens United or tweaking the campaign finance system?
',
connects: {
'overturn' : '
Undo the whole darn thing.
',
'reforms' : '
Make some tweaks.
'
}
},
hate : {
html: '
Do you want to focus on undoing Citizens United or tweaking the campaign finance system?
',
connects: {
'overturn' : '
Undo the whole darn thing.
',
'reforms' : '
Make some tweaks.
'
}
},
overturn : {
html: '
While you\'re thinking big, do you also want to take down the corporate personhood concept that made Citizens United possible?
',
connects: {
'personhood' : '
Yes, corporations aren\'t people!
',
'anti-cu' : '
No, let\'s focus on Citizens United.
'
}
},
reforms : {
html: '
Here are a couple of ideas for tweaking the current system while waiting for Citizens United to be undone:
',
connects: {
'public' : '
Reduce the influence of big donors.
',
'disclose' : '
Make it harder to hide dark money.
'
}
},
'public' : {
html: '
Reform advocate Lawrence Lessig has proposed a system in which every citizen gets a $50 voucher to give to any federal candidates who agree to accept only vouchers and small donations. But could these candidates compete with super-PACs?
',
connects: {
'disclose' : '
Want to try another reform?
',
'overturn' : '
Want to take down Citizens United?
'
}
},
disclose : {
html: '
Why not shine some light on dark money? Shareholders could demand that companies disclose all of their political spending. The DISCLOSE Act would make shady 501(c)(4) groups reveal their major donors—but it\'s stuck in Congress.
Fun fact: Only 27 of 11,447 attempts to amend the Constitution since 1787 have succeeded. How do you want to get your amendment passed?
',
connects: {
'congress' : '
Go to Congress.
',
'convention' : '
Hold a constitutional convention.
'
}
},
congress : {
html: '
Only Democrats (and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders) have sponsored the current crop of constitutional amendments. Do you really think two-thirds of the current members of Congress will vote for yours?
',
connects: {
'states' : '
Definitely!
',
'grassroots' : '
Probably not.
'
}
},
grassroots : {
html: '
A grassroots movement could send a message to Congress. More than 1 million people have signed petitions against Citizens United. Dozens of cities and states have passed resolutions rejecting CU and/or corporate personhood. Eleven state attorneys general want to reverse Citizens United. Will this convince Congress?
',
connects: {
'congress' : '
Yes! Congress is on board. What\’s next?
',
'bums' : '
No. We need new pols in Congress.
'
}
},
bums : {
html: '
Throw the bums out! Too bad unseating incumbents who benefit from the current system costs a ton of money. You could always form the world\'s most ironic super-PAC. But assume you elect a new Congress that supports your amendment.
',
connects: {
'states' : '
Great! What\'s next?
'
}
},
states : {
html: '
Now three-quarters of state legislatures must ratify your amendment. All 27 amendments to the Constitution have been passed this way. Don\'t get too excited: remember the ERA? Does your amendment pass?
',
connects: {
'hooray' : '
Yes!
',
'convention' : '
Nope. Let\'s hold a constitutional convention.
'
}
},
convention : {
html: '
Good luck with that! No amendment has ever been passed this way. First, two-thirds of states must call for a convention. At the convention, three-quarters of the states must approve your amendment. Does your amendment pass?
',
connects: {
'hooray' : '
Yes, and I just saw a unicorn!
',
'congress' : '
No. Let\'s see if Congress will bite.
'
}
},
person_amendment : {
html: '
There have been more than 11,000 attempts to amend the Constitution since 1787. You can either go through Congress or hold a constitutional convention. Which would you rather try?
',
connects: {
'congress' : '
Let\'s go to Congress.
',
'convention' : '
Let\'s hold a convention.
'
}
},
hooray : {
html: '
Congratulations! Your anti-Citizens United amendment has passed, ushering in a new era of sensible campaign spending and grassroots democracy. Well, at least until a new loophole is found. Read more of MoJo\'s coverage of the money behind the 2012 race.
',
connects: {
'start' : '
Start over?
'
}
}
},
{});
apply_choice_heads();
});
});
Don't have time to click? Here's an abridged version:
Early on the morning of September 3, 2009, Nicholas Adrian Revetta left the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, suburb of Pleasant Hills and drove 15 minutes to a job at US Steel's Clairton Plant, a soot-blackened industrial complex on the Monongahela River. He never returned home.
Revetta was working as a laborer for a US Steel contractor that had employed his father, at the same plant that employed his brother. Shortly before 11:30 a.m., gas leaking from a line in the plant's Chemicals and Energy Division found an ignition source and exploded, propelling him backward into a steel column and inflicting a fatal blow to his head. Thirty-two years old, he left behind a wife and two young children.
Nick Revetta's death did not make national headlines. No hearings were held into the accident that killed him. No one was fired or sent to jail.
In June 2010, half a dozen rich donors came to Drew Ryun, a former Republican National Committee staffer, with the kind of question a dyed-in-the-wool operative like himself could only dream about. "If you had X number of dollars," he recalls the donors saying, "what would you do that the conservative movement does not have?"
Conservatives have their think tanks, dozens of them at the state and national level. They also have a corporate-funded legislation mill in the American Legislative Exchange Council. What conservatives lacked, Ryun told the donors, were nimble attack blogs that could quickly capitalize on the latest missteps by big-government politicians or the "liberal" media—essentially hard-hitting, opposition-research-style shops that prize scoops, speed, and scandal over policy briefs and press conferences. His pitch: Create a network of one- and two-man digital media outlets with low overhead, rapid response, and a nose for controversy.
Barack Obama is ahead in the polls. Then Mitt Romney is. The president is leading among women. Then the likely Republican nominee is. Romney's favorable rating is in the dumps. Presto! It's above water. The volatility of the 2012 presidential race is a boon for pollsters and pundits, who every day, it seems, have new data to dissect and a new shift to explain.
The reasons for the movement in the polls can seem obvious. With Romney no longer being sniped at daily by fellow Republicans—and with him keeping his distance from reporters and no longer appearing at crazy-town debates—it's no surprise his favorability numbers have crept upward. And with the economic recovery remaining sluggish—and the jobs picture still grim in many regions—Americans have cause to be frustrated with the status quo and the president. But for those who'd like to short-cut much of the nanosecond-by-nanosecond analysis, there is a fundamental dynamic to the race to consider: Many voters tend to like Obama but are disappointed that the economy has not rebounded more robustly on his watch. And many voters—perhaps some of the same voters—don't like Mitt Romney, the awkward, say-anything quarter-billionaire, but they fancy the idea of a business-savvy Mr. Fix-It who can turn around the economy. Consequently, voters in the middle—those not propelled by partisan or ideological views and those not yet decided—will be tugged in opposite directions over the next five-and-a-half months, as they sort out conflicting impulses. Consequently, poll results will see-saw.
A Gallup poll conducted earlier this month found that 60 percent consider Obama more likable than Romney. And a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll noted that 56 percent held a favorable opinion of Obama; merely 35 percent said the same of Romney. But in other surveys Romney is doing better of late on the favorability front. A USA Today poll noted his favorable/unfavorable rating had flipped back to a net positive of 50/41 percent. This is not a shocker. With the wacky Republican primary contest completed, voters are no longer being subjected to nonstop Romney gaffes and constantly reminded of his 1-percentness and attendant policies.
The computer company says that by early next year, the energy used to power its worldwide data centers will all come from renewable sources, such as solar, wind power, or hydroelectric dams. It announced the news Thursday in a post to its website.
That's a victory for the environmental activists at Greenpeace, who have been pressuring Apple for more than a year to clean up its act and commit to renewable energy.
A major sticking point has been Apple's Maiden, North Carolina, facility, which is on the inexpensive but partially coal-powered Duke Energy grid. Apple had already started building a 100-acre solar array and a biogas energy plant on the site, but was still using Duke for a large chunk of the power at the 500,000-square-foot data center.
Now, the company says it will instead use local power providers who use renewable energy. "By the end of 2012, we'll meet the energy needs of our Maiden, North Carolina, data center using entirely renewable sources."
At first glance, Battleship seems like the most inexcusable, wretched pile of flabby urethra to crawl out of the movie industry in eons.
For starters, the film has been attracting a year-long volley of unfiltered rage for being such a blatant, self-satirizing model of product placement and cross promotion: The movie is openly advertised as an adaptation of the Milton Bradley board game of the same title. The board game. As in, the thing you and your childhood buddies played on the floor of your parents' living room, in the days before you knew what paintball or a spliff was.
This thing, right here:
And unlike games like Clue or even Space Hulk, the sea-battle guessing game never bore any tangible plot. It was just you and your prepubescent cohorts shouting out combinations of letters and numbers. It's not a toy that in any way begs to be whored out to Hollywood script-doctors eager to capitalize on nostalgia and commercial familiarity. As sage-wisdom doler Rob Delaney opined earlier this month, "It isn't okay that there's a movie 'based on' Battleship starring Rihanna. That is a thing that is not okay."
Everything seemed to be teed up for king-sized failure—disposable escapism that amounted to little more than Battle: Los Angeles, but with 80% less dry land. Or Transformers, absent the irrepressible charms and sly wit of actress Megan Fox.
But here's the dirty little secret about Battleship: It's actually a ragingly dumb good time, that also happens to be the most enjoyably patriotic thing in theaters today.
Current sea ice levels are at least 47% lower than they were in 1979.
A single quart of motor oil, if disposed of improperly, can contaminate up to 2,000,000 gallons of fresh water.
A steel mill using recycled scrap reduces related water pollution, air pollution, and mining wastes by about 70%.
Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year.
You’ll save two pounds of carbon for every 20 glass bottles that you recycle.
Due to tiger poaching, habitat destruction, and other human-tiger conflicts, tigers now number around 3,200—a decrease in population by about 70% from 100 years ago.
The World Health Organization estimates that 2 million people die prematurely worldwide every year due to air pollution.
Recycling for one year at Stanford University saved the equivalent of 33,913 trees and the need for 636 tons of iron ore, coal, and limestone.
States with bottle deposit laws have 35-40% less litter by volume.
Every week about 20 species of plants and animals become extinct.
You will save 300 pounds of carbon dioxide for every 10,000 miles you drive if you always keep your car’s tires fully inflated.
Glass can be recycled over and over again without ever wearing down.
In California homes, about 10% of energy usage is related to TVs, DVRs, cable and satellite boxes, and DVD players.
Recycling 100 million cell phones can save enough energy to power 18,500 homes in the U.S. for a year.
Washing your clothes in cold or warm instead of hot water saves 500 pounds of carbon dioxide a year, and drying your clothes on a clothesline six months out of the year would save another 700 pounds.
Rainforests are being cut down at the rate of 100 acres per minute.
Americans use 100 million tin and steel cans every day.
Recycling 1 million laptop computers can save the amount of energy used by 3,657 homes in the U.S. over the course of a year.
Shaving 10 miles off of your weekly driving pattern can eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year.
Nudge your thermostat up two degrees in the summer and down two degrees in the winter to prevent 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
Refrigerators built in 1975 used 4 times more energy than current models.
For every 38,000 bills consumers pay online instead of by mail, 5,058 pounds of greenhouse gases are avoided and two tons of trees are preserved.
An aluminum can that is thrown away instead of recycled will still be a can 500 years from now!
Turning off the tap when brushing your teeth can save as much as 10 gallons a day per person.
American workers spend an average of 47 hours per year commuting through rush hour traffic. This adds up to 23 billion gallons of gas wasted in traffic each year.
Less than 1% of electricity in the United States is generated from solar power.
77% of people who commute to work by car drive alone.
In the United States, automobiles produce over 20 percent of total carbon emissions. Walk or bike and you'll save one pound of carbon for every mile you travel.
82 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. come from burning fossil fuels.
Americans throw away more than 120 million cell phones each year, which contribute 60,000 tons of waste to landfills annually.
One recycled aluminum can will save enough energy to run a 100-watt bulb for 20 hours, a computer for 3 hours, or a TV for 2 hours.
If every U.S. household turned the thermostat down by 10 degrees for seven hours each night during the cold months, and seven hours each weekday, it would prevent nearly gas emissions.
You will save 100 pounds of carbon for each incandescent bulb that you replace with a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL), over the life of the bulb.
A tree that provides a home with shade from the sun can reduce the energy required to run the air conditioner and save an additional 200 to 2,000 pounds of carbon over its lifetime.
A laptop consumes five times less electricity than a desktop computer.
Recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy used to make the material from scratch.
Bamboo absorbs 35% more carbon dioxide than equivalent stands of trees.
It takes 6,000,000 trees to make 1 year's worth of tissues for the world.
Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild our entire commercial fleet of airplanes every 3 months
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