2014 - Page 26 of 98

The South Is America’s Poverty Belt

October 22, 2014 Jon Ponder

map-people-in-poverty-in-us

Poverty has been on the rise in the South, which, not coincidentally is a bastion of Republican Party control, according to a Census Bureau report [PDF] released this summer, according to Huffington Post:

[…]

Christie Shows He’s Just as Out of Touch with Electorate as Romney Was

October 22, 2014 Buck Banks

I gotta tell you the truth, I’m tired of hearing about the minimum wage, I really am. … I don’t think there’s a mother or father sitting around a kitchen table tonight in America who are saying, ‘You know honey, if my son or daughter could just make a higher minimum wage, my God, all our dreams would be realized. Is that what parents aspire to for their children?

— New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), saying he doesn’t want anymore discussion about the minimum wage, TPM reports.

Anthony Weiner Has a Lucid Moment

October 22, 2014 Buck Banks

I mean, realistically, my political career is probably over.

— Former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D), quoted by Politico, reflecting on the sexting scandal that forced him to resign from Congress.

Anchorage Police Release 911 Recording from Palins’ Drunken Brawl

October 22, 2014October 22, 2014 Jon Ponder

The Anchorage, Alaska, Police Department released 911 recordings yesterday from the Palin family’s drunken brawl at a party on Sept. 6.

It’s unclear why the Anchorage PD waited nearly two months to release the recordings, but the ultimate effect is to drag this unsavory story about the Republican Party’s 2008 vice presidential nominee into another news cycle. (And the next time you see John McCain holding forth on “Meet the Press,” keep in mind that selecting Palin to be vice president of the United States was the most important decision he ever made.)

TPM collected a few of the more interesting moments from the transcript:

[…]

Earth Has Been Warmer than Average for the Past 355 Months

October 21, 2014 Buck Banks

355

Number of months through September “this planet has been warmer than the 20th century average,” according to Jessica Blunden, a scientist at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center.

Black Male Teenagers 21 Times More Likely than Whites to Be Killed by Police

October 21, 2014 Buck Banks

31 in 1 million

Rate at which blacks, age 15 to 19, were killed in the 1,217 deadly police shootings from 2010 to 2012, while just 1.47 per million white males in that age range died at the hands of police, a ProPublica analysis of federal data shows. Young black males are 21 times more likely to be killed by police than their white counterparts.

Because Voters LIKE to Be Insulted

October 21, 2014 Buck Banks

It’s not going to be an easy election, it’s a close election. Like I said, much closer than I can even understand why. I don’t want to say anything about your Wisconsin voters but, some of them might not be as sharp as a knife.

— RNC co-chair Sharon Day, quoted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, while campaigning in Wisconsin.

Kasich Says that Obamacare Is Here to Stay

October 21, 2014 Buck Banks

That’s not gonna happen.

— Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), quoted by the AP, on Republicans promising to repeal Obamacare.

Congressional Candidate Calls Gays ‘Gremlins’ in Facebook Post

October 21, 2014October 21, 2014 Buck Banks

Same-sex marriage is “a pestilence that has descended on our society, against our will, by those in the courts and government that do not value the traditional family. Same sex couples that seek to destroy our way of life and the institution of marriage are NOT cute and cuddly but rather (for those of you that are old enough to remember the movie), Gremlins that will only destroy our way of life.

— Anthony Culler (R), who is challenging Rep. James Clyburn (D) for a South Carolina congressional seat, referring to same-sex couples as “gremlins” and “bullies” in a Facebook post, according to The Hill.

You’re Paying 89 Cents a Month on Your Cable Bill for Fox News, Whether You Want It or Not

October 21, 2014October 21, 2014 Jon Ponder

89 Cents

The amount Fox News requires cable subscribers to pay for its service every month whether they want it or not, according to Pew Research. Fox “now claims one of the highest average rates per subscriber. Only six non-premium cable channels command higher fees than Fox. CNN, by contrast, is estimated to average 57 cents per subscriber per month and MSNBC, 18 cents,” according to Pew.

— New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), saying he doesn’t want anymore discussion about the minimum wage, TPM reports.

I mean, realistically, my political career is probably over.

— Former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D), quoted by Politico, reflecting on the sexting scandal that forced him to resign from Congress.

355

Number of months through September “this planet has been warmer than the 20th century average,” according to Jessica Blunden, a scientist at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center.

31 in 1 million

It’s not going to be an easy election, it’s a close election. Like I said, much closer than I can even understand why. I don’t want to say anything about your Wisconsin voters but, some of them might not be as sharp as a knife.

— RNC co-chair Sharon Day, quoted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, while campaigning in Wisconsin.

That’s not gonna happen.

— Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), quoted by the AP, on Republicans promising to repeal Obamacare.

— Anthony Culler (R), who is challenging Rep. James Clyburn (D) for a South Carolina congressional seat, referring to same-sex couples as “gremlins” and “bullies” in a Facebook post, according to The Hill.

89 Cents

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“The man is afraid of the voice of the people and that the people understand and know what he’s doing. He’s trying to stifle the ability of journalists to let the people of America know what’s really going on with their government.”

— “Kamala Harris called President Donald Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House ‘absolutely abhorrent,’” The Wrap reports.

“Not one of them is trained in technical skills. Not one research PhD, as opposed to China, where half the cabinet is science and technology PhDs. We’re led by grifters and fools.”

— Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs, on X, on President Trump’s 35-person cabinet.

“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far… The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.”

— Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), breaking with President Trump in a direct-to-camera video.

Numerati

1,000

10%

“The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study,” the Associated Press reports.

71%

$9.5 billion

“The Trump administration last year spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers as part of its plan to shrink the government and save taxpayers money, according to a new estimate by a congressional watchdog,” CNN reports.

470

Reuters has documented at least 470 targets of retribution under Trump’s leadership – from federal employees and prosecutors to universities and media outlets. The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent and reshape the government.