Act Like a Brother, and Think Like a Man: Should You Have Sex on the First Date?

By Dr. Boyce Watkins

Ree, The (Ree)lationship Guide recently wrote a very nice article on the reasons that it doesn’t make sense to have sex on the first date. While the article was very good, I also wanted to give a man’s perspective. It seems that there are times when we put too much weight on women to make all the hard decisions (no pun intended), but I wanted to explain why men may also want to think twice before accepting access to any sex organ offered by a pretty girl.

Sgt. Major Teresa King, 1st female US Army boss, fights removal

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (AP) -- The first woman to command the U.S. Army's drill sergeant training took legal action Monday to reclaim her job, alleging she was improperly suspended last year because of sexism and racism and demanding that two of her superiors be investigated for abuse of their authority.

SIGAR Report Finds Afghanistan Reconstruction Compromised By Security, Corruption

WASHINGTON -- Afghan reconstruction efforts remain severely hampered even after nearly $100 billion in spending over the last 10 years, according to a new watchdog report. The most immediate challenge stem from the insistence by Afghanistan's government that the private army of hired guns providing security for ongoing projects be replaced with Afghan locals, who do not appear to be up to the job, the report noted.

AZ Lawmakers Lash Out At Imaginary United Nations Conspiracy With Assault On All Poverty & Environmental Laws

Earlier this year, Texas U.S. Senate candidate Ted Cruz touted a bizarre conspiracy theoryclaiming that George Soros secretly partnered with the United Nations to eliminate the game of golf. Seriously, we aren’t making this up.

Top Republican Strategist Denies Women Are Paid Less Than Men

This morning, during a heated discussion with Rachel Maddow on Meet The Press, GOP consultant Alex Castellanos denied that women make 77 cents for a man’s dollar in the workplace and noted, “there are lots of reasons for that.” Maddow expressed shock at the assertion, but concluded that it explained why Republicans and Mitt Romney are so hesitant to embrace the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, a law that helps women hold accountable employers who discriminate in the pay practices based on gender.

Sunday The 29th 2012 Talking Heads

FOX NEWS SUNDAY

So, we're going to have a lot of war on terror talk with John Brennan. And then Joel and Victoria Osteen are here? For some reason? And then paneling, with the Fox third stringers.

White House Correspondents Dinner 2012: "Why Is Kim Kardashian Famous Anyway?"

WASHINGTON — This year's primaries, the 2008 primaries, the General Services Administration scandal, even the Secret Service and Donald Trump were targets for President Barack Obama's scattershot humor at Saturday night's celebrity studded White House Correspondents Dinner.

Georgetown University President: We Will Continue Providing Birth Control To Our Employees

Since the Obama administration promulgated a new rule requiring employers and insurers to provide preventive health care services — including contraception coverage — some Catholic institutions have taken great offense to the regulation and accused the White House of waging a war against their religious objection to birth control. The rule exempts religious institutions and affiliated organizations from providing the benefit and offers employers a year-long grace period to implement the measure.

Eric Fehrnstrom: Auto Bailout Was Mitt Romney's Idea

Top Mitt Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom claimed that President Obama's auto bailout was the GOP presidential hopeful's idea.

FCC VOTES FOR ONLINE TRANSPARENCY OF POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT PURCHASES

By a two-to-one vote, the Federal Communications Commission voted today to require broadcasters to make previously hard-to-find public records available online. Within two years, they will have to post in an FCC online database their “public file” including who purchased or attempted to purchase air time for political advertisements and how much they paid for it. This information is currently only available by showing up, in person, at each television or radio station, and there are often bureaucratic barriers to actually accessing the information. While this additional transparency will not allow citizens to know who is funding shady independent ads, it will at least allow them to track where the spending is going and how much is being spent for each airtime purchase. The two Democrats on the Commission voted for the rules, the lone Republican voted against.

OVER 111,000 PEOPLE HAVE SIGNED A PETITION DENOUNCING REP. FOXX’S DISPARAGING COMMENTS ABOUT PEOPLE WITH STUDENT LOANS

Earlier this month, ThinkProgress first reported Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) remarks showing distaste for people with large student loans. “I have very little tolerance” for them, Foxx declared on a conservative radio show. Her comments have since been widely criticized, including in a speech by President Obama earlier this week. Rebuild the Dream also began a petition drive to denounce Foxx; in less than two weeks, over 111,000 people have added their names.

What Everyone Who Uses The Internet Needs To Know About CISPA

Congress is on the cusp of passing a new bill that could threaten any internet user’s civil liberties. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, a digital equivalent of allowing the government to fight perceived threats by monitoring which books citizens check out from the library, passed the House yesterday and will now be taken up by the Senate.

Yvette Clarke, New York Rep., Notifies Police After Video Of Her Surfaces On Breitbart, Beck Sites

Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) notified the Capitol Police Thursday after receiving threatening phone calls, after a video of her appearing to criticize the Tea Party was posted on several conservative websites, according to a release from her office.

Student Loan Interest Rate Bill That Cuts Health Care Program Passes House

WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives advanced a bill Friday that funds cheaper student loans by cutting a preventive health care program -- sparking a heated battle in which House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) accused Democrats of manufacturing a war on women.

Civil Rights Activist Ray Robinson's Disappearance AT Wounded Knee

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — When civil rights activistRay Robinson arrived at Wounded Knee in April 1973 to stand alongside Native Americans in their fight against social injustice, he excitedly called his wife back home and told her, “This could be the spark that lights the prairie fire.”

The GOP’s Women Problem, Presented By GOP Women

In a combative speech on the Senate floor this morning, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) called a Democrats’ accusations that the GOP is waging a war on women “phony,” “outlandish,” and a distraction.”

American Corporations Are Adding More Jobs Overseas Than They Are At Home

With the nation’s unemployment rate still above eight percent, millions of Americans are looking for work, and the country’s biggest corporations are hiring. According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, however, many of those corporations areadding jobs overseas at a faster pace than they are at home. Even worse, others are cutting their domestic workforces while adding jobs in other countries at a rapid pace:

Conservative Group Club For Growth To Congress: Let Student Loan Rates Double

The House will vote today on a bill to prevent the interest rate on government-backed student loans from doubling. Both Republicans and Democrats support the extension on the lower rate, but not theClub for Growth, the deep-pocketed political group backed by wealthy conservative donors, especially from the financial sector.

Did You Like George W. Bush’s Foreign Policy?

Mitt Romney’s Misguided, Mistaken, and Misbegotten Foreign Policy

Today, Vice President Biden gave a speech at New York University laying out a broad attack on Mitt Romney — a candidate whose only foreign policy experience comes from shipping jobs overseas — and his approach to foreign policy. Biden said that Romney was relying on the American people developing a ”collective amnesia” about the policies of the past — namely those of the Bush administration and the Cold War — that Romney is advocating a return to. Romney’s desire for amnesia is probably particularly true when it comes to a disastrous press call that his campaign held today in order to attempt to attack the president on foreign policy.

Arrest Made In Phylicia Barnes’ Murder

Baltimore police have arrested Michael Johnson in the murder of Monroe, N.C., 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes, who was murdered as she visited her half-siblings in the area, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Woman Says, "I THOUGHT I WAS TAKING A S88T" While Giving Birth & Drowning Her Child In The Toilet!!!!

What kind of "Shit" is this to not know that you are pregnant, and to live at home with your parents and they not know you are pregnant. This is just some sad shit here, sorry to curse but this is just sad! And to some point I don't feel anything for this lady, and I use that term loosely! I will re-post a link to a video that has had me thinking about this ever since I first saw it.  Yes, the dude curses a lot but we need to be cursed at for some of the stuff we just do, and the decisions we make.  As long as we learn something! Wish I could meet a black women and have kids, but during these times the nice guy is himself shitted on, and not wanted by black women today.  Anyhow, to see this 'lady' shit out her kid and have no idea as to what was happening, or that the act she did several months prior could cause the act of child birth is quite alarming. The girls mother hides behind the usual stuff when talking on camera like religion, ignorance, and denial, but this 'shit' is getting old.

Mad Cow or Foot-and-mouth disease vaccine developed in US

With the US livestock industry on alert after a diagnosis of "mad cow" disease in California, the BBC has gained rare access to a high-security compound where a vaccine for another deadly animal virus is close to completion.

Latin American indigenous groups join forces to fight dams

When Brazilian indigenous leader Tashka Yawanawa saw the news on television that communities from Peru were campaigning to prevent the construction of dams close to their land, he had no doubt about how he could help.

Black Teen Beaten By Jewish Brothers Breaks Down On Stand

BALTIMORE — The teenager who authorities said was beaten in a neighborhood watch case in Baltimore that drew comparisons with the Trayvon Martin shooting refused to testify from the witness stand on Wednesday, prompting the judge ultimately to excuse him.

House GOP Would Kick 280,000 Children Off School Lunch Program To Protect Tax Cut For Millionaires

House Republicans recently proposed cuts to nutrition assistance that will kick 280,000 low-income children off automatic enrollment in the Free School Lunch and Breakfast Program. Those same kids and 1.5 million other people will also lose their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly food stamp benefits) that help them afford food at home.

The Truth About Clean Energy Jobs

It’s time to take back the narrative about clean energy.

Since the bankruptcy of a few high-profile clean energy companies, political opponents and media pundits have tried to label the entire industry a failure. This is a gross distortion of the on-the-ground reality — and it shows how disconnected people are from what’s really happening in this sector.

Military Shift Campaign Donations From Ron Paul To Obama In March

The Army Times reported in February that anti-war GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-TX) was at that time, “by far,” getting the most in campaign contributions from members of the United States military. According to a review of Federal Election Commission data, Paul received nearly $250,000 in donations from servicemembers, President Obama, $130,000 and GOP presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney just $23,000.

Obama 'Slow Jams The News' With Jimmy Fallon (VIDEO)

On Wednesday night, President Barack Obama did what no president has done before: He slow jammed the news with Jimmy Fallon and The Roots on "Late Night."

The Carlton Dance Classic Black Culture! (Fresh Prince Memories)

Lead by : Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton Himself!)

Black Kids After Beating White Man: Now That’s Justice For Trayvon

A group of Black youths allegedly beat a White man who asked them to stop playing basketball in front of his house in Mobile, Alabama, reports Local15TV.

Ann Romney: ‘I Love The Fact That There Are Women Out There Who Don’t Have A Choice’ And ‘Must Go To Work’

In an emotional speech about the difficulty of motherhood and life on the campaign trail, Ann Romney used an odd choice of words to discuss mothers who are forced to work while raising their children.

Economists: Higher Tax Rates On The Rich Won’t Hurt Growth

According to the constant refrain from Republicans in Congress, the reason that tax rates can’t be raised on anyone, even the already super-wealthy, is because doing so will hurt economic growth. However, two prominent economists — Nobel Prize winner Peter Diamond and John Bates Clark award winner Emmanuel Saez — write in today’s Wall Street Journal that theconservative theory is basically bunk:

CALIFORNIA TO VOTE ON WHETHER TO ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY

This November, Californians will decide whether to outlaw the death penalty in their state. California Secretary of State Debra Bowen’s office announced this morning that more than 800,000 people signed onto the SAFE California Act of 2012, which would ban the death penalty and set aside $100 million dollars to solve rape and murder crimes. If the ballot initiative is passed, those with death row sentences would be sentenced instead to life without parole. If California voters approve this ballot initiative, they would follow a national trend away from state-sponsored executions.

Chris Matthews Calls Republican Party 'Grand Wizard Crowd' (VIDEO)

MSNBC's Chris Matthews compared members of the Republican Party to the Ku Klux Klan on his show Monday night. He quickly walked his comments back after a guest challenged his remarks.

Taxpayer-Funded Crisis Pregnancy Centers Using Religion To Oppose Abortion

WASHINGTON -- If you want to help carry out the anti-abortion mission of the taxpayer-funded Care Net Pregnancy Resource Center, you have to be a Christian.

An ‘Update’ To The Bush Years?

New GOP Economic Plan is Same as Previous Disastrous GOP Economic Plan

In nearly every policy area, Republicans from Mitt Romney on down the line have been proposing that we go back to the disastrous policies of the Bush administration — only on steroids. For example, Mitt Romney not only wants to keep the Bush tax cuts for the rich, he wants even more tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans. The total tab for his tax cut package would be an astounding four times larger than that of the Bush tax cuts.

Eight of the Top Ten 2012 Super PAC Donors Are Republicans

Last January, a study found that seventeen of the top twenty political donors areRepublicans or conservatives. Last night, USA Today published a similar roundup of Super PAC donors in the 2012 cycle, and they found exactly the same pattern. Eight of the top ten Super PAC donors areRepublicans or corporations who donate exclusively to Republicans. One is theCooperative of American Physicians, a group of physicians focused on mitigating the cost of malpractice liability thatsupports a single Democrat. The other non-Republican group is a teachers union.

OBAMA HAS RECEIVED LEAST FAVORABLE NEWS COVERAGE SO FAR DURING 2012 ELECTION CYCLE

With friends like these, who needs negative campaign ads? While a friendly press in the tank for President Obama may fit nicely into the right’s narrative of liberal bias in the press, a new study from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism shows that of all the presidential candidates during this election cycle, President Obama has had the least favorable coverage by the news media. Since January, presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney has actually enjoyed twice as much positive coverage as President Obama.

Half Of Recent College Graduates Are Jobless Or Underemployed

The disappearance of mid-level jobs during the Great Recession, along with overall high unemployment, have made it hard for recent college graduates to find good jobs upon leaving school. More than 50 percent of college graduates under age 25 are either jobless or underemployed, according to an analysis from Drexel University and the Economic Policy Institute:

Adobe CS6 Features: New Photoshop, Creative Cloud, Subscription Model Announced

NEW YORK -- Adobe is launching the latest version of its software package for designers and Web developers.

Allen West Ousted From NAACP Event Over Communist Remark

WASHINGTON -- It turns out calling Democratic lawmakers "Communists" has some consequences.

George Zimmerman, Man Accused Of Shooting Trayvon Martin, Released From Florida Jail On $150,000 Bail (VIDEO)

MIAMI — In a low-key event, George Zimmerman was released from a Florida jail in the middle of the night on $150,000 bail as he awaits his second-degree murder trial in the fatal shooting of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin.

Shift on Executive Power Lets Obama Bypass Rivals

WASHINGTON — One Saturday last fall, President Obamainterrupted a White House strategy meeting to raise an issue not on the agenda. He declared, aides recalled, that the administration needed to more aggressively use executive power to govern in the face of Congressional obstructionism.

Two Brothers Go on Trial in Beating of Black Teen In Baltimore

BALTIMORE – Two brothers accused of beating a black teenager while patrolling an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood are set to go on trial Monday in a case with similarities to the Trayvon Martin shooting.

Black Tulsa: Nothing Has Changed Since Shootings, Still ‘Vietnam’

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — For a moment, someone was actually paying attention to what was going on in Jermaine Wilson’s north Tulsa neighborhood.

Abused Wife ‘Stands Her Ground,’ Faces 20 Year Prison Sentence (Updated)

Florida’s controversial “Stand Your Ground” law has been at the center of the Trayvon Martincase because former neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman, 28, claims that he acted in self-defense and, under the law, he had every right to meet force with force.

More Than One-Third Of All U.S. Executions Took Place In Texas

The Economist maps out every American execution since 1976, when the Supreme Court announced the modern constitutional regime governing death penalty cases after effectively suspending all executions nationwide for four years. Over one-third of all executions during this period took place in Texas, for a total of 481 people killed by that state. Of the remaining, non-Texas executions, the overwhelming majority are clustered in a small group of southern states:

Sunday April 22nd, 2012 Talking Heads

FOX NEWS SUNDAY

So today, sad Senator Joe Lieberman is going to be talking about the Secret Service Sexxy Sexx Scandal, and Mitch Daniels will be talking about who will maybe be Mitt Romney's Vice President. Maybe Mitch Daniels? Will it be you, boo? And there's going to be a panel, as per usual.

'Think Like A Man' Wins Box Office With $33 Million, Beating 'Lucky One,' 'Hunger Games' And 'Chimpanzee'

LOS ANGELES — The date-night movies "Think Like a Man" and "The Lucky One" finally have knocked "The Hunger Games" off its No. 1 box-office perch.

Arizona Immigration Law Arriving At Supreme Court This Week

WASHINGTON -- On Wednesday morning, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in the federal government's challenge to the Grand Canyon state's controversial anti-immigration law, S.B. 1070.

Politicization Of Domestic Violence

For the first time since its original passage in 1994, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is facing a fight. If you aren’t familiar with the bill, it is an effective and beneficial effort to prevent domestic violence and aid victims of domestic or sexual abuse. Originally written and introduced by then-Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), the bill has been reauthorized twice, and both times has enjoyed broad bipartisan support. Until now. This time, Republicans have decided to hold the bill hostage. Why? Because of added provisions that expand the classes of victims who would be protected — specifically, Native Americans, the LGBT community, and undocumented immigrants. That’s right, Republicans are opposed to broadening the number of people this country protects from being beaten, strangled, and raped. Attorney General Eric Holder condemned Congress this week, saying it was “inconceivable” that the bill faced opposition. Vice President Biden tore into the Republicans too, saying, “This is an issue that has been something that, at least I hoped and thought we were beyond questioning the need.”

Iowa GOP Congressional Candidate Doubts Whether Obama ‘Loves This Country’ Because Of Buffett Rule Support

A Republican congressional candidate in Iowa told a Tea Party audience yesterday that President Obama does not love his country because he supports raising taxes on millionaires.

62 Percent Of Karl Rove’s $123 Million In ‘Crossroads’ Fundraising Comes From Secret Donors

The Karl Rove-linked American Crossroads Super PAC and Crossroads GPS 501(c)(4) organizations have thesame president, same spokesman, same mailingaddress, and same right-wing ideology. Both groups can, thanks to the Citizens United and SpeechNow.orgrulings, accept unlimited sums of money from individuals and corporations — a privilege they’ve wielded to raise $100 million for the 2012 cycle alone and to run millions of dollars worth of political television ads. But one key difference separates the two entities: disclosure. While American Crossroads must publicly identify its major contributors, Crossroads GPS does not make the names of any of its donors public.

The Koch Brothers – Exposed!

If the Koch brothers didn't exist, the left would have to invent them. They're the plutocrats from central casting – oil-and-gas billionaires ready to buy any congressman, fund any lie, fight any law, bust any union, despoil any landscape, or shirk any (tax) burden to push their free-market religion and pump up their profits.

Due To New Law, Planned Parenthood Of Wisconsin Suspends All Medication Abortions

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (PPWI) announced today that they will be forced to end distribution of all medication abortions — known as the abortion pill — because of a new law just enacted that has too many gray areas and makes it too legally risky for the organization to continue providing the pill.

Women Of Color Directed 1 Percent of TV Episodes Last Season, Make $23,325 Less Than Male Writers

This week, spurred on by the debut of HBO’s Girls and the subsequent discussion of the show’s whiteness, has seen a significant discussion about the erasure of women of color on television, and the fact that the depictions of women of color, when they do happen, are frequently created and mediated by white writers. However we feel about Girls, and opinions vary, I think we can agree that the larger situation is untenable, and that our popular culture would be a richer, more interesting place if women of color had more opportunities to create, run production on, star in, and direct more television shows. I also think it’s critical to emphasize that just because women of color aren’t always visible as characters on television doesn’t mean they’re not already writing episodes of television and acting as showrunners. So in this post and another that run on Monday, I want to do two things: first, lay out the actual facts on the employment of women of color in television, which is an important starting point for a conversation about structural reform, and second, call attention to the great work of some of the women of color who are creating television already, but who don’t get the same kind of attention as Shonda Rhimes.

Citigroup CEO, Directors Sued For Outsized Executive Pay Packages

April 20 (Reuters) - Days after being rebuked by shareholders, Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Vikram Pandit and the bank's directors have been sued for allegedly awarding outsized pay to top executives.

Due To New Law, Planned Parenthood Of Wisconsin Suspends All Medication Abortions

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (PPWI) announced today that they will be forced to end distribution of all medication abortions — known as the abortion pill — because of a new law just enacted that has too many gray areas and makes it too legally risky for the organization to continue providing the pill.

Georgia Again Tries To Replace Immigrant Farm Workers With Inmates

Last year, after Hispanic farm workers fled the state because of a far-reaching anti-immigrant bill the Georgia legislature passed, Gov. Nathan Deal (R) suggested replacing them with inmates. The plan only had mixed success, with many inmates walking off the job early, and farmers stilllost millions because of crops that rotted in the field before they could be harvested.

CHART: How Obama And Romney Compare On Energy Issues

Mitt Romney’s campaign has benefited from Big Oil and Big Coal’s backing, which have pouredmore than $16 million into ads attacking President Barack Obama’s energy policies. As a favor, Romney says he plans to open public lands and water to drilling while undoing safety and environmental protections.

What about "Down Low Hoes"? (One Man's Opinion)

Viewer Discretion Advised And Open Ears Needed For The Good Points He Makes!

If It’s Sunday, It’s Meet The Republican White Men

An exhaustive new study by media watchdog Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting shows that the Sunday morning talk shows have been dominated over the last eight months by white, Republican men.

CHART: 17 Years After Oklahoma City Bombing, Right-Wing Extremism Is Significant Domestic Terror Threat

Seventeen years ago today, Timothy McVeigh and co-conspirator Terry Nichols detonated 4,800 pounds of homemade explosives under the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building’s daycare center in downtown Oklahoma City. The explosion resulted in 168 dead, 680 injured and over $652 million in damage. The Oklahoma City bombing was the deadliest terrorist attacks in U.S. history until 9/11.

Psychotherapist Dr. Dwayne L. Buckingham Gives Five Reasons Why Women Should Not "Think Like A Man"

Washington, DC (April 19, 2012) -- Psychotherapist Dr. Dwayne L. Buckingham, LCSW, BCD gives a professional perspective on Steve Harvey's movie, Think Like a Man, which is based on the book, Think Like a Man, Act Like a Women: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment (2009).

American Expatriates Renounce Citizenship Over Taxes

This year almost 1,800 people renounced their American citizenship and Green Cards, thanks to a costly and timely tax requirement, reports ABC News.

Obama Administration Pushes Drug Testing in Workplace, But Not For Everybody

WASHINGTON -- The government wants businesses to drug test their workers to boost productivity and reduce health care costs, according to the 2012 National Drug Control Report released Tuesday.

STUDY: Life Expectancy Lower Among Blacks And In Southeastern U.S.

According to a new study, Americans’ life expectancy varies widely based on region and race, particularly in the Southeastern United States. White men born in the ten percent of counties considered the healthiest had a 77 percent chance of living to age 70, but only a 61 percent chance if they were born in the ten percent of counties considered the least healthy.

Legacy Of BP Oil Spill: Eyeless Shrimp And Fish With Lesions

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded nearly two years ago to the day, beginning an oil spill that lasted three months and released some two hundred million gallonsof oil into the Gulf of Mexico. BP may have declared their mission accomplished, but the results of the spill are still trickling out.

REPUBLICAN WHO HOSTED M16 SHOOTING EVENT TO ‘REMOVE’ GIFFORDS IN 2010 WINS NOMINATION FOR HER SEAT

Republican Jesse Kelly, a construction manager and Tea Party favorite, won the Republican nomination primary last night to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). Kelly will face former Giffords district manager Ron Barber in the June 12th special election. Kelly, in his unsuccessful 2010 bid for the same seat, infamously hosted an M16 automatic weapons shooting campaign event to help supporters “get on target” to “help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office.” Just months later, a gunman went on a shooting spree at a Giffords community event in Tuscon, leaving six dead and a dozen wounded — including both Giffords and Barber. Giffords resigned her seat in January to focus on her recovery.

Obama Administration's War On Pot: Oaksterdam Founder Richard Lee's Exclusive Interview After Raid

WASHINGTON -- When federal agents raided Oaksterdam University, Richard Lee's downtown Oakland, Calif.-based trade school, earlier this month, it wasn't simply a crackdown on a local pot business, it was one of the highest-profile moves in the Obama administration's nationwide assault on medical marijuana.

Eric Cantor's Small-Business Tax Cut Faces Threat Of Presidential Veto

WASHINGTON -- In the second major shot in Washington's ideological battle over taxes this week, the White House on Tuesday slammed a small-business tax-cut proposal in the House as a handout for the "fortunate" and threatened to veto it.

REPORT: Corporations Spending The Most On Lobbying See Their Tax Rates Drop

Two-thirds of the largest 200 U.S. corporations lobbied on at least one tax bill between 2007 and 2010, and here’s why: the majority of them ended up paying lower taxes in 2010.

The eight major corporations that spent the most on lobbying, for a total $540 million, all saw their tax rates decrease. According to a Sunlight Foundation report, the odds that those companies saw lower rates merely by chance is less than 1 in 100. The odds that six of those corporations paid seven percentage points less is even lower, at only 1 in 100,000.

Instead, the reduction was likely a result of their presence in Washington, lobbying for tax giveaways.

Read More

Ted Nugent Remarks On Obama Draw Secret Service Scrutiny

Rocker Ted Nugent has reportedly earned himself the scrutiny of the Secret Service after saying over the weekend that he would be "dead or in jail by this time next year" if President Barack Obama is re-elected.

Afghan schoolgirls poisoned in anti-education attack

(Reuters) - About 150 Afghan schoolgirls were poisoned on Tuesday after drinking contaminated water at a high school in the country's north, officials said, blaming it on conservative radicals opposed to female education.

Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth Cake Controversy: Swedish Minister Of Culture Slammed For 'Racist' Cake

Sweden's minister of culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth found herself in a sticky situation after photos of her cutting into a cake depicting a naked black woman sparked an uproar.

Republicans Side Yet Again With The Wealthy

Senate Republicans Block Buffett Rule

Earlier this evening, the Senate voted on whether or not to take up the Buffett Rule in the form of a bill that guaranteed millionaires would pay a minimum tax rate of 30 percent. Just as they did time and again last year when it came to taxing millionaires in order to create hundreds of thousands of American jobs, Senate Republicans almost unanimously sided with millionaires instead of middle class workers — millions of whom will pay a higher tax rate than millionaires do when they file their tax returns tomorrow. Just one Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, voted in favor of making millionaires pay at least the same tax rate as middle class workers.

Government Saves Countless Lives From Tornadoes In Koch And Inhofe Country

Countless lives were saved this weekend by vigilant government officials who warned of deadly tornadoes in Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska — states whose politics are dominated by anti-government, anti-science ideologues. Over 100 tornadoes struck down in 24 hours, but only six people died in Oklahoma, Sen. Jim Inhofe’s home state, thanks to warnings from the National Weather Service scientists he has worked to discredit:

SENATE REPUBLICANS FILIBUSTER BUFFETT RULE

The Buffett Rule, a bill backed by President Obama that would ensure millionaires pay a comparable tax rate to middle-class Americans, fell to a Republican filibuster in the Senate this evening, despite a new poll showing it to be overwhelmingly popular. While the rule, named after billionaire investor Warren Buffett, earned a majority vote of 51-45, it didn’t get the 60 votes needed to overcome a GOP filibuster. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) was the only Republican to vote yes, while one Democrat, Mark Pryor (AR), voted no. Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) did not vote, but put out a statement opposing the bill. The vote is no surprise as Republicans vowed to block it, but Democrats wanted to put the GOP on the record as yet again filibustering to preserve lower tax rates for the wealthy. A CNN poll released today found that 72 percent of Americans — including 53 percent of Republicans and almost 70 percent of independents — support the Buffett Rule.

At Least 30 Countries Have Unemployment Benefits More Generous Than The U.S.

According to data from the International Monetary Fund analyzed by Tim Vlandas, there are at least 30 countries with unemployment benefits that are more generous than those that go to American workers. The University of Missouri-St. Louis’ Kenneth Thomas broke the data down:

11 Secret Service agents lose security clearances

The 11 Secret Service agents and officers involved in the prostitution scandal ahead of President Obama's visit to Colombia have been stripped of their security clearances, CBS News reports.

What People Really Say About Stop and Frisk!

MORE AMERICANS THINK THEIR TAXES ARE ‘ABOUT RIGHT’ THAN THINK THEY ARE TOO HIGH

A new Gallup poll shows that less than half of the country believes they are paying too much in taxes, matching its lowest level in well over a decade. 46 percent of respondents complained that their taxes were too high, down from 50 percent a year ago, while 47 percent said their taxes were about right. The political divide over taxes is apparent in Gallup’s poll as well, with 54 percent of Republicans saying they pay too much compared to just 34 percent of Democrats.

Samsung Galaxy S III Release Date? Samsung Announces Event For Unveiling Of Next-Gen Flagship Phone (Want a good phone go Samsung, I own the S2 and it blows Iphone away!)

Can the sequel live up to its predecessor?

Samsung has set an announcement date for the followup to the widely popular and critically acclaimed Galaxy S II smartphone. In an invitation sent out to journalists and posted on Facebook, Samsung announced that it would be unveiling "the next Galaxy" on Thursday, May 3, at 7 p.m. in London, England (that's 2 p.m. EST in New York City).

If You Ever Wondered If There Any Black Persons Aboard Titanic, Yes There Were, Meet Joseph Laroche

If you saw blockbuster hit “Titanic” back in 1997 or the recent “Titanic 3D,” you would never consider that there were any Black passengers on 

Rep. Virginia Foxx On People With Student Loans: ‘I Have Very Little Tolerance’ For Them

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) took on a unique enemy during a radio interview yesterday: people with student loans.

Sunday April 15th 2012 Talking Heads

FOX NEWS SUNDAY

Welcoming us all back today are Ed Gillespie and David Axelrod, who will be doing the Morning of the Shouty presidential campaign surrogates. Axelrod begins this round of "welcome to the general election, no matter what Newt Gingrich is saying at the moment."

Bill Cosby: Trayvon Martin Case About Guns, Not Race

WASHINGTON — Actor and comedian Bill Cosby says the debate over the killing of Trayvon Martin by a neighborhood watch volunteer should be focused on guns, not race.

Midwest Tornadoes Rip Through Several States, Leave At Least 5 Dead

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Tornadoes reported across the Midwest and Plains on Saturday and early Sunday left five people dead in Oklahoma and damaged houses, a hospital, a jail, an Air Force base and other buildings around the region, officials said.

Dick Cheney: Obama Has Been 'Unmitigated Disaster To The Country' (Vader Speaks!)

CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- Former Vice President Dick Cheney walked onstage without any assistance and spoke for an hour and 15 minutes without seeming to tire in his first public engagement since he underwent a heart transplant three weeks ago.

The GOP Budget In One Chart

A Budget to Benefit the 1 Percent

Tax Day is coming up on April 17, so it’s worth remember who will pay more in taxes under the Ryan-Romney Republican budget — the poorest Americans — and whose taxes will be cut in dramatic fashion — the very wealthiest Americans.

Iowa Republican State Senator Proposes Drug Testing Child Support Recipients

A favorite Republican pastime recently has been to demonize the unemployed by proposing that they submit to drug tests before collecting their unemployment insurance. Both at the federal and state level, Republicans have pushed for such a policy, even though, as it turns out, such requirements save barely any money and only prove that those on unemployment insurance are less likely than the public at large to be using drugs.

Bank of America Forecloses On Homeowner With Disabled Daughter After Offering Her A Modification

A California woman is facing foreclosure from Bank of America after taking out a loan to make her home more accessible for her disabled daughter, shining light on yet another improper foreclosure practice perpetuated by America’s largest banks.

What Obama’s Tax Returns Tell Us: His Taxes Would Go Up Under His Own Plan

President Obama and Vice President Biden today released their 2011 tax returns, ahead of Tuesday’s tax filing deadline. The returns show that Obama paid a 20.5 percent tax rate last year on $789,674 in income. About half of that income came from the President’s salary, while the rest came from book royalties.

STD's for Seniors have risen 71% , PSA released a funny, but serious video!

Religious Leaders Slam Ryan For Using Catholic Faith To Justify Cutting Programs That Help The Poor

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) told Christian Broadcast Network earlier this week that the House GOP’s budget, which he wrote, was driven by his Catholic faith. “A person’s faith is central to how they conduct themselves in public and in private,” Ryan said, and Catholic principles are what led him to cut programs for the poor so as to keep people from becoming “dependent on government.”

CHART: House GOP Budget Cuts Taxes For The Rich, Raises Taxes On The Poor

As ThinkProgress has detailed, the House Republican budget, authored by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), pays for massive tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans by cutting spending from programs that primarily benefit lower-income Americans. While giving an average of $187,000 to each millionaire, the budget finds 62 percent of its cuts from programs that benefit the lower- and middle-classes, kicking millions off of food stamps, gutting Pell Grants, and slashing Medicare and Medicaid.

The Lawsuit That Could Change Video Embedding As We Know It

Over at Ars Technica, Tim Lee brings news of a disturbing lawsuit, now supported by the Motion Picture Association of America, that could set a legal precedent that embedding copyright video, rather than hosting it, counts as copyright infringement:

Note to Trayvon’s Mother: It’s Time for You to Step to the Side

By:  Dr. Boyce Watkins Apr 12, 2012

I haven’t spoken with Al Sharpton in a few months. But if we were still speaking and he were to ask me what to do with the mother of Trayvon Martin, my answer would be very simple: Get her off the stage right now.

NOOK Simple Touch To Feature E Ink Screen With First-Of-Its-Kind 'GlowLight'

E Ink readers like the Kindle and the NOOK are great for reading in the sunshine, but when it gets dark out, you face a problem: You either have to attach a flashlight to the device or turn on a light in your home.

Wells Fargo Racial Discrimination Investigation Launched By HUD

Wells Fargo & Co., the nation's largest mortgage lender, is facing the second of at least two federal probes into how it treats minority borrowers and the properties it owns in minority neighborhoods. Department of Housing and Urban Development officials confirmed this week that the agency will investigate allegations lodged against the bank Tuesday by the National Fair Housing Alliance. The alliance complaint accused Wells Fargo of working to maintain and market bank-owned foreclosed properties in predominantly white communities far more aggressively than it does in mostly black and Latino neighborhoods.

Controversial Backer Of Israeli Settlements, Gives $1 Million To Anti-Obama Super PAC

WASHINGTON -- Even in the era of unbridled campaign contributions, Irving Moskowitz's $1 million donation in February to American Crossroads, the Karl Rove-linked super PAC, is eye-catching.

CONSERVATIVE BILLIONAIRE FOSTER FRIESS MAKES OBAMA ASSASSINATION JOKE

Foster Friess, the billionaire conservative donor who almost single-handedly funded the Super PAC backing Rick Santorum and has now vowed to support Mitt Romney, made a joke about an assassination attempt on President Obama. In an interview on Fox Business, Friess said, “There are a lot of things that haven’t been hammered at because Rick and Mitt have been going at each other. Now that they have trained their barrels on President Obama, I hope his teleprompters are bullet-proof.” In a follow-up interview with ABC, he said he regretted the remark.

Intelligence Study Links Low I.Q. To Prejudice, Racism, Conservatism

Are racists dumb? Do conservatives tend to be less intelligent than liberals? A provocative new study from Brock University in Ontario suggests the answer to both questions may be a qualified yes.

Planned Parenthood Sues Texas After State Blocks Organization From Women’s Health Program Funding

Planned Parenthood affiliates in Texas filed a federal lawsuit against the state to block their exclusion from participating in the Women’s Health Program. Texas officials cut off the WHP funding to Planned Parenthood after approving a rule that prevents organizations “affiliated” with an abortion provider from being a part of the Medicaid program. The lawsuit asks the court for an injunction to stop the enforcement of the rule, which went into effect in March, so that Planned Parenthood clinics can stay in the program. The Texas Tribune reports:

Teen Pregnancy: Mississippi Has Highest Teen Birth Rate In The U.S.

ATLANTA, April 10 (Reuters) - Mississippi has the highest teen birthrate in the nation while New Hampshire has the lowest, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday, following up on a report that found the incidence of pregnancy among U.S. teens was falling.

Apple Market Cap Hits $600 Billion

NEW YORK — Apple, already the world's most valuable company, hit the $600 billion level for the first time Tuesday.

Food Stamps Reduced The Poverty Rate By Nearly 8 Percent In 2009, As GOP Tries To Gut The Program

Congressional Republicans have targeted the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), better known as food stamps, for budget cuts, and have attempted to paint it as a program rife with fraud and abuse that is on an unsustainable path. While their argument ignores a host of facts, including that food stamp fraud is at an all-time low, it also ignores the economic benefits that the program brings to millions of low-income families.

Teacher Fired For Organizing A Fundraiser For Trayvon Martin

The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that a teacher in Michigan was fired last week for helping her students organize a fundraiser for Trayvon Martin’s parents.

The Maryland MegaMillions Winners Are Public School Teachers

In the days after it became clear that a winning MegaMillions ticket had been sold in Maryland, speculation ran rampant over who would come forward to claim it, especially after a woman named Mirlande Wilson first claimed to be the winner, then said she’d lost the ticket. Now, more details have emerged about the real winners, and as Maryland Lottery Director Stephen Martino said “It couldn’t have happened to nicer people.”

Zimmerman Launches Website, Features Vandalized Black Cultural Center

According to NBC News correspondent Mara Schiavocampo, George Zimmerman has launched a new website:

Zimmerman Had More Legal Authority To Shoot And Kill Than Our Troops Do At War

By:  Jon Soltz, founder and chairman of VoteVets.org.

The Trayvon Martin case has gripped the nation, and forced the country to re-examine our gun laws. But the horrible affair has struck me in another way, because of my two tours in Iraq. One fact stands out in my mind: The “Stand Your Ground” law in Florida, which may let George Zimmerman off the hook for the killing of Martin, gives more leeway to shooters than our own military gives to soldiers in war.

Fox Orlando Affiliate Calls Neo-Nazis ‘A Civil Rights Group’

A Fox Orlando affiliate decribed Neo-Nazis as “a civil rights group” on a television broadcast and online. The group of Neo-Nazis, known as the National Socialist Movement, has been conducting armed patrols of the streets of Sanford, Florida, the town where Trayvon Marting was shot dead.

Shale Shocked: ‘Remarkable Increase’ In U.S. Earthquakes ‘Almost Certainly Manmade,’ USGS Scientists Report

A U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) team has found that a sharp jump in earthquakes in America’s heartland appears to be linked to oil and natural gas drilling operations.

VIDEO: George W. Bush Agrees With Obama On Judicial Activism — Over and Over Again

Earlier this week, President Obama tried to remind conservatives that, not so long ago, they believed that “the biggest problem is judicial activism or a lack of judicial restraint. That an unelected group of people would somehow overturn a duly constituted and passed law.” Unfortunately, at least one Republican judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit did not take kindly to this reminder, and he responded by throwing a tantrum during a judicial hearing and ordering a junior Justice Department attorney to write a three page letter intended to embarrass the president.

Frackers Outbid Farmers For Water In Colorado Drought

Colorado is facing drought not seen since 2002, following the fourth-warmest and third-least-snowy winter in US history. Colorado State University scientists report that 98 percent of the state is facing these drought conditions.

A Time For Flowers, And High Gas Prices

NEW YORK (AP) — Ahh, spring. The days get longer, flowers bloom, and gasoline gets more expensive.

It's a galling time for drivers, and it's more maddening than usual this year. The average price of gasoline could surpass $4 per gallon nationwide as early as this week. It's already $3.93 per gallon, a record for this time of year.

New Bush-Era Torture Memo Released, Raises Questions About What Has Changed And What Hasn't

WASHINGTON -- A six-year-old memo from within the George W. Bush administration that came to light this week acknowledges that White House-approved interrogation techniques amounted to "war crimes." The memo's release has called attention to what has changed since President Barack Obama took office, but it also raises questions about what hasn't.

Tulsa Police Identify Victims In 'Unprecedented' Shooting Spree (White Man Randomly Shooting Blacks!)

TULSA, Oklahoma - Police call it unprecedented in Tulsa. They say it appears someone drove around North Tulsa Thursday night, randomly shooting people who were walking or in their yards.
Three were killed, and two survived.

Restaurant Jobs Boom Across Country As Wages Continue To Fall

Would you like your job with a side of wage decline?

Male Birth Control: New Procedure Is 100 Percent Effective, Reversible

A new birth control procedure shows promising signs of becoming another viable option for people who don't want children now, but may want them some day.

Techcitement points out that the procedure, which is in advanced clinical trials in India, has been found to be 100 percent effective.

One downside -- depending on how you feel about shots -- is that it requires the man receive an injection into the vas deferens with a polymer gel called Vasalgel, after a local anesthetic has been given. The substance works by breaking apart sperm.

The whole procedure takes about 15 minutes and lasts ten years or more and is more easily reversible than a vasectomy.

As the Male Contraception Information Project notes, if a man decides he'd like to have his sperm up and running again, he can get another shot and, within two to three months, the baby-making can commence.

Studies over the last 25 years have reportedly found the procedure is safe to use on both humans and animals.

Researchers are hopeful that the procedure will be on the market in the U.S. by 2015, with clinical trials beginning in 2012. Currently, the process is only available to Indian men involved in the trials.

Anti-Evolution ‘Monkey Bill’ Poised To Become Law In Tennessee

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam (R) announced yesterday that he will “probably” sign a bill that attacks the teaching of “biological evolution, the chemical origins of life, global warming, and human cloning” by giving broad new legal immunities to teachers who question evolution and other widely accepted scientific theories. Under the bill, which passed the state legislature last month:

Civil Rights Leader Rep. Jim Clyburn: ‘I Cannot Remember’ When I Had As Much ‘Anxiety’ Over Voting Rights

Earlier today, the Center for American Progress released Voter Suppression 101, a report documenting conservative efforts to disenfranchise voters through state restrictions on voting. At a press call accompanying the release, former Civil Rights Movement leader and current Congressman Jim Clyburn (D-SC) was asked for his personal feelings on seeing another wave of voter disenfranchisement after he fought so hard to end Jim Crow. His response was grim:

Raspberry Pi: The $35, credit card size computer that plays 1080p

You own a computer. If you don’t believe me then how are you reading this? It may be big or it may fit in the palm of your hand. It has many different capabilities but you had to pay a fair amount of money to be able to use such capabilities. Raspberry Pi is a Linux based credit card size computer that has been created to get more programming based computer to students.

CHART: The U.S. Has Made No Progress On College Graduation Rates In 30 Years

Both the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ Jared Bernstein and University of Missouri-St. Louis political scientist Kenneth Thomas flagged some data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development showing that America’s college graduation rate hasn’t improved in 30 years. “Not only are the US attain levels now behind those of 12 other countries, but we’ve made no progress in a generation,” Bernstein noted.

On the chart, the blue square represents college attainment of 55-64 year olds, while the triangle represents 25-34 year olds. For the U.S., the percentages attaining a degree are nearly identical, which is clearly not the case for a host of other countries.




One of the problems stifling America’s educational attainment is the growing cost of college. Since 1985, fees and tuition have nearly sextupled, while outstanding student debt by some estimates has already cleared $1 trillion.

At the same time, Republicans in Congress are proposing cuts to higher education aid under the faulty theory that increased financial aid is driving tuition hikes. Under the budget which the House Republicans passed, more than one million students would lose their Pell Grants, which help low-income students pay for college.

Undercover Study Finds That Financial Advisers Put Profits Ahead Of Their Clients

Former Goldman Sachs trader Greg Smith publicly resigned three weeks ago, decrying the firm’s “toxic and destructive” culture in a scathing New York Times editorial. But it isn’t just traders at America’s biggest investment bank that view their clients as “muppets,” at least according to a new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Video: Justice Scalia Echoes Republican Political Rhetoric During The Affordable Care Act Argument

We will not know until June whether the Supreme Court will strike down the Affordable Care Act or decide instead to follow the Constitution. One thing that was completely clear from this week’s oral argument, however, is that one member of the Supreme Court is far more concerned with reciting political talking points than he is with actually upholding the law. Watch the following video compilation to see the many times Justice Scalia echoed anti-Obamacare rhetorical barbs by Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, and other leading Republicans while he was supposedly being a neutral judge weighing the merits of the Affordable Care Act: