All 67 Florida Election Supervisors Suspend Governor Rick Scott's Voter Purge

On Thursday, the Justice Department demanded Florida Governor Rick Scott end his extensive purge of registered voters from the rolls because it was in violation of federal law. Scott still hasn’t formally responded but his county election supervisors have already taken action.
The Palm Beach Post reports:

Florida elections supervisors said Friday they will discontinue a state-directed effort to remove names from county voter rolls because they believe the state data is flawed and because the U.S. Department of Justice has said the process violates federal voting laws...
The Justice Department letter and mistakes that the 67 county elections supervisors have found in the state list make the scrub undoable, said Martin County Elections Supervisor Vicki Davis, president of the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections…
Ron Labasky, the association’s general counsel, sent a memo to the 67 supervisors Friday telling them to stop processing the list.
“I recommend that Supervisors of Elections cease any further action until the issues raised by the Department of Justice are resolved between the parties or by a Court,” Labasky wrote.

Previously, the State of Florida indicated they intended to accelerate the purge. Florida has until June 6 to respond to the Justice Department.
Originally published on ThinkProgress

All 67 Florida Election Supervisors Suspend Governor Rick Scott's Voter Purge

Karen Handel, Right Wing VP of Komen Quits Over Planned Parenthood Flap « elmsprogressivemedia

A big mistake to end funding for Planned Parenthood by Cure Breast-Cancer Charity; this is a Right-Wing attack on women rights.


Karen Handel, Right Wing VP of Komen Quits Over Planned Parenthood Flap « elmsprogressivemedia

LETTER: A government takeover of worker rights | wausaudailyherald.com | Wausau Daily Herald

LETTER: A government takeover of worker rights | wausaudailyherald.com | Wausau Daily Herald

"EDITOR: One of the things that makes this state great is our willingness to work together to solve our problems. For 50 years, Wisconsin managers and the public service workers who make our state and community strong solved problems together. But now some politicians in Madison want to take away the rights of thousands of teachers, nurses and other trusted public employees. They're trying to take away any say public employees have in the workplace. And these politicians are trying to make it happen right now, with almost no public input, discussion or debate.


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Bahrain

Bahrain

"On this page:

* Profile
* People
* History
* Government
* Political Conditions
* Economy
* Defense
* Foreign Relations
* U.S. Relations
* Travel/Business
* Background Notes A-Z

January 20, 2011Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs [Flag of Bahrain]
Background Note: Bahrain

Official Name: Kingdom of Bahrain

[Map of Bahrain]

PROFILE

Geography
Area: 727 sq. km. (274 sq. mi.); approximately four times the size of Washington, DC. Bahrain is an archipelago of 36 islands located off the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia. The four main islands are joined by causeways, and make up about 95% of the total land area.
Cities: Capital--Manama, pop. (2002 est.) 148,000. Other cities--Al Muharraq.
Terrain: Low desert plain (highest elevation point--122 m).
Climate: Hot and humid from May-September, with average highs ranging from 30o-40o C (86o-104o F). Maximum temperatures average 20o-30o C (68o-86o F) the remainder of the year.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Bahraini(s).
Population (January 2008 est.): 1,046,814, including about 517,368 non-nationals.
Annual population growth rate (2008 est.): 3.6%.
Ethnic groups: Bahraini 63%, Asian 19%, other Arab 10%, Iranian 8%.
Religions: 98% Muslim (approximately Shi'a 70%, Sunni 30%), with small Christian, Jewish, Baha’i, and Hindu communities.
Languages: Arabic (official), English, Farsi, and Urdu are also widely spoken.
Education: Education is not compulsory, but is provided free to Bahrainis and non-nationals at all levels, including higher education. Estimated net primary school attendance (1991-2001)--84%. Adult literacy, age 15 and over (2003 est.)--89.1% for the overall population (male 91.9%, female 85%).
Health: Infant mortality rate (2007 est.)--16.18 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy--72 yrs. males, 77 yrs. females.
Work force (2006 est.): 352,000 of which 44% are foreigners.

Government
Type: Constitutional hereditary monarchy.
Independence: August 15, 1971 (from the United Kingdom).
Constitution: Approved and promulgated May 26, 1973; suspended on August 26, 1975; the National Action Charter was approved by a national popular referendum on February 14-15, 2001, and a new constitution was issued on February 14, 2002.
Branches: Executive--King (chief of state); Prime Minister (head of government); Council of Ministers (cabinet) is appointed by the King and headed by the Prime Minister. Legislative--The bicameral parliament (al-Majlis al-Watani) consists of a 40-member elected Council of Representatives and a 40-member Shura (Consultative) Council appointed by the King. Members of both chambers serve 4-year terms. Judicial--High Civil Appeals Court. The judiciary is independent with right of judicial review.
Administrative subdivisions: 12 municipalities (manatiq): Al Hidd, Al Manamah, Al Mintaqah al Gharbiyah, Al Mintaqah al Wusta, Al Mintaqah ash Shamaliyah, Al Muharraq, Ar Rifa' wa al Mintaqah al Janubiyah, Jidd Hafs, Madinat Hamad, Madinat 'Isa, Juzur Hawar, Sitrah.
Suffrage: Universal at age 18.

Economy
GDP (2009 est.): $19.36 billion.
Real GDP growth rate (2009 est.): 2.9%.
Per capita GDP (2009 est.): $38,400.
Natural resources: Oil, aluminum, textiles, natural gas, fish, pearls.
Agriculture (less than 1% of GDP): Products--fruit, vegetables, poultry, dairy products, shrimp, fish.
Industry: Types--oil and gas (13.1% of GDP), manufacturing (12.4% of GDP), aluminum.
Services: Finance (24.2% of GDP), transport and communications (8.9% of GDP), real estate (9.2% of GDP); government services (14.8% of GDP).
Trade (2009 est.): Exports--$12.5 billion: oil and other mineral products, aluminum, textiles. Major markets--Saudi Arabia (3.4%), U.S. (3%), India (2.7%), Japan (2.3%). Imports--$10.37 billion: crude oil, machinery and appliances, transport equipment, foodstuffs. Major suppliers--Saudi Arabia (26.7%), Japan (8.9%), U.S. (7.8%), China (6.2%), Germany (4.8%), South Korea (4.7%), U.A.E. (4.2%).


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The Hill Poll: Voters troubled over future of Social Security - TheHill.com

The Hill Poll: Voters troubled over future of Social Security - TheHill.com


"A sizable majority of likely voters is worried about Social Security’s future but much more divided over whether the retirement age for the program should be raised, according to a new poll conducted for The Hill.

Seventy-seven percent of likely voters believe Social Security is in trouble, while just 15 percent believe the program is financially sound.

Still, a plurality – 48 percent – also believed that the Social Security age should not be raised for people born after 1960, who are currently slated to begin receiving full benefits at age 67. Forty percent favored pushing back the retirement age.

Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to support raising the retirement age, the poll found.

Reforms to Social Security and other entitlement programs are being discussed by policymakers struggling to deal with a budget deficit the Congressional Budget Office has estimated will grow to $1.5 trillion this fiscal year. The CBO has also recently reported that Social Security also posted a deficit last year for the first time in years, and CBO has also projected it would do so again this year.


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What new budget says about President Obama - David Rogers - POLITICO.com

What new budget says about President Obama - David Rogers - POLITICO.com

Barack Obama’s 2012 budget lands on Capitol Hill on Monday, and more than any of the president’s prior efforts, this one makes choices that help define the man himself. He bets big on education spending — an 11 percent increase next year — while altering the Pell Grant program to try to save the aid levels now allowed for college students from the poorest families, The National Institutes of Health will grow by about $1 billion, even as old antipoverty programs and heating assistance are cut. And $62 billion in Medicare savings will be plowed back into paying physicians who care for the elderly.

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US Homelessness and Poverty Rates Skyrocket While Billions are Spent Overseas on Occupation

US Homelessness and Poverty Rates Skyrocket While Billions are Spent Overseas on Occupation


"As I watch far away images of body bags being filled, I see much closer images of bodies. I went by a local park the other day and it looked like a concentration camp crossed with a mass murder scene.

There were people in rags and covered with filth lying scattered all over the place. At least twenty people were on crutches, had parts bandaged, or with open wounds not even covered. They were all hungry and a large majority was sick.

All around this city I live in, and nationwide, the level of homelessness and poverty is growing alarmingly. From the last counts and estimates nation wide, there has been at least a 35-45% increase in homelessness and poverty. The increases have come over the last two years with the biggest increases being in 2002 and especially in the first six months of 2003.

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Fighting Modern-Day Slavery | Southern Poverty Law Center

Fighting Modern-Day Slavery | Southern Poverty Law Center

"When Sabulal Vijayan left India for America, he hoped to build a better life for his family.

He had paid nearly $20,000 to labor recruiters for the opportunity to work at a Gulf Coast shipyard. The advertisement for the job offered green cards for workers and their families to become permanent U.S. residents. It was a chance to live the American dream.

Raising the money to pay the labor recruiters pushed him deep into debt, but he couldn’t let this opportunity pass. His Indian co-workers felt the same way. They also mortgaged their futures for a dream job.

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Obamacare heads toward Supreme Court showdown - San Francisco Bay Area Moderate Conservative | Examiner.com

Obamacare heads toward Supreme Court showdown - San Francisco Bay Area Moderate Conservative | Examiner.com

"U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson rendered his surprisingly candid decision on Obamacare Monday afternoon. He dismissed President Barack Obama's signature legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Act (Obamacare), as unconstitutional.

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Van Jones and Other Marxist Scum Protest Koch Brothers’ Meeting : The Other McCain

Van Jones and Other Marxist Scum Protest Koch Brothers’ Meeting : The Other McCain

"Yesterday I told you that Herman Cain would be speaking at a conference in Rancho Mirage, California, sponsored by the Koch Foundation. Well, about a thousand smelly hippies turned out to protest the conference and guess who was helping lead them?

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Nancy Altman: Social Security Under Attack

Nancy Altman: Social Security Under Attack

"Washington's policy elites just don't get Social Security. On Thursday, Congress passed the Obama-GOP compromise tax bill, replacing 15 percent of revenue dedicated to Social Security with borrowed money that will increase the federal deficit in 2011. On Dec. 3, a majority of the president's fiscal commission voted to support unprecedented cuts in Social Security benefits and changes in the structure of this program, which has served American families so well.

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House Republicans Consider Privatizing Medicare

WASHINGTON — Months after they hammered Democrats for cutting Medicare, House Republicans are debating whether to relaunch their quest to privatize the health program for seniors. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is testing support for his idea to replace Medicare with a fixed payment to buy a private medical plan from a menu of coverage options.Party leaders will determine if the so-called voucher plan will be part of the budget Republicans put forward in the spring."No decisions have been made on the details of our House GOP budget." Michael Steel, a spokesman for Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Thursday. "There are a lot of ideas out there, and we're going to listen to our members and the American people."

House Republicans Consider Privatizing Medicare

Blogged with the Flock Browser

House Republicans Consider Privatizing Medicare

WASHINGTON — Months after they hammered Democrats for cutting Medicare, House Republicans are debating whether to relaunch their quest to privatize the health program for seniors. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is testing support for his idea to replace Medicare with a fixed payment to buy a private medical plan from a menu of coverage options.Party leaders will determine if the so-called voucher plan will be part of the budget Republicans put forward in the spring."No decisions have been made on the details of our House GOP budget." Michael Steel, a spokesman for Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Thursday. "There are a lot of ideas out there, and we're going to listen to our members and the American people."

House Republicans Consider Privatizing Medicare

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Op-Ed Columnist - The Billionaires Bankrolling the Tea Party - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Columnist - The Billionaires Bankrolling the Tea Party - NYTimes.com

"ANOTHER weekend, another grass-roots demonstration starring Real Americans who are mad as hell and want to take back their country from you-know-who. Last Sunday the site was Lower Manhattan, where they jeered the “ground zero mosque.” This weekend, the scene shifted to Washington, where the avatars of oppressed white Tea Party America, Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin, were slated to “reclaim the civil rights movement” (Beck’s words) on the same spot where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. had his dream exactly 47 years earlier.

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Georgia congressman calls Obama Marxist, warns of dictatorship - - POLITICO.com

Georgia congressman calls Obama Marxist, warns of dictatorship - - POLITICO.com

"A Republican congressman from Georgia said Monday he fears that President-elect Obama will establish a Gestapo-like security force to impose a Marxist dictatorship.

“It may sound a bit crazy and off base, but the thing is, he’s the one who proposed this national security force,” Rep. Paul Broun said of Obama in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. “I’m just trying to bring attention to the fact that we may — may not, I hope not — but we may have a problem with that type of philosophy of radical socialism or Marxism.”


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Terrorism directed at 'liberal' and 'government' targets since July 2008: An interactive map | Crooks and Liars

Terrorism directed at 'liberal' and 'government' targets since July 2008: An interactive map | Crooks and Liars: "Since all those isolated incidents involving terroristic violence directed at 'liberals' and the 'government' keep adding up into a serious trend, we've decided it's time to start keeping systematic track of the problem -- especially because mainstream media seem intent on refusing to recognize the trend.

Here's the text for the 20 events we've enumerated so far:

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Darrel Issa The Criminal In Congress California 49th District Republican

This criminal shouldn't be serving in the United States Congress; this guy Darrel Issa California 49th District. Who put this criminal in office? This is a mocking of our justice system.


Darrel Issa The Criminal In The Unitred States Congress

ThinkProgress » Conservatives Freak Out Over Mild Net Neutrality Laws: ‘It’s Total Government Control Of The Internet’

the Internet. There’s a lot of people rightly concerned. … The Obama administration, which has already nationalized health care, the auto industry, insurance companies, banks, and student loans, will move forward with what could be the first step in controlling how Americans use the Internet by establishing federal regulations on its use….The Internet is an invaluable resource. It should be left alone. As Americans become more aware of what’s happening here, I suspect many will be alarmed, as I am, at the government’s intrusion. They’ll wonder, as many already do, if this is a Trojan horse for further meddling by the government.– LIMBAUGH: Today the FCC approved a proposal by chairman Julius Genachowski to give the FCC power to prevent broadband providers from selectively blocking web traffic. And that’s just a ruse. Net Neutrality is not what this is really all about. This is about the feds wanting to control the Internet just as they control the public airwaves. They want to be able to determine who gets to say what, where, how often — they want to be able to determine what search services are providing what answers to your queries. It’s total government control of the Internet, and the regime has just awarded it to itself.It’s another gleaming aspect of free speech, free market, private industry Obama has decided to take over as a Christmas present to himself and the Democrat National Committee and to Mr. Soros. He’s even beaten Hugo Chavez to the punch. Chavez is just talking about taking over the Internet in Venezuela; Obama has got it done.

ThinkProgress » Conservatives Freak Out Over Mild Net Neutrality Laws: ‘It’s Total Government Control Of The Internet’

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White House Is Hoping Jon Stewart Can Help Them Out With The 9/11 Responders Bill

Robert Gibbs, President Obama's press secretary, told reporters on Tuesday that he hopes ["Daily Show"host Jon Stewart] can persuade enough Republican senators to vote for a 9/11 health bill so it can head to the president's desk."If there's the ability for that to sort of break through in our political environment, there's a good chance that he can help do that," Gibbs said in his briefing. "I think he has put the awareness around this legislation. He's put that awareness into what you guys cover each day, and I think that's good. I hope he can convince two Republicans to support taking care of those that took care of so many on that awful day in our history."

White House Is Hoping Jon Stewart Can Help Them Out With The 9/11 Responders Bill

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Net Neutrality Rules Are Imminent From the F.C.C. - NYTimes.com

The Federal Communications Commission appears poised to pass a controversial set of rules that broadly create two classes of Internet access, one for fixed-line providers and the other for the wireless Net.

Net Neutrality Rules Are Imminent From the F.C.C. - NYTimes.com

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