Last Call For The Company Store

If you recall last week's article on corporate pigs forcing working-class Americans to get paid solely through debit cards rather than paychecks or direct deposit (because really, payroll is so much cheaper if you make your employees pay for it through crushing fees and you get to pocket the profits) you'll be glad to know that New York AG Eric Schniederman is less than happy with this, and has opened an investigation.  Natalie Gunshannon, a McDonald's employee in Pennsylvania, has sued McDonald's over the cards too:

Under the onslaught of negative press, there have been steps in the right direction—theMcDonald's franchise where Gunshannon worked has now said that it will offer all its employees the option of a paper check or direct deposit, in addition to the card. Previously, according to the lawsuit, only managers had that choice. The decision covers some 800 workers at 16 stores. “We didn't hear any complaints. Many employees have been using these cards without complaint for many months. When it became apparent there were some employees who may want the choice, we're going to give them the choice," a company spokesperson told the Associated Press. (Gunshannon isn't dropping her lawsuit, though, saying that the company's actions are “damage control.”)

In New York, the political battle over a bill that would allow the cards is heating up. Michael Kink, executive director of Strong Economy for All, told Working In These Times, "In New York, workers need protection against both unscrupulous employers who rip them off with payroll debit cards and shady lawmakers in Albany who want to blow the doors wide open for even more ripoffs. Right now Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is digging into current abuses, and unions and community groups—with great work by the New York State AFL-CIO—are fighting hard to stop bad bills in the Legislature."

As Kink noted, perhaps the biggest impact of the heightened scrutiny has been the announcement by New York Attorney General Schneiderman that he would look into the use of the cards. The attorney general's office sent letters to 20 large employers, including McDonald's, Walgreens and Wal-Mart, asking about their use of the cards. He's investigating whether businesses that use the cards may have broken state labor laws, and whether workers are forced, as Gunshannon said she was, to use the cards as a condition of their employment.

Good on both counts here, folks.  There are people working to fight corporate nonsense like this, as few and far between as they are, but they do exist.

The Lukewarm Option

I'm sorry, but WIN THE MORNING pointing out that Harry Reid has 51 of 54 Democratic senators lined up for the filibuster "nuclear option" is complete hogwash.

How this all plays out will be determined behind closed doors at Senate Democratic Caucus lunch meetings, the first of which is on Tuesday. After huddling with his membership, Reid will determine which nominee comes to the floor first to face a likely GOP filibuster.

Reid has refused to answer questions on the topic even as Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) continues his campaign on the Senate floor to see if Reid will “keep his word” on not changing Senate rules in January — which Democrats are only too happy to turn on McConnell for promising “to work with the majority to process nominations.”

It’s still unclear whether Reid has the votes to change the rules, although the Sierra Club, Communications Workers of America and top Senate aides are confident Reid can marshal 51 members of his 54-member caucus to support at least easing the path for executive nominations such as Cabinet members.

There’s far less certainty on whether the caucus would like to tweak rules for judicial nominees as well.

Savvy readers will note this isn't even the "nuclear option" where the filibuster is mercifully done away with, more like the "lukewarm option" where President Obama's Cabinet nominees are the only up-or-down votes that would be affected by this.  And even this weak tea, as Greg Sargent points out, has little chance of surviving the "comity" of the Senate.

It’s simple math. Lautenberg’s passing means Dems now only have 54 votes in the Senate. (His temporary Republican replacement can’t be expected to back rules reform.) Aides who are tracking the vote count tell me that Senator Carl Levin (a leading opponent of the “nuke option” when it was ruled out at the beginning of the year, leading to the watered down bipartisan filibuster reform compromise) is all but certain to oppose any rules change by simple majority. Senators Patrick Leahy and Mark Pryor remain question marks. And Senator Jack Reed is a Maybe.

If Dems lose those four votes, that would bring them down to 50. And, aides note, that would mean Biden’s tie-breaking vote would be required to get back up to the 51 required for a simple Senate majority. That’s an awfully thin margin for error.

Which means every single Dem other than Levin, Leahy, Pryor, and Reed could blow it.  (Yes, I'm looking directly at you, Joe Manchin, Mark Begich, Mary Landrieu, etc.)   The bottom line is we've heard all this before, and each and every time Harry Reid and the Dems gleefully blow it because they perversely benefit from the Senate's inaction on the tough issues as much (or more at times) than the GOP does.

And no, I don't even think Harry Reid and the Dems can even get this done correctly.

The Sunset Of Ultrasound Bob

Rumors are flying furiously -- and mind you, these are still rumors until confirmed -- that Virginia GOP Gov. Bob McDonnell will resign as part of a plea bargain deal over revelations involving gifts from a wealthy donor.

A Democratic state senator on Tuesday called on Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) to detail and return all gifts given to members of his family by a prominent donor — or resign from office.

State Sen. J. Chapman Petersen (Fairfax) became the first elected official in either party to raise the possibility that the governor should resign over the gifts.

In a letter to the governor, Petersen wrote that revelations about gifts provided by dietary supplement manufacturer Jonnie R. Williams Sr. gave “the strong impression that your family was materially and systematically benefited by this person and his company.”

“In return, it appears you allowed this person to use the Governor’s Mansion and the Governor’s Office for the purpose of giving unique credibility to his company,” Petersen wrote in the letter. “That is unacceptable.”

Petersen wrote that if the governor can’t explain or deny the reports or return the items, he would “humbly suggest” that McDonnell step down.

That gave way to the story from a Virginia tea party website that McDonnell is cutting a deal, something loudly being denied by McDonnell's office.

Responding to questions posed late Saturday on social networking site Twitter, Gov. Bob McDonnell’s communications director denied a report posted by conservative blog Bearing Drift that the governor is resigning.

“It is false,” Tucker Martin wrote.

Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, also took to Twitter early Sunday morning in response to rumors that swirled there, writing: “Gov. Bob McDonnell is NOT resigning. I have checked. That is official. Irresponsible rumors are wrong.”

He also posted: “I normally ignore a rumor. But it's so widespread tonite I sought and received official permission to post this.”

On Saturday, Bearing Drift published a post claiming McDonnell would resign, citing two unnamed sources.

Now the story is getting interesting.  McDonnell's in no small amount of trouble here, and given that the race to replace him is heating up big time and Republican candidate (and current state AG) Ken Cuccinelli may have ties to the same donors, well, the longer this story stays front and center in Virginia, the better it is for the Dems.  Any plea deal would have to be run by Cuccinelli too as the state's top prosecutor.

We'll see how it goes.  Personally, I think the wild card here is current Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, who Cuccinelli beat out for the shot at his boss's office.  Should be an interesting couple of days in the Commonwealth.

StupidiNews!

• Two are dead and scores hospitalized after Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed well short of the runway at San Francisco's airport, the Boeing 777 breaking into 3 pieces.
• Egyptian security forces have reportedly killed 42, mostly pro-Morsi supoorters, outside the Revolutionary Guard building where Morsi is being held in Cairo.
• A runaway train filled with crude oil derailed and exploded in Quebec, forcing hundreds from their homes in the town of Lac-Megantic, and dozens remain missing.
• Scotsman Andy Murray gave Britain its first men's Wimbledon title in 77 years, taking down Novak Djokovic in straight sets and paving the way to tens of millions in endorsements.
• Jason, the satellite used to help track the globally rising ocean levels for the last 20 years, has finally seen its last backup transmitter fail and has been placed in a graveyard orbit.

Last Call For Watermelons

I grew up in small town North Carolina, and hey, glad to see that things haven't changed a damn bit since I left.

A North Carolina town’s Fourth of July parade featured an unusual float this year: a tractor with a Confederate flag mounted on it, dragging a trailer full of watermelons and a sign proclaiming “White History Month.”

The display was part of the Hope Mills, North Carolina Fourth of July parade, The Fayetteville Observer reported Saturday. City officials received numerous complaints about the float.

The trailer was decorated by local farmer Donnie Spell, frequently seen in the town’s local parades riding on his tractor. Much like prior events, Spell had a permit from local officials.

However, local ABC News affiliate WTVD-TV reported that his permit application for Thursday’s parade claimed the trailer’s sign would read: “Watermelons for sale.” Instead, it read: “White History Month, HUG WTE PPL.” 

But hey, if you have a problem with this, you're the racist, right?

Pick Your Poison, Mr. President

The GOP's debt ceiling deal for this year: "Who will you sacrifice to appease the Republican austerity terrorists, Mr. President?  Choose who must suffer or we crash the economy for all."

The idea is to throw in the “kitchen sink” and allow Obama to pick and choose the cuts. “If what makes it easier to find the deal is to go in and pick and choose among a dozen different programs and just grab a little bit from all 12 — instead of a lot from one them — then that works just fine,” Rep. Rob Woodall (R-GA), who heads the Republican Study Committee’s budget and spending task force, told the Journal: 

Yeah, and make it all Obama's fault.

For a long-term deal, one that gives Treasury borrowing authority for three-and-a-half years, Obama would have to agree to premium support. The plan to privatize Medicare, perhaps the most controversial aspect of the Ryan budget, is the holy grail for conservatives who say major deficit-reduction can only be achieved by making this type of cut to mandatory spending. “If the president wants to go big, there’s a big idea,” said Rep. Steve Scalise, chairman of the Republican Study Committee.

For a medium-sized increase in the debt-limit, Republicans want Obama to agree to cut spending in the SNAP food stamp program, block-grant Medicaid, or tinker with chained CPI.

For a smaller increase, there is talk of means-testing Social Security, for example, or ending certain agricultural subsidies.

While the menu includes plenty of variables, the underlying strategic goal is to reduce mandatory spending — whatever the scope of the deal. Even at the smallest end of the spectrum — another months-long extension of debt-limit — there is talk of pushing back the eligibility age for Social Security by an equal number of months.

President Obama resisted these tactics last year, but we got stuck with sequestration as a result.  Now the GOP is going to destroy America's economy unless they get their austerity this time.

So what will the austerity terrorists get from America this time?  The end of Medicare?  Social Security?  Medicaid?  Food stamps?  Who will be sacrificed?

Will it be you?

The Campaign To Lie About Obamacare

The Koch Brothers and their minions are happy to spend hundreds of millions on another round of commercials lying about what Obamacare actually does.  The NY Times notes this and apparently doesn't have a problem with this, because the Kochs have enough money to force a "opposing views differ/both sides do it" story.

Republicans have staked much of their near-term political success on the bet that the health care overhaul will be unpopular with Americans as it is implemented in a process that they have warned will be chaotic and frustrating. Many Republicans in Congress have said they would push to repeal the law. 

So far, the persistent criticism of the law has served the party well with its base. Now, Republicans hope it will resonate with swing voters the party needs to recover from its losses last year. 

In a significant strategic shift, Americans for Prosperity is carefully aiming its new campaign at one of those voting blocs: young women. 

“How do I know my family is going to get the care they need?” asks a young mother of two who stars in a commercial, the first in a series that Americans for Prosperity plans to expand to as many as seven states. “Can I really trust the folks in Washington with my family’s health care?” 

Sure, because the federal government doesn't already help provide health care to over a hundred million Americans already through Medicare and Medicaid. What would they know about it, right?

The Campaign Media Analysis Group at Kantar Media estimates that from 2010, when the law was signed, to 2015, $1 billion will be spent on ads that criticize or defend it. That includes ads for candidates who oppose the law. Half of the $1 billion has already been spent, the group said. 

Ask yourself why these guys are spending a billion dollars to lie about the law rather than trying to help states implement it so that it works better.  Ask yourself why the law scares them so much.

Last Call For The Daughter Of The Nameless One

One of the things that really depresses me is the political dynasty garbage of America's "political families".  And yes, that goes for both parties, Democrat and Republican.  And being stuck with the idiot, racist son of Ron Paul as my Senator, it seems voters in Wyoming are about to get treated to another privileged meatball who never held any political office whatsoever and is about to use their family name to steal a Senate seat:  take it away, Liz Cheney!

Ms. Cheney, 46, is showing up everywhere in the state, from chicken dinners to cattle growers’ meetings, sometimes with her parents in tow. She has made it clear that she wants to run for the Senate seat now held by Michael B. Enzi, a soft-spoken Republican and onetime fly-fishing partner of her father. 

But Ms. Cheney’s move threatens to start a civil war within the state’s Republican establishment, despite the reverence many hold for her family.   Mr. Enzi, 69, says he is not ready to retire, and many Republicans say he has done nothing to deserve being turned out. 

It would bring about “the destruction of the Republican Party of Wyoming if she decides to run and he runs, too,” Alan K. Simpson, a former Republican senator from the state, said in an interview last week. “It’s a disaster — a divisive, ugly situation — and all it does is open the door for the Democrats for 20 years.” 

But it doesn't matter.  Liz thinks she's entitled to the seat, and most likely in a state where a Democrat hasn't won a Senate race since 1970, if she can run Mike Enzi out of town, she's got the seat for life.

In an interview last week after a town hall-style meeting at the county fairgrounds here, a few feet from a plaque marking the site of Mr. Cheney’s first political speech, Mr. Enzi revealed that Ms. Cheney told him this year that she was thinking about challenging him in 2014. 

“She called me and said that she’s looking at it,” he said. 

And did Ms. Cheney ask Mr. Enzi, now in his third term, if he was planning to run again? 

“No,” Mr. Enzi said. 

Enjoy your bullseye, Mike.  Nobody tells the daughter of the Nameless One that she can't have her toys, and you're just in the way.

Walkering Past The Graveyard

With North Carolina, Texas, and Ohio Republicans moving to remove women's rights in dramatic fashion, it's Wisconsin's Scott Walker who has quietly signed a law to reduce the number of abortion providers in the state to one, maybe two.

Gov. Scott Walker signed a bill Friday requiring doctors who perform abortions to have hospital admitting privileges, and abortion clinics responded by immediately suing state officials over the measure.

The law — signed Friday by Walker in a private ceremony — would cut the number of clinics offering abortions in Wisconsin from four to two, and one of the remaining clinics would have to dramatically cut the number of abortions it provides, according to the operators of the clinics.

"When women don't have access to safe, legal abortions, there are health consequences and women die," said Teri Huyck, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.
Backers of the law, which also requires women seeking abortions to get ultrasounds, said they were not worried about the lawsuit.

"We are confident this bill will be held to be constitutional," said Susan Armacost, legislative director for Wisconsin Right to Life.

The same TRAP laws that NC, OH, and TX signed into law over the last few weeks:  mandatory invasive ultrasounds, forcing doctors to lie about the health effects of abortions, waiting periods, surgical clinic regulations, and impossible hospital admitting requirements designed to make getting an abortion impossible for 99% of women.   Two clinics, max, for a state of nearly six million people.

Safe, legal, and impossible.

StupidiNews, Weekend Edition!

• The death toll from Friday's clashes across Egypt hit 30 as pro-Morsi and anti-Morsi protestors faced off all over the country.
• Scientists weighing long-term plans for Luna say that lunar dust could be a major problem in any colony, settlement, or even mission to the moon's surface.
• Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords is on a seven-day, six-state tour to try to convince GOP senators to back another gun-control legislation vote.
• With revised jobs figures putting job growth at nearly 200k per month for the last three months, economists are optimistic that the economy is picking up pace.
• Microsoft says Kinect movement-tracking technology built into the XBox One will be integrated into "advertising experiences" on its XBox Live network.

Last Call For Sanity In Egypt

So, you're the Egyptian military, and you've just taken over the country and kicked out the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi.  What's the next thing you do so that you can try to calm things down and can fake the whole "this isn't really a coup" deal?

If you answered anything other than "Use military force to close the neighboring border with Gaza and the Palestinians" than congratulations, you're better at this than the actual Egyptian military!

An Egyptian official says the country's border crossing with Gaza Strip in northern Sinai has been closed indefinitely, citing security concerns.

The decision comes hours after suspected Islamic militants attacked four sites in northern Sinai, targeting two military checkpoints, a police station and el-Arish airport, where military aircraft are stationed.

The military and security forces responded to the attacks. One soldier was killed and three were wounded.

Gen. Sami el-Metwali said Rafah passage was shut down on Friday. He didn't say when it would be reopened. Some 200 Palestinians were turned back to the Gaza Strip after the order.

So at this point it's starting to look like maybe, possibly, kinda, that the Muslim Brotherhood didn't just evaporate into nothingness and might still have a tiny grudge with the Egyptian military.  That's rapidly turning into the beginnings of one of those fabulous sectarian civil wars we keep hearing about.

Army troops opened fire Friday on protesters demanding the reinstatement of toppled President Mohammed Morsi, killing at least one, as supporters of the Islamist leader rallied across Egypt chanting "Down with military rule!"

The shooting threatens to escalate Egypt's confrontation, with Morsi's Islamist backers rejecting the army's ousting of the country's first freely elected president. Some heavily armed extremist groups have already vowed violent retaliation against the army, and before dawn gunmen in the Sinai launched a major attack on military facilities.

The army shooting came when hundreds of protesters marched on the Republican Guard building in Cairo, where Morsi was staying at the time of his ouster Wednesday night before being taken into military custody at an unknown location. The crowd approached a barbed wire barrier where troops were standing guard around the building.

When one person hung a sign of Morsi on the barrier, the troops tore it down and told the crowd to stay back. A protester put up a second sign, and the soldiers opened fire, according to an Associated Press photographer.

Several bloodied protesters fell to the ground. One had a gaping, bleeding wound in the back of his head. Other protesters carried the body into a nearby building and covered his head with a blanket, declaring him dead, according to AP Television News footage.

So yeah, hell of a week in Egypt, folks.  Going to get worse before it gets better, and should Israel decide "Hey, we should probably do something about all these Egyptians with US weapons next door" then things get awesome.

And by "awesome" I mean "crap."

There Is An Alternative To Grimes For Liberals

And that's Ed Marksberry, who at least is a liberal Democrat and not, well, Alison Lundergan Grimes.



Unfortunately when Ed ran against Republican Brett Guthrie in KY-2 in 2010, he got stomped by 35 points.  He's a huge long shot against Grimes and an even bigger one against Mitch.  But actual liberals in Kentucky do exist.

They just don't have any support from the Ky Dem Party.  Especially when their candidate is the daughter of the former long-time party boss.

I know I've said I'd support Grimes over McConnell, but that's because I know Marksberry hasn't a shot in hell at winning.  And that's too bad.

Not So Amazing If You Ask Me

Pro tip:  Things that can be sung to the tune of the theme song of "Gilligan's Island", most of Emily Dickinson's poetry.  Things that cannot be sung well to it?  Amazing Grace.  Take it away, Sen. Ted Cruz!



My soul hurts.  A lot.  I thought I would share the pain.  At first I thought "This guy couldn't carry a tune in a magnetic containment field specifically designed for convenient transport of musical pieces" but apparently the problem is everything sounds like the theme to Gilligan's Island to the guy.

Is there a classification for that affliction?  Cruz Syndrome, perhaps?  Who knows.

StupidiNews!

• Rumblings and smoky ash from Mexico's famous Mt. Popocatepetl volcano has canceled a number of US flights to nearby Mexico City.
• Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she won't give in to pressure from liberals for the 80-year old to retire and be replaced by a nominee named by President Obama before 2017.
• Egyptian Constitutional Court head Adly Mansour has been sworn in as the country's interim President as Muslim Brotherhood supporters of deposed President Morsi vow revenge.
• As British PM David Cameron moves forward on putting continued EU membership to a referendum, UK business leaders warn of consequences for trade.
• Microsoft says it will overhaul its reputation system for online gamers when XBox One goes live later this year in an attempt to limit the damage unruly players can do.

Last Call For The Third Amendment

Yeah, here's something I never expected to write, especially on the Fourth of July:  remember the Third Amendment, the one nobody remembers because A) it prohibits the government from quartering soldiers in people's homes and B) when the heck does the Third Amendment ever become a news issue, let alone a legal issue?

Ilya Somin over at Volokh Conspiracy flags this one down.  Apparently, the answer is "When our increasingly paramilitary local police try to take over a civilian's home by force in order to stake out a nearby criminal suspect" as the Henderson, Nevada Police Department is being sued over just such an action. 

Anthony Mitchell was apparently arrested for refusing to allow the HPD to set up shop in his home so that they could stake out a neighbor, and he's suing on Third Amendment grounds.

“On the morning of July 10th, 2011, officers from the Henderson Police Department responded to a domestic violence call at a neighbor’s residence,” the Mitchells say in the complaint.

It continues: “At 10:45 a.m. defendant Officer Christopher Worley (HPD) contacted plaintiff Anthony Mitchell via his telephone. Worley told plaintiff that police needed to occupy his home in order to gain a ‘tactical advantage’ against the occupant of the neighboring house. Anthony Mitchell told the officer that he did not want to become involved and that he did not want police to enter his residence. Although Worley continued to insist that plaintiff should leave his residence, plaintiff clearly explained that he did not intend to leave his home or to allow police to occupy his home. Worley then ended the phone call.

Mitchell claims that defendant officers, including Cawthorn and Worley and Sgt. Michael Waller then “conspired among themselves to force Anthony Mitchell out of his residence and to occupy his home for their own use.”

The complaint continues: “Defendant Officer David Cawthorn outlined the defendants’ plan in his official report: ‘It was determined to move to 367 Evening Side and attempt to contact Mitchell. If Mitchell answered the door he would be asked to leave. If he refused to leave he would be arrested for Obstructing a Police Officer. If Mitchell refused to answer the door, force entry would be made and Mitchell would be arrested.’”

Which apparently is exactly what happened.  Somin breaks it down:

The most obvious obstacle to winning a Third Amendment claim here is that police arguably do not qualify as “soldiers.” On the other hand, as Radley Balko describes in his excellent new book The Rise of the Warrior Cop, many police departments are increasingly using military-style tactics and equipment, often including the aggressive use of force against innocent people who get in the way of their plans. If the plaintiffs’ complaint is accurate, this appears to be an example of that trend. In jurisdictions where the police have become increasingly militarized, perhaps the courts should treat them as “soldiers” for Third Amendment purposes.

A second possible impediment to winning a Third Amendment claim in this case is that the Amendment is one of the few parts of the bill of rights that the Supreme Court still has not “incorporated” against state governments. For incorporation purposes, claims against local governments (like this one) are treated the same way as claims against states. On the other hand, the Supreme Court has never ruled that the Third Amendment does not apply to the states. If, as the Court has previously decided, virtually all the rest of the Bill of Rights applies to state governments, there is no good reason to exclude the Third Amendment. If the Third Amendment part of the case is not dismissed on other grounds, the federal district court may have to address the issue of incorporation.

Perhaps then we should see what the judicial thinks of such a move.  I normally don't agree with Radley Balko on much at all, the guy is well too eager to blame Barack Obama for absolutely everything, but if there's one issue I do consistently agree with him on, it's cops and their treatment of the powerless.  And increasingly, we're all powerless against them.

I have no clue if the Mitchell case will go anywhere, but bad cops throwing their weight around is a very old story, and one we always need to be aware of.