Monthly Archives: October 2012

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A 1-Point Plan

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| By ThinkProgress War Room

Everyone Else Pays More So the Wealthy Can Pay Even Less

First, Mitt Romney had 59-point plan. Lately, he’s been touting a 5-point plan.

But the truth is that Mitt Romney really just has 1-point plan: Make everyone else pay more so the wealthy and huge corporations like Big Oil can pay even less.

What does this 1-point plan mean in practice?

And so on and so forth. You get the picture and it’s not a pretty one.

Worse yet?

Romney’s reverse Robin Hood plan won’t create jobs and won’t grow the economy. As we discussed earlier this week, Romney’s plan would, at best, dramatically slow the recovery and could kill hundreds of thousands of jobs and throw the economy back into recession.

Figure 1

How are we so sure about this? We’ve tried Romney’s 1-point plan before and it didn’t work. In fact, the plan Romney is advocating solely consists of the same policies that got us into this mess in the first place — only worse.

We know from experience that lower marginal tax rates don’t create economic growth. In fact, the opposite seems to be true.

average annual growth in real gdp, by top marginal tax rate

And lower marginal tax rates don’t create jobs either.

BOTTOM LINE: The middle class simply cannot afford Mitt Romney’s 1-point plan to make them pay more so the wealthy and corporations can pay even less.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You Might’ve Missed

Romney touts study that would eliminate nearly all middle-class tax breaks to bolster his tax plan.

How the model tax plan Romney cited could raise one middle-class woman’s taxes by $6,000.

Obama diagnoses Romney: he’s suffering from Romnesia.

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) says abortions are “absolutely” never necessary to save the life of the mother.

Romney team plans to continue war spending indefinitely.

After attacking his opponent as weak on Iran, GOP Senate candidate admits to owning stocks in companies that do business with Iran.

What Obama and Romney’s Al Smith dinner speeches tell us about the election.

The worst question in a Senate debate yet?

Yet another case of Republicans committing voter fraud.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Health Care for America Now

Health Care Supporter

Will you contribute $10 to help us reach undecided voters in key states?

This election is about more than political parties. When it comes to health care, it is about truth and lies.

There are only 18 days until the presidential election, but some people are still undecided about whom to vote for. To reach these undecided voters Health Care for America Now will be running a targeted online ad campaign in key areas.

Will you contribute $10 to help us deliver our message to undecided voters?

In front of a national audience, Mitt said he cares about 100% of Americans. With wealthy donors, behind closed doors, he said he didn’t care about 47% of Americans. He claimed pre-existing conditions are covered under his health care plan, but he conveniently skipped the fact that it’s only for people whose coverage hasn’t been interrupted. That’s the exact policy we already had under laws in effect before the Affordable Care Act was enacted.

It’s simple. Romney’s a liar. He’ll say whatever he thinks it takes to get elected.

Please make a contribution of $10 to help us deliver our message to undecided voters. America can’t afford Romney’s brand of dishonesty in the White House.

Thanks,

Will O’Neill Health Care for America Now
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Ocean Conservation …


Obama Administration Progress on Oceans Conservation

Posted by Julie Randall:

Obama Responds to Ocean Letter

On August 15, Blue Frontier Campaign put together a letter to the presidential candidates signed by 60 ocean leaders calling on them to pledge to protect our ocean by moving forward in four action areas. On September 24, the Obama campaign responded with the following statement:

“President Obama is committed to ensuring that our nation’s vast natural resources are used responsibly, and that we maintain healthy oceans and coasts. By establishing a National Ocean Policy, he made it a priority of the federal government to ensure a proactive approach to improving the conservation of the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes.”

President Obama is directing additional funding to Gulf Coast restoration to further bring back the fisheries and coastal ecosystems that are still recovering in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon spill. He kicked off the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the largest investment in the Great Lakes in two decades, which is targeting ecological problems such as invasive species, toxic hot spots, and pollution runoff. And his administration is cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, establishing a “pollution diet” for the Bay that will help restore the natural habitat for fish and other wildlife. They have also invested over $1.4 billion in Everglades’ restoration, helping restore tens of thousands of acres that will serve as a sanctuary for native Florida plants and wildlife. Under President Obama, we have created or enhanced more than 540 public coastal recreation areas, protected more than 54,000 acres of coastlines and restored over 5,200 acres of coastal habitat. The administration is also investing more in monitoring our fishing stock in coastal areas in order to have the most accurate data possible on the health of our fisheries. These are significant steps that are helping us improve the health of our oceans and build more robust fisheries.

Read the Executive Order — Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes

Read the Final Recommendations

Visit the National Ocean Council website

Read the FAQs

Read the press release

You can read public comments on the Task Force here.

Read the President’s Proclamation on National Oceans Month

~ Culture & History, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Lonnie G. Bunch at The NMAAHC


NMAAHC -- National Museum of African American History and Culture

eNews from the National Museum of African American History and Culture Fall 2012

Changing America:

The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 and the March on Washington, 1963

In 2013, the anniversaries of two key American milestones will be celebrated in a new exhibition,Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 and the March on Washington, 1963, presented jointly by the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and the National Museum of American History (NMAH).
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 feature image October 2012
Director Lonnie Bunch

A Message from the Director

2012 marks the seventh anniversary of my return to the Smithsonian Institution as founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). When I started in 2005, the site where the building would be located was not known and there were no collections or funds. Today, I am glad to report that construction has started on the building, which will be located at 14th and Constitution Avenue NW and we have collected more than 18,400 objects and approximately $100 million in donations toward our total goal of $500 million, of which $250 million must be raised from private resources.
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Pullman Railroad Car

From the NMAAHC Collections:

Jim Crow Era Pullman Railroad Car

One of the signature artifacts of the National Museum of African American History and Culture is a classic Pullman-built railroad car that once traveled the rails for the Southern Railway.
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Construction Update

Construction Update

Since the groundbreaking ceremony on February 22, construction of our building on the National Mall has begun and is moving forward. The building’s site is popular with residents and visitors who stop by to view the progress of the 19th museum in the Smithsonian family.
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First Grade Class

First-Grade Class Contributes to NMAAHC

Twenty first-grade students from Hamilton Park Pacesetter Magnet School in Hamilton Park, Texas, learned about philanthropy, math, and museums as they collected $175 in dimes during Black History Month 2012.
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