Battle Lines Drawn as GOP Moves Closer to ‘Greatest Transfer of Wealth to the Super-Rich in Modern American History’
by Jake Johnson, staff writer
With their passage of a deeply unpopular $1.5 tax cut bill on Thursday, House Repubicans did their part in “paving the way for the greatest transfer of wealth from regular people to the super-rich in modern American history”—a move that sparked a flood of outrage from progressive activists …
As Predicted—Because ‘Pipelines Are Bound to Spill’—Keystone Gushes Tar Sands Oil
by Jon Queally, staff writer
Some of the worst fears and dire predictions of opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline came true on Thursday when pipeline owner TransCanada announced that more than 200,000 gallons of oil had spilled from the existing portion of the Keystone system in Marshall County, South Dakota. “With their horrible safety record, today’s spill is just the latest tragedy caused by the irresponsible oil company TransCanada,” said Friends of the Earth …
‘Say Goodbye to Local Media,’ as Trump FCC Opens Corporate Merger Floodgates
by Jessica Corbett, staff writer
“Mark my words, today will go down in history as the day when the FCC abdicated its responsibility to uphold the core values of localism, competition, and diversity in broadcasting,” warned Democratic commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who voted against the Federal Communications Commission’s latest rollback of regulations that aimed to protect local media outlets from corporate consolidation …
‘Welfare for the Wealthy’: 227 House Republicans Pass $1.5 Trillion Tax Cut for Corporations and the Rich
by Jake Johnson, staff writer
By a vote of 227-205, House Republicans on Thursday passed a tax bill that would permanently cut taxes for massive corporations, reward the extremely wealthy by eliminating the estate tax, explode the deficit, and raise taxes on millions of middle- and working-class families …
There Is More to the Story of Trump’s Latest Unqualified Judicial Nominee
by Gail Ablow, Moyers & Company
One of Trump’s latest judicial nominees, Brett Talley, has caught the public spotlight for good reason. But the glare of his inexperience is obscuring an even more troubling story about what is at stake in Alabama’s Middle District, where there are currently two vacancies on the bench …
‘Time to Raise Hell’: Internet Defenders Mobilize as FCC Aims to Kill Net Neutrality Within Month
by Jake Johnson, staff writer
Defenders of the open internet issued an urgent call of action Thursday as news reports indicated that Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Ajit Pai has set his sights on a December 14 vote to kill net neutrality and “destroy the internet as we know it.” “In less than a month, and in defiance of the tens of millions of Americans who have spoken out for the free and open internet, Ajit Pai will move to kill Net Neutrality. It’s time to raise hell,” declared Free Press president Craig Aaron …
Watch GOP Senator Get Really Mad and Say ‘Bullcrap’ When Tax Plan Designed to Benefit the Rich Called a Tax Plan to Benefit the Rich
by Jake Johnson, staff writer
“When Republicans are in power, the first thing they want to do is give tax cuts to the rich. It’s in their DNA,” said Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown …
Senate GOP changes tax bill to add Obamacare mandate repeal, make individual income cuts expire
by Mike DeBonis and Damian Paletta, Washington Post
It’s a health care bill now –> “Senate Republican leaders are adding a provision to their tax bill that would repeal the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, a major change as they now try to accomplish two of their top domestic priorities in a single piece of legislation.” According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), 13 million more Americans would be uninsured if the measure were to pass …
House GOP’s Tax Bill Would Trigger A $25 Billion Cut To Medicare
by Alice Ollstein, TPM
Two weeks after its introduction and following zero hearings, the House of Representatives passed an approximately $1.5 trillion dollar tax cut on Thursday. Most of the focus has been on the bill’s tax benefits for the wealthy and corporations, but some lawmakers are sounding the alarm that passage of the bill will also trigger an estimated $25 billion cut to Medicare …