President Obama throws his support behind increasing the minimum wage | Economic Policy Institute

President Obama throws his support behind increasing the minimum wage | Economic Policy Institute
"That analysis showed that more than half of those who would be affected are women, more than four in five are 20 years of age or over, more than a quarter are parents, and over a third are married.  Moreover, the average affected worker earns about half of his or her family’s total income.  While the demographic breakdown for a $9.00 minimum wage would differ slightly, these breakdowns would still be in the right ballpark."

Speaker Boehner Rejects Obama’s Proposal To Raise The Minimum Wage

Speaker Boehner Rejects Obama’s Proposal To Raise The Minimum Wage: President Obama called for an increase in the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 per hour during his State of the Union last night, a proposal that was quickly rejected by top Republicans like Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Paul Ryan. Today, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) also came out against the proposal. “When you [...]/p

GOP Rep Mocks Congresswoman’s Outfit At State Of The Union

GOP Rep Mocks Congresswoman’s Outfit At State Of The Union: A Texas-based conservative talk radio host, Michael Berry, ran a betting pool during Tuesday night’s State of the Union over what color Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee’s (D-TX) outfit would be. But while that action alone might be blatantly sexist — would one ever make a bet over hue of a Congressman’s suit? — what makes [...]/p

The Case For Expanding Preschool Access To Every American Child

The Case For Expanding Preschool Access To Every American Child: With successful programs that boost pre-school education facing significant budget cuts at the end of the month, President Obama laid out an ambitious plan to expand preschool education to all American children during his State of the Union address Tuesday. Programs like Head Start and Early Head Start have increased access to early childhood education [...]/p

6 Game-Changing Ideas In The State Of The Union

6 Game-Changing Ideas In The State Of The Union: On Tuesday night, President Obama delivered his fifth State of the Union and laid out an agressive agenda that could set the nation on a more progressive course. Below are 6 of his most ambitious and far reaching proposals: 1) Executive action on climate change. “I urge this Congress to pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution [...]/p

A Bunch of GOP Men Still Don't Think Women Need Protection Against Domestic Violence But Thankfully They're Outnumbered | Common Dreams

A Bunch of GOP Men Still Don't Think Women Need Protection Against Domestic Violence But Thankfully They're Outnumbered | Common Dreams
"The Senate managed to pass the no-brainer that is the Violence Against Women Act today with bipartisan support, but 22 conservative white guys still voted against it - including GOP rising star and terrible human being Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) - for reasons that remain elusive."

BREAKING: Senate Passes Violence Against Women Act, With No Help From 22 Republican Male Senators

BREAKING: Senate Passes Violence Against Women Act, With No Help From 22 Republican Male Senators: The Violence Against Women Act reauthorization passed through the Senate on Tuesday afternoon, by a vote of 78 to 22. Of those opposing the legislation, all 22 were Republican men. Every female Senator supported the bill. Among the most notable votes against the bill were Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Sen. Marco Rubio [...]/p

New Report Urges Research Into Environmental Causes of Breast Cancer | Common Dreams

New Report Urges Research Into Environmental Causes of Breast Cancer | Common Dreams
"A federal report released Tuesday urges more research into the environmental causes of breast cancer, including the "cocktail of carcinogens and endocrine disruptors" people are exposed to every day."

New Voters, New Values

New Voters, New Values
"Women, Latinos, African Americans, and the 
young don’t believe what older white men believe. Their views fueled Obama’s victory and may portend a new Democratic majority."

Personhood Advocates Continue War On Women’s Rights Despite Growing List Of Defeats

Personhood Advocates Continue War On Women’s Rights Despite Growing List Of Defeats: Every year, on the anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade case, anti-choice conservatives flock to the Supreme Court building in Washington D.C to protest against abortions and demand that the high court reverse its decision and once again. But overturning Roe v. Wade is no longer the grand prize it once was. Instead, hardliners [...]/p

Conservative Pressure To Stop Violence Against Women Act

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The Real Story of the Religious Right -- A Movement Born to Defend Racial Segregation | Alternet

The Real Story of the Religious Right -- A Movement Born to Defend Racial Segregation | Alternet
"In other words, as Randall Balmer has succinctly put it: “the religious right of the late twentieth century organized to perpetuate racial discrimination.”

Only after the movement was underway did it begin advocacy on abortion. It did so, in large part, based on highly dubious arguments advanced by the popular writer Francis Schaeffer."

Federal Judge Prevents Arizona From Defunding Planned Parenthood

Federal Judge Prevents Arizona From Defunding Planned Parenthood: In a blow to anti-abortion activists looking to use Planned Parenthood as a political pawn in their crusade against women’s reproductive health rights, a federal judge has overturned an Arizona law signed by Gov. Jan Brewer (R) in May 2012 that prohibits using Medicaid funds for services provided by Planned Parenthood facilities in the state. [...]/p

Republicans Take Abusers’ Side on VAWA | Common Dreams

Republicans Take Abusers’ Side on VAWA | Common Dreams
"It’s amazing to me that some Republicans and rightwing groups are intent on holding up the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act."

Teen Birth Rates Plunge To Record Low As Adolescents Now Have Better Access To Birth Control

Teen Birth Rates Plunge To Record Low As Adolescents Now Have Better Access To Birth Control: U.S. teen birth rates have dropped to a record low, down nearly 50 percent since 1991, according to the most recent data from the National Center for Health Statistics. There was only a slight decline in the number of teens having sex, suggesting that more adolescents are preventing pregnancy by practicing safer sex. Experts caution [...]/p

Transvaginal Ultrasound: Rape Is Not A Medical Procedure

Transvaginal Ultrasound: Rape Is Not A Medical Procedure
"Republicans failed in massive numbers to attract women’s votes this past election – and quite probably a good number of men equally appalled at how their mothers, sisters, wives and daughters were being treated. Yet despite criticism on all sides, despite the objections of doctors themselves, despite condemnation by women’s groups, despite their losses at the polls, they’re still trying."

Ignore The Political Rhetoric: Women Support Gun Safety Laws

Ignore The Political Rhetoric: Women Support Gun Safety Laws: Last week, at a hearing on gun safety legislation, a witness from an anti-feminist group was brought forth to argue that the US’s current gun laws are a boon to women’s rights. Women, witness Gayle Trotter said, need AR-15s because, “They have good handling. They’re light. They’re easy for women to hold… And the peace [...]/p

Iowa Bill Would Jail Raped Women for 'Murder' of Single-Cell Zygotes

Iowa Bill Would Jail Raped Women for 'Murder' of Single-Cell Zygotes
"A bill introduced by nine Republican state lawmakers in Iowa on Wednesday would define abortion as "murder," sending doctors and raped women who terminate pregnancies to jail.

State Rep. Tom Shaw says that he authored House File 138 to protect human life, whether “you’re a zygote, an infant, a teenager or an adult"."

Watch: A Video Message from Eve Ensler — 1 Billion Will Rise in 1 Week | Alternet

Watch: A Video Message from Eve Ensler — 1 Billion Will Rise in 1 Week | Alternet
"In one week, Eve Ensler’s exciting project, One Billion Rising, will culminate in 48 hours of striking, dancing and rising. The project is a movement to raise global awareness and combat violence against women. 197 countries will be taking part in this event."

8 Programs That Have Already Faced Devastating Budget Cuts (And Could Be In For More)

8 Programs That Have Already Faced Devastating Budget Cuts (And Could Be In For More): Women, Infants, and Children programs: The WIC program helps low-income women who are pregnant or have infant children up to age five. “If the same rate of growth that the discretionary budget caps permit through 2022 had been used to determine WIC funding over the last eight years, some 970,000 women, infants, and children would not have been able to receive much-needed supplemental foods this year,” according to the report.

How Republicans Quietly Mandate Transvaginal Probes When They Think No One’s Paying Attention

How Republicans Quietly Mandate Transvaginal Probes When They Think No One’s Paying Attention: During the height of last year’s outcry over the GOP’s “War on Women,” transvaginal probes became one of the most recognizable symbols of the Republican Party’s overreaching anti-abortion policies. Particularly when Virginia pushed forward with a controversial measure to require all women seeking abortions to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound, women’s health advocates decried the practice [...]/p

Alabama Republicans Advance Bill To Close Last Five Abortion Clinics In The State

Alabama Republicans Advance Bill To Close Last Five Abortion Clinics In The State: Republican lawmakers in Alabama took a crucial step on Wednesday towards their goal of shuttering the state’s last five abortion clinics, advancing a bill to the full house that would impose strict requirements on abortion providers. The bill, the so-called “Women’s Health and Safety Act,” passed the Republican-controlled House Health Committee on Wednesday morning, and [...]/p

Why Are Conservatives Trying to Destroy the Voting Rights Act? | The Nation

Why Are Conservatives Trying to Destroy the Voting Rights Act? | The Nation
"The current campaign against the VRA is the result of three key factors: a whiter, more Southern, more conservative GOP that has responded to demographic change by trying to suppress an increasingly diverse electorate; a twenty-five-year effort to gut the VRA by conservative intellectuals, who in recent years have received millions of dollars from top right-wing funders, including Charles Koch; and a reactionary Supreme Court that does not support remedies to racial discrimination."

Five Reasons Why Fewer People Trust Fox News Than Ever Before

Five Reasons Why Fewer People Trust Fox News Than Ever Before: A poll released Wednesday by Public Policy Polling shows that fewer people than ever trust Fox News as a source for accurate news and reporting. Just 41 percent expressed trust in the network — down from 49 four years ago — while 46 percent said they distrust Fox. There’s an obvious reason why: Fox misrepresents [...]/p

Michigan GOP Would Force Women To Undergo Invasive Ultrasounds Before Getting An Abortion

Michigan GOP Would Force Women To Undergo Invasive Ultrasounds Before Getting An Abortion: Michigan Republicans introduced a mandatory ultrasound bill this week with a carefully-worded clause that threatens to stir up controversy that first erupted during the height of last year’s “War on Women.” By stipulating that the ultrasounds must use the “most technologically advanced equipment on site,” Michigan lawmakers would require women seeking abortions to undergo an [...]/p

Offshore Tax Havens Robbed States of Nearly $40 Billion in 2011 | Alternet

Offshore Tax Havens Robbed States of Nearly $40 Billion in 2011 | Alternet
"States across the country lost nearly $40 billion dollars of revenues in 2011 due to offshore tax havens, according to a new report by U.S. PIRG Education Fund. The study reveals that corporations account more than $26 billion of lost revenue, while wealthy individuals are responsible for the rest. The blow to states rests on top of nearly $150 billion of lost annual federal revenue due to corporate loopholes.

In a statement, PIRG said everyday Americans bear the burden when the nation’s wealthiest elites avoid paying their fair share. Tax haven abusers benefit from our markets, infrastructure, educated workforce, and security, but they pay next to nothing for these benefits. Ultimately, taxpayers must pick up the tab, either in the form of higher taxes, cuts to public spending priorities, or increased national debt."

Meet The Four Republican Senators Who Think The Violence Against Women Act Is Unconstitutional

Meet The Four Republican Senators Who Think The Violence Against Women Act Is Unconstitutional: Since then-Delaware Senator Joe Biden first authored the law in 1994, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has earned bipartisan praise for providing vital protections against domestic violence and assistance to victims. But of the eight Senators — all Republicans — who voted Monday against even considering VAWA renewal, at least four apparently did so [...]/p

Thanks To Congressional Incompetence, Saturday Mail Delivery Is History

Thanks To Congressional Incompetence, Saturday Mail Delivery Is History: Under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, Congress has for years forced the USPS to pre-fund 75 years’ worth of pensions for its employees, a requirement not made of any other public or private institution. That means that the Postal Service is footing the bill for employees it hasn’t even hired yet.

The USPS doesn’t actually receive money from the government, but still needs Congressional approval to make any changes to its structure. An analysis in July showed that the USPS, without its pension requirement, would have a $1.5 billion surplus.

GOP Tries To Hide Extremist Base With A Rebranding

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Right-Wing Congressman Suddenly Embraces A Health Care Mandate…For Immigrants

Right-Wing Congressman Suddenly Embraces A Health Care Mandate…For Immigrants: Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), a staunch opponent of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, suggested, during an immigration hearing on Tuesday, that American farmers should be required to provide health care coverage to temporary workers. Speaking before the House Judiciary Committee, Gohmert raised concerns about immigrants benefiting from tax-payer funded health care programs and argued [...]/p

8 Reasons Why Cantor’s Rebranded GOP Looks Just Like The Old GOP

8 Reasons Why Cantor’s Rebranded GOP Looks Just Like The Old GOP: On Tuesday afternoon, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) delivered a speech that sought to “rebrand” the GOP as a party that can advance legislation that would improve the lives of the “most vulnerable” Americans. “Our solutions will be based on the conservative principles of self reliance, faith in the individual, trust in the family, [...]/p

Demanding Women | The Nation

Demanding Women | The Nation
"when it came to women’s rights, the GOP’s burning cross on the women’s movement’s metaphorical lawn certainly cast a distinguishing light. It wasn’t hard for the president and his party to play up the contrast between themselves and the party of fetal rights, forced pregnancy and “legitimate rape"."

Republicans Return With a New Scheme to Rig the Electoral College | Common Dreams

Republicans Return With a New Scheme to Rig the Electoral College | Common Dreams
"Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus has been blunt about his determination to rig the Electoral College. So it should come as no surprise that, even after his partisan minions were "named and shamed" into distancing themselves from an initial strategy for gaming presidential politics, keyRepublicans have returned with another plan to make it possible for a GOP loser to "win" the 2016 presidential race."

On The 20th Anniversary Of The Family Medical Leave Act, Meet The Republican Men Who Voted Against It

On The 20th Anniversary Of The Family Medical Leave Act, Meet The Republican Men Who Voted Against It: Twenty years ago today, President Bill Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The law, which passed with bipartisan support, gave workers new job protections in the event of a pregnancy or family medical emergency, mandating 12 weeks of unpaid leave. And while FMLA has failed to cover all workers — only employers [...]/p

Eight Senators Vote To Block Violence Against Women Act

Eight Senators Vote To Block Violence Against Women Act: Eight Senators on Monday voted not to consider the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, a bill that protects victims of domestic violence. The Senators who voted against moving to debate on the bill were: Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), Tim Scott (R-SC), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Mike Johanns (R-NE), Rand Paul (R-KY), [...]/p

GOP War On Women Continues To Rage In The States

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Oregon Is The Only State Left That Hasn’t Imposed Any Restrictions On Abortion

Oregon Is The Only State Left That Hasn’t Imposed Any Restrictions On Abortion: Despite the fact that Roe v. Wade first legalized abortion four decades go, anti-choice lawmakers have successfully chipped away at abortion rights on a state level. Wonkblog’s Sarah Kliff flagged a helpful visual, compiled by Remapping the Debate, to illustrate the recent flood of anti-abortion laws across the country (click to enlarge, or click here [...]/p

The New Anti-Choice Legislation To Watch: ‘Fetal Heartbeat’ Bills Banning Nearly All Abortions

The New Anti-Choice Legislation To Watch: ‘Fetal Heartbeat’ Bills Banning Nearly All Abortions: 2011 and 2012 were both record-breaking years for new abortion restrictions, and abortion opponents are aren’t showing signs of letting up this year. The “personhood” movement to endow zygotes with the full rights of U.S. citizens, effectively outlawing all abortions and even some forms of contraception, has largely been a failure — but that doesn’t [...]/p

Republicans Learn How To Hide Their Views On Women

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Fischer Cites Todd Akin in Making the Case that the GOP is not 'the Stupid Party' | Right Wing Watch

Fischer Cites Todd Akin in Making the Case that the GOP is not 'the Stupid Party' | Right Wing Watch
"Fischer recognized that sometimes conservatives might "misspeak" on occasion, as Todd Akin did with his infamous "legitimate rape" remark ... but that just proves Fischer's point because Akin was "completely accurate about that," thus demonstrating that "our ideas are not stupid and the people who advocate them are not stupid":"

Insane Legislator Says Not to Worry, Rape Victims Who Want An Abortion: We Won't Charge You With Felony Tampering With Evidence, Just Your Doctor | Common Dreams

Insane Legislator Says Not to Worry, Rape Victims Who Want An Abortion: We Won't Charge You With Felony Tampering With Evidence, Just Your Doctor | Common Dreams
"After much uproar, New Mexico attorney, Right to Life board member and GOP Rep. Cathrynn Brown is walking back as fast as she can from her proposed bill to charge rape survivors with "tampering with evidence" - a felony carrying a possible three-year prison sentence - if they choose to abort a rapist's fetus. No no, Brown says: It was "an error - I missed that one" to suggest the bill would prosecute victims of rape, who she wants to "protect." Actually Brown, whose Facebook page sports an iconic photo of a gun resting on a Bible in front of the Constitution,  just wants to hammer those who might help the victim - ie: doctors or nurses "facilitating" an abortion for her. Let them go to jail for "intent to destroy evidence of the crime." Wanna see a crime? This person in a position of power. Alas, she isn't alone. More travesties in many states here."

South Dakota Bill Would Exclude Weekends And Holidays From 72-Hour Abortion Waiting Period

South Dakota Bill Would Exclude Weekends And Holidays From 72-Hour Abortion Waiting Period: South Dakota Republicans aren’t satisfied with imposing one of the nation’s longest waiting periods for women seeking abortions. As RH Reality Check reports, the state legislature will also consider a bill that would adopt a “business hours only” definition for its waiting period: while women wait the state-mandated three days before getting an abortion, weekends [...]/p

Arkansas Republicans Would Jail Doctors Who Perform Abortions After Just Six Weeks Of Pregnancy

Arkansas Republicans Would Jail Doctors Who Perform Abortions After Just Six Weeks Of Pregnancy: A proposed abortion bill introduced in Arkansas this week would ban all abortion services after a fetal heartbeat is detected — which can occur as early as six weeks, before some women even realize they’re pregnant — and charge doctors who perform abortions after that arbitrary cut-off with a Class D felony, punishable by up [...]/p

Why Lily Ledbetter Wasn’t Enough: The Facts About The Persistent Pay Gap

Why Lily Ledbetter Wasn’t Enough: The Facts About The Persistent Pay Gap: Four years ago today, President Obama signed his first bill into law: the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, meant to address the pay gap between men and women. Ledbetter famously worked years without knowing that she was being paid less than her male co-workers for doing similar work. The Supreme Court threw out a case [...]/p

Texas Legislature Wants To Reward Companies That Deny Employees Contraception

Texas Legislature Wants To Reward Companies That Deny Employees Contraception: A bill recently introduced in the Texas state house aims to reward employees who violate Obamacare, offering subsidies to any company that uses religious objection as an excuse for denying its employees copay-free contraception. House Bill 649, introduced by state Rep. Jonathan Stickland (R), was apparently inspired by the controversy over craft chain store Hobby [...]/p

Wisconsin’s Abortion Restrictions Deny Women The Right To Terminate A Pregnancy In Privacy

Wisconsin’s Abortion Restrictions Deny Women The Right To Terminate A Pregnancy In Privacy: When anti-choice lawmakers in Wisconsin imposed unnecessary restrictions on medication-induced abortions, they claimed they wanted to make sure the procedure was safe. But now that women in the state can’t access the abortion pill to terminate a pregnancy within the first trimester, they’re being forced to delay the procedure until they can receive a more [...]/p

Boehner Promises to Make Ending Abortion a National Priority

Boehner Promises to Make Ending Abortion a National Priority
"However, if Mr. Boehner wants to continue to push the Republican party into irrelevance, that's okay by me. As long as he doesn't waist precious time that should be devoted to real issues that concern the majority of Americans today."

One Million Moms For Gun Control: Origins Of A Movement | Alternet

One Million Moms For Gun Control: Origins Of A Movement | Alternet
"How these women, despite facing fierce odds, are coming together to fight gun violence."

America Is A Liberal Country (just look at polling on major issues)

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Republican Wants to Send Rape Victims to Prison for Having Abortions | Alternet

Republican Wants to Send Rape Victims to Prison for Having Abortions | Alternet
"And the GOP wonders why it fails to attract more women."

Catholic hospital chain beats malpractice suit by saying fetuses aren’t people

Catholic hospital chain beats malpractice suit by saying fetuses aren’t people (via Raw Story )

A chain of Catholic Hospitals has beaten a malpractice lawsuit by saying that fetuses are not equivalent to human lives. According to the Colorado Independent, in the death of a 31-year-old woman carrying twin fetuses, Catholic Health Initiatives’ attorneys argued that in cases of wrongful death,…

Virginia GOP Advances New Rules To Help Republican Presidential Candidates

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Crazy -- Republican Lawmaker Wants to Jail Rape Victims for Ending Pregnancies | Alternet

Crazy -- Republican Lawmaker Wants to Jail Rape Victims for Ending Pregnancies | Alternet
"Apparently it took a female Republican to come up with the most vicious way to punish women who had the audacity to get themselves raped."

The Longest War is the One Against Women | Common Dreams

The Longest War is the One Against Women | Common Dreams
"We have far more than 87,000 rapes in this country every year, but each of them is invariably portrayed as an isolated incident.  We have dots so close they’re splatters melting into a stain, but hardly anyone connects them, or names that stain. In India they did. They said that this is a civil rights issue, it’s a human rights issue, it’s everyone’s problem, it’s not isolated, and it’s never going to be acceptable again. It has to change. It’s your job to change it, and mine, and ours."

NM Bill Would Require Rape Victims To Stay Pregnant For 'Evidence'

NM Bill Would Require Rape Victims To Stay Pregnant For 'Evidence'
"This is the latest salvo fired in the Republican war on women. Fortunately for the people of New Mexico, the state legislature is controlled by the Democrats. But this is a perfect example of the sorts of things those creative Republicans dream up if you let down your guard down, or trust them for even a minute with the reins of government"