Rally at Toomey's Office at Noon Today

Sen. Pat Toomey (Tea Party-PA) is a favorite son of both the Club for Growth and the teahadists. Pennsylvania's junior Senator believes in magic -- he believes that tax cuts create revenue. Not only did he sign Grover Norquist's anti tax pledge and voted no on raising the debt ceiling, he believes the best course of action during the 2008 financial meltdown would have been to do nothing and let the chips fall where they may.



Of course, this meant that he was deemed to be eminently qualified to become a member of the "Super Congress."



If you believe that what Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the country needs is jobs and not tax cuts. If you believe that the past decade of tax cuts for the "job creators" has only made the rich richer and not produced the promised jobs. If you believe your own lying eyes and not the smoke being blown up your ass, then this rally is for you:



August 2011 Recess Action

Station Square - Toomey's Office

100 West Station Square (Map)

Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Thursday, August 18th, 12:00 PM

This action is being sponsored by many groups including MoveOn, OnePittsburgh, We Are One, Democracy for Pittsburgh, and, undoubtedly many more.



There's strength in numbers -- join us!



Many of the groups are meeting at the Stattion Square T station at 11:45 to walk over together.



Also, if you listened to Lynn Cullen's show yesterday, you know to expect to see her and Pittsburgh City Paper Editor Chris Potter there too.

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Mitt Romney: "Corporations are people, my friend"

Making the Founders proud!

"Tea Party! America Thanks You!" Video

I have some questions

Since our credit rating has been downgraded do we all need to apply collectively for a free credit report? If one of us goes to something like freecreditreport.com and forgets to stop the trial version are we all on the hook for the monthly fees thereafter? Can we all call Standard and Poors and get them to at least put a notation beside it saying that we dispute it?
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yep

Via The Onion:

Obama: Debt Ceiling Deal Required Tough Concessions By Both Democrats And Democrats Alike
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Do you want fries with your sugar-coated Satan sandwich?

You want fries with that?
Via the examiner.com:

While the president seemed to breathe a deep sigh of relief that a deal was struck, members of the Democratic caucus were less than enthusiastic about the plan. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver dismissed the deal as “a sugar-coated Satan sandwich” and “a shady bill.”

Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ.), co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said, “This deal trades people’s livelihoods for the votes of a few unappeasable right-wing radicals,” adding that “the lesson today is that Republicans can hold their breath long enough to get what they want.”

Looks like we do negotiate with terrorists after all

The Deal: All cuts and no revenue.
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Song of the Day

NSFW!


Song for the day...for the week...for the year...

(h/t to Sherry at after the bridge)
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Revenue and the Debt Ceiling

As regards revenue, we don't have it! Via Think Progress:

As of July 13, 29 public companies had more cash on hand than the U.S. Treasury Department, according to the site Zero Hedge based on numbers from Capital IQ. It’s a stark reminder that if Congress refuses to raise the debt ceiling, the government won’t have nearly enough money to continue funding essential services and programs.

Regarding the debt ceiling:

Sabotaging the President By Sabotaging the Economy

Club For Growth To Republicans: Trigger A Default, Or Else!

[sigh]
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New GOP Logo

In light of recent events, we suggest that the Grand Old Party replace their current logo:



with something far more relevant:


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"Speak Up for Jobs!" Congressional Listening Tour Comes to Pittsburgh

(Click graphic to enlarge. Click here for .PDF)
WHAT: Join Congressman Mike Doyle (Pennsylvania), Congressman John Conyers (Michigan) and Congressman Raul Grijalva (Arizona) as they come to our city to hear your concerns about jobs and the economy.

WHEN: Monday, July 18th, Community Rally & Picnic @ 5:00 PM, Congressional Listening Tour @ 6:30 PM

WHERE: Kinglsey Association, 6435 Frankstown Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15206 (map)

WHY: Our communities need JOBS! But, Congress is giving tax breaks to millionaires and oil companies. Join us and tell Congress to invest in citizens before corporations!

RSVP: Here
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Robert Reich explains the US economy in less than 2 minutes and 15 seconds

Race to the bottom

Pretty much says it all:


(Click to enlarge)
Via Talking Points Memo.

I am nothing if not trendy!

Via the Post-Gazette:

The national unemployment rate ticked up again in May to 9.1 percent, an incremental change from April's 9 percent rate, but the second month of increases, a sign that the jobs recovery may have stalled.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reported that the number of jobs increased by 54,000, which is half of what some analysts had predicted. The country needs more than 125,000 new jobs to keep up with population growth every month.

I walked into work yesterday to find out that the company that I was working for was shutting down...that day. (I'm going to miss you guys!)

On the upside, now that I will no longer be working Saturdays, maybe I'll go see the Tom Tom Club performing at the Three Rivers Arts Festival.


(h/t to WARN Act)
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Photos from Pittsburgh's "We Are One" March & Rally

The union thugs were out in full force:


As were the class warriors:


500 strong according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (P-G video here):


(3-photo montage)
They were all out in Pittsburgh today as part of the nationwide "We Are One" action. In Pittsburgh, there was a rally at EQT Plaza and then a march and rally to Governor Tom Corbett's Pittsburgh headquarters for another rally.


The view from Inside the Crowd at EQT:




The march to Corbett's Pittsburgh office:


At Corbett's office:


The overflow crowd across the street:


Via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

The Downtown event seeking support for a number of causes was timed to mark the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Mr. King was killed in Memphis while he was supporting a sanitation workers strike there. The issues energizing the demonstrators on Tuesday included an extraction tax on Marcellus Shale drilling, restoration of cuts to Port Authority transit service and opposition to education spending reductions included in Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed state budget.

Unfortunately, today is not only the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., it also marks the two-year anniversary of the assassination of three Pittsburgh Police Officers by an anti-Semite, Glenn Beck-loving white supremacist who believed that Obama was coming for his guns. A memorial service and statue unveiling was held today for Officers Paul Sciullo II, Stephen Mayhle and Eric Kelly in Pittsburgh. .

We Are One

(Click to enlarge)

The We Are One events which are running from the 1st through the 5th have been billed as "Pittsburgh Labor, Faith, and Community Organizations Honor the Memory of Marin Luther King with Action" but they really are for the 90% of the country who have been battered during the last decade or so. They're for those of us who don't believe you have to have at least 7 million to be considered "rich."

They're for those of us who haven't been brainwashed to think that we should decry public unions making a good wage or having decent benefits -- who know we can't lift ourselves up by putting down them down. They're also for those who believe in the dignity of work -- all work -- something that Republicans used to at last give lip service to but now denigrate the labor of teachers and firefighters and police officers.

They're for the rest of us who have seen our salaries stagnate or decline while the earnings of the wealthiest grow exponentially. They are for those of us who have seen our school budgets slashed and burned; our infrastructure crumble; our land, water and air befouled; and the gutting of any help for health care costs.

These events are for those of us who know that there is Class Warfare and that we have lost. Please attend if you possibly can:

Monday, April 4 - National Day of Action

Noon: We Are One Protest EQT Plaza, 6th St. and Liberty Ave., Pittsburgh Followed by educational leafleting and sidewalk march to Gov. Tom Corbett’s office at 301 Fifth Ave., Pittsburgh

1:00 PM: Free luncheon featuring National leader of Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas (SME) United Steelworkers headquarters, 60 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh, Featuring Pipino Cuevas Velázquez of SME

3:00 PM to 5:00 PM: Labor and Economy Lecture Featuring USW International President Leo W. Gerard, US Steel CEO John Surma speaking at CCAC Allegheny Campus, Foerster Student Service Center Auditorium, 808 Ridge Ave., Pittsburgh, 15212.

7:00 PM: Pipino Cuevas Velázquez Event This international Labor Leader will be joined by local leaders of public sector unions from around the U.S. and Pittsburgh who are fighting against cuts and the attack on fundamental labor rights. University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Room 107 3900 Forbes Ave., 15260

See other events/RSVP here

G.E. Apologizes

In an early morning press conference today, General Electric Chief Executive Jeff Immelt apologized for their recent corporate tax controversy. G.E. is the nations's largest corporation. Despite reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion for 2010 (5.1 billion from US operations), G.E. not only paid zero in federal income taxes in 2010, they claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion.

Immelt acknowledged, "The fact that we paid nothing to the I.R.S. this year can only be described as obscene." He went on to add:

"When a company's lowest paid employee pays more in federal taxes than the company itself there is a fundamental flaw in the system. In this tough economy millions of hard-working Americans are struggling to just get by let alone to pay their own taxes. Moreover, they are being hit on all sides by cutbacks in government services at both the federal and state levels. Frankly, I'm surprised that they aren't rioting in the streets."

Immelt said that corporations like G.E. should not be able to concentrate their profits offshore and said that as President Obama's liaison to the business community and as the chairman of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, he plans to lobby other American multinationals to imagine a better way. "We must be better corporate citizens. We must pay our fair share," he said.

At the end of the presser, Immelt replied to a question about the G.E.-designed reactors at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant with, "My bad." .

Two Rallies Today!

Two rallies today in Downtown Pittsburgh:

COUNTY COUNCIL IS FIGHTING TO STOP THE UNNECESSARY BUS CUTS AND CLOSING OF THE HARMAR GARAGE

Without our buses, we're going nowhere!

JOIN US TO SHOW OUR SUPPORT!

WHEN: Tuesday, March 15th 2011, 4:00 PM
WHERE: 5th and Grant, Downtown Pgh

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SOLIDARITY RALLY TO STAND UP TO THE STRIPPING OF WORKERS RIGHTS IN WI!

Defend the Dream Action

WHEN: Tuesday, March 15TH, 5:30 PM
WHERE: United Steelworkers Building, 60 Blvd of the Allies, (Corner of Blvd & Stanwix)

Corporate power is openly waging war on workers, the middle class and American democracy.

This is our moment to come together and show that we will not tolerate this naked power grab by big money interests.

Bring a sign, bring your passion, bring a friend.

RSVP here

Choices

Choices have been made:


(Click to enlarge)
This is what class warfare looks like.

Graphic via Center for American Progress which also provides the sources used.

(h/t to by greywolfe359 @ Daily Kos)
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Huge Turnout for “Fighting For the American Dream” Rally

Looks like a huge turnout for the “Fighting For the American Dream” Rally. Here are some photos and texts from David who was on his lunch break:


"Delano interviewing"


"huge crowd"


"So many people they have speakers outside"

"Shields, Kraus, Dowd are here"

"Tons of people there. Delano said they were expecting 700"
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