Ohio McDonald’s Urges Employees To Vote Republican To Keep Getting Benefits And Raises

A Canton, OH McDonald’s franchise is telling its employees that if they like raises and benefits, they’d best vote Republican.
(via Think Progress)

Along with their recent paychecks, employees received a pamphlet from their employer on company letter head that stated “as the election season is here, we wanted you to know which candidates will help our business grow in the future.” While pointing out that the vote is the employee’s “personal decision,” the pamphlet explicitly states, “if the right people are elected we will be able to continue with raises and benefits at or above our present levels. …

Fun In The Texas Courts

by Stuart Shapiro

This is not a post about someone getting the death penalty for jaywalking or a defense attorney sleeping through his client’s trial (as actually happened in Texas in the 1980s).  No, this is two more humorous examples.  First is the Texas Supreme Court citing Spock (not Dr. Spock, Spock from Star Trek) in one of its opinions.  As Liberal Values points out, this should enrage conservatives:

Conservatives, who are prone to irrational hysteria over a wide number of things, have increasingly been seeing the concept of international law as a threat. How are they going to respond …

Most Troops OK With Ending “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”

Most U.S. troops and their families believe the policy of “don’t ask don’t tell” should be dropped and don’t object to gays serving openly.

In July, the Pentagon sent a survey with dozens of questions to 400,000 active-duty and reserve troops. It asked whether they had ever shared a room or the showers with gay peers, and how they might act if a gay service member lived with a same-sex partner on base.

Military officials did not say how many troops completed the survey, but at least 103,000 had done so just days before it was due, according to the …

What Conservatives Have Taught Me This Election Season

by James Frye

1.  If you are in the minority, claim you’re the majority anyway.

2.  When you lose an election,  start shouting about not being heard.  Bring lots of friends.

3.  If a paid Republican operative appears at a Democratic function, we Dems may now have them arrested, punch them, slam them to the ground and step on their heads.  They brought it on themselves and it’s all their fault.

3a.  ”But what about the SEIU?!!”

4.  It’s perfectly fine to claim that we should be elected just to see to it that the current president is a one-termer. …

Karl Rove And Sarah Palin Going To War?

By Yashwanth Manjunath

In what may be the start of the largest catfight in the history of the Republican Party, Karl Rove dug his claws into Sarah Palin’s back while speaking with the The Daily Telegraph, referring to her participation in a reality show on the Discovery Channel.

“With all due candour, appearing on your own reality show on the Discovery Channel, I am not certain how that fits in the American calculus of ‘that helps me see you in the Oval Office,’” Rove said. “Being the vice-presidential nominee on the ticket is different from saying ‘I want to …

Arkansas School Board Member Who Said Gays Should Kill Themselves To Resign

Clint McCance, a member of the Arkansas school board who used his Facebook page to proclaim that he’d only wear purple if gays committed suicide, is resigning his post.

Gay rights groups had been calling for McCance’s ouster. McCane’s posting was in response to a campaign to show solidarity after several gay youths who had allegedly been bullied committed suicide.

McCance told Anderson Cooper that his remarks were “too harsh…too emotional.”…

Kentucky Democratic Ad: “The Rand Paul Stomp”; Too “Scary” To Run Before 10PM

Kentucky Democrats are capitalizing on the stomping of MoveOn.org organizer Lauren Valle by running an ad called “The Rand Paul Stomp,” repeatedly showing the footage of her being stepped on while showing policies Paul opposes. (h/t Plum Line)

Matt Erwin, a spokesperson for the Kentucky Dems, tells me that the party has decided to air the spot, but after an internal discussion they decided against running it during the day, because “it’s scary.”

Erwin confirms that the party has purchased airtime to run the spot in Lexington, where the melee took place, and in a puckish twist, in Bowling …

John McCain Thrashes His Own Legacy Trying To Take Out Raúl Grijalva

by Sandi Behrns

The story of John McCain’s proxy war against Raúl Grijalva got a new wrinkle today. I’ve previously reported here that McCain has recently funneled over $91,ooo of his own campaign cash into ad buys targeting Rep. Grijalva on behalf of his opponent, Ruth McClung. Sen. McCain has an axe to grind with Grijalva over the representative’s consistent opposition to uranium and copper mining in sensitive areas of Arizona.

Following a complaint to the FEC by the DCCC, McCain produced documents claiming the funds were made as “independent expenditures.” The problem this presents is that the law requires …

On Thursday’s Radio Show…

• Silly Season: Alan examines the midterm election candidates’ final efforts to get your vote.

• GovLoop founder Steve Ressler explains why he’s organizing a “Government Doesn’t Suck” rally in Washington.

• “Yes we can, but…” Alan weighs in on the fallout from President Obama’s “Daily Show” appearance.…

Rep. Steve King: If We Don’t Defend Marriage, “Our Children [Will Be] Raised In Warehouses”

Iowa Congressman Steve King, who is worried that legalizing gay marriage would make his state a “gay mecca,” is campaigning to oust state Supreme Court judges, and worries that allowing gay marriage will mean that children will be “raised in warehouses.” (h/t Think Progress, RightWingWatch.) King told Lynda Waddington of the Iowa Independent that with gay marriage, life, as we know it, would be just about over.

“I think that if we can’t defend marriage, that it becomes very hard to defend life,” King said. “Marriage is the crucible by which we pour all of our …

Only 74 Americans Make More Than $50 Million A Year. But How Can You Live On That?

by Barry Weintraub

A new government report shows income among almost all Americans to be significantly lower in 2009 than in 2008. But what a relief that those numbers don’t apply to those making more than $50 million a year. The  folks in that bracket saw a huge bump in their income, averaging more than $500 million each, to the point where only 74 earners at the top made more than 19 million earners at the bottom. But that doesn’t mean life is rosy here.

I’m sure everyone of these folks worked their fingers to the bone for that windfall. …