RIP Donna Summer, 1948-2012

“Ex-PATRIOT Act” Would Penalize Tax Schemers Like Facebook’s Saverin

Senators Charles Schumer and Bob Casey are behind the “Ex-PATRIOT Act,” in response to Facebook’s co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s efforts to avoid paying U.S. taxes.

The senators will call Saverin’s move an “outrage” and will outline their plan to re-impose taxes on expatriates like Saverin even after they flee the United States and take up residence in a foreign country. Their proposal would also impose a mandatory 30 percent tax on the capital gains of anybody who renounces their U.S. citizenship.

The plan would bar individuals like Saverin from ever reentering the United States again.…

Whites Now The Minority In U.S. Births

Racial and ethnic minorities now make up more than half the births in the United States.

“This is an important landmark,” said Roderick Harrison, a former chief of racial statistics at the Census Bureau who is now a sociologist at Howard University. “This generation is growing up much more accustomed to diversity than its elders…

“We remain in a dangerous period where those appealing to anti-immigration elements are fueling a divisiveness and hostility that might take decades to overcome,” Harrison said.

Statistics help us predict the makeup years from now:

Minorities made up roughly 2.02 million, or 50.4 percent of …

Colorado Congressman Apologizes For Calling President Obama “Not An American”

Republican Congressman Mike Coffman says, “I misspoke. I apologize,” after saying the president is “not an American” at a May 12 fundraiser.

At a May 12 fundraiser at the Elbert County Fairgrounds, Coffman wrapped up a 12-minute speech to donors with an unprompted discussion of President Obama’s citizenship and national identification.

“I don’t know whether Barack Obama was born in the United States of America. I don’t know that,” Coffman said. “But I do know this, that in his heart, he’s not an American. He’s just not an American.”

After a short pause, which Elbert County Republican Chairman Scott …

Fox News Poll: Obama Expanding Lead, Up By Seven Points

The new poll has Obama over Romney 46-39%, just three weeks after being tied at 46% each.

To Obama’s advantage, voters feel the economy is improving. The number saying the economy is in “poor” condition has dropped 14 percentage points from a year ago. And while few voters, 11 percent, rate the economy positively — that’s the highest number since April 2009.…

The Person Who Vetted John McCain’s VP Choices: “What I Learned”

A. B. Culvahouse discusses the process.

The vetting of Sarah Palin was no less rigorous, just compressed. She was a late addition to the short list, catapulted into contention by the campaign’s calculus that a woman would broaden the ticket’s appeal. Our team of lawyers churned out the expected detailed written vetting report—only we packed eight weeks of research into less than one. We pulled information from Alaska-centric websites, including her local critics’ blogs and copies of Wasilla church sermons.

Assisted by the candid information Gov. Palin provided, we identified and reported every issue that subsequently arose (with one exception: …

Romney’s Defense Of JPMorgan: They Lost, Someone Else Gained

Mitt Romney defends JPMorgan in that the $2 billion they lost was a gain for someone else.

“A trading loss of this nature is something from which JPMorgan should learn, and I think as well regulators should look at it just to understand what happened and why it happened. But…this was not a loss to the taxpayers of America. This was a loss to shareholders and owners of JPMorgan and that’s the way America works Some people experienced a loss in this case because of a bad decision. By the way, there was someone who made a gain. The $2 …

Two Things Every Voter Should Know

Courtesy of Greg Sargent:

1) Nonpartisan experts believe Romney’s plans would increase the deficit far more than Obama’s would…

The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has taken a close look at this question. It has determined that relative to current policy — that is, if you keep the Bush tax cuts in place, as Romney wants to do — Romney’s tax cutting plans would increase the deficit by nearly $5 trillion over 10 years. That’s on top of keeping the Bush tax cuts for the rich. Romney has promised to close various loopholes to pay for his tax cuts, but …

On Wednesday’s Radio Show…

• Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein, authors of It’s Even Worse Than It Looks, discuss why Republicans are to blame for dysfunction in Washington.

• MYTH: Democrats hate the rich. Alan salutes Joe Biden’s efforts to correct the record.

• Alan dissects Mitt Romney’s argument that JPMOrgan’s loss was somebody else’s gain.…

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Wife Found Dead

Mary Kennedy, 52, was found dead at her Bedford, NY home.

In May 2010, Robert, the son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, filed for divorce from Mary after 16 years of marriage. Details of their divorce filing were kept private.

At the time of the filing, police were summoned to Kennedy’s home for a “domestic incident,” according to reports. Robert, a radio host and environmental activist, alleged his wife was intoxicated.

Three days later, Mary was arrested for driving while intoxicated after police spotted her running over a curb near her home. Police said she had a …

Pastor Buys Starbucks Coffee So He Can Dump It To Protest Gay Marriage

Pastor Bob Enyart of the Denver Bible Church is upset with Starbucks for supporting marriage equality.

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