THE HEADLINES

NEW POLL FINDS GROWING PUBLIC DISCONTENT WITH AMERICA’S WAR IN AFGHANISTAN.

(Washington Post)

Over 60 percent of Americans now beleive the war in Afghanistan is “not worth fighting” and a similarly large number say that President Obama should start withdrawing “significant” amounts of troops from Afghanistan by this summer. The new poll is the latest in a string of evidence that the American public has lost confidence in the administration and military leaders that are continuing to cite “progress” in Afghanistan as the reason U.S. troops must stay through 2014.

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MONEY IS POWER IN POLITICS, AND DEMOCRATS ARE FRANTICALLY SEARCHING FOR THEIR “OWN” KARL ROVE TO RAISE MILLIONS FOR THE 2012 CAMPAIGN.

(Center for Public Integrity)

The shellacking taken by Democrats at the hands of Republicans and their army of deep-pocketed financiers like the Kochs and “independent” conservative groups led by names like Karl Rove has led to a rush by the Dems to find their “own Rove” in time for 2012. The “new money game” in politics is matching direct contributions to campaigns from well-heeled “bundlers” with powerful “independent” political organizations allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money. Beaten badly by Republicans in 2010, Democratic activists and top party leaders are starting now to raise cash for President Obama’s reelection bid by attempting to “soothe” business leaders and work with new liberal fundraising outfits to match the GOP’s skill in gaining a financial edge with the help of like-minded millionaires and billionaires.

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A LITTLE “SHARED SACRIFICE” FOR THE PEOPLE THAT IS NOT SHARED BY THEIR GOVERNOR.

(Lewiston Sun Journal)

A controversy is burgeoning in Maine over a proposal by Republican Gov. Paul LePage that would force state employees to dramatically increase the amount of money they contribute to their pensions, just one portion of a budget that would severely cut state programs and take action against the power of public employee unions. The “Tea Party” governor calls the pension plan an overdue measure to bring about “shared sacrifice” in troubled economic times. But there is one person not willing to “share” such a “sacrifice”; Gov. LePage himself. The governor’s proposal explicitly exempts himself and members of the legislative and judicial branches of government in Maine from paying the increase amount into their pensions, leading to harsh criticism and charges of hypocrisy.

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“TAXPAYER FUNDING” FOR ABORTIONS? IN FLORIDA, TAXPAYERS PAY FOR CONTROVERSIAL ANTI-ABORTION COUNSELING FOR EXPECTANT MOTHERS.

(Florida Independent)

Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s state budget proposal spares little, but conservative lawmakers are thrilled that the “Tea Party” Republican has indicated he will continue to fund “crisis pregnancy centers” across the Sunshine State, at taxpayer expense. These “centers” are supposed to provide “counseling, support services and accurate medical information to women in crisis pregnancies.” But a report on the operation and effectiveness of these centers, run by two private contractors hired by the state, finds that they are disseminating blatantly false information about the effects of an abortion; the women treated at the centers are told that an abortion may lead to “clinical depression, suicide, alcoholism and drug abuse.”

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