THE HEADLINES

IS “HOMOSEXUALITY” REALLY COMPARABLE TO “MURDER”?

This is the logically strained case made by one of the men who will likely decide the fate of the marriage equality movement in America. The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases directly relating to same-sex marriage rights; the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8. Justice Antonin Scalia, infamous for his vocal conservatism on and off the bench, previewed his full throated “moral” opposition to the idea of legal gay marriage in a speech given at Princeton University this week. Scalia made the argument that “if we cannot have moral feelings against homosexuality, can we have it against murder”

(USA Today)

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THE ART OF THE (VERY BAD) DEAL

Pundits and media types are breathlessly reporting every new detail and cliffhanger associated with the “fiscal cliff” currently facing Congress and President Obama if no tax and spending cut agreement is reached by the first of the new year. The latest twist in the negotiations is an offer from some Democrats and the White House to enshrine higher tax rates on the wealthy in exchange for the deep cuts to entitlements that conservative lawmakers so desperately want. The president has signaled raising the eligibility age for Medicare is on the table, and Republicans are ready to talk. Such short-term political bargaining puts the long-term future of seniors and the entire American health care system at risk.

(American Prospect)

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WHERE’S THE BEEF? OBESITY EPIDEMIC BE DAMNED, GOVERNMENT ORDERS MORE MEAT AND GRAIN PRODUCTS BACK TO SCHOOL LUNCHROOMS.

Medical experts, nutritionists and many parents had praised the new school lunch standards recently adopted by the federal government. The new guidelines reduced the amount of fatty and sugary foods consumed by the nation’s children, reducing the amount of meat and grains found on lunch menus. Now Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has ordered the new system be scraped, and that all of the beef and grains kids can eat be returned to cafeterias. The flip-flop came after vocal protests from conservative lawmakers and “small- government” activists concerned that managing a nationwide obesity epidemic by controlling the diet of children while they’re at school was “government overreach.”

(Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

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IF CENTRAL FLORIDA WORKFORCE WANTS TO INCREASE FLORIDA EMPLOYMENT WHY DOESN’T IT FOCUS ON JOB TRAINING AND PLACEMENT RATHER THAN FUNDING “OPEN FOR BUSINESS?”

Critics raise this question as they are critical of CFW for funding OFB. a consortium of central Florida companies hoping to streamline the “permitting process” for their projects, arguing that a 30 day delay in starting a job is 30 days that someone is out of a job. These skeptics suggest more direct ways of advancing employment opportunities—like a better database of available jobs.

(Orlando Sentinel)

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Quote of the day…

When we get a whole bunch of seemingly important and knowledgeable people telling us that we must cut Social Security and Medicare because the markets demand it, we have to remember that these are people who just recently were shown to be completely out to lunch in their economic judgment. If the Debt Fixers expect the country to take their pronouncements seriously, they should be forced to answer one simple question: when did you stop being wrong about the economy?

 Economist Dean Baker, on a Fix the Debt conference of people he claims are largely responsible for the current fiscal crisis.

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