Buycott, Shop Your Conscience

Buycott, Shop Your Conscience

Have you heard about this app? Buycott installed on your smartphone can scan products you intend to buy and give you a rundown of that product's corporate history. It can also give you data on what those corporations do with the money they earn from your purchases. Interesting, right? For people who are trying not to buy anything from Koch Industries, for example, data from the scans you take can help you leave their stuff on the shelf.

Monday Open Thread [5.20.13]

This has all happened before and it will happen again. The president "has just weathered one of the worst weeks of his time in office," according to Chris Cillizza. I don't know Chris, I think death, destruction and obstruction (Boston Marathon Terror Attack, West,TX Explosion, Senate Background Check failure) trump three non-scandals that have been blown up by the media and the GOP as being worst than Watergate. The network news ratings were down, so they gladly accepted the lies of the GOP (see Jon Karl) as news and proceeded to hyperventilate. But once again, as in the 1990's, the American public are not fooled. The President's approval ratings have actually improved over the last month, according to the latest CNN poll and Gallup polls.
I’m Calling It For Santorum

I’m Calling It For Santorum

Know why?  Because we've seen this scene before.  My guess is that Santorum will be the 2016 Republican nominee.  He was first runner-up in 2012, so... it's his turn.  Rand Paul will take over his father's role and act as spoiler.  His Libertarian supporters will be rabid, as usual, and the Evangelical community won't trust him.  Meanwhile, the "business and money" side of the GOP will once again run a Jon Huntsman and lose quickly. Which means... the nomination is Santorum's.  And I think it will be an easy win, mainly due to the make-up of the Republican primary voter.  These voters are incapable of seeing past a primary to the general, and when you consider how many moderate Republicans have left the party then you understand who will pick the nominee. The Republican's base motto of "He's not Conservative Enough" will finally be tested. 
Weakening Dodd-Frank — John Carney Edition

Weakening Dodd-Frank — John Carney Edition

According to this Saturday's NJ, John Carney is lending some bi-partisan credibility to one of (there's a package of bills out there trying to weaken an already weak legislation) the bills meant to loosen restrictions on banks who are trading in derivatives from their foreign operations:
Heritage Foundation helps GOP hone “not governing” as political strategy

Heritage Foundation helps GOP hone “not governing” as political strategy

In a letter to members of Congress, which was obtained by NBC News, Heritage Action for America, the lobbying arm of the Heritage Foundation, urged Republicans on Capitol Hill not to govern, and instead, to focus on the would-be “scandals” plaguing the Obama administration.
Why does this un-American, unpatriotic course of action make sense to the Heritage Foundation? They note in the letter that even the most sensible legislation is liable to "fracture" the tenuous relationship that the extreme right-wing of the GOP has with the even more extreme right-wing of the GOP. I know. This is a yawn. Everyone knows that this was, is and will be the Republican "strategy" for the foreseeable future. The Heritage Foundation is adding its two cents to the echo chamber in an effort to appear relevant to GOP messaging. There is no real news here, but there is a silver lining. Today it is hard to find anyone claiming that the cure for all of this is more accommodation of the GOP. The argument that "both sides do it" has become laughable. I don't even hear laziest of lazy Democratic chickenshits extolling the benefits of bipartisanship anymore. Hell. The last time the word "bipartisanship" appeared in a John Carney press release was February 22nd. Progress!