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Scott Brown Mum On Romney While Warren Praises Obama During Debate | Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown (R) didn’t mention GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney during Thursday night’s debate against challenger Elizabeth Warren. Warren reiterated her endorsement of President Obama at least three separate times, but Brown — who recently distanced himself from Romney’s claim that 47 percent of Americans are “dependent upon government” — wouldn’t say the GOP presidential candidate’s name. Instead, he praised Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “I think Secretary Clinton is doing a great job,” he said. “I’ve told her that and I think she’s really a bright star in that administration. And I appreciate all of her hard work, especially with what’s been happening in Libya and throughout that region. She’s a tireless worker.” Watch it:

Economy

Microsoft Used Offshore Subsidiaries To Avoid $6.5 Billion In American Taxes

By Travis Waldron on Sep 20, 2012 at 6:15 pm

Microsoft used subsidiaries in offshore tax havens to dodge billions of dollars in American taxes over the last three years, according to a memo from the Senate Permanent Committee on Investigations.

The committee’s top members, Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Tom Coburn (R-OK), released the memo ahead of an afternoon hearing today. The memo outlines Microsoft’s use of subsidiary companies in foreign countries that allowed it to avoid $6.5 billion in American taxes, Bloomberg reports:

The report, released in advance of a 2 p.m. hearing in Washington today, said Microsoft used transactions with subsidiaries in Puerto Rico, Ireland, Singapore and Bermuda to save at least $6.5 billion in taxes. In 2008, Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) created a series of short-term internal loans that allowed the company to tap its offshore cash for domestic operations without paying taxes, according to the report.

Use of such tax havens is prevalent among America’s biggest companies, including those in the tech sector. Apple, one of Microsoft’s chief competitors, used its own schemes to avoid more than $2.4 billion in American taxes last year. “The high-tech industry is probably the number-one user of these offshore entities to transfer intellectual property,” Levin said.

Like Apple, Microsoft was a member of the WinAmerica coalition that pushed Congress for a temporary holiday from the tax corporations pay when they bring overseas profits back to the U.S. The coalition ultimately disbanded after its lobbying efforts failed.

Those schemes come at a cost to other businesses and taxpayers. In 2009, offshore tax havens cost the average individual taxpayer $434, according to the California Public Interest Research Group. Citizens for Tax Justice, meanwhile, found that making up the lost revenue would have required an extra $2,116 from each American small business.

Climate Progress

Earth’s Attic Is On Fire: Arctic Sea Ice Bottoms Out At New Record Low

By Climate Guest Blogger on Sep 20, 2012 at 6:10 pm

Figure 1. Arctic sea ice reached its minimum on September 16, 2012, and was at its lowest extent since satellite records began in 1979. Image credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).

by Jeff Masters, via the Wunderblog

The extraordinary decline in Arctic sea ice during 2012 is finally over. Sea ice extent bottomed out on September 16, announced scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) on Wednesday.

The sea ice extent fell to 3.41 million square kilometers, breaking the previous all-time low set in 2007 by 18%–despite the fact that this year’s weather was cloudier and cooler than in 2007. Nearly half (49%) of the icecap was gone during this year’s minimum, compared to the average minimum for the years 1979 – 2000.

This is an area approximately 43% of the size of the Contiguous United States. And, for the fifth consecutive year–and fifth time in recorded history — ice-free navigation was possible in the Arctic along the coast of Canada (the Northwest Passage), and along the coast of Russia (the Northeast Passage or Northern Sea Route.)

“We are now in uncharted territory,” said NSIDC Director Mark Serreze. “While we’ve long known that as the planet warms up, changes would be seen first and be most pronounced in the Arctic, few of us were prepared for how rapidly the changes would actually occur. While lots of people talk about opening of the Northwest Passage through the Canadian Arctic islands and the Northern Sea Route along the Russian coast, twenty years from now from now in August you might be able to take a ship right across the Arctic Ocean.”

When was the last time the Arctic was this ice-free?

We can be confident that the Arctic did not see the kind of melting observed in 2012 going back over a century, as we have detailed ice edge records from ships (Walsh and Chapman, 2001). It is very unlikely the Northwest Passage was open between 1497 and 1900, since this spanned a cold period in the northern latitudes known as “The Little Ice Age”. Ships periodically attempted the Passage and were foiled during this period. Research by Kinnard et al. (2011) shows that the Arctic ice melt in the past few decades is unprecedented for at least the past 1,450 years.

We may have to go back to at least 4,000 B.C. to find the last time so little summer ice was present in the Arctic. Funder and Kjaer (2007) found extensive systems of wave generated beach ridges along the North Greenland coast, which suggested the Arctic Ocean was ice-free in the summer for over 1,000 years between 6,000 – 8,500 years ago, when Earth’s orbital variations brought more sunlight to the Arctic in summer than at present. Prior to that, the next likely time was during the last inter-glacial period, 120,000 years ago. Arctic temperatures then were 2 – 3°C higher than present-day temperatures, and sea levels were 4 – 6 meters higher.

Read more

Security

REPORT: Iran Close To Creating Internal Internet

By Andrea Peterson on Sep 20, 2012 at 6:00 pm

The Washington Post reports Iran has put in place the basic infrastructure for a closed intranet, with researchers uncovering more than 10,000 devices connected to the system. Some sites, primarily government and academic, and email and other service providers are already in place. This puts Iran a step closer to disconnecting from the global internet — a move the head of Iran’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, Reza Taqipour, suggested in August could take place as early as 2013.

A nation-wide intranet would give the government new means to control access to information, especially in the event of domestic discontent:

“Having the infrastructure for a skeleton Iran-only internet in place would give the Iranian government greater power to shut off access to the Internet at times of civil unrest, such as the anti-government protests that swept Iran in 2009.

During the Arab Spring uprising in Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak’s regime tried to stall its spread by shutting off access to the Internet — a move that largely backfired when it caused panic. Having a national network operational could help prevent a similar outcome in Iran.”

Internet access in Iran is already heavily controlled via a filtering system similar to the Great Firewall of China that blocks around 27 percent of all internet sites. Switching to an intranet approach would bring Iran’s networked communication system closer in line with those of other regimes with tightly controlled freedom of speech, including North Korea. Kwangmyong, the North Korean intranet started in 2000, is the only networked access available to the general population with the exception of the similarly closed cell phone network. Reports indicate ”only central party, national security units, and some Cabinet-level government organizations, as well as foreign diplomatic missions, joint ventures, and foreign individuals staying in Pyongyang can have ‘full but monitored’ access” to the real deal.

But Iran is not North Korea: as of 2009 Iran had 8,214,000 internet users. Millions of Iranians, many of them savvy enough to use officially outlawed virtual private networks to mask their behavior and avoid filters, are already familiar with the world wide web and use it in their daily lives for school, work and their own entertainment. Even with a domestic structure in place to mimic the global internet, it’s hard to imagine cutting off those users from a resource they have come to know and rely on would be met without resistance. But it appears that Iran is now closer to replacing the Information Super Highway with an Information Cul de Sac.

Health

Obamacare’s Medicaid Expansion Is Crucial To Funding Ex-Prisoners’ Health Care

By Sy Mukherjee on Sep 20, 2012 at 6:00 pm

Former convicts who have left the prison population face particularly daunting challenges in America, including struggling to gain access to health care coverage. Due to the fact that ex-prisoners have a significantly higher unemployment rate than the average population, almost all male ex-prisoners struggle to obtain insurance through an employer. Obamacare can help change the high uninsurance rates among America’s former inmates — but only if states agree to participate in its Medicaid expansion.

Despite the fact that the health care reform law’s proposed expansion of the Medicaid program could help provide millions of low-income Americans with coverage they currently can’t afford, as many as half a dozen Republican governors are refusing to expand their Medicaid pools. Ex-prisoners living in such states will almost certainly be forced to pay for medical care out-of-pocket. On the other hand, stories out of the states that have begun to expand access to their Medicaid programs highlight the profound cost- and life-saving potential this Obamacare provision promises for ex-prisoners in particular.

California, which has the country’s second-largest inmate population behind Texas, initiated its Medicaid expansion late last year. According to an NPR report, the resulting decrease in poor adults’ uninsurance rates has been a boon to ex-cons who often move in and out of the prison system, providing them access to wellness initiatives, chronic illness treatments,  and care for everday medical problems that often go untreated:

[Dr. George Pearson] says a 45-year-old ex-convict will often have the ailments of someone 10 years older. Ex-convicts have higher rates of almost all chronic conditions, like high blood pressure, diabetes and asthma. It’s from living a hard life, to be sure, he says, but it’s also because they have common medical problems that go untreated.

“So the hypertension becomes heart failure, the diabetes becomes diabetic neuropathy, amputation, blindness,” Pearson says.

Now, many of those getting out of prison and other poor adults in California are being enrolled in a Medicaid-like program where they will be covered for preventive care, prescription drugs, specialty visits, mental health and substance abuse — pervasive problems that when left untreated, researchers say, can lead offenders right back to prison or jail.

Washington, D.C. has seen similarly positive results with former prisoners since opening up its Medicaid program. As Dr. Ilse Levin of southeast D.C. explains, “Now, everyone gets Medicaid. And suddenly I can get them their medications, I can get them to see a specialist, I can get the studies done. And it is amazing. It’s completely changed my practice.”

State experiences such as these underscore the significant difference that Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion makes in the lives of America’s most vulnerable populations. If Republican governors and state legislatures continue their political crusade against the expansion, it will be at the cost of helping those who need it most.

LGBT

Chick-fil-A Clarifies: Nothing Has Changed With Regard To Its Anti-Gay Giving

By Zack Ford on Sep 20, 2012 at 5:12 pm

As a result of questions regarding a change in Chick-fil-A’s anti-gay giving — despite the fact it was supporting an anti-gay group this week — the chain has clarified in a new press release that nothing has changed:

A part of our corporate commitment is to be responsible stewards of all that God has entrusted to us. Because of this commitment, Chick-fil-A’s giving heritage is focused on programs that educate youth, strengthen families and enrich marriages, and support communities. We will continue to focus our giving in those areas. Our intent is not to support political or social agendas.

As we have stated, the Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect – regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender. We will continue this tradition in the over 1,600 restaurants run by independent Owner/Operators.

It is the very organizations that “strengthen families and enrich marriages” that Chick-fil-A supports that advocate against marriage equality. The restaurant may claim it does not support “political or social agendas,” but that is how the groups it supports spend its money. As for the “honor, dignity, and respect” line, this is the exact same language it issued when the controversy first broke two months ago, and does not constitute a non-discrimination protection for employees.

The company has engaged in some admirable spin to try to improve its reputation, but today’s statement makes it clear that the company is stuck in its anti-gay ways.

Election

Mitt Romney Finds A New Message: Only D.C. Insiders, Not The American People, Can Change Washington

By Igor Volsky on Sep 20, 2012 at 5:11 pm

Mitt Romney touted the ability of Washington insiders and politicians to change the course of the country on Thursday, seizing on a quote from President Obama during a Univision forum. “I think that I’ve learned some lessons over the last four years, and the most important lesson I’ve learned is that you can’t change Washington from the inside,” Obama said. “You can only change it from the outside. That’s how I got elected, and that’s how the big accomplishments like health care got done, was because we mobilized the American people to speak out.”

Romney appeared to disagree during a rally at Sarasota, Florida, telling the crowd that he will change the country — not with the support of his constituents or his base — but by bringing “Republicans and Democrats” together to implement his agenda:

ROMNEY: He said he can’t change Washington from inside. He can only change it from outside. Well, we’ll give him that chance in November, he’s going outside. I can change Washington, I will change Washington, I’ll get the job done from the inside. Republicans and Democrats will come together.

Watch it:

The new attack is a departure from Romney’s repeated claims that only Washington outsiders, particularly those with private sector experience, can change the course of the country. The GOP presidential candidate has previously said that he plans to fill his cabinet with appointees from the business world (people like Meg Whitman or BET President Debra Lee), eschewing career politicians or bureaucrats.

It’s a message he echoed throughout his campaign. “The idea that somehow everything important for conservativism or for America happens in government is simply wrong,” Romney explained in January. “I’ve been in the private sector. I worked in one business that was in trouble and helped turn it around.”

During a debate in December, when he characterized many of his GOP opponents as career politicians, Romney said, “having spent my life in the private sector, I understand where jobs are created. They’re not created in government, they’re not created in Washington. They’re created on Main Streets and streets all over America.”

– Greg Noth contributed research to this post.

Update

Back in 2007, Romney agreed that change does not start in Washington. “I don’t think you change Washington from the inside. I think you change it from the outside,” he said on December 30, 2007.

Economy

Study: Higher Unionization Rates Increase Economic Mobility

By Pat Garofalo on Sep 20, 2012 at 5:10 pm

In the U.S., economic mobility — the ability of a person to move to a higher income bracket than her parents —
lags behind other industrialized nations. According to one study, “65 percent of Americans born in the bottom fifth stay in the bottom two-fifths as adults, while 62 percent of those born in the top fifth of incomes stay in the top two-fifths.”

But according to a Center for American Progress Action Fund analysis of data from the Pew Center on the States, there is something that can help: unionization. As CAPAF’s David Madland and Nick Bunker found, “states with high union membership rates are more likely to have high levels of economic mobility, even after controlling for other factors such as education, income levels, inequality, and unemployment”:

Our analysis finds that education is the most important source of mobility—but unionization rates matter quite a bit as well. Increasing the unionization rate in the average state by 10 percentage points—roughly to the level they were in 1980—would be associated with an increase of just under 4 percentage points in the share of the population that is upwardly mobile. This is about two-fifths of the impact of boosting the share of the workforce with a college degree by 10 percentage points.

Unionization also boosts wages, helping mitigate the effects of income inequality. Research has shown that income inequality can also dampen economic mobility.

Justice

Reid: Two-Thirds Of Confirmed District Judges Were Filibustered By Republicans This Year

By Ian Millhiser on Sep 20, 2012 at 5:10 pm

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Last June, Senate Republicans shut down all appeals court confirmations, relying on a false claim that appellate court judges historically are not confirmed in the sixth months leading up to a presidential election. In reality, every single recent president saw at least one court of appeals judge confirmed during this six month period except for Obama. President Reagan had 7 appellate judges confirmed in the half year leading up to his reelection.

The one silver lining in this arrangement was that the Senate continued to confirm district court judges, the lowest rank of federal judge who enjoys lifetime tenure. Now, however, even the slow trickle of new district court confirmations appears to be on the brink of shutting down. Earlier today, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) blocked an effort to confirm 17 district judges, 14 of whom cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee via voice vote — a process normally limited to the most uncontroversial nominees. McConnell instead floated the possibility that the senate might confirm just two more nominees at some point in the future.

As Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) explained, this kind of obstruction is nothing new. According to Reid, two-thirds of the trial judges that were actually confirmed this year were nonetheless subject to a filibuster:

Historically the Senate has considered district court nominees as late as October in presidential election years. In the past five presidential election years, Democrats have never blocked a district court nominee from receiving a vote on the Senate floor. Never. But our Republican colleagues are setting new standards for obstruction. Not only in all the legislation, but in judges. Of the 28 district court nominees we’ve considered this year, I’ve filed cloture nineteen times. In other words, we’ve had to break a Republican filibuster on 67 percent of the district judges we’ve considered and confirmed. President Obama’s district court nominees have been forced to wait 300 percent more than President Bush’s nominees. Three times more.

Watch it:

In January, when newly-elected senators take their seats, a brief window will open up that will enable Reid to abolish or reform the filibuster with a simple majority vote. If he remains Majority Leader when that happens, it will be his best opportunity to end this kind of obstructionism forever.

NEWS FLASH

Obamacare Improved Health Coverage In 20 States, Census Analysis Confirms | Recent census data revealed that, thanks to Obamacare, the uninsured rate in the U.S. dropped significantly from 2010 to 2011 in the largest decline the country has seen since 1999. The Census Bureau released a more detailed analysis of their findings yesterday, breaking the numbers down by each state to confirm that the percentage of Americans without health insurance fell in 20 states last year. Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont had the biggest decreases in their uninsured populations. The states with the highest uninsurance rates in 2010 — 23.7 percent in Texas and 21.3 percent in Florida — also saw slight declines in the rates of their uninsured residents in 2011, dropping to 23 percent and 20.9 percent respectively.

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