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Nascent Arab Spring Protests Gather In Sudan: ‘Freedom, Peace, Justice And Revolution’

By Ali Gharib on Jun 29, 2012 at 3:30 pm

Arab Spring protests so far have toppled governments in Tunisia and Egypt, led to a government-toppling civil war in Libya, and what looks to become a protracted civil war in Syria where the dictatorial regime remains, by most accounts, firmly entrenched, for now at least.

Now the Arab Spring protests, more than a year and a half after their inception, are hitting another North African country: Sudan. Student demonstrations against Omar Al-Bashir’s government have been bubbling up over the past couple weeks. Activists called for protests on Friday, which so far appear to have drawn hundreds to various towns across the country, according to a map of reported demonstrations posted by The Atlantic.

The protests — referred to in Sudan as “elbow licking,” after a colloquial phrase for doing the impossible adopted by the government — were set off by student objections to austerity measures imposed by the government. As the protests have grown over two weeks, reliable details have been more difficult to come by because of a government crackdown against journalists and bloggers.

Authorities ignored U.N. warnings against “heavy-handed suppression” and used tear gas to break up demonstrations near the capitol Khartoum and in eastern Sudan. The protesters chanted, “freedom, peace, justice and revolution is the choice of the people,” according to the BBC.

Justice

10 Ways John Roberts Is Still A Conservative’s Best Friend

By Ian Millhiser on Jun 29, 2012 at 3:30 pm

Yesterday, Chief Justice Roberts embraced a ludicrous, Tea Party reading of the two key provisions of the Constitution, tossing out nearly two centuries of established law in the process. Yet, after he also refused to join a deeply partisan decision tossing out President Obama’s signature accomplishment — agreeing with several leading conservative judges in the process — the right-wing did not waste any time drawing its knives upon him. In just 24 hours, he was accused of everything from caving to non-existent “bullying” to being mentally unfit for duty.

It’s tough to imagine a more flagrant display of ungratefulness than the pushback Roberts is now receiving from his fellow conservatives. The reality is that Roberts consistently advanced the right’s agenda from the moment he joined the Court:

1) Corporate Money In Elections: Roberts jonied the majority in Citizens United, holding that wealthy corporations should have a nearly unlimited power to buy and sell American elections. Roberts also voted to undermine public financing laws in a way that severely undermines candidates without well-moneyed backers’ ability to compete in elections.

2) Judges For Sale: Roberts wrote a dissent in Caperton v. Massey that would have allowed a wealthy coal CEO to pay $3 million to put a sympathetic supreme court justice on that court. The same justice would then go on to $50 million verdict against the big spender’s company.

3) Corporate-Owned Courts: Roberts consistently votes to give corporations a nearly unlimited power to force workers and consumers into a privatized, corporate-run arbitration system that overwhelming favors corporations.

4) Dividing And Conquering Ordinary Americans: Roberts voted in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion to allow corporations to strip their workers and consumers of their ability to bring class action lawsuits. Because of this decision, corporations now have a nearly unlimited power to cheat the people who do business with them — so long as they only do it a few dollars at a time.

5) Corporate Immunity To The Law: Roberts voted to give generic drug makers immunity to key state laws after one of their drugs caused a condition called tardive dyskinesia in many of the people who took it. Tardive dyskinesia is an horrific neurological condition that causes sometimes crippling, uncontrollable bodily movements, often in the face:

6) Abortion: Roberts also joined the Court’s decision restricting reproductive freedom in Gonzales v. Carhart, which reasoned that a woman’s right to choose must be cut back because “it seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained.”

7) Race: Roberts has also consistently resisted attempts to eradicate the legacy of racism in America. Most notably, in Parents Involved v. Seattle School District No. 1, he claimed that a plan to desegregate public schools violates Brown v. Board of Education.

8) Gitimo: Roberts twice sided with President George W. Bush on questions of detainee treatment — as a lower court judge in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, and as Chief Justice in Boumediene v. Bush.

9) Unequal Pay For Women: Roberts joined the Court’s discredited decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire rolling back women’s right to receive equal pay for equal work.

10) Older Workers: Roberts also joined the Court’s 5-4 decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services limiting older workers’ ability to be free from age discrimination in the workplace.

Health

Leading Anti-Obamacare Congressman: ‘I Don’t Want To Hear Any Talk From Republicans About Preserving Any Aspect Of It’

By Scott Keyes on Jun 29, 2012 at 3:18 pm

Rep. Steve King (R-IA)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Steve King (R-IA) has a message for those Republicans wavering on whether to repeal popular provisions of Obamacare: “it’s all or none.”

ThinkProgress spoke with King, who has been leading the fight against Obamacare since it was signed into law, at the Supreme Court following yesterday’s ruling. In an expectedly dour mood, the Iowa Republican pointed to the November election as their remaining chance to repeal the landmark health care law.

King promised that if Republicans took control, they would undo every part of Obamacare, even popular provisions like protections for people with pre-existing conditions and allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ health care plans. “I don’t want to hear any talk from Republicans about preserving any aspect of it,” King declared. “It’s all or none”:

REPORTER: It seems like as a practical matter, it’d be very tough to get rid of the law if he wins a second term.

KING: I agree. This is it. The battle is enjoined and it’s about Obamacare here to November. And if we seat a majority of the United States Senate of Republicans, hold this majority in the House and elect Mitt Romney, we will undo Obamacare and all of it. I don’t want to hear any talk from Republicans about preserving any aspect of it. It just dilutes the argument. It’s all or none. This is it, we’re all in and I’m ready for that fight.

Watch it:

As polls show an overwhelming majority of Americans support Obamacare’s provisions, many Republicans have begun to show their support for maintaining some of its protections. Even hard-liners like Rep. Allen West (R-FL) and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) have pledged to protect certain aspects of Obamacare.

If Republicans prevail in November, there will almost certainly be a showdown between Tea Partiers like King who want to scrap even Obamacare’s popular provisions and more sensible legislators who recognize the importance of maintaining those protections. Unfortunately, given the rightward lurch of Republicans over the past decade, it’s not difficult to guess which side will prevail.

Steven Perlberg contributed to this report.

LGBT

How Obamacare Protects Same-Sex Families And Transgender Patients

By Guest Blogger on Jun 29, 2012 at 2:54 pm

Our guest blogger is Andrew Cray, health policy consultant for LGBT Progress.

Yesterday the Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in the lawsuit challenging several key provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The justices’ ruling, upholding much of the law, will bridge the coverage gap for gay and transgender people through the creation of health insurance exchanges and the option for states to expand Medicaid program eligibility.  But the decision doesn’t stop there – the justices also upheld all of the law’s key consumer protections, which will continue to serve as a lifeline for millions of Americans to receive the health care they need and deserve.

In particular, Court’s decision retains two key part of the law that were not front in center in the spotlight of the litigation, but that are of vital importance to the LGBT community: the extension of coverage to young adults, and the consumer protections incorporated in the Patients’ Bill of Rights.

Requiring that insurers offer coverage for young adults up to age 26 under their parents’ insurance makes it much easier for LGBT young adults to get access to necessary care. Through the requirement, the Affordable Care Act will continue to open up access to insurance for thousands of youth with gay and transgender parents, as well. In less than two years since this part of the law was implemented, over 80,000 young adults raised by LGBT parents have maintained access to insurance through their parents’ coverage – over one and a half times as many people as can fit into Yankee Stadium. That number will only grow after yesterday’s decision.

The second major victory following from the Court’s decision is the retention of the law’s Patient’s Bill of Rights. This provision creates new protections outlawing many of the insurance industry’s worst abuses by:

  • Ending lifetime limits on coverage, starting in 2010;
  • Phasing out annual limits on coverage by 2014, which is particularly important for people with long-term or chronic conditions such as HIV or cancer;
  • Starting in 2014, prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage on the basis of a pre-existing condition, such as HIV or a transgender medical history;
  • Preventing insurers from arbitrarily canceling a sick person’s coverage, starting in 2014.

These essential protections will continue to ensure insurance access for many gay and transgender people by prohibiting insurers from unfairly targeting those who need access to care the most. For example, before the passage of the Affordable Care Act, one insurer denied a transgender woman coverage for routine treatments related to a cut on her hand and a deviated septum. When she appealed these coverage denials, she was told by the insurer that she was being denied coverage because of her “condition,” a reference to her gender identity.  The laws’ prohibition on unfair and discriminatory insurance practices will prevent this type of abuse.

Recognizing the great importance of these protections for LGBT people, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius has stated, “the Affordable Care Act may represent the strongest foundation we have ever created to begin closing LGBT health disparities.” Having survived a trial by fire, we can look forward to a promising future with a revitalized health care system supporting healthier communities built on the foundation of healthcare reform.

 

Education

Romney: Students Should Get ‘As Much Education As They Can Afford’

By Pat Garofalo on Jun 29, 2012 at 2:50 pm

On the campaign trail Wednesday night in Virginia, Mitt Romney took on the topic of education. While extolling the virtues of America as “the land of opportunity for every single person,” Romney said that he believes students should only be able to get as much education “as they can afford”:

I think this is a land of opportunity for every single person, every single citizen of this great nation. And I want to make sure that we keep America a place of opportunity, where everyone has a fair shot. They get as much education as they can afford and with their time they’re able to get and if they have a willingness to work hard and the right values, they ought to be able to provide for their family and have a shot of realizing their dreams.

Watch it:

This is similar to other comments Romney has made regarding higher education, such as when he told students to simply borrow the money for college from their parents or when he told them to “shop around” or join the military to get an education. But the crux of the matter is that Romney’s policies would make college less affordable for low- and middle-income students. So what they “can afford” is going to be a lot less.

For starters, Romney supports the radical Republican budget, authored by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), which would cut Pell Grants for more than one million students, at a time when Pell Grants are already covering the smallest percentage of tuition in their history.

Next, Romney supports undoing the student loan reforms that were included in the 2010 health care bill. Those changes cut billions of dollars that were being wasted paying bank middlemen to service federal student loans, and instead plowed the money back into student aid. Repealing the measure, as Romney would like to do, would simply spend money to put banks back between students and their federal loans.

Finally, Romney is a staunch supporter of predatory for-profit colleges, which are much more expensive than public schools, and often leave their students buried in debt and without the credentials necessary to obtain a good job. Of course, this should come as no surprise, since the for-profit industry is donating heavily to Romney’s campaign.

Health

Five Health Care Mandates Republicans Support

By Annie-Rose Strasser on Jun 29, 2012 at 2:10 pm

Republicans are in complete upheaval over Obamacare, fired up by the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the law yesterday. They have continuously claimed that the government is ramming this legislation down the throats of the American people, and now they are calling it an unwanted financial burden on everyday Americans. In fact, the individual mandate — the portion of the law that Republicans most vociferously oppose — wouldn’t even affect most Americans.

It might be time for Republicans to take a look back at their own record of health care legislation that they did like — and that forced American people, particularly women, into a lot of things:

Forcing women to get transvaginal ultrasounds: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell wanted to force every woman seeking an abortion to go through the extremely uncomfortable and medically unnecessary procedure of a transvaginal ultrasound — sticking a medical wand far into a woman’s vagina to get a clearer ultrasound image.

Ordering women to cremate and bury their miscarried fetus: A huge abortion omnibus bill in Michigan could force women who miscarry to cremate the miscarried fetuses. This comes at no small expense to the woman: cremation of a fetus costs hundreds of dollars, and interment can be additional thousands. The bill has been passed by the Michigan House, and is awaiting a vote by the Michigan Senate.

Requiring doctors to lie to female patients: In Kansas, Republicans tried to force doctors to tell women that they faced risk of cancer from having an abortion. That is patently untrue, and making doctors say that it was true would be, in effect, requiring them to lie to their patients.

Making a dying woman consult two doctors before she can get a life-saving abortion: The New Hampshire legislature just overrode a veto by the Governor, forcing through a law that bans “partial birth” abortions. The law only reinforces federal law, but has the additional requirement that any woman who is exempt from the abortion ban because her life is at risk must visit not one but two doctors before she can get the procedure to save her life. For many rural women, especially those facing life-threatening conditions, this is near impossible.

Mandating people pay extra to give medical device companies a tax break: Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN) worked so hard to protect medical device companies from having to pay, that he has instead passed their costs onto the consumer — regular Americans — by increasing the cost of health coverage.

Climate Progress

Three Ways Robots Can Help Us Deal With Environmental Catastrophes

By Climate Guest Blogger on Jun 29, 2012 at 2:02 pm

by Max Frankel

In the last few years, we’ve seen an increase in extreme weather events and environmental disasters — costing us money, and far more importantly, human lives.

Some have been natural (or indirectly caused by humans due to climate change), and others, like BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, have been directly caused by us.

With scientists warning that the frequency of wildfires, floods, drought and other catastrophes will only increase as the planet warms, engineers are now focusing on how to use robots and other mechanical gadgets to aid in disaster response. Some of these bots vacuum up oil, some sort rubble and rescue earthquake survivors, and some help battle wildfires. Here’s a look at three of the coolest robotic defenders, both in use and on the horizon.

Illustration: John MacNeill

Firebug: Right now in Colorado, the Waldo Canyon Wildfire is burning out of control. As of Thursday, 30,000 people had been evacuated and firefighters had only 5% of the blaze contained.

Enter the firefighting robot army. Three groups — one at University of Magdeburg-Stendal in Germany, an American duo, and the makers of the Segway — are all working on a revolutionary and potentially life saving technology.

The German group has plans for an insect-inspired bot called the OLE. The Saint-Bernard sized bugs are covered in fireproof armor and carry sensors that help them find fires. Once they get to the heat source, they can spray it with water or other fire extinguishing materials. The bots have legs instead of wheels, helping them to navigate over downed trees, rocks, and other forest impediments that rolling machines would have trouble with and lets them get to fires faster. (Interestingly, these OLE’s look kind of like Pine Beetles, the ferocious bugs wreaking havoc on western forests.)

Marching into battle alongside the OLE’s (and possibly a lot sooner) could be Segway’s design. Armed with a water cannon that can launch up to 10 gallons per second and Segway’s motors that let it travel up to 18mph, this robot is the heavy artillery of robo-wildfire fighting. Though it’s fast, it’s wheels make it less maneuverable than the OLE; however, this bot has the ability to haul injured or exhausted human firefighters out of harm’s way.

Behind the OLE and the Segway bot, a transformer-like robot could be clearing trees at a frenzied pace, creating the firebreaks that are so vital to containing a blaze. Though the robot looks like something out of science fiction, its creators have already built a prototype. The robot uses its four arms and massive cutting blades to completely deforest an area rapidly. Clearly, these bots could be dangerous for forests if used the wrong way. But in emergency scenarios they could help save thousands of lives and homes.

Read more

NEWS FLASH

France Will Legalize Marriage Equality Next Year | France’s Junior Minister for Family Dominique Bertinotti announced today that the country’s new Socialist government is set to legalize same-sex marriage next year. Upon his election last month, Prime Minister François Hollande committed to advancing both marriage equality and same-sex adoption rights. The socialist party secured an absolute majority in Parliament, ensuring, as Bertinotti explained today, “Within a year, people of the same sex will be able to marry and adopt children together. They will have the same rights and duties as any married couple.”

NEWS FLASH

House Passes Highway And Student Loan Bill | Moments ago, the House of Representatives passed a re-authorization of the highway bill by a vote of 373-52. House Republicans had previously been blocking the package, holding up funding for 1.9 million transportation jobs. The bill also includes an extension of the student loan rates that will prevent them from doubling on Sunday. The legislation will now go to the Senate, where it’s likely to pass.

Update

The Senate just approved the bill by a vote of 74-19.

Justice

Air Force Investigates Widespread Drill-Sergeant-On-Recruit Sex Abuse Scandal

By Guest Blogger on Jun 29, 2012 at 1:40 pm

At Lackland Airforce Base in Texas, investigators are looking into an escalating sex scandal, including wrongdoing from improper sexual relations to rape. So far, the Air Force has identified 31 victims and filed charges against six instructors. Most of the misconduct has occurred during basic training.

The Air Force is trying to determine whether there are “systematic issues” with boot camp at Lackland that contribute to sexual misconduct:

The Air Force investigation centers on a unit of boot-camp instructors at Lackland, near San Antonio, where 36,000 recruits undergo basic training each year.

About one-quarter of the instructors in the 331st Training Squadron have either been charged with crimes or are under investigation for sexual misconduct. One trainer has been charged with raping or sexually assaulting 10 recruits.

Senior Air Force officials said they have found problems in other units as well, prompting them to open multiple investigations to determine the extent to which female recruits face harassment and whether the Air Force’s selection process for male instructors is fundamentally flawed.

Across the military, the number of sexual assault complaints were up 1% in 2011, from 3,158 to 3,192. However, the Defense Department believes that sexual assault is vastly underreported, and estimates that there may be more than 19,000 incidents every year.

Advocacy groups believe that one of the biggest obstacles to reducing sexual assault is a culture of silence, and that basic training, is a “target-rich environment for sexual predators.” Only 11% of basic training instructors are female.

The investigation comes at a time when the military is taking steps to fight sexual abuse. In April, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced several new policies designed to reduce sexual misconduct, including having complaints be handled by senior officers, setting up special units to interview victims and collect evidence, and briefing recruits on sexual-assault policies.

–Alex Brown

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