U.S. Designates Syrian Rebel Group A Terror Organization

By Hayes Brown on Dec 10, 2012 at 4:13 pm

The U.S. government has designated Jabhat al-Nusra — a rebel group operating within Syria — as a Global Terrorist organization, in what is seen as an attempt to hinder its rapid growth on the battlefield in Syria.

The designation — first confirmed in a note published in the Federal Register on Monday — will officially be announced tomorrow. Specifically, Jabhat al-Nusra is being labeled by the government as an alias of al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), the Sunni Muslim group that caused the death of thousands in Iraq after the U.S.-led 2003 invasion.

Jahbat al-Nusra isn’t the only hardline Islamist organization fighting in Syria, but it is both one of the deadliest and the only one with the official support of al Qaeda behind it. Aaron Zelin, a researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, has noted that Jabhat al-Nusra has taken credit for over 500 attacks within Syria since its formation in January. “Unique among rebel groups operating in Syria, it has also earned the legitimacy of top global jihadist ideologues, who have called for grassroots supporters across the world to help fund or join up with the group,” Zelin wrote in Foreign Policy.

The decision to officially label Jahbat al-Nusra as a terrorist group comes just days ahead of talks among the “Friends of Syria” group in Morocco this week. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be leading the U.S. delegation, which is expected to announce its recognition of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. France, Turkey and other states have already labeled the National Coalition as such.

By officially deeming Jabhat al-Nusra a terrorist group, the State Department is likely seeking to halt its influence in a rapidly shifting situation in Syria. The move may be coming too late, as the group has already won over many with its fighting ability and funding stream from Gulf states, the New York Times reported on Sunday:

On Friday, demonstrators in several Syrian cities raised banners with slogans like, “No to American intervention, for we are all Jebhat al-Nusra,” referring to the group’s full name, Ansar al-Jebhat al-Nusra li-Ahl al-Sham, or Supporters of the Front for Victory of the People of Syria. One rebel battalion, the Ahrar, or Free Men, asked on its Facebook page why the United States did not blacklist Mr. Assad’s “terrorist” militias.

Another jihadist faction, the Sahaba Army in the Levant, even congratulated the group on the “great honor” of being deemed terrorists by the United States.

Jahbat al-Nusra was notably missing from a meeting in Turkey to elect a new unified command for the Free Syrian Army (FSA). The forces of both the FSA and al-Nusra have become a regular presence in the formerly calm capital, Damascus, leading many to wonder if the fall of President Bashar al-Assad is near. Assad has begun mobilizing the components of his chemical weapons arsenal in recent weeks, prompting concern from the United States and others that he will utilize them either blatantly or by placing the blame for their release upon rebels.

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Climate Progress

Vote For A Carbon Tax!

By Joe Romm on Dec 10, 2012 at 3:48 pm

Vote at the online U.S. News poll, “Is a Carbon Tax a Good Idea?”

My colleague, Richard Caperton, Director of Clean Energy Investment at the Center for American Progress, is part of a U.S. News debate. Readers know my basic feeling about online polls (see “Memo to media, science museums, homo ‘sapiens’: Enough with the online polls!“)

But as long as they exist, they aren’t entirely a waste of your time. Anyway, here’s is Caperton’s position:

Superstorm Sandy. Massive droughts. Devastating tornadoes. Horrific wildfires. The United States has certainly seen the dramatic weather-related effects of climate change in 2012, and every American has in some way been negatively impacted. Unfortunately, unless we start taking action now to curb the greenhouse gas pollution that’s causing this extreme weather, things are only going to get worse.

Congress passing a progressive carbon tax is one way for the United States could make a significant contribution to the fight against climate change.

To be effective, a carbon tax should do a few things. First, it must be robust enough to lead to meaningful greenhouse gas pollution reductions; increasing over time and applying to non-carbon-dioxide greenhouse gases such as methane. This ensures continuing reductions and encourages companies to move toward cleaner energies instead of different dirty ones. Second, it should encourage businesses to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy to reduce emissions. This will stimulate the economy and put people back to work in the burgeoning green-jobs sector. Third, it must reduce the economic vulnerability of low-income households by ensuring that they are compensated for increases in energy prices. Fourth, it should have appropriate mechanisms to protect existing American businesses and prevent “pollution leakage,” which occurs if highly polluting industries simply move to other countries that don’t have a comparable limit on pollution. Leakage can also happen if domestic industries shut down, causing us to import goods from other countries. Finally, it should reduce the budget deficit to prevent draconian cuts in vital domestic programs by raising revenue from the tax.

America is currently on the right path. Our greenhouse gas pollution is lower than it’s been in recent history, and our economy is starting to see more signs of life. Neither of these positive trends, however, is anywhere close to where we need them to be to fully address the challenges of climate change and economic growth. Even worse, our country must make additional significant changes to reduce our substantial budget deficit so future generations aren’t stuck with the bill for our expenses.

These issues—climate change, economic growth, and fiscal responsibility—may not appear to be intimately linked. They all have different causes, and they impact our country in different ways. They are, however, inextricably tied together by their solution: A price on carbon can make a significant contribution to solving each of these challenges.

Click here to vote.

For more, see “In-Depth Analysis: How A Progressive Carbon Tax Will Fight Climate Change And Stimulate The Economy.”

Health

Ex-Convict Tries To Get Sent Back To Prison Because He Can’t Afford His Cancer Treatment

By Tara Culp-Ressler on Dec 10, 2012 at 3:38 pm

Photo credit: James P. McCoy/Buffalo News

Frank J. Morrocco was released from federal prison last December, after serving 20 years behind bars for a drug conspiracy conviction. But last month, Morrocco wanted to go back. He shoplifted from a local grocery store with the intention of getting arrested and getting sent to jail for a second time.

Why was Morrocco so eager to be put back behind bars? He suffers from a rare form of leukemia and lacks health insurance — he doesn’t have an employer-based plan because he is self-employed as a car buyer, and he falls into the gap between earning too much to qualify for Medicaid coverage and too little to be able to afford insurance on the private market — so he’s unable to access the treatment he needs. As the Buffalo News reports, Morrocco felt like prison was his only viable option under the circumstances:

That way, Morrocco said, he would be able to get “prison health care that is very good” — health care that he says he cannot afford as a free man.

“It was an act of desperation. I went into that store and took things I didn’t need, and I made sure a lot of people saw me,” the 56-year-old Morrocco told The Buffalo News. “At the time I did it, I felt that I didn’t have any other way to get the care that I need for my leukemia.” [...]
Attorney Joel Daniels is now representing Morrocco. On Saturday, Daniels referred to the situation as “a very sad case, very unfortunate.”

“Hopefully, down the road, when Obamacare kicks in, you’ll no longer have situations like this,” Daniels said. “You’ll no longer have cases where a man is trying to get into prison to get better health care.”

After Morrocco was diagnosed with leukemia in prison in 2008, he was sent to a medical prison facility in North Carolina to receive regular check-ups, chemotherapy, and blood work. Since being released from prison, he’s only occasionally visited the doctor because he can’t afford it. After he got too weak without regular chemotherapy treatments over the summer, he did end up in the hospital twice — but now that he’s racked up over $5,000 in medical bills, he says he doesn’t have the money to go back.

Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion is crucial to funding health care for ex-convicts like Morrocco, since it will help extend coverage to the underemployed or unemployed Americans who cannot currently afford to purchase insurance on the private market. But until the health reform law is fully implemented in 2014 — or if stubborn Republican governors continue to resist expanding Medicaid in their states — the soaring cost of health care is still forcing some uninsured Americans to go to desperate lengths to attempt to fund their medical costs. Those without adequate coverage are increasingly turning to the Internet to attempt to crowd source the funds they need to pay off their rising medical debt.

Since being arrested for shoplifting about $23 dollars’ worth of items, Morrocco has had second thoughts about his plan to return to jail. But he still feels like he doesn’t have many choices available to him. “Do I want to go back to prison? No,” Morrocco told the Buffalo News. “But do I want to die on the outside because I can’t afford health care? No, I don’t want to do that, either.”

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Justice

Top 10 Reasons Why The U.S. Needs Comprehensive Immigration Reform

By Amanda Peterson Beadle on Dec 10, 2012 at 3:20 pm

The nation needs a comprehensive immigration plan, and it is clear from a recent poll that most Americans support reforming the U.S.’s immigration system. In a new poll, nearly two-thirds of people surveyed are in favor of a measure that allows undocumented immigrants to earn citizenship over several years, while only 35 percent oppose such a plan. And President Obama is expected to “begin an all-out drive for comprehensive immigration reform, including seeking a path to citizenship” in January.

Several top Republicans have softened their views on immigration reform following November’s election, but in the first push for reform, House Republicans advanced a bill last month that would add visas for highly skilled workers while reducing legal immigration overall. Providing a road map to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. would have sweeping benefits for the nation, especially the economy.

Here are the top 10 reasons why the U.S. needs comprehensive immigration reform:

1. Legalizing the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States would boost the nation’s economy. It would add a cumulative $1.5 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product—the largest measure of economic growth—over 10 years. That’s because immigration reform that puts all workers on a level playing field would create a virtuous cycle in which legal status and labor rights exert upward pressure on the wages of both American and immigrant workers. Higher wages and even better jobs would translate into increased consumer purchasing power, which would benefit the U.S. economy as a whole.

2. Tax revenues would increase. The federal government would accrue $4.5 billion to $5.4 billion in additional net tax revenue over just three years if the 11 million undocumented immigrants were legalized. And states would benefit. Texas, for example, would see a $4.1 billion gain in tax revenue and the creation of 193,000 new jobs if its approximately 1.6 million undocumented immigrants were legalized.

3. Harmful state immigration laws are damaging state economies. States that have passed stringent immigration measures in an effort to curb the number of undocumented immigrants living in the state have hurt some of their key industries, which are held back due to inadequate access to qualified workers. A farmer in Alabama, where the state legislature passed the anti-immigration law HB 56 in 2011, for example, estimated that he lost up to $300,000 in produce in 2011 because the undocumented farmworkers who had skillfully picked tomatoes from his vines in years prior had been forced to flee the state.

4. A path to citizenship would help families access health care. About a quarter of families where at least one parent is an undocumented immigrant are uninsured, but undocumented immigrants do not qualify for coverage under the Affordable Care Act, leaving them dependent on so-called safety net hospitals that will see their funding reduced as health care reforms are implemented. Without being able to apply for legal status and gain health care coverage, the health care options for undocumented immigrants and their families will shrink.

5. U.S. employers need a legalized workforce. Nearly half of agricultural workers, 17 percent of construction workers, and 12 percent of food preparation workers nationwide lacking legal immigration status. But business owners—from farmers to hotel chain owners—benefit from reliable and skilled laborers, and a legalization program would ensure that they have them.
Read more

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NEWS FLASH

U.N. Ambassador Commemorates International Human Rights Day | Today, the United Nations observes Human Rights Day, which was first adopted in 1948. This year, the day is dedicated to the right of all people to make their voices heard in public life and political decision-making. U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice commemorated the day on behalf of the United States with a statement highlighting many marginalized groups, including the LGBT community:

Today, we pledge to live up to Eleanor Roosevelt’s inspirational example, for in far too many places human freedoms are still denied. As long as a family anywhere is tormented by a state-sanctioned killer; a peaceful agitator is hounded by a violent brigade; an artist is locked away for expressing what she thinks; an LGBT individual is harassed because of whom he or she loves; a community is beleaguered because of how it worships; a person with a disability is marginalized by those who ignore plain injustice; or a girl is threatened for having the audacity to pick up a book; all of our rights have been violated.

Economy

Obama Slams Michigan GOP’s Legislation As ‘The Right To Work For Less Money’

By Igor Volsky on Dec 10, 2012 at 3:20 pm

During a speech at the Detroit Diesel Plant in Redford, Michigan on Monday, President Obama spoke out against Gov. Rick Snyder’s (R-MI) efforts to rush anti-union “right-to-work” legislation through a lame duck session of the state legislature. The effort would allow union members to opt out of paying union dues, while benefiting from union contracts and requiring the unions to represent them.

Building on the efforts of union leaders and Democrats, who met with Snyder to urge him to reconsider the measure, Obama argued that so-called “right to work” would actually take away workers’ rights to bargain for “better wages and working conditions.” He stressed that the legislative push is driven by politics, not economic consideration:

OBAMA: These so-called right to work laws, they don’t have to do with economics. They have everything to do with politics. What they’re really talking about is giving you the right to work for less money. You only have to look to Michigan, where workers were instrumental to reviving the auto industry, to see how unions have helped build not just a stronger middle class, but a stronger America. [...]

We don’t want a race to the bottom. We want a race to the top. America is not going to compete based on low skill low wage no workers’ rights. That’s not our competitive advantage. There is always going to be some other country that can treat its workers even worse. Right? What’s going to make us succeed is we’ve got the best workers, well trained, reliable productive, low turnover, healthy, that’s what makes us strong. And it’s also is what allows our workers then to buy the products that we make because they got enough money in their pockets.

Watch it:

At Snyder’s urging, the state House and Senate each passed versions of the law last week and Obama isn’t alone in condemning the governor. On Sunday, The Detroit Free-Press, which endorsed Snyder in his 2010 campaign, slammed his move as a “failure of leadership” and observed that his “about-face” amounted to a betrayal of Michigan’s voters. Earlier this year, Snyder told a U.S. House committee, “Right-to-work is an issue that is a very divisive issue… we have many problems in Michigan that are much more pressing… I don’t believe it is appropriate in Michigan during 2012.” But last Thursday, he announced that he had changed his mind and the Republican-controlled legislature soon rammed through the anti-union bills with minimal debate.

Michigan’s middle class has been hit particularly hard by the recession — earning only 47 percent of the state’s income in 2012 (down from 53.6 percent in 1979) — and allowing workers to opt out of unions would hurt employees even more. Research shows that “right-to-work” laws result in smaller wages, pensions, and health care benefits for union and non-union workers alike.

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Climate Progress

Watch Personal Climate Stories: ‘It Seems Like Mother Nature Is Throwing Everything At Us That She Can’

By Stephen Lacey on Dec 10, 2012 at 3:00 pm

Polls show that people understand climate change when they are directly impacted by extreme weather. This year has been the warmest and most extreme for weather ever recorded in America; consequently, we’ve seen an increase in the number of Americans who say they are concerned about climate change.

Ultimately, getting people interested in climate means drawing a personal link to extreme weather for them. Climate communicators are increasingly understanding the need to make this connection, and are thus tailoring their messaging and storytelling accordingly. A new series from the environmental group Friends of the Earth, called “Climate Stories,” does exactly that. Along with the campaign among environmental groups to isolate fossil fuel companies, this climate/extreme weather humanization strategy is likely to be a dominant messaging strategy moving forward.

Watch one of the films:

Security

Fox News Reignites Islamophobic Campaign Against The ‘Ground Zero Mosque’

By Hamed Aleaziz on Dec 10, 2012 at 2:42 pm

Fox News is again trying to drum up “controversy” around the Park51 Islamic community center in Manhattan. On Sunday, Fox Nation re-published a New York Post article claiming that “community programs” no longer exist at Park51, just Muslims praying. From there, Fox and Friends discussed the latest “development” on Park51. “It’s all pray and no play,” host Gretchen Carlson said and complained that the center isn’t hosting community programs and is instead attracting Muslims for prayer. Noted Islamophobe Donald Trump cited the oft-repeated far-right claim that Muslims built the community center to celebrate victory on 9/11:

GRETCHEN CARLSON: It’s all pray and no play. The controversial Ground Zero Mosque was supposed to be a cultural center, but it turns out it’s now an empty space with no community programs. Dozens of worshipers gather at the site for prayer services, but that’s pretty much the only activity in the building aside from a small martial arts class.

BRIAN KILMEADE: … Donald, do you want to finance the mosque downtown?

STEVE DOOCY: The Mosque-erade

DONALD TRUMP: No, I don’t think so, I’d certainly buy the site. But I don’t think it’s an appropriate use of the site. A lot of people don’t. You know, in the Arab world, when they have victory, they like to build a Mosque at that site. It’s very strongly out there. I think this is a terrible idea. It shouldn’t be done and let’s see what happens…

Watch it:

Fox is recycling rhetoric from more than two years ago when anti-Islam activists like Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer led an all-out war in their attempt to prevent the cultural center from opening. At the time, Fox News became a major broadcaster of their Islamophobic agenda. Back then, Fox gave anti-Islam activists a platform to make their virulent attacks against the proposed Park51 community center.

Multiple news organizations, like the Washington Post, debunked the fearmongering, pointing out that the “stated point of the project is creating a world where Jews, Christians and Muslims connect again in a way that builds mutual understanding and respect. This is precisely the opposite goal of the 9/11 terrorists.” Conservatives like Orrin Hatch supported Park51. And New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke up in favor of the center as well, saying that freedom of religion should be tolerated.

As far as Fox’s new angle goes, it’s hardly a new development that the center serves as a place of worship; it was always slated to provide a home for Muslim worshipers in Manhattan. And the lack of cultural events likely has more to do with the center’s perceived financial issues than with a sinister plot: last year, a rental dispute between the center and its landlord went to court.

But unlike two years ago, the center faces no legal hurdles from the city to continue operating in the site. New York City’s Landmark Preservation Commission approved the center in 2010 and Mayor Bloomberg agreed. Park51 opened up last year without protests and little to no fanfare.

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NEWS FLASH

POLL: Oregon Voters Eager To Vote For Marriage Equality | A recent Public Policy Polling poll shows that Oregon voters are eager to embrace marriage equality, with 77 percent saying they should be able to vote. Should that vote occur, 54 percent would vote to legalize same-sex marriage while just 40 percent stand opposed. For voters under the age of 45, the spread widens to 68/30. Though voter referenda are not an ideal strategy, it’s the only option for marriage equality in Oregon, which was one of 13 states to pass a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in 2004.

Economy

Top Conservative Leader Slams Norquist Pledge: ‘It’s Not Rational, And It’s Not Adult’

By Josh Israel on Dec 10, 2012 at 2:10 pm

Former Rep. Mickey Edwards (R-OK) (Credit: Gia Regan/Yale University Press)

Former Congressman Mickey Edwards (R-OK) lambasted anti-tax activist Grover Norquist and the hundreds of Republicans who have signed his Americans for Tax Reform Pledge in an interview with PBS’s Bill Moyers on Friday. Edwards, a longtime conservative movement stalwart, attacked his party’s 22-year-long unwillingness to raise taxes as neither conservative, nor adult, nor rational.

Edwards, who served in Congress from 1977 to 1993, was a key architect of the modern conservative movement. He was one of the three founding trustees of the Heritage Foundation, chaired the Republican Policy Committee, and was national chairman of the American Conservative Union for five years. He was also an adviser to Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign.

Asked about the Norquist’s frequent boast that no Congressional Republican has voted to raise taxes since 1990, he told Moyers:

EDWARDS: It’s certainly not Conservatism. It’s not rational. And it’s not adult. You know, when you create a program, you make a decision. You say, “I think we should conduct this war. I think that we should expand our security apparatus at home. I think that we should provide this additional benefit.” Then you pay for it. You vote to do it. And then you say, “Here’s what it’s going to cost.” And you pay for it. You know, Republicans may complain about the federal debt, but they’re as responsible as the Democrats for the debt being as large as it is. And once you have already done that, then you have an obligation to pay it down.

You know, so the idea that what you’re going to do is say– you know, “We’re not going to raise taxes, we’re not going to close loopholes, we’re not going to do anything” — that means that we’re not going to pay off what we’ve already created. I mean, that’s childish. That’s childish.

Watch the video:

When Moyers noted that Norquist devised his anti-tax pledge as a 12-year-old, Edwards observed “Well, you know, the fact is, the idea that, you know, ‘No, I’m not ever going to do this no matter the circumstances, no matter if we’re at war,’ whatever, it is a 12-year-old kind of thinking.” But, he noted, one “can’t just blame Grover,” as the Congressional signers or the pledge are also to responsible.

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