Tweet of the day: Maroon 5’s Adam Levine
Joe Manganiello goes Hawaiian
Joe Manganiello – on the beach in Hawaii.
Need I say more?
TX Gov. Rick Perry proposes a “flat tax”
Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday that he wants to scrap America’s current tax laws and impose a flat tax.
He called the plan “an economic growth package that will create jobs, create growth and create investor confidence in America again.”
“It starts with scrapping the three million words of the current tax code, and starting over with something much simpler: a flat tax,” Perry said.
A flat tax applies the same tax rate to income at every level. The current tax code is progressive, taxing higher incomes at higher rates and lower incomes at lower rates.
Many conservatives argue a flat tax would be simpler and fairer because everyone would be taxed at the same rate.
Liberals and many moderates say a flat tax would make the tax system more regressive, giving big tax breaks to the wealthy while making low- and middle-income families pay more.
In his book, “Fed Up!” Perry suggests the flat tax as a possible policy prescription:
“One option would be to totally scrap the current tax code in favor of a flat tax, and thereby make taxation much simpler, easier to follow and harder to manipulate,” Perry writes in his book. “Another option would be to repeal the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution (which authorizes the taxation of income) altogether, and then pursue an alternative model of taxation such as a national sales tax or the Fair Tax.”
(via the AP)
Rick Santorum pledges to defund all contraception
Former Sen. Rick Santorum, currently running in the bottom tier of candidates for the GOP nomination, has pledged that he will end all public funds for contraception:
“One of the things I will talk about, that no president has talked about before, is I think the dangers of contraception in this country,” the former Pennsylvania senator explained. “It’s not okay. It’s a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be. [Sex] is supposed to be within marriage. It’s supposed to be for purposes that are yes, conjugal… but also procreative. That’s the perfect way that a sexual union should happen… This is special and it needs to be seen as special.”
Almost all women age 15-44 have used some form of contraception to avoid unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Without funding from Medicaid and Title X, “abortions occurring in the United States would be nearly two-thirds higher among women overall and among teens; the number of unintended pregnancies among poor women would nearly double.”
More at ThinkProgress.
Mayor Cory Booker for HRC’s Americans for Marriage Equality
Based on the campaign that was successful in moving marriage equality forward in NY state, the Human Rights Campaign has begun a national version of the “I support marriage equality” videos. Here is Newark Mayor Cory Booker.
Americans for Marriage Equality is a public engagement campaign featuring prominent Americans who support committed gay and lesbian couples getting married. The campaign will draw from a cadre of supportive professional athletes, film and music celebrities, political and civil rights leaders.
NJ Gov. Christie: “concerned” about anti-gay comments by high school teacher
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| NJ Gov. Chris Christie |
Last week, a New Jersey high school teacher posted anti-gay comments on her Facebook page after seeing a Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender History Month display at Union High School.
Special-education teacher Viki Knox, with more than 20 years of experience, went on to describe homosexuality as “a perverted spirit” and “a sin that breeds like cancer.”
The school district began an investigation late last week to determine if her comments violated any school policies. The teacher retained an attorney Friday through her union, the New Jersey Education Association.
Today, Gov. Chris Christie said he is concerned about the statements attributed to Ms. Knox.
“I think that kind of example is not a positive one at all to be setting for folks who have such an important and influential position in our society,” Christie said this morning. “I’m really concerned about those kinds of statements being made.” Christie said he finds the comments “disturbing.”
“I would like to see an examination of how that teacher conducts herself in the classroom,” Christie said.
The Human Rights Campaign approves: “We applaud Governor Christie for doing the right thing and speaking out against the anti-LGBT vitriol this teacher chose to bring into the classroom,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “Governor Christie’s denouncement sends a very strong message that intentionally and publicly spreading malicious rhetoric and falsehoods about LGBT Americans is unacceptable and cannot go ignored. Now, Union Township school officials must take action that adequately addresses the severity of Ms. Knox’s behavior.”
Michele Bachman’s jacket killed on Twitter last night
The GOP debate on Tuesday lit up Twitter with an entirely unexpected topic: Michele Bachmann’s white jacket.
There were hundreds of tweets about the jacket in question, but I’ve posted my top 10 Tweets about Michele Bachmann’s white jacket:
thomastowell
Michele Bachmann is rockin’ that strait jacket tonight.
chrismeekins
Bachmann “I’m the most different candidate from Barack Obama” just look at my jacket
THEJason_Turner
Michael Jackson is rolling in his mausoleum for Bachmann wearing his Dangerous jacket
jemelehill
I just want Michelle Bachmann to pop-lock right quick since she’s wearing the same jacket Janet had on in Rhythm Nation
softjunebreeze
Did someone tell Bachmann the #GOPdebate was a costume party? Maybe that’s the reason for the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band jacket
3x1minus1
I just really wish @andersoncooper would ask Bachmann “WHAT is UP with that JACKET?”
markdavis
Has Michele Bachmann joined the Lithiuanian navy? What is thatjacket?
JeffLassiter
Michele Bachmann looks like she’s running for President of the Love Boat in that jacket
JoeMyGod
I can’t hear Bachmann over the loud jacket from JCPenny’s Lady Dictator line.
MikeDrucker
Michele Bachmann looks like she’s running for Space Emperor.
Another analysis of Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 Plan shows tax increase on lower and middle Americans
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As Herman Cain has surged in the polls, his 9-9-9 plan is getting more and more scrutiny, and it’s not working out the way Mr. Cain says it will. Many accounting firms have taken on the job of analyzing the plan, and in each approach – other than Mr. Cain’s – it works out as a tax increase for lower and middle income Americans.
The Tax Policy Center, for example, has a new analysis out of the distributive consequences of Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 tax plan. The Tax Policy Center models 9-9-9 as catchy new slogan for a de facto national consumption tax, and consequently constitutes a tax increase on most Americans but a tax cut for high income people who engage in a lot of savings and investment.
As you can see, you actually need two charts to illustrate this properly because the magnitude of the tax change for the highest income segments is very large. But basically you’re talking about a nice tax cut for the $200k-$500k crowd and a really big tax cut for people who earn more than that, plus mid-sized tax hikes for everyone else.
(via ThinkProgress)
Jennifer Holliday on Wendy Williams Show
I can think of few actresses that can still convincingly perform their Tony Award winning songs 30 years later.
Go Miss Thing.
Record number of illegal immigrants deported in last year
The U.S. removed 396,906 illegal immigrants in the last fiscal year, a record number, the Obama administration said.
Deportations in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 were up 4,044 from the year before.
The Obama administration has stepped up arrests and deportations of those convicted of crimes. The strategy is a departure from immigration policies of President Barack Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, who emphasized raids on businesses suspected of hiring illegal immigrants.
“We are making progress, with more convicted criminals, recent border crossers, egregious immigration law violators and immigration fugitives being removed from the country than ever before,” said John Morton, director of the immigration and customs agency, in a statement today.
The Obama administration decided in September to extend the deployment of 1,200 National Guard troops on the U.S.-Mexico border through the end of the year, at a cost of about $10 million a month.