The Hollywood Liberal

Desperate Letters to Santa
Among the normal requests for toys, Santa Claus is receiving an increasing number of desperate people seeking warm coats, food and help paying the electric bill. “We had one little girl write in and say all she wants is a winter coat for her mom. Nothing for herself,” said Pete Fontana, head of the United States Postal Service Operation Santa in New York.

Late Late Night FDL: Santa Lost A Ho
The Christmas Jug Band — Santa Lost A Ho, at the Masonic Lodge, Mill Valley, CA, December 21, 2009.

The Christmas Jug Band — Santa Lost A Ho, at the Masonic Lodge, Mill Valley, CA,  December 21, 2009.

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Since When Does Interpol Care About Women?
Laura Flanders points out that Interpol’s pursuit of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange over sexual assault allegations is yet another example of women’s bodies serving ulterior political motives. Where is Interpol, Flanders asks, for the sexually assaulted women of the U.S. military or those in Haitian refugee camps?

Laura Flanders points out that Interpol’s pursuit of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange over sexual assault allegations is yet another example of women’s bodies serving ulterior political motives. Where is Interpol, Flanders asks, for the sexually assaulted women of the U.S. military or those in Haitian refugee camps?

Related Entries

• December 15, 2010 Obama Makes Nice with Business Bigwigs
• December 15, 2010 Accused WikiLeaker Bradley Manning’s Torture by Isolation

Let Me Cry for You, Argentina

By Mike Luckovich

Related Entries

• December 15, 2010 Obama Makes Nice with Business Bigwigs
• December 15, 2010 Accused WikiLeaker Bradley Manning’s Torture by Isolation

Congress Passes Rare Immigration Bills
NASHVILLE, Tenn. â?? Congress has taken the unusual step of waiving immigration restrictions for two Japanese citizens fighting to live in the United States. The…

Top UK Official: All Drugs Should Be Legal
Britain’s former Home Office minister and Defense Secretary Bob Ainsworth thinks all drugs, including heroin and cocaine, should be made legal in an effort to…

Chris Weigant: “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Repeal’s Last, Best Legislative Chance
If the Senate does not pass the bill by the end of the 111th Congress, then kiss any chance of DADT’s legislative repeal goodbye for the next two years.

Obama’s Af-Pak Review Touts Progress, Lays Framework For Sustained Commitment
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s much-anticipated annual review of the conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan is upbeat on progress and reaffirms that the strategy of…

Fox Business’ Gasparino Clings To Myth That Tax Cuts For Wealthy Will Spur Job Creation

In a New York Post column, Fox Business correspondent Charles Gasparino pushed the myth that businesses have “been hoarding cash instead of hiring” because of “the likelihood for higher taxes.” In fact, as the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has noted, “[I]ncreasing the after-tax income of businesses typically does not create much incentive” to hire.

Gasparino Declares Tax Cut Deal Means Businesses Will Finally Start Hiring

From Gasparino’s December 15 New York Post column:

Things are finally looking up for the US economy: A growing pool of evidence points to much higher economic growth and even higher stock prices next year.

The causes go well beyond low interest rates, higher capital levels at banks or even the latest pickup in retail sales.

[…]

* No tax hikes (probably): Obamanomics was predicated in large part on raising taxes on the “rich,” affluent, even if most of those taxpayers aren’t so affluent (consider a family of four earning $250,000 in New York City) and are small businesses who hire a lot of people and investors who put money to work in the markets.

In fact, businesses have cited the likelihood for higher taxes as why they’ve been hoarding cash instead of hiring, and investors have cited higher capital-gains taxes for keeping money out of the markets. But with the Bush tax rates almost certainly extended for two years, businesses and investors can put money back to work. [New York Post, 12/15/10]

Tax Cuts On Businesses Not Seen As An Incentive To Encourage Job Creation

CBO: “[I]ncreasing The After-tax Income Of Businesses Typically Does Not Create Much Incentive” For Them To Hire. From the CBO report:

Deferring the scheduled increases in tax rates in 2011 would help some businesses as well as households. In particular, it would keep lower tax rates in place in that year for businesses that do not pay the corporate income tax (the pass-through entities such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, S corporations, and limited liability companies). However, increasing the after-tax income of businesses typically does not create much incentive for them to hire more workers in order to produce more, because production depends principally on their ability to sell their products. [Congressional Budget Office, January 2010]

Vast Majority of Small Businesses Would Not Be Affected By Allowing Bush Tax Cuts For The Wealthiest To Expire. According to the Tax Policy Center (TPC), 2.5 percent of taxpayers who report business income on their individual tax returns would pay higher rates under the Democrats’ plan to extend all of the Bush tax cuts except for the top two income tax brackets. The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) similarly stated that “three percent of all taxpayers with net positive income” would see higher taxes under the Democrats plan. Both TPC and JCT added that even among that small percentage, it is not clear how many of those affected are entities that we would consider “small businesses” and how many represent enterprises like law partnerships and real estate investments. [Tax Policy Center, 8/4/10; Joint Committee on Taxation, 7/12/10]

Florida Man Opens Fire At School Board Meeting, Kills Himself (VIDEO)
A Florida man killed himself last night after opening fire at a school board meeting.

Feds Indict Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick
According to local news reports, former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has been indicted on federal corruption charges.

The Honeymooners 2010

Majority Say Afghanistan War Not Worth Fighting
A new ABC News-Washington Post poll finds a record 60% of Americans “say the war in Afghanistan has not been worth fighting, a grim assessment — and a politically hazardous one — in advance of the Obama administration’s one-year review of its revised strategy.”

Key finding: “Negative views of the war for the first time are at the level of those recorded for the war in Iraq, whose unpopularity dragged George W. Bush to historic lows in approval across his second term. On average from 2005 through 2009, 60 percent called that war not worth fighting, the same number who say so about Afghanistan now.”

Quote of the Day
“The bill is loaded up with pork projects, and it shouldn’t get a vote.”

— Sen. John Thune (R-SD), quoted by ABC News, on the omibus spending bill that also happens to include his own earmarks.

Marijuana Has Rocked the West Coast, And Now New England Is the Next Frontier for Reform
The political landscape for pot in the Northeast is changing dramatically, with bright prospects in many states.

The political landscape for pot in the Northeast is changing dramatically, with bright prospects in many states.

Meet the Woman Who’s Fighting Back Against Wal Mart
"I’m demanding justice" says Betty Dukes, the brave woman who decided in 2001 to take on the world’s largest retailer, Walmart Stores, Inc. for pay discrimination.

"I'm demanding justice" says Betty Dukes, the brave woman who decided in 2001 to take on the world's largest retailer, Walmart Stores, Inc. for pay discrimination.

Dear John, I Love Jane: When Women Leave Their Husbands for Other Women
Coming out to her husband of 10 years, Libbie Miller discovers that the truth is a big relief.

Coming out to her husband of 10 years, Libbie Miller discovers that the truth is a big relief.

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Why America’s Two Economies Continue to Drift Apart, and What Washington Isn’t Doing About It
America’s two economies are getting wider apart. The Big Money economy is booming. According to a new Commerce Department report, third-quarter profits of American businesses rose at an annual record-breaking $1.659 trillion – besting even the boom year of 2006…

The Why-Should-I-Get-Out-Of-My-Chair Gap in 2012
In the 2010 midterm elections Democrats suffered from a so-called “enthusiasm gap.” If Dems agree to the tax plan just negotiated by the White House with Republican leaders, they’ll face a “why-should-I-get-up-out-of-my-chair” gap that will make 2010’s Dem enthusiasm seem…