February 29, 2016

Final Clinton emails coming today

The State Department will release the final batch of Hillary Clinton’s emails on Monday, some 10 months after the process began.

The release comes just ahead of 11 “Super Tuesday” contests, which Clinton hopes will propel her to a commanding lead over Bernie Sanders in the Democratic presidential race.

Clinton’s campaign has tried to shake off the email controversy, but the monthly releases have fueled fresh headlines about her exclusive use of a private email account while serving as secretary of State.

With the releases now nearing an end, Republicans have seized on the fact that more than 1,800 emails from her machine were eventually classified. 

“What we’ve learned in this discovery is that Hillary Clinton trafficked in sensitive information over her unclassified — and, by the way, private — email system,” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the former head of the House Oversight Committee, told The Hill on Friday. 

Clinton’s presidential campaign and the State Department have both disputed that the emails were classified at the time they were sent. Much of the information in them was classified retroactively, they say.

But the drips and drabs of information from various emails have carried the whiff of wrongdoing for Clinton.

One 2011 email released in January, for instance, seemed to show that Clinton orderedan aide to remove classification markings from a list of talking points and send it through a “nonsecure” channel.

ttp://thehill.com/policy/national-security/270984-final-clinton-emails-coming-today

February 28, 2016

Any thinking that the Sanders campaign will post February fundraising numbers tomorrow?

If its in the $30+ million range, it would be a good headline grabber heading into Super Tuesday...

February 28, 2016

South Carolina: Sometimes pulling out early is good strategy...

Saved me from having at least two kids...lol

February 28, 2016

The hell with the Confederacy...I just donated $10 to Bernie, join me in my defiance

The hell with Debbie Wasserman Schulz and the rest of the Democratic party establishment. Every mailer you and HRC send me I feed to my gerbils!

February 27, 2016

So we got a generational divide...

Polls across the country show overwhelming support amongst Millennials and Gen-Xers for Bernie Sanders, while Baby Boomers and the Greatest Generation overwhelmingly support Hillary Clinton. This trend also seems to be same (generally speaking) across races / ethnicities.

So what (if anything) can Sanders do to attract more Baby Boomers and what (if anything) can Clinton do to attract more Millennial and Gen-Xer support?

And winning the nomination is not a valid response...

Just to hear your input...

February 27, 2016

Planned Parenthood launching seven-figure pro-Clinton ad buy

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/270715-planned-parenthood-unfurls-seven-figure-clinton-ad-buy

Planned Parenthood launching seven-figure pro-Clinton ad buy

February 25, 2016, 10:31 am

By Bradford Richardson

Planned Parenthood's political arms are launching a multi-platform, seven-figure ad buy in support of Democratic primary front-runner Hillary Clinton

Planned Parenthood Votes and Planned Parenthood Action Fund will promote Clinton’s pro-abortion-rights stance in videos, digital ads, phone banks and mailers, the groups said in a joint statement on Thursday.
The ads will target Michigan, Texas and Virginia ahead of their early March primaries.

“Hillary Clinton is the only candidate in this race who has made women’s health and rights a priority,” said Deirdre Schifeling, Planned Parenthood Action Fund's executive director, in a statement. “Hillary Clinton has been fighting for women and their families for her entire life.”

In one ad, titled “Champion,” a narrator says “we’re with Hillary, because she’s with us.”

“When they said our healthcare wasn’t important. When they tried to deny us cancer screenings. When they talked about our personal health decisions in ways meant to shame us. She spoke up. She was our champion."

Another spot, “Care that Drives,” features mothers playing with their children.

“You encourage. You listen. All to make sure your family succeeds,” the ads begins, showing a mother pulling a shirt over her son and another playing soccer with two daughters.

“Care. It’s what’s most important. It’s why Hillary Clinton stood up for children without health insurance,” the ad continues. “To make sure they could see a doctor.”

I guess its good to be "besties" with Cecile Richards...

February 27, 2016

Thousands line up to see Bernie Sanders in Austin

http://kxan.com/2016/02/27/thousands-wait-in-line-to-see-bernie-sanders-in-austin/

Austin (KXAN) — Thousands lined up to see Sen. Bernie Sanders at Circuit of Americas Saturday morning, causing the presidential hopeful’s rally to be delayed because of security checks.

Sanders is in Austin to kick off his “Future to Believe in Austin Rally.” The Sanders campaign says they expect him to speak around noon.

Following the Austin rally, Bernie Sanders will also travel to Dallas as part of his Texas visit this weekend.

KXAN.com will live stream the rally, which is expected to start at Noon.

Currently, Hillary Clinton has taken the lead in Texas. Clinton has a full 10-percentage point lead over Sanders, according to the Texas Tribune poll. However, Clinton is behind in the age group favoring her, drawing support from 55-percent of voters ages 30 and older. Sanders is appealing to younger voters as the favorite for 62-percent of the 18 to 29 age bracket.
•Hillary Clinton: 54%
•Bernie Sanders: 44%

A few weeks ago, Clinton’s campaign opened an office in East Austin where Sanders already had an office.

Interesting...

February 26, 2016

CDC: Two US women with Zika opt for abortions

Source: The Hill

At least two pregnant Americans have opted for abortions after they were infected with the Zika virus, federal health officials reported Friday.  

A total of nine pregnant women have tested positive for the disease, and 10 more pregnant women are suspected to have the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). All of the women are believed to have contracted the virus while traveling abroad.

The CDC announced for the first time that it has been tracking nine pregnant women in the U.S. whose Zika virus infection has been confirmed. Two of those women suffered miscarriages and two opted for abortions.



Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/270941-cdc-two-women-opt-for-abortions-after-zika-diagnosis to source

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I fully expect a fire storm from the right

February 26, 2016

Is it true...

that posting anything with words "uterus" or vagina" will get banned?

February 26, 2016

Report: Pfizer dodging $35B in taxes

U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (PFE) is trying to dodge an estimated $35 billion in taxes by merging with Ireland-based rival Allergan and shifting its headquarters overseas, a coalition of labor and consumer groups charged Thursday.

In a new report, Americans for Tax Fairnesssaid the New York-based maker of Lipitor, Viagra and other well-known drugs would take advantage of lower tax rates in Ireland while reaping the benefits of having its operations in the U.S. under a $160 billion corporate tax inversion deal announced with Allergan in November.

The transaction is undergoing regulatory reviews even as the Obama Administration has tried to block such deals on grounds that they could undermine the nation's tax base.

USA TODAY

Pfizer and Allergan merge in $160B tax inversion deal

Pfizer is pursuing the Allergan deal in the wake of raising the prices of dozens of prescription drugs by at least 10 times the rate of inflation since 2012, the coalition contended. The group's members include the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers and other labor unions, as well as consumer watchdogs like Public Citizen's Congress Watch.

"By dodging taxes while boosting prescription drug prices, Pfizer squeezes American families and communities from two sides at once," said Frank Clemente, executive director of the coalition.

In a responding statement, Pfizer said the deal with Allergan would "create a global, R&D-focused company with the ability to  lead in the quest to find cures and treatments for patients with the most feared diseases and conditions of our time, such as Alzheimer’s disease Parkinson’s disease, cancer and rare genetic disorders."

"This transaction is not structured to move jobs out of the United States, where we conduct the majority of our research,” added Pfizer.

USA TODAY

Treasury steps up attack on corporate tax inversions

However, the report said Pfizer appeared to be overstating the U.S. tax rate on the company's worldwide income, which was reported as 25.5% in 2014. The coalition charged:

Pfizer's effective 2014 tax rate was an estimated 7.5%, and the company averaged an effective rate of 6.4% from 2010-2014. The discrepancy results from large provisions that Pfizer includes in its filings for U.S. taxes that won't be paid unless the company transfers funds from its overseas units back to the U.S., the report said.The drugmaker had as much as $148 billion in profits held overseas, untaxed by the U.S., at the end of 2014. The funds consists in permanently reinvested earnings and other foreign profits, the report said.The company reported losing more than $16 billion in the U.S. from 2010 through 2014, while it earned $78 billion in overseas units. The discrepancy likely resulted from profit-shifting to foreign tax havens, because Pfizer had 38% of its sales and 48% of its assets in the U.S. in 2014, the report said.