Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:30am (ET) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.
This Day in History
President Ronald Reagan demands the tearing down of the Berlin Wall; Civil rights activist Medgar Evers killed; O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole and Ronald Goldman murdered; Baseball Hall of Fame opens.
Breakfast Tunes
Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac
You can kill a man, but you can’t kill an idea.
Breakfast News
Could Anti-Climate Amendment Torpedo Fast Track?
Last-minute anti-climate effort led by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) slammed by green groups and some lawmakers
Environmental groups have long warned of the dangers Fast Track poses to the environment. Now they have solid proof.
With the controversial House Fast Track vote expected to take place Friday, an 11th-hour GOP effort to forbid U.S. trade officials from taking action on climate change has raised the fury of environmental groups and lawmakers, as well as hopes that the unpopular legislation could be torpedoed altogether.
Sponsored by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), chair of the Ways and Means Committee, an amendment was inserted late Tuesday into a customs and trade bill currently being weighed alongside Fast Track legislation, known as Trade Promotion Authority.
The language is designed “to ensure that trade agreements do not require changes to U.S. law or obligate the United States with respect to global warming or climate change.”
IMF walks out of Greece bailout talks
The International Monetary Fund dramatically pulled out of talks with debt-stricken Greece on Thursday after it accused Athens of failing to compromise over labour market and pension reforms.
The Washington-based lender of last resort said its team of negotiators had quit talks in Brussels after reaching a stalemate and would be returning to Washington.
The move left the Greek negotiating team with no option but to say it would also be leaving the talks and heading home to Athens.
“The ball is very much in Greece’s court,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said. “There are major differences between us in most key areas. There has been no progress in narrowing these differences recently.”
The IMF’s decision followed increasingly sharp criticism from EU officials frustrated at the Greek government’s continued refusal to bow to creditors’ demands.
‘Infrastructure? Who Cares,’ Says GOP-Led House as it Slashes Amtrak Budget
The GOP-led U.S. House of Representatives late Tuesday voted to slash $242 million from the Amtrak budget.
“Amtrak currently receives $1.3 billion from the government, most of which goes toward capital improvements and debt service,” AP reports. “The GOP-drafted measure cuts $242 million from capital accounts but fully funds the $289 million request for operating losses.”
The vote was part of a GOP effort to weaken U.S. President Barack Obama’s proposed infrastructure spending proposal, put forth under a joint transportation and housing budget.
Big Pharma’s Hidden Hand In Rise of Antibiotic-Resistant Superbugs
From the World Health Organization to the National Academy of Sciences, scientists are warning that rising antibiotic resistance poses a public health threat across the world. Now, a new report from consumer advocacy group Sum Of Us examines an often-overlooked factor behind this crisis: the complicity of pharmaceutical giants in the dangerous dumping of drug waste throughout the supply chain.
Irresponsible use of antibiotics-in human medicine and factory farming-has reportedly led to the rise of antimicrobial-resistant superbugs that threaten our ability to treat common infection.
Tamir Rice: judge finds cause for murder charge over police killing of 12-year-old
A judge in Ohio said on Thursday he had found probable cause to charge a police officer with murder for the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice last year.
Judge Ronald Adrine of the Cleveland municipal court said there were grounds to prosecute officer Timothy Loehmann with murder, manslaughter, reckless homicide and negligent homicide.
Adrine also found there was probable cause for a charge of negligent homicide against officer Frank Garmback, Loehmann’s partner, who was present when Tamir was shot at a park on 22 November while holding a pellet gun.
Despite Gains, LGBTQ Community Faces ‘National Crisis of Deadly Violence’
Even in a year where the LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities witnessed greater awareness around and organizing against discrimination, the “national crisis of deadly violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people of color continued in 2014,” according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), which released its annual report this week.
The coalition, which works to prevent, respond to, and end all forms of violence against and within LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities, notes that 2014-which saw Laverne Cox on the cover of Time magazine, same-sex marriage wins across the country, and a central role for LGBTQ communities in the national struggle against police violence-was a “tumultuous year.”
Sen. Graham’s Abortion Bill: Threat to Women’s Lives, Assault on Their Dignity
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Thursday led a group of anti-choice lawmakers in introducing a bill to the U.S. Senate that would ban nearly all abortions in the country after 20 weeks, seeking to bring to the Senate the same legislation that passed the House of Representatives last month.
The legislation, called the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, would only give narrow exceptions for those with life-threatening conditions, rape survivors who have received medical care or counseling at least 48 hours prior to receiving an abortion, and minors who have reported rape or incest to law enforcement or child protective services.
As many critics of the bill have pointed out, it is based on the false premise that fetuses can feel pain at 20 weeks-a political argument that has been debunked by science and medical experts.
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Must Read Blog Posts
Former Guantanamo Prisoner, Who Speaks Out Against Radicalization of Youth, Told He’s on US No Fly List Kevin Gosztola, FDL
Whistleblowers Testify on High Risk of Retaliation They Face for Going to Congress Kevin Gosztola, FDL
True Tales of the Hard-Boiled: Chris Cillizza Is Not Fooled Charles Pierce, Esquire Politics
Fast -Track: It Looks Like It’s In Pelosi’s Lap or Maybe Not! letsgetitdone (aka Joe Firestone), Corrente
TPP: The giant puking sound in your house Spocko, Hullabaloo
Russian Oligarch Wanted to Turn My Joke Into Reality Jon Schwartz, The Intercept
College textbooks are absurdly expensive for no good reason Max Mills, AMERICAblog
It’s time to kill the death penalty Jason Anson, AMERICAblog
Senate Quickly Says ‘No Way’ To Mitch McConnell’s Cynical Ploy To Add Bogus Cybersecurity Bill To NDAA Mike Masnick, Techdirt
House Votes To Block Backdoor Searches And To Block Backdooring Encryption Mike Masnick, Techdirt
Appeals Court Rejects ISP Stay Of Neutrality Rules, Which Officially Go Live Tomorrow Karl Bode, Techdirt
Every Kill A ‘Good’ Kill: How Police And The Media Cooperate To Disparage The Dead Tim Cushing, Techdirt
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