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D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals grants en banc hearing in Halbig v. Burwell

September 4, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

I posted about the Affordable Care Act subsidies cases earlier this year, in which the Libertarian lawyers of the Volokh Conspiracy blog at the Washington Post have pursued a “strict textualism” argument not supported at law or in well-established canons of statutory construction to undermine “ObamaCare.” The GOP’s war on healthcare.

These Libertarian lawyers convinced two conservative activist judges of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on a three judge panel in Halbig v. Burwell to accept their purely political attempt to undermine “ObamaCare.”

The Obama administration petitioned the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals for a full en banc rehearing, somenthing that is rarely granted.

Today the D.C.. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the en banc request, which has the effect of voiding the earlier decision of the three judge panel.

#StrikeFastFood: Burger King Workers Walk Off Job in Tucson (video)

September 4, 2014 by Pamela Powers

Nationwide fast food workers are striking for a $15/hour wage.

Early this morning, workers at an east side Tucson Burger King walked off the job and joined supporters, faith leaders, a few Democratic Party elected politicians, and members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) outside. Approximately 60 people protested in front of the Burger King before boarding a bus for Phoenix to join striking fast food workers there. Unlike the McDonald’s protest last December when there was heavy police presence, there were no counter protesters today and only 2 friendly police officers.

SEIU has held multiple actions at fast food restaurants over the past year. The union and fast food workers have won important gains in their quest for better wages.

This summer, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that McDonalds is responsible for “wage theft”. The NLRB also recently ruled that Jimmy John’s couldn’t fire strikers who were protesting the lack of sick pay. More details and images after the jump.

The post-McCutcheon Plutocracy

September 2, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

Matea Gold at the Washington Post has an exclusive report today, Wealthy political donors seize on new latitude to give to unlimited candidates:

Andrew Sabin, who owns a New York-based precious-metals refining business, was delighted when the Supreme Court did away with the [campaign contribution] limit in April. Since then, he has been doling out contributions to congressional candidates across the country — in Colorado, Texas, Iowa and “even Alaska,” he said.

Top Republicans have taken notice: Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) and Florida Gov. Rick Scott have paid him personal visits this year, he noted proudly.

“You have to realize, when you start contributing to all these guys, they give you access to meet them and talk about your issues,” said Sabin, who has given away more than $177,000. “They know that I’m a big supporter.”

Sabin and other wealthy political contributors have more access than ever to candidates since the ruling in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission. More than 300 donors have seized the opportunity, writing checks at such a furious pace that they have exceeded the old limit of $123,200 for this election cycle, according to campaign finance data provided by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research organization.

GOP war on voting goes to trial in Texas

September 2, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

A trial begins today in a federal courtroom in Corpus Christi, Texas to determine the constitutionality of the state’s voter identification law, which is widely acknowledged to be the most restrictive in the nation. The U.S. Department of Justice has joined civil rights groups in Texas to try to stop the state’s voter ID law, saying it has a disproportionate and discriminatory effect on minorities. The trial is expect to last two weeks and a ruling is unlikely before Election Day.

Paul Waldman at the Washington Post writes, Why voter ID laws pose long-term danger to GOP:

Passed in 2011, [the law] was struck down in federal court in 2012 as a violation of the Voting Rights Act. Then in 2013 the Supreme Court gutted the VRA. Now the law faces a new trial based on a different VRA section [Section 3 of the Voting Rights Act].

In the end, the Republicans who passed this law may prevail, particularly since the only racial discrimination the conservative majority on the Supreme Court apparently finds troubling is the kind that might affect a white person somewhere. But Republicans may have underestimated just how much damage they continue to do to their party’s image by trying, anywhere and everywhere, to make it as hard as possible for the wrong people to vote.

More good news for ‘ObamaCare’ – Democrats should go on the attack

August 31, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

More good news for the Affordable Care Act aka “ObamaCare”: it is “bending the cost curve” on the expense of Medicare even more than originally forecast, which is reducing the federal deficit. the New York Times reported this past week, Medicare: Not Such a Budget-Buster Anymore:

You’re looking at the biggest story involving the federal budget and a crucial one for the future of the American economy. [use the article link for this interactive chart.] Every year for the last six years in a row, the Congressional Budget Office has reduced its estimate for how much the federal government will need to spend on Medicare in coming years. The latest reduction came in a report from the budget office on Wednesday morning.

The changes are big. The difference between the current estimate for Medicare’s 2019 budget and the estimate for the 2019 budget four years ago is about $95 billion. That sum is greater than the government is expected to spend that year on unemployment insurance, welfare and Amtrak — combined. It’s equal to about one-fifth of the expected Pentagon budget in 2019. Widely discussed policy changes, like raising the estate tax, would generate just a tiny fraction of the budget savings relative to the recent changes in Medicare’s spending estimates.