We work hard(er) for (less) money, half of us is broke, Michele Bachmann is the symptom and not the disease, a vast Hawaiian conspiracy, The Mittstorm Cometh V: The Final Tax Return, Chick-Fil-A is totally closeted, marriage equality gets some wood, a helpful guide to right-wing corporations, and Arizona screws up again.
Welcome to the Daily Sausage.
First up, we have a report from the Economic Policy Institute that shows that prior to 1972, hourly compensation for workers was always closely aligned with productivity, but while productivity has soared, wages remain stagnant. What happened in 1972 that might have precipitated this? Richard Nixon defeated George McGovern.
In other economic news, we have a new report from the Congressional Research Service, a non-partisan group, showing that half of Americans have 1.1% of the wealth in this country, and 10% of Americans have 74.5% of the wealth in this country, as of 2010. For those of you keeping score at home, that means that the middle 40% have just a shade under 25%. For a little more granularity, the top 1% of earners have 34.5% of all the wealth in this country.
If anyone is looking for me, I’ll be sharpening my pitchforks and oiling up some torches.
Next up: Michele “Crazy Eyes” Bachmann! I would be remiss if I didn’t discuss her “outing” of Hilary Clinton’s chief of staff Huma Abedin as a secret member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Not only is it complete and utter crap, but it’s McCarthyism at it’s worst. We already had Allen West doing his best Joe McCarthy impersonation, talking about 80 secret Communists in the House of Representatives (He was referring to the Congressional Progressive Caucus), but actual McCarthyism is so passe, because no one cares about secret Communists anymore.
So far, she’s been hoisted by her own petard by her former campaign manager Ed Rollins, Speaker of the House John Boehner, Senator John McCain, Senator Marco Rubio, and Senator Scott Brown.
Now, I applaud these individuals for calling a spade a spade, or in this case calling Michele Bachmann a looney, but I have yet to hear anyone address the real issue here: Michele Bachmann’s Islamophobia isn’t just Michele Bachmann’s problem; it’s a symptom of a much larger, much more insidious disease within the GOP. As previously reported, in Tennessee we have Republican and Tea Party groups leading what can only be described as a real honest to God witch hunt over Samar Ali, a Muslim-American recently appointed to the Governor of Tennessee’s office, simply because she is Muslim.
But, the fun doesn’t stop there! We’ve still got Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his “Cold Case Posse” desperately weaving new strands into the Birtherism conspiracy theory. We’ve also got Tucker Carlson and the Daily Caller blowing out an o-ring because the new head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics is Jewish, and sent her kids to a Jewish summer camp.
I don’t acknowledge this nonsense in the Sausage because it’s nonsense. It’s noise. It’s utterly meaningless to the really big problems facing this country and the world. But, at some point, you have to stop looking at trees, and start looking at the forest. You look at people like Bachmann, West, and Arpaio, and go “Well, those people are crazy.” and you’re absolutely right. They’re nuts. But how many people do you have to call nuts before you go “Okay, the Republican party as a whole has lost it’s goddamn mind.”? Five? Fifty? A hundred? Now, before I get accused of partisanship, there are absolutely liberal nuts, but liberals at least have the sense not to elect them to office or put them in front of the press. The problem isn’t Michele Bachmann. The problem is the GOP.
Speaking of the GOP, The Mittstorm Cometh V: The Final Tax Return.
For those of you with foreign bank accounts, you may be familiar with a document called the FBAR. It’s an annual requirement from the IRS for individuals with foreign bank accounts. Mitt Romney, as previously noted, has foreign bank accounts. Mitt Romney has not released his FBAR for the single year of taxes he’s released so far. As TPM’s Josh Marshall notes, there was an amnesty program as part of a 2009 settlement with UBS, a Swiss bank that also handles some of Mitt Romney’s money, that allowed individuals that had improperly paid their taxes to do so without penalty. This begs the question: did Mitt Romney or someone in his employ (accountant, financial advisor, etc.) commit tax fraud which was paid off as part of a 2009 amnesty settlement with the US Government? Is it speculation? Sure. But, as our friends at Fox News note, IT WOULD BE IRRESPONSIBLE NOT TO SPECULATE. Mittstorm Level: 2 – For now, but could hit 5 later.
Also, Anne Romney referred to the American electorate as “you people” on Good Morning America. I believe I speak for the American electorate when I say:
If you’d like to leave a message for Chick-Fil-A, and also feel worse about humanity as a whole, here’s their Facebook page.
Meanwhile, Representative Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, owner of the name I hate typing the most, has noted that “I expect marriage equality to be a plank in the national party platform.” in an interview with Philadelphia Gay News.
First thing’s first: really, Philadelphia Gay News? You couldn’t come up with something more creative than “Philadelphia Gay News”?
Second of all, good for the Democratic party. The more daylight between them and the GOP, the better. That way I can go “Look, if you vote Republican, this is the long list of really hateful shit you sign on to when you do. So, I’mma call you a racist, bigot, homophobe, misogynist, xenophobe, and every other word I can come up with until you decide that you’re not going to vote for hatemongers anymore.” That’s how change happens!
If you’re interested in not supporting hatemongers, here’s a helpful infographic of corporations that donate heavily to Republican organizations.
And finally, Arizona. Oh, Arizona. The Center for Reproductive Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union have signed on to a legal challenge against Arizona’s late-term abortion ban. Why is this important? Because the CRR and ACLU are the heavy hitters, and they’ve passed up six other chances to sign up, which means that they think this is a winner. A trip to the Supreme Court could permanently set the legal abortion limit at viability outside the womb, which would render a number of state laws unconstitutional and be a huge win for Abortion rights advocates.
