Bachmann votes against act to help Native American police combat rape ‘epidemic’

A growing unemployed netroots is organizing online through the help of unions and sites like LayoffList. With the battle for an extension to unemployment benefits still fresh in mind, they’re turning their focus to the November elections.

The public might be divided on the merits of the stimulus package, health care reform and the financial regulatory overhaul, but polls show that 85 percent of Americans worry that corporations have captured too much influence in the political system today and 77 percent think Congress should support measures to limit the amount U.S. corporations can spend to influence elections. As a result, Democrats are pushing forward with a vote on the DISCLOSE Act despite every indication that they won’t reach the 60 votes necessary to break a Republican filibuster.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner appeared on two Sunday news programs to make the case for the expiry of the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest earners and to argue for a strong recovery. The backdrop for the appearances is the looming fight over how to extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. If Congress takes no action, taxes will rise for all income brackets.

Violent crimes motivated by anti-LGBT sentiment climbed 64 percent in Minnesota, compared to only 7 percent nationwide.

Kenneth Feinberg is overseeing a claims process that will ask victims of the spill to sign waivers forswearing future suits against BP — or to risk a protracted legal process.

The U.S. Navy Veterans Association (USNVA), an organization that is under investigation in a half dozen states, raised $870,695 in Minnesota over the last four years, tax records show. The group’s leader, Bobby Thompson, is in hiding after the St. Petersburg Times reported that the group, which likely only consisted of Thompson, funneled money to Republican candidates across the country, including in Minnesota. Though the group lists hundreds of thousands of dollars in direct support to veterans, no veterans groups contacted by the Minnesota Independent had any knowledge of USNVA.

At a GOP fundraiser in Colorado on Saturday, Gov. Tim Pawlenty proposed cutting the federal budget by removing government employee benefits. He framed it as a way of re-securing American liberty. “[G]overnment is taking away more and more of the choices we have and the freedom that we have, and when you do that long enough, you begin to suffocate and stifle the human spirit,” he said.

The United States Senate cleared a crucial hurdle Tuesday to reauthorizing the federal extension of unemployment benefits, held up in the Senate for an unprecedented two months. The upper chamber voted down a filibuster of H.R. 4213, also known as the jobs bill or the extenders package — the vehicle for a $34 billion extension of jobless benefits, retroactive to June 2, when they lapsed, and continuing through the end of November.

Congress plans to vote today on a federal extension of unemployment benefits, held up in the Senate for an unprecedented two months. The Senate will reconsider H.R. 4213 as the vehicle for a $34 billion extension of jobless benefits — retroactive to June 2, when they lapsed, and continuing through the end of November. The swearing-in of Sen. Robert Byrd’s replacement this afternoon will give Democrats the 60 votes they need to overcome a filibuster.

he Pioneer Press reports that the campaign of Rep. Michele Bachmann is freezing funds donated by Bobby Thompson, the founder of the United States Navy Veterans Association, a group that’s under investigation in a half dozen states. Authorities believe that Thompson may have funneled donations intended for veterans to Republican candidates around the country.

The Senate plans to vote Tuesday on a federal extension of unemployment benefits, blocked by Senate Republicans for an unprecedented two months. The swearing-in of Carte Goodwin, the temporary replacement for the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), will give Democrats the crucial 60th vote to overcome a GOP filibuster and restore unemployment insurance to 2.5 million Americans. But that poses a real challenge to the state unemployment insurance agencies.

The U.S. Senate passed a sweeping financial regulatory reform bill Thursday afternoon, overhauling the regulation of everything from the biggest banks to consumer financial products to exotic instruments like credit-default swaps to the derivatives used by farmers. The bill passed 60 to 39.

The United States Navy Veterans Association, a nonprofit veterans group, has come under fire in a half dozen states for allegedly using donations to fund Republican candidates and committees, including many in Minnesota. But the group has also plagiarized the work of American troops and school children in a supposed attempt to gain legitimacy.