Why focusing on private prisons won't end mass incarceration - Vox

Why focusing on private prisons won't end mass incarceration - Vox: "Hillary Clinton has announced that, under pressure from both immigration and racial-justice activists, she's no longer accepting direct donations from private prison companies. The money she's already gotten from them — $133,000 — is a drop in the bucket of a campaign that's raised $28 million in the past three months alone. But in the Democratic primary, the private prison industry has emerged, by consensus, as the villain of the mass-incarceration story." 'via Blog this'

President Bush on Ted Cruz - "I just don't like the guy"

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/jeb-bush-george-bush-donors-ted-cruz-214933

Fox News analyst arrested on charges of lying about working for CIA - Business Insider

Fox News analyst arrested on charges of lying about working for CIA - Business Insider: "A Fox News guest terrorism analyst was arrested on Thursday after a grand jury indicted him on charges of falsely claiming to have been a CIA agent for decades, U.S. prosecutors said."

'via Blog this'

S.E.C. Concedes Oversight Flaws Fueled Collapse - NYTimes.com

S.E.C. Concedes Oversight Flaws Fueled Collapse - NYTimes.com: "The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, a longtime proponent of deregulation, acknowledged on Friday that failures in a voluntary supervision program for Wall Street’s largest investment banks had contributed to the global financial crisis, and he abruptly shut the program down."

'via Blog this'

SEC Chairman Christopher Cox Finally Realizes The Problem With Deregulation | ThinkProgress

SEC Chairman Christopher Cox Finally Realizes The Problem With Deregulation | ThinkProgress: "Yesterday, the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on the Bush administration’s proposed $700 billion bailout plan. During the hearing, Christopher Cox, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), testified that deregulation was a cause of the current financial crisis, including a “regulatory hole” in the credit swap market:
There is another similar regulatory hole that must be immediately addressed to avoid similar consequences. The $58 trillion national market in credit default swaps — double the amount outstanding in 2006 — is regulated by no one. Neither the SEC nor any regulator has authority over the CDS market, even to require minimal disclosure to the market."

'via Blog this'

Guns - SNL

The Northern Arizona University shooting shows why more guns lead to more gun deaths - Vox

The Northern Arizona University shooting shows why more guns lead to more gun deaths - Vox: "What we know about the Northern Arizona University shooting is tragic — but it's also an object lesson in how more guns leads to more shootings.

According to campus police, two groups of students were in a confrontation before 1:20 am at the parking lot of a residence hall in Northern Arizona University. At some point, 18-year-old freshman Steven Jones allegedly pulled out a gun and shot four of his peers. One is dead. Three are still being treated at the Flagstaff Medical Center, with at least some of them shot multiple times."

'via Blog this'

Congressman Whose Amendment Ended Federal Gun Research: 'I Have Regrets'

Congressman Whose Amendment Ended Federal Gun Research: 'I Have Regrets': "In 1996, Rep. Jay Dickey (R-AR) spearheaded a piece of legislation that effectively put an end to government-funded research of gun violence. Now 75, the retired congressman admitted in a Huffington Post interview, “I have regrets.”

Dickey said his mind was changed after years of watching people lose their lives in mass shootings, like the massacre at Umpqua Community College last week that left 10 people dead.

“I wish we had started the proper research and kept it going all this time,” Dickey said.

His namesake amendment eliminated the $2.6 million that the Center for Disease Control spent on researching the effects of firearms ownership on public health. " 'via Blog this'

Rep. Tom Cole says food stamp spending doubled under Bush, doubled again under Obama | PolitiFact

Rep. Tom Cole says food stamp spending doubled under Bush, doubled again under Obama | PolitiFact: "He compared total costs of the program from the start of Bush’s term in 2000 to the end of his second term in 2008, then growth from 2008 to the most recent fiscal year available, 2012. Costs had more than doubled under Bush, from $17 billion to $38 billion, then doubled again under Obama, to $78 billion."

'via Blog this'

Food stamp growth started before Obama took office - The Washington Post

Food stamp growth started before Obama took office - The Washington Post: "Although the food stamp program hit an all-time high this summer of 46.7 million individuals in June, DeHaven says the trajectory can be traced back to the 2002 farm bill passed by a Republican-controlled House and signed by President George W. Bush."

'via Blog this'

The unemployment rate is falling, but the share of Americans working keeps falling too - Vox

Dang, it was 58.5% in 1965!!

The unemployment rate is falling, but the share of Americans working keeps falling too - Vox: "If you judge by the unemployment rate, America's labor market seems pretty healthy. Today the Labor Department released new statistics showing that just 5.1 percent of Americans are unemployed. That's unchanged from the previous month and down from more than 10 percent in the depths of the last recession.

But the unemployment rate tells an incomplete story about the state of the labor market. It counts the number of people who are out actively looking for work and not finding it. But it does not include people who — for whatever reason — are not looking for work at all.

But another statistic, the labor force participation rate, gives a comprehensive sense for how many people are working. It shows the fraction of the population over age 16 that is working. And today we learned that this statistic fell to 62.4 percent — the lowest level since 1977."

'via Blog this'

If you oppose Black Lives Matter, you would've abhorred Martin Luther King

If you oppose Black Lives Matter, you would've abhorred Martin Luther King:
 'via Blog this'

Delaware officials investigating fatal police shooting of man in wheelchair | US news | The Guardian

Delaware officials investigating fatal police shooting of man in wheelchair | US news | The Guardian: "State investigators in Delaware are looking into the fatal shooting by police of a man in a wheelchair, which was captured in cellphone video footage.

The death of Jeremy McDole is being investigated by officials from the Delaware Department of Justice’s Office of Civil Rights and Public Trust. The department reviews every incident in which a police shooting results in injury or death."
 'via Blog this'