Progressive News Feeds

Rush Limbaugh today relegated the government’s role in the project that sent Americans to the moon to organizing projects, while asserting that the private sector “built everything.” But he ignored the fact that it was government investment that allowed the private sector to create the components of the Apollo 11 spacecraft, and that the contracts were led and managed by NASA engineers. Responding to NBC’s Tom Brokaw noting that “there have been fewer, larger government projects” than putting a man on the moon, which represented “an enormous public government investment,” Limbaugh said: LIMBAUGH: I hate to break it to Brokaw, but the private sector did everything for the moon project, built everything. The government took the bids, awarded the winners with projects, but if you remember, Lockheed was all over everything

Tags: articles, contracts, desktop, economy, foreign policy, history, jobs, media, networks, progressive news, the nation, video

When the Supreme Court ruled on Arizona’s anti-immigrant law , SB 1070 — invalidating much of the law and limiting the scope of the law’s “show me your papers” provision — its ruling clarified the constitutionality of the harmful state immigration laws also but left many questions unanswered about laws in other states that went even further than Arizona’s. But in the first ruling on a state immigration law following the Supreme Court’s SB 1070 decision, the 11th Circuit federal appeals court struck down most of Alabama’s HB 56 , including the worst provisions like the state’s attack on school children: – School officials cannot ask about students’ immigration status : Under HB 56, schools were required to determine the immigration status of every newly enrolled student. As a result, students stayed home from school once the provision went into effect in late September out of confusion over the law and fear that they or their parents could be deported

Tags: action, alabama, black, contracts, feeds, homes, lgbt, victims

On Friday, the Telegraph reported that, as governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney may have violated state ethics laws when his administration maintained a “lucrative” contract with a company in which he had a financial stake. The company, Imagitas, had been co-founded by a former executive at Bain and Co., with $5 million in backing from Bain Capital

Tags: author, contracts, culture, education, environment, health, progressive news, united-states

Mitt Romney’s remarks at Solyndra were full of falsehoods that went unchecked by many major media outlets. The media also largely failed to point out that as governor of Massachusetts, Romney invested in several companies that subsequently went bankrupt or defaulted on state loans. Media Perpetuate Falsehoods From Romney Speech Media Fail To Note That There Is No Evidence Of Wrongdoing In Solyndra Loan Media Uncritically Forward Romney’s Claim That Obama Gave Loans To “Friends.” The Los Angeles Times , Wall Street Journal , CNN and Fox News uncritically repeated Romney’s claim that Solyndra is an example of “crony capitalism” and Obama “giving [taxpayer money] freely to his friends.”[ Los Angeles Times , 5/31/12 ] [ Wall Street Journal , 5/31/12 ] [CNN, Starting Point with Soledad O'Brien , 6/1/12, via Nexis] [CNN, John King USA , 5/31/12, via Nexis] [CNN, The Situation Room , 5/31/12, via Nexis] [Fox News, Special Report , 5/31/12, via Nexis] [FoxNews.com, 6/1/12 ] But After Long Investigation, There Is No Evidence Of Wrongdoing. Bloomberg Businessweek’s Joshua Green reported: A White House source passed along some information that gives a sense of just how much time, money, and effort has been spent pursuing this investigation: House Republicans have sent 32 congressional letters, compelled 187,000 pages of administration documents, 72,000 pages of documents from Solyndra investors, 9 committee staff briefings, 5 committee hearings, and a sworn committee interview with the Obama bundler who raised money from people involved in the company. Much (but not all) of the committee’s $7 million budget has been devoted to funding this inquisition. And it’s turned up no evidence of wrongdoing. [Bloomberg Businessweek, 2/17/12 ] Solyndra Investors And Lobbyists Included Republican Supporters. As the Huffington Post reported, one of Solyndra’s lobbyists was Bill Weld, a “semi-prominent supporter of Mitt Romney.” And Solyndra’s second largest investor was Madrone Captial Partners, which is linked to the Walton family, who are major Republican donors. [ Huffington Post , 5/31/12 ] [ Media Matters , 9/19/11 ] Media Forward Romney’s Misrepresentation Of Inspector General’s Comments Media Uncritically Repeat Claim That Inspector General “Concluded That The Administration Had Steered Money To Friends And Family.” MSNBC.com, ABCNews.com, and FoxNews.com uncritically repeated Romney’s claim that “an independent inspector general looked at this investment and concluded that the administration had steered money to friends and family, to campaign contributors.” [MSNBC.com, 5/31/12 ] [FoxNews.com, 5/31/12 ] [ABCNews.com, 5/31/12 ] Inspector General Did Not “Conclud[e]” Any Such Thing. As TIME’s Michael Grunwald noted, the Inspector General’s comment was actually about an open investigation, and the Inspector General “hasn’t confirmed” that any contracts were “steered to friends and family”: It was a line near the end of Romney’s ad that caught my attention: “The Inspector General said contracts were steered to ‘friends and family.’” That sounded like news. I’ve spent two years in stimulus-world, and I had no idea an inspector general had said that. I asked the Romney campaign for documentation, and it produced a Newsweek article asserting that Energy Department inspector general Gregory Friedman “has testified that contracts have been steered to ‘friends and family.’” Except that Newsweek article was an excerpt from the book “Throw Them All Out,” written by Peter Schweizer, a right-winger who has served as an adviser to Sarah Palin’s PAC, edited one of Andrew Breitbart’s websites, and written a slew of books portraying liberals as pond scum. Not exactly a disinterested source. And it turns out that the inspector general never testified that stimulus contracts were steered to friends and family. He said his office was investigating whether stimulus contracts were steered to friends and family. So far, it hasn’t confirmed that any were. [TIME, 5/31/12 ] CNN’s Anderson Cooper: Romney Camp’s Charge Is “Not Factually Correct.” Anderson Cooper made a similar point in an interview with Newt Gingrich: ANDERSON COOPER: I want to ask you about a charge in the latest Romney ad in talking about the stimulus. The ad says, and I’m quoting, the inspector general said contracts were steered to friends and family, talking about in the Solyndra deal. That is not factually correct, though. He actually said his office was investigating whether contracts had been steered to friends and family, and so far there haven’t been any confirmed cases at all. And independent investigators have only found evidence that one-one- thousandth of a percent point of stimulus money has been lost to fraud. Darrell Issa himself has pointed out — I just want to make sure I have the quote right — he said: “Is there criminal activity? Perhaps not. Is there political influence and connections? Perhaps not.” [CNN, Anderson Cooper 360 , 5/31/12, via Nexis] Rachel Maddow: “I’m Surprised This Is Not A Bigger Story.” Rachel Maddow called Romney’s charge a “lie,” and asked why it is “not a bigger story”: An inspector general did not look into the investment in Solyndra and conclude that the administration had steered money to friends and family. That did not happen. That is a lie. Michael Greenwald writes at “Time” magazine and he`s been writing a book about the stimulus. He wrote about this turn in the Mitt Romney campaign today. But it hasn`t really been picked up anywhere else. I`m surprised this is not a bigger story. Even in this nuts day in American politics, don`t you think the candidate telling a big, blatant lie in the middle of the news cycle deserves a little follow up? [MSNBC,  The Rachel Maddow Show , 5/31/12, via Nexis] Media Repeat Romney’s “Robots” Distortion Media Uncritically Forward Claim That Solyndra Had Opulent “Disney” “Robots.” The Washington Post , Wall Street Journal , ABCNews.com, and Fox News repeated Romney’s depiction of Solyndra as a “symbol of gross waste” because “the robots inside actually provide Disney music tunes.” [ Washington Post , 5/31/12 ] [ Wall Street Journal , 5/31/12 ] [ABCNews.com, 5/31/12 ] [Fox News, On The Record , 5/31/12, via Nexis] In Fact, Solyndra Used A Common Technology To Transport Materials. As PolitiFact reported, the “robots” Romney referred to were “automated guided vehicles” designed to transport materials — a common technology used since the 1950′s to reduce labor costs. Music was played to alert workers that the vehicles were nearby for safety reasons. [ Media Matters , 11/29/11 ] As Governor, Romney Made Failed Investments Biotech Firm Shut Down After Receiving A Massachusetts-Backed Loan. Reuters reported in an article titled “As governor, Romney picked winners and losers of his own”: A $2.5 million state loan helped lure Rhode Island biotech firm Spherics Inc across the state line to Massachusetts in 2005. Romney’s economic development secretary, Ranch Kimball, touted the move as “a tangible result of the combined and coordinated efforts of the public and private sectors to highlight the benefits of locating in Massachusetts.” The company shut down three years later, laying off all of its employees and defaulting on $1.5 million of the loan, according to MassDevelopment, the state development authority. [Reuters,  5/31/12 ] Solar Firm Received $2.5 Million From Massachusetts, Later Went Bankrupt. The Washington Post ‘s Greg Sargent reported that while Evergreen Solar was highlighted in an anti-Obama attack ad, it actually received assistance from the state of Massachusetts during Romney’s tenure: [T]hree weeks into Governor Mitt Romney’s term, Evergreen Solar received $2.5 million from the Romney administration for a “major expansion and to cover operating losses as it tried to become profitable,” according to a  February article in Politico . The investment was part of a broader program in which the Romney administration gave millions in subsidies to multiple other companies, Politico reported. Evergreen ultimately filed for bankruptcy last year, making this case very similar to Solyndra. [ The Washington Post , 5/31/12 ] Evergreen Received No Federal Money. The New York Times reported in January 2011 that “Evergreen has received no federal money.” [ Media Matters , 8/18/11 ] Romney Was Previously A Proponent Of Government Investment In Clean Energy. The Huffington Post reported: Romney’s ” 2008 energy policy platform  called for a ‘dramatic increase’ in ‘federal spending on research, development, and demonstration projects that hold promise for diversifying our energy supply.’ Among those projects were ‘bringing clean energy technology to market through commercialization of large-scale renewables.’ [ Huffington Post , 5/31/12 ] But Media Overlook Romney’s Failed Investments Major Outlets Largely Failed To Mention Romney’s Failed Investments As Governor. Less than a quarter of print and television coverage of Romney’s remarks at Solyndra mentioned his failed investments in Massachusetts. Fox News and all six major print outlets did not mention them at all. METHODOLOGY: Results are based on a search of Nexis, Factiva and internal archives from 5/31/12 through the morning of 6/1/12 for “Solyndra.” The search included six major print outlets ( New York Times , Wall Street Journal , Associated Press , Washington Post , USA Today , Los Angeles Times ) and the major cable (CNN, MSNBC, Fox News) and broadcast (ABC, CBS, NBC) networks.

Tags: contracts, disney, economic development, economy, friends, huffington-post, massachusetts, technology, unemployment, war

Right-wing media are using a new report from the Congressional Budget Office to claim that the stimulus “may have cost as much as $4.1 million per job.” However, simply dividing the amount of money spent by the number of jobs created is, according to an Associated Press fact check, “highly misleading,” and economist Paul Krugman has called this math “bogus.” Conservative media regularly use similar calculations to attack jobs initiatives. CBO Releases New Stimulus Cost Estimates CBO “Now Estimates That The Total Impact [Of ARRA] Over The 2009-2019 Period Will Amount To About $831 Billion.” From a May report from the Congressional Budget Office: When ARRA was being considered, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that it would increase budget deficits by $787 billion between fiscal years 2009 and 2019. CBO now estimates that the total impact over the 2009-2019 period will amount to about $831 billion. By CBO’s estimate, close to half of that impact occurred in fiscal year 2010, and more than 90 percent of ARRA’s budgetary impact was realized by the end of March 2012. [CBO, May 2012 ] Conservative Pundits Respond With Bogus Cost-Per-Jobs Analysis AEI’s Pethokoukis: “Obama Stimulus May Have Cost As Much As $4.1 Million A Job.” In a post on the American Enterprise Institute’s “The Enterprise Blog”, James Pethokoukis excerpted part of the CBO report and wrote: OK, so without the stimulus, there would be anywhere from 200,000 to 1.5 million fewer people employed right now? That means the current cost-per-job created is somewhere between $4.1 million and $540,000. [The Enterprise Blog, 5/30/12 ] Fox Nation: “CBO: Obama Stimulus May Have Cost As Much As $4.1 Million A Job.” A May 30 post on Fox Nation linked to Pethokoukis’ post under the headline: [Fox Nation, 5/30/12 ] Limbaugh: “The Amount Of Money That They Calculate The Stimulus Will Cost And Add To The Deficit Equals $4.1 Million Per Job Created.” On the May 31 broadcast of his radio show, Rush Limbaugh said: LIMBAUGH: When the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was considered — this is the stimulus bill. By the way, this is a new CBO report. Congressional Budget Office. The CBO and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the stimulus would increase budget deficits by $787 billion. The CBO now estimates that the total impact from 2009 to 2019 of Obama’s stimulus will be $831 billion. So, by the CBO’s estimate, close to half of that impact occurred in fiscal year 2010. The bottom line is this. The amount of money that they calculate the stimulus will cost and add to the deficit equals $4.1 million per job created. That’s the efficiency we got from the regime — $4.1 million per job. And the reason it’s $4.1 million per job is because there weren’t that many jobs created. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show , 5/31/12] Experts Have Called Such Math “Highly Misleading” AP Calls Cost-Per-Job Analysis “Math” That Is “Satisfyingly Simple But Highly Misleading.”  In 2009, the Associated Press published a “fact check” reviewing similar claims being made at the time: Beware the math. Some Republican lawmakers critical of President Barack Obama’s stimulus package are using grade-school arithmetic to size up costs and consequences of all that spending. The math is satisfyingly simple but highly misleading. It goes like this: Divide the stimulus money spent so far by the estimated number of jobs saved or created. That produces a rather frightening figure on how much money taxpayers are spending for each job. The reality is more complex. First, the naysayers’ calculations ignore the value of the work produced. Any cost-per-job figure pays not just for the worker, but for material, supplies and that worker’s output — a portion of a road paved, patients treated in a health clinic, goods shipped from a factory floor, railroad tracks laid. Second, critics are counting the total cost of contracts that will fuel work for months or years and dividing that by the number of jobs produced only to date. A construction project, for one, may only require a few engineers to get going, with the work force to swell as ground is broken and building accelerates. Hundreds of such projects have been on the books, in which the full value of the contracts is already counted in the spending totals, but few or no jobs have been reported yet because the work is only getting started. To flip the equation politically, it’s as if the 10-year cost of George W. Bush’s big tax cuts were compared with the benefits to the economy that only accrued during the first year. Third, the package approved by Congress is aimed at more than direct job creation, although employment was certainly central to its promotion and purpose. Its features include money for research, training, plant equipment, extended unemployment benefits, credit assistance for businesses and more — spending meant to pay off over time but impossible to judge in a short-term job formula. Nor do the estimates made Friday include indirect employment already created by the package — difficult if not impossible to measure. [AP, 11/2/09, via Nexis] Krugman Called Claim That Stimulus Would Cost $275,000 Per Job “Bogus.”  Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, responded to similar claims in his  New York Times  column in 2009: First, there’s the bogus talking point that the Obama plan will cost $275,000 per job created. Why is it bogus? Because it involves taking the cost of a plan that will extend over several years, creating millions of jobs each year, and dividing it by the jobs created in just one of those years. It’s as if an opponent of the school lunch program were to take an estimate of the cost of that program over the next five years, then divide it by the number of lunches provided in just one of those years, and assert that the program was hugely wasteful, because it cost $13 per lunch. (The actual cost of a free school lunch, by the way, is $2.57.) The true cost per job of the Obama plan will probably be closer to $100,000 than $275,000 — and the net cost will be as little as $60,000 once you take into account the fact that a stronger economy means higher tax receipts. [ The New York Times ,  1/25/09 ] Right-Wing Media Regularly Make Similar Attacks On Jobs Plans In 2009, Right-Wing Figures Used The Same Math To Claim That Each Job Created By The Stimulus Would Cost At Least $217,000.   Media Matters  rebutted these claims  HERE ,  HERE , and  HERE . In 2011, Fox Attacked Obama’s Jobs Bill With Similar Calculations. [ Media Matters , 9/27/11 ] In 2011, Right-Wing Media Used Similar Math To Attack DOE Loan Guarantees. [ Media Matters , 9/29/11 ]

Tags: america, congress, contracts, emr, enterprise, jobs, planned parenthood, president, video, war