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Dead Men Tell No Tales
by Joanne Potter
The prosecution’s message is clear: bring on the execution of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev! In the latest development, it turns to a hotshot death penalty advocate to use against Tsarnaev’s hotshot death penalty opponent counsel. But why is the federal government, normally reticent about the death penalty, so eager to see it utilized in the Boston Bombing case?
WHO
The Greatest Trick the Rich Ever Pulled was Making Us Believe They Pay All the Taxes
It’s a brilliant misdirection. The political debate on taxes always focuses on income taxes, capital gains taxes, corporate taxes and the so-called “death tax.” But the truth is that the most regressive tax in America is the payroll tax. Those who don’t rely on an actual job with an actual paycheck—like financiers, investors, trust-fundies—don’t pay payroll tax. Rather, they work hard to avoid and cut those other taxes. Meanwhile, Americans earning between $40,000 and $50,000 pay nearly 12 times more in payroll taxes than in income taxes, and those earning between $50,000 and $75,000 pay more than twice as much. Thankfully, the American people are starting to figure this out.
Seattle CEO to Pay Employees $70,000 Minimum Wage
Protesters and activists around the country want to raise the minimum wage to $15 / hour. But Dan Price, CEO of Gravity Payments, has a better idea. He is cutting his own pay and raising the minimum wage of his employees to $70k per year! Some will see their wages double. But don’t hold your breath waiting for other CEOs to follow Price’s lead.
NSA and FBI Fight to Retain Spy Powers as Surveillance Law Nears Expiration
Remember that law the Bush Administration pushed through in the dead of night… just days after America was shocked and awed by 9/11? Well, a key section in the ironically-named Patriot Act is about to expire. Section 215 is the basis of the NSA’s self-proclaimed right to monitor everything under the sun. And now they’re gonna fight for their right to party… which for them means the right to perpetually watch you party.
Cop Accused of Brutally Torturing Blacks Costs Chicago $5.5 Million
Before there was extraordinary rendition, CIA Black Sites and Abu Ghraib, there was Chicago Police commander Jon Burge. His reign of terror was replete with electrocutions, beatings, suffocation and a host of coerced confessions. Luckily for Burge, the statute of limitations ran out. Alas, his victims will get some cash in lieu of real justice.
WHAT
Helicopter Lands on West Front of US Capitol, Pilot Arrested
The Capitol went into lockdown—and the media went into a minor tizzy—after a postal worker from Florida landed a gyrocopter drone on a lawn outside Congress. According to a friend of the now-detained man, the unmanned flight was a political protest against out of control campaign spending. Ironically, the incident comes on the heels of yet-another drone execution in Yemen. How long before one of those chickenhawks comes home to roost?
WHY
Why America Is Killing Millions of Birds to Stop the Flu
For some reason, the often hysterical media has totally ignored an outbreak of Bird Flu in Wisconsin. But the US Department of Agriculture hasn’t… and they recently completed an epic cull that killed 1.2 million turkeys. Now they’ve confirmed the first case in a chicken. And no, we will not make another “coming home to roost” joke.
After Eight Years, David Chase Finally Explains ‘The Sopranos’ Finale—And It’s Not What You Think
For nearly a decade people have pondered the abrupt ending of HBO’s most-iconic and successful show, which cut to black as Tony sat quite innocuously with his family in a New Jersey diner. Now, the show’s creator reveals that the ending—and perhaps the show itself—was all about “the journey”… and about the band Journey.
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