CBO: The Republican Tax Bill Will Trigger $136 Billion in Automatic Budget Cuts Next Year
Tom Williams/Congressional Quarterly/Newscom via ZUMA We already know this about the Republican tax bill: It must increase the deficit no more than $1.5 trillion over the next ten years. It must not raise the deficit at all beyond ten years. But there’s always been a third requirement too, and I’ve been waiting for that shoe…
Donald Trump Sends Prayers to Wrong Victims of Mass Shooting
Wut? Didn’t this happen more than a week ago? Is Trump thinking of Rancho Tehama, California? Does he really pay that little attention to mass shootings? BTW, here’s his tweet from the actual day of the shooting in Sutherland Springs: He really puts a lot of thought into these tweets of compassion, doesn’t he?
Will Women Save Us From Donald Trump?
In the New York Review of Books, Judith Shulevitz rounds up some of the current research on the resistance: The Harvard political scientist Theda Skocpol [studied] counties that went for Trump in four states that went for Trump: Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. Skocpol says she was startled to find so many flourishing anti-Trump…
Australian Voters Say a Resounding “Yes” to Same-Sex Marriage in Historic Survey
Supporters of marriage equality hold a rally in Sydney, in September.Richard Milnes/Rex Shutterstock via ZUMA Press Same-sex marriage could soon be legal in Australia, after voters overwhelmingly returned “yes” ballots in a historic, months-long postal survey on whether the law should be changed to allow same-sex couples to wed. The vote is nonbinding, but Prime Minister Malcolm…
Study: Black People Are 75 Percent More Likely to Live Near Toxic Oil and Gas Facilities
A child plays in front of a public housing project which borders an oil refinery in West Port Arthur, Texas.LM Otero/AP Environmentalists have long contended that communities of color are disproportionately affected by pollution from the oil and gas industry, and a study released on Tuesday details the extent of the harm. According to Fumes Across…
California Will Get Half its Energy From Renewables by 2020
California Coastline along State Road 1Robert Bohrer/Shutterstock The US fight against climate change hasn’t exactly made much progress recently. Just this week, for instance, the Trump administration spent its time at the UN conference on climate change in Bonn praising the benefits of coal. But there is actually one bit of good news. A report released Monday from the California Public Utilities Commission shows that the state will get half of its…