THIS WEEK IN POLITICAL NEWS -- 2/23/12

THE LAST HURRAH: Last night, the four remaining GOP candidates gathered in Arizona for what was, in all likelihood, the last debate of the primary season. I’m not sure why I was so excited for this one, or why I thought it would somehow be any less soul-crushing. The point is, I was wrong. The candidates stayed true to form, unanimous in their denunciations of a president that I have certainly never met whom they claim is the most dangerous man in America and that American lives, property, and paychecks rest in existential peril each moment he remains in the White House. Who is this President Obama they’re always talking about? Apparently, he’s some guy who’s both so nefarious as to deliberately aid America’s enemies, even while being so incompetent as to need a teleprompter wherever he goes; who bows to dictators and kills babies; who is just like Hitler; who loves to give billions of dollars to union stooges and who has begun a massive war on the Catholic Church/all religion/the idea of religious tolerance (but who is, of course, secretly a Muslim, or at least operates under a “different theology”). It would be crazy if we had a president like that!
The most enraging part of the debate, as always, were the lies, the insane, made-up, on-their-face lies that they all told, but none with more comfort and alacrity than Mitt Romney. Lying is so hard, and yet he does it so easily. A good example came during the 10 minute discussion of contraception. (What’s that? You’re not particularly interested in hearing four old white men discussing whether women should have access to contraception and abortions? That makes 150 million of us!) Here’s Romney:

I don't think we've seen in the history of this country the kind of attack on religious conscience, religious freedom, religious tolerance that we've seen under Barack Obama. Most recently, of course -- most recently requiring the Catholic Church to provide for its employees and its various enterprises health care insurance that would include birth control, sterilization and the morning-after pill. Unbelievable.

This is a lie. Period. At no point, even before Obama’s compromise, did the Administration consider including churches in its contraception coverage mandate. Never. Rather, the entire debate was over church-affiliated organizations that serve mostly lay people, like universities and hospitals. And then Romney had the audacity to follow up that lie with a flat-out assertion that he had never imposed a similar rule while governor: “There was no requirement in Massachusetts for the Catholic Church to provide morning-after pills to rape victims.” This is simply false. There was indeed such a requirement, and it was quite controversial. During the debate, Romney even lied about the number of pages the health reform bill took up. The fact that all of these falsehoods are so easily fact-checked makes Romney’s instinctive mendacity all the more incredible.

WE CAN WIN WHEN WE FIGHT: Yesterday, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell displayed a “sudden change of position” when he rescinded his support of the transvaginal ultrasound law that was working its way through the state legislature. In a statement released yesterday afternoon, he asked the state House to amend the law so that “no woman in Virginia will have to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound involuntarily.” “Mandating an invasive procedure in order to give informed consent is not a proper role for the state,” McDonnell said. An amended version of the bill, which still requires an abdominal ultrasound, passed the House 63-32. The state senator who introduced the bill originally is none too pleased with the amendments, and has declared her intention to withdraw her entire bill from the senate rather than accept this watered down version. Even bigger, the Virginia senate today voted 24-14 to kill the “personhood” bill that would have endowed a fertilized egg with all the rights of a person, not only banning all abortions but likely banning many forms of hormonal birth control.

The point of this story is that we can only win these battles if we choose to fight them. In just the past month, the women’s movement has shown over and over that when the Right goes after our basic rights and tries to legislate a theological view of womanhood that essentially confines them to the kitchen and birthing room, we will marshal our forces to fight back, persuade the public -- and win. In Virginia, both online mobilization and visible, dramatic silent protests outside the capital brought the harsh glow of media attention to the legislature, and forced them to kill one bill completely and delay a final vote on the other bill -- which gave the governor time to change his position and rewrite the bill. We won’t win every battle, but we will certainly lose every one we don’t fight.

BUT DON’T THINK MCDONNEL IS A REASONABLE MAN: Just in case the last story made you wonder whether the Virginia governor -- who is determined to get a spot on the presidential ticket this fall -- is somewhat reasonable, check out Rachel Maddow’s summary of his positions and what he has done in office. It’s breathtakingly radical.

GOOD NEWS -- Federal Judge Says DOMA is Unconstitutional: A federal judge in California -- appointed by George W. Bush -- the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional yesterday. He held that the law violates the Equal Protection Clause because it prohibits the federal government from extending the same health care benefits to spouses of gay federal employees that it gives to spouses of straight employees. The judge also ruled that classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to heightened judicial scrutiny, akin to classifications based on gender.

MORE GOOD NEWS -- Maryland Effectively Legalizes Gay Marriage: Right on the heels of Washington, Maryland is one governor’s signature away from legalizing gay marriage. The state senate passed the bill today, 25-22, and Democratic Governor Martin O’Malley has promised to sign it.

Must Read of the Week: Jonathan Chait defends the Obama Recovery.
Fun Videos of the Week: We’ve got four, count ‘em FOUR, super fun videos this week. First, check out SNL’s take on the current debate over contraception (featuring Amy Poehler!). Next, head over to the Daily Show to see Jon Stewart’s amazing, hypocrisy-revealing run-down of the same issue (featuring points and flip-flops and clips I have not seen anywhere else). Then check out this hilarious mash-up of Romney’s latest earthquake-level pandering with “Anchorman” (h/t Yoni Cohen). And finally, sit back and enjoy the latest vocal stylings from President Obama.

THIS WEEK IN POLITICAL NEWS -- 2/16/12

VIRGINIA HAS CROSSED THE LINE: As we have documented here, 2011 was the year of extreme anti-abortion insanity played out at the state level. Indeed, states passed 80 abortion-restricting laws just in the first six months of last year. This week, Virginia upped the ante and crossed into truly despicable territory when the state House, by a 63 to 36 vote, passed a bill forcing all women to have medically unnecessary “transvaginal ultrasounds” before getting abortions. The Washington Post helpfully explained that this “transvaginal” requirement “would constitute an unprecedented government mandate to insert vaginal ultrasonic probes into women as part of a state-ordered effort to dissuade them from terminating pregnancies.” (This is because the bill requires an accurate reading of the gestational age and the fetal heart rate, which, early in the pregnancy -- when the vast majority of abortions are performed -- can often only be detected by a transvaginal ultrasound.) Read that again: Virginia Republicans just passed a bill that allows the government to forcibly insert rods into the vaginal canals of women, against their will and against their doctor’s wishes, in order to punish them for seeking abortions. In some places, this might be called, um, rape. The House also passed a bill defining “personhood” as a fertilized egg -- and its supporters specifically rejected an amendment declaring that contraception would still be permitted. Make no mistake about it: The Virginia state government is waging war on women, and on men who love, support, and/or have sex with women. The state Senate has already passed the ultrasound measure, and right-wing governor Bob McDonnell -- who is trying his damndest to get himself appointed the GOP Vice Presidential nominee -- has indicated his intent to sign it.

This is happening, people. All of us need to realize that this is more than campaign rhetoric. This is more than Rick Santorum -- who is currently leading the polls among GOP primary voters -- saying that contraception is “not okay” because “it’s a license to do things in the sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be.” It’s more than Mitt Romney -- likely to be the GOP nominee -- affirming that he “absolutely” would support a constitutional amendment giving personhood rights to an egg. This is more than the GOP leadership vowing to pass a bill allowing any employer to refuse to provide health coverage for contraception because of personal “moral” objections. The GOP could not be any clearer that they are stridently opposed to women’s liberty and equality -- that they are opposed to the tools that ensure that women can pursue careers, plan for the future, and aim for a life beyond wifery and motherhood. How many of these retrograde bills do they have to pass, how many of these obscenely offensive intrusions on our liberty do they have to endorse, how many times do they have to promise to overturn our fundamental right to decide when we have children, before we realize that one entire half of our political party system hates modern women?

I’M NOT LETTING THIS ONE GO: Whatever you think of Rachel Maddow, she has been arguably the most unflagging voice in the media reporting on the Right’s dedication to elimination abortion rights. Last night, she interviewed a Virginia state delegate about the vaginal probe bill. Watch it here (starting at 3:30).

MORE ON A DEPRESSING, PATHETIC THEME: Today, the House Oversight Committee held a hearing examining Obama’s contraception rule. In apparent total blindness to optics, Chairman Darrel Issa called a slate of witnesses -- all male -- and refused to allow the Democrats’ witness, a woman, to testify. The witness is a Georgetown law student who would have testified about a friend who lost an ovary after being denied contraception prescribed as medication. But really, what relevant perspective on the issue of access to contraception could she possibly have? The Democrats, especially the female members, strenuously objected to the all-male witness list and to Issa’s “autocratic regime.” Ed Kilgore comments: “Regardless of how you feel about the underlying issue, you’d have to agree Issa handled the situation as though determined to make his opponents’ most important point: in a dispute between government regulators and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the millions of women affected by the ultimate outcome aren’t being heard. Literally. Thanks, Darrell. You saved us all a lot of time.” (You can hear that witness’s story here.) Speaking about this issue today on MSNBC, Santorum’s billionaire funder Foster Freis displayed the same insight and compassion that makes Santorum such a likeable candidate: “On this contraceptive thing, my gosh, it’s so inexpensive. You know, back in my days, they used Baer Aspirin for contraceptives. The gals put it between their knees and it wasn’t that costly.” Now if you’ll excuse me, the smoke coming out of my ears is setting my apartment fire alarm off.
Correction: Only the first two panels of witnesses excluded any women. Eventually the committee did hear from two women, both of whom objected to Obama's contraception rule.

CONGRESS REACHES A DEAL ON TAX CUT: Congressional Democrats appear to have scored a major victory this week, as Republicans agreed to a deal to extend the payroll tax cut for a year -- though they refused to offset the costs with higher taxes on the wealthy. “The bipartisan agreement also revamps unemployment insurance, reducing the maximum duration of benefits in states with high unemployment to 73 weeks, from the current 99. Currently, fewer than half of states are eligible for 93 weeks or more of unemployment insurance, with just 18 states getting the full maximum of 99 weeks. The roughly $30 billion price will be picked up by the sale of radio spectrum licenses and the federal worker benefit changes.” The deal includes essentially all of the Democrat’s “must-pass” legislation for this year; getting it done now is a substantial victory, especially because it cuts the chances of GOP hostage-taking, a particularly potent weapon as we get closer to the election. Of course, it remains to be seen whether the Tea Party members of the House will actually support the bill. If not, it could add to what’s been a very rough week for Speaker Boehner.

GOP UPDATE: We’re in a bit of a lull right now; the next primaries aren’t until Feb. 28, in Michigan and Arizona. Rick Santorum continues to rise in the polls, capitalizing on his victories last week. Shockingly, nearly every poll has him leading in Michigan -- where Romney grew up and where his father served as a popular governor -- by fairly substantial margins (he’s up by 15 points according to one poll). Romney’s sinking numbers are pretty remarkable. His favorability ratings have absolutely tanked since voting began in January (he’s now at 34% favorable, 54% unfavorable), and he is hemorrhaging support from independents. (Meanwhile, Obama’s numbers are steadily ticking upward: One poll has him at a 54-45 favorability rating,and his job approval numbers have been steadily improving since last summer.) Romney isn’t taking this lying down, of course. He and his SuperPac are currently outspending Santorum in Michigan by a 29-1 margin. He knows that a loss there would be absolutely catastrophic for his campaign. Jonathan Chait points out that the Santorum campaign is laughably unprofessional and seems barely up to the task. So for Romney to be forced to chase this man around the country is, as Josh Marshall put it, “inherently demeaning and diminishing. It’s like struggling to land a one pound fish or searching for the way out of a paper bag. People see you doing that and you just look weak and feckless, even pitiful.”

Fun Video of the Week: Sen. Scott Brown faces a grilling on his support of Roy Blunt’s “conscience” exception to contraceptive coverage. This is great journalism.
Must Read of the Week: Is the contraception fight another Terry Shiavo moment for the GOP?

THIS WEEK IN POLITICAL NEWS -- 2/9/12

HONESTLY DID NOT SEE THAT COMING: On Tuesday, Rick Santorum swept all three primaries, winning Minnesota, Colorado, and the non-binding Missouri race, earning more than 40% in all three states. In Minnesota, Romney came in third, with only 17%, behind Ron Paul (27%) and Santorum (45%). The biggest upset has to have been Colorado, a state Romney won in 2008 with 60% of the vote. This year, he scored a comparatively dismal 35%, losing by five points to Santorum. It was a really, really bad night for Romney -- or, as Nate Silver put it, “about the worst results conceivable.” And that was even after his campaign tried to set expectations absurdly low the morning of the voting, in a memo sent to reporters. I turn the analysis of the memo over to my friend Shebby: “It screams insecurity even as it attempts to project confidence. There are lots of good lines, but I think this is my favorite: ‘Of course, there is no way for any nominee to win first place in every single contest — John McCain lost 19 states in 2008, and we expect our opponents to notch a few wins too.’ McCain ended up running a train wreck campaign against Obama and that's the guy they are channeling? So Romney is competing for the right to get creamed in the general election?” Good point, Shebby!

But Romney wasn’t the only one who had a bad night. In all three states that voted, Gingrich won exactly one county, Bent County in southeast Colorado, where he netted 25 votes -- that’s votes, not percent -- to best Santorum’s 22 votes. Then again, if Gingrich’s real goal is to defeat Romney at all costs, he is certainly helping: check out how Romney’s favorability ratings have nose-dived since Gingrich started his all-out assault in early January.

9TH CIRCUIT STRIKES DOWN PROP 8: On Tuesday, the 9th Circuit ruled that Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California, violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. It was a very narrow decision, limited to the unusual facts of the case: The court held that where gay couples had been legally allowed to marry (after the state Supreme Court ruled that denying them that right violated the state constitution), the taking away of that right constituted the Equal Protection violation. In other words, the 9th Circuit ruled that singling out gays as a disfavored group from whom to take away a right was unconstitutional; the court did not reach the broader question whether denying gays the right to marry -- period -- violated the Constitution. This narrow decision has disappointed some. “Today, the most liberal judges in the most liberal state on the most liberal appeals court had an opportunity to make history. Instead, they opted to do far less,” wrote Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick. On the other hand, she noted that the narrow grounds of the decision make it less likely that the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case, leaving in place legal gay marriage in the largest state in the country. Alternatively, if the Court does accept cert and hear the appeal, Garret Epps writes that the opinion “is written to survive Supreme Court review, and for that reason, it is written for an audience of one: Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.”
Despite the narrowness of the holding, its language was still stirring in many places. Here are some of the best quotes from the 80+ page opinion [pdf]:

• "Proposition 8 serves no purpose other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples. The Constitution simply does not allow for laws of this sort."
• On the word "marriage": "A rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but to the couple desiring to enter into a committed lifelong relationship, a marriage by the name of 'registered domestic partnership' does not."
• "Here, the argument that withdrawing the designation of 'marriage' from same-sex couples could on its own promote the strength or stability of opposite-sex marital relationships lacks any...footing in reality."
• "Just as the criminalization of homosexual conduct is an invitation to subject homosexual persons to discrimination both in the public and in the private spheres, so too does the elimination of the right to use the official designation of 'marriage' for the relationships of committed same-sex couples send a message that gays and lesbians are of lesser worth as a class--that they enjoy a lesser societal status."

Ted Olsen, half of the legal dream team that litigated this case, disagreed with the idea that the decision was a narrow one. “Actually I think it’s a very broad decision,” he told Rachel Maddow on Tuesday night. He noted that the 9th Circuit panel stressed “that there was no justification, there was no rational basis to single out gay and lesbian individuals in this country and take away rights from them or to deny rights from them. The court went through every argument that had been made on the other side and systematically dismantled every one of those arguments. So while the court focused on the peculiarities of California, the principles it articulated are quite broad and very compelling.” Olsen expressed confidence that, not only would the Supreme Court uphold the opinion.

GETTING A HOLD OF THIS CONTRACEPTION STORY: Late last month, the Obama administration announced that, under the health reform bill, most health insurance plans would have to cover contraception. “The rule includes an exemption for certain ‘religious employers,’ including houses of worship....A religious employer cannot qualify for the exemption if it employs or serves large numbers of people of a different faith, as many Catholic hospitals, universities and social service agencies do.” Given that 98 percent of American women -- including 98 percent of Catholic women -- use contraceptives, that 28 states currently have almost identical rules requiring coverage of contraceptives, and that the rule is insanely, broadly popular, I didn’t think much of it except that it was a long-time coming and good on the Obama White House. So of course, cue the conservative freak-out. The Conference of Catholic Bishops was in full-out meltdown mode -- though, to me, it’s hard to take a group of men who, by definition, have never been faced with the prospect of impregnating anyone all that seriously on the question of universal access to contraception. But some people do! Like congressional Republicans (and, sadly some Democrats), who now have vowed to undo the policy with legislation. In the meantime, the Catholic Bishops aren’t just insisting on broader religious exceptions; they want every single employer to be able to cut off contraception funding from the health plans they offer, just in case some boss-man’s “conscience” is somehow offended by the prospect of people being safe and responsible (and yes, sexual) adults. Rachel Maddow had a great segment on this, reminding viewers that opposing contraception is not a winning issue, to say the least. Here’s David Frum, trying to make the same point to his fellow conservatives. I think this thoughtful defense of the White House policy really hits every point, and, to my mind, ends the debate.

GOOD NEWS -- Washington Passes Gay Marriage Bill: By a 55-43 vote on Wednesday, the Washington state house passed a same-sex marriage bill, following the senate’s earlier approval of the bill. The governor has promised to sign it promptly. Freedom to Marry reports on one potential snag: “However, opponents of the freedom to marry have until June 6th to turn in the necessary signatures to file for a referendum that would put marriage on the ballot this coming November. Should they file a referendum with a sufficient number of verified signatures, the law would not be implemented until after the election.”

Fun Video of the Week: To continue last week’s theme, here’s Michelle Obama challenging Jimmy Fallon to a five-round fitness challenge. Make sure to watch to the very end, where Jimmy talks about meeting Michelle and how insanely cool she is.
Bonus Video of the Week: Ellen DeGeneres responds to the anti-gay critics who have blasted JC Penny for signing up Ellen as a spokesperson. To me, the most incredible thing about this video is watching a full studio audience of what appear to be middle-aged, middle-class suburban women cheer their faces off for the Prop 8 decision and for JC Penny’s refusal to back down. It’s pretty hard not to think that Ellen DeGeneres, just by being who she is and by having a super mainstream TV show, has accomplished an enormous amount of unacknowledged work for the cause of equality in this country.
Double Bonus Video of the Week: Justice Sonia Sotomayor solves cases on the street -- Sesame Street!

THIS WEEK IN POLITICAL NEWS -- 2/2/12

ROMNEY MARCHES ON: On Tuesday, Romney won the Florida primary by a commanding 14 points. He then proceeded to give a victory speech filled with lies and bile. (Sullivan’s take: “This speech is the most dishonest, manipulative, disgusting series of lies I've heard in a very long time. … This man will say anything to gain power.”) In other words, the usual fare. Gingrich’s defeat speech laid out the many, many, many things he would accomplish on his first day in the oval office -- so he’s clearly not going anywhere. The candidates march on to Nevada, which holds it primary on Saturday (and seems poised for another huge Romney win). Gingrich is now pinning his hopes to Super Tuesday, but it’s unclear whether he has the money to keep campaigning that long. Then again, he has the support of Sarah Palin, and if that’s not a clear path to the White House, I don’t know what is.

The most interesting thing about the GOP race now is the money situation. This week, the SuperPacs affiliated with various candidates reported their intake from the previous quarter. Romney’s group, Restore Our Future, raised about $18 million from just 200 donors in the second half of 2011 -- that’s an average of $90,000 per donor! The Washington Post reports that “a quarter of the money amassed by Romney’s campaign and an allied super PAC has come from just 41 people, each of whom has given more than $100,000, according to a Washington Post analysis of disclosure data. Nearly a dozen of the donors have contributed $1 million or more.” This is absolutely astronomical. But this is only half the story. As the Times reminds us today, “nonprofits” associated with each PAC can donate to the SuperPac without revealing its donors, meaning that millions are dollars are being given to these campaign apparatuses without any way of being traced -- “like a $250,000 contribution to a super PAC backing Mr. Romney from a company with a post office box for a headquarters and no known employees.” More on that here. Jonathan Bernstein argues that if you really want to make a difference with your political contribution dollars, you should forget the presidential race and give instead to congressional races.

ROMNEY ADMITS WHAT WE ALL KNEW: Straight off his victory in Florida, Romney made a classic gaffe: inadvertenly saying what he actually thinks. On CNN Wednesday morning, Romney declared that he is “not concerned with the very poor.” Here’s his whole quote, so no one can yell about lack of context: “I’m not concerned with the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich, they’re doing just fine. I’m concerned about the very heart of the America.” When host Soledad O’Brien asked if he really meant that he’s not concerned about the poor, Romney doubled down: “We will hear from the Democrat party the plight of the poor. And there’s no question it’s not good being poor. And we have a safety net to help those that are very poor.” Even the Right is enraged by this unforced error. The irony, of course, is that Romney’s entire campaign is premised on destroying that very “safety net” that he declares is sufficient to take care of the poor. He would eliminate Title X funding, he wants to privatize unemployment insurance, he wants to cap Medicaid spending and then block-grant it to states, who would be free to disburse it however they want, and he has repeatedly endorsed the Paul Ryan plan to turn Medicare into underfunded vouchers. And as Jon Stewart points out, if you’re in the net, something has already gone terribly wrong! Is it just me, or is Romney not good at this?

SENATE BILL TO ENACT THE BUFFETT RULE: Yesterday, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced a bill to put Obama’s “Buffett Rule” into law. The bill would require that those making more than a million dollars pay 30 percent of that income in federal income taxes. Whitehouse explained it in one sentence: “If your income is over 1 million, multiply it by 0.3, and if that number is bigger than you’d otherwise be paying, pay that.” It would effectively work like an Alternative Minimum Tax, making sure that the small percentage of millionaires who pay less than 30% of their income in taxes, well, don’t. Jonathan Bernstein has a great rundown of arguments against the Buffett Rule, and an explanation for why all those objections fail. One thing that is not clear to be is how a tax bill can constitutionally originate in the Senate, given Art. 1, Section 7. But let’s wait for more details! At the minimum, this would be a great move politically for Democrats and the White House, given the fact that 76 percent -- 76 percent!! -- of the public supports it, and that the probable Republican nominee pays only a 14 percent tax rate.

RETHINK YOUR SUPPORT OF THE PINK RIBBON: Caving to ever-present conservative pressure, this week the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation pulled all its funding -- amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars -- to Planned Parenthood, despite the nonprofit’s essential work providing breast cancer screenings to countless women. Conservatives are declaring victory, as they get another step closer to making Planned Parenthood a pariah of American politics with whom no one may interact without facing right-wing smears, attacks, and distortions. According to Planned Parenthood, Susan G. Komen funding over the past 5 years has allowed their health centers to provide nearly 170,000 breast exams and 6,400 mammogram referrals. But not everyone is caving. HuffPo reports that “the Connecticut affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure said in a statement on Wednesday that it ‘shares’ people's frustration over the decision and that it will continue funding Planned Parenthood of New England.” Same goes for the Komen center of Denver. Two dozen senators have now signed a letter asking Komen to reverse its position, and Planned Parenthood says it raised $650,000 in the 24 hours after Komen’s announcement, close to the $700,000 in annual grants that used to come from the foundation. And today Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that he will donate $250,000 of his own money to Planned Parenthood in response. You can donate here.

INDIANA BECOMES LATEST LABOR WAR FRONT: On Wednesday, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels signed a “right-to-work” bill, making the state the latest front in the GOP’s battle against unions. It marks a sharp reversal for Daniels, who in 2006 declared himself to be a “supporter of the labor laws we have in the state of Indiana” who was “not interested in changing any of it. Not the prevailing wage laws, and certainly not the right to work law.” More than 10,000 people have protested the bill this week, and they now have a very impressive supporter: the NFL Players Association -- a coup in any context but an especially important ally given that Indianapolis is hosting the Super Bowl this Sunday. “While we’re out here, we’re going to make sure the folks who work for a living and unions they belong to know we appreciate them, we appreciate the strength they gave us for our fight. We’re always going to be standing shoulder to shoulder with men and women who want to collectively protect themselves,” said DeMaurice Smith, the players’ union’s executive director. The AFL-CIO plans to distribute information and materials at the game this weekend, and other Occupy groups are planning a presence there as well.

HERO OF THE WEEK: Virginia is on the verge of passing a bill requiring all women to undergo ultrasounds prior to getting abortions, despite the fact that such ultrasounds are not medically necessary. So state senator Janet Howell introduced an amendment to the bill requiring all men to undergo rectal exams before receiving a prescription for Viagra. Yes -- she is that awesome. “I said, it’s only fair, that if we’re going to subject women to unnecessary procedures, and we’re going to subject doctors to having to do things that they don’t think is medically advisory, well, Mr. President, I think we should just have a little gender equity here,” Howell said, explaining her amendment. Unsurprisingly, her amendment failed.

GOOD NEWS -- New Mortgage Relief Plan: In a new plan that Matt Yglesias says could “break a long-standing deadlock in the housing finance market and provide a significant boost to a ‘recovery winter’ scenario,” Obama announced a new home mortgage relief proposal today. The plan “parts of which require Congressional legislation, aims to make it easier for homeowners to refinance their mortgages, by streamlining the financing process and clearing the way for people with underwater mortgages to obtain new mortgages.”

Unsurprising-and-yet-still-vomit-inducing Headline of the Week: “Lieberman, Cantor defend Capitol Hill’s Insider Traders”
Must-Read of the Week: Matt O’Brien has a thorough and clear explanation of why carried interest is an even bigger scam than you think.
Fun Video of the Week: Two videos this week featuring my favorite person/future best friend, Michelle Obama: Here she is in a push-up contest with Ellen DeGeneres, and here she is telling Rachel Ray that her husband is “freaking out” about the prospect of Malia dating.