North Korean Rocket Launch Fails

HOME POLITICS NATIONAL NEWS WORLD ECONOMY SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT Joe Conason Carl Hiaasen Connie Schultz E.J. Dionne Gene Lyons Jonathan Alter April 13, 2012 THE BIG STORY, BY DAVID CAY JOHNSTON How American Workers Are Taxed By The Boss Across the United States more than 2,700 companies are collecting state income taxes from hundreds of thousands of workers -- and are keeping the money with the states' approval, says an eye-opening report published on Thursday. Deals cut with the states over the past two decades diverted $5.5 billion from public purposes to private gain, the report says. Close to $700 million more was diverted last year, Good Jobs First estimates. These deals typify corporate socialism, in which business gains are privatized and costs socialized. READ MORE AROUND THE WORLD North Korean Rocket Launch Fails U.S. officials say a rocket launched by North Korea failed moments after being fired, but the Obama administration still described the launch as a "provocative action" that threatens regional security. It said it has lost confidence in Pyongyang and would carry out its threat to halt a planned delivery of food aid to the communist country. READ MORE Super PACs The Return Of CREEP With 300-plus super PACs and counting, it would be easy to miss CREEP. But last Thursday, a new super PAC ingeniously named the Committee for the Re-Election of the President registered with the Federal Election Commission. The committee is based out of a post office box at the Watergate Complex -- an homage, of course, to the Committee to Re-Elect the President, the fundraising committee for President Richard Nixon that became embroiled in the Watergate scandal. READ MORE TODAY IN STUPID Mitt And Hannity Agree: Teleprompters Make Sense (Except For Obama) Republicans have been mocking President Obama and his use of a teleprompter at major speeches since he was a long-shot candidate in 2007, but thanks to the (now fired) Fox News mole, we know this is yet another issue on which presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney parts ways with the party base. "It does make some sense" to use a teleprompter, Romney told Hannity off the air. "I do understand. It keeps you from saying something you don't mean, you get the message out precisely the way you want to get the message out." "It's smart," Hannity, who has knocked Obama on over 200 occasions for using a teleprompter, agreed. READ MORE VIDEO OF THE DAY Obama Campaign: Happy Birthday, Romneycare! Barack Obama's re-election campaign released a web video on Thursday commemorating the six-year anniversary of the healthcare law Mitt Romney signed in 2006, a law that bears a striking resemblance to the federal Affordable Care Act that the former Massachusetts governor has pledged to repeal. READ MORE TRAYVON MARTIN George Zimmerman Makes First Court Appearance Neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman made his first court appearance Thursday on a second-degree murder charge in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, as a court document provided new details on the prosecution's case. During the brief appearance, Zimmerman stood up straight, looked straight ahead and wore a gray prison jumpsuit. He spoke only to answer "Yes, sir," twice after he was asked basic questions about the charge against him and his attorney. READ MORE CARTOON OF THE DAY   (c) 2012 Eastern Harbor Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 28 West 27th Street, Suite 502 New York, NY 10001