Friday's Daily Brief

Friday, April 13, 2012 North Korean Missile Launch Ends In Embarrassment NEW YORK Newark Mayor Taken To Hospital Following Fire Rescue GREEN Record Weather Presents Dangerous Wildfire Threat MEDIA Roger Ailes' Jaw-Dropping Comment About CNN Host POLITICS Romney And The NRA: A 'Diss' Before Embrace COMEDY WATCH: 'Daily Show' Mocks Zimmerman Media Coverage BLOG POSTS Dr. Peggy Drexler: Role Models and the Real World The increasing fallibility and uncertain availability of XY-chromosome role models combines with the blurring of gender roles to raise a question: Does a male role model actually have to be a man? Steve Clemons: New Economic Thinking vs German Ordnungspolitik Germany is not only unwilling to extend a real lifeline to other sinking economies in Europe, it's using this moment in history to promote an ideological austerity that it wants to compel other nations -- when their economies are reeling -- to do the same as the price for German support. Kathy Freston: An Apple a Day Melts the Pounds Away! When you gradually add in nutrient-dense, fiber-rich foods, you simply stop feeling cravings. You run out of space in your belly for the old junk. Instead of craving, you feel full, fulfilled, and content. Ahmed Shihab-Eldin: Human Rights in Bahrain, a Casualty of Obama's Double-Standard The U.S. is obstructing justice, perpetuating human rights violations and supporting a leader who, like Assad, has turned his back on his own people and lied to the world about it. Greta Van Susteren: My Friend, Hilary Rosen I did not read Hilary's comments about Ann Romney to in any way take away from the hard chore of raising children, or staying at home and raising them and not working outside the family.

MOST POPULAR ON HUFFINGTONPOST.COM And The World's Rudest Country To Visit Is... 40 Brooklyn Decker Looks To Love And The Most Beauty-Obsessed City Is... ON TWITTER Outrage Over Canadian Photo Of Muslim Woman's Bra The First Batch Of Raspberry Pi Arrives In Stock Is It National Kiss Day? Who Cares, Just Pucker Up With These Horrendously Awkward Smackers (PICTURES) ON FACEBOOK Dan Porter: The Nice CEO Who Hired Back Everyone He Laid Off To Make Sure They Cashed In Outrage Over Canadian Photo Of Muslim Woman's Bra Which Of These Engagement Photos Is Most Squirm-Inducing?

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

Robert Reich: Beyond Outrage: The General Election of 2012 Starts Today

Robert Reich: Beyond Outrage: The General Election of 2012 Starts Today:

We need to do everything we can to make sure Barack Obama is reelected president. But we also need to mobilize for the long haul -- beyond Election Day. We need to fuel a movement to take back our economy and our democracy.

Presidential elections can draw peoples' attention to larger challenges facing our nation, but they can also be distracting. The media focus on the game -- who's up and who's down, and which political strategies are winning or losing -- rather than on the big issues. Campaigns are also geared to winning on Election Day, not to building long-term strategies and movements for fundamental change.

Thursday's Daily Brief

Thursday, April 12, 2012 Report: Federal Fund Meant To Help Struggling Homeowners Falls Flat POLITICS Obama Campaign Celebrates 'Romneycare' Anniversary BLACK VOICES Trayvon Martin Case: George Zimmerman Plans To Plead Not Guilty To Charges Of Second-Degree Murder POLITICS Israeli Settlement Backer Donates $1 Million To Defeat Obama MEDIA Fox News Mole Caught BOOKS JK Rowling Announces Title, Subject, Release Date Of New Book BLOG POSTS Hilary Rosen: Ann Romney and Working Moms The only way that Mitt Romney will succeed in closing the wide gender gap between him and President Obama is if he stops pretending that it doesn't exist. Cara Santa Maria: Talk Nerdy to Me: 'Monkey Bill' Becomes Law, Imperils Science In Tennessee We live in the 21st century, the century of biotechnology. Without an appropriate understanding of evolution, students will be at a disadvantage in the workforce. And without an understanding of anthropogenic climate change, how can we expect Tennessee children to grow up to become members of an informed electorate? Adam Winkler: Will George Zimmerman Be Convicted? The news that Florida prosecutors are bringing charges against George Zimmerman for the death of Trayvon Martin raises two questions: Will Zimmerman be convicted? And what role will Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law play in the case? John W. Boyd Jr.: For Trayvon Martin, Justice Finally Shows Up For those in the black community it was a story heard far too many times. The Trayvon Martin case re-opened old wounds. What have we learned is very clear, that the need for racial healing is still greatly needed. Melinda Gates: My Uncontroversial Idea Hundreds of millions of the poorest families in developing countries don't have access to contraceptives that can change their lives -- and their children's lives.

MOST POPULAR ON HUFFINGTONPOST.COM And The World's Rudest Country To Visit Is... PHOTOS: Guess What Christina Hendricks Inspired Me To Do Is 'Two And A Half Men' In Danger? ON TWITTER FIRST LOOK: 'Glee's' Whitney Houston Episode Why We Won't Get Married Until Same-Sex Couples Can Legally Wed In Our State The 10 Worst Jobs In The United States ON FACEBOOK Doctor Who Plays Gooseberry In The Park Fox News Mole Caught Democratic Strategist Picks On Ann Romney

Support the Second Chance Act

Support the Second Chance Act UPDATE Please add your organization to the national sign-on letter in support of funding for the Second Chance Act in FY 2013. Congress recently began developing the appropriations bill that will determine funding for the Second Chance Act in fiscal year 2013. As this work progresses, the field must send a strong message to Congress about the important role that Second Chance Act programs have in lowering recidivism rates and building safer communities. A letter in support of the Second Chance Act is now circulating. Sign your organization on today and forward the letter to others in your community. WHAT YOU CAN DO 1.      Contact Jeff Burdette at the Council of State Governments Justice Center at jburdette@csg.org to add your organization to the letter. 2.      Click here to contact your Congressional delegation and let them know about your support for the Second Chance Act. 3.      Share this information with others in your state and community and enlist them to do the same. BACKGROUND The Second Chance Act passed with overwhelming, bipartisan support and was signed into law in April 2008. It is a common-sense, evidence-based approach to improving outcomes for people returning to communities from prisons and jails. This first-of-its-kind legislation authorizes federal grants to government agencies and nonprofit organizations to provide employment assistance, substance abuse and mental health treatment, housing, family programming, education and literacy programs, mentoring, victims support, and other services that can help reduce recidivism.

Did Santorum Trap Poor Romney?

HOME POLITICS NATIONAL NEWS WORLD ECONOMY SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT Joe Conason Carl Hiaasen Connie Schultz E.J. Dionne Gene Lyons Jonathan Alter April 12, 2012 THE BIG STORY, E.J. DIONNE How Santorum Boxed In Romney Rick Santorum's departure from the presidential race could not come soon enough for Mitt Romney. In proving himself more tenacious than anyone predicted, Santorum dramatized one of Romney's major problems, created another, and forced the now inevitable Republican nominee into a strategic dilemma. READ MORE POLITICS Will Sheldon Adelson Get Revenge In Nevada? Las Vegas casino baron and billionaire Sheldon Adelson, the hawkish backer of Israel's right-wing government who dumped over $15 million into the Super PAC supporting Newt Gingrich for president, could play just as big in the Nevada Senate race -- where a woman he fired in 1997 (and still loathes) will be the Democrat on the ballot. READ MORE FEATURED COLUMN: LEONARD PITTS JR. A Tea Partier With Guts Barack Obama himself has never had the guts to say it. Indeed, while it is famously difficult to prove a negative, it seems apparent that few people in all of politics and media have had the guts to say it. Did John McCain ever say it? Did Rick Santorum or Bill O'Reilly? So let us plant a little flag for, mark with a yellow highlighter, the thing Rep. Raul Labrador said Sunday on "Meet the Press": that "it wouldn't matter" if President Obama were a Muslim. And if it seems rather much to be handing out medals for such a modest statement of principle, well... the principle has been under fire for so long that even a modest statement feels momentous. READ MORE TODAY IN STUPID Allen West: Almost Half Of Congressional Dems Are Communists Florida Rep. Allen West has claimed in the past that he is the "modern day Harriet Tubman," but his latest wild statement leaves him looking more like Joe McCarthy. West made his latest in a long line of controversial comments at a Tuesday afternoon town hall meeting in Palm City. When asked "What percentage of the American legislature do you think are card-carrying Marxists?" West answered, "I believe there's about 78 to 81 members of the Democratic Party that are members of the Communist Party." READ MORE FEATURED COLUMN: JIM HIGHTOWER GOP Presidential Contenders' Goofy Greed Rick Perry's latest "oops" moment is even stupider than his failure to remember his own lines in a presidential debate. In his grandiose desire to be president, this tightfisted champion of taxpayers dipped liberally into the public till to have Texans subsidize his failed run. Perry essentially abandoned the state and his gubernatorial duties for about six months -- but the no-show governor kept billing us for his $150,000-a-year paycheck. It turns out that he was also double-dipping, by taking another $90,000 a year in pension payments -- even though he's not retired. Two state checks a month for doing nothing -- good work if you can get it! READ MORE SOCIAL SECURITY AND YOU When Should You Take Your Social Security? There is no question I am asked more often than this one: "When should I start my Social Security?" Another version of that question goes like this: "Should I take my Social Security at 62... or wait until age 66 or even age 70?" As I've pointed out so many times in this column, that is almost an impossible question to answer because there are so many potential variables. And the biggest variable of all is your life expectancy. 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