During this and the following weekend, my wife and I will celebrate our daughters’ graduations from college and law school. (In that regard, my last post on student loans is quite relevant.) This is a happy yet busy time for our family, and I’ve decided to take a break from the blog during this period. I’ll be back on Saturday, May 25, with more posts. See you then!
The federal student loan interest rate is set to double by July 1 from 3.4% to 6.8%. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced her Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act to reduce the rate students pay on federally subsidized loans for one year while giving Congress a chance to resolve rising student debt. Warren decried the fact that "...the federal government is going to charge students interest rates that are nine times higher than the rates for the biggest banks–the same banks that destroyed millions of jobs and nearly broke this economy." She called on the Federal Reserve to give students a loan, through the Department of Education, at the same discount 0.75% interest rate that a big bank would get. Watch Warren deliver her statement:
You can also read the transcript of Warren's speech.
A recent UNICEF study ranked the United States 34th out of 35 developed countries in terms of child poverty. Now a Save the Children report finds that more U.S. babies die on their first day than in 68 other countries. In addition, more die on their first day than in any other industrialized country. This certainly casts doubt on the conservative argument that we have "the best health care in the world." Save the Children states that politics and culture contribute to this poor record:
The U.S. is a worse place for newborns than 68 other countries, including Egypt, Turkey and Peru, according to a report released Tuesday by Save the Children.
...[From the report:] “The United States has the highest first-day death rate in the industrialized world. An estimated 11,300 newborn babies die each year in the United States on the day they are born. This is 50 percent more first-day deaths than all other industrialized countries combined.”
...Save the Children says it’s not precisely clear why the United States does so poorly in protecting newborns, but says politics and culture both play a role.
...“Poverty, racism and stress are likely to be important contributing factors to first-day deaths in the United States and other industrialized countries.”
...“High-quality care before, during and after pregnancy (including home visits by nurses or community health workers if appropriate) and access to the appropriate level of care at the time of delivery can result in healthier mothers giving birth to healthier babies,” the report says. Such home visits are common in Europe, but very unusual in the United States.
The report also strongly links a country’s politics to its newborn death rate. “Women hold only 18 percent of seats in the United States Congress,” the report says. “Sixteen countries have more than double this percentage of seats occupied by women. In Finland and Sweden, for example, women hold 43 and 45 percent of parliamentary seats, respectively.”
Finland and Sweden have the lowest rates of newborn deaths in the world.
Image: Mother with a newborn baby in Ethiopia, NBC News.
The NRA ended its convention in Houston on Sunday with "Youth Day," in which young kids were enticed to fire airsoft guns and offered free six-month memberships. One 9-year-old taking part in what the NRA billed as a family-fun outing said, "I like guns because guns are fun":
...Some of the attendees were the age of the Newtown massacre victims, others too young to know the difference between a toy gun and a real one. “Spend the day exploring 400,000 square feet of exhibit hall containing over 550 exhibitors from across the country. Share the excitement with spectacular displays and fun-filled events for the entire family,” the NRA wrote on its website. The event was staged a day after the NRA welcomed its youngest lifetime member, 3-year-old Elaih Wagan, whose grandfather purchased the membership.
...In the convention center, pint-sized gun enthusiasts, some taught about the Second Amendment before they learned to read, perused the latest makes and models of firearms. ...The convention floor was packed with little girls and boys with guns in their hands. One blond girl in camouflage tights and pink skirt, who appeared to be about 7, gripped an air pistol as an instructor gave her tips on her aim. Another young girl, with help from an adult, practiced aiming a rifle nearly as tall as she was. It was only an air gun that shoots pellets, but was made to look like an menacing AR-15 assault rifle — similar to one used by Adam Lanza at Sandy Hook.
Image: A child holding up an assault rifle that's almost bigger than him. David Handschuh, New York Daily News
We're now witnessing the legalization of marriage equality in a series of states, the latest being Rhode Island, Delaware and, quite possibly, Minnesota. We can contrast this positive change with the "change" espoused by Pat Robertson. Referring to a case in Ecuador where a politician violated that country's electoral code ban on discrimination with anti-gay remarks, Robertson said that gays can "change their sexual preference" just like murderers, rapists and thieves can change. As the religious right realizes that they're fighting a losing battle against marriage equality, expect them to ratchet up the hatred and looniness in their rhetoric. Watch Robertson as a case in point:
Congratulations to Rhode Island, which became the 10th state to legalize marriage equality this past Thursday. Just before the House vote, Rep. Frank Ferri (D) advocated for the bill, which passed 56-15. Governor Lincoln Chafee (I) then signed it during a joyous ceremony on the steps of the State House. The governor praised the legislation as exemplifying the national and state ideals of liberty. Watch:
Meet Jim Porter, the new NRA president. Speaking to gun enthusiasts in upstate New York last summer, Porter, a lawyer from Birmingham, Alabama, referred to the Civil War as the "War of Northern Aggression," counted among the NRA's purposes the readiness "to fight tyranny" and called Obama a "fake president" and Attorney General Eric Holder "rabidly anti-gun, rabidly un-American." Watch:
This must be the Republicans' version of doing the people's business. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (left) announced that, once again, the GOP will soon vote on repealing Obamacare. What happened to their supposed emphasis on jobs? Instead, they're conducting more wasteful political theater to excite their base–and give their freshmen the chance to take part in this futile ritual:
House Republicans are planning what is likely to be the 37th symbolic vote to repeal Obamacare, according to a memo sent out to House Republicans Friday by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.).
"While we have not locked in the timing, I expect that the House will vote on full repeal of ObamaCare in the near future," Cantor said in the memo.
The House voted 36 times to repeal Obamacare in 2011 and 2012, according to TPM. None of the measures passed the Democratic-controlled Senate, let alone reached the president for his signature.
In April at the Heritage Foundation, Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) explained the rationale for holding a repeal vote again. "If you're a freshman, the guys who've been up here the last year -- we can go home and say, 'Listen, we voted 36 different times to repeal or replace Obamacare.' -- tell me what the new guys are supposed to say," he said. "We haven't had a repeal or replace vote this year."
Andy Borowitz writes in The New Yorker that Wayne LaPierre, NRA CEO, warned at a convention about "the rising cost of senators" to do the group's bidding against "the wishes of ninety percent of the American people"–a reference to percentage that favors universal background checks, which the Senate failed to pass. Through the following satirical piece, Borowitz points out the corruption of our political system, in which politicians are bribed–under the rubric of "contributions"–to favor special interests such as the mass murder lobby, the NRA:
HOUSTON (The Borowitz Report)—National Rifle Association C.E.O. Wayne LaPierre used his opening speech at the N.R.A.’s national convention today to highlight several challenges facing the organization, including what he called “the rising cost of Senators.”
“Over the past few years, we’ve seen the price of purchasing a Senator surge astronomically,” he told the N.R.A. faithful. “Unless something is done to make Senators more affordable, the ability of a tiny lobbying group to overrule the wishes of ninety per cent of the American people will be in jeopardy.”
The days are over, he said, when “you could buy a Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) for little more than pocket change.”
“Now it costs thousands to purchase a marginally effective Senator like Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.),” he said.
Mr. LaPierre was followed at the podium by the former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, the rock musician Ted Nugent, and several other people who would not pass background checks.
A gas pipeline exploded in San Bruno, California, in September 2010, killing eight people and destroying 38 homes. Now Spectra Energy, a company with a poor safety record, is nearing completion of its high-pressure gas pipeline for Manhattan's West Village. It will deliver 800 million barrels a day of hydrofracked gas, with the risk of explosions and carcinogenic radon exposure in this densely populated neighborhood. Occupy The Pipeline produced the following video warning of the risks and ways to respond:
See Upworthy for other activist responses, including funding the legal fight.
Valued Readers: 
This must be the Republicans' version of doing the people's business. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (left) announced that, once again, the GOP will soon vote on repealing Obamacare. What happened to their supposed emphasis on jobs? Instead, they're conducting more wasteful political theater to excite their base–and give their freshmen the chance to take part in this futile ritual:
Andy Borowitz writes in The New Yorker that Wayne LaPierre, NRA CEO, warned at a convention about "the rising cost of senators" to do the group's bidding against "the wishes of ninety percent of the American people"–a reference to percentage that favors universal background checks, which the Senate failed to pass. Through the following satirical piece, Borowitz points out the corruption of our political system, in which politicians are bribed–under the rubric of "contributions"–to favor special interests such as the mass murder lobby, the NRA:
