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The Left Column

A Taste Of Santorum

Santorum To Cancer Survivor's Mother: People With Pre-Existing Conditions Should Pay Extra

Truthout - During a town hall in Keene, New Hampshire this morning, Rick Santorum told a mother whose son survived cancer that people with pre-existing conditions should pay more for health care coverage because they make poor health care choices. While specifically exempting the woman's child from personal blame, Santorum insisted that the sick cost more to insure and insurers should charge them higher premiums.

69 | Santorum to Mother of Cancer Survivor: Sick to Blame for Pre-Existing Conditions Should Be Charged

Hey, Remember This Guy?

George W. Bush Announces His Intention To Avoid Further Polluting Swamp

AFP - Former president George W. Bush has decided not to "wade into the swamp" of the Republican presidential primary battle but will support the winner, a well-placed source said. "He has decided not to 'wade into the swamp,'" according to a source familiar with the Republican president's thinking, who described Bush's decision on condition of anonymity.

18 | SOURCE: "(George W Bush) has decided not to 'wade into the swamp' (Republican presidential primary)"

Always Low Standards

Walmart Booted Over Poor Labor Practices

HuffPo: On Tuesday, the Netherlands' biggest pension fund, Algemeen Burgerlijk Pensioenfonds, with more than $300 billion in assets, announced that it was blacklisting the largest retailer in the world for noncompliance with the United Nations' Global Compact principles. The Global Compact presents a set of core values relating to human rights, labor standards, the environment and anti-corruption efforts. Sixteen other companies were blacklisted along with Walmart, nearly all of them excluded for producing chemical or nuclear weapons that violate the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

25 | Walmart Blacklisted By Major Pension Fund Over Poor Labor Practices

Economy

200,000 New Jobs, Unemployment Down

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 200,000 in December, and the unemployment rate, at 8.5 percent, continued to trend down, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in transportation and warehousing, retail trade, manufacturing, health care, and mining.

31 | Payroll employment rises 200,000 in December; jobless rate (8.5%) continues to trend down

GOP Minority Outreach

Gingrich tells African Americans: paychecks, not food stamps

AP: Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said Thursday he is willing to go before the NAACP and urge blacks to demand paychecks, not food stamps. Gingrich told a town hall meeting at a senior center in Plymouth, N.H., that if the NAACP invites him to its annual convention this year, he'd go there and talk about "why the African-American community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps."

60 | Gingrich to black people: paychecks, not food aid

Occupy

�Wild Old Women� Close San Francisco Bank Of America Branch

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) � It was a slow-moving Occupy Wall Street protest, but it was an effective one. A dozen senior citizens calling themselves �the wild old women� succeeded in closing a Bank of America branch in Bernal Heights Thursday.

The women, aged 69 to 82, who live at the senior home up Mission street from the Bernal Heights Bank of America branch, decided to hold their own protest by doing what they called a �run on the bank.�

18 | �Wild Old Women� Close San Francisco Bank Of America Branch

A taste of santorum

Santorum Feeling The Heat In New Hampshire

The Atlantic Wire - A crowd of mostly college-aged students at a New Hampshire town hall booed Rick Santorum when he compared gay marriage to polygamy. Santorum spoke at the College Convention 2012, a forum organized by New England College, which apparently drew a politically diverse crowd.

49 | Santorum Booed in New Hampshire While Discussing Gay Marriage

Supply-Side Stupidity

Romney Tax Plan: Tax Cuts for the Rich, Tax Increases for Low-Income Families

The Tax Policy Center released an analysis today showing that, contrary to Romney�s rhetoric, the overwhelming majority of the benefits under the plan would go to the wealthy. In fact, compared to the policy in place today, Romney�s plan would give millionaires a $150,000 tax cut, while raising taxes on many low-income families.

42 | Romney�s Tax Plan Gives Millionaires A $150K Tax Cut, Raises Taxes On Low-Income Families

Commander-in-Chief

Obama Unveils Plan for Leaner, Cheaper Military

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama traveled to the Pentagon Thursday to unveil his plan for a leaner, cheaper military that will retain the ability to fight terrorism and confront new threats from countries like China and Iran.

"We are determined to maintain a ready and capable force, even as we reduce our overall capacity," the administration said in a summary of its defense priorities released as the president began to speak. "Our global responsibilities are significant; we cannot afford to fail."

65 | Obama unveils plans for pared down military

Congress

Joe Kennedy III will run for Barney Frank's congressional seat

Joseph P. Kennedy III (D) "is taking the final steps to launch a run for Congress this year, hoping to succeed Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) who chose to retire rather than run in his reconfigured district," the Boston Globe reports.

38 | Joe Kennedy III will run for Barney Frank's congressional seat