evening all

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Steve Benen: The general trend on initial unemployment claims over the last few months has been largely encouraging, and today’s report offers additional good news.

In fact, the new figures are the best since April 2008, and even exceeded positive expectations:

The number of Americans who filed requests for jobless benefits fell by 6,000 last week to 357,000, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had projected claims would total 360,000, seasonally adjusted, in the week ended March 31. Claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 363,000 from 359,000. The average of new-benefit applications over the past four weeks, meanwhile, dropped by 4,250 to 361,750.

More here

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More here

Ugh:

President Obama signs the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act as Small Business leaders and members of Congress, including Eric Cantor, look on

President Barack Obama greets participants In the Roosevelt Room of the White House prior to signing the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, April 5 (Photo by Pete Souza)

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Washington Post: New numbers from a USA Today/Gallup poll of 12 swing states suggests that Mitt Romney is quickly losing support among independent voters – a voting bloc considered the crown jewel of the 2012 election.

Romney’s number in Gallup polling has dropped 10 points among independents since last fall, while President Obama’s number is up by nearly that same amount during the same time frame.

Romney’s struggles among independents are due almost entirely to the fact that independent women, who were voting for him over Obama by 5 points last fall, now favor the Democratic incumbent by a 51 percent-to-37 percent margin.

More here

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McClatchy

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ThinkProgress: PepsiCo, the world’s second largest beverage company, has ended its partnership with ALEC, the controversial right-wing group that lobbies for voter suppression efforts. Pepsi’s move, which actually came in January but was first reported this morning by NPR, may also have had a role in compelling Coca-Cola to drop its support for ALEC.

Yesterday, progressive advocacy group Color of Change announced a boycott effort targeting several other corporations that are still members of the group, which for years has partnered with elected officials at a state level to draft and pass controversial, far-right legislation. Just a few hours later, Coke announced that they too are severing ties with the ALEC.

More here

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The Week

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Actress Julianne Moore, who was just in town for the D.C. premiere of “Game Change,” will be back on Monday for an event at the White House.

Moore, who played Sarah Palin in the controversial HBO flick, will read to children at the annual Easter Egg Roll, the White House announced on Twitter. Actor Forest Whitaker, Disney star Bella Thorne and Robin Roberts of “Good Morning America” will also take part in the reading.

A bunch of celebrity chefs will also be on hand, including Andrew Zimmern, Richard Blais, Marcus Samuelsson, Carla Hall and Bryan Voltaggio. Other notables you might see wandering around the South Lawn: Andy Roddick, Michelle Kwan and DJ Jazzy Jeff.

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Ed Kilgore: You never know how these things are going to turn out, but I get the feeling that RNC Chairman Reince Priebus’ comparison of Democratic claims of a GOP “war on women” to a hypothetical “war on caterpillars” could be an iconic moment in the 2012 election cycle. No, it won’t necessarily change any votes right away, but it is likely to become a convenient symbol of the cavalier attitude the GOP has towards “women’s issues.”

More here

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Cagle

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I’m waaaaaaay behind with all this news today, apologies!

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In case you missed Hachikō’s update, she will be staying tonight with one of the great people here who offered to help. I’m sure when she gets a chance she’ll update us on her situation, the main thing, for now, is that she is safe.

‘night all

A girl perched upon someone’s shoulders takes a photo of President Obama as he speaks during a campaign fund raiser in New York City, November 30

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‘Moorely Taitz’ – MentalRiot

Thank you Tulips – in time I will be able to clean all the cranberry juice from my monitor 😆

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One more push – the deadline is midnight tonight:

Please vote for the kids at Desertflower’s school in the Pepsi Challenge (see today’s Rise and Shine post for more info).

You can do so either online or by text:

Go to the RefreshEverything website – registering takes two minutes, just type “desert shadows” in the search box and the school will come up. Then vote!

Or, Text 73774 and type in the message code 109320.

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Ooops, they’re eating each other:

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One more time? Pleeeeeeeeeeease? Thanks!

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See you tomorrow 😉

this and that

President Obama arrives at John F. Kennedy International Airport

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President Obama’s limousine is seen under a tent outside a private residence as he speaks at a campaign event in New York

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Another gentle reminder:

Please vote for the kids at Desertflower’s school – the deadline is midnight tonight (see today’s Rise and Shine post for more info).

You can do so either online or by text:

Go to the RefreshEverything website – registering takes two minutes, just type “desert shadows” in the search box and the school will come up. Then vote!

Or, Text 73774 and type in the message code 109320.

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Esquire

😯

Charles Pierce: It is gradually dawning on people that Newt Gingrich is not the flavor-of-the-month/week/day/hour, and is very likely going to be the Other Guy for as long as there is a contest for the Republican nomination. It’s certainly becoming clear to Willard Romney, who yesterday got pissy with a Fox News anchor and lapsed into that unattractive part of his personality that can best be described as his Flog-the-Scrimey-Help mode…. Willard, you’ve got a problem.

If Newt Gingrich really thinks he can win, then Newt Gingrich will do absolutely anything to accomplish that. He has no conscience in these matters, and he has no soul to speak of. He believes that the rules governing ordinary mortals in matters like public prevarication and gross public deceit do not apply to him….

… This is no longer a campaign. It is Newt Gingrich’s last chance to define himself in history as the grandiose figure he sees when he looks in the mirror … If anyone thinks he’s likely to abandon that great quest just because he’s fundamentally unprincipled, and because the image itself is a tinpot fraud, they’re fooling themselves….

Full post here

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Osborneink: The Occupation movement has a large contingent – not quite half – that is passionately opposed to endorsing the president of the United States for reelection …. this portion has managed to make the president into a source of division within the broader progressive movement. The Occupation was supposed to break our silos, but we are still talking past one another and that’s got to stop.

You’ve probably heard by now that black Americans are not taking part in the Occupation….

…. I can’t help thinking back to Jane Hamsher, whose participation in the XL Keystone protests actually hurt their credibility in the African American ‘sphere. I’m also reminded of how John Lewis got shunned in Atlanta, giving that city’s mayor room to deny the Occupation legitimacy. Puritan gatekeeping gets you nothing.

Joan Walsh and Glenn Greenwald and David Sirota, et al – what I’ve come to call the Salonites – don’t seem to understand the topic of race privilege, much less class. Recognition that race is a cultural construct does not blunt the cumulative effect of constant attacks on the character and intelligence of the first African American president.

Put simply, the Bill Maher – Michael Moore set has alienated a huge Democratic demographic…..

Read the full post here

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Thank you Video Queen Donna 😉

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First Lady Michelle Obama meets with members of the board of Partnership for a Healthier America, an organization working to end childhood obesity, at the Omni Hotel in Washington, D.C., Nov. 30, 2011. Mrs. Obama later delivered the keynote address at the PHA’s inaugural Building a Healthier Future Summit. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

rise and shine

TOD Alert!!!!

The kids at Desertflower’s school are trying to raise money for a new sound system. If the school can get in the top 15 of a challenge Pepsi are running, then the sound system will be paid for by Pepsi. They are currently at 19.

The challenge ends at midnight tonight – so please vote for Desertflower’s school!

You can do so either online or by text:

Go to the RefreshEverything website – registering takes two minutes, just type “desert shadows” in the search box and the school will come up. Then vote!

Or, Text 73774 and type in the message code 109320.

Desertflower: “I hope everyone will take a minute to push for this for these great kids … they all work too hard NOT to be heard. They have a voice too 🙂 Thanks family.”

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Business Insider – Thanks Dotster

Marketwatch: Growth in private-sector payrolls sharply accelerated in November, led by the service-producing sector and small businesses, according to the ADP employment report released Wednesday.

Employment in the private sector rose by 206,000 jobs in November – the largest gain since last December and almost twice the average increase in recent months. The October level was revised up to 130,000 from a prior estimate of 110,000.

… While economists have noted a divergence between estimates from ADP and the government, markets look to ADP’s report on private-sector payrolls to provide some guidance on the U.S. Labor Department’s jobs estimate, which will be released Friday and includes information on both private- and public-sector payrolls.

More here

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Wait….

Reuters

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11:30 Michelle Obama delivers the keynote address at Partnership for a Healthier America’s inaugural Building a Healthier Future summit

12:30 Michelle Obama welcomes military families to the White House for the first viewing of the 2011 holiday decorations

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Two more Reuters Photos of the Year:

…. visiting the Lincoln Memorial, April 9

Moneygall, May 2011

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Ooops:

Reuters: Herman Cain had almost daily contact this month with the woman who says she had a 13-year extramarital affair with him, even as he battled sexual harassment allegations from other women, ABC News reported on Wednesday.

More here

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Reuters: Hillary Clinton became the first U.S. secretary of state to visit Myanmar in more than 50 years Wednesday, launching an historic mission to press the reclusive country’s new leaders to sever illicit contacts with North Korea and deliver on reforms.

…. The visit, announced by President Barack Obama at a regional summit in earlier this month, could also open a new arena of U.S. competition with China, which has watched warily as Washington courts its resource-rich southern neighbor as part of a broader policy of increasing U.S. engagement in Asia.

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OFA

More here

repost: in context…..

Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO of Pepsico

With thanks to the legend that is Blackwaterdog 😉