On Tuesday as a group of Republican Senators blocked ratification of a UN treaty to help disabled people around the planet. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requires signatory nations to provide for disabled populations in the same way the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act does. The treaty would require absolutely no changes to current U.S. law. It was originally signed by President George W. Bush in 2006, and then re-signed by President Obama in 2009. It was championed by former Republican Senator Bob Dole and supported by Republicans John McCain, Dick Lugar, and John Barrasso.

It received 61 votes in the Senate – a clear majority – however treaty ratification requires a two-thirds majority and 38 Republicans, including Senators Jim DeMint, Mike Lee, and Marco Rubio, joined together to block it out of fear that it threatens the sovereignty of the United States even though – again – the treaty would require no changes to U.S. law since our nation has already passed laws to assist the disabled. Rather than doing what’s right for the nation and the entire world, Republicans in the Senate used this treaty to scare the hell out of their base and warn of a nameless, faceless global government that is trying to take over the United States.

Nothing could be farther from the truth – or even more ironic as these same Republicans support free trade agreements like NAFTA, the WTO, and the TPP, which actually do threaten our sovereignty on the behalf of transnational corporations.

-Thom

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"Grover Norquist Speaks to the Simpson-Bowles Fiscal Commission"

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Tuesday's Daily Stack

Article: "Republican Party Platform of 1956", August 20, 1956.

Article: "Ashley Judd exploring Senate run" by Manu Raju.

Article: "Ed Haislmaier, Heritage Foundation Scholar, Accosts Protester At Fix The Debt Panel" by Christina Wilkie, Paul Blumenthal.

Article: "Sen. Portman heckled by crowd during debt speech" by Jessica Wehrman.

Law: "Buy American Act", 1933.

Article: "Elizabeth Warren Wins Senate Banking Committee Seat: Sources" by Ryan Grim.

Book: "Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country" by Thom Hartmann.

Site: "Thom Hartmann store".

The Big Picture
- Sam Sacks, The Big Picture producer, progressive commentator

Article: "Can a “Dracula Strategy” Bring Trans-Pacific Partnership into the Sunlight?" by Lori Wallach.

Article: "Cops to Congress: We need logs of Americans' text messages" by Declan McCullagh.

Article: "They're trying to take the Internet" by Richard Trumka.

Article: "4th Amendment". "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

Article: "Nearly Half Of Republicans Believe Defunct Organization Stole The Election For Obama" by Annie-Rose Strasser.

Article: "Saudi-Led Oil Lobby Group Financed 2012 Dark Money Attack Ads" by Lee Fang.

Article: "Mitt Romney Says, “I Am The Confidence Fairy!”" by Paul Krugman.

Article: "Expectations and the Confidence Fairy" by Paul Krugman.

Site: Move to Amend

Hour Two: Will conservatives throw homeowners to the vulture capitalists?
- Tanya Marchiol, Conservative Commentator / Team Investments Inc.

Article: "Congress Urged to Save Expiring Mortgage Relief Tax Break" by Clea Benson.

Law: "Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007".

Article: "Expanding our efforts to help more homeowners and strengthen hard-hit communities" by Tim Massad.

Article: "Congress Urged to Save Break for Mortgage Debt Write-Offs: Taxes" by Clea Benson.

Petition: "Call for Action: Do No Harm to Housing" by National Association of Realtors®.

Law: "Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act", 2010.

The good: "Michael Forbes' 'Top Scot' Award Basically Proves Scotland Hates Donald Trump".

The bad: "Starbucks to slash paid lunch breaks and sick leave" by Robert Booth and Patrick Strudwick.

The very, very ugly: "NRA president suggests Jovan Belcher’s girlfriend should’ve been armed" by Eric W. Dolan.

Article: "Did the U.S. Overreact to the 9/11 Attacks? Undoubtedly" by John Horgan.

Talk Radio News Segment:
- Ellen Ratner, Bureau Chief
- Shane Farnan, Supreme Court Reporter

Site: "Goats for the old Goat".

Article: "Senate Republicans Vote Down International Disabilities Treaty" by Hayes Brown.

Article: "Wheelchair-bound Bob Dole watches as GOP fails to ratify disability treaty" by AP.

Article: "Republicans cite abortion, home schooling to defeat UN disability treaty" by David Edwards.

Article: "Nancy Pelosi & House Dems Just Filed The Discharge Petition" by shevas01.

Article: "Oil Industry Urges Obama To Approve Keystone Pipeline" by Amy Walker.

Article: "Temporary Flooding By The Government Can Be A Taking Under the Fifth Amendment" by Shane Farnan.

Hour Three: Jobs, The Economy & the fiscal cliff...oh my!
- Senator Sherrod Brown

Speech: "Address at a New York Rally in Support of the President's Program of Medical Care for the Aged." by John F, Kennedy, May 20, 1962.

Site: "Sherrod Brown campaign site".

Article: "Ohio Turnpike will see record tolls this year, as Gov. Kasich mulls the toll road's future" by Tom Breckenridge.

Article: "House Dems File Discharge Petition To Force Vote On Middle Income Tax Cuts" by Sahil Kapur.

Article: "Obama's election lead: Still growing" by David Jackson.

Article: "Video: Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer Denies Man-Made Global Warming" by Michael Allen.

Article: "White House: GOP offer 'does not meet the test of balance'" by Byron Tau.

Article: "Republicans losing blame game on fiscal cliff" by Chris Cillizza, Aaron Blake and Sean Sullivan.

Article: "Department of Transportation: Marijuana use still ‘unacceptable’" by Eric W. Dolan.

Article: "Secession Fever! 25% of Republicans Want to Split from US" by Alex Kane.

Hour One: Should Texas be forced to secede?
- Attorney Mike Papantonio, host of "Ring of Fire Radio"

Hour Two: Secession...inevitable
- Vox Day, Christian libertarian & author of "A Throne of Bones"

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