Ear to the Ground | Truthdig http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/category/editors pick/ Truthdig, a Web magazine that provides expert in-depth coverage of current affairs as well as a variety of thoughtful, provocative content assembled from a progressive point of view. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman. en editor@truthdig.com Copyright 2012 2012-02-17T00:26:19+00:00 http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/category/editors pick/ http://www.truthdig.com/images/rss_feed_promo.gif Truthdig logo Gay Marriage Bill Awaits Governor’s Call in N.J. http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/gay_marriage_bill_awaits_governors_call_in_nj_20120216/ http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/gay_marriage_bill_awaits_governors_call_in_nj_20120216/ chris christie, gay marriage, gay rights, governor, new jersey, same-sex marriage, state assembly,

The news that a bill legalizing gay marriage in New Jersey made it through the state Assembly on Thursday would be cause for immediate celebration if Gov. Chris Christie wasn’t poised to veto the measure.

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]]> 2012-02-17T00:26:19+00:00 Target Knows Your Secrets http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/target_knows_your_secrets_20120216/ http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/target_knows_your_secrets_20120216/ ad campaign, andrew pole, how companies learn your secrets, marketing, marketing analytics, prediction, predictive analytics world, pregnancy, statistical analysis, statistics, target, target store,

Decades of neuropsychology research have given Target the ability to predict customers’ shopping habits with increasing precision. The company’s statistical team can even tell when shoppers are likely to be in their second trimester of pregnancy. Combined with aggressive marketing tactics, such powers promise to add millions to its already swollen revenues.

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]]> 2012-02-16T20:37:59+00:00 OWS Might Get a Super PAC http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/ows_might_get_a_super_pac_20120216/ http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/ows_might_get_a_super_pac_20120216/ campaign contributions, john paul thornton, occupy huntsville, occupy wall street, oh, ows, pac, political money, super-pac,

How’s this for diversity of tactics? To the dismay of many of his cohorts, Occupier John Paul Thornton in Alabama is attempting to fight fire with fire by petitioning the Federal Election Commission for approval to form an Occupy Wall Street political action committee. If he succeeds, he’ll be eligible to raise as much dirty money as his corporate-backed opponents.

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]]> 2012-02-16T19:27:36+00:00 Russian Authorities Aren’t Toying Around http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/russian_authorities_crack_down_on_toy_protests_20120216/ http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/russian_authorities_crack_down_on_toy_protests_20120216/ dmitry medvedev, kinder, kremlin, lego, protester, russia, siberia, teddy bear, toy protest, toys, vladimir putin,

After a protest against the Russian government composed entirely of plush toys and figurines captured the attention of the press and local authorities in Barnaul, Russia, last month, government officials have gone so far as to specify that inanimate playthings can’t assemble for public political gatherings.

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]]> 2012-02-16T18:39:27+00:00 Consumer Agency Puts Debt, Credit Companies on Notice http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/consumer_agency_puts_debt_credit_companies_on_notice_20120216/ http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/consumer_agency_puts_debt_credit_companies_on_notice_20120216/ cfpb, credit, credit rating, debt collection, economy, equifax, recession, richard cordray, transunion,

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may not be popular with some conservatives, but the CFPB and its stealthily appointed Director Richard Cordray are here to stay, and the watchdog agency is kicking into action by making debt collectors and credit rating companies accountable for their actions.

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]]> 2012-02-16T17:45:58+00:00 Gore: End Quarterly Reporting, Save the World http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/gore_save_the_world_end_quarterly_reporting_20120216/ http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/gore_save_the_world_end_quarterly_reporting_20120216/ al gore, an inconvenient truth, climate change, corporate governance, gim, global investment management, global warming, gore, quarterly reporting,

Al Gore has yet another good idea that’s likely to be ignored by the business and political community: In the interest of economic and environmental sustainability, companies should be encouraged to focus on long-term rather than short-term investment goals by dropping the requirement to post quarterly earnings.

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]]> 2012-02-16T17:34:44+00:00 Mormon Economics and the GOP http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/mormon_economics_and_the_gop_20120215/ http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/mormon_economics_and_the_gop_20120215/ austerity, book of mormon, chris lehmann, conservatism, debt ceiling, election 2012, fiscal responsibility, gop, harper's magazine, mitt romney, mormonism,

Mormonism is not the quintessential “American religion,” to use Tolstoy’s words, just because it got its start in upstate New York. The church has long embodied notions and practices that drive contemporary American capitalism. And those ideas, as author Chris Lehmann demonstrated last October in Harper’s Magazine, remain central to the shaping of national economic policy.

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]]> 2012-02-15T22:05:41+00:00 White House Isn’t Buying What Syria Is Selling http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/white_house_isnt_buying_what_syrias_selling_20120215/ http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/white_house_isnt_buying_what_syrias_selling_20120215/ bashar al-assad, constitution, homs, jay carney, pipeline, president, referendum, syria, uprising, white house,

On Wednesday, Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and other officials hailed the arrival of a new constitution, slated to go up for a referendum later this month, but the Obama administration didn’t greet the news with much credulity or enthusiasm.

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]]> 2012-02-15T17:26:32+00:00 Prison Fire Kills More Than 300 in Honduras http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/prison_fire_kills_over_300_in_honduras_20120215/ http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/prison_fire_kills_over_300_in_honduras_20120215/ arson, central america, comayagua, fire, honduras, inmates, prison, tegucigalpa,

One inmate’s reported death wish led to the immolation of more than 300 people at a Honduran prison after the apparent instigator set fire to his mattress on Wednesday in the town of Comayagua, where some 356 others were still missing after the blaze, according to The Associated Press.

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]]> 2012-02-15T16:48:52+00:00 Congress Might Actually Make a Payroll Tax Deal Soon http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/congress_might_actually_make_a_payroll_tax_deal_soon_20120215/ http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/congress_might_actually_make_a_payroll_tax_deal_soon_20120215/ barack obama, budget, congress, john boehner, max baucus, payroll tax cut, president, unemployment, Max Baucus

It’s remarkable how political infighting in Congress can be resolved by a healthy dose of bad news from opinion polls. On Wednesday, the outlook for the Obama-supported payroll tax cut and jobless benefits bill that has been contested for months was suddenly better, and the timing was no accident. Above, Sen. Max Baucus, one of the legislative bargainers.

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