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We must all make peace so that we can
 all live in peace.

Jean-Bertrand Aristide

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NYT Says the Republicans Want to 
(DID) Cut Food Stamps by $40 Billion
       
December 2013--That's more than half of the money appropriated for the program.

Yes, some folks will know that the $40 billion refers to a cut over 10 years.

Oh, well then what's the problem?

But is there some reason that the NYT can't provide such information in the article and not risk misleading a large share of its readers.

Yeah, NYT...That cut is minuscule in the grand scheme of things...They'll have to cut out the Bon Bons, or as Gingrich suggested, the drugs.

That comes to roughly 5 percent of the cost of the program.

Hah! A forced diet! Everybody will slim down.

To give readers a bit more context, the NYT could have used CEPR's nifty Responsible Budget Calculator to inform readers that the cut amounts to 0.09 percent of projected federal spending over this period.

In short, this cut may be a big deal to the people affected, it means little in terms of the deficit or anyone's tax bill.

The NYT is supposed to be committed to putting numbers like this in a context that makes them understandable to readers.

Would anyone at the NYT really want to claim this piece expressed the proposed cuts in a way that made them understandable to most of their readers?

Since Republicans feel this cut necessary, what do they plan on doing with this "enormous" savings? Give themselves another unearned raise? 

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot??

"Our country has just signed a historic accord with the Islamic Republic of Iran that holds the promise of ending 34 years of enmity, suspicion, economic warfare and the recurrent threat of war. 

The U.S. State Department, the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency are now engaged in a process that could lead to the restoration of normal, civilized relations between our two countries. 

Like most Americans, I hope that the IAEA will verify the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program and that this preliminary agreement will lead to full normalization and the removal of all sanctions against Iran.

However, the U.S. Senate is debating a bill, S 1881, that would impose new sanctions on Iran and violate and undermine the agreement that Secretary Kerry negotiated and signed in Geneva.

My request to you is very simple. 

If you cannot act positively to support this historic diplomacy with Iran, at the very least please do not screw up the chances for peace by voting to undermine the interim agreement.

To use a Holiday season analogy, "If you're not going to help, then please just stay out of the kitchen!"

Give Peace a Chance

Vote NO on S 1881!

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 GOD GAVE US POT–SMOKE IT!
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