Need a reason to kick your Starbucks habit?

"NEW YORK (AP) - It turns out Starbucks isn't contributing any upfront scholarship money to an online college degree program it introduced this week.

The Seattle-based company unveiled a program Monday that included a scholarship it described as "an investment" between Starbucks and Arizona State University. The program is designed to allow Starbucks workers to earn an online degree at the school at a steeply discounted rate.

Initially, Starbucks said that workers would be able to offset the costs through an upfront scholarship it was providing with Arizona State, but declined to say exactly how much of the cost it was shouldering. The chain estimated that the scholarship would average about $6,500 over two years to cover tuition of about $20,000.

Following the announcement, however, Arizona State University president Michael Crow told The Chronicle of Higher Education that Starbucks is not contributing any money toward the scholarship. Instead, Arizona State will essentially charge workers less than the sticker price for online tuition. Much of the remainder would likely be covered by federal aid since most Starbucks workers don't earn a lot of money."

Rest of the article here:

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Starbucks-admits-its-not-contributing-to-hyped-scholarships-263837031.html

Need a reason to support Gov O'Malley?

"Best state in America: Maryland, for keeping college costs relatively stable"

"But in Maryland, public university tuition has risen at a slower rate than in any other state."

"A big part of Maryland’s success comes from a four-year tuition freeze, which Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) implemented in 2007. Every year since, the legislature has capped tuition hikes at just 3 percent a year. Between his first budget, in fiscal year 2008, and his latest, for 2015, the governor also increased higher-education funding by 34 percent, to $1.4 billion, O’Malley spokeswoman Nina Smith said, easing financial pressure on state schools. The extra money came from other parts of the budget and from higher taxes. More than 6,000 government jobs have been trimmed, and the O’Malley administration has cut $9.4 billion from the budget during his tenure. The state also increased sales, gas, corporate income and cigarette taxes."

From the WAPO article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/best-state-in-america-maryland-for-keeping-college-costs-relatively-stable/2014/06/13/d094e256-f18a-11e3-914c-1fbd0614e2d4_story.html

Our crappy media:

The same crappy media that can come up with this article that probably came verbatim from the desk of Karl Rove or whoever ghost writer responsible for Rince Prebuis's semi-literate noodlings is the same media that promotes Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney.

Title: "Some Democrats fear Clinton’s wealth and ‘imperial image’ could be damaging in 2016"

Whole puke-worthy article here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/some-democrats-fear-clintons-wealth-and-imperial-image-could-be-damaging-in-2016/2014/06/22/526746e6-f7eb-11e3-a3a5-42be35962a52_story.html?hpid=z2

Whatever your thoughts on Hillary and another Clinton Presidency, don't fall for this obvious rat fucking. Wealth or not, the Clintons and other Democrats understand the middle class and poor better than the fraudulent fucks over at the GOP.

O’Malley’s Iowa visit sparks 2016 speculation, comparisons to Hillary Rodham Clinton

"DES MOINES — Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley was the only potential 2016 presidential contender to set foot in Iowa over the weekend, and yet the Democrat didn’t really have the stage to himself.

The good news for O’Malley is that he appeared to be taken seriously during a two-day swing through this state, whose first-in-the-nation caucuses give it disproportionate influence in deciding the Democratic presidential nominee every four years. Almost every party activist interviewed after O’Malley’s appearances said they would welcome an alternative to Clinton in the 2016 White House race, despite polls that show her the overwhelming choice of Democrats nationwide."

Whole article here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/omalleys-iowa-visit-sparks-2016-rumors-and-comparisons-to-hillary-rodham-clinton/2014/06/22/87a4064a-f6e3-11e3-a3a5-42be35962a52_story.html?hpid=z3

"He's Opening his Mouth Again!" from Tom Toles

Wes and Tony with a lesson on Complaining

Spider-Man Statue Removed From South Korean Playground Because It Has A Gigantic Boner (NSFW*)

"After erecting a statue of Spider-Man in a South Korean shopping center, artist Eunsuk Yoo met stiff resistance from the people who run it. It seems they took a long, hard look at the spectacular piece after suspicions were aroused about its suitability. The statue has now been yanked off, despite being impressively hung on that wall for almost a year. Yoo may feel he got the shaft, but one hopes he understands the thrust of the mall’s decision."

Whole article and a bunch more double entendres for penises at
http://comicsalliance.com/spider-man-statue-south-korea-gigantic-boner-eunsuk-yoo/?trackback=tsmclip


* In keeping with DU's prudish traditions.

The Friends of Dave Brat

By Charles P. Pierce on June 11, 2014

"The most revelatory piece about how Dave Brat came to be the likely new congressman from the Seventh Congressional District of the Commonwealth of Virginia ran in Tiger Beat On The Potomac back on April 17. (We noted it at the time.) It also undermines the emerging character of Dave Brat, Ordinary Joe. A lot of the credit for his upset is going (rightly) to various radio hosts who took the payola from wingnut sugar daddies as described by Ken Vogel and MacKenzie Weinger. Mark Levin took almost $800,000 from Americans For Prosperity. Laura Ingraham was on the arm, too. Brat also seems to owe his job to Cato Institute president John Allison.

The funding for the program came from John Allison, the former CEO of BB&T (a financial-services company) who now heads the Cato Institute. The two share an affinity for Ayn Rand: Allison is a major supporter of the Ayn Rand Institute, and Brat co-authored a paper titled "An Analysis of the Moral Foundations in Ayn Rand." Brat says that while he isn't a Randian, he has been influenced by Atlas Shrugged and appreciates Rand's case for human freedom and free markets."

read of the article here:

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/The_Friends_Of_Dave_Brat

BB&T, hardly the anti-corporate anti-banking dude.

To Eric Cantor, let me be the first to say:

Tom the Dancing Bug on Climate Change: "Thanks Obama"