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Fix the Debt is the most hypocritical corporate PR campaign in decades, an ambitious attempt to convince the country that another cataclysmic economic crisis is around the corner and that urgent action is needed. Its strategy is pure astroturf: assemble power players in business and government under an activist banner, then take the message outside the Beltway and give it the appearance of grassroots activism by manufacturing an emergency to infuse a sense of imminent crisis.

Wisconsin's Government Accountability Board estimates that ending Wisconsin's highly successful Election Day registration program could cost $14.5 million -- a calculation that Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) is calling "highly suspect." Republicans in the state are advocating for an end to the practice as part of a partisan national effort to narrow access to the ballot box, and Vos' statement on the cost estimate fits into a pattern of rejecting evidence that doesn't fit a pre-determined narrative on voting practices.

An estimated 40,000 rallied on a cold day in Washington, DC yesterday to urge President Obama to reject the Keystone XL Pipeline and destructive energy extraction practices, such as fracking.

In Tuesday's State of the Union, five days before what is anticipated to be the largest climate rally in the U.S. history, President Obama made his message on climate change clear: "For the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change." After touting the nation's success in producing more oil and natural gas than ever before, Obama outlined an "all-of-the-above" plan which involves reducing pollution and speeding up the transition to sustainable energy, including wind and solar.