The AFL-CIO will be offering a live response to the Republican National Convention tonight, as Mitt Romney offers his "vision" for America. Tune in at 10 p.m. for live tweeting and at 11 p.m. for a response on the blog.

You can follow the action on our Twitter account, @AFLCIO or on the Web at www.twitter.com/aflcio.  

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit this afternoon blocked Texas’ new voter ID law, ruling that it discriminated against minority voters. Yesterday in Florida, a federal judge struck down what he called "harsh and impractical" restrictions on voter registration imposed by a voter suppression law signed by Gov. Rick Scott (R) in 2011.

Last night, Paul Ryan lived up to the Mitt Romney campaign pledge that it would not be “dictated by fact-checkers” when he blamed President Obama for the closure of a General Motors plant in his hometown of Janesville, Wis.  As any fact-checker or Janesville worker who lost a job knows, the plant closed during the Bush administration.

Tonight, Paul Ryan painted a picture of his and Mitt Romney’s vision of America. It is a vision, he said, where he and Romney "will not duck the tough issues" and it is a vision where "Mitt Romney and I have made our" choices. 

It is a vision that chooses more tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations—paid for by cuts in Social Security, Medicaid and other programs that poor and working-class families rely upon. It’s paid for with cuts to investments in our future such as education and rebuilding a crumbling infrastructure, both vital to maintaining and growing a middle class.

Bashing unions and working people seems to be the unifying theme of the 2012 Republican National Convention (RNC) held in Tampa, Fla., this week.

Josh Eidelson wrote for Salon that the RNC's choice of speakers and agenda is "a full-on embrace of the same anti-union agenda that helped earn Scott Walker and Nikki Haley their Tuesday night speaking slots."

The new platform reflects a Republican Party even more hostile to organized labor than the one that nominated John McCain four years ago.

The AFL-CIO will be offering live responses to the Republican National Convention on Wednesday and Thursday nights, as Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney offer their "vision" for America. Paul Ryan will be speaking tonight at 10 p.m., and Mitt Romney, Thursday night at 10 p.m.

You can follow the action on our Twitter account, @AFLCIO or on the Web at www.twitter.com/aflcio.   

Texas AFL-CIO Communications Director Ed Sills sends us this report from his daily e-mail newsletter. Sign up for the Texas AFL-CIO E-News at labor@texasaflcio.org.   

A three-judge federal panel ruled Tuesday that Texas’ redrawing of political boundaries for Congress and the legislature discriminated against Hispanics and must be set aside under the federal Voting Rights Act.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, in the same breath as praising the “greatest generation” who built factories, farms and taught our nation's children, attacked those workers’ right to join together to improve their workplaces and those they serve, during his Republican National Convention (RNC) speech last night.

Christie decided to bash teachers’ unions and public sector workers, instead of offering positive solutions to strengthen the U.S. economy.

What do you think Mitt Romney is hiding by not releasing his tax returns prior to 2010?

The United Steelworkers (USW) union wants to know. Go the USW’s new website, www.WhatsMittsSecret.org, and submit your response.

Here are some samples from the site:

“Mitt’s hiding that he claimed Paul Ryan as a dependent.”