It's back. The Ryan–GOP budget that gives seniors "coupons" to pay for health care and guts Medicaid and public investment to enrich millionaires and billionaires was once again proposed by the House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) today. 

Berry Craig, recording secretary for the Paducah-based Western Kentucky AFL-CIO Area Council and a professor of history at West Kentucky Community and Technical College, is a former daily newspaper and Associated Press columnist and currently a member of AFT Local 1360. Craig sends us this.

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan remind Jeff Wiggins of the old story about the fox guarding the hen house.

We expect tonight’s debate will include more fantastical claims from Mitt Romney, and to inoculate you against “Romnesia,” we include some notes on the actual Romney-Ryan record. Despite Romney and Paul Ryan’s history of enthusiasm for outsourcing American jobs to China and elsewhere, they claim they would somehow be “tougher on China” than the Obama administration has been. We want to make sure you know about the real Romney-Ryan record on China before Romney tries to “etch-a-sketch” it away this evening.

Last night, we learned vice presidential contender Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and running mate Mitt Romney envision a pretty bleak future for working people. The Romney-Ryan future is one where seniors (part of the 47%) toil until age 70 when they can collect on a woefully inadequate privatized Social Security account—where people must wait until age 67 to receive a coupon (a.k.a. Medicare voucher) for health care. A future where millionaires and billionaires, the richest 2%, continue to receive massive tax cut giveaways at the expense of working people. 

AFL-CIO, AFL-CIO Latino, Working America and other groups live tweeted reactions to last night's vice presidential debate. Read the responses below. 

Text DEBATE to AFLCIO (235246) to join our text action team. (Standard messaging and data rates may apply.)

If you were building a bridge, would you hire a work crew with a few hours of metal shop on their résumés, or trained and certified Ironworkers? Would you go into surgery with someone who only has a CPR certificate, or a real doctor with a medical degree?

If you’re NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, or one of the 32 NFL team owners, you'd go with the newbie—at least it seems that way, given their decision to lock out professional NFL officials and instead use untrained, unprepared and in-over-their-heads replacement referees.

Today, the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that killed thousands and destroyed the World Trade Center, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney issued a statement that forgot to mention the heroic first responders, including 343 Fire Fighters (IAFF) members who lost their lives trying to save others. In 2010, Paul Ryan voted three times against providing health care for surviving first responders and other survivors of the World Trade Center attack.

America needs good jobs and shared prosperity, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told delegates at the Democratic National Convention tonight. It’s abundantly clear the Romney-Ryan ticket is only offering prosperity for the rich and an economic nightmare for everyone else, whether it's cutting Medicare and Social Security, giving the rich more tax breaks or outsourcing America's jobs. “Prosperity requires democracy—starting with the essential right of everyone in this great country to a voice, both in the ballot box and in the workplace.” 

Prosperity requires economic security. Working Americans will stand with leaders who protect and strengthen Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid—not those who plan cuts to benefits working people have paid for, earned and are counting on. 

Now that the Republican National Convention—with its divisive policies, masked by a cynical call for unity—has wrapped up, let’s take a look at the deeply embedded anti-union and anti-worker philosophy in the Republican platform of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan. Daily Kos’ Laura Clawson says:

The basic message of the Republican platform on labor issues is this: Rights are there to be taken from workers and given to the 1 percent.

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.