Sunday, April 17, 2011

Labour lacks what it takes to win again in Brighton and Hove and needs someone like Steve Bassam to lead its recovery

One key factor in this May’s local elections is how well Labour in Brighton and Hove has recovered from last year’s general election defeats. Sadly, the same central Party organisation remains in place, and there is a lack of purpose permeating throughout the Party with a few notable exceptions. In East Brighton, Hanover and Elm [...]

Source: http://brightonpoliticsblogger.wordpress.com/2011/04/10/labour-lacks-what-it-takes-to-win-again-in-brighton-and-hove-and-needs-someone-like-steve-bassam-to-lead-its-recovery/

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Danielle Smith endorses federal Conservative majority government

I heard this morning that Alberta Wildrose Alliance leader Danielle Smith was endorsing Stephen Harper so I wanted to confirm. Confirmed the old-fashioned way… via SMS! This is an interesting move for Smith. How does the political capital equation add … Continue reading

Source: http://www.stephentaylor.ca/2011/04/danielle-smith-endorses-federal-conservative-majority-government/

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Q & A: Middle-East Scholar Juan Cole on the Future of Arab Uprisings

Anti-government Yemenis wave a Libyan old national flag during a demonstration in Sanaa on March 11, 2011 as President Ali Abdullah Saleh bowed to pressure after a month of violent protests.

How worried should you be about the Middle East right now? We have no idea, and nobody's giving us a good one. Which is exactly why we turned to Juan Cole — Middle East scholar, endowed professor of history at Michigan, and author of the influential blog Informed Comment — who sat down with us recently to help put the Arab uprisings in perspective. There's good news, there's bad news, and there's the really surprising news that the seeds of revolution were sown in the dictators' own state-run classrooms — where young Arabs literally learned to talk to each other in a universal Arabic language, and so were able to support each other when the time for revolution arrived.

ESQ: To what extent are all these uprisings and revolutions of a piece? They're being treated as such by a lot of the media but I'm not sure that'd stand up to scrutiny.

JUAN COLE: The dissatisfactions of blue-collar and white-collar labor and of college-educated youth were more important in Tunisia and in Egypt, whereas dissatisfaction with the authoritarian character of the regime is more important in Libya and Yemen and Bahrain. In those three cases, the factory workers don't seem to be the leading element, just because they aren't highly industrial societies unlike Egypt — 25 percent of its economy is now industrial. In Tunisia, it's smaller, but there's still a longstanding and important set of trade unions in Tunisia that were extremely active in the protest. When you get to the social issues, they're somewhat different.

Source: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/juan-cole-interview-5382077?src=rss

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Senate panel ditches subsidies for race cars, movies

AX244_0011_9.jpgIt's not big money, in a two year state budget that would probably reach $180 billion, if Senate budget writers have their way.

But $25 million for special auto-racing events and $22 million of incentives for film, TV and video game production in Texas just reek too much of "frill," apparently. Thursday morning, they were rejected by symbolism-conscious senators, after criticism from Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston (right, 2009 AP photo), and Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo.

In separate votes, Senate Finance Committee members rebuffed Committee Chairman Steve Ogden's proposals that the money be put back into the budget. Ogden said they might as well, because Comptroller Susan Combs has told budget writers, in each case, that the money wouldn't be "scored" as adding to overall spending.

Source: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/04/senate-panel-ditches-subsidies.html

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Media Confuses Midwest with Middle East

There was a time when I used to think Anderson Cooper was pretty cool.
Granted, I was about thirteen, and the reason was because he was the globe-trotting reporter for the kids’ news show Channel One that they made us watch in school.
Cooper traveled all over the world, reporting from what appeared to be the front [...]


Related posts:
  1. Public trust in the news media takes a dive … What took so long?
  2. Tea Parties vs. Tequila Parties
  3. Establishment Republicans Eat Their Own …

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheCommonSensePoliticsBlog/~3/PYr5bNdeYbQ/

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Trump bashes, boasts, and curses in first major Tea Party speech

Boca Raton, Florida (CNN) - Donald Trump unleashed a fiery anti-President Barack Obama stump speech for members and supporters of...

Source: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/16/trump-bashes-boasts-and-curses-in-first-major-tea-party-speech/

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Cuomo?s Women Host ?Women For Cuomo? Fundraiser

Gov. Andrew Cuomo appears to be ramping up his fundraising efforts again. A reader forwarded this invitation to a “Women for Cuomo” luncheon on May 6 at the Waldorf Astoria. (That’s a Friday, incidentally, and the Legislature is not scheduled to be in session). Tickets start at $250 a head for “guests” and run to

Source: http://www.capitaltonight.com/2011/04/cuomos-women-host-women-for-cuomo-fundraiser/

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Former state Rep. Terri Hodge released from prison

Former state Rep. Terri Hodge has been released from federal prison and is now serving the remainder of her one-year sentence in a Hutchins halfway house.

Hodge landed at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport this afternoon. She'll was then driven to the halfway house by friends.

"We're happy she's coming home," said former state Rep. Harryette Ehrhardt, D-Dallas. "She's very resilient. I'm sure she's gong to be fine."

Last year Hodge pled guilty to income tax evasion and was sentence to one year in prison by U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn.

Hodge had been serving her time in the federal prison in Lexington, Kentucky. She is set to be released June 20, according to prison officials.

The longtime Democratic lawmaker was ensnarled in the federal investigation into corrupt housing deals at Dallas City Hall. Hodge accepted reduced rent payments from developer Brian Potashnik, as well as a carpet for her a home she owned in Dallas.

The primary target of the investigation, former council member Don Hill, is serving an 18-year sentence after being convicted on bribery and extortion charges.

Hodge will serve a couple of months at the Volunteer of America facility in Hutchins. Then she will begin the task of readjusting to life after prison and away from politics.

As a legislator, Hodge's passion was helping ex-offenders get acclimated to life outside of prison.

"Her life was her district. It's going to be tough to give that up," Ehrhardt said. "But we're hoping Terri will be able to use her skills to make other contributions."

The district Hodge once led is now being represented by Democrat Eric Johnson.

Source: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/04/former-state-rep-terri-hodge-r.html

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North Portslade: The birth of a new Labour dynasty and further evidence of Tory splits?

My friend, Christopher Hawtree, has asked me to comment on North Portslade. Last time out, it would be reasonable to assume that the Alphabet Factor had had a large influence on the outcome of the elections. The result was split with Bob Carden (from another Labour dynasty) and Trevor Alford (Conservative) being elected. But, in [...]

Source: http://brightonpoliticsblogger.wordpress.com/2011/04/08/north-portslade-the-birth-of-a-new-labour-and-further-evidence-of-tory-splits/

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Straus cautious on nine school board members' trust fund draw-down idea

NSW_13LegSpeaker_06.JPGSpeaker Joe Straus has raised questions about what a $2 billion draw-down of money from an endowment would mean for public schools in the future, even if voters approve the idea.

Here is Straus' statement on the constitutional amendment proposed by nine State Board of Education members, issued by the speaker's office late Friday:

"I appreciate efforts to find ways to minimize the impact of a difficult budget situation on our public schools. As members of the House learned during our budget deliberations, there are no easy answers."

"Texas has a long history of protecting our permanent school endowment funds, and I'm concerned that using those constitutionally protected funds in the short term could threaten the future needs of our growing student population."

"The House looks forward to working with the Senate to find other ways to balance the state budget while prioritizing public education."

So, reading through all the nuance-laden statements by the Big 3, what do we have?

It appears that Straus and Gov. Rick Perry are, at least on first blush, against the idea of a one-time withdrawal, which the nine board members touted as a way to help avert teacher layoffs and local school property tax increases. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst did not specifically endorse it, though he seemed more positive and made cryptic remarks suggesting this could be prologue to some kind of maneuver involving the Permanent School Fund this session. Of course, if you're looking for prologue, you might start with a House Appropriations vote Thursday in favor a bill by Rep. Rob Orr, R-Burleson, to settle a four-year spat between lawmakers and Attorney General Greg Abbott over how earnings from the real estate portion of the fund are handled. It would free up $400 million for the two-year budget lawmakers are struggling to write. Here are some background stories written by my press corps colleagues Peggy Fikac of Hearst Newspapers, who wrote one about Orr's bill, and Austin American-Statesman reporter Kate Alexander, whose Saturday article explains the $2 billion idea in greater detail.

Warning: There will be a quiz Monday. Brush up on your basis points.

Source: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/04/straus-cautious-on-nine-school.html

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Saturday, April 16, 2011

Paul Ryan and the New Politics of Sadism

"Compassionate conservatism" was a hell of a brand name. You have to give Karl Rove credit for that. It was a masterpiece of political marketing. Rhetorically, at least, it managed to bridge the great gap between what the Republican party was doing and the people to whom it was doing most of it. It even managed to enlist organized religion in what was said to be an attempt to ameliorate the social consequences of the policies that were central to the agenda that the Republicans were bringing to the nation. If people were going to be forced into soup lines, they were going to be really good soup lines. The worst instincts of our politics were going to be sanctified by the best instincts of our people. It was as though the Laffer Curve described the arc of a censer or the wave of a thurible and not the inevitable swing of a wrecking ball.

Of course, it was all a shuck. (According to his memoir, David Kuo was a Republican who actually bought it, until he got to the White House and, one day, was told by Rove to come up with "a fucking faith-based thing," which is not how Saint Francis would have put it.) Not only that, but it was a shuck that, like so many things in the Bush White House, including the president therein, was so screwed up in its execution that it inevitably became a punchline. Nobody was ever going to be able to say "compassionate conservative" again with a straight face. And now, the Republicans, and the conservative politics that have possessed their party, have decided that they don't even have to try.

We are in an age dominated on one side by the New Politics of Sadism. Hurtful policies are enacted, not because of any logical benefit they might bring, but specifically because they hurt people the Republicans want to hurt. The thoroughgoing abandonment of the notion of a political commonwealth, cheered on by degrees since the elevation of Ronald Reagan and whatever ideas people could cram into his empty head, has reached the point among American conservatives where it is now the kind of faith you find in the most unshakable of perversions. It manifests itself everywhere. It's expressed politely by people like that intolerable foof, David Brooks, who's never taken a position in his life that cost him so much as a dinner invitation. On the radio, and on cable news, it's expressed crudely by people who are far more honest about their contempt for their fellow citizens.

And the sadism is running now through the institutions of government....

Source: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/paul-ryan-budget-plan-5519000?src=rss

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Dallas law school funded, pharmacy school OK'd by Senate budget writers

As they finished mark-up of the state budget late Thursday, members of the Senate Finance Committee approved some last-minute goodies for higher education in the Dallas area.

They found $5 million for the University of North Texas' law school in downtown Dallas, the same amount Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, managed to win for it last session.

They approved $4 million for research at the University of Texas at Dallas on brain development of middle schoolers. Last session, lawmakers directed $6 million of federal stimulus money to that effort.

And Senate budget writers approved a provision authorizing UNT to launch a college of pharmacy in Dallas, which has been under study since last session.

In a bad budget year, it was a pretty impressive take-home list for West and his fellow Dallas-area Finance panel members, Sens. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, and Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound.

Source: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/04/family-planning-battle-shifts.html

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Samuels: Spitzer Was More Of A Reformer Than Cuomo

ICYMI: Bill Samuels, Democratic donor and good government gadfly, questioned Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s reform chops during a CapTon interview last night, saying former Gov. Eliot “Steamroller” Spitzer was more dedicating to overhauling Albany than the current governor is. Samuels accused Cuomo of doing “nothing” to help the Senate Democrats maintain the majority last fall (which,

Source: http://www.capitaltonight.com/2011/04/samuels-spitzer-was-more-of-a-reformer-than-cuomo/

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Qualls Marrying Soon

You’ve probably heard by now that Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls is getting married. The groom is John Gunnison-Wiseman, a rare book dealer and Antiques Roadshow expert. Here’s a photo of the couple taken in January at a celebration of the Greater Cincinnati Chinese Chamber of Commerce. Qualls didn’t want to say publicly when the ceremony [...]

Source: http://cincinnati.com/blogs/politics/2011/04/13/qualls-marrying-soon/

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One citizen?s idea: A gondola from casino to Mt. Adams

I got cc’ed on an email to all the Cincinnati City Council members and Hamilton County Commission members. The idea, proposed by William Cilley of Wyoming: Build a gondola linking the coming downtown casino to Mt. Adams. (Full disclosure: Cilley is a friend, though he never mentioned this idea before. More disclosure: I always get [...]

Source: http://cincinnati.com/blogs/politics/2011/04/15/one-citizens-idea-a-gondola-from-casino-to-mt-adams/

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Bachmann assails Obama over Libya

Bluffton, South Carolina (CNN) - Addressing a crowd of Tea Party activists in South Carolina on Saturday, Minnesota Rep. Michele...

Source: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/16/bachmann-assails-obama-over-libya/

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Ohio's 'Heartbeat Bill' Advances to House, Divides Pro-Life Groups

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/christianitytoday/ctpolitics/~3/e5BNkW1IV6Q/ohios_heartbeat.html

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Kasich speaking to Rotary today

Gov. John Kasich speaks to Cincinnati’s Rotary Club today at 12:45 p.m. today at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza hotel. Reporter Howard Wilkinson will be there. � You can follow him here

Source: http://cincinnati.com/blogs/politics/2011/04/14/kasich-speaking-to-rotary-today/

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Kasich speaking to Rotary today

Gov. John Kasich speaks to Cincinnati’s Rotary Club today at 12:45 p.m. today at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza hotel. Reporter Howard Wilkinson will be there. � You can follow him here

Source: http://cincinnati.com/blogs/politics/2011/04/14/kasich-speaking-to-rotary-today/

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Things to Do in Dallas This Weekend: April 15-17

I made it to a late showing of Bill Cunningham New York, the documentary about the veteran New York Times photographer, last night. Boy, am I glad I did. Peter’s FrontRow review is spot on, and you should go see it ASAP ? if only for the incontrovertible proof that it really is possible to [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dmagazine/frontburner/~3/hda9yvmrCQk/

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Bill Samuels To Target Sen. Ball

New Roosevelt Initiative Founder Bill Samuels is targeting Hudson Valley Republican Greg Ball in his effort to get redistricting reform passed.

Source: http://www.capitaltonight.com/2011/04/bill-samuels-to-target-sen-ball/

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Tea Party Express looks ahead to 2012 at Tax Day rally

(CNN)-Hundreds of local Tea Party groups will join the Tea Party Express as co-sponsors in the first-ever Tea Party Presidential...

Source: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/15/tea-party-express-looks-ahead-to-2012-at-tax-day-rally/

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Friday, April 15, 2011

How will Libya end?

The military operation in Libya has scarcely begun. Just days ago the Prime Minister was accused of "loose talk", told he lacked a plan to back up his calls for a no-fly zone and that he could not assemble the necessary alliance.


A tank belonging to forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi explodes after an air strike by coalition forces

Yet after the second night of bombing, after the second promise of a ceasefire from the Gaddafi regime, David Cameron is now facing a new question: "how will it end?"

This is how the era of 24/7 news complicates the already delicate process of holding together a broad international alliance which knows what it is against - attacks on civilians - but hasn't agreed what it is in favour of or when and how the military action should stop.

Evidence of the problems that could lie ahead came throughout yesterday.

The Secretary of the Arab League was reported as condemning the overnight loss of civilian lives. Diplomats claim he was quoted without knowledge of what had actually happened - his quote included the words: "the military developments that happened today, I really have no reports as of yet".

The chancellor, then the foreign secretary and then the defence secretary seemed to wriggle when asked on the Sunday TV shows to rule out British boots on the ground. Labour's Ed Miliband will, I'm told, seek an assurance from the prime minister that he is not disowning the promise he delivered on Friday that "no one is talking about invasions or boots on the ground". He is likely, I'm told, to try to reassure by restating the terms of the UN resolution whilst not ruling out that a single British boot - particularly one owned by a member of Special Forces - will ever touch Libyan soil.

Another question likely to be raised in today's Commons debate is the targeting of Colonel Gaddafi himself. In an interview with Five Live's John Pienaar, Liam Fox seemed to suggest that only concern about civilian casualties would stop the Libyan leader being personally targeted. Again, I understand that the prime minister - like the Americans - will try to play down talk of targetting the Colonel emphasising that the resolution allows for the destruction of Gaddafi's military in order to protect civilians.

In truth the resolution's backing for "all necessary measures" and rejection of an occupation of Libya leaves some latitude. It is, though, the need to maintain broad international support which means that, for now, at least, they will be interpreted narrowly. After all, forces from Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Italy, Spain, Denmark and even Belgium are due to join those from the US, UK and France.

What if there is soon a stalemate or, worse, bloody civil war underneath the no-fly zone? No one can say for now. Indeed, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, has said "it's very uncertain how this ends".

This crisis has many, many more days to run.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/2011/03/how_will_libya.html

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Recount possible in Wisconsin Supreme Court election

(CNN) – More than a week after polls closed in the race for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court,...

Source: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/15/recount-expected-in-wisconsin-supreme-court-election/

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Five Moments That Will Make Us Miss Glenn Beck (Sorta)

After a memorable, destructive run that lasted less than half a decade and still somehow indelibly changed the history of cable-news television, Glenn Beck's show on Fox News will be over later this year. As rational thinkers, people not afraid of Dr. Strangelovian figures challenging the apocalypse to show up, the ghost of Paddy Chayefsky, and pretty much anyone who isn't a fan of Beck's exhales, it's worth taking a moment to realize that it wasn't all so bad. There were a few moments over the course of Beck's show where — like a carrot of sadism at the end of a very long stick — he would occasionally relent into humor and humility that demonstrated some semblance of a human being underneath that pale, mouthy hide, much to the relief of people like ourselves, who were convinced SkyNet had already won. A sampling of the human Glenn Beck, who will be missed, especially if he's replaced by anything worse.

Source: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/glenn-beck-leaving-fox-news-2011-5519894?src=rss

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Bloc Quebecois platform: pro-coalition if minority government formed

According to section 1.4.11 of the Bloc Quebecois platform: “Dans l?�ventualit� d?un P arlement sans majorit� parlementaire, le Bloc Qu�b�cois se r�serve la possibilit� de soutenir une coalition de partis politiques, et ce, dans la mesure o� le respect des … Continue reading

Source: http://www.stephentaylor.ca/2011/03/bloc-quebecois-platform-pro-coalition-if-minority-government-formed/

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How will Libya end?

The military operation in Libya has scarcely begun. Just days ago the Prime Minister was accused of "loose talk", told he lacked a plan to back up his calls for a no-fly zone and that he could not assemble the necessary alliance.


A tank belonging to forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi explodes after an air strike by coalition forces

Yet after the second night of bombing, after the second promise of a ceasefire from the Gaddafi regime, David Cameron is now facing a new question: "how will it end?"

This is how the era of 24/7 news complicates the already delicate process of holding together a broad international alliance which knows what it is against - attacks on civilians - but hasn't agreed what it is in favour of or when and how the military action should stop.

Evidence of the problems that could lie ahead came throughout yesterday.

The Secretary of the Arab League was reported as condemning the overnight loss of civilian lives. Diplomats claim he was quoted without knowledge of what had actually happened - his quote included the words: "the military developments that happened today, I really have no reports as of yet".

The chancellor, then the foreign secretary and then the defence secretary seemed to wriggle when asked on the Sunday TV shows to rule out British boots on the ground. Labour's Ed Miliband will, I'm told, seek an assurance from the prime minister that he is not disowning the promise he delivered on Friday that "no one is talking about invasions or boots on the ground". He is likely, I'm told, to try to reassure by restating the terms of the UN resolution whilst not ruling out that a single British boot - particularly one owned by a member of Special Forces - will ever touch Libyan soil.

Another question likely to be raised in today's Commons debate is the targeting of Colonel Gaddafi himself. In an interview with Five Live's John Pienaar, Liam Fox seemed to suggest that only concern about civilian casualties would stop the Libyan leader being personally targeted. Again, I understand that the prime minister - like the Americans - will try to play down talk of targetting the Colonel emphasising that the resolution allows for the destruction of Gaddafi's military in order to protect civilians.

In truth the resolution's backing for "all necessary measures" and rejection of an occupation of Libya leaves some latitude. It is, though, the need to maintain broad international support which means that, for now, at least, they will be interpreted narrowly. After all, forces from Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Italy, Spain, Denmark and even Belgium are due to join those from the US, UK and France.

What if there is soon a stalemate or, worse, bloody civil war underneath the no-fly zone? No one can say for now. Indeed, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, has said "it's very uncertain how this ends".

This crisis has many, many more days to run.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/2011/03/how_will_libya.html

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Tennessee Amends Anti-Shariah Bill

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/christianitytoday/ctpolitics/~3/4179JqAV6yo/tennessee_amend.html

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Puppy mill bill knocked off local calendar by Simpson

Freshman Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, just knocked the puppy mill bill off the local calendar, saying he'd like to see a full floor debate on the general state calendar - which allows for a lot of debate, whereas the bill on the local calendar usually flies through and can't have amendments.

Rep. Senfronia Thompson brought her puppy mill bill back up to the floor after a delay, Simpson was planning to raise his point of order again - saying that the bill analysis didn't measure up.

Thompson asked to recommit the bill to committee, which is typically what is done to fix points of orders like that. I've never seen someone not agree to that, but Simpson - a freshman who has no context and, apparently, no one telling him how to play nice - was being stubborn about it.

He apparently got schooled on the unspoken rules, because he eventually withdrew his point of order, announced his intent to talk it off the local calendar for 10 minutes, then didn't object when Thompson sent it back to committee to inoculate it against further points of order.

And .... People are barking. I suppose this joke only gets old for the 3/4 of the chamber who aren't freshmen.

Wait, it doesn't seem to get old for them, either.

Standing by....

Source: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/04/and-were-back-on-puppy-mills.html

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Senate panel ditches subsidies for race cars, movies

AX244_0011_9.jpgIt's not big money, in a two year state budget that would probably reach $180 billion, if Senate budget writers have their way.

But $25 million for special auto-racing events and $22 million of incentives for film, TV and video game production in Texas just reek too much of "frill," apparently. Thursday morning, they were rejected by symbolism-conscious senators, after criticism from Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston (right, 2009 AP photo), and Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo.

In separate votes, Senate Finance Committee members rebuffed Committee Chairman Steve Ogden's proposals that the money be put back into the budget. Ogden said they might as well, because Comptroller Susan Combs has told budget writers, in each case, that the money wouldn't be "scored" as adding to overall spending.

Source: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/04/senate-panel-ditches-subsidies.html

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Council 82 Contract Reflects ?Economic Realities? Says Cuomo

Making an appearance in North Tonawanda, Niagara County, earlier today, Gov. Andrew Cuomo again praised the agreement between the state and Council 82, which included a pay freeze and an increased employee contribution to health care. “I think the Council 82 contract is a fair and reasonable contract. It recognizes the economic realities that we’re

Source: http://www.capitaltonight.com/2011/04/council-82-contracts-reflects-economic-realities-says-cuomo/

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PolitifactOhio factchecks David Pepper?s SB 5 claims

Former Hamilton County Commissioner David Pepper told an Ohio House Committee last month: “Many states without collective bargaining, such as Arizona, Nevada and North Carolina, have far larger budget deficits than many that do, including Ohio.” PolitifactOhio, the nonpartisan factchecking partnership with the Plan Dealer, checked out that claim. Their ruling:�His claim is “mostly true.” [...]

Source: http://cincinnati.com/blogs/politics/2011/04/11/politifactohio-factchecks-david-peppers-sb-5-claims/

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Bloc Quebecois platform: pro-coalition if minority government formed

According to section 1.4.11 of the Bloc Quebecois platform: “Dans l?�ventualit� d?un P arlement sans majorit� parlementaire, le Bloc Qu�b�cois se r�serve la possibilit� de soutenir une coalition de partis politiques, et ce, dans la mesure o� le respect des … Continue reading

Source: http://www.stephentaylor.ca/2011/03/bloc-quebecois-platform-pro-coalition-if-minority-government-formed/

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What are YOU willing to give up?

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Source: http://cincinnati.com/blogs/politics/2011/04/13/what-are-you-willing-to-give-up/

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Thursday, April 14, 2011

PolitifactOhio factchecks David Pepper?s SB 5 claims

Former Hamilton County Commissioner David Pepper told an Ohio House Committee last month: “Many states without collective bargaining, such as Arizona, Nevada and North Carolina, have far larger budget deficits than many that do, including Ohio.” PolitifactOhio, the nonpartisan factchecking partnership with the Plan Dealer, checked out that claim. Their ruling:�His claim is “mostly true.” [...]

Source: http://cincinnati.com/blogs/politics/2011/04/11/politifactohio-factchecks-david-peppers-sb-5-claims/

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Canadian ads and the latest process story scandal

The Conservatives put out a new ad yesterday called “Our Country”. The Liberals rapid-response desk in their war-room put together this video to suggest common elements between the ad and one by GOP 2012 nomination hopeful Tim Pawlenty. Here’s their … Continue reading

Source: http://www.stephentaylor.ca/2011/04/canadian-ads-and-the-latest-process-scandal/

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What the Democrats Are So Afraid Of

All in all, it was one hell of a good week for fear. National Public Radio decapitated itself because a pasty-faced little charlatan — who, by all rights, should be shucking crawfish in a Louisiana prison farm — faked another tape, and an NPR executive got caught telling the truth about the Tea Party in such a way that would agitate anyone's chamomile. Since the Republicans in Congress once again have NPR in the crosshairs, the executive got fired and the CEO got tossed out a window.

But NPR was not alone in being scared out of its Dockers by legions of misinformed elderly people. Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, who has been a boring old senator since he was first elected by the Free Soil Party, bailed ingloriously on his stated opposition to the meat-ax budget that came out of the Republican House, largely because the toothless wolves had begun to howl back in Elkhart.

And let us not even discuss the ungainly gymnastics being performed at the moment by Orrin Hatch, who is apparently going to spend the next two years trying to convince his base that the several times he's made sense since 1966 were completely accidental.

And it's hard not to notice that Wisconsin governor Scott Walker decided to go Pinochet-like at least in part because his poll numbers were tanking and he didn't want to alienate the one group of voters who didn't think he was a buffoon...

Source: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/fear-mongering-in-politics-5376802?src=rss

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Hillary Assumes the Position(s) for 2016

If there is one thing we know about Hillary Rodham Clinton, it is that she owns the world’s largest collection of pantsuits.
If there is one other thing we know about her, it is that there is nothing she would not do to attain the title of President of the United States.
Her entire life [...]


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Senate panel ditches subsidies for race cars, movies

AX244_0011_9.jpgIt's not big money, in a two year state budget that would probably reach $180 billion, if Senate budget writers have their way.

But $25 million for special auto-racing events and $22 million of incentives for film, TV and video game production in Texas just reek too much of "frill," apparently. Thursday morning, they were rejected by symbolism-conscious senators, after criticism from Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston (right, 2009 AP photo), and Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo.

In separate votes, Senate Finance Committee members rebuffed Committee Chairman Steve Ogden's proposals that the money be put back into the budget. Ogden said they might as well, because Comptroller Susan Combs has told budget writers, in each case, that the money wouldn't be "scored" as adding to overall spending.

Source: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/04/senate-panel-ditches-subsidies.html

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Petrol pump politics?

A cut in petrol duty from tonight, the cancellation of all planned increases above inflation and a new "fair fuel stabiliser" - all paid for by the oil companies.

Petrol pump

The result? Fuel duty goes down by 1p a litre now instead of going up, as planned, by between 4-5p. The next time duty will rise in line with inflation is in January 2012.

We were told that that George Osborne would be inspired by Nigel Lawson's tax reforming and Michael Heseltine's activism. His headline grabber looks to have been inspired though by his great political enemy - Gordon Brown.

In 1997 Chancellor Brown raised £5bn in a windfall tax on privatised utilities. The way Chancellor Osborne is paying for a cut in fuel duty is by taxing the oil companies by £2bn a year. He is proposing not a one off windfall tax but a permanent mechanism which taxes the profits of the oil companies when the world oil price goes above a certain level. They would get a tax refund, however, if the price goes below it.

Cutting the cost of fuel was the chancellor's way to ease the squeeze on people.

His corporation tax cut, promise of tax simplification, planning reform and deregulation and the creation of enterprise zones were his recipe for private sector growth.

Update 14:46: Ed Miliband had nothing to say about the chancellor's proposal to tax oil companies more to keep the fuel duty down - surprising given that high fuel prices have been a theme he has pursued.

He was clearly wrong-footed by George Osborne's last-gasp fuel tax surprise but did squeeze in the briefest of mentions by contrasting today's cut with the rise in VAT announced in January:

"The chancellor cut duty by 1p but whacked up VAT on fuel by 3p - families won't be fooled, it's Del Boy economics".

However, the Labour leader's key focus was to ridicule a so-called "Budget for Growth" that downgraded the immediate growth forecast. That drop in growth and the other bigger pressures on incomes - not a penny or two less of an increase in fuel prices - will, he believes, shape the economics and the politics of the next year.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/2011/03/petrol_pump_pol.html

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DiNapoli: LDCs Out Of Control

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is introducing a package of measures designed to limit local governments’ use of local development corporations, which his office charged are “out of control” and have committed to an “ongoing pattern of abuse.” DiNapoli’s measures include giving his office tighter control over LDCs, prevent LDCs or other non-profit organizations fund local governments,

Source: http://www.capitaltonight.com/2011/04/dinapoli-ldcs-out-of-control/

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DeMint doesn't want to be vice president

Washington (CNN) - Don't expect Republican Sen. Jim DeMint to petition for the No. 2 spot on the GOP presidential...

Source: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/13/demint-doesnt-want-to-be-vice-president/

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Santorum announces presidential exploratory committee

Washington (CNN) - Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania took his first official step toward running for president Wednesday, announcing...

Source: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/13/santorum-announces-presidential-exploratory-committee/

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LensCrafters v. Bachmann

Washington (CNN) – The optics don't look great for Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann. That is, if you're talking about her...

Source: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/13/lenscrafters-v-bachmann/

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The 10 Most Compelling Quotes from Peter King's Hearing

Peter King's long-awaited (and equally dreaded) hearings on the radicalization of Muslims in America were held Thursday morning in Washington D.C. It was an emotional, bizarre affair. Threats perceived, real, or otherwise aside, the discussion of a singular religion for an entire hearing by nearly an entire room full of people who aren't of that religion — the second-largest in the world — is inarguably and patently strange. As such, we wanted to present to you the ten most compelling things we heard today, removed from their context, to illustrate just how intensely bizarre and discomforting this thing was.

Source: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/peter-king-hearings-quotes-5376775?src=rss

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Monday, April 11, 2011

Here And Now

Hundreds of anti-fracking advocates are expected to demonstrate in Albany today. The Marcellus shale drilling isn’t likely to be an issue in WNY. The hydrofracking lobbying bill – both for and against, but mostly for – now tops $3.6 million. Expelled ex-Sen. Hiram Monserrate has a new job working the counter at a Queens pizzeria.

Source: http://www.capitaltonight.com/2011/04/here-and-now-255/

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Now for the real budget war

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) – Well, that was close. Halfway through the fiscal year, and countless partisan power plays later, Congress...

Source: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/11/now-for-the-real-budget-war/

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The wearable coalition

The Ignatieff people are fundraising with eyebrows. Here’s a preview of the whole coalition set.

Source: http://www.stephentaylor.ca/2011/03/the-wearable-coalition/

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The division in the Tory ranks is deep and it is wide

When I was a member of the Boys Brigade, we used to sing a song that went “Deep and wide, deep and wide, there’s a fountain flowing deep and wide …”. We had hand actions to emphasise thewords, and the speed of the song increased with each verse. Walking along a corridor in Kings House [...]

Source: http://brightonpoliticsblogger.wordpress.com/2011/04/07/the-divisions-in-the-tory-ranks-is-deep-and-it-is-wide/

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The 2012 GOP Candidates vs. Obama: Foreign Policy

President Obama announced on Monday that he's running for his job again in 2012. The Republican presidential candidates have been storming the country with dropped hints of their greater ambitions when looked to for money quotes, and they're about to come out of the woodwork in full. It just so happens that right now is an incredibly quote-worthy moment in time... for the delicate and traditionally voter-immune questions on foreign affairs comes up more and more often, as entire regions of the world are now spilling into chaos and revolution. It's true: Most Americans don't consider foreign policy an issue to break sticks over in the voting booth, often because most presidential candidates don't have significant records on foreign policy. And yet, a major talking point of second-term elections often amounts to the fact that a president one term into his presidency actually does have that experience, and some are even saying that Obama could run a campaign on it. So, realistically, how do the GOP could-be's stack up against our current Commander-in-Chief?

Source: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/gop-2012-candidates-foreign-policy-5508111?src=rss

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Sunday, April 10, 2011

Extras

There’s optimism in the House that a shutdown will be averted….Or, maybe not. Sen. Max Baucus predicted there would be a last-minute deal just before midnight, but then cautioned: “I’ve been wrong before.” There’s a lot of public finger pointing going on. VP Joe Biden blamed the House GOP freshmen for the hold up. The

Source: http://www.capitaltonight.com/2011/04/extras-256/

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Greens electoral tactic may just take them over the winning line

The description that the Greens are using to describe themselves gives a fascinating insight into that party’s ambitions for Brighton and Hove City Council. It is employing a tried and tested method of ‘borrowing’ a vote for one of its candidates from the other parties. In certain wards it has described its candidates as “Green [...]

Source: http://brightonpoliticsblogger.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/greens-electoral-tactic-may-just-take-them-over-the-winning-line/

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Canadian ads and the latest process story scandal

The Conservatives put out a new ad yesterday called “Our Country”. The Liberals rapid-response desk in their war-room put together this video to suggest common elements between the ad and one by GOP 2012 nomination hopeful Tim Pawlenty. Here’s their … Continue reading

Source: http://www.stephentaylor.ca/2011/04/canadian-ads-and-the-latest-process-scandal/

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DCers plan to drop trash at Boehner?s house

A group of District of Columbia residents plan to protest a government shutdown – which would halt DC city services – by dumping their trash at House Speaker John Boehner’s Capitol Hill house. The facebook campaign had drawn nearly 5,000 followers this as of this morning, though a�number of those appear to live outside of [...]

Source: http://cincinnati.com/blogs/politics/2011/04/08/dcers-plan-to-drop-trash-at-boehners-house/

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Naming names and ?outing? people

I’m sitting in Pavilion Gardens reflecting on a comment left on this blog yesterday. Tom Matthews wrote of ‘greenpartymember’: “If you?re going to pretend to be a Green Party member, don?t make your username ?greenpartymember?”. This has forced me to think about the number of people who engage with this blog but who hide behind [...]

Source: http://brightonpoliticsblogger.wordpress.com/2011/04/08/naming-names-and-outing-people/

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Coalition agreement still in effect

Coalition Accord See the last page of this agreement under “Term of this Accord” This Accord will expire on June 30, 2011 unless renewed. The Renewal date comes about two months after the election.

Source: http://www.stephentaylor.ca/2011/03/coalition-agreement-still-in-effect/

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Gillibrand To Return Her Paycheck

Several members of Congress have declared that they want to give up their paychecks during a government shutdown – to show solidarity with the federal workers and troops who won’t be receiving pay. Now, Senator Gillibrand has added her name to the list. “If hardworking Americans are going to go without a paycheck, so should

Source: http://www.capitaltonight.com/2011/04/gillibrand-to-return-her-paycheck/

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Palin calls Obama actions 'appalling'

Washington (CNN) - Calling President Obama's handling of the budget showdown "appalling," Sarah Palin is adding her voice to GOP...

Source: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/08/palin-calls-obama-actions-appalling/

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Slaughter Likens Republicans To Nazis (Updated)

Rep. Louise Slaughter, who has never been one for mincing words, particularly when it comes to women’s issues, likened Republican efforts to limit access to abortion in the budget battle to “an old German Nazi move,” and accused her colleagues across the aisle of wanting to “kill women.” The Rochester-area Democrat’s comments came during a

Source: http://www.capitaltonight.com/2011/04/slaughter-likens-republicans-to-nazis/

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First HOA bill sails through House

solomons (Small).JPGIn the first homeowners association legislation to pass the House, members tentatively approved a bill today that would restrict HOAs from banning solar panels.

The Senate has already passed the measure in bills by Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas.

Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, who sponsored the bill, worked with West last session on HOA regulations. Solomons' bill also includes provisions for wind resistant shingles.

Source: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/04/first-hoa-bill-sails-through-h.html

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Is the Possible Government Shutdown Dispute Really Over Abortion?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/christianitytoday/ctpolitics/~3/Yl01ZqU6klw/is_the_possible.html

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Peter Fonda: The Son Also Rises

How can you�achieve� and succeed on your own,� growing up the�child�of one�of America’s�most admired�personalities? Peter Fonda, the only son of the late great actor Henry Fonda,�says�that’s something he’s�faced�since�the age of�4, when people who were total strangers began “laying an identity” on him as Henry Fonda’s son.
“My gift was what I learned from my father, without [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dmagazine/frontburner/~3/tHhqF_AF1_Y/

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Saturday, April 9, 2011

Limits on payday lending get Senate panel approval

It's been debated in public and behind the scenes. Now, a proposal to place limits on payday and car title lenders has won approval in a Senate committee.

The Senate Business and Commerce Committee voted 5-1 on Thursday to send the bill by Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, to the full Senate. The legislation would close a loophole that allows payday lenders to operate outside of Texas regulations imposed on other financial institutions.

Often the lenders charge fees that reach 500 percent or more, and customers can end up rolling over their loans multiple times because they can't pay them off.

Davis' bill would limit fees, eliminate rollover fees and place customers on an installment payoff plan if they have rolled over the loan three times. Consumer and religious groups back the legislation.

"This is a tremendous victory for working-class Texans," Davis said in a prepared statement. But the measure could be doomed down the road.

Rep. Vicki Truitt, R-Keller, and chairwoman of the House Pensions, Investments and Financial Services Committee, has said she doesn't want to pass sweeping legislation that she says will put payday lenders out of business and cut off that credit to Texans who need it.

Truitt wants to address any problems with specific pieces of legislation she has filed.

Davis, meanwhile, doesn't like Truitt's bills. She says they don't do enough and has threatened to work against them if they reach the Senate.

So it seems to be a stalemate, for now.


Source: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/04/limits-on-payday-lending-get-s.html

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What the Democrats Are So Afraid Of

All in all, it was one hell of a good week for fear. National Public Radio decapitated itself because a pasty-faced little charlatan — who, by all rights, should be shucking crawfish in a Louisiana prison farm — faked another tape, and an NPR executive got caught telling the truth about the Tea Party in such a way that would agitate anyone's chamomile. Since the Republicans in Congress once again have NPR in the crosshairs, the executive got fired and the CEO got tossed out a window.

But NPR was not alone in being scared out of its Dockers by legions of misinformed elderly people. Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, who has been a boring old senator since he was first elected by the Free Soil Party, bailed ingloriously on his stated opposition to the meat-ax budget that came out of the Republican House, largely because the toothless wolves had begun to howl back in Elkhart.

And let us not even discuss the ungainly gymnastics being performed at the moment by Orrin Hatch, who is apparently going to spend the next two years trying to convince his base that the several times he's made sense since 1966 were completely accidental.

And it's hard not to notice that Wisconsin governor Scott Walker decided to go Pinochet-like at least in part because his poll numbers were tanking and he didn't want to alienate the one group of voters who didn't think he was a buffoon...

Source: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/fear-mongering-in-politics-5376802?src=rss

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Alfred Apps admits that the Liberals are raising taxes

More context for the Apps quote: “When Tories say we’re increasing taxes, damn right we are. We’re putting corporate taxes back up to where they were a year and a half ago, that’s it. [that's all]” This is from yesterday’s … Continue reading

Source: http://www.stephentaylor.ca/2011/04/alfred-apps-admits-that-the-liberals-are-raising-taxes/

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Peter Fonda: The Son Also Rises

How can you�achieve� and succeed on your own,� growing up the�child�of one�of America’s�most admired�personalities? Peter Fonda, the only son of the late great actor Henry Fonda,�says�that’s something he’s�faced�since�the age of�4, when people who were total strangers began “laying an identity” on him as Henry Fonda’s son.
“My gift was what I learned from my father, without [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dmagazine/frontburner/~3/tHhqF_AF1_Y/

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Q & A: AccessNow Takes on Democracy, The Internet, and The Middle East

The role of technology in recent Middle Eastern revolutions has been made pretty clear. Despite being thousands of miles away, Brett Solomon, Executive Director co-founder of Access Now, is at the epicenter of it this week. Access Now is an NGO committed to "the realization of human rights and democracy…[as] predicated on access to the internet," and this week, released and is attempting to 'digitally smuggle' a bombshell document into countries whose communication lines have been corrupted, as they're either severed with the rest of the Western World by their governments, or even worse, monitored backed by the threat of civic punishment and worse. And you think Twitter going down is a problem.

Entitled Protecting Your Security Online, the paper being released in both English and Arabic, could be one of the most vital pieces of information to the organic spread of democracy in the world. Why? It's a simple user's guide to circumventing surveillance and hindrance of digital communications by anti-democracy governments. This is why it could also find itself on the precipice of becoming the most banned, dangerous unclassified public document to posess in that region right now, let alone the world, today. Solomon, a young Australian-by-way-of-New-York, who spoke with us on Friday over a bad cell phone connection, would argue differently.

Source: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/brett-solomon-interview-access-now-5456069?src=rss

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Glenn Beck ending TV show

Conservative Glenn Beck is ending his TV show on the Fox News Channel. �The New York Times reports: His departure was jointly announced in a statement on Wednesday by Fox and Mr. Beck?s company, Mercury Radio Arts. The joint statement did not specify an end date for Mr. Beck?s show, called ?Glenn Beck,? which has [...]

Source: http://cincinnati.com/blogs/politics/2011/04/06/glenn-beck-ending-tv-show/

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Paul Ryan and the New Politics of Sadism

"Compassionate conservatism" was a hell of a brand name. You have to give Karl Rove credit for that. It was a masterpiece of political marketing. Rhetorically, at least, it managed to bridge the great gap between what the Republican party was doing and the people to whom it was doing most of it. It even managed to enlist organized religion in what was said to be an attempt to ameliorate the social consequences of the policies that were central to the agenda that the Republicans were bringing to the nation. If people were going to be forced into soup lines, they were going to be really good soup lines. The worst instincts of our politics were going to be sanctified by the best instincts of our people. It was as though the Laffer Curve described the arc of a censer or the wave of a thurible and not the inevitable swing of a wrecking ball.

Of course, it was all a shuck. (According to his memoir, David Kuo was a Republican who actually bought it, until he got to the White House and, one day, was told by Rove to come up with "a fucking faith-based thing," which is not how Saint Francis would have put it.) Not only that, but it was a shuck that, like so many things in the Bush White House, including the president therein, was so screwed up in its execution that it inevitably became a punchline. Nobody was ever going to be able to say "compassionate conservative" again with a straight face. And now, the Republicans, and the conservative politics that have possessed their party, have decided that they don't even have to try.

We are in an age dominated on one side by the New Politics of Sadism. Hurtful policies are enacted, not because of any logical benefit they might bring, but specifically because they hurt people the Republicans want to hurt. The thoroughgoing abandonment of the notion of a political commonwealth, cheered on by degrees since the elevation of Ronald Reagan and whatever ideas people could cram into his empty head, has reached the point among American conservatives where it is now the kind of faith you find in the most unshakable of perversions. It manifests itself everywhere. It's expressed politely by people like that intolerable foof, David Brooks, who's never taken a position in his life that cost him so much as a dinner invitation. On the radio, and on cable news, it's expressed crudely by people who are far more honest about their contempt for their fellow citizens.

And the sadism is running now through the institutions of government....

Source: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/paul-ryan-budget-plan-5519000?src=rss

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