How Baron Pepperpot has fallen out of love with Labour, and now Valerie has fallen out of love with Donny Osmond

Baron Pepperpot’s hopes for a Labour wipeout in Hollingdean and Stanmer has attracted some response, forcing the Baron to explain himself: “I wouldn?t say there are divisions within Labour, but the party needs renewal if it is to survive locally-lest the Greens wipe it off the map. There you go, honesty about a real threat. [...]

Source: http://brightonpoliticsblogger.wordpress.com/2011/04/24/how-baron-pepperpot-has-fallen-out-of-love-with-labour-and-now-valerie-has-fallen-out-of-love-with-donny-osmond/

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Death of bin Laden renews House effort to end war in Afghanistan

Washington (CNN) – The death of Osama bin Laden is giving a bipartisan group of House members who have long...

Source: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/03/death-of-bin-laden-renews-house-effort-to-end-war-in-afghanistan/

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It would be like thanking Ronald McDonald for the delicious cheeseburger

When the accolades came out Monday for the killing of Osama bin Laden, Texas Gov. Rick Perry issued an effusive statement thanking "the brave men and women of our military and intelligence communities who devoted their lives to tracking this individual down, particularly the members of our valiant special forces who flew into harm's way Sunday to finally put an end to bin Laden's murderous reign."

Conspicuously absent from his statement were former President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama, both of whom have had, well, not nothing to do with the operation that finally led to bin Laden's demise.

During a photo op with some visiting Afghani agricultural researchers on Tuesday in his offices, we asked Perry if he did that on purpose.

His answer: Sorta, but it's not personal or anything.

"I didn't say, 'Way to go,' to the president of Texas A&M when the women won the national chamipionship of basketball, so I appropriately said 'Thank you' to the participants that really mattered," Perry said, with a hint of a smile. "And that's not to say that anyone else doesn't matter, but the ones that matter most to the American people are the young men and women who put their lives on the line every day - and particularly those special operators who went in and did the Lord's work, in our opinion, and removed an individual who had been needing to come to justice for a long time. So I think appropriately we said thank you."

Then he added:

"If I had to list everybody that was engaged in the process, we'd have run out of paper."

As an aside, when asked by an Afghani reporter - who was in country shadowing the researchers - whether the U.S. should focus its attention on Pakistan (instead of Afghanistan) now that everyone knows bin Laden was hiding there, Perry gave him a roundabout yes - though he didn't say Pakistan specifically should be targeted.

"It is absolutely appropriate to penetrate into any country that is harboring terrorists that are either planning to do ill will to the citizens of the United States or our armed forces," Perry said. "So I would suggest that any country that is harboring terrorists should be on the lookout for American troops to make right - particularly those that there is clear and compelling evidence that they're either planning or have engaged in acitivites that would harm American citizens or troops."

Source: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/05/it-would-be-like-thanking-rona.html

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Will Bin Laden's death hasten withdrawal from Afghanistan?

Further to my post yesterday I note the prime minister's words on the impact which the death of Bin Laden will have on the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan.

"It's clearly a helpful development I don't necessarily think it will change any timetables but we should use it as an opportunity to say to the Taliban now is the moment to separate yourself from Al Qaeda to give up violence"

More significantly he stressed the possibility of a political deal with the Taliban rather than a military defeat.

"If we can therefore get a political reconciliation in Afghanistan, persuading the Taliban that now is the time to achieve the goals they have through political means rather than military ones then we could get a more rapid solution"

Mr Cameron was quick to deny he was looking at an earlier withdrawal, but nevertheless the political clock on our involvement in Afghanistan is ticking a little faster.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/2011/05/will_bin_ladens.html

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Senate honors slain Dallas police officer J. D. Tippitt

J.D. Tippitt, the Dallas police officer killed by JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963, was honored by the Texas Senate Monday on the same day that law enforcement officers from across the state gathered at the Capitol to remember peace officers in Texas killed in the line of duty. Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, offered a Senate resolution in memory of Tippitt and honoring his life. His widow, Marie, was invited onto the Senate floor to receive the resolution.

"Officer Tippitt was a brave and courageous police officer who sacrified his life in the line of duty while serving the city of Dallas as well as his country," Carona told fellow senators. "His life and loss remain vivid in the minds of those who remember the tragic events of that day."

Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenvile, lived in Dallas in 1963 and noted that he delivered newspapers for both The Dallas Morning News and the Dallas Times Herald, which reported extensively on the JFK assassination and Tippitt's murder by Oswald. "I never thought I would be able to meet you and tell you how much I appreciate your husband's service," Deuell told Tippitt's widow. He also noted this former Dallas home was near the cemetery where Tippitt is buried.

Source: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/05/senate-honors-slain-dallas-pol.html

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New job for former Ham Co. administrator Thompson?

Hamilton County Commissioners fired administrator Patrick Thompson in January and haven’t yet finalized his severance. But Thompson is already looking to move on. He’s a finalist for two top county jobs elsewhere in the country. According to news accounts, he’s one of three finalists for the county manager position in Jefferson County, Alabama (population 665,027) [...]

Source: http://cincinnati.com/blogs/politics/2011/05/02/new-job-for-former-ham-co-administrator-thompson/

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Rainy-day maneuver on stopgap funding bill considered by Senate

Senate budget writers are discussing the possibility of trying to "over fund" public schools by Aug. 31 with $3 billion of rainy-day money, so that schools can cover the cost of rapid growth in student enrollment in the next two-year cycle.

The idea was raised Monday morning by Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, (right) during discussion of a stopgap or "supplemental" funding bill that would ratify recent spending cuts by state agencies and plug holes in the current budget, which ends Aug. 31. But it was not immediately clear what political advantage would be gained, given resistance by Gov. Rick Perry and the House's GOP supermajority to using more than about one-third of the state's $9.4 billion rainy day fund.

Neither the House-passed budget for 2012-2013, nor the Finance Committee's proposed two-year budget, would fund enrollment growth in public schools. But the Senate, to fund its more costly spending blueprint, would tap the state's rainy day fund for $3 billion -- assuming no upward revision by Comptroller Susan Combs of her two-year revenue estimate. That $3 billion would be in addition to the House's approved draw-down of $3.1 billion of rainy-day money to pay current bills. The Senate's supplemental spending bill, approved by the Finance Committee 11-0 on Monday, would use $3.25 billion of rainy-day dollars. The main difference appeared to be the Senate's plan to spend nearly $40 million on recent wildfires and additional sums on inmate health care, lawsuit settlements and a building repair in Waco.

"Would it be more prudent to take that $3 billion [of rainy-day money] that we have in the Senate [two-year budget] bill and put it in this bill?" West said, referring to the supplemental spending measure.

Responded Committee Chairman Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, "We've discussed this at length. The answer is maybe. ... That is a very valid issue."

After the meeting, Ogden was asked if West's proposed move would allow the Senate to take rainy-day money out of its two-year budget and thus make it easier to pass that budget.

He replied, "It could."

Source: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/05/senate-finance-passes-stopgap.html

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