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via Mark Sherman and Jesse J. Holland, The Huffington Post Sharp questioning by the Supreme Court’s conservative justices cast serious doubt Tuesday on the survival of the individual insurance requirement at the heart of President Barack Obama’s historic health care overhaul. Arguments at the high court focused on whether the mandate for virtually every American … Continue reading
via CBS News The Supreme Court finished Monday the first of three days of arguments on the fate of the Obama administration’s overhaul of the nation’s health care system. The justices appear unlikely to allow an obscure tax law to derail the case. A decision is expected by late June, in the midst of a … Continue reading
[Editress’ Note: Today marks the 40th anniversary of the day Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972, which guarantees equal protection under the law regardless of sex, but today it is still not included in our Constitution. Today we are facing a War on Women. We must fight back. The ERA must be ratified … Continue reading
via David Allyn, Chicago Tribune We seem to be living in a time warp. Conservatives are denouncing not just abortion, but birth control. There was the Rush Limbaugh “slut” episode. Actor Kirk Cameron called homosexuality “unnatural,” “detrimental” and “ultimately destructive.” Meanwhile, Rick Santorum sees Satan lurking in America’s bedrooms. At first blush, such backwardness might … Continue reading
via Michael McAuliff, The Huffington Post The White House released rules Tuesday evening waiving the most controversial piece of the new military detention law, and exempting U.S. citizens, as well as other broad categories of suspected terrorists. Indefinite military detention of Americans and others was granted in the defense authorization bill President Barack Obama signed … Continue reading
via Rhoda A, Daily Kos [Editress’ Note: Yesterday we told you about Rush Limbaugh’s appalling comments about Sandra Fluke. Today, we ask that you boycott his show’s sponsors to help send a message. Us “sluts” need to stick together.] UPDATE 3: According to ThinkProgress, a total of THIRTY sponsors have pulled their advertising from the Rush Limbaugh Show! … Continue reading
via Elise Foley, The Huffington Post Republican congressional candidate Paul Babeu, who was outed as gay last week and accused of threatening his ex-boyfriend with deportation, said Monday that he supports same-sex marriage and the right of gays and lesbians to serve in the military. “If it’s not harming somebody else, then it doesn’t matter,” … Continue reading
via Gail Collins, The New York Times I am shocked to report that Congress, the beating heart of American democracy, is unpopular. Not unpopular like a shy kid in junior high. Unpopular like the Ebola virus, or zombies. Held in near-universal contempt, like TV shows about hoarders with dead cats in their kitchens. Or people … Continue reading
via Jamie Confliffe, Gizmodo Google’s new privacy policy has already caused a stir among users. Now, Congress and EU regulators are sniffing around the changes and aren’t happy about them — but Google doesn’t seem to care in the slightest. According to The Hill, house lawmakers questioned Google representatives for two hours yesterday about the … Continue reading
via Susan Davis, USA Today The roster of congressional candidates for this year’s elections is taking shape and one trend is emerging: 2012 could be another “Year of the Woman” in American politics. The moniker was famously applied in 1992 when four women were elected to the Senate, a high watermark for the chamber that … Continue reading
via Domenico Montanaro, NBC In a country sharply divided on almost every issue, most Americans agree on one thing: they don’t like Congress, and they would vote to replace every single member — even their own — if they had the option. Fifty-six percent of registered voters say they would vote out every member of … Continue reading
via Ryan Grim and Zach Carter, The Huffington Post A Senate bill banning the trading of corporate stocks by members of Congress based on nonpublic political information will see a vote next week, according to Democratic sources working on the bill. “It’ll be on the floor next week, either hotlined or an actual vote,” one … Continue reading
On Tuesday night, President Barack Obama delivered this year’s State of the Union address to a joint-session of Congress. Below, Obama’s prepared remarks as released by the White House. As Prepared for Delivery — Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans: Last month, I went to Andrews Air Force … Continue reading
via Corey Boles, The Wall Street Journal Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona Democrat who survived a gunshot wound to the head a year ago last week, said Sunday she was stepping down from Congress. In a video released on YouTube, Ms. Giffords said she had more work to do on her recovery. “I’m getting better … Continue reading
via Jasmin Melvin, Reuters Lawmakers stopped anti-piracy legislation in its tracks on Friday, delivering a stunning win for Internet companies that staged an unprecedented online protest this week to kill the previously fast-moving bills. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said he would postpone a critical vote that had been scheduled for January 24 “in light … Continue reading
via Mike Masnick, Techdirt Well, well. It appears that Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX) really wants to tempt fate and stick his tongue out at the internet. Beyond announcing that he’s moving forward with SOPA, he’s also continuing to mock the critics, calling the Wikipedia blackout a “publicity stunt”: “It is ironic that a website dedicated … Continue reading
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via Sarah Skidmore, Christian Science Monitor Wikipedia will black out the English language version of its website Wednesday to protest anti-piracy legislation under consideration in Congress, the foundation behind the popular community-based online encyclopedia said in a statement Monday night. The website will go dark for 24 hours in an unprecedented move that brings added muscle … Continue reading
via Declan McCullagh, CNET News A marathon congressional hearing on the Stop Online Piracy Act, which detoured through discussions of Twitter-borne insults and the popular meme “The Internet is for Porn,” was expected to resume sometime in 2012. But Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican, said Friday on Twitter that the hearing will continue Wednesday … Continue reading
via E.D. Kain, Forbes In 2008, during the aftershocks of the housing market and financial collapse and the fall of Lehman Brothers, and amidst the increasingly frightening din of anti-Obama sentiment that was coming to define the presidential campaign between him and rival John McCain, it was nevertheless difficult to not feel a swell of … Continue reading
via Michael McAuliff, The Huffington Post The Senate on Thursday blocked a second attempt to spare U.S. citizens from potential indefinite military detentions and was set to vote on a third effort to do the same later in the day. Under a provision of the mammoth defense authorization bill, the military would be granted the … Continue reading
via Jennifer Liberto, CNN There’s one thing that turns some Tea Party Republicans into government-job lovers like their Democratic rivals: Their neighborhood post office. In fact, the U.S. Postal Service’s reach into every state and congressional district is a big reason why Americans shouldn’t expect Congress to make the drastic changes that the postmaster general … Continue reading
via Amy Bingham, ABC News Now that the 12-member congressional “supercommittee” has announced its failure to produce an all-encompassing, deficit-reduction package before its Wednesday deadline, the full Congress faces deadlines of its own. Before lawmakers pack up for Christmas, they must first decide whether to extend the payroll tax break and long-term unemployment benefits, both … Continue reading
via Ryan Teague Beckwith, Roll Call News The super committee has officially failed. In a joint news release, Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction Co-Chairmen Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) said they concluded today that they will not be able to make “any bipartisan agreement” public before the deadline. The brief statement was … Continue reading
via Jeremy Herb and John T. Bennett, The Hill A supercommittee failure would trigger at least $500 billion in cuts to national security spending, but there is no consensus on just where they will be made. Lawmakers included the automatic cuts in the debt ceiling deal as an incentive to get Congress to agree to … Continue reading
The Brandt Standard 