Last fall, the Nebraska Campaign for Liberty distributed copies of Tom Woods’s book Nullification to 44 of the 49 members of the Legislature. They followed up with discussion with some other senators about the kind of things they’d like to see done and provided some “model legislation” — courtesy of the Tenth Amendment Center. “We didn’t have great expectations,” said Laura Ebke of Red State Eclectic. “We thought that perhaps we’d get a little bit of notice, establish ourselves as some sort of states’-rights/limited-government presence, and maybe scope out which senators we might be able to work with on some issues.”
After steering clear of abortion politics during her campaign last year, U.S. Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle is now seizing chances in her first month in office to change federal laws as “an advocate for the unborn.”
Buerkle led abortion protests in front of Syracuse doctors’ offices more than 20 years ago. When she launched her run for Congress in 2010, Buerkle said abortion was not the issue that would define her, nor would it be a priority of her campaign.
In the past week, her opposition to abortion has regained its status as a high priority as she joined House Speaker John Boehner and other Republicans in launching quick actions . . .
Abortion rights supporters say Republican efforts would radically limit access to legal abortions.
“The bill goes far beyond any other proposal ever introduced in Congress to take health care coverage away from women,” said Betty DeFazio, director of community affairs and public policy for Planned Parenthood of the Rochester/Syracuse Region.
She said the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” proposed by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and co-sponsored by Buerkle and 160 other Republicans, would effectively end insurance coverage for almost all abortions – including people who have private insurance coverage.
“Rep. Buerkle was elected to Congress because she promised to create jobs, but instead, one of her first acts is to co-sponsor and champion a bill that takes away health insurance benefits that the majority of women currently have,” DeFazio said.
Buerkle’s actions on the issue also alarm Karen DeCrow, of Jamesville, the former national president of the National Organization for Women.
“This district does not share her views on birth control, sex education, family planning and abortion,” DeCrow said of Buerkle. “She has a different view.”
Rahm Emanuel was thrown off the ballot for mayor of Chicago today by an appellate court panel, a stunning blow to the fund-raising leader in the race.
An appellate panel ruled 2-1 that Emanuel did not meet the residency standard to run for mayor.
Appellate justices Thomas Hoffman and Shelvin Louise Marie Hall ruled against Emanuel. Justice Bertina Lampkin voted in favor of keeping President Obama’s former chief of staff on the Feb. 22 ballot. . . .
Opponents have argued Emanuel is not a resident of Chicago because he rented out his North Side home while serving as chief of staff to Obama. The renter — Rob Halpin — refused to allow Emanuel to move back in after Mayor Daley’s announcement last year that he would not seek re-election. Halpin briefly ran for mayor himself.
Before you start cheering this decision, my friends, remember that the likely alternative to Rahm Emanuel is Carol Moseley Braun.
Emanuel will certainly take this case to the Illinois Supreme Court with the hopes that they can get an expedited case.
Rahm had won two other cases in lower courts. The Chicago Board of Elections and a Cook County court sided with Emanuel in previous decisions.
Emanuel moved to Washington DC and stayed there for 21 months, only returning when Richard Daley announced he wouldn’t seek another term. Under that definition, the statute becomes essentially meaningless; anyone who lived in Chicago for any period of time could return and run for office on the shortest of notice and dare anyone to prove that returning wasn’t the intent all along.
As if the rule of law had any relevance in Chicago . . .
Since the government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, taxpayers have spent more than $160 million defending the mortgage finance companies and their former top executives in civil lawsuits accusing them of fraud. . . .
Since the government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, taxpayers have spent more than $160 million defending the mortgage finance companies and their former top executives in civil lawsuits accusing them of fraud. . . .
Documents reviewed by The New York Times indicate that taxpayers have paid $24.2 million to law firms defending three of Fannie’s former top executives: Franklin D. Raines, its former chief executive; Timothy Howard, its former chief financial officer; and Leanne Spencer, the former controller.
Mr. Raines retired in December 2004 and Mr. Howard resigned at the same time. Ms. Spencer left her position as controller in early 2005. The following year, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, then the company’s regulator, published an in-depth report on the company’s accounting practices, accusing Fannie’s top executives of taking actions to manipulate profits and generate $115 million in improper bonuses. . . .
Raines was a Clinton crony who was an economic advisor to Obama’s campaign and, during the height of the 2008 economic meltdown, bought a $4.9 million penthouse in D.C.
Security is oriented towards keeping bombs off planes, but almost none at all is directed at keeping bombs out of the airports themselves, where all those people are bunched up together.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev vowed to track down and punish those behind a suicide bomb attack which killed at least 31 people and injured over 100 others at Russia’s biggest airport.
“Security will be strengthened at large transport hubs,” Medvedev wrote on Twitter.
“We mourn the victims of the terrorist attack at Domodedovo airport. The organizers will be tracked down and punished,” he said.
Domodedovo is generally regarded as Moscow’s most up-to-date airport, but its security procedures have been called into question.
In 2004, two suicide bombers were able to board planes at Domodedovo by buying tickets illegally from airport personnel. The bombers blew themselves up in mid-air, killing all 90 people aboard the two flights.
BTW, at this point, it isn’t certain whether this was a suicide bomber or whether the bomb was hidden in luggage.
When she reports threats from fellw students to school officials, she says, the boys get no worse punishment than 15 days’ suspension. And, she says, young men are hanging around outside school “every day” trying to pick up girls. Recent headlines in England have been full of similarly lurid tales:
As you can see — and I’ve only sampled a few headlines from the past three weeks — the situation seems to be quite alarming. It’s hard to tell how much of this is media sensationalism, but it certainly doesn’t portend a hopeful prospect for multiculturalism in the U.K.
Because I signed up for the Obama mailing list in 2008, this was actually e-mailed to me Saturday night but — I’m not kidding — it went to my “spam” folder:
From the presidential e-mail:
Two years ago, when I first addressed a joint session of Congress, this country faced a crisis unlike anything since the Great Depression — an economy that had spiraled out of control, putting millions out of work.
Today, we’re in a different place. An economy that was shrinking is now growing again. But across the country, millions are struggling every day — to find work, to pay their bills, to provide for their families.
It is clear that the moment we now face demands a vision for how we as a people will win the future.
And that vision — that agenda — will be the topic of my State of the Union address.
As the messengers, volunteers, and organizers of this movement, you will play a critical role in carrying out that agenda. Because of that, I want you to have an advance look at what I’ll ask of Congress on Tuesday. . . .
I will talk to the nation about how we can win the future by out-innovating, out-educating, and out-building the rest of the world. By dealing with our deficits and our debt in a responsible way, and reforming government so that it’s leaner and smarter for the 21st century. How we continue to keep America safe and advance our interests around the world.
But we can do it only if we all work together.
With Mr. Obama planning to call for “investments” of tax dollars in specific areas like education, infrastructure and technology, Republicans insisted that “investment” was just another name for spending that the nation can ill afford.
“With all due respect to our Democratic friends, any time they want to spend, they call it investment, so I think you will hear the president talk about investing a lot Tuesday night,” Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, said on “Fox News Sunday.” “This is not a time to be looking at pumping up government spending in very many areas.”
Mr. McConnell’s House counterpart, Representative Eric Cantor, said that his party would demand “deep spending cuts” in all areas and that the military, an area of the budget that Republicans ordinarily view as sacrosanct, would not be exempt. “Every dollar should be on the table,” Mr. Cantor said in an appearance on “Meet the Press” on NBC.
It’s kind of hard to get excited about such a predictable political show.
Wilkinson’s efforts to bring the monster back to life, however, got a sharp rebuke from Kevin Drum of Mother Jones. With a Democrat in the White House, the Left no longer has any need to play nice with the Cato types. Yet we see how persistent bad ideas can be, and these intellectual Mad Scientists won’t repent of their folly. Beware!
