Obama to Skip Jury Duty

As I sit here on the computer, continually checking for political updates so I can get a passing grade in gov, I see a new post on MSN.com. Apparently, President Obama was called for jury duty...in Illinois. According to a White House offical, Obama has already alerted the courts that he will not be able to attend. Good to know that even the President isn't exempt from the jury pool.

Jury Duty Blues. Even the President has them.

Heads up, Central High School. The Feds are comin' for ya...

A new bill making it's way through the Colorado Senate may have a cross-town rival scrambling for a new mascot. If Sen. Suzanne Williams of Aurora has her way, 16 schools in Colorado will need to change their school mascot if they don't gain approval from the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs. Time out here...really? I mean I know some people see the mascots as offensive, but most schools have a reason for naming their mascots after Native Americans (i.e. it's a part of their community). And right now, in this economy, why would you be forcing schools to spend thousands to get a new mascot costume, repaint the logo on the school, and get new uniforms for every club/athletic team? C'mon, let's keep our politic correct-ness in check. It's getting kinda crazy...

See why the Central Warriors should be worried here.

Romanoff Supports Hickenlooper

Former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff has announced he's backing Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper for governor of Colorado. Romanoff originally thought he may run for the position, but changed his mind. Right now, I'm on Hickenlooper's side. I can't not support a guy who jumped out of a plane while in office. He's just too cool to say no to.

Brown Wins Massachusetts..."Epic."

Republican Scott Brown was just announced as the expected winner of the late Ted Kennedy's Senate seat, making him the 41st Republican in the Senate. This could have major implications on Obama's health care reform bill, seeing as the Republicans can now filibuster and put the legislation on the back burner. However, not all is said and done for the health care bill. The Democrats may get crafty, and may now urge the House to accept the Senate's version of the bill, so that the piece of legislation won't have to re-enter the Senate and face an inevitable filibuster. I guess we'll just have to watch and see where this goes.

Brown wins liberal Massachusetts. Check it out here.

Hickenlooper for Governor

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper announced yesterday that he has put his name in the hat for the gubernatorial race. He has already received many endorsements, including those from both Senators. My hat goes off to you, Mr. Hickenlooper. I support you, too.

Read the article here.

Sarah is one "Fox"-y Lady

Welp, she's at it again. Fox news has announced former Alaska governor Sarah Palin is joining their team as a commentator and get this, analyst. I sense an SNL spoof in the near future...

Read the Denver Post's quick wrap-up of the announcement here.

Making Something Outta Nothing

Republicans are out for blood. Currently they are calling for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to step down after controversial remarks he made concerning President Obama's attributes (he's "light-skinned" and speaks "with no Negro dialect"). Republicans are citing a double-standard, stating that if one of their members stated such things, they would be forced to step down from office. Reid has already apologized to Obama for the remarks, and Obama has accepted the apology. So...can't we just let this go? Apparently not. Arguing about this is seemingly more important that our troubled economy, health care reform, or the two wars we're fighting. Glad to know we all have our priorities straight.

Read the article from MSNBC here

Giuliani Says Some Stupid Stuff...

According to MSNBC, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani is criticizing President Obama about his domestic terrorism plans, saying that he should be "following the right things that Bush did." Giuliani also has said that there were no domestic terror attacks when Bush was in office. Timeout. What?! Giuliani was the mayor of New York City when the worst terrorist attack in the United States's history occurred! And what about the shoe-bomber? Ok, so maybe he meant that there was no homegrown, US citizens who attacked their own country under Bush. Oh wait...what about that Anthrax guy? Hmmm... Either Giuliani has his head screwed on backwards, or we're seeing the onset of severe dementia...

Giuliani is a crazy guy...(read the full article here.)

The Buck Stops...With Obama?

President Barack Obama recently (partially) quoted Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, stating that the "buck stops with me." That would be a great sign in these troubling, "passing the blame" days...if only it were true. The whole idea of "the buck stops here" is that the blame will stop being passed. Yet Obama consistently points a finger at Bush, basically stating that he had inherited a huge mess, and the whole reason things aren't happening as quickly as Americans would like is because of our former president. Please, Mr. President, ignore the approval ratings and the criticisms and just focus on getting things done. You're the Chief Diplomat. Stop passing the buck, and the critics won't have two feet to stand on. Enough with the finger-pointing. Let's focus on progression, not blame.

Read the entire MSN commentary here.

Kate Learned Something New Today

According to Time.com, President Obama is doing something interesting that hasn't received a lot of attention. I guess I didn't realize that President Obama is cracking down on illegal immigration as much as he is. Although Obama has stopped the raids on individual workplaces ("We are not going to solve the problem of 12 million immigrants here 50 immigrants at a time."), he's had ICE institute 1,000 new audits against employers suspected of hiring illegal immigrants. This makes me so happy, because it's a new(er) way to look at the problem. Instead of raids (which outrage a good portion of the public) and deportations (which can easily be reversed by another border crossing), this cuts off the problem at the source. If no one's going to hire illegal immigrants, there's no point for them to come over. Also, this is done out of the spotlight, and harsher penalties that can actually be implemented are put into place. Don't get me wrong, I know immigrants do a lot of the jobs Americans don't want to do, but they still have the responsibility to become a US citizen first. Good job, Mr. President. I applaud you on this point.

Immigration Reform