Nebraska v. Fetal Pain (The next Supreme Court case)

Lawmakers in Nebraska have proposed new legislation banning abortion after 20 weeks (except when the woman's life is in danger), making the new argument that fetuses can feel pain. (Other states have tried unsuccesfully to ban such procedures in the past, but never with the argument of pain to the baby.) Experts suggest this case may make its way to the Supreme Court. No one knows for certain if fetuses at 20 weeks can feel pain, although evidence suggests so. Pro-Life groups are now coming foward, claiming the legislation is unconstitutional, although the bill has yet to be even voted on, let alone passed. Legal experts are pinned in a battle on this one, with some claiming the bill to be fully constitutional, while others disagree. It will be interesting to see if this does make it to the Supreme Court (which I bet it will, seeing as it's in conflict with Roe v. Wade), but I sincerely hope this does become law. All I have to say is, I'm pulling for you, Nebraska. Fingers crossed.

Read the full article here.

Obama Reaches Across the Aisle... (Again?)

Today, President Obama named 4 members of the newly-formed "Debt Panel." His choices included 2 Democrats AND 2 Republicans. These new 4 come in addition to 3 members named last week. The goal of this panel, which was created by an executive order, is to find ways to reduce the national debt by 2015 by December 1 of this year. However, the interest on the national debt will not be included in calculations, and will instead focus on "long-term changes on taxes and entitlement programs." I appreciate Obama reaching across the aisle here, but how does he expect to reach an agreement on these things? Republicans and Democrats have very different views on balancing the budget, and progress seems to be very few and far between. Sure, the panel will have 10 Democrats and 8 Republicans when all is said and done, but you know that the Republicans will just be voted down everytime. I guess adding them to the panel was just a facade because I can almost guarantee they'll have limited insight.

You can form your own opinion after reading the New York Times article here.

Patriot Act Extension

Members of Congress voted today to extend the Patriot Act and sent the bill on to Obama. Without this extension, the bill would only last until Sunday. The main aspects that would stay intact include provisions about wire-tapping, seizing records, and spying on "lone wolves." I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I think Americans have a right to privacy. But on the other hand, this IS a time of war, and al-Queda has proven that they will keep attacking us. So for right now, my vote is with this being okay. Oops, my Republican side is showing...

Read the article here.

Bush's lawyers are in the clear.

The Department of Justice announced today that two lawyers from the Bush administration will not face punishment for their role in okay-ing harsh interrogation techniques (including waterboarding). Originally, the lawyers were found to have committed "professional misconduct," but the Dept. of Justice found the men to have merely "excercised poor judgement." Both men left their posts with the new Obama administration taking office, and one now works at CU-Berkeley, while the other is a federal appeals court judge (great). The DOJ's findings angered human rights groups, while top-ranking Republicans are relieved the men aren't facing punishment for their role in "protecting America." Hmmm..wonder how Cheney feels about this...(just kidding. I have a pretty good idea.)

Read the article here.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em (or don't.)

Congressional Democrats say they're closer than ever at passing health care legislation, and they plan to do it without the help of Republicans. The Democrats say they're resolving the differences in the House and Senate bills, and plan to post their version on Monday. They're hoping to get enough support from the Democrats so as to pass the legislation without any Republicans' votes. We'll have to see how this works, but I have a feeling their plan will flop...

Read the article about this here.

The Mass Exodus of the Incumbents

Senator Evan Bayh, D-Ind., announced today that he won't run for re-election, citing "excessive partisanship" in Congress. His announcement comes after similar announcements by Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and Patrick Kennedy, D-RI. This leaves the Republicans a chance to whittle down to 59-41 Democrat majority in the Senate during the November elections. Hello, deadlocked Congress.

Read the MSN article here.

John McCain Fights for Party Nomination

Senator John McCain of Arizona is having trouble getting his own party's nomination for the Senate seat. Most of his party is instead backing J.D. Hayworth. This comes as recent news notes a frustration with incumbents in Congress. Only 40% of Arizona actually approves of McCain right now. Tough break, considering this guy was the face of Arizona and the Republican party a mere year and a half ago...

Read about his tribulations here.

Rush Limbaugh Has A Purpose...?!

So I'm not really sure what this has to do with politics, but it made me laugh, so here goes it.

Scientists have recently discovered that playing recordings of Rush Limbaugh's (the famous ultra-conservative crazy Republican) voice causes pine beetles to go crazy, and it throws off their natural behavior. Originally, scientists played to recordings normally, but switched to playing them backwards so they themselves weren't annoyed. By using these recordings to disrupt the beetles' behavior, they hope to prevent further damages to forests, which is a major problem right here in Colorado.

Just what Rush wants to here...he's actually helping save the environment. Ironic, huh?

I'm not making this up. Read for yourself here.

Yay for Debt!

So I was watching the NBC Nightly News last night, and a story came on about our national debt. Apparently, right now the only thing keeping our head above water financially is the national debt, which is currently at $12 trillion dollars. (According to author Bill Bryson, if you were sorting one $1 bill every second without stopping, it would take 3,094 years to count out $1 trillion. Now multiply that by 12.) Also, the report said that if our national debt keeps growing at this rate, by 2040, 45% of every individual's incomes would need to be taken through taxes to keep the debt from expanding even more. So...is the national debt good? Yes. Is it bad? Yes. Hmmm...weird.

What IS the Tea Party Movement?

So with all this news of the Tea Party Movement, I decided to look up what exactly it is. The only information I found was that it is a movement to stop government overspending. According to a recent poll, 1/3 of Americans approve of it, but 40% don't know what it is. I'm still not completely clear on it's concept, so in my book, this interest group is not very effective...

Read about it on CNN here.

Leading His Troops

President Obama got a little mean today, both at his party and the GOP. The message, however, was an inspirational one. Obama called on Democrats to not "play it safe," and instead lead the country the way they were before Scott Brown's election (which has Democrats worried about upcoming re-election campaigns). Obama also blasted Republicans for their attempts at blocking Democratic legislation. Excuse me, Mr. Obama, but if you're trying to get rid of the competition between parties, shouldn't you not blast the Republicans? Instead, let's talk about the issues, and not point fingers because you aren't accomplishing what you set out to do.

Read the CNN article here.

Hookt on Fonics Werkt 4 Me. (Thanks, No Child Left Behind.)

President Obama is planning on overhauling Bush's "No Child Left Behind" act, and getting rid of the accountability system. As it is now, schools have to show proficiency on state tests and improvement every year. Obama's plan is to instead focus on getting kids ready for their post-high school plans (although no specifics were provided on how he'd do this. Hmmm...). To do this, Obama needs $49.7 billion. I like his plan for tax cuts for college kids, but I'm still not convinced. You show me your detailed plan, I'll show you my money.

Read the ABC article here.