It was bound to happen.. those pesky real laws just keep getting in the way of your really dumb agendas, don't they... so say a Dane County judge AND the Wisconsin Secretary of State..
The showdown over Wisconsin's explosive union bargaining law shifted from the Statehouse back to the courthouse on Tuesday, but it remained unclear when or even whether the measure would take effect.
Republican lawmakers pushed through passage of the law earlier this month despite massive protests that drew up to 85,000 people to the state Capitol and a boycott by Democratic state senators. Opponents immediately filed a series of lawsuits that resulted in further chaos that might not end until the state Supreme Court weighs in.
That appeared even more likely after a hearing on Tuesday, when a Dane County judge again ordered the state to the law on hold while she considers a broader challenge to its legality. She chastised state officials for ignoring her earlier order to halt the law's publication.
"Apparently that language was either misunderstood or ignored, but what I said was the further implementation of (the law) was enjoined," Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi said during a hearing. "That is what I now want to make crystal clear."
HAVANA - Fidel Castro's surprise announcement that he stepped down as head of the Communist Party five years ago - despite widespread belief he remained in charge - marks the bizarre end of an era for a nation, and a man, whose fates have been intertwined for more than half a century.
The 84-year-old revolutionary icon made the revelation Tuesday - with word of the resignation thrown in as an aside halfway through an opinion piece that otherwise focused on President Barack Obama.
The declaration raises fundamental questions about just how much power Fidel has been wielding behind the scenes since his 2006 illness, and to what extent his 79-year-old brother has had freedom to make his own decisions as he pushed the country to enact sweeping economic reforms.
On Monday, during a House Appropriations Committee meeting to discuss feral hog population, Rep. Virgil Peck (Asshole-Tyro) said-in public, mind you-that it might be a good idea to control the illegal immigrant problem the way Kansas controls the feral hog population-by shooting them from a helicopter. ~ story at BJ at link
A man walked into the produce section of his local supermarket, and asked
to buy half a head of lettuce. The boy working in that department told him
that they only sold whole heads of lettuce.
It seems fitting that a Google executive is emerging as a central figure in an anti-government uprising in Egypt that's been fueled in important ways by digital and social media. Wael Ghonim, the 30-year-old Mideast Google executive, was released by Egyptian authorities Monday following his widely publicized disappearance on Jan. 28-and now, a series of emotional videos that feature Ghonim describing his captivity and explaining his role in the protests have gone viral on the web.
CAIRO - President Hosni Mubarak defied a quarter-million protesters demanding he step down immediately, announcing Tuesday he would serve out the last months of his term and "die on Egyptian soil." He promised not to seek re-election, but that did not calm public fury as clashes erupted between his opponents and supporters.
The protesters, whose numbers multiplied more than tenfold in a single day Tuesday for their biggest rally yet, have insisted they will not end their unprecedented week-old wave of unrest until their ruler for nearly three decades goes.
Mubarak's halfway concession - an end to his rule seven months down the road - threatened to inflame frustration and anger among protesters, who have been peaceful in recent days.
In the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, clashes erupted between several hundred protesters and government supporters soon afterward, according to footage by Al-Jazeera television. The protesters threw stones at their rivals, who wielded knives and sticks, until soldiers fired in the air and stepped in between them, said a local journalist, Hossam el-Wakil.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called Tuesday for the elimination of the Environmental Protection Agency, which he wants to replace with a new organization that would work more closely with businesses and be more aggressive in using science and technology.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Gingrich said the EPA was rarely innovative and focused only on issuing regulations and litigation.
"What you have is a very expensive bureaucracy that across the board makes it harder to solve problems, slows down the development of new innovations," Gingrich said.
Gingrich, who has acknowledged that he's mulling a run for the Republican presidential nomination, was in Iowa to talk to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. He also met privately with Republican legislators, often a sign in Iowa that people are laying the groundwork for a campaign. The state has the nation's first presidential caucuses.
MELBOURNE, Australia - Authorities told townspeople in the southeast to flee homes with three days of supplies just before floodwaters breached levees Wednesday in the latest community swamped in a crisis that has devastated Australia's mining industry.
Up to 1,500 homes in Kerang, in the north of Victoria state, could be affected if the Lodden River rises any further. The flooding in Victoria follows weeks of massive flooding in northeastern Queensland, which left 30 people dead, swamped two-thirds of the giant state and paralyzed several mines.
Queensland authorities gave several of the state's waterlogged coal mines special exemptions to environmental rules Wednesday so that they could pump water out into their already-flooded surroundings.
The mining industry estimates the flooding has cost 2.3 billion Australian dollars ($2.3 billion) in lost sales of coal, Australia's most lucrative export, causing a shortage that has pushed up global prices.
(sorry, still can't figure out how to embed these)
I wish I had some words of wisdom about what happened in Tucson .. well, actually I don't think there are any words of wisdom about that.. but what I really wish is that we, left and right, could have the larger conversation.. the one where we can come to an understanding that like it or not we are in this together and we're going to have to find a way to tone things down.. if we don't do that, and soon, I'm afraid this country, as we've known it, is doomed.
Further thought ~ I don't think banning guns is workable, practical or attainable.. so, I suggest that anyone who can ought to consider buying one and taking a course on gun handling and target practice. Having one and never needing it is a hell of a lot smarter than needing one and not having it.. just MHO..
The Tea Party Patriots, a national umbrella organization for local Tea Party groups, announced on Tuesday morning that they will be celebrating the second anniversary of the Tea Party movement in late February with a "policy summit." The focus will be promoting the "the three core values of Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government, and Free Markets," through politics, education, law, and culture.* But there are no details about the agenda. There isn't even a promised big-name speaker to draw in crowds or create buzz, just a coy promise that "when you hear who will be joining us-you'll be really glad you have a seat."
Golly, gosh.. don't that sound friendly and all.. bless their hearts.
Incoming House Speaker John Boehner is backing Dick Cheney's choice for the next chair of the Republican National Commitee, according to multiple reports this afternoon.
Boehner "has made at least one call to advocate" for ex-Republican National Convention chief Maria Cino, Roll Call reports. CNN's Peter Hamby first reported Boehner's lobbying effort, reporting that Bohener has made "calls" on Cino's behalf. In the past, Boehner had promised to stay out of the RNC fight.
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) sounds like an old commercial for pasta sauce these days. With less than 24 hours to go before the Republicans take over in the House and begin their quest to repeal and replace the Democrats' landmark health care reform law, Cuellar -- a new member of the House minority leadership -- told reporters today that whatever reforms the Republicans want to put in place as part of the "replace" portion of their agenda, the Democrats have already done it.
While I still have internet thought I'll put this up... free free to pop in with anydamnthing that occurs to you.
Heavy, wet, icky snow here which is expected to continue through tomorrow. If I'm not around it's because the weather gods are fighting with the internet gods.. en garde!
Freshman Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who has been subjected to much public criticism after he was absent for this past weekend's votes on the DREAM Act and the successful repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in order to attend a family Christmas party -- which his office described as "a family obligation that he just could not break -- is now apologizing for the fumble.
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Holiday spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.
France: Flights to be canceled because of snow PARIS - France's civil aviation authority says about 20 percent of flights at Paris' main airport are to be canceled Wednesday because of expected snowfall.
The group asked airlines to cancel some flights at Charles de Gaulle airport between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. local time.
Airlines generally try to spare long-haul flights in such cases.
Snow fell in the French capital Tuesday, which is uncommon. It quickly turned into slush.
Sarah Palin has made it to the big time; she's now being called out by international media. Yesterday, the Russian newspaper Pravda (this same paper has been quoted in numerous Right Wing publications when it criticized President Obama, and was considered a paper of merit at such time) eviscerated Sarah Palin for her unrelenting attacks upon the democratically elected President, at a time when America needs to stand together, united. When members of the International Press call Sarah Palin out for her lack of American patriotism, it's time for the American Press to pay attention. It's about time someone did.
Cabinet secretaries, top congressional leaders and an exclusive group of senior U.S. officials are exempt from toughened new airport screening procedures when they fly commercially with government-approved federal security details.
Aviation security officials would not name those who can skip the controversial screening, but other officials said those VIPs range from top officials like Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and FBI Director Robert Mueller to congressional leaders like incoming House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who avoided security before a recent flight from Washington's Reagan National Airport.
Actual % that each of the last 5 Presidents raised the national debt:
Carter 41.3%
Reagan 186%
HW Bush 53.8%
Clinton 46%
W Bush 77.4%
Take a moment and read those numbers..I'll wait. Okay, so my question is this: What could/should we do with this information? I suggest standing on rooftops and yelling but am afraid that won't really accomplish much. But, maybe getting these numbers out there EVERYWHERE would work. All other ideas are welcome. Discuss
