A woman who began work at the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office as a child-support intern took the oath Friday to become the county’s top law enforcement officer.After being sworn in as the county prosecutor, Jean Peters-Baker resigned from the 39th District seat in the Missouri House of Representatives, to which she was elected in ...

Via CNet Green Tech - The Methanol Institute supports the introduction of the Open Fuel Standard Act of 2011 (H.R. 1687) in the U.S. House of Representatives. Originally posted at The Car Tech blog...

Ohio House Of Representatives Passes Estate Tax Repeal Forbes (blog) On May 5, 2011, the Ohio House of Representatives passed a $55.6 billion two-year budget plan that would permanently repeal the estate tax for deaths occurring on or after July 1, 2013. The vote for House Bill 153 was along party lines: ... Coleman: Ohio estate tax repeal push 'immoral'Columbus Business First all 2 news articles »

[JURIST] The Florida House of Representatives [official website] on Thursday voted 77-38 to pass controversial legislation [HB 1355 materials] revising the state's election laws, only hours after the Senate [official website] did so by a 25-13 margin. The bill limits the window for early voting to one week prior to an election, down from the previously established two weeks, and imposes a series of additional regulations on organizations that enlist new voters, including that they register with the state, submit periodic reports and file voter registration materials within 48 hours of completion. It also requires voters that have moved between any of the state's counties to use provisional ballots if they wish to update their information while at a polling location. Opponents to the legislation charge that its design is politically motivated [AP report] to disproportionately affect Democratic constituencies, though its supporters argue that the measures are intended only to reduce election-related expenses and voter fraud. The bill will proceed to Governor Rick Scott [official website] for his signature or veto. Earlier this month, the Georgia Supreme Court [official website] upheld [JURIST report] the state's 2006 Photo ID Act that requires voters to present one of six government-issued photo identifications in order to vote. The court ruled that the law "does not deprive any Georgia voter from casting a ballot in any election," and that presenting valid identification does not represent an unconstitutional impediment to voting. In contrast, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] struck down [JURIST report] a portion of an Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration in October. The court held that the law was inconsistent with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) [materials], which was passed with the intent of increasing voter registration and removing barriers to registration imposed by the states. The NVRA requires voters to attest to the validity of the information on their registration forms, including their citizenship, but does not require them to provide additional proof of citizenship. The law exceeded the federal statute, requiring applicants to show proof before registering to vote.

On May 5, 2011, the Ohio House of Representatives passed a $55.6 billion two-year budget plan that w

Daily News Pulse

Vermont to Go Single Payer -- Do I Hear a Second? Huffington Post The Vermont House of Representatives voted 94 to 49 this week to establish a Green Mountain health insurance exchange, the first step in establishing a single payer program in that State. The bill now goes to Governor Peter Shumlin's desk, ... Vermont House takes up DUI bill as lawmakers prepare to adjourn for yearThe Republic Vermont Passes Universal Healthcare PlanMedPage Today Vermont Legislature Passes Bill To Establish Single Payer Health PlanKaiser Health News vtdigger.org -Business Insurance -California Healthline all 180 news articles »

Media release | Hawaii State House of Representatives Honolulu, Hawaii – The legislative session ended with the passage of some major bills to help lessees in the Kanoelehua Industrial Area as well as Banyan Drive. HB 331, introduced by Rep Jerry Chang (Hilo-Waiakea-Kaumana-Keaukaha), will help stabilize and support Hilo’s economy ...

It’s been over three months since Republicans took control of the House of Representatives and strengthened their caucus in the Senate.

[You cute animal video of the week, stolen from Pawesome. Look how quiet yet excited that dog is!?]

Today we find out the fate of Tony the Truck Stop Tiger! Tune into the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s twitter for updates. Free Tony!

Remember hearing like all wild fish are totally going to be gone soon? Well some scientists disagree. Some agree. I hate fishing regardless. Sounds like a party!

Koalas might be alright if we plant some god damn trees for them!

Good news in San Francisco!: Activists end live bird sale at SF’s Farmers’ Market!

Big surprise: Tilapia farming is totally effed!

Cosmo’s Vegan Shoppe has the new Go Max Go bars/cups in stock! Holler!

Fish oil may not prevent depression; probably kills fish.

Apparently a dog helped take out bin Laden and this is my discussion topic of the week. Did you see Sarah’s post about parachuting dogs? I just think it’s crazy! I know they form bonds with their trainers or whatever but jumping out of planes? Seems effed! Some actually get PTSD! What do you think? Is what they do so important that it’s worth the risk? I don’t know, they can’t give consent. Seems effed.

Your weekly WTF from Defenders of Wildlife: “The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the first in a series of three bills that mandates the acceleration of the offshore drilling permitting process and opens up new areas to oil and gas drilling…”

This is kind of funny! From This Dish is Veg: Seven ridiculous restaurant logos that feature happy animals selling meat.

Photo credit: tsuda via Flickr/ Creative Commons Yesterday I watched the U.S. House of Representatives shill for Big Oil again by passing a bill allowing more drilling in our waters with less oversight and accountability. At the same time, House leadership blocked a vote to end billions of dollars in government tax breaks for the industry. Meanwhile, the oil industry just posted billions in profits in their first quarter reports, with Exxon reporting $10.7 billion in profit, Shell raking in $6.9 billion, Ch... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Wednesday, House Republicans voted to infringe on New Hampshire citizens' right to vote.  But as they entered the State House, a group of concerned New Hampshire citizens asked the reckless state legislators to present a state issued photo ID before they voted.

One Rep responded by waving a wad of cash, and another asked which the voter wanted first, "the gun or the ID."

A video of the GOP Representatives' reactions is available here:

(Posted by Harrell Kirstein, press secretary for the New Hampshire Democratic Party.)

Photo credit: tsuda via Flickr/Creative Commons Yesterday I watched the U.S. House of Representatives shill for Big Oil again by passing a bill allowing more drilling in our waters with less oversight and accountability. At the same time, House leadership blocked a vote to end billions of dollars in government tax breaks for the industry. Meanwhile, the oil industry just posted billions in profits in their first quarter reports, with Exxon reporting $10.7 billion in profit, Shell raking in $6.9 billion, Ch...Read the full story on TreeHugger

The Vermont House of Representatives voted 94 to 49 this week to establish a Green Mountain health insurance exchange, the first step in establishing a single payer program in that State. But there's still a long way to go.

Via Treehugger - Photo credit: tsuda via Flickr/Creative Commons Yesterday I watched the U.S. House of Representatives shill for Big Oil again by passing a bill allowing more drilling in our w...

House Bill 148, the Right-to-Carry bill introduced by state Representative Brandon Phelps (D-118), failed to reach the necessary 71 votes required for its passage in the Illinois House of Representatives on Thursday, May 5. Fortunately, this fight is far from over, as the bill was placed on postponed consideration. This means there is still time to try to work on legislators who claim to be pro-gun, but voted against this legislation or did not vote on Thursday.

U.S. President Barack Obama's Republican foes on Thursday pushed a bill to boost offshore oil drilling through the House of Representatives.

A Chaplain and Teacher from Jesuit High School in the SW Portland area is set to become the 60th Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives on Capitol Hill.

The Guardian says the Lords must not be allowed to block the Great Reform Bill

The Great Reform Bill of 1831 looked set to extend the franchise to an unprecedented one in six adult males but at the time of this Guardian editorial it was expected to meet stiff opposition in the House of Lords. Appealing to the government to keep its electoral promises on reform, the paper also called on 'the people' to loudly hold their parliamentary representatives to account.

Tracking is a big word right now. iPhones were found to be tracking your location and storing it, prompting Apple to release a quick fix. Google's offices in Seoul, South Korea were raided over AdMob tracking. Any way your electronic activity can be traced and store, there are several companies trying to figure out how to monetize that data.

Sen. John Rockefeller (D-W.Va) will introduce a "Do Not Track" bill that would allow consumers to opt-out of online tracking and block website and marketers from tracing their Internet activities. The "Do-Not-Track Online Act of 2011" would work off of recommendations by the Federal Trade Commission which would govern enforcement of the act, according to the Washington Post.

Sponsor

This is a separate bill from the Consumers Online Privacy Bill of Rights that was introduced by Senators John McCain and John Kerry in April. Critics of that bill complained that the Bill of Rights did not go far enough, mostly because it did not contain a do-not-track clause in it.

According to the Post, the bill would require online companies to honor the choice of a user not to be tracked. Web companies would have to destroy or make anonymous user information when it was no longer useful (read: profitable).

The California legislature has proposed a do-not-track law and search giant Google has joined a lobby to oppose it. That makes it all but certain that Google would oppose a federal do-not track law as well.

Of the major browsers, Apple's Safari, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 have built-in do-not-track functionality. Google has released a browser extension for do-not-track but the Chrome browser itself does not have it built in.

Also introduced today from members of the House of Representatives is a bill that would prevent children from being tracked online. The bill would create guidelines for how marketers can track and target teenagers on the Internet. The bill would also protect teenagers from location tracking. This bill is pertinent considering the Sony PlayStation Network that was hacked with information of up to 70 million users, many of them adolescents, exposed.

Discuss

Online hacktivist clan Anonymous has denied accusations that it was behind the recent PlayStation Network attack, and claims other “online thieves” have framed the group. On May 4, the chairman of Sony’s board of directors, Kaz Hirai, testified to the U.S. House of Representatives about the “very carefully planned, very professional, highly sophisticated criminal cyberattack” that [...]

Last week, Representative Leonard Boswell (IA-03) brought up the need to end oil subsidies repeatedly during an Iowa Public Television appearance. This week, Boswell and other House Democrats requested "a full House Agriculture Committee hearing and investigation into the relationship between rising oil prices and Wall Street speculators." So I was surprised to see Boswell vote for an offshore drilling bill the House approved on May 5.

Details on yesterday's votes and Boswell's recent statements on oil policy are after the jump.
The Republican-backed "Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act" passed by 266 votes to 149. The roll call shows that Boswell was among 33 House Democrats to support the bill. Iowans Bruce Braley (IA-01) and Dave Loebsack (IA-02) voted no, along with most of the Democratic caucus. The Hill's Andrew Restuccia summarized key provisions:

The legislation, authored by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), would set a deadline for holding delayed Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease sales. It would also mandate the sale of leases off the Virginia coast, a plan the administration nixed after last year's Gulf oil spill. [...]

Republicans also argued that the legislation would help to lower gas prices. But energy analysts say expanded U.S. oil and gas drilling would have no significant near-term impacts on gas prices.

Democrats blasted the bill Thursday and sought to tie Republicans to the oil industry ahead of the 2012 elections and amid growing public concern about gas prices.

"This is about big oil handouts, pure and simple," Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) said.

A White House statement criticized the bill on different grounds:

The White House said the bill would "undercut" new offshore drilling safety reforms imposed after the massive oil spill last year.

"These reforms strengthen requirements for issues ranging from well design to workplace safety to corporate accountability, and they require operators to show that they can contain a subsea oil spill like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill," the White House said.

The May 5 press release from Boswell's office puts an entirely different spin on this bill:

Boswell Fights to Keep American Oil for American Families

Washington, DC - Today, Congressman Leonard Boswell voted to keep oil and natural gas that is produced in the United States solely for American consumption.

"Domestic oil production is currently at a 10-year high, increasing by one-third in the last two years, yet gas prices are still rising as Big Oil and Wall Street are taking advantage of consumers at the pump," Boswell said. "I voted today to make sure that domestic oil stays in-country and solely benefits American communities and workers. I understand that Iowans cannot afford to pay $4 for a gallon of gas and cannot stomach doing so when oil and gas companies receive billions in government subsidies. While in my gut I feel a supply shortage is not the driver behind outrageous gas prices, I will employ every solution to bring down the cost to consumers - from safe and responsible domestic drilling to holding Wall Street accountable for excessive speculation."

Boswell sent a letter this week to House Agriculture Committee leadership requesting a hearing and investigation into the role of Wall Street in driving up the price of oil through excessive speculation and profiteering.

I'll get back to Boswell's request for an investigation in a moment, but first, I want to highlight this remarkable statement: "While in my gut I feel a supply shortage is not the driver behind outrageous gas prices, I will employ every solution to bring down the cost to consumers [...]" Boswell knows more offshore drilling won't reduce the cost of gas, but he doesn't want to be accused of voting against efforts to increase domestic energy supply. It's not a profile in courage, that's for sure.

In fairness to Boswell, before supporting final passage of the offshore drilling bill he did join the majority of House Democrats in opposing a motion to proceed with consideration of the bill. Democrats were trying to defeat the motion in order to force a vote on separate legislation to repeal tax subsidies for the oil industry.

Boswell also voted for both Democratic amendments offered yesterday when the offshore drilling bill reached the House floor. One offered by Representative Rush Holt of New Jersey would "allow lease sales to go forward, but require new environmental and safety reviews, following the BP spill." The other offered by Representative Gerry Connolly of Virginia would "ensure that a lease sale off the coast of Virginia does not interfere with offshore operations by the Defense Department and the Navy." Both amendments failed on mostly party-line votes.

Republicans Tom Latham (IA-04) and Steve King (IA-05) voted for the offshore drilling bill yesterday and against the Democratic amendments. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee quickly sent out nearly-identical press releases criticizing Latham and King. Notably, the DCCC didn't slam the Republicans for supporting more offshore drilling (the central aspect of the bill that passed).

Instead, the DCCC put the spotlight on the earlier procedural vote, which prevented consideration of the separate oil subsidies repeal measure. Here's an excerpt from the DCCC's blast against Latham, who will be Boswell's opponent in the new IA-03 next year:

Representative Latham Votes to Keep Taxpayer Giveaways to Big Oil Companies

Today, Representative Tom Latham (IA-04) voted to protect billions of dollars in taxpayer giveaways for Big Oil companies.  Last week, the big five oil companies reported that their profits increased by 38 percent since this time last year, while middle income families are feeling the squeeze at the gas pump.  Two weeks ago, Latham voted to end Medicare and raise health care costs for seniors in order to protect these taxpayer giveaways for Big Oil.

ExxonMobil reported profits of nearly $11 billion in the first quarter of 2011, a 69 percent increase. Shell reported profits of $7 billion, ConocoPhillips reported profits of $3 billion, Chevron reported $6.2 billion, and BP reported $5.5 billion.

Representative Latham has raked in $42,500 in campaign contributions from Big Oil and gas, and is a consistent vote for Republicans' Big Oil agenda.

"Representative Tom Latham today chose taxpayer funded giveaways for Big Oil companies making record profits rather than doing what's right for folks squeezed by high prices at the pump," said Jesse Ferguson of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "Tom Latham's priorities are clear: protecting Big Oil comes at the expense of seniors and working families. No wonder Big Oil rewards Representative Tom Latham with generous campaign contributions."

The measure Latham opposed would bring the Big Oil Welfare Repeal Act of 2011 (H.R. 1689) to the floor for consideration. H.R. 1689 would amend the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit major oil companies (the Big 5) from receiving a tax deduction for domestic oil and natural gas production activities.

Background

?         Representative Tom Latham opposed a measure that would allow the House of Representatives to approve the Big Oil Welfare Repeal Act of 2011 (H.R. 1689) which would repeal key taxpayer funded subsidies for oil and gas companies. As reported by The Hill newspaper, "House Democrats intend to force a vote on a measure that would eliminate a key oil industry tax break when Republicans bring a bill to expand domestic oil and-gas drilling to the floor Thursday." [H Res 245, Vote #293, 5/5/11; The Hill, 5/4/11; CBS News, 5/4/11]

?         In March, Latham opposed a Motion to Recommit that would ensure no "tax benefit" could go to a "major integrated oil company." [HJ Res 44, Vote #153, 3/01/11]

?         Big Oil Profits Up 38 Percent. "Americans spent 28 percent more for gasoline during the first three months of 2011 than the same period in 2010. Meanwhile, the big five oil companies-BP, Chevron, Conoco Phillips, ExxonMobil, and Shell-made 38 percent more profit." [Center for American Progress, 5/3/11]

?         ExxonMobil reported profits of nearly $11 billion in the first quarter of 2011, a 69 percent increase. Shell reported profits of $7 billion, ConocoPhillips reported profits of $3 billion, Chevron reported $6.2 billion, and BP reported $5.5 billion. [Center for American Progress, 5/3/11; ABC News, 4/28/11]

?         In March, the Democratic Steering & Policy Committee held a hearing noting that from 2005 to 2009, the largest oil companies have made $485 billion in profits. [climateprogress.org, 3/01/11]

?         Latham has taken $42,500 from the oil and gas industry while in Congress. [opensecrets.org, accessed 5/05/11]

Comparing the lifetime voting records of Latham and Boswell, there's no doubt who has been more loyal to the oil and gas industry. According to the Progressive Punch database, Latham has voted the "progressive" way on oil and gas subsidies only about 4 percent of the time. Boswell's votes on legislation related to oil and gas industry subsidies are a mixed bag, but he has a 75 percent "progressive" record in this area.

Still, it's a stretch for Boswell to position himself as a crusader against "taxpayer-funded giveaways to Big Oil" and then vote for more offshore drilling less than a week later. Sorry, the Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act isn't about keeping "American oil for American families."

Before ending this post, a quick look at Boswell's request for "a hearing and investigation into the role of Wall Street in driving up the price of oil through excessive speculation and profiteering." Here's more from his press release of May 4:

"As Ranking Member of the Agriculture Subcommittee that oversees the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, I have a responsibility to ensure speculators are not exploiting oil supply fears to make big profits," Boswell said. "The CFTC determined in 2008 that Wall Street speculators were increasing their positions in energy markets to capitalize off of political unrest in heavy oil-producing nations. Energy prices drive up the cost of goods across the board, from input costs on the farm to the food on the kitchen table.  I am calling for a hearing to make sure that Wall Street and Big Oil are not purposely driving up prices once again to make a quick buck on the backs of the middle class and small business owners who are hit the hardest when the price of gas skyrockets." [...]

Boswell added, "The Agriculture Committee has a history of investigating oil speculation when gas prices reach record levels, regardless of what party is in charge. It is my hope that Committee leadership will take the issue of rising gas prices seriously, as well as our hearing request, and allow daylight to be shed on this important issue."

Regardless of whether the House Agriculture Committee holds hearings on this matter, voters in IA-03 are sure to hear next year that Boswell tried to protect consumers against Wall Street manipulation of the price of oil.

Share any relevant thoughts in this thread.

There are two stories out today that suggest it is not just amateur hour at the White House where five days after Osama Bin Laden went to sleep with Davy Jones there are still more questions than answers.

No, it is also amateur hour in the House of Representatives. Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) is declaring the fight to repeal Obamacare over. That’s right. He’s giving up. They won’t pick a fight.

If that were not stupid enough, Camp said that “Instead … the GOP would turn its focus to overturning the most controversial portion of that legislation: the mandate requiring individuals to buy insurance.”

If the House GOP is successful in repealing the individual mandate, the case from Florida that threw out the entire legislation would die before getting to the Supreme Court. The GOP would yet again have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

That’s not all though. It looks more and more like Paul Ryan is retreating from the field leaving the freshman House Republicans to take all the bullets over his own plan. It begs the question if he is the dumbest smart man in America.

Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) paid the heaviest price, stepping on his message even before White House talks had begun. But House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) also played a part by opining publicly that it’s now unlikely that any debt deal this summer will include the wholesale Medicare changes that had been envisioned in his ambitious budget plan adopted just last month.

All this was news to the rank-and-file Republicans who had voted for the Ryan plan last month and felt political heat at home over the spring recess. And it left Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) as the unlikely tough guy on the block, pulling a Cantor on Cantor, so to speak.

The House Freshman went to Washington expecting a fight. Many of them have been willing to lose re-election in a fight to the death to reform entitles and get rid of Obamacare. It is what they promised to do. But the Republican leadership seems intent on pulling the football away just as the GOP is about to kick.

If the GOP leadership won’t stand up and fight, we’re going to need somebody new.

The heat is on.

And 33 Democrats joined the House Republican majority yesterday to put the White House on notice that they take America’s energy independence seriously.

The vote:

The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to approve a measure intended to jump-start drilling off Virginia’s coast.

It passed on a 266-149 vote, with 33 Democrats in the majority. Lease sales are the first step in a multiyear process that can culminate in drilling.

The Virginia delegation broke on party lines — eight Republicans voted in favor and three Democrats were opposed.

The Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act would direct the secretary of the interior to conduct offshore oil and gas lease sales off the state’s coast within one year of the bill’s enactment. It also would trigger lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico but exclude any tract off Virginia that would conflict with military operations.

Virginia’s lease sale was scheduled for this year but delayed until at least 2017 after the April-July 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the worst offshore spill in U.S. history.

The bill was the first of three House measures meant to speed up drilling. None of the three is likely to pass the Senate, where Democratic leaders are more focused on ending tax breaks received by oil companies.

Heritage gives us a grim milestone reminder:

This Date in History: Obama Imposes Job-Destroying Drilling Moratorium

This week, the House of Representatives voted for HR 3, one of the most vicious and horrendous anti-choice bills ever conceived. This bill revokes all federal tax credits for any health insurance plan that includes abortion coverage - in effect, it raises taxes on private employers who offer insurance to their employees that covers abortion, [...]

msnbc.com

Sebelius Says Ryan's Plan Would Cause Seniors to 'Die Sooner' The Weekly Standard (blog) Sebelius said that, under the proposed Medicare reforms authored by Paul Ryan and passed overwhelmingly by the House of Representatives, many seniors would have their voucher money run out and would either have to “scrape together charity care” or else ... HHS Secretary Sebelius: Under Ryan's Medicare Plan, Seniors Will "Die Sooner"Reason Online (blog) The problem with MedicareThe Week Magazine Sebelius Ryan plan may lead to early deathsPolitico msnbc.com -Firedoglake -Boston Herald (blog) all 79 news articles »

For those who are wondering....

Last night, I went to the Selectmen's Meeting in support of the revised motion under Article 20, which I filed with Brookline Town Meeting. This motion would ask the state and federal legislature to pursue legislation that would regulate political robocalls.

As reported by both Brookline Patch and the and the Brookline TAB, the Selectmen voted 3-2 to recommend No Action on Article 20. (Patch has a lot more detail than the TAB, but you have to scroll to the bottom.)

It's a bit of a setback, but on the other hand, I also discovered that the issue was moving forward already. It turns out that the Honorable Stephen Kulik, who represents the First Franklin District in the Massachusetts House, has sponsored House Bill H00870, "legislation to restrict calllers from using certain automatic dialing devices for sending informaion to subscribers of telephone services." Furthermore, eleven other representatives and senators are supporting the bill.

I spoke to the legislative director in Representative Kulik's office, who told me that he was prompted to take action due to the requests of many of his constituents, who were plagued by an excess of robocalls during the recent special race for senate.

Given the Selectmen's decision to recommend No Action, I've filed a new petitioner's motion under Article 20. My new motion, if passed, would simply support House Bill H00870 as it currently reads. My hope is that Town Meeting will approve either my new motion or the one recommended by the Advisory Committee.

As it is, both the AC and the BoS will have a chance to weigh in on the new motion; perhaps this version will draw more support.

Video - Raising the Debt Ceiling: It Just Makes Sense.  Not.

Source - Reason

As Reason columnist and Mercatus Center economist Veronique de Rugy, has pointed out, we’ve maxed out the nation’s credit card in the past without dire results. In the mid-1980s, the mid-1990s, and in 2002, for instance, the debt limit wasn’t raised for months at a time and the government got along just swell. The government has a big bag of tools it can use, ranging from playing around with the amount of spending that is liable to the limit to prioritizing interest and debt payments over other outlays. Interest on the debt for this year is projected to be about $225 billion and government revenue is expected to be around $2.2 trillion, so the government can easily pay the vig and avoid defaulting.

The boldest plan to rein in spending and debt comes from newcomer Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), a Tea Party favorite who dispatched Republican incumbent Bob Bennett in the primaries before coasting to victory in the general election last fall. Lee has vowed to block passage of a debt-limit increase unless Congress signs on to his balanced-budget amendment which would cap annual federal spending at 18 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).  The amendment would require a super-majority of two-thirds in the Senate and House of Representatives. Lee’s bill is competing with another Republican proposal from Sens. Hatch (Utah) and Cornyn (Texas) to cap spending at 20 percent of GDP. The Hatch-Cornyn bill has weaker rules on its higher cap as well.

In 2010, spending came to about 24 percent of GDP and it’s expected to come in around 25 percent of GDP in 2011. Since 1950, total federal revenues have averaged 17.8 percent and have reached higher than 20 percent exactly once. Spending over the same time has averaged just under 20 percent.

Continue reading at Reason...

National Journal

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, repeated Monday his plans to block raising the federal debt ceiling until a balanced budget amendment is brought to a vote. An amendment Lee coauthored with Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., would require Congress to balance the budget each year and keep spending at 18 percent of GDP.

“It’s unsustainable, and it’s also way out of whack with what the practice has been over the last 40 years, which puts us between 18 and 19 percent of GDP,” Lee said on Fox & Friends. “We need a federal government that’s not so big and so expensive.”

 

 

The Nation:

It’s been over three months since Republicans took control of the House of Representatives and strengthened their caucus in the Senate. The central premise of the GOP midterm campaign was that it could create badly needed jobs—the Republican National Committee drove a bus through the lower 48 states emblazoned with the slogan: “Need a Job? Fire Pelosi!”

Now, after focusing its initial legislative efforts on repealing “ObamaCare,” pushing Tea Party-backed dreams like a balanced budget amendment, and fighting to strip regulatory agencies of their authority, the GOP has finally released a job plan…that consists of a balanced budget amendment, the repeal of Obamacare, and several assaults on regulatory authority.

What will the GOP's job plan do? Essentially put the breaks on this:

Job growth has been strong since the beginning of the year, with 768,000 jobs added since January. And Friday's report also showed that 46,000 more jobs were added in February and March than previously thought.

Seriously, read the whole Nation article. It is amazing how the GOP gets away with such rubbish as this: "The first part of the plan attempts to attack the federal deficit." It is amazing how the rural folk who keep them in power can't get a fucking clue. Without Obama's deficit spending, this economy would not be recovering at all. It would instead be like the night when all of your cows are black. Do you rural types understand that? Does this get through your thickness? These night cows?

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The Methanol Institute supports the introduction of the Open Fuel Standard Act of 2011 (H.R. 1687) in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Because Jesus’ resurrection is all about the bunny-rabbits, ridiculous people are like “Hey it’s Easter, I know, let’s get a pet I don’t really want because that will be hilarious!” And then oh, say, two-and-a-half weeks later they’re like, “Screw this, I didn’t realize bunnies made poop” and they give up the adorable little guy. Then the rabbit rescue people are like, “OMG I love bunnies there are so many of them now! What do we do?!”

Well, if the rabbit rescue people are from either the House Rabbit Society in Richmond or The Rabbit Haven near Santa Cruz, they convince the bunny-allies at Saturn Cafe to host a fundraiser for them. Because nothing says “let’s rescue rabbits” like a giant plate of vegan nachos and a tofu breakfast burrito.* Hurray! 

Here’s the scoop:

All you have to do to help is EAT! Bring a copy of the proper flyer (Berkeley | Santa Cruz) to either Saturn location anytime on Wednesday, May 11, and 10% of “all qualifying purchases” will go to helping the bunnies. Berkeley is open from 11am-midnight, and you can get your eat on in Santa Cruz from 11am-3am.

Not only that, if you play your cards right, you may get to meet real live bunny-rescuers. From their keyboards to your eyeballs:

Berkeley Saturn Cafe: Party with the STARS from HRS!

Meet representatives from the House Rabbit Society. Rub elbows with the Rabbit Center staff, founders of HRS, supervisors, educators, and other bunny enthusiasts. We’ll be there to meet and greet from 6 to 9 pm. Sign up for our reserved tables and dine other bunny people. Or just drop in. Bring in a copy of our flyer. For more details visit, www.rabbit.org/rabbit-center or call 510-970-7575.

Santa Cruz Saturn Cafe: A Stellar Event for The Rabbit Haven!

This will be an OUT OF THIS WORLD event for our bunnies!!!  Rabbit Haven volunteers will orbit in and out during the day to say Hi and thank you! Bring family and friends and make this a great fundraiser for the Rabbits of Santa Cruz County! Bring in a copy of our flyer. For more details, visit, www.therabbithaven.org or call 831-600-7479.”

Mark your calendar! Eat food! Don’t forget the flyer! Ok, because you read this far, more cute pictures (props to C. Parshall who took the photos of HRS bunnies from a rescue in Sacramento)!

*Those are my own personal favorite menu items, since you were wondering.

WASHINGTON -- House Speaker John Boehner says he will nominate the Rev. Patrick J. Conroy, a Catholic priest who now teaches at Jesuit High School in Portland, Ore., as the next House chaplain.

Conroy, a 60-year-old native of Washington state, will succeed Father Daniel Coughlin, who retired last month after 11 years in the position and was the first Roman Catholic priest to serve as chaplain.

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More on House Of Representatives

Medicare and Healthcare reform are not simple and we saw the presentation made by Ryan and again without having proper technology to query, model and project and at least come up with some type of “proof of concept” here, it’s useless.  Businesses do this all the time with business intelligence and why do you think we read in the papers today about the Fortune 500 and their large profits while the rest of us struggle, if you have not caught on yet it’s technology and using algorithms or formulas to generate profits and find leaking non profitable areas.  This is something Congress is still struggling with and yes their budgets are bigger, larger, and affect the public unlike a company P and L, but same processes need to be applied and in much bigger way.

President Obama is pushing the use of such technologies and recently put out an Executive Order for all agencies to submit a plan within 6 months on how they plan to offer better customer service by using technology. 

President Obama Issues Executive Order To Federal Agencies to Improve Customer Service And Use Technology To Accomplish

Sure private industry doesn’t crack that nut perfectly either but they have and use business intelligence to help them and once more look at their profits, so who’s doing something right here just from a profit standpoint only?  I live in the OC (one of the technology sugar bowls) and goodness sakes I have a representative that can’t even do a town hall beyond the “phone call” that asks if I want to join in, nothing coordinated on the web, and again that’s only my small area so that gives you an idea where digital literacy is perhaps with both representatives and staff too as working with a town hall on the web to allow interaction today is pretty much a given and many Congressmen do this well, so what’s up with the rest of them I ask.  Maybe Ryan has now figured out he didn’t have enough intelligence here and of course this was easy enough to predict as we have a ton of history on this based on reading the news today. 

Digital Illiteracy Still Plaguing Lawmakers With Not Using High Powered Technology to Model and Simulate Healthcare Laws–Ryan Hasn’t Figured Out He’s No White Hope Yet (Video)

All levels of government face the same issues to be fair as we just sit around and shake our heads today when we hear some of the laws and level of importance given too. 

Digital Illiteracy Continues With Lawmakers at State Levels–Insane Laws Proposed And Being Passed-Financial Puppeteers (Video)

Lobbyists are very good at both controlling and swaying the digital illiterates and it’s a focus as they have digital literacy and business intelligence efforts that are very much alive and well, that’s the angle they work and they know it when figuring out how to manipulate and probably even use some predictive behavior analytics on how to work with selected Congressmen and don’t think that doesn’t happen as it does.  Behavior analytics if you have not woken up to that fact are everywhere today and I just hope members of Congress realize this that they too get analyzed by lobbyists as they figure out their strategy.  The President gets this too and I think he knows it and is ahead of the game.  If you don’t think the White House works with predictive behavior analytics, think again, they would foolish not too and I believe the latest effort on holding on to the birth certificate incident is a perfect example, holding off and playing the “Trump” card when it was the most beneficial.  It certainly did expose all of the individuals both in Congress and otherwise that get easily distracted today and have a difficult time staying focused on “important” issues.  The news stories are full of that today. 

So how do archaic beliefs and paradigms work with modern methodologies?  Well it doesn’t look that good does it and he can sit back and make pokes at himself in the process…looks like some pretty smart thoughts to me.  Those who do not engage get left out in the outer circle all the time, but the ridiculous news and statements are always good for ratings so it’s covered well. 

President Obama–Absolute Brilliance on Playing His “Literal Trump” Card on His Birth Certificate At The Right Time! (Video)

If you need a little more on this topic you can read about a company that Google and the CIA have co-invested in and there’s a free version of “Recorded Future” and it’s not bad as I use it for some general predictive reading and some of my posts and it channels me in directions to look and pursue for some of my posts you see here.  It’s a no brainer for me and I get emailed updates as I select topics and items I want to track so again for some of my subject content here it works for me. 

Data Mining - CIA and Google Funding Company That Monitors the Web in Real Time and Predicts the Future – Analytic Algorithms on Steroids With “Recorded Future”

With all the rumblings with Johnson and Johnson I decided to track what Recorded Future has to say there and I get a nice timeline and so forth, pretty cool stuff and it gives me related topics to where involvement can be, what hot topics on on their listing and items to also watch. Again I have experimented here just to be on top and to see what technologies can do and their value with behavioral analytics use.  I don’t think between business intelligence and some type of predictive monitor you can create good laws today. You can see by this simple example the new prostate cancer drug is right in there as a timeline to watch as a related item that is predicting to have impact.  I just happened to use J and J as that what was in the inbox today. 

The other day a report came out on wireless and telehealth being left out of Meaningful use and I went back and found my post from February of 2010 so hopefully in using some predictive tools myself it will help make me a better blogger too with the ability to also connect some perhaps “forgotten dots” to help bring everything current with enough background and history.  Now you know some of my secrets in blogging here too <grin>. I would be a fool not to review and see if it can help me out and again it’s not 100% and is “predictive” but it does offer some great insight.  

Some of the problems though that we have today are companies like health insurers who take all their algorithms to the bank and think that numbers solve everything, which it does not as we still have human ethics at stake. I also have to not be “stupid” myself and use an intelligent interpretation of such information as otherwise I look useless too.  I certainly do not agree with everything out there today by any means but hopefully can create an awareness and use my little tiny shelf area of transparency to share with others, so you are perhaps advised on what’s in the making.

The Wireless Future of Medicine – The Forgotten Element of Meaningful Use -Eric Topol –TED 2010 (Video)

Again between better technologies and perhaps some better use of predictive behavior analytics, it could stand to help Congress, and in this case it appears to be the GOP needing it right now.  Again one more time I’ll beat this horse about needing needing new methodologies for lawmakers and the judicial system too as they have to offer legal interpretations on what rolls out today.  One example I wrote about recently in view of all the budget cuts and so forth related to perhaps a non conception value of the cost and time involved with IT infrastructure today. 

We can use this as an example of a bill that would have never been created I believe if the cost of IT infrastructure and time and expense were measured against having to cut in so many budget areas.  In other words work smart and we don’t always need to create data and information “just because it’s there” and in this case in my opinion it would accomplish little and cost millions as today with everyone working diligently at their data systems, we are seeing so much flawed data either due to lack of updates or algorithms that were created to produce “desired” results maybe instead of “accurate” results.  Sadly they are not always the same and the crash of 2008 proved that point beyond a doubt.

Digital Illiteracy Is Killing Us With New Bill Wanting MD Medicare Compensation Put Online-No Clue on the Cost, Time and Truckloads of Errors to Audit and Correct

So whether it is getting a bank of servers with machine learning like IBMWatson or renting some space from the DOE on their high powered server base, do something in this direction, please and don’t wait too long so as a Congress you have the same or comparable technologies to go to battle with.  The two links below on a couple of my prior posts may offer some insight on my ideas and feel free to add to them as I am only one person and collaboration is the name of the game today and again I hope my limited use as related to blogger helps make this a better blog too.  I do my best.   

Use of IBMWatson Technology in Congress Would Allow For Smarter Laws and Decision Processes With Bonus Points For Lowering Over All Impact of Lobbyists

1.7 Billion Super Computer Hours Awarded by the DOE–Biomedical Research Projects Included for Parkinson’s and Cancer

One last item is a video from what Yale University and IBM are doing with analytics and how they are working to prepare future employees to be able to work in this field and intelligently use them in the course of every day business as big corporations and again they all use it today and we circle back to the Fortune 500 profits being bigger than ever and this is a big part of it so don’t ignore the white elephant in the living room.  BD 

Today, the House of Representatives voted 266-149 in favor of H.R. 1230, the Restarting American Off

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TALLAHASSEE — For the last 59 days as House speaker, Winter Park Rep. Dean Cannon has run a tight ship. Unlike the deliberately paced Florida Senate, the Florida House of Representatives usually starts up its daily session right on time. Cannon directs like an orchestra conductor the mechanistic process from the rostrum overlooking the floor. Sometimes, like a [...]

MEDIA RELEASE The Hawaii State Senate officially adjourned the 2011 legislative session Thursday, May 5 with the passage of a final four bills and the singing of ‘Hawaii Aloha’. During the session, which began Jan. 19, more than 3,000 bills were introduced by the State Senate and House of Representatives, with about 250 of them [...] Related Posts Senate, House to extend legislative session Hawaii legislative session opens: Hanabusa Hawaii legislative session opens: Oshiro

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At a lunch in Chicago last week, Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) said he was “blown away” during a recent trip to China by how competitive their renewables industries had become, according to wind developer Michael Polsky, President and CEO of Invenergy. When Polsky asked the senator what he was going to do about it, Durbin shrugged helplessly.

“He didn’t know what to do about it,” Polsky said, because Congress cannot agree on stable, long-term incentives for U.S. renewables. “We’re debating something that should not be debated. It’s obvious. For the Chinese, it’s obvious. For the rest of the world, it’s obvious.” But, Polsky said, “We’re still debating.”

“I was listening to another panel,” Polsky went on, referring to a Milken Institute Global Conference panel like the one at which he was speaking. “They criticized the renewable subsidies all over the world. Like they are three people on the panel who are right and the whole world is wrong. It was just laughable.”

Venture capitalist Peter Labbat, a partner at Energy Capital Partners, remembered the 2007-2008 period when his firm made its big renewables commitments as a metaphorically “sunny day.” Demand was strong, and substantial support, including long-term tax credits, a federal Renewable Energy Standard (RES) and a price on emissions, appeared imminent.

With the changes that followed the Great Recession and the political swing back to the right, the day has turned “cloudy,” Labbat said. Incentives were lost to partisan bickering. Now, “there is a lot of supply chasing fewer and fewer opportunities to build projects, fewer and fewer PPAs, [and] fewer contracts on offer from utilities demanding renewables.”

Falling solar panel prices, low returns on PPAs for wind, competition from cheap natural gas and other factors, Labbat said, have drastically cut into the payoff an investor in renewables can expect. “Whereas you could get double-digit returns building a wind farm a couple of years ago, now you’re stuggling to get 8 percent or 9 percent. That makes it tough for private capital to take the risk.”

With the new spending austerity in the House of Representatives, even long-protected incentives like wind’s production tax credit (PTC) are, Labbat said, in jeopardy. “With the wind PTC expiring at the end of 2012,” he said, “if you’re building a wind farm today, you better be sure it’s going to get done by December 31, 2012, because you need those tax credits -- [and] if it’s going to miss that deadline, you probably aren’t going to take that risk.”

To avoid such loathed uncertainties, Labbat said, “We’re looking for projects with PPAs, we’re looking for projects where developers have capital, [... and] we’re looking for projects that can definitely get done on time.”

“China did make a decision back in July 2010,” said venture capitalist Patrick Eilers, Managing Director of Madison Dearborn Partners, “to spend $800 billion over the next decade to capture the entire manufacturing renewable chain,” while U.S. renewables investors continue to struggle for meager, fluctuating short-term tax credits worth perhaps $2 billion.

Adding insult to injury, Eilers said, the strongest competitors are “manufacturers from overseas [whose products are] delivered domestically, who have set up headquarters in Chicago, L.A. and New York.” The impotent congressional response, he said, might be domestic content rules that, if they even win passage, Eilers suggested, will not stop foreign manufacturers.

“Fifteen people in China’s ministry looked at the United States,” Eilers said, and realized it was a democracy and so “could not come to a decision to do anything for ten years” and so their $800 billion dollar investment was secure.

“What China does is not an accident,” Polsky agreed. “They’re gearing up for something really big.” Their plan, he said, is to “create their own markets -- to generate, to build plants, to really learn, to attain economies of scale. And then they will come to the world, while we are debating whether $2 billion is a good investment. And then we’re going to be blaming China for bad trade practices.”

But that is just the beginning, Polsky warned. “What I think Chinese manufacturers will do, they will bring not just technology but also money.” This, he said, “will dramatically change the landscape.”

A wind farm builder-owner-operator needs money to buy equipment, but, in this current climate of compromised incentives and disappearing venture investment, the builder needs project financing as well. With the cash the Chinese government has made available to its turbine manufacturers, they can entice purchases of their technology with promises of financing. “The rest of the manufacturers will not be able to compete,” Polsky said. “On the solar side, it’s the same,” he added.

“This is our problem,” Polsky said of U.S. policy. “If it’s not convenient, we pay no attention to the long term. For nuclear, we looked long-term. When it comes to renewables, we have to justify the investment today or it’s no good. If we start talking about the price of gas today, we have already lost the battle. If it is natural gas or oil, it doesn’t matter. It’s a finite commodity."

“It just makes sense that this country should have a policy to obtain a specific percentage of its energy from renewables,” Polsky finished. “A third, twenty percent, whatever. It just makes sense from any standpoint: economic, national security, diversity, the environment, jobs -- whatever reason you bring, it just makes sense.”

Western war reporters in Libya have no choice over what they hear – when they are not listening to looped hits from the 80s, they are subjected to statements about a parallel universe

"It's been seven hours and 15 days," sings Sinead O'Connor in Nothing Compares 2 U, a ballad that will instantly transport me back to the lobby of the Rixos hotel in Tripoli.

In my case it was 16 hours and 27 days that I listened over and over to Sinead, Kool and the Gang, Chris de Burgh, Spandau Ballet and countless other 80s artists on an endless loop echoing around the vast ostentatious lobby, whose drooping glass centrepiece was memorably described by a well-known British broadcaster as "the used condom chandelier".

But the muzak and the decor were relatively benign backdrops to four weeks of exposure to the Libyan regime and the parallel universe it inhabits.

By the end, I was so accustomed to the black-is-white statements of officials that the dropped jaws of newcomers at declarations such as "there is no bombardment of Misrata" seemed naively comical.

The outright denial of any Libyan army assault on the besieged city of Misrata was a feature of most press conferences.

When we countered that we had colleagues on the ground reporting on (and, in the case of two photographers, killed by) government shelling, we were told that they were liars, fantasists or dupes of the rebels.

"This is a media-driven war," deputy foreign minister Khaled Kaim told us one night. The propaganda battle was a frontline, along with the missiles and bullets. As in Misrata, the barrage – although not as deadly – never stopped.

A Libyan woman who was introduced as a social affairs official from Misrata told us: "All children killed in Misrata have been killed by Nato air strikes."

When asked about the evidence of cluster bombs in the city, Kaim suggested that perhaps Nato was deploying such weaponry.

Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told us loyalist forces had recaptured a border crossing with Tunisia from the rebels – when witnesses on the ground were reporting the opposite.

Tripoli and other cities in the west were rock solid in their support for Gaddafi; the rebels were "terrorists", "rats" or al-Qaida; Nato and the international coalition were "crusader aggressors" recklessly killing Libyan civilians.

Foreign journalists were pretty much in the rats category too. We regularly asked officials at nocturnal press conferences about the fate of our colleagues who were believed to be detained by the regime.

The response – invariably "we have no information now but we will let you know" – was usually accompanied by chastisement of the imprisoned journalists for entering Libya without the proper papers.

One night, Ibrahim added this gem: "I assure ... all journalists that if they need help, please come to us and we will help you do your job."

The "help" offered to foreign journalists by the Libyan regime has been extensively documented in recent weeks: keeping us under virtual house arrest, never allowing us to speak to Libyan people without the intimidating presence of a government official, barking out the order "don't shoot" to cameramen and photographers whenever we passed checkpoints or queues at petrol stations.

One day they took us to a university cafeteria which had suffered some damage in an air strike. Members of a TV crew, accused of filming without permission, were ordered to hand over their camera.

One European journalist was threatened with deportation for "telling lies". When she asked what the officials were referring to, she was told: "We don't have to give you any information."

Most press conferences included an assault on our "unprofessionalism", "bias", "lies" and "distortion".

More than once, it was implied that we were calling in air strikes from Nato.

Our assertions that we were independent journalists, rather than representatives of our governments, were dismissed.

Not surprising, perhaps, from a regime which has no concept of freedom of speech or a free, independent media.

Libyan state TV is a marvel of unflagging 24/7 propaganda. Many of us would return to our rooms to find its unceasing, full-throated support for Gaddafi blaring out from television sets that had been left tuned to BBC World or Al Jazeera.

Sometimes we refused to exit the government bus to witness yet another staged pro-Gaddafi demo.

Occasionally we persuaded the minders to turn down – or even off! – the loyalist music on the bus as we toured the sights they wanted us to see.

These were small victories, but they were treasured by the Rixos Lobby Correspondents.

One day, a colleague and I requested transport to a foreign embassy in Tripoli to visit a diplomat who had invited us for coffee.

"That guy is an asshole," we were told by a Libyan official. "We're not taking you to see him."

We identified two potential moles among our number. One was a man who said he represented a Libyan paper, but was more interested in photographing us at press conferences than taking notes.

"Morning, fake journalist," one British broadcaster would cheerfully say to him in the lobby.

The other was a woman who claimed to be working as a freelance for a north American newspaper but admitted she was old friends with one of the minders, in whose company she spent most of her time.

Google threw up no reference to her, let alone any journalistic output, and so we excluded her from the Facebook page on which we shared gossip and information.

Towards the end of my stay in Tripoli, there were signs that some elements within the regime were uneasy with the sledgehammer approach to media management.

"We have lost at least four weeks, probably more," lamented a senior western-educated official who conceded that crude propaganda and blanket bans were counter-productive.

He argued for a more sophisticated and less restrictive approach. There was not much sign that he was winning.

My last night at the Rixos was a classic. First a press conference at 10.15pm, relatively early by regime standards. At 2.30am, the public address system urged us to leave our slumbers to watch Gaddafi speaking live on Libyan state TV.

At 4am, another broadcast into our bedrooms announced a visit to a bomb site. The takers shuffled back to bed shortly before 6am.

At the start of the previous night's press conference, Ibrahim asked me why I was smiling – clearly an unusual event, worthy of comment.

"I'm leaving tomorrow so I'm happy," I explained.

"You're going tomorrow? Then we're happy too," he shot back.

At last there was something we could agree on. Thanks, Moussa. Nothing compares 2 U.

Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs, Representatives Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), and CPC Peace & Security Task Force Co-Chairs Michael Honda (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), sent a letter to President Obama today renewing their call for a significant and sizable reduction in U.S. troops in Afghanistan following the recent death of Osama bin Laden.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a measure that would speed up government offshore lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and one off the coast of Virginia by June 2012. The Associated Press reports that the Republican-controlled House is working on passing two other bills - one that would speed up drilling permits and another that would instruct the government sell offshore leases where the greatest oil deposits are - by next week at the...

Rep. Sally Kern Reprimanded for Racist Comments ColorLines magazine The Oklahoma House of Representatives publicly reprimanded Rep. Sally Kern for comments she made during a debate on the House floor last week. Lawmakers were discussing a proposed constitutional amendment ... and more »

As expected, the Nevada Republican Party is suing Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller (D) for the right to select candidates for the special election to replace recently appointed Sen. Dean Heller (R) in his House of Representatives seat, after Miller announced that the election would be a wide-open, single-round race in which anybody could file.

CBS News

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Republicans in the House of Representatives have continued their ridiculous “investigation” into the Obama administration’s decision to end the foolish plans to dump nuclear waste at Nevada’s Yucca Mountain.

• Randy Galloway of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "For wisdom, maturity and leadership, our new basketball hero is... Dirk? Rick? No. Mark Cuban, you the man. The man who went to LA for four days, was the center of Southern California media attention, particularly since the Dodgers need a new owner, and basically zipped it for his entire stay out there. Didn't say spit. The only way we knew Cuban was still alive was when the TNT cameras picked up a big smile that kept popping up behind the Dallas Mavericks' bench at the Staples Center. I'm wordless over this development, being someone who spent the last decade telling Mark to shut up. He finally did, and improbable stuff has happened to his Mavs. Never thought I'd say this: Everyone needs to now take a behavioral cue from Cuban. Lay low. What you say now can be used against you later. Let Dirk handle it. Let Rick handle it. And even Little J.J. ... Mr. Cuban, what has gotten into you? 'Lot of work still to do,' was his brief and to-the-point e-mail answer on Thursday. Wisdom, maturity and leadership prevails. And I thought 2-0 was a shocker."
• Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times: "About two weeks ago, Derek Fisher gathered together his teammates and told them to look around the room. He warned all the Lakers that if they don't reach their goal of winning a third consecutive NBA championship, next season the faces on the team could look quite different. Fisher pointed out that the possibility of the Lakers' management making changes was realistic because it happened to him during his first tour with the Lakers. 'We discussed that buttons will be pushed,' Fisher said after practice Thursday. 'That's the reality, and it's business with this team. You have to understand it and appreciate it for what it is. I think guys understand it.' The Lakers began the season as the favorites to win the title, but their hopes are fading because of the 0-2 deficit they face against the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference semifinals. Games 3 and 4 are in Dallas this weekend. It's already a given that Lakers Coach Phil Jackson will retire after the season."
• Kevin Ding of The Orange County Register: "For a Lakers team that truly needs everyone to come together now, here was the start. Kobe Bryant strapped it up and actually practiced with the team Thursday. There was no heavy scrimmaging, but there was a lot of work to do -- a lot of teamwork -- in defending Dallas' spread offense, especially. It was Bryant's first practice since his April 15 cameo two days before the playoffs even started, and every Laker reported afterward Thursday what a productive session this was. Then again, if you were out there sweating through practice every day for the past seven months and the league's glamour boy and game-ball dominator wasn't, you'd probably think this is more like it should be, too. In any case, there was a noticeable good vibration about the team as it came off the practice court Thursday, far different from the stink that emanated from them on the Staples Center court just hours before Wednesday night. It was like your dad who is too busy working on his own big deals stopping to take the time not just to help with your homework, but really sharing the experience. By being on the court learning with them instead of lording over them, Bryant was better able to convey to his teammates his personal lack of panic, his trust that they together should stay confident about their capabilities and their corrections."
• Herb Gould of the Chicago Sun-Times: "The controversy about whether forward Carlos Boozer should be given a diminished role in light of his diminished offense might be raging to outsiders. But there’s no debate within the Bulls’ camp. 'He’s nicked up,’ coach Tom Thibodeau said Thursday at the Berto Center. 'He’s giving us everything he has, and that’s all we’re asking him to do. The rebounding hasn’t dropped off at all. He’ll score. He’s scored his whole career.’ After struggling on offense in front of a United Center crowd that turned on him Wednesday, the veteran admitted the turf-toe injury to his right big toe was hampering him. Taj Gibson, who started last season before yielding when Boozer was signed, said he’s not expecting an increased role in light of Boozer’s injury -- and that’s fine with him. 'Thibs knows what he’s doing,’ Gibson said. 'Whatever minutes he gives me, I’m going to go out there and do my job. Carlos has been doing a phenomenal job. ... He’s playing through an injury. People have to recognize that.’ "
• Lacy J. Banks of the Chicago Sun-Times: "With his great energy and athleticism, Joakim Noah strikes me defensively as a poor man’s Dennis Rodman without the freak-show antics. Offensively, it’s no contest. Despite his ugly shooting style, especially from the free-throw line, Noah is a better shooter than Hall of Famer Rodman, who won seven consecutive NBA rebounding titles and helped the Bulls win their last three championships. 'Rodman was my hero when I was growing up,' Noah said. 'He was one of the greatest rebounders ever. I liked the way he played with passion, got into his opponents’ heads and entertained the crowd. I draw a lot of inspiration from him.' Rodman made rebounding sound simple. 'There’s nothing complex or scientific about rebounding,' he once told me. 'You’ve just got to want it more than the other guy. I look at each missed shot as my rebound. So I jump with the intention of keeping anybody else from taking away what’s mine. Rebounding is more will than skill.' ... As for Noah’s competitiveness, it is first-rate. He takes on all comers. How could we expect any less from a guy who even talked a little trash with President Obama last summer when they played in a pickup game Obama scheduled to entertain some injured troops? 'One time he went up and scored on me,' Noah said. 'I told him, ‘You know, you’re lucky you’re the president because I could have blocked your shot.’ But he said, ‘If you would have gone for the block, I would have pulled a reverse move on you.’ I liked that. The president even talks trash. He’s a cool dude. He’s a man of the people.' So is Noah. Just ask Bulls fans."
• Ken Sugiura of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "At the Hawks’ Thursday practice and video session, rebounding was not the only item on the agenda. Shot selection, winning 50-50 balls and response to the Bulls’ aggressive double teaming of Johnson and Jamal Crawford were others. 'We worked [Thursday] to adjust to that,' Crawford said, speaking of the double teams. 'If we get in the right spots, we can take advantage of what they’re doing.' The Hawks successfully walked this road in the first round. The Orlando Magic were second only to the Bulls in rebounding margin in the regular season — the Hawks were 22nd — but the Hawks thwarted center Dwight Howard with a diet of Collins and Zaza Pachulia. In their Game 1 win in Chicago, the Hawks’ hot shooting served to limit rebounding chances for the Bulls. On Thursday, Hawks coach Larry Drew said the coaching staff considered returning Collins or Pachulia to the starting lineup to add bulk, but sounded committed to keeping Horford at center. That leaves the Hawks to try to match Chicago’s activity on the backboards and keep bodies on Noah and Boozer. Either that or don’t miss any shots."
• Dan Le Batard of The Miami Herald: "The Celtics can’t let Miami’s youth get in the open court. The advantage is too obvious and overwhelming there. Boston’s age not only gets beat but shamed there, as Allen trips and Garnett gets twisted and even Boston’s only young starter (Rajon Rondo) has to flop and fake to avoid a spinning tornado of LeBron. Boston will allow Bosh to have all the defensive rebounds in its zeal to get back after misses, to get a head start, an obvious-to-the-eye, white-flag concession that age can’t keep up in that part of the game. So the Celtics will keep trying to drag the fight into the half-court mud, trying with all the experience and will and pride they have to ward off so many opponents at once: They aren’t merely trying to slow down the Miami Heat or the Miami Heat’s speed. They are trying to slow down their own aging and decline. They are, impossible as this is, trying to slow down time."
• Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Chris Bosh was introduced as a member of the Big Three when he and James signed with the Heat last July, joining Wade. That lasted a few months before it was evident Bosh didn't belong in the club, on and off the court. It started when James and Wade began conducting interviews together after practices and games while Bosh spoke alone. It was never a show of disrespect toward Bosh, but a way for James and Wade to display the friendship they had built over the years. For Bosh, it was an easier way to distinguish his preference of standing alone. 'With me, I've always just been different,' Bosh said. 'I've never tried to fit in. I'm one of the fellas, great. I get along with everybody, great. But if I'm going to read my book, I'm going to read my book and this is what I'm doing.' "
• Julian Benbow of The Boston Globe: "The Celtics are down, two games to none, and searching for answers against a team that’s as fast and strong as it is skilled. There will be frustrations in such a situation, but getting through the fiery moments quickly and staying on the same page is critical. 'Emotional hijacks, you can’t have them,’ said Doc Rivers. 'And they happen. When they happen, they always happen when you’re down or you’re in the heat of battle. They happen because it’s an emotional game, but once you let it get to a point where it’s hijacking the team, that’s never good.’ To an extent, conflict is a part of the Celtics’ DNA. They’ve bickered over defensive assignments, disagreed over play calls and ball movement. They’ve argued over the strength of earthquakes and the best backup point guards of the 2000s. 'If I had a tape recorder on me or a video camera on me over the time that I’ve been here, you would see a lot,’ Ray Allen said. 'I’ve always said about this team, we’ve argued and debated more than I’ve argued or debated in my whole NBA career. I’ve been on teams where you never communicated, you never argued about anything. This team, somebody will tell me I didn’t have pancakes for breakfast this morning and they didn’t even have breakfast with me.’ "
• Ronald Tillery of The Commercial-Appeal: "In all that surrounded Game 2, the Oklahoma City Thunder held a players-only meeting. It began1 at Kevin Durant's house and ended in the paint with the Thunder crowded around Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph. Game 3 will be a test of how well Randolph and the Griz took notes. By their own admission, the Griz didn't handle the aggressive infiltration of their offense with the intelligence that's guided them to this point. Memphis watched film Thursday morning and the popcorn-less viewing only confirmed what the team already knew: Oklahoma City did nothing special. The Griz had poor spacing. They made bad decisions passing the basketball and settled for jump shots. 'They packed it in on us and clogged the lane, but we worked on our spacing and ball movement,' a stone-face Randolph said. 'We'll be prepared for Saturday.' Griz coach Lionel Hollins didn't use practice Thursday to browbeat his troops. It was a refresher course mainly to remind the Griz that smart basketball will prevail.'
• John Rohde of The Oklahoman: "When Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti included a $6.5 million signing bonus with Nick Collison's four-year contract extension last November, the extra cash essentially was a reward for services rendered. This is the only franchise the 30-year-old Collison has ever known as a pro. Since being drafted 12th overall in 2003, the Kansas product has endured double-shoulder surgery his first season, franchise relocation from Seattle, four straight losing seasons, and all while busting his tail without making a peep. 'He embodies what we're trying to do,' Presti said of Collison. 'A lot of things we're always talking about, he's been that.' Collison is still rendering his services, particularly during this Western Conference semifinal against the Memphis Grizzlies, a best-of-7 playoff series that figures to be a shoving match until the final bell. The series stands 1-1, largely because Collison still works hard for his money. If not, the Thunder very easily could be trailing 2-0. ... At a salary of $13.25 million this season thanks to the signing bonus, Collison makes at least twice as much as every teammate except Nazr Mohammed ($6.88 million) and roughly $7.2 million more than Kevin Durant ($6.05 million). 'We really value him,' Durant said of Collison. 'He's a big part of our success. For us to keep getting better, Nick is going to have to be an important piece. He's playing well for us.' "
• Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star: "Frank Vogel might want to be coach of the Indiana Pacers, but he's not waiting for an interview. Vogel interviewed for the Houston Rockets' coaching position Thursday, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation. He is one of many people to show an interest in the job. The Rockets and Rick Adelman parted ways last month. Since then, former Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Woodson, who starred at Broad Ripple High School and Indiana University before an 11-year NBA career; Bucks assistant Kelvin Sampson, a former IU coach; former Nets coach Lawrence Frank, who was an IU student manager; Mario Elie, Kevin McHale and others have interviewed. Vogel and Rockets general manager Daryl Morey worked together with the Boston Celtics. Vogel said during his season-ending news conference last week that he would like to return as Pacers coach. Indiana's coaching situation likely won't be resolved until after team president Larry Bird and owner Herb Simon meet Tuesday to discuss Bird's future."
• Joe Davidson of The Sacramento Bee: "The idea of the Kings filing for relocation and actually heading south hit a nerve across the region. It brought out the best in panic-stricken fans and inspired an already determined Mayor Kevin Johnson, but it brought out the competitive worst in the local media. Every regional TV outlet and some radio stations proclaimed at one point to have an 'exclusive' interview or 'a source' with some stunning update. All of it was designed to make fans rush to tune in, but it often left viewers clamoring for substance rather than more wild speculation. TV folks forgot -- or simply ignored -- what 'exclusive' means: to have the only access to an interview subject. Yet the stations touted having 'exclusives' with the Maloofs on relocation filing day when the owners talked extensively to everyone -- print, radio, TV, Internet and news services. What's more, all local media and some national Internet news services drove the word 'sources' into the ground. Electronic media especially chose not to mention names or specifics. The source could have been your buddy at the bar, waving a foam Kings finger, for all we know."
• Michael Lee of The Washington Post: "John Wall hasn’t made a final decision about returning to Kentucky to take summer school courses, but his former coach, John Calipari, has already extended an invitation for the Wizards point guard to work out in Lexington if the league, as expected, has a lockout. 'I told him, if there is a lockout. You come back with us,' Calipari said. 'I said, ‘Use our building. We’ve got facilities here. Whatever you want, if you need to, if there is a lockout, stay here. Be here in the mornings.’ ' Wall finished out his studies after his only season at Kentucky and was a member of the Southeastern Conference freshman academic honor roll. Calipari added that if Wall were to re-enroll at Kentucky -- which one of Wall’s representatives, Dwon Clifton, said on Thursday was unlikely but 'still a possibility' -- he could practice with the Wildcats as well to stay in basketball shape."
• Don Walker of the Journal Sentinel: "The National Basketball Association is working to extend its reach in India, and it has chosen Milwaukee Bucks' guard Brandon Jennings to help make it happen. The NBA is expected to announce Thursday that Jennings will travel to India from May 13-18 to conduct a series of events to promote and grow the game in Mumbai and Pune. Jennings was chosen because of his youth and his experience playing internationally. Jennings, 21, played overseas in Italy before coming to the Bucks. 'Having played in Italy, I have seen firsthand how the sport is growing globally and I am excited to visit India with the NBA to help continue the growth of the game,' Jennings said. 'The NBA has the best basketball players from around the world and it is amazing to think that one of the kids I teach in India could one day play against me in the NBA.' Jennings will be part of the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Nationals Skills Challenge Finals on May 15 in Mumbai. The event is the culmination of the largest school-based initiative ever conducted by the NBA in India."
• Justin Rogers of Booth Newspapers: "When the NBA conducts its draft lottery on May 17th, the Detroit Pistons will be represented by their first-round selection from the previous draft, Greg Monroe. The Detroit Pistons enter the draft lottery with the exact same odds as last season, and although the ping pong balls didn't fall their way, many would say the organization was fortunate to land Monroe. Pistons vice president Scott Perry, who was the team representative at last year's lotter, agrees with that sentiment. 'The fact we remained at seven in the lottery process and were able to draft a guy we believe is going to be one of the cornerstones for your team,' Perry commented on the Pistons official website, 'now to have him go back there the following year, hopefully, his presence there will bring the same type of good fortune during this lottery.' "

Central Florida News 13

House passes restrictive abortion measure, includes limits on insurance ... News-Medical.net The bill would eliminate tax breaks for insurance providers that cover abortion services and would codify a federal provision prohibiting taxpayer funding for abortions in all federal programs (Sonmez, 5/4). The House of Representatives on Wednesday ... House Passes HR 3, which Attempts to Ban Insurance Coverage of AbortionMs. Magazine US House passes ban on tax subsidies for health insurance plans that include ...The American Independent all 488 news articles »

The Vermont House of Representatives has given final passage to a bill that would set the state on a path toward a single-payer health care system.

House of Representatives members can make their wishes known to state legislators, but the General Assembly has the prerogative to draw lines as it sees fit, said Reps. Robert Goodlatte, R-6th District, and Robert Hurt, R-5th District.