In a brief order, a three-judge panel agreed to an expedited review of U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker's Aug. 4 ruling that overturned Proposition 8 as a violation of the federal Constitution.
The panel agreed to hold a hearing on the case during the week of Dec. 6 and ordered both sides to present arguments on whether the campaign for Proposition 8 has legal authority to appeal Walker's order.
The Oil Spill Commission held its first hearing on the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico Monday at the New Orleans Hilton. During the public comment portion, local residents came forward to tell their own stories of loss and fear and frustration over the oil spill and the moratorium.
When words failed, music prevailed.
I don't remember a time where I've seen a hearing like this. I hope another never needs to take place. Whether the Commission hears or not, I did. We all should.
But for all their passion and courage, they concerned me. Many comments concerned their fear that a moratorium would destroy their business and their livelihoods. Others expressed concern that New Orleans would die for certain under a moratorium.
Their testimony left me wondering how on earth drilling can be made safer without a moratorium. It's a no-win situation, unless there is a way to structure the ban in a way that fast-tracks safety measures or other procedures are put in place to keep these people from losing everything they've worked so hard for.
These are the voices of the ones on the front line. Six kids and a second chance slipping from the grasp of a mom. A fisherman. A musician. And a life they've known slipping away from them.
I don't envy this Commission. There aren't any easy answers. On the one hand, these people see a moratorium as insult to injury. On the other hand, not imposing a moratorium gives them at least a shred of a hope they'll survive.
I'm not the sort that reads Powerline with any regularity, but this caught my attention:
It's great to see someone standing up for colonialism, especially British colonialism. I agree wholeheartedly with this observation, for example:
Had Britain had the courage to face down Gandhi and his rabble a few years longer, the tragedy that was the partititon of India might have been avoided.
I don't know what to say.
I'm hardly a reflexive defender of Gandhi, or of the pacifist approach to politics. However, to suggest that "Gandhi and his rabble" were responsible for the horrors of partition, when in fact both the policy of partition and the Muslim-Hindu tensions that created the need for partition are direct consequences of British imperial policy, really goes beyond the pale.
Hmm. Let me restate that, because Assrocket likes to go beyond the pale. . Read on
Okay this has just reached a point where I am quite literally screaming at the newscasters on television. Where are their souls? Where is the balance? How can anybody call the media liberal when they cover this story http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/46214.htm
And do absolutely nothing concerning these stories.
I don't know what to say.
I'm hardly a reflexive defender of Gandhi, or of the pacifist approach to politics. However, to suggest that "Gandhi and his rabble" were responsible for the horrors of partition, when in fact both the policy of partition and the Muslim-Hindu tensions that created the need for partition are direct consequences of British imperial policy, really goes beyond the pale.
Hmm. Let me restate that, because Assrocket likes to go beyond the pale. . Read on
Unfortunately, there aren't many Democratic politicians willing to stand with him in an election year. Listen to what he says - he's not anti-war, he understands the need for a military and that there is a time and place to use military force. But spending our soldiers' blood and our nation's treasure against unclear objectives and without clear progress toward achievable objectives just isn't wise.
This May 1st, immigrant communities and citizens alike will hit the streets to say no to Arizona's new "show me your papers law" and yes to real, federal action on immigration reform this year. Eighty cities across the country are gearing up for major rallies, marches, and protests tomorrow. Students who had come in from New York, Florida, and California to participate in the Washington protests led their own action in front of Governor Jan Brewer's DC office today. They chanted, "Arizona, Shame On You! Immigrants Are People, Too!"
Watch it:
Tomorrow's marches are a follow-up to the major March for America: Change Takes Courage, which drew over 200,000 people to the National Mall on March 21st. At that event, President Obama delivered a firm message promising he'd work on comprehensive immigration reform "this year." Now, with Arizona's new law driving already-desperate communities into action, we're likely to see events in Chicago, New York, and L.A. turn out tens of thousands of people.
At the DC event, 40 protesters will go so far as to risk arrest, practicing peaceful civil disobedience in the face of cynical Washington politics.
Deepak Bhargava, Executive Director of the Center for Community Change, writes today at Huffington Post:
Tomorrow, there will be over 80 demonstrations in favor of immigration reform across America. One of them will be in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House. There, some 40 dignitaries including a member of Congress, clergy, heads of organizations and community leaders will likely be arrested in acts of civil disobedience against unjust immigration enforcement and the political cowardice in addressing our broken immigration system. I will be one of those getting arrested.
I am willing to get arrested tomorrow because the massive deportations being undertaken by the Obama Administration are tearing apart families, separating children from their parents, risking the lives of disabled immigrants and vulnerable refugees, and spreading terror into our communities. I will be arrested because America needs to understand immigration reform is not merely a political issue; our broken system is a moral disaster unfolding in our nation. Civil disobedience is important at this point because it signals to our leaders that the current situation is so unjust and unsustainable that people are no longer willing to comply or be complicit in the injustices committed by our government.
Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), who just announced that he intends to join in the civil disobedience, released this statement:
We have to keep the pressure on and let the President and Congress know we need immigration reform this year," the Congressman said Friday. "I am joining the rally in Washington because the effort to get immigration reform passed is escalating, the attacks on immigrants and immigration reform are escalating, and the Arizona law is a wake-up call that inaction at the federal level has huge consequences for communities, families, and individuals.
WHAT: Rally for Immigration Reform
WHEN: Saturday May 1, at 2:00 p.m. ET (music program starts at 1:30 p.m.)
WHERE: Lafayette Square, (across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House)
In addition to civil disobedience, many May Day events will feature celebrities who are taking a stand against what happened in Arizona. Via Perez Hilton:
And if you're lucky enough to be in Los Angeles this weekend, go be a part of their march with guests like Gloria and Emilio Estefan also taking part!
It's not just a hispanic issue, it's one that affects everyone regardless of their background.
Last but not least, students who've walked 1,500 miles on what they are calling the "Trail of Dreams" will be a major part of the Washington, DC event. Watch their stories:
President Obama thinks Republicans will engage in a full battle over his Supreme Court nominee regardless of the person's ideological leanings, and in some ways "that realization is liberating for the president" to choose whomever he pleases, an administration official told TPMDC.
In comments that are at odds with the conventional wisdom about what Obama needs to do to make sure the Senate confirms his nominee to replace John Paul Stevens, a White House official involved in the confirmation process tells TPMDC that the President isn't taking a cautious approach to selecting a nominee. Despite having one less Democrat in the Senate than when Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed last year, the administration isn't limiting itself to reviewing only centrist candidates for the court vacancy, the official said.
"It doesn't matter who he chooses, there is going to be a big 'ol fight over it. So he doesn't have to get sidetracked by those sorts of concerns," the official told me. The GOP has attempted to obstruct "anything of consequence" put forth by the Obama administration since he took office, the official said. "The president is making this decision with a pretty clear view that whoever he chooses is going to provoke a strong reaction on the right," the official added.
I hope TPMDC is right. At least the White House knows what is in store for them when they make the nomination so they should just go for it. Will they have the courage?
On This Week with Elizabeth Vargas, Nancy Pelosi says something you don't hear very often these days: that members of Congress should recognize a higher purpose than simply getting themselves reelected:
VARGAS: What do you say to your members, when it does come to the House to vote on this, who are in real fear of losing their seats in November if they support you now?
PELOSI: Well first of all our members -- every one of them -- wants health care. I think everybody wants affordable health care for all Americans. They know that this will take courage. It took courage to pass Social Security. It took courage to pass Medicare. And many of the same forces that were at work decades ago are at work again against this bill.
But the American people need it, why are we here? We're not here just to self perpetuate our service in Congress. We're here to do the job for the American people. To get them results that gives them not only health security, but economic security, because the health issue is an economic issue for -- for America's families.
VARGAS: Do you wish though that the president had posted his bill before this week? That six months ago it might have been more helpful for you. That maybe six months ago you knew that the public option was something he was going to drop before you fought so hard for it?
PELOSI: Well we -- we still fight for the -- what the public option will do. Whether it's in the bill or not, its purpose must be recognized. And that is to keep the insurance companies honest. To keep them accountable, and to increase competition. And I think in the summit on Thursday it became very clear that what the president was proposing was regulation of the insurance companies.
Left to their own devices they have done harm to the American people. They need to be regulated. And that is one of the biggest differences between the Democrats and the Republicans. Another one for example is -- an example of it is ending the denial of -- of coverage to those who have a preexisting condition. The Democrats have that in their bill. The Republicans do not.
Had Roman-style vomitoriums actually ever existed, this video -- snippets of Tom DeLay dancing with Cheryl Burke for Dancing With the Stars -- might have been an ideal addition: certain to send you fleeing to talk to your Uncle Ralph on the big white telephone.
As it is, even Bill O'Reilly wonders if this isn't "the worst thing ever". And says it puts him in a mood for classical music. Then, of course, he calls him a "patriot" for having the courage to do this.
Actually, it reminds me of the old joke about the last words of the moronic redneck: "Hey everbody, watch thee-yis!"
The reaction of CNN anchor Kiran Chetry was actually about right: "It reminds you of your uncle who's had a little too much to drink at a wedding or something, doesn't it?"
We apologize in advance to our readers for their nausea.
It takes a certain amount of courage to attend a church in Iraq.
In the past 24 hours, bombs exploded outside of six churches in various Baghdad neighborhoods, killing at least four people, and wounding more than 30, according to a Reuters report from the Iraqi capital.
Sunday’s attacks were among the worst, in terms of the death toll. But many of these same churches have been bombed before. On Jan. 6, 2008 – also a Sunday – seven churches (four in Baghdad, three in Mosul) were hit in a similar round of bombings. Two years earlier, four churches (three in Baghdad, 1 in Kirkuk) were bombed – also on a Sunday in January.
The Assyrian (Christian) International News agency reports that 52 Assyrian churches have been bombed in Iraq between June 2004 and the end of 2008.
The latest attacks come in the wake of the US withdrawal of combat troops (on June 30) from most Iraqi cities.
(full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign)
The California Supreme Court announced today its deeply disappointing decision to uphold Proposition 8.
It's wonderful that the court recognized the legal marriages of the 18,000 same-sex couples married in 2008, but this is a very sad day for California.
But we don't have time to mourn the failure of the state court to restore marriage equality to California.
In response to the court's decision, the Courage Campaign will hit the California airwaves in the next 72 hours with a 60-second TV ad version of "Fidelity"—the heartbreaking online video viewed by more than 1.2 million people, making it the most-watched video ever in the history of California politics.
We are launching this provocative new TV ad in the spirit of Harvey Milk's call to "come out, come out wherever you are" and proudly tell the stories of the people most affected by the passage of Prop 8—in moving images set to the beat of Regina Spektor's beautiful song.
More than 700,000 Courage Campaign members are ready to restore marriage equality to California. Will you help us get to "1 Million for Marriage Equality"? Watch our powerful new 60-second "Fidelity" TV ad and sign the pledge.
