General Assembly opens despite ice and snow

New Senate caucus could become a force for reform
Corruption in the in Brooklyn Democratic party is a central problem for progressive groups in the borough, but the emergence of a new Caucus in the state Senate may provide a unique opportunity for reform. Infighting and self interests have paralyzed Democratic initiatives since the party took the senate majority two years ago. Republicans took back the majority last week. In response Senator Jeffery Klein has lead a defection followed by three other Senators, Diane Savino, David Valesky, and Da...

Unheralded RB Starks' breakout propels Packers
Philadelphia Eagles Linebacker Jamar Chaney hangs on to Green Bay Packers running back James Starks during the first half of an NFL Wild Card Playoff football game in Philadelphia, Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011. Aaron Rodgers, sure. Clay Matthews, check. Greg Jennings and Donald Driver, probably. The Falcons now have someone else on the Green Bay Packers roster to think about: Rookie running back James Starks. He rushed for 123 yards in the Packers' wildcard victory at Philadelphia on Sunday, setting a ...

Falcons brave winter storm to practice for Packers
A winter storm that closed schools, government buildings and businesses in the Atlanta area couldn't stop the Falcons from their first chance to prepare for the Packers. The storm dropped several inches of snow and ice Sunday night and Monday, shutting down much of north Georgia. It was a Snow Day for schools, but the Falcons had no time for a day off. They face Green Bay in a divisional-round Playoff game Saturday night. It was time to get going on the game-week schedule. "Today, some people co...

The NFL playoffs start today!
I know what some of you are thinking (Oh gawd, shoot me now!) but some of us actually enjoy watching highly paid athletes sacrifice their bodies for our amusement. There are a total of 12 Playoff teams, 4 division winners and 2 wild-card teams from each of 2 conferences. Of those 12 teams, 11 will lose their last game. The 2 conference champions will meet in Super Bowl XLV on Sunday, February 6th at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Eight teams will play this weekend. Today the New Orleans ...

NFL: Green Bay 21, Philadelphia 16
PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Aaron Rodgers threw three scoring passes Sunday and Green Bay survived a late challenge to defeat Philadelphia 21-16 in an NFC wild-card Playoff contest. Rodgers connected with Tom Crabtree on a 7-yard scoring strike and with James Jones on a 9-yarder in the first half en route to a 14-3 halftime lead, and his 16-yard TD toss to Brandon Jackson gave the Packers a decisive 21-10 lead in the Third Quarter. Green Bay, however, had to hang on as Michael Vick rallied the...

Pelosi, Boehner invite Congress to bipartisan prayer service (Daily Caller)
Read more stories from The Daily Caller TheDC Exclusive: A secret $6 billion Bailout for Puerto Rico? Campus Progress reports on for-profit schools issue while coordinating with liberal coalition to push regs Author of 'Anti-American Manifesto', Ted Rall, says Loughner's violent attack not part of coming revolution Despite GOP's best efforts, specter of Steele Second Term hangs around Ask Matt Labash Vol. XLVI: Torturing a dog-torture lover, and defending John Boehner's tan Speaker of the Hous...

Baca announces bid for Dem party chair
Former State Sen. Polly Baca announced this morning that she is running to serve as the next State Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party. Former state Sen. Polly Baca speaks on the opening day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver. (Denver Post file photo) “The party needs a leader, now more than ever, who understands Colorado and is able to use vast political, community and non-profit experience to not only energize current Democrats, but ensure that we are building this pa...

Rancher Chisum bows out of race for Texas House speaker
Austin — Republican Rep. Warren Chisum says he’s dropping out of the running for Texas House Speaker and will support Incumbent Joe Straus. The House is set to select its speaker Tuesday, the opening day of the 82nd legislative session. It had been a three-way race, with Chisum and North Texas Republican Rep. Ken Paxton challenging Straus for the spot. But Straus’ re-election seemed all but certain after the GOP Caucus selected him as its choice on Monday. Some conservative...

Tom DeLay sentenced to 3 years in prison
AUSTIN — Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay - who rose from being a Sugar Land exterminator to one of the Most Powerful politicians in America - on Monday received a three-year Prison sentence and 10 years Probation on his political money-laundering convictions. DeLay rose stoically as the judgment was read by visiting Judge Pat Priest. DeLay's wife, Christine, and his daughter, Dani DeLay Garcia, broke into tears after the sentencing. Five Travis County Sheriff's deputies quick...

John Kerry Calls for Bipartisanship in Wake of Shootings, but Criticizes GOP Resistance
Urging Congress to put an end to divisive Rhetoric in the aftermath of the Gabrielle Giffords shooting, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) on Tuesday made the case for a re-energized, Bipartisan focus on the nation's infrastructure, education system and Clean Energy technologies. He also advocated for a change in the use of the congressional Filibuster -- currently being debated in the Senate -- saying, "We have reached the point where the Filibuster is being invoked by the minority not necessarily beca...

Louisville lawmaker wants parents to know guns are at Capitol
FRANKFORT — A Louisville lawmaker wants parents to sign a permission slip acknowledging that they know that people carry guns at the Capitol before sending their Children to Frankfort. Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisville, said this week that she plans to file a bill that would require parents to sign a form acknowledging that they are aware that people in the Capitol are armed. Marzian said that she realizes that the bill and other bills that she plans to file that would limit who can car...

Centrist group seeks to turn down the temperature, foster bipartisanship
Domenico Montanaro writes: In the wake of the shootings in Arizona, the head of the Centrist group Third Way penned a letter to congressional leaders with suggestions of ways to turn down the temperature on political Rhetoric and build more Bipartisanship. 1. Mixed (Bipartisan) seating at the SOTU, to avoid the spectacle of one side jumping up to applaud and the other sitting glumly. 2. A bipartisan retreat for each house of Congress. 3. Regular visits to the district/state of a member of a diff...

Three Steps to a More Civil Congress?
Third Way, the Centrist Democratic group, sent a letter to Congressional leaders on Monday outlining some suggestions to help promote civility in Congress and perhaps help moderate the nation’s overall political discourse. The letter was in response to the shooting rampage in Arizona over the weekend that killed six people, and gravely wounded Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who is an honorary chairwoman of Third Way. The proposed steps include mixed, Bipartisan seating in the House cham...

Breslin tapped deputy leader
ALBANY -- Sen. Neil Breslin has been tapped as deputy leader of the 26-member Democratic Conference, a post that requires him to coordinate the legislative flow on the chamber floor and serve as the second-in-command to Minority Leader John Sampson, D-Brooklyn. "I think it brings honor to the County of Albany that I have been selected as deputy minority leader, but it also means that I will have a great deal of work to do to make sure that we get out of the $10 billion Deficit while at the same ...

Kolb on Sportsmen: Keep focus on the event, contributions they make
This has the potential to be awkward and it will be interesting to see how the sportsmens and Gun Rights lobbies deal in coming weeks deal with the weekend tragedy in Arizona. One indication may come tonight when Assembly Republican Minority Leader Brian Kolb will be interviewed by Cam Edwards who does Gun Rights related news and commentary for the NRA . The broadcast, which can be streamed from the NRA site or heard on Sirius/XM satellite radio, channels 144 and 66 is in advance of  state...

Tributes to mark the week ahead in Congress
Legislative action in the House will come to a standstill this week following the shooting Saturday of 20 people, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), at a "Congress on Your Corner" event in Tucson. The lower chamber is not in session Monday, but House Sergeant at Arms Bill Livingood requested Sunday that all members of Congress, Staffers and visitors present on the House side of the Capitol join President Obama and the country at 11 a.m. in observing a moment of silence for...

Klein Receives Office Held By Libous
Sen. Jeff Klein, leader of the independent Democratic conference, is holding up in the Capitol office held by Sen. Tom Libous, the former deputy Minority Leader. It’s unclear if Klein, who broke away from the Senate Democratic conference, will remain in that office or move to the more drab confines of the Legislative Office Building across the street from the Capitol. Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Klein’s independent conference, said Klein and Libous switched when the Binghamton ...

Here And Now
President Obama, who was supposed to be in Schenectady today, is headed to Tuscon, Az. tomorrow to attend a memorial service for the Saturday Shooting Victims. House members are considering adopting an enhanced security system that would make it easier for them to receive protection at home in their districts. “I believe Gun Ownership is an individual fundamental right,” Rep. Tom Reed said. “And regardless of the Regulation and prohibition you put on it, weapons are a fact of...

Davis garners major endorsements
Two key General Assembly leaders endorsed Hank Davis in Tuesday's Special Election for the Virginia Senate. Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw said Davis has been a great Candidate on the Campaign Trail, and praised him for being able to raise the money the Chatham resident needs to win - most of it from local sources. Davis raised about $54,000 roughly in a month as of Dec. 31. "Hank Davis has done an outstanding job raising money given the short amount of time to campaign," Saslaw said...

The Weekend That Was
A troubled 22-year-old College Student, Jared Lee Loughner, has been charged with trying to assassinate Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, during a shootout that left 20 people wounded, six of them fatally. Here’s the Criminal Complaint against Loughner, who acted alone. Giffords lived through the attack and remains in critical condition. Giffords’ Chief of Staff is a Saratoga Springs native and was not hurt in the shootout. The House called a halt to all work in Washington. Being in the ...

Molinaros new posts
Marc Molinaro — one of the younger, friendlier members of the Assembly Republican conference — has been promoted to the number three leadership post in the conference: assistant Minority Leader pro tempore. “Leader Brian Kolb has been a steadfast defender of Taxpayers and small businesses at a time when the state’s power structure was dominated by New York City interests,” said Molinaro.  “I look forward to joining his leadership team and am especially encouraged a

Sampson, In Minority, Calls For Ethics Reform
Senate Minority Leader John Sampson, D-Brooklyn, called on the Senate to pass a variety of Reform Bills today, including measures that would ban those with business before the state to donate to political campaigns, have an independent commission draw the lines of legislative districts and have require lawmakers who are also lawyers reveal their clients. Sampson, who is leading a minority conference of 28 Democrats (four Democrats are conferencing in an independent conference), pointed to the ...

Tributes mark Congress' week ahead
Legislative action in the House will come to a standstill this week following the shooting Saturday of 20 people, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), at a "Congress on Your Corner" event in Tucson. The lower chamber is not in session Monday, but House Sergeant at Arms Bill Livingood requested Sunday that all members of Congress, Staffers and visitors present on the House side of the Capitol join President Obama and the country at 11 a.m. in observing a moment of silence for the Victims...

A.M. Roundup: How much do Cuomos aides make?
Good morning! One day of session down, six more months to go. Including today. Expect more negotiations between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders, or at least among their Staffers. And expect lawmakers to leave town tonight ahead of a coming Snow Storm. Here are the day’s headlines… Larry Schwartz is paid more than everyone in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s inner circle — including the Governor himself. (TU) The legislative session began “with a whimper,” Rick writ...

To The State Senate Renegade Go The (Bigger Office) Spoils, At Least For Now
In what appears to be the most public perk of telling Senate Minority Leader John Sampson to take his leadership and shove it, Dissident Sen. Jeff Klein has some new official digs: The office space formerly occupied by Sen. Tom Libous when he was deputy minority leader. The head of the new four-person Independent Democratic Caucus, who was formerly Sampson's deputy Majority Leader, has moved into 413 Cap, as LoHud noted today. "It's clear that independence for Jeff Klein comes with...