Joe Heck lays off five despite priority of job creation

South Sudan Votes Peacefully
The New York Times reports: JUBA, Sudan — As voters continued Flooding the polls on Monday for a landmark Referendum on southern Sudan’s independence, officials said more than 40 people had been killed over the weekend in intense skirmishes in a contested area along Sudan’s north-south border. The voting, which began Sunday, is proceeding jubilantly and remarkably smoothly, with high expectations and few serious complaints anywhere across southern Sudan. But if the Referendum p

San Jose's employee seniority rules questioned
With San Jose potentially facing hundreds of Layoffs to close a $90 million Budget shortfall, a city councilman has proposed loosening the union seniority protections that shield longtime employees from the ax. Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio said the city should consider employee performance "as a tool to help identify which employees would be let go" -- not purely seniority -- when the city is forced to lay off workers. "I think everyone else in San Jose experiences the fact that you're judged b...

Yoani Sanchez: Daddy State and His Frightened Children
For weeks they were afraid they would appear on the list of Layoffs on the wall, the list of names of those who -- at that Hospital -- would be left without a job in the new reorganization of labor. The doctors, nurses and Health Care technicians put in more effort and avoided walking the halls during office hours so that their heads would not be included among those who would be Laid Off. The unusually high attendance and punctuality of those days surprised the manager, but even so they could...

Anxieties Over Federal Arts Funding
The National Endowment for the Arts has been referred to, in Budget cutting terms, as "low-hanging fruit." In other words, it's just the type of Federal Program that can withstand cuts --- as happened in the mid-1990s --- without much of a political price to pay. With the new Congress, and a drive to slash spending, even for the rest of the 2011 Fiscal Year, arts orgs are worried that the federal outlay for the arts will be in jeopardy. But there's hope that 2011 won't look...

The people's House could grow more distant
He had never thought twice about going to the Grocery Store, until Sunday. But Rep. Steve Cohen went anyway, padding down the aisles and accepting well wishes from constituents as unnerved as he was by the shooting of his friend Rep. Gabrielle Giffords the day before. A young man approached Cohen, slow seeming, a little out of it, telling the lawmaker that he thought the government was waging war against the people, before moving on. Continue Reading Text Size - + reset Politico 44 One though...

In a pall, official Washington a stunned place
(01-10) 19:32 PST WASHINGTON, CA (AP) -- The nation's capital lumbered to work in a pall Monday, somber from the Congress to the White House, as official Washington absorbed an Assassination attempt against one of its own. Giving voice to the grief, President Barack Obama conceded that everyone was still in shock. By the end of the long day, Obama had secured plans to travel on Wednesday to Tucson, Ariz., to speak at a memorial service for the Victims of the deadly attack. White House spokesma...

McDonnell names redistricting panel
Gov. Bob McDonnell on Monday announced a Bipartisan advisory redistricting commission to help the General Assembly redraw legislative and Congressional Districts. Though the General Assembly is not bound by its recommendations, supporters hope the 11-member panel of former officeholders, judges and government officials will put pressure on the legislators to ignore political considerations when drawing up the districts. Legislators, probably meeting in a spring special session, will use new cens...

Onion WPA Joke Would Be Funnier if Krugman Wasnt so Serious
In an op-ed from last week, Paul Krugman again called for greater government control of The Economy to combat Unemployment writing: “A rational political system would long since have created a 21st-century version of the Works Progress Administration — we’d be putting the unemployed to work doing what needs to be done, repairing and improving our fraying infrastructure.” Well The Onion has some good news for Mr. Krugman, under the header Revamped WPA To Create 50,000 New Jobs B...

Waiting for Stimulation
Andrew Henson John W. Pope Civitas Institute Reflecting on the economic reality in North Carolina throughout the recently-completed year of 2010 reveals some grim truths about the so-called stimulus, which should have by now long since rescued us from the depths of Recession. The “Recovery Summer” that the president promised extended into a recovery autumn, and even now in the middle of winter we’re still waiting for that economic stimulation. It has been nearly two years since the $800

The Onion: Revamped WPA to Create 50,000 New Jobs by Disassembling, Reassembling Hoover Dam
The Onion reports on some positive news in America's fight to lower Unemployment and boost The Economy… In an effort to boost the economy and promote job growth, representatives from the newly revived Works Progress Administration announced Thursday their plan to dismantle, piece by piece, the 3.25 million cubic yards of concrete forming the Hoover Dam, and then immediately rebuild it. "This is a vital initiative," said WPA director Ted Doogan, who was appointed last week....

Chief sponsor of state Senate Arizona-style immigration bill says measure isn't likely to pass Legislature
Tallahassee -- Gov. Rick Scott's campaign pledge to bring an Arizona-style Immigration law to Florida faces an uncertain future in the Legislature, with the bill's chief Senate sponsor expressing doubts about the Controversial measure. ``There probably will not be an Arizona-immigration style bill that passes the Florida Senate,'' said Sen. Mike Bennett, a Bradenton Republican. Bennett said he's deeply concerned with the part of the bill that's most identified with Arizona's law: The requirem...

Palin caught in crosshairs map controversy after Tucson shootings
In her more than two years on the national stage, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has proven to be a master of attention-grabbing quotes and vivid images. As a result, she finds herself at the center of a political and media Controversy - unfairly in the estimation of her allies - after Saturday's shootings in Tucson. This Story Arizona shooting suspect Loughner makes first appearance in Federal Court The faces of Jared Loughner Bullet's path may determine Giffords's injuries A look at the...

Massacre hero Col. Bill Badger speaks out for better gun regulation
This evening on the Situation Room, Blitzer had on retired Army Colonel Bill Badger, in order to tell the story of his part in the takedown of Jared Loughner. I can't find any video of it, but Badger's composure and recall of detail in retelling the story makes the segment worthwhile on its own. As the interview is wrapping up, the Colonel makes use of his brief moment of fame to actually try and make something good come out of this travesy: BLITZER: Colonel, do you own or carry a gun? BADGE...

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 ...

Ohio Congressman Stivers talks security, office and personal pay cuts
COLUMBUS, Ohio (CGE) - First-term Ohio Congressman Steve Stivers, who was sworn-in as a Member of the 112th Congress last week after beating the Democratic Candidate he lost to in 2008, is one of the 85 fresh Republican faces who helped elect another Ohio congressman, John Boehner (OH-8) of West Chester, the next Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Speaker Boehner was present along with Stivers to watch as Gov. John R. Kasich, who was officially was sworn-in just past midnight Monday, ...

Texas Legislature convenes amid budget shortfall
The Texas Legislature will open its 2011 session this week with a blast of conservative chest-beating, a fizzled leadership challenge and a gigantic Budget shortfall that could change State Government as the people have come to know it. Republicans, having fielded their largest House majority in Texas history, now dominate the Legislature more than ever. Most of them are promising to make deep cuts in spending, balance the Budget without new taxes, strengthen ID requirements for voters, crack do...

Dallas County legislators set priorities
Dallas County legislators set priorities 10:22 PM CST on Monday, January 10, 2011 By GROMER JEFFERS Jr. / The Dallas Morning News [email protected] Austin - Dallas County lawmakers arrive in Austin today with an extensive legislative wish list for a region in need of upgrades in education, transportation, Air Quality and - in some areas - Economic Development. Also Online Blog: Texas Legislature 2011 Complete coverage of the 82nd Texas Legislature Like other leg...

Arizona legislature working this week on bill to limit Democrat hate group Westboro from disrupting funerals
Three-time Democrat Kansas gubernatorial, (1990, 1994, and 1998), Senate (1992), and Mayoral (Topeka, 1993 and 1997) Candidate Fred Phelps and his Westboro Democrat Hate Group have announced plans to disrupt the Funerals of all the Victims of this Saturday’s Arizona Murder spree, which left six dead and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords seriously injured in a failed Assassination attempt by disturbed Leftist Jared Lee Loughner. Democrat Fred Phelps, a staunch Al Gore supporter, has targeted...

California with Most (2.1mil) Veterans Ranks 33rd in VA Benefits Received
“California has 2.1 million Veterans, more than any other state in the nation, yet Texas and Florida with fewer veterans bring in more federal veterans benefit dollars than California. In fact California is ranked 33rd in the nation in percentage of veterans receiving veteran’s benefits.” [1]  ‘In addition, as our political leaders try to close a $19 billion Budget gap, the CVSO (County Veterans Service Officers) program is in danger of losing $7 million in funding &...

Algeria and Tunisia: Protests Threaten Repressive Regimes
The new year has brought a wave of Protests and violence against two U.S.-friendly authoritarian Arab regimes in North Africa. Riots in Algeria over rising food prices last weekend reportedly left five people dead and some 800 injured, while police arrested more than 1,000 people in their effort to crack down on protestors. At the same time, weeks of unrest and anger at high Unemployment came to a head in neighboring Tunisia, with security forces killing at least 14 civilians protesting in a n...

Reverse Migration
There's an interesting piece in today's Wall Street Journal referencing some new data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey about the reverse migration of black folks to Dixie. Metropolitan Atlanta, for instance, added an astonishing 500,000 black people from 2000 to 2009; my home metro area of New York, meanwhile, lost 55,000 black residents. Part of this story falls under the category of "black folks do the same stuff that other folks do, and often for the same reasons": the movem...

Castro in state of confusion
Raúl Castro is intent on building an efficient and productive socialism, capable of generating profits. That is why he has just Laid Off half a million unneeded wage earners. The objective is to detach 25 percent of the Labor Force from the state within 18 months. That's 1.3 million workers who will be put on the street so they may be absorbed by the still-unborn private microentrepreneurial sector. Castro and his claque keep repeating that the revolution cannot feed an army of idle worke...

Jobless find long waits for training in new careers
Todd Lawson was Laid Off from his printing job, then decided to chase his dream. He signed up for the culinary arts program at Des Moines Area Community College. "I did what I should have done 30 years ago," said Lawson, 51, of Norwalk. He is among thousands of workers pursuing new careers during the Recession, which has cost more than 57,000 Iowans their jobs. As of November, 110,500 Iowans were unemployed. Around the country, community colleges are struggling to keep up with demand as enroll...

McDonnell creates bipartisan redistricting panel
Gov. Bob McDonnell signed an Executive Order today creating an independent Bipartisan advisory commission on redistricting. McDonnell said the commission will create and review proposed redistricting plans for the Virginia Senate, the House of Delegates and Congressional Districts. The commission will consist of 11 members, including a former Democratic appointee as Secretary of the State Board of Elections and a former Republican appointee. Political commentator Bob Holsworth will be chairman. ...

Tom DeLay Is Finally Rewarded for His Years of Public Service: With a Jail Sentence
No one did more to corrupt the public life of the country during the Bush-Cheney era than the cruelest and most crooked of their henchmen, Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay, the Republican Majority Leader turned the U.S. House of Representatives into a cesspool of pay--to-play politics and the Elections of his home state of Texas into empty charades. "DeLay’s brand of politics was one of reckless disregard for the American People. By funneling illegal corporate money into Texas state elections, he h...