Or maybe Rob McKenna is just a crappy lawyer?

States continue to make illegal immigration more difficult
Image by Getty Images via @daylife NY Times: Legislative leaders in at least half a dozen states say they will propose bills similar to a Controversial law to fight illegal Immigration that was adopted by Arizona last spring, even though a Federal Court has suspended central provisions of that statute. The efforts, led by Republicans, are part of a wave of state measures coming this year aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration. Legislators have also announced measures to limit access to ...

Texas, EPA fight grows fierce
HOUSTON — A long-standing tit-for-tat between Texas and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over how to regulate Pollution has grown fierce in recent months, leaving industry frustrated and allowing some plants and refineries to spew more Toxic Waste into the air, streams and lakes than is federally acceptable. Both sides and conservation groups agree that the battle has put the health of Texas residents and the environment at risk. But the back-and-forth over everything from who shou...

Michigan's Senators do not speak for Michigan
Today, New Year's Day 2011, marks a turning point of historic proportions. The State of Michigan and many other states in the coming days will usher in newly elected Republican office holders. What this will mean in terms of politics, in terms of the coming Presidential races for the 2012 election season, is not completely certain, but will undoubtedly be significant. Yet through it all, Michigan will have no real representation in the United States Senate. Indeed, what we shall have is, more or...

In Case You Missed It: Arizona Bans Ethnic Studies
Happy almost 2011 everybody! For being such good little Minorities in 2010 and sticking up for your beloved Obama and gay Soldiers, your good friends in Arizona have decided to ring in the new year reminding everyone that they hate Mexicans! Your buddies in the State Legislature and bff Governer Jan Brewer signed the law in May, but a new year brings new standards! So where did the idea of Ethnic Studies originate? The first Ethnic Studies course grew out of a Student-led strike in 1968 at San F...

Lawmakers chosen to draw Congressional boundaries
State legislative leaders on Thursday announced which lawmakers have been appointed to a special committee to redraw Congressional District boundaries. The 10-member committee will be co-chaired by Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, and Rep. David Balmer, R-Centennial. The group is charged with meeting in all seven congressional districts and getting input from the public. The Bipartisan committee consists of five Democrats and five Republicans appointed by legislative leaders. Democrats control the ...

Redistricting panelists named
State legislative leaders on Thursday announced the lawmakers appointed to a special committee to redraw congressional-district boundaries. The 10-member committee will be co-chaired by Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, and Rep. David Balmer, R-Centennial. The group is charged with meeting in all seven Congressional Districts and getting input from the public. The Bipartisan committee consists of five Democrats and five Republicans appointed by legislative leaders. For the next two years, Democrats ...

Lawmakers chosen to draw Congressional boundaries
State legislative leaders on Thursday announced which lawmakers have been appointed to a special committee to redraw Congressional District boundaries. The 10-member committee will be co-chaired by Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, and Rep. David Balmer, R-Centennial. The group is charged with meeting in all seven congressional districts and getting input from the public. The Bipartisan committee consists of five Democrats and five Republicans appointed by legislative leaders. Democrats control the ...

"Kumbaya Committee" Members Announced
House Speaker-designee Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp, R-Littleton, and House Minority Leader Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, today announced their appointments to serve on the joint legislative committee tasked with drawing Colorado's congressional lines. "Our goal in creating this committee is to take a new approach to the congressional redistricting process that is focused on drawing fair boundary lines and avoiding the pa...

New York Times Editorial Board Concerned That Some People Might View Federal Government as An Intrusive Parent
The New York Times editorial board is not happy with a proposed Constitutional Amendment giving State Legislatures the power to overturn any act of Congress with the approval of two-thirds of state legislatures. That’s hardly a surprise. But the most telling passage comes toward the end, when the editorial argues that the primary problem with the proposed amendment is the federalist spirit in which it was offered: These flaws make the proposed amendment self-defeating, but they are far less ...

Weekly Diaspora: Arizona vs. Anchor Babies
After commanding the world’s attention in 2010 with its cavalier stance on Immigration, the Arizona State Legislature is threatening—once again—to dominate national immigration discourse and policy. This week, Arizona State Senator and Senate President-Elect Russell Pearce (R) spoke candidly with CNN’s Jessica Yellin about his plans to introduce a birthright Citizenship bill in Arizona this coming January—a move likely to be echoed in the impending Republican-controlled House

The Media Consortium: Weekly Diaspora: Arizona vs. 'Anchor Babies'
by Catherine A. Traywick, Media Consortium blogger After commanding the world's attention in 2010 with its cavalier stance on Immigration, the Arizona State Legislature is threatening--once again--to dominate national immigration discourse and policy. This week, Arizona State Senator and Senate President-Elect Russell Pearce (R) spoke candidly with CNN's Jessica Yellin about his plans to introduce a birthright Citizenship bill in Arizona this coming January--a move likely to be echoed in the i...

Was Rod Blagojevich ahead of the times
I remember the uproar over then Governor Blagojevich's decision to remain in Chicago, and not move into the governor's mansion. Blagojevich's failure to live in the mansion rankled Taxpayers who expect their governor to live in the house they pay around $500,000 a year to keep open. Newly elected governors, from other states, are now making the same decision. Gubernatorial Candidates spend months, if not years, campaigning to take the reins of State Government. But more and more winner...

Obama Strikes Bipartisan Tone In Message
(NewsCore) - US President Barack Obama spoke with a tone of Bipartisanship in his weekly address Saturday, as he prepares for the possibility of a more hostile Congress in 2011. After wishing US citizens a Happy New Year, the president said his New Year's resolution was to do everything he could to ensure jobs were created and The Economy grows in the coming year. Obama, speaking while on Vacation with his family in Hawaii, said there were indicators that the US economy was gaining traction and ...

Obama's New Year's resolution? Fix the economy
President Barack Obama has set his New Year's resolution high for 2011: repair the struggling US economy. In his weekly radio and Internet address today, the vacationing president said recent data showed the Economic Recovery was gaining traction even as millions of Americans are still out of work. "Our most important task now is to keep that recovery going," Obama said. "As president, that's my commitment to you: to do everything I can to make sure our economy is growing, creat...

Obama resolves to fix economy in 2011
Stumble This! Honolulu - President Barack Obama has set his New Year's resolution high for 2011: repair the struggling economy. In his weekly radio and Internet address on Saturday, the vacationing president said recent data showed the Economic Recovery was gaining traction even as millions of Americans are still out of work. "Our most important task now is to keep that recovery going," Obama said. "As president, that's my commitment to you: to do everything I can to make sure our economy is gr...

Sen. Brown named 'Bostonian of the Year' for inspiring political underdogs
The Boston Globe Magazine named Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) its "Bostonian of the Year" for showing that he was more than a pretty face -- but an inspiration to longshot Candidates everywhere -- when he won "the Kennedy seat" in 2010. “He made an incredible impact on national politics in 2010, invigorating both Republicans and Democrats and demonstrating that no politician is immune to a challenge, and every underdog has the potential for victory,” said Susanne Althoff, editor of The Boston...

States to push immigration reform
WASHINGTON, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- Several states are expected to propose bills to fight illegal Immigration in 2011, similar to a tough law enacted by Arizona in 2010, officials said. Additionally, at least five states will start a coordinated effort to cancel automatic Citizenship for Children born in the United States to Illegal Immigrant parents, The New York Times reported. However, few people expect progress on Immigration issues when Congress reconvenes next week because Republicans, which now c...

Yes. For children and other mortally ill, there are death panels.
But they're not prescribed by "ObamaCare," as the right would like to have you believe.  They're the product of officials' decisions in two very Republican states.  As usual, the policies Republicans fulminate against are policies carried out by Republicans.  They aren't fooling normal people anymore, just their own supporters. In Indiana, a 6-month-old was refused an operation to save his life -- until Public Opinion turned things around.  The...

Coming soon: Parking rates that go up at busiest times
Until now, Seattle drivers have known that, if they could wriggle their way to an open curb, parking fees would be relatively inexpensive and straightforward. But one of city government's New Year's resolutions is to embark on a new age of market-based pricing, ultimately charging more on the busiest blocks at the busiest times, and less at times when extra spaces tend to be available. Seattle officials hope variable fees will inspire a quicker turnover of precious parking spaces, boosting com...

Texas Legislators Promote Bill for Ultrasounds Before Abortions
If a woman is going to have an Abortion, shouldn’t she at least be given all of the information she needs to make an informed decision beforehand? That’s the question two Texas legislators are asking, and they say the answer is ensuring women are given information about their unborn baby that abortion centers normally don’t provide beforehand. Although women getting abortions most often have an Ultrasound to determine gestational age, they don’t necessarily get a chance t...

Senate 2012: How Did It Go So Wrong So Fast?
Ugh. It’s not even 2011 and that’s my sentiments about the 2012 Republican nomination battle. While most of the state is not paying attention to this intra-party nonsense, the posturing by the Candidates and soon-to-be Candidates has been awful. There’s no other word for it, simply awful from top to bottom. With the selection of a primary, the stage was set for former Senator George Allen to ascend. Bob Marshall and Jamie Radtke’s only chances were a convention, so with ...

Russell Pearce Sues in Bid To Rig Redistricting
Pearce wants to call the shots on the "independent" redistricting panel, and is suing to get his way Well that didn't take long. As anticipated, state Senate President-elect Russell Pearce and his so-far compliant wingman state House Speaker Kirk Adams, are taking to court their bid to rig Arizona's Independent Redistricting Commission. After being shot down yesterday by the Commission on Appellate Appointments, which showed some backbone and refused to remove three nominees to the IRC as Pear...

Seceding from Secession
Disunion follows the Civil War as it unfolded. Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Slavery, Stonewall Jackson, the civil war, Virginia, West Virginia Parkersburg, Va., Jan. 1, 1861 The small Southern Courthouse was packed to bursting. On this first afternoon of the new year, the Commonwealth of Virginia was preparing to chart her path forward - with the Union or apart from it - and the people of Wood County had gathered to make their voices heard. Presiding over the meeting was ...

RNCs Michael Steele Tells NOM if Prop 8 is Struck Down, GOP Would Call for a Federal Marriage Amendment
I’m starting the New Year off with a concession: I was wrong about the National Organization for Marriage. I thought that the small cadre of Catholic antigay marriage Missionaries was mostly smoke and mirrors - as has been well-documented by the NOM Tour Tracker and the increasing public acceptance of marriage equality. But NOM is like a persistent, annoying gnat that just won’t go away or be swatted down. And judging from their spiffy new website and knack for getting props fr...

Gov.-elect Walker announces Cabinet appointments
After much deliberation, time, and speculation, Wisconsin Gov.-elect Scott Walker has finally announced his appointments to State Government agencies and cabinet secretary posts.  Walker, who will be inaugurated as Wisconsin’s next Governor on Jan. 3, had to make his decisions public by Dec. 30 so that his team would be ready to assume their new roles immediately upon him taking the oath of office.  Walker opted to announce all of his appointees at once as opposed to announcing e...