Monday, March 18, 2013
Back in Arkansas
Posted by Max Brantley on Mon, Mar 18, 2013 at 8:09 AM
Well, I'm back in Arkansas, operating on some time zone other than Central Daylight Time. Noted:
* VOTE SUPPRESSION: The Republican voter ID bill, part of a national strategy to suppress votes among core Democratic constituencies, should get routine Senate approval today of a minor House amendment. The question again of whether a law that addresses a constitutional provision requires a two-thirds vote might arise and again be overridden by the Republican majority. That debate shouldn't obscure the core constitutional question of whether the legislation unconstitutionally abridges vote protection enshrined in the document, as Ernie Dumas has written. It will join the long list of constitutionally questionable acts in court.
* SPEAKING OF LEGISLATION; Anybody else struck by the torrent of bill filings by the Republican majority. You know, the majority that favors less government intrusion in personal lives?
* PICKING ON COTTON: U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton got still more national air time yesterday with an appearance on CNN in which he lauded the "just and noble" war in Iraq. Crooks and Liars notes that some think the adventure in Iraq, based on Bush Administration representations, wasn't perhaps quite so noble.
* BEWARE SCHOOL VOUCHERS: Arkansas legislators are spoiling to pass bills to funnel public dollars into private schools. Various means have been proposed, including one scheme by which taxpayers could direct their tax payments to private school scholarships. This is bad governance on a number of grounds. (How about a bill to let me funnel my tax dollars into health services for women?) But a leading problem is the example of other states, where public money has gone to heavily fund church schools offering some dubious academics. To wit (though it isn't funny):
"Voucher schools in Louisiana and Indiana are using a “U.S. History” textbook in their eighth grade classes that teaches that the “hippies” of the 1960s were draft dodgers who were rude, didn’t bathe, and worshipped Satan."
Speaking of Voter ID, Tom Cotton
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Will Tom Cotton help Oklahoma or hold it hostage to ideology?
May 21, 2013Here's a list of the Republicans who voted against disaster aid for areas hit by Hurricane Sandy. /more/
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Morning report: Leaks, guns and welfare kings
May 14, 2013The morning roundup: * WHEN WILL REP. TOM COTTON PRAISE OBAMA'S JUSTICE DEPARTMENT? Republican mouthpieces are howling about the news that AP reporters' phone records were gathered by the Justice Department in an apparent investigation of leaks about a Yemen-based terrorist plot to bomb an airliner. /more/
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Who wants to be a U.S. senator?
May 4, 2013The New York Times reports this morning on the wave of retirements from the U.S. Senate and a lack of clamor from people anxious to join the filibuster-frozen body. /more/
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Tom Cotton burnishes his warhawk image
April 30, 2013"Media sweetheart" is how this piece in Politico puts it and they should know, having been pumping U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Club for Growth) since forever. /more/
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Monday night line
April 29, 2013The comment line is open. Final words: * TOM COTTON STATEMENT ON OBAMA: 'MOSTLY FALSE': Politifact has reviewed U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton's overhyped statement on the House floor on terrorism during the administration of President Obama versus what he claimed were zero events under George W. Bush (not counting that little 9/11 thing). /more/
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The Extremism Edition
April 26, 2013A Republican even crazier than Nate Bell, the last vetoes of the session, the latest outrage from Tom Cotton and Bloomberg versus Pryor — all covered on this week's podcast. /more/
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Tom Cotton's 'odd' argument on terrorism fight
April 26, 2013U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton of the Club for Growth was right proud the other day of his rush to make political hay of the Boston bombing by lumping it with some other incidents that he said represented failure of counter-terrorism efforts of the Obama administration. /more/
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Wednesday night line
April 24, 2013Sorry, folks. I've been working on a project and away from blogging duties. /more/
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'The spineless gun vote': Why?
April 20, 2013Joe Nocera writes this morning about the vote to block legislation to expand gun purchase background checks and his pursuit of an answer to why from the four Democrats, including Sen. Mark Pryor, who stood in the way of a vote. /more/
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UPDATE: Ethics amendment defeated
April 15, 2013The legislature has killed a proposed constitutional amendment to strengthen ethics laws. /more/
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UPDATE: House committee endorses Medicaid expansion bill
Republican Rep. John Burris is before the House Public Health Committee he chairs this morning to urge approval of the Medicaid expansion legislation.
- Apr 9, 2013
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The Sunday night oily ethics line
* COMPLAINT AGAINST SEN. BOOKOUT ON CAMPAIGN SPENDING: Interesting story in the Jonesboro Sun about an ethics complaint filed by a Jonesboro resident against Sen. Paul Bookout (Is he still in the Senate?
- Apr 7, 2013
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Event Calendar
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Re: ExxonMobil has a plan for Lake Maumelle watershed
"But there is something odd about how it veers off toward the confluence of Cadron…
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Re: ExxonMobil has a plan for Lake Maumelle watershed
http://gizmodo.com/5914311/56-years-of-dea…
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Re: ExxonMobil has a plan for Lake Maumelle watershed
"Sorry, Republicans — Nobody’s Getting Impeached
May 22nd, 2013 12:00 am
Gene Lyons
…- on May 22, 2013
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