• Good and Joyful Things - Hot Off The Presses - Politics, Schmolitics

    Illinois General Assembly: No EMAIL??

    Illinois General Assembly – Representative Biography I went to my state legislature's website to verify my local state Senate and House reps so that I could drop them an email in support of a new Illinois "gay marriage bill" and was surprised (and not in a good way) to discover that NONE of the Illinois state legislators' email addresses are listed. So, I mailed a letter to my local state rep, but it's annoying that there's NO way to send an email also. [tags]Illinois, Politics, gay marriage[/tags] 

  • Hot Off The Presses - Politics, Schmolitics

    Oz PM John Howard: Open Mouth, Jump Right In

    BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Australia head slams US candidate Australian PM John Howard has criticised US presidential hopeful Barack Obama for saying US troops should withdraw from Iraq next year. His comments came soon after Mr Obama officially announced he would seek the Democratic Presidential nomination. Mr Howard said al-Qaeda should be "praying as many times as possible" for an Obama victory in the 2008 elections. But Mr Obama reacted by saying Australia should increase its troops in Iraq, if Mr Howard was so concerned. That crack about al-Qaeda praying for an Obama victory: pure asshattedness, with the side…

  • Hot Off The Presses - Politics, Schmolitics

    Oversight Is Good

    This is just a quick selection of articles about a topic that's currently dear to my heart: Congressional oversight.  Unfortunately, a lot of shit is going to come to light, but unless there's a sexy-money scandal to get people lathered up over it, nothing will really change for the next couple of years.   FT.com / World / US & Canada – Bush ‘distorted’ climate change reports The Bush administration has routinely suppressed or ­distorted communication of climate change science to the public, a climate specialist at Nasa’s Goddard Institute said on Tuesday. The accusation, before the chief oversight committee…

  • Blogs Wot I Read - Hot Off The Presses

    With The Teapot In The Hotel Bar By Colonel Mustardovich

    Boing Boing: Murdered spy Litvinenko was killed with radioactive teapot British officials say police have cracked the murder-by-poison case of former spy Alexander Litvinenko, including the discovery of a “hot” teapot at Londons Millennium Hotel with an off-the-charts reading for Polonium-210, the radioactive material used in the killing. Holy CRAP, what a development. I suspect that actually the poison was introduced into the tea so that Litvinenko would drink it, and the radioactivity is just a carryover of that. How horrifying to think of all the people afterwards who might have used the teapot, or handled it, but fortunately it…

  • Hot Off The Presses - Only in Utah... - Politics, Schmolitics

    Orrin Tries To Justify The Unforgiveable

    Salt Lake Tribune – Hatch: Ethics bill all wrong WASHINGTON – Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch cast one of only two votes against an ethics reform bill that supporters are saying would be the most sweeping reform of congressional rules since Watergate. The bill to ban gifts, meals and travel funded by lobbyists and to force lawmakers to identify which special-interest funding they inserted in bills passed the Senate late Thursday 96-2, with Hatch and Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., opposing it. Hatch says he was making a “protest vote” because the bill – which was co-managed by fellow Utah Republican Sen.…

  • Hot Off The Presses - Politics, Schmolitics - Radio - Uncategorical Weirdness

    The Victory Just Keeps On Giving: Bush Whacked

    NPR : White House Retreats on Divisive Issues He'll have to make a compelling case for them next week, when he delivers his State of the Union address Tuesday to the first Democratic Congress in more than a decade. Oh boy! I wonder if Adam Felber will have a new drinking game for this year's SOTU address?? [tags]NPR, Adam Felber, SOTU, Drinking Game[/tags]

  • Hot Off The Presses - Politics, Schmolitics - Uncategorical Weirdness

    Want Freedom Fries With That?

    BBC NEWS | Americas | Republican Ney sentenced to jail Before the Abramoff scandal erupted, Ney was perhaps best known internationally for his role in renaming French fries "freedom fries" in the Congressional cafeteria due to US anger at Pariss refusal to support the invasion of Iraq. Ney's going to prison, the first Congresscritter convicted in connection with the Abramoff scandal. No word on what kind of prison job he'll take once inside Club Fed, but I'm hoping he'll be working the prison grill line.

  • Hot Off The Presses - Only in Utah...

    Just In Case Roe V. Wade Repealed, Utah May Be Ready

    Salt Lake Tribune – Republican prepares bill for demise of Roe v. Wade If someone directly challenges Roe v. Wade . . . And if the U.S. Supreme Court reverses more than 30 years of legal precedent . . . State Rep. Paul Ray wants Utah to be ready. Ray is sponsoring a so-called “trigger law” that would go into effect if the landmark abortion rights case is overturned. House Bill 235 would ban all abortions except in cases of rape, incest or to prevent a womans death or “serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily…