House OKs a 4th seat for Utah
D.C. would get full-voting member; Bishop
vents anger over process
By Suzanne Struglinski,
Deseret Morning News
The House approved a bill Thursday giving Utah a fourth seat
and the District of Columbia a full-voting member in that
chamber, but Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, did not join in on the
celebration. In the 241-177 vote Bishop was the only member who
voted "present," meaning he did not vote for or against the
bill. Bishop said he supports Utah getting a fourth seat and he
supports voting rights for the District of Columbia but he just
could not vote for the bill. "It was a statement of frustration
and protest," Bishop said. "They sure treated us like crap
through the whole process."
Oregon House passes bills supporting gay rights,
same-sex couples
Legislation creates marriage-style benefits
By STEVE LAW, Statesman Journal
In a landmark day for gay rights in Oregon, the state House
of Representatives approved a pair of bills that grant
marriage-style benefits to same-sex couples and bar
discrimination because of sexual orientation. Both bills now
move to the Senate, where they are expected to pass easily and
then get signed into law by Gov. Ted Kulongoski. "We made
history here today," said Rep. Tina Kotek, D-Portland, the only
openly homosexual Oregon lawmaker.
Stem cell research vote called sneaky
By Peggy Fikac, San Antonio
Express-News
A committee vote to bar state funding for embryonic stem
cell research was decried Monday as a "sneak attack" by research
advocates. House State Affairs Committee Chairman David
Swinford, R-Dumas, defended Friday's vote, saying it came after
people had their say in a meeting that began Thursday and lasted
through the night. At the controversy's center is House Bill 225
by Rep. Bill Paxton, R-McKinney, to prohibit state funds from
being used for biomedical research if the use of federal funds
on the research was prohibited as of Jan. 1, 2007. Advocates of
embryonic stem cell research said that would tie Texas' hands if
Congress or a future administration lifts U.S. restrictions on
federal funding for such research. Advocates of the bill want
just that.
Muslims will open a coed high school
By MAYA BLACKMUN, The Oregonian
The academy's mission is "to shape the minds and hearts of
its students according to the teachings of the Holy Quran and
the traditions of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)," the
parenthetical phrase an abbreviation for "Praise Be Unto Him."
Most Americans Believe Environmental Groups are
Too Extreme
By Bob Moore and Hans Kaiser, Moore
Information
Results of our recent national voter survey show a solid
majority of American voters are of the opinion that
environmental groups are too extreme. Specifically, 60% of
voters nationwide agree with the statement; “While protecting
the environment is important, environmental groups usually push
for solutions which are too extreme for me.”
Conservative
goes his own way
Some liberals join ideological foe in battling Craddick
By KAREN BROOKS, Dallas Morning News
After more than a decade of battling Rep. Robert Talton's
efforts to fight gay rights, take apart social programs and
promote religion in schools, liberals came to know the Houston-
area Republican as the man they loved to hate. But then came the
race for speaker when the current legislative session began this
year, and Mr. Talton very publicly backed Speaker Tom Craddick's
challengers. On the outs with his fellow conservative
Republican, he has become one of the House's premier
anti-leadership bomb-throwers. Now, he's the guy liberals hate
to love.
Cigarette tax increase takes toll on stores along
borders
By Mark Babineck, San Antonio
Express-News
Peer west from the U.S. 84 bridge over the Sabine River and
you can see the Nu-Way convenience store in Texas. Gaze east,
and there's the Tobacco World shop in Louisiana. Now look down.
That ribbon of chocolate-colored water may as well be a gulf
when it comes to cigarette prices. A $1.05-a-pack gulf, to be
exact. "We're restocking a little slower," Nu-Way clerk Crystal
Odom acknowledged as the store in rural Haslam did a brisk
business of gasoline and snacks, but no cigarettes on a recent
afternoon. It's been that way since the state cigarette tax rose
$1 per pack Jan. 1. Meanwhile, about a half-mile down the road
in downtown Logansport, La., Linda Cordray said her
drive-through has become a favorite of Texans, especially when
paydays and government checks arrive at the first of the month
and when weekly shipments arrive each Thursday. Louisiana's
36-cents-a-pack tax already held a nickel advantage before Texas
lawmakers agreed last summer to a $1.41 levy to help pay for
local school property tax relief. Now that the difference has
expanded, Cordray said, she boasts regular customers from across
East Texas. "It was immediate. Immediate," she said of the
upswing in business. "Now people are stocking up for two weeks."
Looking back, event wasn't much of a party
Event for Dawn Gibbons in 2005 was organized by embattled
lawmaker
By MOLLY BALL, Las Vegas
Review-Journal
With new allegations surfacing in recent weeks about
questionable ties between Gov. Jim Gibbons and defense
contractors, the former congressman has drawn some unflattering
comparisons to former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, the San
Diego congressman who admitted to taking millions in bribes from
defense contractors. The fundraiser was held in a Washington
restaurant on June 29, 2005. Just a few days before, allegations
of misconduct by Cunningham began to emerge, and Dawn Gibbons'
campaign had to decide on the fly whether to go ahead with the
planned event. At the time, Cunningham was insisting he was
innocent. The campaign considered canceling the event but
decided to go ahead with it because no legal action had yet been
taken against Cunningham, Dawn Gibbons' political consultant at
the time, Jim Denton, recalled. Nonetheless, the allegations
against Cunningham cast such a pall over the evening that the
fundraiser was "not what you'd call a resounding success,"
Denton said: Cunningham himself didn't show up, and only three
donors came, donating a total of $2,500 to Dawn Gibbons'
campaign.
Bipartisan immigrant bill called a 'lie'
Tucson rights group says legalization path in plan is too strict
By Brady McCombs, Arizona Daily
Star
Some immigrant-rights groups are voicing opposition to a
bipartisan immigration proposal that includes a temporary-worker
program and a path to legalization for some illegal entrants.
Members of the Tucson-based Coalición de Derechos Humanos say
the proposal, by U.S. Reps. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Luis
Guiterrez, D-Ill., contains 700 pages of policing measures that
perpetuate border militarization and falsely advertise a "path
to citizenship." The House bill has been labeled "Security
Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy." Even
though the STRIVE Act is more all-encompassing than an
enforcement-only House bill of 2006, Derechos Humanos also is
calling it unacceptable.
Ariz., N.M. urge feds to pay tab of immigration
Until states are repaid, defer aid to offenders, letter says
By Mary Jo Pitzl, Arizona Republic
The federal government should defer foreign aid to the
countries that are the biggest sources of illegal immigration
into the U.S. until Washington has paid the states' costs for
jailing illegal border crossers. That's the latest proposal from
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and New Mexico Gov. Bill
Richardson, as they continue their pressure on the federal
government to pick up the cost of illegal immigration. "It is
time for Congress to make full federal funding for states'
immigration costs a condition precedent to future foreign aid
funding," the border governors, both Democrats, wrote in a
letter to the congressional sponsors of immigration-reform
measures.
State payment to Goddard's office probed
Embattled treasurer didn't obtain favors, officials say
By Amanda J. Crawford, Arizona
Republic
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio confirmed Thursday that
he and the county attorney are investigating whether a payment
made from the state Treasurer's Office to the state Attorney
General's Office for legal fees influenced the prosecution of
former state Treasurer David Petersen. Attorney General Terry
Goddard and others from his office said the $1.9 million
payment, which came from the settlement of a civil fraud case
pursued by his office, was mandated by statute and in no way
influenced the handling of Petersen's case. Petersen, a
Republican, resigned from office in November and pleaded guilty
to a misdemeanor charge for failing to disclose income from a
non-profit character-education group. Goddard, a Democrat, had
been investigating far more serious allegations of fraud and
misuse of public money for months but said those allegations
could not be proved.
Oil companies try to sway gas line plan
Large producers lobby for changes to AGIA to fit needs
By PAT FORGEY, Juneau Empire
Oil companies holding leases on North Slope natural gas are
asking the Alaska Legislature to keep them in the lead in the
quest to build a gas pipeline. "A producer pipeline will provide
maximum value to the state of Alaska," said Marty Massey, Exxon
Mobil's U.S. joint interest manager. Under former Gov. Frank
Murkowski, the producers had a favored place, as Murkowski
negotiated exclusively with them. Gov. Sarah Palin's proposed
Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, now being considered by the
Legislature, opened up the process to other and smaller pipeline
builders.
Speculating on Hatch speculation
By Thomas Burr and Robert Gehrke,
Salt Lake Tribune
The dubious rumor about Sen. Orrin Hatch becoming the next
attorney general keeps on rolling. Thursday, the Capitol Hill
newspaper Roll Call gave it a little more mileage, speculating
about who might replace Hatch in the Senate if the speculation
is true that he might become attorney general if the speculation
is true that embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales gets
kicked to the curb. Utah GOP Executive Director Jeff Hartley
offered numerous possibilities. But why not go a step further
and speculate about who might replace whomever replaces Hatch if
he replaces Gonzales? This is what we, in the business, refer to
as in-depth speculation. We hate to speculate, but whomever it
might be, it's a speculative spectacular, to be sure.
Top 5 donor states for Romney
By the Deseret Morning News
California, Utah, Massachusetts, Texas, Michigan
Liberal political pundit James Carville to visit
Tulane
By Alan Williams, Hullabaloo
Political consultant James Carville will give a lecture
Thursday to Tulane students, faculty and friends. The event is
hosted by the Directions Speaker Series, and will be held in the
Kendall-Cram Lecture Hall inside the Lavin-Bernick Center at 5
p.m. Carville, also known as the Ragin' Cajun, is a native
Louisianan who gained widespread fame for his role in Democrat
Bill Clinton's meteoric rise to the White House in 1992. "I
really enjoy listening to Mr. Carville speak," said Jacob Segall,
the chairman of the Directions Series committe, "With his unique
view of national politics, Mr. Carville has established his name
as a hallmark of political success."
