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With ban, GOP calls duel on earmarks

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:00:08 +0000

In a move to break with the GOP’s big-spending past, House Republicans voted Thursday to ban their members this year from requesting earmarks, the pork-barrel spending that directs money to pet projects in home districts. The Republicans, who passed the moratorium by voice vote in a closed-door meeting, said they have now put pressure on the rest of Congress – Republicans in the Senate, and Democrats in both chambers – to follow their lead. “Today, House Republicans took an important step toward showing the American people we’re serious about reform by adopting an immediate, unilateral ban on all earmarks,” said …

Va. colleges can’t ban gay discrimination

THE WASHINGTON TIMES — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0000

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s attorney general has advised the state’s public colleges that they don’t have the authority to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, saying only the General Assembly has that power. The letter sent by Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli to state college presidents and other officials Thursday drew swift criticism from Democrats and gay rights activists. Cuccinelli said the legislature has repeatedly refused to exercise its authority. As recently as Tuesday, a subcommittee killed legislation that would have banned job discrimination against gay state employees. “It is my advice that the law and public policy of the …

Senators ask FDA to lift gay blood donor ban

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:00:02 +0000

The push to eliminate the lifetime ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men received a boost yesterday, when 18 senators signaled their support for such a change. “[H]ealthy blood donors are turned away every day due to an antiquated policy,” Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, said in a letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg. “We live in a very different country than we did in 1983,” when gay and bisexual men were permanently “deferred” from giving blood, due to the HIV/AIDS crisis, the letter said. Now that more is known about HIV transmission and …

Chicago’s Pointless Handgun Ban 3.3.10

Steve Chapman — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 04:03:31 +0000

When Chicago passed a ban on handgun ownership in 1982, it was part of a trend. Washington, D.C. had done it in 1976, and a few Chicago suburbs took up the cause in the following years. They all expected to reduce the number of guns and thus curtail bloodshed.

District of Columbia Attorney General Linda Singer told The Washington Post in 2007, “It’s a pretty common-sense idea that the more guns there are around, the more gun violence you’ll have.” Nadine Winters, a member of the Washington city council in 1976, said she assumed at the time that the policy “would spread to other places.”

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General: Study gay ban but don’t hurt force

Anne Flaherty ASSOCIATED PRESS — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:52:51 +0000

The Marine Corps commandant said Wednesday that the ability of U.S. troops to fight and win wars must trump other concerns as the United States considers whether to let gays serve openly in the military. In testimony before a House committee, Gen. James Conway said he supports a Pentagon assessment to determine how to lift the ban. He also suggested that civil rights ultimately would have to take a back seat if it meant tampering with the military’s ability to protect the country. “That’s what they have been built to do under the current construct, and I would argue that …

Drilling Ban To Cost Trillions 2.16.10

Investor's Business Daily — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 03:43:57 +0000

Energy: A new study shows that our reluctance to develop domestic energy will cost the beleaguered U.S. economy trillions in opportunity costs, reduce our gross domestic product and increase our trade deficit.

From trying to stimulate jobs in nonexistent ZIP codes at great expense to worshiping the false gods of climate change, our biggest deficit these days may be in the area of common sense. A new study shows that many of our wounds are self-inflicted as we forgo the wealth and jobs to be found in our waters and under our feet.

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Va. Senate OKs ban on sexual orientation bias

THE WASHINGTON TIMES — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:51:04 +0000

RICHMOND — Virginia’s Senate has passed a bill that would write into law executive orders by the past two governors that ban bias in the state work force based on sexual orientation. Sen. Don McEachin’s bill advanced from the Democratic-controlled Senate on a nearly party line vote of 23-17. One Republican, Sen. Fred Quayle, joined the Democratic majority. Democratic Govs. Tim Kaine and his predecessor, Mark Warner, issued executive orders during their tenure banning discrimination in state government hiring and workplace protection. Republican Gov. Robert F. McDonnell has not reissued such an order but says Mr. Kaine’s is still in …

Gates: Military gay ban to get review

ASSOCIATED PRESS — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:17:32 +0000

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Robert Gates is tapping two seasoned Pentagon officials to lead the military’s first in-depth study on allowing openly gay service members, promising to try to spare more troops from being dismissed in the meantime. An announcement of the study, expected Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, marks a measured step toward President Barack Obama’s goal of eliminating the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which is based on a 1993 law. Obama has called on Congress to repeal the law, but Democrats say they want more guidance on how to allow openly gay service …

States seek to ban mandatory health coverage

David A. Lieb ASSOCIATED PRESS — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:01:07 +0000

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Although President Obama’s push for a health-care overhaul has stalled, conservative lawmakers in about half the states are forging ahead with constitutional amendments to ban government health insurance mandates. The proposals would assert a state-based right for people to pay medical bills from their own pocketbooks and prohibit penalties against those who refuse to carry health insurance. In many states, the proposals began as a backlash to Democratic health care plans pending in Congress. But instead of backing away after a Massachusetts election gave Senate Republicans the filibuster power to halt the health-care legislation, many state …

Testimony ends in trial on gay marriage ban

ASSOCIATED PRESS — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:01:00 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO | Testimony ended Wednesday in a potentially historic federal case challenging the constitutionality of California’s constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The trial included nearly 12 days of wide-ranging testimony on the meaning of marriage, the nature of sexual orientation, and the role of religion in shaping attitudes about both. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker heard the case without a jury and has said he will take time to review the evidence before hearing closing arguments, probably sometime in March. His verdict is likely to be appealed to the …