Friday Open Thread [1.11.13]

11 Comments
Friday! Yay! Just a few hours until Happy Hour. You've probably heard of the contretemps between Piers Morgan and Alex Jones based on their interview discussing gun rights and the obligation to gun safety. Apparently Morgan pissed off Jones, who started a White House petition demanding that Morgan get deported. This petition was answered by WH Press Secretary Jay Carney, who used it as an opportunity to explain that the First Amendment means something:
Let’s not let arguments over the Constitution’s Second Amendment violate the spirit of its First. President Obama believes that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. However, the Constitution not only guarantees an individual right to bear arms, but also enshrines the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press -- fundamental principles that are essential to our democracy. Americans may disagree on matters of public policy and express those disagreements vigorously, but no one should be punished by the government simply because he or she expressed a view on the Second Amendment -- or any other matter of public concern.
Awesome -- read your constitution, people!

Two Good Bills

11 Comments
Even for the first week of legislative session, this was the slowest first week evah for the Delaware General Assembly. However, the first worthy pieces of legislation of the 147th surfaced, and both deserve your attention.....

House GOP Priorities Include a Continuation of the War on Women

16 Comments
Rescuing anon's comment from the Open Thread, Paul Ryan has decided that his first signature act of this new Congress would be to cosponsor a bill that would give legal rights to a zygote. Bills like this were roundly defeated everyplace they came up in 2012, if they even survived legal challenges. So this is the signal, right? That the GOP intends to beat their own record for the Worst Congress Ever.

The GOP’s radical embrace of nullification

5 Comments
Last fall Steve Benen wrote about the GOP's attempts to nullify federal law related to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by refusing to vote on the nomination of Richard Cordray to lead the agency. My take is that the GOP's radical embrace of nullification has become their standard operating procedure and they flat out don't give a flying fuck about the effects that it could have on the country or the Constitution. If it "hurts" the President - they are for it. If it "helps" the President they are not only against it - but they are willing to go to war over it.

Thursday Open Thread [1.10.13]

12 Comments
President Obama nominates his Chief of Staff, Jack Lew, to head the Treasury Department and the Republicans are having a fit. Why? Jon Chait has the answer:
Lew’s disqualification, according to numerous Republicans quoted in the story, is that he doesn’t agree with Republicans on public policy issues. The quotes are sort of amazing:

Johanns said it’s also about policy, saying a Lew choice would be “controversial.”