Tag Archives: government

Senate Approves Funding Bill To Avert Govt Shutdown

The Associated Press reports: The Senate passed a $1.2 trillion package of spending bills in the early morning hours Saturday, a long overdue action nearly six months into the budget year that will push any threats of a government shutdown to the fall. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. The vote was 74-24. …

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FDA Advisors Back OTC Sales Of Birth Control Pills

The New York Times reports: A panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously on Wednesday that the benefits of making a birth control pill available without a prescription outweigh the risks, a significant step in the decades-long push to make oral contraception obtainable over the counter in the United States. If the F.D.A. approves nonprescription sales …

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Gallup Survey: US “Satisfaction” More Than Doubles

Gallup reports: Twenty-seven percent of U.S. adults are satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S, more than double the percentage observed in January. The increase reverses a three-month decline that saw satisfaction drop to one of its lowest levels ever. Satisfaction, which had been 28% at the time of the 2020 presidential election, fell in the ensuing …

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WaPo: Congress Buried In Complaints Over Slow USPS

The Washington Post reports: As the service crisis at the U.S. Postal Service drags into its eighth month, complaints are reaching a fever pitch. Consumers are inundating members of Congress with stories of late bills — and the late fees they’ve absorbed as a result. Small-business owners are waiting weeks, even months, for checks to arrive, creating cash-flow crunches and …

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Bill Gates: Yes, The Wealthy Should Pay Higher Taxes

From a post on Bill Gates’ personal blog: I start with the understanding that the U.S. government simply does not bring in enough money to meet its obligations. This isn’t a value judgment; it’s just a fact. The government collects about 20 percent of GDP in taxes while spending about 24 percent. And the cost of commitments is going up. …

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Feds Drop Usage Of “Survey Foot” Measurement

The Associated Press reports: Change is afoot for the official measuring stick used to size up big places in America. The reason? There are actually two different definitions of the 12-inch measurement known as a foot. Some land surveyors use what’s known as the U.S. survey foot. Others use the definition that’s more accepted by the broader world: the international …

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ATLANTA: Hate Groups To Rally Today In Support Of Fired Anti-Gay Fire Chief

The image above comes via NOM. Tony Perkins will also be there in Atlanta today. From his press release: Atlanta’s fire department is supposed to put out the flames — not fan others. Unfortunately for Mayor Kasim Reed, the controversy over the firing of Christian fire chief Kelvin Cochran is igniting a different debate over religious liberty. Despite insisting that …

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Former Atlanta Fire Chief: Gays Got Me Fired For Expressing My Christian Beliefs

You didn’t think Todd Starnes would let this guy go unmartyred, did you? “The LGBT members of our community have a right to be able to express their views and convictions about sexuality and deserve to be respected for their position without hate or discrimination,” Cochran told me in an exclusive interview. “But Christians also have a right to express …

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“Six Californias” Plan Fails Petition Count

According to a just-completed preliminary count, the billionaire behind the plan to divide California into six new states did not turn in enough valid petition signatures to place the issue on the 2016 state ballot. The measure needed 807,615 valid voter signatures to qualify, and the Six Californias campaign turned in nearly 1.14 million in mid-July. But several weeks of …

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“Six Californias” Plan Advances

The billionaire behind the plan to divide California into six new states says his group has gathered enough signatures to place the issue on the November 2016 ballot. Timothy Draper, a founder of a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that has invested in Twitter, Skype and Tesla, among other companies, has been agitating for months for a ballot initiative to …

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President Obama Turns 52

I still can’t get over being older than the president. Very slightly older. But still!

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Highest Paid Public Employees

In 42 states, the highest paid public employee is a sports coach. (Tipped by JMG reader Michael)

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Dueling Days Of Reason And Prayer

Today is the National Day Of Prayer and the National Day Of Reason. Rep. Pete Stark, the only openly atheist member of Congress, issued a proclamation on the House floor in recognition of the latter. The National Day of Reason celebrates the application of reason and the positive impact it has had on humanity. It is also an opportunity to …

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The Libertarians’ Nightmare

The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian “think tank” has created this clip in protest of the horrible government regulation of everything in our lives. Things like traffic! And product safety! And consumer protection! Nightmare!

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Abstinence Sex Ed To Continue

One of the biggest frauds ever perpetrated on American school kids, the federal “abstinence only” sexual education program will continue to the tune of $176M. Despite a growing body of evidence showing it is not only ineffective but also discriminatory toward LGBT youth a renewal of the Bush administration’s abstinence-only-until-marriage program for schools appears likely in Congress. The House Appropriations …

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NYC Speaker Quinn In Financial Scandal

The New York Post says the office of New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has been funneling money into sham organizations in order to later use the funds to reward those faithful to her. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s office hid millions of taxpayer dollars by allocating grants to phantom organizations as a way of holding the funds to …

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U.S To HIV+: Stay Out

The government has proposed new rules which will make it even harder for HIV+ persons to enter the country, according to Gay Men’s Health Crisis and Immigration Equality. On World AIDS Day last year, President Bush announced his intention to create a streamlined process for foreign travelers with HIV to enter the United States more easily. Currently the United States …

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Gen. Pace: Gays Are Counter To God’s Law

His retirement mere days away, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, felt emboldened to make a final parting shot at the gays during a defense appropriations hearing after Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) said he found Pace’s previous comments on gays in the military to be be hurtful and demoralizing. Pace responded, “Are there wonderful Americans who …

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Larry Craig Tries To Withdraw Guilty Plea

In a possible move towards unresigning his seat, today Sen. Larry “Tearoom” Craig’s lawyer petitioned a Minneapolis court to withdraw his May guilty plea. Craig said he hoped the court would “allow me to prove my innocence.” Switching gears from Craig’s earlier “I panicked” defense, his lawyer argued that his client’s mailed guilty plea denied him the opportunity to face …

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Senate Hate Crimes (Matthew Shepard Act) Vote Tomorrow

From yesterday’s HRC’s Backstory: This afternoon, Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), one of the lead sponsors of the Senate hate crimes bill, took to the Senate floor to urge the Senate to pass the hate crimes bill (S. 1105) and for President Bush to sign the legislation into law. Earlier today, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) filed a cloture motion on the …

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