The Week Republicans Stopped Fighting Marriage Equality

The Week Republicans Stopped Fighting Marriage Equality: "The next day, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker — one of the Republicans often discussed as a potential 2016 presidential nominee — essentially ceded the issue to federal judges.
“Any federal judge has got to look at that law not only with respect to the state’s constitution but what it means in terms of the U.S. Constitution, as well. Again, I’m not going to pretend to tell a federal judge in that regard what he or she should do about it,” Walker said, adding that “[v]oters don’t talk to [him] about that.”"



'via Blog this'

Shinseki Resigns as Veterans Affairs Chief Amid Furor Over Hospitals - NYTimes.com

Shinseki Resigns as Veterans Affairs Chief Amid Furor Over Hospitals - NYTimes.com: " Eric Shinseki resigned as secretary of the Veterans Affairs Department Friday after meeting face-to-face with President Obama about mounting evidence of widespread misconduct and mismanagement at the agency’s vast network of medical facilities.

Mr. Shinseki, 71, had said for weeks that he wanted to stay in his job to confront accusations that officials at the department’s hospitals had manipulated waiting lists to cover up long delays in scheduling appointments for thousands of veterans."



'via Blog this'

GOP leaders' VA strategy: Blame Obama - POLITICO.com Print View

GOP leaders' VA strategy: Blame Obama - POLITICO.com Print View: "John Boehner and Eric Cantor don’t want to make the Veterans Affairs scandal about Eric Shinseki.

They want to make Barack Obama responsible.

The “secret wait lists,” supposedly subpar medical treatment and failure to fix a bulky VA bureaucracy, they argue, are just the latest examples that the president is asleep at the switch and disinterested — or unable — to manage the federal government."



'via Blog this'

Shooting Of Sikh Army Veteran Divides Community : Code Switch : NPR

Shooting Of Sikh Army Veteran Divides Community : Code Switch : NPR: "The victim was a Sikh Army veteran, and his death has roiled the Sikh community and the city. On a recent Saturday evening, more than 100 people gathered at the Sikh temple in the largely agricultural community of Lodi, to remember Parminder Shergill.

Shergill was a 43-year-old Gulf War veteran who had served in Germany and Iraq. But he wound up dead at the hands of the police just a few doors away from his home in Lodi, and there are more questions than answers about how and why he was killed"


'via Blog this'

The economy is shrinking, but more people are finding work - Vox

The economy is shrinking, but more people are finding work - Vox: "Those 569,000 net new jobs the economy added in the first quarter weren't runaway growth or anything, but it's a bit puzzling to see more people working in the context of less economic output.

As a mathematical matter, that means that productivity (i.e. output per worker) fell — fell by 1.7 percent to be precise. But qualitatively speaking it's a little difficult to see why that would be the case. What were all these new workers doing, in other words? These things happen. Vox hired a bunch of writers in March but didn't really start publishing until April. But I doubt we singlehandedly explain the trend."

'via Blog this'

William Kyle Carpenter Medal Of Honor - Business Insider

William Kyle Carpenter Medal Of Honor - Business Insider: "Marine Corps veteran William Kyle Carpenter will become the Marine's third Medal of Honor recipient since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Marine Corps Times writes, citing unnamed officials.
Carpenter, a medically retired corporal who's 24 now, has been praised publicly since reports emerged that he risked his own life to save his friend."



'via Blog this'

TALLAHASSEE: GOP official doesn't know why his maps match public plan, final proposal - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com

TALLAHASSEE: GOP official doesn't know why his maps match public plan, final proposal - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com: "A Republican Party of Florida official testified Friday that maps he drew and gave to a GOP redistricting consultant were identical to a map submitted by a member of the public, significant parts of which were used by lawmakers in the final congressional map."

'via Blog this'

UPDATE: Florida Supreme Court allows key redistricting evidence at trial | Florida Legislature | Bradenton Herald

Really, Florida GOP!

UPDATE: Florida Supreme Court allows key redistricting evidence at trial | Florida Legislature | Bradenton Herald: "The back-and-forth battle over secret redistricting documents ended Tuesday as the Florida Supreme Court ruled 538 pages of emails, maps and planning documents of a GOP political operative must be allowed into the record in the ongoing redistricting trial – but only if the courtroom is closed.

The 5-2 ruling by the state’s high court was a victory for the voters groups who are challenging the congressional maps drawn by the Legislature. The groups also are alleging that a “shadow” redistricting process was conducted by political consultants and operatives in an attempt to unconstitutionally influence the legislature’s drawing of the 2012 maps."

'via Blog this'

TALLAHASSEE: Senate president defends secret meeting in redistricting deal - Political Currents - MiamiHerald.com

TALLAHASSEE: Senate president defends secret meeting in redistricting deal - Political Currents - MiamiHerald.com: "Senate President Don Gaetz testified under oath Wednesday that it was “entirely proper” for him to meet in secret with House Speaker Will Weatherford to reach a deal over a congressional map as part of the Legislature’s once-a-decade redistricting process."

'via Blog this'

TALLAHASSEE: Gov. Rick Scott will skip appearance with Charlie Crist at news convention - Political Currents - MiamiHerald.com

TALLAHASSEE: Gov. Rick Scott will skip appearance with Charlie Crist at news convention - Political Currents - MiamiHerald.com: "Crist said yes. Scott said no."

'via Blog this'