“Federal prosecutors have decided not to bring homicide charges against the man who wounded James Brady during an attempt on President Reagan’s life in 1981, citing a series of legal hiccups that would make attaining a conviction nearly impossible,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Archives for January 2015
Gun Safety Initiatives Move to the States
“The gun control movement, blocked in Congress and facing mounting losses in federal elections, is tweaking its name, refining its goals and using the same-sex marriage movement as a model to take the fight to voters on the state level,” the New York Times reports.
“After a victory in November on a Washington State ballot measure that will require broader background checks on gun buyers, groups that promote gun regulations have turned away from Washington and the political races that have been largely futile. Instead, they are turning their attention — and their growing wallets — to other states that allow ballot measures.”
“An initiative seeking stricter background checks for certain purchasers has already qualified for the 2016 ballot in Nevada, where such a law was passed last year by the Legislature then vetoed by the governor. Advocates of gun safety — the term many now use instead of ‘gun control’ — are seeking lines on ballots in Arizona, Maine and Oregon as well.”
The Lost Art of the Deal
New York Times: “With more than 120 years in the House and Senate among them, four lawmakers offered a bit of parting wisdom to Capitol Hill newcomers: Partisanship is easy, governing is hard.”
“As the 114th Congress prepares to convene on Tuesday, some senior members, who will not be returning, reflected on what they saw as necessary to the success of both lawmakers and the institution.”
Obama Announces New Sanctions Against North Korea
“President Obama ordered new economic sanctions Friday against North Korea aimed at increasing financial pressure on the rogue state’s leadership, a preliminary retaliatory action by the Obama administration in response to what it calls the ‘destructive and coercive’ cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment computers,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“The executive order signed by the president builds on existing sanctions against North Korea by directing the Treasury Department to cut off access to the U.S. financial sector for 10 individuals and three government entities identified as key operatives engaged in or connected to antagonistic behavior, including the country’s intelligence agency and defense officials.”
Inside the GOP Plan to Rework Education Policy
Politico: “Republicans are hatching an ambitious plan to rewrite No Child Left Behind next year — one that could end up dramatically rolling back the federal role in education and trigger national blowouts over standardized tests and teacher training.”
Remembering Mario Cuomo
Ken Auletta: “Cuomo did not go all the way in baseball (he couldn’t hit a curveball). Nor did he go all the way in politics. He chose not to run for President in 1992 because his ambition was superseded by his distaste for the grovelling, the fundraising, the selling, the motels. He did, however, ‘go all the way’ as a public man.”
“Mario Cuomo had a combination of skills rarely seen in public life. Unlike most pols, he had an active interior life. He spent hours reflecting on events and writing in his diary, not to tout his greatness but to formulate his own thinking. His bookcases were crammed with books he had read and annotated—works by Aristotle, Dante, Marcus Aurelius, and the Jesuit theologian Teilhard de Chardin. His ego was in check and, unlike such able contemporaries as Ed Koch and Hugh Carey, he did not treat others in a room as his audience. He had the rare ability to listen, and he could see four sides of an issue.”
New York City Police in a Work Slowdown
The New York Post says New York City police have launched a “virtual work stoppage.”
Matt Taibbi: “My first response to this news was confusion. I get why the police are protesting – they’re pissed at Mayor de Blasio, and more on that in a minute – but this sort of ‘protest’ pulls this story out of the standard left-right culture war script it had been following and into surreal territory.”
“I don’t know any police officer anywhere who would refuse to arrest a truly dangerous criminal as part of a PBA-led political gambit. So the essence of this protest seems now to be about trying to hit de Blasio where it hurts, i.e. in the budget, without actually endangering the public. So this police protest, unwittingly, is leading to the exposure of the very policies that anger so many different constituencies about modern law-enforcement tactics.”
Mario Cuomo is Dead
“Mario M. Cuomo, the three-term governor of New York who commanded the attention of the country with a compelling public presence, a forceful defense of liberalism and his exhaustive ruminations about whether to run for president, died on Thursday at his home in Manhattan. He was 82,” the New York Times reports.
“His family confirmed the death, which occurred only hours after Mr. Cuomo’s son Andrew M. Cuomo was inaugurated in Manhattan for a second term as governor.”
Cuomo’s speech at the 1984 Democratic convention is one of the best ever.
David Duke Threatens to Expose Other Politicians
David Duke told Fusion that it was unfair Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) was “singled out” for speaking to Duke’white supremacist organization in May 2002, the New Orleans Times Picayune reports.
Duke said that “politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, have attended everything from conferences he’s organized to his children’s birthday parties. To say nothing of Republicans, Duke estimates that he has met with Democratic lawmakers a good 50 times. He threatened to release a list with names of Republicans and Democrats who’ve been tied to him in one way or another.”
Said Duke: “If Scalise is going to be crucified — if Republicans want to throw Steve Scalise to the woods, then a lot of them better be looking over their shoulders.”
Budget War Looms on Capitol Hill
“The federal budget is almost certain to be the central battleground between President Obama and the new Republican Congress in 2015,” The Hill reports.
“The GOP has vowed to use control of the House and Senate to slash the size of government, with entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security a potential target for cuts. But Obama has made clear he will use his veto pen against the GOP, forcing Republicans to tread carefully as they seek to avoid government shutdowns and recapture the White House in 2016.”
Jeb Bush Resigns All Board Positions
Jeb Bush, “moving closer to a possible presidential run, has resigned all of his corporate and nonprofit board memberships, including with his own education foundation,” the Washington Post reports.
“He also resigned as a paid adviser to a for-profit education company that sells online courses to public university students in exchange for a share of their tuition payments.”
“Bush’s New Year’s Eve disclosure… culminated a string of moves he has made in recent days to shed business interests that have enriched him since leaving office in 2007. The aide said the resignations had been made ‘effective today.'”
Government Spending Begins to Rebound
“For a long stretch, government spending cutbacks at all levels were a substantial drag on economic growth. Now, finally, relief is in sight,” the New York Times reports.
“For the first time since 2011, local, state and federal governments are providing a small but significant increase to prosperity.”
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