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11 Apr 2011 23:47

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Politics: For second time, federal appeals court finds Arizona immigration law unconstitutional

  • Immigration station: Though its prominence in the news cycle has faded, the fight over Arizona’s controversial immigration law is anything but over; in fact, it’s taken a rather significant turn. Quick recap: When Governor Jan Brewer signed a possibly-racist anti-immigration bill into law last year, the Justice Department successfully sued to block its implementation, arguing that it usurped federal jurisdiction. Brewer appealed the ruling, and today, the appeals court issued its verdict: the Arizona law does in fact encroach on federal authority, and the injunction against it will remain in place. This one could make its way up to the Supreme Court; considering that lower courts’ rulings often influence the decisions of higher courts, this is an important development. source

11 Apr 2011 23:07

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Politics: Stupak’s back: Pro-life Democrat makes surprising career move

  • then Remember Bart Stupak? During the health care debate, he was the pro-life Michigan Democrat who almost derailed the entire legislation over concerns that it would allow federal funds to be spent on abortions. He eventually buckled, of course, and the legislation passed.
  • now Stupak, who retired from Congress last year, has found a new job at Venable LLP, one of “America’s top 100 law firms,” according to it’s website. Why is this notable? Because Venable represents, amongst others, the Maryland chapter of Planned Parenthood. source

11 Apr 2011 22:23

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Tech: Amazon drops its Kindle price again … well, kinda

  • deal Amazon just dropped the price of its low-end Kindle by $25, from roughly $139 to $114 … making it an even easier impulse buy.
  • catch The cheaper Kindle will have ads — which will show up in menus and screen savers, but not while you’re actually reading a book. source

11 Apr 2011 16:40

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Politics: Romney needs to bolster his South Carolina cred

  • You’ve got to be able to walk into a gas station, a restaurant, or a bar and be able to shake hands and communicate. It’s street level politics, if you will. He’s just very polished. He’s an individual that’s successful, but at the same time, I don’t know how much he wants to sit around and hang out.
  • South Carolina State Rep. Nathan Ballentine • Speaking about Mitt Romney’s electoral prospects in the Palmetto State, a matter now looking more imminent with Romney’s newly formed presidential exploratory committee. Romney got trounced in South Carolina last time around, finishing in fourth behind John McCain, Mike Huckabee, and “lazy like a fox” Fred Thompson. If his campaign chooses to cede South Carolina, and invests their resources elsewhere, they may be playing with fire; no Republican has lost the South Carolina primary and won the nomination since the first one, back n 1980. source

11 Apr 2011 16:10

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World: More on France’s veil ban: Who does this help, really?

  • Protests over French veil ban: As we mentioned earlier today, France has banned the full-faced Islamic veil (imposing a fine of 150 euros for violators), which is provoking some understandable dissent. A question for France: For a Muslim who wears the veil, how is this anything but crass discrimination? And for somebody without religious faith, how is this anything but the government fining people for their fashion choices? Any way you slice it, it comes out awful. source

11 Apr 2011 14:57

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U.S.: Blast wreaks destruction in Belarus metro station

  • seven people confirmed dead after an explosion at a Metro station in Belarus
  • fifty people injured in the blast, the cause of which is currently under investigation source

11 Apr 2011 14:45

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World: Hundreds protest Syrian crackdown at Damascus University

  • The scene in Syria: Hundreds of students have begun protesting, rallying around Damascus University in support of those shot and killed by Bashar al-Assad’s government in its violent response to pro-democracy protests. In past days, there have been many hectic reports of government forces firing on and killing both civilians, as well as military personnel. Al Jazeera reports that many present have said the government’s security forces fired upon the Syrian Army because the army wouldn’t open fire on civilians. source
 

11 Apr 2011 14:17

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Politics: Emphasis on the “sideshow”: NY Daily News clowns up Trump

  • Sideshow Don is grinning: The ever-outrageous New York Daily News had some fun with the war of words between Donald Trump and David Plouffe (or, really, between Trump and anyone/thing affiliated with Barack Obama). At least it’s a smiling picture? (EDIT: The cutout of Trump’s hair is easily the worst we’ve ever seen.) source

11 Apr 2011 13:49

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Politics: Trump thinks he’s Obama’s worst nightmare

  • Plouffe On ABC’s This Week, Obama aide David Plouffe referred to Donald Trump’s burgeoning political career as a “sideshow,” adding that Trump has “zero chance” of beating President Obama in 2012.
  • Trump The bombastic Republican businessman and reality TV star responded on Fox and Friends: “I can tell you I’m their worst nightmare. I am not the person they want to run against. They know it, and I know it.”  source

11 Apr 2011 11:14

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Tech: Dear Steve Jobs: Please reconsider your biography writer choice

  • So what Steve, are we chopped liver? We don’t know of any bigger Apple fanbois than us and … and … you didn’t even bother to call us to see if we were interested in doing an authorized biography? Who is this Walter Isaacson dude, anyway? Just some assclown with a name designed to be on the cover of a book? Just because he was the CEO of some two-bit operation named CNN doesn’t mean that he’s worth your time. We’re really upset about this. You should have called us, Steve. Now we’re going to write an unauthorized biography about you. It’s going to be called “iPusher: Steve Jobs and Apple’s legion of designer drug addicts.” Don’t like that title, Steve? Well, maybe you should’ve thought about that before working with Wal-TERsource