ShortFormBlogJuly 26, 2011

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» Most people don’t make that in a month: For a candidate that is championing lower spending to conserve taxpayer dollars, that seems quite a lot of money to spend on herself. It’s also far more than she spent on stylists than during her Congressional campaign. Appearances may be important when running for president — don’t get us wrong, anything to help her prevent a Nixon moment — but this seems a tad excessive. And it’s an excess not uncommon to Democrats, either — John Edwards famously got $200 haircuts in his pre-scandal days.

Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Jul 2011 13:29

The wellbeing of my children must come before anything else. With great sadness, I therefore intend to resign effective upon the resolution of the debt-ceiling crisis.
Rep. David Wu • Discussing his decision to resign from Congress amid allegations that he had unwanted sexual contact with an 18-year-old woman. Earlier he said he wouldn’t seek reelection after this controversy, but now he’s resigning after increasing pressure from other representatives. He’s had his fair share of troubles — namely his ~~wife~~ father passing away, and a midlife crisis that’s manifested itself in embarrassing ways. At least he’s making it clear that he’s doing this to help his kids out, and let’s hope this doesn’t turn into Weinergate 2.0. source

Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

While many states have chosen to legislate hate and division by approving anti-immigrant laws, California’s governor sends a strong message that investing in today’s student population, regardless of their immigration status, is smart, practical and the right thing to do.
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles leader Angelica Salas • Speaking favorably of Gov. Jerry Brown and the California State Legislature’s actions in passing a bill that allows illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition for their schooling. Eleven other states have laws comparable to California’s, while a dozen others block the practice outright. But considering California is on the literal front lines of the immigration debate, it’s of note. Two other border states — Texas and New Mexico — have similar laws. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

» That’s taxpayer money, by the way: While it’s a drop in the bucket, it’s understandable why Pelosi might get guff for this — because the Detroit Auto Show is a gaudy showcase event if there ever was one, and she used taxpayer money to send a dozen congressmen to the event back in 2010, when she was speaker. Pelosi’s spokesperson, Drew Hammill, defended her actions: “Congress made an historic commitment to the auto industry to drive innovation and modernization, and to save hundreds of thousands of jobs,” he said. “It was critical that taxpayer dollars received proper oversight, and the bipartisan visit was critical to that process.”

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

He’s still determining his political future, but he will not run for re-election. He’s fully focused on fulfilling his elected duties and serving his constituents to the best of his duties here in the House.
David Wu’s spokesman, Erik Dorey • Revealing that the troubled congressman, a Democrat, won’t run for re-election. Fortunately for him, Wu is low-profile enough that he hasn’t faced intense scrutiny to the level of Anthony Weiner, which means that he might be able to weather the storm and keep his job for another year … if he’s careful. However, Wu faces much harsher charges than Weiner ever did — allegations of an unwanted sexual encounter with an 18-year-old woman. On top of that, he has some embarrassing photos that work well next to a story like this one. So who wants to take bets on how long it takes for him to resign? source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink