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15 Nov 2010 20:24

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U.S.: California Supreme Court: Yay immigrants, state’s rights

  • YES illegal immigrants can pay in-state tuition source
  • » Score one for state’s rights. In 2002, California passed a law allowing illegal immigrants at California public universities to pay in-state (read: cheaper) tuition, so long as they’d applied to legalize their immigration status. Plaintiffs argued that federal law, which bars illegal immigrants from gaining “any postsecondary education benefit,” trumped California’s law. But the California Supreme Court disagreed, allowing California universities to continue its policy. The decision was unanimous, and also allows California high school grads who reside in other states to qualify for in-state tuition.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Nov 2010 19:57

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Offbeat, U.S.: Car theft works in victim’s favor

  • bad A BSU student left his car running outside his house while getting ready. When he returned, the car was gone.
  • good A half hour later, police found the car. It was parked at BSU, right outside the kid’s next class. Convenient!
  • amusing“I just put a couple quarters in the parking meter, and went to class,” the student told reporters. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Nov 2010 19:40

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U.S.: The U.S. Postal Service: We’re about to run out of money, guys

  • $8.5
    billion     the amount of money the Postal Service lost in its just-ended fiscal year, which is way too much
  • next
    year (!!!)     when the still-needed service will run out of money without an upswing or Congressional help (yikes) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

12 Nov 2010 16:26

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U.S.: Protests growing against TSA’s ultra-invasive full-body scans

  • First off: Clever shirts, Despair. Second, are we finally reaching a point where regular people are starting to agree with our stance on the TSA? It appears that on November 24th, there’s going to be a protest against those super-invasive full-body scans. People will skip out on the process or not travel at all. That’s right, a TSA protest called “National Opt Out Day.” On the day before Thanksgiving, the busiest travel day of the entire year. Which is brilliant, but will piss off thousands of travelers in the process by making lines longer. Because the TSA is useless. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

12 Nov 2010 15:45

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U.S.: Did George W. Bush allow the execution of an innocent man?

  • I have no doubt that if President Bush had known about the request to do a DNA test of the hair he would have issued a 30-day stay in this case and Jones would not have been executed.
  • Innocence Project founder Barry Scheck • Arguing that George W. Bush, while still governor of Texas, let death row inmate Claude Jones face execution in 2000, despite the existence of DNA evidence which proved he was innocent. The Innocence Project revealed today that Jones’ DNA was not found at the crime scene of the liquor store where the 1989 murder of Allen Hilzendager. While hair at the crime scene was initially linked to Jones after the crime took place, it wasn’t actually his, and even though Jones asked for DNA testing on the strand of hair, it wasn’t enough to force a stay of execution. No other physical evidence linked Jones to the scene.  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Nov 2010 15:25

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U.S.: Supreme Court: “Don’t ask” stays put in the military for now

  • sigh … “Don’t ask, don’t tell” was blocked in a lower court, only to be temporarily allowed again by a federal appeals court.
  • … sigh It was appealed to the Supreme Court, where they kept the ban intact while the lower courts duke it out. Wait it out, kids. source
  • » What happens next: The policy will stay in place until at least mid-March, when a federal appeals court decides what happens next. A lot suggests it won’t hold water – for example, a Defense Department panel recently found that the policy could be reversed with little to no negative effect on troops, which goes against most arguments being made by opponents of “don’t ask.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Nov 2010 23:04

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Culture, U.S.: Worst timing ever: Garfield cartoon appears to mock veterans

  • It was an accident. Jim Davis didn’t intend for this cartoon to be posted on Veterans Day. Unfortunately, it was, giving the unfortunate (and untrue) impression that Davis doesn’t respect (to put it lightly) the brave men and women who’ve fought for this country. He quickly posted an apology; “I had no idea when writing it that it would appear today,” Davis wrote on the Garfield site. Bad timing, but hey, at least it was a mistake. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

11 Nov 2010 22:29

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Culture, Politics, U.S.: Republicans like happier television than Democrats

  • The big shows with mass appeal tend to have above-average scores…with higher concentrations of Republicans. [Democrats] seem to like shows about damaged people.
  • John Fetto, of Experian Simmons • Regarding the TV-watching habits of Democrats and Republicans. The media research company did a study on which shows are favored by which partisans. GOPers enjoyed shows like “American Idol,” “Modern Family” and “The Mentalist.” Democrats? “Mad Men,” “Dexter,” and “90120.” source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Nov 2010 11:10

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U.S.: Powerless cruise ship finally hits shore; passengers want a hot meal, stat

Our friends stuck on the powerless Carnival cruise ship with Spam and Pop-Tarts will soon be able to go home. They’re at San Diego now. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Nov 2010 10:53

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U.S., World: Obama fails to secure free trade deal with South Korea

“Hey man, Barack Obama, how are you. So, would you like to make a free trade deal today?” “No.” “Ah, crap. The auto industry’s gonna be pissed.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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