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19 Apr 2011 15:45

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U.S.: AZ Gov. Jan Brewer surprises gun-rights front with veto

  • AZ Gov. Brewer vetoes campus gun carry bill: In a move much to the chagrin of the gun rights movement, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer vetoed a bill that would have allowed firearms on school campuses. Brewer complained the bill was “poorly written,” and that while it’s said to only affect colleges, the exact language refers to them only as “educational institutions,” which speaking literally would include K-12 schools, violating most state and federal laws. With a Republican governor, in a state with some of the loosest gun laws in the nation — they probably thought this was a slam dunk going in. source

30 Mar 2011 23:56

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Politics: More GOP union-busting fun, this time at the federal level

  • goal Continuing full-steam ahead with their party’s attack on worker’s unions, House Republicans will vote on legislation making it more difficult for rail and aviation workers to unionize.
  • obstacle The White House, via the Office of Management in Budget, released a statement today threatening—though not explicitly pledging—to veto any bill that contained such changes. source
  • » What’s being proposed: The provision, which comes in the form of an amendment to the FAA reauthorization bill, would affect the way votes are tallied when rail or aviation workers decide whether or not to unionize. Under the proposed amendment, no-shows and abstentions would count as “no” votes (that is, votes against unionization; if anyone can explain the intellectual justification behind such a policy, we’re all ears). But not only does the bill face a possible presidential veto; there’s also doubt as to whether House leadership even has the votes to pass it. We’ll keep you posted as to how this plays out after tomorrow’s vote.

24 Jul 2009 20:57

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U.S.: Alaskans aren’t happy with departing governor Sarah Palin

  • She has single-handedly and unnecessarily created both expensive issues.
  • Anchorage resident Jeanne Ashcraft • Describing her dual frustration with Sarah Palin’s departure on Sunday – for forcing an unnecessary day in session to both swear in the lieutenant governor and to decide whether to override Palin’s veto against energy stimulus funds. Ashcraft isn’t alone in her criticism – bloggers, legislators and others have also complained about the added costs. • source

14 Jul 2009 10:10

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U.S.: Obama’s threatening a veto of his defense spending bill. Here’s why.

  • $1.75 billion cost of the last-minute addition to Obama’s defense spending bill, which adds seven costly F-22s back into the mix
  • 30
    hours
    amount of maintenance time it takes to keep the jets flying for an hour; it costs $44,000 an hour to fly them, and those jobs could go away source