I've said it before - the worst thing that could happen to the safety of the American worker is Rand Paul, and others who share his vision of deregulation.

COH, please

Indiana Republicans are about to force through one of the most restrictive abortion bills in the country; the law would make all abortions illegal after 20 weeks.

When state Rep. Gail Riecken (D) introduced an amendment that would create exceptions for victims of rape or incest, the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Eric Turner (R), took the podium and said Riecken was trying to create a "giant loophole" — because women "could simply say they've been raped."

In many ways, the hearing led by Senate Democrats on Tuesday was the dramatic antithesis of one House Republicans held earlier this month on homegrown Islamic radicalism.

As their Saturday shift came to a close on March 25th, 1911, 500 young New York City immigrant women, many of them teenagers or in their early twenties, worked feverishly, many of them probably looking forward to getting out of work in twenty minutes or so.

"The FBI has told agents they can question terrorism suspects for a longer amount of time before reading them their Miranda rights. The move follows criticism from Republican lawmakers about the Justice Department's handling of recent national security cases."

John Hawkins over at Townhall has a fairly popular article up right now entitled "7 Questions for Liberals About Obama's Libyan War."  The article is nothing terribly special but it is getting a lot of link-love in the conservative blogosphere right now and thus its arguments merit response.  While Hawkins raises seven distinct points, the article basically boils down to a rehash of many of the Left's criticisms of George W. Bush's adventures in Iraq and asks why these criticisms don't apply to Obama's intervention in Libya.

Others can and will respond to the fallacy of this argument better than this author ever could and thus this article will waste no time detailing the difference between a no-fly zone and an actual war nor will it discuss the difference between unilateral action and a UN backed multi-national operation.  These facts and distinctions, while important, are not really of any concern to those on the right who simply wish to scream "hypocrisy" now that President Obama has undertaken the first true foreign action that can be called his own.  

No, for people like Hawkins, it is best to address their points head on.  Hawkins asks, "Where are the massive protests" and he deserves an answer.

Kansas State Rep. Virgil Peck (R) suggested Monday that the best way to deal with the illegal immigration problem may be the same way the state might deal with the problem of "feral hogs" -- by shooting them from a helicopter.

The complaint -- which was also posted earlier by Greg Sargent -- alleges that several violations of the law occurred on the call: That Walker attempted to coordinate third-party campaign spending, when he told "Koch" that there would need to be messaging in support of Republican …

Yesterday, the Ohio Senate passed by a single vote a radical bill that would strip most of the state's public employee unions of their collective bargaining rights. [...]

Last week, legislators in Tennessee introduced a radical bill that would make "material support" for Islamic law punishable by 15 years in prison. The proposal marks a dramatic new step in the conservative campaign against Muslim-Americans.

here's Boehner's absurd criticism of Obama: "A spokesman for Boehner's office criticized the administration change of position.

There can be no clearer sign that the GOP/TP wish to kill poor people to save a buck than SB1519 in Arizona.

Anti-choice lawmakers' attacks today are just plain irresponsible. Cutting funding for Planned Parenthood and other health centers would leave at least five million women and men without access to basic health care. Where will these people go for critical services?

UPDATE: Local media report that the Dems may return to work on Saturday. Stay tuned.... UPDATE: The Dems have left the Illinois hotel they where they were "found" by media this afternoon; no reports as to their current whereabouts

It's comforting to know that at least some Republicans are standing up to the newly-established orthodoxy, as Daniels here shows by calling for a "truce" in the culture wars so that government can deal with the financial crises we are all facing....

...if Republican elected officials* in Iowa get their way:

TPM: "Ann Coulter appeared in good spirits on last night's Hannity- "Obamacare," to her the cornerstone of the Obama administration's achievements, was deemed unconstitutional.

Apparently, House Republicans are not reading the same briefs on the topic as we are....

It's happening all over the country. Union workers in both the public and private sectors have a target on their backs. Politicians are taking aim, determined to destroy the last remaining force dedicated to working people: the labor movement.

yesterday, in a last minute effort to derail the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) tried to subvert today's great civil rights achievement.

POll Did the world come to and end today or is this just the calm before the storm?

On Thursday, the House took up the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2010. The bill would ensure that child marriage is recognized as a human rights violation, and develop comprehensive strategies to prevent such marriages around the world.

Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal is on a glide path to passage. With Olympia Snowe joining Scott Brown and Lisa Murkowski as fully supportive of the standalone bill, at least 61 votes are in hand, and Harry Reid filled the amendment tree to minimize any possibility of amendments.

Looking forward to changes to the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell policy?” Don’t hold your breath. The Wall Street Journal’s Laura Meckler reports today that the drive in Congress to repeal the policy appears all but lost for the fores …

For a man who evangelized foreign leaders and taught Sunday school while U.S. president, Jimmy Carter has some strong words for what he sees as an "excessive melding of religion and politics."

O'DONNELL: A federal judge recently ruled that we have to overturn Don't Ask Don't Tell. There are a couple of things we need to say about that. First of all, judges should not be legislating from the bench.

"I have made mistakes in this campaign - I have made mistakes all my life..."

Carl Paladino, GOP-Tea Party candidate for governor of New York, gave a speech to religious fundamentalists yesterday, in which he expressed his opinions about the gay and lesbian community.

After a series of jokes about conservative that sounded -- and were received -- more like a stand-up act then a political speech, Coulter told the assembled (and predominantly wealthy) conservative gay crowd why they should oppose same sex marriage, adding, "I should warn you: I' …

Unencumbered by any moral imperative to be truthful, some anti-immigration activists and politicians have no qualms about demonizing immigrants with half-truths and outright lies.

Gawker: "...................ISP was "United States Senate," and it appeared to come from the Atlanta office of Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia). Now the Atlanta Journal Constitution has confirmed that Sen.

The Montana Republican party recently adopted an official platform. Whoops, look at that: A 12-year-old commitment to making homosexuality illegal slipped in there. As far as Montana Republicans are concerned, being gay should be a crime.

Twelve months ago, many of today's most vocal opponents of the Cordoba House, the planned community center and mosque in New York City, were in favor of the plans, praising Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf on Fox News and celebrating the concept as a move toward unity.

Former Democratic U.S. senator and presidential candidate John Edwards is a "faggot," according to conservative provocateur and author Ann Coulter some years back.

"Muslims are calling for the executions of homosexuals in America," Dean said on YCR's May 15 radio show on AM 1280 the Patriot.

GOP Rep. Bob Inglis slams Republican demagoguery, bemoans anti-Semitic tea party conspiracy nonsense, decries Sarah Palin's ignorance, and looks for a job. It was the middle of a tough primary contest, and Rep.

The latest plot against America, we're told, is smoldering in the ashes of 9/11. A Muslim organization wants to build a "community center," including a mosque, two blocks from the site of the fallen World Trade Center.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) announced Wednesday night that he is considering introducing a constitutional amendment that would change existing law to no longer grant citizenship to the children of immigrants born in the United States.

Two Republican congressmen are urging other countries -- including, potentially, some where homosexuality is a crime punishable by death -- to vote against an American-led effort in the U.N. to recognize a respected international gay rights group.

This morning, the white supremacist political party American Third Position (A3P) proudly announced its donation to the fund recently established by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to defend that state's controversial new immigration law.

The lack of support for legalizing gay marriage amongst conservatives is surprising because the push to legalize gay marriage serves conservative aims.

There is compelling new evidence that Republicans will rue the day that they allowed their virulent anti-immigrant wing to grab the controls of the Republican Party.

What moved GOP Governor Jan Brewer to sign the Soviet-style show-me-your-papers law is the exploding number of legal Hispanics, US citizens all, who are daring to vote -- and daring to vote Democratic by more than two-to-one.

The Nevada Senate candidate says abortion is always wrong because there is a divine purpose to all pregnanciesSharron Angle may be giving the press the silent treatment now, but she hasn't always been so tight-lipped.

"We've got one raghead in the White House, we don't need a raghead in the governor's mansion."

CA GOP Legislator Roy Ashburn has come a very long way in a very short time, and should be praised.

This morning on ABC's This Week, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele had to address Kentucky GOP Senate candidate Rand Paul's recent comments that private business owners should be allowed to discriminate against people of color or anyone else they choose.

With the relatively breaking news that the Los Angeles City Council has voted to ban nearly all travel and future contracts with the entire state of Arizona, as well as the developing efforts in nine states to enact similar discriminatory legislation against Latinos and Hispanics …

So I have a question for Lindsey Graham, John McCain, Peter King, Joe Lieberman, John Cornyn, John Kyle and all of the other idiots who want to simply disregard the Constitutional rights of criminal Defendants when it comes to those who are charged with acts of terrorism.

"The United States is built upon stolen land and stolen labor. For racism to serve its essential purpose, which was and is the exploitation of people of color in order to maintain white economic and political power, i.e.

Is it just me, or has the Tea Party remained noticeably silent on the subject of the recent Immigration law in Arizona? Where are the protests? Where are the signs referencing freedoms and individual liberties? Where are the Colonial outfits with tea bags swaying in the breez …

I think folks are missing the real news in what Steele said. The RNC chairman also appeared to acknowledge that the GOP has had a race-based "southern strategy" for four decades, which is decidedly not a historical interpretation many Republicans agree with.

In the wake of the Massey Energy tragedy that killed 29 coal miners in West Virginia, there appear to be two steps that could improve worker safety there. First, as the mine accident record of the last decade suggests, join a union.

In the wake of Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell's insistence that his Confederate History Month proclamation didn't focus on the issue of slavery because it "focused on the ones I thought were most significant for Virginia" (link:

Phoenix - Special precautions were taken because of his religion...............