| For 18 years, in a practice begun by George H.W. Bush, the government has banned the media from providing coverage of returning war dead. At President Obama’s request, the Pentagon has now lifted the ban, although permission from the service member’s family is required. “The arrival of the remains of Staff Sgt. Phillip A. Myers, a 30-year-old supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, at Dover Air Force Base at 11 p.m. today[ipd note: Sunday, Apr. 5] marked the first time that the transfer of any of the nearly 5,000 U.S. troops who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan was open to the media. The transfer of the flag-draped casket was carried out with great dignity, for the seven family members present.” source AP/Reuters photo __________________________
:: The Prez signs executive orders which reverse anti-labor orders enacted by Bush H.W. and Bush 43. He is also re-introducing Biden's task force which focuses on the middle class, and Joe will be in charge. GO, OBAMA! :) From HUFFPOST:
Among the George W. Bush-era executive orders that Obama was to reverse was one that allowed unionized companies to post signs informing workers that they are allowed to decertify their union. Critics claimed it was unfair because nonunion businesses are not required to post signs letting workers know they are legally allowed to vote for a union. Two Democratic sources also said Obama would prevent federal contractors from being reimbursed for expenses that were intended to influence workers' decisions to form unions or engage in collective bargaining. A third Obama order would require federal vendors with more than $100,000 in contracts to post workers' rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The final order would require service contractors at federal buildings to offer jobs to qualified current employees when contracts changed. For instance, rank-and-file workers could continue working on the same federal project even if the administrative contract expired.
:: SURPRISE....No comprehensive case files on many Guantanamo detainees. From the Washington Post:
President Obama's plans to expeditiously determine the fates of about 245 terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and quickly close the military prison there were set back last week when incoming legal and national security officials -- barred until the inauguration from examining classified material on the detainees -- discovered that there were no comprehensive case files on many of them.
__________________________ :: Palin aides being charged with new ethics violations.From HUFFPOST:
In her current complaint against McAllister, McLeod sites a series of activities that she contends violate Alaska's "Executive Branch Code of Ethics," which prohibits public officials from using or authorizing "the use of state funds, facilities, equipment, services, or another government asset or resource for partisan political purposes."
"These campaign activities have absolutely nothing to do with the public's business, and everything to do with promoting Palin's personal endeavors and political aspirations," McLeod declared in an exclusive interview. "This must not go unchallenged."
__________________________ :: According to the complete dick, Rush Limbaugh, Republicans should be against the stimulus plan because it could hurt their electoral chances. Politics as usual. From Think Progress:
:: Bush43 to give farewell speech during primetime on Thursday night. Um, I personally have no need to watch him say goodbye. I can't imagine that most of us have.
“WASHINGTON — President George W. Bush will give a farewell address to the nation Thursday night, billed by the administration as a chance to reflect on his tenure and welcome Barack Obama without fighting old battles one last time. Bush will deliver the speech, expected to run 10 to 15 minutes, from the ornate East Room of the White House. He will have a small audience of people in the room, chosen for their stories of personal courage.”Source:AP
__________________________ :: Roland Burris to be seated as the junior senator from Illinois.
Senate Dems said that they expect to seat Burris this week.
“"He is now the senator-designate from Illinois and, as such, will be accorded all the rights and privileges of a senator-elect," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said in a joint statement.”Source:HUFFPOST
To amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and to modify the operation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to clarify that a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice that is unlawful under such Acts occurs each time compensation is paid pursuant to the discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex, and for other purposes.
Why this bill is important: A civil rights issue, the bill would overturn a 2007 Supreme Court ruling which threw a wrench in to a lawsuit filed by Lilly M. Ledbetter, a supervisor at a Goodyear tire plant in Alabama. This bill will allow plaintiffs more time to file discrimination/bias lawsuits, and thus give employers fewer escape routes to avoid job bias. President Bush threatened to veto this bill, however, he will not have the opportunity, and the soon to be President Obama, is eager to sign it.
Sponsor: Rep. George Miller [D-CA] cosponsors (195)
How they voted. Or who exactly was on the side of labor.
►New documents from the Nixon White House were released today, and they depict a strong internal struggle over the Viet Nam war.
“WASHINGTON — Documents released Tuesday from Richard M. Nixon's White House years shed new light on just how much the government struggled with growing public unrest over the protracted war in Vietnam. The National Archives opened nearly 200 hours of White House tape recordings and 90,000 pages of documents”HUFFPO
►Has Palin Out-Qualyed Quayle?- Outside the Beltway
Dan Qualye was, rather unfairly in my view, a national joke. From very shortly after George H.W. Bush picked a rising star senator from Indiana that few outside his home state had ever heard of to be his vice presidential running mate in 1988, Quayle became the butt of late night comics, “Saturday Night Live,” and other culture-setting institutions and became generally thought of as a not-ready-for-prime-time nincompoop. People are still recycling the “you’re no Jack Kennedy” zinger that Lloyd Bentsen uncorked in the debates and the man’s supposed inability to spell potato is infamous if untrue.
But here’s the thing: It really didn’t matter. Bush-Quayle won in a landslide over Dukakis-Bentsen and, while they lost to Clinton-Gore in 1992, it had nothing to do with Quayle. Continue reading here.
In her current complaint against McAllister, McLeod sites a series of activities that she contends violate Alaska's 
“WASHINGTON — President George W. Bush will give a farewell address to the nation Thursday night, billed by the administration as a chance to reflect on his tenure and welcome Barack Obama without fighting old battles one last time.
“"He is now the senator-designate from Illinois and, as such, will be accorded all the rights and privileges of a senator-elect," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said in a joint statement.”Source: 
“WASHINGTON — Documents released Tuesday from Richard M. 
Recent Comments