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Politics

Alabama Lawmaker To Introduce Bill Arming Teachers, Despite Opposition From School Officials

By Igor Volsky on Jan 5, 2013 at 3:00 pm

An Alabama lawmaker plans to introduce a bill to arm teachers and principals next week, despite the opposition of school administrators. State Rep. Kerry Rich’s (R) proposal would “allow superintendents to recommend certain principals and teachers to have guns at school” but does not seem to provide for the training necessary to handle the firearms:

“I know that teachers, probably some of them, would feel comfortable with a weapon if we put them in a safe,” said Hugh Taylor, the new DeKalb County Schools superintendent. “But you’re talking about training, and I’m afraid if we put a gun in every teacher’s classroom, that we may run into some issues. [...]

Fort Payne City Schools Superintendent Jim Cunningham said teachers went into the profession to “teach,” and, “I daresay they would feel that they were not trained or ready for that situation.”

“I really think if we’re looking to have armed personnel in the school system, then the correct way to do that is through a school resource officer — someone that’s trained in law enforcement. “I fear that arming individuals or administrators or teachers is a responsibility and a liability that school systems do not want to assume at this time. We don’t have the training or the background or the knowledge to be police officers; we’re educators.”

Efforts to turn teachers into gun carriers have popped up across the country in the aftermath of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. Unfortunately, there is little evidence to suggest that armed teachers would be able to stop a gunman using high-capacity clips and semi automatic weapons.

Justice

Conservatives Open New Congress With Unconstitutional Bill To End Birthright Citizenship

By Ian Millhiser on Jan 5, 2013 at 2:54 pm

The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution expressly provides that nearly anyone born in the United States is a citizen, regardless of the immigration status of their parents. Yet, despite the Constitution’s clear command, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) wants to ignore our founding document and prevent the children of undocumented immigrants from becoming citizens:

It’s the first week of the 113th Congress, and one House member is already trying to stop children born in the United States to undocumented parents — whom he calls “anchor babies” — from gaining citizenship.

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), an outspoken hardliner on immigration, introduced a bill on Thursday that would “clarify those classes of individuals born in the United States who are nationals and citizens of the United States at birth.” The Supreme Court has consistently held that anyone born in the United States, regardless of their parents’ immigration status, should receive citizenship under the 14th Amendment.

King disagrees, as do 13 co-sponsors on the bill, including Reps. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) and Mo Brooks (R-Ala.).

The Constitution is clear that King’s bill is unconstitutional. Under the Fourteenth Amendment, “[a]ll persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” The word “jurisdiction” refers to people that are subject to American law. Thus foreign diplomats and their families, who are granted broad immunity from U.S. law, are not entitled to citizenship under the 14th Amendment. Likewise, at the time the Fourteenth Amendment was drafted many Native Americans were subject only to tribal law and thus were not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States. Undocumented immigrants and their children, by contrast, are not immune to U.S. law. And thus fit squarely within the Fourteenth Amendment’s command.

In the past two years, more than 200,000 parents have been removed from the country who say they have a U.S. citizen child.

Politics

Gun Show Held Near Sandy Hook Outrages Residents

By Igor Volsky on Jan 5, 2013 at 1:59 pm

Connecticut residents are outraged that a gun show will take place this weekend just 40 miles from Newtown, where 26 people were killed in a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School just weeks ago. The East Coast Firearms Show is being advertised as the “best of the best of vendors, offering 250 tables of antique and historical arms.”

Local lawmakers say they wish the event had been cancelled, as had been similar shows across the state. “It seems insensitive to have the event continue,” Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia told local reporters.

Since the shooting, several Connecticut newspapers have also apologized for publishing advertisements for a gun show next to articles about the tragedy.

Economy

Obama Reiterates He Won’t Compromise Over Debt Ceiling, Calls For Closing Tax Loopholes For The Rich

By Igor Volsky on Jan 5, 2013 at 12:36 pm

In a his weekly address from Hawaii, President Obama reiterated that he will not negotiate with Republicans over raising the nation’s debt ceiling and said that any future efforts to reduce the deficit must include a combination of higher revenues and spending cuts.

Obama noted that additional revenue could come from closing tax loopholes and deductions Republicans themselves sought to reform throughout the 2012 presidential election and the fiscal cliff talks but were not altered in the compromise Congress passed to avert the fiscal cliff. Congress enacted $1.7 trillion in budget cuts last year and raised $620 billion in revenue in the fiscal cliff fix, a number that is far below House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)’s offer of $800 billion during the cliff negotiations and lower than what would have been raised under Simpson-Bowles or Rivlin-Domenici.

From Obama’s remarks:

I believe we can find more places to cut spending without shortchanging things like education, job training, research and technology all which are critical to our prosperity in a 21st century economy. But spending cuts must be balanced with more reforms to our tax code. The wealthiest individuals and the biggest corporations shouldn’t be able to take advantage of loopholes and deductions that aren’t available to most Americans.

And as I said earlier this week, one thing I will not compromise over is whether or not Congress should pay the tab for a bill they’ve already racked up. If Congress refuses to give the United States the ability to pay its bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy could be catastrophic. The last time Congress threatened this course of action, our entire economy suffered for it. Our families and our businesses cannot afford that dangerous game again.

Since Obama signed the “American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012,” the GOP has insisted that the measure “settles the level of revenue Washington should bring in” and have turned their attention to using the leverage of the debt ceiling to secure spending cuts and entitlement reforms.

During George W. Bush’s presidency, however, Republicans voted to increase the debt ceiling 19 times without ever demanding spending reductions, increasing the debt limit by nearly $4 trillion. In 2011, Boehner even warned of the consequences of holding the nation’s credit rating hostage. “That would be a financial disaster, not only for us, but for the worldwide economy,” Boehner said on “Fox News Sunday” of the risk of default. “I don’t think it’s a question that’s even on the table.”

Climate Progress

2012 Saw 362 All-Time Record High Temperatures In U.S. But Zero All-Time Record Lows

By Joe Romm on Jan 5, 2013 at 10:57 am

Describing how off the charts our weather has become gets harder and harder. Fortunately, we have wunderground historian Christopher Burton to put things in perspective.

He tallies the data from NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in his recap of “the warmest calendar year on record for the continental U.S. according to NCDC data going back to 1895″:

A chart of the total number of NCDC sites that measured daily and/or monthly record high and low temperatures. There are about 5,500 of these sites in the NCDC database all together and it is important to note that the first two columns of this table are not all-time record highs or all-time record lows but daily and monthly records. So, for instance, a single site may have broken dozens of daily records over the course of the year. The 5th and 6th columns are for all-time record highs and lows: a total of 362 such heat records and 0 such cold records occurred. The ratio of daily record highs to daily record lows (about 5 to 1) were the greatest for any year in NCDC records.

This was the year where winter was like spring (see L.A. Times Explains U.S. ‘Seems to Have Largely Escaped Winter’ and ABC News Explains Warm Winter, ‘Wild Swings In Weather’, Driven by Global Warming, Only Going to Get Worse).

Then spring was like summer (see March Heat Records Crush Cold Records by Over 35 To 1, Scientists Say Global Warming Loaded The Dice and March Madness: ‘This May Be An Unprecedented Event Since Modern U.S. Weather Records Began In The Late 19th Century’).

Finally summer was something from the Dust Bowl era (see “July Heat Records Crush Cold Records By 17 To 1, ‘Historic Heat Wave And Drought’ Fuels Oklahoma Fires).

Imagine what our weather will be like if we are foolish enough to ignore all scientific warnings, If We Fail To Stop 10°F Warming.

h/t Forecast the Facts

Politics

Republican Congressman Insults Nancy Pelosi’s Appearance: ‘There’s No Facelift With John Boehner’

By Scott Keyes on Jan 5, 2013 at 8:30 am

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX)

An outspoken Republican congressman castigated House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi’s looks during a radio interview Friday.

Speaking with guest host Larry O’Connor on the Dennis Miller Show, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) argued that House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) was functionally equivalent to Pelosi because both held one-on-one backroom negotiations with the president. Gohmert then went on to deride Pelosi’s appearance: “Well, let’s give him credit. There’s no facelift with John Boehner.”

O’CONNOR: So basically John Boehner became Nancy Pelosi without the charm?

GOHMERT: For the last two years. Well, let’s give him credit. There’s no facelift with John Boehner. He is who he is.

O’CONNOR: Oh!

Listen to it:

Gohmert is no stranger to outlandish statements. He co-sponsored a birther bill soon after President Obama took office, wants to shut down the entire federal government, and recently pushed a pet theory that President Obama helped oust ex-Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi “so that al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood could take over Libya.”

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