The WonkLine: February 3, 2011

“With the eyes of the Arab world upon them, protesters seeking the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak regrouped at Tahrir Square on Thursday after a night of gunfire and a day of mayhem that left at least five dead and more than 800 wounded.”

“President Barack Obama’s pseudo-envoy to Egypt, Frank Wisner, is on his way back to Washington after meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and new Vice President Omar Suleiman, but he has so far failed to convince the Egyptian leadership to start an immediate transition to a new form of government.’”

“Egypt’s prime minister has apologised for the fighting between pro- and anti-government demonstrators.”

“Senate Democrats on Wednesday defeated a bid by Republicans to repeal last year’s sweeping health care overhaul, as they successfully mounted a party-line defense of President Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement.”

“Senate Republicans have vowed a sustained, unrelenting push to repeal President Obama’s healthcare reform law, despite falling short in their first effort Wednesday.”

“Efforts to eliminate a healthcare reform tax on medical device manufacturers are picking up steam in Congress, where at least three bills have already been introduced and another two are expected shortly.”

“World food prices hit a new record high in January after rising for a seventh consecutive month,” the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation said today.

Courts are seeing a “sharp rise” in the number of homeowners showing up to challenge their foreclosures.

The Treasury Department said yesterday that “the government is close to breaking even on reviled bank bailouts made under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.”

Arizona enters the nullification sweepstates with a proposal to create a committee that culls through federal law looking for things to nullify.

Utah’s Attorney General claims that his state is “no longer bound” by the Affordable Care Act.

A conservative legal scholar explains that the United States has a long history of regulating “inactivity.”

The House will hold its first hearing on reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (NO Child Left Behind) next week.

Texas lawmakers have responded to their huge budget crisis by proposing “deep reductions in school spending, including providing less than is required by the state’s school-funding formula.”

According to a report released yesterday by Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, “the United States’ increasing emphasis on a single pathway to success is at least partly to blame for the country falling behind other nations” when it comes to education.

President Obama met with former rival Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to discuss issues such as immigration reform and the situation in the Middle East.

Texas state legislators are considering mandating the use E-Verify, an error-ridden electronic employment verification program.

A Texas Democratic Party official claimed that a Hispanic Republican Conference formed last week can’t claim to represent Latinos unless it takes a stand against discriminatory immigration laws.

“President Barack Obama travels to Pennsylvania to announce a new clean energy program” to “improve energy efficiency in U.S. commercial buildings,” part of what’s necessary to meet the world’s energy needs with renewables by 2050.

“World food prices hit a record in January and recent catastrophic weather around the globe could put yet more pressure on the cost of food, an issue that has already helped spark protests across the Middle East.”

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) and Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) released a “discussion draft” Wednesday afternoon that would “permanently block the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to issue climate change regulations.”

“An executive order to prohibit workplace discrimination against LGBT people is receiving renewed attention now that the makeup of Congress makes passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act highly unlikely for at least two years.”

“The movement for marriage equality in the state of Maryland got a significant boost [yesterday], with Republican State Senator Allan H. Kittleman putting down on record that he will support legislation to recognize same-sex marriages in the state.”

“Though Massachusetts Republican senator Scott Brown voted in favor of the successful “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal bill, MassEquality executive director Kara Suffredini says that the gay rights organization will not support Brown’s 2012 reelection bid unless the senator makes equality a priority.”

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