Wanderlust

Tag: Senate

  • John McCain: Tributes as Vietnam veteran and six-time period senator dies at 81

    Image copyright Reuters Image caption Mourners waited out of doors the funeral home in Phoenix, Arizona

    His circle of relatives stated he could lie in state in Phoenix, Arizona, and in Washington DC sooner than a funeral at the Washington National Cathedral and his burial in Annapolis, Maryland.

    “He was a public servant within the finest traditions of our country. And to me, he was once a pal whom I’m Going To deeply leave out,” Mr Bush said.

    Mr Obama mentioned that despite being his Democratic rival, they shared the beliefs “for which generations of americans and immigrants alike have fought, marched and sacrificed”.

    Sarah Palin, who was Mr McCain’s operating mate throughout his 2008 presidential bid, stated the arena had lost “an American unique”.

    From out of doors The Us, Israeli High Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Mr McCain as “a super American patriot” whose “toughen for Israel never wavered.”

    Canadian Top Minister Justin Trudeau said Mr McCain’s lifetime of public provider had been “an idea to thousands and thousands”.

    Symbol copyright AFP Symbol caption Barack Obama ran towards Mr McCain in 2008

    Alternatively, he additionally gained a reputation as a Republican maverick who used to be willing to pass birthday party traces on a spread of issues.

    In July final 12 months, simply after his prognosis, he took part in a past due-night Senate session and gave the deciding vote – with a thumbs-down gesture – in opposition to partly repealing the contentious Obamacare healthcare regulation. The move reportedly infuriated Mr Trump.

    Mr McCain also criticised President Trump’s hard-line rhetoric on illegal immigration and his attacks at the media.

    A fighter to the very end

    By Anthony Zurcher, BBC North The Us reporter

    John McCain was once born shortly before International Battle II, on the daybreak of the “American Century” – a time when The Us was on the height of its political, army and cultural energy. He dies at what might be regarded as that age’s twilight, because the country turns inward and contemplates partitions, literal and metaphorical, to insulate itself from the rest of this world.

    The lifetime of the senator from Arizona marked the arc of this adventure.

    He suffered, as the country suffered, from the morass of Vietnam.

    As a young politician he was tempted through the lure of power and money, caught up in an influence-peddling scandal that almost cost him his career.

    In his first run for president in 2000, he capitalised on an anti-established order sentiment and longing for authenticity that will later come to crest with Donald Trump’s election. In 2008, he gained the Republican nomination, best to see his hopes dashed by way of the phenomenon that used to be Barack Obama and a crumbling US economy.

    McCain never gained the highest political administrative center for which he longed. All The Way Through his lifestyles, on the other hand, he presented an entire-throated defence of an America that was once lively and engaged in the world. In his ultimate years he sparred with Mr Trump over the path of the Republican Celebration and the principles it is going to embrace.

    It’s an open query as to whether these views have a future in his party. McCain, however, fought for what he believed used to be proper until the very end. agree with him or not, that is undeniably a premier epitaph.

    (more…)

  • the women protesting within the Argentina abortion debate

    Women protesting the Argentina abortion debate

    The Senate in Argentina is debating a debatable invoice to extend abortion rights.

    The inspiration, which might allow ladies to legally terminate a pregnancy in the first 14 weeks, handed the lower area via a slender margin in mid-June, after a feverish 22-hour consultation.

    The bill would make Argentina the 3rd Latin American u . s . to widely legalise abortion, after Cuba and Uruguay.

    The vote is expected to be tight in the conservative 72-member Senate.

    It has polarised debate at house and at the streets. Over the previous few months, groups both in favour of the invoice and against have demonstrated in entrance of the Congress construction in Buenos Aires, and in different towns around the us of a.

    Symbol copyright Getty Photographs Symbol caption Professional-selection activists react out of doors the Argentine Congress in Buenos Aires, on June 14, after the bill glided by a slim margin in a 22-hour lengthy consultation within the lower space

    Inexperienced bandanas

    Ingrid Beck is a journalist, creator and organiser of the Ni Una Menos collective.

    As an activist, I felt i wished to position my body available in the market to support the growth of abortion rights.

    This debate has delivered to the fore a brand new political player: the women’s movements who are now occupying the public area. These movements grew out of the Ni Una Menos (Not One Less) marches in opposition to gender violence that began in 2015, and have not stopped rising since.

    Image copyright Nadia Petrizzo Symbol caption Ingrid Beck: ‘The feminist motion in Argentina as of late has a placing power to carry people together’

    We not too long ago were given almost a million other people out on the streets for considered one of our demonstrations, which proves that the feminist motion is recently one in all the strongest political forces, with a placing power to deliver folks together.

    It is also horizontal, and not using a hierarchy or leaders. This makes it laborious for the political established order to combat with. The Argentine govt acknowledged this and channelled our requests thru Congress – the way it’ll be.

    I do not believe we wanted a referendum – like the one through which Eire overturned the country’s abortion ban – for a host of reasons.

    Firstly, as a result of abortion has been felony in Argentina because the nineteen twenties in cases of rape or when the mother’s life is at risk and we’re merely pushing to enlarge this proper to all girls.

    Secondly, as a result of that is a matter of public well being that is higher decided by lawmakers.

    Image copyright Getty Photographs Symbol caption Girls in favour of the legalization of abortion marched as characters from Margaret Atwood’s feminist dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale

    We selected the golf green bandana as a symbol as a result of bandanas are already linked to social activism in Argentina, being the logo of the Moms and Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo who fought for their disappeared relatives during the 1970s dictatorship.

    At first we were intimidated to put on it because it made us an easy goal for verbal abuse. But now it has become a sign of sorority: we look at one another on the streets and feel we’re fighting the same battle.

    Symbol copyright Getty Photographs Image caption ‘Save the 2 lives’ has been the slogan of the conglomerate of teams opposing the invoice

    ‘We learnt the best way to protest’

    Camila Duro, 24, is a member of the non-spiritual, non-partisan anti-abortion NGO Frente Joven.

    The message that we wanted to position throughout is that abortion equals social failure. For a woman to hotel to it, many different things need to have failed first.

    Secondly, we imagine that abortion-similar maternal mortality can be reduced thru different method, akin to a range of public health projects to take care of the mummy – and not thru legalising abortion.

    Symbol copyright Camila Duro Symbol caption ‘Abortion is social failure’ says the placard that Camila Duro is protecting

    And we say that may be never an even idea to end a lifestyles so as to resolve other problems; that’s like sticking a plaster over a bleeding wound. we are saying “let’s defend both lives” – the mother’s and the unborn child’s.

    So we took to the streets, even if it wasn’t simple. Professional-life groups in Argentina aren’t simple to mobilise, it doesn’t come certainly to us. However we felt the force to change into extra visual.

    Symbol copyright Getty Pictures Image caption there is a young, enthusiastic team of individuals who are in opposition to legalisation however do not feel represented by the more dependent pro-lifestyles groups, says Duro

    We organised “blue marches” the colour chosen by a conglomerate of groups opposing the bill: we went out with stickers and banners and we went around the neighbourhoods, knocking on other people’s doors one by way of one to foster debate around the bill.

    We asked for a referendum similar to the only Eire had just months ago, but the “green facet” refused. Possibly they anticipated that the ballot bins would monitor that, when you depart the capital, many people in Argentina are in opposition to a extensive legalisation of abortion.

    Symbol copyright Celeste MacDougall Symbol caption Celeste MacDougall has been campaigning for multiplied abortion rights for just about a decade

    ‘Nothing is spontaneous’

    Celeste MacDougall is a instructor and activist within the Nationwide Campaign for Felony, Safe and Loose Abortion.

    I had been campaigning for 9 years and now we have offered a draft for an abortion regulation seven occasions: if a invoice isn’t delivered to the ground in Congress, after some time it must be re-submitted.

    We did that seven occasions.

    But at the same time as we waited, we also engaged in what we call “social decriminalisation” – that is, we created mechanisms to construct social consensus around abortion rights. We labored with well being professionals, lecturers, universities, cultural marketers and artists.

    This is an activism that has been increase over many years. Not Anything is spontaneous or surprising.

    Image copyright Celeste MacDougall Symbol caption Celeste MacDougall: ‘Our power arises from our history, with over 30 years of women’s nationwide meetings to battle for our rights and towards patriarchy and machismo’

    The feminist motion in Argentina has been preventing the patriarchal device for over 30 years. Our potential comes from that historical past, with greater than 500 establishments now a part of the national campaign for abortion rights.

    We had been all the time out in the streets, in a single means or any other. We knew society wanted this debate. the issue was once available in the market even though it was once lacking from our lawmakers’ time table and used to be invisible to the media – that’s one thing that has now appreciably changed.

    Using music

    Clarisa Rodriguez, 43, is learning pedagogy and is an organiser in the anti-abortion staff Correntinos por los angeles vida in Corrientes, 1,000km 621miles north of Buenos Aires.

    In Corrientes, the place I are living, we had been silent and disorientated for a while after the bill passed the lower space in June. Then we realised the combat wasn’t over.

    For us, abortion is homicide. we would have liked other folks to grasp that regardless that a legislation may allow it, it doesn’t make it very well.

    Symbol copyright Clarisa Rodriguez Symbol caption Clarisa Rodriguez: ‘We felt we needed to talk up and proportion our beliefs at the streets. we’re right here to stick’

    We took to the streets to make the “blue wave” visual. We started organising gatherings with percussion song – percussion instruments and carnival are very much rooted in our local culture.

    People needed to overcome the concern of demonstrating in an atmosphere that has from time to time been very opposed to our perspectives.

    Image copyright Getty Photographs Image caption Blue neckerchieves was the emblem of the anti-abortion campaign

    Housewives, students, medical doctors and nurses joined, all with the blue neckerchiefs that experience change into our logo.

    We felt the need to occupy the general public area to counterbalance the “green wave” that at one element appeared unstoppable. And it gave us a possibility to turn any other kind of feminism, the best way we remember it.

    Now we’re right here to stick.

    what’s ONE HUNDRED Women?

    BBC ONE HUNDRED Girls names ONE HUNDRED influential and inspirational ladies around the international every year. We create documentaries, options and interviews approximately their lives, giving more room for tales that positioned ladies on the centre.

    Follow BBC ONE HUNDRED Women on Instagram and Facebook and join the conversation.

  • US mid-time period elections: what’s at stake?

    A line of voters wait in Austin, Texas, on 6 March 2018 Image copyright Getty Images

    The looming US mid-time period elections will shape American politics for the following years and past.

    President Donald Trump himself is not up for re-election, so fewer electorate are anticipated to show out.

    But his skill to manipulate within the ultimate years of his first term will hinge upon the 6 November end result.

    Who Is at the poll?

    All 435 contributors of the home of Representatives, 35 seats within the ONE HUNDRED-member Senate and 36 out of 50 state governors, along with many state and local offices.

    Republicans currently cling sway in each chambers of Congress and the White House. However there is giddy communicate amongst Democrats of a “blue wave”.

    Image copyright Getty Pictures

    Purposes for Democrats to be joyful

    The president’s party has misplaced a regular of 32 seats in the House and two in the Senate in each and every mid-time period election because the American Civil War.

    President Trump may be traditionally unpopular, in step with opinion polls.

    As an energised liberal base clamours to present ‘Trumpism’ a bloody nostril, Democratic challengers are out-fundraising and out-polling a bunch of Republican incumbents.

    there’s a lot of latest skill. Anecdotal evidence shows extra women are running for workplace than ever before, particularly on the left, and in a few races all the Democratic applicants are below 30.

    Soul-looking out with Democrats in Iowa

    Reasons for Republicans to be joyful

    The mid-time period citizens is usually whiter, older and more conservative.

    Sure, Trump’s approval score is low, however the Democratic birthday party has no evident same old-bearer and is extensively viewed as rudderless seeing that Hillary Clinton’s shock defeat in 2016.

    Above all, the u.s. economy is roaring like a fighter jet engine at maximum torque, with unemployment charges at all-time low, consumer trust high and wages in reality rising.

    Symbol copyright Getty Photographs

    What are the highest scorching-button problems?

    Expect to listen to a lot approximately how this election is a referendum on Trump.

    This summer’s primaries – while the party faithful anoint their applicants for November’s election – will be a tug-of-battle on the right among established order and anti-establishment conservatives – and at the left, among populist progressives calling for Trump’s impeachment and pragmatic centrists.

    Immigration continues to be a cultural touchstone that both main events desire will play to their advantage.

    Democrats believe the president’s hardline rhetoric on the topic may help them lure younger voters, suburban moderates and minorities.

    Republicans are counting on Trump’s tough posture to turn out conservatives who suppose Democrats care more about unlawful immigrants than US citizens.

    The gun regulate motion introduced in the aftermath of February’s highschool shooting in Parkland, Florida, is also mobilising for the election.

    Meanwhile, a up to date Gallup ballot found the top concern for US citizens is healthcare.

    Regardless Of passing quite a lot of measures to weaken the Inexpensive Care Act, Republicans had been not able to kill off Obamacare.

    Voters are likely to punish the celebration in energy for emerging medical health insurance costs, which under Trump are continuing to hit Americans in the pocket.

    What will mid-terms imply for Trump?

    If Republicans lose regulate of both chamber of Congress, the president’s household agenda can be largely lifeless on arrival at Capitol Hill.

    If Democrats win the home, they get to decide which bills come to the ground and they’ll regulate the committee chairmanships.

    That will entail competitive oversight investigations of the president’s management, together with alleged Russia collusion, Trump’s industry dealings and sexual attack allegations towards him.

    But if Republicans grasp on to the Senate, they’ll proceed to approve Trump’s cupboard nominees and rent conservative judges to US courtrooms.

    If Democrats do do neatly within the mid-terms, it would if truth be told paintings in Trump’s favour.

    He will likely be in a position to pin blame on them for congressional gridlock, and there is a chance they may overplay their hand.

    Image copyright Getty Pictures Image caption Area Democratic chief Nancy Pelosi (R) and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer

    What about governors’ races?

    Governors wield really extensive influence over politics in their state capitols – and the lives of their constituents.

    Republicans these days keep watch over 33 out of 50 gubernatorial mansions and -thirds of NINETY NINE state legislature chambers.

    However of the 36 state governorships on the ballot this year, 23 are being defended by Republican incumbents, tantalising objectives for Democrats.

    Among the gubernatorial prizes are the presidential swing states of Ohio, Michigan, Florida and Pennsylvania.

    As Trump runs for re-election in 2020, governors will play a very important function in mobilising donors, volunteers and activists.

    Which latest mid-terms have been game-changers?

    In 1994 the Republican birthday party took keep watch over of the home and Senate, setting the degree for 6 years of battles with Democratic President Invoice Clinton.

    The Democrats retook each chambers in 2006, permitting President Barack Obama to accomplish chunks of his time table whilst he won workplace years later.

    Republicans received again the house in 2010, curtailing Obama’s ability to govern.

    In 2014, Republicans regained regulate of the Senate, and boosted their Area majority to its largest since 1929.

  • Mike Pompeo clears panel with Chris Coons ‘present’ vote

    A small bipartisan gesture at the end of a fiercely partisan fight Monday has put Mike Pompeo on course to Senate confirmation as the nation’s next secretary of state.

    A small bipartisan gesture at the end of a fiercely partisan fight Monday has put Mike Pompeo on course to Senate confirmation as the nation’s next secretary of state.

    During a day of wild parliamentary back-and-forth in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the former congressman from Kansas and outgoing CIA director secured the crucial vote of lone Republican holdout Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, only to face rejection from the panel because fellow Republican committee member Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia missed the Monday evening confirmation vote to attend a funeral back home.

    But Sen. Christopher A. Coons, Delaware Democrat, volunteered to vote “present” on the nominee, resulting in a party-line 11-9 vote — Mr. Isakson’s proxy vote in favor counting because of Mr. Coons’ gesture — recommending that the full Senate approve Mr. Trump’s pick to replace the fired Rex W. Tillerson.

    With at least three moderate Senate Democrats on record in support of Mr. Pompeo, the full Senate appears poised to confirm Mr. Pompeo.

    “The Pompeo nomination has now been reported out of the Foreign Relations Committee, and there are sufficient votes in the Senate to ensure that he will be confirmed this week as our nation’s next secretary of state,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, said minutes after the Senate panel wrapped up its work.

    But Mr. Paul’s change of heart and Mr. Coons’ “present” vote spared Mr. Trump and Mr. Pompeo an unprecedented rebuke at the committee level for one of the government’s highest posts.

    As Republicans complained repeatedly Monday, past secretary of state confirmation battles had never been so partisan. President Obama’s choices — Hillary Clinton and John F. Kerry — received more than 90 favorable votes.

    The vote also represented a rare lobbying win for President Trump on Capitol Hill. Mr. Trump and Mr. Pompeo talked repeatedly with the libertarian Mr. Paul in an effort to win his vote.

    It appeared for much of the day that Mr. Pompeo would have to win his nomination fight without the backing of the committee, but minutes before the vote, Mr. Paul announced that he had received assurances that Mr. Trump and Mr. Pompeo had heard and understood his reservations about the Iraq War, overseas adventurism and the perils of a foreign policy focused on “regime change.”

    “Having received assurances … I have decided to support his nomination to be our next Secretary of State,” Mr. Paul Tweeted on Monday afternoon.

    During a White House event with French President Emmanuel Macron, Mr. Trump said Mr. Paul “never let us down” and is “a good man.”

    Hours before the committee vote Monday, Mr. Trump slammed Democrats for opposing Mr. Pompeo, including a number who supported the West Point graduate for the CIA post just a year ago.

    “Hard to believe obstructionists may vote against Mike Pompeo for secretary of state,” Mr. Trump said in a tweet.

    Marc Short, White House legislative affairs director, suggested to reporters that the senator from Kentucky could change his position.

    A vote against Mr. Pompeo from the Senate committee could have forced Senate Republican leadership to take the unusual step of sending a top nomination to the full Senate without a favorable recommendation, which has not occurred since 1989.

    That year, the Armed Services Committee voted against John Tower, President George H.W. Bush’s pick for secretary of defense. The full Senate later rejected Mr. Tower as well.

    Despite the risk of a committee rebuke, Mr. Pompeo was on track to receive approval from a full Senate vote this week.

    On Monday, two Senate Democrats facing tough re-election bids, West Virginia’s Joe Manchin III and Indiana’s Joe Donnelly, announced their support for the nominee. Other centrist Democrats, including Virginia’s Mark R. Warner and Alabama’s Doug Jones, have not declared their positions.

    Those votes, along with previously announced support from Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, North Dakota Democrat, who is also up for re-election — looked to make the confirmation almost certain.

    Hawks and doves

    If confirmed, Mr. Pompeo will be fourth in line to the presidency.

    His nomination battle has been blamed on election-year political partisanship. Democrats questioned Mr. Pompeo’s stands on gay rights and other social issues in his confirmation hearing this month.

    “I understand the climate we are in,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker told reporters Monday. “I understand the polarization we have as a nation.”

    The Tennessee Republican said Mr. Pompeo was one of the most qualified nominees in history to be tapped as secretary of state, one who had proved his diplomatic skills with a secret mission to Pyongyang over the Easter weekend to help prepare for a proposed summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

    But several Democrats who backed Mr. Pompeo for the CIA said his comments as a hawkish lawmaker in Congress made him less-suited to be the nation’s top diplomat and the face of American foreign policy.

    Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, expressed concerns that Mr. Pompeo, who has a much closer personal rapport with the president than Mr. Tillerson did, could be a yes man to Mr. Trump’s worst instincts.

    During his rocky tenure at the nation’s most influential diplomatic agency, Mr. Tillerson presided over a major budget cut, staff cutbacks and an overall demoralization of the diplomatic corps. Numerous senior positions remain empty. Senate Republicans argued Monday that Mr. Pompeo’s successful record managing the CIA would translate well to rebuilding staff and morale at Foggy Bottom.

    As CIA chief, Mr. Pompeo cultivated a close relationship with Mr. Trump by briefing him frequently in person on the world’s most sensitive matters and taking a small office on an upper floor of the Old Executive Office Building, just a short walk from the White House.

    “He has a very good relationship with the president,” Mr. Corker said Monday. “That is somewhat different from the last three secretaries of state we have had.”

    Since his election, even Mr. Trump publicly blasted the FBI and Justice Department for their roles in investigating Russia election meddling, Mr. Pompeo has largely shielded the CIA from the president’s wrath.

  • The Latest: Panel approves Pompeo for secretary of state

    The Latest on the nomination of Mike Pompeo as secretary of state (all times local):

    WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on the nomination of Mike Pompeo as secretary of state (all times local):

    6:30 p.m.

    President Donald Trump’s choice for secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has cleared the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with a favorable recommendation, narrowly avoiding a rare rebuke as his confirmation heads to the full Senate.

    Democrats put up stiff resistance and voted against Pompeo, who is now the CIA director. Only a last-minute switch from Kentucky Republican Rand Paul – whom Trump called before the vote – enabled Pompeo to win committee approval.

    It would have been the first time since the committee starting keeping records in 1925 that a secretary of state nominee faced an unfavorable report.

    Pompeo’s nomination now goes to the full Senate, where votes are tallying in his favor. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he looks forward to voting to confirm Pompeo this week.

    ___

    5:25 p.m.

    Sen. Rand Paul says he now supports Mike Pompeo as secretary of state.

    The Kentucky Republican announced his position after talking with President Donald Trump moments before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was set to consider the nominee. Pompeo hasn’t had sufficient support from the panel for a favorable recommendation, but Paul’s support could change that outcome.

    Paul says on Twitter that after talking with Trump and meeting with the nominee he received assurances that Pompeo believes the Iraq war “was a mistake, that regime change has destabilized the region, and that we must end our involvement with Afghanistan.”

    With those assurances, the senator says he has “decided to support his nomination to be our next secretary of state.”

    ___

    3:40 p.m.

    Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he’s looking forward to voting to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, later this week in the Senate.

    McConnell is making the upbeat assessment after two more Democratic senators announced support for Pompeo, now the CIA director, despite steep opposition expected Monday evening at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The panel is unlikely to have the votes to give a favorable recommendation, but the nominee is expected to find wider support in the full Senate.

    McConnell says that with Pompeo, “the United States will have a chief diplomat who enjoys the total confidence of the president.”

    The Republican leader says he looks “forward to upholding the tradition of this body and voting to confirm him this week.”

    ___

    1:30 p.m.

    Mike Pompeo’s nomination for secretary of state has received a boost because two Democratic senators announced they would support his confirmation before the full Senate.

    Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana both backed Pompeo when he was confirmed as CIA director. But other Democrats have been peeling away, and Pompeo is not likely to have enough support Monday for a favorable recommendation from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

    Neither Manchin nor Donnelly is on the panel, but their votes will help push Pompeo’s nomination before the full Senate vote expected later this week.

    Manchin says “during this sensitive diplomatic time, it’s important our next secretary of state understands the grave threats facing our nation and can offer diplomatic solutions to avoid conflict, as soon as possible.”

    ___

    9:30 a.m.

    President Donald Trump is attacking Democrats as he seeks Senate confirmation of Mike Pompeo as secretary of State.

    Trump says on Twitter Monday: “Hard to believe Obstructionists May vote against Mike Pompeo for Secretary of State. The Dems will not approve hundreds of good people, including the Ambassador to Germany. They are maxing out the time on approval process for all, never happened before. Need more Republicans!”

    Pompeo’s nomination faces serious opposition from key Democrats and at least one Republican. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee may not have enough votes to recommend him for confirmation.

    The full Senate is still expected to consider Pompeo’s nomination later this week. But the rebuke from the panel would be the first time in years a nominee for the position did not receive a favorable vote.

    ___

    President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, is facing serious opposition before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

    The panel may not have enough votes to recommend him for confirmation Monday as all Democrats, and at least one Republican, have said they will oppose him.

    The full Senate is still expected to consider Pompeo’s nomination later this week. But the rare rebuke from the panel, even after Pompeo’s recent visit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, would be the first time in years a nominee for the high-level Cabinet position did not receive a favorable vote.

    The chairman of the committee, Republican Sen. Bob Corker, blames partisan politics for opposition to Pompeo, saying the CIA chief is just as qualified as past nominees for secretary of state.

  • Rhode Island bill would require $20 fee to access online porn

    The bill would require that Internet providers block “sexual content and patently offensive material.” To get around that block, computer users must pay a $20 fee that the provider must then pass on t

    Some Rhode Island legislators want the Ocean State to get its cut of the porn racket.

    A bill introduced in the state Senate last week by Democratic Sens. Frank Ciccone of Providence and Hanna Gallo of Cranston would put the tax man in the bedroom (or at least the computer room).

    The bill would require that Internet providers block “sexual content and patently offensive material.” To get around that block, computer users must pay a $20 fee that the provider must then pass on to the state treasurer.

    The bill’s language, according to the Providence Journal, would require that the money go to the state’s Council on Human Trafficking.

    The proposal, which was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, would impose crippling fines — $500 per pornographic image — on any provider who didn’t set up the filter, the Journal reported.

  • Oregon Democrats abandon bill to oust teachers’ union critic from state education board

    Democrats in the Oregon legislature have shelved a hotly contested bill that would have removed an outspoken critic of the teachers’ union from the State Board of Education.

    Democrats in the Oregon legislature have shelved a hotly contested bill that would have removed an outspoken critic of the teachers’ union from the State Board of Education.

    Kim Sordyl, a lawyer and mother of two children attending Portland public schools, was chosen last year by Secretary of State Dennis Richardson to represent him on the board, but the bill would have forced her to vacate the seat by requiring him to name a full-time state employee.

    House Democrats approved the legislation last week on a party-line vote despite an uproar from her supporters, but the Senate Democratic leadership told news outlets that the bill won’t advance before the end of the session, which could come as early as this weekend.

    Proponents argued that the legislation was needed to clarify the original intent of the 2009 bill adding two non-voting members to the board, while Mr. Richardson said the effort was “clearly designed to silence an advocate for our children’s education.”

     

    This is a victory for our children, their education, and for transparency. It should be clear that bills designed specifically to silence an advocate for our children’s education is the wrong direction for our state. https://t.co/Wox5b1VjhD#orpol

    — Dennis Richardson (@OregonSOS) March 2, 2018

     

    Ms. Sordyl, a Democrat who has filed numerous complaints against school districts on behalf of parents, was appointed to the board by the Republican Richardson after he was elected in 2016.

    The legislation was proposed by Democratic state Rep. Margaret Doherty, a 22-year consultant for the Oregon Education Association, which Ms. Sordyl has fought for years over rules designed to protect teachers that also make it more difficult to remove abusers.

    Ms. Sordyl said Friday she hoped an ethics investigation would be conducted into what she described as Ms. Doherty’s “unethical and dishonest abuse of her position.”

    “We should all be vigilant over the Representatives who voted in favor of silencing a voice for students,” she said in an email. “They appear to be loyal to union donors at the expense of student health, safety and education.”

    Ms. Doherty, who no longer works for the OEA, had no immediate public comment, but she indicated last month at a committee hearing that she didn’t know Ms. Sordyl.

    Republican political consultant Jonathan Lockwood called the bill’s shelving a defeat for the Democratic establishment.

    “The system is broken and it was only after Oregon Democrats were found out for targeting an outspoken advocate that this legislation died,” said Mr. Lockwood in a statement. “This was a battle victory, but the war against Gov. Kate Brown’s status quo is not over.”

    The State Board of Education has seven voting members appointed by the governor and approved by the state Senate, as well as two non-voting members, one named by the Secretary of State and the other by the State Treasurer.