I think that Sen. Rubio’s version of the DREAM Act would create a second class status for folks.Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa • During an appearance on CBS’ Face the Nation this weekend, during which he also predicted that Mitt Romney’s stance on the DREAM Act will damage his reputation with Hispanic voters. Former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, a Republican, agreed with some of what Villaraigosa had to say, specifically the fact that Republicans needed to do more for their Hispanic constituents. “The fact that people come and serve in our military certainly ought to give them some status in the United States,” said Barbour, adding, “as long as they pay taxes, as long as they don’t break the law, now maybe there should be a different path to citizenship.” source (via • follow)
Mississippi would do that, but Haley Barbour pardoned all of them.Ace reblog of the night.
(Source: shortformblog)
Checked by the judiciary: Thanks to a request by Mississippi’s Democratic Attorney General, Jim Hood, 21 of the 208 pardons issued by outgoing Governor Haley Barbour yesterday have been blocked. Hood objected on the grounds that the convicts in question failed to give sufficient notice they were seeking the pardons, which he claims amounts to a violation of the state’s constitution on Barbour’s part. Barbour defended his decision today, in a statement emphasizing the relatively low rate of currently serving prisoners released, as well as medical considerations. (Photo by Gage Skidmore) source
» The power of the pen: In a move that shocked the Mississippi political system and jumbled up the traditional left-right orthodoxies on law and order, outgoing Governor Haley Barbour used his last day in office to pardon 208 inmates, among them 14 convicted murderers, as well as the older brother of former NFL quarterback Brett Favre. This deluge has both led Democratic lawmakers to push for future restrictions on the gubernatorial right to pardon. To be sure, it’s wrong to decry a particular pardon without knowing all the facts. But waiting until the last day of an eight-year tenure, with no more accountability in sight? That’s always going to cause controversy, and rightly so. Edit: Fixed an error. Sorry about that all :/
And in other big news, Mississippi decided in a referendum of its own that a fertilized egg is not a person. A major victory for the pro-choice movement.
After a little hemming and hawing, Gov. Haley Barbour supports the law: ”I have some concerns about it,” he wrote in a statement. “But I think all in all, I believe life begins at conception, so I think the right thing to do was to vote for it.” What do you all think? Good? Bad?
» What this means: One thing to keep in mind about presidential primaries is that every time a potential candidate announces their intent to run (or that they won’t be running), the calculus for every undecided candidate changes. For example, Haley Barbour is good friends with Mitch Daniels, who is half-heartedly considering a run of his own. With Barbour out, Mitch Daniels has one less excuse not to run. Meanwhile, Ron Paul’s entrance into the race effectively puts an end to his son’s quixotic flirtations with a bid, as Rand Paul already ruled out running against his father. Next question: Will the presence of another libertarian on the ballot put a dent in Paul’s loyal following?
» The Governor won’t have it: A rally was held outside the Mississippi State Capitol building yesterday, urging Governor Haley Barbour to grant a full pardon to the Scott sisters, Gladys and Jamie. It’s been 16 years since the two received double life sentences for armed robbery, a punishment that was absurdly severe even if presuming the sisters’ guilt- check out this great article by The New York Times’ Bob Herbert to brush up on the story. Barbour suspended their sentences indefinitely earlier this year, because Jamie had kidney disease and Gladys was offering a transplant, so they now have their freedom back. Barbour’s response on properly pardoning the two, though? “Tell ‘em don’t save any space in the newspaper for that to be announced.”
They have yet to learn what a Haley Barbour is, and that will be a challenge.Haley Barbour • Speaking about himself in the third-person in a profile piece about him for the New York Times. He’s a likely 2012 presidential candidate, but his profile is a tad low — more Herman Cain, less Sarah Palin. If anyone needs an idea of who this Haley Barbour character is, we have a pretty good collection of posts about this guy. In his defense, he did some great work as Mississippi governor in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. But on the other hand, he has said a bunch of other stuff that voters may not like. And he has a career as a lobbyist under his belt, which doesn’t exactly mesh well with the current anti-lobbyist vibe right now. source (via • follow)
I’m moving back to New York in a few days. Unlike past...
OMG. I got so...
In this week’s Newsweek, a little...
Tumblr this morning. [h/t anne]
#@#$%!.tumblr.com
Here’s a hidden feature that shipped in...
Watch: PCB gets a visual shout out on GMA’s Yahoo/Tumblr...
No candidate can successfully run for president if he doesn’t understand you should rebuke efforts to honor the man most identified with the KKK.The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin • On Mississippi governor and likely presidential candidate Haley Barbour’s latest racially-tinged blunder. After praising the racist, pro-segregationist Council of Conservative Citizens last year as “an organization of town leaders,” and insisting that that the civil rights battles of the 60s weren’t “that bad,” he’s now refusing to condemn an effort in Mississippi to make commemorative license plates honoring a leader of the KKK, Nathan Bedford Forrest. For a while, members of the GOP establishment have been urging Barbour not to run for President. We think they’re onto something. source (via • follow)
ShortFormBlog is the product of Ernie Smith, Seth Millstein, Chris Tognotti, Sami Main, Scott Craft, Matthew Keys, Julius the laid-off RSS robot, awesome links from awesome sources, a hacked version of Wordpress, Tumblr's Tumblarity, the letter Q, the number 13 and a series of tubes.
Copyright 2009-2013 Ernie Smith • Ask us stuff! • E-mail us • Follow us on Twitter • Follow us on Facebook