President Obama says TPP must pass this year

By Vicki Needham - 05/06/16 04:31 PM EDT

President Obama said Friday that Congress must pass a far-reaching Pacific Rim trade deal this year or face falling behind China on the global stage.

The president argued that delaying action on the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) puts the U.S. in jeopardy of losing economic ground to Beijing, which is negotiating a separate trade deal with several of the same Pacific nations.

“The big challenge for us is who’s going to write the rules that nations play by when it comes to trade and commerce,” Obama said on a conference call set up by Business Forward to rally small businesses for their support of the trade deal.

“Is it going to be the United States or is it going to be our biggest competitor going forward, which is China."

more
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/trade/279051-president-obama-said-tpp-must-pass-this-year

Weekend Toon Roundup

GOP










































Primaries






NC





RW





The Issue


Summer roadwork

Friday Toon Roundup 2: The Rest

Other GOP










General




Mr. Fish

Friday Toon Roundup 1: Triumphant

Gov. Scott Walker approves rule requiring drug testing for unemployment insurance

MADISON -- Governor Scott Walker recently approved an emergency rule submitted by the Department of Workforce Development which requires some receiving unemployment benefits to submit to drug tests.

“This new rule brings us one step closer to moving Wisconsinites from government dependence to true independence,” Governor Walker said. “We frequently hear from employers that they have good paying jobs, but they need their workers to be drug-free. This rule is a common-sense reform which strengthens our workforce by helping people find and keep a family supporting job.”

Under the new rule, if someone is on unemployment insurance and fails a drug test, or refuses to take one from an employer who's offering it as part of an offer of employment, he or she can now be denied benefits.

Those who fail the tests must sign up for substance abuse treatment and a job skills test to remain eligible for the benefits. The rule is expected to take effect later this week.

more
http://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/gov-scott-walker-approves-rule-requiring-drug-testing-for-unemployment-insurance

Snotty Scotty Strikes Again

“Candidate in race most like Bush and Cheney is Hillary Clinton,” says GOP strategist

“The candidate in the race most like George W. Bush and Dick Cheney from a foreign policy perspective is in fact Hillary Clinton, not the Republican nominee,” explained GOP strategist Steve Schmidt in an interview this week on MSNBC this week.

“One thing we know as we get ready for a general election contest is that Donald Trump will be running to the left as we understand it against Hillary Clinton on national security issues,” he added.

Schmidt is a longtime Republican operative who formerly served as the spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, a deputy assistant to President George W. Bush and a senior campaign strategist for John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. He is now a political analyst for MSNBC.

In the segment, Schmidt argued that Clinton is going to flex her extremely hawkish foreign policy stances to woo leading Republican figures.

more
http://www.salon.com/2016/05/05/candidate_in_race_most_like_bush_and_cheney_is_hillary_clinton_says_gop_strategist/

Truth!

Republican states benefiting from shift to wind and solar energy

WASHINGTON – If there’s a War on Coal, it’s increasingly clear which side is winning.

Wind turbines and solar panels accounted for more than two-thirds of all new electric generation capacity added to the nation’s grid in 2015, according to a recent analysis by the U.S. Department of Energy. The remaining third was largely new power plants fueled by natural gas, which has become cheap and plentiful as a result of hydraulic fracturing.

It was the second straight year U.S. investment in renewable energy projects has outpaced that of fossil fuels. Robust growth is once again predicted for this year.

And while Republican lawmakers in Washington have fought to protect coal-fired power plants, opposing President Barack Obama’s efforts to curtail climate-warming carbon emissions, data show their home states are often the ones benefiting most from the nation’s accelerating shift to renewable energy.

more

http://www.pressherald.com/2016/05/05/investment-in-wind-and-solar-projects-outpaces-fossil-fueled-power-plants-for-second-straight-yearthe-u-s-department-of-energy-says-wind-turbines-and-solar-panels-accounted-for-more-than-two-thirds/

At Maine convention, Democrats to vote on eliminating superdelegates

By Steve Mistler, MPBN


Maine Democrats will vote on a rule change at this weekend’s state convention that could reshape future presidential contests.

The proposed change could also prompt a floor fight between supporters of presidential hopefuls Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.

Portland state Rep. Diane Russell, who is introducing the rule, is hopeful that the fight won’t happen, but that so-called superdelegates will be eliminated in 2020.

“We have a system of government where you have one person, one vote, by and large,” Russell says. “The primary system is not when that happens. And I think that we need to start moving toward a system that’s more fair, that’s more democratic and more reflective of the popular vote.”

more
http://bangordailynews.com/2016/05/04/politics/at-maine-convention-democrats-to-vote-on-eliminating-superdelegates/

NM Berners- Check your voter registration now!

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – There are only five more days before the registration deadline to vote in New Mexico’s primary elections.

County clerks are reminding people to check their voter registration status. According to state and federal law, the clerk’s office is required to purge voters from the registration rolls every two years.

If you’ve moved, your mail was returned undeliverable, or if the state has been notified that a voter no longer lives at your residence, you might want to check your status.

The deadline to register is May 10.

http://krqe.com/blog/2016/05/05/new-mexicos-voter-registration-deadline-is-may-10/

Bill would gag health officials about contaminated wells

RALEIGH — A bill before the General Assembly would prevent state health officials from warning homeowners not to drink their well water unless the contaminants in the water violated specific state or federal standards.

Earlier this year, the state rescinded hundreds of well-water warnings from the Department of Health and Human Services to residents near coal-ash sites after officials from the Department of Environmental Quality criticized the warnings as over-cautious.

The proposed law would bar health officials from warning residents about the presence of substances that aren’t regulated or warning about regulated substances present at levels lower than state and federal standards, even if state officials think those lower levels represent a potential health threat.

Two of the three co-chairs of the state’s Environmental Review Commission, Rep. Jimmy Dixon, R-Duplin, and Sen. Trudy Wade, R-Guilford, are among the bill’s sponsors.

more
http://carolinapublicpress.org/24791/bill-would-gag-health-officials-about-contaminated-wells

Don't drink the water