Yet the reason this bill failed can be boiled down to one memo and the memories of the government shutdown crisis of 2013. Faced with the choice of either offending Planned Parenthood or failing to pass a bill that provided the Zika money they had been demanding be allocated for months, the Democrats chose the latter. Moreover, they did so because they were also sure that no matter how partisan and divisive their own behavior, Democrats have come to believe that the media will blame Republicans for any Congressional standoff...
the key moment in the fate of the Zika bill came this week.
AsPolitico reported:
On Tuesday morning, Planned Parenthood wrote all Senate offices opposing the bill, arguing that “a vote against this bill will be seen as a vote for women’s health care.”
While liberals like to talk about the power of the National Rifle Association over Republicans, the ability of that influential group to crack the whip over the GOP is nothing when compared to the way Senate Democrats responded to Planned Parenthood’s marching orders
headsup Instapundit
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also via Instapundit:
CNN reporter pushes Brexit meme, gets repeatedly corrected by British politician.
USAToday reports Noble prize winners (mostly in medicine) are daring to criticize Greenpeace for opposing "golden rice" which is a GM type of rice designed to save the lives (and sight) of poor children in rice eating lands.
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StrategyPage report on President Rody:
Abu Sayyaf represents what most Filipinos fear most about granting the Moslem minority in the south autonomy. Duterte is known to be innovative and not afraid to try bold solutions.
He has commented that he would try to negotiate, or at least talk to, Abu Sayyaf leaders. If that failed to resolve the terror and banditry problems down there Duterte indicates he would consider declaring martial law in some of the Moslem provinces in the southwest and offer cash rewards for any civilians or security personnel who captured or killed key Abu Sayyaf members. Duterte also has a track record of cracking down on corruption and doing things considered by some as outside the law (and by others as necessary). All this would be necessary to have a chance of finally shutting down the mayhem that has long characterized the Moslem south.
I talked to one of Ruby's teachers who attended our new mayor's inauguration and she said he also has declared war on criminals.
Heh. It might be nice to have the cops and the mayor's private armies go against the criminals instead of their political rivals. One hopes they don't kill too many bystanders. (personal note: our nephew was killed as a bystander when an ex mayor arranged some retired NPA guys to shoot his political rival, but only killed two of his sons and some bystanders... politics here is that clans run the place, so that mayor got away with it but when he retired, his wife lost the election...but the next cycle his daughter won. The bishop ordered all local candidates to take a "no violence" pledge, so it meant that the next hit job didn't occur until a few days after she took office, again killing bystanders).
Kuya however says the mayor's family has been involved in gambling and drugs in the past... which means he might actually know who to go after.
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BBC reports the hole in the Antarctic ozone hole is getting better.
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