Eleven Democratic Senators Help Banks Beat Homeowners

[Senator] Durbin concluded that banks "frankly own the place."

How much did the Senate go for?

The banking and real estate industry has funneled roughly $2,000,000 into Landrieu's campaign coffers over her 12-year career, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. The financial sector is Nelson's biggest backer; he's taken $1.4 million from banks and real estate interests and another $1.2 million from insurance firms. Tester has fielded roughly half a million in his two years in office. Lincoln has taken $1.3 million from banking and real estate interests.

Carper has raked in more than $1.5 million. Baucus, chair of the finance committee, has been on the receiving end of $3.5 million over his career. Specter has hauled in more than $4.5 million and Johnson has gotten some $2.5 million.

Across the United States, the measure is estimated to have been able to prevent 1.69 million foreclosures and preserve $300 billion in home equity.

I'm sure everyone voted according to their conscience and in the best interest of their constituents.

RIAA wins, campuses lose as Tennessee governor signs campus network filtering law. Tim Burchett's brainchild is going cost to Tennessee taxpayers $9.5 million initially, plus $1.5 million per year.

We just found out a quirk in the Economic Stimulus Tax Rebate law. Neither of our children qualify for the $300 per child rebate payment, even though they're under 17 years of age and have valid SSNs. This is because one of them was adopted as a special needs child last year. Apparently, the Adoption Credit replaces the regular Child Tax Credit, and the stimulus payment is based on not on the number of children, but on receipt of the Child Tax Credit only. Oh well, we didn't need the new big screen TV anyway.

6 cities that were caught shortening yellow light times for profit.

Both Nashville and Chattanooga are on the list. Surely this couldn't happen in Knoxville?

AT&T has not given up the fight to provide cable TV services in Tennessee without having to negotiate franchising locally. AT&T wovs to renew efforts to allow statewide franchising next year. Meanwhile, the company continues forced bundling of internet and TV services in other markets and is busy shopping for competitive media delivery/technology companies (DISH Network, SlingMedia)... Improving or eliminating consumer choice?

GOP presidential candidate Governor Mitt Romney is attacking Democratic Senator Barack Obama over Obama's support for age-appropriate sex education in kindergarten. Romney is courting conservative sheeple with statements like "How much sex education is age appropriate for a 5-year-old? In my view, zero is the right amount."

Romney's stance totally ignores the fact that one in six sexual assault victims are children under 12. As a foster parent, I've encountered several cases where a young child has been sexually abused, but has not reported the abuse because he or she didn't know that sexual contacts between adults and children are wrong.

Romney would rather plunge his abstinence promoting head into his abstinence promoting rear end and pretend that child rape and incest does not exist. Sex education is not about teaching kids how to have sex, it is teaching kids what kind of sex and when is acceptable. Mitt Romney would let a child molester get away because the kindergartener does not have the words to describe the abuse.

Here's compassionate conservatism for you: President Bush is threatening to veto legislation that would renew a program that assists with providing health coverage for poor children. His veto is based on "philosophical" grounds, in spite of bi-partisan support in the Congress. The Great Divider rationalizes that the continuation of the program is "really beginning to open up an avenue for people to switch from private insurance to the government." Earth to Bush: The program is for families who do not have private insurance and are too poor to afford one. Again, slowly: Poor. Children. If you're so "pro-life", Mr. President, how about helping kids who are already born to stay alive before worrying about the "unborn".

The Supreme Court handed down a 6-2 majority ruling today that is a big time victory for parents of disabled children. The Federal law that governs special education is the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA), which mandates that children with special needs must be granted free access to appropriate public education. If parents disagree with the education plan a school district provides for their special needs child, parents have right to seek judicial review and, if all else fails, bring a civil suit against the school district on behalf of their child.

However, under the existing lower court rulings, parents have not been considered beneficiaries under IDEA, but instead merely guardians of their child. Hence, parents have had no standing to sue the school system themselves. Instead, they have had to hire an attorney for their child. This has undoubtedly been cost prohibitive for many parents who otherwise would have had a legitimate case.

The Supreme Court found that rights described in IDEA apply equally to the parents and to the special needs child. This makes parents full legal partners to their child under law. Thus, parents are able to bring a civil suit against a school district while representing themselves without an attorney pro se. The case is Winkelman v. Parma City School District (05-983).