[It would also end the practice of federally subsidized private loans, using all federal student loan funding for Direct Loans]

At least, it's DoE which make the money.

In Quebec, the government is only the guarantee and pay the interest during I'm studying, which is worse.

This was actually US policy until 2010 I believe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_Aid_and_Fiscal_Responsibility_Act

The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009 (SAFRA; H.R. 3221) is a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives of the 111th United States Congress by Congressman George Miller that would expand federal Pell Grants to a maximum of $5,500 in 2010 and tie increases in Pell Grant maximum values to annual increases in the Consumer Price Index plus 1%. It would also end the practice of federally subsidized private loans, using all federal student loan funding for Direct Loans and potentially cutting the federal deficit by $87 billion over 10 years.

On March 18, 2010, the text of this act was included as a rider on the Reconciliation Act of 2010,[1] which was an amendment to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Of course debt financing for college is not something to like compared to all the potential options. Especially as for-profit universities are eligible for so much aid: http://www.republicreport.org/2012/harkin-report/

For-profit colleges now account for about 10 percent of U.S. students but 25 percent for federal financial aid and nearly half of all student loan defaults. Many schools get 85-90 percent or more of their revenues from federal taxpayers, and they spend most of it on items like marketing, recruiting, and big executive salaries, rather than education and job placement. Not all for-profit colleges are that bad, but many, including most of the big ones, are.

There is stalemate in Washington on holding this industry accountable, because the big money that it spends on lobbying, lawyering, and campaign contributions has bought the allegiance of many congressional Republicans and  Democrats and has thwarted federal regulations. Thus determined reform efforts by the Obama Administration, and principled leaders like Senators Harkin, Dick Durbin(D-IL), and Kay Hagan (D-NC), and Representatives Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Maxine Waters (D-CA), and Keith Ellison (D-MN), have largely been blocked.

Aw shoot, I was hoping I could just be funny

Rumpling is temporary isn't it? I've had clothes I hadn't touched for months or had thought were ruined by (food) stains look basically brand new with a good cleaning.

I don't have experience with tailoring though so I don't have an answer on the specific costs. Perhaps you'd find a wider selection at some online discount retailers if the need isn't immediate in terms of time.

On the other hand I've had interviews go quite well when I was in the 'suit outfit minus the jacket'.

05/17/2013

WASHINGTON -- Congressional Democrats have pounced on a nonpartisan government report showing the Department of Education this year is forecast to earn a record $51 billion profit off student borrowers, denouncing the Obama administration and urging for structural reforms.

Members of the House of Representatives including George Miller (D-Calif.), John Tierney (D-Mass.) and John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) cited news reports in The Huffington Post that highlighted the Tuesday estimate by the Congressional Budget Office, which showed that the Education Department was forecast to report higher earnings this year than Exxon Mobil and nearly as high as those of the four biggest U.S. banks by assets combined.

Read more at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/17/obama-student-loan-policy_n_3294026.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK8mJJJvaes

The feds could only legislate redistricting for Congressional districts. This is about state legislative districts.

I'm thinking of a federal court decision as well, which I do realize is highly unlikely at the moment.

Needs to be done federally.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/04/22/1201551/-Did-Gerrymandering-Cost-Dems-the-House-A-33-State-Look-at-Alternative-Non-Partisan-Maps

http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/States_with_initiative_or_referendum

here's a map of the white vote in 2012 exit polls (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2012-exit-poll)

I still can't get over the fact that exit polling was cancelled for 19 states in 2012. Such a horrible decision, especially for states like Texas and Georgia.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/10/04/networks-ap-cancel-exit-polls-in-19-states/

October 4, 2012

Breaking from two decades of tradition, this year’s election exit poll is set to include surveys of voters in 31 states, not all 50 as it has for the past five presidential elections, according to multiple people involved in the planning.

On one hand you think it's more likely given that Levin is retiring but on the other there is the concern that they could lose the Senate in 2014. January 2009 would have been the ideal time.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/05/17/2030551/reid-reportedly-prepared-to-disarm-filibusters-for-all-nominees/

According to reporting by the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent, Reid “is eyeing a change to the rules that would do away with the 60-vote threshold on all judicial and executive branch nominations.” The test, according to Sargent, of whether Reid will push this reform is whether Senate Republicans lift their blockades on Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray, Labor Secretary nominee Tom Perez, and Environmental Protection Agency leader-in-waiting Gina McCarthy.

While Reid’s apparent willingness to press serious filibuster reform is welcome, he made similar statements during the lead up to a debate over filibuster reform last January. That debate ultimately led to a weak package of reforms and a victory for Republicans. A minority of Senate Democrats, lead by Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), refused to support reforms that would enable the Senate to function in the face of a determined obstructionist minority.

Impressive. There may be five states passing same-day registration this year. Maryland's already done, now Colorado, and Hawaii, Nevada (will Sandoval veto?) and Delaware might be the next: http://www.ncsl.org/legislatures-elections/elections/same-day-registration.aspx

Looks like Hawaii will actually be in 2014?

Hawaii -- HB 321 (in conference committee; will reconvene in 2014)

We'll find out soon enough on Nevada's bill. It's passed the state house already and a state senate committee approved it yesterday: http://www.mynews3.com/content/news/story/Voter-Registration-Nevada-Senate-panel/Vw0ji4xlvky3PVS8WDX6ig.cspx

5/16/2013

CARSON CITY (AP) — A bill extending Nevada's voter registration period through early voting has cleared a Senate committee.

...

It now goes to the Senate floor.

AB440 would extend voter registration to the Friday before a primary or general election. People who register in person during the early voting period would be allowed to cast a ballot immediately.

Under existing law, registration closes three weeks before an election.

----

I also thought this was interesting news from California: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/17/5427419/californias-health-exchange-to.html

May. 17, 2013

Millions of Californians who contact the state's new health exchange to buy insurance will be given the opportunity to register to vote, too, a move that some Republicans fear could benefit Democrats.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen made California the first state to designate its health exchange as a voter registration agency Wednesday, but others are expected to follow suit, said Shannan Velayas, Bowen's spokeswoman.

A 1993 federal law requires states to designate their agencies and offices that provide public assistance or disability services as voter registration agencies, Velayas said.

The federal law commonly is known as "motor voter" because it ensured that applicants for drivers' licenses nationwide would be asked if they wanted to register to vote. Public agencies in California that currently serve as voter registration outlets include the Department of Motor Vehicles and offices overseeing the state's welfare, tax collection and in-home supportive services.

Shirts with this image are not helping

Car dealers probably have more political clout but I wonder if you'll see any push against these laws from the electric utilities.

Not that I'm a fan of them but this is one area where for-profit utilities have a direct financial incentive to support "clean energy/transportation". It's hard to get them to support energy efficiency, usually the cheapest way for ratepayers to "purchase power" compared to new generation, since it clashes with said utilities selling more electricity and thus making more money but that just means the utilities have an interest in getting as many electric vehicles on the road as possible, doesn't it?

More electric vehicles means a bigger customer base for them which means selling more electricity and making more money.

1. Vermont becomes the 17th state to decriminalize small possession: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/05/13/vermont-decriminalizes-possession-of-marijuana/

May 13, 2013

Vermont’s legislature on Monday voted to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, making the New England state the 17th to relax restrictions on the drug.

The House of Representatives followed an earlier vote in the state Senate in favor of the measure and Governor Peter Shumlin, a strong supporter, was expected to sign it into law.

The law would decriminalize possession of up to one ounce (28.3 grams) of marijuana and also small quantities of hashish, although a civil penalty similar to a traffic fine would still be imposed.

New Hampshire is now the only New England state with neither decriminalization or medical marijuana. The other five all have both. Ripe grounds for legalization. Massachusetts at the ballot in 2016 is probably the best bet.

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2. Illinois is on track to be the 20th state to legalize medical marijuana though it's a fairly restrictive proposal like Maryland: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/09/illinois-medical-marijuan_0_n_3245500.html

05/09/2013

Legislation that would bring legal medical marijuana to Illinois cleared a key Senate committee vote on Wednesday.

The marijuana bill was approved by a vote of 10-5 by the Senate Executive Committee late Wednesday, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The bill will next be considered by the full Senate, which approved similar, more strict legislation in 2009. The proposal was already OKed by the state House of Representatives last month and Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has said he is "open-minded" on the matter.

Account numbers are higher than the number of users because Dave occasionally purges old zero-post accounts

So about 8,000 of the ~10,800 members have been purged because of that? Wow. It is a pretty small forum then.

I'd be surprised if Massachusetts would vote against marijuana legalization, based on how strongly they voted for medical marijuana and decriminalization.

That's what I'm thinking too but I was surprised to see the 'Death with Dignity' initiative fail in 2012.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Death_with_Dignity_Initiative

Note that on the map in that article the rural areas, which were historically more Protestant and are now generally very secular, were mostly in favor, as were southern Middlesex County, the Outer Cape and Islands, and less strongly the North Shore and MetroWest, whereas with the exception of Boston and its immediate vicinity the traditionally Catholic major cities were against (and Boston was practically tied; Suffolk County as a whole actually went against the question by nine thousand votes). Eastern Massachusetts, outside the areas I mentioned which are mostly considered fairly upscale and home to a lot of people who aren't originally from 'round these parts, is still strongly culturally Catholic, in a way that's for whatever reason proven easier to mobilize against things like this than against, for example, gay marriage.  Moreover, even some people who were supportive of the idea in theory had problems with the legislation as proposed. The Massachusetts Medical Society coming out against assisted suicide even on a conceptual level also didn't help. People take the opinions of groups like that seriously here, for better or for worse. Also keep in mind that despite all this it failed very narrowly. Absent even one of the above factors it probably would have passed.

Yeah that is interesting, especially as Vermont is poised to pass a similar bill but through the legislature: http://connecticut.cbslocal.com/2013/05/13/vermont-becomes-first-state-to-give-legislative-backing-to-assisted-suicide/

May 13, 2013

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont’s lawmakers approved a bill Monday night allowing doctors to prescribe lethal medication to terminally ill patients who request it, making it the first state in the country to give legislative backing to assisted suicide.

The measure approved in a 75-65 roll call vote now goes before Gov. Peter Shumlin, who has expressed support for the legislation.

Three other states — Oregon, Washington and Montana — have similar laws but Oregon and Washington approved then through public referendum while in Montana a court decision had a similar effect.

Looks like it's out now:

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/

But what the hell is up with Mississippi? They show Mississippi having higher turn-out than Minnesota...

This is a neat article on that Census data with sortable tables for the total percentage of the state population registered to vote, the total percentage who voted in each state (referenced against VEP as opposed to registered voters) and the change in both of those compared to 2008:

http://www.governing.com/blogs/by-the-numbers/changes-in-voter-turnout-by-state-2012.html

Excellent trolling, realisticidealist.

I'd go with Bloombergland.

I agree with Holmes' map. No way it's passing in states like Ohio or Michigan or Arizona or Nevada. You guys realize that Republicans still control those states, right?

If you look at the current polling for those states and project 3.5 years more of increasing public support it's not unrealistic to have initiatives pass in those four states in Nov. 2016, completely bypassing the state legislature and Governor.

And for New Mexico I was counting on a lawsuit at the state Supreme Court like Iowa in 2009. There's potential for that in Wyoming, Indiana, and Pennsylvania too but I didn't include those in my guess.

I'd be surprised if Massachusetts would vote against marijuana legalization, based on how strongly they voted for medical marijuana and decriminalization.

That's what I'm thinking too but I was surprised to see the 'Death with Dignity' initiative fail in 2012.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Death_with_Dignity_Initiative

Post November 2016 election guess:



Narrow majority in the Electoral College of 271-267

Looks like it's out now:

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/

But what the hell is up with Mississippi? They show Mississippi having higher turn-out than Minnesota...

Looking at the list of states with constitutional amendment initiative processes, I could definitely see Florida in 2016. On the other hand, Ohio, Michigan and Florida all also have heavily gerrymandered GOP legislatures that wouldn't ever pass gay marriage. It's not clear to me whether there could/would be an amendment that would enshrine same-sex marriage in the state constitution.

Yeah that's another issue. The 2014 Oregon initiative that's currently in circulation doesn't just delete the 2004 ban, it replaces the text to legalize within the same initiative. I believe this is also what the Nevada legislature has proposed. And I agree with Florida being similar to Michigan and Ohio but one unique problem for Florida on this issue is that it now requires a 60% supermajority to amend the state constitution thanks to a 2006 ballot measure:

http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Florida_Broader_Public_Support_for_Constitutional_Amendments_or_Revisions,_Amendment_3_%282006%29

Lol at AZ having two on the list, it's amazing what nonpartisan redistricting can do.

I think it's been noted that the AZ commission's maps leaned towards the Democrats, kind of like how the Washington and New Jersey commissions' maps leaned towards Republicans.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/04/22/1201551/-Did-Gerrymandering-Cost-Dems-the-House-A-33-State-Look-at-Alternative-Non-Partisan-Maps

Good news. So what are we looking at next?

2013 - Illinois (legislature), California (Supreme Court?)
2014 - Hawaii (legislature), Oregon (ballot), Colorado (ballot)
2016 - Nevada (ballot), Arizona (ballot), Michigan (ballot), Ohio (ballot)

Not sure where to place New Mexico and New Jersey but, looking at the map of party control of state legislatures and Governors, it's pretty much maxed out after those 23.

If not California by Supreme Court this year, then likely by referendum next year. Not sure on the progress of the Colorado referendum proposal; it's been quiet. Hawaii could happen this year, too; they still have a lot of time.

As for the 2016 states, that's a pretty random assortment. I'm not sure on referendum laws by state, but I know there's something of a push in Wisconsin to have a referendum there to repeal the Constitutional amendment.

I would not be surprised if NJ gets a veto-proof majority in favor, or if Christie relents on the referendum, or if we hold a referendum, by 2016. If not, 2017, as soon as Christie leaves office. I don't know enough about Susana Martinez's position on the issue to say whether New Mexico is possible while she's in office, but she's up for reelection in 2014, so things could change, though her approvals are quite high at the moment.

For 2016, I was thinking of when would be the best timing for those to pass (presidential election year turnout). I know there's a push to get a ballot measure this year in Ohio which is probably too soon and it could even end up on the 2014 ballot. In Nevada, the legislature has already started the process of repealing the previous constitutional amendment, something that requires legislative passage in both 2013 and 2015 before going to the 2016 ballot. I admit Arizona is out there but I think it's more likely than Montana or Alaska.

Also Wisconsin doesn't have any constitutional initiatives so it's up to the legislature to refer a repeal which is unlikely considering the vicious gerrymander.

Good news. So what are we looking at next?

2013 - Illinois (legislature), California (Supreme Court?)
2014 - Hawaii (legislature), Oregon (ballot), Colorado (ballot)
2016 - Nevada (ballot), Arizona (ballot), Michigan (ballot), Ohio (ballot)

Not sure where to place New Mexico and New Jersey but, looking at the map of party control of state legislatures and Governors, it's pretty much maxed out after those 23.

Looks like 7 states (AK, RI, ME, OR, CA, MA, NV) are being targeted through 2013-2016 for CO/WA style legalization bills and initiatives: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-kampia/state-marijuana-legalization_b_2377847.html

Really haven't seen much action in 2013 yet. The Oregon legalization bill had a hearing a while back but that's been it so far. I don't get the impression it's going to pass the legislature in 2013 and Kitzhaber opposed the 2012 legalization ballot measure in Oregon (though he did support the 2010 medical marijuana dispensary initiative that ultimately failed) so it's probably back to the ballot. Not sure if they're aiming for 2014 or 2016 for that either. On that note:

1. Maryland became the 19th state to legalize medical marijuana, although it's a very limited program.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/01/marijuana-maryland-medical/2127433/

May 1, 2013
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland will become the 19th state to approve a medical marijuana program, but it's unclear when one will be up and running.

Gov. Martin O'Malley's spokeswoman, Raquel Guillory, confirmed Wednesday that the governor will sign the measure.

The medical marijuana bill allows academic medical research centers to establish programs to dispense marijuana to sick patients.

While state analysts have projected a program would not be up and running until 2016, supporters say they are hopeful some research centers will move faster now that they have seen how the program would work.

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2. The Colorado legislature passed the bills for the regulation and sale of marijuana in the state. After the Governor signs it, the bill covering the new marijuana excise/sales tax rates will automatically go to the November 2013 ballot for voter approval because of the state's TABOR amendment.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/08/marijuana-legalization-bi_0_n_3238274.html

05/08/2013

On the final day of the legislative session, Colorado lawmakers finally passed two historic bills to implement recreational marijuana legalization in the state -- making Colorado the first state in the U.S. to take such steps toward the legal sale, regulation and tax of marijuana for recreational use.

...

Both the regulatory framework bill and the tax bill head to Gov. John Hickenlooper's desk and appear poised to become law.

According to a recent survey from Public Policy Polling, 77 percent of Colorado voters support the 15 percent excise tax -- which Amendment 64 calls for and which is earmarked for public school construction -- as well as an additional 10 percent sales tax to cover the cost of regulating recreational marijuana sales.