Good morning . . .
Here's a nutty idea. A Republican lawmaker wants to pass a "very simple bill" that would move tax filing day to the first Monday in November. That would make it the day before elections. This is a sure way to force most incumbents out of office. Let's see, pay my taxes on Monday, get rid of the people who tax me on Tuesday.
It is a simple plan, but not in the best interests of taxpayers or elected officials.
CNSNews.com -- News This Hour
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There seems to be no end to the fight over the gubernatorial election in Washington state. Both Republicans and Democrats have made the peoples choice a game and windfall for political hacks and lawyers.
Democrat Christine Gregoire beat Republican Dino Rossi by 129 votes in a hand recount of more than 2.8 million ballots. This was after a third recount. In the first two, Dino Rossi won by 147 votes, but in heavily Democrat King County additional votes were "found" and another recount ordered. This put Gregorie in the governor's mansion.
Republicans have sued to throw the results of the election out and have a new election. They say that the irregularities and mishaps make it impossible to know who really won in November.
Both sides have filed briefs with Chelan County Superior Court Judge John Bridges. The Republicans say that over 1,000 felons voted in the election and under state law, felons cannot vote.
Democrats say that most of the 1,000 were convicted as juveniles or had their voting rights restored. The Democrats want the Republicans to "prove" that each felon was a felon on election day.
The Republicans may only need to prove that a majority of the felons voted illegally in order to cause another recount or get a new election.
A preliminary hearing is set for May 2 to decide what the Republicans must prove.
The trial is scheduled to begin on May 23 with the ultimate result to come from the state Supreme Court.
Court briefs filed over disputed governor's election
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The FCC reminded broadcasters Wednesday that they must identify the source for government produced stories used in news programs. The FCC said that the decades old sponsor identification rules apply to material used in newscasts that are produced by another source even the federal government.
President Bush said that is was the responsibility of the broadcaster to properly identify the source of these materials.
Not to be left out, the Senate passed a measure Thursday that would ban the production and distribution of "video news releases" using taxpayer dollars. The Democrats call the "news" stories propaganda. Under the Clinton administration, Democrats called the video new releases "vital information" for taxpayers.
The measure sponsored by Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) was attached to the emergency spending bill for funding of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Under it, taxpayer funds would be prohibited from being used for prepackaged news stories unless those stories contain "clear notification within the text or audio of the prepackaged news" that discloses it was prepared or funded by a federal agency.
Senate Votes to Ban Video News Releases - Yahoo! News
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More later.
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