I get why some people are jittery after experiences like Columbine and Newtown but people need to get a little perspective. Pictures of guns are not going to kill people, lego guns are not going to kill people, imitating guns using your hands is not going to kill anybody, and elementary school-age children playing cops and robbers during recess is not going to hurt anybody nor does it mean that any of them are likely to show up toting guns and shooting up the school the next day. I can kind of understand worrying about toy guns as some of them are so realistic that they might be mistaken for real guns but none of the other stuff should be viewed as threatening much less be cause for suspensions or other disciplinary actions.

Congress, including the Republican-controlled House, passed it, Boehner and several Republicans voted for it (those that didn't, didn't largely because it didn't go far enough I believe) and even Boehner crowed that he got 98% of what he wanted and praised the sequester, so he and Congress at least co-own it. If they thought it was such a horrible idea, they could've stripped it out of the final bill but they didn't or they could've been more cooperative in the Super Committee or, hell, they could've NOT taken the debt ceiling hostage in the first place but, ultimately, it's law now, and so now they have to deal with it (or not, as they seem inclined at the moment). Their response appears to be to do nothing and (disingenuously) blame any negative outcomes on President Obama. It's all political theater (of the absurd) right now. Wake me up when it's all over!

but they're unwilling to pass a bill and have just left it up to the Senate to do something- that will be DOA in the House anyway. Seems kind of hypocritical/incoherent to me (but that's Republicans for ya). Prediction: The sequester is going to happen and Congress will be forced back to the table within the next month to try to clean up the mess once people start noticing how much of a clusterf**k it is. It's a full-on game of "chicken". The only question remains is whom is going to blamed for the resulting collision/pile-up.

It was rammed through by the Michigan (Republican) legislature in 2011, declared unconstitutional in the courts (I believe) and scrapped, but then "fixed" and rammed through again during a lame duck session at the end of last year.

Frankly, I have a hard time understanding how this can even be considered legal- on its face- and not an affront to our system of checks and balances. Let's hope that this idea doesn't spread but it seems like the bad ideas (i.e. eliminating state income taxes) are spreading rapidly (like viruses) since 2011 and, yes, I suspect that it is ALEC that is pushing many of these kind of initiatives at the state and local level.

Let's just say that the Republicans (establishment) seriously decide that they want to completely overhaul their party and make a sincere effort to "reform" themselves, not only on style but also on substance. What would the Republican Party look like if they told all those teabagger loons that they brought in in 2009-2010 to just get lost? My guess is that we'd probably see the Bush II-era "Karl Rove" Republicans again but I'm not sure. The Republicans started to really go off the rails during the Newt Gingrich House-era though there were still more "moderate" Republicans back then (whom were actually ALLOWED to be "moderate" able and willing to curb and stand up to some of the Gingrich bomb-throwers.

They embraced and invited the loonies into their party so that they could completely obstruct the second half of President's first term and help ensure that there wouldn't be a second term. While the second part of their plan didn't turn out like they hoped, the first part of the plan is succeeding on into this year but Republicans are paying a terrible political price for keeping the loonies around and feeding them with bogus and ominous conspiracy theories about what might have happened in Benghazi, as well as inventing fake groups in order to sink nominations (i.e. Hagel). Unfortunately, despite the fact that the teabagger loons are clearly unhealthy for the GOP, not to mention the country and our system of government, the GOP still (largely) seems unwilling and/or unable to simply get rid of them, mostly, I suspect, to maintain whatever electoral viability they have left outside of the South and some Western states. Just wake me up when the nightmare is over!

if somebody would mention that if the Rethugs hadn't decided to take the debt ceiling hostage, there would have been no sequester to speak of. I would also point out that if the Rethugs didn't like the sequester, they could've passed a bill w/o it, at least in the House. Hate this revisionist history-writing they are engaging in.

And we have an opportunity to learn from what happened. Too little, too late for all of the victims of Iraq 2 sure but maybe just in time for Iran 1

Based on what we saw this weekend w/McCain, maybe the media might be a little more skeptical if/when they try to take us somewhere else.

My position (unless facts prove otherwise) is currently no and has actually been quite tenuous from the start.

My theory, based on the recent blow-up by Rubio over the fact that the WH came up with its own PROPOSAL, is thus: Republicans pretend to be for immigration reform initially- to help them court hispanic voters- but simultaneously begin throwing barriers and obstructions to reform (100% border security for 5 years?) until finally they find some excuse or, as I like to call it, "escape hatch" to bail on the whole initiative so as to keep their "base" in line and blame President Obama for its failure so as to help drive a wedge between Democrats and hispanic voters in time for 2014 midterms (and, later, the 2016 Presidential Election).

Remember, their strategy for 2012 wasn't really so much based on winning over a bunch of Women, African-Americans, Hispanics, etc. to Romney but rather trying to peel off their support of President Obama and the Democrats ("if they're not going to vote for us, we need to make sure that they won't for Democrats either". It didn't really work then because most thinking people weren't that easily fooled and knew who was to blame for the economy and lack of progress on issues like immigration reform but the Republicans are nothing if not consistent in making the same strategic and tactical mistakes over and over again.

This is my theory and I'm sticking to it until or unless something else happens. Sorry if this sounds incredibly cynical but this the modern-day Republican Party we're talking about.

Lost in the debate over the slew of anti-choice mandatory ultrasound bills, as well as other medical-related abortion restrictions seems to be the doctors, nurses, etc. that will be required to fulfill these new mandates if they become law. I find the AMA and other medical associations always to be strangely silent on these laws and wonder why? Why are more doctors, nurses, et. al not upset about being required by law to perform more (unnecessary) medical procedures on women seeking LEGAL medical procedures? Why aren't they up in arms about being required BY LAW to give women information they KNOW to be misleading and/or FALSE to women about the "risks" associated with abortion? I know that the anti-choicers want to make it nigh impossible for women to be able to obtain a safe and legal abortion in nearly all circumstances (and some whom just want it banned entirely regardless of the reason for it) but what kind of negative impact is it having on OB-GYNs being legally forced to proffer "quacky" medical opinions and perform unnecessary medical procedures?