Another example of Washington politics as usual

A lot has been made of a number of still-unfilled posts in the Administration. And a lot of the flak has been directed at the President for not moving quick enough. But not so fast.

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) has put an extraordinary “blanket hold” on at least 70 nominations President Obama has sent to the Senate, according to multiple reports this evening. The hold means no nominations can move forward unless Senate Democrats can secure a 60-member cloture vote to break it, or until Shelby lifts the hold.

This report from Talking Points Memo, and confirmed by Senator Shelby’s office.

Barack’s first year in photos

Click any of the photos to head to the gallery. All pics by White House photographer Pete Souza.

New Momentum for Immigration Reform

Cross-posted from God’s Politics.

Last week, Janet Napolitano delivered her first speech on immigration reform in her capacity as the Secretary of Homeland Security. While she denied that it marked the official beginning of the Obama Administration’s push for immigration reform — “it actually began months ago” — it is significant that up until this point, there had been a noticeable (and perhaps understandable, given the prominence of the health-care debate) dearth of comment from the White House.

Comprehensive immigration reform has, in the words of Secretary Napolitano, “been punted from year to year, from Congress to Congress, from administration to administration,” and the need for reform has not diminished in the slightest: immigrant families continue to be adversely affected by a dysfunctional immigration system, and employers willing to flout the law in order to hire cheap workers continue to undercut the labor market.

There are signs of hope: leaders in the law enforcement, business, and labor communities all recognize that comprehensive immigration reform is desperately needed in America; and people of faith on both sides of the political spectrum have stood up in support of humane immigration laws. But as we saw with the health-care debate, even a concerted recognition of the need for reform does not guarantee the necessary change.

As in the health-care debate, we are pushing not only for an end to unproductive and divisive rhetoric that exaggerates and distorts the facts, but also for real and comprehensive reform that emphasizes the value of every person — immigrant or otherwise – as made in the image of God and worthy of respect.

Tomorrow evening, we get to see another encouraging sign of the growing movement for comprehensive immigration reform: Rep. Luis Gutiérrez — who is spearheading the effort for reform on Capitol Hill — will be hosting a conference call, and will have a special message for people of faith who are engaged in this issue. Join with us in that conversation.

Links of the Day, October 30

News

• Following up on Harry Reid’s Senate health-care bill, Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats unveil their $894 billion health-care bill. Here’s the BBC’s coverage.
• Jon Stewart takes on the White House vs. Fox News battle.
• A big change is coming to internet addresses: Internationalized Domain Names.

Health care

• Does Focus on the Family fund abortions?
• Looking to get health care done by Christmas.
• Tyler Cowen considers why other countries care more about health-care cost control than America.

Human trafficking

• Sex trafficking is real.

Green

• The EU strikes a climate funding deal.

Links of the Day, October 9

Here’s another pic of Barack and Savita (from the White House Photostream):

So freaking cute!

News

• Barack Obama becomes only the third sitting president (and the first since Woodrow Wilson in 1919) to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Here’s his statement in response. And here are some reactions. And the BBC’s coverage. More of my own thoughts on this to come.
• "Rich guy dislikes poor people." This is pretty sickening.
• Al Franken (D-MN), who’s fast becoming one of my favorite senators, wins bipartisan support for legislation reining in KBR/Halliburton’s treatment of rape.
• The US trade deficit shrinks in August.

Miscellaneous

• Study: tall men have more attractive partners … which means what for me, exactly?
• Violence against women is not being sufficiently addressed in the UK (and probably anywhere, for that matter).

Heir to the President?

[from the White House Flickr feed]

I love this pic.

***

On a separate note, here’s an interesting article in the Economist, about heightened creativity in those who have lived or are living abroad.