Still in the Race, and Plotting a Path to the Convention - NYTimes.com

Still in the Race, and Plotting a Path to the Convention - NYTimes.com: "THE DELEGATES In essence, Mr. Paul is doing what Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich had threatened to do — use gatherings of conservative voters at state party conventions to peel away delegates that were awarded to Mr. Romney during the primaries and caucuses.

He is having some success.

In Nevada on Saturday, Bob List, a former governor and a Romney supporter, lost his seat on the Republican National Committee (and his ticket to the convention) to a backer of Mr. Paul, according to The Las Vegas Review-Journal.

A headline from The Portland Press Herald in Maine tells the story there: “Ron Paul Supporters Take Over Maine G.O.P. Convention.” Supporters of Mr. Paul were elected chairman and secretary of the state convention."

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Bill Johnson Sperm Scandal: Former Alabama Gubernatorial Candidate 'Obsessed' With Sperm Donation

Bill Johnson Sperm Scandal: Former Alabama Gubernatorial Candidate 'Obsessed' With Sperm Donation: "Back in 2010, conservative politician Bill Johnson (R-Ala.) was focused on running for the governor. Two years later, his wife claims he is moving to the other side of the world to fancy a different lifestyle.

In a Sunday interview with the New Zealand Herald, Kathy Johnson told the newspaper that her husband has returned to the southwestern Pacific island where he made headlines in December 2011 for allegedly donating sperm to lesbian couples.

"He is obsessed with this," the former Miss America finalist told the Herald. "He doesn't want to stop."

"I will not chase him to the other side of the world so he can be a part-time father to children he created with other women," she said."

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GOP's Violence Against Women Act Would Open Up Undocumented Victims To More Abuse

GOP's Violence Against Women Act Would Open Up Undocumented Victims To More Abuse: "WASHINGTON -- The House Republican version of the new Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) would dramatically roll back confidentiality protections for abused immigrant women, make it more difficult for undocumented witnesses to work with law enforcement officials, and eliminate a pathway to citizenship for witnesses who cooperate with police on criminal cases.

The provisions are tucked into a bill that reauthorizes the act, and have received scant media attention. But the legislation is picking up steam in the House. The bill, officially sponsored by freshman Rep. Sandy Adams (R-Fla.), has the backing of the full House leadership, and is headed for a vote in the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act is typically a bipartisan affair lacking in contention. This year, however, Republicans are pressing for significant changes that would weaken protections for victims of domestic violence, arguing that the current law is being taken advantage of by undocumented immigrants looking for legal citizenship."

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Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment May Drive North Carolina Toward Obama - Yahoo! News

Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment May Drive North Carolina Toward Obama - Yahoo! News: "Swing state North Carolina is facing an unusual ballot choice in its Tuesday primary. Called Proposition One, the constitutional amendment says "Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state." But not only does North Carolina already have a law forbidding same-sex marriages, if the amendment passes it could have some unintended consequences, like a Barack Obama victory for the state.
Polls show voters in favor of Proposition One
But -- as is often the case with constitutional amendments -- only if they don't know what it actually does. A survey by Public Policy Polling shows 58 percent of North Carolinans in favor of the amendment and 38 percent opposed, but those numbers change to 41 percent in favor and 42 percent opposed when they are told how it would ban civil unions also. North Carolina does not currently allow civil unions, but 51 percent of voters are in favor of legalizing either civil unions or gay marriage."

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Five Philadelphia priests sanctioned in sex abuse probe - Yahoo! News

Five Philadelphia priests sanctioned in sex abuse probe - Yahoo! News: "PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput stripped five priests of their duties and apologized to their victims on Friday following an investigation into a pedophilia scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic archdiocese.
The sanctions come as the archdiocese nears the end of its investigation into 27 priests who were put on leave when a January 2011 grand jury report raised questions about their possible involvement in abusing children."

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Planned Parenthood can be in Texas health program, court says - Yahoo! News

Planned Parenthood can be in Texas health program, court says - Yahoo! News: "AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Planned Parenthood can participate for now in a Texas health program for low-income women despite a new state rule that bans affiliates of abortion providers, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Friday.
The court order from the 5th U.S. Circuit -- which lifts an emergency halt that was put in place on earlier this week -- is the latest in a series of alternating victories for Planned Parenthood and Texas. But the court battle is not over.
The program, which is part of the federal-state Medicaid program, provides cancer screenings, birth control and other health services to more than 100,000 women in Texas."

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Let’s just say it: The Republicans are the problem. - The Washington Post

Let’s just say it: The Republicans are the problem. - The Washington Post: "Rep. Allen West, a Florida Republican, was recently captured on video asserting that there are “78 to 81” Democrats in Congress who are members of the Communist Party. Of course, it’s not unusual for some renegade lawmaker from either side of the aisle to say something outrageous. What made West’s comment — right out of the McCarthyite playbook of the 1950s — so striking was the almost complete lack of condemnation from Republican congressional leaders or other major party figures, including the remaining presidential candidates.

It’s not that the GOP leadership agrees with West; it is that such extreme remarks and views are now taken for granted."

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