Plenty of blame to go around for the shutdown

Republicans called it the "Schumer shutdown," citing the Senate Democratic leader's role in blocking the bill to prevent a government shutdown. The Democrats labeled it the "Trump shutdown," blaming lack of Republican urgency and the president's shifting positions on the key immigration issue.

Eugene Robinson: The president and the porn star

Wait, back up a minute. We just zoomed past a story that would have been a five-alarm scandal for any other administration, with weeks of screaming front-page headlines: “The President and the Porn Star.” The Wall Street Journal had the scoop on Jan. 12: “A lawyer for President Donald Trump arranged a $130,000 payment to a former adult-film star a month before the 2016 election as part of an agreement that precluded her from publicly discussing an alleged sexual encounter with Mr. Trump, according to people familiar with the matter.” The porn star in question is a woman named Stormy Daniels.

Marching toward totalitarianism

Here in Amerika, things are getting worse - not better - as the nation inches ever closer towards totalitarianism, that goose-stepping form of tyranny in which the government has all of the power and "we the people" have none. On Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, immigration agents boarded a Greyhound bus heading to downtown Miami from Orlando and demanded that all passengers provide proof of residence or citizenship.

Pangan: Shutdown

AMID the Twitter boasts of us President Donald J. Trump and the defiant posturings and stance of Democrats, the world's perceived most powerful country has indeed technically shut down its operations on Saturday midnight, January 20, 2018. Meaning, funding for its civil service, national security and federal agencies ran out and all activities were stopped, including the more than 850,000 workers who were told to stay home and remain unpaid.

Amazon dials up Chicago, other HQ2 contenders, to explain selection process

Amazon has begun briefing officials in Chicago and 19 other cities in the running for the company's HQ2 second headquarters on the next phase of the process, after announcing the 20 contenders last week. Amazon has begun briefing officials in Chicago and 19 other cities in the running for the company's HQ2 second headquarters on the next phase of the process, after announcing the 20 contenders last week.

Ask a Trooper

Question: I was recently told that I could not keep the trailer ball mount attached to the receiver of the vehicle when it is not actually hooked up to a trailer. Is this in fact true? Answer: There is not a law in Minnesota that prohibits leaving a ball hitch in the receiver when not pulling a trailer.

Is Stephen Miller the new Steve Bannon?

Back in 2013, when the idea of a Donald Trump presidency still made everyone laugh, a group of eight U.S. senators met for months in private to put together a sweeping bipartisan compromise on immigration reform that would have provided a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants in exchange for tougher border security - but not a wall. The so-called Gang of Eight senators included four Republicans who would all end up on the losing side of clashes with Mr. Trump.

Collins’ vote for GOP tax bill will worsen US income inequality

Sen. Susan Collins explained her vote to pass the recent tax bill citing the expert advice she received from Glenn Hubbard, dean of the Columbia Business School, and Douglass Holtz-Eakin, a Republican policy adviser and president of the American Action Forum. "Even the joint committee on taxation has projected that the tax bill would stimulate the economy to produce hundreds of billions of additional revenue.

Quick negotiation reopens government

It didn't take long for Democrats and Republicans in the Senate to work out a deal get the federal government back up and running on Monday. Democrats agreed to support the short-term spending bill that will fund government through Feb. 8 in exchange for a promise from Republicans to start debate on an immigration reform bill that will offer protection for the We don't know why this couldn't have been figured out on Friday, before the government's funding ran out, forcing the shutdown.